25

Very little happened over the following weeks leading up to Halloween. Malfoy was decidedly quiet, yet clearly very unhappy. His comments had resulted in a number of pranks being performed on him by his housemates. Lucius had been outraged and stormed down to the school demanding justice.

"Can't do much without a confession or witness." Xander explained tiredly. He hated this man and wanted nothing more than to cut his head off… right after he had cut off every other limb and force-fed them to the moron.

"Then I demand you use veritiserum!"

"You first." Xander shot back with an eager grin.

Needless to say, Lucius shut up and got out after that.

Xander stood with the students and staff behind him, his fellow headmistresses and headmasters at his side and the two ministry officials, Crouch and Bagman (who he had privately labelled Abbot and Costello) behind him with the Goblet of Fire.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, werewolves and goblins… and the rest." He declared with a pointed look at Malfoy. "Welcome to the Choosing of the Champions. In mere seconds the Goblet will expel the names of the Champions from… never mind." Xander sighed as it appears he was late or the Goblet was early and first name was out.

Xander grabbed the slip of parchment had a glance and handed it to Karkarov.

"Ze Champion vor Durmstrang vill be Viktor Krum." Igor bellowed proudly.

There was great applause and cheering for the young International Quidditch star. Viktor didn't smile, as was usual for him. He simply stood up gave a sharp nod and marched to stand on the raised platform behind the heads of schools.

Another parchment came out and this time Xander handed it to Joyce.

"The Champion for Hogwarts will be Cedric Diggory!" She said happily.

Cedric was a rather understated player in the Hogwarts social system. He was well known in his house as being someone that would help those in need, and that filtered out to other houses as well. His grades were above average, but nowhere near a Hermione Granger level. He was someone that the teachers kept a quiet eye on as someone who may have a career in teaching.

Cedric had a broad smile as he jogged up to the platform and exchanged respectful nods with Krum.

The next name came out and Xander handed it straight to Olympe.

"Ze Champion for Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour."

Fleur looked very nervous as she made her way to the platform. Both Cedric and Viktor gave the gorgeous French girl slight bows and she tilted her head in kind.

Then people started laughing and declaring bets won as a fourth slip shot out of the Goblet.

Harry meanwhile was banging his head on the table whilst Hermione consoled him. Neville was laughing his arse off.

"Alright, alright, let me get this over with to make it official." Xander grinned. "And the fourth Champion… who doesn't have a school written down, is Harry Potter."

As Harry stomped angrily passed the Heads he muttered to Xander. "Next year I want to be home schooled."

"Harry dear, you live in a school." Joyce pointed out.

Harry froze. "DAMMIT!" He yelled.

"This is outrageous!" Crouch shouted. "There can only be three Champions."

"As 'eadmaster 'Arris as informed us previously, the chances of 'Arry's name coming out of ze Goblet were very 'igh. 'Arry 'as already agreed that he would not be competing for the prizes but merely taking part to protect 'is magic." Olympe said unconcernedly.

Then all hell broke loose as another slip shot out of the Goblet.

"Erm… The fifth Champion… and for the record, none of us was expecting this, is Draco 'The Ferret' Malfoy of Mister Dandy's School for the Closeted." Xander grinned.

At this point the entire school broke out into laughter and excitement. Of all the things they had expected, Draco Malfoy's name coming out of the Goblet was not one of them. Nobody was going to pass up the opportunity to see the little ferret get run through the ringer, even the Slytherins knew he was all talk.

"You coming up Draco?" Xander called out to the utterly confused young lad.

Draco wasn't sure what had happened, but he figured that his name coming out of the cup was a chance to show the whole world just what he could do. He proudly stood up and raised his nose as he marched to the platform where he instantly made enemies by snubbing the whole lot of them.

"Ok, this is not what we were expecting so we are going to have to recess for a short meeting, everyone else can head to the Great Hall for the feast." Joyce ordered, she then transported the heads, the Champions and the two Ministry officials to Minerva's office.

