On the thirtieth of October, the two other schools arrived. Caprice, Fred and George stood with the rest of the school in the cold Entrance Hall. The doors were wide open, letting in a bitter cold and the torches didn't help too much. Fred's arms were wrapped around Caprice in an attempt to keep her warm. Everyone knew they were dating now, only because news traveled fast. At first, George felt ousted. He felt like he was being ignored. But then everything got better.
Christi, on the other hand, was taking things slow with Draco. Only Caprice, Christi's friends and a few others knew. Draco wanted to take it public, but Christi wasn't so sure. She just wanted to take things step by step. She didn't want to jump into anything, and Caprice was proud of her for that. While guys weren't offering to jump into bed with girls at fourteen, Caprice still wanted Christi to not get her heart broken.
Finally, the Beauxbatons students arrive, pulling up in a horse drawn carriage. The Head of their school steps out, being welcomed pleasantly by Dumbledore. As all the girls and boys from Beauxbatons went into the castle, the Durmstrang ship came out of the water, amazing everyone.
Dumbledore welcomes Karkaroff. Caprice was incredibly bored and that point and thanked Merlin when they went inside to eat.
"So you'll be entering then?" Fred asked Caprice toward the end of dinner.
"Absolutely. I am seventeen."
"Yes, but it's dangerous. I'd rather you not enter."
Caprice scoffed, "Fred, it's a thousand galleons! I can win all that money!"
Dumbledore stands and gains everyone's attentions. "The Triwizard Tournament begins!" Then, a casket is brought in. Out of it, Dumbledore takes out a flaming goblet. "This is the Goblet of Fire! Put your names into its flames and it will pick out the champions."
He explained everything to them, but Caprice was already dreaming of holding up that trophy when she won.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by George, who was pulling her up. She noticed everyone getting up and she gave them a questioning look.
"The Feast is over." Fred said, smiling at her lovingly.
Caprice frowned, "Oh."
"What were you thinking of?" George asked as the three of them joined up with Alicia, Angelina, Patricia and Lee.
"Of Fred, no doubt." Lee teased.
Caprice shoved him and said, "Shut up, Lee. That's not it."
"What is it?" Alicia asked.
"You'll have to keep guessing." Caprice moved in front of them all and walked backwards, "But here's a hint." she phased into almost a different persona and said, "Thank you, everyone. Thank you very much… Oh, what am I going to do with these one thousand galleons? I'm not sure yet. I'm just glad to have won the-"
"Triwizard Tournament." Angelina finished, giggling, "How do you know you'll even get picked?"
"The Goblet picks those who are most equipped to. I am fit, I'm strong, I'm bold! I'm fast and sturdy and NOT FRAGILE, like Fred thinks I am."
"You are fragile." Fred argued.
"Am not," she said, sticking her tongue out.
"Careful or I might have to capture that tongue." he smirked.
Caprice continued, "And I'm smart and handy and I'm the perfect candidate! Don't you all think so?"
"I think you have yourself on a pedestal." Angelina said.
"I think I've got myself exactly right." Caprice argued.
"And she's thinking, 'Right, Fred?'" George teased.
"Am not. I don't need my boyfriend to reassure me on how amazing I am."
XXX
"Why can't we tell people?" Draco asked. He and Christi were in the Common Room, doing Defense homework. "It'll get out eventually!"
"I just want to take things slow."
"It's been about two months. That's not slow enough?"
"Look, I just want to make sure that…" Christi trailed off, thinking of what it was, "I don't know!"
"I really like you, Christi. Don't you see that? Nothing will ever get between us, I promise."
Christi shrugged, "I don't know…"
"Don't you want people to know about us? It's gonna get out to everybody some time if not now."
Christi looked him in the eye and said, "I'll tell you what… In two weeks. In two weeks we can go public. If you can wait that long, then we can go public."
"I've been able to wait this long." he said, "Why not longer?"
"I know you'll be able to wait two more weeks." she said, "Alright now… I'm gonna go up to bed. Umm… Firewhiskey!"
