Sailor Witches 20
Arrival
I do not own Sailor Moon or Harry
Potter. Sorry for the late update. I tried to get it up earlier.
Chapter will be longer so make sure you've got time when you read.
Since Rita's article about the World Cup and the Sailor Scouts, it was all the students seemed to be able to talk about. It was difficult for the scouts, mainly Serena, not to say anything. Madame Indigo sent her reply in about a week. Lydia read it to the girls in an empty classroom.
Girls
It seems Rita has succeeded in what she planned to do. The Ministry is in chaos and they are receiving howlers nonstop. Fudge has been trying to calm the whole thing down. So far he hasn't sent out a reward for the identity of the sailor scouts. I've never seen him so angry before. Do not let this get in the way of your schoolwork. Rita enjoys embellishing things. The talk should die down in a couple of days, in the meantime, I'd advise you not to not do any sailor scouting. You wouldn't want to be caught.
I am sorry about Serena's potion incident. Don't try to make Snape angry. He is angry enough with Moody having the Defense Against the Dark Arts job.
I am amazed, however, that Moody has showed you the Unforgivable Curses and even performed the Imperious Curse on you. I never would've thought Moody would do that but he has changed much since he retired. He has become very paranoid and he doesn't want you all to lose limbs as he did. I am proud that all of you have been able to throw off the Imperious Curse on the first try. I am not surprised as you being the sailor scouts that you could do it. Continue to work hard in Moody's class. You have much to learn from him.
Madame Indigo
"No sailor scout stuff?" Lita demanded with arms folded. "But I wanted to go beat up some trolls in the forest so I can work on my fighting skills. How long are we supposed to go without any action?"
"I don't think we'll get much this year with the tournament coming up, Lita," said Ami.
"Darn."
"I can't believe Snape made ye make a potion with cat brains init!" Lucky growled. "I'd like to give him a real piece of my mind! And my claws!" He added as he clawed the air.
Lydia chuckled and stroked her cat.
"He's a wizard, Lucky," Artemis said. "He'd use your whole body for potion ingredients."
"Oh, but if I could change into a man," Lucky said with relish, "I'd let him have it!"
"So you've all been put under the Imperious Curse in Moody's class?" Raye questioned.
"Yes," Lydia replied. "And were able to throw it off. You?"
"Yeah," Raye nodded. "I was afraid he'd make me kiss Malfoy or something the way Malfoy's been getting nearly all the teachers to let us sit together."
"What did you have to do?"
"Sing," Raye replied. "I came very close but then I heard a voice telling me not to."
"Did it sound like your own voice?" Serena asked.
"Yeah—but the weird thing was—when I was put under the spell. I felt some very bad vibes."
"It is an unforgivable curse," Luna said, sitting up from Ami's lap. "Very evil. You must have felt its effect."
"But I didn't feel bad when Moody put me under it," said Mina. "I felt like I could do anything. It seemed pretty nice and peaceful."
"I didn't feel that at all," Raye told them. "It wasn't peaceful. It was scary."
"Are you sure he didn't use the Crucaitus Curse?" Lydia asked.
"No, I heard him say the incantation for the Imperious Curse," Raye insisted. "I heard him telling me to sing. Then I heard laughter in the distance and Moody's voice changed. It sounded kind of demanding but the voice telling me not to sing was stronger. I came very close to singing but I stopped myself. I ended up screaming instead."
"You what?" Lydia asked in concern.
Raye hugged herself as she relived the moment. "It was horrible. I was already feeling scared when he told us what he was going to do."
"What about everybody else?" Serena asked. "Were they looking forward to it?"
"Not really," Raye said. "They seemed to like it when Moody was performing the curses on the spiders but not when he said he was going to use the Imperious Curse on us. Not even Draco looked forward to it, though he laughed at some of the things Moody made the class do."
"Did Draco fight it off?" Serena asked.
"I'm not really sure," Raye answered, scratching her head. "Moody told him to act like a ferret."
The girls broke out in laughter. Raye grinned. "Yeah, it was kind of funny. But Draco just looked around the room and crawled on the floor...then he'd stop and look around again. I think he was trying to fight it but I don't know. I don't know much about the behavior of ferrets."
"I'd wish I'd seen it," said Lydia.
"Tell us more what happened when Moody put you under the Imperious Curse, Raye," said Luna.
Raye sighed. "He called me up…but I couldn't seem to move…"
Flashback"Your turn Miss Hino," growled Moody.
The room suddenly went very cold. Raye felt frozen to the ground. She couldn't move.
"Hino."
"What are you, afraid?" Pansy demanded down the line.
Raye didn't seem to hear her.
"Hino!" Moody called, "over here now, please! You are wasting time."
Draco nudged her from behind who had already gone. "Go on, Raye. It won't hurt."
"Can you promise me that?" she demanded. "You sure, Draco?"
"It's the Crucaitus that's supposed to be painful," he grinned as he pushed her through the crowd. "You won't feel a thing—actually—you'll feel great."
Every step seemed heavy as she walked through her classmates and toward Professor Moody. She turned and faced the class. Moody stood next to her side.
"Well then," he said. "You've made it."
Raye started feeling very bad vibes. Vibes that seemed to feel the whole room. They were very strong and evil, comparable to what she felt from Knocturn Alley and Slytherin House. It seemed to consume her.
"Imperio!"Raye flinched. The faces of her classmates disappeared and she felt as if she was lost in a deep black void. She could hear laughing somewhere off in the distance.
'What?' she thought. 'What's that?'
