94Blood is the Price of Glory
Harry sat looking at the Goblet of Fire in wonder, fascinated by the dancing flames that seemed to ignite the instant that the cloth was vanished. He heard Fleur's incredulous exclaim of "mon Dieu!" beside him as if from a distance, not even sparing so much as a glance her way. Despite the fact that he had spent three years of his life in the magical world, sights like this never ceased to amaze him. Fortunately he wasn't the only one who seemed mesmerized and Professor Dumbledore was giving everyone the chance to gawk at the Goblet before speaking.
"The Goblet of Fire will choose who among you will be the best suited to compete in the Triwizard Tournament," the Headmaster announced after a few moments. "To enter you must merely write your name down on a piece of parchment and put it in the Goblet sometime within the next twenty-four hours. After dinner is over tomorrow night, we will let it choose the three participants in the tournament." An outbreak of excited chattering broke out in the Hall at Dumbledore's statement, though it was obvious the old Wizard wasn't finished.
"Unfortunately for most of you, your excitement may be misplaced." Everyone was immediately silenced again as they wondered what Dumbledore was getting at. "As I said at the beginning of the year, there will be new restrictions added to the Tournament to make it safer. The most important one for most of you is that only those who are of age may enter." As expected, the entire Hall erupted in unhappy voices, some angry ("They can't do that!"), some loudly sobbing ("It's not fair!"), some defiant ("I'm still gonna enter my name!"), and Harry even heard Fred and George cry out "That's rubbish!". Dumbledore held up his hand for silence before continuing.
"This has been decided to be a necessary addition in order to better ensure the safety of the competitors. To guarantee that no one under age puts their name in," he pulled out his wand and waved in it a circle, making sure everyone was paying attention, "I have just put an Age Line around the Goblet that will prevent anyone who is not at least seventeen from doing so. With that out of the way, I want to officially declare the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament. I wish all of you who are going to enter good luck and good night." A buzz of unhappy chatter broke out in the Great Hall again as Dumbledore walked out, causing Fleur to look around in amusement.
"You're not upset 'Arry?" Lya asked, noticing that he was one of the few who didn't seem to care. The Hogwarts teen shrugged his shoulders.
"Not really. I never had any intention of trying to join the Tournament anyway. I've had enough excitement since coming to Hogwarts, I'd like to have a quiet year."
"It will be interesting to see who enters though," Hermione chimed in as the group stood up and made their way out of the Hall. "And since tomorrow is Saturday we'll have all day to watch."
"That also means we'll have all day to figure out how to get past the Age Line," Ron added, though everyone ignored him apart from Hermione who spared him a roll of her eyes.
"I wonder 'oo will enter from 'Ogwarts," Jacques mused, voicing the question everyone else had.
"I heard that Angelina Johnson is thinking about it," Harry revealed. "Apparently she told the twins that if there's not gonna be Quidditch this year at least she should get something out of it."
"I 'eard Cedric Diggory talk about entering," Fleur said. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a look of what appeared to be jealousy cross Harry's face, making her feel oddly satisfied. It hadn't been her intention to do that but it made her happy to know that his feelings for her were seemingly that strong. "I 'eard 'im telling that Asian girl 'e always spends time with." They continued their speculations for a few more minutes in the Entrance Hall (Harry suddenly seemed to be standing closer to Fleur) before going their separate ways for the night.
"Did you see the look on Harry's face when you mentioned Cedric Diggory?" Lya queried, looking at Fleur.
"I wasn't trying to make him jealous," the blonde responded defensively, "but it was cute. How's Adrian doing? You haven't mentioned him since we came here." Adrian Dupree was Lya's boyfriend who had graduated from Beauxbatons two years prior and had since taken a job as a curse-breaker for the French branch of Gringotts. For the past several months he had been in the United States doing a series of jobs for the bank and his correspondence with Lya had been spotty at best. She knew that he could go weeks without being able to contact her and understood but it still didn't do much to make her feel any better about the situation.
