Neona crept into the Great Hall – or at least she tried to but it was impossible because soon enough all eyes had fallen on her as she begun the journey to the goblet. She passed Ron and Harry who were both watching her closely, Neona gave them a curt nod which roused a grin from Ron as he punched her arm playfully.

"Thank you, Ronald."

Harry watched her as she looked at him, "Eternal glory... isn't it a cliché?" Harry asked her. "Like say, just wait for another tournament to come along and these competitors will be forgotten."

She shrugged, "If you see it that way... the trick is to do something that they will never forget." she grinned at him, ruffling his already messy hair as he fought to stop her. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." and with that she continued.

The age line was the only thing that stood between her and that ugly Goblet. Dumbledore had assured her that she would be able to pass safely through that line without being flung off in some direction with some hex or jinx she'd rather not have. However, she still found herself drowning at the mere thought of being rejected by the goblet, enough to make her crease and crumple the parchment in her hands.

Neona Lupin

By then, she'd forgotten she was still walking so when she looked up again she was already at the age line. The age line was a faded grey colour and as thin as clouds while it protected the vulnerable from entering such a dangerous task.

She nodded and walked through the line, ignoring the eyes knowing that it was her time… her father had held her back for years and she wasn't going to let that stop her now. She reached up slowly and let her piece of parchment drop into the Goblet, her hand brushing against the stone Goblet before pulling away.

"You're Lupin's daughter, right?" Neona glanced up to see the handsome face of Cedric Diggory, his caramel hair bouncing as he jogged up to her. Cedric was a tall and extremely handsome young man with chiselled features, and bright grey eyes. He was a Hufflepuff; a Seeker of the House Quidditch team and social heartthrob. She simply nodded and waited for him to continue. "I'm Cedric; we're in the same classes."

"Some of the same classes, mainly Charms, Advanced Potions... never mind." Neona rolled her eyes, "I know who you are, and now you've decided to notice my existence because much like you, I've chosen to put forth my name for the Tri-Wizard tournament." She stated with a bored tone.

He raised his hands in defence, "I meant no offence, I didn't even bring up the bite- " He stopped short realising he blurted it out anyway.

"Now you have."

Cedric scratched his head and sighed, watching as she walked away from him and to where Hermione was situated quietly on a bench. "Look at these two fools…" Neona commented, as the Weasley twins, Fred and George, jogged into the hall while waving their hands in what appeared to be utter triumph.

The gathering of students hooted and jeered at their entrance as the two boys marched up towards the goblet. "Thank you, thank you… well lads, we've done it-" George began, flashing a wink at Neona as she rolled her eyes.

"- Cooked it up just this morning!" Fred concluded with a wide grin.

"It's not going to work." Hermione stated with absolute certainty.

Nudging his brother's arm, Fred chuckled at the fourth year. "Oh yeah? And why's that Granger…" he dared question her wit.

Closing her eyes in frustration, she gestured to the floating cloud of mist that surrounded the goblet. "You see this?" she asked slowly as the twins nodded. "This is an age line, Dumbledore drew it himself."

Scoffing, Fred shrugged. "So?"

Feeling sorry for Hermione, Neona stepped forward with her arms folded tightly across her chest. "So a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something pathetically dimwitted such as an age potion." she explained to the pair of them.

George grinned like a mad-man, moving forward the squeeze Neona's cheek in a taunting gesture. "That's why it's so brilliant and pathetically dim-witted." he sung to her annoyance before he turned to his brother, "Ready Fred?"

His brother nodded, "Ready George?"

Together, they clambered upon the bench Hermione was on and downed the vials in their hands before they jumped inside the age line, causing another cheer to erupt from the students watching, including both Harry and Ron who stopped when they caught Neona's glare. Glancing at one another, they threw their names into the flame and waited in anticipation. When nothing happened, they high-fived in excitement.

However, the flames flared up and they were soon flung across the room to land outside the age line. The pair of them sat up, only to find that they had full heads of grey hair and beards to match which didn't settle well with either of them.

George let out a growl and before lunging for his brother he said, "You said…"

"You said…" Fred accused also surging forward, gripping his brother's robes as they fought while the crowd continued to cheer in amusement.

However, the hall fell into a deep silence once again as Viktor Krum marched into the room with a stern look plastered across his features, striding all the way up to the goblet where he let his name float into it.

Neona rolled her eyes once more, she hated the arrogance that radiated off of his mere presence… all he did was play Quidditch, what was all the fuss about? She could play Quidditch, she was the Keeper for Gryffindor for Merlin's sake! She hoped deeply that he would not be the champion for his school.

