Chapter 12

He expected Snape. Or Filch. He expected to be caught.

He expected wrong.

That man wasn't Snape. Or Filch. Or Dumbledore.

He was someone Harry had never seen before.

He was tall and thin, judging by the blackness of his hair and beard which were both long enough to reach his waist. He was wearing long robes, black was the color of his cloak. His eyes were dark brown and his nose was as long as Dumbledore's except it wasn't crooked.

Harry firmly held his wand but that wand wasn't pointed to the man. For some reason, he didn't feel threatened by the stranger. The sense of strength and power radiated from him. But there was also an aura of friendliness and kindness emanating from that man.

Both of them stared at each other for a long time.

"Who are you?" asked Harry after a long moment of silence.

The man, however, simply replied with a smile.

"Sir?"

Again the man didn't answer. Instead, he turned his gaze towards the corridor. "They are coming," he said.

"Who?" asked Harry.

The man returned his gaze to Harry. "They are nobody outside of this castle. You better hurry, my dear boy. I am standing here as an introduction and caution. We shall meet again once everything comes to an end." He then promptly disappeared.

Harry stared at the spot where the mysterious man stood before.

Then all of a sudden he heard noises. He strained his ears and took a listen. Suddenly he froze.

Those were not noises. They were the voices of the teachers. And they were heading straight towards him.

He suddenly realized that what he did inside the room must have been heard throughout the castle. He cursed himself for being so stupid. He should have waited a little longer and found a much safer place away from the castle to dispose of the Horcruxes.

Harry immediately threw his Invisibility Cloak over him and sped towards the Gryffindor Tower. But just around the corner, he skidded to a halt. In front of him at the end of the corridor, he saw a group of teachers walking hurriedly his way.

And among them was Barty Crouch Jr.

"Shit!"

There was not much time. By now, he was sure that the impostor would have spotted him, cloak or no cloak.

I need to get out of here, Harry thought. I need to go back to the common room. Fast.

Harry slowly shifted back around the corner and into the corridor that led to the Come and Go Room. Once he had steered clear of the group of teachers, he quickened his pace and set off on a different route back to the Gryffindor common room. But much to his dismay, just as he went halfway through, another group of teachers emerged from the opposite end of the corridor.

A group of teachers came from the front and another one from behind. He was trapped!

He frantically looked around for any sort of cover but apart from the line of armor suits that graced the stone wall, the corridor offered little protection. He could not dive into the Room of Requirement either. There won't be time, plus the teachers would be made aware of the room's existence. While Harry was sure that some of them were aware of the existence of such a room, letting them know what had transpired would be highly unwise.

In desperation, he jumped behind one of the suits of armor and stood very still. He held his breath as the two groups approached his position from either side, praying for a miracle to anyone who cared enough to listen.

The groups got closer and closer and all the while, Harry kept his attention towards 'Moody', mainly to his revolving eye because that would indicate if he had his cover blown away.

"Albus!" Professor McGonagall called out to the headmaster who had just arrived with the 'Barty's group'. "You heard?"

"Indeed I have," replied Dumbledore grimly as his eyes wandered around. "Has all the students accounted for?"

"We haven't checked the dormitories yet," Professor Sprout replied. "They should be safe as long as they're in there."

At this point, Harry could see Professor Snape cocking his eyebrows. But unexpectedly, the Potion Master kept quiet. He was pretty sure that Snape would have gone on his tirade about Harry Potter's love for rule-breaking by now. Snape did that many times before. This time, he didn't.

"Strange," Dumbledore murmured as his finger began to trace the wall where the entrance into the Room of Requirement usually appears.

"What do you mean, Albus?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I cannot tell. Elusive. Unknown," replied Dumbledore as his hand continued to trace the wall. His eyes were closed. "This is not the work of a student."

"Bah! I am pretty sure the students did this! You heard the scream. It's them. Always breaking the rule they are. Those Weasleys! They got what they deserved!" interrupted Filch. "Those blasted students! Always making trouble no matter-"

"That is enough, Argus!" cut McGonagall, glaring at the caretaker. "I won't have you bringing the irrelevancy of your constant, pitiful war against the students into this matter. Until proven

otherwise, it would be best if you keep your mouth shut."

Filch went silent.

"If you professors no longer have anything else to say, it would be best if we all keep quiet," growled 'Moody'. He was at that time observing Dumbledore. "I think the headmaster will appreciate it if we allow him to concentrate."

