Unfortunately, Harry openly showed how much he despised that everyone was suddenly coming around to wanting to be on his side. It started the day after the second task, people began to pass Harry in the halls, smiling at him and then trying to say hi and ask how he was doing. Some would tell him good job during the second task. Some were trying to tell him they believed he'd win the whole thing.
Harry got annoyed with it after a week and his friends in Slytherin were right there to make everyone back off, a manner of which to protect Harry from all the sudden attention. It was no different than when they avoided him; everyone still looking and making comments. Sure, they weren't bad this time, but it ticked Harry right off that it had been months since the fourth year started and since he got put in the tournament. Why would everyone come around now and realize that they were awful?
It made Harry angry and as everyone had picked up; Harry was not into forgiving them just yet and if he did at all. After the second task, Harry just hung out with friends, attended his classes, and did his work. Months had gone by, it was now June and the 24th, which seemed to be the date all the tasks had fallen on.
Exams had been canceled because of the tournament and when Draco ended up sick for a quidditch match, Harry subbed in for him as Slytherin's seeker and they won the game when Harry caught the snitch after only ten minutes. Harry was ever close with his friends from Slytherin, but mainly Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Theodore, Vincent, and Gregory.
Draco was given the place as Harry's best friend and they were close like brothers these days. Blaise had a major crush on Harry, and Harry knew about it, but there was too much going on this year for him to worry much about the possibility of being in a relationship. Plus, he was only fourteen and not worried about dating and also wasn't sure if he liked Blaise in that way.
Harry did go home for Easter holiday and spent time with Sirius and Remus, but also did get to go to Malfoy Manor a couple times during the two weeks and officially re-meet Lucius and his wife, Narcissa. Harry was on good terms with Narcissa; she immediately took on the role of a loving and protective mother over Harry; it reminded him of Molly Weasley, who still reached out to Harry and reminded him that she and Arthur loved him as their own.
Draco didn't mind his mother being motherly to Harry and told his friend that he was happy to share her. Things with Lucius were still a little awkward as the man was going to use the killing curse on Harry back in second year over Harry making him lose Dobby. However, Lucius apologized and admitted to Harry that he was mean to Dobby and if he were a better person; he probably would have treated him better.
Harry hadn't entirely forgiven the man yet, but was willing to give him a chance to earn forgiveness and Harry's trust. Things with Severus weren't perfect, but not God-awful either. Severus was still the way he'd always been, but there was a softer, less angry and cold side towards his snakes, which Harry was one of. Harry knew that a lot of the mood towards him was because Harry looked dead-on like his father, who tormented Severus with Sirius and Peter Pettigrew while they were students at Hogwarts. Harry didn't hold it against Severus, of course. As long as Harry was keeping his grades up, doing well in potions, and not getting into trouble to cost Slytherin points; the two didn't have any problems.
Right now, it was time for the final and third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Harry was so ready for this to be over and it would also mark the end of the school year. Students were leaving on Monday, the 27th to start their summer vacations. Harry had already seen Sirius and Remus arrive and wish him luck in the last task. It was being held in some cleared part of the Forbidden Forest, and to Harry; it looked like their last task would be a massive maze.
Narcissa and Lucius had also come out to watch, showing their support to Harry and to Harry's surprise, the Weasley's came to show their support as well. Harry had a clear view to where they were sitting as he stood in line with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor. Albus stepped up to get everyone's attention.
"Welcome to the third and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As you can see, it's a maze and the Tri-Wizard Trophy is hidden deep within. It's up to our champions to traverse the maze and find it. The winner will be the first one to put their hand on it. If at any time, any competitor desires to leave; they need only send up red sparks with their wand."
Albus informed as he then stepped down and brought the champions close to him. "Now, in the maze; you will not find creatures of the deep or dragons. My only advice is to keep your wits about you and do not drop your guard. Mr. Potter, Mr. Diggory…As you both placed first in the second task, you will enter the maze at the same time and ahead of Miss. Delacour and Mr. Krum. I wish you all good luck."
