AN: Apologies for the delay in this chapter. I left a window open, and my inspiration left while I wasn't looking. I just got her back a few days ago. She is now restrained by a collar and won't be getting treats anytime soon.
So: This is my first fanfic and yada…
Join the Haphne server: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU
10th of October 1994, Hagrid's hut
Harry had received a strange letter from Hagrid that morning. His friend had asked Harry to come to his house because he had something for him.
Needless to say, Harry was scared. Last time Hagrid said that, he had a pet dragon. Considering this, Harry had plenty of reasons to be scared. Specially when he was told to come alone.
"There you are Harry! I wondered if you would come!" Hagrid greeted.
"You seemed to have something for me, so it would be rude to ignore that…" The boy replied.
"I may have lied a little bit there…" Hagrid said sheepishly. "It is for your godfather actually."
Harry stared at his friend with disbelief. He didn't know Hagrid had interacted with Sirius after his escape from Azkaban.
"It is something he lent me after your parents died. I kept it for you, but I think it is fairer to return it to him…"
Harry was now intrigued. What did Sirius have that could be so important? His godfather had never mentioned anything of the sort.
Harry was guided to the back of Hagrid's hut and entered a room he had never seen before. Hagrid said it was used as his storage room for class, so Harry had never paid attention to it before.
Hagrid pointed to a large cloth, which was clearly protecting something beneath it. Harry went to uncover it, only to find a precious motorbike.
"That is Sirius' old motorbike! A Triumph if I remember right!" Hagrid said.
"He lent it to me after your parents died so I could bring you to Dumbledore. I never had the chance to return it to him, and my original plan was to give it to you as a present. Maybe it could serve as a present from you to him…"
Harry was mesmerised by the motorbike. Ever since the neighbour at number seven had bought a Harley Davidson, Harry had always thought about learning to drive. Maybe Sirius could teach him? It had a sidecar too, so there was enough space for three…
"That is very cool Hagrid! Do you think it still works though? It has been more than a decade…"
"I don't know actually. Take the keys and try it! I have always kept it here, so it should not have any problems…"
Harry grabbed the keys Hagrid gave him and tried to turn it on.
The first attempt was fruitless. After a decade being parked, it was not unexpected.
The second attempt was slightly better. It seemed as if she wanted to come back to life as well.
BROOM!
"There we go! Third time is the charm! Thank you, Hagrid, I can't wait until he sees this!"
15th of October 1994, Potions' dungeon
Harry and Daphne were brewing together again. Today they were trying to prepare a pepper-up potion. It was harder than what they were used to, but Professor Greengrass thought it would be a good test.
This potion had to rest for several minutes before the following step, so Harry and Daphne struck conversation. An awkward one, because they avoided looking at each other all the time. Something that would not be required if they got their heads out of their arses and asked the other out.
Due to the both of them being stupidly oblivious, this didn't happen. Instead, they ended up talking about the non-existent quidditch season this year.
"Yeah, despite the tournament, this year will be quite boring, I believe…" Daphne said.
"I agree. And since there is no quidditch, there is no chance for me to beat you again…" Harry lamented.
"You sure, Potter?" She replied confidently." I do believe I would be able to beat you this turn around! And I could beat you at plenty of other things if I tried."
Harry knew this was probably true, but he was not going to admit that in her presence:
"Like duelling? I would love to see that! Last time I checked, Astoria still had a snake that serves as proof of your defeat!"
"It wasn't my brightest move, I admit that. But how was I supposed to know you could speak to snakes? There is no one else in the country able to do that!"
"So, you say I defeated you because I am a Parselmouth… Not because you weren't able to hit me with anything before that…"
"You weren't able to hit me with anything either!"
"And? I have improved quite a bit since then, so I am confident in beating you now." Harry assured.
"You know what? Since you look so smug, why don't we duel again? Search for a place and I will join you there!"
Harry agreed to her proposal, hoping to get one over her. Now, how would he find a good enough place to duel?
18th of October 1994, fourth year Gryffindor boys' dormitory
Harry had been reflecting on what he had talked with Daphne for the last three days. At first, he believed that a duelling room should clearly exist at the castle, since Harry doubted Lockhart had been the first one to come up with a duelling club.
