Year 4 Begins

Harry and Valerie trailed after the rest of their housemates towards the Ravenclaw Tower. Although that was for the sake of appearances. Every student in Ravenclaw was allowed a personal room, however, one could not enter the room of the opposite gender.

Harry and Valerie would simply go ahead with everyone, and once the coast was clear, they would sneak out under the Invisibility Cloak to the Room of Requirement. In the beginning, they had tried to sleep separately, but the nights had been skittish. Only when she had proposed they sleep together once did they discover that it was much better. Since then, it had become their nightly ritual.

The entire Ravenclaw house was gathered in the common room, which had been enlarged to accommodate everyone. Students stood, sorted based on which year they were, and they walked over to stand with the other fourth years.

Harry gave a small nod of acknowledgement to Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. The two were the only ones who he was on cordial terms with, his relationship being practically non-existent with the remaining men of Ravenclaw. He caught the eye of Roger Davies from across the room. The older boy gave him a sneer, which was promptly ignored.

It was during his second year when it was revealed that he could speak to snakes. Davies had been the most outspoken among the lot that he was a dark wizard. Harry had ignored him for almost a month, but when the idiot continued to harass him, he had given him something to remember him by.

He had done nothing too drastic. A stinging hex right on his throat had made the older boy wary of him. The power behind the spell was such that Davies had to spend two weeks in the Hospital Wing. The one-month detention he had received in punishment was worth it when considering all he had to do was read up on Advanced Charms with Professor Flitwick supervising everything. The diminutive professor didn't waste a second if he could help it.

They looked on as the same professor walked forward and took his place in the middle where a makeshift podium had been erected.

The professor proceeded with the basic introductions and welcomed the first years, before coming to the crux of the matter.

"As the headmaster announced, all the students who are willing to participate in the tournament are required to submit their names to me within three days. Underage students are also required to submit the signed application along with their names. Please note that no names will be considered if submission is not made within the deadline. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Professor, what parameters will the heads be using to choose the sixteen from each house?"

"A good question, Mr Corner. There is a grade threshold which shall be decided by each head of house. If the number of submissions exceeds sixteen, students will face each other in duels until sixteen remain. If the number of submissions does not exceed sixteen, those who have submitted their names will be selected directly provided their grade in above the threshold. Empty slots shall be equally divided among other houses having a surplus. Although this is something I don't think will happen, given how much excitement we have seen already," Flitwick smiled.

A few students nodded while some smiled. Soon, the assembly was dispersed. Harry kissed Valerie as they parted ways for the moment and started towards the boys' rooms.

"I'm assuming you're taking part, Potter?"

Harry sighed.

'First Malfoy, now this idiot. What is this day?'

He turned around to see Davies leaning against the wall. A few people were watching the altercation, apprehensive and anticipatory in equal measure.

"You're assuming right, Davies."

Davies scoffed.

"You seriously think you can manage to beat sixth or seventh years? Delusional much?"

Harry chuckled.

"I seem to recall a second-year sending a fifth-year idiot to the Hospital Wing for two weeks. Ring any bells?"

Davies bristled.

"You might've gotten a lucky hit on me back then, Potter, but don't think for even a second that you'll manage to become the Hogwarts Champion."

Harry nodded.

"So, who's gonna be the Hogwarts Champion?"

Davies' smug look was answer enough, and Harry chuckled.

"What's so funny, Potter?"

Harry shook his head.

"The day you become the Hogwarts Champion is the day when the Triwizard becomes a competition to show who the biggest imbecile is. Even then, I think Malfoy would give you a tough challenge."

Muffled laughs echoed around the common room as Davies glared at him.

"Now, if you don't have anything intelligent to spew out of your mouth, I'd suggest you get a move on. I don't know about you, but I'm knackered."

"Oh yeah, knackered after screwing your slut all day, hmm?"

Harry overworked his Occlumency. He was fuming inside, but it wouldn't do to raise his wand against this moron.

"You know, Davies, everyone here knows that no girl has ever given you the time of her day and it has made you so resentful that you cannot help but insult every single one of them, but you could be a bit more subtle about it. Try it. You'd look less of a fool in front of everyone."

