"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.
"Lord and Lady Black" said Dumbledore frowning. "May I ask what you're doing here?" He was mentally seething as well as afraid. What in Merlin's name was going on? He had hatched a perfect plan, but nothing was going as planned! How had Harry figured out that Moody was an impostor?
"We had been watching the selection of the champions on our E-Mirrors, Albus" said Sirius coldly. "And I would like to know what game you're playing with my godson. How did his name come out of that blasted goblet?"
"That can be answered once we have questioned this one here" said Amelia. She was looking at the hip flask which Daphne had handed to her. "Going by the quantity of polyjuice potion, our dear Moody should be transforming anytime now."
"This has all been a big misunderstanding" began Dumbledore, but was silenced with a glare by both Amelia and Daphne. Both of them had furious looks on their faces. Suddenly, they saw Moody's skin bubbling. Everyone turned to look in shock and disbelief as Alastor Moody's face changed to –
"Barty Crouch" declared Harry. "Junior"
Everyone turned to look at a white faced Crouch Senior, who seemed unable to speak. Amelia narrowed her eyes. "Can you explain how your son, who was supposed to have died in Azkaban, is alive and well Mr Crouch?" she asked in a deadly voice.
Crouch Sr remained still, not speaking a word. The rest of them were too shocked to react. Immediately, Amelia fired a binding charm on Crouch Sr as well. "Arrest them both" she said flatly to the Aurors she had brought with her.
"Well, Dumbledore?" snapped Sirius. "Care to explain how a Death Eater impersonating your old friend managed to elude you for two whole months? Or can you explain why you're trying to force my godson into this tournament?"
Dumbledore remained quiet, looking at both Crouch men being escorted out by the Aurors. "I have no idea about what is going on. But clearly, Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. He has to compete; all four of them of them will. It is in the rules, which is what they will do."
"But Dumbledore" began Maxime.
"My dear, Madam Maxime, if you have a better alternative, I would be delighted to hear it" said Dumbledore.
"If you think Harry is going to compete just because you say so Dumbledore, then you can forget it" said Daphne angrily.
"I agree" said Sirius. "There is no way I'm taking your word for it that there is no way out."
"Mr Bagman I will need a copy of the Triwizard rules" said Harry quietly. "You can expect to hear from the Gringotts Legal Department soon. I think we're done here. Thank you for your help, Professor Flitwick. I greatly appreciate it."
With that, Harry, Daphne, and Sirius walked out of the room, leaving behind a stunned crowd. They never knew that there was uproar all over the country and the world. Dumbledore mentally smiled. "There is no getting out of this Harry" he thought. "You are trapped. Let's see how you handle this. I hope you can forgive me, my boy. But it is all for the Greater Good. You are well and truly caught in my web."
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
The headlines in the Magical Daily newspaper in the following couple of days were a shock to those who hadn't watched the selection of the champions on their E-Mirrors.
CHAMPIONS SELECTION FOR TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT GOES AWRY; FOUR CHAMPIONS SELECTED
Victor Krum of Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons and Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts are the Official Champions
HADRIAN POTTER, THE BOY WHO LIVED FORCED INTO THE TOURNAMENT
Goblet of Fire spit out two extra pieces of parchment; who tampered with it?
DUMBLEDORE TRYING TO FORCE HADRIAN POTTER TO COMPETE! DOES HE WANT TO SEE THE BOY WHO LIVED KILLED?
Hadrian Potter swore a magical oath on his life declaring his innocence in the matter
DEATH EATER POLYJUICED AND IMPERCINATED ALASTOR MOODY; RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING POTTER'S NAME IN THE GOBLET
Barty Crouch Jr still alive! Crouch Sr got his son out of Azkaban!
DISGRACED FORMER DIRECTOR OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CROUCH SR PLACED HIS SON UNDER IMPERIUS CURSE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE!
Crouch Jr conjured the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup!
