A.N.- Harry's brother will not be in the Triwizard Tournament because Voldemort knows who had really defeated him. I would say its pretty clear that he's the only one save Harry who knew what really happened. Also please read and review my other fics such as Unspeakable Potter and Invisible Thread, I need helpful reviews/criticisms. An "awesome chapter, update again" is nice but it doesn't really help me to become a better writer. Muchas Gracias!
P.S.- I do not own Harry Potter or its characters save my OC's, and I stressed the fact again that I hate pussy canon Harry. (Admit it, we all dreamed of being super heroes with great awesome powers and taking on all the baddies alone at one point of our lives. We don't want to be ordinary. The extraordinary fascinates us.)
October is here, time to prepare for trick-or-treating...how I miss it, to be so young. Now that I am at College, alas I have to do my own LAUNDRY! Anyways my little bro, who recently turned eleven, already planned to buy or make(with my mom's help of course) an Adam Jensen costume. Yep, he saw me playing Deus Ex: HR before I left for college, a good game to pass the time. It was hilarious, he was all excited when I went and wiped the floor with a few armed guards using only stealth takedowns… "I want to be a someone like that who actually kicks butt for Halloween!" ! I told him to get a fake beard, shades and develop a broodier attitude and say, "I never asked for this" a lot XD.
He liked going as Harry Potter since I can remember though there were other costumes he'd dress up as but it became a whole different story once I took him to see The Avengers! I still remember the day when he was almost done finishing Deathly Hallows and I was doing homework and I heard a loud "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He later came into my room and told me how stupid the final fight was and how traumatic the epilogue was for him.
Harry Potter had an Oedipus complex, c'mon deep down you all know it is true ;). And Albus Severus?! WTF?! Seriously? WTF?!
Can you even be stupider, Harry? He names his son after a man who abused him verbally for six years and derives pleasure from mind raping him in OOTP as well as an old man who manipulated his entire life and was essentially the reason for his unhappy and to an extent, abusive childhood.
I don't care if Snape contributed to the second war, there's no excuse being a total asshole to an eleven-year-old kid just because of some of the things his old man did. Harry would have never lashed back if Snape didn't provoke him on purpose everyday for six school years in a row. He's insecure and cowardly, only picking on someone smaller than him. I think the second AK destroyed whatever sanity/logic that was left in Harry Potter.
Fine, he's still a child when he first arrives at Hogwarts but still, SHOW SOME DAMN APTITUDE towards learning! He's NOT a retard, he had smart parents, James in Transfiguration and Lily in Charms and Potions. He doesn't have to be a child prodigy with an IQ over 200 and being able to cast a stunner in his first year but it's a little over the top the way they portrayed him in the book.
Alright, I get that he's a kid making his way into a completely unknown world, fine but that isn't an excuse by the time Voldemort rises up from a boiling pot. Again, despite lacking in experience, Harry could show some initiative, and broaden the number of spells he has in his arsenal. Some of you will say you can't do magic outside of school, wrong, maybe not at Private Drive, he could practice the wand movement and theory but in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, he could, as it is under the Fidelius and that there are adults in the house so the Ministry wouldn't even care. Instead he doesn't do crap the time he's there. Last but not least, after witnessing the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore and facing Death Eaters, a wake up call to start taking things seriously perhaps?
Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong? I'm at a good college now, but in High School I loaded up my schedule with AP classes in Sophomore, Junior and Senior year…no study halls, (I'll clarify if someone does ask or wonder. Yes, my dad is Asian, Cantonese but my mom who is American keeps him off my back though she has certain levels of standards too).
Enough about me, the main thing is that I took an initiative to wanting to become more knowledgeable while Harry just, well loafed around when he has the opportunity, potential and time to become better. That's why it remains a children's book; a fairytale.
Deus Ex Machina does NOT happen. I reiterate, DEUS EX MACHINA does NOT happen!
And I am fairly disappointed that readers could only see what Magical Britain was like, we get no info regarding the magical communities in other countries. Of course, it was through Harry's view and of course we know how narrow it is. Not trying to bash HP and J.K. Rowling but some of the things she write just isn't logical. It might be a magical world but that doesn't mean it is an excuse for illogical things to happen. Molly Weasley, a housewife by all senses was able to kill Bellatrix Lestrange, the most dangerous, right hand and badass witch at the time but is unable to deal with a BOGGART! WTF?! Rowling did open up another world filled with magic and it was brilliant, I give her that but she can't write romance, let's be 100% honest. However, I wish Rowling luck on her newest book.
P.P.S.- I have never read any Harry/Ginny fanficts because it's disgusting enough in canon already and I tore out and set the epilogue on fire. Harry Potter does not need a definite ending, the readers can imagine and filled it out themselves, whether in their minds or via fanfiction. And I know positively that I'm not the only one who went all Hulk at the epilogue. Not ALL of us are enamored by Ginny Weasley, please.
One last point, Dark Lords die with style, not by a pathetic Expelliarmus. That's just disrespecting to Mr. Riddle. Harry Potter actually TELLS him that the wand won't work and the Dark Retard ignores him. For a Dark Lord feared by the entire magical community, he is outsmarted by a boy who has not shown a single glimmer of intelligence, never mind four times younger and less experienced and knowledgeable. Check out Sauron. And if you want a real, brilliantly written battle, read The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
Without further ado, Chapter 22! Enjoy!
