Arimai
Curmudgeon
Dumbledore. Harry needs to arrange accidents for these traitors. The entire Hogwarts team are traitors.
Enchanting Melodies (HP SI)
- Thread starter athassprkr
- Start date
I am not so sure it's Dumbles...the fact of the matter is that there are A LOT of people who have a vested interest in Harry not succeeding...Voldemort, Fudge, Grindelwald, anyone with a beef against the Blacks, Lily's enemies, Malfoy...
Arimai
Curmudgeon
Doesn't matter. They're all on Harry's kill list
Chapter 263: Azure Recollections
Chapter 263: Azure Recollections
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Sebastien Delacour wasn't someone who could easily be surprised. He had experienced the horrors of war, and the backstabbing politics in the French Ministry, and had seen some very disturbing things in his time as an Auror. He liked to think that nothing could really make him speechless, that nothing could truly take him off-guard.
He was wrong.
Nothing could have ever prepared him for seeing Harry Potter in action. He knew that the boy was a magical prodigy, a once-in-a-generation genius… If he hadn't known that Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald were still alive, he would have thought that the boy was a champion…
He wasn't, which made what he had seen all the more ridiculous. It was something that was shared by all the spectators, who had stared at the giant screen without making a single sound. Normally, that would have simply been a bad sign, but this was different.
They had all thought him to be a foolish arrogant boy when he left his team behind. However, the moment people saw how he had fooled the Spanish Champions, those comments faded immediately.
It wasn't really the magic itself that was impressive; it was just how efficient the boy was. It would have been something else to see the boy simply walk around and just overpower any person in sight. It would have been more natural, and more understandable. A talented boy with more power than he knew what to do with it. Some people were just born lucky, special in their own way, and mages had accepted this since the dawn of time itself. People were not born equal.
However, the fact that the boy did not use any special spells or magic… That was what made this unbelievable. He had taken one of the Spanish champions' medallions without them even realizing it, and replaced it with a transfigured copy, one that would slowly compromise the entire team using some kind of curse that he activated later. This kind of planning was just not normal for a child. He would have expected this from a veteran fighter, not a student.
He had effectively held the entire Spanish champions team in his hands just a few minutes after the beginning of the task. And when he couldn't do the same to the Italians, because of their wards, he had used their discipline and ordered nature to predict where they would sit, and carved runes that they would power themselves to take them out. Outside of whatever he did to sneak into the wards, he didn't cast a single spell in that takedown… He had even modified the wards to knock out anyone else who would try to get inside.
His martial prowess against the two Greek Champions sealed the deal. He'd used conjured items without any souls to defeat the Argyros scion, a member of a very old family rumoured to descend from Hades himself, and that had an affinity for soul and darkness magics. It was a clever deduction on Potter's part to realize it, but the takedown of the two opponents was just so efficient, so mechanical…
That was when the ICW representative and Headmistress Maxime started to speak in hushed tones. It was true that the boy was ruining their task, neatly dodging most magical creatures in the forest, and just going out of his way to hunt other Champions.
There was a reason why he had asked Fleur to get closer to the boy. Oh, his daughter was a rebellious one and just didn't understand that he could see right through her. She wanted to use the tournament to make a name for herself, to get away from his authority and make her own way. He respected that and wanted nothing more than to see her succeed.
The issue was that Fleur had a romanticized idea of the world. It was his fault. He had coddled her during her youth, and she had clung to her dreams even in school, probably because she had a hard time adjusting due to her nature.
The sad truth was that she needed to handle things her way. Sebastien used his role as her oppressor to push her, waiting to see any sign of defiance, of true independence that would mean that she would press forward. He tried to oppress her dreams and hobbies, hoping to see her lash out, or even try to barter with him to get her way.
Yet she did nothing… And if she could not become independent of him, then she would not fare well in the world, where his protection became less significant the further she went. Fleur was just not ready… He sincerely hoped that the tournament would help forge her into the person he could see in her.
And Harry Potter was the key to that. He knew that the boy was powerful and a genius, but what interested him the most was his independence from Arcturus. He had learned to fight for himself ever since he was a child. He remade his family fortune by himself, without so much as a loan from Arcturus, and only asked for help due to the fact that as a minor, he would have been vulnerable to certain laws.
This was someone who knew how the real world worked and used it to his advantage. Arcturus, his old friend, had told him how impressed he was with the boy. It was why Sebastien had specifically asked Fleur to get closer to the Potter boy romantically, knowing that she would try to shield him from Sebastien, in simple resistance to his orders.
He could tell that she was fascinated with the boy and was uncommonly shy in speaking with him. It was a shame that Fleur resented the way Apolline used her nature to further Sebastien's political ambitions. She did not see how they were a team, that Apolline did this for him and he put forth bills to protect Veelas in France. He always listened to her council privately and often agreed with what she said.
Fleur was afraid of ending up as a trophy wife to someone successful instead of a person in her own right, and it was heartbreaking to see that this was all she thought of her own mother.
The tournament was an opportunity for her to grow, for her to learn… He hoped it would be enough. He hoped that Harry Potter would be the catalyst for that growth.
Of course, that was if the boy managed to survive the task. Because the ICW and Madame Maxime had decided to use a fucking Leviathan in a school competition just to slow him down. He couldn't really blame them; Harry Potter was simply too efficient, too experienced…
It was embarrassing, not only for the rest of the students but the competition as a whole. The boy had, in a couple of hours, completed half of the task, which was scheduled to last around three days. Madame Maxime couldn't really afford the humiliation, especially considering her heritage. Sebastien didn't personally know Olympe Maxime, but he knew of her during school. The giantess of Beauxbatons had worked ten times harder than her peers to prove herself and rise above her reputation. After all, giants were well known to be unintelligent barbarians. Harry Potter was essentially ruining her task, which she was obviously proud of.
The ICW also couldn't afford an upstart student raising Britain's reputation either, especially considering just how close they were to essentially taking over the country in everything but name. A rise in nationalism in Britain would ruin a lot of people's plans. Hence, the drastic measures.
Leviathans were the pinnacle of flesh craft and experimental breeding, meant to be used as weapons against severe criminals with minimal waste of human lives. There were rumours of other similar weapons, of course, but only the Leviathans had ever been publicly deployed when a War Lord who had taken over a large area in Northern Africa had tried to start a campaign of terrorism towards the ICW specifically, asking to be separated from the organization. Hundreds of Wizards and Witches had died, and any attempts at negotiation had failed miserably.
Instead of drafting an army to fight the upstart, they had sent just five Leviathans. It took them less than a week until every single stronghold was destroyed, and the War Lord had drowned in his own fortress…
That meant that sending a fucking Leviathan into a school competition was just absurd. As far as Sebastien knew, the official reason was that the beasts were only meant to make sure that no champion would be in danger. The unofficial reason was that they were just there as a subtle reminder of the ICW's power, but never in all his wildest thoughts, did the idea that they would be used to fight students cross his mind.
Sure, it was obviously sandbagging, but then again, so was Harry Potter. The boy had planned around the fight, probing for weaknesses, while being attacked by a dozen other Champions, and somehow ended up the victor.
He would be the first to admit that the Leviathan wasn't really the most powerful creature out there. He did not doubt that near a shore or a beach, it would have been far more dangerous. Its water elemental manipulation was impressive, to say the least…
In normal circumstances, a Nundu would kill it in seconds, and a Dragon would turn it to ash with a single breath. However, these were wild animals that could not be used effectively in warfare. But, this was the first time in recorded history that mages had weaponized a creature of this magnitude of power to serve entirely their purpose.
It should not have been beaten by a single wizard. A skilled team, perhaps, if they all attacked it at once to overwhelm its magical resistance. But the idea that a single person, especially a student, no matter how much the terrain was in the Potter boy's favour, would defeat it, was akin to a teenager defeating a dragon in single combat. It was simply inconceivable. And to make it worse, the boy had made it look easy.
To be fair, no one really expected the runes… The boy's skill in the field was ridiculous, creating a complex runic matrix on the fly to defeat the beast. No matter how much the Leviathan was holding back, the boy's rune matrix had, alone, negated much of the offensive that the creature could mount, and it didn't help that the Potter boy used the beast's own strength to defeat it and his other enemies. He used a modified version of the lightning rod charm and used it to power a rune matrix, as well as knock out the other champions.
Even that weird, modified stunner that knocked the beast out while ignoring its obvious magical resistance was something that he had never seen the likes of before.
All in all, he was gaping at the illusion in front of him. He had never really expected this to be the outcome. He looked, flabbergasted, at the smirking Arcturus next to him, "What the actual fuck Arcturus…"
The Black Patriarch snorted in amusement, "I told you Harry was special."
Special was an understatement. Sebastien knew that the boy was good, but this was ridiculous on many levels. He didn't even look winded as he strolled towards where the Beauxbatons champions were camping. They hadn't even noticed him replacing one of their medallions with a normal one before walking away as if he hadn't just won the task and combined the seven medallions to create a small ball of blue light.
Then, he proceeded to create a spell to activate the ball twice in a row to triangulate the location. Sebastien knew that he had created it because there was no way the boy had seen the ball of light before.
He then proceeded to walk away, until he found himself in a weird clearing. Of course, that was when the boy waved his wand and a pillar rose from the ground with a spherical hole inside. He put his sphere in and was announced as the winner.
Madame Maxime, with a frown on her face, stood up and spoke in a magically enhanced voice, "Harry Potter has finished in first place!"
The applause was lower than he expected, considering that the boy had essentially speed-run the task on his own, "Seriously, what the fuck, Arcturus?"
The man simply shrugged in response, "He must have really wanted that diary."
Choosing not to comment on that response, Sebastien decided to watch his daughter, who used a clumsy variation of the self-stunning manoeuvre. It was a pretty risky trick, where a person would stun themselves with a weakened stunner to play dead when they knew that they would lose. She had also cleverly cast a tracking charm on a Spanish and British champion, which would help her follow the victors to the finish line. It was a clever trick, even if it could be a risky one.
Of course, to add insult to injury, the Potter boy had sent all the other medallions to the other British Champions, practically guaranteeing their victory as well.
So, when Fleur woke up, she found herself amongst dozens of unconscious champions. She woke up the rest of the French Champions and followed the British Champions.
Sure, Hogwarts had stolen the show, but at least Beauxbattons would be a close second. And the look on Dumbledore's face as he gave the Potter boy the diary of his own mentor, knowing that he would never get it back, was something that he was planning on savouring…
AN: I know that I say this a lot, but I'm really not sure about this chapter. I don't know. I feel I could have done it better. I'd really like your feedback on this or if you have any suggestions...
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Sebastien Delacour wasn't someone who could easily be surprised. He had experienced the horrors of war, and the backstabbing politics in the French Ministry, and had seen some very disturbing things in his time as an Auror. He liked to think that nothing could really make him speechless, that nothing could truly take him off-guard.
He was wrong.
Nothing could have ever prepared him for seeing Harry Potter in action. He knew that the boy was a magical prodigy, a once-in-a-generation genius… If he hadn't known that Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald were still alive, he would have thought that the boy was a champion…
He wasn't, which made what he had seen all the more ridiculous. It was something that was shared by all the spectators, who had stared at the giant screen without making a single sound. Normally, that would have simply been a bad sign, but this was different.
They had all thought him to be a foolish arrogant boy when he left his team behind. However, the moment people saw how he had fooled the Spanish Champions, those comments faded immediately.
It wasn't really the magic itself that was impressive; it was just how efficient the boy was. It would have been something else to see the boy simply walk around and just overpower any person in sight. It would have been more natural, and more understandable. A talented boy with more power than he knew what to do with it. Some people were just born lucky, special in their own way, and mages had accepted this since the dawn of time itself. People were not born equal.
However, the fact that the boy did not use any special spells or magic… That was what made this unbelievable. He had taken one of the Spanish champions' medallions without them even realizing it, and replaced it with a transfigured copy, one that would slowly compromise the entire team using some kind of curse that he activated later. This kind of planning was just not normal for a child. He would have expected this from a veteran fighter, not a student.
He had effectively held the entire Spanish champions team in his hands just a few minutes after the beginning of the task. And when he couldn't do the same to the Italians, because of their wards, he had used their discipline and ordered nature to predict where they would sit, and carved runes that they would power themselves to take them out. Outside of whatever he did to sneak into the wards, he didn't cast a single spell in that takedown… He had even modified the wards to knock out anyone else who would try to get inside.
His martial prowess against the two Greek Champions sealed the deal. He'd used conjured items without any souls to defeat the Argyros scion, a member of a very old family rumoured to descend from Hades himself, and that had an affinity for soul and darkness magics. It was a clever deduction on Potter's part to realize it, but the takedown of the two opponents was just so efficient, so mechanical…
That was when the ICW representative and Headmistress Maxime started to speak in hushed tones. It was true that the boy was ruining their task, neatly dodging most magical creatures in the forest, and just going out of his way to hunt other Champions.
There was a reason why he had asked Fleur to get closer to the boy. Oh, his daughter was a rebellious one and just didn't understand that he could see right through her. She wanted to use the tournament to make a name for herself, to get away from his authority and make her own way. He respected that and wanted nothing more than to see her succeed.
The issue was that Fleur had a romanticized idea of the world. It was his fault. He had coddled her during her youth, and she had clung to her dreams even in school, probably because she had a hard time adjusting due to her nature.
The sad truth was that she needed to handle things her way. Sebastien used his role as her oppressor to push her, waiting to see any sign of defiance, of true independence that would mean that she would press forward. He tried to oppress her dreams and hobbies, hoping to see her lash out, or even try to barter with him to get her way.
Yet she did nothing… And if she could not become independent of him, then she would not fare well in the world, where his protection became less significant the further she went. Fleur was just not ready… He sincerely hoped that the tournament would help forge her into the person he could see in her.
And Harry Potter was the key to that. He knew that the boy was powerful and a genius, but what interested him the most was his independence from Arcturus. He had learned to fight for himself ever since he was a child. He remade his family fortune by himself, without so much as a loan from Arcturus, and only asked for help due to the fact that as a minor, he would have been vulnerable to certain laws.
This was someone who knew how the real world worked and used it to his advantage. Arcturus, his old friend, had told him how impressed he was with the boy. It was why Sebastien had specifically asked Fleur to get closer to the Potter boy romantically, knowing that she would try to shield him from Sebastien, in simple resistance to his orders.
He could tell that she was fascinated with the boy and was uncommonly shy in speaking with him. It was a shame that Fleur resented the way Apolline used her nature to further Sebastien's political ambitions. She did not see how they were a team, that Apolline did this for him and he put forth bills to protect Veelas in France. He always listened to her council privately and often agreed with what she said.
Fleur was afraid of ending up as a trophy wife to someone successful instead of a person in her own right, and it was heartbreaking to see that this was all she thought of her own mother.
The tournament was an opportunity for her to grow, for her to learn… He hoped it would be enough. He hoped that Harry Potter would be the catalyst for that growth.
Of course, that was if the boy managed to survive the task. Because the ICW and Madame Maxime had decided to use a fucking Leviathan in a school competition just to slow him down. He couldn't really blame them; Harry Potter was simply too efficient, too experienced…
It was embarrassing, not only for the rest of the students but the competition as a whole. The boy had, in a couple of hours, completed half of the task, which was scheduled to last around three days. Madame Maxime couldn't really afford the humiliation, especially considering her heritage. Sebastien didn't personally know Olympe Maxime, but he knew of her during school. The giantess of Beauxbatons had worked ten times harder than her peers to prove herself and rise above her reputation. After all, giants were well known to be unintelligent barbarians. Harry Potter was essentially ruining her task, which she was obviously proud of.
The ICW also couldn't afford an upstart student raising Britain's reputation either, especially considering just how close they were to essentially taking over the country in everything but name. A rise in nationalism in Britain would ruin a lot of people's plans. Hence, the drastic measures.
Leviathans were the pinnacle of flesh craft and experimental breeding, meant to be used as weapons against severe criminals with minimal waste of human lives. There were rumours of other similar weapons, of course, but only the Leviathans had ever been publicly deployed when a War Lord who had taken over a large area in Northern Africa had tried to start a campaign of terrorism towards the ICW specifically, asking to be separated from the organization. Hundreds of Wizards and Witches had died, and any attempts at negotiation had failed miserably.
Instead of drafting an army to fight the upstart, they had sent just five Leviathans. It took them less than a week until every single stronghold was destroyed, and the War Lord had drowned in his own fortress…
That meant that sending a fucking Leviathan into a school competition was just absurd. As far as Sebastien knew, the official reason was that the beasts were only meant to make sure that no champion would be in danger. The unofficial reason was that they were just there as a subtle reminder of the ICW's power, but never in all his wildest thoughts, did the idea that they would be used to fight students cross his mind.
Sure, it was obviously sandbagging, but then again, so was Harry Potter. The boy had planned around the fight, probing for weaknesses, while being attacked by a dozen other Champions, and somehow ended up the victor.
He would be the first to admit that the Leviathan wasn't really the most powerful creature out there. He did not doubt that near a shore or a beach, it would have been far more dangerous. Its water elemental manipulation was impressive, to say the least…
In normal circumstances, a Nundu would kill it in seconds, and a Dragon would turn it to ash with a single breath. However, these were wild animals that could not be used effectively in warfare. But, this was the first time in recorded history that mages had weaponized a creature of this magnitude of power to serve entirely their purpose.
It should not have been beaten by a single wizard. A skilled team, perhaps, if they all attacked it at once to overwhelm its magical resistance. But the idea that a single person, especially a student, no matter how much the terrain was in the Potter boy's favour, would defeat it, was akin to a teenager defeating a dragon in single combat. It was simply inconceivable. And to make it worse, the boy had made it look easy.
To be fair, no one really expected the runes… The boy's skill in the field was ridiculous, creating a complex runic matrix on the fly to defeat the beast. No matter how much the Leviathan was holding back, the boy's rune matrix had, alone, negated much of the offensive that the creature could mount, and it didn't help that the Potter boy used the beast's own strength to defeat it and his other enemies. He used a modified version of the lightning rod charm and used it to power a rune matrix, as well as knock out the other champions.
Even that weird, modified stunner that knocked the beast out while ignoring its obvious magical resistance was something that he had never seen the likes of before.
All in all, he was gaping at the illusion in front of him. He had never really expected this to be the outcome. He looked, flabbergasted, at the smirking Arcturus next to him, "What the actual fuck Arcturus…"
The Black Patriarch snorted in amusement, "I told you Harry was special."
Special was an understatement. Sebastien knew that the boy was good, but this was ridiculous on many levels. He didn't even look winded as he strolled towards where the Beauxbatons champions were camping. They hadn't even noticed him replacing one of their medallions with a normal one before walking away as if he hadn't just won the task and combined the seven medallions to create a small ball of blue light.
Then, he proceeded to create a spell to activate the ball twice in a row to triangulate the location. Sebastien knew that he had created it because there was no way the boy had seen the ball of light before.
He then proceeded to walk away, until he found himself in a weird clearing. Of course, that was when the boy waved his wand and a pillar rose from the ground with a spherical hole inside. He put his sphere in and was announced as the winner.
Madame Maxime, with a frown on her face, stood up and spoke in a magically enhanced voice, "Harry Potter has finished in first place!"
The applause was lower than he expected, considering that the boy had essentially speed-run the task on his own, "Seriously, what the fuck, Arcturus?"
The man simply shrugged in response, "He must have really wanted that diary."
Choosing not to comment on that response, Sebastien decided to watch his daughter, who used a clumsy variation of the self-stunning manoeuvre. It was a pretty risky trick, where a person would stun themselves with a weakened stunner to play dead when they knew that they would lose. She had also cleverly cast a tracking charm on a Spanish and British champion, which would help her follow the victors to the finish line. It was a clever trick, even if it could be a risky one.
Of course, to add insult to injury, the Potter boy had sent all the other medallions to the other British Champions, practically guaranteeing their victory as well.
So, when Fleur woke up, she found herself amongst dozens of unconscious champions. She woke up the rest of the French Champions and followed the British Champions.
Sure, Hogwarts had stolen the show, but at least Beauxbattons would be a close second. And the look on Dumbledore's face as he gave the Potter boy the diary of his own mentor, knowing that he would never get it back, was something that he was planning on savouring…
AN: I know that I say this a lot, but I'm really not sure about this chapter. I don't know. I feel I could have done it better. I'd really like your feedback on this or if you have any suggestions...
- Location
- Somewhere, probably Earth
Constructive feedback, since it was asked for.
The leviathan fight and the Beauxbatons engagement. While the latter didn't involve doing much in the first place the first could really have used a 'play-by-play' set of reactions. Commentary from the peanut gallery on what he was doing, questions from these learned experts in their fields about specifics. Whispers. A middle ground between the 'show' of seeing it from Harry's perspective and the 'tell' of Sebastien's. Because there was definitely a lot of tell, and not very much show, though that might be a result of the POV.
The leviathan fight and the Beauxbatons engagement. While the latter didn't involve doing much in the first place the first could really have used a 'play-by-play' set of reactions. Commentary from the peanut gallery on what he was doing, questions from these learned experts in their fields about specifics. Whispers. A middle ground between the 'show' of seeing it from Harry's perspective and the 'tell' of Sebastien's. Because there was definitely a lot of tell, and not very much show, though that might be a result of the POV.
Arimai
Curmudgeon
Warlord. Unless you mean Lord of War which is a magnitude more powerful than a warlord.
Against
Demanding their independence flfrom the ICW.
Negated most of the creature's offensive options.
Chapter 264: The Disbanded Knot
Chapter 264: The Disbanded Knot
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry Potter walked towards the finish line, feeling a mixture of confidence and smugness. It hadn't even been close… Even with the tournament organizers using that Chimera against him, he had essentially speed-run the entire task.
It had taken him less than ten minutes to get the French medallion. It wasn't really that hard; the champions were pretty spaced out, probably hoping to cover more ground. It was child's play to just sneak behind one of them, hit him with a compulsion charm, take the medallion and replace it with a fake. He didn't even bother cursing the medallion out of sympathy more than anything. Plus, he didn't really need to… He had already won.
He had combined seven medallions, one from each school, which morphed into a sphere. Using his Arcane Hearing, Harry was able to see that it moved a few meters in a certain direction that it was attracted to, like a modified point-me charm but with only three tries. Choosing to be efficient, he simply charmed the sphere to move in two opposite directions, and to activate each time. The direction of each movement was quickly calculated, and he created a modified point-me charm to lead him to the intersection of the two lines.
He found himself in a clearing, where a large stone pillar had risen from the ground with a spherical hole exactly the shape of the locator sphere. The rest was pretty evident. However, before he put it in, Harry debated himself on whether to help the other Hogwarts champions or not.
To be perfectly honest, he didn't care about school spirit, just the diary. With that task done, he wouldn't even be required to participate in another one. He would be essentially done with the tournament, outside of whatever task Daphne would participate in.
It was a shame that the Greengrass scion hadn't participated in this one. Her family crest was built for combat in this environment. To be fair, they hadn't known what the task would be, and Daphne hadn't wanted to take that risk. That's not to mention the fact that she was slightly miffed with him about her Blood Magic lessons being postponed.
Harry suppressed a sigh… With the excitement of the task done, he had to go back to his life and face his problems. Well, most of the problems spanned from Lily Potter's return. He still didn't know how to feel about that.
At least he'd have Flamel's diary to keep him company. He was excited to see what the man had written, especially considering the way he had enchanted it specifically for the tournament… Had he faked his own death and wanted to share some information? There was only one way to find out.
Back to the issue at hand, he decided to just transfigure a rock into a bird and command it to fly towards his fellow Hogwarts Champions whom he had tagged with a tracking charm. After all, he had technically abandoned them, putting them at a disadvantage. Well, not really, he had taken out half the competition on his own, so he did help them, in a way. To be fair, without the medallions, no one was going to reach the finish line, and he had taken all of the ones belonging to the Nebelheim, Durmstrang, and Roman Champions. Yes, he was going to get some backlash if he didn't give them back since he would have ruined the task…
He didn't entirely ruin things though. Harry expected that there had to be a scavenger hunt of some sort, with clues spread around the forest, leading to a sphere. The medallions were probably there to motivate students to fight each other… They probably never expected a team to take out every single competitor. No wonder they sent that Chimera at him…
Sucks to be them, huh.
To be fair, the task wouldn't be over. Harry had only stunned or knocked out most of his opponents, and they could wake up later and finish the task with the scavenger hunt. However, the task wouldn't be as exciting…
Well, whatever, he had already sent the medallions their way. It would be up to the organizers to figure things out later. He was almost going to finish the task when he remembered the curse he had put on the Spanish medallion. It was a tricky bit of magic that could spread to the other Spanish medallions, which would also knock out the users with a command from Harry.
He had almost forgotten about them… That task really was eventful. With a snort, he simply activated the curses. After all, it wouldn't be fair for every other champion to be knocked out. The only ones that would probably be up would be the Beauxbatons, Hogwarts, and maybe three of the Olympus Champions…
With that out of the way, he simply put the location sphere into the rock, which activated a portkey, placing him in front of the stands.
The crowd stayed silent for several seconds… and then went absolutely, utterly mad. Tens of thousands of spectators went crazily wild, and the ruckus was liable to wake up the dead… The judges were staring at him while gaping, their eyes wide in surprise… He didn't really blame them. That kind of display was not something that they'd ever expected.
And the sad thing was that Harry hadn't really taken things seriously. Well, that's not true, it was more like Harry had made sure not to go overboard. He had barely used any of his real skill outside of a bit of ice magic, and the discreet application of space manipulation to walk faster around the forest.
Other than that, everything could have been accomplished by a skilled NEWT student. Even the runes themselves could easily be replicated by a student who had taken runes as an elective. Maybe coming up with the matrix on the spot was a bit out there, but while it was slightly tricky, it wasn't something impossible for someone who had mastered the subject.
However, something else happened. Something more. It was as if a large bomb had gone off in the distance and yet no one else could hear it. Harry turned around in slight panic and saw nothing different. No, something had definitely happened.
Did he hear it with his Arcane Hearing?
A large noise like this, a large release of magic, just wasn't something that happened naturally. Someone had triggered something, and Harry had no idea what it was. He wouldn't even have a chance of finding out because of how loud everything was…
And now people were looking at him weirdly as he looked around him in a panic. Choosing to reassure them, he raised his hand and waved, making the crowd roar even louder.
Absentmindedly, he was guided by some random wizards and witches and walked slowly towards the area where the judges and organisers stood, applauding.
With a wave, the crowd stopped yelling and Madam Maxime stood up. She looked as regal as ever, but Harry could sense the displeasure from her and her fellow organizers. The woman spoke up with a magically enhanced voice, "I am proud to announce the winner of this task, Harry Potter of Hogwarts. As promised, I entrust you with the last piece of Nicholas Flamel's legacy."
A marble pillar rose from the ground, and on it, Nicholas Flamel's diary laid. Harry slowly walked forward and grabbed it, only to smile slightly as its magic accepted him as its new owner. He wouldn't open it in public. After all, people didn't need to know that he could do so.
The headmistress made a long speech about magical cooperation and the role of Beauxbatons, but Harry wasn't paying attention. He was looking for the source of the sound. Small remnants remained everywhere, but it was constant… There was no source he could trace. What the fuck was going on?
Harry was led towards the judges to shake their hands. Harry did so without really focusing, too distracted by theories on the origins of the magical noise. Most of the officials definitely didn't like him, even if a few of the judges looked more amused and impressed.
When he shook hands with Dumbledore, he looked up and saw his smile break slightly into a grimace. The guy definitely hadn't wanted Harry to win. Was he the one who put a bounty on Harry's head? He wasn't exactly sure. It was sort of unsubtle for Dumbledore. Harry had dealt with the man, and it would have been easier to use a small curse, or a compulsion to take Harry off-guard. Public forms of cheating like a bounty were simply below him. He would have found them distasteful.
This wasn't Dumbledore's doing. Someone else had tried to sabotage his task. To be perfectly fair, the attacks had barely even done anything to hinder him. Nevertheless, it was always a good idea to know if he had any more enemies. Really, things were getting ridiculous at this point.
Still, having finished with the useless ceremonies, he sat next to the rest of the Hogwarts delegation and shared a smile with Daphne. He noticed the masked form of Lily Potter looking at him and decided to just give her an acknowledging nod before looking at the giant illusion.
Instead, he absent-mindedly watched as the other Hogwarts Champions walked towards the finish line, with the French Champions on their heels. Fleur Delacour had managed to trick them into thinking that she was unconscious before waking up her fellow champions and following them, securing Beauxbatons an easy second place. It was admittedly clever of her.
Harry would have voiced it, but most of his concentration was taken up by focusing on processing the task's events. Even with it effectively being over he had ended up with even more questions than answers. He looked at the closed form of Flamel's diary, hoping that it would somehow give him the answers he was looking for.
It didn't…
In the bleak shadows of the towering Nurmengard fortress, a place steeped in a history of dark deeds and bitter incarcerations, Albus Dumbledore appeared with a faint pop of displaced air, the silence of the ancient stones greeting him like a forgotten whisper. The fortress itself loomed imposingly against a backdrop of dark, swirling clouds; its walls, thick and constructed from cold, grey stone, rose ominously, casting a pall of foreboding over the barren landscape that surrounded it.
Dumbledore's footsteps echoed through the vast, empty corridors as he navigated the labyrinthine passageways toward the tower his former friend resided in. Each step resonated against the stone, a sombre drumbeat in the heart of this fortress of despair.
As he entered the sparsely furnished room, Grindelwald was standing by the window, "The first seal is broken," Grindelwald said without turning, his voice carrying a trace of dark amusement. "I sensed it, Albus."
Dumbledore's expression was one of weary frustration as he responded, "Yet I wasn't able to secure Flamel's diary. The Potter boy won, despite my efforts." He confessed to employing subtle compulsion charms on the officials, hoping to tilt the scales against the young champion. "But the organizers lacked subtlety," he continued, shaking his head in dismay. "A Leviathan, of all things, to attack the boy."
