Disclaimer: Much as I'd like to, I don't own Draco Malfoy, or any part of the magical world that J.K. Rowling has all the copyrights to ... please don't sue me. There are some parts of this story that are quotes from the book - it can't be helped - events are the same as in the book, but Draco's opinion of these events may vary from Harry's.
Author's Notes: Um, Theo's insane. Nuf said.
Bob: Sorry I missed your ch10 review, it came into my inbox after I uploaded ch11. *grins* I'm glad someone spotted the mention of Mary-Sue. Is Theo actually a demon? That would be telling, wouldn't it?
JKH: *proud grin* thanks, glad you like it.
Simply Myself: CoS 3: Thanks, Luna's one of my favourite characters. *gets perverse mental images about the ferret/Jarvey thing* yeah, I thought that too. 4: Well, wouldn't you love to torture Lockhart? 5: No, I'm calling myself a crazed fanatic. 6: "less odious"? Well, I guess a bit. 8: Yeah, that's kinda the point of Theo's presence in that chapter. 9: Yeah, you're probably right, but I'm too lazy to go back and fix it. And he actually did take it as a compliment, didn't he? 10: Theo likes to be unusual, yes ... but it he wanted unusual hair, it'd be Slytherin-green. Blaise's natural hair colour? Dirty-blonde - she dyes it peroxide blonde. I call her McGonnaFlip in PoA. 11: Oh, the "the moster's behind you" trick would never get old - Lockhart has the brainpower and memory span/attention span of a goldfish. I apologise to all goldfish out there for that insulting comment. 12: His mother, Pansy, and Hermione. 13: I was particularly proud of that line - I'm glad you liked it. *bows low at the mention of Lockhart's valentine*. 14: Nah, that potion wouldn't really rot teeth - it was just a joke. Yeah, I think you're right about Dumbledore. 15: Meep is right. 17: Actually, Voldemort means "cheater of death" (voleur means thief/cheater), so Voldemerde would be cheater of shit - I've used that line before in my Sirius fic, before I deleted it. I also wonder if they'll get the chance to try it ... not before book six, at any rate *sighs*. GoF 11: I'm working from Addams Family Values, yes - it's my fav Addams Family movie. Akuma-sama gave me permission to use it, but I was trying to be funny with saying I was hiding my plans to 'borrow' it.
jinjo: She knows Moody isn't Moody, but for all she knows, Dumbledore could have planned it. And all she knows about Cedric is that he'll be in danger if he gets to be champion.
kraeg001: *evil grin* memo to me, write AU where Voldemort's the good-guy, striving for world peace. It'd be funny.
Exodia Himself: Hehehe.
Elizabeth: Yes, I've seen the trailer *gags* I hated he singing! Draco looked good, though.
dstrbd child: Draco doesn't like Wednesday in that way, because she confuses/scares him a bit - he does see her as a potential friend/ally, though. He does still like Hermione.
Prongs4: Thank you - second person to spot it. I was expecting more people to mention it.
queen of the clarinets: Hehehe. Unpredictable is Theo's middle name (not literally - although someone told me Friday is Wednesday's middle name). Thank you.
Hrei-siesn: Um ... you'll see in this chapter.
duochang97: Yep, but it's really just the name I stole from Babylon 5, since I don't watch it enough to know what the character's like. It's not so much "more clever" it's actually so obvious it wasn't suggested in the real books.
"good morning" "that's an oxymoron" -Odessy 5
Chapter 12 - Twenty-Four Hours
Theo wouldn't let me go to sleep - he wouldn't say why. "I'm going to hurt you if you don't let me get some sleep!" I snapped.
"Just a few more minutes." Theo insisted ... then the clock struck midnight. "Ok, let's go."
And he dragged me out of the dorms, up a secret passageway, and out into the Entrance Hall - no one caught us, but it kinda defeats the purpose of sneaking out when you walk into the Headmaster.
"And what might you two boys be doing out of bed so late?" Dumbledore asked as we walked into the Entrance Hall.
"I have no idea - he wouldn't let me sleep." I said honestly, pointing at Theo.
"I wanted to look at the Goblet of Fire." Theo said, "It sounds fascinating."
