Chapter 2 New Year, New Surprises.

Cyrus Diamon, thank you I read a few of those stories and decided to try my hand at it.

*Disclaimer this chapter mentions cutting.*


It had been a few days since Jacob had his row with Daphne and they had been avoiding each other ever since. At this moment Jacob was lying in the living room when he heard some footsteps He turned to see Astoria stumble into the room.

"Are you all right, Greengrass?" Jacob asked as Astoria stumbled onto one of the couches before collapsing onto the floor. Jacob rushed over and called for help, and Daphne and Lily rushed in with a potion.

"Here, honey," Lily said, encouraging as Astoria drank the potion before seeming to fall asleep as Lily left the room leaving the two teens. Daphne and Jacob seemed to release a breath of relief before they seemed to look at each other;

Jacob apologized and said, "I'm sorry for yelling at you; it wasn't right."

"No, I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to point that out," Daphne said as Jacob looked over at Astoria.

"Is she going to be all right?" Jacob asked.

"She's always been fragile," Daphne said, looking her sister over in concern as Jacob lifted the surprisingly light girl and brought a blanket and pillow to make her more comfortable before Sirius walked in.

"Hey, how you're sister doing?" Sirius asked Daphne. "I just talked to your father and it seems like I have some books that might interest you. Also, Jay, I noticed that there's going to be a thunderstorm on the weekend before you go back to Hogwarts."

"Why do you need to know about the storm?" Daphne asked Jacob. "Unless you're planning on becoming an Animagus?" Jacob just smirked at her.

" Ten points to Slytherin."

"But that's a complicated portion," Daphne said.

"Just because Snape has a grudge against my father doesn't mean I suck at Potions. But anyway my folks made me a deal that if I got a grade point average of Exceeded Expectations, they'd would help me with my project. The next thing I knew, Sirius gave me a mandrake leaf a month and a half early before my birthday. Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn't on my side." Jacob said.

"So, any thoughts on what you might become?" Daphne asked.

"Well, you can't choose these things; if we could, everyone who tried to become an Animagus would choose a dragon," Jacob said as Daphne nodded in agreement. "But I'm hoping for something that flies or a big cat."

"Figures, a Gryffindor became an overgrown hairball," Daphne joked.

"Be careful, Your Highness. Many of those overgrown hairballs are top predators in their habitats," Jacob warned playing with his gold chain.

"So does any of your friends know?" Daphne asked, eyeing the chain as Jacob gave her a look that answered her question.

"If you're worried about what your friends might say and talk badly about you for showing them weakness, then they are not worth being friends."

Jacob looked back at her, considering her words before replying. "I will think about it." He retrieved his notes on runes.

As Daphne looked through his notes, she commented, "Potter, I didn't know that you were studying runes."

Jacob explained, "I had planned to do it last year, but ended up taking a different course."

Curious, Daphne asked, "How did that happen?"

"I'm not sure," Jacob replied. "The Headmaster said the class was already full, so I had to take Division for the year."

"That's strange," Daphne said. "When I was in that class, there was plenty of room. I would have thought Granger told you."

"Well, I didn't tell her I was taking that class," Jacob admitted. "Hermione gets quite competitive, and she already had a heavy class load herself."

As Jacob nervously scratched the back of his head, Daphne glanced at his notes and complimented him on his work. She offered to assist him further if he needed any more help.

Jacob inquired, "Are you suggesting that you can tutor me?"

Daphne smiled as she replied, " For a price, I heard that you discovered it a few years ago so I'm offering rune tutoring in exchange for your guidance to the Chamber of Secrets."

Curious, Jacob asked, "What is the purpose of visiting the chamber?"

Daphne suggested that there might be valuable books and treasures in Salazar Slytherin's office. "Besides, I will be the first Slytherin to set foot in the chamber, and as it rightfully belongs to you as the one who defeated the heir."

Jacob hesitated and asked, "What if I seek help from Hermione?"

Daphne replied, "What's stopping you from doing that?" Not knowing Hermione could be a taskmaster.

"Okay, I agree, but if we find any treasure, it should go straight to the chamber's victims," Jacob stated. Daphne thought about it for a moment before nodding and shaking his hand in agreement.

" Now, there are a few things I want to show you," Daphne said which started an unlikely friendship.

The following day.

Jacob and crew were standing by a window, watching the storm go by, waiting for some lightning before a flash in the sky would signal it was time. As soon as the lightning struck, Jacob popped the lock on his case and pulled out a blood-red potion. Turning to face the others, he said.

"Remember to show no fear; everything is going to be alright," Sirius encouraged as Jacob downed the liquid, nearly coughing from the heat.

Jacob thought to himself, "That was worse than the time Seamus dared me to eat a habanero," before he finished the spell. He sat on his knees, focused, and found himself in a dark forest. As he looked into the eyes of a large black cat, it walked towards him. Suddenly, he found himself looking up at his family, who seemed larger than life. Sirius then placed a mirror in front of him, and in its reflection, Jacob saw a younger version of the cat and realized it was him. He let out a small cry.

"Are you tempted to let out a roar, Jay?" Daphne asked, giggling. Jay gave her a slight glare, which in its current form was cute, as Sirius waved his wand in a complicated pattern and conjured a note in his hand.

