Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

Harry Slithers-in: Companion Stories: Chapter 12: Tracey

Tracey had been unhappy when she learnt Harry was, once again, being mistreated by his relatives. Luckily this time they had Sirius Black on their side and it only took one visit from him to the Dursleys to put things right. Although she still didn't entirely trust Black – he had, after all, spent more than a week spying on her and Harry over Christmas and clearly knew she was sleeping in his room; a fact that made her feel uncomfortable and embarrassed – he was clearly a fair and reasonable person who had been badly mistreated by a system that had failed miserably and she felt he deserved some leeway and was worthy of a fair chance.

After helping Harry, Sirius had asked Tracey's mother if they would like to go to the Quidditch World Cup with him. The offer had been accepted and they decided Harry should stay at Sirius' house after the cup. In fact Sirius picked Harry up on his birthday even though Draco Malfoy was staying there as well. While there Harry, along with Sirius and Professor Lupin began working on a new project. Draco signed on as well and Tracey was invited to join in a money-making scheme that attempted to combine muggle technology with magic to produce a new form of communication – talking mirrors. These worked on the same principle as mobile phones which the muggles had been using for several years.

Tracey, her mother and brother arrived at the World Cup separately from Harry and Sirius. When they arrived the tent was already up and the tea had already been brewed. After finishing her drink Tracey joined Harry in a walk around the campsite. The first person they met was Draco Malfoy and they stayed with him until Draco's parents returned bringing Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, with them. Fudge asked where Sirius was and they took him back to their tent.

After her mother returned Tracey, Harry and Draco set off alone around the campsite. They met several fellow students and bought a number of souvenirs from various official and unofficial sellers as they went. After meeting Marcus Flint, the former Slytherin Quidditch captain, who was now playing professionally they decided to return to their tents as the stadium was due to open shortly.

Fudge led them through the crowds to the top box where Tracey was surprised to find the Weasley family already present. Draco "accidentally" clipped Ron over the head but luckily nothing else happened to cause a scene.

Mr. Weasley introduced his two oldest sons and briefly described their jobs, a topic Tracey found moderately interesting but which Harry appeared to find fascinating.

Next to arrive were the Bulgarian delegation and, soon after, Ludo Bagman who would be commentating the match. Bagman introduced the mascots and Tracey was amused to see Ron Weasley stuffing his pockets with leprechaun gold, obviously not realising it would soon vanish. She was somewhat less amused to see Harry climb onto the edge of the box when the Bulgarian mascots, a swarm of Veela, were performing their dance. She grabbed Harry's arm and then slapped him to bring him back to his senses.

The match was exciting to watch and Tracey was amazed by the skill and speed of the players, although the fact both seekers required medical treatment for serious looking injuries made her glad she didn't play herself. At this point Fudge was made to look a fool when the Bulgarians revealed they could, in fact, speak English. Tracey found this amusing.

Ireland won much to the delight of their supporters and all the after-match presentations to the players were made in the Top Box where they were sitting.

They discussed the match long into the evening, particularly the ending when Viktor Krum caught the snitch for Bulgaria even though they were 160 points behind meaning Ireland won without catching it; an unusual outcome.

Back in the tent Mrs. Davis decided to invest in the mirror phones but their discussion was cut short by a riot. Tracey, Robert and Harry were instructed to find a place to hide while the adults went to try and sort it out. After entering some nearby woods they run into Draco and decided to stay with him. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also arrived but decided to leave rather than stay near Draco.

Soon after the Dark Mark appeared in the sky near where they were standing. They briefly discussed this while awaiting developments.

Soon they were joined by a couple of lost children. Tracey invited them to stay until they knew what was happening.

When Mrs. Davis arrived with Sirius she took the other children with her to reunite them with their family while Sirius escorted their group back to the tent.

When she returned it was decided Tracey and Robert should stay at Sirius' for the rest of the holidays. Tracey was surprised to learn Sirius' house elf, Kreacher, now took orders from Harry but he was evasive about explaining why.

After a quick breakfast at Sirius' the next morning Tracey went to the guest room she would be staying in. Although she didn't feel tired she went to bed and was surprised to find it was nearly 4pm when she woke up.

For the shopping trip to Diagon Alley they were joined by the Greengrass family. They stopped at Madam Malkin's for dress robes where Tracey chose a bright pink fabric that was made into a cocktail dress style. She was very happy with them and Harry seemed to approve as well.

