The Four Champions

The first thing John heard when he came around was a loud buzzing, filling the Hall, then Sherlock's voice whispering, 'It's all right, John.'

Dean was holding him up, and everyone else was too busy staring at Harry to notice that anything else was going on. He sat up slowly, feeling extremely nauseous, and his head felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton.

'What's going on?' he said, slurring slightly.

Then the room exploded with sound moments later, as Harry disappeared into the door behind the top table, along with most of the teachers. Several people ran between tables, including Castiel and Sam.

'Harry's name came out of the Goblet,' Sherlock whispered to John.

'How?'

'That's what we would like to know,' said Dean.

'Well, obviously it wasn't Harry,' said Sam. 'Seriously, did you see the look on his face?'

'No one's saying it was him,' said Dean.

'That's probably not quite true,' Hermione said, glancing around the room. 'I bet a fair few people are saying it was him.'

'Who cares what they think? We all know it wasn't him.'

Ron abruptly stood up and stomped out of the room.

'What's eating him?' said Dean.

Sam shrugged.

With no guidance from the teachers, Gabriel and the Head Girl began chivvying the Hogwarts students out of the Hall.

John got up unsteadily and made to follow, but Sherlock started dragging him up towards the staff table.

'Sherlock, what-?'

'We need to know what happened. You need to see the Goblet, so we have to go in there.'

'Wait, but-'

'But what?' Sherlock whirled around and John's words died in his throat. Sherlock was extremely agitated and unable to stand still. 'It- it's your head, it's – chaos, and I can feel it. So we're going to fix this.'

John didn't argue any further and allowed Sherlock to pull him into the chamber.

No one saw them at first and they entered just as Fleur said, 'Why should 'e complain? 'E 'as ze chance to compete! We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honour for our schools! A thousand Galleons prize money – zis is a chance many would die for!'

'Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it,' said Moody.

An extremely tense silence followed these words.

'Moody, old man,' Bagman said nervously. 'What a thing to say!'

At his words, John was reminded that he and Mr Crouch were both Ministry officials, and found himself reluctant to demonstrate. It seemed that Sherlock too had realised this, and the two of them remained in the shadowy entrance.

'We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn't discovered six plots to murder him before lunchtime,' Karkaroff said loudly. 'Apparently, he is now teaching his students to fear assassination, too. An odd quality in a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dumbledore, but I'm sure you had your reasons.'

'Imagining things, am I?' growled Moody. 'Seeing things, eh? It was a skilled witch or wizard who put the boy's name in that Goblet…'

'Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?' said Madame Maxime, throwing up her huge hands.

'Because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object!' said Moody. 'It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that Goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the Tournament… I'm guessing they submitted Potter's name under a fourth school, to make sure he was the only one in his category…'

'You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody,' Karkaroff said coldly, 'and a very ingenious theory it is – though, of course, I heard that you recently got it into your head that one of your birthday presents contained a cunningly disguised basilisk egg, and smashed it to pieces before realising it was a carriage clock. So you'll understand if we don't take you entirely seriously…'

'There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage,' Moody retorted in a menacing voice. 'It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff, as you ought to remember-'

'Alastor!' Dumbledore said warningly.

Moody shrugged. 'However it happened, I'm sure Watson over there can help clear it up.'

John jumped, then silently berated himself for forgetting about the magical properties of Moody's eye.

Everyone turned to look at them, so Sherlock urged John forward.

'Hello,' he said nervously.

'Are you sure about this, John?' Dumbledore asked gently.

'Not really,' John replied.

''Ow is zis boy supposed to 'elp us?' said Madame Maxime.

Dumbledore watched John patiently.

John took a deep breath, then said, 'I'm a Seer.'

There were noises of surprise from almost everyone gathered.

'We were never informed of this!' Karkaroff blustered. 'How much of an advantage are you trying to give Hogwarts, here, Dumbledore?'

'Oh, please,' said Madame Maxime. 'Who's to say 'e is even telling ze truth?'

'I am,' Dumbledore said firmly.

'If zat is ze case, then I am sadly disappointed in zis deception.'

'Rest assured, Madame, that this is not a reflection upon our Ministry,' said Mr Crouch, glaring daggers at John. 'We knew nothing of this.'

'It was not for us to say. It was John's decision alone,' Dumbledore said with a slight edge to his voice. 'There is nothing in the law that states Seers must notify the Ministry of their existence.'

'I – erm – I wanted to – ' John's mouth was suddenly dry, and he felt very small under the gaze of everyone in the room.'

