THE CURSED LINE & BLESSED HEIR (Patreon)

Chapter 12- Elements

“Shit!” He couldn’t bring himself to chastise his colleague for his language. He was not one to let his teachers swear by the chance that it would become a habit around their students, but the scene in front had him tongue-tied and he didn’t have the heart to tell Alastor what he felt. 

Dumbledore stood alongside Alastor and watched as the roar of the four dragons retrieved for the competition reverberated around the  Forbidden Forest. The dragon handlers had been trying to bring them under control since the break of dawn and had yet to appease the dragons. 

Cornelius had kept his word and managed to get around sixty dragon handlers from the dragon reserves, which Dumbledore greatly appreciated. But seeing how difficult it was for trained professionals to handle them, he worried about the competitors. 

“Whoever gets that would have their work cut out for themselves.” Alastor cut in, nodding towards the massive brown-skinned, spike-tailed beast which he had come to know as the Hungarian Horntail, one of the most dangerous beasts to walk the face of the earth. 

It took half of the handlers to manage the horntail alone and that did not fill him with confidence about the contestant who would go on to face the particular dragon. 

“That took a lot.” Dumbledore watched as a red-haired young man walked up to him, wiping away some sweat on the back of his hand. 

“I would not be eager to play in this competition after seeing what they would be facing, Professor Dumbledore. Are you sure that the contestants should not be informed?” 

“Unfortunately, we are not supposed to interfere, Mr Weasley,” Dumbledore replied, pained by the fact, but there was little he could do. He and by extension, the other Head of Schools should not be involving themselves in the competition in any way. 

Dumbledore was not naive and he knew that the other two would break away and try and help their contestants as much as possible, a decision which he would welcome. 

“You and I both know that Karkaroff and Maxime will help their students Albus.” Moody cut in, stating the obvious. 

“It is only right that you do it as well.” 

Dumbledore chuckled sadly, shaking his head as he did so. He wanted to help his students, but his case was different from the others. 

“I am the host of this competition. Everything I do to support my students in this tournament would make it seem that the Hogwarts Institution has rigged the competition towards their advantage. I am in a precarious position. I have two bright students whose reputation is in the balance and being termed as cheaters just for taking help would be a huge mistake on my part.” 

“Not to mention, if they hear it from my staff, they would also be under much scrutiny. It would become an international issue and that is not something you would want as well.”  

“That being said, I will not remain idle. Mr Potter and Mr Diggory would know what the first task is and I will warn them about the dangers they are supposed to face. Don’t worry about it.” Dumbledore assured his defence professor. 

“What about me, Professor?” The red-haired man questioned. “I can tell Harry about the dragons. Mom would kill me if I knew and didn’t inform Harry about something like this. She loves that kid.” 

Dumbledore smiled, realising how true Charlie Weasley’s words were. Molly Weasely had that way about her. It was good for Harry that Molly was the first woman he met in the wizarding world. Knowing Molly like he does, she would waste no time in accepting him as her own. 

“You telling him would mean no different than me telling him about the task. Maybe tell your parents about it and they can send word through young Ronald. You are not supposed to be seen talking to any participants.” 

Charlie nodded, conceding to the point. They were asked explicitly by the Ministry not to speak with any of the participants and hence they were asked to hold the dragons deep in the forbidden forest where there is less activity. He didn’t want to face any trouble from the Ministry and Dumbledore’s idea was a far better option. 

‘I guess it is time to go home. Mum would be thrilled.’ He smiled knowing how his mother would react to him coming home out of the blue. 

“What are they supposed to do?” Charlie questioned the Headmaster. 

“They won’t be fighting them I hope.” He shuddered slightly. “That will not end well, Headmaster.” 

“They have to retrieve a fake golden egg from amidst the dragon eggs which would be guarded by the dragons.” 

The young man was surprised by that bit of information. He couldn’t believe that this was their idea of a competition. 

