Anger. Fear. Sadness. Disappointment. A storm of emotions. That was the only way to describe what Harry was feeling right now as he sat silently looking over the Black Lake. It was a cold but sunny Saturday and one week had passed since his name had come out of the Goblin of Fire, forcing him into a deadly competition against his will. To make matters worse, the whole school had then quickly turned against him, and even his two best friends - his only two friends, really - had abandoned him.

Harry thought back at their reactions when his name had come out of the Goblet and Dumbledore had called out his name in the Great Hall. The look of shock on Ron's face had quickly changed into something more akin to anger, and Hermione had looked at him with a mixture of suspicion and disappointment.

He should have known from the look on Ron's face that the redhead would be quick to jump at his throat. Calling him a liar, not believing him when he said he didn't put his name in the cup. Thinking back, it was as if he could see his friendship with Ron evaporate before his eyes in that very moment.

Hermione was the bigger surprise, and for some reason he couldn't understand himself, her betrayal hurt infinitely more. Perhaps she didn't believe him either. Or perhaps she didn't want to get in the middle of the feud between him and the entire rest of the school. The fact of the matter was that his two 'best' friends had both turned their backs on him. Hermione hadn't spoken to him since that evening. Neither had Ron, except for some muttered insults and snide remarks.

Ron was just following the trend with that. Everywhere Harry went, his fellow students glared at him, called him a cheat and an arrogant jerk, or wished him a painful death in the first task.

He gave out a bitter laugh and broke his gaze from the water.

He had saved the school twice; from Quirrellmort in his first year and from the Basilisk a year later. But the moment his name had flown out of that stupid cup, all that was instantly forgotten. He was once again the pariah of the school.

Harry grabbed a nearby rock and tossed it violently into the lake.

It was his second year all over again, when the whole school had shunned him, convinced that he was the heir of Slytherin and had opened the Chamber of Secrets. The only difference was that in his second year, at least his friends had stayed by his side. Angrily, he grabbed another stone and ran his thumb over the edge.

In order to avoid everyone, Harry had fled to a secluded spot at the shore of the Black Lake. That was where he currently sat, throwing stones, with his emotions in turmoil. His thoughts concerning the approaching first task randomly fluctuated between mortal fear and fatalistic stoicism.

How was he supposed to prepare for a task when he had no idea what was coming? He sat in silence as he brainstormed various ideas of tasks that could be thrown his way during the tournament. He knew that guessing wouldn't help him much. With no clues to guide him, one guess was just as good as any other. For all he knew, he could be up against Chimeras, Gorgons, Werewolves, Dragons, Minotaurs, Giants, Vampires, or anything else. He had no idea what he would be facing.

Harry sighed and decided that he couldn't hide forever. He admitted to himself that he needed help and thought about whom to approach for it. Hermione would be the best choice, obviously, if she would only listen to him.

Then an idea struck him. Dumbledore had believed him when he told him that he hadn't entered his name into the goblet. He would simply ask Dumbledore to announce that fact in front of the school! Then, people would finally believe him, and Hermione would be back at his side. It was such an obvious solution to end the bullying that he wondered not only why he hadn't thought of it earlier, but also why the headmaster hadn't done it on his own accord.

Content to have a plan for the first time since Halloween, Harry got up and walked slowly back up towards the castle.

Harry entered the Great Hall just before dinner started. He sat alone at the Gryffindor table, as it had become his habit during the last week. Trying to ignore the hateful glares directed at him from students at all tables, he looked down the table and spotted his two former best friends. Ron was sneering at him with his best Draco Malfoy impression, and Hermione looked at him with a weird expression. Harry caught her eyes and forced a small smile on his face, but she shook her head and turned away from him, scowling.

Harry sighed but he was hopeful that this whole misunderstanding would soon be resolved with the help of the headmaster.

Towards the end of the meal, Harry stood up and approached the teachers' table. The hall immediately grew quiet and Harry could feel every eye on him.

"Headmaster Dumbledore?" he asked cautiously.

"Harry, my boy, what can I do today for our youngest champion?" Dumbledore asked him with a warm grandfatherly smile.

