Chapter 518 - Ch: 3-5

CHAPTER THREE -

Bazinga

"Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Merlin!" McGonagall gasped.

Hagrid, too, wore a shocked expression, and all colour had left Moody's face. Snape and Flitwick also looked shaken, but the other teachers and the judges were clearly unfamiliar with the name and seemed confused.

Most students looked at each other and wondered why the Headmaster and the senior staff were so upset by the name of the last champion.

"Tom who?"

"Who's that?"

"Isn't that the barkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron?"

"What kind of name is Marvolo, anyway?"

The murmur rose again.

Harry noticed that Ginny Weasley was very pale – she obviously knew the name. Ron frowned, deep in thought, probably trying to remember where he had heard the name before. Fred and George looked at Harry and Hermione expectantly, clearly hoping for an explanation. Apparently, no one had told them the details of how the Chamber of Secrets had been opened two years ago.

Harry wondered why the origins of Lord Voldemort were not widely known. He had never thought of it before, but exposing the leader of a terrorist group fighting for Pureblood supremacy as the son of a Muggle seemed like a smart thing to do. Harry didn't understand why the Headmaster hadn't made this information public long ago. He decided to take action and took a few steps towards Dumbledore at the head table.

The Great Hall quieted down when The-Boy-Who-Lived addressed The-Greatest-Wizard-Alive. "Headmaster, Sir, won't you tell the school, and all those not in the know, who Tom Riddle is? What name he is more commonly known by, today?"

Dumbledore had a pained expression on his face as he answered, "Harry, I really don't think that would be wise-"

"Then I'll do it," Harry interrupted. He turned towards the hall and said with a raised voice, "Tom Riddle-"

"Harry, stop!" Dumbledore shouted, but Harry ignored him.

"Tom Riddle is named after his Muggle father. But he detested that fact and took another name. Tom Ri-"

He paused when he was distracted by a shocked gasp from Hermione. He followed her gaze and saw that back at the head table, Dumbledore had drawn his wand and aimed it at him. Hermione, too, had just pulled out her wand and was about to raise it in defence.

Quickly, Harry continued, "Tom Riddle is the birth name of-"

"Silencio!"

"Protego!"

"-VOLDEMORT!" Harry shouted just as Dumbledore's spell dissipated against Hermione's shield.

The students screamed. A young girl at the Hufflepuff table fainted.

Hermione and Dumbledore both lowered their wands. The Headmaster had a very resigned expression on his face, and Hermione gazed in shock upon the wand in her hand. She was obviously shaken by the fact that she had just (kind of) cast a spell against Albus Dumbledore, and then (kind of) won.

At the same time, many students at the Slytherin table jumped up in rage, among them several students from Durmstrang.

"YOU LIE, POTTER!" Draco Malfoy shouted.

"The Dark Lord is no son of a Muggle!" an enraged older Slytherin boy insisted.

"Мудак! Иди на хуй!" a boy from Durmstrang yelled at Harry, drawing his wand.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore hollered and created a loud cannon bang with his wand.

The Great Hall quieted down again, but the students at the Slytherin table remained standing.

"Sit down, everyone," Dumbledore ordered impatiently.

Harry glowered at the wannabe Death Eaters. "If you have a problem with the Dork Lord's heritage, I suggest you take it up with him," he shouted, causing all the students that were just sitting down to shoot up again.

"SIT DOWN!" Dumbledore yelled. "And Harry, please stop this! This is getting us nowhere."

Harry glared at all of them defiantly but remained silent. He had achieved his goal and expected the revelation to be on the front page of the Daily Prophet the day after tomorrow at the latest.

The Headmaster sighed and addressed the Hall, "Very well, the feast is over. Please return to your common rooms or your accommodations, respectively. All the students whose names came out of the Goblet, please join the judges, professors, and other champions in the antechamber. Harry, please join us, too. There is much to discuss."

Harry nodded and together with Hermione, Fred, and George, he walked towards the head table. At the same time, the other students rose and slowly left the Great Hall while talking to each other with low voices. Some looked angrily at Harry, Hermione, or the twins, some of the Gryffindors patted them on their shoulders as they passed by, but most students just looked confused or a bit frightened.

#

The four Gryffindors followed the judges into the antechamber. Snape, dragging along Crabbe and Goyle, was the last one to enter the room.

Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum, and Fleur Delacour got up from the benches they had been sitting on, looking confused, annoyed, and curious all at the same time.

"What is going on?" Cedric asked the crowd, "We've been waiting for almost half an hour."

"What are ze leetle children doing in 'ere?" Fleur asked with an annoyed expression that was matched by Krum.

Any answer was forestalled by Snape slamming the door of the antechamber shut behind him. He then lunged towards Harry and grabbed him by the collar of his robes.

"FIVE THOUSAND POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR AND DETENTION UNTIL YOU GRADUATE, POTTER!" screamed the enraged Potions Master.

"Why?" Harry choked out.

"YOU KNOW WHY!"

"Severus, you will stop manhandling one of my students at once!" McGonagall demanded, coming to Harry's defence.

Grudgingly, Snape let go of him. Despite his shock, Harry couldn't help but be surprised that Snape was even bothering with points and detentions and didn't just demand his expulsion.

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore said sternly, "I think we should talk to the suspected culprits before we take any disciplinary actions."

Snape only wrinkled his nose in response.

"What is going on?" Cedric asked once more and turned towards his Head of House Professor Sprout.

Dumbledore sighed. "It seems that we have some additional participants for the tournament."

Karkaroff huffed. "That remains to be discussed."

"Oui, zat's true," Madame Maxime agreed with the Durmstrang Headmaster.

"Let's try to get to the bottom of this first, shall we?" Professor Sprout suggested.

"Quite right, Pomona," Dumbledore agreed and turned towards the four Gryffindors.

The four students remained silent and looked defiantly at the Headmaster and the other enraged tournament organisers that gathered behind him. Both Harry and Hermione couldn't hide their nervousness, but the twins appeared surprisingly relaxed and quite a bit amused – clearly, they found themselves in situations like this frequently.

"Now, please tell us what happened today," Dumbledore then demanded with barely suppressed anger.

"Gladly," Fred said, "Today, at around seven, I woke up from a rather pleasant dream involving three most charming Gryffindor chasers, then-"

"Enough!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your disrespect and detention with Mr Filch tomorrow!"

Dumbledore nodded in agreement and turned his gaze towards Hermione.

"Miss Granger, would you be able to shed some light on this situation?" Dumbledore asked with an intimidating look, apparently going after what he presumed to be the easiest target.

Hermione gulped and squared her shoulders.

"I- I think I will exercise my right to remain silent," she informed the Headmaster and the other adults.

"So will I," Harry immediately concurred.

"There is a right to remain silent?" Fred wondered.

"It's a Muggle thing," Harry replied curtly.

"Oh, in that case," George said, "I will not exercise my right to remain silent, but my right to make loud wailing noises." And he proceeded to do just that, with his delighted twin brother joining in immediately.

"AAAAAAUUUUUUUU-aaaaaauuuuuuu-AAAAAAAUUUUUU-"

"UUIIII-uuuuiiiiii-UUUUIIIIII-uuuuiiiiiii-UUUIIIIII-uuuiiiiiii-"

"SILENCE!" Snape, Crouch, and Karkaroff all screamed at the same time as they drew their wands.

"Stop-!"

"-Infringing-!"

"-Upon our-!"

"-Rights!" the twins shouted as they dodged silencing spells cast by Snape and the two judges, but soon they were hit and could only move their lips in muted protest.

Harry had difficulties to suppress his laughter at the twins' antics, even though he could not quite see the wisdom in enraging the judges and professors even further.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor each, and a full week of detention with Mr Filch!" a seething Professor McGonagall informed the Weasley brothers and then turned towards Harry and Hermione. "You can start talking now, or join them in their detention."

"I'm sorry, we have no idea what happened," Harry replied. "I'm only here to support my girlfriend anyway. But we're just as bewildered as everyone else. Why is no one questioning Mr Crabbe or Mr Goyle, maybe they know something?"

"I think we can all see that no one here is more confused about this situation than these two gentlemen," Crouch said dismissively, and given the blank looks of the two Slytherin boys, Harry wasn't surprised that his attempt at diversion had failed.

"Now," Dumbledore spoke up again, his annoyance clear in his voice, "You have one last chance to come clean and admit to a prank that has gotten out of hand, and we shall show some lenience. Or, we will be forced to take further action, and the consequences for you would be much more serious. You would probably be facing expulsion."

Harry gulped and glanced towards Hermione. They shared a look and came to the silent agreement to stick to their story. They were pretty sure that there was no incriminating evidence.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, but I don't know what happened," Harry said.

"Nor do I," Hermione concurred.

Crouch sneered. "Fine, then. I'm curious if that story of yours will hold up when you are questioned by the DMLE under Veritaserum."

