I Solemnly Swear (Fred Weasley)

"Eh, whatever. You don't matter anyway!"

I Solemnly Swear 3

 {All characters, places, objects, spells, things, etc. belong to J.K Rowling, apart from those which I have made up. I take no credit for anything J.K Rowling has created.}

Chapter 3:

The day that everyone was always talking about had finally arrived - they day that the two other schools would arrive. Everyone was so excited. Except for me. For everyone else, this was a chance to size up the competition, meet new friends, get a new boyfriend or girlfriend, whatever; but for me, it meant that I would most likely be seeing my ex-bullies, and ex-boyfriend again, because knowing how full of themselves they are, they would have come to try enter the tournament and hook-up with as many Hogwarts students as possible.

The only good thing about today, was that we had a double potions last, so I probably wouldn't have time to blow up another potion and land myself in my sixth detention at Hogwarts. What can I say? The teachers love me so much that they give me detentions just to see me more!

When the school day finally finished, everyone had to stay in their robes and make themselves look as presentable as possible. Then we had to line up according to house and year, and wait for the two other schools to arrive in the most flashy, show-off way possible. At least, that's how it would be for Beauxbatons. They would probably use one of the giant carriages. Maybe the pumpkin one, or the nice black velvet one, or maybe the powder blue one that wen't with our uniforms. Eh, who cares. The purple one was the best anyway.

Everyone was discussing how the schools would be arriving while me and Lyric sneaked through the Gryffindor year lines until we found a spot where we could sit down, amongst a group of seventh-years.

"Do you know how they will get here?" Lyric asked, calmly licking a lollipop.

"Don't know 'bout Durmstrang, but Beauxbatons will probably use one of the twelve giant carriages that they have. They even enchant giant horses to fly and pull them! I hope thy use the purple one but they probably won't because Madame Maxime hates that colour. Even though it is the best." Lyric nodded.

"To you maybe, but I like gold best."

"Nah, purple is way better than gold!"

"No way in llama hell! Gold!"

"Purple!"

"Gold."

"Purple."

"Gold!!"

"Purple!"

"Gold."

"Purple."

"Gold!!"

"Purple!"

"Gold."

"Purple."

"Gold!!"

"Ok, admittedly, gold is a cool colour and it is a Gryffindor colour, but purple is so much better!" I argue.

"Eh, whatever. You don't matter anyway!" Lyric cried childishly.

"What? Why are you always so mean to me? What did I ever do to you? Huh? Tell me!" I fake sobbed and the  broke down into a fit of giggles with Lyric.

Suddenly, after a bit of chatter among the Gryffindors about what Beauxbatons was coming in, a little kid yelled

"It's a flying house!" I sighed.

"Guess they decided to use the carriage then. I wonder which one they used?" I said to Lyric and she grinned slyly at me.

"Wanna go see up front?"

"Okay!" I agreed and we slowly pushed our way up to the front where a the first years stood. They were all whispering excitedly to one another. One little girl looked at us and said to kneel. We did.

Four giant horses that pulled the carriage landed on the ground, with hooves the size of rubbish bin lids. Each horse was the size of a big elephant and was harnessed to a carriage that was, indeed, the size of a house.

"Aw! They used the powder blue one! Ugh, that one is so not as cool as the pumpkin!" I muttered to lyric as the bellboy jumped out of the door of the carriage and pulled out some extendable steps. Then, a giant heeled shoe - the size of a child's sled - landed gently on the top golden step, followed by another.

"Ooh! Who's that?" Lyric bubbled excitedly.

"Madame Maxime. Always knew how to make an entrance." I said dryly, uninterested. Madame Maxime descended the stairs, she was in a delicate satin robe that I remember she was always fond of. She had on opal jewellery and her black hair was drawn back into a shining knot at the base of her neck, her olive skin shining in the last rays of sunlight. She went over and greeted Dumbledore, and then introduced the students who would be putting forward their names in the tournament. There were a dozen boys and girls, all with shawls and scarves wrapped around their heads, and all looking up at Hogwarts with apprehensive expressions.

"Look like all the boys old enough have decided to try enter." I whispered to Lyric.

"What? Is that how many boys their are in the two years that can enter?"

"Yeah, the seventh and old enough sixth year boys, all in front of you. There are a about thirty boys all together at Beauxbatons out of the at least 700 students."

"Wow." Lyric muttered. Our attention was suddenly turned to the lake as someone shouted that they saw a mast. Sure enough, when I looked in the lake, a whirlpool was forming and a long black pole was rising from the middle. Soon enough there was a large black ship anchored in the lake and about thirty students dressed in huge thick cloaks were walking off a long plank onto the shore. A man with sleek silver hair and coats to mach was striding up to Dumbledore and greeting him cheerily.

I searched the Durmstrang students faces as best as I could in the dark light and saw Viktor Krum, who I had met before, and Alex Krum, the famous Quidditch star's younger brother and my ex-boyfriend. I couldn't hear what Karkaroff and Dumbledore were saying but Karkaroff beckoned Krum forward into the warmth and everyone else followed into the great hall.

Me and Lyric found a seat by Harry, Hermione and Ron, the latter who was trying to get Krum to sit by him. Unfortunately for Ron, the Durmstrang boys sat at the Slytherin table while the Beauxbatons students had found a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Ron was still fussing over Krum when the three headmasters came down the middle of the hall to sit at the teachers table. When Madame Maxime entered, all the other students from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet and did not sit down until Madame Maxime was seated. I remember having to do that every time she walked in the room. Dumbledore, who had remained standing, cleared his throat and a silence expanded over the hall.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most importantly - guests," Dumbledore beamed around at a the foreign students.

"I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable." A Beauxbatons student who I couldn't recognise because of the muffler around her head gave a short and unmistakable laugh.

