A/N:
Hi! New chapter.
Thanks for the continued support for this series :)
Massive thanks to BingBong for his extensive help with this chapter. Please pray for his sleep schedule.
Albus Dumbledore looked on in shock as a small slip of paper floated down into his hand from the Goblet of Fire.
Harry felt a sinking feeling in his gut, years of practice giving him a sixth sense for anticipating when he was about to find himself in the middle of unwanted trouble.
Dumbledore unfolded the note, and his eyes widened in consternation.
The entirety of the Great Hall was silent as he quietly read the name printed on it.
"Harry Potter."
A few days before Harry's name came out of the goblet, he was sitting on a desk in an unused classroom on the fourth floor, with Astoria on a desk of her own across from him. He was listening earnestly to a story the blonde girl was telling about her life before she came to Hogwarts, intrigued by the novelty of learning what a happy home environment looked like.
"And then Daphne said to me, 'don't you dare tell anyone about this,' all menacingly, and then she put the ice cream back in the freezer while I stood there frozen in fear at like, two in the morning, and walked past me back to her room." Astoria recounted animatedly. "Years later, I started teasing her about it, and I even called her 'Ice Queen' for a while."
Harry laughed at this anecdote which was totally at odds with the mature and collected Daphne Greengrass he knew from class, and idly wondered if Astoria noticed she had done the exact thing her sister told her not to do by sharing this story with him.
"Your sister can definitely be intimidating at times." Harry supplied.
"At times maybe," Astoria agreed. "But if you knew the lengths she goes to hide the fact she still sleeps with a teddy bear named Boo-Boo, you might find it harder to take her seriously."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. He wasn't sure what shocked him more – Daphne's hidden cute side, or Astoria's willingness to divulge her sister's secrets with him after only a handful of conversations.
Harry and Astoria had started meeting in the unused classroom last week, when he got a letter delivered by his own owl asking him to be there after dinner. Trusting that Hedwig wouldn't have accepted a letter from someone with bad intentions (she was a smart bird after all), he came and found Astoria waiting for him. She had told him it was her older sister's idea to meet him in private, to avoid the drama that would inevitably arise from a Slytherin associating with Harry Potter.
While she told him she had every intention of revealing her friendship with him eventually, consequences be damned, she also said she thought meeting him in secret for a while at first would be exciting.
Unsurprisingly, Harry had found no reason to reject the pretty witch's proposition of secret, 'exciting' meet-ups.
"What was your family like, Harry?"
Harry cringed. Noticing his reaction and realizing what she had thoughtlessly said, Astoria winced and rushed to apologize.
"Oh! I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't mean it like that! Of course I know about your parents, but I mean, what about the people who raised you?"
Astoria hung her head at her own lack of tact.
"Don't worry about it." Harry reassured her, giving her a small and only slightly forced smile. "I grew up with my aunt and uncle on my mother's side, and they were not the most pleasant group of muggles you'll ever come across. They hated magic with a passion, and hated me only slightly less."
"That's horrible…" Astoria said sullenly. Coming from a loving home herself, she had trouble relating to Harry's situation, but she knew for sure that she would have turned out drastically differently without the support and care she got from her parents and sister. The idea of growing up with none of that was heartbreaking to her.
"What about the family member you said you were meeting last week in Hogsmeade? Who were they?" Astoria asked, looking to bring the conversation away from the rather miserable place it had gone.
Harry recited the speech he had planned for this very moment. "That was a family friend of my parents. He's been out of the country for several years, but we recently reconnected. I've been meeting up with him every Hogsmeade weekend, since he recently moved near the area."
Astoria nodded. "And where did you end up meeting him anyway? You were awfully evasive about it last week…"
"Er, well," Harry replied, feigning bashfulness. "We were meeting in a rather seedy spot, far from the High Street, so I didn't want to mention it."
This was the only excuse Harry had been able to devise since parting ways with Astoria in Hogsmeade the week before, knowing that she would eventually ask him about it in the future. It cast him and his 'family friend' in a rather strange light, but it was better than her finding out the truth.