"Well, looks like you are something called a Jaglion, a hybrid between a jaguar and a lion. Remember what I told you about changing back and visualizing yourself wearing some clothes; I don't think some people will like that, but then again there might be some people who would," Sirius said, receiving some deadpan looks from his friends.

Jacob gave a glance at his godfather before shifting back to himself, luckily clothed.

"So, what do you think, Daphne?" Jacob asked.

"I think you're more tolerable as a cat," Daphne teased.

"So Jay, have you thought of any names yet?" Sirius asked as Jacob shook his head.

" I can't think of anything yet," Jacob said.

" How about Mlinzi," Astoria suggested. " it's Swahili for the protector,"

" Then Mlinzi it is," Jacob said as the Greengrass sisters went off to pack their things for school.

James went over to check on his son. "How are you doing?" He asked.

"I had a dream, I saw a dark-skinned boy and a girl in a red cloak being surrounded by some sort of animal; do you think the rat was right?"

"I don't know; we only found you and we didn't see anything that would indicate a third person being there," James said as Jacob replied.

"But the rat said he had heard someone."

James shook his head at his son's reasoning. "Honestly, I think Wormtail was just saying that to save himself; I wouldn't worry about it too much. Come on, let's see what mum has cooking," James said, getting Jacob to follow him.

#

On September 1st, the Potters and their guests arrived at King's Cross Station.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, but you don't have to," Daphne said as she and her sister stepped out of the Potters' van.

"Oh, stop with the Mr. and Mrs., just call us James and Lily, and you can come over anytime you want," Lily said before kneeling next to Astoria. "Now you better take care of yourself, little miss."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Potter; she is in safe hands, Daphne said, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"And you, young man, you better make sure this little cinnamon roll is taken care of," Lily said to Jacob, knowing it would be useless to say anything else; she knew he would do his best to take care of her.

"Come on, Lily Flower," James said as he walked the children down to their platform. "Now, Jacob I wanted you to try to stay out of trouble.

"I know, Dad, but I can't help it; trouble always finds me, especially on that day," Jacob said.

"I know that's why I asked you if you do get into any trouble. I wanted to make sure it's like getting caught kissing a girl in a cupboard or some other standard teenage shenanigans." James said, ruffling his son's hair. "Come on, we're going to get you on the train before Mum has my hide."

James and Jacob raced down the train station and through the barrier before Jacob placed his luggage up.

"You're not going to leave this old lady without saying goodbye, are you?", Lily asked, holding her arms wide.

"Mom, you know I'm 14 years old, right?" Jacob asked.

"Jacob Leonor Potter, I had to push your 2.8 kilograms rump out of a small hole and you can be 80 years old for all I care and that's not old enough to stop giving your mum a hug," Lily said as Jacob went over and hugged her goodbye slightly flustered.

"I'll be fine, Mum," Jacob said before he jumped on the train. Finding an empty compartment, he shifted into his Animagus form, which was now the size of a large house cat. Sitting on one of the benches, he decided to take a nap.

A few moments later, Jacob was awakened from his nap by the sound of an argument. He got up and saw Astoria facing off against a group of Ravenclaws consisting of third to fifth-year students. Jacob noticed a third-year girl lying on the ground behind them.

Astoria exclaimed, "Leave her alone!"

One of the Ravenclaw boys replied, "Or what? Are you going to sick your sister on us, for this little freak?"

Jacob felt an unknown anger within him and asked, "What's going on here?"

The same boy retorted, "Mind your business, Potter. This is house business."

Hermione and Daphne arrived from the other side and asked, "Hey, what's happening here?"

"It's not like you wouldn't understand," Cho Chang replied. "This freak here has been talking about imaginary creatures and is ashamed of our house."

"This is your last warning. Leave now, or things will get ugly," Jacob warned, pulling out his wand.

"Jacob, we should involve one of the teachers," Hermione suggested hesitantly.

Cho snapped, "Oh, going to be a little tattletale, are you? You should stay out of this, Mudblood."

This insult was the last straw for Jacob, and in a fit of anger, he cast the spell "Lingua Luto." A dark brown ball of sludge shot out of his wand and hit Cho in the face, turning her tongue into mud.

"Now, beat it, or anyone else who wants a dose of the mud tongue hex," Jacob said firmly.

That had the Ravenclaws running as Daphne and Hermione looked over at Jacob with shocked looks as he went over to help the other girl up.

" Are you alright little lady?"

" My knees sting a bit, those Wrackspurts were a little rough today," the blonde girl said as Jacob picked her up and took her back to his cabin. " I'm Luna Lovegood by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Luna. If anyone ever picks on you again, I know a pair of twins who might set them straight," Jacob said. He noticed the tear stains and a handprint on Luna's cheek. He transformed into his Animagus form and curled up next to her to offer comfort.

"What the, when did you become an Animagus, Jay!" Hermione asked.

"He became one about two days ago. He made a deal with his folks that if he gets good grades, they will help him," Astoria said, scratching Jacob behind the head as Hermione asked questions. Jacob lifted his tail over his bag where Daphne took out a report card and showed it to Hermione. She saw that the only classes he didn't get an E or up in were potions and division.

