Friday, August 05, 2005

Chapter 6

The Goblet of Fire



Having not recalled seeing Lodina in Hogwarts before, Harry wondered if she had been transfered recently from a different school... Lodina was as cheerful as Ginny... but somehow... he wasn't as attracted to her as much as he was to Ginny... Ginny's fiery red hair was glistening under the light of the chandeliers...he ha
d wanted to express how he felt about her ever since his second year... but Ginny hardly spoke to him at that time... in fact, he never really had an opportunity to get her alone to tell her how he actually felt about her... well.. there was the one time when they were alone in the Chamber of Secrets... with Fawkes singing the song of the Pheonix beside them... but Harry thought that wasn't exactly the most romantic of moments to tell Ginny how he felt... seeing that she was unconscious and probably traumatised after the events with Tom Riddle... but if there was one person who could make Harry's day by simply smiling... it was definitely Ginny... The three girls, Hermione, Ginny and Lodina, were talking very animatedly ... discussing the likely prospects as to who could very well turn out to be the Hogwarts Champion... "Hear ye, hear ye... I gather that all of you have met our wonderful guests... and i trust you will welcome them with open arms... just a few more announcements before we start the Welcome Feast..." Dumbledore started off in a stately way... to his left... Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff were seated pompously...Professor Karkaroff was wearing a rather dark and grim look on his face.. whereas Madame Maxime had a regal air around her...Harry didn't like the look on Karkaroff's face... he looked as if he could give Snape a run for his money for having an expression as if someone had put a pair of Uncle Vernon's ol' tennis socks under his nose..."This year's Tri-Wizard Tournament will begin with the usual ritual where interested students would put their names into the Goblet of Fire... there will be an age restriction, of course... to ensure that students would be well-prepared when facing the tasks ahead of them... and all those who are in their sixth year or above can enter this competition... Let me remind you at this juncture that no sort of Ageing Potion would be able to get through the magical wards I have set around the Goblet... students will have until tomorrow afternoon to place their names into the Goblet... the results will be let known tmr evening during dinner... Good Luck to all of you planning to participate in this event.. and May the best student be chosen! now all of you... tuck in! " Dumbledore seated himself calmly and started talking to Madame Maxime and Professor Mcgonagall... "Seriously Ron... Why don't you go up to the Ravenclaw bench and have your lunch then? Instead of drooling all over our food...Anyway, it's not like it would do you any good... I'm sure Fleur wouldn't notice you.. seeing that half of the male population in Hogwarts have already thrown themselves all over her..." Hermione snorted irritatedly... Ron on the other hand was quite taken aback by what Hermione had said.... "Oh puh-leese Hermione... Fleur was soo 'yesterday'... I wasn't looking at her..." Harry noticed that Ron was blushing as he said this... "And you expect me to believe that Ron? You don't need to cover up you know...we understand perfectly..." Hermione had finished her sarcastic remark when Ginny and Lodina shook their heads in unison... "BOYS!" ... Ron decided to leave it as it is.. seeing that he would be on the losing end of the battle if he were to argue with Hermione...Harry flicked his head and turned to rest his gaze at the Slytherin Table.. only to see Draco and Iman whispering quietly and secretively... Viktor was absorbed in his pudding and the rest of the Durmstrang students made themselves at home with the Slytherin crowd... Pansy was flirting with another tall, dark Durmstrang student whilst Draco's back was turned... Was it customary for lovers to cheat on each other if they were in Slytherin? Harry wondered... but decided that Pansy was an exception.. surely even Draco would be severely ticked off if he found out his girlfriend was having an affair with someone else... but there was surely something fishy going on between Iman and Draco... Harry could see it in the way they were communicating with each other...but he decided to abandon thinking about Draco and Iman... maybe it was time he had followed Agathos' advice.. Agathos had always given him great advice afterall...Just then.. the House ghosts made their appearance in the Great Hall..."How's the headless hunt going St. Nick?" Lodina asked as she stretched forward to reach her chocolate pudding... "My application to join the Headless hunt has been denied once again...and to think they would have overlooked my slight problem of my head being loosely attached to my neck after all these years!" sighed Nearly Headless Nick... the Gryffindor bench roared with laughter... and the rest of the students as well as teachers enjoyed the feast immensely in the Great Hall...
~-~

