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Now...where was I?
Angry.
Oh God. He was so, so very angry.
He was literally seeing red. They would hurt; those stupid, stupid idiots they would hurt. He, literally, could not find the words to describe how he felt about the people in front of him. Next to him, Fleur and Cedric were desperately crying for medics to attend to the battered body of Victor who lay gasping on the pier. Dumbledore and the other administrators quickly rushed forward, but were stopped in their tracks as Harry and Fleur both leveled their wands at them.
"Stay back." Harry growled out. Dumbledore tilted his head and held out his hands in a calming motion.
"Come now, Harry." the old wizard responded slowly, taking a small step forward. "Victor needs medical attention."
Dumbledore took another small step forward, only to jump in shock as Fleur Delacour fired off a stunning charm at the old wizards feet.
"Fleur!" Madame Maxine cried, "Have 'ou lost 'uor mind, child?"
Fleur wiped away water and tears from her eyes as she shakily leveled her wand at her headmistress.
"How could 'ou, Mistress?" she screamed, her voice ragged and pained. "Did 'ou know of zes monsters that awaited us?"
Madame Maxine stuttered, stumbling to find an answer. Luckily, she didn't have to respond as Barty Crouch stepped in front of her.
"Was it that serpent? Who summoned that beast?" he demanded gruffly only to be silenced by Cedric.
"Shut your mouth!" the young man roared, leaving Crouch gaping like a fish. "That serpent isn't the problem. You sent four students down to their deaths!"
Crouch fumbled pitifully over his response, "There are always dangers to the Triwizard Tournament…" he attempted to explain. Harry slowly stepped around a recovering Victor as all eyes fixed on him. Standing before a stammering crouch he slowly put his wand back into it's holster.
"Harry," Crouch began.
Crack!
Everyone, administrators and spectators alike stared, frozen in shock, as Harry rocketed a right hook into the face of Barty Crouch. With a thud, Crouch crumpled to the pier, leaving Harry breathing heavily. The man wailed wildly, clutching his now bleeding nose in pain.
"Now," Harry grit, "I am going to ask once more. Who. Put. The Squid. In. The. Lake."
Dumbledore turned between Harry and the writhing body of crouch, shock and confusion rooting his body in place.
"Potter!" Crouch howled from the ground. "I'll see you jailed for this!"
"Oh will you?" Harry hissed back in return, pointing his wand at the man. "And then maybe you'll be the one to explain why eight students almost lost their lives to some stupid fucking game."
Harry raised his wand high in the air, pointing it directly at Crouch as he opened his mouth. He was stopped by a sudden pair of arms that wrapped themselves around his torso.
"Harry," came the voice of a frantic Daphne from behind him. "Harry you've got to calm down. You're bleeding. You need medical attention." Reaching up to his forehead, Harry's fingers rubbed in a sticky fluid that was trickling from under his hair. He suddenly became quite painfully aware of how much his head hurt. He nodded, turning into Daphne's arms before his legs began to waiver on him.
Despite Harry's cutting glare, Dumbledore surged forward and assisted Daphne in supporting the young wizard.
"Harry," the old wizard pleaded. "What happened? Please boy, you have to tell us."
"There was a squid." Harry wheezed. "Massive. We tried to fight but couldn't. It almost crushed Victor before Lisgant came and saved us."
"Lisgant?" Professor McGonagall asked, confused. Harry tried to form an answer, but was too out of breath to reply. He ended up just moving his arm in a wiggling pattern. Thankfully for the sake of communication, Cedric was able to clarify as a medic wizard scanned over his body.
"It was the giant snake that brought us to the surface." the Hufflepuff responded. The group of administrators looked to Fleur and Harry for any form of confirmation as both the teens nodded. Medical Wizards placed Victor on a stretcher and began to carry him to the medical tent.
Harry moved to follow after Victor, but somehow found the ground fast approaching him as a lightheaded feeling rushed over him.
"Harry!" he heard Daphne cry, before everything went dark.
"Harry."
Oh sweet Jesus, his head hurt like hell.
"Harry. Are you awake?"
Oh great. And now he was hearing voices in his head. Just what he needed. More voices.
"Oy, Potter. Wake up. You're going to want to hear this."
