"Alright, Dad?" Tonks greeted as she and Harry walked into Ted's office. Harry took a moment to look around, the walls were a calming navy blue, the carpet a crimson red and the ceiling a plain white with a dangling gold chandelier. There was a sofa on each side of the room, and each sofa was placed in front of a few rows of bookshelves, filled to the max. At the end of the room, sitting behind a large oak desk was Ted Tonks, dressed in a simple grey suit. On his desk were several bits of important-looking documents that were seemingly scattered around the desk at random. Behind Ted were several awards that were nailed to the wall, awards such as the 'Employee of the Year, 1989', the 'Voted Best Lawyer, 1986' award and the 'Table Tennis Champ, 1990' award.
"Oh, hello Dora," Ted smiled brightly. "Oh, and Harry as well, good to see you both. How are you doing?"
"Same old, same old," Tonks shrugged, choosing not to mention that she had nearly been stabbed earlier. "Anyway, Harry wants to talk to you, he needs you to 'lawyer up'."
"Oh, how come?" Ted asked as he gestured for the two to sit at the seats opposite him.
"Well..." Harry said as he sat down. "...Firstly I was wondering if it's possible for me to legally become an adult, also I may or may not end up suing the Daily Prophet." He told him bluntly. Ted stared at him for several long moments before looking down and muttering about 'cancelling his seven o'clock'.
"Ah, Mr Potter," Ollivander said as Harry and Tonks walked into his shop. "Ah, and Miss Nymphadora Tonks," He added as he stared at Tonks. "And how is your wand treating you?" He asked her from behind his till.
"As good as usual, and don't call me Nymphadora," Tonks said, giving him a mild glare for uttering the forbidden name.
"She doesn't like that name," Harry added helpfully as he walked over to Ollivander. "So, I am..."
"Here to see about a new wand, of course," Ollivander nodded. "It's a dreadful shame that your holly wand no longer suits you as well as it should have, it was one of my favourites."
"Uh...yeah, it was a great wand," Harry admitted. "But Sir, I think that..." He trailed off as Ollivander pulled out a bunch of wand boxes and placed them on the desk, he reached for one at random before removing a spiralling brown wand with a plain brown handle.
"I first thought about giving you another holly wand, but I considered that perhaps a change in wood might help you. Give this one a try, dear boy, it's made of hornbeam, much like my own wand, with a strand of unicorn hair."
"Um...Sir, I already have a new wand," Harry said awkwardly.
"I...you what?" Ollivander asked, confused.
"I already got a new wand, I just brought it here so that you can confirm it's good for the tournament," Harry explained.
"Oh," Ollivander looked very disappointed and perhaps even a little heartbroken that Harry had not brought one of his wands, leaving Harry with an irritating urge to apologize. Ollivander waved his wand and all of the wand boxes flew back into their shelves before he stared at Harry. "Let us see it then," He said, suddenly looking a good fifty years older.
"O...kay," Harry frowned before pulling out his wand and reluctantly handing it over to Ollivander.
"Hmm," Ollivander seemed to brighten somewhat as he stared at the new wand, he leaned closer and started to smell it, he placed his ear against it as if trying to listen to its heartbeat. He moved it in various directions as he began examining it from every possible angle. "Hmm, I can tell that the wood is blackthorn, eleven inches and slightly flexible, a strand of your old phoenix feather is in here, clearly,"
"Clearly," Harry absently nodded.
"But I must confess that I do not recognise the rest." He frowned and stared questioningly at Harry.
"It's a heartstring from a Swooping Evil," Harry answered the unasked question, causing Ollivander's eyebrows to nearly shoot up and off of his head. He turned to Tonks and she snorted.
"That's what he told me, I'm going to be heading back to that shop later to see if the man has the proper permits," Tonks told him.
"As well you should," Ollivander nodded before turning back to Harry. "And what of the bonding agent used in here?" He asked.
"Bonding agent?" Tonks asked while Harry stiffened slightly.
"Yes, I can sense that something is bonding the cores together but I can't tell what," Ollivander admitted.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you, it's a Potter family secret I'm afraid," Harry said apologetically.
