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Chapter Fifteen: Eye of Discord

The rest of the summer went by rather quickly, and it was the day before the school year at Hogwarts was about ready to begin. Everyone was relaxing, preparing for what everyone but Harry hoped to be an eventful year. Harry hoped he could go through one year, just one year, at Hogwarts without nearly getting killed.

At this moment in time, Harry made some notes in a Muggle notebook, attempting to recall everything he remembered reading about wandless magic, as he didn't want to be caught at a disadvantage like at the Quidditch World Cup when Bellatrix Lestrange attacked him, nearly ripping him in half with just one curse. On the floor beside Harry was Ginny, who was reading one of her textbooks for the school year and Hailey was sitting in a chair above them, reading /Hogwarts: A History/, which Harry had pretty much recommended she read so she got get a through understanding on the history of Hogwarts and what to expect when she arrived there.

"The Ministry’s really in a horrible state right now," said Mr. Weasley was saying. "Fudge is no closer to capturing Black or Lestrange than he was one year ago, in fact, he may be further off the mark than he was at that time. And this mess with the Death Eaters with the Cup, it's really affecting the public's opinion on the Ministry. Plus Darthmorth from the Daily Prophet is not helping at all with his daily articles slandering the Ministry and everyone in it."

"Yeah, I thought Rita Skeeter was horrid when she was writing for the Daily Prophet before she took her leave of absence, but this guy is ten times worse," inputted Percy as he stuck his nose into the air. "You'd think he might be physically able to say one positive thing occasionally but he was saying that the Ministry should be wiping out werewolves instead of merely restricting the kind of jobs they have. Mark my words, if the Ministry started doing everything he said, we would still be criticized by him because we didn't do it quickly enough or he'd find some reason to slander us."

"Who is this Darthmorth guy, anyway?" asked Harry, who was still scribbling down information in his notebook.

"Evan Darthmorth, he went to school the same year as Lucius Malfoy, and has been the lead writer at the Daily Prophet after Rita Skeeter took her mysterious leave of absence," explained Bill, who was playing chess with Ron in the corner of the room.

"Yes, well, Rita just vanished one day without a warning and if you ask me, under a rather suspicious set of circumstances," added Charlie. "I would say she might have been attacked by Lestrange for some of the remarks Rita made about her, except that doesn't tally with Lestrange's past attacks. She normally makes a big spectacle out of whatever she does."

"Now, Charlie, the Ministry of Magic officially says she is just taking an extended sabbatical, while considering her options for the future of her career," said Percy.

Harry bent down, looking over his notes while deep in thought. This Darthmorth fellow seemed rather unpleasant but the chances that he would do anything to catch the attention of this guy's poison pen was rather unlikely, as Harry decided he was going to stay out of trouble this year and would not have any near death experiences that would be a major media event.

The next day after much chaos and them just making it to the train station, they were on the Hogwarts express, ready to head for another year of school.

"Hailey," said Harry turning to his sister as Hermione and Ginny walked off to secure a compartment.

"Yes?" asked Hailey.

"Why don't you try and make some new friends with some of the other first years?" asked Harry.

"If I didn't know better, you were trying to get rid of me," said Hailey although she had a bit of a smirk on her face.

"No, it's just..." said Harry, wondering how exactly to phrase this.

"That it will make you look bad if you are seen with your baby sister," suggested Hailey.

"Hey, you said it, not me," said Harry before turning around with Hailey following him down the train.

"Now did you really think I'd listen to you, dear brother?" asked Hailey.

"No, Hailey, but keep your voice down calling me your brother, unless you know how to do memory charms without totally ripping someone's brain into shreds," said Harry. "Of course, if it was Malfoy that overheard, it may be an improvement but I don't want to risk it."

"Of course Harry, but I wouldn't worry about anyone being suspicious" said Hailey. "I've fooled everyone all summer long, I think I can last through the year."

Yes, that was true. Hailey even fooled, Hermione, who was the highest ranked student in Harry's year, and she was pretty observant, but still, Harry had certain misgivings about two people. Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape seemed to be the two people that were the hardest to fool, and Harry got the distinct impression that Dumbledore tried to read his mind last time they were up close. He got a similar feeling around Snape once or twice, but with Snape it seemed to be done very reluctantly for some reason. Still, due to his sister's cunning and deceptive nature, Harry had no doubt that she'd be sorted in Slytherin.

