PART ONE
CHAPTER TWO: YEAR FOUR BEGINS
A few days later, he was standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters with his trunk and fourth year books. His wand was the same one he always carried because he had performed the time-turning spell with it. However, his owl was a black and brown male named Paris. It was a haughty animal that kept biting the bars of its cage and Harry's fingers whenever it could. As for the time he had spent in his parent's house, Harry swore that it would remain forever one of his best memories.
Although the events at the Quidditch World Cup had disturbed him, he was sure that his parents were taking it even more seriously than he was. In a way, he was glad to see that they cared so much for him, yet on the other hand he was relieved that he was going back at Hogwarts where his mother would not be following him in every room.
"Well, give me a hug and go get a seat", said his mother.
She placed her arms around him into a motherly embrace and he couldn't help but wiggle out of her grasp, slightly embarrassed.
"Bye, mom", he said awkwardly.
"Do mind your temper on the train, Harry", said his father. "Stay away from Malfoy and you won't be tempted to pick up a fight again. I'll see you at school."
Harry's mother gave her son a kiss on both cheeks. Harry was climbing the first steps to get on the train when his father's last comment came back to him: "I'll see you at school". Then his thoughts dwelled on the upcoming Triwizard Tournament.
From the whispers and concealment of his parents in the last few days, he had gathered that the Triwizard Tournament was going to be repeated, for him anyway. It was happening at Hogwarts this year as though it had never happened before. Probably, his parents had thought it would make a great surprise if Harry learned about it on the first day back like the other students. They couldn't know how the thought of anything relating to the Triwizard Tournament made him extremely uneasy.
Harry was vaguely wondering what part his father would be playing in the Triwizard Tournament when he heard his name being shouted.
"Harry! Hi, Harry!" someone called out as Harry was walking down the narrow corridor of the Hogwarts Express. It was Neville's sister. "How about it, huh? The Dark Mark at the World Cup? Talk about a turn of events! Who do you think conjured it?"
She was following him. Harry was actively searching for a sign of Ron or Hermione. He had been more and more anxious for a sight of them, even just a glance. He had begun to think that maybe they weren't friends in his new life and that thought had occupied him even more than the Dark Mark or the burning on his forehead.
"I personally don't trust Lucius Malfoy. Do you think that he was among the Death Eaters? I am sure that we could find out from Crabbe and Goyle. We should work out a plan to fool them into telling us."
Harry was suddenly very glad that Eleanor Longbottom was in Ravenclaw. He could now fully understand the annoyed look on Neville's face that evening at the World Cup. He was only hoping that Eleanor wasn't really his friend.
He was about to turn around and tell Eleanor to stop following him when he saw a familiar red head coming out of a compartment just behind Eleanor.
"El, why don't you give Harry a break?"
It was Ginny. She had walked out of the compartment and was now staring at Neville's sister with her arms crossed. Eleanor's eyes darted to Ginny. She began to scrutinise her from head to toe. Ginny was wearing a Weasley jumper dark purple and brown, with a huge G in the front. She was slightly taller than Eleanor, and she definitely looked older. But most of all, she did not seem intimidated by the young Miss Longbottom.
"G for Ginny. Very witty. Had a good summer?" Eleanor asked, her tone clearly indicating that she couldn't care less.
"I'd tell you all about it, El, if I thought that you were genuinely interested."
Harry smiled. He had not seen Eleanor Longbottom so put out since the Death Eaters had scared all the wit out of her. He was happy that someone else besides Neville thought she was extremely irksome.
"Come on, Harry", said Ginny. Eleanor was still speechless. "I saved you a seat."
Harry walked into the compartment with Ginny Weasley and almost let out a cry of surprise. Ron was there, rummaging through what looked like Ginny's bag.
"Hi there, mate", said Ron, glancing rapidly at Harry.
Ron pulled out some sandwiches out of Ginny's bag and ate one immediately.
"Thanks, Gin. I'm starving. Sure you don't want any?"
"No, it's okay. Nev always has too much snacks and candies and stuff and he shares with Harry and me."
Ginny started to put away her bag. Ron was already in the doorway.
"I'm going to sit with Seamus and Dean. See you at school, Harry."
And Ron left. Harry could hardly believe it. Ron was his best friend. Now he was barely noticing him. He stared at the hallway, wondering if he should follow Ron.
"Harry, what are you doing?"
He looked back at the compartment. Ginny was staring at him with an inquiring look on her face. He thought that maybe it would look weird if he did something unexpected like following Ron although he had not been invited. More or less reluctantly, he went back into the compartment and sat down on the seat in front of Ginny.
