Analeigh didn't get a detailed response from her father after her lengthy letter to him, which disappointed her a bit for she was expecting his usual wise words of advice whenever she had a problem. He did say he would talk to her face to face soon – she didn't know what soon meant because she still had a few weeks left until the tournament and entire school year ended. However, she temporarily forgot about those worries because Altair at least sent her some chocolates from Grace. Analeigh was over the moon at receiving some of her mother's sweets again, which she badly needed to take her mind off of things.

"I still can't believe Snape was a Death Eater," Analeigh was saying.

"I'm not," said Ron. "It fits the evil and brooding image he's always had. I knew he had some dark secret."

The group of fourth year students were currently taking a break from training for the Third Task. Ron and Hermione had been kind enough to take away some time from studying for their exams to help Harry and Analeigh prepare for the last phase of the Triwizard Tournament.

It had been just a week since Harry's incident in the Forbidden Forest – the one where he found Barty Crouch acting strange, ran to Dumbledore for help, and returned to find Krum stunned on the floor who claimed that it was Crouch's doing. But it had only been a few days when a new incident occurred: Harry's dream about Voldemort during Divination class, which caused Harry's scar to hurt badly that he immediately went to Dumbledore to ask him about it. Analeigh wasn't able to witness this scene as she had a different class elective during that time slot, so Harry updated her and Hermione as soon as he saw them after speaking to Dumbledore.

He had quite an interesting adventure in the headmaster's office. He accidentally watched his memories from his Pensieve, specifically one of Igor Karkaroff's trial as a Death Eater shortly after Voldemort's defeat. Dumbledore eventually discussed its details – though, not all of them – with Harry, who later shared those to Hermione, Ron, and Analeigh.

"Ronald," Hermione said warningly. "Snape must have done something really good because Harry literally just told us that Dumbledore fully trusts him."

"Yeah, well, if I were him, I still wouldn't."

They found out a number of surprising things from Harry's trip through Dumbledore's memories. While it was shocking enough to see Karkaroff in his own trial for being a Death Eater, he had also revealed that Snape was one, too. Harry retold how Dumbledore explained that Snape no longer supported Voldemort. He didn't say much, but something in Dumbledore's voice that night told Harry that he shouldn't argue against it.

"What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?" Harry had questioned. Dumbledore held his curious gaze for a few seconds.

"That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself."

"The next wildest thing that could happen after Snape being a Death Eater is that someone from our families was one, too," Ron joked.

"Not funny," Analeigh lightly shoved the redhead. "Besides, that's highly unlikely."

"I was kidding, woman. Dad's obsessed with muggles. There's no way he'd have been a Death Eater like Snape or Karkaroff."

Hermione's parents were muggles while Harry's obviously defied Voldemort more than once, costing them their lives. Analeigh was just confident that her parents had nothing to do with the dark arts, too – after all, didn't her father move to France where he met her mother right after he graduated? So, with that, the four Gryffindors directed their attention back to the matter at hand: practicing new spells. They trained and trained for hours in the empty Transfiguration classroom until it was almost curfew.

Analeigh barely got any sleep after that late-night practice as she had another scheduled training session the next day, this time with Cedric. She had also started spending more time with him recently to train for the Third Task together. It did help that he was older and already knew a number of spells, hexes, and jinxes that she didn't, making it easier for her to master them whereas she had to start from scratch with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Overall, she was learning a lot from all of those sessions combined: from simple spells like aguamenti and glacius, to bombarda maxima and confringo, she was getting the hang of these hopefully helpful tricks to use in the competition.

"Nebulus."

A stream of fog spouted out of Analeigh's wand, filling up the cozy, circular room – the same one Cedric had taken her to that one Christmas morning. They had been so busy with school and the tournament that they hadn't found the time to return to the abandoned little room Cedric found during one of his prefect rounds. Since they were focusing on simple spells that day, particularly ones that did not need a large venue or target, they decided to practice there.

Eventually, the room was filled up with so much white fog that they couldn't see one another anymore.

"I can't see a thing. I think you've got that charm down already," Cedric said amusedly from somewhere. He waved his wand and the air slowly cleared up, revealing that he was standing at the other end of the room.

