The Butterfly Effect

Eins: The Moment of Divergence

Harry Potter slept soundly in his bed, for the first time in weeks. For the entirety of his fourth year (well two weeks of it), he had felt that something was about to go very wrong, it always did. The day that the Goblet of Fire had chosen the competitors had begun as a terrifying one for Harry. He had a awoken from a nightmare that involved a dragon and angry merpeople. He shuddered at the thought, and for the rest of the day, he had a sense of doom whenever he saw the Goblet of Fire. He remembered vividly just how his day had done a complete 180, followed by a turn that almost brought it back to a full 360, but not quite. Perhaps a 325? He wasn't completely safe yet, but it was better than the alternative. He unconsciously turned in his sleep as his flashback of the previous day's events unfolded once again in his mind, almost like a pensieve memory.

Harry sat beside Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and cheered for the final champion of the Triwizard Tournament: Cedric Diggory. He subconsciously sighed in relief, he had the odd suspicion his name would come out of the bloody cup. He had no idea how correct he was, as just as soon as Cedric had left, a piece of Parchment floated over next to Dumbledore and landed on the floor next to him. Dumbledore bent over to pick it up, and since he had his ceremonial robes on, the robes only reached his ankles. Therefore, some first year girls were traumatized at seeing up the headmaster's robes as a first wind ejected from the Goblet. The image of the world's most powerful wizard's Gryffindor underpants would forever haunt them.

The mood soon became somber as the headmaster stared at the piece of parchment in shock. "Harry Potter," he called out softly. When Harry remained glued to his seat he yelled, "HARRY POTTER!" This time, Hermione forced him to stand up and walk to the goblet while Ron glared at him. As Harry passed by the Goblet, however, a fire erupted from the artifact. An ancient face appeared from the flames. Dramatically, it rang out in a booming voice.

"This boy is not to be a champion! I, Odin son of Merlin, release him from the contract. My father hid my soul in here before I died, he rescued my spirit from my dying body and gave me as a gift to continue his greatest innovation: the Triwizard Cup, a tournament that originally ended feuds between ancient wizarding clans from all around the world. For over eight hundred years I have been locked away and released at different intervals, but I have never made a mistake. And no incompetent fool will ever manage to alter my decisions with a simple Confundus as if I were a mere locking charm! The magical signature of this boy does not match the one who placed the parchment into the flames. I have seen his heart, and he is a monster. In fact, the perpetrator is among us, cleverly disguised under polyjuice."

A blast of orange light emanated from Professor Moody, who was slowly attempting to inch towards the door by the staff table, as his hair turned dark and his leg grew back. The magical eyeball fell and before them stood the dark haired madman, Barty Crouch Jr., shivering in both fear and sadistic pleasure. It seemed that he would be able to curse some children after all. His pupils dilated to the point of looking feral, but before he could draw his wand Dumbledore had disarmed and bound him, showing his reflexes even in his old age.

"Let it be known that no one shall ever tamper with the Goblet of Fire. Many greater wizards have tried, and none lived to tell the tale. But I know this one will serve you better alive. My purpose remains, and I shall continue to unite wizards for eons to come. It seems that only violence can unite our kind. Good luck to all the champions."

With those words, the goblet's fire disappeared, leaving an awkward Harry standing in front of the three student bodies. Professor Dumbledore ushered him out of the room and skipped the champion's meeting to go to his office, leaving his Phoenix patronus to speak to the champions.

Professor Dumbledore muttered the password 'sugar quills' before entering his office with a very confused Harry behind him. He ushered him into one of the comfortable armchairs and offered him a licorice wand, which he readily accepted.

As he ate the wand, as he had not eaten much dinner, Dumbledore watched him and smiled. Though Dumbledore did not consider himself a master at Arithmancy, he knew that most students denied his candy, especially the Pureblooded children. However, he had not brought Harry to his office to watch him eat candy - in fact, that would be a bit strange for a variety of reasons.

After hesitating for a moment, Dumbledore said, "It seems Harry, that dangerous forces are now taking greater steps towards harming you than I'd realized. That man who you saw today is the same one that you described at the World Cup, and again in your dreams. It seems you've had a stroke of luck. With the information from Crouch we might be able to find Voldemort or at least prevent his current plans from coming to fruition. It is for this matter, that you - well, actually an ancient artifact - have bought yourself some time to enjoy being a teenager, if you consider doing magic in an ancient castle while watching some of the most dangerous magic in the world be thrown around for a tournament 'normal teenager things'. It is for the best that you lie low this year, perhaps it will stop any incidents."

"Yes headmaster, I'd really enjoy a normal year for once," Harry said wistfully, secretly wondering how he would manage to screw it up this time.

Dumbledore internally winced, feeling the pessimistic thoughts flowing through his favorite pupil's mind. "Remember Harry, help is always given at Hogwarts to those who need it. Now go rest up. You've got some time to yourself, use it to enjoy yourself. I might even forget any pranks you might pull on the students. I'm sure your father and Sirius would be proud." Dumbledore replied with a wink and the twinkle in his eye.

"Thank you headmaster, I'll take up your offer," he replied with an even bigger grin before he took off, enjoying the last licorice wand.

Harry smiled as his dream ended, and woke up feeling refreshed and carefree. He looked out the window at the beautiful sunshine and grinned. He remained there, staring at the beautiful day until movement from a half-asleep Neville startled him. He decided to take a walk to the Great Hall after a quick shower, not caring that he would probably be the only one there.