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Harry Potter And The Game of Death
Level 1
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Summer Love
"That was too easy!" Harry laughed to himself as he left the duelling tent. "If I'd known Dora would be that simple to distract then I'd have done it sooner. Honestly, it could've saved me so much trouble when she was teasing me earlier."
The plan to distract Dora had been a runaway success. After Harry's taunts, the young woman had grown incensed and declared that she would pass his forty wins before the day was up. Hestia's feeble attempt to calm her down had failed, and Dora had stalked off to register for her duels with the older woman close in tow. Leaving Harry blissfully alone and free to do what he wanted.
Which is why his first order of business was to get into a secluded area so he could pull up the most recent series of messages sent via the Game's Party feature.
Harry made his way out of the crowd and picked out a secluded tree just off of the main pathway. A quick glance around showed that only one man was looking at him, and once the man shifted his gaze away it left no one else looking in Harry's direction, allowing Harry to bring up the messages and begin reading. He also checked his status and smiled upon seeing the additional level – plus the three he had gotten from all of the duelling and hard work he had been doing for the past week – added to his name.
Harry Potter
Age: 13
The-Boy-Who-Lived
Heir Apparent to the Potter Family
Basilisk Slayer
Heroic Child
Golden Boy
Level 53
Stats:
STR: 61
DEX: 78
CON: 59
INT: 142
WIS: 118
CHA: 373
Traits:
Loyal
Duellist
Survivor
Humble
Elf-Friend
Boy-Who-Lived
Half-Blood
School Quidditch Star
Possessor of a Deathly Hallow
Clutch Performer
Foe of the Dark
Battle Hardened
Dark Arts Magnet
A Mother's Protection
Weak Familiar Bond (Hedwig)
Peverell Bloodline
Walking Target
Oblivious One
Parseltongue
Headstrong
True Friend
Negotiator
Dedicated
Horcrux
Gamer
After reading through their private messages to one another – Harry had recently learnt through the Help feature that, as the Gamer, he could see all messages sent using his Party feature, and had kept the new knowledge to himself – in addition to the ones they had sent to him, Harry noted that both men were currently occupied.
Apparently Sirius had overheard Yaxley tell Lucius that the first part of the plan would be enacted today. Lucius had asked if the man needed any help, to which Yaxley had responded that he only needed Lucius to continue with his planned schedule. Lucius had then dispatched Morgan to a game with Draco so as to keep their attendance cover up and then split from Yaxley.
In order to respond to this unanticipated situation Harry's guardian's had chosen to split up as well. Remus was tailing Yaxley as the man wandered near some sensitive security areas while Sirius had joined the elder Malfoy on a behind the scenes VIP only tour, where according to Sirius' latest message the two were trading constant barbs with one another.
To Harry it seemed like his guardian's had made the logical decision as both of the areas they had gone to were vital to the Cup's security and operation. But their decision also meant that Morgan was currently uncovered by anyone. A fact which caused Harry to frown.
After looking through several older messages Harry read that the former Death Eater and Draco had last been seen making their way towards a separate Quidditch pitch about half an hour prior. According to the list of scheduled matches Harry had memorized, a game was scheduled to start at that particular pitch at two in the afternoon.
Which was in roughly fifteen minutes.
Harry closed the messages and made his way towards the pitch. If he hurried, then Harry would be able to make it in time to catch the game and potentially foil a dark plot along the way. It was a long shot that Morgan was up to anything nefarious, but after nearly a week of being sidelined Harry was ready to dive back into things with a vengeance.
By the time he made it to the stadium the match was nearly set to begin. Harry tried looking for Morgan, but neither the man nor Draco were anywhere to be seen and the crowd was much too thick to attempt using Observe. Then the opening whistle blew, causing the restless crowd to burst into raucous cheers and frantic movement as Quidditch players sped through the air above and obscuring any chance Harry had to find someone who did not want to be found within the crowd. Harry gave up for the short term and found himself a place where he could sit and watch the game in the meantime.
Morgan cursed his rotten luck as he heard the game begin. He was supposed to have made his move before the match started and having to adjust his timing meant that the plan was now in jeopardy.
