On September 1st, a week after the events of the World Cup, we found ourselves boarding the gleaming Hogwarts Express.
"It was good to meet you two," Charlie said to Harry and I as we stepped onto the train. "I might be seeing you all sooner than you think.
"Why?" Ron asked turning back around.
"You'll see," Charlie beamed. "Don't tell Percy I mentioned it…it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it.'"
"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," Bill said with a slight frown, looking up at the train wistfully.
"Why?" Ron said getting impatient.
"You're going to have an interesting year," Bill said, his eyes twinkling. "I might even get some time off from Gringotts to come and watch a bit of it."
"A bit of what?" Ron and I said together, Ron a bit more irritable than I. Before another word could be said, the whistle blew, the train starting to move slowly.
"Oh, have fun!" Mrs. Weasley called, joining the boys to bade us goodbye. "I'd invite you for Christmas, but…well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with…one thing and another."
"What do you three know that we don't? Tell us before the train really gets going!" Ron called.
"You'll find out soon enough. I'm sure Dumbledore will tell you this evening," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Well ya, they're coming this evening. Or at least that's what I heard last," Bill clarified.
"Yes. It's going to be very exciting-mind you. I'm very glad they've changed the rules-"
"WHAT RULES?" Harry, Ron, Hermione and I said together, for different reasons, mind you.
"Oh, have fun!" Mrs. Weasley called again. "Be safe! Don't do anything stupid!"
"Wait! What's going on at school? Who's coming? LET US KNOW NOW!" Ron shouted as Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie disappeared into the distance. Harry dragged Ron, who was still trying to get answers out of his long gone mother, behind us as we made our way to find a compartment.
"What could be going on this year at school? What could they possibly be talking about?" Ron continued.
"I don't know and I don't care," I retorted sarcastically. "All I care about is when the trolley is coming by." I sat down near the window next to Harry, Ron and Hermione across from us.
"Well ya, me too. But come on. I know you and I know you care about what's going on at school. Don't act like this secret's nothing."
"Yes, I do care. But I'm not going to obsess over it." Ron opened his mouth to say more, but was cut short by Hermione.
"Shh! Listen!" Hermione whispered, pressing her finger to her lips and pointing to the compartment near ours.
"…Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore - the man's such a Mudblood-lover - and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defense rubbish we do…" I got up quietly and shut the door, not so quietly, blocking out Draco's dumb voice.
"Pssh, so he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he? I wish he would have gone. Then we wouldn't have to put up with his obnoxious butt everyday," I said a bit peeved, sitting back down by Harry.
"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" Harry asked, looking at me a bit confused.
"Yes," Hermione added stiffly, "and it's got a horribly reputation. According to An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts."
"And as we all heard, that's exactly why he wanted to go. So he could learn how to steal candy from babies and kick puppies…with magic," I said sarcastically. There was a moment of silence, as everyone looked at me oddly. "What?"
"You spend too much time with Sage," Ron said plainly. The four of us broke out into a small fit of laughter, stopping suddenly when the door opened.
"Oh, hello, Cradey," Draco said with a smirk. "I heard your lustrous laughter and thought I'd come check it out. Although, I didn't expect to find you in such a…dingy compartment." He walked in and sat himself in between Harry and I, pushing the two of us apart.
"Why are you suddenly more obnoxious than even once Harry and I start dating?" I asked trying to scoot away from Draco.
"Seriously, Malfoy. You need to get out of here and get away from my girlfriend," Harry said angrily. My face prickled with heat slightly as Harry stuck up for me. For us. If Draco wasn't such a big, obnoxious, git, his spark of defense would have would have been the only thing left on my mind. Sadly, Draco was that big, obnoxious, git.
"I'm definitely going to enter," Draco said wrapping his arm around my shoulder, bringing me back to what was happening in the here and now. "You should too, Cradey. If one of us is Champion, then all the better. What about you, Weasley. Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know."
"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped.
"Are you going to enter?" Draco repeated. "I suppose you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you? Even after Cradey leaves you for me."
"I'd never leave Harry," I said angrily. "Especially not for you."
"Either explain what you're on about or go away, Malfoy. Stop agitating Harry and Stephanie unless you plan to find out how alike her and Sage are," Hermione said trying to keep her head.
