Hey everyone,
So Grothnack suggested that I keep Harry's blood to being just Harry's blood. Because of this, I am going to implement the whole Basilisk Poison into the book version of Goblet in Preventing Trouble. That does mean that the whole group will reread Goblet of Fire start to finish, but trust me, I have plans for that and I will make it make sense as to why they should reread the whole thing. Also that means that in that story, HBP and DH DON'T HAPPEN
We cool? Cool,

Venquine1990
PS. When it comes to the chapter title: sue me, I like to make fun of my villains.

Chapter 07
Magic Is Might

24th of June 1995
Great Hall, Hogwarts
Cedric's POV

Today has definitely not been going the way I expected. I was happily surprised to find out that my parents had come to see me perform for the Third Task, though I was less than pleased with how dad treated Harry. I hadn't expected things to change as drastically as they did just before lunch, but I am very glad that they did. I won't deny that I didn't grow a bit of a crush on Harry after I saw him outfly the Hungarian Horntail.
I had desperately wanted to ask Harry to be my date to the Yule Ball. But because of Skeeter and because I heard rumors that it was against the rules for same-sex couples to go the Yule Ball together, I chose Cho instead. Cho herself has been like a sister to me ever since I was about 9 years old and we never let the fact that I was in Hufflepuff and she was in Ravenclaw get between us. Still, now I more or less have what I wanted 6 months ago.

I am actually Harry's soul mate, even though Harry's soul also belongs to someone else. Yet Lea definitely seems like the kind of guy I can grow to like in the same way that I like Harry. What's less pleasant, even though it is also greatly fortunate, is that we're reading about the future and that I was apparently not going to survive the trap that was laid out over the Third Task, a trap meant to get Harry away from Hogwarts.
What's also highly disconcerting is how Headmaster Dumbledore has been reacting to the whole thing. The fact that the greatest wizard of all time was willing to let some simple wards keep him from organizing a rescue party to save his own students had especially not sat well with me and Harry's words about him being manipulated onto the Path of Darkened Light had increased this feeling of discontent even more.

Still right now I am very glad that, perhaps without realizing it, Sirius Black had pulled his godson onto his lap while Headmaster Karkaroff read about Harry being held under Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse. Thanks to this, Lea and I both have the chance to hold onto Harry as well, if only to remind ourselves, like Sirius himself, that Harry is here, is safe, and that he is unharmed. Both of us are grasping the boy's knees.
Harry himself is fully focused on comforting and reassuring his godfather and I really can't blame either of them. Sirius is obviously important to Harry, as proven by the first chapter we read, and Sirius Black must have never had the chance to put the horrors of the last war behind him while he was stuck in Azkaban prison. It still disgusts me that the man was thrown there without trial after he was framed by a murderer.
My murderer. The thought runs through my head, but I ignore it and focus instead on the fact that Bill has a plan to counter this, to prevent me from dying. What's strange is that, when Bill read that something had messed with the ritual, I had felt personally addressed for just a moment. I wonder how that could be possible as the events described in the book prove that I can't be of any help or hindrance to this ritual, not anymore.

Then I return my focus on the situation at hand. Sora doesn't even suggest another Soul Match check-up like he has been doing so far as he is cuddling close into Riku's side while Axel has Roxas pulled close against his front. Both of them seem to, somehow indirectly, be benefitting from the horrors we're reading about as it makes them want to keep their mates close, as required according to the rules of their new bonds being formed.
Someone on the Slytherin table suggests that, because his portion was so short, Karkaroff should just continue into the next chapter. But before the man can comply, Chirithy flies over and says: "I know this will make some students hear nothing for big chunks of this chapter, but I'd rather cast my alteration spell first." Instantly all staff members and various students fiercely agree. The little being chirps and squeaks as he casts.
This whole thing takes a few minutes and a lot of differently shaped lights, such as stars and crescent moons, appear to blink and twinkle in the air above the book and between his little stumpy paws. The second I had laid eyes on the little creature, I just knew he was hiding an amazing amount of power. Chirithy finishes his spell and nods at Karkaroff. The Headmaster gives him a nod in return and then he continues to read.

