quot;Harry Potter! You're ten minutes are up! Please enter the arena!"

Sitting in the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric was enjoying his fourth bottle of butterbeer as his house mates partied around him. Despite the jovial atmosphere and the fact that the party was being thrown in his honor, Cedric was having a hard time actually enjoying himself as Harry's forced entry into the tournament weighed heavily on his mind. 'He's only a kid. A fourth year. This tournament was known to be extremely dangerous and required no less than a NEWT level understanding in all forms of magic. How do they expect him to keep up?' He'd resolved himself to keeping an eye on Harry and helping him whenever he could. 'I am a Hufflepuff after all. And if there is one thing that we are known for it is our loyalty.'

"Do not speak of what you do not know Smith!" a cold voice snapped Cedric of his musing.

'And speaking of loyalty.'

Across the common room, Susan Bones was squared off against Zacharias Smith with Hannah Abbott at her side. The empty bottle in both of their hands and the fact that Smith was drenched from head to toe spoke to how far their current argument had escalated.

"I'm only saying what we all already know Bones." Smith growled back as he wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe. "Your precious little friend somehow managed to con his way into this tournament, to steal all the honor for himself. He's nothing more than an attention seeking prat and you just don't want to admit it."

Cedric nearly missed a step as the candles in the common room and even the fire in the fireplace flickered for the briefest of moments. 'Is- is it getting colder in here? What is– no. Just my imagination.'

"Harry did not enter his name into the Goblet of Fire." Cedric said loudly, making sure he had everyone's attention. He should've done this the moment he stepped into the common room, but he was a little too caught up in the celebration. 'Better late than never I guess.'

"Surely you don't believe him Cedric?" Someone called out from the crowd. "He's trying to steal your glory for himself!"

"No he isn't. He didn't enter his name into the Goblet." Cedric repeated. "He gave a oath on his life and magic that he didn't. His magic accepted the oath and he still lives and can still use magic. Anyone who understands even the basics of magic should know that that means he spoke the truth. Not only that, but Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Moody both agree that someone else entered his name into the Goblet. So, if any of you have a good reason as to why the Headmaster, Professor Moody and magic itself is lying for Harry's sake I would dearly love to hear it."

Wisely enough, no one spoke up. Even Smith seemed thoroughly chastised. "No one? Good. Now, and I'm ashamed to have to do this, but I feel that I must remind all of you that we are Hufflepuffs. You all value hard work and loyalty above all else otherwise you wouldn't be in this house. And as for Harry 'stealing' my glory. He's not. He made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with this tournament, to the point where he almost died!" Looking around, he made sure he had everyone's attention. "Hufflepuff loyalty isn't isolated to just our house. We are loyal to all of our fellow students. So I hope that all of you will support and stay loyal to Harry, just as you are all supporting me right now."

Many of his fellow housemates stared down at their feet as they shifted them back and forth. As for Susan, she was giving him a shy smile that made her look far too cute in his opinion. 'Fourth year Cedric! She's a bloody fourth year!'

"Right," Cedric coughed awkwardly stepping away from everyone. "Well…I want you all to keep on partying. But I'm going to bed. I've only got two weeks until the first task and need to devote as much time as I can to the library. See you all in the morning."

Walking up to his dorm room, Cedric had to shake his head more than once as he tried to get the image of Susan smiling at him out of his head. 'Maybe fourth year isn't too young…'

Sitting in the plush chair within her room, Fleur Delacour stared absentmindedly at the book in her lap. With the first task of the Triwizard Tournament being only two weeks away, she knew that she needed to study every moment she could. But at the moment she couldn't concentrate on anything other than what had just transpired just a few hours prior.

'Four champions…one of whom is a mere boy.' She thought to herself before shaking her head. 'No. Not a boy. Harry Potter may be many things…but a boy he is certainly not.'

When Harry first descended into the champion's room, her thoughts had mirrored those of her fellow champions. That Harry had been sent down to retrieve them. But when he announced that he'd been chosen as a champion her thoughts had immediately went down a different, much darker path. The whole reason that she'd even wanted to take part in this ridiculous tournament was to prove that she wasn't just a pair of tits with no brain in her skull. And in waltzed Harry Potter, one of the most renown wizards in the wizarding world despite his age, and announced that he was competing as well. The nerve of the man! He already had enough fame as it was and now here he was trying to take away her chance to prove herself!

She could feel her veela half clawing to get out and immolate the boy where he stood! But before she could the Headmasters and her own Headmistress arrived and she was forced to try and control herself. The conversation with the Heads of the schools that followed made her completely reevaluate her thoughts though. Upon having his name called Harry had stood up in front of all the students and swore an oath on both his life and magic, a fact confirmed by Madam Maxime, that he had not placed his name in the goblet nor had he asked anyone too.

Then if that wasn't bad enough, Harry had gone through a list of why it would've been impossible for him to enter himself even if he'd wanted too. By the time he'd finished his speech she actually felt ashamed for jumping to her prior conclusion that he was just trying to garner more fame for himself. She actually felt pity for the boy…for all of five seconds. Any pity she might've had for him was gone the moment he pulled his wand on Headmaster Karkaroff, replaced by an insurmountable amount of respect.

Here he was, a boy, no, a man of fourteen and he was facing down a wizard who was over twice his age! And he wasn't even batting an eye at the situation! And if that wasn't enough…the sheer amount of power that was radiating off of him…it was more than slightly distracting. Her veela side had shifted its tune as Harry went from a threat and an upstart…to a potential mate. She hadn't even realized that she'd drawn her wand until she felt herself moving towards Karkaroff. Thank magic that Madam Maxime was there to stop her before she made a complete fool of herself.

Hearing the door to her room opening, Fleur looked up as Madam Maxime walked in. "Fleur." Her half-giant Headmistress greeted her.

"Madam Maxime," Fleur greeted back as she got up. "How was the meeting with the other Headmasters and the representatives from the British Ministry?"

"Pointless." Madam Maxime nearly spat. "There is no way to remove Harry Potter from the tournament without killing him at worst or risking permanent damage to his magical abilities at best. And there is no way for either Beauxbatons nor Durmstrang to enter a second champion either. So we will simply have to adjust our plans accordingly."

"Of course Headmistress." Fleur agreed, nodding her head.

Nodding, Madam Maxime conjured an oversized armchair across from Fleur before sitting down. "You're biggest challenge will be Viktor Krum. His flying skills are far beyond anyone else's. And I doubt that Karkaroff has held back at all in training the boy either. He'll have more than one or two nasty tricks up his sleeve."

Staring at her Headmistress, Fleur slowly shook her head. "With respect Headmistress, I must disagree. Krum will not be my biggest advisory in this tournament."

One of Madam Maxime's eyebrows rose as she regarded her. "Surely you do not think that the Diggory boy will be your biggest threat? While his school records are indeed impressive, as we both saw tonight he is soft. He does not have the will to win a competition like this."

"No." She said shaking her head. The Diggory boy seemed, but like Madam Maxime said that trait would prove to be disadvantageous to him in this type of competition. "Harry Potter will be my biggest threat this year."

"Harry Potter?" Madam Maxime repeated leaning back. "The boy is several years younger than you my dear. And while I'll admit that he has potential, especially with the way he stood up to Karkaroff, it will still be years before he is at your level."

"I beg to differ Madam Maxime," Fleur countered. "Harry's magic is very well refined. And the way he holds himself speaks volumes as well. He's already at my level. And if I'm being perfectly honest Headmistress, he might even be slightly beyond me. Although where he got his training is beyond me. From what I've seen so far…it certainly wasn't at this school."

Madam Maxime stood silently evaluating her for several minutes before nodding her head. "Good. I was worried that you wouldn't see the boy as a threat and therefore dismiss him out of hand."

"I assure you Headmistress, there is no chance of that." There was no way that her veela nature would let her forget about a wizard of Harry's caliber. "And I promise you. I shall not let our school down in this tournament."

Walking down to breakfast the next morning with Hermione, Ginny and Ron, it took all of his effort not to smile, or cringe, about the impending storm that was about to rain down on Hogwarts. "Alright Harry," Hermione said softly as the four of them stepped off the last stair and onto the ground floor. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You're good at hiding things Harry, but remember I'm your apprentice." Ginny scoffed. "And I know that you're hiding something. So spill."

Smirking slightly, he glanced over his shoulder at his friends. "All I'll say is this. Make sure that you have a good seat."

Before any of his friends could figure out his statement, they came upon the doors to the Great Hall just as Daphne and Tracey appeared at the opposite end of the hall. As he saw them, Harry couldn't help but frown. Daphne had been acting aloof for the past few days as she barely acknowledged any of them. Even Tracey was having trouble getting through to her lifelong friend. In fact, the only one she seemed to even interact with was Luna, and that was only because Luna was her apprentice.

As they drew closer to one another just down the hall from the Great Hall, Harry opened his mouth to greet her, only to have the words die on his lips as Daphne leaned into him and embraced him lightly. Her actions were so contrary to her normal behavior as of late that he almost didn't even realize she'd slipped a piece of paper into the inner lining of his robes until her hand was back out. "Read it as soon as you get the chance." She whispered before pulling away from him and turning around and heading into the Hall.

Now even more confused, Harry followed after her into the hall. The Great Hall was almost completely packed as it was nearly the end of breakfast and at the head table were all three Heads of the schools, the professors of Hogwarts and Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman. The moment his presence became known, every conversation in the hall stopped as everyone turned to stare at him. 'Of course.' Harry sighed. 'I knew that this was going to happen.'

As he walked down the length of the tables, Harry became even more confused. He expected some level of hostility, and the Slytherin's certainly didn't disappoint as more than a few threw a couple of sharp words his way. But what did surprise him was the fact that the Slytherin's were the only ones. None of the Gryffindors nor the Ravenclaws said anything. And while he did receive a fair number of cross looks from the Hufflepuffs, they all kept their words to themselves. 'Huh…maybe my little speech last night actually worked.'

Once he and his friends had taken their seats, the conversations in the hall picked up once again as everyone returned to their own little worlds. After scooping a small amount of food onto his plate, Harry reached into his robes and pulled out the small note that Daphne had slipped him. "What's that?" Ginny asked lowly enough so that they were the only two who could hear her.

"Something Daphne slipped me out in the hall." He whispered back as he tried to discreetly open and read the note.

'Harry – Be mindful of yourself this year. A fair majority of the Slytherins, led by the blonde prick himself, are trying to come up with any number of ways to sabotage you this year. Even going so far as to attempt to make you fail to appear to a task. Also, be wary of-'

Feeling a familiar presence wash over him, Harry looked up just as Ginny, Ron and Hermione all looked up as well. "Show time." Harry smirked as he turned towards the open doors.

The entire hall quieted as some of the students began shiver involuntarily. Up at the head table Dumbledore's brow furrowed as he rose from his seat and stared at the doors. Slowly, the sound of heels clicking against the stone floor began to echo as all conversations in the hall slowly came to an end.

"-assure you Madam! We are doing everything we can! Please understand that we at the Ministry are-"

A collective gasp went through the hall as Harry's mother stepped into the hall with the bumbling Minister of Magic pleading next to her. A step behind them was Madam Bones and Sirius.

Harry nearly shook his head in mirth as he saw his mother. She had certainly spared no expense as she was wearing the same type of outfit that she did when they assaulted the Dauntless in order to save Ahsoka. "You're assurances ring hollow Minister." His mother growled as she continued to walk down the rows of students, completely ignoring the awestruck looks she was receiving from the students in the Great Hall.

"Good Merlin." He heard Seamus whisper to Dean. "Major WILS alert! She just made the top of my 'Witches I'd Like to Shag' list!"

"I hear you." Dean whispered back, as a few of the boys near to them nodded. "But…who is she?"

Rising to his feet, Harry spared his two dorm mates a cold glare before turning towards his mother. "Mother." He greeted, making most of the hall gasped as he bent his head slightly.

"Harry." His mother greeted him back before reaching out and laying a hand along his jawline. "Are you alright my son?"

His mother rarely showed him much physical affection, so the few times she did he reveled in it. Even if he was standing in the midst of all of his fellow classmates. "I'm alright mother."

"Madam Nox." Dumbledore's grandfather-like voice called out, making the two of them break contact and turn towards the Headmaster who'd managed to cross half the distance between them and the head table. "I expected you to at least call, but I must admit that I hadn't expected to see you so soon after the Prophet was sent out."

That was the only reason why his mother hadn't come earlier. She wanted to wait until the Daily Prophet, which told of his entry into the tournament on the front page, was already delivered. Less chance of the old man finding out they had a means of communication other than Hedwig.

"And why would I hesitate Headmaster?" His mother asked, the edges of her green eyes tinting slightly yellow for the briefest of moments before reverting. "This is the second time that my son's life has been placed in danger under your watch."

A low rumble started up in the hall as all of the students began whispering to one another. Despite the whispers though, Dumbledore remained completely neutral. "I understand your concern Madam Nox. Believe me, I share them as well. But perhaps this would be a conversation best held in privacy of my office."

"Of course." His mother nodded. "But the other champions and their respective school leaders should accompany us as well. After all, this conversation concerns them as well. And the Ministry officials will be coming as well. And Auror Moody, as I suspect he will have more than one theory to add."

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to argue, but seeing as they were in such a public setting he obviously decided against it. "Of course. Headmaster Karkaroff. Headmistress Maxime. Would you please collect your champions and follow us to my office. Minister, Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman if you will please follow us. Cedric my boy, come along as well."

It took a minute, but soon enough Dumbledore was leading all of them down the corridors of Hogwarts with Moody tagging along after them as well. As they walked, Harry concentrated on his mental link with his mother so he could discreetly pass on the information to her that Daphne had given him.

'Are you sure my son?'

'Daphne is mother. And I trust her.'

Before his mother could respond, Dumbledore led them into a dead-end hallway with a gargoyle statue at the end. As they walked, the gargoyle moved on its own, rising upwards and revealing the winding stairway that led up into the Headmaster's office. The stairway could only be taken one at a time, but the office at end was more than spacious enough for all of them to spread out.

