AN – Sorry about the delay on this one. I won't be able to do one chapter per week in the coming weeks, but one every two weeks should be achievable. The oncologist recommended that we stop my mom's chemo and is now talking about weeks left rather than months.

Also, 'writing like this is for Harry and Grandfather communicating in the book', "this is speech", this is Harry thinking, [and this is something else that will make sense later].

(-)

I hope they don't regret this later. Harry pretended to down his potion and watched Neville, Fleur, Percy and Nora to confirm the supposed effects of the potion they were to ingest to start the first task. They quickly fell asleep so Harry pretended to do the same, discretely watching as McGonagall and Flitwick carefully levitated the others out of their chairs.

"Mr Potter, you're not very good at acting, I know you're not asleep."

Harry scowled at Madam Pomphrey, "It's unreasonable to expect us to drink these potions. I'm not doing it."

Dumbledore sighed, "Harry, the potions are timed. Every student will wake up thirty minutes after ingesting the potion. The longer you wait, the longer it will be between when your team wakes up and when you wake. You have my word, all the potion will do is guide you into a peaceful slumber so we can get everyone set up for the task."

"Why do I need to be potioned? Why can't you stun me instead?"

"There is no known way to control how long a person will remain stunned."

"What if you blindfold me and I pretend to be asleep? I'll just wake up when the others start making noise."

Dumbledore sent him his most disappointed frown, "We don't have time for this, Harry. We still need to move all the other students to their starting positions. I'll stun you and have someone wake you up in the starting position, but this is quite an unnecessary complication you're adding. Everyone else consented to the potion. I am very disappointed that you don't trust me."

"I think it's completely reasonable that I –"

The spell hit him before he could finish his sentence.

(-)

What happened? Dumbledore stunned me! Why can't I see? They must have blindfolded me. They tied me up, too!

"Is everyone awake?" Nora asked.

"I am. Am I the only one that's blindfolded?" Harry replied at the same time as the others.

"No one else is blindfolded. Instructions are on the far wall. We were captured and disarmed by dark wizards and now we have to escape. I won't explain further, but I know for sure that I'm the most experienced in these kinds of scenarios. We need to work as a team and I need you to obey my commands even if you don't quite understand them."

That must be our auror trainer, then.

Harry tested the restraints on his hands and feet. Damn, those are tight. I wonder…Harry tried to channel magic through his wrists into the ropes and felt a faint tingle. Was it working? I think it was!

"I'm free" Nora announced, followed by a crashing sound and a surprised yelp. "I'm okay! I just didn't think the fire would do that. I'm going to try cut your bonds with this, hold still."

Stupid blindfold! Who is she freeing first, and how did she get free so quickly? A feminine whimper quickly followed by Nora's apology suggested she had chosen Fleur. I'll get myself free then.

Harry worked at transfiguring the bonds again, determined to escape without assistance.

"Here, you cut the bonds on your feet then free Harry, I'll deal with those two who can't stop staring at you." Another crashing sound disrupted Harry's concentration. What is she breaking? Stupid blindfold! He continued focussing on the ropes.

A minute or so later, he heard footsteps approaching him and his blindfold was gently removed to reveal Fleur in front of him. She smiled slightly, "'Old still, 'Arry." She was holding what must have once been a sconce for the room's blue fire lighting. She reached for his bound hands and froze in shock. Harry looked at the bonds where around half the diameter had been turned to dead grass in a narrow section near his thumbs.

Fleur stared at him in shock but Harry quickly whispered, "Please don't say anything, I would like to keep this a secret."

She looked over her shoulder and nodded before stabbing the sharp point of the bracket into the ropes and attempting to cut through what was left of the restraints. With most of the work done, Harry's hands were soon free, allowing him to pretend to cut the rope on his feet while actually attempting to transfigure them. It's much easier when I can see the progress, or maybe it's just because my mental picture of the rope was a little off. I'll have to experiment.

Fleur quietly tried the door to their room and whispered to the others, "It's locked. We will 'ave to break it some'ow if our wands are not 'idden in 'ere." As she moved to search the room, she unfortunately drew the attention of Neville and Percy again, neither of whom had much control over their reactions to her allure. Harry grimaced as he realised that he would be just as weak minded if not for the protections of his cloak. Annnnnnd I'm free. I wonder when I would have discovered this if not for the tournament. Maybe I can break the lock on the door as well.

