Chapter 17
Unlike the last time, Harry didn't stay in a tent at the campsite for the World Cup.
He hadn't really wanted to attend as he had already seen it once before.
But he had something he needed to do and so he had acquired tickets that would put him back in the top box.
"Alright there Tracey?" Harry asked his companion for the evening.
Tracey was the only one actually interested in Quidditch, the rest had begged off and planned on enjoying a nice night in with some sappy movies.
He really regretted buying that house in Glasgow just so they could have electronics.
It would be even worse soon as some of his fellow Slytherins had teamed up with a few Ravenclaws to try and create a magical television that could receive the transmissions like a non magical one.
"Yeah… I'm fine." She said, but it was clear she wasn't entirely happy.
"Don't you pay any attention to our git of a baby brother." George Weasley told her firmly as he sat in the seat next to her. "If he keeps up that attitude then pretty soon he's going to find himself in really hot water."
Ron Weasley had seen Harry and Tracey in the Top Box. His father had managed to snag the tickets, just like the first time.
Normally, Ron simply ignored Harry. Not in a malicious way, but it was simply the fact that their paths never crossed so he didn't really have a reason to consider him.
As long as Ginny wasn't gushing about him, which really annoyed Ron.
But, every other Slytherin was on his radar and he sneered and insulted the members of the 'Dark House'.
Ron hadn't had to say anything as his family had walked past Harry, Tracey and Sirius, but the expression on his face was beyond insulting and it was directed straight at Tracey.
Harry leaned into Sirius and whispered. "Sirius, do me a favour. Go and buy some Omniculars for Tracey, Fred and George. I think the git needs to have his nose rubbed in the mud a bit."
"Merlin Harry, that's damned petty." Sirius frowned.
Harry just leaned back so he could see the very sad face of Tracey as she tried to ignore the evil Weasley.
"Hmmph, forget I said anything." He scowled before leaving.
Harry looked over his shoulder to the row behind. "Would you like some company?" He asked as though talking to a child.
Winky, the House Elf of Barty Crouch was sitting on her chair with her hands over her eyes.
"Winky is a good elf!" She squeaked nervously, her hands never leaving her eyes. "Winky must stay here like Mister Crouch says."
Harry just gave a sad sigh.
Sirius returned with his arms full of various paraphernalia that he happily gave to Fred, George and Tracey. He had even gotten Ginny a pair of Omniculars.
Despite Winky sitting there with her eyes covered, shaking like a leaf, she would occasionally look to her left at the empty seat. This was the reason that Harry had decided to attend the match. He had managed to sneak in earlier with Ember and replaced the seat with a modified one.
There was no magic involved in case Winky detected it, but it's affect would be interesting when one Barty Crouch Junior finally broke free from his father's Imperious and tried to steal his wand.
Eventually the mascots came out as the pregame entertainment began. Harry shook his head as he saw Ron stuffing his pockets with leprechaun gold. He passed the message to George through Tracey that the gold would vanish in an hour.
Just as the Bulgarian Veela were coming onto the pitch he cast a few sticking charms at Fred, George, Sirius and himself.
They looked at him questioningly as they wriggled in their seats.
"Trust me." He said as he nodded to the beautiful women who began to dance.
Harry felt the allure of the Veela as it washed over the stadium. But he was able to push through it when it began to remind him of the Imperious.
It was lucky he did as he realised that Tracey was in her own trance and headed for the railing. He quickly summoned her back and held her in place.
When the Veela stopped she looked very embarrassed. Harry just patted her hand and said nothing. Fortunately no one else had noticed.
That was when Harry felt it. His wand was removed from his back pocket. He never did that nowadays… he had a standard wand holster that was covered in runes added by his own hand.
There was a shout of pain from behind him.
"Master Barty! Master Barty!" Winky cried frantically. "You must stay hidden!"
Barty Crouch Junior had stood up quickly but his invisibility cloak had stuck to his chair thanks to the fly paper that Harry had covered the edge of the seat and the back and floor with.
He was dancing around as he tried to avoid being bitten by a rather angry looking snake.
"Stupefy! Incarcerous!"
There was a massive commotion in the Top Box as Sirius was found standing there with his wand out and pointed at a man who was supposed to be dead.