Dumbledore was indeed in deep concentration. And he stood facing the suit of armor where Harry made refuge.

Harry did not dare to move nor did he dare to breathe. And he felt his mind was being probed. He knew who did the probing and was debating with himself on whether or not he should block Dumbledore's attempt. In the end, he decided to selectively show the headmaster some part of his memories and concealed the rest. Letting Dumbledore know that he was a time traveler and possessed more abilities than any Auror within this timeline won't do. At least not for the moment.

But that was the least of his worries. At that very moment, he took a glance at 'Moody' and saw that the impostor was looking directly at him! There was a look of surprise on his face. He had found him!

But strangely enough, instead of letting everyone know Harry was there, he just kept quiet.

After a few minutes, Dumbledore opened his eyes. He then turned towards the teachers. "I need all heads of houses to do a head count on all students under your care. The rest shall gather in the staff room. Alastor, please stay," he instructed.

'Moody' gave Dumbledore a knowing look and nodded.

Both Dumbledore and 'Moody' stood and watched as the rest of the teachers took leave.

Once all the teachers were out of sight, Dumbledore turned towards 'Moody'. "Did you see him?"

'Moody' took a quick glance at Harry and nodded. "Yes. I saw him."

"Then you know what to do," said Dumbledore. "And be quick." Dumbledore then glanced at Harry and spoke, a little bit louder than before, "Tell him that he can see me whenever convenience suits him."

Dumbledore then nodded at 'Moody' and immediately departed towards the staff room.

Now, it was just him and Barty Crouch Jr. aka 'Moody'.

"You can come out now," called out 'Moody'. "There's no point in hiding now that me and Dumbledore already know you're here."

Harry moved from behind the suit of armor and took off his Invisibility Cloak. He then just stood there, eyes unwavering from 'Moody' and patiently waited for whatever action Moody would take next. He knew the impostor wouldn't dare to hurt him. Dumbledore was in full knowledge that he was there and besides, Barty would want to keep him safe until the time comes to deliver him to his master.

'Moody' stared at Harry, or at least his normal eye was staring at him. The magical one continued to spin around, no doubt to check if anyone else was there with them. "I figure that I should ask you why you ended up here and whether or not you have anything to do with what just happened," growled 'Moody'. "But Dumbledore thought otherwise. I figure that you'll have to explain to him one way or another. Now put on your cloak, Potter. We'll need to catch up with McGonagall."

Harry did as told and began to walk beside 'Moody'. "You're going tell on me to Professor McGonagall?" asked Harry slyly.

'Moody' glanced at Harry as he continued to walk beside him. He then smiled a crooked smile. "You know it is within my power Potter, but no. Dumbledore spared you so I'm going to do the same. I won't tell. It is far too early to get yourself into trouble. We don't want to give Severus the satisfaction, do we?"

"So this isn't about what Dumbledore told you?"

"Yes and no," said 'Moody'. "Be quick, Potter."

They turned around the last corner and entered the corridor that led to the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. Just as luck would have it, Professor McGonagall had just reached the Fat Lady portrait.

"At my signal, Potter," whispered 'Moody'.

Harry nodded. Not that 'Moody would be able to see that anyway.

"Professor McGonagall!" called out 'Moody'.

McGonagall turned to look. "Alastor," she spoke in surprise. "You must have a reason for not being in the staff room."

"I will after I finish scouting the castle. Dumbledore's orders," said 'Moody'. He then gestured at the portrait. "You may want to proceed with the headcount, Minerva."

"That is what I'm about to do, Alastor," said McGonagall, sounding a little bit irritated. She turned to face the Fat Lady portrait. "Balderdash!"

The portrait swung open. 'Moody' gave a wink to Harry. Without further ado, Harry slipped inside the portrait hole just ahead of McGonagall.

Much to his surprise, virtually every inhabitant of the Gryffindor Tower had gathered inside the common room. Ron and Hermione were there as well.

"Ron, where's Harry?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"I don't know," replied Ron. "He wasn't at his bed when I went to wake him up."

Hermione sighed worriedly. "Well, he better not get himself into trouble this time. That scream will definitely give me nightmares for days to come."

So they heard, thought Harry. He immediately snaked his way through the crowd towards his dormitory. It was already empty when he reached there. He proceeded to take off his Invisibility Cloak, opened his trunk, and deposited both the destroyed Horcruxes and the basilisk fang into it. After locking the trunk, he immediately made his way down to the common room. He sneaked up at Ron and tapped his shoulder.

