Chosen & Hated (HP) {Book 2 of the Wild & Free Series}

16. The Five Champions

I sat there, aware that every head in the Great Hall had turned to look at Harry and me. I was stunned. I felt numb. I was surely dreaming. I had not heard correctly.

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry and me as we sat, both frozen, in our seats.

Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

I turned to Ron, Hermione and Rowan; beyond them, I saw the long Gryffindor table all watching Harry and me, openmouthed.

"We didn't put our names in," Harry said blankly. "You know we didn't."

They stared just as blankly back. At the top table, Professor Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to Professor McGonagall.

"Harry and Liana Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Liana! Up here, if you please!"

"Go on," Hermione whispered, giving Harry and me a slight push. We got to our feet, trod on the hem of our robes, and stumbled
slightly. We set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. It felt like an immensely long walk; the top table didn't seem to be getting any nearer at all, and I could feel hundreds and hundreds of eyes upon me, as though each were a searchlight. The buzzing grew louder and louder. After what seemed like an hour, we were right in front of Dumbledore, feeling the stares of all the teachers upon us.

"Well... through the door," said Dumbledore. He wasn't smiling.

Harry and I moved off along the teachers' table. Hagrid was seated right at the end. He did not wink at Harry and me, or wave, or give any of his usual signs of greeting. He looked completely astonished and stared at us as we passed like everyone else. We went through the door out of the Great Hall and found ourselves in a smaller room, lined with paintings of witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite us.

The faces in the portraits turned to look at us as we entered. I saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard with a walrus mustache. The wizened witch started whispering in his ear.

Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. They looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched-up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back, staring into the fire. Fleur Delacour looked around when Harry and I walked in and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair.

"What is it?" she said. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

She thought we had come to deliver a message. I didn't know how to explain what had just happened. We just stood there, looking at the three champions. It struck me how very tall all of them were.

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind us, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took Harry and me by the arms and led us forward.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing our arms. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen... lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce — incredible though it may seem — the fourth and fifth Triwizard champions?"

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry and me. Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to Harry to me and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Fleur Delacour, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."