AN:

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on the previous chapter!

And many thanks to my great beta reader Verlor (id: 11113787)!

Have fun with this chapter! Read and review!


Chapter 22 – Phantom Menace

With a severe pain in his forehead, Harry opened his eyes. Immediately, his hand went to his scar, which was still pulsing dolorously. What was happening, he wondered. His scar hadn't hurt in so long. Then why now?

"Harry, what's wrong?" he heard Daphne's sleepy voice beside him.

Harry had to smile. Nothing got past her. His girlfriend always seemed to know when he wasn't feeling well. Their dream connection certainly played a role as well, even if it wasn't so pronounced if they slept in the same bed and could therefore directly hold and comfort each other.

He felt Daphne sit up next to him, but he could not see her. They were still in their bedchamber in the Library of Alexandria and everything was pitch-black. It had to be in the middle of the night. He knew Daphne didn't like the darkness, but Harry was all too familiar with it after spending so many hours, and sometimes even days, in his cupboard. May the Dursleys burn in hell when their time had come.

"Nothing, Daph," he murmured. He didn't want her to worry. However, he didn't want to lie to her either, so he continued quietly, "I just woke up because my scar hurt. Probably it's just –"

He didn't get to finish the sentence. As soon as he mentioned his aching scar, Daphne leaned forward, putting her hand on his forehead. Her palm felt so cool, Harry thought. Cool and pleasant. Like Daphne. Slowly, the pain subsided.

"Your scar hurts?" Daphne asked, and the concern in her voice was obvious.

Harry sighed. He could all too well imagine Daphne's worried look, which she was probably giving him right now. He had seen it far too often. Pictures came up in front of his mind's eye. Memories of tears on his face and blows on his chest...

"Not anymore," he replied as calmly as possible to reassure Daphne, while it was her cool palm that gave himself relief. He straightened up so that their faces almost touched and gently squeezed her free hand. "All is well, really," he continued. "It doesn't hurt anymore. I probably had just another nightmare."

"But did you have a nightmare?" Daphne asked further. Apparently, his attempts at reassurance had been unsuccessful.

"I ... I don't know," Harry answered hesitantly. "I can't remember anything."

As was often the case when he did his Occlumency exercises and emptied his mind before bed, because he and Daphne had intensified their sleep preparations after their numerous nightmares in the past year. For different reasons, they had both been haunted by their parents' hateful visages and venom-spitting tongues. And again and again, he had seen Black's bloody head…

Harry shook his own head. That was in the past and no longer mattered. May Daphne's parents and Black burn in hell as well.

"You can't remember?" Daphne repeated his words.

"No, but I'm sure it wasn't something unusual," he replied. "We've read about it, curse scars can still hurt after many years. All's well, Daph. Let's lie down again. Tomorrow will be a long day."

With tender vehemence, he pushed Daphne back onto the mattress, before laying down next to her. He would have liked to see her face at that moment, but they were not allowed to do magic and he did not feel like getting up and lighting a lamp. So, he felt content with just taking Daphne in his arms and stroking her hair soothingly. "I love you, Daphne," he whispered as he gently kissed her forehead.

"I ... I love you too," Daphne replied doubtfully.

Harry knew that her doubts were not related to their love, but his reassurance. "All's well," he muttered once again, even if he thought he could hear a fearful scream fading away. But he was probably just imagining it all. He's just been reading too many demon stories lately. There was no need to worry. All was well.


Yawning, Harry and Daphne walked past the marble pillars, pulling their two suitcases behind them. Neither of them had been able to sleep properly last night. Thus, they were extremely tired and dark-eyed while they were leaving the library that had been their home for the past two months.

However, everything came to an end at some point, and this also applied to their vacation or rather research stay in Alexandria. In two days, they would be back on the train to Hogwarts to spend another school year in the place Harry loved and hated at the same time.

He could probably say the same about Alexandria. He loved that he could spend so much time with Daphne. He also loved their trips to Grimalkin Lane and the Muggle town. On top of this, he was pleased to have met Ganda and Klak, whom he by now saw as kind of friends. Which brought his total number of friends to five, along with Daphne, Hagrid and Dobby. If he was generous, maybe McGonagall, Flitwick and Lupin. He laughed inside. Voldemort's daughter, a half-giant, a werewolf and several non-human beings – what an exquisite circle of friends he had.

No, there had really been a lot that he had enjoyed during their stay and for which he would always keep this summer in good memory. It was his nighttime excursions, the hours of copying ancient texts and, above all, the endless poring over dictionaries to translate these ancient texts, which made Harry partially condemn this place. And for what? They hadn't made any progress on their quest to save Valeydis' soul. They had read tons of interesting, but often simply disgusting, writings, but they hadn't been able to find the information for which they had come to Alexandria in the first place.

He still shuddered when he thought of some of the rituals they had read about. Vile, repulsive atrocities. He wasn't interested in how you could fragment your soul - who would even come up with such a stupid idea of destroying something as pure and precious as one's own soul? No, the soul was deeply sacred and only a fool would deliberately maim it. Hadn't Valeydor and Valeydis even shown what harmony and grandeur could be in the union of two souls – that is, the complete opposite of such wickedness?

At the thought of the two lovers, Harry had to smile. How had Fawkes fared in the last few weeks? Not once since their pact last summer had so much time passed without seeing him at least from time to time. First in the mausoleum on the Greengrass estate and then in Hogwarts, when he had sometimes appeared in the Room of Requirement to watch them practice. Harry resolved to ask Dobby later how often the phoenix had visited the two bodies wrapped in a stasis spell.

