Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.


Chapter 11 – Champions

Dumbledore showed the Durmstrang party inside, and the rest of the Hogwarts staff and students followed them.

"I can't believe it!" Ron said hoarsely. "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!"

"For heaven's sake, Ron," Hermione said. "He's only a Quidditch player."

"Only a Quidditch player?" Ron squawked. "Hermione—he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"

As the students flooded from the entrance hall into the Great Hall, many of them tried to get a better look at Krum. Lucy and her friends passed a group of girls who were discussing getting his autograph.

"Oh, I don't believe it," one girl complained, digging around in her pockets. "I don't have a single quill."

"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?" another one asked.

"Really," Hermione sighed, shaking her head as she passed the girls.

"I'm getting his autograph if I can," Ron said. "You haven't got a quill, have you, Harry?"

"Nope, they're upstairs in my bag," Harry replied.

"Lucy?"

"Sorry, no luck," Lucy told a crestfallen Ron.

They entered the Great Hall and took seats at the Gryffindor table next to the Weasley twins, Ginny, and Neville. The Durmstrang students were milling about near the doors, unsure of where to sit, while the Beauxbatons group sat down at the Ravenclaw table. Many of them looked very unimpressed and were still clutching their scarves around themselves.

"It's not that cold," Hermione said, watching the Beauxbatons students. "Why didn't they bring cloaks?"

"Maybe they don't have any where they're from," Lucy said.

"Over here!" Ron was muttering. "Come and sit over here! Hermione, budge up. Make a space—"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lucy asked, staring at him.

"Too late," he groaned.

Lucy looked up to see what he was staring at. The Durmstrang students had finally chosen to sit down at the Slytherin table. Krum sat down very near to Malfoy, who struck up a conversation with him.

"Yeah, that's right. Smarm up to him, Malfoy," Ron growled. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though—bet he gets people fawning over him all the time.… Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry—I wouldn't mind giving him my bed. I could kip on a camp bed."

"Ron, what is wrong with you?" Lucy asked, still scanning the Slytherin table. "I'm sure they have sleeping arrangements already."

"They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot," Harry pointed out.

The Durmstrang students were taking their fur cloaks off and looking around the hall with great interest. With their cloaks off, Lucy could see that their robes were a deep red color.

Then Lucy's eyes stopped on Jeremy, who was sitting halfway down the Slytherin table with his friends Daphne Greengrass—who was also a fourth-year—and Mary Poole—who was a third-year. Sitting right next to Jeremy was a Durmstrang student, and the two boys were chatting as though they already knew each other. Lucy made a mental note to ask Jeremy about it later.

"Look, Filch is adding chairs to the top table," Hermione said.

Lucy and Harry looked up to see Filch adding two chairs each on either side of Dumbledore's seat.

"There are only two extra people," Harry said. "Why's Filch putting out four chairs? Who else is coming?"

"Eh?" Ron grunted, not paying attention to the conversation.

Finally, all the students had entered the hall and taken their seats. The staff all filed into the hall and up to the front of the room to take their spots at the top table. Then Professor Dumbledore entered, leading Karkaroff and Madam Maxime up to the top table, as well. The Beauxbatons students all stood to attention when their headmistress entered the hall, which caused a lot of the Hogwarts students to giggle.

When the three heads reached the top table, Karkaroff and Madam Maxime took their seats on either side of Dumbledore's chair. The Beauxbatons students returned to their seats once Madam Maxime had sat down. Dumbledore was still standing, and everyone quieted.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and—more particularly—guests," Dumbledore said. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

A Beauxbatons girl gave a quiet laugh, and Hermione hissed, "No one's making you stay!"

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Dumbledore continued. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" He smiled around the hall and then sat down.

The dishes on the tables filled magically with food, and Lucy was surprised to see that there were many plates that she didn't recognize.

"What the hell's that?" Ron asked, pointing at one.

"Bouillabaisse," Hermione replied.

"Bless you," Ron said.

"It's French," Hermione said exasperatedly. "I had it on summer before last. It's very nice."

"I'll take your word for it," Ron said, but he avoided that particular dish.

Lucy was very careful about what food she was eating, as well. She tried quite a few of the strange looking dishes, but she wasn't sure how she felt about most of them.

A few minutes into the feast, Lucy and her friends saw Hagrid entering the Great Hall through a side door. He waved to them with a bandaged hand.

