Lili looked out the window as the train took the students to Hogwarts, not really watching what was outside. She had a lot running through her head, and she barely registered that Cedric and the Weasley twins were in the compartment with her. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, or wondering what was going to happen at school that year. A hand crossing her vision snapped her out of her trance.
"Earth to Lili," Cedric said, waving his hand in front of Lili's face. He laughed when she glanced at him. "We were worried you were gonna be in space forever."
"Haha, very funny," Lili huffed.
"We were just talking about how the three of us only have two years left."
"God, don't remind me. You three are gonna leave and I'm gonna be lonely for two years."
"Anything from the trolley dears?" The trolley lady interrupted. She left when they all said no.
"You'll survive, Lil," Cedric smiled. "What's two years compared to the rest of your life?"
--
At dinner that night, Lili has to keep stopping Cedric from stealing her food.
"I got your potatoes!" Cedric joked, stabbing some of Lili's potatoes with a fork and plopping them on his own plate.
"No, not my potatoes!" She fake cried, breaking it to laugh.
The Great Hall went quiet when McGonagall tapped a glass, with Dumbledore standing to talk. All of the students looked towards him, ready to listen intently. "Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen..."
The doors of the Great Hall opened, and Lili stiffled a laugh as Filch weirdly ran down the center aisle towards Dumbledore. He whispered something in the headmaster's ear and then left with the same run. Dumbledore continued. "So, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard Tournament. Now, for those of you who do not know, the tri-wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single contestant is selected to compete."
Lili knew all about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. She'd read about it as a kid. It hadn't been done for just over 200 years. People died in that. "Now, let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted. But more of that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress, Madam Maxime."
The Great Hall's doors opened again and a group of girls dressed in blue danced through the center aisle. When they reached the professors' table, they released butterflies and bowed.
"And now, our friends from the north. Please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master, Igor Karkoroff."
A group of boys in shades of brown walked through the center aisle, twirling bo staffs and stabbing them into the ground every so often. Lili was amazed at how in time they were, and how they produced a spark each time their staff hit the floor.
--
After the girls from Beauxbatons and the boys from Durmstrang had settled in, Dumbledore got everyone's attention again. "Your attention please! I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But to do this, that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason, the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this, we have the head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation, Mr Bartimus Crouch."
Thunder cracked outside and rain began to leak through the roof. Amidst the unnecessary screaming, Lili grabbed her robes and held them above her head in an attempt to not get wet. Then the rain stopped, and she looked up to see why. Mad-Eye Moody. He must have arrived and cast a spell to seal the roof. The announcement continued as if nothing happened when Mr Crouch stepped up to the lectern.
"After much deliberation, the ministry has concluded that, for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This decision is final."
The hall was filled with booing from many of the Hogwarts students. Lili couldn't help but feel relieved. Draco couldn't enter, and neither could Luna or even the Weasley twins. But...she could see the look on Cedric's face. He was going to enter. And she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Silence!" Dumbledore yelled. He cast a spell and the golden box at the front of the hall melted away to a goblet containing a blue flame. "The goblet of fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves to for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly. If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment...the Tri-Wizard Tournament has begun."
--
"Don't do it."
"Don't do what?" Cedric laughed, surprised by Lili's sudden comment. They were sitting in front of the fire in the Hufflepuff common room, listening to the crackling logs and the rain outside.
"You know what I'm talking about, Ced."
"I probably won't be picked."
"But you probably will be. There's not many seventeen year old Hogwarts students."
"There's eighteen year olds."
"Yeah, like five."
"There's nothing to worry about, Lil. If I get chosen I-"
"If you get chosen I could lose you!" Lili said loudly, standing up. "People died in that thing, Ced! That's why they stopped doing it 200 years ago! And I can't lose you! You're one of the only people I have left."
Cedric stood up and tried to comfort her. She pushed him away. "No, no. I can't at the moment. I know that no matter what I say, you're still gonna put your name in that damn goblet. I just...I need some time to myself."
She walked away to her dorm, leaving Cedric to watch her go.
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