"Jay, where did you get the time to study? Because outside of Quidditch and Ron not dragging you off somewhere, I don't see you in the library," Hermione asked.

Before anyone else could say anything, Draco Malfoy barged in and said, "What do we have here, a MudBlood and Looney, Greengrass, what are you doing here? I thought you would be with the rest of us."

"I think it's none of your business who I hang out with, Malfoy. Just for your information, I was here first with my sister before they walked in like normal people, not barging in uninvited like a savage," Daphne replied.

" You listen here you stupid little tart if you know what's good for you," Malfoy took a step forward, but Jacob, still in cat form, stood up and looked at him, causing him to jump back. "What's that?" he exclaimed.

"I see you've met Mlinzi. Father found him at a familiar dealer. I've been training him to be a nice little attack panther. I'm not sure if you're aware, Malfoy, but he's a black Jaglion and they're known to have a taste for reptiles," Daphne explained with a smirk. Jacob caught her smirk and smiled at Malfoy, licking his large baby teeth. This caused Malfoy to shuffle out of the room compartment with his bodyguards following closely behind.

"Want me to go chase them down, mistress?" Jacob asked after he shifted back, much to the disappointment of Luna and Astoria.

"No, I don't even want to know where those three have been," Daphne replied sternly before cracking a smile, and the whole compartment burst into laughter. "Did you see the look on his face?"

"Yeah, I think that's the second-best memory I have of Malfoy, right behind Hermione here slugging him in the face," Jacob said, falling back and trying to catch his breath.

"Not one of my best moments," Hermione admitted.

"Hold on, you're the one that gave Malfoy a black eye. He said he ran into a wall," Daphne chuckled to herself before they heard from the loudspeaker that they were 10 minutes away from Hogsmeade.

"Well then, Potter, I suggest you step out for a moment," Daphne said.

"Hold on, why do I need to leave?" Jacob asked before realizing he was outnumbered and quickly took his leave as The Hogwarts Express slowed into Hogsmeade.

As The Hogwarts Express slowed into Hogsmeade station.

" First years over here please," Hagrid called.

" Can you ever believe we were that small," Jacob asked, getting a small glare from Astoria. " I'm not saying you're small, you're more fun size." He joked as Astoria smiled at him.

" You do know I'm the right height to reach a few valuable body parts and Daphne had taught me the freeze-drying spell," Astoria said, causing Jacob to have a chill down his spine as Astoria walked over to the carriages as her sister followed.

" Why, is it the small ones you have to worry about?" Jacob asked Hermione who laughed before they made their way over to the carriages Jacob spotted an unknown creature that was tied to it.

" What's that?"

" What are you talking about Jay there's nothing there," Hermione said, giving Jay a weird look.

" You see them too, don't you, they are Thestrals," Luna said as she rubbed the side of the Animal. " Quite a misunderstood animal,"

" Hey, there is something here," Hermione said feeling where Luna was rubbing Before they got into a carriage they made their way up into the school dodging a few water balloons from the local Portuguese and making their way up to the Great Hall and taking their seats at their tables.

" Welcome new and old students," Dumbledore called as the last student got sorted. " But before we feast I have a few announcements to make. I'm sorry to inform you but the Quidditch season has been canceled this year."

" WHAT!" Jacob shouted along with a few other students as Dumbledore raised his hand to quiet the room.

"Now, now. I understand that some of you may be upset, but I have an important announcement to make," said Dumbledore. However, he was interrupted by a man with a prosthetic leg, a glass eye, and a badly damaged face. Dumbledore introduced him as Professor Moody, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Before I was interrupted, I was about to announce that Hogwarts would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. This tournament will feature the top three schools in Europe, who will compete for a grand prize of 1,000 gallons and eternal glory for their school. However, please note that new safety measures have been put in place, which means only students aged 17 or older are allowed to participate."

Which got yells from the students, particularly the Weasley twins as Dumbledore produced a cannon blast with his wand. " This is for the greater good as the last time it was held it was canceled due to the death toll and for the more, the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in the last week of October where the names will be drawn on the 31st."

As the rest of Dumbledore's speech was drowned out by chatter from the students Jacob's thoughts turned to the day as Hermione was talking about the death toll before they realized the rest of the students walking out before they could follow them McGonagall called them out.

"I heard there was an incident on the train and you were involved, Mr. Potter," McGonagall inquired.

"I am aware of the incident, Professor. What did the student say?" Jacob responded.

"She accused you of attacking her and her friends. Come with me," McGonagall ordered, but Hermione interrupted.

"Excuse me, Professor, but I was there too. I witnessed the incident along with three others," Hermione explained. This stopped McGonagall from taking any further action until she knew who else was involved. They all made their way up to the Headmaster's office.

"Thank you for coming and bringing them, McGonagall," Dumbledore greeted them, surprised to see so many students.

"Why are my students here? I thought you were only supposed to bring Potter," Snape questioned, disdainfully using his last name.

"They are witnesses to the incident. I brought them to get a clearer explanation. And I got Pomona, as Ms. Greengrass suggested, a neutral party," McGonagall explained. "Now then, Ms. Chang said you hexed her, Mr. Potter. Is that true?"

