Harry's body was moving on pure adrenaline alone. The only thing that was keeping him remotely sane was that he felt like he had to protect Hermione. From what, he didn't really know. The stares from all the other students? The suspicious glares from the professors? The headmasters from the other schools had looked positively apoplectic from what he could make out, not that he was really focusing on that. As Dumbledore had read out their names again, Harry had almost shepherded a stunned Hermione out from the hall.

As they approached the side chamber, he was already struggling to make sense of what he could remember of the split second after the surprise announcement. The Slytherins had been sneering at them, but that made no real change. Hagrid had looked disappointed. Or had that been fear for the position they were now in? He could scarcely read Dumbledore's reaction. It spoke of confusion more than anything. Everyone was confused though. No one knew what was going on, most of all Harry and Hermione. Matthew, for what it had been worth, had tried to get up with them, but the headmaster had put that notion to bed for the time being. Harry had expected his friend to look angry or hurt, but there was just abject concern written on the boy's face.

"I don't know what's happening," Hermione whispered to him tearfully once they had ventured through the stone door. As much as the barrier cut off the noise from the hall beyond, they could still clearly hear the excited chatter filtering through. Harry wanted to know what the response was, how people were feeling about this. He didn't expect it to be good. He wanted to complain and scream about this apparent injustice, but he also knew that was the last thing Hermione needed right now.

"You didn't enter your name in the goblet, did you?" He had to ask, to make sure.

She looked offended at the suggestion. "Of course I didn't! You know I'd be the last one to break the rules!" Hermione paused, looking sheepish. "Well…on my own. Sometimes I'm influenced by you and Matthew. Oh, Matthew. What must he be thinking right now?"

"It'll look like he's missing out…that we went behind his back."

"He wouldn't think that, would he? But…I did repeatedly ask whether he wanted to enter the tournament…what if he thinks that was me asking for permission? He's going to hate us!" She was quickly losing her composure again. It didn't matter what happened with the tournament or what everyone else thought. Hermione didn't want to lose that friendship…that relationship.

"Let's not panic about something we don't know is true," Harry said, even though he was feeling those doubts just as much. "Matthew's a reasonable person. He'll listen to our explanation."

"But will everyone else listen? Because neither of us entered…right?"

"You know me. I don't want any of this attention. This is the last thing I needed. But I'm used to people looking at me all the time. I'm worried about the focus being put on you though."

She gave him a small smile. "There's no need to worry about me just yet. At least neither of us are on our own right now. That would be dreadful."

"Excuse me?" a voice drifted over in a French accent. The blonde Beauxbatons champion wandered over, having only just realised that they were there. Krum and Diggory jumped from their chairs, trying not to look agitated. Harry quickly realised that they had no clue what was going on. "Are they wanting us back in the Grand Hall?"

Hermione was about to tell her that it was actually the Great Hall but then the door was opening again, Ludo Bagman storming in. They'd expected him to look angry at the rules obviously being broken but he had a beaming smile on his face. He strided over, clapped Harry on the back, and wrapped his arms around their shoulders to bring the three of them together in a strange side-hug.

"I never thought I'd see the day!" he exclaimed, a touch too loud with their ears right next to him. "This is…phenomenal! Completely unprecedented! Five champions!"

Fleur stared at them with a hard expression. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Joke? I wouldn't joke about such things! Their names just came out of the Goblet of Fire! It had us all amazed…and some of us a bit bemused, I must say."

Diggory looked like he couldn't make sense of any of this. The only sign of a change in expression on Krum's face was that his bushy eyebrows had slightly come together. Fleur was the most disgruntled. "But…they are too young! Look at them!"

"Well…that certainly is true according to the new regulations. But it seems that the Goblet didn't care for the rules! Their names came out, the contracts were signed…"

"We didn't sign any contract!" Harry argued strongly.

"You signed your name…that's the contract…you were told…"

"But we didn't do that!" Hermione retorted.