With the assistance of their informant and Lucius' connections, he and Yaxley had managed to render the Ministry's venue security ineffective. This had allowed them to scope out the venues to their heart's content and pinpoint the best times to strike, while the few surprise checks or patrols conducted by the various Ministry departments were a minor irritant that was easily avoided.
What was not proving to be so easily avoided were the damn nuisances they had picked up along the way. Yaxley had been the first to notice, but it seemed that Potter's two guardians had taken to following their every move. One of the two men often tailed Yaxley and Morgan whenever they separated from Lucius and had nearly caused the plan to fail on three separate occasions already.
That could not be allowed to happen today. But just when Morgan had been ready to start after they had tricked the two meddlers into following Lucius and Yaxley, what would happen? The damn Potter brat had come waltzing into the stadium as bold as brass, forcing Morgan to grab Draco by the scruff of his tiny neck and duck into a side passage leading around the edge of the stadium seating areas.
Getting caught in the act of would be enough to ensure a one-way trip Azkaban. Between Pensieve testimony and Veritaserum confirmation there would be no way for Morgan to escape this time around without being ruined. And given the many ways for wizards and witches to contact one another over long distances, Morgan was not willing to risk Potter summoning his guardians at an inopportune moment.
So Morgan cursed the Potter brat under his breath as he ran to the other side of the stadium with Lucius' spawn close in tow. There was still a way to salvage the situation, but Morgan would need Draco's help to make sure that it went off without a hitch. It was high time the boy got his hands dirty anyway.
Three hours later saw a disappointed Harry exiting the stadium. Bulgaria's match against Finland had turned into a rout midway, 530-220, thanks to a miraculous half-time rally, and he had failed to catch Morgan doing anything suspicious.
When Harry had finally caught sight of Morgan towards the end of the match, sitting with Draco in the upper right hand corner of the stadium, Harry had not noticed anything amiss. Taking a risk he had tried casting Observe on important people located nearby them, like stadium security, but the spell had only shown the various people to be normal individuals with normal stats. Which meant that Morgan had either already done something to affect the match or Harry had wasted his time on a dead end.
Either way it was annoying and Harry was less than pleased. He poked around the area where he saw them sitting for a little bit just in case, but he failed to spot anything sinister even when using Observe. So he gave it up as a lost cause and began to make his way out of the stadium, joining in on the tail end of the crowd while he tried to think of anything else he might have missed.
Just as he passed by the entrance, though, something slammed into Harry's back hard enough to send him sprawling. His instincts blaring in alarm, Harry scrabbled to grab hold of his wand and fish it from out of his pocket. Once that was achieved he then rolled to his left to throw off the aim of whomever had tried to take him out.
Only to come to an immediate halt halfway through his first rotation as an unmistakeable voice called out to him and sent a burst of electricity shooting through his nervous system. This feeling was only amplified when a quest notification from the Game popped up that left Harry utterly stupefied.
Ding!
Quest Notification
You Gotta Kiss The Girl
You Have Met Cho Chang at the Quidditch World Cup
Woo Her Right and You've Got a Shot at Earning Her Favour
Quest Reward:
A Kiss (or More) From Asian Beauty Cho Change
Please Select
Yes or No
"Harry? Is that really you?" Cho Chang's melodious, lightly accented voice called out. "I'm so sorry for bumping into you like that! I wasn't watching where I was going."
Harry shook of his stupefied state and looked at the girl splayed out across from him. Her delicate features were scrunched up in apology while dust covered her cute muggle attire; a simple mini-skirt and blouse combination paired with knee-high socks that Harry had never before seen her wear. Though now that he saw her in it he did not think that he could picture her in anything else ever again. Harry had never before thought of Cho as being leggy, but he could hardly keep his eyes from staring at the skin revealed in the gap between her socks and mini-skirt.
"No! There's uh, um, no need for you to apologize like that, Cho," Harry managed to stammer out. He picked himself off of the ground in a hurry, punched yes on the quest notification as he did, and reached a hand out to the older girl for good measure. "Here, please, let me help you up. It was my fault for not watching where I was going."
