Hey guys! It's Goblet of Fire time - and by complete coincidence, I actually rewatched that movie today! I've been watching the whole series - with my parents this time, who finally agreed to watch them. Probably not a great sign that it took a worldwide pandemic to get them to watch it, but I'm not going to complain. Enjoy!

(Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.)

Chapter 34:

The Calm Before the Storm

"'As I was saying,' he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, 'we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.'
'You're JOKING!' said Fred Weasley loudly.
The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.
'I am not joking, Mr. Weasley,' he said, 'though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar.'"

The visitors of Walt Disney World still called it the "Great Movie Ride," even though it had closed for good just a few days before.

"Selfie!" Molly called out as she and the other time-travellers stood in front of it - a closed-up husk of a ride, the last ride from Hollywood Studios's opening to close for good.

"Everyone say Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway!" Stella called out, and the group huddled around to get in the frame of her phone.

"Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway!" they shouted, and Stella snapped the shot.

"Perfect!" she said. "So what's next on the itinerary, Molly?"

"I was thinking something a little more peaceful," she said. "My stomach's been all out of whack ever since Zoë forced us on Tower of Terror."

"Guilty as charged," Zoë said, a smirk on her face.

"So I got us Fastpasses to Disney Junior Live On Stage," she said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jonah said. "The kids show?"

"Nothing else had Fastpasses," Molly said. "It's fun - we can sit in the back with the parents and watch the kids. They're always so cute."

Jonah rolled his eyes. "Okay," he said.

"So any new characters in this one?" Fred asked Molly as the group started to walk over to the show.

"Well, you know Mickey and all of them," Molly said.

"I don't know a soul who doesn't," Fred said.

"This one…" Molly thought. "Oh, this one has Sofia the First. She's a commoner whose mom married the king, and now she has to get used to being a princess."

"Cute," Fred said.

"Then there's Jake and the Neverland Pirates," Molly said. "Jake and his friends - they're fun, kid pirates, trying to collect gold coins and keep their treasure away from Captain Hook. Yes, that Captain Hook."

"Oh, that's a cool connection," Fred said.

"And then there's Doc McStuffins. She uses her magic stethoscope to bring her stuffed animals to life and deal with their bodily injuries."

"Okay, that came out of absolutely nowhere," Fred said.

"Yeah, some of the setups are pretty weird when you think about them," Molly said. "But the show's cute. I've watched it a few times."

"I'm trying to imagine, like, a little you watching these shows," Fred said. "The only thing I'm getting is a mini-McGonagall, with little glasses and a ukulele and a pile of books."

"You're not far off," Molly admitted. "Oh, and what do you think of my new contacts?"

"Nice," Fred said. "It'll take some getting used to, but that was the case when I saw the redesign of Google, too."

"Dude, that thing's at least two years old," Molly said, laughing. "If you're still getting used to that, then you've got some catching up to do."

They shared a smile, then ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

They gathered on their last night at Cítricos, a restaurant at the Grand Floridian hotel that Molly loved.

"So I think we should make a game plan for this year," Beatrix said. "Now that we know Delphi's the one sending us to the past, she's gonna be more ruthless than ever."

"And every time, it's been self-destructive," Zoë said. "First it was Madison and Jonah with Quirrell and Voldemort, then it was Madison being involved with the Petrifications and Molly getting Petrified, and then it was us bringing the books for Molly and the fact that she was so vulnerable to the dementors."

"So now, she knows we'll be planning against her, and she'll go crazy trying to outsmart us," Fred said, trying to understand.

"Exactly," Molly said. "And this year, as Cursed Child proved, is super important for the progression of the series."

"The tasks themselves are clogged up with magic, so she won't interfere with them," Stella said. "But the time between the tasks is fair game. God, why do I know that?"

"So then our main objective is to focus on the Yule Ball, the relationship stuff, the controversy with Harry as the champion," Mackenzie said. "And Fred, we'll drop you off at the train station right when we left, and you can make sure the stuff with Ludo Bagman goes according to plan."

"I studied the book and the days of the week and all the times of year," Ava said, "and I made a timeline. This one is super structured because of the specific days of the tasks and of the Yule Ball, so it was easier than it might have been for other ones."

She pulled out a folder and passed out pieces of paper. Molly looked at the line on the paper - each event in the story was described in detail, in magical boxes that floated up from the page, with dates and sometimes times.

"So we can keep these on us throughout the whole year and keep track of what we need to do - oh, our food's here," Beatrix said, shoving her timeline under the table. The others did the same as their waiter arrived with a big tray of food.