"Th- That's Barty's son!" Ludo Bagman, the games announcer and head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, declared in shock.
"He was jumping about like he was being attacked." Sirius explained, his wand never moving. "Elf, what is he doing here? Why isn't he dead?"
The little thing looked like it might have a stroke as it pulled at its ears. "Winky cannot be saying. Winky is a good elf and Mister Crouch is saying Winky is to keep quiet about Master Barty." She said quickly.
She then proceeded to repeat that over and over again.
"Stupefy." Winky fell to the floor from Sirius' stunner. "Somebody should find Crouch and take him into custody."
"We have thousands of wizards and witches here from around the world!" Fudge exclaimed. "We can't just arrest the man in front of all of them! Think of how it would look on the Ministry!"
"Right, so we should leave the man who tortured two of the war's greatest heroes into insanity there on the floor whilst his dad, who probably helped him escape, gets his own chance to escape."
"I will not run from justice."
The group, except Sirius, turned to the new voice to see Barty Crouch Senior standing there looking resolute as he held his wand out to a nearby Auror.
The wand was quickly taken and a messenger spell was sent off to Rufus Scrimageour and Amelia Bones. Not only was this above their pay-grade but they also needed someone to come and take over their duties or take custody of the Crouches and their elf.
Things were forcibly calmed down so they could return to the game. Ludo Bagman was the commentator after all.
The game went pretty much the same as last time. The twins managed to help Tracey enjoy herself and soon they were all cheering as Krum caught the snitch even though Ireland were too far ahead.
Much to Fudge's annoyance, Harry had eventually swapped seats with Sirius as he had struck up a conversation with the Bulgarian Minister. Harry was curious about Durmstrang as he knew Viktor Krum was a student there.
He managed to learn that it was in Northern Europe and that it was considered the best place for families who had political aspirations. The Minister was a former pupil of Durmstrang himself.
There wasn't too much to tell. But the Minister was able to disabuse Harry of the idea that it was a 'dark' school.
The match finally ended and Harry, with the help of the Minister was able get Tracey a personal introduction to Krum. Fortunately she was used to famous people so she didn't gush.
Ron didn't help himself any when he tried to push Tracey out of the way so he could get there.
Fred and George grabbed him and dragged him away as Arthur glared at his youngest son.
Harry had no intention of hanging around for the after party. He had only attended so he could deal with Crouch and his son. If any Death Eaters decided to 'celebrate' that night then he would deal with them in the morning… possibly permanently.
Fortunately the Death Eaters had no leadership with Malfoy now dead and the Dark Mark a mere outline with Riddle's demise. The after party passed with nothing more than a few arrests for drunken misdemeanours.
School started up again and that was fine for everyone else. But Harry was getting fairly bored. He still didn't attend classes but he had taken his OWLs over the holidays. He honestly couldn't be bothered to sit for the NEWTs, his OWL results were good but not perfect.
He spent his time travelling back and forth between Earth and the moon, setting up larger buildings and the like.
He did get a fairly pleasant surprise when he found the recent school leaver, Terrence Higgs, sitting at the staff table. Sirius had recruited him to take his place as the Slytherin male chaperone. It was something the other chaperones were also considering for recent leavers.
The news of the Triwizard Tournament went down like a ton of bricks for the Quidditch fanatics. Normally Albus would be able to pass off their outrage with some benign comforting assurances.
But his reputation in the school had taken a hit and it took Harry's intervention.
"SILENCE!"
The entire occupancy of the Great Hall obeyed. Even Peeves.
"Alright then." Harry nodded approvingly as he left his seat with Dudley at the Slytherin table and marched to the dais and the staff table.
"I forgot to talk to the Headmaster about this, but I can't honestly see the logic in cancelling the Quidditch Tournament because of the Triwizard Tournament."
Harry had his back to the staff table so he missed Albus' glare.
"However, it would be unfair for us to have a tournament but leave the other schools wanting." He turned round to Minerva. "Professor McGonagall, could you arrange something for an inter-school tournament? Maybe allow each school to have four teams like Hogwarts does?"
"Mister Potter, you do realise that the Triwizard Tournament is very intensive?" Albus argued.
