Hi everyone!
I know the updates are coming slower than before. But trust me I'm still on this story. I have written 75 chapters so far and are close to the third task.
But I've had a tough year. I changed jobs (working more hours), I've lost two family members in a year, including my mum. I'm still battling with depression, so it hasn't been easy.
I've been having writers block on the side of fanfiction stories, while my mind is overflowing with ideas for original stories.
But I promise this story will continue, just at a slower pace. Please be patient with me.
Chapter 54
LB
The Durmstrang kids took place at the Slytherin table, much to the delight of Draco. I rolled my eyes as he grinned at me. For the first time in Ron's life, he kept looking at the Slytherin table in awe. I couldn't look too much at the twins, although I felt their eyes on me. I was happy when the food appeared in the table, I could put my attention on that. Jack had retracted his arm to eat but was sitting close enough that our legs touched. Jack and Jazz were really outgoing, and conversation flowed easily, after about ten minutes even the twins joined in.
"Alec wrote about you." Jazz said looking at the twins, who looked with raised eyebrows between me and her. Jazz's eyes flickered over their features. "Not what I was expecting."
"No?" Their eyebrows went higher, until they disappeared under their hair. "What did you expect then?" Fred asked.
I turned my head to look at Jazz, wanting to know where this was going. I mean, yeah, I never told them about their appearance, just that they were incredibly handsome. "Yeah, what did you expect?" I asked.
"I don't know, I just didn't think they would be so-"
"Tall?" Jack offered, grinning.
"Red?" Angelina smirked.
"Ugly?" Lee snickered and the twins threw potatoes at him.
"No, so... white."
I choked on my drink, while the twins looked at her bemused. Jack was gently patting my back. "I'm sorry, white?" I said once I recovered.
"Yeah, the way they carry themselves, the way they look and talk."
I couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You clearly haven't met my cousin."
"Who's your-"
I leaned over to Jazz, and her lavender shampoo hit my nose, and pointed to Draco. "He even talks -" I looked to the twins with a tilt of my head. "How do you call it?"
"Big headed?" Fred offered.
"Sesquipedalian?" George grinned.
I smiled at them with a tilted head. "No." I chuckled. "You know what I mean," I turned to Jack. "Zeer chique."
"Posh." Angelina snickered.
"Ja, he talks really posh." I pursed my lips at the twins before looking back at her. "Thank you, Angelina. You two are the worst." I pointed with my fork.
"Oh, you love us for it." They winked. Love. If I didn't do something soon, I would definitely fall in love with them. I rolled my eyes, smiling before turning to Jack.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"I wanted to surprise you." He smiled his pearly whites.
"You certainly did that." I leaned my head on his shoulder.
"The moment has come." Dumbledore was standing in front of head table, smiling at the room. I lifted my head to look at him, just like the rest of the students. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket just to clarify the procedure. But first let me introduce you to -" Dumbledore started explaining who the extra people at the head table were, when Jazz nudged me.
"Hey, that red head, he was at our school last year." She whispered.
"That's Percy, I got him in the exchange program. He's the older brother of Fred and George."
"They will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which will judge the champions efforts. Mr Filch, the casket please." Dumbledore continued.
Filch, the scruffy, weird old caretaker stepped forwards carrying a large chest, covered in jewels. People started murmuring to each other in excitement. Filch carefully placed the chest on the table in front of the headmaster.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman. There will be three tasks and they will test the champions in many different ways... their magical powers, their daring, their power of deduction and of course, their ability to cope with danger." The room was so silent at the last word, you could hear a pin drop. "As you know, there will be three champions, one of each school. They will be awarded points after every task. And the champion with the highest total will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector... the Goblet of Fire."
Dumbledore tapped the casket three times. The lid creaked slowly open. He reached inside it, the great hall was dead silent again. He pulled out a large, roughly wooden cup. Blue-white flames were dancing in the cup.