"Ooh, chicken mediterannean," Molly said.

A few days later, Fred and Jonah stood outside the group's hotel room, gathering their bags. Jonah had decided to monitor the situation at the Quidditch World Cup - he also really wanted to see the game, so the others gave him a pass.

"Jonah, can I ask you something before we go?" Fred asked.

"Sure," Jonah said, turning to Fred. "Ask away."

Fred looked away. "Well, uh, I have this friend who has a bit of a crush on someone. And he wants to tell her, but he doesn't know how."

"I thought you didn't want to make a huge fuss about love," Jonah said. "I distinctly remember you saying that when you got married, you wouldn't bother with any of the fancy frills. Everyone could wear what they'd like and you'd put your mom in a Body-Bind Curse until it was all over."

Fred smiled and winced at the same time. "It's not me. It's my friend."

"Uh-huh," Jonah said, unconvinced.

"But anyway, my - my friend's brother walked in on him and this girl hugging. Platonically. But the brother thinks it's romantic, and now they have to pretend they're together. So now my friend has to figure out how to tell her without it being part of the act."

"Well," Jonah said, "I'd say to your...uh, friend that he doesn't have much time left anyway, so just kiss her already, you moron."

"Thanks, Jonah," Fred said sarcastically. "I knew I could count on you."

"But seriously," Jonah said. "You're in Gryffindor, the house of the brave. You're one of the funniest people I know - and one of the most sincere. If anyone can do this, it's you."

He smirked. "I mean, your friend."

Fred nodded, understanding. He grabbed his suitcases and extended an arm. Jonah linked his with Fred's.

"To England?" Jonah said.

Fred smiled and looked ahead, just as it started to rain. "To England."

He closed his eyes as the shaking began in his stomach. He felt a hand on his shoulder - Delphi, he thought. He gritted his teeth - and then the shaking stopped.

He opened his eyes to see King's Cross, the end of third year. He saw Harry, Ron and Hermione run to the barrier, Harry clutching a piece of paper.

They unlinked arms. "Ready?" Jonah said.

Fred smiled. "Ready," he said.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

"Why?" said Fred, feigning suspicion. He snuck a glance at Jonah, who winked.

"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it...it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all."

"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train.

"Why?" said George impatiently.

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling. "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it. . . ."

"A bit of what?" said Ron.

But at that moment, Fred heard a scream of excitement from across the platform.

"Fred! Jonah!" a voice called. He and Jonah turned to see Molly and the other time-travelers walking through the gateway onto the platform.

"Oh, thank God you guys made it!" Jonah said, running over to hug them. "The train's about to whistle."

As if on cue, a large whistling sound filled the platform. "Come on!" Fred said. "I feel like I haven't seen you guys in forever. We've got to catch up!"

He looked over at Molly as they walked away and grimaced. "This has been the hardest second summer of my life," he mouthed as his brothers and friends pestered Mrs. Weasley for more information.

"I can imagine," Molly said. "It must be hard having to keep a secret like that for so long."

"Not only that," Fred said as they boarded the train, "Jonah was very insistent on me sticking to the script as much as possible. Yesterday he made me reread the end of Chapter 10 of Goblet of Fire until I was blue in the face. And there were some...interesting parts I had to say to my mum."

"Like what?" Molly asked.

"Well, hold on," Fred said. "George won't mind; he's still got it in his head that we're together or something."

"Mind about what?" Molly asked. Fred put a finger to his lip, then opened the door to one of the compartments. He held it open for Molly, and then he sat down next to her, plopping his suitcases on his other side.

He opened a pocket in one of the suitcases, pulled out what looked like a Charms textbook, then found a page he had doggy-eared. He pointed to a passage about halfway down the page.

"'Now, Mum,' said Fred, looking up at her, a pained look on his face," Fred read. "'If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?'"

Molly grimaced. "I think J.K. Rowling meant a "pained look" as in upset at the unfounded accusation, not at your own mortality."

"Yeah," Fred said. "I gave Jonah a good long glare after that one."

A split-second later, Jonah peeked his head into the compartment. "Can I sit with you?"

"No!" Molly said indignantly. "If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow - I mean, come on…"

"What?" Jonah said nonchalantly. "We've gotta keep things as on track as possible."

"You realize there have already been so many changes already?" Fred pointed out. "Madison died on your watch, remember?"

