Many thanks to those that reviewed the previous chapters. everything is happily progressing, with assistance to the positive feedback that my stories are receiving. please R&R, and enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Three

Hogwarts Hosts

Harry wasn't all together sure what transpired just after the green skull had appeared in the sky above the sea of tents. It had barely registered in Harry's mind before the sound of many wizards Apparating around them, and Harry was being pushed to the ground by Hermione as Faykan conjured a large dazzling ward around them, deflecting the twenty or more stunners sent at them by the Ministry wizards. They were saved by Mr. Weasley's cries of 'Stop! That's my son!'

They were then interrogated by Mr. Crouch, who seemed rather frazzled by the symbol in the sky, the 'Dark Mark' he had called it. It took several minutes to finally convince Mr. Crouch that the four children couldn't have made the Mark, and after investigating where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Faykan heard the voice, the Ministry wizards found a house elf, the same creature Harry remembered seeing in the Top Box, and again in the woods as they were running. The strangest thing, however, was that the elf, Winky, was found with Ron's wand in her grasp, and that the wand had, in fact, been the wand to produce the Mark.

After Mr. Diggory rather curtly interrogated Winky, much to Hermione's increasing irritation, Mr. Crouch, as Winky's owner, dismissed her as his servant despite the evidence pointing to her innocence, which caused the small creature to break down in anguished sobs. Mr. Weasley recovered Ron's wand and ushered them all back to the tent for the rest of the night, and they portkeyed early the next day back to the Burrow.

Mrs. Weasley was beside herself when they returned, hugging them all in turn, and all but crushing Fred and George in her embrace. Mr. Weasley gathered the morning paper and read it aloud for them all, finally concluding that he was going to be needed at the Ministry, and both he and Percy set off.

"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry suddenly, unable to contain himself, "Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?"

"Hedwig, dear?" said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. "No... No, there hasn't been any post at all."

Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry. With a meaningful look at both of them he said, "All right if I go and dump my stuff in your room, Ron?"

"Yeah... think I will too," said Ron at once. "Hermione, Fay?"

"Yes," they replied quickly, and the four of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"What's up, Harry?" said Ron, the moment they had closed the door of the attic room behind them.

"There's something I haven't told you two," Harry said. "On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again."

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In one of the highest towers of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk pondering over the events that he had been collecting, and adding the most recent bits of information that he had gathered.

Just before the end of the previous year, Miss Granger had come to him clearly conflicted about revealing some important piece of information. While he had wanted to pry into her mind and just take everything he could, Albus had been blocked by the same sort of powerful Occlumency that guarded Harry and Faykan's minds from him, and therefore had been forced to keep to just what the girl had been willing to divulge.

What Granger had said however, was important enough on its own that he did not need too much in regard to the full details. Apparently Faykan Undol had brought into Hogwarts a powerful object, some sort of orb that had aided him in placing the barriers over the children's minds, and also it had shown visions of a ruinous future to the young Gryffindor girl, frightening her to the possibility that Harry might have died on the fated night when the Dementors attacked him, Sirius, and Faykan.

What she left unsaid, was perhaps more pointed than what she had mentioned, as Albus had asked many pointed questions regarding that vision, or series of vision, and concluded that what she had seen was in part a potential future, and in part a manifestation of her own distrust and fears.

But still, the idea of a powerful demon-like terror that young Faykan could become if Harry were to die was a significant threat to Albus, as the horrific destiny that Harry had before him could easily bring about something similar to that vision. The last thing that Albus wanted was to face an opponent so young and yet so terribly powerful, if what he learned about the boy these last three years was remotely true. He had gratefully erased the memory of their meeting from Miss Granger, and sent her on her way, as with a careful nudge she lost her nerve to spill her information and wished him a good summer before departing.

Albus had to, unfortunately, eliminate or otherwise severely weaken Undol in order for his plan with Harry to defeat Voldemort was to go on without problems. The idea that Harry had to die in order for Voldemort to be defeated would not sit with Faykan at all, especially if the rumors of a romantic attachment between the boys were even remotely true. Albus was not one to give credit to a boy as twisted or slightly ill as Theodore Nott, but the evidence was present for a terrible attachment between the two Gryffindors, and to sever such a relationship would cause terrible repercussions.