Davies looked around, only to see everyone looking at him with a disapproving gaze. 

"You watch your back this year, Potter," Davies hissed, before stalking off. Harry stared at his retreating back for a moment, before he sighed and walked over to his room.

XXXXX

"You did the right thing, the way you dealt with Davies," Valerie remarked in front of him as they walked under the cloak. It was a tight fit, but neither complained. She had the map unfolded in front of her while Harry kept his arms around her front, her back flush against his front as they walked steadily.

Harry sighed.

"The cunt deserves something though."

"Don't worry. He will," Valerie muttered darkly, "both him and Malfoy will."

Harry shivered slightly; he always did when Val got like this. She noticed and ground her rear against him.

"Minx," he whispered, cupping her tits before caressing her flat belly, "you know that's your nephew you're talking about, right?"

Valerie's face scrunched in disgust.

"That boy has nothing of Cissy in him. All rotten, just like his father. If I didn't see Cissy fawning over him like that last year, I would've firmly believed that he was Lucius' son with someone else."

Harry chuckled.

"What have you planned?"

Valerie grinned.

"You just need to wait for a few days. Let the candidates be selected. We don't want them to have any excuse, do we?"

Harry shook his head.

"We're here," she whispered. Seeing the coast was clear, she got out of the cloak and walked back and forth in front of the wall. The moment the door materialized, they quickly entered before willing the door to vanish.

The room was the replica of their bedroom at home. Every detail was incorporated, and not for the first time, they marvelled at what this room was capable of.

"Is it really so surprising when this was built by Ravenclaw herself?" Valerie asked rhetorically, and Harry chuckled as he pulled her close. She sighed as she rested her head on his chest.

"What have you decided about Slughorn?" Valerie asked, softly caressing his bare chest as she looked up at him.

"The clout is easy. I won't have to do much for it. But the biggest challenge would be to get close enough to him that he divulges the secret."

Valerie nodded.

"It isn't easy to become that close to someone when you don't feel like it. Emotions are harder to fake than many people think."

"Didn't he say that he admired my mother?"

Valerie nodded.

"He held her in very high esteem. Dumbledore said that he mourned for her."

"Am I an asshole for thinking about using his admiration for her to get close to him?"

Valerie stopped her ministrations and looked at his face. She saw him peering down at her and she smiled.

"You are one of the best persons I have ever met in my life. Never doubt that. And you are not an asshole for thinking that. There is a war coming, Harry, and we need this information if we want to end his reign of terror. If you ever wonder whether you're doing something wrong, always remember why you are doing it and if it's worth it. You cannot control the consequences. You can only do what you can."

Harry looked at her for a long moment before he sighed.

"You're good at this pep talk. I might need it during the tournament," he chuckled when she slapped his chest.

"Enough joking. Now be a dutiful husband to your dear wife," she whispered, pulling down the strap of her nightgown and exposing her bare shoulder to his gaze.

"You're insatiable," he whispered.

"As if you're any better," she whispered in return, raising her arm so that he could pull her nightgown off. Harry chuckled and leaned down to kiss her as Valerie wrapped her legs around him, pulling him close.

XXXXX

A few days had passed since their arrival at Hogwarts, and things were pretty much the same. They attended their classes, not that they needed to anymore. They had long since finished with their Hogwarts curriculum and were more invested in the more advanced magical arts. They were still contemplating taking their OWLs and NEWTs early. The idea appealed to them, but they had shelved it for future deliberation. Once classes were done, they were in the Room of Requirement, battling with spells and incorporating hand-to-hand combat as well. The sessions they had at Grimmauld Place continued at school as if there had been no transition. Everything was seamless.

Harry had submitted his name for the tournament on the very first day. Flitwick had been surprised when he found that Valerie was not entering, and he had admitted that he had expected her to enter, but the woman had confided in the diminutive Charms master that she had a personal project she was working on, and that she wouldn't get any time to devote to the tournament. Flitwick had dropped the subject at that.

