"Oh, fine, as long as you're not wasting it. But you'd better come to Runes and Arithmancy with me, because you'd never catch up otherwise."
"Of course, my love. I'd never be able to get through those classes without you," he said, letting their foreheads touch. They both giggled.
"Mr. Potter, please come with me." One of the officials had walked up to Harry and tapped him on the shoulder. Harry, finally remembering what was going on, grinned sheepishly. He gave Hermione a quick chaste kiss as he got up and walked over to the champion's room, ignoring all the cheers and jeers he was getting from everyone.
As Harry entered the small room, the three other champions looked at him, unsure of what to make of his presence. Harry was quickly followed by the three Headmasters as well as Ludo Bagman and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"What iz zis leettle boy doing 'ere? Are we not finished wiz ze sélection?" asked the Beaxubatons champion.
"That is precisely the issue, Miss Delacour. The Goblet of Fire seems to have chosen a fourth champion," answered Bagman.
"What? Am I not the Hogwarts champion any more? How did Harry get picked?" asked Cedric angrily.
Harry raised his hands as if surrendering. "Hey, don't ask me. Weird stuff tends to happen to me, not because of me. That's the twins' territory."
Karkaroff snarled at Harry. "This pathetic boy tricks the Goblet and then tries to pass the blame off on someone else. He's nothing but a cheat and a coward." His remark instantly set off several tempers, but Shacklebolt drew his wand and glared at everyone.
"Surely, this is a security matter. The Goblet of Fire was compromised, and I doubt that a fourth-year student would be able to unravel the charms on the Goblet to switch it to a four-school tournament," explained the Head Auror. "Is there any way to call this tournament off?"
"I'm afraid not," answered Bagman. "The champions are bound by magic to compete, or else they will forfeit their magic..."
"Zen ze tournament will not be fair. 'ogwarts cannot have two champions," interjected Madam Maxime.
Krum finally spoke up. "Vill not matter. Only one winner. Strongest vill win. He is veakest among us four." He gave a predatory smile to Harry, and spoke to him directly. "You may be strong in your year, but you are nothing against us. Maybe little girls are scared?" He eyed both Fleur and Cedric when he said that.
"I'd like to ask a question about my entry," stated Harry loudly. All eyes turned to him. "Headmaster, don't people also have to write their school along with their name when they place it in the Goblet of Fire?"
"Yes," answered Dumbledore. "I see what you're asking. And no, 'Hogwarts' was not written on the piece of parchment with your signature."
"Then that solves your concern, doesn't it, Madam Maxime? I'm not competing for Hogwarts. I'm independent," Harry concluded. Everyone in the room murmured to each other. There were a few arguments between the headmasters, but they seemed to settle their differences eventually. Cedric looked at Harry questioningly, while Fleur watched with distain, and Krum all but ignored him. Finally, the three headmasters turned to face the champions.
"We have reached an agreement that we feel is fair for all the champions," said Dumbledore, smiling. "We've agreed that Harry will compete as an independent contestant. However, since he is still attending Hogwarts classes, he will technically be receiving a Hogwarts education. Thus, we have agreed that, should any of the Champions choose to, they may attend any Hogwarts class as well. On top of that, all champions are now given complete access to the Hogwarts library, including the restricted section. Lastly, any unused classroom within the castle may be used for your personal training and study, so long as you confirm with either myself or deputy headmistress McGonagall before you use it."
All three contestants nodded. Oh, Hermione is going to love this. Maybe I should've entered her into the Triwizard as an early Christmas present or something... thought Harry.
Ludo Bagman addressed the champions. "Well, I guess that all four of you will be champions, then. We'll have to inform the judges and change the scoring system a bit, but for the most part, none of the events will change. The locations, rules, format for each trial are already set. You are all expected to have only a limited amount of time to prepare for each trial. Don't attempt to cheat this information out, or else you will be disqualified from the event in question. If you try this multiple times, you'll automatically lose the tournament. Each of the events is spaced approximately one month apart. You'll find out about each one in due time."
"Lastly, all of you are to meet this Friday afternoon for the official wand weighing. The first trial will be the Trial of Air, taking place at Corrieshalloch Gorge in two weeks. You will only be given more details on the day of the trial- thinking on your feet is part of the tournament, after all. Now, all four of you, follow me."
They followed Bagman out the door and on to the stage at the front of the Great Hall. People began murmuring again once they saw Harry standing beside Cedric, Krum, and Fleur. Bagman began his speech, gesturing to the champions standing behind him. "Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards, as you can see, there has been a change of plans. There are now four champions in the Triwizard Tournament! I present to you Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang, and Harry Potter, as an independent! This means there will be slight changes to a few of our events, but never fear, the tournament will go on! The first event will take place two weeks from now at Corrieshalloch Gorge. Reserve your tickets today by sending your owls to the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Prices start as low as eight sickles. We have limited space, so order quickly!"
The reporters all frantically began asking questions, but none of the champions wanted to be part of the ruthless media frenzy in front of them. They followed Krum, who had experience with this sort of thing, off the stage and quickly left the Great Hall, ignoring reporters the entire way. As soon as Harry managed to break free from the crowd, he scrambled up to Gryffindor Tower, finally getting some peace and quiet. Three whole minutes of it, to be precise.
The Fat Lady opened again to a stream of rambunctious Gryffindors. Most of them were applauding his entry into the tournament. One of them stormed up to his room without a backwards glance. Another placed her arms around Harry as if protecting him from the crowd. "Hermione... you're just who I wanted to see," Harry whispered into her ear.
"What was that?" Hermione nearly shouted at Harry. She couldn't hear a word he said over the commotion everyone else was making.
"Never mind... I was just trying to be sweet and tender but that's just about impossible right now," Harry said dejectedly. He settled for just holding her for a minute, letting the warmth of her body and the scent of her hair wash over him and help him ignore everyone else. His housemates were relentless, however, and eventually he couldn't help but hear what they were saying.
"How did you do it? What was the secret to getting past the age line?"
"Are you scared? Oh, of course not. You're Harry frickin' Potter!"
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