Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or the greater MCU. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am just a writer, working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: I have adjusted Gabrielle Delacour's age in this story. I'm sorry if this annoys some people, but she is a fun character that I think is underutilized and I want to have her around. Also, she is not going to be a part of Harry's harem. That being said, there is nothing to say she won't be attracted to someone else….

Note: I have a couple of new story concepts bopping around in my head. Would anyone be interested in reading a Harry Potter / Percy Jackson crossover, a Harry Potter / Downton Abbey crossover, or an evil Naruto story? If so let me know in your reviews.

Part Seven - The Tri-Wizard Begins

It was three in the morning, but Jean Grey was wide awake. She'd outlasted her friends, and held onto consciousness long enough to hear the door to their penthouse hotel room open, and two sets of tired feet make their way to separate rooms. She couldn't help but smile. Now was her chance! She hurriedly got out of bed, checked her reflection one last time in the mirror, secured her robe around her frame, and slowly opened the door to her room. Making sure not to wake her friends as she closed it behind her. Then with the stealth of bare feet, she inched her way across the hall to Harry's room. She wouldn't deny she was nervous as she raised her hand to knock, but the scare she got when a calm throat cleared itself behind her nearly made her pass out from fright.

She clenched her heart with her fist and whipped around to see the inquisitive eyes of the queen of Asgard staring right at her. "A-A-A…" Jean tried to speak for several moments as the other woman waited with arms crossed and fingers tapping a steady rhythm. Finally, she settled on the tried and true, "This isn't what it looks like."

Frigga's stare turned into a sly smirk. "Really? Because this scene looks like it would have you wearing a rather skimpy set of lingerie under that robe. Am I wrong?" Jean's crimson blush was the only confirmation the regal woman needed. With a sigh she stepped forward, wrapped a long arm over the girl's shoulders and led her off into the kitchen. "Come, Jean. A conversation such as this requires sustenance of the sugared variety." So saying, the queen sat her charge on a counter stool and set about retrieving a pair of bowls and a pail of frozen goodness from the suite freezer. If there was one invention of mankind she prized above all others, it would have to be ice cream. The queen absolutely adored chocolate/vanilla twist.

After taking a few seconds to enjoy a bite, and watch her captive do the same, Frigga began her interrogation. "Let us be honest together, Jean. You and I. I swear that no truths spoken will leave this room." The younger girl wouldn't meet her eyes, but all the same she nodded. Taking that as a good sign, Frigga asked, "You were going to the room of my grandson to offer him your virtue were you not?"

Jean's face lit up once more like a stop light, but nevertheless she said, "Y-Yes."

"Did Luna and Laura know of this plan? Did you speak to them at all of it?"

The mutant gave Frigga a questioning look, "No? No. It… wasn't about them. Not really. At least… not completely." By the end her shoulders were completely slumped. "I just… I know the others love him too. I know they would probably like to do what I was about to. But…"

"You loved him first." Frigga nodded, "And you wanted to have him first."

The red haired girl stared up at the taller women in shock. "How did you-"

Frigga raised a finger to silence her charge, took another bite from her spoon, and then said, "Believe or not as you will, but verily I once was in your position. Long, long, ago, I was a young girl in love with my king to be. I was not alone however. Three others, my shield-sisters, had all professed the same feelings as myself to him. Now, we all cared for each other, much as you and yours do, and we all wanted to do our best to make our king happy, but I had known him the longest, and I thought it my right to be 'with' him before the others. Not for spite, but because I wanted that one experience to be my own." She fell silent, and Jean started to grow impatient.

"What happened?"

"I acted. I went to Odin's room, much as you did tonight, only there was no one to stop me. I gave myself to him, body and soul, and it was the most passionate night of my life." Frigga took a moment to enjoy the discomfort of Jean Grey before continuing. "That of course led to one of the worst mornings after. When my shield-sisters saw me at breakfast they knew right away what I had done. The conversation, rather, the fight, that followed was not comfortable."

"They were jealous?" Jean gasped.

"No, disappointed. You see, I did not speak to them of my wish to advance the relationship to a physical level before I did it. They would have given me the first night had I asked it, but in moving without their knowledge I risked upscaling the bond we had built. If one of them had not been ready to take that step after all, my actions could have made them feel pressured to do it themselves regardless of their comfort level. I was fortunate they were ready at the time."

