What If… Harry Potter

It had been a hard time for Harry during the beginning of his fourth year. Once again, he was the focus of the school's ire. He had hoped that this year would have been different than his other years. Just once he wanted to be normal and to let things happen to someone else. He didn't like the spotlight and he would have happily celebrated with the other students as they cheered on Cedric.

But, no. His name had to come out of the stupid Goblet of Fire and now he was the fourth champion. He was accused of cheating and was ostracized by nearly the entire school. Even his supposed best friend Ron had turned his back on him and said horrible things about him.

Hermione was almost as bad, because she didn't want to get in the middle of the argument or to pick sides. She still helped Harry when he needed it and he was grateful for it; but, her choice to not completely support him, even though she knew that he was right, was grating on his nerves. Then the first task happened.

Now he was considered a hero by most of the Griffindors and Ron hadn't even apologized. He had half-assed it, like he did everything else, and Harry had accepted it and pretended that nothing had happened. On the surface, anyway. Inside, he was never going to completely trust Ron again. Not even Hermione suspected that he could hold a grudge like that.

They didn't know that he had learned years ago to do it, because his cousin Dudley had beaten it into him. He hated that pig in a wig so much and he couldn't do anything about it, so he pushed it inside and never let anyone see it.

A large portion of the school still saw him as a cheater, even though they begrudgingly had to admit that he had succeeded in the task with a better score than the seventh year students.

“At least he's doing well, even if he did cheat to get into the tournament.” The whisperers around him would say as he passed.

Harry wasn't going to admit that things like that got to him. He hated that he couldn't rave and shout at them to shut up, mainly because they would call him a nutter and the whispers and rumors would only get a lot worse. He didn't want to think about how he would react if people thought he was crazy, too.

His situation didn't improve, especially when his Transfiguration teacher announced the Yule Ball. He immediately decided that he was going to skip it, then at the end of class, the same teacher told him that he had to attend because the champions opened the ball... with their dates.

Harry's heart plummeted at those words. Didn't the daft woman already know how most of the school treated him? How was he supposed to find a date to the ball when they all thought he was a cheater?

Time seemed to pass slowly as the day of the ball approached, Christmas Day, and he kept putting it off each day. Ron was no help, like always, and didn't do anything to change that.

Hermione was no better when there were only a few days left and they sat in the common room doing homework. “Harry, you're famous. You even fought a dragon and won. There's probably not a girl in the whole school that would say no to you if you asked.”

Harry fought hard to not glare at her for that comment. He thought that she understood. He didn't want to just ask anyone, especially if all they wanted him for was his fame.

“Oh? Will you go with me, then?” Harry asked quietly enough that no one else but her had heard him.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, then she blushed. “Harry, I... I'm sorry. I already have a date.”

“Then there's at least one girl that will say no, isn't there?” Harry almost spat at her and stood to pack up his things. He ignored the shocked look on her face over him pointing out how wrong she was. “I'm going for a walk.”

Hermione couldn't talk after such a strong rebuke from him and she watched as he started to walk across the common room. Just then, the common room door opened and several people came in while dragging someone along with them.

“What happened?” Hermione asked as she jumped up to see who it was.

“It was hilarious!” Seamus said and let Ron's arm go.

“Finnegan!” Ginny spat. “It wasn't funny! That was embarrassing!”

“Only for Ron.” Dean said with a laugh. “I almost threw up because I was laughing so hard.”

“Tell me what happened!” Hermione demanded as she sat beside Ron on the floor and rubbed his arm.

Harry stood off to the side and had to hold in his own laughter as the story about Ron's horribly embarrassing attempt to ask the French champion Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball.

How does it feel to be the center of attention? Harry asked himself and couldn't stop the smile on his face. I hope you like it just as much as I do!

“Hiya, Harry.” Two voices said as they walked around the group gathered around Ron.