"Harry, you have a funny look. What's going on?"
He couldn't find a reply soon enough for Ginny, it seemed. When he did not answer, she quickly got up to close the sliding door.
"Did you have another dream?" she asked quietly, now sitting on the edge of her seat, looking very concerned.
Harry was at a complete loss. Ginny was just staring at him, waiting for an answer.
"Err… no… I… I was just…"
"Shush. Nev is coming."
Exactly then, Neville opened the sliding door. He had a large grin on his face. He wore a black leather coat that Harry thought looked really, really cool. There was no other word for it. Trevor the tadpole was sitting comfortably on Neville's shoulder. Even the toad had a self-satisfied air. Neville had his wand out and looked particularly happy about something.
"You wouldn't believe what that Slytherin girl said about Eleanor, but I got her back really good," he said, putting the toad back in its box. "Well, Fred and George helped a bit. I'm getting the hang of that bogey curse." He stuffed his wand into the back pockets of his jeans and sat down besides Harry.
Ginny laughed. The look of concern the she had worn seconds ago was entirely gone. "I don't think Professor Flickwick will grade you for a bogey curse, but it doesn't mean it's not useful," she said, a large smile on her face.
"Do any of you have any idea what's happening at Hogwarts this year? Everyone is going on about it. No one knows what it is, but I bet it's something special."
"My dad says the Ministry wants to make up for their poor performance at the World Cup. Security was of course a disaster. Think of all the Death Eaters that walked free."
Neville and Ginny talked eagerly about the events at the World Cup, making their assessment of what had really happened and who had been involved. Harry joined in the conversation, relating the part of the story that he had witnessed. However, he made a point of avoiding a discussion that would lead to arising suspicions. There was a lot still that he did not know about this new reality, and he didn't want anyone to believe that he did not belong here.
When it became dark outside, Neville left the compartment to go and get changed. They were arriving soon. Ginny immediately came to sit besides Harry, leaning closer to him so that she could whisper. This made Harry uncomfortable and he shifted on his seat, trying to put some distance between them. Ginny didn't seem to notice.
"Harry, the Dark Mark, what was it like to you? Did you feel any pain?"
"What? No. Err. I was with my mom and Neville, I mean Nev," he said quickly. He was trying to divert the conversation towards another topic.
"Yeah, I know that. Nev clearly didn't feel a thing. It's you I'm worrying about. Everything that relates to You-Know-Who makes you hurt and I don't like it."
Harry got up. It felt like someone had invaded his privacy. He couldn't figure out how Ginny Weasley would know about these things or why she appeared to care so much. He had only ever told Ron and Hermione because they were his friends and they had been through a lot together since their first year. Clearly, this conversation was happening with the wrong person. He should be sitting with Ron.
"I'm fine", he managed to say, feeling somewhat awkward. A new idea was starting to fill in: was he dating Ginny? He certainly wouldn't. That would be ridiculous. She was Ron's sister!
Ginny did not seem convinced at all with his last statement. She crossed her arms and looked up at him, almost accusingly.
"You're fine. Very well then. Have it your way", she said sourly. "I'm only trying to help." She really sounded upset that he wasn't sharing this information with her. "Have you talked to your father about it yet?" she asked. There was frustration in her voice.
"About what?" snapped Harry. He was exasperated. He couldn't believe that he was having this conversation with Ginny, his best friend's little sister.
"About the dream!" she replied angrily. "You had a dream about You-Know-Who that was so real that it made you sick. You ought to tell your father!"
"I don't tell my father everything!"
"You don't have to tell me that, Harry! But this goes over and beyond what you and your father don't agree on. This might help your parents find You-Know-Who's whereabouts."
Harry thought for a moment. He had never had a father or mother that he could talk to. Was it really the sort of thing that his father would want to know about? His parents were Aurors after all. Yet there was not much that he could tell them without arising suspicions. They could discover that he had changed the timeline. He would have to explain how he knew about events that have not yet happened. It was true that his father and he had not had any profound conversation except the odd comment here and there. Mostly, he had talked to his mother so far. But what could he tell his father? He couldn't let anyone know that he had meddled with time.
Ginny was still staring at him, but she seemed less angry.
"Harry, you don't have to tell your father everything, but sooner or later you will have to go to him. He can help you, you know. He's a very good wizard. I'm sure he'll have an explanation for this, or at least something to say."