"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Thrivin'," Hagrid replied, grinning.

"Yeah, I'll just bet they are," Ron muttered. "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers."

"Excuse me," a voice asked from behind Lucy and Hermione. They looked over their shoulders to see one of the Beauxbatons girls who had come over to their table from the Ravenclaw one next door. "Are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" she asked.

Lucy glanced back at the boys to see Ron looking quite speechless as he stared at the girl.

"Yeah, have it," Harry said, pushing the dish forward.

"You 'ave finished wiz it?" the girl asked.

"Yeah," Ron finally said. "Yeah, it was excellent."

The girl took the dish and went back to the Ravenclaw table.

"What the hell was that about?" Lucy asked, looking back at Ron. "You didn't even eat any of that stuff!"

"She's a veela!" Ron murmured.

"Of course she isn't!" Hermione said, shaking her head. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"

Lucy looked back at the Beauxbatons girl, who was just getting back to her spot, and noticed that Hermione was incorrect; the girl was indeed drawing a lot of attention.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" Ron insisted. "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts."

"They make them okay at Hogwarts," Harry argued, looking at someone else at the Ravenclaw table.

"You two are being gross," Lucy said, frowning.

"When you've both put your eyes back in," Hermione added, "you'll be able to see who just arrived."

Lucy turned to look at the staff table, where the other two empty chairs had finally been taken. Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch had shown up.

"What are they doing here?" Harry asked.

"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" Hermione said. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

Meanwhile, the main courses had faded away and been replaced with desserts. There were many dishes of unfamiliar desserts, as well, and Lucy tried a little bit of some of them.

~LJ:D~

Finally, the food was all wiped away, leaving the dishes empty once again.

Dumbledore stood up. "The moment has come," he announced, beaming. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket—"

"The what?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged, and Lucy shushed him.

"—just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. First, let me introduce—for those who do not know them—Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation—"

There was some polite applause for Crouch.

"—and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder and appreciative applause for Bagman, who grinned and waved at the crowd.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore explained, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

There was a pause, and Dumbledore said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch came forward, carrying a very old-looking chest that was covered in jewels. There were murmurs of wonder and excitement as Filch lifted the chest and set it on the table in front of Dumbledore.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore said, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways—their magical prowess—their daring—their powers of deduction—and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

There was silence at these last words.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament—one from each of the participating schools," Dumbledore continued. "They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks, and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore removed his wand from his pocket and tapped the chest in front of him three times. The lid opened slowly, and Dumbledore reached in. He pulled out a large wooden cup that was filled with bright blue-white flames. Then Dumbledore shut the chest and placed the goblet on top of it.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," Dumbledore instructed. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night—Halloween—the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage students yield to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obligated to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet.

"Now, I think it is time for bed," Dumbledore finished. "Good night to all of you."

The students all stood and started to make their way out of the Great Hall.

"An Age Line!" Fred exclaimed. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing—it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance," Hermione spoke up. "We just haven't learned enough—"

"Speak for yourself," George said. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?"

Harry stayed silent.

"Where is he?" Ron asked, who wasn't paying attention to their conversation. "Dumbledore didn't say where the Durmstrang people are sleeping, did he?"

"Ron, stop it," Lucy told him. "You're being silly."

Suddenly, Karkaroff was hurrying towards his students, who were quite near to them.

"Back to the ship, then," Karkaroff said. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?"

Lucy saw Krum through the crowd shaking his head and putting his cloak back on.

"Professor, I vood like some vine," another Durmstrang student said.

"I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff," Karkaroff sneered. "I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy.…"

He led his students forward and reached the doors at the same time as Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry stopped, letting Karkaroff go ahead of them.

"Thank you," Karkaroff said, glancing at Harry.

Then he froze, dumbfounded, his eyes zeroing in on Harry's scar. The Durmstrang students stopped behind their headmaster, also staring at Harry. One of the Durmstrang boys pointed at Harry's head.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter." Moody had walked up behind all of them, and he was staring at Karkaroff.

Karkaroff paled when his eyes fell on Moody. "You!" he gasped.

"Me," Moody said, "and unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."

Karkaroff spun on his heel and left the Great Hall, his students following him. Moody stared after him with a look of dislike on his face.

"That was weird," Lucy whispered to Hermione as they finally exited the hall.