Cho accepted his offer and pulled herself upright. Still a little taller than him – though not so much as when the school year had ended – the pretty girl reached out a hand to steady herself against his shoulder. Her long black hair swayed from the movement and Harry caught the scent of feminine perfume wafting through the air.
She gave a laugh as she removed her hand from him and began to pat herself down to remove the dust now coating her clothes. "In that case, Harry, let's just agree that it was both our faults and move on. Okay?"
"Oh! Uh, um, yeah. Sure!" Harry nodded. His hands twitched and for a moment he almost tried to help Cho get the dust off of her clothes before he realized how inappropriate that would be. Instead, Harry settled for asking her how long she had been at the tournament and what she had most enjoyed about it so far.
"My dad brought me and my little sisters here two days ago," Cho said with a bright smile, "so we missed the opening ceremony and the first brace of matches but have caught most everything else. Right now they're all off on some kind of tour he is giving some VIPs, however, so I'm on my own for the day. How 'bout yourself, Harry?"
"Erm. I, uh, I've been here since the first day, actually," Harry stammered out, wanting to kick himself as he did. It was a miracle that the gorgeous girl had not yet left as he could not seem to avoid sounding like a daft moron whenever she was around. "I-I, erm, what I mean to say, is that I just got done watching the Bulgarian match. Did you see it?"
Once again Harry wanted to kick himself. Or curse himself. Or something, anything, that might stop him from sounding like the world's biggest idiot. Of course Cho had seen the game! She had been leaving the stadium too!
Thankfully Cho did not seem to mind Harry's far too obvious question. The beautiful girl gave him a smile and nodded excitedly. "Did I ever! I didn't think that I would ever see a more talented Seeker than you, Harry, but that Bulgarian bloke, Krum, is just amazing! Did you see the manoeuvrer he pulled when he closed in on the ground? Someone in the seat next to me called it a 'Wronski Feint.' I don't even know if I could pull off something like that in practice, let alone in a game!"
Flattered by her praise of his skill, although feeling somewhat annoyed at how Cho thought the Bulgarian bloke was more talented than him, Harry gave a laugh as they launched into a detailed talk regarding the match. And as their talk progressed Harry found himself stuttering and stammering far less than he had at the beginning. Discussing the sport of Quidditch seemed to calm his beating heart, and the more time that passed the easier his words seemed to come to him.
Harry managed to pull off a stealthy Observe on her while they walked, curious as to what it might show. He was able to read it when Cho made a quick trip to the loo and he pretended to do the same.
Cho Chang
Daughter of Li and Deborah Chang, she is a free-spirited girl who enjoys spending time with others. Spoiled by her parents from an early age, she can sometimes be flighty and fickle. While a dedicated student, her favourite things to do are to talk about Quidditch and boys with her friends. She is chased by many of the boys at Hogwarts and enjoys a good kisser. (See Character Page for Further Information)
Age: 15
Level 48
Stats:
STR: 45
DEX: 72
CON: 40
INT: 51
WIS: 17
CHA: 46
Traits:
Quidditch Fan
School Quidditch Player
Free Spirit
Spoiled
After reading it Harry then, against his better judgement, selected the 'character page' option. He hoped and prayed that it was better information than he had seen every other time he had selected the thrice cursed feature. But as usual what he saw made Harry want to bang his head against a wall and yell at the Game for its continuing torment.
Cho Chang
Daughter of Li and Deborah Chang, Cho is a free-spirited girl who enjoys spending time with others. Spoiled by her parents from an early age, she can sometimes be flighty and fickle. While a dedicated student, her favourite things to do are to talk about Quidditch and boys with her friends. She is often chased by the boys of Hogwarts and enjoys a good kisser.
After playing against Harry Potter at Hogwarts and seeing his immense skill on a broom, Cho knows that she does not have what it takes to become a professional Quidditch player. However, she plans to either enter the Quidditch supplies industry or to follow in her father's footsteps as an employee of the British Ministry's Department of Magical Games and Sports.
