As the next day was Saturday, most students would normally have breakfasted late. Harry, Skylar, Ron, and Hermione, however, were not alone in rising much earlier than they usually did on weekends. When they went down into the entrance hall, they saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the centre of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. 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?" Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly.
"All the Durmstrang lot," she replied. "But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."
"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed," said Harry. "I would've if it had been me… wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right back out again?"
"Is that your way of saying you secretly wished to put your name in?" Skylar asked, grinning. Harry rolled his eyes.
Someone laughed behind Harry. Turning, he saw Fred, George, Nick, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, all of them looking extremely excited.
"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Skylar, Ron, and Hermione. "Just taken it."
"What?" said Ron.
"The Ageing Potion, dung brains," said Fred.
"One drop each," said George, rubbing his 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 Lee, grinning broadly.
"Uh…?" Skylar looked at her brother but he shook his head.
"Don't worry, I'm not entering." She let out a breath of relief.
"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."
Fred, George, and Lee ignored her.
"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then — I'll go first —"
Harry watched, fascinated, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley — Hogwarts. Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.
For a split second Harry thought it had worked — George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred — 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. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.
"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."
Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee and Nick, both of whom were howling with laughter, and Harry, Skylar, Ron, and Hermione, also chortling, went in to breakfast.
The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner. Harry led the way over to Dean and Seamus, who were discussing those Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering.
"There's a rumour going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told Harry. "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth."
Harry, who had played Quidditch against Warrington, shook his head in disgust. "We can't have a Slytherin champion!"
"We'd never hear the end of it." Skylar agreed.
"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," said Seamus contemptuously. "But I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks."
"But Diggery's not just his looks," Stephen had joined them and sat beside Skylar. "He's quite the student too, you should hear his dad talk about him."
"You know Amos Diggery?" Skylar asked as he helped himself to some scrambled eggs.
"Amos and my dad were co-workers at one point." He nodded.
"Listen!" said Hermione suddenly.
People were cheering out in the entrance hall. They all swivelled around in their seats and saw Angelina Johnson coming into the Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. A tall black girl who played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina came over to them, sat down, and said, "Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!"
"You're kidding!" said Ron, looking impressed.
"Are you seventeen, then?" asked Harry.
" 'Course she is, can't see a beard, can you?" said Ron.
"I had my birthday last week," said Angelina.
"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," said Hermione. "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"
"Thanks, Hermione," said Angelina, smiling at her.
"Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory," said Seamus, causing several Hufflepuffs passing their table to scowl heavily at him.
"You know, if we don't win the Tournament, it won't matter who from Hogwarts is chosen." Skylar reminded them. She was satisfying herself with just a glass of pumpkin juice and Stephen raised an eyebrow at her as she was using a straw with it. Professor McGonagall had given it to her to help lower the risk of swallowing her mandrake leaf.
"You're okay with Diggery getting it?" Stephen asked, glancing from her to the straw with a raised eyebrow.
"Well if the Goblet chooses him, he must be the best for the job. We don't know what that mystical object looks for when it picks a champion." She confessed.
"Suppose. So, what are you doing today?" Stephen asked Skylar.
"I don't think we've decided yet." She looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione who all shrugged. Stephen had a slightly disappointed look on his face that she consulted the other three. Hermione nudged Skylar and she turned to her. The boys watched as Skylar shook her head and then rolled her eyes.
"If you want, you're free to join us today though." She said, turning back to Stephen.
The boys looked surprised while Hermione looked rather pleased with herself. Ron shot Hermione an annoyed look.
"Only if I'm not imposing." Stephen said. Skylar turned to the boys. They both looked unsure for a moment before shrugging.
"Seems no one objects."
Stephen grinned.
"So, what are we going to do today, then?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione when they, Skylar and Stephen were leaving the Great Hall.
"We haven't been down to visit Hagrid yet," said Harry.
"Okay," said Ron, "just as long as he doesn't ask us to donate a few fingers to the skrewts."
A look of great excitement suddenly dawned on Hermione's face. "I've just realised — I haven't asked Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. yet!" she said brightly. "Wait for me, will you, while I nip upstairs and get the badges?"
"What is it with her?" said Ron, exasperated, as Hermione ran away up the marble staircase.
"What's S.P.E.W?" Stephen asked.
Skylar sighed, pushing her leaf into her cheek in preparation for an explanation, as Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione has decided that house elves are being enslaved and she's advocating to get them sick leaves and pensions. She's been badgering the entire Gryffindor common room about it, is ignoring anyone who says the house elves are happy how they are, and is completely one track minded with determination."
"Wow…"
"Yeah, and you're next to be badgered so you will quickly regret spending time with us."
Stephen chuckled awkwardly.
"Hey, Ron," said Harry suddenly. "It's your friend…"
The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors from the grounds, among them, the veela-girl. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly.
Madame Maxime entered the hall behind her 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 name entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks.
