The whole of Gryffindor was abuzz when Harry and Luna returned to the common room, after all the headmaster got stabbed and the aurors were brought in and that was the last they saw before the other professors sent them all to the dorms with the visiting students were escorted to their respective living spaces. So no one knew a whole lot, the current rumor was Harry had attacked Dumbledore likely over Luna being placed in the tournament.
"No, I did not stab the headmaster, it was Mad-Eye," Harry explained to the other students who were clamoring for details. "Well it was Bartemius Crouch Junior, he was impersonating Mad-Eye, they found the real Mad-Eye in his trunk upstairs… Hey Nev, you okay?"
Harry had noticed that Neville had run off to the side and threw up in one of the potted plants he had been growing in the common room. The boy was looking quite pale and taking deep breaths after evacuating his bowels. "Are you sure, are you absolutely sure that it was Bartemius Crouch Junior?" Neville asked firmly.
"Yeah, Professor Snape, Igor Karkaroff and Crouch Senior identified him," Harry confirmed because they all seemed pretty confident and one was the man's father.
Neville steadied himself using the back of one of the couches. "So he's going right back to Azkaban then?" Neville asked because he wanted to know that man wasn't in the castle anymore.
"Well no I um," Harry stopped because he realized he had just killed a man and was going to be telling the entire house about it. "I thought Mad-Eye had lost his mind and he was waving a knife around Luna after just stabbing Dumbledore, so I killed him. Neville, that man is dead now."
Instead of looking worse hearing that, the normally timid boy seemed happy. "That's good then, I hope he rots in Hell," Neville firmly said before seeing that the rest of the house was looking at him in shock, at least the non-purebloods were. "He was one of the people who tortured my mum and dad."
"Oh," Harry nodded because he didn't really know what to say about that. "But until we get more details, then Luna is in the tournament."
The next morning the lack of Albus Dumbledore at his normal position was noticed by all attendees, as was the redheaded woman standing at his podium. "My name is Amelia Bones, I am the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as there was an incident last night I have been given clearance by the Minister to ensure that rumors are put to bed and everyone is aware of what happened."
She told the students that an escaped death eater had been impersonating Alastor Moody and they had recovered the man who was receiving the proper medical attention until he would be able to return. "And as of this moment the Tri-Wizard Tournament has four champions but as one was put in as part of a plot we will do what we can to get her out of the contract."
This served to quell much of the curiosity but still left enough for the students to gossip with, especially as more and more people entered and exited the school.
The presence of aurors kept much of the normal shenanigans between students to a minimum especially after the real Mad-Eye came stomping into the Great Hall. He'd been barking mad that no one noticed that he'd been replaced by a death eater and that everyone had let their guard down enough that someone as deranged as Crouch Jr. was able to be around the children for two whole months before getting caught.
But other than that, the lessons in defense didn't really change all that much, not that Mad-Eye noticed the irony.
Harry was thankful that everyone believed him when he told them that Luna had not put herself in the tournament because he would have flown into a rage if people started to spread rumors that Luna had snuck her way in.
It was a week later before the Headmaster was able to return, though he now walked with a cane. Of course he managed to make it look supremely dignified and not what one would picture in their mind of an over one hundred-year-old man.
In that same week Harry was attending his lessons as normal when on his way to potions, Colin came running up to him panting heavily. "Sorry Harry, but the champions are being called to the field for one of the ceremonies," informing him of what was going on that involved Luna since she had been called out of Herbology. This led Colin claiming a need to use the restroom where he raced off to find Harry, as his number one fan knowing his class schedule.
"Thanks Colin," Harry patted the boy on the shoulder, he started to head away when he turned back. "Tell Professor Snape I'll be late to class."
Harry stepped into the tent just as a camera flashbulb went off. "Mr. Potter?" Albus raised an eyebrow as he hadn't expected Harry to be looking for him.
"Sorry I'm late, someone must have forgotten to inform me of this meeting," Harry said as he came over to Luna's side. "Luna, have any of these people tried to get you to do anything?"
"No Harry, we were just starting the Weighing of the Wands," Luna smiled at her husband.
"Mr. Potter, this is really something only for the champions," Ludo Bagman tried to say as to the young wizard. "You don't really have a need to be here."
"How about you go through this without someone getting stabbed and I will consider not showing up at the next one?" Harry offered the man who hummed as he tried and failed to come up with a response to that.
"It's alright Ludo, Mr. Potter is more than welcome to watch," emphasizing the watch in that sentence Albus tapped his cane to indicate that Harry should come over to his side. "The ceremony, after which there will be some photographs and statements to the press."
As Harry watched Mr. Ollivander test the wands of each of the contestants, he noticed that the old man was extra attentive to Luna's wand. "And I hope your wand has been doing well for you my dear?" Garrick asked with a smile.
"Oh yes, great grand uncle," Luna nodded her head. "I've been doing quite well in my lessons with it. We learned the seize and pull spell in charms last week."
"Wonderful my dear," Garrick stated as he flicked the wand and made a stream of bubbles pour out.
"All their wands appear to be in tip top shape," the wandmaker stated to the judges as he moved out of the way so their pictures could be taken.
"What lovely champions," a blonde witch said while raking her eyes over the four subjects. "As for interviews, let's start with the littlest one first."
