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chapter twenty-three | let fourth year commence!

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THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP disaster seemed to be the talk of the rest of the summer — Maddie's mother and practically the rest of her family all wanted to know every detail of what had happened from her, Lee and their father.

Luckily, the Jordans' Dad had found them not long after they had returned to the Weasleys' tent, after retrieving their belongings when their tent had been set aflame in their absence. Thankfully, nothing valuable had been damaged, and Mr Weasley had offered for the Jordans to sleep with them until they travelled back home.

It wasn't just her family, either, that wanted to know everything that happened — both Jake and Jess interrogated Maddie as soon as they reunited with her on the Hogwarts Express ready to start their fourth year.

"So you're saying a House Elf conjured the Dark Mark?" Jake asked, once again, wearing a very confused frown.

"I don't know!" said Maddie. "That's what all the Ministry were saying, but to be honest, I don't buy it. Like I said, the person who we heard said the incantation had a much deeper voice. They probably just framed the elf,"

"And you told them this?"

"Yes!"

"And did they believe you?"

"Did they fuck! It was probably easier for them to put the blame on the elf, even if it did make Mr Crouch look like a twat,"

It was then the compartment door slid open, with three familiar faces appearing behind it.

One was Sadie Vixen, grinning from ear to ear and currently wearing an Irish Quidditch shirt alongside her blue denim jeans. The other two were Chad Lynx and Marianne Shipman — both pleased to see their friends, once again.

"All the other compartments are full, so you're stuck with us, again," Chad greeted the trio, sitting down.

This was a usual tradition, when heading to Hogwarts. Obviously there were only so many compartments for so many students, and so the two groups of three often squeezed into one. Maddie enjoyed this, though. She'd often see Jake and Jess over the holidays, as they were her closest friends, but other than that it had been an entire summer without speaking to the rest — it was nice to have a catch up and a laugh.

"I knew you'd be buzzing!" Maddie grinned at Sadie, nodding towards her Ireland shirt.

"I can't believe you got tickets and I didn't!" Sadie responded, sitting down opposite her next to Jake. "It's my country!"

"Best believe she had us over to listen to it on the radio, though," Marianne said. "Mind you, that was probably the better option, especially with... what happened after..."

"I'm not gonna have to explain it all again to you three as well am I?" Maddie said, glancing between the three.

"No need," Sadie shook her head. "We've already had a dramatic retelling from Dean and Seamus — they must've told us the same thing six times just with different wording,"

"I bet Seamus is walking around with Irish pride too, today," said Jake.

"You know it," Sadie nodded, still grinning. "Oh, how did Troy look in person?" she asked Maddie. "Is he the same as in the posters?"

"Better," Maddie nodded. Sadie gushed.

"I'm so jealous!" she said. "How close did they all fly to you? Whereabouts were you sat?"

"I didn't know you were into Quidditch, Sadie," said Jake with surprise.

"I'm not really, I suppose," the blonde replied. "I don't follow the League or anything like that, but it was the World Cup — I couldn't help myself,"

Maddie went on to answer all of Sadie's burning questions about the Irish Quidditch Team and the game itself, until she couldn't wait any longer for the old lady with the trolley of sweets to get to their compartment, and decided to go off and search for her instead. Jake joined her.

"I'm not having a replay of last year, I didn't even get a sniff of the chocolate frogs because all the pigs down here grabbed them first..."

But she trailed off as their pathway was blocked by two Slytherins — Crabbe and Goyle, who were hovering behind Malfoy leaning into one of the compartment doors. As the park drew nearer, they could make out the voices of who exactly it was Malfoy was harassing.

"Don't remember you asking to join us, Malfoy," Harry's voice sounded.

"Weasley, what is that?" Malfoy said, pointing to something. Maddie and Jake edged nearer to see what was going on.

Malfoy seized what looked like some old dress robes, and held them up. "Look at this! Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean — they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety—"

Maddie watched with surprise until she actually started to process what was happening in front of her.

"Eat shit, Malfoy!" said Ron, snatching them back. Malfoy howled with laughter, and Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly.

"Oh my God, move!" Maddie demanded, glaring at Crabbe and Goyle. "I get you're both stupid but Christ! I thought you'd at least figure out that when you stand in a corridor you're blocking someone's fucking way," she added, mockingly.

Malfoy turned around upon noticing her arrival, opening his mouth to speak.

"Oh, yep, here we go," Maddie interrupted before a single word could escape his mouth. "Malfoy's always got something so clever to say!"

"Mind your business, Jordan," Malfoy sneered. "There's no need for you to be sticking your nose in everything, is there?"

