Chapter 59
So, Beauxbatons arrived in a literal flying carriage, and Durmstrang appeared right in the middle of our lake on their ship… Expected, but strange all the same, I observed the spectacle arranged specifically for our benefit with a measure of amusement. Honestly, it was genuinely fun and interesting — seeing foreign wizards show off their traditions up close like this.
I remembered watching this scene in the film and finding it completely unremarkable, but seeing it in person was something else entirely. Really quite entertaining, as long as you didn't think too hard about certain details — like exactly which portal the Durmstrang ship had used to materialize in the Black Lake. But I had no intention of thinking about that.
I was resting my mind, letting myself breathe. And the fair-haired witch pressed against my side, with her remarkably clear silver-grey eyes, was helping me recover from the recent training session nicely.
It was a shame that upon returning to the Great Hall I'd had to let Luna go. Continuing to hold her like that would have been inappropriate — frankly, even insulting to Daphne. She was my fiancée, after all, and the fact that I'd been embracing another witch while she'd only stepped away for a moment…
Well, there wasn't anything truly unacceptable about it. Especially not with Luna, whose reputation at Hogwarts bore no resemblance whatsoever to that of some cunning little seductress who'd stolen our Slytherin queen's boyfriend. But there was no point in pressing my luck, and so Lovegood had been duly released — or more accurately, detached, since she'd been clinging to my side with full personal investment, having made herself quite comfortably at home there.
"Harry… Be careful with that blonde," Luna tugged quietly at my sleeve and gave me a warning look once we'd returned to the castle and settled at our table. The Beauxbatons delegation had joined us this time around, while the Durmstrang students had taken seats with the Slytherins — which made sense, as those were the two smallest houses, and the tables were the same for everyone. "She's a bird."
"Blonde?" I glanced around in mild surprise, quickly following her gaze and immediately understanding exactly what she'd been warning me about. "Ah. A Veela. Don't worry about her. I know how to ignore their charm."
"Mm, then everything's fine," Miss Lovegood lost all interest in the topic at once and fixed her gaze with cheerful expectation on the still-empty table. Dumbledore wasn't in any hurry to announce the start of the feast until everyone was seated. He seemed somewhat less brisk than usual today, by my estimation, but he had no intention of drawing things out indefinitely either.
He dropped a few words about the tournament officially beginning right after dinner, introduced the visiting headmasters from the foreign schools, and then gave a casual wave of his hand that summoned food to all four house tables as if by magic — which, of course, it was. Some of the foreigners actually startled at that, most likely simply unaware of the castle's house-elf community.
I took note of all this only in passing, because I was feeling a genuine, serious tension and unease that I couldn't quite set aside. I understood perfectly well that this wasn't some form of intuition or supernatural sensitivity warning me of danger. I had wound myself up so thoroughly that it was making me feel sick, and I simply couldn't rein in the anxiety.
Or rather, bringing it under control wouldn't have been particularly difficult — but forcing my emotions down after a training session like today's was the last thing I wanted to do. I'd already pushed myself too hard today, and now all this business with the tournament on top of it. There was no sense in overloading my mind more than necessary, and no wisdom in playing games with my emotions — there was a real risk of burning out entirely given what was coming.
God, I genuinely don't believe I'll get through this one unscathed… Or rather, I believe it and I'm very much hoping — I didn't take those risks two years ago getting rid of Pettigrew for nothing — but… If all the events from the films were directed by Dumbledore in some form or another — and there were hints of that both in the films themselves and in the broader fan community — then this year I'm not going to have a moment's peace.
I turned the thought over slowly behind my solid mental shields.
And no, I didn't see Albus as some grand schemer and manipulator — but Barty Crouch Junior was another matter. If our Moody was really a Death Eater under Polyjuice, then the old headmaster simply could not have failed to know. He had known the real Alastor for the better part of half a century, and as I had learned back in my first year, the castle's protective systems should have given the headmaster something far more sophisticated than my own Marauder's Map.
Perhaps not sophisticated enough to detect Quirrell's passenger — though that too was dubious — but an ordinary wizard, even under very convincing disguise, far better than a standard Polyjuice transformation, should have been spotted by the castle's defenses in an instant.
And that was what had me genuinely worried, slightly unnerved, and… at the same time fighting a rather ugly sort of anticipation. That last part was nothing more than raging hormones and the general adolescent disposition toward rebellion of every variety. Seriously — part of me genuinely wanted to stomp all over someone's carefully laid plans just out of spite, and maybe burn the Goblet to ashes at the end of the tournament, for instance. By that point I should have made some headway with mastering Fiendfyre, after all.
"Harry, your Wrackspurts are going again… Did something happen?" the same lovely blonde pulled me out of my not-especially-bright thoughts for what felt like the hundredth time lately.
"Nothing serious, Luna… I just got lost in my own head again," I smiled, though the effort was painfully visible. I had no intention of outright lying to her, but I also had no desire to explain the reasons for my worry. I had no concrete reasons for it, after all — and no strength left to do anything about the situation in the near future.
That last thought, oddly enough, actually steadied me a little. Jumping ship wasn't an option right now. I would be studying at Hogwarts through fifth year regardless, no matter what chaos surrounded me. And after that — leaving after completing the compulsory years might prove rather shortsighted. I still had to live and build a life in the magical world. People here didn't think much of half-educated dropouts with five years of schooling — which might not be catastrophic for me personally, but leaving the girls behind in school wasn't something I wanted to do either. With Daphne especially, as my fiancée, I felt a particular sense of responsibility.
And I'm starting to genuinely see her as a future partner in life… One I'm shaping to some extent myself, without any particular shame about using my advantage — my greater life experience and my ability to read the people around me without any mental magic at all.
