Disclaimer is in chapter 1.

Harry was only mildly surprised to find the Room occupied when he let himself in that night for training. He watched as Xander went through his own training regimen, noting that he had added some pretty extreme motions to it all.

"Ouch," He muttered, shaking his head when one of those same motions turned into a sprawl that left Xander skidding across the floor. "That had to hurt."

Xander groaned from the ground, rolling over to his back. "You have no idea."

Harry walked over and looked down, "Do I even want to know what you were doing there?"

"Probably not."

Harry extended and hand and Xander accepted, so he pulled him to his feet. Xander brushed himself off and retrieved his wand from where he'd dropped it before turning back. "You have a good holiday man?"

Harry shrugged, "Wasn't horrible. Got some work done, had some fun."

"Cool. Got something for you," Xander said, glancing around until he found what he was looking. He fetched a book from the corner of the room, "Guessed you'd be by tonight."

Harry snorted, "You mean you've been spying on me with your map, right?"

Xander shrugged, tossing the book across the room to Harry. "Same diff."

Harry caught it easily, rolling his eyes. "Right. A book? You get me and Mione mixed up?"

"Check it out."

Harry did, and his eyebrows went up. "Broomstick charms? You can make your own?"

"Someone has to make the things, right? Figured you might like to tinker." Xander shrugged.

"Thanks." Harry nodded slowly, "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Xander told him, nodding to where Harry's wand was holstered. "Up for a spar?"

Harry grinned, "You bet."

They both pulled their wands, grinning wide.

The day of the second task came shortly after school started to swing back into, a grey skied morning that chilled Xander to the bone as he shuffled out with everyone else to the new stands setup by the lake.

"Whose stupid idea is this anyway?" He grumbled, casting a warming charm on himself as he took a seat beside Wednesday.

"I assume the same fools who organized the first challenge." Wednesday replied.

Xander did an exaggerated double take, "Wait, are you talking to me again?"

She glared at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Ooh, a glare too." He sighed happily, "It's almost like we're friends again."

She glared more openly at him, but he didn't look away. Finally, for the first time since he met her, Wednesday was the one who backed off first. She looked away, focusing back on the lake, and pointedly didn't look back at him.

"We're still friends, Alexander."

"You ignored me all Christmas, Wens." Xander said quietly, "You won't tell me why, which I can respect, really. But I think you've taken the whole thing too far."

"It is important to me, Alexander." She said, staring straight ahead. "I don't expect you to understand."

He laughed humorlessly, "I get important, Wens. You know what I find important? Willow. Herms. You."

She was silent as they watched the Champions gather by the edge of the lake, getting the last minute low down from the organizers.

Finally she spoke up, "You're important too, Alexander. I just…"

"Consider this a priority." He offered up.

She nodded slowly.

"I get that. Look, I'm not asking you to give up whatever it is, I'm not asking you to pick between me and whatever is it. Just don't cut me out," He softly pleaded, "You and Herms are the only two people keeping me from going nuts out here."

She smiled slightly, looking back at him for the first time. "I wish I could say we had done a better job."

Xander looked at her, then laughed.

"Alright," He said finally, "Friends?"

She nodded, "Friends."

"And you'll ask me for help if you need it?" He pressed, looking at her pointedly.

Wednesday sighed, then nodded. "Very well."

"Excellent. Back in the library this afternoon?"

"Of course."

"Cool."

They sat in silence again, listening as the rules for the challenge were announced, and then watched as the champions were set off into the lake. Xander stared after the last one had gone in, waited several minutes, and then blinked.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" He muttered. "Is this it?"

He and the rest of the crowd stared at the ripples in the water as more and more time went by.

"Oh this is just idiotic." Xander complained again after ten minutes, "Are we actually sitting here and staring at an empty lake?"

"Apparently so."

"Worst. Spectator Sport. Ever." Xander muttered in annoyance.

The rest of the afternoon was exactly the same, leaving Xander to shift and fidget in place as he got more and more bored.

When the first person finally broke the surface again Xander almost jumped out of his seat, leaning forward to see. He blinked in surprise and sat back with a frown when it turned out to be Fleur, without her hostage.

"Wonder what the story is there?" He asked rhetorically.