“I am sorry, but do they want those kids to be killed?” He questioned incredulously not hiding his surprise from the man. 

“The dragons are possessive beings, Professor. If somebody tries to approach their eggs, he is dead meat.” 

Dumbledore couldn’t help but wince at the younger man’s words. He knew it, but he could not do anything else but go along with the plan for the tournament. Although dangerous, this was a better way than fighting the dragons. 

He conveyed his thoughts to the young man who was still in disbelief about the whole issue. How did the Ministry agree to this? How could anybody with a brain agree to this nonsense, he had no idea. 

“We better hope things don’t go out of hand, Headmaster. If it does, there will be many problems going forward for every one of us.” Charlie sighed as he nodded at the man and returned to his colleagues. 

“The lad is right,” Alastor whispered, but Dumbledore heard him. “If this fucks up, we are done for. Fudge is an idiot, but he is not slippery enough to plan something like this. This has been planned in such a way that you would come out as the culprit if anything goes wrong.” 

Dumbledore agreed, nodding at the man. “I have known that for a while now. There was nothing I could do about it, and the only option I had was to let things run out as they should.” 

The man turned around and began walking away from the clearing and began walking back towards the castle. 

“My hands are tied, Alastor. But I would like to see them try and do politics with my students’ lives.” He walked away leaving behind an amused man who chuckled at his parting words, knowing just what the man was talking about. 

Dumbledore would never sit quietly knowing that his students were in trouble. He would stoop to any level to protect the school and his students and he feared what a Dumbledore with rage could do. It would not end well for many if he decided to cause problems. 

BREAK—-

“Well, it is time we start preparing you. Ready?” Harry frowned as he heard Ignotus speak out of the blue. 

“Elements. What can you tell me about them?” Ignotus questioned Harry. 

“Air, fire, earth and water,” Harry answered quickly, knowing that he was right. 

“I need you to go in depth.” The man chuckled. “What you came up with, are the examples of the elements. What are the elements?” 

Harry frowned thoughtfully, thinking about his answer. He knew what the man meant and he didn’t find it hard to come up with an answer. 

“The essence of nature.” He answered. “The backbone of the existence of the world around us.” 

“Perfect,” Ignotus replied. “That was worded correctly.” 

“I was somebody who could use these elements extensively in my magic.” He continued. 

“There are several spells that involve the elements. Many people use spells that involve fire, water, air and even the land. What makes it different than what you did?” Harry questioned. 

“Very different, Harry. The magic I was blessed and able to use was no other water, fire or air spell. You will know what I mean.” 

“For now, it is time to take a swim.” Harry paused mid-stride as he heard Ignotus’s words. 

“What?” He questioned, hoping the man didn’t mean what he thought he meant. It was two in the morning and the man was asking him to go for a swim. 

“You heard me. Start walking. The Great Lake would do.” Ignotus urged. 

“If you are unaware, it is two in the morning. Do you want me to go for a swim in the dead of the night?” Harry questioned, his tone laced with disbelief. 

“Sorry, but no chance. I am not getting into the lake now.” He replied, laughing at the absurd idea of the man. 

“Trust me,” Ignotus spoke again. “You will not regret it.” 

After a lot of persuasion, Harry found himself walking towards the Great Lake, his invisible cloak over his head and the marauder’s map in hand. He was not able to believe that he was about to do something like this, but he could not ignore the man’s words. 

“You need not swim too deep, but you need to distance yourself from the land.” 

Harry stared out into the calm water body for the umpteenth time in his life. He was about to step into the water when he heard Ignotus speak again. 

“Take off your shoes and shirt and leave your wand and cloak behind.” The man instructed, but Harry was not having it.

“No.” He rejected the suggestion immediately. “If this is your idea of a joke, stop it. I am not getting into the lake half-naked in the dead of the night.” 

“To establish a connection, you need clarity. It can be a relationship between us people or with an object of choice. Clarity goes a long way in life, Harry.” 

