OK, in an attempt to shut up those ridiculous whiners who hopefully no longer read my stories, I hereby give notice that, somewhere down the track, Harry's betrothals may evolve into something that some would call a 'harem' arrangement. This is because of developments that are now coming into the mix from the Veela influence. If this offends you, feel free to stop reading.
Usual disclaimers for the land of litigation, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess Tale.
By the time they were half way through October, Fleur was getting anxious to leave for Hogwarts, because her well publicised betrothal to Vicomte Flamel had not done much to improve her situation at Beauxbatons. The fact that she was a year younger than the next youngest member of the Beauxbatons prospects going to Hogwarts didn't help either, because all of those who had missed being selected were saying that her father had used his influence to get her onto the list, taking the place away from someone more worthy.
Harry was willing to put money on the fact that Viktor Krum would be the Durmstrang Champion again as well, because there had to be a reason for the fact that he was on the Bulgarian National team two years early at sixteen, and this just happened to coincide with the Triwizard Tournament coming back two years early. They didn't know anything about the Durmstrang prospects, but Harry expected that Krum would be the youngest out of them too.
Given that the evidence seemed to be showing that three of the Champions would be the same as the last time, Harry focused on trying to predict who the fourth Champion, the Hogwarts Champion, would be this time. He still had his money on whoever it was being a Quidditch player from Gryffindor or Slytherin, but there wasn't anyone who stood out as a good candidate. Harry only hoped that it wouldn't be Marcus Flint, as he didn't relish having to spend the year having to deal with a bully like him who had all the qualities of a troll…. On second thought, no, if the Tournament played out like it did last time and the Hogwarts Champion was fated to die again, he'd rather it be Flint than anyone decent.
The day of the arrival for the other schools came, but it wasn't like last time. Professor McGonagall made a request for Hogwarts students to be outside to welcome the delegations from the other schools, but made it clear that it was their choice. This led to a scene in front of everyone in the Great Hall between her and Martin Abbott, who tried to insist that the staff and students of Hogwarts would all be out there to greet the other schools. Abbott wasn't at all pleased when Minerva just looked him in the eye and said. "Mister Abbott..."
He cut her off. "That's Lord Abbott McGonagall!" which made her storm at him.
"Your family has had a paltry Barony for scarcely a hundred years Abbott, you barely scrape in as a Noble House! I, on the other hand, am Countess McGonagall, Head of the Noble and Ancient House of McGonagall and Chieftainess of Clan McGonagall, which dates from time immemorial! If you ever speak to me in such a tone again, I will have your paltry house stamped out! I have half a mind to have Baron Moody, the Steward of House McGonagall, deal with the current matter here and now!"
Abbott stepped back at her wrath, paling as he belatedly realised that he didn't have the support of anyone remotely powerful enough to protect the House of Abbott if she did in fact choose to raise the might of Clan McGonagall, and the House of McGonagall, against them. The thought of going up against Mad-Eye Moody terrified him all the more so because that news had been a shock, he had never heard anything about him being associated with the House of McGonagall in any way. He bowed in subjugation and spluttered an apology, desperately hoping that that would be enough to mollify her. "My profound apologies Lady McGonagall. I do not know what got into me!"
She just glared at him for a while, then snapped. "I will let the matter go this time Abbott, but woe betide you if anything like this ever happens again! Now, listen carefully because I will not repeat myself! No staff or students of Hogwarts will be ordered to stand out in the cold to wait for the arrival of the other schools. If they choose to do so, they will do so because of their own good character and school pride. While it is obvious that you do not share my confidence that our students will do Hogwarts proud, your opinion is of as little consequence as anything else to do with you."
Hannah Abbott had been looking smug as her father corrected the Headmistress, but now she was looking stricken, because her father had just shown himself to be insignificant, and a coward to boot, in front of everyone. Daddy had assured her that with her help, the House of Abbott would rise to its proper place among the great houses, but that was now looking like nothing but the empty promise of a delusional man.
That worried her, because she started thinking about what might happen to her if it ever came out that she'd helped set Harry Potter up, and suddenly she just wanted to be somewhere well away from Hogwarts. Her father saw her furtively leaving the Great Hall and came after her. Still smarting from his public humiliation, he was harsh as he told her that she better be out there, front and centre, to greet the other schools when they arrived, or she'd pay for her impertinence!
Fleur mirror called Harry when the Beauxbatons carriage was getting close to Hogwarts, so they were outside waiting for it with most of the school when it arrived. Many wondered how they'd timed it so well, coming out just five minutes before the carriage came into sight.
They had to admit, the Beauxbatons carriage was impressive, if a tad gauche, as it was the size of a cottage and resplendent in powder blue and gold trimmings. The beasts drawing the carriage were equally impressive, a dozen Abraxans, enormous palomino flying horses.
There was no question that the Headmistress of Beauxbatons was trying to make a statement with their arrival, because the enormous carriage came to a stop right in front of the main entrance to Hogwarts. Madame Olympe Maxime was quite impressive herself, because she was Half-Giant like Hagrid. She met her match in Minerva though, because once the French Ministry Official and her students had exited the carriage, Minerva politely but firmly asked her to assist Hogwarts' Keeper of the Keys and Grounds in moving her carriage away from the entrance because the Durmstrang delegation had yet to arrive.
Madame Maxime was surprised that this witch, who was half her height and a quarter her size, actually intimidated her enough to capitulate to her request. She tried to save face, muttering. "Oui. I doubt that your man will be able to handle my Abraxans anyway, they are very powerful. Also, they only drink single malt whiskey, so you must get a supply of that!"
