A pillar of flames burst to life, whirling in heatless blue. It only lasted a few moments before fading away, revealing…

Some kind of knight, only in shiny silver and green instead of the gray iron of the castle knights. Lines of light seemed to stream around the suit, including several brighter circles, one on the chest, and one in the palm of each hand. The helmet visor glowed a bright emerald green as it turned to regard the Headmaster.

Dumbledore stretched out a hand, barely restraining himself from grasping the knight’s armored upper arm. “Harry?”

The knight’s visage seemed to focus on the Headmaster. A slightly distorted voice echoed around the chamber, far louder than should have been possible through the metal. The voice was distinctly male and carried a maturity that was at odds with how old Harry should have been. “How do you know that name, Gandalf? More importantly, who are you and where am I?”

Withdrawing the hand to stroke his beard, Albus offered his best grandfatherly smile, eyes twinkling as he gazed at the knight over his half moon glasses. “My dear boy, I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where you now find yourself. It would appear that the Goblet has summoned you here.” He waved towards the Goblet which even now remained alight.

Turning that glowing visage towards the Goblet, the knight tilted his head for a moment. “Karen, can you get me a reading on the Goblet while I deal with Merlin here?” Before Albus could wonder who the knight was talking to, that glowing gaze returned to him. “Alright Dumbles, seems magic has brought me here, wherever this school of yours happens to be. Wherever it is doesn’t seem to have access to satellite internet, that or you’ve got it blocked, which wouldn’t surprise me, considering how paranoid most magic users tend to be. Why don’t you give me more of the particulars before we continue.”

The Headmaster wished that the helmet didn’t prevent him from seeing the eyes of the boy. Things would have been much easier if he could have gleaned the thoughts of the person he was sure was the missing Boy-Who-Lived. Continuing to smile, he nodded. “Of course, my boy, of course. If you want, we can move this conversation to my office. No need to cause a scene before all these young students.”

Tilting his head slightly, the knight motioned the Headmaster to continue.

Albus glanced up at the head table and caught the eyes of his deputy and Potion Master, motioning them both to follow, then turned back to the knight. “Before we go, would you mind removing your helmet and telling me your name? Unless you’d like me to continue calling you, my boy?”

For a moment the knight seemed to pause, the glow from the visor intensifying before fading away entirely. With a faint click, the visor lifted away, revealing the face of a young man in his early to mid twenties with close cropped facial hair and a mop of unruly hair that tried to immediately escape the confines of the rest of the helmet. The eyes though. They were exactly like the eyes of a young woman who had graced these halls nearly two decades ago and died tragically young, along with her young husband. Eyes the shade of the killing curse. Eyes that he had last seen over thirteen years before in the face of a baby he had left on a doorstep.

The young man smirked. “I’m Harry Stark, and you’ve got a story to tell, Gandalf. Let’s get to it.”

Dumbledore nearly stumbled. “Excuse me, did you say Harry Stark? Forgive me, but you look exactly like a young man who has been missing for many years, by the name of Harry Potter.”

Harry chuckled. “Wow. Haven’t heard that name in years. Used to be Potter. Pops let me change it after I was adopted. Best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

The Headmaster mentally reeled at another blow. There were no magical families by the name of Stark in all the Isles, and certainly none of note on the continent. Did that mean Harry had been taken in by Muggles? Shaking away those thoughts and knowing that answers could be readily obtained, he gazed into those emerald eyes.

A sudden blast of sound slammed into Dumbledore’s ears and he recoiled in pain, eyes squeezed shut. He didn’t even realize his wand was in his hand until he was waving a healing spell towards his head.

“Not sure what things are like around her, but I don’t take kindly to someone trying to invade my mind. Do it again and the response will be more than just a warning shot.”

Albus shook off the effects and waved off the concerned looks from both Minerva and Severus. “Forgive an old man. I was just trying to learn more about you. It was only a surface scan, nothing more.” He ignored the tightening of his deputy’s lips, knowing he would be hearing about it later. For now, he needed to assuage the worries of the young man before him.

