“Hey, Potter!  Y’know your insane, right?”

Harry continued walked down the corridor to Charms (Flitwick had finally switched him to the sixth year class) and said over his shoulder, “I prefer to think of myself as mentally challenged but if you insist…”

The voice from behind him laughed and another cried, “I’d say that fits better!  I mean, staking out Davids girl?  Your nuttier than everyone thought!”

Harry turned to stare at the group of third and fifth year Slytherins gathered behind him.

“I’m doing what?”

The thought of him and Ginny was…well, appalling.  She was his friend.

“Oh please,” said one of the fifth years.  “You make friends with her, take her side when that Gryffindork brother of hers goes crazy…”

“Which one?” quipped Harry.”

“…and then,” continued the fifth year as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “you ask her to the Yule Ball while Davids is at Durmstrang.  Smooth, Potter.  Proves you’re a real Slytherin.”

“And,” piped a third year, “I hear you wear a necklace the Vixen gave you.”

“Oh, Potter.  Does Davids know?”

Laughter erupted at that statement and Harry grinned in a crooked sort of way.  Several of the boys in the group elbowed each other and eyed him.

Harry, still grinning in that crooked sort of way, shook his head at them and said, “You’re all nuts.  Ginny and I are just friends and if she heard all this bullshit, she’d be on a hexing bend.”

“She is going to go on a hexing bend.”

All of the boys eyes widened and Harry turned to see Ginny standing behind him, wand held at ready and undiluted rage burning in her eyes.

She took a few steps forward, lifting her wand as she went.  Harry watched in amusement as the group of boys nervously back away from the red-haired girl.

“Alright,” growled the girl,” let’s get several things straight.  Harry and I are just friends; that necklace you were talking about is a thank you for him saving my life in my first year; and another thing – I belong to nobody and no one but myself.”  She twirled her wand in her fingers and continued, “Now…are we clear or do I have to begin hexing the hell out of all of you?”

The boys all looked nervously at each other then began to hurriedly back away.

“Uh, no need for that…”

“Yeah, we were just..”

“Fleeing for our lives!”

As the boys fled down the corridor Ginny sheathed her wand then turned to face the silently applauding Harry.

“Bravo, bravo,” said the older teen.  “Absolutely fabulous.  Ni would be proud you’ve picked up her ‘let’s kick ass first, ask question later’ attitude.”

Ginny laughed and said, “I’m sure she’ll be extremely thrilled.  Oh, and have you told Ron and Hermione about our conversation with Sirius?”

“Yep.  You think you can owl Mika and tell him?  I’ve got a Charms paper to write and it’s going to take me all night.”

“Uh, Mike and I really probably aren’t talking right now.”

Harry arched an eyebrow and said, “Let me guess.  You sent him a Howler after he sent that one to me?”

“Of course I did!  I was bloody pissed off!”

“Okay, okay.  We’d better get to class now.  I’ll see you down in the bowels of the dungeons.”

“It’s a date,” said Ginny with a smile.

Harry chuckled and said, “Don’t let that lot hear you say that.”

“They do and I’ll castrate them.”

“Please tell me when you do so I can call Ni.  She loves to help wreck things.”

Ginny laughed and waved at him before disappearing down the corridor.  Harry shook his head after her then headed for the Charms classroom.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

A few nights later, Harry and the other champions were told to come down to the pitch.  Harry and Cedric arrived at the same time and Harry felt that same emotion he’d been feeling around the older boy since the Yule Ball and before.

What the hell is this?  Am I…jealous of Cedric?  That Ni likes him?  Surely not.  I mean, it’s Ni for cripes sake!

Harry eyed Cedric for a moment then looked at the Quidditch pitch, which appeared to be sprouting walls.

“Any idea why the pitch has suddenly grown a beard?” asked Cedric.

“Not the foggiest,” replied Harry, shaking his head in answer to the question and to get rid of the image of Niamh and Cedric kissing after the Yule Ball that had suddenly popped into his head.

“Hello there!” cried a cheery voice quite suddenly.

Harry and Cedric turned to see Bagman, Krum, and Fleur standing in the middle of the field.  The two boys looked at each other then began to climb over the hedges to join them.  Fleur smiled at Harry as the approached and he nodded in return.

“What do you think?” asked Bagman as the two boys crossed the last of the hedges.  “Growing nicely, aren’t they?”

“Wonderfully,” said Harry in a bland tone.  He eyed the way the hedges were laid out and said, “I’m guessing it’s a maze of some sort.”

Bagman beamed at him and Harry was reminded of Lockhart for a moment.

“Right you are, Harry!  It is a maze.  The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze and the first champion to touch it will receive full marks.”

“So it’s the easiest task we’ll have to face,” said Cedric.  “No dragons or spear-bearing merpeople?”

Harry arched an eyebrow at Cedric’s remark.  Apparently he had picked up some of Niamh’s sarcasm.  Then again, he had always been a witty guy,

“Well,” said Bagman.  “No.  There will be – ah – obstacles.  Provided cordially by Hagrid.”

