11. Triwizard Tournament
A/N: Here we are. Sorry it took me so long. I originally intended to included ALL of the start of the tournament, but decided it would be too much and cut it down a LOT. Anyway, the last scene was written when I was feeling particularly icky and I wrote the end of the scene before to coincide with it. So, yus, here you are!
Tracey was soon caught up in the hustle and bustle of life at Hogwarts. She attended classes with Annie, Lynne, and Natalie, as well as the four Gryffindor boys in their year: Dennis, Jason Eckert, Tyrone Lawrence, and Andrew Wilson. She was still teased, but she ignored it as well as she could. Her friendship with the other girls helped in that respect. If she hadn't cultivated that friendship, she would have become a little black cloud of gloom floating through the corridors of the castle.
She quickly became absorbed in her studies, finding much of it interesting. She was particularly good at Potions and Transfiguration, but did fairly well in all her subjects. Despite all the homework she was assigned, she always managed to find time to write home once a week, sending owls full of news about life at Hogwarts. She never had time to write all she wanted and promised more in the next one, only to find even more to write about.
One aspect of her studies was not going well for her: flying lessons. She liked Madam Hooch, really, she did, but she was afraid of heights. Flying across the United States, and then the Atlantic, had been relatively painless because she'd been in a plane and could only tell she was flying if she looked out the window (which she hadn't). Flying on a broomstick was something else altogether, and she was teased about that as well. Madam Hooch seemed to understand Tracey's problem and didn't push the girl, for which she was grateful.
September turned slowly into October, bringing chilly weather with it. Tracey, having grown up in southern California, was not used to the cold, wet climate and often wished she could wear jeans instead of skirts. At least the boys could wear trousers. When the arrival of the Beaubaxtons and Durmstrang delegations was announced, including the fact that they would be required to await their arrival, Tracey's comment was, "Great. We get to stand outside in the cold and freeze our buns off while we wait for them to arrive."
This comment had caused the other three girls to laugh, but they obediently trooped down to the entrance hall after classes on the thirtieth, wearing their best cloaks. Tracey had fallen into the habit of pulling the sides of her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her way. For the arrival of the foreign students, she braided the ponytail. As she stood between Dennis and Annie, Tracey started shivering long before the others did. "I hate standing out in the cold."
Her father's voice rang out before either of her friends could reply. "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"
"Where?" exclaimed many of the students behind Tracey.
She looked around wildly, trying desperately to spot it. "_There!_"
"It's a dragon!" she shrieked, spotting a huge black shape hurtling across the sky, growing larger as it approached.
Dennis elbowed her. "Don't be stupid...it's a flying house!"
"No need to be mean about it," Tracey muttered to him as the black shape drew even closer.
Finally, the lights from the castle revealed the black shape to be a powder- blue horse-drawn carriage, roughly the size of a large house, pulled by a dozen winged palomino horses the size of elephants. Tracey stared as the carriage landed in front of the students. The door of the carriage-- containing a picture of two crossed golden wands, with three stars emitting from each--opened and a boy in pale blue robes jumped out. He unfolded a set of golden steps and sprang back respectfully. Tracey gasped when a woman the same size as Hagrid, the groundskeeper, emerged from the carriage. She was rather handsome, with olive skin, large black eyes, and a sort of beaky nose. Her dark hair had been drawn into an elegant knob at the base of her neck and she wore robes of black satin, with opals gleaming at her throat and on her fingers. Tracey quickly followed her father's lead and clapped. "Wow, I've never seen horses that big before."
"Neither have I," Lynne whispered back as Albus welcomed the woman--Madam Maxime--to Hogwarts.
They listened quietly to the conversation between Albus and Madam Maxime and moved aside so Madam Maxime and her students could go into the castle to warm up. "D'you think Durmstrang'll come in a flying carriage, too?"
"Well, don't you think they'd want to be unique?" Tracey asked Dennis, who was looking up at the sky hopefully. "Though I don't know how else they could come. Do you, Lynne?"
The other girl shook her head. "I have no idea."
"Guess we'll have to wait and see, then," Tracey commented.
After a few minutes, a loud, eerie sort of sound drifted towards the gathered students and teachers. It reminded Tracey of a huge vacuum cleaner moving along the bottom of a river or--"The lake!" an older student yelled. "Look at the lake!"
"Awesome," Tracey whispered as a ship rose up out of the middle of a whirlpool that had appeared in the lake. When it emerged fully, the ghostly, skeletal look of the ship sent shivers up and down Tracey's spine.
The people who disembarked from the ship appeared to be built like linebackers, but the light streaming onto the grounds from the entrance revealed that their cloaks were made of some kind of fur that made Tracey envious. She was past shivering now. The man in the lead was wearing different furs from the others: sleek and silver, like his hair. "Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"
"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Albus replied calmly.
