AN: Something to think about my fellow readers: Wizards smoke out of long pipes so they do not risk setting their beards on fire.

Jean-Ray: Well, if you're wondering when the reveal might happen for both groups, just read on find out!

Chapter 10 – The Egg, Ball and Betrayal

"Mr Potter could you stay behind for a few moments please?" Professor Flitwick said as the end of class bell rang and everyone was leaving.

Harry waited until the rest of the class exited before walking up to his teacher.

"Now Harry, I know that you're an illegal participant in this but during the tournament there is something called the Yule Ball, as you can probably tell by the name, it is a ball that is held to honour the tournament and the champions will open up the first dance." Flitwick explained.

"So because of me being in this farce, I am expected to open the ball with a dance? Do I at least get a partner?" Harry joked, slightly.

"Yes you do my boy and I am sorry for piling this on you on top of the tournament business, it's all a part of the tradition of the tournament."

Harry walked out of his talk with the Professor with a slight apprehension towards the ball and the prospect of dancing.

'As much as it would be funny to see the faces of those who doubt me, I have much better things to do than to indulge in functions that would serve the followers of Slaanesh better than I,' he thought as he continued to walk through the halls, coming up with plans then scraping them in favour of new ones.

"While I admit that this domain is usually reserved for Slaanesh and her…vices, this would give you an opportunity to show off, show that you are not cowered by the bug and whispers of those beneath you."

'True and that does make me wonder, will Hermione go to the ball or will she skip it in favour of doing something more productive with Lavender? Probably skip it.'

"Your friend's presence in the warp is growing; she will take on more and more aspects of Slaanesh just as you will from me, leave her to her own devices and concentrate more on your own."

Harry nodded to Tzeentch's final words and began to direct his thinking towards the dreaded ball and beyond.

Scene break

"Students may I have your attention please? In a fortnight's time, a Yule Ball shall be held in celebration of the champions and the tournament, fourth years and above are only to attend but if you wish, you can invite a person from a lower year," said Dumbledore to the hall with a beaming smile.

"The champions of the tournament shall open the ball as tradition states and most importantly, it is a time to have fun" with that Dumbledore sat back down, all the while watching as the hall broke out in loud discussions about the ball.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, the group, now including Neville, Ginny, Lavender, Padma and Daphne, as she did not care about the house system anymore, much to the chagrin of her house, just like the rest of the hall, began to discuss what to plan.

Flashback starts

"Greengrass!" a loud voice interrupted Daphne's walk down in the dungeons and as she turned around, she saw that is was Malfoy with his goons by his side with several older Slytherins behind them.

Daphne's only response was to raise an elegant eyebrow in question as she waited for Malfoy's usual speech about her friends but it all seemed to come to a head this time when Malfoy attempted something he shouldn't.

"Greengrass, I've waited patiently for you to come to your senses and leave that pathetic group of mudbloods and blood-traitors, but it seems as though I have to take matters into my own hands." Malfoy motioned to the group of older snakes to move behind Daphne.

Daphne watched as she became surrounded by members of her own house, seemingly prepared to hold prevent her escape and make sure that if anyone came across them, none would interfere.

"You know, I did not want things to come to this, you're a pureblood witch who could become something greater but instead you wish to dirty yourself by hanging around with filth, such a shame really." Malfoy smirked at her, clearly showing he didn't care at all.

"Malfoy, you seem to be under the impression that I care about what you think, you say I could become something greater if I stuck with my fellow purebloods? I am already greater than you realise, I have given myself over to a power greater than what you consider pureblood magic." Daphne spat at Malfoy as she slowly stalked up to him.

All the while Daphne was speaking, the other snakes didn't realise that the shadows behind them were growing and beginning to suck up any light that was in the corridor until all that could be seen was two glowing blue eyes in the darkness.

"You say being a pureblood makes you stronger? Prove your strength then pureblood," after Daphne whispered the last syllable, screeches came racing from out of the shadows, racing towards the Slytherins as Daphne unleashed what she learned and practiced under her new teacher's guidance; a very high talent for illusions and manipulations.

Flashback ends

Daphne smirked slightly as she remembered the screams that came from the other Slytherins and how the only thing that they would remember was the feeling of being hunted by the denizens of the warp.