"Who'd do ya think would be the Hogwarts Champion Harry?" Neville asked as they headed back to the Gryffindor tower, feeling stuffed after the Welcome feast... Harry hadn't given much thought into this actually... he had been very glad that only sixth years and above were allowed to participate.. seeing that he really didn't want any more pressure on his back... if fourth years were allowed to participate.. Harry was sure someone would have smuggled his name in.. people might have thought it would be a good joke... The Boy who Lived being named as Hogwarts Champion.. that thought made his stomach hurl... thinking about Voldermort always brought back bad memories ... memories of his father shouting and attempting to protect Harry and his mother from Voldermort... and his mother screaming in pain ... sacrificing herself to protect Harry from the evil clutches of Lord Voldermort... "Earth to Harry... did you hear me, mate? coz you look lost!" Neville asked, searching Harry's face for an answer..."What? oh yea.. no Neville.. i haven't got a clue..." 'Dryfis' Harry muttered as the Fat Lady's potrait swung open for them... "I think I'm gonna retire to bed now Neville.. see ya tmr in class!" Harry shook Neville off in the common room and headed straight to bed... that night, Harry lay awake... thinking ... Could Draco really be plotting to put his own name into the Goblet? It would be the sort of thing Draco would do... He did love attention...Nah... it couldn't be true.. As thick as Draco was, he wasn't as stupid to think he could overcome the wards set up by Dumbledore... not unless he had someone else to put his name in for him... someone who was of age... someone like ... Iman Eanderthal!

~-~

The next morning, Harry woke with a splitting headache... he had hardly gotten two hrs of sleep... he had stayed up all night thinking of what Iman and Draco could have been up to... so much so that now, Harry's head was in a mess! "Harry, you alright? You've been really off lately... wassup?" Ron said as he pulled over his sweater... "Oh, it's nothing... I was just thinking of writing to Sirius... telling him about the Tri-Wizard tournament and all.. " Harry lied about this... but on second thought.. he thought it best to write to Sirius.. it has been quite awhile since he had last written to him... he wondered if Buckbeak was alright and decided he should write to him later on.. after dinner...Ron and Harry made their way down for breakfast... and saw Hermione... up and about... reading a magazine on Quidditch... Hermione was the last person who would be interested in quidditch... she never really had an interest in the sport... Harry and Ron eyed her suspiciously... "So what's this about then? Getting a new hobby Hermione? Since when did you follow the Quidditch series? and.. wait a second..." Ron cocked his head to read the front cover of the magazine... "This is a Puddlemere United Edition! Hermione.. you never told me you like Puddlemere!" Ron shot her an incredulous look... "Never you mind Ron... oh... this is just in Harry... Hedwig just flew down to deliver your letter... "... Hermione dropped her voice so that no one else could overhear them... "It's from Snuffles..." Harry ripped the envelope apart and saw the note... written in Sirius' handwriting no doubt...

'Hi Harry!
How have you been? Meet me in the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room at midnight tonight.. make sure no one's around though... and you can bring Ron, Hermione and Ginny along too.. my best regards to them as well... Cheers!
Love,
Sirius'

Harry could hardly wait... It was as if Sirius had read his mind! He could hardly wait for midnight... now that he could finally speak to his godfather once again... The three of them scurried off to their Transfiguration lesson after having a hearty breakfast... talking excitedly about their meeting with Snuffles later on...