"She does look somewhat bedraggled." Wednesday added.

Xander nodded, then they both settled back to wait.

After another interminably long wait they saw Cedric appear, with Cho Chang in tow, and then Viktor followed quickly. Xander's eyes widened in shock when he helped Hermione out of the water.

"What the fuck was she doing down there?" He cursed, leaning forward.

"He was her escort to the Ball." Wednesday answered.

"One date and she's his most valuable treasure?" Xander muttered, "If he works that fast I'm getting me a pair of gloves this time."

Wednesday slapped his shoulder, "Grow up. She hardly needs you acting like some brain dead oaf shadowing her every step."

"Hey, I'm just saying, doesn't this seem a little fast for you?"

Wednesday shrugged, "Apparently they simply chose their dates as hostages."

Xander nodded, then leaned forward again as there was more motion at the lake. A blond girl surfaced, followed by Harry and Ron.

Xander blinked. "Uh… Is Harry cheating on Parvati with the blond girl? She seems a little young."

Fleur ran over, grabbing the girl in a hug.

Xander looked at Wednesday, who looked back.

"Gee… You think Harry is hiding something from us?" Xander asked with a halfway grin. "Some deep dark secret, maybe? You know, stashed WAY in the back of his closet?"

She rolled her eyes in response, standing up. "Now that this farce is complete, I have some work to do."

Xander nodded, "Yeah I guess. I've got some things to do as well."

"Leave Hermione alone."

"No problem."

"Leave Viktor alone as well." She growled, "I have no time to deal with the drama you'd stir up."

"I'm not gonna bother Viktor either, unless he steps out of line."

"Do I want to know?"

"Are you kidding?" Xander smirked, "I have GOT to mess with Harry. It's practically a duty."

Wednesday glanced at him, then shrugged, "Whatever."

"Leave me alone! I am not a pouf!" Harry snapped.

"Hey, just cause you and Ron have a special relationship is nothing to be ashamed of." Xander smirked.

"Stop saying that!"

"What am I supposed to think? Even Fleur had a girl to rescue," Xander smirked.

"She's her sister!"

"That does seem a little close, even for purebloods," Xander admitted, then shrugged, "Hey but who am I to judge? So she likes blonds, you like redheads… nothing wrong with that."

Harry drew his wand, waving it threateningly, "I'm warning you, cut that crap out!"

"It does explain why you're so good with the swish and flick motion in charms…" Xander went on thoughtfully.

"Oh that's it! Tarantegella!" Harry snapped, slashing his wand out at Xander.

Xander hit the floor, rolling and laughing as he drew his own wand and snapped back a stunner in response. Harry dodged to the left, casting a chain of stunners in response.

Xander had to scramble, getting to his feet and barely staying one step ahead of the blasts as he ran across the room. He planted his foot on the wall, and cat walked along the surface before crossing the corner and kicking off.

It would have been cool as hell if he hadn't slipped in the process and went down in a sprawl that had him seeing stars just before a stunner put him out.

A few minutes later he woke up to Harry standing over him, glaring down at him. "You better be done."

Xander groaned, sitting up. "Depends. You didn't, you know, molest me while I was out, right?"

Harry slugged him.

Xander rubbed his jaw as he sat down against the wall, tossing a bottle of water to Harry as he sat down beside him.

"Nice right cross." Xander chuckled.

"You're a git, you know that, right?"

"Harry, if you think I'm bad just think of what Malfoy will do if this occurs to him."

Harry groaned, "Oh bloody hell. You're not going to set him on me are you?"

"Not me, man." Xander smirked, "but if I were him I couldn't help but play this one up."

The Boy Who Lived sighed, slumping against the wall. "Every damn year things get worse and worse. I'd have been better off with the Dursleys."

"That's saying something I guess." Xander winced, "Look, you know this tri wiz crap is going to get worse, right?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah. I know, but what can I do about it?"

"For starters, take this." Xander said, handing over his carbon black wand.

Harry stared at it, confused, "Your wand? Why?"

"My left hand." Xander said with a smile. "It's made from parts of the Basilisk, pretty crappy for charms and stuff, but it kicks all kinds of ass with curses."

