A/N - It's update time. Don't have much to say about this one as it will be pretty obvious what it's about. Thanks to Archdruid89 for his suggestion on how Dumbledore handles the fourth name coming out of the goblet.
Disclaimer: The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and belong to Marvel Comics. Harry Potter was created by and belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this and the only thing that's mine are the original parts of the story.
Quotes taken from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
15) THE UNEXPECTED CHAMPION
Earlier that day...
The Goblet of Fire had just spit out the names of the three champions for the Triwizard Tournament. They were Fleur Delacour for Beauxbaton, Viktor Krum for Durmstrang, and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. As their names were called each champion went up to the front of the Great Hall and exited into a side chamber near the teachers' table.
Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.
The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.
Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He looked at the name on the fourth piece of parchment for a long moment as his mind worked quickly. Finally he looked up and faced everyone in the Great Hall.
"I know you're all wondering what has just happened" he said addressing everyone, "you have seen something that should not be possible. The Goblet of Fire is only supposed to choose three names yet we have all just seen a fourth one spit out at us. The only way something like this could happen would be if someone tampered with the goblet."
At this there was murmuring all around the hall before Dumbledore motioned for silence again.
"As to who could have done this?" he continued, "we don't know – yet, but we will find out. The one thing I can say for sure is that a student could not have done this. This could only have been done by an adult and one who is very knowledgeable in magic as one cannot just confound an artifact like this one as if it were nothing. With all of the protections and enchantments on the goblet it would take considerable skill to do such a thing.
"Now I know you're all wondering whose name has just come out of the goblet. I'm sorry but I can't tell you that right now."
There was some muttering of protest at this but Dumbledore stood firm.
"Now really" he said, "is it fair to tell all of you what the name of this person is before they know about it themselves?" This was met with silence as people began to realize what this meant.
"That's right" said Dumbledore, "the student in question is not here. They're not a student at Hogwarts, or Beauxbaton, or Durmstrang. Before their name is released they must be told about this. If you were in that person's place would you want to find out you'd been entered in the tournament from reading it in the newspaper? Or hearing about it on the Wizarding Wireless?" He paused for a moment and looked around the Great Hall as if daring someone to say something but no one did. "I didn't think so" he resumed speaking
"And this person did not enter themselves into the tournament. It is physically impossible for them to have done so, and no teacher or staffer would have done it for them. They may not even know about how the champions are chosen because the method was only revealed last night.
"Please put it out of your minds that this person could have done this. They're the victim here and we will be looking into this matter. I will be informing them of this myself. Meanwhile, Olympe, Igor, Ludo, Bartemius? If you will accompany me to the side room so that we may speak to the other three champions? Afterwards please join me in my office so that we may discuss this matter in greater detail. The rest of you are dismissed."
It was a confused and intrigued crowd of students that got up from their seats to exit the Great Hall, many of them wondering who the mystery champion could be.
"Do you think it's Harry?" Ron asked Hermione in a low voice as they headed up to Gryffindor tower.
"I hope not" said Hermione, "but somehow I think it is. Who else would be entered in the tournament against their will and behind their back? You guessed this might happen back on the first night of the term."
"Harry's going to hate this" said Ron and Hermione nodded.
After meeting with the three regular champions Dumbledore, Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman, and Crouch all gathered in Dumbledore's office. The four heads of houses soon joined them along with Mad Eye Moody. The questions started as soon as everyone was present.
"Albus what exactly is going on?" asked Karkaroff sounding angry but also seeming as if he was not sure who he was supposed to be angry with.
"I too wish to know Dumbly'dore" said Madame Maxime. Dumbledore raised his hands in a placating manner.
"I know you do" he said, "you all saw what happened in the Great Hall. As I said to everyone it's obvious that the goblet was tampered with. That's the only explanation."
"But how?" asked McGonagall.
"Good question Minerva" said Dumbledore, "we will be investigating that. I'm not an expert on the magic used to enchant the goblet but one thing I do know is that it is charmed to only select three names. To have it spit out a fourth name indicates major tampering. Filius, will you examine the goblet and see if you can find out exactly what was done to it?"
