Story Number 9:

Against All Odds

The Triwizard Tournament was an annual event before one regular happening forced the suspension of the tournament. The reason was awarding the cup to a winner who was no longer alive. Now after many years, the tournament was being revived again, and who was to say who they will be awarding the cup to this time.

The alternate title of this story is 'Survival of the Weakest' sharp contrast to the accepted survival of the fittest theory of evolution by Charles Darwin.

'The Triwizard Tournament…' that was the buzzword recently and that was the reason for Harry Potter's latest headache.

The tournament was revived after more than a century and Hogwarts was to be the host institution.

Hermione was quite eloquent in bringing out the reasons why the tournament was cancelled all those years ago. She brought out obscure facts about the tournament which would have made even the Ravenclaws gasping due to the breadth of the information. Facts about the death toll in each of the tournaments, years where none of the contestants survived were laid before the entire Gryffindor students.

To Harry, the reasons seemed to be very valid, which led him to question why the long forgotten tournament was being brought to life again. More importantly when every year there was one or the other threat from Lord Voldemort.

On the other hand, the details of the tasks that the selected champions were to perform told him that only the best of the best could survive in the tournament. It demanded great power, skill, knowledge, and maybe a little bit of luck.

That was the reason why Harry was afraid. He knew that he had great power, he had to as borne by the way he was able to call forth his patronus when he was just a thirteen year old, something that baffled even Dumbledore. Take away that power, he was an average wizard with mediocre skill. Harry was truthful enough to acknowledge that fact at least to himself. His test scores were average and he took a long time to get the intricate spells like those used for transfiguration right. But once he was able to perform a spell correctly, mastering it was not very difficult for him. This was borne by the fact that it hardly took him any time to cast his patronus now-a-days. It was probably his magical power coming through for him?

To his utter shame, he was not very knowledgeable not only about the magical world at large, but also in his school subjects. He always relied on Hermione to get him through tough situations. Not that he used her for doing his homework like Ron did, but when the chips were down, he would have died many times over if not for the talent of the bushy haired genius. He knew instinctively that if not for her, he would not survive this long. He had to improve himself and Harry vowed to do so, but for now, he had bigger problems.

Aside from all of the above deficiencies in himself, Harry knew that he had the worst sort of luck.

"Hermione," he disturbed his only female friend, who was deeply engrossed in a book. This time it was not about the Triwizard Tournament but about Arithmancy. "Can you help me research how the champions are chosen and of ways to get out of participating in the tournament?" Harry asked her, a little nervous.

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows, not really understanding his request, "Why do you want to know that Harry?"

Harry sighed, "The champions are chosen on Halloween, Hermione."

The said witch stiffened. "Oh!" Yep, she knew alright. Halloween and Harry Potter are not the best of friends.

"Yeah," Harry nodded his head, "I want to look for loopholes in the rules."

Hermione agreed easily, "I will research it."

Harry shook his head, "Thanks for the offer Hermione but this is my problem. I do not want to sit back and let you do all the work. I want to improve myself."

Hermione smiled softly, "That's really good Harry and I will definitely help you in that. But I think that you should leave this to me." She shushed him when Harry began to protest, "We really do not have much time Harry. Halloween is only three days away."

Harry had to relent at that.

Break

The night before Halloween, Harry met a somber looking Hermione. "I guess that you do not have any good news," Harry got up and hugged the young woman who somehow became very important to him. It was quite late into the night and there were no one else in the common room, the two friends planned it in that way to have some much needed privacy.

Taking the seat that Harry led her to, Hermione sank into the lush warm cushions with a grateful sigh. "I am sorry Harry, the competitors are bound to the tournament by their own magic."

That was what Harry feared, no way of getting out from a sticky situation. "How about changing the nature of the tasks to make it easier for one of the competitors."

Hermione shook her head, "Yeah, I thought about that and we are not the only ones." A glimmer of smile showed through when she said that but instantly sobered, "That was what certain heads of schools used to do to favour their champions. After that the rules have been made stricter. The tasks cannot be changed once the 'Goblet of Fire' had been lit. The first thing that the officials do is to commit a parchment with the rules, clauses, and anything else they could think of along with the details of each task to the goblet immediately after it is lit."

