- CHAPTER ONE -
How to fool a goblet
Harry and Hermione were sitting on a couch in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fireplace. It was late in the evening on the day before Halloween. Tomorrow, after the Halloween feast, the Goblet of Fire would select the champions of the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry was holding his Potions book, but instead of reading it, he watched the Weasley twins as they plotted how to get around Dumbledore's Age Line and enter their names into the Goblet of Fire. Currently, they were discussing Ageing Potions.
Hermione was reading a thick tome on Arithmancy, but she also seemed to listen in on the twins' discussion.
It was well past midnight, and the four students were the only ones still left in the common room when Hermione looked at Harry, sighed and shook her head in annoyance. "Really, wizards have not an ounce of logic or common sense."
Harry looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Those two." She nodded towards the twins. "Honestly, the solution is obvious, isn't it?"
This caught the twins' attention, but it was Harry who answered. "Sorry, but not everyone here is a genius like you," he said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's the point: You don't have to be a genius. You just need a tiny little bit of common sense."
"Oh, please enlighten us, O Wise One," Fred – no, George, said as the twins moved towards the fourth-years and sat on the table in front of the couch.
Hermione raised her eyebrows at them. "And why should I help the two of you to break the rules?"
"Name your price," Fred – no, this one was George, said.
Harry looked sternly at the girl next to him. "Hermione, if you didn't want to tell us the solution, you really should have kept quiet. You can't say something like that and then not share your wisdom with us mere mortals."
"Oh, fine," the brunette answered. She tried to act serious, but her eyes twinkled with amusement.
Hermione turned towards the twins. "No pranks on Harry or me, or on any first-years, for the entire school year!" she demanded.
"No pranks on Harry or you, or the first-years, for the rest of the week," George – was it George? – offered in return.
"The. Entire. School year." Hermione insisted sternly. "Take it or leave it."
"Oh, a feisty one," Fred said and shared a look with his brother. "Fine, if this works, you have yourself a deal."
Hermione leaned back on the couch, a triumphant look on her face. "Very well," she said. "Tell me, why are you trying to enter your names into the Goblet?"
"The tournament-," George began, but Hermione interrupted him.
"You misunderstand. Why are you trying to enter your names yourself?"
The three boys looked at her gobsmacked.
"What?"
"You mean...?"
Hermione nodded. "Nothing prevents anyone from entering someone else's name into the Goblet. Anyone of age who gets past the Age Line could put your names in it."
"Are you sure?" Fred asked with a frown. "Wouldn't then simply the person who had entered the name be required to compete in the tournament?"
"That would make sense," Hermione agreed, "but it is not the case. Actually, this is not even my idea. This has happened before. Three times, a champion was selected who could prove that he hadn't entered his name into the Goblet: Randolph Plunkett for Hogwarts in 1246, Glover Hawksworth for Hogwarts in 1378 and Corvus Lestrange for Beauxbatons in 1610. Of course, there was no age limit back then, but that's beside the point. It is a fact that the Goblet creates a contract with the person who is selected, no matter whether that person has entered their name themself."
There was a long silence during which the twins looked at Hermione incredulously, while Harry took in the scene with amusement.
"What?" Hermione finally asked with annoyance.
"Don't mind them, Hermione," Harry said. "They are just a bit surprised how much you have read up on the tournament in just a few days."
The twins nodded in agreement.
Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back towards Fred and George.
"Well, anyway, now you simply have to find an of-age student to enter your names for you. I'm sure you'll be able to convince somebody somehow," she summarised.
The twins smirked at that.
"Kenneth is of age, his birthday was a few days ago," George said.
"I'm sure he also wouldn't mind if we stopped pranking him," Fred continued.
Hermione tried to look at them disapprovingly, but the twitching of her mouth's corners betrayed her amusement.
After a pause, Hermione straightened up and started to talk again. "Okay. Great. Now that the first part is solved, the second part actually requires a little bit of more advanced magic."
"There's a second part?" George wondered.
"Honestly," Hermione sighed. "Obviously, the ultimate goal here is not your names to enter the Goblet. But your names to exit it. Wouldn't you agree?"
The twins stared at her with amazement.
"You can help with that as well?" Fred asked excitedly.
"I might," Hermione answered with a smug smile. She then continued in her lecture mode. "While enchanted objects or artefacts such as the Goblet are useful as unbiased judges, they can be very easily manipulated. Just think of the Hogwarts sorting of 1832."
"Uhh, what?" The twins and Harry said simultaneously.
Hermione huffed in annoyance. "Am I the only one who has ever read Hogwarts a History?"
"Yes," was the three boys' instant answer.
Hermione sighed. "In 1832, all new first-year students were sorted into Hufflepuff. Later it turned out that a seventh-year prankster had confounded the Sorting Hat into thinking that Hufflepuff was the only Hogwarts House. It caused quite a scene. Especially because it couldn't be undone afterwards."
Hermione paused for a moment and then continued to explain. "You see, the Sorting Hat is very good at what it does. It selects students for Houses, just like the Goblet selects the champions for the tournament. But at the same time, such artefacts are much more susceptible to manipulation than a human judge would be. They can be targeted with spells just like a human, but they cannot defend against it. They also lack the level of self-awareness to recognise and fight against mind alterations once they have been applied."
"So, anyone could cast spells on the Goblet and change the criteria of the selection?" Harry asked.
"Make it think that anyone named Weasley should be chosen before any others?" Fred suggested with glee.