Cho is currently weighing whether or not to accept Cedric Diggory's offer of going steady, given to her at the end of the school year, but has yet to make up her mind. She enjoys being single and worries that, if things go well between them, she will be forced to give up her career aspirations.
Cho has a long waterfall of silky black hair, black eyes, creamy skin, and stands at 5'4. She has a moderate bust, narrow hips, and a tight butt.
Allies: Deborah Chang, Li Chang, Cedric Diggory
Friendly: Marietta Edgecombe, Ravenclaw Quidditch Team
Acquaintances: Fellow Ravenclaw students
Hostile: None
Hated Ones: None
Romantic Affections: Cedric Diggory (very strong), Harry Potter (strong), Viktor Krum (moderate), Roger Davies (moderate), Duncan Inglebee (weak), Jason Samuels (weak), Oliver Wood (weak), George Weasley (weak), Fred Weasley (weak)
Of course this is how things had turned out. Cho Chang, the girl that Harry liked more than any other, had already been asked out by someone else. Someone whom every girl at Hogwarts seemed to like and who just happened to be the only person to beat Harry to the Snitch in a meaningful game of Quidditch.
Sometimes it felt like the universe seemed to enjoy making Harry its whipping boy. Because if the Game were to be believed, then Harry had made contact with Cho right as she was trying to decide whether or not she should date Cedric Diggory. Leaving Harry facing a decision far less weighty than that of the Attack quest, but one which felt far more heavy due to its personal nature.
In a daze, Harry walked out of the lavatory and back onto the dirt path that meandered along the tournament grounds. He began to pace back and forth as he wrestled with his thoughts. In Harry's mind an angelic version of Hermione argued for making the honourable choice, that if he were to make a move on Cho it would a betrayal of his morals. That Cedric was a good guy who had already asked Cho out, and that to get in the way would be both rude and nasty to the honourable bloke.
Meanwhile a devilish version of Dora – complete with flaming hair and sharpened teeth – argued that Harry should just do it. That for what use was the Game and it's powers if Harry did not use them to their fullest advantage? The current situation he was in, where Harry wanted something and the Game was telling him that he could achieve it if he just tried was for all intents and purposes begging Harry to go for it.
The two arguments collided in his brain. In the end it was the devilish Dora who won when she stated that this might be Harry's last chance before Cho actually did decide to date Cedric. In which case pursuing her at that time would be a betrayal of Harry's morals and that by chasing her now rather than later Harry would actually be keeping to his true values. That right now Cho was currently fair game, Harry was interested, and the Game had said that he had a chance.
Though Harry bore Cedric no ill will, and he even liked the older bloke, Harry felt that he would be a fool if he were to step aside right now and do nothing. So he firmed his heart and resolved himself to take full advantage of the opportunity given to him by the Game.
Once Cho returned the two of them settled into a small table just off the beaten path so they could talk without being interrupted when a nearby street vendor popped over to hawk his wares; various types of food ranging from American style hot dogs to Hungarian stew. After a moment's indecision on the part of Harry, Cho suggested that they get something to drink and snack on before the next match started. Harry agreed and purchased a pair of small minced-meat pies served with freshly squeezed pumpkin juice for the both of them to share.
Between his own limited experience, Dora's outrageous stories, and Sirius' terrible advice imparted during 'the talk', Harry might not know how to best woo a girl, but treating Cho to a meal seemed like a good place to start.
It seemed to work as Cho gave him a coy smile when the street vendor left. "Thanks for the treat, Harry. But why go through the effort to get on my good side? I could have paid for it myself, you know."
Harry flushed at the comment. "N-no reason at all, Cho. I, uh, just wanted to be a gentleman is all."
"Hm. Then in that case, Harry, you have certainly succeeded. And as the charming young lady who has received your gentlemanly generosity, please allow me to thank you for your exceptional kindness."
Faster than the suddenly stupefied Harry could react, Cho closed the distance between them and planted a quick kiss onto his cheek. Her dark eyes glittered with mirth as she returned to her seat.
