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Chapter VI: That moment when you realize that the prophecy meant four champions, not four demigods… Whoops.
Lou Ellen Blackstone stood next to Cedric and Malcolm near the Great Hall. She had just come from Dumbledore's office, trying to get as much information about Durmstrang and Beauxbatons from the old wizard as possible.
None of the passing students paid them any attention as they continued to deliberate amongst themselves about the two other magical schools joining later tonight. School had already been in session for about a month, with little to no major incidents occurring, at least that were to the fault of the demigods.
Besides Malcolm and Cedric's journey into the Forbidden Forest on their first day, nothing pertaining to the mythical world had caught their attention.
They almost had an incident when Nico threatened to summon a skeleton on Crabbe and Goyle after they had gotten into an altercation a couple of weeks ago, but Lou Ellen had managed to convince Draco to make sure they left the son of Hades alone. One of the perks of being the First Daughter of the MACUSA, her house liked to keep her in their good graces.
"Have you found anything interesting about the other schools coming?" Malcolm asked, suspiciously eyeing the passing students.
"Stop that, you're going to draw more attention to yourself if you keep looking around like you don't want anyone to see you." Lou Ellen hissed, gently slapping Malcolm's arm. Typically they avoided any chance of being overheard by meeting up in their 'secret' spot behind a suit of armor near the Charms classroom, but standing against the wall near the Great Hall had to do for now.
"-ow, that's a hate crime." Malcolm whined rubbing his arm dramatically.
Lou Ellen glared daggers at the blonde while Cedric chuckled in the background. She soften her gaze after attempting to strike the wrath of the Titans into Malcolm.
"Didn't you two spend all morning, and all of last night in the library researching?" Lou Ellen asked.
Malcolm and Cedric both turned to look at each other, with a slight blush.
"Yeah… we were in the library." Cedric said.
"For the love of Aphrodite, next time the two of you need to do actual work, make sure Will or Nico is with you. Maybe then you two might actually get something done." Lou Ellen scoffed.
"What are you-you've got some nerve-"
"Malcolm, calm down." Cedric said gently placing a hand on his arm.
"I am calm." Malcolm snapped before softening his tone. "Sorry." Malcolm turned back to face Lou Ellen. "-but we don't need babysitters. We were researching just fine."
Lou Ellen tried to contain her laughter, "Right… And your definition of researching is?"
Malcolm bit his lip.
"Did Dumbledore give you anything useful?" Cedric asked changing the subject.
Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing that I didn't really already know from dad. But he did have some more in-depth information about Igor Karkaroff."
Cedric narrowed his eyes, "He's the ex-Death Eater, right?"
"Yeah, 'ex'." Lou Ellen muttered sarcastically.
"You seriously don't think that the Headmaster of a school is still a Death Eater, do you?" Cedric asked.
Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders, "The guy seems kind of sketchy on paper. I just find it hard to come back from some of the horrendous things that he's done."
"People can change, can't we just forgive and move on?" Malcolm asked. "We all forgave Luke, and he did some seriously messed up things."
Lou Ellen snorted, "Some of us forgave Luke."
Malcolm took a step back in surprise.
"Luke killed two of my sisters, who were twelve and fourteen. Just because he saw the light at the end, doesn't mean that it makes up for the dozens of our family that he murdered, or were murdered because of him!" Lou Ellen hissed.
Malcolm didn't respond, he just stood there in shock at her sudden aggression. Lou Ellen doubted that he could respond to her statement in kind. She knew a lot of campers felt the same way that she did, but they never wanted to bring it up because of Percy and Annabeth. They both made it look so easy to move on and forgive the son of Hermes; But Lou Ellen knew there were a lot of campers who couldn't move on as easily. Especially some in the Ares cabin and even a few of Luke's siblings. He betrayed his family, and because of that there's dozens of kids who died.
"Oh-kay, moving back onto topic…" Cedric nervously interjected. "Did Dumbledore tell you anything else?"
Lou Ellen and Malcolm kept their eyes locked.
"Not really, he said the Karkaroff thing was the most relevant to our quest, no reason to have any suspicions about anyone coming from Beauxbatons." She said after finally looking up from Malcolm.
Cedric nodded, "Well, when I enter and if I get selected, I'll make sure to use that as an opportunity to keep a closer eye on things."
