I do not own Harry Potter nor World of Darkness
Second Floor Girl's Bathroom, Hogwarts, 30th October 1994 (Friday)
Sir Zettler walked into the bathroom, looking around.
"Rather… ostentatious for a bathroom."
"Can't argue with that, sir." said one of the three wizards he hired for the occasion.
"If you think that's fancy, wait until you see the Prefect's bathroom."
"And how exactly are you familiar with the Prefect's bathroom?"
"I'm pretty sure in the same way you're familiar with the broom closet, Dale."
A sharp stomp from Zettler interrupted the wizard's banter.
"You'll have the time to discuss your conquests later. I'm not paying you to chit-chat."
"Sorry, sir."
Zettler nodded, fishing a small recorder from his pockets and pressed play.
"So, Harry… can I ask you exactly how you
got into the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Yes, sir. After we learned that the last
victim of the basilisk was the ghost haunting the
second floor girl's bathroom, we went there to
inspect it. I spoke in parselmouth to the sink…"
"What did you say?"
"I just told it to open."
"No, Harry… I want to hear you say in parselmouth."
"Oh, sorry sir."
As a hissing noise came from the recorder, the sink started to shift, slowly disappearing, revealing a long chute.
"I'd be damned…" muttered one of the wizards
"Gentlemen… I need a lift. Did you bring the brooms?"
The three wizards nodded, pulling the brooms out of their pockets and unshrinking them.
"Wunderbar. Let's head down then, shall we?"
As the group reached the bottom of the chute, they set off a few shining orbs of magic, trudging their way across the muck until they reached the chamber proper. The wizards took their time to admire the sheer size and grandiosity of the place as they casted their spells, checking for traps, creatures and any other danger they could think of.
"The room is clear, sir."
"Wunderbar. You and your colleagues can wait outside."
"Outside? Sir… are you sure?"
"Very. Unless you are experts in spirit summoning, I simply must ask you to leave. Your presence might disrupt the ritual."
With a worried glance at their employer, the wizards nodded, leaving Zettler to his own devices. Once he confirmed he was alone, he pulled a small leather pouch from his pocket, once again marveling at the genius of the item. Such a small pouch, expanded to the point he could carry over a ton of various materials. Such a shame that they required magic to operate… He'd have to hire some wizards to make a variant usable by non-mages as well. As of now there was only one way for him to access the content of the pouch.
With a small flourish, Harold Zettler grabbed the pouch with both hands… and ripped it in two.
From the broken remains of the pouch fell off two men, bound and gagged, whimpering as they impacted the floor.
"Please, do not struggle. The ritual is complicated enough as is."
Zettler bit his own wrist, thick Vitae down his hand as he started to draw symbols on the floor. The two men tried to scream, but they could only emit muffled and indistinguishable noises. Once the circle was completed, Zettler stepped in the circle and grabbed one of the men, lifting him by the neck.
"Do you want to live?"
The man nodded, panic setting in.
"Could you kill your brother to save your life?"
The man's eyes went wide and he looked at the other man on the floor, then back at Zettler, then back at the man on the floor. The vampire rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"The hard way it is." he said, his eyes turning blazing red.
He dropped the man to the floor and with a swift movement, removed the bindings.
"Kill him. And make sure he's in the middle of the circle."
Without a word, the now unbound man dragged the struggling body of his brother in the middle of the circle, then raised his foot.
And slammed it on the man's head.
Again. Again. Again. Again.
Zettler didn't pay attention, concentrating on the most important part of the ritual. His blood poured, burning as an offering to allow the call to reach the depths of Malfeas. He closed his eyes and started to chant, a slow, rhythmic song in a long-forgotten tongue, the beating rhythm of his offering's head being kicked into a pulp following the rhythm of his chanting, until… the beat stopped.
Zettler opened his eyes and smiled at seeing the man slowly shifting, twisting and contorting. His mouth became jagged, fanged teeth replacing the man's as his skin tuned black and scaley.
He offered a bow, aware that should the Maeljin wish to, it could have probably killed him. Or at the very least, it would have made more than a valiant attempt at it.
"My name is Harold Zettler. Humble servant of Mahsstrac and the great Triatic Wyrm at large. I am honored that a great servant such as yourself has decided to grace my summoning with their presence."
The man flicked its long, bifurcated tongue, tasting the air as if trying to determine the truth in Zettler's words.
After a few, interminable seconds, it finally spoke.
"And pray tell, servant of Mahsstrac, what do you believe you have to offer to acquire the service of a Basilisk?"
Zettler smiled.
"Everything you might desire."
The man shifted, his body creaking with broken bones and muscles tearing, its mouth stretching to inhuman proportions, until a large black snake slithered off, abandoning the man's skin like a pile of discarded clothes.