"There's also no need for you to be so obsessed with Harry and his friends, but here we are. Now — let me through—"

She and Jake shoved past Crabbe and Goyle, elbowing them apart to get to the trolley lady a few carriages down. Maddie looked back and gave Ron a pitiful smile, as he sat in the carriage, his face as red as his dress robes.

"Why do you think we need dress robes, this year?" Jake asked curiously.

"Fucked if I know," Maddie shrugged. "I can only guess something fancy. Dads been dropping hints here and there that something big is happening this year, but he won't tell Lee and I what. Two chocolate frogs, please," she added, once they reached the lady pushing the trolley.

Maddie paid and so, whilst Jake bought a liquorish wand, turned back around to see if Malfoy was still bothering the group — to no, surprise, he was.

"Yeah, I have no idea, either," Jake said, returning to the conversation as the two began to walk back the other way.

"If you three don't clear out of the way, I'll fucking move you all myself," Maddie said loudly, putting an end to whatever conversation they were having with the group in the compartment.

"I'd be careful who you're speaking to, if I were you, Jordan," Malfoy spat.

"Yeah, and I'd be careful not to get a kick in the balls if I were you," Maddie retorted. "Now fuck off,"

Malfoy took one last look at Ron in the carriage and laughed, before beckoning to Crabbe and Goyle and heading off. Maddie glared at them as they left, leaving a gap before following behind.

They were a few steps away from the compartment when both Maddie and Jake heard a crash, and whisked around to find smashed glass on the floor and a broken door.

"Ron!" Hermione's voice sounded.

"Jesus," Maddie said, walking back over to them. It looked like Ron had slammed the glass door just a bit too harshly. "Malfoy wound you up a bit?"

Hermione pulled out her wand, muttered "Reparo!" and the glass shards flew back into a single pane and back into the door. Maddie opened it and entered the compartment, Jake behind her but now much more nervous as his crush on Granger seemed to be making itself much more noticeable, once again.

"Well... making it look like he knows everything and we don't...." Ron snarled. "Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry... Dad could've got a promotion any time... he just likes it where he is..."

"Oh, so he was being a prick about that, was he?" Maddie said. "Nah, don't let that get to you, Ron, that's the only thing he's got going for him—"

"Him! Get to me?! As if!" Ron said, picking up a cauldron cake too aggressively and squashing it to a pulp.

Maddie exchanged glances with Hermione and Harry.

She and Jake had a small chat with the group for a short while, until they decided they should probably get back to their original compartment — Jess and the others would be wondering where they were. Not to mention, Ron's bad mood continued for the rest of the journey and he barely contributed to any conversation at all. Maddie felt it best to leave him with his two close friends.

Everyone was changing into their robes now, and the Hogwarts Express soon slowed down, finally stopping in the pitch darkness of Hogsmeade station.

Maddie swore as soon as they got off the train because they stepped right into an extreme downpour of rain, soaking them almost immediately. Summer really was over.

The Great Hall was practically radiating with warmth, decorated for the usual start-of-term feast, as everyone scattered to join their house tables.

"It's weird without Ollie, this year," Jess said, as the trio took their own seats after saying goodbye to Sadie, Chad and Marianne who headed off to Ravenclaw. "My brother was always sat near us at meals,"

"Yeah, maybe I'll finally be allowed on the Quidditch Team, though," Maddie responded. Oliver Wood had never been convinced enough to let her play for Gryffindor, before.

"Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Jake asked, who wasn't listening to the conversation about Jess' older brother and was instead looking up at the teachers.

"Maybe they ran out of people to fill the position," Maddie shrugged.

"Wouldn't surprise me," said Jess.

The Storting Ceremony began soon after, and Maddie joined the rest of her table in applauding whenever a new Gryffindor was sorted. Although, there was a very over-enthusiastic Slytherin that was cheering when Jeremy Ezra was sorted into Gryffindor — and a very excited Hufflepuff cheering when Alfie Bennett was also sorted into Gryffindor.

Probably their siblings, Maddie had guessed. It was sweet, though, how they cheered for them even if they ended up in a different house.

One boy called Dennis expressed his excitement to his brother once he'd arrived at Gryffindor table about how he'd fallen into the lake, which had caused Maddie, Jess and Jake to let out a few laughs.

And then, finally, Dumbledore said the magic words, 'tuck in', and the hall erupted into countless conversations and clatters of cutlery.

"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," said Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. Maddie turned to her right to see him chatting to Ron, Harry and Hermione, seated closely to them. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."

"Why? What happened?" said Harry, through a sizable chunk of steak.