As Albus and Karkaroff spoke together, Tracey glanced at Minerva. The look on the Transfiguration professor's face was that of annoyance and extreme dislike. When one Durmstrang student in particular came into the light, Tracey noticed an extraordinary change come over many of the students. They became excited and elbowed their neighbors. As she filed back into the castle with the other students, Tracey asked Lynne, "What's so special about that Viktor guy?"
"He's Viktor Krum," Lynne explained as they crossed the entrance hall. "He was the Seeker for the Bulgarian team at the Quidditch World Cup. He caught the Snitch, but Bulgaria still lost."
Tracey frowned, puzzled. "What's so special about that?"
"Don't you know anything about Quidditch?" Lynne asked, surprised.
Tracey shook her head. "Not a clue, but you'll have to explain later."
"What do you mean?" Lynne was puzzled now.
Tracey nodded towards the doors to the entrance hall. "The teachers are about to come in."
"Oh."
Sure enough, the staff entered and walked up to the top table, taking their usual seats, but leaving the middle five open: Albus' throne-like one and two on either side. Last to enter were Albus, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime. The Beaubaxtons students jumped to their feet when their headmistress appeared and didn't sit back down until Madam Maxime took her seat to the left of Albus'. Albus remained standing and everyone present fell silent. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and--most particularly--guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be comfortable and enjoyable." One of the Beaubaxtons girls, a muffler still wrapped around her head, gave a derisive laugh and Tracey bristled, much like Jestana when the feline was ready to attack. Lynne put her hand on the other girl's shoulder to calm her down. "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home."
The food appeared in front of them and the Great Hall was filled with the chatter of many conversations and the clink of gold knives and forks against matching plates. "Wow, I've never seen such variety, not even at the Welcoming Feast."
"It's probably because of our guests," Tracey told Dennis, examining one of the foreign dishes before scooping some onto her plate.
"Good point," Dennis agreed, scooping steak-and-kidney pudding onto his plate.
Conversation gave way to eating and Tracey passed the rest of the feast without speaking; partially because she was eating, but also because her head ached. When the golden plates were clean at last, Albus rose to his feet once again. "The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket--"
"Casket?" Tracey muttered to Lynne.
The other girl shrugged. "--just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year." Before he did, though, he introduced Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Tracey didn't really pay attention again until Albus mentioned that "--they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts." The attention of the students sharpened and Albus smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
The caretaker, who'd been waiting in a far corner of the Hall, now approached the headmaster, carrying a large wooden chest encrusted with jewels. Beside Tracey, Dennis stood on his chair so he could see it better, but he was so tiny that it didn't do him much good. Tracey's mind wandered again until her father stated, "The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
With these words, he drew out his wand and tapped three times on the top of the casket. Slowly, the lid creaked open. Albus reached in and lifted out a large, roughly-hewn wooden cup, filled to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Albus closed the casket and carefully placed the goblet on top of it, so everyone in the Hall could clearly see it. After explaining how aspiring champions could submit their names and warning younger students against trying to submit their names, he sent them off to bed. "I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."
"See, Dennis? There's no way you can submit yourself," Tracey told him as they stood and headed for the doors.
"Think about it, though," Dennis persisted as they squirmed and wriggled their way through the crowd. "A thousand Galleons, the glory of the school."
She sighed and shook her head, only to lose her balance and nearly fall. "Whoa." Dennis managed to catch her, though. "Thanks, Den."
"You're welcome, Trace," he replied as he helped her straighten up. "Are you okay?"
They pressed forward and she decided against nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Dunno what happened there, though."
"If you're sure," he answered doubtfully.
She nodded carefully, and was able to keep from losing her balance this time. "I'm sure."
"Okay." They made it into the entrance hall and headed up to Gryffindor Tower.
By the time she reached the dormitory, her head was spinning so bad that she'd clung to the banister on her way up. Not even bothering to change out of her uniform and into her flannel pajamas, she kicked off her shoes, crawled into bed, and promptly fell asleep. She didn't even stir when the other three girls came in, or when Jestana curled up on her pillow by her head.
* * *
The next morning, Tracey woke and groaned. Her head ached. It was throbbing as if someone was pounding on a bass drum in her skull. "Tracey?"
"Oh, Natalie, not so loud," Tracey moaned, pulling her covers over her head.
Jestana meowed, causing Tracey to groan again. "Trace, what's wrong?"
"My head _hurts_," she replied.
One of the other girls sat down on the edge of Tracey's bed, making it dip under her weight. "Do you think you can stand up?"
The mere thought made the girl groan again. "Uh-uh."
"Alright, then." The other girls left Tracey alone and she'd gone back to sleep before the dormitory door closed behind the last of the girls to leave.
