Work Text:
Nothing is as it seems...
"And the champion for Hogwarts is ..." Dumbledore started as he reached for the parchment piece that had just come out of the goblet of fire "Cedric Diggory!"
The four house tables clapped wildly, and some of the students shouted Cedric's name. Of course, the loudest of all were the Hufflepuffs that celebrated THEIR champion. For the first time, the house that everyone underestimated had something that none of the other houses had.
"Bravo, bravo Mister Diggory, if you would follow the other champions into the chamber," Dumbledore said so loudly that he could be heard over the students.
Cedric freed himself from his classmates and jogged to the headmaster, stood next to him and waved at everyone once again before he went into the adjoining chamber.
"Thank you all and I wish us an exciting Triwizard tournament," Dumbledore said to everyone present before turning to go into the chamber.
He hadn't taken two steps when the blood froze in his veins. Without having to turn around, he knew what had happened. He might be old, but his hearing was as good as ever. But he knew he needed confirmation of his eyes to believe what he had heard. As he turned his head, the Great Hall suddenly went silent. A sign that he hadn't been wrong.
As with the other three champions, the goblet of fire had ejected a piece of parchment that was now slowly sliding towards the ground. Back and forth, back and forth.
Dumbledore reached for the parchment and he just starred at itfor almost half a minute without saying anything. The students and teachers present only looked at the headmaster in confusion.
"Harry Potter," Dumbledore whispered, but since it was so quiet, the silence carried his voice to every corner of the Great Hall.
~~~ *** ~~~
Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with Hermione and watched the champions being drawn for the tournament. Like everyone he applauded for each of the champions, he was disappointed that Angelina hadn't been chosen.
"I hope Cedric knows what he's getting into," Hermione said only as she clapped.
She had told everyone who wanted and sometimes did not want to hear what she had found about the Triwizard tournament in the library. It wasn't always going well for one or even all champions. There were mutilations and deaths.
"Certainly Hermione, otherwise he wouldn't have put his name in the goblet of fire," Harry said soothingly.
"Let it rest Hermione," said Ron somewhat angrily as he tried to listen to Dumbledore.
The three of them also fell silent as a fourth parchment flew out of the goblet of fire. As the parchment soared, a bad feeling spread through Harry's stomach.
"No," he just murmured, looking at the parchment.
"Harry?" Hermione wanted to know, having heard Harry.
"Not again," Harry whispered, amazed, confused, and angry at the same time.
Hermione no longer understood the world, what had happened to her best friend? What was he doing saying something like that? She was so deep in his analysis of Harry that she didn't notice Dumbledore picking up the parchment. It wasn't until she heard the Headmaster whisper Harry name that it made clicked for her.
"No," she breathed out what she thought and looked at her best friend.
~~~ *** ~~~
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore repeated the name on the parchment so that everyone in the Great Hall really knew what was going on.
"Mr. Potter!” The headmaster called and looked for Harry at the Gryffindor table.
"What's going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked when she jumped up from her seat at the teacher's desk.
"I don't know Minerva," Dumbledore said only before turning to Harry, "Mr. Potter please come to me, we have to go to the chamber to the other champions."
Confused and somewhat ephemeral, Harry got up from his seat, which the other students took as a sign to boo him and to call him a fraud and cheater. What was worst for him was that he could identify some voices, they were his own house members, Gryffindors, who described him as a fraud.
He hurried to Professor Dumbledore as quickly as he could, but before he got there a new voice sounded in the Great Hall that surpassed everyone.
"STOP!"
~~~***~~~
It was quiet in the Great Hall as before, but the students continued to whisper among themselves about the cheater Harry Potter.
"What's going on here?" Asked a woman who had just entered the Great Hall.
"Madam Bones, what brings you to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked in surprise.
"I actually wanted to attend the champion's draw in my position as Director of Magical Law Enforcement," replied Madam Bones.
"However, something got in the way and I was a little late. As it looks, it's already over. How are Miss Delacour, Mister Krumm and Mister Diggory doing?"
It was Professor McGonagall who was the first to think clearly again after Madam Bones said that she could not be there at the drawing but knew exactly who was drawn as a champion.
"Madam Bones, how do you know who was drawn? That was less than 5 minutes ago?” McGonagall said what many thought.
