Harry Potter and the Lighting Lord

Chapter 40

After the debacle on the night of the selection, the next morning Harry had gone to the Great Hall and publicly announced that he did not consider himself to be the Hogwarts Champion; that title and prestige belonged solely to Cedric Diggory. He then asked the rest of the student population to instead give Cedric their undivided support, as he, Harry was forced into the tournament, and he was taking part only because there was no way out. Needless to say, Harry was declared an honorary Hufflepuff due to this statement. Ravenclaws were happy that their house was also represented, even if it was by accident, and the majority of the Slytherins were curious about how Harry would perform. The Gryffindors were indifferent since there was no one from their house, and many were still upset over having a Hufflepuff champion (personally, Harry couldn't wait to publish Godric's journal, just to slap everyone in the face and get rid of the stupid stereotypes). Some idiots, led by Ron Weasley, still believed that Harry was a glory hound and that he entered it himself. But they were quickly cursed and pranked by Fred and George. Draco Malfoy had tried to discredit Harry as well, but no one was that stupid. They had all seen Harry swear a magical oath on his life and besides, Harry was way more powerful and influential that the ferret Malfoy, so no one listened to him.

"I just want to know why he placed my name in the goblet" said Harry frowning. "Both Crouch and Dumbledore know something. What is it? Is it Voldemort? Is that why I was entered into the tournament? But if that's the case, why do they go through so much trouble? An assassination attempt would be more efficient and they could have done that at the Quidditch World Cup. We can't even find out the reason behind it from Crouch because there is an Unbreakable Vow in place that is stopping him from revealing the truth. Damn it! We can't pin it directly on Dumbledore either, so he was able to avoid a thorough investigation. Not only that, he still seems to have supporters, which was why he couldn't be booted out as Headmaster. But I'm glad they put him on probation."

"I'm happy McGonagall got the slap in the face that she deserved" said Daphne with a sneer on her face.

Harry nodded. "Flitwick would surely do a good job. I would like him as Headmaster too" he said, his voice trailing off.

"We'll have to increase your training" said Daphne.

"Already on it" replied Harry. "I've been looking through various books about the tournament, and it's usually based on some element of nature and magic. And the first task will always have something to do with some dangerous magical creature. I got a notice from Gringotts. I own a Dragon Reserve in Romania, and guess who just ordered four nesting mother dragons to be brought to Britain?"

"Nesting dragons?" hissed Daphne. "Are they insane? There's nothing more deadly than facing a nesting mother dragon, as they're incredibly protective of their clutch. The champions could very well be roasted alive! This tournament is done to promote International Magical Cooperation, not attend the funerals of champions!"

"I don't care about that" said Harry frowning. "I can take care of myself. But I'm worried about the dragons and their eggs. I don't want them hurt. The dragons didn't do anything to us! This is the kind of sport I hate when it comes to witches and wizards. Why can't they understand that dragons are sentient magical creatures and not toys they can play with?"

Daphne shook her head in exasperation. Leave it to Harry to not bother with his life, but instead worry about the health of the dragons. Didn't he understand how worried she was? This tournament was insanely dangerous; that was why it was discontinued! She felt like kidnapping Dumbledore to the dungeons of Potter Castle, and then torturing him until he was nothing but a gibbering, crying mess. He deserved it for all that he had done to Harry.

Harry could sense the emotional turmoil that was gripping his fiancée. He got up from her lap, pushed her down on the couch, and kissed her passionately. Daphne moaned as he felt the tension of the past few days melt away.