"Oh," Ollivander muttered before waving the wand, only to fly back and hit the shelf behind him.
"Whoa!" Tonks blurted out, while Harry looked stunned.
"It's quite alright," Ollivander coughed violently, taking a moment to calm himself before he spoke again. "Quite a loyal wand," He remarked, staring at the wand. "It evidently does not like being in the hands of someone else, why don't you try it, Mr Potter?" He said, holding the wand out to Harry. Harry took it and immediately felt a wave of emotion wash over him, he felt confident and strong, as if he could take on anyone and anything, and to be fair he probably could with just Venom. He waved his wand and several multi-coloured sparks poured out, large and flashy ones that lit up like fireworks. "Impressive," Ollivander breathed out in wonder.
"I'll say," Tonks agreed, staring with awe. "You certainly know how to use your wand, Harry." She commented.
"I can't tell if that's a genuine compliment or if you're just being dirty-minded again," Harry told her.
"Little bit of both," Tonks admitted unashamedly.
"Well, your wand seems to be working well enough," Ollivander decided. "It's a shame that you didn't buy one from my shop, but I can admit that this wand is as great a wand as any. Perfectly fit for the tournament, Mr Potter."
"Thank you, Sir," Harry nodded to him. "I suppose we'll be going now," He added before he and Tonks walked to the exit.
"Goodbye Mr Potter," Ollivander called. "Goodbye Miss Nympha-arrgh!" He ducked as a vicious red spell hit the wall behind him.
"Why do people keep calling me by that accursed name?!" Tonks complained loudly once she was out of the shop with Harry.
"I like it," Harry shrugged. "I think it's pretty,"
"Oh, like me?" Tonks asked flirtatiously.
"Nah, but it's almost as pretty as you," Harry replied smoothly with a small grin.
"You flirt," She laughed, punching him lightly in the arm.
"Takes one to know one," Harry shot back. "So, what now?"
"Back to Hogwarts now, I suppose, since we've got your wand and all," Tonks answered.
'I'm hungry!' Venom complained.
"Yes...or..." Harry pointed suggestively to a nearby sweet shop. "...you could do your job as law enforcement and make sure there is nothing suspicious going on in that fine establishment, and perhaps I - as a concerned citizen, of course - could accompany you."
"Hmm," Tonks hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps, I have heard some rumours about the 'suspicious' chocolates they have there, I should make sure they're safe, via vigorous taste testing, naturally." She said in a professional voice.
"Naturally," Harry agreed.
"And it would be very irresponsible of me to not check 'Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour' while I'm at it," Tonks decided.
"Highly irresponsible," Harry concurred. "Florean gives me free ice cream,"
"Harry," Tonks said in a serious voice. "You can't let your emotions blind you, this investigation is important. The taste buds of the wizarding world are depending on our shoulders,"
"You can trust me, Tonks, I won't let you down," Harry replied back just as seriously.
'This is cute but if you don't hurry up then I'm going to eat somebody,' Venom warned Harry.
"Shall we?" Harry asked, offering her an arm. Tonks snorted before gently pushing his arm down.
"We shall," She said before walking off.
'We're wearing her down,' Venom decided as Harry walked after her.
Harry let out a small sigh as he entered the headmaster's office, Dumbledore had summoned him here, though he wasn't sure why. Venom had what he believed to be the right answer, but Harry - for some reason that Venom couldn't understand - doubted that Dumbledore had 'finally wised up and decided to permit us to purify the gene pool of the school by getting rid of the undesirables'. Once he got inside of the office he saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk as usual, and standing next to him was Percy Weasley.
"You called for me, Sir?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I did, please have a seat, Harry," Dumbledore replied, gesturing him to sit down at the seat opposite. Harry did so and gave the duo a questioning look, quite clearly wanting to know why he was summoned here. "Now, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley has been quite busy at work, looking for a way to get you out of this tournament." He said, and Harry noticed Percy puff up and stick his chest out.
"Yes," Percy smiled smugly. "I had to look over the rules several times and discovered that there are simply two things you must do, firstly you must fill out this form here," He paused to pull out a form and hand it to Harry. "This form simply stated that you willfully give up your place in this tournament, including giving up the rights to earn any prizes or benefits that could be gained from being in the tournament. The second thing you must do is at the first task, simply state that you do not wish to compete and then...simply don't compete."