Harry tried not to roll his eyes. "There are three competitors taking part in three events that last less than four hours each. The events are held over the course of a nine month period.
"So, what exactly are the rest of the non-competing students supposed to do for the rest of the eight months and twenty-odd days when the Triwizard Tournament isn't running?"
Albus flounder for a mere moment. "There are preparations that will require staff assistance."
"The only participation that the school's staff are allowed is to provide judges for the events. Everything else is handled by the Ministry." Harry countered. "Besides, I'm sure we can find plenty of student volunteers to help Professor McGonagall."
"I have no duties in the Tournament, I would be happy to help." Filius piped up, much to Albus' annoyance.
"Likewise." Severus drawled.
"I doubt I'll have much to do with it." Remus agreed. "In fact, the only person who I can see needing to help with the tournament is Hagrid."
"Ain't much to be done, ta be honest." Hagrid shrugged. "The dragon pens are all ready and the handlers will do most of the work."
Albus hid his face in his palm.
"I don't think you were supposed to mention that." Remus whispered from his seat next to the half giant.
Poor Hagrid looked completely aghast. "Dragons?! I meant… nifflers! Yeah, gotta fight them nifflers to steal the shiny things back." He said hastily.
Harry just grinned. "Now that would be a challenge."
Unfortunately the pupils were used to Hagrid's slip ups and where now eagerly discussing the roles of dragons in the tournament.
"Leave the Quidditch situation with me, Harry." Sirius spoke up. "I can be the point of contact and sort something out."
Harry shrugged and turned back to the students. "There you go, situation solved." He grinned.
He was rewarded with the whole school cheering. Even those who didn't exactly enjoy Quidditch.
Eventually they quietened down.
"The foreign schools will be arriving on the 30th of October. Whilst they are here you will treat them with respect. If any one of you causes problems I will boot you out of my home so fast that you'll have to send an owl back to collect your wand."
Nobody really understood why the students seemed to respect Harry more than Albus. Some thought it was because it was clear he owned the castle and that the armour did what he said.
Others thought it was because he did amazing things like going to the moon, taking them around the world or having a companion like Ember.
A few thought it might be because he was Lord Slytherin. Most people just laughed at that. Harry only pulled that card on Albus and idiot adults who threatened them.
There wasn't much going on during September and October. There were a few birthdays, Hermione's for one.
Harry was more focused on two things: Developing a method of inter-galactic travel and getting back to that plain of existence where he last met Ganos.
He had seemed to have plateaued on both fronts.
He had split the 'faster-than-light' issue into to two problems: The first was simply how to achieve speeds greater than light. The second was how to bypass speed using methods such the Vanishing Cabinets and apparition.
The second method showed more promise if he could figure out how to set a destination without having a matching cabinet.
Eventually the 30th arrived. Dumbledore had the whole school assembled on the grounds of the castle.
In the middle of October.
If it hadn't been for Harry arranging the fifth through seventh years to cast warming charms on those who couldn't, Poppy would have been inundated with hyperthermia patients.
Things pretty much went the same. Durmstrang arrived by ship from under the lake and Beauxbatons arrived by horse drawn carriage from the air.
The only real surprise was that Karkaroff wasn't there.
"Penny?" Harry said in surprise as he saw Perenelle leading the Durmstrang students. Like the young men and women, she was dressed in thick furs.
"Hello Sweetheart." She grinned as she leaned in and hugged him.
"What happened to-"
"Fired." She interrupted his query. "I had him arrested for being a member of a terrorist group."
"But the Ministry-"
"Is British, Durmstrang is not." She said with a superior smirk.
"Ok… but why are you leading them?"
She gave him a taunting grin. "Who do you think founded Durmstrang? I needed a place to send rescued slave children to safely learn."
"Cool… we both own schools." Harry grinned.
Perenelle took Harry's arm and walked into the castle with him, Beauxbatons having already entered to escape the cold.
When he had tried to break off to sit at the Slytherin table Penny had dragged him onwards. "Your girls were quite insistent that you be recognised as Lord of the Castle." She whispered. "Something I happen to agree with. I only wish we could get Albus to give up his throne."