"Don't tell me you don't know?" Draco said delightedly, a gleeful smile spreading across his pale face. "You've got a father and brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My God, my father told me about it ages ago…heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry…Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley…yes…they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him."
"Get out of here, Draco," I said, shrugging out of his arm and pushing him off the seat. "You don't know anymore than we do. So stop playing us like you're a big shot." Draco smirked once more before exiting and heading off towards his own compartment. I stood up again and shut the door.
"D'you really think he's playing?" Harry asked as I sat down next to him, wrapping his arm around my waist.
"No," I said honestly. "Let's face it, he probably knows whatever this big secret is. He's just trying to push our buttons." We settled into our seats, Hermione pulling out the day's Daily Prophet, Ron pulling out his Chudley Cannons book, and I my iPod. I put one headphone in and snuggled into Harry's shoulder.
Hours later, my original question was answered as we heard the trolley coming down the isle. Harry, Ron, and I got up to get money for some delicious food.
"Anything off the trolley dears?" the frail lady asked as she peaked her head into our door, which had somehow opened between now and our meeting with Draco.
"Packet of droobles and a licorice wand," Ron said first, who had practically run to be first. He paid for his food and returned to his seat.
"What d'you want? I'll pay," Harry said turning to me.
"It's alright, I got it," I said looking at the candy choices.
"Come on, my treat," Harry protested again. I bit on my bottom lip, smiling slightly as heat rose into my cheeks.
"Thanks, Harry. Uhm…some Every Flavour Beans and three Chocolate Frogs," I said still blushing.
"Two pumpkin pasties please," came a voice from the other side the trolley. I looked up from my teenage dream to see a girl with long black hair. I knew her only from Alexa; they were in the same year and house. Her name was Cho Chang. Her two girlfriends who were flanking her looked up at Harry and giggled, tapping her on the shoulder. She too looked up and giggled like a school girl. My stomach started churning slightly, causing me to feel a little queasy.
"Hi Harry," Cho said in a very obvious flirty tone.
"Oh, hey…Cho, isn't it? Harry asked, looking up and handing me my candy.
"Yes. Yes it is," Cho said breathlessly. The trolley lady handed Cho her pasties and moved passed us. "It was wonderful to see you."
"Erm…ya. You too," Harry said plainly, wrapping his arm around my waist and walking back inside. I closed my eyes suddenly, feeling my head rush.
"You alright, Steph?" Hermione asked, looking up from the Daily Prophet. I shrugged, my eyes still closed, as I sat down by Harry. "Eat some chocolate." I nodded unwrapping a chocolate frog and took a bite. I was overcome with warmth spreading through my body, chasing away the nausea.
"Better?" Harry asked looking at my eyes.
"Ya. Much." Why had I felt so sick all of a sudden. It all started when that flirty walking carpet showed up and started acting all cutesy wootsy towards Harry…
Somebody's jealous!
Not you again. No, I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous? I'm the one who has Harry.
Exactly, but you don't like it that other girls are also interested in him too. And they don't seem to respect the fact that he already has a girlfriend.
Uh…duh! He's my boyfriend. Of course I'd be jealous of girls hitting on him.
But all that matters is if Harry stays true to you. Which he did.
You're right. Harry's such a sweet boy (: , I thought, taking another bite of my frog.
"This is just insane," Hermione said, lowering her paper. The front, 3rd, 4th, and 8th pages were all about the Death Eaters' strange appearance at the World Cup, a picture of the Dark Mark on the front. "Wasn't there any security, or-"
"Loads, according to dad," Ron said, his mouth full of licorice. "That's what's got them worried so much. Happened right under their noses."
"This is just crazy. That Death Eaters are even attacking at all. I mean, I'd understand if it happened when he was in power and all, but Voldemort can't come back, can he?" I asked, ignoring Ron's outburst at saying his name. I suddenly remembered Harry's dream that he mentioned earlier. I looked at him, wondering if he'd thought of the same thing.
"That's what I would think, but-" Hermione stopped, looking up and noticing the look Harry and I were sharing.
"There's something I haven't told you guys yet," Harry said to Ron and Hermione. "I've been having dreams. Waking up with my scar hurting." Both Ron and Hermione sported the same reactions as Harry told all about his dream.
"But…he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean…last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?" Ron said after Harry finished telling them about his dream.
"I'm sure he wasn't anywhere near where I was. I had the same dream both at Privet Drive and the Burrow," Harry said.