Minerva allowed herself a small smirk as she responded. "I doubt that Mister Hagrid will have any problem with your horses Madame Maxime, I have primarily asked for your assistance to save them the upset of being handled by someone they do not know. And we aware of their requirements, Hagrid has ensured that everything is ready for them."
When Madame Maxime saw Hagrid, she understood Professor McGonagall's confidence, because he was bigger than her, not taller perhaps but definitely bigger. She found as they led the Abraxans away to the area that had been prepared for them, taking the carriage with them, that Mister Hagrid was actually a charming and interesting man, and thought to herself that their time in Britain may prove more enjoyable than she had been expecting.
The Beauxbatons students waited outside the entrance with the Head of the French Department of International Magical Co-operation while their Headmistress took the carriage away, but their attempts to look haughty were being sabotaged by their shivers, because the stylish lightweight robes that had been quite appropriate in the South of France gave them no protection from the cold in Scotland, where there was snow on the ground. Fleur scandalised the rest of the delegation by running up to one of the Hogwarts boys and throwing her arms around him, kissing him and the girls in his group.
When Madame Maxime returned to find the pride of her delegation, the eldest daughter of the Sous-Ministre de la Magie pour la France, wrapped up in the cloak of a Hogwarts student, she had little doubt who he was and went to meet them, addressing Fleur. "Mademoiselle Delacour, I presume from this familiarity that this is your betrothed?"
Once Fleur had disengaged herself, Harry bowed to her Headmistress. "Oui Madame. It is a pleasure to meet you Madame Maxime. I am indeed Mademoiselle Delacour's betrothed, the Vicomte Henri James Flamel, but I am better known by my primary title of Earl Henry James Potter, Harry Potter in common usage."
Olympe was amused, this one may look and sound like a boy, but she had no doubt that he could easily handle powerful witches and wizards several times his age. She bowed to him. "Oui, it is a pleasure to meet you as well Vicomte Flamel, but I presume that you would prefer to be addressed as Lord Potter here?"
Harry gave a very Gallic shrugging nod. "Oui, I am more used to being Harry Potter Madame, but I prefer to be called Harry."
She smiled, accepting him as a worthy player in this game. "Then I will endeavour to address you as 'arry then Lord Potter."
Harry inclined his head to her. "Merci Madame."
With that, Madame Maxime gathered up her charges and led them into the castle. The Hogwarts students were about to follow them inside when a disturbance out on Black Lake announced the arrival of the Durmstrang delegation. The masts broke the surface first, but the rest of the ship followed so fast that it popped right out of the water. It bobbed up and down for about a minute after splashing back down to the surface, then it was propelled to the shore in front of the castle by magic.
The fourteen figures that strode off the ship were more prepared for the cold than the French students had been, as they looked enormous, bundled up in bulky furs as they were. Harry hadn't been paying attention as they strutted past, so he had to ask why Hermione and Millie were giggling to each other. Hermione leaned in to whisper. "Some of those great shaggy bears were girls!"
Harry shook his head as he looked after the Durmstrang group, he couldn't see it but he didn't doubt that the girls were right. He'd learned in this life and the last that the girls were always right, if you knew what was good for you.
They weren't going to wait outside, so as soon as the Durmstrang delegation was through the doors, they headed in after them. When they shed the furs, Harry could see that three or four of the Durmstrang students were indeed girls, but they were no dainty little things, and in fact Viktor Krum was the smallest one from Durmstrang. At least half of the Hogarts students were already indulging in their hero worship of Krum, the youngest member of a National Quidditch team in hundreds of years, and it was obvious that he was lapping it up, so Harry decided to stay away from him.
Minerva welcomed the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations and made a brief announcement that the Tournament would be officially started at the end of the feast, then signalled for the food to be served. Throughout dinner, she made a point of talking to Pomona Sprout, ignoring Abbott who protocol had demanded be seated on the other side of her (all of the School Heads were sitting beside the Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation for their country). Abbott had Ludo Bagman sitting on the other side of him if he was desperate for someone to talk to.
The other Beauxbatons students made a point of blocking Fleur whenever she tried to get to the French dishes at the head of the table where they were sitting, and she started to get upset. She stopped herself though and merely stood to leave the table, moving down to sit with Harry, Hermione, Luna, Padma and Penny. She was prepared to take it up with Madame Maxime if she had to over this, but Olympe had been watching, so it wasn't Fleur who was going to be chastised when they got back to the carriage.
Not that Fleur would be staying in the carriage anyway, as Louis had arranged with Madame Maxime and Professor McGonagall for Fleur to be allowed to stay in the Nobles Tower and study with her betrothed and the rest of those being tutored separately while she was at Hogwarts. The official reason for this was that neither Fleur nor her family were happy with the idea that her education would be adversely effected because of her being selected to be part of the group going to Hogwarts for a year for the Triwizard Tournament, so they had made arrangements for her to join the private tutoring group that was getting superior results to any other students at Hogwarts.
At the end of the feast, Minerva gave the spiel about the tournament and had Mrs Figg bring out the Casket with the Goblet of Fire.
One of Minerva's first acts upon being confirmed as the Headmistress was to get rid of Filch, because he was not fit to be anywhere around children. When Amelia investigated the Dursleys and what happened to Harry while he was with them, she found that Arabella had done the best she could for Harry within the constraints that Dumbledore had put on her, so Minerva had offered her the Caretaker's position when she dismissed Filch.