Chapter 22: Plot Uncovered
Harry was furious beyond doubt as he descended the steps, which led to the trophy room. The paintings of witches and wizards were whispering excitingly as he passed by. Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. Both looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Fleur was looking around when Harry walked in and her eyes widened as she saw him.
" 'Arry?" She asked with confusion, her mouth was agape when she saw the man she loved nod solemnly at her unspoken question.
"Congratulations…I was hoping we face each other again but I did not expect so soon." Krum shook his club teammate's hand. Harry was too angered to reply and instead nodded curtly and pulling out his wand began scanning the trophy room for an ideal position.
There was a sound of scurrying feet behind him, and Ludo Bagman entered the room looking very delighted. "Excellent…we have our three champions."
The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Dumbledore, followed by Barty Crouch Sr., Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, McGonagall and Snape.
"Any moment now…" Harry thought, his wand in his grip. As soon as 'Moody' came clunking in with his wooden leg, he was caught off guard and was hit with a jet of red light, so powerful it sent him flying towards the stone wall. All the people in the room were aghast as the Defense professor was unconscious before he'd even hit the ground.
Before anyone could say a word, Harry flick his wand up and thick strong ropes tightly bounded 'Moody.' Turning towards Dumbledore, who had an alarmed expression on his ancient face, Harry smirked.
"It seems that I have misjudged you Professor again… I thought of all people, you'd know immediately." The champion chaser said quietly.
Meeting Snape's black eyes, which revealed nothing, Harry simply mused, "Professor Snape I don't suppose…" And smiled when Snape took out a small crystal bottle which he threw to Harry, who caught it with ease.
Fleur's eyes widened as she saw the clear, colorless liquid in the small bottle in Harry's hand. Walking towards the bounded 'Moody', Harry knelt down, uncorked the bottle and roughly wrenching the imposter's mouth open, poured three drops of the clear liquid before corking it and throwing it back to Snape, who caught it and stowed it away in his robe pocket.
"Now lets see who you are…" Harry murmured, pressing the tip of his wand towards the imposter and with a flash of light, the imposter of Moody awoke.
Grabbing the scruff of the imposter's shirt Harry questioned roughly, "What is your name?"
"Barty Crouch Junior." The imposter replied with a scrunched up face as the Polyjuice Potion began to wear off, as useful the potion was for taking the identity of another person, it was damn painful and disgusting to drink.
"You were declared dead, how is it that you're alive? Who helped you?" Harry asked, masking his initial shock at the response.
"My MOTHER!" Crouch Junior howled as Moody's magical eye popped out from its socket and a real eye appeared in its place.
In a quieter voice, Crouch Junior gasped, "My mother pleaded with my father for us to switch places, my mother has always loved me, she took the Polyjuice Potion which contained my hairs till her death. They buried her right outside the Azkaban and a small, private funeral was arranged at home to cover the whole thing up."
Crouch Senior moved his hand to the handle of his wand when Harry turned around and in a speed that was deemed impossible, flicked his wand and a blinding white light flashed causing the Ministry official to be sent into a pile of carefully stack of trophies.
"Did you put my name in the Goblet of Fire?"
"Yes…" Crouch tried to fight the truth serum but failing.
"Why?" Harry asked, the feeling dread rising in his stomach.
Crouch leaned close and whispered in Harry's ear, "He knows, the Dark Lord knows."
"Potter, as much as I like seeing your amusing anger…perhaps it will be prudent if you would allow your Spanish inquisition to be delivered in a more private setting, away from certain eyes. Headmaster?" Snape said smoothly. Dumbledore, face pale as a sheet, nodded as he had a trembling Ludo Bagman deliver the instructions pertaining to the first task.
Fleur wanted to stay by Harry's side as she was pushed out of the trophy room by her Headmistress, she'd never seen Harry so angry before, it was almost alien, compared to his normal calm and smiling self. Inside the trophy room, only five occupants remained: Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, a knocked out Crouch Sr., Crouch Junior with no trace of Moody on him at all and Harry.
"Professor McGonagall, would you mind calling for Madam Bones? There's a piece of human waste on the loose." Harry said to his Transfiguration teacher.
"Of course, Mr. Potter…I'll go fetch Amelia." With that, McGonagall left in a hurried fashion.
Harry sat down, fiddling with his wand when he spoke with much annoyance in his voice, "Headmaster, you and Alastor Moody were friends for a long time, how did you not discover this?"
Meeting his student's accusing glare, Albus Dumbledore suddenly looked much older than his one hundred and fifty self as a frown appeared on his ancient face, "Contrary to belief, Mr. Potter I am in no means infallible…yes, Alastor has been a very old friend and I know you think it is absurd that an imposter would have fooled me but in the end we are all fallible…"
Harry certainly did not expect the Headmaster to admit his lack of foresight and he somewhat respected him for doing so but he still didn't like him.
Minutes later, Amelia Bones of the Department of the Magical Law Enforcement stride in along with McGonagall. Madam Bones blanched when she saw Crouch Junior and after hearing the story regarding to his 'resurrection', turned to Harry who was still angered and said. "How do you wish to proceed with this, Mr. Potter?"
