In Between Two Worlds (HP/PJO Crossover)

Chapter 134: The Five Champions.

I sat there, aware that every head in the Great Hall had turned to look at us. I was stunned. I felt numb.

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry and me as we sat, frozen, in our seats.

Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

I turned to Fred. "I didn't-you know-"

He nodded and squeezed my hand.

At the top table, Professor Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to Professor McGonagall.

"Harry Potter! Karlee Black!" he called again. "Harry! Karlee! Up here, if you please!"

"Go on," Fred whispered, giving me a slight push.

Harry and I got to our feet. We set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables together. It felt like an immensely long walk; the top table didn't seem to be getting any nearer at all, and I could feel hundreds and hundreds of eyes upon us, as though each were a searchlight. The buzzing grew louder and louder. After what seemed like an hour, we were right in front of Dumbledore, feeling the stares of all the teachers upon us.

"Well...through the door," said Dumbledore. He wasn't smiling.

We moved off along the teachers' table. Hagrid was seated right at the end. He did not wink at us, or wave, or give any of his usual signs of greeting. He looked completely astonished and stared at us as we passed like everyone else. We went through the door out of the Great Hall and found ourselves in a smaller room, lined with paintings of witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite us.

The faces in the portraits turned to look at us as we entered. i saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard with a walrus mustache. The wizened witch started whispering in his ear.

Krum, Cedric, and Fleur were grouped around the fire. They looked strangely impressive, silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched-up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back, staring into the fire. Fleur Delacour looked around when we walked in and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair.

"Qu'Est-ce que c'est?" She asked. (What is it? Do they want us back in the hall?) "Veulent-ils que nous retournions dans le couloir?"

She thought we had come to deliver a message. I didn't know how to explain what had just happened. We just stood there, looking at the three champions.

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind us, and Bagman entered the room. He took Harry and I by the arm and led us forward.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing Harry's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen...lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce--incredible though it may seem--the fourth and fifth Triwizard champions?"

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry and I. Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to Harry to me and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Fleur, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman. "

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! Harry and Karlee's names just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

Krum's thick eyebrows contracted slightly. Cedric was still looking politely bewildered. Fleur frowned.