"Due Friday," Remus announced to his fourth form students, "a four to five page essay discussing a modern-day example of what it might mean to wear a scarlet 'A' in today's society, based on The Scarlet Letter. Any questions, see me."

The class collectively groaned, gathered their books, and trudged out to the corridor once Remus finished speaking. He had the next period free, and while he should have been grading his lower sixth forms students' plucky attempts to write Shakespearean-style sonnets in iambic pentameter, he found he didn't have the mental capacity to even look at the sonnets.

As of last night, Harry was selected to be one of the four Triwizard champions, and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent him from competing. No matter how hard he, Tonks, and Sirius argued against Harry's forced participation, Barty Crouch Sr. insisted Harry had to compete.

If it hadn't been for Sirius's fistfight with Snape, Remus would've followed suit and thrashed Crouch in front of everyone for requiring Harry to compete. Dumbledore was unhelpful; he suggested letting the events unfold to determine who might be behind the plot, as it was obvious that Harry hadn't entered his name. Remus vehemently disagreed with this course of action, and as soon as they'd left the castle, he and Tonks contacted Mad-Eye Moody to ask for his help.

Mad-Eye, now retired, had also been recruited by Dumbledore, who was also looking into the case. There were no leads or motives besides the obvious: Lord Voldemort wanted Harry's life and blood.

"Mr. Lupin?" a rat-faced student called from the corridor.

"Come in, Piers," Remus said, waving Piers Polkiss in. "Do you have a question about the essay?"

"No…it's about Dudley. You're his dad now, right?"

"I'm his guardian, yes."

"We're roommates and he's been saying some weird stuff in his sleep."

Remus leaned back against his desk, putting his hands behind him to keep him steady.

"What's he been saying?"

"Magic…Lord something…blood?"

"Hmm." Remus brought one of his hands up to his chin, pretending to think deeply. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since we began the term. It's weird."

"He's been through a lot lately. I'll talk to him, Piers. Is there anything else worrying you?"

"Is it true you're Potter's dad now?"

"You know Harry?"

"Knew him. I'm from Little Whinging. Dudley and his mum used to say Potter's a freak."

"Harry has also been through a lot in his young life."

Remus suspected that there was more Piers could say on his childhood memories of Harry, especially if Dudley was involved, but he tried to keep his facial expression neutral and his tone even.

"Will Dudley be a freak, too?"

"I'd prefer if you didn't use that term," Remus said sternly. Piers took a half step back and had the decency to look guilty.

"Will they be…the same?"

"I doubt it…but why do you ask? Is there something unusual you're seeing around Dudley?"

Piers shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He glanced in the direction of the student dormitories and said, "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," Remus offered. "I've seen many interesting things in my life."

"I found a frog…it was made of chocolate…and it moved! No batteries! I couldn't find any-"

Remus cleared his throat lightly and put his hand up to stop Piers. "Interesting. I'll talk to Dudley about it."

"You don't want to know more?"

"I believe it's a joke product. Harry enjoys playing pranks and this may have been one of them."

"Potter plays pranks?"

"Do you know much about Harry, Piers?"

Piers grew quiet and slowly shook his head. "I knew him from primary school, before Dudley's parents died."

"Harry is probably different than you remember. He's at a different boarding school and doing well. I'll talk to both Harry and Dudley and see if there are any other joke products. I wouldn't be surprised if there were, so if you see anything else unusual…assume it's for a prank."

Piers's tense shoulders relaxed as he said, "Thanks, Mr. Lupin."

Remus looked out from the corner of his eye to the corridor, where he saw Tonks waiting outside for him.

"Excuse me, Piers," Remus said abruptly. "That's my wife."

Piers's jaw fell open when Remus opened the door and pink-haired Tonks walked in, wearing her Muggle jeans and a t shirt emblazoned with the word "Genesis."

"Wotcher, I'm Mrs. Lupin!" Tonks stuck out her hand for Piers to shake and he gaped at her, wide-eyed and mystified.

"This is Piers Polkiss. He's Dudley's roommate and he knew Harry from their primary days."

"Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine," Tonks said cheerily.

"We weren't friends," Piers replied, no longer meeting Tonks's gaze.

