Here's Chapter Eight. :)
When Harry, Melissa, and the other champions walked back out to the Great Hall they saw that the students had left to go to their dormitories. Harry and Melissa walked out of the Great Hall and up the Grand Staircase.
"I can't believe this is happening," Melissa said.
"I know I can't either," Harry said.
"How did our names get in the Goblet of Fire," Melissa asked. "We didn't put them in."
"Someone else must have," Harry told her. "But who?"
"Knowing Malfoy he'd do something like this in a heartbeat," Melissa said. "But it couldn't have been him. He's not seventeen yet."
"Maybe he bribed or threatened one of the older Slytherins," Harry suggested.
"I don't know," Melissa said as they reached the seventh floor. "I mean I know Malfoy hates us and everything but does he hate us enough to want to see us dead?"
"But I can't think of anyone else who would want to put our names in the cup," Harry said.
"Password," the Fat Lady asked as they approached her portrait.
"Fairy Lights," Harry said.
"Correct," the Fat Lady told him as she swung forward allowing them in.
They climbed through the portrait hole and saw that almost everyone was in bed. All except for a few first years who were on their way and Fred, George, and Hermione. Once the remaining students went to their dorms Harry and Melissa walked over to the couch and sat down. George got up from the chair he was sitting on and he sat next to Melissa and Hermione sat next to Harry. Fred pulled up one of the armchairs and sat down.
"Well what happened," Hermione asked her friends. "What did Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch say when they went into the room?"
"Not much really," Harry told her. "Dumbledore asked us if we put our names into the cup or if we had an older student do it for us. We said no and the two other Headmasters said we were lying."
"Well you guys aren't," Fred said. "You told us from the start that you didn't want to enter."
"Yeah and we could definitely tell from the terrified looks on your faces that you weren't lying," George said.
Harry and Melissa smiled then they noticed that Ron was in the room.
"Where's Ron," Harry asked his friends.
"Oh that git," Fred asked. "He's upstairs in his dormitory."
"Yeah he actually believes that you and Melissa put your names in the cup," Hermione told them.
"What," Harry and Melissa said in disbelief.
"He thinks we're lying," Harry asked getting to his feet.
"Yes," George said. "He was arguing with us the whole way up here."
Harry started to head to his dormitory but stopped when Hermione spoke.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go and talk some sense into him," Harry told her as he continued to his dorm.
"This isn't going to go well," Hermione said standing up. "Listen don't you worry Melissa," Hermione told her friend. "You might be a Triwizard champion but we'll help you out as much as we can. We'll practice any spells that might come in handy with you okay."
"Thank you Hermione," Melissa said.
"What are friends for," Hermione said with a small yawn. "I think I'll go to bed. I'm exhausted. Goodnight."
"Night," Melissa, Fred, and George said.
Hermione smiled and she walked up to the girls' dormitory.
"I want to know who put mine and Harry's name in the cup," Melissa said as she leaned forward and put her face in her hands.
"Well we've ruled out one person," Fred told her.
"Who's that," Melissa asked as she looked at him.
"Malfoy," Fred and George said together.
"Yeah Harry and I ruled him out to," Melissa said. "I don't think he'd have anyway to trick the Goblet of Fire."
"We did however, come up with two possibilities," George told her.
"Really," Melissa asked. "Who?"
"Snape," Fred said. "Let's face it, he's had it out for you and Harry since your first year. Not to mention he was once a Death Eater."
"Snape was a Death Eater," Melissa asked in shock. "And Dumbledore just let him teach here? What was he thinking?"
"Dumbledore knew he was a Death Eater," George told her. "He apparently turned good and came to work for Dumbledore after You-Know-Who disappeared."
"But from what dad says, you never stop being a Death Eater," Fred added.
"So your dad thinks that Snape could turn at any moment," Melissa asked.
"Dad trusts Dumbledore's judgment," Fred told her. "And if Dumbledore trusts Snape then so does he."
"I see," Melissa said. "So who's the other person you think put our names in the cup?"
"The Headmaster from Durmstrang," George said. "Professor Karkaroff."
"Why would he put our names in the cup," Melissa asked. "He looked furious when Crouch said that we had to compete."
"That may be an act," Fred said. "He was once a Death Eater to."
"What," Melissa asked with a shocked expression on her face. "How many Death Eaters is Dumbledore letting into the school?"
"Keep it down," Fred told her glancing around to make sure know one else was listening in on them.
"Sorry," Melissa said quieting down a little. "I'm just a little shocked that's all."
"It's alright," George told her as he put his arm around her. "We just don't want any of the other students freaking out about this."