Harry blinked his eyes as the Patil twins passed by him. He was sure that the both of them were looking right at him and were ignoring Ron. He glanced down at a despondent Ron as he seemed to soak up the attention, then he looked at the two girls that just reached the door to the room.

“Hey, wait up.” Harry said and walked after them. He knew something was going on, because it was strange for Padma to be in the Griffindor common room. She was a Ravenclaw and he hadn't seen her around very much.

The two girls were dressed in some of their finest everyday outfits and he couldn't help notice how alike they were as the three of them walked down the hallway. He never did ask why they had been sorted into two different houses.

“I've been meaning to ask you something...” Harry started to say.

“I told you that it would work.” Parvati said and elbowed Padma's side as the trio came to a stop. “He just had to see you out of your school uniform and you got his attention right away.”

Harry blinked his eyes as Padma blushed and elbowed her sister back. Now he knew that something was going on. The question he had on his mind had evaporated at the expectant look on Padma's face.

“Well, go ahead and ask her to the ball. She's waiting.” Parvati said with a crooked smile.

I guess that's why she's in Griffindor. Harry thought and turned his face slightly to look into Padma eyes. “Do you want to go to the ball with me?”

“Y-yes.” Padma said, her blush deepening.

“Congratulations!” Parvati said and hugged her sister. “She's liked you for ages and I couldn't convince her to do anything about it until now.”

Harry was surprised, because he didn't think Padma had see him more than a dozen times over the last three years, maybe even less than that. He was also at a bit of a loss about what to say, now that he had two pretty girls in front of him.

“Uh... did you hear about what happened to Ron?” Harry asked, jumping at the last thing he had seen in the common room.

Parvati let out a laugh. “I did! He's such an idiot! I can't believe that...” Her voice drifted off as she realized who she was talking to. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean...”

“No, it's okay. He is an idiot.” Harry said, to the surprise of both girls. “I mean, if I was going to do something that embarrassed me, I would have made sure there would have been a lot less witnesses.”

Parvati and Padma looked at each other and then back at Harry. Neither knew what to say to that.

Harry smiled and waved at the empty hallway they were in. “Like where we are now.”

Padma's receding blush returned and Parvati gave him a calculating look.

“That reminds me.” Harry looked at Parvati. “It's about Ron and the ball...”

“No, absolutely not.” Parvati said and shook her head. “I'm not going with him...”

Harry held a hand up to stall her continued protests. “That's not what I was going to ask.”

“Then what?” Padma asked, her curiosity aroused.

“Well... how would you like to play a prank on him... and the whole school?” Harry asked with a grin.

*

“I look ridiculous.” Ron complained for the hundredth time.

Harry ignored him and put the finishing touches on his high quality dress robes. He hadn't thought about them at all until Padma had asked him what color they were. Thanks to some last minute shopping and a rushed owl-post delivery, his bright emerald robes with gold trim sat over his shoulders with a tuxedo underneath. She had wanted to match his outfit and he was quite happy with how he looked with the gold cumberbund and the gilded rose in his lapel.

“Let's go, guys! The girls are waiting!” Neville said loudly and the boys in the dorm shuffled out and went down the stairs. They had all agreed to meet in the Entrance Hall, just so they weren't crowding around the common rooms of the houses.

It didn't take them long to get into position at the bottom of the main staircase and they waited there for their dates. Harry couldn't wait to see how things turned out and he was almost bouncing on his feet in anticipation as his eyes searched for his date in the large group of girls that flowed down the stairs.

“H-H-Hermione? Is that you?” Ron almost choked on her name and Harry turned to look at her as she came own the staircase. She was wearing a periwinkle dress that hugged her waist and it made everyone see that she was definitely a girl.

“Hi.” Hermione said and gave them a little wave as she walked by and went over to the Durmstrang students before she disappeared into the uniforms to stand beside Victor Krum.

