Where The Beginning Of The End Begun
RoseGranger- I'm glad you like it :)
POTC and LOTR Lover- I liked that review, it made me smile...I love Captain Jack :)
A/N: In case anyone is wondering, 'Aibhilin' is pronounced 'ave-leen'
Chapter 4-
"Well there's something you don't see every day!" George points out as everyone gathers to see the carriage pulled by winged horses land. I give them all strange looks. Well, I suppose if you don't own a flying carriage it would be quite different but it was all the same to me.
"I wonder who they are." Aibhilin mumbles quietly to me as we stride through the throng of amazed students, fighting our way to the dormitories to get our robes.
"I have no idea. But they certainly like to make an entrance, don't they?"
"Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement." Everyone's attention turns to Dumbledore as he stands in front of us all in the Great Hall. I pick at my nails, preparing myself for Dumbledore's speech.
"This castle will no longer be your home this year, but home to some very special guests," Ah, so that's obviously the people in the carriage. I hear footsteps behind us all and turn my head to see Filch running strangely towards Dumbledore. "Hogwarts has been chosen…" Filch starts conversing in whispers with Dumbledore so I decide to do the same with Aibhilin and Hermione.
"What the bloody hell is this all about anyway?" I ask them, not really in the mood to be polite to any 'guests.'
"I'm not sure." Hermione replies as Aibhilin just shrugs her shoulders. I sigh and look back to Dumbledore, seeing Filch run back out of the hall.
"So, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a magnificent event. The Triwizard Tournament." The whole hall erupts into more whispers about this tournament. I look at everyone else in my year; they're just as confused as I am. "Now for those of you that do not know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools, for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single student is selected to participate in these contests." This seems to pique the interest of some of my fellow housemates, but I remain neutral. "Let me be clear. If you are chosen, you stand alone and trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint-hearted. But more of that later, for now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbaton Academy of Magic and their headmistress, Madam Maxime!" He gestures to the massive, golden doors of the Great Hall as they swing open to reveal a group of girls, dressed in blue hats and dresses.
Merlin, they're all bloody beautiful…and French. The boys in the hall clearly enjoy the sight of the girls as well as they all sit entranced by them.
The girls walk briskly and with purpose, their eyes staying trained ahead of them.
They all stop at the Hufflepuff table next to ours and sigh beautifully, stretching their arms out to them. They walk ahead and do the same thing right next to us. I give Aibhilin a look and she just giggles in return.
"Bloody hell." Ron says as he eyes their arses.
"Very classy Ron." I tell him without turning around.
The girls all run up to take different positions at the front of the hall as an extremely tall woman, who I assume to be the Headmistress, follows them to where they are standing. After their performance ends with a girl and a younger girl doing spins and a cartwheel of some sort, the whole hall applauds and cheers. I just clap politely and smile. Getting the feeling that someone is watching me, I glance around the hall and notice Draco's the one staring at me. I catch his eye and raise a brow at him, but he realises he's been caught and looks away quickly. What was his problem? I know that I snapped at him but he shouldn't be staring in the first place. I take a deep breath and brush it off, focusing on the French girls.
"And now our friends from the North, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their High Master, Igor Karkaroff.
I straighten up in my seat as does Hermione and Aibhilin as we watch the older boys march into the Hall, hitting the staffs they are carrying against the ground.
They all start running and I hear gasps from the people around me as we all watch in fascination as they start doing flips and breathing fire.
"Blimey it's him." I hear Ron say weakly. I turn to see Viktor Krum walking purposefully down the hall, followed by a much older, mean looking man dressed in a white coat. My eyes widen and I start to whack Aibhilin with my hand.
"Aibhilin. That's Viktor Krum. Viktor Krum is actually in our school." I breathe out. She gives me concerned look and pats my knee, trying to make sure I don't start hyperventilating in front of everyone. That would be embarrassing for the both of us.
When everyone has settled again, the amazing feast appears before us and I immediately dig in with Aibhilin.
"I don't ever want to eat again." Aibhilin groans as she pushes away her plate. I wipe my mouth with a napkin and resist the urge to throw up everywhere.
"I agree." I tell her, earning some strange looks from my surrounding housemates. "What? We can't all have bottomless pits for stomachs." I half growl out at everyone, especially Ron since I could just see the judgement in his eyes as he shoves a bit of chicken in his mouth.
