Across The Time

by izwan

Harry found himself unwittingly thrown back into the past. So many possibilities arise and yet so many questions are in need of answering because of it. But more importantly, will love transcend through time and if it does, will he survive to see it? This is the story.

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

It wasn't Fleur. It wasn't any of her friends either. The person who greeted him was actually Raphael. With his hands in his pockets, the boy grinned at Harry.

"You guys go ahead," said Harry to Ron and Hermione. "This won't be long I think."

Ron nodded. "Come on, Mione," said Ron, grabbing Hermione's arm and steering her towards the Great Hall.

"Hey," greeted Harry once he arrived in front of Raphael. "What can I do for you, Raphael?"

"Sorry to pull you away from your friends 'Arry, but I waz wondering," began Raphael. "Tomorrow iz weekend, right? I 'eard the Durmstrang iz inviting you to zheir ship."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "And you want to tag along?" he asked.

"Oh no. No. Nozhing like zhat," replied Raphael, shaking his head. "We won't be allowed even if we wanted to. I only wonder if you 'ave any plan after zhat?"

Harry pondered for a moment. "As of so far, no. I don't have any plans after that. At least for now. Why?"

Raphael's grin got wider upon hearing this. "Zhat iz great! My friends and I talked about zhis a while ago. We wanted to visit 'Ogsmeade. We feel zhat this weekend iz zhe perfect time for zhat but we don't know much about zhe village. I waz wondering if you could accompany uz zhere. We were 'oping you could show uz around. What do you say?"

Harry paused at this. "Are you allowed to venture far beyond the school ground, Raphael? Hogsmeade isn't exactly located just outside Hogwarts, you know. It will take about twenty to thirty minutes of walking to get there," he asked. "We usually travel there by horse carriages but those are only available during scheduled visits."

"We are allowed to but not without permission. It so 'appens we did get permission. Also, did you know zhe Durmstrang boys visit 'Ogsmeade nearly every day?" said Raphael to a surprised-looking Harry. "Yes, zhey would go out after dinner and return near midnight. We zhink zhey went for a drink because we saw a few of zhem came back drunk. Iz zhere a pub or a bar in 'Ogsmeade, "Arry?"

"Well, there are a couple of watering holes in Hogsmeade," answered Harry, referring to The Three Broomstick Inn and the more obscure Hog's Head Pub. "But you're not going there simply to get drunk, are you?"

"Of course not," replied Raphael indignantly. "But we are bored. Zhere izn't much we can do 'ere ozher zhan 'anging around inside zhe carriage after classes. A few of us indulge in fishing – zhe lake certainly has a lot of fish – but one can only fish so much. Back at our campus, we could go out into the city of Paris whenever we wish but you already know zhat, right?"

Harry went silent at this.

"So, what do you say?" asked Raphael.

His younger self wouldn't hesitate to say yes. His younger self enjoyed going to Hogsmeade. His older self however felt otherwise. Having visited hundreds of magical villages and towns all over the world, the township of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland was his particular favorite, Hogsmeade had become… ordinary to him. The only thing that made Hogsmeade interesting nowadays would be the scheduled meeting he arranged with Sirius.

Plus the only way for him to visit Hogsmeade that weekend would be to do it illegally. He wasn't keen on doing that.

"I'm sorry, I can't, Raphael," said Harry.

Raphael's grin turned into a frown. "But, why not?"

"I'm not allowed to," said Harry. "As a student of Hogwarts, I can only visit Hogsmeade during scheduled visits and the earliest would be on the 21st. November. You can join us on that day if you want."

"But zhat would be like two weeks away! You do 'ave ozher ways to visit 'Ogsmeade, right? Like, ways zhat prevents you from getting caught? Like some sort of secret passages zhat only you know?"

Harry was taken aback. He wondered if his reputation had gone so far, that even the outsiders ended up knowing his exploits in Hogwarts. And he was taken aback by Raphael's boldness in asking him to break the rules. It wasn't that he had issues about rule-breaking, he was his father's son after all. He just felt that a visit to Hogsmeade that weekend wasn't necessary.

But Raphael seemed desperate.

"Are you really this bored?" asked Harry. "Couldn't you go there on your own? Hogsmeade is relatively safe. It's nothing more than a small village town. You could discover everything there is to discover inside an hour."

"Yes, we could," came the short reply. "But 'aving a guide with us would be better. You could show us zhe 'specials' if you know what I mean."

Harry shook his head. He still didn't want to go. He wasn't even sure how on earth could he join Raphael and his friends on their trip to Hogsmeade. He couldn't just walk through the gates, could he? On the other hand, he could use the secret passages underneath the one-eyed witch statue near the DADA classroom. That would involve another kind of plan being made that might risk the secret passages being discovered. And he much preferred that only he and the twins knew about it.

He could, of course, ask Professor McGonagall for permission. There won't be any guarantee that she'll agree though. Still, a decision had to be made and upon reflection, he decided to make a non-committal agreement.

"I'll see what I can do. I can't promise though. I will get back to you on that. If I can't, you and your friends would just have to go there by yourselves. Would that be sufficed?" said Harry.

"I surely 'ope you can, 'Arry," said Raphael.

"Yeah but for now I really can't commit. I'll inform you tomorrow at the latest."

Raphael looked a bit crestfallen. "Well, I guess I 'ave to work with zhat. 'Opefully you will bring good news tomorrow, 'Arry."

"Sure," said Harry. "But for now, let's go into the Great Hall. Dinner is underway and I'm starving."

---

Raphael and Harry went their separate ways after they entered the Great Hall.

"So, what does he want?" asked Ron once Harry seated.

"He's inviting me to join him and his friends on their trip to Hogsmeade," replied Harry as has began filling his plate with beef casserole. "They were planning the trip this weekend. They wanted me to come along."

"But we're not allowed to, Harry. We can only visit Hogsmeade on the 21st. of this month at the earliest," said Hermione.

"That's what I told him," said Harry. He then turned to look at the Ravenclaw table. He could see Raphael and his friends were in a deep discussion. And for some reason so did Fleur and her friends. "He wanted me to become some sort of a tour guide. Couldn't take no for an answer he was."

"Well, he just has to accept a no. He's not going to drag you into any more trouble, Harry. Enough is enough," said Hermione in a serious manner. "I will tell Fleur and her friends if I have to. I will tell them to tell their headmistress about what this boy is trying to do with you."

Harry raised his eyebrows. His fork hung midway to his mouth. "You're really going to do that?"

"Absolutely."

"Let's not be hasty, Hermione."

"Oh, but I will. I mean I could do it right now. They're just over there at the Ravenclaw table. I already have enough anxiety every time you and Ron go out doing something."

"Are they even allowed to go on an outing anytime they want? I mean we can't. Surely the same rule applies to them," Ron wondered aloud.

"Raphael told me he already obtained the permission to visit Hogsmeade. I guess they need it the whole time they're here. Do you know what else? He told me the Durmstrang boys visit Hogsmeade nearly every day," said Harry. "They would only return late in the night. Usually drunk."

"I'm not surprised," said Hermione. "They're Durmstrang. Their rules are a lot more lacking than ours."

"That sounds cool. I would love to be able to visit Hogsmeade whenever I want. It can be a bit boring being stuck inside a castle in the middle of nowhere all year," said Ron.

"It's pretty much understandable when you said that," said Harry as he shoved a forkful of casserole into his mouth. "The Beauxbatons were used to big cities. I mean the campus itself is located right inside Paris. They could go out and enjoy Paris anytime they want."

"Really?" said Ron. "How did you know?"

"That's what he told me," said Harry as he shoved another forkful of casserole into his mouth. He of course knew that fact a long time ago but he wasn't about to make anyone aware of his knowledge. Not yet anyway. "It's understandable why he and his friends got bored so quickly. But to be honest with you two, I bet my left leg they will get bored with Hogsmeade in less than five minutes once they see what it's like."

---

The rest of the dinner went without a drama for Harry. Putting the Beauxbaton matter aside, he and Viktor ended up in a deep discussion regarding the eventual friendly match. Viktor pointed out to him that he wished they could set the date of the match by next week so that he could begin preparing his team. After some haggling, courtesy of Harry of course, both parties finally agreed that the date of the match to be concluded by the end of the next weekend. Harry felt relief. This will give him the time to organize the keeper tryout early next week and immediately begin training. Also, in a way it will prevent Durmstrang from training earlier than Gryffindor. It might not mean much but it would be a start.

Fifteen minutes before the dinnertime ended, Professor Dumbledore walked up to him.

