Ch. 12: The Sorting Ceremony
(10-YA A/N: omg the SWS song, I'm cackling)
All too soon, the Hogwarts Express came to a steady, calculated halt. I followed Hermione's lead as she quickly jumped from her seat and removed her luggage, making sure Crookshanks was tucked away in his carrier, much to the beast's dismay.
My heart performed backflips. 'The sooner we get this done,' I thought back to what Ron had said about the Hogwarts Houses, 'the sooner I can forget about it... right?'
"Elle, just stay close and follow us, alright?" Hermione said as we shuffled through the train, pushing our way past all of the idle people in the hallway, chattering animatedly about their course schedules and whether they'd have time to meet up in between the fourth period or not.
The air wasn't as cold as I'd expected it to be, and a nice summer breeze was rolling in. Though the night was dark, I could see the black clouds overhead and smell the rain in the air. Almost as soon as I'd thought it, fat droplets of rain started splattering down from the sky.
We were dropped off on a platform and from there we took a carriage that drove itself. I had never seen magic like this before. There was certainly an air of mystery and, well, magic about the Hogwarts grounds that my previous school hadn't possessed.
I rode in silence while everyone in the car with me was chattering happily about things I didn't really care about. I stuck my hand outside of the cover and let the harsh rain pelt it.
I always loved the rain, it felt nice.
"Elle, you'll get a cold." Hermione's tone was motherly, but I took it as a command to stop.
Sticking my nose in the air like a stubborn brat, I waved off her caution. "So? I like the feeling, besides it's a warm rain." Hermione continued to peer authoritatively at me until I succeeded and pulled my hand inside. In the distance, I could spot a huge castle in the rain. "Woah! Hermione," I turned to her and grabbed her hand with my wet one. "Is that Hogwarts?"
Hermione grimaced at the wet feeling but smiled with a nod. "Yes, and Elle, can you let me go? Your hand is sopping wet." I quickly released her and wiped my hand on my skirt. It was a castle. A freaking castle! How much more awesome could this place become, seriously?
The carriage pulled up to the cobbled steps of the school and everyone ran under the protection of the building, but not me. I was standing in the rain, taking it all in. This place was amazing, I took a few minutes to appreciate the Gothic buttresses and the arched windows. This place was taken straight from my childhood fantasies, I wanted to live in a castle when I was a little girl -- like most little girls do.
Grinning in the rain like an idiot, Hermione noticed that she'd lost track of me. My sister rushed back through the rain and grabbed my arm, pulling me under the cover of the stone archways and out of the pouring rain. "You truly are going to catch a cold." She frowned, eyeing my wet appearance. "You can't stand up in front of everyone like this..."
I rang out my hair, thanking God I had put on waterproof makeup today, and squished around in my shoes. "I'm only just a little wet, Hermione, I'll be fine." I coughed, knowing it was a damned lie, I was soaked to the bone.
She glared at me and shook her head. "Elle, you are drenched and to put it bluntly..." She looked down at my chest. "Your shirt is now see-through."
I scoffed and waved her away, I was really uncomfortable in these drenched shoes and if I just found a restroom, I could dry myself off. "Pssh, I'm fine."
A few guys dressed in yellow and black colors whistled and cat-called towards me as they passed by. "Hey sexy!" One of them had the nerves to call out.
I growled at them and yelled, "Put your eyes back into your skull or I'll rip those fuckers out and do it for you!" To add to my threat I flipped them the bird, satisfied as they quickly scrambled away.
Hermione stifled her laughter with a cough and pulled me into the nearest outside bathroom. "Here, just use some magic to dry off, okay?"
I trudged into the bathroom, shoes squishing, clothes clinging cold and clammy to my skin like a second layer of flesh, and stood in front of the mirror. Hermione was right... of course. My underwear was quite vivid.
"Vent Chaud," I sighed and waved my wand slowly over my dripping hair clothes, drying everything off in a matter of moments. My hair scrunched up against the hot air, twisting and twirling in random curls. Though I didn't like the way it looked, I could tell that we were on a tight schedule by the way Hermione was tapping her fingers against her thigh.
"Good as it's gonna get, I guess," I told my sister in the reflection of the mirror. Outside, I could hear Head Boys and Girls directing the students out of the rain and into the Castle. Thunder cracked in the distance and I stifled an eye-roll at the sound of a girl squealing with fright.