Astoria narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "If you say so…but one of these days you're going to tell me about this 'seedy spot' you're so insistent on hiding from me." She replied, clearly not buying Harry's story entirely. Luckily for Harry, she decided today didn't have to be that day and let the topic drop.
After chatting for a little while longer, Harry checked the time and got up off the desk he was sitting on. "It's time for us to head back," he said. "If we're trying to avoid drama, we'd best not be caught in an empty classroom together after curfew."
Astoria blushed at the implication, and Harry paled.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Harry spluttered, face going from white to red with such impressive speed one would think he'd used a color-changing charm. "I just meant that being caught hanging out together would spark rumors! Obviously we weren't doing anything untowards in the classroom, and I didn't mean to suggest that other people would have thought so, though admittedly it is a possibility, and I certainly-"
"Harry." Astoria interrupted him.
"Yes?"
"I knew what you meant."
"Oh! Of course. Haha…" Harry scratched the back of his head awkwardly, eyes looking around the floor for a large hole he might be able to jump in.
"Besides, it's not like we're meeting in a broom closet or anything." She joked, causing Harry to blush once again.
"O-of course not!" Harry stuttered out. "I wouldn't even dream of it!"
A sudden and unexpected urge to tease the boy overtook Astoria's better judgment. "You can dream if you'd like," she said with a wink. "But just know it takes more than a couple weeks of talking to get me into one of those."
At this, Harry froze, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.
As Astoria walked away, she felt a blush of her own rise to her cheeks.
Woah, did I just flirt with Harry Potter? She thought incredulously to herself as she headed back to the Slytherin dorms.
The evening Dumbledore announced the Triwizard Tournament, the entirety of the Great Hall was in a ruckus. Those in the know explained to those that weren't about the tournament, and how it was a legendary stage for the best witch or wizard from each of the three largest European wizarding schools to demonstrate their skills for fame, glory, and fortune. While the event hadn't been staged for the past couple centuries due to the tendency for its participants to meet an untimely end, the students were under the impression that this modern reinvention of the tournament would likely be a lot safer than it used to be.
Dumbledore explained that any student wishing to participate was to throw their name into a large structure made of ornately decorated wood called the 'Goblet of Fire' within the next twenty-four hours. Much to the displeasure of many students, he also mentioned the age restriction for entrants, being the wizard's majority of 17, which was enforced by an 'age line' drawn in runes by Dumbledore himself around the goblet.
"Who do you think will be chosen from Hogwarts?" Ron asked Harry excitedly.
Around him, Harry could hear many variations of the same conversation, as well as numerous older students voicing their interest in participating. Honestly, he didn't care too much. A year with the attention focused on any student other than him sounded nice, after all.
"Personally, I hope it's Angelina," Ron answered his own question with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if Cedric Diggory, Roger Davies, or even Cassius Warrington were selected."
The noise in the hall came to an abrupt halt as Dumbledore retook the podium to introduce the foreign schools.
"From France, headmistress Olympe Maxime and the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!"
He waved his hand and the doors opened, revealing a group of elegantly dressed students in a loose line behind the tallest woman Harry had ever seen. Directly following the woman, who was clearly the introduced headmistress, was an incredibly pretty girl perhaps a few years older than Harry. She walked with such grace it seemed as though she was floating, and she emanated a beauty that made her skin glow. Harry saw Ron nearly fall off the bench as he unconsciously leaned further towards the blonde, blue-eyed girl. It took Hermione smacking him on the shoulder to bring him back to reality, but when she turned to Harry to do the same, she saw that he had in fact kept his wits about him.
While Harry had to admit the girl was undeniably beautiful, he privately noted that there was a different blonde, blue-eyed witch that was more his type.
As the students walked over to be seated at the Ravenclaw table, with the headmistress joining Dumbledore at the front of the hall, the doors opened once more to welcome the next school.
"From the North, headmaster Igor Karkaroff and the Durmstrang Institute!"
This group was led by a stern looking man with a scowl on his face that looked like it never came off, and maintained a strict, orderly march all the way to the Slytherin table. At the head of the students was a thin young man with sharp features, whose presence immediately caused the noise in the hall to rise.
