Author's Note
This is my first work of fan fiction, though not my first written work. I do hope that you enjoy it, as my desire is to entertain readers just as much as it is to get this story out of my head.
I despise typos, continuity errors, and formatting mistakes. Do not hesitate to point them out so I may set them on fire, though I would prefer you DM me so my shame does not live eternal in the reviews.
Please. Review. I cannot stress this enough. Your feedback, both positive and negative, motivates me and helps me to become a better write.
Do. Not. Post. Spoilers. In. Your. Review.
Disclaimer: I am not the immensely talented and inspiring woman known as J. K. Rowling, and therefore hold no claim to the fantastical world she allows our imaginations to frolic in.
Chapter 3: The Lion, The Witch, And His Wardrobe
Harry turned to Dumbledore, having waited to make sure he still had two friends before starting this conversation. But now that he could give the headmaster his full attention, he wasn't sure where he wanted to start. He had a million questions buzzing in his head right now. Some of them had been asked right after the champion selection, but it had been a lot to handle at the time and he wasn't sure if he should go over them again. Dumbledore, as usual, seemed to be able to read Harry's thoughts and answered for him.
"I am sorry to say that, I have reviewed everything very carefully, and you are in fact the fourth Triwizard champion. And no Mr. Potter . . . there is no way out of it." He finished with a frown, steepling his fingers and looking at Harry over his half-moon spectacles.
Harry deflated somewhat at that. He had assumed nothing had changed since a few hours ago, but when he suddenly saw the headmaster in his common room he couldn't stop that bit of hope from developing in the back of his mind.
"It's not bloody fair!" Ron said, punching a seat cushion.
"RON." Hermione said harshly, giving him a scowl.
"Sorry Hermione, but it's not! Harry didn't do anything, and not only are they making him be in this thing, but he's also magically required!? How can that happen!? I'll say it again, it's not bloody fair!" Ron folded his arms and slumped back into the sofa dramatically, an angry scowl on his face.
Hermione huffed, but her looks softened into a worried frown. The headmaster simply watched without comment, his expression remaining solemn. Harry, in all honesty, was feeling rather good that someone was angry on his behalf. He had grown up in a house where he was constantly told that everything bad that happened was his fault. It wasn't until he had first met Hagrid that anyone seemed to care for him.
"I don't understand professor," Harry confessed, "Not that I don't trust you of course, but Ron is right. How could something like this happen? I'm not talking about who put my name in the Goblet, I mean how can I be forced to compete in the tournament against my will?"
"Unfortunately Mr. Potter, as far as the Goblet knew, you were perfectly willing." Dumbledore leaned forward and handed Harry a small piece of parchment, the edges of which he could see were burned. Harry looked at it and recognized it instantly as the one that came out of the Goblet. Written in a dark ink, somewhat messily, was the name Harry Potter. But now that he had a calm moment to take it in, Harry couldn't help but feel that it seemed familiar.
"Ah." Dumbledore continued. "I can see that you have already caught on. Yes Harry, you may not have entered your name into the Goblet of fire, but you are still the one who wrote it down."
Harry's jerked his head up in surprise. "Professor . . I wrote this? But how, how could it have been placed in the Goblet? The closest I ever got to it was when Fred and George tried to get past your age line."
"That was very foolish of them." Hermione spoke up. "I told them that Professor Dumbledore himself had . . "
"Hermione." Run cut in, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked back and forth between the other three before closing her mouth and looking back towards the book.
"Harry, tell me, do you keep track of every piece of parchment you put your name on? How many discarded assignments do you think the house elves find every day?" Dumbledore said with an amused look. "It's not your fault if someone decided to search through the bins of the school. Despite what Professor Moody says you cannot maintain constant vigilance."
There was a moment of silence. Harry held the parchment firmly in his hand looking down at it. He knew that Dumbledore was right, but he couldn't help feeling that if he hadn't allowed it to exist then he wouldn't be in this situation.
"But I don't understand why." Harry said, looking directly into Dumbledore's eyes. "Why do the champions have to be magically bound to compete? Why couldn't we have just signed up normally?"
