Chapter 43

Albus was convinced that, when a few hundred years from now people wrote about this Triwizard Tournament, there would be a special chapter in every book titled "The Cracking of the Clue" dedicated to unravel the mystery of how, after two months of fruitless research, all four champions had seemed to crack the egg clue at the exact same time.

He wondered if anyone would ever get it right and guess that it had all been Harry Potter's doing. At the present time, however, probably no one would believe that the youngest champion had been the one to crack it first, and even less that he had selflessly shared the information with the other champions.

Not that Albus knew for certain how things had transpired, of course, but he knew enough as to convince himself that that had been the way of it. Minerva had told him about the lake incident and how Harry and Mr. Krum had helped each other, which left him little doubt that the boy had told Cedric and Miss Delacour too.

Could Albus feel more proud?

And relieved. He had honestly not expected for any champion to crack the clue in time or safely, and that had tormented him to such degree that his sleep issues had gotten much worse. How had Nicholas managed to do this every five years for two centuries without losing his mind?

He knew that Severus must also be deeply relieved, but so far Albus had only heard him rant about how stupid the boy had been jumping into a lake without knowing how to swim, and also about his interference with Death Eater businesses. He had accused Albus of telling Harry about Igor Karkaroff, and Albus had accepted the blame even though he had had nothing to do with that. Probably Sirius had told him, but that wasn't something Severus would like to hear.

Severus had also complained about Alastor indulging Harry's night strolls, and about the boy's insolence and rudeness when refusing to serve detention with him, complaints that Albus had completely ignored. Caught up in his irrational resentment, Severus couldn't see that it was actually good that Harry was bold enough to break rules this year, nor that the best all of them could do was to look away instead of trying to punish him for it.

As to the detentions... Albus had received countless Howlers after Skeeter's article, half of them from angry parents threatening with withdrawing their children from Hogwarts if they were forced to serve private detentions with a Death Eater. Many had tried to at least make their children drop the subject, requiring Albus to personally meet with them to convince them that that wasn't necessary nor advisable. Harry might not have concerned parents to advocate for him, and his public image might not be very good at the moment, but there were still a lot of people in the magical community willing to pick up axes and pitchforks if they heard of Harry Potter having a single additional detention with Severus Snape.

So no, Severus would have to learn to leave Harry alone. Of course it was not all right for Harry to be rude and disrespectful, but Albus felt inclined to cut the boy some slack considering everything he was going through.

He also hoped Severus would allow himself to relax in some degree, else he might die of a heart attack before the year was out.

The atmosphere within the castle changed drastically as soon as it became evident that all the champions were finally preparing for the second task instead of just despairing. Close friends breathed great sighs of relief and stopped trying to help in vain, while people in general began to look forward to the task with excitement.

According to Filius, Irma kept walking into the staff room every evening after closing the library to tell them all about the books that the champions were consulting or withdrawing, news for which most teachers —and especially Minerva and Pomona— waited anxiously. Apparently even Severus had developed a habit of hanging around for those daily reports.

Oddly, no one seemed concerned about the possibility of innocent hostages being taken, which suggested that none of the champions had shared the exact content of the song with anyone. Or perhaps they hadn't heard the song and only knew about the Merpeople's involvement? Whichever the case, Albus was relieved that nobody seemed to know yet, since it would make the process of obtaining the hostages a lot more complicated if everyone was on the lookout. He also would rather deal with the general outrage after the task, once they knew for certain if there was something to regret, than for an entire month in anticipation to it.

People stopped gossiping about the Cracking of the Clue when a much more juicy piece of news shook the castle. Albus had half-expected the development, after hearing from Minerva about the lake incident, but everyone else was taken by surprize when it became obvious that Harry Potter and Viktor Krum were working together in preparation for the second task.

Both young celebrities could now frequently be seen doing research together in the library, or practicing spells in empty classrooms, or, more shockingly, sitting together at the Gryffindor table. This was of course met with all sorts of reactions, most of them not good.

