AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is something I wrote to indulge my own interests and preferences. If it is not to your taste, or you find the historical aspect of this too unsettling or inaccurate (which it kind of is-that's what alternate histories are for, after all!), then just hit the back button and look for another story to read. Reviews are much appreciated (and any suggestions are welcomed), though any flames will be used to toast marshmallows!

Please note that this book WILL feature some of my historical OC's (such as Harold Harding and Victoria Roosevelt, both of whom you'll meet within the virtual pages of this tale) in prominent roles within the story. However, as an AP English student who writes on a regular basis I can personally assure you that I will do my best to refrain from making them Mary Sues, for I too understand how unattractive those types of characters are. Furthermore, this book will also include bashing of some of my least favorite Harry Potter characters-namely Dumbledore, Ginny, Ron, Molly, the Dursleys (duh), and Snape-, and will include multiple tropes such as Wizarding Nobility/Lordships, etc. I think you get the idea.

Anyways, I think that's all for now! Off we go!

DISCLAIMER

I do not own Harry Potter or any of the historical figures mentioned within. I only own the plotline and any OC's that may come up every once in a while.

-CHAPTER ONE-

Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him.

"Take it, then," Harry panted to Cedric. "Go on, take it. You're there."

But Cedric didn't move. He merely stood there, looking at Harry. Then he turned to stare at the cup. Harry saw the longing expression on his face in its golden light. Cedric looked around at Harry again, who was now holding onto the hedge to support himself. Cedric took a deep breath.

"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here." "That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry said. He felt angry; his leg was very painful, he was aching all over from trying to throw off the spider, and after all his efforts, Cedric had beaten him to it, just as he'd beaten Harry to ask Cho to the ball. "The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."

Cedric took a few paces nearer to the Stunned spider, away from the cup, shaking his head.

"No," he said.

"Stop being noble," said Harry irritably. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."

Cedric watched Harry steadying himself, holding tight to the hedge.

"You told me about the dragons," Cedric said. "I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."

"I had help on that too," Harry snapped, trying to mop up his bloody leg with his robes.

"You helped me with the egg - we're square."

"I had help on the egg in the first place," said Cedric.

"We're still square," said Harry, testing his leg gingerly; it shook violently as he put weight on it; he had sprained his ankle when the spider had dropped him.

"You should've got more points on the second task," said Cedric mulishly. "You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."

"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!"

"No," said Cedric.

He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.

"Go on," Cedric said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.

Harry looked from Cedric to the cup. For one shining moment, he saw himself emerging from the maze, holding it. He saw himself holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, saw Cho's face shining with admiration, more clearly than he had ever seen it before . . . and then the picture faded, and he found himself staring at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face.

"Both of us," Harry said.

"What?"

"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."

Cedric stared at Harry. He unfolded his arms.

"You - you sure?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah . . . we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together."

For a moment, Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears; then his face split in a grin.

"You're on," he said. "Come here."

He grabbed Harrys arm below the shoulder and helped Harry limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.

"On three, right?" said Harry. "One - two - three -"

He and Cedric both grasped a handle.

Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Cedric at his side.

(From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

It happened instantly.

The world was a mass of swirling colors and sounds, and then his feet slammed into the ground. Harry let out a yelp of pain as his injured leg buckled, the Triwizard Cup slipping out of his hand when he suddenly fell forward.

Taking a moment to get his bearings about him, the Boy Who Lived glanced around, trying to figure out where they were. So the Triwizard Cup was a portkey...interesting...

A hint of surprise flickered aross Harry's face when he recognized their current location: the inside of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, the entity run by goblins wherein all of wizarding Britain's gold was stored. This surprise was reflected on Cedric's face-neither boy could fathom why the Cup had brought them here. Surely it would have brought them back to Hogwarts?

"INTRUDERS! UNAUTHROIZED PORTKEY IN THE HALLOWED HALLS OF GRINGOTTS!"

