Prankster's Champion - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter Eight

Magnus had been bombarded by questions once his roommates woke up to him entering, and of course Magnus never lived down any of it over the next couple of weeks. Though the twins and Lee had kept Magnus's drunken antics on the down low, the teasing from them had spread to most of the other Gryffindors that Magnus was friends with, as well as Roger, Randolph, and Jeremy. It was quite embarrassing, but he quickly grew used to it by the time the end of October came around.

A week before, an announcement that the other schools would be arriving on the 30th at 6 o'clock had sent the school into a tizzy, both because classes would end half an hour early, and they would get to meet some foreign students. Throughout the week, the castle was cleaned more thoroughly than usual, and the professors were even up in arms. Professor McGonagall was less lenient, Madam Hooch gave them extra work in classes, and Magnus could see that Hagrid was even a bit tense.

Once the 30th rolled around, Magnus was out of his dorms and hurrying off to breakfast early, far too excited to sleep in. The Great Hall had been redecorated overnight as well, which Magnus found quite interesting as he walked in, looking around with wide eyes. Silken banners for each house hung on the walls, including the largest banner with the Hogwarts coat of arms on it. Magnus was surprised to find Fred and George up earlier than most others though, sitting quietly and off on their own at the Gryffindor table, whispering to themselves.

He waltzed over to them, plopping down next to George and leaning an elbow on the table. "What'cha talkin' about?" He asked curiously, resting a cheek on his hand. They looked over to him, staying quiet for a moment. Magnus could tell something was bothering them, though they were usually able to hide it better whenever he saw them.

"A certain Ministry worker won't even talk to us," Fred started, grumpily crossing his arms.

"He keeps avoiding us, no matter what we try." George added, his tone gloomy.

"Well, if he won't talk to us in person, we'll just have to send him the letter after all," Fred mentioned to George, sharing a look with him. Magnus raised a brow, obviously curious about the letter.

"It's a bummer, but we just might have too. Even if we have to shove it in his hand ourselves, he can't avoid us forever." George agreed with a nod.

The two hushed up quickly though, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione came over and sat on the other side of Fred and George. They seemed to have heard the last little bit of the conversation from the looks they gave the twins.

"Who's avoiding you?" Ron asked, the first to sit down next to Fred.

"Wish you would," Fred said irritably, not happy with the interruption from his younger brother.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked, this time towards George, wanting to get answers.

"Having a nosy hit like you for a brother," George replied.

"But why does Magnus get to know!" Ron asked, his own irritation showing now.

Harry interrupted before an argument breaking out, sitting beside Ron. "You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet? Though any more about trying to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen, but she wasn't telling," George sounded bitter, but Magnus could see he was grateful that Harry had changed the subject. "She just told me to shut up and get on with Transfiguring my racoon."

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" Ron asked thoughtfully, "you know I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before..."

"I'm sure you were blundering around like fools though," Magnus said, chuckling slightly, "tasks are done in front of a panel of judges and awarded points based on their performances."