"It's all right, Piers," said Remus. "I'll follow up with Dudley later. Thank you for speaking with me, and let me know if you need help with your essay."

Piers mumbled a hasty 'thank you' and shuffled out of the classroom, looking bewildered upon seeing Tonks kiss Remus's cheek.

"What was that all about?"

"He found one of the Chocolate Frogs and Dudley's talking in his sleep about Voldemort and magic," Remus said quietly. "I'll have a chat with Dudley about the sweets…and I think we'll just have to convince Piers that Dudley's got an active imagination."

Remus peered down at Tonks's shirt and added, "By the way, what are you wearing? And not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?"

"I asked my dad about popular Muggle bands and he told me about this one called 'Genesis.' They're not bad, actually."

"And?" asked Remus, arching a brow at her.

"Why I'm here?"

Remus nodded as Tonks sighed. "I dunno. I've got the day off and couldn't sit still."

"Want to help me mark sonnets?"

"Will you read them aloud for me?"

"They're going to be terrible."

"Good. It'll take my mind off of other terrible things," Tonks said, smiling. "Please?"

Remus sat down at his desk and gestured for Tonks to sit in one of the students' desks. He picked up the first student-written sonnet and began reading aloud:

"My round lady, you inspire me to write,

Thinking of your supple waist fills my days.

My love for you is the compound due south."

Tonks burst into laughter, as did Remus. Thankful he had her with him, distracting him from the events of last night, he continued reading, enjoying the brief respite from the terror of the Triwizard Tournament.

…

To Remus's surprise, just three days after Harry was announced as a Triwizard champion, the Ministry had successfully identified the culprit responsible for the unfortunate incident: Ludovic Bagman.

Mad-Eye himself came to deliver the news to Remus and Tonks in their Cardiff home, free from the eyes or ears of any unwelcome person.

"Bagman was behind it?" Tonks said incredulously. "Ludo Bagman, the former Quidditch player?"

"Even if he hadn't confessed to it, the evidence is damning," replied Mad-Eye, with a grimace. "He bet that Potter would become the Hogwarts champion. Got Potter and Krum right, but not the other two."

"This report also says he bet Harry would win the whole tournament?" Remus said, rifling through the parchment stack that Mad-Eye brought with him.

"Correct," Mad-Eye grunted.

"I don't believe it," Tonks said, shaking her head in frustration. "It's too straightforward."

"He claimed the Imperius Curse," Remus murmured, looking at the copy of the transcript of Bagman's confession. "But that can't be proven, can it?"

Tonks looked over his shoulder and scanned the parchment. She looked up at Mad-Eye and asked, "They tried Veritaserum?"

"They didn't have to," Mad-Eye replied gruffly. "He confessed to doing it."

"Surely someone put him up to this." Tonks ran her fingers through her curls, which had been pink at the start of the conversation, but by now had changed to a worried grey.

"It's possible he was framed," Remus suggested, also doubting that Bagman was solely responsible for the Triwizard mishap.

"Voldemort?" Tonks said, her face draining of its color. "How does he get ahold of Ludo Bagman?"

Remus had a similar suspicion. There was only one person he could think of who wanted to hurt Harry, but with Voldemort in hiding, he wondered if someone else was responsible for bringing Bagman to Voldemort.

Remus said, "Based on this transcript, Bagman claims he was short on gold. He thought Harry's name would come out if he fooled the Cup into thinking there was a fourth school, and then he made it happen."

Remus unfurled a longer piece of parchment, tracing his finger along the ink, until he saw the next line.

"Bagman also claims he thought Harry could win the tournament. Bagman would've earned loads of gold if that had come true."

"But why would he think that Harry would win?" asked Tonks. "He's only 14!"

"He said he planned to release the tasks to Potter through others," Mad-Eye replied, nodding at the report. "Bagman confessed that he mentioned something to Hagrid about the first task."

Remus frowned as he turned the page to the next report. "It says they're changing the tasks altogether, in case Bagman had the other tasks revealed somehow."

"What were they before?" asked Tonks, peering over Remus's shoulder again to look at the report.