"Hey, I hope you don't want to just leave without saying goodbye to us, do you?" came suddenly a voice that Harry had become all too familiar with.

Smirking, he turned around and looked down, right into Ganda's accusingly sparkling fox eyes. Next to her stood Klak, also suppressing a yawn; presumably he had pulled an all-nighter again.

"How low you think of us, Ganda," he replied, amused. "Of course we would have been looking for you right away to say goodbye."

Ganda pulled her flews up in a smile. "Of course you would. You're well-bred humans, aren't you?"

"We'd like to stay longer," Daphne interjected. "But unfortunately, our school starts again in two days. And we have to be there." She turned to Klak. "Hey Klak, what do we actually have to pay?"

"Wait a minute," Klak called, rushing to the counter. He took out a thick book and opened it. "Yes, yes," he said as he scanned the lines. "2 months Search Ball, plus board and lodging ... ermm, that's exactly 250 galleons."

Harry and Daphne exchanged a look. They had already expected such a sum, but still thought it was usury. Their accommodation and food were definitely not worth the price. Perhaps next time they should take a room in Grimalkin Lane, even if that would have made the nightly sneaking campaigns much more difficult since the entrance portal was closed at night. And while the Search Ball was undoubtedly an excellent magical achievement, it somehow felt unfair that access to this unique treasure of knowledge was such an expensive affair. Harry sighed and took out a little sack with jingling gold coins.

After paying their bill, the four friends looked at each other expectantly. They all knew that the time to say goodbye had come, for at least a year.

"So, Harry, Daphne," Klak finally spoke first. "Get home safely and look after yourself. Especially you, Harry. I don't like what happened at the World Cup."

Harry immediately thought of the newspaper reports about the rampaging Death Eaters and the horrible image of the Dark Mark. He didn't like that either.

"The Death Eaters are still out there, Harry," Klak continued gravely. "And they'd love to get their hands on you. So –"

"Huh? What do you mean? "asked Ganda, confused. "What do these evil wizards have to do with Harry?"

Harry felt Daphne grab his hand as Klak stared at Ganda in bewilderment. "Are you joking?" he said. "Harry – Harry Potter! Does that name ring a bell?"

However, Ganda continued to look at him in confusion. Harry, meanwhile, felt pretty uncomfortable. His fame wasn't something he was happy about. Daphne squeezed his hand and Harry smiled slightly at her.

Klak sighed. "Unbelievable," he murmured. "Harry is famous. As a baby, he defeated their dark lord over there. Of course, his followers are out of sorts with him."

Understanding emerged on Ganda's animal features before she suddenly looked embarrassed at the floor. "Modern history has never been my best subject," she admitted quietly. A few awkward seconds of silence passed before Ganda suddenly raised her head again, looking right at Harry. "Now that makes even more sense!" she exclaimed.

"What makes sense?" asked Harry.

"My hunch. Klak is right. Be careful. Evil looms over you, I can feel it in my tail."

Harry had rarely seen Ganda so seriously before, and Daphne beside him tensed. To lighten the mood again, he asked with a laugh, "Since when do you have clairvoyant skills, Ganda? Or rather your tail?"

Ganda snorted offended, clenching her hands into fists. "We Lutins have always been more connected to magic than you ignorant humans," she replied. "Only because of your wooden sticks do you always think that you are oh so much better and greater than –"

"It's okay," Harry tried to calm her down. "It's okay. I understand. We humans are stupid and ignorant." An assessment that he would even largely agree with. "We'll take your worries seriously, Ganda. And yours too, Klak." He looked at the minotaur, who nodded to him. "We will take care of ourselves."

Ganda breathed in and out several times before continuing in a calmer voice, "Yes, take care. Otherwise I will come to England and give you a kick in the arse."

"I'll make sure Harry takes care of himself," Daphne said with a smile. "And Harry is taking care of me. That's how we always do it."

Ganda nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. Then it's probably time to say goodbye now. I was happy to meet both of you. And I hope we'll see each other again next summer."

"That would be nice," Harry replied. "We'll let you know if we –" He noticed Daphne's warning gaze. "Um, yes we will let you know when we know if we have another school project for next summer."

Ganda and Klak exchanged a look before they both shook their heads.

"We know that you two weren't here for a school project," said Klak.

"Exactly," Ganda continued. "But because you didn't seem to want to tell the real reason, we didn't want to ask. We won't do it now either. But..." She hesitated briefly. "But maybe one day you will trust us enough and you can tell us why you were really here."

Harry froze. They knew all along that they had lied? What else did they know? Would they tell anyone about it?

"It was a research project," Daphne's cold voice cut the air. "And if you don't ask us about it, we don't have to lie to you."

Harry frowned. Daphne behaved as if they were back at Hogwarts. So their nice break was really over.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the four friends eyed each other attentively. Finally, Ganda nodded slowly. "I see. Then take care, right?"

"Yes. Bye, Ganda," Harry replied, trying to smile. "Bye, Klak."

"Bye, Harry, Daphne."

They made their farewells before Harry and Daphne took their suitcases again and stepped out into the bright sunlight.


The Hogwarts Express sparkled majestically in the sun as they appeared on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Apart from Harry, Daphne and Dobby, however, almost no one was there yet.

"Dobby gets the luggage from Mr. Harry and Miss Daphne," Dobby squeaked, before disappearing with a loud bang.

Harry was extremely grateful to the little house-elf for all his efforts. Not only had he looked after Daphne's house all summer, but he had also bought their school supplies in Diagon Alley. They were supposed to bring dress robes with them this school year, but they had postponed that until they found out the exact occasion – and whether participation in it would be compulsory.

