The tension in the air that evening was so thick that you could cut through it with a knife; all around the Great Hall, the members of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hogwarts all watched and waited with baited breaths for the drawing of the champions, only a small band of them, otherwise known as the Holy Knights, actually more on edge because of what they knew to be coming.
Watching from a protected spot between Sebastian and, much to his surprise, Sirius, Harry leaned in close to the Commander before he whispered quietly, "Should Fleur get into the Tournament, I want you to assign her a member of the Order as a contact and training partner."
"Way ahead of you Harry," Sebastian replied, his own eyes locked on the spot where the Goblet of Fire was burning brightly in the centre of the room, "Tyler asked if he could and I said it was fine, especially when I also told him that Miss Tonks could be here to help: her Auror training could come in handy."
"He's got a point there Harry," Sirius agreed, not really meaning to eavesdrop, "Nym is one of the best Defence students I know; present company excluded," he added with a smirk, nodding to his godson, "She knows she has an open invitation thanks to you and a place to stay in the Wing; so I agree with Seba."
Harry just nodded in agreement as Headmistress McGonagall took the centre of the room, Madame Maxime and High Master Karkaroff either side of her; glancing around the room, McGonagall cleared her throat before she spoke, "And now that we are all settled; it is time for the Champions' Selections: once again I warn you all that, once your name emerges from the Goblet, there is no turning back. You may have a select amount of company for research and assistance, but under no circumstances must you think you can get out of this: once it's done, it's done."
"She always had a way with words," Sirius chuckled, watching as the three heads of the three schools placed their hands upon the Goblet, the shimmering blue flames that erupted from the top of the goblet now turning red. As everyone leaned forwards, Harry then felt Excalibur's magic react to his own and the power of the Goblet; moving his hand down to his sword, Harry caressed the pommel as if he were calming a beast.
Then the first name erupted from the inside: catching the parchment, Minerva observed the parchment before she exclaimed, "The champion for Durmstrang is…Viktor Krum!"
A loud cheer and several rounds of applause filled the room as the so-called Quidditch star made his way down to the three heads, shook their hands and moved off into a separate chamber; as he watched Krum depart, Harry then noticed something rather off: a certain ex-headmaster was watching the Goblet and, despite his freakishly long beard, Harry could actually swear that he was muttering under his breath.
'Mum,' Harry sent across the bond, 'Tell me: can you hear Dumbledore muttering from where you're standing? I think he's done something to the Goblet; no surprise really.'
'I can't hear him,' Lily returned, her own position next to Remus as she looked to where Dumbledore was standing, 'I'll keep an eye on him son: don't forget that we know what's coming, but if he's tried something, then I ask my little King's permission to tear him a new one.'
'Get in line,' Harry laughed, watching as the flames turned red once more, another parchment flying from within; as McGonagall caught it, she looked around once.
"The champion for Beauxbatons…is Fleur Delacour!" she announced, though Harry gave Sebastian a subtle nudge as if to say to go ahead with his plan; almost immediately, the leader of the Order of Pendragon left the hall while the Goblet let out another name: Harry crossed his fingers as he looked around, wondering who the unfortunate soul was, "The Hogwarts Champion is…Cedric Diggory!"
This time, if it was possible, there was a louder cheer as Cedric, a Hufflepuff seventh year with dark brown eyes and stuck up hair of the same colour, moved through towards the same room where Fleur and Krum had gone; it was as he passed Dumbledore, however that Harry saw it again: a low muttering that became silent as soon as Cedric walked past him.
"And that's it!" exclaimed McGonagall, "The three champions are chosen; the wheels of fate have been set in motion and the Tournament has officially begun! I only wish luck to our three…"
She didn't get to finish; Harry watched as the flames turned red again, a stronger pulse of magic now filling the room as the Lord of Hogwarts felt his school and the magic of his ancestors trying to block it; shaking his head, Harry whispered, "Don't: let this happen; for the sake of the future, it has to happen."
Hogwarts, hearing her Lord's wishes, became still again as a final parchment shot out of the Goblet…followed by a second; catching both of them, Minerva's eyes widened and Harry noticed Dumbledore's twinkling eyes go out as she looked around, before, in a shaky voice, she called out both names.
