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Harry Potter and the Silent Guardian : Ch. 229
🕑 Added 2024-09-12 19:59:10 +0000 UTCChapter 229: "The Goblet of Fire"
"The moment has come," Dumbledore announced, his eyes twinkling as he surveyed the sea of expectant faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. Before we bring in the casket, allow me to explain the procedure for this year."
He introduced Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Bagman, perhaps due to his fame as a Beater or his more affable appearance, received notably louder applause.
Dumbledore continued, "Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly on the tournament arrangements. They will join myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime in judging the champions' efforts."
At the mention of "champions," the Hall grew even quieter if that were possible. Dumbledore, noting the heightened attention, smiled and called for Mr. Filch to bring in the casket.
Filch approached, carrying an ancient, jewel-encrusted wooden chest. As he placed it before Dumbledore, excited whispers rippled through the Hall.
"The champions will face three tasks throughout the year," Dumbledore explained, "testing their magical prowess, daring, deductive skills, and ability to cope with danger."
A charged silence fell over the Hall at the mention of danger.
"Three champions will compete, one from each school," Dumbledore continued calmly. "They will be marked on their performance, with the highest total after the third task winning the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
Harry was a little surprised by the rule of the person with the highest total winning the cup. Wasn't it the one who reached the cup first who won? This made Harry curious: was the third task changed later to make the competition more exciting, or to make it easier for Junior to whisk Charles away?
With three taps of his wand, Dumbledore opened the casket and extracted a large, roughly hewn wooden cup brimming with dancing blue-white flames. He placed it atop the closed casket, clearly visible to all.
"Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours to submit their names," Dumbledore explained. "Write your name and school clearly on a parchment and drop it into the goblet. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will select the three it deems most worthy."
He continued, "To prevent underage students from yielding to temptation, I will draw an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire. Nobody under seventeen will be able to cross it."
Dumbledore's tone grew serious. "I must stress that this tournament is not to be entered lightly. Once selected, a champion is bound by a magical contract to see the tournament through. There can be no change of heart. Be absolutely certain you are prepared before entering your name. Now, it's time for bed. Good night to you all."
As the students began to disperse, excited chatter filled the air. Reggy turned to Harry, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "An Age Line! Surely it could be fooled by an aging potion, right? Is that how you're going to help the Weasley twins enter?"
Harry smirked. "No, an aging potion won't beat Dumbledore's age line. I have a much simpler solution. You'll kick yourself when I show you later."
"Why all the secrecy?" Reggy pressed. "Why not tell me now?"
"It's easier to demonstrate," Harry replied, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Besides, I want to wait until everyone's tried their various methods to bypass the line. It'll be more entertaining that way."
Reggy sighed dramatically. "Fine, have it your way. Just make sure I'm around when you reveal your grand plan."
Roger, who had been quiet until now, chimed in. "Where do you think the visiting students will be staying, Harry?"
"In their transport, of course," Harry answered. "The Beauxbatons carriage and Durmstrang ship are plenty big enough. Why? Hoping to bunk with Krum?"
Reggy gasped in mock offense. "Roger! Are you ending our friendship to sleep in the same room as Krum? I never thought our bond was so fragile!"
Roger rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I was just curious. I didn't want them staying with the Slytherins - that would make those snakes unbearable."
"Weird priorities, mate," Reggy chuckled. "Most boys would be more interested in where the Beauxbatons students are staying, not Durmstrang."
"Enough! I don't like where this is going," Roger exclaimed, his face reddening. "Let's head back to our dorms. I want to be up early to watch all the excitement tomorrow."
Harry and Reggy shared a laugh as they followed a hastily retreating Roger. As they left the Great Hall, they witnessed a brief altercation.
Karkaroff and his students had exited at the same time as the golden trio, and the Durmstrang headmaster immediately recognized Charles Potter by the wand-shaped scar on his forehead.
Before Karkaroff could say anything, however, Professor Moody appeared, causing the Durmstrang headmaster to beat a hasty retreat. It seemed Karkaroff had no desire to face the infamously paranoid ex-Auror.
As they continued towards their dormitory, Harry's mind wandered to the new ring on his finger. If anyone looked closely, they would notice that the Potter Heir ring on Harry's hand had changed into a much more regal-looking ring with the Potter emblem on it.
This was the Potter Lord ring. When he had turned seventeen on October 12th, the first thing he did was rush to Gringotts to undergo the Potter Lordship test. Unlike his father James Potter, Harry had passed the test successfully and was now proudly the new Lord Potter.
He had unlocked all the vaults and properties of the Potter family but had not yet explored them. He was waiting for the holidays before going through the Potter assets. Frequently missing from school would lead the professors to suspect something was amiss, and Harry didn't want to cause himself any unnecessary trouble.
His birthday, other than the claiming of the ring, had been a low-key affair. A small gathering with his friends and receiving gifts from them and his family was pretty much it.
The transition to adulthood in the wizarding world had brought no dramatic changes - no physical transformations, no sudden surge in magical power. In many ways, Harry remained unchanged, save for the added year and the weighty ring on his finger.
As the new Lord Potter, however, Harry had gained himself a seat on the wizarding governing body, the Wizengamot. Harry would now have to learn his way around that place. Arcturus had promised to provide a comprehensive briefing during the holidays, a prospect that filled Harry with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.
Harry had not paid much attention to things other than gaining strength over the years. It was good to learn how the wizarding world and the ministry functioned.
But all this was for later. The topic at hand was the champions' selection tomorrow and the chaos that was going to cause. Harry was a little excited to watch everything happen in front of his eyes. He would have fun seeing everything play out as a spectator.
Harry had decided against interfering with Voldemort's plans for Charles, at least for now. His brother had the support of their parents and Dumbledore, after all.
As Harry climbed into bed that night, his mind buzzed with anticipation for the coming days. Playing around with the events of the Tournament was going to be fun.
Comments
Ryan
Hahaha I like how you added it, could have been a full chapter of exposition but this works because it says everything and give you time to explore it during the break
Ejaaz
In the excitement for the Triwizard Tournament, I forgot about Harry's 17th birthday. Thankfully it was not too late. 😅
