Disclaimer – It has come to my attention recently that I unfortunately do not own Harry Potter. Who knew.

Author Note – I enjoy writing short stories for my own enjoyment but at a suggestion from a friend, I have decided to start posting some of my stories that I am working on or have completed. All feedback is welcome (hopefully constructive!) Looking forward to what you think!


Walking down the stairs, chatting with Fred and George who were downright chuffed with their betting success. Harry was still a little confused as to why there had been the small difference in the ending of the match although he thoroughly enjoyed the ending, noting that it was even more exciting than last time. Harry smiled, happy with both the outcome and realizing that at least that he had managed to prevent Barty Crouch Jr from obtaining his wand.

At that moment, Ron stopped in front of him on the stairs frantically patting himself down, clearly looking for something but coming up short. "Ugh oh." He said panicked. "I can't find my wand. I could have sworn I brought it with me to the match."


After finally making it down the stairs and exiting the stadium, they joined the boisterous crowd as everyone made their way back to the campsites to celebrate the historic ending to the match. Thinking about the match, Harry remembered the bet that he had made before the game and smiled, quite happy that even though for some reason he could not figure out the match was not identical, at least the end score had been the same.

Harry noticed that all the booths were still up outside the stadium although it appeared that everyone's stalls were now filled with Irish merchandise. No doubt in hopes to separate some wizards and witches from a few of their remaining coins before people started making their way home. As the booths were still set up Harry was pretty sure the betting booths were still there and he decided to head over to confirm how the payment was to be made, he had no desire to be carrying his winnings this evening…especially with what he knew was to occur.

Harry leaned over to Ron and practically had to yell into his ear, as a group of rowdy and very passionate Irish fans marched by cheering and chanting, while also sloshing and spilling their fire whiskey on themselves and anyone who accidentally got too close. "Hey mate, I am going to go check out the booths one last time before we head back to the tent. They might have some merchandise on sale or souvenirs from the game. Want to come check it out?"

Ron nodded excitedly, "I am in! Give me a second I will just let dad know." He ran up to his dad and older brothers who were slightly ahead of them and appeared to explain that Harry and Ron were going to quickly check out the booths.

Mr. Weasley looked at the crowds that clogged the path between the stadium and the campsite and then at the booths, that while busy were significantly less packed. He then corralled all the Weasleys and Hermione and suggested that they wait just a couple minutes to let the crowds die down and in the meantime they can go check out the booths for last minute deals. In the end, Charlie was the only other one who decided to go check out the booths, as he had a friend in Romania who was an avid Ireland fan but had been unable to make the game. Everyone else decided to wait for the boys while leaning on some trees at the edge of the path, while animatedly discussing the match. To his surprise, even Hermione seemed to be involved in a discussion with Ginny and Percy about the ending.

Charlie quickly disappeared into the booths, saying that he had heard there were some dangerous items at the edge of the area and if there were any left he was going to try and get a couple as a gift and for himself. He let them know he would meet up with Ron and Harry back with the group in about fifteen to twenty minutes.

"Hey Harry I am going to look for another hat" as he embarrassedly indicated the hat that was the victim of the Veela's appearance, "and see if maybe there are any good deals on other Irish stuff…maybe see if anyone has any Krum stuff left over. Anything in specific you are looking for?"

Harry looked at Ron wanting the opportunity to disappear for a second and replied, "Actually I was not able to find anything good before the match, but still want to get something for your dad and had gotten an idea for your Christmas gift. Definitely want to get it for you after Ireland won."

Ron smiled, "That sounds great, want me to come find you when I am done and help you look for stuff for my dad?"

"Na it's okay, why don't we meet up at the group when we are done. That way in case I have not grabbed your gift yet, you will not ruin the surprise."

Ron smiled, "Sounds like a plan, see you in just a bit." And with that he headed down one of the rows, appearing to be carefully inspect the items in front of him.

Harry immediately took off in the direction of the betting booth he had found before.

Coming up to the booth, Harry saw that it was a little more crowded than before the match, no doubt in response to all these fans had come to claim their prize, and was just happy that they had the foresight to have additional individuals here to help them out, otherwise he feared he would be waiting for a while. Luckily the line moved quickly and in no time at all Harry was waved to one of the tellers who did not even look up at him.

"Congrats on your bet, I am guessing you are here for your prize. Do you have your betting stub?" The wizard in front of him said in a very bored tone.

"Right, sorry about that. Just one second, I have it here somewhere." Harry said as he began fishing around in his pockets. Finding it, he pulled it out and presented it to the wizard. "Here you go."

