Part I: Reticent
Chapter III: In Which the Champions are Chosen
September the first could not come soon enough. Not for the first time, Mr. Crouch was anxious about getting to the train on time. But there seemed to be another edge to it. An edge that Corinna could not explain.
He did not even say anything as they made their way onto the platform to the scarlet steam engine. The excitement for going back to Hogwarts had not waned since she was eleven years old. At fourteen, she was still full of wonder and excitement.
When Corinna looked back, he was already gone.
The journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters was mostly uneventful for Corinna. She managed to get a compartment to herself for all of five minutes before a group of first years tentatively asked if they could join her. It brought her back to her first Hogwarts journey and she did not hesitate to say yes.
So, of course, they asked her a million and one questions about Hogwarts. She answered them to the best she could, but she left a few things up to mystery, such as how the sorting worked and whether or not a troll really lived in the dungeon.
It helped distract Corinna from the guilt that welled up inside her. She did not like abandoning her brother like that. It was easier when Winky was the one taking care of him, she at least was reassured he would be taken care of. With her now despondent father, she wasn't so sure.
As the sky steadily grew darker, they changed into their robes. Corinna frowned when she noticed the hem of hers was noticeably frayed. She had to order her schoolbooks and supplies by owl post since her father refused to take her to Diagon Alley and she dared not leave the house. She knew the way to the Leaky Cauldron, but she did not know how to navigate muggle London by herself as she would have to use the Underground. She would have to get fitted in Hogsmeade for some new school robes and the dress robes that were, for whatever reason, required for those fourth year and above.
They filed off the train and the first years broke away from Corinna to join Hagrid so they could make the journey by boat. Considering the heavy rain and violent winds, she was glad she did not have to go onto the boats and instead went to the horseless carriages, although it was still a very wet journey.
It was not until they were all shoving their way into the Great Hall when Terry spotted Corinna. That was another aspect that she felt guilty about. She was now going to have to explain some things to him. Things she definitely did not want to share.
"Made it alright?" Terry greeted easily as he went against the group of Ravenclaws heading to the opposite side of the hall.
"Yeah, thanks," Corinna mumbled as she stepped aside so someone could step around her. "How was the rest of your summer?" she asked, hoping to draw out the conversation so she did not have to discuss certain things while in the presence of so many others.
Terry seemed disappointed in that. It seemed he was all rearing to go to get some answers, but he bit them back. "Fine. My mum was worried about me going back, but I reassured her that it would be fine. We have Professor Dumbledore, after all."
Corinna nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she said. "They say there was nowhere safer when You-Know-Who was alive."
The professors were barking at the various students to take their seats, so Terry turned to back to Corinna. "I know you don't want to discuss certain things here." Maybe he was more self-aware than she had expected him to be, but she still did not like the sound of it. "So, let's meet up after classes tomorrow. Our usual spot in the library?"
"Of course," she said quickly. She went over to an open seat, trying not to think about how it was next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Hermione pursed her lips when she saw Corinna, which she thought was odd since they usually got along amicably. It was important to do so when you shared a dorm room together with the only privacy allotted came when you pulled the curtains around the four-poster.
"How could your father do that to your house elf?" Hermione demanded, which caused a series of groans from both Harry and Ron. Although the malice was pointing at Mr. Crouch, the guilt stabbed Corinna in the gut.
"I can't control my father," said Corinna. "I wish he hadn't done that. She was like family. I don't even fully understand why he gave her clothes." Well, she had a few ideas, but she could not verbalize them.
Hermione did not seem to soften at the notion, so Harry stepped in to explain what happened the night that Corinna had abandoned her brother.
"I guess Winky had left the tent against his orders to stay," Harry explained.
"Which is complete rubbish since people were cursing muggles and she could have been hurt if she stayed put," Hermione interjected.
"Lay off it, Hermione," said Ron, looking annoyed.
"I will not! Winky deserved to be treated better. And do you actually believe that she put the mark there?"
