CHAPTER 14:

PLANS FOR THE UNEXPECTED

It wasn't just Dun Scaith in the meeting room the next morning. Croaker was present as well. Harry was surprised to find the Unspeakable there, but apparently Lily had asked him to find out as many things about the Tri-Wizard Tournament as possible. Lily did have to reassure the Seven Shades, with Gamma, Eta, Zeta and Epsilon having never met him before.

Harry needed the cup of tea at breakfast, though. It had ended up being a somewhat restless night last night when he got back to this world. The thought of being in the Tri-Wizard Tournament was bad enough. It was meant for NEWTs students now, after all, and it had a high bodycount. But the thought of being in it against his will, and that someone had maliciously done so, was worse.

Even so, he considered things as logically as he could. He was no genius like his mother, Croaker, Hermione, or Alpha, but he could consider things and infer or deduce matters. And he had come to some conclusions.

Firstly, whoever did so was an adult wizard or witch of considerable power, or else a particularly gifted and talented student. Moody said someone used a powerful Confundus on the Goblet of Fire while discussing hows, and it would have to be a powerful wizard. Dumbledore had agreed, and for all his issues with the man, Harry felt he at least still had enough nous to recognise that.

Secondly, their motives were unknown, but they had targeted Harry specifically for some reason. If it was literal assassination, they'd have to sabotage the events somehow. Character assassination was more likely, though, given the vagaries of arranging such a demise without arousing suspicion.

Thirdly, they had targeted him instead of targeting Neville, that is, the Boy Who Lived. Neville would surely be the more enticing target, especially the enemies he and his grandmother had made in Hogwarts, in the Ministry of Magic, in Magical Britain's society, etc. It was possible that someone associated with the Longbottoms and their faction had done so, but Harry also knew that he had more than a few enemies amongst the Blood Purists in Slytherin, especially that blonde shit Draco Malfoy. Draco was not capable of doing so, he reckoned, but someone allied with him was another matter. He doubted Neville and/or his grandmother, after going to all the trouble of ensuring his expulsion, would then bring him back to Hogwarts for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and thus blotting out the Boy Who Lived's spotlight.

Fourthly, there was a possibility that they were linked to whoever cast the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup, or even Hermione's murderer, assuming all three events weren't perpetrated by the same person. That was speculation, though. Maybe it was born of desire to see these actions against him as connected, as part of a conspiracy of sorts.

He voiced these speculations out loud at his mother's invitation when she opened up a discussion of the past night's events. At this, Lily and Croaker nodded, though the older Unspeakable said, "That being said, the last bit is speculation. We need to focus on the particulars, of the how, why, where, when, and last but certainly not least, the who. Once we know more about them, then more will fall into place. However, I think we can safely rule out a student managing this. Dumbledore's Age Line, according to the man himself, managed to stop the Weasley Twins from entering themselves. They got rather long beards in the process. And their plan was quite ingenious. If it was a student, they'd have to be old enough to be able to be able to enter, and I'm not sure which of those would be powerful enough and Machiavellian enough to fool the Goblet of Fire into believing there was a fourth school and to figure out a scheme where Harry being in this damn thing would actually achieve a goal."

"Even if Neville or that grandmother of his wasn't involved, it's possible it's someone from their faction, isn't it?"

Croaker nodded. "I doubt either of them would have done it, though, and risk taking the limelight off them. I know Bagman and Crouch have some ties to Augusta, but Bagman is a punch-drunk fool with too much brain damage to do a good enough Confundus, while Crouch…he has the potential, and yet…something's been wrong with him lately."

Lily looked to Croaker. "In what way?"

"Crouch is a very focused and competent man, Lily, as you well know. A complete arse, yes, but he is also competent to a degree that is frightening in the Ministry. He's not a man easily distracted or confused, and yet, when I saw him last night, he seemed ill and…almost like he is beginning to go senile. He's certainly relying more on that anal-retentive Weasley, Percy, I believe he's called. And in hindsight, he has been like that for weeks. Ever since shortly after the debacle at the Quidditch World Cup. It could be the loss of his House-Elf, or the loss of face due to Winky casting the Dark Mark, or even some sort of medical episode like a stroke or something, but…something about his state of mind has me concerned. I doubt he is the culprit. He has the skill, but I doubt he would have done something like this even before whatever's ailing him happened. Too straitlaced."

Alpha frowned. "There are, however, two former Death Eaters currently at Hogwarts. Snape and Karkaroff, could they be culprits?"

"It's a distinct possibility, but I doubt it with Karkaroff," Croaker said. "He's an opportunistic coward who gave up as many names as possible to save his own skin. Doing something like this isn't his style. Snape's not much better, but I think he's got just enough balls to try it, and he still holds a grudge against James Potter and his offspring. Not only that, but Dumbledore vouching for him only seems to have emboldened him. Don't misunderstand me, I also think, like the Longbottoms, he wouldn't want Harry to be in the limelight, but I would still have him on the list of suspects, just lower down."

