Legal disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Ch.2 Sirius Black and the Weighing of the Wands
"Hermione, no...Please!"
"I'm sorry, Harry, but Dumbledore sa-"
"Dumbledore's a liar and a deceiver, Hermione. You can't tru-"
"Honestly, Harry, you expect me to believe that about Dumbledore of all people?!"
The Boy-Who-Lived squirmed under the glare that his longtime girlfriend, Hermione Jean Granger, had given him. Her arms were crossed under her breasts and her voice was of a person who was not pleased at all.
"Look, he plans on me sacrificing myself for my friends, for you... He plans on me dying, Hermione!"
Harry's voice was begging. He was pleading with her. He wanted her to understand, he wanted her to know about the monster that was Albus Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore is dead, Harry! Snape killed him! He isn't forcing you to do anything! He is dead, and you can't even honor his memory."
Harry snorted at this. What memory? The memory of a man that caused him so much pain? So much sadness? Did a man that caused so many tears to flow down the raven-haired boy's face deserve honor? Hermione looked at Harry incredulously. Her nostrils flared up and her eyes shot daggers at her boyfriend.
"I can't believe you... How could you? Dumbledore wants us to hunt down these... These Horcruxes and you won't do it!"
Her hands covered her face. She couldn't bear to look at the boy she had fallen in love with. He was being difficult.
"I'm sorry, but I can't..."
The seventeen year old boy looked at the girl he loved with a soft gaze. He wondered how many times he had the same discussion with her. It must be in the hundreds by now. It was even more painful because he had done this many times, with the many women he loved. He had done this with Ginny before he realized she had simply been in love with him because he saved her the second year. He had done this with Luna and Fleur. Hell, he even remembered doing this with Pansy.
He turned green at the thought that he actually proposed to her.
"Harry..." Hermione began, "I know that you have your misgivings about him, but if you want us to live and be happy, you will have to do this... For me."
Her form was shaking and her voice indicated she was on the verge of crying. This broke Harry's heart. It pained him to know that he was the cause of her sadness. Hermione always was the one person he could depend upon, and he wanted her to be able to depend upon him. His resolve to contest her (and Albus Dumbledore) shattered as he closed the distance into an embrace.
"Alright, Hermione... I'll do it. I'll do it for you."
Suddenly, the scene around Harry changed. He was no longer comforting his love. Destruction was everywhere. Death wasn't far away from Harry as he observed body's on the ground. Sounds of panic and sadness filled the air around Harry. His eyes took in the scene that was before him. It was strange; no one had noticed him though. He looked around some more, and his eyes fell upon his worst nightmare.
Hermione was dead. Her eyes blank as they stared up at the sky above. She had died in the battle that was to protect him from Tom Riddle.
"NO!"
0o0o0o0
The nightmare that had caused Harry to wake up in a quivering mess was a recurring one. Of course, nightmares like this were the only things he could dream about. It was a Sunday, Harry remembered as he got up from his four-poster bed and spread the curtains. Ron was not there, he noticed. The Boy-Who-Lived snorted at the how typical the Weasley boy was.
Getting dressed, Harry climbed down the spiral staircase into the common room. Clapping ensued as the Gryiffindors who had finished their breakfast congratulated him for becoming a champion. For a second, an uneasy feeling spread over him, and he just stood there, like a deer in the headlights. He was nervous. This was his last chance to save his friends. It hit him like a ton of bricks. He was getting worried that he might fail again. That he might die again. The clapping stopped as confused faces appeared on those who were observing Harry.
It seemed like ages, but Harry started to move towards the portrait hole. He pushed it open, climbed out of it, and nearly bumped into Hermione.
"Hello," she said, holding up a stick of toast that was wrapped in a napkin. "I brought you this... Want to go for a walk?"
Harry smiled gratefully before nodding. A walk with Hermione would clear his misgivings. The pair made their way down to the entrance hall. Harry was the subject of many of the passing students' stares, glares and gossip. Rumors swirled are him and whispers followed the two as they passed the Great Hall and headed out to the Hogwarts's lawn. Hermione lead Harry towards the lake. The bespectacled boy glanced at the intimidating ship that was moored there.
The walk was silent, and Harry knew he should say something. He knew that if he didn't, things might take a nasty turn. Images of grief, pain and loss flashed through Harry's mind as he was brought back to some of his previous timelines. His shoulders slumped as he thought about how many times he had lost that Hermione. The one he had loved. The one he wanted to share the rest of his life with. The one that begged and pleaded to Voldemort to spare Harry before she was cut down by the killing curse. That Hermione brought unshed tears to the not quite so fourteen year old boy.
