Chapter 60: Backup Isn't Always Enough

{French}

So, you've just caught the apparent murderer and yet he appears to be under the Imperius curse. This means that someone is controlling him. Someone who is likely to be out here in the woods as well. Think Potter. What do you do?

You need back up.

Harry's thoughts were racing as he tried to keep everything he'd learned from Moody in mind as he crept back to where he had left Fleur.

"It's me," he whispered once he spotted the French girl and removed the invisibility cloak.

"Did you see someone?"

"Yes, but it's complicated. I need you to watch my back for a moment while I summon help."

"'Ow are you going to do zat?"

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry's dragon roared out as it raced out of the forest. "Hagrid's hut is nearby. Hopefully that will get his attention."

It was a tense silence for the next couple of minutes as they waited for help to arrive. Fleur tried to keep her eyes on the woods while Harry guided his dragon in the direction of Hagrid's, had it circle three times and then fly back towards him as slowly as possible.

Finally, two large figures came rushing towards them.

He and Hagrid hadn't been quite as close ever since he accidentally killed the dragon in the first task, but Harry was as glad as he ever had been to see his half-giant friend. And even more so as he saw that he had his enormous crossbow in one hand and his umbrella in the other. Not that there was any chance of rain, but Hagrid never had been one for subtlety.

At the moment, Harry didn't care about being subtle. He just wanted to make sure they got out of this alive because his intuition told him that there was someone else out there in the Forbidden Forest.

For one thing, he wasn't sure if Krum could have summoned up the needed hatred and power to cast a killing curse while under the Imperius. He'd need to try to remember and ask Moody if that was possible.

Behind the groundskeeper, Madame Maxime had her wand out, casting a light spell to guide them through the brush. She began speaking in French to Fleur once she was in sight, asking what was going on.

"Harry, I saw yer Patronus. What are yeh doin' out here? With 'er of all people!"

"Fleur's not so bad once you get to know her," Harry said, trying and failing to chuckle. His nerves were still too tight from the close call. "Fleur and I were just talking about the third task, and we were actually headed back to the Beauxbatons carriage when we saw someone coming from the woods..."

Harry quickly summarized what had happened while leading them over to where Crouch's body lay and then a bit deeper where he had captured Krum.

"I knew those ruddy Durmstrangs were up ter no good."

"Hagrid, wait! I don't trust Krum either, but look in his eyes. He's been cursed. I don't know if someone forced him to do this or not. We need help. We need to get professor Dumbledore and Moody at least. Can you go up to the castle?"

"I don't know if I should leave yeh out here, Harry."

"I've got back up now," Harry motioned to the two French witches. "Just hurry. Please."

"Alright. I'll be as fast as I can."

Hagrid slung his crossbow over his shoulder and barreled back through the trees. His booming footsteps could be heard ringing through the forest as Harry turned back to look into the dark woods.

"We should probably keep the light off until they get back," Harry suggested. "If there is someone else out there, it will lead them right to us."

{"Fleur tells me you speak French, Mr. Potter."}

{"I do."}

{"Very good. Your accent isn't even too bad. A magical charm then?"}

{"Yes."}

{"Lucky you. I learned English the hard way,"} she chuckled. {"If you will stay here with Fleur, I will go deeper into the woods. I can cast a spell out there that will reveal a larger area and the two of you can then remain hidden here in the shadows."}

{"Okay. Be careful, Madame Maxime. I think I heard something else moving around out there, and there are acromantulas, Centaurs, and who knows what else that live in the forest."}

{"I am tougher than I look, Mr. Potter."}

She turned and headed deeper into the trees and disappeared into the darkness. Harry stepped back over to Fleur quietly, trying to listen for any other threats. Knowing his luck, the acromantulas were probably headed his way. Hagrid's friend or not, Aragog and his family should not be allowed anywhere near a school.

A bright light illuminated a section of the forest at least one hundred feet away, but he heard no other sounds or spell casting.

"How did you know I spoke French?" Harry asked Fleur in a whisper as they waited.

"Gabrielle gave you away," she replied with a smile. "My sister told me zat you spoke in French to 'er when you 'elped 'er out of ze lake. She 'as been very proud of the fact zat ze famous 'arry Potter saved 'er. In a small private school in France, your fame grows larger every day."

"It could be worse I suppose," he sighed.

"May I ask why you learned to speak our language?"

"You've met Pansy, my girlfriend?" She nodded and he continued. "Her mother's side of the family is mostly from France. Last summer we went there for her mother's funeral. Pansy had learned French from her mother and maternal grandmother, so she learned how to cast the charm to teach it to me. It would have been a nightmare asking her to translate everything for me."

"Zat is considerate of you. I am sorry you must 'ave only painful memories of my country."

"Oh, that's not true at all," Harry said with a grin. "While our trip there got off to a very rocky start, Pansy and I needed a real vacation after everything we had been through. So we spent the next couple of weeks in Nice. The beaches of the French Riviera will cheer anyone up. Especially when you get to cover your bikini clad girlfriend in sunscreen every day."

"Zere is a charm to protect from getting a sunburn, you know?"

"Now where would the fun be in that?"