There was a loud bang, and Dobby reappeared on the platform, next to him two large, heavy trunks.

"Thanks, Dobby," said Harry, smiling. "You're really great."

Dobby's bat-like ears straightened with joy. "Of course, Harry Potter sir. Have fun at Hogwarts."

Harry and Daphne said goodbye to Dobby and soon they were both alone with their luggage, while the few other people on the platform gave them suspicious looks.

"Ah, do you know what I'm really looking forward to?" Harry asked his girlfriend as they strode towards the red train.

A slight smile played on Daphne's lips. "I can imagine it. Let me guess: magic?"

"Exactly!" Harry replied. "Finally, we can do magic again!"

That was really something he had missed a lot over the summer. There had been an absolute ban on magic in the library that they'd rather not have broken. And extensive magic in Grimalkin Lane full of people and magical creatures would probably not have been a wise idea either. All summer long, Harry had felt a strange tweak in his hand, almost like withdrawal symptoms from an addiction. At least, they had been able to spend yesterday training and dueling, even if Harry's butt still hurt a little from a nasty curse that Daphne had once caught him with. Not that he didn't pay her back later...

With those memories, Harry had to laugh again. Life really didn't seem as bad as he had sometimes thought in the past. And they would also somehow survive another school year at Hogwarts with their stupid classmates. After all, they were able to use magic again, extensive and unlimited, at least hidden in the Room of Requirement. It would be preferable if their teachers did not find out what kind of spells they cast in there…

"Now you remind me of what you were like when we were on this platform the first time," laughed Daphne. "You were so full of anticipation. It was kind of cute."

"Someone had to. You were too busy being cold and farouche."

The remark brought him a slap on the arm. "Prat. I didn't really know you at the time."

"Well, do you know me now?" Harry asked with an arched eyebrow.

Daphne grinned at him. "I think I know you better now than you know yourself, Mr. Potter."

"That pleases me no end," Harry replied with a grin. By now, they had reached the rearmost wagon. "Would the future Mrs. Potter then do me the honor of accompanying me on another train ride to Hogwarts?"

Daphne's face beamed with joy at his words. "Of course, Mr. Potter. What do the authors say? Ride or die."

Harry returned her smile and together they dragged their trunks onto the train. As usual, they sat in one of the rear compartments and watched over the next hour how more and more students and parents arrived on the platform. They watched heartbreaking farewell scenes and joyful reunions, and Harry daydreamed about himself and Daphne, how they would one day bid goodbye to their own children. Probably not in England though. Was there a magic school in Egypt?

Eventually, the Hogwarts Express began to move, towards the north and the Scottish mountains.

Daphne had stretched out on the bench – her head in Harry's lap – while they both read in different books. Daphne's novels were often far too cheesy for Harry's taste. Thus, he preferred to read the book on curses and counter-curses that Lupin had given him for his birthday because apparently that would be the subject matter this school year. Harry had already mastered almost all of the spells in the book, but it could not hurt to know what their classmates would be up to this year.

However, their quiet reading was suddenly interrupted when the compartment door was torn open. Harry looked up from his book just to look into the petrified faces of the infamous golden Gryffindor trio, who seemed as surprised to see them as Harry. Daphne straightened up, wand in hand, while the air seemed to crackle with tension.

"Let's go," Granger finally whispered, trying to drag Weasley behind her.

Weasley, however, kept still as he glared at Harry. Harry returned his threatening looks equally, his hand now also around his wand. Hadn't Weasley learned his lesson from last year? If the bastard ever laid a finger on Daphne again…

Ultimately, Weasley gave in to the urging of Granger and Longbottom and the three Gryffindors left their compartment, of course without closing the door behind them. Harry got up and closed it.

"That was ... strange," said Daphne.

Harry nodded. "That it was. But as long as they leave us alone, I also leave them alone."

"But we have to be careful," Daphne replied thoughtfully. "His eyes were full of hatred. I've seen that look myself often enough."

Harry sat down next to his girlfriend, putting his arms around her.

More than an hour passed before they were disturbed again. When the compartment door was opened this time, they looked into the assembled faces of their male Slytherin classmates and maybe the female ones were behind them, too. Crabbe and Goyle's bodies were so fat now that it was difficult to say.

In addition to the gorillas with heavy bones, Malfoy, Nott and Zabini also looked into their compartment.

Harry found himself wistful for a moment when he saw Blaise. If they weren't in Slytherin, they might have become friends considering his first beautiful evening at Hogwarts. The next morning, however, that dream had been over, and Blaise had chosen the opposite side. But Daphne would have suffered in every other house, and he would have never deserted her. Not then, and certainly not now. No, his life wasn't perfect, but in retrospect he wouldn't change a thing.

Harry eyed their fellow Slytherins curiously. As usual, Malfoy stood in the middle of his lackeys. What was new, however, was the contemptuous look Malfoy gave him and Daphne. What had happened to him, Harry wondered. Had Malfoy forgotten how pathetic he had lost to him on his last attempt at rebellion? And back then he already had the support of all the other boys. Since then, however, he and Daphne had only gotten more powerful, which he strongly doubted applied to Malfoy and the others.

With some feeling of satisfaction, Harry thought that if they wanted to, he and Daphne could easily send the Slytherins before them to kingdom come. But he didn't want to, unless they were attacked. With Daphne, however, he wasn't so sure, seeing her annoyed expression.

"What do you want?" Harry asked the intruders as he sat up in his seat, his fingers gripping his wand, ready to attack. Or to defend, depending on what would happen now.

Malfoy snorted. That was also new. "You feel great, Potter, don't you?" he hissed. "But just wait. Soon your arrogance will be over. Soon everyone will know again where they belong."

