Chapter Eleven: Cursed Memories
Not mine, never was mine, never will be mine.
Hope you enjoy it!
Keena's Point of View:
The arrival of Beauxbatons had been spectacular, but a bit of my old school pride told me that the Marauders and I had thrown bigger and better pranks. I shook off the feeling and applauded with everyone else as Madame Maxime came up the steps to greet Dumbledore. Sirius and I stood behind the Gryffindors along with McGonagall. Most of the other teachers stood behind Ravenclaw, though some stayed behind Hufflepuff. Severus and Mad-Eye were the only two behind Slytherin and Mad-Eye was there because Dumbledore didn't want Severus to have to stand alone. Severus thought it was so that he could keep an eye on the retired Auror and Moody thought it was the reverse.
"That is one…voluptuous woman," Sirius muttered to me. "Looks about right for Hagrid though," he added thoughtfully after a moment.
"Hush, no need to risk insulting the guests a minute after they arrive," I replied, though I couldn't contain my smirk. "That's all we need; to look like a bunch of prejudiced pinheads,"
"That is not what I am most concerned with," McGonagall said as the Beauxbatons students and their headmistress made their way into the castle.
"What is then, Mickey?" Sirius asked, leaning past me to get a better look at her as she glared at him before shaking her head.
"You had better keep yourself and those Weasley twins out of trouble, Sirius Black, or so help me, I shall turn you into a newt for the duration of the foreigners' stay!" she threatened. Sirius blanched and looked at me.
"You'd make me better, right, love?"
I laughed and he gulped. "Course I would, I can't marry a newt," I answered, giving him a light kiss on the cheek and he grinned, throwing an arm over my shoulder and sticking his tongue out at McGonagall who rolled her eyes.
"Why don't we practice some French for our guests?" he suggested, wriggling his eyebrows.
Before I could come up with a good comeback, a spell whistled by my head and my husband-to-be disappeared. I blinked and looked over at McGonagall who looked quite satisfied with herself as she tucked her wand away. I raised an eyebrow and looked over my shoulder to see a black, shiny newt climbing up my arm. He made his way to my other shoulder and stuck his tongue out at McGonagall who folded her arms and ignored him.
"Mickey, you're going to get us all into trouble unless you turn him back," I said in a warning tone as if talking to a first year. She sniffed in distaste. "C'mon, we can't make the resident Auror look bad in front of his new and old bosses,"
"He deserved that one," she muttered, though she took her wand back out. "Put him on the ground, I don't want him to squish you,"
I did so and stepped back as Sirius was turned back to normal. Well, back into a human. He glared at her and was about to say something when the kids started shouting and pointing at the lake. I put myself back between the two so that they wouldn't be able to further hex one another in front of the Durmstrang students. A massive ship burst forth from the water and the Durmstrang students marched behind their headmaster, halting behind him as he greeted Dumbledore.
"Karkaroff?" Sirius muttered, almost spitting the name. "Keena, is that Karkaroff?"
I couldn't reply, but I managed to close my mouth as the shock sunk in. "A headmaster of Durmstrang…Merlin, last time I saw him was his appeal at the Ministry…" I trailed off and ended up glaring at the old, cowardly Death Eater. "Perhaps Moody isn't our biggest threat," I muttered.
"He was let off his trial," McGonagall reminded us.
"Let off because he gave names," I growled. "Three of them I gave myself but no one trusted me,"
"You gave names?" Sirius asked in whispered astonishment. "What names?"
"The ones who attacked Alice and Frank," I answered quietly. "They, being Dumbledore, thought I was lying about one of them because it seemed like I was just trying to get back at Crouch," I muttered.
"His son," Sirius replied, understanding at once and I gave a curt nod. He remained tense for the remainder of the night.
Dumbledore finally led both schools into the Great Hall, quietly conversing with Karkaroff and Madame Maxime when she joined them. Dumbledore sat in between the two visiting heads, McGonagall taking a seat one over on Madame Maxime's other side and I made sure I kept myself in between Mickey and Sirius so that they would at least try to remember that there were other people there. Severus had taken a seat one over on Karkaroff's other side, Mad-Eye taking up a post on his right side.