Vernon, Petunia and Marge Dursley had all gone to prison for their abuse of Harry, and therefore their beloved Dudley was sent into the foster care system. None who had watched Harry's memories of what his cousin had done to him could generate any sympathy for poor little Dudikins's fate after that.
When the goblet was removed from the casket, it was a little disappointing, because it was just a large wooden cup, the only impressive things about it were the blue white flames that filled it, and gave it its name. This was the part that worried them, because aside from the school details, which were sealed with their blood and put into the Goblet by their Heads of School, the three Ministry officials (Bagman wasn't part of this) were the ones who were feeding the information that would determine the selection process and everything else for the Tournament into the Goblet of Fire.
This obviously meant that one or more of them would be involved in setting up whatever it was that dragged Harry into the Tournament. There was no doubt that Abbott was involved, but what about the other two? The fact that the French official was a Lestrange and had openly opposed Louis Delacour in the French Ministry on many matters didn't bode well, and Krakov, the Bulgarian official, seemed quite antagonistic as well.
They watched the officials taking turns to toss pieces of parchment into the goblet, with the flames flaring up and turning red whenever they did so, but they wouldn't let anyone see what was on any of those pieces of parchment. All they would say when asked was that they were descriptions of the tasks, and the conditions that had to be applied to the Tournament. Minerva and Olympe could only hope that they'd been told the truth about this, but the ex-Death Eater Karkaroff who was the Headmaster of Durmstrang was sporting a malicious smile that implied that he had been told more than them.
Harry and Hermione consoled themselves with the fact that they at least knew how the conditions for the Tournament were put into the goblet this time, in the last cycle, Dumbledore, Crouch, and maybe Bagman, had kept everyone in the dark about that.
Minerva told the students that to enter themselves as candidates to be their school's Champion in the Triwizard Tournament, they had to write their name and school on a piece of parchment and seal it with their own blood. The goblet would be placed in the chamber behind the High Table, and those students who had reached their majority would be allowed to enter the chamber to put their details into the goblet to enter themselves for consideration over the next twenty four hours.
She further noted that Magical Law Enforcement Officers would be guarding the chamber and they would be recording the names of all Hogwarts students who entered themselves for consideration. When the officials questioned this, she said that this was merely a further check that concerned parents had requested and she had agreed to.
Madame Maxime was the only other one associated with the tournament at the High Table who did not object when Minerva once again extolled all students considering entering themselves into the Tournament to carefully weigh the risks that they would be facing before they did so, as once they entered themselves they were bound to compete in the tournament and they would be facing great danger if they did. No matter how much they objected though, the officials couldn't erase her warnings and Madame Maxime's obvious approval of those warnings restrained their reactions. Minerva was under no illusions that many students would heed her warnings, but her conscience demanded that she at least try to make them see sense before they dove into this.
Before they left the Great Hall, the French official Lestrange dragged Fleur aside and reminded her that her father would be ruined if she did not enter herself into the Tournament, and while Krum's arrogance restrained what concern they may have held for him, they did note that the Bulgarian official pulled him aside and appeared to be threatening him as well. It appeared that Fleur, Krum and Harry were all going to be forced to compete this time. They all went straight to the Tower from the Great Hall, because Dobby had retrieved Fleur's trunk from the Beauxbatons carriage for her and it was already waiting in her room.
The charms that Professor Flitwick had placed over the doorway into the chamber where the goblet sat caught a number of under age Hogwarts students trying to get their names into the Goblet of Fire. The officers just took their names and sent them away with the advice that the Headmistress would be talking to them about this. These charms also flared up when Fleur and Viktor tried to enter, because they were still under the British age of majority, but they were allowed in by the officers because Minerva had specifically mentioned the difference between the British age of majority and that of France and Bulgaria in her speech the night before.
It was hard for any of the students at Hogwarts to concentrate on their lessons the next day, but even more so for those in the Tower, because they were hoping against hope that Harry and Fleur might somehow escape their apparently inevitable parts in this Tournament. Though time dragged because of this, soon enough they were all sitting down for the Halloween feast.
The goblet and the pedestal it sat on had been brought out of the chamber where they'd been for the past twenty four hours at the start of the feast and now sat on the podium in front of the High Table.
Martin Abbott had tried to insist that he should be the one who announced the selected Champions, but the rules of the Triwizard Tournament stated quite clearly that the Headmaster or Headmistress of the school hosting the Tournament had that duty, so with Madame Maxime's help he was quickly shut down.
At the end of the feast, Fleur moved to the head of the table with kisses for luck from all of them, but they knew that there was little chance that she would not be selected. Sure enough, when the flames in the goblet first changed to red and flared up, it was Fleur's name that was spat out. She shared a look of resignation with her friends at the other end of the table and stood, gliding forward gracefully to curtsy to those at the High Table, then proceeded to the chamber as they had been directed.
The flames flared up again and spat out another piece of parchment, and this time it was Viktor, he got up and stiffly marched to the High Table, pausing to bow mechanically to the people there before he marched off to the chamber.
The next time the flames flared up it was Marcus Flint, he stood and strutted past the High Table without making any attempt to pay his respects, disappearing into the chamber with Fleur and Viktor. The students started talking about who'd been selected, many of them bitter that it hadn't been them, but Harry, Hermione and the others were waiting with bated breath for what they knew was about to happen.
They and the parts of the Hogwarts staff who were with the family weren't the only ones who failed to register surprise when the flames flared up again, but this time Harry, Hermione and the others were watching for who would give themselves away, so they caught the caught the flash of a malicious smile of triumph that crossed over Martin Abbot's face when another piece of parchment came out of the flames.
