Wondering Why

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Great Hall seemed to be a very popular place to hang about as people watched in great interest at who was willing to put their name into the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Adrian asked as he sat down at the bench that Bianca and Aurora were occupying.

"All the Durmstrang lot. But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."

Loud, rambunctious laughter filled the hall as Fred, George, and Lee Jordan came running down the staircase, all three looking extremely excited and giddy. "Done it!" Fred shouted out.

"We just finished brewing the Aging Potion this morning." Lee Jordan said with a bright smile on his face.

"One drop each. We only need to be a few months older." George nodded as he eyed the Goblet of Fire with sparks in his eyes.

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins." Fred smiled.

"It's not going to work." Aurora rolled her eyes and said, under her breath.

"Oh yea, and why is that, Pr-- er-- Malfoy?" Fred cocked his head to the side and sauntered over to where she was sitting with her Slytherin friends. Despite her needing to put space between them, his long strides just reminded her what it felt like when she sat on his powerful thighs when they would snog each other in dark alcoves last year.

She shook her head, ridding herself of those devious thoughts about him and swallowed hard to gather her strength to talk. "Dumbledore would've thought about this, Weasley."

"If it works, you owe me a Butterbeer."

She blushed slightly and rolled her eyes. "And if it doesn't work, you owe me by leaving me alone. Forever."

Fred frowned and shook his head. "No fucking deal. Can't risk that. No way is that a fair and even trade."

Lee tapped him on the back to turn the red-heads attention back to the circle. "Let's go, Fred. You can prove her wrong in action."

"C'mon then-- I'll go first--" Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his robe pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley - Hogwarts.

The confident Gryffindor walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the room upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.

Aurora sucked in a breath of anxiety as she clutched onto Bianca's hand. Her friend looked down at their intertwined fingers and sighed at the obvious sign that the Malfoy girl still had very strong feelings towards the trouble maker.

For a split second, everyone in the hall besides those with brains, thought it had worked-- George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of great triumph and leapt over the golden age line with Fred. The next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical loud white beards.

The hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.

"At least this will help you get over the Weasley git." Graham began to cackle as he took in the twins playing with their beards and acting like they were old men, hobbling around the golden circle and asking on-lookers questions about where they could find the BINGO games.