Corinna's jaw slackened when she heard that. They thought Winky had put up the Dark Mark? How is that possible. She tried to think back, but her mind was drawing a blank. She remembered running back to the tent with Terry and, when no one else was there, following him to where his parents were hiding out.
"We know she probably had picked it up after someone took my wand to use it," said Harry. Corinna remembered sitting behind them at the World Cup, the wand sticking out of his pocket. But, certainly Winky would not have grabbed it, nor would Barty have. Then again, it was a rule to not have a wand near him in case he got a hold of it and hurt someone. Even so, Barty would not have put up the Dark Mark. He would not know how to, and that did not seem like a spell someone who was sick like him would have stumbled into.
It seemed that the three of them had forgotten that Corinna was even there as their conversation took a turn. She was fine with that. She was going to have a hard enough time talking about things with Terry...
After a few words from Dumbledore, the platters filled with food, the pitchers full of drinks, and the hall was filled with merriment once more. Corinna had lost her appetite. She put some shepherd's pie on her plate and pretended to be interested. Instead, she was focused on the staff table. Usually there was always one new face up there to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Supposedly, the post was cursed somehow, which Corinna had doubted until they got a new teacher every year. The only one she really missed was Professor Lupin, but he could not keep teaching after it came out that he was a werewolf. Now where the new professor would usually sit, it was empty.
Once it seemed that most everyone was done eating and were more interested in conversing about various topics, Dumbledore stood once more to address the students. It seemed to be his usual speech about what was off limits and to whom, as well as addressing whatever it was Caretaker Filch decided was important that year to make students' lives even more miserable. She was surprised Professor Dumbledore did not even mention the Defense post, instead moving onto the fact that there would be no quidditch house cup this year. That caused a ripple of disdain, especially from those who were part of the house teams. She could feel Harry's annoyance and one of the Weasley twins complained loudly, but Corinna could not help but look across the hall at the Ravenclaw table where Cho looked like she was about to verbally object.
It seemed that Dumbledore was going to explain further, but a loud crash came from the doors to the Great Hall. Hundreds of heads turned to see a gruff looking man with bruises and scratches all over his face, but it was also marred by a large electric blue eye that seemed to take everything in at once. Corinna had not met the man in person, but she knew him by reputation. It was ex-Auror Alastor Moody. Many called him Mad-Eye, and not just for his magical eye. It seemed he was paranoid to the extreme. And when Dumbledore introduced him as Professor Moody, it made sense. There was probably no one wiser about the dark arts than the man who took on many of You-Know-Who's supporters during the wizarding war.
Once everyone had settled into the idea of their new Defense teacher, Dumbledore continued with his earlier statement. "The Triwizard Tournament," he explained. "It hadn't been held in nearly a century due to the dark nature of it all. But, with the help of our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports—" Corinna could not help but perk up when she heard her father's department. Maybe this had been his other big assignment this summer. "—have decided the time is ripe for another attempt."
Everyone seemed to be abuzz about the idea that they could compete for glory—and a thousand galleon prize—until Dumbledore mentioned that only those of age could enter to compete. It did not bother Corinna as much. She was good with not having the spotlight on her, as much as the money would be great to have.
But it seemed everyone was still excited about what was happening at Hogwarts this year, as everywhere Corinna went as she made her way to the Gryffindor common room, people were talking about the tournament and those underage were trying to figure out ways they could trick the impartial judge into considering them for champion.
Corinna could hardly sleep that night as guilt and dread kept her mind occupied for most of the night. She thought about writing to her brother, but it was Winky who would read it to him, and Corinna didn't like the thought of her father reading what she wanted to say, if he would even read it in the first place. She did not even have the Christmas holidays to go home and check on him. Apparently, something was happening that would make many want to stay at Hogwarts over the break. Now, she supposed, it had something to do with the Triwizard Tournament.
They got their times tables at breakfast the next morning, and Corinna was slightly relieved that she didn't have a free period with the fourth year Ravenclaws today. It meant that she could push talking with Terry until that evening when they would meet in the library. That also meant, however, she was distracted all day during her classes, which was not a good sign as it seemed that all the professors were keen on already starting their studying towards the OWLs that they would be taking next year. That felt like an impossibly long time to Corinna.