"And then there's other possibilities. Someone could have snuck onto the grounds and done so," Lily mused. "Polyjuice Potion used to imitate a staff member or a student, long enough to infiltrate and then leave, or even stay amongst the staff or student body...Durmstrang is notorious for teaching the Dark Arts too."

"Too many possibilities, but not enough clues. Hopefully, Harry staying in this will draw whoever this person is out. But I'll keep an eye out for something to remove the contract regardless," Croaker said. "In any case, I did some quick research into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and I think we've got an advantage already. What the events are varied between Tri-Wizard Tournaments, but one recurring one is facing a magical creature, usually XXXX or higher. And while there are more safety precautions involved this time, I would hope, neither Bagman or Crouch have the imagination to do anything different. In fact, having read that, I have reason to believe that it will be the First Task…and that it will be dragons you face."

Harry stared at him in shock. "You're bloody well kidding me."

"I don't think so," Croaker said. "Charlie Weasley has been in the country for a number of months, longer than he usually is, and as you know, he is a Dragonkeeper at a preserve in Romania. I also heard rumours of unusual import documents being run through the relevant departments. Of course, I could be wrong, but we need to work on discerning what the truth is. Damn facing the unknown, especially if the likes of Ludo Bagman is arranging for the entertainment. I wouldn't put it past him to have the Champions face Dementors if the risk of depressing the audience or having their souls eaten wasn't there. What's more, while Albus would probably be high-minded enough not to give Cedric any clues, I wouldn't put it past either Igor or Olympe to cheat and then tell their Champions what they were going to face."

"Why is that?" Alpha asked.

"Igor Karkaroff is a coward who loves bathing in the reflected glory of his best students, with Krum being the latest, a bit like Horace Slughorn, Lily, but Horace at least had standards and lines he wouldn't cross. Karkaroff, on the other hand, will do anything to get ahead. After all, he had no compunction to selling out his comrades to save his own worthless arse. I'd already suspected Augustus of being a traitor, but I had no proof until Igor named him. As for Olympe Maxime…from what I have heard, she is actually part-Giant, like Hagrid, and ashamed of her heritage. While she is a competent headmaster of Beauxbatons, she also did, according to rumour, some rather shady things to get that far, particularly a couple of cases of blackmail. To the deserving, I should hasten to add, and she is protective of her students, but she will also use whatever means she deems necessary to protect herself, her students, and Beauxbatons. Oh, don't misunderstand me, Olympe is a good woman, she is just ruthless and a capable politician and networker."

"What's the media response like?" Lily asked.

"Much as you'd expect. Lots of protests from the foreign newspapers, particularly France and Scandinavia, as they are where Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have the most influence. Lots of wild speculation in the British press. The Quibbler's response is highly amusing, and I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it Harry: Xenophilus is most definitely on your side. No word from the Longbottoms yet, but that worries me. Augusta in particular is very politically savvy, and no doubt she'll do anything she can to twist this to her own advantage."

"Joy. And that muckraking bitch Rita Skeeter's still penning her libel for the Daily Prophet and other sensationalist publications," Lily said. "Still, we could turn that to our advantage. I was declared missing, not presumed dead. Maybe we could use the Weighing of the Wands to announce my survival. It could stir the pot a little, get whoever put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire to take further action, incriminating action. I don't intend to return to Magical Britain in earnest, instead continuing my mission with the Unspeakables, or at least that's the story. What do you reckon, Croaker?"

The older Unspeakable nodded. "A good idea, except…I have reason to believe that Augusta sicced Algernon onto you. Who's to say she won't try something else if she learns you're still alive?"

"Well, what I do to her if she does depends on what she does. That could range from a Marauders-style prank to burying her alive…or getting more creative." Lily sighed, leaning back in her chair. "But I doubt she'd be stupid enough to be anything but at least somewhat subtle, or at least using some subterfuge. Honestly, sending Algernon after me wasn't her style, as was killing him afterwards, not unless she's more arrogant than I thought. Or senile."

"I wouldn't put it completely past her, or Algernon to do the deed himself without input from Augusta," Croaker said. "Though I'd lean more towards the latter. Algernon was always a fool, considering himself more clever than anyone else. Even Augustus Rookwood was better than him, and he turned out to be a damned Death Eater. But I'll give Rookwood this much, he at least seemed to have some respect for being aware of his own ignorance, and remedying that. In any case, let's get back to the point. Harry's clearly able to cast a Patronus without a wand if the message I got from him last night was any indication. How do you rate his chances at the moment?"

Lily frowned. "Against the threats here, he can do well against many of the standard threats, though Harry is not quite up to the standard of Dun Scaith yet."

"I'm sitting right here, you know," Harry groused.

"I know, Harry, but would you prefer honeyed bullshit or hard truth?" Lily asked. After a moment's silence, which Harry couldn't bring himself to fill, she then said to Croaker, "That being said, with Eta's help, I believe Project Tempus Fugit may be viable. She's found my notes very helpful. I don't think we can finish it until just before the Weighing of the Wands, though."

