Azure, sapphire, and cobalt blue flames intertwined themselves in a dance as they flickered from the large silver chalice known as the Goblet of Fire. Standing in the centre of the Great Hall, it commanded the attention of all those nearby, the students willingly giving the object what it so desired. Copious pairs of eyes of various shades stared directly into the multi blue flames; transfixed as they eagerly awaited for burnt pieces of parchment to shoot itself out of the goblet, revealing the name of those who were to be this years Triwizard Tournament Champions.

Animated chatter was heard throughout the hall, although it was indistinct to those not apart of the conversation. However, it needn't be necessary to hear the exact words escaping the mouths of teenagers as what was being said could easily be deduced. Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, Gryffindors, and Ravenclaws alike were all whispering to one another their bets for whom would be chosen. Over at the table whose house was that of the snake, a certain Lestrange boy was sat rather anxiously, his hands clenched into closed fists on his lap. They were held so tightly that his nails had begun to make crescent shaped indents on his palms while his knuckles turned white due to the lack of blood the appendages were receiving. Furthermore, the boy's heart was beating rather rapidly in his chest that he was sure those around him could hear it. He sure could as the loud beating was heard reverberating in his ears. Fortunately for him, however, the students around him (which consisted of his cousin and a few of his goons) were much too busy to notice the curly haired boy's inner turmoil.

“I know you'll be chosen, Viktor. You're already the obvious winner,” Draco said obsequiously, throwing the Durmstrang boy his attempt of a charming smile. Eridanus briefly took a moment to excuse himself from his worrying as he wondered why Draco seemed so keen on Krum and thought perhaps his cousin had a bit of a crush on the elder boy.

Viktor's thin, chapped lips worked their way into a smirk as he nodded at Draco's direction, although choosing not to speak on the matter. Eridanus had noticed how the Durmstrang boys were those of few words, something that he himself respected as it was nice to simply bask in the relaxation silence brought, rather than attempt to fill the void such as his platinum haired cousin seemed rather intent on doing.

“Sit down please.” Dumbledore's loud voice immediately garnered the attention of the hall. The chatter then turned into hushed words which then turned into silence as the students regarded the grey haired man who stood before the goblet with his hands clasped in front of him, a minor smile dancing upon his lips. “And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: the champions selection!” Excited chatter broke out once more as the students placed last minute bets on who would he chosen. They were all rather anxious yet none were as distressed as poor Eridanus Lestrange whose stormy grey eyes were blown wide open, hollow cheeks sucked in as he stared at the situation intensely. He was simply waiting for what was to come.

Various shades of grey robes dragged across the floor as Professor Dumbledore approached the chalice. The flames took a brief moment from shining a bright blue as it was then turning a dark red - the colour most associated with Durmstrang. With a wheeze and a pop, a small piece of parchment floated out of the flames, the ends burning considerably. Dumbledore took great care as he reached out to grab it with his thumb and forefinger. The Headmaster read over the parchment silently before looking up with that usual twinkle in his eye. “The Durmstrang champion is...Viktor Krum!”

A loud cheer emitted from the Durmstrang students, as well as other fans of the Quidditch player. Draco let out a particularly loud yell of excitement as he clapped his hands rapidly. “See?” The boy exclaimed as he grinned over at Eridanus whom was clapping along lazily, not caring too much yet not wanting to be rude. Draco then looked back at where Viktor Krum was as Dumbledore and the Minister congratulated him, before he was being escorted to somewhere private. “I told you Viktor would be champion.”

“Yes, Draco,” Eridanus drawled slowly, attempting to ignore the horrible feeling that had settled itself in his gut. “Your predicting skills are quite extraordinary, perhaps you should become a seer.” The Malfoy briefly glared at his cousin as they both knew the profession of ‘predicting’ the future was a laughable career and purebloods - especially the Malfoy family would potentially disown him for such a thing.

The exact process then repeated itself for both the Beauxbatons champion (Fleur Delacour) along with the Hogwarts champion (Cedric Diggory). Eridanus hadn't paid much attention to them, not even sparing the Hufflepuff champion a glance as the male made his way up to the head of the Great Hall. Rather, the Slytherin stared heavily at Harry Potter, not even blinking or flinching from the loud claps and cheers. The goblet, of which the blue flames had died down somewhat, burst to life once more as another piece of parchment flew from it. The cheers and yells died down as everyone stared at the goblet in shock and confusion. All the champions had already been announced, therefore why was another name being brought out?

“Harry Potter,” Dumbledore mumbled, causing all the students around to hush the name. “Harry Potter!” Eridanus’ heart stopped as the Boy-Who-Lived was announced as the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament, all eyes turning to stare at the raven haired boy whom was simply sat in shock. Hermione Granger urged the boy to his feet, Harry's brain seeming to start up again as he slowly and shakily repeated the same routine the other champions had gone through.