Harry sat besides the window, not too close to Ginny. This year was beginning just like the last, after all. It had felt like a dream at first, a perfect, beautiful dream, but now the real events were taking place for the second time around. He had hoped to be able to stop Voldemort's return. Now he would have to figure out how to do it. He was not sure yet who he could get involved in the process. It didn't seem like Ron was hanging out with him, and he had not seen Hermione so far. Perhaps he was into this alone.
"Maybe he's not the greatest dad," said Ginny, hopefully, seeing how thoughtful he had become, "but he's the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that Hogwarts has ever seen."
The first thing that Harry noticed when he walked in the Hogwarts Great Hall was his father at the staff table talking to Dumbledore. They looked very well acquainted and seemed to be discussing something important. "Probably some details about the tournament", thought Harry. Neither Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody nor Bartemius Crouch was accounted for. Snape looked in a fowl mood and kept throwing glances at James Potter, and Hagrid did not wave at Harry but was having an energetic conversation with Professor Sprout.
Neville, Nev, was clearly the star of the Gryffindor table. As soon as he walked in, everyone started to wave at him and shout various greetings. Harry was glad that Neville chose to settle with the other fourth years because that gave him the opportunity to sit besides Ron. He had decided that he would make every effort to be Ron's best friend again.
He was about to sit down between Neville and Ginny when something hit him behind the neck, something like a small pebble. At once he turned around to see Malfoy laugh maliciously, but a glance at the staff table was enough to remind him that he couldn't step up to Malfoy at this time.
"What's the matter, Potter? Gone soft this summer?" yelled Malfoy from over at the Slytherin table. "You and your girlfriend have been kissy-kissy on the train?"
The other Slytherins answered in laughter.
"That is so immature," someone was sneering a few paces ahead of the Slytherins.
It was Hermione. She was leading a group of girls towards where the other Gryffindor fourth years were sitting. Actually, Harry noticed, it was probably the whole group of Gryffindor girls that she was leading. They were all talking happily, and Hermione was at the center of them, giggling and laughing nervously as they passed by Neville. There was something different about her hair, Harry also realised. Her curls were shinny and she had pinned it up just enough that some tresses were cascading on her shoulders. There was glitter on her lips as well.
Harry hadn't realised that he was staring at Hermione. One of the girls, Pavarti, whispered something in Hermione's ear and she went slightly pink. Then, looking quite sure of her, Hermione came over to where Harry was.
"Hi, Harry. I heard that you went to the Quidditch World Cup after all. Did you enjoy it?"
"Yeah", said Harry, finally happy to be talking to Hermione. "Quidditch isn't all that bad, honestly."
But Hermione wasn't listening to him. She was eying Ron, and Ron was staring back at her. Both of them had a look of surprise on their faces. And Ron was blushing.
"Hi, Ron" said Hermione timidly, her haughty expression completely gone. She then turned and hurried off, going back to the group of girls from which instant giggles were heard.
Harry turned back to Ron. Ron was trying to look casual, ignoring the fact that his cheeks had gone suddenly flaming red. Ginny nudged Harry furtively.
"Ron fancies Hermione Granger since the end of last year. I think he likes the combination of pretty and smart. She likes him too, but she's too proud to admit it. Who would have believed it, huh? Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."
Moments later, the students from Beaubatons and Durmstrang were arriving. Harry pretended to be really impressed but he was really on the watch. Dumbledore announced the Triwizard Tournament and the great Hall exploded with cheers. Harry was only half listening; the other part of his brain was busy with registering the differences from the last time these events had taken place. The most important difference being that there was no mention of an age limit.
"An age limit? Are you mental?" cried out Fred and George Weasley together when Harry voiced out his concern to Ginny.
"What's to stop a first year from being selected, then? People die in this tournament," argued Harry.
He didn't want to sound gloomy or down-to-earth, but he was wondering why the Ministry had not decided to impose an age limit this time.
"Dumbledore said that the Goblet of Fire is an impartial judge. Perhaps it means that the Goblet wouldn't select someone who isn't up to it. Does that make sense?"
Ginny's response seemed logical enough to close the discussion. By the following morning, everyone was talking about putting their name in, the logic behind this being that the Goblet would choose the champion according to skills and magical talents; therefore, there was no problem with giving it many names to choose from. The champion would be the only student who was really up to it. Many people were going to Neville to ask him whether or not they should put their name in.
By the first day of class, Harry had observed that Neville was a reference point for everyone except the Slytherins. Neville seemed notorious for performing advanced spells. Harry had not seen yet any proof that Nev was indeed a powerful wizard. This seemed somewhat farfetched considering the shy, clumsy Neville Longbottom that he had always known.
