Whoa. Long chappy! (4 me neway. Dunt it drive u craZ wen ppl rite like dis?)
~*Chapter Four*~
A Krummy Arrival
Triwizard Tournament The delegations from Beauxbatons and
Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o' clock
On Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will
End half an hour early.
Students will return their bags and books
To their dormitories and assemble in front
Of the castle to greet our guests before
The Welcoming Feast.
"Hm," said Alicia.
"What?" asked Katie.
"Beauxbatons and Durmstrang," Alicia said. "Never heard of them."
"Maybe they're Muggles," Katie piped up.
"Don't be stupid, Katie," Angelina said wearily. "Muggles- Triwizard Tournament?"
"Oh yeah," said Katie.
"So they're wizards," said Alicia. "Hm."
"We get out of Defense Against the Dark Arts half an hour early," said Katie happily. Angelina shrugged.
"Moody's kind of cool," she said.
"He's weird," said Katie, shivering.
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" barked Alicia. Katie jumped.
"Hey," said Fred, walking up to the girls. "Don't make fun of Mad Eye. He's cool. Turned Malfoy into a ferret," Fred said happily.
"Yeah," said George. Oliver tailed behind as usual, his arms folded under his books and his gaze trailing on the floor.
On Friday the 30th, the school lined up in front of the school as the announcement had said. Angelina stood between Alicia and Fred in the last line. The stars winked overhead, partially muted out by the glare of the lanterns hung on the stones of the castle. Angelina pulled her robe more tightly around her body and sneaked a glance to the side, where the Hufflepuffs were standing. Cedric stood at the end of the row, next to that Ravenclaw brat. Angelina's jaw tightened. Her heart thumped on pure jealousy. Cho flipped her shiny black hair over her shoulder and smiled up at Cedric. Angelina's eyes welled up with tears as she watched Cedric lean down and place a light kiss on Cho's lips.
"Angelina," Fred hissed.
"What?" Angelina said, sniffling involuntarily.
"You're crying," Fred said, brushing a tear off her cheek. Angelina turned away before Alicia could see what was happening. "What's wrong?" Fred asked, his voice full of concern. "Is everything okay?"
"No," Angelina whispered, but her voice was lost in the sudden uproar from the crowd. Hands shot up, pointing at the sky. For a moment Angelina thought she was seeing a very large comet shoot across the sky- but the comet was coming towards them at an unbelievable speed. It shot across the sky and then came lower, hurtling towards the castle. The first years in the front shifted nervously in their spots. The carriage landed with a crash onto the grounds, the enormous horses that had pulled it all huffing and snorting and stamping their gigantic hooves on the grass. A dirt clod flew up and landed at one of the first years' feet.
"Beauxbatons!" someone shouted. A small boy leaped down from the carriage and pressed a small button on the powder-blue side. Thin, gossamer steps made of fine gold unfolded from the carriage, making no mark on the ground. Then, something stepped onto the steps, which remarkably didn't fold and crumble under the something's obvious weight.
Wait- it wasn't a something, it was a someone! A woman as large as Hagrid stepped down from the carriage and smoothed her hair.
Dumbledore strode forward and took one of the woman's hands. "…Madam Maxime!" he said, greeting the Beauxbatons headmistress. Behind Madame Maxime, students were descending from the carriage, fixing the sheer scarves that covered their heads and complaining of the cold. After a moment of conversation between the two, the giant lady led her students into the castle.
Minutes past, stretched out because of the cold. The air was still and silent. Necks craned upwards, searching the sky for the Durmstrang party.
"The lake!" someone called. Indeed, the lake was pouring over the banks, and frothing and bubbling in the middle. A large ship rose out of the lake, the squid scooting out of the way just in time. Angelina gasped. A ship, rising out of the lake! That wasn't something you saw every day. An anchor was cast out, landing with a great splash next to the squid, which then disappeared into the murky depths of the lake. The Durmstrang students climbed out of the ship and hiked up the grounds, their hair and skin covered with a light mist from the lake.
The headmaster came forward. He was not a giant, unlike Madam Maxime. The two headmasters shook hands and exchanged formalities.