Jean blinked." I… had not considered that."

Frigga reached over and took her hand. "I had not thought you would. And that is not your fault. Humanity is quite antiquated in how they view love and relationships, but now you are in a position where you cannot think of only yourself. You are part of a group, a sisterhood, much as I was. Look to them, speak with them, and take comfort from them. Then act as one. I promise, the trust and love you gain from such acts will be beyond anything you could foresee." She reached out to grasp the younger girl's shoulder and asked, "Understand do you what I am saying?"

Jean nodded slowly. "By acting alone I risk making the other girls feel pressured. I should talk to them first."

The queen clapped her hands happily, "Indeed, young one. Now, finish your ice cream and then head back to yon chamber for sleep. In the morning you may have that conversation. Worry not for its outcome, as the bond I see in you all is much as I held with my sister-wives."

The redhead did as ordered, placed her empty bowl in the sink, and moved to return to her room. But before leaving completely she had to ask, "Frigga, this is the first I've ever heard you mention sister-wives you shared. Where are they?"

The regal woman allowed a flash of sadness to pass her features. "Long dead. They fell valiantly in battle, and proceeded Odin and myself to the gates of Valhalla. Do not feel pity for me or mine, Jean. We shall see them again when it is our time."

The next morning Jean did as she'd been instructed. And while the delicious smells of Harry making breakfast wafted under the crack of her door, she talked with her friends about the prospect of sex with their shared man. Laura affirmed that she was more than ready for that step, but shockingly enough, Luna voiced a bit of worry.

"I love, Harry. I do. And I would like to get more physical with him. Maybe do some hand or mouth stuff. But… the idea of going all the way, it still scares me a bit. I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. Is that alright? I don't mind you two doing it of course, but…" She was clearly getting more stressed the longer she spoke.

Jean launched herself at the lithe blonde and pulled her into a crushing hug that Laura was quick to join. The redhead mentally thanked Frigga for stopping her the other night. How could she have been so selfish as to act on her own? She said, "Of course it's alright, Luna. You shouldn't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, and neither we nor Harry would want you to. Please, don't feel pressured to do everything we do. Follow your own time."

The blonde nuzzled into her chest and said, "I will. Thank you for bringing this up, Jean. I think we needed to have this conversation. Things could have gotten… weird otherwise."

"Si." Laura nodded. "We did, and we should have more. We are in this relationship together after all."

As she nodded her head, Jean couldn't help remembering something Frigga had said the other night. A sisterhood indeed.

Azkaban Prison

Grant Hughes was in a right state as he adjusted his tray of potions and waited for the next convict to be brought into his interrogation room. He was a prosecutor in her majesty's government, and with the reintegration of the magical world to mundane law, he'd been tasked with going over their court proceedings for the last few decades to check for irregularities, and what he and his team had found was a mountain of corruption and disdain for the law. Blatant bribery, blackmail, Subversion of her majesty's commands, no regard for muggles or muggleborn in the wizengamont, blatantly racist laws being passed without any real opposition, and worst of all the reason for his current position in the main building of magical Britain's prison. Through an audit of court depositions and prison census reports, the prosecutor's had discovered a discrepancy. There were more prisoners than convictions. The only solution was that several individuals had been sent here without being tried in a court of law.

That fact had been discovered three days ago, and after several interviews and applications of veritaserum, the crown had discovered no less than twenty innocent souls sentenced to life in prison without cause. They had of course been released and mandated into the hands of appropriate mental healthcare professionals. The ones guilty of the worst crimes were summarily sent to super max prisons on the continent. Hughes had been royally disappointed with the security standards of Azkaban and upon his recommendation the prison was being slated for decommission over the next year. When your only real guards for dark wizards are dark creatures then there is something seriously wrong with your framework.

Breaking from his reverie, Grant looked at his list of inmates and called out to the door guard, "Send in prisoner 24601."

The man immediately brought the next prisoner in line into the interrogation chamber, shackled his arms and legs to a heavy steel chair, and left them alone. As was common for the beaten down inmates of this crazed facility, the filth covered man wouldn't meet his eyes. So Grant just cleared his throat and shifted to the appropriate papers before beginning the introduction he'd become quite versed in over the last few days.

