The weeks leading up to the First Task were harrowing for Harry.

He had never felt this alone as far as he could remember. And he had always been alone before Hogwarts. Always.

But now he had learned what it meant to have friends who supported him, no matter what.

Or so he had thought.

And he felt their absence like he was missing a limb.

Ron was gone from his life. Full stop. Sometimes he might sneer at Harry like Malfoy always did, but he then turned his back to his former friend and ignored him.

And that hurt! Each and every time.

Harry felt his throat closing and a funny pressure behind his eyes, so he distracted himself by thinking about his other friend.

Hermione.

Hermione, who was torn between her friends. It seemed like she couldn't decide which one of them she should stand by.

On the one hand, Harry thought it was fair. He hadn't stood by her when Ron had laid into her about Scabbers back in second year, either. On the other hand, she didn't really seem to believe him about not entering the Tournament himself. Did she know him at all?

She seemed to distract herself with house-elf rights. Selling badges and things like that. Badges!

Harry scowled.

He didn't think he would ever wear badges in his life. Especially not ones with S.P.E.W. written on them.

His mind wandered to the newspaper article that the blond 'reporter' wrote about him. Making him look like a lunatic. She didn't even get his age right!

The rest of the student body seemed to take her lies as fact. Forgetting anything they ever learned about Harry themselves.

And now he had learned that the first task contained dragons. Real, alive, fire-spewing dragons.

And they were grown-up, not like baby dragon Norbert who had looked like a folded umbrella and had still managed to put Ron in the Hospital Wing with his bite, and nearly burn down Hagrid's hut.

No. Huge dragons.

And Ron had known and not warned him as soon as he learned about them. Luckily, he had met Hagrid in Hogsmeade, and the huge man had asked Harry to meet him later that night and had shown him the dragon.

Ron's jealousy had gone too far in Harry's mind.

At least the other Champions were warned as well. He had seen Madame Maxine and Headmaster Karkaroff and Professor Moody seemed to be in charge to help the Hogwarts Champions. He had taken Harry aside and given him a plan and Harry had seen him talking with Cedric Diggory as well, with his false eye looking at Harry who was passing by at some distance.

The plan. Harry was still unsure he would manage. Yes, he was a good flier, but against a huge dragon?

And Ron had interrupted his talk to Sirius, as well. Just when Sirius had wanted to tell Harry his idea of what would work against a dragon.

Ron. Again.

Harry still was unsure how flying his broom would help against the creature. What was the dragon for anyways? Did he have to fight it to the death? Him? Skinny, fourteen-year-old Harry?

Harry scoffed.

It wasn't like he knew any spells strong enough against it. And he had seen the group of dragon tamers struggling with the beasts. A group. Of trained professionals.

He felt sick and practiced the summoning charm some more.

*

Harry sat in the tent the Champions had been told to meet and looked to Delacour and Krum. Both of them were looking like he felt.

Cedric had just left the tent.

The young man had looked very surprised about the dragons. Hadn't Professor Moody told him? But how could that be? All of them had been warned, except Cedric!

Should Harry have done it? He was unsure. Cedric seemed to have everything in hand and was always surrounded by his friends. How could none of them have known about the dragons? Even Harry did, as isolated as he was right now.

Cedric had left the tent as white as a sheet. He had been the first one. With no chance to make a plan. Bugger!

The waiting Champions listened to Bagman's telling of the happenings outside. Not that the words did make any sense without seeing the event. It ended with, "WHAT IS HE DOING? NO! DON'T–DRAGON TAMERS! GET IN THERE QICK AND HELP MR. DIGGORY! ... OH NOOOO."

The three in the tent looked at one another with big eyes.

Delacour looked green now and Krum even grimmer than before.

Something was happening outside for quite a while until they heard, "WE DID NOT EXPECT THAT OUTCOME– WELL, *cough* LET'S HOPE THE OTHERS ARE MORE PREPARED. MISS DELACOUR, IT IS YOUR TURN NOW!"

Delacour got up, squared her shoulders, and moved outside to face her dragon.

Harry looked to Krum and asked quietly, "Do you have a plan prepared?"

Krum nodded and grunted, "Da. You?"

"Kind of. I hope our plans work."

"Da. I, too."

Soon they were listening to Bagman commenting on Delacour's performance and were relieved to hear that she had gotten the egg in the end, even if she might have gotten singed.

"Good luck," Harry wished Krum when the Quidditch star was called.

"Thanks. You too."

Now Harry waited alone and listened to Bagman's telling of Krum's execution of the young man's plan.

Harry's hands were sweaty, and he felt like he was trembling internally while his heart raced. This might be the last hour of his short life. He had survived much. But could he survive a dragon?

He huffed at the thought of his younger hopeful self, who had entered the wizarding world with so much hope that things would get better now.

Ha! At least he hadn't been pitched against a dragon for the masses' entertainment at the Dursleys. Dudley didn't seem so scary anymore now, did he?

This world here was shit. Nearly no friends and the only adult who seemed to care were innocent and on the run...