Lou Ellen quickly shook her head in shock. "What do you mean, 'when you enter'?" She asked quickly, "You're not seriously thinking about joining the tournament, are you?"
Cedric narrowed his eyes at her shock, "Why are you surprised? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"It's dangerous, you're literally testing the Fates as it is by staying in Europe. We all are. Why would-no, you're not putting your name in!" Lou Ellen ordered.
"You're not my dad, you can't tell me what I can and cannot do." Cedric fired back.
"This is my quest." Lou Ellen stated harshly.
Cedric snorted, "And I'm not a part of your quest. I just so happen to go to the same school that's the setting for your guys' little adventure."
"Guys." Malcolm interrupted and slightly nudged his head forward.
Lou Ellen turned to see two Hufflepuff boys standing awkwardly a few feet away.
"What's wrong?" Cedric asked the two blonds.
"Nothing, we were just wondering if you and Malcolm were coming out to watch the schools arrive? Most of the castle's out there." One of the boys said to Cedric.
"Yeah, we'll be right out." Cedric said and the boys walked off.
"Friends of yours?" Lou Ellen asked.
"What tipped you off?" Cedric sarcastically asked unamused. "That was Ernie and Zacharias." He added.
"Zacharias?" Lou Ellen laughed, "And I thought my name was pretentious."
Cedric rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Lou Ellen, "I'm entering, and you can't stop me." He hissed grabbing Malcolm's hand and pushed past Lou Ellen to follow the two other boys towards the entrance hall.
Lou Ellen huffed, blowing a strand of hair out from her face.
"You look excited." Draco's sarcastic tone laughed as he walked over to the older Slytherin.
"I'm not in the mood Draco." Lou Ellen muttered following the crowd of students heading outside.
The blonde quickly walked after her, "I was talking to you."
"And I'm ignoring you." Lou Ellen replied pushing past a group of First Years.
Draco looked flabbergasted, "Excuse you? I am a Malfoy! You can't just ignore me!" He shouted after Lou Ellen.
"What part of 'ignoring you' did you not understand?"
"You know, for a half-blood… You act awfully a lot like a mudblood!" He yelled.
Lou Ellen stopped dead in her tracks. Draco nearly running into the back of her.
Lou Ellen inhaled deeply and quickly reached for her wand.
"Now that I got your atten- Ahh!"
Lou Ellen quickly fired off a spell blasting Draco down the hall into a huddled group of Third Year Ravenclaws.
The group screamed in surprise, while the remaining students in the hall quickly turned and started to 'ooh' and laugh teasingly at the disgruntled Malfoy.
Draco roughly pushed the girl who had landed on top of him off onto the ground.
"What the Hell?"
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes. "Draco, just…stop."
Draco pulled out his wand "Stu-"
"Silencio" Lou Ellen shouted before Draco could complete his spell, muting him. He started to flail dramatically.
The group of students in the hallway started to laugh at Draco's displeasure.
"What is going on?" Professor McGonagall's voice shouted through the hallway. The other students quickly fled the hallway, leaving the Professor alone with Lou Ellen and Draco.
Draco attempted to explain his side of the story but was still muted by the spell.
McGonagall waved her wand lifting the charm from Draco.
"Professor, she attacked me!"
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes, "That's a little dramatic, even for you Draco." She knew that he was technically right, she had blasted him across the room, but she felt that he deserved it.
"You shot me!"
Lou Ellen aggressively stepped forward making Draco jump back in fear.
"That is enough, both of you!" McGonagall shouted stepping in between the two. "I do not have time to deal with this, we have guests arriving as I speak. Mrs. Blackstone, there is a strict no dueling policy here at Hogwarts." McGonagall declared.
"I wouldn't have called that a duel." Lou Ellen muttered underneath her breath.
"Fifty points from Slytherin. Now, either go outside or wait in the Great Hall. Preferably away from each other." McGonagall ordered, either not hearing or ignoring Lou Ellen's comment and swiftly walked down the hallway towards the castle doors.
Draco glared at Lou Ellen, "If you hadn't cheated, I would have bested you. Easily."
Lou Ellen tried not to choke on her spit, "Cheated? Draco, this wasn't sometype of game, and even if it was-" She asked walking closer to the younger blonde, "-How could I have cheated when you are not even in my league?"
Draco pointed his wand at Lou Ellen once again and she leveled her own wand to meet his.