"Firewhiskey you too." he smiled. Firewhiskey was their equivalent to saying 'I love you'. Upon Caprice's suggestion, they made an alternate word to express their feelings. It turned out to be Firewhiskey.
Christi smiled and hurried up to her room.
XXX
The next day, Caprice was doodling her name on her strip of parchment for the Goblet. It was Halloween, and they didn't have any classes. She, her friends, the twins and Lee were sitting under a beech tree by the Black Lake. It wasn't cold like the previous night. It was warm, sunny. Surprising. They looked out at the lake and the large ship from Durmstrang sitting in it.
"How do you think it stays up?" Caprice heard George ask.
"Ships always stay up." Fred said, "They're ships. They just do."
"Something that big can't stay up."
"The Titanic did." Patricia-the only Muggle-born of the group-said, "Well… It did sink, but that was because it hit an iceberg."
None of the others knew what she was talking about. Lee put in his own opinion, "It's magic, of course. Something that big can't stay up without magic."
"The Titanic is bigger." Patricia noted.
Fred looked at Caprice and went over to her. He sat next to her and kissed her cheek. She blushed and Fred asked, "What're you doing?"
"Nothing," she shrugged, "What're you doing?"
"The usual banter. I can't believe you're entering."
"You're trying and you aren't even of age!" Caprice argued, "You know what, I'm going to go put this in the Goblet right now."
She bounced up and Fred chased her into the Great Hall. Many students were there, merely looking at the glowing Goblet.
She crossed the Age Line and stuck out her tongue. "Ha! You can't get me when I'm here! You are too young!" she cackled. She threw her paper into the Goblet and Fred took her waist, pulling her towards him roughly. He placed his lips to hers and smirked, then murmured, "Still wanna get away?"
She pulled back and smiled cheekily, "Yes!"
Caught off guard, he released her and she bounded off toward the Black Lake. He chased after her and it became a game.
"You're wearing me out, Caprice!"
"C'mon, old man!" she taunted, "My Grandmum runs faster than you do!"
"You're older than me, you shouldn't be calling me an old man!"
"Eight months is barely a difference!"
"It's enough of one to make me underaged!" Fred finally caught up to her and captures her by the waist. "I got you!"
"No fair! I shouldn't be getting caught by someone younger than me!" she said, pouting childishly.
Fred chuckles and kissed her, "Big deal. Eight months."
"Don't kiss me. I'll be classified as a pedophile." she smiled. Caprice laughed and they walked off together. "There's a lot of controversy between us on whether eight months is a big thing or not."
"We need someone impartial." he suggested.
"Like my sister."
"She'll be on your side. She'll call you a pedophile then leave."
"She will not. Here, I won't tell her that I think it's a big deal and you don't. She'll be clueless as to which side she should be on." Caprice smiled and pointed out Christi and her Slytherin friends sitting near the Lake. "There she is, let's go."
They walked over and Christi looked at them. Their arms were around each others' waists and they were dangerously close. "You two make me sick."
"Hush, younger sister. Now, is eight months between us a big deal or no?"
"No." Christi answered.
"Ha!" Fred smiled, "In your face!"
Caprice shrugged, "Maybe I like being a pedophile."
Fred chuckled and suggested they go get lunch.
XXX
Caprice had left them for one second, and suddenly they were old men.
"Really, Fred and George?" Caprice asked when she saw them in the Hospital Wing.
According to what dozens of people kept telling her, Fred stepped over first and George had followed immediately. They had been hurled back and sprouted long beards.
Angelina and Alicia had gone to get Caprice first when she was over in the library, checking out a few books. Caprice stopped everything she was doing and ran off without her friends. On the way, she saw Ginny, who told her the same thing Angelina and Alicia had told her. Then she saw Hermione, Ron and Harry who told her the same story. Then she saw Christi, who was trying to find her and finally she saw Patricia and Lee Jordan. They were also trying to find her and were the ones to run to the Wing with her.
"Were you scared for us, love?" Fred asked as Madame Pomfrey treated him with a few spells.
