Mimiona's Disclaimer: Ze characters do not belong to ze Confederation of Umbrellas.

Blossom's Disclaimer: The characters which belong to Ms. Rowling don't belong to the Umbrella Co. Thank you for taking the time to read through these disclaimers; if you don't, that's very well, too.

Mimiona's Note: About the disclaimer, I mean no offense to French people. (Yes, that was supposed to be a French accent. Sorry if that was totally lame) I don't have much news for you lovely readers today. Yesterday I stabbed myself with a push pin, and it started bleeding. Ouch. Oh, idea! I have had a sudden urge to learn new songs. Can you guys, just, like, tell me some cool songs, because lately I've been just listening and relistening Evanescence and the Pierces, and I NEED NEW SONGS! SO please give me some :) Oh, and...oh, shoot, I forgot what I was going to say. Crud. Sorry, my bad. Ugh, I hate forgetting what I was going to say. Man! Okay, well, for now, I guess that's all! Review!

Blossom's Note: Thank you, readers. We greatly appreciate your interest in our story. Also, most special thanks to Amanda Panda, Rainwrite, littleLaralevin, and Orange-Coyote for your super reviews! They made our day!

Enjoy Chapter 12!

"I am happy to announce the judges for this competition!" announced Dumbledore with a smile. "Please give a round of applause for Ekaterina from Slytherin, Mimiona from Gryffindor, Amber from Hufflepuff, and Blossom from Ravenclaw!"

There was a loud cheer in the Great Hall, which was transformed into a auditorium-like room. There was a large, brightly lit stage where Lily and James were nervously standing with their food before them on a table. Nearby, also on the stage, were the four judges. Lara was standing next to Lily encouragingly, and Sirius stood by James.

Ekaterina sat dignified in a black and green robe. She had large, dark eyes with long graceful lashes and her wavy, black hair tumbled down to her waist. Her earrings were eye-catching, long and dangling, and her nails were painted black. One thing that was not so obvious by her appearance, however, was her love of the most morbid things. She was particularly fond of Agatha Christie, a Muggle author who wrote murder mysteries. And even though she was seated, one could tell that she was rather small, especially compared to her third-year friend, Mimiona.

Mimiona had a bright, perky face with large hazel eyes. Her blondish-brown was pulled into a neat bun, adding to her cheerful look. She was swaying in her seat, humming to a song, and loudly chewing gum. Once in a while she popped a large bubble. She seemed excited and eager to jump out of her seat anytime. She wore a mischievous smile, which brightened her already radiant face. Most people had the first impression (a wrong impression, mind you) of a sweet, angelic person. She could be sweet, but to some of her friends, particularly Amber, she was an indignant prank-puller.

Amber had a kind look on her face, but one could tell that she was a little nervous being at the center of attention. She HATED too much attention. It was always a bad thing (for her, at least). Her black hair fell loosely to her shoulders. She had a lot of bad habits that she was unsuccessfully trying to fix, and was often very dazed and out of it. She wore green square glasses that seemed to be the laughingstock of Mimiona, who whacked Amber "playfully" (rather, "painfully") on the head. Amber rubbed her head and turned to complain to Blossom.

Blossom smiled warmly at Amber before silently scolding Mimiona. But she laughed in spite of herself as Mimiona mouthed clearly "I love you, too", and the reprimanding was forgotten. Blossom had dark-brown gentle eyes and black hair cascading down to her waist. She was petite, which gave her a cute look, and with a smile of encouragement to Amber, she started was scribbling down notes on a piece of parchment-probably about the appearance of the food presented. (After all, she was in Ravenclaw)

"And now, the contestants—Lily Evans and James Potter!" Dumbledore announced with a flourish.

There was a roaring cheer from the audience, who was seated facing the stage.

James smiled coolly, but Lily cringed anxiously.

"And now, for the food! James Potter, kindly describe your food," Dumbledore said.

"Er, yes, I made pesto pasta and chocolate chip cookies for this contest. The pesto was made by myself, with my special recipe," James said uncertainly.