The door opened once more and a flood of people hurried in. Dumbledore was first, followed by Crouch, and Professors McGonagall and Snape. Maxime and Karkaroff wore matching faces of thunder as they piled in. And, pushing through them all, was Matthew, who managed to rush over to them. He seemed to pause just before he reached them, staring at their faces in turn, apparently coming to some sort of decision. He gave them a quick smile though it was mainly hidden by the look of fury on his face.

"Madame Maxime!" Fleur cried. "Is it true? He is saying that they are also champions!"

"I would like to know that myself, dear. Dumbledore…would you care to explain?"

"I second that question," Karkaroff gruffly added. "Three Hogwarts champions? It is scandalous!"

"It is most unjust!"

"We would have brought more of our own students if we knew that this was an option."

"This was never an intended option," Dumbledore said in a calming voice that Harry found strangely frustrating. How was he acting so composed right now?

"And yet it has happened! Explain that!"

"There's no reason to be verbally attacking Dumbledore, Karkaroff," Snape said sardonically. "When he's not the one who's at fault. You should know that these kids have continuously seen fit to break the rules at every opportunity. I, for one, am not not surprised that they have done it again, just on a larger, more public scale."

The so-called kids were about to defend their honour when McGonagall visibly bristled at Snape's comments. "I'll remind you not to make unbased allegations against my students, Severus. Look at how frightened they are! They're just as clueless about this as the rest of us!"

"Why am I not surprised that you're quick to jump up and defend your lions? They're liars, through and through. I'd hope that you were better suited to see through such fallacies but it seems that my estimations were…miscalculated."

"Professors," Dumbledore interrupted sharply. "Thank you." He was looking at Harry and Hermione with an unreadable expression. "Did you put your names in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No," they both said at the same time. Snape scoffed in the background, as did Karkaroff.

"Did you ask an older student to do it for you?"

"No."

"Well, they are obviously lying!" Maxime cried.

"They wouldn't have been able to cross the age-line," McGonagall reminded them, still willing to protect them from the vicious fury.

"Dumbledore could have made a mistake with it!"

"As if you truly believe that! You all must have seen what happened to the few students that tried to bypass the barrier. And, seeing as neither Mister Potter or Miss Granger are sporting fine beards at the moment, we can conclude that they didn't try to surpass it. If Professor Dumbledore is willing to accept that they also didn't ask another student to help them…well, I think that should be good enough for everybody else!"

Karkaroff didn't seem obliged to fall into line. "Mister Crouch…Mister Bagman…surely you must see how irregular this is!"

Crouch was standing off to one side, having not reacted to anything that had been said up to that. The flickering torches surrounding the small antechamber cast his face in shadows. "The rules are clear that any name that is produced by the goblet must compete. We must follow the rules."

"Then I insist on us restarting the entire process!" Karkaroff's face, which had been disguised behind fake smiles since his arrival, was becoming uglier by the second. "Set up the goblet once more and we can resubmit our students' names. If these children must compete, then at least allow all the schools to have three champions."

"It doesn't work like that," Bagman argued. "You must know that. The goblet has gone out after this…fiasco. It won't be relit until the start of a new tournament."

"What if I went up there and destroyed the goblet?" Matthew suddenly suggested. "If that's the thing binding them to the contract, then everything should stop if that's removed."

"You'd destroy a centuries-old, precious artefact?" Bagman gasped, not even stopping to think how a young student could accomplish such a feat.

"For my friends? Yeah. Every day of the week."

"Who even is this boy?" Maxime asked, turning her nose up at him. Matthew was about to respond quite heatedly before Dumbledore gave him a pointed look.

"A friend of Mister Potter and Miss Granger," the headmaster explained. "I thought that he would be a comforting presence for the two students since they are obviously going through an unexpected turmoil."

"A turmoil they brought upon themselves," Snape added. "There's nothing unexpected about it."

