Chapter 58
CASSIUS BLACK
"Expecto Patronum!" Cassius shouted, as a unicorn made of light rushed out of his wand, but just before it could reach Harry, or whomever truly stood in front of him, he took out of his wand, and a flood of blackness rushed out of it.
The flood of darkness clashed against the rampaging creature and halted it in its path.
Their magics pushed against one another, and Cassius took solace in the fact that they were both nearly equal to one another, and as those red orbs glowed, the clash intensified before their respective spells dissipated in a massive wave of magic.
"I should have expected nothing less from the heir chosen by Arcturus," Harry whispered as Cassius refused to lower his wand.
"The stubborn fool gave me quite some trouble in his day, and now you as his heir continue his legacy," and that just confirmed one of his suspicions that a bigot he maybe, but Arcturus Black was no fool.
"The man saw through all my ploys, and I failed to cajole him no matter what I tried," he continued, reminiscing about the past.
"Power, Wealth, Influence. I offered him everything, even a direct connection to my lineage," and that was through Bellatrix probably, but despite it all Arcturus had refused to bow.
"And now his heir continues to defy me as well," and Cassius remembered his words from earlier.
"You did this to her," he asked his blood boiling in rage.
"Yes," the boy answered non-chalantly.
"There are consequences to denying the Dark Lord. She humiliated me!" his voice thundered, as his lips rose up in joy.
"So, I punished her. It is luck that she managed to survive, for few can boast living after defying the Dark Lord," and so that was why he was here.
To finish the job.
"I won't let you harm her. Not again," Cassius declared, his grip tightening over his wand, as the Dark Lord smirked.
"Ohh, you need not worry about that. In the grand scheme of things, the mudblood is rather inconsequential. No, the person I am more interested in is you," and in contrast to his expectations, the boy put away his wand as Cassius frowned.
"Your magic. Your power. Your will. It all reminds me of myself," and Cassius felt nauseated by that mere comparison.
"I am nothing like you," and the Dark Lord chuckled at his words.
"But you could be," and he would much rather die than become a creature of pain and suffering.
"Join me, Black," he offered, and Cassius was a bit taken aback by his words.
"No thanks, I would much rather bring you down," and those eyes narrowed.
"So you are hell bent on repeating the mistakes of your ancestor," and he saw the Dark Lord move his hand as he prepared himself for another attack, when suddenly a new voice intervened.
"Time's up!" and he looked up and saw the Matron standing there at the door, and in an instant, he saw Harry's demeanor shift as he glanced towards the kind matron.
"Nothing," and he used that bright and innocent smile of Potter as the matron frowned, her years of seeing through lies allowed her to see through another one.
"Then why do you have your wand out?" she asked him, as Cassius glanced at the Dark Lord, his mind wanting him to scream out the truth about the boy standing in front of him, but he stopped.
"Nothing, I was just about to get the time," he answered, and the woman had nothing more to say as she nodded.
"Well, your time is up. So, you should both leave and let her rest." And with that, he pocketed the wand and made to leave the Hospital wing, his eyes latched to Harry's body, for he feared that he might come again, and if he was not here to intervene.
"I won't let you harm her," Cassius declared as they stood outside the Hospital Wing, and the Dark Lord smirked.
"One does not defy the Dark Lord and suffer no consequences. It is time enough that the Mudblood girl learns her place," and as great and devoted as he may be, he could not protect Hermione all the time.
"I defied you," he whispered, smirking.
"And I am willing to do so a thousand times again," Cassius taunted.
"Then you shall die as well. Why else do you think I put your name in the tournament?" and he was not surprised by that declaration.
"I will reveal your secret to the world," Cassius threatened, and he chuckled.
"And who will they believe, the pureblood scion of the disgraced Black Family, whose very character is in question because he lied to get into the Tri-Wizard tournament," and that was a bad move.
"There are others who can echo my word," and the Dark Lord laughed.
"And if they do, you shall force my Hand and end the life of the boy inside me," and that stilled him, as Cassius looked into his eyes.
"You wouldn't dare," he called the bluff.
"You would end up killing yourself," Cassius warned, and he raised a brow.
"I survived death once. I can do so again. I have conquered Death, Black, and now nothing will stand in my way," and Cassius would not let that happen.