"Expelliarmus!" They both shouted and a jet of red light shot from their wands creating a small explosion between the two, knocking them both to the ground.
Lou Ellen groggily stood up and noticed Draco still lying on the ground. She looked over her shoulder down the hall, fully prepared to leave the younger teen on the floor.
Draco let out a moan, but still laid flat on the ground.
Lou Ellen leaned her head back and let out a loud sigh before marching over to Draco.
Draco opened his eyes when she stopped right next to him, and he looked up at her as she extended her hand to help him up.
He glanced at her hand and hesitantly reached for it. She helped him up as he patted his robes, knocking the nonexistent dust off the cloth.
He nodded at her.
"Truce?" She asked, genuinely not wanting to start an actual rivalry with the young Malfoy. The distraction of a feud with Draco wasn't worth getting in the way of the quest.
"You attacked me, without reason! Why-"
"Oh my gods, I'm trying to move on-can't you just accept my olive branch?" Lou Ellen huffed.
He quizzically looked at Lou Ellen, trying to figure out if she had an angle to her offer.
"Truce." He said carefully.
Lou Ellen slightly nodded her head before heading the opposite direction. Leaving Draco standing in the middle of the large empty hallway.
William Solace sat down next to Cedric, Zacharias, and Ernie, waiting for the festivities to begin in the Great Hall.
The hall was a buzz of joyful banter and laughter while they waited for Professor Dumbledore to begin what Will assumed was some sort of 'opening ceremonies'.
Will saw the caretaking Squib, which he learned was a person from a magical family without magic, Filch, run up to Dumbledore and whisper something to him.
Dumbledore nodded his head and made his way to the podium at the head of the Great Hall.
Everyone in the hall quickly quieted down.
"Now welcoming from France, the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and their Headmistress Madame Maxime!" Dumbledore shouted.
The doors to the Great Hall opened and several girls came running down the walkway between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. They danced and performed sparkly charms earning them 'oohs' and 'awws' from the students of Hogwarts.
Eventually a girl performing cartwheels and flips made her way towards the front of the hall near the staff table. And a giant woman stormed after the girls. Will assumed that she was part giant as she stood twice as tall next to any of, what Will assumed were her students.
"Blimey, that's a tall woman." Ernie muttered.
"Yeah, no kidding." Cedric added on.
The students and staff of Hogwarts all applauded enthusiastically, some, almost all boys, stood to give the ladies of Beauxbatons a standing ovation.
The abnormally tall woman, Madame Maxime ascended the raised dais where the staff table was located and raised her hand to Dumbledore. He grabbed it and planted a quick kiss on them and led her to sit with the rest of the staff.
"Thank you for that lovely introduction Madame Maxime." Dumbledore said gesturing to the Headmistress and to the end of the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons kids were sitting down. "And now, the delegation from the far north-Durmstrang Institute of Magic!"
The large doors to the Great Hall shot open and a group of boys wearing matching brown uniforms marched into the hall carrying staffs. As they walked down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables performed in sync a piece of choreography, spinning the staffs around themselves and slamming them into the ground.
After the main group of boys marched into the hall, a few men wearing gray and brown furs followed the performers. Will instantly recognized one of the men, Igor Karkaroff. Lou Ellen showed the demigods an image of the former Death Eater a while back. His signature black beard ever present as he marched forth with a couple of other staff members.
"Merlin, is that who I think it is?" Ernie asked nearly falling out of his seat.
Cedric nodded his head in agreement.
"Who?" Will asked.
"Krum." Zacharias said in aww, following the large muscular teen's movement.
"Is he famous or something?" Will asked, not sure of the commotion around 'Krum's arrival'.
"He's only the best seeker in the Eastern Hemisphere, perhaps the world!" Ernie shouted, drawing the glances of several other students in earshot.
Will followed Cedric's gaze, which was landed squarely on Krum. "I wonder how Malcolm would feel if he knew you were showering mister tall and dark over there with your 'puppy dog' eyes?" Will laughed.
Cedric quickly shook his head and glared at the son of Apollo before shrugging his shoulders.
"Malcolm knows that Viktor is my favorite Quidditch player. He said that he was my 'hall-pass'-" Will choked on his spit interrupting Cedric.
"He's your what?"
"My…hall-pass? I don't know what that is? I just went with it." Cedric said honestly.