There was another roar from one crowd, and, as Lily noticed, most of them were females

"Um, I, uh, made, this, er, cake...!" Lily blurted. She turned to Lara and whispered, "What is this cake? You guys made it? What...?"

Lara nodded slightly and motioned for her to go on.

"And um, this chicken!" Lily giggled nervously. "And this...thing...with veggies and...what is this?...Oh, rice..."

Lara poked her and mouthed, "Fried rice."

"Yes! Fried rice! Ahahaha...And the soup...?" she asked quietly.

"Down the drain..." Lara said, louder than she meant to.

There was a trickle of giggles from the audience.

"Just kidding about the soup!" Lily said, tossing her hair. "Sooo, yeah!"

Dumbledore laughed. "Ah, so, let the judging begin!"

And, with a simple wave of his wand, a plate, a fork, and a glass of water appeared before the four judges. With another wave of his wand, the plates filled up with pesto pasta.

Ekaterina cautiously took a mouthful of the pasta. She liked pasta, but she didn't really expect much from a boy. Her face brightened as she chewed and swallowed. "Mmmm, pretty good," she said, and jotted down some notes.

Next was Mimiona. She was less cautious, as she had just watched Ekaterina like the pasta. "Okay, here goes nothing." She took a bite. "Yum! This is really delicious!" She made a mark on her parchment, and everyone couldn't help but notice that it looked suspiciously like a star. Then she looked expectantly at Amber.

Amber frowned at her plate and mouthed to her friends, "I don't like pasta in general." Grimacing, she took a bite, and her face darkened ever-so-slightly. "It's better than most pastas...but..." she muttered and scribbled down notes.

Blossom smiled fondly and brought her fork to her mouth. "Mmmm...A fresh taste..." She nodded positively and jotted down more notes.

"All the judges, please clear the taste with some water," requested Dumbledore. "Now, the next menu, chocolate-chip cookies." He waved his wand, and the plates were magically cleaned and the pasta was replaced by a cookie.

Ekaterina smiled and nibbled a tiny bit of the cookie. It was not unknown that she preferred vanilla to chocolate.

James watched nervously.

Ekaterina's smile broadened, but she made no comment, simply writing more notes.

Mimiona bit into the cookie, chewed meaningfully, and swallowed. "It's...chocolatey..." She marked at her parchment, and for the looks of it, it seemed to be a giant X next to James' name.

James buried his head in his hands, messing up his already messy hair, and Lily grinned slyly.

Amber bit eagerly into the cookie and as soon as she swallowed said, "That was one amazing cookie! Yums!"

Blossom frowned at the cookie. "Chocolate's not my thing..." she murmured, but nibbled an edge. She was silent as she smoothed her hair and jotted down several notes.

All the judges proceeded to take a sip of water, and the plate filled itself with chicken. Lily watched anxiously, nervously poking Lara.

Ekaterina picked at the chicken. "...I'm a vegetarian," she said finally.

"WHAT! Why wasn't I notified of this...sudden commitment?" Lily shrilled.

"...It's not sudden," commented Ekaterina mildly, but then smiled and added, "But I eat chicken." She took a bite and struggled to keep her dignity as she promptly had a coughing fit.

"Oh, dear Merlin!" mumbled Lara.

"It's...different..." Ekaterina managed.

Mimiona stared at her plate suspiciously. "Is this safe to eat?" she muttered, took a tiny bite, and gagged into her napkin. "YUCK!" she yelled and drained her glass.

Amber looked frightened as she tried to maintain her politeness when she said, "Can I pass?" Blossom poked her gently, and Amber finally took a bite. She chewed, coughed, and spit the chicken out into her napkin. Shaking her head, she said, "Is this burned?" and took a sip of water.

Blossom smiled reassuringly to Lily as she took a bite without complaint. It was noticed, however, that she swallowed with some difficulty. "It's fine," she managed quietly and returned to her notes.

"Alright, now for the fried rice!" Dumbledore announced, and the plates filled up with the steaming rice.

