"I don't suppose you could have told me beforehand how hard it would be to find all the ingredients." Harry muttered in an annoyed voice.
It was currently halfway through October 31st, with the selection of the champions being set to occur in a few hours. The students were given several hours of time to prepare, as they were informed that there would be a few famous witches and wizards, as well as high up members of the ministry.
They were also informed that there would be a Recorder Glass present, which would be used to broadcast the events live. Harry was planning on asking Salazar how such a thing could be accomplished; it seemed very interesting indeed.
"Why should I care how hard it is to find the ingredients, you found them in the end, didn't you?"
"Well, yes, but I got them from the Potter Businesses, and all of the materials I took were very rare, they'll definitely have noticed that they're gone."
"So?" questioned Salazar, "You are the owner, are you not? It should not matter."
"Yes, but technically I'm not allowed to take them - I'm not emancipated."
"So you are not technically allowed to do it, but if you do it and get caught, you won't get in trouble?"
"That summarizes it pretty well, yeah." said Harry.
"Either way, it doesn't matter." said Salazar dully, "You can not have possibly believed the ingredients to create a phoenix would be common, could you? Now let me check them over, we must be sure they are real. Occamy feather?"
"Here." said Harry, pulling out a blue and purple feather.
"Thunderbird feather?" asked the portrait, nodding when Harry waved a white and gold feather in front of him.
"Veela feather?"
"Yeah, got it. From their avian form. I'm assuming it's a feather and not their hair because it's more closely related to birds, which a phoenix is?"
"Yes, all the components in this ritual that belong to magical beings are in some way related to birds." Salazar informed him, "The first two were because of power, or similar things. Veela feathers are the third component because of their allure, similar to the song sung by a phoenix, though they are not quite the same. Veela also hold a strong connection with fire, which is quite useful for a ritual such as this."
"Alright, and I also have the 'Eternal Flame', like you asked." said Harry, pulling out a small jar from behind him. Inside the jar was a glowing golden flame, wavering against the unbreakable glass.
"And how did you procure this one?" asked Salazar curiously.
"Got it from the shadiest part of Knockturn Alley, via Owl Order." Harry informed the portrait, "I'm not actually sure if it's real, so you'll have to check it. I paid a ridiculous amount for it, so I would hope it's real."
"It is indeed real," said Salazar, "Which is to be expected for such an item. Most sellers would not wish to hold onto this for long, to prevent the fire from spreading. As you might have guessed, the fire is not easy to put out."
"So, this is considered a Normal Ritual, right?"
"It is indeed. Although if your owl is judged worthy, she may attempt to create a true familiar bond with you - that would be a soul bond, and is obvious a Soul Ritual. But this is normal, yes."
"Alright, I'm going to get started, it'll take a few hours at the least, and the Champion Selection is today, I can't afford to be late."
Harry spent the next several hours preparing the ritual in the chamber, which was several times more complex than the two he had done previously. He had to create runes to enhance the power of each object, as well as runes to make sure the Eternal Flame didn't spread (he couldn't keep it in the jar as it would affect the ritual). Hedwig spent the time sleeping on one of the stone serpent heads, as she would be needing as much energy as she could spare for the ritual.
Harry had been rather intrigued to find out that Hedwig could seemingly understand what he told her about the ritual. She had been able to nod her head to indicate that she wanted to do it, and was following the instructions Harry had given her. She had been this way for as long as Harry remembered; he had always been able to understand what she was trying to say, just from her hoots and body language.
"What is it that makes owls like Hedwig so intelligent?" Harry asked as he finished up the final rune pattern. The rune work was incredibly large, roughly spanning twenty by twenty feet, with his handwriting (or wand-writing, technically) being incredibly small, not dissimilar to the size of Hermione's handwriting when she worked on her homework.
"I suspect the same thing that makes a witch or wizard more intelligent." answered Salazar.
"And that is?"
"A number of vastly different things; when alone, they do nothing, when combined they form something great. In this case, that is intelligence."
"A sphinx would be easier to understand." retorted Harry sarcastically.
"I am trying to say that it is a number of things," explained Salazar in a similar tone, "Experience, location, those around you, bodily development, and many others. On their own, they likely have little effect. Together, however, they create something incredible. The world works in a similar way, you know."
"How so?"
"More often than not, people are not particularly incredible, at least not on their own. They mean nothing, or very little. But when they combine together, they create something of an importance far greater than themselves. I suppose the Ministry is an example of this, although I personally don't believe your ministry is worth much more than those who created, what with all its stupidity. Either way, I digress."