"After all that practice, I better have mastered it," Analeigh sighed, plopping down on the cushioned bench by the large window.

"How's practice with Potter going?" Cedric asked, walking over to sit down next to her.

"Surprisingly productive. Ron makes a good practice target."

Cedric chuckled. "I've done the same with my roommates and they weren't too happy, especially after I used the Bat-Bogey Hex on Alden. I managed to convince him to still help us tomorrow, though."

"Aren't we practicing hexes tomorrow, too, though?" Analeigh narrowed her eyes.

"Exactly. He's the perfect target for those."

Analeigh let out a small laugh and shook her head.

"Who knew Cedric Diggory could be so evil?" she teased.

"People resort to drastic measures when they're desperate," he said dramatically. "Shall we try one more charm before we head to class?"

"I think I'm done for the day," she admitted, leaning back on one of the cushions. "If I'm forced to say one more incantation, I'm snapping your wand in half."

Cedric shrunk away from her.

"Why does it have to be my wand?" he said.

"It's more entertaining that way," she shrugged with a mischievous smile.

"Well, that's too bad. There was one more charm I wanted you to try that I personally really like. "

"What is it?"

"A kiss," Cedric smirked, waiting for her to react to his cheesy comment. He knew by now she both hated and liked them at the same time based on how flustered she got whenever he said them. He expected to see her blush, but he certainly didn't expect her to actually do it.

Analeigh leaned forward and pecked his lips. It was so quick and light that Cedric had to take a moment to wonder if it actually happened. At the same time, it was enough to make his heart race.

"Done," she said simply, though she could feel the blush forming on her cheeks. "Now, can we head to class?"

Cedric got up on his feet and grabbed her hand. With a sly smile, he tugged her encouragingly and said, "But I really like that charm. Can you do it a few more times?"

Analeigh scoffed, unsurprised by his words.

"You're just giving me another excuse to snap your wand in half."

Cedric laughed, but it turned into a nervous one when he noted how serious she sounded. She wouldn't actually snap my wand, would she? he thought, but her face remained straight.

"You're right," he agreed hurriedly. "Let's just go to class."

"Good answer."

★ ★ ★

The 24th of June came sooner than Analeigh imagined it would. While she spent the weeks leading up to it practicing day and night with Harry and Cedric, she still felt as if she wasn't ready. She didn't think she ever would be, and she wouldn't really know until she was thrown into the maze later that night.

Although it was still early in the morning, Analeigh's nerves started to kick in. One thing that distracted her was when Hermione spat a mouthful of pumpkin juice over the table upon reading an article in the Daily Prophet, which she had begun to receive frequently due to her subscription. It was so uncharacteristic of her that Analeigh couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Analeigh, Harry, and Ron chorused.

"Nothing," Hermione said, trying to push the paper out of sight. Analeigh and Ron were both quick enough to snatch the Daily Prophet from Hermione's hands, and the two of them ended up fighting over it.

"Give it!"

"I got it first!"

"No, I did!"

"Stop, stop!" Analeigh swatted his hands away, holding the paper firmly in her hand. "Let's just both read it."

Together, they glanced down at the Daily Prophet's front page.

"No way," said Analeigh.

"Not today," Ron groaned. "That old cow."

"What?" Harry asked them. "Rita Skeeter again?"

"No," said Analeigh and Ron, both of them messily folding the paper in an attempt to hide it like Hermione did.

"It's about me, isn't it?"

"No..." Hermione rolled her eyes at how unconvincing Ron and Analeigh sounded.

Harry didn't get the chance to even demand for the paper when from the Slytherin table, someone shouted, "Hey, Potter!"

To no one's surprise, it was Draco Malfoy.

"Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?" he taunted. He, too, was holding a copy of that day's Daily Prophet, and the Slytherins around him were all snickering at Harry, awaiting his reaction.

"Leave the caring-about-Harry to us, Malfoy," Analeigh shot back. She never really started fights, but she did enjoy provoking others just to give them a taste of their own medicine like she did with Rita Skeeter that time she was at Hogsmeade with Cedric. It was entertaining to see their reactions, and Malfoy was no exception. He looked like he wanted to physically fight her from across the Great Hall, but she already turned her back to face her friends again before he could retort.