"Extract everything useful from it and put it down." Harry replied as he looked coldly at the bound Death Eater.
"Harry, surely…" Dumbledore started and was silenced by his student's interruption.
"No, the first war with Voldemort has made it abundantly clear. No more lives will be lost because you believe everyone can be saved. No…you don't pet a rabid dog, you put it down permanently. They don't get the luxury of regret." Harry said venomously and turned to Madam Bones.
"It shall be done, Mr. Potter." The Head of the Magical Law Enforcement nodded. It was a while before Harry returned to Ravenclaw Tower, he'd put on a fake smile and nodded as people congratulated and partied in the common room. However, despite his calm outlook inside he was a swirling hurricane of emotions, anger but most of all, dread.
He'd rejected offers of food and drinks as he walked into his dorm and fell onto his four-poster bed in a heap. He really wanted to kill Fate, if it were possible, why couldn't she just leave him alone.
"Hey…" He got up and smiled as Elena walked in.
"Hey…" He replied lamely, not knowing what to say really.
The two sat on Harry's bed in silence before Harry turned his head sideways and said with conviction in his voice, "I know you're wondering and the answer is no, I didn't put my name in that cup."
"I know you didn't and I believe you." Elena replied as she took Harry's hand in hers as her dark brown eyes met his green ones.
"I don't know what I'd do without you." He confessed softly.
"Probably go into a foul mood and get angry with everyone and everything." Elena replied as she laid her head on Harry's shoulder. She was elated that despite that Harry was with another girl, there will always be a reserved place in his heart, which belonged to her and her only.
"Very likely." He smiled.
"So did you…"
"Yeah, my suspicion was correct…the Moody that we've been seeing in Defense was an imposter," Elena's grip on his hand tightened momentarily as Harry continued.
"But he's on his way back to Azkaban now, at least one of my problem's solved."
"So what will you do now?" Elena asked after another lapse of comforting silence.
"Getting through this tournament in one piece, I suppose." Harry shrugged as he wrapped an arm around Elena's slender shoulder.
The next morning was filled with excitement as people talked nonstop about the chosen champions of each school and the tournament. Harry was relieved when The Daily Prophet did publish the news of Crouch Junior's apparent resurrection, which had dealt quite a blow to the Fudge administration and the professional Quidditch player was sure that the Minister's days are now limited.
"Tough luck mate." Roger said as he sat down in the seat in front of Harry.
"After six years, I'm not surprised anymore that everything bad happens around you, my friend." Elan said as he ran a hand over his blonde hair.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Harry sneered as he savagely stabbed his piece of bacon with a fork.
"You'll get through this, you always do." Cho quipped as she patted her friend comfortingly on the back, Harry merely grunted in response.
As soon as he finished his breakfast, he stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring Cedric's cheerful 'Good Morning', he had a letter to his agent that needed sending.
"Merlin, what's eating him?" The tall Hufflepuff asked his friends as he took Harry's seat at the Ravenclaw table, kissing Cho on the cheek.
"Just give him space, you know how he gets when he's in that mood." Elan advised as he tossed a copy of The Daily Prophet at Cedric, who caught it and his eyes widened at the heading.
Fleur was walking towards the Great Hall with her best friend Marie when she saw Harry walking out and to her surprise, he didn't acknowledge her as turned away and walked up the stairs, presumably to his dormitory.
"Did the two of you have a fight or something?" Marie asked her friend.
"No! Of course not!" Fleur was suddenly starting to feel worried. When she had mentioned it to Harry's friends, the girl, Elena just told her to give him some time and that he'll come around. Fleur struggled to contain her Veela side in check as it deemed the brown haired girl as serious competition despite the fact that Elena and Harry were just friends.
"It's always you isn't it…." Harry smiled as he stroked Rina's feathers.
"What can I say, Fate is obsessed about me…" He replied sarcastically through their minds as he took a small hand held mirror.
"Sirius? You there?" He said in the empty dorm. Seconds later, Sirius' face appeared in the mirror.
"Hey kiddo, what's the problem?" The Grim animagus asked.
"What's the problem? Have you read The Daily Prophet yet?"
"No, should I have. You know its full of rubbish anyways."
"Well, they seemed to have nailed something right today, long story short I was made Triwizard Champion of Hogwarts." Sirius' gobsmacked expression would be funny to laugh at but under the circumstances, Harry didn't find it especially humorous.
"You didn't-"
"Come on! Really?! You have to ask?! I didn't enter…what the Prophet didn't say was that Crouch Junior had also entered my name. And before you ask how I know, its because I literally forced Veriterserum down his throat till he sang like a bird." Harry said darkly.
"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist…what do you need from me?" Sirius held out his hands in front of him.
"I'm gonna need some books regarding the Triwizard Tournament, and offensive spells." Harry narrowed his eyes.
"I'm on it, er, I'll drop by during lunch. That good for you?"
"Yeah, its good. I have to get to class now, see you in a bit then." Harry closed the hand held mirror and pocketed in his inner robe pocket. Before he left his dorm, he turned to his companion, "I know it's a lot to ask from you but will you mind scouting the area surrounding the castle…"
Harry smiled when Rina affectionately nuzzled his cheek with her beak as if telling him not to worry.