"So does Dumbledore know that Karkaroff was a Death Eater," Melissa asked as she scooted closer to George.
"Yes," Fred said. "But again he trusts him."
"I have to tell Harry and Hermione about this," Melissa said.
"Remember to tell them when no one's around," Fred said.
"Right," Melissa said with a yawn. "It's getting late. I'm going to head to bed."
"Us to," Fred said getting to his feet.
"Night," George said. He then kissed her cheek and she gave him a hug.
"Good night," Melissa said.
"See you in the morning," Fred said.
"Night," Melissa said as she walked up to her dormitory to go to sleep for the night.
After classes the following day, the five champions were called to a classroom for a photo shoot and interviews. Harry and Melissa really didn't want to go. It had been hell for the two of them all day and they didn't think it would get any better any time soon. Students were no longer talking to them. The Slytherins made fun of them more than they already were and they were placing bets on how long they thought the twins would survive in the tournament. The worst part was that Ron was not talking to them anymore. Harry had tried to explain to him the night before that they didn't put their names in the cup but he wouldn't listen. And Melissa's friends the Patil sisters and Lavender Brown weren't talking to her either. And none of their fellow Gryffindors except for Neville, Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione were talking to them.
They just wanted to stay locked up in their dorms all day but what good would that do. They'd have to face everyone sooner or later. Just then a photographer took a picture of the five champions and smoke filled the room from the camera. Once the smoke cleared a woman walked up to them. She had short curly blond hair and she had bright green eyes. She wore jeweled glasses and a bright green long sleeve dress that went down to her ankles. There were six big red buttons on her dress and brownish red fur on the cuffs of her sleeves and on the neck of her dress. And to finish off the look, she wore black high heeled shoes. Her name was Rita Skeeter.
"Well, what a charismatic group we have here," Rita said with a smile on her face. "Hello, I am Rita Skeeter."
Rita then went up to each of the champions and shook their hands.
"I write for the Daily Prophet," she told the champions. "But of course you already knew that didn't you."
Harry and Melissa glanced at each other and tried not to laugh. At least this interview would be entertaining they thought.
"It's you we don't know," Rita continued. "You're the news. What quirks lurk beneath those rosy cheeks? What mysteries do the muscles mask? Does courage lie beneath those curls? In short, what makes a champion tick? Me, myself, and I want to know. Not to mention my rabid readers. So, who's feeling up to sharing? Let's start with the youngest shall we. I'll interview Harry and Melissa at the same time since they're twins."
Rita grabs Harry's and Melissa's arms and she drags them into a closet and shuts the door behind them.
"Well this is cozy," Rita said.
"This is a broom cupboard," Harry told her.
"Then you two should feel right at home," Rita said as she, Harry, and Melissa took a seat. "Don't mind if I use the quill do you," Rita asked but before either of them could answer she spoke. "Of course you don't."
Rita waved her wand at a quill and a pad of paper and they started floating in mid air.
"So Harry, Melissa, here you two are," Rita said smiling at them. "Mere children at the age of twelve...," Rita started to say but Melissa cut her off.
"Fourteen," Melissa corrected her.
"Pardon," Rita asked her.
"We're fourteen not twelve," Harry said.
"You two are about to compete against three other students," Rita continued not really paying attention to what they had said. "Not only vastly emotionally mature than yourselves, but have mastered spells that you wouldn't attempt in your dizziest daydreams. Concerned," Rita asked as her quill stopped writing and waited for Harry or Melissa to speak.
"I dunno," Harry said. "I haven't really given it much thought."
"Same here," Melissa told her as she watched Rita's quill start to write again.
"Of course you two haven't," Rita said winking at them. "You two are only twelve," Rita said but Harry cut her off.
"Fourteen," Harry said getting annoyed.
"The story's legend," Rita said not paying attention to what he had said. "Do you two think it was the trauma of your past that made so soon keen to enter such a dangerous tournament."
"We didn't enter," Harry and Melissa said a little angrier than they had intended.
"Oh of course you didn't," Rita said clearly not buying the story. "Everyone loves a rebel," she then turned to her quill and spoke. "Scratch that last," the quill did as it was told and continued writing. "Speaking of your parents, were they alive how do you think they'd feel? Proud? Or how about concerned that your attitudes show at best a pathological need for attention, at worst a psychotic death wish?"
"This is stupid," Melissa said getting annoyed. "You're taking our words and twisting them around."
Ah don't you just love Rita Skeeter? I am so glad that we didn't see as much of her in the movie as we did in the book. She is one of my least favorite characters. Anyways I'll have chapter Nine up soon. :)