Harry and Hermione tensed. This was it. Hermione had told Harry of the Truth Potion when they were discussing the possible consequences of their actions in the library a few hours earlier. She had also explained that the use of Veritaserum was highly restricted, especially its use on minors. It could only be used by Aurors and required the permissions of the Minister or the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the permission of the minor's guardians, and the permission of the Headmaster. The Minister would, of course, permit the DMLE to employ Veritaserum, and at least in the case of Harry, the guardians' permission would also surely be granted. The Dursleys would always be glad to cause him trouble.

But when Harry and Hermione had discussed things, the couple had been almost certain that the Headmaster would not allow for them to be questioned by the Ministry under the Truth Potion. Too many things could come to light that Dumbledore would not want to be made public. Things like him hiding the Philosopher's Stone that was hunted by Voldemort behind deadly traps in a school full of children. Dumbledore would not risk such information to surface during an interrogation. At least, they hoped so.

To Harry's relief, the Headmaster seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because he suddenly got a very concerned expression on his face.

"Let's not rush into things, Bartemius," he said. "I will question these four most troublesome students myself tomorrow. Let's see how things go from there."

Crouch protested, but Dumbledore didn't budge. "Don't worry, Bartemius," he said, "I'm sure the guilty party will be identified soon enough."

Snape snorted angrily at that, but Crouch nodded reluctantly. Then, the Ministry Department Head frowned and asked the Headmaster, "What about other forensic evidence? Should we ask the Aurors to examine what spells were cast onto the Goblet and by whom?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I doubt that would have revealed any useful information. But in any case, the Goblet of Fire is utterly destroyed. We won't find any significant traces of residual magic on it."

Harry and Hermione shared a guilty look. That had not been an intended outcome.

Moody suddenly perked up. "Now that the Goblet is destroyed, doesn't that mean that the champions are no longer required to compete in the tournament?" he asked, looking very relieved for some reason.

Dumbledore looked at the old Auror quizzically. "I'm afraid that is not how this works, Alastor. You should know this. That would be like trying to get out of a contract by breaking the quill it was signed with. The contracts are still in effect. They cannot be revoked."

"Right, of course," Moody muttered. He looked very pale at hearing this. Harry wondered why that was. Maybe the retired Auror was worried that his secret lover Crouch would be blamed for the tournament's lack of security and get fired? Harry decided to put the matter out of his mind when Madame Maxime raised her voice.

"Mais Dumbly-dorr, clearly zese students cheated to get into ze tournament. We 'ave to exclude zem! And, naturellement, we should only allow students to compete! No ozzers."

"Alas, my dear," Dumbledore replied, "that is neither here nor there. The name coming out of the Goblet constitutes a binding magical contract. All the people selected have to compete; there is no way around it. And as the judges, we are bound by very similar contracts to allow their participation. There is nought for us to do about it."

"If the additional champions are not removed, Durmstrang will withdraw from the tournament," Karkaroff shouted angrily.

"So will Beauxbatons," Maxime agreed.

Dumbledore sighed. "Your students may of course return to their respective school, but your champions are just as bound to compete as the others."

In the meantime, Cedric approached Harry, an upset look on his face. "So, we will compete against each other once more?" the Hufflepuff asked.

"What?" Harry replied. "Oh, no! Not me. Hermione will compete. And the twins. And, well, Crabbe and Goyle over there." Cedric raised his eyebrows, and Harry continued, "And, well, for some reason some more names came out of the Goblet. Minister Fudge, and Peter Pettigrew, who's a Death Eater, and... Voldemort."

Cedric's eyes got wider and wider as Harry listed the names, and he flinched at the last one.

"You- you are kidding me, right?" Cedric asked and looked at Professor Sprout for some assurance.

"Nope." Harry grinned. "But don't be too mad. You're still the official Hogwarts champion."

"That's not really what I'm mad about," Cedric muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

There was a short silence in the antechamber when all discussions had come to an end.

Bagman took this as an opportunity to speak up. "Well, shall we move on, then?" he said cheerfully, smiling at the assembled crowd. "Got to give our champions their instructions, right? Barty, want to do the honours?"

"Yes," Crouch said absentmindedly, "Yes... the first task..."

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told the students who gathered around him. "You will not be told what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard..."

Hermione cleared her throat and Crouch looked at her briefly.

"Or witch, of course... yes, very important," he continued. "The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the judges."

He went on to explain that the champions would face the task only armed with their wands and that they were not allowed to receive any help from their teachers.

Finally, he came to an end. "Last but not least, due to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from the exams at the end of the year."

Hermione gasped in horror.

"WHAT?" she shouted, utterly appalled. "That's unacceptable!"

Crouch gave Hermione a startled look, but McGonagall almost smiled despite her clear anger over the situation and answered, "While you are exempted from the exams, you may of course voluntarily participate in them if you wish, Miss Granger."

"Oh, all right then," Hermione answered, much relieved.

"Yes, well," Crouch said and turned towards Dumbledore. "I think that is all. Headmaster?"

"Quite," Dumbledore agreed, "I think we should end this meeting now, as Bartemius, Ludo, and I have a pressing meeting with the Minister." Both Crouch and Bagman grimaced in response but nodded.

Dumbledore then turned towards the four Gryffindor students. "Messrs Weasley, Miss Granger, Harry – this is not over. We will talk about this tomorrow. Messrs Weasley, I expect you in my office at eight in the morning, Harry and Miss Granger at nine, is that understood?"

Harry and Hermione nodded, but Fred and George gesticulated wildly in response.

"Oh, right," Dumbledore muttered and waved his wand. "Finite."

"Thank you, Headmaster," the finally un-muted twins chorused, uncharacteristically cowed.

Harry gave a curt nod towards Cedric and took Hermione's hand. Followed by the twins, they quickly left the antechamber to make their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

#

They had only made it to the second floor when Fred and George overtook Harry and Hermione and stopped before them, causing the couple to halt, too.

The twins knelt down in front of the couple and bowed.

"Never..." Fred started, and they began in their usual twin speak.

"...in the history of pranks..."

"...was or will there ever be..."

"...a prank as amazing..."

"...as astonishing..."

"...as perfect as this."

"In fact, I don't even know if we want to continue pranking people."

"How could we ever hope to top this?" George ended.

"Well," Harry said and shared a look with his amused girlfriend, "I'm glad that you liked it. So, you're not mad at us for stealing you the show back there?"

"Mad at him, he says!" Fred exclaimed.

"Never!" George said with conviction.

"Really, just to have been there and to have seen this," Fred said and slightly shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

"It was the most beautiful thing we have ever seen," his equally moved brother finished.

"Thank you," Hermione replied with a smile. "But you realise that this was not only a prank, but also a political statement, and a move in a war that now hopefully will never happen?"

"But those are the best kind of pranks," George answered as if stating the obvious.

"Fine," Hermione said, "now get up! If I'm not totally mistaken, there's a party waiting for us in the common room."

#

Indeed, the noise when the four students opened the portrait of the Fat Lady was deafening. Students were cheering, screaming, whistling and applauding as the three Triwizard Champions and The-Boy-Who-Lived walked into the Gryffindor common room.

As their 'prank' had been a full success, Harry was in quite a party mood as well. He enjoyed navigating the common room with his arm around his girlfriend, receiving congratulations and deflecting any questions on how they had managed to get around Dumbledore's Age Line. They also refused to comment on how the other names had come out of the Goblet.

However, they used the opportunity to spread the word that Pettigrew hadn't been killed, that he was the true betrayer of the Potters, that Sirius Black was innocent, and that Voldemort was most likely still alive. But since the couple wasn't willing to explain how they had acquired this information, many of their fellow Gryffindors remained unconvinced.

As the party went on, Harry tried to convince Hermione to share a glass of Firewhisky with him, but he quickly shrank under her disapproving glare and opted for a Butterbeer instead. He fetched them two bottles of the beverage and opened them, passing one to his girlfriend. Before he drank, he raised his bottle.

"To Hermione Granger, Triwizard Champion!" he toasted, eliciting cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Harry then leaned towards Hermione. "And to the downfall of Riddle," he whispered contently.

"To a Halloween that has been kind to you, for a change," she responded for only Harry to hear, clinking her bottle to his.

The party continued late into the evening. Harry was unsurprised that Ron was nowhere to be seen while he and Hermione made their rounds in the common room. However, they were soon approached by another Weasley.

Ginny also had a Butterbeer in her hand, but her expression was more sombre than those of the partying crowd as she faced the couple.

"Thank you – for doing this to Tom," she said sincerely. "And good luck in the tournament, Hermione, don't get yourself hurt, okay?"

Hermione smiled in response and nodded, and Ginny hesitated.

"And... Congratulations you two! I guess I haven't gotten around to say it before," she said with a slightly sad smile, but a smile, nonetheless.

"Thanks, Ginny, we appreciate it," Hermione said, visibly relieved that the youngest Weasley was not about to emulate Ron.

A little while later, Harry and Hermione found themselves standing in a comparatively quiet corner of the common room.

"Wow, so all that really happened, huh?" Harry said with a slight shake of his head.

"They really shouldn't have used the Goblet of Fire," Hermione replied with a smirk, but then she grimaced.

