Chapter 9- Et Tu Brute
Brutus Maximus had never been thought of as a nice, charming, good-looking, gentleman. He was too large to be thought of that way. He also had a temper problem, and what his Muggle father called Bi-Polar Disorder. But in reality, Brutus was a nice, charming, good-looking (for a Neanderthal), gentleman. And today, he was on a Manic high.
He was eating a small portion of all the different foods on the table. However, there were about 20 different plates, and not nearly enough room on his circular plate for each food type. His wand was polished and in his pocket, ready to be weighed.
His twelve-inch, conifer, vampire fang wand was one of the best there was for casting Hexes. And because of his temper, it had come in handy many times on the trip already.
Brutus rushed through his food, and ran back to his room on the boat. He wanted to look semi-decent in case there were photographers. He ran a comb through his wavy brown hair and scrubbed his olive skin clean. He smiled to a set of crooked yellow teeth. He heart dropped. How could he smile with those hideous monsters in his mouth? He'd tried everything, from brushing three times a day to whitening spells, but every time he managed to get his teeth white, they turned yellow by the next month.
He stared at his image in the mirror for several minutes. If he didn't smile, he looked sad… he was sad. A depression had just come upon Brutus. Even his small brown eyes looked sad. There was a knock at his door.
"Enter," Brutus grunted.
"Brutus, my boy," Professor Baron walked in. Baron had long black hair and a pointed goatee on his double chin. The man was no more than four feet, six inches, yet he somehow looked powerful. The man frightened Brutus like no one could. Brutus always saw a knife in Baron's beady black eyes. "Ready for the Veighing of the Vands?" Brutus nodded in fear of any other answer. "Good."
Brutus walked off the boat and saw a pleasant surprise. The first night he had been at the palace, he had met and seen some beautiful, but bratty Hogwarts girls. But one had caught his eye, not because of her pale skin or luscious blond hair, but because of her temper. It was even shorter than his was.
The brats he had met laughed at the pain and misery of others, but the blond was the one suffering the torment. He had seen tears in her beautiful blue eyes that first night as she left the dining hall, a tall black boy giving her words of comfort. He knew one thing about that boy; he had a girlfriend at Hogwarts that the boy had promised to be true to.
"'Ello Brutuz," Gage La Monnoye piped up. Her silk robes were seemingly cut at the knees, exposing the rest of her black leather buckle boots. Her curly brown hair seemed to have more black streaks in it since the night the Goblet had chosen the names of the champions. He also noticed she had a dramatic amount of black eyeliner and lipstick on. Even her short nails were painted black that day. She held in her hand a battered nine-inch wand made of what looked like wood from an olive tree. She was twirling it like a baton.
Dennis Creevey was standing by a table, talking with an interviewer. After a moment, the interviewer, a tall man with purple hair, stood up and shook Creevey's hand. He approached Brutus.
"Good day, Brutuz, correct?" The man asked. He pulled a fresh piece of parchment out of his orange Wizarding robes. "I am Gaston Sinclair. I write for ze Prophète Quotidien. Would you mind anzering a few queztionz?"
Brutus took a deep breath as he sat down in a chair at another table. Gaston Sinclair could write in the paper that Brutus was a pig, or that he cheated his way into the tournament, and Brutus would never know. He didn't speak a word of French.
"What was your initial reaction when you found out you were ze Durmstrang Champion?"
"I vas happy," Brutus replied. He then added to sound more original, "I've vanted to do something great my whole life."
"Do you 'ave a zpecialty type of spell?"
"Yes, hexes!" Brutus immediately regretted what he said. He was sounding like the model Durmstrang student already. "Vell, at least that is vhat my vand is best for. I am also good at transformations."
"Really? Zat'z good. Tell me, iz zere a zpecial girl you will think of while competing?"
"I do not haf a girlfriend," Brutus said. "But I haf laid my eyes upon a beautiful blond that I vould like to get to know."
"Zat iz zweet. Tell me about your family."
"I am an only child," Brutus replied. "I haf a Muggle father that is a doctor and my mother is a herbologist."
Sinclair asked Brutus several more questions concerning his home life and experience with magic. After which several photographs were taken of the champions and the judges. Finally, a young witch took each of the Champion's wands and examined and tested it. All three worked perfectly, though the girl was not happy about the condition that Gage's wand was in, having made it herself.
"Zat waz exciting," Gage laughed. "Your wand 'az a vampire fang in it? Zat zoundz awezome."
"They are very hard to come across," Brutus replied. "They make powerful vands. I did not even know they made vands vith Pegasus ving feathers."
"Only Madame Parfait uzez zem," Gage said. "And Denniz, your wand iz made with dragon zcales? 'Ow 'eroic you muzt be."
"Not really," Dennis said. Brutus noticed that Dennis looked annoyed. He himself was finding Gage annoying.
"Do not lie," Gage laughed. "Vous êtes héroïque superbe!"
"Speak English Gage," Brutus said. "It is the only language ve all speak."
"You think you zpeak it," Gage laughed, "but zere iz no 've' in Engleesh."
"It is just an accent," Brutus growled loudly. "And you speak it vrong too."
Dennis turned out the granite doors and waved leaving Gage and Brutus to argue in the front hall. Gage, determined to prove Brutus wrong began trying to speak without an accent. Brutus couldn't stand her voice.
"Just shut up!" Brutus boomed.
Gage stood stock-still. She was too afraid to even tremble, but her eyes had shot wide open and showed deep fear. After a moment, Brutus walked out the door and began to make his way back to the Durmstrang ship. Professor Baron would want to hear all about the other's wands.
"Vell?" Professor Baron and the other Durmstrang boys sat at a table near the entrance into the boat. "Vhat kind of vands do they haf?"
"Gage has a nine-inch, olive tree vand vith a Pegasus feather and Dennis has an eleven-inch, oak vand vith dragon scales," Brutus reported. "Und Gage is annoying."
"Vhat are ve supposed to do about that?" Professor Baron asked. "Nothing. Now, go practice or read up on more magic!"
"Yes Sir," Brutus said. He walked down to the lower deck where there was a large arena for practicing magic and defense.