With that, Malfoy turned and disappeared down the aisle, the other Slytherins in tow.

Harry and Daphne exchanged a questioning look.

"What was that about?" Harry muttered, shaking his head.

"No idea," Daphne replied. "Watch out tonight! And strengthen your protective spells. If anything happens, I will be by your side in a matter of seconds."

"I know, Daph," Harry replied with a loving smile as he closed the compartment door. This time he also cast spells on it so that they wouldn't be disturbed again.

Sitting next to Daphne, he kissed her on her soft, intoxicating lips as wide grain fields flashed past the windows.

When they finally arrived in Hogsmeade in pitch-black darkness, all good weather had long since passed. It was raining and storming like Harry had rarely seen before. What a warm welcome. Harry and Daphne cast rain-repelling spells, before hurrying hand in hand to the carriages, which set off with a great lurch.

Accompanied by a loud roll of thunder, they passed the castle gate, which was flanked with statues of winged boards, and reached the stairs that led up to the large oak front doors. Much more relaxed than the other students, who wanted to escape from the storm in panic, Harry and Daphne stepped into the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall of Hogwarts.

Without pity, Harry looked at the other students, who were trying to wring out their wet hair and clothes. Maybe they should have rather spent their time learning useful spells instead of spreading rumors and lies about him.

He saw Daphne smile mockingly. "No malicious joy", he muttered to her in amusement as he took her hand and approached the Great Hall. He had gotten hungry during the long train ride and it already smelled of all kinds of delicacies.

"Malicious joy? I? You must have me confused with another Daphne."

Harry laughed but stopped abruptly when all of his alarm bells started ringing – at just the right moment.

Several round, red objects fell from the ceiling onto the heads of the unsuspecting pupils. Harry and Daphne, however, responded at lightning speed. With a flick of his wand, Harry threw the objects back in the direction they had come from, while Daphne conjured a large umbrella that protected them both from the masses of water pouring down on the students when the water bombs – Harry had by now recognized what the round objects were – burst on the ceiling.

The other students, however, weren't as responsive and were drenched from head to toe for the second time after the previous cloudburst, while the sardonic laughing of the Poltergeist Peeves resounded high above them.

Amused, Harry and Daphne turned away from the scene, walking to the Great Hall, from which a furious Professor McGonagall stormed. Shortly afterwards, they heard the teacher yelling at Peeves, trying to stop him. Apparently in vain, however, given the sound of more bursting water bombs and screeching students.

In the hall, which was as beautifully decorated as at each beginning of a new school year, Professor Lupin was waiting for them, looking cheerfully. At first, Harry was a bit confused, since their defense teacher was usually a pretty serious person, but then he remembered that Lupin had been a kind of prankster himself, together with his friends, including his father. He preferred to deliberately exclude Black from that train of thought.

"Harry, Daphne," the professor greeted them. "How was your summer? In any case, 10 points for Slytherin, for quick and impressive magic."

"Thank you, professor," Harry replied. "Our summer was nice, but unfortunately it passed far too quickly. By the way, congratulations on being the first defense teacher in ages to be here for more than a year. I'm very happy about that." Harry was serious. Lupin was a much better teacher than Quirrel or Lockhart had been.

A proud smile settled on Lupin's face. "Thanks, Harry. That means a lot to me."

They left Lupin and went to their usual places at the very end of the Slytherin table. As usual, the other Slytherins kept a clear distance from them. All quiet on the Hogwarts Front, Harry thought, remembering a book he'd read some time ago. Above them, flashes of lightning kept illuminating the hall.

Soon, Harry's attention turned to other things. As always, he enjoyed the Sorting Hat's song. Somehow the hat had a special place in his heart, as it stood for his new life in the wizarding world, which had begun just three years ago.

He clapped politely at each of the sorted first years, after all, he had once been a nervous eleven-year-old himself. And he remembered how uncomfortable he had felt when almost no one had clapped after coming to Slytherin. However, none of the new first years wanted to sit next to him or Daphne. What a shame.

After the sorting ceremony and the as always delicious banquet, the evening began to take an unusual turn. First, there was fierce protest from the student body when Dumbledore announced that the Inter-House Quidditch-Cup would not take place this school year. Harry, however, couldn't care less. He loved to fly, but he wasn't interested in Quidditch. He wouldn't know which team to cheer on anyway.

The protest was replaced by excitement when Dumbledore subsequently announced that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament this year. Harry had read about it once and was able to understand why this excited the other students so much, but otherwise he did not really care about that announcement either. However, maybe that would draw attention to something different than him, unlike the last two years. That would be a welcome change at least.

After the welcome feast, Daphne did not seem to want to let go of his hand, so tightly did she clasp his fingers. Harry did not complain though. He, too, was saddened that after two months they had to sleep in different dormitories again.

Their good-night kiss therefore lasted so long that his roommates were sleeping soundly when Harry entered the dorm later. He was okay with that, Harry thought, as he lay down in his much too lonely bed, before emptying his mind and closing his eyes, even if the feeling of impending calamity simply didn't want to leave him. With the scent of sunflowers and the sight of deep blue eyes, however, a happy smile settled on the facial features of the sleeping Harry.


"The girls were already asleep as well," said Daphne as they walked by the lake early the next day. It was a wonderful, somewhat cool late summer morning. "And still slept when I left. So two moments in which I didn't have to curse them."

"Probably for the best," Harry laughed. "Not that Snape gets a whiff of it. I want to avoid the bastard as long as possible."

Daphne gave him a mixture of amusement and pity. "Then I'm sorry for telling you that Potions is our first class today."

