Chapter 244: Black Heart

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I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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21 August 1994, Black Manor

Harry Potter sat with his guardian, eating their breakfast in silence. He had barely seen the older man ever since the mess in the Quidditch World Cup. Well, calling it a mess would have been an understatement, it was an unmitigated disaster. The entire country was shamed on the international scene, and foreign ministries were up in their arms for their dead citizens.

It was obviously a coup to undermine the progress Britain has been doing since Voldemort's downfall, and a way to destroy any hopes of the economy bouncing back anytime soon. Considering that a fucking Elder Vampire was leading the charge – not that anyone knew that – it was likely that Grindelwald was involved somehow. Harry wasn't really sure since the Dark Lord could have easily killed Harry during the third task of the tournament.

It was all just guessing; he had no hard evidence.

However, Harry simply couldn't forget about the fight with the Elder Vampire. That was, without question, one of the hardest opponents he had ever fought against. It wasn't really the shadow magic, which could be dealt with theoretically, and technically, the vampire didn't really use blood magic for much – not that it was surprising since blood magic wasn't a good way to use offensive magic, acting as a way to enhance spells, enforce contracts, or power certain rituals. No, the hardest thing was just how unkillable the monster felt.

The vampire regenerated from almost anything and even Fiendfyre only slowed him down at best. Harry had instinctively used the resurrection stone to alter his blade to kill the damn thing, something that he had no idea how he did, and could not replicate afterwards. He really needed to figure out how to use the stone properly soon.

Anyway, speaking of the stone, he had been very lucky that he had altered its appearance after retrieving it. He had mostly done it in case Dumbledore would have recognized it at a glance, covering the stone itself with green glass, and replacing the band completely. Voldemort hadn't recognized his former Horcrux, which would have been very bad.

It was already a bad idea that the vampire had mentioned the fact that his soul was broken. That little fact alone practically guaranteed that Voldemort would come for Harry. The man was really paranoid when it came to his immortality, and he wouldn't take any chances.

It was probably a calculated move on the vampire's part, a way to get Harry and Voldemort to never become allies, not that he was tempted anyway. It could have been a normal observation on the vampire's part, a way to turn the odds to his favour, but it could have been a premeditated event, meaning that whoever planned this knew intimately just how Voldemort thought…

Still, Voldemort's presence was surprising. He had almost forgotten about the man after his first year. He was always Longbottom's problem, not Harry's. Even if Harry had probably done more to kill the man than anyone other than Frank and Alice Longbottom.

The fact that Voldemort was able to possess people so easily meant that he was getting stronger. He was going to return soon if no one did anything…

Harry still held his trump card in case the heir of Slytherin did anything. He had made sure not to use his portals during the fight with the Elder Vampire while Voldemort was looking. Harry never realized just how effective portals were in battle before that fight. No wonder Arcturus said to not advertise his new skill…

His thoughts were interrupted by a grumbling Arcturus reading a small piece of parchment. Curious, the last Potter asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really, Fudge is being an idiot again."

"I can't really blame him for being desperate in this situation…"

The Black Patriarch shook his head, "He's practically asking the Wizengamot for gold that he won't repay, threatening the fact that the ICW would start interfering with our affairs. But everyone with a brain knows that they'll eventually interfere anyway. He's focusing on stopping them entirely, not weakening the only people who would stop their influence financially."

Harry nodded. He didn't really like politics, but he could see it. Britain was sinking financially, and without the ICW officially supporting the country and declaring it to be safe, it was unlikely to change anytime soon. Even if they paid off the frankly ludicrous reparation fees that the foreign ministries wanted, they would end up still in trouble in a few years and needing assistance from the ICW. All it would have done was cost the Wizengamot gold for delaying the inevitable. What Fudge should have done was to allow the ICW to influence their nation, while adding in as many limitations as he could negotiate, hoping that years later, he would be able to slowly remove their influence.

Fudge wasn't playing the long game and obviously wanted to save his sinking career more than help his country.

Arcturus continued, "His only play was the Department of Mysteries lending a hand by giving away rare artefacts, but with this place being almost destroyed, he's out of moves."

And wasn't that a surprising turn of events? Just after the attack on the Quidditch World Cup, when everyone was dealing with the aftermath, someone snuck inside and blew up half the Department of Mysteries. The Unspeakables had refused to say anything, only that nothing substantial was lost, and no one was hurt. They had backups in case something went wrong anyway, but the rebuilding costs would be substantial, meaning that the department would not have been able to help the ministry anytime soon.

As far as Harry could tell, the whole thing felt like a setup to weaken Magical Britain as much as possible, "The timing wasn't a coincidence."

"No one thinks it was one, but so far, no one has been able to prove anything. Saul Croaker has been unusually secretive about the attack and my sources in the department said that there was a specific project that was targeted, but they did not have the clearance to even know which one it was."