~-~

It was finally 6.30pm and all of the Hogwarts students as well as the staff and students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had gathered in the Great Hall... finally.. the moment of truth... Harry could see the look of anxiety amongst all the students gathered in the Great Hall... "It is with great pleasure that I now commence the choosing of the Tri-Wizard Champions... the goblet would be the one choosing the names of the students it sees fit to compete in this tournament... so without further adue ... I shall read out the names of the first champion... " Everyone in the Great Hall had finally settled down and were at their edge of their seats.... Dumbledore reached his hand into the Goblet and pulled a parchment..."The Champion from Beauxbatons... Fleur Delacour!" There was an immediate roar of applause from the Ravenclaw table... Harry could hear Fleur saying to Roger Davies... "Oh... I always knew I would be chosen... even Madame Maxime had told me that she would be surprised if I didn't get chosen..." Roger Davies just nodded ... his eyes were transfixed upon hers... and he was too lost for words... at this.. Hermione simply rolled her eyes and cast a nasty look at Fleur's direction... Dumbledore put his hand near the rim of the Goblet once again... and caught another piece of parchment...just as it flew out of the Goblet... "The next Champion... from Durmstrang is... Viktor Krum!" Professor Karkaroff stood up and put his hands around Viktor's shoulders... "I always knew you had it in you my boy..." Viktor simply shrugged and slouched back into his seat... Dumbledore got ready to catch the next bit of parchment... Hogwarts students were now eagerly awaiting to hear the name of the Hogwarts Champion... "and last but certainly not the least... " just before Dumbledore announced the last name... he saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes... "the Hogwarts Champion is... Harry Potter!"... at this .... Harry's heart sank... how could it be? the crowd in the Great Hall broke into murmurs... all were wondering how Harry had passed the Age Limit Dumbledore had set around the Goblet of Fire.... "Harry! how did ya do it? Both George and I tried to put our names in it... but we couldn't get passed the wards... we tried taking a special dose of Ageing Potion..and it seemed that the mix of the Potion and one of the Magical Spells surrounding the goblet produced a funny hex on both of us... " Fred spoke in amusement..."yea... Fred and I... we both started to sprout magnificent beards... I reckon we could have given Dumbledore a run for his money.. don't you think, Fred?" George replied...Both the Weasley twins were joking about their beards... but Harry ignored this... how could this happen? who would have wanted Harry to compete soo badly? he looked around at the Slytherin table... and if he wasn't puzzled already... he was most certainly puzzled now...Malfoy looked happy! he wore a smug grin on his face and was talking really fast and quietly to Iman Eanderthal... what on earth is wrong with those two? They're happy I became Hogwarts Champion? Harry thought..Just then... Dumbledore's stately voice interrupted the chatterings of the restless crowd..."Hold on a second... it appears the Goblet seems to have chosen a fourth champion as well... and the fourth champion... is... Draco Malfoy!" Everyone now turned their heads towards the Slytherin table.. not only were there two Hogwarts Champions.. but they were both under-aged! "Will all the Champions please come up front... thank you..." Dumbledore finished... and the four champions marched up to the teachers's table... Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime were clearly agitated and annoyed at the outcome... but none of them expressed their anger.. for it could not be undone... the goblet would not re-ignite till the opening of the next tournament... Dumbledore spoke to the champions after a long awkward pause... "alright... there has definitely been an amusing turn of events here... but i want to know... did you two.. Harry and Draco... did you get seniors of yours to enter your names for the tournament? coz seeing that you boys don't have beards... I'm guessing you might have gotten outside help..." ... "No professor!" Both Harry and Draco said in unison...at this, Draco shot Harry a grim look..."Alright then... i trust you boys.. but this means we've got to be extra careful...Professor Mcgonagall will brief you further on the tournament rules later... i guess it's off to bed for you lot then.. go on... goodnight!" Dumbledore turned away and whisked off with the rest of the staff... Fleur followed Madame Maxime into the Beauxbatons Carriage and Viktor followed Professor Karkaroff into the Durmstrang Ship... leaving Both Draco and Harry standing there... facing each other... both of them didn't say a word... as unusual as it seemed... usually Draco would have had some snide remark to say to Harry.. but this time.. he simply walked away.. to join Iman and the rest of his Slytherin Guard... Harry had too much things on his mind... and decided that he should consult with Sirius later on... he rushed back into the common room and waited until no one was left in the common room... Hermione, Ron and Ginny came down from their dorms to meet him... Hermione was about to start off asking how Harry had managed to get his name into the Goblet when he cut her off.. "Not right now Hermione.. alright? I'll explain later..." .. Just then... a soft pop sound came from the fire place... it was Sirius' head! "Hi Harry!" he said... "How have you been? Ah.. i see the rest are here too...Great... I've come with good tidings... I'm getting engaged..." Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard... "Engaged? Oh! Sirius.. Th-That's Great news!!"... Harry managed a stifled reply... "Yea... thanks Harry... I'm getting engaged to Nymphadora... Nymphadora Tonks... a lovely lady... i reckon you would get to meet her shortly afterwards as well.. she'd love to talk to you..." There was a warm smile on Sirius' face... Harry remembered his sunken hollow face last year... when he had just escaped Azkaban... he was happy to see Sirius looking healthier and happier... "Oh... and i've been meaning to tell you Harry... Have you met my daughter? She's in Gryffindor too.. though a year younger than you are... she just transfered from a wizarding school in Scotland...Her name's Lodina... Lodina Verusia Black..." Harry's jaw dropped wide open...

