I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC

Hello guys, Badger here. Back with a new chapter. I hope everyone is well today. I know I am happy today. All my artwork and prep work for my project this year is done, so I can now fully focus on other things so expect more frequent updates. I can only hope that I get the grades needed to get into Uni. Wish me luck.

Anyway, It is nice to see people enjoyed the previous chapter. At least I hope they did. It's not easy to tell on this site. Anyway, the chapter I have for you today is quite long, because there is quite a lot that happens, but I think You will enjoy what is about to happen. But no peaking, you have to read the whole thing. No skipping to the ending. That is all for now, read on and I will see you at the end.

Chapter 54

The Third Task and a horrible surprise

Harry and James were led by Professor Snape, as they made their way to a private room. As part of the guidelines of the Tournament, there is a day where the Champions are allowed to see and speak to their families before the Third, and final task. After the Second Task was over, Harry and James were tied for second place, with Krum taking the first spot, with Cedric in third and Fleur in fourth. A Daily Prophet article had released, explaining everything that had happened. Harry rubbed his scar, as he felt it prickle slightly, like it was burning. This had been happening over the past couple of weeks. He wasn't sure what it was, or why it was happening. He hadn't said anything about it to Sirius or James. Not only did he not want to worry them, but it also wasn't causing him any harm, it just annoyed him slightly. Professor Snape opened the door to the private room, where the other champions were already talking to their families. Sirius and Remus were waiting and surprisingly, so were Abigail and Marty.

"Harry" Sirius smiled, wrapping Harry into a hug "How are you?"

"I'm feeling good Sirius" Harry smiled back

"Good" Sirius replied, before slapping Harry on the back of his head, a serious look on his face "What were you thinking…whilst its noble of you to save someone, it was stupid of you to do so, without at least using a spare Gillyweed…if it wasn't for James, you would have drowned!"

"Sirius, whilst I agree with you, you don't need to slap the boy" Remus spoke up "I'm sure Harry knows to not be so reckless next time, right Harry?"

"Yes" Harry nodded "I already had a small lecture from James about it"

Sirius seemed to be happy for now and wrapped Harry into another hug, with Remus joining in.

"So, Harry, tell me about you and Susan" Sirius smiled, enjoying the reddening face of the his godson.

Whilst Harry spoke with Sirius and Remus, James was wrapped into a hug by Abigail and Marty. As he hadn't seen them since he left, Abigail was in a tearful state.

"How are you lad?" Marty asked

"I've been good Marty" James smiled "Staying alive as best as a can"

"I must admit, I'm not really surprised you chose to stay in the Tournament, when you were given the chance to leave" Marty said "How is it going?"

"Currently tied in second with Harry" James replied "I've been giving them hell…well…as best as I can"

"That's my boy" Marty grinned

"Honestly you two" Abigail rolled her eyes, though a smile was on her face "I'm just glad you are okay"

"I'll always be okay" James smiled, giving Abigail another hug

"Excuse me, Mr Badger?" A voice asked

James turned to see a thin man with long blonde hair and dressed in bright robes and clothing. The man had an eccentric look to him.

"May I talk to you?" The man asked

"Umm…of course" James nodded

The man led James to a small corner of the room, away from the others. The look he was giving James, slightly intimidated the young champion.

"I should probably introduce myself" The man said "I am Xenophilius Lovegood…I believe that you are currently dating my daughter"

James shifted nervously, as he stood a little straighter. He wasn't prepared to meet Luna's father just yet.

"She has spoken a lot about you over the last couple of years" Xenophilius continued, his expression softening "every letter she sent, mentioned you at least once or twice…I guess its no surprise that she would fall for you…just promise me that you will take care of her, my Luna is all I have left in the world"

"Believe me sir" James spoke, hoping the man in front of him didn't notice the shakiness in his voice "I will do anything I can to look after her…and keep her safe"

Xenophilius smiled at the boy in front of him, before they engaged in a short conversation, where James introduced him to Abigail and Marty, who he got along well with. It would be about an hour later, when the Champions had to leave, where Xenophilius shook the boys hand.