"What about Riddle?" asked Harry, "Was he one of the few who was great on his own?"
"He was. So was Morgana. The same could be said about us four founders, although we chose to band together, and were not as powerful as the Riddle or Morgana. You will be, however - that I am sure of."
Harry chuckled quietly.
"What even makes you believe that?"
"You have the brilliance Tom Riddle once held. You have the gift Morgana held as well. You also have the raw power they both held, and it is growing by the day. The two of them definitely became more powerful than I did, as will you."
"But how do you know I won't go dark, like Riddle did? How can you be sure?" asked Harry, his voice breaking slightly.
"There is no such thing as light or dark, that is a concept you must eradicate from your mind." reprimanded Salazar, "They are like good and evil - a concept designed to appease the lesser ming. They do not truly exist, the world is not black and white. Regardless, I am more than sure you will not become another Riddle. He was always leaning towards the horrible path he now walks, but he did something that pushed him entirely over the edge, something that made him what he is. It is not something I will discuss with you now, but I assure you the time will come."
"How can one action have such a drastic effect?"
"Tell me that there was not a single event, many years ago, that did not completely change your existence."
Harry froze slightly, before nodding in understanding. He bowed his head, checking his watch as he did so. The time was 6:30 in the evening.
"I have an hour left before the selection, we should start the ritual."
Harry slowly woke Hedwig up, giving her a bit of time to be fully awake. He nodded his head towards Salazar and the rune work, before placing Hedwig on his shoulder.
"She will need to sit in the center circle." Salazar informed Harry, "The moment you step out of the rune area, the ritual will begin.
"Will it hurt her?" asked Harry.
"As long as she is indeed a magical owl, which she is, she will be fine." assured Salazar, "She will simply be still for around fifteen minutes, as she absorbs the magic required for the Phoenix Stasis."
"And when will the Phoenix Stasis begin?"
"No particular time." said Salazar, "Just some time that she is alive. Although it does happen more often when they are in dangerous situations, from my understanding."
"Alright, I'm doing it."
Harry slowly walked towards the center circle, depositing Hedwig within it. She gently nipped his fingers before he made his way out of the rune area. Once he had done so, Harry noticed that the magical components were glowing slightly, and that Hedwig had frozen entirely. He stood there for a few minutes, trying to see if anything was happening.
"I expected a ritual that turns an owl into a phoenix to be more interesting." commented Harry.
"I said the same thing to Rowena when Helga transformed Caladrius." said Salazar, chuckling.
"And what did she say?"
"Something about how the ritual didn't turn the owl into a phoenix, but that it made it so that owl's worth could later be judged, and then the owl might turn into a phoenix at that time."
"She sounds like Hermione talking about homework."
They sat in silence for a bit, before Salazar spoke again, this time in a much quieter voice.
"When she goes under her Phoenix Stasis, I believe she will attempt to create a soul bond with you."
Harry turned to the portrait, his expression curious.
"How do you know?"
"Like I said, all phoenixes hold some sort of positive emotion. For her it seems to be love, which is directed toward you. You must have treated her with love, something that most witches and wizards will not give an owl. She will want to bond with you."
"Is that good or bad?" Harry asked the portrait.
"I believe it to be good. There are only two magical creatures that can be soul bound, or become a true familiar, and they are both creatures that are wizard made: phoenixes and basilisks. For a basilisk, they chose whether or not to bond with their creator the moment they break out of their egg, just as phoenixes do when they are first formed. The moment my basilisk left her egg, I chose to ask her to not bond with me, but to enjoy her long life. As you know, she spent the majority of her long life in sadness and sorrow."
Harry nodded.
"So are basilisk similar to phoenixes in that regard?"
"They are indeed. Both require a ritual to be created, both can choose to either do nothing or create a soul bond. Both will live for a thousand years if they do nothing, unless they are killed - which is a very difficult thing to do, but not impossible, as you know. Neither of the two creatures can mate, and both of them once were another animal. Both of them require a powerful emotion and intent to be created. For phoenixes, they must be positive. For basilisks they can be, but it is not a requirement.
"So if someone created a basilisk, they could potentially form a familiar bond with it and have an invincible basilisk?" said Harry, panicking. He really hoped Salazar hadn't told Riddle how to do this, or he would be dead within a few years at most.
"Yes, that is indeed possible."
"But you can literally make a basilisk by putting a chicken's egg under a toad, everyone knows that!" exclaimed Harry, his panic growing.
"The sheer stupidity of your generation never ceases to amaze me." Salazar said distastefully, "The toad is supposed to sit on the egg during the ritual. As the ritual occurs, the toad is combined with the unborn chick inside the egg, as well as the several other magical components. That is what creates a basilisk. A toad sitting on a chicken's egg is simply one of many steps."
