Title: Kiss.

Author: AspergianStoryteller.

Genre: Supernatural/General.

Summary: When a dementor tried to Kiss Harry Potter, it got more than it bargained for. And Harry did not walk away unaffected. Don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 23: Halloween Surprise.

And to makes things even better, in less than two weeks time, the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would arriving for the Twiwizard Tournament!

'She's probably part veela,' Vin said.

'Part?' Harry mused. 'That makes sense. But can someone be part human, part something else?'

'Oh yes,' the cleaner nodded. 'The parents have to be similar enough to breed, but it can certainly happen. The offspring can even be capable of reproducing as well.'

'Oh.' Well, you learnt something something new every day. 'What species can have kids with humans?' Harry wandered if anyone he knew was part-human. Some of them were odd enough.

Vin wore a thoughtful expression and waved his wand in circles. His patronus-frog followed it. 'That I know of, there's veela,'

Harry wandered if the Malfoys had any veela ancestors. It would explain their skin and hair colour. It would also make them real hypocrites.

'Goblins,'

Could Professor Flitwick be part-goblin? He was so short...

'Vampires,'

Perhaps those rumours about Snape weren't quite rumours...

'Giants, though I don't know how-'

'Don't go there!'

Vin and Harry grimaced.

'Yeah. Okay, there's hags, werewolves,'

Harry had a sudden vision of Remus Lupin running after little toddlers with tails, chasing cats and getting mud everywhere.

'I've rumours about merpeople,' Vin continued. '... and I can't think of any more right now.'

He flicked his wand up, making his frog leap up and land on Harry's head. 'There's quite a few part-human, part-muggle, part-Merlin-knows-what sort of people in the world, Harry. It's a strange place.'

'That sounds very wise,' Harry reached up and poked the silvery frog with his pointer finger. It went through the patronus's leg.

'Thank you.' Vin grinned dreamily. 'Man, I wish I was still in school this year.'

'You're not the only one,' said Harry, remembering Bill Weasley. 'Would you enter for the Tournament?'

'Maybe,' Vin looked thoughtful again. 'I'd be very tempted to. Back when I was in school, I probably would have put my name in.' He sat up straight on his cushion. 'But now I'm a bit older and wiser,'

Harry raised his eyebrow at the man who couldn't be thirty yet.

'Hey!'

Harry added a smile.

Vin snorted. 'I'm an adult now, and I've learnt a lot since I left school. This tournament is serious business. Even if it's got all these safety measures now, and an age limit, I wouldn't enter my name unless I was prepared to risk my life.'

Harry frowned. 'Is it really that dangerous?'

The cleaner nodded. His patronus was now jumping across the cushions as though they were lily pads.

'From what I've heard and read, and because they've gone so far as to put an age line in, it must be.'

As dangerous as the things that had happened at Hogwarts the past few years?

Vin's tone changed and he grinned. 'But it'll be fun to watch! And it's not dangerous to dream.'

'Yeah,' Harry returned the cheer. 'My friend and I were talking about it the other night. We reckon the Tournament can't be as bad as the stuff that's happened at school already. Unless maybe a task takes place in the Forbidden Forest.' Or in the Chamber of Secrets with a live basilisk. Or a fight with dementors, or Voldemort.

'I don't know that Sirius Black would show up to duel the champions,' Vin wondered. 'But maybe they'll have to fight off dementors. If that was the case, you might come out on top. How about that monster that was attacking kids a couple of years ago? There were loads of rumours about that.'

Harry blinked. Just how much of second year was public knowledge? 'The monster attacking students was a basilisk living under the school,' he said. 'It was good luck that no one died. It's dead now.'

The cleaner's eyebrows both shot up and his mouth dropped open. 'A-a basilisk? Seriously?'

Harry nodded. 'Everyone thought it was just a myth, but it had been asleep and hiding for centuries.'

'Whoa.' The silver frog flickered. Vin took a breath and focused his happy thoughts again.

'That's incredible,' he breathed. 'I can't believe no one was killed. How come the school didn't closed down with a bloody basilisk slithering around?'

'We nearly got closed,' Harry said. 'But no one knew everything until the end, and it turned out okay.' Except for Lockhart losing his memory.

Before they could go further, though, Twelve o Clock arrived and Harry had to return to school.

XXX xxx XXX

It had been a long day, or felt like it at least. Harry, Ron and Hermione had eaten lunch at Hagrid's house (though not much after Hermione found a talon in hers), many students had been entering their names in the Goblet of Fire (the twins were now beardless again), and the whole castle had been swept up in a flurry of last minute preparations for the night.

