Chapter 16
The Champions Selection
KIARA
The next day, even though it was a school day, Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I went down to breakfast much earlier than we usually would on a normal school day. When we went down into the Entrance Hall, we saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all of them examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the centre of the Entrance Hall on the stool that students normally sat on to be Sorted. A thin, golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction.
"Anyone put their name in yet?" Chris asked a third-year boy eagerly.
"All the Uagadou lot," he replied. "But I haven't seen anyone from Dragon Mort yet."
"Bet some of them put in last night after we all went to bed," I said. "I would've done it if it had been me ... wouldn't have wanted anyone watching. What if the Goblet just gobbed you right back out again?"
Someone laughed behind me. Turning, I saw Tanya, Geri and Leah Jones hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited.
"Done it," Tanya said in a triumphant whisper to Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I. "Just taken it."
"What?" said Chrissie.
"The Ageing Potion, dungbrains," said Tanya.
"One drop each," said Geri, rubbing her hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."
"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," said Leah, grinning broadly.
"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Sian warningly. "I'm sure Ma will have thought of this."
Tanya, Geri and Leah ignored her.
"Ready?" Tanya said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then - I'll go first - "
I watched, fascinated, as Tanya pulled out a slip of parchment out of her pocket, bearing the words "Tanya Fang - Dragon Mort". Tanya walked right up to the edge of the line, and stood there, rocking on her toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the Entrance Hall upon her, she took a deep breath and stepped over the line.
For a split second, I thought it had worked - Geri certainly thought so, for she let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Tanya - but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical, long white beards.
The Entrance Hall rang with laughter, but Tanya and Geri, after they had got to their feet and had examined each others beards, for once did not laugh at the joke. Instead, they were both fuming and their cheeks were red from embarrassment, as everyone kept laughing.
"I did warn you," said a soft, amused voice, and we all turned to see Professor Crighton coming out of the Great Hall. She surveyed Tanya and Geri, her eyes twinkling, wearing an expression that was somewhere between amusement and pity. "I suggest the pair of you go to Matron. She is already tending to Mr Fawbert of Raven-Wings, and Miss Sumner of Badger-Stripes, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little, too. Though I must say, neither of their beards are nowhere near as fine as yours."
Tanya and Geri set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Leah, who was howling with laughter, as Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I, also chortling, went into breakfast.
The decorations in the Great Hall had been changed that morning. As it was Hallowe'en, a cloud of live bats were fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner. I led the way over to Dena and Zara, who were discussing those Dragon Mort students of seventeen or over who might be entering.
"There's a rumour going round. Warner got up early and put her name in," Dena told me. "That big girl from Snake-Eyes."
I had played against Warner in Quidditch, and I couldn't stand the idea of a Snake-Eyes Champion, never mind Warrington; so I shook my head, and said, "We can't have a Snake-Eyes Champion!"
"And all the Badger-Stripes are talking about Diggs," said Zara contemptuously. "But I wouldn't have thought she'd wanted to risk her good looks."
"Listen!" said Sian suddenly.
People were cheering out in the Entrance Hall. We all swivelled around in our seats and saw Andrew Johnstone coming into the Great Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. A tall, black boy who played Chaser on the Lion-Heart Quidditch team, Andrew came over to us, sat down and said, "Well, I've done it" Just put my name in!"
"You're kidding?" said Chrissie, looking impressed.
"Are you seventeen, then?" I asked.
"'Course he is. Can't see a beard, can you?" said Chris.
"I had my birthday last week," said Andrew.
"Well, I'm glad someone from Lion-Heart's entering," said Sian. "I really hope you get it, Andrew!"
"Thanks, Sian," said Andrew, smiling at her.
"Yeah, better you than all-looks Diggs," said Zara, causing several Badger-Stripes passing our table to scowl heavily at her.
"So, shall we get our things for class, then?" Chris asked Sian, Chrissie and I, when we had finished breakfast and were leaving the Great Hall.
"Hey, Chrissie," I said suddenly. "It's your friend ..."
The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors from the grounds, among them, the Coltee boy. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly.
Monsieur Legrand entered the Hall behind his students and organised them into a line. One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each one entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks.
"What d'you reckon'll happen to the ones that aren't chosen?" Chrissie muttered to me, as the Coltee boy dropped his parchment into the Goblet of Fire. "Reckon they'll go back to school, or hang around to watch the Tournament?"
"Dunno," I said. "Hang around, I suppose ... Monsieur Legrand is staying to judge, isn't he?"
When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names, Monsieur Legrand led them back out of the Hall and into the grounds again.
"Where are they sleeping, then?" said Chris, as we watched the Beauxbatons students go.
