Olive really did not want to go to the Great Hall for the drawing of the names. Despite wanting to support both Nat and Cedric, who had the possibility of their names being picked, she just didn't want to be around anyone... especially Fred and George. The TriWizard Tournament was something she had been looking forward to, but now it was something that filled her with worry and dread.
The Ravenclaw sat amongst her friends at their House's table, deep in thought as she scribbled down a few sentences in her notebook. Her hands were smudged with ink again, having been writing all afternoon after leaving the twins at the Hospital Wing. She was really upset at them for some reason, especially George. The sixteen year old really didn't know why, and perhaps she really didn't want to find out.
So, Ollie decided that distracting herself with her writing was the way to feel better. She had started a story that afternoon, one that brought her mind far away from dangerous tasks and a pair of idiots trying to cheat the system. It was rather more mundane, about a pair of muggles. Olive found it quite a challenge to write about muggles, mostly because she didn't really know much about them. However, she really needed the distraction.
"Nat, who was that writer person you gave me the book about a few years ago?" Ollie asked, "I forgot his name..."
The blonde let out a short laugh, "Shakespeare?"
The raven-haired girl smiled, her cobalt eyes lighting up as she wrote down a few lines, "Yes! Thank you!"
Natalie quirked a brow, leaning over her friend's shoulder to try and see what she was writing about, "Olive, what on earth are you writing?"
"Well." Olive capped her pen, "After this afternoon I decided I needed a distraction from idiots with aging potions, and the overexcitement of this tournament."
"So you're writing about Shakespeare?" Cho asked curiously.
"Yes... well, no." Olive closed her notebook with a huff, closing her eyes to gather her thoughts, "I just started it... it's a work in progress. I like his work, and I wanted to try something different to distract myself."
"You like that kind of stuff?" Nat rested her elbow on the table, leaning her chin on the palm of her hand, "Everybody says they like Shakespeare... not many actually do. We all just really pretend to know what it's all about."
Olive frowned, "Really? Some of his poems are quite sweet."
"Tell that to me again if you're ever forced to read Romeo and Juliet and then have to write an essay that places the blame for it all on someone." Natalie sighed, "It's torture."
"From what you talk about with muggle schools it sounds like an absolute nightmare." Cho observed, "Why write about something you'll never use after you graduate?"
Natalie smirked, "Exactly, but that's none of my business."
Cho and Olive exchanged a confused look, not really sure what the blonde was on about. What school taught students things they didn't need to know? It seemed completely impractical. However, both girls agreed with Natalie on this one. It really wasn't any of their business.
Just as Ollie was about to change the subject, the lights dimmed in the Great Hall. All students from the three schools collectively grew quiet, excited whispers echoing off the stone walls of the room. Dumbledore took his usual spot at the front of the hall, his eyes twinkling in amusement at the excitement of the students.
"I know it has been an exciting twenty-four hours for us all." He began, "Tonight with the drawing of our names from the Goblet of Fire will give us our three champions and officially mark the start of the TriWizard Tournament."
Olive reached over to give Nat's arm a comforting squeeze. The blonde was visibly nervous, her brows furrowed as she listened to the Headmaster, clammy hands wiping themselves on her school trousers. At Olive's touch she glanced over with a nod, taking a quiet, shaky breath.
The Ravenclaw glanced over at her cousin across the hall, who had an unreadable expression on his face that Olive couldn't quite understand. Was he nervous at all? Excited? The rest of the Hufflepuffs were practically bursting with anticipation. Ollie was pretty sure he was the only student from his house to enter.
"Now, I'd hate to keep you all waiting, so let us begin." Dumbledore waved his hand, and the mysterious flaming Goblet of Fire was brought towards him, resting on a table. Its flames seemed to become the only source of light in the room, emitting a spooky glow on every surface the light touched.
Dumbledore slowly approached the goblet, a hand outstretched to draw a name. Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch, who were responsible for organizing the Tournament, had joined him just a few steps away.
Everyone held their breath as the flames in the goblet rose, turning a deep red as they rose several feet into the air. A collective gasp came from the entire hall, watching the flames spit and crackle with a mind of its own.
Then, a charred slip of paper spit out of the flames, otherwise undamaged by the fire except for the crinkled edges that had slightly burned away. Dumbledore reached up his hand and caught it, unbothered by the smoking parchment.
With much relish he slowly opened the slip of paper, well aware of the hundred of eyes on him.
"From Durmstrang, our champion is Victor Krum!"
