"Crucio!" echoed through the room, and Peter Pettigrew fell to the floor in pain. "Fool! You have failed your master!"
"I'm sorry, my Lord," whimpered Peter, "I don't know how he escaped."
"Because you were careless!" Voldemort hissed. "You're lucky he didn't show up anywhere, and I still need you." He ended the torture. "I hope your stupidity isn't contagious and everything is going according to plan at Hogwarts."
"I can meet—"
"—Go," Voldemort dismissed him. "But be back here soon."
***
"Harry!" Harry woke to someone shaking him, and almost jumped into a sitting position.
"Ron?" Harry didn't understand what happened, he felt his face for his glasses, which Ron then handed him.
"You were screaming in your sleep," Ron told him worriedly. "Another nightmare?"
"Probably," Harry forced out, "but I remember almost nothing, just one scene." He laid back down and rubbed his forehead where his scar stung. "I'm going to try and get back to sleep. Thanks for waking me up."
"Of course." Ron smiled at him before quietly leaving him and disappearing into his own bed. "Good night, Harry."
"Night, Ron." He returned the gesture and took off his glasses again, placing them on the table beside him. Somehow, though, he suspected that falling asleep again would not come easily.
***
Harry had told the Headmaster all about his dream, of course. They had even looked at it together in the Pensieve. However, that'd been a long time ago because Harry hadn't had a moment to spare. Okay, it wasn't that bad. He had plenty of sleep and privacy when he wanted it. Still, if he had the energy, he would practice spells from first to the fifth year with Hermione - because Hermione was ahead again - or spells from higher years with Fleur. Of course, some of the spells took him weeks, but he'd managed about ten times more than he'd ever expected before his last task.
Tonight was the last quiet day Harry would get. He would be in a maze tomorrow evening, where anything could happen.
"How are you feeling, Harry?" The Headmaster asked as they sat across from each other in the Headmaster's office.
"I'm fine."
"I completely understand." Dumbledore nodded at him, knowing his sentence wasn't entirely true, "I'm not feeling great these days either."
"What about Mr Crouch?"
"Mr Crouch is doing much better, but I had to take protective measures so he's resting in isolation."
"And did he tell you what you wanted to know?"
"Yes, Harry... I have all the information now... but even so, it doesn't get much easier. What's important, however, is that I know everything I need to protect you there."
"Will that someone be with me in the maze?"
"We won't find out until the moment it happens, Harry, but trust me, I'm not letting whoever is responsible for all this out of my sight."
Harry just nodded at him. He couldn't have gotten a better assurance anyway.
"I have one more request to make upon you, Harry. You have to win this or at least get to the centre first. I'm afraid of what would happen to those who get there instead of you."
"I've got a head start, so maybe it'll do some good." Harry sighed.
"You've got a lot more than that. You've got the knowledge from Hagrid, who was also the one who put the magical creatures in, and according to Miss Granger, you've practised a lot of spells to help you get over any other obstacles. Unfortunately, I can't help you any further, just one piece of advice... don't linger anywhere, if you come across an obstacle that you know will take a lot of time, turn around and find another way."
"I'll do so." Harry nodded in understanding. This was good advice.
"And now for something a little more cheerful." The Headmaster smiled a little forcedly at him, "it's every champion's right to meet their family before their last task. I've tried to do my best, so you can have someone here too."
"I hope you didn't invite the Dursleys, sir."
"No, Harry... I think both you and your family will be happier if you only see each other for the minimum number of days necessary."
Harry nodded at this too. The Headmaster had just told the greatest truth of all truths.
"I've invited the Weasley family here, although I've noticed that you and Ron aren't such friends anymore. Still, I believe you'll be happy to see them, and they'll be happy to see both you and their children."
"That's very kind of you," Harry smiled.
"I was going to invite Miss Granger's family as well, but with people who aren't wizards, transportation here is complicated, and I think almost impossible. So I did the next best thing, I invited Miss Delacour's family here. I believe you would be pleased to meet them."
"Do you think that's a good idea, sir?" Harry asked uncertainly, "I've dragged their daughter into danger. If they knew, I think they'd curse me rather than meet me."