"That's Viktor Krum!" Ron whispered excitedly, his voice lost in the sea of so many other students with similar expressions of awe. Once again, Hermione had to smack him on the shoulder to prevent him from falling off his bench as he leaned towards the famous quidditch player even further than he had upon seeing the Beauxbatons girl.
"May I extend a most cordial welcome to each and every one of our esteemed guests." Dumbledore said once the commotion had died down. "The exemplary students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be staying at Hogwarts for the remainder of the academic year, and will be joining us for our meals and classes."
The headmaster turned to look out over the students, eyes twinkling brightly in the way they often did. "Though their stay may be fleeting, let us seize this opportunity to cultivate the bonds of international cooperation, to sow the seeds of camaraderie that may blossom into enduring friendship for years to come. Without further ado, let the feast begin!"
As the food appeared on the tables and everyone began to eat, the conversation in the hall picked back up.
"I can't believe it!" A Slytherin boy said excitedly near Astoria. "Viktor Krum is sitting with us at this table! I can't wait to send a letter back to my parents…"
Astoria tuned out of that conversation and listened to another, between two second year girls.
"Did you see that girl from Beauxbatons? I've never seen anyone so pretty in my life!"
"That's because she's a veela. My cousin goes to Beauxbatons and she told me about her, her name is Fleur Delacour. She's supposed to be a prodigy, but she probably just uses her twisted bird magic to seduce the teachers. She shouldn't even be allowed in Hogwarts, if you ask me."
A veela, huh? Astoria considered as she ate her dinner. She had heard about veela growing up, and while she, unlike many of her classmates, had nothing against humans with mixed blood, something about their ability to charm a man against his own wishes had given her a bad feeling. Even the open-mouthed, adoring expressions on the boys' faces when the girl had walked by felt…nonconsensual, to her.
I wonder if Harry stared at her like that too? She shook her head. Not that it matters or anything.
Still, something about the thought of Harry looking at Fleur affectionately made her feel bad in a way she didn't quite understand.
"Are you feeling alright Tori?" Daphne asked from beside her, noticing the complicated expression on Astoria's face.
"Oh yeah I'm fine, just thinking about…stuff." She replied.
Daphne raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her sister any further.
Astoria turned to look at the Gryffindor table, a habit she had picked up recently since becoming friends with Harry, and noticed the boy sitting with his friends. He wasn't talking much, mostly choosing to listen to the conversations of those around him. Every once in a while he would smile at something someone said and his deep green eyes would light up a bit, which would make Astoria smile in turn.
"You're staring again." Daphne said.
"No I'm not!" Astoria answered, turning her head away quickly.
When Astoria returned her gaze back to Harry, she was much more subtle about it, turning her eyes but not her head. As a movement caught her attention, she saw Fleur Delacour stand up from the Ravenclaw table and head towards the Gryffindors, right in line with Harry.
She couldn't be…she couldn't be heading towards Harry to use her veela powers to seduce him, could she?
Astoria looked on in a fret as Fleur's path held true towards Harry.
Not that she would even have to use her powers, I guess. She's older, beautiful, and apparently a prodigy too…
Fleur was only a few steps away from Harry's spot at the table now, and Astoria began to panic.
Harry is allowed to fall in love with whoever he wants. It's none of my business, I just think he should make the decision without the influence of evil veela powers! But also it kind of is my business because I'm his friend and if he got a girlfriend she might not take kindly to our meetups and also Fleur is at least a few years older than us so it would frankly be kind of creepy if-
Fleur stopped in front of Harry and opened her mouth to speak, no doubt to lure him into her cruel web of seduction with some sweet words of affection. Astoria gripped the fork in her hand so hard that her knuckles turned white in anticipation of the loss of her friend, who was about to be turned into some French girl's thrall right before her eyes.
Wait. She's not talking to Harry?
Astoria watched as Fleur asked Ron Weasley a question, to which he responded by handing her a big bowl of some kind of soup from the middle of their table. Fleur walked away without so much as looking at Harry, and Astoria realized her worries had been for naught.
