Here's a short one but it was the best stopping point without becoming too long, enjoy.
Simultaneous with last scene
"Oh my! Mr. Diggory has become stuck in the devil's snare and sent up red sparks, that means Mr. Potter is the only competitor left! All he has to do is answer the sphinx's riddle and grab the cup and he will be the champion!" Bagman's voice boomed out as the stands erupted in both cheers and groans. "Mr. Potter is spending a lot of time with the sphinx, it must be a particularly tough riddle yea?"
After what seemed like forever, most of the crowd gasped when Harry fell to his knees.
"Oh my! It appears he may have gotten the riddle wrong and been attacked!" Bagman exclaimed before correcting himself. "Well maybe not, the sphinx has disappeared, now he simply must grab the cup, which will act as a portkey to return him to the start of the maze where he will receive his prize!" Bagman said once again as he began walking down the stairs with Dumbledore, Fudge, and Sirius towards the entrance where the celebration would be held. "Well that's odd, Mr. Potter has stopped just before the cup and appears to be taking a potion. Oh it's a pepper up! I wonder why, he must know that this is the end."
Everyone else was just as confused as Bagman. Harry had been told that reaching the cup would signify the end of the tournament. All he had to do was grab it and he would be brought back to safety where he could receive proper medical care.
For some reason though, Sirius could not shake the sinking feeling that had welled up in his gut, and a quick glance at Dumbledore told him that old man felt much the same. They watched with bated breath as Harry stood staring at the cup but not grabbing it. His face was steeled, and he appeared ready for battle still and that only made the feeling in Sirius' gut even worse. Finally, he had all he could take. "Stop the bloody tournament and get him out of the maze! Don't let him touch the cup! Harry no!" He yelled out, but it was too late as Harry grabbed the cup and was whisked away.
Every set of eyes in the stands stared at the area where the portkey was supposed to arrive. Nobody muttered a word or even breathed for several seconds until the voice of Sirius Black cut through the silence. "Where is my fucking Godson?!" he yelled as he turned to face Bagman, whose face was white as snow now.
"Where the fuck is he?!" Sirius yelled once more as he lunged at Bagman and grabbed the man by his collar, shoving him against the wall? After getting no reply he slammed his fist into the side of the man's face and shouted his question again. Once more he received no answer and drew back his fist once again only for Dumbledore to grab his arm.
"Sirius, calm yourself. Ludo is obviously just as shocked as we are. Harming him will not bring Harry back. We need to get to the center of the maze and see if we can get a trace on the portkey." With his part said and Sirius slightly calmed, Dumbledore gave a wave of his wand, causing all the viewing screens to go blank.
By this time, Madame Bones had arrived along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Moody. "What do you need Albus?" she asked in a no nonsense voice.
"Have your Aurors form a perimeter around the stadium. Allow nobody in or out. Reach out to the unspeakables and see if they can send a tracking team to assist us." He paused there for a moment, removing a candy wrapper from his pocket and pointed his wand at it to create a portkey before handing it to Amelia." We are going to the center to see if we can trace the portkey." Dumbledore replied in his own hardened tone, far from the grandfatherly one he normally used. Someone seeing Albus right now would quickly realize why he was considered the strongest wizard in the world; this was the Albus Dumbledore who defeated Grindelwald and won a war, not the barmy old headmaster.
With her orders given, Madam Bone's dispatched Kingsley to direct the Aurors and then call the Department of Mysteries while she joined the rest of them in going to the cup, besides Fudge and Bagman who stayed behind because they would only be in the way.
"I knew we should have stopped Potter before now, every step along this tournament from the minute he has entered someone has been trying to kill him." Moody barked out in a sour tone.
"He was magically bound, Alastor. If he didn't compete, he would have lost his magic and likely died anyways." Dumbledore offered.
"He had to compete, but he didn't have to win. He could have started the task and quit at the first obstacle."
Dumbledore couldn't really argue with that logic and looking back he wished that they had done just that. "Ahh, hindsight is 20/20." He said softly.