Harry let his head fall into his hands and muttered, “We’re all gonna die.”  Beside him Cedric chuckled softly.

“Well…if no one has any questions, let’s go back inside.  Rather nippy out here…”

As they started for the castle, Cedric pulled Harry off to the side and said softly, “I want to have a talk with you.”

About what?” asked Harry, leaning up against a tree.

“What is there between you and Niamh?”

Harry blinked and pushed himself away from the tree.  He said, “We’re just friends.  Like me and Ginny or Hermione.  Why?”

Cedric shook his head and waved a hand dismissively.

“Nothing, nothing.  Just paranoid, I guess.”

Harry sighed and said, “Cedric, you’ve got nothing to worry about.  Me and Ni are just friends and she likes you besides that.  Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not,” said the older boy.  “But she talks about you an awful lot.”

“Doesn’t everyone eventually bring me into a conversation?” quipped Harry with a grin.

Cedric nodded and laughed.

“Yeah.  Generally you do.”

“I can’t think of why that could possibly be though…” said Harry, stroking his chin in a thoughtful gesture.

Cedric laughed again then frowned when Harry abruptly held up a hand, all laughter fading from his eyes.

“What is it?” whispered the older boy.

“Someone’s here,” replied Harry, sliding his hand up his sleeve for his wand.  “In the trees.”

Cedric looked at him oddly.  “How can you tell?”

“Shh…” said Harry, eying a patch of bushes.  Quite abruptly something staggered out of them and Harry had almost Stunned it before Cedric gasped, “Mr. Crouch!”

Mr. Crouch looked like he’s had a battle with one of the sandworms from Frank Herbert’s Dune and then gotten lost in the deserts of Arrakis.  And he seemed to be talking to someone only he could see.

“…and when you’ve done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students…”

“Who’s Weatherby?” whispered Cedric.

“Percy.”

“Weasley?”

“Yep.”

“…and send another owl to Madame Maxime…”

“Mr. Crouch?” said Harry, taking a step towards the man.  He stayed a good pace or two back, having run into far too many crazies on the streets to want to get close to what appeared to be another one in the making.

“Dumbledore!” gasped Crouch suddenly, lurching forward and grabbing Harry’s robes before the teen could move back.  “I need…see…Dumbledore…”

“Right,” said Harry.  “Let’s go see Dumbledore.”

“I’ve done…stupid…thing…  Must…tell…Dumbledore…”  Crouch slumped to the ground as he said this, looking as thought he had to struggle for the words.  Harry frowned and wondered, Could it be Imperius? That would explain where he’s been all this time…

“What could he want Dumbledore?” asked Cedric.  Harry shrugged and looked down at Crouch.

He said, “Get up, Mr. Crouch, and we’ll take you to Dumbledore.”

Crouch’s eyes rolled up to look at Harry.

“You’re not…his?”

Harry frowned, not knowing who the person Crouch was talking about, and said, “No.  I’m not his.”

Crouch’s eyes bugged out and he pulled Harry closer.

“Warn…Dumbledore…”

“I can only do that if you let me go, Mr. Crouch.”

“Thank you, Weatherby, and when you’ve done that…”

Crouch to talk to a tree and released Harry, who turned to Cedric and said, “Stay with him.  I’ll go get Dumbledore.”

“Er, yeah,” said Cedric, looking around nervously.  “Hurry will you?  I’ve got a bad sort of feeling.”

Harry nodded and took off towards the castle, glancing back at Cedric and muttering under his breath.

“You and me both.”

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Harry charged up to the second floor where the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore’s office stood.  He skidded to a halt in front of it and muttered, “I’d kill for some help right now.”  He hurriedly began to rattle off the names of several pieces of candy before he got irritated and angrily kicked the statue.

“C’mon!  Open ye sodding piece of…”

“Potter!”

Harry turned to face McGonagall, who was scowling at him.  When he turned, her eyes widened slightly then she shook her head and said, “What are you doing here, Potter?”

“Mr. Crouch just turned up,” replied Harry.  “He’s asking for the headmaster.”

“What are you talking about…”

“Dumbledore!  Forest!  Now!  Get him!”

Harry turned on a heel and sprinted out of the castle, muttering something very unflattering about McGonagall under his breath in Elven.

“Stupid, contradictory woman…  Cedric!”

Harry ran back to where he had left Cedric and Crouch and blinked when he arrived.  No one was in sight and nothing but the trees moved.

“Cedric?” said Harry, looking around.  He drew his wand and had just begun to say the incantation to light it when he heard something behind him.  Finishing the spell, he whirled, a hex on his lips.

“I believe you wanted to see me, Harry?”

Harry lowered his wand slightly and saw Dumbledore’s weathered face illuminated by the light from his wand.

“Professor.”

“Yes,” said Dumbledore.  “And where might our friends have gone?”