"Finish your dinner, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry who was already full, replied, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Will you please follow me?"

"Of course, sir."

He turned to Ron and Hermione and said, "I'll see you guys back in the common room."

The two nodded.

Harry got off the bench. He took that chance to glance at the Ravenclaw table. Fleur and the rest of her squad could be seen looking at him rather curiously. He looked away and followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.

"Where are we going, sir?" he asked once they were both out of earshot from the Great Hall.

"To the Hospital Wing," answered Dumbledore. "Professor Moody has requested you."

"So he agreed?" asked Harry who did not miss the title Dumbledore bestowed upon Moody.

"Yes, Harry. He agreed."

---

The Emergency Ward, Hospital Wing...

"Hah! Just the one I wanted to see," growled Moody the moment he and Dumbledore entered the Emergency Ward. Harry noticed that Professor Snape was there as well, standing a little bit further from the bed Moody lay on. Moody's wooden leg leaned untouched against the wall. His magical eye swirled inside a glass of water placed on top of the bedside table.

Madam Pomfrey had just finished doing a final check on Moody. She readjusted Moody's bed, making sure it was comfortable for the ex-auror. Once that was done, she gathered all her things on a tray and let herself out of the emergency ward. Dumbledore then closed the door behind her and placed a Silencing Spell on it.

"I want to thank you, laddie, for what you did," said Moody, extending his hand to him. "You saved my life."

Harry took it and they shook hands.

"I did what I had to do, Professor," said Harry as he let go of Moody's hand. "Barty exposed himself. That was a mistake on his part."

"Indeed. And much to the detriment of your own safety," pointed out Moody. "You stepped in just as he was about to kill me. There is nothing more dangerous than a Death Eater in the midst of taking other people's lives. Once the decision is being made, they won't stop."

"You saw everything?" asked Harry in surprise.

"Saw it all. Heard it all," said Moody. He rose to sit on his bed. "I was only paralyzed. I wasn't blind or deaf." He then paused. He stared at Harry. There was something in the way he looked at him that made Harry feel uncomfortable. "Told Dumbledore everything I heard."

Harry froze at this. He glanced at Dumbledore, and later on to Snape. The former gave a subtle nod at him and the latter simply looked at him impassively.

"How did you know everything about his plan?" asked Moody.

Harry hesitated for a moment. "It was… complicated," he answered.

"Huh. Your headmaster said exactly the same thing," said Moody, gesturing towards Dumbledore who remained silent. "Who's your source?" he asked once again.

"To be honest with you, no one."

"Bollocks!" exclaimed Moody. "Is this some kind of joke, Potter?"

"Like I said," responded Harry, a little bit firmly this time. "It was complicated."

Luckily enough for Harry, Dumbledore decided to cut in at that point. "Alastor, I can vouch for Harry. I believe whatever that had been said between him and Barty is the truth. And indeed on how he came to know all of that is complicated."

"I know it's the truth," responded Moody incredulously. "I was there! Death Eaters don't play around, Albus. What I want to know is if Potter here had been in contact with any other Death Eaters prior to this."

"I'm sure that Mr. Potter here wouldn't want to have anything to do with any of the Death Eaters nor any Death Eaters would want to divulge anything much to the detriment of their master," said Dumbledore.

"His knowledge would have come from somewhere. This is big. A kidnapping attempt. A hijacking attempt of an international event. More information wouldn't go amiss, Albus," argued Moody. "Surely you understand."

"I understand your point completely, Alastor," replied Dumbledore firmly. He gave a glance at Harry and continued, "Harry Potter will reveal everything once he is ready but for now, that is not the pressing issue. We have a security breach. A Death Eater made it inside the castle posing as you. You know that I called you back not only to teach but to also act as the head of security for the Triwizard Tournament. A Death Eater became the head of the security, Alastor! And the reason he is here has everything to do with the Dark Lord. That's what worries me. After the fiasco at the Quidditch World Cup, all eyes will be looking at Hogwarts. A missing student, a dead teacher, and the second rising of Voldemort by the end of the year is not what I had in mind."

Moody sighed. He gazed at Harry and said, "Do you have any information on where You-Know-Who is currently hiding?"

Harry just shook his head. "No."

Moody nodded. "My apologies, Potter. I hope you don't take this personally. I appreciate what you did."

"None taken, sir."

Moody then turned towards Dumbledore. "So we were lucky. Thanks to Potter here. What now?"

"Measures are being taken at this moment," said Dumbledore. "Severus had taken the step to reevaluate the castle and its ground security. I would expect you to work with him once you are able to."

"I can start tonight," said Moody. "Your nurse did a great job. And Barty?"

"Severus will show you where he's being kept," said Dumbledore. "It is important that this matter must be kept in absolute secrecy. And if you do visit him, try to control your anger. Azkaban is where he will be staying permanently once this is all over."

"I can do that," said Moody casually. "Anything else?"

"My contacts at the Department of International Magical Cooperation are moving the Triwizard Cup to a much safer location as we speak. It will be tested for any attempt to turn it into a Portkey. In the meantime, all the members of the Order had been put on high alert. I took the liberty to pull out some of them for a special task," explained Dumbledore.

"What task?" asked Moody curiously.

Dumbledore glanced at Harry. The expression on his face, was like he was asking Harry for his permission.

Harry gave a subtle nod.

"Harry is in search of something that will ensure that Voldemort will never return," said Dumbledore. "Their task is to ensure that he will have a clear path to it. Details are sketchy at the present."

Moody turned to look at Harry. "Like a weapon?"

"I'll know when I see it, sir," answered Harry. "If you must know, it's located somewhere in London."

"London?"

"Yes, sir."

Harry wanted to tell Moody about Sirius but at this point, he was not sure about Snape. After everything that happened in his third year, there was a huge chance that Snape still held a huge grudge against Sirius and wouldn't hesitate to turn him over to the Ministry if he found out about him. He trusted Snape but in all his long years of living, he knew that anger could change a person.

Moody nodded. He slowly pushed himself off the bed. With one hand held onto the headboard and another grabbing his wooden leg, he spoke, "Well, I guess I better get started. Looks like you had been pulled deep into this conspiracy, laddie. I'm surprised Dumbledore had yet to make you a member of the Order."

Harry and Dumbledore looked at each other. The old headmaster smiled at him.

"As a matter of fact, starting from now, he is."

---

It did not take long for Moody to prepare and soon, the four of them walked out of the Hospital Wing. Moody excused himself, stating that he wanted to begin patrolling the castle and its ground. He gestured for Snape to follow him. Moody wanted to visit Barty earlier, but Snape told him that the visit could wait. He told him that the visit could be done in the following morning. He also told Moody that Harry wanted to go and see Barty as well. Moody did not argue. Snape told Harry to meet him right after breakfast. Harry agreed.

Both Harry and Dumbledore watched the receding back of Snape and Moody. Once they disappeared around the corner of the corridor, Dumbledore turned to him.

"It is good that you didn't mention anything about Sirius to Moody," he stated.

"I would," said Harry. "But Snape was there. I trust the person, but not his anger."

Dumbledore nodded. "It is a wise decision on the whole, Harry. But I think it's getting late. You should go back to your dormitory."

"Of course, sir."

Harry spun on the spot and disappeared into thin air.

---

He felt he had barely lain down to sleep when he was being shaken awake by Ron.

"Wake up, Harry," said Ron, yawning and grabbing his towel as he made his way towards the bathroom. "I'm starving."

Harry grudgingly sat up, one hand reaching out for his glasses which were on the bedside table. He put them on and the dormitory immediately came into focus. The soft, warm light of the morning sun filtered through the misted window. Everywhere within the dorm, with the exception of Seamus and Dean, everyone else had roused from sleep. The two were still fast asleep. The thick blanket covered them from head to toe. That was pretty much the tradition every time comes the weekend. The two best friends would only make their presence known during lunchtime.

Harry looked over towards his alarm clock. It showed thirty minutes past eight.

His younger self would cherish the chance of being able to lie in during the weekend. In the past, he would be just like Seamus and Dean, snuggling in his bed all morning, ignoring breakfast, and would only appear during lunchtime. His older self though thought otherwise. Waking up at 5.30 am was the norm. Waking up at 8.30 am would be considered to be really, really late. Besides, he had things to do that morning. Slowly, he pushed himself off the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

The Great Hall that morning was largely sparse by the time he and Ron arrived. There were a lot of vacant seats at all tables. Both of them looked towards the Gryffindor table. Apart from Hermione, only a few first and second-year Gryffindors were having their breakfast. The food though was plentiful, as always. It just that there weren't many people who would be eating them.

