Harry would have never guessed that it was possible that it would turn out to be worse, but yet again, life proved him wrong. It got even worse. The idea of being the champion had somewhat made itself comfortable in his mind, knowing Remus and Sirius were working with him on the problem but still, the fear of being in danger again started to stir inside of the young boy. At daytime it was okay, but at night the thoughts tormented him. He would lie awake, his finger brushing through Dawn's feathers while he thought about all the terrible things that could happen. More than once he had felt dizzy and light-headed and was near a panic attack. At one night it got so bad he even called Sirius in the dead of night, only to have him reassure that they would get this right. Sirius made Kreacher come over, bringing him a calming draught and they spoke for an hour that night before Harry finally fell asleep mid-sentence and mirror still in his hands. The nerves were worse than before any Quidditch match and the first task was still two weeks away. Not even when they had fought for the win last year he had been this nervous. The first hit came just the day after the interview, a Saturday. The daily prophet had printed a lengthy paragraph about the tournament and rather quickly Harry had felt his mind bristle when he had seen his own face on the cover, singled out. The article was even worse. The other champions were barely mentioned, it was like he was the only competitor. Warrington also noticed that detail, at least he stared daggers in Harry direction all breakfast long.

The article was so bad he actually thought about walking to class with his invisibility cloak more than once.

"I think my parents and my godfather give me the strength to walk with my head held high. I know they love me. Yes, sometimes I cry at night, thinking about my mom and dad but I am not ashamed to say this. I will always have Sirius (Lord Black) to go to when it is too bad."

Harry could almost feel the bile in his veins. While it was correct, Sirius would be the one he would turn to but this made him look like a sad little child. But not only that.

"Harry has found true love in Hogwarts hallowed halls. The beautiful Chinese girl Cho Chang seemed to have caught Lord Peverells eye, only a year older than our tough hero."

The moment the article was released, Harry had to endure the mockery of his co-students - Slytherin in particular.

"Want a handkerchief, just in case you would cry in potions Peverell?"

"Tough hero? Someone who faints on his broom? They must mean someone else."

These and other things were said to him again and again and again. He felt his own heartbeat in his ears, while his face turned red in anger and humiliation more times than he could count. Finally, he popped when someone spoke to him in the middle of a corridor one Friday evening.

"Harry." The male raspy voice said. Harry had enough. Before turning he growled out.

"Oh yes, I was just crying about my dead mommy in the cupboard there, because I am so sad about it."

But when he turned around he only looked in tired unimpressed eyes from a gaunt face. Ulrich Kurfürst stared at him unblinking and Harry felt a sudden shiver down his spine like he knew he was in the crosshair of a sharpshooter.

"Oh...hi Ulrich." He murmured out, even more embarrassed. Ulrich shrugged, shaking his head.

"I pretend you didn't say that." He held out a black feather towards him. "Your phoenix lost this. I am pretty sure you don't want these lying around the castle." His accent was thick, thicker than most of the German students. It made his words sound harsh and abrupt. Harry nodded.

"Thank you." He took the feather and put it in his book satchel.

For a moment the shorthaired German stared at him again. "You want a piece of advice?" He spoke slowly. Harry looked back in surprise before nodding slowly.

Ulrich stepped a little to the side, his right arm rubbing absent-minded on the stump of his cut of the left one.

"I know what it is like when they all whisper about you. When I came back to school all I heard was Ashbringer, Ashbringer, like a fucking mantra." Harry flinched slightly at the swearword. Narcissa wouldn't be amused by this type of language.

"Everywhere I went, they would ask me, what it was like. Everywhere." He stared grimly out like he remembered these things rather vividly. "They just thought it was fun and games. But I had maimed a man. Ruin his career. Dueling was his life. He had trained and worked hard since he was young, to be at the top. Three-time winner." Ulrich' pain increased and Harry frowned. Ulrich gripped the stump of his arm harder. "When I was in school for three weeks, I was informed he had taken his life. Because of me. Suddenly all the attention felt dreadful you know? They didn't know but every time someone called me Ashbringer, I saw just his face, disbelieving when he had lost his arm, his career, his life. All because of me."