"Your attention please," Dumbledore's voice booms throughout the hall. He stands next to a tall golden object. "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, that student must survive three tasks. Three, extremely dangerous tasks."
"Wicked." The twins agree at the same time.
"For this reason the Ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation Mister Bartemius Crouch." The man that was at the World Cup, from the Ministry, walks forward but then ducks as it starts to rain in the hall causing everyone, including me to scream and try to cover ourselves.
A man that had just walked through the door shoots a spell up at the ceiling and the raining immediately stops. I try to get a better look at him. He looks a bit odd, with a…mad-eye. Mad-Eye Moody. That's exactly who that is. Mum had told me about him, he works for the Ministry. He used to be an Auror I'm sure.
My thoughts are confirmed when Ron and Hermione start talking about him in hushed tones.
Moody greets Professor Dumbledore as an old friend and then heads to a corner where he takes a swig out of a strange looking bottle.
"What's that he's drinking d'you suppose?" Seamus asks no one in particular.
"Fuck knows." I mumble, putting my head in my hands, wanting so badly to just go to sleep.
I tune out as Mr. Crouch starts speaking but when I hear shouting and booing I lift my head up.
"What did he say?" I ask Aibhilin quietly.
"You can't put your name in for the tournament unless you're seventeen."
"Oh, that's shit for everyone else I suppose." I look back up at Mr. Crouch, deciding that maybe I should pay attention.
"Silence!" Dumbledore roars over everyone else. The whole hall goes completely silent as Dumbledore proceeds to make the gold casing of the object he is standing next to melt away, to reveal a rather large goblet. A blue flame rises from the goblet.
"The Goblet of Fire." Hm, what a fitting name. I'm sure a lot of time was spent thinking of that. "Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly, if chosen there's no turning back. As from this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."
"Who do you suppose will put their name in?" Aibhilin asks us all as we get ready for bed. I shrug at her.
"Cedric Diggory maybe?" I suggest.
"Oh yes, he certainly will." Aibhilin hums to herself. "What do you think Hermione?"
"I'm not sure, it could be anyone really." She says, climbing into her bed. I do the same as the light goes out. I pull the curtains closed around the bed and wrap the blankets around myself, letting sleep finally take over.
I walk briskly to my next class, Defence Against the Dark Arts, clutching my books to my chest. I'd gotten held behind to speak to another professor about the rest of the year and now I'm going to be late.
Walking into the classroom, everyone's head snaps towards me. Hermione gives me a questioning look and everyone else just stares.
"Miss Blakewood, you're late." Mad-Eye Moody barks at me from the font of the class. So, an ex- Auror is here to teach D.A.D.A? Bloody hell.
"My apologies professor, I got held up…" Wait, how could he possibly know who I am already? "I'm sorry, but how do you know who I am?" I ask slowly.
"We all know your mother, Miss Blakewood. You're just as famous as Potter over there." I raise my eyebrows and nod. Fair point. My mother was well-known, so it's only logical that as her only daughter, I am too.
"Right." I walk to an empty seat behind Hermione and sit down. The heat leaving my cheeks as everyone is no longer looking at me.
"Back to what I was saying, the Unforgivable Curses. Who knows what they are?" Of course Hermione's hand shoots up in the air. I would've answered but she beat me to it.
The Imperious Curse. The Cruciatus Curse. The Killing Curse.
I list them in my head, knowing them already. Mum had taught me all about them when I was younger. I had witnessed her using the killing curse on a dying fox. I had been outside playing in the woods when I found it, all alone and whimpering. A sight and a sound that still haunts me. Its injuries were far too great to heal so mum said that she would put it out of its misery.
"Use of anyone of them-"
"Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban." Professor Moody cuts off what Hermione is saying.
My mother obviously didn't get sent to Azkaban when she had used the killing curse. It wasn't that big of a deal since it was used on a dying animal and she would never get sent to Azkaban anyway because of her high-up status in the Wizarding World.
"The Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do, I say differently!" Moody throws his piece of chalk down onto the desk. "You need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared, and you need to find another place to put your chewing-gum besides the underside of your desk Mr Finnigan." Moody says without facing Seamus but we all turn to look at the now red-faced Irish boy. Professor Moody throws another bit of chalk across the room and shouts again. Blimey, he is insane.