Harry shook his head at her and turned back to look up at the staircase. Parvati came down wearing a gold dress and she nodded to Harry and to Ron, then stood there between them to wait as well. Harry smiled as he thought about what was going to happen, then he caught his breath as he saw her. Her dress was the perfect companion to his robes and the gold jewellery he had bought for her matched the gold accents he wore.

“Padma.” Harry whispered when she stepped off the last step to stand in front of him. “You're beautiful.”

Padma blushed and ducked her head a little. “Thank you, Harry.”

“All right, students. You can all go in now. Champions, come over here and wait for the others to enter and settle down.” Minerva McGonagall said and waved her hands as if she was directing traffic like a muggle policeman.

“Go on in, Ron. I need to talk to Padma for a minute.” Parvati said and Ron didn't even nod as he left with the others.

“Good god, he is so thick.” Parvati whispered as she went with Harry and Padma over to the side. “I almost feel bad about this.” She gave Harry a sly smile. “Almost.”

Harry had to cover his bark of laughter with a cough. Luckily, no one noticed.

“You're going in by age, so youngest first.” Minerva said and waved Harry forward. “Miss Patil?”

“I'm just giving Padma some advice.” Parvati said and leaned in to her sister's ear and whispered.

Minerva shrugged and set the champions in the proper order as they waited. Five minutes later, it was time. “Go on in, Miss Patil.”

“Yes, professor.” Parvati said as she quickly hooked her arm in Harry's and started walking. Harry and Padma had been waiting for that and walked in perfect step with her.

“Wait! What are you doing?” Minerva said a bit loudly, which just happened to get everyone's attention. They all turned to look at the entrance and saw Harry Potter walk in with both Patil twins on his arms and all three of them had huge smiles on their faces.

“Is this happening?”

“He didn't take both of them, did he?”

“Of course Potter had to draw attention to himself.”

“Hey! That's MY date!” A distinct voice said, which made a few people laugh.

“You never asked me to the ball.” Parvati said smugly, because it was one of Ron's failings that he never actually said what he was supposed to. “I only said I would meet you in the Entrance Hall. I did that and you walked away from me without looking back.”

Ron's mouth dropped open and a lot more people started laughing, especially when they noticed what he was wearing.

“My dates are perfectly coordinated with me.” Harry said and came to a stop in the middle of the floor. “Gold and green cloth.” He lightly touched Parvati's shoulder and then Padma's. “Gold and emerald jewellery.” He said and briefly touched their earrings and necklaces before hugging them by their waists.

The other champions and their dates gathered around Harry and the Patil twins to take up their starting dance positions. Harry ignored the glare that Hermione was giving him and only had eyes for his dates.

“My body is in your hands.” Harry whispered to the two girls as he slipped off his glasses and put them into his pocket. He didn't have to see their faces to know that they were quite pleased with both his words and with him removing his ugly glasses.

The music started and the champions started to dance. No one could figure out how Harry was dancing with two girls at the same time and not messing things up. The answer was easy. He let the two girls control his steps. He had tried to lead when they first started practising and it had been a disaster. So, he let them lead and he followed them across the dance floor, lifted one of them when asked, and twirled when necessary.

It worked perfectly for the first dance, which made the three of them quite happy. They had spent hours and hours getting it right and now everyone saw the results of their hard work. The next song started and suddenly they were surrounded by other students.

“You really took both of them?” A male voice asked and Harry looked to see two people blobs.

“He did, Cedric. It was all his idea, too.” Parvati said.

“Okay, wow.” A feminine voice said and then the blobs moved off.

“You really can't see very far, can you?” Padma asked in a whisper.

“Only the smart and pretty girls right in front of me.” Harry said. “I don't need to see more than that.”

“Oh, Harry.” Both girls said and leaned in to kiss his cheeks at the same time.

The song changed to a faster one and Harry reached for his pocket to put his glasses back on.

“No, we aren't letting you go, no matter how fast the music is.” Parvati said and took one of his hands. Padma took the other one and the three of them danced to the faster song.