"It was only a dream, right?" Hermione said, a little frightened.
"Yeah…but was it though?" Harry asked, turning to look at me for a second before continuing to look out the window. "It's weird…isn't it? My scar hurts, and just a few days later the Death Eaters are on the march, Voldemort's sign up in the air."
"Don't. Say. His. Name!" Ron hissed through gritted teeth.
"And remember what Professor Trelawney said? At the end of last year?" Harry continued, ignoring Ron just as I had.
"Oh Harry, you aren't going to pay attention to anything that old fraud says, are you?" Hermione said disapprovingly.
"You weren't there. You didn't hear her. This time was different. She was…in a trance. A real one," Harry explained.
"He's right. It was really creepy," I said, shuddering slightly at the memory. "She…she said the Dark Lord would rise again…" I stopped, staring off into the distance. I had actually forgotten about the last part, but all the talking about it suddenly made me remember that night.
We continued to sit in silence; a silence that soon become awkward. Hermione went back to reading the paper, Ron his book, and Harry and I listened to my iPod. Once we had changed into our robes and the train stopped, we gathered our bags and headed to the carriages that would take us up to the school.
The four of us clambered into a carriage and rode off as the sun began to set. As we came closer and closer to the school, I became more aware of a very small, miniscule object in the distance coming closer.
"Clear the runway!" Hagrid shouted. We happened to be on the bridge, making our way towards the school, when we heard Hagrid shouting from way down below. The entire company on the bridge practically stopped moving and crowded to the edge to see what was going on. Lucky for us we were right on the edge and could see perfectly once people started crowding behind me.
"Clear the runway!" Hagrid shouted again. The wind began to pick up around us. At first I thought a storm was coming in, but the sky was clear.
"Look!" a fourth year Hufflepuff near us said, pointing into they sky. A hundred or more pairs of eyes shot up into the sky. A giant Cinderella styled carriage was coming towards the school, being led by seven large, gorgeous winged horses. The horses and carriage came hurdling down onto the ground, nearly crashing into Hagrid.
"Well, there's something you don't see everyday," Fred and George said behind us. Everyone was talking and questioning what was going on. Well…this must be whoever Bill, Charlie, and Mrs. Weasley were talking about. Who they were exactly and why they were here? Still dunno.
The water began to ripple down on the lake. Some people started shouting and saying stuff about the Giant Squid. A long wooden post broke the surface, rising out of the water. I soon realized the post was a mast of a ship. More water around the mast began rippling, until a full ship was emerging from the water.
"Alright, come on, come on. Let's keep moving," some head boy shouted over the noise, ushering us inside. There was a simultaneous groan through the group as we slowly made our way into the school.
"Now that we're all settled in and sorted," Dumbledore addressed the school once we were all seated. "I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. Hogwarts has been chosen…" Filch had run up the middle of the Great Hall, very comically, receiving many not so subtle laughs and giggles. The two spoke very hushed, pointing to the doors every so often. Dumbledore said something final, sending Filch to run back down and out.
"Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued on, "has been chosen to host a very legendary event. The Triwizard Tournament." Dumbledore paused as the majority of the school ooohed and began talking to each other excitedly. Well…I'm glad everyone else knows what's going on. I however…got no clue. "For those of you who don't know," oh yes, please enlighten me Dumbleydore, " the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single student will be chosen to compete. Let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone, and trust me when I say these contests will not be for the faint hearted. But more of that later. Please join me and welcoming, the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and their headmistress, Madam Maxime!"
The doors to the Great Hall burst open causing everyone to turn around. Standing in the doorway was a group of 20 or so girls. They had blue kitten heels, white tights, a blue silky dress that came just below their knees, and a blue silky cropped cape (can't really explain it). Their silky hair was pulled into a side pony tale and a blue hat delicately placed on the side of their heads. They started walking in at a steady pace, almost looking like they were about to put on a show. They stopped about halfway down the hall, sighing and gesturing to the people on their immediate left, otherwise known as the Gryffindor table. The boys, and some girls (hey, Hogwarts is an open school. We're not just boy + girl couples), eyes almost jumped out of their faces. The girls flashed amazing smiles and continued on their merry way, stopping once more. They broke off into a jazz run (very graceful, ya know (: ) and into a series of frilly ballet moves, hitting their final pose. Thunderous applause filled the Hall, mostly from the guys. I looked to my left to see Ron standing on his seat clapping madly, a tiny hint of drool on his mouth. Harry was about to stand up to, but stopped short when he saw the unhappy look on my face. He sat back down slowly, an apologetic look on his face.
