Chapter 4: the Goblet Chooses the Champions


"Ooh, it's them, look!" Hermione whispered.

The Durmstrang party was walking up toward the castle from the lake. Viktor Krum was walking side by side with Karkaroff, and the other Durmstrang students were straggling along behind them. Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum didn't look happy, or even smile. He just walked his eyes as cold as ice. Most of the Durmstrang party was like that, except a boy in the back laughing loudly with his arms around two other students. The ones that carried the weight of the boy's shoulder, were looking uncomfortable, that Karkaroff would turn around any second and yell at them.

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. Fred and George—clean shaven again—seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well.

"Hope it's Angelina," said Fred said to Hermione and Ron.

"So do I!" said Hermione breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps it was because it was their second feast in two days. Ron thoroughly enjoyed it, all the food, how could he not? But he did have a suspicion that the cause for the length in time was due to the tension in the air. No one cared about the feast today, not even Ron even thought he usually did enjoy the feasts at Hogwarts. Instead, everyone seemed to rush through the feast as fast as possible, everyone feeling more excitement at the anticipation of waiting for the Goblet of Fire to choose the three Champions.

Throughout the feast, Ron looked up at Harry at times to see him glancing over his shoulder towards the Slytherin table. Obviously staring at Effy, he thought, or maybe someone else, like Krum. Ron followed Harry's gaze and turned around, he saw that Effy was looking at Harry with the same look but it soon disappeared when a boy from Durmstrang tapped her shoulder.

Ron quickly looked at Harry to see he had also dropped his gaze, then he turned back to Effy to see she was smiling a bit as the Durmstrang boy—the one who was laughing—whispered something in her ear. Ron tried to ignore the jealous feeling he felt inside but it was no use. He had never liked a girl until Effy; sometimes he thought that she had put him under a spell somehow.

"What are you staring at Ron?" George asked him, moving his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "Are you staring at Malfoy? Oh my! Are you in love with him!"

Ron looked at his brother and opened his to respond but Dumbledore had already walked up to the Goblet of Fire and said aloud, "Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision. 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."

As the group waited, Lee Jordan whispered, "Any second."

All of a sudden, the flames inside the goblet turned red again. Sparks began to fly from it. A moment later, 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 and white.

"The champion from Durmstrang," he read in a strong, clear voice, "Will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Ron 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.

Above the roar of clapping, he had heard Karkaroff's voice as he yelled, "Bravo, Viktor! 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 from Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore "is Fleur Delacour!"

Harry whispered something to Ron, but Ron hardly heard him over the clapping.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.


Effy frowned as she heard Fleur's name being called. She had hoped Tony would have been chosen for the champion of Beauxbatons.

She looked over at her brother, who was seated with her friends at the Ravenclaw table. He didn't look upset; he didn't even look as if he felt anything. But Effy knew, inside he was upset for not getting chosen to be the champion.

Pandora put her hand on Tony's shoulder and said something to him. Tony nodded and stopped clapping as it had finally died down.

When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement that you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion was 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," Dumbledore said, "is Cedric Diggory!"

A few Slytherins, who had put their names in the Goblet of Fire let out a groan as a boy from the Hufflepuff table stood up and walked up to the staff table, and go through the chamber to join the other champions.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore yelled out happily, "We now have our three Champions. I am sure that I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students of Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champions 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 born upon it was another piece of parchment.

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 Effy furrowed her brow. Someone must have put their name in the goblet under another school name to get chosen, if that was how it really did work. But why would someone want to do that?

Then Dumbledore opened his mouth and read the name aloud:

"Harry Potter."