Prior Incantatem

This title both confuses me and annoys me as I remember it being cast upon Harry's wand after it was found in an elf's hand back after the Quidditch World Cup. The reason it annoys me is that, for the better portion of summer, dad vocally questioned whether or not Harry really was innocent in the whole escapade. I had given the man a cold shoulder every time he did so and now, now that I know my destiny, I am proud of these actions.
I look up and across the Hufflepuff table. And to my gleeful pride mum seems to remember the same thing as she is staring dad down. Yet this whole thing only lasts a few seconds before the confusion over the importance of this spell overcomes all members of my family. I notice that Dumbledore seems to have figured it out. Yet for some reason, perhaps out of spite of how he was treated earlier, the man keeps quiet as Karkaroff reads.

Wormtail approached … were untied. Thankfully the ropes hadn't reopened the wound on his leg, though he wasn't entirely sure how well his makeshift bandages would hold if he was forced to duck or crouch. Wormtail raised … it, but the ropes had been tight enough that his muscles spasmed slightly for a moment as he … Death Eaters.
Their very presence made Harry believe that using his full arsenal wasn't an option.
He wouldn't be able to use it take them all on, let alone them and their master. This meant that escaping was his only option, but that would mean giving them the chance to return and report his actions as well. And whether they reported to Fudge, the Prophet or Dumbledore, none of that was an option.
Ron had taught him not to reveal his hand too early and now was not the time. Harry could only hope that using standard First to Fourth year spells in new and inventive ways wouldn't give away too much of his skill and talent, if he even managed that much.

Instantly my stomach feels as if it sunk through the floor, even though the book described how inventive Harry had become with said spells in just the first chapter alone. Yet it's the last portion of the final sentence that has me deeply concerned. For a moment I wish that I was in Sirius Black's position, that he and Lea were the ones holding Harry's knees. And while I'm sure that Lea currently feels the same, Karkaroff reads on.

"You have … quite unprotected…
Yet this moment of panic was pushed to the side as Harry remembered his training in the Shrieking Shack. Instantly his mind started working overtime and he started imagining how he could adapt the spellwork and its affects to work on a semi-human body instead of a broken chair or a half-broken vase.
It wouldn't be pretty, but it made him feel that he had at least a sliver of a survival chance. He may be unprotected, but he wasn't defenseless.

Karkaroff sounds utterly baffled as he reads this bit and then he falls silent. The man is obviously unable to understand how my little mate – and the youngest member of the trio I am now part of – can think like this in the face of not just his former master, but his former colleagues as well. Yet then something happens that we really should have seen coming. A crazy voice starts to laugh and cackle and we all turn to the sound.
I feel shocked to see that Crouch Junior seems to have woken up sometime during the reading as he is the one to laugh like the madman he is. "Oh Potter, you poor, poor, unfortunate soul. You have no idea, truly none whatsoever. You truly believe you have a chance against –." But while the man had been ranting – and while his words had infuriated me – I had noticed Xion suddenly disappear in a cloud of black smoke.
To the shock of many she appears behind the man in the same cloud. The young girl, who looks to be about somewhere between my age and Harry's, summons a beautiful metal sword with a crown at the end and with a golden handguard. She hits the man in the back of the head with the blunt side of the blade and with this action cuts his rant off, just like Terra did earlier. She turns to the staff table, who all stare at her and asks:

"Do you lot have a way to keep this nutcase quiet? A potion or a spell or something? I mean, we could just encase the guy in ice entirely, but considering he's not a Heartless, he might die if we do so. Plus, our own sleeping spell would put everyone in his near vicinity to sleep as well. It doesn't work on a single target as it just makes a wave of magic spread out from where we stand in a circle and that magic then affects all those within radius."

