Bella was pissed. She had recently discovered why Luna always seemed to dress so strangely and to say it was bullying was an understatement. Bella knew when it came to torture and cruelty, she had little room to admonish anyone, but to treat a twelve-year-old in such a way was disturbing.

Of course, Bella had not noticed her own attitude and beliefs shifting in recent weeks.

When she thought back to her time as Bellatrix, Bella found herself in tears. She had been a cruel person. She did terrible things and as she got to know Hermione, she knew there was no good reason supporting her beliefs.

So when Bella had discovered the torture that Luna Lovegood was going through, she had decided to take it upon herself to stand up for the lonely blond.

Of course it was far easier said than done. Bella herself had not been the best person in this lifetime either. Apparently, she felt cheated by the Black family. As such, she tended to take it out upon her housemates. But even what she did was no where near the level of Luna's treatment. And according to Neville, Luna, Susan, and Daphne, Bella was far better in the past month than ever before.

Bella did not know why, but that idea made her feel far better about herself.

So tonight, Bella had called for a house meeting.

"Ok Black, what they hell do you want?" Roger Davies, one of the sixth years called. From the muttering, several of her housemates agreed with him. That changed when Bella turned her rather intense violet glare upon them.

The silence which fell was so heavy it was hard to breathe.

"Tell me, Mr. Davies, what is your opinion of bullying?"

"Shouldn't happen." Davies was a prefect. While he personally could care less, he knew he had to say this.

"Indeed. So what would you call it if a single student's clothes and personal affects continuously disappeared, their homework 'miraculously' got ink on it regularly just before they went to hand it in, the entrance to their own house was regularly confounded to deny ONLY THEM entrance, and they were forced to spend nights outside of the safety of their own house for this?" Bella watched carefully, taking note of those squirming in reaction to her words. It was time to press this through. The room already looked terrified of her accusations. But what came next…it would be the stuff of Hogwarts legends for years.

Just as Roger opened his mouth to answer, the door to the common room exploded. The only thing folks could see was smoke and dust.

And a glowing pair of emerald green eyes.

There was a scream from the crowd of gathered students who suddenly turned and ran for dormitory stairs in an attempt to flee. Instead, they found their openings blocked by some ward. What no one saw was a diminutive disillusioned professor sitting smugly and unconcernedly in the corner of the room, watching everything happen.

As the smoke cleared, Harry Potter stepped forth with a shivering Luna Lovegood in his arms. His eyes were glowing an incandescent green and there was a wind gathering about him, blowing his robes. The common room was in disarray watching.

"ENOUGH! Sit back down!" Harry's command was instantly followed. No one dared to further piss off the boy-who-blew-a-hole-in-Hogwarts. As the crowd sat, shivering, Harry moved beside Bella who was still standing before the fire. He gently laid Luna down on a couch before turning his gaze back to the audience of terrified students.

The two had discussed this plan when Bella had approached Harry. She knew Harry was close to Luna and Bella was incensed that anyone could treat the sweet young girl in such a way. She had been unable, however, to get Luna to go to a professor. As such, she and Harry had decided to take this approach. They went first to Professor Flitwick for approval. The half-goblin had always been one of the few halfbreeds to earn any respect from Bellatrix, and she was growing to adore the small professor. On top of that, Flitwick seemed more in their corner following Harry's dressing down of the Headmaster after the weighing of the wands. As such, the small professor had readily agreed as long as they did not injure any students.

And that very night Harry had found Luna shivering in an alcove. He went directly to Bella and they approached Flitwick, leading to this moment. Here stood an enraged Harry Potter next to a very vindictive looking Bella Black. You never wanted one of them mad at you, let alone both. Add in how the majority of their house had been treating Harry Potter and the outlook was not good for the house of the Ravens.

"So, you know which ones?" Harry's seemingly casual question put the students at ease until Bella responded.

"Yep."

What followed next was Bella naming names followed immediately by Harry binding them before words could be spoken. It was an irate Marietta Edgecomb who managed to bring Professor Flitwick into the mix.