"Of course headmaster" said Professor Flitwick.
"What about the' fourth champion?" asked Maxime, "will they have to compete? It is obvious that they did not do this."
"I don't know" said Dumbledore looking at Mr. Crouch who spoke up now.
"The rules are quite clear" said Crouch, "all of those whose names come out of the goblet are required to compete. No matter what." Dumbledore looked closely at Crouch. He seemed a bit out of it somehow. Before he could say anything though someone else spoke.
"What happens if they don't?" asked Professor Sprout.
"They will lose their magic" said Crouch. This caused everyone to consider what that would be like. None of them liked the idea of losing their magic.
"Albus" said Moody speaking up now after taking a sip from his hip flask, "who is the fourth champion?" Dumbledore looked around the room.
"This is not to leave this room until the fourth champion comes to Hogwarts to be introduced to the school" he said in as serious a voice as most people had ever heard him use, "I will be speaking to the person tonight so they can find out before the public does. Agreed?" Everyone gave their assent. Dumbledore's face looked grim.
"The fourth name" he said, "is Harry Potter." That caused a stir in the room.
"That poor boy" muttered Sprout.
"Of course it's Potter" sneered Snape, "he probably arranged the whole thing just to get more attention – "
"This is not the time or the place Severus" said Dumbledore sternly cutting him off, "if you're going to claim that Harry put his name in the goblet against all evidence I'm going to insist that you see a mind healer." Snape looked somewhat taken aback by Dumbledore's unusually sharp rebuke but he said nothing.
"But Harry Potter is a Hogwarts student" said Karkaroff, "at least the last I heard he was. This will give Hogwarts two champions which I must protest."
"Igor you're behind the times" said Dumbledore, "Harry was a student here, that's true, but he left Hogwarts at the end of his second year and transferred to another school. That was over a year ago. He is not affiliated with Hogwarts now and would not be a second champion for this school."
"Why did he leave?" asked Maxime.
"That's private" said Dumbledore.
"What school does he attend now?" asked Sprout, "you said you knew where he was but you never told us."
"Yes Albus" said Moody, "it's time you told all of us where that boy is." Dumbledore turned and looked at Moody for a long moment. His expression was blank but he was thinking quickly. The confirmation of what he suspected was finally there. The man sitting in Moody's chair was not Moody. Moody knew where Harry was to begin with. Beyond that the real Moody wouldn't have suggested anything that might put a person in danger. The question now was how to catch whoever this person was with the least amount of trouble and without too many people knowing about it too soon. He quickly came up with a plan and nodded at the fake Moody as if agreeing with what he'd said.
"He's at Ilvermorny" said Dumbledore knowing he could say that much at least without mentioning Xavier's school or the X-Men, "he's told his friends that he's there so that's not a secret now. We communicate fairly regularly so I will be speaking to him about this after we're done here. I will also have to speak to Headmaster Pope since this will make Ilvermorny the fourth participating school. Does that satisfy you Igor?"
"Yes" said Karkaroff and he looked more accepting of the situation now.
"Good" said Dumbledore, "I hope you all realize that Harry is the victim in this matter. He didn't do this. He doesn't even know about it yet and if I know him at all he won't be happy about it. I trust you won't hold this against him?"
"Of course not" said Madame Maxime fiercely, "he should not have to deal with this business."
"I agree" said Karkaroff. The other occupants of the room all indicated their agreement although Snape looked angry about it. Bagman, however, looked quite excited about having Harry in the tournament.
"Then we're done for now" said Dumbledore, "I will be speaking to Mr. Potter now. Alastor, will you come with me?"
"Of course Albus" growled the fake Moody. The meeting broke up as everyone left the office except for Dumbledore and the imposter. Dumbledore quickly made a portkey out of one of the knick-knacks on his shelf and both of them took it. With a tap of Dumbledore's wand they were both whirled away.
They landed in the front hall of Xavier's school and the fake Moody looked around in confusion.
"Albus" he said, "this isn't Ilvermorny. Where are we?"
"Stupefy" said Dumbledore before the other could react and he dropped to the floor unconscious. Dumbledore heard running footsteps from down one of the halls and then Remus ran into the front hall.
