I do not own…

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Wand Weighing and Vlads' Advice

The next day Harry woke up miserable and worried. Last night, after the celebration, he and Ron had a fight. Like everyone else Ron actually believed that he and Vanessa put his name in the Goblet of Fire and he was mad that Harry didn't tell him. When Harry woke up he was hoping to talk to Ron but he was already gone. So he got dressed and was about to head out of the Portrait when he ran into Hermione. She had got him a plate stack of toast for him to eat.

"I brought you this… Want to go for a walk?" She said

"Good idea." Harry said

They went downstairs, crossed the entrance hall quickly without looking in at the Great Hall, and were soon striding across the lawn towards the lake. While he was munching on his toast Harry told Hermione what happened after he and Vanessa had left the Gryffindor table. He was happy to hear that she believed him.

"Well, of course I knew you two hadn't entered yourselves." Hermione said "The look on your faces when Dumbledore read out your names! But the question is, who did put it in? Because Moody is right, Harry… I don't think any student could have done it…they'd never be able to fool the goblet, or get over Dumbledores'…well maybe…"

"Maybe who?" Harry asked

Hermione was unsure if she should asked this but she couldn't keep in.

"Harry, how well do you know Hunter?" She asked

"What? Why?" He asked

"Well…I've found out something…about him. About his parentage…" She said

'Should have known that Hermione would have figured that out.' Harry thought

"Hermione, I know who Hunters' dad is. Vanessa told me last summer. Don't worry, I'm okay with it." He said

"Why didn't you tell Ron or me?" She asked

"This is Hunters' secret to tell, not mine. And that's a huge secret. Something that will brand him as a dark wizard no matter what." He said "The only reason Vanessa told me was because Hunter believes I had the right to know. And I promised not to tell anyone."

Hermione nodded in understanding.

He asked her if she had seen Ron and she did as he was eating breakfast in the Great Hall. She told him that the only reason Ron thinks Harry did it was because he is jealous. He has a lot of brothers to compete at home and since Harry is famous, he gets a lot of attention. He's always shunted to the side whenever people see Harry and puts up with it, and he never mentions it. Hermione believes that being a Champion pushed Ron to his limit. Harry couldn't help but shook his head in annoyance. Afterwards, Hermione told him that he needs to write to Sirius and Vlad.

"Come off it." Harry said "If I tell Sirius about this he'll try and break out. And I'm pretty sure Vanessa already wrote to Vlad about this."

"He'd want you to tell him." Hemione said sternly. "He's going to find out anyway…"

"How?"

"Harry, this isn't going to be kept quiet." Hermione said "This tournament's famous, and you're famous. I'll be really surprised if there isn't anything in the Daily Prophet about you competing… You're already in half the books about You-Know-Who, you know…and Sirius would rather hear if from you, I know he would."

In the end he agreed.

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When the school days begin again Vanessa and Harry brace themselves for some bashing from the other students. They knew the other house wouldn't believe them and would be jealous that they were champions. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were a little cold to all three Hogwarts as it's always Gryffindor and Slytherin that gets the most glory. The Slytherins were spiteful towards both Gryffindors and would mock them. Vanessa was able to handle it as most of the students do fear her because of her powers and she had friends standing by her side. Though neither house is happy that Vanessa and Hunter were still together. Many girls from Slytherin have been trying to break them apart for the pass few days but both were able to scare them off.

Harry, Vanessa and Hunter were pulled out of their classes and met up with the other champions and Ludo Bagman. They had to have their wands looked at by Ollivander and while they met up with a reporter from the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter. Vanessa had heard about her and the articles that she writes. She didn't like her at all as they were all lies. The princess witch knew the moment Rita saw either her or her cousin she would try to sink her claws onto them for a story. While they were waiting for Dumbldore and Ollivander Rita decided to take a group photo of the five champions together. Vanessa and Fleur were to sit down in the middle while Harry stood in the middle, Hunter on his right and Viktor on his left.

"How did your parents take it when you wrote to them?" Hunter asked

"Not well. Ben told me that mom fainted when she heard about the multiple deaths that happened." Vanessa said

They stopped talking when the camera flash went off, nearly blinding everyone.

"What a charismatic group." Rita smiled before walking up to them and shook everyone's hands. "I'm Rita Skeeter. I write for the Daily Prophet. But of course you know that, don't you?"

Vanessa did her best not to roll her eyes.

"You're the juicy news." She said and rubbed the girls cheeks. "What quirks lurk beneath those rosy cheeks?"

Sensing what she was about to do Vanessa was able to dodge the little slap she was gonna give her. Rita just chuckled and walked over to the boys.

"What mysteries do the muscles mask?" She said "Does courage lie beneath those curls? In short, what makes a champion tick? "Me, Myself and I" want to know. Not to mention my rabid readers. So who's feeling up to sharing?"

Of course nobody said anything and like Vanessa thought she took Harry first. Before Vanessa could put a stop to this they were already in a broom closet.