"He finally sent me a letter the other day and he's getting tired of being in the States. He said he likes it but he's ready to be back home. He thinks his job will be over soon though so hopefully he'll be back home within a few weeks. He said he has some kind of surprise for me."
"Do you think he's going to propose to you?" Jacques asked.
"No, we already talked about it and agreed to wait until I graduate before he proposes."
"What's wrong Aimee?" Fleur suddenly asked, noticing that the black-haired girl was seemingly not paying attention to the conversation. Jacques and Lya, who were now discussing what it might be like to be a Curse-Breaker based on what they had been told by Adrien, didn't appear to hear their blonde friend.
"Nothing I'm just thinking about the Goblet of Fire. I'm not so sure it's wise to leave it out in the open all night like that, even if Dumbly-dore did put an Age Line around it already." Feeling like her friend was merely being paranoid but being unwilling to dismiss her concerns, Fleur did her best to reassure the dark-haired girl without actually getting into the subject. Seemingly placated, Aimee nodded her agreement and the two joined in on Jacques and Lya's conversation.
As the Beauxbatons students were crossing the grounds to their carriage, the Hogwarts trio was making its way up to Gryffindor Tower, though unlike the French students they were discussing the Goblet of Fire the entire way. While Ron was trying to brainstorm ways to get past the Age Line, Hermione was talking about her fascination with the object, leaving Harry trying to hold two conversations while also pondering his own thoughts. Unwilling to interrupt either of his friends, he was sharing similar reservations as Aimee. However, unlike the French Witch, Harry had been at Hogwarts for the past three years and knew that things tended to go sideways no matter how much Dumbledore or anyone else tried to keep them from doing so. If someone wanted to tamper with the Goblet of Fire then they were going to, no matter protective measures might be taken, and Harry had a feeling that it would somehow involve him. As he trudged up the stairs to the fourth years' dorm, he couldn't help but think that this year would definitely not be ordinary.
Harry awoke the next morning to the sound of Ron's snoring, thankful the redhead was still asleep. He had spent the better part of an hour trying to come up with a plan for putting his name in the Goblet of Fire and trying to convince Harry to help him, resulting in the Boy-Who-Lived not being able to fall asleep until nearly midnight. It was fine for Ron, who would likely sleep until late anyway, but Harry had wanted to get up early to see who would enter the tournament. Unfortunately, he ended up sleeping longer than he intended; equally unfortunate was the fact that Ron woke up before he could leave, meaning he would have to wait for his friend.
"Hurry up Ron," Harry demanded, impatience lacing his voice.
"'S alright mate, there's plenty of time for breakfast."
"I'm not worried about that, I wanna know who's gonna be putting their name in the Goblet of Fire." Though Ron looked appalled that anyone could not care about food, he could tell that his friend was agitated and did get ready quicker than he normally would have. While he too was curious about who would put their name in (and hopeful that he could figure out a way to enter himself), he wasn't as interested as Harry was. It was only his desire to not eat alone that really motivated him, in addition to the food itself of course. Noticing that the Boy-Who-Lived had already left the room, the redhead quickly finished up and went downstairs where he found his two best friends sitting on the couch speaking in low voices. When he approached them a quizzical look on his face Hermione looked over at a corner and nodded, causing Ron to look to see his brothers huddled together and clearly working on something.
"Oi, what are you two up to?" he demanded of the twins.
"Nothing you need to worry about little brother," Fred replied, barely sparing him a glance.
"Yeah you'll find out later," George added. Before Ron could say anything else, Hermione pushed him out the portrait hole with Harry following. The three of them made their way to the Great Hall (Harry and Hermione ignoring Ron's tirade about his brothers) and were surprised to see only Aimee waiting for them.
"You're here by yourself?" Harry asked in lieu of a more common greeting. Hermione, who still wasn't comfortable around Aimee, hesitantly smiled at her while Ron, who was still grumpy over what happened with the twins, merely shoveled food onto his plate and started eating.