Maybe if Harry survived this year, he and Sirius should just leave.

Ah, Krum got the egg! Harry felt absolutely no compassion for the hurt dragon and the smashed eggs Bagman was complaining about. What did they think would happen in such a competition? And no one had told them not to damage the dragon or the eggs.

And now it was his turn to walk out into the arena, filled with cheering people. Cedric must be alive at least, or they would be more solemn, Harry thought with a scowl and went to see how fate had planned his encounter with a Hungarian Horntail.

*

He had survived. He had actually survived. Harry couldn't believe it.

He was led into the healer's tent by a ranting Madam Pomfrey, when he entered, he saw Delacour and Krum on some cots, but no one else.

"Where is Diggory?" Harry asked the still ranting Matron.

Madam Pomfrey paled and shook her head, "Let me see to you first, Mr. Potter," she answered and bustled Harry to a third cot.

Harry, who knew he was alright, ignored her attention to his unhurt body and looked to Krum, "Is he alive?"

Krum shook his head now frowning darkly.

Delacour answered quietly, "He was bitten in half. The dragon ate one part, they said."

Harry gagged and nearly retched all over the Matron who huffed and spelled a Calming Draught directly into Harry's stomach.

Artificial and emotionless calmness settled over him.

The healer said, "You have no injuries, Mr. Potter."

"Duh."

Before he could get scolded the tent flap of the entrance was pushed aside, and Hermione with Ron in tow snuck inside.

"Harry!" Hermione engulfed him in one of her bone-breaking hugs and babbled about how scared she had been and how horrible Diggory's death had been.

Harry patted her shoulder emotionlessly and thought it was a good thing he already had known of Diggory's fate.

When she let go of him, sniffing, Ron stepped forward and stammered something about believing Harry now and looked hopefully to his estranged friend.

After he was done with his short non-apology, Harry asked, "That's it?"

Ron looked clueless and said, "Yeah?"

Harry tilted his head and said one word only, "No."

"What?" Ron blustered and turned red-faced. "But I want to be friends again!"

"No."

Ron rounded on Hermione, "You said, he is desperate to be my friend again!"

"That's not true! I said, you should apologize, and Harry surely would take you back! But this was not an apology, at all!"

"I didn't apologize to you after Scabbers either, and you took me back!" Ron told her hotly.

Harry watched dispassionately and nodded, "That's right. I never heard you apologize, really," and mustered his former friend critically.

"Whatever!" Ron yelled still red-faced and ran out of the tent.

"Oh no," Hermione sighed and rushed after Ron.

"Huh," Harry blinked. Her first reaction was to go after the redhead?

But before he could think about it more deeply, a wizard rushed into the tent and said, "They are ready for announcing the points now! The three of you need to come with me!"

The three champions looked at each other, shrugged, and followed the man to stand in front of the judges.

When Delacour was given her points, Harry thought, at least they didn't think they needed to judge Diggory's performance. I wouldn't have put it past them.

Krum then got points extracted because the dragon got hurt and did smash some of her eggs, much to Karkaroff's displeasure, while Krum looked on stoically.

Harry decided, he wouldn't keep his mouth shut again, and said, "How was he to know that it was against the rules?"

Mr. Crouch frowned and answered, "You were all told the rules before the task."

"We weren't told not to 'urt se dragon or se eggs," Delacour said, much to Harry's surprise and Madam Maxime's displeasure.

"Mr. Bagman surely told you all the rules of this task, my dear," Dumbledore said, twinkling at the French witch.

"Nope, he didn't," Harry said. "We had to get the golden egg and get out again. And only enter with our wands. That was it." Harry turned to the other two who had been present. "Or do I remember that wrongly?"

"Non."

"Njet."

The judges frowned (except Karkaroff), discussed the news, and were obviously scolding the very embarrassed-looking Bagman.

Afterward, Krum's points were distributed without the distraction of some for the damage he had inadvertently caused.

Harry got his points too and he and Krum were in the lead, with even Karkaroff judging Harry fairly after the boy had stood up for his competition.

This day changed Harry's path. He and the other two champions became as thick as thieves, only trying to survive the Tournament now, which had cost one of them their very life.

At the Second Task, Ron was 'saved' by a scowling Harry, who had still not forgiven his former friend. Even after the Calming Draught had worn off. – Hermione had been Viktor's hostage, but she and Harry had drifted apart with her burring herself in the library or her S.P.E.W.-matters and him hanging out and training with Fleur and Viktor. – They had decoded the eggs quickly and revised three plans to get the things they would sorely miss out of the Black Lake within an hour. They cooperated the whole way and surfaced at the same time, much to the jurors' displeasure.

They practiced for months and on the day of the Third Task, Harry was introduced to the families of Viktor and Fleur, whom he spent the entire day with. No one had come for him, after all.