Bogged down by the incredible amount of work that was already assigned, Corinna clambered to the small table in the corner of the library. She had beaten Terry there, but her final class of the day was not that far. She hunkered down with her Ancient Runes notes to work on the essay assigned for next class. But, much like she was in class, Corinna could not concentrate. She had a hard time deciphering even her own handwriting.
Terry came in a few minutes later, looking peeved. "Why did I have to stick with Divination? I should pull a Granger and just leave in the middle of class." Corinna always found it ironic that a term for dropping a class in a dramatic fashion was assigned to the one student no one would expect to do such a thing. "But maybe Ancient Runes isn't such a good alternative. There seems to be way too many non-English words for my taste."
Corinna cracked a smile as she closed her book, her unwritten essay marking her place. "It's alright," she mumbled. "But I'm glad I never bothered with that class." Not that she had much of a choice. Sure, Divination was not a solid branch of magic, and having a hooky teacher like Trelawney did not help matters. But with Corinna's luck, someone would somehow scry information about her brother, and she couldn't take that risk, so she stuck with Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes—the former as she was interested in learning about creatures and the latter to appease her father. He had an odd affinity for languages, which is why he made such a good Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and why he insisted on her having numerous tutors in various languages.
Terry made no move to unpack his school bag, opting instead to place it on the seat next to him. "I kind of expected an owl after what happened at the World Cup," he explained, jumping right to what he wanted to say last night before the feast. "My parents were worried and wanted to make sure you got back to your tent alright."
His tone implied that it was not just his parents that were worried, and a fresh bought of guilt rose up in Corinna. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "But my father grounded me for leaving the tent without his permission." It wasn't a complete fabrication. "He didn't let me have access to his owl or leave to go to the post office."
Terry seemed to soften at the explanation, but it seemed his own eyes were swimming with guilt. He was the one who invited Corinna out, after all, but she wanted to smack the look off him. How was he supposed to know that Corinna had to defy direct orders in order to finally have some fun? "It's alright," he said quickly. "I'll just send a quick letter to my parents. They were worried, after all."
Corinna nodded. "You mentioned that."
"Oh, right." When Terry made no move towards his bag, Corinna waited in the tense silence for him to finally ask. "Why did you never mention you have a brother?" he finally blurted out when he could no longer handle the tension himself.
Corinna involuntarily looked away from Terry, instead picking at the corner of her textbook. "I just…I never knew how to talk about him," she admitted. "He's very sick, you see. He has never been right in the head for as long as I have known him. I was supposed to help take care of him that night along with our house elf, but…but I wanted to take you up on that invitation, and since he was asleep I thought it would be all right." She let out a tense breath. "He's all right now since my father found him, but I shouldn't have left him in the first place. What if something were to happen to him?"
Terry did not say anything as he digested when Corinna was telling him. "I guess I can understand why you didn't say anything," he admitted after a pregnant pause. "It seems awfully complicated and messy. But, still, you could have said no. I would have understood."
"I didn't want to say no," said Corinna. She could have tried to convince herself she was noncommittal as to not outright hurt Terry's feelings, but she wanted to go. She wanted to be a normal teenager for once in her life. "I made my choice, Terry, and I had to suffer the consequences. Not that I regret going—" for the most part. "—I just have to be careful next time."
Corinna was thankful that it was time for them to head down to the great hall for supper. As they stood up, Terry reached over and grabbed her hand. "I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about your brother. Just know that I'm here for you if you do. I won't say anything to anyone else. I promise."
Corinna could not help but smile at the invitation. She simply doubted she would ever take him up on such an offer. "Thanks, Terry," she said softly. "For everything. I don't think too many people would run after me like you did. Are you sure you weren't supposed to be in Gryffindor?"