"Peeves, of course," said Nearly Headless Nick, shaking his head, which wobbled dangerously. He pulled his ruff a little higher up on his neck. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast — well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council — the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance — but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."

"The Fat Friars a twat if he thinks Peeves'll behave himself," Maddie said, Jake and Jess also now listening in.

"Yeah," Jess agreed. "Remember when he tipped a bag of flour over me, second year?"

"You looked like a ghost, yourself," Jake said, grinning as he recalled a twelve year old Jess covered in flour.

"Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something," said Ron. "So what did he do in the kitchens?"

"Oh the usual," said Nearly Headless Nick, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits—"

Hermione made Maddie jump, knocking over her goblet with a loud clang and spilling pumpkin juice across the table. Jess had to quickly slide along the bench to avoid getting drenched with it.

"There are house-elves here?" she said, staring, horror-struck, at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."

"I've never seen one!" said Hermione.

"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Nearly Headless Nick. "They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning... see to the fires and so on... I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"

Hermione stared at him.

"But they get paid?" she said. "They get holidays, don't they? And — and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"

Nearly Headless Nick chortled so much that his ruff slipped and his head flopped off, dangling on the inch or so of ghostly skin and muscle that still attached it to his neck.

"Sick leave and pensions?" he said, pushing his head back onto his shoulders and securing it once more with his ruff. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"

Hermione looked down at her hardly touched plate of food, then put her knife and fork down upon it and pushed it away from her.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," said Ron. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself,"

Jake glanced at his own food and back at the situation in front of him.

"Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor."

"She's kind of right," Jake said to both of his own friends.

"Yeah," Maddie replied. "But wow, do those house elves know how to make a roast," she added, before taking another mouthful of stuffing.

She was so hungry, okay?

Jake still ate his dinner, but he was much more hesitant after the conversation about house elves — Maddie knew he probably wanted to not eat another bite, just to impress Hermione, but he was definitely starving, and so couldn't bare to ignore the perfectly cooked meal in front of him. He sneaked mouthfuls when she wasn't looking (which was pretty often, anyway).

"You are such a saddo, Jake," Maddie told him in a joking tone, to which he replied.

"What, because you support slave labour?" He responded, perhaps not as harshly as Hermione would.

"No, because you'd cut your arm off if Hermione said it was right,"

Jake shut up, then. He knew she wasn't wrong.

Once dinner and dessert was cleared, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet again, and Maddie couldn't wait to be dismissed— the start of year buzz in the Gryffindor Common Room was unbeaten.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered," ("Hmph!" said Hermione) "I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

"At least your not as big a saddo as Filch is," Maddie told Jake.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year."

Dumbledore continued.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"Huh?" Maddie frowned, as many others around them expressed their outrage. "Oh for fuck's sake, typical," she said.

"Good thing Ollie left last year," Jess mumbled.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy — but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts—"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black cloak. Everyone in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling.

"Who the fuck have they dragged off the street now to fill the Defence Against the Dark Arts position?" Maddie whispered.

The man had a missing eye that had a magical replacement and his face was covered in scars. He shook hands with Dumbledore, once he'd reached him, before sitting down in one of the empty seats at the staff table.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students chapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

"Wonder what's happened to him," Jake muttered.

Maddie felt a bit awkward.

Moody did not seem to care about his cold welcome. He reached into his cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody. "We are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.

Maddie joined many others in laughing at him.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er — but maybe this is not the time... no..." said Dumbledore. "Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament... well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely."

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities — until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"Holy fuck!" Maddie said with astonishment, excitedly glancing towards her two friends.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued. "None of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger."

"I'd hope so?" Jake pulled a weird face.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred Weasley hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches.

"You're not the only one!" Maddie hissed, turning around to face him, before receiving a dirty look from her brother.

"No you're not!" Lee spat.

"Why not?" She responded.

"Because, there's only one champion per school, dicko! And I'm oldest,"

"Doesn't mean you'll be picked," Maddie retorted.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, interrupting the Jordan's bickering. "The heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age — that is to say, seventeen years or older — will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."

Maddie's excitement dropped instantly, as she received a taunting smile from her brother and a 'Ha, ha!'

"You're underage too, dick-face!" she sneered back.

Lee paused, realisation setting in and his arrogant expression faded. Maddie gave him the bird, before turning back around to face Dumbledore.

"This—" The Headmaster raised his voice slightly, for several other people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious. "Is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."

"Fuck off," Maddie grumbled quietly. What's gonna be so exciting about the tournament if you can't even take part in it?

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

"This is some bullshit," Maddie said, standing up.

"Here we go," Jess said drearily, exchanging a glance with Jake.