Dumbledore sighed and picked up his tea. "You have to understand Mr. Potter that the tournament is hundreds of years old, when it was first conceived it was a completely different era. Back then both magical and muggle governments were not as well defined as they are now, and in a lot of ways the magical schools held even more influence than the countries they resided in. The truth is that there are not nearly as many wizards as there are muggles, and the several hundred students that make up each school make up a significant portion of the magical population."
Harry thought about this for a few moments. The first time he had been to Diagon Alley he had felt overwhelmed by the number of magicals that he saw filling it. But he reminded himself that in all of London it was still the only magical shopping district in the city. In fact, just before his third year he had practically lived in Diagon Alley for a few weeks, and by the time he left he had come to know almost everyone who worked there, as well as most of the regular visitors. Comparing that to Hogwarts, Harry honestly doubted he could even name every Gryffindor, and he had lived with them for years now.
"Tensions were high" Dumbledore continued, "and the tournament was created as a way for the three schools to compete in a manner that didn't resemble outright war. But they still didn't trust the other schools enough to send students there without some assurances of their safety. After much deliberation . . "
"More like arguing I imagine." Interjected Ron, to Hermione's immediately shush.
"After much discussion," the headmaster continued with a slight smile "the Goblet of fire was created. Not only does it act as an impartial judge, but it creates a sort of pact between the participating schools. You are not the only one bound by magic to see this tournament to its end."
For the first time Harry noticed how tired Dumbledore seemed. It may have just been the sleeping robes he was wearing, but his shoulders seemed slumped and eyes slightly droopy. Harry had to remember that Dumbledore had been there, hours ago, in the shouting match that had occurred after his name came out of the Goblet of fire. While Harry himself had been wandering in a daze for most of that time, he imagined the headmaster had been much busier.
"It's all in here." Hermione said, pulling the large book back off of the table. "Now, I've only managed to get through it twice . . " Both Ron and Harry rolled their eyes. " . . but it looks like there are a number of legal and magical oaths in effect to protect the schools. " she finished, ignoring the looks of her two friends and addressing the headmaster.
"That is indeed so Miss Granger. Magically the Goblet only goes so far, you see. It really just stops the schools from going into all-out war, which was the main concern when it was originally created. The legal oaths, however, have been added over the years as times have changed. And this year especially the Ministry has gone over much of the rulebook in order to create a 'safer and more modern tournament.' "
Dumbledore finished his explanation by tapping his wand to his tea cup. Harry watched as it quickly refilled and began to steam slightly. As the headmaster took a sip, hiding a small smile, he said "Of course, if I recall the rules of the tournament of 1704 correctly, it does still force the winning champion to wed the Duchess of Cambridge . . ."
"WHAT!?" Hermione shrieked, her hands quickly shooting to the book in her lap and flying through the pages. Harry caught Dumbledore's eyes, twinkling once more, and both of them did their best to hide their mirth. Ron rolled his eyes again and placed his hand firmly onto the book.
"HER-MI-O-NE."
She looked up suddenly and caught Harry's smile before he could turn his head. Finally processing what had been said she looked at the headmaster and found him holding his tea cup to his mouth, but from the lines around his eyes it was clear he was hiding a smile. Hermione's cheeks pinked lightly and she shut her book with a snap, pulling it close to her chest.
"S . So . . " Harry started, holding back a small chuckle. "What are the actual rules of the tournament? What do I need to know?"
Dumbledore finished his tea and vanished it with a twitch of his hand. His fingers steepled again and Harry saw the tiredness return to his eyes.
"Luckily my boy there is not very much that you need to remember. Most of the legalities and oaths surround the schools and the various ministries, not the champions themselves. There are only a few points that you need to remember. First of all, you need to appear and participate in each of the three tasks set down for the tournament."
The three teens quickly nodded, this seemed to be a rather obvious rule.
"You may forfeit a task, but only after putting forth 'your best effort to complete it'. Unfortunately what that means exactly is up for interpretation, as the original notes on the Goblet's creation have been lost to time. In past tournaments many believed it was to prevent anyone from changing their mind and forfeiting all of the tasks. This was meant to bring glory and goodwill towards each school, after all."
