Chapter 57
"I still cannot believe you fell for the trap despite knowing about it," Nicholas chastised him as a teacher would a student. It had been a long time since he had treated him like that, as the aged wizard scampered through his tiny home picking up potions and vials, as he tried to help Albus ameliorate the curse on his hand.
"It was simply too tempting a prize," Albus admitted, his eyes distant with memory. Albus Dumbledore had always been fascinated by the Resurrection Stone, and its powers, and despite knowing of the curse lingering on the ring, he had not been able to keep himself at bay.
"Perhaps it was fate that compelled me to reach for it," and Nicholas scoffed, as he smacked his head with a book before he put a cauldron on fire.
"Do not blame your fallacies on fate," and he was indeed too old for making excuses.
"Still," those eyes looked into his.
"You do know that there is a simpler solution for it. The elixir..." but Albus shook his head before the Alchemist could eek out the rest of the words.
"No," he said firmly, especially now that he knew the true ingredient of the Stone.. The Flamels had made their choice, but Albus did not have the heart to live for centuries by using the purest thing in the entire world.
"I don't condemn you or Perenelle. But I want nothing to do with the Stone," and his old teacher's eyes dimmed at his words, before he gave him a subtle nod.
"I can only slow it down, Albus," he reminded him, and Albus knew that as well.
"I know," and he was ready for what came after. He had been ready for it for some time now.
"I no longer fear death as I once did." Back then, he had been young—and in love.
"I shall greet it as an old friend..."
0000
CASSIUS MALFOY
The days after the Yule Ball went by like a blur, and soon enough, it was time for the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He had also finished the potion for Astoria and planned on bringing it all up to Daphne soon.
Now, with his evenings vacant once more, he could finally focus more on his Harry problem. And so, they were given the orientation as last time, and the details of the task were just as he had expected.
Not that they mattered to him, and as Ludo Bagman finished the explanation, they were all sent to the edge of the Black lake while the students all cheered from the stands.
"Did you get my message?" asked Fleur as she stood beside him, and the Veela had been rather generous in sending him the clue for the task through Hermione, not that it mattered.
"Yes, and I must say I am grateful for your consideration," she added, despite knowing of his intentions and being in the last place. She had shown great spirit in trying to even the playing field.
"Are you not going to participate again?" asked Cedric, and he shrugged.
"I have no interest in the tournament," he declared as Cedric sighed.
"You do know half the stands are cheering for you now," and indeed, after the show during the first task where he had singlehandedly brought down a dragon the boos had turned into cheers and he could spot even a few banners in the stands in his support.
"You could at least try," Fleur suggested.
"I just don't want to make you guys look bad," and it made the three of them roll their eyes, as the Drumstrang champion chimed in.
"Well, it is your choice," and given that he was the top scorer in the last stage, the shot was fired, indicating the beginning of the second task, and he was the first to jump forward as the upper half of his body transfigured into a shark.
"You heard them, if we do not rescue the hostages within an hour, we could lose them," Fleur added in concern, as a minute later the cannon was fired a second time and Cedric jumped into the water.
"They are bluffing!" he declared, and her eyes narrowed.
"Are you willing to risk your most precious person just on that?" That cut deep, but he did not want to play along with this farce.
"Yes, I am," and the canon was fired a third time, but Cassius did not move, as he simply sat down as Dean spoke away.
"AND IT SEEMS LIKE OUR RAVENCLAW CHAMPIONS PROTEST CONTINUES!" and the crowd booed now once more, as Cassius raised a brow.
"WELL, HE HAS SHOWN US ALL THAT HE IS QUITE CAPABLE! BUT HE CONTINUES HIS PROTEST TO SHOW US HIS INNOCENCE!" and the canon sounded off for the last time, as Fleur whipped up her wand, as a bubble formed around her head.
"AND THE BEAUXBATON CHAMPION IS AWAY!" and she jumped into the water body as Cassius simply sat there waiting for the hour to pass, as Dean commented away.
"MAN! WE BELIEVE YOU! CAN WE JUST GET ANOTHER DISPLAY OF MAGIC FROM YOU!" he pleaded, as Cassius shook his head, and the crowd all sighed.
"WELL, WE HAVE OUR ANSWER!" Dean sighed.
"I TRIED PEOPLE! I TRIED!" and then just a few minutes later, the surface of the lake began to shift, as Cassius raised a brow as the first contestant showed up, but rather than vigor and celebration that he had expected, what Cassius heard was panic.
Total. Abject. Panic.
"HELP! HELP!" he heard Krum scream, in his thick Bulgarian accent, as Cassius sprang to his feet.
"WHAT!" he questioned, his heart racing.
"Hermion...water...sea..." and those were the only words that he made out, before his body sprang into action as Cassius whipped out his wand and aimed it straight at the lake ahead, as he reached for his magic in pure desperation.