"Ok let's look at this. Yup looks like a 1000 galleon bet for Ireland to win. Congrats that will be a solid win for you…oh wait this was a treble bet…" He looked up with a raised eyebrow at Harry before looking back down. "You bet that Ireland would win…ok….and you bet that Krum would catch the Snitch…OK…and you bet that the final score would be 170-160!"

"By Merlin, my good boy do you…do you know…the odds of this happening…were infinitesimally small. The first two conditions alone would have given you at least 200:1 odds, depending on when you made it." All boredom in his expression gone now, clearly excited by the situation in front of him.

The wizard paused and looked down at his hand before looking back up at Harry, "This is not a forgery is it?"

"Of course not, I am only going into my fourth year at Hogwarts and honestly did not know that would be possible."

The suspicion lessened in his eyes as he nodded, "That's fair, I hear it is a fairly complex bit of magic. But this ticket will definitely need to be verified."

He then proceeded to walk over to one of the individuals standing in the back of the large booth, likely to explain the situation. That individual quickly took the ticket and performed a complicated looking spell on the ticket, surrounding it in a yellow light before it flashed green and disappeared. This caused them both to look up with surprise on their faces, before they walked back over to Harry.

"Well congratulations are definitely in order, this ticket is legitimate. I have some good and bad news though. The good news is that at the time of your bet the odds of your treble bet were 1000:1, this means that with your 1000 galleon bet you have won 1,000,000 galleons, minus transaction fees of course. Significant congratulations are in order; you are a very wealthy man I hope you know. Unfortunately, we do not have nearly that amount of money here to pay you out. No need to worry, all betting is insured and will be transferred into your account at Gringotts directly, if of course you have one."

"That is definitely alright with me; actually I was hoping it was going to be possible to transfer the money into my account. Can't imagine wanting to walk around with that much money on my person until I had a chance to get to the Gringotts." Harry said with a laugh.

"Of course, of course. Usually that is not really an issue with the bets but in your case…" the wizard trailed off before shaking his head.

"The only other thing is that we will need you to sign a couple forms indicating that you are aware the money will be transferred directly and you are willing to go to Gringotts and sign some forms for them. If you want to accompany us over to the side table we will get these forms signed. Follow me please, Mr…actually I am sorry I never caught your name. Mr…"

"Potter." Harry replied.

Immediately both wizard's eyes traveled to his forehead where they noticed his scar, partially hidden under his hair. Their eyes widened even further than they had when they had seen that the betting stub was indeed authentic.

"Well I'll be…"

"Blimey…"

"Harry Potter?"

Harry cringed at the recognition.

"Aye I am Harry Potter."

The first wizard released a huge smile. "Well then this could not have happened to a better wizard. Thank you so much for defeating You-Know-Who, he personally killed my parents, you know."

Harry smiled a little awkwardly. "I was just a baby, but you are welcome I suppose, I do not remember much but I know a great many people lost those who they cared about. Myself included."

Harry noticed that both wizards had at least the sense to look a little embarrassed as maybe for the first time they saw that Harry was more than just the hero of the wizarding world, but he was also a boy who had lost his parents.

"Ah… I am… sorry about that, I did think…or at least did not mean to… bring it up but never thought I would ever have the chance to see you in person much less thank you. But never mind lets focus on these documents, I am sure you want to celebrate both the Irish victory and your new fortune."

With that, he patted Harry on the should and led him over to sign the forms.

After signing the forms, Harry took his copy and quickly headed off in the direction of the Weasleys. He had barely made it three steps out of the betting tent when he bumped into Ron.

"Oy…Harry! Good timing! Just heading back myself, did not end up buying anything, but found the booth where I purchased my hat and…" indicating the new looking hat on his head, "they fixed it free of cost! Apparently I was not the only individual who ended up acting a little roughly towards Irish paraphernalia after the Veela came out." Ron said, with a little embarrassment in his voice.

Ron then paused noticing the tent Harry came out of and the fact he had nothing in his hands, except a piece of paper. "Did you buy your stuff already? Were you betting? I wish I had made a bet! Did you know the twins actually bet Bagman that Ireland would win and Krum would catch the Snitch. I heard them mentioning it while we were still in the box. Apparently Bagman actually gave them 250:1 odds."

Harry laughed, "Oh that's great for them, I wonder what they are going to do with the money…hopefully your mom does not find out about it. But ya I made a little bet, actually it was thanks to you."

"Me?" Ron looked at Harry blankly.

"Well you were so pumped about Krum and I know how much Quidditch you watch and well …other than liking The Chudley Canons…you really know the sport." Harry said with a laugh. "So I bet on Krum to catch the Snitch. So I plan to share part of the prize money with you, after all I would not have made the bet if I did not hear you talking so passionately about Krum."

Ron looked at Harry suspiciously, "This is just because I told you about Krum."

Harry nodded.