Fleur laughed at Harry's waggling eyebrows, but they both grew quiet as she noticed another section of the woods light up. This time it was further off to their right.

"Madame Maxime has covered a lot of ground."

"Long strides." Fleur looked over at him and raised her eyes in alarm. "Zat's why you knew men drooled over me! You must 'ave seen me at the beach!"

"You and Gabrielle," Harry confirmed with a nod.

"I assume your girlfriend must not 'ave been impressed zen?"

"Oh, no she was very impressed with you. She said you were the blondest French woman she had ever seen. I pointed out that your little sister was even more fair."

"No, I meant zat she must 'ave been annoyed by your reaction."

"To you?" Harry snorted. "Believe it or not, I am smart enough not to stare at other girls when I'm right next to my girlfriend. Besides, she looked incredibly sexy in her bikini. I didn't need to gawk at anyone else."

"You are far ahead of ze curve. Most boys your age would 'ave to learn that lesson ze 'ard way." Fleur grinned as she chuckled to herself while Harry merely shrugged.

"I've learned plenty of other lessons the hard way, believe me."

They settled into a more relaxed silence for a couple of minutes after that. It had been long enough since the original danger had passed that their nerves were no longer on edge.

"Alright there, Harry?"

Hagrid had returned with Dumbledore and Moody as well as Madam Bones and two other women he didn't recognize. One had long, straight black hair but the younger woman had short, spiky pink hair. Harry was a little surprised that a ministry employee would look like that.

"Tonks take the witness statements. Jones, examine the body and then check the captured wizard. I hope the backup arrives soon." Bones was giving orders and Moody was asked to help investigate the scene. Dumbledore sent Hagrid off to the Durmstrang ship to find Karkaroff then listened patiently as Harry and Fleur gave their stories. Harry made sure to let Madam Bones know that Madame Maxime was still off somewhere in the forest, searching in case there was someone else out there.

It took several minutes and unfortunately once Karkaroff arrived, they were forced to answer even more questions as he was none too pleased by his champion being detained and accused of murder.

Roughly half an hour later, there were even more questions as the bureaucrats showed up. Krum's status as a Bulgarian citizen made things into an international incident. That meant an ambassador and three lawyers, plus two wizards from the ICW, all getting involved.

When he had a free moment, Harry asked professor Dumbledore if he could send a message to Pansy to let her know what had happened. He knew that she was going to be worried out of her mind.

By the time the night was over, Harry was incredibly grateful that it was a Friday so he could sleep in the next day.

"Finally!" Pansy said as she got up and ran over to embrace him as soon as Harry returned to their rooms that night.

"Sorry it's so late," he answered as he held onto her. "I hope you got a message at least. I asked Dumbledore to let you know that I was okay."

"I did, but I wasn't content to try to go to bed without you."

"I'm glad you waited up."

"Me too." Pansy drew him in for a rather needy kiss, but after everything that had happened that night, he appreciated it and returned her enthusiasm two fold.

"I probably need a shower."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but you are a bit musky."

Harry laughed at her response.

"Yeah, well it's been a busy night. Although most of it was just answering questions. Has Dobby been around?"

"I asked him to go check to make sure you were safe, but he said he needed to go tell Winky about her former master after that. I doubt the poor little thing will take this well. It's too bad Luna isn't home to help her deal with it."

"We should probably suggest that she call her and try to spend some time with her. I know Luna always cheers you and I up, so I imagine she'd be able to work her magic on Winky too."

"That's a good idea," Pansy concurred. "Dobby?"

"Dobby is here miss." He appeared without a sound.

"Hey Dobby, I guess you heard the news then. Is Winky going to be alright?"

"Winky was very upset to hear about her old master. Dobby tried to calm her down."

"Alright, good job on that," Harry said, bending over to pat his shoulder. "I'm going to need to talk to you and Winky tomorrow. But I think we should all try to get some rest tonight."

"Good night, master Harry!"

"Night Dobby," Harry answered to the empty air as Dobby had popped away. "I might soak for awhile in the shower, see if the hot water will help me calm down."

"If that doesn't work, I'm sure I could think of something," Pansy teased with a smirk. "I'll just be waiting in bed. Don't take too long Harry."

They kissed one more time before he headed for the bathroom.

But Harry spent several minutes just letting the water wash over him as he tried to soak in everything that had occurred that night and think if he could have done something different. Plus, what the hell had happened to Crouch? He looked like he had escaped from someone, but why would someone attack a judge? From everything he knew of the final task, the judges didn't matter anymore. It was just a race to the finish.

Then, maybe Crouch had stumbled into something else?

Harry probably should have talked to Winky tonight, but he was pretty sure she wouldn't be in the right state of mind to listen. He'd just have to take care of that idea when he woke up. At this rate, it would probably be much later than Mr. Lovegood might want breakfast anyway.

By the time Harry had dried off and gone to bed, Pansy was fast asleep.

As much as he might have enjoyed having some fun, he was exhausted from the stress of the evening. And she looked so peaceful. Harry could use some peaceful right then, so he slid under the sheets next to her, curled up, and drifted off.

"Crucio!"