Sing said Moody but it didn't sound like his low grunt. It sounded like a tenor and it had a London accent. The man's voice was younger and it was full of menace. Raye started thinking if she didn't sing then awful things would happen to her, to her friends, to the whole world.
'All right. All right. I'll sing…just don't hurt me.'
Out of fear, Raye opened her mouth and before she let out the first word, another voice entered her mind.
No. I am not afraid of you. I won't let you make me do it.
SING!
Tear me apart if you want to but I will not let you overcome me.
Sing. Sing now!
I am the War Goddess and I will make you burn in the flames of war if you tell me again. I will not sing.
Raye shook her head and screamed. People backed up. She suddenly felt weak and she sank to her knees.
"Miss Hino?" Moody inquired. His voice was back to normal.
"Stay away," she whispered.
The students looked on in confusion and shock. They didn't know why Raye acted so peculiar. Draco had noticed her flinch and that her face didn't look as peaceful as the other students'. Raye felt tears stinging her eyes.
'What happened?' she thought. 'What was that?'
Someone knelt in front of her and took her by the shoulders. "Raye, are you all right? Do you want to go to the hospital wing?"
She pulled her hands from her face, raised her head and her eyes met with Draco Malfoys. For the very first time since she been in his house, and maybe in his whole life, he looked concerned. His cold silver eyes that usually looked so mean now had a hint of warmth and kindness.
"You lied," she hissed as she got up. "You lied—you said it wouldn't hurt."
"But it's not supposed to," Draco said. "Are you saying you didn't feel that good feeling? You felt pain?"
"Are you feeling well, Miss Hino?" Professor Moody inquired.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
"Look at her," Pansy hissed to her friends. "So pathetic."
"I'm going to the Hospital Wing," she said as she started walking toward the door. "I think I just need to lie down."
"You are excused," said Moody.
"I can go with you," said Draco, following her.
"No," she told him. "I'll get there myself."
"But Raye—I don't think—," he said.
"Just leave me!" she snarled over her shoulder as she grabbed her books and left the room.
"She was supposed to sing not scream," Pansy muttered. "What an idiot."
"Shut up, Pansy!" Draco said in a low threatening hiss so Professor Moody couldn't hear. "It isn't funny."
--
End of Flashback"I thought that if I didn't sing the world would end," Raye explained, "but I heard the other voice telling me to stop."
"That sounds awful," Lita said. "I wonder why it felt like that for you. It didn't for us."
"Maybe it's because you are a physic," Ami suggested. "You sense things that we can't."
"I still should've felt the same way as you guys if the Imperious Curse is supposed to make you feel good," said Raye. "It doesn't make any sense. I mean, even with my physic skills I still should've felt some of that peacefulness but I felt none of it."
"I hope he doesn't use the Crucaitus curse on us," Raye said gloomily. "Imagine trying to fight off that."
"Was any of this in your dream?" Lydia inquired.
"No," Raye answered. "It's usually the same stuff I've been dreaming since before the World Cup. Though, I keep hearing someone laugh and someone was laughing when Moody put me under that spell."
"I wonder if you should tell someone," said Serena.
"Like who?"
"I don't know," Serena said helplessly. "Madame Indigo. Dumbledore maybe. Professor Moody."
"No way," Raye said, "I don't think Moody or Madame Indigo could understand it."
"Okay, Dumbledore then."
"No, I can't," Raye insisted, waving her hand. "Maybe Ami's right. It's probably just because I'm a physic and I sensed the evil in the curse, that's all. It's probably how I knew that I had to fight it."
"You sure?" Lydia asked.
"Yeah," Raye replied. "Yeah, really. Listen, I've got to get going to class before Draco sends a search party or something. I'll see you guys later."
"Sure, bye Raye." Said Mina and Raye took off.
Raye sat down at an empty desk in History of Magic and ran her hands through her hair. 'I can't tell anyone about this.' She thought. 'They wouldn't understand. It's just because I'm a psychic. That's all.'
"Raye, you okay?" said a voice next to her.
"Huh?" Raye turned and saw Draco sitting into the seat next to her. 'Great, will he ever leave me alone?'
"You've been acting weird since Moody's last lesson," he said, "when he used the Imperious Curse on us. What happened when he put you under it?"
After having to tell her friends about it just moments ago, she didn't want to say it again. And why should she tell Draco? He was just trying to act concerned to get her to like him. It wasn't going to work. He'd start acting like a jerk again the next day.
"Nothing."
"Didn't seem like nothing," Draco said softly. "I was watching you. You went pale and you looked scared. That's not supposed to happen."
"I'm not surprised," Raye turned her head. "I know what your father is, Draco Malfoy!"
"You leave my father out of this," he said in a harsh whisper, his silver eyes turning cold.
"I'm sure you know all about the Unforgivable Curses, don't you?" Raye demanded.
"Raye, listen," Draco said, "forget about that. When a person is placed under the Imperious Curse they become relaxed but you were the exact opposite."
"I don't know what happened, all right?" Raye snarled. "It was really weird. I'm trying to figure it out myself. Now do you have to sit next to me again? I'd like to be able learn more about Magical History if you don't mind."
"Fine," Draco stood up and took his books. "I guess I'll see you in the common room then."
He slammed his books on a desk as far from Raye as he could get, but still nowhere near Pansy. He felt like being alone too. He looked up at Raye.
"Fight me all you want, Raye Hino," he whispered. "I will win you over someday."
