Petals & Thorns | Fred Weasley

seven

SONG OF THE CHAPTER-
what keeps you up at night • dan + shay

When the students gathered back into the hall the next day, everyone was buzzing with excitement. The headmasters of the three schools took post in front of every pupil, but still behind the Goblet of Fire. Adalinda felt a cold hand on her leg once more, reminding her of the first night back at the school. Her eyes held Igor Karkaroff and his sickening stance. She hated him, this was bred into her mind from when she was a young girl. Her father gave names around their home of who not to hold respect for. His? It was at the very top. It was Halloween night, and the jack-o-lanterns floating by the ceiling gave them all a calming tone. Everyone at Hogwarts loved Halloween. It was one of the few holidays every student spent in the castle. Pranks ensued heavily, keeping everyone on their toes. Peeves wreaked havoc on this day. More so than he usually did.

Addy was not unlike the rest. She held a love for the day as well. The feast, the laughs, the mischief. It was something she enjoyed heavily. She didn't usually participate in the pranks themselves, but she enjoyed watching them play out. So they sat, after their dinner, waiting for the ceremony to ensue. There was an uproar of chatter as the golden plates cleared themselves. Dumbledore stood to announce the first name. He told the students that the goblet may take a few minutes to choose the name, and that when the first one was called, they were to go to the top of the hall and into the next chamber.

With a wave of his wand, all the lights in the hall went out excluding the ones in the pumpkins. The goblet illuminated the entire room. Each face was lit up by its powerful flames. Almost immediately after, the fire inside turned an angry red, unusual to its blue hue. A piece of charred parchment shot out along with a bolus of sparks. Dumbledore reached out and grasped it in his hand. His eyes read over the words before he spoke. "The champion for Durmstrang," he looked out at all of the children. "Will be Viktor Krum!" The hall erupted into cheers and clapping. Everyone made some noise, including Adalinda.

"Bravo, Viktor! I knew you had it in you!" Karkaroffs booming voice yelled. At that, the kids settled once more. The blue flames endured another change back to red, as it repeated its previous actions. Another piece of paper was spat out.

"And the champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" Once again, booming cheers captured the filled room. This time, Addy did not clap. She followed Krums lead into the room off the side of the hall. Fleur Delacour was the girl who held Fred Weasley's attention the precious evening. Silence fell once more as the moment all the Hogwarts students were waiting for was about to ensue. As the flames turned auburn one final turn, what they thought was the last name flew out. As Dumbledore reached for it, everyone's heart was sporadic. Their breathing was silent, as everyone was scared to move. "The Hogwarts champion," everyone inched closer to the speaker. "Is Cedric Diggory!" He boomed. The Hufflepuff table was uncontainable. They were up out of their seats, screaming and crying in excitement. Even the proud Slytherin found herself clapping. Cedric was one of the more bearable Hufflepuffs. The whole hall was booming with proudness as the boy made his way into the second chamber.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore began once again. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-" he was stopped short. A collective gasp sounded as the flames changed their colour one final time. Adalinda leaned forward in her seat, interested in what was happening. Everyone's eyes held the goblet in an even more intense way than before. This was something nobody expected. She watched Dumbledore's hand reach out and seized the charred paper. He opened it carefully, and looked down. He was silent for a very long time. When he finally found his words, they echoed through the room. "Harry Potter!"