Chapter Text
Here he was, standing in a room with the rest of the Triwizard Champions and professors, who were currently arguing over letting him enter the Tournament. Somehow, Harry has been selected, despite never putting his name into the Goblet.
Now he felt the cold wall against his back and stared blankly at one point somewhere on the floor trying desperately to hold back his tears.
To soon, it was decided. Harry shut his eyes closed, cursing whoever was the cause of this mess internally. It was supposed to be a peaceful year. One fucking year, is it really too much to ask for?
‘Potter’ McGonagall’s voice brought him back from his head. The rest of the Champions were sent to their chambers or wherever Krum and Fleur were staying, Cedric sending him one last confused look. ‘I’m sorry for this.’ she sighed. ‘We are going to find out who did it, but in the meantime, don’t get yourself killed, alright?’
Harry just nodded. In every other circumstance he would feel grateful for his head of the house’s reassuring words, but right then, he didn’t feel capable of experiencing any emotion other than… Whatever it was he was feeling.
McGonagall patted his shoulder as she was passing and left. The moment her footsteps could barely be heard Harry’s knees gave in and he let himself cry. Even before all the philosopher stone events happened, he had always felt like something bad was going to happen. Maybe that is why he had was incapable of producing a real patronus, until Sirius offered him another home, because every time he felt happy there was always a hidden sense of fear. It was like he simply shouldn’t be feeling joy, because he constantly felt that it could end at any moment.
Every year there was a certain moment in which this fear, this feeling that something very bad was going to happen, it always came true. Harry just really didn’t think this time it would happen in the second month of school.
After what was too long for his own standards, he managed to get up and walk back to the Gryffindor tower. What was he going to tell Sirius and Remus, he suddenly thought?
Since last year’s events, when, despite Peter Pettigrew escaping, Sirius finally got a fair trial with veritaserum and was cleared of all charges, Harry has been living with his godfathers. Of course, it was the most wonderful time he has ever had; they both seemed to actually care about his life. However, more than ever before, he felt like he needed to be absolutely flawless. He’s never had someone like Sirius and Remus, someone like parents, and he for sure was not going to mess this up.
Now, he did. Well, not really, he didn’t put his name in the Goblet, but what proof did he have for that? Maybe they were not going to believe him, maybe they would think of him as an attention seeker, as most of the school probably did now, maybe they were going to send him back-
He reached the Gryffindor tower. Hand shaking, Harry opened the door after muttering the password. Hesitantly, he walked into the common room.
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Cedric lied in his bed, starting at the ceiling, thinking. What happened that evening, the fourth champion being selected, was not what he expected, obviously. Well, he was glad and proud of himself for getting in, but competing against Harry didn’t feel right.
Since that one Quidditch match when Harry almost died and his broom was destroyed, which in Cedric’s opinion was way more tragic, they’ve gotten pretty close to each other. Not as close as he was with Ron and Hermione, but these few times when Cedric helped Harry with his homework and spells, when he talked to him in the school hall or when they practiced Quidditch moves together let him know Harry well enough to be sure that he did not put his name in the Goblet by choice.
Harry was barely fourteen and it seemed like he was going to be forced to compete against adult wizards in a deadly tournament, what in Cedric’s opinion was pretty fucked up.
He sat up. What could he really do about it? He couldn’t convince the judges to let Harry quit, that was for sure. But maybe he would be able to help his friend a bit during the tasks. He, Cedric, was more experienced in magic and had better chances of going through the Tournament unharmed. As much as he wanted to win, there was no way in hell we was going to let Harry deal with this alone. He would help him get through it, and only then could he focus on winning. Harry was more of a little brother to him than a friend and that was more important to Cedric than fame and whatever amount of gold there was to win.
That was it then. He was going to make sure Harry wouldn’t get hurt. Considering the talent this boy had for attracting troubles, this might be much harder than he thought.
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Meanwhile Harry closed the curtains around his bed and put a quick silencing charm over it.
