Revenge of the Misfits
Chapter 14
The following morning, Sarah once again awoke to the sound of Tian's alarm clock, feeling bored. Downstairs, she related her feelings to Amy.
"How can you be bored?!" Amy exclaimed, and the blonde shrugged. From the other side of the room, Krista listened in while making coffee. "With the Triwizard and all, it's impossiable!"
Sarah sighed, looking out the window above the sink in the cozy kitchen. "I dunno, it's just everything these days seems so...routine."
Krista mentally agreed. Her whole life seemed routine, and just to spice things up she liked to randomly hex people with invented spells, yet was still bored. "Yeah, I agree." Sarah raised an eyebrow, the redhead had barely spoken a word to her since Sarah's arrival.
Sarah spent the rest of the day inside the school's library, which was drastically different from Hogwarts'. It had large, arching windows that poured in sunlight on rosewood tables and burgandy armchairs. The bookshelves were neatly stacked and not leaning any way, and the librarian was a kindly, plump man who wore a monacle under his busy, white eyebrows. Sarah decided she liked it much better here than any other library in the world.
So, she settled down in a soft couch, streached out, and began to read a Muggle copy of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. She became so immersed in the story, that hours blended together and the sunlight was fading to a deep burnt orange by the time footsteps thudded up to her.
"Aren't you hungry?" James asked her abruptly, and Sarah looked up at him with bloodshot eyes from doing nothing but reading. James picked up her legs and moved them off the couch, sitting beside her. "Tomorrow they're drawing names." he stated, Sarah rolled herself up to sit beside him.
"Yup." And silence fell once again. "Are they still serving dinner?"
"I think so." James answered. "Let's go." he proclaimed, pulling Sarah off the couch and out of the library. The corridors of Hockeday, however, were enclosed and small. The school itself was tiny, but must have had a sort of expanding charm on it, for somehow four floors, and endless classrooms lining grid patterned staircases and halls existed.
Walking outside, Sarah grabbed a plateful of chicken and mashed potatoes, and the best friends sat down together at a picnic table, proceeding to stuff their faces. Night was falling, and fireflies were winking in the warm Outback. Finished with her dinner, Sarah smiled and tried to catch one, sweeping her cupped hands around in a circle, the glittering bug evading her every snatch.
Finally, she captured one, and cracked her thumbs open to peer inside at the glowing insect. It fluttered a bit, tickling her fingers, before Sarah opened her hands and set it free. Her blonde hair fluttered in thin tendrils as she smiled, watching it soar out to freedom. James watched his friend from the table, used to her doing spur-of-the-moment sort of things.
"I hear they have an awesome goldfish pond around the other side of the school. Want to come check it out?" he called over, while Sarah strolled back.
"Nah, how about tomorrow?" she asked, in dire need of some quiet time to think, though that was just what she had done the entire day.
James shrugged. "Okay, I'll wait. I need to study anyways. Later!" He took the hint that Sarah needed to be alone, heading back off to the houses. Sarah blew a bit of her hair from her eyes, resting her chin on the tabletop. It was nearing curfew, something Sarah always neglected. The grounds were empty, and golden lights were shining in the windows of every house. She could imagine Tian praticing her clarinet in the den, Amy baking more muffins, while Krista sat and listened to Tian from the library upstairs, her ego preventing her from coming downstairs.
Sarah ran her fingers through her loose hair, that hung in wavy blonde locks around her shoulders. She slowly reached inside her purse, tugging out the quill, ink, and parchament that she had been carrying around all day long. The cap popped off the ink easily, and the witch carefully dipped the tip of her quill into the black liquid, posing it over the paper, trying to decide.
She wrote her name in a beautiful script that she rarely wrote in, and Hogwarts below it, putting the items back inside her purse. Sarah stepped noiselessly around the castle like building, the Goblet was now in sight.