"I've never been a parent, Harry, but somehow I suspect that children always choose their own destiny, even if their parents disagree with it. It's called growing up," the Headmaster smiled kindly at him. "Miss Delacour has shown tremendous courage in staying by your side even though she knows what's going on here. I think it will be rewarding for both of you to see her parents... because for now, I'm afraid I can't offer you anything else."
"Thank you nonetheless." Harry returned his smile. Fleur deserved to see her family, and he was happy that the Headmaster had organised that. For him, it was enough that he could see his barking godfather from time to time.
***
"Harry, would you stop dragging me behind you?" Fleur told Harry when he wouldn't let her go to class and took her with him.
"Nope, because then you'd turn around and go back to class."
"You do realise that, unlike you, I have exams, right?"
"You need to see this." He winked at her and gently pulled her along until he led her into the room where all the other champions were gathered now. He gave Cedric a thumbs up and a nod to Krum, paying no attention to Sebastian. He then sat down and gestured for Fleur to sit next to him.
"So, who would you like to introduce me to?" She smiled at him.
"We'll swap the roles for this one." He gave her a mysterious smile, but he didn't answer any of her questions about what he meant on purpose. It was amusing to see her frustrated.
"Fleur!" came out suddenly, and Harry had to admit that even though he'd said her name a thousand times, he'd never hit that intonation as her mother had. But by then, Fleur was running excitedly towards her parents, and Harry just smiled at them, his hands behind his head.
"Are you collecting brownie points, Harry?" Cedric announced amusedly.
"Another billion or so, and I might have a chance with her," he replied, equally amused.
"You're not supposed to try for the second prettiest girl in school on your first try," came the reply from Cedric.
"Cho isn't here. You don't have to collect brownie points either," Harry laughed.
"I'm just telling the truth... anyway you have chosen well, girls who go up against the whole world for you are hard to come by, and you got two at once."
"Everything turned back to normal in the end, didn't it?"
"And all it took was killing a giant basilisk with a sword when you were a kid." Cedric shrugged and snorted a little. "You want my honest opinion? I wouldn't give a damn if the path to glory was through a duel with a basilisk."
"And that's why I'm first, and you're second," Harry smirked.
"For now, Harry... tomorrow, you'll be applauding me."
"Of course, I'll applaud you when they announce you're second. It's an honour to be right behind Harry Potter."
"I'd love to debate with you about my certain victory for ages, but my parents are over there." Cedric stood up, "when you have a moment, come over and visit us. Mum will be happy to meet you."
"Sure, Ced." He'd be happy to do this. Then Harry turned to look back at Fleur, but by then, she was almost at his side, holding out her hand for him to stand up and giving him a big hug as he did so.
"Thank you for inviting them here," she gave him a kiss on the cheek in gratitude and was already pulling him towards her parents. "Maman, Papa, this is Harry," she said in English.
"Didn't you teach him French?" Mrs Delacour wondered in her native language.
"Fleur tried... but my strengths probably lie elsewhere," Harry got out in very broken French, to which everyone laughed, and Fleur glared at him.
"You didn't tell me you were learning French!" She smiled at him.
"Hermione wanted me to know as much as I could, so she taught me the basics for at least an hour a day." He shrugged and answered her in English.
Fleur didn't have time to respond, though, because her sister tugged on her clothes.
"And this is Gabrielle. I'm sure you remember her from my stories," Fleur introduced her younger sister.
Harry smiled kindly at her, causing Gabrielle to hide behind her older sister again.
"Let's move on to your native tongue then, shall we?" Mr Delacour said in a friendly tone, "Gabrielle won't be happy that she doesn't understand us, but at least she'll have an extra reason to study other languages as well."
"I would appreciate that, sir. Our school does not offer many opportunities to learn another language, so I would be a poor host if you insisted on French."
"That's just a small thing. Think of it as a thank you for your invitation." Mrs Delacour smiled at him, and Harry had to admit that she was an extremely beautiful woman. He understood at once where Fleur's beauty came from. But he lacked a few things to mention that out loud: age, assertiveness, and balls.
"Harry!" came an excited voice, and Harry saw Molly Weasley walking towards him at a brisk walk, Bill walking beside her.
"Mrs Weasley, Bill, thank you for coming." He smiled at them and got a hug from Mrs Weasley.
"You're not surprised?" Mrs Weasley wondered. "Did the Headmaster tell you? I'll take it up with him," she threatened humorously.