"Albus?" the werewolf said looking at the scene in front of him, "what happened? Why is Moody unconscious?"
"This is not Moody" said Dumbledore looking rather angry as he raised his wand again and pointed it at the downed figure.
"Incarcerous" he said and rope shot out of his wand and bound the unconscious man tightly.
"What do you mean?" asked Remus while Dumbledore was tying up the fake Moody.
"Remus, how many times has Alastor been here?" the headmaster asked him.
"Oh, quite a number of times" said Remus.
"Yes" said Dumbledore, "yet just now when we arrived here this man didn't recognize this place."
"I see" said Remus, who did see, "then who is he? And what brings you here tonight anyway?"
"As to your first question" said Dumbledore, "I don't know who he is yet. Your second question must wait. Where are Harry and Charles?"
"Professor Xavier went away over a month ago" said Remus, "we finally heard from him earlier today when he called for the X-Men and they all went to find him. Even Sirius."
"Oh dear" said Dumbledore, "did they say when they would be back?"
"It should be soon actually" said Remus, "just before you got here Xavier contacted me to say that they were on their way back."
"Good" said Dumbledore who bent down and removed Moody's hip flask. He tossed it. over to Remus and told him to open it and see what was inside. This turned out to be Polyjuice Potion.
"So that's how he did it" said Remus, "Moody must still be alive."
"Yes" said Dumbledore, "he would need to keep the real Moody close by so he could keep making the potion. We just have to wait until it wears off to see who this really is."
It was only a few moments later when there was a "pop" and Professor Xavier and the X-Men all appeared in the front hall.
"Charles" said Dumbledore before anyone could say anything, "I apologize for this but we have a couple of big problems." Lightning face palmed.
"I hate it when I'm right" he muttered wondering what had happened now.
"I see" said Xavier, "maybe you should start by telling me why Alastor Moody is bound and unconscious on the floor?"
"He's not Alastor Moody" said Dumbledore who quickly explained to Xavier the same things he had told Remus.
"I've actually been a bit suspicious of him for a while" said Dumbledore, "ever since Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger sent me notes saying that he didn't seem to know them back at the beginning of the year I've been keeping a close watch on him but until tonight I couldn't be sure. There were little things about his behavior that bothered me but nothing definite until now. Whoever he is he's a very good actor. Except for those little things he behaved just like Moody."
"So who is he?" asked Angel.
"I don't know" said Dumbledore, "he's using polyjuice potion to impersonate Alastor and that wears off after one hour but he drank some not long before we came here. He's been carrying it around in his hip flask. We can wait until it wears off but that won't be for the better part of an hour. Charles, I was hoping you could tell us who he is." Professor Xavier nodded and concentrated as he sent his power into the unconscious man's head. After a moment he looked up.
"This man's name" he said, "is Bartemius Crouch Jr."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Sirius, "he's dead. He died in Azkaban about a year after we were both sent there. I was there when it happened. How can this be him?"
"From what I saw in his memories" said Xavier, "his father brought his mother to see him in prison when she was dying and she switched places with her son. They used Polyjuice Potion on both of them to pull it off."
"So that's how it was done" said Sirius, "I guess I'm not the first person to escape from Azkaban after all."
"Don't feel bad Padfoot" said Remus, "you're still the first Azkaban escapee that anyone knew about."
"So where has this Crouch person been all these years?" asked Marvel Girl.
"He's been held at his home by his father under the Imperius curse" said Xavier examining Crouch Jr. again, "but lately he's been building up resistance to it – oh that's interesting. It seems our young friend here is the one who conjured the dark mark at the Quidditch World Cup this past summer although it seems his father caught him again soon after that."
"Why is he here?" asked Lightning.
"Ah" said Dumbledore, "that leads directly to our other big problem and Harry, it directly involves you."
"Me?" asked Lightning in surprise, "why me?"
"Because" said Dumbledore, "I'm now sure that he's the one who entered you into the Triwizard Tournament tonight."
