The Tale of Isabella Black Chapter 11, a Harry Potter + Twilight Crossover fanfic

Chapter Eleven:

Summer is now over and we are returning to Salem for our final year. The letter from Sirius made all The Skirts anxious to get on with our search for Peter. I even considered skipping my seventh year all together, but the girls talked me out of it. My father was out of Azkaban and had Remus on his side. He would be okay for another year, and he'd want me to finish my education. They were right, of course. I was just sick of the inaction. I had been waiting for the moment I could prove my father was innocent since I was 11 years old.

The Skirts and I arrived a little early so we could set up for our "Fireworks" performance. There wasn't much prep, really, just placing small objects that we could use in our transfigurations. If you are skilled enough you can pretty much use anything as a base for the object you're trying to produce. But you can't transfigure something out of nothing.

Shortly after our preparations were complete the mess hall started filling up with hundreds of Salem witches. After the Headmaster announced us, we started the music and Harley, Nic and I performed the visuals while Sammie sung the lyrics. When the last firework went out the applause in the hall was deafening. You know you've done something well when even your most dour professors give you a standing ovation.

It took a good five minutes for the room to quite down. Afterwards Headmaster Deveron took the podium for his start of term speech. "Welcome back students! And thank you, Bella, Harley, Nicole and Samantha for that wonderful performance. It was a truly amazing display of how masterful you four are in your magic. I believe that you developed many of those charms and transfigurations yourself?" At our nods he continued. "Absolutely brilliant, ladies! I couldn't be more proud of you!" We all beamed at the praise.

"Now, I want to tell you about an exciting event that will be taking place this year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I shot the girls a look but they were all just as curious as me. What's going on at Hogwarts? "They will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. Now, this competition has historically been held for students from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. However, I have petitioned the Head of Games and Magical Sports at the British Ministry for Magic and convinced him to allow Salem into the competition!"

Excited murmurs broke out across the room. I looked over to my friends with a brilliant smile lighting up my face. My expression was mirrored on all their faces. Nicole stated what we were all thinking. "We're so going." Hell yes, we are!

I turned back around as Headmaster Deveron continued. "We will be holding trials over the next week to determine which students will be representing our school. There will be four students chosen, and per the rules set by the ministry, only seventh year students are allowed to compete."

There were disappointed grumbles heard around the room and many faces turned toward the Salem Skirts. That's right, bitches. This one's ours. "The chosen four will be travelling to Hogwarts at the end of this month. The rules for submitting your name as a competitor will be explained upon arrival. While only one of you will actually compete, the three remaining students will stay at Hogwarts to cheer on your classmate. Now, Professor Sanderson will be taking the chosen students, and they will be gone for the entire year. Please keep this in mind when you decide to try out. Your last year of schooling will not take place at Salem. You will also have to sit for your NEWTS at the end of the year, so you must be able to balance the demands of the tournament with your schooling. We have gotten a substitute Potions professor to take over Professor Sanderson's classes while she's away. I wish you all the best of luck!"

I turned back to my friends as the start of term feast filled the table. "This is so exciting!" I exclaimed.

"I know!" They all chorused. "Look at the Headmaster," Harley continued, "He knows it's going to be us." Sure enough the Headmaster was smiling down at us. He nodded and winked when he noticed he had our attention. We broke down into a fit of giggles and started stuffing our faces. Mmmm…I've missed house elf cooking. Nothing compares.

The week of trials was very difficult. The professors had set up truly challenging tasks. There were advanced transfigurations, dangerous magical creatures, complex potions and various dark magic to fight. There were also physical challenges. We had to prove that we could run long distances, jump, swim, and climb walls. At the end of a long obstacle course that demanded all of our physicality and magical prowess, we had to solve logic puzzles. It is very difficult to reason through a logic puzzle when you are physically drained. Have our professors been watching the Real World/Road Rules Challenges?

By the end of the week all the remaining competitors were completely exhausted physically, mentally and magically. The tournament was going to be a piece of cake after what we'd been through. It was worth it, though, because the very next morning the results were posted.

