Author's Note: I'm extremely far ahead. I just finished the First Evil arc and have started in on Half Blood Prince. Being sick (we're not sure if it was Covid or just a normal cold or flu bug) for a couple weeks gave me plenty of time to work on this story to the point that I am currently on chapter 59.

Dai5ycake: On the review of Chapter 7: Ferret. I had not thought about what Buffy had thought of Moody. So, after reading your review I added a something about that in the this chapter. In regards to the kinship adoption. I added in something (In Chapter 23: The Trial of Sirius Black) during the summer between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix, though after the Dark Willow arc and before Harry, Buffy and Dawn return to England. On the review of Chapter 8: Goblet of Fire, the way I looked at the binding magical contract was…

Xander: Why blood? Why Dawn's blood? I mean, why couldn't it be, like, a lymph ritual?

Spike: 'Cause it's always gotta be blood.

Xander: We're not actually discussing dinner right now -

Spike: Blood is life, lackbrain. Why do you think we eat it? It's what keeps you going, makes you warm, makes you hard, makes you other than dead. 'Course it's her blood.

And that's what I pictured when it came to the binding magical contract. I looked at it as being the same reason Buffy was able to close the rift in The Gift in Canon BTVS.

Chapter 10: First Task

Not long after the wand weigh-in. Life had gotten more difficult not only for Harry but Dawn and Buffy as well. Rita Skeeter had published her piece about the Triwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament as a highly colored life story of the trio. Much of the front page had been given over to the group picture of Harry, Buffy and Dawn; the article (continuing on pages two, six, and seven) had been all about them, the names of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all.

Rita Skeeter had reported them saying an awful lot of things that they knew they had never said.

Such as Harry reportedly saying that he got his strength from their parents, that they would be proud of him. Then there was a line that made Buffy furious. It had been reported that Dawn cried herself to sleep worrying about her brother.

Then there had been the rumor that Harry had at last found love at Hogwarts with Hermione.

From the moment the article had appeared, Harry and Dawn had had to endure people quoting what had been written as they passed and making sneering comments.

Buffy had finally been pushed over the edge. She had gone straight to Dumbledore and had asked him if he knew any good lawyers to sue the Daily Prophet.

After his session with Buffy, Ron had gone to straight to Harry and apologized for believing Harry had intentionally put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

November 21, 2001

It was the Saturday before the first task, Buffy was in Dumbledore's office. It was coming down to the wire as she practiced the spell for the glamour.

"Concentrate," Dumbledore said, "exactly on who you want to look like."

"Harry told me about the Polyjuice potion," Buffy said as she moved to a chair and sat down.

"Have you told him?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not yet," Buffy said. "I was waiting till I mastered the glamour charm. He was telling Dawn and I about the Chamber of Secrets and everything that led up to it, including the Polyjuice potion."

"There are two problems with the potion," Dumbledore said. "As he likely said it takes a month to make. That's minor as I could have made it in here. The second is that it lasts only an hour. What happens if the hour runs out while you are in the middle of the task? With the charm we don't have to worry about the time limit."

"Alright," Buffy said. "Too late now anyways. I only have a few days before the first task to get this down."

"Do you know the charms you will use for the dragon?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Buffy said. "I'm playing to Harry's strengths. Something people would find believable for him to do."

"A summoning charm and his broomstick?" Dumbledore asked as Buffy nodded. "How is your flying?"

"Actually, pretty good," Buffy said. "Harry seems to think I could have been a Chaser if I had accepted the invitation when I was ten." She glanced at her watch and noticed the time. "I have to go. I'm to meet Harry and Dawn in Hogsmeade for lunch." (A/N)

When Buffy got to the Three Broomsticks pub, she found it packed. She found a both and waited. A few minutes later Dawn and Hermione joined her. "Where's Harry?" she asked.

"Here."

Buffy sighed as she looked towards where she was sure the voice came from. "Harry, take it off. Our parents didn't leave it for you to hide from the world."

Harry sighed as he pulled the invisibility cloak off.

"Look, it's Hagrid!" said Hermione.

The back of Hagrid's enormous shaggy head emerged over the crowd. They saw that Hagrid had been leaning low, talking to Moody. Hagrid had his usual enormous tankard in front of him, but Moody was drinking from his hip flask.

As Hagrid and Moody get up to leave, Harry waved. Moody tapped Hagrid in the small of the back, muttered something to him, and then the pair of them made their way back across the pub toward Buffy, Dawn, Harry and Hermione's table.

