The rest of the day proceeded onwards. They were unfortunately beginning to get to a point in their education where the teachers insisted on reminding them of their exams the following year. Y/N was already well aware of his OWLs and the stress that they could cause. He'd heard plenty of stories off his mother of students who were pushed just that little bit too far and lost their cool. Whether that was during the run up to the exams, or in the middle of the exams themselves.

This, coupled with the fact that he'd quite like to do well in them (you know… it was kind of his entire future at the school), meant that every time a teacher raised the point, his stomach did an odd barrel roll.

Which meant that the notice displayed in the Entrance Hall once they'd finished Care of Magical Creatures was a very welcome distraction. Ron read the notice over the top of all of the other gathered students.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock
on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early-

'Brilliant!' said Harry. 'It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!'

'Don't think Dumbledore would have actually let him do that,' said Y/N.

'To be fair, he let Moody teach the Unforgiveables,' said Hermione darkly.

-Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.

'Only a week away!' said Ernie Macmillan as he emerged from within the crowd. 'I wonder if Cedric knows. Think I'll go and tell him.'

'Guess Diggory is entering then,' said Y/N as the quartet made their way into the Great Hall.

'Don't think I want to see him as Hogwarts champion,' said Ron, 'He's already got enough going for him.'

'About time Hufflepuff got some recognition though,' said Y/N. 'I mean, how often do you hear that they've achieved something? Or Ravenclaw for that matter. It's mostly just us and Slytherin. And I'd rather him than one of the snakes.'

'They got enough glory when they beat Gryffindor last year,' said Ron.

'Ah yes, the one time we lost because of Dementors. And still proceeded to win the cup anyway.'

'Wonder who else will be entering,' said Harry. 'I mean, are there any Gryffindors who you think might be down?'

'I imagine a good few of them,' said Hermione. 'We are the house of courage after all, but I doubt houses will play any impact. It'll just be whoever the judge thinks would be best. I doubt Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are bringing houses into the mix.'

'Suppose we'll have to see. It's a question of how many they're bringing with them as well. The castle is already full with all of us, I doubt they're bringing more than a handful,' said Y/N, 'They won't all fit.'

'I think the visiting schools tend to bring about twenty to thirty each,' said Hermione, 'I spotted it when reading about past tournaments. It's mostly just everyone one who wants to enter and then the Headmaster short lists the contestants if they need to.'

'Wonder if they're going to be sharing our dorms,' said Ron. 'Would be weird, wouldn't it?'

'It'd be a good to make friends with some people from another school, but I doubt they will. We don't know them. Besides, there's no room. The dorms are designed specifically for us,' said Y/N.

'There is room for more,' said Hermione, 'in case we have transfers and stuff, or people needing to stay back a year. There's also availability for shared dorms for couples I believe, but they're fifth year and above.'

'Really? I must have missed that part…' said Y/N.

'Oh, it wasn't in "Hogwarts, A History",' said Hermione brightly, 'I asked your mum about it.'

Y/N spluttered into his drink whilst Harry and Ron smirked at him.

'Think that's our cue,' said Harry and within an instant, they were both gone up the table to sit with Lavender and Parvati.

'Did you per chance ask because you were trying to get us a room together?' asked Y/N.

'Kind of, it kind of came up in conversation anyway. So, I asked if it was a possibility. She said she wasn't sure, but she'd look into it. It's normally a request in 5th year for use in 6th, but she said she may be able to pull some strings and see what she could do. I assume you don't mind?'

'Are you kidding me? I'd love to share a room with you!' said Y/N happily. 'I wouldn't have thought she'd be willing, me being her son and all.'

'Suppose she trusts you, and she knows I'll keep you in line.'

'And who's going to keep you in line?'

'Guess you'll have to find out,' said Hermione with a wink.

Hermione was saved from Y/N's retort as a voice said, 'Hiya Y/N!' quite brightly and Neville dropped into Harry's vacated seat. 'Hiya Hermione.'

