Hey guys! I'm super excited to really get into the action during Goblet of Fire!
Also, on a side note, I do want to reiterate that all transgender/nonbinary people are welcome here. Again, just because a certain author is a jerk and can't see that transgender and nonbinary people are who they say they are, it doesn't mean the fanfiction community can't rise up. Thank you again for continuing to support up-and-coming writers. And now, let's get on with the show!
(Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of us now, we've taken custody, sorry not sorry)
Chapter 35:
Calmly
"'Why should 'e complain?' burst out Fleur Delacour, stamping her foot. ''E 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't 'e? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money — zis is a chance many would die for!'
'Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it,' said Moody, with the merest trace of a growl."
Molly couldn't believe her luck.
Her eyes widened, as they always did when she was surprised. The world had seemed to stop around her - and it had "frozen" while everyone was in the position of staring at her quizzically.
"Molly?" Harry asked. "Are you - okay?"
Molly tried to breathe and calm herself down, but she couldn't get air fast enough. Don't faint on me, she thought, trying to send the message to her brain. Not here, not now.
Her brain refused to cooperate. A few seconds later, she came to, Mackenzie holding her up.
Trying to get her breath back, she shook her head to clear herself of whatever dream she was in. It couldn't be real - it couldn't be.
It suddenly came to her. This was the trick. Every plan they had built was based on the assumption that Harry would be the other Hogwarts champion. Delphi hadn't been able to succeed through just inserting new people into the story and hoping they failed to keep it the same - so now she was doing the dirty work herself.
"Molly Evans?" Dumbledore called. "Up here if you please?"
Molly stood up, looking around. She caught a few of her friends' eyes as she walked to Dumbledore. They all looked just as shocked as she was, but at least they knew it wasn't her fault. She saw Draco, who knew some of the story but not all of it, staring her down like she was a Weasley. She saw Fred, who seemed to understand it perfectly, and George, who was shocked beyond belief.
She went out the door to the Great Hall and ended up in a small room, lined with paintings of famous witches and wizards, a little hall of fame of sorts. Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were sitting in comfortable-looking chairs.
Before Dumbledore, or Ludo Bagman, or any of the other adults could enter the room, Molly closed the door.
"Okay," Molly said. "Something must've been messed up, but before any of the adults come in, I have to tell you myself what happened. Somehow, my name ended up in the Goblet, and somehow, I was named the fourth Triwizard champion - which seems weird for it to shoot out four, since it's a Triwizard tournament, and surely the Goblet can understand Latin - but not the point. I didn't put it in, and I don't know of anyone in this school who would, but I think someone's trying to get me involved and mess up the world as we know it. I know the rules for this thing like the back of my hand. I watched underage people try to get through - to fascinatingly hilarious results. But now that I'm a part of it, I have to be in it - it's part of the rules. You've got to believe me."
The room was silent. "I'm sorry, what now?" Cedric asked.
The door opened behind Molly, and she fell to the ground, Fleur helping her up.
"I'd like to know what the meaning of this is, Dumbledore," Professor Karkaroff said as he and some of the other teachers entered the room. "I don't remember any book of rules saying that the host school is allowed two champions."
"C'est impossible," Madame Maxine said, towering over even Dumbledore.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I didn't put my name in," she said. "I didn't cross the Age Line, and I know for a fact that it works. And I didn't ask someone else to put it in for me, because if anyone remembers anything from 1992, it's that I don't love it when things aren't fair."
"Oh, yes, I was told of the scene she made after Potter and Weasley arrived in the Ford Anglia," Professor McGonagall said.
"She doesn't have a history of breaking rules, unlike Potter and Weasley," Snape said softly. "But maybe those who sneak under our radars are the ones who betray us in the end -"
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said. He looked directly into Molly's eyes.
"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Molly?" he asked calmly.
Trying to keep an even tone, she shook her head. "Like I said, I didn't put it in, and I didn't ask anyone to put it in for me. But I know I have to compete because of these stupid rules. I don't know how this happened, but I am under the impression that someone very powerful is trying to mess things up through my participation in the Tournament. I apologize for whatever caused this situation, but I shall try to do the best I can to keep the Tournament fair and make my school proud."
She was vaguely aware of the rest of the room staring at her. The other champions seemed understanding enough. Dumbledore seemed patient and interested. Snape, Karkaroff, and Madame Maxine glared at her, Madame Maxine with some resignation. Crouch and Bagman looked rather excited. Mad-Eye Moody stood in the corner of the room, saying something like, "Way to go, Molly! Just like I told you! Constant vigilance!"
