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Disclaimer

I own nothing of the Harry Potter franchise.

Glad to clear that up

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This is another weird idea I got that I thought would give a nice plot... In this story, Harry Potter is three years older and Voldemort attacked was on Halloween three years earlier, when Harry was one. Harry's first four years were rather calm and the stone debacle happened on his fourth year. The chamber on his fifth and Sirius escaped Azkaban on his sixth year. Other characters remain as in cannon.

R&R if you like, please.

Arabela Gaunt arrived at the Slytherin common room from her seventh year dorm with a huge smile in her lips, contrasting with the confused and apprehensive looks shared by her housemates. The reason?

Her crush revealed a glimpse of his true self and many were unsure what to think. In fact, only one person in Hogwarts was smiling and that was Arabela. All others, students, staff and even ghosts were confused and in awe, unable to comprehend the true extent of said young man's power and why he had kept it as a secret.

Said young man was completely angry and in a rage, if his 'performance' and exit from the great hall was any indication... and Arabela loved it, knowing he had no choice but to drop his carefully built masks, the masks he had build for years and sabotaged himself with.

"Lady Gaunt?" asked a young fourth year, Parkinson, if Arabela remembered correctly, seeing the most powerful Slytherin with an unusual huge smile and nearly skipping "Is... is there everything all right?"

"Everything is perfect." she replied with an even huger smile, scaring the group of fourth years with her unusual happiness "I know that today is going to be a wonderful day."

"My lady, what about..." another girl, Greengrass, asked, with a small gulp "Last night?"

"What about it?" Arabela asked amused, crossing her arms and waiting for a reply, making Greengrass nervous. Luckily for the girl, Malfoy intervened.

"Potter." he said with a gulp, causing Arabela to smile.

"And pray tell, what's the problem?" she asked, amused.

"He's the champion of Hogwarts... but he is nothing special, has no real visibility besides being the boy-Who-Lived, he has low grades and isn't powerful... and yet, he's the champion and..." Greengrass replied, shivering and Arabela smiled, remembering how Harry Potter, reacted after his name was announced as the champion of Hogwarts. His anger was huge, his rage fiery and his magic untamed, erupting from him in waves that were felt by everyone in the hall. Such was its density that many students, from the lowly firsties to the seventh years were terrified of him. She drunk his power and realized he had become even more powerful since the last time she felt his unchecked power... and she felt all the excitement, all the desire, all need of him. Arabela remembered looking and realizing that even the teachers were shocked and in awe of the young man's power, a power that surpassed their own and even Dumbledore had paled considerably when confronted by the young man, demanding answers why his name had come out of the goblet when he hadn't placed it there...

Dumbledore was very apprehensive and she knew the old man was afraid of him... that was such a delicacy she barely controlled herself and her damned hormones not to jump Harry Potter right there in the great hall.

When Dumbledore was unable to provide answers, stating that the goblet had created a magical contract and that Harry had to compete or forfeit his magic, Harry glared at the cup and drew his wand, casting a powerful and destructive spell that even Arabela didn't know. The cup was reduced to smithereens, much to the shock of everyone but the contract didn't end. Harry was still forced to compete in the tournament. Ignoring the ministry officials, the headmaster, his head of house, everyone really, he left the great hall in anger after punching the Gryffindor table and leaving a massive dent in it, swearing to have his vengeance in however put his name in the cup.

"Children, children..." Arabela smiled enigmatically "You know nothing of him. What we saw yesterday was nothing compared with what he can do." she offered as a reply "I, for one, am very proud of our champion and I will offer him all my support." she added, moving away from the fourth years with a huge smile and leaving them flabbergasted.

She left the common room alone and walked to the great hall, where she intended to see, him. Much to her chagrin, she didn't saw him there. Most students were already in the great hall and she did see his year mates, the Gryffindor seventh years. Some of his housemates were happy and celebrating, although some seemed confused while all of them avoided Harry's spot in the previous night, the one with the dent in the table... of her crush, there was no sight.

That won't do at all... she thought to herself, starting to walk out of the great hall. She knew him well... in fact, she was the only soul who knew him as well as he knew himself. She walked to the lake shore, to his favorite spot by the rocks in the eastern shore. There he had more privacy, silence and could hear the water hitting the stone and the wind in the trees, things that made him relax and focus. As she expected, he was there, standing atop the stones, his arms crossed on his chest, his robes floating in the wind like a cloak of an ancient king and his gaze focused on the lake.

