Chapter 5
It was usually true that he had plenty free time at this point of the summer. Not anymore. A new war was brewing, and things were moving much faster than he had expected and hoped. Albanian forest no longer haunted. Bertha Jorkins lost in the same area. An old Muggle disappeared in Little Hangleton. Severus' Dark Mark reappearing at around the same time Harry's scar hurt, and slowly darkening since then. Frightened Death Eaters trying to decide what to do in the face of an imminent summoning.
It made him uneasy not to know what Tom was up to. He would bet his favourite robes that he was back in Britain, and that Peter Pettigrew had joined him, but had he managed to reincarnate in a body of his own? If so, why hadn't he summoned his followers? What was he waiting for? Severus had met with several Death Eaters, but he couldn't yet confirm whether Tom had contacted anyone.
Then again, Tom had always preferred to operate from the shadows.
Albus had the terrible feeling that something really bad was about to happen, but he couldn't even guess from which direction the blow would come. In times like these, everything was motive of suspicion, including a silly article about Albus and the International Confederation of Wizards. Not that it bothered him at all to be described as an obsolete dingbat (it was actually refreshing whenever someone dared calling him names), but it was curious the increasing amount of coverage Rita Skeeter was getting. A paranoid man might suspect that someone was encouraging the most problematic of reporters to cause as much political chaos as possible. Someone might even be bribing the Prophet's editors to make sure her articles were printed.
He put the newspaper aside and reached for Molly's letter. It was the third one this summer, and Albus could tell by the tone that if he answered in the negative again he would be receiving a Howler next. He sighed.
This really didn't seem like a good time to allow Harry leaving the safety of the blood wards for any amount of time, especially not to attend such a crowded event like the Quidditch World Cup. It was highly unlikely that anything would happen there with so many Ministry officials present, though. And Severus had not reported his fellow Death Eaters saying anything about the World Cup...
In the end, he decided that he would wait until he had confirmation of Tom's return before going overboard with paranoia. It wasn't like Harry would be unprotected; Bill, Charlie, Percy and Arthur would be there. Four qualified wizards, plus almost the entire Ministry. And it would no doubt make the boy happy being able to attend a professional Quidditch game with his friends. Not to mention that it would get Molly Weasley off his back.
After he dispatched the letter to Molly, he braced himself for the next task in his to-do list for today. It had been hard to ask Remus. He knew it would be even harder to ask Rubeus.
"Is it because I messed up with the Hippogriffs?" asked the Groundkeeper during a pause in his sobbing. "I swear I can to better! I won't show the students anything too dangerous!"
"It's not about that, Hagrid," said Albus gently. "You did well last year, I'm very proud of you. And I repeat that I'm not firing you, not really. You will have the job waiting for you at your return."
"But you said that I will get fired!"
"It will be just for appearances' sake. To avoid drawing attention to yourself."
It would be perfectly believable, after the whole Buckbeak incident. The Board had been trying to convince Albus of letting Rubeus go the entire year. Lucius Malfoy might not be a Governor anymore, but most of them were still afraid of him. And it was a fact that Rubeus was a slightly dangerous teacher.
"Everyone will think I'm a failure!" wailed the half-giant, hiding his face on his massive handkerchief.
"It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, Hagrid," said Albus sternly. "We might be at war again soon. This is a very important mission I'm assigning to you."
Rubeus blew his nose loudly.
"I know, I know," he sobbed. "I'm sorry, Professor. It's just that... It's hard, you know? Hogwarts is my home, I've never been away for more than a few days..."
"Hogwarts will always be your home, Hagrid. But I need this favour from you."
"I know. I'm not saying no, Professor. I will do it, of course, although I doubt I will manage anything... I'm too little, they won't take me seriously."
It would be a political nightmare and a diplomatic chaos if anyone found out that Albus Dumbledore was unofficially reaching out to the giants, but he didn't think it was wise to wait until he could convince Cornelius. He was just sending a sign of good will, anyway, nothing too compromising yet. Even if Rubeus didn't succeed in convincing the giants of staying out of the war that was coming, at least he would be able to report any attempt of Tom or his followers to recruit them.
