"It is done my Lord, he will wake in a few minutes," Snape said in a monotone voice looking down at the rat man with pure disgust. "Could I please do something about his appearance my Lord? He blinds me."
"And me?" the shrivelled-up creature asked from the large, comfy chair.
"My Lord, yours is temporary... unlike his," Snape explained pointing at the fat, ugly man on the ground.
"Severus, you came here to adjust his memory and break those binding spells, not change his appearance," the creature whispered.
"Yes, my Lord," Snape answered back giving the creature a small bow as he also moved to sit down in the chair behind him.
He wished he could leave and return to Hogwarts so he could sleep; not sit here waiting for a traitor to wake up after having to break multiple secrecy spells on him. It had taken many years of research on his and Lucius' part to discover the spells and circumstances required to break the spells to know the truth on who Harry Potter and Voldemort really were and what truly happened that night. Some things were just not adding up to Severus and as soon as he mentioned it to the Dark Lord (which he deeply regretted now), he began working on it with Lucius.
Pettigrew suddenly sat up and inhaled deeply.
"Finally," Severus said in a bored tone. "Shall we wait for Lucius?"
"It's his loss," the creature said. "Let's begin."
"Alright, Wormtail, is Harry really Potter's son?" Snape asked,
"Of course he was, Snape. What are you asking? Who else would or could have been the parents of the boy?" Pettigrew asked.
"It didn't work?" Snape asked. "Is there such a thing as male pregnancy?"
"It's possible- but why would there be a need for such a thing?" Pettigrew asked.
Snape sighed. He will not give up.
"I'm sorry, I failed you my Lord, I will continue but first, I must return back to the school. Mad-eye is still hard at work and has already initiated the first stage of our plan and in all due time you will get your body back, I promise," Snape said bowing again before apparating away.
"It didn't work?" a new voice asked.
"Where were you, Lucius?" the creature asked.
"I was on a search of the Secrecy Stone, my L-" the blond didn't finish before he passed out falling to the ground.
An elf immediately appeared in the room and made Lucius hover in the air and moved him out of the room.
***
"Harry Potter? HARRY POTTER!"
Harry turned to whisper to Hermione. "What? This must be a mistake. I didn't put-" she responded by shoving him to his feet.
Silence. Deafening silence.
Harry slowly got up to his feet trying to avoid as many eyes as possible as he walked towards Dumbledore who had shouted his name which had just appeared from the Goblet of Fire. Amongst the sea of eyes, he eventually met bluey-grey ones that immediately looked away with fear as bright as day being reflected in them. The other looked back at Harry with wide eyes and Harry immediately knew what he meant. They should meet that night. Harry looked ahead at Dumbledore who was stood with a stoic expression on his face when they were about a foot apart, Dumbledore slowly handed the small piece of paper to him. Whilst still in shock, he made his way to the room to the side where the Champions had gone ignoring the shouts from the other students about what had just occurred.
His heart was in his throat as it thumped away in his fear. He had no idea how his name was placed in the Goblet. He wanted a quiet year where he can just study – but no. Someone had other plans for him.
"Harry Potter!"
Harry jumped at his name being mentioned as he began to quickly back away from the swarm of adults that were rushing towards him.
"Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Dumbledore asked seriously to Harry with the twinkle in his eyes gone. "Did you put your name into the Goblet, Harry?" he asked again quickly.
"No, I didn't, I swear, I didn't do it," Harry said almost on the brink of tears.
"You didn't ask another student to do it for you, you didn't bewitch it?" Dumbledore pressed.
"No, I didn't," Harry answered again.
"Of course, he did!" Madame Olympe Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons, interrupted.
"The boy couldn't have possible cheated the Goblet of Fire," Mad-eye defended. "The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object, only an exceptionally powerful conjurer could have hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year."
"You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought Mad-Eye," Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang added suspiciously, looking at Mad-eye.
The tension could be seen suddenly rising in the room as the two men stared each other down.
"That isn't helping! Barty what do you suggest we do?" Dumbledore asked.
Silence rang in the room for a few mere seconds before the man spoke.
"The boy has to compete. It is the laws of the games. He must compete," Barty Crouch explained. "Harry Potter is the fourth Champion."
Dread filled Harry. There was no way that he was willing or ready to partake in the fatal games. Someone had set him up and he was beyond terrified now. Maybe this was what Draco had warned him about.
Since then, Harry hadn't been able to focus and that gone into the Room of Requirement a lot earlier than he should have. He didn't want to meet anyone he didn't want to. The comments from the other students when his name had been called out were enough. He didn't need any more hate than he was already getting. He could deal with only so much at a time.
"Harry! I warned you! This is what happens!" a voice yelled making him jump. "When you don't listen to me!"
Draco ran towards him and shook Harry by the shoulders.
Harry let down more tears as he stared into Draco's silver eyes making the other stop his aggressive movements and hug the dark-haired boy.
"Harry, I suggest you pack your bags and run," Draco said. "Don't continue with the games. No one is going to be supporting you. You know how popular Cedric is and the longer you stay in the competition, the more hate you will get."
Harry didn't reply and just pulled his legs to his chest and his head between his knees as he cried. Draco placed a hand in Harry's hair as he himself began to cry. After a few hours, they were just sitting together unable to cry anymore in silence.
"We... we should return to our dorms..." Draco whispered after a few seconds as he sniffed.
