The prank in this chapter was inspired by jodic. It isn't exactly what they suggested, but it was the beginning of the idea. Thanks for the idea, jodic.

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Harry strode away from his friends, trying to decide where he should look for Sirius. The last time he had seen his godfather, Sirius had been with the other judges near where the First Task had taken place, but that had been at least fifteen minutes ago. Would Sirius still be there?

"Congratulations, Potter!" An older Gryffindor student commented, as Harry walked passed him.

Harry wanted to ignore him, but he smiled politely. "Thank you."

"You were amazing!" A first year blurted out, before her face turned red.

"Thank you." Harry nodded.

"Well done, Potter!" The Head Girl told him. "You did us proud!"

Harry smiled politely. "Thank you."

"Good show, Potter!"

"Bravo, Harry!"

"Incredible job with that blasting curse! I didn't even know the curse could do that."

"Did it hurt landing on your head, Potter?"

"What was that shield you used for the fire?"

"I can't believe you did that! I think I would have just died in terror!"

Harry smiled politely as he returned each greeting, and tried not to grind his teeth in frustration. He wanted to talk to Sirius about having possibly heard the audio of his mother's death and all these students, some of whom he had never spoken to before in his life, were getting in the way.

Finally, Harry reached the tent that he and the other Champions had waited in before the challenge and soon after he was looking up at the empty judges' seats. Damn, where could Sirius be?

"Congratulations, Harry!"

Harry spun around looking for the speaker, before inwardly groaning when he saw Rita Skeeter. How had he not seen her as he had walked past her? She was wearing acid-green robes, for Merlin's sake.

"Merry meet, Miss Skeeter." Harry greeted her politely.

"So formal!" Skeeter complained. "There's no need for that, you know, Harry. We could be great friends."

Harry raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I hardly think that would appropriate, ma'am."

Skeeter waved his words away dismissively. "Do you have any comments about today's challenge? How did it feel facing all those terrible obstacles?"

"I'm afraid I am unwilling to comment at this time." Harry answered neutrally. "Though, if you wish you can always send a formal request for an interview with me to Lord Black."

Skeeter's forehead furrowed. "Come now, Harry, surely you have something to say. How do you feel about coming first? Proud? Excited? Surprised?"

Harry had had enough. "Merry part, Miss Skeeter." He told her politely, before turning on his heel and striding back towards the castle. Where could Sirius be?

It took Harry another ten minutes to discover that Sirius wasn't in the Great Hall, or his quarters. Which meant that he was either holed up somewhere private with the other judges, or he was visiting Remus.

But, despite the frustration of not being able to find Sirius, Harry felt calmer than he had at the beginning of his search. After all, as horrifying as it was to think that the Dementors' presence had possibly brought up his memory of his mother dying (and he was increasingly sure that it had), what difference did that make to his life? It was upsetting, definitely, but not something that required immediate attention.

None the less, Harry couldn't help but feel relieved when Remus turned out to be in his quarters.

"Harry?" Remus looked surprised. "I thought you would be with your friends."

"I need to speak to Sirius." Harry explained urgently. "It's important."

Remus stepped back and Harry let out a sigh of relief when he saw Sirius sitting on the couch.

"Sirius!"

Sirius stood up in concern. "What's the matter, pup?"

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" Harry exclaimed, walking across the room and allowing Sirius to wrap him in a hug. "I thought you might still be at the Obstacle Course, but you weren't and you weren't at the Great Hall either, or your quarters."

Sirius squeezed him tightly, before letting go and sitting back down. "Sorry about that. Remus and I were just talking about what a great job you did."

"I'll go shall I?" Remus asked Harry. "Leave you two to talk."

"It's alright, you can stay." Harry assured him, sitting on the couch next to Sirius.

"Alright." Remus shut the door to his quarters, before sitting down in one of the two armchairs.

"What's the matter?" Sirius asked again.

Harry looked down at his hands, unsure how to start. "You know how Dementors have an aura of terror?"

Sirius shuddered. "Do I ever!"

"Sorry," Harry grimaced. "I'd completely forgotten about your…history with them."

