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"You did this yourself, Harry?" Lily asked, sitting slowly on a chair next to the fire, her knees trembling. Harry, her youngest, had competed willingly in a tournament that could very well end his life? Why?
"Of course I did." Harry answered resolute. "And I have been chosen to compete by the only judge that could truly tell whether I was fit to or not. It's not me you should be worried about."
"How can you even say that?" James asked furious. "Did someone put you up to…"
"No!" Harry cut him off, his voice steely. It was his turn to have every pair of eyes in the room on him; his Dad was smiling in support from the other side of the room so he continued. "We've had this conversation before." He said, green eyes glinting in the firelight. "I have told you in the past and I will tell you again; I make my own choices. I chose to compete in this tournament, so I did. I didn't tell you I would for I knew how you'd react; honestly, I had no clue I would be chosen to represent Hogwarts but, since I am, I expect you to -if not support me- at least accept this fact. And before you start making any accusations," Harry added, as he observed James looking at Severus as if this all thing was his fault "Sev was against the whole idea of me competing. But since I had decided to, he chose to stand by me. So, as I said, I shouldn't be your concern right now." James and Lily stared at their youngest son startled, while Severus smiled proudly and -surprisingly- Victor Krum nodded appreciatively.
"I, for one, agree with 'arry." Fleur interjected, smiling at the raven haired teen next to her.
"In what sense, Miss Delacour?" Asked Dumbledore, distracted for a second.
"Zat 'e is the champion of 'ogwarts, of course!" She said, making Lily look at her with eyes impossibly wide and Harry chuckle once.
"Thank you for the vote of trust." He said, earning himself a radiant smile.
"Why not?" She asked. "Remember, mon cher, I 'ave seen what you can do with a sword!"
"Mademoiselle Delacour!" Madame Maxime exclaimed, making the vela shrug and wink at Harry.
"I take you have met before." Professor Dumbledore stated, causing Severus to mask his laughter with a cough.
"Yes, we have." Harry agreed as Fleur bumped him playfully with her shoulder.
"And why is this relevant?" Karkaroff exclaimed, pointing his ringed index finger towards Adrian. "Did you think we would forget about him?"
"Oui!" Madame Maxime agreed. "The money, the glory! We all know zis is a chance that many students would die for!"
"Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it," said Moody, with the merest trace of a growl. An extremely tense silence followed these words. Ludo Bagman, who was looking very anxious indeed, bounced nervously up and down on his feet and said;
"Moody, old man… What a thing to say!" Lily hid her face in her hands while James spoke up.
"Is it that much far fetched though?" The conversation continued for half an hour before it was widely agreed -not with pleasure though- that Adrian was to compete after all. Bagman explained how the first task was designed to test their daring and courage in the face of the unknown and how it would take part on the twenty-forth of November. The two headmasters of the visiting schools and their champions left the room right after that, leaving behind the Potters, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Severus, who kept talking about the tournament, the two judges departing too. Harry, having heard enough already and feeling more and more frustrated at not being even acknowledged as he stood there and waited, asked for permission to leave.
"Harry," James said, looking at his youngest son in earnest, "I believe that this has been a very irrational thing to do; competing in the Triwizard Tournament! There is a reason why only seventh year students were seen fit to compete!" Harry's gaze turned cold, its ferocity boring holes in James as he looked at him over his shoulder.
"The goblet obviously thought I could do better than all these seventh year students, Prongs." He said, voice even, though all he wanted to do was scream. "If it had thought otherwise, would I be champion?" James opened and closed his mouth, once, twice, having nothing to answer his son's question. Harry smiled tiredly, shaking his head. "Goodnight then."
"I'm leaving too." Severus stated, stopping Harry as he walked through the door. "There's nothing I can say or do that will help at the moment. If you need me for anything, Albus, call for me immediately." The headmaster nodded and said his goodnights.
"And, Harry." Lily said, preventing her youngest son from leaving once more. The teen in question cringed and sighed, his breath coming out from beneath clenched teeth.
"Yes?" He asked, not bothering to turn back.
"It's not that we're not happy for you it's just that you're so young and you have barely started your fourth year and…"
"And you're worried, I get that." Harry stated, his eyes downcast; suddenly he felt tired and all he wanted to do was return to the Common Room and go straight to bed. Maybe talk a bit with Neville first, but still. "But you can't doubt me every step of the way; I was chosen for this." Don't make me doubt myself, were the words Harry didn't utter. Severus heard them loud and clear nonetheless.
"Harry, I…" Lily started again only to find herself interrupted.
"Goodnight." He said, walking out of the door and into the now empty Great Hall. He and Severus walked in silence for a few moments until they reached the staircase to the dungeons.
"No matter what, Harry," Severus said, turning his eyes towards his son, placing both hands on his shoulders, "I'm proud of you. I couldn't be more proud of you. Well," he amended, smiling softly "I expect you'll find a way to change that and do something even more extraordinary than competing in the Triwizard Tournament, but the sentiment remains the same." Harry laughed softly at that declaration, his eyes misting over.
"Thank you, Dad." He mouthed, not wanting to be overheard but unable to keep the words down.
"You're welcome." Severus said, smiling wide. "And no matter how much I worry -and you know I do- I'm not doubting that you can do this. I know you can. I just worry." Harry smiled wider and nodded, hugging his father goodnight. The climb towards the Gryffindor common room felt too short to him as he stalked by floors without even paying heed to the gawking portraits.
This wasn't supposed to play out like this; this was supposed to be the year he and Severus would have to themselves, the short reprieve before the war. It was as if somebody was looking down upon them and laughing at how they stumbled through what life ditched at them. Hoping that somebody wasn't Merlin -he had liked him and he really would hate having to have to kick him once he eventually entered the afterlife- he spoke the password necessary to the Fat Lady and entered the Gryffindor common room. The combined cheers from almost each and every one of his fellow lions caught him by surprise.
HI GUYS IF YOU WANT READ 400 + CHAPTERS THEN VISIT
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