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chapter ten | champions
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THE NEXT DAY FELT LIKE A BLUR. After their first lesson, Kaya, Maisie, Jaeden and Milo decided to spend their free period hanging about in the hall and watch everyone who was willing to put themselves forward into tournament. The girl was interested in seeing who wanted to enter, and stared completely engrossed at each person stepping forward to the goblet. There had been an age line cast around it, so nobody under the age of seventeen could enter, much to Jaeden's dismay. He was hoping to enter anyway, thinking he might be able to count because his birthday was 'only a few' months away. It was around break time when the hall became more busy, more and more people beginning to cram in to get a glimpse of the goblet and those trying to enter.
"Come on Cedric!" A Hufflepuff boy said enthusiastically. A crowd had rushed into the hall, and they were all surrounding Kaya's friend, encouraging him to enter. "Put it in!"
Kaya could tell from the expression on Cedric's face that he was already planning on enter, whether his friends wanted him to or not. He was just finding all of the sudden attention rather amusing. Cedric stepped forward, not even glancing at the age line, but staring at the blue flames emerging from the goblet.
"Go on Ced!" Kaya called from across the hall.
He dropped a tiny piece of parchment inside, flashing Kaya and Maisie a friendly smile, before turning back to his close friends who were now cheering for him.
"Eternal glory," said Jaeden. "Imagine it,"
"Sounds like a load of rubbish, if you ask me," said Maisie. "I mean - it's only a school competition, isn't it?"
"Only a school competition?" Jaeden made a face. "Have you gone mental?"
Kaya and Milo exchanged smirks as the two began to bicker about the importance of the tournament, when a sudden commotion from the doorway signalled the entrance of the two Weasley twins - sprinting through holding a small vile each. Kaya leaned forward.
"Well lads," Fred said to their friends. "We've done it!"
"Cooked it up just this morning!"
They were interrupted by the voice of a girl two years below - Hermione Granger, sitting on a bench with a smug expression and a book in hand.
"It's not going to work!" she said. The boys sat down on either side of her, grins still plastered on their faces.
"Oh yeah?"
"And why's that, Granger?"
"You see this? This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."
"So?" said Fred. Kaya chuckled to herself. Hermione sighed.
"So," she said. "A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possible fooled by something as pathetically dim-witted as an ageing potion,"
"Uh, but that's why it's so brilliant," said Fred.
"Because it's so pathetically dim-witted!"
The two snickered, before standing up and shaking their vials. Fred caught sight of the brunette girl lurking in the corner with her friends and flashed Kaya a daily wink. She grinned at him and shook her head. Maisie, Jaeden and Milo began to step forward and move closer to the twins, getting a better view of their attempt at crossing the line. She joined them, and pushed past her taller three friends to stand in front of them to be able to see.
"This doesn't look good," Milo said to Kaya. She was unsure, herself. Obviously it would take a lot to outwit Dumbledore's ageing line - but maybe their potion might work? She had no idea.
The twins were standing on top of a bench.
"Ready Fred?"
"Ready George,"
"Bottoms up!"
They drank their potions and without hesitation leaped into the circle - and to Kaya's surprise, they actually made it in there.
"Shit," she said, raising her eyebrows. "They actually did it,"
But Milo wasn't convinced yet.
"Nah," he said. "They haven't put their names in, yet,"
After celebrating the fact that they'd made it into the circle, the twins paused and dropped their tiny chunks of parchment with their names on into the Goblet. They paused waiting for a reaction - but there was none. Everyone began clapping, and the twins were proudly grinning from ear to ear. Fred looked straight towards Kaya, who was visibly impressed.
"They actually did it," she said. "They managed to-"
The blue flames from the Goblet expanded and flares shot out creating an explosion, sending the twins flying from the circle. Everyone rushed to them to see what had happened - Kaya and her friends joining the circle (this time of students) surrounding them.
As they sat up, their hair started to grow and the ginger colour turned to grey. Even beards began to appear on their faces.
"Well, the ageing potion worked," said Jaeden.
"Yeah," said Kaya. "They've aged fifty years,"
The twins' expression turned from proud, to mortified - and now to annoyance as they eyed one another.
"You said,"
"You said!"
And the next thing Kaya knew was that she was watching two sixteen year old boys with the facial hair of old men struggling in a wrestling match, rolling around on the ground.
"They look like you and Jae, Kaya," said Maisie. Kaya and Jaeden always had fights like these - usually ending with Kaya being held in a headlock and having to admit she was a 'dickhead' for Jaeden to release her.
Everyone was laughing and chanting 'fight!' as they wrestled. Kaya had folded her lips to try not to laugh, but it was merely impossible.
But, although they were still fighting, the attention slowly diverted from them onto two figures entering the hall - Viktor Krum and Karkaroff. Krum only walked in to put his name into the goblet, before leaving. That didn't stop nearly everyone from gawping at him as he walked by, though.
Kaya felt a thump below her knees and looked down to see one of the twins resting against her legs after just being bashed into them.
Fred looked up to see the pretty girl looking down at him with folded arms, wearing a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Uh..." he said. Kaya's smirk grew wider.
"I think," she said, bending down to meet him. "You might've aged a tad too much,"
"You don't say," the boy replied.
"I wouldn't worry," she said. "I reckon you pull off the 'old man look'."
Fred grinned, before taking her hand being pulled up.
"You're such a loser," she told him with a smile.
Fred for sure didn't feel like a loser at that moment.
"I suppose I better go fix this," he said, pointing and circling his head, still grinning. "As much as I know I can pull this beard off, I think I prefer a clean face,"
"And the ginger hair," Kaya said. He scoffed.
