The champion for Durmstrang … is Viktor Krum!" said Dumbledore.
The students inside of the Great Hall, located within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all cheered for the professional Bulgarian quidditch seeker. The students of Durmstrang all gathered around Krum and gave their congratulations. After a few minutes of celebrating, Viktor walked up to the front, shook the hands of Igor Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, and Dumbledore, and stood next to the table where all the professors ate.
"No surprises there!" said Ron Weasley to Harry Potter.
Harry smirked and continued to clap with his fellow classmates. The students were were now patiently awaiting the results of the next two champions. Suddenly, the Goblet of Fire turned violet once again and shot another piece of parchment out into the air. Dumbledore caught the burnt scrap of parchment, and proceeded to read the next name.
"The champion for Beauxbatons … is Fleur Delacour!" said Dumbledore.
The students in the Great Hall cheered even louder for Fleur than they did for Krum. Well most of them did. With the exception of most of the Slytherins and Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley, Fleur's selection for the tournament caused mass hysteria.
Like Viktor, Fleur rose from her seat and stood next to Krum at the front of the Great Hall. Unlike Krum however, Fleur didn't shake Dumbledore's hand or Karkaroff's, but instead ran to Madame Maxine and gave her a hug.
"Of course she would get picked. The snobbiest one in all of Beauxbatons just happens to be chosen for the Goblet of Fire. I am calling a fix on this later!" Ginny said with some slight venom in her voice.
Hermione laughed a bit from Ginny's reaction. Harry had to agree that it seemed all too convenient for that girl to be chosen, especially since he had learned not too long ago that she was indeed part Veela. Ron didn't mind however because his jaw was still on the floor while looking at Fleur.
After getting smacked upside the head by Hermione, Ron came back to his senses. The Goblet of Fire turned violet once more and moments later another name was selected. Dumbledore grabbed the small parchment, and read the last champion's name aloud for all to hear.
"The Hogwarts champion ... is Cedric Diggory!" said Dumbledore.
At that moment, the Hufflepuff table erupted in applause for their housemate. Cedric had to literally peel the adoring fans off his back in order to go up to the front and shake Dumbledore's, Karkaroff's, and Madame Maxine's hands.
Harry laughed a little at the sight before him, but was happy that Diggory was selected to compete in the tournament.
"Interesting," said Hermione. "I never thought Cedric would have been chosen. I thought it was going to be either the head girl or head boy." Harry questioned Hermione's logic, but somewhat agreed with his pseudo sister and continued clapping for Diggory. Cedric had gone to the front of the hall and began listening to what Dumbledore was saying.
"Excellent! We now have our three champions!" said Dumbledore. He then took on a solemn tone. "I must warn these champions that there's no going back. The champions will stand alone! As of this moment, the … "
Dumbledore stopped his speech once he heard a sound coming from the Goblet of Fire and stood in awe once he saw the prominent blue flames change into the violet color once more. A moment later, the goblet shot out one final piece of parchment into the air. Dumbledore caught the slip and a look of terror came across his face once he read the name aloud.
"Harry Potter." Dumbledore said somewhat quietly.
Everyone turned their heads to where Harry was sitting. Harry looked at Hermione, Ron, and Ginny and he was just as dumbfounded as they were. The boy wanted to make sure his friends believed him before going up there.
"I didn't put my name in the cup!" said Harry. "You all believe me right?"
Ron gave Harry an angered look and looked away from his friend.
"What's his problem? Ron knows I wouldn't do anything this stupid!"Harry thought.
Hermione was speechless. The questioning look on her face, however, was everything Harry did not want to see. This gave him some anger that started to boil for his two best friends.
"Great. So Hermione is not sure what to believe, and Ron is pissed off at me. What else could go wrong?"Harry thought.
Ginny on the other hand was sad that Harry was put into the tournament in the first place. She knew that and wanted to hug him but couldn't at that point in time. The only thing she could do was say:
"I believe you Harry." said Ginny.
