Hey, all! So sorry this has taken so long. Life has been hectic as all get out as of late. This is kind of a much needed filler chapter with info, but next chapter will be a lot more fun. I hope you enjoy!!!
The Great Hall was alive and buzzing with chatter the few minutes before the champion ceremony. I was sitting in my seat at the staff table at the front of the Great Hall, my chin in one of my hands, a scowl on my face. We had just gotten out of a staff meeting going over the three tasks, and I was not happy. I was disgusted, to say the least. These were not safe for any child to undergo. Yes, they had willingly signed up for this, but it could possibly impair them for life or have them killed. They were children.
Al and I had to grow up much quicker than most, and I knew I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. The horrors we had seen...it made my skin crawl just thinking about it. It made me sick to the stomach. But I had no say in the matter. I wasn't a wizard, and I was only here on behalf of the Truth. In nine months, I would be back home with my family, and this world would no longer be my issue. I just needed to protect the Potter kid. Lucky for me, he wasn't even of age to enter. But yet, something wasn't sitting right in the back of my mind. It was probably just the barbaric scenes the teachers had painted in my head.
"Ya alright there, Ed?" a gruff but cheerful voice said to my right. I looked up to see Hagrid looking at me, a thoughtful look on his large face. I grunted and rolled my eyes before staring back out at the students milling around the Great Hall, laughing and talking. If only they knew. Hagrid knew how I felt about the tournament. In fact, all of the teachers did after my outburst today.
"You're practically sending them to the slaughter!" I raged as I stood, the chair I was sitting in skidding back. "They're barely of age and you're just going to send them into something that could possibly kill them?" I asked.
"If you think my students are incapable, come out and say it, Professor Elric, Karkaroff sneered, his fists clenching on the table. "I'll show you just how capable they are," he all but growled. I set my jaw, knowing this guy would kick my ass in a fight. We were in his domain right now. But that didn't make me any less angry.
"I'm sure that's not what Edward was saying at all," Dumbledore said from his seat at the head of the conference table, looking as relaxed as ever. The old headmaster looked at me expectantly.
"I'm not saying these children are incapable," I spat. "What I'm saying is that they are children!"
"You're nothing but a child yourself!" Karkaroff shouted, now standing from his chair as well.
"You don't know the hell I've seen!" This had the room silent. Poppy and Minerva were both pale, probably both thinking about my leg. They didn't know half of it. After a moment of tense silence, Dumbledore spoke, breaking the tension.
"I understand how you must feel, Edward, but this is a completely common activity among magical schools; you know that," he reminded me, his tone telling me to play the part I was assigned. They didn't know I wasn't a wizard. Albus was the only one that knew the truth. I took a deep breath, knowing I was backed into a corner. I retook my seat, slumping into the chair.
"Doesn't mean I'm happy about it," I grumbled. There was a moment of silence. Karkaroff was glaring at me but stayed silent. A small smile painted itself on Dumbledore's lips before he spoke, pushing the meeting right along as if nothing had happened.
"Well, let's continue shall we?"
"Edward?" a voice said, breaking me from my thoughts. I looked up with a start to see Hagrid was looking down at me, a frown on his lips. I almost couldn't see his expression behind his beard.
"I'm fine," I snapped and immediately winced. He didn't have any more say in this than I did. "I'm sorry," I said sincerely. I was met with a heavy hand on my back.
"I's alrigh', lad," he said through a sigh. He looked like he was going to say something more when Dumbledore called the hall to quiet, cutting the large man off.
"Students!" Dumbledore called after a few moments after the chattering of the student had finally diminished to silence. "Now is the moment that I know every single one of you has been waiting for," he said as he paced back forth across the front of the hall, just in front of the staff table. "All of you know the dangers of the tournament, and if your name comes out of that Goblet, you are sealed to the tournament," he said, his voice grim. The hall was thick with tension.
"Now," the headmaster said, his tone much more joyful than it was just a few moments before. "Let us announce the champions of the Tri-Wizard Tournament!" he called. He waved his wand, and the Goblet of Fire appeared in the front of the hall, right by the old headmaster. "If your name is called, please join the staff at the front of the room," Dumbledore instructed before turning to the flaming goblet.
The room held its breath as the blue flames of the goblet roared before spitting out a piece of blue parchment. "The champion from Beauxbatons Acadamy is Fleur Delacour!" the headmaster shouted, and the room burst into cheers. A pale, blonde girl rose from one of the tables and after hugging a few of her fellow classmates, made her way to the front of the hall.
I clapped politely, but I couldn't help the sinking feeling in my stomach. It had been there all evening, ever since the staff meetings, but it only intensified when Dumbledore made the goblet appear. Something bad was going to happen. My gut never lied.
"And our champion from Dumstrang!" Albus called as he looked down at another piece of parchment in his hands. "Viktor Krum!" the old wizard shouted. Everyone cheered once more, and the same happened when Cedric Digory was called as the Hogwarts champion.
Once the noise had quieted, Dumbledore began to speak once more but was cut off when the Goblet of Fire began to spit red fire. Students began to mutter and whisper. I looked up and down the table to find everyone else was confused. This wasn't planned. The now red fire finally spit out a fourth and final piece of parchment. The hall was deadly silent as the headmaster looked at the paper in his hands.