Yet again, just like when Aqua and the others used their magic to contain and knock the Death Eater out and when Terra passed the power onto Harry, I feel intrigued about this new form of magic and how different it is from our own. Snape seems to take the responsibility upon himself to comply with Xion's wishes and with her help, he forces about half a bottle of, as he claims it, his strongest sleeping potion down the man's throat.
"That should keep his asleep for the rest of the reading. If not, we will simply move him to the Antechamber and then your friends can cast the spell you mentioned." Snape states after he corks the bottle and puts it back inside his robe. Xion nods and states that she will take on that task. Axel wants to protest, but she reminds her friends of their hour. The other two, the redhead and the blonde, smile at her as Karkaroff reads on.

"We bow … that satisfaction… though he himself took deep satisfaction in the notion that Voldemort thought he had any loyalty to Dumbledore. If he wasn't surrounded by Death Eaters, especially Malfoy and Macnair, he would have told Voldemort exactly what he thought of the old man.

A lot of students stare at Harry over this. I also notice that Hagrid and McGonagall seem deeply upset, as if they expect Harry to be just as loyal to Dumbledore as they are known to be. Dumbledore himself is trying to stare Harry down. But to the amazement of Sirius, myself, Lupin and those around us who are also British, Harry just coldly and firmly stares back. "You know what you did." He tells the old man and Karkaroff reads on.

"I said … lifted too.
Instantly his mind, his reflexes and his instincts jumped into action. He didn't even aim his wand at Voldemort. Instead he lifted it above his head and shouted, "LUMOS SOLEM!" A light as bright as every candle and torch in all of Hogwarts bursting into existence shot out of his wand and yet, before he cast the spell, he had quickly, silently, cast a blinding spell on himself.
He knew where the Death Eaters were thanks to their screams, he knew where Cedric was thanks to Wormtail fetching his wand.
Yet Voldemort had raised his wand at the same time, and before Harry could do more than turn to where he heard two loud shouts turning away from him, he had … rolled over, silently and quickly ended the blinding spell on his eyes as he had his head down and scrambled … Death Eaters, who had also regained their senses, and they … little pause… such a shame that your little trick didn't work … That hurt … do you? You thought you could outwit the greatest wizard who had ever lived, didn't you?"

Harry startles us all as he suddenly claims that there is no such thing. Everyone turns to him and he says: "There is no such thing as The Greatest Wizard who ever lived. Magic is talent and talent is something you can develop. It can grow, just like everything and everyone else on this world. You can be great, but never the greatest. There will always be someone better than you and someone better than them. It's just the way it is.
It's why humanity has been able to survive and live on this planet for the millennia that we have. Because great men, women and children existed. But even conquerors were defeated at one point in time or another. Why? Because there was someone better than them." This simple explanation awes me as much as Karkaroff reading about Harry's bravery and determination to escape Voldemort's clutches. The man himself then continues.

Harry didn't … to beg…
Instead his mind was whirring with another possible escape plan. No matter what happened, he would get out of here. And he had learned one thing from what just happened. He couldn't try to outcast Voldemort based on his speed, he had to dodge and then cast.

Karkaroff mumbles that this is impossible, yet Harry stands up and asks: "Sir, who would you say can cast at the same speed as Voldemort?" The former Death Eater winces, as he has been doing every time his former master's name was mentioned. Though I am proud that the man actually says the name and doesn't constantly changes it to the Dark Lord or something. After another moment's hesitation, the man states Professor Flitwick.
The tiny man seems to agree on this and the look on his face proves why. He's remembering times where he actually went up against Voldemort during the war. Harry leaves the Gryffindor table and Professor Flitwick walks around the Head Table. The two of them meet on either side of the platform the Head Table and Owl stand are stood upon. A second later Flitwick's wand is in his hand and a curse flies from his wand.