Okay, Harry decided. Maybe he wasn't crazy, because that was definitely Cedric's voice. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The light was initially bright, forcing him to bring his hand up to cover his eyes, but he slowly adjusted to realize he was on a cot in the Medical tent set up by the piers. Turning his head to the left, he found Cedric on the cot next to him. The Hufflepuff was bandaged heavily, his left arm resting in a sling against his chest.
"What," Harry slowly muttered. "What's going on?"
Cedric pointed towards the entrance to the tent where Harry could barely make out four shadowy silhouettes. Fleur sat up from her cot across from Harry and Cedric with an amused look on her face.
"'Arry. Your girlfriend iz...quite ze firecracker." she said with barely contained amusement pointing towards the figures. Harry squinted in confusion before he realized he was supposed to be listening.
Harry blushed.
"...I don't give two flying fucks who the bloody hell you think you are or what kind of tournament this is. You almost killed eight people!"
"Miss Greengrass, the champions were aware of the risk before they entered the tournament. This was nothing out of the ordinary."
"Oh? Oh and did I sign up? Did Hermione? Or Gabrielle or Cho?"
"Your lives were never technically endangered. We had multiple protection spells placed upon you."
"Was one of those spells save me from bloody giant squids?"
That question was met with silence. Suddenly Cedric and Harry preemptively flinched.
"No. No I didn't fucking think so! Oh so help me if Harry has any kind of permanent brain damage you won't just be hearing from me! When my father hears about this!" The voices slowly began to approach the opening to the medical tent. Harry gave a small smile as he caught a wink from Daphne before the golden haired girl turned on a heal and addressed the Ministry of Magic representatives.
"I'm sorry. This room is for friends and family only. You'll have to wait." And with a curt nod, Daphne slammed the flaps shut, leaving the Ministry's Lawyers gaping behind her. Harry, Cedric, and Fleur all stared, wide eyed at the girl.
"Daphne…" Harry slowly called out. The moment she heard his voice, Daphne dashed around and jumped onto his cot.
"Harry! Harry are you alright? You're awake! How do you feel?" the blond bombarded Harry with questions as he was still attempting to catch up to the whole situation.
"Yes," he said, grabbing Daphne's hands in an attempt to calm the girl. "I'm fine, I promise. Just...pretty sore." Daphne looked Harry up and down, taking special time to note the scar under his cheek and bandages wrapped around his head.
"Dumbledore said you had a minor concussion." Daphne worriedly asked. Harry blinked, "Well, That's new to me. But it would explain why my head feels like hell." Daphne softly reached out to Harry's bandages and brushed her hand lightly against the rough, wool bandages.
"Harry…" Daphne whispered, her eyes fogging over slightly as she took in the extent of Harry's injuries. Closing her eyes and looking down for a moment, Daphne collected herself before staring Harry straight in the eyes.
"You're punished, you know that?" she stated simply. Harry balked.
"Punished?" he asked, mixing amusement with confusion. The blond girl nodded, tilted her head to the side.
"Yep. You know better than to stress me out like that."
From across the room, Fleur giggled to herself as Cedric made an exaggerated whip motion with his hand. Harry rolled his eyes, giving Daphne a light push. Looking around the room, Harry noticed the final bed in the room had a patient who had yet to wake up yet.
"How long has Krum been out?" Harry asked. Cedric shrugged.
"I came to first about four hours ago. Apparently he's fine, but he's in an induced sleep to help speed up his healing." Cedric explained. Harry's face formed an angered sneer.
"Fucking bastards…" he whispered bitterly. Daphne brought her hand out a laid it on top of his, calming the raven haired boy.
"They're livid outside. Apparently the ministry placed those squid in the lake without telling Dumbledore. I've never seen him so mad. Barty was trying to have you thrown in Azkaban for that punch you pulled, but once Headmaster heard the story from Cedric, he kicked all tournament officials off the pier."
Harry nodded. "Good," he said sternly, "About time he started actually doing something."
"So what's going to happen?" Cedric asked from his bed. Daphne just shrugged.
"I mean, as soon as you're ready and cleared to leave, I guess we just go back to the castle."
"Wait," Fleur interjected incredulously, "Zey can't seriously be intent on continuing zis madness?" Daphne wished she could tell the poor girl something else, but up till then, that's all she knew.