"Oh snap."

Daphne laughed brightly but stopped when there was a sudden flash of lightning above their heads. If Harry hadn't already experienced that several times before, he would have certainly flinched and grabbed his wand. Now, however, he just looked at Fawkes, who had appeared in the cool morning air, wrapped in smoke.

"Fawkes!" Daphne exclaimed with joy, and Harry also greeted the phoenix with a smile.

Fawkes immediately settled on Daphne's shoulders, from where he looked at her with anticipation. Harry felt queasy.

"Oh Fawkes!" said Daphne sadly. "We're so sorry. We couldn't find anything in Alexandria."

The phoenix hung his head.

"But we'll keep trying," Harry said. "We will continue to search. We will try everything and also go back to Alexandria. We won't give up until we find a solution. I promise you that!"

Daphne's eyes were filled with love and gratitude as she beamed at him.

And Fawkes? With a powerful stroke of his wings, the phoenix rose from Daphne's shoulder and flew to Harry.

He felt like Fawkes' golden eyes were looking to the bottom of his soul. Apparently, the phoenix had to like what he saw, because after a few seconds he gave a benevolent-sounding call, before rubbing his head on Harry's cheek. Harry felt a cozy warmth fill him, sealing their renewed pact.


In the weeks that followed, Harry and Daphne fell back into their old patterns. In addition to their normal classes, they resumed their private lessons with McGonagall and Flitwick, although the two professors sometimes jokingly remarked that if they continued to learn so quickly, they would soon have nothing to teach them anymore.

Harry was very grateful to the teachers who treated him kindly – besides McGonagall and Flitwick, Lupin and Hagrid were among them – because everyone else treated him either with complete indifference (most of the other professors), sheer hatred (Snape), or a mixture fear and suspiciousness (the other students). So nothing had changed over the summer. Malfoy and Co. also behaved inconspicuously again, even though Harry was still on guard after the scene on the train.

Otherwise, Harry was happy to be able to continue his training with Daphne. Their practice fights were getting fiercer and with anyone else Harry would have been seriously scared of hurting them, but so far nothing had happened.

They also spent more and more time practicing the demonic spells that they could wrest from their secret books, even if their mental connection remained unsteady. So far, half a minute had been the longest period they had been able to do magic together; and only after extensive snogging when Harry felt he was on cloud nine.

Sometimes Fawkes also appeared in their hiding place in the Room of Requirement to watch them practice. In those moments, Harry wished there was some way to communicate properly with him, or best of all with Valeydis. Then they could learn directly from her, rather than from these old books in foreign languages. Unfortunately, this was not possible, and memories didn't help them either.

All in all, the first few weeks of school passed rather uneventfully. It was October 30th when the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang finally arrived at Hogwarts. A blonde Beauxbatons student with Veela blood in particular was gaped at by Hogwarts' male students, which Harry couldn't understand. He found Daphne more beautiful.

And the female student body drooled over a boy called Viktor Krum. Apparently, he was a celebrated Quidditch star or something. Krum was also strangely mothered by his headmaster, a grim guy with yellow teeth.

Harry and Daphne were just turning away from the crowd that had previously watched the arrival of the flying carriage and magical sailing ship when they saw Lupin beckoning them over.

"Harry, Daphne, how are you?" asked Lupin as they approached him. "Have you already finished your essay on the theory of counter-curses?"

"Of course," they both said at the same time, before grinning at each other.

Lupin, however, did not seem to have heard their answer because he was looking nervously at the ground. "Um, Harry, I wanted to ask you one more thing," he continued. Harry raised an eyebrow. What did Lupin want?

"What do you want to ask me, sir?"

Lupin looked up, taking a deep breath. "I know that last year, on October 31, you visited your parents' grave with Dumbledore. I also know that you asked Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick if they would accompany you this year. Since you can't go alone..."

"So?"

"I ... I would like to come too. On one hand, to be able to protect you too, just in case. On the other hand, I would also like to visit their grave myself, to honor them. Of course ... of course only if that's okay with you, Harry."

Lupin looked at him while Harry thought hard. Lupin had been a friend of his parents. They would certainly be happy to see him. He couldn't forbid a man from visiting his dead friends, could he? After all, Lily and James Potter's life hadn't just consisted of being his parents...

And so it happened that Harry, along with Daphne, Lupin, McGonagall, and Flitwick, entered the cemetery in Godric's Hollow for the third time in his life the next day. Fortunately, no one else seemed to be there, even though Harry could see fresh flowers on his parents' grave.

"Thank you for accompanying me today," Harry turned to the three professors who looked sad, especially Lupin. "But please let me and Daphne go to the grave alone."

Harry and Daphne then approached the marble tombstone hand in hand.

Smiling, they looked down at the flowers on the grave. "They're still being thought of," said Daphne softly.

"Yes," Harry replied. "But mostly because they were murdered by Voldemort. That's what they are to most people. But to me ... to me they are so much more. They're my parents. And I love them."

Daphne hugged him from the side and was just there for him. When the tears finally came, she cried with him. At that moment, they were truly two young souls, bound by their love and grief.

Harry had no idea how much time had passed when they stepped back to the waiting teachers. The sun in the sky had definitely moved far to the west. McGonagall blew her nose with a colored handkerchief, apparently she had been weeping too. Lupin, on the other hand, was as white as a sheet, while Flitwick gave him a sympathetic look.

"Thank you for waiting," said Harry sincerely. "If you want, you can also go to the grave."