But to the shock of both many others and myself, Harry jumps and summersaults over the spell and even pulls his own wand while he flips. He lands in a crouch with his right leg forward and his left knee on the ground. Then something happens that astounds me. I hadn't actually seen it, but Harry had cast a spell mid-flip and a few seconds after he lands, he raises his hand and catches Professor Flitwick's wand, while still with his head down.
Yet then Flitwick smirks and snaps his fingers and the wand in Harry's hand turns into a rubber chicken. Harry grins and snorts at this as Flitwick says: "That was excellently done, Mr. Potter. Though I hope your friends don't mind that I altered the magic on their fake wands a little. Care for another round?" But Harry shakes his head and states that they should go back to the reading. A lot of students grimace at his, yet Karkaroff complies.

"I asked … answer no…
"Resist it, Harry." He heard a voice from somewhere far away, one that sounded strangely familiar, yet he couldn't quite place it.

A lot of people turn to look at each other, yet for some reason I can't help but feel that the voice might be mine. "How can that be? I'm supposed to be dead. Am I stuck in limbo and trying to help Harry or something?" I think to myself and a strong part of me believes this to be possible. Because I know that, whether I am dead or alive, I would want to do all in my power to protect Harry. I grin at the boy in question as Karkaroff reads on.

I will … going to going to use whatever his arsenal had ready for him and he was going to escape, with Cedric's body in tow, no matter what the costs…

Karkaroff shakes his head at this, but then Sora – with Riku at his side – stands up and says: "You need to believe. If you believe in something with all your heart, it will come true. I've been to many amazing worlds in the past few years and I've seen miracles happen to many different people and beings, just because they believed they could do it." All of his friends nod in agreement to this, yet Karkaroff only grimaces before he reads on.

Before Voldemort … the headstone.
Harry flipped around the other side and caught Voldemort – and the surrounding Death Eaters off guard. He stayed close to the ground, though his elbow and right leg were bent and ready to lift him up as he aimed his wand at Voldemort's torso.
"Incarceous!" He shouted and Voldemort jumped – but what was exactly what Harry wanted. The rope wrapped itself around Voldemort's ankle and Harry jumped back into a standing position a few meters behind where he had been crouched.
The rope pulled Voldemort along and this time it was the darkest wizard of all time on the ground. But before Harry could make the rope extend, Voldemort burned it and Harry quickly whipped his wand up, cutting the rope on his own end and jumped out of the way of the fire. The flames scorched one of the Death Eaters behind him and Harry felt a grim sense of satisfaction at the realization that it was Macnair. "That was for Hagrid." He thought for just a second.
Then he saw that Voldemort was ready to curse him again.

Awe and disbelief fill Karkaroff's voice as he reads this portion and the same emotions fill up most of the Great Hall. What worries me is that, this whole time, Dumbledore seems to try and hide a sense of displeasure and annoyance behind a benign smile of pride. What comforts me is how Sora and the others are all smiling widely, as if they had expected Harry to prove Sora's earlier words to be true. Karkaroff whispers incredible before he reads on.

Harry stood … and vibrating.

Karkaroff falters as he reads this bit and a student somewhere down the Ravenclaw table shouts the title of the chapter. A lot of people gasp in shock and Krum finally speaks up. "The wands share a twin core. Their cores must both be from the same animal. This is why the chapter is named after the spell. This spell will allow Potter to get to safety." His words bring a great sense of relief to everyone, especially those around me as Karkaroff reads.

And then … Death Eaters.

"Wow, even Xemnas gave us more leeway than that. He really is a dictator and a psychopath. At least with Xemnas, as long as we trained, went on our missions, were back in our beds in time and kept the Heartless at bay, he cared less than nothing on what else we did. Well, not unless it meant us planning a coup or something. Then he'd go out of his way to obstruct our plans." Axel states and his words worry me as Karkaroff reads.

And then … connected with Hogwarts, and it … his ear…
"I'm here." It was that same strangely familiar voice as the one Harry had heard when he was under the Imperius Curse. Then, before Harry could discern who it was, it was joined by another.
Don't break the connection.