"Lord Harry Potter; Lady Hermione Potter!"
Rising from his seat, Harry felt a sense of worry crossing the bond from his beloved; soothing her with his smile, Harry held out his hand and, helping Hermione up, both of them made their way to the front of the hall, Lily watching with a worried expression while, at her side, Remus was actually smiling and, at the edge of his vision, Harry noted that Sirius was also grinning.
"They cheated!" yelled one Hufflepuff;
"Not even seventeen," complained a sixth-year Slytherin;
"But it's typical," a familiar fourth-year voice complained; stopping dead, Harry turned and faced the specific owner of the last voice; Ron Weasley had a look of pure jealousy and planning rage on his face.
Shaking his head, Harry reached down to his belt and withdrew Excalibur from its sheath, before he lifted it high and, addressing the hall, exclaimed, "I, Harry James Potter, Arch-Knight of the Elemental Order do solemnly swear on the Holy Sword Excalibur that I did not willingly enter this Tournament or put my name in the Goblet!"
A bolt of white lightning crossed Hogwarts' darkened ceiling, before Hermione linked her hand with Harry's as she added, "I, Hermione Jane…Potter, Holy Knight of Ocean, do solemnly swear on the Holy Sword Excalibur that I did not willing enter this Tournament or put my name in the Goblet: should either myself or Harry James Potter be lying, may the elements strike us down where we stand!"
Another bolt of lightning crossed the sky, but this time it was emphasised by a torrential wave of water that mixed with the lightning before it took the shape of the Holy Knights' Phoenix Crest – a white phoenix cresting over a crossed pair of lightning bolts – the light now shining down on the two Knights as Harry lowered Excalibur and turned to follow the other Champions through to the side room.
As he passed the old man however, Harry stopped, looked him dead in the eyes and, in an almost icy voice, hissed, "Try and make something of this scenario old man…I beg you."
HPHG
While the three Heads of School tried to make heads or tails of what was going on here, Harry and Hermione were having their own conversation in their minds.
'Sparky, be honest with me: did you enter my name knowing you'd become a Champion?'
'I didn't,' Harry told her, 'I swear on the crown I bear that I did not wish you to join me Kitten: I'm sorry.'
'Don't be,' Hermione replied, before she linked hands with her betrothed and placed a soft kiss on his lips, 'If you didn't, then there's only one reason for it: we're betrothed in soul and magic, so Hogwarts herself would have done this.'
'I see what you're saying there,' Harry agreed, 'But I wish Godric would have warned me of this: I mean, other than the magic of my blade and Hogwarts trying to reverse this, there was no real warning.'
'Too little, too late I guess,' Hermione sighed, resting her head on Harry's shoulder as she asked, 'But what will we do? Will we work together or should we make this interesting?'
'Well,' Harry remarked, 'We know that I'm meant to meet with the Last Knight, old Tommy Boy, towards the end of the task, but we are bonded and have equal levels of power: I see no reason to make this interesting. So how about this: we research together and find out about the trials, but we keep strategies private…even from each other: then, when the final scores come in before the final task, we'll add a little wager to the bet.'
'I'm listening,' Hermione told him, her voice a soft purr in his ears as she half-listened to the Ministry officials talking about how they had no choice: surprisingly, none of the other Champions opposed this; more than likely because they could see the kind of power that bonded these two already.
'You beat me on points,' Harry told her, 'And I'll reward you with a date: but not just some dinner and a movie; no, this one will be special: anywhere in the world, or even in Camelot.'
'And if you beat me?' asked Hermione.
'If I beat you on points,' Harry told her, 'Then I have a proverbial free pass to do anything I want and either get away with it or not tell you about it.'
'Now that's a bit meagre,' Hermione sighed, her hand linked with Harry's as she added, 'How about if you beat me, we take the special date anywhere you want, but we make it for your birthday, so it's a double celebration.'
'Uh-huh,' Harry agreed, 'And the reverse?'
'I beat you,' Hermione teased him, 'Then, no matter how you feel about it…we complete our bond on the eve of the third task so that we can go in there with everything we've got: deal?'
