Getting started
Run. He has to keep running. He’s been running for so long that he can’t feel his legs. Ron and Hermione are running behind him, dodging trees. The camping ground was suddenly attacked by death eaters. They have no idea where Fred, George, or Ginny went to. They had gotten split up, he just hoped Ginny was with her older brothers.
People were running all around them, most were not wearing masks. Some were. There were trees on fire everywhere. There were screams all around them. He couldn’t tell where they came from or if they were from the muggles that were being tortured. Some sounded close. Too close.
After what felt like ages, they stopped running. They had no idea where they were or who else was in these woods. “Stay alert, keep your wands out.” Harry was surprised that he was able to say anything, he couldn’t Breathe. Ron looked as if he was trying to say something, but soon gave up. For a while, the only sounds he heard were him, Hermione, and Ron panting.
Until it wasn’t.
“Morsmorde!” Harry looked around but no one was near them. Hermione suddenly looked up, eyes wide. Harry followed her gaze and looked at something that could only be described as horrifying.
There was white smoke in the sky. And through the haze, there was a white skull. The skull was moving, slowly bobbing up and down. It opened its mouth, and a green snake came out. It had bright red eyes.
“Stupefy!” Harry’s reflexes have always been great, he ducked first. Ron ducks and pulls Hermione down with him, not even a second after. “Stand up! Which one of you done it?” They stand up, and Harry immediately Recognizes the man that’s speaking. He’s seen him in the Daily Prophet. Barty Crouch.
He wasn’t alone, he and 6 other men were surrounding them. They all had their wands pointed at their heads. “That’s my son!” Arthur came running, pushing past crouch. “Ron, Harry, Hermione! Are you alright?” Considering all the running he just had to do, he wants to say no. But he decides not to be difficult. He nods.
“Come on Barty, they’re kids. They didn’t Conjure the dark mark.” Arthur tried to reason with him but from the look on Crouch’s face, it didn’t work. They still had their wands pointed at their heads.
“Kids become death eaters.” Yeah, they do. Arthur had no response.
“Look, I’m a blood traitor, Hermione is a Muggleborn and Harry is- well, he's Harry Potter. We have no business casting the dark mark.” Ron said. He was talking so fast that Harry almost didn’t understand.
It was the sound of leaves crushing under someone's feet that finally made them move their wands. Crouch and his men turned around to point their wands at an…house elf? Holding a wand?
Crouch looked furious, “Winky!” The house elf, winky, was quite small. She looked young, well for a house elf. She was wearing a dirty blue pillowcase.
“What are you doing with-” Crouch snatches the wand out of her hand, “this!” He looks at the wand for a while, clearly trying to figure something out. His eyes widen, “Priori Incantato!” blue smoke comes out of the wand, with the word ‘morsmorde’. Harry’s never seen that spell done before but he read about it. It shows you the last spell that was cast out of a wand.
Harry took 2 steps back, and Hermione did the same. “I give you a master, a place to sleep, and work to do and this is how you repay me! Why would you conjure the dark mark? Whose wand is this?” Crouch was Fuming. if Harry thought he looked furious before…
Winky looked about on the verge of tears, “Master crouch, Winky did not conjure the dark mark! Winky found the wand on the ground, Winky would never conjure-”
He slapped Winky so hard America heard it.
Harry flinched, and he hates himself for it. Hermione tried to Catch his eye, but he stayed looking at Winky.
“I told you to stay in the tent, and not leave it. So even if what you say is true, you still disobeyed me.” Crouch snapped, maybe 2 steps back wasn’t enough.
“The voice we heard was a guy! It was a human male that conjured the dark mark!” Hermione has never liked the way house elves got treated. She looked over at Ron and Harry, “Right?” her eyes wide, daring us to disagree. We nod.
Crouch looked up at her, “No, I do not believe Winky conjured the dark mark.” He paused “She did disobey me.”
Hermione looked as if she was going to say something else, Arthur put his hand on her arm and slightly shook his head. She frowned.
Crouch grabbed Winky's wrist, went into his pocket, pulled out a sock, and he handed it to her. “I have no room for the Disobedient.” Winky was now sobbing, snot-nosed and everything. She kept trying to plead with him, but he just looked at her, eventually, she disapparated.
