Chapter Seven: The Champion Selection

One of the most anticipated nights of this year, the champion selection was later in the day than any dinner or gathering Hogwarts had in the Great Hall.

Evie had been out in the courtyard with Freya and Theseus for most of the evening, having snuck a few extra cinnamon rolls after dinner. Still, she was having trouble getting hers down. Evie's anxiety had tapered down to an unsettling feeling as she stared up at the moon, which peaked out behind layers upon layers of clouds. The foliage growing over the courtyard arches seemed to glisten in its light, fluttering in the breeze. Snowfall didn't always come around as early as October, but Evie was beginning to feel the winter chill.

Or maybe it was this place. This night.

After all, this courtyard—it was where they had marched.

The students studied the Battle of Hogwarts extensively in Evie's historical classes. They learned how and when the Dark Lord was defeated and all the events that led up to it. So great and powerful was he, that Hogwarts' wards weren't strong enough to repel his voice when it sought the Chosen One. They had learned how Harry Potter had sought out the ghost of Ravenclaw tower to obtain the Lady's lost diadem. How the Order of the Phoenix had snuck into Hogwarts to stand together against the Dark Lord. How dementors floated through the skies awaiting the arrival of the Chosen One like death incarnate. How their headmistress and many of the professors stood guard over the school, their protective spells warding off the Dark Lord's forces.

One resounding fact shuddered through Evie tonight: this was the courtyard where the Death Eaters had once stood. It was where students had marched into the Great Hall in fear and doubt. And as Evie glanced around the desolate courtyard now, the wind howling as it blew through the arches, she wondered what the students of that time were thinking. If she tried hard enough, she could taste the raw breath of danger they must have experienced. The fear and doubt, not knowing who would live through the night—

"Are you cold, Evie?" Theseus said, drawing her attention from whatever they'd been talking about. "You're shaking a bit."

On any other night, Evie might've smiled at his concern. But, tonight, she felt too heavy to smile. "No," Evie simply said. "Well, yes. But I can't tell if it's my nerves or the actual weather."

"You know where it's unmistakably freezing?" Freya said, her voice brimming with defeat. "Inside a grave."

Evie looked at her, her pale features illuminated in the moonlight. Freya wouldn't look at her. Her coldness wasn't a surprise, but after Evie had officially cast her name into the goblet, there wasn't much use for it. Her snide quips had lost their punch once she realized their futility. Still, Freya was as determined as ever to make Evie regret her decision.

"Lovely thought," Evie muttered under her breath. "Good thing Atrius is more likely to be chosen than I am."

Not that was helpful to say, in retrospect, but Freya neither rolled her eyes nor pouted—she merely stared directly at the cobbled ground and offered a slight shrug.

Sadness pinched her chest. "Freya, I—"

"Hey, you lot," Oliver's voice appeared behind them. Atrius and Lucretia were following him out of the front doors. "Can't you see everyone gathering in the Great Hall? It's almost time for the selection."

"Of course they see them," Freya said bitterly and stood. "We're not blind, you idiot."

Oliver's brows rose at the tone she took on, but he didn't wait for an actual response before turning back around. Theseus gave Freya a weak smile as he rose from where he'd been leaning against an arch. Evie was left at the tail end of the group as they migrated back toward the doors. She walked slowly and wondered—for the first time—whether Evie had really made a mistake by casting her name into the fire.

Her ancestor had been one of the earliest Death Eater's in existence—one of the first, in fact.

Maybe Freya had been right about this from the beginning…

Evie shook her head and turned to head back toward the doors. Atrius had been leaning against the side of the front door, waiting for them. Evie got a glimpse of his tense expression before he turned and followed the others inside. His face was cast in a whiter light than Evie had ever seen it, leaving only the silver in his eyes to gleam like chips of ice.

The Great Hall took on the same bluish light as when Evie put her name into the goblet. The benches had disappeared back into the tables they'd used at dinnertime. However, the crowds from Ilvermorny and Koldovstoretz made the entire space feel much smaller than it ordinarily did. Somewhere in the back of Evie's mind, that weight had taken root, and no amount of bustling was enough to distract her as Evie sifted down the row of students. They were all dressed in sweaters, pants, and skirts (having left their robes in the dormitories, which were only really required for classes).

"Evie," said a voice, followed by someone tapping her on the shoulder.

Evie turned and grinned at her new acquaintance from divination class. "August. Good to see you."

"Good to see you, too," he said. "How are you tonight?"

A slow shrug. "Not as excited as I thought I'd be."

"Yes, I heard you put your name into the goblet. There's only one 'Evie' I know of, so I figured it had to be you."

"Yes, it was me."

"Yeah." His green eyes painted blue as he glanced at the fire. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Evie murmured as she looked back at him. "Think there are only about two people in my group that I can really call friends, and one of them might murder me faster than this competition."

"Does that mean you don't want to be chosen?"

"I don't know…" her voice fell to a whisper. "Suppose the chances are low enough that I shouldn't worry. Whatever happens, I'll try to be glad of it."

August's gaze crossed the room, then settled back on her with a meaningful look. "Well, I'll applaud you if you do get chosen." Someone called him from behind. "I'll see you later, yeah? Good luck."

Evie offered him as warm a smile as she could muster. "Yeah. Definitely. Thank you."

Evie rejoined the others moments later, taking the only spot beside Atrius, to her minor annoyance. He shifted a little to make room but somehow still managed to take up damnable amount of space. It was still difficult to look directly at him after her discussion with Theseus in the common room. Her perception of Atrius was ice incarnate, so it was hard to picture him heated enough to lose control the way Theseus had depicted.

