Chapter 224: Chapter 224: "The Triwizard Tournament"
The Great Hall buzzed with excitement as students filed in for the opening feast of the new term. Harry Potter, already seated at the Ravenclaw table with his friends, couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. The journey to the castle had been marked by a torrential downpour, but thanks to magic, they had all arrived dry and comfortable.
Roger Davies, one of Harry's closest friends, leaned in with an eager grin. "So, Harry, are you ready for this year's Quidditch Cup? You promised you'd join the team, and with you on board, we're practically guaranteed the win!"
Harry's lips quirked into a small smile. "Actually, Roger, I hate to break it to you, but there won't be a Quidditch Cup this year."
Roger's face fell. "What? Are you serious?"
"No! That is my godfather." This got a glare from Roger and the nearby Reggy. Harry laughed at successfully using the overused joke.
"Well, I am telling the truth. We're hosting a special tournament," Harry explained, his voice low. "I'm sure Dumbledore will announce it soon. Those dress robes on our school list? They're for this event."
As if on cue, the Sorting Hat burst into its annual song, followed by the sorting of the new first-years. Throughout the sorting, Harry's attention kept drifting to the staff table, particularly to the grizzled figure of Mad-Eye Moody.
Something was off. In the timeline Harry remembered from the canon plot, Moody had made a dramatic entrance, interrupting the feast. But here he sat, already at the table, not dramatically swigging from a hip flask every few minutes. Harry's suspicions grew. Was this even Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise? The lack of constant drinking suggested this wasn't someone using Polyjuice Potion.
Harry's mind raced. If this wasn't Crouch Jr., where was he? Was he not rescued by Voldemort? How would the events he remembered unfold? How would Charles's name end up in the Goblet of Fire? How would Voldemort manage to spirit Charles away for the resurrection ritual?
As Harry pondered these questions, Moody's magical eye swiveled in his direction. Quickly, Harry averted his gaze, turning his attention back to his friends and the feast before him. Things were not looking good as Harry was going in blind this year. He would have to be on his toes to make and change plans according to the situation.
Once the plates had been cleared and the last echoes of conversation died down, Dumbledore rose to his feet. The hall fell silent.
"So!" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling as he smiled at the sea of students before him. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention while I give out a few notices."
He proceeded with the usual start-of-term announcements, introducing Professor Moody as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Then, with a slight pause for effect, he continued, "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."
A chorus of protests erupted from around the hall. Harry caught Roger's eye and mouthed, "Told you so," as his friend's face fell in disappointment.
Dumbledore raised his hands for silence. "This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy — but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
"You're JOKING!" came a loud voice from the Gryffindor table. Harry recognized it as belonging to Fred Weasley.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley, though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..."
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, shooting Dumbledore a stern look.
"Er — but maybe this is not the time... no..." Dumbledore quickly sobered. "Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament..."
For the next several minutes, Dumbledore explained the history and nature of the Triwizard Tournament. He spoke of the three participating schools — Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang — and how they would be arriving in October for the selection of champions.
"The champion for each school," Dumbledore explained, his voice carrying across the silent hall, "will be chosen by an impartial judge which will be announced later. The judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."
A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd at the mention of the thousand-Galleon prize money. Even Roger was excited, and as Harry turned towards Cedric in the distance, he could see he was excited as well. Harry, however, remained silent, his mind already planning his move forward. Harry was not worried about his other friends since there was less chance of them being selected. Cedric and Roger had changed a lot from the canon due to his influence and there was a high chance one of them would get selected. It looked like Harry had to intervene in this tournament to ensure his friends would not be in danger and Cedric would not die like in the canon.
Dumbledore then spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.
"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age — that is to say, seventeen years or older — will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" — Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious — "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."
As Dumbledore concluded his announcement, wishing them all a good night's rest before classes began the next day, the hall erupted into a cacophony of scraping benches and excited chatter. Students began filing out, their heads filled with dreams of glory and gold.