Harry's anger, Albus could handle, but Faykan's would be of a magnitude that Albus could only guess at. That was not worth trying to venture. There would be a way to weaken, distract, and potentially put the boy into a situation where Albus could add the tiniest manipulation to the boy's mind, transferring even a bit of the loyalty he had for Harry to the Headmaster himself.

But in order for such a spell to work, Undol would have to be under immense pressure, and nothing short of a dire emergency would bring that about with how strong the boy's endurance was. The Triwizard Tournament would be perfect for accomplishing just that needed situation. As luck would have it, the tournament was being forced upon Hogwarts this year, and Albus hoped that his little suggestions would tip the balance in his favor just enough to accomplish his ends without anyone being the wiser for it.

He had no doubts that, if his name found its way into the Goblet of Fire, Undol would be chosen to compete, even over seventh years. The boy would triumph, without much in the way of challenge, but the mental strain in addition to a few other tricks that Albus would be implementing over the year would set him up for at least a single nervous breakdown, which would give Albus the moment he needed.

He was just not penning out his suggestions for the three tasks, and figuring out the logistics of where to put the beasts that would be needed for them to go as smoothly as possible.

Albus was disturbed out of his thoughts of the Triwizard tournament by a loud cawing from outside his window. Turning in his chair, Albus was surprised to find, not a single raven, but a complete murder of the blackest, largest birds circling through the turrets and towers of Hogwarts, cawing madly as they wheeled and turned, finally diving down to settle in, of all places, the Whomping Willow.

This caused Albus to raise his eyebrows in genuine astonishment, that tree never permitted anything to roost in its branches, but there it was, contentedly swaying under the weight of the hundred or so black birds, all of which had their eyes turned up to the castle, almost expectantly.

Albus remembered the report from Severus about the ravens of Germany taking flight towards Britain in response to a pulse of powerful magic, but to control so many creatures so far from their home was indeed a feat. Hopefully it would prove beneficial to Albus, but regardless of the odd phenomenon he must prepare continue to plans for his goal.

Getting the boy into the tournament would be child's play. He was easily the strongest student in Hogwarts, so all Albus had to do was place his name in the Goblet for him, and it would naturally select him. The only difficulty would be preparing dangerous enough tasks without being too obvious. 'Perhaps a small chat with Charlie Weasley would prove most profitable,' Albus thought as he returned to his paperwork…

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Harry could sense a definite end-of-the-holidays gloom in the air over the final week before the return to Hogwarts. Both Bill and Charlie were still at the Burrow, so Harry and Faykan were continuing to adjust to sharing a bed at night.

Personally, Harry felt it was rather pleasant, after overcoming the initial discomfort and embarrassment, sleeping with the soothing sounds of another person's heart beat and breathing, and being kept warm by the extra body heat. It was an interesting experience, and sometimes made Harry wonder what it would have been like to have siblings, although he didn't dwell on that thought very long. Not that Harry would want something like sharing a bed with another bloke a permanent habit any time soon that was.

Hermione had been rather unbearable ever since the aftermath of the World Cup. Any mention of house elves or Mr. Crouch would set her off ranting about slavery and the unfairness of the wizarding world to their fellow magical creatures. Needless to say, Percy and Hermione got into several arguments over the week, and today turned out no different. "Now look here, Hermione!" said Percy. "A high-ranking Ministry official like Mr. Crouch deserves unswerving obedience from his servants…"

"His slave, you mean!" said Hermione, her voice rising passionately, "because he didn't pay Winky, did he?"

"I think you'd all better go upstairs and check that you've packed properly!" said Mrs. Weasley, breaking up the argument as she had many times already. "Come on now, all of you..."

Harry, having been working on polishing his Firebolt, repacked his broomstick servicing kit and swung his broom over his shoulder as he, Faykan and Ron mounted the stairs.