"All right?" said Hagrid loudly.

"Hello," said Hermione, smiling back.

"Hi, Hagrid," Dawn said.

"Hello, Hagrid," Buffy said.

"Hi, Hagrid," Harry said.

Hagrid leaned down so he could whisper to Harry, "Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear the cloak," Straightening up, he said loudly, "Nice ter see yeh all," winked, and departed. Moody followed him.

"Excuse me," Buffy said as she stood and followed Moody and Hagrid out of the pub. "Hagrid."

Hagrid nodded to Moody who continued walking as he turned to face Buffy. "What is it, Buffy?"

Buffy looked around to make sure they wouldn't be overheard as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Is tonight about the dragons?"

"Did you tell Harry?" Hagrid asked.

"Not yet," Buffy said. "I intended to tomorrow." She had wanted to wait till after she had mastered the glamour spell. But apparently Hagrid forced her hand. She would have to tell him after he returned from seeing Hagrid. "Go ahead and show him. Then send him to my suite. I will talk to him then."

Hagrid nodded as Buffy turned and headed back inside. "It might make you late for Sirius," Hermione was saying when Buffy rejoined her, Dawn and Harry at the table.

"Don't worry, Dawn and I will be there in case you're late and will fill Sirius in," Buffy said. "That said once you're done with Hagrid come to my rooms."

November 22, 2001

At a little before one o'clock in the morning the portrait from the Gryffindor common room slid open and Harry slid through it before it closed behind him.

"So, you know about the dragons," Buffy said as she looked at her brother.

"Buffy?" Dawn said. "Please tell me you aren't doing to Harry what you did to me?"

"Yes and no. There is a reason I didn't say anything," Buffy said. "Because if it works, I have a way you won't have to perform the task, Harry. I will. I intended to tell you both when I mastered the spell. Albus has been teaching me a glamour charm. If I can master it, I can then pretend to be you, Harry."

"Buffy, I'm not sure I like that anymore than when you suggested in back when my name came out of the goblet," Harry said.

"I know," Buffy said with a sigh. "But if it works, it keeps you out of harm's way. After all someone added your name on purpose. And since we share the same blood. I should be able fool anything that might check to make sure you are you."

Harry sighed and nodded. He didn't like it one bit. But he agreed with her reasoning none the less. If someone was out to get him, then if she could make herself look like him then whoever did it would assume, she was helpless and it would be a potential advantage against someone he himself might have trouble defending himself against.

It was at that moment that Sirius's head appeared in the fire. "Sirius - how're you doing?" Harry asked.

"Never mind me, how are you three?" said Sirius seriously.

"We're good," Buffy answered. "I gather you know what's going on?"

"Harry has been entered into the Triwizard tournament, yes," Sirius said. "We can discuss that more in a minute. I haven't got long here…I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you three about."

"What?" said Harry.

"Karkaroff," said Sirius. "He was a Death Eater."

"Their Voldemort's followers, aren't they?" Buffy asked as Sirius nodded.

"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."

"Karkaroff got released?" Harry said slowly. "Why did they release him?"

"He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic," said Sirius bitterly. "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.…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."

"It's taken care of," Buffy said. "If I can master a glamour charm I've been learning from Dumbledore before the first task. Harry won't be competing, I will."

"If that is true and you do manage to master it, then you watch out for his champion," Sirius said.

"I intend to watch out for all of them," Buffy said. "After all someone put Harry's name in the goblet for a reason."

"Agreed," Sirius said. "Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet -"

"- Yeah I intend to sue them," Buffy said. "There was no truth in that article."

"Reading between the lines, there might have been some truth. Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm," Sirius 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 too closely; Mad-Eye's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean he can't still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had."

"So, this is farther reaching than just Harry's name being put in," Buffy said.

"I believe so," Sirius said. "I've been hearing some very strange things. 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?" said Harry.

"Exactly…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?"

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

"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins," said Sirius grimly. "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap."

"I see where you're going," Buffy said. "Whoever put Harry's name whether its Karkaroff or someone else did it under Voldemort's orders."

"I don't know," said Sirius slowly, "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 I agree with you, Buffy, that whoever put Harry's name in that goblet did it for a reason and maybe even under his orders, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack Harry at the least, all three of you at the most, especially after the story came out that Dawn was Harry's twin."

"Dumbledore's idea since I was adamant about using the Potter name, since I am technically a Potter since this body was made from both Buffy and Harry," Dawn said.

