Chapter 7 A Fount of Knowledge
Thanks to darrelldeam and alix33 for looking this over. All mistakes are my own, feel free to point them out.
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The six boys stepped into the throne room and looked around, all ready to run or fight if something happened. Harry, Jean and Zack lifted their wands, Zeeb lifted his bow and Jake cracked his knuckles. Though the half-giant could do magic, he never had lessons. He didn't even have a wand; they were waiting for a wand maker to move to the city from Russia. Player looked around the room at all the precious metal and marble, a small glint in his eyes.
Now that they were getting a closer look they could see that some of the décor was silver and bronze. The gold was just more predominating. But now the torchlight was causing the whole room to shine. There were very few shadows, but the playing of the flames made the statues look almost alive. A gentle wind picked up and tossed the golden dust around, making the room glitter. They watched the shadows play off the statues and armaments, but other than the wind there was nothing. They all let out a sigh of relief.
"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about," Player sneered at them, making Harry raise an eyebrow at the shorter boy. The half-goblin just huffed and folded his arms.
"Right, let's see if there's anything here," Harry said, going up to one of the statues and admiring the workmanship. The fine detail of the jewels and face made him wish he had known this person when they were alive. The man he was examining had a kind face and was hold scrolls in his marble arms. Harry wondered if it was done by magic and if it was could he learn it.
The boys separated and explored the room.
Jake took in the armaments on the wall. He tried to remove a silver sword, but it didn't budge, so he moved on, taking in the shields with their unknown crest and swirling designs.
Zeeb was admiring the pillars, wondering where they got the marble from. As far as he knew there wasn't any in the Amazon.
Zack and Jean examined the statues and were also thinking about how good the artist was and who these people were and what happened to them.
Player was searching the walls for hidden doors and soon the other teens joined him. Maybe there was more treasure in the pyramid. The adults were always going on about how the economy was so low, if they found treasure that should make the citizens stop whinging. They knocked on the walls and looked for cracks. They found some areas that rang hollow, but couldn't find an opening. They looked harder and started to get frustrated at their lack of success.
The six explorers searched the room for anything interesting for the better part of a half an hour. Then Player, not finding any openings, abandoned the search and being the more rash of them went up to the throne. He called them all over. "Look at the runes," the half-goblin said. "Does anyone know what they say?"
The other four teens jogged over looked at the runes and shook their heads.
"Sirius says an old language," Harry stated as he continued to examine the large chair. The gold almost glowed it was so polished. The red cushions looked soft and inviting. The jewels twinkled in the torchlight reflecting color into their eyes. It made Harry wonder how this room was so pristine when the rest of the city had been in ruins.
Player got a devious look on his face and jumped up in to the seat, "I'm king of the world," he proclaimed, lifting his arms in a victory sign.
Harry's breath had caught when he saw his friend sit on the throne; now that nothing happened he released it and laughed with everyone else.
"You are not," Jean said with a smirk. "I am ze king of ze world." He pulled the shorter boy off the chair and also sat.
All of the boys laughed and started wrestling on who would sit next. Zack removed Jean, Zeeb tackled Zack and then had to concede defeat to the larger boy in the group. Jake was hard to move, so Harry cast a tickling hex on him and when the half-giant boy fell off the chair, laughing, Harry jumped into the seat.
Unlike the other boys though the throne did something, the runes on it started to glow blue. The wind started to blow stronger, kicking up more dust. Everyone started yelling at Harry to get down.
Then the doors slammed shut with a loud boom, and the five boys ran over to see if they could open them, but to no avail.
"Get Sirius," Harry yelled, very worried. He tried to get out of the chair, but he was stuck fast. He could feel his magic draining to power the runes. Then voices started speaking in his head. He didn't understand them at first, and then they started to make sense. He was still struggling to get free. He arms and legs held fast to the throne.
The other boys continued to try and open the golden doors. They were pulling, pushing and pounding on them, yelling for help at the top of their lungs. When they realized the doors would not open they went back to the dazed Harry and again tried to get him off the throne.
