Chapter 6: We Can Win This

For the rest of the weekend, the only thing Harry did was relax. He decided he deserved a break from his school work after the Second Task, and the Third Task was scheduled on June 24th, ages from now. He spent a lot of time with Ginny, who he felt he had been neglecting again. Of course, she didn't complain, but he always felt guilty if he didn't spent much time with her. He also realized that he would have to come clean about Sirius soon. Harry didn't like to keep secrets from her. Finally, on Monday, he was given an opportunity. During breakfast, Hedwig flew down next to his plate. She affectionately nipped his finger while he untied the letter attached to her talons. He immediately recognized the handwriting as Sirius'.

Harry

I know there's a Hogsmeade visit planned for this Saturday. Make sure you are at the stile at the end of the road out of Hogsmeade, past Dervish and Banges, at three o'clock. Make sure you're not followed.

Snuffles

Harry frowned. This letter clearly stated that Sirius was in Hogsmeade. What was he thinking? If anyone found him, he would be back in Azkaban before he could say 'innocent'. At least, if the Dementors didn't kiss him first. On the other hand, he really wanted to see Sirius. He turned around to see Ginny looking at him, a little worried.

"Come on, let's go," he said. Holding hands, the two left the Great Hall and began heading towards the lake.

"Harry, what is it?" Ginny asked. "Who was that letter from?"

"It was from my godfather," Harry answered.

"You have a godfather?" Ginny looked positively dumbfounded. "How come you never told me?"

"It's a long story," Harry said. "Just let me finish, okay?"

She nodded, curious, and he told her everything about Sirius and the events of the past year.

If it was possible, Ginny looked even more surprised. "Ron's rat was Peter Pettigrew?!"

"Yeah." Harry frowned. "If he hadn't escaped, Sirius' name would have been cleared. He wouldn't have to be on the run, and we could live together."

Harry still thought from time to time about the life he could have had if Peter Pettigrew hadn't escaped.

"Anyway, we kept contact, and he wants to meet me Saturday in Hogsmeade."

"Oh," Ginny said, looking a bit disappointed. "No problem."

"I'm not blowing you off, Ginny," Harry said quickly when he realized what was bothering her. "I'm not meeting him until three o'clock and, well, I thought maybe you'd want to come with me?"

Ginny smiled a little then. "Of course I want to come, you prat. But, wouldn't he mind?"

"Of course not! He would love to meet you. Actually, I think he'd want to see Ron and Hermione, I'll ask them later."

They were walking back to the castle when Harry said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't know if, well - "

"If I would believe you?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow. "You should know better than that!"

"Well… I guess I didn't know how you would react."

Ginny stopped and pressed her lips to his. "Don't worry about it. You told me now. And I'm glad you did."

(-) – (-) – (-) – (-) – (-)

When Saturday morning came, Harry couldn't help to feel a bit nervous. Although he had been seeing Ginny for several weeks, this would be their first real date, excluding the Yule Ball. He looked over to Ron's bed. His best friend was still snoring loudly. Ron had asked Hermione to go to Hogsmeade with him, and she gladly accepted. Although they went to the Yule Ball together, nothing still had happened between his two best friends. Ron still lacked confidence in himself. Harry knew Hermione liked him, but she was still waiting for him to make the first move. If it was going to keep moving forward at this rate, they wouldn't be a couple until seventh year.

In any case, Harry and Ginny enjoyed their time in Hogsmeade. They steered clear of Madam Puddifoot's, going to Honeydukes and Zonko's. They met Fred, George, and Lee, who, surprisingly, refrained from teasing the two. It probably had something to do with Ginny's fierce stare, or the fact that she could pull off a stellar Bat-Bogey Hex. After that, the couple went to The Three Broomsticks to enjoy lunch, where they met Ron and Hermione. Finally, all four left to meet Sirius.

A great black dog was waiting for them, and it gave Ginny a strange look, almost like staring.

"It's okay, she knows," Harry said. "Ginny, meet my godfather."

