Chapter 16: Year 4 – Only The Organisers Know The Tournament Rules
"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the Tournament." Bagman was about to say something, but Harry interrupted him. "In that case," he said slowly, "I think that the Tournament should be cancelled and started over." Everyone stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. "There are rules," he said, "which means that apart from having to be seventeen, nobody who put their name in knows what they are – including the Champions." He waved his hand at Cedric, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum. "Mister Krum – you're an expert flyer. I was at the World Cup, I saw you. Suppose the rules say that to allow the contest to be fair to the other Champions, due to your greater skill, you're not allowed to use a broom, but they are. Would you still be willing to compete?" Karkaroff bristled with indignation, but Krum said "Nyet.I vood not. I vood have my greatest skill taken from me, und dey vood have an advantage over me." Harry looked at all three of them. "You're all three years older than me. Suppose that I have to be forced to compete, and so to make it a fair contest, you can't use any magic I haven't learnt yet. Would you still compete?" The three Champions shook their heads. "No." "Non." "Nyet."
Harry continued on, noticing how the heads of the adults in the room were starting to nod, agreeing with him. "Suppose a Champion changes their mind. What happens then? Or if a Task requires them to do something they don't know how to do, like swim to the bottom of the lake to fetch something from the merpeople in there, as fast they can?" From the look of surprise on Bagman's face, Harry guessed that one of the Tasks was exactly that. Fleur Delacour also saw it and screeched in anger. "You would 'ave me go een a lake wiz merpersonnes een eet?!" she shouted. "Ah am a quartair Veela! Veela and merpeople 'ate each ozzer! Zey would kill me! Ah weel not do eet!"
"Indeed, Ludo," said Professor Dumbledore, Madame Maxime and Karkaroff grudgingly nodding consent. "It is only fair that the Tournament be restarted, with the prospective Champions being made aware of what the rules of the Tournament are – and what the Tasks are – beforehand." "But – but – the Goblet's gone out." Bagman spluttered. "It won't light itself again until the next Tournament." "And if this Tournament is cancelled and the next one immediately announced, then there's no problem, is there?" Harry said. "And put – no offence, Professor – better security on it, so no-one can enter me again."
It took a few minutes more of discussion, but eventually, agreement was reached. As the group filed back into the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore stood in front of the staff table, and began to speak. "Your attention, please. Following certain irregularities – namely, Mister Potter's entry in the Tournament - against his will, Miss Delacour's refusal to participate in the planned Second Task, and the fact that aside from the requirement of being seventeen years of age, none of the Champions, nor those who submitted their names were made aware of the rules or details of the Tournament prior to their submission – the Triwizard Tournament is cancelled and, now, begun again."
As the Hall filled with noise, Professor Dumbledore fired off a trumpet blast from his wand to restore quiet. "The Goblet of Fire shall be relit tomorrow morning," he continued, "and placed in a room by itself, under constant observation by myself, Madame Maxime, and Headmaster Karkaroff. The rules of the Tournament shall be posted in the Hogwarts common rooms, this Hall, and the quarters of our guests. If you wish to enter, you must be seventeen, as before, but also in acceptance of the rules. To that end," he said sternly, "Prior to submitting your name into the Goblet, you will be required to take a dose of Veritaserum, and questioned as to whether you are who appear to be, if you are submitting yourself, that you are entering of your own free will, and that you have read and understand the rules and Tasks of the Tournament. The Champions shall be selected three days from tomorrow."
As Professor Dumbledore returned to his seat, the hubbub resumed. "Why'd Dumbledore say all that?" Ron asked Harry. "Moody said someone had Confunded the Goblet to think I was entered under a fourth school - and I pointed out it wasn't fair to have to compete if you didn't know the rules before you put your name in," Harry replied. "You know how good a flier Krum is, suppose the rules said that you could only do something if the other Champions were as good at it as you – Krum couldn't use a broom. And the second task would have had us go in the Lake. You know there's merpeople in there, yeah?" Ron nodded. "Turns out Fleur Delacour's part Veela – and she said merpeople and Veela hate each other, and they'd kill her for it, so she refused to do it." Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Blimey! That's why she's so… so…"
The next morning, true to Dumbledore's word, the details and rules of the Tournament appeared where he'd said they would. They were the sole topic of discussion for the three days. "Dragons?! Nesting mother dragons?! And you have to get a fake egg from one?!" "Swim to the bottom of the Lake – in February – to fetch a hostage?!" "A maze – doesn't sound too bad – but there's going to be class 4 and 5 X creatures in it – including an Acromantula?! Nope. Nope. Nope."
When the three days were up, the three schools gathered in the Great Hall. The three Heads stood in front of the staff table, looking solemn, but Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch were nowhere to be seen. Neither was the Goblet of Fire. The Hall was silent as the students looked at the Heads. You could have heard a pin drop, but eventually, Professor Dumbledore spoke. "I must congratulate you all," he said. "The object of the Tournament was to foster a state of co-operation between our three schools, and you have succeeded admirably, although not in the way we expected. As the three days are up, I can inform you as a whole that not one person, from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, or Durmstrang submitted their name to the Goblet. With that considered, the Tournament has been cancelled for the second time. In its place –" he paused, his eyes twinkling, "there shall be an inter-school Quidditch championship." The Hall erupted with cheers.
Dumbledore let the cheers carry on for a few minutes before using the same trumpet blast as he had three days ago. "For Hogwarts students," he said, "there is another announcement to make. Professor Moody was discovered to not be who he appeared to be. Who he was truthfully is not for you to know, but the impostor has been arrested, and the real Professor Moody is currently recovering at Saint Mungo's, and he will be with us on Saturday. Until then, Defence against the Dark Arts classes are cancelled."