"It's fine." Sirius assured him. "What about the Dementors?"

"They made me hear voices," Harry started. "At first it was just one voice, a woman screaming, but then she started talking and there was another voice, a man."

"That's unusual," Remus commented. "But not completely unheard of. Some people find that Dementors force their worst memory to the front of their mind."

"I know," Harry agreed impatiently. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The woman was pleading, she kept saying, not Harry, not Harry…I…I think she was my mother. I think she was pleading with Voldemort not to kill me."

Sirius' expression was horrified and Remus didn't look much better. "Bloody hell!"

Harry clenched and unclenched his hands. "She said not Harry, and then Voldemort told her to stand aside, he called her a silly girl, but she told him to kill her instead." He could feel tears pricking at his eyes. "She told Voldemort to kill her instead of me, that's why she's dead. She's dead because of me!"

Sirius threw an arm over Harry's shoulders and pulled him closer, so that Harry was leaning against him. "That's some bloody terrible logic you've got there, Harry. Your mum's dead because You-Know-Who killed her and because she loved you more than anything. Neither of those are your fault."

"But he didn't want to kill her!" Harry protested. "He only killed her because she was protecting me."

"From which we learn two things," Sirius replied gently. "That You-Know-Who is a monster who wanted to kill a baby and that your mum loved you enough to be willing to die for you. Neither of those things say anything about you, other than that you are loved."

Harry had been holding himself stiffly but, he slumped against his godfather's side – tears running down his cheeks. "I feel horrible. She loved me that much, and I don't even remember her."

"That's alright." Sirius hugged him tightly.

"And completely understandable." Remus added gently. "You shouldn't feel bad about it. They must seem very abstract to you."

"Yes," Harry felt around in his pocket for a handkerchief and wiped at his eyes. "I remember that in first year, on the morning of Halloween, I tried to feel sad about the fact that they had been killed on that day, but I couldn't. I'm a horrible person!"

Sirius rubbed his hand across Harry's back comfortingly. "No, you're not. It's hard to be sad about the death of someone you don't even remember."

"But Mum died because of me!" Harry protested weakly. "And, if you think about it, my father probably died because of me too! What if the only reason Voldemort attacked us was because of me? Why else would he be willing to let Mum go? But why would Voldemort care about killing a baby? It makes no sense."

There was a long silence and, when Harry looked up, he saw Sirius and Remus exchanging meaningful glances.

"What?" Harry asked, sitting up and wiping at his face again. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Dumbledore has arranged for the Order of the Phoenix to guard something in the Department of Mysteries." Sirius started, almost questioningly. "He hasn't told us what it was, just that it's a weapon that You-Know-Who wants."

Harry didn't understand. "So?"

"The Hall of Prophecy." Remus said slowly, as though just coming to a realisation.

"Why would You-Know-Who kill a baby?" Sirius asked rhetorically. "There's only one reason I can think of – because he thought that baby was going to grow up to be dangerous."

Harry looked between the two men, his brain feeling sluggish. "But why would he…"

"What if there was a prophecy about you?" Sirius asked. "A prophecy that You-Know-Who didn't want to come true."

"But if You-Know-Who knows the prophecy, why would Dumbledore be trying to guard it?" Remus asked.

"I don't know." Sirius admitted, slumping back against the couch. "But a prophecy would explain why You-Know-Who is so focussed on killing Harry, and why Dumbledore was so intent on staying Harry's Magical Guardian."

"You think there's a prophecy about me?" Harry asked incredulously, his mind racing. What kind of prophecy would have made Voldemort want to kill him? What would it mean?

"Maybe." Remus said tentatively.

"Probably." Sirius said at the same time.

"But if there was a prophecy, wouldn't someone have told me about it?" Harry asked hopefully, he couldn't think of anything good coming from there being a prophecy about him.

Sirius and Remus shared another look.

"What?" Harry asked in frustration.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have." Sirius said darkly.

They were silent for a minute, and Harry took the time to try and think it through. If there was a prophecy, and he didn't want to think there was, would that explain why Dumbledore had left him with Dursleys? And why Dumbledore had invited him to his office for lunch in first year?