"Ready?" Hermione asked, watching me with a soft gaze. She knew I was nervous to be Sorted, but offered me a reassuring smile. "You're brave, I know you'll be in Gryffindor."
I looked around the Great Hall and frowned, whispering to Hermione. "What am I supposed to do?"
There was boisterous laughter as soon as the giant doors to the Great Hall were flung open, and an orange, warming glow from hundreds of candles perched mid-air throughout the Hall. It was almost breathtaking, and I tried to take it all in at once without reminding myself that very very soon, I would be standing in front of... all... of these people.
"Well...," Hermione admitted, "I don't really know. All First Years take boats to the Castle and arrive after everyone is sat down, so I guess you can sit with us until they arrive?"
I noticed five distinct tables. One, at the head of the Hall, held what looked like all of the faculty.. or really old students. They watched over the rowdy bunch with curious gazes but held little interest for the ghosts that filtered in and out of the room. I watched the ghosts with a wary eye, never having seen one before -- I'd only read about them in books.
The four other tables were just as interesting to me, with banners of various colours hanging over each section, clearly divided. Hermione began to ramble off about the History of Hogwarts, and if I weren't so nervous, maybe I would have actually been listening. But, she shrugged off my inattention and led me to a table that held people all wearing the colours gold and red.
Gryffindor, I assumed.
Ron and Harry had nicely saved us two seats in the middle of the table across from them. We sat down quickly and Harry smiled at me, reassuringly once more. "I'm sure you will do just fine, Elle."
"Thanks, Harry." I smiled sheepishly. Meanwhile, I was embarrassed that my mind still went: Oh my God, it's Harry Potter telling me good luck! Though, the feeling was easier to stomp the longer I knew him.
"Oi! Letter!" Fred called from across the table. Did...did he just call me letter?
I squinted at him, confused. Nestled between Lee and George, Fred was grinning at me with a dinner roll in hand, his long fingers pulling off bit by bit with little care. My eyes trailed over to the others he was sitting with, wondering what kind of people I'd find here.
"Yeah, you. L is a letter right?" I rolled my eyes, very mature. He grinned, thinking he was hilarious.
"Come sit with the big boys aye?" He pointed to a vacant seat next to him, George, and Lee.
I cocked a brow at them and shrugged, what could it hurt?
"I'll be right back," I told Hermione, Harry, and Ron and jumped a couple of seats down, plopping down next to Lee. "What's up?"
"You have to be in Gryffindor," Fred smirked; I rolled my eyes.
"No pressure or anything?" I stuck my tongue out at him and he smiled-I took this time to notice how his eyes crinkled around the edges, it was pretty cute. I shook myself away from those thoughts. Now was not a good time to start developing a crush.
"Sorry, mate. It would just be easier if you asked to be placed in Gryffindor, that way we can just have secret meetings in the dormitory!" George nodded. In my peripheral vision I could see Hermione, Harry, and Ron all staring at us-trying to figure out when we had gotten so close.
Two tall, athletic girls strolled up to the table in front of me, and I watched them curiously, noting their Gryffindor robes and confident smiles. The girl with her hair tied up tightly in dreads beamed towards Fred and George and called out to them, resting a hand on her hip. "You lot ready to kick some serious Hufflepuff arse this year?" The girl beside her snickered into her hand.
"Without a doubt," George quipped.
Fred laughed and shrugged. "Like they stand a chance, Angie."
Angie's dark eyes darted over me for a mere second before turning away and, at that moment, I truly felt a little smaller. I sat up a little straighter, unhunching my back. "Who's this?"
Fred clapped me on the shoulder. "L, she's gonna be helping Georgie, Lee and me."
"Oh, is she now," she rolled her eyes.
"You three are always up to no good." The other girl with pale skin and dark features chuckled and smiled warmly at me, extending her hand. "My name's Katherine Bell, but everyone calls me Katie."
She nodded towards her friend. "Don't mind Angelina, she's dealt with the Twins' shenanigans for years now."
I shook her extended hand. "It's nice to meet you."
She looked at my clothes with an arched brow while Angelina merely took a spot across from Fred, not saying much. "Hey, you're not a Gryffindor?"
"Not yet," Fred said with a pointed finger, shooting me a wink as he tossed a torn piece of dinner roll into his mouth. "But, she will be soon."
