Diggory Is A Loser

6- Goblet Of Fire

Although Celia never normally got involved in trivial things like school activities, even she was excited by the Triwizard Tournament.
So she woke up bright and early the following morning, and headed down to the great hall.
She intended on spending all day there, to watch as the students placed their names into the Goblet of Fire.
Waking up before sunrise was not hard for Celia, as she often got up early to study.
So, after filling her bag with school books and homework, she took her seat at the Ravenclaw table, and got ready for a long and tedious wait.

But she was not the only one to wake up early, as several other students entered the hall after her.
The first people to place their names into the Goblet, were the students from Durmstrang, who all arrived together, before exiting straight after.
A couple of Hogwarts students placed their names in, during the following hours, including Cedric.
His decision didn't annoy Celia too much, as she knew there was no chance he was going to get chosen.
The Goblet was more likely to choose a bold Gryffindor as the Hogwarts champion, and probably someone in their 7th year. So Celia didn't think that Cedric was going to be picked.

The time flew for Celia, as it often did when she was focusing on her work.
But her thoughts were interrupted by laughter, and she saw the Weasley twins enter the room with grins on their face.
"We've done it!" Announced Fred.
"Done what?" Asked Ron.
"Taken the aging potion, dungbrains" answered George.
"It's not going to work" insisted Hermione.
"Really? Well, let's find out" smiled Fred.

The twins stepped over Dumbledore's age line and placed their names into the Goblet.
For a moment, everything seemed to work, but then they were thrown out of the circle, landing on their arses several feet away.
Having been there all morning, Celia knew what was going to happen next.
And sure enough both twins sprouted white beards, just like the other students who had tried to age themselves up had done.
Dumbledore arrived shortly later to scold the boys and send them off to Madam Pomfrey.

It wasn't long after this that the Beauxbatons students arrived, and placed their names into the Goblet, one by one.
Benjamin, the boy Celia had spoken to the day before, winked at her as he put his name in, before getting escourted out by Madame Maxime.
Celia was taken aback by his behaviour, and she felt her cheeks go red.
She quickly tried to put the thought to the back of her head, so that she could focus on studying.
But thought's of Benjamin wove in and out of her mind the rest of the day.

****
Eventually the Halloween feast arrived and it was time to learn who the champions were going to be.
Everyone watched in anticipation as the blue flames in the Goblet went from blue to red, as it spat out a piece of parchment.
Dumbledore grabbed hold of the paper and read out the first name.
"The Durmstrang champion, is Viktor Krum" he announced.
The room burst into applause as Krum walked through the hall and into the next room.
Celia highly expected him to be chosen, so she wasn't shocked by the news.

As the Goblet went red again, Dumbledore caught the next piece of parchment.
"And the champion for Beauxbatons, is Fleur Delacour" revealed Dumbledore.
Celia watched as a beautiful girl, with a smug look on her face, got up from where she was sat, a few feet down the Ravenclaw bench, and headed through the hall.
A couple of Beauxbatons girls began to cry because they hadn't been chosen, causing Celia to roll her eyes at their dramatic nature.

The fire went red for a third time, and there was silence in the hall, as everyone waited to hear the name of the Hogwarts champion.
"And finally, the Hogwarts champion, is Cedric Diggory" informed Dumbledore.
As the room began to cheer, Celia felt her stomach drop, and she couldn't bring herself to clap.
Her brother had been chosen.
It was something she hadn't thought was possible, yet it had happened.
Cedric was the Hogwarts champion and soon everyone in the country would know it.
She wasn't invisible anymore, and she could feel multiple eyes on her once Cedric had left the room.

That was when the Goblet turned red again and spat out a 4th name.
"Harry Potter... Harry Potter, please come up here!" Demanded Dumbledore.
No one clapped this time.
Instead everyone began muttering to their friends as Harry moved through the room.
"That can't be right" whispered Cho.
"Yeah, Harry's not 17 yet. There must be some mistake" agreed Marietta.
"The Goblet doesn't make mistakes" murmered Celia.

"But there's no way he was able to get passed Dumbledore's age line, since no body else managed to do it" said Arabella.
"Maybe Dumbledore let him through. Everyone knows he has a soft spot for Potter, so maybe he wanted the boy to be the Hogwarts champion no matter what" suggested Katia.
"Dumbledore wouldn't do that. He wouldn't put Harry's life in danger like that" insisted Cho.
"You're right. Besides, Dumbledore looks sick at the thought of Harry having to compete against much older and wider students" Marietta pointed out.

"Right, well we now have our champions... It's time you all went to bed" announced Dumbledore, before fleeing the room after Harry.
Several members of staff ran after Dumbledore, including Madame Maxime and Karkaroff.
"They can't let Harry compete" said Cho, as the girls made their way out of the hall.
"Harry has no choice. Once your name enters the Goblet, you enter a magically binding contract. He must compete" replied Celia, who was not only thinking of Harry, but of her brother, who was also a Hogwarts champion.
Cedric couldn't undo what he'd done, no matter how much Celia wanted him to.