"Though I'm a bit sad that we destroyed it," she admitted, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Well, anyway," Harry said after a while, "I think I'll head up to get some sleep. Last night was very short. I'm really knackered."

"Yes," Hermione replied, "Though, I don't know if I'll get any sleep tonight with all the excitement about what happened today."

"I know what you mean," Harry agreed but yawned at the same time.

Hermione blushed slightly. "You know... I slept really well last night snuggled up to you on the couch in the common room."

Harry's cheeks also got a little pink. "Yes, so did I..." he said and looked at the partying students. "Too bad that this party will probably go on for quite a bit longer."

Hermione hummed noncommittally.

"Uhm, you know," Harry said hesitantly, "I could always lend you my Invisibility Cloak, and you could sneak up to my dorm, if you want, that is, not to do anything, just to snuggle up, just because, like you said, it-"

"YES!" Hermione interrupted his ramblings. "Uhh, I mean, yeah... yeah, maybe, why not, that sounds nice. Just to snuggle up, of course."

"Of course," Harry replied quickly.

There was an awkward pause between the blushing teens.

"Brilliant, I'll fetch the cloak," Harry then blurted out and ran up to his dormitory.

He returned half a minute later and handed the tightly folded Invisibility Cloak to Hermione.

They then made a huge spectacle out of saying goodnight to each other at the foot of the stairs to the dormitories, ignoring the crowd's whistles and shouts as they kissed.

"See you in a few minutes," Hermione whispered before they separated and walked up towards their respective dorm.

#

In a large manor house in the small village of Little Hangleton, a middle-aged man with grubby skin and patches of mousy brown hair stared frightened and disbelievingly at a short letter in his hands. After a while, he had gathered himself and entered a dimly lit chamber on the second floor of the derelict house.

"What took you so long, Peter?" asked a cold voice. It came from a small homunculus with pale skin, long fingers, and slightly reptilian features. "What is the message of my servant? Was the boy entered into the tournament successfully?"

"N-N-No, my Lord," Peter Pettigrew answered the Dark Lord with a squeaky voice.

"What? Crucio!" Riddle roared.

He lifted the curse a few seconds later and looked down on Pettigrew, who lay on the ground, still twitching.

"Explain," Riddle demanded coldly.

"Crouch reports th-that he entered the boy's name and confounded the Goblet according to plan. B-But he must have made a mistake. The boy was not selected," Pettigrew whined. "B-B-But other people were."

"Other people? What other people?"

Pettigrew trembled. "The sons of two of your former servants, Crabbe and Goyle. The Weasley twin brothers. P-P-Potter's Mudblood girlfriend. And a-and..."

"So speak!" Riddle yelled impatiently.

"M-M-Minister Fudge, a-a-and and and-"

"Crucio!"

Wormtail screamed in pain and thrashed around on the floor.

"Out with it!" Riddle shouted when he lifted the curse.

"M-M-Me, my L-Lord, my n-name, a-and-" Wormtail closed his eyes and whispered, "And you, my Lord, your name came out of the Goblet."

"CRUCIO!" Riddle shouted in rage.

While his servant was screaming on the floor in front of him, Riddle pondered his next moves. Obviously, his current plan lay in tatters. How could things have turned out so wrong? What had he ever done to deserve this? Why had all his servants have to be such bumbling idiots? Brain-dead dilettantes or spineless cowards, all of them! Except for dear Bella, of course.

Now, he had to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. He! That would require some planning. Luckily, he was stronger now than when he had possessed that fool Quirell. He didn't fancy another year of hanging out of the back of the head of some imbecile. No, he would do things differently, now.

Within a short while, Riddle had devised a rough plan. He smiled evilly and nodded in satisfaction, amazed by his own brilliance.

Then, he noticed that he had been holding Pettigrew under the Cruciatus Curse for the entire time of his scheming, but the screaming had stopped, nonetheless.

Riddle looked down and saw the lifeless, bloodshot eyes of his dead minion staring back at him. Wormtail's face was frozen in an expression of total agony.

"Well, that complicates matters," the homunculus muttered angrily.

CHAPTER FOUR -

Plausible Deniability

It was half-past eight on Sunday morning, and Harry and Hermione were having breakfast in the Great Hall. Despite the impending meeting with the Headmaster, Harry couldn't help but smile contently.

After all, it had been a great morning so far. He had discovered that the only thing better than falling asleep cuddled into his beautiful girlfriend was waking up next to her. There had been a slight awkwardness, with him being a boy and waking up with a female body pressed against him and all, but Hermione hadn't been bothered by his condition, and so he hadn't been too embarrassed about it.

Hermione had retreated to her dorm under his Invisibility Cloak early in the morning. When they had met in the common room after they had showered and dressed, he had suggested that she might just keep the cloak for now. The enthusiastic kiss he had received in return left him hopeful that the last night's arrangement would be a regular occurrence from now on.

He was brought out of his musings by the post owls swarming into the Great Hall and descending upon the tables. Neville, who sat across Harry and Hermione and next to Dean and Seamus, received his copy of the Daily Prophet, and after a quick glance at it, he smirked and tossed it to the couple.

Expectantly, Harry and Hermione reached for the newspaper and began to read.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT SABOTAGED

Disgrace for Hogwarts and Ministry

By Rita Skeeter

The selection of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament on Halloween evening left Hogwarts and the British Ministry the laughingstock of the entire world. Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Ministry Department Head Bartemius Crouch, and the other judges of the Triwizard Tournament watched on like fools when the Goblet of Fire selected not three, but eleven champions for the tournament, among them Minister Fudge himself, and – if the shocking rumours are to be believed – He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The implications of these events are still unclear.

We at the Prophet wonder: Who is responsible for this clear lack of security around the Triwizard Tournament? And was this fiasco caused by malicious sabotage, or was it the result of an ill-considered prank?

At the moment, all evidence points towards the Muggle-born witch Harmony Ranger (15), the girlfriend of the Boy-Who-Lived, and the twin brothers Fred and George Weasley (both 16), sons of Ministry official Arnold Weasley...

"Evidence? What evidence? And they didn't even get your name right. Nor Mr Weasley's," Harry muttered angrily.

Hermione took it in stride. "Are you cheating on me already, Harry? Who is this Harmony Ranger? I think I should have some words with her."

Harry chuckled and gave his girlfriend a small peck on the lips. "Never!"

He then glanced over the other headlines and was surprised that there were no articles on Tom Riddle's heritage.

"Why do you figure they didn't write more about Riddle?" he wondered.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, they probably wanted to verify the story first and investigate diligently," she speculated.

Harry chortled, and Neville, Dean, and Seamus all burst into laughter, much to Hermione's irritation.

It took several minutes for him and the boys to calm down again.

"But, seriously, why didn't they bring the story?" Harry asked again when he finally had gathered his breath.

"The Prophet would never waste two sensational headlines on a single edition," Neville explained, still chuckling over Hermione's hilarious joke.

"Ah, that makes sense," Harry said, nodding sagely.

The Gryffindors continued with their breakfast. At a quarter to nine, Harry noticed Fred and George entering the Great Hall. Their meeting with the Headmaster had apparently come to an end. Harry waved to the twin brothers, and one of them winked and the other gave a thumbs-up in response. From this distance, it was completely impossible to tell them apart.

Harry was relieved to see that the twins were as cheerful as ever as they sat down with Alicia and Angelina at the far end of the Gryffindor table. Their interrogation with Dumbledore couldn't have gone too badly.

However, as soon as Fred and George had sat down, a huge flock of owls descended upon them. Within moments, they were swamped with seemingly hundreds of letters, and howlers exploded all around them. Among those howlers, drowning out all others, were at least three sent by their own mother. As the howlers all went off roughly at the same time, Harry couldn't make much sense of Mrs Weasley's screeching, but she was obviously very upset with her sons.

Harry suddenly was very glad that the Prophet had gotten Hermione's name wrong. It meant that any howlers aimed at her would be addressed incorrectly.

But then he remembered that he himself had also been named in the newspaper article. He looked up and groaned when he noticed several owls heading towards him. A minute later, there was a pile of almost two dozen letters before him on the table. Thankfully, he had not received any howlers.

Very carefully, he reached for one of the envelopes and slowly opened it. He skimmed over the letter that was from an enraged wizard, who urged Harry to 'keep his woman in line'. Knowing Hermione, Harry was pretty sure that attempting such a thing might very well be the last thing he would ever do. Not that he had any inclination to try.

He shook his head and moved on to a bright pink envelope. It contained a letter on rose stationery, which informed him in a very girlish cursive hand that while he regrettably was only a half-blood, as a hero to the wizarding world, he still had an obligation to choose a girl of better breeding than some upstart Muggle-born. Harry was actually surprised that the sender didn't use the other M-word. He tore the letter apart and crumpled the shreds in his hands, not bothering to read further or look who had signed the letter.

Harry sighed. "Don't bother," he said to Hermione, who had also reached for an envelope. "Best to ignore them. Or if you have enough space in your bookbag, you could of course gather the letters to burn them in the fireplace later..."