"I am listening" it hissed.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 31th October 1994 (Saturday)
Despite it being a Saturday, students rose up much earlier than usual, forming a rather large crowd around the Goblet of Fire in the center of the hall. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction, delimiting the area that the judges warded off against underage students
"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-year girl.
"All the Durmstrang lot. But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."
"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed."
"I would've if it had been me… wouldn't have wanted everyone watching."
Someone laughed. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurried down the staircase, looking extremely excited.
"Done it. - Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Ron. - Just taken it."
"What?"
"The Aging Potion, dung brains."
"One drop each."
"We only need to be a few months older."
"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins."
"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know. - said Hermione warningly - I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."
Fred, George, and Lee ignored her. Harry watched, fascinated, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment, walked right up to the edge of the line and rocked back and forth like a diver preparing to drop. Then, he took a deep breath and stepped over the line. For a split second Harry thought it had worked, and as George leapt after Fred and both twins were launched out of the circle with a loud sizzling sound. They landed painfully, ten feet away, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.
The entrance hall rang with laughter.
"I did warn you. - said the deep, amused voice of Professor Dumbledore. - I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett and Mr. Summers, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."
Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by a laughing Lee.
"So, aging potions are out." commented Theo.
"What if you just skip the line? Throwing your name in there without stepping in the circle can't be too difficult, can it?"
Ron scribbled his name on a piece of parchment and approached the goblet, looking around to check for teachers before he tossed the crumpled up ball of parchment into the flames. Much to everyone's surprise, the ball floated above the flames, without catching fire, before it launched itself at full speed towards Ron's groin, causing the boy to double over in pain and many males wincing in pain.
"Ok, that's a no as well." commented Harry, helping out Ron towards the closest seat.
"I think you might have to ask someone older to drop it in for you." pointed out Sally.
"Ok, but who's going to do it? And I don't think they'll just agree to it due to the goodness of their heart."
"Perhaps we could ask Bole? Our beater?" suggested out Theo.
"There's no way Bole would do it for free. He's going to ask for an absurd amount of Galleons… and half the prize money too, from what I've heard." pointed out Sally
"How about Derrick?" asked Ron.
"Wait! I know who can try." said Harry, leaping to his feet.
"Who?"
"Kaa!"
"Kaa as in… your familiar?" asked Sally, unconvinced.
"Is Kaa even old enough?" asked Hermione.
"I mean… he spent a few centuries as an egg, that probably counts, right?"
"He is a magical creature… he might be unaffected by the protection spells." mused Daphne.
"I'd say it's worth a try. Worst comes to worst you just end up like Ron." said Theo.
"Wanna have a taste, Nott?" groaned Ron.
"Love you too, Weasley."
Harry nodded, ignoring the banter between his friends, and rushed to his dormitory, where Kaa spent the majority of his days.
By lunch, the decorations in the Great Hall had changed from the morning: a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner.
The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors, chief among them a girl with silvery-blonde hair, deep blue eyes and what appeared to be a regal step, as if she was floating through the air with grace. She was astonishingly beautiful and… Harry felt something squeezing him, the coiling body of Kaa snapping him out of his trance.
To his side, he saw Daphne grabbing Theo's face and forcing him to look at her.
"What?"
"She's a Sidhe. - explained Daphne, looking at the boys with a mix of disdain and pity. - We studied them in Fae studies last week, remember?"
"Oh. Wait… don't they go by Veelas nowadays?"
"Don't care, they're sluts that charm men into cheating on their wives. - She glared at Theo - Do not look at them."
Theo kissed her on the cheek. "Sorry, Daphne. You know I only have eyes for you."
The girl rolled her eyes, before breaking into a smile and returning the kiss. "Sure you do. Theo."
One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the line and dropped their names into the flames.
By the time the dinner feat came around, the Goblet of Fire had been moved, and it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. It had taken Harry quite some time to convince professor Snape to allow Kaa, who had dropped Harry's name in the Goblet during the afternoon, to join the Slytherin table for dinner, as the now three meters long winged snake really wanted to see who the champions were. Kaa had attracted quite a bit of attention at first, but as he had simply opted to lay motionless over the table next to Harry, even the most curious of looks were soon diverted to more lively topics.
At long last, the feast came to an end. Dumbledore got to his feet, on one side there were Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, looking as tense and expectant as anyone, while on the other side Sister Isobel and Nadurrachd Uninnseann were hiding their emotions a lot better. Or perhaps Nadurrachd Uninnseann had already predicted the future, if Alain's claims regarding the Sahajiya were true. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored. Sir Zettler was in there too, leaning over his chair while spinning his hat on his finger.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision. - said Dumbledore. - When the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber, where they will be receiving their first instructions." He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it, extinguishing all the candles and leaving the flames of the Goblet of Fire shine more brightly than ever.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red, and sparks began to fly from it. A tongue of flame shot into the air, and a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it into Dumbledore's hands.