Asking Rubeus was harder, but also easier. Rubeus would do anything Albus asked without question and without requesting any details. That blind loyalty made up for Rubeus' indiscretion most of the times, since Albus didn't need to tell him more than he absolutely needed to know to perform his missions. It was also a plus that he had giant blood running through his veins. Rubeus might be indiscreet on occasion, but nobody would be able to extract secrets from him by magical means. Legilimency, Veritaserum and even the Cruciatus didn't work on him.
Remus, on his part, had accepted his mission easily enough, but Albus was far from believing that he was blindly loyal. The Marauders might have been part of the Order of the Phoenix during the war, but even then they had clearly been more loyal to their own than to him, as proven by the fact that they had no trusted him with the secret of their Animagi forms nor with the change of Secret Keeper. Remus and Sirius both still trusted Albus and heeded his advice, but after everything they had gone through they weren't as easily influenced anymore. They both also cared about Harry and might get their own ideas of what was best for the boy, which might prove troublesome if Albus didn't handle them carefully.
As he walked back to the castle leaving a barely composed Rubeus behind, Albus mentally rearranged his to-do list for the next few days.
-Prepare gifts for giants.
-Inform the Board about Rubeus' termination.
-Write to Wilhelmina to ask her if she would be willing to cover Rubeus' position for a while.
-Draft new advertisement for the Daily Prophet (hopefully some DADA candidate would answer this time).
-Write to Sirius to make sure he doesn't come back to Britain.
-Arrange debriefing protocols with Remus and Rubeus.
-Inform Arabella that the Weasleys will be picking up Harry soon.
-Drop by Bertha's parents' home to enquire about her itinerary in Albany.
-Find out who is Rita Skeeter's current editor.
-Research scar pain caused by dark curses and rituals, particularly soul magic.
-Request appointment with Amelia to ask about World Cup security. It might also be interesting to hear her opinion about Skeeter and Bertha.
His carefully planned day got immediately derailed when he walked back into his office and saw a familiar owl waiting for him. He sighed. What now, Cornelius?
An hour later, Albus walked into the Minister's office to find it crowded with unexpected people. Olympe Maxime and Igor Karkaroff were there, as well as the Bulgarian and French Ministers for Magic. Bartemius Crouch and Ludo Bagman were also present, and their Bulgarian and French counterparts.
Albus had a really bad feeling.
"Just in time, Dumbledore!" said Cornelius with obvious excitement. Albus' feeling of foreboding increased. He saw that Olympe looked wary too. Whatever reason had brought all these people together, it could not be good, especially if Cornelius was in such a good mood.
The other Ministers seemed excited too, he noticed as he greeted everyone and exchanged some mandatory pleasantries.
Then a great, old wooden chest encrusted with jewels was brought forward. The Bulgarian Minister tapped it three times with his wand, and the lid creaked slowly open. Almost everyone in the room held in their breaths, including Albus.
There was a large, roughly hewn wooden cup inside, entirely unremarkable except for the fact that it was full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.
"Fools!" exclaimed Olympe, straightening herself to her full height and looking down on her Minister with fury.
Albus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples for a moment before turning to look at his idiotic Minister. He honestly didn't know what to say. He might have called him a fool too, but what was the point? It was too late. The Goblet of Fire was already active. And if this meeting was happening in Britain, then Hogwarts must be the chosen school for hosting the event.
Of course Cornelius looked offended by Olympe's epithet. The French Minister might have looked offended too, if he had not been so obviously afraid of Madam Maxime. The Bulgarian one seemed engaged in a battle of glares with his Head of International Cooperation.
"What's that?" asked Ludo curiously. He had never been the brightest player in the pitch.
"That's the Goblet of Fire," said one of the French representatives raising an incredulous eyebrow at Ludo. "One would think the British Head of Magical Games would know that."
"Oh." Ludo's face turned red. "But that means..."
"It means that our foolish Ministers have decided to celebrate the Triwizard Tournament again," said Bartemius with a hard tone. "Without even consulting their Heads of Magical Cooperation."
"Nor the Heads of the schools," added Olympe angrily. "I demand that the thing is put off at once!"