His girlfriend glanced over the letters, but then she shrugged dismissively and returned her attention to her breakfast.

#

Shortly before nine o'clock, Harry and Hermione made their way to the headmaster's office.

"Stay calm and stick to the story," Hermione said nervously, and Harry had the impression she was telling this to him as much as to herself.

"Yes, and maybe try to keep him off-balance, just like the twins did with the judges yesterday," Harry added and squeezed the girl's hand. "Don't worry; he has absolutely no evidence against us."

Hermione nodded, and they walked in silence until they reached the gargoyle in front of the headmaster's office. The statue moved aside when the two Gryffindors neared and opened the way to the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

Harry and Hermione walked up the stairs and knocked on the office door, which immediately swung open.

Dumbledore was awaiting them behind his desk.

"Harry, Miss Granger, please enter and sit down," he said with a grave voice, and the couple took their seats on two comfy chairs in front of the desk.

Harry knew the situation was serious when they weren't offered any lemon drops.

"I can't say how disappointed I am with you," Dumbledore said with his trademarked disappointed-grandfather-look.

"We're sorry. We won't do it again," Harry said ruefully but then eyed Dumbledore with curiosity. "But how did you know that we were helping the Weasley twins to put itching powder into Professor Snape's underwear?"

Dumbledore blinked. "What?"

"What?" Harry replied, trying to keep the old man off-balance.

Dumbledore shook his head in annoyance. "You know that's not why you are here. You are here because you have embarrassed Hogwarts and the whole of Britain on the international stage. You entered not only Miss Granger's name into the Goblet of Fire, which was highly irresponsible, but also the names of others. You destroyed-"

"Allegedly," Hermione interjected.

"Excuse me?"

"Allegedly, Sir. Your evidence, for all of this, is circumstantial at best. You have no proof whatsoever that we are responsible."

"Messrs Fred and George Weasley already confessed and told me how you did it."

"Oh, please," Hermione said dismissively. "With all due respect, Sir, but that's the oldest trick in the world. The twins said no such thing."

"So, you will remain silent?"

Hermione only gave a decisive nod in response.

Dumbledore sighed and turned towards Harry. "Harry, do you have anything to say?"

After a moment of hesitation, Harry nodded.

"Yes, Sir. I want to unequivocally state that we didn't do nothing, and if, hypothetically speaking, we had done something, it would have been because we were put under the Imperious Curse."

Hermione snorted next to him.

The Headmaster looked at the couple with annoyance.

"This attitude is really most unbecoming to you, Harry, Miss Granger," he said with gritted teeth.

The teens didn't answer, and Dumbledore, too, remained silent for a while.

Then, he sighed, turned his attention fully towards Hermione, and looked her in the eyes. Hermione stared back defiantly, ignoring the slight headache she was getting as she looked into the Headmaster's twinkling eyes.

After a long while, Dumbledore blinked, straightened up in his chair and looked at the teens before him with a grave expression on his face.

"Now, I know for a fact that you two have entered your name, Miss Granger, the names of Messrs Crabbe and Goyle, of Minister Fudge, Peter Pettigrew, and Tom Riddle into the Goblet of Fire. I even know to which schools you assigned each name. St Brutus Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys for Tom? A most fitting choice, even if I have never heard of the school."

"I- we- we don't-" Hermione stuttered, but Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively and continued.

"I'm also aware of the extenuating circumstances, Miss Granger, namely that you did this to make a point about the lack of safety in the tournament and that you expected Harry to get chosen as well... But that does not excuse what you did. You both will have to face the consequences of your actions."

Harry and Hermione shared a frightened look.

"I- I don't know what you mean, Sir. We were just as surprised as everyone else," Hermione replied very nervously. "Of course, even if, hypothetically speaking, I had entered my name into the Goblet, it would have broken no school rules. After all, there was no school rule that forbade such a thing. We were not forbidden from circumventing the Age Line. You, Sir, just stated that we wouldn't be able to do it. A challenge for inquisitive minds, if there ever was one."

"Be that as it may," Dumbledore said with annoyance, "the same cannot be said for entering other names into the Goblet, especially the Minister's. And what in the name of Merlin were you thinking when you entered the last two names into the Goblet?"

This time, it was Harry who answered, "Well, we- I mean, whoever did this thought – probably! – that this would force Riddle and Pettigrew out in the open and allow them to be captured. Why are you so upset about this, Sir? I think it was brilliant of u- uhm, I mean, of whoever did this!"

"So, what would you do if Tom shows up?" Dumbledore asked, visibly agitated. "You are endangering the entire school!"

"Oh, so we shouldn't use this school as a trap for a Dark Lord?" Hermione said with an arched eyebrow. "Is this truly where you want this discussion to go, Sir? Do you remember our first year at Hogwarts?"

The upset Headmaster brushed her comment aside. "These things are not even remotely comparable. And what about Minister Fudge? Why did you do this? The Minister is furious and is out for blood. Mr Crouch will probably lose his position at the Ministry over this, and I might have to call in quite a few favours if I want to prevent you two from getting expelled and having your wands snapped. And frankly speaking, at the moment I'm not very inclined to do so."

Hermione looked very frightened by now, and Harry felt similar. However, he wasn't ready to fold, yet. "Fudge is a spineless opportunist who tried to get Sirius killed by a Dementor. He deserved to be pranked like this. And all of that- it doesn't matter anyway, because you can't expel us without proof. And there isn't any."

Harry remained silent as Dumbledore turned his gaze towards him. Their eyes locked, and Harry winced when he felt a slight pain behind his forehead. But he ignored it, not wanting to be the one to blink first.

The Headmaster remained impassive for a while, but soon he got a hardly noticeable grim smile.

But then, suddenly, Dumbledore's eyes got wide.

"What?!" he gasped. He paled and got an anguished expression. "No! ... no... these... but Lily... how..."

Harry was completely bewildered, but he continued to stare back at the mumbling Headmaster.

After several minutes, Dumbledore slumped back into his chair. The shocked couple could clearly see the tears glistening in the Headmaster's eyes before he buried his face in his hands.

"I... I am so, so sorry, Harry," the old man said haltingly with a weak voice. "I didn't know... please... please, believe me... I should have never left you there... I should have checked up on you... I should have investigated when you asked to stay here over the summer..."

Harry realised that somehow, the Headmaster must have read his mind and had inadvertently discovered some of his childhood memories with the Dursleys. Hermione gasped and reached for Harry's hand, tears welling up in her eyes, too. Clearly, she had come to the same conclusion.

The Headmaster continued, nearly sobbing, "I am... beginning to understand how much I failed you... how much I failed James and Lily... how anyone related to Lily could ever behave in such a despicable manner..."

It took a while for Dumbledore to gather himself.

"I... I am deeply sorry, Harry... If you are willing to give me another chance, I shall try to do better, and maybe, in time, you can forgive an old man his foolish mistakes," he finally said.

Harry only nodded numbly.

With a much calmer voice, Dumbledore continued, "Thank you... Now, I think it is safe to say that Petunia and Vernon Dursley will very soon find themselves in deep trouble with the Muggle authorities. For this, there won't be any second chances. Naturally, you won't return to Privet Drive over the summer."

Harry gasped, and Dumbledore went on, "No, you'll never return there. Please inform me where you intend to stay instead, so that I can arrange for appropriate security measures. With Sirius out of prison, the matter of guardianship is easy to resolve. He will act as your guardian in every and all matters related to the school or Gringotts. For any dealings with the Ministry, I think my signature should suffice. In those matters, I will, of course, abide by any decisions Sirius and you make and shall only act as an intermediary."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry choked out.

"There is absolutely no need to thank me, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly. "It is I who has to thank you for being willing to still work with me."

Harry didn't know how to reply to that and remained silent.

After a pause, the Headmaster sighed.

"You may go. There is much I have to think about," he said.

Harry saw that Hermione was just as surprised as him by their sudden dismissal. They rose from their seats and remained silent as they made their way out of the Headmaster's office.

"And," Dumbledore spoke just as Harry was about to close the door behind him, and the teens turned around.

"Five points from Gryffindor. For a prank gone awry. The matter is closed."

Before the couple could reply, Dumbledore waved his hand, and the door closed in front of them.

#

They had only passed the gargoyle to the Headmaster's office when Hermione engulfed Harry in a bone-crushing hug and broke down in tears.

"I am sorry, too, Harry," she choked out between sobs. "I've been a terrible friend... I should have noticed... I should have done something..."

"No, Hermione," Harry protested, "I didn't want anyone to know. And it got better after I went to Hogwarts... not good, but better..."

Hermione sniffed. "At least you'll never go back there." She squeezed him again. "You don't have to say anything, but I'm there if you ever want to talk,"

"Thank you, 'Mione," Harry mumbled while he disentangled himself from her. "Not now, but eventually, that might be good."

He straightened up and took a deep breath. "Let's go to the library."

Those were the magic words for Hermione's mood to perk up immediately. Holding hands, they left the corridor to the Headmaster's office.

