Hogwarts infirmary
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sat down beside the bed of the boy who had done the impossible with a tired sigh. The last half an hour had been hectic the moment the women were released from the spell when Perseus had hit the ground and dispersed into particles of light.
Shortly after that a horde of unspeakables had descended on the Hogwarts grounds and he knew that the Witenagemot would be arriving soon as well. As per the ancient degree the appearance of a heretic god should have been their problem to solve.
There was a reason why the wand-waving sect of the magical world managed to avoid the majority of the attention of the divine and those closely associated with them. He knew that Minerva was escorting, or soon would be, the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge to the infirmary.
An infirmary that had just released the majority of injured people from the stampede when those who remembered that gods were in fact real, and that the white-robed man was the genuine article and tried to do the sensible thing of getting away as far as possible.
If summoned by his thoughts the bowl-hat wearing man appeared and joined the rest of the group watching the most extraordinary young man. Minerva joined Pomone, Severus and Filius in a hushed discussion in which Severus was surprisingly active within it without his usual dour attitude towards Harry.
He saw that Headmistress of Beauxbatons was starting to look particularly depressed again and he took the trouble to shoot the woman a reassuring look that perked her up again. In the short moments they had he had forgiven her for tossing him around like a child's play toy as she was under the thrall of Perseus's authority. Albus made a mental note to make a speech to reassure all the witches that none of the harm they had done was their fault, and that none of the men should accuse them of it.
The other headmaster Igor Karkaroff was shaking like a leaf and Albus suspected the man was nervous to know that the slayer of his former master, Voldemort, was now a Campione with all the authority and power that it implied. The Hogwarts headmaster knew it was petty but he did not tell the man Harry was the noble sort who would not abuse his powers for such things of the past.
When Igor was not shooting glances at Harry it was at the last group intruding Pomfrey's domain. The group of cloaked unspeakables seemed to confirm that Harry, as all Campione's, was immune to whatever magic they tried to cast on him. He knew he could have told the group that vastly overpowering their spells, or asking him to cast them would have a chance to provide feedback due to his wand.
Or they could simply open his mouth and rather rudely cast inside that.
But he did not because he felt he had a genuine reason to fear they would try to abscond with the boy in their desire to learn more about Campiones. It had been over fifteen hundred years since the last Campione had been born on British shores.
He held back another sigh and made another mental note to provide Pomfrey with a few books that could perhaps help her cure the boy of whatever ailed him the next time he graced the infirmary. With his newest title he was certain Harry would at least do that once more before the school year was over.
It was so tiresome to be a proven fountain of knowledge. "So is he?!" Cornelius's panicked exclamation brought Dumbledore out of his musings and he allowed a flicker of surprise that the fairly incompetent minister could hold his patience for so long. He held back a snappy remark at the redundant question. There were times Dumbledore wished he could whip out his wand and shake, or curse, some sense into the minister. Alternatively he would throw the minister under the sorting hat again as a firstie, but he wouldn't want to inflict the man on his teaching staff again.
"He is without a doubt a child of Pandora." an unspeakable answered. "But he cannot be the boy-who-lived. He no longer has his scar!" Fudge protested as he pointed to Harry's forehead. 'Ah, this is why I loathe Campione so.' Dumbledore thought with a hint of bitter amusement. 'The moment one gets involved, up stops being up and down becomes left. How this affects the prophecy…' he hid a wince as he remembered the last time somebody tried to lead around a Campione and made an urgent mental note to have a heart to heart with the boy before he figured out Perseus's words.
"He still has the scar from the Basilisk bite." Pomfrey interjected. "And Mister Fudge I remind you this is an infirmary." the lurking dragon of the Hogwarts infirmary warned and Dumbledore secretly cheered the woman on. "But how?" the unspeakable murmured. "I suspect he still has that scar as he bears it with pride." Dumbledore replied softly and drew all the attention on him.
Cutting off Fudge's predictable 'What do you mean?' he continued. "The scar on his forehead symbolized his mother's sacrifice. Mister Potter never took pride in it and he loathed the title and fame that came with it. The scar on his arm however proves a deed on his own, surviving a deadly encounter and saving a young lady from peril."