"But I was gonna sit with Dud. I was-"
"Dudley is quite happy with Gregory and Vincent. Now, take your seat." She pointed to the spare chair between herself and Filius.
Harry just sighed and caved.
Crouch was currently in custody awaiting trial so Amelia had taken his role until a new Head of Department was appointed. Unfortunately Ludo Bagman was not in jail so he was there. Fortunately Amelia had him firmly under control.
Eventually the feast ended and Albus gave his speech as the Goblet of Fire was wheeled in. When he finished, he groaned loudly as Harry stood up.
The Hogwarts students tittered, they were quite familiar with the antagonistic relationship between the Headmaster and Harry.
"As you might have guessed, I have a few adjustments to make." Harry said seriously. "First, screw the age line."
"Language." Filius muttered from his seat.
"The goblet will be in a locked room and only the Heads will be allowed to access it. If you want to submit your name then hand your parchment to them.
"The age limit still stands, but your Heads will be able to advise you if they think it is a bad idea. But don't let that stop you from entering. The cup is supposed to be able to pick the best for each school from the names submitted.
"In case you are wondering why I am doing this, it is because I don't want people putting other's names in. Right, I think that will do. We'll see you tomorrow night for the choosing."
To the surprise of the visiting students, the Hogwarts pupils took Harry's final words as a dismissal and began to leave.
Harry was pleasantly surprised to see Viktor sitting with Tracey and the others.
A glance at Ron saw he was clearly not happy about that.
The following day, the students of Hogwarts began handing their slips to Headmaster Dumbledore at either breakfast, lunch or dinner.
At the conclusion of the evening meal the Goblet was brought back in and the Heads placed the final slips in.
Then came the inevitable wait and showmanship from Albus.
Harry wished he was sitting at the student's table but he wouldn't object to being seated with Penny and Fil. They were each eagerly awaiting the results, mainly because they wanted to see if the same names were picked.
Things went much the same as last time. Viktor and Fleur were both chosen.
Harry was confident that all his extra precautions would prevent his name being called. Moron.
"The Champion for Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft is: Lord Harry James Potter of Slytherin!"
Harry just sat there numbly, staring at Albus who looked at him expectantly.
He suddenly stood up and marched over to Moody who was standing in a corner acting as security for the event. "Prove your identity." He challenged harshly.
Moody's good eye rolled. "I'm petrified of your snake." He said quietly.
Harry grunted and turned on his heel. "Which of you bastards put my name in that cup?" He demanded.
"Language, Harry!" Penny chided.
"Fuck that!" Harry was going for broke. "Only four people had access to that cup. You Heads and Hagrid."
"I swear 'Arry-"
"I trust you, Hagrid." Harry said with a dismissive wave. "It's-" Then he noted the smug look on Albus' face. "You?!"
Albus simply inclined his head. "I assure you it was simply idle curiosity on my part. I added your name to the others to see what the Goblet would do. You are the lord of the castle and have a fair amount of achievements under your belt already."
"Albus!" Minerva screeched in disgust.
Harry just sneered at him. "Oh you are just the worst sort."
"Mister Potter, perhaps you should focus on the fact that out of all the students who entered, you were chosen." Albus reasoned.
"How about we focus on the fact that I am underage?" Harry countered.
"You are considered an adult due to your emancipation and Lordship." Albus shrugged.
"I was entered against my will!"
"Hogwarts deserves the best it can provide. The Goblet considers you to fit the criteria."
"This all just a big dollop of revenge for you, isn't it?"
"Oh no, My Lord." Albus said, his voice so patronizing a two year old could hear it. "It is far more than that." He finished with a grin that unnerved the first years.
"Harry, just go in to the ante-chamber." Filius sighed. "We can torture Albus later. We need to wrap this up for the night."
Harry sent one last glare at Albus before he stomped off.
Albus watched him go with a smile on his face… until he saw the glares of his Professors.
"I hope you haven't gotten too comfortable back in the Head's office." Filius warned.
Harry banged into the room causing the two foreign Champions to jump.
"You are… "
"The Hogwart's Champion." Harry grumbled in answer to the French witch. "Bloody Albus Dumbledore put my name in."