The fact that the name Minerva read out was 'Lord Harry Potter' was the quite unnecessary proof that this hadn't been entered by anyone who knew Harry, because it was always 'Lord Henry' or 'Harry', those names never crossed over. There were cries of 'cheat' and worse as he strode to the High Table and bowed to Minerva and those seated there, but he took out his wand as he turned to face the students. Holding the wand to his neck, his words carried to everyone in the hall. "I, Lord Henry James Potter, swear on my life and magic that I did not enter my name for the Triwizard Tournament, and nor did I willingly or knowingly have anyone else enter my name for this Tournament!"
They saw the flash as the oath was accepted, and then he raised the wand and cried out. "Lumos!" As they tried to blink away the effects of the blinding light that had erupted from his wand, anyone in the Hall who was capable of reason had to concede that he'd just proven that he did not enter himself into the Tournament. By the time their vision had cleared, Harry was in the chamber with the other Champions.
The chamber was a little crowded with the four Ministry officials, the three Heads of School, Filius and Aurora, Sirius and Ulfr, plus Madam Bones and the team that she'd somehow already arrived with to look into who had tampered with the selection of the Champions, and why. Abbott's accusations that Potter must have cheated were expected, but Minerva had no trouble shooting him down. "Are you an idiot Abbott? Did you not just witness the magical oath that Lord Potter just gave quite publicly to prove that he not only didn't enter himself, he had no part in getting anyone else to enter him?"
Amelia cut off any response from Abbott by requesting the parchment used to enter Harry, and she snorted when she looked at it. "This is neither Lord Potter's handwriting or how he styles his name, and does this Rowan Academy for Witches even exist?"
There was a brief delay while one of the DMLE Officers was sent to check on the Academy, and Fleur tried to lighten the mood a little. "A Witches Academy? Is this something that your betrothed should know about My Lord?"
When Minerva responded with. "There are no doubt many things that you have yet to learn about your betrothed Mademoiselle Delacour, but that is something that you need not worry about." everyone but Sirius, Amelia and Filius stared at her in shock. She gave the others a disdainful look before she added as if in confidence to Fleur. "I looked after him many times when he was a baby and had to change him more than a few times."
That made Fleur give a mischievous giggle and Harry an exasperated groan.
The DMLE Officer came back with confirmation that the Rowan Academy for Witches had existed, but it had closed down over a hundred and fifty years ago. They knew that there was little chance of getting Harry out of this, but Amelia had to make at least a token gesture. "As it is obvious that this entry was not made by Lord Potter and he has proven this by the oath he gave, what must be done to get him out of this Tournament?"
Most people may have been fooled by the Abbott's regretful tone when he replied, but Amelia wasn't most people, and she heard the note of triumph that he was unable to keep out of it as he said. "I am afraid that if his entry was actually sealed with Lord Potter's blood, he must compete in the Tournament until the end or he will lose his life and his magic."
Pandemonium reigned in the chamber for some time, because just about everyone was shouting at Abbott. Harry and most of the others on his side remained clear headed enough to note that the only ones who this news came as no surprise to and didn't seem bothered by it were Abbott or Lestrange, which clearly showed who had been behind it, even if proving that would be well nigh impossible.
This made sense to Harry when he thought about it, as they knew that the Fudge and his camp wanted him dead, because they obviously believed that the Potter Alliance would fall apart without the last Potter. From what they'd learned, it appeared that elements of the French Ministry, possibly the Minister himself, also had a similar agenda in regard to Fleur. Their plan appeared to be to kill off Louis's daughter, the Veela Heir to the House of Delacour, in an attempt to undermine Louis, the House of Delacour and the Veelas.
The only Ministry which didn't seem to have been part of this plan to kill off the participants in the Tournament was the Bulgarians. This too made sense, as they were blatantly trying to use Krum's notoriety as the youngest professional Quidditch player at a national level in centuries to boost Bulgaria's image. When Abbott came to them about the Triwizard Tournament, they would have seen this as the perfect vehicle to make even more use of Krum's reputation, which of course was why he had been forced to enter himself into the Tournament.
The Bulgarian Ministry had probably been hoping to find some way to ensure that Krum won the Triwizard Tournament, and then in turn use that to further bolster Bulgaria's image. None of this would be possible if Viktor lost his magic and, even worse, died as a result of some error that prevented him from finishing the tournament! This was why the Bulgarian official was outraged, because he now realised that the other two had played him for a fool and betrayed him, and he would pay for being so gullible when he returned to Bulgaria.
Karkaroff was similarly worried about what would happen to him if Bulgaria's favourite son died as a result of something he was partly responsible for him being in, but Madame Maxime was honestly upset and outraged that Fleur's very life was being threatened by being in this Tournament. Minerva and Sirius were furious, and wanted to kill Abbott for putting Harry in this position. Amelia was in much the same space as them, but she realised that they couldn't do anything without proof, and the bastard seemed to have been too careful for much chance of that.
She knew the answer to this question from the look on Abbott's face, but they had to be sure, so she called for Poppy Pomfrey to quickly confirm that it was, in fact, Harry's blood that had been used to seal the entry. The DMLE would of course run extensive tests on the blood as well, but Poppy's confirmation would be all the proof she needed.
It proved prudent to not tell Poppy why she was doing this test until after she'd given her result, because when she heard what this had sentenced Harry to, she broke down so completely that she had to be carried from the chamber. Andi, Hermione and Alastor were called to the chamber to be told the news after that, and Hermione and Andi broke down when they heard as well, as they'd been expecting to hear that Harry would lose his magic, but not his life.