"Professor, he was defending Luna while Chang and her friends were bullying her, and Chang called Hermione the M-word," Astoria intervened, drawing attention to Luna's bruised knees and the faded handprint on her face, which Flitwick matched to Chang's hand. The professors then focused on Cho and Astoria.

"Miss Greengrass, can you clarify what the M-word is?" Snape asked, glaring at Cho.

"She called me a Mudblood," Hermione revealed.

"Ms. Chang, is this true?" Sprout asked while Daphne whispered a loose-lips spell at Cho.

"Of course it is," Cho sneered, revealing her true nature. "She always pokes her nose where it doesn't belong and acts like a tattletale. She even dared to defend this little freak. Both of them deserve to be thrown into a river where they belong."

"Ms. Chang, you have earned detention for the rest of the semester," Snape snarled, hating that word more than anything. "Luckily for you, I can't take house points away since Ravenclaw has none."

"But I can do something," Flitwick interjected, putting his foot down before anyone else could speak. "Unfortunately, Ms. Chang, I'm asking you to return your Prefect badge. Furthermore, any house points you have collected will no longer count towards the House Cup."

Cho protested vehemently, "What? You can't do this to me! My family knows powerful people. If you seriously defend this mud-"

Cho was interrupted mid-sentence by a sudden coughing fit that resulted in her spitting out more mud. Snape questioned Potter, "What hex did you use? I thought I had fixed it." The other professors looked on curiously.

Jacob explained, "Well, my mum enchanted a jar when she was living with three foul-mouthed men. There are blueprints for the spell, which was created when that word was very popular. It's meant to turn the target's tongue as filthy as the word is, and the more hurtful they say it, the worse it will be. From the way Cho's coughing, I'd say it wasn't a slip of the tongue."

"Counterspell?" Flitwick asked.

"That's all on her, Professor. All she has to do is simply apologize and mean it," Jacob replied, looking sternly at Cho.

"Potter, I expect you to submit an essay about the hex you used. Please have it on my desk by this weekend. Consider yourself lucky that I didn't assign more punishment. Greengrass, curfew is approaching. It's time for you to return to your common room," Snape said as he dismissed the students. He then escorted Daphne and Astoria back to their room, while the other teachers departed.

As Jacob and Hermione returned to their lively Common Room, Professor McGonagall praised Gryffindor and awarded ten points for their defense of their classmates. Jacob went to sit with the Weasley twins and was greeted with a comment from Dean about spending time with Greengrass, but Jacob ignored it and greeted the twins.

"Hey, how are you doing?" George asked Jacob.

"I'm doing fine, but I'm disappointed that Quidditch got canceled because it might have affected Ravenclaw's chances of winning. Their Seeker used a forbidden word against my friend," Jacob explained, catching the twins' attention. While Jacob talked, the Quidditch girls went over to check on Hermione.

"So, what do you need from us?" Fred asked, and George followed up, "Want us to teach them a lesson?"

"They're also picking on one of their own, a third-year named Luna Lovegood," Jacob said.

"Luna?! She's a neighbor of ours," George exclaimed.

"So you want us to take care of a little cuckoo bird problem in the Ravenclaw house?" Fred asked.

"Nothing to go out of your way for, but I'm willing to invest in your little business if you test your products on the Quidditch team," Jacob said as he got up to leave. Before he left, he turned back to the twins. "Oh yeah, no one under the third year, got it?" he emphasized.

"It will be done, heir of the Marauders," the twins promised as Jacob went to bed. He saw his classmates getting ready for bed passing by Ron, who gave him a look.

"Hey Potter, how was bucking up with Slytherin's ice queen? You didn't get cold, did you? Oh, don't you have a pool?" Seamus asked which Jacob didn't reply to as he walked into the room and sat down on his bed, the gold chain around his neck jingling as he moved.

Dean noticed the chain and curiously asked, "What's with the bling, Jay?" The rest of the roommates also noticed the chain and exhaled deeply, waiting for Jacob's response.

Jacob took a deep breath and replied, "It's a memorial for my brother."

Seamus, surprised, asked, "Brother? I didn't know you had one." Jacob replied, "Had," with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Jacob then went on to explain that his brother disappeared on Halloween and Pettigrew had suggested that a third party might have taken him. Neville noticed Jacob's distress and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dean tried to lighten the mood by saying that his brother might be living across the ocean, but Ron interjected with a snarl, "Oh, suck it up Potter, siblings are overrated."

Seamus, imagining how he would feel about losing his mother, quickly retorted, "Weasley, I suggest you shut it. It's not like you know how it feels to lose a loved one."

Ron didn't seem to notice Seamus' glares and callously replied, "What? It's not my fault the squib got himself blown up."

Jacob, upset, snapped shut his curtains before transforming into Mlinzi and curling up for the night. It was clear to his roommates that the topic of Jacob's brother was a sensitive one and they knew better than to push him any further.