“Now, I am asking you to expose yourself to establish the very same clarity with what you seek.” 

“What am I seeking?” Harry questioned, hoping the man would not come up with another ridiculous idea for him to do. 

“You will see what I mean.” 

Harry released a tired sigh and decided to get it over with. He complied with Ignotus’s suggestion and removed his shirt, placing it on the ground. He winced as he felt the cold air on his chest. 

He removed his shoes and with one final look around, stepped into the lake, shuddering at the cold water. He felt the need to hold his breath as the water continued to rise. With shallowed breaths, he made sure that he was completely in the water body barring his head. 

“Listen,” Ignotus whispered. “Listen closely.” 

There was silence. Except for the splashing of water due to his swimming, Harry didn’t know what he was supposed to hear. 

“What am I listening to?” Harry questioned. “There is nothing to hear apart from the splashing of the water.” 

“With a little bit of concentration, you will know what I am talking about.” 

Harry didn’t know what the man was trying to convey, nor did he understand what he was supposed to listen to. 

He managed to clear his thoughts with great difficulty all the while, the cold water added to the cool breeze made it difficult for him to concentrate, but with considerable effort, he managed to deploy his occlumency shields and within moments, the sound of water splashing around disappeared leaving him with silence. 

It wasn’t much, but Harry was certain that he heard a small hum reverberating in the back of his head. 

The humming got louder with every second and it increased until that was the only noise that he could hear. He was confused. Where was the noise coming from?

“That sound you hear is the sound of water. A sound that would not be heard by any other apart from you.” Ignotus cut in, with the humming continuing to ring in his ears. 

“The unique whisper of the elements. The sound of nature.” 

Harry remained silent listening to the sound for a few moments, hoping for something more than the humming he had been hearing for a while now. 

“Talk to it,” Ignotus instructed. “You said the water was cold. See if you can communicate and do something about it.” 

The first thing that Harry thought about was the temperature of water. To begin with, he could do with some warm water, and he tried to see if something could be done about that. 

As soon as he conveyed his request, he felt a pleasant warmth. A small, flowing sensation began in his chest spreading gradually through his limbs and down to his feet. 

The next instant, a pleasant warm sensation surrounded his body and to his immense surprise, Harry began to feel the cold receding. The water around him became warm enough to prevent the chill of the night. 

He reached forward and splashed the water in front of him and it was cold. The area close to him had warmed up, but a little ahead, the water was as cold as it was when he got in, but his immediate vicinity was warm. 

“That is just an introduction. There is a lot you can learn when it comes to how you want to use this ability. With enough practice, you can do a lot more than warm the water around you.” 

He couldn’t help but smile for the first time since he had been woken up from his sleep by the man in his head. He had yet to understand the full extent of this special ability, but the prospect of an entire branch of magic unique to him was unbelievable. 

“Is this the same for the other elements?” Harry questioned as he began swimming deeper into the lake anticipating something to change, but the warmth he had been surrounded with since his trial continued to carry over. He paused a few times as he swam deeper, but the area immediately around him remained pleasant, but it was very cold not far off. 

He was neck deep in the water right now and in a moment of inspiration, Harry raised both his hands upwards, willing for a wall of water and accordingly, a wall of flowing water raised into the air, providing cover like a shield. 

“Why don’t we step out of the lake? We have something more to check.” Ignotus spoke.
 

Harry swam back to the bank and shuddered as the cold air brushed against his chest. He made his way towards his things and Ignotus spoke once again. 

“Why don’t you try the same once again, but this time with the air?” Ignotus suggested. 

Harry complied and cleared his mind repeating exactly what he had done with the water while in the lake. He heard the same humming sound that he had heard before, and Harry knew what he was supposed to do next. 

He willed for a gust of wind and he was surprised by the ferocity of the wind that blew over him. He had not expected the intensity of the winds to change to such an extent and sighed as the force of the wind reduced considerably. 

