ch 20 : old men

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It was the night before Halloween as you all sat in the entrance hall, watching the students put their names into the Goblet of Fire. It seemed like an awfully dangerous thing to do, and you were glad most of your friends weren't old enough to compete.

You sat next to Hermione and watched as everyone entered their names. When Cedric put his name in, you cheered with everyone else, even as your heart twisted in worry for him. You gave him a big thumbs up when he looked at you.

Just then, Fred and George came in cheering. You all glanced over at the cause of the commotion. The twins came in holding two vials with a green potion in them.

You grinned widely at them. It looked like they successfully made the potion.

The crowd cheered them on until Hermione piped up next to you, "It's not going to work!"

They casted each other a curious glance before coming along and squatting next to you and Hermione. With a smirk, Fred quipped, "Oh, yeah?"

Sitting on the edge of the seat next to you, George grinned, "And why's that, Granger?"

You giggled softly, and your eyes wandered to Hermione to see her response.

She stared at the line around the goblet and pointed out, "This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

George fired back, "So?"

Hermione huffed and nearly rolled her eyes, and she sassily enunciated, "So, a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dimwitted as an Aging Potion."

Fred proposed, "But that's why it's so brilliant-"

"-Because it's so pathetically dimwitted," George finished, leaning in closer to you ever so slightly, and you hated how hyperaware you were every time he got close, as if all your senses had been amped up to full capacity.

George winked at you before they both pulled away and hopped up on the bench. They grinned at one another widely, and their smiles made your own grin stretch further across your face.

"Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George."

They said together, "Bottoms up!" They both drank the contents of their vials and jumped inside the age line. When nothing happened, they cheered, "Yeah!"

Glancing over his shoulder, George winked at you. You felt your heart flutter as you beamed back at him.

They both threw their names into the goblet, and you tried to ignore the sudden anxiety you felt when you thought about either of them competing in this tournament. You would feel awful if something happened to them since you had partially helped them get there, but the joy on their faces as they gave one another high-fives was enough to make your worries disappear for a little while.

Everyone was cheering for them when the goblet seemed to revolt and shot them across the room. They both sat up and looked at each other and then at you. You blinked in surprise, gasping as their hair turned white.

You giggled, "Oh my, they're old men."

Hermione chuckled and shook her head as the two hollered, "You said!" They began to wrestle on the ground as the entire group chuckled. You felt relieved that it hadn't worked, but you would never tell them that.

Viktor Krum came in and put his name in the goblet before staring straight at Hermione. Your eyebrows shot to your hairline as she slowly smiled in response. You stared at her with wide eyes. You whispered, "You are telling me all about that later."

She glanced at you quickly with cheeks flushing before staring straight ahead again.

You watched how everyone was infatuated with Krum, but your eyes kept drifting to a certain white haired boy on the other side of the room that night.

-

The next day, you all sat around as Dumbledore received the names from the Goblet of fire. Soon Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum were selected, and the crowd erupted into cheers.

As Cedric Diggory's name was called, your stomach dropped, but you cheered for him with the rest of the crowd. He laughed as everyone clapped him on the back excitedly.

Dumbledore turned around and began to discuss the tournament as the flames turned red once more. You blinked in shock as the goblet spit out another name.

Dumbledore looked appalled as he grabbed the piece of parchment. He gravely announced, "Harry Potter."

Whispers erupted across the room as you quickly turned around to find Harry. He looked horrified and confused as Hermione shoved him forwards. Something was wrong, very wrong. There must be some mistake.

Your brother was 14, not 17! This is incredibly dangerous, especially since he's so young. You pressed the back of your hand to your mouth as you felt like you were going to be sick. Susan put a hand on your arm and questioned, "Are you okay?"

You didn't respond as you watched your brother leave the room, feeling the cold settle in your bones.

Something was wrong. You knew that Harry wouldn't be so foolish to cheat just to put himself into considerable danger. Right?

As your peers began rudely gossiping about Harry right in front of you, you abruptly stood and pushed your way out of the room. You couldn't stand to sit back and listen to them all speak ill of your brother. You ignored the stares of your classmates as you left the room.

When you got back to your dorm, you pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, hoping to get ahold of Sirius who would certainly know what to make of this situation.

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