But then, Hermione halted again and looked at Harry with an arched eyebrow. "Mione?" she wondered.

"Oh, well, not good?" Harry asked, well aware of his girlfriend's dislike for nicknames.

Hermione frowned for a moment, but then she smiled. "No, I guess it's all right. It's sweet, actually. As long as it's only you who calls me that."

"Great," Harry replied, "So, Mione, what is it we shall do in the library? Look up spells that might help you in the tournament?"

"That, too," Hermione answered enthusiastically, "But actually, I thought that you might want to write a letter to Sirius and inform him of what Dumbledore has said. He might also be able to give us some advice for the tournament."

Harry agreed immediately, and when they arrived in the library, he began to draft a letter to his godfather.

He wrote that some pranksters – who might have been the son of Prongs and his girlfriend – might have confounded the Goblet of Fire and caused the champion selection that had been reported in the Prophet. He asked his godfather whether he could offer any advice for the tournament. Then, he also wrote that from now on, Sirius would be his guardian and that he might have to coordinate with Dumbledore on some matters.

Hermione next to him read the letter as he wrote it and chuckled. "With Sirius as your guardian, it will almost be as if you were emancipated. He will probably let you do anything you want."

Harry laughed and nodded, but then he got a thoughtful look.

"Hey, couldn't you claim to be emancipated because you compete in a tournament for of-age wizards and witches?" he asked excitedly.

Hermione looked at Harry with a mixture of concern and amusement. "No, Harry, that is not how this works. Why would you think that? That would be as if I went into a liquor shop, somehow managed to buy a bottle of Whisky despite being only fifteen, and then claimed that I, therefore, ought to be considered of age. Do you see how ridiculous that would be?"

"I guess," Harry admitted reluctantly.

He then finished the letter to Sirius by reporting that he no longer had to live with the Dursleys but didn't yet know where he would spend his summer.

"Too bad that you can't live with him while he's on the run," Hermione said. She frowned contemplatively and started to nibble on her bottom lip.

"You know," she began hesitantly, "With Sirius unavailable, you could stay with me over the summer."

"Really?" Harry wondered. "I would love to! But would your parents be okay with that?"

"Well, if I asked them if my boyfriend could stay with me for the entire summer, they wouldn't be. But that just means that I'll have to ask differently."

She grinned, fetched a parchment out of her bookbag and started to write.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I am feeling a bit sad today because I just learnt that a good friend who's an orphan was mistreated at home. The Headmaster learnt of it, too, and said that my friend's guardians would be prosecuted. But now, my friend has nowhere to go over the summer. You see, the wizarding world does not have any orphanages, nor a child protective service. It is all just so sad and depressing. Do you have any advice on what I might do to help?

Your loving daughter,

Hermione

"That should do," Hermione said, "No mention that you're a boy at all."

Seeing Harry's questioning look, she explained, "My parents are really nice people, if a bit conservative. I'm pretty sure that in their response letter, they'll say that I may invite this girl to spend the summer with us."

Smiling mischievously, she continued, "Then I'll answer: 'Thanks! I did that, and by the way, it's not a girl, it's a boy, it's Harry, I've told you about him.' But they won't be able to rescind their offer, then. And maybe a week before we leave for the summer hols, I'll write and say: 'And, by the way, Harry and I are a couple now!' But by then, they won't be able to back out."

"You would've made a fine Slytherin," Harry said, both impressed and amused.

The couple then left the library and headed to the owlery to send off the letters. Harry thought about lending Hedwig to Hermione and using a school owl for the letter to Sirius. Hedwig was quite noticeable, after all. But in the end, he decided against it. His letter just contained too much incriminating information to be entrusted to any other owl than his loyal and smart feathered friend.

The couple spent the rest of the day in the library, researching for the tournament. Harry's objections that the first task was still several weeks away, and that they didn't know what the task would entail, anyway, were thoroughly ignored by Hermione. Instead, she informed her boyfriend that he had gotten her into the tournament, so he would help her now, period. A disgruntled Harry then joined his girlfriend in combing through the fourth to seventh-year Defence and Charms books. They compiled a long list of spells that might be helpful for the tournament, to then select and try to learn the most useful ones.

Harry sighed, buried in a huge pile of books in the school library on a sunny Sunday afternoon. He had known that he would regret convincing Hermione to put her name into the Goblet, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

#

Elsewhere, later on the same day

In a small cabin somewhere in the woods of the Canadian province of Alberta, 29-year-old witch Harmony Ranger, dragon handler at the nearby dragon sanctuary, was sitting at the breakfast table, enjoying her coffee and her pancakes with maple syrup. Apart from the rustling of leaves in the wind, it was completely silent.

She sighed contently. It was for this quiet peacefulness that she lived here in the woods, far away from society's usual drama and turmoil.

She looked out of the open window and was surprised to see what appeared to be a strange dark cloud in an otherwise clear morning sky.

Even weirder, the cloud seemed to be moving exactly towards her hut.

The unfortunate witch soon found herself under an onslaught of flocks upon flocks of owls from Britain, all carrying hate mail, howlers, or even booby-trapped envelopes. Until she managed to seal all entrances to her cabin, letters were exploding all around her, while howlers screamed abuse at her.

After a few minutes, the shell-shocked witch had destroyed or vanished all letters, and her cabin looked like a war zone.

Harmony had been too busy destroying howlers and protecting herself from explosions to really pay attention to the content of the howlers. She had only understood that people were upset about some tournament, and even more upset because they believed that she had hooked up with some boy who lived. Why would people be upset about that, when the only alternative to that would be to hook up with a boy who didn't live?

She shook her head with annoyance. People were weird. And her parents wondered why she had moved out here! Obviously, she still lived far too close to society.

CH APTER FIVE -

Keep calm and carry on

The next morning during breakfast, Harry found himself once more excitedly anticipating the delivery of the Daily Prophet. He and Hermione, who sat to his right, both perked up when the first post owls flew into the hall and watched out expectantly for the Prophet's delivery owls. Soon, Neville, who sat on Harry's other side, received his copy of the Prophet. Harry grinned when he spotted the headline.

TRUE ORIGINS OF YOU-KNOW-WHO REVEALED

He smirked with satisfaction, but then Harry's eyes grew wide as he read the sub-headline.

Son of Muggle lead respectable Pureblood citizens astray

With a sinking feeling, Harry continued to read. The article went on to decry how a pretentious Muggle-born had tried to usurp power by playing to the valid concerns of old, respectable Pureblood families and tricking them into fighting for his own ends, resulting in the loss of countless lives and the near or complete extinction of many respectable old families.

"I guess I can see now why Dumbledore kept this information to himself," Harry muttered dejectedly, and Hermione nodded with a concerned expression on her face.

"Look," Hermione said and pointed at another article. "Minister Fudge reluctantly agrees to compete... wants to see culprits punished... assures public that You-Know-Who is dead... Pettigrew, too, despite the names coming out of the Goblet..."

Harry sighed. "Well, that's pretty much what was to be expected."

He was still brooding over the Prophet's articles when classes began. Their first class of the day was Herbology, which the Gryffindors shared with the Hufflepuffs.

During the class, Harry and Hermione had to endure the hostile glares of the Hufflepuff students, and even Professor Sprout behaved much colder towards them than usual. However, it wasn't as if Harry or Hermione had been great friends with any of the Hufflepuffs before, so they weren't bothered much by the treatment.

Next was Care of Magical Creatures, shared with the Slytherins. Harry and Hermione went down towards Hagrid's hut expecting a confrontation with the Snakes, and they were surprised when the Slytherins ignored them just as usual. Crabbe and Goyle eyed Harry and Hermione resentfully, but since competing in the Triwizard tournament was considered a great honour, they could hardly complain about being entered. The two Slytherin boys had apparently not yet reconciled with Draco Malfoy, who stood clearly apart from them, still sulking. All by himself, Malfoy wasn't going to pick a fight, either.

Thus, the class would have been quite enjoyable, hadn't it been for Hagrid's planned lesson of the day. The students had to take Blast-ended Skrewts for a walk so that the horrid creatures could 'relieve some pent-up energy' in the hopes that they would then stop killing each other. Harry couldn't help but think that any Skrewt killing another was all good in his book, and judging by the facial expressions of his classmates, all of them agreed with him on that.

Over the next days, things continued as they were. Harry and Hermione were shunned by the Hufflepuffs and ignored by the Slytherins. The Ravenclaws remained neutral. Ron still refused to speak to the couple and continued sulking. Like Professor Sprout, Professor McGonagall also behaved noticeable colder towards Harry and Hermione. Harry wasn't much bothered by it, but his girlfriend was disheartened. Of course, Snape acted even more hostile towards Harry than usual. Harry would have been surprised by anything else.

Ignoring all the drama to the best of their ability, Harry and Hermione put all their effort into researching and training for the tournament. Keeping their distance from the general student populace, they spent all their free time holed up in the library or unused classrooms, and maybe the occasional broom cupboard.

#

On Saturday, Harry received an answer from Sirius. It was only a short note signed by Snuffles, telling him to be at the fireplace of the Gryffindor common room at one in the morning the same night.