The wind continued to blow and the dust started creating a whirlwind, which encompassed the golden chair.
Harry's breath started coming out in pants, his mind was being overflowed with knowledge and his head started to hurt. The voices were telling Harry about their magic and giving him the information on how to charge the ward stone, what it did and how it would be useful. They were also relaying the story on why they abandoned the city. He could still feel his magic draining and tried harder to get out of the bloody chair.
Jake fought through the wind, made it to the throne and grabbed the stuck teen by the shoulders and gave a mighty tug, only to be thrown into a wall and slumping over. The other boys ran to the half-giant to see if he was okay, they all let out a great sighed when he groaned and sat up.
The runes started pulsing and then a great burst of power emerged. The huge wind expanded through the room, knocking the other teens into the walls.
Still the old leaders imparted their lessons to Harry. He now knew everything that was needed to protect the city.
The golden doors were flung open and people started to pour in. Having heard the boom reverberate around the city, they had run up the stairs as quickly as they could only to be thwarted by the doors, now they piled into the room. They all stopped at the scene of the stunned young wizard sitting on the glowing throne, gold dust whirling around him in the wind.
"Harry!" Sirius shouted as he ran forward to grab his godson off that chair. A silver shield formed and stopped him. He banged on it and continued to call Harry's name and then stepped back and started trying to take it down. He threw every curse he knew to dismantle wards and was getting more and more frustrated as nothing worked. Others joined his efforts, but were unsuccessful.
"The little wizard is unharmed," the voice said from their left, making everyone whirl around to face the new threat.
A ghost of a man stepped from a statue. He was tall and well-muscled. His long hair hung down his back. His face was like granite with a firm chin and predominate cheek bones. He had on a headdress of what appeared to be gold and jewels, and wore a long loincloth. Bracers adorned his upper arms and necklaces spilled down his chest. This had once been a man of great power. He was staring at Harry with a look of triumph in his eyes.
"Who are you? Do you have anything to do with this? Can you help him? Or are you the reason for him being behind that shield? If you've hurt my godson, so help me I'll end you," Sirius snapped, lifting his wand to the apparition. Those that could do magic did the same while those that couldn't, watched helplessly. Jake stood next to his friends, making a fist as if by determination alone he could protect Harry. Zack and Jean raised their wands, Zeeb pointed his bow, and Player was standing next to his mum, a curious look on his face.
"I am Melo, the guardian of this city and my time is short. Your godson has passed my test and is now being rewarded. Once it is done I will leave this plane and you may have your paradise," the ghost said as he continued to watch Harry. "Guard it well and live prosper. Do not fall as we once did." There was a hint of remorse in those ghostly eyes as he looked to Zeeb.
"What did you do to Harry?" Sirius demanded as he stepped forward, every Dark curse he knew to banish ghosts was on the tip of his tongue.
"Harry will be the fount of the knowledge you seek to keep this city safe," Melo said with a smirk.
"You had no right to thrust that on him. He is just a kid." Sirius moved forward and started casting banishment spells, only to have them batted away by a flick of the ghost's hand.
"He will be more pure now than when he started," the specter said, turning back to stare at the young wizard.
Just then an eerie cry came from the spellbound teen. His head was thrown back as if in pain, his scar split and dark smoke poured out of it. The high pitched scream that came from that wraith like mist made more than a few cringe with fear. When the noise stopped and the black cloud disappeared, Harry slumped and started falling off the throne. The wind died and shield vanished. Sirius and others rushed forward to catch the unconscious boy.
"My task is complete. Harry Potter will be fine. His soul is pure and there is no longer any taint on him," Melo said as a white light started to form around him. "Enjoy my gift." And with that he was gone, but other spirits started coming from the statues.
Sirius hefted the unconscious Harry up and made his way to their home. Others followed and soon the throne room emptied, no one wanting to take the chances of being tested. They needed curse breakers to clean this temple, so the kids wouldn't do this again.
It was three days before Harry woke to a very concerned and upset godfather sitting by his bed. At the look on the older man's face, Harry groaned knowing he was going to be in deep trouble.