"I'll work on the door, I'm good with locks, I think I can get us out." Nora nodded but Neville and Percy kept staring at Fleur who gave Harry a knowing look.

Harry touched the wood near the lock and slowly turned it to sawdust, gradually exposing the metal bolt. Once he could touch the bolt, he worked on changing its shape. Fleur approached him and peered over his shoulder, further shielding the specifics of his work on the lock from the others.

"I've almost got it, I don't want anyone to know about this though. I didn't know I could do it until I tried earlier." Harry whispered.

"We will 'ave to go for anozzer walk, I think. You are an interesting wizard, 'Arry. We will talk then."

The door was finally unlocked just as Nora approached with the others peering around her to stare at Fleur.

"Nora, you should lead the way." he said.

"Neville can do it, I'm a little clumsy sometimes. Stick to the walls and the shadows and remember that movement catches the eye. Don't rush, we will follow as soon as you give the all clear."

Neville nodded seriously and crept down the corridor. Around twenty paces from the rest, he motioned them to join him quietly. Fleur hung back with Harry acting as a buffer between her and the others. Joining Neville, they saw two wooden doors directly opposite each other. Nora gestured to Percy who also held a sharp piece of the wall bracket, and nodded for Neville to quietly try the first door. Harry gently pushed Fleur away from the door as Neville quietly opened the door and Nora and Percy darted into the room.

"Sounds like it must have been empty then, let's join them." Harry whispered.

"Right everyone," Nora whispered, "search the room for anything useful. First prize is our wands, but anything we can use as a weapon is helpful too. Percy, close the door behind us and listen for anyone outside, everyone else, start searching!"

The room was staged as a combined bedroom and study. The bed hadn't been made and the rest of the room was just as messy. Harry checked the desk and found a conveniently available wand. "Guys, there's a wand, it's not mine though."

The others rushed over to check, but their hopeful expressions quickly turned sour. I know the feeling, I hate not having my wand.

"I'll take it then, I've trained to use wands that aren't either of mine. Check the rest of the room, maybe there's another. I'll guard the door, Percy, you help the others." Nora instructed.

Harry found a poker by the fire, but the rest of the room held little of use. Nora motioned for them to stay behind, then cast a disillusionment charm on herself and left the room. A few moments later, the door closed again and she re-appeared. "The door is locked, but there is one wizard in there. He is asleep, and there are no wards on the door. He should have a wand, so we need to go in. I'll go alone, and call you through. Stay still, I'll disillusion you all first."

Harry heard Fleur sigh as the disillusionment charm took effect. Can't blame her, Longbottom and Weasley must be pretty tiresome to put up with.

The door to their room opened, soon followed by the door across the corridor. A flash of red light and Nora reappeared, gesturing for them to join her. Neville grunted and Harry scowled as they bumped into each other.

"Quietly, we're sitting ducks until we find our wands. Percy, check the wizard, if you find a wand, disillusion yourself. Neville, check the right side of the room. Harry, you check the middle, Fleur you take the left. Go!"

Harry quickly moved to do as he was told and sighed in relief as he found the clearly staged box with five wands in it, conspicuously sitting on a large table in the middle of the room. He grabbed his wand, revelling in the familiar warmth and security, and stepped away to the far wall before speaking up, "Box on the table, your wands are there."

Nora nodded, "Good, okay, there is one other door and then it's the stairs. There is a wizard reading a book with his wand on the table next to him. One day you might learn the spell to spy through walls, but I remember what it's like being in school – best I don't tempt you to spy on other students."

"Wait, how old are you?" Percy asked.

Nora remained silent for a moment, "Er… We don't have time for that. Now, I'm going to take out the wizard, Percy and Fleur, you guard the stairs. Harry and Neville, if something goes wrong, you can jump into the room as a distraction, but make sure you have a shield up and be ready to dodge. Fleur and Percy, you remain disillusioned, Harry and Neville, you can cancel the charm so we don't have a mix up. Let's go."

She's quite bossy. I don't think I've learned anything from her yet, but it can't be this easy the whole time. Something's going to go wrong soon.