"Mr. Malfoy, did you place your name into the Goblet of Fire?" Minerva asked tightly as she sat down in her chair. This was one complication too many. Having expected Harry's name to come out they had attempted to compensate for that, but Draco Malfoy was a whole different kettle of fish.

Draco on the other hand was weighing the pro's and con's of claiming he had entered his name. It would be like saying he had outsmarted the fool of a Headmaster and all the teachers, not to mention the Goblins and Werewolves or even the Goblet itself. At the moment he couldn't think of the bad points.

"Of course I did, as if anyone else could figure out how to get past all your 'security'." He sneered at the Headmaster.

"Shut up Draco or I won't watch out for you in the tasks." Harry growled.

"As if I need you to help me." Draco scoffed.

Harry was about to retort when he had an idea. "So… are specifically stating that you don't want my help during the tasks?"

"Of course! I'd rather not even see you."

Harry grinned happily. "You heard him, I don't have to help him in anyway."

"We'll discuss this later Harry." Joyce said sternly.

"Just to clarify, Mr. Malfoy, you entered your own name into the Goblet of Fire." Minerva asked.

"Yes, that is correct."

"And you wrote down the name of the school as 'Mr. Dandy's school for the Closeted'?" She asked suspiciously.

Draco suddenly realised one of the possible bad points of claiming he entered his own name. A quick few thoughts and he decided he could claim the teachers were out to get him and lying about the name of the school.

"Yes." He croaked.

"Draco, I take back every mean thing I ever said about you." Harry said solemnly. "If you need a shoulder to lean on when you come out, just remember I'm straight and my girlfriend gets jealous." He grinned as the other Champions snickered or giggled.

Deciding it wouldn't help his cause; Draco decided to ignore the irritating Boy-Who-Lived.

"Is there anything else?" He asked in as dignified manner as possible. Which meant snootily.

Minerva and the other Head's shared a look and they all either shrugged or signalled the negative.

"There most certainly is!" Crouch declared angrily. "We must know how Mr. Malfoy subverted the Goblet and all your… 'security' arrangements."

Whilst Headmaster Harris was growling at Crouch, Draco was trying to figure out a way to not answer.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that as it is private." He managed to maintain his composure, but he was beginning to sweat.

"I'm afraid-"

"Family Magic!" Draco blurted. Family magic was protected by law and tradition. It was only shared in the family. In the event of a divorce both parties were usually obliviated of the information.

"Fine, you are assigned one month of detentions for breaking the rules. You were forbidden from entering and you broke that." Minerva declared.

"What! That's outrageous! What about Potter?" Draco demanded.

"Mr. Potter didn't enter his name into the Goblet, we all know this." Minerva scowled. She was not happy about her son's name being entered and intended to have harsh words with whoever did… those words would like involve spells and curses… but were still words.

"Prove it!" Draco demanded.

"Harry has already said he didn't do it." Cedric interrupted.

"That's not proof. In that case, prove I entered my name." Draco countered.

"Draco, you already admitted that you entered your name, and you did so in front of all these impartial witnesses." Joyce sighed. "He does have a point though, Harry stating he didn't do it isn't proof." She said to her fellow heads.

"Veritiserum will get to the bottom of this!" Crouch declared.

"Barty, you're damned lucky you aren't dead just being in my presence after what you did to Sirius Black, shut up." Xander snapped. Crouch was suitably quailed.

"What about a magical oath?" Cedric offered.

"What's that?" Harry asked worriedly as he saw Draco start grinning maliciously.

"It's a way of sealing agreements between people and can also be used to ensure someone isn't lying." Minerva explained. "If a person breaks the oath they could lose their magic." She frowned at Cedric.

"Which shouldn't be a problem if we word it simply." Fleur noted. "Many heads of state take such oaths when they enter office to prevent them abusing their positions. I assume Minister Fudge didn't take one." She sneered.