Harry caught Cedric's eye across the hall. The Hufflepuff prefect gave him a subtle nod, a signal Harry recognized immediately. Gathering Roger and Reggy, he made his way towards Cedric. They were soon joined by the rest of their group — Elvinia, Arabella, Angelina, and Alicia.
"Empty classroom?" Cedric suggested, and the group nodded in agreement.
As they filed into an unused classroom near the Great Hall, Harry's mind was already racing with plans to deal with the new unexpected developments with the missing Barty Crouch Junior. It looked like he had to change his plans regarding the Triwizard tournament.
Chapter 225: Chapter 225: "The Tournament Looms: Secrets and Strategies"
Once inside the classroom, Cedric closed the door and cast a quick silencing charm. "Alright," he said, turning to face the group. "I think we all know why we're here. The Triwizard Tournament... it's big news."
"Understatement of the century, Ced," Angexlina chimed in, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "A thousand Galleons prize money! Can you imagine?"
Harry leaned against a desk, his expression thoughtful. "The money's nice, sure, but let's not forget — this tournament is dangerous. People have died competing in it before."
A hush fell over the group at Harry's words. It was Reggy who broke the silence. "You're not wrong, mate. But still, the glory of being chosen as Hogwarts champion... it's tempting, isn't it?"
"Are any of you thinking of entering?" Alicia asked, looking around the group.
Cedric nodded slowly. "I'm considering it. I mean, I'll be seventeen by then, so I'm eligible."
"What about you, Harry?" Roger turned to his friend. "You're the European Dueling Champion. If anyone has a shot at this, it's you."
Harry replied, "I wasn't planning on participating, but last night I got some information which kind of forces me to enter."
"What?" Elvinia's eyes widened with curiosity.
Harry fabricated a story, "Well, I've known about the tournament for some time now and I've done some research on the kind of tasks. The first task usually involves magical creatures, so I had people on the lookout for information at various magical creature reserves. I got some troubling news last night. I am almost certain that the first task of the tournament deals with dragons."
"Dragons?" Angelina gasped.
"Fully grown dragons," Harry confirmed, "and some of the ones being used are the ferocious kind."
"So what does this mean?" Roger asked, his brow furrowed.
Harry took a deep breath. "I know I can't stop you from putting in your names for the Hogwarts champion selection since it involves a lot of things, but due to the danger involved, I would also be putting in my name. I'll be of age on October 12 and will be eligible to participate. If I'm selected, I'll have to worry about only my safety, but if any one of you gets selected, be ready for the cruelest training of your life. I won't have any of you injured or worse, dying in this tournament."
Harry had really not planned to participate in the tournament this year. The glory and the prize weren't attractive to him. Also, with his knowledge of the plot, he had confidence in altering things appropriately and ensuring everyone's safety. He had also thought of plans to ensure Cedric's survival. However, the absence of Barty Crouch Junior changed everything.
Now that things weren't going according to the plot, to ensure nothing went wrong, he would have to enter the tournament himself. He wasn't sure he would get selected, but if the goblet chose according to strength, his selection was almost certain.
Angelina sighed, "Well, now I really don't want to get selected, but I'll put my name in anyway. The Gryffs will want me to. There's no one else good enough in the Gryffindor house, and I don't want to disappoint them."
Cedric nodded, "Well, I know our chances are low with Harry entering, but I'm willing to try anyway. It would be cool to be the Hogwarts champion."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Cedric, I thought you wouldn't want to get selected."
"Why?" Cedric looked confused.
Harry smirked, "Well if you get selected, with my training, you won't have time to go out with a certain Asian Quidditch player in my house."
A chorus of "What?" was shrieked by the girls in the room.
Cedric spluttered, "What are you talking about, Harry?"
"Was this supposed to be a secret?" Harry asked innocently. "Well, the number of times you were looking at her during the feast just now, I was almost sure you wanted everyone to know."
With this, Cedric was surrounded by everyone eager to get the latest gossip. Harry was glad everyone's attention was off the tournament.
After some interrogations, Arabella decided to help be the matchmaker for an embarrassed Cedric. Cedric, really wanting to change subjects, asked, "Harry, do you have a bad feeling about this year as you've had every year before?"