He snorted. "I'll leave the bravery to the likes of you." Corinna still doubted the sorting after all these years, but it was reassuring to hear Terry say something like that. "Come on. I need to get to the Hall before Ewan eats all the mash."
As Corinna followed Terry out of the library and down the many steps, she felt like she had finally made a friend here at Hogwarts.
The weeks seemed to go by quickly as the late summer warmth instantly faded to an autumn chill. But the cold winds hadn't dampened the excitement running through Hogwarts like a live current. Between the Triwizard Tournament and the amazing lessons that Moody was giving on the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts, there was no shortage of eager whispers within the hallowed halls.
In fact, it seemed like Corinna was the only student who did not look forward to their Defense classes. She did not like the subject matter about the unforgivable curses. She did not like the fact that Moody was doing the Imperius curse on the students to see if they could resist doing silly things like cartwheels or ballet moves. Corinna was thankful that all Moody made her do was going up to the blackboard and print her name a few dozen times before he made her stop. She hated that feeling of having no control and being happy about it. She had an odd sense of déjà vu whenever it happened, as if she were under the curse and did not really remember the incident. She had a gut feeling that, if she were ever under such a curse, she would have remembered. It was something she would no sooner forget.
Corinna had spent the first Hogsmeade weekend before the other schools were to arrive with Terry. She was surprised to find out how much time they were spending together. She almost wished that she were put in Ravenclaw since they couldn't hang out past curfew. It was easy to talk with him about most any subject. She would talk about some of the light reading she liked to do to pass the time she wasn't doing schoolwork, or even about Potions. Terry had an extensive knowledge of various subjects, but his favorite was always quidditch, and he took every opportunity to try to convince Corinna how great of a sport it is. When that subject was exhausted, he was trying to pry information about the Tournament out of Corinna.
"I keep telling you," Corinna said, still miffed that Terry insisted on carrying her bags from the robe shop. "My father didn't even mention the Tournament to me. I found out just like the rest of you. Do you really expect he would have written to me about what the tasks will be or who this impartial judge is?" She glossed over the fact that he had not written a single letter, but that was not unusual, and Terry didn't need to know. "Trust me, I do not get special treatment just because I'm his daughter."
"I get it, I get it," Terry said quickly, but Corinna knew he would bring up the subject again.
The night before Halloween, the heads of houses were busy trying to get their houses to look and behave as they stood out in the bitter wind to await the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. They were standing in their own houses, so Corinna was separated from Terry, but she saw him standing with his Ravenclaw friends. Corinna was surrounded by the other fourth years in Gryffindor, squished between Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown. McGonagall ordered her not to slouch so much, and for a moment she wondered if McGonagall had borrowed Moody's eye since she wondered how she could be seen past Ron.
Corinna also could not see when the Beauxbatons carriages arrived. All she could see was the tallest woman she had ever seen. Taller than even Hagrid. She towered over everyone, but she held herself in a way that made it seem that her height was all planned out. Just a few minutes later, according to those who could see, a ship had risen out of the Black Lake, signaling that Durmstrang had arrived.
They were then ordered to go into the Great Hall for the feast and Terry eagerly broke away from the Ravenclaws to rush over to Corinna. "Did you see?" he asked excitedly.
"What was I supposed to see?" Corinna asked. "Weasley blocked my view."
"Viktor Krum," Terry said, barely waiting for Corinna to finish her statement. It also took Corinna a moment to remember who Viktor Krum was. She tried to think as little as possible about the World Cup. "He goes to Durmstrang. Blimey, I knew he was young, but I didn't think he was still in school."
Corinna now understood why it seemed every girl in her immediate facility was all giggly and aflutter.
As they entered the Great Hall, Corinna looked up at the staff table and froze. She expected extra spots to be added for the heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, but she did not expect to see the Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman, sitting next to her father.
Terry doubled back when he noticed Corinna wasn't with him, and one look up at the staff table explained why. "He didn't even tell you he was coming."