As time passed, October crept up unexpectedly. Thanks to Daphne's tutoring, Jacob managed to enter the Ancient Runes class alongside the other fourth-years, much to Hermione's surprise. As the annual defense reviews came in, it became clear that Professor Moody was a student favorite. Intrigued, Jacob researched and discovered that Moody, a former Auror, believed in fighting fire with fire and wand safety during the war. According to Sirius, the professor was a member of the task force that was in charge of hunting down the Death Eaters and ended up filling up half of the cells in Azkaban.

Moody often talked about curses, including the Unforgivable Curses, and Jacob would sometimes roam the school in his Animagus form, disguised as Mlinzi, the supposed bodyguard of Greengrass. Only a few people, excluding the teachers, were aware of his true identity. Jacob enjoyed sitting outside with the sisters on a pleasant day. When he spotted the Weasley twins walking by, he came up with a mischievous plan to greet them and strolled over to say hello.

"Wholl," Mlinzi greeted, which was surprisingly loud, making the twins jump and glare at him. "Bloody hell, Jackie," Fred said, looking like he was going to need a change of pants. "Why don't you go find Malfoy to scare," George said, looking no better than his brother. Mlinzi, sensing it was a good idea, went off, only to come across McGonagall, who gave him a disappointed look.

"Mr. Potter, it's nice to see you enjoying your Animagus form. Please refrain from roaring when students are studying," the professor said as Jacob nodded before he saw a slight twitch in her lips. "And try to focus and put a little more effort in the chest area instead of the throat. You might get better results."

"You're lucky you didn't get in trouble for that, Jay," Hermione said, her concern for her friend evident.

"Oh, come on, Granger. It was just a little bit of fun," Astoria said before she had a coughing fit. Jacob went over to check on her. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she said.

Jacob didn't look convinced before he took her to see the healer.

"Potter, what's wrong now?" Pomfrey inquired as Jacob guided Astoria to sit on one of the beds. "Miss Greengrass, are you okay?" asked the Healer with concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine, it was just a bit of cold air," Astoria reassured her, noticing the look of skepticism on the Healer's face.

"Thank you for bringing her to me, Potter, but try to see if you can stay out of my office this year," Pomfrey said.

"Why do I have a feeling you just jinxed it, Poppy?" Jacob said cheekily as the Healer mumbled under her breath as he ran out of her office.

48 hours before the champion drawing.

Currently, the Hogwarts residence was patiently waiting for its guests to arrive before some of the students caught sight of a carriage being pulled by wind horses their groundskeeper Hagrid flagged them in only to dodge at the last moment as it veered towards him before it landed as the students from Beauxbatons stepped out and And made their way inside Hogwarts and some of the male residents eyed the female students.

Then some of the students saw a large galleon coming out of the lake before it docked as the students from Durmstrang walked out.

" Bloody hell that's Viktor Krum," Ron said as he and the other quidditch fanatics noticed as he made his way inside School before the rest of the students followed only to see that Durmstrang was sitting at the Slytherin table and Beauxbatons was with the Ravenclaw.

" Good evening and welcome to Hogwarts and I hope Its residence makes you feel welcome, with that out of the way, allow me to introduce to you Barnabas Crouch the head of magical cooperation, and Ludo Bagman, Head of games and sports," Dumbledore said as the two men brought a large casket with them before placing it in the middle of the Great Hall as Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped the casket breaking it down to reveal a large wooden cup full to the brim dancing blue flames.

"The Goblet of Fire, anyone that wants to submit themselves as a champion must write their names on a piece of parchment and place it inside which they are judged, and by All Hallows Eve the champions shall be chosen," Dumbledore explained only to raise his hand to quiet down the whispers. " and to ensure no underage students yields to the temptation, I'm drawing an age line so no one under 17 can cross, well I believe that's enough for today I'm sure your beds calling for the night and as a final warning once you enter the tournament there is no turning back,"

" So what do you think of Gred a few drops of Aging Potion?" Fred asked his twin.

"I think so Forge, What do you think Jackie?" George said, turning to Jacob who was putting distance between himself in the oversized coffee cup.

" You know what, leave me out of this I want no part in whatever you two are planning," Jacob said calling it a night as he tried to think of a way to get either Hermione or Daphne to do some research for him.

As everyone was watching the Goblet of Fire, Jacob was with Hermione and Daphne in the library as they looked up the history of the tournament. " Can you believe that every single copy of History of Hogwarts and Magical History has been checked out," Hermione said.

" The tournament regulations are gone as well and unless anyone knows where to find them or who has those books already and they are willing to let us borrow them," Daphne said.

" I think I know where?" Jacob getting the group's attention. " But you got to promise me you can't tell anyone,"

" Why," Hermione asked only for Jacob to give her a look.

" Well let's say if a certain house found out they would move their common room up there, and that's not counting the teachers," Jacob said.

" Okay, Jay I promise we won't tell anyone," Hermione said.

" That's not going to work Hermione," Jacob said Lifting his hand with his pinky out.

"Jacob, what are you five," Hermione said with a snort, only for Daphne to glare at her.

"Potter, are you serious about this? Are you asking us to do it?" Daphne exclaimed incredulously. "Granger, I expected you to know about magical vows. In the magical world, promises are taken very seriously. For example, If you kiss someone who just ate steak after making a promise to abstain from consuming red meat, the consequences could be fatal."