"Well," Hermione started hesitantly, "it would be very difficult to change the core functions of an artefact. Only a wizard with the power-level of Professor Dumbledore could make the Sorting Hat think that brave people should be sorted into Slytherin and cunning people should be sorted into Gryffindor. Because the sorting criteria are just too ingrained into the Sorting Hat. Instead, you have to find a way around this, like making the Hat think that there is only one Hogwarts House."
The three boys nodded in understanding.
"For example," Harry began, "you could enter your name under another school name, and make the Goblet think that there was no limit to the number of participating schools?"
"Exactly," Hermione said with excitement. "And that's a great idea, Harry!"
There was a pause, during which the girl slumped back down into the couch and got a contrite expression. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure whether we could learn the Confundus Spell in time. I have only read about it, but never tried it out."
The twins grinned at that.
"A good thing that we are already quite adept at the spell, then," Fred said.
"It really is a spell that any decent prankster should know, after all," George elaborated.
The twins stood up from the table they had been sitting on.
"Please excuse us," Fred said. "We have to blackmail-"
"Politely ask," George interrupted.
"-politely ask our dear friend Kenneth to get up and join us," Fred continued without missing a beat.
With that, they exited the common room and ran up to their dormitory shouting for Kenneth.
Left in the common room, Harry eyed Hermione suspiciously.
"All right, spill it," he said. "Why are you doing this?"
"What? I am allowed to get up to some mischief from time to time as well, am I not?" Hermione replied defensively.
Harry raised his eyebrows at her.
"Fine!" Hermione huffed. "Age Line or not, it is completely irresponsible of the organisers to use the Goblet, seeing how easy it is to enter someone else's name into it. You know that there is a good chance that your name will come out of the Goblet tomorrow, especially considering your usual luck on Halloween?"
Harry blanched at hearing this, and Hermione continued to explain, "I see this as a form of protest, or civil disobedience, to encourage the ones responsible to be more careful in the future. If some names come out of the Goblet tomorrow that shouldn't, that would make this point quite well. And it would take the heat off you, too, if you really get chosen."
And as an afterthought, she added, "And honestly, is it so hard to believe that I might want to get up to some mischief occasionally, too?"
"No, of course it isn't. And I have to say you're even quite brilliant at it," Harry answered with a chuckle and then hugged her briefly. "But thank you for doing this for me. Partially at least."
He then rose from the couch and ran up to his dorm to fetch his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. He didn't want to miss the fun. And he had some further ideas on how to prank the tournament, for which he needed to grab a few additional supplies.
When he returned, the twins and Kenneth Towler, their fellow sixth-year Gryffindor, were already waiting in the common room. Kenneth, wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown, didn't seem to be thrilled to be there.
To Harry's delight, Hermione was apparently determined to join them, too.
Harry then checked the map for any professors patrolling the corridors. Luckily, there were no movements between Gryffindor Tower and the entrance hall where the Goblet was situated. That was not surprising, considering it was almost two o'clock in the morning by now.
All professors and Filch seemed to be in their respective quarters. The map showed McGonagall in her private chambers close to Gryffindor Tower. The same was true for Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, and the other professors. Hagrid was in his hut. Moody was in his chamber, together with Barty Crouch.
Harry did a double-take at seeing that. Then, shuddering, he quickly folded the map together. Moody and Crouch? He would have been happier not knowing that. He really didn't mind what other people were getting up to. It was their business. But really? Moody and Crouch? He shuddered again.
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly. "You suddenly look so pale. Are the corridors clear?"
"Wha- yeah, yeah, everything is fine. We can go," Harry muttered.
Together, the five Gryffindors left the common room.
#
A few minutes later, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, and Kenneth Towler stood in the Hogwarts entrance hall close to the Age Line that encircled the Goblet of Fire.
Fred and George aimed their wands at the Goblet and simultaneously yelled, "Confundo!"
For a brief moment, there was a weak glow around the Goblet, signalling that the spells had taken hold.
"Well done, now the Goblet will select one champion for any number of schools," Hermione said with excitement.
The twins then handed two pieces of parchment to Kenneth. One read 'Fred Weasley, Mahoutokoro School of Magic' and the other 'George Weasley, Uagadou School of Magic'.
Kenneth passed the Age Line and slowly walked towards the Goblet. Hesitantly, he held the two slips of parchment over the blue flames of the Goblet and let loose. He jumped back as the parchments fell into the Goblet, but apart from a flash of the flames, nothing unexpected happened. Apparently, the plan had worked.
The Weasley twins cheered and ran towards Hermione. They almost toppled her as they engulfed her in a strong hug.
"Let go of me, you rascals!" Hermione shouted, but laughing at their antics.
The twins stepped back and theatrically bowed before her.
"My slightly less handsome brother and I will be forever in your debt," Fred stated solemnly.
"If there is anything my slightly less intelligent brother or I can do for you, never hesitate to ask!" George continued.
"Oh, shut up," Hermione said with amusement.
The banter was interrupted by Harry.
"Shit!" he exclaimed while looking on the Marauder's Map. "Snape is coming this way!"
He unfolded his Invisibility Cloak. "Hermione, get under the cloak with me! Boys – RUN!"
The others didn't hesitate. Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over himself and Hermione while the older boys sprinted out of the entrance hall back towards Gryffindor Tower.
Hermione clearly expected Harry to follow the others, but he didn't move.
"Harry, let's go," she whispered while tugging his arm. Harry couldn't help but laugh at her panicky expression.
