Madara sat in the centre of the Gryffindor common room, lost in thought but still keeping an ear out for conversation milling around him. The Gryffindor house heath provided a merry fire lending warmth and comfort to those that shared it which was something he was basking in.
It was Monday evening and the common room was packed with the upper years, who were busy discussing the upcoming tournament.
The Triwizard tournament was the sole subject of conversation throughout the Hogwarts houses. Further intensifying in fervour due to the foreign schools coming in, which only served to introduce a sense of dangerous competition among the school populace.
His Sharingan picked up snippets of conversation that piqued his interest.
"Angelina's birthday has just passed! She should be back from entering." Murmured Katie Bell.
A tall black girl who played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team had just entered through the fat ladies' portrait hole. People began to cheer in earnest as Angelina drew closer. They all swivelled around in their seats and saw Angelina Johnson coming back from the Great Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way.
Angelina came over to them, sat down, and said, "Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!"
"You're kidding!" said Ron, looking impressed. His hand resting on Hermione's. Madara's subtle prodding had borne fruit. Which delighted him.
"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," said Hermione. "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"
"Thanks, Hermione," said Angelina, smiling at her.
Madara spoke with a soft tenor belaying his intent. "Angelina, I've been reading up on the Triwizard Tournament, and the trials aren't anything to scoff at. Are you sure you're capable of succeeding and bringing eternal glory to Gryffindor house?"
"Of course!" said Angelina dreamily, obviously thinking of the glory of the tournament. Alicia shook her head silently, as did Katie.
"Angelina, be serious. Do you believe that you can defeat the real competitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang? Viktor Krum is high in the duelling circuit, so is Fleur Delacour. Both were said to be trained by their Auror parents from a young age. Prodigies, they call them…"
Madara lazily gazed at the speaker. Alicia Spinnet. Knowledge was power after all and the more he knew about the opposition, the better. After all, he was on the prowl for potential members to join him on his mission.
"It is said… Delacour uses her Veela allure to maximum efficiency. When duelling an opponent, she ensnares them to win." Said Alicia.
"Dark magic I reckon, don't you mate?!" Said Ron, as he pressed his elbow into Madara's side.
`Must refrain from killing this waste of oxygen… Deep breaths. ` "It's not dark magic, she's using her inherent abilities to win. There's nothing wrong with that. It is merely power after all." And with his peace said, Madara stood and left the common room, without looking back.
"I wonder what's got his wand in a knot…" Was Ron's eloquent reply.
***Break***
The great hall started to fill for the annual Halloween feast. Madara ate next to Hermione, taking care to use his Sharingan to urge her to continue her relationship with the walking stomach. Sitting around them were their innocent peers mindlessly chattering about the students who would be chosen as champions. Some were openly pointing at the Goblet of Fire which had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table.
On the far-left table were where the Slytherins sat and ate. Hidden under a powerful Notice Me Not Charm was Daphne Greengrass. Clutched in her hands were her griffin quill as she penned a letter to her father.
Dear Father,
I hope this owl finds you and Mother well, Astoria is well and passes on her regard. A matter has come up which requires you to act. Contact has been initiated with Harry Potter and he would like to meet you at your earliest convenience. For the good of the Antient and Noble house of Greengrass, I urge you to meet him.
Your dutiful daughter.
Daphne looked up from her parchment and withdrew her wand. She pressed it against a corner of the letter and engraved the Greengrass heraldry upon it. Preventing anyone but her father from prying its contents. She would send it after dinner.
The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual.
Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, Madara didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as the boy whose body he wore like a glove. The food cooked at Hogwarts seemed to be soaked in grease and oil. Not good for a ninja's lifestyle. Everyone else in the Hall were constantly craning their necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, Madara simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions.
The anticipation was thick in the air, and no one was really eating very much. Madara ignored his food completely, instead focusing his Sharingan upon the Goblet trying to understand the threads of magic that emanated from it.
`This will be like ensnaring a bijuu. From a brief analysis of my Sharingan I can see clearly that it's a powerful magical object. To subvert it will require patience and caution. `
Madara totally shut out the chattering noises of his housemates and the rest of the school as he channelled magic through the Sharingan, influencing the Goblet slowly. He could see the threads of the Goblet twisting around as he wanted them to. Beads of sweat began to form on his face as he tried to influence the choice the Goblet was to make.
At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "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." He indicated the door behind the staff table. "Where they will be receiving their first instructions."
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames were almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting. A few people kept checking their watches.
Madara just gazed intently at the goblet, his three tomoe Sharingan strained to its limits. He didn't dare go mangekyō otherwise the illusion keeping them at bay would shatter.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it, the whole room gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"Representing the Durmstrang Institute will be... Viktor Krum!"
"Krum! Krum! Krum!" The Durmstrang students shouted in unison upon the announcement of their champion, punctuating each word with slammed fists on the Slytherin table. The timing and choreography lead Madara to believe that they had little doubt who would be selected, his Sharingan had observed Krum's name on their lips before he had been announced. Viktor Krum stood proudly and saluted the assembled students with a nod and a clenched fist over his chest. He spun on his heel and marched quickly to the front of the Great Hall to follow his Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff to the waiting area.
The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.
"Representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be... Cedric Diggory!"
Cedric stood to cheers from the assembled students. Harry notices a few disappointed faces among the seventh years-Alicia Spinnet, Roger Davies, Angelina Johnson-but for the most part, the school seemed united behind its champion. Cedric said a few words to his fellow Hufflepuffs and then made a point of walking over to each of the other Hogwarts contenders and shaking their hands before he left, accompanied by his short, squat Head of House, Pomona Sprout. Madara just gazed stoically at the sight, before refocusing on the goblet.
Again, the hall quietened as the goblet started to spew sparks. Blue and green motes flicked into the air and a third slip of parchment flew out and fluttered into the outstretched hand of the Headmaster. He showed it to the two Ministry officials and then to Madame Maxime, who gave a stately nod.
"Representing the Beauxbatons Academy will be... Fleur Delacour!"
She tossed her hair back and stepped gracefully between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables leaving in her wake a trail of stunned male students. Madara suspected that she must have been very excited if she had allowed her control over her aura to lapse so. With his Sharingan, he could see the tendrils of her allure magic ensnare the minds of weak-willed boys she passed. She followed her Headmistress, who ducked to pass through the portal, and left the hall as well.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "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-"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.
The Headmaster was interrupted by a loud hissing and sizzling noise. He turned, stunned, to the goblet, which glowed with red flames, and saw it expel a fourth slip of parchment. He snatched it, read it for a long moment, and showed it to the officials, whose eyebrows raised. Crouch pursed his lips and turned to his red-haired secretary, whom Madara recognised as Percy Weasley, Head Boy from the prior year, and spoke animatedly. Percy nodded and scribbled notes onto a parchment.
The Headmaster's shrewd eyes seeked out Madara, who appeared confused, like most in the hall, and then Moody, who stood near the rear of the Hall took a pull from his hip flask. He cleared his throat and spoke, deflated, "Listed as independent, no school affiliation, is the... fourth champion, Harry Potter…"
`All in accordance. ` thought Madara with a mental smirk.
That's a wrap.
AN:
This seemed like a good place to cut the chapter. :v I'll try and post the next chapter really soon!
What did you think? Any questions? Review them!
Do you guys have any Triwizard tournament task ideas? If you could review or PM me, I'd appreciate it (I'd credit the person who gave me the idea in the first place) The more wild the better!
As always! Review, favourite and follow! Pwease! With strawberries and whipped cream on top!
Till next time Uzunami 669