The Unwilling Champion
The months that followed were as uneventful as they were typical except for the lack of Quidditch matches thanks to the Triwizard Tournament. Potions were a pain with Snape making his existence miserable, Defence Against the Dark Arts was interesting, Muggle studies was alright, Charms was alright and History of Magic was a form of cruel and unusual punishment. However, the whole school had one day to look forward to, Halloween. Or more precisely the day after Halloween, for it was on that day the delegates from the other schools would arrive.
Now Harry stood among the rest of the school as they watched the massive carriage touch down in the grounds pulled by great winged horses. Harry and the rest of the school craned their necks as the door popped open. Then a pair of women appeared wearing form fitting black leather armor, a white half cape draped over their left arms and they wore large black feathered hats. At each of their waists were holstered a single silver rapier. The pair disembarked and stood to either side of the door, never taking their right hand off the hilt of the rapier. Harry recognised their uniform and weapons, they were the white aurors of France known as Les Aurores Blanches de France, to be simply translated as The White Aurors of France. Not the most imaginative name but considering the type of people that join the Aurors, Harry supposed the addition of the word "The" and their home country of France into the name could be considered the symptoms of French vanity.
The Durmstrang students came after the Beauxbatons as they arrived with their great ship. The Bulgarian Aurors were as Harry expected, he had seen one during the Quidditch world cup after all albeit the one he saw was not a White Auror. The ones disembarking off the ship first all held the Battle Staves of the Bulgarian Aurors and they wore cloaks made of pure white fur. They looked much less graceful than the french Aurors. Idly Harry thought judging by the size of those bearded men if he had to bet who would win in a duel he would put his money on the Bulgarian Aurors.
The feast progressed with great fanfare as Harry looked at Ron sulking from the fact that Viktor Krum decided to sit at the Slytherin table.
"No surprise there innit? Heard Durmstrang puts out Dark Wizards like mince pies. No wonder they decided to sit with the snakes." Seamus said.
"Not all Durmstrang students are Dark Wizards. I mean You Know Who came from Hogwarts that doesn't mean all of us are death eaters." Hermione replied crossly.
"I heard rumors Hermione, you know how we just learn about the dark arts and how to defend against it. I heard the Durmstrang students actually learn how to do it." Seamus replied.
"To be fair, if you wanted to defend against something you would be better prepared if you knew how to cast what they were throwing at you." Harry replied.
"Harry you can't mean you would open to learning those horrible things." Hermione replied.
"I duno, a few dark spells would have come in really handy against that Basilisk." Ron said.
"Harry didn't need to use dark spells did he?" Hermione snapped in response.
"Because I got lucky, but…" Harry said raising a finger silencing the open mouthed Hermione.
"Dark Magic is not something to mess around with, Dark Curses can go wrong very easily and it won't be pretty when they do. Knowing those kinds of things may make you use it in the heat of the moment and you may not like the consequences." Harry finished.
"Thank you Harry." Hermione replied exasperated.
The feast proceeded with much laughter and cheer. On one occasion Harry turned to see Luna chatting with Beauxbatons girl who was listening to her with a strained expression on her face. Luna being her usual dreamy self did not seem to notice and was no doubt telling her about the many creatures that she heard from her father. Harry chuckled to himself as he turned back to the delicious food on his plate. The house elves have clearly pulled out all the stops with the cooking, there were many strange dishes that he had never seen before. No doubt these were the dishes from France and Bulgaria. Harry made it a point to give everything a try, who knew when he would be able to eat foreign cuisine again. He was particularly liking this strange black chewy mushroom that was covered in this green herb sauce. The texture was strange and it was a bit slimy, most likely from the sauce, but overall he really enjoyed it. So he took a bit more from the plate and dug in.
"Harry I didn't know you liked escargot." Hermione said suddenly from the side.
"Escar who?" Harry asked, thinking she was talking about some strangely named foreign wizard.
"No the dish you're eating." Hermione said with a laugh that was abruptly cut short as a look of realisation dawned on her face. She then gave Harry a funny look as put another spoonful of the strangely named mushrooms into his mouth.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Harry… do you know what that is?" Hermione asked softly.
"Mushrooms? Why?" Harry asked, now starting to sense something was wrong.
"Those are snails…" Hermione replied tentatively.
Harry nearly choked on the food that he was chewing that was thankfully not more of the snails. Ron who had helped himself to the snails as well gagged and spat the snails out onto the plate.
"Like garden snails?" Ron replied aghast.
"No Ron, those are French snails." Hermione replied crossly.
"What does it matter what country the garden is in?" Ron replied with a mixture of disgust and horror.
"No, these snails are most likely farmed." Hermione replied in exasperation.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Ron retorted.
"It's just snails Ron, people eat that in France all the time." Hermione replied hotly.
Harry who was caught in between the pair could only look on as the pair bickered on either side of him. Snails were kind of gross… and they were slimy… he assumed that was from the sauce… then again it didn't taste that bad. So Harry ignoring the pair reached out and took another spoonful of the Escargots. He looked down at the strange black shape of the snails, honestly it didn't look like snails, there was no shell for starters. Maybe they were slugs? Did the French language share the same word for Snails with and without shells? So Harry shrugged and popped another spoonful into his mouth and started to chew. It tasted alright, the sliminess kind of adds to it honestly, overall it was quite nice. It was then did he realise the two have stopped arguing and were staring at him open mouthed.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Harry didn't you hear Hermione? THOSE ARE SNAILS!" Ron said, shaking his head.
"Well they taste pretty good, they taste more like mushrooms honestly. You wouldn't associate snails with being rubbery." Harry replied as he grabbed another spoonful.
"Wow, you are taking this a lot better than I thought Harry." Hermione said her eyes bulging slightly.
"It tastes good." Harry replied with a shrug,
As the feast reached its conclusion and the dessert vanished the hall went silent in anticipation. The students all watched eagerly as Dumbledore walked up to the podium.