"Harry, stop it! Be quiet! We have to leave!" Hermione whispered, now becoming agitated. Understandably so, as Snape was the last professor anyone would want to be caught by when breaking curfew.
However, Harry only smiled in response. "Don't worry. Snape is nowhere around," he revealed.
He chuckled while he lowered the cloak, folded it and put it back into his pocket. "I only wanted to get rid of the others."
"What?" Hermione wondered. "What for?"
"Well, as good as a prank it will be on the tournament organisers to have Fred and George's names come out of the Goblet, I think we can make the prank even better. But the twins might not like it, as it would steal their thunder," he explained.
"Oh," Hermione said with an arched eyebrow. "And how would we do that?"
"Well, first, I wanted to ask you if you would like to participate in the tournament?" Harry said.
"ME?" Hermione exclaimed, utterly flabbergasted. It was apparent that the thought had never entered her mind. "I might be near the top of our year, but I'm only in the fourth year. And book-smarts will only get you so far, and-"
"Hermione!" Harry interrupted. "You are not near the top of our year. You are at the top! Moreover, you are the most brilliant student in this school! I have no doubts that you would do great in the tournament. And I think you would really deserve the recognition. You have faced more dangerous situations than any other student in this school, apart from me maybe, and we have always prevailed."
He embraced her and looked into her eyes. "I really think The Brightest Witch of her Age could win the Triwizard Tournament," he said softly but with confidence.
"Oh, Harry, thank you!" Hermione whispered and hugged him with less force but somehow just as tightly as she normally did.
"But even if I was willing to participate," Hermione began as they finally separated, and Harry smiled widely at hearing that, "even if, how would we even enter my name? Kenneth is gone, with the twins, if you haven't noticed."
Harry smiled mischievously. "I don't think we need him. I have some common sense as well, you know," he answered.
"Is that so?" Hermione asked playfully. "And what exactly is your easy and obvious solution?"
"I won't tell. But I could show you, if I had a parchment with your name on it," Harry replied.
"I don't even have any parchment and-" Hermione started, just as Harry pulled some parchment and a self-inking quill out of his robes.
"You planned for this?" Hermione asked in surprise.
Harry smirked in response. "I might have," he said as he offered her quill and parchment.
Hermione took the supplies and walked towards a nearby table to write down her name.
A moment later, she looked down on the piece of parchment that read 'Hermione Jane Granger, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Her excitement and anticipation was evident on her face.
"Okay, what now?" she asked Harry as he moved to stand next to her.
Harry smiled and aimed his wand at the parchment on the table. "Wingardium Leviosa," he cast.
The parchment rose into the air, and Harry levitated it past the Age Line, over the Goblet and let it fall into the blue flames.
Hermione watched on with an incredulous look on her face and shook her head in annoyance when the flash of the flames signalled that the name had been entered successfully. "Wizards are just so stupid. Not an ounce of logic or common sense!" she exclaimed with exasperation.
Harry couldn't help but chuckle over her irritation and nodded in agreement.
"How about entering some more names?" he then asked. "Maybe someone to make you look even better in comparison?"
Hermione smirked at that. "Malfoy?" she suggested.
Harry thought about it for a moment. "Maybe," he said, "but being selected as a champion would only stroke his ego... You know who we should enter? His bookends!"
Hermione burst into laughter. "You're right. And that's brilliant!"
Harry then quickly filled out two more pieces of parchment, with Hermione supplying the names of the magical schools.
He cast two more Levitation Charms, and the parchments for 'Vincent Crabbe, Koldovstoretz School of Magic' and 'Gregory Goyle, Castelobruxo School of Magic' soon found their way into the Goblet.
"All right, I think we pranked the tournament enough now, haven't we?" Hermione asked.
"I think we have," Harry agreed. "Let's go, before Snape shows up after all."
Together, the two Gryffindors left the entrance hall and walked back in the direction of their common room. But after a minute of walking silently, Harry suddenly stopped and grabbed Hermione's arm in excitement.
"Does it have to be a student?" he almost yelled at her.
"What?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"The Goblet. How does it know that a name entered is the name of a student? Could we enter someone who's not a student? Could we enter a professor? Could we enter any random adult wizard?" Harry questioned at a rapid pace.
Hermione's brows furrowed as she contemplated the question. "I'm not sure, but I think we could..." she said hesitantly.
Harry was almost jumping up and down in excitement. "Let's go back!" he exclaimed. "We have to put in more names! Who should we enter?"
"How about... Barty Crouch?" Hermione asked as they made their way back into the entrance hall. She still disliked the guy for what he had done to his poor elf Winky.
"NO, not Crouch!" Harry shouted immediately and very loudly.
Hermione looked at him quizzically. "Why not?"
Harry shuddered. "Not Crouch! I don't want to think about Crouch! End of discussion."
Harry was thankful that Hermione shrugged and didn't follow up on that.
"How about Professor Snape?" she asked instead.
"Or Dumbledore!" Harry suggested.
"You know he would easily win, right?" Hermione replied and frowned. "Come to think about it, Professor Snape would, too. As much as we don't like him, he is a capable wizard."
"Right, only pathetic wizards should be entered." Harry agreed. "No fun otherwise."
There was a slight pause.
"Cornelius Fudge!" both teens then called out at the same time.
"Okay, that's great," Harry said, and Hermione nodded in agreement. "Who else?"
"Too bad Lockhart lost his memory," Hermione muttered.
There was another pause before Hermione gasped.
"How about settling some personal debts?" she suggested. "How about Wormtail and Voldemort?"