Dumbledore apparently chose to ignore him. The look from McGonagall was enough to keep the Potions Master quiet for the time being. "Alas, I'm afraid that destroying the goblet wouldn't achieve a great deal. The contract has already been made. And destroying it would potentially destroy the participant's magic along with it."

Hermione let out a small, involuntary gasp. "But…we don't want to take part! We don't want any of this!"

"But you also don't want to lose your magic, Miss Granger."

"Better than losing her life," Matthew argued. Hermione gave him an alarmed look.

"Would it be that great a loss?" Karkaroff asked. "If they don't want to participate, then they know the consequences. I won't lose much sleep over it."

"Of course you'd be saying that, Karkaroff." Moody limped into the room, staring down the Durmstrang teacher.

"What are you implying?"

"Well, it's convenient isn't it? The magical contract. Someone's entered Potter's name knowing that he has to participate, or risk losing all of his powers. I'm still trying to figure out why they'd involve Granger here. Maybe because she's a high ranking student. Get her out of the way, stop her from showing up all those purebloods, hey?"

"You are looking at this very cynically," Maxime shot at him. "If someone has entered his name, it is likely to just give Hogwarts a better chance of winning!"

"Exactly, Madame Maxime!" Karkaroff concurred. "Which is why I'll be lodging a formal complaint with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards."

"You can shove your complaints. We've got more serious matters to contend with here. The security of the tournament has been jeopardised and it's my job to rectify that. What if someone wants these students dead? What if they think the tournament will knock them on their heads?"

Silence dawned for a few moments. Bagman pulled at his collar nervously. "The tournament is perfectly safe! There's no need to be saying such things!"

"If you believe that, then you're as stupid and gullible as the rumours claim."

"Why should we expect anything else from this man?" Karkaroff asked. "We all know how paranoid Mister Moody is. It is a wasted day if he hasn't uncovered six plots to assassinate him."

"Do you think I'm imagining things? Scaremongering? It was a skilled witch or wizard that's behind this. To bamboozle as powerful an object as the Goblet…it would require a certain level of magic, dark magic, no doubt. Would you care to comment on that? I know it's your speciality."

"Alastor," Dumbledore said in warning. "Enough. The last thing this situation needs is for us all to be at one another's proverbial necks. We do not know how this arose but, for as long as that is the case, we must accept it. All the Champions will compete."

xxxxxxxxxxx

If the atmosphere in that tiny room had been tense, it was much different once they were back in Gryffindor tower. It was basically a party atmosphere they walked in on, hurriedly getting past the portrait of the Fat Lady as she cooed at the honour that had been bestowed on them. Everyone wanted to talk to them, wanted to shake their hands, wanted to be near the Champions. Even the Weasley twins, as hard as they'd tried to enter themselves into the tournament, were merrily chanting their names and asking how they'd managed to dupe the system. Most people would occasionally shove Matthew out of the way and he soon disappeared from view, tired of it all. It wasn't as if Harry or Hermione wanted this. After less than a few minutes, they were claiming that they were incredibly tired and wanting to go to sleep. Only for Hermione to follow Harry into the boy's dormitory, hoping to make sense of the latest sharp turn their lives at Hogwarts had taken.

Following Dumbledore's admission that they would be forced to compete, Harry didn't register much of anything else. He was vaguely aware of Fleur and Maxime continuing to glare in their direction. He was sure that Crouch went into detail about the First Task and the preparations that would be required before then. He didn't listen to any of it, feeling a deep anger towards the man. There was no reason for it, besides the fact that he represented the tournament in Harry's eyes now. The same could be said for Bagman. In fact, Harry had found it hard to even look Dumbledore in the eyes, as if it would just be a reminder of how the headmaster had clearly failed them. He just hoped that Hermione had listened more attentively. In normal circumstances, that would have been taken for granted. But he had no doubt that she was struggling with this just as much as him.

Matthew was perched on the edge of his bed when they eventually made it up the stairs. "Sorry about rushing off. If one more person bumped into me, I wasn't going to be responsible for my actions. So I thought it best to…you know, avoid that. At least you managed to get out of there alive. They looked like they were going to tear you limb from limb at one point."