Seeing Crouch about to blow a gasket, Xander intervened. "We can besmirch Fudge later in private." He said quickly. "Ok, I will write up a short oath with Harry, then we will pass it around the room to make sure we haven't screwed up."

Twenty minutes later and the oath was ready. Draco was upset he hadn't had a chance to fiddle with it and Crouch was indignant at being excluded. Bagman didn't seem to care.

"Harry should say it front of whole school." Viktor said quietly. "Then no von can doubt him."

"Man makes a good point." Xander nodded.

Igor was smiling proudly at his top student. The lad was often overlooked for intellectual matters as they only saw a brute on a broom. Hopefully the tournament would allow his student to prove himself.

A few minutes later and they were all in the Great Hall.

"All right my lovely rug rats," Xander began, "Draco claims he put his own name in the Goblet. As such he will be serving a month of detentions and running for Mr. Dandy's School for the Closeted."

Xander waited patiently for the sniggers to die down. Draco silently fumed, he would see vengeance on them all.

"Now then, Harry claims he didn't put his name in the Goblet and I think we all believe him. He has agreed to swear an oath publicly to that fact. Harry, take it away."

Harry nervously stepped forward. He hated crowds and swore that he would make Voldemort suffer for making him famous.

"I, Lord Harry James Potter Harris McGonagall Summers Hogwarts of Gryffindor," Harry turned and glared at his father who just snickered, "swear on my life and magic that I did not enter my name in to the Goblet of Fire, nor did I ask, coerce, force or imply that I wanted anyone else to. I also swear that I really don't want to be in this tournament. So mote it be."

There was a flash of fortunately non-blinding light and gasps from the pureblood side of the school as they realised what Harry had done.

"And as Harry is still standing, I think it is safe to say he wasn't lying." Xander said with a smug grin.

The feast commenced with the five Champions seated at a special table with the three heads of schools and the two ministry officials. Xander represented Hogwarts much to his annoyance and Harry's amusement. If he had to suffer, so did Xander.

Draco sat smugly at the table ignoring all except Crouch whom he attempted to engage in conversation on adult topics. His father and mother had both taught him how to pay attention to the politics of their world in preparation for when he took his place in society. It was hoped that one day he would take the mantle of the Head of House Black which would raise the Malfoy family to true nobility. But with Sirius' exoneration that would not happen short of the man dying.

The other four Champions sat talking animatedly amongst themselves. Cedric was the life of the party as he regaled the two foreign students with tales of Harry's escapades. There was a little disbelief from both Viktor and Fleur which led to Cedric asking Headmaster Harris if they could set the pensieve up for their guests to view. Xander promised to have it ready by morning, much to Harry's dismay.

The following day was left completely free. The previous weeks of tension leading up to the deciding of the Champions and the actual excitement of the event itself had caused everyone to nearly burn out. The various heads had expected this and ensured that for the next two weeks there would be nothing but regular school work and weekends.

Cedric and Viktor spent a lot of time together with the other Hufflepuffs. Viktor always presented himself as a distant or aloof figure, it seems the 'Puffs were able to thaw him somewhat and release the lively young man inside.

Fleur still spent her time with Harry and his family. Luna and Tonks often dragged her off for girlie times with Hermione. Hermione would often return utterly confused but refused to speak with Harry about it.

Draco had re-solidified his position within his house. He had managed a few well-placed threats and bribes and now he had most of them eating out of his hands. Sal had seen that something had occurred but not what. As a result he could do nothing unless the students came to him for help.

Two weeks after the Choosing Ceremony, everything started in earnest for the Champions. It all began with the Weighing of the Wands ceremony. The idiots from the Ministry had tried to schedule it during lesson time. Minerva had stomped on that idea thoroughly and it was now arranged as a public ceremony on the Saturday. Harry found out and kept trying to get out of it.

"Why do I need to be there?" He whined.