"Oui, ze ozzers did not want to get up zis early." For some reason that Harry was still unaware of, Aimee seemed to be somewhat more loquacious when she wasn't with Fleur and the others. He had resolved to ask the blonde about it, feeling that he might get a better answer than if he asked Aimee directly, but so far had had relatively few chances. "I usually get up earlier zan zis to exercise and study some subjects zat most people are not fond of. I 'ave not 'ad a chance to relax in several weeks zough so today I decided to sleep in as well. Truthfully I also wanted to speak wiz you alone 'Arry." The teen in question raised his eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. "We 'ave not 'ad a chance to discuss your dueling lately and I wanted to know what you 'ave learned from your godfazzer."
"Are you sure that's the only reason you wanted to talk to me alone?" Harry queried, smirking at the glare she shot him in response. While other students tended to give her a wide berth, the Boy-Who-Lived had realized that Aimee wasn't quite as fearsome as her reputation and in a weird way she treated him like a younger brother. "I really haven't learned much of anything new from Sirius, we've just been polishing up my fighting. He watched my duel with Fleur in a Pensieve and was pleased for the most part but he wants me to work on where I was sloppy."
"I zink zat is an excellent idea. I 'ave 'eard zat your 'Eadmaster 'as allowed ze Great 'All to be used for friendly duels now so maybe I can test you later." Before Harry could answer he felt a gentle hand on his back as Fleur slid into the seat beside him. He slipped his arm around the blonde's waist and pulled her into him in a somewhat possessive one-arm hug as he continued to talk to Aimee, though beyond agreeing with her request they said nothing else about dueling. The rest of breakfast was spent in casual conversation, with no mention of the Goblet of Fire beyond the four Beauxbatons students confirming that they were all going to enter and Harry announcing his intentions to spend most of the day in the Great Hall to see who else entered. Unsurprisingly, Hermione left when she finished eating and returned shortly after with her school bag despite the fact that the trio was caught up on their schoolwork; of course she justified it by claiming that she wanted to stay ahead.
The atmosphere in the Great Hall was almost festive, with people playing games, drinking Butterbeer, taking advantage of being allowed to duel, and generally socializing. The Hogwarts students would cheer whenever one of their schoolmates would put their name in the Goblet, with their respective House always cheering the loudest. Conspicuous by their absence were the twins, though only the trio seemed to notice and Ron was the only one who seemed to be bothered by it. The entire Hall grew quiet when Victor Krum walked in at mid-morning and put his name in, which oddly seemed to make the young Quidditch star somewhat uncomfortable.
Almost as soon as he had left the Hall, Aimee sent a mild Bee-Sting Jinx to Harry as he was talking to Lya and Jacques, causing him to yelp when it hit his arm. He looked to see the young woman with a hard look in her eyes and a challenging smirk on her face, making her intentions perfectly clear. In a single motion, the Boy-Who-Lived stood up and sent a spell of his own in retaliation, causing onlookers to step aside as they realized another duel was starting. Fleur and Hermione, who had been talking with Ron, turned in their seats to watch while the redhead opted to get closer to the action. Though the blonde was watching the duel with interest, she couldn't help but notice Hermione's subtle body language as the younger teen cheered on Harry.
"He's changed a lot since the World Cup," Hermione observed, admiring her best friend as he forced Aimee on the defensive. "He still seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders but he's loosened up and he's more confident now. You should've seen him trying to take the mickey out of Aimee earlier."
"What does that mean 'Ermione? I am not familiar with that term."
"Oh right, I'm sorry Fleur. It basically means to tease someone. It's usually meant in a more ridiculing way but he wasn't being unkind about it. Still, it's not something that he would've done before. He carries on with Ron and me of course but this was different." Not getting a response from the blonde, the two fell back into a comfortable silence (Fleur now lost in her thoughts more than she was paying attention to Harry and Aimee) until Hermione suddenly let out a cheer when Harry regained the advantage.
"You 'ave known 'Arry since you started at 'Ogwarts, no?" The brunette answered in the affirmative, still too engrossed in the duel to know where Fleur might be going with this. "So what are your feelings for 'im?" Realizing the seriousness of the question, Hermione now gave her friend her undivided attention.
