The weeks passed in a blissfully uneventful manner, for which Harry was thankful. On the first day of their Easter holidays, however, Harry was awakened rather suddenly by Delf, who had just so decided to stare him in the face from approximately seven centimeters above him.

"Delf! Don't DO that!"

"It's not my fault you're so easy to scare," Delf replied innocently. Harry shoved her playfully and after a few minutes, they headed down to the common room togeth

As they waited for Roderick to join them, Harry turned towards Delf. "Wow," he thought. "What did I do to deserve someone like Delf?" He must have voiced his question out loud, because at that moment, Delf turned to him and mock-threatened him, her hazel eyes giving away her lack of anger, "Harry Potter! You shut your mouth or I'll do it for you!" Harry cracked a smile at the statement and playfully replied, "What could you do that would shut my mouth?"

"Oh! You-you-you BOY!" Delf, momentarily rendered speechless at Harry's question, found an answer just as quickly. She leaned forward and kissed him. Hard. This time, it was Harry's turn to be surprised before he quickly returned the gesture with just as much enthusiasm. For a minute, they lost all ties to reality. It was just the two of them in their own world, and the only thing that mattered was how soft Delf's lips were, and the fact that he was kissing Delf. Delf! Their moment was broken rather unceremoniously, however, by a very disgruntled Roderick, "Merlin's beard! Do you know how weird it feels to watch your two best friends kiss each other?" But he was laughing, and soon, they were all joking and chattering over large bowls of porridge about the day's classes and homework.

As the weeks passed, the looming weight that was the Third Task was forgotten, and Harry began to live his life normally again. However, that was not to say that life became boring. One April afternoon, Harry was pulled into a broom closet on his way back from Herbology. As he turned to give his attacker a firm fist to the face, he was surprised to see Delf's face nearing his, and his quick reflexes protected them both from utter humiliation as their lips met in a fierce kiss. Delf's hands fisted in his hair, and he deepened the kiss as he felt her hands on his back. He felt his hands go under her shirt, and when Delf did not pull away, he allowed them to travel up along her ribs, fingering the bottom of her bra, feeling her press up against him, her warm hands rubbing against his chest, and—

"Ummm, who's in—OH, MERLIN!"

Tom had opened the door and found them. Again, in Harry's case.

Instinctively, Harry shouted, Petrificus Totalus!" Tom fell, eyes wide open, onto the hard floor. Harry, still breathing a little heavily, undid the spell, and quicker than Harry had ever seen his brother move, Tom ran in the opposite direction. Harry shook his head, his younger brother would never change. As he turned back to his girlfriend, expecting to see amusement, maybe even excitement, he was instead greeted by worry, and a hint of what looked like disappointment? "What's wrong, Delf?"

"Are you sure I'm not pressuring you or anything? We haven't been together that long and you've had less time than me to think about it and—"

Harry cut off her concerns with a light kiss. It was sweet and awkward and overwhelming and passionate and far better than anything Harry had ever dreamed, but Delf understood the meaning behind it perfectly. Satisfied that her doubts had been answered for the time being, Harry made an exaggerated bow, reached out his arm, and said in a deep, pompous voice, "My lady, shall we continue our valiant quest back to the common room?" Giggling at his behavior, Delf took the outstretched hand, and together, they made their way back to the common room. Roderick was waiting for them. "Where have you been? It's nearly curfew!" Harry opened his mouth to send back a snappy retort, but suddenly found himself without one, and closed his mouth awkwardly. Roderick said dryly, "Let me guess. You got caught in a broom closet again?" Delf blushed and grinned sheepishly. Roderick nodded amusedly, and the three of them walked up to bed.

The next day at breakfast, Harry received a surprise visitor: Tom. "What're you doing here? If you've come to talk, you might as well leave, we're trying to work."

"No, I just wanted to tell you that Mr. Bagman told me that the judges want the Champions outside on the Quidditch Pitch."

"When? Noon?"

"No, now, Harry! Everyone's already out there, they're all waiting for you!"

Harry quickly made his way out to the pitch, and looked up at Mr. Bagman, who had a sort of relieved look on his face. "You wanted us out here, sir?"

"Ah, Harry! So glad you could make it," he smiled jovially, but a trace of nervousness lingered in his smile, making it look quite forced.

It was then that Harry realized that the pitch was not exactly a pitch anymore. Hedges had been grown so that it resembled a very large maze. Shocked, he turned to the judges, and by the sounds coming from all around him, he realized that Cedric and Krum had noticed the same. Krum was the first, however, to voice his disapproval. "Vat, exactly, haff you done to the Quidditch pitch?" he said, his burly figure and thick eyebrows making him look angrier and more intimidating than he was.

"I see you have all caught sight of the maze. In this task, you will navigate the maze, aiming to find the Triwizard Cup in the center. The first to reach the Cup will be the winner of the Triwizard Tournament," Bagman replied, oblivious to the looks he was getting from three of the Champions. He turned and looked at them all to make sure they understood, and for the first time seemed to notice the strongly negative feelings radiating towards him. "Oh, don't be silly, boys! You'll have your pitch back as soon as the task is finished." Then he turned and strolled away, whistling happily.