The screams of the man cowering before him were exquisite. He was happy to be able to hold a wand again specifically for purposes like this. Being formless was horrific, and it was his job to make others feel horrific, not feel that way himself.

"Enough." He released the spell and waited for the young man to look up.

"Forgive me, master. I will not fail you again." He was panting, obviously still in pain, and his eyes showed that his remorse was true.

"You have done well before. I trust this was only a momentary failing. You are lucky though, as your blunder has been corrected. I can understand the anger at having such a disappointment for a father, Barty, but do not let your personal affairs get in the way of your duty again. Am I clear?"

"Of course, master."

"Good. Pack everything useful up. We are leaving this place. And I know just where to go. Where they would never think to look for us..."

Harry sat up with a hiss as his scar was once again burning. He should have expected something to happen after a night like that, but it had been months since the last vision he'd had from that fucking bastard. How could he hold a wand?

"Harry? What is it?" Pansy asked drowsily. Looking around, he could tell why as it was still dark outside.

"Fuck," he muttered as he rubbed his forehead and thought for a moment. They couldn't wait. This might be too important. "I had another Dark Lord dream."

"Oh shit." Pansy groaned as she forced herself to sit up as well.

"What happened?"

"I'll explain in a minute, but we need Dobby."

"Master...called?" Dobby responded as he appeared with a yawn.

"Sorry to wake you Dobby, but this is urgent. I need you to get Winky to come here. I have a feeling I know what happened to her former master."

"Dobby will get Winky," he replied just before he disappeared.

"Should we get up?" Pansy asked, but the two elves returned almost immediately. "Never mind."

"Dobby says mister Harry knows what happened to poor master Barty sir," Winky said with tears in her eyes.

"I do, but I wanted to make sure that it would be okay with you first. I think an evil wizard broke into your former master's home and hurt him. Dobby says you still care about the Crouch family, so I didn't want to alarm you, Winky, alright? I would like for Dobby to go to the Crouch family home and try to see if he can confirm something for me, because I think it was the Dark Lord who did this."

Winky gasped and began to cry.

"No, mister Harry, it can't be. He who must not be named cannot be back. It would make everything bad again. Please, mister Harry. Please be wrong."

"I know this must be upsetting, Winky. That's why I didn't want to make you worry. I just wanted to let you know so that you wouldn't freak out when I sent Dobby there. Will that be alright?"

"Yes mister Harry. But Dobby must be careful of the evil wizard."

"I completely agree with you about that," Harry answered. "Dobby, this will probably be dangerous, so I need you to do whatever you need to make sure you aren't caught. Just check to see if anyone is at the Crouch home. If there is, come back and we'll contact the DMLE. If there isn't, then see if you can find any signs of a struggle or anything like that. I think Crouch was attacked at home.

"In fact, there might be a broken window," Harry said as he scratched his cheek. "He had some bits of broken glass in his left cheek. That might be how he escaped, if I'm right. But be as careful as you can, alright Dobby? I don't want you risking yourself if there is anyone there."

"Dobby will master Harry!"

With a pop, he was gone.

"Do you want to wait with us Winky?"

"Winky should stay to make sure Dobby gets home safe. Dobby would do that for Winky."

"Alright, why don't we wait out in the living room?" Pansy suggested. "We can have some tea while we wait."

"Winky will make the tea!" She popped out of the bedroom and could be heard puttering around the little stove.

"It amazes me how doing some bit of work always seems to cheer them up," Harry said as he got out of bed.

"I hope Dobby is okay."

"I have faith in him. If I tell him to be careful, he won't want to fail me."

"It makes me wonder if anyone else has ever realized how useful house-elf loyalty can be. So many wizards and witches I've heard of just take them completely for granted."

"I think that's true of most people, magical or muggle. I try not to take anything for granted because I grew up with basically nothing."

"That still sucks, but at least you're better off now."

"We all are I think," Harry said as he offered Pansy a hand to help her out of bed. "Let's not keep Winky waiting."

In the end, Dobby returned safely but with little news. There had likely been a struggle at the Crouch home, as he did find a broken window, but the house was empty. Winky was still very upset as Dobby escorted her back to the Lovegood residence.

Harry and Pansy eventually managed to get back to sleep.

The next day, Harry made sure to suggest to professor Moody that the DMLE might want to search Mr. Crouch's home in case they hadn't thought of it. Moody said that he had already been sent over there along with Amelia Bones and three of her senior aurors but even with the help of his magical eye and decades of investigative experience, there was little to discover.

Someone had clearly been staying there recently, and more than just one old man, but more than that was hard to tell. There was a residue of very dark magic though.

Mad-Eye ended up escorting Harry up to the headmaster's office where they were met by Madam Bones as well and the four of them all delved into Harry's memory of the conversation, brief and unfocused as it was, trying to discern whatever they could of what Barty Crouch had been trying to say.

There was little that could be gleaned from his rambling as he was only semi-coherent, but Harry found out that the 'poor Bertha' he had mentioned was likely a reference to Bertha Jorkins, a ministry employee who had gone missing the summer before while on vacation.

When Harry asked about her, he was told that she had worked in the Department of Magical Sports and Games. That meant she would have known about the Quidditch World Cup as well as the Triwizard Tournament, so it seemed likely that someone had used her for information about one or both events.

