This Can Never Be Real || George Weasley

Fifty three

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬

When Friday came, the castle was unrecognizable. It was very nicely decorated and so clean it almost didn't feel like it was Hogwarts.

It should've been a really happy day, but it wasn't. Fred and George were annoyed that Ludo Bagman hadn't returned their letters. The money from their bet had been Leprechaun gold, and had vanished the next morning.

After a while we went outside in order to wait for Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to arrive. Beauxbatons got there first; they came in a gorgeous carriage pulled by golden horses.

The Headmistress was an enormous woman. When Hagrid was called over to take the horses I noticed he kept staring at her.

Oh dear.

Durmstrang ended up arriving in a massive ship that was probably made of all the wood in a five acre forest. It was really nice, but it seemed like a bit much. Ron was surprised to learn that Viktor Krum was still a student at Durmstrang. George reckons he has a crush on him.

"Good evening!" Dumbledore said, drawing our attention to the front. "I have the great plaudre of welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will officially be open at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

"What's that?" Ron asked, pointing to a shellfish stew that had appeared in front of Isa.

"Bouillabaisse," Hermione said.

"Bless you," I said, making George and Mazzy snicker.

"It's quite good, you'll like it," Hermione assured me, helping herself to a plate.

Ron did not finish all the bouillabaisse he'd served himself. He was contemplating what to do with it when a very gorgeous girl came over. She must've been a Veela and switched her charm on because all the boy were staring at her with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" The girl asked. Ron nodded in silence and handed her the plate— gaping at her like he had never seen a more beautiful girl in the whole world.

"Thank you!" She chirped, heading over to the Ravenclaw table, he her long silver hair flowing to her hips and away as she walked.

"Bloody hell," Ron sighed. "They don't make 'em like that at Hogwarts!"

"They make them okay at Hogwarts," Harry mumbled, looking past Hermione to the Ravenclaw table bi noticed he was looking at an Asian girl sitting by the Veela girl. I groaned, turning to Isa, who must've noticed too because she was glaring daggers at the girl.

"The moment has come!" Dumbledore announced, standing up. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words if explanation beide we bring in the casket—"

"The what?" Isa asked me is a hushed whisper, making Fred snicker.

"Mr Bagman and Mr Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months arranging this, and will be joining Professor Kakaroff, Madame Maxime, and I as judges for the events. The casket, then, if you please, Mr Filch."

I noticed the twins glaring at Bagman, who was sitting at the teachers table.

Mr Filch wheeled forward a wooden chest with jewels lining it.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have been examined," Dumbledore said. "All necessary arrangements have been made. The champions will face three tasks over the course of the year, and will be testing them in many different ways...their magical prowess, their daring, their seduction powers, and their ability to cope with danger. The champion with the highest total of points after the three tasks will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

And with that the chest burst open, and the goblet came out, with its tongues of blue flames dancing around. Dumbledore took it and then placed it on top of the casket.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," Fumbledore continued. "Aspiring champions have twenty four hours to enter their names. Tomorrow night, the Giblet will return the names of the three or has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete."

Fred and George whispered something to themselves, then winked to me.

"You'll figure something out," Isa said happily, making Fred nod his head vigorously.

"To ensure that no underage student yields the temptation, I will be drawing an age line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross the line. Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through the end. The placing of your name into the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There will be no change of heart once you become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

"An age line!" Fred said, standing up. "That should be fooled by an aging potion like we mentioned before— the goblet can't tell if you're seventeen or not."

"Let's brainstorm then," Isa said as we began to walk to the Gryffindor Common Room. "We'll make you three the aging potion."

"No, I'll figure something out," I said. "It'll save time for the potion."

"Alright, I already gathered those ingredients over the past weeks," George said. "We can brew it tonight in the Common Room. " Isa nodded.

When we arrived, Isa ran upstairs with George to help carry supplies.

"He looked at you," Fred said.

Bewildered, I turned to Fred, and furrow my eyebrows. "What?" I asked.

"When the Veela girl came over, he stared at you. Not the Veela, you."

"Who?" I asked, clearly confused.

"George!" Fred hissed. "Zell, I know that you're not ready to date because of what you're going through, and I totally get that, but when you're ready, just know that he's head over heels for you."

"Oh," I said, feeling my cheeks turn red.

"You...Zell," Fred said, shaking his head and smiling, "you were oblivious."

I smiled slightly and turned away, as Isa and George ran downstairs with the ingredients. Me and Isa began brewing immediately as we all discussed what the twins planned to do with the prize money if they won. They wanted to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley, which seemed like a good idea to me.

"What about you, Zell?" Fred asked. "What if you win?"

"I'll save it for later," I said. "Dunno what I'll do with it now. "

"How do you plan to get in?" Isa asked.

"I initially considered perhaps turning into my animagus," I said. But maybe I'll bribe someone who's older than me to drop my name in for me."

"Sounds good," George said. "When are you going to do it?"

"Well I don't have it all planned out yet," I said. "But if I did I'd have done it tonight so no one would see me."

"Sounds good," Fred said. "Hey— is the potion ready?"

"Yep!" Isa said, helping me put the potion into the flasks and handing it to the twins. "We'll see how it works tomorrow."