Harry looked at Hermione in shock. For several long seconds, he didn't say anything before he broke into a broad smile.
"Hermione, I love you!" he exclaimed, embraced her and kissed the surprised girl fully on her lips. Before Hermione could react, Harry had pulled back and was now filling out parchment slips. In his euphoria, he didn't realise what he had just said and done.
"Does it have to be magic schools?" Harry asked.
"Wh-wh-what?" Hermione muttered.
"The schools. I don't know any more magic schools. Can we submit names for Muggle schools?" Harry inquired.
"Yes, yes, sure, no problem," Hermione replied absentmindedly.
A few moments later, she watched on as Harry levitated the parchments for 'Cornelius Fudge, Little Whinging Primary School', 'Peter Pettigrew, Smeltings School' and 'Tom Marvolo Riddle, St Brutus Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys' into the Goblet of Fire. Three flashes of the flames signalled the acceptance of the entries.
Harry then turned back towards Hermione, who for some reason he couldn't understand seemed to be a bit befuddled.
"Let's go!" he said happily and took her hand as they left the entrance hall for the second time that night.
#
Harry had a wide grin plastered on his face and a slight spring in his step as he and Hermione made their way back towards the common room. If their plan for the next evening was successful, Voldemort would no longer be a threat. Who would have thought that all you needed to defeat a Dark Lord was a piece of parchment and an enchanted goblet?
Unnoticed by him, Hermione also smiled contently as she glanced down on their interlinked hands.
It wasn't until they were back in the now completely abandoned common room that Hermione broke their silence. "So... that kiss...?" she said gently as she guided them both towards 'their' couch.
Harry followed along as his euphoric expression gave way to a confused look.
"Kiss? What kiss?" he asked with bewilderment as they sat down, facing each other.
"The kiss you gave me a few minutes ago," Hermione answered nervously. "I think we should talk about it."
"I- I didn't-" Harry protested as he tried to recall his actions in the entrance hall.
Then, his eyes widened in horror. "Oh, Merlin! Hermione, I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "I didn't mean it! I was just so excited, but I know that's no excuse. Please, please forgive me!"
Hermione lowered her gaze to the floor. "You didn't mean it?" she asked with a hitched voice.
Harry had no idea what had suddenly changed, he only knew that he didn't want to see Hermione sad because of him.
"Please, Hermione, I'm rubbish at this," he pleaded. "You seemed to be happy. And now I apologised, and now you're not. This is confusing. Are you mad at me for kissing you? Or something else? Please, help me make it all right."
Hermione seemed to calm down a bit and turned back towards him. "Tell me, did you really mean what you said? Do you like me as more than a friend? Or did you only say it because you were excited?"
"I did say it because I was excited," Harry began and immediately saw in her sad brown eyes that this was the wrong answer. "But that doesn't mean that I didn't mean it. I do like you. Maybe more than I should as a friend."
Her smile was back, and Harry cheered inwardly for a good save. Even better, all of this almost sounded as if Hermione might actually fancy him a bit, too.
He had never allowed himself to entertain the idea of having any relationship with his best female friend beyond mere friendship. But now that he thought about it, and saw that it might indeed be possible, he realised that he very much wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with the brilliant, pretty and amazing girl who had always been by his side.
Deciding that Gryffindors charge ahead, he gathered his courage. "So, uhh, Hermione... willyoubemygrlfrnd?"
Hermione blinked. "What?"
Harry took a deep breath. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Instead of answering, Hermione lunged herself at him. Unlike their first kiss, the kiss that followed wasn't short and wasn't chaste. But it was perfect.
It was followed by some more kisses, but soon the tired teens just cuddled together and held each other tight. They didn't talk about what had happened or what would happen. With a content smile on their lips, they both fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch in the Gryffindor common room.
#
In the early hours of the morning, a disillusioned figure sneaked into the Hogwarts entrance hall and crossed the Age Line.
A piece of parchment appeared over the Goblet of Fire. Written on it were the words 'Harry Potter, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. The flames flashed as the parchment fell into the Goblet.
Then, a voice muttered, "Ilvermorny is participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Confundo!"
A brief glow engulfed the Goblet, and the invisible figure mumbled, "Oh, I'm looking forward to the selection of the champions in the evening. The fools will have no idea what hit them."
The figure left the entrance hall, not knowing how right they were.
CHAPTER TWO -
We are the champions
Harry was woken up by a flash of light. He blinked as his eyes adapted to the light but noticed that his view was blocked by a mane of bushy brown hair. Hermione had fallen asleep on top of him and was hugging him like a giant teddy bear.
He checked and was relieved that his hands were at no inappropriate places. Then, slowly, he sat up and looked around.
He was greeted by what seemed to be half of Gryffindor House gathered around the couch on which he and Hermione had been sleeping. Almost all of his housemates wore stupid grins and were whispering to each other. At the front stood Colin Creevey, holding up his camera.
"Good morning, Harry! Why are you sleeping with Hermione in the common room?" the ever-excited boy shouted cheerfully, to the raucous laughter of the assembled Gryffindors.
Harry groaned, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. At the same time, he felt Hermione stir on his chest.
"Hm-mmh-hmmmm?" the girl muttered groggily as her eyes fluttered open.
"Eloquent as ever. Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Harry whispered and placed a chaste kiss on his girlfriend's lips. "Looks like we have an audience."
"What?" Hermione said and looked up, now becoming fully awake. She flushed crimson as she noticed their company, but Harry noted that it suited her fine and wondered how far downward her blush extended.
