NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73 – Return of the Order
The banquet that evening was wonderful. With an extra table ready for the guests, the elves in the kitchen truly made Helga Hufflepuff's name proud with what they cooked up. Looking at the two headmasters, the one named Igor Karkaroff looked as if a wild animal was dressed up in human clothes... no, as a wolf masquerading in sheep's clothing. Or it was making me feel like it because I knew he was a subordinate of HIS.
On the other hand, the alchemist legend Nicolas Flamel looked elegant from start to finish. The way he carried himself and how he ate all exuded the style of ancient nobility. I was surprised at how trusting he was, eating the food without inspecting it... but I guess you can't really poison or surprise an alchemist on his level.
"I never saw Professor Slughorn so fidgety!" Quincy chuckled, whispering to me while I was taking some pudding for myself, "I knew he was a big fan of his works, but not that he would squirm in his chair like that! I bet he has so many questions he wants to ask!"
"You aren't the same?" I asked with a grin, and she replied proudly.
"Of course! But I know my place! I will wait for my chance!"
"Who knows, you may have it soon! Don't forget, at the end of the month, we are going to have a Slughorn party! By then, we will have the champions selected, which will happen before the first task! I bet if the champions are invited, their 'masters' will come too. I wouldn't trust our side just like that; the competition is no joke, and I heard everything is permitted!"
"Yes... so you will have to be extra careful! Don't eat or drink anything they give you; only take it from the Professor!"
"Err... okay. You are right..." I whispered as it seemed my thoughts manifested themselves in her mind.
"What?" She sharply asked after seeing my eyes wander, and I looked towards the table where the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students sat in two batches. "They are beautiful, but that means nothing!"
"No, I am not watching because of that. It felt... weird. At least a few of the girls!"
"Weird?" She looked over her shoulder, scanning them. "I don't feel anything... is it..."
"Mhm, my nose." I nodded, implying my basilisk's senses were warning me. "Something magical is in some of their blood. I can pinpoint it, but their presence is not completely human. It makes my blood tingle and gives me a weird feeling."
"Which ones...?" She asked in a colder tone, scanning them.
"It is coming from the girls."
"Hmph! Of course..." By now, her voice was even colder... huh! Somehow... seeing her jealous like this felt nice.
"You don't have to worry, I have you! None of them can measure up to you~!"
"I am not worried about that!" She snorted comically, turning away and pouting like a hamster. "I'm more worried they try something! You can't trust girls!"
"Errr... Quincy... you are a girl."
"You know what I meant!"
"Ahahaha, okay, okay!" I chuckled and would have said more as she started hitting me playfully, but the Headmaster's voice silenced us all.
"Welcome!" He said in an even, calm, powerful voice. "It has been three centuries since the three most prominent schools of magic in all of Europe... and dare I say, all over the world, gathered in one place! First, I'd like to welcome our two guests to Hogwarts!" He turned towards the two headmasters and congratulated them, speaking a little about the two schools and their histories.
"The Headmaster should take over Professor Binns..." I whispered, but it wasn't only Quincy who nodded vigorously but all the others sitting in my vicinity.
"Now... as you all already know, the Tri-Wizard Tournament will be returning this year!"
With a clap, a stone slab appeared before the podium with a simple, wooden goblet atop it. If I ever encountered something like that in the world, I would think nothing of it... artifacts. Huh... Maybe I should start paying attention to more mundane-looking items as they could hide untold secrets! What interrupted my fantasies was a clap from Snape that ignited a blue fire inside the cup, burning fiercely, lighting up his face, turning it almost ghost-like.
"The Goblet of Fire is an impartial judge. For the following two weeks, all of you will have the chance to write your names on a piece of paper and drop it into the Goblet! But be warned! If it chooses you, it will mean a magical bond that cannot be broken! If your name comes up and you don't participate... don't think of getting out of it; you won't be able to. Only... if you don't mind dying, that is!"
"He enjoys this..." Quincy muttered, and I couldn't help but agree, seeing the sly smile on the Headmaster's face.
"The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall! Think hard about what you will do, as it can change your future!"
"Not like I have a chance to think about it, don't I?" I asked with deep sarcasm, as I knew full well what to do.
"Yes- Conrad?" Quincy asked as she saw me scribbling.