I kept entertaining myself with these not-entirely-straightforward thoughts that jumped from one thing to the next, until at some point it all came to a stop.
The holiday feast drew to a close. Filch carried the Goblet of Fire into the Great Hall — an object I had very quickly stopped treating with any contempt whatsoever, because it radiated something strange but unmistakably powerful. Then came another speech from Dumbledore and the establishment of the Age Line barrier around the Goblet, keeping out anyone under seventeen.
In short, the events I had once seen in the film, which I remembered exclusively because I'd been turning them over in my mind constantly and had been keeping my memory sharp through regular mental magic practice, were repeating themselves almost exactly. Even Ron Weasley, it seemed, was shouting something about cosmic injustice and how if it weren't for the headmaster and his stupid rules, he and Neville would have shown this whole tournament a thing or two.
"What absolute idiots… Spectacular idiots, I'd even say," I muttered, and was immediately met with Luna's vacant, indulgent gaze. This little — not quite so little anymore — creature seemed to find all my anxiety genuinely amusing at this point. Well, fine. After a full, satisfying meal, this time seasoned with dishes from our guests' national cuisines, I was simply too tired to keep winding myself up.
You can't run from fate — that was the conclusion I reached that evening, heading up to my room after dinner and dropping immediately into a deep, healing sleep. A Dreamless Sleep potion had been prepared well in advance precisely for this situation. I understood my own state clearly enough not to leave things to chance.
Which was why Saturday morning came without any particular difficulty — right on schedule, in exact accordance with my routine. I even managed to spend a couple of hours in the rather specific posture required for magical yoga, which served as a partial substitute for physical training and mental magic endurance work.
After that there was another training session. A visit to the library with my friends. Correspondence with Sirius and Mrs. Greengrass. The usual lesson in charms and transfiguration for Astoria, Daphne, and Ginny. And a little time helping Luna with her personal project — the girl, now that she'd moved into her third year, had developed a serious interest in charms and had firmly decided to enchant a whole collection of objects and magical gadgets for herself.
I was more than willing to help her with that wholeheartedly. And Daphne wasn't about to leave her younger friend without support either, generously sharing the knowledge in runes she'd accumulated over the past year. I, for my part, supplied us all with both study materials — receiving various trinkets through the two-way box from Sirius, pieces previously crafted by his family — and materials for enchanting.
Nothing especially valuable, but even for our first serious enchantment attempts, we wanted to work on materials that were actually suited for that kind of magic. Sirius had been happy to send along simple items made of magical woods, quality fabric, decent steel, and natural amber.
The amber, as it turned out, was my personal favorite to work with. And while my early efforts in enchanting and basic artifact-making weren't particularly impressive, I found I genuinely enjoyed the work. Not enough to give up even a fraction of my usual training — my life and wellbeing were on the line, after all — but I thought that after settling things with the Dark Lord, I would very happily sink deeper into this magical craft.
First, though, I had to survive what was looking like a very probable war with a vastly more experienced dark wizard. Or at least get through this year at Hogwarts intact — the tournament had my nerves fraying badly enough as it was. Even my familiar daily routine hadn't been entirely enough to calm me down.
At least I left my emotions completely alone throughout the day, which means I don't have to be going out of my mind the way I was yesterday, I thought, and by the time the evening announcement of the champions arrived, I was more than ready. I had coaxed myself into a loosely calm and positive state, and had quite literally forced every unnecessary thought out of my mind.
In the long run, methods like that weren't exactly healthy, and could potentially do my sanity no particular favors. But I could push through it just this once, watching the spectacle that followed dinner with perfectly genuine interest and enthusiasm.
"The Goblet of Fire is about to make its decision!" Albus Dumbledore's voice rang out with the words I'd been waiting for, and even with all the emotional preparation I'd done beforehand, my heart gave the smallest, barely noticeable lurch. "When the champions' names are known, I will ask them to come forward and proceed to the chamber adjoining the Hall, where they will receive instructions for the first task."
"God, he takes forever," Parvati Patil muttered from nearby, excited and annoyed in equal measure, and for once I was in complete agreement. Though the blame belonged less to the headmaster than to the Goblet itself, which seemed in no hurry to produce the slips of parchment.
"The Durmstrang champion — Viktor Krum!"
Our wait didn't actually last that long. The first name called to the staff table was the famous Bulgarian Seeker, known the world over.
"The Beauxbatons champion — Fleur Delacour! The Hogwarts champion — Cedric Diggory!"
With the other champions, the Goblet was equally brisk. But after that…
"Nothing's happening?" I actually said it aloud, taking advantage of the fact that all attention had returned to Dumbledore's ongoing speech — and simply unable to hold back a rather particular sigh of relief.
Yes. Relief. That was exactly what it was. Once the champions had been led out of the Great Hall and the Goblet was removed from public sight, something in me finally let go. Not enough to lose control of myself — the emotions I'd carefully prepared beforehand helped enormously there, keeping me from dissolving into happy incoherence — but on the whole… I was glad.
In the back of my mind, a flicker of thought remained: it was too early to relax. I was Harry bloody Potter. Things simply could not go smoothly for me — the Dark Lord needed my blood for his resurrection regardless, and I couldn't afford to drop my guard.
But without the need to participate in a potentially lethal tournament, I felt, somehow, measurably calmer. And yes, this shift from the history I knew had now definitively stripped me of any foreknowledge going forward — but one more year of relative peace was worth that trade.
Last year I had made real progress in mastering magic — and in its combat applications above all — but thinking of myself as anything approaching a powerful wizard was still far too premature. A single year of study was unlikely to change that in any fundamental way. But another year of grueling training was far better than that same year wasted on pointless distractions.
Besides, I had recently acquired a genuinely skilled mentor in charms. And I could visit Sirius on weekends almost without obstacle.
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