He never got to propose to her.
"Harry?"
He snapped out of his depressing musings as Hermione looked back at him. She had her classic "Are you OK?" look.
The object of her gaze blinked as if just realized she was there. Hermione saw a slight smile form as Harry looked at her again and wiped the water coming from his eyes. She bit her lip in concern. After the Goblet incident, Harry had been, in her opinion, acting strangely. It baffled her.
"Sorry, Hermione. It's just... Well, it's chilly and I was thinking about Ron." Harry lied. He had to. Harry couldn't possibly tell her the truth. He remembered the one and only time he did so, and she went to Dumbledore with the information. Granted, she didn't know that Dumbledore was the worst person she could have went to with the information.
Hermione frowned. She felt as if there was something else that was bothering him. Something that he didn't want her, one of his best friends, to know. This bothered her slightly and she was about to make it known, but she was cut off when Harry spoke again.
"Hermione, I have no idea who put my name in the goblet, but I swear it wasn't me."
Harry knew that Hermione wasn't buying his lie, or at least, not outright. He needed to push her away from the topic, lest he deviate highly from the predicted timeline. While he was not afraid to change and alter it, he didn't want to yet. He needed to think about when and how he should do so. If there was one thing Harry Potter learned in the many times he relived his life, is that one shouldn't alter too much without thinking about the consequences.
"Harry, I know you couldn't have put your name in that Goblet." Hermione looked somewhat offended that Harry would imply she didn't believe him. "Dumbledore's magic is powerful, and I doubt any student could have tricked it! No offense," She quickly added after seeing Harry get slightly annoyed.
"None taken."
The thought of Albus Dumbledore had gotten Harry slightly agitated. It also got him wondering about how he mysteriously ended up in his fourth year. Was it simply because of luck? Was it because of Albus? Probably. But how? How could Albus have tampered with it? And for what reason? Well, the reason was obvious to Harry. He wanted Harry to fail and give into his plans... But why his fourth year? Was that random? Or could it be planned? Did Albus send him here because this year wasn't as important as any of the other ones? Or was it because this year was important that he sent him here? Frustration began to rear its ugly head as Harry's mind was filled with these types of questions.
"The question is," Hermione continued on in a slightly hushed tone, "Who did put your name in? Because I think Moody is right, Harry... I find it hard to believe that any student could have done it... they'd never fool the goblet, or get over Dumbledore's age line."
In Harry's mind, that question was already answered. Barty Crouch Jr. was the culprit behind it. It was already solved and not an issue. Harry knew that if he wanted to save his friends and himself, he would need to make sure that he was the winner of the Triwizard Tournament. This means, he needed to keep the fact that he knows about Crouch a secret... for now. Harry had bigger problems to face.
"Ron seems to think that I actually put my name in." Harry said, slightly bitter at his other "best mate". In the many times Harry had gone through his life, Ron, he found out, was a wildcard. In some timelines, he was a good friend who, with the correct form of persuasion, could be convinced to turn against Dumbledore and fight with Harry. In others, Ron would be the prime example for Dumbledore's willingness to use anybody's desires, fears, and jealousy to further his goal. Hell, Ron had abandoned him too many times for Harry to ever consider him a friend. As many times as Harry went through his life, he was still resented the red-head for leaving him and Hermione in the woods.
"He's jealous, Harry!"
"Yeah, I know. That still doesn't give him a right to be a prat about it!" Harry hissed back at her. It wasn't so much Ron was being a prat, but that he will be a prat about it, in Harry's mind.
"Honestly, Harry." Hermione looked at Harry before she continued to defend the Weasley boy. "He has siblings to compete with. A lot of them, mind you. And he is best friends with you, the Boy-Who-Lived! And I know you don't ask for the attention you get, but it's always you. He is always on the side and you are always in the center."
"Great," Harry said bitterly, "Really great. Well, you can tell him from me tha-"
"I'm not telling him anything." Hermione cut Harry off.
Harry sighed, his hand running through his hair. So far, he was doing well. He was, more or less, maintaining the correct flow of the timeline. All he needed to do was keep this up. His mind thought about what exactly he had said. It was hard considering that he had many differing versions of this conversation, some purposefully changed, and others accidentally altered. He was on thin ice, and it didn't help that if he didn't respond in time it could affect the timeline drastically.