"I as well," said Igor.
They looked at Albus in search for support, but all he could do was sigh.
"You can't seriously be on board with this, Dumbledore!" exclaimed Olympe in surprize and indignation. "Not you, of all people!"
"I'm not," he assured her. "But it's too late to object. The Goblet of Fire will only turn off on his own when the Triwizard Tournament is over."
It ensured a long and heated discussion during which nearly everyone in the room proposed different methods to disable or destroy the Goblet of Fire. Igor's suggestion, Fiendfyre, definitely had merit, and Igor looked ready to put it to practice as soon as he found a space deserted enough, so Albus thought it was time to intervene.
"I'm afraid that we all would likely die if someone tried to interfere with the object while it is active."
"What do you mean, all?" demanded Olympe. "Those three fools activated the object, they can die upon its destruction for all I care, I had nothing to do with this foolishness!"
Bartemius and a few other politicians nodded in agreement, while the Ministers looked visibly nervous. Albus sighed.
"The Goblet of Fire is an extremely powerful object," he explained patiently. "Once activated, it automatically places a curse over the twelve official positions that all the people present in this room currently hold. It is meant to ensure that the Tournament runs smoothly until the end. Anyone who doesn't obey the Goblet's instructions, dies. And if someone tries to interfere with the object, a variable number of people die as well, depending on the offense. Attempting to destroy it would almost certainly mean all our deaths."
Complete silence reigned in the office for a long time.
"You said the official positions," observed the Bulgarian Head of International Cooperation. "Not the people?"
"Exactly. Only the Champions engage in specific contracts with the Goblet of Fire, so they can't be replaced."
"Then I resign," declared the Bulgarian with a deadly glare at his Minister. "I will not be complicit of this."
And with that, the Bulgarian former Head of International Cooperation simply turned around and walked out of the room.
The Bulgarian Minister looked as if he had been slapped.
"Is that all it takes?" asked Olympe after a long silence. "We can simply resign?"
"We can, but our successors will automatically take our places. Likely there is a senior assistant back in Bulgaria who has just been magically assigned judge of the Triwizard Tournament, at least until a new Head of department is appointed."
They all seemed to be considering the resigning option. It was tempting, but it would solve nothing. Someone else would take their places, and the Triwizard Tournament would still happen. Children would have the opportunity to enter their names, and then children would die.
"We should destroy it anyway," said the French Head of International Cooperation after another long moment. "Now that there are not children's names inside it yet."
"Didn't you hear what Dumbledore said?" exclaimed the French Minister. "We will all die if someone t-"
"You should have thought of that before activating it! The thing must be destroyed!"
"Now wait a moment!" exclaimed Cornelius in alarm, glancing around as if in search for reinforcements. "No one will touch the Goblet of Fire. I really don't see what all the fuss is about, the Triwizard Tournament is a renowned international event!"
"It's a medieval event!" yelled Olympe, making Cornelius tremble under her gaze.
"I agree," said Igor. "But I refuse to die because of it. And it sounds like there's nothing we can do. Resigning won't stop the Tournament from happening."
"It won't," confirmed Albus.
"If someone intends to destroy the thing, though, I ask to be told ahead of time so my Deputy Headmaster falls for it instead of me," added Igor.
"I ask the same," said the French Head of Magical Games.
"No one will destroy the thing!" declared Cornelius angrily, searching with his eyes for the support of the other Ministers. The Bulgarian Minister nodded in agreement, but the French one was looking uncertain, as if only now he realized that perhaps they should have thought this through more carefully before jumping into action.
"Maybe we should cancel it," the French Minister suggested. "If the three of us agree..."
Albus shook his head.
"No. There is precedent for trying that, and it didn't work. All the judges and champions died around 1400th when the governments decided to interrupt the competition during the Hundred Years' War."
That was probably why the war had lasted so long, Bathilda used to say.
A new round of insults and discussions ensued, no one saying anything new nor useful. Meanwhile, Albus was squeezing his brain trying to come up with a way out of this nightmare.