"Greetings, honoured guests. Welcome to Hogwarts, I hope you will find our hospitality to your liking." Dumbledore said, the students from Beauxbatons looked unimpressed while the Durmstrang students were looking very satisfied with their treatment thus far.
"Now I am pleased to introduce two esteemed individuals who have been invaluable for the preparation of this historic event." Dumbledore said as he gestured to the side door.
Harry joined the rest of the students as they craned their necks to see who their headmaster was speaking about. Then from the door emerged a man balding man with short grey hair and tarrow toothbrush mustache. He was followed by a man in a brown Section Ten uniform, over his uniform he wore a large greatcoat with a large pronounced collar and on his head he wore a blue beret. His face was stern and he carried himself with a kind of quiet dignity.
"May I introduce Mr Bartimus Crouch of the Department of Magical Cooperation." Dumbledore said, Mr Crouch merely gave a curt nod in response.
"And this is Major Gunther von Essen of the European Union Section 10 embassy in the British Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore said, Gunther raised a hand in greeting and gave a quiet dignified nod in response.
"Von?" Ron asked.
"The members of the Muggle German nobility have vons in their name. The German Empire is home to the officer school of Section 10 EU, many of their nobility sign up as officers. It's seen as something as an honour over there. Not to mention the German Empire is home to the manufacturing facilities for the most complex Magitech artefacts." Hermione explained.
"How do you always seem to know these things?" Ron deadpanned.
"Muggle studies Ron, it's like you know... a required subject." Hermione replied with a huff.
"In light of several considerations from both the Magical and Muggle stakeholders, it has been decided that no one below the age of 17 will be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament." Dumbledore said this was met with cries of protest from the Hogwarts students, most notably from Fred and George who were calling the decision "rubbish".
"As for why this decision has been made." Dumbledore said his voice now magically magnified, drowning out the protests.
"I will have Major Essen and Mr Crouch explain." Dumbledore said as he gestured to the pair. The first one to step forward who was Mr Crouch. He stiffly walked over to the podium and took out a slip of parchment from his cloak before looking down.
"The Triwizard Tournament will be a tournament with three tasks and each carry a significant level of risk for each contestant. With this in mind after extensive discussion with Section 10 EU and the Ministries of Magic of Britain, France and Bulgaria, it has been decided that students below the age of 17 will be ill equipped to face these tasks. Hence as far as the Magical Community is concerned this decision is prudent and final." Mr Crouch said stiffly reading monotonously from the parchment. When he finished he placed the parchment back into his pocket and walked off the podium. He was followed by Gunther as he took his place at the podium.
"Greeting students of magic, I stand before you a soul born to the mundane, or as you call us, a muggle. In truth this event's occurrence is a miracle of diplomatic and political compromise. The Section 10 EU Security Council has several treaties with the various Ministries of Magic. One of them states that children cannot be placed in unnecessary danger, this includes combat roles, conscription for military purposes and other non educational events. This tournament is classified as a non educational event and is a violation of this treaty, if the letter is to be followed then Section 10 would have never allowed this tournament." Gunther said, although a heavy german accent was present, his diction was impeccable, clearly speaking before a crowd was nothing new to him. Harry turned to see the Slytherins giving him dark looks. Many Purists despised the idea of muggles dictating the way magical folk should live. To hear that Section 10 had the authority to potentially disband the tournament which held such great historical significance was grave insult in their eyes.
"However, we understand that the key to mutual coexistence is compromise, that is the spirit of those treaties. To obey the letter but forgo the spirit is to court disaster. With that in mind we have decided to allow the tournament with the previously stated condition, in addition a Section 10 garrison will be assigned to this school for the duration of this tournament. I will also be an observer during the proceedings, I am not a judge for I am not well versed in the magical arts, but the agreement empowers me to cease the continuation of the tournament at any time should I deem it necessary. This empowerment is a sign of goodwill from the magical community so I shall say this here before all of you, I will not exercise my own judgement in isolation, for this tournament I will defer to the opinions of the other judges. For after all, you all are their students and I know little about magic and its esoterisme beyond its application in Magitech principles. Thus I will defer to their judgement for the duration of this tournament." Gunther finished calmly. As he walked off the podium he calmly turned and took a seat at the head table. Dumbledore now walked forward as he stood before the school once again.
"Thank you Major Gunther, now I present to you the Goblet of Fire." Dumbledore said, as he tapped a wooden box that had been placed in front of the podium. The box glowed before dissolving into motes of yellow light revealing a large wooden goblet. Then from the goblet sprang blue flames that covered the mouth of the cup.
"This is the Goblet of Fire, for anyone wishing to enter they need only write their names on a slip of parchment and put it into the goblet. But be warned if you are chosen by the Goblet of Fire there is no going back, the Goblet is designed to enforce a binding magical contract. I will be drawing an age line around the Goblet to prevent any… overzealous individuals… from entering." Dumbledore as he cast an amused glance in Fred and George's direction.
"You have until midnight tomorrow to decide if you wish to enter, choose carefully." Dumbledore finished with an ominous silence resting over the great hall.
As the students filled out of the Hall, Harry waited at the entrance for Luna. The pair had decided to take a short walk around Hogwarts before curfew. So he stood calmly and waited as the students filed out of the hall. When Luna spotted him she skipped over and he pulled her into a warm hug and placed a discreet kiss on her ear to a happy giggle from Luna.
"So where do you want to go?" Harry said.
"Anywheres fine, as long as it's with you." Luna replied with a blush.
It was then he saw the Durmstrang students approach with their headmaster Igor Khakaroff at the head. Harry didn't think much of their approach until Headmaster Khakaroff stopped suddenly as they walked past and gazed wide eyed at Harry's forehead.
"Headmaster?" Harry heard a gruff voice say from behind him. Then a tall student a few years older than Harry pushed past the pile up in the doorway and halted the moment he laid eyes on Harry.
"You, you are Harry Potter yes?" the student asked. Harry then heard questions spring up from behind him as the Durmstrang students all craned their necks trying to see over the shoulder of the student. As Harry took a closer look at him he realised who he was.
