Yours Regardless

The Champions

           Charlize sat with Hermione in the study hall, the benches moved to make room for the Goblet of Fire, and talked quietly about upcoming essays that were already being given in the first week. Their conversation was cut short however as Fred and George ran into the room cheering about finishing a potion to age them to a few months older. Charlize laughed at the twins as she moved the mandrake leaf around in her mouth, only a day in and it was getting quite bothersome.

           "It's not going to work." Hermione sing-songed, causing the twins to come up to the two girls.

           "Oh yeah?"

            "And why's that, Granger?"

           "Charlize thinks it will. Don't you, Poppet?"

Hermione offered them a smug look as she pointed to the circle drawn on the floor, "You see this? This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

           "So?" Fred asked.

The girl scoffed and looked to Charlize as if asking 'can you believe these two' before answering," A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dim-witted as an aging potion."

           "Yeah but that's why it's so brilliant."

           "Cuz it's so pathetically dim witted."

The twins got up with far too much confidence Charlize thought, but she couldn't help but smile at them and their antics.

           "Ready, Fred?"

           "Ready, George."

           "Bottoms up."

The two Weasleys intertwined their arms and drank their potions together. Nodding together as no immediate effects made themselves present. Charlize and Hermione looked at eachother and shook their heads before turning to look back at the boys, who had now jumped into the age circle. Again cheering when no immediate effects were brought out, next taking out little pieces of paper each with their names on it to put in the Goblet of Fire. The celebrations were a bit premature, however, as the fire in the goblet grew angrily, crackling furiously and spitting out the pieces of charred paper. Moments later the twins were thrown across the room and knocked onto their butts. Hermione and Charlize couldn't quite hold their laughs as they saw the grey hair sprout from each of the twins heads, long beards accompanying the silver locks.

The laughs got louder as the twins began rolling around on the floor arguing and fighting, trying to blame the other. Charlize swished around the mandrake leaf again, though very subtly as to not get Hermione's attention that would bring forth relentless questioning.

Within moments a seriousness washed over the room, causing the twins to stop fighting and the chants of 'fight' to stop. The headmaster, accompanied by two boys, from Durmstrang had entered to put their names in the goblet. Charlize was told by Harry, Ron, and Hermione in an early class about Durmstrang, Viktor Krum, and Karkaroff. She didn't like them much, very angry looking boys the Bulgarians were and Charlize wasn't a fan of their sour expressions.

Viktor Krum, the sourest by far, came up to put his name in. He then looked and offered Hermione a peculiar look as he turned to walk out. The look caused Hermione to blush a feminine pink as Charlize let out a rather unladylike snort at the boy's attempts to flirt.

           "You reckon you're engaged now? Krum probably does." Charlize teased.

           "You're one to talk, especially with the way Draco just stares from afar, looking as though he's in pain.If Krum thinks him and I are engaged, Draco already has the name of your fourth child chosen." Hermione responded quietly with a playful look in her eye.