The Raven's Call

The Four Champions

Monday, October 24th 1994

Each and every student housed in Hogwarts this year gather in the Great Hall for the long awaited name pulling. I notice everyone finding seats with members of other houses, so it isn't very organised. I take a seat next to Cedric, in order to support him in this. "Sit down. Please!" Dumbledore calls out from the middle of the room, the goblet on display beside him. "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for: The Champion Selection!" He waves his hand, the fire lamps around the room now dimming. He then walks up to the cup, caressing it for a moment as we await the chosen names. The room grows silent as we wait in suspense.

Soon, the blue flames turn a bright red, as the first name escapes the cup. Dumbledore catches the paper with ease. "The Durmstrang champion is.. Viktor Krum!" The room erupts in applause as Viktor rises from his seat, shakes hands with Dumbledore, and then exits down to the trophy room down past the teacher's table. The flames turn red again as the next name is pulled. "The champion for Beauxbatons... is Fleur Delacour!" The room erupts once again in a fit of applause and cheer as the blonde girl makes her way to Dumbledore, shaking his hand before following after Krum. Once more, the flames turn red, the Hogwarts champion's name residing on that tiny piece of paper. I close my eyes, gripping onto Cedric's arm. Part of me wants his name to be on that paper, because he's been talking about this event all summer. But another part of me is afraid for him. Dumbledore said this tournament is dangerous, I don't want anything to happen to him. "The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!" My heart sinks as he wraps his arms around me, the room cheering for him. He pats my head before walking over to Dumbledore as the others had, following after Fleur. "Excellent! We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Triwizard Cup!" The room erupts in cheer once more as the veil is lifted, revealing the fancy cup. But those cheers are cut short as the goblet begins sputtering flames before turning red once more. That.. shouldn't be happening. Another piece of paper floats out of the flames, into Dumbledore's hand.

"...Harry Potter."

No way.

"Harry Potter?" Dumbledore asks louder. Immediately, all our heads turn towards Harry, disbelief waving over the hall. "Harry Potter!" Dumbledore Rumbleroars. Slowly, Harry makes his way forward as the room rattles with whispers. Without a word, Dumbledore hands Harry the paper with his name. It seems he's in as much disbelief as the rest of us. Harry slowly walks down the aisles. "He's a cheat!" One student yells. "He's not even seventeen, yet!" Another heckles as Harry leaves the room.

What the bloody hell just happened?

Dumbledore dismisses us for the night, and I begin to make my way back to my common room. "This is exciting, isn't it?" A voice speaks up from behind me, making me jump slightly. "Oh, Luna!" I say with an exhale as I clutch my chest. "Blimey.. That was unexpected. Who would've thought Harry Potter would be a fourth champion? How exhilarating!" She exclaims, as optimistic as ever. I smile, her optimism rubbing off on me. "I suppose you're right." I reply as we make our way up the spiral staircase. "Though, I don't think that makes this a Triwizard tournament, any more." "Mm.. I agree, it should be the Quartwizard tournament." She responds with a giggle, and I laugh along. We continue to chat until we reach the door of the common room, the bronze knocker greeting us with a riddle as always. "What does man love more than life, hate more than death or mortal strife; that which contented men desire; the poor have, the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves?" The eagle asks, its eyes peering down at us as some Beauxbatons students pile in behind us. I think for a moment, looking over to Luna, who is also deep in thought. "Nothing." I finally respond. Saying nothing else, the eagle rests its eyes as the door swings open, I feel a sense of relief wash over me as we enter the common room.

Man, that would've been embarrassing.

