When Harry woke up the next morning, he knew the strongest coffee or the sweetest fizzy drinks could not restore his usually-high degree of alertness. The discussion with Dobby the night before was jarring, to say the least. Although he was wary of the house elf's heartfelt pleas, he at least let the little guy pour his heart out. The very moment Dobby uttered Voldemort's name, Harry's face turned ghostly white. The Dark Lord himself was behind the resurrection of the infamous tournament... as a front to return to bodily form.
As he made his way downstairs to join his band of friends in the Great Hall, he couldn't help but notice a number of banners on the walls that supported Cedric Diggory as Hogwarts' true champion. That was all well and good, Harry believed, as even he privately supported Cedric - all Harry wanted was to survive the ordeal in one piece. But what got his goat were the equally-numerous banners and badges that put him down. "Potter Sucks". "Fuck Potter". "Potter's Going Down."
The first thought that came to his mind was Draco Malfoy - the one petty enough to drag Harry's name though the mud like that. As he passed by the Slytherin table, he heard some audible snickering from Malfoy and his goons, confirming his suspicions. He wisely ignored the Slytherins and continued on toward the Gryffindor table, where he took his seat amongst his friends and supporters.
"Oh, Harry," Daphne murmured, unable to avoid staring at Harry's disheveled appearance. "You look terrible. It looks like you haven't slept a wink last night. What happened?"
"Dobby," sighed Harry. "He visited me last night. He told me a terrible truth that I'm not sure I'm ready to share quite yet. He seemed... insistent on saving my life again."
"You know what happened the last time he tried to save your life," Ron grumbled, shaking his head.
Harry shrugged a lazy shoulder. "How could I not? But the least I could do was hear him out. He doesn't trust witches and wizards easily - I can't say I blame him - but thankfully, he swore on his own magic that he would not interfere; all he wanted was for me to just sit and listen to him." He took a deep breath. "When the time is right, I will share the revelation, but I'm still in a state of shock as it is..."
"So, Harry, are you looking forward to your interview with that glorified tabloid journalist Rita Skeeter tomorrow?" teased Ginny, attempting to steer the conversation in a slightly more light-hearted direction. Harry just groaned, causing Ginny, Daphne, Luna, and Desiree to all giggle.
Fred shook his head. "Keep your head on a swivel whenever you're in the same room with that lady, Harry. You give her an inch, and she'll take a mile!"
"She's rarely interested in the truth," added George. "She's a sensationalist at her core. She's unscrupulous, but she's a savvy businesswoman - she knows how to sell a story!"
"Thanks for the heads-up, guys," Harry said with sincerity. "I don't think she's anyone I can't handle. I don't get intimidated easily - not after dealing with L.V. multiple times."
Daphne smiled sweetly. "Good luck, Harry. Oh, there's a little surprise that your friends and I arranged for you just before your interview tomorrow... I'm sure you'll love it."
Harry couldn't help but grin himself. "Oh yeah? So... a little hint?"
Daphne, still smiling, shook her head 'no'. "Not one word, Potter. But I promise it'll be worth the wait."
Harry sighed before creaking out a reluctant, "Oh, all right."
That night, Harry got a much more restful sleep and awoke in a much more alert state - this didn't go unnoticed by his friends when he sat with them at the Great Hall for breakfast the following morning. He even seemed to be in a more cheerful mode, despite the fact he wasn't really looking forward to being interviewed by the notorious journalist Rita Skeeter that afternoon; but if it was any consolation, he was going to be interviewed simultaneously with co-champions Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum - so he wouldn't be doing it alone at the very least.
But it was the promise of a delightful surprise that kept his spirits high that day. He was not prepared for the surprise in store for him that afternoon, however. Just a few minutes after taking his seat in a waiting room with his fellow champions, someone knocked on the door. Harry stood up an opened the door, and heard the familiar soft squeak of Daphne. "Harry?"
"Oh, hiya Daphne," replied Harry. "I assume this is related to this surprise you've told me about?"
Daphne flashed a lovely smile. "Bingo." She turned to her left and beckoned for a scruffy, dark-haired man to join them.
"PUP!"
Harry instantly recognized the voice as belonging to his godfather, Sirius Black. He raced over to Sirius and the two bear-hugged each other.
"Sirius! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" exclaimed Harry.
"I'll give you a few minutes to yourselves," offered Daphne. With that, she politely excused herself so Harry and Sirius could catch up.
Sirius chuckled. "I've got something for you, Harry." He dug into his pocket and produced a golden badge and handed it to Harry. "For what it's worth, pup, as far as your involvement with that blasted goblet is concerned, I believe you. What's more important is that I believe in you. Look - I know you haven't asked for a lot of the things that have been thrown your way, but you've always gotten back up every time someone knocks you down." He sighed. "I know you just want to come out of this tournament intact - I get that - but if you're effectively forced to take part, then there's no better way to tell those gits to sod off than winning the tournament. You're a Gryffindor through-and-through, Harry... and even more than bravery, nothing defines a Gryffindor more than sticking it to the man."
Harry looked at Sirius like he had just woken up on Christmas morning. "Thanks, Padfoot. That means a lot. Now, about this badge... what does it do? I'm assuming it's more than just for show."
Sirius grinned like the former schoolboy he was. "Glad you asked, pup. With a little help from a couple of ginger-haired hooligans, we enchanted it so you can have some fun at your Slytherin friends' expense." He couldn't hide a devilish laugh. "It's a modified prefect's badge - you can take points away from Slytherin if Malfoy or his ilk get under your skin. Hell, you can even take points away from Snivellus if he's being his usual prejudiced self."
"Wait... you're telling me that house points can be deducted from faculty? I never knew that," Harry asked, clearly astonished.
"Technically, yes," assured Sirius. "It's rare, but Dumbledore has deducted house points from delinquent faculty members in the past... including Snivellus."
"Thanks, Padfoot," Harry said. "This is beyond awesome."
"You're welcome, pup," chuckled Sirius. "Just don't get too carried away with it. Snivellus can't do a damn thing about it, but if Dumbledore finds out that you're abusing the power of that badge, he can confiscate it."
Harry nodded. "You got it."
"I'll be seeing you around, Harry," Sirius said with a wink. "I know you're not exactly looking forward to that interview, but it'll be over soon enough. If she starts asking uncomfortable questions, try neither to confirm nor deny them. 'No comment' works. But just like the powers of that badge, you need to be selective with the questions you can dodge. She'll make up her own answers if you do that too many times, and I don't think you'll like them when they're in print."
"She definitely seems to be of questionable character," agreed Harry. "It was good to see you by the way." Dog and pup embraced each other one last time, before Sirius excused himself.
It wasn't more than a few seconds later before Daphne re-emerged. "You'd better get back in that waiting room, Harry. And I do hope you enjoyed your surprise."
Harry beamed. "Are you kidding, Daphne? Sirius gave me this special badge... he said that Fred and George gave him a hand enchanting it."
Daphne giggled. "Now I'm sure he advised you not to use it too many times; especially against my house, even if my idiot housemates or arse of a house head deserve it." She then gave Harry a quick goodbye hug. "Good luck, Harry. The interview shouldn't take that long - just pay her the minimum required lip service and hopefully that will be that..."
"I hope so too, Daphne," groaned Harry. "I'll see you in a little bit. Thank you... for everything."
Daphne smiled sweetly. "My pleasure, Harry."