"Now that we are all here," Dumbledore sighed tiredly as he stepped around behind his desk and sank down into his seat. "We can begin."

"Yes," Nox nodded as she glared at those who were supposed to be in charge of the tournament. "Perhaps you can explain how my son was illegally entered into a tournament as a fourth participant when there were only supposed to be three."

"Alastor has been examining the goblet since the incident last night." Dumbledore explained while waving towards the Defense Professor. "Alastor, would you please report your findings."

"It was bloody masterpiece," Moody grumbled as he took out his hip flask and took a quick pull. "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They used multiple confundus charms to temporarily overwrite the runic array of the goblet. Because of that, the goblet thought that it was choosing for four schools instead of three. And Potter here was the only name entered under the fourth school. Like I said…bloody work of art."

And what of Mr. Potter's reaction when he rejected his position?" Amelia asked while glaring at the three Headmasters. "It was my understanding that the tying of one's life to the tournament was removed from the goblet."

"It was." Madam Maxime nodded. "Whoever altered the goblet to add Mr. Potter must've removed the block we placed on that stipulation as well."

"Excuse me," Cedric mumbled, his face going steadily paler. "Are you telling us…that if for some reason we can't participate in a task then we will…die? I thought you all just said that to keep the younger years from trying to enter!"

"I'm afraid so Cedric." Dumbledore confirmed sadly. "But rest assured, we will be making sure that all four of you are able to compete in the assigned tasks."

"Your assurances have rung rather hollow as of late Dumbledore." Nox growled before shaking her head. "But since you all have failed so spectacularly in this matter, I'm going to take advantage of it."

"Madam Nox?" Fudge stuttered, no doubt suddenly fearful for his job. Understandable seeing as how he needed this tournament to go smoothly to try and save face after the attack last year by the dementors on Hogsmeade.

"One stipulation of this tournament was that only those of age could compete, correct?" Nox asked rhetorically. "Therefore I expect my son to be declared of age and emancipated by the end of the day. And the trace on his wand is to be removed as well."

Fudge looked like they swallowed something incredibly sour. But in the end they had no choice and Fudge reluctantly nodded. "As you say."

"Good." His mother nodded before turning to Dumbledore. "Also, as my son has neither the experience nor training of these three," Harry almost blew it by laughing at that. "He will be allowed to Floo home every Friday after he is done with his classes and return every Sunday evening. I will be arranging private tutors during these days to further his education beyond what is taught here at Hogwarts."

This time it was Dumbledore's turn to look like he'd eaten something distasteful. "I'm afraid that I can't do that Madam Nox. Despite his soon-to-be status, he is still a student without his OWLs and therefore must remain at Hogwarts save for the holidays."

Nox didn't even hesitate before turning back towards Moody. "Tell me, Mr. Moody. As my son was not entered under Hogwarts, which school was he entered under?"

Moody stared at her curiously for a moment before laughing out loud. "I'm afraid she's got you on this one Albus." Moody laughed. "The school he was entered didn't have a name."

"And why should that matter?" Karkaroff scoffed.

"Because if this stipulation isn't met," Nox said glaring at Dumbledore. "Then I shall withdraw my son from Hogwarts and enter him into the school he was entered into the Tournament under. And seeing as how that school doesn't have a name…I can make one up. I imagine that it would be quite the headline. 'Minister and Chief Warlock's Incompetence Causes Boy-Who-Lived to Leave Magical Britain'. Quite the scandal."

"Harry will be able to leave for private studying over the weekend Madam Nox." Minister Fudge said quickly before Dumbledore could get a word in edgewise. "I'll even write up and educational decree for it if need be."

All eyes turned towards Dumbledore, who in turn sighed dejectedly. "You have me in a corner Madam Nox. Very well…I will allow Harry to Floo home every weekend for private studying. But only Harry. His friends must stay in school."

"Of course," his mother nodded with a smile. "Now tell me. What is being done to catch the one who entered my son into the tournament?"

"We are currently questioning everyone who had access to the goblet before it was transferred to Hogwarts." Crouch answered. "As well as anyone who might wish to see harm come to young Mr. Potter. But unfortunately it will take some time before we learn anything of note."

"I see," his mother sighed, shifting her body slightly. "Then I guess it once again falls to me to clean up the mess."

Snapping her wand into her wand, his mother slashed it across her body. There was a single cry of alarm before a body slammed heavily against the wall of the office. Flicking her wand back towards her person, the body then flew across the room before sliding on the floor and coming to a stop as Nox planted her foot against the neck of Barty Crouch Sr.

The moment his mother started moving, Harry drew his own wand and turned so he was back to back with his mother ready to defend her. Sirius had also moved, drawing his own wand and standing with them. But it looked as if they needn't have even bothered as by the time his mother had Crouch under her heel, the only ones who even managed to react in time were Moody and Dumbledore. Who both were on their feet and had their wands drawn and pointed at the two of them.

Waving her wand over the struggling Crouch under her heel, his wand a small flask floated up from within his robe and into her open hand. Popping the top on the flask, his mother took a single whiff before closing it once more and tossing it over to Moody. "I believe I captured your culprit."

Catching the flask with one hand, Moody kept his wand trained on the three of them as he popped the top and took a sniff. The moment he did his eyes widened and he moved his wand from them to Crouch. "Polyjuice." He cursed. "Bloody bastard was under our nose this whole time."

The moment Moody moved his wand, every other wand in the room shifted from Harry and his mother to the man under her heel. "When was the last time he drank anything?" Amelia asked staring at Dumbledore.

"Just a few moments ago at breakfast." The Headmaster answered while glaring down at the man. "I'll send for Severus to bring us the reversal potion. But it will take some time for-"

"There's no need." His mother countered with a slight smirk. "There is a much simpler, not to mention much more satisfying, way to reverse the potion."

Lifting her foot, she brought it back down hard right into the imposters gut. The imposter immediately doubled up and curled into the fetal position before throwing up everything that'd been in his stomach. Once he stopped, his body started convulsing as his physical features began to shift. "See?" His mother said, smiling at the horror-stricken faces in the room. "Much simpler."

The only one who hadn't been disturbed by the display, besides Harry, Sirius and Amelia, had been Moody. The old Auror merely watched before laughing. "Bloody hell I like this one." His laughter died however as the man on the floor stopped convulsing. He still looked somewhat the same, but he was at least twenty or more years younger than Crouch. "Barty bloody Crouch Jr." Moody growled.

"That's impossible!" Fudge gasped, staring down at the man. "He's– he's dead! He died in Azkaban years ago!"

"Well, seeing as how he's currently lying in a puddle of his own vomit before us, apparently he didn't." His mother said shaking her head and stomping her foot down onto Crouch Jr's back to keep him from moving.

"I believe it is time for our champions to depart." Dumbledore said stepping around his desk. "They need not be present for this."

"With respect Headmaster," Cedric said quickly, surprising everyone. "This man…this Death Eater who's supposed to be dead. Went through a lot of trouble to enter Harry into this tournament and to keep him in it. I believe that all of us, Fleur, Viktor and myself, deserve to know why."

Both Fleur and Viktor nodded in agreement. Dumbledore stared hard at the three older champions, but none of them budged. "Very well," Dumbledore sighed after realizing they weren't going to leave. "Madam Bones. May I suggest that you send someone over to the Crouch Estate? If his son was impersonating him, I fear that Barty Sr. is in great peril."

"Hehe…you're too late old man." Crouch Jr. cackled, freezing everyone in place. "The moment I was discovered…my father died. Quick and painless. Far more than that old bastard deserved. But I paid him back for turning on me all those years ago. Hehehe…yes…he paid…"

Using her foot to flip the man over onto his back, his mother conjured a rather uncomfortable looking chair before banishing Crouch into it. As soon as his body touched the chair multiple straps extended from the back before wrapping around his body as if they had a mind of its own. "Don't you think that is a little…excessive Madam Nox?" Fudge asked nervously as his eyes flickered back and forth between the bound Crouch and Harry's mother.

"Surely you're not denying a mother her due are you Minister?" Nox asked sweetly. "After all…this is the same man who entered my son into a dangerous tournament against his will."

"Perhaps it would be for the best if I took over from here Madam Nox." Amelia said stepping forward. "A formal interrogation and trial will be conducted later. But for the sake of the law I must insist on taking the lead on the questioning from here on out."

Nox glared at Amelia, but Harry knew that it was just an act. His mother and Amelia were hardly ever at odds with one another unless it was planned that way. "Very well," Nox conceded, stepping back so that Amelia could take her place.

Once she was standing before the bound man, Sirius and Moody stepped up so both men were flanking her. Harry had to admit, the three did present a pretty imposing picture. "Now, Mr. Crouch." Amelia began. "Let us begin by you-"

"This is all pointless." Crouch Jr. laughed. "You want to know why I entered Harry into the tournament? Then let me tell you. I entered him in for the sake of my Master."

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead!" Fudge shouted, his face going extremely pale at the implication.

Throwing his head back, Crouch let off a crackling laugh. "My Master is the most powerful Dark Lord since the time of Morgana! He has mastered death itself. And by the end of this tournament his greatest nemesis Harry Potter will be dead. And my Master will have his vengeance! And he will bring me back to serve at his side once more! And all those who dared to turn their backs on him or stand against him will feel his wrath!"

Harry felt a slight warning from the Force as Crouch clicked his teeth together hard. His mother was the only one to react to the motion as she shouldered past Amelia and the others. "Don't let him swallow!" She shouted as she grabbed his head and tried to pry open his jaw.

Her actions proved futile however as Crouch started convulsing in his chair while white foam started to seep out of his mouth. Within a few seconds it was over and Barty Crouch Jr. was dead.

"Shit." Nox cursed as she stepped away from the corpse.

"W-what? What happened?" Fudge stammered, holding a hand to his mouth as he started to look more than slightly queasy.

"Poison." Moody grumbled, pushing the dead man's head back. "You see this with deeply imbedded muggle spies. They'll usually have fake tooth or something that's filled with poison. Should they be captured they break the container and release the poison to kill themselves in order to prevent them from revealing any information. Crude. But effective."

The entire office was cast in silence as they all stared at the dead man. "He believed that the Dark Lord is still alive." Madam Maxime said, breaking the silence as she turned towards Dumbledore and Fudge. "Why? And why has the French Ministry not been made aware of such developments?"

"He isn't alive!" Fudge nearly shouted. "He died thirteen years ago and that is the end of it!"

"Magic is a wonderful and mysterious thing Minister." Dumbledore said sagely. "As much as we know about magic, there is just as much that we don't and even more than has been forgotten. Perhaps, it would be best to err on the side of caution in this case."

Fudge went completely red. "You-Know-Who is dead!"

"His body was never actually recovered from the scene of his demise Minister." Amelia countered. "Perhaps the Headmaster is right and it would be best to err on the side of caution in this case. If we tread carefully we can even do this without raising public suspicion."

Harry rolled his eyes as Dumbledore, Maxime, Amelia and Fudge entered a four way argument as they all but ignored everyone else in the room. Looking across the office, Harry took careful note of Karkaroff. The ex-Death Eater looked like someone had just walked over his grave. Which considering the things Harry heard he did to avoid Azkaban, mainly by ratting out of his fellow Death Eaters, he could understand why the man would be nervous. 'Still. I'm going to need to try and keep an eye on him this year; even more so now that it's been confirmed that Voldemort is the mastermind behind all of this.'

"-no! I refuse to listen to this!" Fudge nearly screamed. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead! Tomorrow in the paper the story will be told that one of his followers escaped Azkaban and entered Harry into the tournament to try and get revenge for his Master. That is all! Anyone, and I mean anyone who says that You-Know-Who is behind this will be indicted form inciting a riot! And that is the end of it!"

"The man is a complete and utter fool." Harry heard his mother's voice in his head.

"Perhaps it would be for the best if we were to take him out and place Amelia in as the Minister of Magic sooner than we thought." Harry thought back draw a feeling of surprise from his mother. "He's moving from a pain in the ass to a liability. Refusing to even think of erring on the side of caution makes him unworthy of being Minister of Magic."

"You're right of course my son." She sent back. "This will be his last term in office. Come next summer he will be removed. One way or another."

"Very well then Minister Fudge." Madam Maxime growled, drawing herself up to her full height. "But I will be informing the French Ministry of these developments. And I guarantee that they be expecting answers. Come Fleur."

Fleur managed to spare him one last encouraging nod before she followed after her Headmistress. Karkaroff and Krum were right behind the two of them. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Karkaroff remained silent. Once the foreign students and their Headmaster and Headmistress were out of the office, Fudge turned towards Dumbledore. "You will not be informing any of your students beyond these two about what happened here today. If you do then I will issue an educational decree removing you from your position."

Dumbledore sighed but nodded nonetheless. "As you wish Minister. But I do hope that you will reconsider your stance before it is too late for us all."

"There is nothing to reconsider." Fudge growled before turning to Amelia. "Madam Bones. Collect the body for disposal at the Ministry. And for Merlin's sake shrink it down or something. I want this whole mess kept under wraps. We've already had two breakouts from Azkaban. If people learn that someone else had broken out years ago then the people will lose faith in our ability to protect them."

Without waiting to see if his orders were being followed or not, Fudge marched over to the fireplace, threw a handful of Floo powder into it, and was walking through the green flames before they were even fully developed. "Well," Sirius sighed shaking his head. "That probably could've gone over better. Need any help with the body Amelia?"

"Thank you for volunteering Sirius." Amelia said over her shoulder while still staring at the fireplace the Minister had disappeared through. "Shrink it and pocket it and bring it down the coroner's office. I have paperwork that I need to get too."

"Right, wait– what?" Sirius gaped as Amelia activated the Floo and marched through without a second look back.

"Hehe, serves ya right lad." Moody chuckled as he pulled out his wand and waved it at Crouch, who shifted into a small chess piece. "Now I'd get your arse moving lad. Amelia's not one you want on your bad side."

