The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!""No!" said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry; the uproar from the next table was too great.
Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him. The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.
Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out —
"Harry Potter."
(JK Rowling; "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" – Chapter 16: The Goblet of Fire)
The Great Hall, which had, moments ago, been filled with the raucous sounds of thunderous applause and cheers, suddenly went completely silent. If a needle had dropped on the floor, everyone in the room would have heard it easily.
Over at the Gryffindor Table, Harry Potter was sitting completely still, aware that every head in the Great Hall had turned to look at him.
He was stunned. He felt numb. He was surely dreaming. He had not heard correctly. There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry as he sat, frozen, in his seat.
Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.
Harry turned to Ron and Hermione; beyond them, he saw the long Gryffindor table all watching him, openmouthed.
"I didn't put my name in," Harry said blankly. "You know I didn't."
Both of them stared just as blankly back.
Up at the Head Table, Albus Dumbledore was about to call Harry's name again, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a large portal-like object appeared in thin-air. Now, everyone's attention – including Harry's – was on the portal. Moments later, two figures fell out of the portal.
"WHAAAAT THE FUUUUUUU –!" One of the voices – obviously a male's – yelled, as he fell toward the floor.
The other figure screamed as they fell after the other figure. However this figure was quick enough to realize that she and her accomplice were about to land on a hard surface. She yelled out an incantation (many in the room recognized the incantation as a Cushioning Charm, and several in the room were astounded because apparently this person was casting a Charm without using a Wand – Wandless magic!). Due to the use of the Cushioning Charm, the two figures had a much softer landing on the floor below than they would have if a Charm had not been used.
Everyone watched, once again in complete silence, as the two figures moved to their feet and looked at their surroundings.
Albus Dumbledore was the first to speak up.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Albus thundered, "REVEAL YOUR IDENTITIES IMMEDIATELY!"
"Hello to you too, Albus," the man said, "How wonderful to see you alive and well again."
Albus pointed the Elder Wand at the man, and conjured magical ropes. However, before the ropes could hit the two figures and tie them up, the ropes hit a force field and dropped to the floor.
"Raise the Elder Wand again in my presence, Albus Dumbledore," the man said, his voice completely calm, even though Albus had just tried to attack him, "threaten me and my wife again, and the wand – and your life – are mine."
"I SAID REVEAL YOUR IDENTITIES NOW!" Albus growled.
"You could have asked nicer," the man muttered, "But very well. My name is Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and other various titles. And this is my wife, Lady Hermione Jean Potter, various titles, et cetera."
As everyone gasped, or whispered or muttered to their neighbors, the man looked around the room.
"Judging by the fact that the Goblet of Fire is right there," the man said, "I'm going to guess it is Halloween in 1994. And - yep, there's Madame Maxime, Igor Karakaroff and Bartemius Crouch – hello! Is Cedric Diggory here? Or has he already been chosen? Looks like he isn't here. Let me guess. Harry Potter's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire."
"Harry and Hermione are over there, husband of mine," the woman said, "Look at you over there, so cute at that age. How could I not have fallen for you? Anyway, since they're here, I'm guessing that when the Goblet spat out your name, we've somehow time-traveled, instead of gone to an Alternate Universe. A little odd, that we didn't time-travel into our own bodies. But I can figure that out later."
"SILENCE!" Albus roared.
The man (Lord Harry Potter?) narrowed his eyes, glaring at Albus. "Did you just tell my wife to shut up, Dumbledore?"
Albus cleared his throat. "I merely asked everyone in the room to be silent, so I may speak. I'm going to ask that you, sir, and your… wife, accompany me away from here. Meanwhile, Madame Maxime, Headmaster Karkaroff, Messrs. Bagman and Crouch, please see to the other three Triwizard Champions. You may explain to them about what will take place in the future in the Triwizard Tournament. Do not discuss the fourth champion with them at this moment. We'll worry about the fourth soon enough. Minerva, will you please go with them?"
"Actually, Albus," the man (Lord Potter?) said, "I'd like Minerva to come with us. If you want, you can ask Professor Snape to come with us as well. Also you can bring Mad-Eye Moody with us too, if you need someone to keep an eye on me and my wife. Also, I want Mr. Harry Potter, and Miss Hermione Granger to come with us too."
Albus narrowed his eyes. "My two students most certainly will –"
"Be accompanying us, just as I have asked, Albus," the man interrupted. "They will accompany us, because they need to understand."
Albus stared at the man, who stared back at him. The Headmaster was the first to blink. He capitulated and sighed.