"Oh, it's nothing too serious," Jacob replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just promise not to tell anyone about it without my permission."

" So a vow of silence that one usually makes the person sound like they're talking gibberish to anyone they don't have permission for," Daphne said as Jacob nodded as the two girls linked their pinkies and made the vow.

" All right last year when Pettigrew escaped and was spotted inside the School I looked around and found this room that had a map of the staircase and it said if you take a certain path during a certain time it will lead you to a secret room," Jacob said if he got up and to leave the library.

" This better be some room, Potter," Daphne said, only for Jacob to smirk as he looked back at the two.

" Well, what do you expect from Ravenclaws's Library."

Daphne and Hermione exchanged a look before hurrying to catch up to Jacob, as the moving staircases approached, Jacob leaped off, motioning for the girls to follow. "Come on," he called.

The girls knew that a moving staircase would not be an obstacle and quickly joined Jacob on the staircase. They struggled to keep up as he took an extreme path, but eventually, all three of them landed on another staircase, which led them to a corridor that opened up from a false wall close to the top of the staircase.

" Potter, I swear to Merlin if this is a joke I will rip your buttocks right off you and feed it down your throat," Daphne threatened as she and Hermione had their hands on their knees out of breath before they noticed they were in some typeway with A large sapphire statue of a raven stood in front of them with some writing on top of the wall before they realized it was written backward.

{ What is the greatest power?}

" So any guesses ladies?" Jacob asked.

"As you said this was Ravenclaws library so it's knowledge," Daphne said expecting the doorway to open but it didn't. " Okay, Potter. You know how to get in so why don't you be a gentleman and open the door."

" What's the magic word," Jacob said, getting a kick out of annoying Daphne before she pulled out her wand and pointed it toward his crotch. " All right, all right, party pooper,"

" What is power without knowledge?" Jacob said backward as a small doorway opened up before they stepped in only to see a library at least seven times bigger than Hogwarts with shelves of books as far as the eye can see.

'Wow,' Daphne thought, turning to see Hermione who was slightly drooling.

" Look at all this, you want to take us forever to get through it all," Hermione said, wiping the drool from herself.

" That's where the Crown Jewel in this place is for," Jacob said making their way forward to a glass case where a big encyclopedia was held, " This little bad boy here has the records of every book that has ever been written in existence,"

"I doubt everything is written in this book. It looks like it's at least a thousand years old," Hermione remarked as Jacob handed her a pair of gloves. Despite his offer, Hermione ignored the gloves and placed her hands on the glass case, searching for a way to open it. However, she quickly withdrew her hands as she felt a sudden shock.

"Why did you think I offered you the gloves? The case is charmed so that no organic hands can touch it. Even if you were to remove the book, it would turn to dust in your hands because of its age," Jacob explained, demonstrating how the gloves could go through the box. He then tossed a pair of gloves to the girls, and they put them on before placing their hands on top of the book and opening it, only to find that it was blank.

"What the?!" Hermione exclaimed, before placing her hand on the book and seeing the text she was searching for.

"It looks like every tournament resulted in someone being critically injured. "During the last tournament, all three champions and two judges were killed in the first task," Hermione said, pulling her hand back in shock.

Daphne pulled her hand back in shock and asked Jacob, "What are you looking for in Potter?"

"I'm just curious about what this contract entails," Jacob said as Daphne placed her hand on the book.

Daphne proceeded to explain, "It's a magical contract that binds you to certain conditions. Breaking it would mean losing access to your magic,"

"That doesn't seem that bad," Hermione said as Daphne glared at her and snapped.

"Perhaps for someone like you who didn't know about our world until they were 11 but for the rest of us it's a fate worse than death. If you become a squib by breaking a contract you'll be branded a coward and exiled from Europe. Furthermore, if you decide to enter the tournament, you must put 100% effort into completing each challenge."

Jacob then posed a hypothetical question, "What would happen if someone was selected for the tournament, but they were presumed dead?"

Daphne replied, "I think I know what you're thinking, Jacob. But let me ask you this, how would Harry feel about it?"

"I was considering it until I learned about the contract. Even if Harry is still alive, I believe he would be upset with me if I go through with it. Anyway, it's time to head back to the Great Hall." Jacob left the book and walked towards a wall with a carved raven on it. He pressed it and a section of the wall opened up, revealing an old-fashioned elevator.

Hermione asked, "Wait, was that always there?"

"Well, it's always been there. Although I have to admit, it's quite amusing to see you two running up and down those stairs," Jacob said as the wall closed, barely missing the looks on Hermione and Daphne's faces before they realized.

" POTTER!"

#

Hogwarts ground floor near the kitchen.

Hermione and Daphne stepped out of an elevator that appeared suddenly from a wall, searching for their friend with ill intentions. "I swear to Merlin, when I get my hands on Potter's neck, I'll be wringing it so hard," Daphne muttered, only to look over at her colleague.

Hermione offered her help, "I'm here to assist. Why are you staring at me? Let's find Jacob. Where could he have gone?" As they walked down the hallway, the two girls searched for Jacob, but he was nowhere to be seen. Along the way, they ran into the Twins and Ron, who had some grey hairs on their chins.