This went on for most of the night, with occasional breaks and drinks of punch, and then the evening seemed to end before they knew it. They didn't even have an encounter with Malfoy, which surprised them. Harry hadn't looked for Ron or Hermione all night, either. For the first time in his life, this night was just for his own enjoyment and it had been great.

“I'm beat.” Pavarti said and sighed. “I guess we need to go.”

“It's sad, isn't it? We're having a great time and it has to come to an end eventually.” Padma sighed as well.

“I'll walk you to your common rooms.” Harry offered and then smiled. “That is, if you would lead me there.”

Both girls let out giggles and led him off of the dance floor and out through the Great Hall's doors. They went up the stairs and made their way to the seventh floor. Both the Griffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms were in the two tallest towers, which meant the entrances were on the top floor of the school. The problem was that they were on opposite sides.

“Drop me off first.” Padma said and they walked towards Ravenclaw Tower when they were at the top of the last staircase. They came to a stop in front of the large doorknocker and Padma turned to look at Harry. “Thank you for a wonderful night.”

“It really was great, wasn't it?” Harry asked and took a half step forward. He felt Padma's breath on his face and he looked into her eyes. For some reason, he could see them better than he ever did while wearing his glasses. “I really like your eyes.”

Padma blushed and bit her lip, which made her look very cute and adorable. That feeling seemed to send a surge of that legendary Griffindor Courage through Harry... then he leaned forward... their lips met... and Padma almost purred as her arms went around him and pulled him in close. Harry put his own arms around her and unconsciously started to move his lips. That gave Padma the idea to match him and the two of them made out right there in the hallway.

After a few minutes, they almost jerked when a light cough interrupted them.

“A-ahem.” Parvati softly fake coughed. “I'm sorry. I wouldn't have come between you if I had a choice; but, we need to get to bed.”

“Y-yes, r-r-right.” Padma said, her voice shaky and a little weak. Her heart was fluttering after a kiss like that and she wasn't sure what she had been thinking, doing something like that in front of her sister.

“I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to leave my other date out of this.” Harry boldly said as he turned to face the other twin.

“Excuse me? What do you mean by...” Parvati started to ask, then her lips were occupied by Harry's. “Mmmm!” She moaned as Harry kissed her like he had kissed her sister.

Padma's mouth made that little 'o' of surprise as she watched her sister snogging her date. She couldn't fault her, though. Even if it had started out as a prank on Ron and the other students in the school, she was technically his date, too.

Harry broke the kiss when he felt like it had been the same amount of time that he had kissed Padma. “Thank you both for being my dates tonight.” He said and this time he had to put on his glasses, because Parvati was leaning heavily on him and wouldn't be able to lead him to the Griffindor common room.

“It was our pleasure.” Padma said as she saw Parvati's happy smile.

Harry reached out and took Padma's hand. “Do you want to meet up at breakfast? We can go for a walk around the lake or something afterwards.”

“Yes, I... I would like that.” Padma admitted.

“Then Parvati and I can meet for lunch and we can go for a walk, too.”

Both girls blinked their eyes for a few seconds and then they both stared at his face. “Are you serious?” They both asked at the same time.

“No, he's my godfather. I'm Harry.” Harry said with a straight face, then he barked a laugh. “Sorry, I couldn't resist.”

It took the girls a second to get the joke.

“I meant, you're really going to try and date the both of us? At the same time?” Parvati asked.

Harry nodded. “I know it started as a joke, but... you're both so nice, I don't want to pick one and leave the other alone.”

“That's just... either you're too nice... or you think you can handle the both of us.” Padma said, her voice a bit flat.

Harry gave her a crooked smile. “Would you rather I date one of you for a few months and then switch to the other one?”

“NO!” Both of the girls yelled, which made him chuckle.

“The three of us made it work tonight, at the biggest event the school's ever had and with all those people staring at us. I'm pretty sure we can handle going on normal dates.”