But before Madam Bones could reply, Harry Potter spoke in between.
"You have to help me Madam Bones! My name came out of the goblet of fire without me putting it in!” Came it pleading from Harry, who was still standing next to Dumbledore.
"WHAT!" Bellowed Madam Bones, looking directly at Harry.
"So, it is Amelia," said Dumbledore. "Mister Potter's name was ejected by the Goblet of Fire just before you arrived."
"It's impossible, Dumbledore, I saw what names ended up in the Goblet of Fire and Mr. Potter's name was not there, because he is not allowed to participate because he is too young," Madam Bones replied as she pulled her wand out of a forearm holster .
"Expecto Patronum. Robbarts bring your team to Hogwarts with all the documents. ASAP!” Said Madam Bones to the Patronus in the form of a puma before he disappeared through the wall of the Great Hall.
"Until my Aurors are here, I want to know, Mister Potter what's going on here," said Madam Bones as she slowly walked towards Harry.
"I didn't put my name in the goblet of fire, Madam Bones," said Harry, but was directly overlaid by calls with fraud, liar and cheater.
"Nobody talks here except me!" Roared Madam Bons into the hall. "This is now an official matter of the DMLE.”
"Amelia, isn’t this over the top?" Dumbledore asked angrily.
"No, it isn’t Albus. Something is completely wrong here, I'm sure of it,” Madam Bones replied dryly and turned away from the headmaster.
"Professor McGonagall would you be kind enough to bring the other champions back in the Great Hall. They should also hear first-hand what we are discussing here,” asked Madam Bones Professor McGonagall in a friendly but firm manner.
"Of course, Amelia," said Professor McGonagall and went to the door of the chamber and disappeared into it.
Meanwhile, Madam Bones stood in front of the teachers' table and looked over the four house tables and tried to get an idea of the situation while waiting for her Aurors to arrive.
~~~***~~~
The Patronus reached Auror Robbarts as he was about to leave his office after Madam Bones released him and his team for the rest of the evening and the next day.
“Robbarts bring their team to Hogwarts with all the documents. ASAP!” Said the Patronus to him in the voice of Madam Bones.
"That can't be a good thing," murmured Gawain, turning back to intercept the members of his team before they went home.
He entered the hall where the individual offices of the various Auror teams were located and made his way to the middle of the hall where his office was. Luckily, the other four members of his team were still packing their things, so they were all here.
"We seem to have a problem," he began dryly to address his team. “Bones has just sent me a Patronus. We are to come to Hogwarts with all the documents as soon as possible. Apparently, there was a problem with the Triwizard tournament.”
The four members of his team only looked at him in amazement until he more or less ruined their evening. Nobody said anything, but Gawain could see from their faces and posture that at that moment they wanted to hex him.
"Leave everything there and pack it together," said Gawain, before going on to his office to pick up the documents he was using.
~~~ *** ~~~
While the Aurors were still gathering their papers, Professor McGonagall had the three champions, their headmasters and head of house, as did Mister Bagman and Mister Crouch in tow. All who dah waited for Dumbledore to join them.
"What is the meaning of this Dumbliedore?" Asked Madam Maxime Dumbledore before they got to him, her French dialect showing heavily.
"You better ask Madam Bones' Director of Magical law enforcement here in England Olympe," said Dumbledore, pointing to Madam Bones, who was standing in front of the assembled Great Hall like a general who was about to direct his troops.
"Madam Bones?" Asked Madam Maxime Madam Bones, who had turned to the new arrivals.
"The information I have received from Headmaster Dumbledore and Mister Potter so far is as follows: shortly after Mister Diggory was selected as champion for Hogwarts and went into the chamber with you, a fourth parchment came out of the goblet of fire. As far as I know, the name of Mister Potter was written on this parchment,” Madam Bones explained to the newcomers.
"An impertinence, how does Hogwarts have two champions?" It shot out of the champion for Beauxbatons Fleur Delacour.
"Miss Delacour, we want to clarify that. What I can definitely say is that Mister Potter is not the champion for Hogwarts. It's like the Goblet of Fire decided Mister Diggory there,” said Madam Bones, pointing to Cedric.
