PoA Paperback - Percy's engagement - Triwizard Tournament

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 26532

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Mindy C.L." <mindyatime at j...> wrote:
> Ron growls by how obsessed Percy is about Mr. Crouch, he says,
> "They should be announcing their engagement any day now." Oh my 
> gosh, what kind of engagement are they talking about? Is this 
> supposed to be sarcasm? A real slash romance?

It was sarcasm.  Slash romance is So Far out of Ron's idea of 
possibilities that he can say such a thing only as an absurdity, like 
Simon's original claim to be a Harry/Hedwig shipper. (Before Simon 
decided that Hedwig is an Animagus.) Or whoever it was who wrote that 
fanficcers seem to believe that Draco will turn good as soon as 
he gets together with the right 'woman, man, or Kneazle'.

That it is That Far out of Ron's idea of possibilities implies that 
he's never so much as heard of a publically acknowledged homosexual 
relationship. No two men who are 'roommates' but all their friends 
know that there is one double bed in the flat. No celebrity author or 
musician who attends all the celebrity parties, always escorted by
his heavily-made-up sissy-boy of the week, and all the non-celebritys 
read about it in the gossip columns and are thrilled by this brush 
with sophistication (called 'sin' by some). The relationships 
probably nonetheless EXIST, but the relaters try to keep them secret.
I would prefer the relationships to be publically acknowledged and 
accepted, but clearly not everyone agrees.

> What do you think would have happened had Harry NOT taken part in 
> the Tournament? 

Since putting the name in the Goblet creates 'a binding magical 
contract' even tho' it was an unauthorized other person who put the 
name into the Goblet, I expect that the Goblet enforces the contract 
by use of its magic powers. As Fire is a main characteristic of the 
Goblet, perhaps the person who breaks the 'contract' bursts into 
spontaneous combustion and is all burnt up despite any amount of 
water, fire extinguishers, oxygen suppression, etc, maybe at a 
dramatic time like when everyone is cheering for whichever Champion 
just won the Cup in the Third Task. Or coming down with an incurable 
fatal disease with a high fever.