Arabela looked at him and engraved the image in her memory, loving every detail of it. His greatness, his power, his demeanour... only one thing lacked in the image... herself in his arms, something that could easily be fixed. She couldn't help to chuckle to her own thoughts. If two years before she had been told she would be acting like this for a boy, she would most certainly curse the person in the most painful ways imaginable... Yet, there she was... the most powerful dark witch in the last two hundred years, pinning for a boy. To think she missed an entire year already... granted, she wasn't any good in expressing her interests and her feelings but he wasn't any better.

"Potter!" she called and he looked at her with his beautiful green eyes.

"What do you want, Gaunt?" Harry asked back with a sigh and Arabela noticed he looked disheveled and dirty.

"Did you sleep?" she asked, concerned about him.

"Why?" he asked back.

"You look like you didn't." she replied.

"I'll ask you again, what do you want?" he asked with a glare.

"My, are you offering?" she replied and he rolled his eyes. One thing he hated in Arabela Gaunt was the fact that she always diverted the conversation.

"I'm not in the mood, Gaunt." he replied in exasperation and anger "Leave me alone."

"But I still don't have what I want." she pouted and Harry almost admitted it was a pretty and seductive pout.

"Just say what you want, please." he replied in a sigh, rubbing his temples. Arabela looked at him with a tender smile and caressed his face, surprising him.

"I want you to shed your masks. I want you to stop hiding your power and your real self and I want you to be the real you. After you do all that..." she approached his ear and whispered lustily "I want you to be mine as much as I want to be yours." Harry widened his eyes, seeing the smug smile Arabela had.

"I don't know what you mean." he replied, turning away from the seductive girl.

"I think you do." Arabela replied with a smirk "I want the wizard who last night confronted everyone and almost forced Dumbledore into submission with sheer power alone. I want the intelligent and cunning man who devised a plan to hide his own self from the public and more importantly, I want the wizard who is my equal and believe me, for me to acknowledge it, it has to be truth." Harry snorted, crossing his arms again, seeing her dark hair floating around her face while she looked at him "In terms of magic, each of us alone can be a force to reckon with. The two of us together, we would be unstoppable. Just imagine the power we can wield together." she told him, a vicious gleam in her eyes mixed with both desire, lust and ambition "I have a house to rebuild. Several, in fact and I will need a powerful wizard with me to do it. There is no other but you. I want you."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought." Harry replied in an almost uninterested whisper, still shocked with what he heard the girl say. The truth was that despite all the provocations and the flirting of the past year, the same year Arabela Gaunt had joined Hogwarts after being homeschooled for her first five years, she had given no inkling of her interest in him.

"I admit, I sound like a school girl or worse, a fangirl but I'm not ashamed to say I have developed a huge respect for your abilities." she added with a smile "From there to realize I had a crush on you, it was a quick step." with his arms crossed, Harry looked to the surface of the lake, trying to hide his interest in the conversation. Arabela stood at his side and crossed her arms as well, looking at the lake "I know what I want, Harry." she said in a low tone and a smile "And I always get what I want."

"Are you going to force me?" he asked, turning to her, rage hidden behind his eyes at the thought. She just chuckled.

"I don't need to do anything." she replied with a smug smile, looking to the object of her affections "Or are you going to tell me you don't feel attracted to me already?" she asked, turning to him and approaching him "That you don't dream with me? To have me laying on my back or in my stomach while you take me? To have me on you? Our bodies, together?" she added with desire clear in her voice. She even looked to under his waist, trying to see his reaction but the robes we was wearing didn't allow her to see it.

"No, I don't." Harry lied poorly, looking away again and Arabela knew it to be a poor lie.

"Liar." she replied huskily at his ear, felling his shivers. She grinned at it. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned in his shoulder, standing at his side in silence for some moments. She smirked as Harry didn't opposed to the gesture and the approximation.

"Why?" he asked and she looked at him "Why are you telling me this and why now?"

"I wasted last year and I didn't want to lose another." she replied with a smile "The tournament will help you to shed your masks, like I said I wanted you to do and I know you can win it. Krum and the veela are nothing compared with you. Finally, I know you. You were raging and needing encouragement to make the proper decision, not that you wouldn't make it anyway..."