“It is not a simple ability to hold, Harry. You need a lot of practice to make them work at a moment's notice and to the right extent. You will learn about it with time and when you are ready, you will be unstoppable.” Ignotus explained. 

“Go and get some sleep,” Ignotus instructed after a moment of silence. “We will speak further in the morning.” 

BREAK—-

“I never fail to understand how he does that,” Cadmus whispered as he watched along with his elder brother. 

The brothers possessed a hobby that they had practised for years and it was something that they took great joy in doing. Their father had introduced them to early morning practice and to this day, they never skipped it. 

Now, after a long three hours of intense practice, combating each other, the elder brothers watched as the youngest continued with his practice. 

Ignotus held a special ability that needed special work to be put in to make it work effectively and Ignotus treated the ability with utmost reverence. He never skipped a day of working for his ability and that is what made him such a good practitioner of magic. 

The brothers watched mesmerized by the scene in front of them. They had been used to seeing it every day, but that didn’t change the fact that they were witnessing something amazing. 

Ignotus stood overlooking the lake, and with a single motion of his arm, the two brothers watched as the water in the lake parted ways splitting exactly in the middle displaying the bottom of the water body. 

He raised his hands and the separated halves raised up in a humongous wave and crashed against each other as his hands met, a loud splash ringing around the area as the waves impacted against each other. 

The resulting scenario should have been different to witness had it not been for the excellent control that Ignotus held over his ability. There was no evidence of a splash as the water returned to its peaceful state in an instant. 

Cadmus and Antioch watched as ripples began appearing over the surface of the water and suddenly, small chunks of rocks began shooting out of the water into the air. Ignotus waved his hand in a circular motion and the rocks began to congregate together forming a massive thestral. 

The thestral pranced around on top of the lake and without warning, burst into flames. The flamed thestral ran around the lake and made its way towards the two elder Peverells who were watching not very far away and circled them twice before prancing away. 

“Quit showing off!” Cadmus yelled, his older brother chuckling at his response. 

The younger brother raised his hand in a show of acknowledgement and as the thestral stopped in the middle of the lake, he closed his fists and the thestral exploded back into chunks of smaller rocks and shot back down into the lake with considerable force water splashing everywhere. 

Ignotus turned away from the lake and began walking back to his brothers donning his robe back on. 

“Good thing you have excellent control over your ability.” Cadmus deadpanned and it was only then that Ignotus noticed the drenched clothes and hair of his brothers. 

“Look at your hair.” Ignotus laughed, pointing at his brother who was not impressed by what he had pulled. 

“Alright, calm down.” The eldest soothed Cadmus and dried them with a wave of his hand. 

“It is a good thing that not everybody possesses this skill, brother. The resulting problems if not used correctly would be very bad.” Antioch pointed out and he was right. 

Ignotus held a powerful form of magic that was unique to himself. He didn’t know how he acquired it and they didn’t know how he acquired it. Their father who was their teacher didn’t know how he managed to acquire it, but when asked Ignotus would just shrug and say he had no idea. 

Ignotus worked hard to harness this ability. He had no idea what he was doing, but all he had to say was that he was hearing a humming sound at odd durations. It took a lot of time for their father to understand what he was hearing and what he was supposed to do about it. 

“How far does your talent stretch out?” Antioch questioned as they continued walking back to their village. 

“Can you bring rain? Can you grow crops in an instant?” 

Ignotus smiled as he considered the man’s question. He had a valid question, It was one of the things he had done when he was starting to learn the extent of his elemental ability. 

“No, I can’t bring rain, brother. I can’t grow crops within a blink of an eye. Those are natural phenomena, brother. Mother Nature decides when she pours and Mother Nature decides when to yield our crops. I cannot make it rain for an entire village.” He shook his head. 

“That is impossible. Nobody, despite how powerful a sorcerer they are can ever make nature behave differently from its natural course. It does not work like that.” 