The rain sounded even louder at the top of the house, accompanied by loud whistlings and moans from the wind, not to mention sporadic howls from the ghoul who lived in the attic. Pigwidgeon began twittering and zooming around his cage when they entered. The sight of the half-packed trunks seemed to have sent him into a frenzy of excitement.

"Bung him some Owl Treats," said Ron, throwing a packet across to Harry. "It might shut him up."

Harry poked a few Owl Treats through the bars of Pigwidgeon's cage, and then turned to his trunk. Hedwig's cage stood next to it, still empty.

"It's been over a week," Harry said, looking at Hedwig's deserted perch. "You don't reckon Sirius has been caught do you?" he asked out loud.

"Nah, it would've been in the Daily Prophet," said Ron. "The Ministry would want to show they'd caught someone, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah, I suppose..."

"Besides," Faykan added, "Sirius is far too smart to get caught by the Ministry. They only got him the first time because he was torn up with grief. Now that he knows you're relying on him; he'll keep himself safe."

"That's what I'm worried about," Harry replied, worried. What would Sirius do when he heard about Harry's scar?

"Look," Ron said abruptly, "here's the stuff Mum got you both in Diagon Alley. And she's got some gold out of your vaults for you... and she's washed all your socks."

Harry smiled as Ron pushed two large piles of parcels and clothes onto Harry's and Faykan's bed. Ron knew when a distraction was in order, and for that Harry was very glad they were friends.

Harry put his money bag aside and started opening the shopping packages. Apart from 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, by Miranda Goshawk,' he had a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment, and refills for his potion making kit, he had been running low on spine of lionfish and essence of belladonna. He was just piling underwear into his cauldron when Ron made a loud noise of disgust behind him.

"What is that supposed to be?"

He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long, maroon velvet dress. It had a moldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs. There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley entered, carrying an armful of freshly laundered Hogwarts robes.

"Here you are," she said, sorting them into three piles. "Now, mind you pack them properly so they don't crease."

"Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress," said Ron, handing it out to her.

"Of course I haven't," said Mrs. Weasley. "That's for you. Dress robes."

"What?" said Ron, horrorstruck.

"Dress robes!" repeated Mrs. Weasley. "It says on your school list that you're supposed to have dress robes this year... robes for formal occasions."

"You've got to be kidding," said Ron in disbelief. "I'm not wearing that, no way."

"Everyone wears them, Ron!" said Mrs. Weasley crossly. "They're all like that! Your father's got some for smart parties!"

"I'll go starkers before I put that on," said Ron stubbornly. Faykan sniggered behind Mrs. Weasley as he placed his folded robes in his trunk.

"Don't be so silly," said Mrs. Weasley. "You've got to have dress robes; they're on your list! I got some for Harry and Faykan too... show him, boys..."

In some trepidation, Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he had expected, however; his dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all. In fact, they were more or less the same as his school ones, except that they were bottle green instead of black. Faykan held up a similar pair, midnight blue trimmed in black.

"I thought they'd bring out the color of your eyes," said Mrs. Weasley fondly to the two of them as Harry and Faykan examined their robes.

"Well, they're okay!" said Ron angrily, looking at Faykan's and Harry's robes. "Why couldn't I have some like that?"

"Because... well, I had to get yours secondhand, and there wasn't a lot of choice!" said Mrs. Weasley, flushing.

Harry looked away. He would willingly have split all the money in his Gringotts vault with the Weasleys, and he knew Faykan was of the same opinion, but he also knew the family would never take any charity.

"I'm never wearing them," Ron was saying stubbornly. "Never."

"Fine," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "Go naked. And you two, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh."

She left the room, slamming the door behind her. There was a funny spluttering noise from behind them. Pigwidgeon was choking on an overlarge Owl Treat.

"Why is everything I own rubbish?" said Ron furiously, striding across the room to unstick Pigwidgeon's beak.

"Come off it Ron," Said Faykan, twirling his wand absently in his left hand while Ron removed the treat from the tiny Scops owl's beak, "it's not like we can't make them less… you know… old looking."