"You have done it now Potter! You and lack will finally be expelled once we tell Professor Flitwick about you throwing spells and invading out common room!"

"Is that so, Ms. Edgecomb?" The calm call from the back corner of the common room followed by the small professor suddenly appearing drew the attention to professor Flitwick. Once he knew all eyes were on him, Flitwick spoke again. "I did notice you were unwilling to note their accusations. Is there any truth behind their words? And please do not take me for a fool and lie to me, I shall know."

At the bowed heads, Flitwick had his answer. Still some seemed reluctant. Morag MacDougal spoke next.

"Professor Flitwick! Potter decided to invade our common room and lie about us bullying a fellow Ravenclaw, just like he lied about the tournament!"

Her call seemed to bring a few more angry stares in Harry's direction, but those were quickly averted by any who saw his eyes.

"So you are telling me Ms. Lovegood lied when she spoke of the incidents? Or Ms. Black when she discovered a rather disturbing amount of evidence supporting this?" Harry's words were almost asking someone to disagree with him. Of course they were not the house of Wit for nothing. Wisely, no one else spoke. As the house finally seemed defeated, Harry turned to address Flitwick.

"Professor, as this seems to now be a house issue, I shall take my leave. I would like to see Ms. Lovegood to the Hospital Wing and would ask your permission for Ms. Black to accompany me." This saw a slightly shocked look on Bella's face but she soon schooled her look and awaited the Professor's approval. Seeing him nod and turn his furious look back on the rest of the house left the two fourth years to their own. As they stepped out, Harry quickly cast a charm to return the entrance to its original state. Or rather he would have had he destroyed it at all.

Harry had actually cast a very intense illusion. He had entered with the help of Flitwick and Bella. While he had indeed found Luna in such a terrible state, he needed her to know that he and Bella were there to care for her, leading him to bring her with him on this action. If it enhanced the image he put forth as terrifyingly powerful, so be it. As the destruction was all an illusion, he simply dispelled it. Neither he nor Bella heard the small charms professor offer 50 points for astounding charms work nor the additional 10 for standing by a friend.

Once they had Luna safely deposited into the infirmary, Harry was walking in silence beside Bella back toward Ravenclaw tower. Harry knew she could defend herself, but after hearing from Hermione about the actions Draco had taken toward the Black haired witch, he decided he did not want that.

Harry did not know when he had come to think of her as Bella. She had been Ms. Black for a long time and out loud he still referred to her as such. But in his head, she was no longer Bellatrix or Ms. Black. Somewhere, through their weeks of studying, seeing her care for Hermione and genuinely apologize to him, the witch had become Bella.

Bella considered him and what she had just seen. The weeks had been fast and furious for her, adjusting to being a student once more as well as dealing with this weight of finding soul mates. With all that in mind, she considered him. She stopped beside him, noticing how they both paused at the same time. She turned to look, a confused look on her face.

"Thank you. For helping me, but more importantly for standing up to Luna. That means a lot Bella."

Bella was shocked. She had not anticipated that reaction. Being thanked for doing something was still a new action for the healing witch. In her previous life, success was barely acknowledged. It was more failure that the point was driven home with. Even as a child that is how it was, success was expected and therefore not praised. And here was Harry, thanking her.

When had he really become Harry?

"It's nothing. She did not deserve that. Though I think your idea was insane. You are an idiot." This drew a smile as the two settled into a familiar cadence, chatting lightly as they continued to the tower.

It was just two nights before the first task.

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Harry was sitting inside the champion's tent trying to figure out what was going on.

Well, he knew the tournament. He had once more drawn the fourth dragon, a Hungarian Horntail. And Rita had once more tried to attack him. It was his words and what was going on at the time that seemed to cause issues. He reflected on that moment.

Harry, as expected, was being grabbed in a desperate hug by Hermione. She was clinging to him as if there was no tomorrow. Then, as a surprise to both, they felt another pair of arms encircle them. It was an even bigger shock when they heard the voice mumble into Harry's shoulder.