Harry frowned before nodding. “Warning has been given. Don’t do it again and we’ll get along a lot better. You still owe me an explanation and all the kids you’ve got in the room seem far too keen on this conversation. Let’s mosey over to that office of yours.”

Dumbledore nodded once before turning to lead the group from the Great Hall.

***

Harry glanced around the room before following the Headmaster through the doors and down the hallway. His visor clicked shut. “Alright Karen, what have we found out so far?”

“Nothing good, Harry. Based on the scan, the temporal signature is slightly off, meaning we’re a lot further from Kansas than just another country. Additionally, there are multiple layers of spells on the Goblet that are making it difficult to parse through. I definitely found the matrix for the summoning spell. However, those other spells are confusing my analysis enough that it will take quite some time before I am able to work out a counter. I’m afraid we’re stuck here for the meantime.”

“Great. Seems like this world doesn’t have the same level of tech as back home either. No satellites for us to log in to?”

“Sorry, Harry. No Stark Net or other global satellite network that I am able to access from here. Maybe if we head into a city we can get a better idea and I can get a timeline of events.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Once we get our answers from Mr. Wizard, we’ll head out and find a place to stay.”

As they came to a stop in front of a stone gargoyle, Harry was amused to find out the password was the name of a candy. That was much better than eight characters, a number and a symbol. Maybe he could convince the old man to change the login requirements when he got back?

A few moments later everyone was in a richly appointed office, filled with all manner of books and magical paraphernalia. Harry had Karen scanning it all even as he looked around. He didn’t recognize any of the titles on the shelves that he could see, but that didn’t mean much. Magic was a diverse and ever growing field. Considering he had never even heard of Hogwarts back home that meant that most if not all of this would be new to him.

Headmaster Dumbledore settled behind his desk and waved towards a chair. The other two people had already seated themselves.

The helmet visor slid away to reveal Harry’s face. “No thanks, I’ll stand.”

“Arrogant. Just like his father.”

“Exactly. I learned from the best. Tony Stark is one of the smartest and most powerful men in the world. And who might you be, greasy?”

The man had already been scowling and it only deepened at Harry’s comments. “Claiming a muggle as your father must be a new low for a Potter.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “And all that grease seems to have filled your ears as well. I’m a Stark, like my father before me.” He waited a moment. “Really? Never seen Star Wars? Just how sheltered from reality are you people?”

The Headmaster cleared his throat and Harry caught the man giving greasy a look over those half-moon glasses. They really did make the whole look, between the bright purple gown and that crazy hat, everything just said eccentric wizard.

“Please forgive Professor Snape. He and your father were rivals of sort when they attended Hogwarts.”

“My father is Tony Stark. I would have you remember that.”

“Apologies, my boy. I meant your birth father.” Those eyes were twinkling something fierce. Was a feature of the glasses or some type of magical effect?

“I’m not your boy. The name is Harry. You can either call me that or The Iron Mage as I’m known to the general public.”

Dumbledore blinked at that statement. “Do you mean to tell me that the muggle public knows about you?”

Harry frowned. “Not sure who these muggles are but when I’m in the armor I go by the name The Iron Mage, alongside pops, who is Iron Man. Helps keep the work and home life separate. When we’re out busting terrorists or interstellar monsters, it’s always in armor.”

Giving his chest a clanging slap, he grinned. “This suit is the current height of magitech, enhancing my abilities, auto targeting many of the abilities I would normally have to focus to use, as well as coming with many built in defenses.” Striking a pose, he added, “It’s also quite stylish.”

The Headmaster leaned forwards. “Are you meaning to tell me that you have somehow enchanted your armor and then wear it… in public? What about the Statue of Secrecy?”