"Let me see it," Harry said firmly. "Give it here."

Ron reluctantly handed Harry the Daily Prophet. The bespectacled boy finally read what had gotten them so worked up.

HARRY POTTER
DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS

The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School.

Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar of his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.

It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.

"He might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could be a plea for attention."

Analeigh, Hermione, and Ron watched anxiously as Harry read through the article. The latter portion even brought up the fact that he could speak Parseltongue, and Malfoy had the audacity to tell Rita Skeeter all the highlights that happened in their second year and that Harry was also willing to befriend werewolves, clearly referring to their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in their third year, Professor Remus Lupin. The article ended with once again questioning Harry's capability to compete in the tournament.

"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" Harry said lightly, folding the Daily Prophet.

"How did she know your scar hurt in Divination?" Ron wondered. "There's no way she was there, there's no way she could've heard –"

"The window was open. I opened it to breathe," Harry tried.

"You were at the top of the North Tower!" Hermione exclaimed. "Your voice couldn't have carried all the way down to the grounds!"

"Well, you're the one who's supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging! You tell me how she did it!" Harry, retorted, clearly frustrated.

"I've been trying! But I... but..." Hermione paused as if she was mentally putting puzzle pieces together in her mind.

"Are you all right?" Analeigh asked slowly.

"Yes..." And then a look of realization came over Hermione's face.

"What is it?"

"I've had an idea. I think know... because then no one would be able to see... even Moody... and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge... but she's not allowed... she's definitely not allowed... I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library – just to make sure!"

Hermione dashed out of the Great Hall, looking more determined than Analeigh had ever seen her in a while.

"Oi! We've got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes!" Ron shouted after her, but she was already gone. He turned back to Harry and Analeigh. "Blimey, she must really hate that Skeeter woman to risk missing the start of an exam."

"Well, she has been ruining Hermione's image by turning her into a scarlet woman, hasn't he?" Analeigh said teasingly. Ron's ears turned red at the term she used and purposely ignored her words. He said it once during that one Potions lesson and they were never going to let it die down anytime soon.

"What are you two going to be doing in Binns's class during the exam, anyway?" he asked them instead. "Read again?"

As Triwizard champions, Analeigh and Harry were both exempted from the final exams of every class so far.

"I suppose so," Harry answered, but just then, Professor McGonagall came walking towards them.

"Potter, Heart, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast," she said.

"But the task's not till tonight!" Harry said frantically, accidentally spilling some scrambled eggs.

"I'm aware of that, Potter," McGonagall said without so much as blinking at Harry's scrambled eggs messily splattered all over his shirt. "The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

McGonagall walked away from them, leaving Harry gaping after her. Was this what Analeigh's father meant in his short letter that he'd be seeing her 'soon'? She felt the excitement bubble inside of her, wanting to see her parents already. She was also quite curious as to who would be waiting for Harry in that chamber.

"She doesn't expect the Dursley's to turn up, does she?" Harry asked hesitantly, not even noticing as Analeigh waved her wand tiredly to get rid of the eggs all over him.

"Dunno," Ron replied. "Anyway, I'd better hurry. I'm going to be late for Binns. See you two later."

As Ron left the Great Hall, Fleur and Brigitte crossed the room and met Cedric halfway. He had also gotten up from the Hufflepuff table to head to the chamber after Professor Sprout informed him that his parents were waiting for him. The three of them were making small talk when Viktor and Andrei soon followed, and then they were all making their way to their families behind the door.

"Come on, Harry," Analeigh urged the boy next to her to walk faster as they approached the chamber. She knew she was being impatient, but she really wanted to see her family. At the same time, though, she didn't want to leave Harry behind because he was anxious about who was waiting behind the door for him.

Before she could convince him to move again, Cedric stuck his head out the door.

"Harry, come on, they're waiting for you," he encouraged. Harry sent Analeigh a look of utter confusion, but she could only send one back. She knew it was practically impossible that the Dursleys had willingly gone to Hogwarts to watch Harry compete in such a prestigious competition.