"That doesn't explain why now." he replied, looking at her "By your own words, you could have told me anything anytime since the year started but you didn't. You waited until today. Why?" he asked and then he made a connection "You bitch, it was you, wasn't it?" he asked in anger, letting go of her arm around his waist "You put my name in the cup because you wanted to have me in this position? You wanted me to be in the tournament?"

Arabela smirked amused and nodded.

"Yes, I did." she replied and in a blur, two wands appeared between them. One was Harry's, pointed at Arabela's forehead and the other Arabela's, pointed at his chest.

"Now, darling. I know you're not pleased with me but focus on the big picture." Arabela said "You needed this. You needed to be free of those masks you put yourself under. Those are nothing but hindrances."

"You had no right." he snarled at the girl "Because of you, their attention will be on me again. Dumbledore will pester me even more, the teachers too, not to mention the ministry people. I won't have peace."

"Why do you care?" she asked "They are nothing. You should make them grovel before you. You are much more than them."

"Because I need time to work and train my own magic, you idiot." Harry snarled and the girl rose an eyebrow "If they are always looking over my shoulder, I won't be able to have anything done and the last thing I need is those bastards trying to control me again."

"What do you mean?" Arabela asked curious and Harry snorted

"You are a selfish bitch, aren't you?" he asked with a scowl, resisting the need to curse the girl. Had it been anyone else, he would have done it... but not her.

"Yes, I am... as are you." she replied with a smirk "You are a selfish bastard as well and you won't curse me... well, with nothing deadly, at least." she replied, lowering her wand in a sign of good faith. Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't move or lowered his own wand.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked and she leaned closer to him, covering the distance of his stretched arm.

"Because I know you. I know your thoughts and your emotions." she replied huskily again "Had it been anyone else, you would have cast a curse. Not me. You know I'm right. You want the same I want and above all else, you want me. That's how I know you will not curse me and how I know you will forgive me for putting your name in the cup."

"You think too high of yourself." Harry snorted and Arabela chuckled "You know nothing of me."

"I know about the muggles." Arabela replied and Harry widened his eyes at her "I know about your magical exploits in primary school, the apparition to the roof, the A grades..." she enumerated "And I know about the neglect and the beatings." the last part was added with a scowl "How dared they, doing that to a child? To you?"

"How?" Harry asked in a low tone "How do you know that?"

"Does it matter?" Arabela replied, caressing his face again "You were born to greatness... and I don't want you to squander it or worse, serve an undeserving master."

"You prefer that I would serve you?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow and Arabela shook her head.

"No..." she replied "Years ago, I would have said yes but now..." she hesitated, caressing the hems of his robes in a tender movement, not looking at him "You're powerful and between you and me, I don't know who's more powerful." she explained, raising her head and looking at Harry with a soft but concerned smile "You will probably become a threat to me so I need to make sure that doesn't happen. The fact I fell in love with you made it impossible for me to kill you, unless you give me a good reason." she said, snorting at the end "I don't want to be forced to do it." Harry said nothing, hearing her words and finally lowering his wand, not pointing it at Arabela. He was still unsure of what was happening, since it was one of the most surreal moments in his life but he let the girl be, playing with the hem of his robes, clearly in thought "This is new for me, you know?" she continued after some moments "Caring about someone or something. I'm an orphan and before I met you, I cared only about myself. Being a girl in a patriarchal society made me cold, ruthless and essentially, a bitch. I manipulated everyone to do my bidding and had to make sure I protected myself from bastards who wanted to have their way with me, by spell or words. I craved for power and I did all I could to have it... then you showed up in my life and..." she chuckled.

"What?" he asked, his arms lowered and to himself "That's the second time you mention the time we met and I can't think of anything I could have done last year when we met."

"I know you can't, darling." she replied, looking at him again with a smile "I made sure no one knew of it, to protect myself..."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"I cast a fidelius charm with me as the secret keeper." Harry rose an eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell me?" he asked and Arabela shook her head.

"No." Harry added nothing but Arabela knew we was curious "I care about you, Harry Potter. I care a lot about you and I didn't lie in what I told you today. I want you and I also want you to be great and stand with me. I always get what I want, one way or the other." she continued, looking at him with a small smirk and feeling the excitement growing inside her, overpowering everything else. Feeling bold, she leaned into him and gave him a soft kiss in cheek "I think we spoke enough for the day..." she said, stepping away from him, feeling her own warmth in her body, her heart beating much faster , wanting to do so much more "I'll see you in class." As she was about to leave, she felt a strong grip holding her in place.