Fudge looked unhappy at the interruption before latching on to what he considered a salient point. "And how does a school boy encounter a basilisk?!" he demanded. "They do when Salazar Slytherin leaves one behind in the Chamber of Secrets. By the time I figured out a student had not only found out where the chamber was and what lay in it I could only send my friend Fawkes to his aid. After that it was rather moot point as the basilisk was slain and inaccessible by all but Harry."
"Perhaps we should focus on today's events." Severus Snape cut in silkily and Dumbledore shot the man a grateful look. "Indeed. It is an unprecedented event that somebody becomes a Campione at the age of fourteen."
"But how did that happen?!" Fudge exclaimed as he had a parade of horrors at the idea of gods waltzing into Diagon Alley and the ministry. He would be kicked out in favor of the fourteen year old boy and that unacceptable in his opinion. "Hogwarts has the wards, so how did he just appear in the arena unnoticed!"
"It was the dragons." A tired voice answered from the door revealing a beautiful long blond haired woman leaning against the doorway while two people hovered around her uncertainly. Her dark green eyes shined with knowledge and her sweaty pale skin would not be misplaced on a vampire.
If it wasn't for the fact it looked like she had just run a long marathon one would see a woman of high pedigree with a strict look that demanded attention and obedience. "Miss Alice." Dumbledore acknowledged with surprise. "I had not expected you to come in the flesh." his mouth quirked with a hint of mischief.
"Are you here to browse through Hogwarts extensive library on behalf of the Witenagemot again?" he asked with a twinkle in the eyes as he knew that she only did that for own entertainment as her powers left the woman bedridden. He rose from his seat and he accepted the tired offered hand to place a gentle kiss on the back of it. He then gently guided her to the seat he had just vacated.
"I believe mister Dumbledore I am here for more… recent events." she replied as she caught her breath. "Although I will take your offer to browse through your most excellent library later if time permits." continued with a twinkle in her own eyes. Pomfrey was about to object when Dumbledore shot her a significant look. No matter what the well meaning witch could do, Louise Alice was beyond her help.
"And really Mister Dumbledore. Who places the infirmary on the fifth floor." she complained as she inspected herself that her exertions had not left any embarrassing marks. "If it was not for Miss Ericson's aid I would be stuck on the fourth floor." "Great Wizards and Witches they were. I do not believe any of the founders had a degree in castle building." Dumbledore replied as he stroked his beard.
"Then perhaps it is something to take into consideration for improvement." Their banter was interrupted by a groan from Fudge who nearly collapsed on a bed on the other side. "This is really happening. This shouldn't be happening." he denied. Dumbledore watched with amusement as Alice perked up with a hidden twinkle in her eyes and he sat back to watch the intelligent princess wreak her havoc on the foolish minister.
"Oh do not worry too much Minister Fudge." she said in a happy voice that made her seem bubbly. "This is a great day to be associated with. The birth of the youngest Campione in recent history on our own soil!"
Fudge clearly disagreed at the sullen glare he sent her. "And why are you here Princess Alice?" he asked rudely. "This clearly is still a wanded matter. So it should be left to us." "A god appears, which as per our agreement puts it firmly into Witenagemot sphere of responsibility." she said perkily. "Who would have known that transporting four dragons in one go without the right wards would attract the attention of a dragon slaying god." she continued in the same happy tone while it was clear to all it was a rebuke aimed at Fudge with all the subtlety of a slap.
"It… We... I will have it investigated by the department of sports." Fudge sputtered and Albus Dumbledore couldn't resist poking his own considerable oar in. "Why Minister. I thought I had overheard it was a cost saving measure. Surely this is false?" "Naturally! Who would indulge in that foolishness!" Fudge replied heatedly as he nervously looked anywhere but Dumbledore and Alice.
"Well regardless of how it happened. I look forward to working together with you." Alice said chirpily like a child agreeing to share her home baked cookies. Fudge looked like somebody had punched in the gut while the unspeakables looked intrigued. "Together?" he stuttered.