"Well, then, I suppose we should give our champions the instructions for the first task," Dumbledore said. "Barty, want to do the honors?"
The elder Barty Crouch nodded. "Yes, instructions. The first task is designed to test your daring, so we are not going to be telling you what it is."
And Molly immediately drowned it out. It was word-for-word the speech from the book, which Molly had reread the night before in her room. If she needed a refresher, she could read it again later. She had a feeling she'd be doing a lot of rereading this year.
The other champions left, and then Molly was alone with Dumbledore and Cedric.
"I suggest you two go up to bed," Dumbledore said, smiling as warmly as he could. "I am sure Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise - without the moral misbehavior as a stimulus this time, Miss Evans."
She nodded and left with Cedric, walking into a deserted Great Hall.
"Stella mentioned you a lot," Cedric said, not really knowing what else to say. "I remember back when Madison died - she was worried about you."
"Madison and I were good friends - still are, thank God," Molly said. "She told me that you and her had become friends during all that."
"It was hard for Hufflepuff house," Cedric said. "Losing someone."
"Uh-huh," Molly said, not daring to look at Cedric.
"So you really didn't get someone to put your name in?" Cedric said. "I mean, you don't seem like the type to do something like that."
"I'm not," Molly said. "And I didn't. If someone else put my name in, I'm not aware of it. Although I have a suspicion whom it may be -"
She stopped herself.
"Who do you think it is?" he asked.
She panicked.
"Uh - not anyone you'd know," she said, which wasn't a lie. "Just some Dark wizard who's been bothering me for a while."
"Oh," Cedric said. "It's Draco."
"No," Molly said quickly. "It's not someone who goes here. Like I said, you wouldn't know them."
"Ah...okay," Cedric said. Something told Molly that he was starting to get suspicious. "I should be going."
"Okay," Molly said. "See you soon."
But Cedric was already gone, heading through a door to the Hufflepuff common room. Molly was left alone, the torches just slightly burning behind her in the Great Hall.
After a minute of quiet thought, she walked up the marble staircase. She turned a corner to come face to face with a hooded figure - a dementor.
She drew her wand -
"Stupefy!" a cry rang out from inside the figure, and a red light burst forth from its hand, hitting Molly square in the chest.
The next thing she knew, she was sprawled on the stairs - someone must've cast a rennervation spell. And she knew exactly who it was.
"Maybe Cedric was right," Molly said to herself as she got up and dusted herself off. "Maybe this all is Draco."
A few minutes later, she arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait, where she was talking with another painting.
"Well, Violet's just told me everything," the Fat Lady said. "Apparently you were quite the spitfire down there."
"Balderdash," Molly said.
"It is not!" the other painting said.
"No, no, Vi, it's the password," the Fat Lady said, and the portrait opened to a large cheer from inside. The common room was packed with Gryffindors, as well as all of Molly's time-travelling friends from the other houses. Even Madison was there, solidified.
"You should've told us you'd entered!" George said. "How did you do it without getting a beard?"
"I didn't -"
Angelina Johnson, to whom Molly had never talked, came up. "Oh, if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryffindor!"
"I didn't even -"
Harry was there, too, which just made it that much worse. "We've got food, come and have some -"
"WILL YOU LISTEN?" Molly bellowed. "JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN!"
In an instant, the room was silent.
"I didn't put my name in that stupid cup," she said. "And I didn't ask anyone to do it for me."
She looked over at the other time-travellers who happened to be there, who were huddled in the corner, pretending to be celebrating. "Where's Fred?"
"Oh, he went up a little earlier," George said.
"I'm going to have a talk with him," Molly said.
"You two are the sweetest little power couple," George said, but Molly wasn't listening. She went through the door, and the time-travellers followed.
"Molly? Are you alright?" Stella called up.
"Just meet me in Fred's room," she said, climbing up the stairs, her eyes starting to well up. She found his room in the sixth-year wing and walked in.
He was sitting on his bed, but turned and stood up when she walked in. "Oh my God," he said, walking over to her. She walked into the room and buried her head in his chest right before she burst into sobs.
"I thought we had figured out what to do," she said between heavy gasps for air. "Now I don't know...I don't know at all..."
Stella walked into the room, then Mackenzie, then the rest. Slowly, they formed a heap of embracing bodies on the floor of Fred's room. It was a quiet refuge, although Molly knew full well it would only be temporary.
After the worst had ended, Molly whispered, "Which of you is closest to Draco?"