"I also get what I want, one way or another." he replied coldly and she smirked "I want answers but just to be clear in whatever just happed right now, you, the bitchest bitch in Hogwarts, the Ice Queen, claim to have feelings for me and want me to be greater than I am and for doing that, you placed my name in the bleeding cup for me to be selected as a champion in the Tournament, just to force me to shed my masks, fucking up my plans for the next years?" Arabela raised her eyebrow, knowing nothing of said plans but nodded. Harry shook his head and in a swift movement, his wand was raised, pointed at a larger rock and a reducto spell cast. Normally, a reducto would reduce an object to smaller parts, that's why it was used to destroy. The more powerful it was, the smaller the pieces the object was broken into. Arabela stood in awe as the rock was reduced to sand "I have enough problems in my life, Gaunt. I definitively didn't need this tournament." he said coldly.

"What problems?" she asked curious and he snorted.

"Light sycophants, manipulators and meddling fools trying to 'guide' me for 'the greater good'."

"Dumbledore?"

"Who else?" he asked, rubbing his temples "Not to mention trying to control where I live and what I do."

"I thought your godfather was exonerated and that you lived with him and professor Lupin." she asked and he snorted.

"Between living with those two imbecils and being forced to be a prisoner in my own home or being a prisoner in the muggle's home, I rather be at the muggles." he revealed to her and she widened her eyes "At least in the muggles I was left alone to do my things."

"But..." she mumbled "Is it that bad?" she asked and he snorted.

"Just because they're my parent's best friends and my uncles and godfather, that doesn't make them anything to me." he said with a scowl "We are talking about two men who abandoned me when I needed them the most." he stopped himself, realizing he was telling her too much.

Arabela felt guilty hearing that. Harry just sighed and looked at her again.

"I can just make sure I lose every task." Harry said "I just need to participate and I don't need to do anything. Your plan fails there and I have nothing to prove to anyone." he scowled and Arabela looked thoughtfully for a moment.

"If you do that, you won't have me." she replied and she felt her own uneasiness in her voice.

"And once again, you think of yourself to highly and ignore what the others tell you." he replied, looking at her "I also get what I want, one way or another and unlike you Slytherins, I have no problems in hurting my pride and grovel in the mud if I'll benefit from it."

"I want you to win." she replied forcefully and a bit more uneasy.

"What you want is irrelevant, Gaunt." he replied coldly and in almost a whisper and Arabela felt the cold wind around her, the warmth vanishing and somehow, she knew it was him causing it "I won't deny it, I do feel attracted to you but I feel no compulsion to help with your goals when you ruined every plan I had."

"But... what plans? You had no plans..." she whispered and he heard her. His hands balled in fists in anger.

"I knew it." he hissed "I knew it was too real to be a dream. How the hell did you entered my mind so easily at night?"

"I... " she hesitated, not believing she had fallen for such a simple trap.

"No, damn it. No more lies. I had it with you and everyone else's lies." he roared at her "If you want anything from me, you tell me the truth or I swear to Merlin, Morgana and everyone else I will walk away, do the exact opposite you and everyone else wants me to and when time comes to have my revenge, I will see everyone as an enemy." her lips slowly became a smirk. Much to his chagrin, she just chuckled.

"What do I gain with it?" she asked him "What can you possibly give me that will be worth it such a secret?" she taunted him "Maybe if you do as I ask, maybe if you accept my proposal... maybe, just maybe, I will..." her words died in her lips as he rolled his eyes and pushed her to himself. Their lips joined and Arabela felt her own magic react to the moment of the kiss, finding herself in a state of bliss, wanting, desire and happiness. She felt herself melt in his arms and couldn't care less. She hugged him by the neck and squeezed herself against him, feeling his own desire and wanting, both increasing the intensity of the kiss. A mere kiss quickly became a snog with wild roaming hands. When the kiss broke, both of them whimpered against it but the need to breath was greater. They remained looking at each other in silence for some time.

"I want more." Arabela whispered and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, me too." he replied while she bit her lip in hesitance "But I think now I need to calm down, least I do something..."