The man looked up sharply before barking, "Harry Potter?" Go figure. This day was just getting worse and worse. Rage immediately filled my stomach. How the hell did he get his name in the damn goblet? The Weasleys had been so sure about their age potion, but Dumbledore's magic was not to be messed with. There was no way anyone could get through it. What the hell was that boy thinking? I seethed silently.
"Harry Potter!" Albus bellowed. I watched from the staff table as Harry slowly stood from the table before making his way upfront. I stood from my chair and made my way around the table to grab Potter by the back of his robes.
"You're going to get my foot so far up your ass!" I snarled as I drug him out to the hall just off the front of the Great Hall. I vaguely heard Albus shouting for the room to quiet down as I threw the boy down at my feet. He looked up at me with wide eyes. "What the hell were you thinking!" I shouted, grabbing the front of his shirt and shaking him. "How the hell did you do it?"
"Professor Elric!" a voice shouted, and suddenly I was being pulled back away from the boy.
"Get ahold of yourself, Elric," I heard Severus hiss from behind me.
"Get your greasy hands off me," I snapped. The man let me go, sneering down at me. I brushed myself off, straightening my clothes.
"Harry," Albus said gently. The boy nodded. "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" he asked, his voice soft.
"N-no, sir," Harry stuttered. There was a moment of silence before Albus nodded.
"Harry, as much as I would like to get you out of this, I can not. The Goblet of Fire has chosen you, and there is nothing I can do for you. You will have to undergo all three trials of the Tri-Wizard Tournament," he explained. Harry nodded shakily. "As I said, there is not much I can do for you right now, so I want you to go back to your room and rest. We will be doing a complete investigation of this, Harry. We will get to the bottom of this," the man promised. Harry nodded once more.
"Now, please, try and get some sleep, Harry. I will have Professor McGongonagall escort you." Albus looked at the transfiguration professor who nodded and immediately escorted the young boy out of the door.
There was a moment of silence as he all just stared at each other, none of us sure what to say. Luckily, Dumbledore was the one who broke the tension. "Well, I suppose we do need to have another staff meeting now," the man said cheekily.
LINE BREAK
I pitched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger as I waited for the class in front of me to settle down. Ever since the champions had been spouted from the Goblet of Fire, every class had been everywhere else but the lesson. This class was no exception. Really, this was the worst class I've seen so far.
Of course, it was the Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth years. It was always them. They were constantly at each others' throats, and they never stopping jabbing at each other, whether that be physical or verbal. And it always seemed to be Hermione, Ron, and Harry against Draco and a few of his friends. It wasn't hard to see that there was history between them. While I was curious, I didn't want to get in the middle of it.
Nine more months. Just nine more months. Keep Harry safe for nine more months and then you can go home.
Grinning wickedly, knowing just about no one was paying attention save Mr. Longbottom who looked to be overwhelmed, I clapped my hands together before focusing on the air around me. It produced a loud crack, loud enough to scare a few students and gain the attention of everyone in the room. I had to ignore the look of awe I was receiving from Neville.
"Now that you've finally shut your traps," I growled. "We need to start the lesson for today." Immediately, the room went back to chattering. They clearly weren't interested. Again, I made the cracking noise with the air from the room, much louder this time. This had everyone quiet again. "Fine, if you won't be quiet enough to get through this class period, you can all get the hell out of my classroom!" I shouted, pointing toward the door. This had them all completely silent, their eyes wide with fear.
"Good," I said, heaving myself up to sit on the edge of my desk. "Now that I have your attention, today is the last day to turn in the answer to the riddle. So, for those of you who have already figured it out, I want you to stay seated. As for the rest of you, I want you to go out in the hallway and form a line. If you pass, you can stay. There will be an oath to sign, stating you will not teach anyone alchemy outside this classroom, and you will not attempt transmutation on your own. If I find you in violation of these rules, I'll too it myself that you're expelled. . If you fil, get your stuff and get out," I instructed. The class was silent for a moment, just staring at me. "What are you all waiting for? I don't have all day!"
With that, my students were up and scrambling out into the hallway, all except for Neville, another Gryffindor student, and one student from Slytherin who had already answered the riddle correctly. Neville had actually been the second student to get the riddle correct, right after Luna. I learned that he actually had some knowledge of chemistry. He had been so unsure at first, but his answer had been right on. He and Luna were probably going to be the only ones who were going to be able to transmute. And honestly, I wouldn't be too upset with those numbers.
"First up!" I called to the students waiting in the hallway as I moved around my desk to sit in my chair, my pen and parchment at the ready. By the end of the period, the class had dwindled to half of the original number. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Parvati, had made it from Gryffindor. From Slytherin, only Draco, Pansy, and Zabini were left. I honestly wasn't too disappointed. I preferred the small class anyway.
"Now that there's only a few of us, I want you lot to move up into a half circle so you can see the demonstrations." After a little hesitation, the remaining nine students moved up to form a half-circle closer to my desk but still leaving some floor room for demonstrations. They all signed the oath, though Draco looked like he thought it was a joke. After a little threatening to kick him out, the boy signed. He would definitely be one to watch.
"Alright," I said with a grin. "Now we can get to some real alchemy."