"Don't I know it." Sirius grumbled as he picked up the chess piece and made his way towards the Floo. "See you soon Harry." He threw over his shoulder before walking through the still active Floo after Amelia.

Now with it just being the five of them, Dumbledore sighed and made his way back to his chair. "Alastor. Will you please see Mr. Diggory back down to the Great Hall? I need to have a word with Harry and his…mother."

"Sure Albus." Moody nodded before motioning for Cedric. "Come on lad. I must say, you handled yourself well back there. You drew your wand when it was appropriate and he didn't balk too much when Crouch Jr there offed himself."

Once Cedric and Moody were out of the office, Dumbledore motioned for Harry and his mother to take a seat across from him. "Please, sit. I can see that you both have questions."

"What's he playing at mother?"

"More than likely he's fishing to try and find out what we know." His mother answered back as she took one of the offered seats. "I want you to lead off this conversation Harry. Ask him if he thinks Voldemort is alive first and if he's figured out just how Voldemort managed to cheat death."

"Yes sir I do." Harry nodded while taking the other seat. "Crouch…he said that he entered my name into the tournament on behalf of his Master. I– I know he's still alive sir because I saw his wrath in my first year. I guess…I want to know how he's still alive sir."

"Ah," Dumbledore sighed, leaning back in his seat. "As to that Harry…I'm afraid that I cannot say for certain. As I told Minister Fudge, there is much magic in the world. Most of which we have no hope of comprehending."

"He's lying." His mother told him, not that he needed her too. "He knows something, he's just afraid to admit it."

"Or maybe he honestly doesn't know." Harry thought back.

"Possibly. But if that were the case then I fear that we would have another problem on our hands. Because that would mean that Dumbledore is not as clever as we'd hoped. And while he might not have any true place in our future…I would still like to use him as an ally against Voldemort."

Licking his lips, Harry met Dumbledore's gaze head on, almost daring the old Headmaster to try and probe his mind. "Why me sir?" He asked. "Why is Voldemort constantly targeting me?"

Sighing once again, Dumbledore's eyes flickered momentarily back and forth between Harry and his mother before settling once again on Harry. "I'm afraid Harry…" Dumbledore started before hesitating obviously thinking of how to answer his question. "There was a prophecy Harry. Made just before you were born. It foretold of the fall of the Dark Lord at the hands of a child that would be born at the end of the seven month to those who'd thrice defied him."

Harry was actually kind of shocked that Dumbledore admitted it. And judging by what he was feeling through the bond with his mother, she was surprised as well. Not shocked. But she definitely wasn't expecting it. "Now whether or not this prophecy is true or not, or whether it even pertains to Voldemort doesn't matter. What does matter is that Voldemort believes that it does. And that is why he went after you and your parents all those years ago Harry."

"We'd like to see the prophecy." His mother said quickly, drawing Dumbledore's gaze to her. "Prophecies are fickle things. They can be interpreted a hundred different ways without ever being interpreted correctly. But I feel that once we see the prophecy in full we might be able to glean an insight into Voldemort's mind and we could better prepare Harry for what is to come."

Harry was more than slightly amazed at the way his mother backed Dumbledore into a corner. Dumbledore couldn't outright deny their request as it was actually reasonable. "Nicely done mother."

"Of course son. This isn't my first time manipulating old fools. I had the Dark Council wrapped around my fingers within days of taking my seat on it."

Eyes flickering back and forth between the two of them, Harry almost felt bad as he watched Dumbledore wilt in front of them. "I'm afraid that that is no longer possible." Dumbledore sighed. "A day after the prophecy was made, it was agreed upon by the Minister of Magic and myself that it would be best if no copy were to remain in the Hall of Prophecies. And the sphere containing the prophecy was destroyed."

"I see." His mother nodded, before narrowing her eyes at Dumbledore. "Then tell us how it is that Voldemort came to know of this prophecy? Seeing as how you know of its existence and some of its contents I take it that you are the one that heard it. And a seer does not remember the contents of their own prophecies. And while I am reasonably sure that you wouldn't divulge the contents after admitting to going through a lot of trouble to destroy the only hard copy…that leaves only one other explanation."

Taking off his glasses, Dumbledore rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "To my utmost shame, I fear that I share some of the blame. The prophecy was spoken to me in a hotel room without prompt and caught me completely unaware. Unfortunately…a Death Eater just happened to see me in the street and followed me. It was this same Death Eater who heard part of prophecy and reported it back to Voldemort."

Harry felt his hands tightening into fists as the candles in the room flickered ever so slightly. "Who was it?"

Dumbledore actually seemed somewhat startled by his reaction. "What good would it do you to know my boy? It is in the past."

Harry's fists were squeezed so tightly that he felt his nails puncturing his palms. "Because if this Death Eater isn't already in Azkaban…then I'm going to hunt them down and kill them."

"Violence begets violence my boy." Dumbledore lectured, staring over the rim of his glasses.

Slamming his hands against the arms of his chair, Harry shot to his feet and glared at Dumbledore. One of those responsible for the death of his parents was almost his. And like hell was he going to let this chance slip away from him. "And all that evil needs to flourish is for good men to do nothing. Who. Told. Voldemort."

A high pitched cry echoed from above them as a red and gold mass of feathers settled down onto the desk between Harry and Dumbledore. The phoenix took one look at Harry, then swiveled his head back towards Dumbledore before turning back to Harry. As it did, the bird began to sing. And as it sung Harry felt his anger and frustrations slowly leaving him as the magic of the phoenix song did its work. "Cheeky bird." Harry growled, dropping back into his seat with a much clearer head.

"Fawkes is even more upset with me at the moment my boy." Dumbledore sighed. Then as if to prove his point, Fawkes scooted across the desk closer towards Harry. "In time I will tell you all Harry. But not today."

"Then I believe that is all for today." His mother said rising to her feet. "Come Harry. We have training to get too."

"Harry cannot leave." Dumbledore said rising to his feet.

"Yes he can." His mother countered back while motioning for him to join her. "In case it slipped your mind, today is Saturday. And the Minister himself said that I am allowed to take Harry back to his home during the weekend to train."

Dumbledore frowned. "He still has the trace on his wand."

"Then we'll be stopping at Ollivander's first then." His mother shot back while grabbing a fist full of floo powder and saying 'Grimmauld Place' before tossing the powder into the fireplace. "He'll be back on Sunday." She announced before making her way towards the green fire.

"Madam Nox." Dumbledore called out, halting the two of them in their tracks. "I am not your enemy here. I am only trying to do what is best for Harry."

"As am I Dumbledore." His mother shot back. "The only difference is…I actually love my son. And will do anything to ensure that he lives to see tomorrow. Come on Harry, after hearing about this whole debacle yesterday I lined up a whole slew of new teachers for you. I'm sure that you're going to enjoy their lessons."

Chapter 11

Letting her fingers idly run up and down the curves of her lover's body, Nox stared out the balcony window in her room at the night sky beyond, her mind far away from the beautiful figure lying next to her. Her restlessness wasn't caused by the fact that her son had been entered into a "dangerous" tournament. A notion she had to laugh at. Even looking at past records, this tournament was only barely on par with what the Overseers on Korriban would put their Acolytes through. No. Her Harry would be able to walk through this tournament. But even with that reassurance, her mind would not rest.

The Ministry, no doubt under the influence of certain individuals within its ranks, had been dragging its feet to grant Harry his emancipated status. His wand had been cleared of the Trace by Ollivander with hardly a second glance. But each time she brought up the subject of Harry's Lordship, Fudge began stuttering while claiming that he was working on it and that such emancipation and Lordship status had never been granted to one so young. It was a lie, but it was a lie that Fudge was sticking to, thanks to the money Lucius was pouring into his pockets. A little tidbit sent her way by Narcissa.

Then there was the whole debacle with House Crouch. After Junior's death Amelia had sent a team of Aurors to the family manor. As expected Crouch Sr. was found dead on the floor; his eyes staring up lifelessly at the ceiling above him. He'd been dead for hours. Fudge wanted Sr's death to be classified as a suicide and the matter to be dropped. But Nox and Amelia were both convinced Crouch Sr had some help leaving this life. Although Fudge, in his ignorance wanted the case closed that didn't stop Amelia from investigating though. No. Nox had chosen her allies well and the next day Amelia had contacted a few retired Aurors that she trusted to start digging discreetly into the case.

Then there was the revelations of the clones that also weighed on her mind. Rex, as he preferred to be called, had told them all of the discovery of one called Fives. Of the control chips that were implanted into all of the clones' brains while they were still fetuses growing on Kamino.

It was the final piece of the puzzle that they'd all been missing. And now that she could sit back and analyze it all, she had to give this new Sith Emperor a grudging amount of respect. The man's plan had been absolutely perfect, obviously so seeing how it'd worked. The man had spent decades refining this plan. A plan that she was sure had passed through more than one generation of this "Rule of Two" Sith. And while he might've not been the one who originated the plan, he'd been the one to modify it and see it through. He'd spent decades to see it through. 'Which means that I have to be careful and meticulous when we go back. Sidious, while not as powerful as Vitiate, is just as cunning and patient. Let's just hope that he doesn't discover the ritual that Vitiate used or we will all be well and truly fucked when we go back.'

But even that revelation was not what kept her mind from resting. No. The true reason for her restlessness was the Shroud that surrounded this world. It was getting weaker faster than she'd originally anticipated. 'The Jedi's arrival has hastened the degradation of the Shroud. That's the only explanation I have.'

Before they left Earth Nox theorized that they had roughly two decades until the Shroud was gone. And when they'd come back she'd tested the Shroud again and came up with the same answer. But after checking the Shroud a few days prior…they would be lucky get half that amount of time before the Shroud was gone. She checked her test twice a day over the next several days and kept coming up with the same results. 'And in that time, the only thing that has changed is the presence of the Jedi on Earth. But why? Why has their presence altered the Shroud so much?'

A sleepy voice brought her back from her restless mind. "You're still awake? I thought I would've tired you out by now. Morgana knows I tired myself out."

Feeling the corners of her lips twitch upwards, Nox leaned down and pressed her lips against Nymphadora's bare shoulder. "You've become quite an adept lover Nymphadora. But I'm afraid that you still have quite a ways to go until you'll be able to wear me out."

"Damn. Well at least I have fun trying anyway." Nymphadora chuckled before rolling over so they could see eye to eye. "But something is bothering you Ziri. And don't try to deny it. I've shared your bed long enough to know when something is wearing heavily on your mind."

"Oh, so you're an expert on me now just because we've fucked huh?" Nox smirked, then even smiled wider as Tonks blushed.

"Don't do that!"

"What?"

"Trying to change the subject." Tonks responded while sitting upright in bed and letting the thin sheet fall to her waist. "There's something bothering you. So spill it."

Sighing, Nox slipped out from their bed and made her way over towards the open balcony door letting the cool night air kiss her bare skin. "The degradation of the Shroud has…increased substantially." She said after staring out over the moonlit ocean.

Behind her, Tonks cursed under breath. "How long do we have?"

"Not long," Nox admitted. "A decade or less. Maybe a year two beyond on the outside if we're lucky."

Hearing the sheets rustling behind her as Tonks got out of bed, Nox kept her gaze out on the ocean. "So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to have to accelerate our timetable." Nox cursed. If there was one thing she hated, it was having to accelerate her plans. That one thing caused the downfall of more Sith than she cared to mention. "By this time next year Fudge will be out of office and Amelia will be the new Minister of Magic."

"About damn time. Although I think you're going to need to use a summoning charm to get Fudge's nose out of Malfoy's arse." Tonks laughed. "And what do you need me to do."

"Something that you're not going to like." Nox sighed before turning around so she was facing Tonks. "I need you to leave the Auror corps."

Instead of reacting like Nox half expected her too, Tonks only sighed and nodded her head. "I had a feeling that this was going to happen sooner or later. And I'm actually not too broken up about it either. The department has become rather boring ever since Moody was forced into retirement. So…where am I going now?"

Disengaging herself from Nymphadora, Nox made her way over to vanity in the room and activated one of the many runic-hologram stones that were littered across its surface. "This is one of our new facilities," she explained as a fairly ordinary looking office building came into view. "But unlike our others, this one has a specific purpose. Equipping and training our Wolf Guard, our mercenaries and any other troops we might acquire."

"How did you manage that?" Nymphadora asked. "I can't imagine that too many world governments were thrilled with the prospect of the richest woman in the world suddenly forming her own private army."

"Well that's easy to answer. They don't know. The top layer of this facility is nothing more than a research and development facility. The actual training facility is underground." Deactivating the hologram, Nox turned to Nymphadora. "Next week I'm sending you, Rex, Gregor, Wolffe, Shaak Ti and Maris to this facility to oversee its completion."

Tonks blinked at her. "Okay. I can understand the clones being in the army and all. But why Shaak Ti and her apprentice? From what I've heard, she hasn't necessarily taken to the Guardian way of life as well as the others."

"Her hesitance to fully accept the Guardian's way of life isn't a concern of mine." Nox said dismissively. "But during the Clone Wars she was assigned a task that makes her invaluable to us at the moment. She was in charge of overseeing the training of all clone troopers before they were assigned to active duty."

Tonks thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Alright. That makes sense. But then…why me?"

"Because I trust you Nymphadora. The only one I trust more is my son." She said simply, making Tonks blush. "While you are there you will be teaching Shaak Ti and Maris magic. And you will also be acting as my eyes, ears and voice."

By now, Tonks was flushed from head to toe. "I– whoa…" She murmured. "Not that I'm not grateful, because trust me I am. But…why me? Why not Remus or Aela? Or even Sirius? And what about the other Jedi that came with you?"

"Remus and Aela will be joining you with our first batch of potential Wolf Guard members once the facility is completed. And besides, those two are completely enamored and busy with their new adoptive son Luke." Nox explained. "And Sirius has another task that he's been working on for me. Tracking down any Squibs that'd been disowned by their families or any muggleborns that've left the wizarding world out of resentment.

