455 Negotiation

Nick scoffed at that "I can't even reveal my own transformation at the moment , why would I reveal yours and make people suspicious? Not saying you aren't skilled or anything but you haven't made any publicly known strides in magic in a long time and yet you suddenly figured out how to turn into a magical creature via the Animagus ritual , suspicious as hell." nick said honestly. "I suppose you are right but it wouldn't be the first time you've used my past to cause me harm." Dumbledore pointed out with a chuckle.-

Nick winced at that "That might have been a bit far in hindsight but to be fair you crossed that line first." he said honestly. "I suppose I did but enough beating the bush as the the muggles say , we have a trade to make." Dumbledore said butchering a phrase while he was at it. "It's 'beating around the bush' and yeah we should probably get this over with. Remove the age limit for the tournament next year and I'll call it even." Nick said with a shrug. This seemed to catch Dumbledore of guard as he hadn't expected Nick to even know about the Tri-wizard tournament much less one of it's rules.-

"Ironically that alone will not allow you to participate in the tournament as the other two schools participating have insisted that you not be allowed to participate." Dumbledore said honestly. It was Nicks turn to be caught off guard this time as he wasn't expecting something like this at all. "Have they said why they don't want me to participate?" he asked curiously. "I believe the consensus reached was for the fairness of the other participants though I imagine it is more likely because they lack confidence of victory should you participate." Dumbledore said honestly.-

"Well as it would happen I wasn't planning to participate personally for that exact reason. I am not a fan of bullying after all. No in fact I was hoping to have Harry take part instead." Nick explained calmly. Dumbledore looked confused "While he shows a high level of proficiency in dueling I don't see any indication of him being ready for such a challenging endeavor." the old goat said seriously. "Do you know what is holding Harry back the most right now in regards to his magical capabilities?" Nick asked and Dumbledore shook his head.-

"It's experience and imagination , Harrys journey as a wizard has been fairly smooth past the first year and as a result he lacks the experiences and creativity that would have accelerated his prowess by leagues at this point. He is ahead of most other third year students but nowhere near where he would be if he had been given true challenges to overcome." Nick said honestly. This was true too as by this point in the canon timeline Harry was already learning the Patronus charm and showing off incredibly amounts of mana for his age.-

Now however Harry was more skilled with what he knew but lacked the edge he had in the canon timeline. Dumbledore seemed thoughtful after hearing this and could understand why Nick would think it. Conflict made strong wizards while peace made weak wizards that brought conflict in an endless cycle. The key was to have enough conflict for growth but not enough to spark trouble. "You hope that the tournament might help Harry grow further then? An admirable idea but what of Harrys own wishes in the matter? Perhaps he won't want to participate in the tournament to begin with , what then?" Dumbledore asked and Nick chuckled.-

"Then that will be up to him I only want to allow him the opportunity to reach his full potential. Whether he takes it or not is entirely up to him." Nick said with a shrug. "I see , very well then I shall see to it that the age requirement be lowered accordingly. After that however it will be up to Harry to enter the tournament or not." Dumbledore said with a smile. Nick casually took out a sheet of parchment and handed it over. "Just so you know I had planned to give you the ritual regardless of what I got out of it since it will prove useful to me in the future." Nick said before jumping off the tower and turning back to his Animagus form.-

There was one detail that even Dumbledore may have forgotten to think about if he succeeded in becoming a phoenix Animagus. He may get the chance to exploit the magic to a degree and undergo nirvana like normal phoenixes do which will return him to his prime without lowering his power at all. Nick however knew that he didn't have this option since his very being will be tied to his realm instead so he will be reconstituted from scratch while Dumbledore will have to go through the youth stage again.