"So you need the ritual to create the basilisk." asked Harry, continuing once Salazar had nodded.
"Does Riddle know the ritual?"
Salazar shook his head.
"At a certain part of my life, I was the only person who knew how to create a basilisk. Once I had created my basilisk, I used a memory charm to remove the information from my head."
"So the knowledge on how to create a basilisk is lost to time?" Harry questioned.
"It is indeed. Besides, a basilisk would be much more likely to kill someone as opposed to bonding with them, regardless of the person being their creator. It is only due to myself being a Parselmouth that my basilisk, Lilith, offered to bond with me - "
Boom.
Both the portrait and Harry turned towards the origin of the noise, which was where Hedwig was. The runes that had once etched the floor were gone. The magical components had also vanished. Only Hedwig remained where she was, flapping her wings.
Harry made his way over to his owl, picking her up gently. She seemed more than fine, judging by the way she hopped on to Harry's shoulder and rubbed her chest against Harry's head.
"She seems the same." Harry noted.
"Good, she is supposed to be the same." said Salazar, "Sometime in the future, she will go under the Phoenix Stasis, and will be judged of worth. If she is worthy, she will become a phoenix."
"Who exactly judges her worth?" asked Harry.
"No idea. Rowena theorized that they are judged by their own beliefs. They have to deem themselves worthy."
"Alright, fine." said Harry, not entirely understanding the portrait's words (he would have to ask later), "I really need to go, but one last thing. What does the stasis look like?"
"She won't move at all." Salazar informed him, "She might appear frozen. You may think she's dead, or asleep, but she is not. You can tell by peeling back her eyelids. If she is under the Phoenix Stasis, her eyes will be glowing a soft gold."
"Golden eyes, got it."
"Do not worry about it, it highly unlikely that it will occur anytime soon. Now tell me about this Champion Selection; it appears to be much more pressing."
"There are going to be a few famous witches and wizards, and some important ministry officials, I think." said Harry, "I know that the British, French, and Bulgarian Ministers of Magic are all going to be there, Professor McGonagall yelled it at us the other day when Fred and George were fooling around in the common room. They're going to be using the Recorder Glass too, to broadcast around the world."
"Do you know any of the places where people will be able to watch?" asked Salazar.
"All eleven major magical schools." said Harry, "They've set up temporary recorder glasses there, from what I know. Most major magical pubs as well. All the Ministries of Magic. I meant to ask you, how do you create a magical object that can broadcast like that, especially all around the world?"
"It isn't as hard as you think, all though it would definitely take a long time to do so." said Salazar, "You are simply imitating an action that can be performed by a witch or wizard, which is sight and hearing. Then you simply duplicate that. I expect the device has two parts, something to capture and something to display?"
"Yeah, there's this floating orb that captures everything, and it's displayed on this magical glass. We saw it at the Quidditch World Cup."
"I will teach you more about it when we work on runes." said the portrait, "But for now, you need to go. I will not have my heir looking anything less than perfect, especially when the entire world is watching."
"It won't be me they'll be watching," argued Harry, "It's going to be whichever idiots put their names into the Goblet. If the Tournament's anything like what it used to be, I'm not even sure there will be a third task."
"I suppose it would still be rather enjoyable to watch." said Salazar, "Have fun, and do not bring shame to our family."
"You mean the family that nobody knows I'm a part of?"
"Those who know about how the Parseltongue ability works will know you're a part of the family." argued Salazar.
"So, that's how many people, three? Five, if you're lucky?"
"Just get out, and don't do anything particularly Gryffindorish."
"I would never." said Harry, chuckling.
For the third time in the school year, Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room with the rest of his house, all of them listening to McGonagall as she spoke with a stern tone. He was thanking his lucky stars that they were told to wear their regular robes; they had been told to bring dress robes with them for the school year, and Harry had been under the impression that they would be using them today.
That did not mean, however, that they were not forced to dress nicely. They had been told to be in the common room fifteen minutes before they needed to leave, so that Professor McGonagall could make sure they were all appealing to the eye. By her side stood Professor Trelawney, who was helping Professor McGonagall look over the student. For the sake of time, each house was being looked over by their head of house, as well as another professor.
It could not have been more clear that Professor McGonagall did not approve of Professor Trelawney's fashion tastes. She had proved that by reprimanding nearly all of the students who had been given the approval of Professor Trelawney.
"Miss. Patil, if I have to tell you to remove that ghastly ornament from your hair one more time, it will be detention!" McGonagall said in a shrill voice.