"As for the other Jedi…Ahsoka is just now beginning to delve into the dark side. For one whose whole life has been spent in the light, the first touches of the dark side are difficult for the unprepared. The older ones can handle themselves. But I need to keep a watch on Ahsoka for the time being. At least while she doesn't have Harry around to anchor her that is. And where she goes Nat does as well, so Nat will be staying here as well.

"As for the others? I don't presume to tell Master Yoda what to do. As amazing as this is for me to say, I respect the little bugger far too much for that. But from what I've seen he prefers to spend his days in the library or meditating in the light meditation chamber that he requested to be added. I also need the Mareks as they are now raising their own son and little Luke while Remus and Aela are away for the day. Aayla is a possibility, but she, much like Obi-Wan, will be an asset in training Harry and the others. As for Asajj and Quinlan. Those two are free spirits and I doubt I'll be able to tie them down here on Earth for long. A trait that I'm going to be exploiting."

"How?" Tonks asked, tilting her head to the side.

"With the Shroud falling, it lessens the time we have until the Empire finds us." She explained. "So if we can't keep them from sensing us, we need to stall them from attempting to find us. So I'm going to be sending those two out with three primary objectives. First, to find any wayward Jedi that will be amiable to our cause. Second, to harass the Empire as much as possible. A task that I'm sure they will have no problem with. And third, to scout out potential allies in the greater galaxy for when we make our move."

Tonks stared at her with wide eyes. "Whoa…that's…Merlin's saggy balls. How long did it take you to come up with that plan?"

"It's always been my plan," Nox admitted, walking up to Tonks and wrapping her arms around her. "I just keep altering it based on our current situation. Now that's enough talking…all this planning has reawaken a certain…itch that I need you to scratch right now."

Tonks grinned as she wrapped her arms around Nox in return. "Hm…I love it when you get these…'itches'. Just…try and make sure that I can walk right this time. Last time it was more than a little embarrassing having to explain to Amelia why I was walking bowlegged and couldn't sit right for a week!"

Standing in the observation deck of the training hall with Masters Ti, Secura and Yoda, Obi-Wan, former Jedi Master and now Guardian Master, watched as Harry Potter, Knight of the Guardians and son of the Grandmaster Nox, made his way through the ever changing maze below. This test, or training as Master Nox called it, was far beyond anything he'd seen even the most senior of the Jedi Masters participate in. And he was succeeding!

The boy was blindfolded and forced to only use his senses to guide him through the ever changing layout as various platforms raised and lowered themselves seemingly at random. While he tried to navigate the terrain, Rex, Gregor and Wolfe were all stationed up on perches scattered across the training room taking shots at the boy, each of which he managed to deflect with his lightsaber. Then as an added twist, Asajj and Quinlan were both in the maze as well making runs at him. There were no entrance or exit to the maze. And Harry's only test was to last as long as he could. And considering that he was going on his second hour and still seemed to be in pretty good shape…Obi-Wan was far beyond impressed.

"He's quite impressive, is he not?" Master Ti asked from beside him.

"He is indeed," Obi-Wan nodded without turning his eyes away from the spectacle below him.

It wasn't just the boy's martial prowess that were impressive either. He was an incredibly attentive pupil and a remarkably quick study even by Jedi standards. After only two hours of training under Rex, he was able to completely disassemble and reassemble a blaster rifle back to pristine condition. He also soaked up any lessons Obi-Wan had for him within minutes. Even when he assigned him an incredibly complex task that would take any other Jedi padawan hours or even days to complete, he could do them with little to no hesitancy.

"Strong in the Force, young Potter is." Master Yoda hummed. "Touched by the Father, he was. Even stronger because of this, he is."

Nodding, Obi-Wan winced slightly as he watched Harry suffered a brutal assault by Asajj which sent him spiraling into a nearby platform with enough force to actually leave a dent in the stone. But amazingly enough, Harry was able to roll back up to his feet and respond with a Force push of his own to get Asajj away from him.

"You actually saw this happen Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan asked, turning his attention away from Harry and to Master Yoda.

It wasn't that Obi-Wan doubted Yoda, far from it. In fact, Yoda was probably the one being he trusted above all others in the galaxy. It was just…he watched the Father die. And the events leading up to that moment on Mortis were permanently scarred into his memories.

"Hmm. Watched from the shadows, the two of them I did. Lectured him, the Father did. Then touched him, passed some of his knowledge along into young Harry, the Father has."

The three Masters fell into a comfortable silence after that, intent on just watching the young man last for another thirty minutes before he finally started to show signs of slowing. "He reminds me of Anakin." Obi-Wan said, watching as the young man refused to give up as he got back to his feet. "He's just as powerful, and just as stubborn. Only there's a sense of control within Harry that Anakin lacked."

"What happened to Skywalker was not your fault, Master Kenobi." Master Ti said, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He fell victim to the Emperor. Just as we all did."

An uneasy silence replaced the comfortable one, and Obi-Wan found himself cursing at his own blunder of bringing up Anakin again. 'I cannot change the past. I can only hope to create a better future.'

Another hour passed by before Harry finally fell down to one knee out of exhaustion. A thunderous boom, which he'd come to recognize as a cannon blast charm echoed as Master Nox appeared from thin air next to the young man and knelt down next to him. Even from this distance, he could see her hand glowing slightly as she used the Force to heal the worst of Harry's injuries.

"So much has been lost." Master Ti lamented as she watched the healing aura emanating out from Nox's outstretched palm. "The holocrons that are here…they contain so much. It will take a millennia to properly sort through them all."

Obi-Wan barely managed to keep himself from grinning. Master Ti's statement was made in jest he was sure. But he was also sure that she was attempting to get through as many of the holocrons as possible during her lifetime. The only person who spent more time in the impressive library of books and holocrons than Master Ti was Mallie. And she was the Temple's Librarian for all intents and purposes.

Down below them, Harry had managed to regain his footing and was now surrounded by his mother, Ahsoka, her Apprentice Nat, Master Ti's Apprentice Maris, Asajj, Quinlan as well as Rex. All of them were listening as Nox lectured, taking time to demonstrate a point every now and then.

As he watched, Obi-Wan felt his eyes drift towards Ahsoka. He hadn't been lying when he said that this world was agreeing with her. The last time he'd seen her so…vibrant had been when he'd first met her when she told him and a thoroughly confused Anakin that she'd been sent to be Anakin's Padawan. It warmed his heart to see the girl that he'd come to careful that'd been through so much hardship start to enjoy life again. And a big part of that was because of the young man standing by her side.

An outside observer have to be blind not to see the attraction between the two. And now that Obi-Wan thought about it, the looks the two sent each other were the same type of looks that often passed back and forth between Anakin and Padme. Which of course led him to question as to how he'd missed their relationship for so long. Looking back at it now…it was beyond obvious.

A part of Obi-Wan that was still fully ingrained in the Jedi Order said that he should but a stop to their relationship before it could begin. But even as he thought that, a face came to the forefront of his mind. A young blond woman that even now stole his breath away and made his heart flutter. 'No. I can't and won't stop it this time. I'll do everything I can to help them, but I won't stop their hearts. That sort of mentality is what pushed Anakin over the edge.'

"I believe that the Padawans are far more interested in their lessons now that he is here," Master Secura observed with a slight smirk. "Or at least Ahsoka is more attentive that is. I keep wondering if I should enter that betting pool that Kento and Sirius have going about when those two will disappear together for several hours. By the way both of them brighten when the other enters the room, I would place my credits on sooner rather than later."

Next to them, Master Ti cleared her throat rather loudly. "Should…should we even allow such a thing to come to pass?"

"I don't see why not?" Master Secura shrugged. "There's nothing in the Guardian Code which prohibits relationships. In fact, Nox actually actively encourages them. Sometimes a little more vocally than decent society would allow especially when her– ahem...lover is the Temple."

"We won't do anything." Obi-Wan said before Master Ti or Master Secura could comment further. "While the Sith are ultimately responsible for our current situation…we too hold some of the blame. If we had at least been open to the idea that such strong bond between two people will not ultimately lead to the dark side…then perhaps we could've helped Anakin. But instead, our ignorance and intolerance forced Anakin to tear himself apart as he fought a war within himself constantly. Battling between his feelings for his wife and his commitment to the Jedi Order. And it was this internal battle that the Emperor exploited."

"Wise words Master Kenobi." Master Yoda murmured, still watching the young ones training. "For thousands of years we guarded the galaxy. Set in our ways we became. Intolerant and unyielding while the galaxy shifted around us. Exploit this, the Sith did. Evolve, adapt we must. If balance is to be preserved."

Nodding, Obi-Wan stared down at the Knights and Apprentices as they squared off with one another to begin duel practice. 'Satine…I wish you were here with me now.'

"And – and you're sure that it will be alright if I take a picture then?"

Nodding, Harry cast a sideways glance at the young boy that'd been sent to retrieve him. Although calling Colin a boy was kind of ironic seeing as how Harry was only a year older than him. "I'm sure Colin." Harry nodded, making the boy smile even more as he began to excitedly check his camera over and over. "But I'll need to double check with the others first. At least with Cedric that is."

Walking down one of the fifth floor corridors, Harry felt a familiar presence as his lips twitched upwards. 'Well…at least I won't have to worry about fending off reporters today.' "Thank you Colin," Harry said as the two of them reached the door. "I'll be sure to talk to everyone else and get back to you as soon as I can."

Colin beamed at him before turning around and nearly sprinting away. Some might've said that he was wasting his time with the boy, but Harry saw something within him. The boy had an inquisitive spark as well as a keen eye that couldn't be taught nor tamed. He would be a reporter one day no question about it. And as his mother always said, you can either work with the press, or be destroyed by them.

Walking into the room, Harry grimaced slightly as he noted just how many people were in the room already. His fellow champions were all standing and chatting with their respective Headmasters. Ludo Bagman and amazingly enough Percy Weasley were standing together talking animatedly with one another. Standing just off to the side of the two men was a blond woman with thick glasses who had a quill and parchment floating in the air next to her while a man with a camera stood just behind her. 'Okay…I understand everyone but Percy. What the hell is he doing here?'

As the door shut behind him, Bagman turned towards him with the largest grin he'd ever seen. "Ah, and here he is at last!" Bagman said loudly, garnering everyone's attention. "Harry lad, glad you could join us for this historic moment!"

Ignoring the bright welcoming by Bagman and instead marched right over to the person he'd sensed ever since she'd stepped foot into the castle. "Mother," he greeted, "I didn't think you'd be here today."

His mother gave him a coy look. "And leave you alone to the tender mercies of the press? Oh I think not my dear son."

"Yes yes…well as lovely as a reunion as this is perhaps we can get on with the ceremony. Um, I mean if it pleases you Madam Nox."

Nox smirked at the flustered Bagman as she stepped forward and placed a finger under the man's chin. "Why my dear sweet Ludo…I would never dream of holding up your precious timetable. Especially when it concerns my one and only son."

Bagman began to sweat and immediately backed off as he looked simultaneously aroused and scared shitless. Across the room, Harry noted that Fleur had been paying close attention to the way his mother acted as if she were trying to memorize every syllable that left his mother's lips. 'You might be able to turn most men to putty with your Veela charms Fleur, but my mother has been destroying men, and women, with a single glance since before any of us were even born.'

Part of Harry hated when his mother used her "womanly wiles". But at the same time he stuffed down those feelings with a vengeance. His mother was her own woman. Not only that, she always taught him to use every advantage one had. Whether it be your mind, your strength, or your ability to turn others into a blubbering wreck with a single glance. Any advantage was one worth pursuing.

"Right, well if Mister ash, nine-n-three-quarters with a dragon heartstring core is quite finished embarrassing himself, perhaps we can come to why I am here today." Ollivander said, taking a step forward into the center of the room, his eyes alight with glee before stopping and checking himself. "Sorry…I'm always excited to examine other wands…I just can't contain myself sometimes."

"Thank you Mr. Bagman, Mr. Ollivander." Dumbledore coughed, stepping forward and taking over as Bagman was still trying to compose himself after being subject to Nox's attention. "We have gathered you four here today for the ceremonial Weighing of the Wands. Mr. Ollivander here, as the premier wand-maker in Britain, shall be examining your wands. After which a short press conference and photo shoot will be held with Ms. Rita Skeeter here. Mademoiselle Delacour, as our first champion chosen would please do us the honors of presenting your wand first."

Stepping forward, Fleur pulled out her wand, a beautiful long white wand with what looked like engraved vines running up and down its length. Taking the wand as if he were taking a babe into his arms, Ollivander began inspecting the wand with a fine eye as his fingers ran over the engraved vines. He even brought the wand up to his ear at one point and time. His eccentric movements only made Harry more and more curious about the man. His mother was convinced that the man was not human. At least not fully. But the question was, if he wasn't human then just what in the name of the Force was he?

"This…this is something else." Ollivander murmured lovingly. "Rosewood, nine-n-a-half inches. And…oh…such a strong connection you have to your wand my dear. Is this…yes. Maternal connection. But…but not that close. Second generation? Yes, yes that's it. Veela hair for a core. From your grandmother who's a full veela."

Fleur seemed completely floored. "Um, yes. Yes it was my grandmother who gave her hair for my wand."

"Yes, like I said a fine piece of craftsmanship." Ollivander smiled, turning the wand in slight circles. "I don't usually use veela hair myself. It's powerful to be sure. But they are temperamental and loyal only to those that have a close blood relationship with the donor. But be that as it may," thrusting the wand out to his side, a bouquet of two dozen red roses appeared in the air. "This wand is in pristine condition." He finished handing both the wand, and the roses, back to Fleur.

Cedric was up next, as he presented his wand to Ollivander, the man smiled widely. "Ah yes, I remember this wand. Ash, twelve and one quarter inches. Unicorn hair core. Yes yes…such a fine wand. And in wonderful condition. You've been taking good care of this wand Mr. Diggory."

"Yes sir, thank you." Cedric smiled. "It's never failed me."