“Are you going to keep us separate?” Parvati asked, a little concerned.

“No, just for what we can call our official first dates, or any other dates you want. I know you are two different girls and like different things. I don't want to treat you like you're interchangeable...” Harry stopped talking when the two girls kissed his cheeks.

“Good answer.” Padma said and stepped back. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Harry and Parvati said at the same time. They watched Padma answer the riddle the door knocker gave her and then the pair walked across the top floor of the castle to get to the Griffindor common room.

“Harry, you didn't have to...” Parvati whispered before they reached the Fat Lady portrait that guarded the tower.

“I did.” Harry said and turned to face her. “You've been great about all of this, especially by bringing your sister to me, all because you wanted her to be happy.” He lightly touched her face and she let out a sigh. “I don't mind trying to make you happy, too.”

Parvati gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thank you.”

Harry nodded slightly and gave the password to the portrait, which opened up to a practically empty common room. There were only three people there and apparently had been waiting for him.

“Oi!” Ron's voice cut across the room.

Harry saw Hermione and Ginny were sitting on the sofa by the fire. “Go on up to bed, Parvati. You don't need to see this.”

Parvati nodded and gave Ginny a pointed look, then she turned and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

“OI!” Ron yelled.

“Goodnight.” Harry said and watched her go up the stairs. Gold really looked good on her.

“How could you do that to me, mate?!?” Ron spat.

“Do what?” Harry asked.

“Everyone was laughing at me!”

“They laugh at you like every couple of days. Why was today any different?” Harry asked.

“Harry! That's not nice!” Hermione said, loudly.

“Neither is telling everyone that I'm a liar and a cheat.” Harry said with a casual tone.

“I never said...” Hermione started to say.

“Not you, him.” Harry said and pointed, then his finger went to Ginny. “And her.”

Ginny blushed and turned her face away. “I never meant...”

“Everyone thinks that I can't hear anything when I'm being ostracized.” Harry said with a shrug. “I'm not sure why you both worked so hard to keep everyone away from me, and to be honest, I don't care.”

“Harry, you can't mean that.” Hermione said.

“Says the girl that went to the ball with the Quiddich star after telling me that I can ask anyone out and they won't say no because I'm famous.”

“So, that's how you got the both of them to go with you!” Ron spat as Hermione blushed from being reminded that she had said no. “I knew you were a cheater!”

Harry gave him a disbelieving look, then started to laugh. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked shocked.

Harry stopped laughing like a switch was flipped. “Now I'm really glad that I played this prank on you.” He said and went over to the stairs. “I've been nothing but a good friend to you for years and you've been nothing but a jealous berk this whole time.”

Ron opened his mouth to start yelling and Harry pulled out his wand to silence him.

“You know, I'm famous and I'm rich, and everyone knows my name.” Harry said and turned his head to look at Ginny. “But, you know what? I would give it all up in a second for what you have.”

“What's that?” Ginny asked in a soft voice, because she was sure that she wasn't going to like the answer.

“Your family. A mother. A father. Brothers and sisters. People that would care about me, no matter what.” Harry said and looked at Hermione's surprised face and then he looked at Ron's, only to see greed there. “It's just too bad you ruined that for me, huh?”

“WHAT! I did no such thing!” Ron exclaimed.

“I always wondered why no one else ever approached me to be friends, even though everyone knew who I was.” Harry said and saw the guilt in Ron's eyes. “You never thought I would find out?”

“We were protecting you.” Ginny said. “Mom said that people would use your fame...”

“...like Ron does. He's been telling people that he's best friends with the boy-who-lived for three years.” Harry said and Hermione and Ginny gasped. “Oh, that reaction was great. I almost believed it. Well done.”

Both girls blushed and couldn't meet his eyes.

“You can't talk to them like that!” Ron said and stalked over to Harry to shut him up, only to be hit with a tripping jinx and then a full body bind spell.

