Disclaimer is in chapter 1.

Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore was perplexed.

It was an unusual feeling for the man, one that he didn't much care for. The young man currently under his protection was now in a meeting with someone he didn't have a great deal of influence over, and the damnable thing about it was that he didn't know how he felt about that.

That was truly maddening.

In most situations Dumbledore at the very least had a clear idea of whether the situation was something he approved of, or disapproved of, as the case may be. He didn't always have the ability to change the situation, but knowing if it was good or bad let him make appropriate decisions. In this case, however, he was flying blind.

Andromeda Tonks was a fine member of society, he knew for a fact. Her beliefs were a patchwork of the traditional and the radical, much the same as his own public stance. Privately, Albus knew that he was likely more conservative than Andromeda, by virtue of his age if nothing else. That said, she was certainly a representative of Sirius Black and for that alone he could, no actually he was legally obligated to refuse her.

That said, Albus had never been one too concerned with legalities. In theory the rule of law was all that held society together, in practice… well, it was another thing entirely in his experience. When it served the greater good, he would put aside the law as needed.

What perplexed him, in this case, was that he was in the unusual position of not knowing what the woman's presence served.

Certainly, Harry had urgent need of services that he as Headmaster could not safely offer. Albus knew that he didn't have the time to intercede on the young man's behalf when it came to the press, let along the time it would take to instruct Harry on dealing with the more vile habits they exhibited. Indeed, that was a skill that he himself had never really honed to the level he showed in other areas.

For the most part, to be honest, Albus could admit that he had little skill with the press. Most of his ability in that area stemmed largely from his political power and reputations, something young Harry couldn't truly wield at this point in his life.

The flip side of the issue was that Albus had no true influence over Andromeda. Oh, she wasn't an enemy to be sure, but she was like all the Black family. Fiercely independent, and willing to put everything on the line when she decided on the position she was prepared to defend.

Sirius had done so when he accepted the role of decoy for the Potters, and his brother Regulus had by all accounts earned the wrath of the Dark Lord himself for some reason that remained uncertain. What Dumbledore did know of Regulus' fate was that he had broke from the Dark Lord quite loudly in his final days, though that was a fact known only to very few.

That very quality made the Black's a dangerous quantity. Bellatrix sided with the Dark Lord with a fierceness that became legendary within her own lifetime, her fervor being mistaken for insanity to most. Perhaps it was, Albus supposed, fanaticism certainly held many of the qualities of insanity. The point, however, was that when a Black took a stand it often took soul shattering events to change their path.

And therein lay the crux of his current dilemma.

What side was Andromeda taking? And how would it affect Harry and, more importantly, the future plans Albus was attempting to bring to fruition?

The Headmaster sighed, shaking his head. All this and he had yet to have his meeting with Severus. He could feel a headache coming on.

Harry watched the woman closely as she cast several privacy charms.

Andromeda Black was older than her sister, but the difference was hardly significant. Her hair was a dirty sort of blond that had different hues in different places, much darker than Narcissa's, and she herself had a stern sort of look about her that reminded Harry was professor McGonagall.

"There," She said as she finished, "That will keep out the riff raff at least, though the Headmaster no doubt is getting a word for word transcription."

"What?" Harry gaped.

"You didn't know?" She asked, a little surprised. "What, with Sirius and your family's notes from school I'd have expected you to know that the classrooms and common areas are all monitored by fairly extensive wards. As best as anyone's been able to tell he doesn't spy on private areas, but you aren't likely to slip much past him in the public areas… well, not if he is looking anyway."

"Oh? He has to be looking?"

"More or less, there isn't much in the way of warding or charms that records information from wards," Andromeda answered as she took a seat across from Harry. "And it would be practically impossible to wade through all the information a ward system gathered anyway, unless you broke it up into smaller pieces, which is something the Founders did NOT do. So, even if you did record all the information, you'd have to filter through the lump sum of the entire ward which, for a castle this size, is a lot of information."

"I see." Harry said, nodding. He wasn't sure he saw it all, but it did make sense to him.

"Now, on to business?"

Harry nodded.

