I went to Demelza right away, I needed to tell her everything that had happened, and crucially, before Amy got to her. Thankfully she wasn't difficult to find, she was in the common room when I got there.
I sat down heavily next to her and said:
"Am I glad to see you"
"What's wrong, where's Amy?"
"Amy, ah, now see, this is gonna be difficult..."
I told her what happened, from beginning to end.
"So, let me get this straight, you found nothing abnormal with Matilda, you explored the Durmstrang ship without permission, you saw stuff that Karkaroff had which looked dodgy, he gave a reason, you believed him, Amy didn't, you argued, now you're talking to me" Demelza said
"Yeah that pretty much sums it up"
"So, what, are you not friends with her anymore, like what's going on?" she asked
I bit my lip and sighed
"I dunno mate, I'm gonna avoid her for a while, that's for sure"
"I must say, I definitely think it wasn't right for you to go on that ship without permission, in fact, I'm sorta growing tired of rule breaking in general. To be honest" she reached inside her pocket "you can have these back, I'm not gonna use them"
It was a few of the twins toffees.
"Really?" I said "Come on, first I've fallen out with Amy cause she's too sceptical, now you're being a goody two shoes? What's next, am I gonna break up with Harry?!"
"Look, stop being so dramatic. I agree with you when it comes to Karkaroff. He gave a perfectly rational explanation, especially when it comes to Moody looking the ship over. My suspicions of him are done. I think Amy's being far too reckless here"
"Can you sit with her at dinner and try and talk some sense into her please? We've had such a strong bond, the three of us over the last couple years, I would hate for that to have to end. You've always had such a cool head, hopefully you can make her come round"
"Of course I will, and honestly, if I can't, she'll come round on her own when she finds she can't prove anything she thinks about Igor"
"So, tonight the champions are being chosen, I can't wait to see who they are! Oh, and I forgot to say, when we tried to put our names in the Goblet earlier, it blasted us away and gave us beards! Had to go to the hospital wing to get them removed!"
"Ah ha ha, I told you so!" Demelza celebrated
"Yeah yeah, well done you" I sulked
"Hermione will be so glad when she finds out too! Did Harry enter in the end?"
"No, he said he gets into enough danger as it is, he wants to enjoy a year without any"
"Can't really blame him can you?"
"No, speaking of Harry though, he gave me plenty of fun last night!"
"Did he now!"
"Yep!"
I explained the details of our experimenting to her
"Oh great, well, glad you've had the experience mate"
"Yep, it really was about time!"
When we 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.
I sat down with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and Demelza joined Amy and immediately engaged her in conversation. I could only hope that Amy wouldn't be able to get too many bad words about me in.
"Hope it's Angelina," said Fred
"So do I!" said Hermione breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"
The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was our second feast in two days, we didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as we would have normally. 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, we simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions.
I scribbled a note and handed it to Demelza, saying "Did she change her mind?" but Demelza shook her head.
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 was beaming and winking at various students, Amy in particular, though she didn't respond in kind. Fred and George were giving him menacing glares. 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, myself included.
"Any second," Lee Jordan whispered.
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.
"It was never gonna be anyone else!" I added
We saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch 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. For a moment his eyes locked on mine. "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, we thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.
"They should grow up, they weren't chosen, big deal!" said Amy, "at least they didn't have to get beards removed!"
"Show some compassion!" snapped Demelza, "and don't complain about that, you were warned and chose to ignore it!"
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.
"Angelina, Angelina, please be Angelina!" I thought desperately, chewing my lip and crossing my fingers hard under the table.
"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"No!" said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry and I; 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."