The Slytherin's eyes closed in pain and misery, heart falling to his stomach as months of planning came into action. Although Eridanus had known what was to happen, he had naivingly hoped that perhaps things would work in Harry's favour for once and that the boy would be safe. That, of course, had not been the case. He knew what the future of the tournament held for Potter and not for the first time, Eridanus desperately wished for the life he led to not be real but simply some nightmare the boy was forced to endure. It was feasible to assume that Harry Potter himself had hoped for the exact same thing once or twice in his life.

The world around Eridanus blurred, sounds muffling as the only thing he could hear was the loud pounding of his heart in his chest as the organ thumped wildly. Grey eyes snapped open to see Harry looking confused and scared as he walked past Dumbledore whom was staring at the boy thoughtfully. His gaze then shifted towards Harry's friends, taking in the bitterness that had seeped onto Ron's face, whereas a crestfallen expression had befallen Hermione. It didn't take Eridanus long to realize that the Gryffindor girl had turned her gaze towards him as she noticed his defeated expression. He knew what Hermione had seen yet he didn't bother to try and mask his emotions as he so often did. The Lestrange boy simply wished that he could escape this twisted game.

The following morning, the halls of Hogwarts were buzzing with excitement as students whispered and gossiped about the Triwizard Tournament; the champions; and who they speculated would take home the title as winner. Eridanus couldn't have cared less about what they spoke of as he walked down the halls, although, his ears did perk up at any mentions of Harry Potter. From what he had picked up, there were mostly negative reactions towards the Boy-Who-Lived being chosen as champion. Many believed that Harry had forced his way in as he wanted the attention, rather than having been forced into it against his will. Several students honestly were quite selfish and daft, causing Eridanus to imagine hitting their heads against the wall in an attempt to knock some sense into them. On the other hand, with all the buzz surrounding the tournament, the teenagers had been too busy to speculate over Eridanus anymore. He supposed that was something to be thankful for.

Without warning, Eridanus was feeling a body approach him on his left side, said person walking in synch with him as they went towards History of Magic. Glancing at the person out of the corner of his eye, the bright yellow lining of the Hufflepuff robes caught his attention.

“Why are you following me?” Eridanus hadn't even bothered to stop walking as he spoke, voice low and head barely even moving in the direction of the other male.

“We met at the Quidditch World cup,” the other male supplied, his words surprising Eridanus enough that the Slytherin had to pause for a moment to get a good look at the Hufflepuff. He hadn't needed to look for long as not even a moment later the male was registering within his subconscious, the name Dorian Karstark coming to mind. Those coffee coloured eyes along with the long bronze hair that was done up in a casual bun with loose curls were immediately recognizable.

“Dorian Karstark,” Eridanus replied simply, before he began walking once more towards his desired destination. Dorian stepped up beside the Lestrange boy once more as a charming smile directed towards Eridnaus danced upon his rosy lips.

“You remembered.” Dorian's tone was light and happy as he spoke, glad that Eridanus hadn't forgotten about him as the Slytherin had sure left a lasting first impression on the boy.

“Purebloods are expected to know everyone of importance in the Wizarding World and even those that aren't.” Eridanus didn't even bother glancing over at Dorian as he spoke, said boy sporting a small frown for a moment before he quickly covered it up with a slight grin. “You eventually get good at remembering names.”

“Well,” Dorian paused, carefully thinking over his words before clearing his throat and continuing. “I'm still honoured that you remembered mine.” A tan hand belonging to Dorian then made an appearance as it rose up to tuck a stray curl behind the ear of its master.

“Glad to have made your day then,” the Slytherin muttered in disinterest, his pace then picking up as he attempted to remove himself from the presence of the boy.

Dorian wasn't a foolish boy and therefore noticed how Eridanus seemed keen on getting away from him. The Hufflepuff sped up to once more be next to the Slytherin before he was saying his goodbyes. “Well I hope we can talk more sometime.”

Eridanus stopped walking entirely, scanning Dorian with squinted blue eyes from the top of his brown haired head all the way down to his black leather shoes and then up once more. He took in the boy's superior aura: his tall stance, proud, as he titled his chin upwards. Eridanus took a moment to think on the offer before responding slowly and with caution, “Perhaps.” And with that he was striding away with a swish of his cloak and curious thoughts pertaining to the Karstark boy. He seemed familiar to him, and not just because they had met at the Quidditch World Cup - Eridanus could swear he had seen Dorian another time as well. Unbeknownst to him, Dorian was watching Eridanus leave with a bright smile on his face, excitement bubbling up inside of him at the prospect that he would perhaps be able to talk with Eridanus Lestrange once more. However, Eridanus didn't have time to dwell on that as he rounded the corner and met up with Draco outside of their classroom. Arithmancy (Eridanus’ worst subject) would have to take precedence.