The Great Hall was buzzing with life, much different from the previous night. It was polar opposites and that seemed strange and rather unsettling from Neona's perspective. Three champions would be chosen tonight, not all would win and not all were guaranteed to live.

Neona had taken a seat in between Fred and George at their own demand, wanting to support their friend if she didn't get chosen. But deep down, Neona was hoping she did so she could get her first taste of life, so she could feel the adrenaline that came with being faced with death.

"So… what are they going to do about the third champion?" Fawn pressed in wonder, taking his seat opposite Fred.

Hermione sighed and threw Neona a look in which the witch shot her back a wide smile. "It's a shame that Beauxbaton's couldn't attend this year… they'll probably choose another champion from either school, seeing as someone caused a dispute last year."

It wasn't her fault, Neona hadn't meant to shift so unexpectedly but those snobby posh girls from Beauxbaton's really pissed her off and when they brought up her bite, she just flipped and endangered their lives to where she was nearly expelled but Dumbledore refused to let it happen which she was immensely grateful for.

"It was an accident! You say it as if I wanted that to happen..." Neona threw her arms in the air, mindful as she almost hit Dumbledore until he caught her arms.

"Save the excitement for a few minutes time, Miss Lupin." He advised with a warm smile that sent warmth through the female. "Good luck, Neona."

Dumbeldore continued his way to the front, pushing and weaving through the crowds with McGonagall and Snape closely on his tail until he turned swiftly with his arms raised to address everyone. "Sit down please!" he called the masses with a soft look, a grin pulling at his lips as the students buzzed lively. "And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the champion's selection!"

At the mention of champions, silence drifted peacefully over the hall, bringing a sudden serenity into the atmosphere.

"Good luck, Neona." Harry spoke in a rushed tone, an eager grin big enough for all to see. "I hope you get it."

"Nonsense, Harry, Neona will get it." Fawn taunted softly, nudging the boy in the side however, his words made Neona feel sick… did she really want it? Was it a heat of the moment thing?

Approaching the goblet, Dumbledore waited as the blue flame glowered red and hissed before it spat out a piece of parchment that floating through the air for him to clasp hurriedly. "The Durmstrang champion is… Viktor Krum!"

A few tables away, the crowd of students from Durmstrang let out cheer followed by furious clapping as their champion charged forward to greet Dumbledore anxious who was wearing a wide grin. But Viktor still scowled, that seemed to be the only expression he knew and that infuriated Neona, he didn't look at all excited for what was ahead.

Another name jetted into the air after being pelted out of the goblet before it began to flutter downwards to where the Dumbledore was stood waiting. His hand clasped the piece of parchment that had donned the shape of a wolf upon its escape from the goblet.

Dumbledore smiled as he read the parchment, knowing that no matter how many times Remus had begged her to not enter over the summer, she still had done so. "The Hogwarts champion... Neona Lupin!" Dumbledore sung pleasantly, barely able to withstand his excitement.

The Weasley Twins were the first to clap, cheering their friend on as she rose soon enough and the Gryffindor table roared to life at the mention of Neona Lupin. On their own accord, the rest of the school joined in with a few whistles and hollers here and there from the Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs while the students of Durmstrang merely offered a friendly applause despite a few wolf whistles that sounded through the air that normally would have made her go red in the face.

But her mind was elsewhere. Neona couldn't explain how she felt – everyone was cheering her on. It was strange, these people weren't her friends, she knew not even three quarters of all of them. But it felt good, and she liked it, she liked having this much attention in her secluded life and she felt accepted for once, she could forget the monster.

McGonagall threw Snape a concerned look; however he merely shrugged a reply and then turned his attention back to the girl approaching.

Smiling brightly, Dumbledore shook her hand firmly but rather erratically too, appearing much too excited. "Oh, how wonderful Neona!" he announced gleefully with a knowing glint sparkling within his eyes, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Professor."

Neona continued, though she paused when McGonagall gripped her shoulder tightly, "Are you sure this is what you want, Neona?" she whispered to the girl before her.

"Why else would've I put my name forth, Professor?" Neona waited for her to reply, watching as the coil smile appeared across her Head of House's face, and the hand at her shoulder gave out a tight squeeze as the smile seemed to give out more warmth.

"Do Gryffindor proud, Lupin, and make sure you win." She murmured, low enough for her to hear among all the cheering.

Snape came next, though he smirked he sent her a curt nod of approval which settled comfortably with Neona, "Well done, Lupin." He muttered only loud enough for her to hear as she walked past him.

She smiled once more, "Thank you, Professor."

"Don't mention it."