--
Everyone was happy that lessons were let out an hour early--especially the fourth year Gryffindors—that had Potions last so they could greet Beaxbatons and Durmstrang. Because they had no idea how long they had to wait, many dressed warm as they approached outside. Many had excited expressions as they all spoke about what they knew of the two schools and wondered how they were going to come.
"It's chilly out here, isn't it?" Serena asked Lydia with a shiver.
"Not nearly as cold as the time we went to fight Beryl," Lydia replied in a soft whisper. "We arrived in the artic."
People were checking their watches, looking at the sky and around the school grounds. Were they maybe going to come out through the forbidden forest or behind the school?
"Where are they?" Mina demanded.
"I don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for," said Lita.
From the back where all the teachers stood, Dumbledore's loud voice rang out, startling some of the students. "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beaxbatons approaches!"
"Where?" students asked as they looked around.
"There!"Something very big was flying over the forest, toward Hogwarts.
"A spaceship?" Serena inquired in confusion, causing Lydia to laugh.
"Serena, they're not that foreign!"
What a hysterical first year girl thought was a dragon, and Dennis Creevey a flying house, came closer. It was a horse-drawn carriage the size of a house, however, powder blue in color with giant winged palominos. The Hogwarts students 'oohed' and 'ahhed' in amazement over the horses and they landed on the ground, followed by the carriage. The carriage door bearing the Beaxbatons coat of arms opened and blond haired boy in blue jumped out. Mina stared out at him and gasped, grabbing Lita.
"Lita! Lita!" she yelled in a whisper. "It's him!"
"Him who?" Lita inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"The French guy I kept seeing—at Stonehenge—and the London Eye!" she told her impatiently, "and at the World Cup. It's him! He's here! You see him right? He's real?"
"Yeah, he's real," Lita said simply, "real good looking!"
"So that's why he was wearing a light blue beret all the time!" Mina exclaimed, unable to take her eyes off him as a set of golden stairs emitted from the door and the boy jumped back in a kneeling position. "It's his school color! And the way he was talking to that owl—he's a wizard! He's here! This is amazing! I must be dreaming!"
"Shh!" hushed Hannah Abbot behind them.
"Sorry!" Mina whispered.
A woman emerged from the carriage. Her height gave reason why the carriage was so huge. She was the size of Hagrid and her dark hair was pulled back in a bun. As she approached Dumbledore, he clapped and the students followed suit.
"My dear Madame Maxime," said Professor Dumbledore, taking her hand to bend down ad kiss it. "Welcome to Hogwarts.
"Dumbly-door," said the large woman with a voice that matched a tenor or bass. "I 'ope I find you well?"
"My pupils," she said, waving behind her.
The Beaxbatons students looked glamorous in their fine blue silk robes, though they also looked like they were about to freeze to death. They looked uneasily up at Hogwarts. Mina couldn't take her eyes off the boy at who had opened the carriage. She tried leaning out of the Hufflepuff line so she could see her light blue SPEW badge.
"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime inquired.
"He should be here any moment," Dumbledore replied, "Would you like to stay here and meet him or come inside and warm up a trifle."
"Warm up, I think," said Madam Maxime, "But zey horses."
"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," Dumbledore told her, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other—er—charges."
"My steeds require—er—forceful 'andling," Madame Maxime said, doubtful that anyone could do it. "Zey are very strong…"
"I wouldn't doubt it," Lydia muttered to Serena, nodding at the giant horses.
"They could trample right over us," Serena said.
"I assure you tat Hagrid will be well up to the job," Dumbledore smiled.
"Very well," Madame Maxime said with a bow. "Will you please inform zis Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-mat whiskey?"
"Whiskey for horses?" Ami wondered out loud.
Terry Boot, who stood behind her, shrugged.
"Come," called Madame Maxime and she led her students up the steps.
"I wonder if he recognizes me," Mina said, watching the Beaxbatons boy pass.
People started speaking again how Durmstrang would arrive. They turned their eyes to the sky, thinking that Durmstrang would come by air as well. It went quiet until the giant horses were stamping and snorting.
Then something else, a strange noise filled the air.
"Can you hear something?" Ron asked abruptly.
"Yeah, sounds weird," said Serena, looking around.
"The lake!" Lee Jordan exclaimed, turning and pointing at the lake. "Look at the lake!"
People crowded around the lake and stared down at it. Some mentioned that it looked like a bathtub, the way it was bulging and a whirlpool started churning in the middle of it.
"That's weird," Serena mumbled.
They saw a pole emerging from the water. "It's a mast!" Harry told Hermione and Ron.
The rest of the ship came out of the water. It didn't look like one would use to go on a cruise. It looked like a ship that had sunk ages ago and was pulled out magically from the water. The ship bobbed for a moments and glided toward the bank. There was a splash as an anchor was thrown into the water. The Durmstrang students started walking out of the ship led by their headmaster who wore sleek and silver furs.
"Dumbledore!" said the Durmstrang Headmaster. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"
"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore answered.
When Karkaroff came to Dumbledore, he reached out with both hands and shook Dumbledore's. "Dear old Hogwarts," he said with a yellow-toothed smile. "How good it is to be here, how good…Viktor, come along into the warmth…you don't' mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a light head cold…"
When Ron saw that Viktor was, he gasped, punched Harry in the arm and hissed, "Harry—it's Krum!"
"No way!" Lydia breathed. "Serena, he was the Seeker for Bulgaria!"
"What?" Serena inquired.
"Oh, if you didn't have your eyes covered for half the game," Lydia groaned, "you would've noticed. He played Seeker for Bulgaria, at the World Cup! My uncle hit him in the face with a Bludger, don't you remember?"
