Yo! Someone asked why Violet didn't save Gabrielle. I answered them directly, but I thought it was a valid enough question to address in case anyone else is interested.

CanonHarry, of course, was quite concerned about the child, and while I personally didn't mind him saving her as well when he saw no one was coming for her, I don't see Violet doing the same.

I am, for now, keeping her character at least somewhat similar to Harry, but unlike Harry, Violet's made it clear that she has absolutely no desire to compete in this tournament. She's doing literally the bare bones of what is expected of her and that's it. If the adults couldn't protect Gabrielle, then as horrible as that might be, it's their own fault for sticking the kid at the bottom of the lake. Why should she interfere in that? Let the 'all knowing' adults take care of it if they're so damn smart. Make sense?

Thank you to all readers so far!

His Dark Mark had stopped acting up, the occasional flickers of pain vanishing as if they hadn't been happening in the first place. Severus only grew more suspicious. The Dark Lord was going to return soon.

It was inevitable.

No mention was made of looking into who had entered Potter into the Triwizard Tournament, Moody was all but stalking him, Karkaroff wouldn't stop harassing him (which had very possibly resulted in Potter seeing his Dark Mark), Dumbledore wouldn't stop asking things of him-

Severus was feeling incredibly frustrated, and matters were made worse by the arrival of the final task in the tournament months later in May.

The Quidditch pitch had been turned into a massive maze of hedges (much to Potter and Diggory's dismay), and the first competitor to retrieve the Triwizard Cup at the centre of the maze would win the tournament. It sounded simple, sounded almost easy in comparison to the first two tasks.

Severus didn't like it.

But Potter was still making good progress in preparing for it, he decided. She was attempting to learn a number of spells of various origins that would have various results. She was creating a rather diverse arsenal for herself, one that was sure to be helpful to her during the task, and even beyond it…

On the day of the final task, the families of the four champions came to Hogwarts to see their children or siblings. Or rather, the families of three of the champions. Molly, Arthur, and Bill Weasley came to see Potter. Not her family. ...Why? Why hadn't her family come?

...Come to think of it, Potter never even received letters from her family while she was here at the castle, did she? Severus knew the girl was in contact with Black and Lupin, both of them sending letters as often as they could (though they couldn't come today for obvious reasons), but the two of them, along with select Weasleys were the only ones. Why was that?

No, perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised. Potter was staying with Petunia, wasn't she? Petunia, her husband, and her son. Severus remembered Tuney well. Had always hated her too. Was she jealous of her niece the same way she had been of her sister? Severus supposed he couldn't put it past her.

He should have focused on those thoughts more. He should have questioned them more. He should have analyzed them more. He should have paid more attention.

Severus sat in the stands with the other professors (who were to charge into action if necessary) as the third task began, once again feeling his heart pounding in his chest while he watched Potter, who had the highest score (though he doubted she truly cared), enter the maze first.

He knew of some of the creatures that had been placed within, and knowing Potter was walking in with nothing but the clothes on her back and the wand in her hand wasn't making him feel any better.

But this task, just like the previous one, had no way of showing what was happening, so once all four champions were finally inside the maze, the audience was left chatting as they waited for something to happen.

Severus didn't take his eyes off the maze though, watching for red sparks, regardless of who they came from. Part of him wished Potter would send them up just so her part in this damned tournament could finally come to an end. But he knew she wouldn't do that. Not unless she had no choice.

Potter may not be as stubborn as her mother, but there were times when she could certainly rival her. It was entirely possible that she'd decided to see this through to the end now that she had made it this far.

So he sat there, and he watched, and he waited, and he worried.

Maybe it was his pessimistic, cynical side speaking, but Severus knew something was going to happen. Something bad. And he was sure Potter was going to be involved in it somehow. She always was. Mostly unwillingly too…

Delacour was out of the tournament. Krum was too. That left only Diggory and Potter.

How far through the maze had they made it? How close were they to the Cup? It was a Portkey, Severus knew, made to bring the winner directly back to the maze's entrance. And that was where everyone continued to glance, the Hogwarts students all very excited. Whoever won now, it was a Hogwarts victory either way.

But no one appeared. The entrance remained empty.

What was taking those two so long? There were no red sparks appearing in the sky either. Had they run into something they couldn't beat? Had they been so injured they couldn't cast the spell? Had they died? There were so many things that could have happened in that maze, but with no way to see into it, all everyone could do was wait.