"He did what?!" Lightning began to yell but Sirius put a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy there pup" said Sirius, "let's hear the whole story first. Professor Xavier, what's going on?" Xavier concentrated on Crouch again for a moment.
"Albus, what's the Goblet of Fire?" asked Xavier. Dumbledore quickly explained what the goblet was and also that Harry's name had come out of it a short time ago which supposedly obligated him to compete in the tournament.
"But I didn't enter my name – " Lightning began but Dumbledore cut him off.
"Of course you didn't Harry" he said, "we all know that. It seems Crouch did it, but why?"
"And how did he escape his father in the first place?" asked Cyclops, "or is his father part of this?"
"Yes but not by choice" said Xavier who looked at Lightning, "Harry, from what I'm reading in this man's mind Voldemort is behind all of this. He's finally starting to make a move."
"How?" asked Lightning.
"It seems that Pettigrew did indeed find Voldemort" said Xavier, "just as we suspected he would and he's been helping him gain some strength."
"That rat" growled Sirius, "no, I take that back, calling him a rat is an insult to all good honest rats everywhere."
"Some time in August Pettigrew brought Voldemort to the Crouch home and overpowered Crouch Sr. placing him under the Imperius curse" continued Xavier, "which he is still under. Then at the end of August they attacked Moody and took him prisoner. Crouch Jr. has been impersonating him ever since."
"So what was this Crouch guy supposed to do?" asked Iceman.
"That brings us to our other problem" said Dumbledore, "Charles was it Crouch Jr. who put Harry's name in the goblet?"
"Yes" said Xavier, "apparently it's all part of a plan to use the tournament to eventually kidnap Harry so he can be used in a ritual to help revive Voldemort."
"Oh Hell No!" said Lightning causing Sirius to squeeze his shoulder a little bit to calm him.
"How is entering Harry in this tournament supposed to help revive Voldemort?" asked Remus.
"At the end of the last task" said Xavier, "Crouch was supposed to enchant some trophy into a portkey that he would arrange for Harry to get which would send Harry to Voldemort."
"I think tonight has thrown that plan out of the window" said Sirius, "thankfully. Does Crouch know where Voldemort and Peter are?"
"Some place called 'Little Hangleton'" said Xavier, "I don't know where that is though."
"I do" said Dumbledore, "as soon as I get back to Hogwarts I'll alert the DMLE and send them after Voldemort. Harry I think you don't need to worry about being kidnapped now."
"That's good" said Lightning, "so everything's fine?"
"Not quite" said Dumbledore, "there's still the fact that you've been entered into the Triwizard Tournament."
"But headmaster" said Sirius, "surely he doesn't have to compete?"
"I honestly don't know" said Dumbledore, "Crouch Sr. said that anyone whose name came out of the goblet had to compete but we now know he was under the Imperius curse and his son probably made him say that. While I haven't examined all of the rules of the tournament in detail I find it hard to believe that the creators of the Goblet of Fire wouldn't have put in something to guard against someone being forcibly entered without their consent. When I get back to Hogwarts I will be thoroughly examining the rules about champion selection and see what it says. I will come back tomorrow with the information, let us say around lunchtime your time?"
"That sounds good" said Xavier who then indicated the prisoner, "what are you going to do with him?"
"I'm going to take him back with me and contact Director Bones to hand him over directly to her. She'll be able to handle things and I imagine she will have a lot of questions for our friend here. We also need to find the real Moody – "
"He's locked in the seventh compartment of his trunk" said Xavier, "now I understand why I couldn't contact him recently. The compartment is spelled to resist outside influences of all kinds, including telepathy apparently."
"Thank you Charles. Harry, I'm sorry about this. Hopefully I'll have it sorted out for you by tomorrow. I'll see you then."
"Thank you headmaster" said Lightning, "I appreciate that."
"Until tomorrow then" said Dumbledore who grabbed the prisoner and activated his portkey. The two of them disappeared with a "pop."
"Well that was interesting" said Iceman after they were gone. Nobody replied to that.
The next morning Dumbledore returned a little before lunch while the X-Men were finishing up their session in the Danger Room. With Xavier's permission he entered the room as it was ending.
