The Redhead and the Irish

Chapter 21

The room was filled with students. Some putting their name in the Goblet while others simply watched. "Are you alright, Row'n?" a familiar Irish accent asked me. "What do you think? I just saw an innocent creature die for the sake of learning!" I trembled, focusing on the blue flame. "He wants us te know the dangers." he explained. "That doesn't justify the death of an innocent being." I snapped, making some students turn their attention to me. I stared at the rough surface of the cup, taking in every little detail. The age line waved lightly, giving it an ocean vibe.

Another student threw their name in the cup, making the flame rise and fall. Some people applauded while others just stared. The peace that had hung in the room was disrupted when a group of Hufflepuffs ran in. "Come on, Cedric! Put it in!" one of them shouted. "Cedric Diggory..." I murmured, looking at the brown-haired Hufflepuff. His friends pushed him through the age line and he threw his name into the Goblet. He glanced at me and winked, making me cringe slightly. Some people clapped again and Cedric jumped back to his friends. "Idiot." I mumbled, turning my attention to the doors.

"Yes!" I heard my older brothers yell. "What?" I hissed, looking at them as they ran into the room. Everyone clapped and cheered as Fred and George thanked them and high-fived them. "Well, lads, we've done it." George exclaimed. "Cooked it up just this morning." Fred added. "It's not going to work!" Hermione chimed. "Oh yeah?" Fred wondered. "And why is that, Granger?" George questioned. "You see this? This is an age line." she explained, pointing at the silver string. "Made by Dumbledore himself." I stated, walking over to her. "So?" Fred doubted. Hermione scoffed and slammed her book shut. "So, a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dim-witted as an ageing potion." she rambled. "But that's why it's so brilliant!" Fred exclaimed. "Because it's so pathetically dim-witted." George added.

They laughed and stepped on some benches. "I'm excited to see how this one ends." I whispered to Hermione. She nodded and looked at the twins as they linked arms. "Bottoms up!" they stated, drinking the ageing potion. The two of them jumped in the circle made by the age line, and for a second it seemed to work. Everyone cheered as Hermione and I waited patiently. Fred and George put their name in the Goblet and again, nothing happened. "It can't be..." I muttered. And it couldn't indeed. Strings of blue flames shot out of the Goblet, throwing the twins out. They flew through the air and landed with a wrinkled face and grey hair. The two of them began attacking each other as I shook my head. Hermione simply opened her book and continued to read. The crowd cheered on the twins, telling them to fight.

All of the sudden, everyone went silent. Krum entered the room, along with Karkaroff and another Durmstrang student. We all stared at Krum as he put his name into the Goblet. He glanced at Hermione for a second, before walking off. She smiled slightly, a blush finding its way to her cheeks. "Someone's got a crush." I teased, hitting her shoulder. "Oh, shut up." she replied, still blushing.

-TIMESKIP-

The Great Hall was crowded with students from all schools. "If anyone from Slytherin will represent Hogwarts, I'm gonna scream." I muttered to Dean. "Not just you, trust me." he replied as we sat down on the benches nearest to the Goblet. "Who do ya think will be the Durmstrang champion?" Seamus wondered. "I think it'll be Krum." Neville said, looking at the crowd. "Sit down, please." Dumbledore requested. "Let's see." I muttered, looking at the headmaster.

"Now the moment, you've all been waiting for! The Champion selection!" he announced. Dumbledore put out all the fires, so that the Goblet's blue flame lightened up the whole room. He then placed two hands on the cup, staring at it, before moving away. The flame turned red and a single piece of parchment emerged from the cup. Dumbledore read the slightly burned parchment before glancing at the crowd.

"The Durmstrang champion is...Viktor Krum!" he stated. I spun around to face Neville. "You were right, Longbottom." I whispered, making him smirk slightly. In the meantime, the Bulgarians were cheering loudly as Krum stepped forward. He shook Dumbledore's hand and walked to the back of the Great Hall, into a room. The Goblet's flame turned red again and another piece of parchment emerged.

"The champion for Beauxbatons...is Fleur Delacour!" Dumbledore exclaimed. I cheered loudly, as did the Beauxbatons girls. Fleur shook his hand and walked to where Krum was. The flame turned red one last time, the last piece of parchment flying through the air.

"The Hogwarts champion...Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore shouted and all the Hogwarts students cheered. "That could've gone worse..." I mumbled as Seamus whistled loudly. I saw Cedric glance up at me and wink. I scrunged up my nose in disgust as Cedric walked to the back room of the Great Hall.

"Excellent! 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!" Dumbledore exclaimed, pointing at a beautiful cup. It glowed a silvery blue with the most amazing decorations.

My attention, however, was soon removed from the cup as the Goblet of Fire turned red once again. "There's already three champions..." I whispered to Seamus. He nodded as we looked as a piece of parchment was fired into the air. Dumbledore read the paper and mumbled something.

"Harry Potter?" he questioned. "What?" I hissed, looking at Harry. Seamus stood up, staring at Harry. Mumbles could be heard all around the hall as I glanced at Harry. "Harry Potter!" Dumbledore shouted enraged. "Go on, Harry." Hermione said, grabbing his shoulder. He was frozen in his place. "Harry, for goodness' sake." she snapped, pushing him towards Dumbledore. The headmaster handed him the parchment and Harry walked towards the backroom.

"How?" I whispered to Dean. He shrugged, looking at Harry as he walked through the door. "He's a cheat!" someone shouted. "He's not even seventeen yet!" another yelled. "Silence!" Dumbledore shouted. "You will all go to your dormitories right away. Goodnight." he simply stated, before walking to the backroom along with the others.

I walked to the Gryffindor common room with Dean, Neville and Seamus, thinking of ways Harry could've entered the tournament. "He must've had some sort of help." I argued, walking through the halls. "But how?" Neville wondered. "Maybe an older student put in his name." Dean proposed. "I don't care how he did it. He could've told us." Seamus said angrily. "So that you could get killed in some competition? Not on my watch, Finnigan." I stated. "Boomslang skin." Dean said as we stood before the Fat Lady. She swung open and the four of us entered the common room, where everyone was discussing the same question: How did Harry do it?

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to bed. If you hear anything from Harry, tell me in the morning." I instructed the boys. " 'Course we will." Seamus reassured me as I hugged him. I gave Dean and Neville a hug as well. "Night guys." I said. "Night." they replied. I walked up the stairs to my dorm and opened the door. I was the first one there, so I took the opportunity to take a nice, long shower. I got into my pyjamas and climbed in bed, thinking of today's events. How did  he do it?