"Because they need to check your wand and they turned it into part of the whole dog and pony show." Xander explained. He hated that Harry had to do something he hated, ask him to take on a sixty foot Basilisk and you wouldn't hear a peep of complaint, stick him in front of crowd and you had to hope he didn't teleport out.

"Can't you just give them my wand? Not like I need the thing." He begged.

"Harry, I will stay with you the whole time, and when I can't we will have Cedric and Viktor stay with you." Fleur offered.

So it was that during the ceremony, whilst the whole school watched on, Harry stood with Fleur on his right, Cedric on his left and Viktor guarding his back. Draco, meanwhile stood alone. Draco thought that he was showing the world that a Malfoy needed no one; that they stood above the rest. What everyone else saw was that the Malfoy scion was not welcomed with the other Champions.

Each of the Champions presented their wands and Mr. Ollivander tested them and declared them ready. Draco once again had his choice of school come back to haunt him.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Eight inches, willow and unicorn hair. Very flexible and… suitable for someone from your chosen school. And might I just say that I am very proud to meet someone who is not afraid to declare his sexuality, I myself was so inspired that I have 'come out' myself!" Ollivander declared proudly.

By this point Draco snapped. His father had been onto him about how dangerous it was to be so open about these things. And on top of that his mother had left his father and was nowhere to be found. He snatched his wand back and held it aloft.

"I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, swear on my life and magic that I did not enter my name into the Goblet of Fire… and I am not gay. So mote it be." There wasn't as bright a flash as with Harry, and neither was there much shock.

There were several groans of disappointment as people who had been having fun tormenting the young Slytherin realised their fun was ending. And those who realised that the stud was now unavailable.

"Congratulations Draco, you just earned yourself another two weeks of detention on top of the two weeks you have left." Xander smirked.

"What! I just told you I didn't break the rules in the first place, you should be cancelling the detentions." Draco argued.

"But you lied when we questioned you. You have disrupted all these proceedings as a result and caused no end of chaos. Hence the additional two weeks. Hopefully in the future you will learn to be more honest." Minerva explained with a scowl.

Part of the weighing of the wands ceremony was meeting the press and taking publicity photos. Colin Creevey was snapping away like crazy. Luna and Ginny had taken to putting a non-magical child-leash on the boy that Hermione had recommended. She hadn't expected them to take her so literally.

Luna herself was watching and taking notes. She came forward to ask some questions with the other journalists when she was shoved to the floor by a curly haired woman with glasses.

"Harry darling, just a-urk!" She suddenly found herself being held at spear tip by several angry looking goblins who had appeared out of nowhere.

"My Lord, what are your orders." The lead goblin snarled, never taking his eyes off the trembling reporter.

"If she makes a formal apology to my daughter now and agrees to stay away from my family, I will allow her to go free. If not, then take her to the mines." Xander ordered.

Luna was glaring at the mean lady whilst Harry had joined her protectively. Viktor, Cedric and Fleur hadn't realised that Harry had vanished as they were too caught up by the sight of the Goblins.

"I APOLOGISE! I APOLOGISE!" The woman screeched.

Harry waved goodbye and the woman vanished.

"Where did you send her?" Xander asked curiously.

"Romania. Furthest place I am most familiar with." Harry shrugged.

"And the fact that it is filled with giant dragons?"

"Bonus?" Harry asked sheepishly.

That evening Xander introduced Cedric, Fleur and Viktor to their new tutors. Hermione, Neville and Harry. Draco, having stated he did not want help was not invited.

Fleur and Viktor looked sceptical, but Cedric was grinning like he had won the lottery… in every country.

"I don't mean any offense, but, aren't they a little young?" Fleur asked.

"They are definitely younger than the rest of us, but they were my first students." Xander explained. "Neville will be teaching you how to utilise your magic like he does. Your wand will eventually be more of a hindrance to everyday magic than it is a tool you can't live without." He said as he clasped Neville on the shoulders.

