𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦

𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘎𝘖𝘉𝘓𝘌𝘛 𝘖𝘍 𝘍𝘐𝘙𝘌

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"Calm down, Ron, will you?" said Alina, playfully rolling her eyes at the excited boy.

"I thought you'd get it, Alina!" complained Ron. "It's Krum! The legend, Viktor Krum!"

"He's just a Quidditch player, Ron," Hermione commented.

"Just a Quidditch player?" Ron asked. "He's one of the best Seekers in the world! I didn't even know he was still in school!"

All around them, students were freaking out over Krum being at Hogwarts, girls and boys alike. While the boys were mostly talking about his amazing Quidditch skills, the girls were debating on how to make him give them an autograph in lipstick. It was amusing, at least to Alina.

They walked back to the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. The guests were invited to take a seat anywhere with the Hogwarts students. The delegation from Beauxbatons, who looked absolutely frozen, was welcomed at the Ravenclaw table. All the girls wrapped their scarves around their heads, trying to warm up.

Alina's careful eyes followed the students from Durmstrang as they chose seats at the Slytherin table, boosting up Draco Malfoy's ego. As soon as they sat down, he extended his hand to Krum and the two exchanged a firm handshake. Almost as if he felt he was being watched, Draco's eyes shifted to the Gryffindor table, briefly meeting Alina's.

For a second, Draco looked slightly uncomfortable and he looked away almost instantly, his attitude going back to normal as soon as he resumed his conversation with the Quidditch star player.

Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat and greeted the students and the guests one more time, then announced the beginning of the feast, mentioning that the opening of the Tournament will occur right after that.

The menu for tonight was different. They had French specialties, such as bouillabaisse, and many other dishes that were probably supposed to make the guests feel more like home.

When one of the Beauxbatons girls came to their table, asking for Ron's bouillabaisse, Alina couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle escape from her lips. It only got louder when he defended himself by claiming that she must be a veela, but Hermione quickly put him back in his place.

"Look who just arrived," said Hermione, pointing at the teacher's table.

The two remaining seats were now occupied by Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch, who were sitting right next to Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxine.

"What are they doing here?" asked Harry.

"They organized the tournament," explained Alina. "They must have been invited to the opening night."

The last guests arrived just in time for the second course of the feast and the desserts. Dumbledore really outdid himself with all the preparations for this tournament. If the Hogwarts feasts were usually rich, this one looked even more spectacular. It was all to impress the guests and it was surely working. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves, students and professors alike.

After everybody had enough to eat and drink, Professor Dumbledore stood up and began his speech by introducing Mr. Crouch and Ludo Bagman. While the latter was welcome with a joyful round of applause, Mr. Crouch didn't get the same treatment. But didn't look as likeable as Ludo Bagman either, he wasn't even smiling or waving. He was either tired from working on organizing this tournament for months, or maybe he simply didn't want to be here tonight. It was hard to tell which one was it.

Everybody was waiting for Dumbledore to announce the name of the impartial judge. So when he asked Mr. Filch to bring a casket, confusion was spread all over the Great Hall. Students started whispering to each other, more eager to find out about the judge than whatever casket Dumbledore wanted to present to them. Little did they know that the impartial judge they've been told about was nothing like they have expected. Nobody saw this coming.

Professor Dumbledore unveiled the casket Mr. Filch was so kind to bring, announcing that this was the impartial selector they were all looking forward to meet: the Goblet of Fire.

The headmaster used his wand to tap the casket three times, causing its lid to slowly open. From the inside, Dumbledore took out a large, wooden cup that could easily pass as something ordinary, if it weren't for the dancing blue and white flames that engulfed it.

He closed the casket, then placed the goblet on top of it, so that it would be easy for everyone in the Hall to see it. Then, he explained how the selection of the champions was going to work.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, on Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete."

But before Fred and George could get excited, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Also," he began, "to ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line. Please note that once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. There can be no change of heart once you become a champion. Now, I think it's time for bed. Good night to you all."

"An Age Line!" Fred Weasley exclaimed. "That should be easily fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name is in the goblet, well, it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"Let's go, Hermione. I'm sure you don't want to hear the twins' wicked plan that's destined to fail anyway," Alina said, motioning for the other girl to follow her outside.

