The Other Witches

8. Not Really the Triwizard Tournament, Is It?

The next evening, I'm sitting at the Ravenclaw table, eating some pork chop. Ella and Lauren are chatting with some other Hufflepuffs. Lucy is bent over something small in her hand, while Von is turned around in her seat to talk to her. Suddenly, Von claps a hand over her mouth and starts cracking up.

Headmaster Stallonwick rises, and the hall falls silent.

"I am pleased to announce that once again, the Triwizard Tournament will be hosted by Hogwarts School!"

Half the students erupt in loud cheers, while the other half sit in puzzled silence. What was the Triwizard again? A big contest....three champions.....the Triwizard Cup....

Stallonwick waves his hand for quiet. "However, the Department of Magical Games and Sports has required that we take further measures to ensure the safety of our students, due to the terrible events of the last Tournament. The champions will be chosen by the Goblet of Fire, as usual. But to increase safety, students will be required to submit their names in teams of no less than three, and no more than seven. The other students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have been informed of these changes. Ah, here we are!"

The huge doors open, and a long stream of boys and girls in powder-blue uniforms walk in, followed by a group in bulky fur coats. In turns, they bow to Professor Stallonwick and sit at one of the four tables. The Ravenclaw table seems to be overcrowded with Beauxbatons students.

After the desserts have disappeared, Neswood the gamekeeper walks up the long aisle, carrying a large wooden chest. He sets it down at the front of the hall, and the talking dies down to agitated whispers. "Not really the Triwizard Tournament, is it?" Ella says, leaning over from the Hufflepuff table. "Too many champions."

Stallonwick taps the chest with his wand, and the boards disappear to reveal a large, crudely carved goblet. It begins to smoke and throw sparks, until it becomes a cup of cobalt-blue flames.

"The Department has allowed the age limit to be lowered this year," says Stallonwick. He walks around the goblet with his wand at his side, tracing a thin white line in the air. "The contestants must be over the age of thirteen to enter their names in the Goblet. The age line will reject any student under thirteen." He faces us solemnly. "I must warn you, to those who put their name in, once you are chosen, you cannot back out. You are bound by the magical contract of the Goblet to compete in the Tournament. Be ready to face the most dangerous foes."

"The Triwizard Tournament has begun!"

Over the next few days, the school is a flurry of visiting students and the occasional kid dropping their team into the Goblet. I confine myself to the library for some peace and quiet, which is not really an improvement from the Great Hall, seeing as there is always an annoying gaggle of Beauxbatons girls hovering behind the shelves, giggling about that McFleeble boy, whose name turns out to be PJ. He seems to be spending an awful lot of time in the library, from what I can tell.

The tension between houses is growing visibly. PJ's not helping in that regard. Almost every day, I see one of my friends, usually Ella or Lucy, in a heated argument with him for reasons that they won't tell me. Once I walked in on Ella yelling, "Well, FUDGE YOU!!" at the top of her lungs, right in his face.

Meanwhile, Ella introduces us to PJ's sister, Patricia, who's in Hufflepuff. She has the same dark hair and sharp nose as PJ, but other than that, she's not like her brother. She's nice, with a mischievous personality. And she's really into wizard's chess.

A few days before Halloween, the last day that the Goblet will take names, I sit in the Great Hall, chatting with Ella and Patricia about the Potions homework, when Lucy bursts into our conversation.

"Hey Patricia, sorry to interrupt, but could I borrow Eliza and Ella for a second?" Without waiting for an answer, she stands up and pulls us by the arms all the way up to the Owlery, where Von and Lauren stand waiting.

"Make it quick, Lulu," Von crosses her arms. "I'm scheduled to have a duel with Scorpius in about ten minutes, and trust me, I will NOT miss one opportunity to beat that kid up."

Lucy looks a little shocked, but regains her composure quickly. "First things first. Come here, Stve! You stupid fudgemuffin! Stve!"

"Stve?" asks Ella, voicing all our confusion.

"Oh yeah, so this is what happened." She stands as her pygmy owl perches on her arm and shows us his ingraved collar. It reads STVE.

"Yeah, little spelling error there. I was planning to name him Steve. But now it's Stve. It's the only thing he responds to now, thanks to someone's charmed collar," she says, glaring at Von. She adds quickly, "Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I put our names in as a team for the Tournament."

"WHAT?!?!"

Thanks for waiting guys!

-RedV