They didn't have a potions lesson yet, and Harry had devoted the past three days to perfecting every potion up to the NEWT level as best as he could. Valerie's incentives certainly played a massive role in his success. The goal was to get into Slughorn's good graces by becoming as proficient in the subject as possible.

It was the day of selection. Students had submitted their names to their respective heads and the process of intra-house selection would continue for the next three days. Ravenclaw had a total of 48 contenders, and Flitwick had divided them into 16 groups of 3 each. The best performer from each group would qualify for the inter-house selections.

Harry looked at the screen suspended right above the Ravenclaw duelling pit and grinned. He saw the glare the idiot gave him, and he chuckled.

"So, the idiot goes down in the preliminaries," Valerie chuckled beside him.

"I'll defend your honour, my lady. The cunt will answer for his remarks," Harry intoned solemnly, looking at Valerie, who gave him a deadpan stare.

"I'm grateful, kind ser," she replied in a monotone. They snorted as one as they fixed a cruel stare at Davies who looked slightly nervous.

"And the winner and the 12th participant from Ravenclaw is Luna Lovegood from 3rd year!"

Harry looked over at the blonde girl who skipped out of the duelling pit and grinned. Valerie smiled alongside him.

They had first met Luna the previous year when they saw some of the Ravenclaw girls bullying the girl. The disgusting act had been put to a quick stop upon their arrival. Ravenclaw had been docked 300 points and awarded 200 points for the whole incident, and since then, everyone in the house knew not to mess with Luna if they wanted Potter and Swann off their backs.

There was something different about Luna. She was too perceptive. The first time she had met Valerie after they had saved her, she had expressed her congratulations on their marriage and wished Valerie a happy one this time. They were shocked for a second before enquiring about everything that she knew. It turned out that Luna could see things normal witches and wizards couldn't. She had seen their connection and a broken one for Valerie, and put two and two together. It was a relief that as far as they knew, she was unaware of Valerie's true identity. The girl had no reason to hide anything from them, and she had never commented.

"Hey Luna, congrats," Valerie greeted the girl with a smile.

"Valerie, Harry, it's good to see you again."

Before they could proceed, Harry's name was called. He grinned and kissed Valerie before standing up.

"My lady," he mock-bowed in front of Valerie, who chuckled and shook her head. With an eager grin, Harry walked down into the duelling pit and looked at his opponents. The task was simple – take out your competition and you won. There was a list of spells that were allowed in this duel, a test to judge how proficient their command over the basics was. The big hitters would come out at the latter stages.

Harry saw his two opponents conversing. The other guy whose name he didn't know was not looking convinced by whatever Davies was telling him, but he nodded. Once all of them were in position, Harry saw both Davies and the other guy turned towards him and chuckled.

The bell rang, and the first salvo of spells burst out of their wands as they pointed them at Harry.

Harry was already moving. Ducking under a stinger, he retaliated with a disarmer. The other guy shielded as Harry jumped over a leg-locker fired by Davies. He looked at Davies and winked. Before the guy could react, he had to shut his eyes as Harry cast a powerful Lumos Solem. In no time, Harry disarmed Davies who fell onto his ass and blinked spots away from his eyes.

Harry quickly turned towards the other guy, only to see him disarmed. He looked down to see his wand at his feet.

"Concluding the quickest duel of the day, Harry Potter is the 13th participant from Ravenclaw!"

Harry looked over at Davies who was still blinking furiously and chuckled. Shaking his head, he looked at the other guy who nodded at him. He nodded in return and walked over to where Valerie was sitting with Luna.

"Well, that was rather anticlimactic," he chuckled as he dropped beside Valerie, who giggled and kissed him.

"No one said Davies was a capable wizard. Beaten by a first-year spell, ha!"

Harry smiled.

"What happened with the other guy?"

Valerie grinned.

"Your disarmer was a bit too powerful for him. He managed to shield enough to not get thrown away, but couldn't prevent himself from being disarmed."

Harry nodded and looked up at the screen which showed those who had qualified so far. Most of the names were unknown to him, however, he recognized a few.

He looked over at Anthony Goldstein and gave him a nod before looking at Cho Chang. These were good and capable witches and wizards, but he knew he was much better. Only a few battles and he would be on his way to becoming the Hogwarts Champion.