Grindelwald turned, his face breaking into a mocking smile. "It seems young Potter has bested you again, Albus. You should have known better than to trust others with delicate tasks. You did say that it was a long shot at best." His tone was scornful yet tinged with a hint of camaraderie as if recalling a shared past full of similar miscalculations.
He moved closer, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "But let's not dwell on distractions. The removal of the seal was a crucial step. Everything proceeds according to our plan. Ragnarök will happen on our terms, and our dreams will become reality."
"One of our dreams, Gellert," the former headmaster corrected, "The victor of our battle will shape the world."
"Oh, Albus… You and I already know that things are never that easy."
"Don't forget that our alliance is temporary. The Light and Dark are always destined to be enemies. We're both here to make sure that the damage is not so great that there wouldn't be a world left for the victor to build."
The Dark Lord burst into laughter, "Sure, Albus. Whatever makes you sleep at night."
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry Potter walked towards the finish line, feeling a mixture of confidence and smugness. It hadn't even been close… Even with the tournament organizers using that Chimera against him, he had essentially speed-run the entire task.
It had taken him less than ten minutes to get the French medallion. It wasn't really that hard; the champions were pretty spaced out, probably hoping to cover more ground. It was child's play to just sneak behind one of them, hit him with a compulsion charm, take the medallion and replace it with a fake. He didn't even bother cursing the medallion out of sympathy more than anything. Plus, he didn't really need to… He had already won.
He had combined seven medallions, one from each school, which morphed into a sphere. Using his Arcane Hearing, Harry was able to see that it moved a few meters in a certain direction that it was attracted to, like a modified point-me charm but with only three tries. Choosing to be efficient, he simply charmed the sphere to move in two opposite directions, and to activate each time. The direction of each movement was quickly calculated, and he created a modified point-me charm to lead him to the intersection of the two lines.
He found himself in a clearing, where a large stone pillar had risen from the ground with a spherical hole exactly the shape of the locator sphere. The rest was pretty evident. However, before he put it in, Harry debated himself on whether to help the other Hogwarts champions or not.
To be perfectly honest, he didn't care about school spirit, just the diary. With that task done, he wouldn't even be required to participate in another one. He would be essentially done with the tournament, outside of whatever task Daphne would participate in.
It was a shame that the Greengrass scion hadn't participated in this one. Her family crest was built for combat in this environment. To be fair, they hadn't known what the task would be, and Daphne hadn't wanted to take that risk. That's not to mention the fact that she was slightly miffed with him about her Blood Magic lessons being postponed.
Harry suppressed a sigh… With the excitement of the task done, he had to go back to his life and face his problems. Well, most of the problems spanned from Lily Potter's return. He still didn't know how to feel about that.
At least he'd have Flamel's diary to keep him company. He was excited to see what the man had written, especially considering the way he had enchanted it specifically for the tournament… Had he faked his own death and wanted to share some information? There was only one way to find out.
Back to the issue at hand, he decided to just transfigure a rock into a bird and command it to fly towards his fellow Hogwarts Champions whom he had tagged with a tracking charm. After all, he had technically abandoned them, putting them at a disadvantage. Well, not really, he had taken out half the competition on his own, so he did help them, in a way. To be fair, without the medallions, no one was going to reach the finish line, and he had taken all of the ones belonging to the Nebelheim, Durmstrang, and Roman Champions. Yes, he was going to get some backlash if he didn't give them back since he would have ruined the task…
He didn't entirely ruin things though. Harry expected that there had to be a scavenger hunt of some sort, with clues spread around the forest, leading to a sphere. The medallions were probably there to motivate students to fight each other… They probably never expected a team to take out every single competitor. No wonder they sent that Chimera at him…
Sucks to be them, huh.
To be fair, the task wouldn't be over. Harry had only stunned or knocked out most of his opponents, and they could wake up later and finish the task with the scavenger hunt. However, the task wouldn't be as exciting…
Well, whatever, he had already sent the medallions their way. It would be up to the organizers to figure things out later. He was almost going to finish the task when he remembered the curse he had put on the Spanish medallion. It was a tricky bit of magic that could spread to the other Spanish medallions, which would also knock out the users with a command from Harry.
He had almost forgotten about them… That task really was eventful. With a snort, he simply activated the curses. After all, it wouldn't be fair for every other champion to be knocked out. The only ones that would probably be up would be the Beauxbatons, Hogwarts, and maybe three of the Olympus Champions…
With that out of the way, he simply put the location sphere into the rock, which activated a portkey, placing him in front of the stands.
The crowd stayed silent for several seconds… and then went absolutely, utterly mad. Tens of thousands of spectators went crazily wild, and the ruckus was liable to wake up the dead… The judges were staring at him while gaping, their eyes wide in surprise… He didn't really blame them. That kind of display was not something that they'd ever expected.
And the sad thing was that Harry hadn't really taken things seriously. Well, that's not true, it was more like Harry had made sure not to go overboard. He had barely used any of his real skill outside of a bit of ice magic, and the discreet application of space manipulation to walk faster around the forest.
Other than that, everything could have been accomplished by a skilled NEWT student. Even the runes themselves could easily be replicated by a student who had taken runes as an elective. Maybe coming up with the matrix on the spot was a bit out there, but while it was slightly tricky, it wasn't something impossible for someone who had mastered the subject.
However, something else happened. Something more. It was as if a large bomb had gone off in the distance and yet no one else could hear it. Harry turned around in slight panic and saw nothing different. No, something had definitely happened.
Did he hear it with his Arcane Hearing?
A large noise like this, a large release of magic, just wasn't something that happened naturally. Someone had triggered something, and Harry had no idea what it was. He wouldn't even have a chance of finding out because of how loud everything was…
And now people were looking at him weirdly as he looked around him in a panic. Choosing to reassure them, he raised his hand and waved, making the crowd roar even louder.
Absentmindedly, he was guided by some random wizards and witches and walked slowly towards the area where the judges and organisers stood, applauding.
With a wave, the crowd stopped yelling and Madam Maxime stood up. She looked as regal as ever, but Harry could sense the displeasure from her and her fellow organizers. The woman spoke up with a magically enhanced voice, "I am proud to announce the winner of this task, Harry Potter of Hogwarts. As promised, I entrust you with the last piece of Nicholas Flamel's legacy."
A marble pillar rose from the ground, and on it, Nicholas Flamel's diary laid. Harry slowly walked forward and grabbed it, only to smile slightly as its magic accepted him as its new owner. He wouldn't open it in public. After all, people didn't need to know that he could do so.
The headmistress made a long speech about magical cooperation and the role of Beauxbatons, but Harry wasn't paying attention. He was looking for the source of the sound. Small remnants remained everywhere, but it was constant… There was no source he could trace. What the fuck was going on?
Harry was led towards the judges to shake their hands. Harry did so without really focusing, too distracted by theories on the origins of the magical noise. Most of the officials definitely didn't like him, even if a few of the judges looked more amused and impressed.
When he shook hands with Dumbledore, he looked up and saw his smile break slightly into a grimace. The guy definitely hadn't wanted Harry to win. Was he the one who put a bounty on Harry's head? He wasn't exactly sure. It was sort of unsubtle for Dumbledore. Harry had dealt with the man, and it would have been easier to use a small curse, or a compulsion to take Harry off-guard. Public forms of cheating like a bounty were simply below him. He would have found them distasteful.
This wasn't Dumbledore's doing. Someone else had tried to sabotage his task. To be perfectly fair, the attacks had barely even done anything to hinder him. Nevertheless, it was always a good idea to know if he had any more enemies. Really, things were getting ridiculous at this point.
Still, having finished with the useless ceremonies, he sat next to the rest of the Hogwarts delegation and shared a smile with Daphne. He noticed the masked form of Lily Potter looking at him and decided to just give her an acknowledging nod before looking at the giant illusion.
Instead, he absent-mindedly watched as the other Hogwarts Champions walked towards the finish line, with the French Champions on their heels. Fleur Delacour had managed to trick them into thinking that she was unconscious before waking up her fellow champions and following them, securing Beauxbatons an easy second place. It was admittedly clever of her.
Harry would have voiced it, but most of his concentration was taken up by focusing on processing the task's events. Even with it effectively being over he had ended up with even more questions than answers. He looked at the closed form of Flamel's diary, hoping that it would somehow give him the answers he was looking for.
It didn't…
In the bleak shadows of the towering Nurmengard fortress, a place steeped in a history of dark deeds and bitter incarcerations, Albus Dumbledore appeared with a faint pop of displaced air, the silence of the ancient stones greeting him like a forgotten whisper. The fortress itself loomed imposingly against a backdrop of dark, swirling clouds; its walls, thick and constructed from cold, grey stone, rose ominously, casting a pall of foreboding over the barren landscape that surrounded it.
Dumbledore's footsteps echoed through the vast, empty corridors as he navigated the labyrinthine passageways toward the tower his former friend resided in. Each step resonated against the stone, a sombre drumbeat in the heart of this fortress of despair.
As he entered the sparsely furnished room, Grindelwald was standing by the window, "The first seal is broken," Grindelwald said without turning, his voice carrying a trace of dark amusement. "I sensed it, Albus."
Dumbledore's expression was one of weary frustration as he responded, "Yet I wasn't able to secure Flamel's diary. The Potter boy won, despite my efforts." He confessed to employing subtle compulsion charms on the officials, hoping to tilt the scales against the young champion. "But the organizers lacked subtlety," he continued, shaking his head in dismay. "A Leviathan, of all things, to attack the boy."
Grindelwald turned, his face breaking into a mocking smile. "It seems young Potter has bested you again, Albus. You should have known better than to trust others with delicate tasks. You did say that it was a long shot at best." His tone was scornful yet tinged with a hint of camaraderie as if recalling a shared past full of similar miscalculations.
He moved closer, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "But let's not dwell on distractions. The removal of the seal was a crucial step. Everything proceeds according to our plan. Ragnarök will happen on our terms, and our dreams will become reality."
"One of our dreams, Gellert," the former headmaster corrected, "The victor of our battle will shape the world."
"Oh, Albus… You and I already know that things are never that easy."
"Don't forget that our alliance is temporary. The Light and Dark are always destined to be enemies. We're both here to make sure that the damage is not so great that there wouldn't be a world left for the victor to build."
The Dark Lord burst into laughter, "Sure, Albus. Whatever makes you sleep at night."
Chapter 265: Of Bloody Words
Chapter 265: Of Bloody Words
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
The sun had fallen, and the spectators decided to enjoy their dinner and go to sleep before coming back the day after. Harry was surprised to hear that the task wasn't actually over… The organisers hadn't really put in any time limit, but they probably had a few clues spread around the forest that they could activate to get the Champions to move forward a bit.
The rules of the task were clear. The only way to leave was to reach the finish line, forfeit, be disqualified, or just be too injured to continue. It was strangely reminiscent of Quidditch matches in the way they handled the duration of the task, but then again, for some ungodly reason, people seemed to like this about the sport.
Currently, the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons champions had finished, while the Durmstrang and Nebelheim Champions were too injured to continue. Apparently, the Chimaera's last lightning attack was a bit stronger than they were able to handle, and the damage might have been severe. Their headmasters, Igor Karkaroff and Magnus Svensson, did try to argue this fact, but the sad truth was that if left alone, there was a chance of permanent injury, and that's not to mention the dangers in the forest. Then, they tried to get Harry disqualified for violating the rule on dark magic, and McGonagall protested saying that all he did was cast a harmless shield. He hadn't been the one to cast the attack spell…
That left the Olympus Champions, the Roman Champions, and the Spanish Champions, who had woken up hours later, confused as to what had happened, and frantic for their lack of medallions. The Romans could have been out of it for longer if it wasn't for the fact that Diggory had broken the ward that Harry had modified to keep them asleep. Not that Harry cared, he got what he came for.
The organisers must have pitied them, since the remaining competitors found small clues in the form of a riddle carved on a tree, giving them subtle directions to their next clues. Truth be told, it hadn't taken Harry too long to be bored out of his mind…
At least the squabbling headmasters were entertaining.
Harry decided that he'd stayed more than long enough to be polite and made up his mind to leave. He wouldn't come the following day. The whole thing got rather tedious, all things considered. He expected that many of the spectators wouldn't return as well… Well, perhaps the organizer's fears were founded after all.
As he made his way back to the castle, he was finally able to see Arcturus, who gave him a proud smile, "You were always good at scaring the shit out of people, kid. Have I ever told you that?"
Harry couldn't help but snort, "Seriously? I know that I stopped holding back a bit, but I haven't really used any outrageous pieces of magic. Was it really that terrifying?"
"You're joking, right? You beat one of the ICW's weapons in minutes, and even used its attacks to defeat it, and the idiots who tried to attack you from the back… Sure, your whole stealth attacks at the start were good, but what you did with the Leviathan just took the cake."
Harry hummed, "So, that's what it's called, a Leviathan. What are they?"
"Some Chimera that the ICW created and managed to weaponize somehow. I remember people saying that it did some very good work against some terrorists in Northern Africa a few years back."
"They would be pretty effective near the shore, I'll give them that. I can see one of them taking out a small stronghold if it could obey orders."
The Black Patriarch snorted, "More like a dozen strongholds each. You made a lot of enemies just taking it out like that, especially with the way you did it."
Harry simply shrugged, "I hadn't really used that much magic against it. In a fight against something with more raw power than you, your best bet is to use their own power against them. If it had been a dragon, I would have used the fire to power a runic array, and found a way to counter the magic it used to fly… Nothing is truly invincible, and all it takes is to find that small vulnerability to bring even the mightiest of opponents down."
"And you couldn't have hit it with the modified stunner from the start?"
"It was too quick… And that kind of spell takes me a lot of time to cast even once. It barely even qualifies as a spell, since I end up doing a lot of calculations in my head to specifically get it to bypass different forms of magical protection. It's better on an immobile opponent so that I can analyse the protections and modify the spell to work around them."
A familiar voice from behind him spoke up, "I was wondering what that was…"
Harry turned with a surprised look on his face, "Gemma?"
He didn't really expect to see her anytime soon. Ever since her graduation, Harry hadn't heard anything from the young woman. To be perfectly fair, they weren't that close, but he did admire her slightly. She had taken over the house of snakes without a strong family name to lean on, and no one had risked trying to take her position.
Harry expected her to have started working in the ministry or to have accepted an apprenticeship, especially considering her good showing in the Hogwarts tournament.
The former Hogwarts student gave him a small smirk, and just gave Arcturus a small pile of parchment, "The Sultan has agreed to your terms, Mr. Black. He gave me this broad contract to give to your solicitor to review."
"Good job, Farley. Keep up the great work."
The girl preened at the compliment, turned, and left without saying another word. Harry turned towards his guardian and raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"
"She impressed me in the last year, and I snatched her up before anyone else could. She's acting as my assistant while I teach her the ropes of navigating the politics of Magical Britain. Don't worry, when you graduate, I'm making you suffer the same as her…"
Harry gulped, "I'd really rather not."
He really didn't want to do that. Harry always preferred to work on his magic rather than to spend hours on boring parties with people who barely spoke a word of truth. He hadn't even crafted something good for almost a year because he was so busy trying to deal with Dumbledore's machinations and rebuilding his family fortune.
Arcturus must have noticed his horrified look because he burst into loud laughter, "That look on your face was the exact one your grandfather had when my sister forced him to attend the Wizengamot meetings."
They both remained in a comfortable silence until the Black Patriarch broke it, "So, did you open Flamel's diary?"
"I can, but not yet. It's fascinating that he turned this frankly normal book into an artefact which would also recognize an owner. I'm planning on going over it tonight."
"Wise of you. It wouldn't have been a good idea to publicize the fact that you can open the book… Now, don't let me keep you. I'm sure that your fellow champions want to celebrate with you."
Harry simply nodded and walked towards the metallic dragon, where McGonagall and the other members of the Hogwarts delegation were waiting and started to applaud when they saw him. Sure enough, when he entered through the dragon's maw, the entire place exploded with cheers and yells again. The Weasley twins were lighting up fireworks and had somehow snuck in barrels of Firewhiskey that McGonagall obviously pretended not to see.
He decided to help himself with some food. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until his stomach growled at the sight of a miniature feast…
The other Hogwarts Champions were busy regaling the other students with their tales about what had happened in the forest. Harry kept getting stopped every few minutes to answer some stupid question. He was quickly getting irritated every time that happened…
To be perfectly fair, Harry did technically hand Hogwarts the win in the first task of one of the biggest events of the year. He had even made sure that two of the strongest opposing schools, Durmstrang and Nebelheim, wouldn't get any points. Hogwarts was the school least favoured to win and everyone knew that, especially the students and staff.
Harry had shown the world that Britain wasn't as weak as they thought it was.
Feeling very close to just hexing whoever came to him next, Harry felt himself being pulled away by a blonde figure. Ah, finally, he hadn't seen Daphne since they left the stands, and even then, they hadn't really said anything to each other.
Daphne gave him a small smile, "You looked like you needed help."
"Yeah, thanks for that. I was tempted to curse the lot of them just so they would leave me alone."
"I'm glad you didn't. After all, we wouldn't have wanted to sully your new reputation as Britain's golden boy."
Harry groaned, "That's not funny."
"It is from where I'm standing. Still, you did very well, Harry."
"I think you would have done better. Your family crest would have been a major advantage in a forest."
The blonde snorted, "And you could have been a lot quicker too. Remember, I regularly spar against you. I know what you're capable of, and you were pretty casual with the way you handled things. I think I never properly appreciated just how bullshit you are…"
Harry smirked, "I am good, aren't I?"
The girl returned his smile before straightening out, "Look, Harry. I know things haven't been good since our fight. But, I missed you…"
He nodded back, "I missed you too."
The blonde jumped and hugged him tightly, a hug that he quickly returned. Ever since he confronted Lily and asked her to stay away from him and Daphne, the blonde knew that he must have been the one who had ruined her chances of learning proper Blood Magic.
Harry didn't even get to tell her about Lily's identity. And of course, Daphne had to ruin the moment by saying, "But Harry, you were being unreasonable… You are my friend, not my father. You can't forbid me from doing anything…"
"She's dangerous, Daphne. And Blood Magic is no joke. You could easily get yourself killed."
"But that's still my decision. I don't care if she's some monster. I told you years ago that healing my sister was my first priority. I would make a deal with the devil without hesitation if it meant that she would be cured. I have respected your ambitions for years. I'm only asking you to do the same for me."
Harry hesitated for a moment but resigned himself. There was really nothing he could do to stop her, "Fine. But before you have any lessons, there are a few things you need to know about our dear Unspeakable…"
"Let's just do it tomorrow. This day has been stressful enough on its own and I'm getting tired."
She gave him a blinding smile before turning away and leaving. There was really nothing he could do here. Even if Lily was planning on hurting her, she had already sunk her claws into Daphne with her offer. He was going to tell her who she was later, but he didn't think it would change anything…
Speaking of the redhead, Harry decided to speak up, "You can come out now."
The fake Unspeakable walked out from the shadows and spoke with a smooth voice, "So you're finally letting me teach the girl then… She really doesn't know the hold she has over you."
Harry nodded, "She doesn't but that also means that if you do anything to hurt her… Mother or not, I'll burn you. I'll burn your heart out of you… As for now, you said that you would do something for me."
"Sure, what do you need?"
"I need to know who put the bounty on me."
The redhead's obscured voice turned amused, "Oh, that's easy. It was me. I'm the one who put the bounty on you. After all, it was a lot easier for you to win when every other competitor willingly went out of their way to come to you, hoping for a quick payday. After all, I had faith you would beat them easily enough."
Harry shook his head in disappointment and went to his room, "You really are a horrible person, Lily Potter."
He decided not to think about it much. There was already a lot on his mind. He would deal with that little revelation the following day. Instead, he took out the diary from his magically expanded bag and opened the first page.
The words they held seemed to shock him, 'Hello young Peverell. You seem to have found my diary just as I arranged for you to do. You have a lot to learn and not enough time to do so. So, let's just get started.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
The sun had fallen, and the spectators decided to enjoy their dinner and go to sleep before coming back the day after. Harry was surprised to hear that the task wasn't actually over… The organisers hadn't really put in any time limit, but they probably had a few clues spread around the forest that they could activate to get the Champions to move forward a bit.
The rules of the task were clear. The only way to leave was to reach the finish line, forfeit, be disqualified, or just be too injured to continue. It was strangely reminiscent of Quidditch matches in the way they handled the duration of the task, but then again, for some ungodly reason, people seemed to like this about the sport.
Currently, the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons champions had finished, while the Durmstrang and Nebelheim Champions were too injured to continue. Apparently, the Chimaera's last lightning attack was a bit stronger than they were able to handle, and the damage might have been severe. Their headmasters, Igor Karkaroff and Magnus Svensson, did try to argue this fact, but the sad truth was that if left alone, there was a chance of permanent injury, and that's not to mention the dangers in the forest. Then, they tried to get Harry disqualified for violating the rule on dark magic, and McGonagall protested saying that all he did was cast a harmless shield. He hadn't been the one to cast the attack spell…
That left the Olympus Champions, the Roman Champions, and the Spanish Champions, who had woken up hours later, confused as to what had happened, and frantic for their lack of medallions. The Romans could have been out of it for longer if it wasn't for the fact that Diggory had broken the ward that Harry had modified to keep them asleep. Not that Harry cared, he got what he came for.
The organisers must have pitied them, since the remaining competitors found small clues in the form of a riddle carved on a tree, giving them subtle directions to their next clues. Truth be told, it hadn't taken Harry too long to be bored out of his mind…
At least the squabbling headmasters were entertaining.
Harry decided that he'd stayed more than long enough to be polite and made up his mind to leave. He wouldn't come the following day. The whole thing got rather tedious, all things considered. He expected that many of the spectators wouldn't return as well… Well, perhaps the organizer's fears were founded after all.
As he made his way back to the castle, he was finally able to see Arcturus, who gave him a proud smile, "You were always good at scaring the shit out of people, kid. Have I ever told you that?"
Harry couldn't help but snort, "Seriously? I know that I stopped holding back a bit, but I haven't really used any outrageous pieces of magic. Was it really that terrifying?"
"You're joking, right? You beat one of the ICW's weapons in minutes, and even used its attacks to defeat it, and the idiots who tried to attack you from the back… Sure, your whole stealth attacks at the start were good, but what you did with the Leviathan just took the cake."
Harry hummed, "So, that's what it's called, a Leviathan. What are they?"
"Some Chimera that the ICW created and managed to weaponize somehow. I remember people saying that it did some very good work against some terrorists in Northern Africa a few years back."
"They would be pretty effective near the shore, I'll give them that. I can see one of them taking out a small stronghold if it could obey orders."
The Black Patriarch snorted, "More like a dozen strongholds each. You made a lot of enemies just taking it out like that, especially with the way you did it."
Harry simply shrugged, "I hadn't really used that much magic against it. In a fight against something with more raw power than you, your best bet is to use their own power against them. If it had been a dragon, I would have used the fire to power a runic array, and found a way to counter the magic it used to fly… Nothing is truly invincible, and all it takes is to find that small vulnerability to bring even the mightiest of opponents down."
"And you couldn't have hit it with the modified stunner from the start?"
"It was too quick… And that kind of spell takes me a lot of time to cast even once. It barely even qualifies as a spell, since I end up doing a lot of calculations in my head to specifically get it to bypass different forms of magical protection. It's better on an immobile opponent so that I can analyse the protections and modify the spell to work around them."
A familiar voice from behind him spoke up, "I was wondering what that was…"
Harry turned with a surprised look on his face, "Gemma?"
He didn't really expect to see her anytime soon. Ever since her graduation, Harry hadn't heard anything from the young woman. To be perfectly fair, they weren't that close, but he did admire her slightly. She had taken over the house of snakes without a strong family name to lean on, and no one had risked trying to take her position.
Harry expected her to have started working in the ministry or to have accepted an apprenticeship, especially considering her good showing in the Hogwarts tournament.
The former Hogwarts student gave him a small smirk, and just gave Arcturus a small pile of parchment, "The Sultan has agreed to your terms, Mr. Black. He gave me this broad contract to give to your solicitor to review."
"Good job, Farley. Keep up the great work."
The girl preened at the compliment, turned, and left without saying another word. Harry turned towards his guardian and raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"
"She impressed me in the last year, and I snatched her up before anyone else could. She's acting as my assistant while I teach her the ropes of navigating the politics of Magical Britain. Don't worry, when you graduate, I'm making you suffer the same as her…"
Harry gulped, "I'd really rather not."
He really didn't want to do that. Harry always preferred to work on his magic rather than to spend hours on boring parties with people who barely spoke a word of truth. He hadn't even crafted something good for almost a year because he was so busy trying to deal with Dumbledore's machinations and rebuilding his family fortune.
Arcturus must have noticed his horrified look because he burst into loud laughter, "That look on your face was the exact one your grandfather had when my sister forced him to attend the Wizengamot meetings."
They both remained in a comfortable silence until the Black Patriarch broke it, "So, did you open Flamel's diary?"
"I can, but not yet. It's fascinating that he turned this frankly normal book into an artefact which would also recognize an owner. I'm planning on going over it tonight."
"Wise of you. It wouldn't have been a good idea to publicize the fact that you can open the book… Now, don't let me keep you. I'm sure that your fellow champions want to celebrate with you."
Harry simply nodded and walked towards the metallic dragon, where McGonagall and the other members of the Hogwarts delegation were waiting and started to applaud when they saw him. Sure enough, when he entered through the dragon's maw, the entire place exploded with cheers and yells again. The Weasley twins were lighting up fireworks and had somehow snuck in barrels of Firewhiskey that McGonagall obviously pretended not to see.
He decided to help himself with some food. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until his stomach growled at the sight of a miniature feast…
The other Hogwarts Champions were busy regaling the other students with their tales about what had happened in the forest. Harry kept getting stopped every few minutes to answer some stupid question. He was quickly getting irritated every time that happened…
To be perfectly fair, Harry did technically hand Hogwarts the win in the first task of one of the biggest events of the year. He had even made sure that two of the strongest opposing schools, Durmstrang and Nebelheim, wouldn't get any points. Hogwarts was the school least favoured to win and everyone knew that, especially the students and staff.
Harry had shown the world that Britain wasn't as weak as they thought it was.
Feeling very close to just hexing whoever came to him next, Harry felt himself being pulled away by a blonde figure. Ah, finally, he hadn't seen Daphne since they left the stands, and even then, they hadn't really said anything to each other.
Daphne gave him a small smile, "You looked like you needed help."
"Yeah, thanks for that. I was tempted to curse the lot of them just so they would leave me alone."
"I'm glad you didn't. After all, we wouldn't have wanted to sully your new reputation as Britain's golden boy."
Harry groaned, "That's not funny."
"It is from where I'm standing. Still, you did very well, Harry."
"I think you would have done better. Your family crest would have been a major advantage in a forest."
The blonde snorted, "And you could have been a lot quicker too. Remember, I regularly spar against you. I know what you're capable of, and you were pretty casual with the way you handled things. I think I never properly appreciated just how bullshit you are…"
Harry smirked, "I am good, aren't I?"
The girl returned his smile before straightening out, "Look, Harry. I know things haven't been good since our fight. But, I missed you…"
He nodded back, "I missed you too."
The blonde jumped and hugged him tightly, a hug that he quickly returned. Ever since he confronted Lily and asked her to stay away from him and Daphne, the blonde knew that he must have been the one who had ruined her chances of learning proper Blood Magic.
Harry didn't even get to tell her about Lily's identity. And of course, Daphne had to ruin the moment by saying, "But Harry, you were being unreasonable… You are my friend, not my father. You can't forbid me from doing anything…"
"She's dangerous, Daphne. And Blood Magic is no joke. You could easily get yourself killed."
"But that's still my decision. I don't care if she's some monster. I told you years ago that healing my sister was my first priority. I would make a deal with the devil without hesitation if it meant that she would be cured. I have respected your ambitions for years. I'm only asking you to do the same for me."
Harry hesitated for a moment but resigned himself. There was really nothing he could do to stop her, "Fine. But before you have any lessons, there are a few things you need to know about our dear Unspeakable…"
"Let's just do it tomorrow. This day has been stressful enough on its own and I'm getting tired."
She gave him a blinding smile before turning away and leaving. There was really nothing he could do here. Even if Lily was planning on hurting her, she had already sunk her claws into Daphne with her offer. He was going to tell her who she was later, but he didn't think it would change anything…
Speaking of the redhead, Harry decided to speak up, "You can come out now."
The fake Unspeakable walked out from the shadows and spoke with a smooth voice, "So you're finally letting me teach the girl then… She really doesn't know the hold she has over you."
Harry nodded, "She doesn't but that also means that if you do anything to hurt her… Mother or not, I'll burn you. I'll burn your heart out of you… As for now, you said that you would do something for me."
"Sure, what do you need?"
"I need to know who put the bounty on me."
The redhead's obscured voice turned amused, "Oh, that's easy. It was me. I'm the one who put the bounty on you. After all, it was a lot easier for you to win when every other competitor willingly went out of their way to come to you, hoping for a quick payday. After all, I had faith you would beat them easily enough."
Harry shook his head in disappointment and went to his room, "You really are a horrible person, Lily Potter."
He decided not to think about it much. There was already a lot on his mind. He would deal with that little revelation the following day. Instead, he took out the diary from his magically expanded bag and opened the first page.
The words they held seemed to shock him, 'Hello young Peverell. You seem to have found my diary just as I arranged for you to do. You have a lot to learn and not enough time to do so. So, let's just get started.
Arimai
Curmudgeon
I was right! So Flamel did know about Harry.
Chapter 266: A Tale of Two Brothers
Chapter 266: A Tale of Two Brothers
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Instead, he removed the diary from his magically expanded bag and opened the first page. The words they held seemed to shock him, 'Hello young Peverell. You seemed to have found my diary just as I arranged for you to. You have a lot to learn and not enough time to do so. So, let's just get started'.
