My thanks to Arnel for Betaing this chapter for me.
I do not own the obvious quoting during this chapter, though you will notice differences among what is from JK Rowling. When I return home and have a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in my hands, I'll add in pages numbers.
AN at the end.
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Return of an Alpha | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama Warnings: Death, Mild Language Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 409 Summary: For three years, Harry has been Becoming Alpha of Hogwarts. Now another Alpha is returning, bringing with him darkness, chaos, and battle. Watch as sides line up for war, and people and society change. Hitcount: Story Total: 169714; Chapter Total: 4151 Author's Notes: |
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“Anyone put their name in?” Harry asked Ginny as he entered the Entrance Hall, which was now housing the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction. “Not that I’ve been here for,” she replied as she munched on some toast, just as many other students were. Nodding, Harry slipped into the Great Hall and grabbed a quick bite of porridge before grabbing some orange juice. Then he brought some toast back out into the Entrance Hall with him just as Karkaroff led the Durmstrang students into it. Viktor nodded at Harry before entering the Age Line and throwing his slip of folded paper into the Goblet. After a while, it got a bit boring just watching with Ginny, so they pulled out their Journals and messed around with the Maps. They took turns giving clues to a specific dot to look for, and it was interesting as there were so many different dots that it could be. Finally, just before Harry was going to suggest going to The Den, the twins came hurrying down the stairs with Lee Jordan. “Just done it,” Fred whispered to the pair, glancing around at the other students in the Hall, which now included some of Harry’s Slytherin friends as they finally woke up and left the dungeons. “The Aging Potion,” he added at their confused looks. “One drop each,” George said as he rubbed his hands together. “We only need to be a few months older.” "We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," Lee said, grinning broadly. Instead of speaking his mind, Harry let the three of them head over to the Goblet. Ginny, though, leaned close to his ear. “You do know that’s not going to work, right?” she whispered, and he nodded with a smirk. “Do they know?” she asked, still whispering. “They’re hoping it’s not true,” he replied just as quietly, and she snickered. "Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then - I'll go first -" Harry watched, fascinated, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley - Hogwarts. Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line. For a split second Harry thought it had worked - George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred - but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards. The Entrance Hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards. "I did warn you," a deep, amused voice said, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours." Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter. “Who’s put their names in?” Tracey asked as she stole a piece of toast from the plate Harry had put under a heating charm just for his friends. “Durmstrang, Warrington, Cedric, and I believe that’s Angelina right now,” Harry replied, nodding in Angelina’s direction as she walked right up to the Goblet and put the slip of paper in. “Good luck, Angelina!” he called, and she smiled in his direction, giving a little wave of acknowledgement. “Haven’t tried to put your own name in yet?” Draco asked, his eyes shining in amusement. “I’m surprised you haven’t tried yet, Draco,” Harry retorted with a smirk, and that shut him up quickly. After that, the group went outside to enjoy some of the sunshine before heading up to The Den. “Harry!” Viktor called as he led most of the Durmstrang students into The Den. Harry smiled as he stood up and turned to see them all. “Viktor! Come in, come in, all of you,” he said, walking over to them and gesturing towards some of the couches. “Guys!” he then called to the rest of The Den. “These are the Durmstrang students. Please treat them like you would any other student. That includes no harassing Viktor for those of you girls all eyeing him!” he added with a grin. “Please talk with them and get to know them. They’ll be here all year, so it will be comfortable if we’re all friendly and getting along.” After that, Harry sat down and some of the older students came over and dragged groups of the Durmstrang students away to meet the rest of the people in the room. Viktor smiled at Harry as the girls left him alone. “They’re afraid of me pranking them again,” he told Viktor with a wink and a grin as he spotted his new friend looking around at the girls in amazement. “Yes, I vas going to ask about that,” Viktor said. “That show, it vas you and the two redheads?” Harry nodded. “That vas amazing spellvork. My friends vere just as amazed by it. Many of us cannot