Harry had twofold reasons for accepting Dumbledore's request. The clout would be helpful with Slughorn, there was no doubt about that. However, the tournament was a great tool for judging just how much he had improved. He knew it would be fraught with challenges, and he was looking forward to overcoming them all.

XXXXX

"I wonder what happened to Snape. It's been three days and he has completely ignored me in classes," Harry remarked as they walked to the new potions classroom on the sixth floor. A far cry from the dungeons as the new classroom was very open with large windows on either side and a high ceiling.

Harry walked in with Valerie who chuckled.

"It's because you're the best student in Defence, and he can't make a single correction."

"I doubt that would be enough to stop him from making a snide comment. He'd simply find an excuse to say something."

"Only he might know, love. Just ignore him. You've got a potions master to impress," she grinned. Harry chuckled as they took their seat at the long table. He looked over at Slughorn and smiled at the man, who noticed him and beamed.

"Good going," Valerie muttered, and Harry poked her on the side.

"Welcome everyone, to fourth-year Potions. I am Professor Horace Slughorn, and you all very well know. I don't believe in wasting too much time, so let us start with our lesson today. However, before we begin, I have a few questions. Five points to anyone who answers correctly. Ready?"

The class nodded as one, and Slughorn smiled.

"He's one jovial man. Can't believe he's hiding such a secret," Harry whispered to Valerie, who nodded.

"We have three potions here in the middle of their procedure. Your task is to identify which potion it is, and which ingredient shall go next. Let us see how many of you manage to take all thirty points. Come here one by one, note down your answers and your names on a parchment, and submit it. I'll look it over."

One by one, they all went to the table and inspected the potions. Harry grinned when he saw them. He had already mastered every single one of these and knew the steps by heart. He looked at Valerie who had gone before him and winked as he wrote his answers and handed the parchment to Slughorn. The man took a look at his answers and beamed. Harry smiled triumphantly.

Once they all were done, Slughorn came forward and smiled.

"I have the results here. I won't be making it public, but I believe the best performers deserve to be recognized. Harry, Miss Swann, please join me here," Slughorn smiled. Harry looked at Valerie, who smiled at him before they joined Slughorn at his table.

"Now, the majority of the students guessed two potions correctly and failed to guess the ingredients. However, these two here managed to figure out all six answers correctly. I would say I was surprised, but when I consider who these two are, being surprised would be moot, wouldn't it?"

Harry smiled as he looked at Slughorn.

"You flatter us, professor," Harry intoned. Slughorn chuckled.

"I truly don't, my boy, it was not easy to do what you two did. A round of applause for our winners, everyone," the potions master beamed. Soft applause filled the classroom. Some were genuine in their admiration, while some did so with either a sneer or a glare directed at them. Harry looked at them and scoffed.

Once they were back in their seats, Slughorn smiled and started the lesson. Although not necessary anymore, Harry would be lying if he said that he didn't learn anything. The man was truly a genius at the art of potion making, and one lesson from him felt better than all of Snape's put together.

He and Valerie helped out Neville Longbottom a few times when he was about to screw up his potion, much to the stammering boy's relief.

 As the class was dismissed, Harry walked with Valerie to where Slughorn was standing. They ignored Granger and Malfoy along with their glares as they reached the potions master.

"That was a truly brilliant lesson, Professor," Harry remarked with a smile. 

"Indeed, Professor. I must say, it was very comprehensive," Valerie intoned.

Slughorn looked at them and beamed.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. However, something tells me you didn't learn as much as the others might have," Slughorn said with a knowing glint in his eye. Harry smiled.

"How far ahead are you two, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all, Professor. To be completely honest with you, we can take our NEWTs tomorrow and score straight O's," Harry admitted with a small smile. Slughorn's eyes widened.

"Remarkable. Truly?" He asked, looking at them with astonishment. The couple nodded.

"We are thinking of taking our NEWTs by the end of the year. Although Val has her personal project and I have the Triwizard Tournament, we believe we can do it."

Slughorn's eyes widened.

"You're entering the tournament?"

Harry inwardly smiled at the eager look the man sported and nodded.