"No," Corinna mumbled, her entire body suddenly growing cold. She should not have been surprised that he was here. He helped organize this whole thing along with Bagman. She was glad he seemed to be interested in talking with the others already seated at the table, not that she would have expected Mr. Crouch to find her in the se of other students were black robes and black hats. She would not have even expected him to look for her.
They had to break apart anyway to go to their respective tables. Corinna never took her eyes off Mr. Crouch, which was unfortunately since she had nearly run over a second year in the process. She found a seat as far away from the staff table as she could manage but was still in view of her father. She couldn't fully comprehend all the conflicting emotions that were boiling inside her. All she really knew was that she had to try to get her father alone so she could ask how her brother was.
After a short speech from Dumbledore introducing the heads of the foreign schools, as well as Bagman and Mr. Crouch (for which Corinna was thankful that no one seemed to cheer on her father as much as they had with Bagman; that ought to muss his mustache), food appeared on the platters and everyone immediately started digging in. Corinna shoveled some food onto her plate at random, finally tearing her gaze from the staff table and looked over at the Ravenclaw table. Her heart sank when she saw Terry talking with one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. She wore the light blue robes of a Beauxbatons student, and it made her blood boil. She did not understand why she was suddenly angry at Terry when she could not even understand her emotions when it came to her father. She did not like how he laughed at whatever she was saying, or how she swept her hair back as if purposefully charming the boys around her.
If she wasn't hungry before, she was downright nauseous now.
Corinna did not even bother to pretend to eat the food that was on her plate before it disappeared. Much to her chagrin, Mr. Crouch stood up and walked over to the podium that Dumbledore stood at whenever he needed to address the students. Although his voice was as dull and droning as always, it felt like nails on a chalkboard to Corinna. With a clenched jaw and fingernails digging into the palms of her hands, she listened to her father explain who—or rather, what—was going to decide who would be the three champions. They unveiled the Goblet of Fire. The blue fire would accept a name and school written on a piece of paper and would reveal the chosen three tomorrow night after the Halloween Feast. He mentioned, of course, an age line being put in place to discourage those who were not of age from entering.
With that, they were dismissed back to their dormitories. Corinna was one of the first ones up from the various benches as she pushed her way to the front of the hall, only to see her father disappear down the hall and towards the basement. She thought about following after him, but McGonagall was ushering her back to the Gryffindor crowd, reminding her not to embarrass their school in front of their foreign guests.
It was easy for Corinna to go down early to the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning since she hardly slept. She saw Bagman talking animatedly with Madam Hooch, but she did not see Mr. Crouch anywhere. She had a sick feeling that he was purposefully avoiding her.
She managed to swallow down some toast as she could see Terry watching her with concern. Since the extremely beautiful girl wasn't around him anymore, he was now paying attention to Corinna again. She tried to muster up some sort of annoyance, but she was too exhausted to feel anything.
As there weren't any classes that day, Corinna had a hard time distracting herself hanging out with Terry and some of his other friends. They all accepted her into the group, but she still did not really feel like she was a part of it. She only said anything if she were addressed first, and it was almost exclusively by Terry, unless it was a snide remark about Gryffindor to see if it would get a rise out of her.
"So, who from your house is putting their name in?" Zacharias asked Corinna as they lounged around the library. Although Pince was going around trying to get the students to settle down and not talk, it was to no avail. No one was really interested in studying today. "Besides, you know, the Weasley twins. They look pretty good with the gray beards."
"I know Angelina put her name in," said Corinna, "but that's all I heard."
Zacharias snorted. "Well, good luck with that. Cedric Diggory is putting his name in."
"And what? Ruin his pretty face?" Although she didn't have distaste for Diggory like the rest of the Gryffindors did since he caught the snitch before Harry Potter did in the first match last year, she still liked taking the piss out of Zacharias whenever she could manage.
"Yeah, well, I think it's about time Hufflepuffs get the recognition we deserve," Zacharias muttered. "Gryffindors need to get knocked down a peg or two."
Corinna could not have agreed more, not that she would ever admit that to Zacharias.
