Chapter 2

(Hogwarts, Great Lake)

Harry once again sat in his favorite spot and looked out across the lake, it was a new day and he was already planning to begin his training for what he was certain would be the hard and most dangerous tasks of the tournament, just as Daphne had suggested. It would not be easy he was sure, but he was determined to make a good showing of himself. He would give the people their supposed legend. He would show the ungrateful back-stabbers what he was truly made of. He felt like he was in second year all over again, he could not believe they were all turning on him again. Only this time it was much worse, Ron had stabbed him in the back as well, worse Hermione seemed unsure where to stand on this. That more than anything depressed him. How could she even think he would enter his name into this damnable tournament?

Suddenly hearing a trig snap behind him he jumped to his feet and spun reaching for his wand as he did so. He came to a dead stop as he realised that is was Hermione who was standing behind him. For a minute there he had thought events from yesterday were happening again, he had been certain he would find Daphne there. Seeing Hermione nervously standing there caught him off guard. She seemed very nervous which made him wonder why she had come to see him after what had happened in the last day or so.

"Hey Harry," Hermione finally spoke, while doing her best to keep her nervousness from showing too much.

She had fouled up badly in hesitating to support her friend, out of some delusions that the headmaster's silence in this regard condemned Harry. That it in some way meant he had put his name in the goblet. She had also allowed some kind of weird idea of having feelings for Ron stay her hand. Thankfully a good night's sleep had shown her the error of her choices, of the rank stupidity of even thinking of having feelings for Ron. Maybe she had a moment of madness? It was the only thing she could think of as to her reason of believing such an outrageous thing.

There was no way in hell she would ever feel anything bar friendship for Ron, and even that was being stretched with the way he was acting. All he ever did was to insult her and cause massive arguments. He was lazy and was basically a pig. There wasn't one redeeming feature about him. He complained constantly about how Harry had everything like money and fame and how he was so poor. What he didn't see was the cost Harry paid for those things, and how much he hated it. He didn't see that Harry would give away every last galleon he had and that he would rather not be famous if it meant he would have his parents back alive and well. He didn't understand just how lonely Harry was, how much he hurt on the inside from the way his life had gone so far.

And now she had added to that pain with her momentary act of stupidity. How could she have made such a blunder was beyond her, but she was determined to fix her mistake and if she was lucky and Harry forgave her she swore she would never turn her back on him again.

"What do you want Hermione?" Harry asked, deciding to get to the point and not wanting to draw whatever this was out.

"I wanted to say sorry Harry for messing up," Hermione responded after wincing at the coldish tone in her friend's voice. "I let Dumbledore's silence make me think it meant you had put your name into the goblet and that he was disappointed in you," she admitted, doing her best to stay in control. "I also let a brief insanity take hold. The very idea I could fancy Ron is insane and yet for reasons I can't explain I allowed the idea I did like him like that stay my hand in supporting you," she explained as she began to shift her feet as her nervousness increased. "I should have known you wouldn't put your name in the goblet, you would not want the fame involved or the money that is up for a prize," she continued with an angry look although her anger was centered on herself. "I've hurt our friendship and for that I'm sorry Harry. I ask you to forgive me," she finished in a pleading tone as she allowed her eyes to rise and meet his.

Harry stared at his friend long and hard which made her shift all the more, his eyes seem to bore into hers. Finally he seemed to come to some sort of choice. His body relaxed somewhat and he almost smiled.

"I will forgive you Hermione, this is the first and only time you've let me down," Harry told her. "I guess I can see how Dumbledore not saying anything could be taken and I can't tell you how relieved I'm to hear you basically admit you didn't turn on me for Ron," he added. "But I have to tell you I will never forgive Ron for his actions. He has hurt and betrayed me by believing I just want more fame," he admitted as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "He's shown that he really doesn't know me and nor does he care to. You at least are only guilty of a brief error of belief, but he has just let blind jealousy blind him once more," he stated, his tone now angry before shaking his head and then he began to pace.

"I'm sorry I added to your problems Harry and I swear I will never do it again," Hermione vowed, causing Harry to stop pacing and face her again before he did something that he had never done before. He actually hugged her, usually she had to be the one to hug him, but for once he had made the first move.

"I'm glad you are back on my side Hermione," Harry whispered before he pulled back. "I get the feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get if I'm to survive this year," he told her as he turned back to look out at the lake.