"I... I agree." she replied, realizing her own body was screaming at her to go forward, filling her with feelings she had never sensed before. For some moments, none spoke and during that silence, Arabela scowled herself for being weak and nearly losing her composure with one kiss and wanted to cheer herself for an amazing snog, while berating herself for stopping.

None spoke, as none knew what to say after the snog. Harry, however, looked pensieve.

"You entered my mind several times this summer..." he said and she nodded.

"Every night for nearly two weeks." she replied. She had no need to hide it.

"Our mind snogs were nothing compared with that." he added and she nearly laughed.

"You started to block me after those two weeks..." she replied "Why?"

"I started to suspect something was off after the fifth night of the same dream." he confessed "Hot girl, snogging, much hands roaming... sex... I never had dreams like that before so I raised occlumency barriers." he looked at her, not in anger but respect "You were hard to keep away."

"Thank you." she replied with a smirk "Although after you raised the strong barriers, I didn't manage to enter your mind again and I tried really hard." Harry nodded.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, looking at Arabela. The question was made in an almost whisper but she felt the doubt and the uncertainty in his voice. She shook her head.

"If I tell you the truth, you'll hate me." she replied and Harry nodded.

"That tells me you're related to someone who's my enemy." he replied with a sigh, looking away, back to the lake "In the beginning of summer, I had dreams with Voldemort, giving orders to Wormtail, another younger guy, speaking to a snake and killing an old muggle." Harry told her, watching Arabela's expression. She kept a perfect mask "Then suddenly I have dreams with you, much more vivid and at the same time, much alike." he sighed "Did she teach you how to do it?"

"No." Arabela replied, feeling a great weight in her shoulders, feeling scared at that moment "She didn't. She didn't know about it." Arabela replied, choosing to be honest with him. She approached him again and took his hands in hers, using them to caress her face "Harry... I do care about you." she told him "Very much."

"But your loyalty lies with her?" Harry asked, a sarcastic chuckle forming in his lips.

"No, darling." she whispered, making a decision. She leaned to him again and whispered to his ear "Arabela Gaunt is just an alias I created to be closer to you. I am Lady Voldemort and we met at the Chamber of Secrets two years ago."

And in that moment, a veil was lifted from Harry's mind and he remembered all that had happened two years before, the year when the chamber of secrets had been opened. He always found suspicious how he didn't remember very well what had happened but now he had his answers. A fidelius charm had been cast upon the events... He remembered how he entered the chamber of secrets and found the younger Weasley girl drawing runes in the floor around a small altar, under the guidance of a semi transparent shade of a pretty girl with raven hair, wearing Slytherin robes... the same shade who, after a quick introduction, identified herself as being the Dark Lady Voldemort, who would be reborn thanks to the life force of the stupid girl who carried her diary and set the basilisk on him, to make sure he didn't interfere.

She believed him to be a hero.

She was wrong.

Harry flared his magic and struck against the basilisk even before it came out of the statue. They heard the beast hiss in pain and the basilisk never came out.

The look of shock she gave him when she felt his magic was only surpassed when his cutting curse separated the Weasley girl's head from her shoulders and the shade started to scream and fading from existence. Harry remembered looking at the diary, opening it and writing in its pages using the girl's blood.

I don't care. he wrote and threw the book to the ground, near the body of the girl. He never noticed the drop of blood that fell from his nose into the page but he noticed the drops that fell to the ground and cleaned himself, knowing it happened because of pushing his magic too hard. Then he simply left the chamber, never to return. He blocked the memory in his mind and made sure to be surprised when it came out that the girl had vanished. He was never suspected and even tried to help to find her, as the light side poster boy would and no one suspected him. Then, one day, the memory had faded from his mind, not that he realized it. Until today.

"I remember..." he whispered, looking to Arabela, who smiled sadly "How?" she shrugged.