"Are you serious?" Harry blinked. "That's it,"
"Yes, you simply just don't have to compete," Percy explained, looking quite proud. "The goblet of fire is a powerful and ancient magical object, but that does not mean that it's capable of pulling in unwilling participants. Only those who willingly enter their names are bound by its rules. I mean...could you imagine the horrors that would occur if you could do that, someone could drop any name of any person and force them to compete or risk their magic. It'd be horrible."
"So if I want then I don't have to compete?" Harry asked slowly and thoughtfully.
"Pretty much, yes," Dumbledore cut in, his arms laid on the desk with his fingers intertwined as he leaned forward and stared intently at Harry the same way one would stare at a rather curious-looking animal in a zoo. After a moment he turned to face Percy. "Mr Weasley, I believe that our business here is concluded, thank you for your diligence, the floo is open should you wish to leave. Though, if you prefer, I do believe that your siblings all have free periods now, should you wish to have a chat with them." He offered, Percy looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.
"Tempting but I'm afraid I still have quite a bit of work to do. Headmaster," He nodded to Dumbledore before turning to Harry. "Mr Potter," He added before heading to the floo and flooing away.
"So, Harry," Dumbledore spoke up. "I trust that you've been able to procure a new wand," He said, staring questioningly at Harry.
"Yes, I have," Harry said, removing his wand and showing it to Dumbledore.
"A remarkable design," Dumbledore said, staring at the wand. It reminded him of his first wand, it was a rather plain-looking cherry wand, though it worked well enough, despite its rather plain and boring appearance. 'Kids these days get all the cool wands,' He couldn't help but think.
"Thank you, Sir," Harry said, putting his wand away and standing up. "I should probably be going now, providing we don't have any more business to discuss."
"Not at the moment," Dumbledore said with a slight shake of his head. "Unless there is something that you wish to discuss with me?" He asked, leaning back in his seat.
"Not at the moment," Harry replied before turning around, he had barely made it ten steps before Dumbledore called after him.
"Harry," Dumbledore said, causing the young teen to turn around and face him. "I hope you are happy with this news, I believe that you have had an argument with your friends about the tournament if the rumour mill is as accurate as usual."
"Ron and Hermione aren't my friends anymore," Harry told Dumbledore.
'We don't need them,' Venom added in Harry's head.
"My boy," Dumbledore said, a small smile on his face. "I understand that at your age friendships can break, but they can also be reformed, not as easily, mind you. But it is possible, with a bit of effort. I dare say that Mr Weasley and Miss Granger would be worth it in the long run."
'I don't,' Venom growled.
"I don't," Harry replied. "They made their choices and now I will make mine. They're not my friends anymore," He said, bluntly and honestly, causing the smile to slide right off of Dumbledore's face.
"Harry," Dumbledore said, calmly enough. "You and your friends have been through a lot together,"
'He just said they weren't friends, asshole!' Venom yelled.
"Are you truly going to throw away such valuable friends over a school tournament?" Dumbledore continued. "Mr Weasley and Miss Granger are still young, as are you, it's only natural to make mistakes at their ages. I'm sure that not too long from now, the three of you will be friends once more."
"We won't," Harry said firmly. "I don't give out second chances when it comes to personal loyalty. Perhaps if I had suddenly become the next Voldemort and they turned on me then I would understand, but not when they turn on me over a school tournament. They turned on me when I needed them. If it weren't for me then Hermione would be dead or petrified and the Weasley family would be at least a member or two shorter. They turned on me, and I've learnt from my parent's mistake with Pettigrew. They don't get another chance," Harry said firmly.
"If you're sure," Dumbledore said, sounding like he had been forced to drink something particularly vile. "But Harry, I must implore you to think carefully. There may come a time in your life when you will need your friends."
'He doesn't need them,' Venom hissed.
"I don't need them," Harry said without hesitation. "I don't need any of them. I have everything and everyone I need. Now, if there's nothing else," He added, turning and walking away before Dumbledore could respond.