Dumbledore gave Theo a suspicious look, "Are you considering trying to enter the Tournament, by any chance?"
"Yes." Theo said. I gave him a 'huh?' look.
"You should not waste your time. I have already constructed the Age Line." Dumbledore said calmly.
"Y'know, with the exception of an honest day's work, there's no challenge I'm not willing to face." Theo said smirking.
"Well then, by all means, if you can get past my enchantments, you may enter." Dumbledore said, giving Theo a look that clearly said he wasn't going to get to be champion.
"I know I can't get past the Age Line." Theo said, walking over to stand just this side of the line, "But what about ..." he took out a piece of parchment, and his wand, "Wingardium Leviosa." the parchment hovered over the Age Line, but promptly dropped like a stone, half-way from the line to the Goblet.
Dumbledore smirked smugly.
"Ok." Theo said, undeterred, "Accio." and the parchment flew into his hand, then taking aim, "Eiecto." He cast a Banishing Charm, and it flew further this time, but fell short of the Goblet, not due to magical interruptions, but pure poor-aim. "Accio."
"I think you have proved you can bypass the Age Line, Theo. We can go now." I snapped.
"No, I wanna enter." Theo insisted.
"You're nuts!" I all-but shouted.
"Yep. Eiecto." this time the parchment landed in the flames and vanished, "I did it!" he cheered.
"Well done. Now, whose name did you write?" Dumbledore asked, not amused.
"Well, I considered writing 'Mrs Norris' ... but then I decided that'd not be very nice, so I just wrote my own name." Theo said, smirking.
Dumbledore sighed, "It is your decision." he shrugged, "You will have detention all day on November 24th, February 24th, and June 24th. The Goblet will take that into account, and will not let you become champion if you are unable to attend the events."
"No fair!" Theo whined.
Dumbledore smirked, "You cheated first." and with that he left us alone.
"Did you really enter your own name?" I asked, stunned, watching as Theo took out a notepad and added those three dates to it.
"Yep." Theo said, nodding, "Like I said to Dumbledore, with the exception of an honest day's work, there's no challenge I'm not willing to face. Too bad he cheated right back. Maybe I shoulda waited till after he'd gone." Theo shrugged.
"And why did you drag me along?" I asked angrily.
"If he'd not been there, I'd have wanted you to keep and eye out for Filch, or anyone else."
Speaking of keeping an eye out, "Am I the only one here who feels like we're being watched?" I asked, shivering slightly, and looking around.
"It's probably Dumbledore waiting to see if you try the same trick I did." Theo said, shrugging it off.
"No, it's not Dumbledore. It feels like someone's watching me ... the same sort of feeling you get if someone uses a spy charm on you for too long." I insisted.
"How would you know?" Theo asked.
"There used to be a spy charm on my room, when I was a small child, so my parents would know if I was causing trouble. You're not supposed to feel it, but I can."
Theo sighed, "Who would be spying on us?"
I looked around suspiciously, "I have no clue."
"Let's get back to our dorms." Theo suggested, and led me away. As soon as we left the Entrance Hall, the feeling of being watched vanished.
* * *
The next morning, at five AM, I was rudely awakened by Theo bouncing hyperly around the room, "Come on, Draco. Wake up!"
"Piss off." I replied, burrowing under the blankets on my bed, to avoid the real world.
"Nuh uh. Wake up!" Theo insisted. I sat up and threw a pillow at him. He caught it and grinned evilly.
"I'm going to hurt you one of these days. You know that, right?"
"Yep."
* * *
We made it up to the Entrance Hall, along with the rest of the fourth year Slytherins, just in time to see the Durmstrang students walk in, in an orderly line (Krum first - Poliakoff last), submit their names to the Goblet, and then file into the Great Hall.
Cat walked over to the Age Line, and looked at the Goblet as closely as she could get away with. "I don't like this." she said simply.
"Why not?" Blaise asked, "If people want to enter, it's their business."
"I still don't like it." Cat insisted.
Just then, Warrington appeared from the dungeons, and stalked over to the Goblet, grumbling, "I'll show them. Cancel Quidditch, how dare they." and put his name in.
I sniggered, "You realise that's not a good reason for trying to compete." I asked.
"So?" Warrington asked.