"You're Viktor Krum, the seeker." Harry said wide eyed.
"You are Harry Potter?" Krum asked again, furrowing his brows.
"Ah yes, yes I am." Harry replied hastily.
"Viktor Krum, it is an honour." Krum said as he extended his right hand. Harry reached out and took it with his gloved hand and he watched as Krum's eyes widened again as he gazed at the black glove.
"So it is true, what you did at the world cup." Krum stated with a grimace.
"What did you hear? I didn't know the Bulgarian news covered what happened." Harry replied warily now starting to feel very self conscious. He took a glance at his surroundings and saw he now stood with Luna, Krum and Kharkaroff in a ring surrounded by onlookers. He felt a supportive squeeze on his arm from Luna and fought back the urge to smile.
"What's the hold up here?" a gruff said as Harry turned to see Professor Moody push past a few terrified first years.
"You have a knack for drawing attention don't you Potter, come now you're blocking the entrance." Moody said with a wink. Harry blushed at the mild chastisement and made to move. When he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He turned to see Krum looking at him.
"May I have a word?" Krum said.
"Erm…" Harry hesitated thinking of his pre-existing plans. He felt a tug on his robes and he turned to see Luna smiling at him.
"Go on, we can have our walk another time." Luna said gently, Harry smiled and nodded in return. He watched wistfully as Luna waved and began skipping down the hallway.
"Was that someone special to you?" Krum asked.
"I suppose you could say that." Harry replied.
"I apologise, perhaps another time would be better." Krum added hastily.
"No it's fine, I am sure you are very busy, perhaps we should speak somewhere more quiet?" Harry suggested, as Krum nodded in assent.
After receiving the blessing of his Headmaster, Krum and Harry walked down to the side of the lake and turned to face one another.
"What did you want to talk about?" Harry asked
"They say you fought off the Purist filth that took part in the attack." Krum replied darkly.
"Well fought off is a strong way to put it, I just held them off long enough for the Aurors to arrive." Harry replied with an awkward laugh.
"You are very humble Mr Potter, I only wish I could have fought beside you, sadly I was locked in my quarters, the Aurors wouldn't let us out." Krum said.
"Well all of you were quidditch stars, it makes sense to protect you." Harry replied.
"Being able to ride a broom well does not mean my life is more valuable than others." Krum spat in response, Harry took a step back in surprise at the outburst. Krum realising he had startled him took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"I apologise, in truth the events of that night troubled me. Many died, many more were injured, yourself included." Krum said as he gestured to Harry's glove. "All the while people were fighting for their lives I sat in my quarters drinking pumpkin juice. I had no idea what was happening outside, if I knew I would not have allowed myself to be corralled like a baby lamb." Krum finished with a sigh.
"Look these things happen, believe me I know this better than most. I appreciate your sentiment but don't let it weigh on you. The results could have been better for everyone involved but we can't stop people from attempting to tear our peace to shreds. I was there in the moment and I would be remiss if I didn't do what I could, but it is good to know someone outside of Britain cares about this as much as me." Harry said with a smile.
"Your government should throw the lot of those purists filth in your prison, as should mine." Krum said with gritted teeth, clenching his fist so hard Harry heard his knuckles crack.
"You alright?" Harry asked.
"I'm sorry, just old wounds from the past." Krum replied.
"Old wounds?" Harry asked, tentatively.
"I heard you lost your parents to He Who Must Not Be Named, or so the legend goes." Krum said wearily.
"Yes, why?" Harry asked slightly disconcerted by the sudden change in topic.
"When I was a boy I lost my mother and father to the purist faction in Bulgaria, there was a riot much like that day at the quidditch world cup. It was some other event, a festival in my home country. My mother was muggle born, my father pure blood, they called my father blood traitor and they attacked them. Those filth murdered them in cold blood. My government gave the murderers two years in prison for the crime. They were too afraid of further riots and conflict. It was only after Section 10 stepped in that they grabbed every one of those responsible and carted them off to wherever they take filth like them." Krum growled.
"I'm sorry, truly I am." Harry said sympathetically.
"Thank you, but the dead rest in the past they can no longer suffer, we must tend to the living and the future." Krum replied stiffly as he pulled himself together.
"Yeah, watch out for the Slytherins though, most of them are purists." Harry said.
"So are most of my school mates, that's why the purist faction is so strong in my nation. It disgusts me to be in their presence." Krum growled.
"The Gryffindor table is always open, I have a friend who's a big fan of yours." Harry offered kindly.
"Yes, perhaps... Thank you for your time Mr Potter, I apologise for interrupting your plans." Krum said sheepishly as scratched the back of his head.
"Call me Harry." Harry said as he extended his gloved hand.
"Viktor." Krum said as he took the offered hand gratefully.
"Will you be competing?" Krum asked.
"No, I'm too young, besides I think I've had enough excitement for one year." Harry said with a laugh that was joined by Krum.
"Thank you Harry, it is good to talk to someone about this." Krum said with a smile looking less grim than before.
"I don't imagine you get to talk about this much in Durmstrang." Harry commented.
"No." Krum replied with a grimace.
"Well, when this tournament's over you can write to me anytime." Harry offered kindly.
"Thank you." Krum said gratefully.
As Harry watched the quidditch star walk back to this ship with noticeable decrease in his slouch. So it seems they were both orphans and both famous, many people often do not realise heroes and stars walk the same earth as them. Krum looked much smaller here on the ground, not at all like the quidditch player that did gravity defying tricks at the world cup. Harry shook his head and turned back to the castle wondering who would be chosen for the tournament, the only pity was that Quidditch was canceled. Oh well there was always next year.
The next day Harry was sitting in the great hall with Luna, Ron and Hermione as they watched the Beauxbaton students put their names in one by one. Classes were canceled in light of the upcoming event. Everyone was grateful except for a certain bushy haired girl who was sitting sullenly nearby as she stressed about the upcoming OWLS exam next year. Harry looked to his right and saw Luna leaning against him, sensing his state Luna turned to look up at him with a questioning look. Harry smiled and pulled her a little closer with the arm that was around her waist. He saw Luna sigh in contentment as she snuggled just a little tighter against him.