Ron's face broke into a large smile. "Well then that sounds fair. Glad to help Harry! I wish I had thought of putting money on Krum to catch the Snitch. Did you see him out there? He is only 18 and was by far the best player on the pitch for either team! And this includes the fact that the Irish Chasers were amazing, it's as if they always knew where everyone else was! Did you see when Moran…"

Harry smiled at Ron's enthusiasm as they walked back to the group, enjoying the play-by-play recap provided by his red headed friend that lasted until they made it back to their tent.

Harry was sorely tempted to stay up with everyone and relieve the happy, light moments with his friends, but he knew that he wanted to be well rested for what was coming tonight.

Initially dismayed that Harry would not want to stay up and listen to a second complete rendition of every moment of the game, this time by himself and the twins. Ron eventually nodded in understanding when Harry said he just planned to lay down and relive the moments in his head and hopefully fall off to sleep dreaming about the chance to play in a World Cup.

Wishing everyone a good night Harry went to go lay down, laughing when Ron told him not to worry he would be quiet when he came to bed, as Harry was almost certain when Ron came to his bunk he would began the next rendition of the Quidditch match.

Harry laid back looking at the roof of the tent thinking back on what had to be the longest and strangest day of his life, one that started with him being dead and then getting another shot at life, a couple years in his past, where he was encouraged to change the outcome of events.

Eventually Harry managed to drift off amid thoughts of Death peering out from under her hood whispering, "You can make a difference Master!" Her visage warped and blurred to be replaced by Voldemort as if he was staring into the very soul of Harry before calling out "You failed before what makes you think a little knowledge can help you defeat the greatest wizard of an age, I have conquered death, I will defeat you." He began to blur before whispering, "Kill the Spare." Voldemort blurred and became the memory of Hermione climbing down the stairs right before the Yule Ball as everyone watched in approval. And this, in turn faded into darkness as he heard the sound of Bellatrix laughing as Sirius fell through the Veil. On and on it went memories and thoughts replacing one another, a pleasant memory being replaced by a negative image or fear of his, only in turn being replaced again by a hopeful moment to once again disappear as he witness a friend dying.

As such, Harry was almost relieved when Mr. Weasley woke him up, even though he knew what was occurring. Harry grabbed Ron and they both made their way out of the tent and were shepparded along with Hermione, Ginny, and the twins towards the forest.

Harry looked back and saw the Death Eaters casting their spells and taunting the muggles, who they held aloft at least 30 feet in the air suspended by magic. Harry was almost shocked at how angry he immediately became. He knew that in the upcoming years Death Eaters and Voldemort's other followers would commit much more serious crimes against both muggles and fellow wizards. Harry realized his anger was largely due to seeing the crowd around these wizards increase in size, while no one was making any effort to do anything. Harry jumped towards the Death Eaters prepared to take action…

Only to have his shoulder grabbed by Mr. Weasley as he looked down at him, "Hold on Harry. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and I will help the Ministry officials. I need you to go with Hermione and the others to the safety of the trees."

Harry glared up at Mr. Weasley, "Those Death Eaters" Harry noticed that Mr. Weasley looked surprised that Harry knew what the Death Eaters were, "Yes I know who Death Eaters are, after finding out my parents were killed by Voldemort I looked into how one individual could cause such fear and damage to the wizarding population. These Death Eaters over there are torturing the muggles, non-magic folk do not have levitation charms or brooms to fly, they stay on the ground and yet these ones are being made to fly in a totally frightening situation, WITH THEIR CHILDREN, while a large crowd just watches. Even though no one is laughing, NO ONE IS HELPING THEM!" Harry ended up shouting at Mr. Weasley. "How would you like if someone was torturing you and your kids while a large crowd of people just watched."

Mr. Weasley's surprise turned into shame before he got control of his expression. "Yes these individuals are dressed like You-Know-Who's followers, but it is very unlikely that these individuals actually were his followers, more likely just people playing a very poor idea of a prank after drinking too much. However, we need to be careful, the ministry doesn't want to hurt any of these muggles any more than you would. Getting into a direct conflict with these individuals could result in one of the muggles being dropped or escalating the scenario. We are heading over to help de-escalate the situation. And we will erase their memories from this ever happening. By tomorrow morning they will be back to helping the wizards as they check out and go home."

Harry once more nearly lost it, "Erasing their memory DOES NOT MAKE THIS RIGHT! You are punishing the victim of a crime. Look at how many people are just watching without doing anything. If those individuals decided to act there is no way any harm could come to the muggles. Everyone out there thinks that Voldemort is gone, no one should be scared of a couple idiots in masks torturing muggles."