Hermione, Harry noticed, had pulled out a quill and started to frantically write down what Dumbledore was saying. Again he found a warmth in his chest that one of his friends would go through the trouble of worrying so much about him.
"Secondly as the tournament places an undue stress on the minds and bodies of the champions you are exempt from all tests, including those at the end of the year. You may of course still choose to take the tests, if you are so inclined, to attempt to receive another grade. However for any of the others you will automatically receive a grade of Acceptable."
"ACCEPTABLE!?" Ron and Hermione both said at the same time. Ron had done a sort of fist bump, and looked as happy as he did before a game of quidditch. Ron always dreaded thinking about his grades, as he had trouble turning in his assignments on time. Hermione had gasped, her mouth still hanging open, and looked scandalized. He remembered she had been mistakenly handed a paper marked Acceptable once by Professor Sinistra and she had almost burst into tears.
Harry grinned at the two of them, wondering how he had managed to make two best friends that were so opposite from each other. Harry himself had learned long ago not to care much about his grades. It wasn't as if he had anyone to show them to. But he was still happy to hear that exams weren't something he would have to worry about this year.
"Yes, well." Dumbledore continued, keeping a very close eye on Harry's reaction to the next piece of news. "In that vein of thought, the third item I should tell you about is that the champions are allowed to drop any courses that they wish . . . without penalty."
The students sat there motionless in complete shock for several long moments. The clock in the far corner of the room ticked softly, but they could each hear it as if it were a drum beating loudly next to them. As usual, Hermione and Ron found their voices at the same time.
"WHAT!?"
"WHAT!?"
"Headmaster, how is that even possible!? Harry is only a fourth year student!" Hermione said while seemingly trying to pull out her own hair. The professor gave her a quick look before returning his gaze to Harry.
"The rules for the tournament, I remind you, were designed for those who had already reached their majority. At Hogwarts that would mean, at the youngest, a student who had already completed their O.W.L.'s.. The rule was actually added due to the term structure of Beauxbatons, you see, as they have more elective classes. However, for the tournament the rules apply to all of the schools in the interest of fairness." Dumbledore explained simply.
Harry was dumbfounded, he didn't even hear his friends shouts. He was only a fourth year student, but he could drop any of his classes? That wouldn't normally even be an option for him for another two years. He was behind the other champions, too far behind, but if he could clear enough of his schedule . . .
Ron and Hermione were frantically bickering about what this meant for Harry, every few seconds shooting a question at the headmaster. The headmaster, however, wasn't looking at Ron and Hermione. He was staring intently at Harry, watching the young man process this information. He wanted desperately to advise Harry on this matter, but he knew that this was a decision that Harry would have to make for himself, and he refused influence it. He hoped that the young man would make the right choice, rather than the easy one.
Suddenly Harry's gaze refocused and he found the headmaster's eyes. He was slow to rise, his legs tired from his long walk out in the halls, but he seemed to shake off the weariness and walk over to where Dumbledore sat. Ron noticed first and stopped arguing with Hermione, who noticed this strange tension a few moments later.
"Headmaster Dumbledore."
Dumbledore smiled evenly and nodded his head. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"
Harry took a slow breath. "I would like to formally drop Astronomy, Divination, and . . ."
Harry paused, warring with himself. He desperately wanted to say Potions. To never have to guard his cauldron from Draco Malfoy throwing in extra ingredients, or having to go to the hospital wing because Neville Longbottom had added an entire bottle of ashwinder eggs, or to eat lunch and realize he still had newt guts under his fingernails. But more than anything he wanted to get away from Severus Snape. The man who took points away for breathing, and spoke about his father like he was mud at the bottom of his shoe. To never be in a class with him again would be worth almost anything.
Harry clenched his fists as he looked down at Albus Dumbledore, who was still waiting patiently for him to continue.
" . . . and History of Magic, sir."
Dumbledore couldn't keep the pride out of his eyes as he nodded back to the young man.
"Very well Mr. Potter. Make good use of your extra time, for you will need every moment."
Harry nodded and returned to his seat, unclenching his fists as he breathed out.
"Potions is too important of a subject." Harry thought.
"HARRY." Cried Hermione. "You can't just drop a third of your course load!"