"Who do you think will get chosen?" Luna asked.
"I don't know, for the Beauxbatons I have no idea. For the Durmstrang students..." Harry said cryptically with a wry grin.
"Who?" Luna asked quizzically.
"It's gonna be Krum obviously." Ron said with such surety you would think he was reciting gospel.
"Just because you're good at quidditch doesn't mean you are worthy to be champion Ron." Hermione replied impatiently.
With those words, Harry saw the Durmstrang students enter with their headmaster at their head. One by one they approached the goblet and put their names in. At the end of the line was Krum who had his usual slouch and a grimace cut across his face like a weeping wound. As he approached he caught Harry's eye and gave him a subtle nod to which Harry returned.
"It's Viktor Krum isn't it?" Luna said suddenly.
"Sharp as always." Harry said with a laugh as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Oh Harry not you too." Hermione said with a sigh.
"It's just a feeling Hermione, besides if you want to be a good seeker, a quick mind and quick body is a necessity. Attributes that will no doubt be useful for a Triwizard Champion." Harry replied.
"I suppose." Hermione replied with another sigh.
"Does it have something to do with what happened yesterday?" Luna asked.
"Wait wait, what happened?" Ron asked, very interested. Harry looked to him and noticed Hermione was also looking intently at him.
"Krum wanted to talk to me yesterday after the feast, we spoke about things…" Harry said, catching himself before he revealed too much about Krum's personal history.
"What things?" Ron pressed.
"Private things." Harry replied giving Ron a look.
"Come on Harry you can tell me, I bet you've told Luna." Ron said.
"No he hasn't." Luna replied curtly.
"Ok, look it's not my private matters it's his, I'm not going to betray his trust and reveal his personal matters." Harry replied seriously.
Ron was about to open his mouth in protest when he was slapped on the arm by Hermione.
"Oh drop it Ron, it's rude to pry." Hermione chastised.
"Alright alright." Ron replied sullenly.
The group continued to watch the Goblet along with most of the school, later Cedric and Angelina Johnson entered their names to cheers from their respective houses. Fred and George tried to use an aging potion and they ended up getting long white beards for their trouble, much to the amusement of most of the school. The whole school waited in anticipation for the feast and the unveiling of the champions.
The feast was not as good as Harry remembered, most likely because he had the same feast the night before. It appears the old proverb saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder was true. So Harry halfheartedly helped himself to the food and waited eagerly along with the rest of the school for the end. Then the moment came and the school waited in anticipation for midnight to strike.
"I hope it's Angelina, I'd rather have her than pretty boy Diggory." Ron said in a hushed whisper.
"Aren't you and Cedric family friends?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Well yeah but we don't really talk, he mostly hangs around with Fred, George and Percy. You know them being older and all" Ron replied.
"Cedric won't be that bad, he's a good guy, when I asked him to leave me during the riot at the Quidditch World Cup he refused. He would be a worthy champion." Harry replied.
"Well a Gryffindor as champion wouldn't hurt either." Ron muttered.
"Well… yeah, as long as it's not one of the snakes. I'll take a badger or raven anyday over the snakes." Harry said with a chuckle that was joined in by Ron.
"Yeah if we get a Slytherin I think I'll leave school wouldn't you?" Ron replied with a laugh.
"What? Leave you, Hermione and Luna for the Dursleys? I'd rather have the basilisk as champion than go back to that house." Harry said with a smirk to another stifled laugh from Ron.
"Shush." Hermione hissed from the side as the blue flame in the Goblet of Fire began to dance and surge. The whole hall went quiet in anticipation and Harry could feel the raw tension in the air.
Then with a surge of blue flame the Goblet of Fire spat out a half burnt slip of parchment. Dumbledore calmly caught the gently flowing parchment.
"The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore declared, to rousing cheers from the gathered host. Harry watched as he rose from the Slytherin table and grimly stalked over to Dumbledore. After a few words from Dumbledore, Krum turned and walked towards the staff table and out the side door.
The champion for Beauxbatons was a girl called Fleur Delacour, she was an extremely pretty girl. Almost too pretty, he felt his eyes drawn unnaturally towards her. This naturally bothered him as it made himself feel unfaithful to Luna, so with a determined shake of his head and light slap on his cheek he tore his gaze away and stared determinedly at the Goblet of Fire.
"Blimey Harry, I think she's part Veela." Ron said in a hushed whisper.
"I hope so." Harry muttered in reply.
Then the final piece of parchment appeared and the Hogwarts champion was Cedric Diggory. All the Hufflepuffs rose from their seats and cheered their champion. It was not often the house of Hufflepuff won any glory and this was the second time Cedric has won them that. No doubt in the eyes of the Hufflepuffs, Cedric was a hero to the house. As he watched Cedric walk to Dumbledore he saw Luna happily clapping with the rest. Even if the applause from the rest of the houses was a bit subdued.
"Excellent! We now have our three champions and with that I declare…" Dumbledore said but was interrupted by the hissing sound of flame.
Harry looked to the Goblet of FIre and saw the flames dancing again.
"Wait isn't the Goblet of FIre supposed to go out after the champions are chosen?" Harry asked.
"Yes… maybe it's a bug?" Hermione replied confused.
"Bug? Like an ant?" Ron asked, even more confused.
Then the flame died down for a moment only to roar up stronger than ever before. The flames grew and grew, its flames dancing like some demon as the flames seemed on the cusp of bursting from Goblet of Fire and incinerating everyone. Then with a final jet of searing blue fire that shot high up into the ceiling of the great hall the flames went out. Many in the house screamed when the jet of flame surged, even from a good distance away Harry could feel the heat in that final conflagration. Then he noticed one last piece of parchment float down and that fear in the air changed to confusion.
"Why is there another piece of parchment?" Harry asked.
"No idea." Ron muttered in reply.