"Prisoner 24601, Sirius Black. I am Grant Hughes from her majesty's prosecutor's office. I have been sent to review all wizengamont convictions for the last thirty years. As there has been blatant examples of bribery and other bad practices, we are interrogating prisoners such as yourself once more with veritaserum. Will you willingly submit to such questioning?" As he was sadly growing used to seeing, the man gazed up at him swiftly with pure hope in his eyes and stuck his tongue out.

Grant nodded and walked around his desk to apply the potion before returning to his seat and taking out a pen and notebook to record the answers he was to receive. "What is your full name and title?"

"Sirius Orion Black. Lord of House Black."

The lawyer recorded this and asked, "What crimes were you sentenced here for?"

"None. I was never tried or sentenced. All I remember is being arrested and then waking up here. I have never been offered a lawyer or chance to plead my case."

Grant wrote this down and leaned back with a depressed sigh. How could any fellow Englishman have allowed miscarriage's of justice like this to occur? Regardless, he still had a job to do. "Do you know what you were supposedly sent here for? And if so is there any information you can give that might aid us in finding the true guilty parties?"

Sirius nodded. "My best friend and his family were in hiding under a fidelius charm. It hides a home completely as long as a certain person keeps the location secret. We let everyone think it was me to cover for the true secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew. Voldemort still found them, so Peter must have told him. All the same, I was sent here and saddled with his crime. Peter framed me for murdering a bunch of muggles and then scampered off in his animagus form, a rat. He's the one that should really be here."

Grant nodded, finished his sentence, and moved to apply the antidote to the innocent man. "Lord Black, you have her majesty's apology for your wrongful incarceration. Under my authority you are to be released immediately into the hands of our nation's best mental health experts. Once they have cleared you, you shall be free to make your way in this world once more."

His words earned a trail of happy tears from the still bound man. "Thank you, Mr. Hughes. You… you don't know what this means to me."

Grant looked down. "Sadly, I think I do. You aren't the only innocent man I've found. Enjoy your freedom, Lord Black."

Three Weeks Later

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

Albus Dumbledore stared at the vial in his hand with unconcealed sadness. He'd hoped to never need to use the crimson liquid inside but now he was out of options. None of his efforts over the last several years had come close to tracking down the wayward boy who lived. Spells failed, rituals wouldn't latch on to anything, and even private investigators had turned up nothing. What was worse was that he'd just learned that Sirius Black had been released from Azkaban, so the possible use of his godfather's oath was now off the table as well.

The fact that it had taken him this long to learn of the mass releases from the wizarding prison steamed the aged headmaster like nothing else. Not even a year ago he'd have been the first one to know of such efforts, and been able to squash them in no time. Not out of malice of course, but because what had been done was done and the wizarding public didn't need any fresh reminders of the war. But now his kind were exposed, their government disbanded, and all the political power Albus had once held had been violently ripped away. The prime minister himself had made it clear that the queen considered Dumbledore to be a stain on Britain's history for his mismanagement of the wizengamont and Hogwarts, as if those mere muggles could understand the complexities of what he had to deal with and manage on a daily basis.

A fresh shudder worked its way through his system as he thought about the new classes he'd been forced to include into the Hogwarts curriculum. Math, muggle science, literature, and philosophy. worst of all had been the complete disbanding and replacement of his muggle studies and history courses. Professor Burbage had been sacked without even a chance to plead her case, and replaced with some professors from Oxford. The pureblood students had been in an uproar ever since. Why couldn't the crown see the harm they were doing to his society? Though of course the muggle security guards that had begun patrolling his halls at night probably saw and relayed it well enough. Meaning his government just did not care.

With a sigh, Albus looked once more to the vial and physically groaned as he poured it into a small inkwell, before dipping in a quill. Harry Potter's blood. Taken the night that the headmaster had dropped him off on his relatives doorstep. It had been a small measure of insurance, in case the boy wouldn't willingly let his life be taken, but magic would only let blood forcibly taken be used once per draw, and the times were dire enough for its use now. This was the last year young Harry could attend this school. The last year Albus could even attempt a measure of control or influence over him, and if the prime minister's hinted words were anything to go on, it was his last year as headmaster in general.