'NOT SURE ABOUT HIS MOTIVES BEHIND PLACING LORD POTTER'S NAME IN THE GOBLET; UNBREAKABLE VOW PREVENTING US FROM FINDING THE TRUTH' SAYS DMLE DIRECTOR LADY AMELIA BLACK
Crouch senior and junior to be sentenced to the Dementor's kiss
'DUMBLEDORE A DISGRACE TO OUR COUNTRY' SAYS LORD GREENGRASS
'Dumbledore on probation' says Lady Augusta Longbottom, speaking for the Hogwarts Board of Governors
Filius Flitwick replaces Minerva McGonagall as Hogwarts Deputy due to her being negligent in her duties; Narrow vote and Board divided over the matter
'LORD POTTER HAS TO COMPETE; IMPLIED CONTRACT BETWEEN POTTER AND GOBLET OF FIRE' SAYS LORD RANGOK OF GRINGOTTS BANK, SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF HIS CLIENT
'Name from homework assignment used for entering Potter into the Tournament' explains Professor Flitwick
DID DUMBLEDORE ENTER POTTER'S NAME IN THE GOBLET?
'ALBUS DUMBLEDORE IS PERSONA NON GRATA WITH THE POTTER FAMILY' SAYS LORD POTTER; LORDS BLACK AND GREENGRASS FOLLOW SUIT
Minister Fudge declined to comment
IS THIS ANOTHER ATTEMPT ON THE LIFE OF THE BOY WHO LIVED?
'Watch last night's incident on your e-mirror' says Magical Daily Press
'DISCOUNTS OFFERED ON PRODUCTS UP TO THE DATE OF FIRST TASK OF TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT' SAYS SERENA MILLER
Watch the three tasks on your E-Mirrors; now available in various sizes. Rush to your nearest Miller's Magical Mirrors store today!
Harry sighed due to exhaustion. He was sleeping on a couch in the Room of Requirement, with his head on Daphne's lap, with her playing with his hair.
"I can't believe Dumbledore would put my name in himself" muttered Harry.
"Me neither" said Daphne softly. "I didn't think he would want to get his hands dirty, but I guess he was desperate. Dobby stopped Crouch's attempt which was why the fourth parchment came out blank, but it looks like Dumbledore put your name in the goblet before he placed it in the entrance hall; which was when Dobby started his watch. Are you sure there is no way out?" she asked, stroking his face with her hand, looking at him worriedly.
"No" said Harry. "There is no written contract between the champions and the Goblet of Fire. It is implied that once chosen, you will have to see it through to the end. The rules state the same as well. But I have ensured that they don't brand me as the Hogwarts champion. That went very well with the student population, though I don't like their looks of pity any better."
After the debacle on the night of the selection, the next morning Harry had gone to the Great Hall and publicly announced that he did not consider himself to be the Hogwarts Champion; that title and prestige belonged solely to Cedric Diggory. He then asked the rest of the student population to instead give Cedric their undivided support, as he, Harry was forced into the tournament, and he was taking part only because there was no way out. Needless to say, Harry was declared an honorary Hufflepuff due to this statement. Ravenclaws were happy that their house was also represented, even if it was by accident, and the majority of the Slytherins were curious about how Harry would perform. The Gryffindors were indifferent since there was no one from their house, and many were still upset over having a Hufflepuff champion (personally, Harry couldn't wait to publish Godric's journal, just to slap everyone in the face and get rid of the stupid stereotypes). Some idiots, led by Ron Weasley, still believed that Harry was a glory hound and that he entered it himself. But they were quickly cursed and pranked by Fred and George. Draco Malfoy had tried to discredit Harry as well, but no one was that stupid. They had all seen Harry swear a magical oath on his life and besides, Harry was way more powerful and influential that the ferret Malfoy, so no one listened to him.
"I just want to know why he placed my name in the goblet" said Harry frowning. "Both Crouch and Dumbledore know something. What is it? Is it Voldemort? Is that why I was entered into the tournament? But if that's the case, why do they go through so much trouble? An assassination attempt would be more efficient and they could have done that at the Quidditch World Cup. We can't even find out the reason behind it from Crouch because there is an Unbreakable Vow in place that is stopping him from revealing the truth. Damn it! We can't pin it directly on Dumbledore either, so he was able to avoid a thorough investigation. Not only that, he still seems to have supporters, which was why he couldn't be booted out as Headmaster. But I'm glad they put him on probation."