Dumbledore caught the parchment and paused as he gazed at it.
"Harry Potter." Dumbledore said.
"Ha?" Harry said in confusion.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore said again this time looking around.
"Harry go up." Hermione hissed.
"What I didn't…" Harry began sputtering a denial.
"Just go!" Hermione hissed.
It was then that Harry realised that Dumbledore had spotted him along with the rest of the students and staff.
"Come along now Harry." Dumbledore said calmly.
Harry left with little choice, rose from his seat and silently walked over to Dumbledore. He opened his mouth about to explain that he didn't put his name in but Dumbledore cut him off, "Head to the side room Harry."
Harry facing the piercing stare from everyone in the room walked over to the door. As he walked he turned his gaze to the Ravenclaw table and saw Luna looking at him, her silver eyes wide in concern and face twisted with worry. When he entered the room he found the three other champions standing in a circle.
"Do they want us back?" Fleur asked, mistaking him for a messenger.
"Harry, why are you here?" Cedric asked furrowing his brows.
"I… I don't know…" Harry muttered in reply. He watched a frown develop on the faces of the other three.
"Harry are you alright?" Krum asked, sensing something was wrong.
It was then that the door burst open and the staff of the school swarmed into the room.
"Harry did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"No, I… NO, I didn't." Harry said.
"Well of course he is lying!" Maxine spat.
"Could he have asked one of the other students to put it in for him?" Major Gunther suggested.
"It wouldn't work and even if it did, Potter's name would have come out instead of Diggory's." Moody replied.
"This is an outrage!" Maxine shouted.
"I agree Madam, all these months of discussion are speaking about fairness and safety. In the end Hogwarts has two champions? I don't recall the host school being allowed two champions." Karkaroff said a dangerous gleam in his eye.
"Judging from what I remembered about the agreements and the fact that the staff all had their wands out after that grand finale, I think it is safe to assume we have an abnormality on our hands." Major Gunther replied calmly.
"That's putting it lightly." Moody growled in response.
"Lightly? It is clear this boy wants fame and cheated his way into this tournament. I have half a mind to return to Beauxbatons tonight." Maxine replied.
"As would I, Madam." Karkaroff added.
"An empty threat, we all know the Goblet of Fire represents a binding magical contract, if you leave the goblet will never ignite again, this will be the last Triwizard Tournament in history." Moody replied.
With those words the staff turned and looked apprehensively as Major Gunther.
"Fear not. I am aware of this, I know my position and empowerment is toothless. The letter of the agreement was written just for the history books, just some clever diplomatic show making for public relations. However, it seems fate has decided to call my bluff." Major Gunther replied calmly.
"So will you…" Mcgonagall began.
"No, I am aware of this event's historical significance, I stand by my original position. I will leave the continuation and handling of this situation in your hands." Major Gunther replied.
"Thank you Major." Mcgonagall replied gratefully.
"Although it does seem everything always seems to happen to Mr Potter doesn't it?" Major Gunther said.
"Potter has been crossing lines ever since he entered the school, this is nothing new." Snape said scathingly.
"Potter could not have done it, it would take an extremely powerful Confundus Charm to hoodwink the Goblet of Fire into thinking there was a fourth school." Moody replied.
"He has his father's Mark I gauntlet." Snape countered.
"Power is not the only issue, Confundus Charms require greater skill the more powerful the Magical Artifact. If memory serves Confundus Charms are NEWT level spells." Moody retorted.
"They are… speaking as his head of house, although Potter demonstrates exceptional talent in the field of combat related spells, those spells rely on intent and force of will. A Confundus Charm relies on subtly and a focus on the minute details. Filius your thoughts on Potter's charms ability?" Mcgonagall said, tossing the ball to Flitwick.
"Hmm… Harry has always struggled with the more delicate and esoteric charms. The charms he is able to cast are undoubtedly powerful especially for a student of his age. As his charms professor I am highly doubtful of his ability to cast a Confundus Charm. I doubt Harry would be able to hoodwink a quick quotes quill let alone the Goblet of Fire. Overall I agree with Minerva's assessment and it is in my personal opinion that Harry is not the type of character to attempt such a thing." Flitwick replied.
"I agree as well, thank you Filius." Mcgonagall said with a sigh.
"While I do agree on Potters incompetence with regards to fine detail and precision, I confess to have a differing opinion on his character." Snapre replied evenly as Mcgonagall shot him a cold look.
"Great, so unless a bad character can give you the ability to cast Confundus Charm, I think we can agree Harry did not put his name in, on the grounds that he is incapable of doing so." Moody said curtly.
"So that leaves one thing, what do we do then? Barty you know the rules best." Dumbledore said calmly.
"As said earlier the Goblet of Fire symbolises a binding magical contract, the rules are clear as of tonight Potter has no choice, he is the fourth Triwizard Champion." Crouch said stiffly.
"You can't be serious! We are to compete with this… boy? This is an insult to my school!" Fleur shouted in outrage.
"Call it what you want missy but Potter here doesn't look like he's pleased to be in this position either." Moody growled in response.
"Alastor…" Dumbledore said softly.
"Right, sorry." Moody replied as he crossed his arms.
"Head back for now, we have much to discuss." Dumbledore said to the four.
"Yes, head back Fleur, I have many things to say." Maxine said icily
The four quietly walked out of the room and back into the great hall. They walked past the now dormant and extinguished Goblet of Fire and out into the corridors. Fleur shot one last dirty look at Harry and stormed away. Harry turned to see Cedric and Krum staring at him.
"I didn't put my name in." Harry said.
"I believe you." Krum said calmly.
"Me too." Cedric said.
"Really?" Harry replied, relief washing over him.
"I know how to do a Confundus Charm Harry, I highly doubt any student can hoodwink the Goblet of Fire." Krum said.
"You just don't seem like the type to do that, a selfish and fame hungry person does not ask someone to leave him behind in the middle of a fight." Cedric added.