SALEM INSTITUTE TRIWIZARD COMPETITORS

Isabella Swan

Nicole Pattinson

Harley Timberlake

Samantha Lautner

We were thrilled! This was going to be our greatest adventure yet. It would also allow us to make contacts in Britain. This would help us immensely in our search for that no good rat. The girls and I immediately started brainstorming spells that might be useful in the tournament. We had invented a fair few in our time at Salem, so we thought we might have an edge. It was all just a big question mark, though. Until we knew the tasks it would be very difficult to really plan.

Later that afternoon we were approached by Sandy. "Congratulations, ladies! It was no surprise that you four were chosen, of course. I was very impressed by your trials, though. You all did outstanding. Much better than any of your professors imagined."

We all preened under the praise. "Thank you, Professor," we chorused.

She smiled fondly at us before continuing. "Now, Hogwarts asked each school to put on a little display of magic for our introduction to Hogwarts. I was thinking that you four could perform "Fireworks" for Hogwarts, maybe catering the explosions to their school like you did to Salem. Would it be too difficult to change the fireworks?"

We all began bouncing with excitement. "No, Professor!" Sammie exclaimed. "It won't be a problem at all. We'll work it all out!" The rest of us enthusiatically nodded our heads in agreement.

"Excellent!" She moved her hand lightly through my hair while smiling at the four of us. "I'm so proud of you girls. Never in my years of teaching have I seen four better students…or friends."

We all teared up and shared a girly group hug. "Thank you, Sandy," I said.

She playfully scowled at me. "You can't call me that in front of anyone else, young lady. You'll have me accused of favoritism."

"But we are your favorites." I smiled innocently while batting my lashes.

"You are incorrigible, Bella." She laughed lightly as she walked away.

"You know you love me!" I shouted after her.

The girls and I spent the next few weeks preparing for the tournament and figuring out how we wanted to change the fireworks in our performance to represent Hogwarts. We were packing our trunks into the plane before we knew it.

The plane looked like a muggle jet, but it was run by magic. It also used magical space inside the plane, just like my tent. The inside was spectacular. We each had a bedroom and there was enough space to live comfortably for the year, which was the original plan. We requested to stay in the castle. This was a whole new world opened to us, and we wanted to take full advantage, not be stuck inside an admittedly awesome airplane. I also wanted to get to know the school that my father attended for seven years.

The flight was surprisingly short, and we were landing in Scotland a mere two hours after taking off. A giant man greeted us when we arrived. And I mean seriously giant. Like he had giant blood in him.

"Hello! Welcome to Hogwarts! Me name's Rubeus Hagrid, and I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, as well as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures! You can call me Hagrid. Please follow me, and I'll lead ya up to the castle." To say that we were awed at the sight of the school would be a massive understatement. It was…magical. I know that sounds stupid, but that's the best way I can describe it. You didn't need to have magic to see that this castle was special. It promised secrets and intrigue.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Yeah," my friends agreed.

"Beautiful, ain't it? I remember the first time I laid me eyes on Hogwarts. Takes yer breath away."

We all nodded in agreement and followed Hagrid into the castle. He led us through the entrance hall into what looked like their mess hall.

"This is the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore said you needed to set things up for your entrance tonight. Please hurry, the classes will be out in twenty minutes and I'd like us to make it to the Headmaster's office before the halls are overrun with students."

"Of course," Sammie replied. After a few moments of admiring the ceiling, which was bewitched to look like the sky, we quickly placed the stones we would be using in our transfigurations in strategic areas of the hall. We'd been given a floor plan, and told which house belonged to each table. We put a charm on the stones so that no one except one of us could move them. If someone else tried they'd receive a nasty shock. Hehe.

After finishing our preparations we rejoined Hagrid and Sandy at the front of the hall. "All done then?"

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent, I'll just be taking you to the Headmaster, then."

"Thank you, sir."

He seemed to be very pleased that we were so polite to him. I wondered if some of the students were rude to him because of his appearance. The thought caused my righteous indignation flare up. He seemed like a nice man. I didn't like the idea of people disrespecting a professor just because he may be part giant.

We came to a hallway that housed two stone gargoyles. "Acid pops," stated Hagrid. At the words the two gargoyles moved aside and allowed us passage. Awesome! My friends were also smiling excitedly. This place was spectacular!

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I have the students and professor from Salem."

Albus Dumbledore was an elderly man, but I could feel the power radiating off him. This man was a powerful wizard. No doubt about it. I had read that he defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald, and standing in his presence it wasn't surprising. I was very impressed with him.