Amelia demanded to see the rules of the Tournament, but for the most part these just said that the rules were whatever was in the Goblet of Fire. While Abbott and Lestrange wouldn't reveal anything, the newly disillusioned Krakov told them that Abbott had the documentation that determined what could be done with the Goblet and how. Abbott was refusing to release this to them until Amelia unleashed Hermione and Sirius on him. He'd half expected Black to be frightening after ten years in Azkaban, but somehow the fury and palpable menace from that little witch was even more terrifying!
When Abbott produced the instructions for the Goblet, Hermione snatched them off of him and Amelia waved the others back, because if anyone would be able to get to the bottom of this, it was Hermione. Before she went off to a corner to wade into the document, Hermione whispered to Amelia to get confirmation on record from all four officials that only those who had reached their majority were allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Amelia didn't understand the reason for this, but she had stopped questioning Harry and Hermione over a year ago, so she just nodded.
She questioned Abbott, Lestrange, Krakov and Bagman while Hermione was poring through the instructions for the Goblet, and Abbot and Lestrange were distracted enough by the worry of what Hermione may find out that they also gave the confirmation that yes, only those who had reached their majority were allowed to compete in the Tournament. Abbott did become suspicious enough to ask why she was asking this, and why their responses were being recorded, but Amelia just waved the Tournament rules and said that she was required to confirm what was in here.
The Goblet of Fire had been brought back into the chamber while Amelia was questioning the officials, and just after this, Hermione jumped up in triumph and raced over to Minerva, telling her that as one of the Heads of School she could use her blood to make the Goblet answer questions about what rules and tasks had been put into it. She warned her that the questions had to be precise, and she could only ask a question once.
The limitation of only being able to ask one question on a given topic hampered them getting the information they wanted. For example, they got confirmation that the Champions would lose their magic, and probably their lives, if they failed to complete all three tasks or were deemed to be cheating. However, the hasty question about what the tasks were was answered with 'The first task involves facing dragons. The second task involves recovering something from the bottom of the lake. The third task involves getting past obstacles to negotiate a maze.' which didn't tell them anything more than they already knew, and further detail couldn't be asked for.
When the three Heads of School demanded that the tasks be changed (As Minerva had seen how these tasks had gone last time in Harry and Hermione's memories. Olympe knew that as a Veela, Fleur would be weakened and vulnerable under water, and Karkaroff didn't believe that Krum could survive facing a dragon.) it was Hermione who shook her head, telling them that once the tasks had been put into the Goblet, they couldn't be changed from what had been entered.
A question about who had entered Harry Potter was answered with 'Lord Harry Potter', so they realised that the Cup could only tell them what name had been entered into it. They tried asking who the Head of School for Rowan Academy for Witches was, hoping that Abbott may have slipped up, but the answer was 'Agnes Woodcroft', who the officer who had been sent to check confirmed had been the last Headmistress at Rowan.
When the questions and arguments died down, Bagman started bouncing with excitement about giving the Champions their instructions for the first task. Wearing his old over tight Wasps Quidditch robes in some desperate attempt to hang onto his long gone glory days, Hermione and Harry were reminded of a fatter and less appealing Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, while Minerva was heard muttering 'I wonder if you could knock any sense into that thick head of his with a beater's bat?' and a confused Madame Maxine asked. "Is this truly the head of a department in your Ministry?"
Eventually, Abbott bowed to pressure to respond. "This task was meant to be unknown as a test of whether they would face it with the courage of true Champions, but that was ruined because they cheated and so have found out that they cannot refuse the task and that they will be facing dragons. By rights, they should all be declared cheaters and accept their punishment..."
He looked up, as if waiting for lightning bolts from the Gods to strike them all down, but gave up with a disgruntled huff after a while and continued. "So I'm not going to tell them anything more about the first task other than it will be held in a month's time." With that, he turned and stormed out of the chamber.
While Amelia still had to question the rest of them, Harry and Fleur had already been questioned, so they and the others were sent back to the Tower. An hour later, Amelia and Kingsley arrived via the trunk floo, bringing the Tournament rules, Goblet instructions and the transcripts of her questioning of the Ministry officials because she wanted some answers from Hermione in the privacy of the Tower. Ted had been there for a while, going over their stories in hope of finding some legal solution to the issues.
Amelia started as soon as she walked in. Nothing else in this held the faintest shred of hope for Harry or Fleur, so she was praying that whatever Hermione was working in did. "Alight, why did you get me to ask them those questions Hermione? Is it some way to get Harry and Fleur out of this?"
Hermione shook her head. "Sorry, no, it was something that came up last time. Harry and Professor McGonagall were arguing with Crouch about how the rules stated that you have to be of age to compete in the Tournament and Harry wasn't of age so he wasn't allowed to compete. Crouch got angry and shouted that yes, you had to have reached maturity to compete in the Tournament but Harry was competing and that was that! Bagman repeated this in some attempt to calm them down, and afterwards the goblins found an old rule that said that a minor could be emancipated early if two senior Ministry officials officially stated that they had met the conditions for early emancipation. The memories of Crouch and Bagman, as the heads of two departments in the Ministry, stating in a meeting for the Tournament that anyone in the Tournament had reached their majority and that Harry was in the Tournament was deemed by the Registration Office as sufficient evidence that Harry had met the conditions and they formally processed his emancipation. That was when Gringott told Harry that he was the Heir to the Houses of Potter, Peverell and Gryffindor and convinced him to accept the title of Lord Potter to start taking charge of his life….."