"Aside from the age thing, which it seems to ignore, it's supposed to take into account everything about the people applying, from intent to detention schedules." Theo said, shrugging.
"How would you know?" Warrington asked suspiciously.
"I asked Dumbledore." Theo said smugly.
"Why?" Warrington insisted.
"Because I was trying to get past the Age Line last night." Theo said, shrugging.
"You don't have a beard." a particularly short Hufflepuff second year boy said loudly.
"Huh?" Theo asked.
"My friend tried to get past it, and he grew a beard." the Hufflepuff announced.
"How did he try to get past?" Theo asked.
"Aging potion." the Hufflepuff said almost smugly.
"Phfft." Theo said, waving his hand dismissively, "I tried a levitation spell. Didn't work, though."
The Hufflepuff boy took offence, "Why did you 'phfft' me?"
"Because an aging potion is way too obvious - Dumbledore woulda obviously compensated for it."
"He also compensated for your levitation charm!" the Hufflepuff retorted.
"Yeah. He did." Theo shrugged.
"That thing you said about intent was bullshit, Theo." I muttered to him.
"Yep, I just wanted to annoy Warrington." Theo said smirking as he wandered off into the Great Hall.
"I still don't like this." Cat said glaring at the Goblet.
Just then, four Hufflepuff boys, who I know are on their Quidditch team, hurried down the stairs to the goblet. Two of them glared at the age line, but another two crossed it and approached the Goblet.
"You don't want to do that, Cedric." Cat said.
One of the Hufflepuffs paused, as the other put his name in. "Why not?" the one who had paused asked.
"You just don't." Cat said, simply.
Cedric snorted and quite theatrically held his piece of parchment over the Goblet and dropped it for everyone to see. "Yes I do." he said, smirking.
The other Hufflepuff boy asked, "Why, afraid one of us'll win?"
"Yes." Cat said distantly, "I am."
The Hufflepuff's humour faded immediately, and he stalked over to loom over Cat, "Why, you don't think a Hufflepuff can do anything?"
"It's not that." Cat said, not looking at him - she was still staring at the Goblet, "I just don't think it's safe ... for anyone."
The Hufflepuff boy glared at her, but seemed to have enough chivalry not to threaten her, "Zach, let's go." Cedric said, dragging him away - I could distinctly hear him mutter to Zach, "Who cares about a Slytherin's opinion, anyway?"
"How rude." Blaise said, trying to see if Cat was alright, "What's wrong, Cat?"
"They're stupid." she said coldly.
Blaise shrugged, "If they want to participate in the Tournament, it's their own funeral." she said, obviously oblivious to the fact Theo entered.
"Don't say that." Cat snapped, and ran off into the Great Hall.
"What's with her?" Blaise asked, confused.
"I have no idea." I muttered, looking at the Goblet suspiciously. If the Seer saw something wrong, there was probably something wrong.
* * *
After breakfast, Theo, Luna, Blaise, and I walked down to the edge of the lake - the same place I had met Sirius Black last year, "What is she doing here?" Blaise asked angrily.
"I invited her." Theo said calmly.
"Where's Cat, anyway?" Blaise persisted.
"I dunno." Theo replied.
While those two argued about Luna, Luna herself asked me, "What do you think of the Tournament?"
"It's stupid." I answered.
"I tend to agree. I don't see the point in fighting dragons, or merpeople, or Acromantula, or whatever else they get." Luna said coolly.
"Do you know who's entered yet?" I asked.
"I know some of them." she said, staring out at the lake.
"Who?"
"Andrew Summers tried, but grew a beard. Sarah Fawcett tried, but she grew a beard. All the Durmstrang lot. Warrington - I don't know his first name. Zacharias Smith. Cedric Diggory. All the Beauxbatons lot. The Weasley twins tried, but grew beards. Angelina Johnson. Carrie Nott. Samantha Jones. Michael Zabini. That's all I know."
"You're thorough." I noted.
"I was watching the Goblet until Theo invited me to join you three down here. Now Wednesday is watching the Goblet."
"Why?" I asked, surprised.
"Theo asked us nicely." Luna replied.
