Dramione and The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 10 ~ Names in

Friday

The week went by pretty quickly seeing Draco was definitely the highlight... The bruises have healed almost healed and the scratch is gone and Ron has pretty much stayed away from me. I really hope he apologizes or something. I really don't want to be like this... I know what he did was wrong... and Draco has been walking me to class on some days. Ginny and I were walking with Draco from a class to our break and Harry and Ron were walking towards us and Ron looks so ashamed. Will he finally do something other than mope around? He comes up to me and Draco is about to lunge at him if he touches me. "Hey... can I talk to you for a minute?" He asks. "Umm..." I hesitate before saying anything. "I'm going to be there." Harry says. "Meet us in the courtyard okay?" Harry says. I nod "I'll be there." I say and they walk off. "I'll meet you there." Ginny says giving us a few minutes. "Thanks, Gin." I smile. "Hermione... are you sure you want to do this?" Draco asks me. "I'm going to be fine... Harry's there and he won't let anything happen." I say touching his arm. "Okay... do you want me to be behind you or anything?" He asks. "I'll be fine." I smile and he pulls me behind one of the columns and kisses my cheek. We don't really want anything getting out about us "talking" until Draco can find a way to tell his parents. "Okay. I'll go catch up to Blaise and Theo then." He smiles. "Okay. Have fun!" I smile and he puts his hand in his. "Seriously... I'll be near the courtyard if you need me." He says and he pulls into a hug and then pulls me back from behind the column. "Okay go on... I'll see you later." he winks and lets my hand go. "Okay" I smile and I start walking towards the courtyard I turn my head and he waves I smirk and he walks off another way.

I get to the courtyard and Ginny, Harry and Ron are sitting there so I join them. "We're gonna be sitting on that rock." Harry says. I nod looking at the rock that was a couple feet away from us and they leave us. "So..." I say. "I just wanted to say how sorry I am for hurting you. I – I don't even know what to say. I know things won't be the same. I miss you. I was just kind of jealous that Malfoy could make you happy and you would want to spend time with him. He's a good guy... much better than I am... I shouldn't have acted like that even if you did like him... you told me repeatedly that you didn't like him and I didn't listen to you.." he says. I smile. "I do like him Ron a lot's changed since then..." I say. He takes a deep breath... "You're fraternizing with the enemy" He says. "The enemy? You don't even know him. Both Harry and Ginny thought to give him a chance. That's the LEAST you could do for me. You put me through hell, Ron." I say. "Okay... I'll give him a chance." He says and closes his eyes. "I truly am sorry... I promise not to get controlling over you and realize that you like him and get over it myself. I'll be there for you and support your decisions." He sighs giving up. "Thank you." I say and I bring him into a hug and he gently hugs me back. I sit back. "Are they still there?" he asks me. "What?" I respond confusedly. "The... um... bruises." He says. "Oh... yeah they are... they've almost healed though." I say and take my robe off since I was wearing a vest and a short sleeve blouse and show him. "bloody hell, Ron." He says to himself and touches them. "They look terrible." He says. "Not as bad as they were though." I say. "I can't believe I hit and hurt you." He frowns. "its done and you've apologized.." I say putting my robe back on. He nods and Ginny and Harry come back... "Is it safe??" Ginny jokes. "I think so." I say. I look to my left and see Draco and his friends. He gives me a thumbs up, down and sideways. I give him a thumbs up and smile and he smiles back. We both turn back to our friends. I hope one day we can all be together, but for now we go to lunch and stare at each other from afar. I wish he could find a way to tell his dad.

Harry, Ron and I head to our last class of the day and we are one of the last ones still in the hall and Draco catches up to us and slides his hand into mine. "Hey Granger." He whispers into my ear. "Hey Draco." I smile up at him and we go to class. I love the feeling of him next to me.