[Tonks was grooving to Greenday's Holiday ~ nostalgic]

~Nymphadora~


Narcissa glanced up from reading Witch Weekly as the house elf brought her tea. The grand teak grandfather clock in the room told her it was just past midnight. Narcissa had the unusual trait of being nocturnal and usually stayed up late.. not that it made a difference. Malfoy Manor looked the same, be it night or day. The study was heavily curtained with dark green velvet curtains that shielded most light coming through the windows. Lucius prefered to have as much false light around as possible. He was almost vampirish withh is white skin and dislike for sunlight, thought Narcissa with an air of carelessness. Or perhaps he just liked to show off his great chandeliers around the manor. Narcissa stared at the ceiling and pictured hanging Lucius upside down and letting spiders skid up his pants. "That would be fun, but nearly not as fun as imagining him hanging upside down in a scottish skirt", she smiled her sinful smile. She was in an unusually good mood... and why shouldn't she be? He had promised to come tonight and "stay for a longer time". But there was still a bit more time left and her frequent glances towards the fireplace behind her were starting to give her a pain in the neck.
She decided to continue reading Witch Weekly to kill time. As composed and nonchalant as a Malfoy could get, she still couldnt fight the anxiety that surrounded her when she waited for him. The anticipation... even though she knew what was to follow... in fact the knowledge of what was to follow was what made her so giddy. He was predictable yet never boring. Narcissa could flaunt her smirk when he came unexpectedly but was totally disarmed when he gave an advance notice... which was totally reverse of what people usually went through. Realizing these thoughts, she flinched. Every non-malfoy, non-black action or thought made her screw up her face... as if she was trying 2 scare away the thought that she, Narcissa could ever feel like a normal, ordinary lady. Her certain disregard for expression of feelings and her total distaste for emotional outlets was what had made her famous in Hogwarts... classy yet sharp, feminine yet not girly. But these charms seem to melt away when he looked at her. She always felt herself dissolving... as if his eyes were peeling down the layers of wine, black gowns, elegant manners and the famous smirks that she had surrounded herself with... the layers that set Narcissa a notch up above the rest of the ladies. He seemed to get throught those layers of pride and stubborness and brutal magnetism to find the woman that she was, to make her feel so vulnerable, weak yet protected... made her want to be weak... to be protected by him. He made her feel like a woman, loved by a man.. as simple as that. She smiled and subconsciously turned the pages of Witch Weekly when she felt it. His breath! On her ears! She jumped back, all elegance forgotten. "How did you get in?? I have been watching the fire for the past half an hour!" she said trying to recover from the shock and trying to smile. "I know. and I have been watching you watch the fire for the past ten minutes", he said as he took his cloak off and threw it on the sofa beside him. She looked at him.. so out of place in malfoy manor. His clothes a big ragged and rather old. But then she got lost in his eyes as they glanced up at her. "Checking me out through the holes in my shirt??", he chuckled and moved towards her. He slid his right hand around her waist and pulled her close. As Narcissa's face closed into his shoulder, she felt herself relaxing against his grip while he wrapped his arms around. As usual, he moved one hand up to untie her hair and as they came down in elegant long strands he started playing with it. "You didnt tell me where you came from??" asked Narcissa as she looked up into his eyes which were still focussed on her hair. "Through the fire in your bedroom honey. Was hoping to catch you there. Alas... you prefered a more academic setting tonight", he smiled, his rare mischievous smile (that he apparently thought was disarmingly sexy but which she found hilariously cute) looking around at the numerous books lying on the table in front of them. He looked down into her eyes... hoping to find her smile and roll her eyes in the way Narcissa-ish way... but instead saw the longing in them.. longing to be looked into, admired, to be loved. His expression grew more serious as he asked, "Since how long has he been gone?". Instantly he knew it was a wrong question to ask. She looked irritated, "A couple of days.. I have lost count. Anyway, I dont care. You can ask him the next time he tries to do you in with his Dark Lord". Not upto the usual standards of sarcasm, he thought. She looked up to tell him off some more, to make him realize they were alone in a cosy study with a romantic fire burning and her clothes... a mischievous grin