"Cedric, oh gods. I'm sure Malcolm is having a field day right now." Will muttered, stretching his neck as far as he could trying to find the son of Athena, but to no luck. Sighing, Will quickly turned to garner Cedric's attention, ignoring the rest of the show Durmstrang's show.
"Cedric, your hall-pass is someone you're 'allowed' to cheat on your boyfriend slash girlfriend with." Will explained, much to Cedric's confusion. "But, the idea is that-You don't ever meet your hall-pass!" Will hissed aggressively.
"So…?"
"So, after this lovely feast we have, you need to track down your boyfriend and request a change in hall-pass. Preferably to someone you will never meet, like, I don't know, Shawn Mendes, or a Jonas Brother, or all three. I don't know, and I don't care. But think of something before Malcolm kills poor Viktor in his sleep or something." Will ordered. Cedric nodded along quickly, his face reding by the second.
Will and Cedric missed the rest of the presentation put on by Durmstrang because of their conversation over Krum.
"Alright, Hogwarts, everyone up!" Dumbledore commanded walking to the front of the hall in a brisk pace.
All the students stood up and Dumbledore waved his wand and a banner appeared above the hall with lyrics written across it.
The entire hall began to 'sing' along to what Will assumed was Hogwarts' alma matar. Will tried to follow along but he was too distracted by Nico looking around the room, clearly not enjoying the singing portion of the dinner.
Once they had finished belting out the last of the lyrics, everyone took to their seats and just like at the start of the school year, a giant feast magically appeared on their plates.
"Ced, are you putting your name in?" Ernie asked the Sixth year.
Cedric nodded his head as he started to eat one of the rolls on his plate.
Will bit his lip, recalling the conversation he had with Nico not to long before.
His boyfriend had warned him about Lou Ellen's dreams, and how they feared there was a connection between the Triwizard Tournament, and the resurrection of Voldemort.
Nico didn't want Will to let Cedric in on Lou Ellen's dreams, citing fear of interfering with destiny or something. Will didn't buy it, he wanted to warn Cedric. Fates be damned.
"Yeah, I'm excited. And plus, I'm a shoe-in for the Auror Academy in New York, or anywhere else I want to go… If I win. And plus, it'll get my dad off my back for a little while." Cedric laughed.
'Fuck it'. Will thought to himself before turning back to Cedric. "Are you sure that you want to do this? It could be really dangerous."
Cedric sighed as soon as Will started to talk.
"What is with you guys? First Lou Ellen doesn't want me to put my name in, and the other day when I mentioned it to Nico at lunch he told me not to do it, and now you? I would like to have some support from my friends every once and a while!" Cedric hissed before shoving his plate to the middle of the table and got up to leave.
Zacharias and Ernie quickly looked up at Cedric once they noticed that he was leaving.
"Where you go'n'?" Zacharias asked with his mouth still full.
Will shook his head, internally cursing himself for his brashness.
"Cedric! Wait up." Will commanded quickly walking after the older boy.
Zacharias and Ernie called after him as well, but he kept on walking, ignoring the stares of the other students as he exited the Great Hall.
"Cedric!" Will yelled one last time. The wizard halted but kept his back to Will.
"You know, I've faced far worse than anything in the Wizarding World, including You-Know-Who." Cedric murmured.
Will closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "Cedric, please don't put your name in the Goblet. And if you're not going to do it for me, or Lou Ellen… Then do it for Malcolm. Please, just trust us." Will begged.
Cedric quickly turned around, walking up to Will to the point that Cedric was staring down on the younger teen. "I deserve to know, why the Hell are you guys so scared for me to do this. Is it because you guys think… I don't, that I'm weak… or something?" Cedric pleaded, aggressively pointing his finger at Will.
"Because you die." Lou Ellen's voice called out from behind Will.
Will jumped at the sound of her voice and nearly bumped into Cedric.
"Malaka! You scared me." Will cursed.
"What do you mean, 'I die'?" Cedric asked, completely ignoring Will's miniature panic attack.
Lou Ellen bit her lip trying to find a way to explain everything. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, I wanted to be sure before I bothered you about it. But I've been having dreams, like demigod-prophetic dreams. And I saw that you…die at the hands of Voldemort while participating in the Tournament."
If Cedric was surprised, he didn't show it. "You of all people know that the future isn't always what it seems. It isn't set in stone."
"Why risk it? Cedric you don't need to prove yourself, you don't have to risk your life for this." Lou Ellen pleaded.