"So, which curse shall we see first?" He asks quietly. "Weasley!"
"Yes?" Ron answers shakily. I notice words beginning to form on the bit of parchment next to me before grabbing it and reading what it says.
Why were you late?
I narrow my eyes at the note before looking around the room. My eyes finally land upon Draco, who is looking at me expectantly, holding a quill in his hand. He raises his eyebrows once and I roll my eyes, picking up my own quill and scrawling an answer back on the parchment.
None of your business, you nosey little prick.
I watch him read it and fake pout.
It will be.
The words had formed on the parchment and I gave them a questioning look. Will be what? What the hell was he on about anyway? I hold in a frustrated groan and instead turn my attention back to the lesson.
"Well, my dad did tell me about one." Ron says. I didn't even realise he had stood up. "The Imperious Curse."
"Oh yeah… your father would know all about that." Moody goes back up to the desk and takes some sort of spider-like creature out of a jar. He recites a spell and the creature grows in size.
"Imperio." He says, pointing his wand at the poor thing. It floats through the air in whichever direction the professor's wand is going in.
He makes it land on top of Crabbe's head. He starts whimpering like a child and trying to get it off whilst everyone else just laughs.
"Don't worry, she's completely harmless," The spider lands on Padma's arm and her eyes widen at it in fright.
"But if she bites…" He makes the spider dangle above Ron's head. "She's lethal."
Draco's laugh was the loudest and Moody didn't miss it.
"What're you laughing at?" He makes the spider jump on to Draco's face and he looks at it in horror, flailing his arms about, shouting to get it off.
I honestly have trouble controlling my laughter at the scene. Draco Malfoy is afraid of a spider. It's impossible not to find that funny.
"Talented isn't she? What should I have her do next? Jump out the window? Drown herself…" My face becomes straight again as does everyone else's as we watch the professor manipulating the movement of the spider.
"Alright next curse?" Multiple hands go up into the air. "Longbottom. Up you get," Mad-Eye picks Neville. He rises from his chair. "Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology."
Neville gives a small nod in reply.
"There's the um…Cruciatus Curse." Neville stutters a bit.
"Correct! Correct! Come come. Particularly nasty, the torture curse." Professor Moody points his wand at the spider. "Crucio." He begins to torture it, making it squeal.
I'm not exactly used to seeing things being tortured so I start to become quite uneasy as I watch.
Neville starts squirming, obviously not liking this either.
"Stop it!" Hermione finally shouts. "Can't you see it's bothering him?! Stop it!" Mad-Eye finally stops the curse. He picks up the spider and places it on Hermione's desk.
"Perhaps you can give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger." Hermione shakes her head, clearly uncomfortable.
"Avada Kedavra." I say solemnly before I can stop myself. I feel the whole class's burning stares on me but I keep my eyes focused on the spider. Professor Moody nods at me.
"Avada Kedavra." Green light shoots out of his wand and hits the spider, effectively ending its life.
"The Killing Curse. There's only one person known to have survived it. And he's sitting in this room." His attention turns to Harry.
"What the bloody hell is your problem?" I ask, shoving Draco. His whole posse gathers around us on the stairs. Draco looks at me, unfazed by the push.
"You'll have to be more specific."
"Keep out of my business." I grit out at him, storming down the stairs.
"Oh, that. I was just curious." He says, easily catching up with me. I whirl around to face him.
"Curious? You are never 'just curious' Malfoy." I narrow my eyes at him.
"Who knew you were such an expert about me." He smirks, moving closer to me so that I have to look up at him.
"Well, I've known you for four years and honestly, you aren't that hard to figure out." I turn around and make it down one step before I turn to face him again. "And by the way, decide whether you want to talk to me or ignore me and then stick to that decision."
He clenches his jaw but doesn't say anything and I stalk off to my next class, completely frustrated with Draco.
Who does he think he is? He saves me from being trampled to death, tells me to stay away from his precious Pansy, ignores me and then has the nerve to think it's okay to just casually ask where I've been when I'm late for class.
Oh gods. I'm completely overthinking this whole thing. It's just Draco.
Just Draco that you're mad about.
I mentally scold myself for thinking such things about him. He is not allowed to constantly be on my mind and he is most certainly not allowed to ruin my year.