"Yeah mate!" Ron interjected "You can drop as many as you want, why did you stop there?"
Harry was sure that the look Hermione Granger gave Ronald Weasley at that moment would make a dementor flee the country. Unfortunately, Ron was looking at Harry and didn't notice and continued to voice his opinion.
"I mean, why didn't you say Potions! Blimey, it's the absolute worst class we have. And it's not like we're getting a ton of useful information from Herbology. Er, sorry professor, I mean I love Hogwarts it's just that . . "
"Quite alright Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore replied, looking very pleased with how things had turned out. "We cover a wide range of courses that, naturally, do not all cater to each individual. Astronomy is a delightful subject, but is really more of a support course for Herbology, Potions, and Divination. Divination itself can be a rather interesting subject, but is not practically useful if you do not have the abilities of a seer."
Dumbledore drew his wand and waved it towards the fireplace, which had started to dim, they watched as small flames sprang to life amongst the embers.
"As for History of Magic, well, as important as I believe the subject is I can see why it would not be as practically important to Mr. Potter. And unfortunately I would agree that or current course is . . . not as robust as it should be. If only Headmistress Wilkins had not tried to introduce tenure . . . " he said, looking off into the distance dreamily.
They waited a few moments for Dumbledore to speak again, but when it didn't seem to be happening any time soon Hermione spoke up.
"Professor? Professor Dumbledore? Is there anything else that Harry needs to know?"
"Oh!" Dumbledore said, blinking slightly. "Yes, yes. The last thing is simply that none of the staff involved in the tournament may help you prepare for the tasks. That includes the tournament organizers, and any of the schools professors. Durmstrang introduced that rule in 1462 to try and hinder the Beauxbatons champion. This means, Mister Potter, that if you wish to prepare for your challenges you will have to rely on your friends . . " He paused a moment to nod to Ron and Hermione, who smiled back proudly. ". . any other students you wish to enlist, and I recommend that you do. And any tutors that you may want to hire to fill your newly free schedule."
Dumbledore suddenly stopped and smiled at Harry. "In fact I may know at least two individuals who would be very willing to help you. Allow me to reach out to a few people, and I will let you know who seems interested.
Harry wanted to know who he could possibly have in mind, as Dumbledore was most likely the most famous wizard in the entire world. But the headmaster seemed ready to move on.
"Well it is getting late. Are there any further questions you wish to ask me tonight?" Dumbledore said as he scanned the three students.
They each looked at each other silently. Harry felt like there was more that he needed to know, but he couldn't think of any questions to ask. He looked over and saw Hermione's eyes dart back and forth as if she was reading from a full list of questions she couldn't decide from.
Ron, however, was the first person to speak "Sir, sorry, but . . why would anyone even want to do this to Harry? We don't even have our O.W.L.S. yet. No offense mate, but it's going to be tough for you to win." He said with a half-smile.
"Ron" Hermione said in an undertone, coming out of her concentration. "They probably want Harry to lose. Badly. People . . . " she sniffed softly and continued in a whisper. "People die in this tournament."
Ron's face paled somewhat, while Harry's turned a slight shade of green. The headmaster simply nodded gravely.
"Miss Granger is, as usual, most likely correct in her assumptions. Though the Ministry, as well as the schools, have worked hard to make the competition far less dangerous than it has been in the past, the fact remains that the challenges are designed to test witches and wizards at the end of their school lives." He caught Harry's eye and gave him a piercing look. "There are a number of dark wizards who still see Harry Potter as a symbol to fight against. If they saw this as their chance any one of them could have found a way to put your name into the Goblet. The protections I placed around it were meant to ward off school children, not fully adult wizards. They had to be like that, in order to allow access to the Goblet if there had been any problems."
The headmaster took off his spectacles and sighed heavily into his hand.
"I have failed you again Harry Potter."
Harry immediately sat up and opened his mouth, but was stopped from commenting as the aging headmaster held up his hand.
"When James first laid you into my arms on the day that you were born I swore I would do all that I could to protect you. And when I saw you enter the great hall for the first time I already knew I had failed. Oh I found a humble boy who saw the wonder of magic, just as I had hoped. But I also saw one that found it hard to smile, who had trouble understanding his teachers, was far too thin, and had difficulty making friends."