Firstly, what the hell? Did he just pull a sock out of his pocket? Carrying it around, waiting for an opportunity to free one of his house elves? Secondly, that seemed like a big overreaction. If he knew she didn’t conjure the dark mark, why free her? As if he was punishing Winky for more than just disobedience.
Harry looked over at Hermione, who was already looking at him, eyebrow raised. Good, he wasn’t the only one that thought that was weird.
“Whose wand is this?” crouch asked, mostly to himself. That’s when he noticed Ron fidgeting. Harry mentally facepalmed. He had gotten an invisible wand holder, that was strapped to his thigh when he was allowed to run around Diagon Alley the summer before 3rd year. He told Ron that he can buy him one, so he doesn’t drop or lose his wand. But no, Ron said he didn’t need him to buy him anything. Now, some death eater picked up his wand and used it to conjure the dark mark into the sky.
Damnit.
Harry looks at Ron with a ‘When this is over, I'm kicking your arse’ look. “It’s mine.” Ron looks at Arthur, “I lost it while running.” Arthur doesn’t look happy but doesn't say anything.
Crouch hands Ron his wand back, “Don't drop this again.” He looks at the 6 other guys with him, “Let's go” They walk away, leaving the 3 teenagers with Arthur.
“Let’s go home.” Arthur looks at Ron “Your mothers probably worried sick.”
***
The second he walks into the burrow he’s being hugged by Mrs. Weasley. “Oh, Harry! Are you alright?” she’s squeezing so tight; it’s getting a little hard to breathe. Everyone else was already inside, so it was his turn to get fussed over.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Weasley. I’m sorry for worrying you.” Harry smiled though he felt bad, it was nice to have an adult worry about him.
“Harry, I’ll always worry about you.”
Somehow Harry smiled even brighter.
***
Harry laid awake in Ron's room, unable to sleep. His nightmares have been getting worse and he’s been getting no sleep. His scar has been hurting a lot as well. He knows he should tell someone about it. If not Ron and Hermione, then Sirius or Remus. But he’s afraid these nightmares and his scar hurting mean something. He doesn’t want to know.
Ron’s room is carrot orange, which hurts his eyes. He has no idea why he likes the color orange so much, but it’s such an eye-sore. Since Ginny has her own room, Hermione’s sleeping in there. Fred and George are sleeping in their shared room down the hall.
He’s not getting any sleep anytime soon, so he heads down to the living room. They have no portraits in the hallway. Mostly just landscape paintings. He can hear the clock in the kitchen ticking, it’s always ticking. The living room is dark, but through the big window on the wall, across from the door, the moon shines bright. He sees Hermione sitting on the couch. He only has a few seconds to be surprised until he sees her reading. Of course.
Harry’s been trying to avoid her; he didn’t want her to ask questions about him, flinching. Hermione isn’t Invasive on purpose; she was a curious person. Sometimes her curiosity can lead to others being uncomfortable.
He goes over and sits next to her. She smiles but doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t even look up from her book. They stay like that, in comfortable silence.
“Cedric was cute.”
Well, that Startled a laugh out of Harry. He wasn’t exactly expecting that, but he wasn’t exactly surprised. Guess he wasn’t being as subtle, but to be fair, Hermione is too smart for her own good. She’s been wanting to ask him something, he could tell. But until now she always thought better of it.
If anyone were to overhear that, it didn’t have to mean anything really. She could just be talking to Harry because he’s her friend, and she can talk to him about anything. But they both knew what she was asking.
He’s heard the way the Dursleys talk about gay people. But, if he’s learned anything there it's that if the Dursleys don't like it, it’s probably okay. He wasn’t exactly hiding it, just never thought it was important enough to mention. He knows that if he tells her this, he’ll have to tell Ron soon. “Yeah, he is.”
Hermione still doesn’t look up from her book. But she smiles. She reached over and grabbed his hand; she squeezed it. They stayed like that in comfortable silence for a while.
***
Draco is never late for the train. He leaves at least 30 minutes early. He, Blaise, and Pansy are in a compartment. They also leave at least 30 minutes early. Pansy and Blaise are sitting across from him.
“Have you guys seen Theo? He said he’ll meet us here. Must be running late.” Pansy was already dressed in Slytherin robes. She had long black wavy hair. She had a slight tan; she went to Jamaica over the summer.
Draco looked out the window on the compartment door, people were walking by. “How was Jamaica?” Pansy lights up as she talks about Jamaica and the family house she stayed at. Blaise was reading something but kept nodding to show he was listening.