She suddenly stopped and tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered something else. "And it was just after that when Harry began his sexual relationship with Ginny and I gave in and started having sex with Ronald, so Dumbledore must have discovered Harry's change of status and told Molly step up the love and lust potions for all of us to ensure that Harry and I were under their control….." Harry put his arm around her to comfort her, even though he was looking upset himself by his own memories. She leant into him as she continued.
"Anyway, I had you include Lestrange and Krakov in the questioning so that Abbott wouldn't think to ask why only the British Ministry officials were being questioned about it. I wanted to get their statements on record so we can use them to get Harry officially emancipated again. That will mean that he has the ability to do magic, get an apparation license and all the other freedoms that come with emancipation. We should do the same for Fleur too because in Britain she won't of age for nearly a year yet either."
Amelia shook her head at that, not mentioning the first thing that came to her mind, that Harry and Ron had been fourteen at that point, Hermione was fifteen but Ginny was just thirteen! Even leaving the ages of the other kids out of it, what kind of woman could do that to her own thirteen year old daughter? What she said though was.
"In the middle of all of that was going on, you could think to cover details like that? You're incredible Hermione! OK, I'll get them both registered as emancipated tomorrow. Now, is there anything that we can use to get them out of this damned Tournament?"
Hermione shook her head again, in tears. "No, we knew that Poppy was going to confirm that the blood was Harry's, the only question there is how that bastard Abbott got his blood, and Fleur was pressured into entering herself. The rules have confirmed that they have to participate in all three tasks or they'll die, so all we can do is help them prepare. Harry's been working on that for fourteen months now and Fleur has been as well for over two months, so that's a start. Fleur being a Veela and Harry being a parselmouth gives them an advantage too, as Fleur is as close to fireproof as she can get and Harry will hopefully be able to negotiate with the dragons. Harry is also more powerful than just about anyone else alive, which won't hurt."
Sue had reacted about something Hermione said in this last statement, but she waited until Hermione finished to blurt out one word. "Hannah!"
That got their attention but they didn't understand what she was getting at yet. "Hannah must be how he got Harry's blood. She's been hanging around a lot since we started back, supposedly trying to be friends again, but she must have looking for a chance to get something with Harry's blood on it. Once she had the blood, it would have been a simple matter for her to put a stasis charm on it and give it to Daddy."
As much as they didn't want to, they all found themselves agreeing with this, as it was the only thing that made any sense.
As promised, Amelia got Harry and Fleur's emancipations quietly registered the next day, and Harry had the trace removed from his wand. As they could both apparate, they took their tests and were licensed for that as well.
The following month was busy, as they were working on their plans for the first task as well as studying. Fleur had decided to stretch herself and join the NEWT group, as she had already covered most of the Fifth year subjects because she had been studying ahead. They made arrangements via Griselda for her to secretly sit her OWLs, and then she started on the Sixth year subjects with Penny, Hagrid, Harry and Hermione straight away.
They also heard from Charlie that the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary where he worked was supplying the four nesting mother dragons that they were bringing in, and that they were a Welsh Green, Swedish Short-Snout, Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail. When he heard what the dragons would be, Harry knew that there was no doubt about which one he'd be getting, the Horntail was the biggest and most vicious of the breeds, so that one would have been hand picked to be paired with him.
For that matter, it was a good bet that the Welsh Green, as the 'safest' breed, would be paired with Flint as the selection criteria for Hogwarts must have been altered to stack the odds heavily in his favour for him to be selected as the Hogwarts Champion, because there was no way he had managed that on his own abilities.
If they had what they needed to set up a match for Fleur, his guess was that the Short-Snout would be paired with her, as that was the next most dangerous dragon breed they were bringing after the Horntail.
When he stopped to think about it, Harry realised that they must all have been pre-selected by their Ministries to be the Champions for their schools (well, they had effectively created a school to get him into the Tournament). The French Ministry had made too much effort to get Fleur in, between adding her to the delegates list and threatening both her and Louis, to have allowed anyone else to be selected as the Beauxbatons Champion, so they would have set it up to make sure she was selected. The Bulgarian Ministry had obviously done something similar with Krum, except that the intention in his case seemed to be to showcase him as a publicity stunt, rather than kill him.
Of course, he and Fleur did have two very big advantages, the first being that they could go and see these dragons before they came to Hogwarts, but the main one was that he could talk to the dragons and try to convince them that he and Fleur had no intentions of harming them or their eggs. Hopefully he could agree a way with the dragons to ensure that. They made a few visits via trunk floo to the Dragon Sanctuary before the mothers were shipped to Hogwarts, and they were feeling a lot more comfortable about dealing with the dragons after that. Harry smiled to himself as he thought that if this came off as they'd planned, a lot of people were going be disappointed about the first task.
Charlie came to see them when he arrived with the dragons. He did offer an olive branch to Percy, Ron and Ginny, but they rebuffed his overtures of reconciliation, so he happily spent what time he could with his real family.
On the day of the first task, they were all surprised to see Gabrielle there with Louis, Apolline, and Apolline's mother, Anne Lafitte. Even at her age, Anne was a beautiful woman, and Harry and Hermione could sense that she was extremely powerful, far more so than Apolline or anyone else they had met, even Dumbledore hadn't felt this powerful.
When Harry asked Louis what he was doing bringing Gabi to the Tournament, Louis replied that she was safest with all of them and the guards around her, and that her Grand-mère had demanded that she be there when she was officially introduced to the man her petite filles were betrothed to. Louis leaned in to add quietly that his mother-in-law was not someone that you said no to.