Serena winced. "Oh—yeah—and he kept flying around didn't he? Had blood all over him…"
The students hurried to go in and warm up. Many were jumping up and down to get a look at Krum. Sixth-year girls were talking about getting autographs, including Ron.
"Looks like his face healed," Lydia said, cupping her chin. "I wonder how long it had to take…Uncle Angus did smack that Bludger pretty hard. I think I even heard Krum's nose break."
"Eww, Lydia!" Serena said in disgust as thy sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Puh-leaze! It was worse than hockey!"
"Darn it!" Mina groaned when she saw that the Beaxbatons students were sitting at the Ravenclaw table. "Why didn't they choose Hufflepuff?"
"Who knows," said Lita. "I guess because their colors are blue too?"
"Ami!" Mina shouted, pointing to boy that opened the Beaxbatons carriage door, "sit by him—get his name—no—not him—him! The guy from Beaxbatons—the one that opened the carriage door—what do you mean don't remember? Quick before someone else does."
Ami stared at Mina, wondering what the heck she was talking about. "Who? What?"
"The guy with blond hair," Mina said frantically. "Yeah, sit by him! Get his name for me! I'll—I'll buy you a Chocolate frog!"
Nervously, Ami sat next to the boy Mina indicated. "Hello—my name's Ami."
Raye was relieved that Malfoy would leave her alone as the Durmstrang students joined their table. Malfoy leaned forward and started talking to him about his performance at the World Cup.
"Vladimir, look at the ceiling!" said a Durmstrang girl, standing behind Raye. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Yes, it is, Sofia," said the boy next to her, taking off her furs for her.
"I wonder if it's real," she whispered, sliding in next to Raye.
"It's probably just a spell," Vladimir told her softly.
Sofia smiled and turned to Raye. "Oh, hello! My name's Sofia and this is my brother Vladimir!"
"Hi, I'm Raye," Raye leaned forward and shook their hands. Vladimir cleared his throat nervously as he shook hands with Raye.
It was kind of obvious they were related. Their face features were very alike and they had the same brown eyes. Sofia's hair was a dark auburn and Vladimir's was a light brown.
"You really look like brother and sister," Raye said, looking at their faces. "You almost look like twins."
"Because we are," Sofia smiled, patting her twin's arm.
Sofia picked up her goblet. "This is magnificent!" she breathed as she examined it thoroughly. A slight frown appeared on her face. "Vladimir, how come ve don't have things like this in Durmstrang?"
"I'm not sure," Vladimir replied. "I think Professor Karkaroff doesn't really care for things like that."
"But I don't feel like at a school in Durmstrang," Sofia whined and lowered her voice. "I feel like I'm at prison."
'I know what you mean,' Raye thought as she glanced at Draco.
"Raye, I was just admiring the ceiling when we came in," Sofia said enthusiastically, pointing up at it. "Is it real?"
"No," Raye answered.
"Does it always look like that or does it change?" Sofia inquired.
"Well, I'm not sure," Raye stared up at the ceiling. She never really had the chance to enjoy its beauty with Draco Malfoy constantly trying to talk to her. "It probably changes. I've only starting coming to Hogwarts this year—I was transferred from Tokyo."
"Oh, that's great!"
Filch brought in five extra chairs at brought them to the staff table. When Madame Maxime walked in, the Beaxbatons students jumped up while Ami wa still speaking to the boy Mini pointed out. They sat down finally when Madame Maxime sat next to Dumbledore and Dumbledore remained standing. It went quiet and Dumbledore began to speak.
"Good evening, ladies, and gentlemen, ghosts and—most particularly—guests," Dumbledore said clearly. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and rust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
Ami flinched when a girl a few seats laughed at the Ravenclaw table. The boy she was sitting next to her, leaned toward her and said, "she's always doing that."
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast." Dumbledore stated. "I now invite you all to eat, drink and make yourselves at home!"
The plates and platters were filled immediately with food, along with some they had never laid eyes on.
"I wonder what he's saying to her," said Mina, watching Ami speak with the Beaxbatons boy.
"He's probably explaining what the different food is," Lita said, "I'm guessing some of it's French." She turned to her plate and gasped. "Are these snails on my plate?"
Sofia was explaining the Bulgarian and Romanian dishes to Raye, what to have and what not to have as her brother quietly continued to eat.
"The cheese!" Sofia said. "You must try the cheese!"
Raye nibbled on the cheese and had a bit of this and that. Then the boy sitting in front of her with food down his robes put her off. Sofia noticed and frowned.
"Polikoff," she grunted, "Back in Durmstrang is bad enough but here—when ve are guests at another school? Ve have only been here less than an hour and you're already making a pig of yourself. I do hope you brought some extra robes."
But Polikof continued to eat like a slob. Raye and Sofia tried not to look.
"Never mind him," Sofia said. "I'm surprised why Karkaroff even brought him! Probably to keep an eye on him."
One of the Beaxbatons girls left the Gryffindor table with the bouillabaisse. Ron stared after her and Harry laughed.
"She's a veela!" Ron gasped.
"Of course she isn't!" Hermione snapped. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"
"are you sure, Hermione?" Serena inquired, nudging Hermione softly as she watched many boys' heads whip around to stare at her. She pointed at a boy who dropped his fork into his leg.
"What?" Hermione said, looking up and her eyes widened. "Oh, for heavens sake!"
"You know what, Serena?" Lydia asked. "If you take your hair down you could almost pass for a veela."
"Really?" Serena smiled. "Let me try." She reached
up to her buns, removed the bands and shook her long sheet of golden blond
hair. She batted her long eyelashes and
flapped her arm out in her best impression of a veela.