'Hi Neville!' said Hermione just as brightly, completely ignoring Y/N's glare. 'How are you doing?'

'Very well, Moody was quite nice. He's a lot better when he's alone. And he gave me some books to read! Apparently Professor Sprout told him that I'm really good at herbology so he passed this along-' and Neville withdrew a book from his bag and held it out for them to see.

'"Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties",' read out Y/N.

'It's got all sorts in here! All the different plants that grow in the lakes and lochs of Scotland, beaches of England and Wales,' he said excitedly, 'Moody thought I'd really enjoy it.'

'Well, I think he was right,' said Y/N. 'Glad to see you've perked up a bit.'

'I did just want to say thanks as well… for not saying anything… and for understanding.'

'She got my dad too,' said Y/N. 'Bellatrix. I'll make sure she pays.'

'When you find her, give her one from me,' said Neville. His face had taken on a harsh quality Y/N had never seen it adopt before, but a moment later and it was gone. He waved happily to them both, and departed.

'What was that all about?' asked Hermione, but Y/N shook his head.

'Neville hasn't told anyone, so it's not my place to. I'm sure he'll tell us once he's ready.' and Y/N withdrew the Remembrall from his pocket that Neville had given to him back in their first year. Rolling it around in his hand. Bellatrix would pay.

Once they'd finished eating, Y/N and Hermione were about to make their way up to the dorm, before Y/N changed his mind and dragged Hermione down the corridor where Fred had caused his distraction the year prior, to allow George and Y/N to go hunting for the Marauder's Map.

He took two turnings, ignoring Hermione's queries as to where they were going and stopped alongside a picture of a fruit bowl. He reached towards it and tickled the pear sitting just on the outskirts of the bowl. It made a small noise, as though chuckling, and then the entire wall panel it was placed on swung open. Hermione gasped in surprise.

In front of them were about a hundred house elves all pottering around place to place. Many bowed and curtsied as they saw the two new arrivals and a couple even waved brightly to Y/N, presumably recognising him from his previous visit with his mother.

'Suppose they don't often get visitors down here,' said Y/N as they began to walk across the room. 'Not many people know how to get in.'

'That is right sir!' said a squeaky voice from behind him, 'but we is still happy to be having you here.'

The two of them turned to see a house elf beaming up at them. He had rather large, tennis ball like green eyes, a pencil long nose and long pointed bat like ears. He was wearing a rather garish yellow jumper, blue shorts and a sock on each foot which did not match.

'Hello!' said Y/N brightly. 'Sorry to disturb, we're just looking around. My mother is the Deputy Headmistress, so she told us how to get in, and my darling girlfriend here is wanting to know a bit more about you all.'

'Your mother is the headmistress sir?' asked the house elf, wide-eyed.

'Well, deputy, yes. Professor McGonagall.'

'But then, that is making you Y/N sir! Y/N L/N!'

'Yes, that would be me,' said Y/N with a bemused smile at Hermione, 'didn't realise I was famous down here.'

'So that must be making yous Miss Hermione Granger!' squeaked the elf now turning to look at Hermione.

'Apparently we both are,' she said looking just as confused, 'but yes, that's me.'

'And you two is knowing Harry Potter!' squeaked the elf.

'Ah, nevermind. Boy who lived fan, should have guessed. He's not that great,' said Y/N exasperatedly.

'Harry Potter is a kind, brave wizard,' said the elf stubbornly.

'Oh, he's both of those. Bit of a prat though,' said Y/N. 'You speak like you know him anyway.'

'I is knowing him sir!' said the elf brightly. 'I is Dobby sir!'

Hermione and Y/N gazed at each other before looking back down at the elf who was beaming up at them.

'So… the one who worked for the Malfoys? And who intercepted our mail to Harry two years ago?'

Dobby's ears fell and the elf looked extremely apologetic.

