Chapter 3: Chalice of Bigness
Dumbledore stood in his place as the feast began to come to a close. He had enjoyed himself, as he did every year, but his mind was elsewhere through most of it. It seemed Harry Potter had saved the world once and then gone back in time to save it better.
Granted, Dumbledore himself had never been in a serious relationship, but he understood a few things about them. And without a doubt it was one of these that drove Harry to do what he had done.
Nearly tear his body and soul asunder on the slime hope that he could do something to fix the 'past'.
Dumbledore sighed.
"Students of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. I welcome you all here to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the Triwizard Tournament."
Some cheering went one, but mostly they all just looked at him in anticipation.
"Three champions, one from each school will compete to become the grand champion through three tests throughout the year. If you wish to enter then write your name on a slip of paper and place it into the Goblet of Fire."
Everyone turned to see what Dumbledore was pointing at. A small table had appeared in front of the Headmaster's table. On it was an outrageously large chalice that seemed to have magical flames burning in it. No one had noticed it before, which was astounding considering the fact that it was enormous for a cup. It had to be half the size of a full grown human. Harry almost laughed from his seat. A little disillusionment and a diversion charm and everyone believed Dumbledore could teleport items.
"I warn you, while I had thought of putting an age restriction on the Goblet; I will leave it up to you whether or not to participate. But remember, these tournaments were last cancelled when all three of the champions perished in the effort. So do not enter unless you truly are ready for the tests. If you are chosen by the Goblet then you have no choice but to participate fully. Is that understood?"
Most everyone in the area were nodding their heads enthusiastically. Truth be told, Dumbledore knew that only a truly outstanding person could be chosen to be a champion and even if a second year decided to throw his name in, the chance of him being picked was next to nothing. Feasibly impossible, really.
"Oh, and a few more things. Because the Triwizard tournament has been reinstated, I have decided to do the same to the Yule Ball. All fourth years and above are allowed to attend unless a younger year is asked to the ball by someone in their fourth or higher year. Your house heads will assist you in getting dress robes. And learning how to dance."
After that comment many of the students couldn't stop talking and looking around. He caught many looks between various students that were sure to mean that the ball would not be empty of couples. And there was more then the fair share of groaning from the boys in the crowd with no female companions. Learning how to dance seemed to be much more fun in the past...
"Ahem." The entire room calmed down a little. "The board outside Mr. Filch's office has been updated with forbidden items." Dumbledore noticed two specific Weasley twins pump their fists. "And the Forbidden Forest is off limits to anyone who wants to avoid a horrible, painful death. Now, enjoy the rest of the feast or head to your common rooms."
Harry Potter sat in a large soft chair in the Gryffindor common room staring into the fire thinking about the meaning of life.
Actually, that wasn't exactly true. Harry Potter was actually just thinking about the future in general.
So little time and so much to do. Somehow I need to expose good old Barty for the corpse consumer he is. Luckily Dumbledore solved my problem that I had with Ron this year. I already saw him and half our year put their names in the 'flaming goblet of being annoying'. He can't be jealous this year if he had the chance as well. That will help a lot, I know. What else do I need to do?
"Harry! Did you put you name in the Goblet? Please say you didn't!"
Harry spun to see Hermione with an embarrassed Ron behind her.
"Ron put his name in, even after I told him not to!"
"Calm down, Hermione…"
"Calm down? Calm down? Why should I do something like that?" Hermione looked like she was about ready to combust. Harry knew it was just out of concern for them then anything, but she really needed to calm down. Harry placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Hermione."
She quieted down, letting him talk for a moment. She was upset and definitely not thinking straight, he could tell. She had probably watched Ron place his name in the Goblet thinking he wouldn't.
What exactly had happened?
"First of all, you are overreacting. The trials that killed the previous champions must have been toned down if they have allowed to reinstate the tournament. Ron isn't going to die."
Hermione instantly started to blush as red as her friend behind her.
"Second, the chances of any of us being chosen as champion against people like… Cedric, for instance, is next to nil. Besides, I think Ron probably did it because he was just trying to show how brave he is. What Gryffindor wouldn't want to test his metal in such a tournament?"
Ron, from behind Hermione, looked at him gratefully. Hermione appeared to have calmed down a bit, but was still a little huffy over it. Probably more from being ignored by Ron then by the actual action.
"Fine. I'll forgive you this time." She spun and brushed past Ron towards the girl's dorm. Harry noticed that she brushed rather close to Ron, but he didn't notice. When she was out of sight Ron collapsed in the chair next to him.
"Thanks, Harry. I thought I was done for."
"Don't mention it. What were you thinking, by the way?"