Mr. Weasley looked a little sad as he looked at the ground before looking at Harry, "You are right Harry if everyone took action against bad in the world it would never take root. But there are a lot of individuals who feel that because they are not directly affected or because something is only a minor inconvenience to themselves, they do not stand up and fight for bettering of society. But I agree, work needs to be done or evil will find a way to make it back into our world and it will flourish once again."

Mr Weasley looked back to the growing crowd and shook his head. "As for this moment, we need to be careful, while it is very likely that this is just a prank done in poor taste; it was a common tactic of Voldemort's followers to create a scene such as this drawing a crowd, usually at the expense of a muggle. The moment anyone stepped forward to say something against it or try to help those in peril, another of his followers in the crowd would curse them from behind. This would cause panic in the crowd, allowing everyone involved to disappear before anyone could be apprehended and ended up creating an aversion among the general population to stepping forward".

Harry paused for a second, letting the anger cool slightly, partially impressed but entirely disgusted at the tactic, "It's not fair."

Mr. Weasley looked at Harry, "No, no it's not but it is important for those with the ability and courage to stand up when they can and help those in need. We need to act as a beacon as inspiration for others around us, so that maybe they will do better. Now Harry I promise we will do everything to defuse the situation and apprehend the perpetrators so that they can be punished. But in case the situation escalates I need you to go to safety with the others. As of right now you are in my care and I will not have you out here in danger."

Harry looked at Mr. Weasley with a little defiance in his eyes before exhaling a huge breath and releasing the last of the anger that had built up, "Fine but nothing better happen to those muggles. I do agree though things need to be done to change the wizarding world and to help those who are unable to help themselves. And maybe not today but I will help, you will not always be able to prevent that."

Mr. Weasley looked at him with a smile on his face, "I believe that, I am sure a day is coming up where I am sure I could not stop you if I tried. Not that I would mind you. But, Harry, this is not that moment. There are plenty of individuals in this crowd who able and willing to help out. We just need to make sure everyone is safe. You do not need to put yourself at risk in this moment. Please go with the others."

Harry starred at Mr. Weasley for some time before finally nodding, "Be careful."

Mr. Weasley smiled and started jogging to the crowd before turning back. "I always am, when raising Fred and George you gain an extra sense as to when danger approaches. And I promise, I will make sure nothing happens to the muggles, they are such interesting people, and I still don't know exactly what the function of a rubber duck is."

With that, he took off and made his way into the circle. Harry shook his head and tried unsuccessfully to repress the smile that was working its way onto his face.

Harry tuned and jogged over to Ron and Hermione who were waiting right at the edge of the tree-line, before as a group they entered in the direction Hermione pointed out that Fred and George had taken Ginny in.

Almost immediately the darkness of the forest made running along the path impossible. Rather than let them trip, Harry pulled out his wand and called out, "Lumos".

The area was lighten up by a bright pulsing light emanating from the tip of his wand. Unfortunately his actions were half a second too slow as Ron grunted and fell forward tripping over something in the undergrowth.

Ron's undignified grunting, as he climbed to his feet, was accompanied by a snickering from just off to the side of the path as Draco stepped into the light.

"Weasley, Granger, …Potter." Draco said, a curious unfamiliar tone to his voice.

"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing here?" Ron questioned.

"What I am doing here is a matter of my business, none of yours. For what it's worth I would not dally here. Would not want to be spotted would you? Especially not in the company of a …well you would not want Granger spotted, would you?"

Harry cocked his head, while there was definitely still venom in his voice, Draco was sounding…almost helpful.

Before Ron could respond Harry took a step in front of his friend, "Thanks for the advice Draco and you are right, we are trying to make sure no one gets hurt. I hope nothing bad happens. No one deserves to get hurt."

Malfoy looked at Harry, "The muggles? Why do you care? Being raised by muggles, I would have assumed you would not have any sympathy for them. They are lesser than us."

Harry could tell that Hermione had tensed up, no doubt in response to having her parents insulted.

Hoping to prevent a fight, Harry put his arm on Hermione and looked back at Malfoy. "Oh the muggles I put up with were among the worst sort. But even they did not deserve to be tortured. Held accountable for their actions…sure. But punished? Even I could not wish that for them. More importantly, they are a very poor example to judge all muggles. I believe that in general most people are at okay people and have the potential to be good." Harry paused looking directly at Draco. "That being said there are definitely those individuals out there both muggle and wizards alike who are vile people, who believe that they are superior to those around them and as such abuse them, such as my family did…does to me, or … those people back there are doing."

This caused Draco to freeze as he looked at Harry, no doubt realizing that Harry paused before generically referring to the individuals behind them that were torturing the muggles.

Wanting to move on right away to prevent Draco from feeling the need to have to respond or worse having Ron or Hermione try to provoke their year mate. Harry looked towards the path.