"What d'you reckon'll happen to the ones who aren't chosen?" Ron muttered to Harry as the veela-girl dropped her parchment into the Goblet of Fire. "Reckon they'll go back to school, or hang around to watch the tournament?"
"Dunno," said Harry. "Hang around, I suppose… Madame Maxime's staying to judge, isn't she?"
"It'd be a bit sad for the champions of the other schools not to have any supporters." Skylar said. "Someone's got to cheer them on."
"It'd be a bit silly to come all this way for a day too, don't you think?" Stephen added.
When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names, Madame Maxime led them back out of the hall and out onto the grounds again.
"Where are they sleeping, then?" said Ron, moving toward the front doors and staring after them.
A loud rattling noise behind them announced Hermione's reappearance with the box of S.P.E.W. badges.
"Oh good, hurry up," said Ron, and he jumped down the stone steps, keeping his eyes on the back of the veela-girl, who was now halfway across the lawn with Madame Maxime.
"By the way, Stephen, what do you think about House-elves?" Hermione asked. He glanced at Skylar who shrugged and gave him a told-you-so look.
As they neared Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the mystery of the Beauxbatons' sleeping quarters was solved. The gigantic powder-blue carriage in which they had arrived had been parked two hundred yards from Hagrid's front door, and the students were climbing back inside it. The elephantine flying horses that had pulled the carriage were now grazing in a makeshift paddock alongside it.
Harry knocked on Hagrid's door, and Fang's booming barks answered instantly
"'Bout time!" said Hagrid, when he'd flung open the door. "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"
"We've been really busy, Hag —" Hermione started to say, but then she stopped dead, looking up at Hagrid, apparently lost for words.
Skylar immediately erupted into a fit of giggles as everyone stared at him in shock, she had to plaster her leaf to the roof of her mouth to stop anything happening to it, and to try and contain herself.
Hagrid was wearing his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow-and-orange tie. This wasn't the worst of it, though; he had evidently tried to tame his hair, using large quantities of what appeared to be axle grease. It was now slicked down into two bunches — perhaps he had tried a ponytail like Bill's, but found he had too much hair. The look didn't really suit Hagrid at all. For a moment, Hermione goggled at him, then, obviously deciding not to comment, she said, "Erm — where are the skrewts?"
"Out by the pumpkin patch," said Hagrid happily. "They're gettin' massive, mus' be nearly three foot long now. On'y trouble is, they've started killin' each other."
"Oh no, really?" said Hermione, shooting a repressive look at Ron, who, staring at Hagrid's odd hairstyle, had just opened his mouth to say something about it. Stephen had an eyebrow raised and was glancing at Skylar who was trying to hold in her giggles. Harry was glancing from her to Hagrid questionably too.
"Yeah," said Hagrid sadly. " 'S' okay, though, I've got 'em in separate boxes now. Still got abou' twenty."
"Well, that's lucky," said Ron. Hagrid missed the sarcasm.
Hagrid's cabin comprised a single room, in one corner of which was a gigantic bed covered in a patchwork quilt. A similarly enormous wooden table and chairs stood in front of the fire beneath the quantity of cured hams and dead birds hanging from the ceiling.
"By the way Hagrid, do you know Stephen Cornfoot?" Skylar asked.
"Can' say I do very much, which classes you takin'?" Hagrid asked the boy.
"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy."
"Ah, that's why, not taking my class." He said, but didn't look disappointed about such.
"He's a good friend of Skylar's." Ron added with a meaningful look.
Hagrid nodded. "Is he now?" He grinned. Skylar rolled her eyes while Stephen blushed slightly.
They sat down at the table while Hagrid started to make tea, and were soon immersed in yet more discussion of the Triwizard Tournament. Hagrid seemed quite as excited about it as they were.
"You wait," he said, grinning. "You jus' wait. Yer going ter see some stuff yeh've never seen before. Firs' task… ah, but I'm not supposed ter say."
"Go on, Hagrid!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione urged him, but he just shook his head, grinning.
"I don' want ter spoil it fer yeh," said Hagrid. "But it's gonna be spectacular, I'll tell yeh that. Them champions're going ter have their work cut out. Never thought I'd live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!"
"I'm surprised you're not interested?" Stephen said to Skylar, who wasn't badgering the man.
"Oh, I am."
"Skylar likely already knows, Hagrid's thoughts will have given it away." Ron rolled his eyes.
Skylar just grinned and Hagrid chuckled at her.
They ended up having lunch with Hagrid, though they didn't eat much and warned Stephen not to either — Hagrid had made what he said was a beef casserole, but after Hermione unearthed a large talon in hers, she, Skylar, Harry, Stephen and Ron rather lost their appetites. However, they enjoyed themselves trying to make Hagrid tell them what the tasks in the tournament were going to be, speculating which of the entrants were likely to be selected as champions, and wondering whether Fred and George were beardless yet.
