If At First You Don't Succeed

Great Hall, Oct 31st

There was an air of excitement in the Great Hall as students watched people put their names into the Goblet of Fire. The anticipation and curiosity about the prospective Champions was huge, and it was only eight-thirty in the morning.

"Harry!"

"Hello, Nathan," Harry casually greeted his brother.

Nathan quickly hugged his brother. "It's great that you're at Hogwarts! We're going to have so much fun this year."

"Yeah, it's going to be fun," Harry said distractedly, his eyes tracking the large crowd surrounding Fred and George Weasley as they approached the Goblet of Fire.

Noticing where his brother was looking, Nathan grinned. "Fred and George are going to try to get past Dumbledore's age line. They're using an Aging Potion, do you think that will work?"

Biting back his initial comment of 'absolutely not,' Harry reminded himself to stay positive. "Who knows? It might."

"Oh please," Hermione said, walking over. "There's no way Dumbledore would let something as simple as an aging potion slip by him. It's nice to see you again, Harry. I enjoyed watching Durmstrang arrive. Can you tell me how the ship arrived like that?"

"Magic," Harry replied cheekily, causing Hermione to huff. "Sorry Hermione. No sharing Durmstrang secrets. We got quite a lecture about not letting stuff slip before we left."

Hermione nodded, though she didn't look pleased. "I suppose I understand. I was surprised when Nathan said you were coming to Hogwarts. What with the age restriction for the tournament."

"There wasn't one originally," Harry said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Well, I know in previous tournaments there wasn't an age line, but I think it's a good idea." Hermione looked uncomfortable. "I read up a little on the tournament, and the tasks are just brutal. Thankfully, Dumbledore put the age line up so some people," Hermione shot a look over at Ron. "Won't be tempted to put their names into the Goblet of Fire."

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. "Come on Hermione. Surely, you don't think the Goblet of Fire would choose Ron, even if he could enter."

"Oi!" Ron snapped. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He means," Calypso said, walking over to stand next to Harry, "that to become a Champion you need to be among the finest examples of your respective schools. And while I'm sure you are a talented wizard, you're not exactly a Champion."

Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. While Calypso might have sounded sincere to everyone else, having known her for years, he could easily spot her veiled sarcasm.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked. "I thought you were working with Viktor in the library."

"Just came to see the competition," Calypso replied, eying Fred and George Weasley curiously.

"Competition?" Hermione's eyes grew wide. "You can't possibly mean that you managed to enter your name in the Goblet of Fire? There's no way you're seventeen! How did you get past the age line?"

Hermione's voice carried throughout the Great Hall, and Calypso found herself the focus of attention. "Yes, I entered my name." Turning to Harry, she added, "Just because you refuse to accept the simple solution does not mean I'm going to follow you."

"That's not possible," Hermione protested. "Dumbledore– "

"Dumbledore's not perfect," Harry said emphatically. "There's a simple way to beat the age line."

"You really figured out a way past it?" Nathan asked, staring at his brother and Calypso in awe.

"Yes," Harry replied. "Though, it was kind of an oversight on Dumbledore's part, and I promised him I wouldn't use it. I'm trying to figure out another way."

"What?" Fred Weasley asked, utterly astonished. "You've gotta be joking, right? You know how to get past the age line, but you're not going to use it?"

"Why don't you give that Aging Potion a try," Harry said, wanting to see what would happen. "Maybe you've figured out a way as well."

The twins seemed to look at each other before shrugging. "Bottoms up!" They said in unison.

The difference was hardly noticeable, but both Fred and George seemed to have some additional facial hair, and they grew about an inch each. "We only need a few months, our birthday is coming up in April."

Harry watched as the twins approached the age line before jumping across. When nothing happened, Harry continued to wait. He thought he'd succeeded by floating the paper over the age line as well, only for the Goblet to reject it a moment later.

While the entire hall broke into applause, Harry continued to watch the Goblet. While the flames were once glowing white and blue, they were now an angry red. Smirking, Harry enjoyed seeing the moment the twins realized that they had failed just before the Goblet rejected their names and blasted them away, complete with full beards.

"Yeah, I didn't think that would work." Harry scoffed. "Nathan, I'm going to be in the library all day. I need to figure out a way past the age line. I'll see you at the feast later, okay?"

"What? Really? I thought we could hang out today." Nathan looked over at Ron and Hermione before asking his brother, "Do you want some help?"

Sharing a look with Calypso, Harry shrugged. "More help couldn't hurt, I suppose."

"Can't we wait until after breakfast?" Ron asked, his stomach rumbling loudly.

Calypso gave Ron a look of utmost contempt. "You can remain here for the rest of the day."

Nathan and Hermione could only stare as Harry and Calypso immediately turned on their heels and left the Great Hall. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Calypso, like Harry, was not overly fond of their red-haired friend.

"Ron," Nathan said, "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Really?" Ron appeared genuinely surprised. "You want to spend the morning in the library? When did you become Hermione?"

Hermione glared at Ron before angrily following Harry and Calypso out of the Great Hall.

"She's going to be pissed at you." Nathan sighed

Ron shook his head. "She's always upset about something."

"Yeah, but I'm the one that's going to have to hear her complain." Nathan shook his head. "Later, mate."