Harry looked at his Head of House curiously, who was escorting him to the Headmaster's office. Fontaine had never really called Harry to his office before, except to congratulate him on his yearly tournament performance, and to advise him on publishing his articles in Runes, Charms, and DADA, which were among his better subjects.
"Do you know what this is about, Professor?" Harry asked.
Professor Thunderblast shook her head. As befitting a Horned Serpent and a dedicated professor and head of the school, she was dressed in robes of varying shades of cranberry red with the crest of her house on her left breast. "None, Harry. Your guess is as good as mine," she replied.
Harry looked away from her and nodded and he went silent for a moment as he considered the past. The years since he and his little sister Holly had come to the MACUSA had been the best they'd ever had. Isaac, Jasper, and Miranda Potter had given them a life that allowed them to practically forget their old life even though they both occasionally read some of the books they'd collected from Diagon Alley, especially the books relating to Dark Magic.
But despite that, the siblings got on wonderfully with their new family and guardians.
They were taught about magic, the magical world and magical traditions.
Occasionally the Potters travelled to other countries, sometimes to meet close relatives or friends; Holly had been so awed by Japanese cosplay, that she had stuffed her room full of cosplay costumes and toys. But when they'd gone to Switzerland and enjoyed a Christmas there, Holly had almost not wanted to leave.
Unlike in Britain, many magical countries including America still celebrated Yule instead of Christmas. While Holly enjoyed the differences, she still found Christmas special because it was a time of year when she could give Harry a present. The siblings had used what little money they'd managed to get from Little Whinging and used it to buy small presents, and Holly liked that tradition. It had broken Miranda's heart a little bit when they'd learnt that, and after talking Isaac and Jasper around, they had done the same thing, and had even gone to different magical countries which celebrated Christmas and Yule at the same time; not all of the family liked it, but even they had to admire the No-Maj traditions in Christmas.
A few years ago, Harry and his friends had first come to Ilvermorny. Harry was sorted into Horned Serpent, although when he had stood on the Gordian knot, he had been selected for all of the Houses. Still, when he had told his new parents, they hadn't been surprised. Harry was a warrior in spirit for the way he'd protected Holly, an adventurer because he had been unafraid to look to new horizons and a caring and loving person.
On top of that, Harry was desperate to learn and was always seeking knowledge. During his sorting, he had chosen Horned Serpent since it would have given him greater opportunities to find new knowledge.
Ilvermorny had always been attractive to Harry and Holly because of the tournaments hosted at the end of the year, and ever since he had come to the school, Harry had attended DADA and Charms tournaments. They broadened his horizons, helped him master new spells and they were great for making new friends. For the last few years, he had taken part in and won several tournaments for Horned Serpent.
Now a fourth-year student, and with only one more year before his little sister arrived at Ilvermorny, Harry had returned to the school in the hopes of new adventures and experiences. When he and his friends first came here, they had begun exploring the mountains on their broomsticks and explored the depths of the mountain the school was built on. It was against the rules, of course, but Harry had always felt life was too short to stick to rules and such even if he obeyed them up to a point.
Many of the teachers frowned on activities like that, but they tolerated it because the students would always find ingenious ways of getting around their methods of control. Harry, considering the fact he had been eligible to join all four of the Houses, was believed to be exemplifying their qualities of the values of Thunderbird, Pukwudgie, Wampus, and Horned Serpent in general. But Harry hadn't explored the lower depths of the school for a while, and right now he was more focused on developing his spell repertoire, so he was curious about what Fontaine wanted.
Thunderblast and Harry reached the Headmaster's office corridor. Like the rest of Ilvermorny's corridors, this one was decorated with paintings and tapestries of various famous and legendary witches and wizards who had passed through the halls of the school. Thunderblast waved her wand at the office door. Unlike the Common Room areas of the Houses, the teacher's offices were protected by a rune stone; when another teacher approached, they waved their wand, and the other teacher knew who was outside thanks to a two-way enchanted mirror inside.
The door opened, and Harry walked inside with his Head of House. Instantly Harry stopped when he saw who was in the office. Fontaine's office was one of the larger offices in the school, with bookshelves stuffed full of texts, and souvenirs the older wizard had collected over the years, along with other things. Along one wall were House point clocks, which counted how many points the Houses had.