When Viktor and Harry entered the mace together, they stayed together and waited for Fleur to join them. They mastered all hurdles together. At one point someone even tried to hit Viktor with the Imperious Curse, but he dodged, and Harry cast an Expelliarmus in the hedges, which then expelled a wand. They heard a thud and some scrambling but couldn't find the perpetrator. So, they collected the wand and went on, even more carefully than before.

When they arrived at the pedestal holding the Triwizard Cup, they did what they had agreed on long before and took the handles of the cup together.

To their surprise, they didn't land on the podium in front of the bored masses but on a strangely dark graveyard.

They had their wands out and stood back-to-back, until Harry felt his scar hurt terribly and sank to his knees, clutching his head.

"Kill the spares," a high voice sounded out of the bundle, the man shuffling toward them was carrying.

Harry didn't see it, but the other two did and so, they dove out of the incoming killing curse and cast a stunner back, each. Followed by an Expelliarmus for good measure.

The pain in Harry's scar lessened considerably and he could hear a hissing voice calling, "You won't hurt my massster!" Harry immediately sent a stunner in the direction of the voice, but the stunner seemed to bounce off the... was that a snake?

Harry had a flashback to the chamber and froze but fortunately, Viktor turned around when he heard Harry's spell and cast the killing curse at the snake without a pause. That spell was not illegal when cast on animals and he didn't want to take a chance after two Unforgivable curses had nearly missed him in the last hour.

Fleur in the meantime had cast a spell to constrain their assailant and walked towards them while on high alert.

"Sey are stunned, but we need se Aurors, don't you sink? Sis isn't part of le Tournoi."

"Da. I agree. I vill call them," Viktor answered and cast a spell – unknown to Harry – saying, "Ve are at this location, ve need help. A killing curse vas cast on us. The man is contained for the moment. Assistance needed," and waved his wand once more and a spell shot of.

Harry blinked and said, "How will they know where to go? And who did you call?"

"You don't know the spell to call the next magical law-enforcement officer to your location?" Viktor asked incredulously.

"No?"

At that moment, an owl landed in front of Harry, who took the letter it was carrying and opened it.

"Wow." Harry gaped at the writing and couldn't believe his eyes. Maybe the light was too dim, and he misread?

"What is it?" Fleur asked.

"I think it's a warning because I cast a spell in a Muggle area? They... uh" Harry squinted at the writing, "they will break my wand? What?"

"Sen give me your wand; I will keep it safe!" Fleur called out and Harry handed it over at once. "Sere, it's in my wand 'olster, no one can take it."

Harry sighed relieved.

"I haff no words on the stupidity of your officials. Idiotka!"

Luckily, no idiots came to investigate. They were a tall black Auror named Shacklebolt, and a young Auror-trainee named Tonks.

They surveyed the crime scene quickly and concluded that this might be bigger than what they could handle when Harry told them about his scar hurting and that it did do that when Lord Voldemort was close by.

They were a little disbelieving of the last part but after seeing the content of the bundle, that man had been carrying, they quickly changed their tunes and called for reinforcement. They even sent for the Unspeakables.

They then asked the three to hand over a memory of the last hour and showed Harry how to actually do that.

Soon, the graveyard was swarming with people, and the perpetrator, whom Harry had identified as Peter Pettigrew, and the scaly baby were packed up and whisked off. Viktor, Fleur, and Harry were given a Portkey to the Ministry as well and a message was sent to the Judges of the Tournament, to inform them, the champions were safe but could not return at the moment due to an Auror investigation.

At Auror Shacklebolt's office, Harry read the letter again, and he had not misread it. He is being expelled from Hogwarts for underage magic and his wand is to be broken.

But the Auror reassured Harry, that this would not take place and that he would have words with the office that handled underage magic and with the Head of the DMLE, Madame Bones.

Harry nodded but didn't ask for his wand back as of yet. One never knew in the wizarding world. Fleur seemed to share his opinion, as she kept quiet about it as well.

After they had given their statements and had signed them, they were allowed to return to Hogwarts, where they had been awaited with bated breaths, in the Great Hall by then.

They learned that Professor Moody had been poisoned by an Acromantula and killed. Apparently, the huge creature had been carrying the big cocoon towards the Forbidden Forrest when it was discovered, but Moody couldn't be helped anymore. But then some house-elves, that had packed up Moody's things in his quarters had found another Moody in a trunk. No one was sure what the truth was anymore and so the rumors got wilder and wilder the longer the evening.

*

Soon Sirius got exonerated and became Harry's guardian, much to Headmaster Dumbledore's annoyance.

Dumbledore didn't seem to have a good time, anyway, Sirius told Harry. His efforts to help the Unspeakables were rebuffed and his plea for lenience for Pettigrew went unheard.

After the Unspeakables had done something to Harry's scar and had healed it afterward, Harry and Sirius decided to leave Magical Britain to their own devices and emigrate. Harry spent the rest of his school years in Malta's magical school, which he enjoyed greatly, spending many of his holidays in France or Bulgaria.

In the end, he was glad his friendships in Hogwarts had sizzled out because if they hadn't, he would never have wanted to leave.