"So who do you think you'll go with Neville?" Hermione asked as she plucked a succulent looking red apple from the fruit bowl with a smile.

"Well it seems like an inevitability that I shall ask my dear Ginny to accompany me and have a grand old time, but then we may not go and enjoy a night in." Neville said with a smile as he turned towards Ginny and received an agreeing nod of her head.

"How about you Hermione? Will you dazzle us with your beauty at the ball?" Harry asked as he kept twisting and moving his hands close together with a small light shining from between them every now and then.

"Me at the ball? Being at the ball would be a pleasure due to having the attention of every male there and maybe some females, I would be delighted to be the bell of the ball with my dear sweet Lavender here but honestly, there is so much more pleasure to be gained from just us two than the entire ball." Hermione smirked at Lavender, which made her blush in response.

The group collectively raised an eyebrow at Hermione's blunt response and Lavender's blush but decided to leave their friends to their own devices, as they seemed to enjoy it.

"Well as much as this seems more like your thing Hermione, against better judgments and the opportunities to be gained, I shall not be going. I will not lower myself to the whims of this tournament and the demands of this society." Harry said resolutely without a care for the opinions of wizards.

"Well then what will Luna and Daphne be doing?" asked a curious Hermione.

"Whatever they choose to do, but knowing them as I do then I would wager they will be helping me with whatever I am doing." Harry looked at his two friends and received nods in return at the commitment to the night.

The group made small talk for the next few minutes before they began to split off into their respective classes, each one of them having different thoughts as they exited the hall.

'The night of the ball shall pleasurable indeed.'

'The night of the ball shall be a perfect night to delve deeper into the hopes and dreams of others for the benefit of the Architect.'

'The main thing now is how do I tell him and when?'

Scene break

A few days before the night of the ball, Harry and his friends were sitting on the grounds of Hogwarts as they had a free period.

Around him he could hear the trio of Hermione, Lavender whispering to Padma about what they could do during the night of the Ball as the they were trying to persuade her to at least try what they were planning.

Neville and Ginny were talking in hushed tones about something that the others weren't privy to which made him curious as to why but chose to give them their space as Harry knew that every member of their little 'family' deserved privacy.

Luna had her eyes closed with as they constantly moved, as he knew that she was utilising her gifts as she followed the unholy order she was given.

Daphne was reading a chapter from a book recommended from Harry as she wanted to rise in power quickly but at a slow enough pace so as Harry had explained the dangers of gaining too much power too quickly so she wouldn't gain any mutations.

Before Harry could continue taking in the view around him, he was interrupted by someone calling out to him from behind.

"Harry…Hey, Harry!"

Harry turned his body to see who it was and was confused when the identity of the shouter became apparent to him.

Cedric Diggory was walking up to the group with a couple of his friends who seemed to be arguing with him over something.

Harry concentrated slightly and tried to listen to their conversation and could only pick up little parts of it.

"It's a mistake Cedric and you know it."

"He's your rival in this tournament."

"If he didn't help me out for the first task, I would've had no idea about the dragons! My decision has been made and I'm going to help him, it's what a real Hufflepuff do."

After Cedric had said his final piece, his friends quietened down at his words but still kept up pace with him as they walked up to Harry and his friends.

"Yes, Cedric?" Harry queried with a raised eyebrow.

Cedric stalled slightly as he looked around at Harry's group and noticed that his Slytherin friend was with him, which made him slightly wary of her but his Hufflepuff loyalty won over and continued with what he was going to say.

"Listen, I never properly thanked you for helping me out with the first task." Cedric looked back at his friends who shook their heads in negative at his actions.

"The reason I've come out here is to repay the favour, if you haven't solved the egg yet, open it under water and listen carefully, I know you're smart Harry so I know you'll understand the words," and with that Cedric turned around and left with his friends.

"Well that was strange." Daphne's voice broke Harry out of his thoughts at he turned back to his friends and noticed they were all looking at him.

"Do you think you should follow his advice? As his friends said, you are his rival and he could've lied about the secret of the egg." Neville said with a small gesture of his head towards the retreating figures of Cedric and his friends.

"As his fellow Hufflepuffs stated, Cedric had no reason to give me the information for the clue, I only gave him the dragon information and left him to deal with the consequences, this bears some looking into I suppose," Harry said with a small shrug.