Ron spun around. His eyes widened when he saw Harry. "Harry! Blimey, where have you been?"

"Where have you gone to, Harry?" asked Hermione half whispering. "You're not sneaking out again, are you?"

"I wasn't as you probably could see that," lied Harry.

"You're not at your bed, Harry," stated Ron. "I went to wake you up but you weren't there."

"Did you bother to check the bathroom?" asked Harry, raising his eyebrows.

"I… didn't," admitted Ron, scratching his head. "Sorry."

Harry just shook his head.

"That's alright, Ron."

He then turned towards Hermione and asked, "So why are we all here exactly?"

Hermione raised her brown eyebrows. "Didn't you hear?" she asked.

"I have an upset stomach. I stayed in the bathroom most of the night," he once again lied.

Harry did feel bad about having to lie to his two best friends but that was the only option he had. He had decided to not let the two get involved in his private scheme. Both of them were still too young. Dumbledore's Army had not yet existed during his fourth year anyway.

"Harry, there were two explosions, and in the middle of it was a scream," Hermione continued. "It sounded like the cry of a banshee or… or something. I don't know how to describe it to you but I can tell you that it was terrible. It jolted us from our bed, Harry. Don't tell me you did not hear anything!"

"I might heard something but-."

"Shhh!" interrupted Ron. He then nodded to the entrance of the common room. "McGonagall."

McGonagall who had just finished talking to a couple of Gryffindor prefects turned to face the rest of the students in the common room. "I know you have questions," she announced. "But unfortunately the matter is still under investigation so there's nothing that I can share with you at this very precise moment. Now the prefects will do a headcount. If any of your dorm members is missing, please raise your hand."

There was a loud murmur between the students as the prefects began their task.

McGonagall's eyes meanwhile swiped through between the students until they found Harry. Harry could see the sense of relief washing all over her the moment she saw him standing between Ron and Hermione.

Fifteen minutes later the headcount was done. All the Gryffindor were accounted for.

McGonagall nodded in satisfaction. "Very good," she said. She then turned towards the students. "An announcement shall be made once the teachers get to the bottom of this night event. Now off to bed, all of you. You all got classes tomorrow."

Harry and the rest watched McGonagall leave through the portrait hole.

"That's it?" asked Seamus incredulously as he continued to stare at McGonagall's receding back. "No answer? No info? No nothing?"

"You heard what McGonagall said," said Hermione. "They'll tell us once they know the truth. I think they are just as clueless as we are. But you can tell that they are worried though. Just look at McGonagall's face. Just think that the Triwizard Tournament has not even started yet."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "If a whiff of this ever gets out, they might move the venue to another school."

"Let's hope not," said Seamus. "I've been waiting all my life for this to happen. They're not going to back it out on me. No way."

"Hey guys," said Ginny as she approached them. Her face looked whiter and paler than usual. She was clutching the end of the scarf that wrapped around her neck. "Some night, huh?"

"Hey Ginny," greeted Dean who immediately stood beside her the moment she arrived. "You're okay?"

"Hey Dean," replied Ginny, smiling. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Harry simply watched the interaction between the two in amusement. That's a start, he thought. A perfect setup for Ginny to not continue to fall for him in the long run. She will be much better off with someone else rather than him.

"There will be riots if they decide to organize the tournament somewhere else," said Fred as the Weasley twins joined the group.

"That's true," continued George. "We have sacrificed so much for this to fail."

"Sacrifice?" said Hermione briskly. "What do you mean sacrifice? You both hardly do anything. Anyway, as Ronald said, if a whiff of what happened tonight leaks out, they might consider changing the venue. The incident at the Quidditch World Cup notwithstanding, everyone is still freaking out."

There was a murmur of agreement amongst them.

Harry could not help but feel guilty. If what Hermione and Ron said indeed came to pass, the blame would be squarely on him. It was true that everyone was still a little bit jittery given what happened at the World Cup. The organizer might suggest that Hogwarts, and to some extent Britain, would no longer be safe.

And the worst thing would be he won't be able to meet Fleur.

"Oi, you lot! Get back to your dormitory, all of you. Lights out in two minutes," one of the prefects called out to them.

They hastily obliged.

"Some night huh, Harry?" said Ron as he sank his bottom on his four-poster bed.

