Snakes and Lions (Matteo Riddle & original mc)

An Unexpected Selection

It had been five days since Matteo and I had first kissed. We struggled to find time for each other at first, but decided to lengthen our study sessions a little when no one was around. I was addicted to him. I had yet to know everything there was to know about him, because he did hide things from me, I knew that, but so far, his energy was matching mine and his smile was always contagious.

Now, I sat in the great hall with the rest of the school, including the other two schools partaking in the Triwizard Tournament, and Dumbledore silenced us. I sat in between Harry and Ron, and watched the blue, flaming light of the Goblet of Fire.

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for." Dumbledore gestured to the Goblet of Fire. "The champion selection."

The old wizard raised his hand to the hall, dimming the lights with magic. He had our full attention, and raised a hand to the blue fire of the goblet. The flame turned red suddenly, then back to blue, as a piece of paper came flying out. Dumbledore caught it with one hand, opening and reading the contents.

"The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum!" Cheers erupted for Krum as he stood, shook hands with Dumbledore and went to stand at the front of the hall.

The flame turned red again, another piece of paper flying out, and Dumbledore caught it. He read the name, and then spoke it aloud.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" He said.

Fleur was congratulated by her peers, shook hands with Dumbledore, and went to stand at the front with Krum. The fire spat out another piece of parchment, and we all awaited to hear who the champion from our school would be.

"The Hogwarts champion... Cedric Diggory!" More cheers. I clapped for our champion, and the Hufflepuff boy shook Dumbledore's hand and stood with the other two champions.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore began. "We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history."

The headmaster continued speaking of the competition as Crouch from the ministry placed a hidden object in the middle of the front hall.

"-The Triwizard Cup!" Dumbledore said, pointing at the moment that the sheet was removed, revealing a blue-glass crystal trophy underneath. The school cheered, but something wasn't right.

Professor Snape walked slowly forward, nearing the Goblet of Fire, and all heads turned to it as the blue fire spun in circles, wider and wider, until it flashed a blinding red and spewed out another piece of paper - this was unexpected. There were only supposed to be three champions, why did the cup insist on another?

The paper drifted down, and Dumbledore caught it gently, reading it emotionless.

"Harry Potter." He said quietly, looking up at the students, searching for the boy. "Harry Potter?" He said more loudly.

I looked at Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What's happening?" I asked Ron, confused.

"Harry, go." Hermione pushed him, away from me and towards the danger. Ron looked sour, almost jealous.

As Harry walked to Dumbledore and then to the front, I stared in horror. Why was my brother, who was too young to enter, going to compete in these terrible, death-ridden games? He looked just as surprised as I was. Instead of cheers this time, there were whispers and outrageous claims being thrown at him as he walked to the front, to join the other champions.

In the crowd, I found a group of Slytherins, and among them, Matteo. He looked down at the floor. I couldn't see his face. He seemed to be more devastated than I would have thought he would be. Then, he lifted his head to watch Harry walk down the hall. He was inspecting what happened next. It was like he wasn't even surprised, he was contemplating something else.