Chapter 254: Game Theory
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I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
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1 November 1994, Beauxbatons, France
It has been almost a day since they came to France and Harry could only say that things certainly worked differently in Beauxbatons. It was hard to describe. To be perfectly honest, Harry had stopped really paying attention in class except for Potions, Herbology, and Transfiguration. He has already self-studied most of the Arithmancy and Runes curriculum, charms tended to be very repetitive, no matter just how much Flitwick made things interesting. It wasn't really the half-goblin's fault; Harry just got charms, and his Arcane Hearing made it child's play to replicate any charm he could detect.
History of Magic was just boring with Binns teaching, Astronomy just wasn't that interesting, even if it was pretty useful for certain potions and rituals. It was all a bunch of symbolism that Harry memorized before the exams. Defence Against the Dark Arts was a wildcard, depending on the teacher, but even then, Harry had self-studied most of the curriculum. And divination had lost its appeal when he discovered that there was nothing to really help him control his visions. He found it easier to just self-study the content since his class was just moving too slowly for his liking.
Surprisingly, Herbology was actually pretty interesting. The sheer diversity of magical plants really amazed Harry. He wasn't the best in class, which always made things interesting, but the art of crossbreeding species of plants to create new ones was something that they were just beginning to explore this year.
Transfiguration was somewhat mundane, but Harry couldn't really get into advanced subjects without a competent teacher. It was all fine and good when he taught himself conjuration, but he couldn't risk trying out human transfiguration or even becoming an Animagus without supervised help. Well, he could have, but there would always be risk involved.
He still had no idea how the hell the Marauders became animagi without anyone noticing. To say it was risky would be an understatement. Messing with the human body with magic could easily kill anyone. Biology was very finicky and any kid trying out how to become an animal could easily overlook something when turning back, which could end up killing them.
It didn't help that the Animagus transformation was a permanent form of transfiguration, one of the rare ones, not classified as Alchemy. While the transformation itself did need magic, it didn't need it to maintain the animal form, meaning that it was very possible to stay in an Animagus form permanently, even at the risk of the form altering their personalities.
Potions were just as dangerous. While Harry did grasp the lessons quickly and was more than able to modify potions, he just didn't have enough raw ingredients to experiment with his modification. He didn't bother just buying them since doing so periodically would have had him flagged in the DMLE for the chance of illegally selling potions, which would start an investigation, giving anyone who disliked Harry an opportunity to make life difficult for him.
Anyway, Slughorn did make things more interesting. While Snape hovered over them scolding them immediately for making mistakes and vanishing potions, the old man was far more forgiving. He let everyone experience their own mistakes and quickly handled potions that would have gone out of control. It was probably the better method of teaching, but it was the more dangerous one.
Back to the subject at hand, Beauxbatons was just different. Their library was slightly disappointing, and entirely in French. Thankfully, Harry could read French fluidly even if some magical terms required him to research what they were. He made a reminder to himself to learn a translation spell for the official language of every institution they would go to for the tournament. It wouldn't do for him not to take advantage of the school's library.
The content didn't really make up for it. It wasn't as big as Hogwarts and didn't have a research section. It was just academic texts, even if they were more in-depth and more organized than in Hogwarts. Still, the Alchemy section was pretty well-made, and Harry resolved himself to focus on the field during his time in France. He would probably copy a fair few before leaving…
The core classes themselves were relatively similar, if a little less detailed in transfiguration. However, their charms curriculum was far more extensive. They did not have Defence Against the Dark Arts, just Combat Magic class. A few changes were in the sheer number of specializations and electives that just showed how much Dumbledore slowly affected the sheer variety of Hogwarts' education. There was Duelling, Music, Ancient Studies, Art, Divination, Curse Breaking, Elemental Studies, an Introduction to Healing, an Introduction to Alchemy, an Introduction to Enchanting, and many more. Arithmancy was even a core class, which had to be taken from their second year to their fourth.
It was funny, really; while Hogwarts' professors were obviously better and more experienced than Beauxbatons, people were most likely to have gotten a better education in France…
Harry had signed up for a few of them, just out of curiosity, but he was looking forward to experiencing those classes.
However, for all of the advantages of being in Beauxbatons, there was still this giant Dark Mark, like a cloud hovering over Harry, making him feel nervous. Albus Dumbledore was there.
To be perfectly honest, he hadn't expected to see the man for a while. His appearance had come out of nowhere, and Harry really despised unplanned surprises. The fact that he was also there as a judge meant that he would follow the delegations around for the duration of the tournament…
He didn't know what to expect from the man. He had initially gone after Harry as a way to further control the prophecy between Neville and Voldemort, to act like as a backup if things don't go the way he wanted to. This transitioned later into active sabotage when he saw how talented Harry was. And after Harry kept embarrassing the man, he actively tried to get rid of him.
