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"Ignis, it's Krum! Viktor Krum." Blair gushed as the Hogwarts students filed back up the steps behind the party from Durmstrang.

"I know, Caelum." Seamus gushed as excitedly. "I can't believe he's actually here. Where's Creevey? Can we ask him to take a picture of us with Krum?"

"Oh, Ignis, I will give Colin my scarf that he's been asking for since second year."

"Caelum, I'll give him all the Moo Chews and Bawk Bites we have."

"But almost all of them were taken by Minnie." Neville said in protest. "We only have a few left."

"Okay, there's another way to ask Colin to take a picture of you two without having to give him anything." Dean shook his head with a sigh. "Blair, the kid idolizes you. You only need to ask, and he'll agree immediately to take a picture of you and Krum."

"...Okay, but if it doesn't work, I'm giving him all my clothes."

In front of the Prancers, they could hear Ron as well. "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!"

"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player," said Hermione.

They all stopped walking, flabbergasted at what Hermione said, and looking at her as if she just murdered their owls.

Blair looked at Hermione with shock. "O-Only a Quidditch player? Granger, he's one of the best and youngest seekers in the world!"

"Yes, yes, I remember you fawning over him last time. Accomplished so much at 18, and even doing that Wronski feint." Hermione rolled her eyes while leading the way to the Great Hall.

"She remembered what I said." Blair muttered to herself, her smile so wide it was hurting her cheeks, as they continued walking.

"I'm getting his autograph if I can," said Ron. "You haven't got a quill, have you, Blair?"

Blair sadly shook her head. "Nope, I left my bag."

The Prancers and the Golden Trio walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down. Ron and Blair fought to sit on the side facing the doorway, because Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around it, apparently unsure about where they should sit, but Ron beat Blair, who moved around the table to settle in between Seamus and Dean.

The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads.

"It's not that cold," said Hermione defensively. "Why didn't they bring cloaks?"

A student from Beauxbatons passed in front of Blair who was just about to take her seat. However, Blair noticed that the girl was about to slip and reached for her immediately, grabbing her arm and setting her upright. "Are you alright?"

"O-Oui. Merci." The girl blushed and bowed to her in gratitude before going back to the Ravenclaw table.

Blair, thinking nothing of the interaction, went to sit down between Seamus and Dean. She didn't notice how most people in the hall were looking at her and the girl she saved from falling out of envy at not being the one Blair caught, out of awe at how Blair and that girl looked good together, and ultimately, out of surprise at seeing Blair give a girl who wasn't Hermione Granger attention.

"Blimey, Caelum. Always the charmer." Neville shook his head with a chuckle. "How do you do it?"

Dean let out a snort. "Don't even bother asking, Nev, she doesn't even notice how everyone's looking at her now."

"Well, the only woman I want to charm and look at is right here, right in front of me." Blair winked at the unusually quiet Hermione who was clutching a knife in her hand and repeatedly stabbing the steak in front of her. Blair thought Hermione was probably checking the temperature of the meat, if it was medium rare just as she liked her steak.

"Hmmm." Hermione only hummed with a forced smile on her face and an aura so dark it made Seamus smirk in knowing, Neville and Dean exchange curious glances, and Harry and Ron shrug, oblivious as ever.

Blair, on the other hand, suddenly felt worried for the Muggleborn so she lowered her voice to a whisper and gave Hermione's hand a tap. "Granger, are you alright?"

As much as she wanted to stay annoyed at Blair for reasons and feelings that she couldn't entirely understand, Hermione couldn't help her heart softening at how Blair looked so worried and concerned for her. So, she let a genuine smile come onto her face as she nodded. "I'm okay, Wood."

"That's all I need to know." Blair responded just as softly, her own smile mirroring that of Hermione's.

"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron suddenly hissed, breaking the moment between the two witches. "Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space —"

"What?" Hermione asked in an obviously irritated tone.

"Too late," said Ron bitterly.

Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table. Blair rolled her eyes when she saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looking very smug about this. As she watched, Malfoy bent forward to speak to Krum.

"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy," said Ron scathingly. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though... bet he gets people fawning over him all the time. Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry. I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on the spare bed."

"Hey, you can't take my bed. Where will I sleep then?" Blair protested before turning to Hermione and smiling at her. "If Krum sleeps in their room, can I sleep beside you, Granger?"

Hermione shook her head exasperatedly. "May I remind you that you have your own, actual bed in our dormitory, Wood?"