"I am a veela and all the boys can't resist me!" she said in a fake melodic
voice, causing some of the Gryffindors to crack up in their food. "Let me dance for you!" She waved her arms and whipped her
head. Parvarti and Lavender clapped and
some of the boys cleared their throats and continued to eat.
"That's brilliant, Serena!" Ginny laughed, her cheeks matching her red hair.
Serena continued to act like a veela and almost made Lydia drop her fork. Lydia didn't seem to even care because she was laughing so hard.
"Lita—it's my mom!" Mina hissed, looking up at the people that just walked in. "What is she doing here?"
Seeing Mina looking at her, Susan smiled, waved and mouthed, "Hi Mina sweetie!"
"Oh no," Mina moaned. "She's going to embarrass me! And in front of all these people!"
"She's probably here for the tournament," Lita suggested.
Bagman, Crouch and Susan seated themselves at the staff table, eating and talking about the upcoming events. New deserts arrived on the plates. When everyone was finished, Dumbledore got to his feet. The room became quiet and a sense of excitement hung in the air.
"The moment has come," Dumbledore said. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket—"
"Casket?" Serena and Lydia said together.
"Just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who you do not know them, Mr. Bartemus Crouch, Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation" a scattered applause went around the room. "And Mr. Ludo Bagman and Miss Susan Applebee Aino of Magical Games and sports."
Susan waved at Mina and the hall exploded in applause for Crouch and Susan. Bagman waved merrily and beamed at Susan. Mina went red and buried her head into her arms.
"The three of them have worked very hard on the Triwizard Tournament arrangements," Dumbledore went on, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."
"the casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
Filch came to the table carrying a wooden chest covered
in jewels. He placed the chest on the
table carefully.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already
been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, and they have made the necessary
arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout
the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways…their
magical prowess—their daring—their powers of deduction—and, of course, their
ability to cope with danger."
Serena glanced around the room, catching eyes with her scouts. After being sailor scouts and having to do face so many things, the Tournament sounded kind of easy.
"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks and the champion with they highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
As everyone wondered what the Goblet of Fire was, Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped the top of the chest three times. It opened and Dumbledore reached inside it, retrieving a wooden cup. It didn't't look like much until they saw the blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the Goblet on the top so that everyone could see it.
"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and rop it in the goblet."
"Hmm," Lydia said, rubbing her chin. "Anybody."
Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their hands forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.
"To ensure that underage students yields to temptation," Dumbledore added and many of the younger students face-faulted. "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line."
"Darn!" Lydia grunted, pounding the table.
"I wonder if I can get my future self to do it for me," Serena whispered.
"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all!"
"Ami, Ami!" Mina exclaimed, rushing over to the Ravenclaw table. "What's his name?"
Ami turned and held out her hand to the Beaxbatons boy, "Pierre."
Mina smiled, tossing back her blond hair. "Hi, I'm Mina! Haven't I seen you somewhere? You look very familiar!"
Pierre smiled back, "Bonjour," he said as he kissed her hand, nearly making Mina melt. "I think we 'ave…the place with ze stones?"
"Yeah, yeah, at Stonehenge!" she said excitedly. "Oh wow—imagine meeting you here!"
Fred Weasley was telling the Gryffindors about an Aging Potion to get passed the Age Line. "How do you make it?" Lydia asked, trailing behind him. "How much do you need?"
"Are you going to put your name in?" Raye asked Sofia and Vladimir.
"Of course!" Sofia answered as Vladimir merely nodded. "That's vie ve came all the vay over here—not that I don't like Hogwarts. It is very nice. I can't vait to see the rest of it."
"Well, I haven't seen much besides the dungeons," Raye groaned.
"Dungeons?" Sofia asked.
She nodded, "we have a class there—and that is where our house dormitories are."
"That's how it feels like in Durmstrang," Sofia said, "it's alvays cold. Ve hardly have the fires lit. Isn't that right, Vladimir?"
"Ve do for special occasions," said Vladimir simply.
"Yes, when everything is frozen," Sofia muttered to Raye and Raye laughed. "Vell, goodnight." She said as he started following her head master out. But she had barely reached the end of the hall when no one was moving. "Vot's going on? I'm kind of tired."
Then they saw what kept Karkaroff from moving. He was staring at Harry Potter.
"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," grunted Moody.
"You!" Karkaroff shouted and Rye could see that all color left his face. Only a few people in the room understood why.
"Me," Moody said. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."
Karkaroff turned his head away and walked off with the Durmstrang students following him. Raye waved to Sofia and Vladimir, the only friends she made since she came to Hogwarts and they were both from another school. Then she walked with her house down to the Dungeons, Draco talking about Krum.
"Good," Raye whispered to herself. "Maybe now that Durmstrang is here he'll leave me alone."
--
Raye was dreaming again that night but it wasn't the same dream with the snakes and wandering about the dungeon. It felt very hot and she heard the crackling of a fire. As the dream came more into focus, she saw that she was in a very tiny room with a cracked wooden floor and blue-white flames for walls. Raye looked up at the ceiling. It seemed so far away. Raye held out her arm but it didn't look like her real arm. He arm was made out of blue-white fire.
"Where am I?" she wondered out loud. "What's the matter with my body?"
Then she heard muffled voices in the room but she didn't see anyone. The room was so tiny that no one could fit in besides her.
"Who is that?" she asked herself.
