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✯❀𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑❀✯
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NOTE: this is straight outta the books, if you see Harry's name unexpectedly no you didn't!!
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Walking into the Great Hall, Charlotte winced at the loud noises surrounding her. She found herself unable to proceed throughthe large crowd of students congregating there, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase.
"There's a sign," Alex mumbled, standing on his tiptoes.
TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY.STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.
"Only a week away!" said Ernie Macmillan, emerging from the crowd, his eyes gleaming. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him..."
"I hope Cedric is our champion." Charlotte murmured. "He really wants to do it..."
"Hopefully." Theo shrugged. "I wonder how they'll have to enter!"
The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where she went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.
Lottie noticed too that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics.
Other members of the staff seemed oddly tense too.
When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffiindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.
"Merlin, they really are trying hard to look good!" Scoffed Erin.
"What did you expect?" Theo asked. "It's a tournament, they're not going to make the school look shit, are they?"
Rolling her eyes, Erin turned back to her food.
"Bloody idiot." Lottie mumbled.
"For the tournament, who will the judges be?" Alex asked suddenly.
"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Theo, and everyone looked around at him, rather surprised. "Dad made me read Hogwarts, a history..."
"Won't the judges be biased?" Asked Charlotte.
"I don't think they're allowed to be," Theo shrugged.
"Probably not," Alex sighed. "There will probably be ministry workers there too."
"Yeah," nodded Theo.
There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Charlotte made her way to the Hufflepuff common room with Hannah and Susan, they deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.
The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.
"Lupin," Sprout groaned. "Tuck your shirt in, do your top button up too...and tighten that tie it's far too lose! Oh and Miss Johnson please roll that skirt down it's far too high..."
Erin glanced towards Harry with a pained look as she rolled it down, and Lottie could only guess that Erin had been trying to impress him.
They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest.
"How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?" Lottie heard someone shout, recognising it to be Ron Weasley.
"I doubt it," said Hermione Granger.
"How, then? Broomsticks?" Another voice asked, and Lottie knew it was Harry.
"I don't think so...not from that far away...." said Lucas Black. "I hope they show up in style, it would be wicked!"
"A Portkey?" Ron suggested. "Or they could Apparate - maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"
"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently and Lottie almost snorted at how angry she sounded.
They scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quite as usual. Charlotte was starting to feel cold. She wished they'd hurry up....Maybe the foreign students were preparing a dramatic entrance....
And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers - "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"
"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.
"There!" Lucas gasped, pointing to the sky. "No way! Look a them!"
Something large, much larger than a broomstick - or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks - was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.
"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.
"Don't be stupid...it's a flying house!" shouted Dennis Creevey.
Dennis's guess was closer....As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.
"Merlin's beard...what are they?" Hannah Abbot whispered.
The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed - then, with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin fifth year's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.
A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully.
"Merlin this school is posh," Charlotte giggled, she had always thought Kaycie was exaggerating, however this was definitely posh.
A few people laughed at her comment as they watched.
Then Lottie saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage - a shoe the size of a child's sled - followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman she had ever seen in her life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.
"Who is that?" Lucas asked loudly, staring at the large woman.
"Hagrid's going to have a field day when he sees her!"
Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.
Her face relaxed into a gracious smile and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.
"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Dumbly-dort," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"
"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.
"If he's un excellent form," Lucas began, "then I'm pure perfection!"
"You keep telling yourself that, mate," Harry laughed.
"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.
Charlotte, whose attention had been focused completely upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what she could see of them (they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow), they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.
"As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.
"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"
"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime. "But ze 'orses -"
"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other - er - charges."
"My steeds require - er - forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. "Zey are very strong...."
"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job," said Dumbledore, smiling.
"Very well," said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"
"It will be attended to," said Dumbledore, also bowing.
"Come," said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.
"How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?" Seamus Finnigan said, loudly.
She watched as all the Gryffindors started whispering to each other, and turned to Hannah.
"I bet the Durmstrangs are even more dramatic than these lot..."
"Me too!" Hannah nodded. "I wonder how though..."
They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky.
For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then -
"Can you hear something?" Lucas Black shouted.
A loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed....
"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"
"Bloody hell!"
Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks -and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor....
What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool...and then they saw the rigging....
"It's a mast!"
"Woah!" Theo gasped. "Look at it!"
Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.
People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes.
People started to make their way up towards them, they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.
"Dumbledore!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"
"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied. Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.
"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and Lottie noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. "How good it is to be here, how good....Viktor, come along, into the warmth...you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."
"Oh Merlin - it's Viktor Krum!" Susan Bones gasped.
"Oh Ronniekins, it's your lover!" Ginny laughed.
"Viktor I love you-" Fred Weasley began.
"Viktor I do!" George continued.
"When we're apart, my heart-"
"Oh all of you, piss off!" Ron shouted.
Whispers went all around, everyone was shocked to see Viktor Krum walk in. Several sixth-year girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked.
"Oh I don't believe it, I haven't got a single quill on me -"
"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?"
"Viktor! Viktor sign my shirt!" Erin cried.
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads. Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table.
Lottie sat at the Hufflepuff table with Hannah and Susan, the three of them watching as the scene played out.
Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. Lottie was surprised to see that he added four chairs, two on either side of Dumbledore's.
"Why's he getting so many chairs?" She whispered.
"I'm not sure..."
When all the students had entered the Hall and settled down at their House tables, the staff entered, filing up to the top table and taking their seats. Last in line were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
He sat down, and Charlotte turned back to grab food, however a tap on her shoulder drew her attention.
"Miss me?" Kaycie Lloyd smirked.
Charlotte Lupin's face turned into a giant grin as she jumped up, engulfing Kaycie in a giant hug. She hadn't been this happy to see someone in months, and she couldn't help but feel extremely excited.
A few students turned to look at them curiously, Erin Johnson looked horrified to see Kaycie.
"You bloody idiot!" Lottie gasped. "You didn't even tell me!"
"Surprise?" Kaycie grinned.
"I missed you," Charlotte sighed.
"Imagine ditching me for your nan and grandad." Kaycie shook her head playfully.
Lottie rolled her eyes, though the smile on her face did not disappear.
"So this is old Hoggywarts?" Kaycie asked, flopping down next to Charlotte despite the odd looks she was receiving.
"Not as posh as your school, huh? So tell me, why are you here?"
"Er, rude!" Kaycie scoffed.
"You're underage, dumbass!"
"Maxines my guardian in the wizarding world, she said something about me having to go with her - not that I minded. She let me bring a friend though, Frans here!"
"I get to meet Fran?" Lottie asked excitedly.
"Yep!"
"Wicked!"
"So - when my dear friends from my darling school have gone to bed, where shall I meet you?" Kaycie asked. "We have lots to discuss."
"Outside the great hall," Charlotte grinned. "We'll go to the astronomy tower afterwards."
"Got it!"
"Kaycie, shouldn't you be with your school friends?" Erin Johnson asked. "Who invited you to be over here?"
"I did." Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"Hello Erin," Kaycie smirked. She was definitely interested to speak to Erin - or sort out her bitchiness. "I see you still haven't dropped the bitchy act?"
"Could say the same for you," Erin muttered.
Kaycie rolled her eyes, turning back to Lottie and the two carried on talking as they ate their food, both extremely happy to be back together.
Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now.
"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket -"
"That old man is delusional, I'm telling you." Kaycie whispered.
"What, Dumbledore?"
"Yeah, although he seems like a dick so...Dumbledick." Kaycie replied with a smirk.
"- just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" - there was a smattering of polite applause - "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. His toothbrush mustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore's long white hair and beard.
"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."
At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
"His voice is annoying." Kaycie mumbled.
Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else's.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways.. their magical prowess - their daring - their powers of deduction - and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."
At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.
"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.
Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.
"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," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three 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," said Dumbledore, "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."
"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through 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."
"I'll see you in an hour max, don't be late or I'll throw you off of this tower you mentioned." Kaycie said sternly.
James Potter watched as the two interacted. He had a plan.
This plan would take him time, however he was definitely going to get it done.
He just needed information...
A/N
Imagine some of you thought Kaycie wasn't coming, mad. LMAOAOA her and Lottie gunna cause chaos.
Qotd: biggest pet peeve?
Word count: 3807