Harry could hear the capitals on the phrase. “Not sure what your statute is about, Dumbles, but regardless, this isn’t enchanted armor. It’s fully integrated magitech. That means it’s a blend of magic and technology, the latest line from Stark Industries. Ever since we figured out that the Arc Reactor was actually channeling ambient magic, we were able to use it to power all sorts of tech. Then it was just figuring out how my abilities worked and coding that into the tech. Seriously, we’ve had magitech for years now. Just how far behind things are you folks?”

Dumbledore slumped back into his chair. “I’m afraid you’ve just given me much to think about, my boy. Sorry, I mean Harry. You see, things aren’t quite the same in the Wizarding world. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how the IWC hasn’t found and silenced you and your Mr. Stark if you’ve gone around freely showing magic to the muggles.”

“That’s easy. I’m not exactly from around here. Looks like you summoned me from a parallel world.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“When I scanned your Goblet back there, it showed a different temporal signature than my own. Meaning I’m not from this world. Whatever is powering that Goblet had enough power to pull me through space and from what I’m seeing, I’m guessing a bit of time as well. What year is it exactly? It should be 2015.”

“Lies!”

“Severus, please. I’m sure Mr. Pot… er, Stark, has reasons for believing as he does.” Turning away from the greasy one, the Headmaster regarded Harry over those glasses. “It is the year 1994, and your story seems all the more extraordinary. I do believe we should have Madam Pomfrey examine you and see if she can corroborate your story. She is the school Mediwitch”

Harry shook his head. “No can do, Gandalf. It’s against company policy to have anyone else examine the suit or myself. Also, not my job to convince you of my story. Frankly, I don’t care if you believe me or not. While you may have summoned me here, you aren’t in charge of me or what I can do. Now while I appreciate story time as much as the next lad, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Sit down, you arrogant boy, while your betters decide what to do with you.” Greasy had a stick in his hand.

The whine of a repulsor charging filled the air as Harry pointed one palm at the man. “I’d suggest you put that thing down before you get hurt.”

The greasy one opened his mouth and began moving the stick around. Half a heartbeat later he was slammed against the far bookcase, then slumped to the ground unconscious. That palm was then swung to cover the Headmaster.

“Alright Mr. Wizard. That was your last warning. I’ll be leaving now and I hope we never see each other again.” Harry started making his way out of the office.

“I’m afraid you’ll be doing more than that, Harry, as the Goblet will compel you to return.”

Harry stopped in the doorway, visor sliding shut. “Talk.”

***

“So you’re trying to tell me that the Goblet will magically compel me to compete in a tournament for children, all based on a contract I’ve never seen, agreed to, nor signed, because it chose me? You have to see why I’m skeptical.”

Dumbledore sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Offering his best grandfatherly gaze, he said, “The Goblet of Fire is ancient magic, and one that is little understood. One thing that is known though, is that it forms a magically binding contract with whoever it chooses as champions for the Tournament.”

That visored gaze seemed to consider the Headmaster before shaking. “Sounds more like the way a curse works to me, rather than a contract I couldn’t have signed. Based on my experience with cursed objects, the best way to get rid of the curse is to destroy the container. So what’s to stop me from blasting that thing to bits?”

Albus ignored the gasp from Minerva to lean forward and frown at the boy… no, young man. He needed to remember that this gentleman had no idea who Albus Dumbledore. There would be no awe based on reputation and no respect for the traditions of the Wizarding World.

“The Goblet of Fire is a priceless artifact. It is centuries old and under the purview of the Goblins. You do not want to anger the Goblin Nation.”

“You’d be surprised who I’d be willing to anger to find a way back home. You’ve effectively kidnapped me. I consider you, that Goblet, and if what you’re saying is true, the Goblin Nation, to all be hostiles. I’ll give you two minutes to convince me otherwise before I’m returning to that room. Either way, the Goblet will be mine, to either destroy or study.”

