Chapter 285: Cornering a Spider

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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.

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

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21 November 1994, Rome, Italy

Harry grinned at the sight of the uproar that was the end of the second task. The judges looked absolutely confused about what had happened, and so were the rest of the spectators. The chaos was just so beautiful…

Before the situation with the Zabini Matriarch, he had no plans to interfere in any way in the task, but he was glad he did if only to see other peoples' reactions. He saw Daphne physically gaping in front of him. Her expression quickly morphed into annoyance, and she hit him in the shoulder.

He pretended that he was hurt, "What was that for?"

"You tell me. How the fuck did you pull it off?"

Harry's smirk grew even wider, "It wasn't that hard if you know how to place the pieces…"

"Please tell me you didn't put runes on the competitors before they fought because that's just plain cheating and you could get into a lot of trouble…"

"Of course, I didn't. Do you seriously think I'm some hack or something? No, everything that happened here was caused by spells that the competitors cast with no intervention from the outside."

The blonde frowned, "I don't get it. How could they cast spells without knowing what they were doing?"

"Oh, they knew the effects of the spells. I just didn't tell them everything…"

"You tricked our school into winning?"

He grinned, "Even better. I tricked our school into drawing the first task. I personally think that is even more impressive."

"But how? And why go through all that effort?"

"The way I did it was surprisingly easy. I taught them a handful of spells, but the more useful ones were the fog spell and the earth spell. What I didn't tell them was that both spells were connected and had a few hidden features. I had Lily steal samples from every delegation, which I used to craft a spell which would recognize any of the signatures and mark them."

Daphne hummed, "You created a spell which would only locate the enemy champions and included it into the fog. It is the fog, right?"

"Yes, the moment any other champion entered the fog, they would be marked, even if they left. Even then, the fog itself was a mixture of conjuration and illusion… I'm a bit proud of that one. Of course, there's also the earth wave spell which happened to also be a long-term charm which would absorb the surrounding magic and target the marked individuals the moment the last Hogwarts champion gets eliminated, which would immediately knock out everyone else. A guaranteed tie for Hogwarts…"

"But only if Hogwarts wasn't eliminated before the spell activated and if all the champions went through the mist. Still, the fewer champions remained, the less energy the charm needed…"

He gave her a grin, "Exactly, and I had no plans for them to win. I just taught them how to survive and hide. It was why I chose those two spells to combine their strengths. There was a bit of risk, but that risk slowly decreased with every second that passed. And the best thing is that the spell is layered in a way that even if someone happens to dispel the illusion, its true purpose would still continue to work without anyone knowing. As you can probably tell, I'm a little proud of this little spell, to be honest. And even then, I didn't expect Hogwarts to be in the final two. Pretty neat plan, don't you think?"

"Sure, but why not just give them an activation spell or something to win? Why only knock out everyone else at the last moment?"

"Because that's exactly what I wanted. A tie…"

She snorted, "You almost didn't get one… Chang's last gambit with the Nemean Lion could have worked. She would have won…"

"And while it wouldn't have been my ideal scenario, it would have satisfied with my agreement with Isabella Zabini, and Tracy would have been safe."

"So, a tie does more for you than simply satisfying the agreement, some kind of loophole perhaps? Or even better, it somehow ruins whatever Blaise's mother was planning… But that'll only be valid if the judges don't rule this as cheating?"

The last Potter's face turned amused, "And why would it be considered cheating? Every spell that was cast can be retraced to a participant in the competition. They won't find any signs of cheating or outside interference because there just isn't any. The most they could complain about would be the magical signatures if they even figured it out, but even then, there was nothing wrong with creating targeted spells. They were just too impractical and too time-consuming to make, especially since they only work in very specific scenarios."

"And yet you made one just for the tournament… And I'm not talking about your bullshit magic prodigy crap. You literally created a spell, crafted it to be usable by other people who didn't even understand what they were doing, and you did that in just a couple of days."

"Let's just say that I have a better grasp of the intricacies of Arithmancy than most people… But you're missing the point. The judges have to rule it as a tie since everyone with an Omniocular would know that they were all knocked out at the same time. And, since they won't find any signs of cheating… The endgame is the same, a tie. And for all her passionate words, I have a feeling that the Zabini Matriarch isn't going to like this little fact."

"Do you think that she'll do something rash? Tracy's life is on the line, after all."

"Don't worry about it. I have something planned for that too. Oh, look, they're announcing the winners."

The whole speech was about what Harry expected. They had investigated the whole event thoroughly and found no signs of malfeasance. The spells were directly cast by the Hogwarts Champions and were verified through their wands and a team of expert arithmancers… And, of course, they announced that the final result was a tie between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons.

The French spectators apparently didn't like this judgement, and Harry was sure that there would be a lot of controversy around the judge's decision. People were still confused about what had happened and how the task had ended.

He turned towards McGonagall who gave him a warm smile and a nod. They had made a deal. She would not push for his participation in the tasks, and Harry would not have to participate in any task if he got Britain to win another one. He had kept his side of the bargain, and he liked to think that the headmistress would keep her own…

The way back from the stadium was interrupted by a group of Italian wizards blocking his way, "Harry Potter. You will come with me."