The train ride to Hogwarts saw them travel through one of the worst storms Tracey could remember. Even during the short trip to the station from Grimmauld Place they had gotten wet and it was no different when they reached Hogsmeade. They were happy, however, the carriages had a roof meaning they didn't get soaked like the 1st years' would on their journey in open boats.

At the welcoming feast Professor Dumbledore announced the new DADA teacher would be Professor Moody. Tracey recognised the name: Mad Eye Moody as he was commonly known had been an Auror who had been prominent during the First Wizarding War and, although now retired, he was still a formidable person. Draco Malfoy recognised the name too. He seemed almost afraid.

The rest of Dumbledore's speech was just as unexpected. Quidditch was cancelled and, instead, Hogwarts would be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

The first week of term saw Professor Moody show he really didn't like Draco Malfoy. He turned Malfoy into a ferret when Malfoy tried picking a fight with Ron Weasley while, during their first DADA lesson, he asked the class to name the Unforgivable Curses – asking Draco for one them even though he hadn't put his hand up.

A mirror call to Sirius produced a lot of useful information about Moody's motivations. They also learnt that the Headmaster of Durmstrang, one of the schools competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament was a former Death-eater. Tracey was delighted to learn the reason for the formal robes was there would be a ball at Christmas. Harry looked horrified which made her even happier.

The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students arrived on the 30th of October. They were all surprised to discover Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker from the World Cup was in the Durmstrang delegation.

The next evening saw the announcement of the champions. Tracey, along with almost everybody in the room, was shocked when Harry's name was drawn out as a 4th champion. The students were dismissed after Harry had joined the other champions and sent back to their Common room. There, several older students immediately started planning a party for Harry. Tracey, however, decided to go to Harry's and wait for him there while calling Sirius over the mirror phone. As she had hoped Harry came in alone and she immediately confronted him.

"Did you put your name in the Goblet?" Tracey demanded.

"No," he replied, looking confused.

"Did you ask somebody else to do it for you?"

"No. I don't know how my name got in there. I don't even want to compete." She could tell Harry was very nervous.

Tracey stared into his face for several seconds before releasing his wrists and wrapping her arms around him. "I believe you," she said before kissing him squarely on the lips.

Harry wrapped his arms around her and tried to relax.

"Get a room, you two." Harry and Tracey were startled by Draco's voice and quickly pulled apart.

"I was just telling Harry I believed him when he said he didn't put his name in the Goblet," Tracey said while glaring at Draco and the rest of the 4th year boys who were all standing behind him.

"Whatever," Draco said as he pushed past them. "Just so long as we don't have to cheer for some dumb Hufflepuff as our champion we're happy. Potter, you have the full backing of everyone in Slytherin. Now, if you don't mind, Davis, we would like to go to bed."

Tracey led Harry out of the dormitory. "You need to call Sirius now," she said when they were alone. "I've already spoken to him and he's not happy."

Tracey returned to her own dormitory where she told the other girls she was certain Harry had not put his name in the Goblet.

In the lead-up to the first task she tried to help Harry plan a strategy. She was surprised when Professor Moody suggested Harry go for a relaxing flight around the grounds, emphasising certain places he might find interesting. She found out why when Harry informed her there were dragons, one for each champion, and the task involved getting past them.

The strategy they worked out, along with input from some other students, worked brilliantly. So well, in fact, Harry was comfortably leading after the 1st task.

The Yule Ball gave Tracey her first chance to have a proper dinner and dance with Harry. Before that, however, she had to teach him how to dance. Luckily Harry learned quickly and the Ball went off well.

Later, at Greengrass Manor, they were able to dance together again. It was here that they solved the clue for the second task and began working on a strategy for it.

It was while training for the second task the truth was revealed when they saw Barty Crouch's name on the Marauder's Map while they were helping Luna Lovegood, a 3rd year Ravenclaw, recover and dry her clothes which had been thrown into the lake.

"Hold on," Harry said while they were escorting Luna to the hospital wing, "Crouch is leaving." He had just seen Crouch's dot reach the top of the stairs above the Entrance Hall.

They decided to wait until he had gone but, in fact, Crouch opened the door in front of them. Only it wasn't Bartemius Crouch who was standing there; it was Professor Moody.

"Hello Potter, Miss Davis, Miss Lovegood. Out for a night-time stroll?"

"Tracey and I were going to work on the egg clue when we found Luna here," Harry explained. "Apparently, somebody thought it would be funny to throw all her clothes in the lake so we were helping her dry them."

"That true, Miss Lovegood?"