'Deal,' Harry returned, his voice almost trembling as he thought of the aftermath of their little wager; if he won, he'd have a content Hermione and a future he would look forwards to; but if she won, he'd still have a content Hermione, but a pissed off Father figure better known as his Uncle Dan.
Either way, Hermione won…and that was the kind of bet that Harry would make a thousand times over and a thousand times again…
HPHG
After the two additional Champions had been allowed to leave, Harry had decided to get some more answers before he called it a night; leaving Hermione with the Knights, the King of Camelot made his way down to the Chamber of Secrets, their specially-chosen training chamber showing its wear and tear from the battle signs that lined the walls and the absence of the Basilisk corpse. It had been not too long before their return for fourth year that Harry and Severus had both returned to the school and harvested the Basilisk; half of it had gone to Gringotts for a rather hefty profit while the remainder had been kept by Harry for potion and other such uses.
Lifting Excalibur from its scabbard, Harry carved a five-point star on the ground before he added a circle around the outer edge, creating a pentagram; once this was done, he dug his blade into the centre-point of the pentagram, a bolt of lightning travelling through Excalibur's design and into the pentagram. As the two forces of magic met, there was an ominous rumbling and, removing his weapon, Harry smiled as he saw the Gateway rise in front of him.
It had been Merlin who had taught him how to open the gate without really needing to leave Excalibur or waste any unnecessary magic: as the new King, Harry had full command over the doorway that separated his human life from the magical kingdom that he ruled. When the gate opened, Harry stepped through, a smile gracing his lips as he found himself not stepping out onto the sandy beach as he had done before, but seemingly through a door inside Camelot's Main Castle, known simply as the Pendragon Citadel. Recalling his explorations of the place during his short time here, Harry followed the corridor downwards, several of the guards recognising him as they saluted him; when he reached the throne room, one of the guards pounded the floor with the butt of his staff-like weapon – the halberd - before he exclaimed, "My Lords and Ladies; announcing his Imperial Majesty: King Harry James Potter, Arch-Knight of the Elemental Order!"
The doors to the throne room opened before Harry actually smiled when he saw the Lords and Ladies of Nature all standing before him, their circular gathering seats positioned behind them. Seeing his King and proverbial apprentice standing before him, Merlin gave a bow of his own before he asked, "Your Majesty: this is a rather welcome surprise: how can the Elemental Order be of service sire?"
"There are some questions I would like answered Emrys," Harry answered, using Merlin's other name as a means to show how serious he was about this, "I came here of my own accord and on my own to get those answers: if we may step inside?"
"Of course," replied Merlin, stepping aside and, along with the other Lords and Ladies of the Order, moved to his seat, Harry taking his throne at the apex of the circle; assuming his regal-like stance – one leg crossed over the other with his fingers linked upon his lap – Harry faced the other Lords and made a mental note of how things appeared to have changed.
Since he had last seen them, when they'd said their farewells towards the end of August, Harry noticed that Artemis and Minerva actually appeared to look a lot more healthier while there was a glow to Zeus and Vulcan that hadn't been there before; indeed, all the Lords and Ladies appeared to be glowing, with the exception of Artemis, who was watching Harry. Knowing what she wanted to hear, the King of Camelot gave a sigh before he spoke, "Before we begin, I would like to thank you Lady Artemis: your gift on Samhain was well thought out and I appreciate you giving me the chance to speak to my Father after all these years."
"You are more than welcome my King," Artemis replied, her voice still like an older Luna as she faced her King, "And are you going to take the information you learned from your Father to heart?"
"Regarding your Hallows?" asked Harry; when Artemis nodded, he continued, "I am: I already possess two of the Hallows on my person: one being my new wand, which was forfeited from its previous master when he lost his stature in the world; I also own the Invisibility Cloak and am looking to possess the Resurrection Stone."
"Perhaps the Last Knight may know something," Artemis suggested, her tone indicating that this was one of those precognitive visions and meant as a hint to the King. A hint he took to heart as he looked around the circle: it was pretty difficult for him to remember that it had only been two months since he had last sat upon his throne and moved through his kingdom, but here he was again.