"I was contacted by my Sister, who is in contact with our Cousin, the Lord Black in Exile." Andromeda said calmly. "They are under the impression that you are in need of some help."

Harry groaned, rolling his eyes, "Since when am I not?"

Her lips twitched upward slightly, "Yes well, in this case they are referring to the current situation. Specifically, public relations as it were."

"Public relations? This isn't about magic training?" Harry sighed, not expecting it to be, but he could hope.

"Not really my area, Harry." She smiled softly. "I'm many things, some of them quite nasty, but I've never been either an Auror or a combatant of any kind. No, they're concerned about how this tournament will affect your image."

"I don't care about none of that!" Harry blurted, coming to his feet. "I just want to be left alone!"

"Hardly the attitude of a Regent, or a Knight." She responded acerbically. "This tournament holds risks, and potential rewards. Since you're locked into it, I suggest we make the most of things, shall we?"

"A thousand galleons and a trophy are hardly worth this mess." Harry grumbled.

"I should hope not." She told him flatly. "You're a Potter, and you represent the House of Black. Those pittances are for common folk to see and aspire to, for such as us the rewards are far more valuable."

"Like?"

"I suppose it is too much to ask, but pretend you were a Slytherin for a moment," She sighed, "What potential do you see?"

Harry frowned, not liking the request. He didn't exactly believe that all Slytherins were evil or anything, but he didn't like the mindset that even 'good' Slytherins seemed to hold dear. He sighed, and thought about it.

"I suppose that the spotlight could be turned to advantage."

"That's one. Another?"

Harry frowned, "Well I'm excused from a lot of classes, and my school year is going to be much lighter I guess."

"Too small, Mr. Potter." She chastised him, "think beyond your year."

"You mean to the other champions? They're in other years, I guess," Harry went on, puzzled and not noticing the slight shake of her head. "Cedric seems like a good bloke, but I don't know anything about Fleur. Viktor is pretty important, I guess knowing him could be useful…"

Andromeda blinked, wondering for a moment how he'd taken her instructions entirely incorrectly, and yet arrived at the salient point anyway.

"Well, your thinking is markedly obtuse, however you did reach part of the point I was making," She said finally. "Yes, Viktor Krum may well be an important contact. Especially if you choose to pursue a career in Quidditch or Politics when you graduate. Miss Delacour and Mr. Diggory both have fathers who have strong ties to their respective governments, as another example. Additionally, you will have the chance to interact with the Minister for Magic of Great Britain, France, and Bulgaria. For any normal student, this would be a great chance to petition for a way to fast track their career. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded.

"Now, for yourself, on the other hand… the stakes are much, much more interesting."

Harry frowned, "But… how?"

"As the Boy Who Lived, you already have a certain pull in these circles. As a Champion of the Tri Wizard you will have the chance to increase that pull significantly, on several orders of magnitude beyond what any of the others have." She told him, folding her hands in her lap. "Played properly, you could wield great influence in not one, but potentially three magical governments."

Harry stared at her in shock.

"And THAT is a prize a Potter or the representative of the Blacks, should consider well worth their time."

In the Headmaster's Office, Albus was sitting with Severus Snape for their scheduled meeting. His attention was only partially on the head of Slytherin, however, as he was also listening in to Harry's meeting with Andromeda.

' Blast. ' He curled his lips sourly, ' Did she have to tell him about the wards? '

"Headmaster?"

"What? Oh, I do apologize, Severus. I'm slightly distracted today."

"I could return later, if you prefer."

Albus shook his head, calmly popping a lemon drop into his mouth. "No, no. This is important as well. I noticed earlier today that very few of your house were wearing those… interesting buttons."

"Ah yes," Severus smiled thinly. "Potter stinks. A little more childish than I would prefer, but amusing."

"Yes, yes, Severus." Dumbledore said with a smile, "I'm well aware of your thoughts on the Potter family. However, I was surprised by the lack of buttons in your house."

"As was I." Snape admitted. "I made some inquiries and found that Draco made the unfortunate error of offering a badge to Mr. Harris."