"First off, how do you feel?" Sirius asked, his arms folded over his chest, but his voice was soft. The healers had confirmed that Harry would be alright, now he was more angry than worried. He had talked to Harry's friends and got the story of what they did. He was disappointed, but knew they were just being kids.
"I'm fine," came Harry's standard answer as he struggled to sit.
"No, you're not," barked his godfather as he helped him upright and then grabbed the teen and hugged him tightly. Then he took Harry by the shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. "You've been out for three days and your magic is depleted to hazardous levels. You won't even be able to do a levitation charm for weeks. Just what the bloody hell were you thinking?" he all but yelled, resisting the urge to start shaking the boy.
"We were just messing around. We didn't do anything wrong. Every one sat on that great bloody chair before I did, nothing happened to them," Harry yelled back, his arms folded and his eyes flashed. Who did Sirius think he was yelling at him when he hadn't done anything to warrant it?
"Then they were just as bloody irresponsible as you were. Dammit, Harry, I told you to wait for the curse breakers. I would've taken you guys there once it was cleared. You should've listened to me." Sirius stood and started pacing. He had no idea how to handle this; he had never had to discipline anyone before.
"I know," Harry said quietly, now realizing why Sirius was mad. He was old enough not to bow to peer pressure, but the throne room was just so wicked. All those gold and silver weapons and shields on the walls. The awesome pillars and statues. The great bloody gold and jeweled chair. It was just too tempting to pass up. "Is everyone else okay?" he asked trying to change the subject.
"Don't even think for one minute you're going to get out of this, but, yes, they're all fine." He waved away the concern; the only two that had been hurt was Harry and Jake, but the half-giant only got a bump on the head.
"Sirius," Harry said softly, "I really didn't think I was doing anything wrong." He tried again to get his godfather to see he hadn't meant to get hurt.
"I know," the older man deflated into his chair. "Harry, I am glad you're okay, but seeing you on that throne and not being able to get to you scared ten years off my life. I told you not to go into the temple. You disobeyed me and got yourself hurt. I need you to listen to me, okay? I only want you to be safe." His worry was shown in those grey eyes.
"So what now?" Harry asked, knowing his was still in trouble.
"You're grounded. For two weeks. No friends. No exploring. Only school and then back home," Sirius said, folding his arms as if to challenge the boy to fight with him.
"What?!" Harry yelled, never having been grounded before, unless you count the times he had been locked in his cupboard or room, but this was different. The Dursleys locked him up for things he didn't know how to control. Now he was being punished for something he did do, didn't feel that two weeks was fair. He hated the thought of not being able to play with his friends or go exploring.
"You heard me. Your friends are also grounded, since they were stupid enough to go in the temple. Well Player is grounded for a month, for goading you guys, which made his mum furious." That goblin was not someone Sirius wanted to tangle with. When she found out that Player was instrumental in making the gang go into danger, she went on a rampage that made Molly Weasley seem docile. Sirius, however, blamed the teen in front of him. Harry should have done what he was told and left the damn temple alone. He cursed the Dursleys for the boy's lack of upbringing, which in turn made him not listen to adults.
"What am I supposed to do for two weeks," Harry asked defeated, feeling slightly guilty that his friends were also being punished. If he hadn't given the go-ahead then they would have found something else to do that wasn't against the rules.
"I suggest you write down all that knowledge that weird ghost, Melo, said you were given so the council and I can continue to charge the ward stone," his godfather answered in a neutral voice. "You might as well put it to good use. Also, we've got curse breakers now. It was top priority while you were out. You can tell them what they will find in the temple," his godfather answered, still trying to get his anger under control.
"Right, I'll start that as soon as I eat," Harry grumbled. Great now I have extra homework to do.
"We'll talk about it some more, when you can get up and around," his godfather said, not giving an inch.
"Right, so I'm bedridden then?"
"For another week," Sirius shrugged.
"Bloody hell," the teen said. He hated to be confined to bed, though he did feel a little weak. It was a good thing Madam Pomfrey wasn't here. She was strict as anything. Maybe whoever was looking out for him was kinder.