"I understand, Dawn," Sirius said. "I got Harry's letter explaining. Regardless though if any of you are attacked, they could easily make it look like an accident related to the tournament. Buffy, if you do manage to master the spell. What do you plan to do when it comes to the first task?"

"I intend to play to Harry's strengths," Buffy said, "as the first task has to do with dragons. I intend to use a summoning charm to get my broom. Harry bought both Dawn and I the exact same broom he said you got him. He's been teaching us to fly. Harry says I have even gotten good enough that I could have been a Chaser if I had gone to a wizarding school."

"That's high praise," Sirius said. "Doesn't surprise me though. James was a Seeker on our house team just like Harry is now. It wouldn't surprise me if you could have been a Seeker. I also assume you know what you have to do for the task?"

"There is an egg nestled amongst the dragon's real one," Buffy said. "I intend to try and lure it away before doubling back for the egg. Or at least getting it to move out of the way."

"Good," Sirius said. "That might work."

"I will practice the summoning charm," Harry said as Dawn, Buffy and Sirius all looked at him. "Just in case Buffy can't master the glamour charm before the first task. Then I will use her plan. Better to have our bases covered isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Buffy agreed. "But you are doing it only as a last resort. Understood?"

"Yes, Buffy," Harry said.

Later that day Harry told Cedric about the dragons so that it would be a fair playing field since both Karkaroff and Maxine's champions both likely knew since both of them had seen the dragons as well.

"Come with me, Potter," Moody growled as he came upon Harry and Cedric. "Diggory, off you go."

Harry stared apprehensively at Moody. "Er—Professor, I'm supposed to be in Herbology—"

"Never mind that, Potter. In my office, please…"

Harry looked at Cedric and whispered, "Find my sister, please."

Cedric nodded as he watched Moody and Harry left. He got up and went straight to the guidance counselor's office and knocked.

"Come in."

Cedric walked into Buffy's office. "Harry sent me to find you. Professor Moody just called him into his office."

"Thank you, Cedric," Buffy said as Cedric left. She got up and rushed out the door and down the corridor to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She ran in to the empty classroom and to the door at the back.

Buffy put her ear to the door and listened. She could hear Moody on the other side speaking.

"Come in, Professor Potter," came Moody's voice from the other side.

Buffy opened the door and walked in. "I heard you had Harry."

"I thought as much," Moody replied. "I was just about to ask your brother about finding the dragons."

"Yes, Harry knows. No, I didn't tell him," Buffy said as she looked at the man. She still didn't understand why her Slayer senses went off on him. But Dumbledore had said he trusted Moody when she had told him of what she felt from the man. So, she reluctantly dismissed what she felt as just the fact that she didn't know Moody very well.

"I didn't believe you had," Moody said. "That said I've been telling Dumbledore from the start, he can be as high-minded as he likes, but you can bet old Karkaroff and Maxime won't be. They'll have told their champions everything they can. They want to win. They want to beat Dumbledore. They'd like to prove he's only human. I am sure you both have talked it over; you have any ideas how you're going to get past your dragon yet?"

"Yes," Buffy said. "We've come up with a plan of action for Harry."

"Good, good," Moody said.

As Harry and Buffy walked through the castle to Harry's next lesson they talked. "I still need to learn a summoning charm," he said.

Buffy sighed. She didn't want her brother in the tournament. But she had to agree that if she couldn't master the glamour charm that he had to be able to do it, regardless of her objections. "I know. Come to my office after dinner. I will teach you the one that Dumbledore has been teaching me. I've already mastered it."

After dinner Harry arrived at Buffy's office. Buffy showed Harry the summoning charm and he practiced it while Buffy practiced the glamour charm.

"Concentrate, both of you," came a voice from the door. Harry and Buffy turned and saw Dumbledore standing there. "I take it you have told Harry the plan and he is practicing the summoning charm in case you haven't mastered the glamour charm."

"Yes," Buffy said.

"I know you wished to keep Harry out of the tournament. But I have to say it is a sensible precaution none the less," Dumbledore said.

"Professor," Harry said. "Has there been any indication on who put my name in the goblet?"

"I am sad to say, none, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Now, remember, concentration is key for both of you." He turned and left the office.

It was nearing two o'clock in the morning when Buffy decided to send Harry to bed. It had only been in that last hour that Harry had really got the hang of the Summoning Charm. Buffy being the Slayer knew she could easily go on only three hours of sleep. So, she stayed up longer practicing the glamour. Finally, at five o'clock in the morning she turned in.