"Trust me, it practically felt like that," Harry sighed, flopping onto his bed heavily. His head was spinning. The only good thing was that he had these two people by his side. And was there a selfish part of him that was secretly relieved to know Hermione had been involved in this as well? It meant that he didn't have to face this alone.

"I'm hoping it dies down fairly soon," Hermione said, loitering by the closed door. She didn't want anyone else coming in. She didn't feel like interacting with other people. "Maybe they'll get bored. You know what it's like here. There's a new story in the gossip mill every few days."

"Sadly, I think this is a bit different from usual gossip, Hermione. Dumbledore said that the tournament lasts all year. So it stands to reason that we'll have to put up with the attention for that long as well."

"But…I don't want that. I don't want any of this! It's not just how dangerous this is no doubt going to be because, trust me, they've made that abundantly clear. But what about school work? How am I supposed to concentrate on the tournament and classes without it being detrimental to my grades? I'm not allowing this to jeopardise the work and effort I've put in for three years."

Harry laughed slightly. "Trust you to think of that first. I hadn't even considered that yet. But we've dealt with other mad stuff in the past and still managed to keep our professors happy."

"You said it yourself, Harry. This isn't the usual madness we're facing. All of that was out of our control whereas this feels like the very teachers that are supposed to protect us are putting us in danger."

"Then you've got a choice to make," Matthew said. "You can get out of that danger."

"I'm not losing my powers over something I didn't do," Harry argued. "We'll have to take part."

"And if you take part, you could end up getting killed in the First Task! I don't want to stand by and watch that happen!"

"Did you mean it before?" Hermione asked quietly. "You'd prefer us to lose our magic rather than compete?"

Matthew bowed his head, feeling the draining effect of the day gone by. "I don't want to lose anyone else. This just feels like the biggest chance yet that it's going to happen. Like Moody said…what if someone has entered you in order to get you killed? I've seen what the tournament is like. As much as they may claim to have changed things, it won't be completely different. So yes…if there is a choice, and there is, I'd much rather see you safe than have magic. But that's my opinion. I can't make you think like that."

"I don't know who…I'd be without my magic," she admitted. "It's a part of me. It's always been a part of me really, even when I didn't know what it was. I've grown so much since coming to Hogwarts. I've come to understand that it's okay to be the person I am, after years of being downtrodden because of it. I can't lose that."

"Magic didn't give you that confidence, Hermione. That was all you. If you lost your powers now, you'd still have that self belief."

"We'd be torn apart. If me and Harry did make that choice, we'd be kicked out of Hogwarts. We'd be ostracised from the magical community. You'd hardly see us again."

"I'd leave with you."

"I wouldn't want you to do that."

"And I don't want you to compete. Some things aren't fair."

"Why me and Hermione though?" Harry suddenly asked, something that had been bugging him since it had happened. "I don't want to sound egotistical but we're presuming that Hermione's been entered because of her connection to me, aren't we? If this has been done by a dark wizard, presumably with ties to Voldemort."

"I'd like to think that I'm a target on my own, regardless of my friendship with you," Hermione argued. "But, then again, I don't know why I'd be so competitive about this. What are you trying to say?"

"Why just the two of us? Why not involve Matthew as well? Everyone knows that we're a trio. It doesn't make sense for them to be selective if they could get two of our names entered."

"Maybe they didn't want it to be too obvious," Matthew proposed. "Then again, they've completely failed at that if that's the case. Or maybe they know who I am…"

"That's not possible," Hermione said.

"Dumbledore thought that tricking the goblet would be impossible and look where we are now. We can't take anything for granted. It's entirely possible that they did put my name in but my magic wasn't willing to be bound by the contract."

"Could that work?" Harry asked.

"I have no idea. I don't know how it'd react in this scenario. But it's an idea, which is why I think I should continue training you with your innate abilities. Hermione's obviously made a good wedge of progress but I need to make a start with you, Harry. If you want to learn."