That was how Harry and Hermione found themselves sitting on 'their' couch in front of the fireplace at close to one o'clock in the morning. They didn't know how Sirius was going to contact them, but they didn't let themselves be bothered by it. Sitting in front of the fireplace on the comfy couch, cuddled close to each other, was by no means a hardship, after all.

Harry was looking into the flames and frowned when he spotted a form that almost appeared to be a face. Could that be...

"Sirius!" he shouted, startling his girlfriend.

"Hello, Harry," Sirius said brightly from the fire. "And the beautiful Miss Granger, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Hi Sirius, and call me Hermione," the brunette answered with a smile.

They exchanged some pleasantries, until Harry asked, "So, Sirius, have you read in the Prophet what we've been up to?"

Sirius laughed. "I did. And let me tell you, Harry: I'm extremely proud of you! Your father would've been so proud of you! Lily would've been horrified, of course. She would've grounded you until you were thirty. But James would have loved it."

They all laughed, and Sirius continued, "I'll say, with what you two have pulled there, pranking the entire school, Dumbledore, the Ministry, and Moldyshorts in one go, you two are not just worthy heirs of the Marauders. I hereby proclaim you King and Queen of the Marauders! I'll have to arrange some sort of coronation ceremony for you with Moony when we all see each other again."

Harry smiled, and Hermione looked as if she couldn't decide whether she should be flattered or annoyed.

"Well, have you any advice for us, or rather for Hermione, for the tournament?" Harry then asked his godfather.

Sirius frowned. "I'm afraid not. I've never heard of the tournament before, to be honest. And since you don't know what the tasks will be- you don't right?"

Harry shook his head.

"Well, then I don't know what I could tell you. Help and be there for each other. Play to your strengths, Hermione, but you know those better than I do."

Sirius hesitated. "However, I will advise you to be careful around some of the judges. Karkaroff especially, he was a Death Eater, once."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes," Sirius said, "but he made a deal with the Ministry and sold out many of his fellow bastards, so they let him go."

He scowled and continued, "And be wary of Crouch, too. Try not to cross him."

Harry thought that it might be a bit late for that. "Why?" he asked.

Sirius grimaced. "He's a right bastard! He and then Minister Bagnold were the ones who put me in Azkaban and made sure that I didn't receive a trial. But at least he is a staunch enemy of the Death Eaters. Even put his own son in Azkaban for life."

"His son?" Harry blurted out, "How can he have a son?"

Sirius blinked and then got a mischievous smile. "Are you sure you want to have this conversation with your girlfriend present? You see, when a man loves a woman very much-"

"Stop it!" Harry yelled, flushed in embarrassment. "That's not what I meant. It's just that I thought that Crouch was... Well, I didn't want to spread it around; it's no one's business."

"What?" Hermione asked curiously.

Harry sighed. "The other day, I saw on the Marauder's Map that Crouch and Moody were spending the night together in Professor Moody's private quarters."

"Crouch and Moody?" Hermione and Sirius exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Harry replied.

"I don't believe it, give me the map!" Hermione said forcefully.

"It saw that last week. Not today," Harry said defensively, but fished the map out of his bookbag and gave it to Hermione, nonetheless.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," the witch stated with her wand pressed against the parchment and revealed the map.

A few moments later, her eyes grew wide. In Professor Moody's chamber, the names Alastor Moody and Bartemius Crouch were displayed next to each other.

"Maybe... I don't know... maybe they just like having sleepovers?" she suggested a bit desperately.

Harry snorted. "That seems even more unlikely to me."

"I guess it's not impossible," Sirius said from the fireplace after a pause, "I've never seen Alastor with a woman. That would explain it. The wizarding world tends to be quite prejudiced in things like this, so naturally, they would try to hide things. Even to the point of Crouch getting married for appearances' sake..."

He paused. "After all, that was the sole reason why James and Lily got married, too."

Harry and Hermione's heads snapped towards Sirius, their jaws dropping.

"HA!" the Marauder exclaimed. "Gotcha! Oh, you should have seen your faces!" he wheezed in between bouts of loud laughter.

"That was not funny, Sirius!" Harry complained with indignation while Hermione shook her head disapprovingly.

"Oh, but it was!" Sirius disagreed, still laughing.

The three continued to talk until almost three in the morning. When they finally called it a night and went to bed, Harry was in an excellent mood.

"It's strange to have some family that cares. But very nice," he said contently as he snuggled closer to Hermione, who had sneaked into his bed again.

"You'll always have a family that cares from now on," she whispered back and gave him a light kiss on the lips. "Good night."

#

The attitude of the students and professors towards the couple remained the same over the next week. The only thing that changed was that Malfoy had apparently reconciled with Crabbe and Goyle. On Friday before Potions, when the Gryffindor and Slytherin students were waiting before the classroom in the dungeons, he sauntered towards Harry and Hermione, his two goons in tow.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Potty and his little know-it-all," he said with a sneer.

"Sod off, Malfoy," Harry replied with annoyance.

"I bet you're both shitting your pants right now, with the first task coming up," the blond Slytherin said and glared hatefully at Hermione. "You will soon see that the likes of you have no chance of competing against real wizards."

Harry palmed his wand in his pocket, and only his girlfriend's hand on his arm stopped him from drawing it.

"I would be a bit more worried about your minions, if I were you," Hermione said calmly, "You do realise that these two real wizards rank at the bottom of our entire year group? While a Muggle-born like me outclasses you in every class we have."

"Don't talk to your betters like that," Malfoy hissed and turned towards Harry. "I hope you're making good use of your Mudblood whore before she expires on the task in two weeks!"

"Wow," Hermione said flatly, "that was crass, even for you."

But Harry's temper got the better of him. He drew his wand and aimed it at the Death Eater wannabe in front of him, who also raised his wand.

For a brief second, the boys glared at each hatefully, before they cast at the same time.

"Furnunculus!" Harry shouted.

"Densaugeo!" screamed Malfoy.

Malfoy was hit right between his eyes, and he screamed in pain and let his wand drop as big ugly boils sprung up in his face.

Harry stepped aside from Malfoy's spell, but that caused the spell to hit Hermione, who had reached for Harry to hold him back from fighting.

"Mione!" Harry shouted with dismay, as his girlfriend clutched her mouth and started whimpering. Her front teeth were growing rapidly.

Quickly, Harry cast, "Finite!"

It was one of the spells they had learnt in the course of the tournament preparation. Hermione's teeth stopped growing immediately, but they didn't shrink back.

Due to his diversion, Harry noticed too late that Crabbe had also drawn his wand.

"Flipendo!" the Slytherin yelled, casting the knock-back jinx.

Unfortunately for him, he had drawn his wand in such a haste that he didn't notice that he was holding it at the wrong end. Crabbe screamed in pain when the beam of light from his own wand hit him in the chest and knocked him over.

With his wand at the ready, Harry surveyed the Slytherin boys before him. Malfoy was holding his face, tears in his eyes, Crabbe lay on the ground, groaning, and Goyle was still trying to fumble his wand out of the pocket of his robe. Apparently, it was stuck.

"What is going on here?" a cold voice asked only a moment later.

Harry groaned. Great. Snape had arrived on the scene.

"Potter attacked us, Sir," Malfoy whined.

"Crabbe attacked himself," Harry retorted angrily, "And Malfoy attacked Hermione, as you can see."

Snape looked at Hermione, whose front teeth almost extended past her chin. With an indifference voice, he then said, "I don't see a difference."

Hermione whimpered, while Harry's eyes widened with rage. "WHAT?" he shouted.

Snape sneered at him. "Detention for instigating a fight, Potter, Granger. And fifty points from Gryffindor. Oh, and twenty points from Gryffindor for your disrespect, I think."

Harry had gotten used to Snape's behaviour towards him, but this treatment of his girlfriend he could not tolerate. He felt like pummelling the greasy git's face with his bare fists, but he knew he wouldn't get away with it.

With a last hate-filled look towards Snape, Harry took Hermione's arm and started to walk her towards the infirmary, so that Madam Pomfrey could fix her teeth.

"Come back here, Potter! You're not excused!" Snape screamed behind him. "DETENTION, POTTER, FOR THE WHOLE WEEK!"

Harry just walked on, tugging Hermione along.

#

Madame Pomfrey sighed when she saw Harry entering the infirmary. "Mr Potter, what happened to you this time?"

"Nothing, Madam Pomfrey, I'm just escorting Hermione here. She was hit with a spell; I didn't catch the incantation," Harry informed the school nurse, who relaxed at that.

"Oh, that's new," the woman said and turned towards Hermione.

"Ah, nothing to worry about, Miss Granger. We'll have that fixed in a jiffy," Madam Pomfrey said, pointing her wand at Hermione's enlarged teeth. "Mr Potter, please tell me when Miss Granger's teeth are back to their original size."

The nurse flicked her wand and Hermione's teeth started to shrink. Not missing this opportunity, Harry watched on carefully and let Pomfrey shrink Hermione's teeth a bit further than their original state. He knew how self-conscious Hermione had always been about her slightly larger front teeth.