Then she saw blurry faces above her, dropping things into in the room. They were long and the color of ivory. The fire turned to red and the item the size of herself fell on to her. She gasped as she landed on her back. She looked up, pushing the object off of her. It was a piece of parchment. She could make out the name of Viktor Krum and Durmstrang on it.
"I'm in the Goblet of Fire!" she exclaimed.
More names started to fall in. She moved so they wouldn't fall in her again. She saw many slips of Durmstrang. It had to be the whole lot.
Sofia Saulite, Durmstrang
Vladimir Saulite, Durmstrang
Ivan Polikoff, Durmstrang
There were too many to count. She couldn't read all the names. Then she saw the slips bearing the names of Beaxbatons students.
Fleur Delacour, Beaxbatons.
Pierre Latil, Beaxbatons.
"Where's everyone from Hogwarts?" she demanded. Then on cue, she looked up and more names started to fall in. The parchments looked like great pieces of snow. She saw Warrington's name.
"Not him!" she grunted. "He can't be the champion for Hogwarts."
Then more.
Angelina Johnson
Cedric Diggory
She tried reading them all but they fell on top of her. She was buried in the names. She started looking at the names and started thinking which student would be best to represent Hogwarts.
Then another face appeared at the top. It was so blurry she couldn't make it out. He laughed and dropped a name into the fire. Raye gazed at it and reached for it. She couldn't make out the name but the school was not Durmstrang, or Hogwarts or even Beaxbatons. IT was a school she never heard of before.
The parchment barely touched her fingers when the vision closed and she woke up in the Slytherin Fourth Year girl's dormitory.
"Wake up, Hino!" Pansy exclaimed. "Don't you want to see who will become Hogwarts Champion?"
Raye groaned as she sat up, rubbing her head. "Oh…that's today, isn't it?"
"Of course it is," she grunted.
--
Lydia, Lee, Fred and George took the Aging Potion. Because the Weasley twins only needed to be a few months older, they took one. Lydia took five. George and Fred told her three would be enough but Lydia wanted to make sure. They stood around the entrance hall with parchments in hand.
"Has it kicked in yet?" Lydia inquired. "I don't feel any older."
"Yeah, it should," Fred said. "Well, let's go. Ladies first, Lydia."
"Why thank you, Fred."
"George," Fred lied.
"You are too Fred." Lydia muttered with a smirk as she stepped over the line.
"She did it!" Serena exclaimed.
Fred and George walked in after her, shouting in glee. Then there was the sound of a pot on a griddle and the three of them were thrown back. Serena lunged forward to catch Lydia.
"Lydia, you all right?" she asked.
"Oh, of all the rotten luck!" Lydia moaned. "I thought I had it!"
But her luck went even worse when a white beard sprouted from her chin. Serena tried not to laugh.
"Um, Lydia."
"What?"
"There's um…something on your chin."
"What?" Lydia demanded. "But I didn't have breakfast yet."
Seamus grinned. "That's not breakfast, Lydia."
Lydia brought her hand to her chin and felt a fuzzy beard. She let out a scream and looked up at the Weasley twins, who had matching beards. "You—you!"
"We told you not to take those extra two drops, Lydia," George chuckled. "I think you even got some wrinkles there."
Lydia gasped, feeling her face.
"You know, I think you look better without it." Fred said, stroking his long white beard. "Hmm, I wonder if I should grow a real beard."
Lydia jumped up. "Actually, ye don't look so great with beards either!" she yelled as she tugged on the twin's beards.
"Ouch!" Fred winced. "Hey!"
"How were we supposed to know we'd grow beards?" George inquired.
"I suggest you go to the Hospital Wing to get those taken off," Professor Dumbledore said. "You will be surprised to see that you're not the only one trying to sport beards."
"What? Really?" Lydia inquired and she forgot all about tormenting Fred and George. She grabbed them both by the hands. "Come on, let's go see!"
She ran out with the twins, followed by Lee Jordan. When they arrived to the hospital wing and saw Madame Pomfrey working with a Hufflepuff boy and a Ravenclaw girl with matching white beards, they doubled with laughter.
"You know," Lydia wheezed, "I think ye look better without it!"
"That is not funny!" Madame Pomfrey huffed.
But they laughed all the harder and Lydia nearly collapsed onto Fred.
--
After Lydia got the beard off, she joined her friends for a walk outside the grounds. "I can't believe you tried to cheat," Lita muttered.
"I wasn't cheating," Lydia said.
"You were too," Lita said.
"Okay, I was," Lydia sighed. "I just wanted to give it a try."
"I'm surprised you actually trusted Fred and George," Serena said.
"Yeah, never trusting those two again," Lita mumbled.
"So you know anybody from your houses that are putting their names in?" Mina asked. "Cedric Diggory did. He was talking about it since Professor Dumbledore told us at the start of the year."
"Warrington did," said Raye. "He's some sixth year that looks like a sloth or something."
The girls laughed.
"If he's picked," Raye frowned, "I'm leaving the school. I bet he had to take sixth year twice because he's thick as a brick."
"I wouldn't want a Slytherin champion either," said Serena. "I hope Angelina gets it."
Lydia grinned, "Angelina Johnson put her name in? I didn't know she was seventeen."
"Yeah," said Serena, "she said she just had her birthday last week."
"What about Ravenclaw?" Lita asked Ami.
"Rodger Davies did," she answered.
"Who's he?" Mina inquired.
"He's Quidditch captain."
"Really?" Lita asked with a grin. "Is he cute?"
Ami blushed, "I uh—haven't really noticed—he's not even in my year you know…"
"Anyone else?" Raye asked Ami.