"Dammit!" Nora cursed, "The door's warded, we're going to have to leave him behind us, we can't risk alerting the others if he shouts when we trip the wards. I'll ward the door, everyone else guard the stairs, I'll need about ten minutes."

"Are the wards on the door itself? Or could we get a silent, colourless spell through the gap under the door?" Harry asked.

Nora checked the door again, "It should work if the magic doesn't touch the actual door or the walls. Did you come across a spell that would work?" she asked hopefully.

Harry nodded and crouched down, slowly sliding the tip of his wand to the gap at the bottom of the door. It would be so much easier if my wand could slide under the door, but this will work. "It's probably best if you all move further away from the door and wait at the bottom of the stairs. I'll call you if I hear him get up."

Nora nodded, her expression concerned.

Harry took a deep breath and willed the air in the room behind the door to change into something that would put the wizard into a deep sleep without killing him. A few minutes later, he heard a thud and motioned Nora back, quickly ducking away from the door.

Nora checked the room with her spying spell and beamed, "He's out, collapsed on the floor in front of his chair! Great work, Harry! You'll have to tell me about that spell later. Right, let's see what's at the top of the stairs. Things have been too easy so far, I expect there'll be something special waiting for us soon."

Everyone once again disillusioned, the group crept up the stairs. The room above was dark and silent. There were large, curtained windows on either side of a double door to exit the building, with arches on each side of the room and the stairs continuing up behind them. It has to be an ambush.

Harry willed his cloak to hide his presence completely and retreated down the stairs. He heard Nora's urgent whisper from above, "Retreat!" But it was too late, the room erupted in spell fire from above, and the sides. Harry darted to the side of the stair case and ducked down, wand ready. Shouting and then a ringing in his ears from some sort of concussing spell. They must be down, even Nora, it's just me left. They'll probably get overconfident, I'll strike then.

"Finite incantatem, finite incantatem, finite incantatem, I found Longbottom! Stupefy! Accio Longbottom."

"There might be others, carefu – " The voice cut off as red flight flashed above, faster than Harry had ever seen before.

Can only be Nora. Right to the top of the stairs, keep to the sides, and then I take them out one by one in the chaos.

Still crouching, Harry darted up the stairs just as he saw someone who could only be Nora briefly light up in gold, caught out by the homenum revelio charm. She cursed and shielded just in time as multiple spells raced toward her. As Harry started up the next flight of stairs, he saw two wizards casting at Nora from above. He quickly used his go-to trick, leaving them both coughing as they tried to clear the water from their lungs.

He quickly stunned them and removed the water from their lungs so they wouldn't drown. Turning to see the fight below, he saw that Nora was successfully defending herself from attacks from both sides of the room, slowly making her way back to the cover of the stairs so she could force the attackers to attack her from the same direction. Harry drew in ambient magic and transfigured the floor under one attacker to liquid, dropping him suddenly to the floor below. His team mate paused in shock and would have been stunned by Nora if she hadn't tripped over either Fleur or Percy on her way to the cover of the stairs. Nora rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a stunner. We're lucky these aren't Slytherins. Harry transfigured the curtains into a snake but the seventh year realised he was outmatched and outnumbered and fled just in time. Too slow, Harry. He transfigured two German Shepherds to pursue and then looked back to Nora who had revived Fleur and Percy. "You took one out, I stunned the two at the top of the stairs, I dropped one through the floor and then there's that one who just ran away. What do you want to do?"

"Don't forget, we don't know for sure if there are others on the opposing team." Harry's eyes widened. "You're letting the thrill get to you and you're forgetting the mission. All we had to do was escape, we grab Neville and go, it's as simple as that. Percy, grab Neville, I'll check the door. Fleur, you guard the stairs, Harry you watch the archway."

Two minutes later, the five of them left through the double doors, Fleur, Harry and Neville immediately turning back and watching the windows while Nora and Percy took the lead. Fifty paces from the building, Harry felt a ripple and suddenly heard clapping and realised they were on the quidditch pitch.

"And here we have our third team! Congratulations on completing the task!"

Hundreds of people watched from the stands, peering down at the magnified, transparent ceilings and floors on the scenes below. Must be a magnification charm tied in with something similar to the spell Nora used on the doors and walls.