"It's right now," he said when his girlfriend's teeth were at a perfectly even size.

"Thanks, Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey answered and conjured a small mirror that she handed it to Hermione. "Is it all right?"

The girl looked in the mirror, and a surprised expression appeared on her face. She then looked at Harry conflicted for a moment, before shooting him a small grateful smile.

"It's perfect. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said.

"Great. Now, shouldn't you be at the Wand Weighing ceremony, Miss Granger?"

"Pardon?"

"The Wand Weighing Ceremony for the Triwizard champions. It's not compulsory to attend, but you should have been invited," Madam Pomfrey elaborated.

Hermione replied that she hadn't been informed, and after giving the couple the directions, the healer shooed them out of the door.

"For the record," Harry said while they walked along, "I never thought that there was something wrong with your teeth. I've always thought that you had a beautiful smile. But I know that it bothered you, so why not let Madam Pomfrey fix it?"

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione answered with a smile, "My parents won't like it, but they'll have to accept it. In retrospect, I've been a bit stupid about it. I should have asked Madam Pomfrey to do this long ago, and then thought up some excuse to tell my parents."

#

A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione entered the small classroom where the Wand Weighing ceremony was about to take place.

Dumbledore, the other headmasters, and Garrick Ollivander were standing in one corner of the classroom, engaged in lively conversation. Cedric, Fleur, and the Weasley twins were conversing in another corner. Viktor Krum stood by himself, brooding as usual. Crabbe and Goyle were also present and looked rather lost.

In the middle of the classroom, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was talking with Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch, and a witch in magenta robes, that Harry didn't know. All four of them looked up when the couple entered the classroom.

"Miss Granger, finally! Where have you been?" Crouch asked with annoyance. "And what are you doing here, Mr Potter? This is only for Triwizard Champio-"

"Don't be like that, Barty," Bagman interrupted cheerfully. "Of course Mr Potter is welcome to support his girlfriend."

Fudge glared at the couple. "If you wanted to be here, boy, you should have entered your name into the Goblet, too. I know that you entered all the other names. Dumbledore might protect you, but I will see you-"

This time, it was Harry who interrupted, "Sorry, but we didn't do it. Innocent until proven guilty, remember? Oh, my mistake, obviously you don't. Just ask Hagrid or my innocent godfather Sirius Black, who you both carted off to Azkaban without a trial!"

Crouch and Fudge were both turning an angry shade of red.

"What's that supposed to mean, boy?" Fudge said with gritted teeth.

"Would you care to elaborate on that statement, Mr Potter?" the witch in magenta robes asked. "Rita Skeeter, by the way, Daily Prophet."

Harry was about to reply when he noticed Dumbledore looking at him with a grave expression. The Headmaster was slightly shaking his head.

Harry hesitated. It seemed like a good idea to him to make a public statement about his godfather's innocence. But the same had been true for his revelation about Riddle, and that hadn't turned out the way he had hoped. Maybe the Prophet would just portray him as delusional or as becoming dark, too? Harry decided to trust the Headmaster for now and to remain silent.

"No comment," he answered. "Let's just get on with things."

It took a while until things had calmed down enough for Ollivander to begin examining the Triwizard champions' wands. It was a rather dull and pointless affair, in Harry's opinion.

Afterwards, a photographer took pictures of the contestants. Bagman and Rita Skeeter insisted that Harry had to be included on the pictures, too, much to his dismay.

When they were done taking pictures, Skeeter grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him towards a corner of the classroom. Hermione followed them, holding Harry's other hand.

"Ah, so that's your little girlfriend, Harry?" the reporter asked. "Harmony, right? I've been planning to write an article about the two of you for some time..."

"Actually, it's Her-" Hermione began.

Harry interrupted. "Yes, that's Harmony Ranger."

Hermione gave Harry a questioning look but kept didn't contradict him.

Harry wasn't sure how this woman could have been present for the entire ceremony and still not have gotten Hermione's name right. But as long as it would protect Hermione from receiving any howlers and other hate mail, he had no intention to put the record straight.

Harry continued, "But unfortunately, we really don't want to talk to the press. If you'll excuse us, please."

The couple made a hasty retreat towards the other corner of the classroom, where they were approached by Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Harry, for not speaking to the press about Sirius," the Headmaster said. "It would really have made things much more difficult for all of us."

Harry nodded.

"And I have to thank you, Professor, for whatever you did to keep the Ministry off our backs," he said. And with a contrite look, he added, "And I'm sorry for not listening to you about keeping Riddle's heritage to myself. It certainly didn't work out in the way I expected."

"I don't blame you," Dumbledore replied. "I should have explained myself to you long ago. You saw an opportunity to humiliate the Pureblood supremacists like Lucius Malfoy and his allies. And you were right; this revelation did humiliate them. But in the broader picture, that matters little. They are just as powerful as before. Only now, they are angry, which makes them even more dangerous. Even worse, this gives them a convenient scapegoat and allows them to present Purebloods as the real victims of the war."

Harry nodded dejectedly, but Hermione frowned.

"That may be right, Headmaster," she said, "But I think it was still the right thing to do. The right thing strategically, too. We might not have damaged the political movement for Pureblood supremacy, but we have damaged Riddle himself. When he comes back, as you said you believe he will, he will be forced to fight on two fronts and will no longer be able to call upon some of his most dangerous allies."

Dumbledore looked pensively at her. "Perceptive as ever, Miss Granger. You may be right. Let us hope that you are right," he said slowly.

He then sighed and went on, "While we are on the matter of things I should have explained to you long ago... I have come to the conclusion that it is high time for me to share some other information with you. For example, the answer to your question in your first year, Harry, on why Tom was targeting you and your family."

Harry's eyes grew wide, and Dumbledore continued, "Unfortunately, I can only share this information if you can then keep it safe. As you have without doubt gathered by now, some wizards and witches are capable of picking information from your mind."

He handed a slip of parchment to Hermione. "This, Miss Granger, is a permission to access the restricted section of the library to study up on Occlumency, the art of secluding your mind. If you could somehow squeeze the study of the Mind Arts in your doubtlessly very busy schedule, I might be able to have a long talk with you by the end of the school year."

"Thank you, Headmaster, we will definitely include it in our studies," Hermione said enthusiastically.

There was a short pause before Harry spoke up, "However, one more thing, Sir: If you want to have a good working relationship with us, you'll have to allow Hermione and me to drop Potions with Snape and allow us to study the subject independently."

Hermione shot Harry a surprised look, and Dumbledore frowned at Harry, clearly taken aback. "What is this about, Harry? I have told you several times; I trust Professor Snape."

"That's great for you, but I don't. Snape is a childish bully who has been targeting me since my very first class. He's a biased, cruel, cold-hearted bastard that should have no business teaching children."

"Harry," Dumbledore replied disapprovingly, "I know you don't get along with Professor Snape, but-"

"Look in my mind!" Harry interrupted.

"What?"

"You don't have to take my word for it, Sir. See it for yourself. You even have my permission this time, as long as you stay focused on the event in question and don't go rummaging around," Harry said, looking the Headmaster in the eyes and trying to concentrate on the earlier altercation and on other instances of Snape targeting him.

Dumbledore frowned but met Harry's eyes. Harry felt a slight pressure in his head while he looked in Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.

A moment later, the Headmaster blinked and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Once more, I have to ask for your forgiveness," he said tiredly. "I shall have a long, honest discussion with Severus."

"I'm sorry, but that's not good enough, Sir," Harry insisted.

Dumbledore sighed. "Maybe not. I can see that your grievances are justified. However, Potions is a dangerous subject, so I cannot allow you to brew in self-study."

"But-" Harry protested.

"But," Dumbledore said, raising his hands in a placating gesture, "you will no longer have classes with Professor Snape. Maybe Madam Pomfrey could teach you. Otherwise, another tutor will be arranged. Until then, try to keep up with the theoretical part of the class."

Harry and Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said sincerely.

The couple then quickly left the classroom to avoid any more confrontations with Crouch or Minister Fudge.

#

Things continued as they were for the couple, only now without the weekly harassment by Snape in the Potions class. During meals in the Great Hall, the Potion Master glared at Harry even more hatefully than usual, but apart from that, there hadn't been any interaction between them.

A few days after their meeting with Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione were informed by a note from the Headmaster that they would start their tutoring in Potions with Madam Pomfrey after the first task. Their fellow Gryffindors were a bit miffed at them for not getting all of them out of Snape's class, too. But apart from Ron, they accepted that the extent of the animosity between Harry and Snape warranted the special treatment. Most Gryffs were just grateful that Snape was behaving at least slightly more professionally in his classes since his talk with the headmaster.

The next weekend was scheduled as a Hogsmeade weekend. During breakfast on Saturday, Harry tried to convince his girlfriend to take half a day off from the tournament preparations and relax a little, as she was getting more and more anxious. But Hermione wouldn't hear any of it.

