Power of the Prince Lineage

SeverusxLily & Children

Rated T

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling

Power of the Prince Lineage

Chapter 7: The First Task

Everyone in the castle was buzzing in excitement. In just one day the first task of the Tri-Wizard tournament was going to take place. All the students and professors that wanted to be there would attend, all of them wondering what was to await the four champions for their first task. Harry however already knew what it was going to be, as Hagrid had shown him what was to come. He had told Cedric to give him a heads up, followed by Hermione, Draco, and the triplets. He would have told Ron if the red haired fool wasn't being such a prat about the whole situation.

"He's jealous of you," Draco had told him.

"No he's not, he's just upset," Hermione had said in defense of her friend.

"No, Draco's right," Eileen had suddenly cut in. "Ron is jealous of you and always has been. According to mum and dad, you received a lot of attention as a baby because you and mum escaped the evil wizard, survived his attack on you a mum while she was pregnant with Rod, Toby and I, our parents are known for facing the evil wizard head on, and now that you are a champion in the Tri-Wizard tournament. You get attention, albeit unwillingly, and he's jealous because he doesn't."

Harry had frowned and replied, "But that's no reason to be acting the way he is."

"Tell that to the constantly eating thickheaded pig you call a friend," Roderick had said.

That conversation had been four days ago and Ron was still being a prat. Hermione and Draco were giving Harry all of their support where many did not, all the while the triplets were busy at work studying spells, charms, and everything they could to be prepared to help their older brother in any way at all. Thus far they had been able to not only complete all they needed to know as First Years in record time, they had also learned all spells and charms that Second and Third Years had to know. They were currently in the middle of learning what they could for Fourth Year students and they were all feeling the exhaustion creeping up on them. But as exhausted as they were they knew it would be worth it to keep their brother alive.

Tobias had his head pillowed on his arms as he dozed in the middle of First Year Transfiguration. They class was currently trying to turn a match into a needle, something he and his siblings had already figured out so there was really no need for him to be trying to do it again. Just when he was going to turn his head the other way, a hand slapped down in front of him on his desk, causing him to sit straight up. His green eyes were wide as he looked around before looking up into the frowning face of Minerva McGonagall.

"Uh, h-hello Professor," Tobias said.

McGonagall looked at her student, taking in his slightly bloodshot eyes and the slight bags beneath them before saying, "I imagine you are sleeping so there should be no reason to sleep in my class, Mr. Snape."

"Yes…"

"Hmm, well in that case show me that you can turn this match into a needle."

The little redhead nodded and picked up his wand and waved it, speaking the correct transformation spell with perfect diction. And just like that, the match turned into a silver, pointy needle. Those around him awed at the sight, being thoroughly impressed that he got it correct on the first try and began to try even harder to get their matches to turn into needles. Even Professor McGonagall was impressed, as she had never seen a first year do this spell correctly on the first try. Even Hermione Granger's, who had been the only one to change her match in her First Year, hadn't been this perfect. Picking it up she inspected it trying to search for any flaws and found none. Putting it back down she said, "Excellent, Mr. Snape, very well done. Ten points to Gryffindor for successfully doing this task. But be sure to not fall asleep in my class again, or I will deduct points and give you detention."

"Yes ma'am," Tobias replied.

As he watched her walked away, he knew then that he needed to get a full night's rest, especially for what was to come tomorrow.

Today was the day, the day of the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament! And everyone was excited for it, everyone except for Harry, Hermione, and the triplets. The triplets had all sat together that morning to discuss their first plan of action, and thus far they weren't sure if it would work, especially with where they were going to be to help their brother. It could be considered cheating, but seeing as Harry was going against a dragon, he needed any help he could get. Roderick had overheard Moody tell Harry that he could use a wand but not a broomstick, something Harry didn't get at first. It wasn't until he told his older brother that he could have his broom if he summoned it with his wand. The eldest of the triplets still didn't trust the Auror because of the bad feeling he gave him, but he did agree with the advice he had given him.

At the moment the three of them were on their way to the champions tent to wish Harry and the other three good luck. As they walked Tobias quietly said, "So we'll make sure to cast a Disillusionment Charm on each other when it's Harry's turn, and then we'll do our best to help out with the dragon. Make sure shields are thrown up if necessary."