"What are you up to, Theo?" I asked, interrupting a debate on Blast-Ended Skrewts - how the topic of conversation evolved from Luna Lovegood to Blast-Ended Skrewts, I don't really want to know.
"I just want to know all the facts about the Tournament. All of them." Theo said, shrugging. Then, as if grateful that I interrupted his debate, he moved to sit next to Luna, "So, Luna, any word on the tests yet?"
"Stewart's been sucking up to Bagman for me. Bagman is an easy mark, really. But no word yet." Luna said, shrugging.
"Who's Stewart?" I asked.
"He's a Raven first-year." Theo explained, "Definitely an ally in trouble-making, not sure about anything else though."
"Right." I muttered, deciding it's better to leave them to their plotting, and moved to sit next to Blaise, and resumed the discussion she had been having with Theo, which turned out to be ways to murder the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Definitely a fun discussion.
* * *
"Vhat is wrong vith Kit?" Krum asked at lunch. Cat was sitting separately from the rest of us, scowling at her food as if it was cursed.
"Her name's Cat." Theo muttered, "And she's been huffy since this morning."
"I don't blame her." I said quietly, "Even I know something's wrong, and I don't have the Sight."
"Your friend has the Sight?" Wednesday asked, suddenly paying attention, instead of poking at her lunch disinterestedly.
"Yeah." Theo said, shrugging, "But her visions are always really vague - last big one she had was a riddle about a Riddle."
"Shut up Theo." I muttered.
Wednesday smiled, "I must talk to her." and she moved seats to sit next to Cat, and started talking.
Within ten minutes, Cat appeared to be in a better mood, happily eating her lunch as if she didn't have a care in the world, and Wednesday sat down next to Krum again. "What did you say to her?" Theo asked, stunned.
"I told her, if fate wants something to happen, it must be for a reason." Wednesday said shrugging.
* * *
I spent the rest of the day working on my Transfiguration homework. McGonagall has been quite surprised at how much my grades have improved. I'm already working on Vanishing Spells, which we're not supposed to do until fifth year.
Eventually, my alarm clock shouted, "Hey, Diricawl brain! Time for the Feast!"
I picked up a nearby copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and threw it at the alarm clock. It shut up. Then I put away my textbooks and made my way up to the Great Hall where almost everyone was already waiting impatiently for the Feast to start.
Although, the Terrific Trio arrived well after I'd sat down, less than a minute after Durmstrang.
Wednesday sat bedside me, and Theo was on my other side - I felt trapped. Well, wouldn't you?
Then Luna appeared, to tell Theo something. Now I was scared.
Thankfully, the Feast started, and Luna made a hasty retreat to the Ravenclaw table. Wednesday began to meticulously pour extra-spicy soup onto Poliakoff's plate, while he wasn't looking, thus taking her attention away from me.
Theo on the other hand, "So who do you think'll be champion?"
"Krum." Susan Ivanova, who was sitting opposite Theo, said.
"We were thinking about Hogwarts - Krum seems the obvious choice for Durmstrang's champion, no offence." Theo said to Susan.
"Oh." Susan said, but didn't take offence - she'd said it herself, anyway, "It is a shame Harry Potter is too young." she noted, "He vould make an excellent champion."
I glared at her. "Um, don't say anything nice about Potter in front of Draco - he doesn't like him." Theo said quickly.
"Ah. I am sorry." Susan said.
Suddenly, Poliakoff started gagging on something he'd just eaten, and grabbed desperately at a jug of pumpkin juice, which he emptied in record time (surprisingly, not spilling a drop). "Vat vos that?" he asked, gasping for breath. Wednesday giggled evilly, then tried to look innocent.
"Ved-nes-day." Krum grunted, through a mouthful of food. Poliakoff nodded as if that explained it, and edged away from Wednesday. She didn't seem to mind this, and took a large helping of the same soup, and started eating it without any problems.
"I think it'll be Zabini ... y'know, Blaise's brother ... I hope it's not Warrington, though - that guy gives our house a bad name." Theo was rambling, but no one was really listening.
"I'm pretty sure it's not Warrington's fault that Slytherin has a bad name, Theo." I interrupted.
"No, you're right ... it's really Flint's fault." Theo said, grinning, and probably knowing damned well who I was really referring to.