“I haven't said anything to them or accused them of anything. I was just stating the truth.” Harry said and cast a silence spell on Ron to stop his yelling. “Things are going to be different from now on. I get enough of this crap at home and I'm tired of getting it here, too.”

“Harry.” Hermione said and he turned to look at her. “Please, can we just go back to the way things were?”

“No.” Harry said and looked down at Ron. “Once was bad. Twice was worse. Three times? I'm done.”

“No.” Ginny whispered as Harry walked up the stairs. She couldn't help but feel that he wasn't only walking away from them in the common room.

*

“I can't believe this.” Harry whispered as he stood at the docks for the second task. He had been in a moral dilemma ever since he had solved the clue for the task. He had two girlfriends, so who were the tournament judges going to take as a hostage for him to rescue? He didn't know and had spent countless hours with both girls and made out with them as they discussed what he would do if either of them were taken.

Harry's problem, now that he was at the lake and the event was about to start, was that both Patil sisters were sitting in the stands and cheering for him. Who the hell was at the bottom of the lake?

“Champions, the person you will miss the most is currently being held somewhere in the lake. You have an hour to retrieve them, or their fate is sealed.” Ludo Bagman said. “On your marks... get set... GO!”

The other three champions jumped into the lake and Harry stood there for a moment to calm down. He ignored the taunts and jeers about him being afraid, because he needed to concentrate. Padma had written to her father and begged for something to help. He had immediately sent her a spell that Harry had been practising for over a month.

“Aqua Inaedifico!” Harry practically shouted and a stream of water shot out of his wand, then it flowed over him to cover him from head to foot. He now looked like a human shaped water bubble and he jumped into the water. A stream of water shot out behind the bubble and it zoomed through the water towards the center of the lake.

The stands were completely silent, except for two very happy twin girls.

“It worked!” Padma said loudly and hugged her laughing sister. “Nothing can stop him now!”

*

Harry could easily see out through the water encasing him and his water hose spell passed through the water barrier without disruption. He quickly reached the center of the lake, easily passing the other three champions, and then he came to a stop. At the place where the hostages were held, there were four people, one for each champion.

Hermione for Victor Krum, Cho Chang for Cedric Diggory, a young girl that he assumed was for Fleur Delacour, and for him... Ron flipping Weasley.

Nope. Harry thought as the merpeople gathered around to protect the hostages. He shook his head at the stupidity of it all and used the fire hose spell again. He shot up and away from the village and went back towards the shore.

*

“I think I see something!” Someone in the stands said and pointed. “It's a water blob!”

“HARRY!” Padma and Parvati said at the same time. They ran to the edge of the dock and waited. Harry arrived and used the hose spell to launch himself up onto the dock to land beside them. He waved his wand and cancelled the spell to let the water drop into the lake. He was alone.

“Mister Potter, where's your hostage?” Ludo asked, confused.

“I didn't find anyone that I would sorely miss, so whoever you put at the bottom of the lake is on their own.” Harry said as Madam Pomphrey ran over to him. After a quick check, she declared that he was fine and left. It was a new experience for her, because Harry was always hurt during these kinds of things.

Albus Dumbledore walked over to him and gave him an admonishing glare. “Harry, you were supposed to rescue your hostage.”

“I tried, then I saw who it was. Either the clue was a lie or you are ignoring the facts.” Harry said without meeting the old man's eyes.

“Harry...”

“Miss Patil, Miss Patil, let's go up to the castle. I need to put on some proper clothes.” Harry said and started to walk away with his two girlfriends.

“Hey, where is he going? He didn't complete the task!” Someone said loudly.

“I did complete it.” Harry's voice rang out, thanks to the Sonorus charm. “It's not my fault the judges kidnapped the wrong person.”

“Kidnapped? What do you mean, kidnapped?” Another voice asked.

“You don't think they got the permission of the parents, do you?” Harry asked, his voice still loud. “They wouldn't risk them saying no and didn't bother asking. I know, because I did ask.”

