Chapter Six
It was late October. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving today, in an hour actually. Charissa and her friends were rushing back to the the Hufflepuff dormitory to put up their bags, excited.
Five minutes later, Professor Sprout was lining them up next to Slytherin in the entrance hall to the castle. Somehow, Charissa ended up mixed in with the fourth years. "Charissa, dear, pull your hair back." Professor Sprout said, willing to let her stay where she was, as it would have been hard to move her back with the second years.
"Thought about how you're going to enter yet?" A drawling voice whispered to the back of her head.
Charissa tried to ignore him and continued backwards braiding her hair.
"Oh, you haven't." Draco squished between the Slytherin next to Charissa. He reached down and ruffled her hair, causing the braid Charissa had spent five minutes on to fall apart.
Angrily, Charissa reached up to flatten her hair. How dare he? Messing with her hair was something Draco had done back when they were younger and best friends. How dare he do that now, acting like her brother? "Stop it, Draco." Charissa hissed.
"You're still going to enter, right?" Draco asked.
"Yes, of course." Charissa replied.
"Could always have an older student enter you." Draco suggested.
"What, like you?" Charissa scoffed. "Why are you being helpful, Draco?"
"Mother asked me to." Draco muttered quietly. Charissa could barely hear him.
"Mr. Malfoy, if you are just going to annoy your sister, I'll going to ask you to move." Professor Sprout came over to them. Draco instantly fell silent.
"Look!" Someone exclaimed, pointing up at the sky. What looked like flying horses had appeared, flying closer and closer. Finally, they reached Hogwarts and landed with a thud. A boy in blue robes jumped out and fumbled with something. Charissa couldn't see. "What's he doing?" She asked the kid next to her, momentarily forgetting it was Draco.
"I think he's messing with steps of some sort." Draco whispered back.
An extremely large woman stepped out of the carriage. She was tall enough that Charissa could see her over the tops of the third and fourth years in front of her.
The Beauxbatons students began to file out of the carriages. They were all wearing blue robes and walking silently. The Hogwarts crowd parted, allowing the Beauxbatons students to follow their Headmistress inside.
There was another cry of "Look" as an odd rushing sound had come from the lake. Charissa jumped up and down, trying to see, but couldn't. She heard Draco give an annoyed sigh behind her before reaching down and picking her up so she could see. "Thanks." Charissa muttered.
The waters of the lake seemed to be parting, and something was most definitely emerging from them. Within no time, what seemed to be a ship's mast had emerged. "You can put me down now." Charissa said. She would be able to see the massive ship even from behind the third years.
The Durmstrang students were all wearing fur coats as they marched off the ship. "Draco, is that-is that Viktor Krum?" Charissa exclaimed, recognizing the famous Quidditch player as he walked inside the castle with Durmstrang. Draco didn't respond, merely looked like he had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Charissa met up with Cedric and the girls as they walked into the Great Hall behind Dumbledore. "Did you see him?" Charissa whispered excitedly. "I didn't know Viktor Krum was still in school!"
"Do you think I could get his autograph?" Amber looked ecstatic at the thought. Taylor scrambled through her pockets quickly. "I have nothing to sign with!" She exclaimed angrily.
Cedric, who was in front of them, laughed a bit, shaking his head. He turned to one of the other sixth year boys. "Girls sometimes." They both sighed comically. The girls all giggled, sliding into the seats around Cedric.
"So, you still going to try and enter?" Lauren asked Charissa after they sat down.
"I am." Charissa grinned, pleased that she seemed to be the only young Hufflepuff trying. She turned to Cedric. "Actually, I was wondering if you could put my name in for me?"
"Absolutely not." Cedric responded. "You're not entering, you're too young.
Charissa turned to Hailey, who was old enough to enter. "Will you?" She asked, clearly annoyed at Cedric's refusal.
Hailey shook her head. "Cedric's right. You're way too young to enter."
"People older than you have died in this tournament, Charissa." Cedric added. "It's way too dangerous."
Dumbledore interrupted them. He was introducing Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch. "Father always spoke badly about them." Charissa whispered. "Never understood why, I never really listened."
"There will be three task, spread throughout the year, designed to test the champions in a variety of ways- their Magical prowess, daring, deduction, and their ability to handle danger." Dumbledore said, his hand on an old casket covered in jewels.
"I could do that." Charissa muttered.
"You're not entering." Cedric muttered back.
"Three champions will compete in the tournament, one from each school. They will be scored on their performance, and the champion who scores the highest will take home the Triwizard Cup." Dumbledore continued explaining. "The champions will be chosen by an impartial judge, the Goblet of Fire." He tapped on the casket with his wand. When it opened, Dumbledore pulled out an old wooden cup. It seemed completely normal at first, that is until Charissa noticed the flames it was full of.
"Anyone wishing to enter their name must write their name and school clearly on a sheet of parchment and drop it into the Goblet. You will have until tomorrow evening to submit your name. Tomorrow night, the Goblet will return the names of the champions." Dumbledore said. "Now, in order to make certain that no underage student submits their name, an Age Line will be placed around the Goblet. No one below the age of seventeen will be able to cross it."
Dumbledore's voice seemed to get slightly gravel "I wish to make sure you fully know that the tournament is not to be entered lightly. The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding Magical contract. In other words, there can be no changing your mind. Please make sure you are fully willing to commit to the tournament before placing your name in." Dumbledore finished.
"You're not entering, end of story." Cedric said flatly as they walked back to the common room.
"I wasn't going to ask again." Charissa muttered angrily.
Cedric pulled her aside. "Look." He said. "I get that you're angry, but please, just try to understand."
"I do, Cedric." Charissa sighed. "I really do. But not entering isn't an option I have right now."
"Charissa, honestly, are you sure Draco wasn't lying?" Cedric asked. "For all you know, it isn't true, and this will all be for nothing."
Charissa paused. She hadn't really considered that maybe Draco had been lying. She quickly went through a list of things Draco had said. "Mother asked me to." That was what didn't add up. Charissa knew her mother, if there was any possibility of danger, she would have told Draco to keep Charissa as far away from it as possible. "Maybe you're right." She admitted slowly. It broke her heart to think about. Her eyes grew tired and sad. "There's no way back."
"Maybe not." Cedric said. "But better to stay safe to find out then risk your life for a lie."
"You're going to enter, aren't you?" Charissa asked flatly. Her voice had gone dull.
Cedric nodded. "Yeah." He said.
Charissa smiled a bit. "Here you are telling me how dangerous this is, and then you're going to enter yourself." She laughed a bit.
"I'm old enough, I might as well try." Cedric shrugged. "I think I can handle it."
"You think I can't." Charissa said.
Cedric paused for a moment. "Yes" He admitted. "I think you could handle it magically. Psychologically, I'm not sure."
"Probably right." Charissa agreed.
"So, you're not going to try and enter?" Cedric asked hopefully. Charissa shook her head, and Cedric sighed in relief. "Good."