Harry searched through the Marauder's map for several hours, but he found no evidence of such a room. But considering the Chamber of Secrets wasn't there either, Harry didn't give up.
So, he asked to the people who knew about Hogwarts the most: The Weasley twins.
At first, the twins were wondering if Harry wanted to kill Malfoy in a duel. Once Harry explained that it was going to be a friendly duel, they were slightly disappointed. But not as much as Harry after finding out that they didn't know anything about such a room.
Harry had tried to explore the castle on his own, but he found no secret entrances to any other rooms. He still had one last chance, so he called:
"Dobby!"
CRACK!
"Great Master Harry Potter called Dobby! What does Great Master want?" The elf asked enthusiastically.
"Did you spend any time outside the kitchens when I sent you to Hogwarts last year?" Harry questioned.
"Oh yes! Dobby often went on errands for the other elves, and Dobby loved cleaning outside the kitchen!"
"That is good." Harry replied. "Did you find any duelling rooms?"
"No sir! Dobby is not findings such room!" The elf answered.
"That is a shame…"
"Is Harry Potter fighting anyone? Should Dobby call Harry Potter's dogfather?"
"No Dobby. It was just a friendly duel. Don't worry about it."
"Dobby knows of a place where Great Master could practice!"
"Really?"
"It is the Come and Go room! It is not far away sir!"
A few minutes later…
Dobby had dragged Harry to the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy. Harry was wondering if Dobby had gone barmy too. There was nothing there! And Dobby seemed pensive too, walking up and down the corridor.
Harry was about to tell him to stop when he saw it. The door. It was not there before! And doors don't appear out of nowhere!
"This is the Come and Go room! One only needs to walk in front of it three times asking for something, and Hoggywarts will provide!"
Harry entered the room to find exactly what he had been asking for. There was a duelling platform at the centre of the room, surrounded by runes that would contain the spells.
There were also a couple of bookshelves, filled to the brim with spellbooks, and guides to individual and team fighting. Next to them, there were a couple chairs and a desk, to study the spells.
He couldn't wait to tell Daphne.
22nd of October 1994, seventh floor corridor
"Are you sure that room is here Harry? I have never seen anything like that in this floor…" Daphne questioned.
"Yes, I am. I went inside last week! Just give me a second…"
Harry began walking back and forth across the hallway. Daphne was starting to believe that he had lost his marbles when a door appeared in the middle of the wall.
"What!? That was not there before!"
"Welcome to the one and only Room of Requirement Daphne!" Harry then opened the door, making sure to let her in first.
Daphne entered the room, and she was rendered speechless. Harry had barely changed the configuration on the room since he last used it, and he just asked for a different set up for the studying section of the room.
"I have to admit I am quite impressed. How did you find this place?"
"I found it thanks to Dobby. The elves use this room quite often, to store stuff they pick up around the castle. He told me I could turn this into anything I want, and here we are!"
"Make sure to thank him for me. This is better than I expected!" She then looked at the bookshelves again, and a smile appeared on her face:
"I would guess those are spell books, right?"
"You are right. But I don't think you want to read them now, am I right?"
"No. I want to beat you so badly that last year's prank will look mild in comparison!"
Harry shivered. He didn't want a repeat of that.
27th of October 1994, Hogwarts' gate
Today, the guests of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were arriving to Hogwarts. Dumbledore had asked all of the students to wait outside the castle gates, to greet the guests.
None of them knew how they would arrive, and rumours went all the way from simple portkeys to flying with brooms. Around five minutes later though, they finally got their answer.
It was one of the first years that saw it first:
"Look in the sky! Is that a bird?"
"No! It is a plane!"
"It's superman!" A muggleborn joked.
"It is a flying house!" Colin Creevey guessed.
And it was the closest answer anyone had gotten. Seconds later, a large carriage landed in front of the gates. It was being pulled by a dozen of the largest horses Harry had ever seen.
Dumbledore asked everyone to make space in front of the door. Just as he was approaching the carriage, the doors opened, and a large woman emerged:
"Mr. Dumblydoor! It is a pleasure to finally meet you!"
