Chapter 18

Author's note: There are several sections of conversations that I took directly from Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Those sections are the sections pertaining to Hagrid showing Harry and Madame Maxime the Dragons, and when right before the first task when the champions are in the tent. I wanted to give credit where credit is due and the credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! Please read and review and if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all.

Albus, Remus, Severus, Minerva, Mad-eye, Madame Maxime, Igor Karkaroff, and Harry all went to Dumbledore's office. Once everyone was in there, Igor ran towards Harry and started yelling at him. Harry backed up and Remus pushed past Igor and said,

"Harry how did you get your name into the Goblet of Fire? Did you get one of the older students to do it for you?" Harry shook his head no and said,

"I didn't do it. I don't know how my name got in there. I don't even want to participate. I am only 14 and even if I was 17 I still wouldn't want to do this." Igor made a sound and said,

"The boy is lying. He is not even looking you in the face. That is proof right there that someone is lying." Remus turned and looked at Igor and said,

"He doesn't look people in the eye he never has. I believe my son. Albus can we please get him out of this; He is way too young to have to be doing this." Albus looked at the group and said,

"Unfortunately Harry is required to participate. I wish it was different but the goblet has a legally binding contract that states if a person's name is produced by the goblet that he/she must participate. I wish I could get you out Harry but my hands are tied. I care about you Harry I really do. I just can't fix this." Remus, Severus, and Minerva all looked at each other in shock at what Albus just said. Then Minerva said,

"Harry if you would please wait right outside the office, Igor & Madame Maxime, would you give us a few minutes please." The three of them left the office leaving Albus, Severus, Minerva, and Remus alone. Minerva pulled out her wand and cast 'Silencio' on the office then turned to Albus and said, "Okay start talking what do you mean you care about Harry. Since when in the last 14 years have you given a rats ass about that boy?" Albus looked puzzled and said,

"I do care about the boy. I have cared for him since he was a baby. He is almost like a son to me. Why what do you guys know that I don't?" Minerva grabbed a piece of parchment paper and a quill and said,

"I want you to sign your name like you are signing a legal document." Albus took the paper and signed his name. Minerva showed it to the others and then said, " Someone has been impersonating you. They have made Harry's life a living hell. 'You' told Poppy not to heal Harry only to make sure he wouldn't die. I had to tell her it was okay to heal him." Remus chimed in next,

" Your impersonator also made several death threats towards Harry." Severus spoke up next,

"The imposter also made Harry's uncle use him as a human punching bag. You also had us change our curriculum to teach more along the lines of teaching the dark arts." Albus sank into his chair and then said,

" I had no idea this was going on. It makes sense why my lemon drops tasted bad. I tossed them and got a new jar. It would also explain the random cup of tea that would appear on my desk. I would drink the tea and then go to sleep. It felt like I slept for weeks at a time. I wake up in my bed with no memory of how I got there or what had happened. I also have weeks that I can't account for in my memories." Minerva then said,

"Well I would recommend not drinking any random cups of tea that appear on your desk."

"There hasn't been one yet this year so far."

"Well that's good!" Severus said.

"Just be careful please Albus we don't need anything happening to you." Minerva added. With that Severus, Remus and Minerva left the office. Harry stood up as the adults left the office. He looked at them and Remus put his arms out towards his cub. Harry went to him and hugged him. Albus stuck his head of his office and said,

"Remus can you please bring Harry in here I would like to speak with him." Harry looked at Remus and gulped. The two of them walked back into the office. Albus motioned towards a chair and Harry sat down. Albus then said, "Wow you look more and more like your father every year. Anywho I wanted to apologize for my behavior. As your Professor I am sorry for everything I did or the person who was impersonating me. I wish I could get you out of the tournament. I will do what I can to help but nothing that will get you in trouble for cheating." Harry nodded. Remus and Harry left Albus' office.

Meanwhile in Arthur's office, Arthur was busy with loads of paperwork when there was a knock on his door. He flicked his wand & opened the door, and in walked Lucius Malfoy. Arthur looked up and said,

"Lucius good to see you; to what do I owe this visit?"

