Friends and Rivals
Harry and Draco went to Sirius’s office that afternoon, passing through the door that required a rather interesting password before knocking on the Headmaster’s office door.
“Come in,” Sirius said from the other side.
Harry pushed the door open and stepped inside, followed by Draco. As soon as they crossed the threshold, they noticed that, aside from Sirius, there was someone else standing there, as if he had just finished a conversation with him.
It was Mad-Eye Moody, a former Auror, also known for being something of Tonks’s mentor and an instructor to other well-known Aurors.
Aside from being famous for hating Dark wizards with a passion, those same people had inflicted terrible damage on him. His body was now marked with countless scars that covered part of his face, like worms crawling beneath his skin. His magical eye kept spinning in every direction until it finally stopped when it looked at Harry, showing a faint interest, while his other eye, though calmer, was still far from normal.
“Hm… so this is Harry Potter,” he said, staring at him as his wild eye seemed to focus on him just the same.
“Yes. And my godson,” Sirius said calmly, looking at the man standing beside them.
“Looks well trained,” Moody added, shifting his gaze to Draco before looking back at Sirius. “I’ll take a few rounds and keep my eye on Karkaroff,” he said before turning to leave.
One of his steps sounded slightly hollow, as if one of his feet were not entirely flesh and bone, though the way he walked made it hard to notice. At no point did he let go of his staff, which looked ready to cast a spell at any moment.
Moody walked between Harry and Draco without looking back, the door closing behind him.
Harry and Draco could not help but follow him with their eyes until he disappeared.
“Why would he be watching Karkaroff?” Harry asked with mild curiosity.
“Just in case,” Sirius replied, clearly not wanting to explain too much right now.
The Headmaster’s office was not all that different from how it had been when Dumbledore held the position, except for one detail Harry noticed. One of the portraits of the former Headmasters had been completely turned around, with faint inscriptions along the frame that prevented it from moving to other portraits. If Harry remembered correctly, it was Phineas Black, the most hated Headmaster in Hogwarts’ history. Which meant he was family to Sirius, a family Sirius deeply despised because of their beliefs.
“So, why did you call us here?” Draco asked, going straight to the point.
Sirius nodded at them before speaking. “As you know, the first task will take place before long. It’s a task I had to push hard to make happen, since everyone was against it. That’s why I expect it to be magnificent, and also to serve as a kind of presentation of the champions’ strength. Or, more clearly, of the two of you and Hogwarts. Not just the first one. All of them must show the full extent of your power,” Sirius said with a smile.
Harry stared at his godfather for a moment. “And the real reason?” he asked, knowing there was more to it.
Sirius held his gaze for a few seconds without losing his smile. “You are heirs to three powerful, wealthy, and ancient houses. The magical world needs to see just how powerful the next generation is, the one you will lead. Before, I only expected that from Harry, but with Draco included, it becomes much more effective. Showing how strong you are will make the other two factions nervous, and that is exactly what we need right now,” he said openly. Sirius was never one to hide things.
“So you’re using us as bait,” Draco said flatly.
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“It won’t even come to that. Everything is already in place,” Sirius replied, though he did not elaborate.
“Why three houses?” Harry asked, looking at him. “We’re only heirs to the Potter and Malfoy families.”
Sirius smiled again, completely at ease. “Because you’re also heirs to the Black family. Or did you think I’d leave my fortune to someone else? Part of it will go to Tonks, though. She only wants the money,” he added calmly.
“You’re not planning on having children?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nah. That time has passed for me. Now I just enjoy messing with you two,” Sirius replied, utterly relaxed.
Basically, he was telling them that, to him, they were his heirs, or at least the only ones he considered worthy of that title.
Harry looked his godfather in the eyes for a moment. “What do you want us to do?” he asked.
Sirius, realizing they had essentially accepted, could not help but smile proudly at them. “It’s very simple,” he said as he observed them. “It’s something only you can do.”
…
After the secret conversation with Sirius, Harry and Draco returned to their own routines, beginning their preparations.
With Harry spending more and more time surrounded by flasks and old notes he had asked Gris to bring from the Potter manor, and Draco usually seen reading that gold-covered book, the two of them prepared for the first task.
They trained separately, though they still attended classes together. After all, they were competitors, but they were still best friends. Meanwhile, Daphne and Hermione would disappear from time to time, as they also seemed to be preparing something on their own.
Although those should have been comfortable and peaceful days, everything changed the moment, one morning, was released with Harry, Draco, and Luciel on the front page, immediately drawing attention.
The article spoke of the three poor young men, now champions, and their past losses.
About Harry, it said foolish things. That having lost his parents at such a young age, he now wanted to prove his worth, not to remain just the Boy Who Lived, but to stand on his own, even if it meant risking everything for it.
About Draco, it spoke of how his father had disappeared under mysterious circumstances and was never seen again, and how his mother, who now held all the family’s power, might have been involved.
And about Luciel, it talked about his mother, who had been murdered by her own father, pierced by an insane number of swords. Something that had supposedly scarred him so deeply that his wand had now taken the form of a sword.
That was not all. Apparently, the three of them, including Luciel, who was Fleur’s cousin, had fallen under the spell of the part-Veela, another one of the champions, and were now fighting for her affection during the tournament.
Meanwhile, Viktor and his Durmstrang companion were barely mentioned, as if the writer had only remembered to include them at the very end, even getting their names wrong.
When Harry ran into Luciel, he saw him laughing uncontrollably as he read the way the article described his supposed inner suffering and his apparent infatuation with his own cousin, while his fiancée, Katerina, simply shook her head in disapproval at all the nonsense printed in the paper.
But taking it as a joke was not always enough, especially with certain Slytherins, led by Carrow, who now seemed to have even more reasons to harass Draco and Harry.
“Hey, Malfoy. Do you think your mother made your father disappear so she could take over your family’s power?” Carrow asked with a truly disgusting smile. Draco merely looked at him with open disgust before continuing on his way. “Seriously, I’ve got plenty of handkerchiefs for when you cry over your father. I’ve got some for you too, Potter. You must miss your real mother a lot,” he added.
But Harry was not paying him any attention and simply kept walking.
“So, who do you think Hermione and Daphne are forming alliances with?” Harry asked calmly, ignoring the looks from the people around them.
“It’s obvious,” Draco replied in an even tone. “The Delacour cousins,” he added, as if he did not need to think about it. “They’re the only option.”
“Oh. So it’ll be the third romantic rival and the object of our affection,” Harry said with an amused tone, taking the supposed love square lightly.
Hearing Harry’s words, Draco could not help but let out a forced smile, his eyes dry, his laugh flat and mechanical.
Harry laughed at his friend’s reaction. “So, are you done?” he asked, his tone turning a little more serious.
“A few finishing touches are still missing,” Draco said, nodding. “But I should be able to use it in the first task.”
“Good. That’s perfect, because if I beat you too easily, I wouldn’t want to hear excuses,” Harry replied competitively.
“I’d be more worried about how bad you’ll look when you lose,” Draco shot back with the same intensity, choosing words he knew would irritate Harry. “I wonder if you’ll still be able to play the playboy when you’re that humiliated in front of everyone.”
“Oh, yeah? I wonder if, once you’re embarrassed enough, you’ll end up using gender-changing potions so no one can recognize you anymore,” Harry replied, his tone colder.
Both of them smiled falsely as they stared at each other, the atmosphere around them growing colder by the second.
Students passing nearby could not help but stop and stare, wondering if those two boys were really friends at all.
Only they could answer that.
Best friends.
…
Next chapter: the magical tournament begins.
