𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞 | 𝐇.𝐏.

𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟒 - 𝟑

"Sit down! Sit down, please," Dumbledore was yelling out to the whole of the Great Hall. "Now is the moment you've all been waiting for. The champion selection."

I looked to Potter excitedly. "I hope it's Angelina," I whispered.

"Me too. Or at least a Gryffindor," he responded.

Dumbledore outstretched his hand, sweeping it through the air. The scones hanging from the wall dimmed, until their flames were nearly extinct. He stepped slowly up to the goblet. The fire inside turned bright red, and a slightly burnt piece of parchment flew out. Dumbledore caught it between his fingers.

"The Durmstrang Champion," he began, "is Viktor Krum!"

The Durmstrang students cheered and clapped him on the back as he took his slip from Dumbledore and walked past the teacher's table into a closed-off room.

A moment later, the goblet glowed red again. Another smokey name appeared.

"The champion of Beauxbatons... is Fleur Delacour!"

Most of the girls applauded politely, but some burst out into tears and buried their dainty white faces in their hands, wailing in despair. Fleur came forward, shook hands with Dumbledore, and walked through the same door Krum had.

The goblet turned red one last time, and a name came out one last time. I held my breath.

"The Hogwarts champion... Cedric Diggory!" 

All the Hufflepuffs stood, cheering the loudest and looking extremely proud. Glory rarely came to the Hufflepuff house, and when it did it was cherished greatly. I clapped along with everyone else, only slightly disappointed. 

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said, throwing out his arms. "We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory. The Triwizard Cup!" 

And he pointed to a cloth-concealed shape that Mr. Crouch had brought out. The cover was ripped away, revealing a gleaming trophy made of crystal and glass, glinting in the faint light. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Suddenly, Snape took a step forward. I looked to the goblet again. The flame was twisting in all directions, much like it had when it had given Fred and George their beards. The fire turned red, brighter than ever. Everyone gasped.

Dumbledore read the fourth piece of parchment that had fallen swiftly into his hand.

"Harry Potter," he muttered.

I looked to Potter in astonishment and grabbed his arm. 

"No..." I mummered.

"Harry Potter?" Dumbledore said again, louder, looking around the hall for him. When Potter didn't move, Dumbledore yelled his name again.

"For goodness sake, Harry," Hermione whispered, shaking him up out of his seat and pushing him forwards. He came up slowly, taking his name from Dumbledore's furious figure. He cautiously walked past all the professors, McGonagall patting his shoulder reassuringly.

"He's a cheat!" A boy shouted.

"He's not even seventeen yet," another added angrily.

Once he had disappeared through the door with the rest of the champions, Dumbledore quickly went up to Snape. After whispering with him for a moment they passed through the door, most of the teacher body following after them. 

The entire hall broke into confused and outraged conversation. Weasley looked hurt, hiding it with anger. Hermione looked just as shocked as I felt, and Fred and George looked simply jealous. The Hufflepuffs were protesting on about how the Gryffindors always took their spotlight, and there was arguing all around. It was pandemonium.