"Can we not stay here? I don't really want to talk to anyone right now..." Harry answered as tears began to fill his eyes again.
"You'll have to face them someday Harry," Draco said as he hugged the other closer to him. "If it's bad, maybe tomorrow. I don't want people getting suspicious of us. And I'm sure one way or another, it will eventually reach the ears of my father and from then onwards, they will see me as an opportunity to bring the end of the Boy Who Lived."
"Please Draco, I- I don't care, I don't want to see or be with anyone else other than you..." Harry replied, and he began to cry again. "I don't want them to see how weak I am right now. They can't see that. I don't want them to know how their cruel opinions affect me so much. I don't want them to see this side of me... Only you understand me, Dray. Only you know the real Harry Po-" Harry didn't finish before a sad sob left him and he continued to cry his heart out on Draco.
"Alright Harry," Draco responded after a few minutes of thinking.
Nothing good will result from this but he was willing to risk it if that was what Harry needed.
A door then slowly appeared on the wall and Draco gently pulled Harry to his feet and they made their way into it. The new room resembled that of a bedroom. There was a large bed and a dresser and bedside tables.
"Come on, lets sleep, we have lessons starting tomorrow," Draco said as he lay on the bed with Harry beside him.
The next morning when the two woke up, they snuck out of the Room of Requirement and back to their dorms. Of course, not without ensuring that they had concealing charms on their faces, so no one suspected that they had cried all evening. They both looked terrible. Tears were not enough to compensate for their joint sadness; it would never be enough. Even though Harry had promised to go to the Gryffindor Tower, he wasn't ready, so he was taking a long-winded path to it. He let his feet carry him anywhere as he wallowed in his misery.
"Strange to meet you here again Harry," a gentle voice spoke from behind the small boy.
Harry turned around to see his new competitor.
"Cedric, I promise you that I didn't put my name in the Goblet. I never wanted to take part. I don't want you to hate me too." Harry apologised as tears began to gather in his eyes. "I really don't. So please believe me when I say-"
Before he could finish, he was pulled into a hug by the older boy causing him to stop talking. He faces was pressed against the other's strong chest and Harry could feel too much against him for his liking. The older boy was fit. Harry's face became extremely hot within a few seconds at the position he was in.
"I believe you, Harry."
Harry didn't reply. He just breathed in the other's scent wanting more of the comfort that it was bringing to him.
"How did the others treat you?" Cedric asked after a few minutes.
"I didn't spend the night in my dorm," Harry answered calmly.
"Oh?" Cedric asked trying to pull Harry away, but he held on tightly. "So where did you sleep?"
"Erm..." Harry started but bit his lip.
"That's okay, you are Harry Potter," Cedric said laughing a little. "Now come on, I'll help you to your Tower."
"Thank you so much," Harry whispered as he looked up at the other. "You've helped me a lot more than I can put into words..."
Cedric smiled down at Harry. "I'm glad I can help you."
After a few seconds, Harry looked away from embarrassment at his red face causing Cedric to chuckle.
"Come on, lets go," Cedric said putting an arm around Harry's shoulder. "So, what lessons do you have today?"
The two continued to talk until they arrived at the portrait again.
"Well, I guess if I don't see you, I'll see you next week for the first Task," Cedric said giving Harry another dashing smile to which Harry nodded to and the older walked away after saying goodbye.
Harry said the password and walked through the entrance of the painting and into the Common Room. What Harry didn't expect, was for the room to be filled with most of the Gryffindors who were apparently waiting for him.
"How did you do it all Harry?"
"Who did you bride? I heard you are very rich."
"Why do you always want to be involved in everything?"
"Don't you know you are not fit to do it? You are such an attention-seeker!"
"I'm sure you won't last a second."
Harry was about to turn around when someone called his name, and it all went quiet.
"Harry," it was Ron. "How did you do it?"
"I didn't put my-" Harry began.
"Oh, don't give me that bullsh*t!" Ron exclaimed. "You always think you're so great! Don't you think you've already gained enough attention? Huh? Will it ever be enough to you? You've already survived the killing curse and You-Know-Who multiple times. You now also want the Triwizard Cup even though you are not old enough. Huh?"
"Ron please, it's not like that and you of all people-" Harry tried to argue.
"Don't bother explaining," Ron interrupted again. "If you really don't want to, then you should pull out. Go tell Dumbledore that you don't want to do it."
"I can't Barty Crouch has already said that I must compete," Harry said. "Please Ron, don't be like thi-"
Harry didn't finish before Ron turned around and began to walk back up to their dorm and Harry watched him go. The room was filled with silence and Harry just turned around and left after a few seconds. He couldn't believe what Ron said. At the time he needed Ron the most, his best friend had turned him away. Yes, Ron was always jealous, but this was really the peak of it all. The sadness, however, was soon replaced with anger. Why him? Why did everything have to happen to him? Could he never get a single free day?
"Look, it's Potter!" a girl said from down the corridor laughing. "What dark magic have you been messing with now Harry?"
Harry walked past, ignoring her.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named should have ended you along with your parents who were most likely Dark as well, when he had the chance, you are no better!" the girl continued.
That was it! Something snapped in Harry as he whipped around and pointed his wand at the girl and spoke one of the spells from his dream. The girl screamed in pain and Harry laughed at her.
"HARRY!"