"I would like to ask you to announce to the school that I didn't enter my name in the goblet and that I'm only participating in the tournament as an unwilling contestant." Harry answered with a hopeful voice.

Dumbledore's smile faltered. "I'm sorry, my boy, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. How else would your name have come out of the Goblet if not by you entering it?"

Harry was shocked. What was going on? He was sure that Dumbledore had believed him on Halloween. Had the headmaster changed his mind, or was he lying now? But why would he?

"But-but you-you told me that you believed me. You agreed with Professor Moody tha-that someone tampered with the Goblet." Harry sputtered.

"My dear boy, I have said no such thing. I merely decided that it would not do any good to investigate the matter further, as the damage was already done. You will not be punished for this, I assure you, so you might as well admit to it now. And I have to say I am quite disappointed with your recklessness of trying to participate in such a dangerous tournament when you are not yet of age." Dumbledore replied calmly. "Now, I must ask you to retake your seat and no longer interrupt everyone's meal."

Harry turned around and stumbled out of the Great Hall. He had to get out of there. Around him, people were muttering, snickering and openly laughing at him.

"Pathetic, Potter!"

"Such a cheat!"

"Arrogant prat!"

"Now the idiot realizes he's in way over his head."

Harry was confused and utterly devastated. What was Dumbledore playing at? Did he approve of the way the whole school was treating him? Why?

After aimlessly wandering around in the castle for a while, Harry entered an abandoned classroom where he sat down at the nearest table and took some calming breaths. There was obviously something bigger going on. He needed to keep his wits about the situation, if he wanted to have any chance of figuring out what was happening.

Other teachers had been there in the chamber when after his name had been announced and Dumbledore had questioned him. Thinking back, Dumbledore had never explicitly said that he believed Harry's claims of innocence. But he had certainly created that impression towards Harry. And he hadn't disagreed with Moody who had offered his own theories on how Harry's name had ended up coming out of the goblet. Harry couldn't make any sense of it.

More than ever, he would have needed his friends by his side. He decided to try once more to speak to Hermione and not let her go until he fully explained his situation to her. He only had to catch her alone. Maybe he would catch her in the common room late in the evening when most students had gone to bed.

But he wouldn't head there, yet. With the way even his own house treated him, he no longer spent time in the Gryffindor common room and always returned to the tower only shortly before curfew.

Thinking of the treatment his house mates gave him, Harry thought back at the introductory speech McGonagall had given them in their first year. 'Your house is your family.' she had told them back them. 'True, these idiots certainly behave like the Dursleys.' Harry thought bitterly.

Maybe he should also ask McGonagall for help. She would probably not put a stop to the bullying. She had never interfered in such matters, but maybe she would at least offer him some advice on how to prepare for the tournament. He knew that Sprout was helping Cedric, and he was sure that Krum and Fleur received help from Karkaroff and Madame Maxime. Maybe McGonagall would even know how he could prove that he didn't enter his name in the goblet.

Harry got up, his new plan giving him hope once more. The dinner would be finished by now, so McGonagall would be in her office. He quickly went through the corridors towards the transfiguration corridor, trying to ignore the glares and comments of the few students he encountered.

When he arrived at McGonagall's office, he knocked at her door hesitantly.

"Enter!" he heard from within.

He stepped inside only to see her giving him a cold look.

"Mr. Potter." The professor narrowed her eyes.

"Professor McGonagall," Harry started, gathering his courage. "You once told us that our house is our family. So as the head of my family, I wondered if you could maybe put a stop to the hostility shown towards me by almost the entire house."

"You have brought shame to the house by blatantly breaking the rules." she replied angrily. "You should be glad that Dumbledore forbade any disciplinary action for this, otherwise you would be in detention for the rest of the year. As for your treatment by your house mates, they are only reacting natural. I hope you'll learn from it to better respect the rules in the future."

"I know everyone believes that I put my name in the goblet, but it really isn't true. Could you maybe-" Harry started.

"Stop spouting this lie!" McGonagall interrupted. "The headmaster was very clear on this!"

Harry knew that he wouldn't win this argument, not when it was his word against the word of Albus Dumbledore.