"Why, back to their carriage, of course," Sian answered. "I mean, where else do you imagine they'll sleep?"
Chris, Chrissie and I could come up with no answer for this, and we were about to walk up the stairs, when I noticed that Sian was not following us. Instead, she was staring fascinatedly at the boy with cloths covering his face that we had briefly seen the night before. I also saw that he was staring back at Sian with the same amount of interest. Chris and Chrissie noticed the way Sian was looking at the boy too and, judging from the looks on their faces, I gathered that they had never seen Sian look at anyone the way she looked at him, before or since. It was only when the boy turned his head to Outsider (who had just come in from the grounds), that Sian seemed to come out of her trance, for she shook her head a few times, turned round to look at us, and was surprised to see the three of us looking at her, stunned.
After a few moments of stunned silence had passed between us, I saw that Sian chose to ignore Chris and Chrissie, and turned to me and said, "Kiara, would you mind getting my bag and bring it down for me?"
I was shocked at her question, but I didn't push, for I knew that Sian wouldn't want to be pushed for an answer, so I just nodded. Sian smiled in acknowledgement and then went back to looking at the boy. Chris and Chrissie tried to argue, but I shook my head before they could say anything, and I led the way up the stairs, leaving Sian on her own in the Entrance Hall.
SIAN
Sian was glad when Chris, Chrissie and Kiara had gone, for she could be undisturbed with her thoughts about the boy with the cloths on his face for a few minutes. She was confused by him, for never before, when a guy had looked at her, had she felt enchanted by him. Yet she felt enchanted when this boy looked at her, but she didn't understand why at this moment.
As she looked at him, she saw him conversing with Outsider, and wondered what connection this boy and Outsider shared. As she looked, she saw them whispering convulsively, and every now and then, one or the other, or sometimes both of them, would look over at her. She wondered why they were whispering about her in such a way, but didn't have to wonder for long, for the next thing Sian knew, Outsider had come running up to her, his dark green eyes glinting mischievously. Just behind him, Sian could see that the boy with the cloths was trying to stop him, but it was too late.
"Hey," he said to her, with an African twang to his voice.
"Hi," said Sian, taken aback by how strongly he had approached her.
"So ..." Outsider went on, rather nervously, "you're the Earth Guardian, aren't you?"
Sian sighed in annoyance, for she should have known that those who were new to the school would have told her that. Outsider though, quickly picking up on her mood, tried to apologise for what he had just said, but Sian quickly brushed it off, saying that it was all right, because they had just met. They smiled friendly at each other.
"So, why did you come over to me?" said Sian, getting back to the point, for she was curious as to why he would approach her, and for what purpose.
Outsider said rather nervously, "Well ... you see my brother - "
"Brother?" Sian questioned, looking over at the boy with the cloths covering his face. Outsider seemed to understand her confusion, for he said, "I mean, adopted brother."
"Oh," Sian said, as realisation hit her. "That makes much more sense."
Outsider chuckled and then went on to say, "Anyway, my brother is interested in you ..."
"Really?" said Sian, trying to hide a smile, but not quite succeeding.
"Really," said a muffled voice behind Outsider. Outsider moved away, and Sian saw the boy with the cloths on his face looking at her, his light amber eyes sparkling.
Sian felt a delicate blush rise to her cheeks and her heart beat furiously, as she said in quite a breathy voice, "Hi."
"Hi," the boy said back. He then said, "I liked the show you and your friends - "
"Sisters," Sian said quickly.
"What?" the boy said, surprised.
"They're my sisters, not my friends - although, in a way, they are, so ..." Sian explained, shrugging.
"Oh - well, the show you and your sisters put on last night," the boy said. "I've never seen anything like that before. The five of you are very talented."
"Thank you," said Sian, her cheeks getting pinker as he spoke. "So ... did you put your name in?"
"Yeah," the boy said in an offhanded way, and also in quite a bored way, too, Sian thought, for she thought that he would have been pleased for this.
"Well ... don't you want to do this?" Sian asked him nervously.
"Nah. I was forced into it by my brother and Kula, so that's why I'm here. But I'd much rather be a spectator." He sighed before he continued, "I just hope my brother gets it. I'll be supportive of him if he does."
"Really?"
"Sure. Besides, all of us who are here are saying that he will be chosen as Champion. So, how about you? Have you put your name in yet?"
Sian was taken aback by this, which was shown in the way she answered: "No."
This time, it was the boy's turn to look surprised, as he looked Sian up and down, and that's when she realised why he had asked her if she had put her name in; after all, she knew that she was tall for her age, and that was why he thought that she was older. She put the boy out of his confusing thoughts by saying, "Look, I've always been tall for my age. You're not the first, and nor will you be the last person to mistake my age - much like how people always mispronounce my name when I tell them it - never you fear. Oh, and I'm fourteen, by the way," she added as an afterthought, and she also said this to get the confused look out of the boy's eyes, which looked shocked at what he had just heard.