For a moment, the Headmaster considered going for his wand. However, that glowing palm had been pointed towards him for a while now and with how fast it had knocked out Severus, Albus wouldn’t stand a chance. Placing his hands on his desk, he turned them palm up. “I’m sorry that you feel that way, Harry. I mean you no harm and want only the best for you during your time in the tournament. As an apology for being a party, however unknowingly, to your summoning, allow me to provide you with room and board during your time in the Tournament.”

The armored figure was motionless for a moment before slowly nodding. “I’ll take you up on that room and board, as it seems I’m broke here.” He paused before a short laugh could be heard. “Broke. Been a long time since I’ve been poor. Pops would be laughing right now.” That glowing palm slowly lowered. “I’m still taking that Goblet for study. If you want anyone else to help, I’ll welcome the support, but it’ll be my project and I won’t accept any interference.”

Minerva hmphed from her spot on the chair, frown directed at the displaced Potter. “Are you truly so arrogant as to think you know better than those who have studied the Goblet for centuries? You’ve said you thought you weren’t native to this world and think you can study the magic of a mysterious artifact?”

“I’ve already been studying it. My systems have scanned and cataloged the various magics wrapped up and in the Goblet ever since the moment I arrived. There are numerous layers on the thing but I’m confident that given time I’ll be able to unravel everything and reverse the spell used to summon me.”

Dumbledore frowned. “And how did you manage to scan the Goblet? I saw no wand and heard no spells.”

“One word, Dumbles. Magitech.”

***

“I’m sorry, Harry, but without access to Stark Net, I don’t have the processing capacity to analyze the various matrices layered onto the Goblet any faster. It’s going to take me weeks if not longer, unless we can find a powerful network to piggyback onto. Given the evidence presented by Mr. Dumbledore, that doesn’t seem likely.”

Harry sighed and leaned back on the chair in the foyer of the suite of rooms that had been provided for him. His helmet was laying on the table next to him. “So we’re stuck here unless pops figures out what happened to us first. Another thing we have no timeline for. Don’t suppose that gate spell of Strange’s could be reconfigured to work across dimensions?”

“Even if it could, you never learned it in the first place. Not to mention Doctor Strange and the Sorcerors not allowing Mr. Stark to have access to a sling ring, so that feature was never integrated into the armor.”

“Well, that’s something we’ll have to look into when we get back. Whenever that happens to be. And don’t think I’m upset with you, Karen. I know this isn’t your fault. We will definitely look into getting you an upgrade when we get back. More onboard computing power. Your combat power is still the best.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

Setting aside his conversation with his armor, Harry turned his attention back to his surroundings. For a castle, the room was surprisingly comfortable. The stone walls were tastefully decorated, though the moving and talking portraits was a new experience. Not too strange, considering that he was used to all kinds of things that could think and talk on their own. Even the furniture was comfortable, if old fashioned.

Now that he had some time to think and settle in, he went over his options. He had no money. No resources other than his armor and the clothes he’d had on underneath. Dumbledore had offered room and board so at least those necessities were taken care of. That did leave him completely reliant on the Headmaster though and Harry was not a fan of owing anyone. What could he do to be more independent?

***

“You can’t be tromping around the library in that thing. Go change before you come in here.”

Harry turned a visorless smile on the guardian of knowledge. “I assure, Madam Pince, that I am allowed to tromp around in my armor, as you say, because it is also my wand. Since I am allowed to carry my wand anywhere in the castle, as per your own rules, I can also wear my armor anywhere I go.”

The librarian crinkled her face like she’d just eaten a bucket of lemons before huffing and turning away to the pile of books on her desk.

Smirking and resisting the urge to stroke his goatee like some two-bit villain, Harry returned to his tromping. This had become a daily routine between the two. Maybe she thought that if she told him no enough times it would stick. Never worked at home, so he most definitely wasn’t going to let her get away with it here. Besides, he needed the armor to scan the other books while he focused on the ones that were most pertinent to whatever it was he was studying.

