Chapter Ten
A/N: Thanks once again to Sammii-jojo for being an amazing reviewer, as always, and to my other brilliant reviewer, .
It was November 6th and the champions of the Triwizard Tournament were due to be revealed that very night.
As the Tournament had been all that year, the latest developments had been the talk of the school, and few other topics of conversation had been discussed in the place. Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbattons had all been pulled together as they attempted to guess who their champions would be, and who would be the overall winner, bringing glory to their school through this treacherous championship.
The only group who had attempted to remain indifferent was the Gryffindor seventh years, which had all experienced first-hand what this tournament could do, as Harry had competed in it only four years previously.
That was primarily while Allie was so fearful of the selection. 'What if Harry's been stupid enough to try and enter himself this time?' She attempted to dismiss the thought the moment it entered her mind, but it simply would not budge. Harry would never do something so stupid after what happened in the Third Task, back in 1994, but the moment it had occurred to her, the thought would not be pulled away.
Strangely enough, it was almost a relief for the young Malfoy when the three schools finally assembled in the hall, knowing her agonising wait would soon be ended.
As each student sank down into their seat, the three Heads of the three schools stepped forward on the platform that Madame Maxime's speeches were always delivered from, the woman herself stepped a little further forward. The reason was made obvious as she began to speak.
"Bonjour, students! The time has come at last to select the champions for the Triwizard Tournament." the large woman called out, her voice reverberating across the newfound silence of the room. "Now, the majority of you shall now how the selection shall work, but for the benefit of those who do not, I shall explain. All of you seventh year students who wish to be entered have had their names placed into the Goblet of Fire. The Goblet will now spit out three names, one from each school, and these shall be our three champions. Now, without further ado…"
Stopping in her speech, Madame Maxime turned, alongside Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster of Durmstrang, to face the Goblet, the blue flame on it flickering endlessly in the slight breeze coming from the open windows of the room. Suddenly, the flames darkened from celeste to a bright shade of magenta, the first piece of paper flying from it, landing in the hand of the Durmstrang Headmaster. 'I think his name may be Professor Tsvetanov.' Allie thought absentmindedly, staring at the man as he stepped forward to read the name. It had most certainly not been the one she was expecting.
"The Durmstrang champion, representing Ambhtzya House… Draconis Malfoy."
Huge cheers erupted from the table on which the Durmstrang students sat, as their champion stepped forward to acknowledge his selection. On the other end of the spectrum, a muffled cry came from beside the Hogwarts table, where Narcissa Malfoy had attempted to disguise how upset she was at her son entering such a potentially lethal tournament.
Draco, on the other hand, seemed to be on the side of his classmates, and the beaming that had appeared when he had heard his name still remained on his face, untarnished by his mother's reaction to the result.
Next, Professor McGonagall stepped forwards, holding out her hand to receive the second piece of paper that had escaped from the flames, blowing on it slightly to put out the burning embers at the edge of the smouldering parchment.
"The Hogwarts champion, representing Gryffindor House… Neville Longbottom."
The cheers of the Durmstrang boys paled in comparison to the screams of the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students. Even the majority of the Slytherins were cheering the boy on as he stood, though not quite as loudly as the others had done, just for the sake of principal.
Neville himself, to Allie's eyes, seemed to be the one most shocked by what had happened. Of course, the young man had entered his name himself, and so had known that there was a chance he would be selected, but he was still extremely surprised. 'At least it wasn't Harry.' Allie thought, still feeling the pain that two people close to her would be in so much danger.
At last, Madame Maxime stepped forwards, as the Goblet of Fire spewed out its third piece of paper. The woman caught it almost immediately, the fact that it had flown at least five metres into the air not hindering her, as her height gave her the advantage of a couple of seconds on the other professors.
"And finally, the Beauxbattons champion, representing Bravoure House… Monique Poesy."
Allie joined in the cheers of her fellow girls, but not with quite as much enthusiasm as she would have done, had it been anyone else that had been called. Three people who were each extremely important to her, and all of them were now in danger.
However, the worst was now to come, as, in a terrifying repetition of the previous year's events, the flame glowed magenta for a fourth time. Flickering and spluttering more than it had ever done before, a charred piece of flaming parchment paper fell down, landing in the open palm of Professor McGonagall, who lifted the piece to her eyes to read the name.
"Another champion for Beauxbattons, also representing Bravoure House…"
Minerva paused in her stuttering reading once again, truly not wishing to read out the name. That was the sign that allowed all who had known the girl named to know precisely what the parchment read. Gasps echoed through the room even before the name was read out, but far more did so when two words reverberated through the hall.
"Alyssienna Malfoy."
A/N: Uh oh! What's going to happen next? Review to find out quicker!