"How this situation arose, we do not know," said Dumbledore, speaking to everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. The three of them; Kirra, Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do. . . ."
"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr —"
"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it." Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn't the only one either. Snape looked furious; Karkaroff livid; Bagman, however, looked rather excited.
"Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"
Mr. Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie. "Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes . . . the first task . . ." He moved forward into the firelight. Close up, Kirra thought he looked ill. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and a thin, papery look about his wrinkled skin that had not been there at the Quidditch World Cup.
"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told Kirra, Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard . . . very important. . . . The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament"
Kirra and Minnie shared a look at this. It was clear that Minerva had planned on helping her cousin, but then as she thought about it, she doubted that Kirra would actually need the help, as she thought about it more, out of all of them, Kirra had been the most capable to win.
Kirra had regained her memories so she had the abilities of Ophelia Winston, Emily Barnes and Kirra Potter to help her. She was a whole bundle of knowledge and a bubble of strategy, If any of them could win, Minerva was sure that it was her.
"The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests."
Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore. "I think that's all, is it, Albus?"
"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at Mr. Crouch with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"
"No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry," said Mr Crouch. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment. . . . I've left young Weatherby in charge. . . . Very enthusiastic . . . a little over enthusiastic, if truth be told. . . ."
Kirra had to hide her smirk at the man's words and made a mental note to tell the twins what the man had said when she sees them next, she could already imagine the smirks on their faces as she tells them.
"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" said Dumbledore. "Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" said Bagman brightly. "It's all happening at Hogwarts now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!"
"I think not, Ludo," said Crouch with a touch of his old impatience.
"Professor Karkaroff — Madame Maxime — a night cap?" said Dumbledore. But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and was leading her swiftly out of the room.
Kirra could hear them both talking very fast in French as they went off into the Great Hall. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they, too, exited, though in silence.
"Kirra, Harry, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed," said Dumbledore, smiling at the three of them. "I am sure Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."
Kirra glanced at Cedric, who nodded, and they left together. The Great Hall was deserted now; the candles had burned low, giving the jagged smiles of the pumpkins an eerie, flickering quality.
"So," said Cedric, with a slight smile. "We're playing against each other, it's going to be weird not playing on the same team as you!"
"Yeah, I guess youre right," said Kirra. She really couldn't think of anything to say. The inside of her head seemed to be in complete disarray, as though her brain had been ransacked.
"So . . . tell me . . ." said Cedric as they reached the entrance hall, which was now lit only by torches in the absence of the Goblet of Fire. "How did you get your name in? And how come you didn't tell me that you were putting your name in, I thought that you were completely agsint the idea of it"
"I didn't," said Kirra, staring up at him. "I didn't put it in. I was telling the truth. I would never lie to you Cedric, you are one of my best friends"
Cedric felt his stomach drop slightly at the word friends "Ah . . . okay," said Cedric. Kirra could tell Cedric didn't really know what to say to her, it was increasingly becoming incredibly awkward. Kirra and Cedric headed for a door to the rightand they went down the stone steps beyond it, then, they made it to the Hufflepuff basement, entering.
Was anyone except JJ, Maxine Cedric and Mattheo going to believe her, or would they all think she'd put herself in for the tournament? Yet how could anyone think that, when she was facing competitors who'd were kinda 3 years older than her —when she was now facing tasks that not only sounded very dangerous, but which were to be performed in front of hundreds of people?
Someone had wanted her in the tournament, and had made sure she was entered. Why? To give her a treat? She didn't think so, somehow. . . . To see her make a fool of herself? Well, they were likely to get their wish. . . . But to get her killed?
Was Moody just being his usual paranoid self? Couldn't someone have put Kirra's name in the goblet as a trick, a practical joke? Did anyone really want her dead? Kirra was able to answer that at once. No, someone wanted her brother dead, someone had wanted her brother dead ever since he had been a year old, but that person wanted her alive . . . Lord Voldemort.
But how could Voldemort have ensured that Kirra and Harry's names got into the Goblet of Fire? Voldemort was supposed to be far away, in some distant country, in hiding, alone . . . feeble and powerless. . . .
Yet in that dream she had had, just before she had awoken with her scar hurting, Voldemort had not been alone . . . he had been talking to Wormtail . . . plotting Harry's murder and Kirra's capture. . . .
She had barely noticed where her feet were carrying her. The blast of noise that met Kirra's ears when the she had entered the commonroom along side Cedric almost knocked her backward. Next thing she knew, she was being wrenched inside the common room by about a dozen pairs of hands, and was facing the whole of Hufflepuff House, all of whom were screaming, applauding, and whistling for the two of them.
"Yeah Ced, we knew you would get it!"
"Two Hufflepuffs!"
"You should've told us you'd entered!" bellowed an older student; he looked half annoyed, half deeply impressed. "How did you do it without getting a beard? Brilliant!"
"I didn't," Kirra said, slowly beginning to freak out from all of the attention. "I don't know how —"
"We've got food, you two, come and have some —"
"I'm not hungry, I had enough at the feast —"But nobody wanted to hear that she wasn't hungry; nobody wanted to hear that she hadn't put her name in the goblet; not one single person seemed to have noticed that she wasn't at all in the mood to celebrate. . . .