"How the hell can the keep us doing this in good conscious?" Cedric asked. Harry just shook his head in frustration.
"We shouldn't keep doing this. We should quit." he muttered angrily.
"But ze magic. The oath will cost us our magic if we resign."
Harry bit his lip in frustration. That part had been well explained. To resign or forfeit the tournament after entering resulted in the contestant losing their magic.
"But," Harry said, an idea dawning on him. "What if no one won?"
Cedric looked quizzically at Harry. "What do you mean? If we all quit, we all still lose our magic."
"No," Harry clarified, "Not all quit. What if no one won? Just we all refused to continue. Like didn't show up for competition. We don't lose our magic if we get disqualified, and they can't force us to compute. So all we would have to do it…"
"Boycott?" Professor Dumbledore asked incredulously. "You and your fellow competitors intend to boycott the remainder of the tournament?"
Harry nodded sagely. "Yeah, that's pretty much the idea, sir." Dumbledore took a moment and leaned back in his chair, his glasses glinting in the light as he stared at the young man before him.
"And what, Harry, if your competitors don't intend to honor this agreement? What if it's just a plot to help one of your competitors claim victory?"
Harry gave a smirk and raised up his wand, "Because then they'd be breaking another magical oath."
Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock. "An Oath, Harry?" he said as he rose and rushed around his desk. "Magical Oaths are not playthings to be thrown around. Do you have any idea what you could have risked?
"I understand your concern, Headmaster." Harry replied coolly, "But we've thought this out thoroughly and we've all agreed on the written version of the oath." Harry offered up the headmaster a piece of paper. The aged wizard snatched the paper and began to read it frantically.
We, Harry Potter, Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory, and Victor Krum do make an oath. An oath to be tied to our magica and our very souls. We who make this bind hereby agree to fulfill both the letter and intent of this vow, lest we be stripped of our magic and left powerless.
We vow to no longer compete in the Triwizard Tournament. We will complete no task nor attempt to further our standing in the tournament. We agree to abstain from any and all interaction to knowingly and willfully participate in any continuation of the aforementioned tournament.
Should any member of this pact break their vow, may their magic be stripped from their dishonest soul with prejudice as penance for their treachery.
The note hummed with powerful magic. Dumbledore's brow furrowed in thought, realizing the authenticity of the boy's threat. Slowly, he turned and walked back to a cabinet. Reaching under a drawer, the aging wizard came up with what Harry realized as a fifth of brandy and two classes.
"I'm assuming," Dumbledore began as he poured out two glasses, filling the cups with ice, "That if you are willing to take an adult's magical oath, then you will join me in attempting to nullify the headache this decision is about to create."
Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise as Dumbledore offered the young man the glass. The old wizard had a twinkle in his eye as he watched Harry stare at the drink in his hand.
"I'll advise you to take a small sip if you haven't yet acquired a taste for Brandy, Harry."
Harry took the man's advice, gently raising the drink to his lips. He coughed a little as the first sip went down, much to Dumbledore's amusement, but was able to swallow his second gulp without incident. The liquid burned his throat in an oddly pleasing way as it went down. Dumbledore waved his hand and ushered Harry to sit in the chair across from him.
"I am realizing now, Mr Potter." the old man began, "That I am dealing with a very different young man this year than the one from last year."
Harry didn't say anything, though he met his headmaster's gaze head on and gave a nod.
"And," Dumbledore continued, "It is my wish that you and I get back on more friendly terms." Harry gave Dumbledore a questioning gaze, earning a chuckle from the man. "Mr Potter, you are not the first student who is full of surprises to come through these halls, I am afraid. Certainly an interesting case, but I'm not totally as senile as some may believe me to be."
Harry leaned back in his chair slowly, setting the glass of brandy down on the table as he looked appraisingly at the headmaster. This was a most unexpected change of events.
"So then," Harry tentatively began. "you want to get back on the right foot with me?"
The old man nodded, "Yes, though I rather like to think of it as supporting one of my students. That is, after all, my job."
"So what do you want from me?" Harry asked. Dumbledore gave a smile.
"Well," he replied, "If we're going to get off on the right foot, I thought you may appreciate hearing what really happened in the lake." Harry's brow furrowed and he nodded his head, bidding Albus to continue.