spread across her face... how could Narcissa give in without a bit of tease?? As she raised to look into his eyes and make him go dizzy, her plan failed miserably at the look of hunger on his face. That werewolfish hunger... waiting to be satisfied... yet with a warmth so uncharacteristic, that made him even more unresistible. Narcissa had a sudden jolt of desire, the anticipation, the anxiety coming back in full measure.. the longing... the long hours of waiting for him. The desire to reach out to him... and now he was finally in her arms. It was too much. She pulled closer to him as he lowered his lips to hers and she felt the familiar taste of desire and love mixed together. After a couple of moments, he separated leaving her wanting more. "Remus.. ", before she could finish her sentence, she felt him come back to her in full force, biting her, his hands grabbing her tightly in an embrace that threatend to dissolve her into him... that spoke of his silent promises to her, his heartache, his emotions dying to be released, threatening to burn a hole right through his heart. It was as if he was trying to hide her within himself so that the world could never find her again. She felt his hunger for her... now recognizing signs of his own longing for her. And then, she gave in. All she could feel was his breath on her. His warm breath... on her lips, moving to her cheeks and then her neck as he pushed back her blonde hair. Then she felt the rough hands moving about her... down her side, behind her, undoing her robe, pushing her down.. gently, with care. As he fell with her, all she knew was divine euphoria. She felt pure, heavenly... as she was touched my love, taking in the beauty of her body, cleansing her of all signs of evil that she had come to be associated with. She was with the man she loved and that was all that mattered at that moment. The moments that streched into eras and kept her alive in an otherwise dead manor.
~~**~~
An hour later, Narcissa found herself gazing into the ceiling, random thoughts swimming across her mind. She could feel Lupin's eyes on her as he turned sideways to look at her. He was lying beside her on the elegant divan next to her, his arms crossed behind his head, cushioning it. She turned to glance at him before moving closer to rest her head on his chest and felt his hand come upto stroke her hair. Lucius would never caress her the way Remus did. She hugged him with one arm. "How is Draco?", asked Remus. Narcissa sighed into his chest. Lupin knew what fate awaited Draco and he felt as helpless about it as Narcissa... especially since she had forbid him to try and interfere in Draco's life. "What is meant to happen, will happen", she had said. He knew he could never understand the pain that her eyes contained for her child, her only child. Although Lupin had no offspring, he and Sirius had sort of come to think of Harry as their own son. Given what Harry had gone through (and still going through), he could try to relate to Narcissa a little... but he guessed he would never know what it meant to have a pre-destined child.. with little hope otherwise. To raise a son being fully aware where his life would take him, what path he would be made to choose. Lupin thought back to the Hogwarts days. He had always liked Narcissa but never been able to tell her directly. It wasnt the fact that she was from Slytherin for it seemed the sorting hat had finally grown old and lost its mind to have made the mistake of putting her in Slytherin. Not an unusual mistake though... She definitely had the Slytherin characteristics.. the charm, the looks, the wit, sarcasm, smirk, brutal heart ripping techniques... but she, unlike other Slytherins, had in her nature to befriend students from other house (which had cost her some popularity in Slytherin) and quite pleasant to talk to. Lupin had the fortune of being in the same charms society as her. They both had found it ridiculous and quit but it had become the very reason for getting to know each other. He remembered admiring her from far when one day, he heard a voice next to him say out aloud, "I wouldn't ask you to pardon me for interrupting this honestly boring gathering, but if all that happens in this Charms groups is guys with weird haircuts trying 2 act macho and showing off silly year 2 charms and girls drooling over them, I would rather join the Herbology club and extract bubotuber pus." With that, Lupin turned to look (and get pleasantly surprised) to find a 15 year old Narcissa wink at him and walk off with all the elegance and attitude of a Slytherin. Lupin had stayed dreamy all evening and had to be hit on the head by the transfiguration book by Sirius and James several times during dinner to bring him back to earth... as he was often freezing midway while bringing his spoon to his mouth and gaping at air instead. Narcissa had winked at him??? She knew of his existence!!! A few weeks later he