"It's your own fault," his godfather said dismissively.
"Right. Food?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.
"Dobby will bring you something," Sirius said, getting off his chair and heading towards the door. He stopped his hand on the knob. "I really am glad you're okay, but it could have been far worse. Harry, you've got to stop doing things like this." Then he shook his head and left.
After Harry got a bowl of cold cereal from a very irate Dobby, who also took him to task, he took pen to paper and started writing out what runes needed to be activated and how.
A few hours passed and Sirius calmed down and told him he was sorry for losing his temper, but warned him if he ever did something so reckless again, he would be grounded for a year.
The healer, Cathy Smite, came that night. She waved her wand around and stated he would be fine in a few days, but to stick to the bed for the next week. She was a nice lady who looked a lot like Professor Sprout, but without all the plants in her hat or hair. She was kinder that Pomfrey, but firm that he was bedridden until such time as he could stand on his own. Since he needed help to the loo, he was stuck.
In the following days, Harry did as Sirius suggested and wrote everything he could think of about the ward stone. When they got it to full power there would be better protections and the weather wards would be stronger.
These wards will keep the rainforest humid, the grass planes cool and the city would have seasons, though the sun will never shine as harshly as it does on the rest of South America, because it was defused by the dome. Farms and gardens will be bountiful with the weather wards at their peak.
The curse breakers came that week, wanting to pick his brain. He told them there were no more curses on the temple. But there were maze like taverns in the pyramid, which housed treasure and scrolls. To get past them they had to complete puzzles and find hidden doors. They thanked him and left. When he asked Sirius how whatever was found was going to be divided, he was told to let the leaders worry about it, which caused Harry to protest. Sirius was firm in his resolve; Harry was to stop worrying about the government and the city and just be a regular teen, hopefully without the normal rebellion that came with that age.
Iago wanted to know the history of who lived here and why they left. Harry relayed to the Centaur the story of what used to be named, the City of Ci. They were a large human city that at one time had a big export business, but when they advanced and the people they traded with didn't they got greedy and became reclusive. They held on to their wealth and knowledge, erected the dome and started to grow. Then a seer had told them that they had defied their Goddess, Ci, by secluding themselves and ignoring the world around them and the people were to be cast into the Amazon as punishment. They were to go without their knowledge and gold. Meaning the natives that had joined them were descendants of these people.
The elders of old were warned by that prophet to increase the wards on the dome to prevent decay so more worthy people in the future could inhabit the city. The populace protested at first and riots started in the streets, but Melo, who was their leader, was determined to listen to the seer and told his people to ready to evacuate or Ci would strike them down. There had been a rare damaging storm, as if to prove his words, so they did as they were told and left.
Melo and his council used the last of their magic to reinforce the ward stone and the throne in the temple. They created the mazes and hid their treasures. It wasn't until after they had lost their magic that they found out that that seer lied. She had never heard the voice of Ci; she was a bitter old woman who was hated by most of the city. Another seer said that Ci was actually proud of the city, but since they listened to a false prophet, the punishment stood. Harry was torn by that, was there really a Goddess Ci. How would the magicals take this story?
It was all pretty anti-climactic, no huge fight, no killer disease; just some superstitious people who ran from a seer's warning from a voice from the sky.
The white-coated historian probed deeper into the retelling, getting every last bit of information so he could pass it on. It took the rest of Harry's bed rest to get all the details and Iago stated he would reiterate the stories to the citizens. The ghosts that were now roaming about would help in confirming the tale. It would be part of the history curriculum.
The bedridden teen went over everything that the voices had imparted and was fascinated by their simpler magic. The people who lived here before didn't use a magic focus. All of their magic was wandless or runes. He told Firenze, Gundabald and Sirius and they told the new professors and the council. Now the different ways were being compared to the known magic. It would take many months of research to see if it was beneficial.
Harry was unable to do any of it. His magic was slowly recovering, but it was sluggish and the few times he tried to wandlessly levitate a piece of paper to him, he passed out. Sirius would rebuke him and warn him that the more he used his magic the longer it would take to strengthen.