Things seem to have gone downhill as the day proceeded, he literally had to result to threatening to throw curses to get some excited girls to leave him alone. He didn't want to sign anyone's bags nor was he in the mood. Roger, Cedric and Elan had to physically restrain him when situations became heated.
"Why the hell can't they leave me alone?" Harry said filled with anger as he and his friends decided to skip stones near the Black Lake so that Harry could cool off.
"Well, you're a celebrity like it or not…and with it, you get attention." Roger shrugged as he tucked his bang behind his ear.
"Yeah and the next person to ask me to sign their bag with lipstick will end up in the Hospital Wing." Harry retorted as he clutched his head.
"I'd never thought I see you like this Harry, threatening women, the end of the world is must be just around the corner." A new voice cut through the silence. Harry smiled when he saw his godfather and agent walking towards them.
"Sirius, thank Merlin." Harry hugged his godfather.
"Right, so here you are." Sirius said as he handed Harry a pouch. At Harry's look he added, "I charmed it to be bottomless, sorry I couldn't find a better way to pack all the books. You should have seen the look on the shopkeeper in Flourish & Blotts when I told him I wanted all the books with information regarding to the Triwizard Tournament." Sirius laughed.
"It's fine. I'll start reading as soon as classes are over." Harry smirked as he took the pouch.
"Alright, I have to go now. Say hello to Ms. Delacour for me." Sirius said as he glanced at his watch.
"I don't know, she seems to be avoiding me." Harry shrugged.
"Talk to her, with women nothing ever makes sense. Trust me, I know." Sirius replied with a smile as he ruffled his godson's hair.
"Fine, fine. Assuming I survive the day, don't go into a maniacal rampage and wipe out half of the school's female population first." Harry replied sarcastically and he watched as Sirius laughed loudly and walked off.
Fleur was feeling relieved that a day of classes were over, and was heading to the castle when she saw Harry standing with folded arms before her as she was leaving the Beauxbatons Carriage. She couldn't help but admired that he looked good no matter what he wore, currently he was wearing long black pants, a rolled up white shirt, a dark navy blue V-neck sleeveless sweater and his blue tie with bronze stripes.
"Can I talk to you alone, Fleur?" He asked. All the girls around her were whispering and glaring as Fleur followed Harry. They were walking on the grounds when Harry decided to break the awkward silence.
"I never placed my name in the Goblet, you saw me shoving Veriterserum down that pathetic scum's throat." Harry said as he stopped in his tracks and looked at Fleur.
"I know…and I'm so so sorry that I thought differently before. I just….I don't want to be known only as Harry Potter's girlfriend…" Fleur responded quietly, pleading silently that Harry would understand and that he still wanted her, the idea of Harry no longer wanting to be with her made her chest ache with intense pain.
"I see…" Harry murmured.
"So what happens to us now?" Fleur asked, keeping her eyes glued to the floor as the both of them walked to the Great Hall.
"I…participating this tournament wasn't in my plans when I envisioned having an easy year." Harry replied slowly. Fleur tried to stifle the tears from forming in her eyes but was failing, inwardly berating herself that she'd ruined everything. "Listen, hell…I'm not really good at this, never was, never will be. Things will never be easy in a relationship, especially one like ours. I want to be with you, I don't want anybody else-" Harry's eyes widened as Fleur launched herself into his arms and crushed his lips with hers. He kissed her back while wiping her tears with his thumbs. Soon the need for air caused the couple to withdraw their lips from one another's.
Fleur sighed with content as she wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and rested her head on his chest. It was as if a huge rock was instantly dropped from her back as relief and happiness filled her.
"Don't worry, you'll win for sure." Fleur heard Harry whisper softly into her ear as he buried his nose into her silver blonde hair, inhaling its nice fruity smell.
A playful smile appeared on her face, "Who said I was worrying, of course I'll win."
She squealed when Harry suddenly lifted her from the ground and began carrying her towards the castle with her over his shoulders. Harry smirked as he purposely ignored Fleur's unlady like demands to put her down and her fists hitting his back as he carried her up the stone steps while whistling a tune.
Though as they were nearing the Great Hall, Harry stopped in his tracks as he saw McGonagall glaring at him as she was approaching the Great Hall as well.
"Mr. Potter, you will cease carrying Ms. Delacour like a prehistoric Neanderthal this instant!" The transfiguration teacher told him off heatedly.
"A Neanderthal? Where?" Harry's eyebrows shot up his hairline as he pretended to not know what McGonagall was pointing out and was looking around in search of said Neanderthal.
"Put me down now!" Fleur ordered her boyfriend as her face went pink with embarrassment.
"Fine, you're such a spoilsport." Harry said in a fake sad tone and with much reluctance placed Fleur back onto her feet and sent a pout at her.
"I expected better from you, what would the younger students think if they'd seen you like this." McGonagall gave her famous 'hairdryer' treatment at Harry who didn't seem to be fazed at all whereas many students and even grownups would have shirked with fear.
"Honestly professor, I really don't give a damn about what people thinks about me and if it had been the younger years who saw me first, they would have taken it as a lesson on giving your girlfriend a good time." Harry explained as he took Fleur's hand into his and gave it a squeeze. While Fleur thought being carried by her boyfriend in a public place was embarrassing, she'd also liked it as she didn't expect it as she squeezed Harry's hand back with equal affection.