'Dobby is sorry, sir and miss. Dobby was simply trying to protect Harry Potter, sir and miss.'

'No no it's quite alright,' said Y/N quickly, 'I was just checking. What are you doing here? I thought you were freed?'

'Dobby is, sir!' said Dobby, perking up again at once. 'Dobby is free! Dobby was struggling to find work after his old masters, sir. Lots of places not hiring Dobby because he is wanting paying for his work.'

'Nothing wrong with wanting pay,' said Hermione at once.

'Most wizards is not agreeing with you, miss. "That's not the point of a house elf" they is saying, and then they slam the door in Dobby's face.'

'So has Professor Dumbledore hired you then?' asked Y/N and Dobby nodded excitedly.

'Dobby came here with his friend Winky, sir and miss.'

'Winky? As in Barty crouch's elf Winky?' asked Hermione and Dobby nodded excitedly again.

'She is over by the fire, sir and miss. Dobby can take you to see her if yous is wanting?'

'Tell you what, Dobby,' said Y/N, 'Me and Hermione have a few questions. Answer those and we'll go get Harry and come back to see you and Winky. I'm sure he'd be delighted to see you.'

Dobby was over the moon at this idea and happily answered all questions Hermione had as to elf rights, even calling on a few of the other elves present to explain matters to them.

'So you sees, sir and miss,' Dobby finished after about twenty minutes, 'Most house elves is not wanting paying for their work. They is believing it is simply their duty. But Dobby is wanting paying for buying things he likes, and days off so that he can be buying them.'

'Would you not all at least like the option though?' asked Y/N. 'You don't have to take it, it won't be forced on you. If you want to work for free that's up to you, but you at least can say that you'd like some money like Dobby here.'

'We would not be asking for its even if he could, sir,' said a female elf resolutely, 'we house elves are happy to serve.'

'But there would be no harm done if you could? You wouldn't see it as an insult if it were an option?'

The elves all looked around, but none seemed to have any counterargument.

'They seem happier at the idea of being able to opt into it,' said Hermione as the two of them hurried back up towards Gryffindor tower to fetch Harry. 'They'd looked angry when you first mentioned it.'

'Many see it as an insult. To them, paying them for their work is akin to saying it's not good enough. But at the end of the day if we make it optional for them but mandatory for wizards if asked for it then it's no harm done. Wizard's will complain, but they've had free slavery for long enough. And Dobby is only getting a galleon a week. It's hardly daylight robbery. A day of drinking at The Three Broomsticks costs less. But if we tried to force it on them, they'd probably have just kicked us out. They at least didn't seem angry at the end.'

'I'd rather they at least knew they could,' said Hermione, 'That would be step one. After that we could maybe normalise gift giving to them, make it so you had to release them a different way so that they could dress up like Dobby. Then maybe they'd get interests and hobbies like he seems to have.'

Y/N gave the password and the two of them clambered into Gryffindor tower, they found Harry and Ron set up by the fire, attempting to begin work on an essay Professor Sprout had set them on Flitterbloom.

'Hey, Harry, got something fun to show you,' said Y/N brightly. Harry's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion. 'Now I know what Fred and George must feel like… I always give them the same look.'

'That's because you're as dangerous as each other,' said Harry. 'What's going on?'

'Just come on, I'm hardly going to jinx you.'

They led Harry and Ron down to the entrance to the kitchens and entered once more. They'd barely stepped over the threshold when Dobby came tearing out from within the crowd and practically threw himself at Harry's waist.

'Harry Potter sir! Harry Potter!'

'D-Dobby?' gasped Harry as the wind was almost knocked out of him from the force of the house elf's hug.

'It is Dobby, sir, it is!' squealed Dobby. 'Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter's friends have brought him, sir!'

Harry looked around at Y/N and Hermione in amazement.

'We just came to ask them all some questions and Dobby was the first to speak to us. Was our pleasure really. Just let us get to know them all a bit. Plus, I think it's the first time anyone's recognised me as your friend before. We agreed to bring you down in exchange for our answers.'