"I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would stop by and see how things are going here at the Ministry, but since you asked have you found your son yet?" Arthur looked at Lucius and after about a minute said,

"No we haven't found Percy. I have a funny feeling that someone is hiding him but that's okay. Now if you will excuse me I have a ton of paperwork to do before Monday." Lucius smiled and left the office.

Monday arrived too quickly for Harry. It was the Grand Ceremony for the four champions. He still didn't know how his name wound up in the cup. He wished it hadn't, the reality that he had to participate made things worse. The ceremony began with Harry, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur all sitting on the platform listening to Arthur Weasley speak. He then said,

"We have a special guest who will be interviewing each of our four contestants to get to know them better. This special person is…" A lady with curly blond hair, red glasses at her nose, and green leather clothes with fur walked up and interrupted,

"Rita Skeeter at your service." She turned and looked at the four contestants and said," I will get every juicy detail about your life out of you." Arthur stepped forward and said,

"Thank you Rita. Now contestants your first challenge will be two weeks from today. Best of luck to you all." Everyone cheered and then food appeared for a grand feast. Harry just stared at the food. He wasn't hungry in fact the pure thought of food made him sick to his stomach. Harry got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. Remus saw his son leave and followed him. Remus caught up with Harry and led him to his office. Harry sat down on the couch while Remus closed the door and cast 'Silencio' on the office. He then sat down next to his son and wrapped his arms around him. Harry leaned into Remus and began to cry. Through tears Harry said,

"I…I. don't want to…do…this…I don't…like drawing…attention…to my…myself."

"Shhh it's okay little cub. I wish I could get you out of this. Let's just take this tournament one challenge at time. Just do your best and no matter what remember Tonks and I are proud of you." Harry lifted his head.

" I will do my best for you and Tonks." Remus smiled and that made Harry smile. The week before the first task dragged on. Rita Skeeter seemed to follow Harry everywhere he went. She finally got him alone, somehow, and cornered him and began hounding him with questions.

*Conversation between Rita and Harry*

Rita: It is true Mr. Potter that Muggles raised you and they beat you?

Harry: Yes and…

Rita: Is it true that you uncle tried on several occasions to kill you?

Harry: He didn't try to kill me per say just…

Rita: Is it true that you are only passing your classes because the teachers feel bad for you and they can't fail 'The Golden Boy'?

Harry: No, I am passing my classes because I try my best and my friends help me when I have trouble.

Rita: I heard a rumor that you are the reason that Minister of Magic had to arrest his own son and that you made up so cock-eyed story about how he raped you so he would get arrested. What do you have to say about that?

Harry: I didn't make anything up. He really…

Rita: Sure you didn't. (She winked at him) we will keep this as our little secret.

*End of Conversation*

Rita walked away leaving Harry in shock. Harry walked into the Great Hall and found his friends almost done eating. Hermione looked at him as he sat down and said,

"Oh my God Harry where have you been we were getting worried?"

" I got cornered by Rita Skeeter and she was asking me a lot of questions and saying all kinds of things that weren't true. She also kept interrupting me when I tried to answer her questions."

Ron piped up and said, "That is Rita Skeeter for you. She has always been like that. She twists around pretty much everything dad says all the time." Harry didn't think that this was right. If she was a reporter she should report the truth and not interrupt people. Harry and his friends finished eating and went to the library to do their homework. Harry, Ron, and Neville worked on their essays and gave them to Hermione and Draco to check for grammar errors. When the library closed for the night, Draco made sure Luna got back to her dorm before going to his while the Gryffindor students went to the tower. Once they arrived they decided to get some sleep. Harry gave Hermione a kiss and went to his room. Harry changed into his pajamas. When he took off his shirt Neville noticed the scars on his back and said,

"That's a lot of scars. Did it hurt?" Harry pulled his shirt on and said,

" I know there are a lot. Yes it hurt a lot and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy." Ron then asked,

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get them?" Harry sat on the edge of his bed and sighed then said,

" My uncle used to beat me with his belt for getting in trouble in school." Dean then asked,