"Anyone wishing to submit themselves a champion must write their name and school clearly on a slip of parchment and drop it in the Goblet. "The ones who wish to participate, have twenty-four hours to put their names in. Tomorrow night, on Halloween, the Goblet will choose to most worthy student to represent their school. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage students will enter their name." My eyes flickered to the twins, whose gaze were fixed on the headmaster. "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross the line."
I swear Dumbledore's eyes stopped at the twins a second longer than the others.
"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this Tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion is selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet is a binding, magical contract. Please, be very sure of competing, because there is no way back. Now, I think it is time for bed. Goodnight to you all."
The room burst into chatter as they all stood up. I wrapped my arms around Jack and Jazz as we walked towards the staircases.
"You'll be entering?" Jack asked.
"Yes, and since you two are here, I can assume you're going to enter too?"
"We are." They chimed. I squeezed them closer to me. Oh, how I had missed them.
"Are any of you entering?" Jack asked the lot as we stood just next to the staircases that students started climbing.
"I am." Angelina grinned.
"Not old enough." Lee grumbled. "Just like those two knuckleheads." He pointed his thumb at the twins.
"We're entering!" They said, puffing up their chest.
"How?" Jazz asked interested.
"We have an aging potion ready. Just need to take it an hour before putting our names in." Fred said proudly.
"I don't-" Jazz started but I shook my head at her. "Well, if you get in, you're certainly not getting picked. Not if these two ladies are entering."
"Oh, we know are chances are slim with them around." George winked.
Madam Maxime walked past with the other Beauxbatons students. "We should go." Jack said looking back at me.
"I'll show you around tomorrow."
"Goodnight." He engulfed me in a hug. "Je bent altijd welkom in de koets."
"I'll remember that." I grinned. Jack leaned in to give me a soft, gentle kiss on the corner of my mouth. "Night."
"Jij-" Jazz poked my shoulder. "- gaat me morgen alles vertellen over die roodharige jongens daar."
"Okay." I smiled and hugged her. "Night, Jazz."
"Slaapwel, schat!" The two of them called out as they walked outside.
I turned back to the others smiling. I looped my arm through Angelina's. "So, when are we going to put our names in?"
LB
Angelina, the twins, Lee and I sneaked out of the common room that night to see the Goblet of Fire. You could see the blue-white flames before anything else. George gave me a piece of parchment and a quill to write my name on it.
"Which school are you going to put on it?" George teased.
"Durmstrang, obviously." I grinned at him before scribbling down my name and school. When I turned, Angelina was waiting for me in front of the age line. I walked over to her, parchment in hand. "Are you sure?" I asked her, taking her hand in mine.
"Yes." She nodded, squeezing my hand. We both took a step forward but halted when the twins called out.
"Wait!" We turned to look at them. "Good luck kiss." They grinned. While Lee snogged Angelina, the twins kissed my cheek, just brushing against the corner of my mouth.
I hid my blush behind my hair as I looked down. Squeezing Angelina's hand again, we stepped forward. Nothing happened, the age line was a grey like smoke that surrounded the Goblet. We reached over and dropped the parchment into the fire. The paper didn't burn away, it just evaporated.
We were walking back to the common room when Fred put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I looked up at him with a little frown.
"You're seventeen."
"I am, otherwise I couldn't enter." I grinned.
"I know, but we missed your birthday, again."
"Oh, not really." I said a little cryptically and laughed to myself as they all stared at me. "My birthday is not over for another hour."
"You - your birthday is today? Now?" George gasped.
"Well, yes. Just like every other year." The four of them all glanced at each other. "You don't need to do anything. Like I said last year, I don't really celebrate my birthday."
But nobody listened to me. "Angelina, you know what to do." George said and Angelina nodded her head.
"I'm on it."
"Fred and I will go to..." He nudged his head to the side.
"Guys." I groaned.
"You go upstairs, but don't you dare head up to bed, you hear me." Fred said in a stern voice. "We'll be right back."