Both Ron and Hermione gave her a surprised look, but the youngest Weasley responded with a scowl of her own at them. Harry was grateful that Ginny believed him, but couldn't say more to her because Dumbledore called his name out once again.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore said in a louder tone than the last time.
"Go on, Harry! Get up there!" said Hermione.
"I won't go until you all believe me!" Harry said in response to his friends.
"Harry, please go! We will talk about this later!" Hermione said.
"HARRY POTTER!" Dumbledore shouted for the final time.
Harry stood up from the table and proceeded to walk to the front of the Great Hall. Many whispers and murmurs could be heard around him and Harry started to become uncomfortable. When he reached the front, Harry could see Hagrid shocked beyond all belief and had a few tears coming from his eyes.
"No. No. It's not possible." Hagrid whispered under his breath.
The next comments however were clearly heard by everyone.
"He's a cheat! He's not even old enough to enter this tournament!" said someone from the crowd.
Harry turned around to find the voice, but was not able to locate who had said it.
"What rubbish!" Fred and George Weasley yelled at the same time.
This time Harry knew where those comments came from and was aggravated from the Weasley twins responses.
From there the Great Hall started to erupt with anger. Students and teachers were outraged that Harry Potter, a 14 year old boy, was chosen to compete in the Tri-Wizard tournament. Since Dumbledore had drawn the age line around the Goblet of Fire, many students were not able to enter their names because of it. So the likelihood of Harry being able to submit his name was extremely unexpected, if not impossible.
This didn't matter to anyone however.
"Silence!" shouted Dumbledore. The old wizard turned his head to the champions and said "You four must head to the back room immediately. There are things that we all need to discuss."
"Yes. Like how the fact this little boy was able to get into the tournament Dumbledore?" Karkaroff asked menacingly.
"Igor please head to the back with the others. We will find out the cause of this incident, I assure you." said Dumbledore.
The champions, tournament judges, Severus Snape, Alastor Moody, and Dumbledore all headed into the back room behind the Great Hall while the students continued to erupt in anger at Harry Potter being chosen. The Hogwarts Professors remained calm for the sake of the students, but you could tell that a lot of them were just as confused and upset as the kids were.
Ginny looked on in disgust at her fellow classmates. All around her she could hear Harry's name being badmouthed. Some of Harry's so called "friends" were saying things that were downright insulting. Ginny turned to the people nearest her and studied their reactions.
Seamus and Dean started betting how long Harry would survive, Fred and George were planning to congratulate Harry since he tricked the goblet, even though they were disappointed themselves, and Neville looked too shaken up to comprehend what happened.
There were a few others at the Hufflepuff table that were extremely upset that Harry Potter was chosen. The hateful expressions on their faces were enough to know that their time in the spotlight was stolen by a Gryffindor who was underage.
Ginny continued to take in the sounds of disapproval around her, and started to get infuriated. How could any of these people possibly be mad at Harry getting entered in the tournament? They should have been worried instead! This was obviously a set up and any sane person would be able to see that. The young girl's only hope for convincing others of Harry's innocence would start with Ron and Hermione.
The youngest Weasley turned her head to Hermione. The intelligent girl who seemed frightened for her friend was gone. Hermione was now scowling and talking to Ron about something. While she didn't get every word out of what was said, Ginny did hear the words "inexcusable", "unforgivable", and "reckless" coming out of Hermione's mouth.
The chaos in the Great Hall was becoming uncontrollable. While the professors tried to stop the yelling and screaming at the beginning, it was proving to be fruitless. Professor McGonagall could not stand any more of this madness, and projected her voice through the use of the sonorous charm.
"Quiet down all of you! Prefects please escort your houses back to their dormitories immediately!" said Professor McGonagall. She then headed into the back room where the champions and other professors were.
Not given much choice, the students stopped being outraged for the time being and followed their house prefects.
Back in the Gryffindor Common Room, most of the students were patiently awaiting the return of Harry Potter in order to either find out how he did it, or yell at him for getting into the tournament at all. Ron, Hermione and Ginny entered through the portrait entrance and the three of them pushed through the crowed room to find a spot near the back.