"It's not his fault. I kind of pulled it out of him," he said quickly and then remembered that it would be nice to introduce everyone and did just that.
"Nice to meet you," Bill said pleasantly, Mrs Weasley a little more neutral. "So I finally meet the lady you took to the Ball, Harry. Ron only wrote that she was a Beauxbatons student."
Bill smiled at her in particular.
"Yes, that's me." Fleur returned his smile.
Harry preferred to concentrate on Mrs Weasley. "How does it feel for you to be here again?"
"It's still magical." She beamed at him immediately. "Even though it's been so many years, every time I'm there, it's like I'm still young."
"You are, Mrs Weasley," Harry said charismatically, this much he could do.
"Thank you for the compliment, Harry." He got another smile from her, "you don't know how happy I was when I saw that the paper finally wrote nice things about you. What you and Ron had to go through in your second year was horrible, and then there was the way you saved Ginny..." she quickly wiped one tear from her eye.
"I'm sure Ginny will be glad to see you, Ron has an exam right now, but Ginny should be here soon," he told her before turning back to everyone. "We can sit down. Professor Dumbledore has set up a large table for us all to fit." He pointed to one corner of the room. "Or if you want to take a tour..."
"If you wouldn't mind, Harry, we'd like to visit Ginny and Ron and then come back altogether," Mrs Weasley smiled at him. "I'd tell you to come with us, but you have other visitors, so it's best if you stay here. We have the whole afternoon after all."
"Of course," Harry then said his goodbyes and led the entire Delacour family to the prepared table.
"Was that the one who was supposed to bring the dragons here?" Fleur asked, pointing her head at Bill.
"No, the one working with the dragons is Charlie. That's Bill. He works as a Curse-Breaker."
"Interesting," she said, intrigued.
"Yeah, he'd know what to expect in the last task," Harry commented but then shook his head slightly to take his mind off the future.
"Harry, may I call you Harry?" Madame Delacour asked. Harry just nodded that he would be happy to. "Would you be willing to tell us how you two started working together? Fleur has avoided the subject quite a lot in her letters."
Harry just looked at Fleur, who shook her head to signal him not to say anything bad. This only deepened his smirk. If she could pay attention to Bill, why couldn't he have his fun too?
"When the Goblet of Fire didn't pick her, she ran to me saying that I was the only one who could win it and that she wanted to help me achieve it-"
"Harry!" Fleur almost shouted.
"Did I say something wrong?" He smiled innocently at her, "I'm sympathetic to people who are down on their luck of course," Harry continued to tell the story, "so I took pity on Fleur and accepted her help to make her feel useful and—" he didn't have time to say more as Fleur angrily covered his mouth with her hand.
"You are such a liar! Don't trust him at all! It was exactly the other way around, I was the one who felt sorry for this little boy here, and that's why I offered to help him."
"I think I understand a lot more now." Mr Delacour smiled at their behaviour. "Harry, thank you for taking Fleur under your wing. It was very kind of you."
"Papa!" Fleur turned to her father, offended, letting go of her hand allowing Harry to speak again.
"Of course, Sir, it was an honour—mmph" and then her hand was on his mouth again.
This made Gabrielle laugh. Even though she probably didn't understand any of this conversation, it was evident that she was delighted that her sister was happy and a little annoyed.
"Seriously though," Harry broke out of Fleur's grasp, he was stronger than her in terms of brute strength after all, "your daughter trusted me at a time when very few people did. She helped me more than anyone could have asked for in the tournament, and I reckon what she's taught me will help me in everyday life too. You have raised a remarkable daughter, and I am happy to call her my friend and mentor."
Fleur probably didn't expect that and looked at him in surprise.
"We are delighted to hear that," Madame Delacour said with a proud gleam in her eyes as she glanced towards her daughter, "Fleur plans to stay here in England for a while after the exams. I am relieved knowing that she will have someone here to rely on; after all, it is not easy to start in a foreign country."
Now Harry looked at Fleur with a look that said, "You don't say." He could have learned this from her and not from her parents. Harry was good at masking what he was thinking, though, so he smiled at her parents. "Of course, I'll be happy to help her as needed."