"But Professor, - "
"No buts, especially not at a time such as this! Gather around now, all of you!"
The students of Gryffindor did as they were told, settling themselves down in the many armchairs, couches, and some even on the floor. Harry moved over to the back, attempting to stay out of Professor McGonagall's line of sight.
The last thing I need is for her to stare at me when she starts talking about following the rules.
He continued to stroke Hedwig's feathers from his seat on the stairs of the boy's dormitory. After confirming that Hedwig had been perfectly fine after the ritual, Harry had decided to bring her with him. It would be nice to have her with him so that she too could enjoy the event.
"I am not going to repeat the rules and guidelines for this event, as we do not have much time." said Professor McGonagall, "I am sure that all of you remember them after the two previous meetings we have had in this very room. I assure you that those rules have not changed in the slightest, and that the punishments for misbehaving are much harsher."
Professor McGonagall's eyes looked around the room. Harry was willing to bet several galleons that they were either searching for himself or the Weasley twins.
"Instead, I would like to review the plans for the evening. As many of you may have heard, we have several international guests visiting tonight. The French, Bulgarian, and British Ministers of Magic will all be joining us, as well as a few members of the ICW and British Ministry. There will also be others, such as Celestina Warbeck, the Weird Sisters, Camille Estelle, and a few others."
Many of the Gryffindor students seemed to somehow get even more excited at that. Harry, however, was not one of them. He had long learned that nobody was really who they portrayed themselves to be; the only people he would ever be excited to see would be those of personal value or sentiment to him.
"These guests will simply be here to enjoy the selection. They will not be performing tonight, or anything of the sort. If you wish to meet them, you will have to wait until after the Champion Selection, and only if they are fine with it. Do not make a fool of yourselves, or I will have you banned from any future events."
A few Gryffindor's nodded excitedly, though most simply slumped downwards in defeat.
"We will first be having our feast, as usual. After this, a Recorder Glass will be set up, and the selection of the Champions will begin." she paused slightly, before continuing on, "You will be on your best behavior, and if you do not your punishment will be much more severe than detention. The Recorder Glass, if you did not already know, allows for the Tournament to be broadcast live. The last thing you should do is make a fool of yourself in front of potentially several million witches and wizards. After the Champion Selection, the Recorder Glass will be shut off. I will let you know when it is. Any questions?"
"Professor, what should someone do if they get chosen as Champion?" asked Angelina from the front row.
"You will make your way to Professor Dumbledore and shake his hand before heading through the door behind the staff table, where you will be given your set of instructions. Do not panic once your name is called, simply smile and walk."
McGonagall motioned for everyone to stand, walking towards the portrait hole.
"Good luck to Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Lee Jordan." said Professor McGonagall in a crisp voice, "Oh, and Mr. Potter, wherever you are, please refrain from bringing your owl with us for a third time."
Harry scowled as the rest of the Gryffindors chuckled gently. The house exited the common room together, all organized neatly (or as neatly as they were capable of). As they made their way over to the Great Hall, Harry let Hedwig fly off to the Owlery.
They entered the Great Hall several minutes later. It was more or less the same, although the staff table was much bigger, now capable of seating around fifty. Nearly all of the seats were filled, although a few belonging to professors were currently empty. Harry recognized a few particularly influential people. Fudge sat near the center, with two other men (who Harry assumed to be other Ministers of Magic) seated beside him.
Harry was not sure what to think of the guests at the front table. Many seemed rather interesting, yes, and some were admittedly quite beautiful, but they all seemed to share a slight arrogance to them. That was one of the only things Harry liked about being raised by the Dursleys; it was thanks to them that he would never reach such a level of arrogance, if only to avoid being anything like Dudley.
In the back of the hall were stands that held many reporters and ministry members. A group in the back were fumbling with a giant orb and a glass pane, which Harry quickly recognized to be a Recorder Glass.
Besides the few noticeable changes, the Great Hall seemed more or less the same as usual (although it was definitely neater and cleaner). The Gryffindors, the other three houses, and the delegations all took their seats. The tables were all sparkling clean, empty plates spread across every few feet. A few metres in front of the headmaster's seat stood the Goblet of Fire, it's flames glowing blue.
"Look!" whispered Hermione excitedly to Harry and Ron. She was pointing at a middle-aged witch sitting on the far side of the staff table, "It's Camille Estelle, I've wanted to see her for years!"
"Who?" asked Ron in an annoyed voice, staring at the empty plate before him.