"Madame Maxime! The pleasure is all mine!"
"Is Igor here already?"
"No, I believe he will arrive shortly. Would you like to wait here, or would you prefer to wait inside?" Dumbledore asked the French headmistress:
"I believe inside will be better. We are not dressed appropriately for today's weather."
As soon as she finished that comment, she called for her students. Once they were all outside, they entered the castle, drawing the male students' attention. Mainly because of the girl who was leading the students.
"Wow… she really looks pretty, doesn't she Harry?" Ron asked absent minded.
"If you say so Ron…" Harry replied. She was pretty, sure. But he didn't get why everyone was drooling. Maybe she was a veela, like the ones from the tournament?
"Look over there! In the lake!" Another student yelled.
Harry turned his attention to the surface of the Black Lake and found there was something sticking out of it. 'What the hell?'
Just as he finished his thoughts, the rest of it emerged from the depths of the lake. It was a giant ship! It seemed to be a centuries old galleon if Harry's muggle history was right.
A few minutes later, a man with a very thick accent introduced himself as Igor Karkaroff. He was followed by around twenty students, and amongst them there was none other than Viktor Krum.
"Look Harry, it's Krum! I knew he was young, but I didn't know he still went to school!"
Harry found himself surprised by that as well. How could he manage professional Quidditch and school at the same time?
"Do you think I could get an autograph from him as well?" Ron wondered.
"Well, if you are nice enough…"
A few minutes later…
The students from the three schools had gathered in the Great Hall. There was a huge welcoming feast, showing the absolute best the elves were capable of. It also contained some foreign cuisine to appeal to the peskier foreigners.
Eventually, Dumbledore rose from his seat, and began his speech:
"Now that we are all gathered here, and with our stomachs full, I am going to give a more detailed explanation about entering the tournament."
"The competitors will be chosen in four days, on Halloween, to be precise. During these four days, the students of age that want to participate will have to enter their names in a magical artifact, which will serve as an impartial judge."
Just after saying that, Filch entered the room, dragging a large trunk to the centre of the Hall.
"But I must issue a warning." Dumbledore continued. "Once your name is chosen, there is no going back. You will have to compete in all three tasks unless the goblet deems you incapable. If you refuse to compete, you will lose your magic."
The students began murmuring. Some of them who had thought of entering quickly changed their minds. Others felt more encouraged to do it.
Dumbledore then walked towards the trunk and opened it. With a swift movement of his wand, a stand was created in the middle of the room. On top of it rested a giant goblet, which seemed to glow in blue flames before turning orange again. There was now a sphere of light around the goblet.
"And this is our judge, The Goblet of Fire! Whoever wants to enter, will have to introduce their name along with the school they are studying in. The 31st of October the Goblet will glow blue again, and we will find out who our champions are."
Several students were captivated by the Goblet. Harry found himself included inside this group. A big cup with blue flames… The Great Hall was decorated like Halloween. Ron had been right all along.
"Ron, I believe you were right."
"You can see it too Harry?" The boy asked for confirmation.
"Yes, but I want you and Hermione to follow me around. If you are with me, I doubt they will be able to Imperious me, or persuade me in other ways to put my name. I don't want to die yet! I want to reach the age of a hundred if I can!"
31st of October 1994, Great Hall
The selection of the Champions was about to begin. True to his word, Ron had made sure he was under constant vigilance. He had talked to the twins, and in record time, the Gryffindor house made a 'Harry keeping' schedule.
He had been forced to sleep on a couch at night, and the other Gryffindors kept an eye on him. Several students had sacrificed their nights sleep to keep Harry in check. Harry believed he heard a camera flash the night Colin and Astoria were checking on him, but he probably dreamt it.
"It seems as if the Goblet of Fire has reached a decision. We shall now find out the names of the Champions!" Dumbledore announced. Harry looked at the Goblet
"And the champion, for the Beauxbatons Academy is… Fleur Delacour!" The blonde girl, the veela stood up, and moved towards Madame Maxime. She was accompanied by loud cheers from the male part of the audience, and sobs by her classmates.