I'm seriously going to do this. I can't believe it! Sarah thought hysterically, pausing on the Age Line. Taking a deep breath, she placed one foot inside, then the other, and again until she reached the Goblet, able to feel heat radiating off it, warming her pale features. I can still turn back, she thought again, but wasn't able to.
The Goblet glowed expectantly, the fire reaching out and retracting in an endless cycle. Sarah dangled the folded paper overtop it, then dropped it in. The flames grew larger for a second, before dying down. Sarah turned on her heel and flat out ran all the way back to her house, bursting inside and locking the door behind her.
"Where have you been?" Amy burst from the kitchen, wearing a pink apron with the embrodiery Kick Ass Chef on the stomach, clutching a rather soapy muffin pan.
"I just entered," Sarah breathed, and Amy gasped.
"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed, Tian coming out and voicing her similar opinion.
Sarah looked up with a haunted expression. "What if I get picked?" she groaned, collapsing on the couch. "I'm not ready for this!"
"Of course you aren't," Tian comforted her. "Nobody ever is, but then reality comes and bites you in the butt."
Amy smiled gently, offering a blueberry muffin which Sarah gladly accepted and munched on. "Honey, I'll be cheering you on if you do get picked. After my school, of course. But I'll cheer while you face the tasks!"
"Gee, thanks." Sarah sarcastically thanked her. "I probably won't get picked anyways. Who in their right mind would choose me?"
XxXxXxXxX
"You ENTERED?" James yelped the following morning at breakfast. "What were you thinking?"
"Don't worry," Ron hastily added when Sarah dropped her head on the tabletop. "He's just scared you'll beat his school!"
"They haven't even chosen names yet!" Sarah burst out. "I don't want to win, and now I really regret it!"
At that moment, the Headmistress of Hockeday climbed back up the podium beside the Goblet.
"Today is the day we will find out who our Champions are, as you all know. If you are chosen, kindly report to my office inside the school. The Goblet should choose any time now, ah!" she exclaimed as the fire grew bigger, and turned a deep violet. Flames sparked out in every direction, shooting out a burnt piece of flowered parchament.
"The Champion for Hockeday is-" she read off the paper. "Harvey Campbell!"
Cheers erupted from the mass of green-clad Australian students, a tall boy with sandy brown hair climbed from a mass of boys with a large grin on his face. Everybody thumped him on the back as he walked over to the castles, while girls swooned when he winked at a group of them, including Amy. Their attention was brought back when the Goblet turned violet again, the flames erupting like a volcano would. A piece of paper fluttered down, singed at the edges, landing in Headmistress Deardra's knotty hand.
"Our Champion for Grier Academy is Gregory Bathurst!" she called over the shouts of joy coming from the Grier boys. A French teen strode down, he had wavy black hair and a tanned complexion. Just from looking at him, Sarah could tell he came straight from Paris. James was among the people cheering for their champion, he and Gregory exchanged something of a handshake and a yell of glee in French before he continued on inside.
Sarah's stomach was icy, Ron gave her a one armed hug while the Goblet thrust out a piece of paper that was half way burned and charred in every manner. It floated down painfully slow, doing five different loops and flips. Finally, it landed in the Australian woman's hand.
"The Hogwarts Champion is Sarah Turner!" she defiantely called, and Sarah felt faint, like she wanted to throw up. She looked up to suddenly hear a chorus of screams of happiness from all her classmates, including the Slytherins! A small smile lit her face, and Ron poked her, motioning to the castle. Sarah hastily got up, and staggered inside.
XxXxXxX
Deardra's office was a small room, with a long, rectangular desk which she sat behind. The Champions were seated side by side in wooden, straightbacked chairs, while the other Headmasters hovered in the corners. Sarah was pleased to see that Professor Salotti was present too.
Since Sarah had finally arrived, Professor McGonagall decided to give their instructions. Other Australian officials whom Sarah did not know were also present, and she assumed they would be acting as judges.