"And that is all that you'll get from me for now, Mr. Gentleman. Let's talk about the next match while we eat. I hear that England's Seeker is the only one that can give Krum a run for his money, but that the Chasers and Keeper are rather rubbish. What do you think?"
Harry thanked his lucky star for Ron's many letters and vast knowledge on this particular subject. Because without them Harry would have been utterly lost in the ensuing conversation.
"And that's win number thirty-seven in a row!" Dora yelled from her place atop the main duelling platform. "Who's next? If you think you've got the courage, then step on closer to the edge and prepare yourself to get broken! My wand cries out for the blood of more victims!"
Hestia held up an embarrassed hand to cover her face as Dora yelled at the crowd of spectators who had gathered to watch her duelling exploits. Hestia adored her, but whenever Dora's competitive spirit got fired up to this extent the younger woman had a tendency to become somewhat unbearable. According to Dora it had something to do with her mother's side of the family, but that had been all that Hestia had been able to drag out of her at the time.
"What, no takers? None at all? Just because you're destined to fall before my towering self doesn't mean you should let fear hold you back. I'll even promise to go easy on the next challenger by tying one hand behind my back and keeping it that way for the entirety of the duel."
"Oh gosh, she's only getting worse," Hestia muttered to herself. "By this rate she's never going to leave even after she beats Harry's record. She'll probably want to stack win after win on top of it just to rub it in the boy's face."
Dora seemed to be working herself into quite the frenzy on stage and there was nothing Hestia could think of that would calm the woman down. Hestia had already tried to lure Dora away with kisses and caresses, and the promises of more should Dora leave the ring behind, but it had only achieved momentary success before the woman had pulled away to jump back into the ring for her next duel.
As Hestia looked on through spread fingers, a hard-bitten wizard who appeared tough enough to chew rocks took up Dora's challenge. The man jumped into the ring with a roar of challenge. One that Dora tossed back with equal vigour.
"In the name of all that is holy!" Hestia yelled in disbelief. "Dora, stop fooling around and beat him already! There's no need to thump your chest like some idiot of a man."
Her shout went unheeded. Within seconds Dora and her opponent were locked in a duel. Spellfire tore through the air as the two combatants blocked, dodged, and countered their opponent's spells. The man's face was locked in a rictus of concentration as he fought while Dora's contained a look of wild glee, her hair weaving through a rainbow of bright colours as she duelled.
It was official. Dora had gone off the deep end and there would be no returning until she got it out of her system. Something like it had happened twice before when they had been in bed with one another – where the increased enthusiasm had been most appreciated – but never had Hestia seen it quite like this. It seemed that the only way to end things early was if someone appeared who could give Dora a run for her money, but with the immense skill the young Auror possessed the likelihood of that happening was rather low.
"Excusez-moi, but would anyone 'appen to know where ze regiztration dezk eez?" A beautiful, lilting voice said from somewhere nearby. "I would like to duel zat woman, but I do not know where eet eez located."
Eager for any distraction from the crazed figure that was her girlfriend, a depressed Hestia turned to offer the French speaker some assistance. The voice sounded like it belonged to a cute girl; helping her might help to lift the thick cloud of gloom that was slowly falling over Hestia as Dora continued her rampage unchecked.
"And he's dooooown! In a display of the worst bit of unsportsmanlike conduct I have ever seen in over thirty years of playing and commenting on professional Quidditch, the French Beater Gagne has taken out the British Seeker, our beloved Hardwin, by using his beater's bat to apparently bash in the man's skull. Security! Remove that man from the pitch before we have a riot on our hands. That sort of action has no place in our sport!"
Ludo Bagman's amplified voice boomed through the stadium as the people surrounding Harry and Cho rose to their feat in anger. The two young teenagers found themselves joining in, shaking their fists and screaming their voices at what they had just seen happen. After playing against Slytherin for years both teens had felt they had known the sorts of depths that dirty teams would stoop to in order to win, but this match had been an eye opener.