"I'm happy McGonagall got the slap in the face that she deserved" said Daphne with a sneer on her face.
Harry nodded. "Flitwick would surely do a good job. I would like him as Headmaster too" he said, his voice trailing off.
"We'll have to increase your training" said Daphne.
"Already on it" replied Harry. "I've been looking through various books about the tournament, and it's usually based on some element of nature and magic. And the first task will always have something to do with some dangerous magical creature. I got a notice from Gringotts. I own a Dragon Reserve in Romania, and guess who just ordered four nesting mother dragons to be brought to Britain?"
"Nesting dragons?" hissed Daphne. "Are they insane? There's nothing more deadly than facing a nesting mother dragon, as they're incredibly protective of their clutch. The champions could very well be roasted alive! This tournament is done to promote International Magical Cooperation, not attend the funerals of champions!"
"I don't care about that" said Harry frowning. "I can take care of myself. But I'm worried about the dragons and their eggs. I don't want them hurt. The dragons didn't do anything to us! This is the kind of sport I hate when it comes to witches and wizards. Why can't they understand that dragons are sentient magical creatures and not toys they can play with?"
Daphne shook her head in exasperation. Leave it to Harry to not bother with his life, but instead worry about the health of the dragons. Didn't he understand how worried she was? This tournament was insanely dangerous; that was why it was discontinued! She felt like kidnapping Dumbledore to the dungeons of Potter Castle, and then torturing him until he was nothing but a gibbering, crying mess. He deserved it for all that he had done to Harry.
Harry could sense the emotional turmoil that was gripping his fiancée. He got up from her lap, pushed her down on the couch, and kissed her passionately. Daphne moaned as he felt the tension of the past few days melt away.
"Don't worry, Daph" said Harry soothingly, kissing her face tenderly. "I'll be careful. Nothing will happen to me. I'll ensure that I'm prepared."
"I hope so" whispered Daphne, just as a tear fell from her left eye.
"I know so" whispered Harry, kissing her eyes tenderly, wiping the tear away. "Trust me; I won't let anything happen to me. I'll be with you, always. Nothing can tear us apart. Not Dumbledore, not Voldemort. Understood?"
"Okay" said Daphne in a slightly shaky voice as she hugged him tightly. "I love you"
"I love you too."
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
The next couple of weeks passed quickly at Hogwarts. Even though Harry had told everyone that he wasn't the Hogwarts champion, many people treated him like one. It was nothing bad; it was just that he received a lot more attention than he was used to. The four champions were all very popular in their own right, and this created a horde of fan following that tended to annoy Harry and as an extension Daphne as well.
Fleur Delacour already received a lot of attention due to her being a Veela and because her allure tended to influence the boys. Victor Krum was an International Quidditch star, and he had his own gang of fans and stalkers – both boys and girls. Cedric was already quite popular and good looking, and this created a storm of girls in sixth and seventh years who were following him around everywhere, trying to catch his attention. But none of them had it as bad as Harry did.
Harry was the Boy Who Lived, and he already had an enormous fan following even before the Triwizard debacle. But what was more was that he was desired by nearly every girl from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang alike! Girls used to sigh and giggle every time they caught sight of him, and he had heard rumours from Astoria that the many girls now had large posters of him in their dorms, which he frankly found to be creepy while it also boosted his ego. Tall, with a muscular frame, shoulder-length silky black hair, very handsome features, and vivid green eyes made him the object of adoration for many, and this annoyed Daphne. No one seemed to care that Harry was already engaged to be married. Astoria had reported that it had spread out of Hogwarts and Britain as well, as many had seen him on the E-Mirrors on the night of the selection of the champions. From what she had heard from one of the girls from Beauxbatons, even though Harry was throwing a fit that night, many girls all over the world were drooling at his unnatural good looks.