Harry felt a surge of warmth from the solidarity of the pair. Their words meant so much to him, especially since they were competitors as well in this damned tournament.
"I don't imagine the Hufflepuffs will be pleased about this." Harry said with a sigh.
"I'll talk to them, don't worry." Cedric said.
"Thanks." Harry replied gratefully.
"A word in private Harry?" Krum said.
Cedric shot Krum a questioning look but a nod from Harry sent him on his way with a final farewell.
"Harry, I think you should know, my headmaster used to be a Death Eater." Krum whispered.
"What? Wait why are you telling me this?" Harry asked.
"Because of your history, I don't want to see you die." Krum replied curtly.
"Thanks…" Harry said sheepishly.
"Listen, the Headmaster and the students think I'm some brooding awkward tennager with a talent for quidditch. No one knows my real stance on the muggles. I'll keep an eye on Headmaster Kharkaroff. Be careful Harry, as famous as you are there are many that want you dead." Krum said seriously.
"Thanks VIktor, I appreciate it, really." Harry said gratefully.
"Don't worry about it, we should head back, don't want us to be spotted together." Krum said.
"Right, good night Viktor." Harry said.
"You too Harry." Krum replied.
As Harry walked back to the common room he found himself lost in thought. So it seems Igor Khakaroff was a death eater… although he didn't seem too pleased about his participation in the tournament. Then again he did get himself out of Azkaban, from what he heard the Aurors weren't exactly in a very merciful mood when they were rounding up the remaining death eaters. If he managed to talk his way out of Azkaban he was at least a good liar. The Aurors that were sent out to nab the remaining death eaters were not gentle in the least, Harry heard the only reason Bellatrix Lestrange was captured alive was because the Aurors avoided the most destructive spells due to Neville's parents being their hostages. She was almost put to death after the fact as well, the Council of White Aurors wanted the Dementors kiss performed on her and only the intervention of the Purity League saved her from that fate. She was lucky that Section 10 gave the full rights of the post war persecution to the Ministry of Magic.
Judging by what he heard from Muggle Studies, Section 10 likes to take the worst dark wizards they catch and use them for experiments. After all if you were making weapons and other artefacts to counter magical folk a living test subject had many uses. Apparently the Patronus Gun was tested on the Dementors that Voldemort had managed to sway to his side. Judging by how effective it is described in the text books and how quickly it was developed, Harry could only assume Section 10 was not exactly gentle with the Dementors they captured.
So assuming it was Kharkaroff then what did he want? If this was a plan to kill him, it was a poor one. If Section 10 was observing this event it was unlikely that he would die. That was assuming if the event goes all according to plan, as long as he competed properly it was unlikely that there was any real risk of him departing the mortal coil. Grievously injured maybe, but dead? No that was far from a guarantee. So it was a shot in the dark? He doubted Igor Kharkaroff had the authority to alter the tournament, even if he tried Dumbledore would never allow it. So then why… was it even him?
Harry was so lost in his own thoughts that as he stepped into the Gryffindor common room he didn't notice the crowd that was waiting for him. Their loud ecstatic cheering though snapped right back to reality.
"Brilliant Harry! How did you do it?" Fred shouted, clapping harder for him than he had for Krum at the Quidditch World Cup.
"I didn't…" Harry began in protest but he was cut short as a Gryffindor banner was wrapped around his neck.
Harry tried his best to explain that he didn't enter but no one heard him. Once he almost shouted to get everyone's attention but as he opened his mouth George stuffed a Custard Cream Puff into his mouth. So with a mouthful of pastry, of which he had no idea how Fred and George obtained Harry struggled and failed to get upstairs.
Finally with a shout of frustration of "I'm tired!" and spraying crumbs of pastry all over the people in front of him he finally got everyone's attention. He thanked everyone for their support and rushed upstairs before anyone else reignited the celebrations. When he finally entered his room, he found Ron sitting glumly on the bed.
"You look good." Ron said sullenly.
It was then Harry realised he still had that banner wrapped around his neck. Harry grabbed at the knot and struggled with it. His glove made it difficult for him to do anything that required extremely fine motor skills, the lack of sensation due to the fabric making the task of untying the knot seem almost impossible. After struggling for a few minutes it was then he realised that he could just pull it over his head. With that out of the way he took a good look at Ron who was avoiding his gaze.
"Ron? What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Nothing." Ron replied.
"Ok whatever it is, I have something important I need to tell you." Harry said.
"Sure, important." Ron replied, this time with an edge in his voice.
Harry was stunned at the reply, what was up with him?
"Ron this is serious, I was talking to Viktor afterwards and he…" Harry said, trying his best to push past this strange attitude from Ron.
"Oh Viktor now is it? You two on a first name basis already?" Ron replied coldly.
"What is wrong with you?" Harry said, his patience running very thin.
"You know you could have told me you were gonna put your name in." Ron shot back.
"I… what? I didn't put my name in." Harry retorted.
"You can tell me you know, I won't tell if you don't want to get in trouble." Ron replied in a clipped tone.
"I didn't put my name in Ron. Seriously, is that what this is about, you think I put my name in and I didn't tell you?" Harry asked, now getting very annoyed.
Ron looked away and didn't reply, Harry caught the slightest glare from his best friend right as he turned away.
"A 1000 Galleons and eternal glory. That's what Dumbledore said, not sure if you heard that on the first day." Ron said.
"Really? You think I'm in it for the money and the glory? Why would I be interested in either? For one thing I draw 1000 galleons for each school year, I get 600 Galleons every month…" Harry replied hotly.
"Yeah sure must be why you didn't even notice the Leprechaun gold disappearing." Ron shot back now starting to sound angry.
"Your dad earns 3000 Galleons a month!" Harry shot back.
"Yeah and you know how much I get in allowance? I get 50 Galleons a year. I don't get a Firebolt, I don't get people bowing to me in public, I don't get to buy whatever the bloody hell I want, whenever the bloody hell I want." Ron shouted back now red faced.
"Really? You are upset over this?" Harry sputtered in reply, his head swimming in confusion and anger.