He could not let that happen.
"But I will honor your request. I will spare the girl for some time," he whispered as he walked past him, and gave the declaration.
"That is as long as you kill Albus Dumbledore in front of the entire world..." and before he could say anything, the Dark Lord.
"...and if you fail, it won't just be the mudblood that dies," and a chill ran through his spine at those words.
"Your family, your friends, and everything you hold dear. I will ruin it all, while you watch helplessly," and Cassius's magic roared in rage, and for the first time in his life, he experienced the use of accidental magic, as it clashed with the Dark Lord's magic in that very corridor as he slowly walked away.
"The choice is yours...."
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ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
In the end, it was officially decided that he would not be the overseer of the Tournament anymore, and with a split vote, Igor was appointed as the next Overseer, and the first matter that came into discussion was the fate of the Second Task.
"What are we to do about the Second Task, then?" questioned Ludo, and it was Igor who proposed.
"We must replace it," and he had to intervene.
"I am afraid we lack the funds for such an undertaking. Already, we have spent quite a substantial amount of Gold on all of the tournaments. I believe we do not have the budget to reconduct a task," and it was Maxime who joined in.
"I concur," she added angrily.
"I just want to be done with all of this as soon as possible, and take my students back home," and with that, Igor nodded.
"With all the captives rescued, one could argue that the second task was finished," Scrimegour added, and the Ministry could not afford another massive disaster. There were rumors that Amelia Bones just wanted to be done with all this as quickly as possible.
"Then let us talk about the Third Task," Igor began, and everyone perked up at that.
"I propose a change," and they were listening with rapt attention.
"With everything that has transpired, the initial plans seem too risky now. So, I believe the task should be simplified," and that would be for the best, but Dumbledore had a suspicion that his objective was something else entirely.
That the man in front of him was dancing to the tunes of a hidden master—one whose sinister plans now involved him.
"What do you propose?" and the Headmaster smiled.
"A Duel," and Maxime was the first to object.
"The Tournament is not a simple test of magical might and duelling. And who would the contestants even duel against?" and that was the problem.
"Us," Igor added, and Albus realised his ploy.
"Us?" he asked, and the man nodded.
"Yes, us and as Headmasters and judges we shall evaluate their magics, and let the world know the true height of magic," and it was an inspired idea, one that would make it certain that no student would be harmed.
"It is much safer than a maze riddled with creatures and traps. We do not want a repeat of the second and first task, do we?" Igor added, as he saw the hesitation on the French Headmistress's face.
"But we have three Headmasters and four contestants, and how will we even choose who will face who?" Ludo questioned, and it was a valid point nonetheless.
"We will need to include a third wizard. I propose, Rufus Scrimegour," and the man was a well-regarded figure.
"After all, he is one of the judges and has vowed to be impartial during the tournament, and no one here can question his skills," and the man in question nodded.
"And what of how the matches will be decided?"
"A simple draw, just as the students chose the dragons," and Albus spoke again, hinting at the hidden purpose of this change.
"And what if a student from one school were to draw their own Headmaster?" he questioned, and Igor shrugged.
"That is their luck then, but I believe all of us here can be rather impartial in our duties," and Ludo was quick to nod.
"Yes, of course. We are judges in the end," and there was no such thing as impartiality.
"It is much safer than a maze filled with death traps," added Maxime, nearly convinced, and Ludo and Scrimegour nodded as well.
"I support it as well," and Albus had a suggestion of his own.
"Well, you see, duelling is rather a rare sport in this part of the world. So, perhaps to familiarise the audience with it, we can hold a little exhibition at first, one in which participants can be drawn at random," and Ludo Bagman.
"A very good idea, it will also help boost the interschool rivalries," and Igor frowned.
"I see no merit in it," and he shrugged.
"But do you see any harm in it?" he countered, and Igor was stupefied at his suggestion as all eyes turned towards Maxime.
"Well, it would be a good show for the students to gauge their own capabilities," and so it was decided.
"Then it is decided...."
.
.
.
Back in his office, Albus sat in front of the boy who had just warned him about Igor's ploys.
"You were right about Igor," he whispered, and the boy raised a brow.
"It is a trap," Cassius Black whispered, and Albus knew it as well.
"It is why you must defeat him first..."
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