With that, Faykan pointed his wand at the door, locking it with a soft click, and then proceeding to levitate Ron's dress robes in front of the lanky boy's body. "Alright, first the need a small resizing to fit snugly," Faykan said, causing the robe's sleeves and hem to lengthen to the end of Ron's wrists and ankles, "next, the lace," Faykan then slashed the lace away with several decisive severing charms, leaving the neck and sleeves looking much more masculine, "which leaves us with that awful shade of maroon…" he looked Ron up and down for a second or two, "How do you feel about more of a violet?" Ron shrugged and Faykan waved his wand, causing the robes to change to a deep purple hue, with the outer edges trimmed in gold. Ron smile down at the newly transfigured robes; they did look a lot more pleasant than previously.

Faykan looked around the room, searching for something, "Just needs one final touch… Ah, accio!" from a deep corner of the room came flying a golden tinted crown that Harry remembered from their first year. It sailed over and landed with a metallic clink on Ron's head, fitting much better than it had three years previous.

"I give you, Harry, the Weasel King!" Faykan proclaimed, bowing deeply to Ron, whose ears turned pink as Harry roared with laughter.

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Hermione sat trying to read during the ride to Hogwarts as Ron complained loudly about his family refusing to tell any of them about what the special event that was happening at Hogwarts this year.

"Bagman wanted to tell us what's happening," he said grumpily, finally sitting down next to Harry. "At the World Cup, remember? But my own mother won't say. Wonder what…"

Hermione paused as she heard voices coming from the next compartment over, "Shh!" she whispered suddenly, silencing the three boys so they could also listen in on Theodore Nott's all to familiar drawls.

"…Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the Headmaster there, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore already, the Mudblood lover, but Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But mother's fondest wish was for her children to go to Hogwarts, and Father wanted to honor her memory when she died. But did you know Durmstrang students actually study the Dark Arts, not just the defense rubbish we do…"

Hermione got up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slid it shut, blocking out the boy's sarcastic voice.

"So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" she said angrily. "I wish he had gone, we wouldn't have to put up with him then."

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said Hermione, "and it's got a horrible reputation. According to 'An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe,' it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts."

"Ah, but think of the possibilities," said Ron dreamily. "It would've been so easy to push Nott off a glacier and make it look like an accident..."

Even Hermione found the comment humorous.

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Draco managed to escape the Slytherin fourth year compartment without Nott noticing, he had become extremely vindictive of anyone he associated with Harry or Faykan since last year, and being the Malfoy heir was becoming a rapidly thinning shield. Draco walked down the isle of the Hogwarts Express, looking for his true friends, and was stopped by Blaise Zabini on his way toward the front of the train.

"Looking for Potter and Undol?" he asked with an uncaring hint of distaste.

"And if I am?" Draco retorted suspiciously. Blaise was, for however much he disliked Nott, still not trustworthy to Draco. His mother had outlived seven husbands, and most than likely taught her son that, to survive, you must be ready to stab your friends in the back if necessary. It would certainly explain his lack of friends at Hogwarts.

"Well," the black boy said, shifting as a seventh year passed, "you would want to know that they're in the compartment next to ours, on the other side…"

"Oh…" Draco replied, slightly embarrassed, but refusing to show it, "Well, thanks, then." And he moved back toward the rear of the train, moved past the Slytherin compartment, and peeked inside the next one.

His friends were indeed inside. Ron was talking with Neville Longbottom about the World Cup; Hermione was reading from her 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4,' and both Harry and Faykan were staring out the widow, watching the landscape fly past as the train speeded north. "Oh, hello Draco," Hermione said as he slid the compartment door open.

"Hello," Draco replied, taking a seat next to her, across from Longbottom. Ron perked up immediately as he saw Draco, "Hey, you dad is involved with the Ministry Draco, what the big event that's going to happen this year? No one will tell us."