The two boys made their way towards their usual spot, joining Hermione who was eating her cereal alone at that time. An unopened book lay beside her cereal bowl.

"Morning, Hermione," greeted Harry.

"Morning," Hermione greeted back. "Never thought I would see you both up this early on a Saturday."

"Yeah, well. We're just hungry," replied Ron as he began piling food onto his plate.

"That and the fact that we're visiting the Durmstrang ship this morning," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, that too."

The trio had a silent breakfast, preferring to concentrate on the food than talking. Hermione was the first one to finish and while waiting for the other two, she opened the book she brought along and began reading. Ron was heavily committed to his food, unlike Harry who had his eyes wandering around the Great Hall. He glanced at the High Table. For the first time ever since the Welcoming Feast, Moody was present at the Great Hall. He did not carry the flask with him though which was a sure sign that this Moody was the real Moody. He still checked on his food though, examining, sniffing, and looking for any sign of poison that he thought might be embedded within the food he was about to consume. Snape was there too, sitting a few chairs away from Moody. There were also Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Trelawney, and Professor Vector. The three headmasters were absent, however.

And so did the foreign students.

Viktor and his friends were absent just like their headmaster. And it wasn't just the Durmstrang. Harry looked over his shoulder towards the Ravenclaw table and saw no Beauxbaton students there. He saw Cho Chang though, eating breakfast and chatting with her friends. His eyes lingered on her for a few moments before he turned his attention back to his food.

Hermione was still a little bit preoccupied with her book. Ron was still with his food. And Harry was beginning to get a little bored. He decided to break the silence.

"There aren't many people at breakfast today," he started.

Hermione looked up from her book. "Obviously," she said before returning to her book.

"Couldn't you just lay your hands off your book for like a second, Hermione?" said Ron, now munching on a chicken sausage. "It's Saturday."

Hermione once again looked up and gave Ron a very nasty look. "Couldn't you just lay your hands off your food for like a second, Ron?" she asked sardonically. "It's Saturday."

Ron looked down at his still unfinished sausage. "I'm eating this."

"And I'm reading this," huffed Hermione before she returned to her book. "You do you and I do mine."

Ron just shrugged and continued eating.

Harry just shook his head at the antics of them both. Hermione apparently was in a bad mood that morning. Luckily, she wasn't his girlfriend. If she was, he would be sitting there, cracking his brain and trying to figure out what he did wrong. Just like what every boyfriend would do whenever their significant other got mad at them.

Minutes went by. Harry, now fully fed, sat there in full contentment. He glanced at the High Table every now and then, watching and waiting patiently for Snape and Moody to take their leave. That would be the signal he needed to excuse himself from Ron and Hermione. In the meantime, he had taken to watch Hermione reading her book. Looking at Hermione, there was something soothing about her whenever she was in deep concentration. Her calm expression could be the reason for that, he proposed.

Apparently, Hermione seemed to realize that someone was watching her. She looked up and saw Harry staring at her.

"What is it, Harry?" she asked softly.

Harry upon realizing that he was caught shook his head. "Err… nothing. Just thinking."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Thinking about what?"

"Nothing. Just forget it, Hermione," said Harry.

Hermione stared at him for a few moments. She then closed her book and leaned slightly towards him. "Last night, what Dumbledore wants with you?" she asked.

"Yeah mate," said Ron, who had now finished eating and was taking a gulp of fresh orange juice from his goblet. "Everybody was talking about it."

"It's not always the headmaster would come down to fetch a student, Harry," said Hermione upon seeing Harry's expression. "Especially in front of everyone else. Rumors are spreading."

"Rumors?"

Both Hermione and Ron nodded.

"About what happened in the DADA class," said Hermione. She then shook her head. "You wouldn't believe half of the stories they invented."

"You should hear what Malfoy spoke about you," added Ron. "The things he said, make you want to punch his face and throw all three Unforgivable Curses at him, all at once, over and over again. Clearly, he had gained a new level of vindictiveness against you. Wonder why?"

Harry did not answer. He, of course, knew the reason why.

"You honestly didn't know?" Hermione asked Ron. Her eyebrows raised.

"What?" asked Ron in confusion. "What I didn't know?"

"It's about a girl, Ron."

"What girl?"

"Daphne Greengrass," said Hermione impatiently. "The Slytherin girl. Remember what we saw at the Entrance Hall many days ago?"

"Entrance Hall?" wondered Ron. Now he was even more confused. "No, I don't remember any of it. What happened?"

Hermione stared at Ron in disbelief. She was about to retort when Harry suddenly cut her off. "He wasn't with us at that time, Hermione. We came back from the library after visiting him at the hospital wing when the incident happened, remember?"

Hermione's eyes darted between Harry and Ron. Moments later she put her face into her hands and groaned rather loudly.

Harry just chuckled. He reached out to her and squeezed her arm. "That's okay, Hermione. Mistakes happen. You're just confused."

Hermione took her face out of her hands and looked embarrassingly at Ron and Harry. "I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.

Ron just sniggered. "Maybe we should take you back to see Madam Pomfrey, Hermione. Just in case," he teased.

"I'm fine, Ron!" she said sternly.

Harry just shook his head. "Yeah, she's fine, Ron. There's no need for her to see Poppy."

"Still," said Ron. "You haven't told me what really happened at the Entrance Hall. So, what happened?"

Harry and Hermione both exchanged glances.

"Maybe you should take this one," Harry suggested to her.

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry. I'll fill up anything you miss," he assured her.

Hermione began to regale the tale and Ron listened to her with deep concentration. It turned out that Harry didn't have to do anything at all. She laid it all out correctly and in full detail.

"… and that's when we found out that Malfoy had a huge crush on her but unfortunately for him, she already had her eyes set firmly on someone else," finished Hermione. At the same time, she nodded pointedly at Harry.

Ron stared at Harry. "She likes him?" he asked incredulously. "But she's a Slytherin! They hated us, Hermione."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Just like us hating them? This isn't about the houses, Ron! This is about a boy and a girl!" said Hermione impatiently.

"She's a Slytherin," repeated Ron.

"So what? People from different houses getting together aren't abnormal, you know."

"I know that," said Ron. "But we're talking about a girl from Slytherin who took an interest in a boy from Gryffindor. And this boy happens to be Harry. Doesn't that make you suspicious?"

Hermione just sighed. "I can't believe I would be saying this but no. I don't feel suspicious at all. Daphne hated Malfoy. That's one thing."

"But she might be pretending," argued Ron. "You know how it is with the Slytherin. And why do you side with them? It's not like they had done anything good to you?"

"I'm not siding with them," replied Hermione hotly. "I'm not siding with anyone. Yes, some of them are jerks but some of them are actually good and well-mannered."

"I still don't trust her," said Ron stubbornly.

"Fine. If you must know, I'm friends with her and Tracy. We sat together at the same table in Arithmancy. Both of them were nice to me. I really wish you could at least pretend to see the other side of them but whatever," said Hermione briskly, waving her hand in defeat. She then turned to Harry who had decided to not embroil himself in their little debate earlier. "You haven't answered my question," she pointed out.

"I'm about to," said Harry. He gestured for both of them to scoot closer to him. "Dumbledore brought me to see Moody. Moody apologized for what happened earlier in the DADA class," he said, half whispering.

"That's it?" asked Hermione. "Just that?"

"There's more. Madame Maxime threatened to bring this matter to the Ministry. Dumbledore, with the help from Professor Karkaroff, somehow managed to talk her out of it."

"Blimey," said Ron. "Moody will be in a heap of trouble if the Ministry finds out about this."

"I know, right?" said Harry. "Madame Maxime was in quite a fit when she learned what happened. Not sure why though. It's not like any of her students were involved. But yeah, Moody was in a hot soup. Performing the curse is one thing. Doing it to someone else is another. I feel sorry for him though."

Harry was genuine about that. Moody was taking the hit for someone else shenanigans. He hoped that the ex-Auror managed to walk through it unscathed.

"The French government will have his head if it was done on one of the Beauxbaton students," said Hermione, worriedly. She covertly glanced at the High Table before continuing, "He should have been more careful. Beauxbaton is an elite magical school. Powerful families, both in political and business alike all over the world, send their children there. Moody could start a war."

"So you mean to say that Beauxbaton is better than Hogwarts?" asked Ron, his eyebrows raised.