“I however can make use of everything that is around me to an extent. I can make it rain, but not more than a few clouds up there. I can make some plants that are already growing on the land to do as I wish and manipulate them into anything I want. I can use the air to form a medium-sized tornado and rip a few things apart. I can manipulate fire to protect me instead of burning me if necessary. I can make myself fly with the help of the winds if necessary.” 

He frowned thinking of how he would like to word his explanation and when he came to a decision, he looked back at his brother. 

“In a way, I can do everything with the help of nature and I can do everything as long as it doesn’t cross a limit. I can do everything, but not everything. You understand?” 

The two brothers nodded, understanding what their younger brother was trying to convey as they reached the pathway to their house. 

Harry woke up from his short sleep after that vision stopped playing. He had returned to bed after that excursion, and no sooner had his head hit the pillow, than he began to see the vision of Ignotus practising elemental magic. 

He was surprised by what he saw. The man was unbelievable with his ability. The ease and grace with how he managed to separate a massive water body, move rocks and set the rocks on fire, not to mention the wonderful formation of a thestral using the rocks. 

“It took me years of practice before I could do that.” Ignotus cut in, catching onto Harry’s thoughts. 

“That was unbelievable. I expected something similar after I tried it for the first time, but seeing them was a very different experience.” Harry said as he got out of bed. 

“With enough practice, you will be able to command your surroundings to your benefit and that will be a major help for your target.” 

Harry sobered up at the mention of the topic and he heard the man sigh sadly. 

“I see you haven’t forgiven me for revealing about the curse.” 

“I need answers. What you told me is something that should be practically impossible. A curse on an entire bloodline. How? And who was the one that cursed us?” Harry questioned. 

“Death,” Ignotus answered and Harry quietened, confused by the response of the man. He didn’t understand what the man was talking about. 

“Death?” Harry questioned, a frown marring his features. “I don’t understand. Death. You mean Death is a person?” He snorted. 

“Don’t be dismissive of things you don’t understand,” Ignotus replied, his voice crisp and firm. 

“Until I told you so, you had no idea that somebody could manipulate the very essence of life. Until you heard my voice in your head, you didn’t believe that the visions you witnessed in your sleep were related to me and by extension yourself, did you?” 

Harry stilled, considering the man’s words were right. He should know by now that things don’t happen just like that in this world and they are not a figment of imagination. 

“There are many things in and around us that we will never have an explanation for. We keep dismissing things casually, but we have never stopped to consider and ask questions.” Ignotus pointed out. 

“Death is as real as you and me—the only constant in this universe. It can take whatever form it needs. A man, a woman, an animal, an insect, an infant. Anything that seems fit, takes that form.” 

“Death is the reason why I am in your head today,” Ignotus revealed. “When the time is right, you will speak to each other and you will know what I mean.” 

Harry was having a hard time digesting the information that was being laid out to him. Every time he thought about it, he still found it unbelievable that he was at the centre of a whirlwind of events, but he had come to expect it by now. 

“Why were you cursed? What did you do?” Harry questioned. This query had been eating away at him for a while now and he didn’t know what to expect as an answer. 

“I failed to do what was asked of me,” Ignotus replied. 

“You will know what I am talking about, but Death does not like being disobeyed. So instead of my death, which would have been too simple for my transgressions, my entire bloodline was cursed.” 

Harry buried his face in his hands, a deep sigh escaping his lips. 

“This is messed up.” He muttered as he got out of bed. “This is already shaping up to be more complicated than my life already is.” 

“What should I do?” He questioned. “What am I supposed to do?” 

“I don’t know. When the time is right, I think you hear from Death itself and you will know what you are supposed to do.” 

“You can walk away.” He added. “You can just go and live your life, ignore any of the requests asked of you, but let me assure you, the curse will carry on.” 

Harry shook his head, frustrated beyond usual. The man did not fill him with confidence with his words. 

“I am sorry. I know it is not something you want to hear. I know it is not something anybody would like to hear, but I cannot keep things from you. This is something you have to know.” 

