River Grimes and the Champions Curse

Chapter Five: Pale Pink and Green Robes...

                River and Pan made it to the Great Hall doors, the other students were already inside. Loud chatter from inside the great hall was muffled by the large wooden doors. Pan placed her hand on the door to open it.

"Ready kid?" she asked.

"Not really," River said.

"I know you're a bit nervous, but after you sit with your friends, all your nerves will disappear," she said.

"Mom...I'm going to be in this tournament aren't I?" River said, keeping his eyes on the door. "Don't lie, 'cause I'll know if you do."

"Go on...sit with your friends," Pan said softly.

"Avoiding the question... guess I was right," River sighed. "I hate Ancient Magic..." he pushed the door open himself, not letting her reply. Every head turned to look at him, all the chattering died in a second.

"River!" Archie stood up and waved.

River walked down the aisle between the Thunderbird table and the Wampus table. They seemed to be closer than usual. All of the tables were closer than usual, and Thunderbird was closer to the large fireplace on the East wall.

There were two new tables, sat empty beside lone middle lining decorative table cloths, just like the Ilvermorny houses tables. The far left table had a pale pink cloth, and the inner empty table had a green cloth. A similar green to Pukwudgie, a bit brighter than Pukwudgie.

River passed his Quidditch team who were sitting together, they all waved at him besides Aspen. He waved back, as he passed, before joining Archie at the table along with Dylan Bonner, a southern boy from Mississippi. And Asher Fox, from a small town in Canada called Letterkenny.

"Where did Sugar go to?" River asked as he sat down.

"Horned Serpent, big shocker," Archie rolled his eyes. "But enough about her, look down the row," he pointed down the table near the end.

Murphy was sitting there, alone in a crowd of people around her. She looked sad, slumped shoulders, her hair still blonde. She was looking down at the empty plate in front of her, zoned out of the noise around her.

The doors swung open again, and Professor Soot walked in with a big smile. He walked through the crowded hall and up the few steps to reach the Professor's table. He talked to each professor in a line. Pan wasn't sitting there, her seat was empty. And a few seats down right next to Professor Wolfe was Gilderoy Lockhart, in a bright teal blue robe.

"Attention everyone!" Soot said loudly, silencing all the chatter. Cheers erupted from the hall, cheering for Soot and a new year. River clapped unenthusiastically to blend in, and not disrespect Soot. One of the few Professors he liked. Despite Soot not teaching anything.

"Thank you, thank you," Soot said with a bow, before silencing the crowd once more. "Welcome back to another great year at Ilvermorny!" More cheers rang out. "Now, you may have heard... there is a...little competition this year. It is true, of course." More cheers. "Alright settle down you fiends!" Soot laughed. "Save your cheers for the end." More cheers rang out.

Soot laughed, and swished his wand, silencing the whole crowd in a second. No matter how loud you could scream, nothing was heard. Lemon and Cherry were the first and only pair to try this out.

They both stood up and screamed so hard their faces turned pink. Of course, no one heard a thing. Oddly enough, the sound of Cherry passing out and hitting the floor from screaming so hard was audible. People threw their heads back in silent laughter.