Attempting to step in so that this random woman didn't just interview his wife without him first checking her identity and making sure she posed no threat, he was stopped as another man stepped past him. "I concur Rita, we should start with my little pumpkin."
"Daddy, I'm not a pumpkin remember, I'm a human," Luna tilted her head and pouted at her father.
Blinking a few times Xenophilus let out a laugh and nodded. "Sorry sweetie, it seems I forgot again."
"It's alright papa," Luna said as she and the two reporters went off to the side where they wouldn't be disturbed.
Letting out a sigh, Harry snapped his head to the side when he heard snickering. "Has anyone ever told you that you're paranoid?" Cedric grinned as he and the other adult champions watched the fourth's husband slowly put away his wand.
"It's not paranoia, I just prefer to ensure that each and everything that could harm Luna is unable to get within the same postal code as her. It's perfectly reasonable," Harry stated as he didn't see a problem with how he was acting, it was everyone else who couldn't get with the program that was the issue.
"Harry," Albus chuckled. "You are a bit more like Alastor than a child should be. We are perfectly capable of handling this tournament and you do not need to follow your wife around, making sure that anyone who even looks at her has been vetted."
"What do you call Barty Crouch Jr. then?" Harry raised an eyebrow as even when looking away from Luna, he made sure that she was still in his periphery and that he could snap a spell at this other reporter to drop her if she made any funny movements.
"From my understanding, that was an attempt on your life, no?" Fleur questioned because she thought that it was the young boy in front of her that was supposed to be in the tournament alongside them, not the sweet thing that reminded her so much of her own little sister. "As that has failed spectacularly, does that not mean she is safe once again?"
Heaving a sigh, Harry folded his arms. "Yeah, I guess so."
"How often has your life been threatened that you do not worry for yourself anymore?" Viktor asked as Harry Potter was a famous wizard, not unlike himself and even he has had some more than enthusiastic fans put his life in peril in an effort to get closer to him.
"Um…," Harry exhaled before holding up his hand and extending one finger after another. The others around him could hear muttering under his breath, they managed to catch the words aragog and basilisk which only confused them more than anything. "I dunno, like ten times in the last three years. The baslisk venom nearly got me but Fawkes managed to get to me in time."
"You have been more… adventurous than our normal students Harry," Albus smirked as he knew that the boy before him had faced a number of hardships over the years.
"It does make me wonder though how you'd do in this tournament if it had been you instead," Cedric commented because he knew that Harry Potter had done some pretty crazy things according to the rumor mill.
"Probably fine," Harry said as he watched Luna laugh at something her father said. "I did some dueling with Padfoot and Moony over the summer, Sirius wanted to get back in shape and Remus still enjoyed teaching. I wiped the floor with both of them."
Harry noticed that Cedric was nodding his head, he must think it pretty good to duel a former auror and their previous defense professor. "At the same time. They complained that I was too ruthless and didn't know how to pull my punches. Sirius said that I fought more like his cousin Bellatrix during the war than I did my father as an auror."
"Oh, now I'm glad you aren't in this tournament because I wouldn't want to wind up facing off against you if it came to it," Cedric hissed because if Harry Potter was likened to the Mad Witch by someone who knew her capabilities well, he didn't really like his odds of winning that fight or even walking away with all his limbs intact.
Luna came skipping up and tapped on Viktor's arm. "It's your turn now," she stated so the Durmstrang student could meet with Rita and Xenophilus.
"Hello Harry," Luna greeted again before giving Harry a hug around the waist and smiling as she leaned against him.
He tenderly stroked her hair. "How did it go?"
"Very good I think, I've been helping daddy with the Quibbler for years, so I'm good with interviews, even if Ms. Skeeter had more boring questions," Luna pouted because why would anyone want to know what her thoughts on the tournament were, she hadn't seen it yet.
Holding her to him he kissed the top of her head. "Did your father have more interesting questions then?"
"Oh yes, he asked if I was aware of the migratory patterns of Canadian geese," Luna nodded as she watched Viktor Krum seemingly caught off guard by a question daddy asked him.
"Are you?" Cedric asked the little girl.
"No," Luna shook her head.
Turning to his fellow champion Cedric hummed. "This is gonna be a weird day."
"Mr. Potter, as I suspect that you will make your opinions regarding the tournament well known," Albus cleared his throat because he did not doubt that as the time to the first task grew shorter that Harry would begin to gather any and all information about what his wife may be put up against. "I would like to discuss with you some of the safety measures we are putting in place."
"I'd like to look over that sir, see where things might have been missed or intentionally sabotaged by the imposter," Harry nodded and let go of his wife, she should be fine without him, momentarily.
"For the time being, I'm sure that Severus will have a number of detentions waiting for you for skipping his class to be here," the headmaster said with a twinkle in his eye as his student grumbled because Snape would have a good reason to bust him over this.
Luna just patted her husband on the arm. "I'm sorry you have to go, but do try to be nicer to Professor Snape, he's overworked as it is."
Sighing because while after last year, he and the potions professor had been on a more begrudging acceptance towards each other as a result of Harry taking potions far more seriously, it was his wife that was the biggest cause for change. She liked Snape for some reason and thought he was a regular jokester. He had absolutely no clue how she believed that but since she wanted him to try and get along better with the man, he was doing it for her sake. It just meant that they would awkwardly have to dance around each other in regard to how they interacted.