had found her coming upto him under the tree beside the lake after school hours as he sat there trying to finish an essay on counter curses. She had casually talked to him and said she knew he hated the club too... which he guessed, she infered from his detached behaviour durig the first two meetings that he had attended. It was only the next year that he had managed to have long conversations with her. She was dissed in Slytherin a lot for her association with a Gryffindor but she didn't seem to care much. He had wondered what it would be like to have her like him. Lupin's thoughts jumped to his 7th year... the best day of his life when he had spent the entire day with her in Hogsmeade, trying out Bertie Bott's every flavor bean (he had gotten one which made his teeth disappear for an hour and Narcissa had taken the liberty of covering him in a black cloak and introducing him as his old grandmother, fond of locking little children in broom cupboard for years, to every child that she met in the streets). Lupin smiled as he remembered how silly Narcissa could get when away from the Slytherins. As if she sensing his smile, Narcissa looked up from his chest and eyed him enquiringly. "Remember, the prank you played on those poor children back in 7th year?", he asked her. She smiled sheepishly, the past coming back to her. She had come to know about his being a werewolf in their 7th year.. it did shock her but didnt bother her much afterwards. She had a tough job ahead, to make it known to the Slytherin world that she would be joining a Gryffindor, but she was prepared for the consequences. Only if she knew that was the easiest if challenges facing her. After Hogwarts, Lupin suddenly had to flee the country following a policy made my Ministry of Magic regarding dangerous magical creatures. Lupin had disappeared into thin air overnight. He even had trouble keeping in touch with her and meanwhile, the Slytherin community closed in on her. She knew she would have to marry Lucius as both Black and Malfoy families were pure-blood maniacs and being the two wealthiest pureblood families around, they were extremely keen on this marriage... especially the Malfoys. As she thought back, she couldnt remember the days leading upto her wedding clearly. It was all a shocked blur. Lord Voldemort was getting powerful and people were beginning to lose trust among each other. It was hard to know where one was. When she didnt hear from Lupin for a long time, she had tried very hard to contact him... till one day when he was rumored to have been killed by Aurors mistaking him for a member of Voldertmort's army. She couldn't recall the evidence they had shown her of his death but knew that it had been convincing enough. Perhaps it was the ring he always wore but in her shock, she didnt register much (had she been counfounded?? she could not remember a lot from that period). A month later, she found herself to be Mrs Lucius Malfoy. She cursed her luck for a long time and it was years (and after the birth of Draco) that she knew the real reason for her marriage to Lucius. Things started to fall in place and she started to hate Lucius more and more. Lucius had cleverly told her that Lupin was supposed to have been mistakenly killed by an Auror as telling her that Lupin had been killed for joining Voldemort's army would have alerted her to suspect his lie. It was a lie. Lupin was alive... but barely so. And even the law against the dangerous creatures had something to do with Lucius's family trying to drive Lupin away. Narcissa had underestimated the Malfoys even in their cruelest deeds. As these thoughts and the events of the year following the revelation of truth came back to her, she didnt want to think about it anymore. She had been trapped and all roads of escape blocked by Lucius. But perhaps, Lucius had underestimated her too. She was a Black, through and through. Refusing to give in altogether, she had managed build her own defensive magic and deceive him in small ways over years ... ways that might bring his downfall one day.. indirectly. She wanted to forget it all... the years of shock, pain, betrayal, hurt. She gazed at Lupin to find him intently studying her face. " What?", she asked him gently. His face relaxed as if trying to distract her from the pain he had obviously seen in those eyes, "You look smashing when you try to figure things out while covered only in a silk bedsheet you know", he said. She grabbed a nearby pillow and hit his face while wondering who on earth would ever think Professor Lupin could actually talk dirty. Smiling, she buried her face in his shoulders hoping the moment would last forever.

{Narcissa was being listening to 'Yeh sard aahein teri' (Your chilled breath on me) | ~ Intoxicated}

This post is dedicated to Tonks for her deep understanding of the complexities of love and life.

~Narcissa~

1:52 PM

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