Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: Hey, Yellow 14. Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad you liked my reasons for Cedric entering the Triwizard Tournament. It made a lot of sense to me that that's why he would do it.

This, of course, is a big chapter in the story. I hope you like it!

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The tables were full of the usual delicious foods served at the Halloween feast, but Cho didn't feel the amazement she usually did at all the selections. It was plain to see that many felt the same way as students craned their necks throughout the meal, attempting to find out if Dumbledore had finished eating yet.

Cho tried to eat as much as she could, but nerves were preventing her from truly enjoying her food. Every few minutes, she looked over at Cedric, who sat with his roommates at the Hufflepuff table. He seemed even less interested in his food than she did; the look on his face told her plainly that he could barely stand the anticipation. He just wanted this evening to be over already.

"You okay, Cho?" Marietta whispered from next to her. "You picking at your food isn't going to make the evening go any faster, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Cho sighed. "I'm just not hungry." She took a large bite of chicken in order to placate her worried friend.

After what seemed like an eternity, the golden plates returned to their clean, spotless state. The noise in the Great Hall suddenly grew louder, but just as quickly, everyone went silent. Cho looked over at the staff, noticing that they were all sitting up straighter. The movement of the butterflies in her stomach increased in intensity. It was close to time for the truths of the evening to be revealed.

Dumbledore stood up, and Cho held her breath. Beside the Headmaster, Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff looked expectant. Ludo Bagman was beaming, and Mr. Crouch was looking bored, as if this couldn't be over fast enough.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," the Headmaster said, and you could have heard a pin drop in the hall. "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 pointed at the door behind the staff table. "Where they will be receiving their first instructions," he continued. He swept his wand in an arc over the Hall, and all the candles were suddenly extinguished except the ones inside the carved pumpkins. The entire room was plunged into a semidarkness, making the anticipation all the greater.

Everyone stared at the Goblet of Fire; Cho was amazed at the brightness of it. It gave off an air of mystery, and Cho felt her heartrate increase. "Not long now, Cho," Marietta whispered from next to her, her own face full of excitement.

And then, it happened. Cho gasped as the flames in the goblet turned red, and sparks flew from it. A tongue of flame shot into the air, and a piece of charred parchment fluttered out of it. More gasps flew through the room at the amazing spectacle.

Dumbledore caught the parchment, and the whole hall appeared to be stuck in limbo as they waited for the Headmaster to read what was on it. He opened his mouth and stated, "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum."

Cho still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Viktor Krum, one of the most admired professional Quidditch players of all time, was here at Hogwarts. She had never put two and two together and realized that the boy was still in school. She stared at him as he got up from his seat at the Slytherin table, and the applause and cheering in the hall was so loud that it felt like she was about to go deaf. Viktor didn't look half as confident on the ground as he did in the air; Cho had noticed that from her first glimpse of him the night before.

"Well, that was predictable!" Meghan had to yell to make herself heard over the continued noise in the Great Hall. "Of course the goblet chose Krum. Who else could it possibly have chosen?"

"Bravo, Viktor!" roared Professor Karkaroff, his voice so loud it was still able to be heard over everyone else. "Knew you had it in you!"

By now, Viktor had disappeared into the next chamber, and Cho wondered if he was nervous at all. The expression on his face was the same one he'd worn any time Cho stole a glance at him.

The noise finally died down, and all the students and staff once again focused on the goblet. Within seconds, another tongue of flame shot into the air, and Dumbledore caught the next piece of parchment as it fluttered out. "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" he said delightedly, and one of the girls from the Ravenclaw table, one who looked distinctly like a Veela, gracefully rose from her seat. Many boys at the table gazed in rapture at her, her beauty clearly having an effect on them.

"Ridiculous," Marietta murmured to Cho as cheers and applause broke out again. "I can practically feel the drool dribbling out of their mouths."

Cho couldn't help but laugh at her friend's disgusted expression. Veela, of course, always had this effect on boys, and Cho paid it no mind. Fleur didn't seem to care about all the glazed, hungry eyes that followed her every move as she made her way between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

"Oh, look," said Meghan, pointing to a couple of Beauxbatons girls farther down the Ravenclaw table. "They're not happy for her at all. They wanted to be chosen instead."

Cho followed her gaze, and saw that the girls in question were sobbing, their heads on their arms. Obviously, they had wanted to be the ones chosen for this honor.

Once Fleur had disappeared into the chamber to join Viktor, silence fell over the room again, but there was a tension in it that was unlike the other silences that had fallen this evening. Cho felt her heart banging against her ribcage, and instinctively, she looked over at the Hufflepuff table. Cedric ... his face was blank, expressionless, but his gray eyes said it all. His nerves were almost tearing him apart. A flash of fury towards Mr. Diggory flew through Cho at that moment; she would give anything right there and then to tell Cedric it would all be okay. If he was chosen, he would do a magnificent job, and if he wasn't, it did not take anything away from the kind, honorable person Cho knew him to be.

Time stood still, the excitement so palpable that it felt like the whole world was on the edge of a precipice, waiting for whatever would transpire next. Everyone stared at the Goblet of Fire, and Cho willed it to turn red again and shoot out another tongue of flame.

And finally, it happened. As Dumbledore caught the charred piece of parchment, Cho stole one final glance at Cedric, knowing that this was a moment that would never be forgotten.

"The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore called out, his voice clear and strong, "is CEDRIC DIGGORY!"

Cho's body reacted of its own accord; she shot to her feet, and she was unable to describe the shower of emotions that shot through her as her voice rang out with many others, screaming and shouting and letting out all the pent-up feelings that had been bottled up inside of her. She'd known it all along - this was only confirmation. Cedric Diggory, her very best friend, was Hogwarts champion. Fear, pride, joy, terror ... the emotions surged through her like a flood.