"I'm sorry," the boy said quickly, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I just - "
"Hey, don't worry about it," said Sian, brushing it off politely. The boy breathed a sigh of relief, and Sian saw a smile shine in his eyes.
"So," Sian then said, wanting to change the subject, "I'm guessing the cloths you wear to cover your face are part of a secret reason as to why you are Outsider's adoptive brother, huh?"
The boy's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know that?" he asked her, his eyes narrowing shrewdly.
Sian looked away from his eyes, rather uncomfortable at what she had said, and ashamed of herself for asking a rather personal question. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I only said what I said because I'm highly initiative. I didn't mean to pry. Don't worry, I won't say anything, though."
"You won't?" the boy asked her. Sian looked back up into his eyes and saw a desperate, questioning look in them. She smiled gently and reassuringly at him and said, "Trust me when I say, I can keep a secret. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am curious about it ... but I'll wait until you want to tell me the reason why."
"Really?" the boy asked, like a child asking for reassurance from his mother, which Sian, surprisingly, found rather cute.
Hiding a small chuckle, she answered, "Yes, really. I mean, you're a mystery, aren't you?"
She saw the cogs whirring through his mind through his eyes for a few moments, before he said, "Yes, I suppose I am - just like you are with those heavy, blue leather gloves."
The smile faded from Sian's face, as she looked down at her hands which were covered in the gloves, and started to rub them absent-mindedly. Then she looked back up at the boy's face and said, "It's best if I keep them on." The boy's eyes seemed to smile in understanding, and she smiled at him in acknowledgement.
"Hey, S.D.?" a voice called from behind her. Sian turned around and saw Chris, Chrissie and Kiara coming down the stairs again, with Kiara carrying her bag. Had it really only been a few minutes since she had last seen them?
"Here's your bag," Kiara said, handing Sian her stuff. She then looked at the boy and said a quick "Hi," to him, and he nodded his head at her in return. Kiara then turned to Sian. "We gotta get to History of Magic - "
"Don't worry, Kiara, I'll catch up with you shortly. I won't be late," Sian said. Kiara was surprised at this, and Sian knew why, for it was so unlike her to not get to class early, but Sian wanted to say farewell to her new friend first, so she watched Chris, Chrissie and Kiara head upstairs to History of Magic before she turned back to the boy, whose eyes looked at her surprised again.
"What?" Sian asked him.
"You know Kiara?" the boy asked slowly, and she could see his mind wondering again. "As in ... Kiara Pride-Lander?"
"Yes," said Sian slowly. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," the boy said quickly - a little too quickly, for Sian's liking; but before she could focus on this point for too long, the boy then said, with a mocking look in his eyes, "Uh - "S.D."?"
"Oh, nickname," Sian shrugged. The cloths covering the boy's face flapped back and forth as he nodded his head in understanding.
"Listen, I'd love to stay here and chat more with you, but I really have to get to class, but I'd like to talk to you more later, if that's all right with you?" Sian said quickly, so as not to see a disappointed look in the boy's eyes.
Sian needn't have worried, for the boy said, "I'd love that," his eyes shining in a way that made Sian's heart flutter.
"Well, I'll see you later, then," she said, but before she could turn, the boy had reached out and grabbed her hand. As soon as he did this, they both gasped, for it felt as though a force, stronger than being struck by a lightning bolt, hot them both at the exact same moment their hands touched. Each saw bright colours and shadows of memories swirling, connecting, stronger than anything either of them had ever felt before -
And then they let go, and it stopped. Sian and the boy were both breathing heavily, as though they had both run a mile.
"W - what was ... that?" said the boy breathlessly.
"I - I don't know," Sian said just as breathlessly, but of course, she did know; for what had just happened was that a Soul Bond had just been formed by she and this boy.
Sian then quickly pulled herself back together, and said to him, "See you later." The boy nodded, and Sian walked away. Before she had reached the stairs, she heard the boy call, "Hey!"
Sian turned back to him and said, "Yeah?"
"What's your name?"
Sian smiled sweetly at him, blushed fervently and said, "Sian! What's yours?"
Even from where she stood, she could see the smile in his eyes as he answered, "Kopa!"
Sian smiled sweetly at him a little longer, before she said, "Laters, Kopa!" before she turned and headed up the stairs. She wasn't sure whether she imagined it or not, but she was sure she heard Kopa's muffled voice say to Outsider, "She's cute."