"Just don't look Snape or Dumbledore in the eye and you'll be okay," said Harry. "C'mon, we need to go find the others."

Hailey nodded before falling her brother through the train, searching for the compartment where Ginny, Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore. It took both of the Potter siblings a couple of moments before they found Daphne, Theodore, Hermione, and Ginny sitting around the compartment. Theodore looked very subdued for some reason, but Harry briefly wondered what was up.

"Daphne, Theodore, how are you two doing?" asked Harry.

"I'm doing pretty good, Harry," said Daphne.

"Fine," said Theodore, but he was anything but. His father's dark mark was becoming visible slowly over the summer and Theodore hoped it didn't mean what he thought it meant especially due to that stupid pact that his father made to Lord Voldemort before he was born, along with Lucius Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe Senior, and Gregory Goyle Senior about their first born sons.

"Who's the new girl, Harry?" asked Daphne curiously looking at Harry.

"Oh this is Hailey Evans, my family is taking care of her since her parents ran afoul of the wrong sort of people in New York," said Harry.

"Yes, but I was lucky that Harry's family took me in after that happened with my parents," said Hailey. "I don't know how I would have survived if it wasn't for them taking me in after what happened to my parents..."

"How touching Potter, it seems as if another person has joined your little gang of misfits," drawled the voice of Draco Malfoy as he entered the compartment with Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson.

"Well if it isn't Dumb and Dumber along with their leader Ferret Face and his faithful sidekick, Madam Bitchalot," said Daphne in a bored voice.

"We are the true face of Slytherin house Greengrass and we are not alone," said Malfoy. "This year it's going to be different, this year we are going to take back what is ours."

"Really, Malfoy," said Hermione as if she was talking to a three year old.

"Just wait, Mudblood," said Malfoy. "All people with proper Wizarding feeling will take back what is ours. After all, did you hear what is happening this year?"

"I've heard," said Harry. "I hear if you don't get out of here in about ten seconds..."

"Diffindo," yelled Malfoy, throwing a cutting curse towards Harry.

"Protego," muttered Harry lazily, causing the curse to hit the shield, stopping it cold but Harry's shield still remaining intact. Harry cancelled the spell. "Is that the best the true face of the Slytherin house can do?"

Harry had said that last part very sarcastically as Malfoy looked to be about ready to lose his temper.

"I told your father to warn you about crossing me this year," said Harry.

"Oh yes, he passed on your little empty threat Potter but it is time for me to teach you to respect your betters," said Malfoy.

"Surely isn't you than Malfoy," said Harry. "Expello!"

Harry banished Malfoy through the door of the compartment. He was shocked at how much power he had in that spell. Malfoy took out the door as he flew through, shattering it into toothpicks with Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson running after Malfoy to check on him.

"Harry, I've never seen anything like that before," said Theodore speaking up. "No, banishing charms don't blast the person so hard that it takes out an entire door."

"I've been practicing," said Harry lightly. "Fighting for my life against Death Eaters at every turn has enhanced my practical defense skills."

"It takes more than practice through Harry to blast someone that hard," said Daphne. "No one has ever done that before, it has never been heard of..."

"No one has ever survived the Killing Curse either, but Harry did," said Ginny in a logical voice.

"Well, yeah, you've got a point there, Ginny," admitted Daphne grudgingly.

They sat for a while, talking about the upcoming year at Hogwarts, but Hailey refused to say where she thought she was going to be placed but it seemed obvious to those who knew the truth about her, Ginny and Harry, that it seemed like a forgone conclusion that she would be sorted in the house of the cunning and slightly deceptive, Slytherin. Of course, if it was the house of the cunning, Harry was at a loss at to how Crabbe and Goyle managed to be sorted their but he wondered how much of their stupidity was just a front, because no one could not be that much of a moron without a bit of acting. Still, Harry thought he would put that out of his mind for right now.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts went without incident, as Malfoy seemed to finally take the hint that he was not wanted and did not come back for more after he was blasted through the door. Harry needed to get down to the Slytherin library after the Welcoming Feast tonight but he would worry about that later. He looked outside as a raging storm was brewing outside. Hailey did not look too happy about crossing the lake with the quantity of rain pouring down from the sky outside.