Harry stiffened as he kept reading. How the fuck did Nicholas Flamel know that a Peverell descendant would be able to open the diary. The only reason Harry could be called a Peverell and not a Potter was because of his crest. Harry had accepted that a very long ago that he was a Potter in name only, but not in magic. For example, Tom Riddle would not have been considered to be a Peverell. There wasn't a lot of research on the field, but it was an accepted fact that the differences in souls and upbringings could impact which crest someone would get if they could inherit multiple ones. Similarly, someone might forcefully get their child to inherit a certain crest by grafting a small fragment before their seventh birthday, but it wouldn't be as good as someone inheriting the family crest naturally.
All in all, considering that there hadn't been a proper Peverell for centuries at the very least, there was no reason for Flamel to address him this way without scanning his crest…
Of course, the answer came in the next sentence, 'Well, I know you're probably overthinking about how I knew it would have been you. After all, the content of this book is static, there are no changes. And don't worry, I truly am dead. However, while my prowess as an Alchemist is very well known, very few knew of my wife's talent as a Seer. Even as I write this, I have no idea in which circumstances you will receive this book, only that you will when it is necessary. For some reason, Perenelle asked me to bring this little journal to the Beauxbatons headmistress. I think her name is Olympus or something… Names tend to be blurry when you get my age and I pray that you never do. Anyway, like my wife told me, I should put some kind of permanent enchantment so that this diary would only belong to the winner of Beauxbatons' next European tournament. Which was weird because as far as I know, Hogwarts was hosting the damn thing… Nevertheless, I've learned many times not to question my wife.'
Huh, Harry never expected Perenelle Flamel to be a Seer. It was kind of terrifying to see just how good she was, considering how spot-on her predictions were. The woman had seriously predicted the fact that the tournament would no longer be held in Hogwarts and that Harry would participate in the task to win the diary… He had never heard of a seer that was that precise. Then again, he hadn't heard of a seer living as long as the woman. After all, she had more than six centuries to hone her craft.
Choosing to just go with the flow, Harry continued to read, 'Now that you understand how I sent you the diary, you must be asking why I did so. Well, according to Perenelle, you will need so. You will find in this journal some beginner knowledge in Alchemy, as well as some stabilized Alchemical experiments with very little risk. I don't know why Perenelle asked me to put them since they're a little too stable to be powerful, but apparently, they will be of use to you somehow. Perenelle wrote a few chapters in the end, but she didn't let me read it… But before we start with the technicalities, by the time you're reading this, you have to know that you are at the precipice of one of the grandest events in history… I wish I would have been there to see it, out of curiosity more than anything, but unfortunately, I should have died at my traitorous apprentice's hand sometime soon.'
'Despite the fact that I will always care for the young man I trained and taught, Albus Dumbledore is now the greatest danger to you. He was once my greatest pride and now is my greatest failure. It all began centuries ago when I created my infamous stone. It was never meant to be a tool for immortality, but a Panacea, the only cure I could have conceived for my dying wife. At the time, I tried using the remaining life force of every person dying prematurely, but it wasn't even close enough. That kind of magic required sacrifices, and so I obliged. Having had enough of guessing, I just decided to let fate decide the price. I created a plague that would not stop until the price would have been enough. It took millions of lives for the stone to be created but it was nearly not enough, except that a new-born Light champion was killed by it as well. It was able to supercharge the ritual and become the tool for immortality that it is today. Apparently, the Light had a lot of plans for the champion and did like having it interrupted for a ritual, let alone having a small fragment of its power absorbed into a stone. Decades later, the next Light champion cornered me, and bound me to the light, to track down the Light champions and train them until my dying breath. I saved Perenelle but lost my freedom. I would have destroyed the damn thing, but it still held a fragment of the Light… The consequences would have been chaotic, to say the least, and in a way, I did weaken the connection the Light had with its champions, which happened to be completely bloodbound to me. It was a petty form of retribution considering the Light bound me for an accident.
'However, I later learned that I wasn't the only one cursed to serve the powers. Another Vampire, Vlad Drakul, created a ritual to enhance himself and his species. He also accidentally used a fragment of the Dark and ended up bound to it. And so, Drakul and I hatched a plan and collaborated to get the Champions of the Light and Dark to work together, to end the cycle of war and death that followed their endless battles. The plan was to have them unite the magical world and I would have offered them doses of the Elixir of life to avoid any other champion from being born… As you probably realized, it did not work. Gellert was too taken with his power over people, and Albus grew up with an obsession over control. They fought and our dream died, and now the world is in danger because of it. I wish I was there with you, young Peverell, but Perenelle told me that it would have been a bad idea… The moment is nearing, the first prophecy, the last battle between the Light and Dark is soon. Ragnarök is coming. We had hoped to delay it with our plan of peace, but we failed and now you will have to deal with the consequences.'
'You are hounded by the Light and Dark… But I believe you should, at the very least, understand their nature. It all began with a Kingdom, older than recorded history, yet it might live on in Myth. We do not know its true name, but most people call it Atlantis. It wasn't an island like you imagined, but a true kingdom of magic and might. Its mighty king had two sons who vied for his throne. The younger son craved the throne, and so, he used the forbidden arts to pierce the veil between worlds. He was met with a realm of purity and light, that he claimed as his own, giving him magic beyond his wildest dreams.'
'The older brother seeing this, did not wish to jeopardize his position and did the same, claiming a realm of darkness and shadows. As the King was on his deathbed, the two brothers battled in a fight that destroyed most of the Kingdom. It was so powerful that they had overwhelmed their mortal bodies, becoming one with their realms, and the walls between realms became thin. They kept absorbing realm after realm for their power, that it created a great crisis that we call the Great Cataclysm. The very stars collided, and worlds were ripped open, letting wonders and horrors into the world. Dragons as tall as mountains roamed the skies, and the sea was filled with monstrosities that were as large as islands. Humanity was at risk. Seeing the actions of his own son, the King with his dying breath, helped the Gods of realms threatened by his sons, locked away both dimensions. He gave his own life, and burned away his great soul to power the ritual. In honour of his sacrifice, the Gods made sure that humanity would survive.'
'Unfortunately, the seals were not permanent. Slowly but surely, the Light and Dark could communicate with the material world. They were weak at first, but they progressively were able to mould certain wizards to suit their purpose, blessing them with the power to become leaders and start changing the magical world, which we ended up calling the Champions of Light and Dark. In a show of unity, both the Light and Dark achieved a ritual to strengthen the walls between dimensions, forcing the Gods to either stay in the material world, far away from their power or return home. Most did return home, and the very few who remained were hunted down since they were no longer connected to their realms. The Light and Dark obviously put on certain safeguards to keep getting champions, but I will admit to not truly knowing what they are…
'Of course, the gods did not leave quietly. The last god to ascend, the mighty Odin, proclaimed the first prophecy… The prophecy of Ragnarök.'
And so, Harry read the single most terrifying piece of text he had ever seen in his life:
When the serpent falls and silence reigns,
A war of shadows and light shall start again.
The sky to fire, the world to end,
A legacy reborn as the gods descend.
Death and Fate, now intertwined,
A tapestry of existence, redefined.
Only ash will remain, the final scene,
A silent world, eerily serene.
He shivered with every word, feeling the very power that just saying them in his mind. He had no doubt that every single word he said was true.
However, it felt… incomplete… Merely reading the world in his head started a veritable symphony to his Arcane Hearing. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, but it was also missing something… A verse, maybe even more. He wanted to find out… No, he needed to find out. He could feel even his magical crest soothingly warming up in approval.
He decided to read further to see where things were going, or what Flamel actually wanted from him, 'Well, that's it for my little message. Again, if you're frustrated just blame Perenelle. Great and now she's sending hexes at me. I probably shouldn't have written that. Oh, wait, she says that you'll get your answers when you see the last legacy of Camlann. Huh, I didn't expect her to push you to go there, but whatever… It's not my problem, I'll be too dead to care. I hope my notes will help you, young man. Farewell, Peverell, and I wish you good fortune in the battles to come.'
And that was it… Nicholas Flamel's last message. And it was a story and a fucking vague recommendation. Fucking seers, not giving any straight answers… Harry ignored the hypocritical comment considering that he was also a seer.
Nevertheless, while this answered a lot of questions, he somehow ended up with even more of them. Flamel's journal was obviously not going to have the key to answer them… At least now, he had a solid lead. He needed to find the last legacy of Camlann, and also figure out whatever missing verse in the prophecy of Ragnarök.
That's not to mention the fact that he would still have to confront his mother.
It wasn't a surprise when he didn't get enough sleep that night…
AN: So, I decided to expand a bit on the lore and fill in the gaps I left before. I thought about doing it slowly but tbh considering what I had planned, the story would have progressed very slowly... As usual, please let me know what you think because I'm still kinda doubting my decision...
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
7 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Instead, he removed the diary from his magically expanded bag and opened the first page. The words they held seemed to shock him, 'Hello young Peverell. You seemed to have found my diary just as I arranged for you to. You have a lot to learn and not enough time to do so. So, let's just get started'.
Harry stiffened as he kept reading. How the fuck did Nicholas Flamel know that a Peverell descendant would be able to open the diary. The only reason Harry could be called a Peverell and not a Potter was because of his crest. Harry had accepted that a very long ago that he was a Potter in name only, but not in magic. For example, Tom Riddle would not have been considered to be a Peverell. There wasn't a lot of research on the field, but it was an accepted fact that the differences in souls and upbringings could impact which crest someone would get if they could inherit multiple ones. Similarly, someone might forcefully get their child to inherit a certain crest by grafting a small fragment before their seventh birthday, but it wouldn't be as good as someone inheriting the family crest naturally.
All in all, considering that there hadn't been a proper Peverell for centuries at the very least, there was no reason for Flamel to address him this way without scanning his crest…
Of course, the answer came in the next sentence, 'Well, I know you're probably overthinking about how I knew it would have been you. After all, the content of this book is static, there are no changes. And don't worry, I truly am dead. However, while my prowess as an Alchemist is very well known, very few knew of my wife's talent as a Seer. Even as I write this, I have no idea in which circumstances you will receive this book, only that you will when it is necessary. For some reason, Perenelle asked me to bring this little journal to the Beauxbatons headmistress. I think her name is Olympus or something… Names tend to be blurry when you get my age and I pray that you never do. Anyway, like my wife told me, I should put some kind of permanent enchantment so that this diary would only belong to the winner of Beauxbatons' next European tournament. Which was weird because as far as I know, Hogwarts was hosting the damn thing… Nevertheless, I've learned many times not to question my wife.'
Huh, Harry never expected Perenelle Flamel to be a Seer. It was kind of terrifying to see just how good she was, considering how spot-on her predictions were. The woman had seriously predicted the fact that the tournament would no longer be held in Hogwarts and that Harry would participate in the task to win the diary… He had never heard of a seer that was that precise. Then again, he hadn't heard of a seer living as long as the woman. After all, she had more than six centuries to hone her craft.
Choosing to just go with the flow, Harry continued to read, 'Now that you understand how I sent you the diary, you must be asking why I did so. Well, according to Perenelle, you will need so. You will find in this journal some beginner knowledge in Alchemy, as well as some stabilized Alchemical experiments with very little risk. I don't know why Perenelle asked me to put them since they're a little too stable to be powerful, but apparently, they will be of use to you somehow. Perenelle wrote a few chapters in the end, but she didn't let me read it… But before we start with the technicalities, by the time you're reading this, you have to know that you are at the precipice of one of the grandest events in history… I wish I would have been there to see it, out of curiosity more than anything, but unfortunately, I should have died at my traitorous apprentice's hand sometime soon.'
'Despite the fact that I will always care for the young man I trained and taught, Albus Dumbledore is now the greatest danger to you. He was once my greatest pride and now is my greatest failure. It all began centuries ago when I created my infamous stone. It was never meant to be a tool for immortality, but a Panacea, the only cure I could have conceived for my dying wife. At the time, I tried using the remaining life force of every person dying prematurely, but it wasn't even close enough. That kind of magic required sacrifices, and so I obliged. Having had enough of guessing, I just decided to let fate decide the price. I created a plague that would not stop until the price would have been enough. It took millions of lives for the stone to be created but it was nearly not enough, except that a new-born Light champion was killed by it as well. It was able to supercharge the ritual and become the tool for immortality that it is today. Apparently, the Light had a lot of plans for the champion and did like having it interrupted for a ritual, let alone having a small fragment of its power absorbed into a stone. Decades later, the next Light champion cornered me, and bound me to the light, to track down the Light champions and train them until my dying breath. I saved Perenelle but lost my freedom. I would have destroyed the damn thing, but it still held a fragment of the Light… The consequences would have been chaotic, to say the least, and in a way, I did weaken the connection the Light had with its champions, which happened to be completely bloodbound to me. It was a petty form of retribution considering the Light bound me for an accident.
'However, I later learned that I wasn't the only one cursed to serve the powers. Another Vampire, Vlad Drakul, created a ritual to enhance himself and his species. He also accidentally used a fragment of the Dark and ended up bound to it. And so, Drakul and I hatched a plan and collaborated to get the Champions of the Light and Dark to work together, to end the cycle of war and death that followed their endless battles. The plan was to have them unite the magical world and I would have offered them doses of the Elixir of life to avoid any other champion from being born… As you probably realized, it did not work. Gellert was too taken with his power over people, and Albus grew up with an obsession over control. They fought and our dream died, and now the world is in danger because of it. I wish I was there with you, young Peverell, but Perenelle told me that it would have been a bad idea… The moment is nearing, the first prophecy, the last battle between the Light and Dark is soon. Ragnarök is coming. We had hoped to delay it with our plan of peace, but we failed and now you will have to deal with the consequences.'
'You are hounded by the Light and Dark… But I believe you should, at the very least, understand their nature. It all began with a Kingdom, older than recorded history, yet it might live on in Myth. We do not know its true name, but most people call it Atlantis. It wasn't an island like you imagined, but a true kingdom of magic and might. Its mighty king had two sons who vied for his throne. The younger son craved the throne, and so, he used the forbidden arts to pierce the veil between worlds. He was met with a realm of purity and light, that he claimed as his own, giving him magic beyond his wildest dreams.'
'The older brother seeing this, did not wish to jeopardize his position and did the same, claiming a realm of darkness and shadows. As the King was on his deathbed, the two brothers battled in a fight that destroyed most of the Kingdom. It was so powerful that they had overwhelmed their mortal bodies, becoming one with their realms, and the walls between realms became thin. They kept absorbing realm after realm for their power, that it created a great crisis that we call the Great Cataclysm. The very stars collided, and worlds were ripped open, letting wonders and horrors into the world. Dragons as tall as mountains roamed the skies, and the sea was filled with monstrosities that were as large as islands. Humanity was at risk. Seeing the actions of his own son, the King with his dying breath, helped the Gods of realms threatened by his sons, locked away both dimensions. He gave his own life, and burned away his great soul to power the ritual. In honour of his sacrifice, the Gods made sure that humanity would survive.'
'Unfortunately, the seals were not permanent. Slowly but surely, the Light and Dark could communicate with the material world. They were weak at first, but they progressively were able to mould certain wizards to suit their purpose, blessing them with the power to become leaders and start changing the magical world, which we ended up calling the Champions of Light and Dark. In a show of unity, both the Light and Dark achieved a ritual to strengthen the walls between dimensions, forcing the Gods to either stay in the material world, far away from their power or return home. Most did return home, and the very few who remained were hunted down since they were no longer connected to their realms. The Light and Dark obviously put on certain safeguards to keep getting champions, but I will admit to not truly knowing what they are…
'Of course, the gods did not leave quietly. The last god to ascend, the mighty Odin, proclaimed the first prophecy… The prophecy of Ragnarök.'
And so, Harry read the single most terrifying piece of text he had ever seen in his life:
When the serpent falls and silence reigns,
A war of shadows and light shall start again.
The sky to fire, the world to end,
A legacy reborn as the gods descend.
Death and Fate, now intertwined,
A tapestry of existence, redefined.
Only ash will remain, the final scene,
A silent world, eerily serene.
He shivered with every word, feeling the very power that just saying them in his mind. He had no doubt that every single word he said was true.
However, it felt… incomplete… Merely reading the world in his head started a veritable symphony to his Arcane Hearing. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, but it was also missing something… A verse, maybe even more. He wanted to find out… No, he needed to find out. He could feel even his magical crest soothingly warming up in approval.
He decided to read further to see where things were going, or what Flamel actually wanted from him, 'Well, that's it for my little message. Again, if you're frustrated just blame Perenelle. Great and now she's sending hexes at me. I probably shouldn't have written that. Oh, wait, she says that you'll get your answers when you see the last legacy of Camlann. Huh, I didn't expect her to push you to go there, but whatever… It's not my problem, I'll be too dead to care. I hope my notes will help you, young man. Farewell, Peverell, and I wish you good fortune in the battles to come.'
And that was it… Nicholas Flamel's last message. And it was a story and a fucking vague recommendation. Fucking seers, not giving any straight answers… Harry ignored the hypocritical comment considering that he was also a seer.
Nevertheless, while this answered a lot of questions, he somehow ended up with even more of them. Flamel's journal was obviously not going to have the key to answer them… At least now, he had a solid lead. He needed to find the last legacy of Camlann, and also figure out whatever missing verse in the prophecy of Ragnarök.
That's not to mention the fact that he would still have to confront his mother.
It wasn't a surprise when he didn't get enough sleep that night…
AN: So, I decided to expand a bit on the lore and fill in the gaps I left before. I thought about doing it slowly but tbh considering what I had planned, the story would have progressed very slowly... As usual, please let me know what you think because I'm still kinda doubting my decision...
Arimai
Curmudgeon
Word. Capitalized.
Light had many plans for its Champions. Plans I'd disrupted, earning its hate.
Chapter 267: Wands and Roses
Chapter 267: Wands and Roses
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry woke up feeling a mixture of tiredness and comfort. He had barely slept the previous night, considering the bomb of knowledge that he'd ended up getting. It all just fit so well, even if it felt more like a bedtime story than an actual history text. Knowledge of the creation of the Light and Dark must have been sparse, to say the least.
Perenelle Flamel was probably the source of most of this story considering her skills in divination. She could have potentially tried to scry the past, but considering just how chaotic things must have been during the Convergence of Realms, seeing anything from that era must have been like trying to see through a storm...
Nevertheless, the story just made too much sense. The way Champions of Light and Dark tended to have similar motives to their predecessors. The Dark always tried to oppress the world and mould it the way it wanted to while the Light always tried to cleanse what it considered to be imperfections in the world.
It just fit too perfectly for Harry to try questioning it, even if he wanted to do so.
Speaking of Perenelle, that woman was fucking terrifying. Even when she was dead, she could have already put things in motion which could cause an untold amount of damage. Seriously, no wonder ministries tended to keep close eyes on seers. Sure, Harry had never heard of anyone being able to predict things with the woman's accuracy, but he would not look at another seer the same way again.
Harry imagined being able to do this… Somehow making years or even decades of plans in advance. Unfortunately, he had no way of really training his divination abilities. Seers weren't exactly popular and tended to be considered as covert national resources. No country publicly revealed their seers' locations in fear of them being abducted or killed off.
It seemed like Harry would have to settle with the random visions and dreams. For now…
A shame. It was probably going to be very useful in the coming apocalypse.
Yeah, that was also a thing. Ragnarök.
The word itself made him shiver. He had heard of the word previously from Norse mythology. It was the prophesized apocalypse of the Norse Pantheon, with most of the gods dying, and the world being destroyed. You know, normal apocalypse stuff…
The poem that Flamel wrote down, even if it was probably incomplete, didn't paint a proper picture. The part about the world serpent dying did make him feel guilty.
That was him. He had done that, killing Jörmungandr to defeat Tom Riddle. But, had he truly caused this? The events needed to accomplish this, to essentially kill a god, were absurd. First, he had to have created the perfect weapon, the Colt, unknowing of what was to come.
He had to come to the Chamber of Secrets, and not defeat Tom Riddle beforehand. The Basilisk had to have been slain, which Neville Longbottom did with a sword of all things… Riddle had to show off and Harry had to shoot the World Serpent with the Colt. Considering that Grindelwald had survived the shots with some preparation, Jörmungandr could have probably done the same somehow. He had to be surprised, to not realize what the weapon was before dying…
The series of events needed to accomplish this were beyond ridiculous, and Harry could almost see the hand of fate moving things around like pieces on a chessboard.
Was it truly his fault, or was this always going to happen regardless of any decisions he could have made?
It was needless to really wonder. After all, he could not change the past…
But now he had to deal with a fucking Apocalypse…
Things were never going to be easy for him, were they?
With a sigh, Harry decided to just face the music and go down to eat his breakfast. He was looking forward to hanging out with Daphne properly, especially after their small fight the week before.
However, as he walked out of the metallic dragon, he saw Lily Potter in her Unspeakable guise, obviously waiting for him. She stiffened when she saw him and spoke up, "Hey, Harry. I think we need to talk."
The last Potter really wasn't in the mood, especially with the fucking bomb left in his lap thanks to Flamel. Still, he decided to just get through with this, "Fine. Do you mind doing it on the way to Breakfast? I'm famished."
The fake Unspeakable nodded, and they both walked side by side to the palace. Harry decided to let the woman speak up first, "I'm sorry."
Well, wasn't that a surprise? He never expected the woman to apologize, "What are you sorry for?"
"I shouldn't have put a bounty on your head…"
Harry let out a deep sigh, "It's not about the bounty, Lily. It's about the fact that I specifically asked you to give me some space, and you went out of your way to do something like this."
"It was more efficient, though!" the masked redhead protested.
"I don't care about efficiency. If you hadn't noticed, I was more than fast enough. And it wasn't even more effective. I had personally gone out of my way to hunt down the other champions during the task. All you did was essentially force me to fight that Chimera and ten other champions at the same time since they wanted to personally take me out. It was faster, but if they hadn't done that, it would have taken me an extra hour to track them down. It wouldn't have even been an issue considering that the task is still going on right now. The only reason anyone has finished is because I gave the medallions to the other Hogwarts Champions and the Beauxbatons champions followed them back."
The redhead flinched at that. He could understand why. It wasn't nice to realize that your plan actively hindered another person's. Now, normally, her plan would have probably worked. As far as anyone knew, Harry was smart and good at duelling, but that didn't exactly translate well to winning a scavenger hunt… Lily had tried to stack the odds in his favour, turning the task into a martial contest, which he should have won easily enough.
The woman protested, "I didn't know what the task was in detail, only that it had riddles, and that fighting was allowed. I tried infiltrating the organizers, but only Maxime and the ICW delegates knew the specifics of the task. Apparently, there was a secrecy contract involved. I could have done more if I had more time, but you only decided to involve yourself when the Diary was revealed."
Now, looking back, if she hadn't even known about the task, it would have been logical to do that… She ensured, in a way, that any sort of task would turn into a fight, which Harry was more likely to win and get the Diary that she knew he wanted.
Considering the frankly confused tone, Lily hadn't really even considered why putting a bounty on her fucking son's head was a bad idea… After all, when you made the proper calculations, the results were the same, with Harry as the victor. In fact, logically, it was even an advantageous move to essentially secure the win since the Champions would actively try to hunt him down instead of winning the task.
It was also very close to the logic of killing her husband, a man that she had confessed to liking well enough to consider him a friend, without any hesitation, to save him. The pure pragmatism was correct, but it just wasn't right. Even if she had done this to save him, or even if she just wanted to escape the ambush on Godric's Hollows, maybe even if she thought it was a good opportunity to connect herself to another dimension, it didn't explain away the fact that her first reaction was to kill her husband.
That just wasn't how the thought process of normal human beings worked. Humans are a race heavily defined by their emotions, magical or not. Seeing someone so detached from sentiment, and obviously ruled by cold logic, just felt wrong…
What the fuck had the Department of Mysteries done to her to turn her into this?
Harry was honestly uncomfortable with the woman's personality and obvious obsession with him, but the cold truth was that he needed allies. Arcturus was trying to use the tournament to ready himself, but there was no one that could really stop Dumbledore or Grindelwald. Lily Potter could actually do some damage and she came with an army of enhanced werewolves and the Department of Mysteries' support.
Considering the whole mess with Ragnarök and the possible end of the world, he could see himself needing the help. Flamel's last message really shook him…
He would keep a close eye on her, but he had to at least give her an inch. And so, he put a fake amused expression on his face, "Well, please don't do this again. Out of curiosity, do you even have fifty thousand Galleons in case someone managed to take me out?"
"Of course not. I had complete trust in your abilities. After all, you're my son."
"All it takes is one spell for even the greatest of mages to lose. Anything can happen in a fight."
The masked woman nodded, "Yes, I know. Now, I know you don't feel comfortable with this, but my first blood magic lesson with the Greengrass girl is right after breakfast. Are you sure you don't want me to postpone?"
Harry simply shook his head. There was nothing he could do on that front without alienating both Daphne and Lily. It was probably the redhead's plan to include herself even further in Harry's life. He still didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing yet, but he hoped it was the former.
He had been outmanoeuvred with this, which he would admit readily, and he couldn't really refuse either of them. Was Lily trying to gloat or was she really trying to warn him so that he wouldn't be surprised? Fucking hell, that woman was confusing all the time, and her motive was unknown.
They kept walking in silence until they arrived at the Great Hall for their breakfast. He ignored the stares the other students were giving him and just sat next to Daphne who was talking animatedly about how excited she was for her lesson.
After breakfast, he decided not to join the spectators again and watch the task. It was just so boring to watch students try to figure out a puzzle for hours. Instead, he decided to go back to his room and try out the Alchemy experiments that Flamel had put in his book.
Flamel's viewpoint on Alchemy was very different from how the rest of the world expressed it. Alchemy was known as permanent magic. An artefact with a permanent enchantment just couldn't be made without using Alchemy.
However, the way Flamel explained it, permanence was a side-effect of Alchemy, not its intended use. The core of Alchemy was in the property of equivalent exchange, but the question was, of what?
Well, the truth was that it was an equivalent exchange in the levels of magic. Normal magic just used the energy processed by the body to mess with the way the world worked. The world keeps trying to go back to normal, which weakens the spell until it dissipates into nothing. That is why spells do not work permanently, it was a very well-known law of magical entropy.
Technically, in a closed system without any connection to the rest of the world, a spell could be permanent, but such a separation was almost impossible. Mages have tried to do so for centuries, but they weren't able to achieve much to create such an effect.
Alchemy was different. Instead of shaping the world, it convinced it that its new state was always the one it should have been in, that the spell was its default state. To do so, it manipulated the very veil of magic, cast a spell, and sacrificed something in exchange for stabilizing the system.
If the world was satisfied with the balance, the exchange was complete, and the spell became permanent. The more complex the spell, the harder it was to fool the world, hence the high degree of danger that came with the field.
Harry followed the instructions in Flamel's book and made a very stable array, that he quickly activated after checking everything. Suddenly, he felt a piece of timber be consumed into nothing, and another one start burning, and Harry could tell that the fire was not the product of magic, but genuine natural fire.
However, while this was a rather useless piece of magic considering just how stable it was, there was a reason Perenelle Flamel had asked her husband to include these kinds of instructions. Harry grabbed another piece of timber and recreated the magic thanks to his Arcane Hearing. Immediately, it was consumed, and a ball of fire appeared in his hand, which he threw at the enchanted wall. The wall was destroyed by the impact, and Harry quickly extinguished the fire with a wave of his hand and repaired the wall.
Well, for all her terrifying nature, Perenelle Flamel knew what she was doing.
Yeah, this was going to be fun…
AN: So I decided to get Harry another type of magic to grow into. I have plans for it to synergize well with the rest of his arsenal. However, I'm not really sure how I handled Lily. He's kinda out of options and scared because of the possibility of Ragnarok, so a tentative alliance would make sense. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry woke up feeling a mixture of tiredness and comfort. He had barely slept the previous night, considering the bomb of knowledge that he'd ended up getting. It all just fit so well, even if it felt more like a bedtime story than an actual history text. Knowledge of the creation of the Light and Dark must have been sparse, to say the least.
Perenelle Flamel was probably the source of most of this story considering her skills in divination. She could have potentially tried to scry the past, but considering just how chaotic things must have been during the Convergence of Realms, seeing anything from that era must have been like trying to see through a storm...
Nevertheless, the story just made too much sense. The way Champions of Light and Dark tended to have similar motives to their predecessors. The Dark always tried to oppress the world and mould it the way it wanted to while the Light always tried to cleanse what it considered to be imperfections in the world.
It just fit too perfectly for Harry to try questioning it, even if he wanted to do so.
Speaking of Perenelle, that woman was fucking terrifying. Even when she was dead, she could have already put things in motion which could cause an untold amount of damage. Seriously, no wonder ministries tended to keep close eyes on seers. Sure, Harry had never heard of anyone being able to predict things with the woman's accuracy, but he would not look at another seer the same way again.
Harry imagined being able to do this… Somehow making years or even decades of plans in advance. Unfortunately, he had no way of really training his divination abilities. Seers weren't exactly popular and tended to be considered as covert national resources. No country publicly revealed their seers' locations in fear of them being abducted or killed off.
It seemed like Harry would have to settle with the random visions and dreams. For now…
A shame. It was probably going to be very useful in the coming apocalypse.
Yeah, that was also a thing. Ragnarök.
The word itself made him shiver. He had heard of the word previously from Norse mythology. It was the prophesized apocalypse of the Norse Pantheon, with most of the gods dying, and the world being destroyed. You know, normal apocalypse stuff…
The poem that Flamel wrote down, even if it was probably incomplete, didn't paint a proper picture. The part about the world serpent dying did make him feel guilty.
That was him. He had done that, killing Jörmungandr to defeat Tom Riddle. But, had he truly caused this? The events needed to accomplish this, to essentially kill a god, were absurd. First, he had to have created the perfect weapon, the Colt, unknowing of what was to come.
He had to come to the Chamber of Secrets, and not defeat Tom Riddle beforehand. The Basilisk had to have been slain, which Neville Longbottom did with a sword of all things… Riddle had to show off and Harry had to shoot the World Serpent with the Colt. Considering that Grindelwald had survived the shots with some preparation, Jörmungandr could have probably done the same somehow. He had to be surprised, to not realize what the weapon was before dying…
The series of events needed to accomplish this were beyond ridiculous, and Harry could almost see the hand of fate moving things around like pieces on a chessboard.