He then moved onto his son. "Harry will be teaching you some of our more unique talents such as flying without a broom, phasing through objects and teleportation."

"Hermione will be teaching you something very specialised. Animagus transformations. She recently achieved hers and as it is still fresh she will be best placed to guide you."

"You are an animagus too, Hermione?" Cedric asked excitedly. "What's your form?"

Neville chuckled. "Let's just say she's the ultimate Gryffindor. Godric was thrilled."

Hermione smiled and took a few steps back before she began to flow upwards into a large form. Standing at twelve feet tall and twenty feet from nose to tail, with the body of a lioness, the head and wings of an eagle, Hermione's Griffin was an inspiring sight.

"Wow." Cedric breathed. A sentiment echoed by the other two Champions.

"I thought you could not become a magical creature as a Animagus." Viktor frowned.

"You can't, but we were taught by Xander and he brewed our potions." Neville explained. "Magic does weird things around him, he couldn't even find a wand to suit him."

"Will we become magical creatures?" Cedric asked.

"No… or rather, we aren't sure. Hermione will be teaching you and this will be the experiment to see if it does make you magical creatures or not." Xander explained.

"Why did it take so long for you to transform, you started with Neville and Harry, didn't you?" Cedric asked Hermione.

In response Hermione flowed down into her human form. "Sorry, can't actually speak in that form. The reason it took so long is because I was too focused on my other studies. That and I had a few setbacks like being stuck as a human/cat hybrid." She scowled.

She scowled harder as Harry and Neville started snickering.

"But why teach us? Rumour was you wouldn't even teach Dumbledore." Cedric turned to Xander.

"And I won't." He said firmly. "And neither will you. In order for you to accept our training, you will need to swear an oath never to teach what you learn to others unless we give you express permission."

"No loyalty oath?" Viktor frowned.

"No, I did think about something like that, or even an oath that said you wouldn't use it against the innocent, but I didn't like the possible restrictions or problems that could cause. This way if someone did go rogue, then there would be no way for them to gather and teach followers, there would only be one of them."

"Did anyone ask Malfoy if he wanted to learn?" Cedric asked with a grimace. He was not a fan of the stuck up little tosser but his sense of fair play demanded he check.

"Yep, and he declined." Harry grinned. "Again."

"Where is he going to get his training from?" Fleur asked.

"His father wrote me and requested that Draco be allowed to leave the school in the evenings and weekends to receive training with the 'best tutors in the wizarding' world." Xander quoted. "Considering no one from Durmstrang, Hogwarts or Beauxbatons is involved… that's a lie."

"You told him he could not go?" Viktor asked incredulously.

"Nah, course he can. He can go and receive his sub-par training. But he is forbidden from bringing anything back with him except what he takes from the school, and apart from the clothes on his back, he can only take his wand."

Whilst this meeting was taking place, Draco was at his family home having a similar meeting with his father. Draco was eager to hear of the experts that would be teaching his powerful magics and the darkest of curses. Lucius, however, had something else more pressing to deal with.

"Draco, my boy!" He greeted enthusiastically. "You must tell me how you managed it!"

"Managed what?" Draco asked warily. It couldn't be how he managed to enter his name as his oath proved he hadn't.

"How did you manage to lie in your oath?" Lucius asked mildly exasperated. "You swore you weren't gay! How did you manage not to die?"

"Because I'm not gay." Draco said slowly.

"Come now Draco, there's no need to be coy, it's just the two of us here. You can be straight with me… so to speak." He snickered.

Draco sighed and pulled out his wand. "I swear on my life and magic that the oath I made was the truth."

A flash of light and Draco was still standing there.

"Amazing my boy!" Lucius was practically bouncing on the spot. "But how did you do it? You can't keep this to yourself, this could be very useful for any legal… issues that arise."

Draco sighed in defeat. "Do we have any veritiserum around? Or can we get some from Uncle Severus?"

Truth be told, he didn't think that would convince his father either.