"Could you maybe at least help me to prepare for the tournament? The other champions are getting help from teachers." he changed the topic, but he felt that he knew the answer already.

McGonagall glared at him.

"I don't know who told you this, but I assure you it's not true. The headmaster made very clear that the professors may not assist the champions in any way, as it is against the rules of the tournament. Not that you would care about the rules. But we teachers are also bound by the contract, and I won't risk my magic for bailing you out of a mess of your own making."

Harry simply nodded in rejection and turned to leave the office without further comment.

When he stepped out of McGonagall's office, he saw Hermione walking towards him. She probably wanted to ask McGonagall about some homework. When she noticed him, she halted mid-step and seemed ready to turn away for a moment, but apparently decided against it.

"Hermione, please wait!" Harry called as he approached her. "Could we please talk for a moment?"

"What do you want?" Hermione asked, giving him a similar cold look as McGonagall before.

"Hermione, I don't know what's going on, but I really haven't put my name in the goblet, you have to believe me!" Harry pleaded.

"Oh, so Dumbledore is wrong?" she asked with annoyance.

"Yes, he is! Maybe he's even lying. I don't know why, but I think-"

Hermione interrupted with a humorless laugh. "Sure, it's a big conspiracy! Do you think I'm stupid? I heard what Dumbledore said! And I agree with him! I'm really disappointed with you for risking your life like that!" She was shouting now. "A great way to thank your parents for sacrificing their lives to save yours, throwing your life away like that! And for what? So that the Boy Who Lived gets even more fame to his name!"

With that, she stormed off, leaving Harry utterly devastated behind her. It felt as if something had broken inside him. He was fighting to keep his composure. Even his best friend wouldn't hear him out. And her comment about his parents' deaths had been way below the belt line.

Harry shook his head angrily and straightened up. No, he would not despair, now. He had been alone for the most part of his life, he would manage somehow. He always did. But he would find out what was happening and have his revenge for the wrongs done to him.

Hermione was walking back to the Gryffindor tower, slowly calming down again. She reflected what Harry had said and thought about what had happened since Halloween.

When Harry's name had come out of the goblet, her initial reaction had been disappointment that he would willingly put his life in danger once more. At breakfast that day, Harry had discussed with Fred and George how to best enter a name in the goblet and had said that he would have done it at night. Remembering that conversation had convinced her that he had indeed put his name into the goblet.

Harry had been in mortal danger several times in every year at Hogwarts, but in all those cases, he had either been put into danger by others or he had taken a risk to save innocent lives. His 'saving people thing' was something she both loved and hated about him, and she had worked hard to keep him alive. That made it even worse in her mind that he would now risk his life for reasons as vain as money or fame.

She hadn't had a chance to speak to him that evening, but later that night she had started to doubt if he had really entered the tournament on his own accord. When the headmaster had read out Harry's name, the look of surprise on Harry's face had seemed genuine.

But the next morning, Ron had told her that Harry had admitted to entering his name in the goblet, and that he had gloated about how this would increase his fame even further. She had initially believed the ginger about that, but to be honest, that didn't really sound much like Harry at all. So, for the last days, she had tried to approach Harry to give him a chance to explain himself, but she never got the opportunity. Harry had disappeared for most of the time except for classes, and whenever she saw him, there had always been other people around, especially Ron.

But now the headmaster had declared in front of the whole school that Harry had in fact entered his name into the goblet. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was not only the headmaster of Hogwarts, a leading political figure and probably the most powerful wizard since Merlin, but he was also one of her personal heroes. So, she believed him of course. She still had a weird feeling in her gut telling her something was amiss, but she would not take Harry's word, whose disregard for the rules she well knew, over the word of Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore also chided Harry for his recklessness, and she wholeheartedly agreed. When Harry approached her to ask for help, she felt conflicted. She didn't want him to get injured in the tournament or worse. But if she helped him, that would mean that she supported his reckless behaviour and his disregard for the rules.

More importantly, she was hurt that he still lied to her. That's why she had gotten so angry. If he would just admit that he made a mistake with entering his name and apologize to her for lying, maybe she could help him. She hoped he would come around soon.