"And nor shall it as long as you respect it." Waving the wand off to the side, a string of fireworks and pyrotechnics shot out from the end of the wand. "Yes…excellent condition! Well done Mr. Diggory."

Next was Viktor. His wand had a pale coloring with a more than slightly unusual curve to end of the wand. "Hmm…most interesting." Ollivander hummed, twirling the wand between his fingers. "This wand was created specifically for your hands Mr. Krum. Ten and one-quarter inches, hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core."

"Correct." Krum nodded curtly. "The wand was made by-"

"Gregorovitch." Ollivander finished for the young man. "Yes, I recognize his style in this wand. Also more rigid than need be. No fluidity to his work. A skilled wand maker to be sure, but he could use some variety in his work. Nonetheless," snapping the wand out to the side, a large mug appeared in mid-air that was quickly filled with a foamy beverage before disappearing. "You have taken good care of it my boy. His wand is in excellent condition."

"Thank you." Krum nodded, taking his wand back and leaving only Harry left.

When Harry stepped forward, Ollivander's grin nearly split his face in two. "Ah, and Mr. Potter. Such and unusual wand for an unusual wizard. Elven inches, holly with a phoenix tail feather core. Such an unusual, usually unstable combination. Most fitting indeed."

"Yes sir," Harry nodded, holding up his wand for the wand maker. "It has served me well so far."

"And so shall it continue to do so as long as you respect and take care of it young Mr. Potter." Ollivander replied, taking the wand and running his fingers over its length. "Hmm, yes. No nicks, no scratches. Well maintained. And…hmm." Holding up the wand to his ear, Ollivander's grin faltered for a moment before returning with a vengeance. "Yes…most curious indeed."

"What is curious Mr. Ollivander?" Rita Skeeter asked stepping forward, her quill scribbling notes on the parchment floating in the air next to her. "Forgive me, Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet. Could please elaborate on what you find peculiar about young Lord Potter's wand?"

"This wand is completely and utterly devoted to young Mr. Potter." Ollivander explained without turning towards Skeeter. To prove his point, Ollivander waved it at a desk in the corner of the room. The strain on his face was evident, but the desk only rose a few inches off the ground before crashing back down. "It rejects even I, the one who created it. This wand is in pristine condition, but I daresay that it will only work for young Mr. Potter. You've done something remarkable, young Mr. Potter. The only other wand that has ever said to have been completely and utterly devoted to its user was the Elder Wand."

"Thank you sir." Harry nodded, his curiosity now peaked. 'Just what the hell is the Elder Wand? I've never heard of it before. Maybe mother, no. She looks just as curious as I do.'

Clearing his throat loudly, Bagman stepped forward. "Well, now that that is all out of the way if our champions could please gather…oh let's say in front of the window, yes that will make or a wonderful back drop. Now Ms. Delacour if you could please stand there. And Mr. Krum there…and Mr. Diggory let's have you be over here…and Mr. Potter if you could please stand between Ms. Delacour and Mr. Diggory please. Yes, yes that looks about right."

Fighting down his annoyance, Harry took his place between Fleur and Cedric while Krum stood stoically on Fleur's other side. The man with the camera that'd been following Skeeter around eagerly stepped forward and began taking dozens of photos of the four of them from different angles. As he opened his camera to reload another roll of film, Harry actually did groan. And all the while his mother stood back, smiling as she enjoyed his torment.

"Right, I do believe that is enough pictures." Skeeter said, shooing the photographer away. "Now I would like to take the time to interview each of you one at a time. So…let's begin with our youngest champion in history. Lord Potter, if you would please come over here please we can get started."

Harry could barely get two words out before Skeeter had turned tail and moved to the back corner of the room where a couples of chairs had been set up. Forcing down the swell of dread of that was building in his gut, Harry followed behind Skeeter and took one of the offered seats. Skeeter sat down as well, but when her quill started writing on the parchment without either of them even speaking, a slender hand reached out and grabbed the quill before snapping it in half.

"I truly do hope that you didn't think that you would be able to conduct an interview with my son without my presence, Ms. Skeeter." His mother said evenly as she took the seat that was next to Harry.

Skeeter's eyes burned for a split second, but she recovered quickly. "Not at all Madam Nox," she replied, reaching into her purse and pulling out another quill which quickly replaced the now broken quill. "Your protectiveness of your son is a thing of legend Madam. I would not dare think to cross you."

"Good," his mother responded with a grin. "I would hate to think that such a fine establishment like the Daily Prophet had an annoying little blue beetle buzzing around its office."

The quill stopped mid stroke on the parchment as Skeeter started to radiate fear. "Yes…well I can assure you that there are no bugs in the Prophet's office."

His mother's eyes narrowed slightly, but the grin never left her face. "Oh I'm sure of that. No one likes a little pest buzzing around their heads. Especially my friend Madam Bones. Surely you know of her, yes? The Head of the DMLE?"

Skeeter's fear spiked even higher as her already pale skin went a shade paler. "Yes…I– I understand completely Madam Nox."

"Wonderful." Nox clapped. "Now you two go on ahead, pretend that I'm not even here."

Harry's head was spinning. 'Mother…what just happened?'

'Our little reporter here is an unregistered animagus.' His mother answered back. 'And while that only carries the penalty of a fine, she would have to register herself afterwards and her ability to spy and get the best news would be gone. Now focus son. She's asking you the questions after all.'

"Force! How can you do this for hours on end? And after the day you had no less! I mean…it's been dark for hours now! How are you still able to keep your eyes open? And shouldn't you have already headed back to Hogwarts already?"

Lowering his book just enough so that he could see over its cover, Harry cocked an eyebrow at Ahsoka, who had her head down and face buried into the pages of the book that she was, or at least had been, reading. It was late on Sunday, his last day at the Temple for at least two weeks as the first task was scheduled for the upcoming Saturday and he wouldn't be able to return home. "More of a doer rather than a thinker, eh Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka's head rose up as she glared at him. "I'm too tired to care right now…but I'm pretty sure you just insulted me."

"Me? Insult the great and wonderful Ahsoka Tano?" Harry gasped mockingly. "I would never dare. But hey, look on the bright side. You made it longer than those two over there."

Sitting a slight ways down the table from the two of them were Nat and Maris. Both of whom had their heads down and buried in the books that'd they'd been reading. At first the three girls had been excited about the prospect of studying with him in the library. But after three hours of doing nothing but reading Maris and Nat both succumb to the call of sleep. "Yeah," Ahsoka yawned. "If only barely. I guess that we're all just lucky that books can't bite you. I mean…wait…books don't actually bite people…do they?"

Laughing, Harry turned the page in the book he was glancing over trying to find any spell that would be useful. "Actually, I know of at least one. The 'Monster Book of Monsters'. Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, assigns that book to everyone who takes his class. Every year several students are admitted to the hospital wing because the book broke their fingers after biting them."

Ahsoka stared at him as if she were trying to figure out if he was lying to her or not. "I'll take your word for it," she said as she flipped to another seemingly random page in the book in front of her. "So…what exactly are you hoping to find in all of these books anyway? You never really gave us any clear indication."

"Anything that looks useful." Harry said as he got to his feet and handed his book off to her with the page he'd been reading held open by his finger. "Like this spell for instance."

Once she relieved him of the book, Harry turned around and made his way back into the shelves looking for another book. 'Thank the Force Mallie came around. At least now all of the books have at least some order to them.' He loved his mother dearly, he truly did. But if there was one thing that always drove him insane it was her organizational system. While it made sense to her, to anyone else it was completely random.

Walking into one of the more advanced runic sections of the library, Harry skimmed his finger along the spines of at least a dozen books before he felt the slightest tugging from the Force when he passed a particularly large dark green leather volume. Pulling the book off the shelf, Harry started skimming through the pages as he made his way back to the large table.

As he sat back down, he noticed that Ahsoka was completely absorbed in the page that he shown her. "This…this is incredible." She murmured sadly as she started reading over the page again. "This one spell could've changed the tide of so many battles during the war."

Deciding not to question her, Harry started to silently flip through the pages. This wasn't the first time she'd made that particular offhand comment. And the one time he asked her what she meant, it became so awkward that Harry had decided that he wouldn't ask her about the war unless she started the conversation.

'This looks promising.' Harry thought to himself as he came across one particular page and started reading. He became so engrossed in the page before him that he didn't even notice that Ahsoka had stood up until she was leaning over his shoulder with her face right next to his. "Hmm, that looks incredibly complex."

Jumping slightly, Harry banged his knee against the underside of the table. "Merlin's balls Ahsoka." Harry cursed as he rubbed his knee and stared down at the two sleeping girls, who'd slept right through the commotion. "Don't scare me like that!"

Ahsoka had to bite down on her knuckle as she apparently tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle her laughter. "What's the matter? Did I startle the big bad Harry Potter?"

"I'll give you startled." Harry smirked as he sent out a low-level bout of Force lightning as she was turning away from him, hitting her right in the backside.

Ahsoka jumped three feet into the air as she squealed slightly from the unexpected attack. Once she was back on her feet, she rounded on Harry, her eyes almost glowing. "Did you…did you just…oh Potter. You are so in for it now!"

Ahsoka's wand was just barely out of her wrist holder before Harry managed to apparate away from her, landing in the midst of the hundreds of books shelves within the library. Keeping his head down, Harry started to wander the shelves while keeping his sense open trying to pinpoint his pursuer. 'She's gotten a lot better at hiding her presence. Especially with only a few weeks of training in how to hide her presence. But as good as she's getting…she still has a ways to go.'

Pivoting, Harry brought his hands up ready to deflect whatever spell Ahsoka was about to throw at him. But was caught completely by surprise when, instead of throwing a spell at him, Ahsoka charged at him head on and drove her shoulder into his gut. Acting on instinct, Harry threw his legs back and leaned forward to prevent himself from being taken to the ground. Putting his hands under her shoulders, Harry forced her to stand up so that they were face to face. "Not bad Tano." Harry smirked. "You actually caught me by surprise there. But you still got a long way to go if you thin-"

Ahsoka threw her hip into him as her hand shifted their grip. Before he knew it, he was flying over her shoulder and landing hard on the ground. But instead of just letting him go, Ahsoka followed through by rolling on top of him, her legs on either side of his hips. One her arms moving to pin his above his head, while her other held her wand against his throat. "You shouldn't be too overconfident Potter. I was trained by the Jedi since before I could remember." Ahsoka smirked. "And I spent two years on the front lines of the largest war the galaxy has seen for hundreds of years. It's you who's got a long way t-"

Taking a page from Ahsoka, Harry made his move while she was still talking. Using his feet to raise his hips off the floor, Harry reversed their position in the blink of an eye. And all Ahsoka could do was stare up at him with wide eyes as he now had her pinned to the ground. "What was that about being overconfident Tano?"

His smile quickly faltered though as he saw the look in Ahsoka's eyes and realized the position that they were in. Him. Laying on top of the woman that'd been haunting his dreams for weeks. With her arms above her head…completely at his mercy.

Whatever words he might've had died in his throat as her eyes bore into his with a fire completely unlike the fire he'd seen in them just moments ago. Letting go of her arms, Harry placed his hands against the floor on either side of her head to support his weight. Now free, her hands shot out to his face. But instead of pushing him back like he expected…they grabbed hold of his hair instead.

Harry groaned aloud as Ahsoka twisted slightly beneath him. He'd never been in a position like this. Ever. Well…except for in his dreams and those were only a recent development. But one thing was for sure…dreams had absolutely nothing on real life. The world around them started to fade as he felt a gently tug on his hair. He vaguely realized that their faces were drawing closer together. Another inch or so and they-

"Harry! Master Tano! Are you two still in here?"

Harry and Ahsoka both froze as Nat's voice echoed through the library. Part of Harry wished that she would just go away, but that wasn't about to happen as Nat called out again even closer this time, this time with Maris's voice joining in. "Harry! Ahsoka! We know you two are still in here! Master Mallie is in here too! Harry needs to be heading back to Hogwarts!"

Whatever moment that'd been going on between Harry and Ahsoka was officially gone as Ahsoka roughly pushed him off of her as the two of them scrambled to their feet. "Well…" Harry coughed awkwardly, not quite able to look at Ahsoka. "That…umm…"

Ahsoka's orange skin was tinted with a slight red as she awkwardly adjusted her clothes that didn't need to be adjusted. "Yeah…so that happened and…um…"

"Ah, here you two are!" Cocking his head, Harry found Maris and Nat both walking down the aisle towards them. As they came closer, Maris stated looking at the different books on the shelves. "What were you two doing in this section of the library? These all look like the beginner level charm books that Master Ti is helping me through. Didn't you say Harry that you needed some advanced spells?"

"We are…" Harry responded awkwardly looking around trying to find something, anything, to explain why they were here. "We um…we just got lost that's all."

"Lost?" Maris asked, looking back and forth between the two of them before a slow smirk began to form on her face. "So that is what you people call it on this world huh? You know…I'm sure that there are better places to get 'lost' in around here rather than in the library. You two are just lucky it was us and not Master Mallie who found you two. Force knows what she would do if she found you two got 'lost' in her library."

It took all of Harry's self-control not to react, and even then he was still sure that his face was inflamed judging by the smirk of victory that Maris was giving the two of them. Beside him Ahsoka didn't look to be faring any better than he. "Right…" Harry coughed trying, and failing, to think of something, anything, that might get him away from this moment and back to the one that'd just passed a few seconds ago. "Well…umm…I uh think I need to head out. More than likely way past curfew now at Hogwarts and I doubt Dumbledore will be pleased that I'm already so late."

"Right." Ahsoka nodded before turning towards him. She looked as if she was going to say something, but then apparently thought better of it as she shook her head. "Stay safe Harry. I'll see you on Saturday."

"You're coming to Hogwarts?" Harry found himself asking as once again Maris and Nat disappeared into the background, leaving only Ahsoka in his mind.

"Yeah," Ahsoka nodded. "Umm, Master Nox said that I can come if I want. And– and I'm interested to see your school and everything, even though I won't be able to see it all that much. But it will still be interesting."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, his mind forgetting everything save for the fact that Ahsoka was going to be at Hogwarts. "Well…I uh guess that I should head out then."