A/N: Here we are. Sorry it took me so long. I originally intended to included ALL of the start of the tournament, but decided it would be too much and cut it down a LOT. Anyway, the last scene was written when I was feeling particularly icky and I wrote the end of the scene before to coincide with it. So, yus, here you are!
Tracey was soon caught up in the hustle and bustle of life at Hogwarts. She attended classes with Annie, Lynne, and Natalie, as well as the four Gryffindor boys in their year: Dennis, Jason Eckert, Tyrone Lawrence, and Andrew Wilson. She was still teased, but she ignored it as well as she could. Her friendship with the other girls helped in that respect. If she hadn't cultivated that friendship, she would have become a little black cloud of gloom floating through the corridors of the castle.
She quickly became absorbed in her studies, finding much of it interesting. She was particularly good at Potions and Transfiguration, but did fairly well in all her subjects. Despite all the homework she was assigned, she always managed to find time to write home once a week, sending owls full of news about life at Hogwarts. She never had time to write all she wanted and promised more in the next one, only to find even more to write about.
One aspect of her studies was not going well for her: flying lessons. She liked Madam Hooch, really, she did, but she was afraid of heights. Flying across the United States, and then the Atlantic, had been relatively painless because she'd been in a plane and could only tell she was flying if she looked out the window (which she hadn't). Flying on a broomstick was something else altogether, and she was teased about that as well. Madam Hooch seemed to understand Tracey's problem and didn't push the girl, for which she was grateful.
September turned slowly into October, bringing chilly weather with it. Tracey, having grown up in southern California, was not used to the cold, wet climate and often wished she could wear jeans instead of skirts. At least the boys could wear trousers. When the arrival of the Beaubaxtons and Durmstrang delegations was announced, including the fact that they would be required to await their arrival, Tracey's comment was, "Great. We get to stand outside in the cold and freeze our buns off while we wait for them to arrive."
This comment had caused the other three girls to laugh, but they obediently trooped down to the entrance hall after classes on the thirtieth, wearing their best cloaks. Tracey had fallen into the habit of pulling the sides of her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her way. For the arrival of the foreign students, she braided the ponytail. As she stood between Dennis and Annie, Tracey started shivering long before the others did. "I hate standing out in the cold."
Her father's voice rang out before either of her friends could reply. "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"
"Where?" exclaimed many of the students behind Tracey.
She looked around wildly, trying desperately to spot it. "_There!_"
"It's a dragon!" she shrieked, spotting a huge black shape hurtling across the sky, growing larger as it approached.
Dennis elbowed her. "Don't be stupid...it's a flying house!"
"No need to be mean about it," Tracey muttered to him as the black shape drew even closer.
Finally, the lights from the castle revealed the black shape to be a powder- blue horse-drawn carriage, roughly the size of a large house, pulled by a dozen winged palomino horses the size of elephants. Tracey stared as the carriage landed in front of the students. The door of the carriage-- containing a picture of two crossed golden wands, with three stars emitting from each--opened and a boy in pale blue robes jumped out. He unfolded a set of golden steps and sprang back respectfully. Tracey gasped when a woman the same size as Hagrid, the groundskeeper, emerged from the carriage. She was rather handsome, with olive skin, large black eyes, and a sort of beaky nose. Her dark hair had been drawn into an elegant knob at the base of her neck and she wore robes of black satin, with opals gleaming at her throat and on her fingers. Tracey quickly followed her father's lead and clapped. "Wow, I've never seen horses that big before."
"Neither have I," Lynne whispered back as Albus welcomed the woman--Madam Maxime--to Hogwarts.
They listened quietly to the conversation between Albus and Madam Maxime and moved aside so Madam Maxime and her students could go into the castle to warm up. "D'you think Durmstrang'll come in a flying carriage, too?"
"Well, don't you think they'd want to be unique?" Tracey asked Dennis, who was looking up at the sky hopefully. "Though I don't know how else they could come. Do you, Lynne?"
The other girl shook her head. "I have no idea."
"Guess we'll have to wait and see, then," Tracey commented.
After a few minutes, a loud, eerie sort of sound drifted towards the gathered students and teachers. It reminded Tracey of a huge vacuum cleaner moving along the bottom of a river or--"The lake!" an older student yelled. "Look at the lake!"
"Awesome," Tracey whispered as a ship rose up out of the middle of a whirlpool that had appeared in the lake. When it emerged fully, the ghostly, skeletal look of the ship sent shivers up and down Tracey's spine.
The people who disembarked from the ship appeared to be built like linebackers, but the light streaming onto the grounds from the entrance revealed that their cloaks were made of some kind of fur that made Tracey envious. She was past shivering now. The man in the lead was wearing different furs from the others: sleek and silver, like his hair. "Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"
"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Albus replied calmly.