"Maybe he'll believe me once I have gotten my neck broken or, you know, di-"
"That's not funny." Hermione's voice was quite. "Not funny at all.
Hermione was anxious. Or, at least, that's what it seemed to Harry Potter. Hermione was also deep in thought. It caused Harry to panic slightly because he wasn't sure if he had chosen the right words, or even direction to keep it in line with his original run. It took a prolonged moment of silence before the Bushy-haired witch spoke again.
"Harry, I've been thinking - you know what we've got to do, right? As soon as we get back to the Castle?"
Now, Harry was confused. He had absolutely no clue what he should do. He thought about it, and thought some more. Nope. He was absolutely stumped. Obviously it was important, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember exactly what was so important.
"Not a clue, sorry."
Harry tensed; he could have possibly just ruined it. God, how idiotic of him to forget something so important! Harry Potter wanted to curse, but his hands balled into fists as he looked at Hermione.
"Honestly, Harry! Write to Sirius. How could you forget? He even told you to keep him posted on whatever happens in Hogwarts... You know, it's almost like he expected something like this to happen I woul..."
Harry wasn't listening to her. Sirius was alive. That's right, this was fourth year. Of course Sirius was alive! Harry smiled. His godfather, Sirius Black, was alive and breathing. That was good. That was better than good, it was fantastic. How could he have forgotten about Sirius? How could it have slipped his mind? Has Harry changed so much that he had forgotten about the only person he considered true family?
"...I even brought some parchment and a quill with me." Hermione continued, not realizing that Harry had only just now started to pay attention to her again.
"Alright, I'll write to Sirius." Harry said, smiling at the thought of conversing with his godfather. Harry tossed the last bit of the toast Hermione gave him into the lake, and the pair watched it float in the lake for a bit. Hermione then turned and headed towards the castle with Harry in tow.
It didn't take long for the pair to make it to the Owlery. Hermione handed Harry a piece of parchment, an ink bottle, and a quill so he could begin his correspondence with his godfather. Harry didn't immediately begin working on the letter. His eyes scanned his surroundings before settling on the beautiful snowy owl that was his. He had remembered that owl, and he remembered... Harry's right hand tightened around the ink bottle. He remembered Hedwig's death. He remembered it multiple times. He remembered the killing curse that claimed her life; he also remembered the great fire that enveloped the Dursley home while she was in side. Harry had forgotten her. How stupid of him.
Deciding not to let the morbid thoughts consume him, Harry sat down against a wall, dipped the quill in ink, and began to write his letter.
Dear Sirius,
You asked me to keep you updated on the situation here at Hogwarts, so here goes - The Triwizard Tournament is happening this year, and my name got picked as the fourth champion.
Harry paused, his quill resting on the parchment. Should he tell his godfather the truth? Could he really trust Sirius with the truth? Would he go to Albus Dumbledore? Harry didn't know. He had never actually told Sirius. This would be an unknown to him... But, Harry wasn't afraid of the unknown, the only thing he knew was that his past attempts failed.
picked as the fourth champion. Sirius, I know who did it. His name is Barty Crouch Jr. and he is currently posing as Mad-eye Moody at Hogwarts. I would tell you more, but this is as far as I can go until I am sure that I can trust you. Do not tell anyone, especially not Dumbledore, about Crouch. I need to meet with you so that I can fully explain this to you, but I need to tell you about what is really going on here. Delivering the full story by owl is not an option. Please reply as soon as possible.
-Harry.
"Finished," Harry said to Hermione as he rolled up the parchment. Hedwig flew down onto his shoulder, leg outstretched to take the letter. Harry tied the letter to her leg, and then sadly stroked her feathers. As soon as the letting was done, the magnificent bird took off and soared towards her goal.
0o0o0o0
The Boy-Who-Lived awoke with a start. It was another nightmare. Harry groaned as his eyes adjusted to the light in his dorm. His eyes focused in on the familiar scene, and he got up to get dressed.
Today, stares, glares and resentment were everyone. Harry could not escape the obvious fact that the other houses besides Gryffindor were not in the least bit pleased that he was the fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament. The Hufflepuff students were the worst. Harry could understand why they would be. Out of all the houses, Hufflepuff is the only one where glory, especially eternal glory, is scarce. It must have been a really pleasant shock that Cedric Diggory, their housemate, got chosen to be the Hogwarts champion. It also must have been, Harry astutely realized, a heart-wrenching betrayal on the part of Harry Potter to steal it away. Harry would have avoided them if he could, but he had classes, Herbology in particular, with the Hufflepuffs.