Gasps were heard across the stands and a couple of the judges looked worried, especially Dumbledore. No one noticed the little water beetle sitting on the side of the dock.

*

Another Scandal at the Tri-Wizard Tournament By Rita Skeeter

It has come to this reporter's attention that yet another series of mistakes have happened at this year's Tri-Wizard Tournament. First, it was having an underage and under-capable wizard being entered against his will. Now, it's the judges kidnapping students and children to be used as pawns and hostages for the second event!

This is a horrible thing for me to discover, so I investigated the allegations... only to find out that they were true! That's right, folks. The judges arranged for certain people to sneak into the bedrooms and dorm rooms of students and a young child, petrified them, then put them into an enchanted sleep to be placed at the bottom of the black lake at Hogwarts.

Something must be done about this blatant child endangerment!

I call upon you, my loyal readers, to let your displeasure be known to the tournament judges and organizers. The tournament was cancelled decades ago for the deaths of the contestants and now they are just throwing children into the black lake willy-nilly! There are several species of dark creatures living there and we shouldn't encourage them to eat our children!

*

“Sweet Merlin, we're screwed.” Ludo said as he slumped in his chair in the meeting room for the judges. “I can't even go outside without being assaulted.”

Dumbledore sighed as he read the newspaper article again. The school had been bombarded with letters, howlers, and parents showed up in person to complain. The worst was the school board itself appeared to check on the welfare of their own children.

“What are we going to do?” The Minister of Magic asked. He had been under a similar amount of scrutiny, because it had been his idea and he had pushed it through, with Albus Dumbledore's help.

“There's nothing we can do. We have to finish it up and then try to forget about all of the bad publicity.” Madame Maxine said, wisely.

“You really have no choice, thanks to the Goblet of Fire.” Professor Moody said. “If you try to change things or try to call it off, you all know what the consequences will be.”

“Alister's right. We must proceed and hope for the best, while reassuring everyone that we are doing our best to keep the safety of the students as a top priority.” Albus said. He decided to ignore the bark of laughter from Alister.

“This is all Potter's fault.” Professor Snape said, then he was slightly surprised when no one contradicted him. His eyes went to Minerva, his frequent vocal opponent, and she looked like she was sucking on a lemon to try and stay quiet.

“Be that as it may, we must continue.” Albus said and they all nodded.

*

Two months later, Harry sat in the little cozy nook that he and Padma had found in an abandoned hallway. He was leaned back and reading a charms book with one hand while he gently rubbed Padma's shoulder. She was reclined between his legs and her head rested on his chest as she read a transfiguration book.

“Harry.” Padma whispered, her face looked slightly worried.

“Hmm?” Harry responded.

“I... I... love... you.” Padma said and blushed.

Harry's hand on her shoulder stopped moving for a moment, then it moved to her chin and turned her head to face him. “I love you, too.”

“You do?!?” Padma asked, surprised.

“These last few months have been the best of my life.” Harry said and leaned down to lightly kiss her lips. “Ever day I'm with you, I feel so grateful that I had the courage to ask you to the ball.”

Padma looked into his eyes and saw that he was sincere. “But... but, what about...”

“Parvati told me she loved me two weeks ago.”

“She WHAT?!?” Padma yelled.

“She's a Griffindor.” Harry said with a chuckle. “We've both been waiting to see when you were going to admit it.”

Padma's mouth hung open and she couldn't help but stare at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

“Yeah, you're cute with that look on your face, too.” Harry said and started to kiss her in earnest.

Padma shuddered at the passion she felt for him, then her hands let her book go and she grabbed onto his head to kiss him back.

*

“Welcome to the third task of the tournament!” Ludo said without any real enthusiasm. He had lost a bundle on Harry not completing the second task and now he had everything he owned riding on Harry winning. If he didn't win, then there was nothing that anyone could do for Ludo.