Harry spent his time talking to adults and doing his homework. It was boring. When he was finally allowed out of bed, he went to the newly built school and his friends were happy to see he was okay. They all gathered around him after class and were excitedly talking about what had happened.
Jake clapped him on the back, making him tumble forward a bit. "Harry, mate, it's good to see you up and about." He was glad one of his first friends wasn't hurt too badly. He and his dad had been threatened by the giants and vilified by wizards. His mum stayed with the tribe after he was born, kicking his human dad out and making him take Jake with him. They had led a hard life, but he was now surrounded by friends and couldn't be happier.
"Yeah, but I'm still grounded," Harry said with a mock pout. He realized what he did was stupid and they all could have gotten hurt. Now, he was hoping to be smarter and pay attention to the older people. The stories of the lost elders made him think. He wasn't a genius by any means, but they had run from their utopia because of a vindictive seer. He didn't want that to happen to the people who now populated this city. He wasn't going to pay attention to stupid prophecies, though he still trusted the Centaurs—mostly. Firenze had told him that Mars was dimmer, which made Harry thankful that the throne had gotten rid of the taint.
"We all are," Jean said as he ruffled the dark-haired Brit's hair, bringing him out of his thoughts. His mother was Veela, and had been ridiculed by them for marrying a squib. When they heard rumor of a new place where everyone could live peacefully they jumped on it. The trek through the rainforest had been a bit scary, but he was now glad they were here.
"Leave off, will ya," Harry said, batting the hand away. Everyone laughed at his attempts to straighten his hair. The fairies that inhabited his house had even given it up as a lost cause.
"Still, it was pretty cool to see that throne room. Mum was in a right state when we got home that night," Zack said, slapping Harry on the back. "She must have yelled at me for hours." His family came from Knockturn Alley. They were very poor and his parents had had a hard time finding work. Now his mum worked at the bank and his da worked at an inn. They were getting by much better here.
"My mae was very upset with me," Zeeb said, with a grin. "It was an adventure, yes?" he wasn't distressed that they did what they did and got punished for it. He was more used to the wild side of life.
Harry gave his friends a brilliant smile. "Yeah, for what it's worth, it was pretty wicked."
"Harry," Player said reluctantly, causing Harry to look at him. "I wanted to say, I shouldn't have pushed us into going into the temple." Though he said the words, Harry couldn't help but see the smirk that played around his lips. He looked closely at the half-goblin with narrow eyes.
"I shouldn't have listened," Harry said, his eyes still weighing his shorter friend. From what he knew about Player, he was against coming here, but since his dad was human and his mother ridiculed by Gringotts, she dragged them here. He was going to have to watch this one, but he didn't want to cast away someone just because they were sneaky.
"You're right, you really shouldn't have," Player said, then turned and walked away.
Harry and the other three boys watched him leave and then Jean said, "Do not take it badly, 'e ez a goblin." As if that explained everything.
The more Harry learned about different cultures the more confused and worried he got. With all the clashes of personalities could they really live together? Or would there be wars like in the rest of the magical world? Would the intent wards and a fully charged dome even allow it?
The city was segregated, mostly. The half-goblins were digging under the bank. The half-dwarfs were doing the same in the grassy planes, they had found mines there. The half-giants stuck close to the forest and were running the farm and ranches. The Centaurs were in their clearings, crafting things that could be used for everyone. However, the main part of the city was diverse, everyone who lived there got along for the most part. More of the pure creatures, that passed the wards, were coming and they stuck to their kind. Harry didn't know if all this separation was good or not. When he asked Sirius he was told to let the council worry about it and to make friends with whomever he felt deserved it.
"I have to get home," he told his friends, after looking at his watch. "I hear there's a cool abandoned jewelry store at the end of town. We can check it out when we're released from punishment."
"Yeah, I've got to go too," Jake said a bit dejected. "Dad will have my arse if I'm any later." He hefted his bag and everyone said their good-byes and they all went home.