"Good morning everyone" said Dumbledore, "did you all have a good training session?"
"It was absolutely wonderful" said Mage with some sarcasm,
"Undoubtedly one for the record books" said a deadpan Beast.
"We'll never forget it" added Iceman with an equally solemn voice.
"Okay, okay" said Xavier, "Albus, I assume you have the information you mentioned last night?"
"Yes" said Dumbledore, "do you want it now? Or during lunch?"
"Let's have it during lunch" said Xavier before turning to the team and telling them to go get changed and meet in the kitchen. About 15 minutes or so later the team was gathered in the kitchen eating lunch along with Remus who had joined them when Xavier signaled for Dumbledore to speak.
"I must first mention" said Dumbledore, "that when I returned with Crouch Jr. it caused quite a lot of excitement."
"I'm sure it did" said Sirius.
"Madame Bones came and questioned him personally" said Dumbledore, "and what he said corroborated what you told us Charles. The DMLE sent aurors to Little Hangleton but Voldemort wasn't there. Oh there were clear signs when they searched the Riddle House, the house of his father's family, that he had been there but he and anyone with him had cleared out before the aurors arrived. He must have gotten word somehow that Crouch Jr. had been caught. There must have been a spy at Hogwarts who saw Crouch Jr. after we got back and alerted Voldemort."
"Snape most likely" muttered Sirius.
"No" said Dumbledore, "he was in the room with me the whole time after I got back until the aurors returned to say Voldemort was gone. It couldn't have been him."
"Maybe it was Pettigrew in his rat form?" suggested Harry.
"That would be risky" said Remus, "the Weasley twins still have the Marauders' Map. They might have spotted him again."
"I think that's unlikely" said Dumbledore, "it was luck that they saw him last time. If they had looked at the map last night and seen him they would have let me know. But they didn't. So yes, I think Pettigrew is our most likely suspect."
"Wouldn't the wards of Hogwarts have notified you that he was there?" asked Remus.
"The Hogwarts wards" said Dumbledore, "can stop magical attacks and keep muggles from approaching. However they cannot stop people from walking in. There are wards that can do that. But with those kinds of wards the only way for an outsider to get in would be if the controller of the wards allowed him in. That won't work at a school as there are too many people coming and going all the time. And they cannot recognize individuals who may have bad intentions. If they could we would have caught Voldemort as soon as he arrived with Quirrel in your first year Harry. Also we would have detected the horcrux that was controlling Ginny Weasley and perhaps other dark objects that people sometimes illegally bring into the school."
"What happened to Crouch Jr.?" asked Scott getting things back on track.
"He's back in custody" said Dumbledore, "once they question him for everything they can get he'll be sent back to Azkaban."
"And his father?" asked Warren.
"His father has been arrested" said Dumbledore, "and will be tried for aiding and abetting a prison escape as well as harboring a fugitive."
"Good" said Sirius with some satisfaction, "I hope he enjoys Azkaban as much as I did."
"What about the tournament?" asked Harry.
"Ah yes, the tournament" said Dumbledore, "I'm happy to tell you Harry that you don't have to compete. I had to comb the rule book quite thoroughly but I found a rule stating that anyone who is entered into the tournament against their will does not have to compete – "
"Thank Merlin!" said Harry.
"– Unless you want to" finished Dumbledore.
"What?" asked Harry, surprised by this.
"Anyone in your position" said Dumbledore, "doesn't have to compete, but since their name was entered they have the option to do so if they wish. It's an obscure rule. The complete tournament rule book is very extensive. I doubt that anyone involved in the tournament this year has actually read the whole thing as many of the older rules are obsolete now. I sat up most of the night close reading the rule book until I found that rule. I don't know why it isn't more prominent but it isn't. It's still in effect so Harry, the choice is yours."
"No, thank you" said Harry at once.
"Actually" said Xavier, "you might want to consider it." Everyone turned and looked at Xavier in surprise.
"You want me to compete?" asked Harry in disbelief.
"No" said Xavier, "but consider this: Voldemort set this up. If he thinks that his plan is still working even though his agent has been caught we might have an easier time drawing him out."