It was the day of the Final Task. Everyone was excited. Everyone wanted to know who the winner was going to be. Everyone was sat in the Quidditch Pitch, which had been modified into a giant maze, where the bushes loomed over the crowd. Sirius and Remus were sat in the crowd, to support Harry and James. Nearby, Cornelius Fudge sat, with his new undersecretary Delores Umbridge which Fudge didn't look happy about. He had an small group of aurors with him. Seeing as this was the first Triwizard Tournament in a few hundred years, Fudge wanted to be there to witness the Champion that will be named the winner. After a few moments, Dumbledore spoke up, his voice ringing.

"Earlier today, the Triwizard Cup was placed deep into the maze" He said "Only the judges know its exact location…the first person to be touch the cup will activate a portkey, which will bring them back here and be named the Triwizard Champion"

The crowd cheered louder. What Dumbledore didn't want to tell them, was that the cup was checked several times to make sure the cup hadn't been tampered. People had only just started to relax with everything involving Barty Crouch Jr. He didn't want to cause more fear.

"As Mr Krum came first in the Second Task, he will be the first to enter the maze" Dumbledore continued "There will be a 30 second gap, once it ends, Mr Potter and Mr Badger will enter the maze next, as they tied second…then it will be Mr Diggory and finally Miss Delacour…champions, be warned, you will not find dragons or creatures of the deep in the maze…you will things more challenging…people change in the maze…find the cup if you can, but be weary, if you get lost, its possible you can lose yourself…staff have been instructed to patrol around the perimeter, should you wish to withdraw, send up three red sparks into the air with your wand...the closest member of staff will come for you and bring you back here…take your places and good luck"

As the other champions were taking their places in front of one of the five entry points into the maze, James took a moment to talk to Harry.

"Remember the plan?" He asked

"'As soon as we enter the maze, use a point-me spell to find each other, we are going to win and we are going to win together'" Harry replied, repeating the exact words James had told him the night before

James smiled, patting him on the shoulder, before taking his spot in front of the middle entrance way. The cannon goes off, signalling for Krum to enter, who runs inside, the entrance closing behind him, the Viewing Pensieve projecting an image of Krum for all to see, whilst the others wait to enter. It feels like an eternity before the cannon fires again, where Harry and James run in. Harry stops for a moment, to watch the entrance close up, before he looks down the maze. The large hedge walls loomed over him, casting dark shadows, a small whistle of breeze flowing in the air, with a mist so thick he could choke on it. Shrugging off the eerie feeling the maze gave him, Harry flicked his wand out the holster and cast the Point-Me charm and made the first right turn, following where his wand was taking him. It felt like the maze itself was shifting and moving as he ran through the passage ways, but eventually, he ran into James, quite literally, as he went around another corner.

"Thank fuck for that" James sighed "Felt like I was going to spend forever finding you…feels like the maze is shifting"

"I felt that too" Harry nodded "They could have told us that beforehand"

"They wouldn't want to spoil the surprise I reckon" James replied "Let's go, the others may have a head start on us by now"

Harry nodded, before the two made their way through the maze together, at a quick pace. All around them they heard noises of wood creaking, leaves rustling and sounds of all kinds of creatures, making them wonder what they would come across around every corner. The continuous stretch of passageways, that looked exactly the same, made the two youngest champions feel like they were looping back from where they came. Eventually they turned a corner where two Acromantula jumped out at them. James was quick enough to send a cutting curse, severing the giant spider in half. Harry wasn't as quick and was tackled to the ground. Thankfully, a quick blasting curse to the Acromantula's belly, resulted in its back exploding chunks of flesh, blood and venom over the ground, killing the giant spider, before it could do anything. The two didn't stop as they continued onwards, the thickness of the mist, causing Harry to use an air clearing charm James had taught him, so they can breathe easier.

The two stopped in their tracks however, when they felt the ground shake beneath them. They shared a look, neither wanting to take a step further. The ground continued to rumble, before vines broke free from the ground.

"Quick!" James exclaimed, pushing Harry forward "Run!"