"We do appreciate the advice though, we will make sure to look out for our friend. Be careful Draco."

With that, Harry hurried his friends down the path. Looking over his shoulder he could see Draco once again just standing in the middle of the path frozen looking towards where the main campsites were, deep in thought.

Around the next bend Ron managed to stop Harry.

"Ok what was that Harry? Thanking Draco? He was not really trying to help us, he was just trying to insult Hermione and scare us. He does not care about anyone besides himself." Ron stated angrily.

He looked to Hermione to support him. However, Hermione lacked the anger that Ron was displaying, while her gaze was no less intense it was tinged with sadness.

She looked at Harry and quietly asked, "Your uncle and aunt abuse you?"

This quiet inquiry, immediately caused Ron's anger to abate.

Mentally smacking his head at the slip, Harry nodded. "Ay they do. Well not physically, even they are not dumb enough to lay a hand on a child. But they constantly insult and belittle me, blaming me for being a freak, comparing wizards to garbage. They have also starved me or at least reduced food to nothing more than bread and water. And they are quite fond of locking me in my room."

Hermione began to tear up, "Oh Harry I did not know things were so bad, if I had known I would have asked my parents to come free you. We have an extra bedroom, you could have lived with us."

At Harry's reveal even Ron looked shocked, Draco long forgotten. "I am so sorry mate, I did not realize things were so bad. You never really talked about it…" Ron trailed off. "I thought that thing in second year summer was a one time thing. Why did you not tell us? My parents could have helped. Or at least got Dumbledore to help."

Hermione froze, "Does Dumbledore know? Harry have you not at least told him."

Harry looked at his friends feeling a little guilty, "I am sorry that I have never really brought this up. I guess for the longest time I was on my own and was forced to just accept that there was no one around me to help out." Harry held up his hand to forestall the expected rebuttals and outcry from his two closest friends. "I think I may have gotten so into that mindset that when I came to Hogwarts and finally made friends with two of the best people in our year, the smartest witch and most loyal and caring wizard, I did not want to burden you with my troubles. I might have been mistaken after all what are friends for if not to help with your struggles. However,…" Harry paused before pointing all around him, "this is not the place to have that chat."

Hermione looked like she wanted to argue that before finally nodding accepting his reasoning. "Ay this is not the place, but there will be a time."

With that, they took off once more down a path, in an attempt to hopefully catch up with the other Weasleys, who they had not seen since they entered the forest. Eventually they came upon a clearing, which Harry recognized immediately as the one where Barty Crouch Jr would release the Dark Mark from. Harry felt a little uncomfortable being in this clearing however he reasoned that nothing had happened to the first time so they should be safe again. On top of this Harry realized he was frankly very lost and not positive on where the campground was and eventually Mr. Weasley and the other Ministry employees would come to the clearing and be able to help out. Even though Harry was pretty confident that nothing would happen to them, Harry guided them to the other end of the clearing, from where Barty Crouch Jr would appear.

They had barely sat down before Harry heard the sound of someone screaming in the distance. Seeming to be the only one who had heard the scream Harry jumped to his feet.

"I think I am going to check the edge of the woods for anything there. Maybe pop my head in and see if anyone is there and can start directing them to come here and we can wait until everything at the main site dies down."

Ron shrugged, while Hermione looked at him with a piercing look, "Shouldn't we stay together? We have already been separated from Fred, George, and Ginny. Don't want to be split up even further. Maybe we should all go?"

Wanting to get a move on quickly, Harry shook his head. "If you two wait here, then there are people here to begin collecting anyone who enters the field and you can keep an eye out just in case the twins and Ginny end up stumbling into the field. If I head off into the trees, we can increase our odds of finding them. Additionally you should stick with Ron as you have a wand and Ron still has not found his." At this Hermione nodded while Ron looked at the ground embarrassed.

"Ok Harry but stay out of trouble, if you run into any problems send up sparks and we will come running."

Harry nodded before turning and heading into the darkness of the forest in the direction he had heard the scream, more than a little concerned he had not heard anything else since the original outcry.

After about fifteen minutes, Harry noticed the trees were starting to thin out and another field was in front of him. Harry was about to step out and see if anyone here was in need of help, when he heard someone shout a spell, partially muffled by the wind and distance. "…UCIO!"

If there were any doubts as to what the spell was they were quickly erased as a red curse leapt from the wand of an individual standing off to the side and impacted the side of someone on the ground resulting in a strangled scream, which was then promptly silenced by the original caster.

"Well now can't have any of that now can we? Don't want out fun interrupted do we?" The speaker had a familiar voice, however it was partially muffled by the distance and the Death Eater mask that the figure was wearing.