"And make sure no one notices that we are there, otherwise we or Harry could get into trouble," Roderick said. "The last thing Harry needs is to be accused of using his siblings as a way for him to cheat through this tournament."

Eileen nodded before saying, "But I'm concerned that our Disillusionment will be obvious. After all it is possible that everyone will see us moving, even though we'll look like the background."

"Well we all can't be underneath the Invisibility Cloak if we're going to try to flank the dragon," Tobias said. "Unless you know how to do the charm to make us completely invisible like the cloak does."

"You know no one has been able to master it enough to be completely invisible except for Professor Dumbledore. And I would have thought that with you being so good in Charms and such you would have been able to figure it out by now, Toby."

"I can't work but so fast and hard, Eileen! My brain is practically fried and I'm tired and I don't need you to lecture me."

"I'm not! I'm merely saying-"

"Shut up, both of you," Roderick said in a tone that sounded so much like their father's, Tobias and Eileen both closed their mouths. Sighing Roderick said, "Let's just do what we came to do. We've already told Harry and dad that we aren't coming because we want to study some in the library. All they know is that we are stopping by to wish Harry luck. It can't be heard what we are doing and if you two can't keep your traps shut about it, even if you are discussing a charm, our chances of helping are ruined and we'll face possible expulsion. And I for one do not want to face dad behind this. Now get your acts together; the tent is just up ahead."

Tobias and Eileen both nodded and mumbled an apology before the three of them walked in silence to the tent, greeting a wizard that was exiting it as they reached it. Stepping inside they looked around before spotting Harry seemingly pacing near the edge of the tent. Eileen jogged over to her big brother and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug exclaiming, "Harry!"

Harry smiled as he embraced his sister, followed by his brothers as they walked over to them. After he hugged them he said, "I'm happy to see you three. I wish you could be here to watch me."

Roderick nodded and said, "Yes, well we have some studies to catch up on and this seems like as good a time as any to do so."

"Yes, we've been studying so hard as of late that we're practically falling asleep in class," Tobias said.

"So you are falling asleep?" Harry asked in amusement.

Harry and Eileen giggled as Tobias blushed in embarrassment at having been caught. A 'pst' sound caught their attention and Harry moved towards the edge of the tent again, seemingly listening for it. The triplets heard a whisper of their brother's name, followed by Harry asking, "Hermione?"

They decided to let them be, looking around the tent at the other champions and their headmasters. Cedric smiled and waved at them, Fleur smiled at them as well, and Viktor nodded in greeting. The sound of sudden flapping made them look to see Hermione suddenly burst through the side of the tent and jump on Harry in a hug, all of this followed by a sudden blinding flash of light.

Blinking to clear his vision Tobias looked up to see a blond, overly extravagant looking woman walk into the tent and towards them, more so Harry and Hermione. Grinning she exclaimed, "Young love! How…interesting."

Hermione instantly looked annoyed at the sight of the woman, as well as Harry. Eileen looked her up and down, then took a look at her self-writing quill before realizing who the witch was: Rita Skeeter. The girl practically groaned wondering what this reporter, of all reporters, was doing here. She, as well as anyone else, knew that all she was going to do was write lies and slanders about people, and it looked like she was going to have a go at Harry (again) and Hermione.

She was a little surprised however when Rita suddenly turned to her and her brothers, her eyebrows raising before she said in an overly sweet voice, "And these must be Mr. Potter's step-siblings."

"Half-siblings," Tobias said in a rather curt tone of voice. "And no one asked you to turn your attention to us."

Rita looked momentarily taken aback before she recovered and said, "Oh my, look at you. I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm-"

"Rita Skeeter, writer for the Daily Prophet and one of the most notorious, lying and slandering writers there is in the industry. You've already written lies about our brother and Merlin knows who else, and you are here to gather more information to do so again," Eileen said with a scowl.

"And the way you get information that you aren't bodily present for is in your unregistered Animagus form; a beetle, something so small no one sees it or leave it alone thinking it harmless. It's sad really, all the lies you have to write just to get a decent paycheck and a name for yourself," Roderick followed with a bored expression, but his brown eyes very hard as they stared at the woman.