"Are you not too young?" She asked cautiously.
"Yes. Yes I am. But the bloody git doesn't care." He said as he walked up to the fire where Viktor was standing.
"Tracey say you are very skilled." Viktor commented. "Is it really a… trouble?" He asked, searching for the foreign words.
"I can handle the tasks." Harry confirmed. "I can even provide you with a bit of competition to keep you on your toes. But I am very busy. I have projects and plans that I need to handle and this Tournament was not one of them."
"You can really keep up weeth us?" Fleur asked doubtfully.
Harry turned to answer and frowned. He took two steps towards her so he was nearly in her personal space.
"This is wrong." He muttered. He began looking her up and down as if examining her. "This is very wrong."
Fleur was beginning to look nervous, neither of them noticed that Viktor had drawn his wand.
The doors banged open again and the three heads walked in with Amelia and Ludo.
Harry made a bee-line for Penny. "This is wrong." He declared as he dragged her over to Fleur. "Look, see? Wrong."
He gestured to the beautiful witch who was quickly beginning to take offence.
"Eez there a problem weeth my student?" Madame Maxime demanded dangerously.
"Her? Probably not." Harry wasn't really paying attention and didn't realise people were ready to hurt him.
"Harry, what is the problem?" Penny asked.
"Well look at her! Look at me! I'm bloody taller than her! I can see the top of her head! This is wrong!" He was gesturing so wildly between himself and Fleur that she took an involuntary step back.
There was silence for a good ten seconds.
*thwack*
"OW!"
Harry rubbed his shoulder from where Filius had sent a stinging hex.
"Stop messing around, Harry." He glared at his adopted nephew.
The three champions listened whilst Albus and Ludo informed them of the first task. Albus had wanted to keep to the tradition of maintaining secrecy but Harry had said he would just tell the champions anyway, this was before Albus' treachery.
It was clear that the two foreigners were shocked by the news that they would face dragons.
"Relax, you know what the challenge will be, it will be easy to try and work out a solution."
"You- You have no fear?" Viktor asked incredulously.
"Harry has dealt with one Dark Lord, a thousand-year-old basilisk and Albus Dumbledore." Perenelle said dismissively.
"I say!"
Ignoring Albus she continued. "A nesting dragon in controlled circumstances really won't stretch his abilities."
"Says you." Harry grumbled. "It doesn't matter. There will be safety measures in place. Hagrid will be there, and dragon handlers. The most that will happen is you get a few burns or broken bones… or a spike to the shoulder." He added under his breath.
"You have plenty of time to prepare." Penny assured them. "Whilst the Champions are not allowed assistance from others, the wording is such that there is no reason for you not to collaborate amongst yourselves." She gave them a knowing smile.
"But this eez a competition!" Madame Maxime objected.
"A competition designed to promote relations between the schools." Harry added with an agreeing nod to Perenelle. "I have access to plenty of resources and you are welcome to use them." Harry told his fellow champions.
"Ve champions must discuss something, privately." Viktor said with a dour expression.
"Of course. I'll see you back on the ship Viktor. Gentlemen, I expect you to see Miss Delacour to her carriage." She informed Harry and Viktor before she took Madame Maxime by the arm and led her away… it was like watching a little girl lead her mother, with the height difference.
The half-giantess was clearly too befuddled to object to her pupil being left to the mercies of the 'enemy'.
"Come along Albus." Amelia ordered. "Our work is done."
Filius ushered Ludo out the door as Albus was nearly dragged along by Amelia.
Once the door was closed, Viktor immediately moved between Fleur and Harry, keeping the French witch behind him. He looked at Harry challengingly. "You have problem vith Veela?"
Harry was a bit surprised by that. "No. I know Fleur is one, I can feel her… 'allure' but, it is much easier to ignore than the Imperious." Harry mused.
"Sacre bleu!" Fleur swore. "What… fils de pute used zat disgusting curse on you?" She demanded.
"Meh, Old Lord No Name did it a time or two." Harry shrugged. "But it's not really important." He ignored Fleur's look of disbelief and turned to Viktor's look of disbelief. Which he also ignored. "I assume you have no problems with Fleur being a Veela?"