Thus far he had been able to find a number of spells that he could incorporate into the armor. They were simple enough cantrips but they were proving incredibly useful. Not to mention how the more spell matrices he had access to, the better Karen was able to study and dismantle other spells.

Setting himself up at a table in the corner, he placed his helm down and setup a book in front of the visor, slowly turning the pages without looking while he read another volume. This time he was looking at some of the more useful common combat spells while the armor soaked up household charms. The information on bombarda and reducto was especially useful as they were essentially more powerful versions of his current repulsors.

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About an hour into his studies, one of the other students joined him, a bushy haired Griffyndor who had an almost encyclopedic understanding of the contents of the library and was happy to discuss the theory behind many of the spells, even ones she hadn’t studied yet (not that there were many spells that fell into that category. She must have memorized many of the assigned texts, even though for the years ahead of her.)

For the next couple of hours they studied and discussed various spells that might be useful in the tournament. Harry would have had to find some way to hire the girl had they been back home. Pops would have loved to have her in the magitech department. Even with just the basic understanding that he’d been able to share with her about the principles behind the tech she had been able to extrapolate a lot of the workings and theories behind his own armor, not to mention found ways to incorporate a lot of what they’d discussed together. Maybe he would try to convince her to return with him, with her family of course, he was no kidnapper, when he finally had the Goblet spellwork figured out. That or vow to come back for her when she was older. Or would she have a local analog. How would that effect things… he shook that thought off as he saw more students move to join them, this time from Slytherin and Ravenclaw.

***

Harry stood to the side in the champion tent, waiting for his turn to face a dragon. An actual dragon. He wasn’t sure if he was more excited or terrified. The armor had never been meant for facing something capable of the temperatures that the dragon was reportedly able to put out. At least he’d been able to keep the armor. The argument about it being his wand or more specifically, focus, applied to the tournament just as much as it did to his wandering around the school.

Looking down at the model dragon on his palm, he marveled at the simplistic spell matrix that was written into the wooden construct. These wizards were so cavalier with their magic and never took the time to fully understand the theories and math behind their spells. They just used what worked because someone else had done it before. There was very little innovation in spellcrafting over the years, with very few true researchers. It was a shame. Hopefully when he returned home he would be able to seek out the local versions of the wizards, since he had been able to confirm that he hadn’t been displaced and really was a home grown wizard back home.

Putting those thoughts aside, he focused on the condition of the Beauxbatons champion as she entered the tent with her clothes slightly smoldering. That must have been quite the achievement, getting set on fire without completely combusting. Something about a natural affinity with fire magic, most likely. At least according to what little information he’d been able to find in the school library. While it had been incredibly biased, it had also been skimpy on information other than conjecture.

Taking a deep breath, he put on his visor and stepped out of the tent and into the arena.

Scanning the crowd around the arena, he found the judges and saluted. Might as well play it up for the crowd. “Karen, let’s set the mood, shall we?”

Music blasted from the speakers as he ignited his repulsors and took off, flying a circle around the edge of the arena before focusing on the dragon. The creature was a lot bigger than he’d expected, but not as big as he’d feared, especially compared to some of the dragons he’d seen in the movies back home. Something like Smaug would have been terrible.

A blast of flames came perilously close to hitting him, even moving at speed. The beastie was no slouch at combat it seemed. Those slit green eyes held an alien intelligence that seemed singularly focused on protecting her nest and with a malevolence that was almost palpable. It reminded him of some of the fellows pops had tangled with back home.

Alright, time to try out some of those new spells he’d integrated into the armor. Backing away from the dragon, he hovered in place and pointed one of his gauntlets at a collection of larger boulders, shouting “Avengers!”

The boulders shuddered before pulling themselves into a rough semblance of a humanoid figure. Six stone soldiers, modeled after the original crew, complete with shield, hammer, and bow, settled themselves into place.