"Nora, you're not an auror, are you?" Harry whispered so only she could hear as the team moved toward the stands.

"Not y... I mean, no - why would you think I was an auror?"

"I know you're not a student, I overhead certain conversations. I know you're meant to train Longbottom during the tournament. I also know that an auror wouldn't have led us into that ambush."

Nora flushed and gaped then visibly deflated, "I'm an auror trainee." she whispered dejectedly. "My mentor is one of the best aurors in history. He is going to scream at me for hours about what happened back there. I checked the room with a homenum revelio charm, but they weren't in the room and I haven't learned how to manipulate the spell like Moody or Dumbledore. The disillusionment charms were good, it would have been fine, but I missed the ward. They knew we were coming and I led us right into it."

"Well, chin up, you can do better next time." Harry replied awkwardly.

"'Harry." Daphne stated from a few meters away.

"Daphne. You watched, then?"

"'Arry, 'oo is zis?" Fleur asked.

"Fleur Delacour, meet Daphne Greengrass. Daphne, Fleur."

Daphne glared at Fleur and nodded stiffly. Fleur raised one eyebrow in response, adopting a wicked grin. "Nice to meet you, Miss Greengrass. Please excuse us, 'Arry and I were just going for a walk."

Harry eyed the two nervously. She's deliberately antagonising her. Does she think this whole thing is funny? Maybe she's embarrassed about what happened by the stairs?

"Would you like to join us, Daph?"

Daphne stared at him in surprise and then beamed at him, "Of course! Where are we going?"

"How about the lake?"

Fleur nodded, still smirking, and the three made their way to the lake in awkward silence.

"So how much could you see from the stands, Daph? I probably should have stayed to watch the other teams, but there are certain things I needed to discuss with Fleur."

Daphne's eyes narrowed, "What things?"

"I wandlessly transfigured my bonds to grass, and I didn't pick the lock, I wandlessly transfigured that too."

"You…Harry, that's incredible!"

"Eet was, 'Arry is quite the impressive wizard." Fleur purred while fluttering her eyes at him.

Daphne fumed but Harry cut them off before it could escalate, "Thanks, Fleur, I appreciate it. I would like to keep that ability a secret if possible. What do you think, Daph? Would it have been visible from the stands?"

"Maybe." she replied while glaring at Fleur, "It's hard to say. Harry, what's going on? I'm sick of this, I just want things to go back to the way they were." she said softly.

Harry sighed, "Fleur, please will you stop messing with her? Daph, Fleur is just a friend and teammate. I think she's also agreed to keep my secret." Harry looked to Fleur who nodded. "She helped cover me while I worked on the lock, she's on our side. As you can see, I'm completely immune to her allure."

Fleur sighed and stopped smirking, "'Arry is right, 'e is not affected. Besides, 'e is much too young for me."

"Fleur, maybe you could tell Daphne a bit about yourself? Or about how much your father is helping with the war?"

"I don't think zat is necessary."

"Delacour…Oh, your father is the one who convinced the French ministry to send all the soldiers from abroad?" Daphne tried.

"Oui."

"Yeah, so Fleur's dad is really helping us out. Hopefully the other countries follow their example."

"I must go find my family, I am sure zey will be anxious to see me." Fleur said and left before they could reply.

"That's the second time she's done that. She's not great socially, is she?"

Daphne beamed at him, "You really are immune, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. How about we sneak out of the castle and get your family added to the wards?"

"That sounds great! We can check on Bole too. Do you have your trunk?"

"Do I have my trunk, of course I do, I knew you'd come running back to me" he said smugly while putting his arm around her.

"You did, did you? Did you also know I would do this?" Daphne quickly turned her head and kissed him on the cheek.

Harry froze and Daphne immediately turned crimson.

"Uh, well, yeah, oh! Oh, you're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course, I had to put you in your place, didn't I?" Daphne said unconvincingly, "Let's go now quickly while the tournament is still going."

Harry nodded and removed his trunk from his pocket before enlarging and opening it for Daphne. The moment she was inside, he shrunk it again, checked that nobody was watching and transformed into his owl form. She was just messing with me. She must have been. I need to focus, I still need to negotiate with Lord Greengrass tonight.