"We can't be sure though." Remus said eventually, but he didn't sound very convincing.

"Well, we'll just have to do some research." Sirius said emphatically.

"But how?" Harry asked, feeling helpless. This was the last thing he needed this year, wasn't the Triwizard tournament enough?

"There is no point in asking Dumbledore." Sirius growled. "He'll just give us half answers, or lie to our faces. We'll have to look in the Hall of Prophecies."

"How?" Harry asked. "We're all stuck at Hogwarts, and you said that Dumbledore has guards on it."

"I'm not stuck here." Sirius contradicted him. "And I just happen to be on guard duty next week. I'll sneak in and have a look."

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It was almost dinnertime when Harry left Remus' quarters and he found himself, for the second time that day, trying to figure out where he would find people.

Despite the fact that his mind was swirling, trying to process all the new information he had learned in the last few hours, he wanted to find his friends. He wanted to apologise for the way he had left them, especially the way he had ignored Daphne's attempt to comfort him. Not to mention that he had the left the Golden Egg with them and he really wanted to know what the clue for the next challenge.

As he had with Sirius, Harry decided to start by looking in the last place he had seen them and, as he strode out of the castle, he was pleased to see that were all still sitting under the big tree near the lake.

Theo noticed him approaching first, but before long they were all watching him with concerned expressions.

"You alright, Harry?" Neville asked, as Harry drew closer.

"Yes, thank you." Harry answered, stopping a few feet away from them. "I apologise for the way in which I left. It was rude of me."

"It was." Draco agreed, with mock severity. "But we forgive you."

"It was completely understandable." Neville told him sincerely. "Was Sirius able to help?"

Harry swallowed down a grimace as he sat down beside Daphne. "Sort of."

"At least your wrackspurts aren't blue anymore." Luna told him, staring at a spot just above Harry's head. "Now they look more…"

"Red?" Harry suggested, having become rather familiar with the meaning of wrackspurt colours.

"Yes." Luna nodded decisively, looking pleasantly surprised. "How did you know?"

"Practise." Harry told her with a smile.

"You should open your egg!" Draco demanded suddenly. "Do you have any idea how hard it has been not to open it while you were gone?"

Harry looked at the Golden Egg that was sitting on the ground, exactly where he had left it. "How do you know that it opens?"

"It has hinges." Neville answered bashfully. "Not that we, uh, looked at it closely or anything."

"Of course we did!" Draco contradicted him. "Why wouldn't we? And, Neville? No wonder Gryffindors never lie if they're all as terrible at it as you are."

Harry smiled in amusement as he leaned forward and picked up the Egg. "Are you ready?"

"Only for the last three hours." Draco drawled.

Harry rolled his eyes and pushed is fingers into the small seam in the egg to pull the lid open. The first thing Harry noticed was the ghastly screeching sound coming from it, the second thing he noticed was that the egg was hollow and empty.

The sound was like nothing Harry had ever heard in his life and, as he slammed the lid shut, he saw that everybody in the area had turned to stare at him.

"Merlin!" Draco shuddered. "That's awful!"

"What is it supposed to do?" Neville asked, pulling his hands away from his ears.

"Deafen him, but the sound of it." Theo joked. "And us along with him."

"It's supposed to be a clue for the Second Task." Harry explained, frowning down at the egg.

"Maybe you're going to be locked in room with that noise in it for a few hours." Theo suggested.

"Merlin, I hope not." Harry grimaced. "I think I'd go insane."

"Go insane?" Draco smirked. "You say that like you're not already there."

Harry rolled his eyes as he turned to Daphne. "What do you think?"

"What else did they tell you about the Second Task?" Daphne asked.

"It's in February." Harry remembered. "During the morning."

They stared at him, as though expecting more. "That's it?"

"Yes." Harry answered. "The egg is supposed to be the clue."

"They didn't say anything else?" Draco sounded sceptical.

Harry quickly ran through what Bagman had said in his head. "No, that's all Bagman said after the task."

"What about before the task?"

"He was awful!" Harry grimaced at the memory. "There we all were, scared out of our wits, and he was making jokes. He told us about today's task, and how it we would have to conquer three elements – air, stone, and fire."