Harry snorted, "I still have no idea why we even consider the Department of Mysteries as part of the ministry…"

"There was this minister that tried to shut it down once and they just ignored it. The department itself predates the ministry, and to include it officially, there was an agreement that they would deal with any research or experimentation. They had to do it since the Unspeakables had access to some of the rarest resources and artefacts in the world."

"Do other countries have similar departments?"

The Black Patriarch smiled with an approving expression on his face, "Yes, but they're far less secretive about them. There are sensitive projects, of course, but most of what they work on is accessible to most. To be fair, they mainly work on creating spells and wards, not researching the conceptual nature of the world, like Time and Death."

Harry nodded. It made sense, in a way. The famed resources of the Department of Mysteries had to be hard to acquire and tended to be unique, meaning that foreigners didn't have access to them, limiting their research potential, "Fascinating…"

"Speaking of foreign countries, I want you to join the Hogwarts delegation for the European School Tournament next year."

That took the winds out of Harry's sails. The mass outrage of the ICW moving the tournament from Hogwarts to be held in another institution for security reasons had been expressed in the Daily Prophet for days at a time. Fudge was under fire for 'robbing them of this honour' and it didn't look like he would last the elections the following year.

Harry hadn't really cared about it altogether. Sure, he was looking forward to speaking with people who used magic differently, especially with the rumours that more than three schools were going to be invited, but he wasn't really dejected by the outcome. In fact, he was a bit relieved, especially since the tournament was a modern recreation of the Tri-Wizard tournament, which was famed for its bloody history.

Like every student in Hogwarts, he knew exactly what the Tri-Wizard tournament was. It was essentially a glorified gladiator match between the three major magical schools in the tournament, which happened to be mostly Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrung. Sometimes a few schools were swapped in or out depending on the need. It was mostly used as a way to prevent wizarding war between nations, to deal with slights, and maybe even make friendships and alliances. It didn't always work, but it was effective enough.

That came at the price of the three champions, who had to fight monsters to the death, and complete impossible tasks to honour their institution, as well as the rather high gold prize and sometimes even the promise of becoming a noble. It was actually a rather sought-out position for muggleborns and commoners back when nobility was put in place. Death was more widespread at the time, and there was honour in dying in a fight to the death. The institutions also often rewarded the families of the dead participants.

However, after the statute of secrecy was put in place and the abolition of nobility in Britain, fewer people wanted to risk their lives since they couldn't promise lands and titles afterwards. That's not mentioning the 1792 Tournament, which became legendary and infamous for its cockatrice rampage. Hundreds of wizards and witches had died, and it had started a monumental conflict on the continent. No one had attempted to resurrect the tournament since then.

Until now.

It might have been rebranded, filled with pretty words, but it was just a modified version of the tournament that was far less lethal.

And Arcturus wanted him to enter it for some reason. He owed the man that much, at the very least, but there was something he needed to understand, "Why?"

"If what you said about Grindelwald returning was true, then war is coming. It will be on a continental scale at the very least, and making connections with foreign countries will be very helpful. I have already started working with my allies, reconnecting with old friends, renewing our network in Europe and I'll need you to do the same with the younger generation."

Harry could see the wisdom in that, they needed to grow their own powerbase. The fight against the Champion of the Dark and the Champion of the Light was inevitable, and that's not to mention Voldemort's inevitable return. They were stuck between three giant fronts, and Harry wanted nothing to do with any of them.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't leave him, and just staying in Britain would have limited his options. He needed to make more connections to at least have any sort of leverage against those titans. His defeat at Grindelwald's hands reminded him just how outclassed he truly was against the two Champions.

But he was closing the gap. He would not stop until he did.

From the look Arcturus gave him, he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He could technically refuse, of course, but it would be like spitting in the fact of his guardian. The man had protected him from Dumbledore's machinations and provided him with materials and knowledge that he would never have had access to on his own. And yet, before this day, he had asked nothing of Harry. Even then, it wasn't really something dangerous. Arcturus asked him to be part of the delegation, not to compete in the tournament.

And it wasn't like he wasn't curious about the tournament. He didn't mind the idea of seeing new forms of magic that he would replicate using his Arcane Hearing. This might be enough for Harry to improve even further.

He was stagnating in Hogwarts, he could tell. It wasn't because he didn't work hard, but because there was nothing truly new to discover. Three years of constant work on his magic made him hard to be surprised by a form of magic. The wonder was starting to wear off, and it was something that he dreaded immensely.

And it wasn't like he had to compete. Harry would simply not sign up for any event. The terms of the tournament still weren't announced. The delegation was sent as a cultural exchange, with foreign professors teaching their classes, and should not really have to compete. He would see later.

Harry turned towards the expecting look his guardian was giving him and nodded, "Fine, I'm in."

The relieved smile on Arcturus' face almost made up for how troublesome this was probably going to be.

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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.