Ron and Hermione were not arguing for once while Ginny was anxiously waiting for Harry. Since Ginny was only vaguely listening to their conversation, she initially ignored them. When Ron talked a bit louder, however, Ginny began listening a bit more closely.
"How could he have done it, Hermione?" asked Ron. "He's a cheat! If he was really my friend he would have told me how he had gotten himself entered!"
Ginny was shocked to hear that her dim witted brother was accusing Harry of something like this. Well maybe not that shocked.
Ron always was really quick to anger when they were kids, and it hadn't gotten any better as time went on. It always took the boy a while to see the truth, and more often than not, his anger would come back to bite him. What was more surprising to Ginny was the fact that Hermione was agreeing with that blockhead.
"I don't know, Ron. Harry would never have done something like this. It's not enough for him to have a normal year is it? Why does Harry have to go off and do something so dangerous? I considered Harry like a sibling." said Hermione.
Ginny's jaw dropped to the floor.
"You two have got to be kidding me!" Ginny shouted.
Everyone in the common room turned their heads towards the direction of her shouting, but Ginny didn't care.
"How could you possibly think Harry would want to be in this tournament?" Ginny screamed at her brother and Hermione. She turned her head towards Ron.
"I should have guessed you would be stupid enough to believe Harry entered the tournament, you prat! You're his best mate and should take his word when he says he didn't enter. You, Ron, are an absolutely disgraceful friend!" said Ginny.
Ron began cowering in his seat thanks to his little sister. The young redheaded witch turned away and began scowling at Hermione.
"I am way more disgusted with you Hermione! I cannot believe you would turn your back on someone you considered family when he needs you the most! You know what his life is like outside of Hogwarts! Hermione, I am dumbfounded at your insanity. You need to get your head out of your ass and start seeing the truth!" said Ginny.
No one in the common spoke for several moments before two voices came in and ruined the silence.
"What's with all the yelling?" asked one of the Weasley twins that were across the room. Odds are it was more than likely to be Fred.
"Yeah ickle Gin-gin! Keep down all the screaming at Ron and Hermione." this twin was definitely George.
"Shut up both of you before I give you the bat-bogey hex of a lifetime. If either one of you think Harry put his name in the cup too, then you two are bigger morons than you lead people to believe." said Ginny.
"That won't be necessary oh conjurer of the bat-bogey hex!" said Fred.
"Yeah we were just heading out so don't mind us Gin." said George.
Ginny said nothing but watched her twin brothers with a stare that could kill. Getting the hint that they should make themselves scarce, Fred and George ran for the hills and out of the common room. Once the twins were out of sight, Ginny spoke up once more to the rest of the students.
"To the rest of you, I can see how bad this must look for Harry, and why you are upset. Harry could have entered the tournament by cheating, but that's not who he is. Wake up! Harry said he didn't do this, and that's all we need to believe him!" Ginny screeched.
With that, Ginny stormed off from the common room leaving a very distraught Ron and Hermione behind her. The rest of the students in the room stood in silence for a moment but then returned to their accusations about Potter.
"How can Ginny stick up for him like that? She doesn't know Harry like we do. Your sister is only saying that because she has that crush on him." said Hermione.
"I agree. I need to show my sister that Harry really is a huge glory hog that only cares about himself." said Ron.
He turned directly to Hermione and said "Hermione. I really need your help here. I don't want Ginny to be influenced by Harry freaking Potter and his reckless ways. Will you please help me?"
"No! I won't help you Ron. We're friends aren't we?" asked a hopeful Hermione.
"Yes. Yes we are friends Hermione." said Ron.
Ron bent down and kissed Hermione on the cheek. The young man then turned and headed up to his dormitory. As Hermione watched him leave, she touched her cheek and blushed.
"You certainly are full of surprises Ron Weasley." thought Hermione.
(Right after the four champions are sent into the back room behind the Great Hall)
In order to keep things under control in the Great Hall, Dumbledore asked the four champions to head to the back room. Fleur, Viktor, and Diggory were extremely confused by Harry being chosen by the Goblet of Fire, but then again so was the Boy-Who-Lived. After a few moments of silence between the four of them, the young champions could hear people start to enter the room.