“Assemble.”

The stone Avengers piled onto the dragon, who met them with tooth and claw and rage. Harry darted in towards the nest in that brief moment of distraction, his armor having already marked his target and applied the sticking charm to his palm so all he had to do was touch it in passing to snag the egg. Meanwhile the Avengers were performing about as well as the first encounter with Thanos. That is to say, poorly. Fortunately, they only had to last a few moments.

Harry touched down at the entrance to the tent, egg held high, as his armor blasted out a victory fanfare.

Pops would be proud.

***

“You’re kidding right? You want me to take a child to a ball? Back home that would get me in serious trouble and I doubt it’s any different here.”

The Headmaster seemed to blink at that statement. “The student would merely be your escort, as is tradition for the Yule Ball. I assure you, know one expects you to do anything inappropriate with your date.”

Harry shook his head. “Appearances are important, Dumbles. I work hard to maintain mine and I refuse to do anything that would jeopardize that. If you really need me to have an escort for the Ball, I’ll take one of the professors. Charity or Septima. At least they’re closer to my age.”

Suddenly, he smirked. “Or maybe I’ll take both.”

***

“I can’t believe you brought both!”

Harry chuckled. “Well, I do have a certain reputation to live up to. Or down to, depending on who you ask.” He frowned. “Though that was back home. I’ll have to remember to take pictures of this to show Pops later. He’ll get a kick out of it. He’s done the same. Or did before he got married. Long story.”

Saluting his young friend with his glass, he made his way back to the dance floor.

***

“I’m sorry Harry. This version isn’t equipped to handle an underwater environment. Mr. Stark was working on several new versions, including one for work in space.”

“Well that doesn’t do us any good here.” Harry sighed. “Never know what you have til it’s gone and all that. I’m never taking Pop’s workshops for granted again.”

Reaching up to stroke his goatee, he sighed again. “Okay, how bout we work out something that will seal at least the helmet and gauntlets. Lets try…”

***

“The same rules apply, Baggy. My armor is my wand. I am allowed my wand.”

The portly gentleman scowled and shook his head. “Harry, lad. You aren’t even wearing all of your armor. You look ridiculous. How do you think the audience is going to think of you looking like that?”

Harry chuckled, the sound slightly muffled without the amplifiers from the armor. “Not my fault if they can’t recognize the brilliance of my outfit. Though the full armor would definitely be more impressive. Fortunately, I only need these pieces to win.” He ignored the frowns and scowls from the other competitors. They weren’t his true competition in any case. It was this world’s magic that he was what he truly wanted to beat. That damned Goblet. They’d already been here too long.

Granted, he wasn’t all that impressive looking compared to the full suit. The gauntlets and the helmet were secured over a regular set of tshirt and jeans. Fortunately one of the students had been willing to order him a set of clothes in exchange for some information on technology from back home. Hopefully they would be able to turn that information into working prototypes at some point.

“Look, Sportsman, nothing I’m doing is against the rules, so lets just get this all started so I can finish.”

Harry ignored the looks from the judges table as well. While he’d been happy to score highly on the first task, it really didn’t matter to him if he won. Oh sure the ego boost would be nice, but it didn’t get him home. That was what truly mattered. Maybe if they’d offered him some research assistants… wait a second. “Karen, remind me to see if we can’t find some other students to help with this. While Hermione and Luna are great, more minds are always welcome.”

“Of course, Harry.”

***

Never again was he going underwater. He was never going to be able to look at a scuba trip the same way. Between the merfolk, grindylows, and rescuing hostages, not to mention having his jury rigged helmet almost fail near the end, that was too much for him to deal with. Remotes only from now on.

At least he was able to help the other hostage when the Beauxbaton champion had been unable to rescue her. That had earned him some gratitude from the French national. Gratitude that he was turning into information and resources. Hopefully he would be able to use the materials provided by the Delacour family to enhance his armor and make some spare pieces, as well as getting access to some of the computer power that was available in this world, simple as it may have been. Who knew that someone from the seemingly backwater Wizarding world would have connections with the regular government.