"The challenge you faced," Dumbledore explained, "Was never meant to involve any magical beasts. When you discovered the egg was of Merpeople origin, the other headmasters and I envisioned you would all do your research on Mer culture. Merpeople are fiercely territorial and combative, but they are honor bound to only retaliate. They would never strike first. If a champion would realize this, they could reasonably deduce that if they approached the hostages submissively and humbly, the Mer would gladly allow the Champions to remove them from their lands and leave in peace. Were a champion to engage the Merpeople in combat, they would almost surely lose, but I have been able to talk to their leader to ensure non-lethal combat would be all that ensued."
Harry raised an eyebrow, "But…?"
Dumbledore's expression darkened considerably, the situation obviously of much concern to him.
"Aquinas Evuillon, the Leviathan of the Trench. Native to eastern Asian waters in the Pacific Ocean. It is a massive, intelligent, and deadly creature. Encounters with it are rare simply because, in most encounters, the witch or wizard who comes face to face with the beast isn't able to survive. I've been speaking again with the Merpeople and apparently an unknown saboteur had released one into the lake a week ago."
Harry reached back for his brandy and took another sip, growing more confident with the drink. "And no one noticed this?" Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and gave a sigh.
"Unlike Aquinas Evuillon, I once subdued a docile Aquinas Mivuillon, the Evuillon's much calmer, herbivorous cousin. It usually plays with first years, returning them to the boats should they fall out. It seems the new squid didn't take kindly to it's calmer relative; the Mivuillon's corpse washed up on shore this morning. But until the moment of the tournament, the one squid that lived in the lake was, seemingly, accounted for."
The duo sat in silence for a moment, Harry attempting to process the information.
"You said saboteur?" he inquired. Dumbledore noded and leaned forward, almost conspiratorially.
"The lake was guarded by ministry officials for weeks before the event. It would seem to me that someone is in a position to attempt to make attacks on the champion's life from the safety of the shadows." Harry frowned deeply at the news. "So what do we do? Someone's trying to kill us."
"For now," Dumbledore replied curtly, "They have be unsuccessful in their attempts. Though it seems to me that they will be foiled by you and your compatriots recent magical oath." Dumbledore laughed lightly to himself as he stood and walked around his office.
"In the meantime, I will be investigating this. I encourage you to just continue about your school work and keep your eyes peeled." the headmaster suggested. Harry, taking another quick sip of the brandy muttered a quiet 'shit' under his breath. He had a potions exam tomorrow he hadn't even started studying for. Dumbledore seemed to wink at him knowingly and ushered the young man up.
"I believe you've got much work to do, as do I Harry, so I will let you on your way." he proclaimed, taking up and vanishing his and Harry's glasses. "Though, if I may have one request, may I have the writing of your magical oath?"
Harry looked quizzically at the old man, but sensing no harm in it noded, handing the magic laced parchment over Dumbledore gave a smile as he tucked the paper quickly into his breast pocket before opening the door to his office for the boy.
"Oh, and Harry." he called out as the boy made his way out of the office. "Best keep my brandy storage to yourself, hmm? I'm afraid i'm quite stingy."
And with a groan, the stone statue leading the the Headmaster's office returned to it's original position.
Harry blinked.
"Well that was a little…"
Between stuffing his face full of chicken, Neville gave Harry a puzzled look from across the great dining hall table.
"That's a little weird." he muffled, proper speech inhibited by the food in his mouth. Next to him, Hermione sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Honestly, Neville. Have some table manners please." she growled. Neville blushed, taking a massive gulp as he sheepishly shrunk into himself. Next to Harry, Daphne gave a 'harumph'.
"Well I say it's about time that geezer did something helpful." she grumbled, much to Harry's amusement. He gently scratched his girlfriend on the back, doing whatever he knew to calm the cranky girl. Daphne groaned a little in ecstasy, being a sucker for back rubs.
"Well," Harry continued, "I mean it seemed like a fairly productive meeting. I think we're on the same page now." Hermione and Neville gave a nod in agreement.