"Indeed?" Albus blinked, "And how would that have such an effect?"

"As much as I despise saying this about my Godson, Harris fills the mold of the Slytherin ideal far better in some ways. He's not remotely a perfect model, the boy is too utterly obtuse to his influence for that, but he does wield a great deal of influence in my house." Snape admitted. "When he rejected the button, most of the house followed his example."

"I see." Dumbledore said, debating the situation.

It wasn't clear cut by any means. Certainly, any influence in Harry's favor was going to hold positive elements. On the other hand, Slytherin moving in unpredictable directions would make it difficult to prepare future plans, and perhaps more ominously, a Slytherin rarely accumulated power without using it to their benefit.

Until the end of the previous year, he hadn't given any further thought to Mr. Harris, despite his help with the Chamber of Secrets in his second year. That was perhaps proving to be a mistake, Dumbledore supposed. While he hadn't paid attention, the young boy had clearly begun to wield influence beyond that of the Pureblood faction that traditionally held sway.

In fact, if what he had seen, and what Severus said was true… it was even possible that Mr. Harris was wielding power beyond that of Tom Riddle during his school days.

And that was a truly frightening thought.

One thing about the whole TriWizard stuff, Xander had to admit, it had taken a lot of the pressure off the school year so far. Only potions and transfigurations were unaffected, which really meant that only Transfigurations was a problem since Potions was basically self-study anyway. Professor Snape's teaching method meant that there wasn't really much to do beyond brew and write up a few feet of parchment on the potion in question.

It made the class predictable and more than a little dull, but also easy at least for a Slytherin.

The rest of the teachers were star struck and more than a little distracted, which meant that classes were easy and homework was light.

That meant that he had time to do his own stuff.

His new spell was a dead end, unfortunately. The Arithmancy involved was interminably long, and had eaten up fully half of one of his notebooks already, without any sign of being complete. Error checking was a nightmare and a half, and he was really sick of math.

So he had moved on to spatial compression charms, chapter thirty three of the Grimoire.

For the moment he was planning the job, since he didn't want to accidentally invert space inside whatever he was expanding. That could be messy from what he was reading. That left him sitting at his normal table in the library, with an explosion of books and papers radiating out from him in all directions, when Wednesday and Hermione arrived.

"Merlin Xander," Hermione breathed, "What happened?"

"Huh?" He looked up, confused.

"I believe that she is referring to the ubiquitous pile of papers, books, and notes?" Wednesday clarified, supposedly, as she sat down.

"Buh?" Xander blinked, more confused.

The girls ignored his plight as Hermione pulled his arithmancy notebook over to herself and glanced through it. She frowned, then began to read closer. "Is this… are you…?"

The bushy haired girl looked up, eyes focusing on Xander as she waited for an answer.

"Guh?"

There was a long silence, before Wednesday finally sighed.

"I believe he is asking what you're asking."

"Oh. Uh," Hermione blushed, "This looks like Spell Crafting notes."

"Oh, yeah." Xander nodded, "Just something I'm tinkering with."

"It's incredibly…" Hermione blinked, flipping through page after page of equations, "Convoluted."

"Tell me about it. I wrote it and I can't bloody well understand it." Xander snorted, "It started out as such a simple concept too."

"What is the concept?" Hermione asked, frowning, "This looks like a Protego spell?"

"You can recognize that just by the numbers?" Xander asked, incredulously.

She blushed, "I'm thinking about going into spell creation after Hogwarts, so I was doing some research."

"Impressive." Wednesday said quietly, glancing at the daunting series of numbers.

"Shyeah." Xander said in agreement. "Cool stuff, Herms."

Hermione ducked her head, hiding her blush by focusing on the numbers. She idly plucked out her quill and made some corrections as she read. "You reversed some of the numbers, Xander."

"Hang on, I know I did it intentionally," He held out his hand to stop her.

"You did? But why? This will change the shape of the shield… You're going to lose coverage."

"Yeah, I know. I was reading about tank design at the end of World War Two when I designed it." Xander explained, " I want to test an angled shield."