Harry shuddered as he remembered the dream the previous summer of the witch that Voldemort had possessed and he worried that he knew her fate could only have gotten worse from there on.

"Still nothing?" Pansy asked the next Thursday morning when Harry checked the Daily Prophet during breakfast.

"Nope."

"That's frustrating."

"In a way, but maybe that means they're trying to do a thorough job for once. I didn't think the ministry had it in them."

"Calling Bones in before Fudge could bury things as usual probably helped."

"I think the fact that Krum was involved was an even bigger part of it," Harry suggested. "You can't accuse a Bulgarian quidditch star of murder and not expect someone to notice."

"It has been nice not to see his grouchy face staring at us." Pansy looked across at Hermione, who was deep into the paper, and motioned towards her. "Or your friend, who he's given an evil eye any time you haven't been looking."

"We've got Moody this afternoon," Harry stated. "With luck, maybe he'll be able to tell us something."

"Yes, we just have to get through McGonagall first. You did finish the essay didn't you?"

"Don't worry, I did."

"Good. We've got a free period before lunch. What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I was thinking that you probably need more time to study for all the upcoming exams, right?" As she nodded, Harry continued. "Then I was going to let you do that while I went for another run. It's not that fun, but I think I used to be faster when I had to flee Dudley and his gang of bullies almost daily. The extra stamina could come in handy for whatever I run into during the maze."

"Alright, sounds like a plan."

As the Defense class was excused later that day, Harry and Pansy stayed behind as usual.

"I bet I can guess what you two are most interested in today," Moody grunted as he sat down in his chair and waved them over to the front of the room. "But go ahead and ask."

"I don't suppose you can tell us anything more about whatever's happening with the Crouch case? Or Krum more specifically?" Harry inquired.

"Officially, I don't know anything. I am retired, you know," Moody snorted. "Unofficially, I would expect little to come of it really. Krum was under the Imperius, that was definite. It might be the only time I know of where that excuse was actually true. Bah!"

"Does that mean he'll still be participating in the third task?" Pansy asked.

"Oh, definitely. Binding magical contract and all that. Even if the boy was guilty, they'd likely let him compete and then arrest him at the end of the tournament. So, you better prepare for having to deal with him, Potter."

"I was planning on it."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Two more questions then. First off, can you give me advice about what spells would be more or less useful against magical creatures?"

"That's good thinking Potter. Come up with a list of creatures you can think of and I'll give you notes on all of them."

"That would be great professor," Harry replied with a smile.

"Well, unofficially, I might have a bit of a bias for one certain champion. Especially since he seems to be more on the ball than most of the other brats around here," Moody chuckled.

"Okay, one more thing then. I was wondering something about the Unforgivable Curses. You said that the killing curse required a powerful amount of magic to cast it properly and negative emotions drive that. But on the other hand, the Imperius Curse makes a person feel good when they submit to the caster's will. That's one of the things that you said make it so hard for people to resist. So, how would someone under the Imperius be able to summon up the power needed to cast something like the killing curse?"

"That's a good question laddie. But you also sort of answered it yourself. I've always said the Imperius is by far the worst of the three and you're close to discovering why. Think it through."

"I think I see it, professor," Pansy said, obviously uncertain.

"Well, share with your boyfriend. I think he's close, but he always tells me you're more shrewd than he is."

"It's because of the caster's will."

"Definitely in part, yes. The caster has to have a strong enough will to make someone take another person's life. Muggles are particularly weak to this as they don't have any magic to help fight it off so only someone with a very strong will might be able to do so. That's one of the things that made the Death Eaters so terrifying when they attacked muggle targets. But that's only one bit."

"Is it because of how good it feels?" Harry asked.

"Exactly! Well done lad." Moody gave him that satisfied grin that Harry now recognized despite all the scars. "The Imperius makes doing as you're told feel good. So instead of the Dark Arts being powered by negative emotions, everything gets twisted up and they can be powered by the submission itself as well as anything else the victim might be feeling-- that is unless they are actively resisting."

"So, someone who wouldn't normally be able to cast the killing curse could do so under the Imperius? Shite, that is worse."

"Shite indeed," Moody laughed. "The torture curse is very nasty business, I would never say otherwise, but the Imperius can do so much more damage. That's not even mentioning the fact that someone placed under it can then place others under its effect as well and the original caster can then build a pyramid of victims."

"Fuck me," Harry muttered.

"It's a good thing we're not in class, Potter. But yes, now you see why it's the most dangerous. Imagine if Voldemort cast it on two people, and the next week they cast it on two people, then the next week each of them cast it on two more, and so on. Powerful Dark Lords can quickly build up their armies like that. Grindelwald was said to have done something like that back in the thirties. One of the only good things about the Dark Lord was that he didn't seem to enjoy using it nearly as much as the other two.

"The killing curse, evil as it may be, is a quick, clean death. I've seen many more horrible fates befall people than that. I'd much rather go that way than having all my organs removed one at a time. Or all the blood in my body spurt out through the closest available orifice. Or-"

"I think we get the picture, sir," Harry said, feeling more than a little nauseous.

"Right, well then, any more questions?"