"Something about fighting a dragon, getting a prize from mermaids, and a maze," Mad-Eye informed. "Hagrid knew about the dragons…they're already at the castle."

"They're still going to use dragons?" Tonks yelped. "Harry can't fight a dragon!"

"Let's hope it's something else," Remus said, trying to keep his voice steady. He also disliked the idea of Harry anywhere near dragons, and he hoped the dragons would be replaced by a different, less deadly task.

Tonks paced around in the kitchen, biting her nails anxiously. She took several deep breaths as Remus continued to look through the reports.

"Fine," Tonks said, sighing deeply. "So we accept that Bagman just did this for what – gold? Why not put all the gold on another?"

"Potter's a recognizable name," Mad-Eye replied. "If you put him under a fourth school, you're guaranteed to have him picked for the tournament."

"But why not pick another student? Any other?" asked Remus. "Surely he could've chosen an older student who wasn't yet 17."

"It's not as if he has a directory of students or their birthdays," Mad-Eye said, shrugging.

"Why aren't you agreeing with us?" Tonks demanded, slamming her hands down on the table in front of Mad-Eye.

"I do agree with you," Mad-Eye said coolly, with his lip curling in an almost-smile.

"Then why are you poking holes in all our arguments?" Tonks snapped.

"Because we can't discount the simple explanation. Don't you remember your training? Occam's Razor!"

"The likeliest solution is the simplest one," Tonks said flatly. "I know that, but what if it isn't simple?"

"Then whoever will have thought of this will think the same to cover their tracks." Mad-Eye lifted his clawfoot leg and brought it up to rest on an empty chair. Remus frowned, pondering if Wormtail was clever enough to think through this – or if someone else was to blame.

"We're stuck!" Tonks threw her hands up in the air angrily.

"Until another clue appears, yes," Mad-Eye confirmed calmly.

"But we're playing with his life!" Tonks shouted.

"Sweetheart, we're all doing what we can," Remus interrupted. "We don't have to like it, but Mad-Eye's got a point. There's probably more to it than meets the eye with Bagman, but until we get more evidence – maybe at the first task – we can't know more yet."

Tonks groaned, bringing her hands to her face. "You're right…I just feel helpless."

"I'll leave you to it," Mad-Eye said, grunting as he rose to his feet. "I'll keep an eye and ear out."

Remus led Mad-Eye out of the house, exchanging a few more of the same, worried refrains, and returned to the kitchen, where Tonks was bent over a cup of tea, her elbows splayed out while trying to balance her head in her hands.

"When Harry was in his second year, did you feel this helpless, Remus?"

"I feel that way most of the time."

"So what now?"

"We wait. I hate it as much as you do."

Remus took two cups out of the cupboard, but put one back, remembering his father was no longer around for such difficult discussions. He exhaled slowly, bringing himself back to the present, and sat down with Tonks at the table to pour himself a cup of tea.

"I wonder what the new tasks will be," Remus said lightly, trying to think of the task ahead, rather than all the moving pieces that lay beyond. "If we're lucky, perhaps Harry will write us and tell us first."

Tonks gave a loud, inelegant snort. "I doubt it. At least Sirius is there."

Remus drank his tea quickly, feeling the hot liquid burning the roof of his mouth as it went down. Tonks sipped her tea silently, now holding her cup close to her face.

"How does this change the treasure hunt? Or the hunt for—"

"Honestly, I don't know," Remus replied, interrupting her. "We might have to put horcrux hunting on hold while we decide what to do with Harry and the tournament."

"Do you think they're linked? Voldemort and Bagman?" Tonks said dubiously, her hair now shifting to its natural, mousy brown as she grew more tired. She set her cup down, groaned into her hands, and added, "Voldemort's after Harry's life. This has to be connected."

"Or it's the worst coincidence that Harry's been entered into a potentially lethal tournament," Remus countered, still holding out hope that Bagman had made a terribly inconvenient judgment call. "We have to ask why Voldemort would want to kill Harry through a tournament, if that is his plan in using Bagman."

"Another reason why Crouch Sr.'s being a fucking arse about this. If they are connected," Tonks said, growling, "then we avoid this issue altogether."

