The Weasley of Slytherin: The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 14: The Champions Chosen

Harry sat there, as I got to my feet, nudging him slightly. There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at us.

Up at the top table, McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

"I didn't put my name in," Harry said blankly. "You know I didn't."

Both of them stared just as blankly back. At the top table, Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to McGonagall.
"Harry Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

"Go on," Hermione whispered, giving Harry a slight push. Harry got to his feet, trod on the hem of his robes, and stumbled slightly. I grabbed his arm to stabilize him, and had to practically drag him off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.

The buzzing grew louder and louder, until we were right in front of Dumbledore, feeling the stares of all the teachers upon us.

"Well . . . through the door, you two," said Dumbledore. He wasn't smiling.

We moved off along the teachers' table. Hagrid was seated right at the end. He did not wink at us, or wave, or give any of his usual signs of greeting. He looked completely astonished and stared at us as we passed like everyone else.

We went through the door out of the Great Hall and found ourselves in a smaller room, lined with paintings of witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite us.

The faces in the portraits turned to look at us as we entered. I saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard. The wizened witch started whispering in his ear.

Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. They looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched-up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two.

Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back, staring into the fire. Fleur Delacour looked around when we walked in and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair.

"What is it?" she said. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

She thought we had come to deliver a message. Harry just stood there, looking at the three champions. It struck him how very tall all of them were.

"No." I told her bluntly.

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind us, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took Harry by the arm and led him forward.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing Harry's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen . . . lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three, as I made my way to follow them.

"May I introduce — incredible though it may seem — the fourth Triwizard champion? And if that wasn't even the fifth one as well!"

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry and me. Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to Harry to me and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Fleur Delacour, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! Harry and (Y/n)'s names just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

Krum's thick eyebrows contracted slightly. Cedric was still looking politely bewildered. Fleur frowned.

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," she said contemptuously to Bagman. " Zey cannot compete. Zey are too young."

"Well . . . it is amazing," said Bagman, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Harry. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as their names came out of the goblet . . . I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage. . . . It's down in the rules, you're obliged . . . They will just have to do the best they —"