Harry nodded slowly.

"And what did you do?" He asked hoping for good advice. Ulrich smirked a little raising his cut off arm.

"I snapped. One day when they haunted me with that I turned around and asked them if they really wanted to know how it happened. I was in a bad place. I used the draughts of dreamless sleep nonstop for two weeks." He didn't need to elaborate. There was a reason those were only used carefully because those could really mess up your mind. "I was angry, tired and felt guilty. So I turned and asked them if they really wanted to see how an arm was torn off so bad." He then smirked again raising the stump. "Svenja is still mad at me for it."

Harry wasn't sure what to say. "I think I will not do something that drastic." He finally answered. Ulrich nodded.

"Good. Because quite frankly they don't get it. All of these assholes have no idea what it is like. Most of them never had to face death, never lost someone. For them the world is safe. Nothing really bad happens in it. Their families, their heroes are untouchable. Death happens, but not to them. Not in their families. So it is not real to them and something that isn't really can't do harm so why not make fun of it. Until it gets real."

Harry kind of got where he was coming from. He had a strange way of telling something, but he remembered what Basti said about Ulrich is not a people person.

"You lost someone, right? I think you mom, Svenja said." Harry asked carefully.

"Yeah, so I know where you are coming from." Ulrich answered, his eyes looking out of the window.

"I'm sorry that was uncalled for." Harry said but Ulrich shook his head.

"No need. It's been a long time ago. She died shortly after giving birth to me. The only mother I ever knew was Svenjas mom."

Harry thought of Mrs Weasley, the woman that came closest to being a mother for him his entire life. Aunt Petunia most certainly wasn't in the category, not even on the same scale as a mother type for him. Hell, even Professor McGonagall was more mother to him.

After a moment Ulrich chuckled. "Look at us. Two champions without parents." Harry snorted a little too.

For a moment they stared out into the grounds, watching students walk over the inner courtyard.

"Why did you come, Ulrich? I mean here. I would have guessed someone who cut off his own arm wouldn't be taken with a delegation so shortly after."

Ulrich snorted. "Hell no. They wanted me all home, not even at school after I did that little stunt. They wanted me home, in therapy or something like that. But my father insisted." His voice got really cold.

Harry frowned. "You and your father...you don't look eye to eye, don't you? If it is okay to ask, I mean."

Ulrich said nothing for quite some time. Harry was about to say something when the boy spoke quietly.

"My father is a cruel, manipulative, spiteful, vicious bastard. He killed my mother and one day I will kill him for it." The gaunt looking boy stared out the window, but his magic flared up ever so slightly. Dawn chirped loudly, breaking the moment and Ulrich looked up. He then turned to Harry with a faint smile.

"Nevermind that. I should go anyways, Svenja will probably have kittens right now."

Harry nodded and waved as the taller thin teenager passed by. Then he thought of something.

"Hey, Ulrich." He quickly caught up with the German boy. Then he leaned over.

"I know what will be the first task, Dragons."

Ulrich stopped in his tracks looking over with an uncertain look. "You sure?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, the brother of a friend...former friend, works with them and he is here for the tournament and other details point in the same direction. Apparently, we are supposed to get something from a breeding mother."

Ulrich gazed at him calculating then he nodded. "Thanks, Harry. I will remember this."

The German teenager nodded one more time and then walked away.

For about half a day he tried taking Ulrich words into account. Then his mood took a nosedive.

Harry was outside with Dawn and Gryph, sitting on a bench and reading his Transfiguration essay over. Remus had turned him to do that over the past year, saying his essays were good but often filled with grammar and spelling mistakes that could easily be avoided if he reread them a few days after he had written his texts. And he was right, his marks improved when he did this and really thought about the issue rather than just skimming by. Professor McGonagall was really impressed when she found out and asked him to hand in the draft he made too, to see his line of thoughts. She had chuckled a little when he said it was Remus idea, remembering fondly the bookish of the four young boys back in the day. His marks in transfiguration were now one of his best, even though it had been one of his worst subjects back in the day. He was nowhere near Hermione, but he wasn't on the lower end of the class anymore. Except for potions, where his early marks of the year still carried on to nudge him down. Hid in a corner, where he could see the courtyard but at the same time was hard to spot due to a large hedge. Marking a transformation without an „R" in the middle he sighed and leaned back on the bench. Dawn was sitting in the grass in front of him, following some bug around, while Gryph was just lying in his lap and basked in the sun. He smiled and his finger run down the neck of the snake.