Scene break

The day of the ball came and with it, a great many students preparing themselves for a night that they felt would be a night to remember.

As the group's classes finished for the day, Harry and Neville had chosen to walk around the castle grounds, discussing the future tasks and what they might entail when they chose to stop and sit for the moment.

As both Harry and Neville sat in an alcove overlooking the black lake, their silence was broken by Neville who began to speak.

"Harry, you know that I'll always have your back right?"

Harry nodded slowly, although he was very confused as to what Neville was talking about and why he chose this moment to speak.

"Ever since you finished the first task, people have been looking at you differently than they usually have, yes the population has been constantly looking at you funnily ever since first year but ever since this year began, it is less trusting and warier." Neville spoke slowly as the giant squid in the lake began to surface and retreat back down several times.

Harry waited for Neville to continue but as Neville was about to continue, they were interrupted by a voice from behind them.

"Harry, Longbottom, it's time to go inside and get dressed for the ball."

The two of them looked behind themselves to find that it was Cedric that interrupted their talk to warn them about the time.

"How about we continue this conversation tomorrow? It'll give us plenty of time to talk and ask questions." Harry offered as Neville nodded in acceptance and the two of them began to walk back into the castle.

All the while Neville was walking inside the castle with Harry beside him, he was having an internal debate whether or not he wanted to continue the talk that he wanted with his brother but his inner thoughts were interrupted by the voice that had been with him since childhood.

"Do not despair, my dear boy, despite him being the champion of Tzeentch, Harry will understand why you had to hide your true nature from him."

'I hope so, because if not then may you help me because we're in his realm of influence and Harry will be stronger than I am, with Hermione potentially by his side then I will be in a very bad position.'

"Despite the history that I have with both Tzeentch and Slaanesh, for the course they have chosen, another ally will be welcome my boy, if not, then you'll always be welcome with me."

Neville's inner conversation finished as he noticed that the two of them came to the stairs that led them to their respective common rooms.

"Meet you in the morning down here at the stairs Nev?" Harry asked as he started to walk up the grand staircase.

"Yeah I'll meet you here," Neville responded as he began to walk down towards the Hufflepuff common room.

While the two brothers in arms separated, they were unaware of the conversation that was going on between their patrons about them.

"You play a dangerous game, why have not told your champion to reveal himself to my own?"

"I play a dangerous game? What will happen when your champion finds out Tzeentch? He will most likely attempt to kill my champion; the betrayal he will feel will be immense."

"We shall see."

Scene break

The night of the Yule Ball was alight with excitement from the three schools almost making the castle shine just form the collective feeling of happiness due to the ball.

When everybody was expecting the four champions to open the ball with spectacular grace, they would certainly be disappointed if they could see the lack of grace and decorum the fourth champion was presenting as Harry slapped away another warp blast that came from his student.

"Focus Daphne! Our enemies will not give you even a moment to catch your breath. You keep your senses open but your mind shut lest anyone attempt at trying to gain entrance." Harry shouted as he lashed out with his mind and took control of Daphne's body, proving that warning had great merit.

As Harry and Daphne finished up their spar, Luna chose to add in her say to the advice giving.

"What he speaks is true, an open mind is like a castle with its gates unbarred for its secrets to be plundered. That is of course if your mind were accessible to any chump with some ability for reading minds."

As the trio of them returned back to their seating area, Daphne brought up Harry's interrupted conversation that he had with Neville.

"So what do you think he wants to talk to you about?" Daphne queried as she marked several parts of a passage of the book she held.

"Well it certainly isn't that he wants to stay away from the group as the tensions in the castle ever increase due this farce of a tournament. I would normally look into the inner thoughts to find out more but for somethings such as this, I wouldn't do that to a brother." Harry leaned forward slightly in deep thought as he tried to think of several scenarios, some which involved the warp but as hard as he tried, Tzeentch had been ever silent regarding Neville.

"What of the egg from the first task? Have you opened it yet?" questioned Luna as she and Daphne turned towards Harry with curious faces.

Harry sighed slightly as he reached down and grabbed the golden egg from his bag, took it out and laid it on the table in the middle of the trio.