Many of the students around her were on their feet too, and she felt Marietta patting her on the back, grinning widely. "This is wonderful, Cho!" she shrieked, and before Cho knew it, she felt her friend throw her arms around her. Cho returned the embrace, feeling so overwhelmed that she thought she might faint with it all.

As Cedric made his way to the door so he could go inside the chamber to join the other champions, there was a moment where Cho was able to catch his eyes directly. Those gray depths were swirling with the same emotions she was feeling. Cho lifted her hand in a salute to him, and he gave her a wave and a smile that made her heart soar. Cho felt like this was one of those moments that historians should write about; it didn't seem possible that she could feel so many things at once.

Taking one last look around him at his beloved school, Cedric disappeared through the door into the next chamber. Unlike the two times before when a champion was out of sight, the hall didn't go quiet immediately. But people began to sit in their seats again, and Cho did the same, her heart still pounding in her chest. The Triwizard Tournament had officially started, and Dumbledore smiled, looking as if he still had more to say. Finally, the hall went quiet again as the man began to speak.

"Excellent!" he called joyously, his blue eyes twinkling. "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 ..."

The Headmaster suddenly stopped speaking, and Cho was riveted to the spot in pure astonishment as the Goblet of Fire turned red yet again. "What's going on, Marie?" Cho whispered as many in the Great Hall stared, their expressions just as shocked as her own.

"No idea," said Marietta in pure confusion. "Even Dumbledore seems surprised. Look."

Cho turned her gaze towards Dumbledore, and realized that Marietta was right. The Headmaster, though he was trying to hide it, looked shocked as he caught a fourth piece of parchment from the goblet.

There was a silence that seemed to last a very, very long time. For a reason unknown to Cho, a sense of uneasiness, of foreboding stole over her. She knew instinctively that nothing like this was supposed to be happening. The three champions had gone into the chamber, ready to receive their instructions, and Cho figured it had almost been time for the rest of the students to go back to their dormitories for the evening. But this ... this was unexpected, and Cho didn't know why she felt this way ... but whatever was going on, she didn't like it. Not one bit.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke, his voice not holding the delight it had when he'd read the other names that had come out of the goblet.

"Harry Potter," he called out.

Before Cho knew what she was doing, she swiveled her head around to the Gryffindor table, her gaze landing on the skinny, black-haired, green-eyed boy. Every other head in the Great Hall appeared to have done the same. Cho saw a stunned, dazed look upon the boy's face, a look of pure incomprehension.

There was no applause; instead, an angry muttering began, and before long, voices from every House table were speaking.

"What?" Amanda said, her tone astounded and furious at the same time. "What's Potter playing at?"

"Cheater!" yelled out a voice from the Hufflepuff table. "Bloody, effing cheater!"

"He's not seventeen yet!" cried a younger Hufflepuff boy; he looked like a second or third year.

Other students, including Amanda and Meghan, were standing up to get a better look at Harry. At the staff table, Professor McGonagall was whispering something to Dumbledore, whose blue eyes were no longer twinkling and whose face now held a frown.

After several more uncomfortable seconds where Harry Potter remained frozen in his seat, Dumbledore called again, "Harry Potter! Harry! Up here, if you please!"

The girl beside Harry, who Cho knew to be Hermione Granger, gave her friend a slight push. Reluctantly, as though it was costing him a great effort, Harry got to his feet, treading on the hem of his robes which caused him to stumble slightly. He righted himself, walking up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. Many of the Hufflepuffs were glaring at him with hostility now, and Cho couldn't stop staring at him.

What, exactly, was she feeling? She couldn't quite analyze the emotions that plagued her, which was a new experience. Never had Cho Chang felt as strange as she did now as she watched Harry. It was plain to see that he was just as stunned by what had occurred as everyone else. The boy making his way towards the door to the next chamber did not look like a cheater, not one bit. His face was too open, too transparent. Cho could practically feel the fear radiating off him. Instant sympathy welled up in her; she recognized this particular feeling immediately. It was then that she knew it for sure - Harry Potter didn't want this. Not in the slightest.

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When Cho thought back on this night, there was some of it that was hard to remember. It had resolved itself into one big blur of shock and confusion, and the rest of the school seemed to be experiencing varying levels of emotion. Some were just as stunned and confused as her, while others were furious.

Amanda and Meghan were convinced Harry had cheated; nothing Cho said would convince them otherwise. Marietta honestly didn't know what to think. Out of the four of them, it only seemed to be Cho who recognized that something deeper was going on here. She'd never forget the look on Harry's face for as long as she lived.

But as she attempted to sleep that night, the biggest thing on her mind was Cedric. How was he handling this? Had he talked to Harry when the shaken, bewildered boy had arrived in the chamber? Was he feeling the same uneasiness Cho was as she tossed and turned in her bed?

Morning couldn't come soon enough, she thought to herself as sleep continued to elude her. All she wanted right now was to see Cedric, to puzzle this whole thing out with a friend she knew she trusted wholly. Because one thing was for certain - she couldn't make sense of this on her own. Not at all.

The end of the evening had not gone as she had planned. Tomorrow, she was supposed to congratulate Cedric, telling him that she knew he would make Hogwarts proud. She wasn't supposed to have this weird sensation of wrongness about the Triwizard Tournament. There was an ominous quality to the whole thing now that hadn't been there before, no matter how scared and nervous she had been for the champions, and for Cedric in particular.

And if there was one thing Cho Chang despised beyond anything else, it was experiencing feelings she couldn't explain. As a fitful sleep finally claimed her, she knew that this was exactly what was happening.

And indeed, she loathed it with every fiber of her being.