"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum."
A storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall as Krum rose from the table and slouched up toward Dumbledore.
"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff.
As the clapping died down, everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more.
"Fuck yes!" shouted someone from the Bardic College, stepping towards Dumbledore as he reached for the charred piece of parchment.
"The champion for the Bardic College - said Dumbledore, eyeing the boy who had just approached him with curious eyes - is Blair Stuart."
Blair offered an exaggerated bow to the headmaster and the clapping students.
"Show off." frowned Sally under her breath.
"You have to admit… It was a pretty impressive display of Divination." said Daphne
Sally huffed, not deigning her friend of a response.
Another piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.
"The champion for the Celestial Chorus is Maria Graham."
Applauses accompanied the nun as she walked up the room, offered a polite bow to Dumbledore and exited the room.
One more burst of fire and another name fell into the headmaster's hand.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour."
"That Sidhe bitch!" hissed Daphne, as soon as she recognized the figure walking up the Hall.
When Fleur had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, stiff with excitement. The Hogwarts champion next. The Goblet of Fire showered out sparks once more, the tongue of flame reaching the tip of Dumbledore's fingers and deposited the last piece of parchment. "The Hogwarts champion - he called - is Cedric Diggory!"
Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to their feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. "Excellent! - Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. - Well, we now have our five champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real…"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking as fire in the goblet had just shot up again, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment. Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized it. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it, staring at the slip in his hands just as everyone stared at Dumbledore.
"Harry Potter."
The eyes of everyone in the hall turned towards him. It wasn't possible. He had to be sleeping. He had not heard correctly. Someone was pulling a prank on him. There was no school name on his piece of parchment. He…
A slow clapping snapped him out of his state, attracting the attention of everyone to a smirking Harold Zettler. After a few seconds, Ludo Bagman joined in and, one by one, the other professors. A tentative applause spread among the students as well, just as Kaa wrapped his tail around Harry's hand and forced a very confused wizard to his feet. After what seemed like an hour, he was right in front of Dumbledore, mumbling something and pointing at the door. He wasn't smiling.
Harry went through the door out of the Great Hall and found himself in a smaller room, lined with paintings and a fireplace ablaze with a roaring fire.
Fleur threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair.
"What is it? Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"
There was a sound of scurrying feet behind him, and Ludo Bagman entered the room, swiftly followed by the rest of the judges and Sir Zettler. Kaa hissed as Karkaroff almost stepped on his wing, forcing the Durmstrang professor to jump to the side.
"Extraordinary! - muttered Ludo Bagman, squeezing Harry's arm. - Absolutely
extraordinary! Gentlemen, ladies… May I introduce you, incredible though it may seem, the sixth Triwizard champion?"
Krum straightened up, his surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry. Cedric looked nonplussed, looking from Bagman to Harry and back again. Blair smiled, offering Harry a thumbs up. Maria didn't seem to show any emotion. Fleur, however, tossed her hair, smiling.
"Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."
"Joke? No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"
Fleur frowned.
"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake. 'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."
"Well… it is amazing…" started Bagman, rubbing his chin.
Madame Maxime had drawn herself up to her full, and considerable, height. "What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she said imperiously.
"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore. - said Professor Karkaroff. - Two Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions… or have I not read the rules carefully enough?"
"I am personally far more interested as to how Mr. Potter bypassed our spells in the first place." asked Uninnseann, looking at the boy.
Headmaster Dumbledore was now looking down at Harry, with an unreadable expression behind the half-moon spectacles.
"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.
"I… sort of?" asked Harry, hesitantly.
"Explain!" boomed Karkaroff, in clear irritation.
"I put his name into the Goblet of Fire."
Everyone's head turned toward Kaa, wings spread open as he flapped towards his master, gently resting his coils over his shoulder.
"I felt your magic when I crossed the line, but it didn't do anything. I'm not even sure it detected my presence at all."
"It didn't. - interrupted Sister Isobel. - The spell me and Uninnseann cast used the Life Sphere to detect someone entering the ward. As a purely spiritual creature, the spell failed to detect… that."
"We should have used Spirit as well" muttered Uninnseann, clearly annoyed.
"Very interesting. - commented Sir Zettler, who had taken up his seat in one of the chairs. - Is it safe to assume everyone else's spell worked by using the same principle?"
A moment of tense silence fell on the room as the three headmasters looked at each other.