We get out of class and head to our dorms and head to greet the girls and guys of the other schools. We sit down in the great hall Ginny, Harry and I and then Neville and Ron sat next to us and Dumbledore gets up and we all settle down. "Please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime." Dumbledore says A group of girls dressed in blue dance up the aisle and release butterflies into the air. They bow and everyone applauds. The guys go crazy. Veelas... I look across to Draco to see if he's gone mad, but he's staring at me... What? How? "Blimey, that's one big woman." Someone says "And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master Igor Karkaroff." He continues and a series of older boys walk up the aisle brandishing bo staffs, twirling them around and periodically stabbing them into the ground with a spark effect. "Blimey it's him, Viktor Krum!" Ron yells The boys breathe some fire. I don't believe it!" Ron said, in a stunned voice, "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!" "For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player," I say rolling my eyes "Only a Quidditch player?" Ron said, looking at me as though he couldn't believe his ears. "Hermione — he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!" Several sixth-year girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked — "Oh I don't believe it; I haven't got a single quill on me —" "D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?" "Really," I say loftily as the girls, now squabbling over the lipstick. "I'm getting his autograph if I can," Ron says. "You haven't got a quill, have you, Harry?" "Nope, they're upstairs in my bag," Harry says. Ron took care to sit on the side facing the doorway, because Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around it, apparently unsure about where they should sit. The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads. "It's not that cold," I say defensively. "Why didn't they bring cloaks?" "Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron hisses. "Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space —" "What?" "Too late," Ron says bitterly. Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table. I give Draco a look as to ask for an autograph for Ron he nods smiling and bend forward to speak to Krum. "Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy," Ron says scathingly. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though... bet he gets people fawning over him all the time...Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry... I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on a camp bed." We all laugh "Calm down, Ron!" Ginny and I say remembering the world cup. "They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot," Harry says. The Durmstrang students were pulling off their heavy furs and looking up at the starry black ceiling with expressions of interest; a couple of them were picking up the golden plates and goblets and examining them, apparently impressed. Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. "But there are only two extra people," Ginny says. "Why's Filch putting out four chairs, who else is coming?" "Eh?" Ron vaguely says. He was still staring avidly at Krum. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," Dumbledore says, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable." One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh. "No one's making you stay!" I whisper, bristling at her. Blimey do I hate Veelas "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Dumbledore says. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" He sat down, and I saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation. The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than we had ever seen, including several that were definitely foreign. "What's that?" Ron asks, pointing at a large dish of some sort ofshellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding. "Bouillabaisse," I say. "Bless you," Ron says. I roll my eyes "It's French," I say, "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice." "I'll take your word for it," Ron says, helping himself to black pudding. The Great Hall seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though there were barely twenty additional students there; perhaps it was because their differently colored uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts' robes. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing robes of a deep blood red. Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Harry, Ron, and I with a very heavily bandaged hand. "Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" Harry calls. "Thrivin'," Hagrid called back happily. "Yeah, I'll just bet they are," Ron says quietly. "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers." At that moment, a voice said, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth. Ron went purple. He stared up at her, opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a faint gurgling noise. "Yeah, have it," Harry says, pushing the dish toward the girl. "You 'ave finished wiz it?" "Yeah," Ron said breathlessly. "Yeah, it was excellent." The girl picked up the dish and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table. Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. Harry started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses. "She's a veela!" he says hoarsely to Harry. "Of course she is!" I say tartly. "They make them okay at Hogwarts," said Harry without thinking. "Don't let her hear that." I laugh Cho happened to be sitting only a few places away from the girl with the silvery hair. "When you've both put your eyes back in," I say briskly, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived." I pointed up at the staff table. The two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Ludo Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy's boss, was next to Madame Maxime. "What are they doing here?" Harry asks in surprise. "They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" I say. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start." When the second course arrived they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too. Ron examined an odd sort of pale blancmange closely, then moved it carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. The girl who looked like a veela appeared to have eaten enough, however, and did not come over to get it. Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Harry felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what wascoming. Several seats down from them, Fred and George were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration. "The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around atthe sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket —" We already have heard some of the speech but we are getting the rest of it now. "The what?" Harry mutters. Ron shrugs. "— just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" — there was a smattering of polite applause — "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, it was strange seeing him in wizard robes. "Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continues, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts." At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch." Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else's. "The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways . . . their magical prowess — their daring — their powers of deduction — and, of course, their ability to cope with danger." At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing. "As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total aftertask three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire." Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall. "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most be 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. "To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," Dumbledore says, "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 this 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 to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have 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 says, his eyes glinting, as they all made their way across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing — it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!" "But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance," I say, "we just haven't learned enough . . ." "Speak for yourself," George says shortly. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?" he continues "Where is he?" said Ron, who wasn't listening to a word of this conversation, but looking through the crowd to see what had become of Krum. "Dumbledore didn't say where the Durmstrang people are sleeping, did he?" But this query was answered almost instantly; they were level with the Slytherin table now, and Karkaroff had just bustled up to his students. "Back to the ship, then," he was saying. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?" We saw Krum shake his head as he pulled his furs back on. "Professor, I vood like some vine," oneof the other Durmstrang boys says hopefully. "I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff," snaps Karkaroff, his warmly paternal air vanishing in an instant. "I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy —" Karkaroff turned and led his students toward the doors, reaching them at exactly the same moment as Harry, Ron, and I. Harry stopped to let him walk through first. "Thank you," Karkaroff says carelessly, glancing at him. And then Karkaroff froze. He turned his head back to Harry and stared at him as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Behind their headmaster, the students from Durmstrang came to a halt too. Karkaroff's eyes moved slowly up Harry's face and fixed upon his scar. The Durmstrang students were staring curiously at Harry too. "Yeah, that's Harry Potter," said a growling voice from behind them. Professor Karkaroff spun around. Mad-Eye Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye glaring unblinkingly at the Durmstrang headmaster. The color drains from Karkaroff's face as I watched . Aterrible look of mingled fury and fear came over him. "You!" he said, staring at Moody as though unsure he was really seeing him. "Me," said Moody grimly. "And unless you've got anything tosay to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway." It was true; half the students in the Hall were now waiting behind them, Draco was next to me before I knew it and he had his hand on my back, but no one noticed. Every one was looking over one another's shoulders to see what was causing the holdup. Without another word, Professor Karkaroff swept his studentsaway with him. Moody watched him until he was out of sight, his magical eye fixed upon his back, a look of intense dislike upon his mutilated face. Draco walked me back to the common room. He hands me a piece of paper. "Ron, Viktor Krum. Keep up with Quidditch." It said. "Thank you so much!" I hug him "Maybe this will shut Ron up." He says. "You're a great friend you know... no matter what happens." He kisses my cheek. I want to take you out Sunday... like on a date." He says. "Yeah. I'd like that!" I smile and "Be ready by 6?" He asks. I nod and stand on my tippy toes and kiss him on the cheek. "See you then. Good night, Draco." I say "Good night, Hermione." He says and he walks away and I walk in.