Was it truly his fault, or was this always going to happen regardless of any decisions he could have made?
It was needless to really wonder. After all, he could not change the past…
But now he had to deal with a fucking Apocalypse…
Things were never going to be easy for him, were they?
With a sigh, Harry decided to just face the music and go down to eat his breakfast. He was looking forward to hanging out with Daphne properly, especially after their small fight the week before.
However, as he walked out of the metallic dragon, he saw Lily Potter in her Unspeakable guise, obviously waiting for him. She stiffened when she saw him and spoke up, "Hey, Harry. I think we need to talk."
The last Potter really wasn't in the mood, especially with the fucking bomb left in his lap thanks to Flamel. Still, he decided to just get through with this, "Fine. Do you mind doing it on the way to Breakfast? I'm famished."
The fake Unspeakable nodded, and they both walked side by side to the palace. Harry decided to let the woman speak up first, "I'm sorry."
Well, wasn't that a surprise? He never expected the woman to apologize, "What are you sorry for?"
"I shouldn't have put a bounty on your head…"
Harry let out a deep sigh, "It's not about the bounty, Lily. It's about the fact that I specifically asked you to give me some space, and you went out of your way to do something like this."
"It was more efficient, though!" the masked redhead protested.
"I don't care about efficiency. If you hadn't noticed, I was more than fast enough. And it wasn't even more effective. I had personally gone out of my way to hunt down the other champions during the task. All you did was essentially force me to fight that Chimera and ten other champions at the same time since they wanted to personally take me out. It was faster, but if they hadn't done that, it would have taken me an extra hour to track them down. It wouldn't have even been an issue considering that the task is still going on right now. The only reason anyone has finished is because I gave the medallions to the other Hogwarts Champions and the Beauxbatons champions followed them back."
The redhead flinched at that. He could understand why. It wasn't nice to realize that your plan actively hindered another person's. Now, normally, her plan would have probably worked. As far as anyone knew, Harry was smart and good at duelling, but that didn't exactly translate well to winning a scavenger hunt… Lily had tried to stack the odds in his favour, turning the task into a martial contest, which he should have won easily enough.
The woman protested, "I didn't know what the task was in detail, only that it had riddles, and that fighting was allowed. I tried infiltrating the organizers, but only Maxime and the ICW delegates knew the specifics of the task. Apparently, there was a secrecy contract involved. I could have done more if I had more time, but you only decided to involve yourself when the Diary was revealed."
Now, looking back, if she hadn't even known about the task, it would have been logical to do that… She ensured, in a way, that any sort of task would turn into a fight, which Harry was more likely to win and get the Diary that she knew he wanted.
Considering the frankly confused tone, Lily hadn't really even considered why putting a bounty on her fucking son's head was a bad idea… After all, when you made the proper calculations, the results were the same, with Harry as the victor. In fact, logically, it was even an advantageous move to essentially secure the win since the Champions would actively try to hunt him down instead of winning the task.
It was also very close to the logic of killing her husband, a man that she had confessed to liking well enough to consider him a friend, without any hesitation, to save him. The pure pragmatism was correct, but it just wasn't right. Even if she had done this to save him, or even if she just wanted to escape the ambush on Godric's Hollows, maybe even if she thought it was a good opportunity to connect herself to another dimension, it didn't explain away the fact that her first reaction was to kill her husband.
That just wasn't how the thought process of normal human beings worked. Humans are a race heavily defined by their emotions, magical or not. Seeing someone so detached from sentiment, and obviously ruled by cold logic, just felt wrong…
What the fuck had the Department of Mysteries done to her to turn her into this?
Harry was honestly uncomfortable with the woman's personality and obvious obsession with him, but the cold truth was that he needed allies. Arcturus was trying to use the tournament to ready himself, but there was no one that could really stop Dumbledore or Grindelwald. Lily Potter could actually do some damage and she came with an army of enhanced werewolves and the Department of Mysteries' support.
Considering the whole mess with Ragnarök and the possible end of the world, he could see himself needing the help. Flamel's last message really shook him…
He would keep a close eye on her, but he had to at least give her an inch. And so, he put a fake amused expression on his face, "Well, please don't do this again. Out of curiosity, do you even have fifty thousand Galleons in case someone managed to take me out?"
"Of course not. I had complete trust in your abilities. After all, you're my son."
"All it takes is one spell for even the greatest of mages to lose. Anything can happen in a fight."
The masked woman nodded, "Yes, I know. Now, I know you don't feel comfortable with this, but my first blood magic lesson with the Greengrass girl is right after breakfast. Are you sure you don't want me to postpone?"
Harry simply shook his head. There was nothing he could do on that front without alienating both Daphne and Lily. It was probably the redhead's plan to include herself even further in Harry's life. He still didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing yet, but he hoped it was the former.
He had been outmanoeuvred with this, which he would admit readily, and he couldn't really refuse either of them. Was Lily trying to gloat or was she really trying to warn him so that he wouldn't be surprised? Fucking hell, that woman was confusing all the time, and her motive was unknown.
They kept walking in silence until they arrived at the Great Hall for their breakfast. He ignored the stares the other students were giving him and just sat next to Daphne who was talking animatedly about how excited she was for her lesson.
After breakfast, he decided not to join the spectators again and watch the task. It was just so boring to watch students try to figure out a puzzle for hours. Instead, he decided to go back to his room and try out the Alchemy experiments that Flamel had put in his book.
Flamel's viewpoint on Alchemy was very different from how the rest of the world expressed it. Alchemy was known as permanent magic. An artefact with a permanent enchantment just couldn't be made without using Alchemy.
However, the way Flamel explained it, permanence was a side-effect of Alchemy, not its intended use. The core of Alchemy was in the property of equivalent exchange, but the question was, of what?
Well, the truth was that it was an equivalent exchange in the levels of magic. Normal magic just used the energy processed by the body to mess with the way the world worked. The world keeps trying to go back to normal, which weakens the spell until it dissipates into nothing. That is why spells do not work permanently, it was a very well-known law of magical entropy.
Technically, in a closed system without any connection to the rest of the world, a spell could be permanent, but such a separation was almost impossible. Mages have tried to do so for centuries, but they weren't able to achieve much to create such an effect.
Alchemy was different. Instead of shaping the world, it convinced it that its new state was always the one it should have been in, that the spell was its default state. To do so, it manipulated the very veil of magic, cast a spell, and sacrificed something in exchange for stabilizing the system.
If the world was satisfied with the balance, the exchange was complete, and the spell became permanent. The more complex the spell, the harder it was to fool the world, hence the high degree of danger that came with the field.
Harry followed the instructions in Flamel's book and made a very stable array, that he quickly activated after checking everything. Suddenly, he felt a piece of timber be consumed into nothing, and another one start burning, and Harry could tell that the fire was not the product of magic, but genuine natural fire.
However, while this was a rather useless piece of magic considering just how stable it was, there was a reason Perenelle Flamel had asked her husband to include these kinds of instructions. Harry grabbed another piece of timber and recreated the magic thanks to his Arcane Hearing. Immediately, it was consumed, and a ball of fire appeared in his hand, which he threw at the enchanted wall. The wall was destroyed by the impact, and Harry quickly extinguished the fire with a wave of his hand and repaired the wall.
Well, for all her terrifying nature, Perenelle Flamel knew what she was doing.
Yeah, this was going to be fun…
AN: So I decided to get Harry another type of magic to grow into. I have plans for it to synergize well with the rest of his arsenal. However, I'm not really sure how I handled Lily. He's kinda out of options and scared because of the possibility of Ragnarok, so a tentative alliance would make sense. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
Chapter 268: Eagle Eye
Chapter 268: Eagle Eye
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Luca Romano felt proud as he finally put the glowing sphere into the large rock he found in the clearing. He had almost lost hope when he woke up in his camp and realized that all of his team's medallions had disappeared, but outside of that, he was very confident that he had done well in solving the task.
He knew from the moment that the medallions were given to them that the whole thing was barely more than an incentive for them to fight, but nothing more. To win this way, a person would have to somehow defeat at least a single champion from each school, who would definitely not be alone if any of them had any form of critical thinking.
To be fair, they probably had no clue about the art of battle like his schoolmates did. The Accademia Arcana Italia was very militarized. Luca had worked very hard and fought a lot in the school wargames to be recognized as the Praetor of his own cohort. He had worked his subordinates to the bone, and his methods had worked since his cohort was not only one of the few selected to be part of his school's delegation but actually chosen to compete in the first task of the tournament.
It had been nerve-wracking at the start, especially considering that he knew very little about it, but he and his Centurions were chosen for a reason. He had picked the four best centurions and simply hoped for the best. After all, life was an unknown battlefield, and this task would be no different.
It had started out well enough. They had transfigured themselves weapons and armour, which they enchanted. They had made a defensible position in the form of a warded shelter and had designated roles for the duration of the task. He and his top lieutenant were designated as the scouts, while three would remain in camp, one of them acting as a warder, and the others as guards in case they were infiltrated.
Everything was looking good. Until it didn't. Somehow, someone had knocked them all out. He guessed that it was some kind of airborne potion that would have bypassed their ward, and then they somehow took over their ward to knock out everyone inside.
It was all very vague, but that seemed to be the perfect explanation… No one had even noticed that they had fallen unconscious, nor did the ward break…
He couldn't really blame anyone. After all, even he had been taken out by the trap, which cost them their medallions. It hadn't really mattered since it was unlikely that every other school would be taken out that quickly.
Luca decided to swallow his losses and try to make the best out of the situation. He had simply asked them to look around and saw the first key, in the form of a riddle. That had quickly gotten the morale up, since, after all, even if someone else won the task, there was no dishonour in coming in second place.
And then the rest was history… They had solved riddles, dodged carnivorous plants, fought off trolls and even some kind of weird species of enhanced wolves that Luca had never heard of before. They even had to run away from a fucking wild Griffin. It was all so… perfect.
It wasn't hard to realize that such a format of a task was obviously flawed since it didn't guarantee any form of conflict in the forest. It was just too structured, and Luca could easily see the fingerprints of someone controlling the action from afar. It was disappointing, but it was proof that the ICW was technically contributing to making the tournament safer. Of course, that also meant that the outcomes could be predetermined…
Still, even with that sad fact, his cohort had done an admirable job, and he was proud of what they had achieved. It took almost two days, but they had quickly found the hidden orb and found out the correct place to enchant it, to lead them to the finish line.
Immediately, he and his cohort were teleported before the stands, where the spectators were mildly applauding and cheering their arrival. Luca's lieutenant, Romeo Conti, looked around, "There are fewer spectators…"
Yes, he couldn't deny that either. There were maybe half as many people as were there during the start of the task. Did they really do that badly?
Before he could do anything, his entire team were asked to follow one of the organizers, who brought them to their tent. They were all a bit stunned at the anti-climactic course of events. He could hear his cohort whispering and he shut them up with a sharp glare.
It didn't take long for Luca's best friend, another Praetor called Marco Bianchi, to sneak inside. The Italian champion quickly motioned him to follow and put a few privacy wards up to avoid anyone eavesdropping on their conversation. Immediately after doing that, he turned towards his friend, "What the fuck happened?"
"It's a bit complicated…"
"Just give it to me straight. Which place did we come in?"
Marco gulped slightly, and spoke up, "You're the third school to finish…"
They came third. Disappointing, but not really the end of the world. The time that they were knocked out probably made up the difference. Still, that didn't explain much, "Then why is half the crowd gone?"
"Well, you see, you're the first school to finish traditionally by solving the puzzle. It was very impressive and everything… But in first and second place came Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, and they sort of finished yesterday… People didn't want to wait an entire day or more for third place, so a lot of them just left."
Luca couldn't help but feel slightly sad at the fact that his team's effort wasn't noticed, but that was overwhelmed by the sheer disbelief at the fact that someone had finished a day before him, "Yesterday? They must have finished the task in an hour… How the fuck did that happen?"
Marco grinned in amusement, "I know it's bad and everything, but it was so fucking badass. You probably won't believe me… You'll need to see this."
The Champion looked down at his friend's hand and saw some kind of modified Omnioculars, which he activated, allowing an illusion to appear before him. In it, he saw Harry Potter running around very quickly…
It was hard not to notice Harry Potter, by far the youngest champion in the first task. He had thought he would have been a liability. Prodigy or not, the boy was barely fourteen and inexperienced, that's not to mention the giant bounty on his head. Fifty thousand Galleons was a stupidly high amount of gold just to stop a kid from winning… To be perfectly honest, Luca thought that whoever had put up that bounty was either not planning on paying it or was planning something far more sinister with the boy…
Luca was tempted to take the money, he knew that his centurions were planning on doing something, but it was just too much trouble to risk doing something this shady while you're being recorded. Sure, he would have taken out the kid if they had fought, but he wouldn't have actively tried to find the Potter boy. Nevertheless, he fully expected people to swarm the boy and take him out quickly.
This was why he was baffled by the fact that Marco had just shown him a recording of the boy of all people…
Before he could voice his confusion, he saw how the boy stole one of the Spanish medallions without them noticing and even put a curse on the fake he replaced it with. Then came the small fight with the Greeks.
It was all so efficient… So simple… The boy hadn't even used complex magic outwardly, outside, of course, of the obvious magic he used to run around with a ridiculous speed, and the large-scale tracking charm that he must have used to find people, "Any comment on the speed or tracking?"
"None, but people think it's some kind of family magic since he didn't use a wand for those."
Luca nodded and kept watching. Of course, the next of the boy's victims was Luca's team. He noticed how the boy fooled the wards and carved out runes that would be powered by their own magic to knock them out before taking over the ward and turning it into a trap.
It was quite ingenious, really. Even if he had snuck past the wards, using any magic would have been detected. Carving runes isn't really magical, and since they were being powered by people who were allowed into the ward, no one detected them…
Holy Juno, this was like watching a master at work… He couldn't even be mad about that. The tactics… The boy was something else.
Of course, what came after made all of this look like child's play. Was the kid messing with the task so much that they sent a fucking Leviathan after him? Of course, to make things even better, he got ambushed by both Durmstrang and Nebelheim and somehow took them all down. The rune work went a bit over Luca's head, but he had not only defeated the Leviathan, but he also tricked whoever was controlling it to take out everyone else, and actually knocked the beast down.
He was so taken by what he had seen that he hadn't noticed that he was gaping at the illusion. Nor did he notice the four centurions behind him, with their mouths open. It had been a good two minutes since the recording ended and the illusion dissipated, yet they all just couldn't look away.
Another silent minute passed before someone decided to speak up. It was Romeo, his lieutenant, "Did," his voice broke, and he needed to pause to swallow before carrying on. "Did that really just happen?"
"...Yup," Marco cheerfully replied.
"Oh…"
"That was…" the warder started to speak up but trailed off in the end, unable to think of the words to properly describe what he had seen. But he didn't need to finish, they all understood what he meant.
"Yeah," Marco replied, still looking smug.
Silence once again filled the room.
Finally, someone snapped, "Who the fuck was that?"
Luca still had no words to properly explain what he had seen. Instead, he took a deep breath, "Don't you recognize him? He's Harry Potter."
That seemed to have struck them all dumb once more. After all, they had actively tried to eliminate the kid from the task for the bounty… They were lucky that they were just knocked out…
Marco decided to continue, "Yeah, so after this pretty show, the kid just steals another medallion from a Beauxbattons champion, as he did to the Spanish, but without the extra curses. Then he just combined the medallions, got the sphere and found the finish line. Then he sent the other medallions to the Hogwarts Champions, who had gotten lucky fighting the French and Spanish Champions. They made an orb of their own and got to the finish line. That Veela girl, Delacour, I think, faked being stunned and woke up her teammates. She had put a tracker on the British champions and got to the finish line right after them."
Luca decided to summarize things a bit, "So, you're telling me that a fourteen-year-old kid split up from his team, stole half of the medallions, angered the organizers enough to send a fucking living weapon against him, beat that weapon, took out two other schools, stole one final medallion, and won, all in just a couple of hours? No, not only did he win, but he indirectly made two full schools finish the task days ahead of time, and eliminated two other schools fully since they were injured after their confrontation."
Marco nodded, "Yes, and since over half the competitors had either finished or were eliminated, spending the night with the healer, most of the spectators just became disinterested and left…"
"And all of that was because of a single kid."
"Apparently, he wasn't going to compete if it wasn't for Flamel's Diary which the Beauxbatons Headmistress put up as a prize for the winner…"
Luca snorted, feeling a mixture of amusement and bitterness, "Fucking Diary…"
The rest of the room nodded and echoed his statement, "Fucking Diary."
AN: Things are about to get serious, and I thought that this would have been a good little interlude and a small introduction to the Italian side of things. It gave me a lot of time to plan out the next few chapters. Trust me, I have something very special in mind. As usual, please let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Luca Romano felt proud as he finally put the glowing sphere into the large rock he found in the clearing. He had almost lost hope when he woke up in his camp and realized that all of his team's medallions had disappeared, but outside of that, he was very confident that he had done well in solving the task.
He knew from the moment that the medallions were given to them that the whole thing was barely more than an incentive for them to fight, but nothing more. To win this way, a person would have to somehow defeat at least a single champion from each school, who would definitely not be alone if any of them had any form of critical thinking.
To be fair, they probably had no clue about the art of battle like his schoolmates did. The Accademia Arcana Italia was very militarized. Luca had worked very hard and fought a lot in the school wargames to be recognized as the Praetor of his own cohort. He had worked his subordinates to the bone, and his methods had worked since his cohort was not only one of the few selected to be part of his school's delegation but actually chosen to compete in the first task of the tournament.
It had been nerve-wracking at the start, especially considering that he knew very little about it, but he and his Centurions were chosen for a reason. He had picked the four best centurions and simply hoped for the best. After all, life was an unknown battlefield, and this task would be no different.
It had started out well enough. They had transfigured themselves weapons and armour, which they enchanted. They had made a defensible position in the form of a warded shelter and had designated roles for the duration of the task. He and his top lieutenant were designated as the scouts, while three would remain in camp, one of them acting as a warder, and the others as guards in case they were infiltrated.
Everything was looking good. Until it didn't. Somehow, someone had knocked them all out. He guessed that it was some kind of airborne potion that would have bypassed their ward, and then they somehow took over their ward to knock out everyone inside.
It was all very vague, but that seemed to be the perfect explanation… No one had even noticed that they had fallen unconscious, nor did the ward break…
He couldn't really blame anyone. After all, even he had been taken out by the trap, which cost them their medallions. It hadn't really mattered since it was unlikely that every other school would be taken out that quickly.
Luca decided to swallow his losses and try to make the best out of the situation. He had simply asked them to look around and saw the first key, in the form of a riddle. That had quickly gotten the morale up, since, after all, even if someone else won the task, there was no dishonour in coming in second place.
And then the rest was history… They had solved riddles, dodged carnivorous plants, fought off trolls and even some kind of weird species of enhanced wolves that Luca had never heard of before. They even had to run away from a fucking wild Griffin. It was all so… perfect.
It wasn't hard to realize that such a format of a task was obviously flawed since it didn't guarantee any form of conflict in the forest. It was just too structured, and Luca could easily see the fingerprints of someone controlling the action from afar. It was disappointing, but it was proof that the ICW was technically contributing to making the tournament safer. Of course, that also meant that the outcomes could be predetermined…
Still, even with that sad fact, his cohort had done an admirable job, and he was proud of what they had achieved. It took almost two days, but they had quickly found the hidden orb and found out the correct place to enchant it, to lead them to the finish line.
Immediately, he and his cohort were teleported before the stands, where the spectators were mildly applauding and cheering their arrival. Luca's lieutenant, Romeo Conti, looked around, "There are fewer spectators…"
Yes, he couldn't deny that either. There were maybe half as many people as were there during the start of the task. Did they really do that badly?
Before he could do anything, his entire team were asked to follow one of the organizers, who brought them to their tent. They were all a bit stunned at the anti-climactic course of events. He could hear his cohort whispering and he shut them up with a sharp glare.
It didn't take long for Luca's best friend, another Praetor called Marco Bianchi, to sneak inside. The Italian champion quickly motioned him to follow and put a few privacy wards up to avoid anyone eavesdropping on their conversation. Immediately after doing that, he turned towards his friend, "What the fuck happened?"
"It's a bit complicated…"
"Just give it to me straight. Which place did we come in?"
Marco gulped slightly, and spoke up, "You're the third school to finish…"
They came third. Disappointing, but not really the end of the world. The time that they were knocked out probably made up the difference. Still, that didn't explain much, "Then why is half the crowd gone?"
"Well, you see, you're the first school to finish traditionally by solving the puzzle. It was very impressive and everything… But in first and second place came Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, and they sort of finished yesterday… People didn't want to wait an entire day or more for third place, so a lot of them just left."
Luca couldn't help but feel slightly sad at the fact that his team's effort wasn't noticed, but that was overwhelmed by the sheer disbelief at the fact that someone had finished a day before him, "Yesterday? They must have finished the task in an hour… How the fuck did that happen?"
Marco grinned in amusement, "I know it's bad and everything, but it was so fucking badass. You probably won't believe me… You'll need to see this."
The Champion looked down at his friend's hand and saw some kind of modified Omnioculars, which he activated, allowing an illusion to appear before him. In it, he saw Harry Potter running around very quickly…
It was hard not to notice Harry Potter, by far the youngest champion in the first task. He had thought he would have been a liability. Prodigy or not, the boy was barely fourteen and inexperienced, that's not to mention the giant bounty on his head. Fifty thousand Galleons was a stupidly high amount of gold just to stop a kid from winning… To be perfectly honest, Luca thought that whoever had put up that bounty was either not planning on paying it or was planning something far more sinister with the boy…
Luca was tempted to take the money, he knew that his centurions were planning on doing something, but it was just too much trouble to risk doing something this shady while you're being recorded. Sure, he would have taken out the kid if they had fought, but he wouldn't have actively tried to find the Potter boy. Nevertheless, he fully expected people to swarm the boy and take him out quickly.
This was why he was baffled by the fact that Marco had just shown him a recording of the boy of all people…
Before he could voice his confusion, he saw how the boy stole one of the Spanish medallions without them noticing and even put a curse on the fake he replaced it with. Then came the small fight with the Greeks.
It was all so efficient… So simple… The boy hadn't even used complex magic outwardly, outside, of course, of the obvious magic he used to run around with a ridiculous speed, and the large-scale tracking charm that he must have used to find people, "Any comment on the speed or tracking?"
"None, but people think it's some kind of family magic since he didn't use a wand for those."
Luca nodded and kept watching. Of course, the next of the boy's victims was Luca's team. He noticed how the boy fooled the wards and carved out runes that would be powered by their own magic to knock them out before taking over the ward and turning it into a trap.
It was quite ingenious, really. Even if he had snuck past the wards, using any magic would have been detected. Carving runes isn't really magical, and since they were being powered by people who were allowed into the ward, no one detected them…
Holy Juno, this was like watching a master at work… He couldn't even be mad about that. The tactics… The boy was something else.
Of course, what came after made all of this look like child's play. Was the kid messing with the task so much that they sent a fucking Leviathan after him? Of course, to make things even better, he got ambushed by both Durmstrang and Nebelheim and somehow took them all down. The rune work went a bit over Luca's head, but he had not only defeated the Leviathan, but he also tricked whoever was controlling it to take out everyone else, and actually knocked the beast down.
He was so taken by what he had seen that he hadn't noticed that he was gaping at the illusion. Nor did he notice the four centurions behind him, with their mouths open. It had been a good two minutes since the recording ended and the illusion dissipated, yet they all just couldn't look away.
Another silent minute passed before someone decided to speak up. It was Romeo, his lieutenant, "Did," his voice broke, and he needed to pause to swallow before carrying on. "Did that really just happen?"
"...Yup," Marco cheerfully replied.
"Oh…"
"That was…" the warder started to speak up but trailed off in the end, unable to think of the words to properly describe what he had seen. But he didn't need to finish, they all understood what he meant.
"Yeah," Marco replied, still looking smug.
Silence once again filled the room.
Finally, someone snapped, "Who the fuck was that?"
Luca still had no words to properly explain what he had seen. Instead, he took a deep breath, "Don't you recognize him? He's Harry Potter."
That seemed to have struck them all dumb once more. After all, they had actively tried to eliminate the kid from the task for the bounty… They were lucky that they were just knocked out…
Marco decided to continue, "Yeah, so after this pretty show, the kid just steals another medallion from a Beauxbattons champion, as he did to the Spanish, but without the extra curses. Then he just combined the medallions, got the sphere and found the finish line. Then he sent the other medallions to the Hogwarts Champions, who had gotten lucky fighting the French and Spanish Champions. They made an orb of their own and got to the finish line. That Veela girl, Delacour, I think, faked being stunned and woke up her teammates. She had put a tracker on the British champions and got to the finish line right after them."
Luca decided to summarize things a bit, "So, you're telling me that a fourteen-year-old kid split up from his team, stole half of the medallions, angered the organizers enough to send a fucking living weapon against him, beat that weapon, took out two other schools, stole one final medallion, and won, all in just a couple of hours? No, not only did he win, but he indirectly made two full schools finish the task days ahead of time, and eliminated two other schools fully since they were injured after their confrontation."
Marco nodded, "Yes, and since over half the competitors had either finished or were eliminated, spending the night with the healer, most of the spectators just became disinterested and left…"
"And all of that was because of a single kid."
"Apparently, he wasn't going to compete if it wasn't for Flamel's Diary which the Beauxbatons Headmistress put up as a prize for the winner…"
Luca snorted, feeling a mixture of amusement and bitterness, "Fucking Diary…"
The rest of the room nodded and echoed his statement, "Fucking Diary."
AN: Things are about to get serious, and I thought that this would have been a good little interlude and a small introduction to the Italian side of things. It gave me a lot of time to plan out the next few chapters. Trust me, I have something very special in mind. As usual, please let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.
- Location
- Breukelen
I really like your story. This kind of a random ramble on things I like about the story.
The extra magic you've added still feels quite Harry Potterish, or at least fanonish, and not completely out there. I also really like the power scaling between wizards/witches. Knowledge really matters, but power does too.
Another positive is that his so called enemies aren't completely focused on him, because otherwise you'd have Harry basically constantly fighting for his life.
The pacing is also quite nice, as in there is enough spacing between action parts. But not only that, the action parts are prepared for(not necessarily by Harry), and reflected upon(again not necessarily by Harry). This is good, because most growth as a person comes when reflecting on your actions/experiences.
Another big thing I really like is that I can sort of see where the story is going, with that I mean that there is going to be some sort of big climax confrontation around Ragnarok, how that's going to look like, I've got no idea. But I've read stories where there was a great premise, good characters, good writing, but it was just not clear what the story was working towards. Like it could fizzle out at any moment. That really hampers the anticipation you could get from a story.
But yeah, this was my ramble about some of the things I like about your story.
The extra magic you've added still feels quite Harry Potterish, or at least fanonish, and not completely out there. I also really like the power scaling between wizards/witches. Knowledge really matters, but power does too.
Another positive is that his so called enemies aren't completely focused on him, because otherwise you'd have Harry basically constantly fighting for his life.
The pacing is also quite nice, as in there is enough spacing between action parts. But not only that, the action parts are prepared for(not necessarily by Harry), and reflected upon(again not necessarily by Harry). This is good, because most growth as a person comes when reflecting on your actions/experiences.
Another big thing I really like is that I can sort of see where the story is going, with that I mean that there is going to be some sort of big climax confrontation around Ragnarok, how that's going to look like, I've got no idea. But I've read stories where there was a great premise, good characters, good writing, but it was just not clear what the story was working towards. Like it could fizzle out at any moment. That really hampers the anticipation you could get from a story.
But yeah, this was my ramble about some of the things I like about your story.
Chapter 269: Premature Celebration
Chapter 269: Premature Celebration
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry had expected to witness a lot of needless luxury during the reward ceremony. It was completely understandable since Beauxbatons always prided itself on its lavish celebrations. As he entered the grand hall, the air was thick with the scent of thousands of blooming flowers arranged meticulously around the room. The walls themselves seemed to shimmer with subtle magic, adorned with silk drapes in hues of deep blue and silver, reflecting the school's colours. Overhead, enchanted chandeliers floated gracefully, casting a warm, golden light that made the polished marble floor glisten like a calm sea under moonlight.
The guests were an array of colourful figures, each dressed in their finest. Ladies in flowing gowns and gentlemen in sharp, tailored suits mingled effortlessly, their laughter and delicate clinking of crystal champagne flutes filling the air with a melodious harmony.
It was all so… fake, and Harry hated it with a passion.
It was obvious that these people didn't care about the task in any way, nor about the students that were competing. To them, this was barely more than an excuse to network, to make deals, and start collaborating with each other, as well as a chance for the ICW to show off its influence.
Britain was also obviously side-lined. They had invited Cornelius Fudge and his Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. They refused to send any other invitations to the ministry citing the fact that they still hadn't filled the position of Head of the Department of International Relations. Of course, since the ICW had to approve the appointment of department heads after the Quidditch World Cup fiasco, they hadn't deemed any applicant to be acceptable…
Thankfully, they couldn't really not invite the guardians of the competing students, which meant that a handful of influential British wizards and witches were able to attend. Arcturus Black, Amelia Bones, Amos Diggory, Augusta Longbottom, and many other wizards and witches that Harry didn't recognize had been able to come, and were doing their best to represent Britain… Of course, they were far fewer than the others, but it was better than just having two people.
To be fair, considering just how many ministry department heads achieved their position due to pure nepotism, the risk of embarrassment was substantially lower. Surprisingly, Fudge and Umbridge were doing a great job at trying to salvage their country's failing economy. It was probably the minister's last shot at saving his career and he was milking it for all he could.