"He's like a brother to me Fleur," she answered firmly and truthfully. "Ever since he saved me from a troll we've been there for each other and have always been able to count on each other. I trust him more than I trust anyone else but there's nothing more than friendship between us." Satisfied with her answer, the French teen nodded and settled back to watch the duel, noticeably more relaxed now. The competition was finally ended with the arrival of lunch, though it was clear that Harry was outmatched, if only just.
"You 'ave definitely gotten better 'Arry," Aimee began as they sat at the Gryffindor table (Fleur making sure that she was beside Harry), "but as your godfazzer pointed out, zere are still some problems you are 'aving." They spent nearly the entirety of lunch discussing the duel and the various improvements Harry could make, the other Beauxbatons students chiming in on occasion. It wasn't long after lunch was over Fred and George finally made an appearance.
"You gonna tell us what you were up to now?" Ron demanded of his brothers.
"Indeed we are ickle Ronnikins," George responded.
"We have spent the entire day working on an Aging Potion that is gonna get us past that line."
"That's your big plan?" Hermione asked, honestly expecting more from them. "That's not gonna work."
"And why's that Granger?"
"Dumbledore put up the Age Line himself. Do you really think he'll be fooled by something so simple?"
"But that's why it's so brilliant."
"Because it's so incredibly simple." The young woman shook her head and walked off as the twins started shaking their potion vials.
"Ready Fred?"
"Ready George."
"Bottoms up!" they said at the same time, clinking their vials together and downing the potion in a single gulp. At this point the entire Great Hall was watching as the two Gryffindors stepped over the Age Line, nodded to each other, and simultaneously put their names in the Goblet of Fire. They laughed at their genius when it accepted their names, only for their celebration to be cut short when it spit the parchment back out and the two were thrown backwards now sporting white hair and beards. The Hall erupted in laughter as Dumbledore walked in for the first time that day, his eyes twinkling in amusement, and told the two that Madam Pomfrey would reverse the damage for them. Few people came forward to put their name in after that and the afternoon was largely uneventful, prompting Lya to suggest they go outside and enjoy the weather before it got even colder.
The group walked the grounds having no particular destination, just talking and telling some of the more interesting stories from their earlier years at school. The Hogwarts trio showed the Beauxbatons students their favorite spot by the Black Lake and both introduced them to and showed them how to pacify the Whomping Willow. After about half an hour Fleur gave Lya a pointed look and a subtle nod of her head, leading to the pink-haired Witch diverting everyone's attention while Fleur linked her arm with Harry's and led him away.
"Show me where you play Quidditch," she whispered in his ear. Though her intentions were only to ensure no one else heard, her breath sent a shiver down his spine and he could do nothing more than nod as he led her to the Quidditch Pitch. There really wasn't much to show but more than anything Fleur wanted to be alone with Harry and she found it quite adorable when he got excited about Quidditch. It was one of the few things she had seen him truly passionate about and she loved the obvious enthusiasm he had for the sport. She could also tell that he missed being able to play this year just from the way he spoke about it and hoped that, by sharing his passion she would help him not miss it as much. They settled into a spot in the stands and told each other of the more memorable moments from over the years, Harry becoming more excited with each story, until they heard a voice.
"So this is where you snuck off to," Hermione said as Lya looked around and Aimee had a familiar uninterested look on her face. "Sorry to cut this short but it's time to eat. Ron and Jacques have already gone back to the Great Hall." Lamenting that her time with Harry was over, Fleur walked back to the Hall as they discussed who might be chosen as the Hogwarts Champion.
"I think Angelina might have a good chance at winning," Harry offered. She's competitive enough that she'll refuse to accept defeat."
"We don't know if the Goblet will take something like that into consideration though," Lya argued, "or what it'll even use to determine 'oo it picks. We 'ave a class with Roger Davies and 'e seems rather intelligent so 'e could be the one."