"Oh, so the tasks are already chosen and the magic of the goblet ensures compliance," Harry mused out loud. It was getting more and more dangerous.

"Yeah! That is the only way the goblet can know if a witch or wizard is talented enough to compete in the tasks."

A small silence followed that but before Hermione could say the final bit of news, something which would put a smile on Harry's face, the wizard himself broke the silence, "What if someone is seriously injured?"

"Harry…," Hermione sighed in exasperation. She immediately realized that she was a know-it-all for a reason, heck probably no other student knew this. 'Well,' she thought, 'The purebloods or those brought up in the magical world might know about this' but she was sure that none of the muggle born or raised students knew this little fact. She also realized that she was extremely tired due to her marathon session at the library and it was really not fair to take her anger at the situation on Harry. He was already under enormous pressure.

Hermione laid her hand on Harry's thigh and squeezed it in apology before continuing, "However severe an injury might be, there is nothing stopping a witch or wizard from being cured in a few days. Except for some dark curse induced injuries, any other injury, spell damage, or illness can be cured. There is no concept of coma in the magical world."

Harry was stunned at that. He really did not know that. In hindsight, he should have guessed that little fact, as he was the recipient of quite a few injuries which in the muggle world would have confined him to the bed for at least a month.

"So a death is the only thing that would keep a champion out of the competition," Harry sighed in frustration.

"That is not an option for you Harry," Hermione retorted vehemently.

It was Harry's turn to look at her apologetically. "I am guessing that substitutions are also not allowed?"

Hermione agreed easily, "Unless the champion was dead before the start of the first task..."

Harry was getting more and more agitated. This had all the hallmarks of a disaster and Harry was sure that he was going to be in the thick of things tomorrow evening.

Hermione squeezed Harry's thigh again to calm him down. Though he was in a world of his own, worrying about what was to come, Hermione's gesture forced him to concentrate on the bushy haired genius. The beginning of a smile on his friend's face allowed him to hope against hope that she had an answer, as usual.

The brightest witch of her age did not disappoint. "The goblet of fire demands participation in the tasks Harry, nothing else."

It did not take much time for Harry's face to brighten. His new found resolve to improve himself was starting to make inroads as he was able to easily pickup what Hermione was intimating. "You mean I just have to put in an effort to solve whatever task I face and I will be alright," he asked with increasing cheerfulness.

"Not just that Harry, any magic you cast within the area designated for the task will be counted as complying with the rules. You can even cast a 'lumos' and come out of the task unscathed."

"Is it that easy?" Harry asked in wonder.

Hermione just shrugged her shoulder, "Why should the goblet care? If you put your name for participation, you are going to do your best to win."

It opened a lot of opportunities for Harry. Suddenly the future that looked so bleak was not so anymore. Hermione could almost feel as if an enormous weight was lifted off Harry's shoulder and his countenance brightened considerably.

"Thank you Hermione," Harry enfolded the witch in his embrace.

The emotion in his voice told Hermione how relieved Harry was and how grateful he was for her help. She tightened her own hold around him and simply allowed the emotion to wash over her.

With their arms still around each other, the two teens drew back. Their eyes met and a couple of seconds later, their lips met. A pleasurable sigh escaped from Hermione as she allowed herself to be drawn snugly against Harry while keeping the kiss going.

First Task

Victor Krum was quite confident as he strode into the enclosure to face his task.

The champion from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons went before him. Judging by the voices of the crowd and the announcer that permeated into the tent where the champions were waiting, Krum knew that they had a few close calls but both Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour completed their tasks.

Now it was his turn and he could almost taste victory. How could he not? He had a well thought out plan and was confident in his abilities to make the plan work. Taking a fortifying breath, Krum cast his spell.

Inside the tent Harry cursed out loudly when he realized that the Bulgarian champion summoned his broom. Only then did it dawn on him that Victor Krum was a champion seeker and so it was only natural for him to use that to his advantage. Harry was now doubly attentive to the commentary while cursing at his inability to watch the Durmstrang champion fly, maybe he could have gotten some pointers for his own effort.