"I'll help anyway I can Harry you know that," Hermione insisted, feeling such relief that Harry had actually forgiven her and she felt like collapsing to the ground.

"I know," Harry agreed as he noted the giant squid surface and begin to play with a log that had floated close by. "I'll see you later, watch your back around Weasley as something tells me his temper is going to be nasty in the coming months," he warned her with a quick glance back at her over his shoulder.

"I will Harry," Hermione responded feeling reassured by his worry which shone in his eyes. "I'll see you later," she finally said before turning around and departing.

Hermione had just vanished over the hill as she made her way towards the castle when Harry began to feel that he was being watched. He placed his hand near his wand when a voice he knew spoke although he could not see her.

"I had a feeling she would come around quickly," Daphne's gentle voice said "She ain't that stupid. I'm relieved she didn't throw you away for the damn red headed pig," she stated as she finally faded into view.

At first Harry thought she had her own invisibility cloak, however he noted she was not holding anything in her hand to indicate such a thing. He raised an eyebrow in question which made Daphne chuckle, glad she had gotten his attention so easily.

"It's called a Disillusionment Charm," she answered his unasked question. "It makes the person you cast it on or yourself invisible or at least close enough to it so you can move around undetected," she explained. "However it is not perfect and it can be seen through. If you look very carefully and when someone under the charm moves around especially in a well lit room you can see it," she warned. "Still it serves me at times," she stated with a smile as she pushed her blond hair back.

"Useful spell," Harry mused. "However I have my own way of moving around invisible to everyone that is very hard to spot," he told her and when she raised an eyebrow in response he knew she wanted to know how. "I can't tell you, at least not yet," he said apologetically. "I need to get to know you a bit better first. I'm sure you'll understand", he told her with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Good answer," Daphne said surprising him. "I was worried you were going to spill all your secrets so quickly. What you need to do is learn to ensure you can really trust the person first," she told him. "Sometimes having a Slytherin outlook can be useful. Idiots like Malfoy and Nott have helped to continue to blacken Slytherin's reputation as he was not as evil as the stories make him," she explained when he frowned at what she had said. "I think something happened to him to turn him into what he became, maybe an accident with a new spell he was creating or a potion gone wrong," she mused. "I mean if he was evil from the start then why would the other founders have anything to do with him?" she asked him.

Harry's frown got deeper at the question as he realised he had never really thought about it in that way before. He, like everyone else just, accepted the story that Slytherin was evil from the beginning and easily turned on his friends. But was it possible he had not been evil, that something had gone wrong to make him into the monster he became that so inspired his descendants? It was an intriguing question. The other founders wouldn't have allied with a monster in their plans to build a school. There had to be some good qualities to the man, was there another side to the story? He wondered.

"Sorry I get annoyed when people just take for granted that the old stories are true. How would they know? They were not even there," Daphne apologised with a shake of her head. "There is no record from that time period, all the stories about the founders came later so we will never know what really happened, but I like to think Slytherin was once a great wizard who like the other founders had a vision," she stated. "And sadly for him something either went wrong or he had an accident that destroyed him," she finished.

"You make a lot of great points Daphne," Harry conceded with a smile. "I should know more than anyone not to take things for granted, that is what these damn sheep do in here," he continued, his tone darkening. "I'll try and keep an open mind," he promised.

"That's a good start," Daphne replied, pleased by his stance. "Now I think we should start discussing what kind of spells you will need to learn for this damn tournament," she told him as she moved to sit, causing Harry to join her on the dry ground.

+T+

(Hogwarts, DADA Classroom)

Barty Crouch Jr. sat at his desk while looking at a mirror which instead of his own reflection showed the face of Alastor Moody, the man whose identity he had stolen. It was so ironic that the great Auror who had bested and imprisoned so many of his fellow Death Eaters, himself included, plus assorted other criminals who would aide them in bringing Lord Voldemort back to life was now his prisoner. He couldn't help but chuckle, the real Moody was locked in his own security trunk so he could get new hairs for his Polyjuice potion. Leaning back he could hardly contain the urge to kill Snape and Karkaroff for their betrayal of the Dark Lord, but he had orders not to touch either of them yet. He was certain the Dark Lord would make both pay dearly for turning their backs on him. Karkaroff even more so than Snape as it was thanks to him that hidden spies had been captured. Who may have gone undetected for years or permanently, they could have been useful now that the Dark Lord was on the move again.