A week passed and soon it would be Halloween. Harry felt trepidation, hoping that since he wasn't in England this one would go by without incident. Sirius noticed his jumpiness and confronted him.
"Harry, you're a nervous wreck. What's wrong?" the dark-haired man asked as he took the seat across from his godson.
"Halloween is coming," Harry said as casually as he could, which wasn't well.
"Right, I know your parents died on that day, sorry," his godfather said without tact, though there was sadness in his voice. "But that shouldn't make you so tense," Sirius added in a questioning tone.
"The turning point of every year I've been in Hogwarts happens on Halloween," his godson explained. "First year the troll, which, granted, got me the best friend I've ever had, but still we had to fight it, which made us suspect Snape of trying to get past Fluffy, which lead us to investigating something we should have left alone." He ticked that off on his fingers.
"Right, I'm still upset at Dumbledore about that one," Sirius said with a growl.
"Second year was the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, which I got blamed for," Harry continued. "Filch tried to strangle me over his stupid cat, which caused the gossip mill to make me the bad guy. That is what made Lockhart open the dueling club, which exposed me as a parselmouth, which caused my shunning and again had me in mortal danger." He lifted a second finger.
"Well I, for one, am glad you're a parselmouth. It could save lives," his godfather stated, making Harry give him a small smile.
"Last year you tried to break in the dorms," Harry said, lifting a third finger, "which led to me overhearing a conversation that finally explained why you might be after me, making me fear for my life once again, though I was pretty angry at you too," he said with a smirk, then he threw up his hands in frustration. He hated Halloween. "Do you see why I might be a little paranoid?"
"Okay, I see where you're coming from. But, pup, you're not in Hogwarts, so what could you possibly think is going to happen?" Sirius asked, trying to get to the reason he was techy this year.
"I think that it will have something to do with Voldemort," Harry said, thinking about the dream he had had earlier that year. "Or that tournament." Still feeling like it was a set up.
"Voldemort and the tournament are in England and you're safe here," Sirius said, trying to calm the boy's fears. He could see it really wasn't working. Halloween must really alarm the teen. He would have to stay close that day and offer support.
"I know, but I just can't shake the feeling," Harry said, his eyes darted around the room like it would give him a clue as to what was going to happen.
"Did you have another dream? Any more vague feelings?" Sirius questioned, concerned that that was what might be causing Harry to be so nervous.
"No, not since the throne," the teen answered with a small smile of relief. "And I know why. Do you know what a horcrux is?" he asked, his head tilted to the side. The voices had explained what they were removing as the throne purified his soul, even as it drained him almost dry of magic. They claimed it was necessary. He wasn't sure if he believed them or not. Still the horcrux was gone and he was recovered, so it all worked out in the end.
"Yes. Are you telling me that that smoke that came out of your scar was part of the Dark Lord's soul? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Sirius demanded, getting up from his seat and pacing in front of his godson. This was bad. If Voldemort made horcruxes he wasn't dead. Now Sirius was more determined to get that ward stone working to its fullest. The only thing that held them back so far was that the Council of Elders wanted to go over the runes before they were charged. Now though, he was going to put his foot down.
"I kinda forgot," Harry confessed, rubbing the back of his head. "I wasn't hiding anything, I swear. It was over with and I just let it slip my mind."
"Right, sorry," the older man said distractedly, still pacing and going over in his mind what this could mean. "I need to write Remus," he said and spun around to go to the table.
While there were werewolves now in the city, Remus was still in England, citing that Dumbledore had asked him to stay. At first Padfoot was pissed, then Moony wrote and told him that he was also staying to get the word out and Sirius calmed down, though he was now glad that he had charmed his notes so that Remus couldn't speak of what they found or where they were, unless it was to another werewolf. Even then it was only to call one of the house elves. Ever since the Fidelius charm had been put up, only the elves could bring you outside the city, unless someone was found wandering the Amazon. If Sirius knew the Headmaster at all then that man had questioned Moony to the fullest.
"You do that," Harry said quietly to the retreating man's back, then went back to worrying about Halloween.