After classes had finished up for the day (Defence Against the Dark Arts had been especially trying), Eridanus made his way down to the Slytherin common room. His hand grazed the stone walls as he looked for the right one, whispering the new password which had been posted in the common room the night before (Salazar), once he did. Upon entering, Eridanus immediately spotted Draco, Pansy, and a few other Slytherins huddled around a table near the back of the room. He then made his way across the several shades of green room, passing the portrait of a serpent on the mantle as he did so. When he had first arrived at Hogwarts, the very underground room (where you could see below the Great Lake as well as the Giant Squid making an appearance here and there) with rough stone walls and ceiling had truthfully, freaked him out a bit. It had also taken him awhile to get accustomed to the darkness but at least the round, greenish lamps hanging on chains, as well as the crackling fireplace, did a well enough job of lighting the room.

“Arts and crafts, cousin?” Eridanus questioned once he was within earshot of the group as he regarded the small, round table of which held many supplies that could be found in a muggle kids store.

Draco smiled up at Eridanus proudly as he looked up from whatever he had been doing. Eridanus groaned softly, knowing nothing good could come from Draco when a grin like that was present. “Just getting into the school spirit,” he replied triumphantly.

Eridanus rose a questioning brow before he was sitting down at the table with his housemates, looking down at their little art project. “Mature, aren't you,” he muttered to his cousin as his grey eyes assessed the ‘Potter Stinks’ badges laid out in front of him.

“The entire school agrees that he cheated,” Draco defended, a scowl making its way to his features. The Slytherin's around them yelled in agreement, some yelling out blasphemous things about the Boy-Who-Lived.

Eridanus ignored them all as he picked up a badge, watching as Potter's head then flushed down a toilet. Finding no amusement in the thing, he dropped it back down onto the black lacquered table.

“Eridanus,” Draco spoke, using his cousin's full name as opposed to the nickname he usually called him by. “Put one on.”

Eridanus glanced over at him lazily, eyes for the first time catching sight of the badge resting proudly upon Draco's chest. His lip curled in disgust as he shook his head in disagreement.

“Oh come on, Eridanus,” Draco whined, the other Slytherin students looking back and forth between the cousins in curiosity.

“No, Draco,” Eridanus snapped, the pressure and prejudiced of everything crashing down upon his shoulders as he lost his usual composure. “This is childish and I'm not going to wear such ridiculous barbs of immaturity.”

Some students gasped as they watched the usually quiet Eridanus Lestrange call his cousin out, whom of which cried out in indignation with a sniff. “Suit yourself then but you're missing out.”

Eridanus sighed an exasperating, rolling his stormy eyes in annoyance. “If you need me, I'll be in my room studying and doing something actually productive.”

Draco's ‘Potter Stinks’ badges began their distribution the following morning and by the afternoon, a large majority of the school had already pinned them to their robes. Eridanus had to refrain from lashing out at the stupidity of his peers whenever he passed someone who bore one, instead opting for a glare at the poor student who didn't understand the root of the boy's anger. Worried thoughts kept circling around the Lestrange boy's head the entire day, thinking that if Harry saw the lack of support from his school he may lose motivation which in turn would make it even harder to properly prepare himself for the tasks he had ahead of him. Eridanus simply hoped the rumours of Harry Potter being a tough one to knock down was true.

“Why isn't he wearing one?” Eridanus heard a voice ask in a loud whisper, bringing the boy away from his thoughts as looked up to see Ron Weasley with Hermione Granger approaching his direction.

“Because not everyone is a prat!” Hermione whisper yelled back at the red head as they passed the curly haired boy whom had stopped to hear their interaction; his stormy eyes narrowing in annoyance.

“Surprised you're not acquiring one, Weasley.” Ron and Hermione stopped walking, turning to face Eridanus as he spoke, his cold tone surprising the pair of them. “Your lack of support has been evident these past few weeks and I'm astounded that no one has yet slapped any sense into you thus far.”

Ron's face turned a shade so red that it matched the shade of his hair, one unable to tell where his hairline began and ended. Hermione huffed with a cross of her arms, shifting her weight on one foot, nodding her head in agreement with Eridanus. The Slytherin, meanwhile offered a bitter smile to the Weasley, not even offering Hermione a a glance before he was storming away, a permanent glare upon his face.

“Merlin,” Ron croaked, eyes wide in fear of the Lestrange boy, “what's the matter with him?”

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sorry this chapter is so short (the shortest one yet in this book) but ive been stuck on it for ages so i did my best and this is what i came up with loads of help from sectumsirius!! This is also the first chapter up since I've republished this book and dong worry guys, the whole story is now planned out so i will actually be giving eri's story some love! I hope to do weekly updates but dont quote me on that as its not 100% for sure.

But otherwise, please let me know what you guys think of this chapter. Of the champions selection, eridanus's emotions, his interactions with draco and ron etc. Im curious to see what you guys think - comments really inspire writers to keep writing!