"Of course I do! Do you think it'll help us get through the tasks?"

"It could, but only if you were able to control that power by the time the tasks come along, which I don't think is feasible. Mastering and understanding this magic requires patience, as Hermione's already seen, and it won't work under that sort of time constraint and pressure."

Hermione didn't like to be doubted or underestimated, but she had experienced all too well how long it took to make relatively small steps. "Then do you think it's worth our time? Because we're obviously going to have a lot on our plate for the foreseeable future."

"That's up to you. I want to do everything to help you. I don't care if it doesn't end up coming in handy for the tournament. I'm hoping that, if you decided not to compete…which I know isn't looking like an option…then unlocking this power could be the key in preventing the goblet taking your magic as forfeit."

xxxxxxxxxx

They weren't surprised, when the next morning came around, that Dumbledore wasn't seated for breakfast in the Great Hall. They weren't shocked, either, when McGonagall walked over to them as soon as they'd finished their quick meals, asking them to come with her. The three of them were relatively grateful for the intervention since it meant they didn't have to contend with everyone else looking at them for a short while. The other students had been reacting to their presence in varying ways. Gryffindors would boisterously announce the arrival of the Champions. Some curious Ravenclaws had come up to ask them how they'd managed to get around the restrictions. All of the Slytherins were turning their noses up at them, but there was no change there. The most surprising reaction came from the Hufflepuffs, who had completely turned against them in support of Cedric Diggory. Harry had always found them to be a very friendly bunch but it seemed that positivity had disappeared.

They had a pretty good idea of where they were going so they didn't react when the entrance to the headmaster's office came into view. It was, by now, a normal journey for them to take, something that not many students could also claim. They walked up the spiralling staircase without saying a word, wondering what more bad news Dumbledore had to offer. Because they couldn't fathom anything going right for once. He would no doubt tell them that they were being forced to compete but without the use of their wands, to make it 'fair' on the 'real' champions. Or perhaps the decision had already been taken out of their hands and they'd been kicked out of the tournament, surrendering them to the fate of losing their magic forever.

Such negative thoughts meant that they weren't expecting the sight that greeted them once they were actually inside the office. Dumbledore was there, which wasn't a great shock. Lupin stood to one corner and it was nice to see him give them a warm smile, as if that was proof enough that he believed their innocence. But Harry and Hermione weren't focusing on that. Sirius was standing there, arms folded, looking distinctly annoyed, though his face mellowed when Harry came into view. The young boy ran over to him, stopping short just before he reached his godfather. And then, realising he needed the comfort now more than ever, he chose to bridge that gap and give Sirius a hug in greeting, which was reciprocated with an abundant ferocity after a slight moment's awkwardness.

Hermione, meanwhile, charged over to her parents, who were looking completely bamboozled by the eclectic collection of objects in the office. Whilst Katherine clung onto her daughter tightly, Peter jumped ever so slightly as one such artefact produced an unexpected puff of smoke. Matthew hung back by the door, standing next to McGonagall, knowing that this wasn't the time for him to be involved. Things were going to be serious if the guardians had been invited into the school. Once that got going, then he'd start talking his mouth off.

"Mum…dad!" Hermione cried, close to tears (not for the first time since the goblet had ruined the start to the year). "What are you doing here?"

"I'm following their wishes," Dumbledore answered for them. "They wanted to…um…remain in the loop, as they put it. With the situation being this serious, I felt it necessary for their presence to be here. And I believed it would be a comfort to you, Miss Granger."

"Thank you, headmaster."

Her parents were looking at her in an alarmed fashion. "He's told us briefly about what's going on," her dad told her. "Not that it's helped us to understand it that much better."

"We're probably just as confused as you are. We didn't enter the tournament! And yet our names came out…and…and we have to compete…and it's going to be really dangerous. We didn't want any of this!"