He was brought out of his reverie when a small girl with curly black hair stepped towards him with tears in her eyes and an angry expression on her face.
"Harry, how could you!? I thought we had something special!" the girl shouted and gave him a light pat on his left cheek. Though, Harry suspected that maybe it was supposed to be a slap, but the girl was probably in her first or second year and rather small at that.
"And you are?" Harry asked in confusion, which caused the girl to break out in tears.
Another small girl with blond hair tugged the wailing girl away. "Sorry, sorry, please ignore Romilda here," she said with an apologetic look.
Harry shook his head with amusement and then turned his attention towards the assembled crowd. "Well, what are you guys gawking at? Never seen two people falling asleep in the common room before? Go find yourselves your own girlfriend instead of ogling mine!"
Most of the students dispersed with that, some even offered their polite congratulations before they left, and the Weasley twins chased away the rest of their classmates and the Quidditch team. Harry hoped that the twins did this because they felt indebted to them, but he strongly suspected that they just wanted to be able to tease the new couple mercilessly without interference.
Hermione groaned as she caught the eyes of the smirking Fred and George.
"Teasing counts as pranking!" she yelled just as George opened his mouth, clearly in the vain hope of reminding the twins of the agreement of the previous evening.
"Nah, I really don't think it does," Fred said after a pause.
"We were worried when you didn't arrive in the common room after us, you know," George took over.
"But we are happy to see that you weren't caught by Snape, but were simply otherwise occupied for a while," Fred finished, wiggling his eyebrows at the blushing couple.
Hermione sighed. "I guess we deserve this for falling asleep in the common room." But then she smirked. "But actually, we didn't follow you because we were busy improving your prank on the tournament."
"Oh, do tell," George said, visibly intrigued.
"Nope, you'll have to wait until the evening like everyone else," Harry informed the twins. "That's what you get for teasing us."
He got up from the couch and helped up Hermione as well. "Now, if you excuse us, we have to freshen up a bit."
With that, Harry and Hermione turned and went up the stairs to their respective dormitory.
#
Hermione had just entered her dorm when she was accosted by a squealing Lavender and Parvati.
"Ooohhh, you have to tell us everything!" Lavender demanded, hyperventilating. "How was it? Is he good? How big is he?"
Lavender held up her index fingers close to each other and then slowly moved them apart. As the distance between her fingers got wider, so got the girls' eyes.
"NO WAY!" Parvati exclaimed when Lavender's fingers were more than a foot apart.
"STOP IT!" Hermione shouted with annoyance. "We only cuddled and fell asleep. And you're the last persons I would tell anything if anything had happened, anyway."
"Ooohhh, so you're admitting it! You did it!" Lavender shrieked.
"I don't, and we didn't!" Hermione said indignantly.
"That's exactly what you would say if you had done it," Parvati said with a triumphant look.
"I- I- AAArrrggghhh," Hermione screamed in frustration and fled into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
#
Harry and Hermione met in the common room half an hour later and left for the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Were your dorm mates as nosey and irritating as mine?" Hermione asked Harry with an annoyed look as they made their way towards the ground floor.
"I don't think any boy could ever be as nosey and irritating as Lavender and Parvati when they're in one of their moods," Harry replied, chuckling. "And no, the boys didn't bother me at all. Seamus and Dean are already at breakfast, Neville simply told me that he wished us well, and Ron is still sleeping, luckily, it's Saturday after all..."
Harry got a slightly pained expression at the last part of his statement, and Hermione also started to look worried.
"Ron..." she sighed. "He won't be very happy with us..."
Harry shook his head. "No, he won't be. I don't know what will bother him more: Us entering your name into the Goblet but not his, or us two getting together. But both of those things and at the same time... yeah, it will be bad."
"Wait, why would us becoming a couple bother him?" Hermione wondered.
Harry looked at her in surprise. "You know that he has a small crush on you, don't you?"
"What?" Hermione exclaimed disbelievingly.
"Well, he has a weird way of showing it," she stated after a pause.
"He has a weird way of doing most things," Harry qualified.
"Fair enough," Hermione conceded. "Well, anyway, I really don't think that we can be expected to not offend Ronald Weasley's delicate sensibilities indefinitely. If he can't be happy for us, he really isn't much of a friend at all."
Harry could only nod in agreement, but Hermione wasn't finished yet. "And if he really believes that he would have any chance at winning the tournament, he's even dumber than one of his chess pieces. Honestly, he does realise that competing in the tournament will require an obscene amount of studying, right?"
"No, I don't think he does," Harry agreed, but then his eyes widened in horror, and he stared at his girlfriend with a frightful expression.
"We will be doing an obscene amount of studying to prepare you for the tournament, won't we?" he said with a hollow voice.
"Yes, we will," Hermione answered cheerfully and with a slightly vicious grin. "And because this whole operation was your idea to begin with, you will help me every step on the way."
Harry couldn't really argue against that, but his formerly bright mood had definitely taken a few hits by now.
#
During breakfast, Harry noticed that Hermione's mood had also become more sombre. "Let's take a stroll around the lake," he suggested when they were done eating. "Then we can have some privacy to discuss recent and future events". Hermione readily agreed.
"What is it you're worried about?" Harry inquired as he and Hermione were walking along the lakeside, holding hands.