"Amelia?" Mister Crouch asked.
"Barty, this is under my supervision. At an event hosted by the Ministry, irregularities occurred before it even started, which could not have occurred in this way,” Madam Bones said coolly to her predecessor in her position.
~~~ *** ~~~
Less than ten minutes after Madam Bones had requested Robbarts and his team, the three wizards and two witches arrived in the Great Hall at Hogwarts and purposefully approached their boss. Of course, everyone noticed that there were new arrivals in the hall and the students became quiet again, hoping to get new information.
"Madam Bones," Auror Robbarts greeted his boss.
"Gawain, thank you for coming so quickly. We have a very strange situation here. A fourth name was selected by the Goblet of Fire,” noted Madam Bones as she went to the teacher's table with the Aurors to look through their documents.
"That's impossible. I saw for myself which names came out of the Goblet and Mister Potter was not there!“, It came astonished from Auror Kent Hammer.
"I can only confirm that," said the other four Aurors.
"That's why you are here. Me, and especially Mister Potter here, want answers,” said Madam Bones, before she started scanning the documents until she took two from the stack and read them carefully.
"Exactly what I need," she murmured and called those in charge of the Triwizard tournament.
"I'm going to tell everyone here what's going on," said Madam Bones, stepping back to the teacher's table so that she could speak to everyone present.
"Two things before I start to explain the situation: Number one: When I speak, I don't want to be interrupted for whatever reason. Number two: If you don't stick to number one, you'll get a Silencio. Got it?” Said Madam Bones and got a murmur in response.
"Well, then I want to start" she said and with a swing of her wand caught the two documents she was holding in the air next to her.
"These two lists are the names that have been thrown into the goblet of fire under their school since the other two schools arrived yesterday. The list on the left is made up of names that meet the criteria and the other does not. As you can see, the list of unfulfilled criteria is very short, just four names. However, I must tell you that these names were never thrown into the goblet of fire,” said Madam Bones, which, contrary to her announcement, caused a tumult of the students and those responsible for the tournament.
While the students were shouting loudly, those responsible for the tournament tried to go to Amelia. But a cannon blast spell by Auror Hammer made everyone silent again.
"Didn't I say I don't want to be interrupted?" Asked Madam Bones rhetorically, looking around.
Most of them looked down, concerned, because they knew they had more or less promised it.
"Well, then I can go on now."
"The Goblet of Fire has never left the Ministry of Magic. What was here at Hogwarts was an almost perfect copy of the original. With the only difference that it could not make a selection of champions, because it is a fake. Instead, the copy sent every parchment thrown into it to a room in the Ministry. In this room, the Aurors present, under oath, were responsible for checking the names of all people to see whether they were authorized to participate in the tournament. They compared the names with a register and if the person met the criteria set by the ministry, the parchment was placed in the REAL goblet of fire. Since it was only one criterion that all participants had to be 17 years and older, this was quickly done. If this was not the case, the names were sorted out. And before anyone says that my Aurors could have helped someone cheating, they were under the following oath: I will check the names of the people for their age and thus for the eligibility to participate in the Triwizard tournament of 1994/1995. I swear by my magic."
Without saying anything to Madam Bones, the five Aurors raised their wands and spoke: “Lumos”. All five wands lit up at their tips.
"And as you all saw, they still have their magic, so none of the five could have put Mister Potters name in the goblet of fire. And before you ask, the five were locked in the room that only I knew and only I could open this room, also under a oath that I wouldn't let anyone in the room and as you all saw I still have my magic as I have summoned the Patronus. Question?"
Immediately it got loud again in the Great HAll, because everyone had questions, mostly the people in charge of the tournament.
But Madam Bones was the first to pick up Harry who had stepped in front of her.
"Madam Bones, does that mean that I am not obliged to take part in the tournament?" He asked hopefully.
"That's exactly what this means Mister Potter. The names of the champions were drawn in the Ministry two hours ago and the goblet of fire went out when he spat out Mister Diggory's name. This means that only these three are bound by the contract with the Goblet,” Madam Bones explained the facts.
"Thank you!" Harry said happily, even went so far as to hug her before running back to Hermione and hugging her too.
"Any questions?" Madam Bines wanted to know….
THE END (?)