"Probably me," Ava said. "He and Jonah hadn't gotten along since the beginning of first year, and he and Zoë haven't been great ever since she stole his Time-Turner."
"You've gotta tell him it wasn't my fault," she said. "He confronted me in the hall on my way up - and it didn't end well."
"I'll try," Ava said, nodding solemnly.
"Hey," Madison said. "You've been here for me no matter what's happened to me. I'll be here for you, too."
Molly smiled as much as she could muster. "Thanks."
"For now, we should get you back to your room," Fred said, holding Molly by her shoulders. "You look exhausted."
"That's a good idea," Molly said. "But how do we get to my room without the others seeing me?"
"Oh, I have an idea," Fred said, standing up. He opened his closet to reveal a Charms textbook - not the fake one with doggy-eared pages, but a real, actual, sixth-year Charms textbook.
"Not really in the mood for reading right now," Molly said.
"No, it's a Portkey," Fred said. "George's. He set it up with Angelina to try and get in her room and see what the girls' rooms are like."
"Did it work?" Molly asked.
"No," Fred said flatly. "But it might work for you and Mackenzie, and the rest of you will have no paparazzi blocking the door."
"Speak for yourself," Madison said. "I'm very famous."
"Not right now you aren't," Jonah said. "Why don't Molly and Mackenzie try it?"
"Okay," Molly said. She took Mackenzie's hand, took a deep breath, and touched the book.
In a second, they were in Angelina's room. Quickly, they got out of her room and into the stairwell, where they crept down to the fourth-year rooms. They found theirs pretty easily, and Mackenzie helped Molly, who was still a little shaky, into her pajamas.
"See you tomorrow," Mackenzie said. "I'll be here."
"Thank you," Molly said. "See you tomorrow."
Molly sat there for a few hours, not able to get to sleep. She thought about the Tournament that was about to unfold, the buttons the Slytherins would make, the literal dragons she'd have to face. She tried to be productive and think of solutions, but she honestly didn't know what to do.
At least you have friends right now who know you're innocent, she thought. Your time traveling friends, and Madison - and Fred.
Thank God you have Fred.
Thanks for reading! Here are this chapter's behind-the-magic fun facts:
1) This chapter, structurally, is very different than the last one. After a chapter with lots of time jumps and breaks between scenes, it makes sense to write a chapter that's all in one piece. It's actually a rare thing in this story, so it's a nice contrast.
2) I love that Harry is the first person to ask Molly if she's okay. It's totally something that Harry would do - go out of his way to help, but unexpectedly makes things worse. Like with Sirius!
3) When writing this chapter, I wanted to make sure Molly actually tried to advocate for herself. She legitimately knows what's going on, so it makes sense, especially compared to Harry's situation, that she wants to make it incredibly clear what her role in the tournament will be.
4) Dumbledore says it calmly. Full stop.
5) I thought it was important that everyone in Molly's circle gets a reaction to this. From the people actually involved in the tournament, to the kid who knows a little bit of the story but not all of it, to the people in her Hogwarts house, to the people in the same boat as her, to the one person in the HP universe who knows exactly what's going on...this isn't just Molly's reaction to her situation, it's the reaction of everyone that's been roped into this new version of the story.
6) "Will you listen/Just shut up and listen" is a line from a song from the musical Next to Normal, which is a great musical you should listen to right now. (Seriously, this show is so good.)
7) One thing I love about this chapter (not to pat myself on the back or whatever) is that Molly waits to actually break down until she's with the people she trusts. She waits until she's with the eight people in whom she can completely put her faith to be vulnerable. Molly is a very positive, friendly person, but she's truly formed a family at Hogwarts, and I've loved writing every word of it.
8) Madison's "I'm very famous" line is totally a reference to Ron's line at the end of the epilogue.
Oh, and to round this out, my parents and I finished our Harry Potter movie marathon. They were very confused a lot of the time, but I think they enjoyed the experience. I wanted to watch something else HP-themed to round out the marathon, and I discovered a show called Puffs on Broadway HD. And OH MY GOD I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS SHOW WITH SOMEONE BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN AND THEN IN THE LAST FIFTEEN MINUTES IT SUCKER-PUNCHED ME WITH EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS OF BEING REMEMBERED VERSUS BEING LOVED AND OH MY GOD
Also, I'm writing a song about it. Not even kidding. Watch it.
(Oh and there are sequels on YouTube)
Feel free to review, but please no negative reviews or cursing. (And please, NOTHING POLITICAL!) Thanks!