"What did you do to get beaten if you don't mind me asking?" Harry swallowed glanced at Ron and then said,

"Professor Dumbledore (or his impersonator) sent home letters to my uncle saying that I would randomly beat up the Minister of Magic's youngest son for no reason. My uncle would also beat me to relieve stress of if he had a bad day at work." Ron moved to the end of his bed and said,

"Professor Dumbledore really did that?" Harry nodded. Ron hung his head and then said, "I never meant for that to happen. I am so sorry that I hurt you and that caused your uncle to beat you." Ron could see the remorse in Ron's eyes. Harry though for a moment then went over to Ron, held out his hand and said,

"Friends." Ron swallowed and looked at Harry then said,

"Really?" Harry nodded and Ron took Harry's hand and said, "Friends!" The rest of the week went by with very little excitement until Friday evening before dinner. Hagrid stopped Harry and his friends on his way to the Great Hall and asked to speak with Harry alone for a moment. Harry's friends went in and Hagrid said,

"Harry meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin, oh and bring your father's invisibility cloak." Harry nodded and went into the Great Hall to join his friends. Hermione asked him once he sat down.

"What did Hagrid want?" Harry swallowed and whispered low enough that only Hermione and Draco could hear,

"He wants me to meet him at his cabin at midnight and to bring James' invisibility cloak." Hermione looked at Harry and said,

"Well are you going?" Harry nodded. "We will walk you to the front door." She said then looked at Draco who nodded in agreement. "I will be waiting for you in the common room for you to get back. Just promise me you will be safe. Harry promised. Ten minutes to midnight Harry, Hermione, and Draco walked quietly and silently to the front doors. Harry put on the cloak and slipped out the doors. He made his way down to Hagrid's cabin and knocked on the door. When Hagrid opened it Harry lowered his hood. Hagrid said,

"Got summat ter show yeh."

What are you going to show me?" Harry asked following Hagrid.

"Come with me, keep quiet, an' keep yerself covered with that cloak." Harry pulled the cloak back over his head and continued to follow Hagrid. He led him straight to the Beauxbaton Carriage. Harry got a puzzled look but keep quiet. Hagrid knocked on the door and Madame Maxime opened it.

"Ah, 'Agrid it is time?" Hagrid smiled at her and said,

"Bong-sewer." She grabbed a shawl from a hook by the door and took Hagrid's arm. The two of them walked into the Forbidden Forest followed by Harry who was careful where he stepped. Madame Maxime and Hagrid walked arm in arm and then she asked,

"Wair is it you are taking me 'Agrid?" Hagrid smiled and said,

"Yeh'll enjoy this, worth seein, trust me. On'y don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh right? Yeh're not s'posed to know." Hagrid slightly turned his head to his right as he said this. The three of them kept walking and soon Harry heard growling and people shouting. He could also see fire. When they got close as they could Harry could see that it looked like dragons in cages. He wondered why there were dragons in cages in the Forbidden Forest. Then he got his answer from a nearby wizard saying,

"Stay back there Hagrid! They can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet you know! I've seen this Horntail forty." After the group of wizards casted a stunning spell on the closest dragon, it teetered and slowly fell to the bottom of his cage. Hagrid turned to Madame Maxime and said,

"Wan' a closer look?" They walked over to the gate and they got a very close look at the dragons. Harry who had followed could now see that there were four cages with one dragon in each cage. The wizard who had told Hagrid to stay back came over to them. Harry recognized him a one of Ginny's favorite cousins, the one she talked about a lot. Charlie looked at Hagrid and said,

"Why did you bring her? She is likely going to tell her champion about the first challenge!" Harry's jaw dropped so these dragons had something to do with the first challenge. That is why Hagrid had told him to come and bring his cloak. Harry thought to himself. Harry wondered what they would have to do. Hagrid then said,

"Jus' thought she'd like ter see 'em. What breeds have you got here Charlie?"

