vi. the champions
ϟ
"I don't believe it!" Padma said, in a stunned voice, as the Hogwarts students filed back up the steps behind the party from Durmstrang. "Krum, Matilda! Viktor Krum!"
"For heaven's sake Padma, he's just a Quidditch player," said Matilda, rolling her eyes.
"Only a Quidditch play?" Asher Morgenstern cried from behind Matilda, sounding as though he couldn't believe his ears. "Matilda — he's one of the best Seekers in the world!"
As they recrossed the entrance hall with the rest of the Hogwarts students heading for the Great Hall, Matilda saw several of the Ravenclaw Quidditch players jumping up and down on the soles of their feet to get a better look at the back of Krum's head. Several girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked —
"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?"
"Aha," squealed Matilda, mocking the high-pitched squeals coming from girls like Claire Morgenstern. "Somebody kill me now!"
"I'm getting his autograph if I can," said Padma. "You haven't got a quill, have you, Luna?"
"No, sorry, no quills," said Luna. "But I've got some Twizzlers."
Luna offered Padma a piece of the stringy candy that had been given to her by a muggle-born student as they walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down. Padma and many other girls took care to sit on the side facing the doorway because Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around it, apparently unsure about where they should sit. The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table, much to Matilda's disliking. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads.
"And why do they have to sit at our table?" Matilda questioned, leaning across the table to whisper to Padma. "This is a magical school for wizards. They couldn't magically make more tables appear for the guests?"
"I know," Padma grumbled, "I would much rather Durmstrang."
Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table. Matilda could see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looking very smug about this. As she watched, Malfoy bent forward to speak to Krum.
"Oh no!" Padma whined; her bottom lip pouted. "Now Malfoy is going to corrupt Victor Krum!"
"Goodness," sighed Matilda. "With you acting like this I can only imagine how Ron must feel about Krum being here and sitting with Malfoy."
Padma snorted.
"You're thinking about Ron?"
"I am not thinking about — would you just shut it, and realize that we have more pressing matters," said Matilda, her eyes wide and cheeks pink. "Where do these Beauxbatons think they are going to sleep? Certainly not in our room, I just now got used to Cho being in there."
"Wow, thanks a lot, Matilda," Cho deadpanned.
Matilda ignored Cho's sarcasm and continued expressing her disdain about their visitors.
"The Beauxbatons look so sad,"
Luna leaned into Matilda to whisper in her ear, and as Matilda looked around the table, she noticed that her friend was right. They all were glum and what seemed to be terrorized expressions. Meanwhile, the Durmstrang students were pulling off their heavy furs and looking up at the starry black ceiling with expressions of interest; a couple of them were picking up the golden plates and goblets and examining them, apparently impressed.
"So what? Hogwarts isn't good enough for them?" Matilda questioned sounding not a little but very offended.
Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. Matilda was surprised to see that he added four chairs, two on either side of Dumbledores.
"But there are only two extra people," Matilda said. "Why's Filch putting out four chairs, who else is coming?"
"Did you not see Madam Maxine?" Padma snorted again. "Two chairs for her alone."
Matilda rolled her eyes not finding any humor in Padma's joke.
When all the students had entered the Hall and settled down at their House tables, the staff entered, filing up to the top table and taking their seats. Last in line were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "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 Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh.
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Matilda had ever seen, including several that were foreign.
When the students and professors began to engage in conversation and fill their plates with food, Matilda excused herself from her fellow Ravenclaws and quickly made her way over to the Gryffindor table. She ordered a first year to move to the other end of the table so that she could sit in the space beside Harry.
"I hope the lot of you are as annoyed about this as me!" Matilda grumbled, pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Oh, I am!" Hermione agreed.
"Matilda could you move over just a bit, you're blocking Krum."
Already annoyed Matilda reached across the table and flicked Ron's nose, having to more patience left in her to be patient of understanding.
"Sheesh," said Ron, rubbing his reddened nose. "I'm sorry!"
The Great Hall seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though there were barely twenty additional students there; perhaps it was because their differently colored uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts' robes. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing robes of a deep bloodred.
Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Harry, Ron, Matilda, and Hermione with a very heavily bandaged hand.
"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" Harry called.
"Thrivin'," Hagrid called back happily.
"Yeah, I'll just bet they are," said Ron quietly. "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers."
At that moment, a voice said, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"
It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth.
Ron went purple. He stared up at her, opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a faint gurgling noise. Harry's cheeks went pink and he sat frozen, his cup of juice still at his lips.
"Yeah, have it," said Matilda.
She pushed the dish toward the light-haired girl after Ron and Harry both sat unable to answer.
"You 'ave finished wiz it?"
"Yeah," Ron said breathlessly. "Yeah, it was excellent."
The girl picked up the dish and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table. Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. Harry started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses.