"I don't know." she replied "In one moment, I was raging in the diary, thinking about you, what I felt and what you had done and suddenly I felt myself being dragged from the diary. Then I had a physical body and was alone in the chamber. I had no idea what happened but I knew you were not to be taken lightly. I picked the girl's wand, left by the basilisk tunnels into the forest and went to Gringotts. They told me what I knew, gave me access to all my vaults and we created a new identity for me as Arabela Gaunt. I spent that summer thinking about you, what you had done and your power and I became a bit obsessed about you... I also read those stupid books and all the articles the paper made since that night... I wanted to know you, know my enemy, the one who vanquished my other self nearly sixteen years ago... but I was weak and had no idea how to do it... I decided to come here last year, to meet you personally but I couldn't be recognized by Dumbledore or you... hence the fidelius on my identity and what happened in the chamber... I found you interesting and enigmatic. Why didn't you show your power? Why being only average when you could be great? I found myself wondering and wondering, realizing I knew something private from you and slowly, my anger and hate gave birth to respect, jealousy and obsession. Somehow, obsession became interest and feelings were developed and... last year's last term happened" she smiled "I realized I had a crush on you and that I liked you a lot. That led to me deciding I needed to know why the other me wanted you dead... So I found her this past summer and with a bit of cunning, I absorbed her into myself, becoming the only Lady Voldemort in existence... and I realized her motives in going after you and your family were completely idiotic and that no sane witch or wizard would trust her reasons." Harry rose an eyebrow at that but said nothing, preferring to wait "I became much more powerful by absorbing her soul into mine and that led me to find out about the link to invade your mind. I saw your whole life, how the muggles treated you and in the beginning, I was disgusted how you didn't fight back... Then I realized that the memories were incomplete and I searched for others... and I did find memories of you using your magic at a younger age, forcing your will upon others, experimenting... even against the muggles but if they caught you, they would beat you horribly." she snarled "I saw your memories when the walrus broke your arm with fire poker, the dogs..." she trembled in anger and Harry was strangely stiff "Tell me you did something to them. Tell me you had your revenge."

"Not yet, but soon." he replied with a scowl and she nodded.

"I saw your entire life. I even saw when you confronted my other self because of the stone, while she was possessing Quirrel... I'm appalled she allowed him to be such a lousy teacher but I wasn't very surprised when I saw you act in a similar way to what you acted in the chamber, burning Quirrel before he could attack you... You don't offer terms do you?" she asked with a chuckle.

Harry's reply was a shrug.

"Then, I admit, I had Wormtail there, taking care of my other self and I discovered what happened last year, when Black told you the truth."

"You were responsible for Wormtail's capture?" Harry asked and 'Arabela' nodded with a smirk.

"Think of it as a small token of good will." she replied "Of course, had I known what you just told me about Black and Lupin..."

"Thanks, anyway." Harry replied lowly and she smiled "He betrayed all who trusted him."

"It was no big loss." she replied.

"What about all the snogging and the sex through the link?" Harry asked and she shrugged.

"I wanted it. I wanted you and ... it happened. My only regret was not being physical as well. Like you said, this snog was much better than anything we did before."

"Yes..." he whispered, looking at her "What now, Voldemort?" he asked.

"Now you know the truth about me and what I want from you." she replied "You have my word I have nothing against you and all the reasons the other me had to kill you were stupid. I will not raise my wand against you unless you rise it first and you know I don't want to do that. You know I want you as my partner and I always get what I want."

Harry only looked at her, clearly in thought.

"And with you being the secret keeper, there's no chance this story will reach anyone else?" he asked and she nodded.

"Absolutely none." she replied.

"And the other you? You absorbed her soul and magic. Does that mean you're her now?"

"I have her memories and power but her personality was weak and was suppressed."

"Then are you the woman who tried to kill me when I was one?" Harry asked.

"I guess that partially would be a good answer but like I said, I..."

"You ruined everything." he told her and she rose an eyebrow at the interruption "You ruined my plans, you ruined my masks and you ruined part of my vengeance..." he sighed, crossing his arms and looking at the lake "I should hate you for all you did against me, and I'm angry at you but I won't raise my wand against you, unless you do it first." the surprise quickly became a huge smile in her lips "I miss the dreams, you know?" he asked her and her smile grew.

"Lower your barriers and we can be together every night in our minds... and even in the real world." she told him huskily and they both felt the desire growing.

"I'll think about that." he replied as he felt her hugging him from behind.

"What now?" she asked and he shrugged. None spoke for several moments.

"I want power. I have my ambitions to do several things that require a lot of power and I won't give up." Harry told her and she nodded.

"Shouldn't you be in Slytherin, then?" she joked.

