Everybody was surprised as the Headmaster started the year with the announcement of the Quidditch league canceled only to be replaced by the Triwizard tournament.
Ron was furious. "Why cancel the Quidditch league, which is the most important thing in school for something none of us has ever heard about?" he complained.
"Hey, speak for yourself," Hermione replied. "I've already read about it. The only question is, why they have revived this tournament, after having it canceled for about a century, due to the high rate of fatalities?"
Despite all the precautions set, Harry had a bad feeling about the tournament, and Hermione couldn't really change it. "With my luck, I'm sure I'll end participating in it, even if it's against the rules and I don't even want it."
Not being able to change his mind, she offered a way to handle the situation. "Why don't you ask Sirius to come here and use his auror position to supervise and check anything that may look suspicious? I'm sure he'll be glad to help you."
Harry did as suggested, asking for Sirius to come. Sirius arrived just before the goblet of fire was revealed. Dumbledore was aware of his presence, but none of the other staff members was informed. He stayed hidden under Harry's invisibility cloak during the whole evening, just watching and paying attention to all adults present.
Once everybody left, Sirius approached the goblet and cast a monitoring charm around it, before retiring for the night.
The next evening was full of expectations. Harry had no chance to talk with Sirius during the day and was somewhat gloomy. His apprehension proved to be justified when the goblet spit out a fourth name – Harry Potter.
He had already discussed this possibility with Hermione and with Sirius, although Dumbledore didn't consider it possible. Now he rose on his feet and declared loud and clear: "I have not put my name in the goblet, so this cannot bind me in any magical contract, however – it binds the one who put my name in. By the magic of this goblet, I hereby call the person who put my name in to come forward. So mote it be!"
The silence in the hall was only disturbed by the commotion near the head table. Professor Moody, who had already been on his way out, was suddenly grabbed by an invisible force and dragged in front of the goblet, his face turning into a mask of rage. "What have you done?" he asked furiously, his hand going towards his wand.
No sound was heard, but his wand came flying towards Harry, followed by his hip flask a moment later.
"Now, Harry, this is no way to treat a professor," Dumbledore scolded him.
Harry wanted to answer, but Sirius beat him to that, removing his invisibility cloak and declaring: "This one is not a professor; he is an imposter."
Dumbledore seemed shocked. He was supposed to be an old friend of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. If this one was an imposter – how had he failed to notice? Yet Sirius seemed to be certain and Harry's proclamation had certainly activated the goblet's magic. Had he failed again? It was a disheartening thought.
The headmaster resumed functioning. He ordered all students to get out of the Great Hall, leaving only the aurors, the visiting headmasters and heads of houses there to interrogate the imposter.
The imposter seemed to struggle, trying to get away, but the goblet's magic held him in place. Before leaving the hall like all other students, Harry passed the flask to Snape, who didn't need much testing to identify it as polyjuice potion. He also gave the imposter's wand to Sirius.
The imposter was tied and cuffed, to be on the safe side, still held in place by the goblet, and then several aurors, who had accompanied Sirius, set guard around him, waiting for the polyjuice potion to wear off, while Sirius, Dumbledore and McGonagall went to Moody's lodging. The foreign headmasters as well as the Ministry representatives stayed, too confused to do anything else.
By the time Sirius and the Professors returned, supporting a very weak Alastor Moody between them, the imposter was already changing form. Within a few minutes he turned from an old man with only one eye and one leg into a much younger blond man, owning two eyes and two legs and a recognizable tattoo on his left arm – the dark mark.
Barty Crouch, the Head of International Cooperation department in the Ministry, was sitting at the table, holding his head, as if trying to fight a headache. Nobody seemed to notice him raise his wand towards the imposter and starting to murmur something, yet his wand flew out of his hand as soon as his lips started moving.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sirius asked him.
The man turned his gaze and it became clear that he was not in his right mind. Two aurors made sure he was disarmed and then took him away.
Sirius came later to the Potters' apartment to tell them what had happened.
"That young man is Barty Crouch Junior. He had been sentenced to life in Azkaban for his part in a horrendous crime done a few days after the demise of the dark lord, yet he managed to escape when his mother visited him, using polyjuice potion. His mother died a few days later, still looking like him. He stayed in house arrest with his father, but gradually managed to overcome the Imperius he was held under and put his father under Imperius, gaining access to all the ministry information his father had access to."