November 23, 2001

Harry woke and hurried out of the Gryffindor dormitory, down the stairs and out the portrait hole into the corridor. There had been too many other people in the common room for him to use that entrance into Buffy's suite. He turned and ran down the corridor to the portrait that opened into her rooms from the corridor. "Morning, Simon," he said.

"Morning, Harry," Simon replied. "Password."

"Hellmouth," Harry answered as Simon's portrait slid open and he walked into Buffy's suite.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

At lunch Professor McGonagall hurried over to Harry in the Great Hall, she noticed that it was just him and Dawn. "Where is Buffy?" she asked.

"She had a last-minute counseling session before the task today," Harry answered.

McGonagall nodded. "Well, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now… You have to get ready."

"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione whispered. "You'll be fine!"

"Hermione's right," Dawn said and then leaned over and whispered. "Are you Buffy or Harry?"

Dawn's only answer as Harry left with McGonagall was the grin on his face.

They walked own the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon.

"Now, don't panic," McGonagall said, "just keep a cool head… Besides your sister we've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand… The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you… Are you all right?"

"Yes," Harry said. "Yes, I'm fine."

She led him around the edge of the forest behind a clump of trees to a tent that had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in here with the other champions," said Professor McGonagall, in a rather shaky sort of voice, "and wait for your turn, Potter. Mr. Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you the—the procedure… Good luck."

"Thanks," said Harry. She left him at the entrance of the tent.

When he went inside, he saw Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool looking rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked surly. Cedric was pacing up and down.

Cedric gave Harry a small smile.

"Harry! Good-o!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home! Well, now we're all here—time to fill you in! When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag"—he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them— "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different—er—varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too… ah, yes… your task is to collect the golden egg!"

In no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking…

And then Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack. "Ladies first," he said.

Harry was about to step forward but caught himself as Bagman offered the bag to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon—a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck.

Krum pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck.

Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck.

Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number four.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now… Harry… could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er… yes," said Harry wondering why Bagman wanted to speak to him. Did Bagman suspect? He followed Bagman out of the tent and a short distance away, into the trees.

Bagman turned to Harry with a fatherly expression on his face. "Feeling all right, Harry? Anything I can get you?"

"No, thank you," Harry said.

"Got a plan?" said Bagman, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean you're the underdog here, Harry… Anything I can do to help…"

"I'm good," Harry said. "I have a plan already ready to go."

"Did your sister help you?" Bagman asked.

"She gave me some pointers," Harry admitted.

"Good, Good," Bagman said as a whistle blew somewhere. "Good lord, I've got to run!" He hurried off.

Harry walked back to the tent and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. "Good luck," he said.

"You too, Harry," Cedric said as Harry went back inside to Fleur and Krum. Seconds later, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model…

The crowd screamed… yelled… gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish ShortSnout.

And then, after about fifteen minutes, Harry heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing: Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!"

But he didn't shout out the marks; Harry supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd.

"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling from head to foot as she left the tent with her head held high and her hand clutching her wand.

Harry and Krum were left alone, at opposite sides of the tent.

The same process started again…

Ten minutes later, Harry heard the crowd erupt into applause once more… Fleur must have been successful too. A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown… more clapping… then, for the third time, the whistle.

"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out, leaving Harry quite alone.

And for the third time the process started. After several minutes, applause shattered the quiet again; Krum had finished—it would be Harry's turn any moment.

When Harry heard the whistle, he walked out through the entrance of the tent. He walked past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence. He looked up spotting Dawn and waved. He could tell what she was mouthing even from this distance, "Where's Buffy?"

Harry smiled and pointed at himself. He could see Dawn smile as she mouthed, "Good luck, Buffy."

Harry/Buffy nodded as he looked toward the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, leaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. He raised the wand with the hair of the First Slayer at its core as he shouted, "Accio Firebolt!"

He waited for a few moments before he spotted the broomstick. speeding through the air toward him; he turned and with the agility of a Slayer jumped onto the broom as it came flying at him. Harry soared at the Horntail; its head followed him. He swerved just as a jet of fire was sent his way.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Harry/Buffy soared upward in a circle; the Horntail was still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck—if he kept this up, it would be nicely dizzy—but better not push it too long, or it would be breathing fire again—

He plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time he was less lucky—he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes.

It was time to quit playing mouse, Harry/Buffy decided. It was time to do something he had done back in Sunnydale. Bait and relocate. Except this bait and relocate wasn't intended to make her chase him but to make her leave her eggs undefended.