Harry, Ginny, Daphne, and Theodore made their way to the Slytherin table with a very reluctant Hermione making her way to the Gryffindor table. The four Slytherins sat down, it appeared that Draco Malfoy had taken a seat as far away from them as possible but was still glaring at Harry and the others.

Dumbledore arrived early, so he did not miss a second of the proceedings. He was very curious about the new girl, one Hailey Evans, who was apparently taken in by the Turtles and their rat master, the things that Harry Potter called his family. When Dumbledore attempted to make a trip to New York to talk to the rat about this matter, something blasted him out of the New York sewers and instead, Dumbledore found himself in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Almost if someone extremely powerful had put some kind of unknown powerful wards around area of the sewers where the mutants lived that weakened Dumbledore slightly when he hit them but the old man had no theories as of who might have done such a thing.

Still, Dumbledore believed he had enough on his plate with the Tri-Wizard Tournament this year. He wanted to reinforce his image of the leader of the light, by promoting International Magical Cooperation. Dumbledore personally believed this was a farce, as if the Magical World was divided, it would suit his means better. Still, the tournament required his full and undivided attention so he could not give much thought for his future plans for Harry Potter and manipulate the boy into something that Dumbledore felt was acceptable to accomplish his goals. The power that the boy's sacrifice to Voldemort would boost Dumbledore's own magical reserves and finally allow him to be free of this primitive form, without the destruction of the artifact that held in this form.

Dumbledore suspected the boy was up to something, perhaps learning forms of magic that could cause him to be a bit of a threat to his plans and that is why Dumbledore hired an old associate to keep an eye on Potter, for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Alastor Moody seemed rather reluctant to take the teaching position, due to enjoying retirement but Dumbledore reminded Moody of a favor he owed him, so Moody decided to come back reluctantly. Moody seemed even more reluctant to attempt to investigate Potter than he was to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching job but Dumbledore was confident that Moody would do his job in seeing what exactly the boy was up to.

Harry looked as the sorting began. There seemed to be a lot of first years this year, and a lot of them seemed much shorter than Harry was when he was that age.

"So what do you think will happen this year that will cause you problems Harry?" asked Daphne.

"Hopefully nothing major, because I just want one year at Hogwarts where I don't have to risk my life," said Harry. "Especially being attacked by Voldemort or his minions or some combination of both.

"Well, there's still Quidditch," said Theodore. "You seem to get injured a bit playing that."

"Quidditch doesn't count, at least I get some enjoyment out of that," said Harry dismissively.

"I wonder who the new Captain for Slytherin is this year," said Daphne.

"Yeah now that Marcus Flint has finally left the school after being at Hogwarts since the 1970s," said Theodore.

"Now, Flint wasn't here that long," admonished Daphne although she was smirking.

"Well, it was pretty close," replied Theodore.

"Hailey's getting sorted," said Harry, pointing as his sister sat down, before pulling the hat over her head.

"I wonder what house she'll be put it," said Daphne.

"Slytherin," said Ginny and Harry in unison without any hesitation.

"You seem awfully certain about this, Harry," remarked Theodore.

"Yes," said Harry. "I'm dead certain about this."

Hailey pulled the hat over her head, she was a bit nervous but also rather excited.

"Well this is rather interesting," said the hat. "I must say I'm rather surprised to see another Potter child here, even if you are going by a different name. It seems that Lily did in fact cheat her own death, quite remarkable. I always thought she could be great."

"Yes, but it is rather important that my true identity and my mother's status of not being dead should remain a complete secret," thought Hailey to the hat.

"Don't worry, what goes on in the hat, stays in the hat," said the hat. "No one can force me to spill my centuries worth of secrets, not even Dumbledore. It is part of the magic of Hogwarts."

"I didn't know," thought Hailey.

"Quite alright, none of them do," said the hat. "Now, for the matter of your placement, hmm, this is very interesting right here, you could really fit in any number of houses, so you are quite a difficult one to sort."

