Chapter 20

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After meeting and talking to Fleur, Harry felt as if a huge stone had been dropped from his soul. He hadn't even realised before that the death of the half-veil had weighed so heavily on his heart. Who would have thought that this beautiful girl would be so restless in giving up her Duty that her soul would find its way back to the world of the living. Yes, Fleur always knew how to surprise him, and surprise him pleasantly, not like Dumbledore.

 Harry entered the Room of Requirement with a smile, where his friends and, surprisingly enough, Severus Snape were waiting for him. The young man was greeted by a friendly sigh of relief, which made the boy smile even wider.

- That's right, Potter, smile - everyone loves a fool," Snape hissed, but Harry could see the relief flickering in his anthracite-black eyes.

- I love you too, Professor," Potter replied without wiping the smile off his face.

- Impolite, insolent boy," Severus muttered and turned back to the fireplace.

- Of course, of course," a chuckle followed.

- So," Malfoy tapped the armrest of the chair he was sitting in, "tell me. Did you find out how Delacourt knows about Sirius?

- I did," Harry took the last available chair. - Fleur from THAT time.

 The boys' faces stretched. They had expected anything but this turn of events.

- How? - was all Neville could squeeze out of himself.

- She doesn't know for sure, but I think it's because of the Life Debt Fleur was desperate to give me.

- Are you sure about that? Maybe she's lying. Maybe Dumbledore's been working on her. Have you ever thought about that? - Draco jumped up from his seat and paced nervously around the Room of Requirement, which at the moment looked like a small, cosy living room.

- I haven't been sure of anything in a long time. But that Fleur isn't lying, I know for sure.

- From where? - Ron asked.

- A magical oath," Harry answered. - We talked to her for a long time, and she told me a lot of things about THAT life, and before she took the oath to prove that she was the right Fleur, she reminded me of how Bill had killed her.

- Potter, you've managed to stand out here too," Snape grinned. - No one but you could drag the soul of a man who had already died with you to another time, bringing him back to life. I hope no further additions have arrived.

- I certainly hope not," Harry grinned wryly.

- Well, if my services are not required, I'll be on my way," Severus waved the hem of his robe in a spectacular fashion and headed for the door.

- What services are you talking about, sir? - Potter glanced back at the man in surprise.

- Your friends feared that you would have to be cleaned up after your encounter with the Veela. You do know that Veelas are not only maddening beauties, but also deadly creatures when they take on their second, half-bird form, don't you?

- Yes, of course it is. And, Professor, thank you for your concern," Harry smiled as the potionist snorted at his words and after hesitating for a few seconds, asked. - 'Would you care to destroy a piece of Voldemort's soul?

 The man's hand on the doorknob trembled and he looked round sharply.

- Is she here?

- If you mean in this particular sitting room, no. If you mean the Room of Requirement, then yes.

- Potter!

- What?

- Impossible boy!

- Indeed he is.

- I will strangle you!

- I will.

- I'll flog you!

- Too late.

 Severus glared angrily at his student, who only grinned.

- Where's the Horcrux? - The Potions Master tried to pull himself together.

- You didn't answer the question," Harry became more serious.

- What was it?

- Do you want to destroy a piece of the snake-eyed creature's soul yourself?

- I do...

 A few minutes later, the five mages were standing in the middle of a room cluttered with various things. One of them was clutching a basilisk fang in his hand, while another placed one of the Founders' artefacts in front of him. The others were just witnesses. The Ravenclaw diadem seemed dull and unsightly, giving the impression of a simple trinket rather than an insanely valuable item. Severus sighed heavily; it was sacrilege to destroy such an artefact. But... There was no other option. He squatted down and, without flinching, thrust the fang of the serpent king into the silver weave. The tiara turned black and lost its shape, as if it had melted. A wisp of black mist flew out of it and let out such a screech that the students plugged their ears, afraid they would go deaf, and Severus... Severus Snape was smiling, happily, genuinely. The shriek that the dying piece of his former master's soul emitted was divine music to the Potions Master's ears, it brought him incomparable pleasure. One cherished dream of his had just come true, he had dreamed of killing the Dark Lord. Destroying a piece of soul is a kind of murder, denying the opportunity to be reborn from it. So you could say he killed Voldemort who hadn't been reborn yet. And it doesn't matter that he didn't finish it. One day it would happen, one day the Dark Lord would be destroyed for good. Now he truly believed it....

* * * * *

 Time moved inexorably forward, the anticipation of the tournament growing stronger by the day. The students were eagerly awaiting the day when the names of the contestants would be announced. Almost everyone who was fourteen or more hoped to hear their name among the participants. Only the first, second, and third year students of all four faculties, Granger, immersed in thoughts of how to regain her place in the Golden Trio, and the four young wizards who knew for sure that their place in the tournament was assured.

 Finally, the long-awaited day arrived. The students could hardly wait until the evening, when the names of the participants were to be announced. The Great Hall was flooded with the light of hundreds of candles, students talking loudly, arguments erupting here and there, teachers looking at the dispersed students through their fingers, letting them vent their tension....

Harry, Neville and Ron were talking quietly, waiting for it to start. Draco occasionally cast anticipatory glances at his friends, listening to the conversation of the Slytherins sitting nearby. In addition to the fact that three Gryffindors and one Slytherin were going to participate in the tournament, they had also prepared a huge treat for Dumbledore and a few particularly annoying individuals. As the noise in the hall reached a climax, Dumbledore rose from his seat and demanded silence. The students immediately quieted down and prepared to listen to what the Headmaster of Hogwarts had to say.