"Perhaps," he finally spoke up, "But for now, there is a much more pressing matter: I have found the last of my unknown Knights: the Holy Knight of Terra."
"Really?" asked Gaia; his stone-grey eyes suddenly shining bright as he asked, "Who is it?"
"A girl," Harry explained, "Fleur Delacour, who is also now my rival in the Tournament: yes Artemis," he added, seeing the Lady of Darkness open her mouth, "Your prophecy has come full circle: I now realise it was referring to the Tournament and now, not one, not two, but three Holy Knights are rivals in this Tournament."
"Three?" asked Zeus, "How is that my Lord?"
"When my name was revealed as Number Four," Harry explained, giving a sly grin to Artemis as he said this, "My beautiful and ever-bright Queen's name came out with me: now I'll get to that later, but for now, I need to know: does my being the Arch-Knight take away my original mantle of Holy Knight of Thunder?"
"It should," Zeus answered, "I should have warned you about this when we spoke: why?"
"Because," Harry told him, his voice calm now that his suspicions had finally been confirmed, "Fleur has a sister; a younger sister named Gabrielle: she's only eight or nine at the moment, but her magical blood will see her go through a change of some sort very soon. Anyway, the important part is that Gabrielle Delacour has become the Holy Knight of Thunder."
"Really?" asked Minerva, the Lady of Sky now looking between Zeus and Artemis as she asked, "Did you two know of this?"
"No they didn't," Merlin replied, the Lord of Light and Father of Magic actually running a hand down his white beard as he looked to Harry, "But I did: I'm sorry Harry, but yes, your suspicions are confirmed: when you became the Arch-Knight and indeed when you and Lady Hermione complete your bond and make this an official union of the elements, it will happen again. But when you became the Arch-Knight, your powers as the Holy Knight of Thunder were returned to the Balance until a new Knight was found: tell me, Miss Delacour, is she Anointed or Pure?"
"Pure Knights," Harry answered, "Both of them: I wish you had told me Emrys, but now I want you to tell me: will this affect anything in the future?"
"No," Merlin replied, "Like I said Harry, it will happen again when you and Lady Hermione officially complete your bond to one another: she will become your equal, the second Arch-Knight, known as the Arch-Mage, and the powers of the Holy Knight of Ocean will go to another. Now, if the Knights of Terra and Thunder have been found, then the Knight of Ocean will be an Anointed who will receive his or her powers on the day following the completion of your bond."
"I think I understand," Harry muttered, his eyes now filled with a sense of angst as he thought to himself, 'So if Hermione wins our little wager, then the new Knight could be crowned on the same day that Tom's supposed to come back…whenever that is.'
Voicing his other thoughts, he then asked, "Speaking of the power inside me: I was told that I would undergo a sort of early magical maturity and it is yet to occur: is this because of you?"
"It is," Zeus explained, "We seven have banded together and have not so much suspended your maturity, but put it on hold so that, when you complete your bond with Lady Hermione, your powers shall unite and grow together."
'And again we're back to the bond,' Harry thought, 'Gods above, I'm starting to realise just what it will mean when Hermione and I complete our bond.'
Leaning forwards slightly, Harry let out a sigh before he asked, "I know that this could be classed as cheating, but is there anything you can tell me about the trials ahead?"
"Nothing that intervening forces will not tell you for themselves," Merlin replied, looking shrewdly to the others as he added, "And beware of the old one my King; now that your life hangs in the balance, he may try and use this as a means to pull you back into his grasp: never forget the key objective of this Tournament and stand true to your beliefs."
"I will," Harry sighed, "Thank you Emrys; I'm grateful that the Lords were able to meet with me today and, once again, I thank you Artemis for your gift: this has probably been my best Halloween ever."
"I am happy it pleases you my King," Artemis replied, "Are you going?"
"I have to," Harry answered her, "If I'm gone too long, people will get suspicious, but I will keep everything you've told me in mind and, when we meet again, one way or another, it will be with a completed set of Holy Knights led by the Arch-Knight and Arch-Mage. May your swords stay sharp, my Lords and Ladies of Nature."
"And to you, Your Majesty," chorused the Elemental Order, their words and explanations ringing in Harry's ears and mind throughout most of everything that followed…