~LJ:D~

The next day was Saturday, yet many students woke up early and went down to watch people put their names into the Goblet of Fire. Lucy, Hermione, Harry, and Ron went downstairs and saw that the goblet had been placed in the center of the entrance hall with a line circling around it, extending in a ten-foot radius.

"Hi, Lucy," Sally-Anne said from nearby. She was standing with a group of her other friends.

"Good morning, Sally-Anne," Lucy replied, walking over to her. "Anyone put their name in yet?"

"All the Durmstrang lot," Sally-Anne answered, "but I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."

"Well, hopefully someone from Hogwarts will enter," Lucy joked. "I'll see you later."

She rejoined Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were standing a few feet away. She reported to them what Sally-Anne had told her.

"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed," Harry commented. "I would've if it had been me—wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right back out again?"

"Or maybe they're all waiting until later today," Lucy suggested. "You know, once everyone has calmed down a little bit."

Then she heard laughter behind her, and she turned around to see Fred, George, and Lee running down the staircase.

"Done it," Fred told them. "Just taken it."

"What?" Ron asked.

"The Aging Potion, dumbass," Fred said, rolling his eyes.

"One drop each," George said. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," Lee added.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," Hermione cautioned.

"Yeah, I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this," Lucy agreed. "He knows you three, you know."

Fred, George, and Lee ignored the girls and turned to the goblet.

"Ready?" Fred said. "C'mon, then—I'll go first—" He pulled out a bit of paper that had his name and school written on it. Then he strode forward, paused at the Age Line, and stepped over it.

Nothing happened for a moment, and George hurried forward, crossing the Age Line to join his brother.

Suddenly, the twins were being hurled through the air. They landed about ten feet away on the stone floor, groaning painfully. Then there were two small popping noises, and Fred and George found themselves sprouting identical white beards on their chins.

Everyone in the hall began to laugh; even the twins started laughing after they looked at each other's faces.

"I did warn you," Dumbledore said as he exited the Great Hall. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff—both of whom decided to age themselves up a little, too. Though I must say, neither of their beards are anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George left for the hospital wing, followed by Lee, who was having trouble breathing with how hard he was laughing. Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went into the Great Hall to have some breakfast.

The Great Hall had been redecorated once again. It was now prepared for Halloween with the usual live bats and carved pumpkins floating in the air. Harry led them over to sit next to Dean and Seamus.

"There's a rumor going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told them as they started their breakfast. "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth."

"We can't have a Slytherin champion!" Harry said, shaking his head.

"If I was of age, I would take offense to that." Jeremy had shown up, grinning.

"Good morning," Lucy said, patting the bench next to her.

Jeremy obediently sat down. "By the way, Warrington did put his name in this morning," he confirmed. "So did a couple of the seventh-year boys. No girls, though. At least, not yet."

"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," Seamus added, "but I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks."

"You sound a bit jealous when you say things like that," Lucy said, smirking.

"Listen!" Hermione said.

There was cheering coming from the entrance hall. They all looked to the doors and saw Angelina Johnson entering the Great Hall, looking a bit embarrassed.

She paused next to them as she walked down the Gryffindor table. "Well, I've done it!" she announced. "Just put my name in!"

"You're kidding!" Ron said.

"Are you seventeen, then?" Harry asked.

"'Course she is," Ron said. "Can't see a beard, can you?"

"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," Hermione said. "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"

"Thanks, Hermione," Angelina said, smiling.

"Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory," Seamus added, and Lucy shook her head at him.

"Fred is going to be jealous," Lucy said to Angelina.

"Fred?" Angelina repeated.

"He and George attempted to enter this morning, but they're still sixteen," Lucy replied. "I'm sure Fred would have loved to have been the Hogwarts champion to impress you." She waggled her eyebrows in Angelina's direction, who blushed but smiled.

~LJ:D~

Towards the end of breakfast, Lucy turned to Jeremy. "I saw that you were sitting next to a Durmstrang student last night during the feast," she said. "You looked like you knew him. Do you?"

"Yeah," Jeremy replied. "My cousin Edmond. He's my mom's sister's son."

"You have cousins who go to Durmstrang?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Jeremy answered. "Well, he's the only one who goes to Durmstrang right now, although he has two younger brothers and a younger sister who will go there, too. Then I have seven cousins currently at Beauxbatons, but none of them are old enough to be here for the tournament. Oh, and two cousins at Ilvermorny."

"Wow," Lucy said. "Big family?"

