Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 43: A Small Setback
"My boy, please. Let me explain. There is more than just the tournament at play." Dumbledore tried to placate him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Madam Maxime asked.
"What could be more important than the tournament?" Barty Crouch asked.
"Do we really have to deal with a fourth champion now?" Fleur looked upset about it.
"I don't mind it. I'll be the winner anyway." Krum said with confidence.
"He is not even a student. What school is he representing?" Cedric said.
"I am not your boy." Harry approached Dumbledore. "You are right about there being more at stake than this silly tournament of yours, but you don't seem to understand what is going on beyond these walls."
Dumbledore frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean, Harry. And this seems like a conversation we should have in private. So why don't you accompany me to my office, and we can talk about all of this in a calm manner?"
"Hold it, we are not done addressing the tournament rules. And Mister Potter is now an official champion," Crouch said. "He has the right to know."
"Is he?" McGonagall asked.
"I am not. Just remove me from this contract." Harry demanded.
"As I said before, we can't do that. Now that you have been selected by the Goblet of Fire, you must participate. Ignoring the contract could have some serious consequences, ehm… you could lose your magic," Crouch explained.
Harry glared at Dumbledore. "How did you even make a contract in my name?"
All eyes went back to the Headmaster, as they had been wondering the same thing as Harry.
"I don't… I don't think that is very important at the moment." Dumbledore tried to brush it aside. "The important thing is that Harry Potter is back where he belongs, safe and sound."
"I wouldn't exactly call it safe if he has to participate in that tournament…" McGonagall muttered.
Harry felt something moving in his pocket. "Right, I forgot to tell her…"
He turned around and walked a bit further away from the group before taking the two-way mirror from his pocket.
The image of Morgan immediately appeared reflected on it. "Well? How did it go? Did you find the fortress?"
Harry nodded. "I did find it, but…"
"Did you run into an issue? Was it better guarded than we expected?" Morgan asked.
"Actually, yes, it was. I saw three red dragons flying around the building." Harry commented.
"I told you they could have som—"
"You said they could have one! That is a big difference between one dragon and three. Also, I think one of them was a rider." Harry complained.
"Does it really matter all that much? Don't tell me that you weren't able to get past them…" Morgan sounded very disappointed.
"I didn't have the chance. I ran into another problem." Harry noted that everyone was now looking in his direction.
"What problem? Are you okay?… wait, where are you?" Morgan noticed his surroundings.
"Some fool dragged me into a magical contract. Now I need to deal with this issue first." Harry said.
"A magical contract?… what old fool?" Morgan sounded very confused. "You are not making any sense."
"I'll come back as soon as I can and explain things properly, but I have to go now."
"Wait, Merlin! Don't you dare t—" Morgan's voice was cut when Harry closed the mirror and deactivated the runes so she could not call him again.
"What was that thing?" Fleur glanced at the mirror with interest. "Were you using it to talk to someone?"
"That… is none of your business, blonde." Harry ignored her angry expression. "Can we speed this up? Tell me everything I need to know about this contract and the tournament."
"Ah… yes." Barty Crouch composed himself. "Let's see… the tournament consists of three tasks. The first one will take place in…"
Harry listened attentively to the entire explanation.
Basically, the contract would force him to participate in these three tasks that would take place over the course of the entire school year, starting on November 24, when the first task would take place. Fortunately, there was no rule forcing him to stay inside the school outside the time required to complete these three tasks.
"Very well then. In that case, I only need to return on November 24th for this task." Harry said.
"Wait, Mister Potter. All the champions are allowed to stay in Hogwarts for the duration of the tournament," Barty Crouch said. "Well… we never accounted for having someone who wasn't a student, but still… I'm sure that the professors will have no issues with it."
"Not at all," McGonagall added. "Of course, Mister Potter is welcome to stay in Hogwarts." She wasn't even sure how Harry was planning on leaving, as the train wasn't even at the station right now.
"Harry, I have to insist that you remain in the school." Dumbledore was getting concerned now that he saw that Harry was planning on leaving. This had never occurred to him when he came up with the idea of bringing him to the castle.
"You are completely safe while in here. As you should know by now, the outside world is extremely dangerous…"
"Yes, I did learn that on my first night out in London." Harry said. "But I am a very busy person, so I'm afraid that I will have to refuse your invitation."
"My bo— I mean, Harry, please be reasonable." Dumbledore was starting to get desperate. He never expected the boy to be this difficult to convince. "At the very least, listen to what I have to say."
"Be reasonable? I really don't want to hear that from you, Mister Dumbledore. It seems like my first impression of you was an accurate one." Harry noted the desperation in the man's eyes and grew curious about why he had been trying so hard to track him down and bring him here.
That curiosity soon turned into suspicion, and now he felt that he needed to get to the bottom of this.
"Very well… I will listen to what you have to say, Mister Dumbledore." Harry responded.
If this wizard proves to be a threat to his plans, he will not hesitate to remove him.
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