Harry had no problems recognising President Ashwood and Lucy Blackbird, the Head of the Department of Law Enforcement; she was a frequent visitor and guest to Potter Manor. Speaking of Potters, there was his Uncles Isaac and Jasper, and Aunt Miranda. Like Ashwood, Lucy and his family were grim-faced and worried.
But the moment he realised who else was in the office with Fontaine, Harry was tempted to just turn around and walk away. The first people he noticed were his parents. Harry had made sure his birth parents could not send him or Holly anything when they learnt their little plan to just throw Holly away under the ridiculous notion she was being protected, if you can call being abused, protected; but that didn't stop Harry from lashing out. Harry had sent them copies of his accomplishments over the years, out of petty spite more than anything else.
Lily and James were looking at him with expressions he couldn't work out; they looked like older versions of himself and Holly if his little sister had red hair instead of black, but these two were completely different people with vastly different personalities. But he didn't care what they were thinking, so he looked away, and he inwardly sighed at their company.
If you were a witch or wizard in this day and age, you would really have to be deaf, dumb, blind and remarkably thick and behind the times not to recognise Albus Dumbledore. The taller, much older wizard, was dressed in such garish robes while he had a long white beard which gave him the appearance of Merlin himself, which Harry often asked himself was a deliberate effect.
Harry had never really formed much of an opinion of Dumbledore over the years; while he could respect the other wizard's accomplishments and see him as a experienced and learned master of magic, he wasn't sure about him beyond that. Harry was the type of person who liked spending time with people and seeing the things they did, rather than listening to the opinions of others. While he didn't like the way Dumbledore had just….stood back and watched as Grindelwald nearly revealed the highly documented and disastrous close call with the Obscurial in the 20s, and he didn't like the way Dumbledore had not gone out of his way to find Voldemort and put the bastard in his place, he could be thankful that Dumbledore hadn't interfered with him and Holly.
With Dumbledore was Cornelius Fudge, the British Minister for Magic. Unlike Dumbledore, Harry had learnt enough about Fudge to know the other wizard was the polar opposite of Dumbledore. Fudge was seen as a joke among the international community, and after seeing memories of his performances and excuses whenever something went tits up, like Peter Pettigrew's escape from Azkaban a year ago, where the ICW took him to task for his stupidity in unleashing Dementors on Hogwarts and other parts of the country, which risked so much like people's souls and the Statute of Secrecy, Harry's opinion was not especially high.
The only person Harry recognised and respected in the British party was Madam Amelia Bones, the Head of the DMLE in Britain, and the most powerful person in the Ministry of Magic. She was a powerful, tough witch, and she looked it. Because of her work and position, Bones often worked with her counterparts in other countries, America was no different, and Harry knew her personally. To say their meeting was a surprise was an understatement; Amelia had been shocked and horrified by what the Potters had done to their own children, and she had even decided to launch an investigation to see what was going on with their brains.
Also with the group were two other wizards, one was a tall older man with a neatly trimmed and clipped moustache, which would make him look no dissimilar from a No-Maj banker, and the other was a younger wizard who had a cheerful demeanour to the more serious one of his colleague, and the most noticeable trait he had was his enormous beer gut. Harry didn't even want to consider how unhealthy he was; he had noticed in Ilvermorny the sports class, Fontaine had learnt the fitter a wizard, the better off they would be further down the line. This person hadn't learnt that lesson.
"Headmaster," Harry nodded at Fontaine, and he ignored the others barring the Americans. "What's all this about?"
"You'd better take a seat, Harry," Jasper said while Lily and James could not take their eyes away from the child they'd abandoned, who was now dressed in Ilvermorny robes. Harry did as he was told.
"How much do you know about the Triwizard Tournament?"
Harry blinked in surprise. Whatever he had been expecting it had not been that, not by a long shot. "I know it's an ultra-dangerous competition hosted between the three largest European magical schools. Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. The last time it was on, several contestants were killed because of poor decisions and dangerous tasks."
He had no intention of adding he and the others had learnt about the Tournament after it was revealed a few weeks ago. When they learnt of it, Harry was glad he and Holly were not in Britain. But there was something else on his mind.