"No, I'm simply saying that they're an elite school. Their accommodations, facilities, and faculties - all of that are a lot better than what we have. They're operating just like a fully fledged university you know, with each magical course having its own faculty. Just look at their uniforms. Hogwarts has an edge in terms of education though. And the collective magic that resides within the castle is a lot stronger than any magical dwelling known to mankind," explained Hermione.

Hermione of course was right about Beauxbaton. It was indeed an elite magical school. Harry visited the school several times back in the old timeline when Fleur was still a teacher. The design of the main building and the buildings surrounding it within the campus were a mixture of French Renaissance and modern art. The lobby alone left Harry speechless. High-painted ceilings, huge decorative stairways that led to the first floor behind the receptionist table, beautiful paintings, and marble statues lined up each wall. A huge, dancing water fountain can be found in front of the entrance to the lobby. A well-kept multi acres wide lawn with perfectly aligned trees, benches, a small lake, a picnic area, jogging tracks crisscrossing the lawn, and beautifully arranged flower bushes completed the whole package. There was also a huge garage where the institute's various vehicles, both magical and non magical were kept. They also have a sports center where the students and staff can play various indoor and outdoor sports such as tennis, squash, and soccer. Strangely enough, there was no Quidditch pitch. A heated indoor swimming pool was also available for the students and staff. A computer lab would be added a couple of years later after the war ended. Beauxbaton seemed to pride itself in mixing various aspects of magic and non-magic in its daily operations, unlike Hogwarts which dispensed anything that had to do with muggles completely. Like the other magical schools, however, it was still unplottable.

Harry also had the opportunity to have a look at Fleur's former dormitory during one of his visits. It had a good view of the Eiffel Tower and it was bigger, more spacious than the dormitory he shared with the boys, and far more luxurious with its own modern central heating and air conditioning system. Each occupant was given their own desks, bookshelves, and wardrobes. The one similarity Beauxbaton's dormitory shared with Hogwarts was the usage of poster beds. Fleur only had to share the dormitory with one roommate throughout her education years which in this case was Cassandra. All Beauxbaton students received the same perk, as Harry would later find out. Gabrielle eventually took over the dormitory from her elder sister and she would live in it until her seventh year.

The tuition fees were of course quite expensive. Luckily for French natives and those who were eligible, generous scholarships were provided by the French government to students who managed to claim a spot in the school. Terms and conditions of course applied here.

Back to the matter of Professor Moody, of course, what Harry told them was basically incomplete. He purposely left out many parts.

The trio continued to chat. Harry informed them that Dumbledore called in Moody not just to induct the former Auror as a teacher, but also to be the head of security for the Triwizard Tournament event.

At one point, they heard loud clangs. They turned and saw Moody, limping heavily towards them.

"You're alright, Potter?" asked Moody the moment he reached them.

"Yes, sir," replied Harry.

Moody was about to continue speaking when he realized that Hermione and Ron were staring suspiciously at him. He paused for a moment before giving them both a nod. He then turned back to Harry. "Come, laddie," he said. "I want to show you something."

"Of course, sir," Harry said as he got off the bench. "Wait for me at the Entrance Hall. I won't be long," he said to Ron and Hermione. After seeing the look on the faces, he hastily added, "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Alright, Harry," said the other two simultaneously. From their expression, however, it was clear that they remained unconvinced.

---

"Your friends are suspicious of me," stated Moody as they both walked out of the Great Hall.

'I'm sorry, professor," said Harry apologetically. "Rumors are spreading about what happened in the DADA class. I know it wasn't your fault but aside from Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Madam Pomfrey, the rest of the school thought you did something really bad. Barty clearly did a number on your reputation, sir."

But Moody waived Harry's apology. "That's alright, son. I don't give an arse about my reputation. What matters most is getting the job done. In my line of work, if you give a damn about your reputation, you won't be able to do anything."

Harry just nodded. How true that was, he thought.

They both continued to walk. It was then that Harry realized they were heading towards the Potion classroom. He pointed this out to Moody.

"Yes, I know," said Moody. "We are to meet Severus. Only he and Dumbledore know where Barty is being kept. Besides, we need to bring along something and he happened to have it."

Harry went silent.

They both arrived at the Potion classroom a few minutes later. Professor Snape was already waiting for them.

"Severus," said Moody. "Do you have it?"

Snape said nothing. He fished out a small bottle of clear liquid out of his cloak's pocket and showed it to Moody.

Harry gave a loud gasp.

The two teachers stared at him.

"You do know what this is, Potter," said Moody, pointing towards the vial Snape was holding.

Harry nodded. "Veritaserum. Might I ask why?"

"So you know your potion. Good," said Moody. He proceeded to explain. "If the conversation you had with Barty is true, he will know the location of where You-know-who is hiding along with his accomplice. That is what we're going to find out."

"And then what?" asked Harry. The feeling of dread crept into his mind.

"We're going to nip his comeback in the bud," supplied Moody. "Now let's not waste any more time. After you, Severus."

Snape and Harry exchanged glances before the Potion master began walking down the corridor that led away from the Potion classroom towards if Harry was not mistaken, the entrance into Slytherin's common room. Moody followed him with Harry making up the rear.

No! No! No! This should not happen! This should not happen! Thought Harry worriedly. Voldemort must not be found. Not yet!

But there was nothing he could do at that moment. All he could hope was that by some miracle, Moody did not get what he sought.

The three of them walked down several stairs and into a cold, marginally lit corridor. Something green was glowing up ahead. As they got nearer, they saw a glowing painting of an arch on the right side of the wall corridor. Harry knew what that was. It was the entrance into the Slytherin's common room. One needs to speak the correct password before the arch melts away, revealing a passage that lead into the common room.

They silently walked past the arch. They turned left into another corridor and continued their way until they reached the end where they met a brick wall. Snape took out his wand and began to tap the brick wall at several places. Then, in the same fashion as the brick wall that separated the Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron opened up, the bricks rearranged themselves, revealing a passage. Moody and Harry followed Snape through the passage until they arrived at a large, dimly lit room with a curved ceiling. Nothing else was there except for an old-looking elevator box, not unlike the ones Harry saw at the Ministry for Magic, located right at the center of the room.

The three of them squeezed into the box. Just as Snape closed the door, the elevator box immediately sank into the floor.

Total darkness enveloped them. Harry could not see anything but by the creaking sound the elevator made, he knew that they were still on their way down. He strained his ears, trying to hear any other noises. Nothing came with the exception of the creaking sound and the sound of their breathing.

Minutes went past when Harry suddenly saw a faint light from down below. It got brighter and brighter until, after several blinking of the eye to get it to adjust to the sudden brightness, Harry saw that they had entered a huge underground chamber from above. His jaw dropped. He had never seen anything like that before in all of his years of living. The chamber was huge. The distance from wall to wall would probably go up to several kilometers at its widest. Giant stalactites littered the ceiling of the cavern and between the stalactites, hundreds of giant crystals embedded within the cave's ceiling. The bluish illumination within the cave seemed to come from those crystals. He saw several huge passages that he suspected would lead to more chambers, just like the one they were currently in.

"This chamber," Snape spoke for the first time. "is far deeper than the Chamber of Secrets."

"No kidding," said Harry, still in awe. "How deep does this thing go?"

"Probably until the planet's core if we didn't stop the elevator," said Snape casually. "See that?" He pointed towards a speck that was getting larger and larger by the minute. "That is our destination."

"Do you know who built this chamber?"

"No one knows," answered Snape. "Most likely it's just a natural formation until the four founders found it and retooled it to fit whatever purpose they had in mind."

"It's full of magic. Ancient magic," stated Harry, looking around. "I can feel it."

"Indeed it is," agreed Snape. "Which is the reason why the castle was built on top of it."

Harry silently wondered if Tom Riddle, given his penchant for scouring the castle for anything useful to his ambition, knew about this place when he was still a student. Tom probably felt the presence of the strong ancient magic which might explain why Hogwarts became so important to him back in the past. Harry highly doubted Voldemort really cared about children's education.

The elevator box finally landed on top of a platform. The three of them got out. Harry walked towards the end of the platform and took a peek over the edge. He saw only darkness down below with no bottom in sight. He looked up and saw gushes of water coming out of a huge hole embedded within the nameless cave wall in front of him. The water, most likely came from the Black Lake high above fell into the darkness. Then it struck him. They were not in a cave. They were in a hole. A really huge, bottomless hole. The platform itself was built on top of a huge floating rock. Nothing physical could be seen holding the rock. He could only surmise that magic was what holding the rock in place. He could also feel streams of cool air coming in from the giant passages that dotted the hole's wall.

