Summary: It should've been just that - good old payback. They never suspected that placing her name in the goblet would potentially destroy her whole life. What if Hermione's name was picked instead of Harry's during the Triwizard Tournament? How will the brightest witch of her age coup with the damage from the 'harmless' revenge prank the Weasley twins cast upon her? Losing almost everyone that was by her side, she'll have to count on the ones she is supposed to see as enemies. AU!

Rating: T for mild swearing and violence.

Pairing: Hermione x Harry/Victor/Cedric/Draco with some other minor pairs.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form.

Warning: There are a few quotes copied from the book, but just a few, later into the story it'll most likely never happen again.

A/N: I had this idea for a while now and by looking at the amount of Harry Potter fanfics on this site, I'm not certain if this hasn't been done before. Either way, I hope you enjoy this story. This first chapter is to clear up the events, later in the plot it will deprive from canon as the story progresses.

.

.

/Ad·fec·tus/

Noun – Latin

-A natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

-Any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.

.

Black:

Represents fear, negativity and anxiety.

.

.

''Hermione Granger.''

And with those simple two words muttered by the dumbstruck headmaster who held a burned up parchment in his hand, the majestic hall went deadly silent.

The said girl held her breath, unmoving even when the disapproving nudges came at her. Her ears couldn't believe the gibberish that came out of the professor mouth. Her? That's ridiculous! She would never sign up for a thing like that. The only underage students that tried to put their names in the goblet were dumb males with their stupid bravados. She was the only one who seemed to agree with this rule, unlike the rest of her classmates that viewed the age requirement as nonsense.

They were too young and inexperienced.

She was too young and inexperienced.

How did she get caught in the middle of this?

''Hermione Granger!'' The elder wizard's voice seemed to grow by the second, making the frizzy haired teen stand up on her shaky feet. She was starting to be aware that all heads were turned to her now. Some were gaping, some were disapproving. Most of them fit the latter category.

Harry, who sat right beside her, looked up at her with an astonished yet confused look on his face, before giving her back a light shove of encouragement. Their fellow redhead sat next to the boy who lived with a not an unreadable blank face making Hermione nerves wreck even more as he sneered lightly upon her.

Gulping down the fear that formed a lump in her throat, she willed herself not to cry as her shoes made contact with the stone floor. The faint buzzing of students accompanied her with every step of the way, making her want to get out of the centre of attention as soon as possible. She met the eye of some of her fellow Gryffindors and saw that they were as shocked as she was.

Walking up to the top of the hall towards the unreadable group of authority figures, her ears couldn't help but register all the whispers flying around the room, some that were not too subtle that came from the snake side of the Great Hall. As she approached the long staff table that was once preoccupied by the standing teachers, she lulled her head down, not daring to look anyone in the eyes right now, afraid that they might see the sparkling tears.

A few called out to her not so nicely, calling her a cheat and so on, which escalated to more brutal claims. She thought it was quite logical even in her situation, the jeers.

'The brightest witch of her age' – that's what she was referred to by some. They would think that it was easy for her to find a way around the Age Line, but even if Hermione wanted to admit that it was her doing, it wasn't. A few people popped up in her mind as to who could've placed her name in the goblet, but all she could think of was platinum blonde hair and green/silver robes.

Unless.

She hesitantly peeked at her fellow Gryffindors, who looked incredulously back at her, until her teary eyes stopped at the most likely culprits that were silently sneaking out of the Great Hall. The two blobs of auburn red hair disappeared through the tiny crack of the main door and Hermione clenched her teeth.

Fred and George.

She should've known better not to rill them up. She should've kept her mouth shut about them not being able to place their names. She shouldn't have challenged them.

But why would they put her name and not theirs?

Alastor Moody looked down at her with poorly supressed confusion and anger. Hermione quickly reverted her eyes to the ground, feeling ashamed that her teachers frowned upon her now. She wanted to yell out that she didn't do it, that she didn't want to participate in any of this, but she knew better that it would all fall on deaf ears, so she opted focusing on getting out of the mass hall that wanted her head on a silver plate by the looks of it.

She willed her legs to enter through the door as fast as they could as the uproar of her fellow students started to drown her. Dumbledore didn't spare her a congratulations, he was too busy engaging Minerva into fits of heated whispers. Glancing one last time into the Great Hall which buzzed like bees for honey, she didn't know what waited for her through the door and after she comes out.

But for one thing she was certain, the twins will pay.

.

.

