Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Hi all! I'm so glad you enjoyed what I did with Cedric in the last chapter. Believe me, his friendship will really affect Harry. I've always loved Ced, he's always been one of my favorite characters. And from what we saw of him in the real Goblet of Fire, he's a really nice person.

I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Chapter 21: Unconditional Love

Sirius Black was furious.

Never in his life had he felt such raw, unadulterated anger towards Albus Dumbledore.

The old fool had promised to make it up to Harry, to keep him safe, and now he'd gone and allowed this to happen!

Sirius and Remus had been having a pleasant conversation about old times at Hogwarts in their living room when an owl had flown in and given Sirius a letter from Harry, telling him that somehow, his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, making him the fourth Triwizard champion. He swore up and down that he didn't know how it had happened, that the last thing he'd possibly wanted to do was compete in this tournament. Both his guardians knew about the age line the Headmaster had drawn so that no one under the age of seventeen was able to put their names in. They believed Harry wholeheartedly, he had no reason to lie about this. Plus, the letter sounded so desperate, so pleading, asking them for help. It also said that he had to compete, because of a binding magical contract Dumbledore had explained about in the past.

Sirius, being the rash man that he was, did not pay attention to any of Remus's attempts to calm him down, so therefore, the first thing he did upon receiving the letter was throw a pinch of floo powder into the fire, yelling, "Hogwarts, Dumbledore's office!" and he was gone in a burst of green flames. Sighing, Remus followed him. He almost felt sorry for Albus Dumbledore, knowing what kind of mouth Sirius had. He swore that man could curse worse than a sailor.

As he landed in Dumbledore's office, he could hear that Sirius was already at it.

"What the fuck, Dumbledore!" the black-haired man was shouting. "How could you let this happen? You give me this bullshit about keeping Harry safe, and now you're letting him compete in this bloody tournament?" Spit was practically flying from his mouth.

Dumbledore looked up from the paperwork he was doing; he didn't look too surprised, though. The Headmaster had been expecting an outburst like this from Sirius ever since he'd first caught that piece of parchment with Harry's name written on it. He just sat there and let Sirius rail at him, calling him every swearword in the book. It almost looked like he was going to throw a good punch. The only reason why he didn't, Dumbledore thought, was because Remus was there, and trying with a great effort to calm his friend down.

The Headmaster hung his head and looked at both men. "I do not know what to say to defend myself," he admitted. "I am truly sorry, but I do not know how this happened."

"Oh, please!" Sirius spat. "Igor Karkaroff is in your school, Dumbledore! Do you not remember what he is? And what about Snape?"

"Sirius, you know very well that Severus is on our side now. As for Igor, I have been keeping an eye on him, and ..."

"Bullshit!" Sirius roared. "Your version of "keeping an eye" on people includes doing nothing, old fool! Weren't you supposed to be "keeping an eye" on Harry before he came to Hogwarts and the summers after? You didn't do a very good job there, did you?" He let out a harsh, bitter laugh.

"Sirius, please, let the man speak," Remus tried.

"It's all right, Remus," Dumbledore sighed. "I deserve this tirade, I think. I must honestly tell you that I have been keeping an eye on Igor, and it does not look like he is doing anything that we should be concerned about."

"So how do you explain this, Albus?" Remus asked. He was as worried for Harry as Sirius was, but didn't think yelling and screaming at the Headmaster was going to solve anything. "How do you explain Harry's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire?"

"I do not know, Remus. I am terribly sorry," Dumbledore answered tiredly. "I do not know how anyone was able to trick the Goblet. I trust everyone here, and with Alastor Moody around, things should be extra safe." He chuckled softly, thinking of his old friend's antics.

"You're too trusting, that's what you are," Sirius snapped. "I don't want to talk to you anymore." He got up and left the office, slamming the door behind him.

"I should follow him," Remus said apologetically. "He's probably on his way to see Harry. I do hope he calms down before he gets there, though."

"It's all right, Remus," said Dumbledore, defeated. "I am quite used to Mr. Black's temper by now. But you do know that we are all here for Harry, right? We are all going to help him through this."

"I know," Remus sighed deeply. "I must go, though, before Sirius destroys the school."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Goodbye, Remus."

"Goodbye, Albus."

xxx

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. The past few weeks had gone pretty well for him, with classes, talking with friends, and seeing his guardians. His therapy sessions had been difficult, because he was reliving his childhood with the Dursleys, Muggle school, and all the things his relatives had made him do. Sirius and Remus made sure to tell him over and over again that he was not a burden, he was not a freak, and his relatives had been extremely wrong to say what they said to him. It was hard to get over all those years of threats, fights, and nasty words, but Harry was trying hard, and his guardians' reassurances went a long way in helping him.