"Share a bed for warmth?"

"The only warmth you'll feel is the fire I'm going to set if you ever try to sleep beside me."

"And I thought Ignis was the pyromaniac..." Blair gave a shudder.

"Hey, I am Hogwarts' resident fireball, no one takes that title from me, Caelum. Not even Granger." Seamus said indignantly, shaking a finger in Blair's face. "Never will I relinquish my title."

"Oh, of course, Ignis, you are the one and only fireball in my world." Blair blew a kiss in Seamus' direction, making the pair dissolve into giggles.

"Imagine if you two finally get into your own relationships." Neville's voice was laced with amusement. "Your lovers have to know that they're entering a relationship with two people."

"Why, of course, there is no Caelum without Ignis and no Ignis without Caelum." Blair proudly said.

"That's the first question I will ask my future lover." Seamus cleared her throat and swept a hand through his hair. "Are you willing to accept me and my dear Caelum into our relationship?"

"Hey, Hermione, if I were you, I wouldn't say yes to Caelum." Dean suddenly addressed Hermione, a teasing grin on his face. "Imagine being stuck with these two."

"Hey!" Blair crossed her arms and pouted. "I thought you were on my side, Tranqs!"

"Excuse me." Seamus held a hand to his chest in faux hurt. "Granger would be blessed to have both me and Caelum in their relationship."

"No, Hermione." Neville shook his head. "Tranqs and I are the better duo."

Hermione couldn't help but snort at the dynamics of the Prancers. As much as they gave her headaches from time to time, she sure wouldn't deny that they amused her greatly with their antics. It warmed her heart to see how they were joking around with her as if she was a part of their gang.

"You know what, I think I'm better off with Neville and Dean after all." Hermione let out a sigh, pushing down the urge to laugh while turning on her poker face. But she couldn't hold in her laughter once she saw the shock and indignation and betrayal on Blair and Seamus' faces, Neville and Dean laughing along with her. "Oh, Merlin, you should've seen your face, Wood. You too, Finnigan."

"Huh, you know how to joke after all, Granger." Seamus let out a laugh and slow clapped.

On the other hand, Blair was now pouting again. "I hate you all."

"Oh, really?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at that.

"Of course, not you, my dearest Granger." Blair grinned immediately. "You, I could never hate, no matter what happens in this world."

Hermione simply responded with an amused shake of her head as they turned back to the front where Dumbledore had called for everyone's attention and Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime were seated on either side of him.

Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Blair had ever seen, including several that were definitely foreign.

"What's that?" said Blair, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse," said Hermione.

"Bless you," said Ron.

"It's French," said Hermione, "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice."

"You should know, Ron. Hermione has brilliant taste," said Blair, winking at Hermione before helping herself to black pudding.

Hermione bit her lip to prevent a smile coming onto her face as she focused on her conversation with Harry.

While they were eating, a voice said, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"

It was the girl from Beauxbatons who Blair saved a while ago from falling. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth.

Ron went purple. He stared up at her, opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a faint gurgling noise, but the girl wasn't even looking at him. She was looking at Blair, only at Blair.

"Yeah, have it," said Harry, pushing the dish toward the girl.

"You 'ave finished wiz it?"

Blair nodded. "Yeah, it was excellent."

The girl picked up the dish and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table after smiling at Blair. Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. Harry and the Prancers started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses.

"She's a veela!" he said hoarsely to them.

"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione tartly. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"

But she wasn't entirely right about that. As the girl crossed the Hall, many boys' heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" said Ron, leaning sideways so he could keep a clear view of her. "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"

"They make them okay at Hogwarts," said Harry, without thinking, stealing a glance at the table closest to the doors from the Entrance Hall.

"They make them more than okay at Hogwarts." Blair softly spoke while smiling at Hermione.

"Hmmm." Seamus agreed, his eyes set on the table and avoiding everywhere else, and he had to slap Blair's hand away from pinching his side, the Wood knowing exactly what he meant.

"When you've put your eyes back in," said Hermione briskly while fighting off her smile, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived." She was pointing up at the staff table.

The two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Ludo Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy's boss, was next to Madame Maxime.

"Hey, Ludo Bagman, he was the commentator during the Quidditch Cup." Dean snapped his fingers as he remembered.

"My grandmum likes him." Neville said with a chuckle. "She'll be hounding me for an autograph when she finds out he's here."

"What are they doing here?" said Blair in surprise.