Meanwhile, Victor Krum was already airborne. He might have stashed the broom nearby for it to come so quickly when summoned. The World class seeker's ability came through as he ducked and weaved in front of the dragon's onslaught. Though the dragon was tethered, it was still formidable as it guarded its eggs zealously. All that ducking and weaving still did not help Krum to get anywhere near the dragon, all he was doing was to evade the red-hot flames.

Krum was frustrated that all his attempts at distracting the dragon were for naught. What he did not know was that his attempts did have an impact on the dragon, as much as a gnat has on a lion. It only served to anger the great beast. Krum decided to up the ante and darted underneath the belly from the side between the fore and the hind legs.

That did save him from the dragon flames but what he forgot about was the tail, and it came crashing onto him. To the dragon it was a mere flick of her tail, to the Bulgarian champion however, it was a hammer blow. Victor Krum smashed right into the reinforced wall of the arena and lay motionless.

The impact with the magically hardened wall, which probably was as strong as an inch thick steel plate, jarred Krum. The pain he felt was numbing his movements and added to that, he was quite certain that almost all the major bones of his body were broken. He was a sitting duck to the rage of a mother dragon.

Not satisfied with the crushing blow she delivered to the flying menace, the dragon turned and shot her flames onto the downed champion at near point-blank range. The crowd was stunned into silence by the sheer brutality of the act before screams rent the air.

Waiting in the tent, Harry's nervousness increased exponentially. He was sure that something very bad happened, there was no reason for hysterical screaming otherwise. He did not have to wait for long as a frantic looking Madam Pomfrey was levitating a blackish looking object and waded directly into the screened off area. Before Harry could even register what was happening, the five judges, Dumbledore, Madam Maxime, Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, and Crouch also entered the tent, their faces somber.

Then came the horrifying realization that what he saw going behind the curtains was what remained of Victor Krum. Harry looked at Dumbledore with wide eyes unable to formulate his question into words.

The aged headmaster looked even more aged. Dumbledore also could not voice his answer, instead he simply nodded his head in agreement to Harry's suspicion which was answered without a doubt when Madam Pomfrey came out of the curtained off area nearly in tears.

Dumbledore sighed in defeat. He knew about the history of the tournament and it was bloody. It looked like the new iteration of the tournament had claimed its first victim. He cursed his inability to fully oppose the rebirth of the tournament; his preference for a non-confrontational attitude came back to bite him in the rear.

The judges conferred for a few minutes in hushed tones. They could do nothing now. The 'Goblet of Fire' demanded nothing short of blind loyalty to the tournament and they could not take any risks now. The tournament had to continue.

"Mr. Potter, if you will," Bagman gestured towards the opening of the tent and did not even wait for Harry's answer before the five judges went back to their posts.

'Great,' Harry thought morosely. 'What a way to raise my spirits.'

Harry knew that his original plan of summoning his broom to fly and grab the golden egg was now out the window. If a champion quidditch seeker known for his skills in the air could not survive the encounter with a dragon, he had no chance. Besides, Harry was sure that he heard the announcer saying that the next dragon was the meanest of the lot.

Yep, in this instance, caution was so much better than lying dead.

Harry stepped out into the arena to face his task, but it looked as if he stepped out into a graveyard, if the silence was anything to go by. The stands were nearly empty with most of the senior years and the witches of Beauxbatons, and all of the younger years gone. The entire Durmstrang contingent was also understandably absent.

All of these thoughts went out of Harry's head as he was forced to dive behind a boulder to escape the fiery blast making its way towards him. Harry peeked around the boulder only to the see the largest, blackest and the most intimidating sight he ever saw, that of a huge Hungarian Horntail standing guard over its nest and eyeing Harry warily.

Harry looked at Hermione who was clearly terrified. Tears stained her cheeks and catching Harry's eye, she shook her head frantically. It was a clear warning to Harry not to go with their plan. Harry already knew that and so he gave her a small smile hoping to give her some comfort. He hastily withdrew his head just before another gout of flame hit the boulder Harry was hiding behind.

The youngest champion took a deep breath and centered himself to perform the most difficult charm in his arsenal. With a tap of his wand, Harry disillusioned himself. He did not want to stick around for long and be subjected to the wrath of the dragon. Harry moved from behind the boulder, hoping that the great beast would not be able to detect him by smell, still he was ready to dive behind the boulder if needed.