Anne insisted on seeing Harry and all of his betrothed together, and she looked strangely satisfied when she did so. Apolline also had a strange expression on her face as she looked at them as a group, and something told Harry that they were seeing something that others did not. He caught a thought from Hermione about something that he'd missed, and wondered about the implications of that, as with Fleur and Gabi added in, there were now seven of them. This led to the obvious question of whether the magical number seven would actually effect their magic and that brought up memories of what he and Hermione could do together. If the seven of them together brought forth equivalent increases in power….. the very thought of what could be unleashed was frightening.
All of the families were sent away to watch the task from the stands when the Ministry officials came into the tent. Abbott held out a small bag and sneered as he said. "Ladies first." to Fleur. It as as Harry had expected, they could see considerable activity in the bag, then Fleur jerked her hand out with a miniature facsimile of the Swedish Short-Snout, wearing a number '2', attached to her finger.
Abbott gave a malicious smile as he held out the bag to Harry and said. "I think we should go youngest to oldest for the gentlemen, Mister Potter?"
Harry felt something latch onto his finger and when he withdrew his hand, the facsimile of the Horntail with a number '4' was hanging off his finger. Krum was also bitten when he put his hand into the bag, but his hand came out clutching the Fireball wearing a number '3'. Flint had the Welsh Green wearing the number '1' attached to his finger when he jerked his hand out of the bag, so it was all as Harry had expected.
Flint went out first, and Harry smiled to himself as he listened to what happened over the communications mirror he was concealing in his robes. The judges and most of the spectators were confused, disappointed and outraged when the dragon scooped the foreign egg out from among her own eggs and cast it away from them before curling protectively around her real eggs. Even Flint wasn't stupid enough to take on a dragon when there was no need, so he ran out, snatched up the golden egg and ran away as fast as he could.
The crowd was booing and demanding more of a show, but when Abbott demanded that the dragon handlers do something to make the dragons put on the type of show that people were expecting, he suddenly found himself facing a very frightening figure as the one leading the dragon handlers told him that if anyone tried to do anything like that, they'd be cursed into oblivion!
Olaf Drakul was from a long line of dragon handlers, and he was the Head Handler for the world's biggest Dragon Sanctuary because the dragons recognised and related to the fact that he respected and cared for them. He and Charlie were the only ones from the Sanctuary who knew why these nesting mothers had come quietly and caused no trouble on this trip, and he wasn't about to allow anything to threaten this peace, or the nesting mothers and their eggs.
It was only when Charlie introduced him to this boy, Harry, who turned out to be one of the ones these dragons were being taken to Britain for, as well as one of the most powerful political figures in Britain, and a parselmouth that Olaf began to understand what was going on. When Harry had explained the situation to him, he was only too willing to have him talk to the dragons and try and work out a solution that would keep them and their eggs safe, as the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary had objected strongly to the idea of nesting mothers being used in a contest of this nature, but they had been forced to buckle under considerable political pressure and eventually capitulated.
Harry had introduced the dragons to Hermione and Fleur, explaining that Fleur was also part of this contest, and between them they told them (and Olaf and Charlie) what they believed would be happening in the contest. They explained that fake eggs would most probably be put among their own, and that the contestants would be told that they had to recover these fake eggs from them, this was the only thing that could explain the need for nesting mothers. So, the best way to prevent them or their eggs being hurt would be to separate these fake eggs from their own and throw them away, and then protect their own eggs until they were taken away.
Now that they were in the first task, that was exactly what happened. The Green found the foreign egg and got it well away from her's, and then protected her eggs until the handlers came to take her and her eggs away. As she passed the Short-Snout being led in, she trumpeted at her that it was just as the speaker had said, all she had to do was get rid of the foreign egg and then protect her own eggs until she was taken away again.
The Short-Snout quickly rooted out the fake egg and got rid of it, but she was comforted to see that the one she faced was one of the Speaker's mates. At the signal to begin, Fleur gracefully moved forward and curtsied respectfully to the dragon, getting a nod of her head in return. With that, Fleur picked up the golden egg and calmly walked from the stadium with another curtsy to the dragon.
Harry and Krum were alone in the Champions tent except for Ulfr when Fleur left, so Harry went to speak to him. "Viktor, when you go out there, as long as you don't attack the dragon you'll be fine. The dragon will have thrown the golden egg away from her nest, so all you have to do is get the egg and leave."
Krum looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know this?"
The quickest way to do this was let him hear for himself, so Harry took the mirror out of his pocket and raised the volume. Krum heard exactly what Harry had told him being described, and Bagman complaining that it was just like the first time. Harry asked him to keep it quiet and play along, and if he did that he'd try to explain afterwards. Viktor nodded at that, because he'd been terrified of facing a dragon, as any sane person would have been.
Krum's turn played out much like Fleur's, except he marched out and bowed stiffly when he collected the egg. Harry followed in kind, though rather less rigid than Viktor. The Horntail trumpeted at him that the dragons wished to see him before they were returned to their home and he bowed to her again.
After the Horntail and her eggs had been taken away, the four Champions assembled in front of the judging panel (the three Heads of International Magical Co-operation, Bagman and the three heads of School).
Abbott just raged at them, saying that he was going to declare the task invalid because they had all cheated, and they should pay the price for cheating. At that Louis stood up in the stands and cast a sonorous.
"I do not think so Monsieur Abbott! The task specified that the contestants must each recover a golden egg that had been placed with one of the dragons, and they have each done so!"