"One: I was Imperiused," Jonah began. "Two: I'm trying to let something like Madison's death not happen again. Three: Yes. Madison died. And she's fine. Four: When J.K. Rowling wrote you into existence, or however this works, your names were pretty interchangeable within the dialogue. If you hadn't said it, George probably would have, and it would have made things messier. I don't know if she knew you would die, but if she did, it was killer foreshadowing. If you hadn't said it, who knows? Would George have died in your place? Would you get your ear severed from your body? Who's to say?"

"Get in here, you idiot," Molly said, gesturing for Jonah to come in. "I was kidding, for Pete's sake."

"Okay," Jonah said, coming in and sitting across from the two of them. "But that was a pretty good argument."

Fred looked at Molly. "I mean...it was a pretty good argument."

She laughed, attempted a raspberry and failed, and then rested her head on Fred's shoulder. "Gotta keep up the whole 'dating' thing if anyone walks by," she said.

Fred giggled, then shot Jonah a "Help me" look. Jonah just smiled and shook his head.

The timelines Ava had made came in handy in the next few days.

Molly seated herself and Mackenzie near Ron and Lavender during Divination on the first day of classes. She watched very carefully as Lavender called out for help figuring out an unaspected planet, and Professor Trelawney leaned over to look at her chart.

"It is Uranus, my dear," she said, and walked away with a smile on her face.

Ron tapped Harry on the shoulder and said in a voice sweeter than candy, "Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?"

It took all of Molly's strength to not laugh. She looked over at Mackenzie and held her hand out for a fist bump, which Mackenzie accepted.

Fred decided to walk near the entrance hall, even though he wasn't that hungry for dinner, that day after classes. He arrived just in time to see Draco showing Harry, Ron, and Hermione a newspaper article, then Harry being restrained by his friends. He watched as Mad-Eye Moody observed the scene, then drew his wand.

He shot a spell into the crowd, hitting Draco in the chest. Before Fred could blink, in Malfoy's place was a pure white ferret.

The crowd was silent. Fred covered his face with his hands, as though he was in shock, but really to conceal the smile growing wider and wider across his face.

One part of the early weeks that Molly was decidedly not looking forward to was her first lesson with Professor Moody. She met with Mackenzie and Fred at lunch that day.

"I mean, we've never had to deal with the Cruciatus, but we've definitely dealt with the Killing Curse, and we've sure as heck dealt with the Imperius," Molly confided. "I just know it'll be a nightmare - and knowing what I know about Moody, it'll be worse."

"Just say the word," Mackenzie said.

"What word?" Molly asked.

"You said sure as heck," Fred said. "You're a fourth year. You can curse."

"I can," Molly said. "I just don't want to. I'm focusing on a different kind of curse right now."

"Fair," Mackenzie said. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Molly said.

"Maybe I could help," a voice said behind Molly. She nearly screamed as she turned around - to see Jonah.

"Oh, it's you," Molly said. "But you're not in my house."

"I'm doing an 'independent study' in Arithmancy this year," he said, with air quotes included. "So I'm free next period. I'd be happy to come if you need some help. This is kinda a legendary scene - I wouldn't mind being there."

"You mean it?" Molly said, her face brightening.

"Sure," Jonah said. "I've always been interested in what those curses look like from the outside. Maybe I could get Madison to come, too."

"And I'll sit with you," Mackenzie said.

"I won't," Fred said. "I had him earlier in the week. Had to miss Ron's little inappropriate joke because of it. But he's good, I'll grant you that. Not a great human being, but a great teacher."

"Well, Harry learned Expelliarmus from the most inept teacher we've had," Molly said. "Thank you guys. Thank you so much."

"What can I say except you're welcome?" Mackenzie sang.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys," Fred said. "Jonah and I pulled a great prank on Percy over the summer."

"Oh, yeah," Jonah said. "Back when we were at home, I taught him a bunch of modern songs. We even put together a mixtape - I stole a boombox from the Weasleys' and we played it over and over again until Percy knew every word to every song - and for all the instrumentals, every note."

"The Weasleys have a boombox?" Molly asked.

"Arthur has all the latest Muggle technology of the nineties," Jonah said with a smirk.

"You know Dear Evan Hansen?" Fred said.

"Oh, it's so good," Molly said.

"You have not lived until you've heard Percy Weasley belting 'Waving Through a Window' at the top of his lungs in the shower until your dad calls up to him to be quiet because the other tents at the World Cup could hear him," Fred said.

"Was he good?" Molly asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," Jonah said.

Molly burst out laughing.

"So...do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" Moody asked the class.