"I think that's enough for today," Pansy replied, trying not to show her own distaste.

"Alright then. I hope you're still planning on sitting the exam, Potter."

"I am. Defense is one of my best subjects, and frankly, I'll probably need to study more for it than anything else. For practical reasons, I mean."

"Good lad. Write up a list of any magical beasties you think Hagrid might be able to get ahold of as soon as you can and I'll see about any strengths and weaknesses I can think of for them."

"Thanks, Moody."

The three weeks before the third task rushed Harry and Pansy worked, studied, and did all they could to try to prepare for the end of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry ended up only sitting the exams for Charms, Defense, Potions, Runes, and Transfiguration. He took the Potions final mostly just to see how different his final grade would end up with a real teacher instead of Snape. Professor Vector gave him a blank copy of the Arithmancy test that he was going to take over the summer and then compare with Pansy's, just to see how well he was still doing in the class.

The third task was set for the Friday night after the final exams. Pansy still had History of Magic in the morning, but was lucky enough to have the afternoon free. They were planning on trying to get a bit of last minute prep work in, with her drilling Harry on everything Moody had written down about a number of 'interesting' creatures that they thought Hagrid would likely set loose in the maze.

And a little very last minute bit of relaxation would probably be a good idea too. Pansy didn't want Harry's nerves to be too tense before he faced the end of the tournament.

But that morning as they ate breakfast, professor McGonagall informed Harry that he was expected to gather with the other champions in the nearby antechamber so they could spend the day with their families.

"Must be Sirius, I guess."

"Well, go on then. I'll do a bit of last minute studying and see you later," Pansy said. For once, Hermione was far from the only person with a book open while they ate.

Harry kissed Pansy on the cheek and headed for the room that McGonagall had indicated. Just as he opened the door, a large black dog tackled him to the floor and licked the side of his face.

"Surprise!"

"Sirius, you slobbered on me," Harry whined. His godfather pulled him to his feet as Harry tried to wipe his face clean with the sleeve of his robe.

"Very dignified," a brown haired woman teased with a grin.

"Harry, let me introduce you to some of the only people to whom I'll admit being related. My cousin, Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted, and their delightful daughter Nymphadora."

Each of them smiled and shook his hand while Harry recognized the auror with the pink hair.

"Sorry I couldn't properly introduce myself the other night, Harry. On duty, you know? And just call me Tonks unless you want me to hex you."

"Not little Nymmie? Sirius said he was able to get away with that."

"Only because mum stole my wand before I could make him pay," she growled. "You're not starting off any better, Potter."

"I could probably use the experience at dodging curses anyway."

"See mum, that was permission to hex him."

"One of these days you will have to grow up, Nymphadora," her mother said with a hint of a groan. "I spoke with my sister about you, Mr. Potter. I can never thank you enough for freeing her from Lucius."

"I hope she's doing well."

"It's been somewhat hard for her to get over the loss of her son, as you can probably imagine, but moving away has given her a fresh start. We write each other every now and then. I think Cissy's in a much better place now."

"I'm glad to hear it. Give her my best wishes the next time you hear from her."

"I will."

""Arry!" Two blonde French girls were coming over to see him, Gabrielle dragging her sister along behind her. Their amused parents were laughing behind them. Harry noticed Sirius going glassy eyed as multiple Veela were now in sight.

This was going to be such great blackmail later.

"Bonjour Gabrielle."

Within the next few minutes, the youngest Delacour proceeded to dominate Harry's attention while Fleur introduced her family and Andromeda got to slap Sirius upside the head for gawking at both the French champion and her mother.

Oh yes, Harry was definitely going to use this to take the piss out of him for years to come.

Harry introduced the Tonks family to Pansy and his friends at lunch while 'little Nymmie' glared at him, as she now felt more than happy to spend part of her afternoon trying to hex him for daring to repeat one of her cousin's jokes.

He supposed they were cousins too, admittedly more distantly related. Closer than most though, and Harry was always glad to have some more support. A trained auror could be of great help to him in the future, so he didn't tease her any more than was really necessary.

Besides, Sirius was so much worse about it.

'About everything, really,' Harry thought with a grin. 'Still, some of that stuff he told me about everything he had done with Carina Yaxley could be very useful for the future. I definitely want to try to make Pansy squirt uncontrollably. That sounds fucking awesome! Not sure if she's up for anal, though she did seem to like it that time I licked her areshole. Damn, I really love her bum.'

"Earth to Harry," his girlfriend said, drawing his mind away from his much happier thoughts and back to the people gathered round him. "Are you about ready to practice this afternoon? I think everyone's done eating."

"Um, yeah, I suppose. Do you still have the list Moody gave us in your bag?"

"Of course. One of us has to be organized."

"It is your job to look after me, huh?"

"Can we get to the part where I get to punish him?" Tonks asked with a grin as her pink hair shifted to dark red. Her eyes too, actually. She had explained her abilities that morning, but damn, red eyes were really off putting.

Harry wished this day was over so he could celebrate with Pansy in private. He even had a couple of ideas.

But for now, he was being led up the stairs by his dutiful girlfriend who was more focused on keeping him alive than their sex life. If not for the visitors, he might have gotten a quick shag before practice.

