Finding Yourself : Fred Weasley

16

   After a minute Dumbledore finally settled the room down quiet enough so he can speak. 
     "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and, most particularly, guests. I have great pleasure and welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will be officially opening at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourself at home," he says with a wide grin before he sits.
    The plates on the tables filled with food as usual. Only this time there was a greater variety of dishes, some things that I've never seen before and have no idea if I'm adventurous enough to try. Oh who am I kidding, of course I am.
    As everyone eats, including myself, I can't help but notice that two others are now sitting at the staff table. I nudge Cedric. "Who are they?" I ask nodding to the table. He looks at me then the table.
     "That's Ludo bagman and Mr. Crouch. They are Ministry officials. They are probably here about the tournament," he answers with a small smile before going back to eating. "This entire thing is ridiculous. The only good thing about it is the interaction between the schools," Reno mutters as he eats.
     After everyone has eaten too much food (especially me) everyone is just ready to hear about the tournament. Luckily the food is cleared away soon enough. "Thank goodness. I ate way too much. Looking at the food was making me sick," I whisper. "You did eat about five plates," Cedric says while surprising a laugh.
     Dumbledore again stands and everyone quickly quiets down, ready to listen. "The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket, just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year.
    "But first let me introduce to those you may not know them. Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Corporation. And Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions efforts."
    When Dumbledore stop speaking Filch approaches him with a great, wooden chest, covered with jewels and looks extremely old. More excitement runs through all the students.
    "The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman. 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 powers, their daring, their powers of deduction, and, of course, their ability to cope with danger. As you know three champions competes in the tournament. One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournaments tasks. The champion with the highest total after tasks will win the Triwizard cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector. The Goblet of Fire."
     Dumbledore takes out his wand and tapped the top of the chest three times. The lid creek slowly open. Dumbledore reaches in and pulls out a large, roughly hewn, wooden cup. It would have been entirely uninteresting if it had not been full to the brim with bright blue white flames. He closes the casket and sets the goblet on top of it.
    "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. Aspiring champions have 24 hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most 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 students yield to temptation, 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 17 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 the champion has been selected by the goblet of Fire he or she is obligated to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in goblet constitutes a binding magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you 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. Goodnight to you all."
     With that everyone starts to get up and file out of the room. I wonder where the two guest schools will be sleeping.
     When we get back to the common room I change out of my robes and into my pajamas. Fuzzy shorts and an oversized shirt that I think I stole from Cedric. I also take out my contacts and replace them with my glasses.
     I sit down on the floor in front of the couch where Cedric is sitting with Reno. Cedric is talking about when he should put his name in. Reno is writing in his notebook. I stretch my arms then comb out my hair with my finger.
     "Isn't that Potter's owl?" Susan Bones asks. Everyone looks over to the snowy white owl that is sitting on a perch. I walk over and take the letter from her and see it is addressed to me.
     A little nervously I gently pet her then hand her a small treat. She gives me a small hoot of appreciation then fly's away. I sit back down.
     "Why did Potter's owl bring you a letter?" Reno asks in a confused tone. "He let me borrow her," I answer while opening the letter. I look at the bottom of the page to see who it's from, though I'm not sure why. The letters I get from my mom look nothing like this. This is from Lupin.
         Dear Charlie,
    Things are quite well for me, thank you. Recently I have found myself in a rather dull state. There doesn't ever seen to be enough to do. How are you? How are your studies?
     I had heard about Moody unexpectedly taking the job as your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. I hope that is going well for him and the students.
     I had also heard about the tournament, but it is always nice to hear about it from someone firsthand experiencing it. I expect it will be very exciting and full of surprises. It always is at Hogwarts.
    As for helping you find your real family I would be more than happy to try to help you find them. Everyone deserves to know where they come from. I will help in any way that I can. If you have any suggestions then please, by all means send them and I will get to work.
                              - Remus Lupin
       P.s,    I am no longer your professor, you do not need to address me as so.

     I read the letter over a couple times just to make sure I read it right. For some reason I fully expected him to say he was busy and couldn't help. Or that he didn't think it was a good idea. I hand Cedric and Reno the letter to read.
     When they are finished they hand it back to me. "That's great!" Cedric says with a smile. "He can help a lot. He could get ahold of documents easy," Reno says with a smile. I smile at their enthusiasm to help.
     I stand. "Thanks guy. I really appreciate your help." They smile back. "You going to bed?" Cedric asks. I nod. "Goodnight, sleep well," Reno says. "I think I'll go to bed here soon too. Night Char, sweet dreams," Cedric says while standing. "Night guys."
      I walk to the girls dorm room and lay down after taking off my glasses. I close my eyes and pull the covers tight around myself until I'm cozy enough to fall asleep.