Draco smirked, "How can you not know already Ron, you have two people in your family who actually work for the Ministry…"

"Well, Percy doesn't really count as a person more than as a fanatical rule freak, so…" Faykan interjected from the far side of the compartment. Draco sniggered slightly. Any family whose members included Percy Weasley defiantly were far too Gryffindor for their own good.

"As a matter of fact I do know Ron, my father…" Draco paused after saying the word, it felt oddly sour in his mouth, "he heard it from Minister Fudge himself." Draco leaned in and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "It seems that the Triwizard Tournament is set to be restarted at Hogwarts this year."

Neville, Ron, and Hermione gasped, Harry looked confused, and Faykan looked torn between smiling and frowning at the same instant. "But," Hermione said, "It was disbanded after so many people were killed. Why would the Ministry bring something that dangerous back?"

"I don't know the specifics Hermione," Draco said, deflating slightly, "knowing Dumbledore, there will probably be some kind of safety measures in place."

"Who cares about that," Ron said, his face ready to split in two, "hey, are you going to enter Fay?" he said, glancing over.

"Me?" Faykan asked as if he never considered the possibility, "Absolutely not. Like I want more money, or fame and glory… all overrated if you ask me." He said.

They spent a few discussing the tournament, speculating on who could be chosen, and what might happen during it. Draco was pleasantly surprised that Hermione knew quiet a bit about the functioning of the previous tournaments, and their outcomes. Finally, Hermione and Neville left to get changed into their school robes, and Draco could speak more freely.

"So, are we continuing to meet in the Room of Requirement for your special defense training Fay?" he asked as the Gryffindors pulled their robes on.

"I don't see any reason to the contrary, unless you have objections…" Faykan replied as the boy pulled a jumper over his head.

Naturally, Draco did not, so he simply smiled as he pondered what his crafty friend had in store this year for them to learn as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station.

Hagrid greeted them as they piled out of the train with the rest of the school. The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads. Or at least it would have if Faykan hadn't cleverly warded them all to repel water, making it so that they were all comfortably warm and dry as they climbed into one of the many horseless carriages, which set off with a rumbling lurch toward the castle.

Draco noticed that Faykan seemed to be watching the shafts of their carriage, as if something was yoked there. It was odd, but Draco assumed that Faykan was just thinking about something as he was prone to do often.

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Severus watched the masses of drenched students enter the Great Hall with his usual sneer firmly in place, but inwardly he was searching specifically for a handful of students.

He spotted several immediately, Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein, all Ravenclaw fourth year boys, nodded at him as they sat down. These were the students that he and Albus has hand picked to 'observe' Undol during the times that neither Albus nor Severus could, and to report on what the boy was up to.

Of course, none of the three boys were told why, simply that they were being offered extra tutelage in observing powerful wizards with the Lynx Eye Charm and that Mr. Undol was a prime candidate for study before being left to their own devices.

Minutes later the subject in questioned made his appearance, perfectly dry and surrounded by his usual Gryffindor trio and Draco, who broke off to head to the Slytherin table. Severus glanced once more at the three Ravenclaw agents, who were all staring fixedly at Undol, clearly sizing up their year long project.

Severus wondered absently how quickly the three boys would discover that Undol was an animagus, as they had a better head start than Severus himself. He still could not believe that he never made the connection of Undol's tattoos and the blasted fox's fur pattern, it was obvious now. If he ever caught the boy in that form, the boy would find himself locked in a cage for hours as punishment.

But… there were so many questions Severus had about the boy. If he was indeed as Albus thought, trying to harm Potter, then why has he waited so long to act? Why integrate himself so fully into Potter's confidence when he was so powerful he could simply blast the boy apart in moments?

Then there was Theodore Nott's accusation of Undol actually being infatuated or even in love with Potter. Could it possibly be that Albus was mistaken? It had happened before; Albus explained the entire situation with Black to Severus after the Minister left. Severus has been furious at the time, mostly with Black but also with himself for allowing seven years of anger to cloud his judgment.

True he hated the man, hated him to the point where he would have handed him to the dementors without question, but in hindsight, the fear in the man's eyes was so genuine, it caused the words of an old friend to ring in his ears, "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them Sev? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement, even the very wise cannot see all ends."