Phew! She thought as she relaxed back onto the bench, letting go of the fork she had been unconsciously squeezing for the past few seconds. I guess I overreacted. It was wrong of me to assume she would use her powers irresponsibly just because she's a veela.
If Astoria had been paying attention at that moment, she might have noticed the look of absolute horror on her older sister's face, who had been watching her the whole time.
Later that night, Daphne paced up and down her room.
Face it Daphne, you know what you saw.
She didn't want to admit it, but the facts were right there in front of her.
Astoria had been meeting with Harry Potter every few days in the empty classroom. It was Daphne herself who recommended it, and she had guessed that Astoria would lose interest in him quickly once she realized he was really just a normal boy like everyone else.
Instead, her sister spoke about him more frequently and more fondly with each passing day. She had written off the glances her sister would always steal towards the Gryffindor boy before, but the soft expression Astoria had been taking on recently whenever Harry smiled was exceedingly suspicious.
Tonight was the last straw.
Daphne thought back to the look of terror on Astoria's face as the pretty French girl from Beauxbatons approached Harry's table, and her undisguised relief when she left. She would've found her sister's comical expressions cute, if they were caused by any other boy.
Daphne sat on her bed with her head in her hands.
Out of everyone in the world, why did Astoria's first crush have to be on Harry Potter?
"Harry, can I ask you a question?" Ron asked his friend that night in their room.
"Sure Ron, what's up?" Harry replied as he put away his things for the day and got ready for bed.
"Do you have anyone you like right now?"
"In a romantic way? Not really." For some reason his thoughts flicked to Astoria Greengrass for a moment, but he dismissed them just as quickly.
"What about Hermione?"
"I don't know, you'd have to ask her."
Ron shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I mean, are you interested in Hermione?"
Harry looked appalled. "Absolutely not! I mean, she's my best friend and I love her, but romantically? Definitely not. I'd rather date Blaise Zabini."
Ron stopped for a second in confusion. "Zabini? Why him?"
"No reason really, it was just an example, like a 'oh I'd rather date him because I'm really not interested in her' kind of thing."
Ron looked at his friend suspiciously but didn't press the matter any further. "What's wrong with Hermione?" He asked eventually, returning to their original topic.
"Well, she's smart and kind and incredibly loyal," Harry started, "but she's also rather naggy and bossy. Those qualities are great in a friend, but dating her would be like…no offense, dating your mom, Ron."
Ron blanched. "If I dated Hermione it would be like I was dating my mom?"
"Who said anything about you dating Hermione?" Harry replied slowly, realizing his friend just let slip something important.
"Uh, no one. I was just, you know, saying."
The two boys got the rest of the way ready for bed in silence. As Harry got under his covers and turned off the lights, he decided to give Ron a piece of advice.
"Hey Ron."
"Yeah?"
"Hermione may be getting overlooked by everyone right now, but she's getting older, and prettier too. You may want to shoot your shot while, um, supplies last, so to speak."
He's probably right. Thought Ron, as he realized the girl he liked might not be available forever.
After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.
"Damn." Said Ron. "Never thought I'd see the day where you give someone girl advice."
Astoria sat chatting with her friends in the Great Hall the next evening as the whole school waited for the announcement of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament.
It came as no surprise to anyone when Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons and Viktor Krum of Durmstrang were selected, as they had clearly shown themselves to be the dominant students of their respective delegations. The Hogwarts champion was waited on with much higher anticipation, and when Cedric Diggory's name came out of the goblet, there was a cacophonous mix of cheers and jeers from his supporters and those who were hoping for someone different.
"Diggory?" Draco Malfoy questioned incredulously to the rest of the Slytherin table. "Now Hogwarts has no chance of winning. He's more of a girl than Fleur is."
Most of the older students laughed at this, and many of the younger ones too. Astoria personally found it incredibly rude and inaccurate, as well as rather derogatory towards women. Upon further reflection, she realized most things that Draco said could fall into one of those three categories.
Draco turned his head to look directly at Astoria, smirking at his successful joke. When he saw her unimpressed expression he frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could begin a loud noise echoed across the hall.
The Goblet of Fire had roared to life once more, and a small piece of parchment drifted down from the gout and into Dumbledore's awaiting hand.