The Death Eater continued, "Based on how you were acting during the match, we both know how much you were asking for all the attention. Based on who you are your very nature demands attention. Luckily I found you and am able to give you all the attention you need." With that the figure laughed, before shouting out again. "CRUCIO!"

This prompted an even weaker scream from the female on the ground, for Harry realized it was definitely a female.

Harry felt his blood boiling and ached to just jump up and fight, however, as he was unsure if there was anyone else in the vicinity, he realized that he would need to be careful. Harry was trying to slowly make his way along the edge of the field to a point behind where he would be able to cleanly get the first spell off.

Harry was just about to jump from cover when accidentally stumbled on piece of debris, making a loud sound. He mentally cursed as he looked up to see the torturer swinging around to him.

Harry dove to the right, narrowly missing a sickly purple spell that flew by before impacting the ground behind him. As he rolled out of danger, he quickly glanced back seeing the ground bubbling behind him, feeling a surge of relief for his reflexes honed from hours on the Quidditch pitch.

Harry jumped up and immediately shouted "EXPELLIARMUS", the spell streaked towards his opponent before being blocked at the last instant. He responded by then firing off a handful of spells back towards Harry. Harry once again dove out of the way scrambling behind a small clump of debris, choosing to rely on his reflexes, not wanting to test his strength against an unknown combatant.

After sitting there for a couple seconds catching his breath, Harry noticed that the spells had stopped raining down.

His opponent, realizing that this would not be a quick fight called out the Harry, "Well looks like we have a little do-gooder. A little frightened do-gooder. Here to try and save the damsel-in-distress. No worries though she might not sound like she is enjoying herself but a vile creature such as herself craves the attention. She wants it. Her and her kind tried to control the mind of everyone at the Quidditch match. Naturally, I was immune to the allure of the Veela but many of normal wizards were enraptured by their act. This can not be permitted, a simple creature such as her must not be able to view themself as equal than a wizard. I was just reminding this one of her place. It brought me no joy." Even out of sight, Harry could tell that whoever his opponent was smiling and very certainly was enjoying the pain he had been inflicting upon the Veela who was crumpled up in the fetal position, momentarily forgotten.

While the individual was talking Harry also recognized two thing. First of all that the voice was slowly moving, no doubt in order to flank Harry and be able to cast a spell at him. The second thing he noticed is that there was a little rocky outcropping about twenty paces away that Harry felt comfortable in working his way to without being seen.

Harry's adversary continued on, "How about if I make you a deal, why don't you let me continue teaching this creature a lesson. When I am done I promise to let her go, I am sure you will be able to find something to do with her. I promise nothing will happen to you. All you have to do is come out and drop your wand and I promise nothing will happen to you."

Harry almost laughed, did this figure actually believe himself to be believable. A second later as if to confirm Harry's suspicion. The figure jumped from behind a tree, his back now facing the clearing Harry had left Ron and Hermione, and shouted, "BOMBARDA MAXIMA".

From his new vantage point, Harry could only sigh in relief and watch as the space he had just vacated was reduced to a large hole.

"Ah I see you at least have the sense to hide. Well you only delay the inevitable although I thank you in advance for making this a little more enjoyable for me. Although I ask again, do you really want to die for the likes of someone like her. As long as you are pure of blood, I promise I will make no effort …" He was cut off as another figure in the Death Eater robe ran into the field panting.

"Luci.." the newcomer began.

"Shut up you fool, no first names. There is someone else in the field here. What is it you want? I asked not to be disturbed." Shouted Lucius Malfoy pointing in the general direction of where Harry was currently hiding.

For indeed the figure that had been torturing the Veela was Lucius, hearing the newcomer accidentally start on his name only confirmed what Harry had been starting to suspect. The name had only been the last piece of the puzzle as the familiar voice and bigoted beliefs had primed the deduction.

Rather than answer, the new individual simply pointed to the sky indicating a sickly green skull that was floating above the tree line and slowly climbing in altitude.

The two figures froze and starred, before conversing amongst themselves, momentarily forgetting about Harry.

"It cannot be. Which fool decided to cast that?"

"None of us certainly, we were all still in the main campsite readying for our final act before planning to disappear. It looked like the Ministry officials were just getting organized to come at us. When the cry of alarm sounded and they left us alone to investigate the Mark. I immediately came to see if it was you or if you needed help."

"It was not me, I am certainly not so foolish as to release that mark. It would surely draw every Ministry official in response. If it was none of us, who could it have been? I highly doubt it was Dumbledore's pet, while I do not like him, he is nothing if not cunning and would have nothing to have gained by this? Karkaroff? Possibly but I doubt if he actually knows the incantation and he always struck me as a coward. Not one for bold actions such as this."