"Take your time," suggested Hailey mentally. "Personally, I suggest putting me somewhere where no one would suspect anything."

"Hmm, yes that would be prudent and Dumbledore does see the world in generalizations, so it does seem you should be put in a place where certain elements would not look at you as a threat. So I believe you will have to be put in...

"Hufflepuff!" yelled the hat as Hailey slid the hat off her head, making her way to the Hufflepuff table where the members of the Hufflepuff house were politely applauding her.

"Say what?" whispered Harry to Ginny at the Slytherin table. "Okay, Ginny, let me have your opinion on this. Is it possible for a magical hat to consume massive amounts mind altering drugs?"

"I don't think so Harry," said Ginny. "Still...Hufflepuff...not there’s anything wrong with that house but that is the last place I thought Hailey would go."

"Oh, I see it now, this is brilliant," said Harry, deciding Hailey managed to get herself sorted into the house that was least out of Dumbledore's watch and perhaps he wouldn't suspect anything about her.

"Yeah, I get it now," said Ginny, nodding.

"Do you have any idea what those two are blathering on about?" asked Daphne.

"No, it must be some personal joke we are not privy to," said Theodore.

"Yes, it is," said Ginny absentmindedly as the rest of the sorting went on and then the feast before Dumbledore rose to his feet, preparing to give his yearly speech.

"Welcome students and teachers to another year at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore in his best grandfatherly tone of voice. "It is with great sorrow that I must inform you that..."

"Harry Potter’s the leader of the light and I'm nothing but a manipulative old hack who is trying to hang onto his best glories," muttered Harry but no one but Ginny, who was ducking under the table attempting to hide the fact she was about to crack up, had heard him. At that moment, the doors burst open.

In walked a very ill tempered looking old but alert man, with a wooden leg that thumped as it bounced off the floor. This man had his face covered in highly disfiguring scars and an electrical blue magical eye. More or less, he had seen better days. He sat down right beside Snape at the head table, who seemed rather uncomfortable at the new arrival's presence.

"It is with great privilege I present you with Professor Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore as the crowd went into a hush.

"Surely not Mad-Eye Moody," muttered Ginny.

"Yes, it is him," said Daphne. "He's a legend among the ranks of the Aurors, it is said he killed three Death Eaters at one time, with one spell, during the war with You-Know-Who."

"I wonder why he’s going to teach here?" mused Harry, but thinking Moody probably had some valuable knowledge to impart on them as he was a retired Auror.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts job is said jinxed and the rumor is that Moody is extremely paranoid, so I do wonder what Dumbledore did to convince him to take it," said Theodore.

"As I was saying before Professor Moody made his arrival here, it my duty to inform you that Quidditch will not be happening this year," said Dumbledore before pausing to see several students gasp in horror. The Weasley Twins pretended to faint at the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore then held his hand up in the air. "It is because we are proud to host a grand event, an event in which we should meet many witches and wizards from abroad. This year, I am pleased to announce that Hogwarts will play host to the return of the Triwizard Tournament."

The Great Hall went silent. The Tournament had not been played in almost five hundred years and now Dumbledore had just announced it was coming back.

"I assure you that this event will be a great spectacle for all of Hogwarts to see," said Dumbledore. "Not to mention an attempt to mingle with new people. But, the Triwizard Tournament does owe an explanation for those of you who are not informed about this event, so for those of you who do know about the Triwizard Tournament, bare with me and feel free for your minds to wander for a few minutes as I explain this to those uninformed."

Harry found it very interesting that the Triwizard Tournament was being brought back, especially after what he read about the Tournament. Back when the Triwizard Tournament occurred regularly centuries ago, it went smoothly for a while but there came a point where getting picked for the Tournament was a virtual death sentence. Of course, that did not stop people who were in the Tournament for the prize money and the honor of winning for their school. Often times, whomever won came down to being the last person who wasn't killed in one of the three tasks, and most times the winner looked like a survivor more than a winner towards the end. Still, he wondered what Dumbledore was going to say.