With a flush, I just shrugged. "Whatever happens, happens...I guess." With that, I got up and walked back to my original spot, feeling a bit more comfortable with Hermione than in completely new territory. "Excuse me."
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron rose a brow at me and I forced an uncomfortable laugh, shaking my head and clearing away that moment of uncertainty.
"They just said to ask the hat if I could be sorted into Gryffindor."
"They are not wrong you know." Harry smiled. "I did it in my first year, I was terrified that it would sort me in to Slytherin so I just said 'not Slytherin' over and over again in my head and finally in placed my in Gryffindor."
"Huh." I nodded my head. "That's pretty cool. I'll try that I guess." I smiled and turned my gaze onto my surroundings. The ceiling was probably the most amazing thing I had ever seen, it was enchanted to look like the night sky and currently rain was falling, but it disappeared before it could land on anyone. Above the clouds, however, you could see millions of little stars peeking through the clouds. I am in love. Star gazing is an obsession of mine.
The doors to the Great Hall opened with a loud creak and hundreds of little kids began to wander through the tables lead by a stern lady with sharp features and a tight, dark brown bun. She was walking pretty fast, her eyes scanning the entire room looking for something, or someone, and I had a pretty good feeling I knew who it was.
Her sharp eyes finally landed on me and she waved me over. Quickly, I stood and kept my head down as I made my way over to the group of first years-trying to ignore all of the eyes that bore into me from all directions. "Ah, Miss. Granger. There you are, walk behind me will you?" I quietly nodded, a sudden feeling of dread filled my insides, and my stomach felt like lead.
"Oh my God! Look at this! It's sooo pretty isn't it?!" A loud whisper came from behind me and I felt my hearing increase by a thousand.
"Yeah, it is pretty cool, huh?" A familiar chuckle rang out as well.
No.
Fucking.
Way.
I had my own personal stalkers. I bit back a smile that could possibly put the Cheshire cat to shame and refused to look behind me, knowing I would see them.
"Holy Rusted Metal Batman! Look at that!" A gasp sounded once again. "Look at the ceiling!"
"Yup, I saw it the first time," The other person muttered. "You are blowing our 'top secret' cover, stupid."
The other whispered back, her voice soft and low. "Yikes, I didn't even think about it. Shi--" Before the curse could hit the Hall, the other girl cupped a hand over the speaker's mouth and hissed:
"There are children here." I snorted and slapped a hand over my mouth, maybe I'm just going crazy and they really aren't there.
Once our little crowd of First Years reached the front of the Hall, under the watchful eyes of each faculty member, silently judging what we would be like in their classrooms, the elder Professor stood us all at the foot of the stairs, clearing her throat to gain all of our attention. She sent a special glare to someone behind me and I had a slight clue it was one of my stalkers.
"Now, when I call your name. You will stand on the stage and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your Houses," she instructed us and began to read down the list.
The teacher got up on the stage and cleared her throat, silencing the curious crowds. "We will begin to start the Sorting, you all must be very curious about our three new students. They are exchange students and will be treated like everyone else." She glared over her spectacles and into the crowds; I had the feeling she could be pretty scary.
So I wasn't crazy, I really did have stalkers.
I turned my head slightly, to try and catch them in my peripheral vision. When I did, I caught glimpse of a pair of eyes right next to my face. "Holy Mother of--" I nearly jumped ten feet in the air with fright and yelled at them before Lana slapped a hand over my fat mouth. For a moment, it felt like everyone in the whole school had heard my outburst and were sending me curious glances.
I even heard snickers coming from the Gryffindor table, I'll give you two guesses as to who they came from.
"Gee, calm your tits, Elle!" Lana whispered in my ear and slowly released my face. "You're embarrassing me."
Jenna grinned and hugged me tightly. "Yeah, you're embarrassing me!"
With a soft whisper, trying not to draw the attention of the Professor on stage, running through the list of names, I glared at them. "What the fuck are you two doing here?"
Lana grinned devilishly. "You never wrote us. So, we came to check up."
"Did you know that Sorcellerie has an exchange program?" Jenna smirked.
"An exchange program? Really you guys?"
"Technically an abroad program," Lana corrected Jenna, "apparently this year's a special year. Hogwarts accepted us for the year."