Of course, Daphne wasn't faring any better. She had received several letters through owls from students from the other schools who asked her if she would like to go on a date with them. Harry was furious when he counted no less than twenty different letters from different boys, most of them describing how beautiful they thought she was. Daphne, of course, found the whole experience amusing and just vanished the whole lot of them, but their make out sessions did get a lot more frequent and intense due to them wanting to prove to the other that they weren't interested in anyone else.
A week before the first task, the Weighing of the Wands ceremony was scheduled to take place. Harry entered the classroom and saw Victor Krum was standing in a corner, not talking to anybody, while Cedric and Fleur were talking softly to each other. Harry smiled softly at them all and went to engage Krum in a conversation about Quidditch, while the other asked Harry about his experience in Duelling; Harry was an International Duelling Champion after all.
About ten minutes later, Mr Bagman arrived, beaming, along with Albus Dumbledore, Madam Maxime, Igor Karkaroff, other delegates, the press (who brought along the crystal which showed everyone the live telecast, much to Dumbledore's displeasure), and the wandmaker Garrick Ollivander.
"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room.
"Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches . . . inflexible . . . rosewood . . . and containing . . . dear me . . ."
"A hair from the head of a Veela" said Fleur quietly.
Ollivander nodded and proceeded to test her wand. Once he was satisfied, he went on to Cedric. Harry paid close attention to what was being said about their wands, as it could give him some insight on how their personality worked; he had studied the basics of wand lore, something which he found to be quite interesting.
"Unicorn hair . . . Twelve and a quarter inches . . . ash . . . pleasantly springy" he said and tested it. With that, he moved to Krum.
"Ah, a Gregorovitch creation, isn't it? Yes . . . hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees . . . quite rigid . . . ten and a quarter inches"
Once tested, he finally came to Harry, who presented Ollivander with his highly polished wand.
"Ah yes" said Ollivander quietly. "The most unusual wand ever sold by my family. Yew and Nundu heartstring . . . fourteen inches . . . very rigid"
Mr Ollivander spent longer examining Harry's wand, while others gaped at him when he mentioned the wood and core. Yew was considered a very powerful wood in wands and was quite feared in duelling circles; they also tended to have a dark reputation due to their power. Nundu heartstring being used in wands was unheard of by anyone present in the room and they were looking at Harry as though he weren't human. Nundus were considered as the most powerful magical creature in existence, and to have a wand which had a heartstring of a nundu was unimaginable. It became very clear to others that Hadrian Potter was not a person one should mess with.
The wand maker tested it and gave it back to Harry, who flicked it back to his holster without comment, his face expressionless. Once the photographs were taken, Harry calmly left the room, going back to the kitchens for lunch. Suddenly, he wasn't in a very chatty mood. He wasn't worried about him getting any negative news; he owned the press after all. But the reaction he had got from the others when Ollivander had described his wand had put him off.
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
"Absolutely not" said Harry firmly.
It was three days before the First Task and the dragons had finally arrived. Just as Harry had suspected, they were not happy to have been brought here away from their home, nor were they happy to be caged.
"The dragons are already in danger due to this damn tournament, but there is no way are you risking the eggs by placing them in the arena. They could be destroyed by accident and I'm not going to let so many unborn dragons be killed just because witches and wizards have such a poor sense of what is fun" he said to the Head Dragon Keeper of the Romanian Dragon Reserve. They were standing in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest and the dragons were putting up one hell of a fight several feet away.
"But Lord Potter, the tournament officials -" he said but was interrupted.
"As far as I'm aware, I'm the owner of the reserve Mr Dorian" snapped Harry. "The tournament officials have no business ordering you about and neither does the British Ministry of Magic or the ICW. There will be no eggs placed in that arena, is that clear?"
The Head Dragon Keeper swallowed nervously. He had thought that meeting Hadrian Potter would be a joke; after all, he was just a fourteen-year-old boy. But the second the man saw Potter, he knew who was clearly in charge. The young boy just seemed to ooze magical power, and he seemed to fill the space in that no one else could compare to him. You couldn't help but listen to him, as he posed a commanding presence, which frankly unnerved the older man.
