Hey everyone, so ya, I now have a beta so hopefully there will be fewer gramatical errors and things like that. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: property of JKR except for the Snape brothers and of course the plot


Chapter 11 – Foul Play?

Finally the day of choosing the Champions had arrived. It was with great excitement that we all entered the Great Hall for breakfast, and even Ron was eager for the meal to be over. However, little did we know that the day was going to be wrought with worry and drama. The whole choosing ceremony was rather elaborate, what with the Goblet of Fire spitting out the names and all, but it was certainly exciting. The first Champion to be chosen, was from Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons. It turned out that the Durmstrang Champion was none other than Victor Krum. This news came as less of a shock to the students, but seemed to hype his image even more. Nevertheless, I was happy for him, since he seemed like a very pleasant sort of man. Lastly, the Champion for Hogwarts was chosen to Cedric Diggory. The handsome and mild Hufflepuff prefect was a wonderful person to represent our school in such a prestigious tournament.

Yet, just as the excitement started to die down, the Cup started up again, spewing its' vibrant blue flames erratically. Then much to everyone's surprise (Dumbledore included) another parchment was spit out.

"Harry Potter" Dumbledore's quiet voice rang out glaringly in the stunned silence of the Great Hall.

Silence.

"Harry Potter, come forward" Professor Dumbledore intoned again, a little more forcefully this time.

"Harry, GO!" I whispered urgently from beside him. "come on Harry" I repeated pushing him to stand up.

He looked at me, and then at Professor Dumbledore. Bewildered, he made his way to the back chamber to accompany the other Champions. Suddenly, as if a damn had been broken, gossiping whispers broke out amongst the students from all three schools.

'attention-seeking git, he must have tricked it somehow'

'I always knew he was trouble'

'bet he wants all the fame and glory to himself'

'spoilt brat'

I heard the various tidbits of what everyone was saying, but nothing registered in my mind. All I could think of was how on earth such a thing had happened. I knew for a fact that Harry did not put his name into the Goblet himself, if not for the logical reasoning that he couldn't than for the fact that he would have had little inclination to. My mind was whirring with the possibilities, and the implications of what had just happened.


That evening, dinner was strained. Ron was being a prat and was refusing to speak to Harry because he thought that Harry actually put his name in the Goblet without telling him. He refused to listen to Harry and insisted that Harry was a 'glory hog'. This left me in an awkward situation, because for once it was Ron and Harry fighting, rather than me and Ron. So I was left to try to pacify each party. This constant tension left me in a rather vile mood, more so than normal, and I decided that the best course of action would be to leave them to sort it out themselves and take up residence in the library.

As I took to spending more and more time in the library, I also noticed the increased frequency of Victor's visits. It seemed that nearly half the time I was in there, he was too. Often times simply gracing me with his company as we read/studied, and other times, engaging me in pleasant conversation. I quickly became accustomed to his near constant presence, and felt myself becoming drawn to him more as time went on, and soon realized this was because of my growing attraction to him. In my defence, he was actually quite handsome, charming, and surprisingly intelligent, though most did not give him credit for being so. I also took advantage of the boys' fight by sneaking off to visit my father periodically and spending time in the library chatting with my brothers under the pretence of studying.


The first task was drawing near, and the entire school was up in a flurry of excitement, nerves, and apprehension. I tried to split my time between Harry and Ron as best I could, but they were both being so stubborn about the situation, it was driving me up the wall! It definitely didn't help that there were now all those ridiculous badges pinned to everyone's robes. Seriously, didn't Harry have enough to worry about, without having to deal with the badges and Ron's ego? Apparently not. Regardless, I was in a foul mood when I returned to the common room coming from the infirmary. Honestly, I knew my father had to keep up his act, but did he have to be so damn cruel about it?

'I see no difference'

His words ringing mockingly in my mind. I know he didn't mean it, but still! Plus, it was totally Malfoy's fault! 'stupid git' I thought angrily.

--care to share love?-- Malik asked

--oh nothing much, just got my teeth hexed by idiot Malfoy, and taunted about it by dad, I'm having a great day-- I responded sarcastically

--ouch, ok ok, what did I do to you?--

--nothing, Malik, nothing. I'm just having a bad day, alright? I'll talk to you later--

--alright, that's fine. Hope your day gets better--

--not bloody likely-- I muttered, before I felt him draw away.


The next day brought about another source of tension, and it came in the ugly form of Rita Skeeter. The article she published about Harry was complete and utter rubbish. It made my blood boil at the mere thought of all the horrid things she had said, especially because it didn't hold even an ounce of truth. The rest of the week passed in a similar manner; studying, appeasing Harry and Ron, and very carefully avoiding my father. It was silly, but I was still rather hurt by his comment about my teeth, regardless of whether or not it was sincere. Either way my schedule afforded so he had hardly any opportunity to see me in private let alone apologize for his comments. Then before I knew it, the first task was upon us. When Harry first told me that the task was to battle a dragon, I nearly fainted. I had no clue what he was going to do, but took solace in the fact that Moody seemed to have taken him under his wing.

The day of the task left me in a fit of uncontrollable nerves, which the boys complained about constantly, since I was apparently bombarding them with too many strong emotions. This however, led to me yelling at them that it was because one of my best friends was about to fight a dragon and may very well get himself killed in the process. Needless to say, they shut their mouths after my little tirade.

However, it seemed that I did indeed worry too much, as Harry managed wonderfully, and finished in first place, tied with Victor. I was immensely happy for both of them, and was delirious with relief when the task was finally over. Harry of course, complained that I was smothering him, and Ron finally got it into his thick head that Harry really didn't choose to enter. So on the whole it turned out to be a good day. With Harry and Ron talking again, things were back on track, and the uneasiness of the last few weeks dissolved. This did not however, rectify the problem I had with my father, but I felt myself to be too angry to face him just yet, and decided to wait for a while longer and let my temper cool.