"Oooh, it's rice!" Ekaterina said and took a mouthful. "Mmmmm, this is really good, Lily! A slight contrast to the chicken, don't you think?"

Lily smiled nervously.

Mimiona frowned. "I like rice, a lot, but I've never had it fried..." she said uncertainly, and added quietly, "And I don't know if I can trust your cooking..." She took a bite anyway, and grinned. "Better than I thought!" She made a check mark in her notes.

Amber eyes lit up. She loved rice, be it fried, cooked, or boiled. Heck, she would even eat it raw if there was no other choice. She took a large bite, smiled happily, and jotted down a relay of positive notes.

Blossom looked at the fried rice, sighed, and took a mouthful. "I really don't like fried rice, but I have to say, I am surprised, it tastes pretty good!' she said, returning to her rapidly filling up parchment.

"So, now, for the final dessert! Vanilla cake!" Dumbledore waved his wand magnificently.

Ekaterina smiled. "Did I mention that I love vanilla?" she asked, and eagerly took a mouthful. Her eyes started bulging out as she coughed into the napkin. "Is this baked?" she screamed and gulped down her water.

Lily stared at Lara. "Did you guys bake the cake?" she asked in a shocked voice.

Lara gulped and whispered quite audibly, "Come to think of it, Alice had it done in about two seconds...and I have no memory of it being placed in the oven."

"Urgh!" grunted Lily.

Mimiona eyed the cake nervously. "Um...Must I?" she asked, and received a glare from Amber. "Fine!" she growled, and took the tiniest bite possible. "Well, as far as I can taste, which is, the frosting, it tastes yummy!" She smiled and placed a happy face on her parchment.

Amber cautiously took a small bite, managed to swallow it, and started to scribble furiously onto the parchment.

Blossom couldn't help but hide her distrust in the cake as she took a reasonable mouthful and swallowed promptly without chewing. "Hmm...well, as Mimiona said, the frosting is sweet and that part is good, but the 'cake' part is rather...uncooked," she said, and finished her notes with a flourish.

"Now, let us decide the winners!" exclaimed Dumbledore, and with a wave of his wand, the plates and other utensils disappeared. "Ekaterina has the honor of starting!"

Ekaterina smiled and announced, "I am proud to designate James Potter as getting my vote in this competition!"

There was a loud roar, much to Lily's irritation.

"I have to admit that Lily's fried rice was delicious, but James' cooking overrides that," Ekaterina explained.

Lily groaned and Lara comforted her gently.

Mimiona smiled and said in her bubbly voice, "I have to say that James' cooking was amazing!"

Lily scowled.

"But, I am proud to say that Lily gets my vote! The frosting was delicious, and that totally decided me!" Mimiona said.

There was a loud cry of cheers from the male audience.

Amber grinned as she explained, "I am extremely surprised that James' pesto pasta actually tasted okay, maybe even good! I have decided that I should slowly be trying some more pasta, especially, James'!"

James smiled, replying, "My pleasure, any time!"

Lily glared at him, and his smile faded.

"So I say that James should get my vote. I agree, however, that Lily's fried rice was delicious!" Amber said, looking apologetically toward Lily.

"Now, the final judge, Blossom, will decide these two seventh-years' fate!" Dumbledore increased the tension between Lily and James.

Blossom started uncertainly. "I was pleased that Lily took the time to make three dishes, contrary to James' two."

There was a loud booing from the girls and a cheer from the boys.

"However, two of Lily's dishes were rather...not edible, and that counted against her. On the other hand, James' pasta was delicious! So I must say that James gets my vote!" Blossom finished.

"This competition's winner is...James Potter!" proclaimed Dumbledore.

The audience erupted into cheers and boos.

"Nice to compete against you," James said, bringing out his hand to Lily.

Lily glared at him and refused to shake hands with him. "Don't think," she growled menacingly, "that this has improved our relationship-if there ever was such!"

Potter stared after her as she and Lara hurried off of the stage and escaped the Great Hall.

"Oh, geez, oh, Merlin! I knew I should've lost on purpose!" James cried and ran after Lily.