Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 39: Champions
A week passed after that. The foreign students tried to adapt to their new temporary school, attending classes and having their meals at the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
But the main attraction had been the Goblet of Fire.
The Headmaster had left it in the hall, along with instructions on how to join the tournament, and an age line drawn around it, to prevent anyone below the age of seventeen from getting too close to the artefact.
The Weasley twins had paid for their mischievousness when they tried to fool the age line and put their names inside the Goblet.
"You still have some grey hairs, Fred," Ginny talked to her brother while they were at the table.
"What?! Where?" Fred panicked. Their attempt to fool the Headmaster's age line with an ageing charm had seriously backfired and turned them into old men for an entire day.
"Haha! She is right. Over here." George pointed at the side of his brother's head.
"Why are you laughing?" Fred asked. "You still have one white eyebrow."
George groaned in response.
While the Weasley twins' antics entertained some of the students, others were discussing the tournament and its champions.
After all, tonight was the night when the Headmaster would finally announce the names of the three selected champions, one from each school.
"Who do you think our champion will be?" Seamus asked his friends.
"Well, the more popular ones are Roger Davies, the Captain of the Ravenclaw team. Marcus Flint from Slytherin, or…" Neville glanced over at the Hufflepuff table. "Cedric Diggory is also very well liked among the students. Many believe he is going to become a professional player in the future."
"All Quidditch players?" Seamus asked.
"I mean… who else is more fit to participate in this tournament?" Neville wondered.
"Do we have no good candidates from Gryffindor? What a shame," Dean Thomas added.
"What about Angelina Johnson?" Seamus pointed at the tall Black girl sitting a short distance away. "She is probably our best player. Not that we have won that many games in the past three years…"
"Dude, don't point at her." Dean pulled his friend's arm. "I heard she has a very bad temper," he whispered.
"I think we are going to find out soon." Hermione, who was sitting right in front of Neville, said to them as she stared at the end of the hall, where Dumbledore was making his way to the Goblet of Fire.
Next to Dumbledore was Barty Crouch, who was organising the tournament, and Professor McGonagall.
The other two Headmasters were right behind them.
"It's ready, isn't it?" Crouch asked while staring at the moving flames coming out of the Goblet.
"Yes, I believe it's time." Dumbledore walked up to the podium and ordered everyone to be silent. The three champions were about to be selected.
Everyone turned their attention to the magical Goblet, eyes filled with expectation. This was even more so for the most notable candidates to be selected.
Dumbledore approached the Goblet of Fire and mumbled something under his breath before tapping it with his wand.
The fire emerging from the artefact grew in intensity and size, ending with a sudden burst of flames that reached several feet into the air.
A burnt piece of paper then flew out of the Goblet and was eventually caught by the Headmaster, who glanced at it for a second before announcing the name written on it.
"Fleur Delacour!"
A tall blonde girl wearing the Beauxbatons blue uniform rose from her seat, and the students started to clap and cheer for her.
"The selected champions, please come this way." Barty Crouch gestured for her to approach the area where the professors were standing.
The beautiful Fleur walked towards the front of the Great Hall with pride on her face. She was extremely popular, not just among the students from her school, but also from the other two… particularly among the boys who found her irresistible.
Only mere seconds after Fleur went to her spot, the flames of the Goblet began acting up again, signalling that the second champion had been chosen.
Another burnt piece of paper flew out and was once more grasped by the hand of the Headmaster, who then announced the name.
"Viktor Krum!"
No one was really surprised by that one. The famous professional Quidditch player had already been considered the most obvious choice for a champion.
Regardless, they clapped and cheered for the black-haired boy as he made his way to Fleur Delacour's side.
The two champions exchanged a glance and waited for the last contender to be announced.
Flames burst from the Goblet, sending one more burnt piece of paper into the hands of Dumbledore.
He picked it up and read the name.
"Cedric Diggory!"
The Hufflepuff table went wild with cheers. Not only because Cedric was extremely popular, but also because having the Hogwarts champion come from their house, which many considered the 'house of the useless', was a big deal for every Hufflepuff student and a reason to finally feel proud of having been sorted there.
The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables also celebrated the selection, but not as loudly as the Hufflepuff one.
However, not much noise came from the Slytherin students, who were unable to hide their disappointment.
Cedric Diggory smiled and waved at his fans as he walked through the hall.
Barty Crouch Sr. moved to the podium, preparing himself to make the speech he had been preparing for the occasion. As the Chief Organiser, it was his job to officially start the Tri-Wizard Tournament, now that all the champions had been selected.
"Students of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. It is my honour to announce tha—"
His words died in his mouth when he saw the Goblet of Fire reacting again. The bursts of flames were now going much higher than before, almost reaching the ceiling, and they even started to change colour, becoming bright green.
"Albus, what is happening?!" McGonagall asked with concern, wondering why this ancient artefact was now malfunctioning.
Everyone present was worried about a potential fiery explosion occurring in the hall.
Everyone except for one person, who knew exactly what was happening.
Dumbledore stared at the Goblet of Fire with anticipation. All his work and planning were finally about to pay off.
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