Harry accepted it hesitantly, "But it's yours? I mean, it didn't choose me…"

"You don't pay attention to much do you?" Xander asked wryly. "Relax, this is one of mine, not Ollivander's. He makes better wands, but mine have some advantages. They don't conflict with your chosen wand, so you can use both at the same time. You're already fighting me to a dead heat with one hand, even with me reading your mind…"

"You're what!?"

"I told you I've been cheating my arse off, dude." Xander laughed. "You don't have much in the way of shields, so you broadcast every move when you're in the zone. Just a tip, Occlumency dude. You don't want to tangle with someone who can do what I do in a real fight."

Harry looked down at the wand in his hand, then shook his head. "How do you do all this?"

"What?"

"You make wands, read minds, hell you made your own Marauder's map! How do you do all that?" Harry asked, exasperated.

Xander sat quietly for a long moment, then finally shrugged, "How do you NOT?"

"What?"

"Harry, Your mom helped write the Grimoire. Your dad, he helped design and craft the map AND became an Animagus by fourth year. Hell, Lord Mold in his Shorts crafted that damned diary of his sometime before sixth year best we can tell." Xander said, waving his hand idly. "Hell, the twins have invented more crap than all those people put together, some of it pretty brill. Me? I barely rank by those standards, mate. I know you're smarter than me, I've seen your grades in the classes you actually try in."

"Hey! I try!"

"You signed up for Divination, dude." Xander rolled his eyes, "How's that working for you?"

Harry looked down.

"Yeah. Case and rest, mate." Xander shrugged, "My point is that… Damn it, Harry, it's Magic! It's not like you're being asked to do Algebra, dude! This stuff is like my every childhood dream come true! You ask me how I can do all this, I ask you… how can you NOT?"

Harry was silent for a long time, shaking his head. He finally mumbled something Xander couldn't quite hear, prompting him to look over questioningly.

"What was that?"

"I said how am I supposed to do anything?" Harry complained, his voice bitter. "I'm stuck with the Dursleys most of the summer, and every year some bloody arsehole tries to kill me!"

Harry pushed himself up, eyes blazing as he paced the room. "You know what, I'd LOVE to spend my summers doing whatever it is you do, but I don't get to do that! My life sucks so hard it blows, alright?"

Xander held up his hands in defense, "Hey, you asked man. But be honest, Harry, that's not the whole story either."

"I don't know what you're yacking about."

"Harry, you barely try at… ANYTHING. You get top marks in Defense and Transfiguration, right? But Hermione bitches all the time about how she has to fight you and Ron to get you to do your homework." Xander said, "Hell, you're somehow passing Potions, which is a miracle worthy of a bloody saint… yet again, Hermione says you barely do your homework. The rest of us? We brew all the bloody time, either for fun or for work, but we brew."

"What are you getting at?" Harry growled.

"I'm saying that you're bloody smart, Harry. Maybe Hermione smart, maybe not, but you're up there." Xander growled in return, "If you weren't, you'd be flunking out of damn near every class. So what I'm getting at goes back to the original question… You ask how I can do all this, and I ask how can you NOT?"

"I already answered that." Harry growled defensively.

"No, not completely. You have some things messing with you for sure," Xander said, "But you could still do more if you even bothered to half try. You think I'm pulling off great stuff or something, but Harry, you don't even bother to try for yourself. Hell, unless someone literally has a wand to your head you don't bother to exert yourself for anything."

Harry was silent, turning away from him.

"I don't know why, I don't really care to be honest." Xander shrugged, "We're mates, but not close enough for me to worry about why you do what you do. I'm just going to point it out to you, what you do about it is your business, Harry."

"You think you're so damn smart. Have everything figured out, don't you?"

"Me? I'm a dunce." Xander shrugged, "I just happen to be creative, and enjoy hanging out with girls who are WAY smarter than I am. But you know what? I know a thing or two about slacking off. Until I came here, I never took anything seriously. My best bud, his name is Jessie… he and I were dedicated underachievers together, and our best gal pal… Willow, she was our budding genius who kept us from being total losers. My Hermione, you could say. Maybe my Ron too."

Xander got up, wincing as he felt the bruises he'd earned sparring with Harry flare slightly. "Then I came to Hogwarts and everything changed for me."

"Well bully for you."