"Oh." Hermione looked it over again, then scratched out her corrections. "Sorry. Do you really think that angling the field will make that much of a difference?"

Xander shrugged, "not sure, but that's only half the design, check out page eight."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and flipped through the pages, reading quickly. After a moment she frowned, puzzled, "Xander… these are conjuration equations."

"Right, I know."

"But… Xander, this is going to be a really hard spell to cast." She said.

Xander nodded glumly. "Yeah, I know."

"Compressing this to a workable equation is going to be a challenge," Wednesday said from where she was looking over Hermione's arm. "We'll have to reduce the equations before you can try coupling them to an incantation."

"We?" Xander asked, blinking.

"Of course."

"Cool." He smiled.

Things were looking up.

This entire year was becoming entirely too complicated for Albus' tastes, which even he had to admit meant things were insanely complicated. The Tri Wizard was supposed to be a, relatively simple, tournament. Simple for his abilities, that is.

Now, however, he had young Harry somehow entered into a binding contract to compete, which was entirely outside his planning. That said, enemy action always was. He'd been expecting a move soon, but had hoped that he would be able to counter it appropriately. Instead, he found himself in the position of not only being unable to counter anything, but in fact he didn't even understand the nature of the move itself.

Why enter Harry in the tournament?

If the plot was to kill the poor boy there were far easier methods.

Albus sighed, shaking his head slowly. He didn't know far too many things about the current situation.

For example, he didn't know… or at least he didn't understand the involvement of Andromeda Tonks. Not entirely, at least. Certainly, it was clear that Sirius was concerned about his Godson, and given what he knew about the man Albus was inclined to allow the indirect contact. Andromeda's insistence that Harry represented House Black, however, was a disturbing revelation.

He was certain that she meant it as a mere abstract, given that Sirius was considered the Lord Black and Harry was his Godson, though few people in Britain realized it. Should Sirius think to make it official, well that was a worrisome possibility. Thankfully, Sirius was far to distanced from his family name to think of that.

Albus did curse Fudge to a degree, if only because with Sirius out of Britain he was effectively out of control. Albus could call on his position in the ICW to reign the man in, but that was a dangerous tool to use, for using it too much made its power evident to all.

And now, of all things, he had this new worry within Slytherin to deal with.

On the surface it seemed a minor thing, indeed in fact it was a minor item to be honest. The problem was that it was a minor pebble in a sandal that Albus himself had chosen to wear quite some time ago and it was now raising a rather annoying blister on his proverbial foot.

Slytherin was a house that needed careful handling, its deep connections with the powerful pureblood faction of the Wizarding World made it a potential crisis point that simply HAD to be watched. Unpredictable actions within the house made for a great deal of potential trouble.

The Harris boy was throwing a great deal of calculations to the wind, much to Albus' chagrin, by simply doing what he apparently felt was right instead of what was easy. According to Severus, the boy appeared entirely ignorant of his influence within the house, which was almost unbelievable to Albus.

He was then left with two possibilities, first Severus was right and the boy was some foolish child who didn't know what he was accomplishing or, and this was something that frightened him greatly, the boy knew what he was doing and had fooled the likes of Severus Snape, a man long acquainted with the underhanded trappings of power hungry individuals.

Both were difficult to believe, but the second was entirely too fearsome a prospect to ignore.

With a sigh of a man who had too much already on his shoulders Albus resolved to watch Harris more closely.

Andromeda Tonks smiled to herself as she left the school.

The boy wasn't a complete idiot, though he was almost entirely ignorant. From what Cissy told her, and she was able to gather on her own, that was far from his fault. Being raised by those muggles would have left the best person woefully unprepared for the life of a pureblood regent, but from what she could tell he wasn't a hopeless cause.

There was a functioning mind in there, no matter how much the boy tried to hide it, so she was encouraged.

With Sirius free of that horrible prison and, more importantly, innocent of the charges he'd been accused the family had a head again. The boy was a clumsy choice for a regent, but he had time. Three years, to be precise. Three years to become proficient at a game most people learned from the moment they could sit at their parent's knee.

Andromeda Tonks nee Black smiled to herself.

She did so love a challenge.