Bound To You

Chapter 32: 4th Year-5th Year

Idiotic Veelas... They don't know what's good for them!

Umbridge huffed as she replayed the International meeting they'd had a few hours prior.

"Triwizard Tournament?" Undersecretary Delacour asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember what the tournament was.

"Aah, eet eez ze Tournament zat Hogwarz, Durmztrang, and Beauxbaton partizipate een, oui?" the French Minister nodded.

"Ah, oui, zat one," Delacour nodded.

"Vat is the use of vringing dat up now?" the Bulgarian minister asked, his eyes on Minister Fudge and herself as if trying to find some sort of ulterior motive.

"We have decided that in order to improve our country's relations with yours, we should start from the new generations. The Board have already given me the okay for such an event to be held, and the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, have already agreed," Minister Fudge said somewhat pompously. "We only need your agreements on this."

"Eezn't zat Tournament quite dangerouz?" Delacour asked again.

"And quite varvaric too," the Bulgarian Minister said with a nod. "Vut de intentions are quite appreciated."

"If zat's so, zen why not a ztudenz exchange programme?" the French Minister suggested.

"Ah, we were thinking that the younger years should do that," Minister Fudge reasoned. "The older years are typically more challenge driven, no?"

"Hmm... Vell, I can immediately agree to de students exchange programme, vut I can't say much about de tournament."

"I agree. Oui, I can see ze merit on zat programme, but not much for ze tournament."

"Why don't you talk about it with your Board of Governors first before deciding? In the meantime, the student exchange tests will be held to those who wants to learn from other schools," Umbridge smiled.

"Zat we shall do," the French Minister nodded.

And here she was thinking for the good of humanity! Sure the Tournament was quite the blood-thirsty event, consuming more than a thousand students before it was stopped, but it was of no consequence--a few lives here and there was necessary to build great relations with the other Ministers. Record showed that before the Tournament was stopped, relations with foreign countries constantly increased, she did her research!

Umbridge stopped herself from biting her nails, a habit she had whenever she became frustrated.

Too bad right now, it was too late, far too late for anything of that scale to be held.

While she was berating the other Ministers in her mind, she didn't notice the locket she wore pulse a little with dark magic.

But next year--next year, she knew it shall be done. The Bulgarian Board of Government were mostly blood-thirsty people, so it will most likely be okayed. The French Minister will be out-favored, so they will follow suit. Next year... next year...

She grinned.

Fourth year was dull. Harry nearly groaned when Hermione told them to study, again. He knew that she was pissed since she couldn't enter the exchange student program, she'd been prickly ever since she found out that only Third Years and below could take said test. The reason for that was because fourth year was an important year, the year before OWLs. Everything that will be in the OWLs test was in Fourth Year, and Fifth Year was usually all about reviewing whatever they'd learned from First Year until Fourth Year.