"I'm just happy he's standing up for his students." the bushy haired witch added, and Harry earnestly agreed. The group continued eating, Harry reduced to just one hand as he earned a growl from his girlfriend at any attempt to remove his left hand from its current job. The spread was delicious, Grilled chicken and mashed potatoes and asparagus as the four membered table dug in. Suddenly, Harry glanced up as he felt a tab on his shoulder. Turning around, he found Cedric and Fleur standing behind him.
"Er, Um." Cedric seemed to stutter out. Fleur, luckily seemed more comfortable and spoke up instead.
"May 'ui sit with you, 'Arry?" the french witch asked sweetly. Cedric laughed, obviously not accustomed to asking if he could sit at a table noded in agreement with the witches question. Harry raised an eyebrow, confused as to why the duo didn't just take a seat. He waved his hand around the two open seats across from him.
"Absolutely!" he insisted. "You're more than welcome."
The two quickly took to their seats and Cedric began piling onto his plate. Fleur did so much more delicately, obviously the part veela being much more learned in manners.
"Thank you, 'Arry. We were, ah, not quite welcome where we 'ad been sitting." she explained, earning puzzled looks from the rest of the table. Cedric noded gruffly as he pulled two legs onto his plate.
"Yeah," he added sourly, "The boys didn't quite take our boycott with the enthusiasm I thought they would."
"What on earth do you mean?" Hermione blurted out, shocked at the very notion. Fleur spared a sad smile to the girl.
"I am afraid they think us cowards." she explained. Harry gave a deadpan look, "They did see us almost die twice, right?" Cedric held his hands wide and laughed.
"Exactly what I said!" the Hufflepuff replied. "I think they'll come around though when it breaks about that squid. I saw Rita Skeeter and other Prophet writers grilling ministry workers outside." he explained before stuffing his face full of grilled chicken. Harry grimaced slightly at the mention of Rita Skeeter, not particularly fond of the woman's writing.
"So they all think we're all a bunch of cowards?" Harry asked with an exasperated sigh. Mouth full of food, Cedric gave a nod. Harry rolled his eyes and gave a dark laugh.
"Oh joy. I get to be the school Pariah again." he sarcastically declared. Cedric pointed to Fleur conspiratorially and the girl attempted to stifle her giggles. Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion, earning an apologetic look from the French witch.
"I am sorry, 'Arry." she giggled. "It is just, Cedric told me when bad things 'appen here at Hogwarts, the school now just always blames it on you." Harry shot Cedric an exasperated glare as the whole table erupted into laughs. Harry picked up a chicken bone and chunked it at Cedric who blocked it deftly while laughing. The table continued their meal enjoying each other's company. After they had been eating for quite some time, the Hall hushed in silence as all eyes turned to Albus Dumbledore who stood at his podium before the hall.
"I hope," his voice boomed across the room, "That you are all enjoying your meal. I apologize for the interruption, but I imagined you all would enjoy a few words of encouragement as you approach your midterm exams."
Harry blanched. It wasn't just the potions exam he had tomorrow. He had all of his exams in the past week.
"I know you have all been studying diligently and I have little doubt in your ability to conquer these trials."
Harry felt a tiny bit better as he notice Cedric, Neville, Fleur, and Daphne all shift uneasily. Hermione was beaming, because of bloody course she was.
"A quick note on the Triwizard Tournament. In the wake of unauthorized attempted interference in the second trial, the Tournament has been postponed indefinitely." Albus boomed, causing hushed whispers to erupt across the assembled students in confusion, more than a few eyes starting at the table containing Harry, Fleur, and Cedric.
"Now, in this time," Dumbledore continued, "And especially for my students here at Hogwarts, I have already met with the two of you that this will effect, and I share the same sentiments I shared with them. You are here for an education. Everything else is second, so keep your priorities in focus and the rest will fall into place."
"Now! I encourage you to enjoy the desert! A pumpkin pie that, if I may say, is quite delectable! I wish you all luck!"
As the Headmaster stepped down from his podium, the Hall erupted into chatter once more. Hermione smiled brightly as she gave all her friends a look.
"So is everyone ready for midterms?" she asked eagerly.
"...Shit." the rest of the table replied.
Managing Chemical Engineering, Greek Life, and my penchant for binge drinking make writing very hard. But Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday's all! I hope to have much more over my break!
The Doctor is In.
-Bayou