"And now, our friends from the north," Dumbledore said, leaving the side of who I assumed was the Headmistress, Madam Maxime. She was a very very tall woman with brown pixie hair. "Please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their headmaster Igor Karkaroff." The whole school turned their heads to see who these 'proud sons' were in excitement. A group of 20 or so men wearing brown shirts and pants came marching in, staffs in their hands. They suddenly began sprinting down the middle, doing a series of wicked flips and rolls and acrobatic stunts. Someone conjured a dragon out of fire and it zoomed around the Hall. Students started clapping until they saw two men walking behind the others. One, whom I assumed was Karkaroff, wore a white over coat and the other was…
"Blimey, it's him!" Ron said wide eyed in surprise. "Viktor Krum!" Whoa, whoa, whoa! He's still in school? But he's like…a legit Quidditch player. Dumbledore greeted Karkaroff and offered him and Madam Maxime seats at the head table. The Beauxbatons girls went and sat at the Ravenclaw table and the Durmstrang boys at the Slytherin.
A few came out from the side carrying a large object. It was taller than Dumbledore even when they set it down next to him. He placed his hand on it looking at it meaningfully.
"I'd like to say a few words. Eternal Glory. That is what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament. But to do this, the student must survive three tasks. Three, extremely dangerous, tasks," Dumbledore addressed the school. A few feet up the table, I could hear Fred and George mutter 'wicked'. "That is why the Ministry has seemed fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this, we have the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr. Bartimus Crouch." A man began moving from behind the head table towards Dumbledore. I suddenly realized he was the man who accused Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I of conjuring the Dark Mark.
Lightening from a storm that had just recently appeared rippled through the night, several claps of loud thunder following. Another bolt flashed across the sky, the thunder getting mixed in with the crumbling of a building. People suddenly realized that the roof was about to collapse and began screaming and taking cover. Can Hogwarts even fall apart? I asked myself as Harry placed his arm over my shoulders, ready to protect me from falling debris.
There was another flash of light, the crumbling ceasing down. Everyone looked up at a wizard standing off to the side, wand in hand pointed at the sky.
"It's Mad-Eye Moody," Ron whispered.
"Alastor Moody, the auror?" Hermione asked from across the table.
"Auror?" I asked turning to face the others.
"Dark wizard catcher. Half the cells in Azkaban are filled thanks to him," Ron began to clarify. "He's suppose to be as mad as a hatter these days." Moody made his way to Dumbledore and the two greeted each other.
"Stupid ceiling," he grumbled. Now that he was in the light I could get a better look at him, a chill traveling down my spine. He looked like he'd been living in the wilderness for quite some time. His balding blonde hair was messed up. His face was composed partially of skin, most of it being scars and missing chunks. His left eye was stuck on with an eye patch pretty much. I'm not even sure it was his real eye. It was at least half an inch larger and looked around independently from his other. He limped off to the other side of the Hall with the aide of his staff. He pulled out a flask and took a long swig from it, shaking his like he was adjusting the liquid in his head.
"What's that he's drinking d'you suppose?" Seamus asked.
"I dunno, but I don't think it's Pumpkin Juice," Harry said. Ya, thanks Captain Obvious…I'm not that nice, am I? Ah well.
"After due consideration," Crouch said, bringing the attention back to him. "The Ministry has concluded that no student under the age of 17 should be allowed to put forth their name to enter the Triwizard Tournament." The majority of the school broke out into fits of complaint. I could clearly hear Sage from the other side of the Hufflepuff table complaining and possibly swearing loudly. She was sitting by Cedric who looked like he was trying to stifle his laughter. I could also clearly hear Fred and George shouting 'RUBBISH' at the top of their lungs.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore broke in, quieting the school down in record time. Dumbledore waved his hand, the box next to him disappearing like liquid. In its place was a large cup made out of what looked like old petrified wood. A giant blue flam began flickering above it.
"The Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore said looking into the flame. "Anyone wishing to submit themselves into the Tournament, need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it into the flame before this hour Sunday night. Do not do so lightly. If chosen, there's no turning back. From this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun. Now, off to bed. Pip-pip."