Chapter 9: Planning and Weighing

"How'd you do it?" Celeste asked for the billionth time.

"I DIDN'T!" I was getting slightly angry.

"The least you could do would be to tell us how you put your name in. After all you didn't share the secret with us. But you know that's starting to be typical of Riley Potter, keeping all the fame and glory yourself. Come on Lauran, I don't want to bother the Champion." Celeste stalked off and Lauran glared at me before following.

"Maybe you'd like to be the one to get killed!" I shouted at their retreating backs. "'Cause that's sure as Hell what's going to happen to me!"

"Jeez, a little angry are we?" Wood came up behind me.

"No, whatever gave you that impression?" I said smugly. "I suppose you're going to want to ask the same thing as everyone else. Let me save you time. I didn't do it! I don't know!" I was in a really bad mood.

"Actually I wasn't going to ask." Wood raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well then you're only the second today then. Greg didn't ask either." I felt very stupid. "What do you want?"

"They need you for some wand weighing ceremony. You get to skive off Transfiguration, not that it matters that much if you miss it anyway. Anyway you have to go down to the empty classroom next to Ancient Runes. I'll see you around." Wood hurried off to catch up with Amity.

"Yeah, you'll see me around, what's left of me anyway." I muttered to myself as I turned and walked off in the opposite direction. "And where the hell is Ancient Runes?"

"Please hand me your wands one at a time so I can test them," Mr. Ollivander was addressing the School Champions. "You go first Miss Hodgepeckins. Ah yes, a ten inch rather whippy hew with two unicorn hairs in it. It seems to be in very good condition. Just let me check. Ah, here you are Miss Hodgepeckins."

Mr. Ollivander handed the wand and the bouquet of flowers he had made sprout out of it to Corinne. "You next please Miss Potter." I handed him my wand and he looked it over.

"Ah, yes, yes, the trickiest customer I've ever had. This was the only wand left in the shop if I remember correctly, which, of course, I do." Mr. Ollivander examined my wand carefully.

"There's not a single scratch on it. It's in very fine condition, thirteen inches, yew, and containing a single phoenix feather. I remember it vividly. Now let me see. Yes here you go." Mr. Ollivander handed me back my wand,"It won't work for anyone else so you'd best do the honors. Just say Confettamora, if you don't mind."

I did as I was told and instantly a cloud of confetti shot out of the end of my wand. "Very good, now can you make it any other colors too?" Mr. Ollivander asked.

In reply I wave the wand again spewing confetti that was flashing different colors endlessly.

"Ah, that's very good. Please, have a seat while I weigh the young men's wands." Mr. Ollivander weighed Brian and Braden's wands and then we posed for some pictures for the Daily Prophet, far too many if you ask me.

By the time we were finished (we had all been interviewed by the many reporters) it was dinner time. I was halfway to the Great Hall when it hit me that I had nobody to sit with. Celeste and Lauran weren't speaking to me, I didn't want to talk to Wood and Amity, and I had no idea where Greg, Logan and Morgan were. Suddenly I wasn't in as much of a hurry.

"Riley, come sit with us tonight." Corinne Hodgepeckins had caught up to me. "All of the other Champions are going to sit together and try to puzzle out why you're here and what we might have to do for tasks."

"Uh, sure, I don't have anyone else to sit with anyway." I followed Corinne to the end of the Gryffindor table where Braden had gotten special permission to sit whenever he wanted to.

"The tasks won't be the same as the last tournament but they might be similar," Braden was saying as Corinne and I walked up.

"We should do some research to figure out what we may be up against, you know try to keep ourselves from getting too badly hurt." Corinne said as she slid onto the bench across from the two boys.

"I think we need to work together, that's the only way we're going to make it through." I said to the group of older students.

"So we're teaming up then?" Corinne asked.

"For the time being I think it would be in our best interest." I replied, "I have an idea how we might be able to guess what we'll be up against, but it's not fool proof."

"I'm in, anything to better our chances." Braden said with a wink at me that clearly said, 'let's make it another Hogwarts victory'.

"Me too, I don't want anything to happen to any of us, we'll put up a better fight with a united front." Corinne smiled.

"I do not think that this is such a good idea. We should work for ourselves, no?" Brian looked doubtful.

"We are working for ourselves. But if we start out working together then it'll be easier to advance properly." I pointed out.

"I am not, how you say, in. I do not think this is a good idea, I will see how it progresses." Brian stood up and joined his friends from Durmstrang at the Slytherin table.

Shrugging, Braden asked, "You said you had an idea. What is it?"

"Well, the last Tri-wizard Tournament my dad was in. That time they used dragons and other magical creatures that aren't easy to come by. You have to get them imported and all of those importation permits and things including the shipping are public records. We could easily get a hold of them and limit what it is we might be facing to what's been requested." I explained my plan carefully, not wanting to sound too hopeful. "Like I said, it's not fool proof-"

"It's a wonderful idea!" Corinne exclaimed. "And I have some to add to it. We can research laws and things to see what might not be allowed for use in the Tournament and also look through old accounts of the Tournament and see what they've done before to get a better idea of what we may be facing."

"That's perfect. I'll meet you two in the library at 6:30 tonight and we can work on it some before bed and some more tomorrow during breaks." Braden stood up and walked off calling back, "See you later!"

I had been eating while Corinne explained her plan and got up to leave to. "Wait, I'll come with you." Corinne grabbed another roll and we set off to wander the halls until 6:30.

Chapter 10: A Potion and A Clue

"I can't find anything interesting on the Tournament." I announced later that night. We had been looking for information for an hour.

"I haven't found anything either," Corinne sounded frustrated. "Let's call it a night."

"Okay, but we need to keep looking tomorrow." Braden put up the book he had been half-heartedly looking through.