'Ah, so you were using me as your bargaining chip?' asked Harry with a wry smile.

'Yeah, but you make brilliant one,' said Y/N.

Dobby led them over to where Winky was by the fire. She seemed close to a breakdown and didn't improve much as Dobby told them his story. He'd spent the two years since his freedom attempting to find work, but it had been proving difficult owing to his want for paying.

Recently, he'd decided to go and visit Winky and found out she'd been freed too, they'd decided to look for work together and in doing so the idea of Hogwarts had come to mind. They'd arrived only a few days prior to ask Dumbledore if they could work there and Dumbledore agreed, even with paying Dobby.

Winky lost control around this point in the story, switching between crying at her being fired and at telling off Dobby for taking wages. But Dobby seemed to take it in his stride.

'Proud of being different, isn't he?' said Ron as they left the kitchens a while later. 'Those other elves were glaring at him, and it just seemed to make him happier.'

'Why shouldn't he be? He's finally found a place where he can work and get paid, pretty much living the dream. Especially with him being so close to "Harry Potter, sir",' said Y/N.

'Plus, it shows that some elves do actually want some form of a change. Looking for a job for two years is horrible, never mind the reason being that you want paying for it,' said Hermione.

'You two got your wands on you?' asked Y/N.

'Course we do, why?' asked Harry.

'Come on.' and Y/N led them through the corridors back up to the practice room.

'Phoenix.'

The door swung open and he led the way inside, Hermione released his hand and moved over to one of the nearby walls, watching with her arms crossed and a small smile across her face.

'Woah,' said Ron, looking around.

'Dumbledore set it up for us to practice,' said Y/N, gesturing at himself and Hermione. 'The champions will be allowed to use it once they're chosen too, but until then. I owe you both a lesson, one of you for several years.'

Y/N's wand shot out of his holster, and he levelled it at the two boys.

'Now, shall we dance?'

'Which one of us first?' asked Harry with a smile as he and Ron rolled up their sleeves.

'Don't look too keen, Potter,' said Y/N, 'but why not both of you. Let's see what you two can do together.'

'You sure that's wise, Y/N?' called Hermione. 'I'd rather not need to take you to the Hospital Wing.'

'I'll be fine, babe,' said Y/N. 'I'm feeling fired up.'

It was true. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was burning inside him. He wanted to duel, wanted to practice, he wanted to win.

'So be it,' said Ron, 'but you've been warned.'

Both Ron and Harry's wands cut through the air and the two jets of red light came soaring at Y/N.

'Protego duo!'

The barrier formed in front of him and both spells impacted before fizzling out. He watched as Ron, Harry and Hermione's eyes all widened in surprise. He was quite proud of that.

'My turn. Expelliarmus!' his spell shot straight between Harry and Ron, both dodged in separate ways, but that had been his plan. His wand followed Harry and he cast again. The black-haired boy came to a halt just in time for his wand to go soaring out of his hand.

Ron had also come to a halt and now looked torn between helping Harry and attacking Y/N. Unluckily for him, he hesitated for too long.

'Tarantallegra!'

Ron's legs began dancing and shaking uncontrollably. Y/N went to lower his wand, but Ron apparently wasn't done yet. Mid twirl another jet of red light soared straight at Y/N.

'Protego!'

The spell bounced off and cracked into a wall. Y/N disarmed the dancing Ron with ease and then removed the jinx and returned their wands to them.

'What on earth was that?' asked Harry once he had.

'I'm just good,' said Y/N smugly, but faltered as he saw the looks on their faces. Hermione stepped up alongside him.

'As impressive as that was babe, they're talking about your shield charm, the first one.'

'What about it? It was just Protego duo?'

'Yes, but you didn't say anything. It just appeared, you cast in non-verbally.'

'I….? What? No?'