"Camille Estelle, she's the one who created the Recorder Glass! Didn't I tell you both at the Quidditch World Cup?" When she saw Harry nod his head, she continued, "I've always wondered how she managed to create something like that with magic! It must have been very difficult."
"It isn't as hard as you think." said Harry, repeating what Salazar had told him earlier, "You're essentially creating an object that imitates what humans can do normally, hear and see. The hard part is creating it on such a large scale, so that people all around the world can see what the orb sees. The link between the objects would have to be very strong."
"Yes, well - " Hermione began, before her eyes narrowed, "And how do you know that?"
"Studying."
"And is that what you do whenever you vanish randomly during the day?"
"Yeah, it is."
Hermione's eyes narrowed further.
"I've checked the library, common room, the unused classrooms, and even your dormitories during the times you're gone. I've never seen you in any of those places."
"Bit stalker-ish if you ask me." muttered Ron, avoiding Hermione's eyes when she glared at him.
"What's got you in a bad mood?" asked Harry curiously.
"Someone else is going to be chosen Hogwarts Champion, and they're making me attend!" moaned Ron, "It's insulting!"
"But it's still a feast, mate." said Dean, "That means good food."
"That doesn't make it much better." muttered Ron.
"Let's hope the Hogwarts Champion is a Gryffindor; they might be able to introduce us to the other champions." said Seamus.
"Why do you want to be introduced to the other champions?" asked Neville shyly.
"Because the other champions are going to be Victor Krum and the bloody Veela!" Ron moaned angrily, "That could have been us, we could have been with them, as equals!"
"I highly doubt you think of the Veela girl as an equal, Ronald." said Hermione scathingly.
"Cheer up, mate." said Dean to Ron, "I'm sure Angelina would be more than willing to introduce us, we all have a shot!"
"Trying to have a go at Veela?" asked Fred from up the table. His voice was quiet enough that nobody apart from the Gryffindors could hear him.
"She's three years older than you, and makes those Veela from the World Cup look like a load of dragon dung." said Fred, trying his hardest not to look in the direction of the Veela girl, "You've got a better chance at becoming best mates with Krum."
"Really?" asked Ron excitedly.
Hermione looked like she wanted to gorge her eyes out after that one. Before she could do such a thing however, Dumbledore stood from his seat.
"Let the feast begin!" he roared happily, waving his hands. The hundreds of empty plates filled themselves with food.
"Excellent!" roared Ron, stuffing both his plate and himself with all the food around him.
"Told you the food would make you feel better." said Dean, chortling.
The students all dug into their food, which turned out to be very good. The house elves had clearly outdone themselves, though no one chose to mention that (Hermione had tried to create a group called S.P.E.W., thought thankfully nobody had bought her badges). As Harry was helping himself to his second serving of steak, he felt Hermione tapping him on the shoulder.
"You might want to do something about that." she whispered in his ear, "I don't think Professor McGonagall will be particularly happy about that."
She was pointing at one of the far windows of the Great Hall. Resting directly behind it was Hedwig. She was moving back and forth across the windowsill, watching Harry all the while. She was beginning to attract the attention of three or four students on the other side of the hall.
"How could you possibly have noticed that?" asked Harry in bewilderment.
"Unlike you and Ronald, I actually pay attention."
"So do I, but I can't have possibly noticed that!"
"McGonagall's going to have a field day." said Dean, having looked in the direction that both Harry and Hermione were looking.
"It's fine, she's not disturbing anyone, and she isn't even in the hall." defended Harry.
"I don't think that's responsible, Harry." reprimanded Hermione.
"Last year, your definition of responsible was me forking over the Marauder's Map and my Firebolt." argued Harry quietly, "So I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is."
Hermione huffed angrily before turning back to her food, not saying another word.
Harry turned back towards the fourth, fifth, and sixth year Gryffindors, who were now making bets on who the champions would be. They seemed to be debating over the Hogwarts Champion in particular, which didn't surprise Harry even a bit. Most people had already decided that Krum and the Veela girl would be the champions of their respective schools, a notion Harry wholeheartedly agreed with.
"Ten sickles says it's Angelina." said Katie loudly, earning a smile from the girl and a glare from Alicia (the latter of the two reactions only causing Katie to smile smugly).
"Nah, it'll be Jordan or Davies." argued Dean, "They're both athletic and all that."
"And I'm not?" asked Angelina in a dangerous tone, which caused Dean to pale slightly.
"It'll be pretty-boy Diggory, just you wait." said Seamus.
"Didn't think he'd want to risk his good looks!" exclaimed Dean, causing a number of Hufflepuffs who had overheard their conversation to glare angrily at him.