Yes, Faykan, his Faykan would have spared Black, and if Severus had tried to do exactly what he did in the Shrieking Shack that night, he would have… Severus' eyes widened slightly as he realized that Undol had done exactly what his father would have in that situation, to the very letter.

Severus shook himself out of his musings with great difficulty. He was having harder and harder times not reliving the past with both Potter and Undol at Hogwarts. Severus cast his eavesdropping spell as the four Gryffindors took their seats, and listened contentedly as they prattled about Quidditch, classes, and other unimportant things, waiting for anything that might shed light on his personal questions about Undol, Albus' plan aside.

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"Hiya, Harry!" called the voice of Colin Creevey.

"Hi, Colin," replied Harry warily, hoping that Colin didn't have anything more to say. Sadly, it was not to be.

"Harry, guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother's starting! My brother Dennis!"

"Err, good," said Harry.

"He's really excited!" said Colin, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. "I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?"

"Err, yeah, all right," said Harry. He turned back to Hermione, Ron, and Faykan, who was looking rather grim at the news, "What?" Harry asked him.

"You're telling me there are two of them?" Faykan moaned loudly, and Ron and Harry laughed. Faykan never got along well with Colin, as the younger boy seemed to always find him when he was in his animagus form, and loved to treat him like a pet of Harry's, stroking his fur rather hard and clutching him like a prized plush toy.

"Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Hermione, who was looking up at the teachers to avoid laughing at Faykan herself.

Harry looked up and down the staff table. There was definitely no new face there.

"Maybe they couldn't get anyone!" said Hermione, looking anxious.

Harry scanned the table more carefully. The only face that even stood out was Snape's, because he was looking directly at them, it was slightly unnerving. Harry looked away quickly. He could still feel the Potion Master's eyes on them however, and it set his teeth on edge.

"Oh hurry up," Ron moaned, oblivious to everyone except his stomach, "I could eat a hippogriff."

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. They looked positively soaked, shivering with both nerves and cold. All but the smallest boy, who's face beamed with excitement over Hagrid's moleskin overcoat, which draped over him like a circus tent. When he had lined up with his terrified-looking peers, he caught Colin Creevey's eye, gave a double thumbs-up, and mouthed, 'I fell in the lake!' He looked positively delighted about it. The boy reminded Harry about how Faykan had stood out from among them during their own sorting, his confidence shining like a sunrise.

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Hermione caught the look that passed between Harry and Faykan as they watched the youngest Creevey boy join the rest of the first years. Hermione smiled to herself, people were easy to read if you knew what to look for.

The sparkle in Faykan's eyes when he looked at Harry was a clear tell that he was madly attracted to his best friend. Hermione didn't buy for a second Faykan's long tyraid at the end of the previous year about being like brothers with Harry.

It was just such a shame that Fay lacked the courage to even acknowledge his own feelings. Even if Harry refused him, which Hermione found unlikely to happen, she could name off several other girls and boys, who Faykan could easily find happiness with.

The stares and sidelong glances the were sent at Faykan during mealtimes over the last year were proof enough that he was indeed attractive, but Fay was singly obsessed with Harry, and was therefore blind to any other person.

Perhaps if, given time and circumstances, Hermione could nudge the two closer together and convince Faykan to express himself. As the first new Ravenclaw took his seat, Hermione watched Harry's eyes drift over Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker. 'Oh dear,' she thought. Harry was blushing slightly. He must have a crush on the fifth year student, which could prove disastrous for Faykan.

After the sorting, Professor Dumbledore stood up, "I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" said Harry and Ron loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes.

"Well," Faykan commented, pulling a steak onto his plate and spooning a pile of mash beside, "the house elves outdid themselves this year…"

Clang!

Hermione didn't realize she had knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice, her shock was too great. How could she not have realized.

"There are house elves here?" she said, staring, horror struck at Faykan. "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Naturally," he replied simply, "Over a hundred or so I think."