"My clothes were all here so I had to come and get them," Luna replied in her usual dreamy voice.

I think I better take you to the hospital wing," Moody said. "This is a serious case of bullying. Thank you for highlighting this for me you two, and you can each take 20 points for assisting a fellow student in need. Carry on with your egg clue while I take care of Miss Lovegood. Come along."

After telling Sirius what they had learnt he made enquiries at the Ministry of Magic. This led to the discovery that Barty Crouch junior was alive and impersonating Professor Moody which in turn led to the arrest of Barty Crouch senior for several serious charges.

Even though the full story was now out in the open Harry was still required to finish the Tri-Wizard Tournament. For the second task Tracey was the person he had to rescue from the Merpeople. This done it was discovered that Rita Skeeter was an unregistered animagus who could turn into a beetle. She was arrested at the end of the task thanks, once again, to Sirius Black.

From then until the day of the third task very little of note happened other than Harry telling everybody the Quidditch pitch had been turned into a maze. The third task would be held there and the maze would then be removed in time for the new school year. It was a simple speed test, although there would be other features to overcome along the way; including some of Hagrid's "pets."

The day of task arrived. Harry had a good head-start and Tracey hoped it would be over quickly. The first thing of note was when red sparks, the sign a champion needed rescuing, appearing over the maze. Sirius went to assist but soon called for backup. It was then discovered that 3 of the champions were out of the running. Harry, as the sole remaining champion, had won the cup but had apparently decided to continue even though he didn't need to. Tracey wondered why.

Soon after Sirius received a call on his mirror phone. After talking for a moment he handed the phone to Dumbledore and suddenly attacked Ludo Bagman. There were several moments of chaos before Dumbledore regained control of the situation. Once order was restored he addressed the crowd.

"Attention," he began. "I have just been informed that the real Ludo Bagman is at home and the person sitting here with the judges is an imposter presumably using Polyjuice potion. Mr. Black's action are justified and were performed with the approval of Madam Bones, head of the DMLE. A squad of aurors are on their way here to take the imposter into custody. For the moment can everybody please remain where they are."

Tracey didn't know what to think. Harry was probably in danger but she hoped Sirius and the staff had it under control, although this latest revelation meant she was less than certain Harry was safe.

Madam Umbridge stated she needed to return to the Ministry to talk to Cornelius Fudge about this occurrence. Dumbledore then apparently told her something privately which prompted her to hurry away as fast as she could.

More confusion followed when Igor Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang, suddenly excused himself and hurried from the stadium. Then Snape had a word with Dumbledore who nodded in agreement with whatever Snape had said.

Dumbledore asked Tracey to accompany himself, Madame Maxime and the three champions. He explained Tracey was a nurses' aide and would be able to help Madam Pomfrey treating the injured students while he himself would be meeting the aurors. Dumbledore then levitated Bagman and hurried to his office where he was to meet the aurors. Tracey's mother also joined them in the hospital.

Sirius brought Harry to the hospital wing some time later, sparking an urgent request from Madame Maxime. "M. Potter, what happened in the maze?"

"I think that can wait," Mrs. Davis said. "The Ministry of Magic has all the facts and I assume Harry has added anything he can. I suggest we wait until Dumbledore has finished sorting things out with them."

"Quite right," Madam Pomfrey said, shoving Sirius aside so she could tend to Harry. "Snape's work, I take it?" She indicated the marks left over from where Snape had healed Harry's wounds.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Where's Professor Karkaroff?"

"We think he's done a runner straight back to You-Know-Who," Tracey said. "Harry? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"I will decide that," Madam Pomfrey said as she gave Harry a quick check-up before applying Dittany to the scars.

Once Madam Pomfrey had finished she allowed the others a few more minutes so Harry could explain what happened after the battle in the maze. As soon as he had finished she ordered everybody other than the champions to leave. She separated them so there was at least one empty bed between each patient before giving each a sleeping draught.

The presentation for the prize for winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament was made the following morning. Tracey now knew everything and, although relieved, she was worried about the future. Now that Voldemort was back there was a real and present danger. Even though Harry was now being guarded by Kreacher while he slept she was still afraid something might happen to him and she couldn't wait for the end of the year when he would be away from Hogwarts and the possible danger he faced from the three Death-eaters' sons he shared a dormitory with.

The end of the year came, however, with no incidents. Apparently Voldemort had given strict orders that Harry was not to be harmed. Draco had even taken personal responsibility for Harry's safety. Tracey doubted his motives but at least he had kept his word on this.