"And my heavenly red locks," he corrected her. "See you, gorgeous,"
Kaya froze for half a second at her new nickname, but then laughed. Fred, if possible, grinned even wider.
"See you," Kaya said, before the boy left to find his twin, and the two headed out of the Great Hall.
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Everyone soon found themselves sitting in the hall, yet again, now awaiting for the champions to be chosen.
"Now the moment you've all been waiting for," Dumbledore hollered. "The champion selection!"
Everyone was still cramming to sit down, when Dumbledore dramatically dimmed the lights coming from the flames around the room.
"How you feeling Ced?" asked Kaya.
"Nervous," he nodded. "That's normal though, right?"
"Yeah," said Maisie. "Of course,"
The only source of light was now the blue embers from inside the Goblet. Dumbledore walked up to it slowly, awaiting the first name to be cast. It eventually was.
"The Durmstrang champion is... Viktor Krum-!"
"-Viktor Krum," the three said in time with Dumbledore, yet again. It was obvious who the Durmstrang champion would've ended up being.
The boys of Durmstrang cheered for their friend, as he stood up, his face filled with pride, and walking to Dumbledore who guided him to the trophy room. The flame turned red and, yet again, a small piece of parchment shot out of the goblet.
"The champion of Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour!"
Fleur too grinned as she stood up, the Beauxbatons students cheering and clapping for her. She strutted over, shook Dumbledore's hand, and then followed to where Krum had gone into the trophy room. The flame turned red yet again. Kaya have Cedric a little nudge, now knowing that the Hogwarts champion would be the final one.
"The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!"
Cedric's face wore pure glee, as Maisie, Kaya and the rest of the Hufflepuffs on their table cheered for him, patting him on the shoulder as he stood up. Cedric grinned back at his friends before joining Fleur and Krum.
"Bless him," said Maisie. "He deserves it, for sure,"
"He really does," Kaya nodded, now wearing a huge smile for her friend.
"That's it! We now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history,"
"I'm not being biased," Kaya whispered to Maisie. "But that'll definitely be Ced,"
"You know it,"
"Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Tri-Wizard Cup!"
A sheet was removed from an object at the back and a beautiful blue trophy was revealed, practically glowing with light. Everyone cheered and gawped.
"See look, that's got Cedric's name written all over it," said Kaya. "Oh, it does look pretty doesn't it, do you think he'll let me hold it?-"
"Kaya, shut up, look," said Maisie.
"What?"
Maisie pointed to the Goblet, which for some reason had yet another red flame emerging from it.
"It's not supposed to do that, right?" Kaya said, with a frown, turning to one of the Hufflepuff boy's now sitting next to her instead of Cedric. He shrugged, shaking his head.
And yet again, another piece of parchment flew out of the goblet.
Even Dumbledore looked confused, as he took it and began reading the writing. His face turned to shock, as he mumbled something Kaya couldn't quite catch.
"Harry Potter?" He called out. Kaya and Maisie glanced at each other with wide eyes, before turning to get a look at the boy who's name had for some reason just come out of the Goblet. He didn't move. If anything, he sank even lower into his seat.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore bellowed, making Kaya jump. She swore.
The boy slowly walked to Dumbledore, his face expression a large combination of being confused, frightened and downright mortified. Dumbledore passed him the parchment, and he turned to look at everyone, as though he was pleading for someone to get him out of the situation.
"Awe," said Maisie. "I feel bad for him,"
"Poor boy looks scared to death," Kaya nodded.
Yet, Harry still had to follow the rest of the champions.
"He's a cheat!" someone shouted.
"He's not even seventeen yet!" another called.
Milo turned around from his seat at Gryffindor table to look at the two girls, his eyebrows creased. They reflected the same confused expression.
McGonagall put her hand on Harry's shoulder as he passed, giving him a sympathetic glance.
"What?" Kaya whispered, still confused. But nobody got any answers, for everyone was all dismissed to go back to their common rooms. Kaya and Maisie pushed through the people to meet Milo.
"What was that?" Maisie said to him, as they walked.
"No idea," said Milo. "I was sat opposite him, though. He didn't want to move from his seat,"
"Do you reckon he put his name in?"
"I mean... no, it's not like he was as enthusiastic as the others, was he?" Milo said.
"Maybe it was because his came out fourth for some reason, when there's only meant to be three,"
"Maybe," said Milo. "Poor bugger looked petrified, though,"
"What a crafty little bastard!" A familiar voice said behind them.
Jaeden had found his way to his friends and instead of wearing a confused look, like everyone else, he was laughing.
"Wonder how he did it," he said. "Clever clogs, I wish I was friends with him, he could've entered me in, too. Not like you lot, ya useless sacks of shit!" He joked.
"You're chirpy," said Kaya.
"Well, it's funny, isn't it? Some of the people on my table looked they were going to explode," Jaeden grinned. "I said to them 'look, you lot need to get a life because being angry at Harry Potter twenty-four-seven isn't gonna do you any good'."
The three laughed.
"I bet they hate you even more, now,"
"You bet they do. They're not all brave enough to say, though. Not after that. I thought Malfoy was gonna punch me,"
"Awe, he should've," said Kaya. Jaeden gave her a soft whack on the head.
They all said goodbye, before separating to go to their common rooms - everyone else still confused about the fact four had been picked by accident. Kaya was convinced they wouldn't let Harry enter - he was only fourteen years old. And there was only ever supposed to be three champions, so surely they'd keep it that way. It would be the smartest thing to do.
Right?
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A/N: Ahh we're well into this story now I'm acc so excited to write more.
Thank you for reading! Let me know how you're finding these chapters :)