Chapter 39: Chapter 39
Albus Dumbledore looked at the boy in front of him under his half-moon glasses. He had heard rumours about Harry arguing about house elves and other related topics with Hermione Granger, which showed that Harry didn't have a high opinion of muggles and that was disturbing. Harry reminded Albus a little too much of Tom Riddle, and he had to be stopped now. He was so glad that a Death Eater had been infiltrated into Hogwarts so as to help Voldemort. Oh, he knew that Alastor Moody was attacked and a polyjuiced Death Eater was taking his place, but it was all for the Greater Good. If Tom was to be brought back to the light, he must regain a body first. After he kills Harry and once his soul pieces are destroyed, Albus was sure that Tom would realise what a horrible mistake he had made. But Harry hating muggles was unacceptable. He had expected the students to gang up on him again, but instead, they actually listened to him and formed their own opinions! What had happened to the sheep mentality? He remembered Daphne's Greengrass' verbal lashing after the incident of the Chamber of Secrets and suddenly he felt uneasy. Could the words of that girl have triggered a spark of change in the mentality of the younger generation? This was not good at all; he had built his power base only on sheep mentality, and if it disappeared, so would his influence. At least Harry would be hated by everyone soon. All he had to do was wait for the Goblet of Fire to spit out Harry's name, and the others would do the rest. Ah, wasn't he the most intelligent wizard ever?
"What can I do for you, Headmaster?" asked Harry, cutting through the silence. Professor Flitwick was looking at Dumbledore with narrowed eyes.
"Well, my boy" said Dumbledore. "I've heard some disturbing rumours about you recently. Is it true that you harbour a hatred for all muggles and muggleborns?"
Harry snorted. "Like student, like mentor" he muttered. Like Granger, Dumbledore seemed to have jumped to conclusions as well. The question itself was a trap, in that if he answered, Dumbledore would use it against him.
"I have no idea where you've heard that, Headmaster, but it is by no means the truth" said Harry.
"Well, Harry, I've heard differently. I heard that Miss Granger was trying to help the house elves and was trying to give ideas to improve our world. Muggles are a fascinating race and we should learn from them, my boy" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling at Harry.
"She was trying to force House elves to accept clothes" said Harry calmly. "The elves came to me for help, so I decided to straighten her out. And I never said anything wrong. She kept instigating that witches and wizards were backward and barbaric while her vaunted muggle world was perfect, so I wished to set her straight. Is that all Headmaster?"
"You can't harbour such a deep hatred towards muggles Harry" said Dumbledore sombrely. "You're going dark, my boy."
Harry chuckled and got up. He headed for the door, which on his touch clicked open much to Dumbledore's surprise as he finally said, "When was I ever light, Albus my boy?" With that, he went out of the room, with Flitwick following him, the latter having a small smirk on his face.
"Bloody manipulative old fool" muttered Harry to himself. "Is it any surprise that Riddle hated him?"
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
On the 30th of October, Harry found himself outside the Castle, waiting for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations. Things were going smoothly for now. Hagrid had listened to his advice and brought unicorns to the next class, much to the relief and delight of everyone else. He had also brought a runspoor, a magical three headed snake, and Harry had been more than happy to talk to the creature and translate it to the rest of the class. Needless to say, it had been a fascinating experience, and Care of Magical Creatures was actually turning out to be tolerable now as Hagrid brought out more tame and interesting creatures, though not according to Hagrid's definition of 'interesting'.
Harry had also started socialising with many of his schoolmates, especially after the drama with Granger. He was more approachable and he made it a point to interact with the first year students. He couldn't help it, but he had a soft spot for children (something which Daphne thought was very adorable and cute). As a result, within the first two months, he was already loved by the year's batch of first years in all four houses (and the second years as well, considering that he had helped them the previous year). He had also befriended the prefects and Head Boy and Girl so that it would become easier to work with them next year (there was no way he wasn't being made a prefect). Daphne too had come out of her shell and started being warmer to others, so now she could be found engaging in long conversations about a variety of subjects with different people. They weren't social animals; far from it. But they did consciously make it a point to ensure that they befriended the entire school. They had a plan, and for it to work, they needed support.