Finally, the Feast ended, and Dumbledore stood - the Goblet was sitting in front of him, at the teachers' table. "Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision."
* * *
End of chapter 12
Author's Notes: Um, Theo's insane. Nuf said.
Bob: Sorry I missed your ch10 review, it came into my inbox after I uploaded ch11. *grins* I'm glad someone spotted the mention of Mary-Sue. Is Theo actually a demon? That would be telling, wouldn't it?
JKH: *proud grin* thanks, glad you like it.
Simply Myself: CoS 3: Thanks, Luna's one of my favourite characters. *gets perverse mental images about the ferret/Jarvey thing* yeah, I thought that too. 4: Well, wouldn't you love to torture Lockhart? 5: No, I'm calling myself a crazed fanatic. 6: "less odious"? Well, I guess a bit. 8: Yeah, that's kinda the point of Theo's presence in that chapter. 9: Yeah, you're probably right, but I'm too lazy to go back and fix it. And he actually did take it as a compliment, didn't he? 10: Theo likes to be unusual, yes ... but it he wanted unusual hair, it'd be Slytherin-green. Blaise's natural hair colour? Dirty-blonde - she dyes it peroxide blonde. I call her McGonnaFlip in PoA. 11: Oh, the "the moster's behind you" trick would never get old - Lockhart has the brainpower and memory span/attention span of a goldfish. I apologise to all goldfish out there for that insulting comment. 12: His mother, Pansy, and Hermione. 13: I was particularly proud of that line - I'm glad you liked it. *bows low at the mention of Lockhart's valentine*. 14: Nah, that potion wouldn't really rot teeth - it was just a joke. Yeah, I think you're right about Dumbledore. 15: Meep is right. 17: Actually, Voldemort means "cheater of death" (voleur means thief/cheater), so Voldemerde would be cheater of shit - I've used that line before in my Sirius fic, before I deleted it. I also wonder if they'll get the chance to try it ... not before book six, at any rate *sighs*. GoF 11: I'm working from Addams Family Values, yes - it's my fav Addams Family movie. Akuma-sama gave me permission to use it, but I was trying to be funny with saying I was hiding my plans to 'borrow' it.
jinjo: She knows Moody isn't Moody, but for all she knows, Dumbledore could have planned it. And all she knows about Cedric is that he'll be in danger if he gets to be champion.
kraeg001: *evil grin* memo to me, write AU where Voldemort's the good-guy, striving for world peace. It'd be funny.
Exodia Himself: Hehehe.
Elizabeth: Yes, I've seen the trailer *gags* I hated he singing! Draco looked good, though.
dstrbd child: Draco doesn't like Wednesday in that way, because she confuses/scares him a bit - he does see her as a potential friend/ally, though. He does still like Hermione.
Prongs4: Thank you - second person to spot it. I was expecting more people to mention it.
queen of the clarinets: Hehehe. Unpredictable is Theo's middle name (not literally - although someone told me Friday is Wednesday's middle name). Thank you.
Hrei-siesn: Um ... you'll see in this chapter.
duochang97: Yep, but it's really just the name I stole from Babylon 5, since I don't watch it enough to know what the character's like. It's not so much "more clever" it's actually so obvious it wasn't suggested in the real books.
"good morning" "that's an oxymoron" -Odessy 5
Chapter 12 - Twenty-Four Hours
Theo wouldn't let me go to sleep - he wouldn't say why. "I'm going to hurt you if you don't let me get some sleep!" I snapped.
"Just a few more minutes." Theo insisted ... then the clock struck midnight. "Ok, let's go."
And he dragged me out of the dorms, up a secret passageway, and out into the Entrance Hall - no one caught us, but it kinda defeats the purpose of sneaking out when you walk into the Headmaster.
"And what might you two boys be doing out of bed so late?" Dumbledore asked as we walked into the Entrance Hall.
"I have no idea - he wouldn't let me sleep." I said honestly, pointing at Theo.
"I wanted to look at the Goblet of Fire." Theo said, "It sounds fascinating."
Dumbledore gave Theo a suspicious look, "Are you considering trying to enter the Tournament, by any chance?"
"Yes." Theo said. I gave him a 'huh?' look.
