Chapter 6 Cups and Champions
The rest of the night continued predictably. Beauxbatons sat at Ravenclaw, Durmstrang at Slytherin, and Wiztech evenly divided itself between Hufflepuff and Griffindor. Justin was explaining all sorts of historical facts about the millennial palace. Harry found his knowledge… daunting. Apparently someone who had never been to the school had read 'Hogwarts, A History,' and looked up the notations. I've got to get around to doing that. He thought to himself. Not the notations part- even Hermione thought that was a bit too much. But reading the book would make Harry's life so much easier…
Draco walked by Alex giving her a pointed look, and licked his lips. She sneered at him. The boy then stopped in front of Justin, giving him a haughty once-over.
"You should sit with us," He hissed. Justin locked eyes with the blond. Heartbeats pounded as something fomented. Harry stepped between them.
"This isn't over…" Draco whispered fiercely. Then Dumbledore started his speech. Alex pulled her brother over to Griffindor. Harry sat between Ron and Hermione, across from Ginny who gave a shy wave.
Dumbledore announced that the wizard cup had last been won by a typical wizard, who won based on merit, not power. At this point, he also had to explain why he had been keeping it for the last 100 and some odd years.
"I got to be honest, you guys, I, like, totally forgot I had it… my bad!" He chuckled heartily. "Now listen, the Wizard cup is a powerful object! You cannot lie to it. When you put your name in, it will digest your emotions, your power level… it will only choose those who are powerful enough to compete." The silence in the hall sent goose bumps up Harry's arms. "Don't be fooled, don't enter on a whim. This will take more than intelligence," He gestured to the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons were sitting, "Bravery," He motioned to the Griffindors, who promptly stopped moving, "Cunning or loyalty. This will take your heart and soul. Let not any witch or wizard enter lightly…." The earlier tone that had been so funny was now gone, and, for the first time, Harry noticed the scars that had always been on Dumbledore's face.
The hall was emptied, Max was staying with Ron and Harry and Alex was to stay in the girl's dormitory. Justin muttered a caution about the two of them that sounded suspiciously like 'black hole' and 'pizza cow.'
Harry climbed the stairs, disappointed to see that Ginny was ensnared in the same conversation as Hermione and Alex. Whatever he wanted to say to her could wait. He took a moment to say goodnight to Hermione, and had an excuse for a small talk with Ginny. Then he had to talk to Alex so as not to seem rude. He bid them both goodnight. The girls yawned something sweet and went up. The hairs on the young boy's neck stood on end when Ginny said his name as they went up the steps, only to get giggling in return. Harry went to bed not knowing what would come in the morning.
Alex spent hours with the girls, talking, and joking. It was the greatest slumber party on earth. Magic flew about the room with ease. They snuck down to the Vanity Room where they met some Pansy Parkinson. Alex gasped at the girl haven, each wondering what to wear the next night at the party.
Morning came entirely too early. She was dragged out of bed by Hermione and a couple of the bigger girls. They used magic to dress her, (of course) and stumbled into Max on the stairs. According to him, he was looking for his chicken so that he could suck chocolate eggs out of her.
Alex sincerely hoped he was referring to Easter eggs. She sat down, wishing the day would go by quickly.
And it did. Unlike her time at Wiz-tech, she made lots of friends, and was very popular. It did not hurt her that she was friends with Magical Briton's messiah. It was all going so well, until Malfoy showed up.
Harry turned from one of the sweetest boys she had ever known into a something completely different. The two did not fight like she and Justin. The words were real, intentional, and rated 'R' for Rip-your-head-off-and- dump-proxy-waste-into-your-slimy-body.
"Half-breed," Malfoy spit at her, "Not so tough without your big bodyguard are you?" Ron snorted a reply, gesturing to Crabbe and Goyle.
"Not so big when you can't blind-side a girl!" She barked.
"Didn't hear you complaining," He flashed his eyes. The boys behind him high fived.
"Maybe if your ear weren't filled with peroxide, you would have!" Alex snapped waspishly. He seemed to follow her around. She caught him talking to Justin, who listened intently to what he had to say.
Then the big feast came. The wizard cup was settled onto a pedestal in the middle of the floor. A blue flame erupted from it.
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were easily predicted. Krum and Fleur took to the stage predictably. A blue flame burst up, announcing Cedric's foray into the championship.
"And for the final Champion…" the paper landed in Dumbledore's hand, "Harry Potter?" He announced quizzically. Harry flushed red as he passed Alex. She turned to Justin for an explanation.
He had already prepared his answer, "In the competition there are some rules more important than others. The cup determines power, and ability, but it must select one champion. Traditionally, there are two competitors, a champion and a reserve. The reserve is typically determined by the champion... The other schools must have determined their own. This time goblet choose for Hogwarts. In this case, putting your name in the goblet is dangerous because you never know the result; champion or reserve. It can choose who the champion's reserve will be, and the tests, that way the 'judges' don't try to manipulate the challenges for their own agendas. …"
The last piece of paper hit Dumbledore's hand lightly. The hall was quiet waiting quietly, anticipating who their new hero would face.
"Jerko Phoenix!" There was mixed cheering across the tables. The teen in question strode down the aisles as if the second coming of The Boy Who Lived. Alex relaxed. She could not believe how nervous she was. On the one hand, she wanted Justin to compete; he really wanted to. It meant a lot to him; on the other… at least he was safe. Alex refused to think of how she would take his death- if it came to that. He had told her how dangerous it was.
"Now, I suspect that you'll each cheer your champion on…." The goblet flared up again. If anyone was more confused than Alex, it was the teachers. No one moved or spoke for a long time. Dumbledore choked out, "Justin Vincenzo Pepe Russo." He declared to a shocked audience.
Alex's eyes went wide.
A.N. Dun dun dun... R&R. I will explain the whole 'Reserve' thing, okay?