Part of me wants to disagree with this notion as breaking the connection would break the dome and give Harry a chance to escape. Yet because the music seems to come from the Phoenix twin cores and because I know Phoenixes to be some of the smartest creatures in the world, I keep my opinion to myself. At the same time I somehow feel even more confident that the voice is me. Yet this also confuses me even more as Karkaroff reads.

I know… his fingers –

Karkaroff, who seems to constantly forget that Harry will survive and escape as there are still three books left to go, looks grim and resigned at this last bit. Cho whimpers as she says: "If – if that – if that bead hits Harry's wand, then – all spells he has cast up to this point will be repeated, but then upon himself, won't they?" Professor Flitwick gives a grim nod and I wonder why they all forget about the other books as Karkaroff reads.

He concentrated … almost fearful…

Karkaroff's voice is almost breathless as he reads this and Sora proves that he and I are on the same wavelength. "Guys, can we please remember that Chirithy created 7 books, not four? Harry's going to survive this, he's going to escape. He'll make the next 3 years and, preferably, even more beyond that, remember?" I nod in agreement with the brunette as the tension felt by many relaxes, the atmosphere lightening a little as Karkaroff reads.

One of … of pain… screams that Harry vaguely recognized as his own … then - Voldemort's … so solid and had a strange aura around him that was two different shades of green mixed with grey )

Someone whispers in awe that this must be the soul bond, but then Professor Sprout speaks up and asks: "But how is that possible? As far as I know about soul bonds, if one is between three people and one of them dies, the color of said person fades from the aura." Again I feel as if the voice Harry has been hearing this whole time was me. I turn away from the Head Table and go over everything we've read so far as Karkaroff reads.

emerged in … on. Harry,I'm here, I haven't left you, I won't leave you," it said.

This confirms it for me and Bill gasps as he says: "That's it. That's the thing that went wrong. Harry somehow used the soulbond between him and Cedric to – I don't know – disrupt the Killing Curse's effects. Cedric's not dead, he's in Limbo. That's why Priori Incantatem is still working, but why it was his voice that Harry kept hearing. Plus, the soul magic disrupted the other ritual." I grin at my soul mate, who smiles in relief as Karkaroff reads.

Its voice … the wand, that Harry again recognized as his own as well as others … and then … him, boy…"

And while I don't know who this man is or whether or not I should care for him, I still smile. "That's it. That's why the phoenix cores wanted Harry to keep the connection going. They knew that, if Voldemort's spells were forced into reverse, enough echoes could be summoned to distract Voldemort. That's how Harry's going to get out of there." But I don't voice these reassuring thoughts as Karkaroff continues.

But already … his father.

Instantly Sirius pulls Harry even closer against his form as he tenses up, even if, like Book-Harry, the man had expected this to happen. My heart goes out to the wrongly imprisoned man, who never got the chance to grieve over the friends he lost that fateful night. I turn from him, to Lea and then to my parents. Mum sees me looking and she nods at me solemnly. I smile at the woman and turn back to those at my own table as Karkaroff reads.

"Your mother's coming…" he said quietly. "She wants to see you… it will be all right… hold on…"
There was something wrong with his voice … it didn't sound at all like the voice he had heard shout for his mother to take him and run … it sounded as if multiple people spoke with James Potter's smoky, ghostly form … Yet as he spoke, Harry felt something deep within … as if something within his heart, within his very being, recognized the magic with which the voices spoke…

Sirius and Remus look worried, concerned and confused at the first few lines. But Bill gasps and whispers: "The ritual. The ritual that Voldemort believed had saved Harry all those years ago. The one that came from his father. But – great Mother Magic – I – I can't – I can't believe that he – that he would go that far." Everyone's attention is on the man, his voice full of awe and sheer, deep respect and after a moment he whispers:
"James Potter sacrificed himself. And I don't just mean his body. He sacrificed his soul. He – he used some kind of ancient family magic to sacrifice his soul and merge his very magic with his son's blood. He didn't just sacrifice his life, but his chance for an afterlife. This isn't an echo of James Potter, but of the person the wand recognizes to have fought that night." Utter silence follows this explanation as hardly anyone can believe the man's words.

