Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 40: Soul Contract
The students started to panic, and so did the adults.
"Albus!" Barty Crouch rushed to the Headmaster's side. "What is this? Why is the Goblet of Fire doing that?"
"Do we need to evacuate the hall?" McGonagall asked.
"Wait, is that dangerous?" Madam Maxime stared at the towering green flames with concern.
"Dangerous? That thing is going to explode. Can't you see it? We need to leave right now!" Igor Karkaroff shouted.
"Everyone, calm down. Nothing is going to explode. I have this under contr—" Before Dumbledore could finish, the goblet spewed another piece of burnt paper.
Only then did the flames appear to start calming down, while their color also returned to their usual red-orange.
Everyone was still afraid, but they were finally able to start calming down now that they saw the fire shrinking in size.
It was then that people started to notice the flying piece of paper that was now falling down.
"But… we already have the three champions," Barty Crouch said when he saw it.
Dumbledore watched with expectant eyes as the burnt paper came down. He extended his hand and quickly grabbed it.
'It worked!' He hadn't been completely sure of it at first.
For someone to get chosen by the Goblet of Fire, they had to write their own name on a piece of paper and place it inside.
For obvious reasons, Harry Potter could not do that, so Dumbledore had to visit his old Muggle school and secure one of his old tests, from where he used to attend. Then he ripped the piece where Harry had signed his name and placed it inside the goblet.
But not before adding another enchantment to the goblin artifact, one that would guarantee that Harry was selected. For this, Dumbledore had to turn the Triwizard Tournament into a Quadra-Wizard Tournament, with one more school added into it...a school where Harry was the only student, and thus, the only possible choice for a champion.
It had truly been a gamble, even for someone with the knowledge of Albus Dumbledore, as these ancient goblin artifacts were not easy to alter, and the consequences for trying could potentially be catastrophic.
"How did this happen?" McGonagall was as confused as the rest, but the moment she saw the look in Dumbledore's eyes, she felt a cold shiver run across her body.
Once in a while, when she talked with him, she could spot a hint of madness in his eyes, one that made her very worried about him. This had been happening for four years, since the disappearance of Harry Potter.
Ignoring the stares, Dumbledore opened the piece of paper and read the name out loud. "Harry Potter!"
The voice of the Headmaster resounded across the entire Great Hall of Hogwarts.
The Goblet of Fire reacted to the calling, confirming that the soul contract had been carried out.
And Dumbledore finally could smile. His plan had worked.
"D-did you say Harry Potter?" Barty Crouch sounded confused. "Like… the Boy Who Lived?"
A loud wave of murmurs erupted all over the hall. Students looked at each other with confusion.
By this point, everyone in the entire country knew that Harry Potter had been kidnapped years ago and was likely dead, so no one could understand how his name could end up inside the Goblet of Fire.
"What is the meaning of this, Albus?" Madam Maxime asked. "You call a fourth name?."
"Yes, how did the name of that dead boy come out of the goblet? What is Hogwarts playing at?" Headmaster Karkaroff had a deep frown on his face.
Dumbledore raised his hands. "I am sure this is just a misunderstanding. Perhaps this is nothing more than a sick prank done by one of the students," he said with his usual grandfatherly smile.
"Ehm… excuse me, Professor, but what do we do now?" Cedric tapped on McGonagall's shoulder.
"Oh…" McGonagall had almost forgotten that the three champions were still waiting to be escorted away so they could have the rules of the tournament explained to them. "Just wait for a moment, I will have someone—"
All of a sudden, the hall was invaded by an earth-shattering sound of thunder that forced everyone present into an immediate moment of silence.
The confusion was still sinking in when some of the students sitting near the center of the chamber began to see sparks of lightning appear out of thin air.
"Ahhh!"
"What is happening now?"
"Get away from there!"
Panic began to spread as more students stood up from their seats and ran to get away from the strange phenomenon.
The professors immediately moved to find out what was happening, with the Headmaster of the school at the front.
"Everyone, stay calm and remain in your seats!" Dumbledore shouted before glancing at the others behind him. "Stay here."
His eyes narrowed as he observed the anomaly occurring in the middle of the Great Dining Hall.
Those sparks of electricity weren't appearing at random, but were instead forming a silhouette… a human one.
Dumbledore noted that the fire coming from the Goblet of Fire refused to completely settle down, telling him that the two events were likely related to each other.
"H-Harry?" the old wizard muttered as he cautiously approached with his wand in hand.
"Is that you, Harry?"
"Who called for me?" The voice came from the silhouette formed by lightning.
As the sparks died down, it became better defined, and they could all see that it was a young man wearing dark robes.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called. "It's you, right? I have finally found yo—" The words died in his throat.
Because the person in front of him looked nothing like the boy he had met before.
It wasn't until he saw his deep green eyes that he recognized him.
The sparks disappeared completely, and the flames of the goblet finally calmed down.
The only thing left behind from the strange phenomenon was the young man now standing in the middle of the Great Hall.
He glared at Dumbledore.
"Who dared to make a contract in my name?"
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