"Looks like they've all made themselves comfortable," Sirius observed and I looked at the tables to see the Durmstrang students sitting rigidly at the Slytherin table and the Beauxbatons students sitting a bit more relaxed, though some looked disdainful, at the Ravenclaw table. Just as I looked over I saw a French boy winking. "Did you see that?"
"Who was he winking at?" I asked, scanning the rest of the table.
Sirius started laughing. "Look at Gryffindor," he sniggered when I looked over. My eyes landed on Harry and Ron who were conversing to themselves. I looked across the table and spotted Kailey and Hermione laughing with one another before Kailey looked across to the Ravenclaw table. "Hold on a moment," he muttered before looking back at me.
"What?"
"I thought Kailey and Harry…I thought they…?"
"They do,"
"Then why is she…?"
"Severus probably told her not to," I shrugged, trying not to smirk as Sirius struggled to understand. "Now hush, Dumbledore's standing,"
The hall silenced and the students and teachers all turned to face Dumbledore as he smiled out at everyone, seeming especially pleased about something. "Good evening to all and a very special and warm welcome to our guests!" he called out. There was some muffled laughter from the direction of the Ravenclaw table and Madame Maxime shifted ever so slightly in her seat before Dumbledore continued. "I sincerely hope that your journeys went well and that you feel most comfortable here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Tournament shall be properly opened after we have all had time to eat and drink. Thank you," he sat back down and Madame Maxime claimed his attention immediately.
"I must apologize for ze rudeness of one or two of my students," she gushed with a dismissive shake of her head. "I will talk wiz zem about zeir manners tonight," she promised.
"Not at all, my dear Madame, not at all," Dumbledore replied with a shake of his head, his strange smile still in place.
I turned to Sirius as the heads continued speaking. "What's Dumbles so happy about?" I muttered and Sirius grinned widely. I frowned. "Why wasn't I included?"
"I didn't even say what it was," he returned with a smirk.
"You didn't have to, it was obviously fun," I pouted, folding my arms.
Kailey's Point of View:
"So…this stuff, it's good?" I asked, staring at the bouillabaisse, trying not to look too skeptical. I'd never been one for seafood and this looked like it included quite a bit of shrimp.
"Very," Hermione nodded. "You should try some," she added, turning back to her own plate. I noted it held no trace of the fancy looking French food.
"Yeah, no thanks," I muttered, returning to the safe food that I knew; fries and a hamburger. Yum.
The chatter in the hall continued and the bouillabaisse remained untouched until I looked up to see a tall, silvery blonde walking from the Ravenclaw table. I grinned to myself as I took a very small sip of pumpkin juice. She paused behind Ron and Harry before delicately clearing her throat.
"Excusez-moi, but 'ave you finished wiz ze bouillabaisse?" she asked, her accent very heavy. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked between Ron and Harry. Ron stared open-mouthed at her, but Harry handed her the dish with a nod. "Merci beau coups,"
I waited until she'd gone back to the other table to burst out laughing.
"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione huffed. "She's just a girl,"
"No, no way is she just a girl, she's part veela! She must be," he replied vehemently. "Kailey, is she?"
"Doesn't matter what she is, it's who she is," I answered, choking back laughter.
"I'll tell you who she is, she's a beauty," Ron muttered, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Merlin, they don't make them like that at Hogwarts," he added quietly.
"Hey!" I grumbled.
"They make them okay," Harry said even more quietly.
I couldn't stop the automatic blush on my face, but I turned even redder when I saw him glance over his shoulder as well. I bit my lip when I followed his gaze over to Cho Chang. I sighed internally in defeat as the desserts appeared on the table, some of them flaming. George and Fred were immediately boosted to the other end of the table away from the flames within a minute of the flame covered food's arrival, to the amusement of most of our table. The rest of the hall didn't seem to notice and the flames on the oddly present Trelawney's shawl were quickly put out with a quick flick of McGonagall's wand, though I suspected she allowed them to burn a bit longer than was really necessary.