"Or the tournament's a distraction," Remus said, in a half-whisper. "What if Voldemort knows we're after the horcruxes…wants to keep us busy?"

"I thought he didn't know—"

"He knows we're up to something – Wormtail was there at the old Riddle house. Fuck." Remus tugged at his hair, stressed, and added, "What if he makes more of them? Good Godric, what if this is never over?"

"Okay, okay, okay," Tonks said hurriedly. "You're doing the same thing I was – you're panicking. Let's just focus on the first task. I shouldn't have asked about the – the things."

Tonks took his hands from his hair and held them, squeezing them tightly and running her thumbs on his palms soothingly.

"Why don't we talk about something else…how's work?"

Remus kept his eyes scrunched closed, trying very hard to take his mind off the catastrophes that kept piling up in his life.

"You'd like to read an essay on The Scarlet Letter?"

"Nope."

"Neither do I. That's how work is going." Remus let go of Tonks's hands and went to the cupboard to pull out a tin of chocolate chip biscuits.

"How's Dudley?" asked Tonks, once Remus opened the tin. "Did you talk to him about the Chocolate Frogs?"

"I did, and I mentioned the sleep-talking. We don't know what to do about that, but Dudley suggested he tell his roommate, Piers, that I'm making him read a fantasy book."

"Will his friend believe that?"

"No idea," Remus replied promptly, as Tonks nibbled on a biscuit. "But Dudley said Piers wouldn't believe the imagination excuse, and as there aren't any films they can see about real magic, we'll try this instead."

Remus stuffed a whole biscuit into his mouth, as if he was a child again, and Tonks's lips curled up into a smile.

"What?"

"You're cute, you know that?"

Remus rolled his eyes dramatically. "'Cute' is not a word I'd use for myself."

"We can agree to disagree." Tonks's eyes drifted to the calendar posted against the kitchen wall. "Have you told Dudley that it'll be just us for Christmas?"

Remus cocked his head to one side as he chewed on another whole biscuit.

"Because of the Yule Ball?" Tonks suggested. "Harry is a champion and he has to go."

Remus smacked the palm of his hand against his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"It's not as if you had other things on your mind." Tonks patted his hand and took another biscuit from the tin.

"I've got to make sure he packed dress robes. If not I'll order a new set."

"I'll tell him to ask Ginny to go with him," Tonks said, amused. Something in his face must have betrayed his confusion, as she added, "If he wants to keep up that lie that he's got a girlfriend for Dudley, he'll want to take pictures with Ginny."

"I'm beginning to think it's not a lie," Remus admitted, thinking of how much Harry blushed whenever Ginny took his hand. It reminded him of James, in his early days of dating Lily.

"Oh, I know it's not," Tonks said, waving her hand. "But until he figures that out I'm going to tease him mercilessly."

Remus's mouth grew into a mischievous grin. "Wouldn't you do that anyway, even if he wasn't lying?"

Tonks finished chewing a bite of her biscuit and set it down. "I know I didn't know Lily, but I like to think she'd have teased him, and I'd like to do right by her."

Remus chuckled softly. "She'd have teased him a little, but not as badly as James, I should think."

"Do you think they would've handled this better?" Remus frowned as soon as he heard Tonks ask the question. James and Lily had lived and died in a world that was similar in some ways, but vastly different in others.

"Perhaps differently," Remus said slowly, "but I can't say it would be better. With Harry, I've learned that parenting him is unlike parenting any other child."

"They don't mention anything about deadly tournaments in any of the parenting books I found. Or Dark wizards who are after your kid's life, for that matter."

"You could ask your parents what they would do?"

"True, but even Mum and Dad never had to deal with anything like this." Tonks sat back in her chair, staring out into the distance. She chewed on her lower lip and sighed. "I suppose we could use all the help we can get, can't we?"

"We can ask them when we see them for your birthday lunch this weekend," suggested Remus. Tonks didn't protest, and he thought toward the upcoming celebration. "Speaking of…now that I've got this teaching job, I'm making more money…I wondered if there was something you wanted?"

Tonks's face lit up with a smile. Remus hoped she wouldn't ask for anything too grand or expensive, though he'd do his best to give her whatever she wanted.