"He's got a good shot, I'll put a galleon on him."
Harry turned back to his meal, adding a bit more meat to his plate. After a while, the food had changed into several courses of desserts, many of which looked foreign, yet equally delicious. Harry helped himself to several slices of Treacle Tart, as did Ron. As they served themselves Professor Dumbledore stood from his seat.
"The Recorder Glass will be turned on in five minutes, marking the Selection of the Champions and the true beginning of the Triwizard Tournament." he announced.
"Wonder what the tasks are going to be." said Dean happily as he helped himself to a tasty looking French dessert.
"The first task is always against a magical creature of some sort." noted Seamus.
"And the other two?" asked Neville.
Seamus shrugged.
"Depends. They're random, I think." The Irish wizard turned back to his plateful of desserts, helping himself.
As they finished up their desserts, Harry spotted the Auror Guard quietly entering the hall, before making their way to the stands where the reporters and ministry members sat. Harry quietly waved at Tonks and Hestia from where he sat, receiving a small wave in return. After a few more moments the dessert plates all disappeared. Every witch and wizard seated within the hall now sat silently, waiting.
A few ministry members as well as Camille Estelle stood in the back, turning on the Recorder Glass. After a moment, one of the ministry members nodded towards Fudge and Dumbledore, who both nodded back. Dumbledore then made his way towards the lectern, before addressing both the recording orb and those within the hall.
"Witches and Wizards, allow me to welcome you to the Selection of Champions, the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament!" he announced to the hall, earning applause from everyone within the room.
"Now, I believe that the Goblet of Fire will be making it's first selection shortly." said Dumbledore, causing all eyes (and the recorder orb) to turn towards the Goblet of Fire, whose flames seemed to glow slightly brighter.
"If you are selected champion, please make your way through the door behind me, and into the next chamber, where you will be given your first set of instructions." said Dumbledore, motioning towards the door behind the left portion of the staff table. He waved his hand, causing all the torches in the hall to dim, leaving only the flames of the goblet to provide any significant source of light.
That might be all he can do without a wand, but it's still pretty damn impressive; I can work on that next.
The blue flames of the goblet turned a dark red before suddenly a crumpled piece of parchment shot out from the flames. Dumbledore gently plucked the parchment out of the air, flattening it so it could be read.
"The Durmstrang champion," said Dumbledore, his strong voice permeating through the hall, "is Victor Krum!"
The hall applauded loudly, many calling out the Quidditch Star's name as he passed. Krum made his way to where Dumbledore stood, shook his hand, and disappeared through the door behind the staff table.
"Imagine if we were Hogwarts Champion!" moaned Ron, "We'd be able to meet him and everything!"
"You do realize you can still meet him, right?" said Dean, clapping as he spoke.
"Yeah, but I would be just another fan!"
"You'd still be another fan if you were Hogwarts Champion." Harry pointed out, "All you get is a fancy title."
"And fame and glory!" said Ron, "I'd be on his level!"
The cheering in the Great Hall quieted as Dumbledore raised his hand. A moment later, the goblet's flames turned red once more, a fancy piece of blue parchment bursting from within.
"The Beauxbatons Champion," read Dumbledore, "will be Fleur Delacour!"
So that's her name. I guess this means no more referring to her as Veela girl.
The hall applauded once more as Ron banged his head against the table in frustration. Harry also noticed that very few Slytherin students clapped, although nearly all of the males did stare at Fleur's backside as she made her way over to Dumbledore. She shook hands with him, before turning to walk towards the door. As she did so, her eyes briefly met Harry's. A moment later she had passed through the door.
"Did you see that?" Ron whispered excitedly, "She looked at me!"
"No, it was me!"
"She looked me over, I tell you!"
Harry rolled his eyes before shifting his focus to the Beauxbatons students at the Ravenclaw table. More than half of them had watery eyes, with a few of them even having broken down into full blown tears. The remaining students all looked incredibly angry, and were glaring daggers into Fleur Delacour's back.
"They look disappointed." noted Hermione, also looking at the Ravenclaw table. Harry couldn't help but agree, as well as wonder what it was that had caused such animosity between Fleur Delacour and her peers.
Although I suppose being a beautiful Veela is all the reason they need. It's somewhat sad, honestly.
After the hall had quieted down, the flames turned red for a third time. A white piece of parchment landed in Dumbledore's outstretched hand, which he unfolded. The silence in the hall was tense; this was the Hogwarts Champion, who would be representing most of the students in the hall.