"Yeah. Some night," replied Harry as he too lay his back on his own bed. "Best go to sleep, Ron. We got Moody tomorrow morning."

"Yeah. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Ron."

Within five minutes, Ron's snore reverberated around the dormitory.

Thirty minutes had passed since then and still, Harry could not sleep. He just lay there on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The event that night kept on replaying in his mind.

He sighed. He had made a mistake that would cost him everything. If a whiff of what he did got out, his plan would utterly fail. Barty Crouch Jr. will know. Voldemort in turn will know that he was attacking his horcruxes. The Dark Lord might start making plans to protect his Horcruxes better thus making Harry's effort in destroying them even harder. As of now, the success of his plan had fully depended on Voldemort's ignorance of what transpired. Harry knew that he needed to keep Voldemort out of the loop and make sure that he stayed at his current hiding place.

Until Harry finds him.

For now, what he had to do was to make sure that the mistake would never be repeated again. He needed to watch his own back and make sure that his track disappeared behind him.

At this point, Harry began to wonder if he should bring Dumbledore in. The headmaster was clearly suspecting something. Given what he was planning to do with Sirius, it may be a good idea to reel the Head of the Order of the Phoenix in. A good backup could go a long way.

And then, there was the matter of Barty Crouch Jr. Harry knew that he needed to dispose of the impostor one way or another. But given what the impostor did tonight, Harry began to wonder if there was another way to settle the problem. Harry knew that Barty saw him. He had every chance to expose Harry back then but he chose not to do so and that was before Dumbledore ordered him to quietly return Harry to the Gryffindor Tower.

Maybe there was still a chance for Barty to change. Just like Snape.

Drowsiness began to take over him. And before his eyes closed, Harry had decided.

Barty shall be turned against his master.

Or die.

The very next morning

The event last night became the talk of the school that very morning. Everyone had their own theory and each theory was just as crazy as the next. Harry sat at his usual spot in the Great Hall and ate his breakfast quietly. Those around him were chatting animatedly about the event last night. From his vantage point, he could see that virtually all the female students looked paler than usual. Such was the effect of Voldemort's mere memory, or soul if you could call it. Male students fared better though he could not help but notice that Malfoy looked a lot paler than he was. Ron joked that Malfoy might peed in his trousers and on his bed last night. Harry just sniggered.

Of course, Harry would not know the extent of the effect of destroying the Horcrux. The last time it happened was during the battle. Everything was chaotic. The combination of the fang taken by Ron and Hermione from the basilisk's carcass and the Fiendfyre curse destroyed the diadem but within the chaos of the battle, the effect of the Horcrux's destruction was drowned.

This time it happened during relative peace. Harry thought the Room of Requirement would absorb some of the after-effects. He was mistaken.

Harry glanced at the teacher's table. He saw Dumbledore and a few others. The teacher's breakfast attendance that morning was relatively lacking. 'Moody', as always, was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes met Dumbledore's. The headmaster gave him a veiled nod before he went back to his breakfast.

The breakfast time ended fifteen minutes later and much to the students' disappointment, no announcement had been made. Hermione of course, being logical as she had always been, reasoned that the matter was still under investigation. However, from the prefects' mouths, they got to know that

a thorough search had been done throughout the castle last night. Nothing was found.

The rest of the week went as normal. Friday came. Snape had indeed made 'watching Harry while Harry is working' his new hobby, much to Malfoy's chagrin. Luckily though, he did not bring out the issue of the event that happened the last two nights.

From what Harry could gather, the teachers were nowhere close to deciphering the event that happened on Thursday night. Filch prowled the seventh floor more often nowadays but Harry did not think that he found the Come and Go Room. At least not yet. For now, though, he needed to stay away from that floor until things cooled down.

Sunday came. Harry woke up early that morning. Everyone else was still sleeping.

He once again had the vision of Voldemort. It interrupted his sleep. But at least he knew that the Dark Lord was still hiding at Little Hangleton. He had decided to let the dream come. That was the only way he could use to keep a tab on Voldemort.

Harry got up from his bed and began to dress. He decided to have an early breakfast.

There weren't that many people within the Great Hall on early Sunday morning. Gryffindor's table, with the exception of him, remains empty. The breakfast had already been served though. He proceeded to sit at his usual spot and began to ply his plate with one of everything and began to eat.

