Chapter 13.4- Doom Days

Still that mindset would serve him well…for a time. Just like it had served Filius until it had become more of a hindrance than a help. Understanding one’s limits would become more useful than self-belief as one went up the ladder, but that was not a question for the present. For the present? He had to get the boy in front of him ready for the U17 tournament in seven months. For good or for ill, after multiple sessions, he had begun to buy into the dream. A 14 year old U17 Champion was unheard of. Contrary to what the name might suggest, most of the winners of the U17 championship turned out to be 17 years old themselves or thereabouts- a product of rules that did not truly make sense. The only requirement to participate was that one had to be below 17 years of age at the time the venue of the tournament was announced which tended to happen at the end of the previous tournament.

Speaking of…. “Have you sorted out your registration for the tournament? You still have up until the new year to sort it out but it’s always better to be early with these things” He asked.

“I’m on it. I owled to inquire about the registration requirements and it turns out I just need to register an official sponsor of some sort and play ten galleons” His protege replied while going through the wand movements for the abverto shield.

“No. You don’t need a sponsor. You only need one when you can’t afford to pay the ten galleon fee” He replied instantly. It was a problem he himself had run across. Even back then, Hogwarts had had the policy of never sponsoring students to take part in the tournament. He hadn’t had the money himself and had to secure a sponsorship from his father’s side of the family. It had been humiliating, kneeling before them and essentially grovelling for their help, but that had proven worth it in the end. He’d paid back their investment and cut ties from a position of strength. He still thought back to the day he returned with their gold with pride. His student didn’t need to worry about such, he estimated with a look at Lily’s boy’s clothes. Even his exercise clothing was of the highest quality.

“So I just need to send them the money and my name and that’s it?” He asked.

“You also need to sort out your travel and accomodation. The tournament will take place in Broekzele. They’ve hosted several duelling tournaments since Grindelwald’s fall so there should be no shortage of inns and hotels that will be available for the tournament period. The better ones will be booked ahead of time so it’s best if you look into that. To be completely honest, the best way of doing this whole thing is to get an agent on ground to handle it.”

“An agent?”

“Or a manager. The best duelists have dedicated teams of trainers, researchers, and agents to handle things like this in terms of lead up to the tournament. While you are nowhere near advanced enough to need your own team of researchers to look into your opponents and examine your previous fights, and I am already your trainer, you would be served well by an agent to handle the tedious logistics that comes with international tournaments.” He explained. He would not have recommended this to most oths at this stage, but the boy had the gold to spend, and also had enough of a burden on his shoulders with the desire to win the tournament on his very first try