"My mum is one of six," Jeremy said with a shrug.

~LJ:D~

After breakfast, Lucy, Ron, Harry, and Hermione left the Great Hall and paused in the entrance hall.

"What're we going to do today, then?" Ron asked.

"We haven't been down to visit Hagrid yet," Harry suggested.

"Okay," Ron agreed, "but just as long as he doesn't ask us to donate a few fingers to the skrewts."

"I've just realized—I haven't asked Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. yet!" Hermione said. "Wait for me, will you, while I nip upstairs and get the badges?"

"What is it with her?" Ron asked as she disappeared up the marble stairs.

"Be nice," Lucy scolded.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said, poking his arm. "It's your friend—"

The Beauxbatons students were entering the castle, and Ron looked around, seeking the veela-girl. The Beauxbatons students all halted when they reached the entrance hall, and Madam Maxime entered behind them. She then organized them into a line, and they all stepped up one-by-one to the Goblet of Fire to put their names in.

"What d'you reckon'll happen to the ones who aren't chosen?" Ron whispered. "Reckon they'll go back to school or hang around to watch the tournament?"

"Dunno," Harry said. "Hang around, I suppose.… Madam Maxime's staying to judge, isn't she?"

"Worried the pretty girl won't get chosen and she'll have to leave?" Lucy asked teasingly, and Ron glared at her.

The Beauxbatons students finished putting their names into the goblet and then followed their headmistress back out of the castle.

"Where are they sleeping, then?" Ron asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were staying in their carriage," Lucy answered. "It's probably bigger on the inside, like our tents at the World Cup."

Hermione caught up to them then, carrying her tin of badges.

"Oh, good, hurry up," Ron said, and he left the castle.

Lucy, Harry, and Hermione hustled to keep up with him.

~LJ:D~

As they made their way down the grounds to Hagrid's hut, they saw that the Beauxbatons carriage had been parked nearby. Harry stepped up to Hagrid's front door and knocked.

"'Bout time!" Hagrid boomed as he pulled the door open. "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"

"We've been really busy, Hag—" Hermione stopped suddenly as she looked over Hagrid's outfit. He was wearing a very ugly suit and had attempted to flatten his hair with a ton of grease. "Erm—where are the skrewts?" Hermione asked, attempting to ignore Hagrid's fashion choices.

"Out by the pumpkin patch," Hagrid replied. "They're getting' massive. Mus' be nearly three feet long now. On'y trouble is, they've started killin' each other."

"Oh, no—really?" Hermione asked quickly, shooting a look at Ron, who was staring at Hagrid's hair like he wanted to say something about it.

"Yeah," Hagrid said. "'S okay, though. I've got 'em in separate boxes now. Still got abou' twenty."

"Twenty is better than nothing," Lucy said, trying to be nice about the skrewts.

Hagrid ushered them to the kitchen table and began to make tea. They immediately started talking about the Triwizard Tournament.

"You wait," Hagrid said. "You jus' wait. Yer going ter see some stuff yeh've never seen before. Firs' task—ah, but I'm not supposed ter say."

"Go on, Hagrid!" the four Gryffindors begged, but Hagrid shook his head.

"I don' want ter spoil it fer yeh," he said. "It's gonna be spectacular, I'll tell yeh tha' much. Them champions're going ter have their work cut out. Never thought I'd live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!"

~LJ:D~

They ended up staying all morning, eating lunch with Hagrid, and hanging around into the afternoon. Catching up with Hagrid was very nice. Around mid-afternoon, it started to drizzle, and it was quite peaceful listening to the rain patter against the roof.

Hermione eventually brought up S.P.E.W. to Hagrid, who immediately refused to join.

"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione," he said. "It's in their nature ter look after humans. Tha's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work an' insultin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em."

"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!" Hermione insisted. "We heard he's asking for wages now!"

"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed," Hagrid said. "I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it—no, nothin' doin', Hermione."

Hermione, looking very upset, stuffed her badges back into her robe pocket.

~LJ:D~

At five-thirty, Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to head back up to the castle. The feast would be starting at six, and then the announcement of the champions would be happening afterwards.

"I'll come with yeh," Hagrid said. "Jus' give us a sec." He went to his dresser and began looking through the drawers.

Then the cabin was filled with a terrible smell, and the four students covered their noses.

"Hagrid, what is that?" Ron asked.

"Eh?" Hagrid said. "Don' yeh like it?"