"I suppose you have a good explanation, Dumbledore, as to why a second champion from Hogwarts was selected for the tournament?" asked an irritated Karkaroff.
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Believe me Igor, I wish I knew the answer as much as you." With that, Dumbledore turned his head to Harry.
"Harry! Please tell me you didn't put your name into the Goblet of Fire!" asked Dumbledore.
"No sir! I didn't!"
"You didn't ask another student to put your name in for you?" asked Dumbledore once more.
"No sir!" said Harry.
"You're absolutely sure?" Dumbledore questioningly shouted.
"Yes sir! I didn't even want to enter this tournament in the first place!" said Harry.
"Oh vell of course he iz lying!" said Madame Maxine.
"Zes he must be! Zis little boy iz obviously after the eternal glory of the tournament and tricked it zumhow to get in! We all got in fairly, but all he did was deceive the cup and iz now a liar and a fool!" said Fleur Delacour.
"To hell he is!" shouted Professor Moody. All eyes were on the crazy ex-auror right now.
"That Goblet of Fire is an extremely powerful magical object. Only an exceptionally powerful confundus charm could have hoodwinked it! That kind of magic requires skills that are way beyond the capabilities of a fourth year!"
"You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought Mad-Eye!" said Karkaroff.
"It was once my job to think as dark wizards do Karkaroff, perhaps you remember?" said an irritated Alastor Moody.
Dumbledore turned to face Barty Crouch, one of the Ministry of Magic officials for the Goblet of Fire, and asked: "What do you think Mr. Crouch?"
After a few moments of silence, Barty Crouch was able to collect his thoughts and spoke freely.
"The Goblet of Fire constitutes a magical binding contract that cannot be broken. The rules are absolute. I am afraid we have no choice, Dumbledore. As of tonight, Harry Potter is now a Tri-Wizard Champion." said Barty Crouch Sr.
The heads of Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Barty Crouch Sr., Alastor Moody, Igor Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, Dumbledore, and the other three champions turned their gaze towards Harry Potter.
It was obvious that most of the adults in the room were concerned for what had gone on, and wanted an explanation more than anything, but only a few were afraid for what Harry would have to endure in the coming months from the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
The foreign champions and their mentors headed back to their living quarters, while Harry and Cedric started heading back towards their common rooms. When the two students were far enough away from everyone, Cedric spoke.
"Well Potter. It seems that you've gotten even more fame and attention than usual! Congratulations." Cedric said sarcastically.
"Cedric, please listen to me. I didn't put my name in the goblet. I'm really glad you were chosen as champion, and I would never to steal your thunder. I didn't enter the tournament. I swear." said Harry.
"Sure Harry, whatever you say." said Cedric.
Harry didn't say anything in return. It was clear that Cedric was a little peeved because he had his fifteen minutes of fame come and go thanks to Harry, but the Gryffindor Champion paid him no peace of mind. At a crossroad in the halls of Hogwarts, the two boys headed their separate ways.
"Why doesn't anyone believe me?"thought Harry.
"I didn't enter this damn tournament and I wont have the entire school thinking I'm a liar! I hope someone else believes me besides Ginny. Not that I don't mind her believing me. It would just be nice if someone else believed me as well. Then perhaps others would realize how ridiculous this whole thing sounds."
"Harry!" said voice from behind him.
Harry turned around and saw that it was Ginny. She walked up to him and immediately pulled Harry into a hug. This was something Harry desperately needed right now, especially if it was from one of his good friends. After a moment, the red headed girl reluctantly let go, looked up at him, and blushed slightly.
"Harry, thank Merlin I found you. Did Dumbledore find a way to get you out of the tournament?" asked Ginny.
Harry shook his head. "No. Barty Crouch Sr. claimed that the tournament is a binding magical contract and there's no way out of it." He sighed and then continued speaking. "I have to compete in this bloody tournament." said Harry.
"I'm really sorry, Harry." said Ginny. She pulled him into another hug and the two sat in silence for a moment. Suddenly something donned on Harry that he needed to know about.