Slytherins predictably resented anything that might give Harry Potter better odds, while Hufflepuffs seemed to view it as an unfair advantage over Cedric. Ravenclaws had taken to consider the Beauxbatons' students honorary members of their House, since they sat at their table every day, so they resented the alliance for Miss Delacour's sake as well as Cedric's. Only Gryffindors seemed to be fine with it, although many kept glancing at Mr. Krum with mistrust. As to the foreign students, those from Beauxbatons reacted in a similar way to Hufflepuffs, while those from Durmstrang didn't seem to know how they were allowed to react so they just didn't.

In general, any resentment was directed at Harry, not at Mr. Krum, probably because Mr. Krum was far more popular and intimidating while as usual it seemed to be the favourite hobby in Hogwarts to think badly of Harry Potter. Most people still believed that he was desperate for more fame, and that now he was desperately clinging to the older champion to have a better chance of winning as well as perhaps to absorb Viktor Krum's fame into his own.

There were also those who saw the alliance with a Durmstrang champion as confirmation that Harry was turning dark, as suggested by Rita Skeeter's article after the first task.

The bright side of all this was that the Goblet of Fire didn't allow anyone to express their opinions regarding the alliance whenever there was a champion around, so the boy was mostly spared from all those reactions. He no doubt could still perceive the hostility, but it seemed to affect him less every day. He actually looked in a better mood than he had been since before Halloween, even though the worry and fear never left his face.

The adult component of Hogwarts also reacted to the development in all sorts of ways, although at least at that level the reactions were out of concern for Harry. Minerva was simply delighted, apparently not harbouring the slightest doubt about Mr. Krum's good intentions. The rest of the staff seemed torn between relief and worry, clearly in favour of the youngest champion receiving any sort of help available but hesitant to trust a Durmstrang champion. Pomona plainly wished Cedric could be included in the alliance as well, although she wasn't confident at all that her champion would accept an invitation if it were extended to him. As to Alastor, he insisted in that no student of Igor Karkaroff could be trusted and therefore it should be done something to keep Harry from spending any time alone with Mr. Krum. Severus only said, during a private meeting with Albus, that Mr. Krum would be extremely sorry if he dared betraying his new ally.

And then there were the reactions of Albus' fellow judges.

"It is cheating, Dumbledore," said Olympe with a frown. "And it is our obligation as judges to stop cheating."

"I quite agree, Madame Maxime," said Igor, bowing to her slightly. "No help is allowed to the champions, that's pretty much all the rulebook is about."

"Not to mention that it is unacceptably unfair," added Olympe. "Both Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter will have an advantage over my champion, increasing their chances of winning or at least surviving."

"I'm more worried about my champion having less chances," said Igor with a nasty tone, "since he's wasting a lot of his time and efforts tutoring an unqualified fourteen-year-old instead of focusing only on himself as he should."

Albus leaned back in his Headmaster chair and sighed. They were all gathered around the burning Goblet of Fire, waiting. Just in case they had agreed to meet with enough time to spare, but he was regretting it since clearly his co-judges meant to take advantage of the opportunity to voice their complaints.

"We are concerned as well," said the Bulgarian Head of International Cooperation. "If our champion cheats, we might all die as a consequence."

"Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter ought to be warned that they will be disqualified if they persist in their alliance," suggested the French Head of Magical Games.

"Only the Goblet of Fire can disqualify champions," argued Albus. "And since both Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter —and all of us— are still alive, it would seem that the Goblet has no issue with the collaboration between them."

"We can't take the risk, Dumbledore!" protested Olympe.

"I see no risk whatsoever," said Albus calmly. "If something bad were to happen, it would have already happened."

"I don't understand," said Percy Weasley in confusion. "I thought that the champions were unhelpable..."

"They are, Mr. Weasley. But clearly the rule doesn't apply to the champions themselves. It is not really surprizing, considering that champions can harm each other during the tasks."

"It is still unfair!" exclaimed Olympe.

Albus shrugged.

"War is unfair," he said. "And the Triwizard Tournament was originally conceived as a means to prepare and select young warriors. It would be unrealistic if champions could not harm each other... or betray each other. The Goblet was only created to avoid external interference during the Tournament."

Everyone around him seemed to be trying to come up with new arguments, with no results.