George playfully asked, "What's the rush, ladies?"

Daphne inquired, "Have you seen Jacob?"

Fred replied, "Not recently."

Then George nudged Ron on the shoulder and said, "I'm sure this little troublemaker might know."

"What did you do, Ronald?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, traitor," Ron spat.

"Excuse me, how am I a traitor here?" Hermione asked in a dangerous tone.

"You said it yourself, Gryffindor wasn't your first pick. Why don't you do us a favor and go back to the snake pit where your kind belongs?" Ron said, only to have a wand pointed to his face.

"I would be careful with your next words, Weasley. Now, where is Jacob?" Hermione snarled.

"In the kitchens, probably moping over that squib when he should be celebrating and helping us in the tournament," Ron said, eyeing the wand fiercely.

"Thank you, and excuse me. I have a friend to comfort, and you, Ronald, should re-evaluate your friendship if I were you," Hermione said before making her way to the kitchen, as Daphne followed, and the twins pulled their brother aside for a talk.

As they descended the stairs to the kitchen, the girls found Jacob surrounded by a few bottles. The countertop was cluttered with empty bottles of various shapes and sizes, and the smell of alcohol filled the room. Jacob's appearance was disheveled, and he seemed lost in thought as he sat slumped over by the counter. The girls took their seats on either side of him, and as they approached, they noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred.

" Have you come to punish me?" Jacob asked in a lifeless tone.

"Not at this moment," Hermione replied Daphne noticed unusual bottles on the counter and asked Jacob how many he'd already drunk. He ignored her and reached for another. *It was then that the girls noticed some marks on Jacob's wrist, and they immediately asked him about them. Jacob confided in them that he had those marks before starting this coping mechanism.*

Daphne, now more worried than ever, noticed a small hand mirror that was dangling in one of Jacob's robe pockets. Without hesitation, she whispered into it, calling for Sirius's help. A moment later, Sirius popped in, and an elf steadied him. Dobby introduced himself, expressing his excitement about meeting Jacob's friends. Sirius checked on his godson and asked him how he was doing. Jacob ignored him, and Sirius continued to talk to him, telling him that he had friends who cared about him and that Harry would not want him to drink his life away. Jacob then broke down and collapsed into Sirius's arms, sobbing.

Sirius gave Jacob a potion, and he drank it down before resting his head on the counter. " Is he going to be all right?" Hermione asked.

"Harry's disappearance had hit us all hard; James and Lily threw themselves into their work, while Jacob descended into his depression - I had never seen him this bad since he was seven," Sirius explained to the girls. As the Hogwarts dinner bell rang, Sirius, Hermione, and Daphne helped Jacob up and walked him out of the kitchen. They bumped into Professor McGonagall, who asked what had happened to Mr. Potter. Sirius explained that there had been an incident, and as McGonagall's face softened, she asked Hermione to make sure Jacob got to the Great Hall. She then turned to Sirius and asked if he could stick around, so she could have a word with him in private.

#

Hogwarts Great Hall

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention," announced Dumbledore, approaching the goblet and drawing everyone's gaze away from their dessert. "The Goblet of Fire will soon make its decision on the champions. They will step forward to receive their name and proceed to the side chamber for briefing."

Moments later, the goblet's flames turned red and one name emerged, caught by the Headmaster. "The Durmstrang champion, Victor Krum," he announced, prompting cheers from the students. Krum collected his name and proceeded to the side chamber.

The goblet then spat out another name. "Beauxbatons champion, Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore called out. A few moments later the final name was revealed. "Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory," he announced, and Cedric followed Krum into the side chamber.

All of a sudden, the goblet sparked once more, drawing everyone's attention. A fourth name appeared.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore read aloud, causing a stir in the room. As soon as Dumbledore spoke the name, whispers echoed throughout the hall. Hermione glanced at her friend, who appeared uninterested until she noticed he was bending the fork he held in his hand.

"What's going on, Dumbledore? Who is Harry Potter?" Crouch asked, but Jacob interrupted by slamming his hand on the table.

"Who did it? Who put my brother's name in there?" Jacob slammed his hand on the table, his anger palpable. Suddenly, the blue flames in the goblet turned green, and a massive tower of fire erupted, shattering the ceiling. A loud crash sounded outside the school shortly after. Without hesitation, Jacob bolted towards the Great Hall doors.

Meanwhile, the goblet spat out another name, which Dumbledore caught.

"Jacob Potter," he called out, but Jacob paid no attention and continued towards the commotion. as he witnessed a cloud of smoke rise from the Forbidden Forest. Just as Jacob was about to investigate, he felt a hand on his shoulder and instinctively threw a punch, hitting Sirius in the chest.

"Ow, that hurts," Sirius groaned. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story short, Harry's name was called out of the Goblet of Fire, and then a tower of flames landed in the Forest," Jacob explained. They both shifted into their Animagus forms and rushed towards the smoke and found a small crater with several train cars inside.

As Jacob walked past the cars, he noticed deep scratches on some of them and caught a faint whiff of burnt rubber and sulfur. This made him uneasy about what might have caused the damage. He then heard voices up ahead.