And now the same man was back, just months afterwards. It was like all that Harry suffered was for nothing.
They were seeking the same prize, which was held on a podium in Beauxbatons' equivalent of the Great Hall.
Harry couldn't help himself. It was the middle of the night. The moon hung high, a mere sliver in the sky, casting a silvery glow that filtered through the tall windows of the Beauxbatons great hall. Harry stepped softly across the cool marble floor; his footsteps muffled by the opulent, sapphire-blue rugs that lined the path to the dais where his prize awaited.
Harry paused; his breath visible in the air as he neared Nicholas Flamel's diary. He had come to see if it was the genuine article or just something that Madame Maxime used to generate interest regarding her task.
The book looked like a mundane notebook, even if the leather on it looked aged. Harry needed to know if the journal was a genuine article before committing himself to participate in the tournament. Doing so, he spread his senses.
Harry wasn't normally surprised when it came to magic. Sometimes, he saw something that made him raise an eyebrow, but living in Hogwarts had desensitized him to most forms of magic. However, he was blown away by what he detected with his Arcane Hearing.
It was like discovering an entirely new form of magic, one that he had never truly imagined before. He thought that he understood even the basics of Alchemy, but that had just blown everything out of the water. He didn't have anything to really compare it to, but there was a myriad of protection charms that he had never even heard of before, as well as some kind of ownership pact.
It was somewhat simple in its usage. In the absence of its owner, the book would decide its new owner if they won it in a competition that surpassed its own magic in terms of power. After that, it could be used as any normally owned artefact.
The magic was beautiful and efficient. Yes, this was definitely the genuine article… It would be worth him entering the first task.
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him, "I had my doubts as well, but this is Nicholas' journal. I never thought I'd ever see it again."
Harry turned, his face blank, "Albus Dumbledore."
"Harry Potter."
The younger wizard's gaze did not leave his former headmaster, "I have to know why you did not retrieve it yet."
"Why would I?" Dumbledore replied, "It would be against the spirit of the tournament."
Harry grinned, "You can't use it, can you? Even after all this time, Flamel got one over you. He's still the master and you remain the apprentice."
It was, in its own twisted way, an amazing way to get back at Dumbledore. Flamel gave his student proof that there were things that he could not simply overpower. Harry did notice that even a ley line worth of magic would not make a dent in the diary. It was specifically designed to reroute magic and even use it to strengthen its own protection.
The immortal alchemist had perished at the hands of Dumbledore, but it seemed like he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
The former headmaster's face looked tense for a fraction of a second, "Perhaps. If there is something that I know for sure, it would be that there is always something to learn when it comes to magic. I look forward to studying the tome and unearth its secrets. There is nothing more satisfying than learning more forms of magic."
Harry smirked, "But you'll need access to it first…"
"Perhaps more than a few people would offer it to me as the man's last apprentice. I believe that any student would be more than willing to part from the book for a small fortune. After all, they would not know enough to benefit from the knowledge inside the journal properly."
"And what would happen if someone unwilling to sell you the tome, were to win?"
The headmaster did not answer his question, "Good luck, Harry Potter."
Before he could leave, Harry couldn't help but ask one final question, "I have to ask, but why are you here? You could have been anywhere in the World. Any country would have loved to host you, aside from Britain. So, why move around Europe as the judge of a school tournament, no matter how prestigious it was."
The older wizard smirked, his eyes filled with smugness that Harry instinctively disliked, "Perhaps, it was simply the whims of fate… Have a good night, Harry Potter, and good luck."
The former headmaster turned and walked out of the hall, leaving Harry on his own, staring at the leatherbound journal. He felt like he lost the little battle of words with Dumbledore. The man was oddly careful compared to how he used to be. It made sense, in a way; he didn't have an entire faction of a country supporting his every move. For all his unconcerned nature, a large part of Dumbledore's network had vanished after the events of the previous year.
But why did the man go into so much trouble to join the tournament?
Did Grindelwald have anything to do with it?
Perhaps Flamel could have known anything about it. He channelled some magic into the ring and thought of Nicholas Flamel. Oddly enough, he felt rebuffed, as if someone was actively blocking him. Had the Alchemist somehow managed to stop people from interrogating his echo in ambient magic somehow?
More questions and not enough answers. How frustrating.
At least he knew that the diary was probably the genuine thing and would be worth taking the risk that was the first task.
Harry came back to the Hogwarts Express turned dragon, wearing his invisibility cloak, no one had noticed his absence. It was already late, and he needed to sleep. He had a meeting with the Unspeakable woman that came with them. The woman was already acting weird ever since he spoke to her, and she had taken a lot of interest in Daphne, something that he found disturbing.
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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.