Five minutes into eating he heard a whooshing sound. He looked up and saw a brown tawny owl flying towards him. It landed in front of him and extended its foot towards him. Tied to that foot was a letter.

"Sirius."

He immediately detached the letter from the owl's leg and began to read:-

Dear Harry,

You're saying you got the Marauder's Map? That is bloody awesome! Yeah, I remember all the things James, Remus and I did with the help of the map. Of course, we got caught in the end and Filch confiscated it. We were not as good as Voldemort apparently. Legend says he never got caught for his mischief during his school years. And now it has passed down to you, the worthy heir of our treasure.

21st. November sounds great. I'll meet you during your Hogsmeade visit. Just bring in some food if you can. I had enough of eating those 'Wormtails'. You probably realized why I did not include his name up above. You know why.

Don't worry about me, Harry. I know what I'm doing. The last thing they'll suspect would be an escaped convict visiting the most heavily guarded town during an international tournament.

I am looking forward to seeing you then.

Padfoot.

Ps: Look for a black dog at the western outskirt of the village, at the fork right before the path that leads to the mountains.

Harry folded the letter and kept it inside his pocket. He smiled. For the first time ever, aside from Fleur, he had something solid to look forward to. Still, he can't help but feel worried. Worried that things might go wrong.

Be it as it may, he would still meet him. And he will meet his godfather alone without Ron and Hermione.

The night event became slowly forgotten. The appearance of the sign in the Entrance Hall had a marked effect on the inhabitants of the castle. Throughout the following week, only the topic of the Triwizard Tournament was talked about in the school. Rumour has it that virtually all seventh-year students will put up their names. There were favorite candidates of course. Angelina Johnson became Gryffindor's firm favorite. The Hufflepuff seemed to vouch for Cedric. Cassius Warrington from Slytherin was said to be interested in becoming the Hogwarts champion. Nominees from Ravenclaw were still a mystery though.

Up until this time, nobody with the exception of Harry knew how the candidates would be selected. Plenty of rumors about it abound as well. It was amusing for Harry to hear those crazy theories. If only they knew who the 'impartial judge' really was. As for the twins and a few other nearly seventeen-year-old students, hoodwinking the judge became the main favorite topic of discussion.

The inhabitants were not the only ones affected by the upcoming event. The castle itself underwent thorough cleaning. Portraits were scrubbed, much to their subject displeasure, and all the suits of armor underwent thorough cleaning and polishing. Filch himself had taken extra precautions by punishing anyone who did not wipe their shoes whilst walking along the corridors. New banners were hung within the Great Hall along with several other decorations. The tables were polished such that one could practically use it as a mirror. Hogwarts had certainly gone all out in readying itself for the event.

Sometime during the week, both Ron and Harry became the unwitting members of a new organization established by Hermione, the Society for Promotion of Elfish Welfare aka. S.P.E.W. True, each of them paid two sickles for an S.P.E.W. badge, but they did it just to keep her mouth shut. That did not work out, however. If anything, it only made Hermione more vociferous. Poor Neville became her third victim. She kept badgering the three to wear the badge and to persuade others to join in her crusade. "You do realize that your sheets are changed, your fires lit, your classroom cleaned and your food cooked by a group of magical creatures who are unpaid and enslaved?" she said fiercely to whomever willing to lend their ears.

The twins tried to reason with her. Hermione however, refused to listen.

Friday the thirtieth finally came. All the students went to breakfast in excitement. The twins revealed to Harry during breakfast that they had been pestering McGonagall for the info on how the champions would be selected. McGonagall however did not budge.

Classes ran as usual that day but none of the students were really paying any attention. Flitwick gave up and just let the students do whatever they wanted when he saw that no one was paying any attention to what he said in his class. Virtually all the professors experienced the same thing with the exception of Snape who did not give a crap on anything. Luckily for Harry's classes, Potions that afternoon ended up early.

When the bell rang, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried up to the Gryffindor Tower, deposited their books and bags, pulled up their cloaks, and rushed down towards the Entrance Hall. When they arrived, all the Head of Houses were busy shepherding their students.

"Mr. Weasley, straighten your hair," McGonagall snapped at Ron. "And Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.

"Now, follow me," said Professor McGonagall. "First year at the front and no pushing!"

They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold and clear evening, dusk was falling, and the pale and transparent moon hung over the horizon, shining over the Forbidden Forest.

Harry stood between Ron and Hermione. His eyes continued to scan the sky for something he had always been anticipating.

