After the Lights Go Out

Part 1 - The Note

October 31. 1944

You weren't sure why you had done it, why you had put your name in the goblet of fire. It was an impulsive decision, one that felt so automated that it felt as if you had not been aware of what you were doing before you saw the letters of your name be torched inside the goblets blue flame. It had been late in the evening, most students had long gone to bed as hours had passed since the Hallow's Eve feast. Not many had dared put their name forward, but those who did made well sure everyone was aware of it. Each school would have one champion for the tournament, and only the bravest and most talented witches and wizards would be chosen.

Or so you had thought.

From the moment you had arrived at Hogwarts you kept your head low, you were not at all popular among your Beauxbatons peers, for the most part you were an outsider – someone not even interesting enough to be the butt of the joke. No one noticed you, well untill your arrival to the strange castle in the Scottish highlands. There you had somehow been deemed interesting enough, perhaps only due to the powdery blue uniform you bore.

Now as you think back, perhaps this were all things that lead you to put your own name forward that night. That for all this time you too desired greatness and fame amongst all wizards, in the end you weren't really that different from the rest at all.

When the time came upon you all for the tournament champions to be revealed, you had all gathered in the great hall in anticipation. At this point in time you had not even allowed yourself to imagine what it would feel like for your name to be called out by the headmaster, Armando Dippet.

The hall was laid in silence as the headmaster approached to goblet, you could only hear the sound of faint thunder in the distance along with his footsteps across the cobbled floor. The flames rose high and a note landed in the headmasters bony hands. The excitement among you all could be physically felt in the air, as if it was electric.

"The Ilvermorny champion, will be Terrence Stokes!" The headmaster called out to great applause, especially among the Ilvermorny students. It was quite clear that Terrence was quite popular among his peers, and that there were no surprise at all that he had been deemed worthy as their champion.

After the applause had died down, the Headmaster continued and another note flew into his hand. Smoke rose from it, and you could tell he wore a faint smile as he proceeded,

"And for our Hogwarts champion, our very own Tom Riddle!"

It seemed impossible that the applause could grow any louder than the last, but all thanks to the long table of House Slytherin, it was made possible. Your eyes trailed towards the source of their admiration, landing on this Tom Riddle who had now rose from his seat. A strange feeling appeared in the pit of your stomach as you took in the view of this boy, who did not at all seem surprised that he had been chosen. He was worthy, and he knew so himself. Brown curls framed his pale gaunt face, and the self-content smile only widened as he walked to join the Ilvermorny champion. But his eyes were empty, as if there was nothing really there.

As you tried to shake of this icky feeling, the hall went silent once again although there were still some persistent whispering from some tables. By this point, you had almost forgotten the fact that you yourself had put your name into the goblet of fire. In your mind there was no realm of possibility that your name would ever be called out anyway, after all Beauxbatons already had their favoured champion – Celeste Bombelles.

As yet another note flew from the fire and landed in the Headmasters hands, you saw how Celeste perched in hear seat where she sat. Naturally, she was expecting it – around her the girls held their hands together as if praying that she'd righteously be chosen. It felt terrible to admit, but you truthfully detested her and her pretty blond curls.

"And now finally, for our Beauxbatons champion-" The headmaster cleared his thought as everyone held their breaths, "-Y/n Y/ln!"

Just as someone gasped, Celeste rose from her seat believing she had just been announced. But as the other tables started applauding, and everyone turned to stare at you with their mouths agape, she slowly sank back down with a look of utter confusion. You had been so distracted and pleased that she weren't chosen, that it had gone above your head that your own name had just been called out.

"...Y/n...Y/ln?" the Hogwarts Headmaster called out once more, and then it finally hit you just as soon as your grin vanished. A million thoughts raced through your head as you stumbled up from your seat, it all felt terribly unreal. How could you have been deemed worthy? You who certainly weren't the most talented of witches at all, you who preferred potions and books over duals and the likes of it.

You started cold sweating as you made your way towards the other two champions, trying your best to ignore how everyone's eyes now laid on you. Their applauses felt so taunting in this moment of disbelief, that you wished you could just wake up from some terrible dream. You kept your eyes down as you stood by the two others, and you could not even process what more the Headmaster was announcing as you tried to remember to breathe.

After the ceremony you were all gathered in some sort of a trophy room. Your ears felt muffled, and your legs were shaking as you stood there waiting for the headmasters of all three schools. Terrence Stokes had eagerly shaken your hands earlier, before the glittering gold of all the trophies caught his eyes. The Hogwarts champion, Tom Riddle however seemed a little colder – even after he reached out his hand, firmly gripping yours in a polite shake. You could not rid yourself of the feeling that he was studying you both up and down, in an attempt at calculating the strengths and weaknesses of his competition.

"But look here, you've already won something haven't you Tom?" Terrence exclaimed, as he pointed out a trophy inside the case. You went to look, but Riddle did not move any closer.

"It's not from any competition.." he sighed, and when you looked closer you saw the engraving read that it was given as a reward for his services to the school, the date noted last year and the gold looked brightly polished.

"Well, what was it for then?" Terrence nosily demanded, but Tom seemed cautious to reveal much more. You could not help but feel curious yourself, as you saw how he was trying to come up with a satisfactory answer.

"A girl was killed here last year and I caught the monster that did it" Tom then proceeded to nonchalantly explain, and you felt you back go cold. He seemed so inexplicably unaffected by this matter, as if it was nothing unusual of him at all.

"And what killed her exactly?" Terrence kept questioning, and for a flicker of a second you saw the left corner of Tom's lips lift into a smirk,

"It was An Acromantula"

Before any of you could comment any further on this ghastly reveal the three headmasters arrived in the trophy room, and you were once again grimly reminded of the reality of the situation that you were currently in. The tasks you were to be put through would be incredibly dangerous, and throughout the history there had been several fatalities due to this fact. Each of you were therefore bound by a magical contract, meaning that you all had no choice but to see the tournament through to its end no matter what happened.

As you looked at the two other contestants, it did not seem like either of them were any frightened by this at all. In fact, Terrence seemed more than excited over the fact that he could even participate, and Tom seemed to be so utterly calm it almost frightened you more than what was to come.