Ron did not believe him. At this point he didn’t think anyone did. This was worse than when the school thought he was the Slytherin’s heir, because then at least he had his best friends with him. He haven’t talked to Hermione yet, but after what happened with Ron, maybe he preferred not to. Was there anyone who was going to be on his side?
Of course. One person who would be there for him no matter what.
It was in the second grade when Draco approached Harry, making sure there was no one around, and muttered a rushed apology. Apparently, things changed after Lucius Malfoy put the journal in Ginny’s cauldron and Draco, previously considering his father a literal saint, realized that it was not something a good person would have done.
They became friends surprisingly quickly. Draco didn’t want anyone to know about it, he was too scared of his father’s reaction, which was why not even Ron and Hermione knew that Harry had been hanging out with him. Although Draco stopped with the hate comments and arguments towards them entirely.
At first they wandered around school at nights under the invisibility cloak, which became much easier when Fred and George gave Harry the marauders map. But then they discovered the room of requirement and their night meeting became an easy and regular thing. Harry wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he had gotten attached to Draco. In fact, he was the only person whom he told about his home life. His friend, having a general image of the situation, begged him to tell someone, to go to McGonagall or any other teacher and tell them the same things he had told him. And maybe in that time Harry was closer to doing so than he would admit, more because of Draco than himself. Of course, before the year ended the problem has been solved by Sirius, even though he had no idea what he saved him from.
Well, Draco would believe him. Or he was just desperate to think that. Sighing, he took a small mirror out of his nightstand.
‘Sirius Black’ he whispered.
Just a few seconds later his godfather appeared in the reflection. Sirius grinned and Harry had a sudden urge to break the mirror so that he wouldn’t have to tell him about everything that happened.
‘Are you okay?’ Sirius asked, noticing Harry’s expression.
Harry took a deep breath and spoke.
‘No. Something bad happened, the Tournament, there was this selection with the Goblet, and-’
‘Hey, hey, slow down, breathe cub’ Remus was on the other side of the mirror as well. He looked at his godson with concern in his eyes. ‘Take another breath and tell us what happened, alright?’
So he did. He told them about the selection, speaking more quickly than normally and stuttering too often. When he finished, he looked at the reflection.
Remus looked straight up horrified, his eyes widened, but Sirius’ expression was more unreadable. Finally he answered.
‘Fuck’ was the first thing he managed to say. Harry heard a short scream, probably Remus kicked his leg. ‘What? He is fourteen, I can swear in front of a fourteen year old, right?’
‘Never mind that’ Remus sighed. ‘Harry, I.. I don’t think we can get you out of this.’
‘They can’t make him compete, he is not seventeen!’ Sirius objected. ‘We have to do something, there has to be something we can do Moony.’
‘We need to figure out who put his name in first. I hate to say it, but there is a chance that it is some kind of a plot again-’
‘Wait’ Harry cut in. ‘You believe I didn’t put my name in?’
Sirius looked up.
‘Of course. Why would you put yourself in this? Well, I would, but I know you wouldn’t. And why would we not believe you?’
‘Ron didn’t’ Harry whispered, looking away.
Remus and Sirius were silent for a while.
‘Well then, Ron is a bi- OWWW MOONY’ Sirius screamed.
‘Ignore him Harry. Sirius, I mean. Ignore Ron too.’ Remus tried to sound reassuring, but he was just as worried as Sirius and Harry. ‘I’m sorry it turned out like this. Ron is a good person and eventually he will realized he is wrong.’
‘We will do everything in our power to help you, alright kiddo?’ Sirius added. ‘We will get you through this alive, I promise you.’
Harry felt himself tearing up. He still wasn’t used to an adult caring as much as his godfathers did. Now that the situation was starting to get through to him, he felt sad, frustrated, but also unimaginably grateful for them. Looking at his parents in the reflection of the mirror he felt a little spark of hope getting through it all.