He went quiet after that and Harry sat down on his bed, his decision already made. Whatever this curse was, it would be taking away the one thing he loved the most—his one dream. A dream of having a loving family of his own. 

Sirius and Narcissa to some extent are for all intent and purpose, his family, but it was not the same. He had two families that he had observed very closely, the Weasleys and the Dursleys. 

The two families were completely different from each other, but one place where they converged was the love they had for each other. The Weasleys and the Dursleys were what he could call opposites in a lot of things, but when it came to the love they held for each other, they were the same. 

That is what he aspired to build in the future. A family of his own. A wonderful wife with wonderful children who he hoped to spend a lifetime with, experiencing every ups and downs that come with it. 

He didn’t need to think much about what his decision would be. He had his decision ready for some days now and he would do all he could to overcome whatever this was that he was thrust into. 

BREAK—--

“Fleur?” She was asked to meet the woman without delay and accordingly, she was here in her Headmistress’s office to find the woman pacing from left to right. 

“You asked for me, Headmistress?” 

“Yes, my dear.” She nodded as she approached the young woman with brisk steps. She was worried, judging by her facial expression. Fleur could see the tension around the woman and she wondered what was happening. 

“The First Task has been decided and we have received information regarding the task.” 

Fleur perked up, her interest now piked. She had been waiting for any information about the first task so that she could move on to specific preparation if necessary, but she was not happy with the decision of them knowing about the tasks on the day of the event. 

Fleur was highly confident of her abilities but was not a fool. She knew that preparation was always necessary despite being the most able. Her father had drilled the same into her from a very young age. 

‘Never go into a fight without knowing how to get out, Fleur. You might be the strongest, but even the strongest will look foolish without a solution.’ 

“Follow me.” Her Headmistress spoke as she began walking out of her office and Fleur followed as they exited their carriage and began to walk towards the forest area of the school. 

They had been warned not to venture into the forests. The big man, Hagrid had repeatedly requested the students to keep away from the forest, which housed a lot of dangerous creatures according to the man. 

Fleur had no intention of defying the man’s words and from what little she knew about her classmates, she doubted they would have thought about going in there. 

“You are not supposed to be out here. The rules of the tournament do not allow any form of advantage to the contestant and I am not supposed to be helping you to begin with.” 

“Make yourself invisible and stay right behind me.” She instructed and began walking away and Fleur obeyed, making herself invisible with a disillusionment charm and she followed the woman walking deeper into the forest. 

They continued in silence, and Fleur wondered what the woman wanted to show and it was then that she heard it. An ear-splitting roar resonated around the forest and Fleur instinctively took a few steps back in surprise. 

They had arrived at a clearing and Fleur’s breath hitched in her throat as she laid eyes on the source of the roar. This was the first time she was seeing a dragon and she was lost at the sight in front of her until the reality of their presence began to set in. 

She had to fight dragons. She had to face a live fire-breathing dragon. A tinge of fear made its way into her heart, but Fleur shook her head immediately, trying to soothe her nerves. There had to be some form of stipulation. She didn’t think the organizers were foolish enough to let them fight dragons. 

“These four dragons are for each one of you to face. I don’t think you would be fighting them, so an obstacle for your actual task would be my guess.” Maxine cut in, confirming her thoughts. 

“I will let you know what family these dragons belong to in a while. I wanted you to know what you are facing.” The woman whispered and instructed Fleur to go back to the carriage while she continued towards the dragon handlers who were tending to the dragons. 

Fleur spared another glance towards the beasts and she cringed at another roar from one of the dragons. She certainly didn’t envy whoever was going to face the beast that needed at least two dozen handlers to calm it down. The dragon was more aggressive than the rest of them and she could only hope that she did not have anything to do with that particular beast. 

She began her walk back to her carriage, thinking about what she would have to do when she faced the dragons. She needed some work done and now that the task was three days away, she needed all the help she could get. She knew that the next few days would be all about researching the dragons and any weakness she could find from the vast collection of books from the Hogwarts library. 