"I don't care where we are, the only thing that matters is getting Oscar stable," a voice said.

"Miss Rose, I know you're worried about young Oscar, but we need to stay calm. Worrying may attract any Grimm nearby," an older voice advised.

"Then how do you explain him bursting into green flames?" Another voice said, whose tone reminded Jacob of a bouncing ferret. As Jacob stuck his head through a bush, he could barely make out a group of two adults and some teenagers, including a girl in a red cloak, who was kneeling over someone. Suddenly, the lights on the train turned on, illuminating the area.

"And we have lights and some flares here," said a woman with wavy blonde hair, dressed in a brown coat that hugged her figure, and carrying a handful of pistols. Another woman, dressed in a white jacket and a black crop top, whose most noticeable feature was a pair of large cat-like ears on top of her head, replied, "Yang, I don't think they would help with our situation."

Then the red-hooded girl shot up to her feet and turned to face the pair. "But it might let anyone nearby know that we need help, especially Oscar," she explained determinedly. Jacob got a better look at her friend, a tan-skinned boy, as he jumped out of the bushes despite his godfather's protest, and made his way over to the boy, noting the scars on his back. At the mere sight of them, Jacob felt like a rusty piece of jagged metal was shoved into his heart.

" Hey, are you lost little guy?" The red-hooded girl called as Jacob turned to look at her notice, despite her voice sounding younger, she looked around the same age as the Weasley twins but what stuck out most to him were her silver eyes as the others noticed the new visitor.

" Does anyone have an idea where this cat came from?" Said the girl, who looked like a gender-bread version of Malfoy, Jacob looked back at the tan boy as the girl threw her hoodie over him, concealing the scars.

" Disgusting aren't they make me almost excited about what I'm going to do when I get my hands on the scumbags that did it." She said Jacob felt a slight chill in her tone as she back to her group and called out. "Does anyone know where the first aid kit is?!"

" I believe the train has an on-site hospital, "A White-haired man in mismatched clothes. As he was leaning on a cane with whom Jacob recognized was the one who was talking about Grimm the man looked over the train and noticed the car with the medical supplies was tipped over.

" I got it, Oz boss," Yang said as she grabbed the train car, slightly struggling to lift it only for her to stand her foot cracked into the ground as yellow vines, wrapped around her leg, and she instantly lifted the train car right side up. 'Wow!' Everyone who witnessed thought.

As Oz kneeled to observe the vines, he called out to Ms. Xiao Long, "Please don't move." He then grabbed one of the vines before his body shimmered into an emerald green color. Only to notice the crow sitting on top of a tree.

As Jacob noticed the bird as well, " Hey bird, there's a large castle southwest of here with people in it, see if can bring them here," Jacob chirped as the crow looked down in surprise before it turned into a man that had a resemblance to Sirius, despite knowing he was nearby.

" Oz, there's something wrong with that cat," he said as Jacob realized the jig was up, stood up on his hind legs with his front paws up, and shifted back in front of them.

" Technically, I'm a black Jaglion," Jacob said as he nervously scratched the back of his head, which reminded his audience of their friend who had a similar tick when he got nervous.

As Sirius doppelgänger asked. " Is there a difference?" Getting some laughter from the group. " Kid, you said there was a castle southwest of here?"

Jacob nodded. " Funny, the only thing I saw were ruins, and no civilization from miles away," Sirius's doppelgänger said which set off alarm bells in Jacob's head, which started ringing when he saw the boy who he sure was his brother's scars.

"Qrow are you sure?" Oz asked as Qrow nodded.

" Do you have a name son," Oz asked.

" Well you see I'm not allowed to get my information to strangers," Jacob said as Oz smiled.

"That's pretty smart, I'm Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy this is an associate of mine Qrow Branwen, along with his nieces Yang and Ruby and their friends, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna," Ozpin introduced.

" Names Jacob Potter." Jacob introduced himself as Ozpin hummed to himself. before, Jacob turns his eyes to the younger boy.

"It looks like your young friend could use some help," said Jacob, taking a step forward. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and a red flare hit the ground next to his feet. He looked up to see Yang raise a gauntlet that looked like it had a gun barrel attached to it.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Yang said as her eyes flashed red.

"Yang, this is not how we treat our guests," Qrow reprimanded her. Yang huffed and her eyes turned back to purple.

"I apologize for my student's caution. We were passing through a hostile environment," Ozpin explained politely. "Do you also go by Jay?" Jacob's expression confirmed that he did. " Well, Mr. Potter, can you tell us where we are?" Ozpin asked.

" You're in Scotland professor," Ozpin nodded at his answer and turned to his colleagues. As Jacob overheard a few words like not on Remnant.

" Well, one more thing Mr. Potter, do you have any idea how we got here," Ozpin asked.

"Before I answer, can you tell me if there is a Harry Potter in your group?" Jacob asked.

Ozpin shook his head. "No, I'm afraid no one is going by that name, Who is he to you?" As the others exchanged a look.

" He's my brother," Jacob answered, and they suddenly raised their weapons at him. Ruby stood protectively over her friend and aimed her rifle at Jacob's head. It seemed that mentioning Harry Potter as his brother was the wrong thing to say.