The Potter scion smirked. He knew exactly what was happening. He motioned for the rest of the Hogwarts delegation to continue, even Daphne, "Don't worry. I'll be back in a few minutes."

They walked in silence until they arrived at a rather lavish mansion on the beach. The guards guided him to the entrance, "The Lady will meet you now."

Harry walked inside confidently and whistled, "Well, isn't this a fancy place?"

He wasn't lying. The walls were filled with dozens of pieces of art, there were hand-crafted statues and weapons… All the works.

"I'm glad you think so," a voice returned behind him, "I believe we have a lot to talk about Mr. Potter."

"Ah, Mrs. Zabini… It's a pleasure to see you again."

"You have some nerve standing here as if nothing has happened…"

Harry snorted, "Well, why would I be nervous? I did everything you asked, didn't I? Hogwarts was in first place in the task exactly as you wanted, right? Your rivals will have no reason to doubt your son's education or Hogwarts' competence… So, problem solved."

"Problem not solved. I wanted Hogwarts to win…"

"No, you didn't. You wanted Hogwarts to be the only winner without me competing. But you didn't specify this in our agreement, did you? Of course, politically, this wouldn't have been an issue, but this was never about politics, was it?"

The woman flinched, "I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Well, let me refresh your memory. You made a sizable bet on Hogwarts winning the task without me competing. It was some very good odds and you stacked them in your favour. Only, you didn't really have enough gold to bet, just investments and properties, so you bet portions of your business empire in Rome instead. They agreed, of course, and you were so confident. This would have been such a massive stroke of genius! You could have expanded your empire, throughout Italy and even most of the ICW. And if you lost, the worst that would happen is having the shares of your properties that you bet distributed amongst hundreds of debtors. You could recoup your losses easily enough with your next husband. Sure, you would have lost a bit of income, but it would have been a temporary setback at best. But, you got greedy. You were so confident of your hold over me that you bet more than you should have, and now, you're screwed. They won't acknowledge that a tie for first place is the same as Hogwarts winning."

"I'll deal with it…"

Harry gave her a smug look, "I don't think you will. It's too much money. If they make an exception for you, they'll have to do it for all the bets on the French winning. And, of course, there's also the little fact that Arcturus Black happened to make a nice sizable bet that Hogwarts would tie for first place and that I wouldn't participate. And the odds on that bet… Well, let's just say they're very nice. He's looking at quite a nice payout, including your own properties. It looks like you're going to have a partner in most of your ventures… Isn't that great?"

The woman blanched at this. It was different to lose a portion of her investments to hundreds of people, each with a small percentage… She would still have had control over the situation and her investments. But, with a single person holding a big part of each investment, they could be a threat… And Arcturus Black had a reputation all over Europe for his ruthlessness.

"You bastard! You planned this…" the Italian woman snarled.

"Yes, I did. Believe me, it was harder than just giving them the win. A pretty nice challenge all things considered."

"I could have the bets cancelled, go to the ICW and…"

Harry interrupted her, "And what, exactly? Tell them that I gave my schoolmates a tactic that would ensure the task would end in a draw? That I tricked them into casting spells that would give them the win because that's exactly what I did? Everything that happened in that arena, every effect, was due to one of their spells. It was why the judges didn't disqualify anyone. You lost, Zabini, just accept it and move on with your life."

"I could just kill the Davis girl…"

"Sure, and then, I would tell Arcturus to destroy everything you hold dear. Your empire would disappear. So far, he's going to take the softer approach. But, he could just sell his portions of the properties to Gringotts. I wonder how long you'd survive when an entire army of goblin bankers is doing their best to take every single Knut from you? Still, you're not getting the point."

"And what is it?" the woman snarled back.

"It's very simple. Don't fuck with me… You thought you could manipulate me into making you a profit. You thought to use me for your goals. That was a foolish mistake. Dumbledore tried to do the same and you know what happened to him. And that was a fucking Archmage who happened to be a war hero. But, in a way, what you did was worse. You threatened my friend. I really don't like that. So, when other people come to you and ask you about using me, tell them to run away…"

The woman gulped and simply nodded, probably not trusting her own voice.

Harry grinned cheerily, "Excellent. That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, one last thing. I figure it was implied but I think it would be better for me to be a little more direct. If I find out that you so much as hurt Tracy, Blaise, Daphne, or any of my friends, I will burn you. I will find everything you hold dear and make you watch as I burn it into the ground… I will turn you into a lesson on what happens when someone tries to get to me through my friends and family. Do you understand, Isabella?"

The room got darker and colder as he continued talking. The woman was trembling in front of him, and he asked once more, "I said, do you understand, Isabella?"

"Y-Yes…" she stammered.

"Then we have nothing more to discuss."

And just like that, he disappeared, leaving the woman kneeling and shaking in fright. It was a shame; sometimes violence was the only language a few people could understand.

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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.