"Yeah." Ahsoka nodded, though neither of them moved.

"Are you two going to kiss?"

Both Harry's and Ahsoka's heads whipped around to find Nat staring up at them innocently while Maris was standing behind her, a hand over her mouth as she tried, failing, to stifle her laughter. "What?" They both asked.

"Master Kento kisses Master Mallie whenever they leave the room." Nat replied innocently. "And Master Nox kisses Madam Tonks. So…why aren't you two kissing?"

Harry was sure that his face was warm enough to cook something on by this point. "That's…that's for adults Nat."

Nat looked back and forth between the two of them. "But you two are Knights. You are adults. And you like one another. So kiss."

Harry and Ahsoka turned towards one another, her cheeks were as red as Harry felt. Deciding that Nat wasn't going to let them be until they gave in, Harry mustered his courage, leaned towards Ahsoka. And gave her a quick chaste kiss to her cheek. "There," he said turning back towards a grinning Maris and rather disappointed looking Nat. "Happy?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Leave it be Nat." Maris said, grabbing Nat's hand as she started to move away. "See you in a week or two Harry. Make sure you win this competition thing that you're in. Don't want to dishonor the Guardian Order."

Alone once more, Harry felt the awkwardness between him and Ahsoka grow exponentially. "So…"

"You should get going Harry." Ahsoka said without looking at him. It may have been wishful thinking on his part, but she almost sounded disappointed. "You don't want to be late."

"Yeah." Harry nodded as Ahsoka began to wander off. "Wait! Ahsoka!"

Stopping, Ahsoka turned back around to face him, her face completely blank. "Yes?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry nodded to her. "I– I can't wait for you to see Hogwarts next weekend."

Nodding, Ahsoka's lips turned upwards, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Me too. Just…be safe on Saturday. You hear me?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded as Ahsoka turned back around and left him there.

Once she was gone, Harry let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in as he fell back against the bookshelf. 'Force.' He breathed, clutching at his still rapidly beating heart. 'What is going on with me?'

That anticipated Saturday, Harry found himself sitting in a small tent just outside the Quidditch stadium with his fellow champions as they waited for the stadium to fill up with the spectators there to watch the first task of the TriWizard tournament. In the middle of the tent, Cedric was pacing back and forth like a caged animal, muttering one spell after another under his breath. 'Really don't need the Force to tell me that he is the most nervous out of the four of us.'

Sitting directly across the tent from him was Fleur. And while she definitely hid it well behind a blank mask, he could tell that she was merely a duck on the pond. Calm on the surface, but underneath she was going a mile a minute. And then sitting in a corner by himself was Krum. The oldest of the four of them, Krum wasn't pacing, nor was he giving off any feelings of nervousness. He was just…there. It was…strange. Harry expected to feel something from him. But at the moment he was just feeling…nothing. 'Probably took a calming draught before he came here. Smart. And not against the rules either.'

"Where did you get those robes Harry? I thought you'd be wearing something to symbolize Hogwarts."

Turning his attention back to Cedric, Harry looked down at the robes he was wearing. Fleur was wearing a silver set of robes with blue trim while Krum was wearing a dark red with black trim robe. He'd been given a red and black uniform that had a griffin badge, much like Cedric's own robes that were yellow and back with a badger badge on his chest. But he'd turned the robes down. Cedric was Hogwarts champion, not Harry. So instead Harry had opted to wear a simple black colored Jedi-like set of robes complete with a thick over cloak.

"I got them from my mother," he answered. "These are the types of robes I wore over the summer on the trip my mother brought me on. They're actually really comfortable and easy to move around in despite how they look."

Cedric gave him a once over. "But…why aren't you wearing the uniform that Professor McGonagall gave you?"

"Because I'm not the Hogwarts champion Cedric." Harry sighed. "You are."

Cedric's back straightened and Harry could feel a slight wave of pride rolling off of him. Before he could say more though, the tent flap opened allowing Dumbledore and the rest of the judges for the tournament walked in. As the last of the judges walked in, Harry had to control himself from twitching his hand to draw his lightsaber or wand. After the ousting of Crouch Jr, a new judge from the Ministry was selected to fill his place. And of all the people they could've chosen, they had to choose the toad face woman that was near the top of Harry's shit list. Dolores Umbridge herself.

"Good morning champions!" Bagman exclaimed joyfully as he entered the tent, a wide smile across his face. "And welcome to your first task of the tournament! Now, if you will all please gather around I will explain to you all the task for today."

Getting up from his seat, Harry made his way to the center of the tent with the rest of the champions, once they were all assembled, Bagman pulled a small leather bag out from within his robes. "So, the dreaded First Task of the Triwizard Tournament. You will each leaving this tent one at a time to face your challenge. Your task is to collect a single golden egg, which is in the center of the Quidditch pitch and return with it intact. Once the four of you have completed the task, you will each be awarded points by our five judges based on your performance. These points will not be used determine the overall winner, however they are crucial for the final task."

"Now," Bagman continued. "While this may not seem difficult there is one little thing standing in your way. One of four Class Five creatures: a manticore, a nundu, a Hungarian horntail, or a chimaera. And as an added degree of difficulty, the terrain of the pitch will be altered for each of you pending on the order that you will be completing this task in."

Cedric paled considerably and Fleur's throat noticeably bobbed as she swallowed hard. Even Krum seemed slightly surprised at what they were facing. Harry though, wasn't necessarily surprised. 'They really didn't do their homework on this. Historically the first task usually always involved either fighting or getting past some sort of dangerous creature. The only question that remains though, is what Class Five creature will we be facing off against?'

"Now," Bagman continued. "While we will be drawing the order here and now, you will not know which creature you will be facing until you leave this tent and enter the next just before entering the Quidditch pitch. Once inside the 'on-deck', to borrow a muggle phrase, tent you will be allotted ten minutes to come up with a strategy before you will be forced to enter the stadium. Any questions? No? Splendid! Now let us choose the order. My lady, if you would do us the honors of choosing first."

Keeping her face completely composed, Fleur delicately dipped her hand into the bag Bagman was holding open. When she brought it back out, she was holding a small black ball with a number one on it. "And it appears that you've drawn the lucky number one." Bagman smiled widely before moving the bag over to Harry. "Now for our youngest Champion."

Reaching into the same bag, Harry felt three small balls within. For a moment he tried to find anything that might distinguish one from the other, which he was sure Fleur had done as well. But when he could find anything he decided to trust his luck and pulled one out at random. "Number four!" Bagman proclaimed. "Mr. Krum if you would please?"

Krum drew the ball numbered 'three', leaving Cedric to go second after Fleur. Once the order had been confirmed, Dumbledore stepped forward and handed each of them a small pin. Staring down at the small 'H', Harry immediately knew what it was. "Now our primary concern in this tournament is your safety." Dumbledore explained as he motioned to the pins each of them were holding in their hands. "What each of you are holding is a one-time use portkey. Should you feel that you cannot complete the task, you need only say your name and 'withdraw'. Also, should you fall unconscious the portkey will activate and you will be pulled out of the arena. However, failure to complete the assigned task will result in your final score being halved."

"Well then," Bagman said joyfully clapping his hands together. "I guess that is everything. Ms. Delacour, if you would please enter the waiting tent you will find out which creature you will be facing and you're ten minutes to plan will begin. Best of luck to you all!"

With Bagman and Umbridge departing, Dumbledore came up to Harry and Cedric while Maxime and Karkaroff went over to their respective champions as well. "I wish the both of you the best of luck." The old man said, smiling grandfatherly at the two of them. "And please…do not try to be heroes. There is no shame in using your portkeys should you come up against something that you cannot face alone. Good luck."

Harry wanted to scoff out loud. 'That little speech was meant for me. He doesn't think that I can do this and wants me to pull out the moment I enter the arena. Fat chance of that happening.' Instead of scoffing though, Harry merely nodded his head while Cedric did the same.

Now alone once again, Cedric resumed his constant pacing while Harry moved towards the back corner of the tent and knelt down onto his knees and closed his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Meditating." Harry answered Krum without opening his eyes. "It's a good way to clear your mind and center yourself."

Just before Harry thought he could gain a moment to center himself he heard Bagman's voice in the background.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first Task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Harry cringed as the obscenely chipper voice of Bagman filled the air, shattering his inner peace. "We have quite a treat for all of you today! As you can all see, the Quidditch pitch has been transformed and in the center is our Champions goal. A single golden egg which will contain a clue as to their second task! But standing in their way…one of four ferocious beasts from around the world! Now, let's give it up for our first champion to throw their hat into the ring! Ms. Fleur Delacour! Please enter the waiting tent and your ten minutes of preparation time begins now!"

Opening his eyes, Harry managed to catch Fleur's gaze before she left the tent. "Best of luck to you Fleur." He said. "Although I'm sure that this will just be like a walk in the park for you."

"Bien sur." Fleur responded before holding her head up high as she walked out of the tent.

Closing his eyes once more, Harry blocked out all sound as he meditated. The time passed by quickly as Harry knelt, seeking the Force for guidance, trying to gain some glimmer of what he would be facing soon. Cedric's name had been called at some point, but Harry was too deep into his meditation to acknowledge his fellow champion. The Force showed him…something. But it was disjointed. Confused. It was as if the creature shouldn't exist in the Force for some reason.

"Congratulations Viktor Krum! Now witches and wizards…it is time for the youngest champion in the history of the Triwizard Tournament to come forth! The one and only…Harry Potter!"

Opening his eyes, Harry gave off a frustrated growl as he got up to his feet. He hadn't even realized that Viktor had left the tent. 'How long was I meditating for? An hour? Maybe longer? And still I have no idea what I'll be facing.'

Walking out of the tent and into the next, Harry chuckled to himself as he saw the small little figurine that was prowling around the table that was in the center of the tent. 'No wonder the Force was confused as to what I would be facing. A chimera is technically a hodgepodge of animals and really shouldn't exist. But still…this could work out in my favor.'

With his plan firmly etched in his mind, or at least the outline of a plan he had worked up between the ten minutes he was allowed and his talks with his mother, Harry walked out of the tent to the sound of a thunderous applause. The entirety of the Quidditch stands were standing room only by the looks of it. He briefly looked up towards one of the towers as he sensed his mother and Ahsoka briefly. 'Focus on them later,' he thought, wrenching his gaze back down to the field.

The green grass of the Quidditch field was gone. Replaced with rough black rocks that were interwoven with a labyrinth of paths through. And in the center of the pitch, raised up on a pedestal, was his goal. 'Okay…now all that's missing is the damn chimera.'

Ducking down into the maze of rocks, Harry leaned his back up the stone and brought his wand up to his eyes. "Omnes videntes."

The spell was an old one called 'All-Seeing' that he and Ahsoka had discovered during one of their late night study sessions in one of the books that'd been brought by Sirius from the Black family library. The spell would allow him to see anything that was alive in his immediate area, even if it was hidden behind something. It could even pass through disillusionment charms.

There were only two downsides. One, the spell didn't last long. And two, it couldn't see through invisibility cloaks. His vision turned slightly golden as a pulse wave went through the immediate area in his vision. And for the briefest of moments as the pulse passed over it, Harry could see the outline of the chimera.

'It's hiding in the rocks, near the pedestal.' He cursed as he used the spell one more time, this time focusing the pulse to the area where he'd spotted the chimera. Luckily the beast hadn't moved. 'More than likely waiting for me to fall into its trap. Large body…two heads. One looks like a lion's and the other looks like a goat's. And a thick tail…no. A snake for a tail. Well then, that'll make things easier. Let's just hope that all three heads actually speak.'

Pushing off of the wall, Harry cast a series of charms on himself. The first to silence his footsteps and the second to make sure he gave off no odor. 'Chimera's have excellent senses. I need to take this slow until I'm ready.' Keeping his head down below the level of the rocks, Harry made his way around the outskirts of the arena. Once he was a fair distance away from his entry point, he pointed his wand at his throat and cast a weak sonorous charm on himself.

Sitting up high in the spectator's tower with Master Nox and Sirius, Ahsoka was doing everything she could to keep herself firmly in place as she watched Harry move around the outskirts of the arena. All the while the monstrous beast that he was up against stayed put in the center near the egg. 'It's smart.' She thought to herself. 'It knows that Harry needs to come to it. So it's not wasting energy. Force…these monsters would've given even the most senior Masters of the Jedi Order pause!'

As Harry edged through the maze, a memory resurfaced in Ahsoka's mind. A recent memory of the two of them in the library. Harry on top of her. Her hands weaving through his hair. His eyes on fire. His breath tickling her skin as she pulled–

'Force!' Ahsoka cursed as she violently shook her head as she felt her cheeks warming considerably.

Ahsoka tried for days after the little incident to tell herself that it meant nothing. But with each telling…she knew that her lies were growing weaker and weaker. What had happened, or almost happened, meant everything. She was not well versed in manners of the heart, no Jedi was. A fact that she cursed just about every day since meeting Harry. During the war she'd had a brief infatuation with Lux Bonteri, but those feelings paled in comparison to what she was feeling now towards Harry.

Shaking her head once more, and glad that no one had noticed her internal struggle, she forced herself to pay attention to what was happening beneath them. As she watched Harry, Ahsoka couldn't help but marvel at the different approaches each of champions had taken. The first participant had been the beautiful Veela that Harry had told her about named Fleur. The half-Veela had gone up against a strange feline like creature with a human face a long reptilian like stinging tail that Master Nox had called a manticore.

Fleur, upon seeing the beast, unleashed her Veela allure on it, making the creature fall into a daze. And while it was still dazed, Fleur transfigured a nearby large rock into a perfect copy of herself and sent it running around before disillusioning herself. She'd just barely managed to get her spell in place before the manticore broke out of its daze, and in its fury at being tricked immediately went after the first thing it saw, namely the fake Fleur.