"This one is a Hungarian Horntail, there is a Common Welsh Green, over there, the smaller one a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue-gray one and the Chinese Fireball is the red one." Harry looked in awe at the huge dragons. Then he noticed four large eggs in the center under some lamps. Harry swallowed and took off running back to the school. His hood fell off as he reached the castle. He continued running until her made it to the Gryffindor Common room. He woke up Hermione and told her what he had seen and the two of them kissed and parted ways for some sleep. Harry collapsed on his bed and just stared at the ceiling. Despite him wishing that morning didn't come it did. Harry sat up to find everyone gone except Ron, who was sitting on the edge of his bed. Ron smiled at his friend and said,

"Good luck on the first challenge today Harry!" Harry smiled back and thanked him. The two of then got dressed and left the dorm room and walked into the Common room to find the whole of Gryffindor cheering with banners that read, 'Good Luck Potter' and 'You've got this Harry." Harry smiled at his housemates. He looked in the back and saw Professor McGonagall, Tonks, Remus, Draco, and Luna. His smile got even bigger at the sight of Tonks and Remus. They smiled back at their son. Then Hermione walked up and kissed him on the cheek. Then she took his hand and led him towards the door of the Common room. The whole way down to the Quidditch Pitch the whole of Gryffindor chanted Harry's name as they followed him. Once they arrived at the Champion's tent, the students continued to the stands followed by the three adults. Hermione kissed Harry, this time on the lips. No sooner had their lips touched Rita Skeeter appeared and said,

"Ah two young lovebirds! Will it last stay tuned to find out?" Just then in walked Professor Dumbledore followed by Mr. Weasley and Charlie. Professor Dumbledore said,

"Miss Granger please join the rest of the school in the stands." Hermione left and Arthur stepped forward to address the four champions.

"Mr. Krum, Miss Delacour, Mr. Diggory, and Mr. Potter first off congrats again on being chosen as a champion and representing your school." Harry caught Cedric's glance and mouthed Dragons. Cedric blinked to show he understood. "Today is the first of three challenges you must face. Failure to complete the task will result in automatic elimination from the rest of the Tournament. In a moment each of you will reach into this bag and select a small model of the thing you are about to face. There are four different variations. Your task is to retrieve the Golden Egg. So without further ado, ladies first…" Arthur opened the bag and Fleur reached inside and pulled out a small Common welsh Green with the number 2 on it. She about turned green at the sight of it. Viktor pulled out a mini Chinese Fireball with the three on it. He turned red in the face. Cedric got the Swedish Short-Snout with a number one. He took a deep breath. Harry gulped as the bag came to him because he knew with one was left. He reached his hand in a pulled out a miniature Hungarian Horntail with a number 4 around its neck. Once everyone had chosen his/her dragon, Charlie stepped forward and said,

"As you may have gathered each of these small dragons represents a much large dragon that each of you is about to face. The number around the neck of the dragon is to order in which you will go. Myself and the other dragon keepers will be on guard in the event of an emergency. Good Luck to you all!" Arthur then said,

"Apart from harming the dragon in any way shape or form, you may use any means necessary to retrieve your egg. When you hear the whistle Cedric you will start us off followed by Fleur, Viktor, and Harry. Good Luck!" With that the four Champions were left alone. The whistle sounded and Cedric went out. Harry sat on a chair trying to focus over the noise. He could hear the cheers and Arthur saying that Cedric had retrieved the egg, and then Fleur left, followed by Viktor they both got their egg. Soon Harry heard the whistle blow one final time. Harry got up and slowly walked out of the tent and into the area. All he could hear was his name being chanted and the cheers of his fellow students. He stood and just stared at the dragon in front of him. He drew his wand and slowly walked towards the dragon. The Horntail glared at Harry and began to swing its tail around trying to hit him. Harry ducked behind some rocks nearly missing being hit by the enormous tail. Harry ducked behind a very large boulder just out of view the dragon. The dragon began to look around for him. Harry gripped his wand and screamed 'Accio Golden Egg!' The egg lifted off the nest and landed in his hands. The dragon followed her egg and flew into the air spotting Harry; she breathed a huge breath of fire towards him. The crowd gasped and everyone rose to his/her feet as the very spot where Harry was kneeling became engulfed in flames.