He smiled at us with a twinkle in the crystal clear blue eyes behind his half moon spectacles. "Welcome students, Professor Sanderson! We are so pleased to introduce the Americans to the tournament. Please have a seat."

We obliged and Professor Sanderson introduced the four of us. He seemed to eye me keenly when my introduction came up, but he moved his eyes away from me moments later, shaking his head. Merlin's pants, am I going to have to deal with this all the time now that I'm in the UK? Perhaps I should glamour my eyes.

"I understand that you ladies wish to stay in the castle and attend Hogwarts classes?"

I answered for us. "That's correct, Headmaster. We are so excited and grateful for you allowing us to come to your school and compete in the tournament. We really want to experience this amazing place while we're here. We also thought it would be a great learning experience to attend classes with your professors. They might give us a different perspective than we've had for the last six years. We don't like to limit ourselves to one way of thinking. We'd be honored if you'd give us this opportunity."

He seemed impressed. "How wonderful! You don't often see young people acknowledge that their way of thinking might not be the best or only way. It's quite refreshing." He beamed at us. "I'd likewise be honored if you four would attend lessons here at Hogwarts, if it's alright with Professor Sanderson, of course." At Sandy's nod he continued. "Our professors will give you progress reports, Professor, so you can keep up with what they're learning and make sure it is satisfactory to Salem's standards."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I don't think we'll have a problem." Sandy responded.

"Too right, Professor. I think it will work out splendidly." The door opened at this and a stern woman in green robes entered the office. "Ah, Professor McGonagall. These are our guests from America! They will be staying in the castle and attending Hogwarts classes. Please ask our Head Girl to give them a tour and show them to the guest rooms in the fourth floor corridor. The password to their rooms is "Wolf Pack."

Our heads spun toward the Headmaster, and he chuckled. "I heard about your friends and their help during the attacks at the World Cup. I am very grateful to you and your friends for helping those muggles and keeping Harry safe. Have a nice evening. You will be introduced at 6:00 in the Great Hall."

We smiled back at him, "Thank you, Professor."

Professor McGonagall led us to a portrait on the fifth floor and asked the woman in the frame to please fetch Katie. A few moments later the portrait swung open and a girl stepped out. This place is so cool.

"Katie, these are the students from the Salem Institute. Please give them a tour of the castle and show them to the guest suite in the fourth floor corridor." She turned to us. "Ladies, this is Katie Bell. She is Hogwarts' Head Girl. If you need any further assistance you can come to her. Good day." Well, she's cheery.

We smiled at Katie and she reassured us. "Don't worry about her. She's like that with everyone."

We smiled gratefully and followed Katie as she explained the intricacies of the castle. This place truly was something special. If I hadn't gotten three best friends from Salem, I might actually regret not coming here. We had a year to spend here, though. And I was getting to spend it with my girls.

The tour ate up most of the afternoon, and we only had about an hour to prepare ourselves for our grand entrance. We really wanted the students here to enjoy it, and we were unsure what the other schools prepared.

It was finally time to make it down to the Great Hall, and we were practically buzzing with nervous energy. Dumbledore called Durmstrang first. All they did was some gymnastics with staffs that emitted sparks when you hit them on the ground. Not all that impressive for a magical school. Beauxbatons was even worse. Really? All they did was flit down the middle aisle while using their veela charm and making birds flutter about.

I looked to my friends and saw the questioning looks on their faces as well. Harley looked the most nervous. "Erm…ours is going to be a bit of a production compared to them, yeah? Do you think we went overboard?"

I thought about it a moment before responding. "No. They asked us to come up with a performance to introduce ourselves to the school. That's what we did. It's not our fault the other schools went with something lame. The US has never been represented in this tournament before, and by Merlin we're going to show them we belong here!" The girls smiled widely and nodded in agreement.

We heard our school's introduction and we confidently walked through the giant double doors. We were wearing similar silver dresses to the one Katy Perry wears in the video. Ours were just shorter, ending just above the knee.

As soon as we walked through the door the music started playing. Sammie started walking toward the center of the aisle and the three of us fanned out. We each put smallish sparkling fireworks, about the size of a beach ball, down the center of the house tables in their colors. Slytherins got green and silver sparkles, Gryffindor got red and gold, Ravenclaw got blue and bronze, while Hufflepuff had yellow and black.

