AFTER EVERYONE had settled in, Dumbledore began to speak.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," he announced, causing excited gasps to emit from the tables. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" As if on cue, once he finished speaking the tables flooded with a large variety of food. However, the dishes tonight differed from the normal feast; there seemed to be foods from Bulgaria and France.
"What's that?" Ron asked, motioning to a large bowl that contained what appeared to be a stew of fish and vegetables.
"Bouillabaisse," Hermione replied while helping herself to some.
"Bless you," Ron gulped as he spooned pudding into his mouth.
"I didn't sneeze. The dish is french. I had it on holiday the summer before last. It's very nice," Hermione clarified while rolling her eyes.
"I'll take your word for it," he replied monotonously, "anyways, Arden, are you going to enter the tournament? I mean, you are of age, right?"
"Yeah, I am," Arden started while cutting her food. "I am actually really excited for it, at least I'm pretty sure I am."
"That's cool! If you are chosen as the champion for Hogwarts you will be representing Gryffindor!" Ron smiled. Arden grinned at his reaction and started eating, really thinking about the odds of being picked.
"She's not the only one who has a chance of representing Gryffindor, Ickle Ronnykins," Fred jested, as he and George took seats across from Arden.
"Yeah, Ronald, we'd think you'd have a little faith in your older brothers!" George added, taking the pitcher of pumpkin juice from out of the boy's hand.
"How d'you reckon you'll get around the age line, you know, however they set it?" The younger Weasley spoke, open-mouthed.
"Yeah, Fred, George, how do you reckon you will get around the age line? Surely Dumbledore won't be leave a loophole for one of your childish potions or spells?" Arden sneered, squinting her eyes at the two. They both returned a wide, devious smile.
"You'll just have to witness for yourselves," George grinned.
As Ron began to further question his brothers, Arden leaned back from the conversation and averted her eyes to the Hufflepuff table. Cedric was laughing at something one of his friends said (she guessed), while another friend next to him had an arm wrapped around him. He looked really happy in that moment, and Arden couldn't help but smile herself.
"Arden, what're you looking at over there? Could it be, Golden Boy Diggory?" One of the twins purred, causing her to revert her eyes back to them.
"Actually, Weasel, I was looking at - "
" - The moment has come," interrupted Dumbledore. The twins battered their eyelashes at her before turning their heads to face the front. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. As you know, three champions will compete in the tournament, 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 score after task three will win the Triwizard Cup." As he mentioned the prize, he pulled down a blanket that was covering something on a table beside him. There, huge and illuminating the room in a bright blue light, stood the Triwizard Cup. It was the most magnificent and appealing reward Arden had ever seen, and she — along with most students in the room — couldn't help but gape in astonishment.