"Man, this is not Harry's day." Hunter said

"I don't think so." Vanessa whispered

Making sure the camera mans' back was turned, she waved her wand and wordlessly cast an incarnation. Suddenly heard Rita scream and both she and Harry came out with smoke behind them.

"My notepad was set on fire!" Rita screeched

Everyone tried hard to not laugh but no one said anything. By then Dumbledore had come in with the wandmaker Ollivander behind him.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore said. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" Ollivander said, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room.

Fleur Delacour swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand.

"Hmmm…" He said

He twirled 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 said quietly "Nine and a half inches…inflexible…rosewood…and containing…dear me…"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela." Fleur said "One of my grandmuzzer's."

'So she's part Veela.' Vanessa thought, making a mental note to tell Uma.

"Yes." Ollivander said "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…"

When he was done checking the wand he did a spell and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand-tip. He gave her the flowers and wand back before looking at Hunters wand. Hunter walked over towards him while Fleur gilded back to her seat.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr. Ollivander said, with more enthusiasm. "Yes, I remember it well. This wand is the only one I've made with Thestral hair. Twelve and a quarter inches…Fir…pleasantly stable. It's in fine condition… You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night." Hunter said

This made Harry look at his wand and noticed the finger marks all over it. So while the wand weighing was going on Harry started cleaning his wand with his robes. When Ollivander was done he called for Viktor next.

"Hmm, this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken?" Ollivander said "A fine wandmaker, though the styling is never quite what I…however… Yes…hornbeam and dragon heartstring. Rather thicker than one usually sees…quite rigid…ten and a quarter inches…Avis!"

Twittering birds appeared and flew through the open window.

"Good." Ollivander said as he handed Krums' wand back. "Now…Ms. Potter, if you please come forward."

Vanessa got up and walked over towards Ollivander and handed him her wand.

"Ah, yes…I remember this wand…" He said "One of the few oldest wands in the world. Passed down to every first born. Such a mysterious wand. Yew…phoenix feather and…dragon heartstring…Twelve and a quarter inches."

He handed her the wand and asked her to do a spell as he knew from experience that the wand won't work for others. She did an incarnation and a swarm of butterflies appeared and flew around the room before flying out of the window.

"Yes, wonderful." He smiled, "Which leaves…Mr. Potter."

Harry got to his feet and walked past Vanessa to Mr. Ollivander and handed over his wand.

"Aaah, yes." Ollivander said "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."

Mr. Ollivander spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's. After a while he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Harry, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.

"Thank you all." Dumbledore said "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."

Sadly before they could leave Ritas' camera man cleared his throat and reminded them of the group photo with the judges. Rita also added some single photos as wells. When the photos were done they had headed to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Hey Vanessa, a package for you just arrived." Angelina said, when they got to the Common Room.

"Thank you, Angelina." Vanessa said

She took the large package from Angelina before taking it to her room. At first she thought it was from her father, but his signature and family crest weren't on it. There was a crest with two snakes on it along with a tree behind them. She sat down on her bed and read the note that was attached to the package.

Ms. Vanessa Potter

Your mother had left this in my position before she died. I'm sorry for the lateness but this was supposed to be given to you on your 16th birthday. It has been passed down from Grand witches and wizards for generations. She knew that I would be able to keep safe and away from the wrong hands. Keep it safe and use it well.

-M

Vanessa raised a brow at the note before unwrapping the package. It was a very old book with the family crest on it. There were straps on the book but there were no locks to open, only a smooth metal in the middle. Thinking that it was just like her grandmothers' diary she placed her thumb on metal and just like before it pricked her and the straps opened. The witch princess looked through the book and saw that it was a book full of spells, hex, jinxes and summonings, written in Ancient Ruins and from what it looked like a special kind of ink. Vanessa couldn't believe that these were all written by her ancestors. She looked at the note again and wondered who it was that sent it to her.

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A few days have passed and Ritas' article on the Daily Prophet came out. Vanessa couldn't help but her eyes at the lies and nonsense the journalist wrote. Rita made it sound that Vanessa and Harry have entered the tournament as rivals, trying to prove who is stronger. Hunter was mentioned a little as Rita had found out that he and Vanessa are a couple. She made it sound like the two were gonna ban together to defeat Harry. Sadly, Fluer and Krum were only mentioned once at the bottom of the article. Thanks to the article the teasing from Slytherin and some other students got worse for Harry, that he was trying to hold in all his anger. Vanessa and Hermione just told to ignore them and that they'll think differently after the task. He probably would have been alright if he had Ron on his side. The youngest Weasley son still believed Harry and Vanessa put their names in the goblet.

The first task was getting nearer and nearer each day. On the Saturday before the first task, it was the third year and up Hogsmeade trip. Vanessa had gone to a few shops with Dawn, Rain, Mal, Evie and Uma before they headed to the Three Broomsticks to get something to eat and drink. When they arrived Vanessa noticed that Hermione was by herself. But when she and the group walked pass her Vanessa smelled Harry sitting in the seat next to Hermione.