In fact, it was pretty damn obvious in Herbology. Harry's Hufflepuff friends, Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, were giving him the arctic shoulder. Ron was doing the same thing. Honestly, it was damn frustrating to Harry. The lot needed to grow up. Hermione was sitting in between her two warring friends as they repotted Bouncing Bulbs.
"Shit!"
Harry cursed under his breath as one of the Bouncing Bulbs wriggled free from Harry's grip and smacked him hard in the face. This caused unpleasant laughter coming from the Hufflepuffs.
Needless to say, Harry was more than glad when Herbology was over with. Even though he had to have gone through this hundreds of times, it still frustrated Harry that people are always quick to turn on him and think nothing of it. He was fuming on the inside, and he couldn't wait till this whole Triwizard Tournament was over. The only reason he was willing to put up with it was because he needed to make sure everything still went on as normal. He couldn't risk changing things yet, not before he was sure of Sirius's loyalty.
"Look, boys, it's the champion," Malfoy scoffed at Harry, with Crabbe and Goyle flanking both his sides, as soon as Harry, Hermione, and Ron arrived at Hagrid's cabin for Care of Magical Creatures. "Got your autograph books ready? You better get his signature now, because he isn't even going to last ten minutes in the first task!"
The Slytherin trio laughed at Malfoy's remarks while Harry just ignored them. As much as he would like to do anything, he remembered that he needed to keep his cool. The lives of his friends depend on it.
It wasn't long after that when Hagrid arrived. His presence shut up the blond Slytherin and his hysterical cronies. The sheer size of the half-giant would be more than enough to shut up the biggest bodybuilder, much less a snob who, on the inside, is nothing but a daddy's boy.
Much to the amazement, and then later dismay of the students, Hagird was balancing a teetering tower of crates. Each crate contained a huge Blast-Ended Skrewt, and once all of them were opened, Hagrid explained that in order to pacify the gruesome looking creatures, they had to take them for a walk.
"Take them for a walk?!" Malfoy exclaimed in disgust, peering into one of the boxes. "Where are we supposed to even leash it?"
"Well, roun' the middle," Hagrid replied, giving the students a demonstration. "Er - yeh might tear put on yer dragon-hide gloves. Harry - you come here an' help me with this big one..."
Harry smiled at Hagrid. He knew that the half-giant only wanted to separate him from the group just so that he could talk with him privately. Hagrid waited, like any person who wanted a private conversation would, until the rest of the students set off with their skrewts.
"No idea who put it in fer ya, Harry?"
At first, Harry was confused; this was definitely not how the discussion started originally. He almost frowned, but he knew better than to do that. Still... Maybe the minute changes were because of the minute edits he must have made while speaking to Hermione and other earlier.
"So, you believe I didn't do it?"
"'Course I do. Yeh say it wasn' you an' I believe ya."
An awkward silence was between the two as Harry tried to remember what was supposed to be said next. Before Harry could reply, Hagrid looked out to the field, smiling as he observed his students walking their skrewts.
"School Champion... I don't know, Harry... Everythin' happens ter you, doesn' it?"
Harry nodded. Indeed, everything seemed to happen to him. He never realized how true that statement was till now.
0o0o0o0
Knock! Knock!
Harry's thinking was interrupted when Colin Creevey busted in on Harry's double potions lesson. Colin scanned the classroom for a couple of seconds, stopping when his eyes met Harry's. Beaming at the bespectacled teen, Colin gave him a thumb up and walked to Snape's desk.
"Yes?" Snape asked, giving Colin a once over.
"Please, Sir, I am supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs."
"Potter still has another hour of potions class. You can get him when he is finished."
"B-but Sir, Mr. Bagman wants him," Colin replied nervously, his smile long gone. "He told me that they need all the champions. I think they are going to take photographs..."
Harry smiled. He remembered this. He actually remembered how he felt when this first occurred. He remembered how embarrassed he was. He also remembered one version of this day where it was Cho Chang that had gotten him. It was strange, though, he couldn't recall exactly why they picked Cho that time.
"Very well, very well," Snape snapped at the boy before turning to Harry. "Potter, get out of my sight. Now."
Harry Potter sighed as a dozen POTTER STINKS buttons shone brightly before him. Swinging his bag over his shoulder, he exited the room. As soon as Harry and Colin left the dungeon, Colin turned to Harry with an excited look, and opened his mouth.