"You should not waste your time. I have already constructed the Age Line." Dumbledore said calmly.
"Y'know, with the exception of an honest day's work, there's no challenge I'm not willing to face." Theo said smirking.
"Well then, by all means, if you can get past my enchantments, you may enter." Dumbledore said, giving Theo a look that clearly said he wasn't going to get to be champion.
"I know I can't get past the Age Line." Theo said, walking over to stand just this side of the line, "But what about ..." he took out a piece of parchment, and his wand, "Wingardium Leviosa." the parchment hovered over the Age Line, but promptly dropped like a stone, half-way from the line to the Goblet.
Dumbledore smirked smugly.
"Ok." Theo said, undeterred, "Accio." and the parchment flew into his hand, then taking aim, "Eiecto." He cast a Banishing Charm, and it flew further this time, but fell short of the Goblet, not due to magical interruptions, but pure poor-aim. "Accio."
"I think you have proved you can bypass the Age Line, Theo. We can go now." I snapped.
"No, I wanna enter." Theo insisted.
"You're nuts!" I all-but shouted.
"Yep. Eiecto." this time the parchment landed in the flames and vanished, "I did it!" he cheered.
"Well done. Now, whose name did you write?" Dumbledore asked, not amused.
"Well, I considered writing 'Mrs Norris' ... but then I decided that'd not be very nice, so I just wrote my own name." Theo said, smirking.
Dumbledore sighed, "It is your decision." he shrugged, "You will have detention all day on November 24th, February 24th, and June 24th. The Goblet will take that into account, and will not let you become champion if you are unable to attend the events."
"No fair!" Theo whined.
Dumbledore smirked, "You cheated first." and with that he left us alone.
"Did you really enter your own name?" I asked, stunned, watching as Theo took out a notepad and added those three dates to it.
"Yep." Theo said, nodding, "Like I said to Dumbledore, with the exception of an honest day's work, there's no challenge I'm not willing to face. Too bad he cheated right back. Maybe I shoulda waited till after he'd gone." Theo shrugged.
"And why did you drag me along?" I asked angrily.
"If he'd not been there, I'd have wanted you to keep and eye out for Filch, or anyone else."
Speaking of keeping an eye out, "Am I the only one here who feels like we're being watched?" I asked, shivering slightly, and looking around.
"It's probably Dumbledore waiting to see if you try the same trick I did." Theo said, shrugging it off.
"No, it's not Dumbledore. It feels like someone's watching me ... the same sort of feeling you get if someone uses a spy charm on you for too long." I insisted.
"How would you know?" Theo asked.
"There used to be a spy charm on my room, when I was a small child, so my parents would know if I was causing trouble. You're not supposed to feel it, but I can."
Theo sighed, "Who would be spying on us?"
I looked around suspiciously, "I have no clue."
"Let's get back to our dorms." Theo suggested, and led me away. As soon as we left the Entrance Hall, the feeling of being watched vanished.
* * *
The next morning, at five AM, I was rudely awakened by Theo bouncing hyperly around the room, "Come on, Draco. Wake up!"
"Piss off." I replied, burrowing under the blankets on my bed, to avoid the real world.
"Nuh uh. Wake up!" Theo insisted. I sat up and threw a pillow at him. He caught it and grinned evilly.
"I'm going to hurt you one of these days. You know that, right?"
"Yep."
* * *
We made it up to the Entrance Hall, along with the rest of the fourth year Slytherins, just in time to see the Durmstrang students walk in, in an orderly line (Krum first - Poliakoff last), submit their names to the Goblet, and then file into the Great Hall.
Cat walked over to the Age Line, and looked at the Goblet as closely as she could get away with. "I don't like this." she said simply.
"Why not?" Blaise asked, "If people want to enter, it's their business."
"I still don't like it." Cat insisted.
Just then, Warrington appeared from the dungeons, and stalked over to the Goblet, grumbling, "I'll show them. Cancel Quidditch, how dare they." and put his name in.
I sniggered, "You realise that's not a good reason for trying to compete." I asked.
"So?" Warrington asked.
"Aside from the age thing, which it seems to ignore, it's supposed to take into account everything about the people applying, from intent to detention schedules." Theo said, shrugging.