At lunch, Corinna wanted to try and find her father, but it seemed that they were busy making sure things were ready for tonight's ceremonies. He was busy trying to go over things with an uninterested Bagman, which was making him irate. Corinna definitely did not want to talk with him when he was like that.
So, it was an agonizing afternoon of listening to Terry's friends talk about the tournament. Corinna thought they would have exhausted the subject by now, but it seemed that the people around them were giving constant updates on who was entering.
Corinna couldn't tell if it was much too soon or not soon enough that they went back into the Hall for yet another feast. It almost seemed like too much, not that Corinna could stomach anything besides the toast earlier. She was not the only one who wasn't eating much. There was too much excitement and anxiety around the hall. Sooner than what was usual for the Halloween Feast (except for her first year), the platters cleared, and everyone turned to focus on the staff table. She focused on Mr. Crouch, who kept an eye on Dumbledore as he gave a short speech before announcing that the Goblet of Fire was almost ready to pick the champions.
First was Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, which was no surprise to anyone. If he was half as good at the tasks as he was a seeker, he was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Second was the beautiful girl that was flirting with Terry the night before, Fleur Delacour, for Beauxbatons. It seemed that every boys' (and a few girls') eyes were on her as she gracefully walked up to the staff table and disappeared to the door leading to the basement.
Every Hogwarts student waited with bated breath for the Goblet of Fire to release the name of the Hogwarts champion. Not a moment too soon, the flames erupted, and a piece of paper fluttered out. Dumbledore caught it with nimble fingers and looked at the name. "The Hogwarts' Champion," he said in a loud, clear voice, "is Cedric Diggory."
Cheers boomed from the Hufflepuff table as the admittedly handsome Cedric Diggory made his way to the other champions. Corinna was eager for this to be over to see if she could sneak up to her father when the flames erupted once more, releasing another name from the fire. But that was impossible. The three champions have already been chosen.
Dumbledore did not miss a beat as he grabbed the piece of paper from the air. A pin drop could echo off the walls it was so quiet in the hall. Considering the previous years' track record, it really should not have come to a surprise to anyone when Dumbledore looked over at the Gryffindor table and announced, "Harry Potter."
Harry was seated just a few students down from Corinna, so she could see all the color draining from his face and every eye in the entire hall landing on him. She had never felt so sorry for someone. It was evident that all he wanted to do was shrink away into nothing at that moment. But Dumbledore was beckoning for him to join the champions.
He looked like he was going to be sick as he approached the staff table, and it did not help that the jeers were starting for all over the hall as people objected for a myriad of reasons. Corinna looked over at Mr. Crouch, but his face was unreadable.
Once Harry disappeared down to the basement, the heads of houses were immediately ushering the students out of the hall. What was supposed to be a jovial affair was now muted and tense. She spotted Terry as the Gryffindors followed the Ravenclaws up the stairs. He gave Corinna a quizzical look and all she could do was shrug. She did not know how Hogwarts got two champions or why the second one was, not only a Gryffindor, but Harry Potter to boot.
Speaking of, the Gryffindors should have been happy about the fact that there was a champion (if Harry was even going to be allowed to compete), but it was very tense in the usually cozy common room. She looked out for Ron and Hermione, but they both seemed to have disappeared. She spotted Fred and George talking by the fire, loudly wondering how Harry had gotten past the age line and why he had not shared his secret.
But the look Harry gave haunted Corinna's mind, it was still burned in her retinas. That was not the look of someone who put their name in the cup voluntarily.
Corinna found Hermione pacing the fourth-year girl's dormitory, muttering under her breath. It was a typical habit that happened with her during exams, but it never happened this early in the year. She whipped around when she noticed she was no longer alone. "What's going to happen?" she asked in a small voice.
Corinna did not know if she was asking as a rhetorical question or because of who her father was, but she did not have the answer either way. "I wish I knew," she admitted. "But there's no way he's going to compete. Dumbledore would have a cow."
But the next morning, Corinna would be wondering if the calf was a boy or a girl as it was confirmed that, due to the magic surrounding the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter was going to have to compete as the fourth champion.