Harry wasted no time in running, James behind, hot on his heels. Vines continued to burst from the ground as they ran, each one trying to grab them. As they were running, one vine was able to grab Harry's leg as they ran, resulting in him tripping over and falling to the ground. James immediatley stopped and helped him up. James tried to pull Harry free from the vine, but it wasn't letting go and was slowly moving further up Harry's leg. James had an idea, but it was risky. Taking a breath, James pointed his wand at the vine and fired a cutting curse. Thankfully, the curse missed Harry's leg and hit the stem of the vine, freeing Harry, which caused the two to stumble backwards and fall to the ground, into a small clearing, where the entrance closed behind them. Their vision was blurred by a blue haze, but as it cleared, they saw the Triwizard Cup in front of them, demanding to be picked up.

"Holy shit" Harry muttered "More impressive up close

"Indeed" James nodded "Okay, on the count of three, we both grab it at the same time, ready?"

"Ready"

"Okay, 1, 2…3!"

Both of them grabbed one of the handles of the cup and felt the same feeling they had before, when Sirius took them to the Quidditch World Cup. After a moment the two fell onto the ground with a dull thud, the Cup bouncing a few feet away. Harry groaned as he slowly made his way back up, to see they weren't back at the Quidditch Pitch. They seemed to be in some grave yard. Graves and Tombstones surrounded them and a large cauldron was laying a few feet in front of them, with some clear liquid bubbling.

"Fucking hell" James said "We weren't gone for that long were we?"

Harry didn't respond. He looked around the area. He wasn't sure where they were and he had a chill going up his spine. However, one tombstone caught his attention. The tombstone was shaped as a cloaked skeleton with large angel wings and a scythe in its hand. It was the largest grave in the tombstone, practically towering over everything around them. The name written on the grave however, caused his heart to leap into his throat. TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.

"James, get to the cup, we need to get out of here, NOW!" Harry said,

James nodded. He didn't ask any questions, the look on Harry's face was more than enough for him. However, before they could do anything they were wrapped in ropes from an unseen person, where Harry was held up against Riddle's gravestone. They struggled against the ropes but stopped, when two people stepped from the shadows. It was Barty Crouch Jr and the hooded man from the Quidditch World Cup. Barty held a bundle in his hand, which had a pale, sickly baby-like creature inside. The very sight of the bundle, caused Harry's scar to burn.

"Hello Potter, Badger" Barty smiled "Very nice of you to drop by to visit us"

"Stop wasting time Barty!" The creature rasped "Complete the ritual"

Barty smiled, as he approached the cauldron, whilst the hooded man kept his wand pointed at the two youngest champions. Barty lifted the bundle and dropped the creature into the cauldron. Immediatley, the liquid changed to a sickly white as began to bubble more aggressively. Barty throws the bundle to one side and removed his wand and levitated a bone out of Riddles tombstone.

"Bones of the father, unwillingly given" He said "You will bring back your son"

He drops the bone into the cauldron, where the liquid began to steam. Whilst he was doing this, James and Harry tried to remove their restraints, but stopped as the cloaked man made the ropes tighten. Barty took no notice, as he removed a knife and held it to his wrist but hesitated.

"Do it!" The cloaked man hissed

"Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed" Barty spoke slowly "A sacrifice to bring back your master"

With a quick slash, Barty cut his hand clean off the arm, with a cry of pain. Harry, himself, winced, at the sickening crunch, before the hand went into the cauldron, where the milky white of the liquid tinged a light crimson. Holding his stump close to his chest, Barty approached Harry, knife out ready, wincing, as drops of blood ran down his coat.

"Stay away from him!" James yelled, struggling against his restraints

"Quiet boy, speak when spoken too" The cloaked man snarled, his voice sounding familiar to James

Barty ignored James, as he used the knife to cut Harrys sleeve, and placed the blade against his skin. Harry winced and cried in pain, as the knife drew blood, digging a deep cut into his arm.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken" He said "You shall resurrect your foe!"