Of course, while this would have already been bad, the company was what was making Harry miserable. He was sitting at a table with the rest of the First Task's champions. Every one of them, including his fellow Hogwarts Champions, was staring at him with an openly wary expression. Huh, they must have watched the recordings. Apparently, a few spectators had made a fortune selling his fight with the Leviathan in an Omnioculars or something…
The Nebelheim and Durmstrang students were the ones that looked the angriest. Harry didn't really understand why they felt this way considering that they could have easily walked away, or even helped him with the Chimera… Even if they ended up as the only teams that didn't finish the task…
Yeah, he could understand being angry at the humiliation.
Other than them, no one really expressed any real anger at the task. The French had won second place, which was acceptable considering the circumstances. The Italians were third, which was also good enough considering first and second place only finished early because of Harry. Apparently, their discipline paid off because they were organized enough to go through the scavenger hunt with surprising efficiency. They were followed up by the Greek, and then the Spanish Champions…
However, this had been a wake-up call. No one had expected Hogwarts to win this decisively. Everyone wanted to put down Hogwarts, and the ICW especially wanted to use the opportunity to put its claws into the institution. Minerva McGonagall looked especially smug at the head table… Harry liked the woman well enough, so at least she was enjoying herself.
It was a bit of a known joke that while the average wizard in Britain was pitiful, it had the disturbing tendency of creating mages with monstrous talent and raw power…
However, this did not stop the fact that everyone kept staring at Harry openly without even starting a conversation. No one had even spoken a word since sitting down on the Champions' table. It was creepy and weird, to say the least, not to mention that it was a huge waste of time…
After half an hour of pure silence, Fleur Delacour of all people started the conversation, "So, how do you like Beauxbatons?"
Harry simply shrugged, "I like it well enough. The library might be smaller than Hogwarts' but it's easier to navigate. I actually had to create my own spell to be able to quickly get books on any particular subject to save some time. A few books weren't even in English, and there aren't as many translation charms as you would think for extinct languages and dialects… Other than that, the extra electives are pretty nice. I think I would have had a good time here if I had transferred as I had planned, but then I would have still missed Hogwarts."
That seemed to shock everyone at the table. One of the Spanish students spoke up for the first time, "You were planning on transferring?"
"Yeah. I don't know if it's common knowledge, but Albus Dumbledore and I don't really like each other. He even tried to kill me and make it seem like an accident a few months ago. I was planning on transferring to just get away from him... Thankfully, he ended up losing his position, for, you know, almost killing a student and everything. I have no clue as to why anyone would trust him near students again, especially in an international event, but whatever…"
And again, the uncomfortable silence returned. It was expected, though. While no one really wanted to talk about it, it was easy to guess that Dumbledore had forced himself into the tournament and people were obviously uncomfortable with that. To be fair, it wasn't a good idea to oppose Dumbledore without being able to back it up.
The only way to coerce a vastly more powerful opponent was to find some leverage, something that they treasured enough that they wouldn't really do anything to you if it risked destroying or harming that thing… Harry had done it by threatening to reveal Dumbledore's past, risking his foothold in Britain. However, without that, he really didn't know how to deal with the man…
One of the Durmstrang students wanted to say something but was silenced by a glare from Krum. The Quidditch star then continued in heavily accented English, "I am curious. How did you beat us? I barely even recognized the spells that you used."
Harry simply shrugged, "When you're surrounded by multiple opponents, your first plan is always to use them against each other. I had eleven opponents: the Chimera, and ten other champions. You definitely were not acting as a unit, so friendly fire is very expected… My main priority was the beast since it was the more dangerous one – no offence – which no amount of friendly fire would have defeated, so I went with Runes. I couldn't really afford to power something that big, hence the lightning, and I couldn't really block the lightning using runes, since it would have destabilized its own power source recursively and I would have ended up with a spectacular explosion. I took care of that vulnerability by enchanting the ice spear to only be connected with the rune matrix once, and made it connect to the other spears of ice using the lightning rod charm… Then I had to stall until whoever controlled the beast tried to be smart and circumvent the vulnerability in the rune matrix. You know the rest, of course."
Again, they kept staring at Harry for a good minute. He didn't really understand why. Now that the plan was revealed, it should have been obvious… It was the simplest one to get out of the situation as the victor without using too much magic and straining his circuits. The first rule of combat is to always use the enemy's strength against them… The explanation should have demystified things and made him look less special, in a way, like a muggle magician revealing his trick.
Thankfully the awkwardness was broken by Madame Maxime standing up, immediately silencing the guests, "Ladies and Gentlemen, honoured guests, it is my pleasure to announce the victors of the first task of the first European School Tournament… In fifth place, representing Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Fleur Delacour…"
The Veela stood up, put a radiant smile on her face, and walked up towards her headmistress. It was surprising that other students were also getting prizes. Fleur was given a nice bouquet of white flowers, and a very old, enchanted ring that could turn its wearer invisible at will.
Following her came Roger Davies and Lucien Bole, who also received flowers and some very expensive dragon hide clothes. Afterwards was Angelina Johnson, who received a dress made up of Griffin Feathers of all things…
Diggory, who was in second place, was given a weird egg made of gold, filled to the brim with precious stones. This thing alone might set the Hufflepuff for life. To be fair, most of the prizes were…
Harry could see what they were doing. Beauxbatons was obviously not paying for all this, it was the ICW. For all its luxury, it was still a school, and it couldn't afford such lavish spending. Harry's best guess would be that they didn't want to risk him competing in the other tasks and winning everything, making the event meaningless. It was a nice way of preventing what happened to Dumbledore's tournament…
The last Potter hadn't really planned on competing in any other task, so he didn't really care. At least Daphne stood a better chance at winning something nice when she inevitably competed.
Finally, it was Harry's turn. They had asked him to give back the diary for the award ceremony. He hadn't really wanted to do that and had just transfigured a duplicate, which he then enchanted using his Arcane Hearing to have a signature as similar to Flamel's journal as he could. It must have fooled them…
He stood up and shook the headmistress' hand and was given the fake diary once more as well as dozens of other very old books. He'd expected that to be it, but then one of the organizers gave him a fucking sword. Looking at it closely, he could see that it was made with Goblin Silver. Well, that alone made it worth a small fortune.
Still, he used a small telekinetic force to prevent any of the prizes from touching him directly. He wasn't going to touch anything that might have been tampered with by Dumbledore…
He nodded and returned to the feast, having left his prizes in a small, expanded pouch that Arcturus had bought for him. He hadn't really thought about its usefulness, especially during an official feast, but it did end up paying off.
The next hour was spent on people walking up to him and asking for insights on his plans, dreams, or descriptions of the task… He hated every moment of it. He hadn't even had a chance to spend any time with Daphne…
Deciding to just go for it, he excused himself and walked out onto the terrace next to the hall, "Fucking hell that was horrible."
He heard an amused chuckle behind him, "Indeed it was, young Harry. I have been in your position many times, and I've always had to restrain the urge to just hex half of them…"
Before he could process what was being said, Harry found himself in a room, on the other side of the castle… Everything just seemed muted for some reason, even the colours just looked wrong. Where the fuck was he? He hadn't even felt anything with his Arcane Hearing…
Still, Harry couldn't help but turn towards the person behind him, feeling some trepidation from the familiar voice. He dearly hoped that he was wrong, that someone was messing with him. Unfortunately, his suspicions were correct.
He was alone in a room with Albus fucking Dumbledore.
AN: Told you I had something special in mind... As usual, please let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry had expected to witness a lot of needless luxury during the reward ceremony. It was completely understandable since Beauxbatons always prided itself on its lavish celebrations. As he entered the grand hall, the air was thick with the scent of thousands of blooming flowers arranged meticulously around the room. The walls themselves seemed to shimmer with subtle magic, adorned with silk drapes in hues of deep blue and silver, reflecting the school's colours. Overhead, enchanted chandeliers floated gracefully, casting a warm, golden light that made the polished marble floor glisten like a calm sea under moonlight.
The guests were an array of colourful figures, each dressed in their finest. Ladies in flowing gowns and gentlemen in sharp, tailored suits mingled effortlessly, their laughter and delicate clinking of crystal champagne flutes filling the air with a melodious harmony.
It was all so… fake, and Harry hated it with a passion.
It was obvious that these people didn't care about the task in any way, nor about the students that were competing. To them, this was barely more than an excuse to network, to make deals, and start collaborating with each other, as well as a chance for the ICW to show off its influence.
Britain was also obviously side-lined. They had invited Cornelius Fudge and his Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. They refused to send any other invitations to the ministry citing the fact that they still hadn't filled the position of Head of the Department of International Relations. Of course, since the ICW had to approve the appointment of department heads after the Quidditch World Cup fiasco, they hadn't deemed any applicant to be acceptable…
Thankfully, they couldn't really not invite the guardians of the competing students, which meant that a handful of influential British wizards and witches were able to attend. Arcturus Black, Amelia Bones, Amos Diggory, Augusta Longbottom, and many other wizards and witches that Harry didn't recognize had been able to come, and were doing their best to represent Britain… Of course, they were far fewer than the others, but it was better than just having two people.
To be fair, considering just how many ministry department heads achieved their position due to pure nepotism, the risk of embarrassment was substantially lower. Surprisingly, Fudge and Umbridge were doing a great job at trying to salvage their country's failing economy. It was probably the minister's last shot at saving his career and he was milking it for all he could.
Of course, while this would have already been bad, the company was what was making Harry miserable. He was sitting at a table with the rest of the First Task's champions. Every one of them, including his fellow Hogwarts Champions, was staring at him with an openly wary expression. Huh, they must have watched the recordings. Apparently, a few spectators had made a fortune selling his fight with the Leviathan in an Omnioculars or something…
The Nebelheim and Durmstrang students were the ones that looked the angriest. Harry didn't really understand why they felt this way considering that they could have easily walked away, or even helped him with the Chimera… Even if they ended up as the only teams that didn't finish the task…
Yeah, he could understand being angry at the humiliation.
Other than them, no one really expressed any real anger at the task. The French had won second place, which was acceptable considering the circumstances. The Italians were third, which was also good enough considering first and second place only finished early because of Harry. Apparently, their discipline paid off because they were organized enough to go through the scavenger hunt with surprising efficiency. They were followed up by the Greek, and then the Spanish Champions…
However, this had been a wake-up call. No one had expected Hogwarts to win this decisively. Everyone wanted to put down Hogwarts, and the ICW especially wanted to use the opportunity to put its claws into the institution. Minerva McGonagall looked especially smug at the head table… Harry liked the woman well enough, so at least she was enjoying herself.
It was a bit of a known joke that while the average wizard in Britain was pitiful, it had the disturbing tendency of creating mages with monstrous talent and raw power…
However, this did not stop the fact that everyone kept staring at Harry openly without even starting a conversation. No one had even spoken a word since sitting down on the Champions' table. It was creepy and weird, to say the least, not to mention that it was a huge waste of time…
After half an hour of pure silence, Fleur Delacour of all people started the conversation, "So, how do you like Beauxbatons?"
Harry simply shrugged, "I like it well enough. The library might be smaller than Hogwarts' but it's easier to navigate. I actually had to create my own spell to be able to quickly get books on any particular subject to save some time. A few books weren't even in English, and there aren't as many translation charms as you would think for extinct languages and dialects… Other than that, the extra electives are pretty nice. I think I would have had a good time here if I had transferred as I had planned, but then I would have still missed Hogwarts."
That seemed to shock everyone at the table. One of the Spanish students spoke up for the first time, "You were planning on transferring?"
"Yeah. I don't know if it's common knowledge, but Albus Dumbledore and I don't really like each other. He even tried to kill me and make it seem like an accident a few months ago. I was planning on transferring to just get away from him... Thankfully, he ended up losing his position, for, you know, almost killing a student and everything. I have no clue as to why anyone would trust him near students again, especially in an international event, but whatever…"
And again, the uncomfortable silence returned. It was expected, though. While no one really wanted to talk about it, it was easy to guess that Dumbledore had forced himself into the tournament and people were obviously uncomfortable with that. To be fair, it wasn't a good idea to oppose Dumbledore without being able to back it up.
The only way to coerce a vastly more powerful opponent was to find some leverage, something that they treasured enough that they wouldn't really do anything to you if it risked destroying or harming that thing… Harry had done it by threatening to reveal Dumbledore's past, risking his foothold in Britain. However, without that, he really didn't know how to deal with the man…
One of the Durmstrang students wanted to say something but was silenced by a glare from Krum. The Quidditch star then continued in heavily accented English, "I am curious. How did you beat us? I barely even recognized the spells that you used."
Harry simply shrugged, "When you're surrounded by multiple opponents, your first plan is always to use them against each other. I had eleven opponents: the Chimera, and ten other champions. You definitely were not acting as a unit, so friendly fire is very expected… My main priority was the beast since it was the more dangerous one – no offence – which no amount of friendly fire would have defeated, so I went with Runes. I couldn't really afford to power something that big, hence the lightning, and I couldn't really block the lightning using runes, since it would have destabilized its own power source recursively and I would have ended up with a spectacular explosion. I took care of that vulnerability by enchanting the ice spear to only be connected with the rune matrix once, and made it connect to the other spears of ice using the lightning rod charm… Then I had to stall until whoever controlled the beast tried to be smart and circumvent the vulnerability in the rune matrix. You know the rest, of course."
Again, they kept staring at Harry for a good minute. He didn't really understand why. Now that the plan was revealed, it should have been obvious… It was the simplest one to get out of the situation as the victor without using too much magic and straining his circuits. The first rule of combat is to always use the enemy's strength against them… The explanation should have demystified things and made him look less special, in a way, like a muggle magician revealing his trick.
Thankfully the awkwardness was broken by Madame Maxime standing up, immediately silencing the guests, "Ladies and Gentlemen, honoured guests, it is my pleasure to announce the victors of the first task of the first European School Tournament… In fifth place, representing Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Fleur Delacour…"
The Veela stood up, put a radiant smile on her face, and walked up towards her headmistress. It was surprising that other students were also getting prizes. Fleur was given a nice bouquet of white flowers, and a very old, enchanted ring that could turn its wearer invisible at will.
Following her came Roger Davies and Lucien Bole, who also received flowers and some very expensive dragon hide clothes. Afterwards was Angelina Johnson, who received a dress made up of Griffin Feathers of all things…
Diggory, who was in second place, was given a weird egg made of gold, filled to the brim with precious stones. This thing alone might set the Hufflepuff for life. To be fair, most of the prizes were…
Harry could see what they were doing. Beauxbatons was obviously not paying for all this, it was the ICW. For all its luxury, it was still a school, and it couldn't afford such lavish spending. Harry's best guess would be that they didn't want to risk him competing in the other tasks and winning everything, making the event meaningless. It was a nice way of preventing what happened to Dumbledore's tournament…
The last Potter hadn't really planned on competing in any other task, so he didn't really care. At least Daphne stood a better chance at winning something nice when she inevitably competed.
Finally, it was Harry's turn. They had asked him to give back the diary for the award ceremony. He hadn't really wanted to do that and had just transfigured a duplicate, which he then enchanted using his Arcane Hearing to have a signature as similar to Flamel's journal as he could. It must have fooled them…
He stood up and shook the headmistress' hand and was given the fake diary once more as well as dozens of other very old books. He'd expected that to be it, but then one of the organizers gave him a fucking sword. Looking at it closely, he could see that it was made with Goblin Silver. Well, that alone made it worth a small fortune.
Still, he used a small telekinetic force to prevent any of the prizes from touching him directly. He wasn't going to touch anything that might have been tampered with by Dumbledore…
He nodded and returned to the feast, having left his prizes in a small, expanded pouch that Arcturus had bought for him. He hadn't really thought about its usefulness, especially during an official feast, but it did end up paying off.
The next hour was spent on people walking up to him and asking for insights on his plans, dreams, or descriptions of the task… He hated every moment of it. He hadn't even had a chance to spend any time with Daphne…
Deciding to just go for it, he excused himself and walked out onto the terrace next to the hall, "Fucking hell that was horrible."
He heard an amused chuckle behind him, "Indeed it was, young Harry. I have been in your position many times, and I've always had to restrain the urge to just hex half of them…"
Before he could process what was being said, Harry found himself in a room, on the other side of the castle… Everything just seemed muted for some reason, even the colours just looked wrong. Where the fuck was he? He hadn't even felt anything with his Arcane Hearing…
Still, Harry couldn't help but turn towards the person behind him, feeling some trepidation from the familiar voice. He dearly hoped that he was wrong, that someone was messing with him. Unfortunately, his suspicions were correct.
He was alone in a room with Albus fucking Dumbledore.
AN: Told you I had something special in mind... As usual, please let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.
Chapter 270: Of Bright Delights
Chapter 270: Of Bright Delights
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Still, Harry couldn't help but turn towards the person behind him, feeling some trepidation from the familiar voice. He dearly hoped that he was wrong, that someone was messing with him. Unfortunately, his suspicions were correct. He was alone in a room with Albus fucking Dumbledore.
It was hard to explain what was going through Harry's head. His heartbeat had gotten louder, and he was visibly starting to sweat… He was afraid… That's what it was. Everything hit him all of a sudden. He was alone in the company of the man who had almost killed him once before. He had suffered for years at the very least in that infernal garden of Avalon and ended up crippled for months afterwards, barely capable of using magic due to the damage.
It wouldn't have been an understatement to say that he fully hated Albus Dumbledore with a passion. It was odd, he rarely ever hated anything, but seeing the man looking unbothered just made his blood boil with a burning passion. He wanted the man dead…
He didn't care about the politics of it all, or who the next champion of light would be… He didn't care that it would leave Grindelwald to do whatever he wished without impunity… Harry only wanted to see the former headmaster dead.
Before the gardens, he wouldn't have felt this way. He would have thought about the repercussions, about how much the man was technically a stabilizing influence… He wouldn't have liked the man, but he wouldn't have hated him.
Even when he knew he was nearby, he had subconsciously put it in the back of his mind. Dumbledore was just an enemy, just another opportunistic man… Harry didn't want to think about the consequences of the man's presence, yet now, he had to face them.
It was odd, to truly and fully hate another human being. He had never experienced anything like it before. True hate…
Harry did his best to ignore the terrifying fact that the old man was able to teleport him without him realizing it with his Arcane Hearing… He needed to keep a clear head.
He was able to suppress the urge to try and attack the man, especially since he would have probably lost. He was also alone in some kind of subspace, and he needed to be patient on how to proceed. Instead of panicking, he decided to respond to the man's comment, "I never thought I'd see the day where you would actively seek me out…"
The elderly man put a fake smile on his face, "Oh, I wouldn't put it that way… You're such a fascinating child, Harry Potter. Why wouldn't I want to speak with you?"
"You know, the whole trying to kill me and everything might have tainted any image I had of you."
The former headmaster chuckled, "And you have destroyed my life's work in your childish tantrum."
There was some bitterness there, to say the least, but something was different. Something was wrong with Dumbledore. Now that he had stopped panicking, it was all too clear to see.
The way Dumbledore behaved was odd. He was always patient, ready to manipulate people. To be fair, he had taken them both when Harry was completely alone, and to the world, it would have looked like he had just taken a breather or wanted some privacy. It wouldn't have been that unusual for teenagers to sneak away during feasts…
Sure, if something happened to him, Dumbledore would have been the main suspect, even if many of the other competitors or even the ICW could have wanted him gone, either for revenge or in fear of another potential Archmage. After all, Harry had made a splash with his victory.
However, there was this surety in Dumbledore's expression that had been absent before. The man was obviously certain that he would get what he wanted and did not fear any consequences. Something was different…
Deciding to dig in further, Harry snarked back, "Grindelwald destroyed your life's work, and he wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for your own actions."
"And yet that starting seed of doubt, one that made everyone question my motives, came from what you said during your guardianship hearing…"
Harry let out a bitter laugh, "Is that so? Weren't you the one who pushed me into a corner that day?"
"I was playing the game, you're the one who went overboard. There's a certain etiquette to be followed during political events, and certain expectations to make sure that not too many people lose their careers. You broke that… But that's not why I'm here, as you probably know."
"Flamel's journal," Harry simply stated.
"Ah, Nicholas was a dear mentor of mine, and later even a close friend. What you have in your hands is some of his final work, and experiments that I wish to continue. I want to make sure his legacy doesn't die with him, you see."
Harry wanted to punch the man in the face, "Yeah, but as you probably know, the journal has a few safety features, including an ownership clause."
"Yes. I don't know if you've ever learnt this in class, but ownership can easily be transferred either through bargains or by force…"
He could tell easily that the former headmaster wanted to unsettle him or even subtly threaten him into giving up the journal, "Maybe you're right… Maybe someone could theoretically win the diary from me. However, what if I somehow anticipated this and bound it to my bloodline, or even better, to my magic crest? In this case, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to relinquish it, would I? I tend to be very thorough when it comes to protecting my stuff… I wonder if that means that I'm a greedy person… Anyway, it's sad that because of my impulsive decision, no one would be able to get the diary… What a shame; it would have been worth a pretty penny. I hope that one of my descendants will be able to decipher its mysteries and read Flamel's last words… They must be fascinating."
Harry was bullshitting. He hadn't bound the journal to his crest since it would have been an idiotic thing to do. This was a diary written by someone far more skilled than himself at magic. He had learned long ago not to take risks with unknown artefacts and putting one near his soul was a very bad idea, no matter how much he liked Flamel.
After all, he was the man who had taught Dumbledore, and the former headmaster must have learned an awful lot from him.
However, the Archmage could easily believe that this was the truth. To be perfectly fair, Harry had acted rather rashly when it came to the headmaster. The guardianship hearing, the way he made a mockery of Dumbledore's tournament, were not the actions of a subtle person. To be fair, the first one, he had been taken by surprise, and the second one, he was just doing it out of pettiness for being forced to compete, and he had nothing to lose by doing so. Dumbledore didn't know that Harry could be subtle for the simple reason that when he needed to be, no one knew of his involvement. After all, no one knew about the Battle of Hogsmeade or even that Sirius Black was still alive…
The man's face morphed into a fake concerned expression, "Oh, you must have someone examine your crest promptly. The damage alone of using an unknown artefact could be…"
"Disastrous, I know. But what's life without risk?" he replied cheekily, doing his best not to betray the panic he was feeling.
Dumbledore seemingly stopped feeling patient, "Where is the Philosopher's Stone?"
Huh, that made a disturbing amount of sense. Harry knew that it was Dumbledore who killed the Flamels, even Nicholas Flamel knew that he would meet his end at the hands of his apprentice, but he had always assumed that Dumbledore had taken the Philosopher's Stone when he killed them. The stone, containing a fragment of the Light, must have been a very powerful artefact, especially since everyone thought that it was missing.
So, Flamel got one over Dumbledore and hid the damn thing in a way that no one could trace… How interesting. While its location was not in the diary, Harry could technically leverage this information…
Calmly, he answered, "How about a trade, then? One answer for another…"
The older man frowned, "Speak!"
"How about this then? I'll tell you everything I know about the Philosopher's Stone's location, but, in exchange, you tell me exactly what you're doing here…"
"I don't understand, young Harry… I'm here to be a judge during this…"
Harry interrupted him, "We're alone here, Dumbledore. I don't have any hidden recording devices, you're the one who ambushed me. So, spare me the whole judging thing, you couldn't give a shit about school tournaments, and you know it, especially now that you're not a headmaster anymore. There's nothing here that might help you make connections that you wouldn't have made far more easily. You're not here about the Diary, you didn't even know that it existed. So, why?"
The man remained silent, meaning that Harry's theories were on the right track. That loud release of magic at the end of the task was probably his doing. He needed to know its source and what its purpose was.
And to do that, he needed to keep pushing, "Oh, come on! Are you sure you actually want the stone, the fragment of Light that has been missing for centuries, that could actually make you whole, and ensure your victory against Grindelwald once more…."
Adding in a sprinkle of information that no one other than Flamel could have known, made the deal seem far more legitimate…
Of course, that was when Harry heard a scream with his Arcane Hearing and dodged the slash of fire that came at him. He quickly retaliated with a slash of his own that Dumbledore took over with his wand, compressed into a ball, and released as a beam of force and fire. Harry decided to neutralize it by warping space around it, dividing the beam and redirecting it to the dozens of transfigured statutes that were trying to sneak up on him.
Funnily enough, the former headmaster was smiling, "Very impressive, young Harry. Very impressive indeed."
"You say that, but you're the one who tried to sneakily attack me. I thought that would be beneath you…"
"In battle, there is no such thing as honour, and believe me, boy, we are battling. Every word we speak is a way to hurt our enemy, nothing more, nothing less. You might be talented, but you lack experience, and it shows."
For the first time since the sneak attack, Harry had given himself a moment to think, and to him, that was invaluable. Alright, what could Harry say about his opponent? First things first, he didn't need to win… Dumbledore wanted something from him, but he also couldn't really afford to be kicked out as a Judge for the tournament… He wanted that position, but how much, Harry didn't know. Would he jeopardize it just to take out Harry? No, he couldn't really take that bet…
Thankfully, thanks to his enhanced Arcane Hearing with the resurrection stone, Harry had a better idea of what his opponent was feeling. It could barely be considered an actual analysis, but there was something underneath all of that pure deafening sound, a soul… And while his emotions were muted, he could definitely discern them…
He was hopeful and yet irritated. He really wanted the stone, didn't he?
To be fair, he did kill Flamel for it, so that wasn't exactly a surprise.
Alright, back to the situation at hand, he couldn't beat this man, not in a straight fight… He was too inexperienced, and not powerful enough… The conclusion was to not make it a fair fight. Harry's first instinct would have been to run away using his portal, which was something that he had been trying to achieve ever since he had found himself there, but he felt something odd, whenever he tried to open one... Something wasn't letting him out.
Dumbledore's face morphed into a vicious smile, "Oh, I know about your portals. You weren't exactly subtle with them during the Quidditch World Cup, and it did explain a lot about how you escaped the Gardens of Avalon. It's a wonderful piece of magic, but one that could be foiled with the proper precautions. I have to admit it was an interesting exercise when designing this place, to constrain space warping into only its internal dimensions…"
"You're the one responsible for the attack on the World Cup. You wanted the European tournament to not be held in Britain, where you were quickly losing your political power and authority… This whole tournament is your doing."
Dumbledore didn't answer the question, instead, he asked one of his own, "I just realized that all this time, we've never once crossed wands. Do you know why that is?"
"I thought it was because you didn't want to risk me taking that fancy wand of yours…"
That brought Dumbledore up short, "That's some very dangerous knowledge…"
"Yes, knowledge that would make you a target for every power-hungry person in the world. You could probably beat them, but you're not always alert, are you? If this little fact was shared, then you would never know true peace, you would never truly trust anyone… A sad fate and definitely a way to hinder most delicate plans, don't you think?"
"I could say the same if it was publicly known that someone's figured out how to make true portals," the former headmaster retorted.
"Mutually assured destruction then?" Harry proposed.
Dumbledore nodded in acceptance, but Harry wasn't exactly hopeful. The man was oddly uncaring about his information as if he knew for a fact that Harry wouldn't say anything... This didn't bode well at all. Still, the older man commented, "You didn't answer my question. Do you know why we never crossed wands?"
Harry couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension at the man's tone.
He was right to be afraid since the entire room became illuminated by hundreds of miniature suns. Only, they weren't suns… When Harry tried to look closer, they were more like spears made up of pure light, but he could tell that getting hit by them would not be a good idea.
Huh, Harry didn't even notice any slow build-up of magic. Did the man seriously do all of this with a single uncharged spell?
He gulped while putting the final touches on his plan… Even then, he couldn't help but realize why people were terrified of Albus Dumbledore. Yeah, this was definitely not going to be an easy fight.
The older man continued, "It's because I rarely needed to cross wands with anyone… If I needed something done, I had an army of politicians and followers ready to follow every command. I don't have that anymore, nor do I have the political power necessary to force your compliance. Because you, a boy of fourteen, have forced my hand. You have achieved something that even Voldemort and all his followers couldn't… And in a way, you set me free. I forgot what it's like to really let loose, and for giving me this opportunity, I can't help but thank you for it. You should be proud, in a way…"
And, as if they were waiting for his command, the spears of light surged towards Harry at blinding speeds…
AN: I'm genuinely not sure about how I handled this interaction. I know it's not over, but there was a lot more that I wanted to put here. I know that Dumbledore's behaviour is a bit out of character, but there is a reason for it that you'll see in the next chapter. On the bright side, I'm really looking forward to writing the fight scene. As always, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Still, Harry couldn't help but turn towards the person behind him, feeling some trepidation from the familiar voice. He dearly hoped that he was wrong, that someone was messing with him. Unfortunately, his suspicions were correct. He was alone in a room with Albus fucking Dumbledore.
It was hard to explain what was going through Harry's head. His heartbeat had gotten louder, and he was visibly starting to sweat… He was afraid… That's what it was. Everything hit him all of a sudden. He was alone in the company of the man who had almost killed him once before. He had suffered for years at the very least in that infernal garden of Avalon and ended up crippled for months afterwards, barely capable of using magic due to the damage.
It wouldn't have been an understatement to say that he fully hated Albus Dumbledore with a passion. It was odd, he rarely ever hated anything, but seeing the man looking unbothered just made his blood boil with a burning passion. He wanted the man dead…
He didn't care about the politics of it all, or who the next champion of light would be… He didn't care that it would leave Grindelwald to do whatever he wished without impunity… Harry only wanted to see the former headmaster dead.
Before the gardens, he wouldn't have felt this way. He would have thought about the repercussions, about how much the man was technically a stabilizing influence… He wouldn't have liked the man, but he wouldn't have hated him.
Even when he knew he was nearby, he had subconsciously put it in the back of his mind. Dumbledore was just an enemy, just another opportunistic man… Harry didn't want to think about the consequences of the man's presence, yet now, he had to face them.
It was odd, to truly and fully hate another human being. He had never experienced anything like it before. True hate…
Harry did his best to ignore the terrifying fact that the old man was able to teleport him without him realizing it with his Arcane Hearing… He needed to keep a clear head.