"Potter!" called out Moody. "Careful, son. We don't want to risk you falling over the edge. Dumbledore will have my head if anything bad happens to you."

Harry obliged. He retreated from the edge of the platform and made his way back towards Moody and Snape. The two teachers were standing in front of a stone chair. And sitting rigidly on the chair was a man.

Barty Crouch Jr.

Barty seemed to be unconscious. His head lolled down. Both his hands laid on the armrest. It was then Harry saw the problem. Nothing bound Barty to the chair. He immediately took out his wand.

Snape, however, saw the gesture. He put his hand on Harry's wand-wielding hand and gently pushed it down. "He is well secured, Potter."

Harry once again obliged. He put his wand back into his pocket and waited.

"Time to wake him up," said Moody. He took out his wand and pointed at Barty.

"Ennervate!"

A bluish blob of light shot out of his wand and hit Barty right in the chest.

The Death Eater began to stir. He groaned several times, looked up, and blinked his eyes. His face concocted rage when he saw who was standing in front of him. His eyes traveled from Harry to Moody until they finally settled on Snape. He tried to lunge at Snape but found that he could not. He was tightly bound to the chair.

Harry, Snape, and Moody watched silently as Barty thrashed around on the chair, trying with all his might to break free. But alas, all his efforts were in vain. He could not break free, not even an inch. He finally stopped a few minutes later, panting and out of breath. His eyes laid firmly on Snape.

"TRAITOR!" he said with undisguised hatred. "I knew I should have just killed you back then when I found out that you were in love with that whore!"

Harry glanced at Snape. The Potion master simply looked at Barty impassively. Harry knew that Barty was speaking about his mother.

"That's enough!" said Moody sternly. He then took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself down. He took a few steps closer to Barty and bent down towards him. His crooked face was just inches away from Barty's. "I don't usually do this. I fight. I catch. Or I kill if it comes to that. I don't do interrogations. I prefer to have it the easiest way if I can so help me make it easy. Where is your master, Barty? Where is he hiding?" he asked.

Barty turned to look at Moody. His face turned into a sneer. "You can dig as much as you want Alastor, but you won't be getting anything from me. Do you think that I will give him up that easily? I much rather die than betray my master! Unlike Severus here!"

"Knew you would say that," said Moody. He straightened up extended his hand towards Snape and said, "Severus, the potion if you will."

Snape walked up to him and handed the potion over to Moody. He then walked back and stood beside Harry.

Barty saw the vial and laughed maniacally. "A Veritaserum?! My dear Alastor, you need to do better than that! If only you knew what it really does."

Moody pulled out the vial's stopper. "Oh, I know perfectly what it does," he said. With one hand, he clutched Barty's hair and pulled it to the back, forcing the death eater's mouth to open. He then poured three drops of the clear liquid down Barty's throat while making sure that the death eater swallowed every drop of the Veritaserum. Once done, he let go of Barty's hair and took a few steps back.

Barty's earlier chaotic breathing began to ease. His eyes focused and unfocused several times. Once again, he sat rigidly on the stone chair.

"Can you hear me?" asked Moody.

"Yes," answered Barty, truthfully.

"What Potter said when he fought you, are those true?"

"Yes. All of it."

"You are planning to have him enter the tournament and have him delivered to your master. Is that true?" asked Moody.

"It wasn't my plan," answered Barty. "It was my master's. I am to take Alastor Moody's place as a teacher. Potter is to be entered into the tournament as one of the champions. My task is to guide him covertly through the tournament and make sure that he will be the one to reach the Triwizard Cup in the Final Task. The Cup shall act as a Portkey, which would take him straight to my master."

"What did your master want with Potter?" asked Moody.

"He said he wanted his blood. He said that Potter's blood is vital for his resurrection," said Barty.

"His resurrection?" asked Moody in surprise. "You mean that he had yet resurrected? How did you communicate with him?"

"One to one. My master is weak. He had yet to reach his full potential. He will soon once he gets Potter's blood. He will then be invincible. He shall be the most powerful wizard ever to live."

Moody glanced at both Harry and Snape. He then turned back towards Barty. "Where is your master? Where is he hiding?"

Barty looked up towards Moody.

Harry held his breath, waiting for the inevitable.

"I don't know."

That answer took everyone by surprise.

"What do you mean you don't know?" asked Moody lividly.

"I do not know," repeated Barty. "My master met me at my house, where I was kept hidden. He was carried by one of his servants, Wormtail. He knew of my release from Azkaban. He subdued my father and put him under the Imperius Curse. It was there, based on the information given by a woman named Bertha Jorkins, that the plan was hatched. My master made my house as a temporary refuge. He told me that he would leave sometime after I came to Hogwarts. When he leaves and to where he will go I do not know. He said that I would be called to serve him openly. Soon."

"To turn an object into a Portkey, you have to know where it will travel," growled Moody. "I doubt it that you do not know."

"My master thought of everything. He knew that in an unlikely case should I get captured; my captors would force me to divulge his location. He retains that information from me until he sees fit to divulge it. It would only be then, that I am to turn the Cup into a Portkey."

Moody sighed in frustration. He turned to Snape. "Severus?"

"He spoke the truth," said Snape. "The truth serum is designed to prevent lies. It cannot create something out of nothing. If Barty said he does not know, then he does not know. It won't be easy to trick the Dark Lord either. He does not trust easily."

At this point, Barty's face developed an insane smile. He looked to Moody and said with a glee, "I told you, Alastor. If only you knew what it does."

Moody said nothing. Instead, he raised his fist and punched Barty's face.

Blood dripping from Barty's lip. The Death Eater however showed no pain. He just laughed. "Hitting me won't change a thing, Alastor. You will never get him. Never!"

Moody bent down until his face was just a few inches away from Barty's. "I know where you live," he half whispered. "And there is a good chance that your master is still hiding there. We will find him. And when we do, it will be the end of him."

Barty's face immediately turned into uncontrollable rage. "You will never find him! He will kill you all!"

Moody just smirked. "We'll see, Barty. We'll see." He straightened up and walked towards Harry and Snape. "Our work here is done. Come."

"TRAITOR!"

The three of them stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Barty.

Barty's eyes were fixated on Snape. "COWARD!" he yelled. "YOU SOLD OUR MASTER! AND IT ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR LOVE FOR THAT WHORE OF A WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO THAT BASTARD THAT STOOD BESIDE YOU! YOU GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID, SNAPE! YOU GONNA PAY! AND YOU WILL DIE JUST LIKE THAT WHORE DID! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU WILL DIE!"

The three simply watched as Barty continued to shout. And shout. And shout.

"Let us leave him," said Moody calmly. He then turned around and walked towards the elevator box.

Harry stared at Barty with extreme disgust. His younger self would have thrown a curse or two at Barty. His older self however remained calm. And that was what he was going to do. To remain calm.

He felt someone touching his shoulder. He looked back and saw it was Snape. Snape gestured him towards the elevator box.

Harry gave Barty one last look before he turned around and followed Snape toward the elevator box.

---

Nobody said anything on their journey back. Harry glanced at Snape. The Potion master looked calm but his clenched fist showed that he was struggling to control the anger that was raging inside of him.

They finally reached the Potion classroom. Without a word, Snape entered the classroom and closed the door behind him.

Harry and Moody stood outside the classroom, staring at the door.

"Love changes people. Love can also make people do things they never thought of doing," said Moody.

Harry looked up towards Moody and saw that the ex-Auror was smiling at him.

"Yes, I know of Severus's history. Severus loved your mother, Potter. In fact, he loved her so much that he was willing to forsake everything, even his life, just to see her safe. She was his world," said Moody softly. "Her death destroyed him."

"You knew?"

Moody solemnly nodded. "Yes. It took me some convincing but in the end, I knew Dumbledore was right. I am among the very few whom he told about Severus."

"Have you ever fallen in love, sir?" asked Harry.

"Once," said Moody. "She was a wonderful woman. But I did nothing. I let her go and kept that feeling with me knowing that the life I chose would only hurt her in the end. Aurors blood runs deep within my family, Potter. Such was the sacrifice that some of us had to make."

Both of them then stood in silence for the next few moments. Each drowned within their own thoughts.

Moody finally put his hand on Harry's shoulder and gestured for him to follow. "Come," he said.

They began to walk.

"So what now?" asked Harry.

"Well," said Moody. "We know now where You-know-who could be hiding. We also know that Crouch was embroiled in a certain scheme that led to his son being able to escape the Azkaban Prison. We also know that he was now under the Imperius Curse. We're going to ambush his house."