"Ginny, what's going on with Ron? Why did he scowl at me after my name was called?" asked Harry.
"Can't you tell? He's jealous Harry. He wanted all the fame and glory from the tournament for himself, but since he thinks you found a way in, my idiot brother is upset that you didn't tell him how to enter." said Ginny.
"That's crazy! Even if I did find a way in, I would let all of you know how to get in as well!" said Harry.
"I know Harry. Your real friends would have remembered that too. I just hope they come around eventually." Ginny sighed.
"What about Hermione? Does she not believe me either? She didn't look too pleased either to be honest." Harry asked.
"I am glad you didn't go back to the common room Harry. As soon as Ron and Hermione entered it, they began bashing your credibility. They both believe you are being reckless and stupid." said Ginny.
Harry dropped his gaze to the floor.
"So it's not just them is it? There are others who think that way too?"
"Unfortunately there are a lot in Gryffindor who think that way Harry. I can't speak for everyone, but if the twins want to avoid any hexing from me, then they'll believe you as well" Ginny answered.
"Well I thought Fred and George would already believe me, but it's nice to know they don't think I cheated."
"What about you? You believe me right Ginny? I swear I didn't enter this tournament and I have no interest in eternal glory or the cash prize. I have enough fame and money to last me a lifetime, and let me tell you, they're both nowhere near as important as the people I've lost." Harry admitted.
"Of course I believe you Harry. We're good friends and I would like to think I know you a lot by now. You saved my life in the Chamber of Secrets, you are a selfless person who thinks of others always before yourself, and I know you don't actively go searching for danger, even though it does tend to follow you." said Ginny whilst laughing a little at the last statement.
"What can I say? I am like a magnet to this stuff!" Harry chuckled.
"A what? What's a magnet?" asked Ginny.
"Oh umm … Never mind. Don't worry about what I said, Ginny." said Harry.
"Okay. Well come on Harry. We should probably get back to the common room now." said Ginny. She grabbed Harry's hand and began guiding him back to the tower, but Harry stood completely still and decided to pull her back to where he was.
"What's wrong, Harry? Don't you want to go back?" Ginny asked.
"Hold on. I need to tell you something." Harry nervously stated.
Ginny held her breath for a moment and temporarily forgot where she was thanks to Harry pulling her towards him. She looked into his gorgeous green eyes and started to feel weak at the knees. If Harry wasn't holding her up, she probably would have fallen over.
"I just want to say thanks for believing me. I never expected my two best friends to turn on me, but you ... you stood by me. I am forever in your debt, and I promise to thank you as much as I can. You really are a true friend and I'm glad to have you by my side." said Harry.
"You don't need to do anything for me, Harry. I am simply doing what any sane normal person would have done. You said it yourself that you didn't enter and I believe you. What more do I need to hear?" Ginny admitted while blushing madly and having a huge smile on her face.
Harry took his left hand and innocently grazed Ginny's cheek. Ginny gasped a little and she started to blush at Harry's gesture.
"Thanks Ginny." said Harry.
Ginny was not trusting her voice, so she decided to nod her head instead. She took Harry's hand once again and the two headed up the stairs. Neither noticed that they continued to hold hands until the Fat Lady came portrait came into view.
It seemed like all the Gryffindor students were waiting for Harry on the other side and he knew it was going to be an uncomfortable moment in the common room.
"Susan, you know that i didn't put my name into the Goblet of Fire. Right?" Harry thought.
"Of course i know that you didn't put your name in. But who did?" Susan thought.
Dragons. Somehow, Harry was not surprised that the first task involved dragons, or the fact that he pulled the most dangerous of them. For the hundredth time, he thanked Dumbledore for his help.
The other champions were pacing the tent nervously. Neither Krum nor Delacour looked surprised at the announcement, but Cedric looked positively green. Harry realized that the other Hogwarts champion had no idea what to expect. Harry at least knew it was going to be a dangerous creature of some kind.
He walked across the tent. "Any ideas?"
"A few," Cedric said. "My team thought it was either going to be a maze or a creature so I practiced for both."