Albus quickly wrote out Harry J. Potter on a slip of parchment, covered himself in James Potter's invisibility cloak and swiftly made his way down the stairs. As he did, he allowed himself a small measure of guilt for his possession of the fine artifact. He had taken it in secret when visiting the Potter's, for study of course, two weeks before the final fatal attack. How could he not? One of the deathly hollows, an object of legend, right there before his eyes. And James wasn't even using it for anything important. Just long winded pranks and hijinks. It was only right that a wise wizard like himself should take it and try to unravel its great mysteries. Right? Long had he mourned the thought that this very object could likely have hidden Lily and Harry from Riddle if they had had it that night, but in the end what was done was done. The past was written and could not be changed.

He reached the large doors to the great hall, made sure no one was looking, and made his way inside. The hall was dim, except for the blue tinged flames of the goblet of fire by the main podium. The enchanted ceiling was pitch black, as if the castle itself did not want to be witness to what was about to happen. Nevertheless, Dumbledore quickly made his way to the great artifact and dropped his parchment inside. Contrary to the usual reaction, the flames burned crimson for several seconds before quieting down.

Albus sagged in relief as he got the expected reaction. Using the blood to write out young Harry's name gave him two very particular benefits. First, since the boy had not written his own name on the parchment, the goblet would not normally believe he entered himself. The blood tied the boy directly to the signature however, counteracting that defense. Second, the direct connection to young Harry's essence would draw him to wherever the goblet was at the time of the champion's selection after he cast the confundus on the artifact. In effect, Albus had created a magical transporter on a timed trigger, just waiting on him to press the button.

The old man smiled at the success of his work. It was a shame he had to force young Harry to come here under these circumstances, but it was all for the greater good.

Some Time Later

The White House

Harry woke in the master bedroom of his massive home with the biggest grin of his life on his face. It was easy to see why when one considered the two gorgeous, naked, women curled up to his sides. It was with some amusement that he realized Jean was snoring cutely and Laura was lightly purring of all things.

Last night Jean had come into his room as he was getting ready for bed. Before he could ask what was going on, she'd dropped her robe, displaying the most alluring black lingerie he'd ever seen. It contrasted so deliciously against her pale skin that all he could was gape at her until his first girlfriend had closed his mouth for him and instructed her man to take her to bed. It had been a bit awkward at first, a couple's first time often is, but by the end they'd both been sweaty and satisfied.

Then the night had taken an even more reality defying turn when he'd felt the smooth arms of Laura wrap around his shoulder's from behind. Without giving him a chance to turn and look at her she'd whispered in his ear, "Jean had first dibs, now its my turn."

Where Jean had been passionate and loving, Laura was downright animalistic. If regular objects such as nails could have pierced his skin Harry was sure that he'd have scars running down his back. Once the two had had their fill of each other they'd settled into a late evening cuddle session and just talked. About random things, life, and each other. He'd worried about the effect this new dynamic would have with Luna, but the others assured him they'd already talked it through. He'd worried about the prospect of adding Shuri to their dynamic, but they also assured him they were open to the girl. Finally… he'd made sure to tell them that this had been the most amazing night of his life and thanked them both profusely. Earning some blushing smiles and kisses in the process.

But, all good things had to come to an end, as shown by the door to his room opening to let in the morning light as his mother's voice intoned, "Harry, Shuri called asking for you. Should I-" Peggy Carter entered the room and stopped dead at the sight before her. For his part Harry was gaping like a fish as he tried to think of any excuse for why he had two naked girls in his bed. Peggy placed a hand over her eyes, turned around, and marched right out the door she'd entered through.

Immediately Harry launched himself out of bed, much to the vocal displeasure of his bedmates as he rushed to throw some clothes on.

"Harry?" Jean asked as she rubbed her eyes, "What's going on?"

"My mom just walked in and saw us! I need to talk to her!"

In a move that surprised him utterly, Jean just nodded lazily and fell back onto the bed, curling up in the warm spot he'd just left. "Alright, come back when you're done then."

There was definitely a weird lack of stress there, but the prince didn't have any time to unpack it. With a burst of power he slammed through his door, out into the hall, and sped up to catch up to his rapidly power-walking mother. She flinched when he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Mom?"

She sighed, took a breath, and turned back to her son with a smile. She placed her own hand on his shoulder and said, "Sorry, son. I was not expecting to walk in on, 'that', and I guess I needed a second to process it. Sorry if I worried you."

Harry blinked. He had not expected his mom to be so reasonable about the knowledge her son was now sexually active. "You're being surprisingly… chill about this."