Draco went to France over the summer. Just him and his mother, they went almost every summer. But his dad would come too. This year he didn’t go to France with them, said he had meetings to attend. Draco didn’t like this.
He was meeting with them. He was sure of it; he had no proof, but with the attack at the quidditch cup, it was no coincidence. Right before the attack, his father disappeared, that was no coincidence either.
“And they told me to not go looking for trouble as if it won’t find me- “Draco knows that voice, he’s known it since first year. He looks up at the window on the door and meets green eyes. Whenever they locked eyes, Draco was always the first to look away.
He glared, or at least tried to. He can never think straight when Potter looks him in the eyes. It took Potter a beat, then he glared back. Draco smirked and flipped him off. For some reason, potter smiled at that. It was fast, and not big. But he smiled as if he almost laughed. And just like that, he was gone. What the fuck?
Before he even processed what just happen, Blaise and Pansy are looking at him weirdly. “That was…” Blaise started, “Something you’re not telling us?” Draco knows exactly what he’s implying, the least he could do is pretend he doesn’t.
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing to tell. I don’t know why he reacted like that.” It’s the truth. Pansy gives him a ‘you know what the hell I’m talking about’ look. He ignores it.
“Merlin Draco, we know you like him. You talk about him nonstop.” Pansy raises her eyebrow, she’s smiling. “You know, we’re not mad about it. Do you know what I think? I think you should go for it.”
He wishes that this seat could open and swallow him whole. He never told them he was gay, but they knew. Most of the Slytherins in his year knew. He suspects his parents know too, at least his mom does. No one seems to really care- what?
“What?” Draco asked dumbly.
Pansy rolled her eyes, “you heard me. Go for Potter, we’re tired of hearing you talk about him.”
“Me and Potter hate each other, we always have.” they haven’t gotten along since first year when he Rejected Draco’s handshake. But of course, he wasn’t still mad about that, that would be petty. Okay, he’s a little mad.
“Potter doesn’t seem like the type to hold grudges. If you apologize to him and probably his friends, he’ll forgive you. The damn Gryffindor.” Said Pansy.
“You guys would be okay with that?” Draco asked quietly, he really didn’t expect them to encourage this thing he’s had for Potter. He knows his dad would care an awful lot. But his mom would want him to be happy and have no regrets.
Blaise looked up from his book, eyebrows furrowed. “Why would we care?” Draco must still look Unconvinced, “the only thing I’m worried about is having to be nice to the Gryffindors.”
Draco cracks a smile at that. “You guys shouldn’t be encouraging this. You won’t like the man I turn into once I get Potter's attention.” They all laugh, it’s light and it feels warm.
“I think that’s the closest you have gotten to admitting you like him,” Blaise jokes, that’s true, of course, he wouldn’t ever admit that.
“How was your summer, Blaise?” his attempt to change the subject didn’t go unnoticed. Pansy straight laughed at this; Blaise only smirked. but they let it go, and Blaise went on to talk about his summer.
***
“NO QUIDDITCH?” that was Cedric and Harry agrees, no quidditch all because of some tournament? Quidditch is the only thing keeping him going at this point. Now, he’ll probably have to sneak out and play with Ron. “You hear this, Harry?” Cedric had turned in his seat so he could talk to Harry.
For the short amount of time that Harry had known Cedric, they talked mostly on quidditch. “All because of some tournament? I rather play quidditch, thank you.” But they weren’t the only ones upset about this, all the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams were upset. Cho over at Ravenclaw looks deadly.
“Settle down now.” Dumbledore's voice boomed, “Hogwarts has been chosen to host the Triwizard tournament. This is a great privilege. The Triwizard tournament is a test of courage and wits. The tournament is dangerous, only 7 years can participate.” The students are clapping, but Harry still thinks he would rather play Quidditch. Harry looks up at Dumbledore, to see he’s already looking at him. He has that sparkle in his eye, when he knows something, you do not. Harry hates that look.
Once the students settle down, he starts talking again, “There are two more schools that are participating, they will be coming to Hogwarts. There will be one Challenger from Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Drumstrang.” Now that made the students go crazy.
“Harry! Viktor Krum goes to Drumstrang! He played in the quidditch cup!” Ron exclaimed; he was practically bouncing in his seat. Of course, Viktor Krum needed no introduction. Harry knew who he was, he was the best seeker Harry had ever seen. Watching Viktor play during the quidditch cup made Harry know that he wanted to do that as well.