'He didn't want to have to prove himself to anyone,' Sherlock piped up. 'Especially not to the likes of the Ministry.'

'Holmes, control yourself,' Professor McGonagall snapped.

'No thank you, Professor. Now, let's get on with this. Where's the Goblet?'

Dumbledore directed them over to the fireplace, where the Goblet sat, unassuming, on a small table. The fire had now gone out, so the Goblet looked as ordinary as any other.

John approached it and crouched beside it, concentrated hard. He stared intently, but nothing happened. He blinked, shook his head and tried again. Still nothing. Not even greyness or a flickering image. Just nothing. A fluttering panic rose in his stomach.

'Try touching it,' Sherlock suggested quietly.

John nodded and put his hands on either side of the Goblet. It was surprisingly cool to the touch, considering it had only been minutes since it had been full to the brim with flames. It was also quite smooth, but even with his hands clasped tightly around it, John saw nothing.

'I – I don't understand,' he muttered.

'Fine,' said Sherlock. 'Maybe we can't see what happened with the Goblet, but we can prove it wasn't Harry.'

'Okay.' John stood and turned around. 'Do you mind?' he said to Harry.

'Go for it,' Harry said faintly.

John put one hand on Harry's shoulder and thought back to when the Goblet was revealed, and watched Harry up until the feast. He then dropped his hands and slumped heavily. 'Er – Harry went to bed after the feast last night and fell asleep around midnight. He woke up at eight this morning and spent the morning with Ron and Hermione, then the rest of the day with Hagrid. He didn't put his name in.'

Harry gave him a grateful look, but no one else looked convinced.

'How is that supposed to prove anything?' Snape sneered. 'Potter and Watson are good friends, they could easily be covering for each other.'

'You're absolutely right, Professor,' Sherlock said, in an overly cheery voice that made John cringe. 'Would anyone else care to let John see what they did last night? Any volunteers?' Sherlock spun around to get a good look at everyone. 'Madame Maxime, perhaps? Or how about you, Professor Karakroff?' A silence where everyone refused to meet his eyes followed. 'No one? Really?'

'I'll do it.' Cedric Diggory stepped forward.

'Okay,' said John. He bit his lips and wrung his hands slightly. Fatigue was already creeping up on him, but he put a hand on Cedric's arm anyway. Before seeing anything, John felt nervousness and immense pressure coming from him. Dizzy and exhausted, he lost control of his vision and fell into it completely.

When he landed, he found himself in what he assumed was the Hufflepuff boys' dormitory. He was standing beside Cedric, who was sitting on his bed, and Gabriel was sitting on his own bed across from them.

'What's the deal?' Gabriel was saying. 'There isn't anyone that has a better chance of getting in than you.'

'You say that, Gabe, but I don't see it,' said Cedric.

'You're kidding, right? Look at you, you're Quidditch captain-'

'Yeah, and? You're Head Boy, why don't you enter?'

Gabriel laughed. 'I'm not champion material, believe me. Besides, I don't need all that money, or glory, or whatever.'

'I don't need any of those things either.'

'Maybe that's exactly why you should enter. Screw all those guys who're in it for that stuff. Show people that the best way to get anywhere is by being a good guy and working hard.'

Cedric still didn't appear convinced.

'Come on, just think of it. You as champion! That's cool no matter what you're in it for.'

Cedric finally cracked a smile. 'It is fun to imagine.'

'See!'

They both laughed a little, then Cedric's face fell again. 'People die in the Tournament.'

'Pfft, you won't die!' Gabriel scoffed.

'How do you know that?'

'Because, first of all, you're way too good, and second of all, they made it safer this year. They had to, otherwise Dumbledore would have never allowed it.'

'I really don't know about this…'

'Well I do. You've got the skills, you could totally smash it.'

Cedric wavered.

'Not to mention you'd look awesome in the papers.'

Cedric chewed his lip for a moment, then finally, 'All right, fine-'

'Yes!' Gabriel whooped. 'Awesome, let's go.'

'Wait, wait, wait,' said Cedric, as Gabriel jumped to his feet. 'I'll do it, but only if you do it too.'

'What? No, no, I can't.'

'Why not?'

It seemed that Gabriel was unable to come up with an excuse.

'That's it, then. We'll both enter.'

Gabriel rolled his eyes and conceded.

The two of them wrote their names on scraps of parchment, and made their way down to the Entrance Hall. It was the early hours of the morning, and they were the only two around. They both hesitated at the edge of the Age Line, then Cedric stepped over it.