"Why would… You-Know-Who want to kill me. Don't get me wrong, I hate the monster just as much as anyone else, but-"
Lou Ellen looked around, making sure they were the only ones in the long hallway. "Because you weren't… aren't? His target. I'm fairly certain Harry Potter is his endgame, you just got-get?- In the way." She whispered.
Cedric looked taken aback. "If me being in the Tournament is the reason why I'm killed, then why's Harry there? There can only be one champion per-school, and he's not of age." Cedric asked.
Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, I-"
"So, in theory, you don't actually know that being in the Tournament is what gets me killed!"
"What?" Malcolm's voice shouted from behind the three other demigods.
"Shit." Cedric and Lou Ellen whispered.
"What are you guys talking about?" Malcolm demanded pushing past Will staring Cedric down.
Lou Ellen huffed, "Nothing, just-"
"No, don't blow me off, what is going on?"
"Lou Ellen is under the impression that if I partake in the Triwizard Tournament, then I will die at the hands of You-Know-Who." Cedric said matter-of-factly.
Malcolm turned to face Lou Ellen, "I thought you said that the Potter kid was his target?" Malcolm asked.
Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders, "He is, okay look; The situation is a lot more complicated than that-"
"Then uncomplicate it." Malcolm ordered, "Does my boyfriend get murdered by Voldemort or not?"
Cedric cringed at the mention of the dark wizard. Malcolm walked over to stand next to Cedric and held onto his arm protectively.
Lou Ellen ran both her hands through her hair, walking a few feet away from the group before sighing and turned back to face Malcolm and Cedric.
"I've been having… dreams, not as often but, each time, I see Harry, Cedric, Voldemort, and a few of his Death Eaters. Sometimes different scenarios play out. Sometimes one of the Death Eaters, or Voldemort kills Cedric instantly, or sometimes you manage to subdue a few of them; But the end result is always the same. You die, and Voldemort returns." Lou Ellen said half-heartedly.
"And you're now just telling us this, why?" Malcolm asked.
Cedric raised his hand to cut Lou Ellen off before she could speak. "If I'm not selected, that means someone else will take that spot, and be potentially a target for-" Cedric gulped, "-Voldemort. No one else attending this school has the same combat experience that I do. Not even the Seventh Years. I can't let someone else take my spot knowing that I could be potentially sending them to their death."
Malcolm shook his head, "Dammit, why are so freaking heroic?" He asked shaking his head.
Lou Ellen let out another deep breath, "Fine, if you're putting in your name, so am I. And if one of us gets picked, we don't go it alone. We do this as a team." She said sternly.
"Agreed." Will added.
"I don't agree!" Malcolm yelled.
"Too bad." Lou Ellen responded before turning back to Cedric.
"We aren't supposed to have outside help. That's kind of the point of the tournament." Cedric said shrugging his shoulders.
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes. "Cedric." She stated tilting her head slightly. "I don't give a fuck about the rules. This is a little bit more important than obtaining some bragging rights! This is the fate of the world we're dealing with!" She shouted, her voice echoing off the stone walls in the empty hallway.
The three boys were taken aback by her shouting, "Okay, okay." Cedric defensively said holding his hands up.
"Okay, cool." Lou Ellen said, the tone of her voice quickly shifting.
"I still don't think this is-" But Malcolm was cut off when they heard a 'meow' behind them. A house cat sat in the middle of the hallway, staring the four down.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here Ms. Norris? Students roaming the hallways when they should be in the Great Hall?" The raspy voice of Argus Filch called out. The short squib stumbled down the hallway with an evil smirk plastered on his face.
"Run?" Malcolm whispered.
Lou Ellen placed her hand on Malcolm's shoulder to calm him down and preceded to walk up to the squib.
Filch gave her a curious look as she walked up to him. Lou Ellen snapped her fingers in his face.
"You never saw four students in the hallway when they weren't supposed to be, and you are going to take a nice long nap in your office with your cat." Lou Ellen ordered, using the Mist to manipulate the old man.
Filch nodded his head in understanding. He scooped up Ms. Norris in his arms and walked back the way he came, with his cat hissing at Lou Ellen.
"Did you just Jedi mind trick a teacher?" Malcolm asked.
"Is that one of your nerdy references." Lou Ellen murmured, rolling her eyes.
"Come on, even Cedric knows what I'm talking about." Malcolm huffed.