"Is that aftershave?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Er—eau de cologne," Hagrid admitted, showing them the bottle that he was holding. "Maybe it's a bit much. I'll go take it off. Hang on—" He went out his back door and dunked his head into the water barrel that was out there.

"Eau de cologne?" Hermione repeated in a low voice. "Hagrid?"

"And what's with the hair and the suit?" Harry added, looking puzzled.

"Look!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing at the window.

Hagrid had finished in the water barrel and looked up. Madam Maxime had just exited from her carriage, followed by her students, and Hagrid was talking with her.

"He's going up to the castle with her!" Hermione gasped. "I thought he was waiting for us!"

But Hagrid never looked back at his cabin; he joined Madam Maxime and walked towards the castle with her, the Beauxbatons students following them.

"He fancies her!" Ron said. "Well, if they end up having children, they'll be setting a world record—bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."

The four of them exited Hagrid's cabin, after saying good-bye to Fang, and set off for the castle, as well.

"Ooh, it's them, look!" Hermione said after a few minutes.

The Durmstrang students were following Karkaroff up to the castle just ahead of the Gryffindors. Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the Durmstrang group into the castle and the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was already packed with people. The Goblet of Fire had been relocated to the front of the room, right in front of Dumbledore's chair. Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked about halfway down the table and joined Fred and George, who were both beardless once again.

"Hope it's Angelina," Fred said.

Lucy smirked. "Of course you do," she said.

Fred narrowed his eyes at her for a moment.

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

~LJ:D~

The Halloween feast began, and it seemed to go on forever. Everyone was too excited to find out who the champions were going to be. Conversations were only about who they thought would be selected to compete for their schools and speculation on what the coming tasks would be.

Finally, the desserts were being cleared away, and Dumbledore stood up.

"Well, the goblet is about ready to make its decision," he announced. "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, where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Then he took his wand out and waved it. The candles went out immediately, so the only light was coming from the Goblet of Fire. Everyone was quiet as the seconds crawled by.

"Any moment," Lee whispered from nearby.

The flames inside the goblet glowed red, and a bit of parchment shot into the air.

Dumbledore reached out and caught the parchment. "The champion for Durmstrang," he read, "will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" Ron shouted as everyone began to cheer.

Krum stood up from the Slytherin table, walked up to the staff table, and exited the Great Hall through the door Dumbledore had directed for the champions.

"Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff roared. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping died out, and then the Goblet of Fire turned red once more. Another slip of paper was shot into the air, which Dumbledore again caught.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," he read, "is Fleur Delacour!"

There was more applauding as the veela-girl stood up from the Ravenclaw table.

"It's her, Ron!" Harry hissed, elbowing Ron in the side.

"Oh, look, they're all disappointed," Hermione pointed out about the rest of the Beauxbatons students.

Unlike the Durmstrang students, who had cheered for Krum, the Beauxbatons students all looked very downcast and upset about not being chosen.

Fleur had now left the Great Hall, and the rest of the crowd waited for a few seconds for the goblet to turn red again. The final piece of parchment shot into the air, and everyone was on the edge of their seats to find out who the Hogwarts champion would be.

"The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore said, "is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" Ron said, but most people couldn't hear him over the screams and cheers coming from the Hufflepuff table.

Lucy cheered, as well, ignoring the looks of disappointment on Ron's, Fred's, and George's faces.

Cedric stood up and walked down the hall, leaving through the same door as Krum and Fleur. The cheering went on for so long that Dumbledore had to wave his hands over his head for quiet.

"Excellent!" he shouted cheerfully. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real—"

Dumbledore stopped. The Goblet of Fire had gone red for a fourth time. It shot a piece of paper into the air. Dumbledore caught it, looking quite confused.

"Do you think it's broken?" Lucy asked in a whisper to Hermione across the table, who looked anxious.

Dumbledore was staring at the paper in his hand, and everyone waited with baited breath to hear what was written on it, if anything. Dumbledore cleared his throat and read off a name.

"Harry Potter."

Lucy looked at her brother next to her with wide eyes. He was frozen. Professor McGonagall hurried forward and whispered into Dumbledore's ear.

"Harry?" Lucy asked.

Harry finally looked over at her. "I didn't put my name in," he said in disbelief, glancing across the table at Ron and Hermione, as well. "You know I didn't."

The three of them just stared back at him, not sure what to tell him.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

"Go on," Hermione murmured.

