Duel Enrollment

Prepping the Stage

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Before Draco could even consider being annoyed by the cute exchange Brian arrived and he did not look happy ...

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"He escaped ..." Tom gulped in fear after the minister explained what happened to everyone in his office, which included Severus, Brian, Julian, tanzanite, Draco, Sasha, Narcissa and Lucius.

Cornelius sighed, "Yes. It was very nearly at the cost of a Phoenix's life at that. Problem is that he could be anywhere or anyone, which is why I had Severus and Lucius vow, and Fawkes may still be loyal to him so not only does Dumbledore need to be stopped, but we need to make it impossible for him to escape again."

"We'll need something big to lure him out." Severus said while discreetly stepping on Lucius' foot. The Malfoy hasn't stopped staring at Tom since he entered the room. The teen looked scared enough and he really didn't need to notice that Lucius was staring. "Does he look threatening? The goblins said he can't remember anything so get over it." He hissed very quietly in the Malfoy's ear.

Lucius flinched even more when he saw that Brian, Julian, Draco, Cornelius and his own wife were giving him warning looks, "Yes well ... what do we use as a big distraction? I already started filing lawsuits on Brian's behalf. Would that help?" He asked, risking one last glance at the teen he realized was once a dark lord. If anything he was staring out of shock because this young wizard was practically a kitten in comparison. He didn't see any sign of the cruel wizard anymore. Just a scared teen who didn't realize he was unconsciously holding onto Julian's jacket sleeve for moral support.

"That can't hurt, but I was thinking of something much more ... competitive. It's a plan I had since meeting Brian. In fact, remember when I said Julian and Draco should display a little magic and start showing people the gap between Hogwarts and legerdemain? This is what I was planning ... just not for these circumstances." The minister said as he pulled out a book. "If Severus could take the position as headmaster for this and I have your help convincing the rest of the Board of Education then we can set this up fast."

Brian's eyes narrowed in concern, "I'm not going to let Julian or Tom compete, especially when Dumbledore might try to attack them for some petty revenge."

"I do want Julian to appear, mostly because I want his special sight to point out who Dumbledore is hiding as, but competing might not be the right word. I don't have time to actually change the rules of the Tri-Wizard Tournament like I wanted, but he can pretend to be one. Only Julian though. Tom, I don't even want you to be near here, ok? I'm not going to risk anyone's life if I can help it." Cornelius said firmly, but mainly to Tom, who seemed to be considering how to help.

Severus nodded, "Yes. Narrowing down his targets will help significantly." He said and subtly smirked as Tom's eyes widened in understanding. The teen was so eager to help he forgot he could make things worse by being caught in the man's sights. 'We do have to make him believe all is well too. How do we keep up the ruse on such a large scale?"

"I'm having my Aurors arrange for a fake execution. It'll be announced that Dumbledore is dead that should put him at a disadvantage." Cornelius looked at Severus. "You worked with Dumbledore for years. Do you have any idea who he might try to kidnap and replace?"

Severus frowned, "He knew a lot of people and the trial went by so fast that it's unlikely that anyone removed him from their rune networks in their homes. For sure that means anyone in his Order of the Phoenix ..." Severus felt his jaw clenched at the reminder of the poor mythical bird.

"Yes." The minister commented sadly. "Our best chance is to have Julian point him out and hopefully he'll be easy to track with Hogwarts under Julian and Severus' control." Cornelius pondered the plan for a moment before looking at Brian. "If we kept the three tasks to weekends would that be a problem? I know there's a slight difference between your school's schedule and Hogwarts."