Come Back to Me (Don't Save Me Book 3)

Chapter 6: Bait

We were walking down the steps toward the room where the champions were staying. Madam Maxime was loudly protesting but Albus was ignoring her.

"Harry!" he yelled, making his way down the stairs. "Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?!" he yelled, clutching Harry's collar.

"No, sir!"

"Did you ask one of the older students to do it for you?"

"No, sir!"

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, yes, sir!"

"But of course he is lying," Madam Maxime said.

"The hell he is!" Alastor hissed. "The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object! Only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could have hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year!"

"You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought, Madeye," Igor hissed, face to face with Alastor.

"It was once my job to think as dark wizards do, Karkaroff. Perhaps you remember."

"Alastor, that's not helping anything," I said, stepping between the two. Albus made his way toward the Minister, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"I'll leave this to you, Barty."

"The rules are absolute. The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. Mr. Potter has no choice. He is, as of tonight, a Triwizard champion," Barty answered.

"Barty, you can't be serious! The boy is 14!" I hissed, growing angry, but he wasn't listening. He left the room without another word as all eyes fell on Harry.

"Aunt Y/n..."

"What is it, Harry?" I sighed.

"You do believe me... don't you?" he asked, tears in his eyes. I sighed, realizing there was no way he could have possibly done this.

"Yes, Harry. I believe you. It's just... who would put your name in the Goblet of Fire especially if you didn't even want to participate?" It was a rhetorical question, this we both knew.

***

"This can't go on Albus," Minerva said as Albus stood over the pensieve in his office. "First the Dark Mark... now this."

"What do you suggest, Minerva?"

"Put an end to it! Don't let Potter compete!"

"You heard Barty. The rules are clear."

"The devil with Barty and his rules!" she replied. I could tell she was growing angry but was trying to control her temper.

"Since when do we accommodate the Ministry?" I hissed.

"Headmaster, I too find it difficult to believe this mere coincidence," Severus began. "However, if we are to truly discover the meaning of these events perhaps we should, for the time being, let them unfold."

"What? Offer him up as bait? You can't be serious, Severus!" I said, growing angry with him. He tried to take my hand but I pulled away.

"Potter is a boy, not a piece of meat!" Minerva exclaimed.

"I agree... with Severus," Albus said. Minerva looked at me, fury in her eyes, and I turned to Albus.

"So, we're just going to ignore the fact that Minerva said he's not a piece of meat and you don't agree! You can't be serious, Albus! He's a child! People die in this tournament!"

"Potter is a strong boy. He will be just fine."

"Albus is right, darling," Severus soothed, once again trying to take my hand but I pulled away from his grasp.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I hissed. He looked taken aback but I didn't care.

"Alastor, keep an eye on Harry, will you?"

"I can do that," Alastor said, stepping forward.

"Don't let him know, though. He must be anxious enough as it is... knowing what lies ahead. Then again... we all are." Albus extracted a memory from his mind and placed it into the pensieve as Minerva threw up her hands and left the room.

"How are you okay with this?" I hissed, turning to Alastor. "You fought with us in the first war! You helped us hide James and Lily and now you're just okay with letting him put their son in danger!"

"It's not up to me, Y/n. You heard Barty and Albus. They were clear." Alastor stepped forward, placing a hand on my arm. "I will look after the boy. You don't have to worry, love."

What the hell? When has Alastor ever called me love? I looked at him and his eyes searched mine carefully.

"Alastor, is everything alright? You seem... different."

"Everything's fine, love. Like I said... I will look after the boy. You have nothing to worry about," he soothed, placing a hand on my face. Severus watched the situation curiously and I felt myself growing uncomfortable. Alastor had never acted like this before. What on earth had gotten into him?

I nodded, walking out of the room as Severus followed close behind me.

"What the hell was that?" he hissed, grabbing my arm and turning me around to face him.

"Get your hands off me, Snape!" I pulled away from him, but he grabbed my arm, placing one hand behind my head before pressing me up against the wall.

"What the hell was that? What just happened between you and Alastor?"

I sighed, realizing what was going on. I was still angry with him for offering Harry up as bait, but I was also extremely confused about what just happened.

"Honestly, Severus... I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are. Alastor has never acted like that with me before. He has always been like a brother to me. We fought in the first war together and he was devastated when Lily and James were killed, though he tried not to show it. I-... I don't know what that was."

"So, you're not cheating on me?"

"Severus, you can't be serious! With Alastor? He's like a brother to me! Also, isn't he almost like 50?"

Severus looked down, though he seemed relieved.

"I love you, Severus. I wish you could see that. I'm not going to leave you for someone else... especially not a 50 year old who's like a brother to me."

He nodded before pressing his lips against mine softly. I kissed him for a few seconds before pulling away.

"This doesn't mean you're off the hook for offering my godson up as bait."

He groaned. "I'm sorry, darling, but something is clearly going on and we need to figure it out. The only way we are going to do that is by letting these events play out." He pressed his lips to the top of my head and I instantly melted.

"Damn it, Severus. You make it really hard to stay mad at you!" I chuckled.

"I know," he smirked before leading us toward our chambers for the night.