He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make the dragon breathe fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared…

He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, like a snake before its charmer…

Harry/Buffy rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. He was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; her tail thrashed again, but he was too high to reach now… She shot fire into the air, which he dodged…

Her jaws opened wide…

"Come on," Harry/Buffy said, swerving tantalizingly above her, "come on, come and get me… up you get now…"

And then she reared, spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last, as wide as those of a small airplane—and Harry dived. Before the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding toward the ground as fast as he could go, toward the eggs now unprotected by her clawed front legs—he had taken his hands off his Firebolt—he had seized the golden egg—

And with a huge spurt of speed, he was off, he was soaring out over the stands, the heavy egg safely under his arm.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds-on Mr. Potter!"

Harry/Buffy saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosure, Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet him, all of them waving him toward them. Harry turned and actually flew in the opposite direction straight at his sister. He held out his hand and Dawn took it as she swung onto the broom behind him.

"You did it, Buffy," Dawn whispered into Harry's ear.

"Buffy couldn't master the spell in time," Harry/Buffy joked.

"Harry?" Dawn said with obvious confusion.

"Just kidding, Dawnie," Harry/Buffy said. "Harry is likely somewhere out here under his invisibility cloak."

"Arrgh," Dawn said as she slapped Harry/Buffy's shoulder. "Worry me for nothing, Buffy," she said.

"Sorry," Harry/Buffy said. He glanced down at Hagrid, Moody and McGonagall. "I'm going to stay up here till they announce the score. I'm not sure if Moody's eye can see through the glamour charm. Wouldn't surprise me if it could. Farther away I am the better."

When the scores were revealed it was shown that Harry/Buffy had tied for first with Krum. Then he and Dawn lew out of the enclosure and back to the tent where they got off the broom.

"Is this yours or Harry's?" Dawn asked as she took the broom.

"Mine," Harry/Buffy answered. "While all three of our brooms are the exact same model. I know the ins and outs of mine, something I don't have with his or yours."

Just then Hermione and Ron came darting at them.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"

"Harry," Ron said, "whoever put your name in that goblet I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

"You might want to tell that to Harry later," Harry/Buffy said.

"Hunh?" Ron said, who was just as confused as Dawn had been a few minutes earlier.

"Buffy?" Hermione said equally confused as Ron.

"Yes," Harry/Buffy said. "This was intentional. I learned a glamour charm so that Harry wouldn't have to take part in the tournament."

"That's advanced magic," Hermione said in clear surprise that Buffy had been able to learn it in only a matter of weeks, "and only taught to seventh-year students who are training to become Aurors."

"You were the best, you know, no competition," Ron said. "Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground… turned it into a dog… he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well—the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Labrador; he only just got away. And that Fleur girl tried this sort of charm, I think she was trying to put it into a trance—well, that kind of worked too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored, and this great jet of flame shot out, and her skirt caught fire—she put it out with a bit of water out of her wand. And Krum—you won't believe this, but he didn't even think of flying! He was probably the best after you, though. Hit it with some sort of spell right in the eye. Only thing is, it went trampling around in agony and squashed half the real eggs—they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."

"What do you think," Harry/Buffy said. "If I was Harry and Dawn's age. Would I have made it on the Quidditch team?"

"Yes!" Ron cried. "Hands down, Buffy."

"I need to go back inside the tent," Harry/Buffy said. "Just for a moment. Their supposed to tell the champions about the second task."

"You don't know what it is?" Dawn asked.

"Albus hasn't said yet," Harry/Buffy admitted. "I was too busy working on learning the glamour charm." He then turned and walked into the tent.

"Good one, Harry," Cedric said.

"Thanks," Harry/Buffy said.

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth—but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs, you're all holding, you will see that they open… see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg—because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

Harry/Buffy left the tent, rejoined Hermione, Dawn and Ron, and they walked back to the castle together.

"Harry," came a voice from behind them. They turned and saw Dumbledore approaching them. "A moment if you will."

Harry/Buffy nodded and motioned for the others to go on as Dumbledore stepped into line with him.

"I see the glamour charm, worked," Dumbledore whispered. "And none of the other judges were any the wiser. I only knew when I saw you summon your broom. I recognized your wand from the weigh-in. It was wise not to tell me you had managed to master the charm. I'm not going to tell you about the next task as you are now technically the champion. I will wish you luck."

"Thanks, Albus," Harry/Buffy said.

Author's Note: The mention of Harry thinking Buffy could have been a Chaser is a reference to my Potter Twins story where Buffy is on the Gryffindor team as a Chaser.