Letting out a sigh he turned away from the mirror hating the old man's face. He still remembered the day he was captured alongside the Lestrange family after they had just finished torturing the Longbottoms into permanent insanity. He had only been a Death Eater for a year before his capture, but he had proven his loyalty in that time. He had shown that he was willing to do anything for his Lord and Master, even more than some of the more experienced and long term members. He had been shocked and horrified by the news of their Lord's defeat at the hands of Harry Potter, and yet he had not been able to help but wonder if maybe the child had powers that rivaled their Lords. Was it possible there was more to the child than he had seen already? How else could he explain their Lord's downfall all those years ago? No, it must have been something the boy's mother or father must have done, he told himself. How could a child possible have powers that rivaled the greatest Dark Lord to ever come into being? It was absurd to even think it could be possible and in the end it was a moot point because if the Dark Lord's plan went as planned, then Potter would soon be dead and Lord Voldemort would rise once more to finally conquer wizarding Britain. From there he would finally lead them into the war against the Muggles, he could hardly wait for it to begin.

+T+

(Hogwarts, Potions Office)

In another part of the castle Severus Snape sat in his office, trying to work out how Potter's name had really ended up coming out of the Goblet of Fire. He did actually believe that the arrogant child would not be so stupid as to put his name in it, but angering the boy was one of his few pleasures while inside this castle. He loathed having to teach ignorant students year after year, but it was the only way to keep himself out of Azkaban. Part of his deal with Dumbledore had been his agreement to take the potions teacher position and there was no way he could walk away without voiding their agreement.

These last few years however had been even worse for him, due to the presence of Harry Potter in the castle. He was a constant reminder of a time he would rather forget. Of a choice made by the woman he had come to love to reject him and instead hook up with his worst enemy, it still gauled him after these years that Lily had chosen James over him. That she had always rejected any attempts by him to get close to her, she had thought him a dangerous obsessive person. His insulting her during one very bad bit of bullying by Potter and his gang had only worsened her view of him. The bitch should have been honoured to be on the receiving end of his attentions. Instead she had chosen that arrogant bastard and basically flaunted it in his face, oh the pain he had suffered at their hands due to their relationship.

The hatred and rage they had inspired in him had never gone away, it was one of the reasons he was so eager to punish and humiliate their son as a way of getting back at them both. When he had joined the Death Eaters he had hoped to come across Lily, so he could finally take what should have been his, even if he had to force her compliance. But their paths had never crossed. After he realized what he had done by giving his Master the part of the Prophecy he had overheard, which had made him target the Potters, he had begged the Dark Lord to capture Lily so he could drug her into being his. He had waited that night for the Dark Lord to return with the red head captive. He had eagerly awaited finally making her his, the deaths of her husband and son would surely have broken her spirit making her even easier to subvert.

However the Dark Lord had never returned and Lily Potter had died along side her husband. She had died to protect the son she'd had with Potter. His victory over them was a hollow one in the end, thankfully he had already covered his bases having realised the possibility that the Dark Lord may fail thanks to the part of the Prophecy he had overheard. His agreement to spy for Dumbledore had saved him from either a one way trip to Azkaban or death. It was a shame Potter's spawn had also survived that night. Every time he saw the brat he could not help but look at his eyes and see Lily looking back at him in contempt. The combination of her eyes with Potter's face would always remind him that she chose James over him and would never be his.

+T+

(Gryffindor Dorms)

Hermione entered the tower feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Harry had forgiven her and that was the best thing to happen in the last couple of days. She was lucky he had listened to her at all, had he refused to forgive her she didn't know what she would have done. Thankfully she didn't have to face such a horrible prospect. Her happiness quickly came to an end when she came to a halt due to the fact that Ron was in front of her looking angry.

"Where have you been?" he demanded to know, loudly enough to draw the attention of the other students in the common room.

"As if that is any of your business," she snapped back heatedly and was instantly annoyed. "What does it matter where I've been?" she demanded to know.

"You've gone back to the glory hog haven't you?" Ron spat, his jealousy working overtime. "You couldn't help yourself, you had to whore yourself to him didn't you?" he raged moving into her personal space. "Did you offer to spread your legs if he forgave you?" he asked, before he was rocked backwards by Hermione as she slapped him as hard as she could.