"Be careful you idiot."

Bella had taken to calling him that since the other night. No matter what was going on, he was an idiot. Harry had taken to the teasing rather quickly and seemed to be enjoying it. And for some reason, currently standing here with one arm wrapped around Hermione and another wrapped around Bella, Harry felt safe. He had a plan for the dragon and knew he would not be in too much danger, more or less.

Then came the awful sound and a flash. Harry knew instantly who was behind him, taking this picture, as Hermione tensed. Letting out a sad sigh at having to let go of these two women, Harry turned to face the reporting duo.

"Hello Rita, I was wondering when you would manage to sneak in here."

Rita's face flashed annoyance, then gathered a delightful look. She seemed rather excited and Harry knew what she had planned. Before she could speak, he stepped forward.

"Rita, should you report anything about me or any of my friends, such as these two ladies behind me who happen to be my trainers, which you have not verified as fact from the person themselves, I shall let you little secret slip. And verifying with someone known to have an agenda against me, such as Malfoy or Parkinson, that counts as not actually checking." Rita looked annoyed once more before deciding to press.

"So what, none of my actions will cost me more than galleons in fees."

"Ah, that is if I go to the DMLE. I'm sure there are far more important people who would not mind crushing a certain BUG for me." Harry smirked as all color drained from Rita's face. Before any further words could be spoken, the witch hightailed it out of there. Harry smugly turned back around to face the two witches, both gaping at him.

"Harry, what did you mean by that?" It was Hermione who had spoken first. Harry wanted desperately to tell her how he knew, but something inside kept him from it and forced different words out instead.

"I discovered a little secret about Ms. Skeeter. The unregistered water beetle animagus."

Again, now both Bella and Hermione were gaping. It did not last long before the judges entered and shooed them away. That was not before both grabbed Harry for one last hug, wishing him good luck.

They had been rather annoyed. While they were Harry's trainers, he had not let them in on the plan. Both seemed not entirely shocked when Harry mentioned he would be facing a dragon, but Harry let it got for the time being.

Harry was shaken from his musings when he heard a canon shot. It was his turn.

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Hermione sat in the stands grinping the railing in a death grip. Around her sat their small study group, Neville sat to her right, with Susan, Hannah, and the Twins beside them. Past the twins were the Chaser girls who had fallen in with Harry's small group about a week after the twins. Hermione could not look back to where the rest of the Weasley's say. She was far from ready to face them just yet.

On her left sat the biggest surprise of this trip yet. Bella Black. Once known as Bellatrix Lestrange, Hermione's own torturer. Two months ago, had you asked Hermione, she would have said there was no way she could ever have a peaceful conversation with this particular witch. A month ago she was wondering what on earth was going through the minds of the Three giving Bellatrix a chance to return. But she had decided that in order to support Harry, she would give Bellatrix a chance.

And it had been worth it. Bella, as Hermione now thought of her, had proven herself on several occasions. She had stood up to Draco for Harry. She had genuinely apologized. She had even defended Luna.

Hermione did not know when it happened, but she found herself liking this Bella. Love and soul mates was still a long way off, especially considering Hermione had yet to think of anyone besides Harry or Ron in a romantic way and one of those had apparently been facilitated. But she would definitely consider the witch a friend.

And that realization shocked Hermione enough that she missed the next canon blast. It was not until Harry entered the arena that she felt someone grab her arm. Bella was holding her and shortly the two witches found themselves griping one another's hands in the death grip previously employed on the banister.

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Harry strode confidently forward. In his previous life, he had the time to travel and learn a great deal. The perks of being an auror with international renown, he supposed. Harry had traveled the world, including places such as Russia and India, known for their dragon handlers. Whereas Europe took a rather timid approach to dealing with the creatures, countries in Asia were far more aggressive and while it still often took multiple people to deal with a single beast, there was far less fear of expected death.

So Harry had developed his plan. He knew taking Hermione into his confidence with her knowledge as an Unspeakable would have been beneficial as well, but he still found himself unable to tell her the truth for some reason. As such, he expected that while she could utilize future knowledge as he had, being able to share here that knowledge came from would be a problem.