Once Dumbledore was done explaining the tournament the feast began. Harry ate, he hadn’t had food like this since third year. The Dursleys didn’t feed him much. Ron stuffed his mouth full and talked with food still in his mouth. Hermione scolded him but it wasn’t very effective. Harry talked with Neville, Dean, and Seamus.
Neville goes on about this enchanted garden he found over the summer. Harrys lost halfway through the conversation since he knows not much about Herbology. Dean and Seamus went to Germany together over the summer. They all talked, ate, and laughed together. And for the first time since third year, Harry felt at home.
Due to it being the first day back, there are no classes till tomorrow, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione head to the library. “Harry, you should really think about taking astronomy. You’re good at it.” She made a face, “Better than me even.”
Harry rolled his eyes, “Hermione, you’re the smartest person I know. Besides, if I’m taking the class, how will I find time to help you with astronomy homework?” she giggled, her tight curls bouncing. “Plus, you're better than me in every other class.”
“Not defense.”
“Yeah, not defense.”
As they were turning the corner, Harry caught sight of platinum blond hair.
Malfoy was walking with Zabini and Parkinson.
Malfoy’s slightly taller than Harry, with a slim frame. He has perfect posture, his head held high. He has snow-pale skin, that looks cold to the touch. His jawline was flawless, and his cheekbones were sharp as knives. Harry knew that Malfoy was attractive, but unfortunately, he was a git.
“Merlin Potter, do you just enjoy looking like shit? Do you even brush your hair? It looks awful,” Malfoy sneered. Then, just for a second, his face softened, the tiniest bit, “your robes look decent...” he paused as if he was second-guessing himself, “on you.”
Malfoy’s eyes slightly widen, like a dear in headlights. Parkinson had her hand over her mouth, clearly hiding her laughter. Zabini just smirked, looking entertained.
Harry’s looking at Malfoy, eyebrows furrowed, and his lips slightly apart. What? Okay, so there was an insult, of course, it's Malfoy. Then, something that sounded an awful lot like a compliment? Before Harry could think of a way to respond to that Malfoy, Zabini, and Parkinson were already down the hall, walking fast.
Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione, Ron had his eyes narrowed, “That was weird, what do you think he's playing at?” Harry shrugged. He looked over at Hermione. She had a more thoughtful expression, but she was smiling. Which meant she probably knew something. He raised his eyebrow at her.
“I have no idea what that was about.” Which just meant that she wasn’t going to tell him.
***
They spent a few hours in the library, Hermione was reading up on transfiguration, Ron had a book on potions open, but he was clearly not reading it, and Harry was reading up on astronomy. He was reading a book called ‘astronomy: craters on the Moon.’
There weren't many things he read that he didn’t already know. Even in the section that talked about craters that weren’t well known, Harry thought everyone knew about crater Billy. They should if they're in astronomy, anyway.
When Harry was 8, he snuck out of the Dursleys’ house. He went to the library to find some books he could take home to help pass the time. Every week he would take 2 new books without checking them out. But the Librarian never said anything. She just watched him.
One day when he went to check out 2 new books, he was looking in the mostly dead part of the library, and he saw a bright white light. It was a ball of white light, and it started to move, so Harry followed it. It zipped through the shelves until it landed on a book called ‘astronomy for Dummies’
That night he sat in his cupboard, reading. He didn’t go to sleep that night. When Aunt Petunia had him cook dinner the next day, he cut himself with a knife because he fell asleep while cooking. Vernon beat him for this, he never did it again.
“Okay, I’m bored now. Can we go? It’s almost curfew.” Ron whined. the potions book long forgotten.
***
Harry’s going to regret this in the morning. But he just got this book from Diagon Alley without anyone noticing, and he wants to read it. It’s called ‘magic, no wand’. Harry really wants to learn wandless magic. It’ll be useful if an actual dangerous criminal escapes from Azkaban and goes after him and somehow Harry doesn’t have his wand. With Harry's luck, it will happen.
Harry knows these are just excuses, the real reason he wants to learn wandless magic is cause it’s cool. He doesn’t want anyone to know, because he has a feeling he shouldn’t be practicing this so young. But hey, what could go wrong? It’s not like Harry has a track record of doing dangerous stuff.
Right?