"The Hogwarts Champion," said Dumbledore, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"Son of a bloody bastard!" yelled Ron, though nobody had heard him besides Harry and the few Gryffindors surrounding him. The cheer that rose from the Hufflepuff table was far too loud, with each and every one of the Hufflepuff students raising to their feet, applauding loudly and roaring with delight.
Harry turned to the stands at the back of the hall, searching for Tonks. He and her had made a little bet on the outcome of the Champion Selection, and he had seemingly just won. He eventually found Tonks standing next to Hestia, glaring at him. He sent her a cheeky smile and a wave, before turning back to his friends.
"Ah, well," said Seamus, "it's not like we're allowed to compete anyway; we'll just have to watch how it plays out."
"And that, witches and wizards, concludes the Selection Ceremony!" said Dumbledore, "Now, a few more - "
The headmaster stopped abruptly, the reason as to why being very apparent to all. Everyone in the hall was not completely silent, staring at the Goblet of Fire. The goblet turned red once more before a fourth piece of parchment shot from the flames. Dumbledore plucked it out from the air, his face paling slightly as he read it over.
"Harry Potter!" he announced loudly to the hall.
Harry froze. He was incredibly aware of the strong silence in the hall, a silence more powerful than any Harry had ever felt before. He received none of the applause that the others did, none of the excitement.
He turned to Ron and Hermione, hoping to be told that this was some form of practical joke. Hermione was staring blankly at him, her mouth wide open. Ron, however, was sending him one of the most hateful glares Harry had ever received in his life. He turned to Tonks and Hestia, whose expressions were nearly identical to Hermione's.
"Harry Potter! Up now, if you please, and join the others." called Dumbledore from the front of the hall.
Harry slowly stood up from his seat, suddenly becoming aware of the recording orb that was now pointed directly at him. He slowly began walking towards the front of the hall, avoiding the eyes of all others. Almost everyone seemed to either be angry or in shock, though Harry was sure the latter would be wearing off in a bit.
He passed Dumbledore without shaking his hands, the headmaster's curious, and somewhat disappointed expression instantly deterring him.
He must be wondering whether I used the invisibility cloak to pass the age line. Hopefully he'll realize I didn't do it.
Harry could not fault the logic in that theory. He had learnt from Salazar that the famed Peverell cloak was capable of completely hiding its master, including both physical and magical traces. Getting over Dumbledore's age line would probably have been a piece of cake with the cloak.
Harry entered the antechamber to find the other three champions. Fleur stood by the fireplace, slightly apart from Cedric and Krum. Harry wasn't particularly surprised when he noticed both of the males' drooling ever so slightly, their eyes glazed over. Cedric seemed to snap out of his daze at the sound of Harry's footsteps.
"Hey Harry!" he exclaimed, "Do they need us back in the hall or something?"
Before Harry could answer, the door to the antechamber swung wide open. More than a dozen different witches and wizards all rushed inside. Harry recognized a few of the people: Mr. Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Madame Maxime, and Karkaroff. The rest he did not know, although it was not particularly hard to realize they were ministry workers. All of them were shouting loudly, making it impossible for a word to be heard. Eventually Dumbledore raised his hand, motioning for silence. Once everyone had listened, he turned back to Harry.
"Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"No." he replied, aware of the scoffing noise that came from Snape.
"Did you ask someone of age to enter you into the tournament?"
"No, I didn't." said Harry, gritting his teeth.
"He is clearly lying!" exclaimed Madame Maxime, her french accent easy to be heard, "How else can his name have possibly come from the goblet?"
"What?" yelled Cedric in confusion. Krum and Fleur simply narrowed their eyes, directing their glares, as well as their curiosity, at Harry.
"You want this little boy to compete?" asked Fleur, her voice carrying a french accent like her headmistress, although hers was much softer and attractive. "How did he even manage to put his name in the goblet?"
Harry glared at her, though she did not seem to notice.
"I am sure we can all agree that he was not capable of passing the age line Dumbledore created." said McGonagall. All the others within the room nodded, although Dumbledore was still staring at Harry in barely hidden disappointment.
Seems like he's reached his decision.
"How it happened is not of current importance." said Dumbledore a moment later, "It shall be investigated later, but as of right now, we must come to agreement on how we will be going forward."
The door of the antechamber swung open once more, now revealing Fudge, as well as the other two ministers.
"This is very bad, Dumbledore!" said Fudge, "We've just ended the broadcast, people will be outraged! One of the main reasons we were allowed to reinstate the tournament was because we had created an age limit! Over a million people have just seen the age limit broken, live!"
"As I have told the others, an investigation will be launched." assured Dumbledore in a tired voice, "Mr. Crouch, what are the rules pertaining to this unlikely event?"