I sighed, but couldn't keep the smile from forming on my face. I almost wanted to cry...I'd missed them so much and their being here made me feel so much better. "You two know that I could report this as stalker-ism, right?"
Jenna frowned and playfully tapped a polished finger against her chin. "Huh, I don't think that stalker-ism's a word, Elle."
"Chase, Jenna!" The teacher called out and sent us a sharp look, clearly not happy that we weren't even paying attention.
I grabbed Jenna's soft hand, stopping her before she climbed the stairs and was sorted into her House. "Go for Gryffindor!" I told her, not sure what else to say. Understanding crossed her eyes and she shrugged.
"Piece of cake."
After a couple of seconds of deliberation, the hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!"
With a grin, I cheered for her despite the worry chewing against my stomach lining. G was quickly approaching, and what if I didn't get into Gryffindor? Jenna gave me and Lana a reassuring thumbs-up and floated over to the cheering table, her soft blonde hair slipping from the braid she'd tied it back into. Hermione, quickly recognizing her, scooted over to make room.
Lana then turned to me with a flash in her eye. "You know that this means we both need to be in Gryffindor, right?" She laughed, but I caught the fire of a challenge raging in her eyes. Lana never backed down from much. Which, explained how easy it had been for her to exchange to Hogwarts. She'd probably drug Jenna along for the ride, bribing her with the ideas of British boys and cultural change.
We'd always been mystified by the idea of Hogwarts, one of the most ancient Houses of Magic. It seemed so ... so much like a fairytale, too good to truly exist. And, yet, here we were. I almost felt silly thinking that they wouldn't even consider coming along, given the chance.
I sighed and shook my head at Lana. "I don't like the odds of that happening. Just tell the Sorting Hat what you want, and hope for the best?" I chuckled.
After a couple of kids went, it was Lana's turn.
"Dowel, Lana!" The lady called, and up Lana went, taking the steps with confidence. She rested on the stool, crossing her legs for only a moment as the old, patchwork Hat was placed carefully on her head. Before I had time to really worry, the Hat immediately called out "GRYFFINDOR!"
It was so quick, I had barely any time to blink; luckily, it called out Gryffindor, but .... what if that happened to me before I could try and convince the Hat to move me to Gryffindor? I began to sweat, the odds were not in my favour.
Lana, the ever obnoxious, winked at me as she sauntered over to the table. I was alone and terrified like my life was on the line. Hermione turned to me mouthed 'Don't Worry', trying to ease the fear pulsing through my veins. I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with bravery. Either way, I still had friends and Hermione. The world wasn't ending.
It wasn't the first time I'd been alone before, and it wouldn't be the last. That thought calmed me down, and I watched the students as they filtered to their different houses.
Name after name, my bravery did crack, just a little. I just wanted this to be over. Sitting and being judged in front of the whole student body still wasn't something on my bucket list that I wanted to cross off... but, here we were. Finally, the Professor called out: "Granger, Elizabeth!" I cringed slightly at the sound of my full name, but carefully took the stairs. I watched my feet the whole time, not wanting to trip and eat shit on my first introduction to the students and faculty of Hogwarts.
As I reached the top, I could see everyone staring at me. A sea of eyes. My stomach jolted a little, but I stomped it down. A couple of cheers sounded from the Gryffindor table and I grinned, feeling much calmer. Slowly, I sat down on the stool and crossed my ankles.
The old Hat was set on my head and a husky voice sounded in my brain, low and... bored, as if it too was ready for this ceremony to be over. I tried to control my breathing, feeling sensory overload from being placed on a stool in front of the whole school, plus trying to focus on what the Sorting Hat was muttering in my ears. Chewing the side of my lip, I clamped my eyes shut and focused on the voice.
"Rather old, aren't we?" The voice teased, slow and cautious. "A Granger? Curious."
"What's curious?" I asked him in my mind.
"Nothing, nothing." He searched my mind and thought it through. "Despite you're fear at the moment, you seem to be strong-willed; stubborn." I forced myself not to scoff at being called stubborn. "Pretty good mind, but not the best, no."
"Well, that's... I --" He continued, ignoring me.
"Very loyal, I see. Bravery, it's there too but shrouded by your cunning and social skills, you seem to be a pretty decent candidate. Ohh, but what is this?" He pulled emotion from deep inside and toyed with it. "Interesting. You wish to be placed in Gryffindor with your friends, is that right?"