"Very well," Albus said, "Minerva, accompany Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and… our guests… to my office please. Professors Snape, Moody and I will be with you shortly. Professor Sprout, as Champion Diggory is your student, you may accompany the others to the Champions."
Minerva McGonagall stood from her chair, rounded the table, and made her way over to Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
"Come with me, please, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," Minerva said, then turned to the two new guests, "You two as well."
The two guests (Lord and Lady Potter?) nodded, and followed McGonagall, Harry and Hermione out of the Great Hall.
Lord Harry Potter, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter (and various other titles) walked hand-in-hand with his wife, Lady Hermione Potter, behind their fourteen and fifteen year old selves, and Minerva McGonagall, as the Deputy Headmistress escorted them toward the Headmaster's Office.
This is NOT how I wanted to spend my honeymoon, Lord Harry Potter mused, What the bloody hell is going on? Obviously we're in the time period when the Goblet of Fire spat out my name, making me the fourth Triwizard Champion. But why did it summon me? I understand what Hermione was alluding to earlier. If this was an Alternate Universe, and this Universe's Harry had died in Halloween, or didn't exist, and his name still came out of the Goblet, then I could understand why it would summon a Harry Potter from an alternate universe. But this seems to be our timeline. Harry – younger me – is right there! Why did the Goblet summon me? Am I supposed to be his replacement or something? Did the Goblet decide the younger me wasn't capable enough? And why did it summon my wife?!
"I can hear you ranting over there, my husband," Lady Hermione Potter said, through their telepathic ability to speak to each other.
"Right, sorry, love," Lord Potter said, "I sometimes forget we can speak telepathically, and that my thoughts are never safe from you. Our Soul-Bond is still so new, you know? I'm still getting used to it."
"I understand, my love," Lady Potter said, "If you had given more thought about our Soul-Bond, then one of your questions would have been answered already. The Goblet of Fire – if it is responsible – summoned me with you, because we are one soul in two bodies. We could not bear to be split from each other, even across time.""Of course, you're right, sweetheart," Lord Potter said.
"Our younger selves must still be in shock," Lady Potter said, "I would definitely be asking a bunch of questions already, if it was me experiencing this."
"I'd still be quiet, like he is," Lord Potter said, glancing at the back of the head of the younger Harry Potter. "Probably still trying to figure out if I really am who I say I am.""Nah, he's probably trying to figure out why I'm his future wife," Lady Potter said, grinning, "He has no idea what I – my younger self – feels for him after all. Nor that he is already completely in love with my younger self.""That's your fault, wife," Lord Potter said, "Well, part of it is anyway. The other part is the damned Dursleys.""I know," Lady Potter said, "Maybe we can play Cupid with our younger selves? Get them together earlier? Get their Soul-Bond started earlier?""Really, Miss 'Bad things happen to those who mess with time'?" Lord Potter asked, "You want to mess with time?""We're already messing with the timeline, Harry," Lady Potter said, "Just by being here. And you already know you're going to likely be replacing your younger self in the Triwizard Tournament! You can't tell me you can be here at this moment in time and not think about saving people's lives. Cedric? Sirius? Remus? Dora? Also, do you really want our younger selves to go through what we did, especially when it comes to Ron, Ginny and Molly?"Lord Potter sighed. "We'll talk about this later, Hermione.""Fine," Lady Potter said, "Husband?""Yes, wife?" Lord Potter asked.
"I'm so glad we decided to have dinner AFTER we spent some time in the hot tub," Lady Potter said, "instead of before. Because if we did, we would have immediately gone to bed to… have fun… after getting out of the hot tub. And we probably would have wound up naked in the Great Hall, instead of in bathrobes."
"Yes, thank you for deciding we should have eaten before we shagged each other's brains out," Lord Potter said.
Lady Potter glared playfully at her husband. "Behave, husband. Or I might not let you shag me before we go to bed after we figure out what is going on here."
"Shutting up now," Lord Potter said.
Lord Potter looked away from his wife, and found that they were approaching the Griffin Statue that guarded the Headmaster's Office.
A Griffin Door! Lord Potter exclaimed telepathically, "Hey, Hermione, it's a Griffin Door! Get it? Gryffindor!"
"You've been here how many times during Dumbledore's tenure as Headmaster, and only realized that now?" Lady Potter asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lord Potter blushed. He was certainly not going to admit that – out loud or telepathically. Lady Potter smirked at him, as if knew what he was thinking.
"Treacle Tart," Professor McGonagall said.