She blinked. "Was that an ice giant pun? Bad timing there, Harry. And no I am not 'chill' but I'd be lying if I said I had not already considered this would happen. Given the fact that you're in a relationship with three girls about your same age. You're teenagers, you're in love, and you've been through hell together. Sex was always a possibility."

Harry squirmed a little at that. Hearing his mother use the 'S' word was just… wrong.

"But please, dear, tell me that you are being safe and using protection? I'm a little young to be a grandmother."

"Y-Yeah. Jean is on the pill, and Laura used the pull-out method."

"Hm. I'll get you some condoms. The pull-out method isn't always effective, and with Laura's regenerative abilities, who knows what active sperm could do in her system."

"Mom, could we not… talk about sperm. It's just… weird." It was uncomfortable enough getting this talk from Loki in the first place.

Peggy gave her boy a glare. "We are going to talk about what needs to be talked about mister. This conversation was coming sooner or later anyway after I'd calmed down. you just accelerated the process by coming after me." She led her son across the hall to a waiting room couch and asked, "Now, how are you three feeling about this step? It's a pretty big one."

"We're alright. They made it clear Luna wasn't ready to go that far, and I have no intention of pushing her. So right now we're all where we'd like to be."

Carter breathed out a relieved sigh. "Then that is all that matters."

Harry blinked, "Really?"

"Yes. You love each other, you're being safe, you're respecting boundaries, and no one is being hurt. As a parent, that is what matters to me." She cupped her son's face and gave him a warm smile, "Do I wish you were a little older before doing this? Yes. But I suppose all mother's feel that way. In the end though, I know the man I raised, and I trust him to do the right things. You're a good boy, Harry."

The blue teen pulled his taller mother into a hug and said, "Thank you, mom. For trusting me, and the girls, for this life, for everything."

She hugged him back just as hard and replied, "You don't need to thank me for that, son. Being your mom is the best job I've ever had." After a few more comfortable moments, the two separated and she handed him his phone. "I tried to tell you earlier, but Shuri has been calling for a while now asking for you. I guess you left your phone in the lounge as I only heard it ringing in passing. You should call her back. Maybe invite her over for a date."

Harry gaped. "You want me to just invite a foreign princess into another country for a date? How would that even work? How would she get here in any reasonable amount of time? We haven't installed a magic gateway in Wakanda yet."

Peggy shrugged, "You could just ask Heimdall to send her over."

Harry scoffed, "I'm sure Heimdall has more important things to do than-" The prince of Asgard was immediately cut off as an empty space of ground five feet away from them lit up in multicolored light to be replaced with the robed form of a very shocked Princess Shuri. Clearly she'd been in the middle of some morning activity or other.

Peggy let out a laugh and looked to the sky, "Thank you, Heimdall!" Then she levered herself out of the chair, took the rapidly questioning Wakandan princess by the arm and led her out of the room, hollering over her shoulder, "I'm gonna grab her some clothes. Be ready in your office with a pot of tea."

"Of course the Watcher of the Gate has a sense of humor." Harry groused as he prepared to follow his mother's directive.

Thirty minutes later found Harry and Shuri sitting together on a couch in his office sipping glasses of warm tea. Harry had tried to sit a respectful distance away, but the Wakandan princess had immediately moved closer until she was leaned comfortably into his side. She was as forward as ever. Apparently Laura had provided her with a change of clothing and she now wore a tight pair of jeans and a crop top of all things. The prince would be lying if he ever said he found the look unflattering.

Shuri suddenly sighed, placed the tea cup down on the table, and leaned her head back on the frost giant's chest. "This is nice isn't it? The two of us, cuddling with some tea?"

Harry chuckled, "I can't say I disagree. You know, I was worried it would be a bit awkward spending time with you." At her look he elaborated, "I don't mean to say that I didn't want to be around you or anything like that. But we had only met the once, and I still don't know that much about you, but for some reason…" he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tighter to him, earning a happy tone from the princess in the process, "This feels… right."

Shuri leaned her head back and kissed her blue man's cheek. "I think part of that is that some primal part of you recognizes a good match when it feels one. Although, if an issue is not knowing much about me yet, let us rectify that. Ask me anything, so long as I may do the same of you."

Harry nodded and said, "Can you tell me about your family? I'd like to learn about my future in-laws."