"Sir wait." Ron said, seemingly offended. "Harry and I have been best mates since we first met on the express! Ain't that right Harry?"
Harry nodded, having had a similar thought.
Dumbledore turned to Ron and gave him a somewhat sad smile. "And tell me Mr. Weasley, did Harry come up to you and strike up a conversation? Did he shake your hand and ask if you were excited for school? Or did you find a boy alone in a compartment and decide to save them from their loneliness by offering them your friendship?"
Ron's ears turned slightly pink and he looked down at his shoes. Hermione smiled and rested her hand on top of his. Harry, who had never thought of it that way, couldn't help but smile quietly.
"And, do forgive me Miss Granger, but it should have taken far less than an incident with a troll to gain you your second friend."
Now each of the students lowered their heads, hiding their grins. They never had talked about that first adventure that had made them friends. At the time Harry was sure he would never find himself in a more dangerous situation. Now though, well, he could look back on it fondly.
Dumbledore's smile turned serious once more as he waited to meet Harry's gaze again
"I failed you when I sent you to your aunt and uncle. They were your last closest living relatives, and beyond the wards I had needed your aunt's presence for, it still seemed like the most obvious place to send you. There were other options, of course, but at the time it seemed like the only ones who would treat you like family would be . . . well . . . family."
Harry stirred uncomfortably in his seat and looked down again. It was a bit hard to hear someone talk about the Dursleys as Harry's family. They had made it quite clear when he was young that they would prefer to have no relation to him at all, and he had long ago started referring to them as his "relatives" or the "Dursleys". Not family.
Never family.
"You arrived at Hogwarts more as someone who was escaping a terrible life, than someone about to start a new adventure. And every year since your arrival you have found yourself in some form of danger. Danger that I should have protected you from, as headmaster of this school, . . and as someone who cares for you. I . . Harry Potter, I apologize most sincerely for my mistakes."
Dumbledore slowly and solemnly bowed his head towards Harry. Harry, not for the first time tonight, was taken aback. Despite how large a part Albus Dumbledore played in his life, this was only their fourth conversation of any significant length, and by far the longest. But never had the man acted as serious as this, not even after the death of Professor Quirrell. Harry wanted to argue that Dumbledore had nothing to be sorry about, but couldn't find it within himself to do it after such a heartfelt apology.
Harry held the edges of his chair and bowed his head slowly back towards the headmaster. He began to feel a slight sting around the edges of his eyes, so he kept his head turned towards the floor. He didn't know why, but it suddenly felt like many small weights were being lifted off of him. He hadn't believed he could ever blame Dumbledore for the terrible things that had happened to him around the school, but clearly there was a part of him that had.
Dumbledore and his friends sat silently for a few moments as Harry composed himself, shaking his head so no one would see if any tears had formed. It wasn't until Harry had calmed down that Dumbledore began to speak again.
"However. Ever since you have come to Hogwarts my boy, I can't fully express how impressed I have been." Dumbledore smiled brightly, bringing Harry's attention back to the conversation. "Almost all of your professors have told me how quickly you understand new spells, and the enthusiasm you show for any wandwork. Not to mention your exceptional skills on the quidditch pitch. Whether you realize it or not Mr. Potter most students, students from other houses, even older students, have come to see you as a leader."
Harry was shocked by this declaration. People made fun of him all the time, and he barely even talked to most of his housemates. He had even lost the quidditch cup last year because he hand fainted at the end of a match. He turned to Ron for support, only to find him nodding his head seriously to Dumbledore's words.
Hermione saw the look of confusion on Harry's face. "Harry, surely you've noticed? Everyone looks to you. Now, yes!" she held up a hand to stop the argument she saw approaching "a lot of them tell rumors and talk poorly about you at times. But that's only because they spend so much of their time looking at you. Last year especially, everyone seemed to think you were going to be murdered by a madman in-between classes!"
Hermione huffed indignantly as Ron sat up to chime in.