Harry turned to return to the Great Hall and perhaps eat a morsel of food before rushing off to classes, but stopped when he felt a large hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly enough for him to know that this was not a friendly invitation. Before he could turn and see who the hand belonged to, a distinctively accented voice said, "Potter, I vould like to talk vith you. Your brother is Tom Potter, yes?"

Puzzled, Harry replied in the affirmative and turned, gesturing for Krum to continue. He obliged, and speaking as if he wanted to get the conversation over with, he rushed on. "I vant to know vot there is between your brother and Hermy-own-ninny."

Harry almost laughed, but caught himself in the nick of time. "Nothing. They're just friends."

"She is speaking of Tom very often," Krum said, looking suspiciously at Harry .

"I assure you, they are purely platonic. Can we please go inside now? I have a girlfriend to get back to."

Krum looked slightly happier. He gave a curt nod, and turned to go back inside. Harry was about to do the same, when something moved behind Krum in the trees, and having some experience of the sort of thing that lurked in the forest, Harry grabbed Krum's arm and pulled him around.

"Vot is it?"

Harry shook his head, staring at the place where he'd seen movement. He slipped his hand inside his robes, reaching for his wand. A man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, Harry didn't recognize him . . . then he realized it was Mr. Crouch. He looked as though he had been traveling for days. The knees of his robes were ripped and bloody, his face scratched; he was unshaven and gray with exhaustion. His neat hair and mustache were both in dire need of a wash and a trim. His strange appearance, however, was nothing to the way he was behaving. Muttering and gesticulating, Mr. Crouch appeared to be talking to someone that he alone could see.

"Vosn't he a judge?" said Krum, staring at Mr. Crouch. "Isn't he vith your Ministry?"

Harry nodded, hesitated for a moment, then walked slowly toward Mr. Crouch, who did not look at him, but continued to talk to a nearby tree.

". . . and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students who will be attending the tournament, Karkaroff has just sent word there will be twelve. . . ."

"Mr. Crouch?" said Harry cautiously.

". . . and then send another owl to Madame Maxime, because she might want to up the number of students she's bringing, now Karkaroff's made it a round dozen . . . do that, Weatherby, will you? Will you? Will . . ."

Mr. Crouch's eyes were bulging. He stood staring at the tree, muttering soundlessly at it. Then he staggered sideways and fell to his knees.

"Mr. Crouch?" Harry said loudly. "Are you all right?" Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. Harry looked around at Krum, who had followed him into the trees, and was looking down at Crouch in alarm.

"Vot is wrong with him?"

"No idea," Harry muttered. "Listen, you'd better go and get someone —"

"Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and seized a handful of Harry's robes, dragging him closer, though his eyes were staring over Harry's head. "I need . . . see . . . Dumbledore. . . ."

"Okay," said Harry, "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the —"

"I've done . . . stupid . . . thing . . ." Mr. Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spittle was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must . . . tell . . . Dumbledore . . ."

"Get up, Mr. Crouch," said Harry loudly and clearly. "Get up, we'll take you to Dumbledore!"

Mr. Crouch's eyes rolled forward onto Harry.

"Who . . . you?" he whispered.

"I'm a student at the school," said Harry, looking around at Krum for some help, but Krum was hanging back, looking extremely nervous.

"You're not . . . his?" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging.

"No," said Harry, without the faintest idea what Crouch was talking about.

"Dumbledore's?"

"That's right," said Harry.

Crouch was pulling him closer; Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but it was too powerful.

"Warn . . . Dumbledore . . . Harry Potter. . . Lord Voldemort . . . stronger . . . all my fault . . . my boy . . . poor boy . . . Harry Potter . . . all a mistake . . . Bertha Jorkins . . . dead . . . all my fault . . . my fault . . . big mistake . . ."

Something seemed to change within him at the word "mistake," and he went back to speaking with Percy Weasley.

"Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge. Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response. . . ."

Harry thought quickly, and decided it was probably better off if he got Crouch closer to the school, where they were less likely to be alone. "Mr. Crouch, I'll bring you that memo, sir, could you please come with me though? I seem to have forgotten where it is."

"Ah yes, Weatherby, it's right on top of that mailbox, here, let me show you."

Harry guided Mr. Crouch towards the school gates as he gestured wildly with his hands. "Viktor, just stay with him. I'll be back as soon as I can find a teacher."

"He is mad," said Krum doubtfully, staring down at Crouch, who was still gabbling to a tree, apparently convinced it was Percy Weasley.

"Just stay with him," said Harry, getting up to go.

"Hurry, von't you?" Krum called after him as Harry sprinted away from the forest and up through the dark grounds. They were deserted; Bagman, Cedric, and Fleur had disappeared. Harry tore up the stone steps, through the oak front doors, and looked around. Spotting Snape in a corner, he ran towards him and nearly shouted, "Professor! It's urgent, Mr. Crouch...out on the lawn...acting crazy, sir!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Moody getting up and walking quickly in the opposite direction.