What had happened tonight had put him in shock, though. He'd been so excited about the Triwizard Tournament, but when his own name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, he felt numb and was shocked to his core. How could this have happened? He had immediately owled Sirius and Remus to tell them what had transpired. He was extremely surprised that Cedric had stuck up for him. He would have thought that he, of all people, would be angry with him, because Cedric was the true Hogwarts champion, and might have felt that his glory was stolen away from him. But Harry had truly underestimated the seventeen-year-old boy. He really had a friend in Cedric, that was for sure.

A much better friend than Ron was right now, he thought bitterly as he sat in the Room of Requirement. He had made his way there after going to the owlery, because he didn't feel like facing anyone in the dorm right now. As soon as Dumbledore had called his name and said he was a champion, he had seen Ron glare furiously at him. It was obvious what he thought; he thought Harry had put his own name in the Goblet without consulting him first. He didn't feel like going back to his room and hearing Ron go on and on at him about how he always got everything handed to him on a silver platter.

He sat on the couch in the room, and put his head in his hands. Even with Cedric to help him, how was he going to make it through this tournament? He didn't even know what the heck he was supposed to do! He had been in a stupor all through the talking in the room behind the Great Hall, but thought he'd heard, through the haze in his mind, something about November 24 and the first task. It sounded like none of the champions even knew what the first task was. How were they supposed to prepare for something they weren't at all sure about?

Will Hermione agree with Ron? was another thought that invaded Harry's mind. Or will that be yet another row those two get into? And what about Ginny and Neville? What would they think? And Cho? He already knew what Cedric's mates thought; he'd seen them glaring at him from the Hufflepuff table. He hoped Cedric and his friends weren't rowing because of him. The last thing he wanted to do was stir up trouble between someone else and their friends.

He also thought about what Mad-Eye Moody had said. Was this some kind of plot to get him killed? Was his being involved in this tournament not only putting him in danger, but putting the other champions in danger too? He didn't want Fleur, Viktor, or Cedric getting hurt or killed because of him. This conflict was between himself and Voldemort; he didn't want anyone else getting involved. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny already could have died because of him, and his parents and Professor Quirrell had already died because of him. Never mind that Quirrell had been evil; Harry still didn't think he deserved to die. These thoughts kept buzzing around in his head. He also thought of what Sirius and Remus had told him about Igor Karkaroff, that he used to be a Death Eater back in the First War. He'd given information to the Ministry about other Death Eaters to reduce his Azkaban sentence, though, so no one really knew whether he was really still on Voldemort's side or not.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Sirius and Remus walked in. They went straight over to Harry. "Hey, kiddo," Sirius said softly. Remus had made him take some deep breaths before he saw the boy.

"Sirius? Remus? What are you doing here?" asked Harry, lifting his head from his hands and staring at his guardians in shock.

"What do you mean, what are we doing here?" Sirius asked, ruffling Harry's hair gently. "What have we told you about coming when you need us? You need us tonight, of all nights."

Harry looked horrified. "I didn't mean to make you stop what you were doing!" he cried. "I owled you to tell you the news, not because I needed you to come running!"

"Shhh, Harry," Remus said gently, putting a hand up to silence him. "There's no need to feel guilty. We're always going to come whether you think you need us or not. We knew, from the tone of your letter, that you needed someone to talk to."

Harry couldn't help looking gratefully at his guardians, although guilt still shone on his face. "How did you find me?"

"What a silly question," Sirius chuckled. "How did any of the Marauders find each other in school, Harry, if we weren't all together?"

"Oh," said Harry, a flush coming over his face. "You went to my dorm, didn't you? I wasn't there, so you looked for me on the Marauders' Map."

"Yes," said Sirius. "We couldn't find you anywhere, so we knew you were here. As I said before, this room isn't on the map."

"Oh, right," said Harry.

Sirius sat on one side of him, and Remus sat on the other. "So tell us exactly what happened," Remus prompted.

Harry launched into the entire story, and he told them about his friends' reactions.

"Cedric is a good friend," Remus smiled. "I remember teaching him Defense last year. He's a really good role model, Harry, and I know he'll help you."

"And don't worry about Ron," Sirius said, looking like he'd like to do nothing better than give the redhead a piece of his mind. "He'll come around. Hermione's smart, she'll set him straight."

"And I'm sure Ginny will pound it into him, too," Remus said, trying to make Harry smile. "Molly Weasley tells me that one has a temper."

"Why do you think Ginny will believe me?" asked Harry quietly.

"Cub," Remus said, "most people are able to look at your face and surmise that you don't want this. And after what Ginny went through, I think she really has a grasp on who's telling the truth and who's not. And she trusts you, Harry, I know it by the way she always looks at you."

"Ron's stubborn," Sirius added. "Sometimes he only sees what he wants to see. And I'm sure it's the same for Cedric's mates. From their point of view, their mate just became champion, and it seems to them that you took away his chance to shine."

"But I didn't mean to!" Harry cried desperately.