Ginny nervously petted the dog in front of her. He wagged his tail before he turned around and led them to a cave outside of Hogsmeade. When they entered the cave, they saw Buckbeak, who was looking extremely bored. The four of them bowed nervously. After Buckbeak bowed back, Hermione and Ginny started stroking his feathers. Harry and Ron turned to the dog, who, with a spin, turned back into Harry's godfather.

"How're you doing?" Sirius asked with a grin. "Leading the Triwizard Tournament now, huh? I wouldn't expect less from you."

Harry laughed and hugged his godfather. "What're you doing here? If they find you, you'll be thrown back into Azkaban!"

"What's life without a little risk?" Sirius smirked. "Besides, the Aurors have absolutely no idea about my whereabouts. They probably think I fled to another country and won't risk to come back. Besides, I still have the best disguise a man could need. But, I believe introductions are in order?" He looked at Ginny questioningly.

"Oh. Right. This is Ginny Weasley. She's Ron's sister and my girlfriend," Harry said, blushing lightly.

"Girlfriend, huh?" Sirius was grinning broadly, seeing Harry's discomfort. "Well, nice to meet you! I'm Sirius, but you already know that, of course."

"Nice to meet you," Ginny said with a small voice.

"Don't be shy, I won't kill you. Broke off the habit," Sirius joked. The trio laughed, while Ginny blushed a little.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Don't worry about it," Sirius said. "People are bound to react this way after hearing that I'm a murdering lunatic for all those years. You're taking it quite well, actually. You should have seen Harry. He tried to kill me!"

After the ice was broken, the afternoon passed in pleasant conversation. Harry was enjoying his godfather's company immensely, and was reluctant to go back to the castle when it turned five. Promising he would write soon, Sirius turned back into Snuffles and wagged his tail in goodbye at the retreating quartet.

That Sunday night, he had another nightmare about Voldemort and Wormtail. This time, Voldemort was torturing Wormtail for a failure on his part, before saying that the mistake 'had been rectified by his trusted servant at Hogwarts'. When Harry woke up the next morning in a cold sweat, he decided that he had to tell Dumbledore. After his last class, Transfiguration, he asked McGonagall for the password to enter Dumbledore's office. Then, he walked up to the gargoyle and said, "Lemon Heads."

The statue allowed entry to Harry, who walked up the spiral staircase.

"Ah, Harry. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I wanted to talk to you, Professor," Harry said nervously. He hesitated, a little apprehensive.

"Sit down, Harry, and don't be shy."

Harry told him about the dreams about Voldemort. A long silence followed, Harry fidgeting a little nervously. Finally, Harry asked, "Sir? You don't think these dreams are really happening, do you?"

Dumbledore looked at him, looking worried. "As a matter of fact, I do, Harry. You see, the night Voldemort tried to kill you, he forged a connection between the two of you. Your scar is a mark of this connection. At the same time, he transferred some of his powers to you. That is why you can speak Parseltongue, and why you can look into his mind and see what he is doing."

"But, I've had that scar since I was a year old, and I've never had these dreams before!" Harry spluttered a little before realizing something. "Do you think Voldemort is getting stronger, sir?"

Dumbledore looked at him worriedly. "I think you already know the answer to that, Harry."

Harry's insides were turning. "Do you think he'll - come back?"

"Yes." Dumbledore stated simply. "I have always known that Voldemort was bound to find a way to return. He never succeeded, because he was weak and alone. All his followers had abandoned him. You know he tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone with the goal to recreate a body of his own. His plan failed, thanks to you, but now he has a faithful servant, Wormtail. He is bound to be hatching some plot to return to his former body, and this time, I believe that he will succeed."

"It's my fault!" Harry said, feeling guilty and angry at himself. "I convinced Sirius and Professor Lupin to let Wormtail live! If I hadn't, Voldemort wouldn't be getting stronger. He wouldn't be able to come back."

"Don't blame yourself, Harry," Dumbledore said sternly. "You did the right thing that night. Wormtail owes you, and that makes all the difference. As for Voldemort, I believe his return is inevitable, with or without Wormtail."

"Professor," Harry said. "Voldemort also mentioned that there was a Death Eater at Hogwarts in my dream."

Dumbledore didn't look surprised. "Ah. I had my suspicions."