"How would you know?" Warrington asked suspiciously.
"I asked Dumbledore." Theo said smugly.
"Why?" Warrington insisted.
"Because I was trying to get past the Age Line last night." Theo said, shrugging.
"You don't have a beard." a particularly short Hufflepuff second year boy said loudly.
"Huh?" Theo asked.
"My friend tried to get past it, and he grew a beard." the Hufflepuff announced.
"How did he try to get past?" Theo asked.
"Aging potion." the Hufflepuff said almost smugly.
"Phfft." Theo said, waving his hand dismissively, "I tried a levitation spell. Didn't work, though."
The Hufflepuff boy took offence, "Why did you 'phfft' me?"
"Because an aging potion is way too obvious - Dumbledore woulda obviously compensated for it."
"He also compensated for your levitation charm!" the Hufflepuff retorted.
"Yeah. He did." Theo shrugged.
"That thing you said about intent was bullshit, Theo." I muttered to him.
"Yep, I just wanted to annoy Warrington." Theo said smirking as he wandered off into the Great Hall.
"I still don't like this." Cat said glaring at the Goblet.
Just then, four Hufflepuff boys, who I know are on their Quidditch team, hurried down the stairs to the goblet. Two of them glared at the age line, but another two crossed it and approached the Goblet.
"You don't want to do that, Cedric." Cat said.
One of the Hufflepuffs paused, as the other put his name in. "Why not?" the one who had paused asked.
"You just don't." Cat said, simply.
Cedric snorted and quite theatrically held his piece of parchment over the Goblet and dropped it for everyone to see. "Yes I do." he said, smirking.
The other Hufflepuff boy asked, "Why, afraid one of us'll win?"
"Yes." Cat said distantly, "I am."
The Hufflepuff's humour faded immediately, and he stalked over to loom over Cat, "Why, you don't think a Hufflepuff can do anything?"
"It's not that." Cat said, not looking at him - she was still staring at the Goblet, "I just don't think it's safe ... for anyone."
The Hufflepuff boy glared at her, but seemed to have enough chivalry not to threaten her, "Zach, let's go." Cedric said, dragging him away - I could distinctly hear him mutter to Zach, "Who cares about a Slytherin's opinion, anyway?"
"How rude." Blaise said, trying to see if Cat was alright, "What's wrong, Cat?"
"They're stupid." she said coldly.
Blaise shrugged, "If they want to participate in the Tournament, it's their own funeral." she said, obviously oblivious to the fact Theo entered.
"Don't say that." Cat snapped, and ran off into the Great Hall.
"What's with her?" Blaise asked, confused.
"I have no idea." I muttered, looking at the Goblet suspiciously. If the Seer saw something wrong, there was probably something wrong.
* * *
After breakfast, Theo, Luna, Blaise, and I walked down to the edge of the lake - the same place I had met Sirius Black last year, "What is she doing here?" Blaise asked angrily.
"I invited her." Theo said calmly.
"Where's Cat, anyway?" Blaise persisted.
"I dunno." Theo replied.
While those two argued about Luna, Luna herself asked me, "What do you think of the Tournament?"
"It's stupid." I answered.
"I tend to agree. I don't see the point in fighting dragons, or merpeople, or Acromantula, or whatever else they get." Luna said coolly.
"Do you know who's entered yet?" I asked.
"I know some of them." she said, staring out at the lake.
"Who?"
"Andrew Summers tried, but grew a beard. Sarah Fawcett tried, but she grew a beard. All the Durmstrang lot. Warrington - I don't know his first name. Zacharias Smith. Cedric Diggory. All the Beauxbatons lot. The Weasley twins tried, but grew beards. Angelina Johnson. Carrie Nott. Samantha Jones. Michael Zabini. That's all I know."
"You're thorough." I noted.
"I was watching the Goblet until Theo invited me to join you three down here. Now Wednesday is watching the Goblet."
"Why?" I asked, surprised.
"Theo asked us nicely." Luna replied.
"What are you up to, Theo?" I asked, interrupting a debate on Blast-Ended Skrewts - how the topic of conversation evolved from Luna Lovegood to Blast-Ended Skrewts, I don't really want to know.