The copy ran hard and fast, but could only last for a minute or two before the manticore caught up to it. With a mighty leap the creature landed on the copy before its powerful stinger pierced its chest. The copy didn't even scream, not that it could, as it was turned to dust. Realizing that it'd been tricked, again, the manticore turned around just as Fleur managed to reach the pedestal containing the golden egg. Once she had hold of the egg, Fleur twisted in place and apparated with a loud crack, only to appear at the opposite end of the pitch far from the manticore and right next to the exit.

The next up had been Cedric. Harry's classmate had gone up against another large feline like creature called a nundu. Unlike the manticore it didn't have a stinger or a human-like face. But it was still just as dangerous. The moment Cedric stepped into the area the nundu crouched down into the rocks, took a deep breath which caused its throat to expand to nearly five times it original size. And released a purple like vapor that coated the entire arena within seconds. Cedric though had apparently been prepared for this as he'd cast a bubble-head charm on himself before stepping into the arena to prevent the gas from reaching his lungs.

What followed next was a long game of cat and mouse as Cedric carefully tried to elude the stalking nundu. After nearly twenty minutes without being able to close in on the prize, Cedric changed tactics and started transfiguring the rocks around him into various animals before sending them out after the nundu as bait. It worked as the nundu, seeing the chance for easy prey, immediately jumped on the animals, destroying them one at a time with its powerful claws. Cedric kept transfiguring as he ran, sending wave after wave of prey for the nundu to hunt down, allowing him to reach the pedestal, claim his egg and get back out with hardly even a scratch laid on him.

Viktor Krum had gone up against a large dragon that was easily longer than three LAATs lined up in a row with a wingspan twice that. And he'd taken a completely different approach when dealing with his guardian. Whereas Fleur had used stealth and Cedric misdirection, Viktor had used pure brute force. As soon as he saw the dragon he started using his magic to hurl boulders as large as himself at the flying dragon. The dragon, while confined to the arena, still had enough room to maneuver and was able to dodge all of the stones, but as it did Viktor slowly made his way forward. Then when the dragon finally had had enough and charged him, he managed to hit the dragon right in the eyes with some sort of spell that had the poor creature crying out in agony before falling backwards, giving Viktor the time he needed to get the egg and get back out.

And now it was Harry's turn…and he was going up against probably the most dangerous of the four creatures, at least according to Master Nox. From her vantage point, she watched as Harry edged around another rock and pointed his wand towards his throat. A sudden hissing noise echoed throughout the stadium, making more than one person gasp. But it wasn't their reactions that concerned Ahsoka. Her attention was focused solely on the chimera. Or rather the sentient snake tail which had perked up at the noise and started to…hiss back.

"He's talking to the snake?" Ahsoka half-questioned half-stated. "Is this that…parsel-speak Harry was talking about being able to do?"

"Parseltongue," Sirius corrected her. "And yes. I never thought I'd be grateful for him to have that particular skill."

"Why?" Ahsoka asked curiously. Being able to talk to an animal, any type of animal for that matter, would make him one of the most sought after and valuable members of the Jedi Order.

"Because in some parts of the world, like here for instance, parseltongue is considered to be a 'dark' ability." Master Nox explained as the Harry and the snake tail spoke back and forth to one another. "But like most things that are labeled as 'dark', it is merely a misunderstood ability."

"And it has a bad history to boot." Sirius continued. "The worst of the dark wizards dating back to Slytherin himself were parseltongues. So you can understand why it's developed a rather unfortunate reputation. Unfortunately though…I don't think he's going to be able to accomplish whatever he's hoping too."

"Why?"

"While parseltongues can control all snakes due to their reverence of 'Speakers', this chimera is only part snake." Master Nox explained. "It won't hold the same reverence for a Speaker like its brethren and-"

The chimera gave off a loud roar as it jumped up from its hiding place and charged directly for where Harry was hiding. Harry just barely managed to roll out from behind the boulder he was hiding behind before the chimera reduced it to dust with one swipe of its claws. "And now the real game begins." Master Nox finished, her face completely devoid of emotion.

'Force.' Ahsoka breathed, her fists tightening to the point of being painful as she watched, itching to jump down off of the tower and aid Harry. 'Be safe Harry…'

Running and rolling out of the way of another powerful swipe, Harry was immediately up on his feet and running before the chimera could recover. 'Well…so much for plan A.' He cursed as he slid around another corner and fought to control his breathing.

Speaking parseltongue had definitely caught the creature's attention, and for a brief moment Harry thought he might've actually be able to pull this task off with little effort. The snake had been curious at first, but that was it. Curious. And when Harry asked if it would simply let him pass, it laughed and the lion's head had responded with a deafening no as the snake told him that they hadn't been fed in quite some time. And that all three of the heads were looking forward to feast on him while he was still alive and fresh. Needless to say…that had ended all negotiations. And now Harry was running as fast as he could trying to find a spot where he could enact his backup plan.

"You are fassstss, little sssneakss." The snake tail hissed loudly. "Wesss can't hearsss you or sssmellss you. But wesss knowsss where yousss going little sssneaksss. The egg…we will waitss for you little sssneakss."

Cursing, Harry cast the all-seeing charm once again. The chimera had indeed pulled back to the base of the pedestal and was sitting down, each of its three heads looking off in a different direction. 'There…just in front of it. It's open and flat enough…I just need some time.'

Picking up a stone from beside him, Harry disillusioned the stone and then banished it up into the air before casting all-seeing again. The stone landed on the opposite side of arena, and immediately the chimera leapt to its feet and dove down into the stone maze. Picking up six other stones, Harry cast a few quick cutting curses onto each one before making his move.

Leaping up onto the stone platform, Harry made a beeline for the pedestal, his wand held tightly in his hand as he pointed it towards the ground and began muttering under his breath. He felt the briefest warning from the Force and dove forward into a roll, his wand touching the ground just as a heavy claw passed through the air where he'd just been.

Rolling backwards and to the side, Harry just barely managed to avoid the second strike of the chimera before he righted himself and threw a stunner at the beast. The red spell impacted the chimera, but appeared to do little more than annoy the large beast. "Thatsss ticklesss…little sssneaksss." The snake head hissed at him as he faced off with the beast that was easily twice as tall as him. "Yoursss magic issss…uselesssss againssstsss ussss."

"Shall we put that to the test then?" Harry asked before throwing a blasting curse not at the chimera but at the rocks beneath its feet.

The chimera danced off the side, avoiding the sudden uprising of debris from beneath it. Sidestepping with the beast, Harry sent off a barrage of spells from simple blasting to cutting curses. Anything and everything he could think of he threw at the beast as they circled one another. And without fail, each spell simply bounced off the creature's hide. The only thing that was proving to be effective against the beast was the few times he used a blasting curse to create a small hole in the ground.

Turning in place, the snake tail hissed as it uncoiled quickly. Harry just managed to turn his body so that the sharp fangs passed him by, then he dropped to the ground as the snake curled in, trying to trap him. Left with no choice, Harry used a small Force push to skid himself across the ground and out of the way of the snake that'd almost managed to catch him.

Rolling backwards and onto his feet, Harry sent off two more blasting curses at the ground, creating small divots near the chimera and making it dance back. "Yousss isss good. Little sssneaksss." The snake hissed as it once again coiled itself up on the back of the chimera. "We haven't had thisss much funsss in a long timesss."

"You haven't seen what I'm truly capable of yet." Harry growled. If he'd been able to go all out he would've killed this creature a long time ago. But as it was, he had to keep his abilities a secret for the moment.

All three heads of the chimera gave off a crude sort of laugh. "A proud boasssst, little sssneakss. But we have ssseen betters than yousss. Yousss will die heresss."

Smiling, Harry cast another slight blasting curse at his feet, creating a sixth divot into which he dropped the final stone he'd been holding onto. "I don't think so." Harry replied calmly, taking a few steps forward. "I'm not about to be killed by a hodgepodge piece of shit like you."

All three heads glared at him with the snake hissing. "Time to diess…little ssneakss! We sssshall tear your flessssh from your bonessss will you sssstill breathes!"

Harry held his ground, even as the monstrous beast charged at him. Just as the lions head opened its jaws, Harry leapt up off the ground, using the Force ever so slightly to propel himself up so he could flip over the chimera. As he did, he twisted out of his heavy over cloak, letting the pitch black heavy fabric fall over the lion and goat heads of the chimera effectively blinding two of the three heads.

Twisting his body in midair, Harry managed to avoid the snake head once more while throwing a cutting curse, which struck the snake right under its jaw. It wasn't enough to cleave the head from the rest of the body, but it did managed to cut through the soft tissue enough to make the snake hiss and recoil in pain.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Harry pushed himself backwards out of the way of the bucking chimera as it tried to get its cloak off. Once he was safely out of the way, he pointed his wand at the ground. "Lapidem carcerem!"

The six small divots that he'd created and dropped the stones into all alighted for moment before stone spikes a foot in diameter shot up from the ground before converging in on one another in the air above the chimera creating a stone cage. The spell was a highly complex one that he'd come across with Ahsoka. It was a mixture of six simplistic runic arrays that were spaced out evenly in a hexagon pattern and then activated with an incantation. Pointing his wand at the cage, Harry poured as much strength as he could into his spell as he transfigured the stone pillars and the ground immediately beneath the chimera into phrik metal, or as close to phrik metal as he could make it.

'Stone wouldn't be able to hold it.' Harry smirked as the chimera, who'd finally managed to get his cloak off, raged against the bars of its cage. 'But mother told me that phrik metal can withstand even lightsaber strikes. And while she hasn't been able to show me an example of it, she has shown me its atomic and chemical composition. So that should hold for a while at least.'

"Not such a boast now…is it?" Harry asked casually before turning his back on the creature and calmly walking up to the pedestal and picking up the golden egg from its center.

As he began his march out of the arena, he passed by the cage once more. The chimera had stopped raging against its prison as all three heads watched him as he passed it by. "Not bad…little wizard." The snake hissed, making him stop and look back. "But thissss trick. Ssshall only work once."

Holding up the golden egg, Harry casually bounced it in his hand. "I only needed it to work once chimera. But I will say…you were indeed a challenge. So thank you." Bowing slightly to the creature, Harry turned and made his way out of the arena. And for once, the thunderous applause that followed him didn't bother him in the least.

"Completely and utterly unfair! Clearly they have their favorites…and that makes them unfit to be judges in a competition like this! Honestly, who thought that it would be a good idea to have the Headmasters as three of the five judges. And– Harry! Are you even listening to me!?"

"Yes Hermione I'm listening." Harry nodded absentmindedly as he and the other's sat in the Great Hall early in the morning before their first classes of the day were scheduled to begin. For the most part they were alone, save for almost all of the Ravenclaws and a few of the older students who were taking the time to study before class. "Just like I've been listening to you, and everyone else in this school, for the past two days."

And he had been. It'd been two days since the First Task and pretty much every discussion around the school was revolving around what'd happened that day. Or more specifically, what had happened when the judges had announced their individual scores for the competitors. Once the field had been cleared the judges had called for all four champions to stand before them.

Fleur, having gone first, had had her score announced first. Bagman was the first to go and held his wand up creating a figure eight. Dumbledore went next, giving her a nine, citing her impressive usage of transfiguration and ingenuity. Maxime had, unsurprisingly, given Fleur a ten. Karkaroff looked like he'd swallowed a lemon whole, but had grudgingly raised his wand and given her a seven. It was when Umbridge announced her score that things started to go downhill fast. She'd given Fleur a two. Her reasoning for which had set Harry's teeth on edge.

'She used an advantage unavailable to her competitors that should've disqualified her. But as she completed her task…I give her a two instead of a one.' Umbridge received her fair share of boos at that, and if looks could kill then the combined gazes of Fleur and Maxime would've killed the woman a dozen times over. In the end, despite the obvious prejudice against her, thirty-six out of a possible fifty points.

Next up was Cedric. Again, Bagman congratulated him on his accomplishment of getting past the nundu and presented him with another eight. Dumbledore smiled at the lad and gave him a full ten while Maxime gave him a nine. Karkaroff, while not looking entirely pleased, did look slightly better than when he judge Fleur but he still only gave Cedric a seven. Umbridge, in a show of bias, gave him a full ten giving him a grand total of forty-four points.

When it was Krum's turn to receive his points, the judges' bias was thrust fully into the light. Bagman gave him a nine, while both Dumbledore and Maxime gave him an eight. Both sighting that he'd caused unnecessary harm to the dragon. Karkaroff however could barely wait before he gave Krum a full ten. An action that was mimicked by Umbridge soon after giving Krum a grand total of forty-five.

When Harry stepped up to receive his score, he was met with a resounding applause from the entire audience. It took Dumbledore firing off a cannon-blast charm to quiet the crowd down enough so that they could actually announce his totals. Bagman didn't even hesitate before giving Harry a full ten. Dumbledore smiled his grandfatherly smile, but Harry could've sworn that he saw something akin to fear behind the old man's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that Harry figured he might've just imagined it. Despite what he thought he saw, Dumbledore gave him full marks as well. As did Maxime.

Karkaroff however merely glared at him and Harry knew that their brief confrontation was about to come back and bite him. And sure enough, Karkaroff awarded him a mere three points. When the audience booed, Karkaroff defended himself by saying that Harry had taken the longest out of the competitors. The audience's boos increased tenfold as Umbridge awarded him a one. Citing that he'd used a known and prohibited dark art parseltongue, even though it wasn't a banned skill.

"-be allowed to protest the points." Hermione continued, forcing Harry back to the present. "That…awful excuse for a woman and Karkaroff clearly both have it out for the both of you! Honestly, they should not be allowed to judge."

"In the end it won't matter Hermione." Harry countered, grabbing the piece of toast that Ginny was wordlessly holding for him. 'Force…I swear sometimes she's in my mind!' "The points only count towards something to do with the last task. They don't decide the winner."

"Well, I guess so." Hermione grumbled before her eyes lit up once more. "And speaking of which, where in Merlin's name did you learn how to cast the Stone Prison?'