"Oh, just what you said! Bravery, manliness, and all that jazz."
"Probably had nothing to do with the fact that Hermione was watching you and you wanted to show off to her, huh?"
Harry was just guessing with that comment, but when Ron shut up and turned an embarrassed, not angry, red, Harry realized he was dead on.
"I guess we know who you're asking to the Yule Ball."
Ron barely managed to sputter a reply.
"Y…yeah? Well, who're you going to take?"
Harry stopped smiling. He knew exactly who he wanted to ask, but if he could was the question…
"Who're you thinking about?" Ron was leaning over with a mischievous smile, and Harry knew that the tables had been turned. It was his time to be teased.
"Someone."
"Who? Do I know her?"
"Not well."
"Is she in our year?"
"No."
"Cho Chang."
"No!"
Harry nearly jumped out of his chair at that. He had a few… interesting encounters with Cho the last time through his life and he knew that she was definitely not for him.
Ron saw Harry shiver. He didn't see what was wrong with the beautiful seeker.
"I'm out of guesses, then."
"Maybe I don't feel like telling."
"But I'm your best mate!" Ron put a fake hurt look on his face. "You already figured out who I… who… who I might like, so let me in on your secret."
Harry sighed. He might as well get it out in the open now… or at least in the privacy of his friendship.
"I know I've only just met her, but there was something about her… maybe it was her eyes." Harry knew that it wasn't just her eyes, but they were a big part. "She's a year lower. I saw her on the train today after my incident. She looked so beautiful… and at dinner as well…"
"You aren't talking about Ginny, are you?" Ron looked scared, like if Harry said yes he would be forced to find a new best mate.
"No."
"Oh, good. But who else…" Ron's face went from relieved to shocked. "Harry, you can't possibly mean…"
"I'm going to ask Luna Lovegood, Ron."
Gasp.
Both of them looked at each other before looking around. No one was near enough to hear them whispering to each other, but both had heard someone gasp in shock. The portrait door was just beginning to swing closed, though…
They both shrugged and turned back to the conversation.
"Harry, you can't ask…" Ron stopped when he saw the look in Harry's eyes.
"Yes, I can Ron. Don't tell me how crazy she is, or how she dresses. Everyone at this school has there own eccentricities, and hers are just more on the surface. Think about it. You like Hermione, don't deny it because I have pages upon pages of proof. Hermione is a book worm who is obsessive to the point of distraction about her grades because that is the only way she knows at this time to prove to everyone who doesn't know her that she isn't just some weird girl. Granted, a boyfriend might help her relax some, and that is where you come in."
"Me?" Ron almost squeaked out his reply.
"Yes, you. Ron, for every person in this world there is something that they need to find to complete them as a person. When you find it you take it. You know what I mean. For your mother that thing is your dad, and vice versa. For your brothers, at least right now, its each other. For people like Malfoy it's a mirror and a pile of gallons." Ron snickered. "And for you?"
"I… don't know…"
"Me neither, but I have a hunch and I know you do to. That is why I'm going to ask Luna Lovegood to the ball and you are going to invite Hermione."
"But..."
"No 'but's. If you don't some guy from Durmstrang is going to sweep her off her feet."
Ron looked sick.
"Would they really?"
"Yes. Without a doubt. What guy would turn down a beauty like Hermione?"
"Beauty?" Ron regressed to his squeaking again.
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. Maybe if you ask her nicely to the ball you'll see what I mean."
Ginny Weasley was running through the halls. It was almost curfew, but she knew she would be able to make it. Her friend never walked very fast and she usually could be found walking a windowed hallway on the long route to the Ravenclaw tower. Her own mind was spinning, but she managed to run straight.
Emotions were conflicting in her, spinning around in a tornado that was changing her.
She had just witnessed a boy she had thought she loved express feelings, or at least the idea of feelings, for one of her friends.
Harry likes Luna. No, he wants to go to the dance with her. But that means he likes her. It's just a dance. It's a date.
The oddest part about the whole thing was that Ginny couldn't find her own emotions in herself. She couldn't find the near twelve year old crush in her heart. She felt a mixture of excitement and anxiousness. For Luna.
Ginny knew Luna, not as well as she had in previous years but still better than anyone else at this school, and she knew her from long ago. Luna was lonely even if she didn't look it, maybe even if she didn't know it. Luna deserved some good in her life after all she'd been through…
But Ginny was confused, and almost disturbed, that she didn't feel any sadness over the fact that the boy she had a crush on didn't like her.
In fact, she felt liberated.