"Mr. Crouch… Mr. Bagman… Sir Zettler - said Karkaroff, his voice unctuous once more - you are our… er… objective judges. Surely you will agree that this is most irregular?"
"It is irregular, my dear. Should we organize a duel between the two boys to see which one gets to participate for Hogwarts? First blood?" proposed the vampire.
"That won't be necessary, sir. Although, a dueling tournament does sound like a nice secondary event for those students that weren't selected as champions…" said Bagman, already imagining the event.
"That can wait for another day, Mr. Bagman. - suggested Dumbledore. - For now we have more pressing matters. Is there a way for Mr. Potter to resign from his position as a champion?"
"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament." declared Barty Crouch.
"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front." said Bagman.
"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students. - said Karkaroff. - You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."
A single clap dragged everyone's attention to Sir Zettler.
"Headmaster… I couldn't help but notice that when you read Harry's note, you didn't name his school of origin… Was that an oversight on your part or was the school name absent?"
Dumbledore fished the half-burned crumpled names from his pockets, his fellow judges joining him in inspecting them.
"It seems like Mr. Potter forgot that little detail. Too important to remember your school, Potter?" asked Karkaroff, an angry growl on his face.
"That solves the issue! Mr. Potter can compete as an external student with no school affiliation. It's probably the reason he was picked from the Goblet in the first place!" proclaimed Bagman with a huge smile. For a second, he was afraid the tournament was going to be canceled for this. Sure, he'd have to alter his plans for the tasks again, but that was a small price to pay for this. The drama alone would ensure that everyone would want to know every little detail about this tournament!
"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr…"
"Wunderbar! - Shouted Zettler, cutting off Madame Maxime's objection with a loud clap. - The tournament has barely started and we already have the eyes and ears of every witch and wizard in Europe just begging for more. I knew sponsoring this was a great idea!"
The headmasters looked at each other. It was clear that the three wanted Harry to participate.
"Well, shall we crack on, then?" said Bagman, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"
"Yes, - he said. - instructions. Yes… the first task is designed to test your daring, so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important
quality in a wizard, very important… it will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges.
"The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over."
Maria, the nun, raised her hand. "What about us? I don't use a wand, and I'm pretty sure Blair doesn't either."
"Oh. Yes. Uh… - said Bagman, flustered. - Uh… I suppose the two of you would be allowed an item with the same function as a wand… If you have one… Do you?"
Maria raised her hand, showing a rosary bead, while Blair simply lifted up his thumb.
"With that out of the way, I think that's all… Is it, Albus?"
Dumbledore sighed. He wanted to object to Harry's participation, but it seemed clear that the decision was no longer in his hands.
"I think so. Are you sure you gentlemen wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight?"
"No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry. It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment." said Mr. Crouch.
Dumbledore nodded.
"What about you, Sir Zettler? I am sure many other members of my staff would like to have a chat with you."
"I appreciate the offer, Headmaster, but I do have a business meeting with a supplier in Japan in but a few hours. One of our refineries was attacked, and all the evidence points toward a pack of Garou. I'm afraid my expertise is needed in dealing with those howling barbarians."
"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" said Dumbledore, looking at both Crouch and Zettler.
"I think not, Albus," said Crouch with a touch of impatience, while Zettler merely shook his head.
"Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Sister Isobel, Nadurrachd Uninnseann… a nightcap?" asked Dumbledore.
But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and was leading her swiftly out of the room, whispering something in French. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they, too, exited.
"If the offer is still valid, I'd love to share a cup of tea. - said Sister Isobel with a smile. - The events of the night have been far more spectacular than what usually goes on in our little Abbey. I feel like I'm in my twenties again with all the excitement."
Uninnseann just shrugged, leaving the room with Blair.
"I'll be happy to share a nice tea. Harry, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed, I am sure Slytherin and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise." said Dumbledore,
smiling at both of them.
"In that case, I'd like to take my leave as well." said Maria, offering a polite bow to the elders before leaving the room with Harry, Kaa and Cedric.
Notes
Zettler recruits a basilisk! Because why wouldn't he try to recruit one?
In case you're wondering, Zettler used a modified version of "House the Maeljin", the 5-dot power of the Dark Thaumaturgy path "Die Heriroschaft des Wyrm", which is Zettler's personal Thaumaturgy path
Meet the champions! I suppose the presence of Harry, Blaire and Maria wasn't that much of a surprise, but I hope you'll find their escapades during the tasks amusing.
As you have seen, I altered the security regarding the Goblet of fire and given the judges a plausible explanation that doesn't immediately screm "the Goblet of Fire has been hacked", which in any normal circumstance would have caused for the legitimacy of the tournament to be put into question. It' one of those things in canon that you just have to accept because there's no way to rationalize it without some HEAVY wordbuilding implications