Harry had been slowly moving towards them, using their distraction as an attempt to get close enough to confront them. Unfortunately when he jumped up to throw a stunning spell at the senior Malfoy the other wizard happened to see him jump up.

He exclaimed, "What out!"

Harry had to give Lucius credit for as he shout "STUPIFY" the senior Malfoy leapt to the side throwing off Harry's aim causing it to collide with the incomer, who crumpled.

Lucius then sent a green curse in Harry's direction causing him to have to duck. "You know not with who you are meddling with, wizard" Lucius spat out. "If I ever find out who you are I promise you, we will have words, and I assure you that you will regret raising your wand against me."

With that he leaned over to collect his colleague before disapparating out of the clearing with a loud and resounding 'crack'.

Harry released a huge breathe as he realized that perhaps this had been a foolish thing to do. He had assumed that when he came back in time his fighting ability would be on par with what it had been before. And while thankfully his reflexes had managed to save him, his spells seemed to be under-powered and slower. Even though it was a last second block, when Lucius had blocked his spell he was surprised and that almost resulted in him having been hit by the retaliatory spells.

Harry was torn out of his thoughts by the soft whimper sound halfway across the field, very quickly remembering why he had come here.

Harry ran over to the female figure who was still lying in the fetal position. As Harry got near he confirmed that the figure was indeed a Veela and while still undoubtedly beautiful, this individual was in horrible shape. Her dress was ripped in several places, she had over a dozen bruises all over her body (but a disproportionate amount were on her face), and she seemed to be shivering uncontrollably, although Harry was not sure whether this was due to the lack of proper attire in the brisk night air, from the stress of the ordeal, or after tremors from the Cruciatus curse. He also noticed that she could not be more than five or six years older than himself, although he remembered that Veela were not entirely human, so he was just making a guess as to her age. As Harry got closer he spoke out so as not to surprise the girl in front of him.

"Hello my name is Harry, I mean you no harm. The man that was doing this has left. You are okay now."

Hearing the sound of his voice caused the girl in front of him to flinch and begin to whimper, Harry was not sure if she had managed to hear his words, so he tried again not moving any closer.

"Hello my name is Harry, I had seen that you were in trouble so I tried to help you. The man who was attacking you has run away. I solemnly swear that I mean you no harm. I just want to make sure you are okay. I will wait over there." Harry pointed to a large rock, unsure if she had seen him point, but confident she would be able to see him when she got up, "and I will wait there until either someone else comes who can better help or you are feeling a little better."

With that Harry walked back several steps towards the rock where he sat down and watched the Veela. Slowly he noticed when her shivering decreased and she very slowly began to stretch out from the fetal position. She very cautiously looked around, her eyes jumping from one shadow to the next before finally settling on Harry, who slowly raised his hands up without his wand hoping to convey that he was no risk to her. She slowly stood up and it appeared to Harry that she was contemplating running in the other direction. However, eventually she made up her mind that likely Harry appeared harmless enough and slowly made her way over to him.

"What is it you want?" she asked abruptly, although it sounded more like 'Vat eez eet you vant'.

Harry looked at her confused, before replying, "What do I want? Nothing. I just saw you were in trouble and …that man was torturing you, so I tried my best to help."

She looked at him, her expression not softening, "I am a Veela, wizards do not just help us without expecting something."

Harry had been trying to place her accent, when she asked her question. He looked back at her shocked realizing what she was talking about. "I would never expect that! That is definitely not why I helped you. I did not even realize you were a Veela until he had left and I was coming to make sure you were alright."

She looked at him disbelievingly, "I do not believe you, … wizard." She almost spat out.

Harry looked over at her, and without blinking, he starred into her large blue eyes and repeated. "I solemnly swear that I mean you no harm. I simply came across the clearing after hearing your scream and tried to help. Although I was not able to win the fight I at least diverted his attention from you until he ended up fleeing."

Finally, Harry saw her hard exterior began to crack; she once again began shivering and started crying.

Harry was about to offer his cloak to the Veela in front of him, when he looked down and realized that when Mr. Weasley had roused them from the tent Harry had not had time to throw on anything over his pajamas except a light jacket. Quietly chucking to himself at the thought of fighting Mr. Malfoy in his pajamas, Harry took off the jacket and slowly handed the jacket towards the Veela.

She looked up and took the jacket, slowly putting it on, before noticing that Harry was lightly chuckling. "What is it that you find so funny. Oh mon dieu. I must look like quite a fright, I am so embarrassed."

Harry immediately stopped laughing, "Oh it was definitely not you, I am sorry about that. It was just in the rush to get into the forest with my friends and I did not have the opportunity to get fully dressed. And I was just thinking of myself battling that man in nothing but my pajamas and could not help myself."