She felt like she had always sort of envisioned Harry Potter alone as the man for her, and now that he was 'taken'… she could look at everyone else. She had turned down dates before, always because she 'loved' Harry and not because she didn't want to go… It was all a matter of what was expected of her and what she expected of herself. She was 'supposed' to love Harry Potter, and now she shouldn't. Now she could be herself.
Ginny was smiling happily as she jogged towards her friend that had just appeared around the corner. Luna was standing in the evening light shining through the window and looking at the late sunset. She turned only when Ginny stopped.
"Hello Ginny, are you glad to be back?" Luna always seemed to be in a dream like trance when she was happy, like now. Her silver eyes shined and her blonde hair flashed in the late sun. Ginny smiled back at her.
"You bet! I ran all the way here to ask you something, though."
"Hm?"
"Luna, do you remember Harry Potter, from the train?"
"Of course I remember him. He knew about wrackspurts, how could I forget him?" Luna's eyes took on a more clear appearance as worry began to fill them. "Why? I thought he recovered from his sickness…"
"Oh, he did." Ginny was delighted when Luna went back to her normal happy mood.
"That is good. You still have a crush on him, right Ginny?"
"Nope."
Luna had turned back to the window more a moment before she had to swing her face quickly back to face her friend. Ginny just smiled.
"But… I thought…"
"Oh, I got over that a while ago. Besides, I think he likes someone else."
"Oh, ok."
"Do you want to know?"
"Not particularly."
"What did you two do on that train?"
Luna looked at her and gave a slight blush, surprising Ginny. Normally Luna was unshakable emotionally. She would never let her true emotions show. Maybe it was just the teasing nature of Ginny's tone and question that caused some embarrassment, but Ginny wasn't so sure.
The prospects seemed hopeful for Harry.
"He entered my car and passed out. Then when he woke up he sat down."
"Then you had a staring contest that I walked in on. Looking for wrackspurts, eh?"
Luna just gave a dreamy smile.
"He has very pretty eyes…"
Ginny almost squealed in girlish hope.
"… very similar to a female crumpled horned…"
"Luna, do you like Harry?"
Luna went silent. Ginny had asked the question with absolute seriousness. Her smile drifted away slightly.
"Why do you ask?"
"I get the feeling you do."
"I…" Ginny's eyes went wide. Luna not knowing what to say? Impossible.
"You?"
"I… don't know."
And with that, Ginny smirked. Harry had said the same thing. Oh yeah, they liked each other.
"Well, in that case… you should hang around him more."
"What?"
"You won't know if you like him unless you spend time with him. I think it was the camping before the Quidditch World Cup that let me know I don't like Harry like that."
"I wouldn't want to intrude…"
"Nonsense, he knows about wrackspurts, right?"
"Yes…"
"He's a kindred spirit, so he would mind. And if he did, well you know who not to fall in love with, Lovegood."
"But…"
"No 'but's. Besides, the person I think Harry likes… is you."
Luna stared at Ginny for the longest time, not knowing what to say or if she should walk away or anything. She had just been told that she, Loony Lovegood, might have had a secret admirer and that it might just be the Boy-Who-I-Met-On-The-Train-With-Nice-Eyes. It sounded a little farfetched.
No, not just a little.
Luna had no friends at Hogwarts barring Ginny and the teachers. Just acquaintances and people who thought she was crazy. So she could be forgiven for her being skeptical of this too-good-to-be-true idea. She could believe in nargles, but affection? And affection from a boy, at that?
No, not gonna happen. Not to this Lovegood…
"I'm sure you just heard wrong." Ginny's face turned to a frown. Luna didn't want to say it, but what she thought was impossible. He had only known her for hours, and while that was enough for Luna to want to see those eyes again, it was not enough to suddenly have a crush on them.
Or was it?
"I did not hear wrong. He and Ron were talking about… well, that's a secret. But…"
"Ginny."
"What?"
"Thanks, but what's he chance that he suddenly developed a crush on me with my radish earrings and butter beer bottle cap necklace. He must just think…"
"Wrackspurts, Luna." Ginny was, of course, referring to the fact he knew about them.
Luna sighed. They must be affecting both Ginny and Harry. Oh well, a good night's sleep would clear them away.
"I need to go to my dorm now, Ginny. It was good to see you, but I need to rest."
"At least think about it, Luna. I'm sure I heard right."
"Fine, good night." Luna smiled at her friend one last time before turning and skipping to her common room. Normally, though, her skip would have had more energy in it. She was thinking very hard about the impossibilities of the idea, and not a lot about the possibilities of it being true. Because it there was one thing Luna had learned from life, it was to always assume that the worst was going to happen. If it didn't, you could be pleasantly surprised.
