V. The Champion Selection

Rowen awoke on Saturday morning to a slight chill in the air. She sat up and for a few seconds, she felt happy, until she remembered what happened the night before. She groaned and pressed a pillow to her face, plopping onto her back. All she wanted was to go back to bed and never get up again. Her mind raced, thinking of her mother, of Barry, of George, and of Fred. She groaned again, thinking about the potion she would make later that day. She knew it wouldn't work, despite her exquisite potion skills.

Rowen slowly moved the pillow from her face and willed herself to get up. The girl scoffed at her mother's letter sitting on the nightstand and abruptly threw it in the trashcan. She got dressed and made her way towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Morning."

"No," Rowen said turning around to face Fred and George Weasley. "Can't a girl get any breakfast before being bothered by you insufferable gits?" Both twins placed a hand over their heart, feigning offence. "What do you want?"

"We only want what we've been promised," George said.

"A brilliant potion brewed by a brilliant witch," said Fred.

Rowen rolled her eyes. "Let's get it over with then. Come on." The girl started walking towards the potions classroom, closely followed by the twins. She explained the plan along the way. "Snape is chaperoning Hogsmeade today, correct?" Both boys nodded. "So I'll sneak in and get the ingredients, and you two will stay outside and keep watch."

The boys stopped in their tracks. "That's your plan?" Fred asked.

Rowen nodded.

George crossed his arms. "Thats a lousy plan."

"The only lousy plan here is your plan to get over that age line. I've told you it won't work, and you begged for my help anyway. This is my help. Take it or leave it."

"What's plan b?" Fred asked as the trio continued to walk to the classroom.

"I tell the truth and throw you both under the bus." Before the Weasley's had a chance to say anything they had reached Snape's classroom. "Just trust me." Rowen took her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora," The door swung open and she walked in, securing it behind her.

The room was relatively large and pickled animals lined the walls, which always made Rowen gag. Rowen walked to the corner of the room where the student supply closet held everything she required for the Ageing Potion. She began grabbing the ingredients, shoving them into the bag that her mother had cast the extension charm on. Thankfully, Snape was well organized, and the storage room was ordered alphabetically. After Rowen had grabbed the ingredients, she left the classroom, closing the door behind her once again.

"What do you think you are doing, Ms Bishop?"

Rowen flinched at Professor Snape's voice and turned to face him. "Well Professor, you see," Rowen glanced around but the twins were nowhere in sight. "I'm brewing an ageing potion for the Weasley twins, so they can try to put their name in the goblet. It won't work of course, but it'll be funny to watch them fail, don't you think Professor?"

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Get out of my sight." He said bitterly, but Rowen could tell he was holding back a smile.

Rowen quickly made her way down the hallway, meeting the twins and Lee Jordan around a corner. "Come on then. Let's get this over with."

"Where are we going?" Fred asked, hurrying to walk by the girl's side.

"The second-floor girl's lavatory of course."

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" George was now at Rowen's other side.

"It's just Myrtle. You'll do your best to avoid calling her names if you truly want this potion."

"Yes ma'am." All three boys said simultaneously.

The students walked into the bathroom. It was as depressing as ever. The mirrors were cracked and it smelled of mildew. Few candles burned, and the ones that did were mere stubs, dripping down the walls onto the floor. Rowen walked to the far side of the room and removed a loose brick from the wall. She reached into the space left by the brick, pulling out a small cauldron. Suddenly, Myrtle emerged from the wall and Rowen tried to hide her surprise.

"Good morning Myrtle. You look lovely today." Rowen said.

Myrtle let out a laugh that sounded more like a hiccup. "I thought you were a cute boy." She said grimly.

"Unfortunately no," Rowen replied. "However, I did bring some with me." Rowen pointed at the boys across the room, who suddenly looked paler than ever. She then brought her voice to a whisper, making sure to be just loud enough for the boys to hear her. "They're friends with Harry Potter and I hear he needs a date to the Yule Ball."

Myrtle squealed with delight and quickly floated over to the three boys, who probably hated Rowen at that moment.

Rowen began to prepare the cauldron, using the Incendio charm to light a fire beneath it. The Ageing Potion was relatively simple. Students were taught to brew it in their third year and Rowen remembered Fred and George being among the first to finish the potion during class. This made her wonder why the twins had asked her to brew the potion, rather than just do it themselves.

George cleared his throat causing Rowen to look over at him. Myrtle stared at Lee with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I forgot I had to- um- water my cactus. It's a two-man job, so Lee'll come with me. Fred can stay here in case you need help." Before Fred had a chance to protest the two boys were out the door, heading to get some breakfast. Myrtle followed closely after them.

Fred stood and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking over to Rowen who was now refocused on the potion. He stood behind her, watching as she placed another ingredient into the cauldron. The silence was deafening and Fred desperately wanted to fill it, but he was afraid he might say the wrong thing like he always did. The confident demeanour that made him quite popular at Hogwarts completely melted away when he was alone with the Bishop girl. He wanted to pin her to the wall and kiss her deeply, but he knew she didn't feel that way about him. Why would she? She had Barry Ryan, a famous Quidditch player. Fred was nothing compared to him.