"I was neither scared nor worried nor frightened nor am I angry or sad or disappointed. I actually find this highly amusing and incredibly delightful." she smiled, her eyes twinkling.
"That's a bit rude if I do say so myself." George said, looking incredibly pained.
"How many bones did they break, Madame Pomfrey?" Caprice asked.
"Several…" she said, "Too many. They'll be fixed up in no time at all though."
Caprice smiled at the two, "An Aging Potion? Who would have thought of that but you?" and then she looked around, "Well… Obviously Fawcett and Summers did. But the Best Beard Award goes to…" Caprice came in between both their beds and raised their arms, "Fred and George Weasley! Fawcett, you don't have anything on them! So Summers comes in a close second place! Woo!"
"I think Dumbledore wins." Fred groans.
"His is quite impressive…" she mused, and then shrugged. "Get well soon, loves." Then she pranced off, cackling.
XXX
That night at the Hallowe'en feast, they were all in the Great Hall for the picking of the champions. Fred and George's beards were shaved and they seemed to be all fixed up. Caprice had greeted him with a 'get better snog' when he left the Hospital Wing. It was in front of almost the entire student body and McGonagall broke them up reprimanding. Christi herself had cat-called to them jokingly.
"Hope it's Angelina." Fred said when Hermione, Harry and Ron sat down. The feast was about to start.
"So do I." Hermione agreed, "Well, we'll soon know!"
"What about me?" Caprice asked.
"Can't have you getting hurt now can we?" he smiled, kissing her nose.
"But I can, Angelina, who sat across from them, asked in a fake offended voice.
"We'd be okay with having you be the champion too." Ron said, "But then Fred wouldn't end it with worrying."
"Oh, I'm stronger than him anyway." Caprice chuckled.
"Are not." Fred argued.
"Wanna bet?"
"Absolutely." he chuckled, but captured her lips in a pleasant kiss instead of arguing.
"You do are sickening." George said.
"Second time today!" Caprice laughed, "Why do we make everyone so sick?"
"They're only jealous, love."
The feast seemed to carry on and on. No one was very hungry anyways since they had had two feasts in a row. Actually, everyone was pretty much just very anxious to hear who the champions were. Finally, the plates were cleared completely. The noise level got suddenly louder, tehn died away completely as Dumbledore got to his feet.
"Well," he said, "The goblet is almost ready to make its decision. I estimate that is requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table and go through into the next chamber"-he then motioned to a door behind the staff table- "where they will be receiving their first instructions."
He waved his wand once he was finished and all the candles, save for the ones inside of the Jack-o-Lantern, were extinguished. They were in a state of semidarkness and the blue-white shininess of the Goblet of Fire shone more brightly that anything. Everyone watched, anticipating who would be first.
"Any second…" Lee Jordan, on the other side of Caprice, whispered.
Suddenly, the goblet's flame turned a striking red. Sparks flew and then a tongue of flame shot out, producing a fluttering piece of parchment. Everyone gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece and read, strongly and clearly, "The champion for Durmstrang will be Victor Krum."
Everyone applauded and Victor Krum rose from the Slytherin table. Caprice saw Christi clapping wildly, ready to fait as he passed her. Karkaroff boomed out, "Bravo, Victor! Knew you had it in you!"
One the clapping died down, the attention in the room turned back to the goblet. It flamed red again and spit another piece of parchment, which Dumbledore caught. He read, "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"
Everyone applauded again and Hermione said, "Oh, they look disappointed." She was pointing to the rest of the Beauxbatons students, all looking sad. Two girls were sobbing.
Once Fleur went into the chamber, everyone went quiet and looked to the goblet for the Hogwarts champion. It spit out a strip of parchment. Dumbledore caught it with two fingers and said, "The Hogwarts champion is… Caprice Venizelos!"
Caprice squealed and stood up, walking nervously to the chamber as everyone cheered. She saw Christi clapping excitedly, wooing her. The Gryffindor table clapped wildly. The noise disappeared when she went into the room with the other champions, awaiting her instructions eagerly.