"Yeah, I know, amazing." Harry cut off the boy, and headed to the small classroom where the rest of the champions were at.
The first thing Harry noticed was Viktor Krum was being his usual self. He was just standing in the corner, not even bothering to be social. However, Cedric and Fleur were conversing with each other. Actually, it seemed like they were flirting.
"Ah, here he is! The fourth champion! Nothing to worry about, Harry. It's just the wand weighing ceremony. The expert that will be checking the wands is upstairs with Dumbledore. After that, there is going to be a photo shoot!" Ludo smiled at Harry brightly before introducing the witch that was in magenta robes. "This, Harry, is Rita Skeeter. She is doing an article on the tournament for the Daily Prophet."
Rita smiled at Harry brightly, revealing pearl white teeth. Rita Skeeter was clutching a crocodile scaled handbag and she had a very... Well, extravagantly curly hair.
"I was wondering if I could have a word with Harry before we start. You know, since he is the youngest champion, people will, no doubt, be the most interested in him."
Ludo looked at Harry expectantly, but Harry simply shook his head. He was not going to grant her any interview whatsoever. He was not going to subject himself to that kind of embarrassment again.
Needless to say, Rita Skeeter looked crestfallen.
It wasn't becoming of a person to enjoy another's misery, but Harry smiled at the fact that Rita had been denied what she was really after. He didn't enjoy her slandering him countless times in the Daily Prophet, and this was only the sweetest of revenge, even if she didn't truly deserve it... Yet.
Soon after, Dumbledore arrived, and Ollivander, the wand expert was trailing behind him. Harry smiled fondly as he remembered his first time at Olivander's. In fact, it was one of the few events that remained constant during his timelines. He always went to the Olivander's. He even always got the same wand. Of course, like Olivander says, it's the want that chooses the wizard. But, Harry knew he wouldn't have wanted any other wand.
"May I introduce to you Mister Olivander?" Albus Dumbledore stepped aside to let the old man get to his job.
Fleur was the first to get her wand tested. Harry didn't find it important to listen to her wand specs. It didn't matter to him. He had been here before, and had witness this countless times. There was this one time, though, that Angelina Johnson was once picked to be the Hogwarts champion because Cedric had died at the Quiditch World Cup. Now that was a good game, Harry remembered fondly.
"Mister Potter."
Harry stood up at the prompting of his name. He approached the mystical old man and handed him his wand.
"Ah, yes... How well I remember, Mister Potter. It seemed like only yesterday when you came into my shop..."
Harry smiled and nodded at the old man.
Olivander took longer than normal to inspect Harry's wand. His hands inspecting every grove and contour of the instrument. Eventually, he had made wine shoot out of the tip and happily exclaimed that it was in perfect condition.
"Alright!" Ludo Bagman exclaimed excitedly. "Photos! Everybody gather round!"
0o0o0o0
When Harry walked into his dormitory, he saw Hedwig waiting for him. A letter attached on her left leg. With excited hands, Harry quickly untied it and began to read:
Dear Harry,
I had thought I told you not to send Hedwig. She is too noticeable and I don't want you to get in trouble. The news you sent me is troubling, and the fact that you believe that this new is something Dumbledore shouldn't be aware of is even more so. However, I will do as you requested and keep silent until we can talk face to face.
Can you ensure that you are alone by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room on November 22? I can contact you then and we can talk about what you know and how you know it.
Padfoot.
A/N Note: I decided that I would post this up because, well. I wanted you guys to read more! As you can see, this particular chapter was (so far) the longest one. It was around four thousand something words. I also used this chapter to explain why some of the situations aren't going exactly as J.K Rowling wrote them. Also, I introduced the first big deviant from canon, and that is the inclusion of Sirius black on the secret. Will this be a good thing for Harry, or will it come and bite him on the ass? Only time will tell. I also hope you liked how I made further allusions to other timelines and some of Harry's emotions and faults.
I tried to make it as believable and as, well Harry Potter as I can without making it feel too non-original. If it does feel too copied, please bare with it until I can safely maneuver around some of the red tape. I also hope you are satisfied with my reason as to why Harry doesn't want to "out" Moody/ Crouch Jr. Oh, and as I have mentioned before. All this Harry Potter cares about is his friends. He isn't planning on saving anybody else but his friends, and he will use any means to accomplish his goals.
Please review, and if you have any questions please put them in the reviews, unless they are spoilers. Spoiler questions (If you really wanna know xD) are reserved for the PMs.
-Shintaro Kozu