.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the heavy wooden door open and was met with several paintings hanging on the wall. The occupants in the frames looked at the frizzy haired girl that kept grasping the hem of her skirt anxiously before motioning for her to enter a lobby-like room.

Hermione gazed at the three tall silhouettes standing in front of the fire place with a new found nervousness.

She never realized how much taller and older they were. Both of the Hogwarts and Durmstrang champions could tower her quite easily, and the French veela-like girl was exceptionally tall herself. They all held themselves differently with their own little quirks and Hermione soon realized just why the goblet had picked each of them respectively.

Can she really compete against such advanced wizards?

She chewed her bottom lip nervously until Fleur finally noticed her presence in the doorway. Wiping her silvery blonde hair over her shoulder, her gorgeous features wrinkled to a confused frown.

"What is it?" she said. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

''Err..No, I-I-'' For the first time in the long running, Hermione Granger didn't know what to say. Diggory and Krum finally turned to look at her too, and the Hufflepuff's eyes twinkled in amusement as the golden girl couldn't make a proper sentence which he supposed was unusual for her. Soon, the four heard feet just outside the door before Dumbledore burst into the room, the other professors from the guest schools hot on his tail.

Ludo Bagman - the one who organised the tournament alongside Barty Crouch Sr. – pushed her headmaster back to grasp her hand not too gently in wonder. He squeezed her hand as he scanned her face, as if it will tell him the reason to their current dilemma.

''Astonishing.'' He breathed out as he raised her frail hand above her hand, gaining the other occupants' undivided attention. "May I introduce - incredible though it may seem - the fourth Triwizard champion?" Hermione felt her face pink up when she heard the Bulgarian scoff alongside Fleur who snorted quite unladylike while the Hogwarts champion did a double take.

Victor scanned the younger girl, as if sizing her up. She didn't look one bit to be ready to participate in such a dangerous tournament, but he still straightened up as if he was missing something in the picture. Fleur Delacour giggled lightly at the ridiculousness of the situation.

''It iz no time to make jokes 'ike zis, Meester Bagman, zis little girl iz too young to compete, am I right Madame Maxime?'' The muggle's eyes flared at the foreign beauty that referred to her as 'little girl', but kept her mouth shut as the guest headmasters scanned her with evident distaste. Madame Maxime's head almost brushed with the candle lit chandelier, but she paid no mind as she leaned into Dumbledore who had an unreadable expression on his old wrinkled face.

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she asked, her tone suggesting that she was slightly offended at the changes this girl brought to the tournament.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore," added Professor Karkaroff. He was evidently eyeing the young muggleborn with plain disgust shining in his eyes. "Two Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions – or have I not read the rules carefully enough?"

How does a simple mudblood girl get into such an important wizard's event like this? His lips formed an insult but before he could lash it out onto the slightly buck teeth fourth year, the long haired professor of Hogwarts stepped up.

Hermione tried to hold her professor's gaze as he looked down upon her, the familiar twinkle missing from his eyes as a wave of seriousness misted over his face.

"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Miss Granger?" he asked calmly, knowing that she would answer truthfully to her authority.

''No, Sir.'' She denied, eyes gleaming genuinely right back him and he was tempted to close this case up right then and there. He knew that Hermione Granger and her two fellow friends had a knack in getting stuck in similar situations as these, but his mind could never comprehend that one of Minerva's most brightest students would break the rules. If anything, she would be the last person to do so without good reason.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" He asked again and noticed that the young witch's eyes fell onto the ground. He could hear Snape snort behind him, but with one look from McGonagall he quieted down.

''I didn't ask for it, but they might of..'' She trailed off quietly, feeling the burning gazes from both teachers and students alike. Dumbledore gave a small smile, already knowing that that was the most likely case. He already thought up the list of culprits that would sign the young witch up to such dangerous tasks.

More than half of the lists considered of Slytherin students.

''Details, Miss Granger.'' He ordered in a softer voice, knowing it was better not to startle her more than she already was. She looked down at her shoes silently, as if having an inner monologue with herself. Karkaroff and Snape, the most impatient of the group were ready to snap but Hermione beat them to it.

''I don't know the specifics, professor, but I can assure you that I do not want to participate.''

A silence fell after that as Dumbledore and her head of house looked pleased at her answer. Hermione wasn't thirsty for fame or glory; she wasn't that kind of person. Madame Maxime wrapped her huge arm around the Beauxbatons champion's shoulder as she released a deep sigh.