Albus stepped away as the four champions faced their entry point. "Hey, Harry…" Cedric looked at him. Harry glanced over. "Win or lose between us, we're both still champions representing Hogwarts. No hard feelings and I'm sorry for the way my house has treated you over this." He offered his hand to Harry.
"Thanks." Harry shook Cedric's hand. "Good luck."
"Same to you." Cedric replied.
"You've got this, Potter." Alastor Moody told Harry, patting his shoulder.
Harry and Cedric both stepped into their separate places and soon everything drowned out around them and the maze entrance had closed. Harry took a deep breath and started forward.
. . .
Harry had no idea how much time had passed that he'd been in the maze and was it ever dangerous. The hedges attacked, they ran into their worst nightmares and more. Harry wondered what everyone else outside the maze was doing, were they all just sitting there and talking to wait for news on something? Had to be boring. Harry was tired, but determined not to give in. He said he would give this tournament his all and he would. While traversing the maze, Harry hit many dead ends and in the silence; there was a scream.
"Fleur?" Harry asked before realizing how close he was to her and ran to find her. Harry found Fleur seeming scared and being dragged under a bush.
"Help…" Fleur rasped.
Harry pointed his wand in the air and sent up red sparks, which exploded in the air. The wind picked up as Harry backed away and watched the fog lift, then he ran as Fleur vanished from sight. Harry knew she was out safe and now it just left him, Viktor and Cedric in there. Harry continued making his way through the maze and eventually came across a bewitched Viktor Krum, whom Harry had to keep Cedric from attacking and hide them until Viktor left.
"He's bewitched Cedric…Don't attack him." Harry told the boy.
"At the very least, we should get him out of here before he attacks us," Cedric sent a blast at Viktor to keep him in place, then sent up the red sparks.
Once again, the maze reacted and Viktor was taken out of the maze. Then there were two, Harry and Cedric. They ran as the wind picked up and a new opening appeared.
"Cedric, do you see that?" Harry asked.
"What?" Cedric inquired.
"The…Blue glow. I think it's the cup." Harry mentioned.
"Race for it?" Cedric asked. "No matter who wins, we're both Hogwarts champions."
"Ready?" Harry questioned.
The two took off in a run, dodging the tree attacks and soon seeing the cup in their sights. While sprinting, Cedric got tripped by a root and fell down. Harry stopped and watched as Cedric was being overrun with roots and they were trying to drag him backwards, just like what happened with Fleur. Harry looked at the cup, then back at Cedric; he couldn't leave him. Harry pulled his wand.
"Reducto!" Harry cast, blasting the root and pulling Cedric away and up to his feet.
The two panted. "You didn't have to do that. Fair game, you should have kept on for the cup." Cedric said.
"We're both Hogwarts champions. We're both from Hogwarts…I wasn't leaving you. It wasn't a fair chance during an agreed on race." Harry informed.
"Thanks…" Cedric said.
"Ready when you are," Harry replied.
"Let's finish this before anything else happens." Cedric nodded. The two broke into a run again and reached the cup at the same time. "Go on, Harry…Take it. You got here first and you saved my life. You deserve to win for everything you've dealt with this year."
"We got here at the same time. I say we both take it together, split the winnings and win as Hogwarts victors." Harry said firmly.
"On three?" Cedric questioned. Harry nodded.
"One. Two. Three!" Cedric and Harry both put their hands out and Harry's hand touched first and he was taken away with the cup.
"A portkey?" Cedric gasped. "Oh, no…" He put his wand up to send up the red sparks and get transported right to the open field where Viktor and Fleur were standing with their schools.
"Harry's the last one in there?" Albus asked.
"No, he's gone!" Cedric announced. The area went quiet.
"What do you mean he's gone?" Minerva questioned.
"We both found the cup at the same time and Harry said we should take it together and split the win as Hogwarts champions. As soon as he touched the cup, it port-keyed him away. I only sent up the sparks to get back here to tell you. Harry's gone…I-I don't know where the cup took him." Cedric explained.