"That is not a champion behaviour at all." Ron said, referring to the girls. And Harry had to agree. He didn't know about Delacour, but those girls didn't seem to be champion potential.
"The champion for Durmstrang is… Viktor Krum!" There was a staggering applause filling the hall. He was already famous for his skills as a Seeker, but he was going to be even more famous now.
"And the champion, for the Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry is… Cedric Diggory!"
The students cheered, but Harry didn't. He felt something was wrong. The Goblet didn't seem to be finished yet, and Harry already knew whose name was going to come out of it. He didn't know how that could have happened, and looking at Dumbledore, Harry knew the headmaster suspected something too.
A couple of seconds later, the suspicions turned out to be true. The Goblet was lit again, and it expelled a fourth name.
"Harry Potter. Harry Potter!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Harry knew he was doing it for the dramatic effect. One look at the headmaster's eyes showed that he believed what Harry had warned him about.
"Hold on, that is not possible!" Ron yelled. Everyone turned to look at the red-haired boy, who became red faced too.
"Too right brother! There was always someone with Harrykins! He couldn't have done that without any Gryffindor seeing!"
"Aye aye!" The Gryffindors confirmed.
Despite this, Harry was still asked to move with the other champions. Harry stood up and followed the headmaster and the Ministry officials to the room. People were already whispering in the Hall, and even the other professors were staring at Harry with disbelief.
Harry entered the room, and everyone's eyes turned to him.
"Is something wrong? Do they want us back in the hall?" The French champion asked.
"Extraordinary! Truly exceptional!" Bagman exclaimed. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you Harry Potter, the Fourth Champion!"
"That can't be Mr. Bagman!" Delacour said. "He is just a little boy!"
Harry knew he should not reply, but he wouldn't let that attack slide:
"So what? Scared this little boy will beat you up Frenchie?!"
"She is implying nothing of the sort!" Maxime intervened. "But if I had known that the underage rule was just a suggestion, I would have picked a wider selection of my students!"
"And I would have done so too! I don't remember the rules saying that the hosting school had a right to an extra student!" Karkaroff added.
"That is because they don't say it Igor." Dumbledore joined.
"Harry. Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore asked CALMLY.
"No sir. I wouldn't even know how to do it!" Harry assured.
"He is lying, for sure!" Delacour countered.
"I can assure you he is not lying, Miss Delacour." Dumbledore replied. "Or didn't you notice he didn't enter himself for Hogwarts?" The headmaster asked Crouch.
"That is true, yes… It is as if he was entered in a fourth school…"
"Yet only a powerful wizard would be able to do that!" Moody yelled.
"And the amount of people able to do that is extraordinarily little… Maybe someone did it to screw with Potter… Someone who hopes that he dies in one of the tasks…" The retired Auror added.
"Very funny! This man will always be the same. Alastor Moody can't go to sleep without finding attempts of murder every day!" Karkaroff laughed.
"So, I have to compete?" Harry interrupted. He knew it was not likely, but a small part of him still hoped he could avoid it.
"I am sorry Mr. Potter, but you do. Refusing to compete would mean losing your magic, and maybe even your life!" Crouch warned. "If you excuse me, I have important work to do…"
"I don't believe so." Harry stopped him. "Considering the reactions I've seen here, the moment I go outside, everyone is going to accuse me of cheating. You are going outside, along with Moody, and tell everyone what you found out."
Directing himself to Moody this time, Harry added:
"I would like someone to investigate this. If it is an attempt of murder, I want to find out who is trying to kill me."
"Okay lad. I will do my best to find out." Moody replied.
"Good. Now we tell everyone what the hell happened, so I can avoid becoming a pariah."
Students would later agree that it was one of the strangest scenes they had ever witnessed. Not ten minutes had passed since Harry Potter had been selected, that some people left the champion's room.
Soon enough, Alastor Moody, along with Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman, entered the Great Hall again. Everyone was wondering what was going on when Crouch began his speech:
"Today, we must lament that someone has tampered with the Goblet of fire. A wizard (or witch) with considerable amount of power, confounded the Goblet into thinking there were four schools instead of three. They then inserted Harry Potter as a student for this school, this being the reason he was chosen."
