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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 37: A New Chance
4 Years Later, Ministry of Magic
Dumbledore was in a terrible mood today, and it was in great part because of the news he had just received.
"Cornelius… I don't think this is a good idea. The Triwizard Tournament was banned after causing the deaths of far too many students. It is an archaic tradition. And now you want to bring it back?"
Sitting across from Dumbledore were three of the most important figures in the current government.
Ludo Bagman was the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
Barty Crouch Sr. was the official chief organizer from the Ministry.
And of course, Cornelius Fudge was none other than the Minister of Magic, and he was currently looking very upset.
"Albus, this is not up for debate. I need this to go well. My reputation has taken a deep dive after the disaster that occurred last year at your school."
Dumbledore slammed his hand on the table. "That was your fault!" he shouted.
"It was yours! How could you not see that a Death Eater was hiding inside your school?!" Fudge shouted.
"Gentlemen, come on. Let's calm down and talk like civilized individuals," Ludo Bagman tried to get in between the two men.
Since that incident, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Minister of Magic had been at each other's throats.
"Dumbledore." The stern tone of Barty Crouch Sr. resounded in the small office. "The death of a student is always a regrettable thing to happen, but instead of blaming each other, you should work on making sure something like this doesn't repeat."
"We will definitely increase the security," Ludo Bagman added.
In the previous year, Hogwarts students went through some traumatizing events when Sirius Black escaped Azkaban and sneaked into the school to kill Peter Pettigrew, who, at the time, they all believed was someone Sirius had already killed before.
They discovered too late that he was an Animagus and had been hiding by pretending to be Ron Weasley's pet.
However, at the time, they knew nothing about Sirius's intentions or that Peter Pettigrew was alive.
The Aurors managed to track down Sirius to Hogwarts before he could take action.
Dumbledore asked the Minister to stand down and let him handle things, as he was afraid that students could get hurt if Sirius felt trapped.
The Minister was too desperate to capture Sirius Black, as the public was starting to blame the prisoner's escape on his incompetence.
A large raid was conducted at the school, and just like Dumbledore predicted, this led to Sirius becoming more desperate to accomplish his goal.
That same night, a magical battle between Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew took place inside the Gryffindor dormitory and was seen by dozens of students.
During this event, a student named Ron Weasley was killed by a curse used by Peter Pettigrew when he got in his way.
Sirius was later killed by an Auror while trying to murder Peter, and the latter managed to escape the chaos by transforming into a rat and running away. It was a complete mess.
It took them a while to even find out who the Animagus was. Only when they were reviewing the statements and memories from the present students did they find out it was the former Death Eater.
Minister Fudge blamed Dumbledore for having a dangerous criminal hiding under his nose, and the Headmaster blamed the Minister for his reckless approach, which ended in the death of a student.
"I won't have any more students dying in my school," Dumbledore said. "Hogwarts' reputation as one of the safest places in Magical Britain is already being questioned."
"Hmph! Maybe it should," Fudge scoffed.
"Minister Fudge, please," Ludo Bagman said, glancing at the Minister.
"Let's be reasonable, Dumbledore," Barty Crouch said. "It's not just the Minister or your school. I believe the country needs this. A spectacle like the Triwizard Tournament will be something to be remembered."
"Indeed, and we went through a lot of trouble to secure the Goblet of Fire from the goblins," Ludo added.
The mention of that object immediately piqued Dumbledore's attention. "You have the Goblet of Fire?" He had forgotten about it until now.
Dumbledore's mind immediately started to work, as he recalled how this ancient magical artifact functioned.
'Once a magical contract is created… the person will be forced to attend the tournament and compete in all the tests,' he recalled from what he had read many years ago.
Noticing the change in the Headmaster, Minister Fudge smiled. "Yes, we will use the Goblet of Fire for the selection of the champions. We will also bring students from two foreign schools to participate. After all, the tournament needs three champions, and it wouldn't do us any good if they were all from Hogwarts."
"This will be an opportunity to strengthen our bonds with those other countries as well," Ludo said.
Dumbledore glanced at them. "What other schools?"
"Durmstrang and the French school of Beauxbatons," Barty Crouch answered. "I would personally be assisting in the organization of the tournament at Hogwarts, so you won't have to do all the work."
"Yes, and I will take care of the logistics. All the things that we will need for the tests and publicizing the event to all our citizens," Ludo added.
"So, what do you say?" the Minister asked.
Dumbledore nodded, but his mind was already working on a complex ploy that could potentially bring Harry Potter back to where he belonged.
'I can make use of the soul contract… I just need to acquire a few items. And then… yes, this could really work!'
For the past four years, Dumbledore was the only one who never gave up on finding Harry. And now, he finally had a good plan.
The Goblet of Fire was an ancient and powerful artifact. If anything had a chance to bring the boy back, it would be that one.
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