"No, Harry. We don't have the time. I'm not nearly prepared enough," she insisted. "There are just way too many contingencies we have to plan and train for."

"If we could only find out what the task will be," Harry said, pondering the question. "The teachers probably know..."

Hermione sighed. "Well, yes, but they aren't allowed to tell us anything. We'll have to make do without that information."

Harry nodded resignedly, but then he perked up and grinned.

"Or... or we just go and talk to a teacher who can't keep a secret for his life!"

#

A few minutes later, the couple was knocking on the door of Hagrid's hut.

"Ah, Harry, Hermione!" the half-giant said happily as he opened the door. "Come in! How are yeh? Tea?"

Soon, the couple was sitting at the table in Hagrid's hut, drinking tea, with Harry carefully nibbling on one of Hagrid's rock cakes. After they had made some small talk, Harry decided to cut to the chase.

"I am of course a bit worried about Hermione, with her being in the Triwizard Tournament and all," he began.

"Ah, don' worry too much," Hagrid said, and turned towards Hermione. "Is not as if yeh'll have ter go against those dragons, just get past them, innit?

"Dragons?" Harry and Hermione exclaimed aghast.

Hagrid paled under his beard.

"Ah, I shouldn't have said that," he said with dismay.

"Dragons, Hagrid?" Hermione asked timidly.

"I'm not s'posed ter tell yeh. But don' worry, poor misunderstood creatures, they are. Though, I s'pose they tend ter get a bit antsy when they're nestin'."

"Nesting dragons?" Hermione gasped.

"Ah, I shouldn't have said that either," Hagrid muttered, but then tried to calm down the upset girl before him. "But don' worry, quite smart they are, those dragons. They won' fight yeh when they see the egg yer stealin' isn't one of their own."

"So, to sum up," Harry said, rather shaken, "Hermione has to steal a fake egg from a nesting dragon?"

"Ah, I guess yeh've got me outsmarted, there," Hagrid said, visibly upset with himself. "Please don' tell anyone that I slipped up."

"Of course not, Hagrid," Harry said soothingly while he helped his very pale girlfriend up from her chair.

"Thanks for the tea, Hagrid, but I think we have to get back to the castle and start planning."

"'Course," Hagrid answered as the couple hurriedly left the hut. "Good luck!"

#

After they had taken a few shaking steps away from Hagrid's hut, Harry and Hermione halted and turned towards each other. Hermione's eyes were wide, and Harry noticed that she was hyperventilating. He hugged her tightly in an attempt to calm her down.

"Okay, no need to panic!" he said loudly, his own panic clear in his voice. It didn't exactly help to alleviate his girlfriend's distress.

Harry took a few deep breaths to calm himself down first and then instructed Hermione to do likewise.

"Okay, breathe, Mione! Breathe, just like me... breathe, in and out... in... and out... good!"

After a while, the girl was breathing normally again, and she started to disentangle herself from her boyfriend.

Harry was rather taken aback when he observed her panicky expression slowly giving way to an angry look.

Then, suddenly, Hermione started hitting Harry's chest. "What's the worst that could happen, you said!" she shouted as she weakly slammed her fists against him. "It's not as if you'll have to fight a dragon, you said! Great job, Potter, getting your girlfriend killed within less than a month of being together!"

She broke down crying, and Harry hugged her again.

"Mione, I can't say how sorry I am!" he said sincerely, "I really thought this would just be a fun, friendly competition."

Hermione buried her head in his chest and continued to cry.

Harry whispered soothing words to her, but the girl wouldn't calm down.

"I might die! The dragon might kill me!" she sobbed. "I don't want to get killed."

"Well, at least you won't get expelled."

Harry's eyes grew wide, and he gulped audibly. He had no idea what had possessed him to make that quip referencing her memorable line from back in their first year.

It did work in a way, as Hermione stopped sobbing almost immediately. However, now she took a step back from him and glared at him with an irate look that was much more frightening than her previous angry expression.

"Ah, I shouldn't have said that," Harry muttered under his breath. The irony of this statement was not lost to him, but given his situation, he found himself unable to appreciate it.

Hermione just continued to glare at him. Harry gulped again and gave her an apologetic look.

Then, suddenly, the witch's expression changed and she burst into loud laughter. She was laughing so hard that she had difficulties breathing once more. She leaned back towards Harry and hugged the boy again. Harry returned the hug happily, even though he was completely bewildered by his girlfriend's change of attitude. He shook his head with amusement. Girls! He would never understand them!

After a while, Hermione was calming down slowly.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Hermione replied, letting loose of Harry. "Sorry for getting your robes wet."

Harry shrugged. "It's all right. And I'm sorry, too, for, well, you know..."

"Well, yes, it was rather insensitive..." Hermione said with a stern look, but then she smiled. "But I guess I really didn't have my priorities straight back then, so you're forgiven."

"So... Let's head to the library?" Harry suggested.

"I think we should inform the others, first," Hermione replied, and Harry nodded in agreement.

Together, they went back up to the castle to search for the Weasley twins.

#

Harry was surprised when he spotted the twins running towards him and Hermione just as they crossed the entrance hall.

"We have to talk!" George said with a worried expression on his face.

"But not here," Fred continued, looking equally troubled.

"Yes, let's find an empty classroom. We have news to share, too," Harry answered.

A minute later, the four students entered an unused classroom near the library. Just as the door fell shut behind them, Harry and George began to speak at the same time.

"You have to get past a dragon!"

"The first task is dragons!"

The four Gryffindors looked at each other with confusion.

"Yes," Harry said after a pause, "Hagrid inadvertently told us. How did you know?"

"Ah, Charlie told us when we met him in Hogsmeade," George answered. "But he didn't know what they would be used for. You said we have to get past them?"

Hermione answered, "Yes, we have to get past a nesting dragon to steal a fake egg from its nest."

The twins gulped.

"Well, at least we know now," George muttered. "Do you already know the kinds of dragons they have lined up for us?"

Harry and Hermione shook their heads.

"Charlie gave us a list. Let me give you a copy," Fred said. He pulled a parchment out of his robes and cast the duplication spell on it.

"Thank you," Hermione said sincerely when he handed her the list. Harry noticed that there were only nine dragons on the list – unsurprisingly, as the Ministry insisted that Pettigrew and Voldemort were both dead.

"So, what now? Any ideas? And are we even supposed to help each other prepare?" Fred asked after another pause.

"Since when do you care about what you're supposed to do?" Harry replied.

"Righto," Fred said with a smirk. "So... ideas?"

Hermione raised her hand.

The twins looked at her with amusement, and Harry arched his left eyebrow at her. "Mione, it's only the four of us brainstorming. You don't have to raise your hand."

"Sorry, force of habit," the girl said with an embarrassed look. "With us being in a classroom and all. Well, anyway, I thought about what we were told by Mr Crouch about the task. We are only allowed to bring our wands, but that doesn't mean that we can't summon other items during the task to help us."

"Brilliant, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed.

The four students were silently pondering for a while.

After a few minutes, Harry began hesitantly, "That's not for Hermione, but you guys could maybe summon your brooms and out-fly your dragons."

"Out-fly a dragon?" Fred asked sceptically.

"Well, it's what I might have done," Harry said defensively.

Hermione huffed. "Honestly, that's completely asinine."

"So, yeah, it's totally what Harry would have done," Fred said. "Though, I guess he might even have pulled it off."

"But I think we'll pass," George continued. "However, I think there are some nice inventions of ours that we could summon."

Fred smirked and nodded excitedly.

Harry noticed that the twins seemed eager to leave the classroom to begin testing whatever prank items they thought they might use.

"It's all right, you may leave if you want. We'll let you know if we need your input," he told them.

When Fred and George were gone, he turned towards Hermione.

"Okay, I have another idea, why don't you..."

#

Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the day deriving plans and backup plans for the task. They spent several hours in the library where they looked up the characteristics of the different kinds of dragons, and how to best subdue them. Then, they returned to the unused classroom, where Hermione practised the spells she might use. When they left the classroom for dinner in the Great Hall in the evening, Harry was confident that they had a solid plan that was likely to put his girlfriend in the first place.

"Don't you think we should inform the other champions of the dragons, too?" Hermione asked Harry during dinner.

"Maybe not the champions of the other schools. But yes, we should tell Cedric," Harry answered.

His girlfriend nodded. "Okay, yes. And should... should we tell Crabbe and Goyle?"

Harry frowned. "Huh... nah... Besides, haven't you noticed how Moody has asked Crabbe to stay back after the last class? I'm pretty sure he's helping them already. Why else would he have done that? And as I know Snape, he's probably helping them, too."

Hermione glanced over to the Slytherin table with a disapproving look.

"Of course," she said, "I would complain that they are cheating, but I guess those two goons-"

She gestured towards where Goyle was sitting at the Slytherin table; Harry didn't spot Crabbe.

"-They really need all the help they can get," Hermione continued, "I would complain that no professor is offering me any help, but I think we have a really good plan already."

Harry chuckled and nodded. They really did have a good plan. Or rather, several of them. He was really looking forward to the first task on Tuesday.