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"I see… you heard whatever this was?" Dumbledore asked, his twinkling eyes narrowing.
"Yes, I think. No one else could hear it, if we hadn't have come across Ms. Norris I think I would have just thought I was hearing things." Harry said, he didn't like lying to the Headmaster about no one else hearing it, but that was Luna's secret to tell, not his.
"I see, have you heard this voice any time after the first incident?" Dumbledore asked.
"Not that I can think of." Harry said. He briefly scanned his mind to see if he could recall another time. "No, not anytime after that."
"Not even on the night Justin and Sir Nicholas were attacked?" Dumbledore asks, somewhat forcefully.
"No, I think I was in the Ravenclaw common room the night Justin was attacked. Even if whatever it was was speaking it was probably drowned out by everyone else talking." Harry said.
"I see. Do you know anything about the attacks?" Dumbledore asked.
"Pretty much what everyone else does. The attacks occurred when they were more or less alone. Everyone was petrified. The messages on the walls talked about the Chamber of Secrets being opened, and that Enemies of the Heir of Slytherin should watch out. The club did some research into the Chamber of Secrets, which is supposedly a secret area of the school the Salazar Slytherin used to do some type of magic. Nothing on the Heir of Slytherin though, any information about his lineage seems spotty at best." Harry said. All of that had been true, just perhaps not the whole truth.
"I see, and do you have any personal thoughts on the matter?" Dumbledore asked.
"I think whatever is attacking students is some kind of snake monster, since I was able to hear it when no one else could. I can talk to snakes, so that seems to fit. Also Salazar Slytherin's symbol WAS a snake, and it had to come from somewhere. Doing some research gave us a list of snake monsters, though none of them petrify people. Horned Serpents and Basilisks seemed likely, but Horned Serpents haven't been in Europe for a long time, and Basilisks have been illegal to breed for a very long time." Harry said, hoping that Dumbledore would pick up his bread crumbs.
"I see. Well, I have no reason to suspect that you are involved in the attacks. I will allow you and Professor Flitwick to attend the tournament next month. Please do practice and give them a good showing from Hogwarts, we haven't had a dueling champion from our students in a great many years." Dumbledore said, his mouth turning into a smile. "You are dismissed Mr. Potter. Good luck."
"Thank you Professor." Harry said, before getting up and heading out of the room.
Harry ran to his room and wrote out a letter to Andy and Ted:
Dear Ted and Andy,
I've been invited to enter a dueling tournament in Dublin next month. Professor Flitwick and I will be going for me to compete in its Junior division. I would really like it if you two could find the time to come, Nym too if she can get the time off work. I'm sorry we didn't get to see each other over Christmas, and I hope we can use this as a time to catch up before I head home for the summer.
Can't wait to see you,
Harry Potter
Harry glanced nervously around at the large crowd that was forming around the Dueling arena in Dublin. Harry and Flitwick had arrived by floo to the center of Dublin's magical sector, a pub called The Alchemist's Elixery, and from there made their way towards where the tournament was being held.
Droves of people from all over Europe had arrived for the tournament, with Harry seeing a variety of flags and uniforms being waved about through the crowd.
"Quite the turnout eh, Mr. Potter?" Flitwick asked, seeing the boy who was carefully examining the crowd.
"I suppose, I didn't imagine there would be nearly this many people." Harry said, his nerves twitching inside of him. Hogwarts and Diagon Alley had helped him to stop getting overwhelmed in big crowds, but he still wasn't great at dealing with them.
"Yes, well, once we make it inside everything will clear out to where only the competitors, coaches, and families are there. Everyone else will be making their ways to the stands, or to the concessions." Flitwick said, adding the last bit with a smile.
"Do you think the Tonks made it?" Harry asked, nervously scanning the crowd for them. That was unfortunately difficult, as neither Ted nor Andy would stand out in a crowd, and while Nymphadora would, there was both no guaranteeing she would have made it, and also no guaranteeing what she would look like.
"I'm sure they wouldn't miss it for the world. Once we get you signed in we'll take the time to look for them." Flitwick said, as he escorted the young man towards the registration tables.
"Name of contestant please?" The official at the table asked.
"Potter, Harry." Flitwick stated.
"Alright, and what organization are you representing?" The official asked.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Flitwick said, a small smile on his face.
"Ah! Haven't had a competitor from there in a while. What age is the competitor?" The official asked.
"Twelve, I believe that's the junior competition?" Flitwick asked.
"Yes, although we've renamed it the Pegasus Cup." The official stated. "Eleven and Twelve is the Pegasus Cup, Thirteen and Fourteen is the Hippogriff Cup, Fifteen and Sixteen is the Manticore Cup, and Seventeen plus is the Dragon Cup."
"Oh wonderful. Always exciting to see the new divisions. Anything else you need from us?" Flitwick asked. Harry was glad Flitwick was taking the lead here, not only was Harry completely unsure of what he should be doing, he was also still feeling overwhelmed by the crowd.