Harry had to fly further than expected after seeing two cloaked figures walking along the ward line. That's a little suspicious, but Dumbledore probably already knows about it. They're wasting their time, there's no way they can get through these wards!

A ways further, Harry finally decided that it was safe to land, and after calling the elves, they were soon safely within the Greengrass wards.

(-)

"Daphne? What are you doing here?" Lady Greengrass happily exclaimed.

"Harry knows how to give us access to Potter Castle! Isn't it brilliant? You'll be safe!"

"Mr Potter, I think it's time for our chat." Lord Greengrass motioned in the direction of his study.

Harry nodded and joined him, heart rate slowly but steadily increasing until it was pounding in his chest as Lord Greengrass closed the study door behind him.

"I know Daphne would be appalled by the thought of you negotiating over this. She views you as one of her closest friends and we added you to these wards without asking for anything in return. That said, this is naturally your decision, how do you want to approach it?"

Harry smiled politely, "Sir, I don't think we need to negotiate."

Lord Greengrass eyed him suspiciously.

"I assume there is a catch?"

"The protection my castle offers is worth a great deal and you are most certainly able to cover the cost. 500 000 galleons per family member, excluding Daphne of course, seems reasonable to ensure the safety of your family."

Lord Greengrass chuckled, "And if I allowed my daughter to overhear me discussing this conversation with my wife? You are not concerned about her reaction to this?"

"If Daphne was no longer interested in being my friend, then I wouldn't be as motivated to share my castle with her family…"

"My businesses have taken a hit and will take a long time to recover. 1.5 million galleons is more than we can afford considering what it will cost to keep our empire alive over the next decade. So, either you accept 1 million galleons, immediately solving your financial problems, and my whole family enjoys the protection of your wards… Or you risk our lives and accept that your relationship with my family will be strained at best. What will it be, Mr Potter?"

Harry smiled and extended his hand, "1 million galleons it is. However, we left a bit of a mess at the castle. I'll leave the elves to tell you about it, but we will also need you to handle that situation for us. There is a small chance that I won't be able to add anyone to the wards, so I will only require payment once we have successfully completed the process. I assume that you made the necessary arrangements as soon as you heard about me finding the ward book?"

"Of course. We are ready to go tonight. We will need to discuss my suspicions about that ward book soon, though."

Harry sighed, "For now, let's just get you added to the wards. We need to get back to Hogwarts before Dumbledore gets upset."

(-)

'It worked, Grandfather. Daphne's family are sleeping at my castle tonight. There were no problems with the griffin, everything went smoothly. The magic involved in making that griffin though…It's quite incredible. I will have to study it one day when I have more time.'

[Good work, Harry. You left the money with the elves?]

Harry's blood froze. Grandfather? What's happening?

[Relax, Harry. Writing was tiresome for both of us, it's just easier this way.]

Harry backed away from the book. I don't want you in my head, Grandfather…

Grandfather? You can't hear me now?

Harry moved backed towards the family ward book. Grandfather?

[If you would prefer, we can go back to writing, I didn't mean to alarm you. I thought you would be happy to communicate this way.]

Harry backed away again. Maybe Daphne was right about this. This is not normal. How is it even possible? My thoughts are mine alone! But I need the information in that book…Maybe the cloak?

Harry willed the cloak to shield him from the magic of the book and moved closer again to test the cloak's effectiveness. Grandfather? You're right, it's far more efficient this way. What else can you do? Grandfather?

'Grandfather? Are you there?'

'What did you do?'

Harry tested again, Grandfather, its fine, I'm happy for you to be in my thoughts, it's so much better this way.

'Grandfather, why aren't you communicating with me in my thoughts anymore?'

'Well done, Harry. I wouldn't have done anything to you, I just wanted to help, but you were right to be cautious. I assume you used the cloak?'

How can I be sure that he isn't lying? Can I risk using it? Grandfather has taught me so much, I need him!

'Yes, the cloak is quite something. I was a bit alarmed initially. How did you get in my thoughts?'

'I'll tell you someday, but for now, tell me about the first task. I understand if you want to write it out, caution with things like this isn't a bad thing. One day you will understand the difference between family magic and dangerous artefacts.'

Sorry, Grandfather, but I will definitely err on the side of caution. I'll stick to writing.

(-)