The Fifth Champion
Chapter 2 – The Fifth Champion
The rest of the night passed with fitful sleep, and once the sun rose and the castle awoke, students and teachers alike stopped by the Infirmary to see how Aurelia was doing. Severus left before the first of the visitors began dropping in, wanting to stock up on the potions that Aurelia would need and to see if there was a way to help ease the pain she was in. Those who didn’t come, or were unable to bare the sight of the young girl thrashing and writhing in agony, were given updates by those that did visit.
The visitors updated those that stayed in the infirmary about the contestants and the antics of those that tried to fool the Age-Line that Dumbledore drew. After some time, the twins left as well, hoping to try their luck with an Aging Potion. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were encouraged to spend some time out of the Infirmary with their schoolmates, which they did very reluctantly. They eventually came back with a bearded Fred and George who learned of the side-effects Dumbledore weaved into his Age-Line.
Throughout it all, Aurelia had small bouts of conscious, lucid moments, were she listened to the stories of whoever was there, and laughed along with them as well. Finally, as the sun was going down, she began to feel slightly better, the pain becoming more bearable, at least enough to attend the Feast and the Champion Selections. To be on the safe side, Poppy kept her in the Infirmary until right before the feast began.
Once Aurelia arrived at the Great Hall, it was to numerous people asking how she was feeling an if she was sure she would be okay to stay. Reassuring her schoolmates, she sat at the Gryffindor table, and reached for the goblet filled with her potion. After a few quick words from Dumbledore, the feast began. While it was just as loud and rowdy as any other feast, or meal in general, there was an underlying current of anticipation running through the Hall. During the meal, Aurelia had people continuously ask her if she was feeling strong enough to stay, since even with her sunglasses, they could all see that she was in great pain. She just assured them that while she was in pain, it wasn’t as bad as before, and if she began to feel worse, she would leave. They accepted her words, though she still felt them all keep an eye on her.
Finally, the dishes were wiped clean for the last time. The students, who had all been sitting at random tables and with their friends from different Houses, went to sit at their House tables, with the three guest schools lining three of the four walls. The teachers all stood and made a sort of path from the Hall to the stairs that led to the antechamber where the champions would go once selected.
“Sit down. Please.” Dumbledore said, as the noise level began to decrease. He stood in the middle of the Hall, looking around at all the students and teachers, as the students took their seats. “Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The Champion selection.” He waved his hand, nearly extinguishing all the lamps and candles, until only the flaming glow of the Goblet of Fire remained, filling the Hall with a soft blue light. He turned to the Goblet and waited for it to spit out the first name.
Suddenly, the blue flame turned red as a piece of parchment flew out and slowly drifted down towards Dumbledore’s outstretched hand.
Taking the sizzling piece of parchment, he called out, “The Durmstrang Champion is…Victor Krum.”
There was a loud round of applause, mostly provided by the Durmstrang students, as Krum stood up, went to Dumbledore, shook hands and made his way to the antechamber. Once he was out of sight, the Hall fell silent as all eyes turned to the Goblet.
Not even a minute later, the flames turned red once again as another slip of parchment was spat out and slowly drifted down to Dumbledore’s outstretched hand.
Taking it, he called out, “The Champion for Beauxbatons…is Fleur Delacour.”
There was a loud round of cheering from the ladies of Beauxbatons that accompanied the applause as the blonde veela stood up with a smile. She walked to Dumbledore, shook his hand and made her way to the antechamber.
The noise died as the flames turned red once again, spitting out another piece of parchment. Taking it, the man cried out, “The Magic School Champion is…Wyatt Halliwell.”
There was a loud round of applause, amplified by the Magic School students, as Wyatt made his way to the front of the Hall, shook Dumbledore’s hand, and walked towards the antechamber.
The flames turned red once again as the final piece of parchment shot out and drifted down to Dumbledore’s outstretched hand.
“The Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!”
There was a deafening round of applause, as Cedric stood up and made his way to the front. He shook his Headmaster’s hand, and made his way to the antechamber.
Aurelia clapped and cheered with everyone else, especially when the Hogwarts Champion was selected. However, the pain, which had been bearable for the last 2 hours or so, was starting to become unbearable once again. With a quiet word to her friends, she began to quietly make her way towards the door, barely listening to what Dumbledore was saying when Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor took hold of her arm.
Before Aurelia could ask what the matter was, Dumbledore said, “Aurelia Potter-Black.”
Aurelia turned towards the Headmaster, confused, and feeling emotions of shock and disbelief coming from all around her.
Hermione stood and hurried towards her, whispering, thought it was still heard in the pin drop silence, “Your name just came out of the Goblet, Aurelia. You have to go up.”
Aurelia shook her head in confusion, the pain becoming unbearable and making her dizzy. Hermione gently nudged her friend forward, and as Aurelia walked toward the front of the Hall, a few of her schoolmates on either side of her gave her supporting hands as she swayed ever so slightly. She could feel their concern mixed in with their shock and confusion.
“She’s a cheat!” someone cried out, echoed by a handful of others.
“She’s not even 17 yet!” cried others.