"You believe us, don't you, Sirius?" Harry asked nervously. Despite them not having spent a lot of time together, he still needed to hear his support.

"Of course, I do," his godfather assured him. "I know that you three can be reckless in your decision making, but I also know that you're not stupid. You wouldn't be foolish to cross this line…quite literally."

"I think I'd like to know more about this supposed reckless decision making," Katherine said, picking up on what he'd said.

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Maybe we should focus on one problem at a time…"

"Do you think you're going to get out of this that easily, Hermione?"

"I was rather hoping so, yes. Just for the time being. I've barely slept since the announcement was made. I don't feel like I can handle another interrogation right now."

"I'm still confused by the whole situation," Harry admitted. "If everyone in this room believes we didn't do this ourselves…" He paused, looking over to Lupin, who nodded his head. "...good. If everyone believes us, then why are we still in this position? Why do we have to do anything? Surely you should be able to…I don't know…overpower the goblet if you're the one who set it up, professor." He was looking towards Dumbledore hopefully, as if pleading would help him change his mind.

"What even is this goblet?" Peter asked. "How can a goblet hold a draw for a competition? By itself?"

"I think we're going to have to accept that a lot of things aren't going to make sense," Katherine said quietly to her husband.

"The goblet is a powerful magical object that acts as an impartial selector for our champions," Dumbledore explained. "It has been used for every other incarnation of the tournament. As for why you are bound to compete, Harry…well, I have already outlined that for you. At the moment, it believes that you both signed a contract and you are duty bound to oblige such demands."

Katherine wasn't liking this the more she heard about it. "Demands? Obligations? This is supposed to be a school! They're just kids! If they don't want to take part, then that should be final."

"I wish it were that simple, Mrs Granger."

"But why can't you trick it?" Harry suggested. "Someone obviously managed to manipulate it the first time to get us into it. Someone as powerful as yourself should be able to do it the other way around. Surely!"

"It is a dangerous thing to tamper with magical contracts. By interfering, I would be risking putting you in grave danger."

"Frankly, headmaster, we're already in grave danger," Hermione argued. "I don't think things can be much worse."

"Is it really that dangerous though?" Peter asked. "I thought it might be more like…sports day back when you were in primary school."

"I wish it were like that, dad. I don't want to tell you this but I don't want to lie to you anymore. People have been seriously hurt in the past taking part in this. Sometimes…the results have been worse than that."

"Then you're not competing," Katherine replied authoritatively, her mouth a thin line. "I won't allow it."

"Mrs Granger, not competing would carry just as heavy a price," Dumbledore told her. "And a definitive one. Choosing to take part would certainly pose risks, but there is also the chance that no harm would befall any of the champions, especially with the new regulations and safety protocols put in place."

"And what are these definitive risks that would have to happen if they chose to quit?"

"Their magic would be stripped away from them as forfeit and, as a result, they would be forced to leave Hogwarts. Not that I would want to lose such exceptional students…but a magical school would be worthless to those without such abilities."

"And you allow children to agree to this?"

"The whole point was that none of the children would be allowed to agree to those terms. Regulations were put in place to ensure only wizards and witches of sufficient adult age would be able to compete."

"Well, that worked out perfectly for you, didn't it?"

"That's not fair," Hermione said, not wanting Dumbledore to be attacked this much. Sure, she believed he could be doing more to help them get out of this, but he also wasn't at fault for what had happened. "The regulations would have worked if someone hadn't tampered with the goblet."

Peter ran a hand over his face. "But why would someone do that?"

"We're still to determine that," Dumbledore responded. "But, as you can imagine, given the potential for harm that the tournament brings, we believe it was done by someone with ill intentions."

"I could piece that together myself, thank you. We may not be magic, but we're also not stupid." That seemed to keep the headmaster quiet for the time being. It wasn't often that he could be so easily silenced.

"Mum, dad…" Hermione was looking up at them. "We told you about those dark wizards that were at the Ministry of Magic. It's entirely probable that one of them, or maybe a group, are behind this. We still don't know why."

