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 41: The Boy Who Lived?
"Ehm… this…" Dumbledore didn't know what to say. The young man in front of him was too different from what he expected.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was simply not possible, he would have believed that he had the wrong person.
This Harry looked confident and strong. He was wearing a long set of elegant black robes that appeared to be made of the finest acromantula silks.
But his most striking feature was his silver hair, which seemed to shine under the lighting of the torches in the hall.
The students stared at the new arrival with a mix of shock and bewilderment, wondering who this person was and how he got here.
Even the students knew that teleportation magic didn't work inside the school, yet this person had appeared out of nowhere while surrounded by sparks of light and lightning.
The silence in the hall was soon broken again by Harry's voice.
He glanced at the wizard who stood in front of him. "You are Albus Dumbledore… I still remember you."
Harry then observed his surroundings. He was inside a massive dining hall, and there were hundreds of youngsters staring at him from their tables.
"And this must be the famous Hogwarts."
He had been wanting to visit this place, but Morgan always told him it was a bad idea and that his priorities should lie elsewhere.
But now he was here for some reason.
Harry had been very far away from here until a moment ago, when he felt an incredibly powerful pull on his soul that forced him to respond.
Whatever was done to him, he had no doubts that the man responsible was this old wizard in front of him.
Albus Dumbledore...whom many considered to be his equal, and who had been obsessed with finding him over the past four years.
Harry hadn't been oblivious to his attempts; he was just not interested in answering them.
Now he had been left with no other choice.
"Answer me, Albus Dumbledore." His mood was starting to sour as he thought about this violation of his person. "Are you the one who made a contract in my name?"
"I—" Before the Headmaster could answer, more people rushed to his side.
"Albus, who is this? And how did he get here?" McGonagall was the first to ask.
"This one doesn't look like the Boy Who Lived," Headmaster Karkaroff added.
"What are you saying? Harry Potter is dead. Everyone knows that," Madam Maxime said.
"But he appeared right after the name of Harry Potter came out of the Goblet of Fire." Karkaroff pointed his finger at him. "You think that is a coincidence?"
"The Goblet of Fire?" Harry asked.
It didn't take him long to locate the object in question, as there was a giant goblet with flames coming from the top just a short distance away.
Ignoring the group of people in front of him, Harry walked past them and approached the goblet to observe it better.
He analyzed the artifact while everyone else did the same with him.
His wand appeared in his hand, and he gently tapped it on its metallic surface.
"W-wait! You shouldn't try to tamper with the Goblet of Fire. It's very dangerous," Dumbledore panicked when he saw Harry aiming his wand at the goblet.
"Is it now?" Harry asked. "Then why am I detecting that someone added an extra layer of charms over the original enchantments? Is this what you used to bring me here against my will?"
Harry's voice could be heard over the entire hall, and all of a sudden, all eyes were on the Headmaster.
"Albus? Did you have something to do with what just happened?" McGonagall asked, even though deep down she already knew the answer.
"Albus, what is this all about?" Madam Maxime asked. "Did you really tamper with the Goblet of Fire to bring this boy here?"
"Is this boy really Harry Potter? Because he doesn't look like him," Karkaroff added.
Dumbledore tried to remain calm under the accusations. "Why don't we go talk about this in private?. This is really not the place for this."
The Headmaster ignored the stares and walked toward Harry, who was still standing next to the goblet.
Harry was about to refute the request and demand a proper explanation from the old wizard, but then he saw the faces of all the students present.
"Very well. Let's go talk in a more private place." He did not want to cause unnecessary panic among those children, so he agreed to cooperate for now.
Dumbledore was visibly relieved after hearing this and pointed toward a smaller room at one side of the hall. "This way, please."
"Albus! We really need to talk about what just happened." Barty Crouch walked up to the Headmaster's side. His expression could barely hide the anger he was feeling. "I swear, if you have done something that could potentially ruin the tournament, I'll—"
"Barty, now is really not the time or place. I promise you that I will explain everything very soon. Why don't you take the two champions and bring them somewhere else? I need to speak with Mister Potter in privat—"
"Private? I don't think so," Madam Maxime huffed. "We all want to hear about your intentions in bringing a fourth champion into the tournament. And I believe the other three selected champions deserve to hear it as well."
"That's right. We are not going anywhere," Karkaroff added.
Dumbledore sighed, knowing he was in no position to refuse them right now, even though he really wanted to have a private conversation with Harry.
"Very well. Follow me then."
The three champions, as well as Harry, Karkaroff, Maxime, and McGonagall, were guided to another room while the students in the hall were left to wonder what had just happened.
At the professors' table, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody, had been watching everything with rapt attention.
His eyes were locked on Harry Potter as he left the hall.
And then, he took a sip from his flask. A.N - No, this is not Barty Crouch Junior. See if you can guess who could it be.-
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