"The first task is to test your courage, and ability to think under pressure." she began, eyeing Harvey, Greg, and Sarah in turn. "We will not be telling you what it it, in that case. You must be able to think on your feet, so I suggest studying as many spells as you can! It will take place on November twenty-first, in front of all the students and out panel of judges." she motioned to the line of people, Sarah looked them all up and down, while Salotti happily waved and two judges exchanged looks that clearly said What has he been smoking?
"Champions are not permitted to ask help of any kind from teachers to complete the tasks. You will face the tournament and whatever it consists of armed only with your wand. You will recieve information about the second task when the first is over. Like before, you will be excused from end of year tests. That is all."
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, and her Dark Arts professor walked over.
"So, you get to be a judge, huh?" Sarah asked him, and he eagerly nodded, shaggy hair flopping around his face.
"Congratulations! I can't wait to watch you. Are you nervous?" he asked.
Sarah widened her eyes. "Yes. I didn't even want to be a champion, but here I am. So I really don't have to take my N.E.W.T.s?"
"Well, not right now. Since it's so important, you'll probably want to apply at the Ministry to take them, since you're a special case." Sarah nodded.
"You should go back and celebrate with your friends. I heard that the Gryffindors are having a party in house seven!" he cheerfully quirped. The blonde witch bid the teacher good-bye, then left at a quick pace down the halls and outside to house seven.
On the way, people cheered and waved, yelling "HOGWARTS FOREVER!" at the top of their lungs. She could hear music blasting from one of the closer houses, and a flood of Grier boys running in and out with banners and shooting fire from the tips of their wands. They all cheered happily like good sports when she passed, and James and Greg waved to her from the porch.
At the end of the street, a giant bonfire had been started by the Hogwarts students. A weird dance of sorts was going on, among yells and then someone shrieked: "She's here!" And Sarah was thrown on top of somebody's shoulders and had a Gryffindor banner somebody decided to bring thrown around her shoulders.
Inside, people were crowded around a magical radio which was blasting The Weird Sisters in a mock mosh pit. Finally the two Ravenclaw boys put her down, only to be hailed by a crowd of people asking her questions all at once.
"ONE AT A TIME!" Sarah yelled over their voices, and was pushed into a lawn chair by Padme Patil.
"So, what's the first task?" she eagerly asked, everybody else nodding and grinning beside her.
"They wouldn't tell me, just something about bravery and facing danger..."
"Wait...How...Who's?!" Everybody shouted at once, and Sarah answered their questions as best she could, finally escaping to her circle of friends. They had placed lawnchair outside next to the bonfire in a circle, sort of like a cult. It included Ron, Seamus, Dean, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ernie, Terry, and a few others. Sarah sat in a chair that had been saved specially for her.
"Sarah!" Seamus called from two seats away, and tossed her a bottle of butterbeer. "Congrats on the tournament...thing...yeah!!!" he yelled, making a toast that everybody clinked thier glasses in before taking a long sip.
"So, what should we do now?" Sarah asked.
"Let's play spin the bottle." Harry blurted out, and everybody yelled "Trust you to think of something like that!"
"How about I never?" Ernie suggested, and people weren't too enthusiastic about that either.
"Hey, let's let Sarah decide, it is her party after all!" Ron decided, and looked expectantly at them.
"How's a few rounds of Truth or Dare?" she asked, and more people agreed to that idea. "Well, here we go!"
"Ron," Sarah asked, looking her friend in the eye. "Truth...or dare?"
Ending Notes: That was my attempt to compensate for my lack of updates...it was extra long! Don't you love me? (okay, you don't, but be nice and review now) My week is going to be pretty busy, since my in-class debate is on Friday, which is in three days at this time, and only one A-Day to work on it! Gah! But whatever. Must...write! And now I'm just rambling, rambling, rambling. Blah blah, bladey blah. Is there something I was gonna say?
Oh, yeah. Please review, it's a good thing to do. I'm not going to beat you, or threaten, or beg like other authors do, I'll just say that the button is very pretty, and I'd really appreciate it. So there. Later! -