The things he had to suffer.

Tonks was much more of a challenge than any of his friends had been during their practice fights that afternoon, but her lack of coordination did give him one victory. Of course, at least three other times she luckily tripped out of the way of his spells. Still, only losing four to two against an active duty auror gave Harry a confidence boost.

He went back to his room for a shower before dinner.

Pansy didn't want to make things to blatant, apparently, as she didn't join him. Harry felt more than a little disappointed at that. But she was waiting for him in their bedroom after he was clean and she gave him a blow job to help his nerves and remind him what he had to look forward to after the task was over.

As long as he accomplished his goals.

In short, he had to keep an eye out for Krum as well as any other potential dangers or traps in the maze. Someone had put his name in the damn Goblet of Fire, and Harry knew that tonight was the last chance for it to get him killed, which meant he had to be extra cautious.

At least having Fleur teaming up with him should help his odds.

He forced himself to eat a normal meal that night, as it seemed like almost every Gryffindor (and more than a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws) came by to wish him good luck, pat him on the back, and whatnot. He even saw Ron give him a couple of odd, wistful looks, but the only Weasleys that said anything to him were the twins.

There were a few girls that he caught staring at him, such as Ginny who blushed at him. However, Pansy must have noticed as well, and the youngest Weasley soon turned away from his girlfriend's possessive glare. He noticed with a quiet chuckle to himself that she was allowing Parvati's rather obvious stare go unmentioned though. It amused him how Pansy's jealousy was assuaged when only certain girls were giving him any sort of attention. Of course, Luna and Hermione didn't count, and now Parvati was on that list as well as the Delacour sisters apparently.

Speaking of whom, Gabrielle apparently got bored sitting with her family and the Beauxbatons delegation, so she escaped to come over and squeeze in between Harry and Hermione. She began telling him of all her summer plans, and how he just had to come visit them, and how it was such a shame that the school year ran so long because he had missed out on going to the Cannes Film Festival with her and her parents the month before.

Harry just had to see The City of Lost Children, which was apparently beautiful and brilliant and definitely should have won the Palme d'Or. Of course, the film was only in theaters in France as England was such a horribly unfashionable primitive country full of brutes. Harry just happened to be one of the outliers, a hero who was a gentleman yet manly enough that she might have other uses for him in a few more years.

Harry wasn't sure if he should be horrified or amused that she was hitting on him. Pansy's barely controlled laughter let him know which way she was taking it, so he tried not to let it bother him.

He was curious about the movie though, if nothing else just to see what a little girl's taste would be like, especially as she seemed to be a film snob. A ten year old film snob, at that- her birthday had been just a couple of weeks prior and Harry had already heard all about it.

Hermione tried to participate in the conversation, although she wasn't quite fluent and Gabrielle tended to talk faster than anyone else he had ever met.

Dumbledore announced that the task was almost ready, so Harry stood as the champions were to head down to the quidditch pitch first while everyone else would gather in the stands.

Sirius shook his hand and said that Harry already had the victory in the bag. He appreciated the confidence.

He got hugs from several of the girls.

Hermione told him to be careful.

Luna told him that she would take care of Pansy while he was busy and try to keep her calm.

Gabrielle told him that she was secretly rooting for him to beat her sister.

As for Pansy, she kissed him passionately and whispered in his ear about how she would shag him senseless as long as he came out of the maze safe and sound.

Harry liked to think that the catcalls and whistles that followed the very public display of affection were just as much in favor of Pansy's motivation as he was.

The next several minutes were tense as he, Fleur, and Krum walked outside together, following Ludo Bagman who was chattering away.

When they reached the edge of the pitch, they were met by professors McGonagall, Moody, Flitwick, and Hagrid who were all going to patrol the exterior of the maze and who could be summoned if one of the champions ran into something beyond their capabilities by sending red sparks into the air.

For a moment, Harry weighed the idea of just sending them up immediately to get out of the last task entirely. But that didn't seem fair considering the bargain he had struck with Fleur, so he put the thought aside and took deep breaths as the stands filled with people.

His eyes scanned the crowd until he saw where his closest supporters were gathered. To her left side, Pansy had Parvati and Lavender. To her right were Luna, Hermione, and Neville. For just a second, Harry wondered if he might be making another batch of pot brownies for his friends next year.

Sirius was sitting right behind Pansy, along with the Tonks family. If anything went wrong, his godfather had sworn to help protect her.

He wondered if maybe the Death Eaters were planning another attack at such a prominent sporting event as had happened the summer before. It seemed possible, especially as he noticed there was once again very little in the way of security. Minister Fudge was there with a couple of aurors. If you counted Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and Madam Bones, who was there sitting in as a replacement for the deceased Mr. Crouch, you had only five aurors on site in case of any sort of emergency. That really wasn't enough for a prestigious international event.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Bagman said as he began to fill everyone in on just what was going to happen. Harry took another deep breath as it was explained that the winner would be whoever reached the Triwizard cup that was in the center of the maze.

Since he was in the lead from the scores of the first two tasks, Harry had a several minute head start. Krum had an even longer advantage over Fleur due to her being unable to finish the second task.