"Well he is a young man who still needs to be educated further in your branch of magic. Yet his status as Campione firmly puts him in our list of responsibilities. So it would make sense to work to-ge-ther!" she finished happily. Looking overjoyed to bring news that brought such horror to the minister of Magic.
Dumbledore decided to come to the incompetent minister's rescue before he made an unsightly display of himself by moaning in despair. He could understand why he was unhappy with the Witenagemot's oversight since that meant they could spot the thorough corruption that plagued the ministry, which in turn could alert Her Majesty the Queen that not everything was hunky dory in magicland.
Which in turn meant the large axe of authority would come down on Fudge's neck since he was behind the wheel since his appointment a few years after the end of the Voldemort conflict. He could have done it himself but inevitable retaliation based on allowing outsiders in would mean his removal from Hogwarts which he absolutely refused to do as Lucius Malfoy would jump into the seat before it even could cool down.
If the Witenagemot found out themselves Fudge would look even worse for lashing out childishly and Dumbledore's removal would be undone before Malfoy could properly rewarm the seat.
"So the four dragons were the cause for his appearance?" Dumbledore asked and Alice nodded. "Then why did he not intercept them while they were in transport?" he asked aloud. He knew the answer and by Alice's look she knew that as well. But she deigned to answer for the benefit of the unspeakables and the minister. "A god rarely instantly descends. It usually takes several days without a ritual for a heretic god to properly rebel against their legend." she answered primly and Dumbledore nodded while ignoring the not-so-silent scratching of a quail coming from the unspeakables group.
"And then he must have followed them here. Circumventing the wards that keeps us out of the divine's sight. I am surprised you have not foreseen this." Dumbledore noted. "Despite my reputation I do not see everything. My sight was directed to the east where a global threat was aborted by the newborn sixth king."
"Ah yes. That would mean Mister Potter would be the seventh. Quite a powerful magical number. And only a week after the birth of the sixth." Dumbledore mused out loud. Alice nodded in agreement. "Quite so. The world is going to be running around in circles. The birth of two kings so closely together that they might as well have been twins born from Pandora."
"Hmm. Perhaps that is something to look into old prophecies." Dumbledore replied in a different tone, a more serious one and Alice startled for a moment and then looked thoughtful. "Yes. You are right." she agreed. Campione's tended to make a mess of them but one did not want to run around unprepared.
"So what do we do?" Fudge moaned as he seemed to have pulled himself out of his deepest worries to interact with the real world. "Do?" Alice mimicked with an amused look. "You minister won't do anything. For he is a devil king, a walking force of nature. The last thing YOU need to do is upset him."
Seeing a nice hook to latch onto Dumbledore smoothly continued. "And you must remember that he is a teenager with all the moodswings that such age entails. And I do not believe you are on the best of terms at the moment." Dumbledore said with a significant glance and the Minister purpled up to protest before deflating as he glanced at Harry.
"So instead of worrying about what you cannot do, Minister. Perhaps we could address the crowd in the great hall and inform them what has happened. I am sure if we let them in suspense any longer there will be a creation of the most horrific misunderstandings about Mister Potter."
"Which would be ba~ad." Alice singsonged childishly. "It would be indeed. Madam Pomfrey will be busy with those still injured so who will look after Mister Potter?" He asked. "I will." Alice said chirpily. "Then I will leave him in your hands and we shall end our intrusion in Madam Pomfrey's sacred domain, lest her her patience ends and she removes us forcefully."
The mediwitch in question tapped her wand in her open palm meaningfully and everyone left through the only door in an orderly fashion. The mediwitch shot the princess an uncertain look as if she was trying to decide whether or not to throw the woman on a bed and check her over before dismissing the idea.
"The seventh Campione." Alice said musingly and then yawned. "I suppose I could lay down my head for a moment." she muttered as she did so on Harry's bed near his hand. Then the world suddenly became very dark for Alice and the last thing going through her mind as she door fell shut was 'Oops'.