do that, and ve are the highest level in the school.” “The twins are willing to do anything for a prank, even enter the library and do research,” Harry said with a grin. “Nothing can hold them back when it’s for a prank, and I’ve got a bit more power than most. Plus, I’ve been working on higher level spells since first year.” “Very amazing, it is,” Viktor complimented, and Harry blushed. “Are you going to invite the French as vell — to this room, I mean?” “Once I talk to them, unless one of my friends didn’t already invite them,” Harry replied with a grin as the two of them watched their friends interacting with the students from the other school. Not even Tracey was on the couch anymore as she chatting with the Durmstrang kids. As if their words brought them, Padma and Terry led the French students in, leading a blond girl over to Harry and Viktor after gesturing for the others to go meet some new people. The Beauxbatons party began talking to both Durmstrang and Hogwarts students. “Fleur, this is Harry Potter,” Padma introduced. “Harry, this is Fleur Delacour,” Terry finished the introductions. “It’s nice to meet you, Fleur,” Harry said as he held out his hand. When she shook it, he pulled it to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, making her giggle slightly and blush. “This is Viktor Krum of Durmstrang,” he added to introduce the Quidditch star. “It is very nice to meet you,” Viktor said, mimicking Harry in kissing her hand. “Eet ees nice to meet you both,” Fleur agreed in her accented English, a smile on her lips. “What ees zese place?” she then asked, looking around the room. Harry glared at his friends, but they blushed and looked at the floor. “We call it The Den, which is another name for a living room or drawing room,” Harry explained to both foreigners. “It’s an American term. Anyway, it’s a place for all of the Houses at Hogwarts to relax in, study in, and just do anything in without having to separate from friends of other Houses or use the library. We all agreed that the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang could use it while they were here, so we began talking to you so that you’d show the others. Think of this as a place to intermix with the other schools.” “It is vell made,” Viktor said as he looked around the room again. “Thanks,” Tracey said, coming up behind Harry, though she didn’t startle him as she did it often with her grace from being a cat. “Harry, Ginny, a friend of ours in Gryffindor with the red hair over there, and I had help from the teachers to make the rooms, but we decorated them.” “Eet ees amazing to see,” Fleur agreed with Viktor as she, too, looked around. “Good furneeture and taste. Ze colors work well with how ‘ou made zis room.” “We appreciate it,” Harry told the French girl, who smiled at him, drawing the attention of many boys in the room, Harry noticed, Viktor not included. “Eenteresting,” Fleur murmured quietly as she looked at Harry with a curious look in her eyes that made no sense to him. “Are you…?” Tracey began to ask, and Fleur nodded. Harry turned to look at his friend with a confused look on his face, but she just shook her head and gave him a look that meant later. “And he isn’t…?” “’E ees not,” Fleur agreed. Tracey’s eyes widened as Harry was still watching her. “Wow,” she murmured quietly. “How about we talk about our schools a bit,” Harry suggested as he realized he wasn’t going to get anything out of the two girls. “Oh, Beauxbatons ees amazeeng, eeseceeally at Christmas,” Fleur began with a happy look on her face, so Harry settled in to listen, Tracey moving around to sit next to him . “Okay, what was that about earlier?” Harry asked as he and Tracey headed down to the Great Hall for lunch. “With Fleur, I mean.” “She’s part-Veela, Harry,” Tracey sighed, and Harry stopped, staring at her slightly. “What?” he gasped. “She’s part-Veela, and you didn’t react at all to her charm before,” Tracey said, moving over to him as she had taken a few steps before realizing Harry had stopped. “It surprised her as almost every boy in the school has been reacting to her, including Draco, Blaise, and Theo.” Harry blinked in surprise. He hadn’t even noticed that the night before, but now that he thought about it, it was the truth. Once Fleur had taken off her shawl, she had gotten looks from the entire Hall last night, including his friends. “Viktor and I were the only ones in our part of the table who didn’t stare at her,” Harry muttered quietly, and Tracey nodded. “I asked him why when you were talking to Fleur,” Tracey admitted. “Turns out working with Veela as the Bulgaria team mascot gave him some of an immunity to them so that he could play Quidditch properly, so Fleur doesn’t really bother him.” “Interesting, but that doesn’t explain why I’m not affected by her.” “High tolerance or someone else you care about deeply are both options, though it’s more likely the latter as not even high tolerance makes a male very immune to the charm,” Tracey stated, and Harry realized she must have read up on Veelas before. Then he realized what she had said and groaned. “You aren’t going to let this go any time soon, are you?” he