McGonagall and Flitwick shook their heads slightly, but Lupin went and knelt in front of the tombstone. When his body started to shake, it was obvious that he was crying heavily. At that moment, Harry realized that Lupin had indeed loved his parents and missed them deeply. Maybe he should really try to get to know his parents' last remaining friend...


"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory," called Dumbledore after the goblet's flame had spat out the last piece of parchment. Before that, Krum and the Veela girl had been selected for Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. What a surprise that the two most striking students in their schools were chosen.

Harry and Daphne clapped politely for the Hufflepuff student, while the rest of the hall, which was lit by flickering candles in carved pumpkins this night, broke into applause. Harry, however, was bored. He would much rather have spent the evening alone with Daphne, but participation in this selection ceremony was mandatory, so they had to sit here with the other students.

The applause for Diggory went on so long that Dumbledore needed several attempts to regain attention. "Excellent," the headmaster called happily as the last tumult died down. "We now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you to support your respective champions with all your strength. By cheering on your champion, you can contribute –"

Dumbledore fell silent as the goblet's fire turned red again. All eyes were on the goblet, which wasn't supposed to behave like that, after all, they already had their three champions. A cold shiver ran down Harry's back.

Suddenly, a long flame shot into the air, and borne upon it was a fourth piece of parchment. Harry got a really bad feeling. Couldn't things go normal? Only one time?

As if in a trance, Dumbledore raised his arm and seized the paper. Shaking slightly, Dumbledore silently read the name written on it, while everyone in the room stared at the headmaster. After what felt like an eternity in which Harry could only hear his own heartbeat, Dumbledore cleared his throat. With a motionless face, he read out – "Harry Potter."

Harry felt as if a large tub of icy water had been poured over him. A terrible cold spread throughout his body as he tried to clear his mind. It couldn't be true. He must have misheard.

But the reactions of the other students left no doubt. All eyes were on him, whispers broke out everywhere. People got up to see him better. No, he clearly hadn't misheard. The Goblet of Fire had actually spit out his name.

Harry suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right hand. Turning his head, he saw Daphne, trembling violently, her fingernails clawing into his hand. And her usually beautiful blue eyes showed panicked fear. Seeing her like that broke his heart. He wanted to hug her, tell her everything would be fine, or just run away with her.

Before he could do anything like that, Dumbledore's loud voice rang again. "Harry Potter. Up here."

The whispering got even louder as the students started talking to their neighbors. Harry saw a lonely tear run down Daphne's cheek and was raising his hand to wipe it away when suddenly someone grabbed him by the arm.

"Can't you hear, Potter?" Snape hissed at him. "Come with me. Now."

"Hey," Harry protested as Snape pulled him behind.

"I'll wait for you," Daphne cried, and even if her voice trembled only slightly, Harry heard that she was on the edge of despair.

The desire to curse Snape and run to Daphne and never let her go was almost unbearable for Harry. However, he also knew that whoever was behind this doom wouldn't already try to kill him tonight.

Still, he felt like he was on the way to his own execution, in which Snape took on the role of executioner. Harry did not protest anymore, he had to think. He also tried to ignore the shocked faces as they passed the teacher's desk. For as long as possible, he kept eye contact with Daphne.

I love you, Daphne. I'll come back to you. Always.

He hoped Daphne understood the meaning of his looks, as darkness enveloped him.


Daphne tore her hair as she walked up and down in front of the small chamber. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that it hurt, but she didn't care. For all her thoughts revolved around Harry, who, at that very moment, was on the other side of the door.

Why? Why had the goblet spit out Harry's name? There could be only one reason – someone wanted to see him dead!

At the thought, Daphne again tore her hair. She slid down and now sat with her back leaning against the wall.

Who? Who wanted to endanger and kill Harry? Probably way too many. But how?

Daphne felt her trembling again. She hated herself for it. She hated the state she was in. feeling so weak and helpless. At least Harry had been with her the last time, holding her in his arms, but now she was all alone.

The last time she had felt so bad had been during their second school year when she had thought that Harry would hate her, that she had lost him forever...

No, damn it! She wouldn't lose Harry. She would fight with him and kill every bastard who would try to take her Harry away! Everyone else can go hang. They both were the only ones who mattered. The only ones in this fucking world.

All of a sudden, the door to the chamber opened and several people came out. Daphne jumped up immediately. The foreign headmasters and champions hurried away, apparently quite annoyed. They gave Daphne a disparaging look, but she was only looking for Harry. Where was he? Why didn't he come out too?

Then, a few minutes later, he finally stepped through the door, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Without hesitation, Daphne jumped forward, right into Harry's arms. At last, she felt his body again, smelling his scent, feeling safe and secure.

"All's well, Daph," Harry whispered in her ear. "I'll never leave you. All's well."

Daphne just sobbed, being finally able to weep freely.

Harry slowly stroked Daphne's back as she cried uncontrollably against his chest, almost not noticing how Dumbledore, McGonagall and Lupin passed them, giving them both sympathetic looks.

At some point, Daphne's tears, which hurt Harry's heart every time, dried up. Her chest rose and fell slightly as Harry lovingly stroked her hair.

"Let's go," he whispered. "Where we can talk."

Daphne nodded slowly as she wiped tears from her face. Harry took her hand and together they ran up to the seventh floor, to their secret retreat, which they could now use all too well.

Once there, they hugged each other, giving them some sense of security. The minutes passed without either of them saying anything.

Harry went through everything in his head, again coming to the same conclusion. Daphne apparently did the same, because at some point she broke away from Harry, looking at him with reddened eyes.

"People have already died in this tournament," she said quietly.

"Yes."

"And you didn't put your name in the goblet," Daphne continued. Harry nodded. "Then that can only mean that..." Daphne stopped. Apparently, she did not have the heart to speak the fateful truth.