By Friday my luck had finally run out. I was on my way to the library after potions class, when my father swooped down on me unexpectedly, informing me that my presence was required in his office immediately. He said this in the middle of the corridor, so I really had no choice but to follow him, 'sneaky git' I thought ungratefully. But hey, he had insulted me in a rather mean way earlier, or at least that's what I told myself to justify my thoughts.

Upon entering his office he proceeded straight to his rooms, expecting me to follow. When I walked in, he immediately took my book bag from me, and gently pushed into the couch, dragging the table closer so that he could sit in front of me on it.

"I'm sorry Mia" he said bluntly as he took my hands into his own. "I know my comment about your teeth was hurtful to you, but it was necessary for me to seem cruel and unfair towards you. Personally I think your teeth are just fine as they are"

"that's only cause I got them fixed by Madam Pomfrey" I said in a half whine-half accusation.

"well they were fine even before the incident" he replied with a soft chuckle "I don't want you to be cross with me, I only did what I had to, and I couldn't apologies earlier since you were so carefully avoiding me"

"I was not!" I said sounding more like a petulant 5 year old than a fourth year, "not all the time anyways"

"indeed, do you forgive me?"

"I dunno…maybe" I replied

"don't get cheeky with me now witch, if you keep that up I won't let you borrow that text you were ogling the other day"

"gasp! Deprive me of your books? Really dad, that's not very nice…besides if anything you should be loaning me two books to make up for the hexing incident" I said not really realizing that I had slipped and called him 'dad'

"hmm, alright, but only because I regret that my comments hurt you so" he responded seemingly not noticing my slip.

"well, I did tell the boys I'd show up for dinner since I forgot yesterday, so I suppose I ought to get going"

"alright child, run along now" he said with an small, indulgent smile on his lips. This time he surprised me by kissing my forehead on my way out.

It was a nice surprise mind you. It had been so long since I had felt the love of a father. The man I thought to be my father had passed away when I was so young, that my times with him now seemed like a distant memory, almost a dream. It is a miracle and a blessing that I have another chance to have wonderful father, and this time, he really is my father. After Gary came into my mothers' and consequently my life, I had always felt like the unwanted, regrettable reminder of my mothers' past. Never really fitting in with the new family she seemed to have with Gary. I suppose it didn't help that Gary and I hated each other, but still! Anyways, it was nice to feel that kind of unconditional paternal love again.


The end of November passed in a relatively uneventful manner, and with the start of December, everyone's thoughts seemed magnetically drawn to the upcoming Christmas Holidays and the joys of winter. It was with great pleasure that most looked upon the month of December, for nearly everything was wonderful, with Christmas fast approaching, and the unparalleled beauty of the first snowfall, everyone was in a festive mood. This blissful gaiety was only going to be added to in the following days, and this was noted, when one day we were surprisingly called down to have a House meeting. This was unusual and fuelled countless rumours and speculation as to its cause. It turned out that the Triwizard Tournament had a tradition of holding a Yule Ball, and hence we all were required to learn to dance. Now, I may not be the most typical girl, but hey, even I'm allowed to get excited about a dance! This got me thinking about the itsy bitsy problem called getting a date….grr. ah well, there was nothing I could do about it, so I don't see why I should worry about it, someone's bound to ask me. I hope anyways!

--oy! Boys, did you know there's going to be a Ball?-- I asked,

--Ball?! As in a dance?-- Aleks asked

--no you dolt, I meant an actual ball…of course I meant a dance…prat!--

--haha! Ah man, you had that one coming to ya! And no we didn't know that there would be a Ball, why do you ask?-- Malik asked

--hey! That was uncalled for!-- Aleks complained.

--ah suck it up Aleks, and I asked because I just found out that there's going to be a Yule Ball after the first task of the Tournament-- I replied coolly.

--oh, cool, wait…does this mean you need a date?!-- Malik asked getting overprotective suddenly.

--um…yeah--

--WHAT?!-- they yelled in unison

I twitched visibly at their emphatic exclamation. Causing Harry and Ron to look at me funny.

"you ok Mione?" Ron asked,

"huh? Oh yeah fine, I…um…I accidentally bit my tongue…no worries" I lied as I continued to pretend to read, absently flipping the page of my novel.

"oh ok, if you say so"

--what is wrong with you two! Don't yell like that! Honestly, now my friends think I'm crazy--

--what do you mean what's wrong with us?! You are NOT going on a date with some random guy-- Malik stated determinedly

--I second that-- Aleks agreed

--excuse me? Since when do you two get to dictate my life? No, I will get a date, and it's not like I'm getting taken advantage of or anything, really boys, cool off--

--hah! Just wait till dad finds out, the poor sucker's gonna be done for!-- Malik laughed.

--argh! No, he can't flip out on whatever guy takes me to the Ball because here, he is just my professor, actually the professor who hates me. So no, he can't do a damn thing. So too bad for all three of you!-- I said with an air of finality.

--fine, whatever, we'll see, you don't have a date yet, so there's nothing to worry about yet.-- Aleks said diplomatically.

We then proceeded to chat about random things till eventually I got tired, and bid my friends and brothers goodnight.

--g'night boys--

--night love-- Malik and Aleks said together

With that I slipped away into the blissful world of dreams, not knowing that the following day would bring many surprises, good and bad.


Thanks for reading, REVIEW PLEASE!!! really, it makes me happy:D