Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 46: Out of the Flames, Our Champions Shall Rise

When Shaye first entered the Great Hall, she was surprised to see just how packed it was. Sure, she had been expecting a large turnout to witness the selecting of the Triwizard Tournament competitors, but with every Hogwarts student, plus those from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the Hall was filled to the brim.

Pushing her way through the crowds of people, Shaye made her way over to where a large group of Gryffindors were sitting. In the middle of the room, as it had been for the past few days, the Goblet of Fire continued to burn on. The blue flames flickered and shone brightly and Shaye wondered just how many names had been devoured by them. 

Almost every student from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had put their name forth but only a select few from Hogwarts had. Along with Cedric, a handful of boys had thrown their name into the goblet and an even smaller handful of girls had done the same.

Now, it was time to find out who the three lucky—or unlucky, depending on how you looked at it—students would be. 

Excitement and anticipation were thick in the air. Most students were making guesses as to who they thought would be chosen and Shaye even overheard a seventh-year girl complaining to her friends about how she regretted entering her name. 

"Sit down. Please." Dumbledore strode into the middle of the room and waited for everyone to be seated. "Now the moment you've all been waiting for. The champion selection."

With a wave of Dumbledore's hand, the orange flames from the torches on the walls died out, leaving the room to once again glow with the blue flames of the goblet. Then, slowly and deliberately, Dumbledore approached the goblet with his hand outstretched. Suddenly, the blue flame turned bright red and a single slip of paper was produced from the fire. It was a simple, unassuming slip of parchment. Upon catching it in mid-air, Dumbledore read from the smoking paper. "The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum."

The group of Durmstrang boys cheered and patted Viktor on the back as he stood from his seat and shook Dumbledore's hand. Viktor then walked over to the head table where he would watch the selection of his two competitors.

The blue flames flickered red again and another slip of paper shot into the air before gracefully fluttering downward. This parchment was blue and frilly, and as Dumbledore caught it in his hand, it was obvious the next champion would be from Beauxbatons.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is ... Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore announced.

A beautiful girl with a charming smile and blonde hair tied back into a tight ponytail emerged from the sea of blue-clad ladies. She too shook Dumbledore's hand before joining Krum at the front of the room.

There was only one more champion to be selected and this one, of course, would be from Hogwarts. The many tables occupied by Hogwarts students became electric with nervous anticipation, a few students predicting whose name would be called and even making bets with their friends.

Once again, the blue flame transitioned to a deep red hue for a brief moment and the final slip of paper emerged from the goblet. Snatching the parchment out of the air, Dumbledore looked down at the smoking edges before reading the name aloud. "The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!"

The Hogwarts students, especially the Hufflepuffs, erupted into applause. Cedric stood from his seat with a huge grin on his face before shaking Dumbledore's hand and joining the two other champions.

"What an interesting group," Shaye said as she clapped for Cedric. "Should be an exciting tournament."

"Would have been more exciting if it were George or me." Fred moped. 

Ron scoffed. "It most definitely would not have been."

Shaye, Harry, and Hermione chuckled.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore held his arms out wide. "We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory ... the Triwizard Cup!"