The reply was shouted. "No they didn't! Those Merlin be damned dragons threw the eggs out and they just picked them up, there was no contest! No Magic!"
"And why do you think the dragons threw the eggs out, as you say? Are you so much of an imbécile that you cannot work out what magic was used?"
"What do you mean, they used no magic! They just walked in and took the eggs the dragons gave them!"
Louis was obviously exasperated as he asked. "And what magic talent do you think could have brought these strange occurrences about?"
Harry had had enough of this, so he cast his own sonorous. "Parseltongue!"
Abbott and just about everyone else was staring at him then, dumbstruck. "I talked to the dragons and explained to them that the best way to keep them and their eggs safe was to throw out the eggs that someone else had put in their nests and then wait to be taken away. I'd say that worked out quite well, because no-one was hurt and that is a big improvement over what happened the last time dragons were used in this tournament."
Abbott was pointing at him and screaming. "Dark Wizard! Cheat! I'll have you for this Potter!"
It was as if the temperature had dropped when Harry replied, still using the sonorous. "I don't think so Abbott. For a start, parseltongue is only considered a dark talent in Britain and at that only for the last century or so. I've been offered quite a lot of money to help the Dragon Reserves with my talent. As for cheating, the definition of cheating is using something to gain unfair advantage, how did I gain any advantage when this allowed all of the Champions to succeed without risking life and limb? And last, but certainly not least, this is the last time that you will be allowed to disrespect your betters like this!"
He turned to the stands. "Madam Bones, you have witnessed this verbal assault against the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and the Noble and Ancient House of Flamel, have you not?"
"Indeed I have Lord Potter!"
"In your professional opinion, would I be justified in calling for retribution against the Noble House of Abbott for this attack?"
"I believe that you would Lord Potter, and I am prepared to raise the matter in the Wizengamot on your behalf if you so wish?"
"If you would, Madam Bones, that would be greatly appreciated. I thank you."
"Not at all My Lord, after all, you are a very pillar of our society and we cannot condone attacks against such as you by such inferior houses." While she was talking to Harry (and the audience), she was fixing Abbott with a look that said he'd pay for what he did, and he was bright enough to realise that she meant more than just today.
Louis spoke up again. "Also, Monsieur Abbott, you should know that I have sponsored the complaint that the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary is taking to the ICW about their being forced to put four specific nesting mothers and their eggs at risk by supplying them for use in this contest in Britain, where it is illegal to import dragons. The scope of this complaint will include the Romanian officials who were convinced to bring political pressure to bear on the Sanctuary to force them to capitulate, but will be mainly focussed on the organisers of the reinstated Triwizard Tournament. As Comte Potter has mentioned, there will also be questions asked about why the organisers have insisted on a task that required the inclusion of multiple dragons, nesting mothers no less, when it had been a catastrophe involving dragons that was the reason the Triwizard Tournament was banned two hundred years ago. Another matter will be added after today, in regard to the fact that you insisted that something be done to make these dragons react more aggressively. We have made the first steps to a more peaceful co-existence with the dragons, but your attempt to force something that would have put nesting mothers and their eggs at risk could have destroyed that!"
Harry and the family were probably the only ones who weren't surprised when Marcus Flint got the second highest score for the first task, considering his cowardly display (he had done everything but scream like a little girl, and it was all the more obvious because he was the biggest and oldest of the Champions). Nor were they surprised that Harry and Fleur shared the lowest score. Not that they cared though, if every task was this boring and uneventful, they would quite happy, but they knew that that was too much to hope for.
The dragons (and Olaf) mainly wanted to thank Harry for ensuring that their eggs were safe. They also got him to agree to visit the Sanctuary more often and talk to them. Olaf warned Harry that he would be trying to organise a 'speaking tour' of the Dragon Reserves for him in hope of generating a more peaceful co-existence between the dragons and the humans, and wiping out the memories of the last one who spoke to the dragons, as that had been Voldemort thirty or forty years before.
Hannah Abbott stopped trying to hang around their group after Sue hissed at her. "If I ever find any proof at all that you were the one who took something with Harry's blood on it to your father, I will fucking end you!"
The animosity from the Abbott family only increased after they lost a third of their holdings and worth to the House of Potter for the very public verbal attack and false accusations that Martin Abbott had flung at Harry at the end of the first task. If course Abbott wouldn't accept that the fault in this incident had been his, so that just strengthened his resolve to attack Harry.
The announcement of the Yule Ball that was being held for the Tournament on the Winter Solstice had many students at Hogwarts quite excited, but Harry grumped that they could afford to be excited, because they weren't being required to be there! Minerva had informed him that all the Champions were expected to attend and dance the first dance with their dates, and she didn't leave him with any option to get out of it.
When he talked it over with the girls, they agreed to shake things up, with Fleur going as his official 'date' but Hermione, Millie, Daphne and Astoria also going with him, and he'd be spending as much time with them as he did with Fleur. This practice of taking all their betrothed to the Ball was going to be adopted by the rest of the 'family' as well, though Penny and Dora were coming together as their betrothed weren't at Hogwarts. It was agreed that all of the girls would get equal time dancing with the boys, though the boys would be on the dance floor twice as much as they had a two for one girl to boy ratio.
Another amusing point was that, in an obvious attempt to exclude most of the group, Abbott had insisted that with the exception of the Champions, it was to be restricted to Fourth Year and above students. As the Ministry paid no attention to their achievements, they hadn't realised that they were all in Fourth Year or above, even the eleven year olds, Luna and Astoria.