"Yeah, it is." Xander smiled, "I'm liking my life right now. Things are going my way, first time ever. But you know what? That didn't start to happen until the first thing went right in my life… and that was MAGIC, Harry."

Xander paused, then shook his head, "No. You know what, Willow was the first thing that went right in my life. Best bud, period. But it was magic that made me want to push myself FOR myself. I guess I just can't understand how come you don't love magic the same way… it's… it's inconceivable to me."

"I DO love magic, it's just…" Harry shook his head, "Damn it, I don't know."

Xander sighed, "I suggest you work that out, but you know in the meantime, you have bigger problems, right?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah. The Tri Wiz."

Xander snorted, "Not that joke. Whoever put you IN the tri wiz. Look, Harry, let's be real ok? In the tournament you're probably safer than ever. It's designed by people who don't really want you dead… whoever put your name in, though? I don't think we can say the same."

Harry slumped, "Yeah. I know."

"Alright then, we have some work to do." Xander nodded to the second wand in Harry's hand, "Since you actually killed the snake that gave that puppy its core, it's yours. Best wand I made yet, for curses anyway. Use it as a Main Gauche, your Ollivander wand is your main tool… but this one gives you a sneaky little edge to slide into someone's ribs when they're not expecting it."

"I don't want to kill anyone!"

"Yeah, well, dude… other people can't say the same about you." Xander replied, "So I guess the question is… you feel like going quietly into the cold dark night?"

Harry sighed, then shook his head.

"Alright. Let's go back to basics… left handed wand motions," Xander suggested, "I find it's better if you don't even TRY charms or transfigurations, too complicated… unless you're lucky enough to be ambidextrous?"

"No."

"Alright, curses then. Lucky for both of us, those mostly use straight slashing motions." Xander said, "Now it took me a few weeks to get it down, but I suspect you'll be faster."

Harry nodded, hefting the unfamiliar wand in his left hand with uncertain motions. It felt different from his wand, lighter but with less flexibility. He lined up on the target range they used in the Room and snapped a curse out.

His aim was atrocious, but Harry almost jumped out of his skin when the stinging hex practically incinerated the target.

"Bloody Hell!"

"Yeah, I blew up a car my first time." Xander said, "Literally. Blew it up. Then over. Then back down again. I think Sirius pissed his pants."

Harry snorted, looking over at him, "You can't be serious."

"No, I'm not. Do I look like someone who'd piss their pants?"

Harry tried for a moment to respond to that, but gave up quickly. There were some things he just didn't want to delve into, and this was certainly one of them.

"Alright, let's do that again. Work on your aim, ok?"

"Right." Harry nodded, setting his jaw.

If nothing else, Xander's wand would give him an advantage over someone who was expecting him to, you know, obey the known rules of the wizarding world and all.

Xander was right about another thing too.

He had been slacking since he got to Hogwarts. Technically he'd known that for a long time, but Xander had just put something into perspective for him.

At the Dursleys, Harry had worked like a slave. There was no doubt there, but he'd been working for someone else's edification. He'd never done anything for himself, or even for his friends, without a wand to his head.

He hadn't thought about why until just then either.

His whole life had been someone telling him what to do, what not to do. Punishing him for breaking nonexistent rules. When that stopped, Harry realized that he'd become more than a little lost in the hedonistic pleasure of just not doing ANYTHING if he could help it. He wasn't afraid of hard work, but he'd never really realized consciously that most people were rewarded for hard work.

To him it was just something he had to do while someone else slacked off their responsibilities.

Xander, though, Xander was showing him the flip side of that. He was working hard, but Harry could SEE how he was being rewarded for it. Both in money and accomplishment.

All his life, Harry just wanted to not be noticed.

Not be noticed by Dudley, by Vernon, by Petunia. Not be noticed by his teachers, for fear that they'd tell his 'family'. He hadn't had any of the dreams growing up that Xander talked about, the super hero fantasies… he only knew about superheroes because Dudley left his comics scattered all over the house.

It had taken him almost four years to realize it, but Harry finally did realize something important.

He wasn't living under their thumb any longer.

He could work for himself. For his friends.

And maybe one day, just maybe, he could work for his family.

Maybe that was more important than not being noticed.