"Your parents are already there, too, Analeigh," Cedric added with a wide smile. "You look a lot like your mum."

Analeigh felt her face break out into a grin, ecstatic to finally see her parents. She never missed them that much in the school year because her classes and friends kept her quite busy, but it was different because of the Triwizard Tournament. She really needed that support from them at this time of the competition, and she knew that just getting to see them face to face would be more than enough to ease her worries for a while.

Cedric pushed the door a bit wider for them to enter. Analeigh stepped in first, and because she was so set on seeing her parents again, she didn't even notice that Harry froze up behind her.

In the middle of the chamber stood Altair and Grace Heart. They looked the same as always: Altair with his casually styled black hair and tall stature, and Grace with her dirty blonde hair and soft features that Analeigh mostly inherited. Altair sometimes liked to joke that if not for him and Analeigh sharing such identical personalities (including a penchant for witty comments and an obsession with desserts), it would seem like she was just a carbon copy of her mother.

Analeigh briefly scanned the room before making her way to them. The other champions were also already speaking to their parents, the Beauxbatons side in French and the Durmstrang one in Bulgarian. It was also easy to recognize Cedric's parents since Analeigh had met Amos Diggory back at the Quidditch World Cup and it wasn't difficult to see his resemblance to his parents now that they were all in the same room. What was surprising was that Mrs. Weasley and Bill were also inside the chamber, although she actually hadn't met Bill yet and was only familiar with him based on the pictures Ron had shown her before. The plump redhead woman met Analeigh's eyes and waved enthusiastically. She raised her hand to send one back, and she couldn't even get out a 'hi' before her parents attacked her with a tight hug.

"I told you I'd be seeing you soon," Altair said, fondly ruffling his daughter's hair.

"You still could have at least answered my letter properly," Analeigh huffed, but she couldn't hold back her smile as she stared at up her parents.

It was at this time that Harry finally entered the chamber, too. Analeigh felt dumb for not realizing earlier that the Weasleys were there for him. Harry passed by her and her parents first, and they recognized the boy immediately. They had only met him once at Platform 9 ¾ at the end of Analeigh's first year in Hogwarts, which was her third year of schooling after she transferred schools, but it was easy to remember how Harry Potter looked like.

"Harry," Grace called out. "It's been a while since we saw you."

"Oh, hello Mr. and Mrs. Heart," he greeted with a small smile. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Have you been holding up well this school year?" Altair asked him. He was, of course, aware that Harry had been thrown into the Triwizard Tournament without a choice, so he guessed it must have been hard for the young boy.

"I've been all right."

"I heard you did particularly well in the Second Task," he said. "Moral fiber, eh? Analeigh told me all about it since you were partners there, after all. I wish I could have seen it. It sounded very exciting."

"Let's not hold him up," Grace cut her husband off, glancing at the Weasleys knowingly. "They've been waiting for you, Harry."

Harry sent them another polite smile before walking towards the Weasleys. They greeted him with a "Surprise!" and he even got a kiss on the cheek from Mrs. Weasley.

"So, are you excited for the task tonight, dear?" Grace said, facing Analeigh once again. "Do you want more chocolates? Or would you prefer candies? I also brought lemon squares, by the way. I know they're not your favorite, but they're freshly baked and I made a big batch of them for a client and wanted to give you some, too."

"I may have sneaked in a lemon square before we got here when she wasn't looking," Altair whispered to Analeigh, patting his stomach. She hid a giggle, but Grace caught on to them.

"Did you steal one of my pastries again?" she scolded. "I made that box for Analeigh and her friends!"

"One missing lemon square wouldn't hurt them."

Grace opened her bag charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm and nonverbally summoned the box. It came shooting out within seconds. She opened it to reveal the aforementioned lemon squares, although there were three bars missing.

"Three lemon squares, Altair. Really?" said Grace, unimpressed. She began mumbling curses in French under her breath, making Analeigh and her father share entertained looks. It almost felt like she was back home during the summer or Christmas break again because this was such a normal occurrence for them: Analeigh and Altair would steal a dessert or two when Grace was busy, the two of them would devour them sneakily, and then Grace would find out later on and curse at them in her mother tongue when she couldn't find English words mean enough to call them with. The familiarity comforted her more than she could put into words.