"I just want to know all the facts about the Tournament. All of them." Theo said, shrugging. Then, as if grateful that I interrupted his debate, he moved to sit next to Luna, "So, Luna, any word on the tests yet?"
"Stewart's been sucking up to Bagman for me. Bagman is an easy mark, really. But no word yet." Luna said, shrugging.
"Who's Stewart?" I asked.
"He's a Raven first-year." Theo explained, "Definitely an ally in trouble-making, not sure about anything else though."
"Right." I muttered, deciding it's better to leave them to their plotting, and moved to sit next to Blaise, and resumed the discussion she had been having with Theo, which turned out to be ways to murder the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Definitely a fun discussion.
* * *
"Vhat is wrong vith Kit?" Krum asked at lunch. Cat was sitting separately from the rest of us, scowling at her food as if it was cursed.
"Her name's Cat." Theo muttered, "And she's been huffy since this morning."
"I don't blame her." I said quietly, "Even I know something's wrong, and I don't have the Sight."
"Your friend has the Sight?" Wednesday asked, suddenly paying attention, instead of poking at her lunch disinterestedly.
"Yeah." Theo said, shrugging, "But her visions are always really vague - last big one she had was a riddle about a Riddle."
"Shut up Theo." I muttered.
Wednesday smiled, "I must talk to her." and she moved seats to sit next to Cat, and started talking.
Within ten minutes, Cat appeared to be in a better mood, happily eating her lunch as if she didn't have a care in the world, and Wednesday sat down next to Krum again. "What did you say to her?" Theo asked, stunned.
"I told her, if fate wants something to happen, it must be for a reason." Wednesday said shrugging.
* * *
I spent the rest of the day working on my Transfiguration homework. McGonagall has been quite surprised at how much my grades have improved. I'm already working on Vanishing Spells, which we're not supposed to do until fifth year.
Eventually, my alarm clock shouted, "Hey, Diricawl brain! Time for the Feast!"
I picked up a nearby copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and threw it at the alarm clock. It shut up. Then I put away my textbooks and made my way up to the Great Hall where almost everyone was already waiting impatiently for the Feast to start.
Although, the Terrific Trio arrived well after I'd sat down, less than a minute after Durmstrang.
Wednesday sat bedside me, and Theo was on my other side - I felt trapped. Well, wouldn't you?
Then Luna appeared, to tell Theo something. Now I was scared.
Thankfully, the Feast started, and Luna made a hasty retreat to the Ravenclaw table. Wednesday began to meticulously pour extra-spicy soup onto Poliakoff's plate, while he wasn't looking, thus taking her attention away from me.
Theo on the other hand, "So who do you think'll be champion?"
"Krum." Susan Ivanova, who was sitting opposite Theo, said.
"We were thinking about Hogwarts - Krum seems the obvious choice for Durmstrang's champion, no offence." Theo said to Susan.
"Oh." Susan said, but didn't take offence - she'd said it herself, anyway, "It is a shame Harry Potter is too young." she noted, "He vould make an excellent champion."
I glared at her. "Um, don't say anything nice about Potter in front of Draco - he doesn't like him." Theo said quickly.
"Ah. I am sorry." Susan said.
Suddenly, Poliakoff started gagging on something he'd just eaten, and grabbed desperately at a jug of pumpkin juice, which he emptied in record time (surprisingly, not spilling a drop). "Vat vos that?" he asked, gasping for breath. Wednesday giggled evilly, then tried to look innocent.
"Ved-nes-day." Krum grunted, through a mouthful of food. Poliakoff nodded as if that explained it, and edged away from Wednesday. She didn't seem to mind this, and took a large helping of the same soup, and started eating it without any problems.
"I think it'll be Zabini ... y'know, Blaise's brother ... I hope it's not Warrington, though - that guy gives our house a bad name." Theo was rambling, but no one was really listening.
"I'm pretty sure it's not Warrington's fault that Slytherin has a bad name, Theo." I interrupted.
"No, you're right ... it's really Flint's fault." Theo said, grinning, and probably knowing damned well who I was really referring to.
Finally, the Feast ended, and Dumbledore stood - the Goblet was sitting in front of him, at the teachers' table. "Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision."
* * *
End of chapter 12