Soon the dreaded day was there. Harry jumped at shadows the whole day and his friends teased him mercilessly, not knowing why he was so paranoid. He simply told them he had a bad feeling. Then tried to relax as the day went on and nothing happened.
Sirius read and reread everything Harry had written about the ward stone and with the help of other wizards they got the stone to full power, making the godfather relax. Harry was safe. The wards made the whole city feel safe and at peace. ar
That night, just when Harry thought the danger of the day was over, Dobby popped in with a letter from Hermione. In it she stated that Harry's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire. This was supposed to bind him in to competing in the Triwizard Tournament. She ranted on and on about how worried she was and that he had to come back and do the tasks. She didn't want him to become a squib or worse die. The bushy-haired girl begged him to come home.
Harry freaked. He didn't want to go back to England and compete in a stupid contest made for of age wizards. If he did, he'd be captured and thrown into Azkaban, and then he'd still lose his magic. It was a no win situation. He was throwing a fit when Sirius came into the house.
"What the hell is wrong now?" the older man questioned as he watched the teen throw things around the room.
Harry handed his godfather the letter and waited until Sirius said something. When he didn't, the green-eyed teen lost it again. "Sirius, what am I going to do? Hermione says if I don't go I'll lose my magic, if I do go I'll be put in prison," he hysterically shouted as he paced the living room. Sirius started laughing, making his godson glare at him. "This isn't funny!" he yelled, getting in his godfather's face. "This is serious."
"No, I'm Sirius," Sirius said with a chuckle, then seeing the young man wasn't calming down he grabbed him by his shoulders and made Harry look at him. "Harry, listen to me. All joking aside, you can't be entered into a contract unknowingly. Since you are underage, only your legal and magical guardian can do that. And I'll tell you right now, since that is me and I didn't sign anything, you're not bound to compete. You don't have to go anywhere." His eyes searched Harry's face to make sure he was paying attention.
"Really?" Harry asked with hope in his eyes and face as he waited for confirmation, when Sirius nodded he slumped. "Why do you think someone put my name in in the first place? I haven't been in the UK in months."
"Sound like someone is trying to lure you back. They probably don't know that I know that you don't have to compete or they think that Dumbledore is your guardian and that he'd make you return. I really don't know. Don't worry about it, Harry, you're magic is safe," Sirius said after a moment's thought. If he didn't know better, he would suspect the Ministry or Dumbledore, but it wasn't something they'd do. Well, maybe Fudge.
"That's a relief. I should write Hermione and let her know. She's so worried and I want to calm her down. Are there any books that say this? If I know Hermione, she'll believe it better if she sees it in writing." He headed to the table and pulled out pen and paper from the drawer where they kept it.
"There are a few books on contracts that she can look at. I'm pretty sure they're in the school library," Sirius said, giving him the names of the books.
Harry wrote the letter, hoping to get his friend to stop fretting; listing the books needed for the research he knew she was going to do. A few days later, Hermione wrote back that she was relieved that Harry wasn't made to compete, but that Dumbledore was now looking for him harder. Everyone Harry had ever talked to was being questioned and there were speculations running wild on how he got his name in to the artifact. Ron was one of the most vocal, accusing him of cheating. The dark-haired teen didn't know what to think about that.
The newspapers were also going crazy, according to Hermione, calling him a Dark Wizard, a coward and a criminal. They stated that he somehow snuck back into Hogwarts and used Dark magic to overcome the goblet. Harry shook his head at the stupidity of that statement. The Prophet was retelling of his flight from the law with the mass murderer, Sirius Black, who taught Harry his Dark magic.
The British Ministry was also upping their search. They were contacting all foreign governments that belonged to the ICW to put out a manhunt for the two lawbreakers. Brazil was not among them, though they sent another team into the Amazon to look for the fugitives, still not finding any thing, but they did wonder about the increase in Centaurs. When they asked the horsemen why they were there, they were told that the native herd had invited them at the request of the stars. The search team left content that nothing was amiss.
The city was well protected and since Harry was the secret keeper and he wasn't telling. They were safe.