Viola's hand hovered above the Goblet. She was just about to let the folded piece of parchment slip from her fingers when -
BANG!
Viola was suddenly thrown from the circle. Her eyes flew shut as she felt herself hurtle backwards then crash down on to the ground.
"Viola!"
"Are you okay?"
Viola heard the voices of her friends ask. They came running to her side.
Viola lay on the ground, groaning.
Suddenly there was a shriek above her. Viola's eyes flew open to see Ava and Hugo standing above her. Both of their eyes were wide and Ava had a hand clapped over her mouth.
"Oh my," Clemi's voice said as she came into sight above Viola. "You look like your face is melting!"
Viola shot up.
"My face looks like WHAT?"
Ava whirled around and snatched a plate of a table. She shoved it in Viola's face.
Viola's reflection stared back at her. But it was nothing like the reflection she'd grown used to over her thirteen years of life. Her face seemed to be sliding off her head. Her cheeks and chin were drooping, her forehead was sagging and her nose was dripping. Clemi was right, it looked like her face was melting!
Viola's eyes tried to widen in horror, but they couldn't because her eyelids were swelling.
So Viola did the next most sensible thing: she started to cry.
"It's alright, Viola!" said Hugo quickly. "We'll just get you up to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix you right up!"
"It's not alright!" Viola wailed as Ava and Hugo pulled her to her feet. "It's not alright at all!"
Tears were gushing down her already messy face. Hugo and Ava practically had to drag her from the hall.
"Oi, Clemi, could you give us a hand?" Hugo grunted.
The blonde Hufflepuff girl moved forward to help.
"Now my mum will hate me even more than she does already!" Viola sobbed. "Because I was ugly before and I'm even uglier now!"
"Oh shush!" said Ava sternly. "You were not ugly before, and you aren't even ugly now."
"But her chin looks like it's about to fall off so we should probably hurry up," said Clemi.
Viola began to cry even harder.
All the way to the Hospital Wing Viola wailed as her face contorted and changed. They passed a group of Gryffindor students in the corridors who stared openly until Clemi snapped, "Keep staring and you'll be staring through a black eye."
The students had quickly looked away.
The four of them entered the Hospital Wing and found that Madam Pomfrey was no where in sight.
"I'll go find her," said Hugo. He marched away.
Ava and Clemi were left to support the limp and wretched Viola.
"What's going on here?" asked a voice behind them.
Viola was turned around by Ava and Clemi.
Through the thin slit's Viola had to see through, she saw red-hair and immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Ginny Weasley.
The girl's brown eyes widened as she took in Viola's appearance.
"Is she alright?" Ginny demanded of Ava and Clemi.
"Come to stare did you?" snapped Viola.
"No, I came to visit my brothers," said Ginny. "Are you sure your alright-"
"Do I look alright?" Viola cried. "Just go away already!"
Ginny straightened and narrowed her eyes at the Slytherin girl.
"There is no need to be so rude. I was just asking," said Ginny. Then she strode by them into the Hospital.
A moment later Hugo appeared with Madam Pomfrey close behind. As soon as the healer saw Viola she said briskly "Bring her to the bed over here."
Ava and Clemi promptly did so. Through Viola's choking sobs, Ava, Hugo and Clemi tried to explain what had happened to Viola.
"She took a aging potion because she was trying to enter the Triwizard tournament," said Ava, with a slightly guilty expression.
"And she was about a half a second away from putting her name in the Goblet," Hugo continued the story, "When BANG-"
"Her face started melting," interrupted Clemi matter of factly.
"Yes, looks like a aging potion gone wrong," said Madam Pomfrey, already busy with a bottle of something or another. "If a aging potion is brewed incorrectly, it can go very badly."
"Obviously," said Clemi.
🦇🦇🦇
For once, everyone could hardly wait for the Halloween feast to be over. All around her Ginny saw students shoveling food into their mouths, while frequently glancing at Dumbledore's plate to see if he'd finished eating yet.
Before supper started, Colin and Dennis had come up with a eating strategy that would supposedly ensure everyone finishing their meal in only five minutes. Nobody had listened to them.
Finally Dumbledore stood and announced that the Goblet would be ready in a minute. Then he gave instructions to the future champions, telling them to proceed into the next chamber after they were chosen.
Ginny watched excitedly with everyone else as Dumbledore took out his wand and, with a great sweeping motion, extinguished all the lights in the great hall except the candles in the giant pumpkins over head.
The Goblet of Fire was shining a brilliant, almost blinding blue. Then they turned red, and sparks flew out. A charred piece of parchment followed the sparks.
Dumbledore caught it and announced the first champion.