There was also a debate about who was going to be picked as Hogwarts champion. So far, Hufflepuff's choice was Cedric Diggory, and Harry agreed with them. Cedric was quite smart and capable and it would also bring some limelight to Hogwart's most overlooked house. Harry had gone and spoken to Cedric and encouraged him to try as well. He and Cedric were on friendly terms ever since they had been attacked by Lockhart, so they could talk to each other without any hassle. There had been no other candidate as strongly supported as Cedric Diggory, but Gryffindor would never give up this soon. But Harry was also worried about the Goblet of Fire. That sounded like trouble. Thankfully, he and Daphne had come up with an idea to keep his name away from this damn tournament.
Soon, the Beauxbatons delegation arrived. Their Headmistress, a very large woman took her students into the Great Hall to warm up; after all, warming charms could only do so much. Harry narrowed his eyes when he saw Igor Karkaroff arrive with Durmstrang. He was a former Death Eater, who escaped Azkaban by giving away the names of many of his comrades. He was hated by his fellow Death Eaters, but Harry wasn't sure if the man posed a threat. Either way, he would keep an eye out. He went back into the castle along with the rest and took his usual seat with his Ravenclaw friends. It looked like the Beauxbatons group had joined the Ravenclaw table.
The feast began, and Harry and the others engaged in conversation with their foreign guests. He noticed that many of the girls from the other two schools were staring at him and giggling, and he clenched his fists when he noticed many boys from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons eyeing Daphne at the Slytherin table as well. He breathed deeply. This was no time to get jealous and possessive.
Harry started talking to a girl who introduced herself as Fleur Delacour. Harry was sure that she was a Veela because he felt a pull impact his mental shields. She was genuinely surprised that he talked to her normally and not drool over like that the rest of the boys seemed to do. Indeed, many boys of Hogwarts were unashamedly staring at her, with a blank look on their faces, eyes glazed.
"Sorry about them" muttered Harry. "They're not always like this, but after seeing the reaction of most men during the Quidditch World Cup, I can't say I'm surprised."
"How did you know?" asked Fleur surprised that he had figured out she was a Veela. Harry and Daphne had taken the translation potion so that there wouldn't be any communication gap. Daphne kept muttering about her someday creating a spell or potion that would permanently make talking in other languages easier.
Harry shrugged. He was sure that she appeared cold and distant to protect herself from others. After all, when everyone who looked at you lusted after you, it was a difficult life. He and Daphne did the same so he couldn't blame her.
"I felt a nudge against my Occlumency shields, so I knew" explained Harry, helping himself to dessert.
"You know Occlumency? That is very advanced" commented Fleur.
"It's something I felt was quite important. You might want to try it; it might help you in controlling your allure better" advised Harry.
Harry and Fleur spoke about their schools the rest of the time. Fleur couldn't help but be attracted to Harry. After all, here was a guy who was intelligent, very good looking and could also resist her allure.
Pretty soon, the food disappeared, and Dumbledore welcomed them all. The Goblet of Fire was brought in, and Dumbledore again stressed about the age requirement. Harry's eyes narrowed when he mentioned the Age line. While it was a start, there were many ways around them. It looked like Dumbledore was setting a trap, like he had with the Philosopher's stone.
"Finally," said Dumbledore. "I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."
Harry and Daphne discreetly made their way to the Room of Requirement. Once inside, Daphne asked in a strange voice "So, trying to replace me with that Veela girl, huh?"
Harry pinned her against the wall, his face very close to hers. "I already told you" he said in a low voice. "You're more beautiful than any woman alive, Veela or not. No one can take your place, Daphne. Understand me?" He kissed her slowly and sensually, just to prove his point.
"I saw you get frustrated when those boys were flirting with me" said Daphne casually. Harry's face coloured in embarrassment and Daphne smirked.
"Don't worry, Harry" she said. "You're the only one for me as well. Now, can we get on with our business?"
Harry nodded. "Dobby" he said.
Dobby popped in front of them and immediately tackled Harry in a hug. "Master Hadrian be calling Dobby! What can Dobby do for the great Hadrian Potter?" he asked excitedly.
Harry smiled, kneeled down to the elf's height and said "Dobby, I want you to do something important. The Goblet of Fire will be placed in the Entrance Hall soon. I want you to stay on guard, invisible and ensure that no one puts my name in the Goblet. I know that you'll have to sacrifice your sleep for this, but can you please do this for me Dobby?"
Dobby cried and said "Master Hadrian is greater than Dobby ever thought. Dobby will do anything for Master Hadrian. It shall be done." With that, he popped away.
"That was a - weird elf" said Daphne, slowly.