And in that spirit, the discussion went on for at least a good hour before the Weasley family arrived. Then they all went for a walk around the school and grounds together. Harry showed those who had never been here what was used for what. Mrs Weasley occasionally added information he hadn't known. Their guests from France told them what their school was like. It was a lovely afternoon where they were all like a family. Hermione and Ron were talking as if nothing had ever happened. Harry felt for the first time that he was being treated by the adults as just another adult and not as a little kid who had no clue about anything. On the other hand, Harry had a clue about something that people only had nightmares about at most. He would have to face Voldemort in a few hours, and if something went wrong, it would be the last time he would see them all like this.
***
Harry stood up after the Headmaster called for everyone to report to the Quidditch pitch. He received many good luck wishes from his classmates. Then Harry quickly disappeared before Fleur or Hermione could get up. After a few hundred yards, however, Cedric caught up with him.
"Aren't you the type that likes to say farewells?" he commented conversationally.
"It's going to be the most dangerous task. I couldn't in good heart tell Hermione and Fleur to their faces that they shouldn't worry."
"I can totally understand that." Cedric sighed. "I don't regret throwing my name in there, but I wish it was over already."
"I get you."
"So... Have you come up with any fancy strategies?"
"Get in the middle of the maze, pick up the trophy, get declared the winner. Forget about all that trouble."
"That's the same as mine, but in my mind, I'm the winner, of course."
"Yeah, that's what Dumbledore said a long time ago, that in our minds we can be anything... so there's a chance you can win this tournament at least somewhere," Harry continued to banter.
Cedric didn't return any jokes, though. "If by chance something happens, I want it to be said that I'm glad you were also selected. You were a good teammate and opponent at the same time."
"Likewise, Ced, may the better man win and keep the trophy at Hogwarts." Harry held out his hand, which Cedric squeezed.
"Now come on, we're in for a deafening round of applause."
"Let's show them something then," Harry added.
And with those words, they started towards the pitch, where many teachers and a few ministry staff were already waiting. "Potter," Professor Moody greeted him, "Diggory."
"Professor," they both returned his greeting.
"I'm here to possibly save your young behinds, so if you don't feel up to something, send up a flare."
"Alastor's right." Professor McGonagall gave him a slight glare for the way he delivered that truth. "If you feel threatened, we will come to your aid. We will be split up so someone will get to you in time if you don't leave everything to the last minute."
"Thank you," Harry told them a little nervously.
"And someone better win this," she said a little quieter, "I'm glad your Quidditch matches have made me multiply trophies, Mr Potter, but I'd like this to stay at Hogwarts too, so both of you try your best."
"Of course, Professor." Cedric smiled at her. "We won't leave it to the Frog-eaters or the Eskimos."
"That's exactly right, Diggory, that's the way it should be!" Moody praised him. "Now go and say hello to the spectators. We need to tell the other champions we'll be watching them too." Moody shooed them away, and Harry and Cedric headed to the starting line where Bagman was already waiting. Harry waved to everyone cheering for him, shaking hands with Cedric once more as they waited for Viktor and Sebastian to arrive.
"And we have them all here!" Bagman amplified his voice. "Our champions, that calls for one more round of applause." Bagman allowed plenty of time for the spectacular applause they got. "Mr Potter will go first!" he shouted. A chant of Harry's name echoed through the arena. "Followed by Mr Diggory." This was followed by more chanting. "Then Mr Krum, and lastly Mr Bonaccord."
"Everybody ready?" Bagman asked, and they all nodded. "Harry Potter will start with a good twenty-two-second lead. Let's see what he can do with them! Come on, Harry, stand here, and when I blow the whistle, it's showtime."
"I'm ready."
"Three, two, one." Then the whistle blew, and Harry ran off, wand in hand, towards the unknown. He had a strategy in mind, so he hoped he wouldn't screw up at the first obstacle. Harry knew what direction the centre was by using a point-me spell. Still, he hit a dead end within those first twenty seconds, so he immediately had to turn and run the other way.
At that point, there was another whistle, signaling Cedric's entry into the maze. Harry tried to ignore this. If he wanted things to go Headmaster's way, he needed to reach the centre first.