The students were alarmed at first, but soon realized that the sparkles wouldn't hurt them. They all seemed excited for our performance after that.

Sammie started singing…

"Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind wanting to start again?"

I used my wand to guide a giant plastic bag flying through the crowd of students. It had been charmed so that each student would see their own face reflected on the surface of the bag.

"Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?"

Harley again erected the giant house of cards and sent a gust of wind to blow them around the room. Nicole then transfigured the cards into tiny sparkles in the dominant colors of each house.

"Do you ever feel already buried deep, six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing,"

Sammie fell backwards and Harley threw a cushioning charm under her while I erected a six foot wall of dirt around her, boxing her in, with stairs for her to climb up on the inside, and another set to climb back down on the other. She started climbing out of the hole I'd erected while singing the next line.

"Do you know there's still a chance for you, cause there's a spark in you. You just got to ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the fourth of July."

Nic vanished the dirt and stairs and we all increased the fireworks above the house tables.

"Cause baby you're a firework! Come on show 'em what your worth. Make 'em go 'Oh! Oh! Oh!' as you shoot across the sky, sky sky! Baby you're a firework! Come on let your colors burst! Make 'em go 'Oh! Oh! Oh!' You're gonna leave 'em going 'Oh! Oh! Oh!'

We created larger fireworks that left the smaller ones closer to the tables. They exploded spectacularly in the air. Nic, Harley and I jumped up on the staff table and pointed to different fireworks while covering our mouths in astonishment during the 'Oh! Oh! Oh!' portion. We stayed on the tables and jumped around in circles making the fireworks shoot around the room during the middle part of the chorus before resuming our faux astonishment at the fireworks we'd created during the 'Oh's' at the end.

"You don't have to feel like a waste of space, you're original, cannot be replaced. If you only knew what the future holds, after a hurricane comes a rainbow."

Nic created a huge circling hurricane cloud like you see on the news. You know, the pictures taken from space of severe storms? It was spectacular. Truly a sight to behold taking up almost the entire ceiling. When the line finished she ended the hurricane image and Harley and I conjured rainbows shooting them around the room, in between students and faculty.

"Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed, so you could open one that leads you to the perfect road."

Harley again transfigured four doors slamming shut leaving one open. She walked through the door to Nic's yellow brick road leading down the middle of the room.

"Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow, and when it's time you know, you just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the fourth of July."

Nic created lightning shooting through the sky while I transfigured a giant heart in the center of the sky letting off a brilliant glow.

The girls upped the fireworks, and I used my voodoo fire control to turn the explosions into the house animals. There was a green and silver snake, a red and gold lion, a blue and bronze eagle and a yellow and black badger all flying about the room.

"Boom Boom Boom, even brighter than the moon moon moon! It's always been inside of you you you and now it's time to let it through."

Harley, Nic and I created three massive explosions that created a loud BOOM to accompany Sammie's singing. The explosions each immediately transformed from a typical firework into a giant moon that shone brightly in the room. They then dissolved into sparkles, which were again charmed so that each person would see their own face in the sparkles.

We then left behind all the other visuals and concentrated solely on the fireworks. Nic and Harley kept them going brilliantly while I manipulated them into specific images. I had the badger play a flute to a mesmerized snake while the lion playfully chased after the eagle. Then I had the lion facing away from the snake while it sneaked up behind it. The snake playfully tapped the lion on the shoulder and then quickly moved his head to the other side so the lion wouldn't see him. The snake then did the same thing to the other side. The lion turned around again to see nothing and I made him chase his tail while the snake sneaked off and the badger and eagle laughed, clearly enjoying the snake's little prank. There wasn't much time left in the song, so I just had all the animals dance merrily around the room until the end. We had all gathered at the front of the hall near the staff table, and when the last chord was played we dropped all the charms and the fireworks disappeared.

The room was painfully silent for a few beats before the students erupted into ear splitting applause and cries of amazement. Professor Sanderson was beaming at us, clearly proud of her four best students. After a few minutes we started getting overwhelmed by their reaction and made our way toward the Gryffindor table where Harry, Ron and Hermione were gesturing for us to join them.