He was able to suppress the urge to try and attack the man, especially since he would have probably lost. He was also alone in some kind of subspace, and he needed to be patient on how to proceed. Instead of panicking, he decided to respond to the man's comment, "I never thought I'd see the day where you would actively seek me out…"
The elderly man put a fake smile on his face, "Oh, I wouldn't put it that way… You're such a fascinating child, Harry Potter. Why wouldn't I want to speak with you?"
"You know, the whole trying to kill me and everything might have tainted any image I had of you."
The former headmaster chuckled, "And you have destroyed my life's work in your childish tantrum."
There was some bitterness there, to say the least, but something was different. Something was wrong with Dumbledore. Now that he had stopped panicking, it was all too clear to see.
The way Dumbledore behaved was odd. He was always patient, ready to manipulate people. To be fair, he had taken them both when Harry was completely alone, and to the world, it would have looked like he had just taken a breather or wanted some privacy. It wouldn't have been that unusual for teenagers to sneak away during feasts…
Sure, if something happened to him, Dumbledore would have been the main suspect, even if many of the other competitors or even the ICW could have wanted him gone, either for revenge or in fear of another potential Archmage. After all, Harry had made a splash with his victory.
However, there was this surety in Dumbledore's expression that had been absent before. The man was obviously certain that he would get what he wanted and did not fear any consequences. Something was different…
Deciding to dig in further, Harry snarked back, "Grindelwald destroyed your life's work, and he wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for your own actions."
"And yet that starting seed of doubt, one that made everyone question my motives, came from what you said during your guardianship hearing…"
Harry let out a bitter laugh, "Is that so? Weren't you the one who pushed me into a corner that day?"
"I was playing the game, you're the one who went overboard. There's a certain etiquette to be followed during political events, and certain expectations to make sure that not too many people lose their careers. You broke that… But that's not why I'm here, as you probably know."
"Flamel's journal," Harry simply stated.
"Ah, Nicholas was a dear mentor of mine, and later even a close friend. What you have in your hands is some of his final work, and experiments that I wish to continue. I want to make sure his legacy doesn't die with him, you see."
Harry wanted to punch the man in the face, "Yeah, but as you probably know, the journal has a few safety features, including an ownership clause."
"Yes. I don't know if you've ever learnt this in class, but ownership can easily be transferred either through bargains or by force…"
He could tell easily that the former headmaster wanted to unsettle him or even subtly threaten him into giving up the journal, "Maybe you're right… Maybe someone could theoretically win the diary from me. However, what if I somehow anticipated this and bound it to my bloodline, or even better, to my magic crest? In this case, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to relinquish it, would I? I tend to be very thorough when it comes to protecting my stuff… I wonder if that means that I'm a greedy person… Anyway, it's sad that because of my impulsive decision, no one would be able to get the diary… What a shame; it would have been worth a pretty penny. I hope that one of my descendants will be able to decipher its mysteries and read Flamel's last words… They must be fascinating."
Harry was bullshitting. He hadn't bound the journal to his crest since it would have been an idiotic thing to do. This was a diary written by someone far more skilled than himself at magic. He had learned long ago not to take risks with unknown artefacts and putting one near his soul was a very bad idea, no matter how much he liked Flamel.
After all, he was the man who had taught Dumbledore, and the former headmaster must have learned an awful lot from him.
However, the Archmage could easily believe that this was the truth. To be perfectly fair, Harry had acted rather rashly when it came to the headmaster. The guardianship hearing, the way he made a mockery of Dumbledore's tournament, were not the actions of a subtle person. To be fair, the first one, he had been taken by surprise, and the second one, he was just doing it out of pettiness for being forced to compete, and he had nothing to lose by doing so. Dumbledore didn't know that Harry could be subtle for the simple reason that when he needed to be, no one knew of his involvement. After all, no one knew about the Battle of Hogsmeade or even that Sirius Black was still alive…
The man's face morphed into a fake concerned expression, "Oh, you must have someone examine your crest promptly. The damage alone of using an unknown artefact could be…"
"Disastrous, I know. But what's life without risk?" he replied cheekily, doing his best not to betray the panic he was feeling.
Dumbledore seemingly stopped feeling patient, "Where is the Philosopher's Stone?"
Huh, that made a disturbing amount of sense. Harry knew that it was Dumbledore who killed the Flamels, even Nicholas Flamel knew that he would meet his end at the hands of his apprentice, but he had always assumed that Dumbledore had taken the Philosopher's Stone when he killed them. The stone, containing a fragment of the Light, must have been a very powerful artefact, especially since everyone thought that it was missing.
So, Flamel got one over Dumbledore and hid the damn thing in a way that no one could trace… How interesting. While its location was not in the diary, Harry could technically leverage this information…
Calmly, he answered, "How about a trade, then? One answer for another…"
The older man frowned, "Speak!"
"How about this then? I'll tell you everything I know about the Philosopher's Stone's location, but, in exchange, you tell me exactly what you're doing here…"
"I don't understand, young Harry… I'm here to be a judge during this…"
Harry interrupted him, "We're alone here, Dumbledore. I don't have any hidden recording devices, you're the one who ambushed me. So, spare me the whole judging thing, you couldn't give a shit about school tournaments, and you know it, especially now that you're not a headmaster anymore. There's nothing here that might help you make connections that you wouldn't have made far more easily. You're not here about the Diary, you didn't even know that it existed. So, why?"
The man remained silent, meaning that Harry's theories were on the right track. That loud release of magic at the end of the task was probably his doing. He needed to know its source and what its purpose was.
And to do that, he needed to keep pushing, "Oh, come on! Are you sure you actually want the stone, the fragment of Light that has been missing for centuries, that could actually make you whole, and ensure your victory against Grindelwald once more…."
Adding in a sprinkle of information that no one other than Flamel could have known, made the deal seem far more legitimate…
Of course, that was when Harry heard a scream with his Arcane Hearing and dodged the slash of fire that came at him. He quickly retaliated with a slash of his own that Dumbledore took over with his wand, compressed into a ball, and released as a beam of force and fire. Harry decided to neutralize it by warping space around it, dividing the beam and redirecting it to the dozens of transfigured statutes that were trying to sneak up on him.
Funnily enough, the former headmaster was smiling, "Very impressive, young Harry. Very impressive indeed."
"You say that, but you're the one who tried to sneakily attack me. I thought that would be beneath you…"
"In battle, there is no such thing as honour, and believe me, boy, we are battling. Every word we speak is a way to hurt our enemy, nothing more, nothing less. You might be talented, but you lack experience, and it shows."
For the first time since the sneak attack, Harry had given himself a moment to think, and to him, that was invaluable. Alright, what could Harry say about his opponent? First things first, he didn't need to win… Dumbledore wanted something from him, but he also couldn't really afford to be kicked out as a Judge for the tournament… He wanted that position, but how much, Harry didn't know. Would he jeopardize it just to take out Harry? No, he couldn't really take that bet…
Thankfully, thanks to his enhanced Arcane Hearing with the resurrection stone, Harry had a better idea of what his opponent was feeling. It could barely be considered an actual analysis, but there was something underneath all of that pure deafening sound, a soul… And while his emotions were muted, he could definitely discern them…
He was hopeful and yet irritated. He really wanted the stone, didn't he?
To be fair, he did kill Flamel for it, so that wasn't exactly a surprise.
Alright, back to the situation at hand, he couldn't beat this man, not in a straight fight… He was too inexperienced, and not powerful enough… The conclusion was to not make it a fair fight. Harry's first instinct would have been to run away using his portal, which was something that he had been trying to achieve ever since he had found himself there, but he felt something odd, whenever he tried to open one... Something wasn't letting him out.
Dumbledore's face morphed into a vicious smile, "Oh, I know about your portals. You weren't exactly subtle with them during the Quidditch World Cup, and it did explain a lot about how you escaped the Gardens of Avalon. It's a wonderful piece of magic, but one that could be foiled with the proper precautions. I have to admit it was an interesting exercise when designing this place, to constrain space warping into only its internal dimensions…"
"You're the one responsible for the attack on the World Cup. You wanted the European tournament to not be held in Britain, where you were quickly losing your political power and authority… This whole tournament is your doing."
Dumbledore didn't answer the question, instead, he asked one of his own, "I just realized that all this time, we've never once crossed wands. Do you know why that is?"
"I thought it was because you didn't want to risk me taking that fancy wand of yours…"
That brought Dumbledore up short, "That's some very dangerous knowledge…"
"Yes, knowledge that would make you a target for every power-hungry person in the world. You could probably beat them, but you're not always alert, are you? If this little fact was shared, then you would never know true peace, you would never truly trust anyone… A sad fate and definitely a way to hinder most delicate plans, don't you think?"
"I could say the same if it was publicly known that someone's figured out how to make true portals," the former headmaster retorted.
"Mutually assured destruction then?" Harry proposed.
Dumbledore nodded in acceptance, but Harry wasn't exactly hopeful. The man was oddly uncaring about his information as if he knew for a fact that Harry wouldn't say anything... This didn't bode well at all. Still, the older man commented, "You didn't answer my question. Do you know why we never crossed wands?"
Harry couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension at the man's tone.
He was right to be afraid since the entire room became illuminated by hundreds of miniature suns. Only, they weren't suns… When Harry tried to look closer, they were more like spears made up of pure light, but he could tell that getting hit by them would not be a good idea.
Huh, Harry didn't even notice any slow build-up of magic. Did the man seriously do all of this with a single uncharged spell?
He gulped while putting the final touches on his plan… Even then, he couldn't help but realize why people were terrified of Albus Dumbledore. Yeah, this was definitely not going to be an easy fight.
The older man continued, "It's because I rarely needed to cross wands with anyone… If I needed something done, I had an army of politicians and followers ready to follow every command. I don't have that anymore, nor do I have the political power necessary to force your compliance. Because you, a boy of fourteen, have forced my hand. You have achieved something that even Voldemort and all his followers couldn't… And in a way, you set me free. I forgot what it's like to really let loose, and for giving me this opportunity, I can't help but thank you for it. You should be proud, in a way…"
And, as if they were waiting for his command, the spears of light surged towards Harry at blinding speeds…
AN: I'm genuinely not sure about how I handled this interaction. I know it's not over, but there was a lot more that I wanted to put here. I know that Dumbledore's behaviour is a bit out of character, but there is a reason for it that you'll see in the next chapter. On the bright side, I'm really looking forward to writing the fight scene. As always, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
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Chapter 271: Deadly Light
Chapter 271: Deadly Light
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
And as if they were waiting for his command, the spears of light surged towards Harry at blinding speeds…
Out of pure instinct, Harry activated an experimental spell as he watched the spears of light fall towards him, and the world froze. Harry's body was moving in slow motion… Hell, everything was moving in slow motion…
Time magic.
Harry had barely started to even master it and, even then, he had come up with barely a few spells. Oh, they were useful, but he was a long way away from becoming proficient with it. And considering how long it took for him to master his space magic, he wouldn't be in some time…
This spell in particular was the first one that would affect him… It was supposed to make him move faster, but his body felt like it was in Jello, even if it was moving faster than everything else. More than that, the spell was draining…
He might not be able to hold this for long, but it was more than enough to make a plan. As Harry let go of the time spell, he had mapped out every single spear coming his way and warped space to make them hit each other.
Harry enjoyed the wide-eyed look on Dumbledore's face as he realized that his attack was countered. Deciding not to waste the opportunity, the last Potter sent a ball of warped space towards the wizard, which deflected the old man's oncoming spell. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was able to counter with an orb of white light…
Taking the initiative, he cast a dozen spells, one of the largest spell chains he knew, and warped space to make them hit at once.
The former headmaster conjured a glowing metallic shield that tanked the spells with a large bang and actually harnessed the impact into a shockwave that sent Harry flying. Thankfully, he was able to conjure a vertical magic circle, which pushed him towards his opponent.
Dumbledore seemed to be ready to face him, however, at the last minute, Harry created a portal behind his enemy, which swallowed the younger man, and allowed him to get a spell off in the man's blind spot. A space-cutting spell flew towards Dumbledore's back, only to vanish into nothing…
That felt to his Arcane Hearing as some kind of alchemical process. Fucking hell, who used Alchemy like that?
Harry quickly created another portal to avoid the former headmaster's counterattack. It didn't take him long to realize that Dumbledore hadn't moved since the beginning of the confrontation…
A wave of white fire came racing towards Harry and he redirected it using his space magic to go past him. Harry followed up by creating spikes of ice, that the man disintegrated with a wave of his wand. What followed up was a testament to why Dumbledore decided to specialize in transfiguration of all fields.
Transfiguration masters were mostly academics who hoped to enhance their field. It was why they were rare in Britain, which didn't offer an environment that academics would appreciate. Very few people duelled using transfiguration. It was just too cumbersome, slow, and magically intensive. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore wasn't like most people. In fact, he was fucking terrifying.
The air around Harry turned to fire with a wave of the man's wand, which he kept redirecting. The ground below him was swallowing him, with hundreds of conjured stone hands trying to grab him with every step he took. Harry conjured a magic circle which sent him into the air and followed up with a space pulse, which Dumbledore somehow redirected.
Harry used another magic circle to send him flying away from a beam of pure light, and he created a portal to redirect the attack towards Dumbledore's back. Dumbledore's position was just too strong. Deciding to switch things up a bit, Harry kept dodging the incoming attacks while preparing a rune matrix. He quickly carved it telekinetically and activated it.
Gravity reversed itself… In fact, it kept rotating. Harry, prepared for this, had levitated a platform oriented to his new acceleration, landing gracefully. The headmaster hadn't seen this coming and was surprised for a moment, falling towards ice spikes that Harry had conjured, only to create a platform of pure light below his feet, allowing him to levitate.
Harry tried to counter by warping space in a way which smashed both the floor and ceiling together, only for the ceiling to turn into water when it almost reached the man…
And just like that, they stood in front of each other, on floating platforms, with wild gravity messing chaotically with the entire room. Evidence that they were in a subspace was demonstrated by the fact that no one even noticed that they had torn an entire wing of Beauxbatons apart.
His priority would have been to get out of this place… In the real world, he would have a bit more leverage. So, first things first, he needed to somehow remove the dimensional barrier that stopped him from creating a portal out…
A small idea started to grow in Harry's head. It was probably idiotic… Maybe even downright suicidal… But it could work and he didn't really have any better options.
However, when he looked at his opponent, Harry couldn't help but swallow heavily as he noticed that the old man was smiling, "Very impressive, young Harry. Very impressive indeed. To think you would grow so much after just a few years… You would have made an excellent disciple. A real shame…"
"Seriously? You tried to ruin my life, force me under your control with very little tact, I might say… Then you tried to paint me as a threat to magical Britain, and you're complaining that I didn't end up as one of your sycophants."
Good, Harry had to keep him talking… He had to buy as much time as he could to put his plan in motion.
Thankfully, the headmaster took the bait, and kept talking, "I had a dream, a beautiful dream, of a world without war, without conflict… A world of true peace, and I did my best to achieve my dream. I was so close… After decades of work, I was desperate. Your presence has ruined my life's work. Do you have any idea what it's like to have your very purpose destroyed because some brat didn't like it… You're a child. You barely know what you want to do with your life, and yet you destroyed my legacy, something that took me decades to build. I might have been forceful with you, but I was the one who has lost the most…"
"Conflict is necessary for us to evolve, to improve," Harry retorted.
"And why would anyone need to evolve? In a perfect world, the need to improve becomes obsolete. Not that it matters now. You have caused me no small amount of grief, but for the greater good, I am ready to move past it… I have far bigger things to worry about than a teenager's delusions of grandeur and importance…"
"And you need the Philosopher's Stone for that?"
The former headmaster frowned, "Yes… I don't expect you to understand, but what's coming… I need to be as powerful as I can be. The world will not survive otherwise."
He was talking about Ragnarök. However, before Harry could ask any more questions, he felt every single remnant of the room turn into a clay-like material and harden into chains that bound him in place.
The former headmaster smiled, "Never talk during a duel, young man. Someone is always preparing something."
Harry smirked, "You couldn't have been more right…"
And with a thought, he activated a very complex runic matrix in the ground, which created a giant pulse of space that destabilized every structure in the room. Harry conjured a magic circle to shield against the onslaught of light spears once more, only to return it with an immense bolt of lightning. Dumbledore conjured a lightning rod, which Harry connected to a ward behind him, messing with gravity once more.
Everyone was sent sideways, and Dumbledore somehow managed to right himself in the air and sent an arc of light towards Harry, who ducked and sent a wave cutter his way. The former headmaster shielded and sent a bolt of light that Harry intercepted with a beam of lightning. The spells clashed, and their wands connected. With every wave of magic, a pulse of energy traversed the room, sending everything flying. A few rocks, being affected by the chaotic gravity…
Harry tried to send one of them wandlessly towards Dumbledore who somehow kept disintegrating them. Suddenly, Dumbledore transfigured their beams of magic into a giant fireball that turned everything around Harry to ash.
Suddenly, Harry noticed that his spell had activated. The space pulse that he had done earlier was more than just some attack. It was mainly an analysis spell. Harry needed it to find the anchor that wouldn't let him portal out…
It took a few seconds for Harry to understand the incoming pieces of information. He would admit to being surprised and taken off-guard, but it did make sense. Alright, now, he had a plan ready to be implemented…
Deciding that trying to overpower Dumbledore was a bad idea, his next option was using trickery. Harry conjured an illusion in his place, and warped space to get him far away while activating his cloak.
When the former headmaster stopped his attack, he looked towards the illusion and instead of finding Harry, he found an illusion of his sister, covered in burns, whimpering, "Albus, Why? It hurts, it hurts so much."
Dumbledore seemed taken aback, with a mixture of hope and horror on his face, as he murmured, "Arianna?"
Before he could even notice, Harry conjured a blade of ice and channelled the resurrection stone's power into it. He stabbed it into Dumbledore's chest, "Not quite. Illusions and trickery can be very powerful. I suppose you would know that… After all, you're not real, are you?"
Dumbledore whispered, "How?"
"This isn't a subspace. At first, I thought you had somehow managed to take me off-guard, but when I tried to analyse this place, the readings were all over the place. They were too chaotic and unnatural. A physical realm wouldn't have formed with these parameters, but a realm of dreams... Well, that's another story. We're still on the terrace, aren't we? You're the anchor to this place."
Harry conjured another blade and used it to impale Dumbledore once more, who disappeared with a flash of light. He probably tried to trap Harry there, but thankfully he could feel Dumbledore's magic with his Arcane Hearing. He followed after it, as it returned to its source.
Suddenly, Harry sat up with a gasp and got up. He saw Dumbledore's face turn from a flinch to actual rage before he took out his wand and sent a white spell at the disoriented boy, "You went too far with that, boy!"
Harry genuinely thought that this would have been it, that his life would end at the hands of the Archmage of light before him. He was barely even coherent, let alone capable of casting any spells.
To both of their shock, a red shield materialized in front of the boy. That seemed to break Dumbledore out of his enraged state. Having recollected himself, he murmured, "I haven't seen blood magic like this for a very long time, ever since the Red Witch perished. I suppose I should congratulate you on fooling the world for over a decade, Lily Potter… Welcome back to the world of the living…"
Harry turned and saw the fake Unspeakable standing near the terrace's entrance. She was holding her bleeding hand, from which blood was dripping on some kind of glowing blood magic rune matrix on the ground, "I wish I could say that it is nice to see you, Albus…"
"You should be glad that I have already gotten what I came here for… Take care of your son, young Lily. You can't know how much time you have left with him. Or perhaps he would leave you if he knew the things you did."
Dumbledore was holding Flamel's Journal in his hand and walked out as if nothing had happened. Lily knelt down and helped Harry up, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I knew he was powerful, but damn… It's very different when you see it in person, and even then, he was holding back a lot."
"It's alright to lose a round to someone like him. At least you survived to win the next one. That's more than most could say…"
Harry smirked, "Who said anything about losing?"
The masked redhead looked at him with what must have been an incredulous expression, "He got the diary and defeated you for it… He's won its loyalty… How did you not lose?"
"That's all well and good, but you're missing one little detail. I switched the diaries… He stole a fake, and let's just say that he'll have a nasty surprise on his hands when he opens it…"
It took almost fifteen minutes for them to stop laughing…
It was surprisingly nice, to just laugh in the company of Lily… He was grateful for her intervention, which made him wonder if he should start trusting her a bit more…
AN: I wrote this on like 3 hours of sleep, so I'm not sure if the chapter came out like I wanted it to. For the people who are probably going to ask about the fight, it wasn't just some mental illusion, it was a real fight. As in Dumbledore is mentally fighting him. Imagine them fighting on something like an astral plane, but with Dumbledore being able to split his concentration on it and the living world. Please let me know your opinion and if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
8 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
And as if they were waiting for his command, the spears of light surged towards Harry at blinding speeds…
Out of pure instinct, Harry activated an experimental spell as he watched the spears of light fall towards him, and the world froze. Harry's body was moving in slow motion… Hell, everything was moving in slow motion…
Time magic.
Harry had barely started to even master it and, even then, he had come up with barely a few spells. Oh, they were useful, but he was a long way away from becoming proficient with it. And considering how long it took for him to master his space magic, he wouldn't be in some time…
This spell in particular was the first one that would affect him… It was supposed to make him move faster, but his body felt like it was in Jello, even if it was moving faster than everything else. More than that, the spell was draining…
He might not be able to hold this for long, but it was more than enough to make a plan. As Harry let go of the time spell, he had mapped out every single spear coming his way and warped space to make them hit each other.
Harry enjoyed the wide-eyed look on Dumbledore's face as he realized that his attack was countered. Deciding not to waste the opportunity, the last Potter sent a ball of warped space towards the wizard, which deflected the old man's oncoming spell. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was able to counter with an orb of white light…
Taking the initiative, he cast a dozen spells, one of the largest spell chains he knew, and warped space to make them hit at once.
The former headmaster conjured a glowing metallic shield that tanked the spells with a large bang and actually harnessed the impact into a shockwave that sent Harry flying. Thankfully, he was able to conjure a vertical magic circle, which pushed him towards his opponent.
Dumbledore seemed to be ready to face him, however, at the last minute, Harry created a portal behind his enemy, which swallowed the younger man, and allowed him to get a spell off in the man's blind spot. A space-cutting spell flew towards Dumbledore's back, only to vanish into nothing…
That felt to his Arcane Hearing as some kind of alchemical process. Fucking hell, who used Alchemy like that?
Harry quickly created another portal to avoid the former headmaster's counterattack. It didn't take him long to realize that Dumbledore hadn't moved since the beginning of the confrontation…
A wave of white fire came racing towards Harry and he redirected it using his space magic to go past him. Harry followed up by creating spikes of ice, that the man disintegrated with a wave of his wand. What followed up was a testament to why Dumbledore decided to specialize in transfiguration of all fields.
Transfiguration masters were mostly academics who hoped to enhance their field. It was why they were rare in Britain, which didn't offer an environment that academics would appreciate. Very few people duelled using transfiguration. It was just too cumbersome, slow, and magically intensive. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore wasn't like most people. In fact, he was fucking terrifying.
The air around Harry turned to fire with a wave of the man's wand, which he kept redirecting. The ground below him was swallowing him, with hundreds of conjured stone hands trying to grab him with every step he took. Harry conjured a magic circle which sent him into the air and followed up with a space pulse, which Dumbledore somehow redirected.
Harry used another magic circle to send him flying away from a beam of pure light, and he created a portal to redirect the attack towards Dumbledore's back. Dumbledore's position was just too strong. Deciding to switch things up a bit, Harry kept dodging the incoming attacks while preparing a rune matrix. He quickly carved it telekinetically and activated it.
Gravity reversed itself… In fact, it kept rotating. Harry, prepared for this, had levitated a platform oriented to his new acceleration, landing gracefully. The headmaster hadn't seen this coming and was surprised for a moment, falling towards ice spikes that Harry had conjured, only to create a platform of pure light below his feet, allowing him to levitate.
Harry tried to counter by warping space in a way which smashed both the floor and ceiling together, only for the ceiling to turn into water when it almost reached the man…
And just like that, they stood in front of each other, on floating platforms, with wild gravity messing chaotically with the entire room. Evidence that they were in a subspace was demonstrated by the fact that no one even noticed that they had torn an entire wing of Beauxbatons apart.
His priority would have been to get out of this place… In the real world, he would have a bit more leverage. So, first things first, he needed to somehow remove the dimensional barrier that stopped him from creating a portal out…
A small idea started to grow in Harry's head. It was probably idiotic… Maybe even downright suicidal… But it could work and he didn't really have any better options.
However, when he looked at his opponent, Harry couldn't help but swallow heavily as he noticed that the old man was smiling, "Very impressive, young Harry. Very impressive indeed. To think you would grow so much after just a few years… You would have made an excellent disciple. A real shame…"
"Seriously? You tried to ruin my life, force me under your control with very little tact, I might say… Then you tried to paint me as a threat to magical Britain, and you're complaining that I didn't end up as one of your sycophants."
Good, Harry had to keep him talking… He had to buy as much time as he could to put his plan in motion.
Thankfully, the headmaster took the bait, and kept talking, "I had a dream, a beautiful dream, of a world without war, without conflict… A world of true peace, and I did my best to achieve my dream. I was so close… After decades of work, I was desperate. Your presence has ruined my life's work. Do you have any idea what it's like to have your very purpose destroyed because some brat didn't like it… You're a child. You barely know what you want to do with your life, and yet you destroyed my legacy, something that took me decades to build. I might have been forceful with you, but I was the one who has lost the most…"
"Conflict is necessary for us to evolve, to improve," Harry retorted.
"And why would anyone need to evolve? In a perfect world, the need to improve becomes obsolete. Not that it matters now. You have caused me no small amount of grief, but for the greater good, I am ready to move past it… I have far bigger things to worry about than a teenager's delusions of grandeur and importance…"
"And you need the Philosopher's Stone for that?"
The former headmaster frowned, "Yes… I don't expect you to understand, but what's coming… I need to be as powerful as I can be. The world will not survive otherwise."
He was talking about Ragnarök. However, before Harry could ask any more questions, he felt every single remnant of the room turn into a clay-like material and harden into chains that bound him in place.
The former headmaster smiled, "Never talk during a duel, young man. Someone is always preparing something."
Harry smirked, "You couldn't have been more right…"
And with a thought, he activated a very complex runic matrix in the ground, which created a giant pulse of space that destabilized every structure in the room. Harry conjured a magic circle to shield against the onslaught of light spears once more, only to return it with an immense bolt of lightning. Dumbledore conjured a lightning rod, which Harry connected to a ward behind him, messing with gravity once more.
Everyone was sent sideways, and Dumbledore somehow managed to right himself in the air and sent an arc of light towards Harry, who ducked and sent a wave cutter his way. The former headmaster shielded and sent a bolt of light that Harry intercepted with a beam of lightning. The spells clashed, and their wands connected. With every wave of magic, a pulse of energy traversed the room, sending everything flying. A few rocks, being affected by the chaotic gravity…
Harry tried to send one of them wandlessly towards Dumbledore who somehow kept disintegrating them. Suddenly, Dumbledore transfigured their beams of magic into a giant fireball that turned everything around Harry to ash.
Suddenly, Harry noticed that his spell had activated. The space pulse that he had done earlier was more than just some attack. It was mainly an analysis spell. Harry needed it to find the anchor that wouldn't let him portal out…
It took a few seconds for Harry to understand the incoming pieces of information. He would admit to being surprised and taken off-guard, but it did make sense. Alright, now, he had a plan ready to be implemented…
Deciding that trying to overpower Dumbledore was a bad idea, his next option was using trickery. Harry conjured an illusion in his place, and warped space to get him far away while activating his cloak.
When the former headmaster stopped his attack, he looked towards the illusion and instead of finding Harry, he found an illusion of his sister, covered in burns, whimpering, "Albus, Why? It hurts, it hurts so much."
Dumbledore seemed taken aback, with a mixture of hope and horror on his face, as he murmured, "Arianna?"
Before he could even notice, Harry conjured a blade of ice and channelled the resurrection stone's power into it. He stabbed it into Dumbledore's chest, "Not quite. Illusions and trickery can be very powerful. I suppose you would know that… After all, you're not real, are you?"
Dumbledore whispered, "How?"
"This isn't a subspace. At first, I thought you had somehow managed to take me off-guard, but when I tried to analyse this place, the readings were all over the place. They were too chaotic and unnatural. A physical realm wouldn't have formed with these parameters, but a realm of dreams... Well, that's another story. We're still on the terrace, aren't we? You're the anchor to this place."
Harry conjured another blade and used it to impale Dumbledore once more, who disappeared with a flash of light. He probably tried to trap Harry there, but thankfully he could feel Dumbledore's magic with his Arcane Hearing. He followed after it, as it returned to its source.
Suddenly, Harry sat up with a gasp and got up. He saw Dumbledore's face turn from a flinch to actual rage before he took out his wand and sent a white spell at the disoriented boy, "You went too far with that, boy!"
Harry genuinely thought that this would have been it, that his life would end at the hands of the Archmage of light before him. He was barely even coherent, let alone capable of casting any spells.
To both of their shock, a red shield materialized in front of the boy. That seemed to break Dumbledore out of his enraged state. Having recollected himself, he murmured, "I haven't seen blood magic like this for a very long time, ever since the Red Witch perished. I suppose I should congratulate you on fooling the world for over a decade, Lily Potter… Welcome back to the world of the living…"
Harry turned and saw the fake Unspeakable standing near the terrace's entrance. She was holding her bleeding hand, from which blood was dripping on some kind of glowing blood magic rune matrix on the ground, "I wish I could say that it is nice to see you, Albus…"
"You should be glad that I have already gotten what I came here for… Take care of your son, young Lily. You can't know how much time you have left with him. Or perhaps he would leave you if he knew the things you did."
Dumbledore was holding Flamel's Journal in his hand and walked out as if nothing had happened. Lily knelt down and helped Harry up, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I knew he was powerful, but damn… It's very different when you see it in person, and even then, he was holding back a lot."
"It's alright to lose a round to someone like him. At least you survived to win the next one. That's more than most could say…"
Harry smirked, "Who said anything about losing?"