"Cho Chang also put her name in too I think."
"Anyone know anything about Durmstrang and Beaxbatons?" Serena asked.
"Everyone from Durmstrang put their name in," Raye explained.
"What are they like?" Lydia inquired.
"Well the people I met, Sofia and Vladimir, were really nice," Raye answered. "Hard to believe that Durmstrang actually teaches the Dark Arts."
"What?" the other girls gasped.
"Draco Malfoy said they teach Dark Arts in Durmstrang," said Raye.
"You're kidding!" Mina cried.
"Why on Earth are we letting them in our school?" Lita demanded. "They could curse somebody."
"Well maybe there's only certain people in that school that study it," Raye suggested. "It's probably an alternate class, like Divination or something. I don't' know if it's required. Sofia and Vladimir certainly didn't seem like Dark Wizards to me."
"Anybody else?" Serena asked.
"I don't know," Raye shrugged. "Didn't talk to any of the others—but there was a guy from Durmstrang that had terrible table manners."
"You'll have to ask them," Lydia asked. "If they really teach Dark Arts there."
"Oh, I don't know," Raye put her hands in her pockets. "I've only just met them and I don't want to make them mad by asking. Maybe as the tournament goes on. They seem too nice."
"What about Beaxbatons?" Lita asked Ami. "Did they say anything last night?"
"Yeah, is Pierre putting his name in?" Mina asked eagerly.
"Yeah," Ami replied. "A lot of people did. Fleur Delacour was talking to everyone about putting her name in."
"Who's that?" Raye inquired.
"She's got long blond hair and--,'
She was cut off by Serena, "that girl that looks like a veela!" she laughed. "She came to take something off the Gryffindor table…I thought Ron's eyes were going to fall out!"
"Well, she is part veela," Ami said.
"No way!" Lydia exclaimed. "That's why all the boys kept looking at her. Putting the charm on our Hogwarts boys…"
Raye ran her hand through her black hair, thinking about the dream. She wondered if she should tell the others but she wasn't sure. She didn't even know the person's name or the name of the school on that extra paper. Maybe it was just a wild dream.
--
The anticipation throughout the three schools were growing as it came nearer to the end of the evening. Many people were not eating, not just because they just had a large meal the day before, but because they were all too nervous. Sofia picked at her food and wrenched her napkin.
"I wonder if I made a mistake!" she whispered, looking terribly white. "What if I'm picked? I'm bound to compete. I don't know if I'm ready!"
"Don't worry, Sofia," her brother said calmly. "You are a great student."
"Yeah," said Raye. "It'll be okay. Try to eat something."
"I can't," Sofia whispered. "I should have thought it through more. I think I just wanted the money…oh…Mother alvays warned me about making rash decisions!"
Finally after the feast, Dumbledore got to his feet. Everyone got quiet and looked up at him. "Well, the goblet is ready to make its decision. I estimate it takes one more minute." Dumbledore said, "Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come to the front of the hall, walk along the staff table, and go through the next chamber--" He showed the door behind the table, "where they will be receiving their first instructions." He took out his wand and swept his arm. Only the candles in the pumpkins stayed lit.
"Any second," said Lee Jordan to the Gryffindors. Lydia and Serena looked at Angelina with their fingers crossed.
The white-blue flames changed to red with sparks jumping from it. A flame came out of the Goblet of Fire, bringing charred piece of parchment. Everyone leaned forward.
"This is it," Serena whispered.
"The champion for Durmstrang," Professor Dumbledore began. Sofia put her hands on her face. Raye reached out and put her hand on her shoulder. "Viktor Krum!"
"No!" Sofia exclaimed. "I can't…"
"It's okay, Sofia!" Raye said. "It's not you!"
Sofia took her hands down and looked at her. "It's not?"
Raye smiled and pointed at Viktor Krum, who was getting up from the Slytherin Table. Everyone broke into applause. She laughed in relief and clapped along.
"Oh, good, it's not me!" Sofia cried. "Vonderful, Viktor! Vonderful!"
It got quiet again as Viktor disappeared in the chamber. They waited for the next champion to be revealed.
"The Champion for Beaxbatons," Dumbledore announced, "is Fleur Delacour!"
"Darn, it's not Pierre!" Mina moaned.
As Fleur got up from the Ravenclaw table, all the Beaxbatons students looked very upset. Two girls were crying uncontrollably in their arms. Ami bit her lip and patted one of the girl's backs. Pierre and some of the boys started rubbing their foreheads, muttering things in French.
"Hogwarts is next!" Serena hissed to her housemates. They grinned and looked at Angelina, who tried to look humble.
"The Hogwarts Champion, is--"
Everyone from each house looked at the upperclassmen at their tables. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Professor Dumbledore's voice seemed to go in slow motion.
"Cedric Diggory!"
Everyone turned their faces to the Hufflepuff table. "It's Cedric!" Serena exclaimed.
The Hufflepuffs jumped up, clapping, yelling and stopping in joy. Cedric disappeared under Mina and Lita's arms and they were shouting, "Ced-senpai, you did it! Congratulations, Ced-senpai! Congratulations!"
When Cedric was finally able to pull themselves from his ecstatic housemates, he walked up the staff table and out of sight. Lita and Mina were jumping, hugging each and yelling, "It's Cedric! It's Cedric!" Then they turned to Susan and Hannah and other Hufflepuffs.
"I'm so glad it's not a Slytherin!" Serena shouted as she clapped.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore shouted as it started to get quiet. 'Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beaxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real--"
Something interrupted Dumbledore. The Goblet of Fire was acting up again. The flames became red and sparks were flying. Raye's eyes widened as she remembered her dream.