The golden plates were wiped clean once more and talking ceased as Dumbledore rose to give us his speech. "Before we begin, let me introduce the two men who have made this year's events possible. First, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and secondly, Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports!" there was little pause between the name announcements, probably because Dumbledore wanted fair applause for both men. Bagman gave a great wave, looking more like a little boy than the head of a department. Crouch, on the other hand, looked sullen and, mainly because I was looking for it, a bit ill. In all honesty, I had completely missed their entrance. "Both Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman will join Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and myself in the judging of the champions throughout the tournament. Now, Mr. Filch, if you would please bring in the casket,"
Filch, in his very best moldy overcoat, came forward with what looked like an ancient pirate's chest. It was clearly made of very old wood and covered with jewels of dark sapphires and rubies that glinted in the candlelit hall. He placed it, very carefully, on the table directly in front of Dumbledore before he scurried back to his corner. Everyone's eyes remained on the old chest as Dumbledore continued his speech.
"We will be judging the three champions over the course of the school year with three tasks. We will be looking for their magical prowess, their daring, and their deductive skills and, of course, the ability to cope with overwhelming danger." He paused for a moment and let the silence sink in and I looked up at him to see his twinkling blue eyes staring straight at me.
It was all I could do to keep from looking towards Harry or Cedric so I settled for looking at the table before he continued his speech.
"There shall be three champions selected, one from each of the participating schools. They shall be scored on each of the tasks and the champion with the highest total shall be deemed the Champion of the Triwizard Tournament. I now present to you the impartial judge,"
He raised his wand and waved it over the chest. Nothing happened.
The schools waited in silence and Dumbledore seemed to be the only head who was not confused by the utter lack of magic that was occurring. Suddenly, there was a strange, forlorn cry. It sounded from what appeared to be the starry night sky of the ceiling of the Great Hall. With a great whooshing sound, all of the candles in the hall went out, leaving us in nothing but starlight. The cry continued to grow louder when it was suddenly joined by other noises. A giant, bronze eagle suddenly exploded into the room in a shower of blue sparks that looked curiously like rain drops directly over the Ravenclaw table, and the Ravenclaws gave a wild cheer. It was followed moments later by a black badger, arriving in a fountain of yellow sparks above the Hufflepuff table and they cheered as well. A great green serpent burst forth in a shower of silver stars above the Slytherin table. The Slytherins cheered, but they were louder than the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It became a contest and the Gryffindors gave the loudest cheer as the great, golden lion exploded with a roar of red sparks and fireworks above Gryffindor table. Once all the symbols were present the made their way to float behind the teacher's table, all standing (or perching in the case of the eagle) behind and above Dumbledore's chair, the four providing brilliant shades of light across the hall.
The original cry grew louder and, with a sudden flash of golden flames, Fawkes appeared in the hall. He flew in a great, sweeping circle, carrying something in his talons. He finally made his way up to the front of the hall and placed the goblet on top of the chest before flying up to perch on the back of Dumbledore's chair with a great cry before bursting into flames and disappearing once more.
Dumbledore gave his wand a great wave and the goblet rose into the air, blue flames bursting forth as it rose. "I present the Goblet of Fire!"
Now the entire hall cheered some whooping and whistling before the goblet landed back on the old chest. The hall finally fell silent when Dumbledore raised a patient hand to quell us. "Any who wish to submit themselves to be a representative of his or her school as a Triwizard Champion must write the name of his or her school as well as their own name, clearly, on a slip of parchment and place it into the goblet. If you desire to be a champion, you have twenty-four hours to submit your name and we shall announce the champions at tomorrow's Halloween Feast. An age line shall be installed by myself and it shall be checked over by well experienced wands,"
He was forced to pause again as the students in the hall became over excited by the nearness of the prize money and the honor of being a champion. I noticed Sirius raising his wand and suddenly the great lion roared, resulting in immediate silence.
"Thank you, Auror Black," Dumbledore said happily. "Please remember that once you are entered as a champion there is no going back. This will be a binding, magical contract and you cannot bow out if chosen. Think long and hard about what is to be asked of you if you are chosen. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all!"
Keena's Point of View:
The hall was buzzing, everyone talking about the display.
"That was amazing!" "Did you see the way it roared?" "So life-like!"
"It is official, you are sleeping on the couch tonight," I ground out as we headed for the doors to monitor everyone as they left. In all reality, Sirius was already supposed to be standing there but he'd been trying to apologize for not including me.