There was one other charm Harry learnt specifically to help him in the task and he worked hard at mastering it. He was loathe to let it go waste and so aimed at the golden egg and cast loudly for everyone in the arena to hear, "Accio golden egg." It was also to let the judges know that he made an attempt to get the egg.

His spell struck true and the golden egg rattled on its perch. The enchantments that were put on the egg held true to hold it in place. Harry realized that he was not going to get the egg that way as Hermione predicted but using the two spells would ensure his compliance with the tournament rules and he did make a specific attempt to get the golden egg.

With another tap of his wand, Harry cancelled the 'Disillusionment Charm' on himself. Luckily the dragon held back her flames. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and sketched a bow before withdrawing from the arena, keeping the dragon in his view at all times.

Second Task

Harry Potter was cursing up a storm, mentally. He knew what he was needed of him, to rescue his girlfriend Hermione Granger from the depths of the black lake.

Since he did not get the golden egg from the first task, the judges gave him the clue that was inside the egg. With a strict warning that he was skirting on the edge of non-compliance, the judges left him.

Harry had more faith in his girlfriend's brilliance than the old witches and wizards who put him forcibly in danger and so ignored their admonishment. However, now that Hermione was in danger, he was determined to complete the task. They had a good plan and Harry was ready to follow it through, he was not going to take the risk of leaving Hermione's safety in the organizer's hands, he refused to believe them that all necessary precautions were in place.

As soon as the signal to start the task was given, both Cedric and Fleur cast the bubblehead charm onto themselves. The charm formed a pocket of air around their nose and mouth and allowed them to breath underwater. Not wasting any time, the two dove into the water.

Harry, meanwhile, took time to cast a warming charm on himself and then to make sure that the 'Goblet of Fire' recognized his participation, cast it again. Only then he took out the gillyweed he brought with him and stuffed it into his mouth. Feeling the transformation taking place, Harry dove into the cold and murky water, determined to get to his girlfriend as fast as he could.

Fleur Delacour was terrified. As a veela, she was naturally averse to diving into a large body of water. Added to that she had a foreboding feeling as to who would be the hostage for her to rescue. Fleur was not really made of the hero stuff. Yes, she was chosen as the champion of Beauxbatons but almost all throughout her life, Fleur relied on her beauty and veela nature to get through tough situations instead of confronting it head on.

The French beauty thought of withdrawing from the task just like Harry Potter did in the first task. But then she squashed that thought ruthlessly. For one it was her little sister down there and she was not going to leave her safety to the officials even though they promised about keeping the hostages safe. On the other hand she was a seventh year and representing Beauxbatons. She was an adult in the magical world and may have to face such dangers if she was to become a curse breaker. Besides, she may not be able to withdraw. Harry Potter might have been given special dispensation as he was not really a contestant and was being forced to participate. By now everyone agreed that the youngest champion's name was put in for revenge, by whom, no one knew.

With those thoughts deciding the course of action for her, Fleur used the 'Bubblehead Charm' and dove into the freezing water.

The water around her was calm, not the peaceful calm that would have made you feel like you were in heaven but the eerie calm which was a proclamation of impending danger. Fleur shivered both due to the cold water and also the feeling of doom.

Just then she heard a splash and saw Harry Potter streaking away from her into the depths of the lake. With a determined shake of her head, the Beauxbatons champion put her morose thoughts away, she had a task to finish and a dear sister to rescue.

The water was murky and made seeing that much difficult. Fleur could only see a few feet around her and the inky blackness after that only made her more apprehensive of the dangers. On an inspiration, she cast a stronger than normal 'lumos' charm allowing the blob of light to hover a few feet in front of her. Unfortunately and unthoughtful of her, that idea was actually a fatal mistake. Not only would it take a constant input of magic to maintain the light going on, and weakening her more, but it would also reduce visibility in other directions after being under the harsh glare for some time.

For you see, once your eyes get adjusted to see the bright light in front of you, your eyes need a few precious seconds to see into the darkness in any other direction away from the light. And a few seconds were all that would make a difference in an environment not suited to you.

Fleur was gradually making her way towards the center of the lake where the hostages were held according to the officials. That also meant that they were to go deeper. Fleur took care not to get too close to the bottom as there could be many creatures hiding in the water plants. However, with the need to look all around her, she unconsciously drifted close to a dense patch of vegetation. She was also going through the motions of the task without any real attention.

