The Undercroft Gauntlet

Chapter 3: Fiery Considerations

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Ominis had requested. "This has to stay between us."

The hair on the back of Talen's neck stiffened when Ominis told him his plan to enter the tournament. A warm, excited feeling swelled in Talen's chest and he wanted to shout in joy, but Ominis quieted him before he had the chance to make a sound.

"Do you understand?" Ominis had explained. "In the unlikely event I even get chosen ― with even less likely odds if you enter ― then I'll deal with the aftermath. Before I left for school, my family implored me at length to not enter the tournament, and I'd like to avoid the drama if I can. As long as the news doesn't leave us, then my family's many ears won't find out ― probably."

"Why wouldn't they want you to enter?" Talen asked, his collar becoming hot.

"They made it clear that every action I take carries the consequence of my family's reputation," Ominis explained, his head bobbing. "They have already voted unanimously that if I became the champion, then I would lose. They won't tolerate that, and I was forbidden from even considering participating."

As the first few weeks of the term passed, the excitement and novelty of the new school year began to wear off. Everyone assimilated into their schedules as they attended classes, studied and completed homework, and hung out with their social circles. Talen's workload wasn't overbearing, nor was it lackluster: he found it perfectly balanced. He had time to visit with his friends during the school days, unwind and relax with alone time on the weekends, and train with Ominis in the Undercroft during the evenings.

Talen kept a detailed schedule of his activities for the week, which he updated every Sunday. In the smallest of letters at the top corner of the parchment paper, he had a small note scribbled, "OOFT."

Sitting within the Great Hall on a Sunday night, Talen looked up from the book he was reading on his lap when Imelda Reyes and Aiden Williams entered with a small posse of Slytherin students behind them. The Goblet of Fire near the headmaster's eagle-shaped podium basked the entire hall in a cold blue light. The ambience it created gave Talen focus during his studies and reading ― it vaguely reminded him of the spigots of ancient magic he had the ability to see in select locations.  The small flakes of fire that floated above the flames even looked similar to the bubbles he'd see sprout from the spigots.

The group of Slytherins jeered and cheered as their two leaders walked straight to the goblet and dropped a folded piece of paper into the eternal flames. The isolated, sporadic students seated around the hall, like Talen, strained to not roll their eyes as the posse called out each spectator by name, asking them to applaud.

No one complied.

"Mighty Talen!" Imedla sneered, "Goblin slayer! Disappointment to the Fig Tree! Second-rate flyer! I can count on your support, right? Surely! Let's hear it!"

Talen stared at her blankly for a moment, then looked back down to his book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which was opened to the tale of The Fountain of Fair Fortune.

"It's useless, Immy!" Aiden derided. "He doesn't care about Slytherin House."

"Yeah," a sixth year Slytherin, named Malebo, agreed, "he bleeds and runs every color except green!"

"Just ask the Gryffindors!" Another Slytherin Talen didn't recognize shouted.

"Or our great and noble, stuttering head boy!"

When Talen didn't so much as stir in response, the group eventually stumbled out of the hall, hollering insults to those in their wake.

Talen finished the short story in his lap, wherein the witch Amata ran off with the muggle knight, Sir Luckless, into their happily ever after. He closed the book and sat back against the table, holding the collection of short stories tight against his chest. He gazed into the blue flames of the goblet and rolled his tongue between his teeth. A folded note with his own name was stuffed deeply in his pocket, and it felt heavy― urging him to take it out and let it burn in disintegrate in the fire.