B.Q. Book One: Princess of the Blacks

Chapter 17: Unwilling Champion

Disclaimer: Did the foreign champions and staff instantly accept Dumbledore's assurances that Harry didn't arrange for an older student to put his name in the Goblet of Fire? If so, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.
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Before he could give a retort, Bagman scurried over and led Potter to the group. "Extraordinary! Absolutely extraordinary! Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce – incredible though it may seem – the seventh Triwizard champion?"
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"Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

Jen snorted at that. If anyone else had been brought forward, she would have agreed with the statement, but as it was Potter... She had a feeling she was about to get a first-hand exposure to the boy ignoring whatever rules he felt were beneath him.

Bagman looked at the French witch, bemusement plastered on his face. "Joke? Not at all. Danny's name just came out of the wooden Goblet!"

"Zen zair evidently 'as been a mistake," Delacour continued superciliously. "'E cannot 'ave been chosen as a senior champion; 'e ees too young. And 'Ogwarts already 'as a junior champion, as well."

"Well... it is amazing," Bagman began before she cut him off.

"Amazing, nothing. Which seventh-year did you pay off to put your name in, Potter?"

The boy bristled, scorn dripping from his words. "No one. I didn't even want to be in the bloody Tournament, Black."

She scoffed, but the door opening again prevented her from responding. In came seemingly everyone who had an excuse to watch the three-ring circus this was devolving into: first was Dumbledore, Crouch, and Moody, all of whom settled themselves against the wall opposite the champions. Following them were the four Heads of Houses; Snape slunk into a corner while the others took places behind their students. Last were the foreign heads.

"Madame Maxime!" shouted Delacour as she flounced over to the giantess, her skirt bouncing and yielding brief exposures of soft, smooth thigh, perfect for a girl to grind herself against. Jen mentally slapped herself; there was no excuse to still be yielding to the Veela Allure.

I have to get a hold on myself! It isn't like I'm being tempted by something I've never touched before. I was a whore for five years, for crying out loud! Twisting her magic around herself, she snatched a portion of the Allure from the air and integrated it into an oily barrier. Her mind instantly cleared from the raunchy thoughts whipping through it. The spell would only last a few minutes, but that should be enough for how little time she wished to spend around the Veela.

Maxime drew herself to her full height, her head only just low enough to avoid the flames from the chandelier. Anger washed off of her, and Jen sighed at having missed whatever inflammatory comment the Veela had made. "What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she boomed. "You cannot allow zis injustice to continue."

"Indeed," Karkaroff snapped. "I think I would have remembered if the rules allowed the host school more champions than the others. Unless you are playing another one of your games?"

"Don't waste your time blaming Dumbledore, Karkaroff," muttered Snape. "The only one at fault is Potter. He has been grasping for all the attention he could find since he first walked through those gates—"

Dumbledore cut in, "That's enough, Severus." He turned towards Potter with a neutral expression. "Danny, did you put your name in either of the Goblets?"

"No!"

Jen thrust her probes at the boy, laying them over his natural shield and sinking into his mind. She frowned; incredible as it sounded, Potter was telling the truth. Flipping through his memories of the past few minutes revealed shock, denial, and a hint of fear at his situation. He honestly was hoping for a peaceful year. Apparently, finding out that he had spent years sleeping only a few feet away from the man who helped try to have him killed when he was an infant had scared him away from undertaking any further 'adventures', at least temporarily.