"You're correct," I told him. "I'm not interested in being in the others."
He chuckled and sighed. "Hmm...well if you are sure, then GRYFFINDOR!" He yelled and the hat was pulled off of my head. Really? It was that easy?! And I was sweating for nothing...
The Gryffindor table was all in cheers and I grinned. That was effortless. I pranced over to the table and joined my friends, everything seemed to be pretty awesome right now.
An older man stood up in front of the Great Hall and cleared his throat. "Attention, students! Along with our lovely ladies who are now exchange students here from the school Sorcellerie, your home will also be homes to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event! The Triwizard Tournament.
Fred and George gave each other smirks and said. "Wicked."
The way they spoke at the same time still freaks me out a little.
The older man continued. "For those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament is a series of magical contests and to each school a champion is chosen. Now, let me be clear!" He looked in to the crowd, being deadly serious. "If chosen, you stand alone. Trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint hearted." He then changed his frown to a smile and waved his hands. "But, move of that later-for now let me introduce the ladies of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their head mistress, Madame Maxine!"
I turned my head to look as the Great Hall doors opened once more to reveal a horde of girls all dressed in blue. They were quite lovely, and did beautiful magic as they sauntered down the table isles, conjuring blue butterflies as they charmed the men. I do believe I heard Ron mutter "Bloody hell" Quite a few times. I smirked and shook my head, when suddenly-another familiar face caught my eye. I had met her once at Lana's birthday party.
Quickly, I tapped her arm and pointed out the girl to Lana. "Isn't that your cousin? What was her name? Flour?" Lana chuckled and shook her head.
"No, no it is pronounced Fleur. Fleur Delacour, and yes she is my cousin-as well as that one." She pointed to the younger girl in a leotard doing gymnastics. "Gabrielle."
I nodded, now I remember. They were nice, but a little snobbish. "Yeah, I thought they were familiar." I turned to her with a raised brow, "Why do you live in America if you are French?"
"Why do you live in America if you are English?" Lana stuck her tongue out at me. "Because my parents wanted to."
Ron turned his attention on the two of us. "You know her?"
Lana smirked and spoke to him. "La femme est belle, oui?"
I chuckled and answered for Ron. "Oui, C'est magnifique."
Ron's face burned. "You two speak french?"
With an upturned nose, Lana snorted loudly and elbowed my side. "I do; Elle's is shit."
"Perhaps you can teach me?" He smiled, a little dazed. Lana and I snickered and spared each other a look: he was in over his head. Fleur was a high class broad; the type of girl that didn't settle for anything less than the best.
I snuck a look at my twin and saw how upset she was. I immediately caught her eye and rolled my eyes to send her a clear message that it would never happen and she smiled a little more.
The Headmaster stood up and silenced every one. "And now our friends from the North! Please greet the proud son's of Durmstrang and their high master Igor Kakoroff." And he walked off the stage.
Suddenly, the Hall was filled with the loud sounds of staffs hitting the ground and men cheering. They had some fancy acrobatics and staff twirling. Lana leaned close to me and murmured, "I give it an 8/10." Jenna's eyes were completely captivated by the boys, as were many girls at the Gryffindor table, I noticed.
The doors opened once more, under a barrage of flame and aerobatics, welcoming what appeared to be the top members of this school. They were too far for me to really get a good look at, but Ron let out a small squeal, earning our attention.
Ron's voice called out to Harry. "Blimey it's him! Viktor Krum."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Oh not this again, he was obsessed. "Calm your tits, Fan boy or you may embarrass yourself!" Jenna elbowed Ron politely and everyone stared at her excluding Lana and I who also talk like that.
"W-what?" Ron grabbed his chest and frowned.
Lana snorted and I face-palmed myself. Man, how deliciously obnoxious we are. My trio was complete.
We turned our attention back to the men from Durmstrang and watched in awe as one of the front performers blew a fire-dragon from a stick, a flurry of red hot flames licking into the air, which twisted and curled, morphing into a phoenix. Beautiful. Jenna squealed and clapped her hands. "I'm in love," she declared and grabbed her heart, slinking further into her chair.
"Never going to happen." Lana and I shook our heads and sighed. Jenna was always going for people who were either unavailable or not interested.
She pouted and crossed her arms. "Why?"