When the students finally settled Professor Dumbledore took the podium. His reaction was very similar to Headmaster Deveron's. "What an amazing display of magic from our Salem friends! How absolutely breath-taking! Thank you for sharing that with us, and what a wonderful message, as well!"

"Now, I'd like to discuss the submission process for choosing our champions. Mr. Bagman will be explaining the rules to you all."

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore, and I'd like to say how impressive that display was. Miss Swan, I didn't realize you and your friends were so talented when I met you all last week!"

I blushed at the acknowledgment and Mr. Bagman turned back to a giant crate that was standing next to him. Professor Dumbledore tapped his wand on the top of the crate and it disappeared to reveal a brilliant goblet atop a five foot pedestal.

Mr. Bagman then continued on with his explanations. "Yes, thank you, Professor. Students, this is the Goblet of Fire. Those students who wish to participate in the tournament will submit a parchment to the Goblet stating your name and school. You must understand before entering your name that you are magically bound to compete if you are chosen. Now, as this tournament is extremely dangerous, only seventh year students will be allowed to compete."

A huge ruckus broke out at this news. Apparently the Hogwarts students had yet to be informed of this requirement. I heard the Weasley twins shout, "Booo! That's rubbish!" There were similar sentiments all around. I caught Harry's eye and he just smiled at me, enjoying his friends' antics. I returned the smile and turned back to Mr. Bagman when he cleared his throat.

"This is non-negotiable. There will be an age line drawn around the Goblet and no one under the age of 17 will be able to pass. This is a very dangerous competition, students. It will be challenging enough for the seventh years. If we were to allow an underage wizard to compete, they would likely be severely if not fatally injured. This is not up for debate."

The naysayers quieted at that, although they were clearly still disgruntled. Mr. Bagman continued, "Now, you will have 24 hours to submit your name to the Goblet starting at 7:00. The Goblet will choose the champions at that time tomorrow. Thank you and have a good night."

My friends and I wasted no time submitting our names. Afterward Harry, Ron and Hermione invited us back to their common room. We accepted, but I was unsure. It was still hard to be around Harry, although it was getting easier. However, now I'd be spending time with him in the same common room my dad spent seven years of his life. It was surreal being in this place.

It turns out I was worried for nothing. The Gryffindor common room was incredibly warm and inviting and I felt instantly at ease. We sat in some comfortable couches by the fire and I snuggled into the seat knowing my father had probably sat in this same spot at least once before.

"Your performance was absolutely amazing!" The three younger students praised.

"Thanks, guys! We were a bit worried after we saw what Durmstrang and Beauxbatons prepared for their introduction. We were afraid we might have gone a bit overboard." Sammie explained.

"Oh, not at all!" Hermione assured. "It was absolutely brilliant. It's not your fault the other schools didn't put much effort towards their introductions."

We informed them that we were going to be taking Hogwarts lessons for the remainder of the year, and the students filled us in on all the teachers. Evidently they were all alright except Professor Snape. He is apparently the "greasy haired dungeon bat who teaches Potions" according to Ron.

I saw Caelen sitting outside the window and moved to let him in. Merlin I love my bird. He gave me the perfect opportunity to fish for information about Peter.

"This is my owl, Caelen. Caelen, this is Harry, Ron and Hermione." Caelen hooted and they all smiled at him.

"What a beautiful bird," Hermione complimented. Caelen was obviously pleased at the complement and he flew to Hermione's shoulder to affectionately nip her ear. After flying back to me I segwayed the conversation onto their pets.

"So, do you three have pets?"

The three of them glanced at each other and Harry answered for them. "Yes, I have a snowy owl named Hedwig. Hermione has a cat called Crookshanks."

"Oh, no pet for you, Ron?" Harley enquired.

He shook his head no and Harley continued. "Really, because I am a rodent enthusiast and I could have sworn I saw a picture of your family in the paper last year. You had an interesting looking rat on your shoulder."

I internally winced. Way to be subtle, Harley. The three teens looked uncomfortable. "Er, no. He died, actually. We think Crookshanks may have gotten to him." He quickly continued at the look of death he was receiving from a livid Hermione. "Erm, not that I blame Crooks, you know. I mean he is a cat. Hunting mice is what they do, yeah?"