"Viktor Krum!"
Wish suddenly jumped from her seat as Viktor Krum got up from the Slytherin table.
"Go Viktor!" she hollered, before blushing and falling back into her seat with a giggle.
The next champion was from Beauxbatons.
"Fleur Delacour!"
The pretty blonde girl Ron had been goggling at the night before stood up from the Ravenclaw table.
Next came the champion the majority of the audience were most eager to see, the Hogwarts champion.
Everyone waited with baited breath as the Goblet's fire turned red and the third piece of parchment came fluttering out. Dumbledore opened it and read it.
"The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!"
Ginny slumped back, slightly disappointed.
The Hufflepuff table rose as one and began cheering, screaming and stamping their feet in excitement.
After their cheering had died off, Dumbledore congratulated everyone, then began to speak of encouraging the Triwizard champion. But he suddenly stopped when the Goblet's fire turned red for a fourth time.
Everyone watched in shock as a fourth piece of parchment came shooting out of the Goblet.
Dumbledore caught it, the pensive look behind his beard unreadable.
There was a long pause as Dumbledore stared at the piece of paper in his hand.
Then he cleared his throat and announced the name -
"Harry Potter!"
Ginny's brown eyes widened and she quickly looked around to where Harry sat with Ron and Hermione.
Behind his glasses, the boy's face was utterly blank.
🦇🦇🦇
"Harry Potter!"
All through dinner Viola had sat with her chin on her hand, watching the ceremony through puffy red eyes - until Dumbledore announced that name.
Now Viola sat up in straight in her seat so that she could find Harry at the Gryffindor table.
Viola hadn't wanted to come to the feast. Although Madam Pomfrey had been able to change Viola's appearance to exactly how it once was, Viola's pride could not be mended as easily. For a girl who'd always excelled in potions, brewing a incorrect aging potion was quite a let down. Not to mention the humiliation of having her arch-enemy (Ginny)walk in while her face was melting off. It was really all too much for Viola to handle, but Hugo and Ava had made Viola come. And now she was rather glad she had. This was very interesting.
Harry was still sitting at the Gryffindor table looking entirely non-plussed.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called again. "Harry, up here, if you please!"
Viola saw Hermione Granger give Harry a small push.
The boy stood, and walked swiftly up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff table.
Viola couldn't help but feel a rush of admiration towards the boy.
The entire hall was staring at him, and muttering about him. Yet still the boy held his head up high.
🦇🦇🦇
"I feel so bad for Harry," said Ginny as she left the Great Hall with fellow Gryffindors.
"Why?" asked Wish.
"Why?" said Ginny. "Because he just got thrown into a tournament he obviously didn't want to be in!"
"But just think of how wonderful the tournament is going to be," sighed Pamela. "Harry, Cedric and Viktor Krum? They're all dreamy!"
"What are you talking about?" demanded a moody voice. "Of course Harry wanted to be in the tournament! That's why he put his name in!"
Ginny stopped in her tracks and turned to see a sulky looking Rowen River standing behind her.
"Harry didn't put his name in," said Ginny.
"Oh yeah, how would you know?" sneered Rowen, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Didn't you see his face?" Ginny demanded. "It was obvious!"
Rowen snorted. "You're just saying that because you fancy him."
Ginny's face went scarlet, but she didn't back down.
"That's not true. I'm just not idiotic enough to think he would put his name in," said Ginny. "Yes, he's brilliant at magic and all that, but there's no way he'd make it passed Dumbledore's age line! You should've seen the beards my brothers got!"
"He got an older student to do it for him then," said Rowen with a shrug. "Harry Potters just an attention seeking prat-"
Ginny whipped out her wand and took a threatening step toward Rowen.
"Say that again and-"
"Wands away, please!" called a passing prefect.
Rowen smirked at Ginny who glared back at him.
Ginny stashed her wand in the pocket of her robes, then turned and stalked away.
🦇🦇🦇
"I'm so glad Cedric's the Hogwarts champion!" said Hugo with a wide grin and a skip as they left the hall.
"And Harry. Harry's also a Hogwarts champion. I wonder how he managed to get across the age line . . ." Viola mused.
A very rare annoyed look crossed Hugo's face.
"Well Harry isn't really the Hogwarts champion," said Hugo. "Cedric is!"
"Well, no . . . so is Harry," said Viola.
"We don't even know if they'll let him stay!" argued Hugo. "They might cut him out of the Tournament."
"Maybe," said Viola with a frown. "But I doubt it. I think once the Goblet calls your name, you have to compete."
"Well . . . Cedric will win," said Hugo with certainty.