"But Lord Potter, the eggs are part of the task" he said nervously. "It has been specifically requested by the Triwizard Committee which has been commissioned by the ICW. We have a contract, sir, and we have to go through with it."
Harry folded his arms over his chest and looked at the dragons which were all stunned by several of the dragon handlers. The committee wanted eggs, but he wasn't willing to risk them. So the only option was –
"I'll provide you with charmed duplicates" said Harry finally. "Switch them with the real eggs and place them in the arena. Make sure that the mother dragons know that their eggs are safe; I don't want them to go on a rampage. How many are there in each clutch?"
"Ahm" said the Head Keeper, looking at his notes. "There are fifteen each, sir; that makes it sixty eggs in total".
Harry snorted. "There is no way am I risking the lives of sixty unborn dragons for this piece of shit. If the Triwizard Committee discovers the switch, just tell them that you were following orders and direct them to me. I'll handle them" he said flatly.
"Yes sir" he said, mentally breathing a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to deal with those people in case the worst happened. He was more than happy to shift the responsibility of explaining it to them to his newly discovered boss.
"And make sure you have Healers who specialize in dragon care nearby" ordered Harry. "I don't want the mother dragons fatally injured as well. Once the tasks are over, ensure that they are treated for their injuries. If Healers aren't here right now, ensure that they are present at the arena on Thursday. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Potter" he said.
Harry nodded to the man and before he left, he paused. "You'll find the substitute eggs by tomorrow evening. Also, ensure that none of the real eggs are misplaced. I will not have anyone stealing the real eggs and replacing them with fakes so that they can be sold on the black market. If I catch anyone doing that, trust me when I say they will be looking for a new job, along with a nice stay in prison. Ensure that your employees are clear on that matter as well. And remember, I will know if I'm being deceived. Good day, Mr Dorian."
"Damn" whispered the Head Keeper, wiping his brow, watching Harry walk away. He was so glad that Lord Potter had not figured out that he had wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and steal the real eggs. Now there was no way was he even going to try something like that; Potter might only be a fourteen-year-old boy, but he clearly was capable of destroying their lives in an instant should they fail him. He would have to talk to his staff so that nothing unusual happened.
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
The day of the first task was on the 24th of November. The stadium where the first task was to take place had been erected, with many witches and wizards paying entrance fees to come watch it. It was not as large as the stadium of the Quidditch World Cup, but it was huge never the less. Large mirrors were placed everywhere so that they could see the champions' progress up close. Millions of witches and wizards around the world were now watching on their E-Mirrors too, wanting to see how the task would take place.
Daphne followed Harry to the edge of the champions' tent. Her face was pale and she hugged him tightly. Harry grunted due to the pressure.
"Please be careful" she whispered, doing her best not to cry. "Just grab that stupid egg and come back to me safe and sound."
"I will" said Harry, and he kissed her passionately. Once they broke apart, he gave her one final hug and proceeded into the tent.
Fleur, Victor and Cedric were all already present. Harry nodded to each of them and took a meditative posture so as to work on his Occlumency shields. He knew that all four of them knew about the dragons, so he wasn't worried about fair play. He owned the Dragon Reserve and knew about it; Krum was told by Kararoff; Fleur was told by Maxime while Cedric was told by his dad. Harry had wondered if he should tell Cedric about it but took one peek into the boy's mind and found out that Amos Diggory, who worked for the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures knew about it and had informed his son.
He had been meditating for several minutes when he was interrupted by Bagman entering the tent. The champions were instructed to put their hands in the bag and remove a variety. Cedric got the Swedish Short-Snout; Fleur got the Welsh Green; Krum got the Chinese Fireball, while Harry got the Hungarian Horntail.
"These are what you will be facing after going through, ahm, a couple of steps" said Bagman, beaming at them. "The theme for the first task is fire. Good luck to you all!"
Harry was the fourth selected. The tent blocked out all sound which came from the outside so he had no idea what was happening. Two hours later, he was called. He breathed deeply, flicked his wand to his hand, and exited the tent. He entered the arena to face the first task