McGonagall almost smiled, almost, "Be that as it may, I will have to take ten points from Ravenclaw." She told him and walked into the Great Hall.
"This is your fault." Fleur huffed as they entered the Great Hall.
"Admit it Fleur, you loved it. Girls loved to be carried and be given the princess treatment." Harry smirked his famous smirk, which caused his girlfriend to blush.
"And how would you know this? Is there anyone else I should know about, Mr. Potter?" Fleur asked with mock seriousness.
"Err…does my baby sis count?" He answered cautiously then scowled playfully when Fleur burst into giggles.
"What?" He didn't understand what was so funny.
"Nothing! I was just wondering if you'll continue to call Rosaline that even when she is all grown up, though I know the answer." Fleur smiled, her blue eyes shining with mirth.
"She's my baby sister and always will be. Oh, and I haven't told you my grand plan after graduation to build a huge single tower castle to lock her in for eighty years." Harry told her seriously.
"Only you, Harry…" She pecked him on the cheek as they made it to the Ravenclaw table and sat down for dinner. His friends were all relieved that Harry had returned to his old self, an enraged Harry Potter was not a pretty sight after all.
"You two look awfully happy, anything I should know?" Marie stared accusingly at her best friend.
"Nothing happened Marie." Fleur stared back at her friend.
"Really, because I caught word that Mr. Potter appeared in front of the carriage and demanded you to talk to him. Was he rough with you?" Marie wiggled her eyebrows as she pointed her fork at her friend with a wide smirk on her face. Fleur's cheeks became pink as she was about to blow up at her friend for even making such a statement in public when she felt Harry gently caressing her thigh beneath her skirt.
"Would you like to find out for yourself Ms. Clément?" Harry said as he tilted his head. Marie's face went red as she shook her head frantically and apologized.
Fleur watched the whole exchange laughing and playfully punched her boyfriend's arm as Cho berated him for such an attitude at the dinner table.
"Stop scowling." Fleur told her boyfriend who was visibly irritated as they walked into a small classroom, most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them, however, had been placed, end to end, in the front of the blackboard, and covered with a long length of velvet.
Five chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, and talking to a witch wearing magenta robes that immediately brought a chill down Harry's spine. It was Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet and probably the most annoying reporter of date. He had a gut-sinking feeling as he saw Skeeter gazing at them as she'd just caught a particularly big fish. Bagman spotted the pair, got up quickly and bounded forwards.
"In you come, Harry, nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment." Bagman said with excitement. Were he in a better mood, Harry would have burst out laughing at the obvious innuendo but he wasn't so he merely made an annoyed face.
"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," said Bagman.
"The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing towards the hungry looking reporter, "She's doing a small piece on the Tournament for the Daily Prophet…"
"Maybe not that small, Ludo." Said Skeeter, her eyes on Harry then Fleur. Fleur noticed how the reporter's rigid curly hair contrasted oddly with her heavy jawed face. The jeweled spectacles didn't really help.
"I wonder if I could have a little word with Mr. Potter before we start?" She said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly at Harry. "The Quidditch champion, you know…to add a bit of color?"
"Out of the question, Ms. Skeeter…you want me to give an interview, call my agent if you don't want a lawsuit for harassment of a celebrity on your hands." Harry sneered, his patience was shorter these days as the list of things that made him annoyed grew longer.
"Now, now, Harry there is no need-" Skeeter began.
"Ah but there is, now can we get this over with, Mr. Bagman?" Harry answered coldly.
"Yes of course, right this way." Bagman stuttered as he led the couple over to the chairs, Harry spotted Krum's gaze, nodded in acknowledgement.
"I don't like that woman, are you sure that was a good idea? To deny her an interview?" Fleur asked with worry.
"Don't worry, my silver flower," Fleur blushed, "She really can't do any questioning without Sirius being present. It's a contract every newspaper company has signed if they want to question me. They violate that, well let's just say I have a team of lawyers ready at call." Harry finished as he rubbed Fleur's hand with his thumb, drawing a smile from her. Ever since Fleur had been hounded at the World Cup, Harry told Sirius to make a few calls to ensure that in the future the press won't become a problem in their private lives.
They waited for a while, hands entwined together with Fleur casually laying her head on her boyfriend's shoulder while Harry merely stared blankly ahead, that was, until Dumbledore's voice broke the silence.
"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" said the Headmaster of Hogwarts, taking his place at the judge's table, and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the Tournament." Harry remained emotionless as he saw an old wizard with large, pale eyes standing quietly by the window. Secretly, Harry thought Ollivander wasn't human but he'd keep that doubt to himself.
"Madamoiselle Delacour, could we have you forward first, please?" said Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room. Reluctantly, Fleur took her hand out of Harry's as she stood up and glided over to the wandmaker, handing over her wand.
"Hmmm…" Ollivander murmured, twirling the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
"Yes," He murmured, "Nine and a half inches…inflexible…rosewood…and containing…dear me…"
"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela," said Fleur with pride, "One of my grandmuzzer's."
"Yes," said Mr. Ollivander, "Yes, I've never used Veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands…however, to each his own, and if this suits you…"
Fleur narrowed her eyes dangerously, her wand was very precious to her and she was proud of it but said nothing as Ollivander ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps; then he caused a bunch of flowers to burst from the wand top .
"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," said Mr. Ollivander, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand.
"Mr. Krum, if you please." Viktor Krum got up and slouched, round-shouldered and duck-footed, towards Mr. Ollivander.
Harry figured that it was why Krum wasn't the highest paid teenage Quidditch player, that title of honor was reserved for him, looks were always important, especially in advertising. He could hardly contain his amusement as Sirius told him bouncily on what a huge success his new shampoo commercial was when it appeared on The Daily Prophet, as well as other newspapers in other countries. Harry focused back onto the Wand Weighing as Krum thrust his wand out and stood scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.
"Hmm," said Ollivander, "This is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I…however…" He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes.
"Yes…hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" He shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees…quite rigid…ten and a quarter inches…Avis!" The hornbeam wand let off a blast, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end, and through the open window into the water sunlight.
"Good," said Ollivander, handing Krum back his wand. "Last but not least…Mr. Potter."
Harry got to his feet and strode to Ollivander and his wand slid down to his hand from his wrist holster.
"Aaah, yes, how well do I remember that day, when you came into my shop with Lord Black" said Ollivander, his pale eyes gleaming as Harry handed over his wand.
Albus Dumbledore's blue eyes widened with recognition as he saw the uniquely designed wand in the wandmaker's hand.
"Impossible!" He thought as he processed the fact that Harry Potter was in possession of the most powerful wand in history, he had given it to Ollivander for safekeeping after he had won the duel against Gellert Grindelwald but found that the power of the wand was too much of a temptation for him as he found out that the wand had a side effect which manifested itself into a small tempting voice that seemed to be able to worm into the back of its wielder's head.
"Elder, from an extremely ancient elder tree…the core, the hair of a Thestral." Ollivander murmured as he further examined the wand.
Opening his eyes, the wandmaker looked at Harry, "I assume you have no problems with it yes?"
"Should I have?" Harry tilted his head in confusion, "Before it chose me, none of the previous wielders have had Peverell blood flowing through their veins. And I did not have to kill the previous holder to access its full power."
"A possibility yes and my theory as well…although it remains to be seen without further research. The Elder Wand might have simply bided its time, swapping its allegiances from wizard to wizard until one with the blood of its original master and it finally reconnects. Destiny seems to have brought the two of you together." Ollivander said softly with a hint of irony at the end of his sentence as he smiled. Harry smiled back, appreciating that they were conversing quietly so that none of their conversation's content was announced.
After making a fountain of wine shoot out of the powerful Wand of Destiny, Ollivander respectfully handed it back to its rightful owner and announced that it was in a superb condition. Harry was about to slip it back into his wrist holster when he felt a sudden burst of elation and warmth; puzzled he stared momentarily at his wand before sliding it back into his holster.
"Must be my imagination." He thought as he flashed Fleur a smile before sat back down next to her.
"Thank you all," said Dumbledore, standing up at the judge's table. "You may go back to your lessons now – or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end-"
Feeling a bit exhausted, Harry and Fleur got up to leave together, when the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.
"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions. What do you think, Rita?"
"Er- yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon the famed couple. "And then perhaps some individual shots."
The photographs took a long time. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow wherever she stood, and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame; eventually she had to sit while everyone stood around her. Harry and Fleur seemed to be catching most, if not all of the spotlight due to the large amount of exposure they had to the press or simply that they were the best looking people in the photograph. After taking separate shots of all the champions, they were free to go.
"Hi Harry!" Harry smiled as he looked up from his conversation with Fleur as he saw his young friend, Hermione standing behind him.
"Hello Hermione, it's good to see you again." He greeted as they shook hands, "This is my girlfriend, Fleur."
"Bonjour, gentil de vous rencontrer." The fourth year Gryffindor girl addressed the shocked silver haired girl.
"Il fait beau de vous rencontrer aussi, Mademoiselle Granger." Fleur responded with a smile.
"Congratulations to the both of you on becoming Champions." Hermione gushed with excitement and after discussing about how her summer went, asking an autograph from Harry in the process and the year so far, she walked off and rejoined the Gryffindor table.
It was early when Harry and Fleur finished their dinner so they decided to go stargazing in the Astronomy Tower. There wasn't much talking as Fleur snuggled close to Harry and the two simply enjoyed each other's warmth. Luckily for the both of them, the skies were clear making the stars visible and twinkly.
"Fleur?"
"Yes?"
"How would you like to soar through the clouds with me?" Fleur hesitated a bit but nodded as Harry summoned his broom to their location. Despite not playing for Hogwarts anymore, Harry decided to bring his broom with him in case he wanted to clear his head. In no time, the couple were flying slowly in the dark star filled skies. That was when Harry turned his head and saw that Fleur had her eyes closed as he felt her arms tightening around his middle as she leaned her head on his left shoulder.
"You okay Fleur?"
"Yes...listen, I have a confession to make... it must seem really stupid to you but I'm not too fond of brooms." Fleur murmured.
"It's not stupid, tell me about it." Harry answered as he swerved gently.
"It was my eighth birthday and my papa bought me a training broom, I remember loving it a lot. I took it for a test flight and I lost control and fell. Luckily my papa was there and stopped me from crashing to the ground…after that I have never flown on a broomstick again." Fleur said softly.
"It's alright Fleur…you won't fall." Harry said softly, causing Fleur to finally open her eyes, and saw him looking at her. "Because I'll be there to catch you…"
"You do know that sounds rather cheesy right?" Fleur smiled as she pecked her boyfriend on the cheek as she watched the black lake below them.
"And whose fault is that?" Harry replied playfully and laughed when Fleur swatted his arm.
"Bastard…" She mused, snuggling even closer to him, enjoying the warmth of her boyfriend's body.
"Your bastard, my dear…your bastard." Harry murmured as they zoomed up through the clouds. It was rather late when they finally descended back onto the Astronomy Tower.
"It's way pass curfew…I'm going to be in so much trouble." Fleur said in a worried tone.
"Hmmm…no you won't." Harry said in a rather elated manner. Fleur was going to chew her boyfriend out when she found that he'd placed his index finger to her lips.
"As much as I like hearing you complimenting me, trust me when I say you won't get in trouble…follow me." Without waiting for a retort, the seventh year Ravenclaw took Fleur's hand and walked down the tower.
They arrived on the seventh floor of the castle and despite Harry had them walk pass a certain corridor two times, she held her tongue. On the third lap, she was astounded to see that a door that she hadn't seen previously had appeared.
"May I present…the Room of Requirement." Harry waved his arms in a dramatic fashion as he turned the doorknob. Fleur was shocked when a large, luxurious room with a large chandelier, a warm homey fireplace and the largest and softest bed greeted her, there was also a bathroom in a separate stall with a Jacuzzi and a shower large enough for ten people.
"How?" She gasped.
"Magic!" Harry did a sideways victory hand sign in front of his eyes, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Fine, I discovered it in my first year after I was being hounded constantly by people due to my brother's fame." Harry confessed as he saw his girlfriend glaring at him, though he thought it was rather sexy when Fleur got angry he'll never admit it directly to her face save if he had a wish to be toasted.
"I wish Beauxbatons could have a room like this…it seems very useful." The beautiful silver haired girl sighed, the memories of other girls taunting, ostracizing and to an extent, bullying her surfaced briefly as she observed the room.
"You know…we do have the rest of the year to enjoy this." Harry said with a raised eyebrow as he placed his broom to a chair and crossed his arms, knowing that his girlfriend needed some cheering up.
"Hmm…"Fleur sauntered over to him till she was in front of him, "Why do I get the feeling that you've been planning this for a long time?" She smirked playfully.
"Who me?" Harry's eyes went wide, "I wasn't planning anything…save getting you into my bed which I successfully accomplished a couple of times." He smiled cheekily. Fleur swatted his arm before giving him a mock glare then a mischievous smile slowly made its way to her lips. Harry recognized the smile but was too late as Fleur pounced on him, resulting in the both of them falling onto the large, soft bed. "I love you Harry." Fleur whispered as she caressed Harry's face with her delicate fingers. "I love you too Fleur." He responded softly, he didn't know why but it brought euphoria to his chest whenever he said it. However, his thought process was immediately switched off as he felt Fleur's lips ferociously seeking his.
"I do not understand…" Albus Dumbledore rubbed his forehead as he resurfaced from his pensieve, a shining, and blue light illuminating his face. Nothing made sense as he just finished viewing Harry Potter's name flying out of the Goblet of Fire and the teen's violent outburst at Crouch Junior, who'd been impersonating his friend Alastor for some time now.
He had to admit the young man was ingenious in his calculations, as Alastor Moody was paranoid to the point where he would bring his wand along if he were in the toilet, it would have been very difficult to know that he was being impersonated. He was however frustrated that he couldn't hear a lot of the conversation between Crouch Junior and Harry Potter. Amelia Bones denied access to Crouch Junior as soon as he was being taken away by the Aurors. And he didn't dare use Legilimency on the boy, attacking the mind of a huge, public celebrity would obviously cause a tremendously massive uproar in the Magical Community that would undoubtedly end, unfavorably to him. Furthermore, Harry Potter was in possession of the Elder Wand which both surprised and worried him. The boy was just an unknown but him having the Elder Wand further complicated things. The Headmaster of Hogwarts was delighted to see that Harry's younger brother, Eric had improved drastically though he suspected that the friendship with one Ms. Granger had been the catalyst of the change.
In addition, he couldn't help but feel that he was missing something, a center piece that could string up the smaller pieces together. Sighing with frustration, the Headmaster of Hogwarts clutched the edges of the pensieve in front of him as he stared at the blue shimmering liquid-like surface. Something was very wrong.
In the his potion's lab in the dungeons, Severus Snape was stirring a cauldron when suddenly he fell to his knees, clutching his left forearm in pain as if had been branded by a hot iron.
Meanwhile, elsewhere
"So…Quirinus?" A cold, high pitched voice sliced through the silence from behind an armchair in an abandoned manor.
"It ha-ha-has worked, milord…th-th-the boy is now participating in the tournament…" Quirrell whimpered, kneeling and in his hands were a yellowing copy of The Daily Prophet.
"Good…good…" The voice from behind the armchair hissed softly with anticipation.
Quirrell was shaking now as he delivered his second piece of news, "Mi-milord? The-There has be-been a ne-new complication…" When there was no response, Quirrell continued in a stuttering, fearful tone, "Cr-Crouch Ju-Junior was discovered, mi-milord…"
The manor went deathly silent, then it was followed by a loud, bone-chilling scream.
The next morning, Harry woke up to one of the most heart-warming and amusing scenes he'd ever seen. Fleur was sleeping on top of him with a small smile on the edge of her cherry red lips.
"By Merlin, you're so beautiful." He thought as he gently stroked her pale cheeks.
"Mmmmhmm…" Fleur murmured softly with content.
"Morning, sleepyhead." Harry smirked, causing his girlfriend to snuggle even deeper into his chest.
"Good Morning yourself." Fleur responded with a smile as she looked up and stared deeply into his green eyes.
"Why do you are looking at me like you hadn't seen me in years?" She asked.
"And you're wondering why I'm turning into a cheesy sap?" Harry muttered and laughed when he received a light punch to the shoulder. Fleur couldn't help but gasp when she felt her boyfriend's arms move until they ended up on her lower back and his fingertips began caressing and exploring her bare skin. It was a wonderful sensation.
"Tempus Revelio." Harry lazily flicked his wand and a blue smoked seven o'clock appeared out of the tip.
Being in bed with Fleur really made Harry want to skip every single class he had for the day, he saw his girlfriend's dissatisfied look and knew she thought the same.
"I hate this…" Fleur whispered to his chest as Harry stroked her silver blonde hair.
"As do I…I assume you want to use the shower first?" Harry asked and was responded with a large smile from Fleur. He was rewarded for his generosity as Fleur slowly and agonizingly climbed off the bed, and walked to the bathroom, wearing nothing but a white lacy bra and panties that left little to imagination as she added an extra sway to her hips. If Harry were any weak-willed man, he'd have been reduced to a drooling idiot but he managed to just smile back as Fleur vindictively teased him.
After they had freshened up and donned on their hastily discarded clothes after casting a quick heating charm on them and making sure that there were no wrinkles on them.
"Where have you been last night?" Marie asked, straight to the point as she sat in the seat opposite of the couple. Before Fleur could open her mouth, Marie already deduced what had occurred and her eyes widened with shock, "You were with him all night weren't you!" She whispered as Fleur merely smiled guiltily at her best friend.
"Ahem-him has a name, just so you know." Harry coughed as he dug into his scramble eggs.
"Hush you, a good boyfriend is seen not heard." Marie pointed a finger at him with a pixyish smile as Fleur chortled quietly.
"So is this going to be a regular occurrence? Because I surely can't use the 'Fleur's in the shower' excuse to Madame Maxine the rest of the year." Marie quipped as she took a bite out of an apple. Before Fleur could respond, the rest of Harry's friends arrived at the table.
"Where'd you run off to yesterday? Elan believed you fell into the toilet and got sucked into the school pipe system." Roger sniggered as his Ravenclaw friend merely rolled his eyes at the former Slytherin chaser.
"Real mature, Malfoy…" Harry snorted.
"I'm just saying…you never know. Just look at Moody." Elan shrugged his shoulders while spreading jam and butter on his toast.
"Oh my, Harry you look quite nice in your photo shoots." Cho exclaimed as she showed the rest of her friends the pictures taken after the wand weighing. True to a certain extent, many witches were indeed giggling at the photographs and looking at him.
"Calm down Harry, you're going to pop a vessel." Cedric said as he patted his friend on the back.
"You should have seen him yesterday, Delacour…he was centimeters from cursing two poor girls when they asked for an autograph on their bags." Roger openly laughed at his scowling friend.
"Such brutality 'arry...'ow could you do zat to you fans." Fleur teased good-naturedly.
"I had a headache. Denial was the way to go." Harry responded simply and downed his pumpkin juice.
The date to the First Task was numbered and still the content of said task was still an unknown as Harry walked into History of Magic. So it was really out of the blue when he felt Rina's presence in his mind.
"Hard at work, I see." Rina teased.
"Yes, so get to point." Harry replied as he wrote in his notebook.
"Feeling a little grouchy today hmm? Alright, I might have an idea on what you will be facing in your upcoming stage performance." Rina told him and after a brief moment of silence, Harry accidentally knocked his ink pen to the ground as he saw glimpses of something large, reptilian, with leathery wings, tails with large sharp spikes, gleaming yellow eyes and a gaping mouth filled with steak like teeth a burst of scorching yellow orange flames brought him back to the classroom.
"Did you have to do it in such a theatrical fashion?" Harry cringed as he picked up his ink pen and rubbed his head.
"It's not my fault you're such a bad influence on me." Rina replied disdainfully.
"Great, I'm up against a dragon by myself…of course, I'm Harry Potter so everything in my life must be difficult." Harry thought sarcastically as he was unable to focus on his work after knowing what he was up against. The sinking feeling in his gut, almost nonexistent in the beginning of the year had now reappeared, stronger than it had been in previous years.
Please Read and REVIEW, if you don't…I will find you and force you. I'm just joshing, but please review rather than just click follow the story, your opinions matter to me!
It might be a while before I will update, let's just say I was a little too naive to believe that college will be a walk in the park XD.