Not listening to the snide remarks the Weasley brothers made, the girls walked out of the Great Hall and they were headed towards the Gryffindor Tower when somebody called out to Alina.

"Alina, wait!"

Before the girl could turn around, Cedric Diggory had already reached her. He flashed her a wide, wolfish grin, and greeted Hermione too before he went straight to the subject.

"Come with me to the entrance hall," he said. "I want you to be there when I put my name in the Goblet of Fire."

"What?" Alina's eyes widened. "Excuse me, Hermione, but I think I won't be coming to bed right now."

She grabbed Cedric by one of his wrists and pulled him to the side.

"Have you lost your mind, Cedric?" she asked. "You're signing up for this?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Cedric frowned. "I'm seventeen and let's be honest, I'd make a great champion."

"Yes, Cedric, you would look spectacular on the front page of every newspaper in the wizarding world, but can't you get there for some other reason?" Alina pleaded.

"What's wrong with the Triwizard Tournament? Come on, it's a once-in-a-lifetime type of chance and I am confident I can bring the Cup home. And the eternal glory, of course."

Alina sighed.

"I don't know, I just... I have an odd feeling about this. They cancelled this tournament for a reason and now it came back, out of nowhere?"

The boy tilted his head and let out an amused chuckle right before placing an arm around her neck, pulling her closer to him.

"You're worried about me, aren't you?" he teased her, slightly bending his knees so that he could reach her level. Now, they were looking eye to eye. "There's no need to get all worked up, okay? It's going to be fine. It wouldn't have been approved by the Ministry of Magic if it wasn't completely safe."

His words were meant to reassure her, but it didn't change much about the way she was feeling.

"Come on, this is a night to remember," Cedric said, reaching for her hand, then he lead her through the hallway and to the entrance hall.

When they reached their destination, he gave her hand a light squeeze. A fair warning for her to keep up with him, so that they wouldn't get separated in the crowd again.

Alina thought everybody was staring at them. At her. At their hands. As they made their way through the people, they were all stepping out of their way, already congratulating Cedric for his act of bravery. But the attention she got was a little too much for her, she could already hear the people whisper about them. It was needless to say that Cedric was popular with the female students of Hogwarts, he was one of the most handsome faces around here, so it was only natural for them to start asking questions after they saw him parading with her to the Goblet of Fire. And the part that bothered her the most?

If somebody were to ask what her deal with Cedric Diggory was, Alina didn't have an answer.

That was because she wasn't sure why Cedric was being so attentive either. They have always been close, given his friendship with Friedrich, her brother, but this? This felt... different.

After scribbling down his name and his school on a piece of paper, Cedric let go of Alina's hand. He then stepped forward and successfully crossed the Age Line, throwing his name into the Goblet of Fire. When the Cup accepted his submission, the entire hall started to clap for him.

"Congratulations, Champion," Alina said when he finally came back to her, trying to sound as supporting as she could.

She understood why Cedric wanted to do this and if it weren't for the ugly history this tournament had, Alina would have been nothing but proud. But even so, she had faith in him. If he said he could do it, then it meant he was speaking the truth. And she would never doubt his words, not even for a second.

"Thanks, Ali," he replied, enjoying the nickname she gave to him a little too much than he probably should have. "Now, I would love to celebrate some more, but we should probably go. It's late and we are supposed to go back to our dorms after signing up for the competition. Come on, I'll walk you there."

People were still clapping for Cedric when he left the entrance hall. He was the proud and joy of the Hufflepuff House, and it was understandable. Every house would be considered lucky to have him as a student. In Alina's eyes, he was good at everything.

The walk to the Gryffindor Tower was too short for both of them and even though they already reached their destination, Cedric didn't let go of her hand.

"I really want to say goodnight to you and go, so that tomorrow would come quicker... " Cedric said.

"But..? " Alina asked, knowing that there was a but there.

"But, at the same time, the hallways are so quiet and most of the students are asleep already. We would have the courtyard to ourselves and it's a clear sky tonight. We could watch the stars."Alina sighed.

"As much as I'd love to do that, I lost enough House Points during Professor Moody's class, I don't want to be hated by all the Gryffindors," she said.

"I get it," Cedric nodded, then wrapped her arms around her. "Then I will see you tomorrow, alright?"