"You know, the more I think about it, the more I realise that entering my and the other names into the Goblet was a pretty bad mistake," Hermione said. "For a start, I'm only a fourth-year student. The other champions will know much more spells than me, and they'll be magically stronger, too. More importantly, while the Headmaster said that the tournament would be safer than in the past, it might still be rather dangerous. Especially for someone younger. My parents will be furious at me for entering! And what if I get seriously hurt? What- what then?"
Hermione was becoming frantic, and Harry hugged her to offer some comfort. "Hermione, please calm down!" he whispered in her ear.
"Okay, maybe we were was a bit reckless yesterday," he admitted. "I guess we're Gryffindors for a reason." Hermione gave him a small smile, but it seemed rather strained.
Harry continued, "But please don't worry too much, Hermione. It's a friendly tournament for school children. Or for of-age students, but students, still. What's the worst they might let you do? It's not as if you'll have to fight a dragon or something."
They both chuckled at that.
"Besides, you are forgetting the most important fact," Harry said after a pause. At his girlfriend's questioning look, he elaborated, "And that is: Wizards. Are. Stupid. That will be the corner-stone of your winning strategy. You will win the tournament by finding easy and obvious solutions that the organisers overlooked because they, like everybody else in the magical world, possess not an ounce of logic or common sense."
Hermione couldn't help but laugh at that. When she had calmed down again, she hugged her boyfriend tightly. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered. "And you know, that might even work."
But then she bit her bottom lip and once more got a worried look. "But what about Minister Fudge and the others? People will be furious. The Minister will be furious. Haven't we broken all sorts of laws?" she said with a frightened voice.
Harry just laughed. "How would they even find out that it was us? That would require some kind of investigation to be carried out. Things being thoroughly investigated at Hogwarts – come on, pull the other one! If there can be a Basilisk roaming through the halls and petrifying students without a proper investigation happening, they won't start investigating a harmless prank like this."
After a while, Hermione nodded reluctantly. "I guess you are right," she muttered.
Harry noticed that she wasn't fully convinced yet and tried to placate her further. "Even if we were found out somehow, nothing would happen. If Fudge really gets selected, he can hardly back out without losing face. He can hardly say it's too difficult or too dangerous for him but not for children, right? And Crabbe and Goyle is an internal school matter and thus falls under the purview of Albus You-get-a-second-chance, You-get-a-second-chance, Everybody-gets-a-second-chance Dumbledore. At worst we get some points deducted and a detention. As for Wormtail and Voldy, they really ought to give us Orders of Merlin for that."
Hermione snorted and shook her head in amusement. "You really are incorrigible."
She gave Harry a peck on the lips. "Thanks for cheering me up, let's get back to the castle."
#
As they were walking back towards the school, Harry and Hermione spotted the one person that they had hoped to avoid for a little while longer.
"Wait!" Ron shouted as he ran towards them.
"Finally, I've found you!" the redhead panted when he had caught up with the couple. "You know, there are the weirdest rumours about you two! Everyone says that you two are boyfriend and girlfriend now. Can you believe it?" He guffawed.
"Well," Hermione said and turned towards Harry. She leaned in for a deep kiss that Harry happily reciprocated.
"I guess even the Hogwarts rumour mill has to be right once in a while," the brunette said with a smile once they had separated.
Ron was gaping at the couple with wide eyes, his ears quickly reddening. "Wh- what- when- how did this happen?" he exclaimed.
Harry guessed it would be best to just rip off the band-aid and answered, "I asked Hermione to be my girlfriend yesterday evening after we entered her name, the names of the twins and some other names into the Goblet of Fire."
Ron's jaw dropped even further. After a while, he seemed to have processed what had been said, and his eyes narrowed. "And did you think of putting in my name, too?" he inquired.
"No, we are sorry, Ron, but we didn't think that would have been a good idea," Hermione answered carefully. That, of course, was quite a stretch of the truth at best – they hadn't given the youngest Weasley brother any thought at all last night, but they weren't about to tell him that.
"I... see..." Ron said, his eyes flashing with anger. "I see how it is. Never mind me, then," he said coldly and glared at them. "Don't ever talk to me again, traitors."
With that, he turned around and stalked away.
"Huh," Hermione said, visibly pleased. "That works for me."
She then turned towards Harry with a concerned look. "I know he was your first real friend in the magical world. I'm sorry that you have lost that, even though I probably won't miss him."
"It's all right. It's not your fault, nor is it ours, really," Harry said with downcast voice. "I doubt that I could have stayed friends with him much longer, anyway, seeing how he always treats you..." He sighed and gave his girlfriend a guilty look. "For which I'm very sorry, by the way. I really should have stood up for you much more, I- I-"
"Don't worry about it, it's all right," Hermione interrupted with a soft voice and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Though I do appreciate the sentiment. Come on, let's get back inside now."
#
The couple spent the rest of the day finishing their homework in the library, where they could avoid Ron with absolute certainty and were safe from other students harassing them, too. They also planned what their reaction should be when the selection of the champions would descend into chaos later, and what they would say when they would be questioned. As the dinner and the subsequent selection ceremony neared, they got increasingly nervous. Only after an extended visit to a Hogwarts broom closet were they calm enough to join the feast in the Great Hall.
Harry and Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table next to each other and opposite of Fred and George. They tried to make small talk during the meal, but all four of them had difficulties containing their excitement. The twins repeatedly begged the couple for hints on how they had 'improved the prank', but Harry and Hermione didn't budge.
At last, the food vanished, and all the attention turned towards the head table and the Goblet of Fire on a pedestal in front of it. Bright blue flames flickered out of the wooden cup, and the excited murmur in the Great Hall rose every time the flames flashed upwards.
