The great hall was empty when they crossed it, and they all went to the Gryffindor's common room. If they could clearly hear the chattering behind the portrait, silence instantly fell when they got in. both Narnians hurried to join there group, as Harry was just standing in the entrance, all eyes turned to him. Ed noticed how tensed Hermione was. He gently took her hand.
"I hate this moment..." She whispered.
This was when Harry started walking the room to gain his dormitory. This was when the insults started to fly. Hermione sprang on her feet, and left the room. Peter gave Ed a quick look, and then followed her out. Ed noticed neither Ginny nor the twins were taking part to the insulting. Once Harry was gone, he went to them.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.
"You're Pevensie, right?" George said. "The champion of Narnia. What do you want?"
"No offence, but we support Harry." Fred added.
"Yeah, that's why I wanted to talk to you."
Both brothers exchanged a look.
"You should listen to him, boys." Ginny interfered. "He's the boy I was talking to you about."
And she left the room.
"You're the one who saved our sister." Fred stated.
"All I did was talking to her. It's always easier to talk to people you don't know."
"Okay then. We're listening."
"I'd just like you to keep an eye on Harry. Make sure nothing weird happens, and if something does, let me know."
"Define weird." George said.
"Yes, does his name being selected by the goblet of fire classifies as weird?" Fred asked.
Ed chuckled.
"Do you know what happened to the world cup?"
"Are you talking about the black smoke?"
"Exactly. If the entity shows up again, let me know, and if I'm not around, tell any Narnian. It's probably going to try to attack him again."
"Why do you care?"
"Because Harry's the reason I'm here. The other Narnians are just here to make illusion. I can't tell you a lot, but it is crucial that Harry wins the tournament, and comes back alive. I'm gonna make sure it happens. But I need help. I need eyes. Can I count on you?"
"For Harry? Of course. He's like family to us. But why us, though?"
"Because I need someone I can trust, to keep an eye on him without him getting suspicious. And because the person who sent me here told me: "you'll see. Gred and Forge Weasley are good fellows.""
The twins had a laugh.
"For sure, we are "good fellows"! Here, have a candy."
It was Edmund's turn to let out a laugh.
"No thanks! Bewitched sweets are not really my thing since I ate some specific Turkish delights."
"Turkish delight? What was so special about them?"
"It's not a very funny story. The witch who gave them to me had bad intentions. However, may I suggest you offer one of your exploding fudges to my dear brother Peter? Their safe, aren't they?"
"Absolutely safe." George replied.
"Boils, Georgie, what do you think? Turkish delights that causes boils."
"One last thing." Ed interfered. "I know Ron is gonna turn his back on Harry. So show him your support. He'll need it."
"Our brother is an idiot." George gloomily said.
"We should try the boils delights on him." Fred added.
"I've been an idiot for a long, long time, before. Don't be too hard on him."
"You can count on us, Pevensie. We'll be there for Harry. But how do you know what's gonna happen?"
"I know someone who went through all that already. But I can't tell you who without an agreement."
On these words, he wished them a good night, and returned to his group. Glozelle had already left, and Hermione and Peter were not back yet. Soon, rather tired, he went to bed. The next day was the wand examination day, which was followed by the first interview of the champions. It was only on the next evening that he found out how bad the result of this interview was. He came to the common room to discover his brother, laughing to tears on the sofa, as well as Caspian. Lucy and Susan were shyly smiling, and Hermione herself was laughing, as were the twins. Edmund, as for him, had a surly face.
"What's going on?" Ed asked.
"May I?" George asked.
Peter nodded, and George took the newspaper on the table.
"Skeeter published her portraits of the champions. Here's yours."
He cleared his throat.
""The last champion is Edmund Peeves (is he related to the famous Hogwarts poltergeist? More on this later.) Peeves represents the school of Nana, and is a rather ordinary boy. Good luck to him.""
Peter burst out laughing, and Edmund sank a little more in his chair.
"Hey, Peter! Fred called. Want a fudge?"
And he threw him a sweet, which Peter opened with a thank.
"You shouldn't !" Hermione warned him.
"Why shouldn't he?" George asked with a wink.
Peter ate up the sweet, which exploded in his mouth, causing him to sneeze, cough, and causing tears to escape his eyes. Both Edmunds burst out laughing, as well as Fred, George, and the other Narnians. Even Peter was laughing, while Hermione was rolling her eyes, while difficultly holding a smile.
"Oh, so that's why he shouldn't have, is it, Hermione?" Fred said in a low voice.