"That was the hat's first choice but I decided that for my self-preservation, I needed to be away from the snake pit. That and I would certainly need to prove my points against them and that wouldn't do with the weak and scared boy image I was trying to pass. Besides, Dumbledore's minions had made sure I knew Slytherin was the house of the evil witches and wizards, especially the one who killed my family..."

"Wha-What?" she mumbled in astonishment, her eyes widening "I never saw that one memory."

"My most relevant memories are hidden deeper than the ones you saw." Harry replied with an amused chuckle. She overcame her shock and looked at his more relaxed form "Do you promise you won't try to kill me nor send anyone against me, unless I do it first?"

"I told you, didn't I?" she asked "But yes, I promise."

"Good."

"Do you?"

"You're not the woman who killed my parents or tried to kill me." Harry replied and she rose an eyebrow "I have no reason or desire to kill you so yes, I promise."

"Good." she replied with a smile, remembering to check the time. With a quick movement of her wand, she noticed they had little time until classes began "We should go to breakfast."

"I'm not really hungry."

"To bad, I want you to come as well." she replied, grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the lake "Besides, I want to see how everyone will react when you enter the hall at my side." Harry rolled his eyes "Dumbledore may have a stroke after last night."

"The old man is tougher than he looks." Harry replied, walking next to her.

"Believe me, I know." she replied, offering him a wink.

The two walked in silence back to the castle but before they entered through the gates, Arabela grabbed his arm and entangled hers with his. He said nothing.

"You'll sit with me." she told him and he rose an eyebrow "That way, we have our fun and we make a statement to everyone. You have my support and no Slytherin will dare oppose you."

"Most would think you'd be better than me." he replied and she snorted.

"As if I would ever enter the tournament." she replied and Harry huffed in distaste and annoyance, making her chuckle "But I have every trust in your abilities."

"You're lucky I like you." he mumbled and she felt the warmth in her chest growing.

"And you're lucky I like you." she replied with a chuckle and a soft peck on his cheek, avoiding another snog fest, not because she didn't want it but because she was afraid of not being able to control herself "Now come on."

The great hall occupants were strangely quiet and the teachers were no exception. The students were quietly whispering about the events of last night, although some Gryffindors clearly wanted to celebrate. Everyone was apprehensive, though, about the power they had seen Harry Potter unleash. It had scared all of them and none ever suspected the Boy-Who-Lived to have such a power hidden. Many didn't understood why he kept it hidden in the first place.

The words of Arabela Gaunt had spread through the house of the snakes like wildfire and while surprised, everyone understood their meaning. They were to support Potter, or else. So the silver and green house stood in silence, eating and watching the other houses, occasionally speaking with their housemates, expressing their own thoughts.

From Ravenclaw, no one knew what to think and many wondered about the possibility of Harry's name coming out of the cup if he didn't put it, as he said. Only Luna Lovegood, the resident loony as they called her, mentioned once something about wrackspurts. She liked Harry Potter because he was nice to her and helped her once or twice but not even she knew what to think.

Hufflepuf was shocked with what they had witnessed but didn't care about the identity champion. As long as he represented the school, he had their support. A shame it hadn't been one of them, especially if Potter was unwilling. That point was talked with some Ravenclaws and many wondered.

From the other schools, Viktor Krum and his schoolmates were stoically calm, hiding their apprehension. Krum knew he was a powerful wizard but he knew he had no chance against what he felt. From the Beauxbatton students, the preoccupation wasn't hidden at all. Their champion tried to look unconcerned but was failing miserably. Proof of that was her veela allure being slightly out of control, influenced by her emotions. Veelas desired strong partners, to protect them and their children but it wasn't desire that left Fleur concerned. It was fear to go against Harry Potter. She heard the stories and never believed them. When she arrived to Britain, she noticed Harry Potter and found him nothing special. A handsome young man, sure, but nothing else. Now, she was terrified of him because of the power she felt and all the anger... veelas were more tuned to emotions and knew how to recognize them better.

Finally, the staff had no idea what to think. Many teachers wondered about Harry Potter. He didn't produce outstanding work, only Acceptable and occasionally Exceeding Expectations grades. How then, did the cup chose him? More, was it true that someone had put his name and not him? Dumbledore had gave them his word he would ward against such a thing... What about his power? Lilly and James Potter were powerful wizards and it had been a disappointment when their son wasn't as gifted as them... then suddenly, the boy unleashes his power, almost as strong as Dumbledore's? If not more?