"Fine." I sighed, knowing I couldn't change their minds. "Am I going up alone?"
"No, we're coming with." Lee said while Angelina looped her arm through mine.
Once in the common room, which was almost empty, Angelina pushed me down on the couch in front of the fire. "Stay here." She said before disappearing up the stairs. Lee sat down next to me.
"Happy birthday, then."
"Thanks." I chuckled.
"Are you still in love with Jack?"
"Wow." I gasped. "Not what I was expecting for you to say."
"Sorry."
"It's okay. I'll always love him. He was my first love, you know. And seeing him again, it stirred something up, I'll admit. But I don't think I'm still in love with him."
"Hm."
"Why'd you ask?"
"Just curious." He said glancing at the fire. My gaze went to the window, knowing that down below the Beauxbatons carriage was parked. Angelina came down with her hands full of presents, and my eyes widened.
"How is it that you have presents when you didn't know when my birthday was?" I asked leaning forward, my arms resting on my knees.
"We bought them over the summer. When you said you could enter the Tournament, our time frame was reduced, between September 1 and Oktober 31."
"Did you really buy presents, hoping you would figure out when my birthday was?"
"Sort of." Angelina grinned, hopping down next to Lee. "We were planning on writing to your uncle tomorrow to find out."
"Does Potter know? Or Malfoy?" Lee asked.
"Draco does, yeah. He had sent my present to my room this morning." I said just as the portrait opened. George was carrying a large cake and Fred was carrying some butterbeers and a bottle of fire whiskey.
"Happy birthday to you!" The twins sung loudly.
"Shh, everyone's already in bed." I chastised them, but they pretended they didn't hear me.
"Happy birthday to yoooouuuu!" Even louder now. I could hear footsteps coming down the stairs already.
"Happy birthday, dear Alec! Happy birthday to you!"
"It's your birthday?" I turned to see Harry standing on the bottom of the stairs, other students behind him.
"No, Harry, it's new year's." Fred rolled his eyes.
"I'll be right back." Harry said before darting back up.
"Nothing to see here. We'll keep it down." George ushered the students back up. Hermione frowned but mouthed a happy birthday to me before heading back up. Alicia came to sit with us, Harry came back down and told Ron to head back up. Harry placed a present on the top of the others before sitting down.
"Not you too."
"I asked Sirius when your birthday was, but he didn't know. Didn't Remus tell him?"
"Remus doesn't tell him anything."
"Why not?" They all asked.
"Because Remus isn't a gossip." I chuckled. "He told Sirius if he wanted to know anything about me, he should just ask me. Let me decide what I wanted to share with him."
"Professor Lupin is amazing." Angelina sighed.
"He is." I smiled. The twins had sat down in front of me, with their backs to the fire. I accepted a glass of fire whiskey with a smile. "I only found out last month, I thought he would be spilling everything to him."
"Do you want him to know? When your birthday is, I mean?" Harry asked carefully. "I know he's dying to know more, even a little bit."
"And knowing the day his daughter is born isn't little." Alicia said. I pursed my lips, because I don't see myself as his daughter, and I didn't care how big or little the information was. The others all seemed to hold in their breaths, afraid I would have an outburst. I couldn't blame them, talking about Black brought it out in me.
"He can know." I shrugged. "I normally-" I glared at the others. "don't celebrate my birthday anyways." I looked to Harry. "He has sent me a few letters but haven't answered any. But if you're going to write to him, let me know, I'll just put something in the end for him."
"He'll like that." Harry nodded, then changed the subject, thankfully. "So, presents."
LB
Translation Dutch English
Je bent altijd welkom in de koets You are always welcome in the carriage
Jij-" Jazz poked my shoulder. "- gaat me morgen alles vertellen over die roodharige jongens daar. You-" Jazz poked my shoulder. "- will tell me all about those red-haired boys over there tomorrow.
Slaapwel, schat Goodnight, babe