'Yes,' said Hermione. 'You didn't say a word, your shield charm just appeared. I think that caught them off guard more than anything else.'

'How have you gotten this strong and still not taught us anything?' asked Ron incredulously.

'Well, I didn't exactly know I'd just done that,' said Y/N, rubbing the back of his neck.

They spent the next hour or two just running through basic exercises. Y/N was trying to get a feel for how well Harry and Ron knew their spells, making them practice on the target dummies. Hermione was close to him almost the entire time, throwing him careful glances. Y/N did his best to ignore them, it was hard enough to focus at the moment as it was.

'Very well done,' said Y/N once they'd finished. Ron and Harry were both relatively bruised from the dummies fighting back, but seemed in high spirits. 'Work on perfecting those when you get the chance, you know the password now, so you know how to get in here. I'll be here relatively regularly so I'll help when I can.'

The two boys nodded excitedly and after a few moments, both took their leave. Y/N heard Hermione close the door behind them and a moment later, her arms snaked around his waist and came to rest on his chest as her face pressed against his back.

'You okay?'

'I just don't get it,' said Y/N as he squeezed her hands. 'I was so sure I said it, how did I just do it non-verbally without even knowing? And why me? I'm a fourth year, why am I so good at this stuff?'

'You're asking the wrong person I'm afraid,' said Hermione with a small chuckle. 'I don't know as much as I pretend to.'

'Oh, shut up,' said Y/N with a laugh, turning to face her. 'You're the smartest witch alive, if anyone knows it's definitely you. Give me all the answers, right now.'

Hermione laughed and pulled herself properly into his arms. Y/N kissed the top of her head and held her, they stood there for a long while before she detached.

'I don't know why you seem to be so good at this stuff, but I'm hardly going to complain that you are. It'll help both of us in the long run. Who knows, maybe there will soon be two wizards who Lord Voldemort fears.'

'Please, I'll never be on Dumbledore's level, he's Dumbledore.'

'Yes, but he had to start somewhere, didn't he? Top in every class, legend amongst the school, prefect, head-boy.'

'I am none of those things,' said Y/N.

'Actually, you're two of those things,' said Hermione, 'And I would not be surprised if you got the third next year, especially with your mum being the Deputy Headmistress. She likes to pretend she isn't biased, but we all know the truth'

'But I'm not top in every class, you are!'

'Y/N, our grades are practically the same. Even if I beat you by one or two percent or vice versa, we're the top in our classes. Everyone knows we spend all our time together anyway, even before we started dating. If one of us knew something, the other did. And don't even start on the legend thing. Everyone knows about you slaying the basilisk and facing Quirrell.'

Y/N was stunned, he'd never thought about any of this, he was just another student. Wasn't he…?

His mind wandered back to Dumbledore's trust in him the year prior with the illusions, then his offer for this year. Remus asking to take them along. His mother allowing it.

Time and time again, he'd proven himself capable of facing insurmountable odds and surpassing them. Maybe he was powerful… no, he couldn't be.

Could he?

'You're getting inside your own head, love,' said Hermione quietly, snapping Y/N out of his thoughts. 'Come on.'

She dragged Y/N out of the room and down into the grounds where they simply walked around the Black Lake and different areas. They waved to Hagrid as they passed and promised to drop by and see him soon, all the while Y/N's head was buzzing.

He went to bed that evening still lost within his own mind, trying to piece together everything. Surely this wasn't that big of a deal? It was just non-verbal magic… out of a fourth year… despite it being sixth year magic…

But it was a one off, he hadn't done anything like that before.

Except for the disillusionment charm.

And the Patronus charm.

And the Imperius curse.

Sleep finally found Y/N in the early hours of the morning, but it was so late that he was actually the one being woken up today by Harry.

'Come on Y/N or you're going to be late,' he said, shaking him slightly. 'Hermione's worried sick, you'd think you'd never had a lie-in before.'