McGonagall was nervous and slightly irritated with the boy's actions the previous night. She was concerned as well. If Harry was right and someone put his name in the cup... he had never given them reasons to be suspicious of him and he was always a hardworking young man, although not very talented... and suddenly... not only that, he hadn't slept in his dorm.

Snape was sullen, not knowing what to think. He disliked the Potter brat immensely and made sure to let it be known, especially when it became apparent he was nothing like his mother... and suddenly, the boy is nearly as powerful as Dumbledore and the Dark Lady. How? Not only that, he heard the rumours that Arabela Gaunt had pledge her support to Potter... another problem. Arabela Gaunt was a Slytherin worthy of that name and he had no influence on her. She barely respected him as a teacher and head of house... only as a potion's master had she expressed some level of respect for him.

Dumbledore had no idea what to think. For years, the boy had seemed to be weak, malleable and accepting of his 'advice'. Then, suddenly, he snapped, showed power greater than his own and changed completely? Could it be some kind of influence of the dark lady? But that didn't justify the power he wielded... and how had his name come out of the cup? The same cup the boy destroyed in his anger? How was he to regain control of him, guide him into the light where he should be?

His musings ended as the great hall doors opened, allowing the entrance of the object of his concerns. Much to his surprise (and everyone else's) Harry Potter entered the great hall with Arabela Gaunt in his arm. She seemed amused and Harry seemed annoyed but allowed her to guide him to the Slytherin table, much to everyone's surprise. The whispers started immediately.

"Mr. Potter, where have you been and why haven't you slept at Gryffindor tower?" McGonagall demanded and Arabela looked to Harry, curious.

"I was inside school grounds, so it's none of your business where I have been and I didn't sleep at the tower because I didn't want to be bothered by questions and celebrations for something I don't care about." he replied coldly and everyone gasped. Harry Potter had never spoken like that to anyone. He was generally polite and submissive to teachers. McGonagall gaped and was unable to form words, not recognizing the young man before her.

Arabela hid her laughter and guided him to her table.

"Mr. Potter, why are you sitting at the Slytherin table?" asked Sprout out of curiosity. Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Because this annoying witch at my side is making me. Is it against the rules?" he asked and everyone widened their eyes. Arabela rolled her eyes and elbowed him softly, not hiding a grin.

"No, not at all..." Flitwick replied, baffled "Any reason why?"

"I decided to offer my support to MY champion." Arabela replied with a grin and no one noticed the inflection she used at the second my "I had to convince him to accept his role first, of course, despite him being an unwilling champion."

"I didn't accept anything." he replied with a scowl.

"Yes, you did." Arabela replied amused and everyone was baffled at their interaction. Harry only snorted, sitting next to Arabela after glaring at the nearest Slytherins, who were looking at him "Since the staff doesn't seem to care about the moral of our champion or how his choosing seem to have happened in the first place, I took it upon myself to make sure he competes instead of just botching the tasks."

"He's a gryffindor. He wouldn't do that!" someone shouted from the table of the lions.

Harry just snorted, not deigning to answer that. Arabela, however, had no such qualms.

"You keep thinking that, if you want." she replied amused and many wondered what she meant.

"Mr. Potter." Dumbledore called "It pleases me that you decided to take your role of a champion seriously, even if unwillingly." Harry snorted again "Once again, I can not offer you an explanation how your name came out of the cup but I can assure you we will find out how it happened."

"Sure..." he mumbled, serving himself with some toast, ignoring the smug smile 'Arabela' had.

"Since you left last night, the first task shall be on November twenty-fourth but there will be another event in a couple of weeks." Dumbledore added.

"Anything else?" asked Arabela "Any clues for the task?"

"Nothing that can be shared with the champions..." Dumbledore replied and Arabela nearly snorted at the thought that the other headmasters would obey the rules.

"Oh well, I'm sure you'll be fine." she told Harry with a pat on the shoulder and he glared at her.

"This is better be worth it..." he mumbled to himself but she heard him.

"I'm sure we can make it worth it, don't worry darling." she told him in a wishful whisper and he felt a shiver of excitement through his spine. None noticed the surprised looks many gave their interactions.

None could believe it but all knew the same thing:

Something had just changed dramatically in Hogwarts... and no student would be crazy enough to oppose it.