Much of the Slytherin table, both Durmstrang and Hogwarts students alike, broke into an incredulous applause. The Bulgarian seeker, seeming pleasantly surprised by the results, stood up. He took a gracious bow, heading towards the front of the room. Krum stood in front of his Headmaster, who clapped him on the back with a giddy sneer.
"Why am I not surprised." Cho muttered with a small smile, earning a small chuckle from Olive across the table, drawing her attention briefly from the front of the Great Hall.
Another slip of paper flew out of the Goblet of Fire. With a similar flare of dramatics, Dumbledore caught the paper and carefully unfolded it.
"From Beauxbatons..." he paused, looking at the Ravenclaw table where the blue-donned school sat close together, all holding hands with excitement, "Fleur Delacour!"
Fleur's closest friends let out a shriek of excitement, while others who entered their names faked surprise and happiness for the blonde. She stood up, smoothing down her uniform as she headed to the front. Fleur stood tall and confident, sending almost flirtatious smiles to the school as she walked past.
Marjorie, who had been one of the girls to clap and gasp excitedly at the results, sent a look down at Olive and her friends. The next drawing would be Hogwarts, and Natalie had entered her name.
The Beauxbatons student made eye contact with Nat, offering some sort of friendly nod. The nervous Ravenclaw awkwardly returned it, her eyes suddenly seeming extremely occupied in the woodwork of their House's table.
As Fleur joined her Headmaster, who stood nearly three taller than anyone else in the room, the hall quieted down again. All of the Hogwarts students seemed especially tense, knowing that it was their school's turn to name a champion.
Olive sent a look to Cedric, locking eyes as Dumbledore made his way towards the Goblet of Fire once more. She raised her brows at him, as if asking how he was doing. He twitched his lips in a smile, shrugging his shoulders.
He seemed indifferent about the situation.
Natalie grabbed the hands of both Cho and Ollie, her usually confident and snarky smirk falling into a tight, strained line. She was visibly nervous, as was everyone who had entered their names from their school.
"Lastly, we have our Hogwarts Champion." Professor Dumbledore seemed a bit more invested in the results of this paper, taking his time in unfolding the charred slip of paper. Everyone seemed to be craning their heads as the Headmaster read the name with a pleased smile.
"Cedric Diggory!"
The Hufflepuff table exploded in applause and calls of joy and excitement, their house rarely being well represented in any school event despite their persistent support and enthusiasm. Cedric stood up, his cheeks flushed as he humbly took his place in front of Dumbledore, shaking hands with him as the whole school joined in the applause.
Olive clapped her hands, happy that her cousin had been chosen to participate in the TriWizard Tournament. She couldn't picture anyone more equipped for the challenge than he was, given both his talents and kind personality. She couldn't imagine someone like Marcus Flint being champion.
Natalie visibly relaxed, her face flushed with relief as she let go of her friends' hands. She joined in with the applause just as it died down, Professor Dumbledore raising his hands to silence the Great Hall.
"I'd like to congratulate Miss Delacour, Mr. Krum, and Mr. Diggory on becoming our three champions for the TriWizard Tournament!" Dumbledore said with a smile, "Now, may I officially present to you-"
The Goblet of Fire did not appear to be finished. The flames grew into a bright red, growing in size and spewing out sparks up into the air. Everyone, both teachers and students, began to whisper nervously.
Olive stared at the flames with a wrenching feeling in her gut, her hands starting to nervously wring themselves together. She knew, just like everyone else, that this wasn't supposed to happen.
The Goblet of Fire spit out another charred slip of paper before its flames went completely dormant. There was a level of intensity and confusion radiating around the room like hot humidity hanging in the air on a sticky August afternoon.
As the paper started to slowly sway into the ground, Dumbledore walked over to catch it. He, with the rest of the Headmasters, Professors, and Gamekeepers, exchanged stunned looks. This was not supposed to happen. Someone had tampered with the Goblet of Fire, perhaps wanting to enter either themselves or someone else in the Tournament.
Olive's brain almost immediately and regretfully went to the twins, but just as quickly as the thought popped into her mind was it dismissed. She knew how badly the twins wanted to compete for the prize money, but they had accepted the fact that they wouldn't be able to enter their names, already discussing their next idea to earn the money for their shop. Olive knew they'd never do anything like this.
So who was it? What was on that parchment?
Delicately, Dumbledore unfolded the slip of paper, wincing as he read the name that had been written on the slip of paper.
"Harry Potter."