Papillon

03 - le parchemin

C H A P T E R 0 3

Draco

Sunday evening came faster than Draco had hoped and it made him nervous. Ever since Fleur had put her name in the Goblet of Fire, Draco had been hoping that she would be the chosen one. Of course he would support any girl that would be chosen as Beauxbatons' Champion, but it would hurt his ego a bit if that would be the case.

They had just finished dessert and everyone was anxiously waiting for Dumbledore to make the next move. Draco peered over at the teacher's table and caught Madame Maxime's eyes. His Headmistress looked nervous as well; glancing over at the Goblet every few seconds to then return her eyes to Draco and the girls. He understood her worry; one of her precious filles would be up for many dangerous challenges once chosen. If something went wrong; she would be partly to blame.

Finally Dumbledore rose from his seat and made his way around the table, towards the Goblet. The blue flames were still roaring brightly and as the old man clapped his hands, all other sources of light went out; almost like Draco had done during his entrance. Chatting students shut their mouths and all eyes were focused on the Goblet and its blue fire now. Dumbledore cleared his throat and freed his hands from his sleeves a bit. 'Now, the moment you have all been waiting for; the selection of our three Champions,' Dumbledore called out through the Hall.

Everyone was on the edge of their seat; anxiously and nervously waiting for the next move the Goblet would make. Dumbledore took a step forward, placing a hand atop the Goblet's smooth stone and drawing it back as quick as it was placed. A few seconds passed and Draco bit his bottom lip, waiting. He felt Fleur's hand grab his underneath the table and he gave her palm a slight squeeze.

The blue flames suddenly turned red, almost as if the fire got angry at something. The flames shot up towards the magical ceiling and with their bolt movement came a piece of scorched parchment. As the flames transformed back to their original blue color, the piece of parchment floated downwards straight into the hands of Dumbledore. The man cleared his throat once again, reading the name on the parchment out loud. 'Our Durmstrang Champion will be... Viktor Krum!'

Shouting and applause broke free from the Slytherin table as all the men of Durmstrang rose to clap their hands for their Champion. Of course it had to be Krum; if it had been someone else it would've been ridiculous and a waste of the celebrity's time to come in the first place. Krum made his way to Dumbledore who congratulated him and gave him a pat on the shoulder. Krum didn't seem the slightest surprised by everything at all and followed Dumbledore's guiding hand to a door in the back of the Great Hall.

The flames colored red again as Dumbledore turned around, facing the Goblet and waiting for the next Champion to be chosen. As the fire shot up again, a parchment butterfly came fluttering down. Draco's heart almost stopped beating as he recognized the parchment not only from his dream but also from Fleur's hand when she had put it in the Goblet herself last Friday. He felt Fleur squeeze his hand with great force when Dumbledore read her name out loud. 'The Champion for Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour!'

Draco jumped up from his seat and all the other girls followed almost as fast. As Fleur made her way towards Dumbledore, everyone clapped their hands and Draco decided to blow some magical butterflies behind her. One fluttered down on Fleur's shoulder and she threw a bright smile at Draco before shaking Dumbledore's hand and accepting his congratulations. Before she made her way to the door as well, Dumbledore took the butterfly from her shoulder and looked at it with great curiosity. Madame Maxime beamed from across the room and followed Fleur with her eyes as she left through the door.

The butterfly disappeared in the Headmaster's hands and the flames colored red one last time. Out came the last piece of parchment, neatly folded in four. Unfolding it took longer than the others, and the tension amongst the Hogwarts students grew. Dumbledore then cleared his throat one last time and read the name out loud. 'And finally, the Champion for Hogwarts... Cedric Diggory!'