The masked redhead looked at him with what must have been an incredulous expression, "He got the diary and defeated you for it… He's won its loyalty… How did you not lose?"
"That's all well and good, but you're missing one little detail. I switched the diaries… He stole a fake, and let's just say that he'll have a nasty surprise on his hands when he opens it…"
It took almost fifteen minutes for them to stop laughing…
It was surprisingly nice, to just laugh in the company of Lily… He was grateful for her intervention, which made him wonder if he should start trusting her a bit more…
AN: I wrote this on like 3 hours of sleep, so I'm not sure if the chapter came out like I wanted it to. For the people who are probably going to ask about the fight, it wasn't just some mental illusion, it was a real fight. As in Dumbledore is mentally fighting him. Imagine them fighting on something like an astral plane, but with Dumbledore being able to split his concentration on it and the living world. Please let me know your opinion and if you have any suggestions.
- Location
- USA
I understand why the Red Witch held back in their duel and when you re-wrote the Grindelwald fight it made more sense for Harry to survive...really can't see a reason for Dumbledore to hold back though.
Regardless, fun chapter as always, thanks!
Regardless, fun chapter as always, thanks!
Silveraith
Argent Phantasm
- Location
- Terra Atlantus
His full might would probably destroy the school if it isn't an instant "I-WIN".
- Location
- USA
I read it as they were at first in a dream world/alternate reality, so any of Dumbledore's I-WIN buttons wouldn't have collateral damage on the main world/setting...afterwards though, I see your point that a battle with the Red Witch would definitely escalate.
Silveraith
Argent Phantasm
- Location
- Terra Atlantus
My take was that in the dream/alternate reality world Dumbledore was at half power and half-concentration so incapable of his I-WIN level stuff.
By the time the sequence was over he already had the book and didn't need to fight Lily.
Chapter 272: Thorny Clouds
Chapter 272: Thorny Clouds
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
11 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry ate his breakfast with dozens of thoughts swirling in his head. The confrontation with Dumbledore still weighed on his mind. Even if it was technically in a mental plane, it was still the first time Harry had directly fought Dumbledore, and he sort of understood why people tended to be terrified of what the man could do.
Intellectually, he knew that the Archmage of Light was very powerful… But there was some truth in the saying that seeing was believing. No wonder people were scared shitless of the man… He was like a walking nuke, and the sad thing was that he was holding back. Not only was he splitting his concentration between the two worlds whilst maintaining a dreamscape, but he was doing it without anyone figuring out that something unusual was happening. And he was holding back whilst doing that…
The last Potter had escaped the dreamscape just because he distracted him enough with the illusion of his dead sister, a mistake that the former headmaster would not make again. That's not even mentioning the sheer rage on the man's face when Harry woke up from his enchanted sleep. He really had pushed a button there and would have probably died if it wasn't for Lily.
Speaking of Lily, Harry had many conflicting feelings regarding the woman. From all accounts, she was an unstable woman who was easily capable of cruelty if it suited her needs. However, she was also a genius who obviously cared about Harry. He didn't know if that care was genuine or if she was pretending, hoping to achieve something, but he didn't care. The redhead had saved him from Dumbledore without expecting anything else in return… That alone gave her a measure of trust…
Harry wasn't used to being saved by anyone. He had always been on his own and had to deal with his own shit. The only time he remembered anyone truly saving him was when Arcturus opposed Dumbledore to become his guardian, and even then, the Black Patriarch had gained a very talented wizard in his corner.
All in all, he couldn't help but feel slightly more comfortable with Lily's presence, which was also mirrored by the woman. They still had a long way to go, and if Lily betrayed him, he would have seen it coming…
However, the main thing that wouldn't leave his mind was the loud noise when he finished his task. It wasn't anything normal, that was for sure… And Harry could feel that it was important and probably had something to do with Ragnarök and whatever Dumbledore was planning. Still, he had no idea regarding its nature or purpose… He really hated not knowing things.
Harry took a sip of his coffee and sighed in contentment. It truly was the greatest drink that ever existed. Unfortunately, when he looked around, he saw everyone just staring at him with wide eyes. He still hadn't gotten used to this, and it frankly made him uncomfortable.
Still, the stares were more numerous than usual, especially when it came to the rest of the Hogwarts delegation. Harry noticed what they kept looking at and noticed that they kept glancing at the current edition of the Daily Prophet on the table. Huh, he didn't even know that they delivered to foreign countries…
Deciding to just bite the bullet, he grabbed the newspaper and suppressed the urge to groan at the first page.
Harry couldn't suppress a groan at the article. It was about what he expected, really. It was a bunch of nationalism, mixed in with ICW propaganda, with a sprinkle of their agenda. For example, they downplayed the Leviathan attacking Harry as something that was supposed to happen, and that it wasn't trying to stop him from finishing the task too early. There was also the casual mention of Albus Dumbledore, giving his opinion more credibility than he deserved due to his long list of crimes that no one dared try to prosecute.
To be perfectly fair, it was hard trying to accuse Albus Dumbledore of a crime, and it was downright impossible to even arrest him. Honestly, if he had asked anyone in Britain if they would have called for Voldemort's arrest for casting an Unforgivable Curse, then they would have looked at him like he was insane. No one would have ever dared because of how powerful he was.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore could probably make the fake Dark Lord look like a child throwing a tantrum. Yet, for some reason, the common public treated him like he was just a regular person… People in power knew, of course… The only reason why Dumbledore was expelled as headmaster in Britain was because of the public's outrage, and their belief that the Archmage of Light wouldn't try to take revenge.
This article was clever enough not to mention that the Hogwarts champions would have likely lost, and very badly at that, without Harry's intervention. Dumbledore's time as a headmaster had caused the skill level of graduating students to plummet, and it would have shown if it wasn't for Harry. To be fair, the ICW had probably planned this to pressure the Wizengamot into giving them more authority over Hogwarts… It was a very bold plan, one that would have been unlikely to work when Dumbledore was still in charge, but considering the constant scandals during the previous few years and the lack of protection that the Archmage of Light gave the school, it was far more plausible than Harry was comfortable with.
Still, while the article was flattering towards Harry, proclaiming him as the hero of the hour, what most people would pay attention to would be the criticism, that Dumbledore was right… He had to say that Rita Skeeter had gotten a lot better at writing…
He could already see it happening on his delegation's faces. And with Daphne being busy with Lily because of their Blood Magic lessons, Harry decided to just eat elsewhere. He decided to do it near the lake. For some reason, it seemed to relax him.
He probably stayed in the shade of a tree near the lake for an hour, simply enjoying the sounds of nature… He would miss this place when they left. It had grown on him, and the extra classes were interesting.
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, "So, this is where the dashing hero went…"
Harry turned and saw Fleur Delacour smiling at him. He hadn't spoken to her properly since the World Cup. They were both too busy with their roles as champions, but the Veela being chosen meant that she was officially part of the Beauxbatons' delegation, so they would have time to socialize properly.
He gave her a smirk, "I don't know about the hero bit, but I'd like to think I was dashing enough during my performance…"
"I bought an Omniocular of the event. It was certainly impressive…"
"Not that much if you look at the spells I used. I'll admit that coming up with a rune matrix on the fly is unusual, but outside of that fact, every spell I used could have been performed easily by the average wizard. I just used them tactically."
The Veela gave him a cheeky grin, "Oh, and you're humble, too…"
"No, I get what I did was impressive, but it's not like I did something extraordinary. People are really blowing this out of proportion…"
"At least you got Flamel's Diary," the blonde consoled.
Harry supressed the urge to grin at that, and instead forced a frown on his face, "No, I didn't. I ended up giving it to Dumbledore after the award ceremony."
"I thought the two of you didn't get along…" the Veela asked with a hesitant tone.
"Let's just say he made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
And just like that, Harry's revenge on Dumbledore started… The rumours would start flying around about the former headmaster scamming him and forcing him to give up his hard-won prize. The most beautiful thing was that the Diary Dumbledore took was a fake. Harry had replaced it while doing his best to replicate the magic on it using his Arcane Hearing. It was barely more than a shell with the same magical signature as Flamel's, but it was nothing more than a normal journal…
He had also snuck in the withering curse that used to be in the resurrection stone and put up a small enchantment to disintegrate the book if someone other than Harry tried to take it.
He was glad that his paranoid actions seemed to have worked… And they did. Dumbledore hadn't come to confront him since that day, but the withering curse must not have worked, or Dumbledore got rid of it somehow…
It would have been a bit of a stretch to think that Dumbledore would die because of a normal curse. To be fair, the man would have been more cautious, especially since he was the one who had killed Flamel and the possibility of the Alchemist making a trap was quite high. Anyway, Harry kept trying out the Alchemy exercises that Flamel put in his journal, and he was grasping the subject surprisingly quickly…
All in all, Harry spent the rest of the day chatting with Fleur near the lake, with the Veela being a surprisingly engaging conversationalist.
Harry was going to miss this place…
After all, he was going to leave Beauxbatons in a few days for the next task of the tournament, in which he had no plans of participating…
Still, when he came back to the metallic dragon just before the sun was about to set, he saw that Lily was waiting for him. He really needed to trust her more, especially after her help. And maybe she could help. She was supposed to be a genius, after all.
Before she could say anything, Harry asked her, "I have a question if you don't mind. What do you think could cause a very large discharge of magic?"
Harry could tell with his enhanced Arcane Hearing that the redhead felt a mixture of excitement and relief, and he knew that he had made a good decision. And it wasn't like she wasn't knowledgeable in the subject considering her understanding of blood magic…
AN: I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure about this chapter. I decided to make it a bit of a filler after the excitement of the previous few ones and leaving myself more time to plan out the next thing. I have a rough outline ready, but I like to divide the content into chapters early on (If you see filler chapters, then that's probably what I'm doing since it's surprisingly time-consuming, but it saves a ton of time when writing the actual chapter…). As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
11 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Harry ate his breakfast with dozens of thoughts swirling in his head. The confrontation with Dumbledore still weighed on his mind. Even if it was technically in a mental plane, it was still the first time Harry had directly fought Dumbledore, and he sort of understood why people tended to be terrified of what the man could do.
Intellectually, he knew that the Archmage of Light was very powerful… But there was some truth in the saying that seeing was believing. No wonder people were scared shitless of the man… He was like a walking nuke, and the sad thing was that he was holding back. Not only was he splitting his concentration between the two worlds whilst maintaining a dreamscape, but he was doing it without anyone figuring out that something unusual was happening. And he was holding back whilst doing that…
The last Potter had escaped the dreamscape just because he distracted him enough with the illusion of his dead sister, a mistake that the former headmaster would not make again. That's not even mentioning the sheer rage on the man's face when Harry woke up from his enchanted sleep. He really had pushed a button there and would have probably died if it wasn't for Lily.
Speaking of Lily, Harry had many conflicting feelings regarding the woman. From all accounts, she was an unstable woman who was easily capable of cruelty if it suited her needs. However, she was also a genius who obviously cared about Harry. He didn't know if that care was genuine or if she was pretending, hoping to achieve something, but he didn't care. The redhead had saved him from Dumbledore without expecting anything else in return… That alone gave her a measure of trust…
Harry wasn't used to being saved by anyone. He had always been on his own and had to deal with his own shit. The only time he remembered anyone truly saving him was when Arcturus opposed Dumbledore to become his guardian, and even then, the Black Patriarch had gained a very talented wizard in his corner.
All in all, he couldn't help but feel slightly more comfortable with Lily's presence, which was also mirrored by the woman. They still had a long way to go, and if Lily betrayed him, he would have seen it coming…
However, the main thing that wouldn't leave his mind was the loud noise when he finished his task. It wasn't anything normal, that was for sure… And Harry could feel that it was important and probably had something to do with Ragnarök and whatever Dumbledore was planning. Still, he had no idea regarding its nature or purpose… He really hated not knowing things.
Harry took a sip of his coffee and sighed in contentment. It truly was the greatest drink that ever existed. Unfortunately, when he looked around, he saw everyone just staring at him with wide eyes. He still hadn't gotten used to this, and it frankly made him uncomfortable.
Still, the stares were more numerous than usual, especially when it came to the rest of the Hogwarts delegation. Harry noticed what they kept looking at and noticed that they kept glancing at the current edition of the Daily Prophet on the table. Huh, he didn't even know that they delivered to foreign countries…
Deciding to just bite the bullet, he grabbed the newspaper and suppressed the urge to groan at the first page.
Britain Victorious in the European School Tournament: A Triumph or a Warning?
By Rita Skeeter
In a stunning display of magical prowess and quick thinking, young Harry Potter, representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, emerged victorious in the first task of the newly inaugurated European School Magical Tournament held at Beauxbatons Academy. The task envisioned as a challenging day-long scavenger hunt, was surprisingly concluded in mere hours thanks to Potter's exceptional performance.
The task began under a clear blue sky, with the scenic grounds of Beauxbatons setting a picturesque stage. Five champions from each participating school were tasked with navigating through a series of complex clues, magical obstacles, and creatures bred specifically for the tournament. The highlight was the inclusion of a Leviathan, a formidable beast controlled by the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) to ensure it posed a challenge without serious risk to the competitors.
However, the expected day-long struggle was cut dramatically short when Potter, the youngest of the champions, not only found the finish line ahead of over a dozen other competitors but also managed to subdue the Leviathan single-handedly—an act of magic that left spectators and fellow competitors alike in awe.
Following his encounter with the Leviathan, Potter did not stop at securing his own victory. Demonstrating leadership and camaraderie, he assisted the remaining Hogwarts champions, ensuring their speedy and safe arrival at the finish line, thereby clinching an overwhelming victory for Britain.
While the crowd erupted in cheers and the celebrations began, not everyone was entirely jubilant. Potter's near dominance in the task has reignited discussions about a long-standing concern voiced by Albus Dumbledore regarding Potter's potential to cause significant upheaval due to his extraordinary magical abilities.
Critics and supporters of Dumbledore alike are now pondering whether the former headmaster's warnings were prescient rather than paranoid. The ease with which Potter handled the task designed to test the mettle of the best young wizards of Europe has led some to question if his capabilities could lead to unforeseen consequences in the magical world.
Professor McGonagall, the current headmistress of Hogwarts, praised Potter's performance as "a testament to his dedication and hard work." Meanwhile, a member of the ICW, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed a mix of admiration and concern, noting, "While Potter's victory is indeed a moment of pride, it is also a moment of reflection for us in the magical community about the kind of power we are nurturing."
As Britain celebrates this early victory in the tournament, the magical world watches keenly. Will Harry Potter continue to be a beacon of triumph, or does his power herald a potential shift in the dynamics of the wizarding world? Only time will tell, but for now, Potter remains the hero of the hour at Beauxbatons.
For more information about the European Tournament, view page 2
For more information about the first task of the tournament, view page 3
For more information about Harry Potter and Dumbledore's accusations of him, view page 4
By Rita Skeeter
In a stunning display of magical prowess and quick thinking, young Harry Potter, representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, emerged victorious in the first task of the newly inaugurated European School Magical Tournament held at Beauxbatons Academy. The task envisioned as a challenging day-long scavenger hunt, was surprisingly concluded in mere hours thanks to Potter's exceptional performance.
The task began under a clear blue sky, with the scenic grounds of Beauxbatons setting a picturesque stage. Five champions from each participating school were tasked with navigating through a series of complex clues, magical obstacles, and creatures bred specifically for the tournament. The highlight was the inclusion of a Leviathan, a formidable beast controlled by the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) to ensure it posed a challenge without serious risk to the competitors.
However, the expected day-long struggle was cut dramatically short when Potter, the youngest of the champions, not only found the finish line ahead of over a dozen other competitors but also managed to subdue the Leviathan single-handedly—an act of magic that left spectators and fellow competitors alike in awe.
Following his encounter with the Leviathan, Potter did not stop at securing his own victory. Demonstrating leadership and camaraderie, he assisted the remaining Hogwarts champions, ensuring their speedy and safe arrival at the finish line, thereby clinching an overwhelming victory for Britain.
While the crowd erupted in cheers and the celebrations began, not everyone was entirely jubilant. Potter's near dominance in the task has reignited discussions about a long-standing concern voiced by Albus Dumbledore regarding Potter's potential to cause significant upheaval due to his extraordinary magical abilities.
Critics and supporters of Dumbledore alike are now pondering whether the former headmaster's warnings were prescient rather than paranoid. The ease with which Potter handled the task designed to test the mettle of the best young wizards of Europe has led some to question if his capabilities could lead to unforeseen consequences in the magical world.
Professor McGonagall, the current headmistress of Hogwarts, praised Potter's performance as "a testament to his dedication and hard work." Meanwhile, a member of the ICW, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed a mix of admiration and concern, noting, "While Potter's victory is indeed a moment of pride, it is also a moment of reflection for us in the magical community about the kind of power we are nurturing."
As Britain celebrates this early victory in the tournament, the magical world watches keenly. Will Harry Potter continue to be a beacon of triumph, or does his power herald a potential shift in the dynamics of the wizarding world? Only time will tell, but for now, Potter remains the hero of the hour at Beauxbatons.
For more information about the European Tournament, view page 2
For more information about the first task of the tournament, view page 3
For more information about Harry Potter and Dumbledore's accusations of him, view page 4
Harry couldn't suppress a groan at the article. It was about what he expected, really. It was a bunch of nationalism, mixed in with ICW propaganda, with a sprinkle of their agenda. For example, they downplayed the Leviathan attacking Harry as something that was supposed to happen, and that it wasn't trying to stop him from finishing the task too early. There was also the casual mention of Albus Dumbledore, giving his opinion more credibility than he deserved due to his long list of crimes that no one dared try to prosecute.
To be perfectly fair, it was hard trying to accuse Albus Dumbledore of a crime, and it was downright impossible to even arrest him. Honestly, if he had asked anyone in Britain if they would have called for Voldemort's arrest for casting an Unforgivable Curse, then they would have looked at him like he was insane. No one would have ever dared because of how powerful he was.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore could probably make the fake Dark Lord look like a child throwing a tantrum. Yet, for some reason, the common public treated him like he was just a regular person… People in power knew, of course… The only reason why Dumbledore was expelled as headmaster in Britain was because of the public's outrage, and their belief that the Archmage of Light wouldn't try to take revenge.
This article was clever enough not to mention that the Hogwarts champions would have likely lost, and very badly at that, without Harry's intervention. Dumbledore's time as a headmaster had caused the skill level of graduating students to plummet, and it would have shown if it wasn't for Harry. To be fair, the ICW had probably planned this to pressure the Wizengamot into giving them more authority over Hogwarts… It was a very bold plan, one that would have been unlikely to work when Dumbledore was still in charge, but considering the constant scandals during the previous few years and the lack of protection that the Archmage of Light gave the school, it was far more plausible than Harry was comfortable with.
Still, while the article was flattering towards Harry, proclaiming him as the hero of the hour, what most people would pay attention to would be the criticism, that Dumbledore was right… He had to say that Rita Skeeter had gotten a lot better at writing…
He could already see it happening on his delegation's faces. And with Daphne being busy with Lily because of their Blood Magic lessons, Harry decided to just eat elsewhere. He decided to do it near the lake. For some reason, it seemed to relax him.
He probably stayed in the shade of a tree near the lake for an hour, simply enjoying the sounds of nature… He would miss this place when they left. It had grown on him, and the extra classes were interesting.
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, "So, this is where the dashing hero went…"
Harry turned and saw Fleur Delacour smiling at him. He hadn't spoken to her properly since the World Cup. They were both too busy with their roles as champions, but the Veela being chosen meant that she was officially part of the Beauxbatons' delegation, so they would have time to socialize properly.
He gave her a smirk, "I don't know about the hero bit, but I'd like to think I was dashing enough during my performance…"
"I bought an Omniocular of the event. It was certainly impressive…"
"Not that much if you look at the spells I used. I'll admit that coming up with a rune matrix on the fly is unusual, but outside of that fact, every spell I used could have been performed easily by the average wizard. I just used them tactically."
The Veela gave him a cheeky grin, "Oh, and you're humble, too…"
"No, I get what I did was impressive, but it's not like I did something extraordinary. People are really blowing this out of proportion…"
"At least you got Flamel's Diary," the blonde consoled.
Harry supressed the urge to grin at that, and instead forced a frown on his face, "No, I didn't. I ended up giving it to Dumbledore after the award ceremony."
"I thought the two of you didn't get along…" the Veela asked with a hesitant tone.
"Let's just say he made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
And just like that, Harry's revenge on Dumbledore started… The rumours would start flying around about the former headmaster scamming him and forcing him to give up his hard-won prize. The most beautiful thing was that the Diary Dumbledore took was a fake. Harry had replaced it while doing his best to replicate the magic on it using his Arcane Hearing. It was barely more than a shell with the same magical signature as Flamel's, but it was nothing more than a normal journal…
He had also snuck in the withering curse that used to be in the resurrection stone and put up a small enchantment to disintegrate the book if someone other than Harry tried to take it.
He was glad that his paranoid actions seemed to have worked… And they did. Dumbledore hadn't come to confront him since that day, but the withering curse must not have worked, or Dumbledore got rid of it somehow…
It would have been a bit of a stretch to think that Dumbledore would die because of a normal curse. To be fair, the man would have been more cautious, especially since he was the one who had killed Flamel and the possibility of the Alchemist making a trap was quite high. Anyway, Harry kept trying out the Alchemy exercises that Flamel put in his journal, and he was grasping the subject surprisingly quickly…
All in all, Harry spent the rest of the day chatting with Fleur near the lake, with the Veela being a surprisingly engaging conversationalist.
Harry was going to miss this place…
After all, he was going to leave Beauxbatons in a few days for the next task of the tournament, in which he had no plans of participating…
Still, when he came back to the metallic dragon just before the sun was about to set, he saw that Lily was waiting for him. He really needed to trust her more, especially after her help. And maybe she could help. She was supposed to be a genius, after all.
Before she could say anything, Harry asked her, "I have a question if you don't mind. What do you think could cause a very large discharge of magic?"
Harry could tell with his enhanced Arcane Hearing that the redhead felt a mixture of excitement and relief, and he knew that he had made a good decision. And it wasn't like she wasn't knowledgeable in the subject considering her understanding of blood magic…
AN: I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure about this chapter. I decided to make it a bit of a filler after the excitement of the previous few ones and leaving myself more time to plan out the next thing. I have a rough outline ready, but I like to divide the content into chapters early on (If you see filler chapters, then that's probably what I'm doing since it's surprisingly time-consuming, but it saves a ton of time when writing the actual chapter…). As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
Chapter 273: Bright Vines
Chapter 273: Bright Vines
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
11 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Albus Dumbledore sat in the office that Madame Maxime had provided him with, and wished that she would have allowed him to take it with him… It was far more luxurious than he expected the headmistress to give him, especially considering his scandal when he was still Hogwarts' headmaster. The half-giantess did not like the idea of someone hurting students on school grounds, and he felt her respect for him plummet after what had happened, even if he was doing it for the greater good of magical Britain.
Well, not really, he didn't necessarily need to trap the boy in the Gardens of Avalon; he could have used anyone else. However, a younger child had far more potential for growth to maximize the spell, and frankly, he could be petty. The idea that the Potter boy, the brat who had done so much to damage his plans, would end up powering his ritual, did appeal to him. It was a shame that everything had gone to shit afterwards…
Anyway, with his plans in Britain becoming a lost cause, he still had some considerable influence in the ICW. He hadn't planned on using it so much if it wasn't for Gellert showing him the truth about Ragnarök.
They had both tried to circumvent the prophecy, but it was just too fundamental… No wonder it did not break at Camlann… The release of magic alone could wipe out humanity at the very least and that wasn't even to mention the possible chaotic outcomes that could be caused by such a release. The conclusion was very evident… Ragnarök had to happen, but that didn't mean that the world would have to end with it.
And so, he and Gellert hatched a plan to minimise the inevitable damage that their final conflict would cause, which brought Albus to this beautiful office…
He would miss it…
Unfortunately, with the first task being effectively over, he was going to leave with the rest of the delegations to Italy for the second task. He had achieved his main purpose; the first seal was broken, but he had eyes on more than just that. To say that Nicholas Flamel's diary being used as a prize was a surprise would be a massive understatement. Albus could see Perenelle's fingerprints all over it and that terrified him. Frankly, that woman was the greater threat between the two Flamels, even if she tended to be unconcerned with 'mortal affairs'.
It also gave him an opportunity. Perhaps Nicholas had shared where he hid the philosopher's stone in his journal – and it was the genuine article; he had checked. He had tried to take the book, but Nicholas' damn Alchemical Ownership Enchantments had stopped this… It was annoying that even after so long, the man still managed to stomp him.
And it was at a time when he really needed the stone… The fragment of Light, that Nicholas had accidentally used when creating the stone, would give him an edge during the inevitable confrontation with Grindelwald. They might be allied at the moment, hoping to limit the damage of Ragnarök, but they did not forget that they would end up fighting one another. Albus needed to win that confrontation. The Light could not be allowed to be defeated, and the stone would be a great trump card to have. If only Nicholas had just given it to him; as the Champion of Light, he was its rightful owner, after all.
Thankfully, the answer to this little problem was very simple; he only had to buy it from whoever won it. Most people would happily accept his generous offers, except for the Potter boy, of course. After all, the knowledge inside this book could be dangerous for him and the rest of the world, especially in the hands of someone antagonistic towards him like the Potter brat. Albus had tried to rig the game against him by using a small compulsion on the tournament organizers, but they had gone overboard, and somehow made the boy look even better.
Which ended up with him resorting to more desperate measures, by forcing the boy to bring back the diary for the award ceremony and using a dreamscape attack to put him to sleep. They battled there, and the boy was certainly very impressive, going so far as to trick Dumbledore into lowering his guard using illusions of his dead sister. The former headmaster had frozen in both the material and dream worlds, feeling overcome by rage at the thought.
The day had gotten worse with Lily Potter being alive, somehow, and the journal turning to ash before he could read anything. That last one was the final nail in the coffin. The diary was the genuine article; Albus could recognize Nicholas' work anywhere, and now it was gone, and it was such a stupid mistake.
Albus had sensed a curse when he took the diary. He analysed it before trying to open the book, of course. He wasn't stupid enough to touch an object without knowing what enchantments it held. It was a pretty nasty withering curse… He thought that it might have been the work of the boy, a vicious way to stop thieves from stealing it, and dispelled it. Somehow, that triggered a failsafe that destroyed the entire thing in less than a second, and with it, the chance of finding the Philosopher's Stone.
Oh, he was tempted to just rage and destroy everything around him, but he controlled himself. The main plan was still in motion, and he had a role to play. Getting caught up in another scandal would complicate things immensely, something that he didn't need at all.
It really wasn't fair. He had done everything right. He had gotten one over the Potter brat and everything, and yet he got nothing in return?
Releasing a deep sigh, Albus calmed himself. He wouldn't let his temper get control of him… Perhaps the Potter boy knew something about the stone. Yes, that could work… It was rash, but it was the best plan he had…
Of course, the moment this thought crossed his mind, he felt someone sneaking into his room. It was a very familiar presence, "Hello, Lily Potter. I believe we are due a very important chat."
"Albus Dumbledore… I would have called you Headmaster, but I'm not a student anymore, and you're not a headmaster either…"
Albus suppressed the urge to chuckle. The redhead always had a sharp tongue, "Now, now… There's no need to be rude. Especially considering the fact that you survived the attack on Godric's Hollow… Although I am curious about how you achieved this feat."
"Luck, I suppose. Or the power of love…"
The former headmaster could hear the mockery in her tone, "Now, what did I say about being rude…"
"I'm allowed to be rude. You arranged for the attack on Godric's Hollow, tried to force my son into becoming one of your sycophants, then when you failed, you publicly painted him as a future dark lord, and then tried to kill him by forcing him to live a lifetime of torment in the Gardens of Avalon. Frankly, the fact that I haven't tried to kill you yet is me showing as much restraint as I can… So, don't you dare criticize me for being rude?"
Well, when she worded it like this, it did sound very wrong. Oh, Albus had a reason for every single action he had taken, and the Potter brat had caused him more than enough trouble in return… However, Lily Potter was not exaggerating. She was genuinely furious and wasn't that an odd sight?
"Oh, how unexpected… Who would have thought that you could be so sentimental? Has the boy finally melted the infamous Red Witch's heart, when even her husband couldn't? I am glad, truly, that you're finally starting to connect with someone else, to finally care about someone other than yourself."
And of course, that was another vulnerability against the Red Witch, who returned his comment with a sneer, "The boy is necessary for my plans… You will not touch him until he has played his part."
That sounded pretty ominous, to say the least, "And would you care to enlighten me about these plans?"
"No," the redhead simply returned.
"Then why should I follow along with your request, especially considering that he has information that I don't need spread out."
"About the Philosopher's Stone?"
She smirked at Albus' guarded look, "Oh, don't be alarmed, the boy simply trusts me. Who knew that the infamous stone was made accidentally with the essence of a Light Champion killed in a ritual? It was a fascinating read. I put a small charm on the boy which would record everything he saw when he won the diary. It was just too good an opportunity to miss. Unfortunately for you, there was nothing in Flamel's Diary about the location of the stone, at least nothing that the boy has read, so don't be worried about him trying to find it… And since you took the Diary from him, there isn't any risk of him ever finding out. The kid was bluffing, and the fact that you fell for it is hilarious, to say the least."
Albus frowned… He needed to confirm this statement, and the Light seemed to agree as well, eager to become whole once more. He channelled the Light's power, his eyes glowing white, "Do you swear that this was the truth?"
He caught the panicked expression on the redhead's face which quickly smoothed back to her impassive one after a fraction of a second, "I do."
Albus' truth sight confirmed it, and he stopped channelling the Light, "As much as this might be true, the boy does know too much and has been a nuisance many times…"
The redhead gave him a dangerous look, "Let me put it in a way that you would understand. You will stay away from Harry Potter, or I'll dedicate every moment of my life to ruining every single one of your plans. I will burn everything you fight for, even the world itself just to make you pay…"
"What makes you think I have a plan?"