"I took Cedric's advice and listened to it under water. The language they used was a very particular one as it can only be heard under water and by researching the language is mermish." Harry placed the piece of parchment next to the egg so the girls could read it together.

As the atmosphere around them turned into a silence, the only sounds were of the lit braziers crackling with dripping warp fire and the sound of whispers flowing from the girls' mouths as they tried to deduce what was given.

"We've taken what you'll sorely miss? The way that this is written, it sounds as if they are taking the person that you will sorely miss, and honestly, I would place my bet on Luna being taken." As Daphne said this, deep cracks began to sprout around the room with the braziers lighting up to a brighter degree it almost became unbearable but it went away as soon as it appeared.

What followed what a voice that Daphne could honestly say scared her and held a little sympathy for those who would try to take their friend.

"Those that try to even lay a finger on Luna, will experience a fate worse than being a spawn of chaos."

As the magic around them began to ever so slowly close the cracks and repair the damage, the three of them began to make plans should the judges of the tournament attempt anything against their other friends.

Scene break

The next day came and with it, more looks of scorn and displeasure from the tournament judges, teachers, and students.

As the conversations slowly began to pick back up as the group sat down for breakfast, Harry remembered about yesterday's conversation and when he voiced his asking of Neville, he was somewhat shocked to see Neville jump slightly at his words.

"Come on Nev, time for this conversation that we missed out on having yesterday."

"S-sure Harry, I know the perfect place to have so we won't be disturbed." With that the two of them got up and left the great hall, not noticing the many pairs of eyes following them and with their friends following along after them, not really knowing that the entire group were about to get sucked down deeper into the rabbit hole.

Scene break

As Neville led Harry down towards the great lake, into an alcove away from prying eyes, it got Harry thinking as to what his brother in all but blood might want to discuss.

Finally, after a few more minutes of careful walking, they finally stopped in an area that had a pretty decent size about it while at the same time, keeping whomever was in it, away from prying eyes.

"Alright then Nev, you've got me all alone and vulnerable. What's this about?" Harry joked slightly but seeing Neville's strained face, he sat down in silence and waited for him to speak.

"Alright, here we go. Harry, I don't know if I've ever told you this but ever since I was a child, my home life hasn't been all that grand as being a pureblood might like to express. When I was a baby, my parents were tortured to insanity by death eaters and because of that, I was sent to live with my grandmother, who wasn't the best guardian."

Harry sat in silence as he listened to his friend began to pace slightly and bare his past out to him.

"The despair I felt because of her over-bearing and constant comparison between my father and I, coupled with my great-uncle who decided it was a great idea to throw me out the window to make my magic react, it wasn't the best home life."

"As I became a child, I made my very first friend, sorry mate, but he was the one who comforted me when all I could feel was despair at the lifestyle that my grandmother tried to force me into living. He has a sense of family that is a much better alternative to hers and with it comes a paternal figure I can look up to and he even sometimes lets me call him papa."

As Neville continued speaking, warning bells began to go off in Harry's head as he took in and processed Neville's words.

'Despair?….He?….Paternal figure?….Papa? No, no there is no way! It is impossible!'

"He's been my friend of mine ever since my childhood and ever since second year when we saw Hermione with pink eyes, he has wanted me to keep my identity secret, for when the time is right." Neville plead slightly to Harry to show him of sincerity but as he took a step forward, Harry took one back.

Neville took the look in his friend's eyes and sighed in slight resignation and fully confirmed Harry's fears.

"I see you've figured it out. Ever since childhood, Hermione has had Slaanesh, ever since childhood you have had Tzeentch and ever since childhood I have had- "Neville was cut off as he stared into a pair of eyes that burned with such fire as if Tzeentch himself had taken over his friend's body and heard a snarl that could send even the most powerful daemon running in terror.

"Nurgle!"

Now that Harry, Daphne and Luna have deciphered an important part of the egg, will there be any attempts on his friends' safety and if there is, how far will Harry go to bring them back to him? Neville has come out and revealed that just like Harry and Hermione, he is a vessel of one of the gods of chaos but because it is Nurgle, the eternal enemy of Tzeentch, what will the consequences be for both the groups stability and friendships, but most importantly, Harry and Neville's relationship?

Give it a good read, possibly even give a review as they are always welcome and it tells me if you're liking the story and you have yourself a very good day :)