Once Harry was out of the headmaster's office he decided to head to the common room since he still had a little bit of his free period left before he had to go to see Professor Flitwick for his extra lessons, it was on his way there when he stumbled across something interesting.
"And...I'm the best in my class...of course..." Stuttered Seamus Finnigan, nervously running a hand through his hair while his best mate Dean Thomas stood behind him and looked like he was trying not to gape at Fleur who was staring at the two like they were insects. Harry suppressed a hard sigh before he decided to continue walking, hoping beyond hope that they didn't notice him. "...And I'm pretty good at quidditch..." Seamus added quickly, "...Best in the school!"
"That's bull!" Dean cut in. "I'm better on a broom than you, and I'm a muggleborn."
"I'm a half-blood, so what?!" Semaus snapped at him.
"You're not even on the team," Dean pointed out before turning back to Fleur. "He's not on the team," He said quickly.
"That's only because Harry already took the seeker position," Seamus insisted. "Besides, you're not on it either."
"Harry," Fleur said quickly, noticing Harry who cursed silently as he had barely been able to make six steps past them before being noticed.
"Fleur," Harry said as he turned to greet her. "I see you've met my roommates," He added whilst gesturing to Dean and Thomas.
"Yes, yes," Fleur said dismissively as she walked up to him. "Do you perhaps know where Professor Flitwick is? He is not in his classroom, I asked your friends here but they have been less than helpful." She added, causing Seamus and Dean to blush.
"I can't say for sure, perhaps he's in the staff room or in his office. If you can't find him then I'm meeting him in half an hour in the courtyard by the great hall,"
"For what?" Fleur asked.
"Nothing special," Harry shrugged.
"Then you shouldn't mind telling me what it is, correct?" Fleur asked, raising a perfect eyebrow as she seemingly tried to drill into him with her blue eyes.
"I sometimes take extra lessons with Professor Flitwick," Harry explained. "Like an extra half an hour every week or so, depending on how busy he is."
"Extra charms lessons?" Fleur asked in an intrigued voice. "Charms is my best subject,"
"Mine too!" Seamus quickly yelled.
"You blew up your desk at our last lesson!" Dean cut in.
"Shut up!"
"To have extra lessons, you must be either quite bad or quite good at the subject," Fleur continued speaking to Harry, ignoring the two behind her. "I am curious, which is it?"
"What does it matter to you?" Harry asked, giving her a questioning look.
"Are you good at charms?" She asked suddenly.
"Decent," Harry said modestly.
"Do you know where the staff room and Professor Flitwick's office is?" She questioned him.
"Yeah, I do, why are you..."
"Excellent, you can show me where they are," She decided.
"I don't think that..."
"Do you have something better to do?" She cut in.
"Well, not really, but..."
"Then you can guide me there," She smiled stunningly.
"You..." Harry trailed off and shook his head. "...Are an interesting woman," He decided. "Come on, let's go," He told her, about to take a step forward when she slipped an arm into his, causing him to stop and stare at her.
"It is polite for a gentleman to offer a lady his arm," She pointed out, giving him a challenging look.
"Well, I do consider myself a gentleman, not sure how polite I am though," He added as the two walked off, arm in arm.
"So, what is your favourite spell?" Fleur asked.
"Patronus charm," Harry said without thinking.
"Mon Dieu!" Fleur blurted out. "Truly? You are a fourth year, are you not?"
"I got lucky," Harry said modestly.
"One does not simply get lucky with a spell like that," Fleur huffed. "I still have not mastered it, did Professor Flitwick teach you it?"
"Learnt it myself," Harry replied honestly.
"Will you teach me, please?" She asked hopefully.
"Teach you?"
"Yes, and in exchange, I'll teach you a spell that I know," She offered.
"A seventh-year spell?" Harry asked, undeniably interested.
"Why not? I'm sure you could handle it," She replied as the two of them rounded the corner, leaving Seamus and Dean behind, staring with wide eyes.
"Lucky git!" Seamus cursed. "Potter gets all the luck." He complained to Dean who had already started walking off. "Hey, where are you going?!"
"To learn some charms!" Dean called back as he rushed to the library.
"Wait I...shit! Wait for me you git!"