Chapter 12: Round 1
I hum a bit as I make the sign up sheet for the tournament as well as the one for my new Quidditch team, the Soaring Dragons. As we work on making the sheets for our teams and Fleur makes sign up sheets for cheer teams for each Quidditch team I hear Hella ask, 'What is the purpose of this little competition of yours, love?'
'This will serve as a distraction from your approach. Five weeks from now will see you at the borders of the UK. The Avengers will retreat to here a week after you do that and just a couple weeks after that you will be at the wards of Hogwarts. I have everything ready for the first task already so I have the time for a bit of harmless fun.' I tell her. 'Besides, I have missed playing.'
'As long as you're happy, dear.' she says.
'I have to go now, love.' I tell her and we say goodbye. I smile a bit as I stand up and begin recruiting the best players I can find. A few of the Hogwarts students are wearing the Potter Stinks badges but they take those off rather quickly when I blankly tell them that I'm not a Hogwarts Champion. None of them really know why I'm making a Quidditch team but sign up anyway. By the time dinner rolls around, with classes being canceled because the teachers were busy trying to reverse my prank, Viktor, Cedric, and I all have full teams as well as back up teams.
Fleur has also formed all the cheer squads and assured us that there are enough for every team. We sit down to eat and before food is served Dumbledore steps up to the podium and announces that France joined Hella and Loki willingly. He then announces the competition and I post the sign up sheet, mine, Viktor's, and Cedric's teams already on it. As soon as its posted the crowd bursts into excited whispers. I sit back down and smirk as I hear Hella say, 'Great work, my dear; I'll see you soon.'
'See you Saturday.' I promise before getting up and going to my boat, locking myself in the room and going to sleep. On Friday I spend the entire day training my team outside, which I didn't flood, and having fun on the rapids that the grand staircase has become. Now its Saturday morning and we all have just arrived at Hogsmead.
I look around, spotting Viktor speaking with Fleur and Cedric. They wave me over and I make a gesture for them to wait, they nod so I head to The Three Broomsticks. As soon as I enter I walk up to the bartender, smiling as I say, "Excuse me, Madam Rosmerta, I'm meant to meet the Rowans here, have they arrived?"
"Yes, down the hall, last door on the right." she says.
"Thank you, ma'am." I tell her before walking to the room my meeting is in.
When I enter I find that Hella and Loki are waiting for me with three plates of food. Hella smiles at me and says, "I ordered the breakfast special for you. Come, sit."
I walk over and take the seat next to her as Loki smiles. We eat quickly before Loki asks, "What do you have to report?"
"I have successfully recruited nine others, excluding those outside of Hogwarts. The ones in the school I have recruited include Dumbledore's right hand woman, who he trust with his life, and the only worker in the Hospital wing." I tell him, "I am distracting the school away from your arrival and have been making armor and weapons for those loyal to you within the school; thanks to my latest prank causing classes to be canceled those will be ready in a matter of days."
"What did you do to cause them to cancel classes?" Loki asks.
"I flooded the school." I say, "We now have to travel most places with the boats I shifted the beds too. I've done a myriad of smaller pranks on top of the flooding. Moving peoples boats and things."
"You flooded the school?" he asks and I nod. He smiles and says, "Excellent, and what of the people you have recruited? Have you given them tasks?"
"Yes sir. I have Neville Longbottom, an excellent botanist, growing potions ingredients in a secret greenhouse I found for him. My twin, Hadrian 'Harry' Potter, is looking for different offensive spells that can be used in battle, Professor Severus Snape is brewing the potions he knows how too while I brew ones that were lost to time. Luna Lovegood is translating books written in Elvish by her mother about Spell Crafting and the spells she had created already before her untimely demise." I say before taking a sip of the pumpkin juice that is next to my plate.
"Will the potions you are brewing be of use in battle?" Loki asks as I set my cup down.
"Yes, Professor Snape is brewing a variety of healing potions that work quickly enough you could take one in the middle of battle and continue fighting. I am brewing potions that cause a myriad of effects when used as projectiles, various acids and things like that, as well as things that can boost physical abilities for a temporary amount of time." I tell him.
"Excellent, and what of the others?" he asks.
"Fred and George Weasley are making items for my pranks, Madam Pomphrey is intentionally running low on her public medical stock while keeping her private stock full. Finally, I have Hermione Granger researching some books I gave her." I say. "I am also working on brewing a Horcrux Destruction Potion so we can get rid of the Hitler wannabe that has been ruining my life since I was a baby, however I will be needing to find one of his Horcruxes to use said potion."
"Excellent, anything else?" Loki asks.
"Not as far as I am aware." I say.
"Wonderful work, Seer." he says as he sets a box on the table in front of me.
I look at it and ask, "May I ask what that is, Lord Loki?"
"Something you will wear the day we take Hogwarts." he tells me so I open the box and pull out the object, finding a long, emerald green cape with a black ear rune stitched into the back. I look back at Loki as I fold the cape back up. He smirks at me before saying, "A symbol of your new position as General of my Army as well as a sign of your soulmate."
I smile at him as I put the cape back in the box and replace the lid. I then put the box in my book bag and say, "Thank you, Lord Loki. It will fit perfectly with the armor I made myself."