"When we get home, I swear I'm going to –"

"Altair!" Amos Diggory said before Grace could finish her sentence. He, his wife, and Cedric were now making their way towards them. "It's good to see you out of the Ministry. Exciting times, right? We'll be seeing our children compete in the last task today!"

"Indeed," Altair said, good-heartedly shaking hands with the man. "Amos and I work at the Ministry together, although we're in different departments," he then explained as if to answer Analeigh and Cedric's unsaid questions.

"Let's not get to the boring side of our lives, Altair," Amos said, clapping him on the back. "Let's talk about the juicy details!"

"I see where you got your love for gossip from," Analeigh whispered to Cedric, who chuckled under his breath.

"What juicy details?" Altair asked.

"Analeigh and Cedric, of course! It was quite a shock to me since they're partners in the tournament, but Cedric told us all about it. Your daughter seems like a lovely woman, so whatever makes my boy happy, eh?"

"Wait, wait," Altair stopped the man from blabbing any longer. "What are you talking about?"

Analeigh's eyes widened when she realized she hadn't exactly updated her father on her... well, love life. She usually ran to her mother for those kinds of things, and it slipped her mind to even inform her dad that she was seeing someone now. The tournament and drama surrounding it as well as the secrets Harry had been uncovering lately had distracted her greatly.

"Don't tell me you don't know that they're dating," Amos chortled as if it was such an absurd idea. The heat rushed to Analeigh's cheeks at how straightforward the man was being. "Cedric's written to us about it quite a few times. He –"

"I think they get it, dad," Cedric said, laughed awkwardly.

"Dating?" Altair stared Analeigh down. "Do you have something to tell me, Analeigh?"

"About that..." Analeigh smiled nervously.

"She wrote to us about him before Valentine's Day, remember?" Grace attempted to save Analeigh, but it only embarrassed her further.

"She did?" said Altair.

"Of course," Grace insisted.

It was half of the truth. Analeigh had only addressed that letter before Valentine's Day to her mum since she specifically needed chocolates from her shop. Of course, Grace could've told Altair about what Analeigh asked for, but she evidently didn't. The French woman couldn't deny that she liked that her daughter was comfortable sharing things like that with only her, so she kept it to herself for a bit, knowing Analeigh would tell her father about it sooner or later. However, Grace didn't think her husband would find out about their little girl dating a boy like this at all — from the words of a coworker by the name of Amos Diggory.

"And I was planning on telling you in person, dad," Analeigh added quickly, wanting the conversation to end already.

"Let's not worry about that, shall we?" Amos beamed, not noticing the tension among the Heart family members. "They're completely capable of making their own choices, and perhaps they didn't want many people to know about their relationship. It's a personal thing, after all. In the end, what matters is that they're happy, am I right?"

The way he spoke was as if Analeigh and Cedric had been hiding such a scandalous relationship for the longest time. Even Cedric was embarrassed at that point. He truly appreciated his father's enthusiastic support in whatever he was doing, but sometimes it was a tad bit too much.

Thankfully, both Mrs. Diggory and Grace seemed to sense that Cedric and Analeigh were getting uncomfortable.

"Let's not keep them here any further, Amos," Mrs. Diggory said. "Didn't Analeigh say she was going to take her parents around the castle?"

"She did?" Altair said again, puzzled at how he could not remember his own daughter saying all these things. Had I been obliviated? he mentally asked himself.

"Oh, yes, she did," Grace said, understanding what Mrs. Diggory was trying to do. "Right, Analeigh?"

"Huh?" Analeigh questioned before the realization dawned on her. "Oh. Yes."

She faced the Diggorys and said, "It was wonderful talking to you, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory. We'll get going now, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Mrs. Diggory said kindly, cutting Amos off just before it looked like he was going to say something else.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Mr. and Mrs. Heart," Cedric said next, placing his signature grin on his face. Grace returned it, easily charmed by the tall boy and secretly giddy that her daughter was dating such a handsome and nice young man. However, Altair only stared Cedric down until the latter's smile slowly started to fade.