"Are you talking about the muggle cinema with that Dark Vader guy?" Cedric asked, almost proud of himself. Malcolm face palmed.
"Close enough big guy." Will laughed as the four made their way back the Great Hall.
Will overheard Malcolm tell Cedric that they would talk later before the older blonde walked past Will towards the Ravenclaw table.
Will followed Cedric back to their seats to an eager Zacharias and Ernie.
"What was all that about?" Zacharias asked Cedric.
Cedric shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It was nothing." Cedric dismissed as he dug into his food.
The two other Fourth Years did not look convinced but dropped their line of questioning.
Will didn't bother Cedric for the rest of the feast and ate the rest of his meal in silence, waiting for Professor Dumbledore to dismiss the Great Hall for the night.
Malcolm Pace quickly walked through the halls with Nico by his side. Malcolm could barely contain his frustration, he couldn't even acknowledge that it was Halloween. He was too distracted by the fact that Cedric had finally decided to enter the Triwizard Tournament, without talking to him about beforehand.
"He actually placed his name into the fire?" Nico asked under his breath.
"Yeah, first thing he did this morning before they closed it off to new entries." Malcolm huffed.
"I guess that means you two are still fighting over this?" Nico asked.
Malcolm huffed. "Over the past week, the only real conversation we've had was that he told me that he had put his name in. And that was like an hour ago!" Malcolm yelled, drawing a few glances their way. "He's been acting ridiculous ever since Lou Ellen put her name in."
"Okay, calm down. The odds of Cedric being picked are-"
"Nico, come on. Of all the people in the world to tell me not worry-"
Nico held up his hand to cut Malcolm off. "Malcolm, just-calm down. Go in there and try to just let things play out. It's out of your hands right now."
Malcolm huffed and shook his head, "You know I don't like it when I'm not the one in control."
Nico rolled his eyes, "Typical child of Athena." He muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Malcolm asked raising his eyebrows.
Nico ignored him and lead the two inside the darkened Great Hall. The only source of light coming from the brilliant blue flame in the center of the room and a few lit braziers in the back near the entrance way.
The hall was quickly filling up, with both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students sitting in their own little packs at the front, closest to the flame.
Professor Dumbledore paced in front of the goblet, eagerly awaiting the rest of the Hogwarts students to take their seats.
Nico immediately walked over to where Will was sitting with Lou Ellen at the furthest table with a bunch of Fourth Years, mainly Gryffindors. Malcolm spotted Harry Potter and his friends among the group.
Malcolm looked around the room for Cedric and saw him sitting with Ernie and Zacharias… as per usual. He quickly walked over to Cedric, hoping to be able to at least get a word in with the older demigod.
Ernie spotted Malcolm first and immediately scooted over that way he could sit down next to Cedric.
Cedric looked up at Malcolm when he sat down.
"Hey." Malcolm quietly said, trying to judge whether or not Cedric was still actively ignoring him.
Cedric nodded his head, "Hey."
Malcolm nervously tapped his fingers on their bench, "Look I'm-"
"Me too." Cedric interrupted.
"I should have told you that I was going to put my name in, it wasn't… cool of me to do that with out talking to you about it."
"And I should have been more of a boyfriend about it, and less of an overprotective parent. I-I just want you to know that, if you are chosen, I will be there for you. For better or for worse." Malcolm said. Honestly, he felt the opposite in some ways, if it were up to him, Cedric would be back at camp, safe in the Aphrodite Cabin, as far away from the probable rise of Voldemort. But because he cannot be an overbearing boyfriend, he and Cedric will have to settle for him to sit on the sidelines, with his bow ready to shoot anyone who comes close to Cedric.
"What is that smirk? I know you're planning something." Cedric asked dragging Malcolm out of his thoughts.
"What smirk?" Malcolm asked, attempting to get Cedric to drop the question.
"Malcolm… Don't play dumb, it's not a good colour on you." Cedric said seriously placing his hand on Malcolm's arm.
"Honest to-"
"Malcolm."
Malcolm rolled his eyes, "I was just plotting out how I was going to save your ass every time someone, or thing came at you during the Tournament… assuming you're chosen."
Cedric shook his head. "You're impossible."
Malcolm shrugged his shoulders.
Malcolm could hear the ringing of the bell in the background above the noise in the hall. Dumbledore quickly got the students to sit down as he took center stage in front of the flaming goblet.