Going as the bird flies, meaning that Sirius has lashed out with several overpowered blasting hexes, the group was able to reach the center of the maze in only a few minutes. While Dumbledore and Moody began to inspect the podium where the cup was previously, Sirius and Amelia backtracked into the maze to find the sphinx.
A moment later found Sirius and Amelia face to face with the cat-like figure. "Hello Sirius Black, Amelia Bones. What is seen in the middle of March and April that can't be seen at the beginning or end of either month?"
"Please, I just need to know about Harry!" Sirius nearly begged. "He's missing and we don't have time for a riddle."
"I will say no further until you answer my riddle. What is seen in the middle of March and April that can't be seen at the beginning or end of either month?"
"Goddammit!" Sirius yelled out in frustration. "I'm garbage at riddles, that was always Moony's thing."
While Sirius was complaining, Amelia had been pondering over the riddle in her head.
"Please, I don't know it. Please tell me-" Sirius started but was interrupted by Amelia.
"The letter R." she said earning a nod from the sphinx.
"Very good Amelia Bones. You could teach a thing or two to this mutt, though." The sphinx replied in what seemed like an amused voice. Judging by the fact that Sirius wasn't yelling about being called a mutt, he hadn't been able to hear that part.
"Okay we answered the bloody riddle, now can you tell us where Harry is?" Sirius said after a moment of silence.
"No." Persephone replied earning a growl from the man.
"Why the fuck not?!" He yelled out.
"I just cannot."
"Please?!"
"No."
Amelia Had once more been thinking and decided to change the style of questioning. "If you can't tell us where he is, can you tell us if he is okay?"
"Yes."
"Will you tell us please?"
"Harry Potter is alive at this very moment."
"Will you tell us why he took so long talking to you?"
"No."
Amelia sighed. At least they knew that Harry was alive, but obviously wouldn't be getting much more out of the sphinx.
"Thank you." Amelia said as she and Sirius turned to leave, no better off than when they arrived really.
"Harry Potter will return to you this night, but he will not return wholly." With that last bit the cat-like creature disappeared once more signifying the end of the conversation.
The pair quickly made their way back to Albus and Alastor only to find that they had also come up empty.
"Bastards covered their tracks well. Too well if you ask me. This has to be an inside job! We need veritaserum by the fuckin' buckets! I'll Cruciatus everyone in the ministry if I have to!" Moody barked out, starting into a paranoia fueled rage.
"Alastor!" Madam Bones yelled out. "You can't go casting unforgivables on the entire ministry, you know that. Maybe the unspeakables tracking team may be able to turn something up."
Moody just grunted at the woman showing his disapproval of her answer.
It was several minutes later when several dark cloaked figures popped into the clearing. They were all wearing matching cloaks with the hoods pulled up and their faces obscured by some sort of charm. One of them stepped forward and dropped his hood, revealing an old man with grey hair and a scruffy looking beard. "Were you able to find anything?"
"Nothing. We barely found a signature at all." Dumbledore replied somberly.
"I see. Team, move." He said before the other cloaked men moved to the pedestal. Some of them began waving their wands around it and chanting at times while some others produced objects from their pockets to scan with. They spent several minutes going over it only to reach the same conclusion as the others.
"Sir, we were unable to-" He was cut off as a loud crash and a scream of pain erupted from behind him. Every set of eyes present jerked to the pedestal to see Harry crumpled against it holding onto his wrist where they noticed a copious amount of blood pouring out from both his arm and his head
"Harry!" Sirius was the first to react, taking off towards Harry at a run before he was roughly grabbed by Moody.
"Dammit Black I taught you better. Constant Vigilance!" He then turned to Harry and raised his voice to be heard over the screams. "Potter! What did I tell Granger during our first private lesson."
"You attacked us with a desk and told us it was better to die than to be captured." Harry ground out through gritted teeth.
Moody didn't reply, he simply let go of Sirius and allowed the man to run to Harry. He slid down on his knees beside Harry and wrapped him in a hug, eliciting more screams from the boy. "Harry, by Merlin what happened?!"