This meant that Harry was going to have to go into the maze and just wait for almost fifteen minutes. He supposed that he might be able to make one last preparation once he was out of sight in the hedges.

Bagman's introduction finally ended and a short blast of his whistle allowed Harry to begin.

The entrance path lead to a fork, and Harry turned to the right, allowing him to disappear from the view of the audience.

"Dobby!" Harry called and his faithful elf appeared. Thankfully, there was enough noise from the crowd that he was almost certain they would be unheard.

"Master Harry, what can Dobby do?"

"Nothing yet. I'm going to wait for Fleur and she and I are going to tackle the maze together. However, I called you here because I want you to keep an especially close eye on Pansy tonight, at least until I come back. If anything goes wrong, anything at all, make sure she is safe. And don't leave her alone. I trust Luna and Sirius to help, but I know you won't let me down, Dobby.

"Pansy means everything to me, and I'm afraid the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters are going to do something tonight. Whatever it might be, keep her safe."

"Dobby promises he will take care of miss Pansy."

"Thanks, Dobby. It means a lot to me." Harry patted the elf on the shoulder and exhaled, trying to calm himself as he waited for Fleur. "Hopefully, I'll see you again in an hour or so."

As Dobby disappeared, Harry checked his pockets. He pulled on his invisibility cloak and just a few seconds later saw Krum take the other path at the fork in the maze. Once he was out of sight, Harry removed the cloak and put it away.

He had the map with him as well, and he checked it one last time. Only a couple of the ghosts were still in the castle- the ever gloomy Bloody Baron and the quiet and aloof Grey Lady. By contrast, the more sociable Fat Friar of Hufflepuff and Nearly Headless Nick were both in the stands of the quidditch pitch with the crowd.

"Arry?"

He put the map away as Fleur appeared.

"I wondered if you would truly wait for me. You 'ad such a lead."

"I don't trust Krum at all, and I already told you I don't care about winning."

"Fair enough. Shall we go?"

"I'll take the lead for now, I guess." She nodded as they started off deeper into the hedge maze.

"I really hate this," Pansy sighed. Luna squeezed her hand in support. "Harry was entered for some damn reason, and I just have this terrible feeling that whatever it is will be revealed tonight."

"I know what you mean," Hermione agreed. "As bad as it was going with Harry to try to stop Quirrell, just sitting here and waiting for something to happen might be worse."

"It will be alright girls," Sirius said, trying to soothe their nerves. "Harry's got a good head on his shoulders. He'll make it out alright."

"I hope so," Pansy exhaled, trying to control her fears.

"Let me know if I can do anything to help," Luna said. "Unfortunately, I doubt a tickle fight would be appropriate right now. Plus, it's a little too cramped."

"I wouldn't enjoy a tickle fight without Harry here anyway," Pansy replied. "Have you and your father planned any vacations yet?"

"His last letter said that he had a lead on a Moon Frog in Mongolia, but I actually hope it doesn't pan out. Mongolia wasn't very fun the last time we went. I'd rather go somewhere with a beach."

"Is that because of what I told you about going to the beach with Harry last summer?"

"Maybe," Luna replied with just a hint of a blush.

Pansy only smiled as she remembered helping pick out a swimsuit for Luna on her birthday. She had a feeling Harry would feel very uncomfortable if he saw the blonde in her bikini, and Pansy knew how hilarious that could be. She wondered if he or her father would be more disturbed by how their little Luna was growing up.

"We'll have to see about arranging something then."

Pansy just hoped they would be talking about their summer vacations tomorrow instead of any new crisis. But the tight knot in the pit of her stomach just would not go away.

Meanwhile, Harry and Fleur had made good time going through the maze. The only obstacles they had run across were a blast-ended skrewt, which Harry was able to aim low enough to hit on its underside with an Expulso, and an odd golden mist that Fleur explained would cause the area to reverse gravity. Getting through it was thankfully easy enough although it was a disorienting feeling to be briefly walking upside down.

There were a couple of dead ends as well, but nothing too challenging.

They turned one more corner and came across something Harry hadn't seen in a year.

Edmund Parkinson standing over Pansy while he used the torture curse on her. It made his blood boil with rage.

"Isn't zat your girlfriend?" Fleur asked but instead of answering, Harry angrily shouted Riddikulus and the image of her father exploded into bits of blood and bone.

"Merde!"

"Sorry. I really don't like boggarts."

"I guess not. Are you alright?"

"I think so," Harry answered, realizing he was sweating and his heart was racing. "Give me a second."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but before he could take a second a voice rang out behind him.

"Stupefy!"

Harry dropped to his knees and immediately fired a stunning spell of his own completely on instinct. Krum fell to the ground and Harry immediately revived Fleur.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oui," she answered as he helped her to stand. "You were right zat Krum would try to attack us."

"I'm just glad he didn't try anything more dangerous than that."

"Shall we go on?"

"I guess we have to," Harry sighed. "I sort of wish you weren't here now."

"Why not?"

"Because I'd like to beat the shite out of this bastard. Maybe shove his broom somewhere very unpleasant."