Evie crossed her arms atop the table and looked around at the students bustling. All of them were joined here by magical blood, with the goblet standing between them like a monument in the room. As Evie stared up into the flames, they seemed to flicker ominously in response, flashing left and right before settling again.

"Atrius?" a delicate voice appeared behind them.

The group's conversation paused at the sound of it.

Evie turned toward Atrius and looked back at the source—toward Serana Bagshot. Once more, her black hair covered her face on either sides, but the blue of her eyes were made brighter by the light of the goblet. She was staring down at him with a lethal sort of calm that made her both intimidating and fiercely beautiful.

"I wanted to wish you luck," she said. "I saw you put your name in, but I wanted to wait until tonight to say something. I hope you get selected, out of all the candidates." Her eyes fluttered toward Evie in something akin to challenge. Evie narrowed her gaze and faced away from her, scanning the others' bewildered and amused expressions as they watched the exchange.

A beat of silence. "Thank you," Atrius's voice came out unexpectedly soft—soft enough to surprise Evie.

"You're welcome," she said.

"That girl fancies you," Oliver said as soon as Serana was gone.

To her right, Atrius turned and leveled a flat stare at him. The grin he donned was absolutely feline. "Maybe."

"You should ask her to the Yule Ball. One sickle says she'd agree to go with you."

Atrius didn't respond to that, and Evie was in no mood to listen anyway. As the last of the students filed into the Great Hall, Headmistress McGonagall came through the doors and strutted down the center row. She swung out her wand and doused the sconces, slowing as they simmered to a dull glow. One look around their faces, and that was all it took for the students to quiet down in her presence. That was the kind of authority she commanded.

"Good evening, students," she said, pacing around the goblet. "As you all know, we will be selecting our champions for the tournament tonight. So I'll ask you to all stay seated until the end."

She paused for effect. "In past years, the winner of the Tri-Wizard Tournament collected a trophy following the successful completion of each contest—that will not be the case this year." A dull murmur broke out among the crowd. "That prize will be withheld until the end of the competition."

Evie glanced toward Freya out of habit, but her expression was icy as she watched McGonagall talk. Again, she refused to look at Evie.

"Now…" McGonagall turned toward the cup, and the entire room fell silent, watching as she paced around it like a predator—her cat eyes never leaving the flames.

The fire finally burnt red and spat out a piece of paper. It fluttered down to McGonagall's hand as though it knew exactly where she'd be. As she unraveled it, the entire room went cold with silence. "The champion from Koldovstoretz is Vasilisa Roventin," she proclaimed, and a beautiful girl with dark skin and burnt-amber hair rose from one of the tables. The entire group around her cheered as she approached and shook McGonagall's hand, turning to head toward the trophy room.

The goblet spat out another piece of paper. Again, she caught it in the air at the exact moment it fluttered by. "The champion for Ilvermorny is… Sayre Reginis."

Sayre? Evie realized inwardly as the crowd broke out in applause that the student's first name was the same as Ilvermorny's founder. Her black hair trailed all the way down to her hips, tied back in a tight ponytail.

Evie's breath stalled in her lungs. McGonagall turned back to the cup for the third time, the flames fluttering about a bit more wildly—or maybe that was just her imagination. Evie's heart was racing, absolutely pounding in her ears as the third and final name shot out from the flames, fluttering down to McGonagall's hand.

Every second was slow as Evie watched her catch it.

Bring it in front of her.

Unravel it.

Read it…

"The Hogwarts champion…" When her eyes lifted to Evie, her entire body froze solid. "Is Evelyn Nott."

Evie felt pale. Completely unmoving. For a moment, she could swear she saw nothing, heard nothing…

Nothing but her name—McGonagall had read her name.

Evie was chosen.

The goblet had chosen her—

Evie rose from the edge of the bench where she sat, some measure of applause breaking out in her wake. Evie felt…naked, all of a sudden. Multitudes of eyes were on her, but Evie felt none of the rush of excitement she thought she would. "Congratulations, Ms. Nott," McGonagall said as Evie drifted closer, slowly reaching up to shake her extended hand. "I wish you the best of luck."

Evie nodded slowly.

If anyone asked, Evie could have sworn she'd blacked out during the walk to the trophy room, which was larger than she anticipated. As Evie opened the door and walked down the steps, a multitude of chirping sounds echoed throughout the vast space, the light of the fireplace glinting against every surface. Sayre and Vasilisa approached from their respective corners of the room, looking like they'd been meandering about looking at all the trophies.

"Hello," Evie said with a smile, but neither of them offered one in turn.

"Hello," Vasilisa was the first to answer. "My name is Vasilisa, but I go by Lisa."

When she held out her hand, Evie took it. "Evie. Pleasure to meet you." She turned her attention on Sayre next. "And you—sorry, your name was…?"

"Sayre." She took her hand and shook it.

"Are you two as nervous as I am?" Evie said, trying to diffuse the tension.

"I don't get nervous," said Sayre.

"Oh…"

"I do," Lisa said, smirking a bit. "What do you think they have in store for us?"

"Nothing too homicidal, I hope," Evie said, though she rather doubted it.


The entire Slytherin common room was packed when Evie returned, as though they'd all been waiting for her to arrive. The moment Evie passed through the pillars, a roar of excitement broke out through the space, eliciting the first smile she'd really worn this entire night. She hadn't smiled even when McGonagall and others from the ministry and school had come to congratulate and brief the three of them, reminding them of the honor of being selected.

Evie smiled only as she was swept into her crowd of classmates, though she soon noticed that only two faces were missing from the lot of them: Atrius and Freya.

They didn't show themselves through the revels that continued into the night. Even after the excitement had gone down, leaving her drained in the middle of the common room, they never appeared to congratulate Evie.


Hope you all are staying safe, thank you again for all your support!