"We need to find him." Albus said quickly.
"There's no way to know where that portkey leads if we didn't set up the key itself!" Minerva scolded.
"It seems a little too convenient. The whole thing…" Remus mentioned.
"And so obviously Potter's concerns that this was all a trap were well placed," Severus commented, arms folded as the group of teachers looked at him.
"What are you on about, Snape?" Sirius demanded.
"From the moment we questioned Potter about his involvement in entering his name; he told you that night in Albus's office that it was probably a trap to get him and the dark lord alone. Potter makes it to the cup, it portkeys away; he's probably with him. We just don't know where that could be." Severus stated. "Potter was worried about this very thing happening and none of you took it seriously, now he's Merlin knows where…Alone, with the dark lord."
"Albus…H-He's just a boy. Potter can't…Fight he who must not be named! His first and second years were not fighting the dark lord physically. He'll die!" Minerva said right away.
"Unfortunately…We don't know where they are, Minerva." Albus said. "All we can do is wait…If Harry survives and is able to get back to the cup; he'll return to us."
No one knew what to think or do. Harry was gone and all they could do was wait helplessly for only a hope that he returned. Severus nonchalantly checked his left arm and saw that the mark there was darkening and he looked at Lucius, who gave a slight nod to confirm the same message. The dark lord was returning and Harry was taken to wherever that location was for Voldemort to obviously kill him.
. . .
Harry landed in a graveyard, the cup bouncing away from him as he stood up and looked around. "Harry Potter…" A voice said. Before Harry could do anything, or even grab his wand; he was sent back against a statue and held in place. There was a cauldron bubbling close by as Peter Pettigrew walked out carrying some old, wrinkly something or other in a blanket. "At last, I can return and kill you." Harry's scar was searing. This had to be Voldemort; his scar felt the same way in first year and second year whenever the man was close to him. "Wormtail!" The male ordered.
"Yes, Master," Peter responded, dumping the male into the cauldron. "Bone of the father, unknowingly given. You will renew your son." He pulled a bone up with his wand from the grave Harry was being held above as it got added to the cauldron. Peter pulled a dagger and sliced off his hand over the pot next. "Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed. I will revive my master." Pettigrew came over to Harry, tearing his sleeve and cutting into his arm and then taking it over to the pot to drop the blood in. "Blood of the enemy. You will resurrect your foe."
The cauldron potion turned red and bubbled. Harry watched helplessly as he realized this was to bring Voldemort back to a physical body. Soon, the man stood before him in dark robes; bald as ever and with no nose. Honestly, the guy looked like a human-snake mix. It was creepy and Harry needed to figure out how to get away. This wouldn't be like the years before; he was going to have to fight for his life this time. Blasted intuition telling him this whole competition was a farce to get him alone with Voldemort. When he got back; everyone who said it'll be fine is gonna get it from him.
"Well done, Wormtail…" Voldemort said calmly. "My wand?" Peter pulled it out and presented it to Voldemort on bended knee. "You've done perfectly, Wormtail. Give me your hand. I will reward your loyalty." Peter gave Voldemort his arm that had the hand cut off and the dark lord easily replaced the missing hand with a silver one.
"Thank you, Master…" Peter fell to his knees, kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes.
"Now, your other arm…We need to call the others." Voldemort said. Peter pulled up his sleeve on his left arm and let Voldemort set the tip of his wand to the tattoo there; it was the dark mark. Harry recognized it from the quidditch world cup. In seconds, clouds of black descended around Voldemort.
"My lord…" The followers all bowed to him.