The first obstacle was also one he had anticipated more than once during this task. Blast-Ended Skrewts were an opponent he knew by heart, and he knew how to defend against them. He'd taken care of that beforehand, interviewing Hagrid under the guise of a better grade. So when something as big as a cow and looking like a scorpion stood before him, he was already crouched down to better see the exposed belly and sent three powerful blasting curses at it, knocking the Blast-Ended Skrewt out for a few seconds. Harry just jumped over it and kept running. However, what was strange was that he didn't see anything else for a long time, just one small puddle of blood. Either something was just bleeding for fun, or someone was killing something, and one was scarier than the other. He was supposed to be the most upfront, so where did the blood come from?
Then there was a loud scream, and Harry knew that Sebastian was probably out of it because that's not just how someone screams without good reason. Harry prayed to all the gods that he was okay and someone had come to save him because even though Sebastian was a nuisance and an idiot, he didn't deserve to be eaten here.
"Why me," he sighed, as a Sphinx blocked his path. The magical beast he had never seen in his life, maybe once in a book. "Will you let me through?"
"No, you have to solve the riddle," It replied, standing up so he could be sure that she wouldn't let him pass until he answered correctly.
"No, thank you," he bowed respectfully to her, "I don't have time for this." And with that, he turned and ran back even faster, turning in the right direction just a little further. He was stopped three times by dead ends along the way, but he was lucky on the fourth time because he ran for about two minutes straight without running into anything. But then he came to a fork in the road. He could aim right or left.
"Viktor! What the fuck are you doing?" Cedric's voice echoed right in front of him.
"Crucio!" A second voice echoed, and it was obvious that Cedric hadn't dodged or was very good at faking screams.
"Shit!" Harry cursed, aiming the slashing curses he'd learned from Fleur at the hedge in front of him, needing quite a few before he could get through. Then all he had to do was jump through it and aim for Viktor.
"Stupefy!"
"Ow," Cedric whimpered on the ground, but it was evident that the curse had quickly passed when Viktor fell face-first to the ground.
"Cedric, dude, are you okay?"
"Pretty shitty curse." Cedric tried to stand up. "What the fuck went wrong? I mean, he was acting normal the whole time."
"He certainly wasn't in his right mind," Harry guessed. "Moody told you about the curses too, didn't he? You must mean it, and I believe Viktor couldn't have hated anyone enough to use it, much less you."
"So what, it's his evil twin?" Cedric was sarcastic despite the pain.
"How the fuck should I know," Harry retorted, "but if you're going to tell me that everything in this task is as it should be, then you're insane."
"You mean Sebastian's scream?"
"He was finished about a minute after he got in. Krum or whoever this is must-have got him."
Cedric looked like he was considering it. "You seem okay. What did you meet on the way?"
"Blast-Ended Skrewt and a Sphinx," Harry admitted.
"Now, I'm inclined to agree with you. This is definitely not the way it's supposed to be," Cedric stood up with a pained expression, "I met three Skrewt, an Acromantula, a Boggart, a spell that confuses the senses and some weird darkness fog."
"That's decent for a few minutes."
"Terribly funny," Cedric uttered, shooting a flare into the air. "I'd prefer to leave him here, but normal Viktor is fine, so he doesn't deserve to be left behind."
"I agree, but we have to keep going. There's only two of us left," Harry said hesitantly.
Cedric just nodded. "There won't be any more psychopathic Krum anymore, so it'll be safer now. I'll go this way."
"I'll go that way then." Harry pointed to the other direction.
"I'll see you at the end, Harry," Cedric said again, "and thanks for saving me, I appreciate it." With those words, he ran off.
Harry sprinted his entire way, and with each passing second that he met nothing, he began to understand what was going on. Whoever had thrown his name into the Cup was helping him by clearing away obstacles. Krum and Sebastian were unwillingly part of this plan too, and if he didn't end this quickly, Cedric would be next.
"Why do I always have to think about the others?" he groaned, picking up speed. He should have put Cedric to sleep and called for help, and he'd be safe. This way, the fool would just meet ten times more monsters than him. Harry sprinted like he never had before, still checking his direction with his wand. When he was sure he was close, he turned to the right and saw Cedric leaning against a twenty feet high hedge and two huge Acromantulas lying next to him.
"Cedric!" He ran up to him.
"I'm alive." Cedric waved at him. "How many of these have you met?"
"None..."
"I hate you, Harry." Cedric snorted, but it was obvious he didn't mean it.