Harry ignored the man and looked at the other champions. They had family there with them and he turned his head to look at the people he was starting to consider his own. Padma and Parvati sat there with their parents on either side of them. He gave them a little wave and both girls yelled his name loudly. Their mother had a huge smile on her face and the father looked pleased and was trying to hide it.

The man would never admit that he had been honored when he and his wife had been invited to be the family to visit Harry earlier in the day. He had spent several hours with his daughters and their boyfriend. He stopped himself from shaking his head in disbelief. He had no idea how the boy was dating both of his daughters, successfully, for the last six months.

The cannon went off and Cedric Diggory entered the maze. A few minutes later, Victor Krum entered. A minute later, Fleur Delacour entered. Then, it was a long eight minutes before Harry entered. A second later, everyone was shocked when a broomstick appeared and flew into the maze.

“He did it again!” Ron's voice drowned out the cheers from the crowd. “THE CHEATER!”

“There are no rules that state that I have to stay inside the maze, only that I enter it and get the cup.” Harry said and floated above the maze. His enhanced voice easily carrying over all the noise. “Accio Tri-Wizard Cup!” He said to summon the cup to him, rather than go through the maze. He used the broom only to lift himself above the hedges. The cup popped up from the center of the maze and flew towards Harry.

“NO!” Albus yelled and a magical barrier appeared around Harry. The cup bounced off of it with a metallic ringing sound and then it tumbled through the air with nearly the same force that it hit the barrier with. The cup almost disappeared from sight as it fell back down into the maze. There was a flash of light and then nothing.

The complete silence that fell from seeing such a sight was disturbed by Cedric's voice.

“Hey, where did the acromantula go?”

*

“AHHHH!” Peter Pettegrew yelled and tried to run as the giant spider trampled over to him. He dropped the bundle in his arms and then tripped over that bundle. “NO! NOOOO!” He yelled as the giant spider clamped it's mandibles down onto him and its fangs dug deep into his back to inject him with the venom that would dissolve his insides for drinking later.

“Wormtail! Help me!” The bundle said, then regretted it. The mandibles found Voldemort's tiny homunculus body next and injected it, then it was bundled up in acromantula webbing. Peter was done up next and the giant spider looked around for an appropriate place to stash its next meals. It saw the large manor house and would have smiled if it was possible.

“A new nest.” The female acromantula said and trundled off to make a new home that it would populate as soon as it could. It even had a new sac of eggs just waiting to be laid.

*

Ten years later...

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Harry Potter stared at the darker-skinned beauties across the aisle from him, because the minister had just pronounced them as Mister and Missus Potter-Patil. It had taken several years of political lobbying, and the re-integration of a few old marriage laws that allowed for multi-partner marriages to ensure that a family had proper heirs, for Harry's dream to come true.

“This is really happening, isn't it? It's not a dream?” Padma asked, nervously.

“It really is.” Parvati said, her voice full of happiness.

Harry's face was almost glowing with his beaming a smile at his beautiful wives. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you, too.” Padma and Parvati said together, then the three of them kissed at the same time. They had perfected it over the years and the three of them turned to the cheering crowd that was the audience as Harry moved to stand between them.

“I'm so proud!” Their mother said and wiped at her face. Her tears of happiness were overflowing.

“Remember! We get the first born girl!” Their father said, which made a bunch of people around him laugh.

“Don't worry, Dad. We've got it all worked out.” Padma said and her sister nodded.

They had agreed that the first born boy would be a Potter and then they would alternate each boy after that as a Patil and then Potter, with the reverse for the girls and the Patil name would be first. Both families were quite happy with the arrangement.

Notable by their absence were several people. The Weasleys, Albus Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, and various members of the Order of the Phoenix. They had refused to move on with their lives and were still searching for Voldemort all these years later. Harry wouldn't join them or encouraged them, so they had completely abandoned him. He didn't mind. He had a family and a very happy life.

No one was going to take it from him and Merlin help anyone who tried.

THE END