"She's a veela!" he said hoarsely to Harry.
"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione tartly. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot, besides you and Harry!"
"You might not be entirely right about that, Hermione..."
Matilda watched curiously as the girl crossed the Hall, many boys' heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron and Harry.
"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" said Ron, leaning sideways so he could keep a clear view of her. "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"
Hermione's jaw dropped and Matilda's eyes widened in shock at Ron's statement. She was feeling the same way as she would if a professor would praise another student over her. The best word she had to describe that feeling was jealousy. But Matilda knew very little about what jealousy felt like, for she hardly ever felt it.
"They make them okay at Hogwarts," said Harry, shrugging.
Harry's gaze left the table and his head turned, Matilda followed his gaze curiously and noticed that it stopped at the Ravenclaw table, more specifically on Cho Chang who happened to be sitting only a few placed from the girl with the silvery hair.
"Really, Harry?" Matilda exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Cho Chang! That is who has you so distracted?"
Harry looked at Matilda, his cheeks reddening and mouth opening and closing as he tried to find something to say.
"Sure, she's smart and quite pretty," shrugged Matilda. "But she's also incredibly whiny and friends with Claire Morgenstern"
"Aren't you friends with her sister, Daisy?" Ron asked.
Matilda sighed as she turned away from Harry to look at Ron who sat across from her at the large, wooden table.
"First of all, not friends, we're acquaintances," Matilda rolled her eyes. "And second, it is not the same thing as being friends with Claire."
Though nothing Matilda said about Cho seemed to bother Harry as his gaze continued to go toward the dark-haired girl with the sweet smile.
"When you've both put your eyes back in," said Hermione briskly, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived."
She was pointing up at the staff table. The two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Ludo Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy's boss, was next to Madame Maxime.
"What are they doing here?" said Harry in surprise.
"They did Triwizard Tournament," said Matilda. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."
When the second course arrived, they noticed several unfamiliar desserts too. Ron examined an odd sort of pale blancmange closely, then moved it carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. The girl who looked like a veela appeared to have eaten enough, however, and did not come over to get it.
Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Harry felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming. Several seats down from them, Fred and George Weasley were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.
"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "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 muttered.
Ron shrugged; Matilda and Hermione ignored the question.
"— 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 smattering of polite applause — "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced.
"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."
At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else's.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "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."
At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.
"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "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 now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.
Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.
"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. "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," said Dumbledore, "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 said, his eyes glinting, as they all made their way across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall. "Matilda you've got to know a charm or potion to get around that."
Matilda laughed dryly as she shook her head, refusing to help the Weasley twins in their schemes.
"Absolutely not!"
"Completely unfair, Matilda!" George exclaimed as he shook his head, pretending to be disappointed. "I've seen you help Harry by coming up with spells and potions plenty of times, but when Fred and I need help you say no?"
"So you do have some smarts about you," said Matilda in her usual sarcastic tone.
She patted George jokingly on the shoulder as she skipped past him, catching back up with the Ravenclaw house who had already started making their way out of the entrance hall doors.
ϟ
As the next day was Saturday, most students would normally have breakfasted late. Matilda, Luna, and Padma, however, were not alone in rising much earlier than they usually did on weekends. When they went down into the entrance hall, they saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction.
"Anyone put their name in yet?" Matilda asked Ron curiously.
"All the Durmstrang lot," he replied. "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?"
Someone laughed behind Matilda. Turning, he saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited.
"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Matilda, Ron, and Hermione. "Just taken it."
"What?" said Ron.
"The Aging Potion, dung brains," said Fred.
"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "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, grinning broadly.
"Oh, I'm sure this is going to work fantastically," sarcasm and a hint of amusement sounded in Matilda's tone as she grinned, knowingly. "Why don't you go on and give a try?"
Fred, George, and Lee nodded excitedly.
"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then — I'll go first —"
Matilda watched, amused, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley — Hogwarts. Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.
Not even for a second did Matilda believe their aging potion was going to work — George certainly thought so though, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred — but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.
The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.
"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "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 set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter, and Matilda, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, also chortling, went into breakfast.
The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner. Harry led the way over to Dean and Seamus, who were discussing those Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering.
"There's a rumor going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told Harry. "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth."
Matilda watched as Harry, who had played Quidditch against Warrington, shook his head in disgust.
"We can't have a Slytherin champion!"
Ron nodded hastily, agreeing with Harry. But Matilda who had been happily enjoying her breakfast put her fork down on the plate and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked across the table at Harry and Ron.
"And why not?" she questioned.
Harry's eyes grew in fear and Ron gulped nervously as they remembered that Matilda's dad was once a Slytherin and that the Sorting Hat had considered the Slytherin house as a strong contender for her.