Harry knew that their search would be fruitless. From the dreams he had, it was clear that Voldemort at this point had left the Crouch Mansion. But Mr. Crouch would still live there. One out of two won't be so bad anyway.

"Can I come along?" asked Harry.

Moody stopped dead on his track. He turned to face Harry. "No, you can't. I can't let you do that," he said, firmly.

"Why not?"

"First of all, you're too valuable. Both to us and to You-Know-Who. Second, while Barty did mention about him being weak, I won't underestimate him. Despite his conditions, he could still come up with a brilliant plan and subdued Crouch. Crouch himself is no slouch when it comes to wand art. You-Know-Who is still lethal. It's best that you stay here," explained Moody. He was about to continue to walk when Harry called out to him.

"Sir, I fought Barty and saved your life."

Moody stopped. He turned back to look at Harry. "I can't say that I'm not impressed," he said. "But you're probably just lucky."

"As an Auror, you know that luck had nothing to do with it."

Moody saw the fierce determination in Harry's eyes. "I fought Barty once. Took a while before I could bring him down. He was a good fighter, just like his father. Very well," he said. "I'll ask Dumbledore. I won't like this but I have a feeling that he will agree. Come along, Potter."

Harry obliged. He caught up to him and they both continued to walk.

"How did you guess that he is still dangerous?" asked Harry, jogging along beside Moody.

"You-Know-Who has been well known to keep his minion under complete control," said Moody, now taking longer strides as if he was in a hurry. "I may be out of work but I am still not out of touch. I heard things, Potter. France had been reinforcing their borders and buffing up their security for many months now and so did the rest of continental Europe. Reports are coming in from all over the globe. Former death eaters are getting jittery. There had been reports of unusual movement of those we suspect were still loyal to You-Know-Who. It would be just a matter of time before they declare an open war. The incident at the Quidditch World Cup was a solid proof."

"What about Britain?"

"Britain, like its minister, is sitting on its bum, twiddling its thumb, and keeps repeating to itself that everything is peachy. We keep on living in the past when the future is already knocking on our door."

"Did Dumbledore know that you're planning to interrogate Barty?" asked Harry.

Moody gave Harry a smile. "Yes. And this time, I'm telling the truth."

They reached the corridor that led to the Entrance Hall. It was nearly ten o'clock in the morning. Up ahead, they heard noises and Harry knew his friends were waiting for him.

"I know you haven't been truthful, Potter," said Moody all of a sudden. "You are keeping a lot of things to yourself. I'm not a person who tends to let things slide but this time, I'm willing to compromise. Dumbledore trusted you completely. Therefore, I will trust you too."

They had stopped walking and were now standing facing each other.

"Go on, laddie," continued Moody after seeing Harry remain silent. "I need to see Dumbledore. I'll keep you posted. And as always, stay vigilance."

"Thank you, professor."

Harry watched Moody's retreating backside as the ex-Auror made his way to the headmaster's office.

He nearly walked the same path as Moody. He silently wondered if this time, he would truly traverse it.

---

Viktor, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and much to Harry's surprise, the rest of his dorm mates were waiting for him inside the Entrance Hall. Hermione in particular was looking relieved when she saw Harry walking towards them.

The party arrived at the ship mooring ten minutes later.

Viktor waved his hand from left to right. A plank magically extended from the galleon's top deck to the dock.

"Please," he said, motioning Harry and his friends to get onto the ship.

Harry walked on the plank first, followed by Ron. Hermione hesitated at first. She looked at the seemingly unstable plank with great trepidation.

"It may not look like it but it is safe," Viktor assured her.

When Hermione still hesitated, he extended his hand towards her. "Take my hand."

Hermione stared at his hand for a few moments but then slowly but surely, she took it.

Viktor then immediately guided her up the plank.

Hermione was surprised that the plank was indeed stable and safe, just like what Viktor had said. It did not bend down under their weight, it did not wobble and her feet felt securely planted on it. They both reached the ship's top deck in no time at all.

Harry and Ron at that time were busy looking around.

From the onset, the top deck of the galleon looked no different compared to what the muggles used to sail the oceans back in the 16th to 18th centuries. It had three masts - square rigs adorned each of the masts – and directly behind and below the rearmost mast was the quarter gallery. Multiple old-world sailing tools such as ropes and ladders could be found scattered all over the deck. Old bronze cannons lined up both sides of the ship. Two wooden stairs led towards the top of the quarter gallery where a ship wheel can be found. And in between the stairs, there was an oak door.

Harry seriously doubted all those ropes, ladders and cannons were useful given the way the ship traveled.

By now, everyone was already on board the ship.

"Blimey! This is so cool. I have always wanted to sail on a ship like this," Seamus said impressively.

"You never told me you like sailing, Seamus," said Dean who was also looking impressed.

"Yeah but I did tell you my great-granddad was a sailor," replied Seamus. "Things like this run in the family, you know."

All of them then noticed that both Hermione and Viktor standing not far from them. They raised their eyebrows when they saw her fingers intertwined with Viktor's.

Hermione was puzzled by the odd look they gave her when she realized that she was still holding hands with Viktor. She immediately let go of his hand. Her face reddened a little in embarrassment.

Viktor cleared his throat in an attempt to cover the awkwardness. "So now everyone is here. Follow me."

Viktor led them towards the oak door. He opened the door and motioned them to enter.

Harry and the rest crossed over the threshold and found themselves inside some sort of common room. Wooden chairs with cushions were neatly arranged around a small coffee table. There were also several wooden armchairs placed at several locations within the room. A bookshelf lined one wall and on the opposite wall, the Durmstrang coat of arms can be found hanging there. Three huge portraits can be found hanging below the coat of arms. One of them belonged to Professor Karkaroff, located on the rightmost side. Harry could only assume that those portraits were the portraits of Durmstrang's headmasters, both past and present. Durmstrang apparently followed a different tradition compared to Hogwarts when it comes to their headmaster's portraits. The only shared trait was that the person inside those portraits could move. Professor Karkaroff's portrait can be seen scowling at them. Unlike the Beauxbaton's carriage, the room was sparsely decorated. Those portraits and the coat of arms were the only decorations that could be found.

"These are the pictures of the Durmstrang Institute headmasters, Harry," said Viktor. They both were standing side by side, looking at the portraits.

"Apparently so," said Harry. "So Karkaroff already had his portrait hanging on the walls of Durmstrang while he was still in service?"

"Yes," said Viktor. "Don't your headmasters have their pictures taken and hanged on the vall, Harry?"

"We do," said Harry. "But only after they kicked the bucket."

Viktor stared at Harry in confusion. "Kicked the bucket?"

"I mean after they died. Only then their portrait be taken and hung onto the wall," explained Harry.

"I see."

Hermione walked up to them and stood beside Viktor.

"Harfang Munter. Boris Teodora. Igor Karkaroff," muttered Hermione. "So Durmstrang only had three headmasters so far?"

"Actually there is more than that," said Viktor. "There isn't any space left for us to put all of our headmaster's portraits here. Ve can only put up the most recent ones with the exception of this one." He pointed towards a portrait of a woman. "Her name vas Nerida Vulchanova. She vas the founder of Durmstrang. Of course, our institute is not as old as Hogvarts. It is quite recent so there aren't many history that ve could share."

Hermione nodded. "Word is that your school doesn't accept muggle-borns."

"Your point?" asked Viktor.

"I am a muggle-born," pointed out Hermione. "And I'm on your ship."

Harry glanced sideways at both of them.

Viktor paused for a moment. He then smiled and said, "But you are also my guest. Don't vorry. Ve are not as rigid as you think ve are."

"Good to know that."

"Now come," said Viktor. "I vant to show you somevhere else."

They followed Viktor towards a narrow staircase located not far from the portraits that led to a deck down below. They carefully filed down the stairs and onto the lower deck. They met Professor Karkaroff who was on his way up.

Karkaroff's eyes traveled to each of the Hogwarts students until they rested on Harry. And as always, like everyone else who met Harry for the first time, his eyes would flick upwards towards his scar.

"Velcome," he said in a thick Bulgarian accent. "I didn't know that it vould be this many but nevertheless, you are still velcome on board."

"Thank you, professor," said the Hogwarts students in unison.

Karkaroff then turned towards Viktor. "Remember, Viktor," he said.

Viktor just nodded.

Karkaroff then excused himself. He walked past Harry and continued his way up the stairs.

"What was that about?" asked Harry once Professor Karkaroff disappeared from view.