Croaker's eyes widened in surprise. "So that's why you…I see. Just be sure not to inadvertently summon eldritch horrors from beyond known time and space, please, Lily? The last time was a bother."

"The last time was Bode's doing, and you know it, Saul," Lily harrumphed petulantly.

"Yes, but you also like to prod things and see what happens. Which, I admit, we tend to do as Unspeakables, but there's knowing what length of stick to use, and when not to prod things. I remember my father living through the Blitz. He worked with the Royal Engineers in helping them defuse German bombs dropped at the time, and following his example, I worked with similar groups like the 321 EOD & Search Squadron in Northern Ireland, watching them and their colleagues elsewhere in how they worked on IRA bombs. Your girl Eta seems like the sort to prod an armed nuclear bomb if it seems interesting enough, so please keep her from tearing space-time a new sphincter."

Eta shot Croaker a sleepy-looking glare, but Lily chuckled. "Noted…"

The meeting soon ended, Croaker returning to Earth. Most of the Seven Shades left, but Alpha, Beta, and Delta stayed behind with Harry to discuss things with Lily. "Sorry, Harry," Lily said, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I shouldn't have been so flippant about your strength or lack thereof, compared to the rest of Dun Scaith. But the simply fact is, you're currently in danger, from an unknown adversary. We need to get you up to scratch."

"Then what was the past couple of months?" Harry demanded.

Lily met his gaze evenly, and he was struck by how tired and anxious she seemed, now that the meeting was over. "Harry, you've been training for over two months, but most of Dun Scaith have been training for years, and that's a hell of a gap to narrow, even with the enhancement. I know you can do it given time, Harry. Unfortunately, whoever put your name in the Goblet of Fire doesn't give a damn about that. I was hoping that, once you were with me, we'd have less of the bollocks you had to deal with when you were at Hogwarts, or at least the danger was stuff you were involved in voluntarily. Instead, if Croaker's hypothesis is correct, you've got to face a damned dragon in a few weeks' time, and while dragons on Earth are nowhere near as powerful as, say, the Mist Dragon guarding this place, it's still something the average adult wizard would struggle with, even the competent ones. And that's without going into the press. Rita Skeeter's still around, isn't she?"

"Unfortunately," Harry said, his scowl deepening. "And that bitch is opportunistic as hell."

"And in other news, the ocean is wet," Lily said, sighing, before coming over and giving Harry a hug. "I promise you, Harry, we will get you through this, and we will end whoever did this to you. And that's on top of finding out who murdered Hermione."

Harry was struck by the sincerity, the conviction in his mother's tone, and some of his resentment and annoyance at her leached away. "I just…" he began. "I just feel like I don't have control over my life."

"I know. Believe me, I've been through a lot of that myself, Harry. I mean, even after being stranded in this world, I more or less founded Dun Scaith by accident. That's a sad fact of life, Harry. Sometimes, we have too many choices to deal with, and other times, we don't have any at all. You just have to do what you can with what you're given."

"But what is Project Tempus Fugit, Lily?" Beta asked.

Alpha looked to her childhood friend. "Project Tempus Fugit was the result of research and experimentation Lily was doing when she was part of the Unspeakables. It involved pushing the limits of temporal magic. Wizards have a very limited form of time-travel in the form of Time-Turners. But she was hoping to find ways to not go back in time, but rather, to create an artificial form of time dilation over a limited area."

"Alpha helped me collect my old notes from Croaker," Lily said. "She also sat with me when I discussed matters with Eta. I'd all but completed the theory. Basically, Harry, what I was intending to do was make the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragonball Z."

Harry stared at her. "…You're bloody kidding me."

"Nope. We're going to make sure you get the training you need, and then some…"

CHAPTER 14 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. The fallout, and plans are being drawn up.

Croaker's anecdotes about him and his father working with bomb disposal are all my own creation. It sort of sprang up organically from his discussing how to avoid dooming all of reality in the name of scientific curiosity. Yes, the Unspeakables are wizards, but I like to view them as basically R&D for the wizarding world.

Review-answering time! Raidentensho: Practically, yes. But in the eyes of Magical Britain, it won't. And yes, Alpha will be Harry's date to the Yule Ball…officially, anyway. Beta, Delta, and Gamma will attend as well.

WearyCurmudgeon: If Charlie Foxtrot means 'clusterfuck', then yes. Also, while I don't know for sure, I think the masks Shadow Garden wear in the light novels and manga (they don't seem to wear masks in the anime for some reason) may be formed from the slime bodysuits. They seem to be simple domino masks, which I don't think are adequate disguises, but whatever.

Jlargent: It's more of an Idiot Duo, Ginny is more of a hanger-on and girlfriend to Neville than anything, but yeah, Harry might unleash a magical aura as a sort of pseudo-killing intent thing.

No numbered annotations this time.