"We don't even share a bed!" he complained, causing a few Ravenclaw upper years to glance at us, some of them trying to hide their laughter. "Every night," he tacked on at the end, noticing the look of shock one of the boys had given him before laughing loudly.
"Sirius!"
"Sorry, sorry," he muttered, hanging his head as we reached the doors. "It's just…y'know,"
"No, I don't know," I glared, folding my arms. "You feel the need to egg on the already promiscuous boys and their hormonal selves? Now you really are sleeping on the couch," he huffed but said nothing, waving people through the doors.
"Why's Sirius sleeping on the couch?" Harry had suddenly appeared at his godfather's elbow and was looking between the two of us confused. "That was amazing, by the way," he added with a large grin, Ron nodding eagerly beside him. The girls looked like they wanted to roll their eyes at them but were too impressed by the show.
"That is precisely why," I answered. "I haven't gotten to do a prank in so long and he goes and pulls off this thing without me…" I muttered darkly.
"I promise, next time I'll be sure to include you," he implored.
"Too late," I replied, biting back a smile at the puppy eyes he was giving me.
"You're going to embarrass me in front of my only godson?"
"He'll benefit from the example,"
"Can you guys not drag me into this?" Harry requested, taking a step away from Sirius, but bumping into one of the Durmstrang boys.
"Excuse us!" Karkaroff fumed, pulling Krum away from Harry, looking livid.
"I'm sorry," Harry replied fixing his glasses, his eyes going wide while Sirius' narrowed in distrust, the tense and utter hatred he'd displayed earlier coming back in waves.
"Yes, well…" Karkaroff trailed off, eyeing the look on Sirius' face apprehensively before his eyes slid back to Harry. I watched as the recognition made its place known in Karkaroff's gaze. His expression shifted from anger to awe in less than a second and I pulled Harry closer to me, uncomfortable with the ex-Death Eater's gaze.
"You're blocking the hall, Kar—Professor," Sirius stated, clearly working to keep his voice neutral.
Karkaroff's eyes flitted back to Sirius' nearly hostile expression. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked, not moving.
Sirius inclined his head. "Auror Black," he said, not holding out a hand for him to shake.
"Sirius Black?"
"Professor, I'm sure your students are tired, I suggest you take them to bed. Also, my students are in need of their own rest," I intervened as whispers began carrying themselves through the Durmstrang students, quickly passing on to the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students who were blocked behind them.
He surveyed me for a moment before nodding his apologies and sweeping out of the hall, the red cloaked Durmstrang students following him at his quick pace. Sirius watched them head out before turning back to face the hall, all hints of joking gone from his face.
"Off to bed, you four," I said with a nod towards the stairs.
Kailey dragged them off without a backward glance as Harry leaned towards her to ask something. I looked back to Sirius to find he looked angry and pale. It was the same look he'd had after Dumbledore had accused him of being a Death Eater after a brief disappearance in the middle of the war. I put a hand on his arm and he closed his eyes.
"Alright, there, son?" I hadn't noticed Mad-Eye's wooden leg approaching. Both of his eyes were trained on Sirius' face. His eyes opened and he looked back at his old mentor.
"How can you stand the sight of them?" he asked bluntly, hardly bothering to hide his frustration.
I blinked, confused. "Who?"
"The ones who got away?" he growled.
"Knowing that they'll get theirs someday, somehow," Moody growled in reply. "Nothing I hate more than—"
"Than a Death Eater who got away," Sirius finished angrily, glancing into the empty hall, Dumbledore speaking quietly with Bagman and Crouch. Moody nodded, leaning against the opposite side of the doorway.
"You two go ahead to rest, I'll take the first watch tonight," he said.
"Dumbledore mentioned watching in pairs," I replied, shaking my head. "I'll stay, Sirius, you go ahead,"
"No," he answered severely. "I don't trust him enough to leave you out of my sight,"
"Karkaroff won't come back in here," I muttered, knowing he wasn't talking about the Durmstrang headmaster. Dumbledore came towards the three of us, levitating the Goblet in front of him, followed by a bouncing Bagman and a sullen Crouch.
"Keena, if you would," he instructed quietly, gesturing with his hand to a spot on the ground in front of the doors that led into the Great Hall.