Next morning, the Great Hall looked different. The decorations from yesterday were gone. Today, the Great Hall was Halloween themed: there was a cloud of live bats that fluttered around the ceiling, and carved pumpkins were all over the place. Not to mention that everybody was in a festive mood, and given that the champions for the Triwizard Tournament were selected tonight, people were even more excited.

The day went by oddly fast and so far, the only highlights were Draco Malfoy struggling to put a leash on his Blast-End Skrewt and, obviously, failing, and the meal the four friends shared with Hagrid, and thanks to it, they have learned that the Care for Magical Creatures teacher fancied the woman from Beauxbatons, Madame Maxine. And, truth to be told, they would make a pretty nice extra-large couple.

At last, it was time for the Goblet of Fire to announce the three champions. All of the students gathered in the Great Hall and took their places, waiting for Professor Dumbledore to make the announcement everybody was looking forward to.

Everybody was looking at the Headmaster with curious eyes. Everybody but Mr. Crouch, actually, who looked.. bored.

"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," Dumbledore indicated, as they were all waiting for the Goblet of Fire to make its decision.

He took out his wave and swept it around. At once, all the candles were extinguished, except for the ones that were carefully placed in the carved pumpkins, leaving the Hall dimly lit. What a spooky scenery.

The flames inside the goblet, once white and blue, were now red, and sparks began to fly. Quick enough, a flame flew out of the Goblet and in the thin air, it turned into a piece of paper that ended up in Dumbledore's hand. While he read the note, the goblet went back to normal.

"The champion for Durmstrang..." Dumbledore said in a clear voice. "...is going to be Viktor Krum!"

A round of applause filled the Great Hall. Dumbledore stated the obvious, everybody expected Krum to be Durmstrang's champion, including Professor Karkaroff, who looked extremely proud to hear Viktor's name has been picked by the Goblet. He knew Viktor Krum was worthy.

The boy rose from the Slytherin table and followed Dumbledore's instructions, walking along the staff table and disappearing through the indicated door.

The noise didn't last for long. When the goblet's flames turned red one more time, everybody went silent, their eyes glued to the second spark that left the Cup and flew into Dumbledore's hand, waiting to be read out loud. "The champion for Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour!"

The reaction of the guests was not the expected one. If anything, Alina would say they looked disappointed to hear Fleur's name. How disrespectful, she thought. Fleur didn't look like she was happy with being chosen either, but there was no need for her colleagues to add more salt to the wound like that. The other girls, the ones who weren't selected, started to cry and the hint of disappointment was now looking more like anger. Or envy, maybe.

Fleur, just as Viktor Krum did, followed Dumbledore's instructions and left to the other chamber.And when the flames of the Goblet of Fire turned red once more, Alina held her breath. It was time for the Hogwarts champion to be selected.

"And now, the Hogwarts champion is..." Dumbledore said, reading half of the note out loud.

She had no idea who else put their name in there, but she was hoping that it wouldn't be...

"...Cedric Diggory!"

When she heard his name being called out, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She was quick to turn around to look at the Hufflepuff table and her eyes met Cedric's. For a moment, he stood still. Then, he flashed her one of his charming smiles, followed by a wink.

Although she had a really, really bad feeling about this, Alina still managed to return him a smile, a reassuring one, and mouthed, "Well done, Champion." There was nothing that could be done now, anyway, so she might as well be there to support him.

The Great Hall was screaming with joy, the Hufflepuffs were jumping and hugging each other. Every single person around her seemed to be genuinely happy for Cedric, everyone but her. But the girl was trying her best to tell herself that she was just being paranoid, and that he was going to be alright.

And that maybe, he could beat both Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum and return home with the Triwizard Cup.

Her eyes followed him until he went through the door and left the Great Hall. Then, her eyes remained glued to that door, so she didn't notice the goblet's flames were once again turning bright red. Nobody noticed, until one more piece of paper flew in Dumbledore's way.

There was a long pause after he read the contents of the paper, and a very concerned look took over his face. Then, Dumbledore cleared his throat, and he read out loud, "Harry Potter."

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guess who's back with more updates!! i have some new chapters for you guys, thank you for sticking around 🤍 i can't wait for you to see what's happening next in the plotline

until then, don't forget to vote & comment!

yours truly, vega