"First," I began. "He attends school at Durmstrang; you live in America." I sighed.
Lana held up two fingers. "Deux, the man has a girlfriend." She chuckled and Jenna frowned. She understood because the year before last Lana housed us for the summer and her parents taught us all non-stop French.
"Comment pouvez-vous être sûr?*"Jenna tossed back.
Lana shook her head. "He just looks like it."
Jenna blushed and sighed, resigned to her fate, and started picking at the bread roll on her plate, changing topics quite easily. Lana, Hermione, Jenna and I all began to chat and wonder how the year would go. Hermione explained a little more about what it could mean to have so many different people visiting Hogwarts at the same time.
My gaze wavered from my friends to the Twins, then back again a couple of times. I felt myself fighting to keep from staring at Fred, and it was making me feel a little embarrassed. But, I had to admit... I was curious about him. I'd seen him in his home-world, surrounded by his family, but what was he like around his friends? And, why did I care?
On my third rotation of eyeing Fred from across the table, I watched as Lee recalled the tale of the spider incident on the train: "And then the blonde screamed bloody murder 'KILL IT, JEREMY', like, what did my little mate do to deserve this?"
This time, though, the Twins caught me looking over at them. Fred waved at me from across the table, and I looked away, trying to pay attention to what Hermione was saying about the Triwizard Tournament. Next thing I knew, a balled-up napkin was thrown at me.
"What?" I pulled the napkin from my hair and glared at Fred, knowing it was tossed by him.
"Official meeting tonight, 1 am main room." He nodded and George agreed.
With a half-hearted shrug, I flicked the napkin ball back at Fred. "Fine with me." He dodged it with ease, and it plopped right into Angelina's stew, much to her annoyance.
Food magically appeared on our plates and we all dug in. Jenna, Lana, and I stared dumbfounded at the food. At our old school, you just ordered what you wanted and it appeared perfectly portioned and beautifully laid out, but this was like a buffet.
As the dinner went on, we talked about the classes we had, and Ginny asked Jenna and Lana to spill all of my dirty secrets. Jenna talked about the fire boy much to the distaste of Lana, who constantly rolled her eyes.
"May I have your attention, please!" The man whose name I learned was Dumbledore, stood up once more and placed his hand on a stack of boxes, silencing the room once more. "Eternal glory. That's what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament. But to do this the student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."
"Wicked." Fred and George chanted once more and held back a chuckle.
"For this reason the Ministry seemed fit to impose a new rule. To explain all of this, we have the head of the department of International Magical Corporation, Mr. Bartemus Crouch." A man stood up and I immediately recognized him from the World Cup-he was the one who had tried stunning us.
Suddenly, thunder cracked from over our heads, causing a few people to scream in terror. A man pointed his wand at the ceiling and immediately stopped the malfunctioning charm.
"Mad-eye Moody." Ron whispered to us.
"Alastor Moody? The auror?" Hermione rose a brow as well. It was strange he was here.
Dean, who I had met at the World Cup frowned. "Auror?"
"Dark wizard catcher." I nodded to him.
Lana nodded as well. "Lot's are locked in Azkaban thanks to him-"
"He's supposed to be mad as a hatter though, these days..." Ron muttered.
Mad-eye trudged over to Dumbledore and shook his hand, muttering something and then pulled out a flask, chugging what ever was inside.
Mr. Crouch stood up front on the stage and put his hands up, nervously, thick mustache quivering as he talked. "After do consideration, the Ministry has concluded that, for their own safety, no student under the age of 17 should be allowed to put forth their names for the Triwizard Tournament."
People all over the room began to yell and complain at the rule-including Fred and George. They were causing such a loud noise, that the Headmaster had to come on stage and yell at them to shut up.
Once they were quite once more, he took the charm off of the boxes and they melted away like wax, to reveal a stone basin which was lit with blue flames. Dumbledore spoke once more. "The goblet of fire, anyone wishing to submit themselves to the Tournament need only put his or her name down on a piece of parchment and throw it into the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly. If chosen..." He looked over the room mysteriously. "There is no turning back. As from this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[10-YA A/N: Honestly, most of the edit is me reading this, being like 'oh YIKES, dog' then deleting whole paragraphs haha ]
og/edit: 4,000 / 5,320 words
2/21/22
TRANSLATIONS:
( How can you be sure?* ) Jenna tossed back.