"Dumbledore's password to his office is my favorite dessert?" Lord Potter asked, as the Griffin Statue stepped aside from the entrance, "Well that settles it. Dumbledore KNEW my name would come out of the Goblet of Fire. He expected to be meeting me in his office after the Choosing Ceremony, and wanted me to remember the password!"
"We already knew Dumbledore knew your name would come out of the Goblet of Fire, husband," Lady Potter said, "Dumbledore's portrait told us that.""Yes, but here's solid proof while Dumbledore's alive!" Lord Potter said, "We can nail him while he's still alive so he can get proper justice this time!""I wouldn't call that proof," Lady Potter said, "But we can discuss that later. We need to follow our doppelgangers.""Doppelgangers?" Lord Potter echoed.
"Better than always saying 'our younger selves'," Lady Potter said.
Minerva McGonagall stared suspiciously at Lord and Lady Potter, but the Potters ignored her, as they followed their 'doppelgangers' up the stairs. Minerva followed in tow.
When they reached the Headmaster's Office, Minerva conjured five chairs on the nearest side of Dumbledore's grand mahogany desk. Meanwhile, the various portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses were all muttering and murmuring as they looked at the guests.
"Quiet, now, all of you," Minerva ordered the portraits. "Sit down, you four, please."
The younger Harry and Hermione immediately sat down in two of the middle chairs, leaving one empty on one end, and two on the other.
"I think we'll stand, Minerva," Lord Potter said, "At least until Professors Dumbledore, Snape and… Moody… get here."
"Don't sound so suspicious about 'Moody', Harry," Lady Potter said, "Not if you want to succeed with your plan without Minerva acting suspicious."
Minerva's lips thinned. "Very well. I know such things will be further explained when Albus, Alastor and Severus get here. But I must ask. How do I know that you are who you truly say you are?"
"Who do I look like, Minerva?" Lord Potter asked.
Minerva blushed, stammered, then cleared her throat. "Well, I would say that you look very much like James Potter – except –"
"Except for my eyes – my mother's eyes," Lord Potter said, "And my wife? Who does she look like?"
Minerva glanced at the younger Hermione, then glanced at Lady Potter.
"Harry?" Minerva asked, her voice soft, instead of cool and strict as it had been these past minutes, as she glanced at Lord Potter, then back at Lady Potter, "Hermione?"
"Yes?" the younger Harry and Hermione asked.
Lady Potter giggled, and Lord Potter smirked.
"I think you better call us Lord and Lady Potter when we're in the same room with these two, ma'am," Lord Potter said.
"I'd always wondered whether you two would get married," Minerva said.
"Oh?" Lady Potter asked, "Do you have a betting pool, Professor?"
Minerva blushed and looked at Lady Potter. "I'm guessing you already know the answer to that."
"October 31st, 1996," Lady Potter said, "I believe that's your entry in the betting pool."
Minerva's blush deepened.
"I'm sorry to say you were about a year too early," Lady Potter said. "Early November 1997. Can't remember the exact date. Things were… hectic… around that time. We weren't exactly keeping track of the calendar."
"Excuse me… Lady Potter?" Hermione asked Lady Potter.
"Yes, dear?" Lady Potter asked.
"Are you… me?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, dear," Lady Potter said.
"Oh," Hermione said, quietly, "Okay. But I thought we couldn't meet each other? Bad things happen to those who mess with time!"
"Indeed," Lady Potter said, "I'd say Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall probably exaggerated when they talked to us about the Time Turner at the beginning of Third Year."
Minerva's cheeks went pink again.
"Technically we haven't exactly messed with time yet," Lord Potter said, "Soon… but not yet."
Minerva eyed Lord Potter suspiciously.
"Ignore my husband," Lady Potter said, "We'll explain everything when the Professors get here, my dear. Be a good girl and turn back around. The adults are speaking now."
"She sounds like my mother," Hermione whispered. "Do I really turn into my mother when I get married?"
"Not yet, sweetheart," Lady Potter said.
Realizing everyone had heard what she said, Hermione blushed, and turned back around in her chair. Harry, meanwhile, was simply staring down at his lap, as if he was trying to ignore everything that was happening. Lord Potter couldn't blame him.
"Have you figured out why the two of you are here yet, Lady Potter?" Minerva asked.
"Well, judging by the fact that my husband's younger self," Lady Potter said, "actually exists and is alive and well, I'd say we're not in an alternate universe."
"Alternate Universe?" Minerva asked.