"In a book from the library at my mother's." Harry shrugged. "I read it over and it looked useful, so I made sure to study it before going out there. I have to admit, I'm actually fairly surprised it actually worked. I hadn't really had the chance to try it out."

Hermione's jaw nearly hit the table and Ginny looked at him like he'd suddenly gone and grown two heads. Even Ron looked at him fairly quizzically. "Let me get this straight mate," Ron said slowly. "You…never practiced that spell before?"

"No." Harry answered honestly, not seeing the issue. "Like I said, I read about it in a book and it looked useful. Ahsoka said it looked complex…but I didn't think it was too hard. I'm sure all of you could do it in no time at all."

"No. We couldn't Harry." Ginny answered. "That was a runic spell Harry. There are only like two-dozen of those in existence tha–"

"Twenty-one, actually."

"Thanks for proving my point Hermione." Ginny said, shaking her head and pressing on. "But like I was saying, there are only twenty-one runic spells in existence. They take either a team of wizards hours, or a single wizard days to cast. Bloody hell, I looked into Professor Babbling's course outline, she doesn't even talk about runic spells until seventh year. And even then you never cast one."

"The Stone Prison was a runic spell that was developed by Merlin himself to capture a dragon that was harassing the land." Hermione continued. "And it took him a full day to set it and another to lure the dragon into its field of effect. Ever since then, very few actually use it because it takes so long to cast and while it's effective, it can also be easily disrupted if one were to remove any of the anchoring runes. Plus, runic spells are not simply a 'carve a rune and cast a spell' type of magic. With each rune that you make you have to keep in mind that it is only one portion of the overall spell and therefore compensate. Then the spell itself has to be annunciated exactly as well the correct will to create what you are trying to do. Quite simply Harry…Runic Spells are not just a branch of magic…there a specialty. And there are only a dozen or so individuals the world over that are actually credited with being able to the use the magic effectively."

Harry blinked at Hermione. 'What? Is she having one over on me? No…I can feel that Ginny's being sincere.'

"Do you…do you think that this has anything to do with what the Father did?" Ginny asked quietly, leaning in so her voice wouldn't be overheard.

Harry hadn't necessarily considered that, but now that she said it, it made sense. He still hadn't been sure exactly what the Father had done to him. He said that he was giving Harry knowledge, but knowledge of what he had no idea. Sure he had a few ideas for usages with the Force that his mother found insightful, but nothing extreme. 'Perhaps this is what he meant. That I would be learning faster and easier. I learned how apparate almost by accident and in no time at all I can do it at will. And even my animagus transformation was faster than even my mother expected.'

"Well whatever happened, it was bloody fantastic mate!" Ron cheered, slapping him on the back. "I can't wait to– oh come on. What's he doing here?"

Staring at Ron, he saw that his friend was glaring at something, or someone, behind him. Turning around, Harry felt his own confusion rise as he saw Professor McGonagall walking into the Great Hall accompanied by none other than Bill Weasley himself.

"Thank you for bringing me down Professor." Bill was smiling from ear to ear as the two of them walked towards them. "It's always a pleasure to be escorted by such a wonderful witch like yourself. And may I say, the years have been kind to you Professor."

"You may William…but just as when you were one of my lions, your flattery will get you nowhere with me young man." Professor McGonagall shot back, although Harry could detect the slightest upturn of her lips as she did so.

"You wound me Professor." Bill smirked, faking hurt. "My intentions and flattery are completely noble in origin I assure you."

"I'll believe that when I see it, young William." McGonagall responded again before stopped right next to Harry and the others. "I trust that you can find them from here young William? Or do I need to hold your hand again until you sit down like I've done in the past."

"No, I believe I can find them from here." Bill smirked before stepping up to Harry and his siblings. "Ginny, Harry, Ron…and the lovely and incredibly intelligent Ms. Granger. It's wonderful to see you again my dear."

Hermione blushed an interesting shade of red while Ginny rolled her eyes and slapped her older brother in the arm. "Stop trying to embarrass every female you meet Bill and sit down. Besides acting like you just met Hermione is pretty lame."

"You wound me dear sister." Bill gasped, grabbing his heart. "I have nothing but the utmost respect for the fairer gender. Now move over pipsqueak and let me have a seat."

"I have a name." Ron growled as he moved over so his brother could sit down. "And I'm almost bigger than you now."

"Not where it counts pipsqueak." Bill said, knuckling Ron on the head as he sat down and started taking some of the food that was on the table. "Merlin, I haven't had Hogwarts food in a long time. But then again…after being forced to eat nothing but bugs for a few days just about anything sounds good."

"Are you actually here for a reason Bill?" Ginny asked as they watched the eldest Weasley start to eat. "Or did you just stop by to steal some food and annoy our brother?"

Swallowing his food, Bill nodded as he reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll. "Actually, I'm here on official Gringotts business. Heir Potter or rather Lord Potter. This is your official declaration of emancipation from Gringotts. You'll still need to stop at the bank in order to collect your Head of House ring and go through the blood rites to gain full access to the Potter Vaults. But as of now, in the eyes of Gringotts, you are officially emancipated in the eyes of the law."

Taking the offered scroll, Harry unrolled it and read over its contents carefully. "You didn't need to come here and give me this. An owl would've sufficed. So why did the goblins send you Bill?"

Bill stared at him before smirking. "You're quick Harry. Ragnok personally sent me here, and I'm not afraid to admit that I damn near shite myself when he called me into his office, to offer you a job as a curse breaker with Gringotts the moment you finish with your NEWT exams."

Both Hermione's and Ginny's jaws dropped open while Ron's eyes doubled in size. "Why?"

Harry asked, drawing sharp looks from both Hermione and Ginny. "Does Gringotts often offer employment to a fourth year student who hasn't even taken their OWLs yet?"

"Do you know of many fourth years that can successfully cast the Stone Prison runic spell?" Bill countered with a raised eyebrow. "Bloody hell, I had to run here to try and beat at least two dragon reserves and the DOM who are all considering offering you a position."

Turning away from Bill, Harry thought for a moment about how to formulate his answer. "I'm honored Bill, truly. And please tell the goblins that as well. But unfortunately I have to turn it down. My path lies in a different direction."

If Bill was surprised, he didn't show it. "Ragnok thought that that was going to be your answer." He said, mildly surprising Harry. "Not that I actually believed you would turn it down mind you. But all the same, Gringotts still had to make the offer."

"Why?" Hermione asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Because now if I take any job with a dragon reserve, or the Ministry outside of my seat on the Wizengamot it will be seen as a slight against the goblins because they offered me a job first." Harry answered. "And then they will be able to make my life a living financial hell."

"You're quick Harry," Bill smirk, slapping him on the back. "I was afraid that I was going to have to explain the repercussions of turning down this offer."

"I've been trained in politics since I was old enough to stand upright in my crib." Harry answered. "My mother was quite insistent upon it."

"Good," Bill nodded. "You'll need that training now more than ever seeing as how you're going to be– oh my. Who is that?"

Following Bill's gaze, Harry saw what had caught his attention. Fleur Delacour and a small ensemble of French witches had just entered the great hall and were making their way over to their customary spots at the Ravenclaw table. "That's Fleur Delacour," Harry answered. "She's the Beauxbatons Champion."

"That's where I have to disagree with you Harry," Bill said, his eyes following Fleur. But Harry noticed that he didn't have the glossed over look that Fleur usually caused all of the boys in the school to have. Instead he seemed…fascinated by her. Her. Not her veela. "She's not just Beauxbatons Champion. She's a goddess sent down to live amongst us unworthy mortals in human form." Or then again…maybe not.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked as Bill wiped his mouth and rose to his feet.

"My business here is done." Bill said, taking a moment to straighten his clothes and his and hair. "Now…I have much more pressing concerns. So if you will all excuse me. Lord Potter, it was an honor to meet you again. Hermione a pleasure to see you again as well. Ginny, pipsqueak. See you both later."

Giving them all a quick bow, Bill left them and made his way over to where the French contingent had sat down. Harry had to strain his ears, but he could hear Bill introducing himself in French to the girls in an overly charming manner. With just a few words he was seated with them, a girl between him and Fleur, and within a minute he had them all roaring in laughter at something he'd said.

"Good Merlin." Ron groaned as he dropped his head down onto the table top. "How in Merlin's name does he do that?"

"He has confidence Ron," Ginny smirked at her downcast brother. "Something you're going to need if you want a date to the Yule Ball. And speaking of which, have you asked anyone yet Harry? You do know that as a Champion you'll be expected to dance first with the other champions and their dates in front of the whole school right?"

Harry's fork froze halfway up to his mouth. 'Oh shit…I completely forgot about the damn ball!'

"Leave off of it Ginny." Ron grumbled. "There's still plenty of time. And it's not like you two have dates yet either."

Hermione fixed Ron with a glare that made the redhead shift in his seat uncomfortably. "There is only just over a month Ronald. That is not 'enough time', as you put it, for a girl. You, both of you, need to get your head out of your arses and ask someone. And for your information Ronald…I already have date. He asked me yesterday, and I said yes."

Ron looked at Hermione like she'd suddenly grown two heads before turning slightly towards Ginny. "Yes Ron, someone asked me as well just this morning." She sighed, surprising even Harry.

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Neville." Ginny shrugged. "Unfortunately for him though, I know that he wants someone else and I can't really see him with me. Far too shy. So I put a boot in his arse and pushed him towards the one he wanted to go within the first place, Hannah. And she said 'yes' by the way. And Ron, stop looking so downtrodden. There is still a chance you can go with whom you want. And don't try to deny it. I know who you like brother. And if you don't grow a set of balls and ask her now then I'm going to do it for you. Not only that, but I'll write home to Mum and make sure she sends the photo album with all your baby pictures and show them to her as well."

Ron went pale. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Swallowing, Ron slowly, shakily, got to his feet. "Right…well then…off I go."

Ron turned and left the table, walking past all of his fellow Gryffindors before marching past the Hufflepuff table as well. Marching towards the end of the Slytherin table, Ron walked right up to Daphne and Tracey. Or more specifically Tracey. When he got to them, Ron hesitated only a second before speaking. While none of them could hear what was said, the implication was clear as Tracey went completely red in the face. She then stood up sharply, grabbed Ron by the ear and dragged him out of the Great Hall away from the prying eyes of the three dozen or so students that were in the hall.

"Poor guy," Harry chuckled before turning towards Ginny. "So, how did you know?"

"About Tracey? Please Harry, I live with my brother in a house that unfortunately has thin walls and– well let's just say that my brother isn't necessarily the quietest person around. And he talks in his sleep." Ginny grimaced. "And speaking of the ball, I talked to Professor McGonagall yesterday."

"About what?" Harry asked, his curiously peeked as the rest of the hall forgot about the little display by Ron and went back to their meals.

"The ball. Or more especially who can be invited." Ginny smirked at him, and a sense for forbearing raged through him as he suddenly knew where this conversation was heading.

"And?"

Ginny made a show of slowly putting jam onto her toast. "Well…it just so happens that there is no rule against bringing an outside party to the dance. As long as they have permission of their guardian and are magical." Pausing Ginny sent him a look that made him gulp. "Which means…Master…that if you don't invite Ahsoka to the dance when you go and see her this weekend…well I'm sure Master Nox has some nice incriminating photos of you that Ahsoka would just love to see."

The knot forming in Harry's gut was very real at that moment. "You wouldn't."

Ginny's smirk only widened. "As I told my brother, Master…try me."

Harry stared at Ginny for a long time. Tentatively, he reached out through their strong bond, a strong that was just as strong as the one he held with his mother. As he did, Ginny's smile faltered. "Why?"

Ginny's eyes slowly turned downcast. Eyeing the two of them, Hermione moved over a few paces then drew her wand and wordlessly cast a silencing bubble over the two of them before focusing in on her book once more. "Ginny?" Harry asked, reaching across for her hand. "Why are you doing this?"

Harry felt her wavering through their bond and his heart thudded in his chest as it did. "We've been Master and Apprentice for two years now Harry." Ginny began. "At first I was scared and had no idea what was going on. But now…now I couldn't imagine my life without this. I know you Harry. Bloody hell, sometimes I think I know you better than I know myself."

Pausing, Ginny whipped her eye quickly with one hand. "You know I used to have these fantasies about you. How you would come around and sweep me off my feet and we would have adventures together."

"Well…I did crash into you the first time we met so I guess you could say that you swept me off my feet." Harry tried to smile. "And our adventures are just beginning."

Nodding, Ginny smiled at him. "Yeah. Then…then I heard what Luna said. How there were going to be six of us with you…and that one or all could be…well with you." She said, blushing. "At that I began to hope…then I became your apprentice and that hope grew. And then…and then you felt her. And I knew that my silly dream was at an end. Kind of hard to argue against something when you're bonded through the Force even before you meet one another."

'Bonded through the Force? Is she…is she talking about Ahsoka and I?'

"Yes I'm talking about you and Ahsoka." Ginny clarified without being asked. "I don't know if this is some sort of side-effect or something…but I can feel your bond with your mother. And…and I can feel your bond with Ahsoka. I know that she invokes feelings in you Harry. Feelings that no other can bring to light. You're stronger, more focused with her around. But most importantly…you feel complete. Happy. What sort of shitty apprentice would I be if I tried to sabotage that for some ridiculous fantasy?"

"It's not ridiculous Ginny." Harry responded eyeing the students in the hall. All of whom were still thankfully ignorant of the heartfelt conversation thanks to Hermione. "And no matter what…you will always be my apprentice. My first apprentice. And you'll have a place within my heart that no one else can have."

"I know…that's the only thing that makes this…bearable." Ginny hiccupped before pulling both of her hands away from him. "Whoa…I can't believe I finally got that out of my system."

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah." Ginny smiled, and through their bond Harry knew that she was telling the truth. "But after all of this heartfelt shite…you had better ask Ahsoka this weekend or I'm going to kick your arse from one end of this castle to other. Master or not."

Smiling, Harry suddenly felt better, and more nervous, than he had all week. "As you command, my apprentice."