The Hogwarts headmaster opened the note, and a mixture of surprise and profound sadness was etched into his features as he read it aloud.
"Harry Potter."
The entire hall went silent, and all eyes turned to Harry. Astoria saw him in a state of total shock, and could see that his friends sitting around him weren't looking much better. Eventually, Hermione gently grabbed his arm and a quiet 'go on Harry' was heard from across the soundless hall.
Harry reluctantly walked up to the front of the hall, and was led away through the door the other champions had gone through just minutes earlier.
The second the door closed behind him, the gathered students erupted into a tumultuous fervor.
"He's a cheat!" Someone yelled.
"I thought wizards under the age of 17 weren't allowed to enter?" Another said.
"If he's allowed to enter, I want to enter too!"
Astoria heard the Durmstrang students talking amongst themselves at the end of the table, accusing Dumbledore of tampering with the goblet to get a second Hogwarts champion to increase their chances of winning. She saw the Beauxbatons students talking across the hall, and assumed the conversation was much the same.
"Just what we needed." Draco said sarcastically. "Hogwarts gets a second champion, and of course it has to be that miserable little egotist Potter."
"But how did he manage to get his name in?" Pansy asked from the seat next to him, looking at Draco like he held the secrets to the universe.
Draco scoffed. "Potter doesn't have the talent to sneak his name into the goblet. He barely has more magic than that squib Longbottom."
Astoria was about to speak up in defense of Harry when she felt Daphne's hand take hers. She looked up at her sister, who mouthed a 'no' together with a slight shake of her head. While Astoria wasn't thrilled about letting the little ponce run his mouth about her friend, she respected Daphne enough to not make a scene over it. Yet.
"So who did it then?"
Draco looked derisively at Pansy before answering. "He probably begged McGonagall to do it for him. Everyone knows he's her favorite, and she probably couldn't say no when he asked for help."
"But how will he compete? He's years behind all of the other competitors, surely they won't let him participate in the tasks?"
When Draco spoke he took the tone one would take with an ill-behaved dog. "Do you ever stop asking questions?"
Pansy shrunk back at the venom in his voice, and despite her recent troubles with her, Astoria couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl.
Satisfied that she had been put in her place, Draco replied nonetheless.
"They won't let him participate. But personally, I hope they do."
That surprised Astoria, and most of the other students around him as well. Draco smirked, seeing they had taken his bait.
"He'd be dead five seconds into the first task."
Most of the table laughed, but Astoria couldn't fathom why. Even if they didn't like him, to want to see Harry dead felt entirely uncalled for.
"Five?" An older boy at the end of the table called out. "I bet he'd die of fright before he even set foot in the arena!"
That quip was met with more laughter around the table.
The slowly sinking realization that Harry might end up being put in genuine mortal danger from this tournament made Astoria feel sick. After saying a brief goodbye to her friends, she ran to the owlery to pen a letter.
"Congratulations Harry!" A group of rowdy Gryffindors roared as he entered the common room. After being chewed out by most of the staff for the past hour, they had finally let him go, believing that he in fact did not put his name in the goblet.
From the group of a couple dozen or so students, the Weasley twins emerged and put their arms around Harry's shoulders.
"We're not sure how you did it." George said.
"And we don't like not being sure." Fred continued.
"So how'd you do it?" They said together.
"I didn't." Harry replied honestly.
"Ah Fred, the classic denial tactic. We've definitely used that one before haven't we?"
"Sure have, George. I guess we know how they feel now, don't we?"
"I mean it!" Harry said insistently. "I just wanted to have a quiet year…"
"Well done Harry!" Called Lee Jordan, as he came over to slap Harry on the back. "Personally, I'll have my money on you. Oh, and tread lightly around Angelina for the time being. She's not in the best of moods since she wasn't chosen, and she's extra cross that you were able to sneak in over her."
Great, thought Harry sarcastically. Even my own housemates are mad at me.
Harry pushed his way through the crowd and over to the chairs by the fireplace where he saw Ron and Hermione.
"Before you ask, no. I did not put my name in." Harry said to his friends impatiently, getting tired of answering the same questions over and over again.