This caused her to look down and finally take in his appearance, the sadness almost completely evaporated before she began laughing. What a laugh it was Harry felt almost as if he was floating from just the sound of it. However, he managed to stay focused and began laughing in earnest with her.

After what felt like several minutes they both eventually calmed down, before she looked back at him. "There is something special about you, not many are able to resist the allure of a Veela and almost none are able to resist us when we are happy or laughing. Most men just end up staring at us like objects, their desires barely concealed."

Harry sobered up quickly, "While I do not doubt that you are among the most beautiful individuals I know. I know better...at least now. The first time I saw a Veela I did behave poorly however since then I have not acted embarrassingly or done anything foolish around Veela. Or at least not anything more foolish than I would normally have done."

The Veela let out her cute laugh before shaking her head looking a little embarrassed, "I am sorry for my initial assumptions, however, many would have taken advantage of the situation I was in. Thank you for saving me. I likely owe you my life, I have no idea what that man was going to do."

Harry smiled at her, "You have no need to apologize, I have also had my share of people treating me in a different way than I have wanted simply for who I am. I am glad that I was in the right place at the right time and I was able to help..." Harry trailed off realizing he did not know who she was, "Actually I am sorry I don't quite know your name or who you are."

Smiling at him, "I appreciate your gesture, but honestly not everyone would have done the same. But I am really glad it was you who came around when you did. My name is Rosaline Delacour, and as you can guess, I was one of the Bulgarian mascots. However, I grew up in France with my uncle, aunt, and cousins before my parents moved to Bulgaria."

"It is nice to meet you Rosaline, I was wondering about the accent, I am …"

Before Harry was able to say his name, a familiar girl ran out of the forest surprising both Harry and Rosaline.

"Hello are you okay over here, I am with the Ministry, Auror Trainee, Tonks. Someone running through the forest claimed to have seem someone using the Cruciatus curse and then a fight taking place in this area of the forest."

Rosaline looked at the ground and refused to make eye contact with Tonks, so Harry felt the need to step in.

With a concealed smirk he began, "Hello Auror Trainee Tonks. Someone dressed as a Death Eater was torturing Rosaline." He continued as he saw Tonks eyes pop open. "I tried to help her by getting involved but that ended up being a foolish thing. No doubt I was outclassed but ended up staying out of the way of all the curses, including a couple of particularly unpleasant looking ones. I stayed out of range until the Death Eaters friend ran into the field and distracted him pointing out the Dark Mark in the sky. At that point they quickly apparated away and I came over to make sure Rosaline was alright."

Tonks looked to Rosaline for confirmation, who proceeded to nod confirming Harry's version of events.

Pulling out a small object from her pocket, she began whispering in it. No doubt requesting help. Once she finished, she looked over at Harry a slightly confused look crossing her face momentarily. "I have requested help from some mediwizards, they are on the way. I really appreciate your help although you were right going up against anyone dressed as a Death Eater is a foolish idea."

Harry looked at her right in her eyes before calmly stating, "I was not about to sit back and watch as someone was tortured in front of my eyes. It does not matter who it was, I will not stand for that."

Tonks appeared to be studying him more closely, "That is fair, but you yourself admitted that you were outclassed. If you do not have the training to succeed, we would likely have ended up with two bodies here." She paused noticing Harry was about to interject, "Now I am not saying you should not do anything but you need to make sure you have the training and backup and are prepared. This case worked out for you but what if it had not?"

Harry reflected upon her question, for it was a fair one.

Seeing that Harry was contemplating her words she looked back to Rosaline, "Are you ok? The mediwizards and a senior auror will arrive soon. They will want to take an official statement from the both of you. But for now how are you doing? That must have been quite an ordeal, luckily this young man here was able to help." She chuckled to herself as she continued talking to Rosaline, "Although deciding to fight a supposed Death Eater without the proper training or even fully thinking out a plan. Just a foolish idea, reminds me of my cousin and…his friends…"

Suspicion dawned upon her face as she turned to look at Harry…only to find he had disappeared while she had been talking. She whirled back to Rosaline and asked "Do you know who that was? He…reminded me of someone?"

Rosaline opened her mouth to answer before pausing, "Actually… I never caught his name, had just told him my name when you arrived."

Meanwhile at the start of the tree line just in the shadow hiding under the branches of a pine tree, Harry looked at them and waited until the medi-wizards arrived and began to assess and help Rosaline. Harry had planned to stay with her until help arrived but with the arrival of Tonks and her declaration of an official statement, Harry had decided that he did not need that scrutiny; it always seemed to work against him. Seeing that Rosaline was receiving care, Harry turned around and started walking in the direction of the Dark Mark hoping the Weasleys were still there or at least someone was still there, as he was positive he had no idea how to get back to the camp.


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