"No one's making you stay!" A bristling Hermione whispered.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore.

"I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" Dumbledore sat down and, as per usual, the plates in front of us filled with food, although there were many foreign dishes that I recognised. There was also a greater variety of food than usual.

"What's that?" Ron asked, pointing at a shellfish stew.

"Bouillabaisse." Me and Hermione said at the same time.

"Bless you." Said Ron stupidly.

"It's French, I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice." Hermione said.

"That it is." I agreed, taking a bowl of some. Lyric took a smaller portion.

"I'll take your word for it." Ron said, helping himself to black pudding.

The hall seemed more crowded than usual, even though there were hardly any additional students. Maybe it was because their uniforms stood out so much against the Hogwarts black robes. Now that the Durmstrang lot had removed their cloaks, they were in robes of a deep red.

Hagrid sidled into the ha through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the feast had started. He slid i to his seat at the end of the table and waved at Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lyric, and me with a heavily bandaged hand. Lyric and myself had been visiting Hagrid a lot in our spare time recently.

"Skrewts doing going all right, Hagrid?" Harry called.

"Thrivin'," Hagrid called back happily.

"Yeah, I'll just bet they are, looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers." Ron muttered darkly.

"And ours!" Me and Lyric added, showing the three our bandaged arms from where the skrewts had bitten us when we visited Hagrid. At that moment, a voice said,

"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" It was the Beauxbatons girl who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had finally removed her muffler, revealing a sheet of straight silvery, blonde hair that fell almost to her waist. She had large deep blue eyes and very white, very even teeth. Fleur Delacour, Beauxbatons most popular, prettiest student, rumour has it that she even has veela blood in her.

Ron went purple, staring up at her, he opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out except a faint gurgling noise.

"Yeah, have it." Harry said, pushing the dish towards her.

"You 'ave finished wiz eet?" Fleur asked.

"Yep!" I smiled, Fleur was actually very nice.

"You went to Beauxbatons, did you not?" Fleur asked me with a quizzical look on her face.

"Yeah, but I moved here this year." I smiled.

"And you like eet 'ere?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's very nice."

"Zat is good zen," Fleur smiled.

"See you around." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and carefully carried the dish back over to the Ravenclaw table. Ron was still goggling at her like he had never seen a girl before. Hary started to laugh, which set the rest of us off and seemed to snap Ron out of his daze.

"She's a veela!" He said hoarsely to Harry.

"Of course she isn't! I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!" Hermione snapped irritably. I looked at her and smirked over at her. It was so obvious that she liked Ron. I guess that's who Ginny meant by 'secret crush'. Hermione caught my smirk and scowled in a friendly way.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl! They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!" Said Ron.

"Excuse me?!" Me and Lyric burst out.

"Thy make them ok at Hogwarts." Harry said absent-mindedly.

"Thank you, Harry." We said, but looked over and saw he was staring at the Ravenclaw table. A few seats down from Fleur sat a girl with long black hair. She was very pretty. I smirked at Harry who blushed and glared.

"Anyway, there were a few rumours that Fleur is part-veela." I told Ron.

"Is that her name, Fleur? Wait - YOU KNOW HER?" Ron exclaimed.

"Yes, did you not catch our exchange? Or were you too far off in la-la-land?" I muttered sarcastically.

"Can you introduce me?" He asked eagerly. Harry and Lyric rolled their eyes and I refrained from doing so because I am a nice person. I glanced at Hermione.

"No, I can't." I said firmly and Hermione shot me a grateful smile.

"Why not?" Ron whined.

"Jesus Ron! You sound like a child! I can't because that would be mean to one of my friends, and also because she is like three years older than you! And she is into older guys." I explained and he pouted like a two-year-old.

After all the plates had been cleared, Dumbledore stood up again and a tense excitement filled the hall.

"The moment has come," Dumbledore said, smiling at all the students.

"The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket-"

"The what?" Harry whispered and Ron shrugged in reply.

"-just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who don't know them, Mr Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." There was a much louder applause for Bagman than there was for Crouch, probably because the smiling, slightly round man looked way more fun and interesting than the stiff grey-haired Mr Crouch.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued,

"And they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

The word 'champions' sent the whole hall onto an edge of interest and attentiveness. Dumbledore smiled as he said

"The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, made his way to Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. Everyone in the hall lifter their heads and craned their necks to get a better look at the casket. A little first year even stood on  his chair to see better.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore while Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him,

"And they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways. Their magical prowess - their daring - their powers of deduction - and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so tense that nobody seemed to be breathing. I couldn't enter the tournament, for which I was glad. I could sit around and complain with the rest about the age limit and how I would be seventeen in a few months, but I wouldn't have to actually enter to prove myself.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly,

"One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped thrice (hehe I love that word! ;P) upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, rough wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"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, 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." Dumbledore said.

"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. Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

Authors Note:

Hey guys!!! So, sorry that this took so long to get this up, I have been very busy doing things with my family and also sleeping lots to prepare for the early mornings of school that are almost here again :'( hehe but my school has a teacher only day on the first Monday so I get an extra day!! :D

So I really hope you liked this!!




Questions!! :D

1—Who is your favourite character / who would you like to see more of?

2—Would anyone like to have a character in this? I need maybe 2 or 3 new characters so I thought if anyone wanted to make a character for this story then I would be happy to use it! :) If you do want a character then you can email me[tahliabrooke(at)me(dot)com] or inbox me :)

3—Do you prefer longer or shorter chapters? If more people prefer long chapters I will continue to write longer chapters or if more prefer short chapters then I will write shorter chapters and probably more of them too :)

Umm I may be able to get another chapter up before I go back to school but I will have to see what happens so no promises :)