Harry started to say something but a moan from behind a tree stopped him.  He and Dumbledore looked at each other then hurried to the spot where the sound had come from.

There, in the beam of light from Harry’s wand, lay Cedric.  He appeared to be unconscious and there was no sign anywhere of Crouch.  Dumbledore knelt by Cedric as Harry slowly eyed the surrounding area.

“Only Stunned.”

“Should I go get Madam Pomfrey?” asked Harry.

“No, no,” said Dumbledore, rising and drawing his wand.  “Stay.”

He lifted hi wand and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid’s cabin.  Something silvery darted out of his wand and vanished into the trees.  As he did this, Harry pointed his wand at Cedric and said, “Ennervate.”

Cedric opened his eyes and began to sit up when he saw Dumbledore.  Harry prodded him in the chest with a booted foot and shook his head.  Dumbledore turned now and knelt back down by Cedric, who reached up and rubbed his head.

“He attacked me!” muttered Cedric.  “I was watching Harry as he ran off and Crouch jumped me!”

“Lie still, Cedric,” said Harry.  “Ni’ll kill me if she finds out you got hurt when I was with you.”

Cedric looked at the younger boy for a moment then lay back.  “Good point,” he said.

“A good point that should always be followed,” remarked Harry with a grin.

Hagrid suddenly appeared with Fang at his heels and his crossbow in his hands.

“Professor Dumbledore!  ‘Arry – Diggory – what happened?”

“Hagrid,” said Dumbledore, rising once more, “I need you to go fetch Professor Moody - ”

“No need, Dumbledore,” growled a voice.  “I’m here.”

Moody limped towards them, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye roving over the four figures in front of him.  He grinned raggedly at them and said, “Would’ve been here sooner if it weren’t for this damn leg – what’s happened?  McGonagall was muttering something about Potter and Crouch.”

“Crouch?” said Hagrid.

“We don’t know where Barty Crouch is but it is of the utmost importance that we find him,” said Dumbledore to Moody and Hagrid.

“I’m onto it,” said Moody.  “Hagrid, head that way.”

Hagrid looked at Dumbledore as Moody limped off into the forest.  Dumbledore nodded at the half-giant and said, “Go on , Hagrid.”

Hagrid nodded and lumbered off, Fang trailing along behind him.  As soon as he vanished into the forest, Dumbledore turned to Harry and said, “Let’s get Mr. Diggory up to the castle.”

“I can handle him alone, sir,” said Harry, leaning down to pull Cedric up.

Dumbledore began to open his mouth but Harry stopped him by smiling and saying, “We’ll be fine, sir.  Don’t forget where I came from.”

The elder wizard smiled and said in an amused tone, “One can never forget where you can from, my boy.”

Harry smiled slightly in response to that then began to head towards the castle, Cedric’s arm clung over his shoulder.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

“You okay yet?” asked Harry as he and Cedric crossed the entrance hall

Cedric looked at him and replied, “When the room stops spinning, I’ll be fine.”

Harry arched an eyebrow.

“That big of a Stunning Charm, aye?”

“One hell of a stunning Charm,” grumbled Cedric.

“I can tell.  I’m guessing we’re for the Puff’s common room?”

“Yeah.”

“Er…directions?”

Cedric blinked and stared at him.

“You don’t know where it is?”

Harry nodded then shrugged.  “The only Puff I know besides you is Ernie Macmillian.”

“The kid who kept accusing you of being Slytherin’s Heir?”

“That’s the one.”

“Right.  Left up ahead.”

Harry turned left and they walked in silence until Cedric spoke again.

“So you know where the Gryffindor common room is…”

“And the Ravenclaw.”

“How’d you discover that?  They’re even more secretive than most of the Slytherin’s.  No offense.”

“None taken.  It was a fluke.”

“A fluke?”

“A fluke,” repeated Harry.  “Can’t get in but I know where it is.  As to the Gryff’s…they’re easy to infiltrate.”

“Infiltrate?” said Cedric with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah.  One, the Fat Lady likes me and two, cracking their passwords is easy.”

Cedric chuckled and said, “Sometimes I wonder why you’re a Slytherin, then you say something like that to remind me.”

“Thanks.  I think.”

“Welcome.  And what was that you were talking about with Dumbledore?  About where you came from?”

Harry looked perturbed for a moment then he shook his head and said, “I grew up on the streets.  In the London slums.  As bad a place as any to grow up and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.  That’s how I learned to fight.”

Cedric blinked at him then said, “Wow.  I …I never knew.”

“Very few people do.”

“It was that bad?”

Harry nodded solemnly, the images of his last visit to his “home” flashing through his mind.  Something must have shown in his eyes, because Cedric went quiet on the subject after that.

“I can make it from here,” said the older boy as they rounded another corner.  “I’ll see you later, Harry.”

“Yeah,” said Harry as he watched Cedric walk down the corridor.  “See you.”