Jonah went to raise his hand, but Molly grabbed it and forced it down. "We've gotta keep things as on track as possible," she said quietly.

"Whatever," Jonah said. Moody called on Ron, whose hand was tentatively raised near his temple, the universal sign for "I might know the answer, but I also might...not."

"My dad told me about one," Ron said slowly. "Is it called the Imperius Curse or something?"

Madison flinched. "You didn't tell me it was this lesson."

"You didn't tell her?" Mackenzie whispered as loudly as she could without attracting the stern gaze of Moody's magic eye.

As Moody continued teaching, he grabbed a glass jar with three black spiders inside from his desk drawer. He took out one of the spiders, drew his wand, and called out, "Imperio!"

The four grimaced as the spider began to do tricks, back flips, cartwheels, a tap dance. It would have been funny if Molly hadn't been clutching onto Madison's solidified hand for dear life.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter that had filled the room died instantly. Mackenzie looked at Jonah and Madison, who both looked a little pale (and not, in Madison's case, because she was a ghost and therefore naturally very pale).

"Total control," Moody said, walking between desks, looking at everyone. His magic eye was pinned on Jonah and Madison. "I could make it jump out the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats…"

Moody continued talking, but his voice was drowned out for Molly by her heart beating out of her chest. When she looked back, she couldn't even remember him casting the Cruciatus Curse on another poor spider.

And then it came time for the Killing Curse.

Moody reached into his jar for the final spider. Molly squeezed Madison's hand, grabbed Mackenzie's. Madison reached out her left hand and held Jonah's.

Moody raised his wand - Molly saw Harry flinch in the front row -

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody roared.

A green light burst from his wand, a gust of wind knocked the class further back in their seats - and the spider was gone.

"I - I know that spell," Harry interjected. "I've never performed it, but I've seen it before. Twice. Once when Madison died, back in first year - and once, I don't know. But I've seen it."

"Well, that makes sense," Moody said. "Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me."

Molly wanted to cry. She didn't hear another word Moody said for the rest of the class, and she didn't even take notes - she just held her friends' hands for dear life.

Molly couldn't see. She couldn't feel a thing, or hear a sound. She was just in her own peaceful little world of darkness. Everything seemed perfect - if someone asked her to do something, she knew she could trust them.

So this is what it's like, she thought to herself, as though she was examining the world around her, memorizing it for a test later.

She could sense a desk in front of her - Moody's desk. A voice - similar to Moody's, but also sounding a bit like Scrooge McDuck - was telling her to jump up on it. But then she felt tired, and she didn't want to. She had never been great at jumping up on things anyway, so she decided not to.

You really should, though, the voice said.

I'm not going to, she thought back. Only an idiot would do that.

You are an idiot, though! the voice said.

What's the square root of 841?

"That's what I'm talking about!" Moody yelled, and the world snapped back to life.

"Oh, by the way, it's twenty-nine," she said as she walked back to her seat.

"Good to know," Moody said. "Who's next?"

Molly arrived back at her desk, holding her hand out for a high five, which Jonah accepted.

At the end of October, Dumbledore announced how to enter the all-important Triwizard Tournament. The next day, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan burst into the Great Hall.

"Done it," Fred announced to the group of Gryffindors eating an early breakfast. "Just taken it."

"What?" Ron asked.

"The Aging Potion," Fred said. "Dung brain."

He mussed Ron's hair as the others explained the plan and Hermione warned against it.

"Ready?" Fred said. "Come on, then - I'll go first."

Fred reached into his left pocket and pulled out the parchment with his name on it. He patted his right pocket and felt a small, handheld mirror inside. He walked up to the edge of the Age Line surrounding the Goblet of Fire. He took a deep breath - and stepped over the line.

George followed after, but Fred wasn't focused on that. A split-second later, the two twins were shot out of the circle. Fred turned his body in midair so his mirror wasn't impacted by the fall onto the cold stone floor.

A loud pop, and the entrance hall rang with laughter. That was his cue - and he pulled the mirror out of his other pocket and looked at himself.

I'm pretty distinguished in old age, he thought bittersweetly, looking at his red hair turned a brownish-white, a beard as long as Dumbledore's hanging from his face. All I need is a pair of bifocals.

George looked at Fred and burst out laughing, cueing Fred to do the same. They looked at themselves in Fred's mirror.

"I did warn you," Dumbledore said from the entrance to the Great Hall. "I suggest you both up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little, too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

"That's a relief," Fred muttered to himself as he and George set off for the hospital wing. Molly, rubbing her eyes, met them in the hallway.