Whispers filled the Hall once again. Most students had believed that Potter had entered himself, but if it had been him, why would he enter as a fourth school? Why not enter as a Hogwarts student, so you can get all the fame?
"Mr. Potter will be forced to compete in the tournament to avoid losing his magic. An investigation will be started soon, to figure out how that happened, and who was responsible for such an act. Alastor Moody has gladly accepted to take over such task. We would like to let him do his work so we can reach the bottom of the situation as soon as possible. Thank you."
"Now, into the First Task!" Bagman announced. "This first task will take place on the 24th of November! And that's all you have to know! The idea is for the champions to face the unknown, therefore proving their bravery and ability to improvise!"
While Crouch and Bagman were speaking to the crowd, Harry was having a conversation of his own with Cedric.
"So, you have no idea who put your name in?"
"You actually believe me about that?" Harry asked surprised.
"I saw your face when you entered the room. You can't be that good of an actor. Plus, the twins told me about their 'Harry keeping' thing." Cedric replied.
"Don't remind me. The idea was for Ron to check I wasn't forced to enter my name, not to have people staring at me while I sleep! That has to be one of the creepiest things I have seen!"
"You are kidding! The great Harry Potter, killer of Basilisks and repellent of Dementors, was creeped out by a few people looking at him? That is hilarious!" Cedric said laughing.
"You know I hate you right?"
"Nah. You know you don't"
1st of November 1994, Great Hall
Harry was waiting anxiously for Sirius' reply. Sirius and Remus had promised to help him if he got chosen, and according to them, they had been planning on what to do for weeks. Harry knew nothing about that, so he made sure to tell them Moody's exact words, so they could get all the necessary information.
Harry kept eating calmly at his usual spot, trying to ignore the glances that the populace kept throwing at him. Suddenly, the doors of the Hall barged open.
Sirius Black and Remus Lupin walked confidently towards the staff table. As soon as they got there, it was Karkaroff who spoke first:
"And what are you doing here? Are you some investigators hired by Dumbledore?"
"No, we are not." Remus replied. "I am Harry's headmaster."
"Excuse me, what?" Maxime interrupted. "I thought that Mr. Potter's headmaster was Mr. Dumblydoor over here?"
"That may have been true in the past Madame." Remus replied politely. "But the Goblet of Fire seems to differ on that matter, doesn't it?"
"According to Moody, my godson was sorted from a fourth school am I wrong?" Sirius added.
"That is correct." Karkaroff replied with a huff. "But why are you here?"
"As I previously said, I am the Headmaster of Harry's school, and Sirius is one of the professors."
"And what school may that be?"
"The Marauder Academy of Pranking and Wizardry of course!"
Whispers began filling the Hall. Fred and George were now gawking at Harry, and the champion knew he owed the two of them a conversation.
"But that school does not exist! You can't do that!"
"We can!" Sirius replied. "Since Harry's name didn't have any school attached, we cannot use any real schools, so we came up with one!"
"Now that we clarified that, where is my chair?" Remus asked.
"Your chair?! For what?"
"As headmaster of Harry's school, I must be one of the judges. The rules say so! That means I get to stay here like all of you!"
"I don't see any faults with that reasoning!" Dumbledore intervened.
"Headmaster Lupin, you can sit next to me if you wouldn't mind…"
"Thank you! Sirius can sit next to Minerva. I know they have plenty to talk about."
Sirius quickly moved next to the Transfiguration professor and gave her a giant hug.
"It is as if Christmas had come already!"
Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table…
"Ickle Harrykins…"
"… our darling seeker…"
"… our esteemed friend…"
"… is there anything we need to know?" The twins asked.
"I have known who the Marauders are for the last five months?" Harry tried.
"And you didn't tell us because?"
"Because I had other things in mind other than talking about this with my favourite beaters?"
"Start talking. NOW!" The twins ordered.
Harry began telling them the story about his father and his friends, along with the whole Pettigrew debacle. Needless to say, they were quite surprised to know they had been housing a mass murderer.