"That's Viktor Krum!" whispered Fred, pointing frantically to one of the students behind the headmaster, Karkaroff.
"Viktor Krum?" Angelina asked excitedly, standing on her toes to get a better look. "Whoa, Alicia, look! Viktor Krum!"
Alicia screamed like she was at a Britney Spears concert, fumbling for something in her pocket. "D'ya think he'll sign my hat in lipstick?" she asked. Angelina rolled her eyes.
"Honestly," Katie said.
The Durmstrang students went inside, followed by the Hogwarts people. All welcomed the warmth of the Great Hall. Some of the Beauxbatons students drew the scarves off their heads and the Durmstrang students at the Slytherin table found the gold tableware very interesting.
"Look at them," Fred scoffed.
"Like they've never seen a plate before," George added.
"Grow up," said Katie. "They're cool plates."
Dumbledore stood and knocked his spoon against his own golden cup. The chatter died down as the headmaster spread his hands out in a welcoming gesture.
"The moment has come," Dumbledore said. Angelina shivered and felt a giddy laugh claw its way up her throat. She took one last sip of her pumpkin juice to still it before it dissolved out of her cup and drained down into the kitchens below.
"…Few words of explanation before we bring in the casket," Dumbledore was saying. Angelina glanced around. The other students looked as bewildered as she felt. Dumbledore introduced the two Ministry judges, one of who was-
"LUDO BAGMAN!" Oliver burst out. "The Great One!"
"Of Quidditch," Alicia piped up.
"Isn't that Gretzky's nickname?" asked some third year.
"Don't forget about hockey!" someone else shouted.
"Shh!"
Katie said. "Shut up!"
Filch was bringing a gigantic
box up to the High Table. It was covered in diamonds, which were connected to a
swirling, henna-like design that was buried deep in the ancient wood. Excited
whispers filled the Hall.
"As you know, three champions compete in the Tournament," said Dumbledore. "One from each of the participating schools.
"The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector- the Goblet of Fire."
Dumbledore drew his wand out of his sleeve and let it hang in his hand for a moment, still in the air. Then he brought it down upon the casket gently, three times. The lid eased open. Dumbledore produced a splintery wooden cup from inside the box. Flames leaked out of the cup like blue tentacles and licked the sides of the goblet.
"Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward," said the headmaster, gesturing towards the Goblet, which was now resting on top of the box. "Tomorrow night the Goblet will determine the Champions. I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet.
"Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all!"
The students filed out of the Great Hall. Fred pushed his way through the Durmstrang lot and fell into step beside Angelina, who had wandered ahead of the rest of the group.
"Good thing we don't have to worry about that age limit," Fred said heartily, pulling a very wrinkled piece of parchment and a bent quill out of the pocket of his robes. He scrawled his name and the word 'Hogwarts' upon the paper and dropped it into the Goblet. The flames curled around it, emitting a puff of white smoke into the air. Fred grinned widely and hopped back over the Age Line. Angelina traced the thin mark with the toe of her sneaker.
"Well, aren't you going to put yours in?" Fred asked. Angelina shrugged and sighed.
"I don't know," she said. Oliver walked up to the Goblet and held his paper slightly above the flames for a moment, as if he was second-guessing himself. A look of intense thought passed over his features. Angelina walked over to him and rested her hand on his arm gently.
"Are you going to put it in or not?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Oliver.
"So put it in," she said. "Doesn't make any difference whether you put it in now or later. You still have the same chance, right?"
"I guess," Oliver said. He rested the parchment against the brim of the Goblet and exhaled gently. Then he let it go. The parchment fluttered into the flames and disappeared into the depths of the cup.
"Well done, Wood," said Fred, slapping the Captain heartily on the back. "May the best man win."
Oliver grunted in a sort of way. "Are you going to put yours in, Angelina?" Oliver asked.
"I guess," Angelina said, her lips curling in an involuntary smile. "Oh, shut up."
"I didn't say anything," said Oliver.
"He's right, you know," Fred pointed out. "You can't tell anyone to shut up if they didn't say anything yet."
"Oh, shut up," said Angelina.