She continued, receiving nods for teachers such as Flitwick, Sprout and Hagrid of course but Moody just stared at her when she passed him to enter the trophy room.

Her father would not be happy about her participating in such a thing but that was the main driving force behind her decision to do it in the first place. She knew she would receive an angry howler in the morning, as soon as the news reached him. Sudden questions then infiltrated her mind; who would be her mentor? Would she win? Would she die?

She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't even hear another champion approach her; Viktor Krum, the arrogant air-head. "Con… gratulations…?" he announced, his accent thick with his Bulgarian accent while he held out his hand towards her in a kind gesture but all Neona could think about what his poor English.

"Neona." She replied smoothly, shaking his hand firmly.

"Neona," Krum repeated with a small smile.

She nodded, "You too, Viktor." She added when she retrieved her hand.

"So, I heard you vere the veason for Beauxbatons not attending this vear… is vat correct?"

Neona laughed at the memory. Some girls from the school came to visit last year and they caught the rumour of her condition in which they continued to persist until they found out the truth about it, and well, the truth wasn't exactly the best option. "I assume you've heard the tale?"

Krum nodded, "I have but I vould vather you tell it to me."

Neona barely understood what he said, though she managed to catch a few words. "At a young age I was bitten by a Shifter named Eden, who chose me for a particular purpose I still don't know. Courtesy of him, I can now change into this hideous creature known as a werewolf; however I am much more monstrous than a normal werewolf."

"And you scared the girls vom Beauxbatons by doing so?" Krum concluded, in which Neona gave a nod to confirm so. "Excellent, I vish I could have been there to vitness such a thing," he laughed bemusedly.

"They were not impressed, and neither was Dumbledore."

He was about to reply when someone else walked into the room. That someone was Cedric Diggory, "Congratulations, Neona, and Viktor!" he greeted warmly to Neona's dismay.

Wonderful, she thought sourly but chose to smile at him.

"I am glad to vace such vorthy competitors – I've heard nice vings about the both of you."

"The same can be said for you – you're a professional Quidditch player!" Neona tried to sound enthusiastic.

"Flying avound on a broom is easy, but this, this is different... challenging."

Cedric chuckled, "I bet." He agreed, staring at Neona.

Neona went to speak but the sound of more footsteps echoed throughout the room, her eyes widening when she saw who they belonged to. "Harry?" her mouth feel agape in shock, "What the-?" However, she realised Harry looked as shocked as she did, so she concluded he hadn't intentionally meant for his name to be drawn from the goblet. "What happened?" she questioned, making him look at her in the eye.

"Harry!" Came the booming voice of Dumbledore that Neona had become familiar with since last year. The wizard ripped Harry from Neona to hold him firmly as he shook with fury. "Did you put your name in the goblet of fire?"

Stuttering, Harry shook his head, "N- no sir."

Dumbledore glanced at Neona, who held his stare. "Did you ask one of the older students to do it for you?" he exclaimed in Harry's face, causing him to startle.

"N- no sir."

Dumbledore lent away from him, studying Harry before he next spoke. "You're absolutely sure?" his voice had calmed dramatically which Neona was thankful for… this was a good impression for the Durmstrang's at all but Viktor didn't seem to mind, in fact he looked worried.

"Y- yes sir."

Viktor lent towards Neona, "Is he lying?" He pressed, concerned.

Moody scoffed at his words before Neona could even begin to reply. "The hell he is… the goblet of fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object, only an exceptionally powerful conjurer could have hoodwinked it." He concluded with confirmation, not prepared to stand for any alternative. "Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year."

However, Karkaroff turned on Moody. "You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought Mad-Eye." He sneered.

It was as if the pair of them had forgotten they weren't the only ones in the room but Moody didn't seem to care. "It was once my job to think as dark wizards do Karkaroff perhaps you remember?" he spat in disgust.

"Professor, you need to- " Neona tried to speak but Dumbledore cut her off abruptly, making her roll her eyes.

"That doesn't help Alastor." he growled, turning his back on the ex-Auror, until his eyes settled upon Barty Crouch. "... Leave this to you Barty."

The man turned away, running a hand through his hair in bewilderment, clearly having not anticipated such an outcome. "The rules are absolute; the goblet of fire constitutes a binding magical contract." His words were careful, careful to not anger all the professors in the room, but there was only one alternative that Crouch could see. "Mr Potter has no choice; he is as of tonight... a Tri-wizard champion."

Still confused with what was going on, Harry merely stared wide-eyed when nine pairs of eyes fell upon him.

A/N: Please read and review, I would love to know what you guys think!

Ezeiel