"Let's not forget Cedric," Hermione added. Fleur noticed that Harry didn't seem jealous this time, unlike when she mentioned the Hufflepuff the night before. "He's one of the best in the school and he's always fair, if the Goblet takes things like that into consideration. I just hope Flint isn't picked. Can you imagine how insufferable Malfoy will be if the Goblet chooses a Slytherin to be Hogwarts Champion?"
"I wonder who will be chosen as our Champion," Lya mused as they sat down at the table, causing Jacques to look up from his food.
"I will of course," Fleur responded, earning eye rolls from Aimee, Lya, and Jacques. They all loved the blonde like a sister but there was no denying that she was full of herself at times and it grated on their nerves.
"Just because you are ze top of ze class does not mean zat you will be ze one ze Goblet chooses," Aimee ground out in a low voice, a dark look in her eyes.
"'Oo else would it choose?" The haughty question caused Lya to begin to rise from her seat.
"Play nice girls," Harry said as he grabbed the back of Aimee's robe and pulled her back down, causing both Fleur and Lya (who forgot that she was supposed to be upset with her friend) to look on in clear surprise. The French teen turned towards Harry and glared at him, giving him a look that made him want to shiver in discomfort; while he knew that Aimee wasn't as fearsome as her reputation would have . Despite this discomfort he didn't falter or look away, giving Aimee a calm look until she snorted and uncharacteristically started shoveling food onto her plate. The Boy-Who-Lived turned to look at Fleur and blew out a silent sigh of relief, prompting the blonde to mouth "thank you" to him. The meal was tense at first, with no one daring to speak, until finally Lya broke the ice by asking Hermione when was the last time she went a day without studying. The feast seemed to take longer than usual and, though almost all of them were conversing freely now, between the fidgeting and impatient looks it was obvious that everyone was waiting for Dumbledore to finish eating and announce who would be selected as champions. After what seemed like an eternity, the Hogwarts Headmaster got to his feet and the noise in the Great Hall seemed to die down almost instantly.
"In just a few moments the goblet will be ready to make its decision," he announced. "When the champions' names are called I would ask them to go through the door by the staff table" - he swept his arm towards the door behind the table - "and into the next chamber where they will be given further instructions." He had barely finished speaking when the flames inside the goblet suddenly turned red and sparks starting flying out of it. A moment later a charred piece of parchment shot out of it and Dumbledore deftly caught it. "The champion for Durmstrang will be Victor Krum!"
"Does that honestly surprise anyone?" Ron asked as a cacophony of applause and cheering broke out. Krum rose from his spot at the Slytherin table and walked past Dumbledore into the next chamber. The clapping and cheering died down as everyone focused on the goblet again, which turned red again seconds later and shot out a second piece of parchment.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore said. Fleur turned to Harry and pulled him into a hug, gave what looked to be a sincere apologetic look to Aimee, and stood up and followed Krum through the door. Silence fell yet again when Fleur vanished but it was there was an air of excitement that hadn't been there before. Only the Hogwarts champion was next. Soon the goblet turned red for a third time and another piece of parchment was thrown into the air. "The Hogwarts champion will be Cedric Diggory!" A groan could just barely be heard from some of the Gryffindors but they were drowned out by the cheering and screaming from the Hufflepuff table, excited to finally get a moment of glory.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore called when he was finally able to make himself heard over the noise. "Now that we have our three champions, I am sure I can count on all of you to lend your champion every bit of support you can muster." He opened his mouth to speak again but closed it back when he saw the goblet turn red again. The Headmaster frowned as a fourth piece of parchment shot out and he caught it just as deftly, as though he were expecting it. He held it and stared at the name written upon it for nearly a minute, everyone in the room staring at him as they waited. Finally, he cleared his throat and read out, "Harry Potter."
I want to point out one thing. There will be a number of duels in this story however, in order to avoid constant repeats and taking up large chunks of a chapter, the vast majority will just be mentioned, like the one in this chapter. Only the important ones that serve to actually drive forward the story will be shown.