"Nothing. It is just a reminder that certain area vithin this ship are out of bounds to outside people."

Harry nodded.

"Come," said Viktor.

From then on, Viktor brought the Hogwarts students to see their dining room, library, study area, recreational lounge, and kitchen, all of them located at different levels. Viktor told him that the ship had six levels, each catered for different functions. The first level they descended to from the top deck contained sleeping quarters for all the students. Fred asked Viktor where Professor Karkaroff slept. Viktor however refused to tell. He only indicated that their headmaster's living quarters were at a lower level. Harry was surprised to find that they had a pool table aside from several chess tables inside their recreational lounge and was itching to try his hands on it. It was odd given that the Durmstrang Institutes was known to be muggle unfriendly.

Everything that was being put there within the galleon was for functionality rather than aesthetics. That was the easiest way to describe it. There wasn't any portrait to speak of, apart from the headmaster's portraits of course. There were no sculptures, no statues, no decorations, no nothing. The walls were mostly blank, devoid of anything decoration. The galleon also looked gloomy with minimal lighting.

Near the end of the tour, Viktor invited them to his living quarters. But since female students were not allowed into male living quarters and vice-versa, Hermione, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina were whisked away by the female Durmstrang students. They were going to visit the female living quarters instead.

"Your friend's mood seems to improve, I think," said Viktor once the female group was out of earshot. "Vhat is her name again?"

"Hermione," said Harry.

"I see," said Viktor, his eyes staring at the receding back of Hermione.

Harry could see that Viktor had become very interested in Hermione. He glanced at Ron and saw the gingerhead was busy conversing with Vladimir and was oblivious to what he and Viktor talked about just now.

Harry knew that Viktor liked Hermione in the old timeline. He even danced with her during the Yule Ball. The only reason why their relationship never really took off was the lack of communication. Viktor seemed to be very bad at it.

Things could be different this time around, Harry suspected. He honestly did not know how he would feel about that and how Ron would take it if Hermione really ended up with Viktor. Only time will tell, he guessed.

Every male living quarters within the ship was just the same, Harry observed. Each room was spartanly equipped with two bunk beds, two small desks, and two wardrobes. They even had to share the bathrooms and toilets. Only Professor Karkaroff got his own bathroom, Harry was told. Viktor was sharing his room with Alexander. Alexander played Keeper in Durmstrang's Quidditch team.

The Hogwarts delegate got to know every Durmstrang student while they were there. Together with the Durmstrang students, they headed back to the castle for lunch once the tour was over.

"So how did you get in?" asked Harry to Seamus as they walked up the lawn towards the marble stairs. Seamus, Dean, and Neville weren't invited to the Durmstrang ship so Harry was curious.

"We saw Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the gang loitering inside the Entrance Hall waiting for you so we joined them. Then Viktor came along and once you've arrived, we just sort of blend in," replied Seamus, grinning.

Harry just shook his head and chuckled.

---

The Great Hall…

Nothing much happened throughout the lunch. They just chatted and ate. Viktor and his friends however had to excuse themselves early, saying that they had plans that afternoon. Viktor however managed to whisper to Harry that they were going to Hogsmeade later to try out one particular drinking spot that seemed to be obscured from everywhere else.

Harry knew which shop Viktor was hinting at. It was the Hogs Head Pub. He told Viktor to be careful.

Fred asked him if he had reached the decision on when he wanted to hold the keeper's tryout once the Durmstrang delegates left. Harry pondered for a moment. He told Fred that it was his intention to hold the tryout sometime early next week.

"Come to think of it, we will all be tired from attending the classes so how about Sunday afternoon? Think the rest of the team can make it? I'll need all your help on this," said Harry.

"Yeah I think we can do it," said George. "Wait here. I'll go and ask the girls."

George got off the bench and walked towards the other end of the Gryffindor table where Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were sitting.

"Why not today, Harry?" asked Seamus. "The weather is good. It'll be a good time to do the tryout."

Harry looked up towards the enchanted ceiling. The weather was indeed lovely that day. There were no clouds in sight. It was perfect.

Damn.

"I don't think so," said Harry, dejectedly. "It's a bit too abrupt. I gotta give the chance for everyone to be ready. Tomorrow would be good."

"Oh, okay," said Seamus.

George returned. "Alright. The girls agree," said George as he sat on the bench. "What time?"

Harry pondered for a moment. "How about four pm? Two to three hours of tryout should be enough."

"Yeah that'll be good," agreed Fred. "We can go directly to dinner after that."

"Alright then. I better inform Roger and Cedric. They might want to get their keepers ready," said Harry, feeling relieved that a consensus had been achieved pertaining to the keeper's tryout.

He got off the bench and walked towards the Ravenclaw table. From afar, he could see Roger Davies, once again sitting beside Fleur. They both were chatting though Harry could clearly see that Roger was fighting hard to control himself. That boy was losing the fight, however. His eyes glazed more and more as the seconds went by. As for Fleur, she still entertained Roger. The difference was that she seemed to be a lot less receptive towards him than before.

Harry shook his head as he walked towards Roger. The Ravenclaw was clearly making a fool of himself. In truth, Harry did feel some level of jealousy toward both of them but he quashed it just as fast as it. It won't do for him to entertain his own jealousy. He may be trapped in a fourteen-year-old body, but his mind was a lot more mature. Harry decided that he did not want to care. Fleur can befriend whomever she wants. It was not his place to decide that for her.

He approached them. Cassandra saw him first. She nudged Fleur on her rib and nodded towards him. There was a surprise look on Fleur's face when she saw him. Her sparkling blue eyes followed him as he made his approach.

The group immediately went silent as Harry stopped right in front of Roger.

"Roger?"

"Yeah?"

Roger was still staring at Fleur.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely date but can I speak with you for a moment?"

Fleur could be seen frowning when she heard this.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Put it somewhere. I'll have a look at it later," mumbled Roger, still staring at Fleur. It seemed that he had totally lost it.

Harry tilted his head. He then reached out and snapped his finger loudly right in front of Roger's face.

The Ravenclaw's Quidditch captain jumped. He shook his head and looked around. His eyes widened when he saw Harry standing in front of him.

"Harry?"

"Good to see you back, Roger," said Harry, ignoring Fleur and her friends who were staring at him. "Relay this message to Grant. There'll be a keeper's tryout tomorrow at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Tell him don't be late."

"Quidditch pitch?" asked Roger.

"Where else?" said Harry. "Can you do it?"

Roger nodded fervently. "Well, this is a surprise but yeah. Sure thing, Harry. I'll tell him."

"Thanks," said Harry. He gave Fleur a glance. She was still staring at him. "And Roger," he continued. "Please wash your face. You're drooling. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of our guests."

Without waiting for Roger's response, he immediately departed after that. He saw Cho Chang, sitting not far from Fleur and her friends. The girl gave him a very bright smile as he walked past her.

He then approached Cedric. Much to his luck, Herbet Fleet was sitting beside the Hufflepuff captain. He informed them both about the tryout. Like Roger, Cedric and Herbet too were surprised by the sudden announcement. They however agreed with the schedule and promised Harry that they would be there.

Feeling satisfied that everything had gone according to plan, Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor table. But halfway there, he suddenly stopped. He turned to look at the Slytherin table. He saw Miles Bletchley, keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch team sitting beside Marcus Flint, his captain. An idea suddenly flew into his head. He turned back and walked towards the Slytherin table.

Malfoy saw him approaching. "What are you doing here, Potter? This table is…"

Harry raised his hand and signaled Malfoy to be quiet.

Surprisingly enough, Malfoy obliged. The whole member of Slytherin went silent, watching Harry's every move.

Harry could feel every eye within the Great Hall, including those at the High Table, was watching him. Ignoring them, he turned to Bletchley.

"Miles Bletchley," he said with a firm voice. "As a representative of Hogwarts, I like to invite you to the keeper's tryout tomorrow at the Quidditch Pitch. Be there at four pm sharp."

"Why would I want to be there?" Bletchley sneered. "I don't remember offering myself as a keeper for the Gryffindor team."

"You didn't," said Harry calmly. "And it's not Gryffindor's team. It's Hogwarts. But I still want you to be there."

"Are you really this desperate, Potter? If you do this just to embarrass me, you can forget it. I'm not going!"

"Nobody is going to embarrass anyone, Bletchley. You either make it into the team or you don't. If you think you have what it takes, if you think that you can contribute to something, and if you feel like you want to be part of something big, this is your chance."

Bletchley shook his head. "You aren't going to win, Potter. You know that, right?"