He made his way downstairs a few minutes later and after assuring his girlfriend that he was absolutely fine, he went about the day, though admittedly it was much tougher to focus.

()()()()()()

Over the next few weeks, the castle seemed to be undergoing some sort of deep clean in preparation for their new guests. The teachers were being snappish with students who wandered around with untucked shirts or trousers rolled up and barely a speck of dust could be seen anywhere.

Then, one morning, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Y/N and Ginny had taken seats at the Gryffindor table alongside Fred and George. The twins had been talking about… something, when they'd arrived, it certainly hadn't sounded like tournament talk but they quickly swapped to that once the group had arrived.

Before long, the post owls arrived and surprisingly Ves and a brown barn owl swooped down landing in front of Y/N and Harry. Y/N felt a ripple through his head but ignored it, he'd sort that later. Both unwrapped the notes attached to their legs. The barn owl gave a hoot and took off immediately, but Ves hopped over to Hermione and Ginny who immediately began fussing over her.

Harry opened his note, glanced quickly across at the twins to make sure they weren't listening and then read quietly to the others.

'Harry

I am back in the country and well-hidden, but a lot of troubling news has reached me since my return. Make sure all of you are defended. Remus has told me about his deal with Y/N and Hermione, he's also told me about their training. Stay safe, use different owls if you need to get in touch and keep your eyes peeled.

Snuffles.'

'Why do you need to keep using different owls?' asked Ron, 'and why Snuffles?'

'Codename,' said Y/N as he began to open his own letter, 'And the owls will be 'cause Hedwig is obvious, she's pure white. You're welcome to use Ves.' and the owl gave a hoot of acknowledgement.

'Wonder what news he's heard,' said Ron. 'I don't imagine-'

But Y/N didn't hear the rest of his sentence as he'd begun reading his own note.

'Y/N

It's earlier than intended. Much earlier. But they know what I'm doing. I've got Potley, he's making himself obvious. It's almost definitely a trap but it may also be our best chance. Meet me by the gates at 7pm. We'll set off, just you. Not Hermione for this one.

Remus.'

He zoned back into the conversation, but no one seemed to have noticed. Ron and Harry were discussing Sirius and Hermione and Ginny were obsessing over Ves. Y/N pocketed the note. He'd explain later.

There was a feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody bar Hermione and Y/N were very attentive in lessons, most being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, the quartet hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall. Y/N however, only pretended to stash his holster and instead replaced on all of his jewellery and placed the foe glass in his pocket.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

'Weasley, straighten your hat,' Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. 'Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair.' Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait. 'Y/N, take off that earring.'

Y/N unclipped the quaffle ear clip but the moment she looked away, he replaced it.

'Follow me, please,' said Professor McGonagall. 'First years in front. No pushing.'

They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparentlooking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest.

'Nearly six,' said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates. 'How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?'

'I doubt it,' said Hermione.

'How, then? Broomsticks?' Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky.

'It'll be flashier than that,' said Y/N. 'You remember what Mr Weasley said at the world cup, they'll want to show off.'

They stood outside for around twenty minutes, Y/N was getting increasingly more and more time conscious. Remus needed him.

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers.

'Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!'

'Where?' said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

'There!' yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

'It's a dragon!' shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.

'Don't be stupid... it's a flying house!' said Dennis Creevey.

Dennis's guess was closer. As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

'Abraxans!' called Y/N happily.

The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed then, with an almighty crash, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes. The door of the carriage bore a coat of arms (two crossed golden wands, each emitting three stars).

A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully.

Next, they saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage, a shoe the size of a child's sled, followed, almost immediately by the largest woman Y/N had ever seen in his life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained.

A few people gasped. Her size rivalled Hagrid's. This woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.

Her face relaxed into a gracious smile, and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

'My dear Madame Maxime,' he said. 'Welcome to Hogwarts.'

'Dumbly-dorr,' said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. 'I 'ope I find you well?'