"Now the moment you all have been waiting for… the Champion Selection!" Dumbledore announced as he dimmed the flaming braziers behind the tables.
Dumbledore slowly approached the goblet, holding his hand out to summon the first name.
The fire turned from the bright cyan blue to a light red as a piece of parchment was launched from the fire. Dumbledore quickly snatched it out of the air and unfolded the slip of parchment.
"The Durmstrang Champion is-" Dumbledore looked up to where the Durmstrang boys were seated, "-Viktor Krum!"
The hall erupted into applause, while everyone sitting around Viktor cheered loudly for their housemate.
Viktor approached Dumbledore and shook his hand before being led away from the hall.
After Viktor had left the hall, the goblet reignited into a brilliant red flame and another piece of parchment flew from the large cup and into Dumbledore's awaiting hand.
"The Champion from Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"
The hall clapped politely for the girl as she eagerly approached Dumbledore. He shook her hand just like he had done with Viktor and had her shown from the hall, undoubtedly heading to the same place where Viktor had gone.
Dumbledore barely had time to turn around before the next slip of parchment flew into his hands. The entire hall collectively held their breath, knowing that this was going to be the champion representing Hogwarts.
"The Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!"
The entire hall burst into cheers, but Malcolm could not register it. He did not want to accept it, but he turned over to Cedric when he felt his boyfriend give his hand a squeeze before eagerly standing up and walking up to Dumbledore.
The entire Hufflepuff house stood up to cheer on their housemate. After allowing the shock to go through his system Malcolm also stood to give his boyfriend the encouragement that he deserved.
Malcolm wanted to run after Cedric as he quickly made his way from the hall clapping some of the other kids on the back or giving them hugs as he passed.
Just before he left the hall, he turned back and looked directly at Malcolm and gave him a nod before leaving.
Malcolm sat back down and sighed.
Ernie noticed Malcolm's stupor and sat back down next to him.
"He's going to be fine you know. Even for a Sixth Year, he could give any Seventh Year a run for their money in a dueling match." Ernie said trying to cheer Malcolm.
Malcolm looked over to Ernie before giving him a nod, "I know, it's still-"
"Hard? Trust me, I get it. He's like a big brother to me, I don't want to see him get hurt any more than you probably do. But I'm still going to be there for him, because that's what we do. We look out for one another." Ernie said patting Malcolm on the back.
Ernie turned back to Dumbledore once Malcolm did not respond.
"Hey, Ernie." Malcolm said gaining the younger Hufflepuff's attention. "Thanks."
Ernie nodded his head.
"…Only one can down into history! Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory-The Triwizard Cup!" Dumbledore shouted and pointed to the glowing crystal trophy sitting on a pedestal next to Professors Snape and McGonagall.
Malcolm looked over to the fire and noticed how it started to become unstable and red flames started to erupt violently from the large goblet.
A column of fire shot from the cup and a piece of parchment landed in Dumbledore's hand.
"Harry Potter." Dumbldedore muttered, barley loud enough for anyone in the quiet hall to hear him.
"Harry Potter." Dumbledore said louder. Looking eagerly for the Fourth Year.
Malcolm looked over to where Harry was sitting by Nico, Will, and Lou Ellen. The boy was trying to sink into his seat, away from prying eyes.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore angerly shouted. Malcolm watched as Hermione Granger pushed Harry out of his seat.
Harry slowly made his way to Dumbledore, the look of confusion, shock, and some fear littered his movements as he walked from the hall.
Other Hogwarts students started to berate him with insults as he did his 'walk of shame' from the hall.
As soon as Harry exited the hall the students got to their feet and started to yell and scream in outrage. The Gryffindors looked like they were trying to stand up for their housemate, but they were drowned out by the other three houses, along with the students form Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
Malcolm made his way over to where Nico, Lou Ellen, and Will were sitting. Lou Ellen looked angry or frustrated, it was honestly hard to tell the difference with her.
"I'm going to go figure out what the Hades is going on. You guys try to sneak away and meet me at our usual meeting spot over by the Charms classroom. I'll see if I can drag Cedric with me. Something's not right!" Lou Ellen shouted over the yelling teens.
"No really, what gave you that impression?" Will sarcastically asked motioning to the chaos around them.