Fleur was making her way back to her carriage when she noticed the Durmstrang Headmaster and Krum walking towards the dragons. She guessed that Karkaroff was helping his student as well which was expected. 

She expected the Hogwarts students to know about it by now, though that didn’t change anything. This decision was a welcoming one because the alternative was facing a beast that could cook its obstacle. She would beat them to win this competition and that was all that mattered. 

BREAK—-

“Come in, Harry.” Dumbledore watched as the young man walked into his office. The young man was very calm which he knew would not be the case when he found out why he was being summoned to his office. 

“Please, sit.” He gestured for the young man to sit and waited until he did. He was composed, that much he would give him. He had hoped that young Ronald had conveyed the news about the dragons. 

“How are the preparations?” He questioned and the young man shrugged. 

“I don’t know what to prepare for, Professor.” Harry pointed out. “At this point, I am just doing what I want to do. I am preparing to be a better version of myself.” 

Dumbledore instantly knew that he was not informed about the first task. He had hoped the Weasleys would have informed him about the dragons, but if they had not, then this makes it difficult for him. 

“What do you know about the first task?” He questioned. 

“Only that I will be informed about the task on the day of the competition,” Harry answered and Dumbledore got the answer he was looking for. 

“Trust me when I say this my boy, but I wanted to let you know what the task would be, but I am unable to. I am placed in a very precarious position, my boy.” 

“I don’t understand, Professor. What is the issue? What is going on?” Harry was confused by the man’s demeanour. 

“The first task has been decided, Harry.” Harry perked up at that bit of information. He had hoped to find out what the tasks might be, but when informed that they would know about it on the day of the task, he had given up trying to find it out. 

“I can’t tell you what it is.” Dumbledore continued. “I am in a sensitive position what with your name coming out of the Goblet and everything. We are already under a lot of scrutiny to begin with and now, if I am caught helping any of my students, our reputations would be in tatters and I want nothing like that to happen to two bright young men.” 

“I want you two to hold plausible deniability when questioned,” Dumbledore explained. 

“All you need to remember is that you should look out for fire.” He finished, cryptic as ever which began to frustrate Harry slightly. 

“Fire?” Harry questioned, confused and only received a nod as an answer. 

“Fire. Watch out for a lot of fire and look for how you would try and fight it.” Dumbledore instructed. 

“I have given the same warning to Mr Diggory and I wanted to let you know the same. I am sorry I can’t do more, Harry. Just know that there will be help if things go slightly out of hand. I will step in and deal with it if it goes out of hand.” 

“Thank you, Professor.” Harry smiled at the man and stood up. 

“Do the other contestants know about this, Professor?” Harry questioned. He knew that Cedric Diggory was aware of it according to the Headmaster. If the other two didn’t know, he would go and tell them. 

Competition aside, he would not sit down and let a couple of innocent students walk into danger. If he was warned something about fire, he would do the same. 

“I assume their respective heads would have informed them by now, but I am not sure.” The older man replied, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 

“Do you want me to tell them?” Harry questioned. “It would not be fair if they are not informed. I don’t like any of them suffer, competition aside.” 

A genuine smile broke out on the man’s face and his eyes began twinkling madly. It came too easily to the young man. He was righteous to a fault and today, he showed him once again why. He did not expect one of the other champions to disclose any information if they had learnt about it, but just like he expected, if anything would suggest something like this, it had to come from young Harry. 

“A noble gesture, my boy.” Dumbledore dipped his head respectfully and stood up leading Harry to do the same. 

“I am sure that they would know what it is by now, but I will leave it up to you.” He walked Harry up to the door. 

“Prepare well, Harry.” Dumbledore wished as the young man nodded and left. 

He had done his job. It was minute compared to what he wanted to do to help them, but he had done everything he could. Now, he could only hope that everything goes well going forward. 

TBC—-----