- Dear friends," Dumbledore spread out his arms in a wide gesture, as if he wanted to embrace everyone at once, "the long-awaited moment has arrived. We have all been looking forward to it. In just a few minutes our impartial judge will choose the contestants for the tournament. They will face tough challenges. But I believe that everyone chosen will be able to make their way to the finals with dignity. I will now ask for silence.

 Most of the candles went out, plunging the Great Hall into semi-darkness. The goblet flashed brightly with blue fire. The students stared at it in silence. No one wanted to miss the beginning. The silence in the Great Hall was so quiet that you could hear the drops of wax from the burning candles falling to the floor. Harry, Ron, Neville and Draco looked at the goblet with anticipation, eager to see if their plan would come to fruition or if they had failed to fool the impartial judge. Suddenly the blue flames surged upwards, throwing out the first piece of parchment. Dumbledore, in whose direction the burnt sheet flew, grabbed it tenaciously. Holding the parchment up to one of the candles floating nearby, he read:

- Beauxbatons School. Contestants: Fleur Delacour, Vivienne Annaud, Adélie Berthier, and Jacqueline Villroix. Congratulations, young ladies!

 Four French girls rose from the Rivenclaw table. Two blondes and two brunettes strode to the teachers' table with happy smiles. They were accompanied by applause and amorous glances from almost the entire male student body of both Hogwarts and Durmstrang. Only the undergraduates, professors, and, naturally, the girl students were not admiring the beauties. The latter were disgusted by the attitude of their fellow students and Durmstrang students towards the Beauxbatons girls. They didn't consider these girls to be any better than themselves, because Hogwarts had its own beauties. It also pissed them off that their fiancés looked at the French girls with drooling, admiring expressions on their faces, not paying attention to their brides. The Beauxbatons contestants approached the teachers' table, where a happily smiling Madame Maxime congratulated them and directed them to the door leading to a small hall where they would have to wait for the others. At the very door Fleur lingered. She turned around suddenly and made a complicated gesture with her wand and sent Harry an air kiss. A moment later, a butterfly fluttered its bright red wings on the green-eyed wizard's cheek, and in a few seconds it was scattered with golden pollen. Envious and outright angry glances crossed the Gryffindor's face, one of the last glances Fleur got from Ginny. Ron and Neville, sitting on Potter's sides, clapped him on the shoulders. With a smile, he conjured a blue rose and used levitation charms to send it to Fleur. The girl took the flower in her hands, broke off the long stem, leaving no more than half an inch at the base of the bud, and put the blue flower in her hair. Then, smiling sweetly at the person she had come for from THAT time, she disappeared out the door. Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, looked at the Headmaster of Hogwarts with superiority, as if to say, "Have you seen how smart my girls are? They always get the best of everything. Right now the English National Hero is ours, and later we'll take the Goblet of Fire." Dumbledore smiled sweetly back at the half-giantess, shook his head and caught the second sheet of charred parchment spit out by the Cup.

- Durmstrang School. The participants are Viktor Kram, Branimir Dobrev, Dimitar Janev, and Todor Gotovac. Congratulations, young men," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the faculty table.

 Four tall, sturdy boys with stern expressions on their faces rose from the Slytherin table and walked towards their Headmaster. They were accompanied by the admiring looks of Hogwarts' female undergraduates and the same loud applause that the Frenchwomen had received. Igor Karkarov approvingly patted the shoulders of his students who had been chosen to participate in the tournament and pointed them towards the door where the Charmbaton girls had hidden a few minutes earlier. The flames soared a third time, throwing up a piece of parchment, which Dumbledore caught like the previous two. He called out the names of his students loudly, mentally fiddling with one of them and only then did it dawn on him that something about the names was not at all as it should be:

- Hogwarts School. Members: Harold Potter-Evans, Ronald Pruett, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy. Congratulations, boys.

 For Harry and Ron, the change in their surnames was as much of a surprise as it was for the Headmaster. No, they were of course aware of the fact that their last names were different from before, but they had written down the ones they had studied under on the parchment, which was Potter and Weasley.

- The bloody Goblet gave us up early," Harry muttered.

- Let's give it hellfire," Ron suggested, also not happy about it.

- And give Dumbledore an avada, too, so we don't have to wait too long," Neville snorted.

- All right, settle down. We'll get through this," Malfoy said encouragingly, before they reached the teachers' table.

- We will," Potter nodded seriously. Gryffindor and Slytherin were jubilant, delighted that their faculties had entered the tournament. And the changed names of the two scarlet-signature students proved Malfoy's words to the silver-green. The purebloods also found their own pride in who exactly would fight for the honour of the English school. The participants were representatives of the four oldest, noblest clans.

 The boys headed for the door Dumbledore had pointed out to them and as they did so, the Goblet of Fire spat out another piece of parchment. Dumbledore caught it with surprise and named another group of participants.

- The School of Lemon Slices.The participants were Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson, Dean Thomas, and Zhou Chang.

 The deafening silence was replaced by occasional chuckles, and a few seconds later, when it dawned on everyone what kind of school this was, by homeric laughter. Harry, Draco, Neville, and Ron took in the wild expressions on the faces of the named four and Dumbledore and felt a deep satisfaction. The prank had succeeded...