Harry snorted. "Poor guy is probably damaged permanently due to Lucius Malfoy's torture. Or maybe he's just that eccentric. At least he's happy. He deserves it after all he has been through."
With that, they both headed to their respective dorms for the night.
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
The next evening, Harry was again sitting at the Ravenclaw table for dinner, but he couldn't help but fidget; Daphne looked nervous as well. They both looked at the weather outside through the windows and they saw heavy rain, along with thunder and lightning. It was Aquila's warning about danger.
He finally took a deep breath and clamped up his mental shields. He couldn't let himself get distracted. There were only two alternatives according to Daphne – either Dobby succeeded in preventing the Goblet from being tampered with, which would ensure that Harry wouldn't have to compete; or Dumbledore would have done something which would force Harry to compete. He didn't like the idea of competing in the tournament, and Daphne was more nervous than he had ever seen her. His emotions settled as he finished his breathing exercises, and his emotionless mask was back in place. The storm raged outside the castle.
Dumbledore couldn't prevent the press from being here as well. So with that in mind, two reporters were present, and unknown to Dumbledore, they had brought along a recording crystal as well. The crystal was showing the live broadcast of the selection of the Champions to witches and wizards all over the world. Many of them were watching the selection on their E-Mirrors as the Triwizard Tournament was an ICW sponsored event, so it had international coverage. This was what worried Harry, as whatever drama was soon to unfold, a million people would be watching, if not more. And he knew that the audience would certainly grow in the future.
"The goblet is about to make its decision" said Dumbledore. "Once I call the names, champions please enter the next chamber through the Great Hall for your briefing. Good luck!"
The flames of the goblet turned red, and a piece of parchment flew out. Dumbledore caught it and said, "The Durmstrang champion is VICTOR KRUM!" The hall applauded loudly as the Quidditch star went to the chamber off the hall.
The goblet spit out another name. "The Beauxbatons champion is," said Dumbledore "FLEUR DELACOUR!" Harry congratulated the girl sitting next to him as she too disappeared down the hall.
Finally, the goblet turned red again, and spit out the third. The tension was palpable as Dumbledore said, "The Hogwarts champion is CEDRIC DIGGORY!" The entire Hufflepuff table burst into applause and the noise was unimaginable. Cedric grinned and followed the rest of the champions as well.
"Excellent!" said Dumbledore. "Now that our three champions are chosen, I hope we can all support them and -"
He stopped talking as the goblet turned red for the fourth time. Rain lashed against the windows heavily, and a heavy rumble of thunder could be heard as Dumbledore caught the parchment and read "Hadrian Potter"
Harry's eyes flashed bright green in anger, but Daphne knew something was wrong. There was no way Dobby could have missed it, so she activated the darker variant of the notice-me-not charm that was present on the locket Harry had given her two years ago and got up.
"Hadrian Potter" yelled Dumbledore, and people started muttering angrily. Harry slowly got up, his face a mask of utter fury. His hair turned pure white in a matter of seconds, but due to such intense anger, his hair started cycling between different colours all on its own accord and his skin glowed, and lightning bolts surrounded his body as he looked at Dumbledore with more hatred than he had ever felt before. He could probably perform the Cruciatus curse on the old man flawlessly with the amount of anger that was coursing through his veins.
"Excuse me?" whispered Harry, just as a bright flash of lightning illuminated his already furious face and a very loud rumble of thunder followed. Many students sitting close to him edged away, scared that his raw magic would impact them. He really looked scary.
"Your name has been chosen by the Goblet of Fire" said Dumbledore. "Please, follow the other champions."
Harry flicked his wand to his hand. "I, Hadrian James Potter" he said clearly, just as many gasped when they realised what he was about to do, and Dumbledore's eyes went wide as well. "do hereby swear on my life and magic, that I did not enter my name in the Goblet of Fire; did not attempt to enter my name in the Goblet of Fire; never asked anyone to put my name in the Goblet of Fire and finally never had an intention to take part in the Triwizard Tournament in the first place; I am being forced into this tournament without my consent and against my will; this I swear, so mote it be!"
The light flashed, signifying his oath. There was deathly silence, as people saw his oath take effect. Since he swore the oath on his life, and the fact that he was still standing alive meant that he was definitely, without a doubt telling the truth.
"Expecto Patronum" said Harry quietly and the giant thunderbird appeared from the tip of his wand.