Dumbledore stood and walked towards the Goblet. The other tournament judges also rose and assembled behind Dumbledore. The expectant and tense look of Headmaster Karkaroff and Madame Maxime was contrasted by the cheerful expression of Ludo Bagman.
The Headmaster made some announcements, but Harry ignored the old wizard when he noticed that Moody also got up from the head table and moved to stand next to Bartemius Crouch. Harry remembered what he had seen on the Marauder's Map the night before and threw up a little in his mouth at the thought of those two spending the last night together. Crouch resembled an overweight Hitler, and Moody was his usual self, looking as if he was competing (and winning) in a look-alike contest for a pile of two hundred pounds of ground meat. Harry was just glad that apparently, the two men didn't want their relationship to be known and were refraining from any public displays of affection. They were hardly even acknowledging each other as they silently stood next to each other.
Harry's attention was drawn away from the unlikely couple and back towards the Goblet when its flames turned from blue to red. A moment later, the flames shot high into the air, a charred slip of parchment fluttered out of the wooden cup, and the flames turned back to blue.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and cleared his throat as he read it.
"The champion for Durmstrang," he announced with a solemn voice, "will be Viktor Krum."
The students applauded as the Bulgarian Quidditch star rose from the Slytherin table and slowly walked to the antechamber behind the head table. Especially Krum's female fan-club cheered for him, but no one cheered louder or more enthusiastically than Ronald Weasley, who sat with Dean and Seamus.
A few moments later, the Goblet's flames turned from blue to red again, and Dumbledore caught another slip of parchment.
"The champion for Beauxbatons," he proclaimed, "is Fleur Delacour!"
The pretty girl stood up gracefully and walked up towards the head table. Hermione was visibly pleased when her boyfriend's eyes were not glued to the girl's derriere as she disappeared into the antechamber, unlike the eyes of pretty much all other male (and quite a few female) students in the Great Hall.
Then, silence fell again as the students waited for the announcement of the Hogwarts champion.
Soon, the flames turned red once more, and another parchment was ejected from the Goblet and immediately caught by the Headmaster.
"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is... Cedric Diggory!"
There were tumultuous cheers at the Hufflepuff table while Cedric got up and quickly walked into the antechamber. The frustrated groans at the other House tables soon gave way to polite applause.
Dumbledore was about to close the ceremony when the Goblet flared red again. There were shocked gasps all across the hall as another slip parchment flew out of the Goblet. The Headmaster reached for the parchment as it glided towards the ground. He read it and frowned in confusion.
After a long pause, the Headmaster sighed. "Fred Weasley," he called out, "very well, please step forward!"
There was a shocked silence in the Great Hall, but then the students at the Gryffindor table started to cheer loudly as Fred stood up and jumped onto the table, theatrically bowing to his housemates.
With all the attention drawn to the redhead, almost no one noticed that the flames of the Goblet had turned red again. Only when the flames rose, and the Goblet spat out another piece of parchment, at least a small part of the student body turned their eyes back to Dumbledore, who caught the parchment.
There was a flash of annoyance in the Headmaster's eyes as he read the parchment, and he sighed again. "And your brother, yes, I should have expected it. George Weasley, if you please," he said with exasperation.
George joined his brother on the table, and the cheers of the Gryffindors grew even louder, while at the other tables, students were muttering angrily.
"Messrs Weasley, please come forward and join us," Dumbledore demanded impatiently. "I hope you know what you have gotten yourselves into."
The twins stepped down from the table but froze when they noticed that the fire of the Goblet was red again.
The flames blazed, and another piece of parchment shot upwards, only to be forcefully fetched out of the air by the Headmaster a moment later.
There was another long silence during which Dumbledore looked on the parchment disbelievingly, until he called out with a strained voice, "Hermione Granger." A vein was pulsating at his brow.
Harry saw Hermione's face flush red as all eyes in the Great Hall turned towards her. The dead silence was interrupted by the twins bursting into laughter. The Gryffindor table, with the exception of Ron, started cheering once more as the twins helped Hermione up from where she sat. Standing at either side of her, they both put an arm around Hermione's shoulders, still laughing merrily.
Harry also rose to support his girlfriend. When he was at her side, he leaned towards the twins. "This is only the beginning," he said to them over the noise in the hall but still quiet enough to not be overheard by others. "Things should get even more interesting, but please stay cool and don't give us away."
The twins grinned in response and nodded their heads excitedly.
By now, the other judges and most of the professors had congregated around Dumbledore.
"What in Merlin's name is going on, Dumbledore?" Crouch asked angrily.
"All zese students 'ave to be excluded from ze tournament immediately," Madame Maxime demanded, and Karkaroff nodded in agreement.
"They should be expelled for this," Snape, who had also joined them, spat.
Any reply Dumbledore might have given was forestalled by the Goblet of Fire turning from blue to red again. Another piece of parchment was ejected and seized by Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore, this has to stop!" Crouch shouted when the flames of the Goblet didn't even revert to their usual blue colour but remained crimson red. The judges and professors watched helplessly as one more slip of parchment flew upwards a few moments later. It, too, was caught by Dumbledore.
The Headmaster looked upon the two parchments and Harry noticed a nervous tick in Dumbledore's left eye as he read the names.
"Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, please step forward," the Headmaster growled out.
No one seemed more surprised by this than the two Slytherin boys in question, but after a few moments, they stood up to the growing applause of their House. Only Draco Malfoy was seemingly enraged for being upstaged by his own minions.