***

I awake the next morning to a buzzing sound coming from my journal. I groan quietly as I sit up, opening the book to see a message from Alex. 'Atti... Can we talk?'  The message was neater than his usual messy scrawl. I sigh softly, reaching for my quill before replying.  'Room of requirement.' My handwriting not the neatest as I write my response mid-yawn. I climb out of bed and throw a warm blue jumper on overtop of my pyjamas before making my way out to the common room, illuminating my wand with Lumos as the sun had yet to fully rise. It doesn't take long for me to get there, the room only consisting of 2 chairs and a small fire. I walk in, rubbing my eyes with my free hand.  "Morning mate." He said, his eyes welling up with tears as he sits in one of the seats. "Hope I didn't wake you." I yawn, walking in to sit in the other, nodding slightly. "You did, but it's okay. What's up bud?" I reply. "Oh you know.. This and that. How have you been? Feels like it's been forever." He faked a laugh, something was obviously bothering him. "Alex. You didn't wake me this early in the morning just to ask how I am. What's going on?" I respond. crossing my arms as I lean back in the chair. "Yeah, sorry. Were you at the Quidditch World Cup, mate?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck. I blink. "Alex, you saw me there." "Aye I did, how did you manage to get out? Nasty attack there." He says, I'm hoping he's going somewhere with this. "Uh, I got out with Hermione and the Weasleys. Portkey. Why do you ask..?"  He half smiles at me.

"That's good mate. Glad you were safe. I uh... Kinda almost died." He spoke softly as he pulls out his wand, split in twain. "When Moody was torturing that poor spider, I knew first hand what it was going through." His tears began flowing. "I couldn't stand it. I still feel it in my nightmares." I sit forward in my seat, the shock on my face easily recognisable. "Are you telling me you got attacked with the Cruciatus Curse?" I ask, the shock turning to an expression of seriousness. He nods in confirmation. "I had to stop him, there was a child there.. But.. I don't even know if I saved them.. There was so much fire and smoke, the Death Eater was on me before I could blink.." He explains, choking back his tears. I frown, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone." He hugs me back, just as tight, giving me a quick squeeze before pulling away. "Thanks mate. I'll be alright, though. I haven't really talked to anyone about it, even Aunt Minerva. Lucky the ministry found me when they did." He smiles slightly. "I even met a girl this year, so it's not been all bad." A girl?! My eyes widen, this was almost an even bigger shock than before. "You met a girl? Who is she? What about Hermione?" I bombard the boy with questions, the mood definitely lightening a bit. "Let's be real, you and I both know she only looks at one person the way I was looking at her. Well, two, if you saw her looking at Viktor Krum like he was some sort of Bulgarian snack!" "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that." I reply with a small chuckle. I had noticed the way she looks at Krum. And how he looks at her the same.

"This girl is from Beauxbatons, she's 16. " He brags, laughing a little, before his face drops. "And she's related to the man that killed my father. I don't know how closely, I only found out from Ron last night." My smile fades. That was like the opposite of a compliment sandwich. That was a BAD NEWS SANDWICH. "Oh." Is the only response I can muster. "Yeah.." He chuckles. "Her name is Eleanor.. Eleanor Rozier, and I don't know how I'm ever going to face her again." He spoke before trailing off. "Do you believe in love at first sight, Atti?" I think back to the first time I laid eyes on Luna. "Yes." I say, looking him dead in the eye. "What... what do I do?" He asked, his eyes begging for an easy solution. "Well. She didn't kill your father." I say with a half shrug. He burst out laughing, almost falling off his chair. "When did you get so wise, o' great one?" He cackles. "I've always been wise." I retort, re-crossing my arms. "But seriously. There's probably loads of Rozier's around, she might not even know the one that killed your father. Just talk to her. Set things straight." "You're right. I shouldn't avoid the issue." He says with a sigh. "I'll introduce you guys later." He winks, and I smile. "Think she would give you a run for your money in the charms department." My smile fades. "Nuh uh." I pout, I was the best at charms as far as I was aware. No one else had learned Legilimency in their first year like me. I don't believe Alex. He reaches over to ruffle my hair. "It's okay, buddy, they build them different in France." He bursts out into another fit of laughter, causing me to chuckle along. "Thank you, though. I needed this." He smiles softly. "Hey, what are best friends for, huh?" I ask with a grin.