Lou Ellen quickly turned around and violently pointed her finger at him. "Don't sass me right now sunshine. I am not in the mood." She accused before walking down the aisle towards the door Dumbledore and majority of the staff had exited seconds earlier.
Malcolm looked sympathetically to Professors Sprout, Flitwick, and Hagrid as they attempted to calm the chaos.
"Come on, lets get out of here while everyone's distracted." Nico ordered walking towards the main entrance to the hall. Will quickly followed after his boyfriend, and Malcolm gave one last glance to the door where Lou Ellen had just walked through to track Dumbledore and Cedric down.
Cedric Diggory stood next to Fleur as the three newly crowned champions stared at each other, not sure what to say.
They all turned their heads when they heard a set of footsteps walk down the staircase.
Cedric's eyes widened slightly at the sight of Harry Potter nervously making his way to the group.
"Potter, what's going on?" Cedric asked.
"Do they want us to come back?" Fleur asked stepping in front of Cedric.
"I-I-" Harry stammered, and that's when Cedric noticed the slip of parchment in Harry's hand.
"Harry-" Cedric started but was interrupted when the rushed footsteps of Dumbledore practically sprinted down the steps.
"Harry!" He shouted and grabbed onto the boy and pushed him against the wall.
Cedric felt like he should intervene, but Dumbledore looked angry enough to smite him if he moved a step.
"Did you put your name in the Goblet?" He asked calmly and let go of the boy.
"Na-no."
"Did you ask an older student to put your name in?" Dumbledore asked again.
"No, professor, I have no idea-"
"Preposterous!" Karkaroff yelled.
"He is obviously lying!" Madame Maxime loudly declared, bumping her head on the low hanging chandelier, but kept advancing as if nothing had happened.
Harry looked legitimately scared and confused. Cedric assumed that Harry's name had been released from the Goblet of Fire, and that's why all the professor looked like they wanted to strangle one another. And Cedric doubted that Harry had the magical abilities to trick Professor Dumbledore's aging spells he had casted around the Goblet of Fire.
Lou Ellen had even said that she couldn't break through it when she attempted to test the magic's strength a few weeks back.
The professor's kept arguing before Dumbledore cut them off.
Barty Crouch had also joined the group, declaring that Harry had to participate, even though he didn't want too.
"We can figure this out without having the children around. You four, off to bed, we'll talk tomorrow about trying to figure this out." Dumbledore ordered gesturing for the students to leave the room.
Fleur and Viktor headed off into opposite directions through the doors leading to the main hallway while Harry quickly walked past Dumbledore and up the stairs back to the Great Hall. Cedric quickly followed after the Fourth Year.
"I swear I didn't put my name in." Harry murmured as they walked up the stairs.
"Harry, I believe you." Cedric reassured the Fourth Year, but Harry didn't looked convinced.
"I-"
The footsteps of Lou Ellen interrupted Harry as she rushed down the steps to meet the two. "What the Hades is going on!" She whispered loudly.
"I was hoping you could tell me." Cedric responded as Harry quickly walked past the two, but not before giving Lou Ellen a strange look.
"What's his problem?" Lou Ellen asked.
Cedric shook his head, and gave Lou Ellen the 'are you serious?' gesture.
"Oh, yeah, I guess I would be a little frazzled after getting my name randomly pulled out of the Goblet of Fire." Lou Ellen muttered as the two made their way to the now empty Great Hall. "I guess Potter was in a rush." Lou Ellen observed as they made their way out of the Great Hall.
"Where are we going?" Cedric asked as he followed the daughter of Hecate.
"To our usual spot…" She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Their usual spot was behind a suit of armor near the Charms classroom. It was at the end of a hall, with enough space to hide the four of them from prying eyes, and in a secluded part of the castle no one ever ventured too when classes were not in session.
They walked in silence, making sure to check the corners at each junction in the hallway, ensuring that they wouldn't get caught by a ghost or by faculty.
They reached the suit of armor and Cedric waited for Lou Ellen to slip behind the pedestal which held the silver knight armor. Cedric checked his surroundings before ducking underneath the armored arm of the knight and knelt, nearly bumping into Lou Ellen because of how close the four had to sit next to each other.
"Well?" Will asked eagerly.
Cedric looked over to Malcolm who gave him an encouraging nod. "Well, looks like this is where the fun begins."
A/N: Please Review/fav/follow.
May the Force Be With You and "No Matter Who You Vote For, Make Sure You Vote."-Will Bailey