A sharp biting pain on her calf brought Fleur back to attention with a snap. The lapse in concentration extinguished the ball of light floating in front of her but it helped in freeing up her wand and magic for the emergency at hand, for there was a grindylow biting on her leg. The French champion brought her wand to bear on the water demon but a sharp pain in her wrist made her drop it. Even without seeing she knew that there was another beast biting down on her hand.

From there on it was a losing battle. More and more grindylows began latching onto her, drawing blood, perhaps drawing others to feast on her too. Trashing her hands and legs in an effort to shake the creatures off only caused more problems as her appendages began to get entangled in the freshwater kelp that was abundant in the area. A flurry of swipes on her face caused the bubblehead charm to fail.

Fleur should have been panicking, but instead she felt as if she was detached from the action that was going on around her. The water demons were roused into a frenzy due to the enormous amount of blood that was leaking into the water. The loss of blood and lack of oxygen might have also contributed to her lethargy.

Fleur Delacour knew without doubt that she was going to die. Her last thought was an apology for her darling little sister for failing to rescue her.

The organizers requested the help of the lake's mermen to be on the lookout for any dangers. They could not interfere with the task but they were to assist the champions in any life threatening situations, such an action naturally disqualifying the champion.

A nearby sentry rushed to investigate the commotion. Seeing a school of grindylows attacking a champion, he brandished his halberd. It took a few swipes and a few rolled off heads, but the water demons finally fled the scene but the damage was already done.

The spectators were bored watching the surface of the lake. They could not understand why they were to be bored to death in addition to being chilled to death. The Durmstrang contingent already left to their school as there was no further need for them after losing their champion and so it was only two schools watching the action, though there was nothing interesting going on for the moment.

The calm surface of the water was broken by something rising up. This roused the watchers expecting the arrival of a champion and were getting ready to applaud irrespective of schools. It was a champion alright but one who was battered, bruised, and clearly not among the living. Gaiety turned to hysterics as the Beauxbatons champion was handed to a flustered Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey.

Harry Potter was having an easy time. It was one of the perks of having a very bright witch as his girlfriend, he mused. In her frenetic search for some answers for the second task, Hermione came across a detailed map of the Black Lake. It was from the time when the first merpeople were given permission to establish their colony. The map took away one major variable and gave Harry ample time to train in casting non-verbally; 'surely verbal casting underwater was almost impossible,' Hermione argued.

The only problem Harry had was with a few grindylows that surrounded him. Without much thought, Harry whipped out his wand and shot a non-verbal banishing charm at the one right in front of him. The hex banished a column of water in front of him and due to the power Harry put into the hex, turned it into a battering ram as it hit the grindylow. The creature was not only sent tumbling away but from the sound the hex made on impact, a few of its bones were also clearly broken. The rest of the group did not even bother staying around after that.

Harry reached the area that held the hostages quite quickly after that. He did not want to linger about and face more dangers, no his goal was to free Hermione. Overall it took him a little more than 30 minutes to get to Hermione and Harry had a mild panic attack when he saw her looking lifeless. Thankfully, his wits came back immediately and Harry realized that they were probably put in suspended animation for the duration of the task.

A simple severing charm at the ropes holding Hermione down and he was dragging her to the surface. As soon as she hit the surface, she was able to breathe in a lungful of air and was crushing Harry in her hug. Harry had to stay underwater in order to breathe but he still managed to convey to Hermione that he saw two more hostages at the bottom of the lake meaning that he was the first to resurface. Hermione was also ecstatic, not only that Harry was first but more importantly, he came out of the task intact.

Their jubilation, however, was cut brutally short by the lifeless body of the Beauxbatons champion.

Third Task

Standing in front of the entrance to the maze that was the final task in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter was strangely calm. The last few months after the announcement of the tournament were nothing short of turbulent for the green eyed wizard. But now he knew that all the events before now would come to a head. Today would be the end of all speculation and the world would know why he was chosen to be part of the tournament. Deep down Harry knew that only a miracle would save his life today.