"I look forward to seeing you wear it." he says with a smirk before we all stand and I bow, kiss Hella on the cheek, and walk out.
I go to Honeydukes and make a few purchases before heading towards the other champions, as I'm walking I get blocked by Ronald Weasley and several other Gryffindors. Ronald steps ahead of his little group and sneers, "Where are you going, Potter?" I spot Viktor and Fleur heading this way before glaring at Ronald as he says again, "Where are you going, Potter?"
"To speak with my fellow champions." I tell him, "Now if you would please excuse me."
"I saw that you signed a team up for the Quidditch tournament, what do you think of my team?" he sneers at me. "Better get a good look at it, because we're the team that's gonna beat yours."
"Its adorable that you think your weak little team will stand a chance against mine." I say with a smirk so he shoves me, but before he and the others can beat me up Viktor grabs my arm and pulls me from the crowd.
"There you are, Iris. We've been waiting for you, Cedric is already by the carriages." he says.
"Oh, I was just coming to meet you three, sorry for the delay, I never leave Hogsmead without buying something, old habit." I say as we walk away from Weasley and his team. Soon as we're far enough away I sigh and say, "Thank you."
"No problem. We checked the sheet this morning; all eight teams have been signed up." Viktor says as we walk into a more secluded area where Cedric is waiting for us. "Also Cedric and Fleur have told me who's side they choose."
"Really?" I ask in a slightly interested tone. "Who's side would that be?"
"Well, the Diggory family have followed Loki for three generations now." Cedric says in a hesitant tone, "Ever since my grandfather married my grandmother, who was a follower of his."
"My sister and I have decided to stand by our families decision to side with Loki." Fleur tells me, both look almost fearful of what I will say next.
"Alright." I say with a smile, "Shall we head back to the castle? I was just heading that way."
"You aren't upset about us joining Loki?" Cedric asks.
"Not really." I say with a shrug as we head for the carriages. "I mean, Viktor agreed to follow him and I haven't stopped hanging out with him." the next few days are spent training for the Quidditch Tournament and for the first task. I've also finished all the armor and weapons from my friends and have been training all of them. Now it's Tuesday and Dumbledore has excused us all to attend the first round. "Good luck today." I say to Viktor and Cedric as we walk. "I'm sure that I'm going to have fun with my match no matter who I go up against."
"Good luck to you too." Cedric says and Viktor nods in agreement. We separate and I move to stand by my team, all of us wearing sleek black robes with green lining which are designed to be rather aerodynamic. Soon as all the teams are gathered on the pitch Lee Jordan announces the tournament.
"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Champions Quidditch Contest! This is the first round, a non elimination round consisting of four matches as decided by me pulling team names out of a box." he says and the crowd cheers. "So, for the first round we have...the Flying Badgers captained by Cedric Diggory, give it up for them!" the Hufflepuff's cheer especially loudly until Lee says, "Let's see who they're up against, yeah? First match will be the Flying Badgers verses...the Burning Lions, captained by Ronald Weasley!"
The rest of the teams take to the stands and the match begins. In the end the Flying Badgers win by more than fifty points. After that went Cho Chang's team, Raven's Song, against Hadrian's team, the Sky Strikes. The Sky Strikes win by fifteen points after that we take a lunch break before heading back to the pitch where I smile at Cedric and say, "Congrats on winning your match."
"Thanks. Good luck with yours." he says.
"Now that we're back from lunch the third match will be...Badgers Pride, captained by Ernie McMillan!" Lee says and several Hufflepuff students cheer. "They're going against...Soaring Dragons, captained by someone who hasn't played Quidditch in two years, making her triumphant return to the pitch, the one and only Viper of the Quidditch Pitch, Iris Potter!" My team flies up and the crowd gasps. I smirk at the suddenly terrified look on Ernie's face as he sees not only me, but my new broom as well. The match begins and thirteen minutes later I catch the snitch and the crowd goes wild as Lee excitedly says, "It's clear to see that the Viper kept her fangs sharp these last two years! Iris Potter caught the snitch! Soaring Dragons win!"
I land and walk over to Ernie, holding out my hand and saying, "Good game, McMillan."
He grudgingly shakes my hand and says, "Good game, Potter." We go to the stands as the last two teams take to the skies, Viktor's team, the Bulgarian Bulls goes against Draco Malfoy's team, Serpent's Fright, and Viktor easily beats Draco as a seeker. After that we all head to the Great Hall for dinner where I am joined by my friends and the other Triwizard Champions.
"Its good to see that you haven't lost your touch, Iris." Cedric says as he sits down. "I can't wait to go against you again."
"Same here." I say as we get served some food. We eat and, after dinner, I tilt my head, looking around the table as I ask, "What do you all think? Should this prank end now?"
"Well, it has been a week now." Viktor says, "They are getting more and more desperate with each day this continues."
"So I should give it more time." I say with a smirk and everyone at the table with me laughs. I chuckle too before sighing and saying, "Alright, I'll be nice...for now."
I send out a pulse of magic and a second later I hear a first year call out that the boats are leaving and the water is going down. We eat our dinner before I get up and walk out, casting a spell on the doorway and heading for my room.