"Say this was a universe where Harry was killed by Voldemort in Halloween of 1981," Lady Potter said, "Or simply didn't exist. Or maybe James and Lily bore a daughter instead of a son –"
Young Harry coughed, while Lord Potter glared playfully at his wife.
Lady Potter ignored her husband and his younger 'doppelganger. "And Harry Potter's name still came out of the Goblet of Fire. I don't think Lady Magic would just let that happen without something happening. An Alternate Universe's version of Harry Potter would likely be summoned."
"But Harry Potter is alive and well, Lady Potter," Minerva said, "The younger version, and your husband. So how do you explain that?"
"I think it has to do with young Harry's age," Lady Potter said, "And the fact that my husband has already gone through this and survived."
"Barely," Lord Potter muttered.
"If my husband wasn't here," Lady Potter said, "young Harry would have to compete with two wizards and a witch who has more experience, et cetera, than he does. My husband – being eighteen years old – is a better candidate to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. If we were just going by age that is. Judging by experience, knowledge, magical power, magical skills, et cetera, that also makes my husband a better candidate than young Harry here."
"And if Albus Dumbledore believes young Harry is the one who the Goblet of Fire chose?" Minerva asked.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Lord Potter muttered, "Even after a better candidate literally fell from the sky moments after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. He'll probably tell us that young Harry needs life experience or something. Just another test he's going to put Harry through, to make sure he's ready for his true destiny."
"That doesn't answer my question, Lord Potter," Minerva asked, though the glare she was giving him suggested she wanted him to explain that further.
"Well, then I'll explain to Albus that if young Harry here competes in the First Task later this month," Harry said, "That means Harry will be Emancipated, and Albus will no longer have any control over him. Mind you, Minerva, I didn't know that I was qualified for Emancipation the moment I stepped foot in the Dragon Pit."
"Dragon?!" Hermione gasped, turning back around, "Did you say Dragon? And what is this about Emancipation?"
"We'll explain everything soon, dear," Lady Potter said, "Turn back around."
"Yes, Mum," Hermione said, glaring at her older self as she turned back around.
"I didn't learn I was Emancipated, because Dumbledore never told me," Lord Potter said. "Even after I was put in front of the entire Wizengamot for breaking the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, which should never have happened because I was Emancipated, Dumbledore never told me anything!"
"Calm down, husband," Lady Potter said, "We can deal with our transgressions against Albus later. We shouldn't air dirty, stinky laundry out in front of Minerva and the little ones."
"Yes, I believe I understand now," Minerva said, "Explain exactly what will happen if young Harry competes in the Tournament, and Albus will desperately be looking for a replacement."
"Probably not 'desperately', Minerva," Lord Potter muttered.
Lady Potter glared at her husband, this time none too playfully.
"So you believe Albus wants young Harry to compete?" Minerva asked.
"Harry, what's your favorite dessert?" Lord Potter asked.
"Um… Treacle Tart," Harry muttered.
Minerva's eyes widened. Lord Potter smirked.
"And what was today's password to this office, Minerva?" Lord Potter asked.
"Treacle Tart," Minerva said, "Albus wanted Harry to remember the password to his office –"
"Because he knew Harry would probably be coming here to speak to him after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire!" Lord Potter said, "Which means he knew Harry's name would come out of the Goblet of Fire. Mind you, I never actually did that. Apparently Albus thinks I was going to go all – er – 'Caps-Harry' on Albus and rant at him after my name came out of the Goblet of Fire."
Lady Potter snorted. "One year too early for that one."
Now it was Lord Potter's turn to glare at his wife. Lady Potter just smiled at him.
Minerva sighed. "That does make an outstanding amount of sense, doesn't it? Wait… so who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire? I assume it wasn't yourself, Mr. Potter?"
"Absolutely not!" Harry growled, "I don't want to compete!"
"Don't worry, lad," Lord Potter said, "You won't be competing… not this time. As for who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire, he's on his way to this office right now."
"Surely, Lord Potter, you're not telling me Albus did it?" Minerva asked, "Or do you mean Severus?"
Before Lord Potter could answer, the door opened. Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and 'Alastor Moody' stepped into the room. Lord Potter snarled, summoned his wand from his wand-holder on his wrist, and pointed it at 'Alastor Moody'. Moments later, 'Alastor' fell down onto the floor, bound with several ropes, his whole body rigid, and also Stunned.
Minerva glanced at 'Alastor' then back to Lord Potter. "That answers that question."
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Albus Dumbledore thundered.
Lord Potter rolled his eyes. "Sit down, Headmaster, and my wife and I will explain everything."