"He will have to compete, or risk losing his magic."
"What?" said Harry dangerously, "I didn't even want to compete in the first place!"
"This is a chance of a lifetime!" declared Fleur Delacour in disbelief, "The honor of his school, fame and glory!"
"I'm fairly certain I have enough fame and glory to last a lifetime!" declared Harry cooly, his anger and rage causing him to slip into Parseltongue. Nearly everyone in the room paled slightly, none more so than Karkaroff and Fudge. Only Dumbledore, Snape, and the Veela girl (as Harry was no longer interested in thinking of her as anything else) did not have a reaction that indicated some sort of fear. Krum and Delacour's eyes both widened, before narrowing just as quickly. They clearly seemed interested in discovering any potential advantages their opponents had.
"W-well, I su-suppose he will have to c-compete." stuttered out Fudge, "For his safety, of c-course."
"Very well." said Dumbledore in an exhausted voice, "Obviously, his points will not be tallied with Hogwarts; we can come up with a more specific set of rules at a later date."
"As for your briefing," began Mr. Crouch, "Your first task is to face the unknown. You will therefore not be given any clues."
Harry paled slightly at that. He had just remembered that the first task of the tournament was infamous for having people die while fighting dangerous beasts.
This was better than your other assassination attempts, Riddle.
At least, Harry hoped it was Riddle. If someone had entered him as a form of practical joke, the students of Hogwarts would be finding a dead body lying around very soon.
I might be the first person to hope I'm being assassinated by Voldemort.
"We will be collecting you for the Wand-Weighing ceremony a week before the first task." said Bagman excitedly. "For now, I believe that is all."
"May I go, Professor?" asked Harry, turning to Dumbledore.
"Yes, Harry, you may." the headmaster responded, still wearing the same slightly disappointed expression. Harry made his way over to the antechamber door, swiftly moving past Miss Delacour and Madame Maxime, both of whom were glaring at him as they spoke angrily in rapid French.
Karkaroff, on the other hand, had held Krum back. Harry had a feeling that it had to do with a fear of him being a Parselmouth, although he wasn't sure. It was a very bad mistake on his part; the only reason he had not been to concerned was because most people already knew he was one. He knew very well what people thought of Parselmouths, Salazar would probably give him an hour long lecture for it.
Salazar.
He would have to sneak out to the Chamber of Secrets earlier than he usually did tonight. There was no way he could afford to forget any important details from what had just occurred; he was in desperate need of his ancestor's help.
He walked out of the antechamber with Cedric, the two of them making their way through the now empty Great Hall and up several staircases. They eventually reached the fourth floor landing, where their paths split. They both nodded silently towards the other, before continuing on their journey back to their dormitories.
Harry continued on for another floor before he heard a soft hoot from behind him. He turned around, spotting Hedwig, who was flying directly at him. She landed on his shoulder and began to nip at his neck and ears. She evidently saw and understood what had happened, as she was clearly trying to cheer him up.
After a few more minutes of walking, Harry had finally arrived at Gryffindor tower. He was incredibly nervous as to how they might react. He had spent the last month and a half showing everyone how incredibly dangerous the tournament was. Surely they would believe him, right?
He walked through the portrait hole of Gryffindor Tower to find everyone seated inside the common room, all glaring angrily at him.
"You said you wouldn't enter!" yelled Ron angrily. "You kept going on about how we would die if we tried. Was it just some plot to get us to not enter? Give yourself a better shot?"
"I didn't put my name in the goblet!" defended Harry.
"That's a load of dragon dung!" roared McLaggen from the other side of the room. "How else did your name come from the goblet?"
Harry's mouth fell wide open.
Have they seriously forgotten that someone trying to kill me is like an annual tradition at this point?
He turned to Hermione, but even she was shaking her head at him, her expression similar to what Dumbledore's had been. The three chasers were the only ones who didn't look like they wanted to murder him at the moment, although they did seem rather upset. To be fair, they had been trying to enter the tournament.
At least I know Salazar will believe me. Maybe Tonks and Hestia as well. Sirius, too.
But that did not change the fact that his friends, his first friends (and for quite some time his only friends) did not trust him, and did not want him around.
A minuscule spark of electricity sparked from his left fist, though nobody saw it. The same happened with his right, though instead of electricity, a small flame flickered in his palm. A wave of raw magic was coursing through Harry's body at the moment. The magic was filled with anger and annoyance, and was incredibly powerful.
In one swift motion, Harry turned around, departing from the room.
At least I'll be getting to the chamber early, like I wanted.