Barty carried the knife back to the cauldron and let three drops of blood fall into the liquid, which changed to a dark red colour. Harry felt like his scar was about to split, as the cauldron burst into flames. The liquid hovered in the air, slowly morphing and taking shape. Harry and James watched as the liquid took shape of a hideously skinny figure with milky white skin, which looked like it was just skin and bone with nothing in between. Black wisps of smoke surrounded the figure, which turned into robes, as its feet touched the ground. Its face was thin and sunken like that of a skull. It had no nose, save for small slits on a flat surface. Its lips were thin and almost non-existent. Then, there was its eyes, which were a dark crimson with slit pupils like that of a snake. Harry and James paled as they saw the man in front of them, whilst Barty smirked. It didn't take a genius to know who he was. Voldemort himself.

"Barty, my wand if you please" He spoke, his voice silky and cold

Barty bowed, as he removed another wand from his coat and handed it to Voldemort, who took it, a smile on his face, as he felt the bond.

"Hold out your arm"

Barty said nothing as he held out his left arm, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark which was faded and still. Voldemort placed the tip of his wand, which caused Barty to wince, as the Dark Mark ripple on his skin, turning a jet black and began moving on his arm. Clouds formed in the sky, as several masked individuals appeared in the graveyard with a pop and crack of black smoke. A small smile made its way onto Voldemort's face, though it looked anything but kind.

"Welcome my friends, it is good to see you again" He said "Thirteen years it has been, since I stood in your presence and it feels like only yesterday…though I must confess myself disappointed…not one of you tried finding me, besides Barty and our new friend here…which I think deserves a reward"

Voldemort waved his wand, where a silver hand appeared on Bartys stump.

"Thank you, my lord" Barty whispered, gratefully, as he flexed his fingers, getting used to the feeling

"My lord" One of the Death Eaters spoke up, the blonde hair telling Harry and James it was Lucius Malfoy "Had I detected or heard about your presence, I would have come looking for you, I never renounced the old ways, I…"

"Enough Lucius" Voldemort interrupted, the cold tone in his voice sending shives down many "You will be able to prove your loyalty to me in time…for now, we should probably introduce our guests, Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived and his friend, James Badger"

"Voldemort" Harry replied, his voice firm, yet he was nervous inside "Nice to see you here"

"The feeling is mutual Harry" Voldemort said "I must admit, I am glad to see you did as well as I hoped you would"

"You do know we are being watched right?" Harry asked "People are most likely seeing this through a Viewing Pensieve"

"I am aware, who do you think gave them the Pensieve in the first place?" Voldemort smirked "Not only will it cause fear in the Wizarding World, but they will bear witness to the death of their saviour"

"Umm, I don't wish to interrupt but I am curious" James spoke up "I can understand why Harry is here, but why go through the trouble to make sure I was brought here?"

"Well you have our new friend to thank for that" Voldemort spoke, turning to the cloaked man "Why don't you show Badger who you are"

Harry and James watched as the cloaked man reached for their hood, not noticing the smirk on Voldemort's face. The cloaked man pulled their hood down, where James felt his blood froze when he saw who it was.

"Uncle Michael?"

Oh. My. God. WHAT?

I don't think any of you expected that. This has been a cliff-hanger I have waited so long to post. James' uncle has been mentioned a couple of times, once near the very start of the fanfic and once during the Wand Ceremony. But why is his Uncle a Death Eater? What will this mean for James' future in the story? I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Side-note: Sorry to whoever it was, who thought the cloaked man was James' sister, you were way off with that theory.

Before any of you say anything, there will be a perspective of the audience at the start of the next chapter, otherwise it would be a bit weird to not see them do anything, as they see this going on. Barty Crouch Jr has also returned. As I said, he will be a minor antagonist in the story, though I am unsure how long he will be here for. Though this is good news for Cedric fans: He is free from the chopping block. You can breathe easier, Cedric was a character I couldn't bring to kill. I always wanted him to be around for a lot longer. Though, there are other characters who I am still on the fence with.

That is all for now. I'm sure you are all wondering what is going to happen next. Well, you'll just have to wait for a few days won't you. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time.

Badger out