"Voldemort. Explain later… Need Pomfrey." He gritted out before finally succumbing to either blood loss or pain and passing out.
When Harry awoke, he was looking at the all too familiar image of the hospital ceiling. He thought briefly that it was sad that he could recognize it that quickly. He attempted to look around but couldn't due to the blinding pain in his head when he tried it. He then thought to try to ask for help but found that speaking wasn't much better than moving. He resigned himself to his solitude and just stared at the ceiling for what felt like forever before Madame Pomfrey finally opened his curtain and peered inside.
"Oh, Mr. Potter, you're awake. I didn't imagine you'd wake for several more hours at least. How do you feel?"
Harry was barely able to grunt, squinting as he did so to prevent his eyeballs from popping out onto the floor.
"Oh me, hold on a moment." The healer said as she left his room only to reappear a few seconds later carrying a few vials. She slowly poured the first one into his mouth and let him swallow it down. "For the pain."
A moment later, once she seen him loosen up a bit, indicating that pain was gone she gave him a glass of water. "Your hand was a close call, Mister Potter. If not for Fawkes I'm not certain that we'd have been able to save it. I imagine it will be rather tender for the next few days as it continues to heal.
Dumbledore, accompanied by the Minister amongst others, chose this time to make himself known. "Harry, I'm sorry to bother you so soon but I need you to tell me what happened when you touched the cup."
Harry then told his tale, being stopped by Dumbledore on a couple of occasions to clarify things- especially about the ritual. The faces in the room turned from serious to downtrodden to disgust as he relayed the tale of the events. Dumbledore kept a neutral expression the whole time- which, when compared to the grandfatherly kindness and twinkle that he normally broadcast might as well be absolute disgust.
The minister stared blankly with just a hint of a frown, almost as if he didn't fully understand what was going on. Harry internally chuckled at that; the Minister wasn't a particularly bright man. God only knows how he became the Minister anyways.
"Surely you must be mistaken, Harry my boy; He-who-must-not-be-named is dead, has been for 13 years now." Fudge said quietly.
Yep, he's a dumbarse. "No, sir. He wasn't truly dead, only weakened. Very weak. I would call it worse than dead. This ritual brought him back to full power, maybe even more powerful than before. He didn't look like a 50-someodd man, he was in his prime. He radiated power like I've never felt from anyone before."
"That all sounds just too fanciful to be true, maybe it was just a dream. Perhaps the portkey malfunctioned and splinched off your hand, and you were delirious from blood loss. Yes yes, that must be it." Fudge was saying as he suddenly got up and left the room.
Harry, Dumbledore, Sirius, and Hermione all stared at the man in slight disbelief.
"He's in denial." Hermione pointed out the obvious.
"As long as he denies it, I think it best that we keep it quiet ourselves. For now, at least, we can work in the background as I'm sure Tom will do the same. I have a few associates that I need to speak with. Good night, Harry." Dumbledore said before making his way out of the room only to be replaced by Neville, Daphne, and Tracey.
"Harry, how're ya doing mate?" Neville said as the new group walked in.
"Honestly, I've been better. The hand kinda hurts." Harry replied as he held up his hand which was still covered in raw reddish looking skin in patches
Daphne quickly made her way to his side and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Can I get you anything?" She asked him.
"No, unless Madam Pomfrey can give me another pain potion already?" He replied and before Daphne even had a chance to move, Madam Pomfrey called out from her office that he still had a while to wait.
"So do you mind explaining what's going on with your hand? You were fine when you grabbed the cup and then you come back and get whisked away to the hospital and you're half mangled to boot. We've been worried sick." Neville interjected once again.
"I'll explain later, I promise. I'm just tired now. Long story short, I dueled Voldemort." This led to a round of gasps.
"B-B-But… he's dead, right?" Neville choked out.
"Later, guys. I promise I'll explain everything, maybe tomorrow. Please just bear with me." Harry said in a somber tone eliciting a round of nods from his friends.