"How dare you Weasley," Hermione said, trembling in rage as she eyed her now former friend. "How dare you even suggest such a thing? Is your jealousy and anger so great, that you can't see the truth even when it is right in front of you?" she inquired, doing her best not to lash out again although she very much wanted to. "Yes I asked Harry to forgive me as I was wrong. I know for a fact he would never enter this tournament as do you, but of course your jealousy has blinded you to this fact because you want fame and glory," she spat in disgust. "You will never have it Ron, because you don't deserve it. You are worse than Malfoy," she stated.

Ron's eyes widened in outrage at the insult and raised his hand to strike her, but his blow was intercepted by Neville who glared at him until he backed off.

"Never attempt that again Ron, unless you want me to break you in half," Neville growled almost unable to believe what he had almost witnessed. "And you better pray Harry never learns what you tried or he will destroy you," he warned as Ron turned and stalked off.

"Thanks Neville," Hermione all but whispered as she tried to calm down from what had almost happened. 'Had Ron really been about to hit her?' she thought.

"I would be careful around him in the future Hermione. He is out of control lately," Neville said as he guided her to a nearby sofa so that she could sit down. "I always suspected he was jealous of Harry, but I would never have thought he would go so far. It's like he is an entirely different person," he mused shaking his head as he did so.

"I know, but I think this is actually more the real Ron than the one we thought we knew," Hermione admitted sadly. "I think this was always hidden inside him. Don't tell Harry what he tried to do Neville," she told him. "I don't want Harry getting into trouble for trying to defend me," she stated seriously.

"I won't tell him, but he may find out anyway Hermione," Neville responded, seeing her point. "There are others here who saw your argument and what he tried to do. It will only be a matter of time before Harry hears about it," he pointed out to her to which she reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"I'm surprised you interfered, to be honest I thought everyone was against Harry and by extension me once I got my head back in gear," Hermione admitted.

Neville let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "I know Harry didn't put his name in the goblet Hermione. I know he ain't that stupid," he told her. "I guess I just stayed quite so I wouldn't get drawn into the fight that is brewing between Harry and nearly everyone else," he admitted.

"He needs friends Neville, especially if he is to survive whatever goes wrong in this tournament," Hermione told him. "Someone put his name in the goblet, not to help him but more than likely to get him killed," she explained. "You need to pick a side and quickly. Don't be like the others and act on just what they are told in the papers or word of mouth," she continued. "Prove yourself being better than them," she stated before she got up and headed up to her dorm.

Neville watched her go before he leaned back into the sofa. He began to think heavily over what she had said. He ignored everything else that was going on including Ron exiting the common room still in rage.

+T+

(Hogwarts, Great Lake)

Harry watched Daphne leave with far more confidence that he might survive the coming trials relatively intact. Daphne and he suspected Tracy had already worked out a list of spells he would find useful. Training would begin tomorrow in one of the abandoned classrooms on the top floor. He looked out at the lake as the giant squid finally vanished from view clearly having grown tired of playing with the log. He got up to leave when he noted Fleur Delacour, Victor Krum and Cedric Diggory all making their way towards him. He supposed he should have expected them to confront him at some point. 'Well this should be a fun conversation,' he thought.

+T+

(Slytherin Dorms)

Daphne paused as she moved to sit on her bed as she found Tracy already waiting for her. Smiling somewhat she quickly got on the bed and sealed the curtains shut before dropping some security wards to ensure they were not disturbed or overheard.

"Well how did it go?" Tracy inquired as she leaned into her friend and sometimes lover.

"Better than I expected," Daphne answered as she put her arm around Tracy and pulled her closer. "Granger has come around by the way, she apologised to him and they are friends again, but thankfully he won't be forgiving the red headed pig," she explained what she had overheard. "Tomorrow we'll meet him in one of the abandoned classrooms on the top floor and begin training him. You will come along this time and finally meet him face to face," she stated as she looked at Tracy who looked both nervous and frightened at the prospect. "Don't be too concerned Tracy. He will accept you just fine," she assured her.

"Are you sure?" Tracy inquired, wanting to believe her friend and yet finding it hard to think it would turn out so well.

"I am," Daphne assured her before she leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on Tracy's lips which seemed to help calm her down.

Tracy snuggled into Daphne's side and quickly began to fall asleep dreaming of what tomorrow would bring. Daphne held her and prayed she wasn't wrong about how Harry would react to Tracy. Finally she too fell asleep, a brief rest before their next lesson would do them a world of good was her last thought before sleep fully claimed her.