Gryph had grown over the past few weeks and got thicker. Snakes grow fast, while he had been only a few centimetres when Harry first found him, he was almost a meter long by now. The pale shine of his scales has darkened and he had matured rapidly. He was old enough to go outside and live in the woods now, but neither the snake nor the boy wanted to part from each other. The creature had found a liking in the young human, even though his feathered companion was annoying and Harry liked the cold coil that was lying around his neck. At first, he had shivered whenever Gryph had moved but now he didn't even notice and felt weird without the snake there underneath his robes. Sometimes in the dark, he was guessing whether this was the way it started with Tom. But he wasn't Tom and liking snakes wouldn't make him like that man. His finger followed the zigzag pattern on Gryphs back. The snake hissed lowly before retreating back up his robe and around his neck. Harry smiled and continued working until the people entering the courtyard, speaking with each other, laughing. Harry sat up a little and looked over the hedge that hid him mostly. There was a group of six, four girls and two boys. The guys seemed to be from the Japanese school, while the others were fifth-year Ravenclaws. Harry knew that because in the middle of the group was Cho, laughing at one of the boy's joke.

Harry felt the ugly thing inside his chest coil around his heart like a twitching, twisting tentacle of thrones. It burned like acid in his veins and cold in his brain. Dawn notices his moot swing and fluttered to his knee. Like on its own his hand rose and he started brushing through her feathers. Yet the feeling wouldn't go away. He tried to press it down, tried to ignore it. He shouldn't be jealous. He had no control over her. That was not how this worked. They weren't even an item, they never had that talk about whether or not they were in a relationship or what this was. The only thing he knew was that it felt like slipping away and he didn't like it. Before he knew it, Harry was on his feet, walking over to the group. One of the girls saw him coming and spoke in a hushed voice to the others. Quickly Cho's friend Jana stepped in front of the group, crossing her arms.

"What do you want?" She asked hostile, glaring at him. Harry was almost taken aback by the anger in her eyes. He looked over her shoulder at Cho, who was trying her best not looking at him.

"I wanted to speak with Cho for a moment and-"

"Cho doesn't want to talk to you." Jana spat out, stepping closer like she wanted to intimidate him. Sadly for her, Harry was already angry and also knew intimidation thanks to Narcissa's relentless training. He himself crossed his arms, while Dawn on his shoulder spread her wings chirping angrily at the girl. While Harry wasn't intimidating, the dark feathers creatures known for their magical strength was.

"I think Cho could tell me that herself. Cho..." His voice turned a little pleading and the Chinese girl raised her head. When she looked at Harry the boy nodded at her one more time and she nodded in return. The girl turned to her friend.

"Go ahead to the dorms, I will meet up with you there." She said with a sad smile. One of the Japanese guys stepped closer, making Harry almost rip out his throat when he touched Cho at the elbow.

"You want me to wait for you?"

Cho shook her head, still looking at Harry. "No need, Ryo." The guy looked over at Harry with a grim gaze, then he nodded and turned away. Harry's eyes followed him down the pathway before he turned to the girl again.

"What was that about?" He asked, frown on his face. Cho blushed a little and shook her head.

"Nothing, they are just worried."

Harry's frown deepened. "About what? That I would attack you?"

Cho sighed shaking her head again. "Nooo, just. I don't know." Her face showed conflict. Harry felt the monster in his inner stir again, squeeze and turn. A foreboding feeling settled in his inner.

"Cho..." He said lowly, trying to take her hand. For a moment she let him then she stood more straight, pulling her hand away.