"Pity he didn't mention the terror aspect." Neville grumbled. "That seemed to be the hardest bit for everyone, except for Visser that is."

Harry was still thinking through what Bagman had said. "He did say something about a later task! He said that water would come later."

"Water?" Daphne sounded mystified.

Harry looked down at the egg, but couldn't see any connection between the egg and water. Then again, he couldn't see any connection between the egg and the Obstacle Course either.

24-24-24

The Daily Prophet the next day was embarrassing as, once again, Skeeter all but ignored the other five Champions in lieu of Harry. Not to mention that the cover photo was of him demolishing the stone wall with one blasting curse. Though, admittedly, he would rather that photo than one of him falling on his head after leaping over the chasm.

Along with the Daily Prophet came multiple letters congratulating Harry on his performance. Most came from people he had never heard of, let alone met, but the letter from the Malfoys was very touching.

Once again, Harry spent the day trying to ignore the stares of the other students, only this time it seemed as though all his professors were staring at him too – or at the very least giving him searching looks. It was off putting, especially coming from Moody, but Harry did his best to ensure that he didn't let any of his discomfort show.

Thankfully, the stares lessened after the first day and the rest of the week was delightfully quiet.

He had Animagus practise with his friends and wandless practise on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, and his duelling practise with Sirius on Friday – they'd had to postpone it since the First Task had been on Tuesday. The duelling was fun. Harry was very encouraged to see that he had improved since their last session, and he took the opportunity to ask Sirius some questions about the Triwizard Tournament.

Sirius hadn't been able to say much, since he was under magical oath not share any information, but he had been able to explain to Harry why the clue was in the shape of an egg (apparently the original First Task had involved dragons). The only other piece of information that Harry gleaned from their conversation, was that Bagman hadn't been supposed to mention water. Which, while the information wasn't at all helpful in trying to solve the clue, did serve to deepen Harry's disdain for Ludo Bagman.

Saturday was amazing as Harry spent the afternoon being tutored by Viktor Krum. Harry hadn't even had to ask Viktor, the older boy had been the one to suggest it. Harry had no idea why Viktor seemed to have taken such a liking to him, he hoped it wasn't just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived and Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Black and Potter, but he definitely wasn't complaining about it.

Viktor was, by far, the best seeker Harry had ever seen and, while he wasn't as good of a teacher as Aiden Kiely (the wizard that Sirius had paid to tutor Harry the summer before his third year), his seeking style was definitely more up Harry's alley. Viktor's style was aggressive and intense, as opposed to Kiely's defensive and laid back style of seeking. Harry could see the benefits in both styles, but he had to admit that he found Viktor's one a lot more fun and exciting – not to mention that Viktor was the best seeker in the world.

Sunday was a quiet day and Harry enjoyed the fact that, aside from his Animagus practise with his friends, he had absolutely nothing he had to do. He spent most of the day with his friends and even managed to ask Daphne to take a walk around the grounds with him. Draco had frowned disapprovingly until Harry had assured him that they would stay within sight of the group at all times.

Dinner that night was definitely one of the highlights of Harry's week though as Draco and Luna pranked the entire school (along with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students). It felt weird to not have been involved, but it was hilarious to watch students try and communicate with each other while speaking different languages. Harry had heard of language potions, but had never used one since they only lasted five minutes and extended use could lead to severe side effects. He had no idea how Draco and Luna had managed to create so many different languages though.

"Good job." Harry attempted to tell Luna with a smile, but the sound came out guttural and weird.

Luna opened her mouth and seemed to reply, but the words were just as non-understandable as Harry was sure his had been.

"Bloody hell!" One of the Ravenclaw sixth years swore angrily in French, while their friend seemed to be trying to calm them down in German.

Harry looked around and was glad to see that most people seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had even stood up and had moved to find someone speaking the same language.

Luna interrupted Harry's observation, but elbowing him in the side and pointing up at the wall above the Head Table where words had suddenly appeared.

'Rumours of our graduation have been greatly exaggerated.

Good luck Diggory and Potter.

The Marauders' Apprentices'

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