Now he just needed to start his brain trust and get to further analyzing the spells. Maybe they would be able to finish before the final task!

***

“Look, I am here against my will. I’ve basically been kidnapped and put into this tournament on pain of death. You all know that. We’ve talked about this. I have no interest in winning the thing and would rather see you all succeed together. The original purpose of this competition was to promote friendship and cooperation between the three schools, wasn’t it? At least, that’s what it says on paper.”

The three champions looked at each other for a moment before the one from Hogwarts, Cedric, slowly nodded. “We get that, Harry. It’s just… this hasn’t really been much of a competition. Your armor gives you an unfair advantage. No, don’t bother excusing yourself. I’ve heard the arguments and I even agree with why you’ve been allowed to use it. That doesn’t change the fact that it has made this tournament easier for you, even in the second task.” Fluer offered Harry another grateful smile, which he returned before motioning Cedric to continue.

Taking a breath, Cedric nodded again. “So, that all said, we’d really like to compete in the final task. It’s a maze, so unless you can just blast your way through the magically reinforced hedges, there isn’t a way for you to blast past us.”

Harry reached up to stroke his goatee. “You do remember that my armor flies, right?”

The champion from Durmstrand grimaced. “On second thought… let us work together.”

***

The day of the final task dawned. Harry scowled at his helmet. “How have we still not finished analyzing the matrices?”

“We have finished analyzing them. We can replicate any of the spells that were placed on the Goblet. What we have been unable to do is find a way to power the spells necessary to reverse the effects. From my scans I have found that the Goblet is a repository of magical energy and has apparently been collecting that magic since the first time it was put into use. According to some of the spells woven into the artifact, any magic drained from a champion has been siphoned completely into the Goblet, along with small amounts from every participant and official linked to the event. What that magical energy was originally to be used for isn’t present in the spellwork itself. Most likely it was meant as a battery for some other purpose. However, it does show that your suit is insufficient for our purposes. If we had a proper way to tap into the lines of energy beneath Hogwarts, or another major intersection of ley lines, we would have a way. With what we have on hand, we cannot power the reverse summons.”

“So we’re stuck here until we can store enough energy or create a spell to suck the energy out of the Goblet?”

“Unless we can find an energy efficient spell that allows travel through space time, I’m afraid so.”

***

Harry blasted the last hedge before what Karen was telling him was the center of the maze. There had been some interesting encounters along the way, including an honest to goodness sphinx of all things. Had there been the time, he would have loved talking to the majestic being and learning more about it.

Stepping through the opening, he spotted the TriWizard Cup waiting at the center on a pedestal. The other champions all filed through behind him, arraying themselves in a way to cover should something unfortunate jump out, like those acromantula or the blast-ended skrewt.

“Harry, I’m detecting multiple layers of spells on the Cup.”

“Hold up guys. It looks like there are more spells on the Cup than we were expecting. They said it would send whoever reached the cup back to the Winner’s Circle, but why would you need multiple spells to do it? Especially over such a short distance. Apparition easily covers that so I imagine a spell on the cup to be something similar and not needing all these extra layers.”

Fluer glanced at the cup before turning to Harry. “It’s a portkey. They’re used for long distance travel and can be applied to any inanimate object.”

“Wait, wait. You’re telling me that there is a teleportation spell that can be applied to anything? How long does it take to imbue the object with the power for that kind of magic?”

The French champion shook her head. “It takes very little power. Only specialized knowledge.”

For a moment Harry couldn’t speak. All this time. All this time there was a spell that he could have used and it was right under his nose. There had been no mention of a Portkey in any of the books in the library that he’d read and no one had mentioned the spell to him. Was it just something that was so common that people didn’t think about it?