A light rain had started to fall by midafternoon; it was very cosy sitting by the fire, listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, watching Hagrid darning his socks and arguing with Hermione about house-elves — for he flatly refused to join S.P.E.W. when she showed him her badges.
"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione," he said gravely, threading a massive bone needle with thick yellow yarn. "It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insultin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em."
"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!" said Hermione. "And we heard he's asking for wages now!"
"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it — no, nothin' doin', Hermione."
Hermione looked very cross indeed and stuffed her box of badges back into her cloak pocket.
By half past five it was growing dark, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione decided it was time to get back up to the castle for the Halloween feast — and, more important, the announcement of the school champions.
"I'll come with yeh," said Hagrid, putting away his darning. "Jus' give us a sec."
Hagrid got up, went across to the chest of drawers beside his bed, and began searching for something inside it. They didn't pay too much attention until a truly horrible smell reached their nostrils. Coughing, Ron said, "Hagrid, what's that?"
"Eh?" said Hagrid, turning around with a large bottle in his hand. "Don' yeh like it?"
"Is that aftershave?" said Hermione in a slightly choked voice.
"Er — eau de cologne," Hagrid muttered. He was blushing. "Maybe it's a bit much," he said gruffly. "I'll go take it off, hang on…"
He stumped out of the cabin, and they saw him washing himself vigorously in the water barrel outside the window.
"Eau de cologne?" said Hermione in amazement. "Hagrid?"
"And what's with the hair and the suit?" said Harry in an undertone.
Skylar was giggling again and Stephen turned to her.
"Is he usually like this?"
"Nope, he's just trying to make a good first impression." She said,
"On who?" Ron and Harry asked.
"Madam Maxime." Skylar said grinning.
The boys looked stunned, glancing at one another before something caught Ron's attention.
"Look!" He said, pointing out of the window.
Hagrid had just straightened up and turned 'round. If he had been blushing before, it was nothing to what he was doing now. Getting to their feet very cautiously, so that Hagrid wouldn't spot them, Harry, Ron, Skylar, Stephen, and Hermione peered through the window and saw that Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students had just emerged from their carriage, clearly about to set off for the feast too. They couldn't hear what Hagrid was saying, but he was talking to Madame Maxime with a rapt, misty-eyed expression that had only ever made an appearance once before — when he had been looking at the baby dragon, Norbert.
"He's going up to the castle with her!" said Hermione indignantly. "I thought he was waiting for us!"
"I'll forgive him." Skylar chuckled.
Without so much as a backward glance at his cabin, Hagrid was trudging off up the grounds with Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons students following in their wake, jogging to keep up with their enormous strides.
"He fancies her!" said Ron incredulously. "Well, if they end up having children, they'll be setting a world record — bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."
They let themselves out of the cabin and shut the door behind them. It was surprisingly dark outside. Drawing their cloaks more closely around themselves, they set off up the sloping lawns.
"Ooh it's them, look!" Hermione whispered.
The Durmstrang party was walking up toward the castle from the lake. Viktor Krum was walking side by side with Karkaroff, and the other Durmstrang students were straggling along behind them. Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum did not look around as he reached the front doors a little ahead of Hermione, Ron, Skylar, Stephen, and Harry and proceeded through them.
When they entered the candlelit Great Hall it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. Stephen thanked them for letting him spend the day with them and then departed for the Ravenclaw table.
"Why'd you invite him to join us?" Ron asked.
"Because Hermione insisted."
"He likes you Skylar." Hermione said.
"I know but that doesn't mean you can force anything." Skylar rolled her eyes.
"So if he asked you out…?" Hermione asked, grinning.
"We'd have to see." Skylar said indifferently.
"Liar, you'd go out with him."
"So what if I did?"
"Suppose we'd see less of you." Ron said. "Aww, think about it, our little Skylar is growing up."
"Remember I'm older than you?" Skylar said with a raised eyebrow.
Fred and George — clean-shaven again — seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well.
"Hope it's Angelina," said Fred as Harry, Skylar, Ron, and Hermione sat down.
"So do I!" said Hermione breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"
The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Skylar didn't indulge in the feast like she usually would have, mostly because her excitement was rather distracted by her concentration in not swallowing her mandrake leaf, and she was more interested in what was going to happen afterwards. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, she wanted to hear who had been selected as champions.
"Skylar, you've hardly eaten anything." Hermione pointed out.
She waved her statement away as she was watching the teacher's table. "I'll eat breakfast." She returned.
At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "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" — he indicated the door behind the staff table — "where they will be receiving their first instructions."
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting… A few people kept checking their watches…
"Any second," Lee Jordan whispered, two seats away from Harry.
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.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."
"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Viktor Krum rose from the Slytherin table and slouched up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.
"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"
The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused 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 Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"
"It's her, Ron!" Harry shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.
"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.
When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion next…
And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.
"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"No!" said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last 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 Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.
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, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out —
"Harry Potter."