"You're Albus Dumbledore, you always have a plan, and the magic discharge during the task is proof of that. Let me guess, a broken seal… Seven tasks, seven schools, seven seals… How close am I?"
The former headmaster grimaced; Lily was always too smart for her own good, "Then you know what's at stake, the world needs…"
The redhead interrupted him, "The world could burn for all I care. You might be an Archmage of Light, but you know perfectly well how dangerous I could be when I'm dedicated, the damage I could cause to anyone's cause. You know the stories, you know who I am, what I'm capable of… It took members of your precious Order, the department of Mysteries, Voldemort's top lieutenants, and a small army of mercenaries to ambush me and my child, to even stop me, and even then, I was the one who won. Do you think you can make that happen again, especially when I'm prepared for a fight?"
Albus Dumbledore summoned the Light once more and released his presence, "And what would stop me from killing you now and taking care of your son later?"
"Then it would be such a shame to see your tournament go on without any champions left to fight in it… What a shame it would be if giant explosions of Light were activated in France's premiere magical school, killing every school's delegation, headmaster, and a lot of Europe's most influential wizards and witches. You'd survive, probably, but everyone would blame you… This would have made the scandal in Hogwarts look like a small mishap… How would your plan proceed if the tournament is cancelled, and you're hunted down all over Europe with a passion? Now, look me very closely in the eyes, Albus Dumbledore, do I look like I'm bluffing?"
Albus Dumbledore did just that and noticed the madness and sheer will on the woman's face. Yes, she was perfectly capable of this and had the magical knowledge to pull it off. She wasn't bluffing… He released his hold on the Light and sat down. The redhead smirked, "Stay the fuck away from me and my son, Dumbledore!"
She then turned and left the room without saying another word. Yes, if he'd had any reservations, then they were gone. This really was the Red Witch, and she was back. That was another variable, a new piece on the board that he hadn't foreseen.
The plan would need to be adjusted to compensate for it. He had to admit that the thought of her teaming up with the Potter brat was very troublesome…
Yes, very troublesome indeed.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
11 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Albus Dumbledore sat in the office that Madame Maxime had provided him with, and wished that she would have allowed him to take it with him… It was far more luxurious than he expected the headmistress to give him, especially considering his scandal when he was still Hogwarts' headmaster. The half-giantess did not like the idea of someone hurting students on school grounds, and he felt her respect for him plummet after what had happened, even if he was doing it for the greater good of magical Britain.
Well, not really, he didn't necessarily need to trap the boy in the Gardens of Avalon; he could have used anyone else. However, a younger child had far more potential for growth to maximize the spell, and frankly, he could be petty. The idea that the Potter boy, the brat who had done so much to damage his plans, would end up powering his ritual, did appeal to him. It was a shame that everything had gone to shit afterwards…
Anyway, with his plans in Britain becoming a lost cause, he still had some considerable influence in the ICW. He hadn't planned on using it so much if it wasn't for Gellert showing him the truth about Ragnarök.
They had both tried to circumvent the prophecy, but it was just too fundamental… No wonder it did not break at Camlann… The release of magic alone could wipe out humanity at the very least and that wasn't even to mention the possible chaotic outcomes that could be caused by such a release. The conclusion was very evident… Ragnarök had to happen, but that didn't mean that the world would have to end with it.
And so, he and Gellert hatched a plan to minimise the inevitable damage that their final conflict would cause, which brought Albus to this beautiful office…
He would miss it…
Unfortunately, with the first task being effectively over, he was going to leave with the rest of the delegations to Italy for the second task. He had achieved his main purpose; the first seal was broken, but he had eyes on more than just that. To say that Nicholas Flamel's diary being used as a prize was a surprise would be a massive understatement. Albus could see Perenelle's fingerprints all over it and that terrified him. Frankly, that woman was the greater threat between the two Flamels, even if she tended to be unconcerned with 'mortal affairs'.
It also gave him an opportunity. Perhaps Nicholas had shared where he hid the philosopher's stone in his journal – and it was the genuine article; he had checked. He had tried to take the book, but Nicholas' damn Alchemical Ownership Enchantments had stopped this… It was annoying that even after so long, the man still managed to stomp him.
And it was at a time when he really needed the stone… The fragment of Light, that Nicholas had accidentally used when creating the stone, would give him an edge during the inevitable confrontation with Grindelwald. They might be allied at the moment, hoping to limit the damage of Ragnarök, but they did not forget that they would end up fighting one another. Albus needed to win that confrontation. The Light could not be allowed to be defeated, and the stone would be a great trump card to have. If only Nicholas had just given it to him; as the Champion of Light, he was its rightful owner, after all.
Thankfully, the answer to this little problem was very simple; he only had to buy it from whoever won it. Most people would happily accept his generous offers, except for the Potter boy, of course. After all, the knowledge inside this book could be dangerous for him and the rest of the world, especially in the hands of someone antagonistic towards him like the Potter brat. Albus had tried to rig the game against him by using a small compulsion on the tournament organizers, but they had gone overboard, and somehow made the boy look even better.
Which ended up with him resorting to more desperate measures, by forcing the boy to bring back the diary for the award ceremony and using a dreamscape attack to put him to sleep. They battled there, and the boy was certainly very impressive, going so far as to trick Dumbledore into lowering his guard using illusions of his dead sister. The former headmaster had frozen in both the material and dream worlds, feeling overcome by rage at the thought.
The day had gotten worse with Lily Potter being alive, somehow, and the journal turning to ash before he could read anything. That last one was the final nail in the coffin. The diary was the genuine article; Albus could recognize Nicholas' work anywhere, and now it was gone, and it was such a stupid mistake.
Albus had sensed a curse when he took the diary. He analysed it before trying to open the book, of course. He wasn't stupid enough to touch an object without knowing what enchantments it held. It was a pretty nasty withering curse… He thought that it might have been the work of the boy, a vicious way to stop thieves from stealing it, and dispelled it. Somehow, that triggered a failsafe that destroyed the entire thing in less than a second, and with it, the chance of finding the Philosopher's Stone.
Oh, he was tempted to just rage and destroy everything around him, but he controlled himself. The main plan was still in motion, and he had a role to play. Getting caught up in another scandal would complicate things immensely, something that he didn't need at all.
It really wasn't fair. He had done everything right. He had gotten one over the Potter brat and everything, and yet he got nothing in return?
Releasing a deep sigh, Albus calmed himself. He wouldn't let his temper get control of him… Perhaps the Potter boy knew something about the stone. Yes, that could work… It was rash, but it was the best plan he had…
Of course, the moment this thought crossed his mind, he felt someone sneaking into his room. It was a very familiar presence, "Hello, Lily Potter. I believe we are due a very important chat."
"Albus Dumbledore… I would have called you Headmaster, but I'm not a student anymore, and you're not a headmaster either…"
Albus suppressed the urge to chuckle. The redhead always had a sharp tongue, "Now, now… There's no need to be rude. Especially considering the fact that you survived the attack on Godric's Hollow… Although I am curious about how you achieved this feat."
"Luck, I suppose. Or the power of love…"
The former headmaster could hear the mockery in her tone, "Now, what did I say about being rude…"
"I'm allowed to be rude. You arranged for the attack on Godric's Hollow, tried to force my son into becoming one of your sycophants, then when you failed, you publicly painted him as a future dark lord, and then tried to kill him by forcing him to live a lifetime of torment in the Gardens of Avalon. Frankly, the fact that I haven't tried to kill you yet is me showing as much restraint as I can… So, don't you dare criticize me for being rude?"
Well, when she worded it like this, it did sound very wrong. Oh, Albus had a reason for every single action he had taken, and the Potter brat had caused him more than enough trouble in return… However, Lily Potter was not exaggerating. She was genuinely furious and wasn't that an odd sight?
"Oh, how unexpected… Who would have thought that you could be so sentimental? Has the boy finally melted the infamous Red Witch's heart, when even her husband couldn't? I am glad, truly, that you're finally starting to connect with someone else, to finally care about someone other than yourself."
And of course, that was another vulnerability against the Red Witch, who returned his comment with a sneer, "The boy is necessary for my plans… You will not touch him until he has played his part."
That sounded pretty ominous, to say the least, "And would you care to enlighten me about these plans?"
"No," the redhead simply returned.
"Then why should I follow along with your request, especially considering that he has information that I don't need spread out."
"About the Philosopher's Stone?"
She smirked at Albus' guarded look, "Oh, don't be alarmed, the boy simply trusts me. Who knew that the infamous stone was made accidentally with the essence of a Light Champion killed in a ritual? It was a fascinating read. I put a small charm on the boy which would record everything he saw when he won the diary. It was just too good an opportunity to miss. Unfortunately for you, there was nothing in Flamel's Diary about the location of the stone, at least nothing that the boy has read, so don't be worried about him trying to find it… And since you took the Diary from him, there isn't any risk of him ever finding out. The kid was bluffing, and the fact that you fell for it is hilarious, to say the least."
Albus frowned… He needed to confirm this statement, and the Light seemed to agree as well, eager to become whole once more. He channelled the Light's power, his eyes glowing white, "Do you swear that this was the truth?"
He caught the panicked expression on the redhead's face which quickly smoothed back to her impassive one after a fraction of a second, "I do."
Albus' truth sight confirmed it, and he stopped channelling the Light, "As much as this might be true, the boy does know too much and has been a nuisance many times…"
The redhead gave him a dangerous look, "Let me put it in a way that you would understand. You will stay away from Harry Potter, or I'll dedicate every moment of my life to ruining every single one of your plans. I will burn everything you fight for, even the world itself just to make you pay…"
"What makes you think I have a plan?"
"You're Albus Dumbledore, you always have a plan, and the magic discharge during the task is proof of that. Let me guess, a broken seal… Seven tasks, seven schools, seven seals… How close am I?"
The former headmaster grimaced; Lily was always too smart for her own good, "Then you know what's at stake, the world needs…"
The redhead interrupted him, "The world could burn for all I care. You might be an Archmage of Light, but you know perfectly well how dangerous I could be when I'm dedicated, the damage I could cause to anyone's cause. You know the stories, you know who I am, what I'm capable of… It took members of your precious Order, the department of Mysteries, Voldemort's top lieutenants, and a small army of mercenaries to ambush me and my child, to even stop me, and even then, I was the one who won. Do you think you can make that happen again, especially when I'm prepared for a fight?"
Albus Dumbledore summoned the Light once more and released his presence, "And what would stop me from killing you now and taking care of your son later?"
"Then it would be such a shame to see your tournament go on without any champions left to fight in it… What a shame it would be if giant explosions of Light were activated in France's premiere magical school, killing every school's delegation, headmaster, and a lot of Europe's most influential wizards and witches. You'd survive, probably, but everyone would blame you… This would have made the scandal in Hogwarts look like a small mishap… How would your plan proceed if the tournament is cancelled, and you're hunted down all over Europe with a passion? Now, look me very closely in the eyes, Albus Dumbledore, do I look like I'm bluffing?"
Albus Dumbledore did just that and noticed the madness and sheer will on the woman's face. Yes, she was perfectly capable of this and had the magical knowledge to pull it off. She wasn't bluffing… He released his hold on the Light and sat down. The redhead smirked, "Stay the fuck away from me and my son, Dumbledore!"
She then turned and left the room without saying another word. Yes, if he'd had any reservations, then they were gone. This really was the Red Witch, and she was back. That was another variable, a new piece on the board that he hadn't foreseen.
The plan would need to be adjusted to compensate for it. He had to admit that the thought of her teaming up with the Potter brat was very troublesome…
Yes, very troublesome indeed.
Chapter 274: Ave Imperator
Chapter 274: Ave Imperator
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
14 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Cedric Diggory watched as the luxurious Beauxbatons palace slowly became nothing more than a small dot, as the Hogwarts Express, turned dragon, rose higher into the sky. He would miss this place, if only because of the elective classes, which he enjoyed immensely.
To be perfectly honest, Beauxbatons had shown him everything that was lacking when it came to Hogwarts, and the various criticisms against Dumbledore's policies regarding Hogwarts were starting to make sense. It was astounding just how many classes were missing in Hogwarts, and a testament to how screwed they would have been if it wasn't for Potter.
Cedric was, in his not-so-humble opinion, one of the better mages in the school. He was a good dueller; anyone would be after years of membership to Flitwick's Dueling Club. He was a good student, one of the best in his year, and his transfiguration skill impressed even McGonagall.
And he had achieved all of this without a family crest… The Diggory family was a recent one, being founded after the Statute of Secrecy was put in place. Aside from one of their members being the minister around a century and a half ago, they didn't have any noteworthy members, and especially no researchers.
Cedric had put everything he had into proving to the world that one did not need a family crest to become a great mage… That was a piece of conviction that had stayed with him for years and he decided to prove to everyone that it was true.
He worked as much as he could to surpass his classmates, becoming one of the more recognized students in Hogwarts… And yet, for all his hard work, he knew, deep down, that if it wasn't for Potter, he would have lost the first task of the tournament.
Cedric was the biggest fish in a pond, and now he found himself in an ocean. The Durmstrang students were better at duelling than him, the Beauxbatons students had a better grasp of delicate magics, the Spanish had more knowledge of curses and counter-curses than him, and the Nebelheim students had a grasp of runes that eluded him. The Italian students were better fighters, and that's not even mentioning the Greeks and their bullshit elemental magic.
He had been angry when Potter bailed on them and handed them the win for the first task… Cedric had tried to hide it as best he could, but he was seething in anger and jealousy. That was until he saw the replays of the task.
Instead of focusing on the Leviathan bullshit, and Potter's frankly insane fighting prowess, Cedric decided to look at his enemies' capabilities. The conclusion was evident. There was no way in hell they would have won without some kind of divine intervention.
Seriously, how the hell was he supposed to fight someone who could keep flinging lightning and darkness? Cedric thought that he would have had a good chance at winning on his own because of the fight near the end. After all, he and his comrades had ended up victorious against the Spanish, French, and Greek Champions… Of course, at the time, he didn't know about Potter's trap that took out the Spanish for them.
Without Potter taking care of half the champions on his own, they wouldn't have even had a chance at winning… Cedric could hold his own against one of them, maybe, but his teammates couldn't have.
Davies was an unreliable coward who no one with a functioning brain would count on in a fight. Angelina was a good Quidditch player and an adequate dueller, but she would have been taken out in less than a minute against a competent opponent. Lucien Bole was a surprisingly good dueller… Cedric didn't know what happened in the Slytherin common room, but apparently, Bole was some kind of enforcer or something…
Anyway, none of them would have won a fair fight against any of the other teams… If Potter hadn't been there, then they would have probably ended up embarrassing themselves.
Cedric had never really spoken to the boy aside from a few greetings. It didn't matter, though, Potter was infamous enough in school. Even before his monstrous talent was revealed, he was still known as the sole survivor of the fire of Godric's Hollow. An entire village had died, yet the boy, who was at the epicentre, had somehow survived, without so much as a scratch on him.
People hated him, some even blamed him for the attack. It was all mostly just envy and grief at the deaths of their families. Almost everyone had a relative living in the village, and it was a shock to see it destroyed, with all the residents perishing, especially after the celebration of the Dark Lord's destruction.
However, for all that the fire should have haunted the boy, it was probably the way he handled the boy who lived that set him apart from the other students. He seemed to not care, for the lack of a better world. People either worshipped Longbottom or hated him, but Potter just barely paid him any attention… Something that obviously grated on Longbottom's nerves.
Anyway, it was probably the humiliation of the Hogwarts tournament that really put the spotlight on Potter, especially after winning the first task while doing nothing. Seriously, the boy went out of his way to win the tasks with as little effort as possible, even tricking Cedric in both the first and second tasks…
The Hufflepuff didn't have it in him to resent the boy for that, especially considering the enmity he seemed to have with Dumbledore and the former headmaster's attempt at killing the boy…
Cedric knew deep down that Potter was the only thing holding Hogwarts together. His father, Amos, had told him all about the ICW's power plays and the fact that they wanted to use the tournament as a pretence to gain control over Hogwarts, and, more importantly, access to its library, which happened to be the biggest repository of magic in Europe.
Hogwarts, and more importantly, Britain, had shown the world that they could hold their own in a fight, but Cedric couldn't help but feel bitter about how Potter was solely responsible for that happening.
Because again he knew, deep down, that they would have lost horrendously if he hadn't wanted that Diary… It just felt wrong to have the fate of a country beholden to the whims of a single person.
Speaking of the last Potter, the boy was sitting on the other side of the compartment, reading an old book… The Greengrass scion was sitting next to him, reading a tome of her own. They honestly looked like those old married couple that were just comfortable staying silent.
It was odd that the two weren't a couple…
The headmistress had asked them all to just spend more time together during the trip. Apparently, she hadn't liked the fact that they had all sat in different compartments…
Honestly, all this caused was an awkward silence and blatant staring at Potter. Deciding to break the ice, Cedric spoke up, "So, Potter, is that Flamel's infamous diary? I thought they said that they couldn't open it…"
It wouldn't have been surprising if he could open it. Frankly, that boy was pretty much bullshit…
Thankfully, the young Slytherin answered with a neutral tone, "No. I was able to copy a nice chunk of the Beauxbatons library in the last couple of weeks. This is a book about advanced enchanting that I've been putting off reading."
"Wait, you're allowed to just copy a library?" Angelina Johnson exclaimed.
"There are no rules about it, so there shouldn't be any trouble," the boy calmly replied.
"What about the anti-replication wards?" Cho Chang, a particularly cute fifth-year student, asked.
The last Potter tilted his head, "What about them? I came up with a spell that bypassed them when I was in my first year, but it was kinda slow. I was able to streamline it a bit since then."
That simple reply just stunned them into silence. Seriously, spell creation as a first-year… What the actual fuck!
Unfortunately, Roger Davies was the one who ruined the mood, "So, where's Flamel's Diary? Were you not able to open it or something?"
"No, I just sold it."
"To whom?" Cedric asked, feeling surprised.
It might have been a trick of the light, but Cedric saw the boy's lips turn into an almost imperceptible smile for a fraction of a second, "Dumbledore. He really wanted a memento of his mentor, and he made me an offer that I just couldn't refuse…"
Well, that sounded bad. Everyone knew about the fact that Dumbledore and Potter hated each other with a passion. Did the former headmaster threaten him or something?
Deciding to change the subject, Cedric spoke up, "So, are you excited for the second task?"
The boy just shook his head, "Not really. I'm not interested in competing unless there's a worthwhile prize to claim…"
That froze the entire room, "YOU'RE NOT COMPETING!"
"There's no need to shout… And yes, I am not going to participate in the task. Although, it might be interesting to see other people competing. Now that I think about it, I have pretty much competed in every school competition so far…"
"You can't not compete!" Cho Chang protested.
"I'm pretty sure I only have to participate in one task… So, considering I just won the previous one, I believe I've done my part. Also, I don't think it would look good for the school if I just kept winning every task. The tournament would be kinda ruined, and I'd anger a lot of people…"
The Weasley Twins, who had been silent during the trip, were cackling in amusement at the boy's statement, "You're right, Potter. Leave some glory for the rest of us, huh."
"Stop encouraging him, you idiots," Angelina Johnson exclaimed.
And so, the room devolved into an animated debate on whether or not Potter should compete. The boy himself didn't seem to care one bit and just went back to reading. However, this little conversation just made Cedric rethink things.
It was completely within Potter's rights to decide against competing. No one could really force him to do anything as long as he didn't break any rules, and he hadn't. But, that also meant that Hogwarts' safety net was gone.
His thoughts were interrupted by the metallic dragon finally flying underneath the clouds, letting him take his first glimpse of the Accademia Arcana Italia.
The campus spread out impressively, with the organized feel of a Roman legion's camp. Tall walls of dark stone, worn smooth by time, were topped with battlements decked out with statues of mythical warriors and creatures, each one intricately detailed. Right in the centre, there was this huge building that looked like an ancient Roman basilica. It was really imposing. The giant bronze doors were engraved with epic tales of magical battles and triumphs, catching the early morning light and making the whole place shine with a warm, golden glow. On each side of this main building, there were symmetrical towers with sharp angles and lookout spots, all set up more for defence than for study. All in all, this felt more like a military base than a school, although considering the academy's reputation, that was not really surprising.
As he watched the splendour of the school before him, Cedric couldn't help but dread the fact that Potter was not going to compete. As much as he would have liked to deny it, the school needed him.
However, if the Potter scion wouldn't help them, they would have to settle for Cedric… As much as the idea was daunting, Hogwarts needed a hero, and outside of Potter, there was no better candidate.
He didn't even know what the task would be. Apparently, it would be announced during the welcome feast. But, whatever it was, Cedric would have to train and learn as much as he could. He would win the second task. For his school. For himself…
He would rise to the occasion, for his school, for his own sense of pride… and perhaps, to silence the doubts that haunted him.
AN: So, the second task is finally on the horizon... As usual please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
14 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
Cedric Diggory watched as the luxurious Beauxbatons palace slowly became nothing more than a small dot, as the Hogwarts Express, turned dragon, rose higher into the sky. He would miss this place, if only because of the elective classes, which he enjoyed immensely.
To be perfectly honest, Beauxbatons had shown him everything that was lacking when it came to Hogwarts, and the various criticisms against Dumbledore's policies regarding Hogwarts were starting to make sense. It was astounding just how many classes were missing in Hogwarts, and a testament to how screwed they would have been if it wasn't for Potter.
Cedric was, in his not-so-humble opinion, one of the better mages in the school. He was a good dueller; anyone would be after years of membership to Flitwick's Dueling Club. He was a good student, one of the best in his year, and his transfiguration skill impressed even McGonagall.
And he had achieved all of this without a family crest… The Diggory family was a recent one, being founded after the Statute of Secrecy was put in place. Aside from one of their members being the minister around a century and a half ago, they didn't have any noteworthy members, and especially no researchers.
Cedric had put everything he had into proving to the world that one did not need a family crest to become a great mage… That was a piece of conviction that had stayed with him for years and he decided to prove to everyone that it was true.
He worked as much as he could to surpass his classmates, becoming one of the more recognized students in Hogwarts… And yet, for all his hard work, he knew, deep down, that if it wasn't for Potter, he would have lost the first task of the tournament.
Cedric was the biggest fish in a pond, and now he found himself in an ocean. The Durmstrang students were better at duelling than him, the Beauxbatons students had a better grasp of delicate magics, the Spanish had more knowledge of curses and counter-curses than him, and the Nebelheim students had a grasp of runes that eluded him. The Italian students were better fighters, and that's not even mentioning the Greeks and their bullshit elemental magic.
He had been angry when Potter bailed on them and handed them the win for the first task… Cedric had tried to hide it as best he could, but he was seething in anger and jealousy. That was until he saw the replays of the task.
Instead of focusing on the Leviathan bullshit, and Potter's frankly insane fighting prowess, Cedric decided to look at his enemies' capabilities. The conclusion was evident. There was no way in hell they would have won without some kind of divine intervention.
Seriously, how the hell was he supposed to fight someone who could keep flinging lightning and darkness? Cedric thought that he would have had a good chance at winning on his own because of the fight near the end. After all, he and his comrades had ended up victorious against the Spanish, French, and Greek Champions… Of course, at the time, he didn't know about Potter's trap that took out the Spanish for them.
Without Potter taking care of half the champions on his own, they wouldn't have even had a chance at winning… Cedric could hold his own against one of them, maybe, but his teammates couldn't have.
Davies was an unreliable coward who no one with a functioning brain would count on in a fight. Angelina was a good Quidditch player and an adequate dueller, but she would have been taken out in less than a minute against a competent opponent. Lucien Bole was a surprisingly good dueller… Cedric didn't know what happened in the Slytherin common room, but apparently, Bole was some kind of enforcer or something…
Anyway, none of them would have won a fair fight against any of the other teams… If Potter hadn't been there, then they would have probably ended up embarrassing themselves.
Cedric had never really spoken to the boy aside from a few greetings. It didn't matter, though, Potter was infamous enough in school. Even before his monstrous talent was revealed, he was still known as the sole survivor of the fire of Godric's Hollow. An entire village had died, yet the boy, who was at the epicentre, had somehow survived, without so much as a scratch on him.
People hated him, some even blamed him for the attack. It was all mostly just envy and grief at the deaths of their families. Almost everyone had a relative living in the village, and it was a shock to see it destroyed, with all the residents perishing, especially after the celebration of the Dark Lord's destruction.
However, for all that the fire should have haunted the boy, it was probably the way he handled the boy who lived that set him apart from the other students. He seemed to not care, for the lack of a better world. People either worshipped Longbottom or hated him, but Potter just barely paid him any attention… Something that obviously grated on Longbottom's nerves.
Anyway, it was probably the humiliation of the Hogwarts tournament that really put the spotlight on Potter, especially after winning the first task while doing nothing. Seriously, the boy went out of his way to win the tasks with as little effort as possible, even tricking Cedric in both the first and second tasks…
The Hufflepuff didn't have it in him to resent the boy for that, especially considering the enmity he seemed to have with Dumbledore and the former headmaster's attempt at killing the boy…
Cedric knew deep down that Potter was the only thing holding Hogwarts together. His father, Amos, had told him all about the ICW's power plays and the fact that they wanted to use the tournament as a pretence to gain control over Hogwarts, and, more importantly, access to its library, which happened to be the biggest repository of magic in Europe.
Hogwarts, and more importantly, Britain, had shown the world that they could hold their own in a fight, but Cedric couldn't help but feel bitter about how Potter was solely responsible for that happening.
Because again he knew, deep down, that they would have lost horrendously if he hadn't wanted that Diary… It just felt wrong to have the fate of a country beholden to the whims of a single person.
Speaking of the last Potter, the boy was sitting on the other side of the compartment, reading an old book… The Greengrass scion was sitting next to him, reading a tome of her own. They honestly looked like those old married couple that were just comfortable staying silent.
It was odd that the two weren't a couple…
The headmistress had asked them all to just spend more time together during the trip. Apparently, she hadn't liked the fact that they had all sat in different compartments…
Honestly, all this caused was an awkward silence and blatant staring at Potter. Deciding to break the ice, Cedric spoke up, "So, Potter, is that Flamel's infamous diary? I thought they said that they couldn't open it…"
It wouldn't have been surprising if he could open it. Frankly, that boy was pretty much bullshit…
Thankfully, the young Slytherin answered with a neutral tone, "No. I was able to copy a nice chunk of the Beauxbatons library in the last couple of weeks. This is a book about advanced enchanting that I've been putting off reading."
"Wait, you're allowed to just copy a library?" Angelina Johnson exclaimed.
"There are no rules about it, so there shouldn't be any trouble," the boy calmly replied.
"What about the anti-replication wards?" Cho Chang, a particularly cute fifth-year student, asked.
The last Potter tilted his head, "What about them? I came up with a spell that bypassed them when I was in my first year, but it was kinda slow. I was able to streamline it a bit since then."
That simple reply just stunned them into silence. Seriously, spell creation as a first-year… What the actual fuck!
Unfortunately, Roger Davies was the one who ruined the mood, "So, where's Flamel's Diary? Were you not able to open it or something?"
"No, I just sold it."
"To whom?" Cedric asked, feeling surprised.
It might have been a trick of the light, but Cedric saw the boy's lips turn into an almost imperceptible smile for a fraction of a second, "Dumbledore. He really wanted a memento of his mentor, and he made me an offer that I just couldn't refuse…"
Well, that sounded bad. Everyone knew about the fact that Dumbledore and Potter hated each other with a passion. Did the former headmaster threaten him or something?
Deciding to change the subject, Cedric spoke up, "So, are you excited for the second task?"
The boy just shook his head, "Not really. I'm not interested in competing unless there's a worthwhile prize to claim…"
That froze the entire room, "YOU'RE NOT COMPETING!"
"There's no need to shout… And yes, I am not going to participate in the task. Although, it might be interesting to see other people competing. Now that I think about it, I have pretty much competed in every school competition so far…"
"You can't not compete!" Cho Chang protested.
"I'm pretty sure I only have to participate in one task… So, considering I just won the previous one, I believe I've done my part. Also, I don't think it would look good for the school if I just kept winning every task. The tournament would be kinda ruined, and I'd anger a lot of people…"
The Weasley Twins, who had been silent during the trip, were cackling in amusement at the boy's statement, "You're right, Potter. Leave some glory for the rest of us, huh."
"Stop encouraging him, you idiots," Angelina Johnson exclaimed.
And so, the room devolved into an animated debate on whether or not Potter should compete. The boy himself didn't seem to care one bit and just went back to reading. However, this little conversation just made Cedric rethink things.
It was completely within Potter's rights to decide against competing. No one could really force him to do anything as long as he didn't break any rules, and he hadn't. But, that also meant that Hogwarts' safety net was gone.
His thoughts were interrupted by the metallic dragon finally flying underneath the clouds, letting him take his first glimpse of the Accademia Arcana Italia.
The campus spread out impressively, with the organized feel of a Roman legion's camp. Tall walls of dark stone, worn smooth by time, were topped with battlements decked out with statues of mythical warriors and creatures, each one intricately detailed. Right in the centre, there was this huge building that looked like an ancient Roman basilica. It was really imposing. The giant bronze doors were engraved with epic tales of magical battles and triumphs, catching the early morning light and making the whole place shine with a warm, golden glow. On each side of this main building, there were symmetrical towers with sharp angles and lookout spots, all set up more for defence than for study. All in all, this felt more like a military base than a school, although considering the academy's reputation, that was not really surprising.
As he watched the splendour of the school before him, Cedric couldn't help but dread the fact that Potter was not going to compete. As much as he would have liked to deny it, the school needed him.
However, if the Potter scion wouldn't help them, they would have to settle for Cedric… As much as the idea was daunting, Hogwarts needed a hero, and outside of Potter, there was no better candidate.
He didn't even know what the task would be. Apparently, it would be announced during the welcome feast. But, whatever it was, Cedric would have to train and learn as much as he could. He would win the second task. For his school. For himself…
He would rise to the occasion, for his school, for his own sense of pride… and perhaps, to silence the doubts that haunted him.
AN: So, the second task is finally on the horizon... As usual please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.