In a professional Quidditch match it was legal to hit the Seeker after they had caught the Snitch. Rival Seekers usually did this in order to steal the golden ball away from their competitor, while the opposing Beaters would try to jar it loose through bludger hits. It was the major reason why the Snitch did not stop dead in professional matches as many fans felt that it added a bit of excitement and flair to the game's outcome. But instead of staying within the rules and hitting the English Seeker, who had just caught the Snitch, with a bludger, the French Beater had used his bat to smash in Hardwin's face!
That was not allowed and looked to have cost the French team the game.
"It appears that the despicable Frenchman is trying to argue his case," Ludo's booming voice stated in disdain, "but it's not going well for him. This is as cut and dry a case as I've ever seen, folks. I don't think that it'll be long now before the officials – aha! The officials have tossed Gagne out of the game and declared the match over. Final score is 340-230. Good sportsmanship triumphs and England wins! Jolly good showing out there chaps, you've done your country proud!"
With the match over Harry and Cho started to file out of the stadium with the rest of the crowd, the pair talking animatedly as they moved.
"What a game! It was completely different than the Bulgarian match," Harry yelled in excitement. "It was almost like watching a professional version of Gryffindor versus Slytherin."
"I know!" Cho yelled as she elatedly jostled his shoulder. "I'd heard tell that the French liked to play dirty, but that was something else. Not even the Brazilians go that far and they're supposed to be the worst!"
As they filed out of the stadium the crowd became increasingly dense. It was not long before Harry and Cho were rubbing shoulders as the people around them began to push and shove to leave the stadium faster. But any annoyance Harry felt over it was quashed when he felt Cho fling her arms around his back and move in close.
Harry twisted his head back and saw Cho's dark eyes staring at him, her soft pink lips curved into a flirty grin. Pole-axed by the look and temporarily unable to move forward thanks to the crowd, Harry felt his body freeze in place.
Cho's lips curved further as she stared at him intently. "You know, I've had so much fun with you today, Harry. My father gave me tickets to see all of the games, but no one was available to see them today. So I figured that today was going to be lonely. But then I met you, and you've been so nice to me, and been such great company, that I think you deserve another reward. One that we'll both enjoy."
Before Harry could reply, Cho closed her eyes and moved her face closer to his own. And when her lips touched his Harry felt his mind explode into a million tiny pieces. All rational thought fled, leaving only the physical sensation of her body touching his.
Cho's lips were soft and tender. They were everything Harry had dreamed about and more, and the way they curved and moulded their shape when pressed against his own was simply divine.
A roaring fire began to rise within Harry's chest as the kiss continued. A burning need to do something more than just passively receive. So he pressed back against her lips with his own, moving them gently as he fumbled his way forward with half-remembered instructions from Sirius. Harry knew that he was doing something right when he felt her sigh into him. He also heard the sound of a notification from the Game going off, most likely the quest for Cho being completed, but the Game and everything other than the girl currently kissing him was far from Harry's mind.
He had no clue how long they stayed like that, but Harry would have traded every Galleon in his family vault to have stayed that way forever. And when they came back together for another kiss, with more force and greater intensity, Harry felt his mind explode for a second time in a row. The most coherent thought remaining was that if this is what kissing was like then it was no wonder that the older boys kept chasing all of the girls. Lost in a haze of pleasure, Harry lost track of time as he and Cho continued to trade kisses.
When he eventually came to and looked around, Harry realized that they had somehow made their way back to the stadium's entrance. The previously thick crowd had dissipated, leaving the two of them with some semblance of privacy as they held each other close and basked in the lingering warmth of their kisses.
Eventually, it was Cho who decided to end things for the day. The dark-haired girl pulled back from Harry and patted him gently on the cheek. "Thanks for the great day, Harry. I… I guess that I'll see you around. Take care of yourself."
Harry thought that he said goodbye to her, and maybe something about enjoying her company, because the Asian beauty smiled at him and gave him a peck on his cheek in reply. Then the girl moved away, her slim form disappearing into the moving traffic while he stood still and watched.
Harry had no idea how long it took before he could muster the energy to move from his spot. Kissing Cho had been unlike anything he had ever experienced. And given how wonderful it had felt Harry fervently hoped that the Game would continue to issue similar quests should he happen to meet Cho once again.