"I came to the same conclusion," Harry therefore spoke, wondering why he was so calm. Even in the small chamber after the selection ceremony. Everyone had talked insistently to him - Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Crouch, Bagman, Karkaroff, Maxime, the other champions. Again and again, he had repeated that he hadn't put his name in the goblet, but there was no way out. He had to take part in the tournament. So, he had directed all his thoughts towards one goal – surviving the tasks. He couldn't afford to lose his head. He had to be strong; he had to be strong for Daphne and for himself. And for their future together.

At his words, Daphne's fingers clawed into his robe.

Harry continued thoughtfully, "Ganda had said it too, didn't she? Evil looms over us, she said. We should have probably taken her warning more seriously." Daphne looked at him with wide eyes. "There's some kind of menace out there. Maybe it's Voldemort, maybe a Death Eater, or someone who, for some reason, is hostile to me. Maybe it's a conspiracy. I don't know. But I know that there can only be one reason why I'm participating in this tournament. Someone wants me to die."

That was it. Harry had spoken the tremendous words that were the only logical conclusion. Someone wanted to see him dead.

Daphne's entire body cramped in Harry's arms, but he was sure that Daphne had come to the same conclusion when she had been waiting for him, clever girl she was. Soothingly, he stroked her back again. He noticed that she forced herself to breath in and out calmly before raising her head.

Her ice-blue eyes flashing, she responded, "Anyone who wants to get to you must first pass me. Whoever it is who wants to do this to you, I ... I will not hesitate to rip out all their limbs one by one! I'll make them bleed and suffer! Nobody will take you away from me! Nobody will kill you!"

Daphne had become louder and louder and was now gasping for breath.

Harry felt a warm feeling in his heart. He knew that if their roles were reversed, he would say exactly the same.

With a terrible vulnerability in her voice, Daphne continued, "I'm serious, Harry. That I can no longer live without you, I mean. If ... if something happened to you –"

"It won't," Harry interrupted her, tightening his hug. "I'll fight. We'll fight together. And we will live. Together. I promise you."

Harry also felt his heart racing with dither. He didn't want to die. He couldn't die. He had far too much to lose.

Daphne buried her face in his chest. "Yes, we will live," she sobbed. "Oh Harry, you can't imagine how much I love you!"

"And I love you, Daph."

The two teenagers held each other for so long to give comfort and strength that it was already in the middle of the night when they finally broke away. Since neither of them wanted to be separated from the other, they decided to spend the night in the Room of Requirement.

They stripped down to their underwear and lay down in a large four-poster bed that the room had created. Daphne pressed close to Harry so that her chest touched his torso. Either she didn't notice Harry's physical response, or she chose to ignore it.

She straightened up slightly, looking at him with unfathomable eyes. "What are we going to do now?" she whispered.

Harry brushed a few strands off Daphne's face. He had always loved her honey blonde hair, and Daphne had let it grow longer over the past few months. Harry was only too happy about that. The longer the better. Daphne, however, said that her long hair was hampering her in the fight and was considering cutting it back to shoulder length, but Harry thought that was only an excuse if she lost to him in a duel.

"Harry!" Daphne's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Harry blinked several times. "Sorry," he murmured. "I was lost in thought." A mischievous smile crept onto his face. "I was thinking about how incredibly beautiful you are."

The fact that Daphne didn't react to his compliment only showed him once again that nothing was normal anymore. Would have been too nice and easy, right?

"Please Harry," Daphne said imploringly. "What do we do now?"

Harry sighed. What should they do? There was only one thing they could do…

"I'll train even more," he said firmly. He had already made this decision shortly after his selection. "I will try to find out what the tasks are as soon as possible. Then I will look for ways to complete the tasks. And then I'll practice, practice, practice. I'll –

"Not I," Daphne interrupted. "We. We'll do all this. We're in this together, remember?"

Full of love, Harry looked at his partner, who actually looked like an angel at that moment. The light of the moon that shone in through the windows even played around her hair like a halo. However, Harry knew that his beloved's heart was not the heart of an angel, but that of a demoness. And he was her demon.

Thanking providence that had brought them both together, he leaned over to kiss Daphne. For who could love the two of them, broken as they were, if not the other? They were accomplices in this worldly tragedy. And the world had no idea who it was messing with!


It was an unusual day in the life of Potions Master Severus Snape. He already hated Halloween because it was the anniversary of Lily's death, his childhood friend and love of his life. Thus, like every year, he had apparated to the cemetery in Godric's Hollow early in the morning to put flowers on her grave.

As always, the tears had come at some point. And the self-recrimination. Only because of him Lily was dead...

As always, hatred had come eventually. That cursed name on the tombstone. Potter. If he hadn't taken Lily away from him, she would still be alive today...

Damn Potter. And his son was just like him, just as arrogant and conceited. No wonder none of the other kids could stand him, just the Greengrass girl. But if it was true what his acquaintances had told him about her parents, then her brain was probably just mush from an early age anyway; one had just to look at the Longbottoms...

Severus was now on the way to one of these acquaintances. He had been surprised when, on the evening after the Potter rascal had put his name into the goblet and was selected as champion, he suddenly received a message from Lucius asking for a meeting. However, it had taken several hours for Severus to seclude himself. The Ministry, the teachers, and above all Dumbledore, were in a tizz because of Potter. He, on the other hand, didn't care about the boy's fate. He didn't remind him of his Lily in any way.

But what did Lucius want so suddenly? Could it be his Dark Mark? Severus' had darkened in the past few weeks after fading thirteen years before.