Looking around, Harry could feel the despair that hung in the air. There were only a handful of students watching the third task and they were all from Hogwarts. The Beauxbatons contingent departed to mourn their fallen champion at the end of the second task. Harry could see that the Gryffindor contingent comprising of all the students above fourth year was the largest. The rest were miniscule in comparison, with only the entire seventh year Hufflepuff class and the lone Ravenclaw in the form of Cedric Diggory's girlfriend Cho Chang supporting the real Hogwarts champion. The Slytherin house was conspicuous in their absence.

Harry was distracted from his musings by the cannon blast announcing that it was time for the leading champion, Diggory to face the final challenge.

Cedric Diggory was determined. He was determined not to die tonight and he was determined to win the tournament. For all the trouble it has caused, Cedric did not think even once about losing his life in the tournament. No, once he won the tournament, he was going to use that influence to push for the destruction of the 'Goblet of Fire'. The Triwizard Tournament should never be contested again. It was ironic that all of this was to happen at Hogwarts which was supposed to be the safest place in all magical Britain.

Without a backward glance, the seventh year Hufflepuff strode confidently into the maze.

Transfiguring a hedgehog that was nipping at his heels into a pin cushion was easy as was blinding a Devil's Snare. Battling an animated golem pushed him to the limit in the narrow space but getting rid of one of Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewt nearly put him into magical exhaustion. But through all of this, Cedric was determined and he hung on.

Bruised and battered, Cedric entered the clearing at the center of the maze. Looking at the gleaming trophy almost removed all of his exhaustion and nearly put a spring in his step.

Cedric leaned against one of the hedges to catch his breath. A few moments later, he began crossing the divide to get to the cup and was so intent in getting to it that he was nearly impaled by the pincers of an Acromantula. Only a warning shout from Harry Potter and a forward tumble saved him.

Harry took a deep breath and went in to the maze. He decided to do what he did in the first task, make a token attempt and then get out of the maze. He had no intention of being dragged into a magical fight which would probably end up taking his life.

As soon as he entered the maze, Harry simply cast a couple of warming charms on himself and a lumos. Hoping that he fulfilled the contract of the 'Goblet of Fire' Harry began to backtrack and get out of the maze. To his dismay, however, the entrance to the maze was closed with new vines sprouting from the hedges on its sides. Within a few seconds, the opening was fully closed and the hedges started to grow and threatened to envelop him too if he did not move.

Harry moved a few feet into the maze and came to a halt determined not to go any further, but the growing hedge was equally determined to see him participate. It began to close on him again. Giving it up as a lost cause, Harry marched into the maze, clearly annoyed with what he was being forced to do.

His progress was not that difficult. A yellowish cloud of vapour which caused him to hang upside down, was overcome simply by walking forward exactly as he read about it, and a riddle by a sphinx was the only one that troubled him the most. A boggart in the form of a dementor did not even elicit the fear it normally does and Harry was entering the clearing that housed the trophy that signaled the end of the task.

Seeing the danger that Cedric Diggory was in Harry shouted out a warning and his wand also shot a blasting hex at the joint in one of the Acromantula's many legs. Seeing that the Hufflepuff was safely away, Harry gave in to the impulse of doing some damage to the giant spider. A flurry of blasting and cutting hexes rained down on the spider. Within a few seconds, all that was left of the Acromantula was the huge torso that was devoid of all of its legs and the head.

Cedric was astounded by the power that Harry Potter put into his spells. He was also grateful for the timely warning which saved his life. His dive took him near the cup and he was in a position to end the nightmare of a tournament, still he hesitated. Cedric could not deny that Harry Potter made it possible for him to be in a position to grab the cup and he wanted to give the young fourth year an equal chance.

From his position, Harry could see that Cedric was hesitant to take the cup. He was probably thinking about giving Harry a share of the glory, but Harry was not going to have anything to do with the cup. He survived the task until now and where he was standing looked like a very safe place to be and he was not going to move from there.

Harry saw the indecision on Cedric's face and gestured for him to take the cup. To emphasize the point, he sat down where he was standing before and waved at him again.

Cedric now knew that Harry Potter was not going to take the win and so with a nod of thanks, turned and grasped the handle. The seventh year Hufflepuff disappeared from the maze and from Hogwarts ground and was never heard from again.