Aurelia reached the front of the Hall, and Dumbledore waved her towards the antechamber. As she passed McGonagall, the elderly witch patted her shoulder in sympathy, while Remus and Sirius just felt shocked, along with Severus.
She entered the antechamber, and noticed the four Champions were milling about, waiting for the teachers. Noticing her, they turned around.
“What is it?” Fleur said imperiously. “Do zey want us back in ze Hall?”
Aurelia shook her head in shock, before promptly regretting it as it made her even more dizzy. She moaned.
“Aurelia? Is everything okay?” Cedric asked, walking towards the younger girl.
“Here, sit down.” She heard Wyatt say, gently leading her towards a chair and pushing her into it. Aurelia put a hand to her forehead and winced as a headache began to forming, adding to the agony she was already in.
There was a sound of scurrying feet behind him, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took Aurelia’s by the arm and pulled her up from the chair. She swayed, and reached for the mans’ arm for support. He didn’t seem to notice.
“Extraordinary!” he muttered, squeezing Aurelia’s arm. “Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen . . . lady,” he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. “May I introduce — incredible though it may seem — the fifth Triwizard champion?”
Aurelia rubbed her forehead again with her free arm. She could feel the confusion coming from the Champions, though Fleur said with an amused tone, “Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman.”
“Joke?” Bagman repeated, bewildered. “No, no, not at all! Aurelia’s name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!”
The confusion turned to shock, as she felt them look at her.
“But evidently zair ’as been a mistake,” Fleur said contemptuously to Bagman. “She cannot compete. She is too young.”
“Well . . . it is amazing,” said Bagman, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Aurelia. “But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as her name’s come out of the goblet . . . I mean, I don’t think there can be any ducking out at this stage... It’s down in the rules, you’re obliged . . . Aurelia will just have to do the best she —”
The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Headmaster Wyatt, Mrs. Halliwell, Professors McGonagall, Snape, Moody, Remus and Sirius. Aurelia heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall, before Professor McGonagall closed the door.
“Madame Maxime!” said Fleur at once, striding over to her headmistress. “Zey are saying zat zis little girl is to compete also!”
Somewhere under Aurelia’s agony and disbelief she felt a ripple of anger. Little girl?
“What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?” Madam Maxime said imperiously. She had drawn herself up to her full, and considerable, height.
“I’d rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore,” said Professor Karkaroff. “Two Hogwarts champions? I don’t remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions — or have I not read the rules carefully enough?” He gave a short and nasty laugh.
“C’est impossible,” said Madame Maxime. “’Ogwarts cannot ’ave two champions. It is most injust.”
“We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore,” said Karkaroff, “Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools.”
Dumbledore looked towards Aurelia, his beloved granddaughter, and asked, in a firm yet gentle voice, “Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Aurelia?” he asked calmly, using her full name rather than the nickname, ‘Stella’, that he had given her when she was little to convey the gravity of the situation.
“No,” she replied. She was very aware of everybody watching her closely. Karkaroff made a soft noise of impatient.
“Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?” said Professor Dumbledore, ignoring Karkaroff.
“No,” said Aurelia, in as strong a voice she could, which admittedly wasn’t all that much.
“Ah, but of course she is lying!” cried Madame Maxime.
“She isn’t!” Wyatt rebutted.
“’Ow would you know?”
“I’m an Empath, I can feel her emotions.” Wyatt all but snapped back. Not only could he feel Aurelia’s honesty, he could also feel the pain she was in, and it was taking everything he had not to breakdown and scream in pain at what he was feeling from her. “And I can’t feel any deceit from her. Only confusion, terror, a little disgruntlement, and a lot of pain!”
“How do you know she isn’t faking those emotions?” Karkaroff spat.
“You can’t fake emotions! You can only hide them! Like they are-.” He pointed to Snape, Moody and Dumbledore, before continuing, “And the pain she is in? It’s almost entirely physical, which I can feel because I am a Whitelighter.”
“Zat does not mean she didn’t put ‘er name in. Maybe she zust didn’t expect to be called!” Fleur cried out.
“She could not have crossed the Age Line,” said Professor McGonagall sharply. “I am sure we are all agreed on that —”
“Dumbly-dorr must ‘ave made a mistake wiz ze line,” said Madame Maxime, shrugging.
“Are you listening to yourself?” Piper cried out, indignantly. “Albus Dumbledore make a mistake with something as simple and basic as an Age Line that my kids could conjure before they were five years old without any problem! What are you on?”
“Mr. Crouch . . . Mr. Bagman,” said Karkaroff, in a rather despicable tone, “you are our — er — objective judges. Surely you will agree that this is most irregular?”
“More importantly, is there any way to get Aurelia out of competing?” Remus asked, much more politely.
“We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament.” With that one sentence, Crouch dashed any hopes that they might have had. Aurelia just sighed and rested her head against Sirius’ chest as he held her. She was utterly wiped out, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
“Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front,” said Bagman, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.
“I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students,” said Karkaroff. “You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It’s only fair, Dumbledore.”
“But Karkaroff, it doesn’t work like that,” said Bagman. “The Goblet of Fire’s just gone out — it won’t reignite until the start of the next tournament —”
“— in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!” exploded Karkaroff. “After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!”