"Can you grab the vial out of my bag?" Rowen asked, snapping Fred from his thoughts. He snatched the bag from its place on the floor and reached inside, pulling out the vial. When Rowen reached for the vile, their hands touched.

They both paused, and everything around them seemed to slow to a stop. Their eyes met and all Fred could think about was lifting the girl to her feet and crashing his lips into hers. Rowen felt as if she was seeing Fred for the first time. She had never noticed just how handsome he really was. An eternity seemed to pass, although it was only a couple of seconds.

A wooden stall door fell from its hinges across the room, snapping the couple out of their thoughts. Rowen pulled away from Fred, pouring the potion into the vial. She put the cauldron away, replacing the brick and mumbling something about only taking a drop each. Rowen wondered if Fred had just felt what she did, though she doubted it.

Fred stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room and he didn't notice when Rowen rushed out of the door. All he could think about was her hand on his and the feeling of emptiness now that it was gone.

Rowen headed back to her dorm and tried her best to study for her Charms exam but she couldn't focus. She couldn't stop thinking about stupid Fred Weasley and his stupid hand. She let out a frustrated groan and knocked her books to the floor, placing her head in her hands. She wasn't supposed to like Fred Weasley. She was supposed to like Barry, and she knew that. But she couldn't get the moment in the bathroom out of her head, as much as she desperately wanted to forget it. She glanced at the clock and realised it was almost time for dinner.

Outside of her dorm, Adrian stopped her. "Hey Bishop, walk to dinner with me?" Rowen nodded, hoping that Fred would keep his distance if Adrian was with her. Adrian told Rowen of his plan to put his name in the goblet and held up a piece of parchment with his name and school written on it. When they arrived in the entrance hall, Adrian stepped through the age line and place the parchment into the flaming cup. The flames went from blue to red and back to blue and a small group of Slytherins cheered.

"Make way!" Rowen tensed at the sound of Fred Weasley, yelling above the crowd. She turned around to see Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase. They made their way across the entrance hall and stopped just before the age line. "Ready?" Fred said to the other two boys, who both nodded. "C'mon then, I'll go first." Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket that Rowen assumed said his name and school. Everyone in the hall was watching as Fred stepped over the line. Nothing happened so George stepped over the line as well. Suddenly, both Fred and George were thrown backwards. They landed ten feet away and both had grown a long silver beard. Rowen couldn't help but laugh, along with the rest of the students in the hall. Even Fred and George laughed, once they had seen each other's newly grown facial hair.

"I did warn you," said a deep voice, and everyone in the hall turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred, George, and Lee started towards the hospital wing, still laughing hysterically. The students filed into the Great Hall, sitting at their house tables.

The Great Hall was decorated for Halloween. Pumpkins and bats floated above the tables and it smelled of cinnamon. The Great Hall was almost full, and The Goblet of Fire had already been moved so it was standing in front of the teacher's table.

The Halloween feast seemed to take considerably longer than in past years. Rowen just wanted the meal to be over so she could know the champions. Judging by the demeanour of the students in the room, Rowen could tell everyone was just as anxious as she was to see who the champions would be.

After what seemed like an eternity, the plates cleared. Conversations were silenced almost instantly when Dumbledore stood from his place at the teacher's table. "Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber. There they will receive their first instructions." He took out his wand and extinguished all the candles in the hall. The goblet shone more brightly than anything else in the hall. The blue flames were so bright Rowen had to try hard not to shield her eyes. Everyone in the room watched with silent anticipation, waiting for the moment it would announce the champions.

The flames inside the goblet suddenly turned a brilliant red and sparks flew from it. A charred piece of parchment shot into Dumbledores hand and he held it at arm's length, reading it in the light of the now blue flames. "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum."

Applause and cheers boomed through the hall. Viktor Krum stood from the Slytherin table and walked through the door to Dumbledores right. The hall once again was quiet. The goblet turned red once more and the second piece of parchment shot out of it, into Dumbledores hand. "The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!" When the french student had vanished into the other room, silence fell once more.

The Hogwarts champion would be chosen next. The Goblet of Fire turned red a final time and shot out a final piece of parchment. "The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"

Rowen could tell that Adrian was disappointed, but he clapped anyways. Rowen didn't know Cederic very well, but one thing she did know was that he was reasonably intelligent and a bloody excellent seeker. Every student at the Hufflepuff table was standing and cheering incredibly loud.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said once the cheering had died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-" He was cut off when the goblet's flames suddenly turned a sickly scarlet. Sparks flew out of it and another piece of parchment was sent into Dumbledore's hand. There was a log silence before Dumbledore finally announced the name and he cleared his throat. "Harry Potter."

Every head seemed to look at Harry and Rowen rolled her eyes. Of course, Harry Potter found a way to put his name in the goblet. There was no applause. Harry walked to the other room, his head looking to the ground the whole way. The Great Hall descended into chaos. People from every table were yelling at each other. But what everyone wondered was how Harry Potter possibly could have put his name in The Goblet of Fire.