asked her, already knowing the answer. “Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p’ just to be annoying. “When are you going to admit it to yourself even, let alone the rest of us?” Harry just muttered darkly under his breath as he walked around Tracey, headed to lunch. Behind him, Tracey was snickering as she followed. “It’s almost time,” Blaise said excitedly. “Who are you all rooting for?” “Cedric, of course,” Harry replied, and the others nodded in agreement. “He’s a good guy and earns the chance. Angelina would be nice as well, though.” “I just wish they would hurry up,” Theo muttered, glancing up at the teachers. “Just eat and wait for them, Theo,” Tracey scolded as she ate another bite. Harry, too, was eating. He was impatient, but knew that the Halloween feast was always good, so letting it go to waste wasn’t worth it. Theo groaned but began eating as well. At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored. "Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore said. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the Champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions." He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. “Show off,” Draco muttered under his breath, and a lot of the Slytherins who could hear him nodded in agreement. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluish-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting… A few people kept checking their watches… The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped. Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white. "The Champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum." Harry and his friends cheered for Viktor as he got up from beside Blaise among the applause from his fellow Durmstrang students. He gave the Slytherins a quick grin before it was gone, and he slouched up to the Head Table, entering the room Dumbledore gestured to. "Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff boomed, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!" The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames. "The Champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore said, "is Fleur Delacour!" Harry and Tracey cheered for Fleur alongside the French students, and she nodded at them as she spotted it. When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next… And the Goblet of Fire turned red a third time; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment. "The Hogwarts Champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!" Every single Hufflepuff jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Harry, his friends, and everyone with a Journal including Angelina cheered as well, glad for their friend. The applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again. "Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three Champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your Champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your Champion on, you will contribute in a very real –" But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him. The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long tongue of flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment. Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out - "Harry Potter." All Harry could do was stare at Dumbledore as every single eye turned to look at him. His eyes were wide as he just sat there, shocked beyond belief. Dumbledore had to have read that wrong — it couldn’t be him. He hadn’t entered! Turning to look at his friends, they all stared at him in complete shock. It was obvious that they couldn’t believe it either, but they all knew that it was true when Dumbledore called out again. "Harry Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!" Tracey and Daphne helped him up and pushed him towards the Head Table. Taking a deep breath, Harry put on his leader face and walked up with a blank face and a straight back, trying so hard not to let the accusing glares get to him, even though they were. When he got to the Head Table, he didn’t even stop as he walked straight past them and into the room with the other champions. He knew that it was where he was going to be sent anyway, so why wait to allow others to see more of him or talk to him? Harry went through the door out of the Great Hall and found himself in a smaller room lined with paintings of witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite him. The faces in the portraits turned to look at him as he entered. He saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard with a walrus mustache. The wizened witch started whispering in his ear. Viktor, Cedric, and Fleur were grouped around the fire. They looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Viktor, hunched up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back, staring into the fire. Fleur looked around when Harry walked in and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair. “Harry, what’s wrong?” Cedric asked quickly, rushing over to his younger friend as he spotted the Slytherin. “My name came out of the Goblet,” he said hoarsely, still unable to believe it. “It what?” he gasped as Viktor and Fleur quickly rushed over to be beside the pair. “It came out after yours,” Harry whispered, his head falling down in defeat. “I’m going to have to compete now. The Goblet is a magical contract, meaning I can’t get out of it even though I didn’t enter myself into the Tournament.” “Who vould do this?” Viktor asked, and Harry looked up at him, knowing his eyes looked haunted. The older boy actually took a step back as Harry looked him in the eyes. “Lord Voldemort,” he stated just as the door opened and Ludo Bagman entered the room. "Extraordinary!" he muttered as he walked up to the four. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen… lady," he added. "May I introduce - incredible though it may seem - the fourth Triwizard Champion?" “’E deed not enter ‘imself in ze Tournament,” Fleur said, and Harry was feeling a bit grateful to the three seventeen-year-olds as they stood around him, defending him. “Why is ‘e being forced to compete? ‘E ees too young as well.” Beside them, Cedric and Viktor were nodding their agreement. "Well… it is amazing," Bagman said, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Harry. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the goblet… I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage… It's down in the rules, you're obliged… Harry will just have to do the best he –" The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape. Harry heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall, before Professor McGonagall closed the door. None of the Champions left Harry. All of them were his friends now, and they didn’t want to leave him alone. Harry could tell that all four of them would be close pretty soon, especially if he was also a Champion. "What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr ?" Madam Maxime said imperiously. "I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore," Professor Karkaroff said. He was wearing a steely smile, and his blue eyes were like chips of ice. "Two Hogwarts Champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions — or have I not read the rules carefully enough?" He gave a short and nasty laugh. "C'est impossible," Madame Maxime, who had moved to stand next to Fleur, who was still next to Harry, as Karkaroff moved to be next to Viktor, said. Neither of them was moving when their professors tried to move them. "’Ogwarts cannot 'ave two Champions. It is most injus t." "We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," Karkaroff said, his steely smile still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools." No one said anything for a moment as Harry felt the other three Champions placing hands on his shoulders and his arm. It was their way of showing they were there for him no matter what, and he grinned internally at the show of unity, though it didn’t show on his face as nothing could make him smile right now. Then, Professor Dumbledore finally spoke. "Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly. “No, nor have I ever had an intention of it since I heard of the Tournament,” he replied, his eyes narrowing a bit as Karkaroff and Maxime snorted in disbelief. "Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" Professor Dumbledore said, ignoring what Harry had added as well as the other two Heads. “No, I did not, as I just said!” Harry exclaimed, but the three around him tried to calm him down. “’Arry, it will be okay,” Fleur whispered to him, and Harry took a deep breath before calming down. “Professor, it’s true,” Cedric said aloud as Harry calmed down. “People have been asking Harry since the first week of school if he was going to enter, and he’s been saying no the entire time. Once or twice people even asked him to use truth spells or another way to prove himself and he always did it willingly. I witnessed some truth spells being used without his permission at least three times “Harry’s had no intention of entering himself in this Tournament. In fact, he’s been rooting for me to become Champion, and if not me, then Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor. He’s made no secret of who he’s been rooting for.” "Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" Madame Maxime cried. “Both of them must be!” As the Heads and McGonagall began to argue, Harry gestured for his own Head of House to come closer. When Snape was right by him, Harry stepped away from the other three to whisper in the man’s ear. Stepping away, Snape looked Harry over with a calculating gaze before nodding once and walking back over to the professors. “What was that about?” Cedric asked as Harry moved back to the teens. “The only way I’ll be believed,” Harry whispered quietly, earning sharp looks from the other three, but he just watched Snape. “Headmaster, if I might make a suggestion,” Snape began, quieting the others. “Why not give Potter Veritaserum to prove his innocence?” “Severus, you know we cannot do that,” Dumbledore began, but Harry himself interrupted. “Except for the fact that I was the one to give Professor Snape the idea and will willingly be put under the potion as long as he is the only one to ask me the questions,” Harry stated, nodding at his Head of House. He didn’t trust any of the other adults not to abuse the potion. Dumbledore sighed as he saw the others in the room agreed with the idea, gesturing towards his Potions Master to produce the potion. Snape pulled out a small vial of a clear liquid, which Harry recognized as the truth serum. He then walked over to Harry and opened the potion, pulling out a dropper and filling it. The Slytherin opened his mouth and drank the three drops placed into it. Harry felt himself go into an odd state that he just couldn’t describe. It wasn’t like the Imperious Curse where he didn’t have any feeling at all, but he wasn’t as aware as he normally would be. “What is your name?” Snape’s voice asked. “Harry James Potter,” Harry heard himself replying without any control of what he was saying. “Did you enter yourself in the Triwizard Tournament?” he then asked, obviously thinking that the potion was working. “No,” Harry felt himself reply. “Did you ask anyone to enter you?” “No,” he repeated. “Have you had any intention of entering the Tournament since you heard about it?” Snape finally asked. “Never,” Harry replied. The next thing he knew, another liquid was placed in his mouth and he became aware again. Blinking a few times, Harry looked around to see that Dumbledore was upset but also pleased, as were McGonagall and Snape. Karkaroff and Maxime finally admitted defeat, though they obviously weren’t pleased. Crouch and Bagman were nodding. Around him, the three other Champions were smiling a bit sadly as they had realized along with Harry that the truth didn’t really help him. “How was his name entered in the first place?” Karkaroff suddenly asked. “A powerful and skilled witch or wizard must have entered it,” a new voice stated as the sound of a wooden leg banging on the floor reached Harry’s ears; Professor Moody had arrived. “They hoodwinked a very powerful magical object! It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the tournament… I'm guessing they submitted Potter's name under a fourth school, to make sure he was the only one in his category…" "You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody," Karkaroff said coldly, "and a very ingenious theory it is - though of course, I heard you recently got it into your head that one of your birthday presents contained a cunningly disguised basilisk egg, and smashed it to pieces before realizing it was a carriage clock. So you'll understand if we don't take you entirely seriously…" "There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted in a menacing voice. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff - as you ought to remember…" "Alastor!" Dumbledore said warningly. Moody fell silent, though still surveying Karkaroff with satisfaction - Karkaroff's face was burning. "How this situation arose, we do not know," Dumbledore said, speaking to everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament, and neither can back out. This, therefore, they will do…” "Well, shall we crack on, then?" Bagman said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our Champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?" "Yes," he said as he seemed to come out of a deep reverie, "instructions. Yes… the first task… "The first task is designed to test your daring," he told Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard… very important. "The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges. "The Champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The Champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests." Harry smirked internally at the thought as he realized how Theo, Blaise, and Draco would take that information. In fact, how most of his friends with colored Journals would take it. Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore. "I think that's all, is it, Albus?" "I think so," Dumbledore said, who was looking at Mr. Crouch with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?" "No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry," said Mr. Crouch. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment… I've left young Weatherby in charge… Very enthusiastic… a little overenthusiastic, if truth be told…” "You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" Dumbledore said. "Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" Bagman said brightly. "It's all happening at Hogwarts now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!" "I think not, Ludo," Crouch said with a touch of his old impatience. "Professor Karkaroff - Madame Maxime - a nightcap?" Dumbledore asked. Madam Maxime and Karkaroff were trying to lead their students out of the room, but Viktor and Fleur shook their heads, replying in their native languages to whatever their Heads were saying. In the end, the professors left without their charges. "Harry, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed," Dumbledore said, smiling at both of them. "I am sure Slytherin and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise." Harry snorted silently at the thought of Slytherin celebrating this. Oh, they would enjoy it, but not a single one of them would be celebrating this. It just wasn’t how Slytherin worked. Harry led the other three from the room, anyway, though. When they got to the Entrance Hall, they all stopped. “This is going to cause problems,” Cedric stated, and Harry nodded silently. He, too, agreed that the next few days were going to be bad. “I’ll try to talk to the Hufflepuffs. Have your friends talk to the other Houses, okay?” “It’s the only way I won’t get attacked,” Harry sighed, and Cedric laughed a bit. “Harry, no one would attack you,” he said. “We all know your ability with pranking. In fact, many students are afraid to find out what you can do in a duel.” Harry laughed before turning to Viktor and Fleur. “Thanks for that in there,” he said, gesturing towards the Great Hall, and they both nodded with small smiles. “I’ve got a question for all of you, though.” “What?” Cedric asked for the group. “Why don’t we work together to figure things out? The whole Tournament is messed up already, seeing as I’m in it. All Crouch said was that we can’t get help from teachers; he said nothing about other students.” “I like eet,” Fleur said. “Make eet more fair as we will all ‘ave ze same information at the Tasks.” “Very vell, I agree as vell,” Viktor said. “Of course I agree, but Harry, you’re at a disadvantage to the rest of us because we have more magical training than you,” Cedric said, but Harry smiled a little. “No one said I can’t ask the professors for book suggestions on what to read that might help,” he told them all with a smug grin, making them laugh. “Flitwick and McGonagall will be willing to either suggest or give me advanced books in Charms and Transfiguration. They’ve done it before, in fact. I already know how to do most of the spells for this year, and my friends are at about the same level as me. We practice a lot, especially with The Den.” “Wow,” Cedric said with slightly wide eyes. “We might just have a challenge in you, Harry.” Harry just laughed. “Well, it’s been a long night,” Harry sighed. “I’ll see you all tomorrow in The Den, most likely. Though if I disappear for a lot of the day, don’t worry too much about me. With the looks I was getting earlier, much of the school is going to hate me tomorrow.” “I’ll talk to the Hufflepuffs, don’t worry about them,” Cedric said, and Harry nodded gratefully. “I vill tell my friends the truth, even if Karkaroff does not,” Viktor stated, and Harry grinned. “I will as well, ‘Arry,” Fleur agreed. “Thanks guys,” Harry said, “but I’d better get going before my friends attack me when I get back.” Harry headed down to the Slytherin dungeons, Cedric went in the direction of the kitchens, and Fleur and Krum went outside. Up in the Ravenclaw tower, a group consisting of the first through fourth years stood on one side of the room while the fifth through seventh years were on the other. A few seventh years were at the front of the older group while five students from the other four years stood in front of the younger group. “Harry didn’t enter himself!” Padma yelled. “He’s been fighting to prove it to everyone for two bloody months that he doesn’t want to be in the Tournament! In fact, I saw him use a truth spell in front of all of you just last week that he wasn’t even thinking about entering, nor was he going to.” “All of you see Harry as an attention-seeking Slytherin, but he isn’t,” Terry said as he placed a hand on the fourth year’s shoulder. “He’s the Boy-Who-Lived, and he hates the title. Something none of you can see is that Harry wants to earn his fame, not be given it for something he can’t even remember, something that lost him his parents. If you all want to believe that he’s just doing this for more fame when he could die from it, none of you belong in Ravenclaw, so you should all just leave.” He then gestured for the fourth years to follow him as he went up the boys’ staircase and Padma led the girls up their own. “Use your brains and act like Ravenclaws before it leaves you all looking like idiots,” Bradley Martin, the third year leader of Ravenclaw, said as he shook his head, gesturing for the third years to follow him. “All you’re doing it embarrassing yourselves by actually arguing with us instead of using your eyes and your brains,” Robert Chambers, the second year leader, stated before leading his own year out of the Common Room. “If this is what Ravenclaw is like, I don’t think I want to stay here anymore, and I’m pretty sure the rest of my year agree with me,” little Orla Quirke stated, gesturing with her head towards her fellow first years. “Come on, guys, let’s leave the stupid Ravenclaws to their thoughts. Maybe their brains will grow instead of shrink because of it.” Once they were all gone, the older Ravenclaws were left standing there, all of them a bit shocked as they realized they had just been told off by students younger than they, and they actually felt ashamed by what had been said. Slowly, they began grouping together to talk about what had been said. Further along the seventh floor, the Gryffindor Common Room was just as full as the Ravenclaw one had been just moments before. The situation was similar, except the younger Gryffindors had help from some of the older students, and these were the ones the older students would listen to as they were the Weasley twins, the Quidditch girls, and Lee Jordan. “All of you, use your brains for once instead of letting instinct lead you,” Hermione stated to the silent Common Room. “Tell me one time Harry has bragged about anything to anyone except his closest friends! Tell me one time Harry has shown off his fame to the school!” She turned in a circle to see the entire House, all of whom were along the walls except for the leaders and the few older students helping them. “I thought so! None of you can because there hasn’t been a single time, not even after a Quidditch match! Now think. Do you really think Harry would enter the Tournament just for more fame if he doesn’t even use the fame he has? Why would he enter if he could die doing this? Just use your brains, and maybe this House will be something to be proud of.” Hermione turned and stalked up the girls’ staircase, everyone’s eyes following her until she disappeared from sight. Then they all turned to the group in the middle of the room. “She’s completely right, so use your brains before trouble ensues from all of this,” Ginny stated before rushing up after Hermione. After they both left, no one spoke for a bit as most of the first four years went up to bed, showing the older years their displeasure without saying a word. In the end, only Ron and his friends were left of them. The Gryffindor Chasers and the Seeker had also gone to bed, leaving only the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan in the middle of the room. “If, after you’ve thought about all of this, and you come to this same decision, count yourselves lucky that Harry won’t try to take revenge,” Fred began. “Because the only reason that boy isn’t the head prankster of the school, with our sister Ginny and his almost-sister Tracey, is because he doesn’t want to be,” George continued. “And he knows how to out-prank even us, so watch out,” they finished together before leading Lee Jordan from the room to go to bed. “Do you believe them, Ron?” Dean Thomas asked the redhead, and Ron looked his friend over before looking over the other fourth years. “Yeah, I reckon I do, Dean,” he finally said. “Even more, I reckon I agree with their views, and maybe you should ask around to find out what they are. Maybe we’ll find out that we have more in common with them than we know and will want to be friends with Harry and his huge group of friends. We just saw how much they all like him, and there may be a reason for it.” Ron turned and headed for bed, done talking. He had planted the seeds in his friends’ minds, and he hoped they grew into something beautiful. In the Common Room, everyone was talking quietly about Harry Potter being a Champion and what they thought of it. Cedric entered the Hufflepuff Common Room near the kitchens, and was shocked at the sight in front of him. Instead of waiting for him, his House was divided with the Journal group on one side and everyone else on the other. Susan, Matthew, Kyle, and Laura, the Hufflepuff leaders, were at the front of the Journal group, and that was when he figured out what was going on. “You’re all traitors for siding with the Slytherin who is just trying to take away Cedric and Hufflepuff’s glory!” Cedric’s friend Derek was yelling at the younger students. “Derek! Stop!” he yelled as he walked between the groups and stood facing his friend. “Now, all of you sit on opposite sides of this Common Room, and let me speak!” Everyone quickly rushed to sit down as they watched the most liked, hard-working, and calm Hufflepuff of them all get angry. “I am only going to say this once, so listen closely,” he stated in a hard voice. “Harry Potter did not enter himself into the Tournament! He was entered by someone else without his knowledge, and now he has to compete. Harry himself proved it by willingly taking Veritaserum in front of everyone in the room. No one knows who did it, but he was entered. “Something else I’d like to remind you all of is the fact that Harry went around the school with truth spells to prove that he wasn’t going to enter for almost two months, yet you turn on him right away when this happens. I’m glad you’re all standing up for me, but it isn’t fair on Harry. “Besides, he hasn’t made it a secret at all that he’s been rooting for me to be Champion since word got out that I was entering. He was clapping just as hard as you lot were when I got called, though I’m betting none of you noticed it. That boy, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, goes through more trouble because of his name, fame, and everything else in his life. Don’t add to it! “Every year something has happened to him, and he wanted a quiet year for once. Now he’s not going to get it, but he won’t complain because he’s like that. He accepts everything that happens to him because he knows he can’t avoid it, but we can make it easier on him by not attacking him about something that isn’t his fault! “Now, I’m going to bed, and I don’t want to hear another word from any of you. Remember my words, and figure out by tomorrow what you’re going to do about it. I’m not expecting you