Then suddenly Sirius both bursts out laughing and starts to howl in pained heartache as tears stream down his face and he shouts: "That's James, alright. Merlin's beard Prongs, I know you said you would turn heaven into earth and vice versa for your boy, but this. You damned, Merlin-forsaken brilliant bloody bastard, you. Only you would pull a stunt like this. One last prank against the deadliest monster our world has ever seen, huh pall?"
Lea looks at me and I know, without him saying a single word, what he wants of me. I nod at him and we move as one. I gently, but strongly pull Harry off of Sirius' lap. But before the man can whimper or cry out at this, Lea pulls the man against him and puts Sirius' head on his shoulder. Sirius hiccups, lets out one last hollow laugh and then starts to cry. To my relief Aqua has gone to do the same for Remus, who sits opposite of us.
Harry whimpers in my shirt that he will never see his father again and my heart breaks at the lost sound of his voice. I gently pull my soul mate's face closer into my shirt and whisper: "No, you won't. But don't forget that other part. About the voices and how something within you recognized them. They were your ancestors, Harry, and your blood recognized them, recognized their magic." Harry smiles at me at this and softly Karkaroff reads on.

And then she came … of Cedric, "remember what I said. I haven't left you. But please, Harry, take my … father's voice, which sounded much older than the ghostly image, "be ready … Eaters aside and casting a quick blinding spell as he … Cedric's body, his wand arm aimed behind him and casting Knockback jinxes and Disarming curses wherever possible, his whole … the angel –
"Mobilicorpus!" he bellowed, pointing his wand at the broken wing parts and he blindly shot them at the … going back.

There had been a few moments when people wanted to either comment or speak up. But Karkaroff kept reading and ignored both them as well as all those who would either gasp or utter words of amazement. The man stops at long last and yet again he whispers the word incredible. He puts the book down and slumps down in his seat as he turns to look at Gryffindor table. Yet I ignore how he looks at Harry with eyes full of disbelief.
Instead of that I turn to check on Sirius, who seems to have cried himself to sleep. The fact that the man feels safe enough in the middle of a hall full of people who considered him a wanted man only a few hours ago brings a large relieved smile on my face. Lea also grins at me as he looks up and then Lupin comes over and whispers that he'll take Sirius from him. Lea nods and Lupin gently lifts Sirius into his arms.

The man seems to really, truly treasure and care for his old friend. He holds Sirius as if he considers it his highest priority to make sure that he doesn't move Sirius in any possible way that can make the other man stir or wake from his slumber. He seems to take extra care to put Sirius' head down on his shoulder and, whether he realizes it or not, he carries Sirius to the other side of the table while holding him bridal style.
He returns to his seat and yet he is incredibly cautious and careful with Sirius as he sits down. And once he has them both seated, he starts to gently run his hand through Sirius' hair. And while Sirius is fast asleep, a small, content smile forms on Sirius' face as he seems to subconsciously sense this. I can't help but wonder about the bond between the two men and how close they've grown since their reunion sometime last year.

Then Karkaroff reminds us all of what we are actually doing here as he asks: "So who's next? And before any of you youngsters answer, remember one thing. Little mister popsicle over here is still inside Hogwarts and still under the guise of one of the most powerful Aurors to have ever lived. Trust me, I speak from personal experience." Everyone winces for different reasons; his students for his past and the rest of us for the reminder.

Nice going, Igor,
Now I'm sure some of you have noticed it, but I didn't just add bits of text in this chapter. Like with the bandage, I changed bits of this chapter. Harry had more of a fighting chance and he didn't really let the fear that Voldemort's very presence caused affect him. There were also bits of text deleted, such as Voldemort mentioning James Potter before they started their duel. Expect more of this to happen further down the line.
Have fun,

Venquine1990