"What's with the Invisibility Cloak, Harry?" She whispered

Harry nearly jumped when she said that as he didn't notice her.

"How?" He whispered

"I have a heightened sense of smell, remember, Harry. And sense of hearing too, as I can hear your heartbeat too." She said before turning to Hermione. "Why is he doing this?"

Hermione pointed towards a few Ravenclaw girls wearing "Support Hunter and Potter stink" badges. Draco Malfoy made them to taunt Harry more as it was more towards him than Vanessa. The youngest Malfoy knew better than to place Vanessa on the badge as he didn't want to face Hunters' and Lucas' wrath. Though, like everyone else, and he won't admit it, he was also afraid of Vanessa.

"And we just spotted that wretched Skeeter woman coming out from here." Hermione said

Vanessa just sighed.

"Find, Harry. Hide from the problem." She said "But you're gonna have to learn to deal with these kinds of things sooner or later."

"Hey, Vanessa." Harry whispered "Did you get a letter from your father too?"

"Yes, and I'll be there." She said "Don't worry."

She headed over towards the table her friends were at. The six girls had ordered their Butterbeer and meals before Vanessa noticed Hagrid and Mad-eye Moody walking over towards Hermione and Harrys' table. She didn't pay any attention when Hunter and the guys arrived and joined them at their table.

Later in the middle of the night, Vanessa was sitting down on one of the comfy chairs near the fireplace reading her familys' spell book. She was waiting for her fathers arrival and was wondering where Harry could be. Hermione told her that Hagrid wanted to talk to him and that he should be back soon. It wasn't long until she heard the portrait open and saw Harry coming as he took the invisibility cloak off.

"About time." She said, closing the book. "What did Hagrid want?"

Before he could say anything Vlad's head was sitting in the fire.

"Hi dad." Vanessa said

"Hi, Uncle Vlad." Harry said

"How are you two?" Vlad asked

Harry was gonna say that he was fine but he couldn't. He wished he could tell this to Sirius but he wouldn't be free until two months. Harry told him how no one believed that he or Vanessa placed their names in the goblet. How Rita Skeeter lied about them in the Daily Prophet, how everyone sneered at them and how Ron was jealous of him now.

"...and now Hagrid's just showed me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons. Vanessa is good because she knows how to deal with dragons but…I'm a goner." He finished

Vlad looked at him, eyes full of concern.

"Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute… There are things I need to warn you about." Vlad said

"What?" They asked

"Karkaroff." Sirius said "He was a Death Eater. You two know what Death Eaters are, don't you?"

"Yes, we do." Vanessa said "But, really, that guy?"

"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year…to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place."

"Why was he released?" Vanessa asked

"He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic." Vlad said with a scoff. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names…he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place… From what Sirius told me he's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well."

"I doubt Viktor is involved. He doesn't like the Dark Arts or his Headmaster." Vanessa said

"How do you know?" Vlad and Harry asked

"Because he has told me. And I know he isn't lying because I can smell lies, remember." Vanessa said

She glared at Harry as he was gonna say something but knew she was right.

"Okay." Harry said "But…are you saying Karkaroff put our name in the goblet? Because if he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop us from competing."

"We know he's a good actor." Vlad said "Because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet…"

"...you and the rest of the world." Harry said

"...and reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman's article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm." Vlad said "But I don't think so, somehow. I think someone tried to stop him from getting to Hogwarts. I think someone knew their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it closely; Mad-Eye's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean he can still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had."

"Are you saying that Karkaroff is trying to kill us?" Vanessa asked

"I've been hearing some very strange things." Vlad said "The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark…and then…did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who's gone missing?"

"Bertha Jorkins?" Harry said "Mr. Weasley told us about that."

"Yes. She disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was rumored to be last…and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?" Vlad said

"Yeah, but…it's not very likely she'd have walked straight into Voldemort, is it?" Harry said

"Well…I've heard about Bertha, from James and Sirius as she was at Hogwarts…just a few years above them. And from what they say she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains. She would have been an easy target to lure into a trap."

"So…so Voldemort could have found out about the tournament?" Harry said "Is that what you mean? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?"

"I don't know." Vlad said "I just don't know…Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your names in that goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you two and make it look like an accident."

"Looks like a really good plan from where I'm standing." Harry said "They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff."

"Right…these dragons." Vlad said "There's a way, Harry. Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell…dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner, you need about half a dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon…"

"Yeah, I know, I just saw." Harry said

"But you can do it alone." Vlad "There is a way, and a simple spell's all you need. Just…"

Vanessa placed her hand up to silence him as she heard someone coming down from the dormitories. Not wanting to get in trouble she told him that someone was coming and he disappeared. When they got up they saw that it was Ron. Thinking that they needed to be alone to talk, Vanessa grabbed her book and walked up the stairs to the girls dormitories.

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A/N: Should Harry tell Ron about Hunters' father when they become friends again.