'In excellent form, I thank you,' said Dumbledore.

'My pupils,' said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

About a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. They were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

''As Karkaroff arrived yet?' Madame Maxime asked.

'He should be here any moment,' said Dumbledore. 'Would you like to wait here and greet him, or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?'

'Warm up, I think,' said Madame Maxime. 'But ze 'orses-'

'Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them,' said Dumbledore, 'the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other- er, charges.'

'Skrewts,' Ron muttered.

'My steeds require- er, forceful 'andling,' said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. 'Zey are very strong...'

'I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job,' said Dumbledore, smiling.

'Very well,' said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. 'Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?'

'It will be attended to,' said Dumbledore, also bowing.

'Come,' said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

'How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?' Seamus Finnigan said, leaning around Lavender and Parvati to address the quartet.

'Well, if they're any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid won't be able to handle them,' said Harry. 'That's if he hasn't been attacked by his skrewts. Wonder what's up with them?'

'Maybe they've escaped,' said Ron hopefully.

'Or not,' said Y/N darkly.

'Imagine that lot loose on the grounds,' said Hermione with a shudder.

They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky.

For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then-

'Can you hear something?' said Ron suddenly.

Y/N listened closely, and sure enough; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed.

'The lake!' yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. 'Look at the lake!'

From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water, except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all.

Some disturbance was taking place deep in the centre; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks, and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor.

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool and then the rigging.

'Huh, wasn't expecting a boat,' said Y/N to the trio.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle, but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, it became apparent that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur.

But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.

'Dumbledore!' he called heartily as he walked up the slope. 'How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?'

'Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff,' Dumbledore replied.

Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle, they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

'Dear old Hogwarts,' he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and Harry noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. 'How good it is to be here, how good... Viktor, come along, into the warmth, you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold.'

Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, they caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. Y/N heard Ron hiss something behind him, but he could already guess what it was. Viktor Krum apparently attended Durmstrang.

A moment later and Dumbledore gestured all the Hogwarts students forward, Y/N grabbed Hermione's face and tilted it up to kiss her.

'Be back in a bit, need to go sort something. Will explain later.'

'Y/N wait-!' she began but he was already gone, sprinting off across the grounds.

He charged down towards the front gate and found them unlocked, he guessed they'd been done like that on purpose in case of their visitors arrival this way, he slipped out and glanced around. No one was here.

'Remus?' he asked.

Something moved in the bush near him, and Remus emerged from within it.

'Ah, Y/N, excellent. I was worried you wouldn't make it.'

'Apologies, the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were arriving. We were waiting on them.'

'No need to apologise, shall we be off?' and Remus held out his arm. 'Have you ever done side-along apparition before?'

'I have yeah, with mum,' said Y/N as he grabbed Remus' arm.

'Excellent.' and Remus turned on the spot. Y/N felt the familiar feeling of being sucked through a tube and a moment later and his feet hit hard stone.

He and Remus seemed to be in an abandoned house, half the roof was caving in, and the moon shone brightly through the holes.

'Bit rundown out here,' said Y/N, glancing around. 'They using this a base or something?'

'Not this place no,' said Remus as he moved over to a ramshackle table bearing a few pieces of paper, 'But they're nearby, I have a few things to pick up and then we'll be going.'

Y/N took in his surroundings. Where even were they? They looked like they were in the middle of nowhere. The perfect place for luring Y/N into the trap. It was a shame Y/N knew the moon cycle so well. He glanced back up towards the moon light streaming through the cracks, the full moon shone back at him.

Y/N's mind wandered back to the ripple he'd felt at breakfast when looking at Vesper. They really thought he wouldn't be on edge after all of their attempts at the world cup? He could see through the illusions easily now.

'Remus…' he said slowly as he reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand around the foe glass, 'Where are we?'

'Hatch Forest' said Remus without looking around, 'I've been using it as a miniature base.'

Y/N withdrew the mirror and glanced inside; a reflection looked back at him.

