The Golden Wand [Harry Potter/Percy Jackson]

Chapter 4: Cedric Diggory

Harry POV:

It was almost exactly the same as it had been during the Triwizard Tournament: each house sat at their tables expectantly waiting for the other school's to make their entrance. First came Durmstrang - marching through the giant doors of the Great Hall in complete unison, charging down the aisles chanting their school anthem whilst fireworks and fire illusions soared through the air above our heads. Then came Beauxbatons - dressed in delicate blue, they danced down the aisles whilst doves flew over our heads and the harp played beautiful music in our ears. Madame Maxime, as tall as she was beautiful, joined Igor Karkarov and Dumbledore at the front of the hall, smiling proudly down at us all. 

We waited for Goode to arrive.

And then the doors opened slowly. In trotted the Centaur - Chiron Brunner. From the waist up he wore a pristine brown jacket and a neatly groomed beard, but from the waist down he was a magnificent white stallion. By his side, walking far too casually to look like he was important, strolled a man in a leopard print shirt, beach shorts and stylish sunglasses. If Chiron had been on his own it might have been an impressive sight, but then the guy next to him belched loudly (he must have been drunk) and the image was destroyed. 

Chiron pulled off a bow from his back. We gasped as he drew it back tightly and aimed an arrow at our headmaster - but he did not flinch. The arrow soared through the air, almost as if in slow motion, and in its wake the students appeared in a blur of light. They wore purple and orange shirts, all of them standing proudly.

"Blimey, they must have, like, twenty gyms at their school," Seamus muttered under his breath. I nodded in agreement, noticing how each and every one of them looked like they could wrestle Hagrid without breaking a sweat. 

They raised their wands in unison, light exploded from the tips - it got so bright in the hall I had to close my eyes, and when I did I saw images of storms, oceans, fire and earth. By the time I had opened my eyes again the newcomers stood at the front of the hall, smiling around at us. 

The hall erupted with applause; students stood up from their seats to cheer and whoop the newcomers, impressed with their magnificent display. I was clapping along with everyone, still in awe with what I had just seen. How did they do that? What did those images mean? I strained to look over the heads of the other students, trying to catch a good enough glimpse at the students of Goode School. The tallest of them were two guys in purple tops; one, an Asian boy with a buzz cut and intimidating muscles, the other a slightly shorter boy with shockingly blonde hair and a shockingly perfect face, all except a single white scar on his lip. I felt intimidated by them both already. 

"Man, that's a group of attractive people right there," Dean grimaced, somewhat appreciative but somewhat jealous. I could only agree with him. 

Finally when the hall had settled down and we had taken our seats once more, the students of Goode sat down on the benches prepared for them, alongside our Durmstrang and Beauxbatons guests. 

"Hush, hush, hush children," Dumbledore said after shaking hands with the drunk man, who I was shocked to discover was their headmaster, Mr Dionysus. "Firstly, I would like to say a big welcome to our many guests! Maxime and Karkarov, thank you so much for coming back to the halls of Hogwarts, we have missed you and yours greatly. And I want to say a special welcome to Dionysus and his talented students, who are here for the first time. It truly is a momentous occasion to celebrate. I am sure that everyone of my students will welcome you nicely into their home - which will now be yours also for the following year.

"Secondly, it is my great pleasure to announce that today signifies the official starting date of this year's International Young Wizarding Championship - the Golden Competition. As you all know, the Golden Competition is the second of two famous wizarding tournaments, the first being the Triwizard Tournament. And now, to present the opening speech to this years prestigious event, it is my honour to introduce you to a very famous ex-student of mine, a dear friend and the winner of the last Triwizard Tournament: CEDRIC DIGGORY!"

Applause rang through the hall as Cedric, dressed in his old house colours of gold and yellow, made his way to the podium, raising a hand in appreciation. 

"Thank you, thank you!" Cedric called out, flashing a winning and somewhat cocky grin. Girls swooned. "As winner of the Triwizard Tournament, I cannot stress enough the importance of these events and the fun times that future victors will embark on. I, personally, am very excited to watch the tournament, and as much as I welcome the other schools into my own, I must say that I am rooting for Hogwarts to succeed."

This earned him a few laughs from the crowd.

"Now on to the event!" He called. The crowd went quiet. "The Golden Competition is the second of two major wizarding tournaments within our school system. The Triwizard Tournament is a battle between three of the largest European Institutes, where a competitor from each school is set to face three impossibly hard challenges to determine the ultimate victor, who in turn will be rewarded with fame and the Triwizard Cup. However, the Golden Tournament is very different.

"In the last month, every school from the wizarding community has been competing to enter this world-famous event. And now the four winning schools have met here at Hogwarts, so that the competition can officially begin. Throughout the next year, twenty competitors - five champions from each school - will go head to head in ten difficult challenges, where ultimately only one champion will succeed. This victor will bring honour to their school, earn fame and riches and, most importantly, receive the Golden Wand!"

With a flourish of his hand and a flash of light, a great golden wand appeared in the air before Cedric. It was literally glowing. I held my breath as I watched the wand spin - I could feel the power radiating off of it, I could see how beautiful it was. It was the most perfect wand I had ever seen. 

"The Golden Wand is one of the most powerful wands in existence, rivaling that even of the Elder Wand. This competition is designed to test every aspect of each competitor, so that only the strongest in mind and body will prove they are worthy enough to obtain it. Owning this wand for seven years is said to transform a wizard from great to Greatness - why, for an example of this you need only look at Dumbledore, who won the Golden Competition in 1897!

"In the following week, students from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons and Goode will attend their interviews so that each school can determine who their five champions shall be, and they will all be revealed in this hall next Wednesday. For now, you have a week to train or relax, make friends or enemies, the decisions are yours. Good luck!"

Cedric disapparated for dramatic effect, but the wand remained floating in the fake-sky of the Great Hall, casting a warm light down on us all. 

"It's bloody fantastic," Ron marveled in a whisper. I nodded in agreement. 

"Students!" Dumbledore stood up to the podium once more. "Dinner!"

My stomach grumbled loudly in anticipation. This was always my favourite time of day. As the Headmaster raised his hands, the food appeared on the tables in front of us. Ron's eyes lit up as they always did, Neville licked his lips, Hermione was already reaching towards the roast potatoes before they had even appeared. I laughed. Yep, dinner was definitely the best thing about Hogwarts.