"Is there precedent of something like this happening in past Tournaments?" asked the Bulgarian Head of Magical Games after a silent minute.

"Not that I know of," said Albus. "Probably because the Triwizard Tournament was always an extremely competitive contest. Although I suppose alliances might have occurred at some point and kept secret as a precaution." He checked his watch. "In any case, I highly doubt anyone can do anything to break the allies apart, since that would sort of help the other champions. I think we should put this matter to rest and focus on what brings us here today."

His fellow judges checked their own watches.

"We still have time," objected Igor. "And this is an important matter. There is something we can do, Dumbledore. You warned Potter against killing any more creatures after the first task even though the Goblet allows it, you can warn him now against attaching himself to Viktor like a leech."

"I will not do that," said Albus coldly. "And you will not say anything to any of my champions, Igor. I advise you not to oppose your own champion either. This is their game, it is not up to us to decide how they must play it."

"It is! We are judges!"

"The Goblet of Fire is the only true judge," said Albus with finality. "We simply follow its commands. And the Goblet is clearly allowing Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter's collaboration."

Igor looked as if he wished to continue arguing, but Albus' challenging gaze seemed to make him reconsider. It would not do for anyone to suspect that he was actually opposing the alliance because he was afraid Harry Potter might have a better chance of survival with the help of an ally, after all.

Finally, Igor humphed and looked away.

Albus waited to see if someone else wanted to say something else about that matter, but no one did.

"As you all know," he began then, "in a few moments the Goblet will inform us of what each champion must retrieve during the second task."

"Hostages," whispered Olympe indignantly.

"Perhaps," said Albus. "The song speaks of what the champions will sorely miss, so it could be anything, although it is a good guess that it will be hostages."

"How will they survive underwater until they are rescued?" inquired the French Head of International Cooperation.

"We don't know yet. The Goblet will emit the final instructions for the task on February 14th. If we are talking about live hostages, though, we can assume they will be under some sort of induced sleep or at the very least under the effects of some charm to assist breathing."

"What about the Merpeople?" asked someone else. "Can we trust them to do their part? And what about the time frame? How...?"

"We can discuss all those issues later," interrupted Albus politely but firmly. "The Goblet will flare in only a few minutes, and I think we should discuss certain matter before that happens." He took a deep breath. "I propose that we read each champion's assignment separately, and that only the Heads of the schools be aware of them."

There were curious looks all around him.

"What is the purpose of such proposal?" asked a Ministry delegate with a puzzled expression.

Albus shrugged.

"I don't think it's necessary for anyone else to know. It is responsibility of each school to provide personal items or hostages for the champions, after all, not of the Ministries."

"What are you hiding, Dumbledore?" demanded Olympe narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing at all," he said sincerely. Not yet. "But you know how these things can be, my dear Olympe. The Goblet is probably about to announce the names of four innocent victims. Discretion might be a good idea."

"There is a reason why we all read everything that comes out of the Goblet," objected Igor. "So we can be sure nobody does or fails to do anything that could get the rest of us killed. If only you read your champions' names, how will we know you are keeping your part of the bargain?"

"Easily. If I don't deliver, I will drop dead, and so will my champions."

"We might drop dead as well," pointed out Igor.

"Unlikely. There is precedent for a school not being able to provide a hostage. It only affected that hostage's champion and all the judges representing that school."

"In that case, we should read the names too," said Percy, visibly nervous. "The Ministry..."

"The Ministry has political conflicts to constrain it, Mr. Weasley," said Albus. "Providing the hostages or items might require to do things... unethical, perhaps even illegal. I think it would be safer not to involve our Ministries until everything is done, to avoid obstruction."

He let that sink in for several minutes. He could see the uneasy expressions of all Ministry representatives present as they too considered the political conflicts that providing innocent hostages might imply. Of course the Ministry delegates were prisoners of the Goblet too, but some politicians might care more about public opinion than about dropping instantly dead. Cornelius, at least, could not be trusted not to throw a tantrum and do something stupid if the Goblet demanded something that might cost him his office. Better not to tell him any details until it was done.