'Odd, I could have sworn Ves was at Hogwarts last I knew. She definitely didn't just come looking for you out here' said Y/N 'In fact, I should have noticed something was up when she agreed to delivering extra letters for me. She never does that. There's also the rather glaring issue of you being stood directly in moonlight.'

Remus straightened up, sighed, and then turned to face Y/N. His face was sneering, it didn't suit Remus.

'And yet still you came. You speak as though you saw straight through our ploy, and yet still you came.'

Y/N's wand shot into his hand, and he levelled it. There was still one part he didn't understand. Why couldn't he sense the illusion around Remus?

'Guess I don't need this anymore then,' said Remus withdrawing a hipflask and throwing it aside, 'it wears out in a few minutes anyway.'

Y/N watched the flask land and a faint grey liquid trickled out onto the floor.

'Polyjuice potion,' snarled Y/N. Of course. His sense only picked up spells, not potions.

'Ahhh, you're familiar,' said Remus. 'I'm pleased, means I don't need to explain anything.'

'You need to explain who you are,' said Y/N, 'Or do I need to force that out of you?'

'Oh, I'd be happy to introduce myself,' said Remus, 'But I'm afraid it won't be anything new.' He gave a low bow.

'Dainton Snow. At your service.'

(A/N: Cliff-hangers! We all love cliff-hangers. And if you don't, well… um…

But anyway! That's not why I'm here. I'm here today to do some lore. Love lore. Especially when the books original author CAN'T DO IT CORRECTLY. NOT THAT I'M MAD ABOUT IT OR ANYTHING.

The long and short of it is, I am writing Order at the moment and the trace is making me rip my hair out. So, I'm outlining my own rules about it going forwards. I'm dropping these in now as descriptions regarding the trace appear later in this book. Especially as Y/N begins casting spells outside of Hogwarts. So, before we get onto him and Snow having a rave in this ramshackle hobbit hole. Let me clarify how I'm ruling the trace works.

THIS IS JUST ME, NOT CANON. THIS IS SIMPLY THE RULESET I WILL BE FOLLOWING

When a baby is shown to possess magical prowess, a prelude spell is placed upon them, whether out in public or at birth. If the child does not attend Hogwarts. The spell vanishes at twelve, no other effect. Otherwise, if the child steps foot on the Hogwarts Express before their twelfth birthday, the trace takes effect. (Yes, this means those who may join Hogwarts when older won't be affected by the trace as it would have already worn off)

The trace tracks, specifically, the person casting the spell. Not the location or area around them. However, it doesn't know exactly who did it, no name, simply that an underage wizard did. Meaning that a wizard without the trace, casting magic near one with it, will not set it off. However, an underage wizard casting a spell in an area where another underage wizard lives, may get the other in trouble as the Ministry would assume they were the culprit.

However, the Ministry also tracks spells from magical creatures who can cast spells, such as house elves. Dobby was a registered house elf. Registered to the Malfoy household. The Dursleys were a muggle family, they did not have a house elf. When the signal came through that a levitation charm had been used in the Dursley household, they may have detected it was a house elf but thought, "why would the Malfoy's house elf be in Privet Drive?" instead of investigating, they simply assumed the magic belonging to a House Elf was an error, and told Harry off.

This means that even when under the effects of a Fidelius charm, the trace goes off, however the Ministry for:

1) Cannot find the address to send the warning letter to, and for:

2) cannot tell exactly who did it, especially when they don't know where the house is or who is in it. They only know an underage witch/wizard cast a spell… somewhere.

I know this still leaves plot holes, but the entire trace is a massive plot hole that I'd sooner not deal with. Unfortunately, it's a key part to most of JKR's later works meaning I can't just scrap it. So, this is my ruling. There's probably lots wrong with it, but it's taken me the better part of two weeks to get this far so this is the best you're getting. That's it, needed to get this out so no one questions anything. Ciao!)