"Dad, let's go," Analeigh insisted, dragging him away before he could glare at Cedric any longer. She mouthed an apologetic "sorry" as she pushed her parents out of the chamber, which he returned with an amused smile.

Fortunately, they made it out of the chamber before any more misunderstandings ensued. Analeigh immediately explained to her father that she did write to them about Cedric, but it was mostly about him being her partner in the tournament. She also admitted that she actually did tell her mother about Cedric more in detail because she was the one who helped her out with her dress for the Yule Ball and the Valentine's gift after all, and she just genuinely wanted to tell her father in person about him. It was both because she knew he would have a ton of questions for her that would be too much of a hassle to answer through a letter, and because she may have forgotten to tell him in the first place. In her defense, the entire year was just so eventful that it didn't really seem like a priority to write to her dad about who she was dating.

Altair eventually calmed down after a short walk through the castle. Analeigh was able to explain her side well enough, and her father was able to ask a few questions about Cedric Diggory to get an idea of who he was. At the very least, he knew the boy was smart and talented since he was a champion. He decided he would get to know more about him later on when he could interrogate him on his own, perhaps after the tournament.

The tournament – the one thing Altair was now dreading. At the start of the year, he was overjoyed and proud of his daughter. At the age of fifteen, she managed to be chosen as one of the seven champions among possibly thousands of students across three massive wizarding schools. But lately, he had been getting a gut feeling that things weren't going to be okay anymore.

No, it wasn't just a gut feeling, actually. There were signs and whispers – from the Death Eater rampage and Dark Mark conjuration at the Quidditch World Cup, Barty Crouch's disappearance and his supposed stunning of a student, and especially what Analeigh wrote to him about Karkaroff showing something Snape on his forearm... it was all coming together, and Altair couldn't deny that the thing on his arm was bothering him, too.

Analeigh had just finished touring her parents (mostly her mother since she attended Beauxbatons as a young girl) around the area near the library and hospital wing when Altair took a double take, almost as if he saw someone he knew in the corridor to their right.

"What is it?" Analeigh asked him, slowing to a stop.

"You two keep going. I'll just be a moment," he said. "I want to talk to one of your professors."

"What? Why? I haven't failed any class..." Analeigh said, though she started recalling all her classes one by one to see if she had performed badly in any of them lately.

"Of course, you haven't. Would you be a Triwizard champion if you did?" Altair grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I just want to catch up with a teacher for a bit, so you should continue touring your mother around the castle, Analeigh."

"Well, okay, then." Analeigh and Grace began walking away from him already. "Just don't tell them any embarrassing stories about me!"

If she had stayed there a few moments longer, she would have seen her dad follow Snape down the hall.

★ ★ ★

More than half an hour had gone by and Altair still hadn't made his way back to his wife and daughter. Then again, the castle was huge, but Analeigh thought that after being a student there not too long ago, he would navigate it without a problem and find them quickly. However, Analeigh had shown her mother around a large chunk of the castle already, especially since it was mostly empty what with majority of the students stuck inside their classrooms for exams, and he still hadn't come back. She also briefly wondered how Hermione and Ron were doing with their History of Magic test, and she guessed that Ron was in the process of making up names and dates as answers to the questions just like he would make up dreams and their interpretations for his Divination class.

By the time the clock struck ten o'clock in the morning, Analeigh had moved on to showing her mother the lower part of the castle already. They saw the Great Hall again, passed by the kitchens (which she did not enter because it was technically not allowed), pointed out the Hufflepuff Common Room ("I feel like that room is cozier than the Gryffindor one," Grace commented, resulting in Analeigh having to defend her own house), and finally entered the dungeons area. Analeigh explained that the Slytherin Common Room and Potions classroom were located there.

"I wonder where dad went," Analeigh said thoughtfully. "I don't remember him saying he was particularly close with any of the professors when he was still a student."

"Well, he favored Flitwick a lot – that is his name, right?" Grace clarified and Analeigh nodded in response. "He was his Head of House and Charms is one of the subjects that he uses a lot in his job nowadays, after all. Although, we already saw him earlier before you met us, so I don't think he ran off to find him again."