"Finally, I am back and I've brought you all here to witness the death of Harry Potter…" Voldemort said. "I couldn't touch you in the past…But that was old magic. I can touch you now…" He smirked, raising a finger to touch Harry's scar as Harry yelled out in pain. Yes, he recalled in first year that Quirrell couldn't touch him and it was because of his mother's love, her sacrifice to save him. When Voldemort pulled his hand away,
Harry was left breathing heavily to deal with the pain; his head was throbbing. "Amazing what just a few drops of your blood will do, isn't it?" The statue let Harry go and he dropped ungracefully to the ground. "Get up, Harry Potter…I assume you've been taught how to duel, yes?" Harry never got to reply, but he pulled his wand. "First, we bow to one another…" The dark lord gave a bow as Harry didn't move. "Come on now…"
If this bastard wanted a fight, he'd get one. Harry readied himself and bowed to the man. "And now…" Voldemort threw Harry around like a rag doll and Harry couldn't do anything. This guy was strong and Harry was just a fourth year. "Crucio!" Harry felt pain shoot through his body as he hit the ground, convulsing as if he'd been electrocuted. Harry gritted his teeth and tried to resist the pain. Harry had his eyes screwed shut as he reached for his wand through the pain.
"Stu-Stupefy!" Harry shot his stunner at Voldemort, which forced him to let up on the Cruciatus curse.
"So you can fight…" Voldemort grinned. "Excellent. Crucio!" Harry tried to fight it. Voldemort must have cast it another four times and Harry felt like he couldn't move as he laid there trying to catch his breath.
"Confringo!" Harry sent a blast of fire at Voldemort, then used the distraction to hide behind the grave statue.
"Come out, Harry Potter…Don't hide from me." Voldemort said.
Harry looked to the cup, Voldemort was walking towards him. "Accio!" Harry pulled the cup towards him as Voldemort grabbed Harry's arm the same time Harry held the cup and they were pulled together back to Hogwarts and landed on the ground, hard and somewhat away from one another.
Harry coughed and forced himself to get up. "Harry!" Cedric said with relief.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort cast.
"No! Cedric, move!" Harry shoved Cedric aside as the blast, thankfully missed.
Albus went to rush over. "Tom…"
"Good to see you again, Albus…" Voldemort grinned. "Unfortunately, this is between me and the boy…And you will not interfere." He erected a barrier around him and Harry, who wisely pushed Cedric out of the range to be trapped inside of it.
"Harry!" Cedric called. "You can't fight him alone!"
Albus worked to try and break the barrier, but it wasn't going so easily. Several teachers were trying and still nothing. "Now it's just you and me, Harry Potter…"
"Harry!" Sirius yelled with worry. "Don't worry."
"We're coming." Remus added.
"Depu-," Voldemort started.
"Everte Statum!" Harry beat Voldemort to casting and sent him flying backwards.
"Confringo!" Voldemort sent back at Harry, which burned him slightly. "Crucio!" Harry hit the ground.
"Harry!" Albus slammed his hand on the barrier.
"Crucio…" Harry convulsed violently but he got his hands down and tried to force himself to his feet. Voldemort watched with surprise as Harry winced and breathed hard, but was able to stand, still shaking. "Impossible. Cru-,"
"Obscuro!" Harry yelled as a blindfold appeared over Voldemort's eyes, which let Harry turn and run to hide behind a statue as he tried to catch his breath.
"You impress me, Harry Potter. Fighting off the Cruciatus curse, standing through it…You are indeed a worthy opponent. I mark you my equal and today will decide who is truly the strongest." Voldemort informed. "Come out and fight. Face me like a man, Harry Potter. I want to see the light leave your eyes when I kill you…Just like I saw it leave your mother and father's eyes thirteen years ago."
"That dirty, son of a-," Sirius started.
"Quiet, Sirius…" Remus told him.
Harry's eyes narrowed as he walked out from behind the statue, wand at his side. "Atta boy, Harry…"
Harry stood before him, hand tightened around his wand. "But just so you know…I'm in a really bad mood."
Voldemort laughed. "Let's see what you're made of Harry Potter."
"Have it your way then." Harry replied.
No one could break the barrier, and Harry wasn't even trying to hide; he was going to fight back. After thirteen years, Voldemort had returned. Harry and Voldemort were actually about to duel it out.