"Their entrance was badass, wasn't it?" I yawned, feeling sleepy from the excellent food, "Time to show them Hogwarts is on par with them!"
I made sure that more people at our table heard it before standing up, surprising the teachers and everyone else. Without hesitation, I simply walked forward, and even if the Headmaster had a questioning gaze, I simply smiled and put my name in the fire, letting it be burned away in a flash.
"I hate being last." I chuckled, turning towards the hundreds of faces watching me, and calmly strutted back to my place.
"What can I say other than he is my pupil, hah!"
I didn't need to look or guess to know who said that... that simple laugh was enough to already see Professor Lockhart's stupid, grinning face before my eyes. Heh... and it was making me smile. I can't lie; through the previous years, I started liking the Professor. He was kind of slimy, but he was not a completely bad guy, unlike Umbridge.
...
....
......
When the morning came, and we left the Common Room, we weren't that hungry, thanks to the previous night. So, instead, we were loitering around the Goblet, watching people come and go with multiple other Slytherins hanging around us. I maintained a superficial conversation with them, but I was actually watching who would go and put their names in.
"What are they doing?" I asked nobody in particular, watching a group of girls huddled around the entrance, looking out multiple times, then rushing back, giggling.
"Probably waiting for the big Krum."
"What type of spell is that?" Hearing everyone's laugh, it quickly made clear it wasn't a spell... but they took it as I was joking.
"Never heard of it," Quincy added, and she was much more serious, so it was a 6th-year student who answered her.
"Viktor Krum. He is a world-famous Quidditch player. A seeker, to be precise! He attends Durmstrang, and he is a Bulgarian wizard who, even though he was not 18 years old, already played for the national team! When he turned 18 this year, he participated in the World Cup! He was named the best player in the finals, even though the team lost it against the Irish."
"Oh..." Both Quincy and I exclaimed as neither of us really followed Quidditch, being the odd pair in our school. "Want an autograaaaaouch!" I groaned while the rest laughed as Quincy awarded my joke with a pinch at my side, twisting it. "I take it as a no..."
While I was groaning, the World Famous Viktor Krum appeared, and after entering the school, he ignored the girls who were following him, and without hesitation, he put his name in the Goblet. Scanning the crowd, our eyes met, and we kept staring at each other before he walked away with a nod.
"Fearless," I said, voicing my honest first impressions of him.
"Few would dare look into the eyes of a Death Eater for long." The others added, pointing out my status that I kept forgetting.
"Well, I am not here to bite his head off!" I joked, holding Quincy's hand, "Let's go; it's a class with Professor Binns! If we miss the best places in the back, we can't sleep!"
...
....
......
In Hogsmeade, deep underground, in a hidden system of tunnels, a meeting was happening that would probably alarm the Dark Lord if he knew about it.
"It is good to see you...! I missed you two!" It was Remus Lupin, an old friend of Sirius Black and the now-dead Potter family. The two friends hugged closely before Lupin started greeting the rest.
It was not only him who came. Behind him stood the famous Auror, one with many achievements, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, who fought the Dark Lord once and lived through it... although he was now missing a leg and an eye because of it. Yet even he was not the biggest threat to the Dark Lord's rule who came to Hogsmeade... as behind him stood none other than Albus Dumbledore, the head of the Order and the resistance against Lord Voldemort's rule.
"..."
"..."
Dumbledore was silently facing someone who resembled him so much, if not for the more prominent lines over his face, drawn on not by age but by hardship.
"Thank you, Aberforth." Dumbledore broke the silence in the end, but he only shook his head before leaving, going back to the surface, leaving the Order to their own plans, not wanting to be part of it anymore.
"It is good to be back here!" Moody grunted, taking a big swing from his flask while leaning on his walking stick.
"Yes, yes, it is!" Dumbledore sighed, stroking his long, white beard, "Even though we still need to hide in the shadows and under the earth of our own country."
"Not for long!" The Black brothers said, and Dumbledore simply smiled, turning his piercing, blue eyes at Charlie.
"Yes, yes... the dragons are already in place."
"I am also ready. When you give the signal, I can make them go wild." The oldest living Weasly brother said, flashing an angry, wild smile.
"Not right away! We need to wait until the leaders of the Death Eaters gather here! Probably at the third and final task! Until then, we will lay more and more traps so when it ignites... their world comes crumbling down!"