There were several angles to consider. The first one was what on earth had Cornelius and the other Ministers been thinking. It couldn't be a coincidence that they had all agreed to activate the Goblet precisely now and without consulting anyone. The odds of this happening by chance only a few weeks after Severus' Dark Mark had reappeared and Harry's scar had hurt were slim. The Triwizard Tournament had not been celebrated in two centuries, and everything had indicated that it would never be celebrated again. Especially not now, with the current sensitivities. People would not accept such a medieval concept, not when children began to die in horrible ways. How could any Minister for Magic think that it would be politically advantageous?
He watched Cornelius closely, trying to detect signs of imperiusness. His eyes seemed clear enough, and Ministers were supposed to be checked for the Imperius Curse every day. The checking system could fail, though. And there were other ways of persuading politics of doing stupid things. If it were only Cornelius, Albus would consider possible that it was a real idea of his, but the French Minister was a sensible man, and the Bulgarian one cared too much about his own skin as to risk something like this. Maybe they had been Confunded?
It wasn't really relevant how this had come to happen, however, not when the damage was already done. The three countries were now prisoners of the Goblet of Fire. The only relevant question at the present time was whether the rest of the people in the room would submit or resign. And whether there was something they could do to somewhat mitigate the damage.
"Perhaps we could work around the Goblet," he suggested, and people made instant silence to hear him. "Draw an Age Line to make sure only old enough students can enter their names."
He would rather cast an impenetrable ward around the object so no student could approach it, but the Goblet would demand names. Else it might select champions randomly.
His suggestion was met with relief from Olympe and a few others.
"I second Dumbledore' proposal," she said. "Only of-age students should be able to put their names for consideration. That would be acceptable."
"Would the Goblet of Fire allow that?" asked Igor with a frown.
"I think so," said Albus. "I seem to recall an anecdote Nicholas told me about a Tournament when only male students were allowed to enter their names. It caused a huge social scandal, but I'm almost sure that the Goblet didn't execute anyone at the time."
Nicholas had shared a lot of anecdotes with him from his time as Beauxbatons' student, Professor and Headmaster. Bathilda had also told him stories about the Goblet of Fire when he was young, but of course it had been much more interesting —and horrifying— to hear it from someone who had been alive through History and who had been judge in countless Tournaments.
"Monsieur Flamel told me that story too," said Olympe. "The Goblet allowed it. Although after the Tournament all the judges were murdered by angry witches."
"Indeed," agreed Albus. "And I think in the next Tournament only witches were allowed to enter their names, to make up for that."
Nicholas had not wanted to give any details of that Tournament, which suggested that it had been a really ugly one.
The Age Line was not a perfect solution, but after a long discussion (Igor was not convinced it was worth the risk) they all agreed it was an acceptable one, considering their limited options. Of-age students would at least have a chance of survival, and legally they were considered mature enough as to make life or death decisions. Albus still didn't like it, knowing the kind of tasks that the Goblet was likely to come up with, but he really didn't see any other way. Attempting to destroy the Goblet of Fire now would probably trigger a diplomatic crisis or even a war, with so many important people dropping dead simultaneously. And it might not even work. Fiendfyre was a good candidate to thoroughly destroy anything, but Albus wouldn't put pass the Goblet's magic to be immune to it.
By the time he had returned to Hogwarts, Albus felt as if he had aged two more decades. Just as he had feared, the blow had come from the most unexpected direction. You really enjoy a grand entrance, don't you, Tom? He had not the slightest doubt that Tom was somehow behind this, and he knew Severus would agree with his assessment. Hmm... Now that he thought about it, Severus had reported the Malfoys being in France for the holidays. He had also said that Narcissa was close friends with the French Minister's wife. That would present Lucius with opportunity to Confund the French Minister, just as he often had opportunity to Confund or simply influence Cornelius. As to the Bulgarian Minister... Were you just putting up a show, Igor?
With a sigh, Albus sat behind his desk and mentally revised his to-do list.
-Research Age Lines.
-Come up with an argument to convince Severus that it's not necessary to withdraw Harry from Hogwarts.
-Revise memories of Nicholas' Triwizard anecdotes.
-Update Will and consider whom to leave critical secrets to in case of instant death.
-Convince Alastor of coming out of retirement.