"Not one house is more evil than the others, might I remind you," said Matilda, her tone becoming defensive. "I'm looking at two gits right now who aren't in Slytherin."
Harry and Ron quickly began to apologize to Matilda, but she ignored their pleas for forgiveness and picked up her plate, making her way back to the Ravenclaw table. Angrily Matilda slammed her tray on the table and once sat down began to angrily stab at the mixed fruits on the plate with her golden fork.
"Oh no, you look angry," said Padma. "What happened?"
Matilda ignored Padma and went on angrily stabbing at her breakfast.
"Listen!" said Luna suddenly.
People were cheering out in the entrance hall. They all swiveled around in their seats and saw Angelina Johnson coming into the Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. A tall black girl who played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina came over to them, sat down, and said, "Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!"
People were cheering in the entrance hall. They all swiveled around in their seats and saw Valeria De Leon coming into the Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. She was a tall Latina who played as a Beater on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, Valeria came over to them, sat down, and said, "Well, I've done it! I put my name in."
"You're kidding!" said Padma, looking impressed.
"Are you seventeen, then?" asked Luna.
"I had my birthday last month," said Valeria.
"Well, I'm glad someone from Ravenclaw's entering, especially a female," said Matilda. "I wish you luck, Valeria!"
"Thanks, Matilda," said Valeria, smiling at her.
Valeria smiled but her eyebrows raised and there was a hint of surprise in her tone. She hadn't expected such support from Matilda Winters, but if she was happy to have anyone's support it would be Matilda's.
"What're we going to do today, then?" Padma asked Matilda and Luna when they had finished breakfast and were leaving the Great Hall.
"We?" Matilda asked
"Oh, come on, Matilda," Padma sighed. "I'm bored and you seem to always be getting into something."
"Using me for entertainment, Padma?" Matilda asked, quirking her eyebrow.
"Well, would you rather me lie about it?" Padma asked.
Matilda and Padma had to stop outside of the Great Hall doors to wait for Luna, who had started to lag behind them because of her insistence on greeting everyone she knew in the Great Hall as she passed by them.
"Hey, look," said Luna suddenly. "It's some Beauxbatons. . ."
The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors from the grounds, among them, the veela-girl. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly.
Madame Maxime entered the hall behind her students and organized them into a line. One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each name entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks.
"What do you think might happen to the ones who aren't chosen?" Padma muttered to Matilda as the veela-girl dropped her parchment into the Goblet of Fire. "Do you think they'll go back to school, or stay here to watch the tournament?"
"They'll most likely stay," said Matilda. "I believe Madame Maxine is staying to judge."
When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names, Madame Maxime led them back out of the hall and out onto the grounds again.
"Where are they sleeping, then?" said Padma, watching the other students curiously.
Matilda didn't have an answer for Padma and she didn't care enough to try and find one, as long as her dormitory and her routine was not disrupted she wasn't going to worry herself over where everyone was finding their lodging space.
ϟ
A light rain had started to fall by the early evening; it was very cozy, sitting by the fireplace and listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, reading one of her newer books that her dad had bought for her, and Luna and Padma playing a quiet game of wizarding chess at the table behind the couch.
By half-past five it had started to grow dark, and Matilda, Luna, and Padma decided it was about time to go back down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast – and, more important, the announcement of the school champions.
When they entered the candlelit Great Hall it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table.
"Hope it's Valeria," said Cho as Matilda, Luna, and Padma sat down.
"So do I!" said Luna breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"
The Halloween feast deemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, or because of the weird turning in her stomach, the feeling that came with Matilda's nerves. She had been ignoring the feeling all day hoping that it would go away on its own, and for a little while it did, but when she entered the Great Hall, the feeling returned, stronger than it had been all day. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, Matilda yearned for the announcement of the champions, not because she was excited, but because she needed this feeling to go away.
At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.
"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 indicated the door behind the staff table — "where they will be receiving their first instructions."
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting... A few people kept checking their watches. . .
"Any second," Roger Davies whispered, two seats away from Matilda.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it — the whole room gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."
"No surprises there!" yelled Claire Morgenstern as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Matilda saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.
"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!
The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.
"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"
"That's the girl I spoke to the other day!" Matilda shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.
"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Luna said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party.
Disappointed was a bit of an understatement, Matilda thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms. She'd prefer the term, dramatic.
When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next.
And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.
"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"That's got to be a joke!" said Claire Morgenstern loudly, who had been proudly supporting Roger Davies, but nobody heard her except for those sitting near her at the table.
The uproar from the furthest table to the left was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "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 —"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.
The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.
"I knew I had a feeling..." Matilda whispered.
Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out —
"Harry Potter."
ϟ
AN:// sorry to keep you all waiting, but the chapter is finally here.
Finally, we get to start seeing some action.
xoxo