Hermione could feel her rage building. "But they do get paid right?" she asked, her voice shaking, "They get holidays and… and sick leave, and everything?"

"Holidays and sick leave?" Faykan said, looking confused at her, "House elves would be insulted to be given those things Hermione, they don't want them."

Hermione looked down at her hardly touched plate of food, suddenly nauseated at the thought of eating, then put her knife and fork down upon it and pushed it away from her.

"Oh c'mon, 'Er-my-knee," said Ron, accidentally spraying Harry and Faykan with bits of Yorkshire pudding. "Oops… sorry…" He swallowed. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"

"Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor…"

And she refused to eat another bite, despite Ron's pitiful attempts to tempt her with the deserts that arrived later.

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When the puddings had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Albus got to his feet again. The buzz of chatter filling the Hall ceased almost at once, so that only the howling wind and pounding rain could be heard.

"So!" he called out, smiling around at the children's faces. "Now that we are all fed and watered," he noticed that Miss Granger scowled at that, but ignored it, "I must ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."

As Albus parroted off his usual automatic start-of-term notices, he glanced over at Mr. Undol, sitting with young Harry and his friends. The boy was as confident as ever, grinning as if he knew the world's darkest secrets. Well, the boy would soon be safely on Albus' side and out of the way. Harry would back on the right path for the prophecies to be fulfilled and Albus would be hailed as the great leader of light, the heroic guide who steered the Boy-who-lived on his path to defeating Voldemort.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." He said, returning to the task at hand.

The protests of the Quidditch enthusiast students was well verbalized, but Albus pressed on, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy, but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts…"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling.

Alastor Moody limped toward the head table, his wooden leg causing a dull clunk every other step. Albus smiled, the next part of his scheme falling into place. He had been unsure if Alastor would agree to ensure Faykan's participation in the tournament, but here he was.

When Alastor reached Albus, he stretched his hand for Albus to shake, and muttered in his gravely voice, "Which one is he?"

"Gryffindor table, the black haired boy next to Harry Potter," Albus muttered in response.

Alastor's magical eye spun around to point towards the students. "I see him." He murmured as he moved to the empty chair between Severus and Minerva. Albus returned to the students.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody."

The students seemed to in shock of the new appointment to applaud, and Albus cleared his throat to carry on where he left off, "As I was saying," he smiled again at the sea of students, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"YOU'RE JOKING!" yelled one of the Weasley twins.

The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Alastor's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Albus chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he replied, "Though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Err, but maybe this is not the time... no..." he amended, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament…"

~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~

Harry sat listening with interest as Dumbledore outlined the basics and new rules of the Triwizard Tournament. Most people were outraged at the new age limit, but the twins figured that they could fool the impartial judge. Dumbledore sent them all straight off to bed afterward, and the Gryffindors made their way up to the seventh floor, excitedly chattering about the tournament.

As Harry, Ron, Hermione and Faykan had discussed it in depth while on the train; they were free to speak under the dim of the rest of their house unobserved. Hermione was still angry about house elves however, so the three boys lagged at the rear of the group to talk privately. "So Fay, what's on the schedule for our training this year?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Well, aside from what we've already started, we might try to work on more advanced techniques, and maybe, if we're lucky, we might start work on acquiring your animagus forms…"

Ron let out a whoop of triumph as they entered the common room. Harry smiled, wondering what he would become. He fell asleep that night dreaming of soaring over mountains, swimming under the seas and tunneling beneath the earth.

Potential Spoilers Ahead: You Have Benn Warned!

Yay new section update. I ended up tweaking the first Albus section, and have Hermione confess some of her misgivings about Faykan to Dumbledore. I feel that this is well within character as established, as Hermione is still very much the brown-noser rule keeper, and doesn't understand the full impact of what she had done in revealing the information to a person that she felt was trustworthy above all others in magical circumstances. in addition, as Faykan has spent much of his energy molding Harry and Draco over the others, they would therefore be fvastly more like their canon selves than the others who have interacted with Faykan more. Many thanks to you all, and ill see you in two weeks with the next chapter! ~F