'No,' she thought, 'the other name.'
A parchment flew out of the cup. She glanced at the other girls, who were looking at each other and they looked back at Dumbledore. Nothing could prepare them for what Dumbledore was going to say. No one would have perceived this. Dumbledore stared at the parchment for a long time and finally read the name.
"Harry Potter."
It suddenly went deathly quiet as every head in the room turned to look at Harry Potter. He sat there in disbelief. Raye looked up and down her table. All the Slytherins looked furious. The Durmstrang students looked confused. The Gryffindors looked surprised. The Hufflepuffs looked angry and confused, shaking their heads, saying Cedric's name. Ravenclaw was speechless and Beaxbatons were whispering to each other. Professor McGonagall was talking to Dumbledore. Harry looked like he wished he could disparate on the spot.
Serena saw the look on Harry Potter's face. "He didn't know," she whispered.
"I didn't do it," he said to everyone down the table. "You know I didn't."
Serena turned to Lydia, "how did his name get in the Goblet?"
"I don't know," Lydia replied. "I don't know who could've put it in there."
"Harry Potter!' Dumbledore called. "Up here if you please!"
Hermione said to Harry, pushing him gently and Harry slowly got up to his feet, walking between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Tables. Serena looked at Raye, who was rubbing her head. She turned to look at the other girls. They looked so surprised.
"Scout meeting," she mouthed to them and they nodded in agreement.
Harry walked into the door. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Well, there are the champions then. You may be excused now to…er…celebrate. We need to give the champions their instructions."
But no one seemed to want to move. They wanted an explanation on how Harry's name came out of the goblet. The staff walked into the room.
"Isn't Harry Potter too young to compete?" Sofia asked Raye.
"Yeah, he's just in fourth year," Raye said. "I wonder how his name came out of the goblet."
People stared talking about the crazy event that just took place. Beaxbatons went out on a storm as well as the Durmstrang students. Hogwarts separated to their houses. Hufflepuff kept complaining.
"But Cedric's name came out of the goblet. We all saw it!"
"Hufflepuff finally gets a moment for glory and it's taken away!"
But the scouts couldn't go off with their houses just yet. They ran into an empty classroom to talk about what just happened.
"Any ideas how Harry's name came out of the goblet?" Mina demanded, staring at Lydia and Serena.
"Hey, Harry didn't put his name in there!" Serena shouted. "I saw the look on his face when his name—he looked like he wanted to disappear!"
"He's underage," Lydia said, "no way he could've crossed that line. I know, I've tried! Someone else put it in there!"
"He could've asked someone to do it for him," suggested Lita.
"But he had no idea his name was even in there!" Serena shouted. "Someone did it without his knowledge."
"Who?" Ami inquired.
"No idea," said Lydia. "It could be anybody. An older student, someone of the staff maybe."
"The teachers wouldn't do this!' Mina cried.
"Maybe it's someone who really likes Harry," Ami said softly, "or they're doing it as a joke."
"But how?" Mina asked. "The goblet was to choose 3 champions. We've already got a Hogwarts champion! It's impossible."
"Unless," Raye said, speaking at once, "someone put Harry's name under a different school."
"Different school?" Serena inquired. "But…Harry's in Hogwarts."
"Exactly," Raye said. "They wanted to make definite sure Harry would be picked. Harry's chances of being picked under Hogwarts would be one in fifty…or however many people from Hogwarts placed their name in the Goblet. The only way to be sure if they put Harry's name in the Goblet was under another school."
"But why?" Mina asked.
"I don't know," Raye answered. "I don't understand it…the other name…"
"What are you talking about?" Serena demanded. "What other name?"
"I had another crazy dream last night!" Raye retorted, sitting on a desk. "I was in the Goblet of Fire and I saw all the names falling in there. One of them had a different name. It wasn't Hogwarts or Durmstrang or Beaxbatons."
"What was it?" Lydia asked.
"I don't know!" Raye snapped. "I didn't see it but it definitely wasn't Hogwarts. I couldn't see the name. Pansy woke me up before I could get a good enough look at it."
"So you dreamed this would happen?" Lita demanded, as this was all her fault. "And you didn't tell anyone?"
"How was I supposed to know Harry would be picked?" Raye shouted. "I thought it was just a dream!"
"Look, girls, stop!" Lydia jumped. "This enough. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to solve anything! It's not Raye's fault this happened. What could have we done anyway if she told us earlier anyway?"
"Lydia's right," Ami said. "We've got to find out how Harry's name in the goblet and why."
"How?" Mina demanded.
"Come on, Mina," Lydia hissed, "use your head. Your mother's working on the tournament. Ask her if she has any ideas. Ask her how the goblet works and if it's ever known to make a mistake."
"We'll have to look at our houses," Serena stated, "see if anyone did it. Maybe someone did it to play a joke on Harry."
"It would most likely be Malfoy," Raye said. "He's always hated Harry but I don't know if he'd do it."
"Well, see what he's saying," Serena insisted. "We've got to pay close attention to everything's that going to happen now. I think you were right, Raye."
"Right about what?" Raye inquired.
"That there was another reason in us coming here," Serena answered. "Some kind of mission…our mission is to make sure the Triwizard Tournament isn't fouled."
"But it already has," Mina said. "When someone decided to put Harry's name in the goblet."
"Yeah, but we don't know why, do we?" Serena inquired. "Something isn't right here and we've got to find out what it is before anything else goes wrong."
To Be Continued