Percy Jackson and the Triwizard Tournament

52) You Waited Fifty Chapters for a Wooden Mug That Doesn't Burn

The Goblet of Fire didn't look like much, unless you found the dancing blue flames it held to be much. The goblet itself was wooden, and was roughly made. It would have been cooler if it had been carved of rock or something and filled with Greek fire — though I doubt that would have ended well.

Dumbledore closed the casket and carefully placed the goblet on top, where everyone could clearly see it, "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the four it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," Dumbledore said, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line, which is why I will be taking the students of Camp Half-Blood to put in their names beforehand. They have all received superior training, and are the exception to the age rule.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all, and campers, please come up here."

As everyone else filed out of the Great Hall, all of the campers stepped forward. Chiron soon began to help us write down our names and our camp name, knowing we'd spell it wrong and screw everything up.

Thalia put her name in first. I watched as people filed by, entering themselves into the tournament. Seamus. Katie. Terry. Castor. Pollux. Beckendorf. Silena. Draco. Travis. Connor. Terry. Many others came and entered. Finally, it was my turn. As I dropped my name into the goblet, it briefly turned red and emitted sparks.

***

On most Saturday mornings, people slept in late. However, that Saturday was a bit different. When I got to the Great Hall, several others were already there, and it was decorated for Halloween. Live bats fluttered around the ceiling, and hundreds of carved pumpkins were scattered around the room. About twenty people were milling about, eating breakfast and lounging around, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It was placed in the middle of the hall, on the stool that normally housed the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line circled it, and I grinned. The Age Line.

After a while of waiting, my Gryffindor friends walked in, and made their way to me.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron eagerly asked me.

"Everyone from Durmstrang," I shrugged. "No one from Hogwarts, yet."

"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed," Harry said, eyeing the goblet. "I would've if it had been me... wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right back out again."

Someone laughed behind Harry, and I turned to see Fred, George, and Lee Jordan rushing down the staircase, all looking terribly excited.

"Done it!" Fred whispered triumphantly to us. "Just taken it."

"What?" Ron asked.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains," Fred said.

"One drop each," George gleefully rubbed his hands together like some evil scientist. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," Lee grinned.

"I don't think this is going to work," I said, knowing fully well this would backfire in their faces. "I'm sure Dumbledore would have thought of this."

Fred, George, and Lee ignored me.

"Ready?" Fred looked to the other two, shaking with excitement. "C'mon, then — I'll go first —" I watched gleefully as Fred pulled a slip of parchment from his pocket — presumably with his name and school on it — and rocked on his toes at the edge of the line. Then, with everyone staring at him, he took a large breath and stepped over the line.

George let out a yell of triumph and jumped next to Fred without a moment's hesitation. He should've waited half a second more. There was suddenly a loud sizzling sound, and the twins were hurled out of the circle. They landed painfully, and there was a sudden loud popping noise. They both sprouted identical white beards that would make Dumbledore proud.

Once they got over their shock, even Fred and George joined in on everyone's laughter.

I just took a nap. I didn't really mean to take the nap, but my dog and I were hanging out, and I just fell asleep. It was a pretty good nap. My parents had a friend over last night, and they all got drunk. This happens like once a year, and they're not alcoholics, so it's all fine. Only thing that really bugs me about it is the fact that they were drinking right outside of my room. Like I could look out of my window and see them. So it was annoying when they got loud. They also started howling, like wolves, which was really weird. And the friend apparently ate my little sister's chocolate. My niece came over again today. My brother was watching this YouTuber while she played with my sister. The YouTuber sounded a lot like MatPat at times and it weirded me out.

Anyway, I hope you guys have had a fantastic Saturday, and I'll see you on Monday. Love ya!