""Arry, you need to relax." Fleur used an Incarcerous spell to bind Krum and then sent up red stars to summon the professors. Then she turned and tugged on Harry's arm, pulling him deeper into the maze. "Let ze teachers take care of 'im. We need to finish ze maze and zen we can celebrate."

"Right, let's go."

"I'll take ze lead for a bit while you try to calm down. We should be 'ome free now."

"Red stars!" Parvati gasped. "I wonder if it was Krum or Delacour?"

"How do you know it wasn't Harry?" Tonks asked as she leaned down. She had spent most of the contest gossiping with the students and trying to ignore her mother's glare as she had done everything she could to avoid any conversation that wasn't completely frivolous. She would much rather talk to the teenagers, in part just to wind her mum up over her refusal to grow up. Maturity was overrated anyway.

"Please, Harry is going to win this thing hands down," Parvati replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If you had seen him stop the Dementors last year, you would understand. He is amazing."

"While I appreciate the confidence in my boyfriend," Pansy teased with a smirk, "you might be wrong this time, Parvati. Harry doesn't particularly care about winning. And I would be willing to bet that it was Krum that is out."

"Why Krum?" Tonks inquired. "You really think that pretty little French girl is more of a challenge than someone trained by a Death Eater?"

"I'm not sure actually," Pansy admitted. "But, I know for a fact that the pretty little French girl is working with Harry tonight."

"Why? Harry doesn't need her help." Parvati looked very bothered at the idea of Fleur and Harry being together.

'Probably worried about another girl that might jump her in the queue,' Pansy thought with a snort. 'I definitely wouldn't be allowing that. Come to think of it, I don't think her little sister would put up with it either. She seemed happy to lay claim to her future paramour.'

The look on Harry's face when Gabrielle was blatantly flirting with him had been hilarious. Pansy just couldn't help but laugh at the girl's certainty and his discomfort. If Harry was going to have a fangirl, it was great that he had one that would be so very amusing.

"Whether or not he needs her help, Harry doesn't trust Krum at all," Pansy said as she brought her attention back to the question Parvati had asked. "He figured that Krum might try something in the maze, so he made a deal with Fleur that they would watch each other's back just in case."

"Damn! I wish you had told me that sooner." Parvati muttered something under her breath. "I bet Padma that Harry would win. She demanded two to one odds too because he was in the lead."

"Sorry. Maybe she'll call it a draw if they tie," Pansy suggested. "As long as they get past Krum and whatever horrific monsters Hagrid put in there, I suppose it doesn't matter who wins to Harry. They might just grab the cup together."

"That would work, I guess. We aren't usually too competitive with each other."

"Now you've just got to hope that Harry isn't feeling too chivalrous," Luna added. "He could always let Fleur have it since he hasn't cared about winning throughout the entire tournament."

"That's not helping, Luna," Parvati growled.

"Well, we could make another bet. I'll bet on Harry and you can bet he loses, so you'll end up even regardless of what happens."

"You don't know how much she wagered," Tonks reminded Luna.

"It doesn't matter. I don't particularly care about money."

"While I appreciate the offer, Luna, I'll have to pass. I'd rather just put my faith in Harry. He hasn't let me down any other time I've been cheering for him."

"That's my godson," Sirius proudly laughed. "Perfect record in quidditch. First place in both tasks so far. And from what I heard, he blew everyone away at the Yule Ball too."

"It was mostly Pansy that did that," Parvati said.

"It was a very good night," Pansy smiled happily.

"Do I need to have a talk with Harry?" Tonks suggested with a grin. "I don't think any of us trust Sirius to do it properly."

"Hey!"

"No, Harry knows how to make Pansy happy," Luna replied. "Very, very happy from what I've seen."

"And just what have you seen?" Tonks asked with a curious frown.

"Don't answer that, Luna."

Meanwhile, Harry and Fleur had taken a path that was obstacle free for the last twenty minutes ever since they had dealt with four acromantulas.

Four of the horrible things!

Harry was seriously considering slapping Hagrid. Thankfully, he had remembered the spell Moody had suggested while Fleur had screeched in anger and channeled her Veela blood to unleash several fireballs. The enormous spiders stank when they were roasted, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about the awful monsters coming after them anymore.

They turned one last corner and saw the Triwizard cup gleaming with light ahead of them. They picked up the pace as they closed in; the tournament was almost at its end.

"You should take it, 'arry," Fleur said. "I already owed you for Gabrielle, and Krum 'ad me knocked out. You deserve it."

"I don't really care about winning. I'm already famous enough."

"And I don't want you to let me win."

"We could take it at the same time," Harry offered. "Split the win."

"'Arry, my family is very wealthy. Ze prize money would do you more good. You 'ave yourself and your girlfriend to look after. Take ze cup and let zis be over."

"Are you sure?"

"Oui."

Harry looked back at the cup. If there was going to be a trap, shouldn't it already have sprung? The monsters they had encountered weren't too awful. And if Krum was going to attack him, why only use a stunning spell? It didn't make sense.

"Go on, 'arry. Pansy is waiting for you."

Pansy. Grab the cup and finish it. Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded.

"Thanks, Fleur."

He reached out with his free hand, and in a flash of light, Harry Potter disappeared.