'Come on, then,' Cedric grinned.

A flash of fear crossed over Gabriel's face, before it broke into a wide smile. 'Let's do i!'

They walked up to the Goblet and threw their names in together.

John then heard a faint whisper. Neither Cedric or Gabriel seemed to have heard anything as they started back towards the Hufflepuff common room. John looked around, searching for the voice, then he heard it again, a little more clearly this time. Come back, it said. He focused on it and the Entrance Hall dissolved. Come back now. He finally recognised it as Sherlock's voice and followed it until the ante-chamber flickered back into view.

There was a relieved sigh beside him and Sherlock handed him some water. 'We're at Hogwarts,' he said. 'It's November, nineteen ninety-four.'

John took a sip of his water and realised he was on his knees, and everyone was staring at him.

'Your eyes turned white,' Sherlock muttered.

'What?'

'That proof enough for you all?' Moody said gruffly, making them jump.

Everyone gathered looked unsettled.

'Well this complicates things a bit,' said Bagman.

'I shouldn't think so, Ludo. If the boy can't even see how Potter's name got into the Goblet, I doubt he will cause much of an issue,' Mr Crouch said scornfully.

'Sorry,' John muttered.

Sherlock bristled, but Dumbledore spoke up before he could say anything.

'How this situation arose, we do not know,' he said. 'It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do.'

'Ah, but Dumbly-dorr-'

'My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it.'

Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn't the only one either. Snape looked furious and Karkaroff was livid.

'Well, shall we crack on, then?' said Bagman, rubbing his hands together. 'Got to give the champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honours?'

Sherlock sat John down in a chair a little way away from the rest of the group.

'What's going on?' Sherlock said softly.

'You can't tell?' said John, his head spinning quite severely.

'Not always. When you're confused, I can't tell much at all.'

'Helpful.' John groaned and leaned back in his chair, but the spinning still refused to cease. 'Eurgh, I feel sick.'

Sherlock looked around and a small, wooden bucket hidden in a dusty corner that Filch must have left behind. He brought it over to John, who gripped it tightly, his head hanging over it.

'I don't understand,' John complained. 'I know I'm not very good, but I've never seen nothing.'

'I wish I had the answer.'

'Yeah, well, I wish that just once it could be easy.'

'I know.'

Then John lurched and finally threw up into his bucket, though it did nothing to relieve his dizziness. 'So, my eyes turned white,' he said hoarsely, trying to distract himself. 'That hasn't happened in a while.'

Sherlock shrugged, then John noticed that he too was pale and clammy.

'I'm sorry it affects you so much,' he said. 'If I could make it stop-'

'I wouldn't have it any other way,' Sherlock interrupted.

John smiled faintly. 'Then I'd say that makes you very stupid.' He threw up once more and groaned loudly.

'John? Sherlock?'

They looked up and saw that everyone but Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape had left.

'It may be a good time to visit your friends,' said Dumbledore. 'Go through the Great Hall.'

'Yes, sir,' said John. He and Sherlock carefully stood up, still feeling extremely ill, then made their way out into the grounds.

The cool air made Sherlock feel slightly better, but John struggled to take too many steps at once, and half way across the grounds, he collapsed into a heap onto the grass.

'Something's not right,' he mumbled, rolling onto his back and resting a hand on his forehead. 'It's never this bad.'

Sherlock frowned and waited patiently for John to feel good enough to stand up.

He stumbled on the spot when he finally did drag himself to his feet, but continued onwards until they reached the familiar trees of the Forest.

They didn't even have to call for the centaurs this time, and were surrounded as soon as they were past the treeline.

'We've been waiting for you,' said Magorian. 'Come. The Elder wants to see you.'

They followed wordlessly as Magorian led them to the Starflame, where Elder Oseus was waiting for them.

'Thank you, Magorian, you may go,' she said, and he disappeared back into the trees.

John and Sherlock stepped forward, and as the heat from the fire washed over them, John felt himself fading again, so Sherlock grabbed hold of him and lowered them both to the ground.

'You wanted to see us, Elder Oseus?' Sherlock said cordially, giving John a moment to catch his breath.

'I did indeed. Magorian wanted to summon you here, as we used to, but I thought you were a little old for that.'

'I'm grateful for that, I suppose,' John mumbled, eyes closed. The nausea that had been plaguing him finally began to dissipate, now that he had removed himself from the trigger.

'I sense your powers have grown greatly since you were last here, young Oracle. But you have questions for me?'

John rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head. 'Yeah, am I doing something wrong? I tried to use my power tonight, and up until now I thought I was getting better at it, but then nothing happened. Nothing at all.'