"Just you," she said simply, taking hold of his hand.

"Me?"

"You."

Remus gaped at her, wondering why she didn't want more. She laughed, seeing his baffled stare, and said, "I like the idea of going somewhere abroad for a honeymoon, but—"

"We can't leave the country anytime soon," Remus said, dejected.

"That's okay, Remus. Let's you and I have our own fun at home and when we have the chance, we can do something as a family."

Tonks's earnestness, from her genuine, toothy grin to her kind, warm eyes helped convince Remus that she wasn't lying to him. He promised himself that when they had the chance, he would save up the money to take her anywhere in the world.

"Okay…we can do that. Where do you want to go?"

"Somewhere far away and sunny," Tonks said dreamily.

Remus nodded in agreement. Far away and sunny. He would give her anything she wanted, and while he knew he'd have to wait and save to take her wherever she wanted to go, he hoped that the day would come soon, and that they'd all live to see it.

…

"He has to train a dragon?" Tonks shrieked, snatching the letter from Remus's hands.

"That's what it says," Remus said, exhausted. He'd read through Sirius's letter three times before turning it over to Tonks. Harry was apparently overwhelmed by the task, and while his friends were attempting to reassure him, there was no way out of the task.

"You don't train dragons! They – they aren't trainable!" Tonks screeched, tossing Sirius's letter onto the kitchen table.

"I know, but he has to train it to retrieve a prize. At least he knows what he's doing."

Remus was grateful for one thing, at least. Due to the controversy surrounding Harry's entry as a competitor, especially given that it was against his will, enough support had been drawn up to help him survive.

Dumbledore had convinced Crouch Sr. to share the tasks with the participants a month in advance, to give them time to prepare. Though the tasks weren't usually divulged so far in advance – if at all – but enough people had been disgusted by Bagman's use of an underage wizard's life for his own monetary gain, and the rule was bent to give Harry a fighting chance at surviving the tasks.

"What is he going to do?" Tonks said, after she'd run herself ragged from storming around the house. She sank down into one of the armchairs in the living room, and Remus joined her in another.

"I don't know," Remus replied truthfully. "We can't directly help him."

Sirius's letter made it clear that while he could observe Harry's attempts to train a dragon – he'd already been assigned a Hungarian Horntail, one of the most vicious kinds of dragons around – Sirius could offer no direct guidance, training, or support in training the dragon to retrieve the prize.

"Does he have to get the prize?" Tonks asked, after a few moments of thought.

"I don't know. I'll have to talk to Sirius."

"I hope he doesn't have to get it to make it past the first task. Maybe whoever's dragon comes back first gets first place, second gets second, and so on?"

"I've got a feeling that the prize is more than a goal," Remus said, scratching his chin.

Tonks narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you mean?"

"I did some reading on these tournaments – they usually have clues that lead to the next task."

"That's ridiculous! Aren't they telling them the tasks in advance?"

"I know." Remus sighed heavily and shifted in his seat, rubbing his temples with his fingers to avoid the tension headache that was threatening to overtake his mind. "Maybe the prize is a clue to help him with the task, rather than telling him the task itself."

Tonks sat upright and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "He just has to survive. He doesn't have to win."

"You know him. He'll try to win, even if it's unlikely."

"I could write to Charlie Weasley? I haven't talked to him in ages, but he might know something I don't."

"Ron's brother…not a bad idea. Maybe Ron's already written to him – Sirius said Ron, Hermione, and Ginny have come to see him most Friday afternoons for tea."

"At least he's got Sirius and his friends…I keep telling myself that, you know," Tonks said quietly. "I wish we could see him before this task."

Remus nodded, his jaw clenched with worry. He too reminded himself frequently that Harry had Sirius, his friends, Dumbledore, Minerva, and many others behind him to support him. Though none of them could help Harry train a dragon, they would be there to provide support.

Remus knew it wasn't enough, but it was all they had.

End A/N:

Fourth form students are about Harry's age - 14/15 years old. I'm not from the UK, and while I read that schools there now use years to describe grade levels (US equivalent), some of the expensive public schools there (what we in the US call private they call public) still use forms. Since this was the early 90s at a fancy school, I stuck with the form language.