04 Breakfast and Bribes

The level of noise in the Great Hall remained the same when Harry Potter arrived for breakfast the next morning. He sat at the end of the Gryffindor table and if anyone paid attention, they would have been surprised to see a complete English breakfast provided to the Boy-Who-Lived. No one else in Hogwarts received the same fare. Dumbledore may have cast an eye toward his newest trophy seated alone and isolated, but that situation suited his plans, so he didn't notice that the boy had tea instead of pumpkin juice, scones instead of toast, and sausages rather than limp bacon.

Ron Weasley noticed that Liar Potter had tomatoes and kippers with his eggs and made to rise from his seat. He would move closer and requisition that breakfast for himself. But Ron tripped over his untied shoelaces and fell into Cedric Diggory who was seated behind him at the Hufflepuff table. The bruhaha that erupted entertained the other students and kept everyone's attention away from Harry Potter.

And the headmaster had to rush through his breakfast that morning. An owl delivered the news that a horde of trolls had erupted from deserted goblin caves in the Republic of Türkiye and threatened the Statute of Secrecy. There was an emergency meeting of the ICW in Switzerland and the wizard rushed away from Hogwarts. It was almost an hour after the headmaster departed that the summons for an emergency meeting of the Magical British Wizengamot arrived at the castle.

~~~~*HP*~~~~

Wizengamot Bribes

With the absence of the Chief Warlock, the elder member of the body took the seat for the duration of this meeting. Griselda Marchbanks had been a voting member of the ruling body of Magical Britain since 1903 and she planned to keep her chair even on the day they placed her corpse on the funeral pyre – she would be sitting it when the flames consumed her mortal form.

Today's emergency meeting had been called by Willamette Holders, a young witch of only fifty years who represented several large manufacturing interests. Apparently, the owner of the largest broom manufacturer, the primary supplier of cauldrons, and the only glass blower making potion bottles, were concerned about the precedent set at Hogwarts on Halloween. (Gringotts bribes and financial pressure on the different business owners guaranteed they got Madam Holders to bring the matter before the wizards and witches who ruled Magical Britain.)

Madam Holders addressed the Wizengamot, "On 31 October of this year, the name of fourth contestant was produced by a magical artefact that was supposed to provide only three names. Did the Goblet of Fire create a contract that binds all four contestants to the agreement?"

"I ask the Wizengamot to rule on the legality of binding this fourth contestant to the contract created by this magical artefact. And to rule if other contracts can be altered by magic to include involuntary contestants," concluded Madam Holder before she sat down to enjoy the fireworks.

There was rabid debate by the members who had vested interest in the greatly increased amounts of money being spent for stadiums for three tasks, and the holiday planners, hotels, and restaurants where the foreign guests would stay and eat while attending the tasks. No one really seemed to care what happened to the Boy-Who-Lived.

Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge rose from his non-voting seat to address the question. Fudge argued, "Yes, the contract is enforceable against the boy because of the agreement of the officials and headmasters present at the selection ceremony. Those officials included Albus Dumbledore who had three votes that night. Headmaster, Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump."

Interrupting the minister's address, Delores Umbridge declared, "The headmaster has three important titles. Everyone must listen to the British Minister for Magic!"

Continuing after a moment glaring at his flunky, Fudge then listed, "Ludovic Bagman (Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Games and Sports), Bartemius Crouch, Sr. (Ministry of Magic, Department of International Magical Cooperation), Igor Karkaroff (Headmaster of Durmstrang), and Madam Olympe Maxime (Headmistress of Beauxbatons).

For seven officials to recognize that the contract would be binding then the fourth champion is indeed drafted by the Goblet of Fire."

Griselda Marchbanks called the vote and without any descension, the ruling passed the Wizengamot bill. The ruling stated that this interpretation of the law applied only to a contest of chance such as the Triwizard Tournament, where an unwilling participant must participate in the tasks or suffer the penalty as specified by a powerful magical artefact.

Existing and future business and personal contracts could not be altered magically to force unwilling persons into the contract's terms and conditions. The Wizengamot did not limit this law to only the Goblet of Fire in any part of their ruling.

~~~~~*HP*~~~~~

More Screaming Headlines

The Daily Prophet woke Magical Britain on 8 November 1994 with more screaming headlines. (The magic to make the headlines 'scream' was cast by three Unspeakables under exclusive contract with the Daily Prophet. The magic worked only once with a person over the age of eleven the first time they read the headline. Thereafter, the individual could read the headline without it screaming aloud.)

Boy-Who-Lived Drafted into Triwizard Tournament Against His Will

Wizengamot and Ministry Officials Validate Force of Contract on Unwilling Participant

This edition of the Daily Prophet provided Harry Potter with the news that the adults of Magical Britain were unwilling to help him avoid the Triwizard Tournament. Government officials had passed a law legalizing the drafting of an unwilling participant in the contest – anyone could be drafted into a game of chance against their will in Magical Britain. Reading through the arguments carefully, Harry realized that the men in power wanted him to remain in the tournament because of the profits they would make from fees, licenses, and ticket sales.

~~~~~*HP*~~~~~

Invitation to Gringotts

Harry dreaded the afternoon in the greenhouses for Herbology where he expected Professor Sprout to pretend that she was Professor Snape and take points from Gryffindor because Harry was breathing too loudly. But while walking from the castle toward the greenhouses, Harry was surprised by the arrival of a mail owl in the middle of the afternoon.

The owl looked like all the other birds who delivered the Daily Prophet or the post as it landed on a low wall and held out a leg. When Harry hesitated, it screeched at the young wizard and held out a leg again. Harry untied the knot to take a thick scroll of parchment. The owl launched itself into the air very quickly, almost as if it was afraid to remain at Hogwarts. Recognizing the seal on the parchment as the one that hung over the door leading into Gringotts Bank, Harry stuffed the scroll into his book bag before hurrying into the greenhouse.

After wasting two hours and losing ten points, Harry beat a hasty retreat from the greenhouse – even Neville Longbottom was upset about Harry losing points in Herbology where Neville regularly ruled the class. Ahead of any pursuers, who seemed befuddled and lost after a moment, Harry disappeared underneath his cloak and retreated to the Chamber of Secrets until time for supper.

Despite his misgivings, Harry had been convinced to appear for breakfast and one other meal each day. The other meal – lunch or supper – he ate in the Chamber of Secrets. After reading the contents of the scroll – an invitation from Gringotts to visit the next day – Harry wanted to sit among his peers while he pondered on the wisdom of visiting the bank on Saturday.

That same evening, after eating supper but before returning to the dorm, Ron hinted to Harry that for the price of two galleons he might consider taking back the half-blood loser as a friend. Staring at the red head for a moment, Potter realized that Weasley wanted some coins to spend the next day in Hogsmeade. When Harry declined to pay the tithe for Ron's conditional friendship, the ginger wizard stormed off and returned to the Gryffindor tower. There Weasley decided to rifle through Potter's trunk and help himself to the bag of galleons he knew the muddy boy kept there.

There was a large explosion when Ron lifted the lid of Harry's empty trunk, and the would-be thief was thrown across the dormitory room to slam into the door leading to the bathroom. When he was found by Neville Longbottom looking for a textbook to help complete an essay due in Charms on Monday, the young wizard called for a house elf to move the still comatose teenager to the infirmary. Neville looked around the room but couldn't find anything out of place. Everyone's trunks were in place at the foot of their beds.

Madam Pomphrey diagnosed Weasley with a concussion and put him to bed for three days. When he regained consciousness, Ron had lost his memories of several days.

~~~~~*HP*~~~~~