'Nearly six," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gate. "How do you reckon they're coming? Train?"

"I doubt it," said Hermione. "If they were coming by train, we wouldn't be waiting here."

"How, then? Broomsticks?" asked Ron.

Harry meanwhile was still scanning the sky. His heartbeat rises with each second.

"I don't think so. Not from that far away," said Hermione.

"What about Portkey? Apparition?"

"You can't apparate inside the castle ground, Ron. How many times do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently.

"So Portkey it is," said Ron confidently.

Harry sniggered. An image of students gathering around an old mangy boot appeared inside his mind. What would Ron think if Viktor Krum arrived at Hogwarts holding an old and smelly shoe or an old tin can in his hands? Of course, they will have better objects made into Portkeys if it comes to that.

Hermione meanwhile just shook her head and refused to say another word.

They continued to stand on the darkening ground, waiting for the arrival of their guest. The weather was getting colder. Students all around Harry started pulling their scarf closer to their necks.

Minutes passed by and all of a sudden, Harry saw it.

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegate from Beauxbatons approaches!" announced Dumbledore who was standing at the back along with all the teachers.

"Where?" said many students eagerly as they looked in all sorts of directions.

"There!" yelled a sixth-year student, pointing above the Forbidden Forest.

Sure enough, something large, much bigger than hundreds of broomsticks hurled across the deep blue sky towards the castle, growing larger all the time.

"Is that a dragon?" asked a first-year who apparently seemed to nearly lose her mind.

"Don't be stupid! It's a flying house, sort of," said Dennis Creevey.

The thing certainly looked like a flying house, except that it was not. As it brushed the tree tops that lined the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the students could see a gigantic powder blue, horse-drawn carriage the size of a house soaring towards them. A dozen palomino horses, each the size on an elephant, pulled the carriage.

The students stepped back as the carriage got nearer, coming in to land at speed. With an almighty crash, the horses' hooves hit the ground, followed by the carriage seconds later. It landed cleanly and stopped right at the entry of the pathway that split the group of Hogwarts students into two.

Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers walked along the pathway towards the carriage in preparation to greet the just arriving guest.

A boy in pale blue robes jumped from the front of the carriage. He fumbled with something under the carriage floor and unfolded a set of golden steps. He then sprang back respectfully.

The door of the carriage opened. Harry saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage. This was then followed by a woman whom he recognized very well.

Olympia Maxime, also known as Madame Maxime, headmistress of the Beauxbaton Academy of Magic.

"Blimey," muttered Seamus, eyes widened as he took in the sheer size of Madame Maxime. "That is one bloody huge woman."

Madame Maxime indeed was dressed for the occasion. She wore a pair of black satin dress, covering her from the neck to toe. Her jet-black hair was pulled back into a bun. Magnificent jewelry adorned her neck and her fingers.

Dumbledore started clapping and soon the rest began to follow.

Madame Maxime's face relaxed into a smile. She walked down the golden steps and towards Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, barely needed to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "I bid you welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dort," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime as she waved her dinner plate-sized hand carelessly behind her.

A group of students, all in their late teens, filed down the steps and onto the castle ground. They stood behind Madame Maxime. All of them were shivering, which was unsurprising given their uniforms were

basically made out of silk. All of them wore cloaks and scarves. It was something that Harry took notice of.

Harry's heart fell. There was a lump in his throat. He had been observing each of the students. None of them was the girl he was looking for.

At this point, Harry was beginning to have a second thought about this whole time-traveling thing. He began to question whether or not he had gone back in time. Fleur was not there. She was supposed to be there but he did not see her. Harry was beginning to suspect that he, in fact, did not travel back in time as he had thought. This timeline he was currently in could be some sort of an alternate universe he did not know before. A universe where Fleur never exists.

He continued to drown in his own thoughts when Hermione suddenly blurted out, "Oh, I thought they were all accounted for."

Harry looked up. Sure enough, another female student emerged from within the carriage. Unlike the other Beauxbaton students who were gathering around their headmistress, her face was half hidden by the scarf she wore. A shawl covered her head. She stood at the carriage door. From there, her eyes wandered around until they met Harry's.

Harry's heart did a backflip. He could not see her face but he recognized those beautiful bright blue eyes. He knew to whom it belonged to.

The girl who until now held his heart within her hands.

Fleur Isabelle Delacour.

It was at this point that the final piece of his memory emerged.

To be continued…