My face remained passive but mildly interested in the tale of Ronald Weasley's pet rat, but on the inside I was reeling. Peter is dead? Is that true, or did they find out he was Peter and he got away? Or did my dad kill him? Merlin, I hope not. We need Peter alive if we're ever going to clear my dad's name.

Harley nodded in not so mock disappointment and tried to move the conversation along. It had pretty much stalled after the awkward exchange and we decided to call it a night. It had been a long day. We'd gotten a decent distance from the Gryffindor common room before Nicole placed a Muffliato around us and started in on Harley.

"Merlin's saggy balls, Harley, could you have been more obvious?"

"What? We needed to know about Peter! I like animals! I can get away with being a rodent enthusiast!"

Sammie piped in with her opinion. "I agree that it was a bit of a risk, but did you see their reaction? I think they know something."

"Ha! See Nic, we learned something from my questions. Maybe those three know about Peter. Maybe they already know Sirius is innocent."

I thought about what they said. "You're right, Sammie. I do think they know something, I just don't know what it is they think they know. Let's watch them for the next few weeks and see how they act. We have an entire year here. I don't want to rush into any decisions and have it backfire on us."

All the girls agreed and we cancelled the Muffliato as we walked into our rooms.

The next day was a Sunday and we spent the morning exploring the grounds. They were absolutely breath-taking. There was a beautiful lake and eerie forest. Apparently it was forbidden. Insert snort here. Yeah, right. Nothing is forbidden to the four of us. We made plans to go exploring it in our animal forms in the near future.

We spent the afternoon with most of the other students in the Great Hall watching the other hopeful champions submit their names into the Goblet. The Weasley twins tried to fool the age line by downing some aging potion. Hermione tried to warn them it wouldn't work, but they were undeterred.

Their plan appeared to be working until they went to drop their names in the Goblet. They were thrown back a good 15 feet and long white beards adorned their faces. Everyone in the Hall laughed at their misfortune while they began blaming each other for their failed attempt.

The room quieted when Viktor Krum entered to submit his name. He stoically marched to the Goblet and placed his name inside. The only time his features softened was when he glanced down at Hermione. Hello! What's going on there, I wonder.

It was finally time for dinner, and the Great Hall was buzzing with excited discussions. Everyone was anxious to find out who the Champions would be. I was a bit nervous, as well. I really wanted to be chosen, but I would be equally happy and proud if one of my friends was chosen instead. We all made a pact before coming here that we'd give unconditional support to whichever girl ended up in the competition.

The clock finally rang 7:00 and the room quieted instantly. Professor Dumbledore approached the Goblet and announced, "The Goblet will now begin choosing your Champions!"

The flames in the Goblet grew and suddenly a piece of parchment went flying into the air where Dumbledore caught it. "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!" The hall erupted into cheers for the famous seeker, and Viktor made his way to a room off to the side of the Hall with a bit of excitement in his usual stony features.

When he departed the hall the Goblet spit out the next name. "The champion for Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour!" The school cheered for the beautiful girl and she excitedly flittered into the adjacent room.

Dumbledore was catching the next name just as the door closed behind Fleur. "The champion from Salem will be Bella Swan!" My face lit up in excitement and my friends swallowed me in hugs.

"Awesome, Bella! You're going to be brilliant!" I smiled at them with undisguised elation before making my way to the side room.

When I entered the room I was greeted cheerfully by my competitors and a proud Sandy. Just after our introductions were complete a deafening roar could be heard from the Great Hall. We all turned to see who the Howgarts champion would be.

"Cedric Diggory," he introduced. He was quite handsome, but compared to Edward…Meh.

We were all chatting amiably waiting for Professor Dumbledore to join when the door flew open and…Harry walked through?

"Harry! What are you doing back here?" I questioned.

He looked completely lost and dumbfounded, and just stared at me shaking his head with wide eyes. Dumbledore flew in a few seconds later and grabbed Harry by the collar. "Did you put your name in the Goblet, Harry?"

What? The Goblet spit out Harry's name? "No, sir!" He defended.

The Durmstrang Headmaster scoffed and stalked menacingly toward Harry after Dumbledore released him. I stood between them protectively. I read about Karkaroff. He was a Death Eater in the war, but got out of his prison sentence by fingering Barty Crouch, Jr. as a Death Eater. I don't trust him. Ludo said that students under seventh year were basically doomed if they were to compete in this competition. Someone put Harry's name in that Goblet to try and hurt him.