I nodded, taking out my wand, whispering the incantation "Ortis Silicis," I moved my wand in a spinning, circular motion as the stone floor rose to make a podium. I stopped when it reached my shoulder level and gave it a quick tap with my wand, holding it steady. I added a step to surround the podium in case someone shorter wanted to submit their name.
Dumbledore allowed the Goblet to land in the center of the wide podium and we stepped back as he began to draw the age-line around it. The line burned bright blue as he added various back-up jinxes, including one that acted against aging potion. He finished it and the line ceased to glow, though he threw up a golden shield so that the students could tell where it was.
"Alastor, if you would," Dumbledore said, gesturing, handing him a blank piece of parchment that he had charmed to act as a younger student. The Goblet and age line were supposed to read it as though it were a sixteen year old who was to turn seventeen within the hour.
Moody nodded, taking the parchment and stepping over the line, limping up the one step (his shoulder was hunched and he couldn't quite reach). He tossed it into the Goblet and nothing happened, except the fire glowed red for a moment before returning to a blue color.
"Hm…" Dumbledore murmured, stroking his beard.
"Professor, what time did you have that set at again?" I asked, checking my watch.
"Nine o'clock,"
"It's nine-oh-one," I replied with a grin. "That piece of blank parchment is seventeen,"
"Ah," he answered. "Well then, Sirius, take this," he said, supplying Sirius with a second bit of parchment.
Sirius stepped over the age line and before he could even raise his arm there was a loud blast and he was thrown backwards. He slid along the floor a few meters before stopping and he sat up, rubbing his head. "Merlin, sir, was that necessary?" he complained.
"I'm afraid so, Sirius," Dumbledore replied gravely.
"Well, it works," he said bitterly.
"Wonderful, Alastor, you and I shall take the first shift?" Dumbledore suggested and Moody nodded. "Very good, sleep well, you two," Dumbledore added to Sirius and me, dismissing us.
We got to our quarters and Sirius headed straight for his bed, rubbing his hands over his eyes. I sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning my head on his arm. He immediately became less tense and readjusted himself so that he was leaning against me instead; his head nestled against my neck. I held him close to me as I felt him begin to shake.
"Sirius, what's wrong?" I murmured, kissing his head.
"Karkaroff…Halloween…" he paused to draw a breath. "Azkaban…" he barely whispered before losing it entirely.
"It's alright, I'm here," I whispered, hugging him close to me, rubbing his back gently. He gripped the fabric of my cloak as he tried to stop himself from crying, holding me tightly as though I were about to disappear.
"Sometimes…sometimes I'm afraid that…that I'll wake up…there…" he shuddered and I placed my hands on either side of his face, pulling him away to look him in the eye. He looked so vulnerable and broken; his eyes were taking on the sunken look that they had not lost after the solitary year of freedom he had experienced.
"Sirius," my voice caught as I wiped the tears off of his face. "I will never let them take you from me ever again," I kissed his forehead and hugged him, burying my face in his neck.
I let him cry himself out, readjusting the way we were sitting on his bed so that I leaned against his headboard. I ran my fingers through his hair, our breathing in sync as he calmed down. I'm not sure who fell asleep first, but I awoke to a feeling of sudden warmth. I opened my eyes slowly to find myself curled next to Sirius, a blanket I had never seen before covering the two of us. I looked over to the door to see the hem of the cloak Dumbledore had worn that night exiting the room.
I sighed and looked at Sirius next to me. Dumbledore had clearly noticed the dried tear stains on his almost peacefully sleeping face. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was four in the morning; our shift. I had set the alarm but it wasn't going off.
I fell back asleep, shifting closer to him and smiling to myself when one of his arms wrapped around me…
SLAM!
"What the—?"
"I'm alright," I muttered, rubbing my head where I had hit the floor. "This bed is too small," I grumbled, climbing back on to sit next to Sirius, who had sat up. He grinned while inspecting the strange new blanket.
"Where'd this come from?" he wondered aloud.
"Dumbledore relieved us of our shift this morning," I replied, stretching my shoulders out and glancing at the clock. It was now eight. I groaned and flopped back down, stuffing my face in his pillow. He laughed at me, lying back down next to me. "Feeling better, love?" I asked gently as he traced my face with his finger.
He sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry," he added.
"You're sorry? What for?" I asked, confused.
"I'm supposed to be the strong one," he muttered, holding my face with one hand. "I'm not supposed to…you know…"
I grinned a little. "You are the strong one," I replied. "You're the one who survived,"
We stayed in our quarters the remainder of the day, not really concerned with who entered the tournament. We decided that we needed a day to adjust to the idea that Karkaroff, a traitor among Death Eaters, would be so close to the castle. And it was Halloween.
"What d'you think will happen this year?" I wondered aloud as we headed towards the feast that night.
"What d'you mean?" Sirius asked sharply.
"First year, Harry battled a troll. Second year he and his friends were caught under the first message Riddle left from the Chamber along with the petrified Mrs. Norris. Last year, well, last year wasn't so dangerous but everyone else thought it was when he ran into you. But nothing can happen this year, right?"
We paused and stared at one another for a long moment.
"This is going to be a long night," Sirius muttered, shaking his head and placing his arm around my waist as we walked into the Great Hall, ignoring the Goblet, its blue flames glittering against the setting sun that leaked through the ceiling.
The students were clearly anxious for the feast to end. I couldn't keep my eyes from Gryffindor for more than a few minutes at a time. I was trying very hard not to be jumpy and Sirius kept grabbing my hand to keep his own from shaking. Finally, Dumbledore stood and the dishes cleared. All chatter ceased as he performed a special summoning spell that allowed the Goblet to come floating gently through the hall, the podium it had sat on sinking back into the ground. It landed on the table directly in front of Dumbledore and the doors to the Great Hall closed with a snap.
"Now, after each champion has been chosen, he or she shall come to the front of the hall and go behind that door," he said, gesturing to the room where we had waited as fifth and seventh years during OWL and NEWT season. I suppressed a grin remembering how terrified of those tests I had been only to realize how trivial they really were after graduation.
The cool, blue fire of the Goblet suddenly turned to Gryffindor red and sparks flew from it before one elongated flame burst forth, thrusting a piece of charred parchment with sharp looking handwriting into the air. Dumbledore caught it and held it in front of his nose. "The champion of Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!"
The hall erupted in applause, no one corner of the room staying silent, likely due to Krum's fame as a Quidditch player. He made his way to the front of the hall, walking between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables before turning and heading into the waiting room. The door snapped shut behind him just as the second piece of parchment burst forth from the Goblet, this one with smooth, curvy handwriting. "The champion of Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour!"
The silvery blonde rose from the Ravenclaw table to less applause but only slightly. Whatever she didn't get from politeness, she did from excited boys throughout the hall. I'm surprised no one wolf-whistled. The Goblet turned red again and I leaned forward in anticipation to find out who the Hogwarts champion would be. The entire hall was silent as Dumbledore caught the final piece of parchment. I recognized the handwriting and grinned. Only one seventh year had bothered to visit me this year to welcome me. "The champion of Hogwarts will be Cedric Diggory!" he called and Hufflepuff stood and cheered as Cedric headed towards the waiting room, a wide grin on his face.
The door shut once more behind him and Dumbledore clapped his hands in excitement before holding them up for silence. "Now that we have our three champions, I am positive I can count on each and every one of you to support your champion in his or her endeavors throughout the year! We are all going to—"
He stopped speaking suddenly as the blue flames had turned red once again. The flames burned for longer, the red turning from the scarlet of Gryffindor that I had first associated with it to a deep blood red. Two elongated flames thrust forth the piece of parchment and Dumbledore caught it, without the slightest bit of hesitation. My heart stuttered when I saw the handwriting, my head spinning to the Gryffindor table. All of the students appeared confused. All but that one, terrified face.
"Harry Potter…" Dumbledore paused, ignoring the loud whispers that engulfed the hall. "…and Kailey Snape."
Kailey's Point of View:
Surely, my eyes would fall out of my head, they were so wide. You couldn't possibly open your eyes any wider without them falling out. It was beyond physics and anatomy. I wanted to shake my head, rid myself of the feeling of being hit by a bludger, but I couldn't seem to move. My eyes were locked with the headmaster, who was undoubtedly watching my reaction. I wondered what he would do if my eyes did fall out and even went so far as to hope he was performing legilimancy.