"Unregistered are you, Ms. Skeeter?" Mr. Crouch's voice suddenly asked from behind the woman. Stepping up next to her he said, "I'll be sure to send word to the Ministry to make sure that your Animagus is registered."

Rita tried to say something, opening and shutting her mouth several times before turning to glare at the three siblings who were all smirking at her. Growling she asked, "Who do you little brats belong to anyway?"

"They would be mine," a deep baritone voice answered.

It seemed as if an icy atmosphere suddenly fell over the tent as Severus Snape stepped through, turning his hard stare on the cowering woman. Stopping in front of her he bent down until he was nose to nose with her and said, "And for the record, my children are not brats. I won't make them apologize for what they said seeing as it is true, but here is what you will do. Whatever that slander writing quill of yours has written, destroy it and the pictures that you have taken. I will not allow you to write anything else in the ways of lies about Harry or the triplets, unless you want to face a lawsuit. If you know what is good for you, you will not test any member of the Snape family, unless you want to feel our wrath. Because believe me, we can be very unforgiving."

Rita nodded quickly, a look of absolute fear and terror on her face, before grabbing her quill and the cameraman and rushing out of the tent. As soon as she was gone Severus turned to the triplets and said, "You three should go now. The tournament is about to start and you all said you had studying to do."

"Right. Good luck, Harry! See you later!" Tobias said as he, Roderick, and Eileen left the tent, Hermione following behind them. Tobias giggled though as he caught the look Viktor gave his brother's friend, causing the brunette to blush a little. Oh, the competition Draco was sure to have. But he would think about that later. Right now he and his siblings needed to focus on the tournament.

It seemed like forever, but finally it was Harry's turn to face off against his chosen dragon, the Hungarian Horntail. Roderick, Tobias, and Eileen had all watched the other three champions go against their dragons and had gotten a hold of their golden eggs, and had deduced what they would need to do to seemingly distract the dragon to give their brother an edge to get the egg. Having already casted the Disillusionment Charm on each other, they all stood on opposite sides of the arena, wands at the ready while watching the dragon protect the egg warily.

This has got to be one of Rod's stupidest ideas yet, Eileen couldn't help but think as a brief feeling of regret filled her. As they waited for Harry she stiffened slightly as her black eyes once again clouded over with a brief vision of the future. The scene she was Seeing seemed to be taking place in a few minutes, Harry flying out of the arena on his Firebolt and the Dragon breaking the chain it was on and flying after him. As quickly as it had shown, the vision disappeared, leaving Eileen blinking before looking to where her brother was entering the arena while the crowd cheered. Looking towards her brothers she yelled softly, "Rod! Toby!"

The boys looked over at their sister, not surprised they were the only ones able to hear her over the crowd. When she saw she had their attention she said, "The dragon is going to chase Harry out of the arena!"

Tobias' green eyes widened at the information, Roderick's face taking on a calculating look. Before he could say anything, the dragon roared as it started to attack Harry, Harry dodging it as best as he could. Knowing no one would notice him move in his Disillusionment with all of the commotion, Roderick threw up a shield near Harry as the Horntail breathed fire at him before running over to where his sister stood; Tobias was busy helping Harry, though his nervousness was apparent. When he reached her he said, "Eileen, you leave here and go where the dragon is going to chase Harry. Tobias and I will handle things here until they leave."

"But I don't know where they went, I didn't See it," Eileen told him.

"Then go where you think they are going. Go!"

Eileen nodded before heading towards the exit, throwing a Stinging Hex at the dragon to distract it momentarily to give Harry a chance to get the egg, though she already heard him summon his broom. She quickly ran through the exit and away from the arena, the sound of the roaring dragon still ringing in her ears as she ran.

Eileen towards the castle as fast as her legs would carry her, just trying to figure out where she could go, the Disillusionment Charm having worn off due to her panicked nerves. As she turned the corner she bumped into another body, both of them falling to the ground. Blinking in surprise she looked up and said, "Oh, sorry Holly."

Holly stood up and brushed off her skirt before saying, "It's quite alright. You seem to be in a hurry. Where are you off to?"

"Um, nowhere in particular."