The Wakandan woman laughed merrily and began to tell him everything she could. The two talked for three hours. They swapped family information, childhood stories (Harry's made Shuri clutch him tight like a teddy bear), hobbies, favorite foods and drinks, and even the types of clothing they preferred. By the end, the two royals felt like years had passed between them after a single conversation.

"You're amazing Shuri." Harry praised, thinking about the scientific work she was responsible for. "All the things you've learned to do with vibranium are nothing short of miraculous!"

"And what about you?" She shot back. "You saved an innocent woman from brainwashing, defended your school from an armed assault, and reassured an entire country after a military takeover. You're pretty amazing yourself, you know."

"If you say so." Harry replied, still not exactly used to such praise. He rose to his feet, grabbed his walking stick out of habit, and crossed the room to the tea tray. "I'm going to pour another cup, would you like one?"

Shuri nodded happily. "Yes please. Three sugars." The princess leaned back further on the couch, just watching her new man work. This time together had just helped to affirm what she'd already known, Prince Harry was going to be one hell of a partner.

Her musings were interrupted however as suddenly behind her prince a dark ring of fire burst into existence. Harry just had time to give her a panicked look before his body was sucked into it and the fire disappeared after him.

Hogwarts

Great Hall

It was finally time, and Albus Dumbledore could not have been more excited. It had taken years of planning and maneuvering, but he was finally here in the moment that would let him right the course of destiny and save the wizarding world for good. He was standing grandly before the assembled students of three schools, and the goblet of fire had just begun to glow blue with its decisions.

The only negative aspects to the event in question were two-fold. First were the muggles sitting with his staff at the head table. The queen apparently believed her government should be included in the scoring, so they had sent an official representative to join the judges. France and Norway had quickly followed. Second, were the 'streaming crews' that were set up by the main doors and 'televising' the selection live around the world. It still irked Albus that the world knew about magic now, and the flippant way they were treating it, as if it was for 'their' entertainment, was getting further on his nerves.

He reached out a hand and the first champion selection was expunged from the ancient artifact in the form of a parchment slip. He read it swiftly. "The champion for Beauxbatons… is Gabrielle Delacour!" There was a table wide range of cheers as the beautiful french girl made her way up to the head table and was quickly ushered into the back room to await her fellow champions and further instructions.

The goblet glowed once more and a second name followed. "The champion for Durmstrang… is Viktor Krum!" The cheers were louder this time, reflecting the joy of three fourths of the hall at large. Albus supposed this was to be expected, Krum was an internationally renowned quidditch star after all. There had been a bit of a hubbub when he arrived at Hogwarts with the northern school contingent, mostly because no one could believe he was still in school. It was quickly explained by Karkoroff however that Krum had taken a few years off from his education to focus on his quidditch career, and was now taking the necessary classes to finish it up officially.

The goblet glowed for the third, and most believed last, time. Expelling one more name for the aged headmaster to read off. "The champion for Hogwarts… is Padma Patil!" A cheer came up at the Ravenclaw table that was quickly followed by the singular voice of Ronald Weasley screaming out "Cheater! It should be me!" Before Neville Longbottom smacked him on the back of the head. Padma visibly nodded to the boy before following the others.

Dumbledore smirked behind his beard. 'Now to start my speech so I look adequately surprised for the main event!' he thought. Then he began to speak. "Excellent! We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory," Behind him, the former head of magical cooperation, Barty Crouch, stepped up to Dumbledore's regular podium and placed a covered object on top of it, "the tri-wizard cup!" The cover was yanked off displaying the mighty trophy chalice to the awed audience before him.

Then, just as he planned it, the goblet lit up for the truly final time, except this time its flames were scarlet, and angry looking. While everyone else started to whisper and panic, Albus stared with anticipation, before a screech of ungodly noise alit in the air, forcing all present to cover their ears. Then, as they all watched, a plume of flames flowed from the ancient artifact into the air, forming a circle of light and shadow. It was out of this portal that a body fell, falling to its knees before the goblet as it's light went out, along with all the other candles in the great hall, bathing the new guest in enough darkness to cover his form.

Albus hurriedly moved to wandlessly re-light them, after all this time he needed to see his quarry's face after all. But before he could cast the spell a pair of crimson orbs started glowing in the dark, and a voice filled with rage and thunder exclaimed, "Heimdall!"

An instant later the windows to the school grounds were filled with multicolored light, and the castle itself began to shake.