Hermione looked up at Harry sympathetically. "We know that, Harry. We knew that the second your name came out of the goblet."
Ron shrugged. "I'm not going to lie mate, at first I was mad, because I had really wanted to compete, and here you were getting selected without even trying."
Harry opened his mouth as if to speak, but Ron continued. "But I know you wouldn't enter the tournament intentionally, and I spoke with Hermione, and she sort of convinced me that maybe participating wouldn't have been all that great after all."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He had been slightly worried that his friends might not believe him.
"Speaking of which Harry," started Hermione, "please tell me they withdrew you from the competition?"
"I wish." Sighed Harry, knowing his bad luck would never have allowed such an easy out. "Apparently the contract was magically binding the instant my name came out of the goblet. If I refuse to enter, I'll lose my magic."
His friends both paled.
"That's ridiculous!" Said Ron, getting mad for Harry. "Students used to die during these tournaments, and even if they scale back the level of danger from previous ones, they'll still be based on what a 6th or 7th year could handle, not a 4th year!"
Harry looked at Ron, shocked at the rational and well-worded argument his normally brusque friend had just made. Hermione just raised an eyebrow at him. Noticing the look Hermione gave him, Ron turned away sheepishly.
"Or at least, that's what Hermione said before you got here…"
Sirius was plotting the next development in Harry's love life when an unexpected letter arrived courtesy of Kreacher.
"Master Sirius," the house elf began, "Master Dumbledore wished for me to deliver this letter to you."
"Dumbledore? How strange…" Sirius said. "Did he tell you what it was about?"
"No, master. He simply appeared in front of Kreacher and Max on their evening walk, and told me it was 'imperative that Sirius Black receives this letter.' Scared poor Max half to death when he burst into flames and disappeared…"
Sirius looked down at the puppy Kreacher had named 'Max'. He was looking considerably better than he had when Sirius picked him up two weeks before, and was now starting to resemble whatever overbred labrador retriever mix he was meant to be.
With a quick pause to give Max a pat on the head and some ear scritches, Sirius collected the letter from Kreacher and headed off to his bedroom to see what the old Hogwarts headmaster could possibly want from him.
Poor Max was once again scared half to death a few minutes later as a booming 'WHAT!?' echoed across the house, followed shortly by the sound of a glass bottle shattering into countless pieces against the floor.
The next morning was just as bad as Harry had been expecting.
The older Gryffindor students who had put their names into the goblet wouldn't even look at him when he entered the common room. His arrival in the Great Hall for breakfast was met with taunts and insults from the Slytherins, and he even got heckled by more than his fair share of Hufflepuffs, who were clearly upset that Harry had stolen some limelight away from their champion Cedric. The Ravenclaws were a mixed bag, with some looking at him scornfully and others pityingly.
Simply put, Harry Potter was once again the pariah of Hogwarts.
As he sat down with Ron and Hermione to eat his toasts, he noticed that most of his housemates were keeping their distance from him. Ginny and Neville still sat nearby, but Harry guessed most of the other people who supported him were afraid to do so openly, for fear of provoking the ire of the other students.
"For what it's worth Harry," Neville spoke up timidly, "I believe you. About not putting your name in the goblet, I mean."
"Thanks Neville." Harry replied, and he meant it.
Hey, the rest of the school may be against me, but at least I have Neville. He thought.
Partway through breakfast Hedwig came to deliver two letters. He opened the first one; a short one from Sirius, where he asked to meet Harry at the Shrieking Shack as soon as he got to Hogsmeade that afternoon. The second was an envelope he recognized from the letters Astoria had sent to organize their handful of secret meetings over the past two weeks, but he was too scared to open it. Harry wasn't sure what sort of reaction his new friend might have to his name coming out of the goblet, and he wasn't quite ready to find out. He had been avoiding making eye contact with her that morning for the same reason.
Tucking the unopened letter into his pocket, he turned to his friends. "I'm meeting Padfoot early today. I have a pretty good feeling I know what he wants to talk about, but I'm surprised he got news of it so fast."
Ron and Hermione grimaced.
