Neophobia | H. POTTER [2]

5 | the champions

"Sit down please," Dumbledore requested as the students chattered and made their way to their seats, "And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the champions selection!"

Dumbledore approached the goblet that was glowing blue and it changed to red. A name flew out of the cup and everyone watched in curiosity.

"The Durmstrang champion is..." he began, "Viktor Krum!"

Cheers erupted from the Durmstrang were at. "And he's a champion?" Abigail whispered to Hermione, "You got yourself a keeper."

Hermione looked down at the table so her hair covered her blushing cheeks, "Stop it." Ron looked between the girls, an unreadable expression on his face.

The cheering quieted as another name flew out, "The champion from Beauxbatons...Fleur Delacour."

The Beauxbatons cheered as Fleur walked up and another name came out.

"The Hogwarts champion..." he began and Abigail felt her stomach drop as he said the name, "Cedric Diggory."

The Hogwarts students cheered as Cedric walked up to the stage. "Excellent! We now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory the triwizard cup!"

Everyone cheered until the goblet flew red again. Dumbledore looked on in confusion but caught the paper nevertheless, "Harry Potter. Harry Potter?"

Abigail's eyes widened as everything she feared was coming into play. It was a dream. It was also supposed to be one horrible, unforgettable dream.

"No..." Hagrid shook his head and the other teachers seemed confused, "No."

"Harry Potter!"

"Go on Harry," Hermione whispered hastily, "Harry for goodness sake."

Harry slowly stood up. He looked back at his friends and his eyes locked with Abigail's. She sent him a tight smile and he started up the center aisle, Dumbledore handing him the paper.

"He's a cheat!" a student in the crowd shouted, "He's not even seventeen yet."

Hermione and Abigail exchanged worried looks as the students were dismissed. "What do you think happened?"

"He's not an idiot, he wouldn't have put his name in himself. Not that he would have been able to," Abigail pointed out. "It had to have been someone else which means that there is a reason they did it. Which means he needs to be extremely careful or else..."

"Or else what?" Ron inquired and Abigail wanted to slap him. He could be rather oblivious, not more than Harry but still.

"None of this is going to end well."

Abigail made her way back to the common room, not bothering to wait for Harry with Hermione and Ron. She settled down at the shared desk in her dorm and set to work on writing the letter to her father.

Dear dad,

Harry's name was pulled from the Goblet of Fire. How is that even possible? He's not seventeen and the twins tried to get through Dumbledore's spell work and failed. Harry's not stupid enough to try himself.

Everything is

She scratched out the line quickly, not bothering to erase it. She had to be careful with what she wrote.

I don't know what's going on. Between the World Cup and this...Do we need to be worried?

Anyway, write back soon. Tell Snuffles I said hi.

With Love,
Abigail.

Abigail arrived at the Great Hall more exhausted than when she had gone to bed that night. Her dreams were plagued with things that she couldn't even fathom thinking about happening let alone actually happening. It wasn't real, she tried to convince herself as she took a seat, None of it was real.

But Harry and Cedric were champions.

She shook her head. "Hey, Neville," she greeted with a small smile.

He looked up in surprise. "Abigail," he greeted as he looked around, "Why are you sitting here?"

She shrugged, "Do you not want me to sit here?"

"Well, no, I don't mind," he shook his head quickly. "Where's Harry, Hermione and Ron?"

They both looked down the table to see that Hermione and Harry sat together but Ron was no longer in sight. Ron entered the Great Hall and stopped for a moment. He looked at where Harry and Hermione sat before he looked over at where Abigail sat.

Harry frowned as Ron passed by him and joined Abigail and Neville. "Hey," he grumbled as he took a seat.

Abigail's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Are you okay?"

"Can you believe him?" Ron asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "He put his name in the goblet and didn't even think to put my name in too. His best friend!"

"Oh, Ron..." she trailed off. "I don't think-" She couldn't finish because he cut her off, going on a tangent about how Harry should have put his name in too and that he was an awful friend.

A moment later, much to Abigail's relief, the owls flew in with the mail. A letter dropped in front of her and she picked it up immediately, tearing it open. Her dad would say the right things and she wouldn't be worried anymore. At least that's what she hoped.

Dear Abigail,

I understand your concern and Snuffles and I are looking into it. Snuffles says hello as well. As soon as we know anything that you would need to know, you will know it.

Try not to dwell on everything too much, okay? Everything will work itself out, I promise. Just relax and write soon.

With Love,
Your Father

P.S. There's a letter inside from Snuffles to Harry

"Hey, Neville?" Abigail spoke up as she tucked her letter away and held the envelope out to him, "Do you think you could run this over to Harry for me?"

He seemed confused at this but took the letter anyway. Neville got up and walked the letter over to Harry.

Harry looked up and took the letter, confusion clear on his face. He looked over at where Abigail was and she immediately looked away from the boy.

The following week continued as such. Ron was around Abigail whenever Hermione was with Harry instead of him. And all Ron talked about was Harry which was the last thing Abigail wanted to talk about.

Abigail grabbed Hermione's shirt before she could walk to the desk in front of her and pulled her into the chair next to her. Hermione pulled her arm away from the girl and turned to her in confusion, "What was that for?"

"Sit there," she requested.

"I am sitting here," she pointed out.

"Okay, then stay there," she replied and Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Harry usually sits next to you," she reminded the girl.

"I know," Abigail stated, confusing Hermione further.

She shook her head, "Did I miss something?"

"Did you?" she countered with a raised eyebrow.

Harry and Ron entered the room a moment later and grew confused upon finding Hermione and Abigail sitting next to each other. They both looked at each other despite not being on speaking terms before taking a seat at the desk in front of them.

Harry turned around to find Abigail staring at her quill. He opened his mouth to say something but then noticed the look on Hermione's face and decided against it. He turned forward with a huff as Professor Moody entered the room.