╔═════════════════╗
𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓶 𝓫𝓮𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓶
╚═════════════════╝
— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —
As the next day was Saturday, most students would normally have breakfasted late. Draco, Astoria, Theo and I, however, were not alone in rising much earlier than they usually did on weekends.
When we went down into the entrance hall, they saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat.
A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around
it in every direction.
“Anyone put their name in yet?” Ron eagerly asked us as he noticed me approaching
“All the Durmstrang lot,” Astoria replied. “But I haven’t seen anyone from Hogwarts yet.”
“Bet some of them put it in last night after we’d all gone to bed,” said Harry. “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?”
" Nah, I would have put it in front of everyone just for drama " I laughed
" Of course you would" Harry flicked my head and I pulled his hair before Hermione seperated us, glaring
Someone laughed behind us. Turning, we saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited.
“Done it,” Fred said in a triumphant whisper us. “Just taken it.”
“What?” said Ron.
“The Aging Potion, dung brains,” said Fred.
“One drop each,” said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. “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,” said Lee, grinning broadly.
“I’m not sure this is going to work, you know,” said Hermione warningly “I’m sure Dumbledore will have thought of this.” Fred, George, and Lee ignored her.
“Ready?” Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement.
“C’mon, then — I’ll go first —”
I watched, trying to hide the snickers that left me, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley — Hogwarts.
Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.
George let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred — but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.
And click!
I laughed as the Polaroid came out of the camera
The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other’s beards.
“I did warn you,” said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall.
He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. “I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours.”
Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter.
The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner.
Not one of my favourite holidays if I were being honest.
I say between Draco and Astoria who were arguing about Warrington putting his name in the goblet
" He's stupid, all he knows is how to throw the quaffle at someone's face " Astoria hissed
" Yes, but he's still a Slytherin. We need to show our support" Draco retorted
" I'd rather it was Zoe or even Flint " Theo commented, slowing munching on his treacle trat
" I don't think he'll be the champion anyways" I rested my head on my hands
" Why? " Astoria stared at me
" I bet you 15 galleons it'll be pretty boy Diggory, Krum and Veela girl- Fleur something"
" Bet " she suddenly turned to Draco who blushed furiously at being caught staring " what about you? "
" Huh? "
" Are you betting? " She titled her head, clearly not aware of the puppy eyes Draco was throwing at her.
" No, she bets like a gambler "
I noticed Theo looking at me about the specific selection of the champion but did not say anything.
After the Beaubaxtons lot had put their names in the goblet, we four walked back along the dark murky corridors towards the dungeons. There seemed to be a comfortable silence around us. The soft touches of flames glittered on our skins as we stood outside the slytherin common room
" What was the password again? " Theo stared at us
" Who set the password honestly"
" Reckon it'll work if I hiss? " I curiously asked
" Hiss? " The three seemed taken back by my question
Why are they surprised? Didn't they find out about Harry in second year? Oh - Well, seems like I forgot and messed up
"Uh- yeah, I'm a parselmouth " I chuckled nervously
" Oh don't be so nervous, it's not that uncommon. I happen to have been conversing with snakes since I was thrown in the Wizarding circles " Astoria huffed
I laughed at how lost the boys looked
"profunda cogitationes in vadum lacum" Draco mumbled and he sighed in relief as the wall revealed the path to the common room
" deep thoughts in a shallow lake - you can't deny it has a pretty meaning" he commented
" Yes, but I'd prefer a password I can actually remember"
We laughed And then we spent the rest of the morning playing exploding snaps, doing our homework and gossiping about the recent topics.
Many mermaids outside the windows gathered as some of them conversed with the students in sing languages and others were just happy showing of the new gems they had collected
A light rain started to fall mid-afternoon. The water outside the Slytherin Common Room got rather murky and rippling. The students started leaving the commons to go take a nap or whatever.
Draco and Astoria went back to arguing about some pety topic and Theo spread his legs on the floor, leaning against the couch and pulled his pencil out, doodling things on the parchment.
I crawled to him and sat between his legs, resting my head on his chest. Laughing a bit when he started using my head as a table.
This will probably be the most peaceful moment before everything starts falling. The calm before the storm.
The seriousness of the future started to weigh on me like bricks, one by one.
I have already changed so much of the storyline, it's possible that the storyline does even flow through a similar path anymore.
It's possible that Voldemort would be much more cunning because none of his hocruxes have been destroyed.
All there's left for me to do, is to follow through the story I know and keep an eye for all the changes that'll happen
I knew I would be risking a lot when I did things out of the storyline - it'll make no sense to feat now.
My eyes battled to stay open as Theo's fingers ran through my hair and his heartbeat vibrated through my skin.
Maybe I should enjoy this peace
Perhaps because it was our second feast in two days, I didn’t seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as I would have normally. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the
fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, I simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear my brother and my demise.
At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his
feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, how-
ever, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.
“Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision,” said Dumbledore. “I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions’ names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber” — he indicated the door behind the staff table — “where they will be receiving their first instructions.”
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The
Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting. . . . A few
people kept checking their watches. . . .
“Any second,” Blaise whispered, who was sitting two seats away from us
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it — the whole room gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm’s length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
“The champion for Durmstrang,” he read, in a strong, clear voice, “will be Viktor Krum.”
“No surprises there!” yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall.
Viktor Krum rose from the seat next to Flint and slouched up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.
“Bravo, Viktor!” boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. “Knew you had it in you!
The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone’s attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled
by the flames.
“The champion for Beauxbatons,” said Dumbledore, “is Fleur Delacour!”
A girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.
“Oh look, they’re all disappointed,” Astoria said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party.
“Disappointed” was a bit of an understatement, Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.
When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next . . .
And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.
“The Hogwarts champion,” he called, “is Cedric Diggory!”
“No!” said Astoria loudly, grudgingly slipping 15 galleons inside my pockets
The uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers’ table. Indeed, the applause for
Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.
I snickered. It wasn't yet over
“Excellent!” Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. “Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —” But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.
The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.
Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore.
Come on, I already know.
And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out —
“Harry and Camelia Potter.”