"I take it you haven't seen this morning's Daily Prophet yet?" Ron said.
"Oh." Replied Harry. He actually hadn't, but he could guess what was on the front page.
"Did he say anything else?" Hermione asked hopefully. "Maybe he knows of a way to get you out of the tournament without losing your magic?"
"He kept it short. Just told me to bring a notebook and an empty bag."
"Huh, that's odd," commented Ron.
"Odd indeed, but I'm sure it's for a good reason." Said Hermione. "For my part, I'm headed to the library today to do some research on both the history of the Triwizard Tournament, and magically binding contracts."
"Oh!" Exclaimed Ron, realizing he too could be of assistance to his friend. "I know, I'll send a letter to Percy! He's working with the Department of International Magical Cooperation right now, so he might know a thing or two that could help you."
Harry looked fondly at his two oldest and most loyal friends. "Thanks guys. It means a lot."
"Of course!" They replied.
"Harry!" Sirius wrapped his godson up in a big hug the moment he entered the room. As they broke apart, Sirius sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him, indicating for Harry to sit with him as opposed to his usual armchair.
"Dumbledore sent me a letter explaining what happened last night." He began once they had settled. "I'm absolutely furious that this was allowed to happen, and I'm still trying to think of a way out of it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to though, and either way, you'll need to be ready."
"Ready for what?" Harry asked.
"First of all Harry, this tournament is no cakewalk. Students have died during the three tasks it consists of, and I will not be letting that happen to you." Sirius took on a very solemn expression and continued. "Secondly, your name coming out of that goblet last night was no accident Harry. Someone wanted you in this tournament, and I don't believe it was someone with your best interests in mind."
"Voldemort?"
"Most likely." Sirius sighed.
"But what can I do? I'm not ready for this tournament, I'm only in my fourth year. And that's putting aside the notorious dark wizard who wants me dead and happens to be one of the strongest of all time."
Sirius winced. "I know Harry, trust me I do. But I'm going to try my best to help train you over the next year so you can get through this ridiculous tournament unharmed."
"And that'll be enough for me to take on Voldemort?" Harry asked skeptically.
"Maybe not. But he's not back yet, at least not fully, and don't dismiss the possibility that someone will take him down before he comes back to full strength."
Harry wasn't convinced, but he set the matter aside for the moment.
"Okay Sirius. So how are we going to train?"
Sirius stood up, and headed to the front of the room as if he were a teacher in a class. "First, I will teach you everything I know."
"Cool!" Harry said, genuinely excited to learn. "Are you a good dueler?"
"Mediocre."
"Are you good at defensive spells?"
"Not particularly."
"What about wards and runes?"
"Atrocious."
"Then what are you good at?"
"Pranks."
Harry deflated.
"Now wait just a moment Harry," Sirius raised a hand seeing his godson's disappointed expression. "There's a lot more to magic than just fancy spells and powerful incantations. I may have told you I was a mediocre duelist, but I should add that I've also never lost a duel, even against your dad – and he was one of the best in our generation. Do you know why?"
Harry's interest was piqued once more.
"Why?"
"Because I win all of my duels before they even start."
Sirius proceeded to give Harry an exceptionally well organized lecture on the importance of what he called the 'three pillars of pranking': Preparation, Patience, and Opportunity. He explained how these concepts transferred over from his days as a school prankster and helped him become a powerful wizard, despite his relatively low power and knowledge when it came to magic. Harry even took notes in the notebook he was asked to bring as Sirius described tactics from several battles he had helped lead to victory in the first wizarding war against the Death Eaters.
"To summarize." Sirius said as his lecture came to a close. "Preparation. Win your battles before they begin. Patience. Don't let haste ruin your well thought-out plans. And finally, Opportunity. When the chance comes, act decisively and strike to claim victory."
Harry had to admit, Sirius' advice was actually sound and informative, and he had learned a lot. Still, he couldn't help but feel like a bit of practical magic might have been nice.
"And now I have some gifts for you. You brought a bag I trust?" Sirius lifted a satchel from the end of the couch and opened it up.