Harry nodded grimly, "I have that feeling every year. With the Triwizard Tournament, the feeling is over the top. This year will be very dangerous, and dragons might be the least of our problems."
"Always the conspiracy theorist, aren't you, Potter?" Elvinia teased, but there was a note of seriousness in her voice.
"He's usually right, though," Roger pointed out. "His track record is there, and he is the star pupil of Professor Trelawney."
The group fell into a contemplative silence, each lost in their own thoughts about the upcoming tournament and Harry's warning.
Reggy tried to cheer everyone up. "No need to worry, guys. We have the Dueling Champion and Dumbledore in the school with us. Problems and Dangers will get solved without worries."
Harry added, "Also, Professor Trelawney will be disappointed this year. I'm not taking her Divination NEWT classes."
Arabella looked surprised, "Why? I believe you have the gift of sight."
"No time," Harry explained. "I'm planning on finishing my Charms apprenticeship with Professor Flitwick before graduating from Hogwarts. Planning on increasing my workload."
Roger shook his head in disbelief, "Where do you find all this time, Harry? I'm exhausted after the day's classes and have no energy to even pick up books after that."
Harry grinned, "How did you convince the hat to sort you into Ravenclaw, Roger? That's so unlike a Ravenclaw."
With the cheerful banter, everyone said goodnight and went their separate ways. Harry was glad no one was hurt or their friendships strained due to his decision to participate in the tournament. He was already quite famous, and Harry had worried that if his friends were like Ron, they would be jealous of him trying to get more fame and it would strain their friendship. Harry was glad no one had thoughts like that.
As Harry made his way to the Ravenclaw common room with Reggy and Roger, he met the Weasley twins as they turned a corner.
"Harry!" George exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
"Our esteemed benefactor!" Fred added with a dramatic bow.
Reggy and Roger exchanged confused glances.
Harry smirked, "So, Bagman tried to cheat you?"
"Right in one, oh wise one," Fred nodded solemnly.
"Paid us in leprechaun gold, the scoundrel did," George added with a shake of his head.
"Thanks to your warning, our dear old dad checked and uncovered the dastardly deed," Fred continued.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "So you got your winnings?"
"Indeed we did," George grinned.
"Made such a fuss, Bagman had to cough up the real Galleons," Fred added with a wink.
"He was madder than a nest of pixies, that one," George chuckled.
Harry nodded, "Well, best of luck for the joke shop."
"How do you know about our entrepreneurial endeavors, O Knowledgeable One?" Fred asked, shocked.
"I just know," Harry replied mysteriously.
George leaned in conspiratorially, "So, any chance you know how two dashingly handsome, albeit underage, wizards might enter this illustrious tournament?"
Harry smirked, "I might. But why risk your lives? You have enough to rent out a joke shop, right?"
"Ah, but you see, dear Harry," Fred began.
"The more the merrier!" George finished.
"We need the funds for our experiments," Fred explained.
"So, how does one go about entering?" George pressed.
Harry considered for a moment, "I'll tell you at the time. It's a simple trick."
With Harry's promise secured, Fred and George dashed off, clearly not heading in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Harry had to fill in the confused Roggy and Roger about what had happened at the Quidditch World Cup. They were shocked that Fred and Geroge won their huge bet.
Roger later turned to Harry, curiosity burning in his eyes, "Harry, you know how the champions are going to be selected?"
"Of course, I know," Harry replied with a mischievous grin. "But I won't tell you. There's more fun in keeping the secret."
The disappointed Roger and Reggy followed Harry to the Ravenclaw common room. They tried to get Harry to spill the beans along the way, but Harry remained tight-lipped. There was no fun in leaking this secret.
As they approached the Ravenclaw Tower, Harry's mind was already racing with plans and contingencies. The timeline was changing, and he knew he needed to be prepared for whatever challenges lay ahead. With the unexpected absence of Barty Crouch Jr., the game had changed, but Harry Potter was determined to stay one step ahead.
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