"Nothing is certain. Make yourself present at the Quidditch Pitch tomorrow. Try your best to win a place within the team and help us beat Durmstrang. You have until tomorrow to decide. That would be all."

Harry then turned and left, leaving Bletchley dumbfounded. He walked past Daphne Greengrass, who was sitting nearby and staring at him impressively.

---

"What are you doing, Harry?!" said Ron.

The Gryffindors were shocked by what Harry did.

Harry looked over his shoulder towards the Slytherin table. Bletchley was in a serious discussion with the rest of his friends. The rest of the Slytherins meanwhile, including Malfoy himself were looking at him in confusion.

"I'm offering the Slytherin's keeper a chance at the tryout," said Harry casually.

"We know that. We heard what you said to Bletchley but why?" said Seamus.

"It seems fair, doesn't it?" said Harry. "Nobody got left behind and everyone will have the chance to contribute to the cause."

"But we already have Herbert and Grant," said Lee Jordan. "It's just a matter of deciding which one of them is the best. There's no way we're going to work with the Slytherin, Harry. You know that."

There were murmurs of agreement all around Harry.

"I hate to disagree with you, Harry," said Fred. "But I'm with Lee. What you just did, it won't work."

Harry leaned forward, closer to them. "Look guys, this isn't the Interhouse Quidditch Match we're talking about. This is Britain versus Bulgaria and it so happens that we got the honor to represent Britain in the upcoming friendly. We still want to win, right? Even though it's just a friendly match. Sure we have Herbert and Grant and they both want to be a part of the team but what I really want is a keeper who wants to win, not a keeper who simply wants to brag to everyone that he was once part of a team that fought Viktor Krum and his team even though his own team loses. One thing that I learned about the Slytherin is that they hated being part of a losing team. Remember, we beat them at the Quidditch for the past three years and we won the Cup last year. We are the winning team. They will want to join us and they will want a piece of that glory. They know that they have a lot to gain by siding with us."

His friends however remained unconvinced.

"I don't know, Harry," said George.

"Look, I was just extending an invitation, alright? I just don't want them to feel that they're being left out. Sure they're not in the best term with us and everyone else but they're still a part of this school. I don't want our guests to see us fractured just because we can't get over our differences," said Harry. "Anyway, there's no guarantee that Bletchley will come. But if he does and if you guys really don't want

him to be part of the team, you guys know what to do. But if he does manage to win a place in our team, I would expect our team to be able to cooperate with him."

"He won't, Harry. I can promise you that," said Fred.

Harry just shrugged.

---

The news travelled fast and it immediately became the hot topic of the day. Everywhere, everyone was discussing about it. Some even place bets on who will grab that elusive place and whether or not Bletchley will make an appearance. Everyone was excited to watch the tryout the next day. Even the Slytherin House who, as Harry would learn later, would attend the tryout. They had planned to boycott the tryout earlier, only to cancel it after knowing that there were possibilities that one of their own would present at the tryout and may have the chance to claim the coveted place.

Nobody, not one expected that a Gryffindor would extend a hand to the Slytherins. That had never happened before. Many were awed by him. Harry, however, had to endure questions and ridicule from the rest of his fellow housemates. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie in particular were livid and began questioning his actions. Harry answered all of their questions calmly. He however made it firmly clear that he won't back away from his decision. Professor McGonagall however was proud of him and praised him for his sense of sportsmanship and fair play. She went further by telling the rest of his fellow Gryffindor that what Harry did was the right thing and they should fully support him for that.

---

Old and weary.

That was what he felt at that moment. Old and weary.

It was early Saturday afternoon, nearly three hours after lunch ended. What a frustrating three hours that was. He understood his fellow Gryffindor's sentiment. He understood their feeling on this matter. But at the same time, he had to do what he needed to do.

He offered solutions and compromises but none of it was accepted. He told them to do whatever it takes if they really didn't want Bletchley to be part of the team. Still, their anger refused to subside. At this point, he began to feel that there was a good chance that his teammates suspected that Bletchley might end up being part of the team. After all, the only true competitor to the Gryffindor team was the Slytherin and Bletchley happened to be really good at what he does. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams were nothing compared to the other two. That was probably the source of their frustration with him.

Not that he was going to side with the Slytherin. The green and silver house didn't exactly endear themselves to the other houses either. The only house they were on good terms with was the Ravenclaw. Even then, the phrase 'on good terms' in this scenario could be considered as overrated.

He had lived long enough to know that people could change. He saw with his own eyes many of the changes other people had gone through. The Gryffindor and the Slytherin members would change eventually as they grow up. Some would eventually marry one another. It happened in his past.

But for now, they were still teenagers. They had yet to experience life as he knew it and if everything went as planned, they might not need to endure the horrors he had seen. It would be difficult to get them to see his point of view. He just had to make peace with that.

He was walking alone, heading towards the Entrance Hall. The temperature inside the Gryffindor's common room was especially high at that moment. He had to get away from it all. He wanted to find some peace. He purposely didn't invite Ron and Hermione to join him. Those two would only serve as a distraction. Distractions weren't what he needed at that moment.

He was heading for the small rocky outcrops on the bank of the Black Lake. That was his spot. In the past, that was the place, aside from the Astronomy Tower, where he would hide whenever he was feeling down. But just as he arrived at the Entrance Hall, someone was already there.

Again, it wasn't Fleur. It was Raphael. The boy saw him.

"'Arry!" Raphael called to him. The boy was on his way down the marble stairs when he saw him. He immediately turned around and made his way towards Harry.

"Hey Raphael," replied Harry.

"So," said Raphael once he arrived in front of Harry. "Are you able to go to 'Ogsmeade wiz us?"

Harry pondered for a moment. He then realized that a distraction was probably what he needed at that time. He glanced into the Great Hall. Students were having their afternoon supper. Raphael probably had one and was on his way back to the carriage.

"When are you planning to go to Hogsmeade?" asked Harry. He was still looking into the Great Hall.

"Tomorrow," came the reply. "I know you were planning on 'olding a tryout on zhe afternoon. I say tomorrow morning would be perfect for a visit to 'Ogsmeade. You will 'ave a lot of time zhen."

"Yeah, time," murmured Harry. He was still looking into the Great Hall.

Distraction equated to peace. An idea suddenly flew into his head. A decision, rash it may be, had been made. Caution shall be thrown into the air.

Turning back to Raphael, he said, "Let's visit Hogsmeade right now."

This indeed took Raphael by surprise. "What-.. now?"

"Yes, now. Are you allowed to visit Hogsmeade only tomorrow?"

"No. Zhe permission iz for today and tomorrow," said Raphael.

"Good," said Harry as he began walking towards the marble stairs. "Then let's go."

"'Ave you got your permission yet, 'Arry?" asked Raphael as he quickly walked to catch up with Harry.

"Nope."

"But you will be caught! You will be punished! I can't let zhat 'appen!" exclaimed Raphael.

"Don't worry about it," said Harry as he hasten his pace. "Come on."

"But-"

"Come on, Raphael. I'll show you all the wonderful things Hogsmeade has to offer. After this, you will no longer missed Paris," said Harry as he marched down the castle ground towards the gate.

"Are you sure about zhis?"

"A thousand percent sure," came the reply. "We're burning daylight here. Quickly, Raphael."

"We 'ave to get my friends first."

"Fine."

They both made a detour towards the Beauxbaton carriage. Raphael dashed inside the moment they arrived, leaving Harry outside.

But Harry wasn't alone outside the carriage. There were a few Beauxbaton girls sitting on benches outside the carriage. They saw Harry standing not far from them. A few of them smiled and waved at him.

Harry smiled and waved back at them.

---

The group consisted of seven male teenagers walked past the Hogwarts gate a few minutes later as they marched towards Hogsmeade.

Harry knew nothing magical was going to stop him from going to Hogsmeade. Only rules. He had no doubt he would get into trouble for his daring attempt but at that moment, he found that he didn't care.

Little would he realize that his rash decision would deliver him straight into the arms of Fleur Delacour that very night.

To be continued…

A/N: First of all, thank you for the reviews.

Secondly, it has come to my attention that someone is posting the previous incarnation of this story here. It is titled 'Threads Of Eternity' by Bugshot and it was posted without my permission. I'm weighing on several actions that I might take. I'm not sure if the website administrator will take action if I report the story. I probably won't but we'll see. For now, you can read that story if you're inclined to do so. Save your money for things more beneficial though. That guy's p.a.t.r.e.o.n isn't worth it.

So this is the chapter. Enjoy.