"Good," Harry said.
Cedric looked at the fourth year. "You?"
"I asked for help from Professor Dumbledore. You know why."
"Yeah. It's not really fair, you being so young. I'm glad he's helping. Professor Sprout was on my team helping me, so it's all good."
Harry nodded. He liked the older boy, and secretly hoped he won. When they called Cedric's name, he wished the seventh-year the best of luck.
He felt Susan in the stands and watched through her eyes as Cedric used distraction to lure the dragon far enough away to get the egg, but not without suffering some burns and bruises. He sighed in relief when Cedric got free on his own power.
Victor Krum was next. The soft-spoken Bulgarian strode right out into the area and threw a powerful conjunctivitis curse at the dragon, which roared in anger and stomped half the eggs. He succeeded, but lost points for damaging the eggs and hurting the dragon.
Fleur's approach was the most different.
Harry felt his blush rising as even Susan responded to the full Veela allure of the Beauxbaton witch's sinuous dance. It was hard for Harry because when Susan became aroused, the feeling was even more acute than when Harry felt that way. He shifted uncomfortably in the tent waiting or his turn before the French witch finally retrieved her egg. She would have made it clear if not for a flaming snore from her dragon.
He began to relax when a loud voice said, "Oh, Harry!"
Harry turned, stunned, as a woman with garishly bejeweled glasses stepped into the tent. "Hello, Harry! I have been trying to get a hold of you all year! I almost had you at the weighing ceremony, but for some reason Professor McGonagall wouldn't let me."
Harry felt Susan's concern in his mind. "Uh, who are you?"
"Why, I'm…"
"Ms. Skeeter, why are you in the champion's tent?"
Harry could not even begin to express his gratitude as Sirius stepped in, resplendent in his auror robes. Harry noticed a captain's bar on his sleeve now. That was new.
"Oh, Sirius Black!" Skeeter breathed. "How wonderful! I can…"
"You can leave," Black said forcefully. He grabbed her arm and started pushing.
"You can't do this, I'm with the Daily Prophet!" She continued saying that as if it were a spell or chant even as Sirius pushed her out.
Just then Ludo Bagman, the tournament director, stuck his head in. "Your turn, Harry."
Harry nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped outside.
The first thing Harry thought was how much bigger the Hungarian Horntail looked from the ground than from the stands where Ginny sat. His second thought was how muchmeanerthe dragon looked.
More than mean. It looked vicious, and was staring at him with enraged yellow eyes. All around the stadium, people were cheering and screaming as the already enraged dragon unleashed a huge billow of fire. Harry was just out of range, but even so he could feel the wash of super-heated air tug at his face and hair.
How can I do this? He thought.
Do it for me, came the response. Do it for this.
With the thoughts came a vivid image of last night of Susan looking up at him with love as she placed her lips on him.
The image and the complete wash of sensory memory that came with it was so strong that for a brief moment, Harry felt his whole body go warm with the power that inevitably came when they experimented.
I can do this. With you.He started running forward. The crowds screamed; the dragon roared. Malfoy and the Slytherins were jeering and catcalling him.
He ignored it all, thinking of Susan. He raised his wand and with all his magic, screamed, "Ulciscor!"
The restraining charm struck the dragon with shocking power and physically knocked it off the mound of rock it used as its perch. The dragon, trained by dragon handlers using this very spell, hunched down and let out a plaintive cry while Harry ran toward the nest. He kept pouring magic into the barrier, the running at the same time made it difficult.
He tripped once but regained his footing and poured more magic into the barrier until he reached the nest and removed the golden egg. The dragon let out a plaintive yelp again, and surprisingly, Harry could understand.
My younglings. Do not hurt my younglings.
The dragon was speaking parseltongue, but a different dialect of it. Somehow, Harry could still understand. When he was far enough away, he let the barrier fall, but did not run.This egg is false. I give you my word your younglings were not harmed.
The dragon mewled again, before bowing its head.Then I thank you, Master.
Harry bowed back before running back into the tent with his egg.
He beat the other times by a full minute, even Krum's.