As Albus and Karkaroff spoke together, Tracey glanced at Minerva. The look on the Transfiguration professor's face was that of annoyance and extreme dislike. When one Durmstrang student in particular came into the light, Tracey noticed an extraordinary change come over many of the students. They became excited and elbowed their neighbors. As she filed back into the castle with the other students, Tracey asked Lynne, "What's so special about that Viktor guy?"
"He's Viktor Krum," Lynne explained as they crossed the entrance hall. "He was the Seeker for the Bulgarian team at the Quidditch World Cup. He caught the Snitch, but Bulgaria still lost."
Tracey frowned, puzzled. "What's so special about that?"
"Don't you know anything about Quidditch?" Lynne asked, surprised.
Tracey shook her head. "Not a clue, but you'll have to explain later."
"What do you mean?" Lynne was puzzled now.
Tracey nodded towards the doors to the entrance hall. "The teachers are about to come in."
"Oh."
Sure enough, the staff entered and walked up to the top table, taking their usual seats, but leaving the middle five open: Albus' throne-like one and two on either side. Last to enter were Albus, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime. The Beaubaxtons students jumped to their feet when their headmistress appeared and didn't sit back down until Madam Maxime took her seat to the left of Albus'. Albus remained standing and everyone present fell silent. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and--most particularly--guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be comfortable and enjoyable." One of the Beaubaxtons girls, a muffler still wrapped around her head, gave a derisive laugh and Tracey bristled, much like Jestana when the feline was ready to attack. Lynne put her hand on the other girl's shoulder to calm her down. "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home."
The food appeared in front of them and the Great Hall was filled with the chatter of many conversations and the clink of gold knives and forks against matching plates. "Wow, I've never seen such variety, not even at the Welcoming Feast."
"It's probably because of our guests," Tracey told Dennis, examining one of the foreign dishes before scooping some onto her plate.
"Good point," Dennis agreed, scooping steak-and-kidney pudding onto his plate.
Conversation gave way to eating and Tracey passed the rest of the feast without speaking; partially because she was eating, but also because her head ached. When the golden plates were clean at last, Albus rose to his feet once again. "The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket--"
"Casket?" Tracey muttered to Lynne.
The other girl shrugged. "--just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year." Before he did, though, he introduced Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Tracey didn't really pay attention again until Albus mentioned that "--they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts." The attention of the students sharpened and Albus smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
The caretaker, who'd been waiting in a far corner of the Hall, now approached the headmaster, carrying a large wooden chest encrusted with jewels. Beside Tracey, Dennis stood on his chair so he could see it better, but he was so tiny that it didn't do him much good. Tracey's mind wandered again until her father stated, "The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
With these words, he drew out his wand and tapped three times on the top of the casket. Slowly, the lid creaked open. Albus reached in and lifted out a large, roughly-hewn wooden cup, filled to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Albus closed the casket and carefully placed the goblet on top of it, so everyone in the Hall could clearly see it. After explaining how aspiring champions could submit their names and warning younger students against trying to submit their names, he sent them off to bed. "I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."
"See, Dennis? There's no way you can submit yourself," Tracey told him as they stood and headed for the doors.
"Think about it, though," Dennis persisted as they squirmed and wriggled their way through the crowd. "A thousand Galleons, the glory of the school."
She sighed and shook her head, only to lose her balance and nearly fall. "Whoa." Dennis managed to catch her, though. "Thanks, Den."
"You're welcome, Trace," he replied as he helped her straighten up. "Are you okay?"
They pressed forward and she decided against nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Dunno what happened there, though."
"If you're sure," he answered doubtfully.
She nodded carefully, and was able to keep from losing her balance this time. "I'm sure."
"Okay." They made it into the entrance hall and headed up to Gryffindor Tower.
By the time she reached the dormitory, her head was spinning so bad that she'd clung to the banister on her way up. Not even bothering to change out of her uniform and into her flannel pajamas, she kicked off her shoes, crawled into bed, and promptly fell asleep. She didn't even stir when the other three girls came in, or when Jestana curled up on her pillow by her head.
* * *
The next morning, Tracey woke and groaned. Her head ached. It was throbbing as if someone was pounding on a bass drum in her skull. "Tracey?"
"Oh, Natalie, not so loud," Tracey moaned, pulling her covers over her head.
Jestana meowed, causing Tracey to groan again. "Trace, what's wrong?"
"My head _hurts_," she replied.
One of the other girls sat down on the edge of Tracey's bed, making it dip under her weight. "Do you think you can stand up?"
The mere thought made the girl groan again. "Uh-uh."
"Alright, then." The other girls left Tracey alone and she'd gone back to sleep before the dormitory door closed behind the last of the girls to leave.