"But I don't see why you're asking me this now," Harry voiced his thought.
Miranda bit her lip, looking at him with fear and worry. "Harry, your name came out of the Goblet of Fire," she said.
"What?" Harry whispered. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Your name came out of the Goblet, Mr Potter," the wizard with the moustache said. "That means you are a Champion."
"But I didn't put my name into the Goblet of Fire. May I ask who you are, sir? I know my…parents," he spat the word with disdain as he glanced at Lily and James, who looked a stone's throw away from looking like they wanted to rush him and hug him to death, or break down into sobs at his visible disgust towards them, "but I don't know you."
"I am Bartemus Crouch, I am the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation," Crouch said, pulling himself upwards but there was something in his expression that told him, while he liked having such a position it wasn't what he wanted.
"I am Ludo Bagman. How do you do, Harry?" Bagman, unlike his colleague, had no problems shaking the bewildered Harry by the hands enthusiastically.
"I'm okay, thanks, or at least I was before I heard this," Harry shook his head. "I don't get this. You're telling me I am now a Champion in a Tournament I was only interested in hearing about on the news. How did this happen? I mean, I haven't been in Britain for years, so how could I have put my name into the Goblet?"
"I am trying to discover that one, Harry," Amelia said, the only person he felt comfortable outside the MACUSA actually using his name freely, "however, I have had blocks put up to slow me down." The looks she sent towards Dumbledore and Fudge were telling.
"Thanks, but tell me what happened," Harry said.
"On the night your name came out of the Goblet of Fire, the selection for the Champions was already drawn; Hogwarts has Cedric Diggory, and Beauxbatons has Fleur Delacour," Harry's ears pricked up at the mention of the name, certain he had heard it once before, "and Viktor Krum from Durmstrang. I am sure you've heard of him," Bones said.
Harry nodded. While he wasn't as big a Quidditch fan, he did have a passing knowledge of the current top players. Krum might only be 17, but he had come a long way. He only wondered if it was due to family pressure and influence compared to talent. That was the problem with pureblood families, they always threw their weight around like wrecking balls instead of letting talented people go by.
"And then something big happened. Charlus Potter's name came out, along with yours," Bones expanded on the nightmare.
"The pair of us?" Harry was stunned. He hadn't given any thought to his biological brother and twin for years. What in the name of Merlin was going on?
"Yes, my Boy," Dumbledore said by that point, either not noticing or ignoring Harry's flinch at the word Boy. "Your names were both drawn out of the Goblet."
"Well, you guys can forget about asking if I put my name into the Goblet. I've been in Ilvermorny and the MACUSA for years. What does that say?" Harry replied.
Fudge, who had been silent because of the stern gaze Bones had been sending his way, spoke up, "But surely Harry you would like to be reunited with your brother, and why would you not want to take part in the Triwizard Tournament? All that glory and fame is heady stuff."
With that single statement, Harry knew he would never like Cornelius Fudge. "I want nothing to do with my birth parents, Minister," the cold way he said that was colder than a piece of ice sharpened by a whetstone, while his parents wilted even more. "They made sure we would never have a close relationship when they dumped me and my little sister onto the doorstep of a family of No-Majs without giving a thought of the consequences."
Lily was unable to hold back now. "We only wanted to protect you!" She wailed.
Harry waved his hand dismissively. "Well, that worked didn't it?"
It might have been petty, but he did not like the excuses these two kept giving him and Holly. They kept saying the same things time and again, and he didn't like the way they felt they had the right to walk in and out of their lives whenever they felt like it. Just because they had not come to the MACUSA since that confrontation in Gringotts years ago didn't mean they wouldn't have done it if they had wanted to, the fact they'd steered clear for years told him they simply didn't care.
Frankly, that impression gave him the view if things had been different and he had been down for Hogwarts, and he'd chosen to remain at Privet Drive with Holly unless he'd decided to simply move them away into London and they would drop in frequently as if it was their right. But truthfully something told him, they were indifferent towards him and their daughter.
Harry sighed and turned to Crouch and Bones; so far, he trusted them more than he trusted Fudge and Dumbledore. "Just…tell me what's going to happen," he said.