"Out of my way, little girl!" He screamed down at me. "This boy – " I cut him off, there.

"NO! I will not get out of the way! It's pretty obvious that someone put Harry's name in the Goblet with malicious intent! He is not prepared for competition at this level! His life is in danger, sir," I spat the last word at him. "I'd be willing to bet all my gold that the person who put Harry's name in the Goblet has a nice little tattoo on their left forearm. Care to lift up your sleeve, sir?"

The room became deathly silent and Karkaroff's face started turning an alarming shade of purple as he towered over me, breathing fire. Hmmm…I think I may have hit a nerve. Serves you right, asshole, and for Merlin's sake eat a Tic Tac.

He went to reach for his wand, but I was prepared. You don't just call out a Death Eater and expect them to smile and wish you a pleasant afternoon. There's a reason they wear those masks we saw at the World Cup.

Before his hand moved more than a few inches I revealed my drawn wand by stabbing it into his ribs. "Don't even think about it." My voice was deathly calm.

The realization that the situation was well out of hand spurred the other professors into action. "Igor! You were going to pull your wand on a student!" This came from Sandy. She was too appalled that he would curse a student to realize that I'd drawn my wand on the Headmaster of another school…after accusing him of being a sadistic evil-doer who's trying to assassinate Harry using the Tournament.

Karkaroff was clearly unable to function at this point, and Dumbledore finally stepped in. "Miss Swan, accusing Headmaster Karkaroff of submitting Harry's name to the Goblet is exceedingly inappropriate. I will not have you insult my guests while you are inside my castle." He sternly admonished. I internally scoffed. Whatever, old man. This asshole was aligned with the bastard who was going to kill me before deciding he wanted me to be his future wifey. When. I. Was. Four! He, of his own free will, chose to assist the monster that destroyed so many innocent lives. Outwardly, however, I tried to look contrite.

"I'm sorry, sir." Not. "I'm just very worried about Harry's well being. The person who submitted his name is passively attacking him, sir. When Headmaster Karkaroff looked to be directly attacking him, I lost control of my emotions. I'm sorry, Headmaster." I tried to look remorseful as I swallowed the bile that had risen in the back of my throat at the forced apology.

"Very well, Miss Swan. I, too, am worried about Mr. Potter. I believe that you are right in your assumption that this is a malicious attack on Harry. I have complete faith in Headmaster Karkaroff, however, and you will show him the proper respect."

I did show him the proper respect, I internally sulked. "Yes, sir," I bit out.

With my admonishment complete, Dumbledore turned his attention to Mr. Bagman while I kept my body positioned between Harry and Karkaroff. "Ludo, there has be to a way to remove Harry from the competition. He is not prepared and he didn't even submit his own name."

Ludo looked regretful. "I'm sorry, Albus. Once a name is entered into the Goblet the person becomes magically bound. The boy has to compete, he has no choice."

Everyone turned toward Harry who looked a bit like a lost little boy. That's what he was, I guess. His whole life has been dictated by others. He rarely seems to have a say in his own fate.

I turned around and hugged him fiercely. "It's okay, Harry. My friends and I will help you. We'll get you through these tasks. Winning this competition means nothing to me now that your life is in danger, Harry. It's going to be okay." I quietly reassured him. Merlin I hope I'm right. All I really know for sure is that I will do everything in my power to make sure Harry makes it out of this competition alive and intact.

A/N:

Thanks to car89, Termia, Rita, vivx-chan, rockrose, Anon lily, bloody alanna, and MoreRandomThanYouWouldBelieve for your reviews! You guys rock!

So yeah, Nicole, Sam and Harley are my real life sister-in-law and sisters. Nicole is actually the one who got me into Twilight in the first place. I gave them all the last names of their crushes. I think Nicole would have preferred to be Nicole Cullen, but that wouldn't really work out with my story. :) I also let them choose their animal forms.

Also, just a note for possible furture appearances of Hagrid. I am not going to put too much effort in trying to type out the words in his dialect. You can use your imaginations to make the voice Hagrid-y.

So, we've discovered who are champions are and Bella had a little confrontation with Karkaroff. It seems Bella has a bit of the famous Black temper.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you think!