So here Harry stood, once more facing off with the most feared dragon to currently walk the earth.

So he smiled.

Harry quickly cast a sonorous on himself before addressing the crowd. As he had noted, he planned to win this tournament with style.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to what I am sure you were expecting to be a spectacle of gladiatorial proportions. I apologize should I disappoint, but I personally feel a lesson on the archaic nature of our society would be far better suited."

Harry heard some snickers, so he moved to the next step of his plan. He carefully and quietly cast a barrier charm such as dragon handlers typically use. This barrier usually takes three people to accurately cast. Harry, having traveled back with his previous magical strength, found it a simple charm to place.

"See, ladies and gentlemen, we are told that dragons are dangerous and parselmouths are dark. Both can be very true, but making such broad, sweeping statements is silly in many lines of work is foolish. Of course, as many muggleborn and international wizards can attest, we in Britain are very often silly enough to do something so foolish. I mean, we were foolhardy enough to think having three 17-year olds and a 14-year-old face off against what is widely considered one of the most dangerous beasts in the world 'fun'

I bet we are even foolish enough to involve the polite mermaid community in the Black lake to one of these tasks, even though we have a Veela competing. I mean honestly. What kind of moron created these tasks?"

Harry had thrown this barb in on purpose. He had hoped, first, to keep any of his friends from becoming involved in the tournament. He had further hoped to help both Fleur and Gabrielle. After the events of the tournament, Fleur had issues facing bodies of water. She and Bill had lived in the Shell Cottage, but Fleur never went into the water. Bill had once confided in him that she still had nightmares years later. And Gabrielle had not fared much better. Being Veela and being in the water, the charms had acted funny. As such, it was only the quick actions of Madam Pomfrey, not to mention Harry actually having pulled the young girl from the lake, which saved her from death. But she too faced issues far into the future over this, eventually having to deal with a drug dependency to sleep.

So Harry would try to ruin that task. Based on the grimace from the judges, he had done it too…hopefully.

"So allow me to clarify. Parselmouths are not merely able to speak with snakes. They can, in fact, interact with any form of lizard. Oddly enough, this includes Coatls and Cockatrices. Nations such as Russia and India are well aware of this, having studied the form of magic for generations. That is why many well known beast masters arise from these countries.

"Now some may be unaware that I am a parselmouth. Came in really handle saving the school from a 70 foot Basilisk in my second year. And that was with just a sword. Not sure if everyone had heard of that, our dear Headmaster does seem to have difficulties telling the truth these days, or at least the entire truth. So I will help him.

"I, Harry James Potter, Swear on my magic that in my second year I faced down a 70 foot, thousand year old Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets with no assistance from anyone besides Fawkes who came on his own accord. I then slayed the beast with a sword, the Sword of Gryffindor in fact, in my second year before getting confirmation from Lucius Malfoy that he provided the item which unleashed the beast. So mote it be!" Harry planned all this to ruin a few days. And he had managed to get Lucius to admit to providing the diary, even if it was well after Harry's second year.

There was a massive flash. Everyone blinked to clear their eyes. Then the shock began. Harry Potter was still standing there, holding his barrier as if nothing had happened. Harry, on the other hand, was watching the Headmaster. The look of fury on the Headmasters eyes was obvious, but since this was a task, the old goat could not interfere. And Harry was far from done.

"Oh, I've got another one! I, Harry James Potter, swear on my life that the one called Voldemort is actually a half-blood called Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was born to a witch and a muggle. So mote it be!"

Once more a flash, followed by gasps as Harry was still standing and maintaining his barrier.

"So back to what I was saying about foolishness, I can use my parseltongue to communicate, as is done in other countries."

The hissing which followed was only more amazing when the dragon stopped growling to sniff her eggs. Jaws dropped as she gathered the golden egg and tossed it toward Harry who bowed before removing the egg and departing the arena.

To say chaos ensued would be an understatement.