Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters or events.

Chapter One:
The Goblet of Fire

"The champion for Durmstrang," said Dumbledore. "is Viktor Krum!"

"Krum! Krum! Krum!" Ron yelled as the delegations from Durmstrang erupted in a strong applause. Karkaroff slapped Krum on the back and yelled, "Well done, Viktor! Make me proud!"

Once everyone had quieted down, and Krum had disappeared into the Trophy Room, the Goblet of Fire turned red once more. A second piece of parchment propelled out by the flames.

"The Champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore. "Will be Fleur Delacour!"

Ron nearly blushed as he saw the girl who resembled a Veela get up gracefully and shake Dumbledore's hand. He felt Harry tap him on the shoulder, but Ron couldn't take his eyes of Fleur.

Soon, the Goblet of Fire turned red again. There was utter silence as the piece of parchment which held the name of the Hogwarts champion shot into Dumbledore's hand.

Please, let it be Angelina," Ron found himself praying. Not Diggory, pleeaasse.

"The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" Ron said loudly, but only Harry heard him.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily. "We now have our three champions! I am sure that I can count on you, Hogwarts, as well as Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions your fullest support! By cheering your champion on, you will make a great contribution to—"

But Dumbledore stopped speaking. It was apparent to everyone what had distracted him.

The Goblet of Fire had turned red again. A long flame shot into the air, and another piece of parchment landed near Dumbledore's feet.

There was a long pause, and Dumbledore bent down to pick up the parchment. He stared at what it said for a long while, and everyone started whispering among themselves.

"Whattya s'pose it says?" Dean Thomas asked Ron.

But Ron was too transfixed to speak. Whose name was on the parchment?

Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out loudly,

"Ronald Weasley."

Ron was struck dumb. He felt everyone in the Great Hall look at him.

"Git," Fred and George muttered at the same time.

"There must be a mistake," Ginny said. "Not Ron."

"Ronald Weasley!" Dumbledore yelled again.

"C'mon, Ron," Harry said, though he sounded just as surprised as everyone else. "Get up."

Ron got silently to his feet and walked towards Dumbledore. Everywhere, people were looking at him with a mixture of amazement and disgust.

This was not meant to happen. Ron was never supposed to be the one who got the glory, the one who all the weird things happened to him that made him famous. That was Harry, it wasn't him.

"He's only a fourth year!" someone shouted

"He's nowhere near seventeen!" another yelled.

"Cheater!" many other people screamed, and Ron was sure that he heard Fred and George's voices mixed in it.

He had reached Dumbledore now. The Headmaster stared at him for a few moments and then handed him the parchment. Ron stared at it. There, in ink, it said Ronald Weasley- Hogwarts in a writing that looked very much like his own.

"I didn't do this," Ron said quietly, though he doubted that Dumbledore heard him.

"Proceed to the Trophy Room," Dumbledore said, gesturing behind him.

Ron walked past Snape, who glowered at him. He then saw McGonnagal, who was looking anxious, then Hagrid, who looked shocked and amazed. He then saw Professor Trelawney, who was looking at him with the same mournful expression he had seen when she looked at Harry, as if she was seeing his funeral, and was trying to pick out the flowers she would put on his grave.

Finally, Ron walked past Mad-Eye Moody, who looked alarmed and, if possible, scared.

Ron pushed open the door to the Trophy Room and followed the flight of stairs. He had gone numb all over. Sure, he had joked around about being Hogwarts Champion, but now that it happened, he realised he was not at all ready.

As he reached the interior of the room, he saw the Veela girl, Fleur, the Bulgarian Seeker, Krum, and Pretty-Boy Diggory.

"Vot iz it?" Fleur asked. "Do you 'ave a message?"

Ron shook his head. He did not know how to describe what had just happened.

He half-hoped that Fleur, Krum and Cedric would start laughing and Fleur would be saying, "You fell for ze joke! It was very vunny!"

But no one spoke. The older champions just stared at Ron, and he hoped that very soon, he would wake from a horrible nightmare.

I hope you liked this chapter, and if you didn't, please tell me why and how you think I can improve.