Dumbledore was in shock. What was it with Harry and magical oaths? There was a reason those oaths weren't used on a daily basis because they were extremely dangerous if even one wrong word was spoken. And Harry swore it on his life? He would never have thought anyone would be foolish enough to swear such a long and detailed oath, but it seems Harry really didn't care! This was not good. Should he resort to Plan B? Just then, he felt a presence next to him and someone used his momentary distraction to take the parchment away from his lose fingers.
Daphne calmly approached Dumbledore and plucked the piece of parchment from Dumbledore's grip and stepped away from him. She looked at it and said "There was no need for you to risk your life to swear that oath, Harry. This parchment is blank."
"Miss Greengrass, how dare you take that from me?" asked Dumbledore angrily, making a move to grab it from her, only to impact a shield. He turned to see Harry's wand raised, pointing towards him.
"Professor Flitwick, could you please verify Miss Greengrass' statement?" asked Harry calmly.
Daphne passed the parchment to Flitwick who saw that it was blank. He ran several diagnostic charms on it and said "This piece of parchment is completely blank, without a word written on it. What are you playing at Dumbledore?" he asked furiously.
The murmur increased, but just then, Dumbledore's back up plan activated. Albus had specifically implanted a parchment with Harry's name on it in case the Death Eater impersonating Moody wasn't successful. The goblet went red for the fifth time, and this time, Professor Flitwick summoned the parchment to his hand even before Dumbledore could catch it.
"Hadrian Potter again" snarled Flitwick. He couldn't believe his most prized student was being pushed to the limit again. "And his name appears without a school. This clearly was torn from his homework assignment; two sides of the parchment are smooth while the other two are not. The people who put their names had to include their middle names as well, and this doesn't have Mr Potter's middle name. Someone tampered with the Goblet of Fire."
"There is no proof of that" said Dumbledore calmly, but he was mentally sweating buckets. His plan had been perfect. He would have announced Harry's name; due to the shock, Harry would not have reacted and just followed his orders; this would have led to the school turning their back on him. It had been a big shock to him that the fourth piece of parchment was blank, but that blasted Greengrass girl had figured it out! His Plan B would have worked wonderfully, but that didn't count on it being the fifth parchment to fly out. He had confunded the goblet into believing there was another school, with Harry as the sole participant. He had done this as a fail safe so that had the Death Eater not been able to trick the goblet, his plan would activate, making Harry compete in the tournament. But what he had not expected was the parchment the Death Eater had placed to come out blank! What had happened there? His momentary distraction in dealing with Greengrass had not allowed him to stop the fifth parchment from flying out, this one being the one he had placed in the goblet. This had turned into a nightmare! And Flitwick had figured out the inconsistencies as well. Damn him! He didn't have a choice in the matter except take Harry's homework assignment as the Goblet specifically needed the person's handwriting which contained his inherent magical signature which was accessed by the Goblet. Dumbledore felt all his plans crashing around his ears. But he still had hope; Harry would still be forced to compete as he was chosen by the Goblet. He was bound by the terms of the implied contract. That part of the plan was something Harry hadn't anticipated, thus giving Albus the advantage.
"No proof?" snarled Daphne. "The fact that the goblet spit out five times instead of three is considerable proof that someone has tampered with it. You were the one who called out Harry's name when the slip of parchment didn't even have his name, and you think all is well?"
"Don't take that tone with me, Miss Greengrass" said Dumbledore dangerously. "I'm the Headmaster of this school and you will show me some respect."
Daphne growled, her tigress instincts taking control again. "It is difficult to respect a man who is hell bent on getting my fiancé killed."
"Miss Greengrass that's enough from you" snapped Professor McGonagall, coming forward. "Potter, in you go" she said, pointing towards the entrance to the chamber where the other three champions were waiting.
Harry breathed deeply to get his wild emotions back under control. His hair colour returned to its original jet black, his skin stopped glowing and the small lightning bolts disappeared. But his eyes were still glowing bright green. He calmly walked towards the chamber off the hall with Daphne by his side and Professor Flitwick in tow.
"Miss Greengrass where do you think you're going? The briefing is for the champions only" snapped McGonagall, only to receive no response as Daphne calmly followed her fiancé into the room.
As they entered, Cedric looked up from where he had been talking to Fleur in hushed tones and said "Harry? What are you doing here? Do they want us to go back to the Great Hall?" he asked confused.