"I think it would be better if we stopped seeing each other." She said, not looking him in the eye. It took Harry a moment to realize before it settled in like a ton of bricks. Dawn chirped loudly in response to the pain in his heart and huddled closer to his head.

"What...but...I don't..."He spurted out, before whispering. "Why?"

Cho sighed, trying to blink rapidly so no tears came to her eyes.

"Harry I like you I really do, but I can't do this. Everywhere I go, people stare at me and ask me things. If I know how you did it, what it is like being with you with the false champion. It won't stop and I just can't do it. It only got worse with the article and I'm pushed from all sides, my friends telling me to distance myself. It's for the better of both of us if we do not associate."

Harry felt steel in his face, while he gritted his teeth. "You mean better for you. That is what you are saying to me. You drop me because of a few words from your friends. Fine. Go run to your new boyfriend."

Now Cho glared at him, angry. "Hey leave Ryo out of this! He has nothing to do with this and he is not my boyfriend!"

Harry shook his head. "Oh yeah? You think I don't see the way he is slithering all around you like a slimy little-"

*Slap*

Cho's hand left a few red fingers on his cheek as she struck him. Her eyes flashed, her face was contorted in anger and she turned on her heel storming away. For a moment Harry stared after her, still seething with fury, before he turned away himself, storming in the opposite direction. He was about two corridors down when the steam left his system and he started feeling more and more sadness takes its place.

What was wrong with him? He liked Cho! He really did! He was pretty sure he was in love with her. Why had he been such a...? Why did he say all these vile things to her? Why did she just turn him away? They had worked so well together. Maybe it was all a little rough right now that that didn't mean anything. He wanted to turn around and run after her, apologize, say he was sorry. But deep down, he knew it wouldn't turn out that way. He had seen the anger in her eyes. He had hurt her and he was alone in this fault.

Harry stumbled into an alcove to the side of the corridor. His back slumped against the wall and he slid down the hard stone bricks until he sat on the floor. Sobs shook his body when all the pent-up pain was to finally flood out. Big tears rolled down his cheeks, while he hugged his knees, shuddering with every sob that went down.

Why did it have to be him? Whenever he had something in his life, the universe was about to take it away. Why him? Why couldn't he be a normal kid with normal things happening to him? No not for Harry Potter, it had to be tournaments and news articles, basilisks and dark diaries. It had to be trolls and evil wizards chasing him. Why couldn't he have a life without all of this? It would have made him happy, he was so sure. The sadness filled every nook of his being and made him almost choke on his breath. Dawn hopped on his knee and opened her beak. Out flowed a dark and sad melody only enhancing the sadness in his core. The song was a sad note, drifting through the corridor in lone and empty halls. Hogwarts felt gloomy and dark. Harry hugged his familiar, holding her close to his chest and just cried for a long time.

"Lord Peverell?" Harry had no idea how long he had been sitting here, maybe half an hour when the female voice pulled him from his sadness. Dawn had stopped singing a while ago. Harry whipped his eyes looking up. Over him stood, her arms crossed, blond hair in a braid, like so often, Daphne Greengrass, looking down at him along her nose. Harry wiped his eyes once more, raising up.

"Daphne? What are you doing here, how did you find me?"

The girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I followed Dawn's song of course." She simply stated.

Harry frowned and said familiar flew up to Daphne's shoulder for a moment. The Phoenix fit well with her stern and cold demeanour. Or she would if she didn't dig her beak into the girls braid. Daphne either didn't notice or paid it no heed.

"Dawn stopped singing for a while now," Harry answered, uncertain of what to make of this. Daphne nodded slowly.

"And I saw you were in no shape of talking so I waited nearby and used slight charms to keep people away from this corridor. Thankfully you took a dead-end for this Lord Peverell or it would have been much harder to cover you."

Harry blinked for a short moment. "Why would you do that?" He asked a little confused. Daphne again raised her eyebrow and somehow Harry felt a little stupid asking.

"Because our houses are in an alliance. It wouldn't do leaving you alone in your time of distress."

Harry felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

"Thank you."