"And of course, chamber of secrets and all that stuff mate. Yeah, they thought you were a dark wizard for most of the year because you can . . . well you know." Ron wiggled his arm and made a strange hissing sound, gaining him a smack from Hermione and a grin from Harry.
"But Harry, you saved Ginny's life. Everyone knows that. My brothers made sure everyone knows that. None of us shut up about you for a week, telling people what a hero you were. Never where you could hear o' course, because you . . . don't like that stuff . ." Ron looked away, his voice trailing off. Harry turned to Hermione who was now worrying the ends of her hair again.
"The point is Harry, everyone always want to see what you are doing, where you are going. Are you the hero people claim you are, a normal student, or a dark wizard? Even when they think they are against you, they still want follow you and see what happens."
"Interestingly," Dumbledore began while tugging on the moon of his hat absentmindedly. "I can't recall a time where we had so many students signed up for Divination. Professor Trelawney had to order ten times the normal amount of crystal balls." He paused when he caught Harry's incredulous look. "Well my boy, it was always seen as a rather wooly subject, you know. If I recall, until last year the largest class size she had ever known was a class of five."
"Professor Dumbledore, if I may ask, if that is the case then why do we even have the class?" Hermione asked timidly.
"Actually Miss Granger, I had been considering dissolving the class completely when our previous instructor retired. I only agreed to interview Professor Trelawney as a curtesy. As it happens, during the interview something extraordinary happened!"
"Really?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised. Ron too perked up, looking interested. It was only Harry that had a faint idea what the headmaster might mean. It was just last year, when he was alone with the divination professor, that she seemed to have made a real prophecy.
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes. You see just as we were finishing the interview she told me that she had had a vision, and that if I did not hire her on the spot then Hogwarts would be doomed forever! Well, what was I to do other than offer her the position?"
Hermione's mouth hung open as she stared into the headmasters smiling face. Harry made sure to hide his smile. He wasn't quite sure he believed what Dumbledore had said, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
Before Hermione could recover Dumbledore spoke again. "Well now. I very much doubt this will be the last discussion we have this year, but it is extraordinarily late. As headmaster of Hogwarts, I must insist that we all get to bed." Dumbledore stood, and waved his wand, vanishing the blanket that had been around his legs, and moved over to Harry, who stood to meet the headmaster. It was only now that Harry noticed that on his feet were a pair of overlarge fuzzy purple slippers, which seemed to embody some form of creature.
It had large yellow buttons for eyes, a crooked smile, and two large uneven horns on the sides that seemed to somewhat fold in on themselves.
"Nice slippers, professor?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
As usual Dumbledore smiled broadly in response. "Why thank you Mr. Potter. A Christmas gift I received last year from one of our young Ravenclaws. Incredibly comfortable, and in my favorite color."
As Dumbledore moved towards the portrait hole Harry could see small poofy tails sewn into the backs of the slippers that seemed to bounce whenever the headmaster took a step.
"Only Dumbledore." Harry thought.
At the last moment the headmaster turned and looked at the teens in the room seriously.
"Stay strong, the three of you. And if you need me you may come to my office at any time. I would prefer to have at least one more talk like this before the first task . . " He paused and gave them each a sleepy smile. "But we can worry about that later. Miss Granger. Mister Weasley. Mister Potter." He nodded at each of them as he said their names, stepped out the portrait hole, and then he was gone.
Author's Thoughts
This was the first chapter I wrote. In retrospect it's hard to imagine why Dumbledore was so passive in Harry's adventures, but I suppose at the time he was always hoping for the best and that he would find a way to deal with things without getting him involved. The tournament was always the point where I think Dumbledore should finally have stepped in to really be there for Harry. So let's find out where the story goes when he is a more active participant.
A lot of fics bash Dumbles, mostly because it's easy to poke holes in what originally started was a children's story. I've gone back and forth on him over the years, but ultimately I realized that JK wrote him to be a hero, and so that's what he is. Everything else is just us over analyzing and over thinking him. Besides, even if it isn't the norm for fics, I love the idea of a caring and more active Dumbledore in Harry's life.
I hope you liked the slippers. I won't rush things, but I will endeavor to get our favorite girl into the mix as soon as I feel it works. I can't wait.