Sirius looked at Harry with some compassion. "He really was after you, Harry. He got in contact with Peter and Voldemort, who devised a plan to use you for resurrecting the dark lord and then killing you. Now that we know the plan, we're going to use it in order to capture Peter and finish Voldemort for good."
He then changed his expression, looking bemused. "We need your help now. We need you to release him from the goblet so we can put him back where he belongs."
"Won't that put me back in the tournament?" Harry worried.
"No. He had already confessed to putting your name in there without your consent. He was then asked if he would be willing to participate, fulfilling the magical contract. He promptly refused and a moment later he was stripped of all his magic. He's now less magical than your Uncle Vernon."
Harry was relieved hearing this.
It was a short lived relief, though. The next morning he was called to the headmaster's office immediately after breakfast. Hermione joined him. They found Sirius there as well as Amelia Bones, the director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror office. They all looked very grave.
The headmaster introduced them all, although Harry had already known everybody except for the head Auror. "Now, Lord Potter, as you were already informed, the imposter didn't accept the obligation of competing in the tournament and was stripped of his magic. While it looks plausible that this should be the end of this affair, there are some doubts about it."
Sirius spoke next. "Had it been a normal written contract, we could have studied its wording and find out the exact meaning of you being selected against your will. As it is, nobody is sure about the exact meaning. There is a slight chance that despite your public oath and the punishment of that imposter, you still may be adversely affected if you refrain from taking part in the tournament."
Harry wanted to protest, but Rufus spoke now. "We've made all those present when the imposter was revealed swear an unbreakable vow to keep it secret, however, we can't oblivate all the students. It would be safer to tell them that whatever happened last evening couldn't get you out of the tournament. Whoever sent that imposter would only learn that his man was suspected and then released, as Moody will take over. We'll make sure that none of the tasks will be too dangerous for you and you will seem to participate against your will. At the time that the imposter's plan should have come to fruition, a team of aurors, all looking like you, will handle the situation."
There was a silence after these words. "So, I still have to participate?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.
"Unfortunately, yes," – it was Madam Bones who answered. "I will personally make sure that you will not be faced with unnecessary dangers and be given the best training possible for your tasks. They may still be dangerous, you must know, and I expect you to take all possible precautions and refrain from any rash action. Auror Black will stay here as your personal trainer and would be able to enlist any help he may need from my department."
"Thank you, Madam. I appreciate it very much," Harry said, bowing slightly.
"It's my duty and my pleasure, Lord Potter," she replied.
"I believe you have class to attend soon. We shall discuss all the details and auror Black will keep in touch with you later, if it's alright with you," the headmaster said, clearly dismissing the youngsters.
They didn't talk or communicate otherwise until they almost reached class – it was charms this time.
"We'll overcome this together," Hermione assured Harry with a tight hug.
"Yes, we will," he answered, not sounding very sure of himself.
Hermione tightened the hug, trying to transmit all her love and her confidence in him to Harry, opening their mind channel as well. It only helped momentarily, though.
Harry stayed depressed throughout the morning, despite Hermione doing her best to cheer him up. There wasn't much she could do while in class, though. Double Potions in the afternoon was certainly not helping either, although Snape was almost polite in class and practically ignored the Potters, a behavior that Hermione was thankful for.
Their friends were also concerned. Even Ron could see that Harry was in a very bad mood.
"What is it, mate?" he asked.
"Just this blasted tournament. It looks like I still have to compete, and with my luck..."
"Your luck brought you a wife," Hermione reminded him.
This finally brought a smile to his face. "Well. It may not be a bad luck, but it certainly is weird," he commented. To this, even Hermione had to agree.
They were eating dinner when the headmaster stood up to talk to the students. "I must let you all know that despite the incident yesterday evening, and although Lord Potter had given his vow, assuring us all that he didn't put his name in the goblet, he is still obliged to participate in the tournament, as the goblet may not take this into consideration. As we already have a Hogwarts champion, Lord Potter will be his own champion, representing no school. I still expect all students and teachers to treat him like a chosen champion and give him the same support as the other champions."
"Just great!" Harry grumbled. "Now I'm not even representing a school."
"Look at it this way: as you're not the Hogwarts champion, you can get all the help that you need, as it isn't against the laws of the tournament to help a rival champion," Hermione said.
Harry smiled faintly at her. "Fine. As long as I have your support, I need nothing else."