to cheer for him instead of me, but I would like it if you’d root for both of us seeing as we’re both part of a deadly competition, but I’ll understand completely if you don’t. Just do not treat him like scum.” Cedric turned and went down the hall to his room, the younger years right behind him as he had said everything they had wanted to be said. Behind them, the older students were in shock as they realized what they had been doing. Harry was unaware of all of this as he entered his own Common Room. He was met by silence as he walked in to see every single Slytherin watching him. Sighing internally, he realized he had things to say. “Ask Professor Snape if you have to, but I proved to everyone that I didn’t enter myself by willingly taking Veritaserum,” he said to the room, and that made a few of the older students stir. “I don’t care if you believe me or not,” he continued. “All I care about is that you don’t treat Cedric any differently, don’t make fun of the other Houses because I’m a champion, and just leave everything alone. Cheer for Cedric if you want to because he is the actual Hogwarts Champion, but don’t be rude or mean about it. That’s all I ask of you.” Harry then moved to sit with his friends. They were all looking at him a bit sadly, but he could tell they understood. “How are you holding up?” Tracey asked from beside him. “I’ll survive,” he sighed as he sank down onto the couch a bit more, the rest of the House finally beginning to talk and move again. “What happened?” Theo asked, and Harry slowly began telling them what he knew. When he was done, they all just stared at him for a bit. “Wow,” Daphne finally said. “You don’t even know what the first task is?” Tracey asked, and Harry shook his head. “Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur agreed that we’re going to work together, though, so if one of us finds out, all of us will know by the task,” he told them. “At least there’s that,” she muttered. “Have you heard anything from the other Houses?” he asked. “All of the leaders are talking right now,” Maya said, and Harry could tell from the look in her eye that meant in the leaders’ section of the Journals, not the normal area. Her Journal was open on her lap, and she was mostly just listening. “And?” he asked her. “Each House had a huge fight between the Journal group and the rest,” Astoria said from beside Daphne. “Cedric stopped Hufflepuff’s, Hermione and Ginny shut up Gryffindor, and the leaders outsmarted the Ravenclaws.” “What happened in here?” Harry finally asked, knowing they had been waiting for it. “The older students began asking us how you had done it and why you had done it,” Blaise said. “We told them you hadn’t, and that shut them up as they tried to decide if it was true or not. Then they began talking about the different ideas of what could have happened until you came in. Mostly, they wanted to hear it from you, so they waited.” “At least there’s that,” he muttered quietly. “I’m going to bed,” he said louder to the group. “I’m tired and need some rest.” “Go,” Tracey said softly, and he smiled a little at her before turning to head to his dorm. “He’ll be alright,” Harry heard her tell the others as he left. Around the school, students of all ages were thinking about what they had been told and what they knew. All around, many views were changing, and decisions were being made. Hogwarts was changing again. AN: So… Like I said, much longer than my usual chapter, mainly because I couldn’t find a place to cut it off, so I decided just to leave it at 19 Pages rather than my normal 10. Anyway, I hope this answers the many questions about the Tournament, Champions, and Ron. My only comment about Ron is this: His future isn’t what most would expect because he isn’t what most will expect in my story. If you’re truly curious about my view on Ron in this story, maybe I’ll be kind enough to tell you — depends on my mood. Thank you all for the well wishes last week. I’m feeling much healthier than last weekend, though it took at least half the week for that to happen. I’ve been busy with my volunteer work, but I’m finally writing September 1st, 1996 in the third story, so it’s coming along nicely. Perhaps when I return home my posting will speed up immensely. We shall see. For now, I’m just going to try to write as much of this story as I can before school starts in August, for I’ve got two AP classes, and not the easy ones like Psychology, but Chemistry and Calculus. Still, I’ve got over half of sixth year outlined, and ideas for the rest plus seventh year; all I need to do is write them out. By the way, with Chapter Nine of the third story written (I’m working on Chapter Ten right now), I’ve officially written 100 Chapters for this entire series in total. Add on another Seven that make up the Final Battle to the end of Harry’s years at Hogwarts, add on the Epilogue, and… Holy… 108 Chapters written already, and I’ve still got basically two school years and a summer to write. Can we say “Long Series” anyone? I hope you enjoyed this lovely chapter and the reactions of the four Houses. Please leave a review. |
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