"Too long have I been known for something I didn't do. People don't understand, professor, but the day they celebrate is the one when I lost everything. They regard me for something I have no idea about. This tournament will give me the means to make a name for myself, something I have actually achieved, and was not handed down due to some fluke."

Slughorn's eyes misted slightly as he recalled that night. His favourite student of all time had lost her life to the tyrant he had been inadvertently protecting for all these years. But he didn't dare tell anyone. The guilt, the burden of it was too much to bear, and it had to remain his secret which he would take to his grave.

"I admire your ambition, my boy. Truly. That night, you lost your parents. However, it is a day that I mourn as well. Your mother was very dear to me. She was akin to a grandchild I never had, and her death is something I still haven't recovered from. To see you accomplishing so much and wishing for even more is very heartening."

Harry looked at the man with a soft smile on his face. No matter the kind of person he was, his feelings were pure. It felt bad to use his feelings in such a manner, yet he had to do it. The fate of their world depended on it.

"Professor, if it's not a bother, may I ask for a small favour?" Harry asked with slight hesitation in his voice. Slughorn nodded.

"What is it, dear boy?"

Harry took a deep breath as he felt Valerie's hold on his hand tighten slightly.

"Would it be alright if we join you a few times after the classes are done? I would love to know about my parents. There is only so much I can know from others."

Slughorn's eyes widened and he beamed, nodding.

"Of course, Harry. You don't even have to ask. You can come to me anytime, and I would love to talk to you about your parents and what they got up to in this school."

Harry gave a bow to Slughorn and smiled.

"You don't know how much it means to me, Professor. Thank you," he intoned solemnly. Slughorn smiled.

"And what about you, Miss Swann?"

"Please call me Valerie when we are in private, professor," Valerie said with a small smile as she caressed Harry's back softly.

Slughorn nodded before his eyes fell on the clock on his table.

"Merlin, the curfew will start soon. You two better head over to your common rooms. And you can come to me anytime, you understand? You too, Valerie. I can see how much you mean to Harry here."

The couple nodded and made their way out of the classroom, aware of a pair of eyes following them as they walked.

Slughorn dropped on his chair as he watched the child of his favourite student walk out of his classroom with his other half. Opening his drawer, he pulled out a portrait of a certain emerald-eyed woman as she waved with a small child in her arms, a man with dark hair and round glasses standing beside her and looking on with a smile.

"He might look like James, but he's all you, Lily," Slughorn whispered, as he put the portrait back inside his drawer and closed it with a small sigh.

XXXXX

"Think that did something?" Harry asked her as they lay in their bed in the Room of Requirement, his arms wrapped around her as he pulled her close.

"I believe so. His emotions were on display. Despite being an accomplished Occlumens, showing so many emotions makes it clear that not only were they genuine, but he sees a shade of her in you. His guard was down around you."

Harry nodded.

"Despite the fact that he's kept this secret hidden and his habit of collecting people, he's a good man underneath," he whispered, his voice soft.

"He's always been like that. To be honest, I didn't think he would open up to you so easily. It seems your mother's death had a much severe impact on him than anyone realized."

Harry sighed.

"Let's hope he regards me enough to divulge the information we are after. I'd prefer for this to be over before I hurt him too badly."

Valerie frowned.

"You don't have to hurt him, Harry," she intoned, scooting slightly upwards so that she was laying atop him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. Valerie gave him a small smile and softly kissed him.

"It won't hurt to form a genuine relationship with the man, so you don't need to consider this as a mission. Let's make a genuine effort, and I believe we will manage to get close enough that he would confide in us without even making a separate effort. As apparent, his emotions are genuine, and so is he."

Harry pondered upon her words and smiled softly. Caressing her cheek lovingly, he whispered, "Okay, let's do it your way."

Valerie smiled as she buried her face in his neck, feeling him wrap his arms around her as he pulled her close. In no time, the couple descended into the realm of Morpheus, awaiting the following day to know who else was competing for the spot of Hogwarts Champion.

The mission might have transformed slightly, but the goal remained the same.

XXXXX

To be continued…

XXXXX

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