And then Severus clamped a hand over his left forearm, a startled sound of pain escaping him as his Dark Mark burned beyond anything he had felt for many, many years now.

He stood abruptly, descending the stands and moving into a shaded corner out of view where he could roll up his left sleeve. The Dark Mark's colour had darkened back into what it had once been so many years ago. Severus' eyes fell shut.

The Dark Lord had returned.

Severus stared at the mark for a long, silent moment, before he finally rolled his sleeve back down and began walking back to the stands, only to realize Moody was watching him closely, both of his eyes, fake and real, focused on him intently.

Severus paused when Moody began limping towards him, cursing under his breath, when his soulmark began to hurt too, signalling that Potter was in mortal peril. That was no surprise now that he knew the Dark Lord had returned.

Then heard the sudden outcry.

He and Moody both turned, and Severus' heart leapt into his throat when he saw the bodies. He watched Dumbledore rush over, but he himself remained frozen in place, unable to bring himself to move. His soulmark had been paining him, yes, but not to an extent where Potter should have been-

No, no, Potter was alive, he saw just a moment later, Dumbledore hauling her off of-oh. Potter was alive, but Diggory was not so fortunate.

"Severus, I need you here!" Dumbledore called out, and while there was no panic in his voice, there was no calm in it either.

It was only now that Severus moved. Approaching the scene, he kneeled before Diggory. He didn't need a spell to tell him the boy had passed on. He was already beginning to pale, his skin already beginning to cool, his eyes open wide and unseeing. And even as Severus examined him, he heard Potter speak, her voice hoarse, as if she had been screaming.

"He's back. Voldemort's back. He killed Cedric with-with the killing curse. Ced-Cedric wanted me to bring his body back."

"Severus?"

"He's gone." And if Potter was telling the truth about the killing curse, then there was no bringing him back either.

Diggory's father released a sound that could only be described as a wail, fully audible even over the roar of the crowd, many others crying out in fear and sadness. They had lost one of their own.

The scene became one of pure chaos.

The most important thing was to get Diggory's body somewhere safe, so that was what Severus ended up helping in, along with McGonagall and Dumbledore, the other staff members attempting to calm down the panicking audience.

In all the mess and the concern for Diggory, no one, not even Severus, noticed that Moody and Potter had slipped away. In fact, it was Poppy who asked about the girl some minutes later, after she had examined Diggory herself and come to the conclusion that he had indeed been hit with the killing curse.

Severus was the first to rush out of the hospital wing, McGonagall and Dumbledore following along before the Headmaster took the lead and brought them directly to Moody's office.

Potter was the first thing Severus saw when the door was blasted open. She'd pressed herself up against the wall, pale and trembling, green eyes wide with fear and locked on the man standing on the other side of the room.

Moody-no, not Moody. Barty Crouch Jr. That was an unexpected surprise, to say the least. The real Moody being locked up in a trunk was an even bigger one. And learning how Barty had escaped Azkaban was perhaps the biggest shock of them all.

But now Severus had his answer on how Potter had been entered into the Triwizard Tournament in the first place. It was Barty who had entered her on the Dark Lord's orders.

...How had Dumbledore not noticed that someone had been impersonating his closest friend for multiple months?

But no one got all the answers needed from Barty, because once Dumbledore took Potter away, Fudge-that fool, wasted little time in having Barty Kissed. All that did was ensure Barty could tell them nothing more about the Dark Lord or his plans.

And when Severus entered the Hospital Wing afterwards, he found Potter asleep, and it was only now that he was told what happened. The graveyard, Diggory's death, the resurrection, the duel.

"Severus, I'll need you to-"

He merely nodded. At this point in time, Severus truly did not know which side he wanted to be on. He didn't trust Dumbledore, but the Dark Lord had, at least all those years ago, gone insane. Was he still insane? Severus supposed he was about to find out.

Dumbledore patted his shoulder and walked out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Severus alone with the soundly sleeping Potter who was no doubt under the influence of a dreamless sleep potion-something he was glad for. This could very well be the last night of peaceful sleep she was going to get for a long while.

Severus cast one final look at the girl before he began making his way out of the castle, preparing himself to resume his duties as a spy…

That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!