'' Monsieur Bagman, Monsieur Crouch, surely you 'ill agree zat zis iz most irregular?'' The steely look on her face left no room for arguments, but Bagman just smiled boyishly at her as he nudged Crouch who was standing against the wall all this time, his face half covered in shadows as he sighed tiredly.

"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," Bagman stated, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

Karkaroff wanted to retort. He wanted a second champion from his own school, but looking back at the short frail girl who was fiddling nervously under their gazes, he supposed that she wouldn't even make it through the first task.

Dumbledore spoke to everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Hermione have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will d-''

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr -"

"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it."

But the Headmistress of Beauxbatons stayed silent, much to the displeasure of her pupil who glared at the muggleborn witch who seemed to just want to disappear. Karkaroff and Snape, who had all the same similarities in personality that brothers would, fumed. There was nothing they could do about it now other than to go along with it.

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" Bagman asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"

"Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes . . . the first task-."

But Hermione's mind was reeling too fast to pay attention to the instructions, as strange as that sounded. She thought that Dumbledore would surely get her out of this mess, but alas it seemed that a magical contract was involved.

She tried to listen with only one of her ears open, memorizing the most important details, while half of her mind protested to everything she was hearing. Was this how Harry felt when he gets stuck in situations like these? To know you could be on the verge of death by the end of the school year? Hermione felt her knees shake lightly, before releasing a breath of air, calming her nerves slightly down, all the while trying to concentrate on Crouch's instructions.

The first task was to test their courage, which made Hermione crack the first small smile in about half an hour since this whole fiasco started. As a Gryffindor and a danger magnet's friend, she was positive she'll come through, at least she hoped.

As she listened further, her smile was replaced with a deep frown as she realised that probably the whole school will be watching - Slytherins included. A sense of dread filled her being when she thought of all the ways she could embarrass herself in front of the student body and their foreign visitors. But what really struck her the most, was the last part.

She will be excused from the end-of-year exams that she was studying for since summer yet all of it ended up being a waste.

Although, looking at the other female champion who released a sigh of relief at the revelation, Hermione hoped that she had her smarts as an advantage against at least one of the champions. She knew that Cedric Diggory was quite intelligent as well, but she couldn't figure out if the Bulgarian seeker was as smart as the rest, or if he acted without thinking at all.

Either way, it was better to start coming up with strategies for the first task - otherwise she'll really get herself killed.

Not soon enough, Bagman and Crouch departed, leaving only the champions and their respective teachers in the small lobby-like room. It would seem that Madame Maxime and Karkaroff weren't exactly pleased with Dumbledore as they ushered their students as quickly from the room as possible, speaking in hushed yet heated whispers in their own languages.

That only left the Hogwarts champions alone together with the elderly man who stared into the fireplace, his eyes regaining that familiar twinkle that set her heart to ease.

"Hermione, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed," Dumbledore suggested, smiling at both of them. "I am sure Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."

And that's when her stomach dropped completely.

Her housemates looked none too pleased with her, few of them calling her out as a cheat of sort. She was even mildly afraid to go back to the Gryffindor tower, but she masked her worries with a misleading smile as she ant the older boy bid the professor goodnight.

Once she and the Hufflepuff seeker were outside in the empty colliders of the castle, her fake mask broke as she looked at the tips of her hair, contemplating if she should even return to the dormitory or not. Cedric noticed the Gryffindor's slower strides as she seemed to slow down a bit. Turning to face her slightly, he noticed the fearful expression on her face.

''Hermione?'' He was uncertain as to how he should refer her to as, but decided that using her last name would be too formal. Her head filled with bushy brown hair shot up at his voice. ''Are you alright?''

''Oh, don't mind me. Everything's good.'' He noticed the bitter edge of her words and decided that it was better to give her some space. He'd react the same way she did if he was in her shoes, having no choice about this potentially dangerous tournament as he did. Nodding at her goodbye, he stuffed his hands into his uniform's pockets before turning a corner to the Hufflepuff common room. Hermione stopped walking completely, staring at his back, but not quite seeing it as her thoughts clouded her vision.

She was scared.

Very scared.

She saw the look her friends gave her – even Ron. She was quite disappointed in him in all honestly. Did he really think that she would be as dumb as to place her name in that god forsaken goblet? Which reminded her.

She'll have a long 'friendly' talk with the terror twins in the morning, but for now, she'd better return to the common rooms before a prefect catches her wondering around the castle so late at night.

Looking down at the polished stone floor that she walked upon, she hoped that most of the Gryffindors were asleep already.

.

.

.