"Oh my God," she said when she saw them, shaking her head and chuckling. She looked at George, who was looking back and forth between her and Fred as though expecting something to happen.

"Can you keep the beard?" she said, a twinkling look in her eye.

"No," Fred said flatly.

"Dang it," Molly said. She gave a wink to Fred and then walked into the Great Hall.

As soon as she was gone, George started singing, "Frederick and Molly, sitting in a tree -"

"Please shut up and let me be," Fred said.

George pretended to act shocked. "You can't use my awesome comeback against me!"

Fred shrugged. "I just did."

George laughed, swung his arm around Fred's shoulder, and walked with him to the hospital.

Later that night, during the feast, Dumbledore stepped up to the platform, next to the Goblet.

"Oh, it's time to choose!" Molly said, leaning forward as the room went silent.

"It is time to choose the champions from the Goblet of Fire," he said. "Who is the first champion?"

He turned to the Goblet. "Any second," Lee Jordan whispered, a few seats away.

The flames coming out suddenly turned a violent shade of violet. One particular flame burst into the sky. If Molly squinted, she could see a small, scorched piece of parchment float down into Dumbledore's hand.

"For Durmstrang," said Dumbledore. "Viktor Krum!"

Molly smiled; across the room, she could see Krum hold a fist up and bring it down, almost as if he was pulling a train whistle.

Another flame spurt out, with another scorched piece of parchment.

"For Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore. "Fleur Delacour!"

A large cheer came up from the Ravenclaw table, where the Beauxbatons students were sitting. Fleur stood up and smiled at the room.

What seemed like the final flame burst forth from the Goblet, although Molly knew what was coming. She looked over at Harry, who was completely oblivious.

Perfect, Molly thought.

"For Hogwarts," said Dumbledore. "Cedric Diggory!"

Cheers arose from the Hufflepuff table, Stella running over to give Cedric a congratulatory hug.

"And that is all!" Dumbledore said. "Thank you, and -"

And the Goblet spewed another flame, with another piece of parchment. Molly got really excited, but she didn't show it - not being at the same table as Harry.

Dumbledore, with a quizzical look on his face, plucked the parchment from the air. Molly became more and more excited.

"For...uh, Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, the entire room in silence.

There was a long pause, Dumbledore staring at the parchment, everyone else staring at him, on the edge of their seats. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out -

"Molly Evans."

Thanks for reading! Here are this chapter's behind-the-magic fun facts:

1) "The Calm Before the Storm" was actually a chapter title I had thought of for a previous chapter, namely "Prudence Forgotten." Then I realized it works better for this.

2) This is, I believe, the longest quote I've used for a chapter opening. It fits, but it's definitely the longest.

3) Like a few others before it, the wording of this opening is based on the opening to Goblet of Fire itself.

4) When I wrote this chapter, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway had just opened, and I looked up the timing of the chapter to make sure that they had announced the ride's existence before they closed the Great Movie Ride.

5) I've never been on Tower of Terror in my life - and I don't have any plans to do so anytime soon.

6) I've stopped wearing glasses and now wear contacts, so I thought I might as well update my fictional self to do the same.

7) I love the running gag of Stella knowing everything there is to know about Cursed Child, even though she hates it the most.

8) Cítricos has the best chicken mediterranean.

9) I had mentioned that I had accidentally spoiled many of the deaths, including Fred's, for myself when I first read the books. So certain lines, like the Hogwarts Express line, were especially cringeworthy for me, even as a first time reader.

(P.S. Watching my parents' reactions to certain moments in the movies has been really cool for me. They don't get super emotional at the deaths, but they laugh at all the funny parts and get serious at all the serious parts - no pun intended - and they ask a lot of questions. Which could mean they don't know what the heck is going on, but at least it means they're invested.)

10) I don't curse in real life, as much as I can help it, so I added that detail.

11) The image of Percy Weasley singing in the shower cracks me up every time I read the book, so I thought Fred and Jonah, knowing what they know, would love to exploit that.

12) Of course, the Scrooge McDuck reference is because of David Tennant's more recent role in the series Ducktales (which is excellent, by the way).

13) And we get a callback to Jonah's first Imperiusing! I love the idea that Molly and Jonah totally prepared this together.

14) And, finally, we couldn't have them know who Delphi is and have everything go according to plan, could we? I'm super excited for you guys to see what's in store for Molly as the fourth Triwizard champion!

Feel free to review, but please no negative reviews or cursing. (And please, NOTHING POLITICAL!) Thanks!