"Diviso!" and then he tore apart the world, as he brought down his wand, and unlike the whole lake, split apart, as water gushed out onto the field around it, as he opened a path straight towards the hostages, and just as the water parted, he saw them there.
The four of them were floating in the water, and while the three of them were petrified, the fourth one was not.
"Hermione..."
His heart dropped. She floated like a ghost, her curls drifting like seaweed. He didn't think—he just acted.
0000
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
In the blink of an eye, he cheers had turned to screams. Now, only silence lingered in the stone corridors of Hogwarts.
"How could this happen?" Scrimgeour demanded, pacing outside the hospital wing, as they all waited for Poppy to inform them about the girl's condition, and Albus could not fathom how one of his own charms had failed.
"A girl drowning! The Second Task cancelled!" Ludo Bagman added, as he looked up, his face pale as paper.
"This is a disaster!" and it was indeed. It was indeed.
"This is the second time that the safety of the students has been compromised," the Beauxbaton Headmistress spoke softly from the side.
"Perhaps it is a good idea to be done with this whole thing," and that would be a major blow to their Ministry's reputation, and would make him no friends there.
"There is no need for that, Madam Maxime," he tried to assuage her worries but the woman was rightly worried.
"I did not think that you would ever make a mistake like that," and it had been he who had cast the spell of petrification, and Albus could cast it without a whisper, and yet somehow the spell had been warped.
"But perhaps the papers are right. You have gotten too old," she taunted, and the Deputy Headmistress chose to intervene in that moment.
"Preposterous," Minerva cut in, confronting Maxime.
"He is the best wizard in all of Britain," she defended him even as he tried to stop her.
"Yet his mistake nearly cost my student her life," and it wasn't a surprise that she was so angry, but in his mind, Miss Granger would always be one of his own students.
"She was once my student as well, and I am equally saddened by her suffering," Albus cut in, as he apologised to the foreign entourage.
"Don't grovel, Albus! We all know that you did not make a mistake," Minerva bristled sharply, her loyalty and belief in him absolute.
"Then how is it that two students nearly died right under his watch?" The French Half-Giantess was not backing down, as Albus sighed.
"First, it was a fourth champion, then it was the chain breaking up, and now this! Corners have been cut. A part of me believes that we should simply end this all right here and now..." and it was Scrimegour who cut in again.
"Well, that is all nothing more than a simple threat," he warned the Half-Giantess.
"You will not simply abandon your champion, so it would be better to steer this conversation towards a more sensible and reasonable conclusion," he suggested, and it was Igor who became the voice of reason.
"He is right," and the Drumstrang Headmaster joined in.
"We cannot just end the tournament right here and now," the man added, being relatively reasonable.
"So what do you suggest?" asked the disgruntled woman.
"That we remove Albus as the host and appoint a new, more neutral party to the position, and given that one of yours was just attacked, I believe that I am the most suited for this new role," and the room grew silent at those words.
"Albus did not make a mistake. You cannot blame him for your fai...." but he stopped Minerva.
"If that is the final decision of all the parties involved, then I shall happily step away," he said. As long as the students and participants are safe, I care little about useless titles and powers.
"We shall talk about it after we know more about Miss Granger's condition..." and just as he spoke that, Poppy came out of the Hospital Wing, sighing as she gave him a nod.
"We are lucky that the boy acted when he did," and indeed, Cassius had taken but a second to act as he split apart the lake to free all of the hostages, including an unconscious and drowning Hermione Granger.
"If he had been but a few seconds later, we might have lost the girl," and relief filled him as the matron turned towards the French woman.
"She needs rest, but she will make a full recovery," and that was a relief for them all.
"Well, then I believe we must report this to the Minister," Scrimegour added, and walked away at once.
"I must see the girl," Madam Maxime added, and rushed into the room as Igor followed her, leaving him alone with Minerva.
Every year," Minerva whispered. "And every year, it's the children who pay the price."
.
.
.
Late into the night, Cassius stood there by the bed of an unconscious Hermione as he held her hand, as he saw for himself the cost of his actions. This was his doing.
He did not yet know how? Or why? But he was certain about one thing.
His presence was the reason that she had nearly died twice now. He had been able to save her, but his mere presence had put her in danger, and if he were to fail in stopping Voldemort, then there would be thousands more like her.
"She should have accepted my offer..." a cold, chilling voice broke through the silence, as Cassius turned around and saw Harry standing there, yet his body stiffened, and in the blink of an eye, the wand was aimed at the young boy.
For he knew that this was not Harry.
"So you do know."
The green eyes bled into red, and the smile that followed didn't belong to Harry at all.
His blood ran cold. That wasn't Harry. That thing wearing his face—it was something else entirely.
"That saves me quite some time, then...."
0000
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