"You might be right, Dumbledore," said Olympe at last, looking worried. "I would rather read Fleur's hostage myself, and deal with that on my own."

Igor took a while longer to consider the proposal.

"I agree that it might be easier to procure the hostages without interference," he said twisting his goatee. "I read that the Goblet demanded a newborn, once, and of course it was hell to wrench the brat away from its parents."

The room shivered. Albus was certain that they were all trying to think whether there was a chance that they would have to steal a baby. Percy looked nauseated at the idea of a newborn used as a hostage. He definitely was too young to have been burdened with a judging role in the Triwizard Tournament.

"I would like an assurance, however," Igor continued, looking at his delegates, "that we will not be prosecuted by any Ministry for whatever we might have to do to provide the hostages, nor for whatever might happen to them during the task."

That was reasonable. Albus would like such assurance himself, although he wasn't confident that it would be honoured. Between the dragon incident and Severus' exposé he didn't have much political credit left, and it was a given that Cornelius would try to make Albus take the fall if everything ended in disaster.

The Ministry representatives exchanged nervous looks between them. Only Ludo Bagman seemed unfazed, as usual.

"I would have thought we already had that assurance," said Olympe with a hard tone. "We are in this mess because of our Ministers, after all."

Once again, everyone seemed to be thinking along the same lines, not appreciating at all that, having initiated this, the Ministers for Magic themselves were not present here to deal with the practical implications of their decision.

"Still, I would like to have it in writing," insisted Igor. "It's too easy for politicians to wash their hands after everything is over. I will have my assurance in writing signed by the three Ministers for Magic, or else..."

"The three Ministers?" interrupted Percy in confusion. "Why...?"

"We don't know what we might have to do to get the hostages," said Igor simply, "nor where they might be found. Also, the public opinion might put pressure on your British Ministry to arrest us if we bring a newborn baby to be slaughtered."

As always, Igor had thought very carefully about the possible risks. He was a survivor, after all, and a Slytherin in all but title. Not that that would help him much against Lord Voldemort.

"I'm sure it can be arranged," said Albus. "There is time, after all. We have an entire month to procure the hostages or items, and to sign any assurances required." He checked his watch again. "Are we agreed, then, in reading each champion's assignment separately?"

After a brief hesitation, they all nodded.

"Good. Then I believe you should approach first, Igor, since the Goblet is likely to announce Mr. Krum's hostage or item first. Then it will be Olympe's turn, and then mine for the last two hostages."

Nobody objected, so Albus stood up and made room for Igor in front of the Goblet. After several silent and anxious minutes, the Goblet finally flared up, and a slip of paper landed on Igor's hand. His expression was unreadable as he stared at the name announced, but Albus got a really bad feeling nonetheless. Igor was a very cold man. While everyone present would be equally forced to provide a newborn baby if that was what the Goblet demanded, probably only Igor would do it without the slightest remorse.

Albus wondered if he could make the decision of condemning an innocent baby. Nicholas had been in that place, and it had affected him so much that afterwards he had resigned as Beauxbatons' Headmaster and never witnessed another Triwizard Tournament. Only once he had talked to Albus about it.

I should have just let the damned Goblet kill us all, he had said, his eyes haunted.

A minute later came Olympe's turn, and by the look on her face Albus was sure that she had already known what the name would be, and that it would be troublesome to provide Miss Delacour's hostage. He really hoped it wasn't a baby.

Finally, it came Albus' turn. He felt on him the pitying eyes of several former Headmasters and Headmistresses who had been in his same place before.

The Goblet spat Cedric's assignment first.

"Cho Chang," the slip of paper said.

Albus sighed. He had hoped for one of the boy's parents, both of whom would have probably volunteered as hostages for their son. Instead he would have to condemn another innocent student, and so young! It spoke of Cedric's youth too, who clearly was just a teenager if what he valued most was a girl he had just met. Albus wondered what would happen if Cedric broke up with Miss Chang before the second task. Would the Goblet provide another name? This was insane.

He braced himself for the last name, and a minute later the Goblet flared up revealing Harry Potter's hostage.

Albus sighed again as he crumpled the slip of paper inside his hand.

He really wished sometimes his guesses were wrong.