She nodded firmly once. "You're welcome, Lord Peverell."

At that Harry chuckled a little. "We aren't in public right now, or at least I hope not." He pointedly wiped his eyes again. Daphne smirked and nodded.

"That is probably for the better Harry." It always felt a little strange when Daphne said his first name. Since she used it so rarely it felt somewhat intimate and special. It made him blush a little.

Daphne waved over to a small bench that Harry hadn't noticed before and sat down there, folding her skirt in a curt and sophisticated manner. Harry sat down next to her and Dawn jumped back into his lap, chirping at him. He brushed through her feathers with a smile. For a few moments, they just sat there not talking. Then Daphne lowly started speaking.

"Mind telling me what this was about Harry? I am not the most emphatic person, but still." He was surprised to her empathy in her voice. He didn't look over at her, still looking into Dawn's golden eyes. For a while, he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to even answer but the need to tell it someone was so strong inside of him.

"I talked with Cho." He simply said. Daphne nodded.

"I take it, it didn't go well." Was all she said.

Harry shook his head. "No. She..." He felt sadness return to him, making Dawn's head twitch every so slightly. "She kind of broke up with me. I'm not sure if we were in a relationship, felt like it but not anymore."

Daphne hummed for a moment, looking out just at the wall on the other side of the corridor. Again for a moment none of them said a word.

"Well Harry, quite frankly it's her loss." She then said firmly. Harry raised his head in surprise turning to the girl.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Daphne turned and her dark green eyes looked into his emerald. "Well, the fact you are one of the richest, most influential people in Great Britain are just a few of the many reasons a person would seek out in another if you are the kind of person that cares for such things. And I think she does."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"How do you know? Do you ever talked to her?"

Daphne shook her head. "No, but I kept tabs on her ever since you started taking an interest in her. And while I haven't talked to her, I see the patterns. Best friends with the girl that is leading the scoreboard of her year, always socializing with those who were popular, she had an interest in Cedric Diggory before she turned to you. She is what I would call a sunbather, someone who likes to bask in the shine of other people."

Harry swallowed hard. "Are you saying she liked me for my money and name?"

Daphne nodded slightly, looking indifferent. "Yes, but I don't think she does it intentionally or knowingly. I think she does it on an instinctual or subconscious level, surrounding herself with the special people at our school. Her father seemed to be the same kind of way."

Harry frowned. "Are you sure?"

At that, the blond raised her eyebrow like she was insulted by the mere question. "When have I been wrong about something like this?"

Harry could only nod. While they didn't talk about much of this stuff during their tutoring sessions, he had picked up on her ability to judge other peoples characters. Daphne was almost always on point with her observations. Harsh and stiff but on point. Harry sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm not sure what I should say."

Daphne smiled a thin smile. "Then don't. You don't need to say something about everything. Sometimes silence is the best answer."

Harry nodded slowly, his hands buried in black feathers.

"I guess."

For a few moments, they sat together than Harry frowned.

"Wait a minute, you said many reasons. What did you mean?"

Instead of answering, Daphne rose from the bench when there were footsteps echoing through the corridor. Hermione was jogging down the stone hall, a butterfly made out of paper flying next to her shoulder, apparently guiding her. Daphne brushed over her skirt for a moment.

"Wonderful. I think that would be someone more competent in handling this kind of talk. Good day Lord Peverell, Dawn." She reached out, tickling Dawn under her beak for a moment, while Harry rose almost automatically to bow slightly like it was a good custom. Daphne curtsied, her hands lifting her skirt slightly, before turning away.

"Good day, Heiress Greengrass," Harry spoke in confusion at the leaving blond. Daphne gave her biggest rival, the bushy-haired muggle-born, a curt nod when she passed her.

"Miss Granger. I see you got my message." He eyes darted for a moment to the butterfly. "I leave the rest to you." And with another nod Daphne walked away, her hands folded properly in front of herself.

Hermione walked over, still looking at Daphne, like Harry who watched her leave.

"What was that about?" She asked him, looking at the boy. Harry shrugged, confusion plastered on his face.

"I have no idea."