The Unexpected Task [H.P.]

Chapter 10 - The Goblet

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Minutes later, we enter the Great Hall, followed by the Durmstrang students. Inside, we find the Beauxbatons students huddled for warmth at the Ravenclaw table. As we take our seats, Ron looks around expectantly, his eyes following Krum's head as he passes us.

"Merlin, I think you're in love, Ron." I joke, and Harry snorts into his pumpkin juice.

Ron rolled his eyes, turning to face me, "You'd be too, if you saw how well he played, Em. He's the best...err..sorry, Harry." Harry shrugged, apparently accepting Krum's success as a Quidditch player.

I hear a muffled curse and turn to look at Hermione next to me, rolling her eyes as she eyes one of the Beauxbatons girls with narrowed eyes. The girl was shivering, her silk scarf still wrapped around her head. "Oh, it's not that cold." She fails to whisper to only herself, her eyes narrowed and hostile. From across the table, I meet eyes with Harry, who raises his eyebrows with concern.

"That's right, swarm it up with him, Malfoy." Ron said, bitingly. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though... bet he gets people fawning over him all the time... D'you have a spare bit of parchment... think I've got the end of a quill in here somewhere.." He trailed off dramatically, searching his pockets for a quill that likely didn't exist.

After Dumbledore welcomed the new arrivals, food appeared before us, and along our normal grand dinner, a mix of different foods appeared, including some strange looking dishes, one of which Ron poked his nose up at.

The door suddenly opened, and Hagrid ambled in, carrying with him the undeniable smell of toasted fabric. As he passed us, Harry called out, "Those blast-ended-skrewts alright, Hagrid?"

He turned, a smile on his face, and sheepishly nodded. When he left, Ron rolled his eyes and began to whisper, but was interrupted by a silvery voice behind him.

"Excuse me, Are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" The girl spoke, and I recognized her as the one with the shawl from earlier, which had finally been removed from the crown of her silvery curtain of hair. Ron stammered, and gulped as the girl stood idly near him, her large blue eyes blinking expectantly.

"The.." He finally gargled, turning slightly purple. I rolled my eyes at his antics, and Harry took charge for him. "Here, have it." He offered, holding the pot of gravy-like liquid to her. She smiled placidly, teeth whiter than snow, and whisked away, carrying the pot carefully in her thin hands.

Even after she'd sat back down, Ron seemed aghast. Harry and I started to laugh, which knocked his senses back into himself, finally. "She's a veela!" he whispered hoarsely to Harry. Next to me, Hermione, who'd gone stiff, whispered angrily, "Of course she isn't! I don't see anyone else gaping at her!"

Perhaps she wasn't quite looking hard enough, because as I scanned the Great Hall, many boys' heads had indeed turned in her direction, still focusing on her solely as she settled back onto the bench at Ravenclaw's table.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" Ron said dreamily, sitting sideways to get a good view of her. In his trance, he continued. "They don't make 'em like that at Hogwarts..."

I scoffed, "I think we do quite well for ourselves here, Ronald. Give us a little credit..."

"Yeah, they make 'em okay at Hogwarts..." Harry trailed off beside him, not looking at anyone and cutting into a sausage idly.

"When you've both put your eyes back in," Hermione said briskly, pointing to the staff table, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived."

At the staff table, two men had occupied the two remaining seats. On Professor Karkaroff's left side, a tall, bulgy man with a squashed nose sat, looking animated and excited. Next to Madame Maxime, another man sat, looking stiff and uncomfortable in an incredibly well-pressed suit. He stood out among the other wizards around him, wearing smart muggle clothing.