"The Goblet of Fire has been tampered with, Ladies and Gentlemen" said Daphne curtly. "His name seems to have come out twice, and the Headmaster is hell bent on making him compete. I assure you that he did not place his name in the Goblet. He swore a magical oath in the Great Hall to that effect."
Suddenly, Bagman entered and said joyfully "This is extraordinary! Let me introduce you to the fourth champion!" With that he started clapping, only to stop when he saw the furious faces of Harry and Daphne.
"This is not a happy occasion Mr Bagman; I hope you do well to remember that" said Harry quietly, but the venom in his voice was not missed.
"Eh" said Bagman nervously. "Of course not, Lord Potter; my apologies."
But just then a large group entered the room as well. Fleur immediately went to her Headmistress. "Madam Maxime, there seems to be a mistake. How can Monsieur Potter be chosen as the fourth champion? What is going on?" she said, the translation potion making Harry and Daphne clearly understand what she was saying.
"I would like to know that as well, Dumbledore! What is the meaning of this?" snapped Madam Maxime.
"Two Hogwarts champions?" said Karkaroff angrily, but his eyes betrayed him as it showed undisguised glee. "We were under the impression that your age line would prevent anyone under the age of seventeen to put their names in the Goblet of Fire. Never would I have thought your students would resort to such disgusting actions such as -"
"Oh, don't act all high and mighty Karkaroff" snapped Daphne. "You were there in the Great Hall when Harry swore an oath on his life that he didn't enter himself. Or are you too stupid to realise that tampering has taken place after the Goblet spit out two extra pieces of parchment?"
"How dare you talk to me like that?" said Karkaroff, acting as though he was deeply insulted. "Is this how your students behave Dumbledore? I would have thought -"
"Oh just shut up Karkaroff, we know what you are" snapped Harry. "I don't need a Death Eater to lecture me about behaviour and disgusting actions. I'm here only to find out the next course of action. Since I didn't enter my name in the Goblet of Fire, I'm not obligated to compete in the tournament, end of story."
"How dare you?" yelled Karkaroff. "This is a personal insult! I can't take such insults lying down! My students and I will be immediately leaving as we have had it with Hogwarts' disgusting actions."
"Empty threat, Karkaroff" said a gruff voice. Everyone turned to see Alastor Moody limping into the room. "Your champion can't leave. None of them can leave. Binding magical contract; convenient, huh?"
"Convenient?" snapped Karkaroff. "What are you blabbing about Mad-Eye?" he sneered.
"Oh, don't get so uppity Karkaroff" said Moody amused. "Everyone knows of your Death Eater past, so don't try to hide it. As for the Goblet, someone put Potter's name in it, knowing that he would have to compete if his name came out. It's probably a murder attempt. Get him into the tournament and just wait for him to injure himself. It was also clearly a case of tampering as they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object. It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the tournament. . . . I'm guessing they submitted Potter's name under fourth and fifth schools, to make sure he was the only one in his category. Very intelligent to do it twice, so as to trap him" he explained.
In a fraction of a second, Harry caught Daphne's eye and acted.
"You seem to have given this a great deal of -" said Karkaroff, but was interrupted when there was a flash of light, blinding everyone in the room. Dumbledore drew his wand, but just then, the light cleared. Everyone turned to see Alastor Moody on the ground, stunned and under several binding spells.
"Mr Potter" yelled Dumbledore and McGonagall at once, looking at Harry's wand pointed at Moody. "How dare you attack a teacher like that?" said Dumbledore. "I'll have you suspended for this!"
Harry chose to remain silent, watching Moody closely. He had just figured out something which had baffled him last night. He had been browsing through the Marauder's Map late last night when he saw Alastor Moody entertaining Barty Crouch in his office. The wards had informed him that there was one extra unaccounted person in the castle; he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was going on, as for that he would have to take control of the wards from Dumbledore, but the castle did inform him about a few things. He realised that Moody was somehow involved in the incident with the Goblet of Fire. The bizarre behaviour of Moody, coupled with his perfect readymade answer as to how Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire this soon after the incident made it way too suspicious.
Daphne immediately went over to Moody, picked up his hip flask and opened it. "Polyjuice potion" she declared after smelling it.
"If he were indeed Alastor Moody, I doubt I would have been able to land a spell on him" said Harry calmly. "Call the Aurors."
"That won't be necessary" said a voice. Everyone turned to find Lady Amelia Black, Head of the DMLE standing at the doorway with two Aurors and Lord Sirius Black.
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