If her father wasn't speaking to Flitwick, then who else would he be with? McGonagall? Sprout? Maybe even Dumbledore? Then, Analeigh thought about how her father was schoolmates with Snape. It was unlikely that her dad had gone off to find him, though, because whenever she ranted about annoying professors at Hogwarts and she brought up Snape, her dad acknowledged him like any other teacher. If she complained that he gave too many requirements at once, he'd sympathize with her. If she said he was being rude to her friends and the other Gryffindors, he'd say that it was unprofessional. Altair only seldom mentioned that he went to school with Snape, but he never suggested that they were familiar with one another enough for him to approach Snape and "catch up" with him like he said he was going to do with a teacher earlier. There was just no way he would be talking to him out of all the other Hogwarts professors, right?

She was going to be proven wrong soon enough, because inside Snape's office, Altair Heart was speaking to the Potions master himself.

"Don't play dumb, Severus. You can literally see and feel the Mark growing stronger."

"And don't waste my time, Altair," Severus said monotonously. "I have another set of students to monitor in a while for their practical exam, and you've been insisting the same thing for the past twenty minutes."

"Because things have been happening and you know it," Altair sighed frustratedly, standing up from his seat across Snape's desk.

"And what of it? Are you here to tell me you're going to hide from it and run to Dumbledore again like last time?"

"Don't act like you didn't do the same, Severus," Altair retorted. "You know I was forced into it — in fact, you trespassed into my home to recruit me, remember? But I did what I could to make things right."

"Or you wanted to take the easy way out like the rest of your family. Need I list their fates one by one? One stuck in Azkaban for life, another de —"

"I genuinely do not understand the hostility right now, Severus," Altair interrupted, tired of trying to get the man to listen to him.

"The hostility is because what you did years ago was out of fear. What I did was to protect someone, and I risked my life for it. We are not the same, so stop bothering me."

Altair chuckled humorlessly as if what Snape had said was absolutely ridiculous, which it was, in his perspective.

"Of course what I did was out of fear. I was afraid for my family and the one I was going to have, so I protected them. On the other hand, you were delusional over someone who didn't so much as bat an eye at you for years."

Snape stood up abruptly, his chair skidding against the floor loudly.

"That is none of your business," he hissed. "If you have nothing left but insults to say, then get out of my office."

"That's unfortunately all I want to say, so I will take my leave now," said Altair, already walking to the door. He swung it open halfway and paused.

"We never saw eye to eye, Severus, but we both knew when to act. Ignore the signs all you want, but I won't. I don't want to be trapped in the same thing again and drag my family into it."

With that, he stepped out of the office, only to find that his daughter and wife were walking in his direction from the other end of the hallway.

"Dad?" Analeigh said in disbelief when she spotted him. He was walking out of Snape's office. What the bloody hell was he doing there?

Altair cleared his throat, trying to remove all signs of tension in his body.

"Sorry I took so long," he apologized, closing the door behind him.

"You talked to Snape? I didn't know you were, er, friends."

"Oh, dear Merlin. Friends? As if," Altair scoffed. "We were... colleagues."

"You never told me that."

"It was only after your father graduated, just before he started working seriously," Grace explained, sending her husband a pointed look.

"That's right. I didn't work there for long, so Severus and I weren't close, but I do admit I was curious about him after not seeing him for years."

Analeigh made a face at how he casually called him Severus.

"Whatever you say," she said unconvincingly, still finding the whole ordeal strange.

"It's all right. I didn't tell him how much you complain about him to me," said Altair, ruffling Analeigh's dirty blonde hair yet again. She huffed and moved away before he could mess her hair up even more.

"Okay, okay, fine," she said, choosing to believe him.

"Now, shouldn't you be thinking about the Third Task instead of who my old colleagues are?" Altair said, nudging his daughter.

"It's only ten. The Third Task isn't until this evening."

"I know, I know. I'm just excited."

On the contrary, he was beyond nervous. So many strange things had been happening one after another that they had to mean something. He couldn't blissfully live in ignorance any longer when he was sure that there were people up to no good at that very moment. Because of that, the last task of the Triwizard Tournament just seemed like an eerie event rather than something to look forward to. He was certainly far from excited, and he desperately hoped he was only overthinking.