Although I suppose being a beautiful Veela is all the reason they need. It's somewhat sad, honestly.
After the hall had quieted down, the flames turned red for a third time. A white piece of parchment landed in Dumbledore's outstretched hand, which he unfolded. The silence in the hall was tense; this was the Hogwarts Champion, who would be representing most of the students in the hall.
"The Hogwarts Champion," said Dumbledore, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"Son of a bloody bastard!" yelled Ron, though nobody had heard him besides Harry and the few Gryffindors surrounding him. The cheer that rose from the Hufflepuff table was far too loud, with each and every one of the Hufflepuff students raising to their feet, applauding loudly and roaring with delight.
Harry turned to the stands at the back of the hall, searching for Tonks. He and her had made a little bet on the outcome of the Champion Selection, and he had seemingly just won. He eventually found Tonks standing next to Hestia, glaring at him. He sent her a cheeky smile and a wave, before turning back to his friends.
"Ah, well," said Seamus, "it's not like we're allowed to compete anyway; we'll just have to watch how it plays out."
"And that, witches and wizards, concludes the Selection Ceremony!" said Dumbledore, "Now, a few more - "
The headmaster stopped abruptly, the reason as to why being very apparent to all. Everyone in the hall was not completely silent, staring at the Goblet of Fire. The goblet turned red once more before a fourth piece of parchment shot from the flames. Dumbledore plucked it out from the air, his face paling slightly as he read it over.
"Harry Potter!" he announced loudly to the hall.
Harry froze. He was incredibly aware of the strong silence in the hall, a silence more powerful than any Harry had ever felt before. He received none of the applause that the others did, none of the excitement.
He turned to Ron and Hermione, hoping to be told that this was some form of practical joke. Hermione was staring blankly at him, her mouth wide open. Ron, however, was sending him one of the most hateful glares Harry had ever received in his life. He turned to Tonks and Hestia, whose expressions were nearly identical to Hermione's.
"Harry Potter! Up now, if you please, and join the others." called Dumbledore from the front of the hall.
Harry slowly stood up from his seat, suddenly becoming aware of the recording orb that was now pointed directly at him. He slowly began walking towards the front of the hall, avoiding the eyes of all others. Almost everyone seemed to either be angry or in shock, though Harry was sure the latter would be wearing off in a bit.
He passed Dumbledore without shaking his hands, the headmaster's curious, and somewhat disappointed expression instantly deterring him.
He must be wondering whether I used the invisibility cloak to pass the age line. Hopefully he'll realize I didn't do it.
Harry could not fault the logic in that theory. He had learnt from Salazar that the famed Peverell cloak was capable of completely hiding its master, including both physical and magical traces. Getting over Dumbledore's age line would probably have been a piece of cake with the cloak.
Harry entered the antechamber to find the other three champions. Fleur stood by the fireplace, slightly apart from Cedric and Krum. Harry wasn't particularly surprised when he noticed both of the males' drooling ever so slightly, their eyes glazed over. Cedric seemed to snap out of his daze at the sound of Harry's footsteps.
"Hey Harry!" he exclaimed, "Do they need us back in the hall or something?"
Before Harry could answer, the door to the antechamber swung wide open. More than a dozen different witches and wizards all rushed inside. Harry recognized a few of the people: Mr. Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Madame Maxime, and Karkaroff. The rest he did not know, although it was not particularly hard to realize they were ministry workers. All of them were shouting loudly, making it impossible for a word to be heard. Eventually Dumbledore raised his hand, motioning for silence. Once everyone had listened, he turned back to Harry.
"Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"No." he replied, aware of the scoffing noise that came from Snape.
"Did you ask someone of age to enter you into the tournament?"
"No, I didn't." said Harry, gritting his teeth.
"He is clearly lying!" exclaimed Madame Maxime, her french accent easy to be heard, "How else can his name have possibly come from the goblet?"
"What?" yelled Cedric in confusion. Krum and Fleur simply narrowed their eyes, directing their glares, as well as their curiosity, at Harry.
"You want this little boy to compete?" asked Fleur, her voice carrying a french accent like her headmistress, although hers was much softer and attractive. "How did he even manage to put his name in the goblet?"
Harry glared at her, though she did not seem to notice.
"I am sure we can all agree that he was not capable of passing the age line Dumbledore created." said McGonagall. All the others within the room nodded, although Dumbledore was still staring at Harry in barely hidden disappointment.
Seems like he's reached his decision.
"How it happened is not of current importance." said Dumbledore a moment later, "It shall be investigated later, but as of right now, we must come to agreement on how we will be going forward."
The door of the antechamber swung open once more, now revealing Fudge, as well as the other two ministers.
"This is very bad, Dumbledore!" said Fudge, "We've just ended the broadcast, people will be outraged! One of the main reasons we were allowed to reinstate the tournament was because we had created an age limit! Over a million people have just seen the age limit broken, live!"
"As I have told the others, an investigation will be launched." assured Dumbledore in a tired voice, "Mr. Crouch, what are the rules pertaining to this unlikely event?"
"He will have to compete, or risk losing his magic."
"What?" said Harry dangerously, "I didn't even want to compete in the first place!"
"This is a chance of a lifetime!" declared Fleur Delacour in disbelief, "The honor of his school, fame and glory!"
"I'm fairly certain I have enough fame and glory to last a lifetime!" declared Harry cooly, his anger and rage causing him to slip into Parseltongue. Nearly everyone in the room paled slightly, none more so than Karkaroff and Fudge. Only Dumbledore, Snape, and the Veela girl (as Harry was no longer interested in thinking of her as anything else) did not have a reaction that indicated some sort of fear. Krum and Delacour's eyes both widened, before narrowing just as quickly. They clearly seemed interested in discovering any potential advantages their opponents had.
"W-well, I su-suppose he will have to c-compete." stuttered out Fudge, "For his safety, of c-course."
"Very well." said Dumbledore in an exhausted voice, "Obviously, his points will not be tallied with Hogwarts; we can come up with a more specific set of rules at a later date."
"As for your briefing," began Mr. Crouch, "Your first task is to face the unknown. You will therefore not be given any clues."
Harry paled slightly at that. He had just remembered that the first task of the tournament was infamous for having people die while fighting dangerous beasts.
This was better than your other assassination attempts, Riddle.
.....
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