"The task is to fight a Hungarian Horntail"
I just want to thank each one of you personally for voting, commenting, and all your support. It means more than you know.
~Elena
When Meredith Burke first heard her name resonating around the Great Hall, it was solely just a name. Just a ninth champion to be added to the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It wasn't until she was face to face with eight other teens who all seemed ready to go above and beyond to win this deadly tournament that she knew exactly what her father had gotten her into.
And at first, Meredith Burke couldn't help but refuse the idea that herself, someone who hadn't even entered, was a champion. But as the giddy Durmstrang blonde ambled into the room behind the staff table after shaking hands with Dumbledore, she started to realize that the truth was she was going to be competing, whether she liked it or not. A small fragment of her mind that was not bombarded with hysteria proceeded to calm the rest of her thoughts. Meredith lightly pressed three fingers to her cheek and took a deep breath after feeling the heat. She shook her hands anxiously by her sides, almost as if she was attempting to shake the heat out of them. She closed her eyes to feel some relief and it succeeded briefly before she opened her eyes again to walk through the door.
It was in that moment, when her hand was about to touch the wooden handle, that she knew nothing would ever be the same for any of the champions-including herself. A tiny lump formed in her throat as she stepped inside the dimly-lighted room, and Burke glanced around her shoulder to see Cola Riddle following closely behind. The brunette sent her a small smile that gave Meredith some more reassurance.
Even though the small room was interesting enough with portraits of witches and wizards lined on every inch of the wall, her attention was kept by the figures of the other champions-her competition. They all huddled into a group in front of the warm fire, talking quietly within themselves. Just from behind she was able to pick out them all out, they each had a distinguishable way of standing and their silhouettes dancing in the flames gave them away. Makayla whipped her head around to see the last of the champions, a look of bewilderment crossing her face as she saw her best friend walking towards her.
Meredith pulled her lips together into a straight line and looked at Makayla blankly while taking the position next to her. The Durmstrang girl new she couldn't let her classmate know what had happened; Makayla cared too much to let her go through the competition when she didn't want to. Meredith decided it would be best if no one knew, instead she tried to mask a face of excitement as she gazed at the other contestants.
"Congratulations, Mer." She said then smiled in a jokingly matter, "But I can't believe you didn't tell me." Meredith's pretense must've worked because her best friend was completely fooled.
"Thanks, and I wanted it to be a surprise, I guess." Meredith drawled, trying to plaster a grin on her face. She let her eyes wander to the other contestants and caught the eye of Gwen Black, a Hogwarts student. For a brief second worry escaped Meredith's eyes and she knew Gwen had seen it so she quickly shot her a half-smile, trying to convince both Gwen and herself that everything was fine.
Suddenly, the door from behind the champions swung open revealing the three headmasters, Barty Crouch Sr., Ludo Bagman, and her father. Her father was great friends with both Crouch and Karkaroff. He also was one of the main planners of the tournament, but after what she had just witnessed, she really wished he hadn't played any part in the tournament or the choosing of the champions.
He walked to the head of the circle with the other adults, his eyes on her, but she did everything she could to not look at him. Her own father had gone behind her back and entered her, completely ignoring her wishes and doing it for the rewards. She couldn't let herself forgive him so easily.