“Karen…” “Already on it, Harry. I’ve found the matrix for the spell and am working on a way to tweak it to incorporate with the spells we learned from the Goblet to open a way home. It should only take a few hours to finish the work, given all the previous calculations. However, I have found that there are two of these portkey spells on the Cup.”

“Okay, that’s ominous. Looks like the Cup is a double portkey. Who knows where it’s gonna send us? Think it’s a final part of the task?”

Victor shook his head. “Ne. There has been something wrong with this whole task. I know someone tried to imperius me earlier. Had one of you not stopped me, bad things would have happened.”

Cedric chimed in. “Well, I’m just glad we agreed to do this together. I think we can take the Cup together and face whatever challenge together.”

“Alright everyone, on three.”

Harry felt a pull on his navel and then something even more unpleasant before he found himself somewhere new. Only the automated systems on the armor kept him upright, though the other champions seemed to have fared well. Perhaps they were used to this type of transportation.

Suddenly the HUD on the armor warned him about someone pointing a wand his way, even as a voice from the shadows whispered “killed the spares”. Harry’s palm snapped to the side and sent a banisher into the shadows even as everyone else ducked a nasty looking green spell. The cry of pain that was quickly cut off let him know he’d connected and he made his way over to his attacker.

Just as he was reaching what looked to be a fallen man, Harry heard the crack of an apparition and saw one of the Hogwarts Professors appear. Moody looked around for a moment, the magical eye whirling around before focusing on Harry. “What’s going on here, Potter? One of you should have been on the podium. Instead, all four champions are in a cemetery.”

Behind his visor, Harry frowned. If they weren’t where they were supposed to be, how had Moody found them? Raising his palm towards the Professor, he asked, “More importantly, what are you doing here?” The other champions looked at each other before arraying themselves to either side, their wands pointed at the only other conscious person in sight.

Professor Moody raised his free hand palm out, the other held loosely on his staff. “Peace. I put a tracking charm on the Cup as part of my duties maintaining security. Constant Vigilance! When it showed the Cup had moved, I tracked it here. Wherever here is.”

“Karen, is there a tracking charm on the Cup?”

“Negative, Harry.”

“You see, Moody, that doesn’t track. There aren’t any tracking charms on the Cup. Just an extra portkey spell. And only someone who knew where that portkey was set would be able to follow us here. So that makes you the one responsible.”

“Damnit Potter. Just couldn’t make this easy, could you?” The Professor lifted his staff only to catch a number of spells to the chest and go down in a crumbling heap.

“Nice work, everyone. Let’s gather these two and then figure out where we are and how to get back.”

As they went about searching the area and securing their prisoners, they also found a cauldron filled with some sort of concoction that no one recognized nor wanted to get anywhere near. Even more startling was the misshapen baby-like… thing. It claimed to be Lord Voldemort. A quick stunning spell and more restraints and they had a third prisoner.

Karen’s analysis of the Cup showed that they could use it to return to the Tournament Grounds, which they did together. Once the excitement of their disappearance and reappearance together was over with, they explained to Dumbledore and a newly arrived Head of Magical Law Enforcement, one Madam Bones, and the prisoners were turned over.

***

Several hours later, Harry was sitting in Dumbledore’s office, going over what had happened and what would happen with Babymort. Learning about the Horcruxes had been disturbing. Learning that the Headmaster had suspected that Voldemort had been around the entire was even more disturbing. Sadly, it fit with the personality profile that Harry and Karen had put together on the man, well, both men, really.

Dumbledore was just winding down after explaining about a prophecy. “So you can see why you need to stay around, don’t you, Harry? Only you can defeat the Dark Lord.”

“Seems like anyone could defeat the Dark Baby right now. No need for a Chosen One.”

“Harry, it’s ready.”

Harry grinned and lowered his visor. “Besides, it looks like it’s time for me to go home.” His armor glowed for a moment before vanishing, leaving the Headmaster alone in his office.