"The Tournament was created almost a thousand years ago and played regularly for many centuries," said Dumbledore. "The three top schools in the world always competed in this tournament, which varied from year to year, but the winner received a cash prize and the knowledge that his or her school were brought honor by their victory. Of course, sadly, the tournament was discontinued due to the high amount of deaths that tournament participants suffered."

Dumbledore paused before dramatic effect as many people gasped. Harry just blinked, none of this was news to him and he waited for Dumbledore to continue his speech.

"Many attempts, despite the risks, have been made to reinstate the tournament over the centuries," said Dumbledore. "Finally, just a couple of months ago, we succeeded in accomplishing this, with several precautions to prevent younger, less experienced students from entering. No one under the age of seventeen will be permitted to enter the Triwizard Tournament, for reasons as their lack of experience and magical knowledge may hamper their ability to get through the three tasks without a fatality. I have great confidence that the Hogwarts champion will do their school well."

Dumbledore knew that no one was in danger of dying, as he used his influence to arrange that the Triwizard Tasks were less perilous then previous times the tournament was played. After all, a champion dying would be a public relations nightmare to Dumbledore and the Triwizard Tournament was arranged to help reinforce his leader of the light image. Dumbledore had a belief that this year was going to be a rather important one for his plans, but he didn't quite know how, as this feeling was just happened spontaneously.

"This tournament should be interesting," said Daphne as the four Slytherins walked back towards the Slytherin house Common Room. "Would any of you want to enter if you could?"

"You know it might be interesting if I could," said Theodore. "There is going to be prize money and it might be a good chance to apply what I know practically."

"I wouldn't enter in this tournament if I could, even if you paid me," responded Harry. "No way, no how, not a chance in hell, I’ve had enough near death experiences in my life recently, thank you very much. Even if I could probably win the Triwizard anyway, it isn't quite worth the risk to enter."

"I agree with Harry," said Ginny. "It might be an entertaining thought to enter it but accidents do happen, no matter how safe they are going to make this Tournament."

"Yeah, but sitting back and watching in the ever safe role as spectator may indeed for the best, given the history of the tournament" said Theodore.

After talking for a few more minutes, the four Slytherins decided they should all decide to go to bed early, as today had been a long day. Harry walked up to the Fourth Year Slytherin Boys dormitories but he found an envelope lying on his bed. Upon closer inspection, the envelope appeared to be addressed to Harry. Harry gazed at the envelope cautiously, because after some of the stories his mother told him about people being kidnapped by portkeys, Harry was a bit leery any mail he received now but he finally opened it after waving his wand around it, searching for any tell tale signs of a Portkey.

Harry:

I apologize for not writing sooner but it is hard to have a few minutes to write a letter with the Ministry constantly on my tail (horrible pun relating to my Animagus form totally intended). They seem rather determined to catch me, no matter where I go and I can't stay in one place for more than a few days. However, enough about my problems with the Ministry, I did hear some very strange rumors, such as Death Eater activity at the Quidditch World Cup and Mad-Eye Moody coming out of retirement to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Add to this with the disappearance of a Ministry of Magic employee in the same area that Voldemort was known to be last and I feel something foul might be up. If anything strange happens involving you, please let me know immediately.

Oh, and before I leave, I would recommend you burn this letter, so no one comes across it. The envelope was enchanted so only you can open but once you read it, if anyone stumbles across it, they can read it now.

Hope you are well,

Sirius.

"Incendio," muttered Harry to the letter, setting it on fire, doing as Sirius suggested. As he thought about it, something was definitely up and adding to the fact that his scar was stinging at odd, random hours of the night.

Harry did not fall asleep for quite some time due to wondering if all the shady events happening meant Lord Voldemort was somehow getting stronger. Last time Harry met Voldemort's present self, he was in a vapor state that relied on the possession of Quirrell to survive and he was horrid enough that time. Then Harry remembered the diary version of Voldemort, as sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, and what a horrid peace of work he was. It took every amount of cunning Harry possessed to beat the diary and save Ginny from certain death in the Chamber of Secrets.

Still, Harry believed a Voldemort returned to his full power that he had before he got kicked out of his body thirteen years ago may be the most dangerous of all and Harry had doubts about his ability to survive an encounter with a Voldemort returned to full power.