"I know you didn't, pup. None of us know how this happened. Remus and I both believe you, that you didn't put your own name in. If the Triwizard Tournament had taken place while us Marauders were in school, we probably would have been truly excited if our names had come out of the Goblet, not horrified like you are. So we know you're definitely telling the truth." He held out his arms for Harry, who burrowed into them. Remus began stroking his hair, a gesture Harry found so comforting whenever he did it.

"I'm not ready for this," Harry muttered quietly. "And Mad-Eye Moody thinks ..."

"We have an idea what Mad-Eye thinks, Harry," Remus said. "He's a very paranoid man."

"But what if it's true?" Harry said, extremely worried. "I don't want Cedric or Fleur or Viktor or you or any of my other friends or teachers getting hurt because of me. If Voldemort wants me, he can come and get me, but can't he leave everyone else alone?"

"Listen, Harry," Sirius said, lifting the boy's chin so he could look into his terrified eyes. "If we can help it, Voldemort's not going to come anywhere near you. So you won't have to worry about him touching anybody. You know that both of us would gladly do anything to protect you, no matter what it takes."

"But I don't want anyone else sacrificing themselves for me!" Harry cried, tears springing to his eyes. "I don't want to lose you!"

Sirius and Remus held him tight. "We know you don't, kiddo," Sirius whispered. "But you've got to know that Remus and I will do everything we can to protect you. We want you to know that if ever anything does happen to us, it won't be your fault, it'll be Voldemort's or his Death Eaters'. And as for what Alastor Moody says, you must take it with a grain of salt. That doesn't mean we won't keep an eye on everyone and try and find out why your name came out of the Goblet tonight, but you also must know that Moody was an Auror and in the war for years, and he's a man who thinks someone who shakes his hand is probably out to kill him." He ruffled Harry's hair again, trying to make the boy chuckle or smile even a little.

"Yeah, it said that in the Prophet last month." Harry's voice was muffled in Sirius's arms. "It said Moody's "unable to differentiate between a handshake and attempted murder.""

"Yeah, I read that article," Remus said, squeezing the boy's hand.

The three of them sat on the couch in silence for a while, Harry continuing to burrow into Sirius's arms and Remus continuing to stroke his hair. "Siri? Remy?" Harry said finally, tiredness catching up with him.

"Yes, Harry?"

"I don't want to go back to the dorm," Harry admitted.

"Pup, you'll have to go back there eventually," Sirius told him softly. "But listen, you don't have to go back there tonight if you don't want to. You can stay here, and Remus and I can sleep in here too."

Harry looked shocked. "But I don't want to keep you away from home," he protested.

"Oh, cub, you're not keeping us away from anything," Remus assured him. "We don't want to be anywhere else but with you."

Harry was overwhelmed. Even after all this time, it was incredible to know that he had two people in his life who cared about him so much. He really didn't feel like going back to his dorm and dealing with the praise from Fred, George, and Lee for getting past the age line when they had not; he didn't want to deal with Ron's furious glares or Hermione's telling Ron to grow up. He desperately wanted to stay in a place where he was safe and comforted, and his guardians had offered him a way out. Slowly, the boy nodded his head, and the two men smiled lovingly at him.

The three talked for a while longer, Harry telling them about the rest of what was going on at school. They also talked about Karkaroff, wondering whether he was still a follower of Voldemort and whether he had anything to do with the events this evening. His eyes started closing during the conversation, though, so Sirius and Remus decided they should all go to bed. All the three had to do was think of a place to sleep, and two beds showed up.

"Why only two?" Harry asked curiously. "Don't both of you need a bed to sleep in, as well as me?"

"Ah," said Sirius, grinning mischievously. "No, not exactly. See, I'll show you. Good night, kiddo." He gave Harry a hug, which the boy returned, confused at what Sirius was about to do. Once the man let go, he turned into the big, shaggy black dog, and curled up at the end of Harry's bed.

The boy couldn't help but laugh as he stroked Sirius's fur. Remus grinned as well. "Should've known that was Padfoot's trick," he said fondly. He patted Sirius on the head and said, "Be a good boy tonight, okay? I'm not taking you out if you need to go to the toilet."

Sirius growled and barked, as if offended by Remus's statement. The werewolf laughed and said, "Only joking, boy."

"Woof," Sirius said again.

"Good night, cub. Rest well," Remus told Harry gently. "Don't worry about this, okay? If you believe everything will be all right, it will. You've got tons of people who are willing to help you, and even a big, barking, black dog."

Harry smiled; he was filled with never-ending gratitude. He couldn't find the words to express it, but Remus could see it by the look in his best friend's son's eyes. He gave him a kiss on the forehead and then climbed into his own bed.

Harry was so exhausted that he ended up falling asleep within five minutes. With Padfoot curled up at the end of his bed, and Remus in the bed next to it, he felt relaxed and warm, surrounded by their unconditional love. No matter what happened in this Triwizard Tournament, he knew he had them to rely on.