"Do you think it was him that put my name into the Goblet of Fire?" Harry asked.

"Him or her. Though what Voldemort's intentions are, I do not know. If only I knew who it was."

Harry was thinking about what Sirius had told him earlier. "You don't think it could be Karkaroff, sir?"

"I am quite certain it is not Professor Karkaroff, Harry," Dumbledore said. "According to Professor Snape, Karkaroff, in fact, is more frightened by the Dark Lord's return than many others. You see, he gave a lot of Death Eater names to keep himself out of Azkaban. He would not be welcomed back into Voldemort's inner circle. In fact, he would most likely be killed."

"Snape, sir?" Harry asked puzzled. "How would Snape know?"

"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected him. He looked at Harry for a minute, in deep thought, before finally saying, "What I'm about to tell you should not be common knowledge, Harry. It would not do for too many people to know." He hesitated slightly before he continued. "Professor Snape used to be a Death Eater."

Harry was a little shocked, but not too surprised. He should have realized all along.

"No one stops being a Death Eater," he said firmly.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I can see you have been talking to Snuffles a lot since you met him. He's already rubbing off on you! But I can assure you, Severus is not loyal to Voldemort, Harry. He changed sides more than a year before Voldemort's downfall. He was been spying for our side since."

Harry decided to not argue with Dumbledore about it. They talked a little more before Harry went down to the Great Hall for dinner. Afterwards, he told Ginny, Ron, and Hermione about his conversation with the Headmaster.

"Snape was a Death Eater?" Ginny asked, shocked.

"We should have known it!" Ron exclaimed. "How could he not be? I can't believe Dumbledore trusts that slimy git!"

"Ssh, Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "If Dumbledore trusts him, who are we to question it? He's the greatest wizard in the world. Snape wouldn't be able to deceive him." She looked between her friends with a rather serious expression on her face. "If it's true that You-Know Who is getting stronger… There won't be a lot of people we can trust. But I'm sure that Dumbledore will always be one of them."

(-) – (-) – (-) – (-) – (-)

The weeks passed by quickly, and the Third Task began to loom over Harry and the other champions. However, he didn't hear anything until a month before the task. One night, Professor McGonagall instructed him to go to the Quidditch Pitch that night at eight o'clock. When he got there, the other champions were already waiting with Ludo Bagman.

"Now that we're all here, I'll inform you about the Third Task. Anyone care to guess what we're growing here?" He gestured to the pitch, which was covered in what seemed to be short hedges.

"A maze," Cedric offered.

"Exactly! It's very simple. The Triwizard Cup will be placed inside the maze and the first champion who reaches it, wins the tournament!"

"So, all we have to do is find our way through the maze?" Harry asked sceptically. It didn't seem dangerous enough to be a task in the tournament, especially if it was the last one.

"Well, of course, there will be obstacles," answered Bagman. "There will be spells, enchantments to get past. And, Hagrid is providing us with some appropriate magical creatures."

Harry and Cedric looked at each other, both knowing exactly what Hagrid would consider 'appropriate' for the task.

"I swear, if I see one Blast-Ended Skrewt…" Cedric said. Harry laughed out loud, while Bagman, Fleur and Krum looked at them inquisitively.

Harry, Cedric and Fleur walked back to the castle together, while Krum hurried back to the ship quickly. He was acting even more silent and gruff than before. There had been a lot of rumours about the boy he had rescued out of the lake during the Second Task, mostly spread by Rita Skeeter.

The weeks leading up to the Third Task, Harry and Cedric trained together. They used empty classrooms, until an irate Professor McGonagall, who had stumbled upon the two often, offered to them the Transfiguration classroom. They practiced disarming and stunning, and several useful jinxes and hexes. Harry was fairly confident. He knew it would be difficult, but he thought they were well prepared, and the nature of the task allowed Harry and Cedric to work together again. They were both glad, because it meant that both of them would win or lose, together.

The evening before the final task, Harry saw his old vision of winning the Triwizard Cup, only this time, Cedric was beside him and the girl looking admiringly at him wasn't Cho, but Ginny.

"In union there is strength." – Aesop Fabulist