Like Harry, Hermione, Fred, and George, the two Slytherin boys didn't come forward but only stood next to their House table to watch the unfolding chaos at the front of the Great Hall.
"Six Hogwarts champions? I won't haff it! Change it, Dumbledore, or Durmstrang will withdraw from the tournament!" Karkaroff yelled.
"Let's not be hasty, this could be very exciting," Bagman interjected.
"Non, zis is-," Madame Maxime began, but she stopped when she noticed the Goblet. There was a collective groan of the judges as the flames of the Goblet turned red again.
"Headmaster, you have to do something," Professor McGonagall pleaded, but the old man seemed to be just as much at a loss as everyone else.
Another slip of parchment rose in the air and was grabbed by Dumbledore. There was a tense silence as the Headmaster turned the parchment towards him and read it. His eyes grew wide before they narrowed in anger while his complexion turned almost as crimson as the Goblet's flames. The vein at his brow seemed ready to burst.
"Well, who is it?" Bagman asked cheerfully when Dumbledore remained silent for over a minute. "Which student shall we ask to join us now? Ravenclaw is missing a representative, still."
He laughed out at his own joke, while the other judges looked at him with disapproval.
"It's not a student," Dumbledore finally replied with gritted teeth, crumpling the piece of parchment in his fist.
"Not a student?" McGonagall asked aghast.
"But zat's not possible," Madame Maxime exclaimed.
"Who is it, then?" Crouch demanded to know.
Dumbledore took a few calming breaths and then revealed with a low voice, "Cornelius Fudge."
"WHAT?" all the judges, most of the professors and the student body shouted. Fred and George stared at Harry and Hermione with boundless admiration.
"This is outrageous!" Crouch shouted when the hall had quieted down slightly. "I won't stand for the Ministry to be made a fool of!"
"The Minister will never consent to this!" McGonagall pointed out.
"Alas, the Minister won't have a choice in the matter," Dumbledore said, obviously very upset, too.
"So, you won't do a thing?" Crouch asked angrily.
"I can't," the Headmaster said, "The guilty party shall be punished, of course-"
"Potter, no doubt," Snape interjected.
"But as for the Minister," Dumbledore continued, "his name came out of the Goblet. Thus, he has to compete. The consequences if he refuses would be most dire. As it is, the only thing we can do is-" He stopped and briefly closed his eyes in desperation. The Goblet had turned red again.
"Bloody hell, doesn't anyone have a fire extinguisher or something?" a girl at the Hufflepuff table close to Harry exclaimed. A few Muggle-borns chuckled at that, but most of the students who had heard her only gave her blank looks.
Furiously, Dumbledore snatched the next piece of parchment immediately as it shot out of the Goblet. He looked at it and blanched. The nervous tick in his eye was back.
There was another long silence until the Headmaster spoke again, "Peter Pettigrew."
"Who?"
"Who's that?" most of the students wondered, and the murmur in the hall rose as the few students who were familiar with the name told the others of one of the heroes of the Wizarding War, who had been brutally murdered by the deranged mass murderer Sirius Black.
The judges and teachers were arguing among themselves in the meantime. None of them noticed the horrified look on the face of Professor Moody before he quickly schooled his features.
"Impossible, Pettigrew's dead!" Crouch yelled.
"Six Hogwarts students, the British Minister, and now a dead man?" Karkaroff seethed and proceeded to curse in his native Russian.
Snape, too, was apoplectic with rage. "POTTER!" he shouted and turned towards the Gryffindor table. "I'll see you expelled for this!"
"Maybe it would best to leave these discussions for later and get on with things," McGonagall said, trying to calm things down.
"Yes, Minerva," a shaken Dumbledore agreed, "That would- oh no!"
The flames of the Goblet were turning red again.
"SOMEBODY STOP THIS!" Crouch yelled and aimed his wand at the Goblet, but obviously, he had no idea what spell he could possibly cast.
The red flames rose much higher than before. Soon, the Goblet was engulfed in a wild storm of crimson fire, and the judges and professors had to take several steps back to stay clear of the flames.
"Aguamenti!" Karkaroff, who had also raised his wand, shouted in panic, trying to extinguish the flames with conjured water, but the water dissipated as soon as it reached the flames, which seemed unaffected by it.
The flames got brighter and brighter and rose higher and higher until there was a sudden loud bang and the flames vanished completely. Everybody blinked as their eyes recovered from looking at the bright fire.
When his vision cleared, Harry was shocked at the sight before him. The wooden cup that had been the Goblet of Fire was completely charred, and the bowl of the cup was cracked in several places. Harry instinctively knew that the Goblet of Fire would never ignite again.
But from high above the Goblet, one last piece of charred parchment was slowly gliding towards the ground.
As if in trance, Dumbledore haltingly strode back towards the remains of the Goblet just in time to fetch the parchment out of the air before it hit the floor.
He looked upon it and immediately blanched ghostly white. His knees almost gave way, and for a moment, he had to grab hold of the pedestal to remain standing upright.
No one dared to utter a single word as all eyes rested on the Headmaster, who for several long minutes only stared on the parchment in his hands. Even the teachers and the judges didn't dare to approach Dumbledore, who seemed to have aged a few decades in an instant. The expectant and knowing smirks of Harry and Hermione went unnoticed.
Finally, after five minutes, Dumbledore looked up from the parchment. He then opened and closed his mouth several times. When he finally spoke, he only whispered, but in the dead silence of the Great Hall, he was still heard by everyone.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle."