Dedicated to fregjajtea123
"I don't believe it!" said Ron "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!"
"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player" said Hermione
"Only a Quidditch player?" Ron said, incredulous for some reason "Hermione - he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"
As they went back inside, Hermione saw that Ron wasn't the only one fascinated by Viktor Krum. Just ahead, a group of sixth years were frantically searching their robes for some kind of writing implement
"Oh I don't believe it, I haven't got a single quill on me-"
"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?"
"Really" Hermione said loftily as they passed the girls, now squabbling over the lipstick.
"I'm getting his autograph if I can," said Ron. "You haven't got a quill, have you, Harry?"
"Nope, they're upstairs in my bag," said Harry
Hermione was much more interested in Krum's peers. A girl standing quite close to Karkaroff caught her eye. She was about Hermione's height and, with her light brown skin and bushy brown hair, was almost identical to Hermione herself. Albeit the girl's hair was darker but still, uncanny. The girl caught Hermione looking at her and grinned. Hermione smiled back
The entered the Great Hall and sat down on the Gryffindor table. The Beauxbatons students were sitting at the Ravenclaw table and looked thoroughly miserable. Some of them were still covered in wooly hats and scarfs. Hermione rolled her eyes, exasperated
"It's not that cold" she snapped "Why didn't they bring cloaks?"
"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron said over Hermione's shoulder "Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space -"
"What?"
"Too late," said Ron
Hermione turned. The Durmstrang students were sitting down at the Slytherin table. Malfoy, who looked very smug, leant over and said something to Krum. The girl who looked like Hermione rolled her eyes
"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy" said Ron, watching Krum beadily "I bet Krum can see right through him, though... bet he gets people fawning over him all the time..."
Well thank goodness you're above all that, Ronald, thought Hermione to herself
"Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep?" Ron said "We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry... I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on a camp bed"
Hermione snorted
"They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot" said Harry. He did have a point in that respect. The Durmstrang students were taking off their fur coats to reveal scarlet, military type uniforms. Hermione remembered the girls down her road gushing over men in uniform and inwardly groaned
"But there are only two extra people" Harry said, looking at the staff table. Filch was adding four extra chairs "Why's Filch putting out four chairs, who else is coming?"
"Eh?" said Ron, still staring at Krum
The teacher's came into the Great Hall and filled into their seats, with Dumbledore, Karkaroff and Madame Maxime at the end. When Madame Maxime entered the room, the Beauxbatons students got up and stood in silence, as if this was normal protocol. Some of the Hogwartiens seemed to find this funny, but the Beauxbatons didn't seem to care, and sat down only after Madame Maxime had taken her seat
Dumbledore was the only one remaining on his feet, and silence fell onto the Hall. Hermione elbowed Ron hard to make him jump out of his Krum induced trance
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests" said Dumbledore "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable"
One of the girls of Beauxbatons, who still had a scarf wrapped round her face, gave a laugh. Hermione, who felt very loyal to her school, snapped "No one's making you stay!"
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast" said Dumbledore brightly "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
He sat down, and the plates filled with slave made food. There were quite a lot of foreign dishes
"What's that?" said Ron, pointing at one of them
"Bouillabaisse" said Hermione
"Bless you," said Ron at once. Hermione resisted the urge to snort
"It's French" said Hermione "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice"
"I'll take your word for it" said Ron, ignoring the foreign food completely
After just under half an hour, Hagrid sat down in his seat and waved at the trio. His hands were heavily bandaged
"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" Harry called
"Thrivin'," Hagrid yelled back
"Yeah, I'll just bet they are" Ron whispered "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers"
"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"
Hermione looked up. It was the girl who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. Ron blushed furiously. The girl was, Hermione had to admit, very pretty, in a haughty sort of way. She had shoulder length white blond hair and sea blue eyes
"Yeah, have it" said Harry, talking for Ron
"You 'ave finished wiz it?" said the girl
"Yeah" said Ron, still gawking at the girl like an idiot "Yeah, it was excellent"
Ron was still staring at the girl as she went back to her seat. Harry started laughing, bringing Ron back to his senses
"She's a veela!" he said, his voice raw
"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione. Veela's hair were whiter "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"
That wasn't technically true, but Hermione ignored the other boys
"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" said Ron "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"
"They make them okay at Hogwarts" said Harry, his eyes going to Cho Chang
Disgusted, Hermione turned to the teacher's table and her eyebrows raised, surprised. Barty Crouch was sitting on Madame Maxime's other side, and Ludo Bagman was sitting next to Karkaroff. Karkaroff didn't seem to pleased with this seating arrangement
"When you've both put your eyes back in" she said, pointing to the teacher's table "you'll be able to see who's just arrived"
"What are they doing here?" said Harry
"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" said Hermione, shrugging "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start"
Once the feast was finished, Dumbledore stood up. Fred, George and Lee straightened up, drinking up his every word
"The moment has come" said Dumbledore "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket-"
"The what?" Harry whispered. Hermione ignored him. Telling would ruin the surprise!
"-just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation"- there was a polite applause -"and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports"
There was a lot louder round of applause for Ludo. Crouch didn't seem to care
"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament" said Dumbledore "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts"
"The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch"
Filch came into view, carrying an old, jewel covered chest. Every students eye was on it. Several first years stood up, and many people were leaning so far back on their seats, they were almost horizontal. He put the chest on the teacher's table and Dumbledore began talking again
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways... their magical prowess - their daring - their powers of deduction - and, of course, their ability to cope with danger"
"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire"
Dumbledore raised his wand and tapped on the chest three times. The chest opened and Dumbledore took out a small stone cup. It would've been rather underwhelming, had it not been full of blue white flames
"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet" said Dumbledore, putting the Goblet of Fire on the now closed chest "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete"
"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line"
"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all"
"An Age Line!" Fred Weasley beamed as they made their way the the Common room "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing - it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"
"But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance" said Hermione "we just haven't learned enough..."
She didn't bother mentioning that Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a plan so pathetically dimwitted as an Aging Potion. Personally, she wanted to see Fred and George try, just to see the smirks wiped from their faces
"Speak for yourself" said George "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?"
"Where is he?" said Ron, scanning the crowd for Viktor Krum "Dumbledore didn't say where the Durmstrang people are sleeping, did he?"
Hermione thought the answer was obvious, and she was proved right seconds later, as they drew level with the Slytherin table. Karkaroff had appeared at Krum's side
"Back to the ship, then," he was saying "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?"
Krum shook his head irritably and put his coat back on
"Professor, I vood like some vine" said one of the boys quietly
"I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff" snarled Karkaroff coldly "I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy-"
Karkaroff led his students towards the door, reaching it the same time as Hermione, Ron and Harry. Harry stopped to let them through
"Thank you" said Karkaroff. He glanced up and froze, his eyes going from Harry's face to his scar. Behind him, his students faces went from confusion at the sudden halt to realisation. Hermione spotted the boy called Poliakoff nudge the girl next to him and point at Harry's forehead. Hermione's doppelganger had her arms folded and seemed rather bored
"Yeah, that's Harry Potter" came Moody's voice. Karkaroff went pale
"You!" he gasped, turning to Moody, who was leaning on his staff
"Me" said Moody, his expression showing some dark history with the man in front of him "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway"
Without another word, Karkaroff sped off, the Durmstrang students running to keep up with her
***
For once, Hermione wasn't the only one who rose early on a Saturday. Hermione, Ron and Harry went downstairs for breakfast and found about two dozen people loitering in the Entrance Hall. The Goblet of Fire had been placed on the Sorting Hat's stool, and a thin golden line head been drawn around it
"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third year Hufflepuff
"All the Durmstrang lot" she answered "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?"
Just then, Hermione heard laughing behind her. She turned to see Fred, George and Lee walking over to them, all three carrying small slips of paper
"Done it" Fred whispered "Just taken it"
"What?" said Ron blankly
"The Aging Potion, dung brains" said Fred, smacking his brother lightly round the head
"One drop each" said George, beaming at them "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
"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know" said Hermione "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this"
Fred, George and Lee ignored her
"Ready?" asked Fred "C'mon, then- I'll go first-"
Everyone turned to watch as Fred walked up to the line, as if it was sone kind of bomb. He hovered on the edge for a second before stepping over a line. George yelled triumphantly and lept after him. Suddenly, there was a loud hissing, and the twins were thrown out of the circle. They say up and, to Hermione's glee, they had both sprouted long white beards. The Hall rang with laughter, in which Fred and George joined in when they saw each other
"I did warn you" said Professor Dumbledore, who was coming out of the Great Hall "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 trooped to the Hospital wing, followed by a still giggling Lee
They entered the Entrance Hall and saw the usual Halloween decorations. Hundreds of Jack-o-lanterns hovered in place of the normal candles, and swarms of bats were swarming up above the tables. Hermione, Ron and Harry sat down beside Dean and Seamus, who were discussing possible candidates for the Hogwarts champion
"There's a rumor going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in" said Dean "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth"
"We can't have a Slytherin champion!" cried Harry. Hermione raised her eyebrows in disapproval
"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory" said Seamus "But I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks"
"Listen!" said Hermione. Cheers were echoing from the Entrance Hall into the Great Hall. Hermione was about to wonder if the twins had somehow got passed the Age Line, when Angelina Johnson, a pretty black girl who played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team came in. She was blushing, but looked very pleased. She sat down next to Harry
"Well, I've done it!" she said "Just put my name in!"
"You're kidding!" said Ron
"Are you seventeen, then?" asked Harry, ever the intellect
"'Course she is, can't see a beard, can you?" said Ron
"I had my birthday last week" said Angelina brightly
"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering" said Hermione, grinning "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"
"Thanks, Hermione" said Angelina, grinning back
"Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory" said Seamus. Behind him, Hannah Abbott and Eloise Midgen scowled at him
"What're we going to do today, then?" said Ron as they left the Great Hall
"We haven't been down to visit Hagrid yet" said Harry
"Okay" said Ron "just as long as he doesn't ask us to donate a few fingers to the skrewts"
Hermione stopped dead
"I've just realized- I haven't asked Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. yet!" she said eagerly "Wait for me, will you, while I nip upstairs and get the badges?"
It didn't take Hermione very long to run upstairs and get her S.P.E.W. box from her dormitory, but Ron still looked impatient as she came back downstairs again
"Oh good, hurry up" he snapped. They walked through the grounds, and the reasoning behind his impatience was explained. The Beauxbatons students were walking along the path, towards their carriage, and Ron couldn't keep his eyes off the girl with white blond hair
"What were they doing in the castle?" Hermione asked Harry
"Putting their names in the Goblet" said Harry. He glanced at Ron and, checking that he was preoccupied, added "when do you think Ron will get a grip on himself?"
Hermione snorted
"Who knows?" she said
They reached Hagrid's hut and Harry knocked on the door. They heard Fang, Hagrid's boarhound, barking from inside
"'Bout time!" said Hagrid, opening the door "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"
"We've been really busy, Hag-" Hermione began, but the words were blown away when she noticed Hagrid's appearance. He was wearing a suit made from some kind of brown fur, with a yellow and orange checked tie. He had put some kind of gel in his hair, and had obviously tried to tame it: it was tied up in two bunches and Hermione could see a comb entrapped in it
Hermione stared at Hagrid for a full minute before clearing her throat and saying "Erm - where are the skrewts?"
"Out by the pumpkin patch," said Hagrid brightly, as if his appearance needed no explanation "They're gettin' massive, mus' be nearly three foot long now. On'y trouble is, they've started killin' each other"
Ron, who was still staring openly at Hagrid's head, had opened his mouth to say something about it, but Hermione shut him up with a look
"Oh no, really?" she said, looking at anything but Hagrid
"Yeah" said Hagrid miserably "'S' okay, though, I've got 'em in separate boxes now. Still got abou' twenty"
"Well, that's lucky" said Ron. Hagrid either didn't hear or ignored the sarcasm
Soon they were inside his ginormous one roomed hut and discussing, inevitably, the Triwizard Tournament. Hagrid was just as excited as everyone else
"You wait," he said eagerly "You jus' wait. Yer going ter see some stuff yeh've never seen before. Firs' task... ah, but I'm not supposed ter say"
"Go on, Hagrid!" came their three voices at once, but Hagrid shook his head, beaming
"I don' want ter spoil it fer yeh" said Hagrid. "But it's gonna be spectacular, I'll tell yeh that. Them champions're going ter have their work cut out. Never thought I'd live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!"
They st ta yed there for most of the day. It was very relaxing, sitting by the fire in a content silence, even if one of your companions was twice the size of you. To Hermione's disappointment, Hagrid refused to have anything to do with S.P.E.W.
"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione" he said "It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insultin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em"
"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!" said Hermione angrily "And we heard he's asking for wages now!"
"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it- no, nothin' doin', Hermione"
Hermione wanted to argue further, but Hagrid had already gone back to his knitting
Just as the sun set, Hermione, Ron and Harry decided to head back up to the castle in time for the Halloween feast
"I'll come with yeh" said Hagrid "Jus' give us a sec"
Hagrid stood up and began rummaging around in draws. Suddenly, an utterly vile smell wafted over to them
"Hagrid, what's that?" said Ron
"Eh?" said Hagrid, spinning round. He was holding a large bottle "Don' yeh like it?"
"Is that aftershave?" Hermione gasped
"Er - eau de cologne" Hagrid went red "Maybe it's a bit much" he decided "I'll go take it off, hang on..."
He left the hut. Hermione could see him washing his face in a water barrel
"Eau de cologne?" said Hermione "Hagrid?"
"And what's with the hair and the suit?" Harry breathed
"Look!" exclaimed Ron, pointing at the window. The Beauxbatons students had just left their carriage, and Hagrid had walked over to Madame Maxime, his face red and his eyes misty
“He’s going up to the castle with her!” said Hermione “I thought he was waiting for us!”
“He fancies her!” said Ron, hiding a smile “Well, if they end up having children, they’ll be setting a world record - bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton”
They left the cabin and headed towards the castle by their lonesome. Hermione spotted a group of dark figures walking out of the Durmstrang ship and pointed them out to Ron and Harry. The Durmstrang students were just ahead of them throughout the short walk, but none of them seemed to notice anyone behind them
They reached the Great Hall and sat down by Fred, George and Lee. The twins had lost their beards and didn't seem to be too disappointed
“Hope it’s Angelina” said Fred
“So do I!” said Hermione brightly “Well, we’ll soon know!”
Everyone was too interested in the Goblet of Fire to pay much attention to the feast. Finally the golden plates cleared and Dumbledore stood up. The students fell silent
“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 gestured to a side door at the back of the Hall - “where they will be receiving their first instructions”
He took out his wand and, with one sweeping motion, dimmed all the candles. The air was rife with anticipation. People kept checking their watches
“Any second” Lee Jordan hissed
Several people gasped. The fire had turned bright red, and was emitting sparks. A piece of parchment flew out of the flames and fluttered through the air, where Dumbledore caught it and held it at arms length
“The champion for Durmstrang” he declared “will be Viktor Krum.”
“No surprises there!” shouted Ron over the applause and cheering that had erupted throughout the Hall
“Bravo, Viktor!” roared Karkaroff as Krum got up and walked through the door “Knew you had it in you!"
The applause died down just as the fire turned red and more parchment flew out of the flames
“The champion for Beauxbatons” read Dumbledore “is Fleur Delacour!”
“It’s her, Ron!” yelled Harry as the girl Ron kept staring at got up, flipped her hair out of her face and strutted down the Hall. Meanwhile at the Ravenclaw table, several of the Beauxbatons students were in tears. One of the boys had curled in on himself and was trembling. Hermione pointed them out to everyone around her
“Oh look, they’re all disappointed” she said
There was now an almost deafening silence. Now only the Hogwarts champion was left. The fire turned scarlet once more and Dumbledore caught the final slip of parchment. His eyes seemed to light up somewhat as he read, “The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!”
“No!” Ron, but next to no one would've been able to hear him. Every Hufflepuff had lept to their feet, cheering and clapping louder than anything Hermione had heard before. It took a while for Cedric to leave the Hufflepuff table, as everyone he passed wanted to shake his hand or send their congratulations to the first person to give glory to Hufflepuff house in decades
Even after Cedric had finally left the room, it took several minutes for the gleeful whoops and cheers to die down
“Excellent!” said Dumbledore brightly as the Hufflepuff's finally fell silent “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-”
Dumbledore stopped talking abruptly, and it was evident why. The Goblet of Fire's flames had turned ruby red again and was sparkling again. Another slip of parchment had flown out of it and Dumbledore, instinctively it seemed, caught it. There was a very long pause, as Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hand. Finally Dumbledore cleared his throat and read, loud and clear,
"Harry Potter"