Kirra couldn't get away; whenever she tried to sidle over to the staircase up to the dormitories, the crowd around her closed ranks, forcing another butterbeer on her, stuffing crisps and peanuts into her hands. . . .
Everyone wanted to know how she had done it, how she had tricked Dumbledore's Age Line and managed to get her name into the goblet. . . . "I didn't," she said, over and over again, "I don't know how it happened."
But for all the notice anyone took, she might just as well not have answered at all. "I'm tired!" she bellowed finally, after nearly half an hour. "No, seriously, Susan — I'm going to bed —"
She wanted more than anything to find JJ and Maxine, to find a bit of sanity, but neither of them seemed to be in the common room. Insisting that she needed to sleep, and almost flattening a few people as they attempted to way lay her at the foot of the stairs, Kirra managed to shake everyone off and climb up to the dormitory as fast as she could.
To his great relief, she found Max was lying on her bed in the otherwise empty dormitory, still fully dressed. She looked up when Kirra slammed the door behind her. "Where've you been?" Kirra said.
Maxine looked slightly surprised and slightly uncomfortable, "Oh... well I wasn't entirely sure on whether or not you would want me down there or not... I haven't exactly been a good friend, no scratch that, I've been a shitty friend, and I didn't want to intrude," said Maxine softly.
She was grinning, but it was a very odd, strained sort of grin. Kirra suddenly became aware of how serious the situation really was between them, the two of them had been best friends but had drifted apart.
And then Kirra was suddenly swallowed in guilt, "Maxine, I've been a shit friend too, both of us have said shit that we shouldn't have and if you're up for it, then I am willing to put it all behind us, because the truth is I really miss you," Kirra said to Max who seemed to brighten at her words
Maxine looked at her in confusion as she lay on the bed without moving, watching Kirra closely. "I don't understand, how in Merlins name have you been a shitty friend," she said, "You have done nothing wrong, I was the one who was being a bitch the whole time."
"I should have tried harder when I was friends with Theodore, even though you were ignoring me, I should have tried harder to talk to you, I know you tend to be a quiet person Maxie and, don't take this the wrong way, but I also know that you have trust issues and I broke that trust," said Harry, staring at Maxine who nodded her head softly.
"Well . . . I don't know what you think you could have done when I was ignoring you, I overreacted and got mad at you just for becoming friends with someone else, it was a really fucking shitty thing for me to do and I truly am sorry," said Maxine softly. "If you can forgive me, I promise to do everything that I can to make it up to you"
"I forgive you Maxie, besides, I really need my girl friend back, hanging around with boys 24/7 can be really exhausting, and not to mention that with all the drama between us I haven't even been able to talk to you about my break up, or Theodore suddenly hating me for some unknown reason," said Kirra slowly.
Maxine slowly stood up off the bed, their eyes never left each other and Kirra suddenly walked forwards and pulled the girl in for a large hug, "Oh Merlin I have missed you Potter, I truly am sorry" said Maxine.
"I have missed you too," she muttered and they stood there for few moments hugging before Kirra spoke up again, "Listen," said Kirra, "I didn't put my name in that goblet. Someone else must've done it."
Max didn't doubt her but she raised her eyebrows. "What would they do that for?"
"I dunno," said Kirra. She felt it would sound very melodramatic to say, "To kill me." Max's eyebrows rose so high that they were in danger of disappearing into her hair.
"It's okay, you know, we are all going to be here to support you and help you with the tournament as much as we can," she said. "I know that if anyone can win this, it will be you. And we are going to be with you every step of the way. A thousand Galleons prize money, eh? And you don't have to do end-of-year tests either. . . ."
"Yeah I guess those two are definitely things to look forwards too, but I really do have a bad feeling about this," said Kirra as she admitted her thoughts to the red haired Hufflepuff.
"You should have seen Mattheo after you left the great hall," said Max with a growing grin on her face as she looked down at the short Hufflepuff. "He was looking like he was about to go up there and beat the shit out of Dumbledore until he would let you not participate, then he literally slammed his hands onto the table and stormed out of the hall."
"Really? It's odd for him to be acting all protective when it had only been about an hour before hand when he was informing me on how he had never loved me or cared about me," Kirra snapped in confusion and hurt. She couldn't understand it, why the hell did it have to be so hard.
"Yeah? Well I'm telling you Kirra, that boy has been head over heals for you since the first day of school and its only grown as the time has passed, I don't know why he ended it between you two, but if there is one thing that every single person in this school knows, it is that Mattheo Riddle is head over heals for you," said Max, "And it's the same with Nott, the two of them love you more than anything Kirra, and to be honest with you, I find it very weird that they just ended everything, I don't know what it is, but i think there is more to it."
Kirra didn't say anything, she didn't know what to say, she thought back to the encounter she had with Theodore the other day when he had followed her into the woods, it was like there was something he deeply wanted to tell her but he couldn't, he was hiding something from her.
He was trying to tell her and she shut up out and left him there, she scolded herself, she was a horrible person.
Max noticed the solemn look on Kirra's face and let out a small sigh, "You want to get to bed, Kirra. I expect you'll need to be up early tomorrow for a photo-call or something. It's going to be real busy,"
"Night Maxie"
Alright so Max and Kirra are friends again... do you think it's going to last? And what do you think about them being friends again?