Lucy pulled Harry out of his seat and gave him a gentle push to start walking towards the top table. Everybody watched in silence as he approached the front of the room.

"Well… through the door, Harry," Dumbledore said when Harry reached him.

Harry continued along the staff table and disappeared through the door. Bagman left the Great Hall immediately, following the champions.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, and the attention was returned to him. "Well, there you have it!" he said, although he wasn't smiling. "We have our champions! And now, it is late. Good night!"

Dumbledore turned and went swiftly through the door, followed by Crouch, Karkaroff, Madam Maxime, Professor McGonagall, and Snape. Lucy turned to Hermione and Ron.

"A Gryffindor as champion!" Fred exclaimed, looking excited. "We should have a party in the common room for when Harry gets back! This is excellent!" He and George hurried off.

~LJ:D~

Lucy, Hermione, and Ron left for the common room. Ron was being eerily quiet, and when they reached Gryffindor Tower, he excused himself for his dormitory.

"What's wrong with Ron?" Lucy asked, looking bewildered.

"You heard him," Hermione said. "He kept saying how it would be cool to be a champion. Now he's in Harry's shadow again."

"But how did Harry's name get in the goblet?" Lucy asked.

"You don't think he found a way to put it in?" Hermione said.

"There's no way," Lucy said. "He looked absolutely horrified when his name was called. He didn't expect that to happen; it was obvious on his face."

Fred and George entered the common room, carrying armfuls of food. There were cheers for them, and Hermione shook her head.

"I'm sorry; I can't stay down here," she said. "I'm going to go up to the dormitory. I'll talk to Harry tomorrow."

Lucy nodded, and Hermione left for the girls' staircase.

~LJ:D~

It was quite a while before Harry returned. When the portrait hole opened, he was pulled into the common room, and everyone immediately began questioning him about how he had done it.

"You should've told us you'd entered!" Fred shouted.

"How did you do it without getting a beard? Brilliant!" George added.

"I didn't," Harry said. "I don't know how—"

"Oh, if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryffindor," Angelina gushed.

"You'll be able to pay back Diggory for that last Quidditch match, Harry!" Katie Bell, one of the Gryffindor Chasers, yelled gleefully.

"We've got food, Harry," Fred said. "Come and have some."

"I'm not hungry," Harry replied. "I had enough at the feast."

"Harry!" Lucy called, trying to get through the crowd to her brother.

Harry was being passed around the common room, however, and Lucy couldn't get him on her own.

"Lucy, did you have some food?" George asked, offering her a cupcake.

Lucy took it from him, sighing. "Poor Harry," she muttered.

"What do you mean, poor Harry?" George asked. "He gets to be a champion in the Triwizard Tournament! That's brilliant!"

"He's fourteen years old!" Lucy countered. "It was only supposed to be seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds! Not to mention that there was only supposed to be one champion for Hogwarts, yet somehow two names came out? I'm sure the other schools aren't happy about it."

"Well, however he fooled the age line is impressive," George said.

"I don't think he put his name in," Lucy said. "I think someone must have put it in for him. I mean, how was his name able to come out at all? The goblet had already picked out the Hogwarts champion—"

"Lucy, relax," George said. "There's nothing Harry can do about it now. He has to compete; binding magical contract or whatever Dumbledore called it."

Lucy nodded glumly.

"I'm tired!" Harry finally shouted. Fred tried to protest, but Harry cut him off, "No, seriously, Fred—I'm going to bed." He disappeared up the boys' staircase, and Lucy frowned.

"So, how do you think he did it?" Fred asked, sidling up to Lucy and George.

"I don't think he did," Lucy said firmly. "If the rest of you don't want to accept that, I'm going to bed, as well."

She pressed the uneaten cupcake back into George's hand and left the common room. As she walked up the winding staircase, she could help but wonder, who would put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire, and why?

~LJ:D~


A/N: After I figured out Jeremy's extended family, I realized that one of his cousins was the correct age to be present for the Triwizard Tournament. So I decided to add in the little moment where Lucy sees Jeremy talking to his cousin, and then she asks him about it later. This is the only time it'll be brought up, but I just wanted to show a little bit more of Jeremy's background.

In the book, I think Ron asks some random girl about who's put their names in the Goblet of Fire. I thought it was an opportune moment to slip Sally-Anne in again, with her tendency for gossip.