Quest Alert Notification
You Gotta Kiss The Girl
You Have Met Cho Chang at the Quidditch World Cup
Woo Her Right and You've Got a Shot at Earning Her Favour
Progress:
Complete
You Got A Kiss (and More) From the Asian Beauty Cho Chang
Still feeling dazed, Harry read through the notification as he slowly made his way to Sirius' private booth. When he made it there both Sirius and Remus had taken one look at Harry's face and asked who the lucky girl had been. Harry had squirmed on the spot and thanked his lucky stars that Remus did not seem to be the sort of teacher to listen to Hogwarts gossip. In the end Harry was only able to dodge their questions on the subject by talking about his duel and the games he had seen.
Their grim response to his words came as a surprise, one that knocked Harry back down to Earth. Sirius' annoyance at learning how Harry had dodged Dora came as no surprise, but their conjectures regarding the matches Harry had seen were rather worrying.
Harry looked between them as he sat down in a cushy chair. "You think that the Imperius Curse was used during the two matches I saw? And that the French player who clubbed the British bloke is actually innocent?"
Remus nodded. "Yes. The amount of time that an Imperius Curse will work, and the range at which someone can cast it, varies greatly. Much of it depends on the castor's strength and the strength of the one the Imperius is cast upon, but there are other variables which can come into play that can make the curse hard to predict and understand."
"I've heard that the Goblins have a way around it and that the Ministry's Unspeakable's made some progress on a counter during the war against the dark tosser, but nothing more," Sirius added. His usually cheerful face seemed haunted, the topic of Azkaban no doubt bringing up uncomfortable memories. "The way you described the match between Bulgaria and Finland, Harry, would fit the description as well. Bulgaria's second half comeback seemed to be the result of the Fins completely falling apart. Two or more people under the Imperius Curse, who were ordered to play sloppily, would explain it quite neatly."
"Ugh! We should have considered that as a possibility back when you first told me about it." Harry said darkly. His brain was back from its extended vacation in the land of kisses and Harry was rather mad at himself for having missed out on the signs. Another thing that the older boys at Hogwarts often said, which was that women clouded the mind, also seemed to be true. As otherwise Harry felt that he would have picked up on the signs without needing Remus and Sirius to point them out to him.
"We did, Harry, but the plain truth of the matter is that it's impossible to know that the Imperius has been cast unless someone witnesses it." Remus' hard tone resembled that of the one he would use in class whenever students were getting too noisy. "It's one of the reasons why Sirius and I have been following Malfoy and the rest so closely, and is quite probably the reason why you were unable to locate Morgan until late in the match."
"And since they've proven that they can get around us, we need to come up with a different strategy. Or bring more people in on it, but I'd rather not risk letting Harry's secret out to more people." Sirius gave a snort as he began to pace. "While we could probably figure out a way to convince Dora and 'Dromeda to help us that would not arouse their suspicions, bringing in people like Mad Eye or McGonagall would be too much of a risk."
Remus suggested a few other possible names as well as a few possible cover stories they could use, but every name and idea he brought up was dashed by Harry's godfather. Meanwhile, Harry frowned to himself as he considered their situation and any options he could think of to turn things around. Because as things currently stood Lucius' plan was going to succeed. And that was not acceptable.
Harry doubted that the Goblins would be of any help to them in stopping the Imperius Curse, not after he considered about their long list of grievances against wizard-kind. And Dumbledore's earlier message had already made it clear that neither the ancient wizard nor the Ministry would be providing any assistance in this matter either. The Game of Death had also been unusually quiet of late as well, aside from the quests concerning Dora and Cho.
After doing his best to come up with something, Harry tried to think of what Hermione might say if she were around. And after a few minutes of trying to place himself in her shoes he thought that he had the beginning of an idea. But before Harry stated it he felt that he needed a few more pieces of information in order to complete it.
Harry raised his head and looked at Remus. "Let's go back to the beginning. If using the spell could land them in Azkaban, then why do it in the first place? It's not like fixing the matches will threaten anyone's lives, right? Which is what the Game's quest would seem to think is their ultimate goal."