"Yeah, that's 50 galleons for the Quidditch World Cup and all the Hogsmeade visits. You could buy the whole damn village if you wanted to. How much money do you have in your vault?" Ron asked scathingly.
"None of your damned business." Harry shot back now fuming.
"Oh sure, I bet Luna's really happy to have you, the famous and rich Harry Potter, Order of Merlin Holder, youngest ever to receive the Auror's glove." Ron seethed in response.
"You leave Luna out of this!" Harry shouted, that comment really struck a nerve and he could feel the blood thumping in his veins.
"Yeah sure, why would you want my opinion? I guess you need a certain level of fame to speak to the great Harry Potter." Ron shot back.
"Fame? Do you know what I paid for my fame?" Harry replied coldly, his fist clenched so hard they were shaking.
That shut Ron up, Ron just took one last look at Harry and turned back to his bed.
"You should get some rest, there's probably going to be some press interview tomorrow." Ron replied sullenly as he climbed into bed.
"Ron… RON!" Harry shouted, as he watched one of the few people he thought would believe him hide himself behind the curtains of the four poster bed.
The next day when Harry woke up he found Ron's bed empty. Harry sighed as he got dressed and dragged himself to breakfast. When he got to the great hall he spotted Ron eating with Hermione and Seamus. Harry took a deep breath and tried to put as much strength into his body as he could. He grit his teeth and walked over to Ron determined to put what happened last night behind them. It was stupid and childish, they did not have the time nor energy to spare with a potential mark on his head.
So Harry strode over and as he approached he saw Hermione spot him and wave in his direction. Ron turned as well and looked at him coldly, Harry was about to open his mouth and apologise for losing his temper last night when he realised the trio in front of him crane their necks to look at something behind him.
Harry stopped midway and turned to see Krum standing behind him.
"Harry, Headmaster Dumbldore wants you to know that there's an interview happening in an hour. He wants all the champions to be in the Transfiguration classroom immediately." Krum said nonchalantly.
Harry seemingly deflated at those words, he could feel Ron's piercing glare on the back of his head. In that moment he seriously wondered if fate just hated him and enjoyed spiteing him.
"Harry what's going on?" Hermione said questioningly at his defeated demeanour.
"I… need to go somewhere..." Harry muttered in reply.
"Where?" Ron asked coldly.
Harry didn't reply, it was all he could do just to look at Ron wearily and wish the ground could just swallow him up.
"The champions are needed for an interview with one of your newspapers, the Daily Prophet I believe was the name." Krum replied, confused at the scene before him.
"Oh, then you better get going Harry, wouldn't want you to be late, no doubt you'll be on the front page again." Ron replied coldly.
"Right…" Harry said with a sigh as he dragged himself back out of the great hall.
"Did I say something wrong?" Krum asked, concern clouding his tone.
"No… it's not you… it's just… everything else." Harry replied wearily.
"I see…" Krum replied, his voice slow and measured still clearly confused.
"Why did Headmaster Dumbledore send you anyway, why didn't he send a messenger?" Harry asked.
"I don't know where the classroom is, he just told me it would be convenient if we came together. He sent messengers to Fleur and Cedric, I think he thought this arrangement was more efficient." Krum replied.
"Of course it is." Harry said in frustration.
"Is something wrong?" Krum asked.
"It's nothing to do with you, just personal… problems." Harry replied with a shake of his head.
Harry and Krum walked in silence down the winding hallways, to an outside observer they would see one brooding tennager followed by a slightly less broody and confused teenager. When Harry walked into the transfiguration classroom he saw a familiar face. It was the old wandmaker Olivander, he had barely changed since he last saw him. He still had this eccentric aura around him and his white straggly hair still hung out from the side of his head like a mop. The only difference is that this time he was dressed in his best dress robes.
"Ah the last two champions have arrived." Dumbledore said cheerily as he beckoned Harry and Krum in.
Harry nodded and awkwardly walked over to the group. Fleur and Madam Maxine were still giving him dirty looks. Judging by the fact he was here at all it seems he would be competing.
"Excellent now that everyone is here, we can begin the first step of the tournament. Before anything else is done, we must ascertain if your wands are in good working order. " Dumbledore said as he gestured to Olivander.
"May I introduce Garrick Olivander, the finest wand maker in Britain." Dumbledore said.
Harry noticed that Fleur and Krum looked unimpressed. No doubt they felt the wand makers of their home nations were the best. Harry personally had no real opinion on the matter, he didn't know much about foreign wand makers, but he had heard the yanks in America were making some interesting wands that were based on Magitech. The Europeans were more traditional in that aspect, with many chafing at the idea of a metal wand. He remembered that class in muggle studies had drawn mixed reactions from the class. The Slytherins were disgusted with the notion of making a wand using muggle techniques. The Gryffindors mostly just felt it was odd, Harry and Hermione found it interesting while Ron felt it was a strange thing. He remembered seeing a diagram of a prototype and it looked really fragile. It also had the usual heating issues from Magitech artifacts and with his past experience with overheated metal Harry felt he would pass on a metal wand for now.
The champions apparently had to go through this weighing of the wands ritual where they had their wands checked. He watched as Fleur daintily handed over her wand and was surprised to find out her grandmother was a veela. So she was part Veela, that made him feel better about ogling her that other time. Then came Krum's whose wand was made by this person called Gregorovitch. After Krum was Cedrics who Olivander examined with much enthusiasm. Finally it was Harry's turn as he approached he noticed the reporters nearby were staring at him with great intensity, especially that blonde woman with the jeweled spectacles.
"Ah of course I remember it like it was yesterday. The twins born under the omen of war." Olivander said wistfully as he gently took Harry's wand.
"Omen of war? What do you mean by that Mr Olivander." Harry heard the blonde women ask curiously.
"Are you familiar with astronomy Harry?" Olivander asked, ignoring the woman as he examined his wand.