"Da. Have Veela in family." He nodded as he stood up straighter. Clearly proud of his family's diversity.
"Any werewolves? We have a cure for that now."
Viktor actually smiled brightly at that. "Da! Mistress Flamel says it come from Hogwarts."
"Yeah, Professor Snape created it. Our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was the first to use it when our Ministry tried to arrest him for being one."
"Are you not scared?" Fleur asked with concern. "There 'as been word zat rogue werewolves are seeking revenge."
Harry just scoffed. "What are they gonna do? Bite us?"
"Kill you." Viktor's serious face was back.
"Sure, if they can get past our protections. Even if they do they will get themselves killed. We put anti-werewolf wards up on the school. If they want to get in then they have to take the cure." Harry said firmly.
There was a few moments silence as none of them had anything further to say.
"Right, well, if you are convinced I don't care about your heritage…" He nodded to Fleur. "I guess we can head off. Besides, I need to see my half-goblin adopted uncle. I'm sure my half-giant friend will want to congratulate me and assure me again that he didn't put my name in the cup. My former werewolf-"
"I believe we understand your point." Fleur giggled as Viktor smiled, slightly embarrassed at what now seemed like ridiculous accusations.
The two boys escorted Fleur to the Beauxbaton's carriage and Harry then accompanied Viktor to the Durmstrang ship.
He then went to bed where Ember sang for him as he tried to fight the urge to strangle Albus Bloody Dumbledore.
Harry woke up the next morning and found the members of his house waiting expectantly for him in the common room. Harry was now very worried.
"We drew up a training schedule." Pansy acted as spokesperson for the students. "The upper years will teach you advanced spells and we lower years will provide you with training partners."
A touched smile grew on Harry's face. "You are all very special people. Thank you. But… the Tournament rules don't allow for outside help with the tasks."
"Oh, we aren't helping you with the tasks." Gemma grinned. "We're just helping you with your education."
"You are all very devious Slytherins." Harry said in the same tone. The older students chuckled. "I will appreciate the help, but I warn you now, my current education level exceeds seventh year."
"Oh, we know." Terry said ruefully. He was dressed casually, but smartly. He was also someone that Harry had helped a time or two with his NEWTs.
"Well, I appreciate this very much. But just so you know, in the spirit of cooperation, I have offered access to all my resources to the other two champions."
"Doesn't that make the idea of 'competition' pointless?" A seventh year boy asked.
"Not really. You all know that the first task involves dragons, right? Well we will each have our own dragon, that means that each champion will have their own response. Then there are the differences between we champions specifically.
"My dad was supposed to have excelled at transfiguration, Mum was a charms prodigy. They would both rely on their strengths as they faced the coming tasks.
"The same will be true for the three of us."
"You know, if we gave the other two champions the same help we give Harry then we might actually learn something from them." Daphne mused.
Harry just chuckled as he headed for the door and breakfast. They were definitely Slytherins.
The following day, Harry continued his habit of not attending classes. Much to the annoyance of his fellow students he wasn't even preparing for the first task. Instead he was focusing on reaching that higher plane again.
"This really sucks."
"I don't know how to suck."
Harry ignored Blinky's common response to Harry's oft declaration.
"What is it that 'sucks' now?" The basilisk in disguise queried.
"I still can't reach that other realm. I can feel I am leaving my body-"
"You didn't leave, you just began to glow."
"My mind, Blinky."
The young basilisk sighed. He still didn't get the human expressions and such. But he loved his 'daddy' and his 'daddy' loved him… so he indulged the 'old man' as he often called him. Something that Ember and Hedwig agreed with.
"I am going to hunt." Blinky declared as he uncoiled himself from his nest of pillows. "If you are trying to do what Ganos did, then you are an idiot."
"Gee, thanks." Harry said sarcastically as he watched the snake head for a nearby hole in the room that acted as a portal for the snake to the forest.
"You said that Hogwarts prevents Ganos from visiting you here. It makes sense to me that the reverse would be true." Blinky explained before vanishing.
Harry sat there, crossed legged on the floor running his long and slinky friend's words through his mind.
Then it hit him.
"Mother fu-"
"Prek!" Harry had forgotten that Hedwig was still in the room.