These thoughts circled in Severus' head as the green flames spewed him out in an atrium that was far too luxuriant. Marble columns, covers of silk, golden decorations. Severus had always hated so much show-off. He also disliked his host, the lord of all this swank, who was waiting for him on the other side of the fireplace.

"Why are you only coming now?" Lucius snapped, visibly impatient. "I told you hours ago to come here."

"I was busy," replied Severus. "Potter. Do you know anything about it?"

Lucius paled. He looked at Severus with an unfathomable look before speaking again, "Later. We must go. Take my arm."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What's that, Lucius? Where do you want to go? I have neither the time nor the desire for your stupid gatherings that –"

"That's not it. Believe me, we have to hurry. Otherwise we will both regret it."

Lucius continued to hold out his arm while Severus eyed him carefully. He definitely saw that Lucius was nervous, even terrified. But terrified of what? So far, he had only seen Lucius so anxious about one man. Severus tensed. That would at least explain his Dark Mark...

If his guess was correct, then he really had no choice but to go with Lucius. Still, he felt like he was going to his own execution when he grabbed Lucius' arm, feeling the familiar pull of Apparition.

Severus' entire body ached when he reappeared in his office in Hogwarts. There, the headmaster's blue eyes, shimmering through half-moon-shaped glasses, immediately focused on him.

"And what did he want?" Dumbledore asked impatiently.

How much Severus wanted to tell the truth, tell him the whole heinous plan, but he couldn't. As much as he wanted.

Controlled by an inner bondage, he simply replied, "He's afraid. His Dark Mark also gets darker again. But he knows nothing else."

Dumbledore sighed and slumped in a chair, is 113 years being all too clear to see at that moment. "That ... that's a disappointment. I was hoping…" Dumbledore shook his head.

Read my mind, Severus thought desperately. Break my barriers, you old fool. You could do that without effort.

But the noble, the good-natured, the wise Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was of course far too trusting to do so. He didn't have the qualities needed to win this war. And so he was blind to Severus' silent supplication.

"We know far too little," said Dumbledore, dejected. "The threat is hidden in the shadows. We have to be vigilant. Tell me immediately if your sources know anything."

"Yes, headmaster." You senile old goat head. Don't just trust me so easily. Please!

"And we have to watch out for Harry," Dumbledore continued with the same gloom that seemed to bother him every time they spoke about the boy.

"Yes." Take the boy away! Bloody hell, look me in the eye. See the truth! Read my thoughts!

Severus' pleas were not answered. With sagging shoulders, Dumbledore wished him a good night, before leaving the office. Thus, the conspiracy could continue to thrive.


Harry hurried back to the dungeon as fast as he could under his Invisibility Cloak, his thoughts revolving around what he had just learned.

That will be the first task? Were they fucking kidding him? No wonder that people were constantly dying in this tournament.

Harry swore inwardly at the thought of the tournament. Three weeks had passed since he was selected as the fourth champion. Of course, the other students didn't believe that he hadn't put his name into the goblet himself. So it happened that he was again the center of attention and rumor mill. He had long ago abandoned hope of friendly relationships with his classmates, but at least he had hoped for a quiet school year. Well, he had to give up that hope as well.

The newspapers, of course, jumped on the bandwagon, printinh tall tale upon tall tale about him. Skeeter had even tried to interview him again during the weighing of the wands, which Harry had immediately rejected, as a matter of course. Later, Skeeter had disappeared off the face of the earth and was only found in a broom closet after thirty hours, tied up, soaked in her own urine, and covered all over with warts. There were coincidences...

He and Daphne, however, had spent most of the past three weeks in the Room of Requirement. Harry was allowed to stay away from class whenever he wanted and no longer had to do homework to be able to fully prepare for the tournament. That wasn't really the case for Daphne, but some of their teachers turned a blind eye. In the other classes, she only did the bare minimum if she didn't skip from the beginning. As a result, her grades had plummeted. Well, that would at least please Granger...

They both had trained every single free minute, repeating every combat spell they had ever learned ad nauseam; plus new curses that they had found in books in the Room of Requirement. Harry would have also liked to continue training the demon magic, but he had to handle the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament alone, help from others was forbidden. And most of all, he would never let Daphne put herself in such a danger.

No, he felt well prepared for every fight and he doubted that the other three champions trained as hard and relentlessly as he did. Nevertheless, what Hagrid had just shown him shocked him deeply.

Harry had now arrived at the entrance to the Slytherin common room. In Parseltongue, he ordered the wall to open, before running into the room. There he saw Daphne in her usual place by the window, the greenish water of the lake reflecting on her face as she looked up at his steps.

Harry tore off the Invisibility Cloak and cast some privacy spells so no one could listen to their conversation.

"And?" Daphne asked impatiently. "What did Hagrid want?"

"Dragons," Harry replied simply, looking firmly into his girlfriend's eyes. They now knew what the first task would be and henceforth all they had to do was find a solution for it in the next three days. Nothing easier than that, right?

Daphne winced at his words. Instead of getting another panic attack, however, she just closed her eyes this time. She breathed in and out several times before looking at him again. The same flames of determination blazed in her eyes that also filled Harry.

"Then it looks like we'll have to figure out how to kill a dragon."


Next chapter: Hogwarts' Qualm

Preview:

Tears streamed down Daphne's face as she ran away, ignoring the calls from Lupin and Hagrid. Her life had lost all its meaning.


AN:

That Lupin continues to be a teacher at Hogwarts is because Snape didn't bear such a grudge at the end of the third year as he did in the canon. So he never blurted out that Lupin is a werewolf. I don't think the position of DADA teacher is cursed.