"Fine, I'll see you after lunch then. I'm going to bed." I put up the book I had been looking through and was about to leave when I heard voices.

"I can't believe he's so stupid." Corinne's voice floated softly from behind the bookcases. "Why doesn't he ask us for help?"

I expected to hear Braden's voice but instead I heard Brian reply, "Yes, he doesn't seem to be the smartest person."

"We'd better be getting back to our quarters; we wouldn't want to be seen together too much." Corinne replied and there was a scrape of chairs as they presumably got up from the table.

I found this exchange very odd, who were they talking about? What were they up to? I pondered these questions as I went up to Gryffindor Tower.

A few days later and Celeste and Lauran still weren't speaking to me. I was getting fed up so I decided to take matters into my own hands; I started to hang around with Chloe and Emma, two Gryffindor girls who were also second-year. This appeared to tick them off more. I found it quite amusing.

Chloe, Emma and I talked and laughed but it was a different kind of funny from Celeste and Lauran's funny. It was more polite, more civilized somehow. I also talked to Logan, Greg and Morgan more. They had become best friends but Logan was still as shy with me as ever. Greg insisted it was because he liked me, but whatever.

"We need to ask the Champions to meet in the room behind the staff table after breakfast. Please hurry." Professor Delacour urged.

"I'll see you two later." I said to Chloe and Emma, they waved and I joined the other three Champions walking to the meeting room.

"Good, you are all here. I would like to announce some things to just you that I don't want known in the school yet. The first task will take place on the first of October. You shall receive your hint about the task later in this meeting. I hope not to keep you from your studies for longer than necessary. This is Mr. Jacobson and Mr. Smith. They are planning the Tri-wizard Tournament and wish to say a few words to you." The Headmaster gestured to the two men sitting on either side of him.

"I would like to say," the man indicated as Mr. Smith said, "that we are very proud of all four of you. We had an unexpected twist of fate but we can easily work that out. Do not let this tournament take away from your class time I wouldn't want you falling behind."

"I agree with Mr. Smith about that twist of fate. Congrats Riley! But, I would like to put in my two cents, however. I believe that this Tournament will make you heroes among your classmates. Play it to your fullest potential. Now for the clue and then you can be on your way." Mr. Jacobson pulled out four identical music boxes, one for each of us.

"There's your first clue. Don't open them in here; they'll give me a nasty headache! Now run along to class and whatnot." Mr. Smith waved us out the door.

I pocketed the box and sprinted to Potions, I didn't fancy being late for any reason, I'd worry about the stupid music box later. I just made it in time to scoot inside the door before it closed. I hurried to a seat by Chloe and Emma, avoiding looking at Celeste and Lauran as I passed them.

"What was that about?" Chloe whispered.

"I'll show you later," I hissed back. Potions wasn't my best subject, and I didn't fancy the teacher very much either. Professor Sever wasn't the nicest man to cross, and I had the habit of crossing way too much.

"Well then, cutting it a little close aren't we Miss R. Potter?" Professor Sever had the annoying habit of calling me 'Miss R. Potter' since potions was a double class with the Slytherins. That meant that Lily, Miss L. Potter, was in it too, another reason I hated Potions so much.

"Sorry Professor." I replied; it was best not to say more than that to Professor Sever.

"Don't let it happen again." Professor Sever hit me with a piercing stare then turned to address the class. "Today we will be making about a potion called Ambrosia. Now for those of you who don't know anything about mythology, Ambrosia was the food of the gods. The potion is used as an ingredient in other potions, usually to hide the smell of less nice potions. It can also be used in cooking. Ambrosia smells different to each person. To me it smells like strawberries and crème, my favorite treat. To you it may smell like blueberries or chocolate. Now, let us get started."

I opened my book to the page with the Ambrosia recipe on it. I started to follow the directions. I looked quickly down the list and pulled out the ingredients I would need. I started brewing my potion very carefully making sure not to mess anything up. I finished my potion and took a deep breath, it smelled like nothing. I tried again, still no scent. What the heck was going on? Did I do something wrong?

"Chloe, smell my potion, would you, I think I may be getting a cold or something."

I watched as Chloe inhaled deeply.

"It smells the same as mine, just like fresh strawberries." Chloe smiled sweetly.

I smelled Chloe's potion, it didn't smell either. I figured I must be getting a cold. I stirred my potion until it was completely clear and then I let it cool. Professor Sever came to check on my progress.

"Not bad, that's the best work I've ever seen you do. Now, what does it smell like to you?" Professor Sever asked.

"I think I'm getting a cold because I can't smell anything." I replied honestly.

"Don't be silly, you'd smell it anyway. Now, what does it smell like?" Professor Sever was getting more and more impatient.

"It smells like water." I said.

"Water doesn't have a smell! Do you want detention!" Professor Sever was getting dangerously close to meltdown.

"No thank you. Can anyone not smell it? I can't smell anything."

"Yes, there have been a few cases, but only a few mind you. It's a very useful trait to have. You are very lucky if you do possess the immunity to Ambrosia." Professor Sever strode off towards Lily. "What does it smell like to you?" She asked.

"Watermelon," Lily replied sneering at me from across the room, "It smells like watermelon."

AN: My proficient thanks to my 1, ONE, reviewer!

In answer to your question:

In this book yes, I was going though a transition time a didn't have the heart to really put into my story... I'm sorry, my cousin called it a bad parody and I agree with her, but if you stick with me there's some funny things and next book will be a billion times better. I promise! There's way more heart in the writing! Another thing to keep in mind is that Riley's mood usually reflects my own at the time. So she can go from happy in one chapter to depressingly angry in the next.

I Love you all,

(I'd love you even more if you'd review...)

MotherCrumpet