"What's this, Potter? Crouch? The Triwizard Judge?" Snape muttered a spell, and a silvery doe jumped out of his wand, running off in the direction of the second floor. Harry beckoned frantically, and the professor walked swiftly behind him as they continued toward the place where Harry had left Krum and Mr. Crouch.

As they walked, Harry explained, "Professor, he was talking about Bertha Jorkins, that Ministry Witch who went missing, and Voldemort getting stronger. He said something about a poor boy and a mistake, his boy or something like that. I left him with Krum."

They had reached the spot where Crouch had been before, but now, it was silent, and Crouch was nowhere to be found. Instead, Krum was lying spread-eagled on the grass. "Rennervate," Snape said, and Krum sat up, opening his eyes blearily. "Vot happened? I turned to see vare Potter had gone, and that madman attacked me!"

Harry turned to Snape, who looked just as confused as he did. "I will report this to the Headmaster, Mr. Potter. It's best that you and Mr. Krum return to where you need to be." Krum, shaking his head as if to clear it, gave a nod and walked away. Harry hurried back to the Common Room, seeing that it was pointless to attend the last five minutes of his first class. He caught Roderick and Delf on his way.

"Where have you been, mate? You missed a whole class!"

"Harry, surely Mr. Bagman didn't take that long? What happened?"

Grinning, Harry responded. "Would you believe me if I said that Bagman took over forty minutes to explain that the Quidditch pitch had been turned into a maze?"

"The Quidditch pitch is GONE?" Delf swatted Roderick hard, giving him a look that clearly told him he was focusing on the wrong part of the story, then turning her gaze on Harry, her eyes giving him the obvious answer to his question.

"Right, then. So Krum wanted to talk to me about whether Tom and Hermione liked each other, and—"

"Krum though Tom liked Hermione?" Roderick looked like he wanted to laugh and throw up at the same time.

Harry plowed on relentlessly, "—then we saw Mr. Crouch, but he was crazy, muttered something about me, a mistake, Bertha Jorkins being dead, so I went and got Professor Snape and left Krum to watch Mr. Crouch. But when we got back, Krum was unconscious and Crouch was missing. It's like he disappeared into thin air!"

"That's odd, did you see anyone going toward Crouch as you left?"

"I mean, Moody left the Great Hall in a big hurry after I told Professor Snape about Crouch, but he was going in the opposite direction."

"Hmm, I didn't see Professor Moody anywhere in the school today, so where was he?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, you two! Moody is a retired Auror, he isn't going to be some sort of evil mastermind!"

"Roderick, you can't possibly say it isn't the least bit suspicious! Anyway, let's get to class, we're going to be late."

Hurried on by Delf's suggestion, they continued on their way to classes, and soon, the whole matter was forgotten by Delf and Roderick. Harry, however, could not get it out of his head, and so, for one of the first times in his life, his letter to his parents included a lot more than usual.

Dear James and Lily,

I have deciphered some information that I believe needs to be shared with you and your sons. If you could please come to the castle at dusk tomorrow, I will have my Floo open for you. As this matter is of grave importance, I will not impart any of its contents in this letter.

A. Dumbledore

"Do you think he might know who put Harry's name in the Goblet?" Lily asked hopefully.

"I don't know. I hope so. Maybe the boys will tell us something. Here's Tom's. He usually gives up a little more to work with."

Dear Mum and Dad,

I just won two Galloens. You know what that means.

"Wait, what does that mean?" James wondered aloud.

"He bet Harry and Daphne would get caught shagging in a broom closet."

"Oh. Wonderful."

Just thought you'd like to know.

Love, Tom

"I don't know if I want to read Harry's now…" James groaned.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I think Mr Crouch knew something about how my name got into the Goblet.

"Oh, finally!" they exclaimed together.

"And I'll be talking to Crouch immediately," James added furiously.

Unfortunately for those of us who would like to know more (such as myself), he was totally incoherent when we spoke, and is now missing as well.

"DAMN!"

"This must be what Dumbledore's letter is about!" Lily said hopefully.

I don't know what Dumbledore plans to do about it, but please, Dad, figure it out! I still want to jinx someone up over this, and since Mr Crouch is missing, it clearly can't be him.

"You and me both, son."

Love, Harry

PS, he also mentions someone called Bertha, and I think he meant Bertha Jorkins, who went missing last summer. I think he said she had died.

"WHAT?"

"I should say so! Is it dusk tomorrow, yet?

A/N: I copied some of this from GoF, and some scenes are written by Excited-Insomniac in the outline posted. Please don't flame, but I do appreciate any constructive criticism that you have. Thanks!

EDIT: Thank you for letting me know about the letters and Crouch's dialogue! I don't know how I missed the fact that half of Crouch's dialogue was formatted to line breaks at half lines, but hopefully it's fixed now! :)