Sian's smile grew louder, as she giggled secretly to herself. Maybe, Sian thought, just maybe, this year might be better than the last few had been, and all because of this boy: Kopa.
KIARA
I remember how classes went rather slowly that day, for everyone wanted the school day to be over with, just so we could get to dinner that night. Even Sian seemed rather preoccupied, but I guessed this had to do with the boy she had met that morning, for not only did she have a sweet little smile playing about her face, a smile that I had never seen before he came (and coincidentally, it's the one she uses just for him), but there was also the fact that she kept looking at one of her hands, and kept rubbing the fingers of that hand. I was still surprised that she had told Chris, Chrissie and I to go on ahead of her, because it was so unlike her. Chris and Chrissie were shocked by this, too, but when we saw her coming towards us, looking happier than any of us had ever seen her, my mind went back to the boy that she had been with that morning, and that's when it hit me: Sian had her first crush (well, I was kind of right).
Anyhoo, everyone was glad when the bell rang for dinner that night. Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I dashed to Lion-Heart Tower to deposit our bags before we hurried down to dinner in the Great Hall, and we were not alone; everyone was excited for the unveiling of the Champions, and that's why, when Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I arrived in the Entrance Hall, we found that it was packed with people, all of them trying to get into the Great Hall at once. Amongst the throng was Mina, who was on the arm of Monsieur Legrand, who were leading the Beauxbatons students into the Great Hall, followed by Kula and the Uagadou lot. Chris and Chrissie watched rather excitedly, but Outsider didn't look at either of them, although the boy with the cloths covering his face did look at Sian and waved at her. She in turn blushed and gave a shy wave back.
When we (finally) entered, the candlelit Great Hall was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Crighton's empty chair at the teachers' table. Tanya and Geri - clean-shaven again - seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well.
"Hope it's Andrew," said Tanya, as Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I sat down.
"So do I!" said Sian breathlessly. "Well, we'll know soon enough!"
The Hallowe'en feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was our second feast in two days, I didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as I would have normally done. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constant craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting and the standing up to see whether Crighton had finished eating yet, I simply waited for the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as the Champions.
At long last, the silver plates returned to their original spotless state; there was then a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Crighton got to her feet. On either side of her, Professor Kula and Monsieur Legrand looked as tense and expectant as everyone else did. Lynn Baxter was beaming and winking at certain students. Mrs Clutch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.
"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Crighton. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber - " she indicated the door behind the staff table, " - where they will be receiving their first instructions."
She took out her wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging us all into a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall; the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames were almost painful on the eyes. We all watched, waiting ... a few people kept checking their watches ...
"Any second," Leah Jones whispered, two seats away from me.
The flames inside the Goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped.
Crighton caught the parchment and held it at arm's length, so that she could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"The Champion for Uagadou," she read, in a strong, clear voice, "is Kovu Outsider!"
"No surprise there!" yelled Chrissie, as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. I saw Kovu Outsider rise from the Snake-Eyes table and stride up towards Crighton; he turned right, walked along the staff table and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.
"Bravo, Kovu!" boomed Kula, so loudly that we all heard her, even over the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"
The clapping and chatting died down. Our attention was focused once again on the Goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.
"The Champion for Beauxbatons," said Crighton, "is Ferdinand Desjardins!"
"It's him, Chrissie!" I shouted, as the boy who so resembled a Coltee got gracefully to his feet, shook back his sheet of black hair and swept up between the Raven-Wings and Badger-Stripes tables.
"Oh, look, they're disappointed," Chris said over the noise, nodding towards the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement, I thought; two of the boys who had not been selected were ignoring everyone in the Hall, staring down at their plates with sour expressions fixed on their faces.
When Ferdinand Desjardins, too, had disappeared into the inside chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement that you could almost taste it. The Dragon Mort Champion was next ...
And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of the end of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip, Crighton pulled the third piece of parchment.
"The Dragon Mort Champion," she called, "is Georgia Diggs!"
"No!" said Chrissie loudly, but nobody except for myself heard her; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Badger-Stripes student had jumped to their feet, screaming and stamping, as Georgia made her way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off towards the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Georgia went on so long that it was some time before Crighton could make herself heard again.
"Excellent!" Crighton called happily, as the last of the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three Champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Uagadou, to give your Champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your Champion on, you will contribute in a very real - "
But Crighton suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to all of us what had distracted her. This distraction, coincidentally, changed the course of my fourth year - and my life, for that matter - though I didn't know it yet.
For you see, the fire in the Goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.
Automatically, it seemed, Crighton reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. She held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Crighton stared at the slip in her hands, and everyone in the room stared at Crighton. And then, Crighton cleared her throat and read out -
"Kiara Pride-Lander."