“Empty threat, Karkaroff,” growled Moody. “You can’t leave your champion now. He’s got to compete. They’ve all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?”
“Convenient?” said Karkaroff. “I’m afraid I don’t understand you, Moody.”
Aurelia could tell he was trying to sound disdainful, as though what Moody was saying was barely worth his notice, but his emotions gave him away; he was angry, very angry.
“Don’t you?” said Moody quietly. “It’s very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter’s name in that goblet knowing she’d have to compete if it came out.”
“Evidently, someone ’oo wished to give ’Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!” said Madame Maxime.
“I quite agree, Madame Maxime,” said Karkaroff, bowing to her. “I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards —”
“If anyone’s got reason to complain, it’s Potter,” growled Moody, “but . . . funny thing . . . I don’t hear her saying a word...”
“Why should she complain?” burst out Fleur Delacour, stamping her foot. Evidently, she still believed Aurelia put her own name in the cup, despite Wyatt backing her up. “Sh e ’as ze chance to compete, ’asn’t she? We ’ave all been ’oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money — zis is a chance many would die for!”
“Maybe someone’s hoping Potter-Black is going to die for it,” said Moody, with the merest trace of a growl. There was silence at the ex-Auror’s words, as the implications really sunk in.
“We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn’t discovered six plots to murder him before lunchtime,” said Karkaroff loudly. “Apparently, he is now teaching his students to fear assassination too. An odd quality in a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dumbledore, but no doubt you had your reasons.”
“Imagining things, am I?” growled Moody. “Seeing things, eh? It was a skilled witch or wizard who put the girl’s name in that goblet…”
“Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?” said Madame Maxime, throwing up her huge hands.
“The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object.” Moody growled in response. “Only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could’ve hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year, even one as powerful as Miss. Potter-Black.”
Dumbledore spoke up, silencing Madam Maxime and Karkaroff as they were gearing up to retort.
“She iz ztill zust a little girl!” Madame Maxime cried out, indignation rolling off her in waves, as she unknowingly reiterated what Fleur had said earlier. “She is too young.”
Wyatt could feel the anger coming off Aurelia in waves, temporarily drowning out the pain, as they listened to what was being said. Krum was silent, watching the proceedings, not having an opinion as of yet. Cedric, while confused as to how this happened, was getting angry because he could see the pain she was in, and he was also among those that were in the Infirmary until right before the feast.
“Does anyone remember where she was the entire day today?” Cedric asked loudly, finally getting fed-up with the arguing. Everyone turned to look at him. “Or why, for that matter?”
Madam Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman and Crouch looked at him in confusion.
“What does that have to do with anything, boy?” Karkaroff asked imperiously.
“She was in the Infirmary since after dinner last night.” Cedric replied, not even bothering to keep his disdain hidden. “And before you start about how she could’ve left or told anyone of us that were there, she was in so much pain she could barely breathe, let alone talk or leave.”
As he spoke, he glared at the four of them, daring them to say anything to contradict him.
“Ced,” Aurelia said quietly, making them turn to her, “just leave it. They have made their opinions known. There is nothing we can do or say that will change that.”
“How this situation arose, we do not know,” Dumbledore said, speaking to everyone gathered in the room, bringing them back to the situation at hand and stopping any arguments from starting. “It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Aurelia have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do…”
“Ah, but Dumbly-dorr —”
“My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it.” Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn’t the only one angry. Severus, Sirius and Remus were furious; Karkaroff was livid; Bagman, however, was rather excited.
“Well, shall we crack on, then?” he said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. “Got to give our champions their instructions, haven’t we? Barty, want to do the honors?”
“Yes,” Mr. Crouch said, “instructions. Yes . . . the first task . . .”
“The first task is designed to test your daring,” he told the five Champions, “so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard or witch ... very important... The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands, or active powers. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions, should they so choose, are exempted from end-of-year tests.”
Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore.
“I think that’s all, is it, Albus?”
“I think so,” said Dumbledore. He proceeded to invite everyone for a nightcap, which was promptly rejected. Sirius picked a barely awake Aurelia and strode out the door, calling out over his shoulder, “Albus, I’m staying in the Infirmary with Aurelia.”
At the sounds of acknowledgment from Dumbledore, he left the room with Remus in tow holding Aurelia’s heels. Cedric was quick to follow them, wanting to tell Aurelia that he believed her. He had just missed them, so resolved to do so at the next available moment.
“Albus, will she be alright?” Leo asked Albus worriedly as they left the antechamber.
“Yes, she will be alright.” Dumbledore said reassuringly. “You’ll see her get up to her usual antics by Monday at the latest.”
“Oh, I hope you don’t.” McGonagall muttered.
“Come now Minerva, her antics are quite amusing, you must admit.” Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling madly.
McGonagall just sighed exasperatedly as they all split up and went their separate ways. The Halliwell’s went to an unused classroom that was being used for their party, while Dumbledore went to the Infirmary to check on Aurelia and McGonagall went to check on her lions and inform them that Aurelia would be staying in the Infirmary as a precaution.