Before joining his friends at Gryffindor table, Harry paused at the Great Hall entrance and took two white candles from his robe pocket. He levitated them up into the mass of floating black candles, pumpkins and live bats. There were only a few other non-black candles already up there.

The feast wasn't over soon enough. For once, students were very eager for it to end quickly.

The last of desert vanished from the golden tableware and the Great Hall filled with excitement and tension. Madam Maxime and Professor Karkaroff were as tense as every student and teacher, quite different in comparison to Bagman's excitement, or Mr. Crouch's almost bored-looking expression.

Professor Dumbledore gave instructions for the soon-to-be-champions to move into a small room behind the teacher's table while they all waited for the Goblet of Fire to finish choosing.

At last, he flourished his wand and put out every candle in hall, except for those within the giant, floating pumpkins. An eerie, orange semi-darkness settled in, disturbed only by the bright blue flames of the Goblet, which was almost painful to look at.

'Any second...'

And suddenly, the flames sparked and turned red.

Silence was broken by the whole room gasping.

A tongue of flame shot out into the air, relinquishing a scrap of burnt parchment. It fluttered down, and Dumbledore caught it in his hand. He held it close to the once again blue/white fire to read.

Loud and clear, he read, "The champion of Durmstrang is Victor Krum!"

Cheers and applause arose as the first champion left his place at the Slytherin table to slouch up towards the door to the next room.

'Bravo!'

'Go Krum!'

'I knew it!'

The noise soon died down as the Goblet turned red again and spat out another name.

'Representing Beauxbatons in the Tournament in Fleur Delacour!'

'It's her!' Harry pointed out to Ron as the girl who might be part-veela gracefully got up and swept into the chamber after Krum.

Hermione noted to her friends how disappointed the Beauxbatons students who hadn't been selected looked, which was somewhat of an understatement, as a couple of girls burst into tears.

When Fleur had disappeared, the silence in the hall was so intense and full of excitement, you could almost taste it. The last champion, the Hogwarts champion, was about to be revealed.

'And the Hogwarts champion, is Cedric Diggory!'

A storm of cheer and clapping filled the hall, loudest at the next table. Ron protested loudly, but only Harry was close enough to hear him. Every Hufflepuff jumped to their feet, screaming in delight as Cedric made his way up the hall, grinning. The applause lasted the longest it had all night.

When Dumbledore was at last able to be heard again, he called out happily, 'Excellent! Now that our three champions have been chosen-'

He cut himself off suddenly, and it was very obvious why: the Goblet of Fire had just turned red again. Sparks flew, and for a fourth time, an tongue of flame came out to reveal the name of a champion.

Dumbledore seized the parchment, read it, and was quiet for a long moment.

'Harry Potter.'

XXX xxx XXX

Harry sat in shock, quite aware that all eyes were on him. What the hell was going on? He had to be dreaming. He must have misheard.

No applause came, just a low buzz, like angry insects. Students were standing up to see him better. The teachers were whispering furiously to each other.

Harry turned to his friends, whose faces- along with the rest of their tables'- were shocked and open mouthed.

'I- I didn't put my name in,' he said. 'I didn't. You know that.'

They stared back with same blank expression as him.

Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table and called to Harry.

'Harry Potter! Up here please!'

Hermione whispered at him to go, and gently pushed Harry.

He got up, tripping briefly, and walked up between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. It felt like forever under the spotlight of hundreds of eyes. The buzzing increased. At last he reached the end, and was ushered past the teachers' astonished faces.

The smaller room beyond the Great Hall had walls lined with painting of people and was warmed by a handsome, lit fireplace. The other champions were near the fire: Krum leaning against the edge, brooding quietly. Cedric standing, hands behind his back and starring in flames. Fleur doing the same, and she turned when Harry walked in, tossing her hair.

'What is it?' she asked. 'Do zey want us to come back?'

She thought he was there to give a message. Harry didn't know what to say. How could he explain what had just happened? He just shrugged and looked at the older students- for they were definitely older than him, he noticed. Each of them was at least a head taller than him.

Urgent voices and scurrying feet heralded the arrival of adults into the chamber. The headmasters and mistress, Ludo Bagman, Mr. Crouch and Professors Moody, Snape and McGonagall entered and shut the door behind them, cutting off the buzzing of students.

Bagman took Harry's arm and brought him closer to the other champions.

'Absolutely extraordinary,' he murmured. 'Gentlemen and lady, unexpected as it is, may I introduce the fourth Twiwizard champion?'

Krum straightened up and frowned as he observed Harry closely. Cedric blinked in confusion. Fleur smiled, however, and tossed her hair.

'Vairy funny, Meester Bagman,' she said. 'Good joke.'

'No joke I'm afraid,' said Bagman, looking as bewildered as anyone. 'Harry's name was just released form the Goblet of Fire!'

'Impossible,' Fleur frowned. ''E is too young to compete. Zair must be a mistake.' She looked at Bagman in contempt.

'I know it seems like that,' Bagman rubbed his chin and smiled down at Harry. 'But then again, the age limit was only imposed as a safety measure. His name still came out. I don't think you can duck out now, Harry will just have try his best-'

The other adults whom had been letting Bagman address the champions up until now interrupted.

'What is ze meaning of zis?' Madam Maxime boomed imperiously.

'I'd like to know too, Dumbledore,' Karkaroff put in. He wore a smile but his eyes were steely like blue marbles. 'I don't recall any rules that allow the host school to have two champions. Or am I mistaken?' He laughed nastily.

'It is impossible,' Madam Maxime repeated Fleur's earlier words and placed her opal-ornamented hand on the girl's shoulder. ''Ogwarts cannot have two champions. It is unfair.'

'You assured us your age line would keep any under-age students from entering,' Karkaroff said. 'Had we realised this was not true, we would have brought more students, of course.'

'Don't you worry, Karkaroff,' Snape murmured, voice and eyes bright with malice. 'Potter's determination to break the rules is beyond the headmaster's control. He's been crossing lines since he first set foot in this castle-'

'Thank you, Severus,' Dumbledore cut him off firmly, and Snape went quiet, retreating into his black curtain of hair and peering out with malevolent eyes.

Professor Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry, who tired to read the expression behind his headmaster's half-moon glasses.

'Did you put your name in the Goblet, Harry?'

Harry shook his head.

'No sir.' The close scrutiny of everybody in the room weighed down on him. Snape snorted in disbelief.

'Did you ask an older student to put your name in for you?'

'No.'

The adults broke into argument. Madam Maxime, Karkaroff and Snape were disbelieving of Harry. McGonagall and Dumbledore were on his side.

'Mr. Crouch, Mr. Bagman,' said Karkaroff. 'This is most irregular. Being the most objective judges, do you not agree?'

Bagman wiped his face and looked nervously at Mr. Crouch. The older judge, looking even older, and almost skeletal in the shadows where he stood, spoke up in his usual curt voice.

'The rules are absolute. Those whose names come out of the Goblet must compete. It is a magically binding contract.'

'Well, there you go,' Bagman beamed as though a simple argument had been closed. 'Barty could recite the rules in his sleep.'

'I insist on a resubmission,' Karkaroff demanded. He had on an ugly expression now. 'We must set up the Goblet again add more names until each school has two champions.'

'But Karkaroff,' Bagman protested, 'The Goblet of Fire's just gone out! It won't re-ignite until the next Tournament starts-'

'Then Durmstrang will certainly not be competing!' Karkaroff exploded. 'After all our meetings and negotiations, I hardly expected something like this to happen! I'm considering leaving now!'

'Yeah right, Karkaroff,' Moody growled from near the door. 'You can't leave your champion now, he's got to compete. They've all got to. Magically binding contract. Convenient, eh?'

'I don't see how this is convenient, Moody,' said Karkaroff. He tried to sound disdainful, but his fisted hands gave him away.

'You don't?' Moody spoke quietly. 'It's very simple, really. Someone put Potter's name in, knowing he'd be forced to compete should it come out.'

'Someone wished to give 'Ogwarts more chance to win!' said Madam Maxime.

'I agree,' said Karkaroff. 'I intend to complain to your Ministry, and to International Confederation of Wizards-'

'If anyone has a reason to complain, Potter does,' Moody growled, 'but I don't hear a word from him, funnily.'

'Why would he complain?' Fleur burst out. 'What an opportunity! A chance to compete for 'es school! We have all hoped for it ourselves! Ze honour and ze prize money! It is a chance many would die for!'

'Perhaps someone's hoping Potter will die for it.'

Following that, the rest of the discussion bore a darker tone. Moody's argument that only an exceptionally powerful witch or wizard was capable of tricking the Goblet into believing there were four schools rather than three, that Harry was likely added under a fourth category, and that whoever was responsible probably had something nasty and well planed in mind was a strong one. Karkaroff's counter that Moody was ridiculously paranoid in his old age failed to cause much sway in most of the adults. The former auror's comments at the Durmstrang headmaster, implying that he might remember how a Dark wizard thought were intriguing.

In the end, Harry was stuck competing with the other champions and they were told a little about the first task. It wasn't reassuring.

The foreign heads and their students departed. The Bulgarians left in silence, and the French exited speaking rapidly, but Harry couldn't understand it or tell what they thought of Moody's chilling theory.

Bagman and Mr. Crouch left too, and the Hogwarts teachers lingered to speak with Dumbledore, who sent Harry and Cedric back to their dormitories. As they walked together, Cedric smiled slightly and said,

'Looks like we're playing against each other again. Just like quidditch. I wasn't expecting that. Glad there aren't any dementors here to interrupt the match this time.' It suddenly occurred to Cedric that they hadn't been expecting the dementors to invade either. And look what had happened then!

'So, how did you get your name in?' How could he have indeed?

Harry starred up at him. The Hufflepuff was more than a foot taller than him, they both noticed.

'I didn't. I was telling the truth in there. I didn't put my name in.'

'Ah, okay.' The idea that someone might be after Harry's life was a bit far-fetched. 'Well, see you then.' Harry got into a trouble a lot, but there couldn't be anything so sinister involved, right? Unbidden, the memory of cold rain and fog rose in his mind. Golden snitch grasped in his hand, Cedric slowed his broomstick. His arm was raised in triumph. Then cheers turned to screams. Looking up, he saw a hundred dark figures flooding the air above the pitch. A chill filled Cedric's body. He remembered horrible things. And there was Harry! There was the third year Gryffindor seeker, just visible in his crimson robes, crowded by the dementors more than a hundred feet in the air.

He watched, horrified, as they pressed closely around the boy. Rumour had it he was more sensitive than most to them. Oh Merlin, what if they Kissed him?

A bright, silver light burst out and up, sending the dementors fleeing. And from their midst, Harry fell.

'Good night.'

XXX xxx XXX

Having at last escaped the party, and after a very disheartening conversation with Ron, Harry slowly fell asleep. It was difficult to do so, when he was so confused and frustrated and miserable.

What the hell had happened? Just that morning he had been so excited about the Tournament and couldn't wait to find who the champions were. Now, in the space of a few hours, he was a champion himself, being forced to compete in a very dangerous competition with students much more experienced than himself, there was probably someone trying to kill him, and only a handful of people believed that he hadn't put his name in. Damn!

He drifted into a disturbed sleep. Every Halloween night, he dreamed of the attack that left him an orphan, and of his parents. They never spoke to him, and their faces hadn't been clear until he saw them in the Mirror of Erised, but he knew it was them.

This time, his dad was in his stag form. He rode on Prongs's back through the Forbidden Forest. His mum sat behind him.

They rode in peaceful silence, not something you'd find easily in Forest in real life. Harry didn't need to tell his parents how he felt - they already knew, and were prepared to comfort him for as long he slept.

After a while, Prongs leapt into the air and stayed there. Harry laughed thinking of how he reminded him of Santa's reindeer. Prongs snorted humorously and Lily's body shook with laughter behind him.

Harry wished his parents could stay longer. The three of them were flying higher and higher together, and Harry searched for the flying feeling inside him so they could go even higher. He felt himself getting lighter. His parents' forms felt more real. He could almost perceive them completely.

'No Harry,' Lily whispered in his mind. 'Not yet, love.' Her voice was full of longing.

Something warm and persistent gently pushed him down. Arms pulled him close and held him there. It wasn't til hours later that Harry faded out of the dream.

Had anybody been close enough, that is, right within the little cocoon his curtains made, they would have noticed that Harry's breath and dwindled down and shallowed as he slept, almost to a stop. They might have noticed his pulse slowing and weakening. But no one, save for Harry himself was in there on Halloween night. If Lily and James hadn't stopped him, Harry might have just drifted away to join them, and the living wouldn't have known until they failed to revive him in the morning, when it was too late.

Lily and James longed to be reunited fully with the son they missed, but they wanted him to live first.

XXX xxx XXX

Goodness, we're getting reacquainted with some cannon events now. I have some nice fannon things lined up too, and I hope do a good job on keeping everything together. Let me know if there's things I can improve.

If any of my readers are in Christchurch, good luck to you, and I hope reading will bring you cheer.