Harry jerked up at the sudden shout, his eyes widening as he saw the goblin tellers running towards him and Cedric, some of them with swords in hand. Cedric gasped at the sight, drawing his wand hastily from his pocket and instinctively pointing it at the belligrent creatures.

"Easy there, Cedric. We don't wanna piss them off. They manage our money, after all." Harry muttered to him, and the Hufflepuff champion lowered his wand, a sheepish look on his face. He had to admid to himself that Harry had a point, though he wasn't sure how comfortable he felt with the idea of lowering his wand while facing an angry horde of goblin accountants.

Luckily for the two of them, Harry managed to act on his instincts, stepping forward and lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Please, pardon us for the intrusion." Harry said softly, his tone gentle yet commanding. "My companion and I had no intention to intrude upon your world-it appears we are merely victims of a rather complex plan gone wrong. No harm is intended to you or any of your people."

Cedric eyed Harry, wondering when the Hell Dumbledore's Golden Boy had gotten to be this smart. He had never heard the younger teenager talk in such a formal manner before, not even while he was dealing with any of Hogwarts' Professors. Shrugging, he filed the information away for later, deciding that now wasn't the time to ask him about this development.

"Mr. Potter! At last-we've been wondering when we would see you!"

A goblin was practically sprinting towards them, sweat dripping down his face as if he had just run a marathon. Harry's eyes lit up as he recognized that goblin as Griphook, the very first magical creature he had ever met and the goblin that had shown him to his vault in first year.

"That's Griphook. He showed me to my vault in first year." Harry whispered in Cedric's ear, and the boy nodded absentmindedly, still feeling uneasy about the entire situation.

Griphook raised an eyebrow as he listened in on the Potter boy's conversation, surprised that Potter had even remembered his name. It was rare for a wizard to do that, as they often believed goblins to be below them, and not worth interacting with even though goblins were the ones who handled their money.

Well aware of the magic that had brought the two champions here-that highly illegal portkey sitting no more than two feet away from the Boy who Lived-, Griphook decided to deal with that situation first, waving a hand of dismissal in the direction of the goblins that had originally approached Harry. As an account manager for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Churchill, he had a high amount of power within Gringotts, though not as much as Director Ragnok or any of his Senior Advisors. It was this power that gave him the grounds to command others below him, but he usually only used that power in the most important situations.

"You remember me, Mr. Potter?"

"Well, of course! It's hard to forget the first goblin you ever met, especially when you've been raised in the muggle world your entire youth."

Griphook nodded, able to see the validity in Potter's words.

"I can see the wisdom in that, boy." The goblin amended, before allowing his tone to grow more stern and annoyed. "Now tell me. Why on Earth haven't you been answering our letters? We've been writing you every year since you turned twelve, requesting a meeting with you to go over your accounts, and you haven't responded!"

Cedric's breath hitched at that, his eyes widening slightly. To him, a Heir Apparent to an Ancient and Noble House, the idea of not responding to Gringotts mail was abhorrent, one he loathed with every fibre of his being. His father had always drilled it into him that goblins were creatures to be respected, due to their fine accounting abilities, and not responding to their requests for a meeting was seen as a serious offense.

"Dear god..." Cedric sighed, rubbing his temples. "Harry, be careful what you say. You might be in some serious shit right now if you aren't cautious."

Cedric couldn't believe he was the one who had to help clean up this mess. Of all people, why the hell did it have to be him? Oh yeah...because his family had been cursed with rotten luck (literally, but that's a long story; we'll get to it later), and therefore he tended to find himself in the strangest of situations.

"Wait, what? I was supposed to be getting mail from you guys?!" Harry gasped, shock flickering across his face momentarily. "But I never...I never...Hell, I didn't get any mail from the Wizarding World until I was eleven, when my Hogwarts letter came!"

Griphook's frown deepened at that, as did Cedric's.

"I see we have much to talk about then, Mr. Potter. How about if you and Mr. Diggory follow me to my office, then?"

With that, he turned around and left, not even waiting for the two boys to follow him.

The events that transpired shortly after, needless to say, would change history.

Literally.