"Liar, but I won't pry about it," Holly said with a smile. She pushed some of her short dirty blonde hair behind her ear and said, "Eileen, if I can have just a moment of your time I want to ask you a question."

Eileen looked up in the sky and noticed her brother suddenly fly above their heads and she knew the dragon wasn't far behind. Looking back at her friend she said, "Sure, but please be quick."

Nodding Holly blushed and asked, "Well, I was just wondering could you ask your brother if he would maybe want to hang out with me sometime?"

"Toby or Rod?"

"The cute redhead with the slight cleft in his chin, not the dark haired one with the dimples."

"Toby then."

"Yes, him. Just pass the message along, please."

"Yeah sure, I'll see you later, Holly."

Eileen ran past her friend and followed the sounds of roaring, scraping, and just the sound of chaos. Finally she reached where her older brother was and gasped. Harry was stuck on the roof of castle trying to reach his broom while the dragon was trying to get him, as well as keep its balance from its perch on the school. Shingles and whatever else of the roof was falling due to the dragon. She knew that Harry wouldn't have a chance at getting his broom with the dragon swatting and snapping at him. Knowing she had to buy Harry some time Eileen pointed her wand up at the dragon, concentrating on it intensely as she incanted, "Confundo!"

The Horntail stopped snapping and swatting at Harry, looking momentarily around in confusion. Black eyes moved to Harry, watching how he noticed the dragon ignore him suddenly. It wasn't long before Harry took that opportunity to grab his broom, but slipped and began to fall down the roof; the dragon took that time to snap out of its confused state before roaring once more and following Harry down the castle. Debris hurdled towards Eileen, the young girl shielding herself from it by shouting, "Protego!" the debris dissipating the moment it hit her shield.

When she looked up to search for her brother she saw him on his broom and flying away, the dragon following but not being able to keep up due to all the narrow gaps Harry was flying through. Her eyes widened as she saw the Hungarian Horntail clip its wing, falling out of the sky and out of sight, Harry speeding off on his Firebolt back towards the arena.

Grinning widely Eileen jumped up and down in happiness and shouted, "Yeah! Go Harry!"

Roderick and Tobias sat on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room with tired, yet proud smiles on their faces as they watched their brother be celebrated for overcoming the dragon and getting the gold egg. Harry wouldn't know that they helped him out a bit, no one probably would, but it was the least they could do for him. Roderick looked over as a weight settled against his shoulder, his brown eyes landing on his little sister who had fallen asleep against him.

A hand settled on his other shoulder and he looked up to see his mother smiling down at him. With a real, genuine smile of his own he said, "Mum, it's good to see you."

Lily giggled and gave him a kiss on his forehead, doing the same to Tobias before saying, "I came to see Harry do his first task. He had me worried for a moment, but that broom did him a load of luck. He's lucky he can use one so well."

"Like Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, like him."

Lily looked at her sleeping daughter and said, "Looks like someone has turned in early tonight." Looking at the other two triplets she said, "Both of you also look tired. Are you all sleeping alright?"

Tobias nodded and answered, "Yes mum, we are. We've just been studying a lot lately."

Nodding in understanding Lily said, "Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. Your father and I did it all the time when we were students here. Alright now, go on to bed and sleep well tonight, my darlings. I'll take care of Eileen."

The boys nodded and Tobias wished his mother 'goodnight' before heading up to the Boy's Dormitory, Roderick following Lily who was carrying Eileen in her arms. Lily stopped momentarily to congratulate Harry and kiss him on his forehead before wishing him 'goodnight' and leaving Gryffindor Tower. Lily and Roderick walked together to the Fifth Floor before he wished his mother 'goodnight' as well and continued down the stairs to go to Slytherin Dungeon.

Lily walked with her daughter in her arms, humming softly and greeting some portraits that were happy to see her again. Climbing the spiral staircase she stopped in front of the door with the bronze eagle knocker. The knocker looked at Lily before its eyes landed on the sleeping Ravenclaw student in her arms. It then said, "To enter Ravenclaw Tower, mother of young eagle, you must answer this riddle: What gets broken without being held?"

The red haired woman thought for a moment before answering, "A promise."

The door swung open in response to the answer, allowing Lily entrance to carry her sleeping daughter up to her bed in the Girl's Dormitory.