"Not particularly Mr Olivander, I didn't opt for Astronomy as one of my subjects." Harry replied warily, he knew his wand had a twin and he would rather not let the reporters find out about the owner of his wand's twin. It would be an express ticket to the front page of the Daily Prophet.
"You see, Harry I finished two phoenix feather wands one night many years ago. A pair of twins that I made differently, non identical twins if you would. One made of Yew, the wood of power and ambition and the other made of Holly, the wood of protection and tenacity. One for the ambitious the other for the tenacious, two very different paths into legend. While one pursues an active role in his fate the other endures fate's decree. I chose the woods as a flight of fancy all those years ago but now I feel perhaps the choice was almost prophetic." Olivander said as he gazed at Harry. Harry could feel the tense silence in the air, behind him the tension from the reporters was almost at a breaking point. Harry knew what was coming and he knew the reporters would love it, much to his own chagrin.
"I'm sorry Mr Olivander I'm afraid I am lost much like the rest of the room." the blonde woman asked.
"Well this is a tale of a most peculiar and foreboding nature. You see ladies and gentlemen if prophecies and fate's design is to be believed, the story of this wand leaves too much to coincidence. You see the owner of this wand also gave Mr Potter his scar." Olivander said to the stunned silence of the room.
"Also many do not know this but during times of conflict in the magical world, the planet Mars has a tendency to blaze in the night sky. Mars has been dim or extinguished for many years after the fall of Grindelwald, but on that night after I finished the pair of wands, I went for a stroll in the middle of the night, during the stroll I noticed that Mars was ablaze. Mars is the symbol of war, its fiery red glow an omen of strife. Knowing what I know today, this is an inauspicious sign." Olivander said thoughtfully as he turned the wand in his hand gazing at its smooth wood surface. Silence reigned in the room after those words. Harry stood there in silence trying not to notice the sets of piercing gazes boring into the back of his head.
So… is my wand ok?
After the weighing of the wands, there were pictures and interviews. Harry naturally got the most attention, he could only imagine what the headlines would be in the next few days. All this attention naturally drew many dark looks from Fleur and Madam Maxine. Eventually the blonde woman whose name was Rita Skeeter wanted a private interview with him. So Harry now sat in the middle of the room with the other champions shooed out of the room. He sat stiffly in the face of five different cameras and dreaded the "private questions" that would be thrown his way.
"Mr Potter, how does it feel to be first ever fourth Triwizard champion." Rita asked her floating quill, almost trembling in anticipation.
"Surprised, although I shouldn't be, it seems every year something happens, at this rate I'm going to slay a dragon in the near future." Harry replied wearily as he pinched the bridge of this nose.
"Surprised? Did you think you wouldn't get chosen?" Rita asked.
"I didn't even put my name in, why would I expect to be chosen for a tournament I didn't enter?" Harry replied evenly.
"Come now Harry, we all can understand the allure of eternal glory, there's no need to hide it anymore. I am sure most of our readers would be rooting for you, the icon that you are." Rita replied sweetly.
"I didn't enter." Harry replied, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.
"What about your parents? What would they think of your participation in this tournament? Would they be fearful? Proud?" Rita asked.
"I never knew them and I can't speak for the deceased." Harry replied.
"Surely you must think of them, think of what life would be like if they were still around." Rita said.
"The dead rest in the past, the living must tend to the future. No sense brooding of what could have been." Harry replied evenly, recalling Viktors words. He had a habit of instinctively suppressing his emotions at the mention of his parents, Hermione said it was unhealthy. Personally… yeah he agreed, call it a defense mechanism. He eyed the quill which was scribbling madly non-stop, he definitely did not say that many words.
"What are you writing?" Harry asked as he shot a look at the quill.
"Oh you know a bit of this a bit of that, the readers love a good story." Rita replied with a smile.
"I doubt what I have said so far is very entertaining, I'm surprised anyone still finds my life interesting after so many years." Harry said.
"Harry, your life is a fascinating one, quite the Hero's journey. That's what we writers call stories like yours." Rita replied sweetly.
"I am aware of the literary model, I would rather my life avoid that path." Harry shot back.
"Why not, heros enter legend Harry, I thought you would be interested in eternal glory seeing as you entered this tournament." Rita said with a smile.
"I didn't enter." Harry replied, now starting to feel annoyed again. He hated it when people just assumed he was something he wasn't. He was not some hero, he was just a really unlucky teenage boy.
"So why would you like to avoid a hero's journey?" Rita asked, ignoring his denial.
"Because hero's journeys require a call to adventure and subsequent refusal to the call and refusals to the call often involve the death of someone close to the protagonist that pushes the hero onto the journey." Harry replied dryly.
"Then who would you be hesitant to lose?" Rita asked.
"Anyone in this school." Harry said cryptically.
"That's very admirable Harry." Rita replied with a smile to the background noise of her quill flipping a page.
The rest of the interview was more probing questions about the riot at the quidditch world cup, his order of merlin and the Auror's glove. He gave the same stiff responses throughout the interview. What he said could amount to at most two pages of that notebook, but by the end he had lost count on the amount of pages that the quill had burned through. In the pit of his stomach he felt a cold dread as he wondered what he would find in the Daily Prophet in a few days.
As he walked back to the Gryffindor common room, one thought was nagging in his mind. Rita was right, his life was like a hero's journey, there was a call to action that he always dreaded. The return of voldemort, he didn't exactly run from it like most of the protagonists in the novels, seeing as he constantly tries to improve himself for the potential confrontation. Yet more often than not, he tries to push it to the back of his mind, he was in spirit refusing the call to action. Refusing the call to action invariably leads to calamity. Usually something the hero holds dear is lost and this pushes the hero onward into the adventure. Something to lose… immediately he thought of Luna. No, he would not let that happen, no matter what…
Even if it kills him…
Author's notes:
Hey guys hope you enjoyed the chapter, the past week has been choppy ones for the site so this chapter has been delayed for upload because of it. Now that the site is back to a functioning state I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.
Leave a review if you liked it, I read all the reviews and I love hearing from you guys. See you guys in the next chapter.