"Harry we won't let you go into this without us" said Scott, "we're a team and we stick together." The other teammates were nodding their heads in agreement.
"I know" said Harry "and I'm grateful for that, but wouldn't that mean exposing ourselves to the wizarding world? At the very least how would I get through the tournament without being revealed as Lightning?"
"If that happens" said Xavier, "you leave it to me." Harry nodded his head. He knew that Professor Xavier was powerful enough to affect the memories of an entire crowd. He had done just that when he first saved Iceman and Cyclops from a mob in Iceman's hometown when Iceman's powers first woke up. Nobody beyond Bobby's parents remembered anything about it. Harry knew that Xavier could handle a wizarding crowd too if necessary.
"You really think I should do this?" Harry asked Xavier.
"If you don't" said Xavier, "Voldemort will come up with something else and we might not see him coming when he does. This way at least we know something of what we're up against." Harry thought about it for several moments before nodding his acceptance although he looked distinctly unhappy about it.
"Okay" he finally said, "I'll do it. But headmaster please don't let anyone know I'm participating by choice."
"As far as anyone else is concerned" said Dumbledore, "Crouch is right and you have to compete or lose your magic. No one will know the truth except for us."
"Good" said Harry, "I know that the other champions are spending the year at Hogwarts but I hope you understand that I can't do that."
"I do" said Dumbledore, "I will let you know when you have to be there. Thank you everyone. I have to go speak to Headmaster Pope about this. Harry I'll see you later today at Ilvermorny and we'll sort out the first dates. Oh, one more thing. Remus, would you be willing to come back to Hogwarts and take over DADA again for a little while? Professor Moody needs some time to recover from his ordeal before he can start teaching. I don't think your being a werewolf will pose much of an obstacle when people realize that you're replacing a Death Eater."
"Okay Albus" said Remus, "I can be there starting tomorrow."
"Thank you" said Dumbledore, "that will be very helpful. Good-bye." Dumbledore apparated away with a "crack."
"Well" said Harry, "Halloween got me twice this time. Maybe next year it will let me have a pass...And maybe pigs will fly."
"Harry" said Xavier, "Scott is right. We will be with you, every step of the way."
"I know" said Harry, "and thanks for that."
Headmaster Pope took the news with mixed feelings. While he could see the positives of having Harry in the tournament he didn't like that Harry was being forced to do it against his will (so he thought). As there was nothing that could be done about it he, Dumbledore, and Harry decided that they would go to Hogwarts the next day so Harry could meet the other champions and get the information that he would need.
When Harry told Ororo about it later that afternoon she was sympathetic.
"Everything seems to happen to you" she said.
"I know" said Harry with a grimace, "and I often wish it wouldn't."
"Well I'll be there for you, whatever happens" said Ororo.
"Thank you" said Harry.
A couple of days later, when the Ilvermorny returned from its break Ororo would tell Harry about Headmaster Pope's announcement of what had happened that evening at dinner. Almost no one at the school knew what the tournament was beyond what had been printed in the magical newspapers so Pope had to explain it in some detail. He told them how risky it was and that Harry was being forced to do it against his will. The school reacted with both anger and pride – proud that one of their own was in this competition representing their school but angry that he was being forced to do so rather than volunteering. Almost everyone at the school pledged their support for Harry, something he was touched by as even now he didn't know many people there. He decided that he needed to get to know more of his fellow magical students and make more friends among them.
(To Be Continued)
A/N - That's it for now. I don't know how to write a French accent so I didn't, but yes, Madame Maxime was speaking with such an accent.
If anyone thinks Dumbledore took a risk bringing Crouch to the X-Mansion there really wasn't much of a risk. Crouch didn't know where he was and he only saw the entrance hall (which doesn't identify anything) before being knocked out. He doesn't wake up until after being returned to Hogwarts so he didn't see anything. Even if he had either Dumbledore would have obliviated him or Xavier would have removed the memory.
All right everyone, as usual please take a moment to leave me some feedback. Constructive comments are always welcome but no flames or trolls please. As always stay safe and well.
Happy Passover and Happy Easter!