"I see you weren't so lucky," Harry remarked, a little humorously and a little apologetically.
"Everything that was here conspired on me. Fuck that trophy." Cedric spat in front of him, and when Harry looked in that direction, he found that he was about thirty yards straight ahead from the trophy.
"Do you want to piggyback there? You were here first." Harry grinned.
"Let's be honest, if you hadn't helped me with Krum, I wouldn't be here, and even if I were, I can't move. I don't deserve the Cup anyway since I wasn't able to get to it without your help."
"We did help each other on the first task, too."
"But only one can win, so go ahead, grab itp, have some applause, and lead me to the infirmary," and with those words, Cedric sent red sparks into the air. It didn't take a second for Dumbledore to appear beside them, a phoenix on his shoulder. "That was impressive, Headmaster," Cedric got out, surprised.
"Thank you, my boy. How are you?"
"Broken leg, my arm hurts like hell, and this bastard bit me at least once."
"All right, you should be able to handle the transfer, Fawkes here will take you to the infirmary. The other champions are already there as well."
"Krum hit Cedric with the Cruciatus," Harry made sure to mention. "But, I'm not sure he was in his right mind, Professor."
"I know, I inspected his wand, but the infirmary will be guarded. You'll be safe there," the Headmaster explained.
And when Cedric smiled gratefully, the phoenix transported him away.
"The books said that you can't Apparate at Hogwarts." Harry grinned a little.
"All you have to do is become Headmaster, Harry." Dumbledore smiled at him a little forcedly. "Come on, I'll walk you to the Cup."
"I'm not disqualified?"
"Someone has to win, and with three champions having given up or unable to continue, you're more or less a winner already," the Headmaster explained.
"I see, and the one who cleared my path and cursed Viktor?"
"I sent him on an important mission before apparating here, so he doesn't know I'm here with you. He thinks you're safe to go for the win," Albus Dumbledore explained, stopping with his wand just in front of the Cup and casting a few spells. "Just as I thought."
"What did you find out?"
"The Cup is a Portkey, it was meant to deposit the winner at the entrance to the maze, but it's been tampered with. I can't say for certain where it's headed now, but wherever that is, I'm sure Tom will be waiting."
"Voldemort wants to kidnap me, sir?"
"I believe you are right, and this was a clever way to do it. If it weren't for the Map and Bartemius Crouch, I never would have even known about this, and it would have happened right in front of my eyes."
"If it's any comfort, I wouldn't have expected it either."
"Not much, but thanks for trying, Harry."
Harry just smiled weakly. "Now what?"
"I'll give you a choice of two paths again, my boy. Either I'll apparate you back and let you enjoy the celebration of your well-deserved victory, or we'll use this Portkey together."
"I won't be a very good second for your duel, sir."
"And I don't expect you to be. We'll land together, and once Fawkes knows where we are, he'll take you to safety. Your job will be to stay with the two Aurors standing guard and not move, and Fawkes will transfer Madam Bones to me, who's already been informed of what's about to happen here. If Voldemort is there, he will be in a weakened form and hopefully I'll be able to bring an end to him. If it's just one of the Death Eaters, we'll bring them in."
"Sounds easy enough, sir."
"But if you don't feel up to it, I can't force you to touch the Cup."
"I can't back out anymore while I'm here. If we don't stop Voldemort, I'll never have peace, and I'd like to enjoy everything growing up has to offer, not be fearful every day."
"Yes, love is an amazing emotion, and you should enjoy it to the fullest." Dumbledore smiled at him knowingly, causing Harry to blush slightly.
He put his hand on his shoulder. "Whenever you're ready, Harry, just say the word, and we can finish this."
"I'm ready." Harry squeezed his wand tighter, then extended his left hand towards the cup. "On three?"
Albus Dumbledore just nodded.
"One, two, three." And then they both touched at once, and Harry's whole world turned.
AN:
Once again heartfelt thanks to the members of the Harry/Fleur discord server (HonorverseFan, Ward, OfficeSloth, Matt and x102reddragon) for their beta-corrections on this chapter. This is the first story I am posting in English, which is not my first language and their help was invaluable.
If anyone wishes to join our community, here is a link: "discord . gg / skww8F4RFv" (without spaces)