"Right, Harry," Remus replied softly. "But in case you forgot, the motive of the third person at the meeting you saw was to fix matches. My best guess is that this third person is either someone on one of the teams or is someone who's made a few bets that are in need of assistance."
"But if that's the case, then what would happen if we ruin their plan not by catching them, but by rendering their successes meaningless?
Remus and Sirius exchanged confused glances.
"Sorry kiddo, but you've lost us," Sirius said. "What you mean by making their efforts useless? How can we do that?"
Harry stood up so that he could better use his hands to gesture as he spoke. "I'm not exactly sure myself, but here's the bottom line: we know what they want to do, we think that we know how they are trying to do it, and we've reached the conclusion that it is unlikely we will stop them from succeeding. So rather than having us keep trying to do something that is bound to fail, why don't we just try to reverse what they've already done?"
Sirius gave a slow nod. "Ah. You mean, have us find a way to turn their success into failure. It's a good idea. One that could certainly be more effective than continuing to chase their shadows all over the place."
"And one of the best ways to foil or hurt a plan is to counter it in a way that your opponent does not expect. Which just might happen if we are able to succeed." Remus said, his voice once again professorial. "But the question then becomes how can we make this plan succeed? It's impossible to change the results of the Bulgarian match, and the English Seeker has already received the best care that magical remedies can provide. Beyond those two cases we have no idea what other actions they have taken, which leaves us with a rather thin number of cases we can attempt to reverse."
Harry paused. He had not gotten quite that far yet and Remus did have a point; none of them were brilliant healers and they could not turn back time to change the results of the already finished games. Still, Harry felt that he was close to hitting upon a solution. So close that he could almost taste it. And after pacing about for a full minute while Remus and Sirius argued over other possible examples of Death Eater interference, Harry hit upon a crazy idea that just might work.
A soft and slow ding rang out in Harry's mind as the Game of Death issued a quest in confirmation of his thoughts.
Ding!
Quest Alert Notification
I, Seeker
The English National Team is in Need of a New Seeker
Join the Squad and Take The Team to Victory
The More Wins you Get the Larger your Reward Becomes
Ties in with the 'Attack on the World Cup' Quest
Quest Rewards:
Upgrade Trait to Professional Quidditch Player
10,000 Galleons Per Win
International Fame Increases Per Game Played
New Information on the 'Attack on the World Cup' Quest if in the Championship Game
Please Select
Yes or No
Neither of the two men next to him were going to be pleased, but after the events of the past week there was no way that Harry would allow either one of them to stop him from pursuing this new quest. Not when he even knew how to go about setting it into motion in a way that was certain to succeed and raise zero warning flags along the way.
A/N: And thus I get to reveal another part of my own spin on the Quidditch Cup with this quest. One that I am sure has been done before but have never encountered in a fan fic myself. Gosh have I been looking forward to revealing it.
I hope that everyone enjoyed the chapter. The parts with Cho were supposed to be in direct contrast to both canon Harry and when he first encountered Cho back in chapter 11. Canon Harry always seemed to wilt when it came time to step up to the plate and actually do something in regards to romance (that does happen in real life, quite often, but a little bit of the opposite happening to balance things out would have been nice). My Harry will remain mostly shy and bashful (and oblivious) when it comes to girls for quite a while to come, but that has slowly begun to change.
On a separate note the continuing edit of my prior chapters is now through chapter 11. And while I have been careful not to remove any vital pieces of information, I have done quite a bit of trimming. Much of the earlier chapters (especially chapter 11) were a little on the unnecessarily wordy side. So I made it a point to trim any unnecessary exposition or character introspection, increase direct characterization (dialogue and whatnot), and add a few more Game references while I was at it. Especially to chapter 25, which I did a brief look through after a reader caught an error on my part. Hopefully that has improved the story's flow and made it easier for new readers – and those who like to re-read a story – to make their way through the early parts and get to the fun, later bits.
Until Next Time,
~Elsil