"Kailey, Harry," he called out again, slight impatience seeping into his usually unshakably calm voice.
I could feel everyone's eyes facing us, the two fourth year Gryffindors, sitting across from one another at the table. Hermione nudged me gently, urging me to get up, but I felt like I was frozen to the seat. My head was spinning when I realized that I wasn't breathing. I forced myself to take a breath and stood up, carefully, not trusting myself not to faint at any moment.
That settled any question in my mind about the Mad-Eye Moody imposter: he knew.
I tried to ignore the hissing as I looked over to see Harry staring at me, in equal shock. Looking back at the teachers table, I thought Dumbledore was about to call our names again when I managed to get my feet to move. I reminded myself to breath, keeping my eyes on Dumbledore, hoping desperately that I would not trip. I chanced a glance at Mad-Eye as I turned and headed to the door where the real champions were waiting. He looked pleased.
I opened the door and Harry followed me in, shutting it behind us.
"What iz it? Do zey want us back in ze hall?" Fleur asked, noticing our entrance, whipping her hair over her shoulder. Krum and Cedric looked over in interest.
Suddenly the door burst open and Bagman came bounding into the room, clearly excited to get started. "Quite unorthodox, this," he said happily. "Five champions…and two of them entered on the same piece of parchment! Well, the two of you have already made the history books,"
Fleur laughed. "What a funny joke, meester Bagman,"
"Joke?" he frowned as the other judges came in behind him, followed closely by McGonagall, Moody, Sirius, Keena and my dad. "This is no joke, there are five champions,"
"Madame?" Fleur asked her eyes widening as she wheeled to face her headmistress.
"Zis is most upsetting, Dumblydoor," she said thickly, striding over to stand behind the shocked quarter veela. "Three champions for 'Ogwarts?"
"I agree, Dumbledore, this is mad," Karkaroff fumed.
"Mad? That's all you have to say? This is more than mad! They're fourteen! Dumbledore, they can't compete. You cannot allow this," Keena nearly yelled, clearly far more upset than either of the foreign headmasters.
"They have no choice," it was Crouch who spoke, half concealed by the shadows as he stayed nearest to the door. "They are bound by magical law, to not compete is…impossible,"
"There's no way out?" I whispered, finding my voice for the first time. I wished I sounded braver. "At all?"
"No," Crouch replied shortly.
I felt myself going numb. How could I have let this happen? How could I possibly survive this? I couldn't fight a dragon! Merpeople, sure, no problem, but dragons? And the maze! Merlin, the maze…the portkey…the graveyard…
My breath started coming in gasps as my mind whirled around the possibilities that now stood in front of me. But even worse was the realization that I had only one thing Voldemort would ever have wanted: my knowledge of the future. But how had he known?
"Are you trying to insinuate that you didn't put your own names in the Goblet?" Karkaroff's eyes were bulging in rage.
"Of course they didn't! They're fourteen!" Sirius repeated, clearly frustrated with Karkaroff for making the suggestion.
"Well, then, who did?" McGonagall was the one who asked. Dumbledore looked at me.
"Do you have any idea who would have done this?" he asked me, no spark hiding behind his eyes. I glanced at my dad, who looked livid though he'd been silent thus far, then Moody, who looked genuinely interested in my response.
"Yes," I whispered, my head still whirling at the tasks and my breath coming in even shorter gasps. "I know who did it,"
"Who?"
I opened my mouth, fully intent on answering, Mad-Eye's name on my tongue when it happened. At first I felt like I was just choking, my airways cutting off completely before the whirling feeling in my head escalated to a burning pain on the inside of my head and throat. I collapsed to the ground, grasping at my throat, trying to force air down my throat and into my lungs. There was yelling, but the burning in my head made it impossible for me to think, to register what was going on. I wanted so badly to scream and I welcomed the darkness when it came, summoned on by a flash of red light…
Cliffy! Uh oh! Was it too predictable that there'd be a fifth champ in this? Even if it was, I do have a plan! By the way, the whole newt scenario was inspired by Monty Python and the Holy Grail (also not mine). I hope you enjoyed it and are excited for chapter 12!
:-D