"We do, Hermione," Harry said. "There's a target on my back. They want to get me out of the picture for what they think I've done to them. And that's brought you into the mix because you're my friend."

"It sounds a lot like you're blaming yourself, Harry, and you know I'm not going to allow that. They would want to hurt me just for being a muggleborn so this isn't just about you."

"I feel as if none of you are appreciating the situation," Katherine said helplessly. "Look at how these children are having to talk! Like they just accept that their lives are constantly in danger! Is that right? Is that healthy? When you explained everything to us, I was willing to accept that a certain leeway was required when it came to us protecting our daughter. But this is just too much!"

"Losing my magic would be the same as killing me, mum," Hermione pleaded.

"Don't sound so ridiculous! You're not who you are because of any magic!"

"I'm not so sure about that."

It was a comment that stung her mum visibly, who took a slow step back. "I understand how important magic is to you…but it's not worth your life."

"For what it's worth, I told her the same thing," Matthew added.

"See! Even your friend agrees!"

"You're not helping, Matthew." Hermione glared daggers at him.

"You could still keep your magic," Matthew continued regardless. "If you focused on your… other powers."

Katherine's eyes lit up. "So there's a chance nothing bad could happen if they choose not to compete?"

"It's a very small likelihood and I have no idea how the goblet works but…I want to believe so, yeah."

Harry looked to Sirius. "What do you think about this? What if I didn't compete?"

Sirius appeared taken aback that the young boy was coming to him for advice. He supposed he would have to get used to that. "You know I'd care for you no matter what choice you make. I wouldn't kick you out the house, that's for sure. I think the Black family even has some muggle properties lying around."

"I wouldn't be…letting you down? Or my parents?"

Sirius slapped a hand on his shoulder, staring at him earnestly. "Your parents would want you to be safe. They appointed me as your godfather to protect you and, for most of your life, I've failed to live up to that standard. This is your choice but…I have a grave feeling about the tournament. I wouldn't be able to look myself in the eye if I were to lose you after just getting you back."

Hermione stepped forward. "You can't seriously be considering this, Harry!"

The boy in question shrugged. "Why not? Maybe this is what I've always wanted. A normal, quiet life where I don't have anyone staring at me all the time."

Hermione turned to their other friend. "Matthew! Talk some sense into him."

"I'm not going to talk him out of something that I basically agree with. I don't think they should be able to make you compete. And you get the choice. It's a bad choice. A truly awful one. But I think you're both more than your magic."

"It's easy for you to say that when you're not potentially losing it!"

Dumbledore saw that the situation was getting away from him and chose to intervene. "I don't think we should be making any hasty decisions. If you were to choose to not compete, the effects would not be set in stone until the First Task officially begins. That means you do have time to change your mind, something I would implore you to do. I don't want to lose either of you from this school, and I know your other professors would agree."

McGonagall nodded her head. "I am as much against the way the tournament has unfolded as the both of you. But I also believe that, if any students can get through the tasks unharmed, then it is you two."

"You've shown that you have a canny ability of dealing anything that gets thrown your way," Lupin added. "But, then again, this isn't a particularly challenging lesson in class. Personally, as a dear friend of James and Lily, and as someone who deeply cares about you both…I wouldn't want to watch you compete."

"We'd still be able to get you into the best schools," Katherine assured her daughter. "We'd make sure of it."

"I would be able to help with that," McGonagall said with the barest hint of a smile.

"How long is it until the First Task?" Hermione asked.

"It'll be taking place on November the twenty-fourth," Dumbledore told her.

"So…less than a month. Less than a month left with magic in my life. Potentially."

Harry looked hopefully towards her. "Are you starting to consider it? I don't want to pressure you or anything but…"

"But whatever decision we come to, it'll definitely be easier if we make it together. I know. I understand."

"Because I don't think I'm going to change my mind over these twenty days or so." Harry wore a grim expression. "I don't think I'm going to compete."