"Here's a book full of spells we came up with during our time at school. They're mostly from Remus, with several from James and even one or two from me. Most of them are useless, but I went through and highlighted the ones I think you should learn." Sirius took out another book from the bag. "Here's one full of designs, it explains the theory behind the Marauder's Map, as well as some two-way mirrors we made in our fifth year so we could talk over the summer. I don't understand a word in there, and you probably won't either, but your friend Hermione might get some use out of it. And finally, here's our notes on the process of becoming animagi. Just keep in mind that the ritual is extremely dangerous so you're not to go trying it without me."
Harry took the three books and put them in his bag. "Thanks Sirius." He said. "I feel a lot better about this whole mess now."
"Of course Harry." Sirius smiled compassionately at his godson. "We're family, and we're in this together."
Feeling a bit more confident after his meeting with Sirius, Harry mustered up the courage to open the letter he had gotten earlier from Astoria.
Dear Harry,
Please meet me in the clearing from last time at noon today before you see your relative, if you have the chance.
I'll be waiting,
-Astoria
Harry checked the time. Uh oh, he thought. Surely she hasn't been waiting there for the past hour?
Harry arrived a short while later in the clearing, out of breath from running.
"Astoria." He gasped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't read your letter."
"Is someone talking to us, Mr. Ladybug?" Astoria said to a small insect on her finger. "I thought I heard something, but I might've been mistaken. After all, who could possibly be here at the clearing with me?"
"Astoria…?"
"Surely it wouldn't be someone who ignores my letters, and then doesn't look at me even once throughout breakfast."
"...Are you mad at me?"
"Surely it wouldn't be someone who I've been incredibly worried about, but didn't even deign to let me know if they were okay." Astoria soliloquized to the bug. In response, it flew away.
"I'm really sorry Astoria."
She turned around. "Oh? Hi Harry."
"I was scared. I thought maybe you'd believe that I put my name in the goblet, or that you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. Then I met up with my relative earlier than normal today to discuss the tournament, and I didn't end up reading your letter until just a few minutes ago. I'm sorry, I really am."
Astoria sighed. "It's fine, I forgive you. I just wish you'd trust me and my friendship a little more than that. If I was the type to ditch someone over a bit of controversy, I'd probably have run away screaming the first time I saw you."
Astoria didn't mention that she did, in fact, want to run away screaming the first time she saw him.
Harry grimaced. Controversy did seem to follow him around like a lost puppy. "It won't happen again." He said. "And I do trust you Astoria, I mean it. It was just my insecurities getting the better of me."
"Don't worry about it, forgive and forget." Astoria said, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "But if you ever ignore my letters again…" She narrowed her eyes menacingly at him. "Let's just say there's a reason no one in my family tries the silent treatment with me anymore."
Harry shivered. I love it when she glares at me, he thought, before quickly chasing that unwelcome and unsettling intrusion away.
Harry spent the rest of the afternoon filling Astoria in on what had happened the night before, and the fallout since. He was relieved to find out that she believed him that he did not put his name in the goblet, and did still want to be his friend.
"So tomorrow night, in the empty classroom?" Harry asked her as they got up to part ways.
"Sure!"
As Harry turned to leave, Astoria spoke up again, with a devious smile on her face.
"Harry, one more thing?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't make me wait on you for an hour ever again, or you'll never get me into that broom closet you've been dreaming about."
Harry walked briskly away, bright red, and Astoria giggled.
I wonder why I like teasing him so much? She thought to herself as he exited the clearing.
When Sirius got home to 12 Grimmauld Place that night, he realized he had forgotten one thing.
One very important thing.
My plan! He lamented. Harry was supposed to 'accidentally' share the 'Couple's Sundae' at Madam Puddifoots with Astoria today!
Sirius slapped himself on the forehead. He had forgotten all about his plan in the turmoil of the past twenty-four hours since he received news of Harry's name coming out of the goblet.
Without my help, they probably haven't made any progress since the picnic!
With that, Sirius redoubled his efforts to concoct a new ploy for the next Hogsmeade weekend.
After all, with all the stress and the training Harry was about to undergo for the tournament, he would need some time to relax as well.
That's what Sirius told himself, anyway.