Oseus fixed him with a piercing stare, then came over to him. 'Can you stand?'

John pushed himself up again and stood in front of her.

She put her hands on his shoulders and took a few deep breaths. 'I feel powerful wizard's magic,' she said. 'It's blocking your visions and weakening your ability to control them.'

'Who could do something like that?'

'You-Know-Who's insider,' Sherlock said quietly. 'He said they could…'

'Large amounts of power attract attention,' said Oseus. 'I would advise more caution from this point forward.'

'Can you do anything about it?'

'We do not practice wizard's magic here. I confess, I do not know how to break any curses.'

John sighed, disappointed. 'So, you're saying that I won't be able to see whatever Voldemort doesn't want me to see?'

'There could be a way around it. I'm not certain, but if there is one, I have no doubt that the two of you will be able to find it.'

John nodded. 'What did you want to see me for?' he asked, sitting back down.

'I wanted to see how you were progressing, but this block of yours is troubling. Does it affect anything else that you've noticed?'

John thought about it. 'Maybe,' he said. 'I've been having trouble with this connection with Sherlock.'

'In what way?'

'Well, I sort of started being able to feel it at the end of last year, but now it's just gone.'

'Gone?'

'Yeah. Can't feel a thing.'

'Strange…' Her eyes slid over to Sherlock, who was staring resolutely at the fire. 'I don't see why a curse designed to block your vision would affect this. Perhaps you've been focusing too much on the other aspects of your power.'

'Maybe being near the fire will help?' John suggested.

'Be my guest.'

John pulled Sherlock closer to sit in front of him, and went to take his hands, but he pulled away. 'Come on,' he said exasperatedly, 'you know that skin contact works best.'

Sherlock sighed and reluctantly took John's hands.

John quickly suppressed the thrill he felt at Sherlock's touch, and slowly allowed everything but Sherlock to fall out of focus.

Sherlock sat as still as he could, trying not to fidget under John's intense stare.

After a few minutes, John blinked rapidly as he felt a faint flicker of something. He closed his eyes to concentrate on that alone. It got slightly clearer and he managed to identify it as a vague annoyance before it slipped away. He gasped and opened his eyes.

'As I said before, you just need practice,' said Sherlock, pulling his hands away.

Oseus smiled at them. 'You are both always welcome here, of course, and you may return if you ever need anything, but it is time to go back to the castle. You both need sleep.'

They rose for the final time.

'Thank you for your help, Elder Oseus,' said Sherlock.

'It's my honour. Goodnight.'

'Goodnight.'

Magorian escorted them to the edge of the Forest, and they dawdled there for a while, looking up at the castle.

John almost wished they could stay within the quiet depths of the Forest, rather than face the chaos inside the school grounds, especially since a little of his nausea had returned. He put the thought to the back of his mind and reluctantly exited the treeline, feeling more and more apprehensive the closer he climbed to the common room.

Sherlock stopped outside the silver swan portrait.

'You're not coming up?' John asked.

'I don't think so,' said Sherlock. 'I know Fred and George, and they'll have done something loud and irritating to celebrate.'

'And you're making me go in alone?'

'I need some peace and quiet. I need to think.'

'Oh.'

They both stood awkwardly for a moment before Sherlock bid John goodnight and went through the swan portrait. John then continued on towards the Gryffindor common room. He could have been imagining it, but Sherlock seemed almost upset about something. He didn't have time to dwell on it, however, once he reached the Fat Lady.

'And just where have you been?' the Fat Lady said to him.

'None of your business,' he said, a little more irritably than he'd intended. 'Sorry, I mean, I can't tell you.'

'Off with that Ravenclaw boy again, were you?' she said suggestively, waggling her eyebrows at him.

John turned red. 'I – that's – that's not – just let me in.'

'You haven't given me the password yet.' She and her friend Violet both laughed at him.

'Balderdash,' he snapped.

'Do relax, dear, everyone knows.'

'That makes me feel so much better,' John said sarcastically as the portrait swung open.

A party was raging inside and Fred and George had raided the kitchens. Thankfully, no one noticed John come in, so he was able to slip upstairs to the dormitory unnoticed.

Ron and Harry were already up there, but the curtains were drawn, so John took the opportunity to join them in sleep.

Welcome back everyone! Thanks to Morgause Pendragon, Morgan Teri Befan, Sherlock Harry Winchester, DaughterofMagic3, wildtrance and Guest for the reviews! See you again in two weeks!

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