"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" said Hermione. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

When the second course arrived they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too. Blair laughed loudly when Ron moved a French dessert carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. The girl who looked like a veela appeared to have eaten enough, however, and did not come over to get it.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Blair grinned when she noticed Fred and George, who were several seats down from them, leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket —"

"The what?" Harry muttered.

Blair's eyes widened. Wasn't that the box where Muggles put their dead?

"— just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" — there was a smattering of polite applause — "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways... their magical prowess — their daring — their powers of deduction — and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall. "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore.

"Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

"An Age Line!" Fred said, his eyes glinting, as he and George met up with Blair as they all made their way across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall.

George slung an arm around Blair's shoulder. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing — it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance," said Hermione, "we just haven't learned enough..."

"Speak for yourself," said George shortly. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?"

"Uhhh..." The way Harry hesitated was enough answer for everyone.

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Blair bid the Prancers and the Golden Trio farewell as she caught up with Fred and George, planning to sleep in their dormitory for the night to help them with the finishing touches for the Aging Potion. She warned them one last time, but nothing could change their minds, and so, while finishing the potion, Blair stayed up the whole night, talking to the twins and Lee about her recent developments with Hermione Granger.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione went down into the entrance hall, they saw about twenty people milling around it, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked the Prancers eagerly as the trio made their way to where Seamus, Dean, and Neville were standing.

"All the Durmstrang lot," Neville replied. "But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."

"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed," said Harry. "I would've if it had been me... wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right back out again?"

Someone laughed behind them. Turning, they saw Blair, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, the three boys looking extremely excited and Blair looking exhausted as she rushed to where the Prancers and the Golden Trio were.

"Good morning, Granger." Blair greeted the witch with a smile before slumping against Seamus, leaning on her best friend immediately. "And you, boys."

"Wood." "Hey, Blair." "Lovely morning, Caelum." "Hey, Bee." Hermione and the boys greeted Blair back. The Granger couldn't help the concern in her upon seeing Blair yawn and look so disheveled, so messy, so... attra – okay, that's enough.

"Here you go, Bee." Dean took some toast from his pocket and handed it to her. "We'll have breakfast in a bit."

"Have you even slept, Caelum?" Seamus asked worriedly before nudging her teasingly. "Careful, I might just take your title as the Hogwarts Heartthrob if your eye bags get any bigger."

"Dear me. I look dreadful, don't I?" Blair chuckled weakly.

"Still looking good, Caelum." Neville gave Blair two thumbs up, earning him a thanks from the Wood before she started eating her toast.

"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper as they circled back to where the Prancers and the Golden Trio were standing. "Just taken it."

"What?" said Ron.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains. Blair finally did it," said Fred.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the four of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

Blair just let out a yawn. "Believe me, I warned them. Couldn't change their minds."

"Ready?" Fred said to the George and Lee, obviously ignoring the warnings and quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then — I'll go first —"

Blair watched, amused, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley — Hogwarts. Fred walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.

For a split second, Blair looked surprised and thought it had worked — George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred — but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.

The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George ruffled Blair's hair on their way out before they set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter.

"Well, it's safe to say that no one will try Aging potions right after that spectacle." Dean chortled.

"I mean, if Blair couldn't do it, who could?" Neville laughed as well as they finally settled down at the table for breakfast.

The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner.

"So, what did I miss?" Blair asked as she started filling her plate with food.

"There's a rumor going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told Blair. "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth."

Blair, who had played Quidditch against Warrington, shook her head in disgust. "We can't have a cheat for a champion."

"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," said Seamus contemptuously. "But I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks."

Blair suddenly choked on her food at the mention of Diggory, her chest hurting from how much she was coughing. Wasn't that the bloke that Hermione said was –

"Slow down." Hermione sighed and handed a glass of orange juice to Blair. "Here, so you won't choke on your food."

"Thanks, Granger." Blair grinned and sat a little bit straighter, her earlier annoyance at Diggory suddenly forgotten thanks to the glass of orange juice from Hermione.

"Listen!" said Hermione suddenly.

People were cheering out in the entrance hall. They all swiveled around in their seats and saw Angelina Johnson coming into the Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. Angelina came over to them, sat down, and said, "Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!"

"Godric, Angelina. Color me impressed." Blair clapped for her.

Angelina giggled at the Chaser. "Thank you, Blair. I had my birthday last week."

"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," said Hermione. "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"

"Thanks, Hermione," said Angelina, smiling at her.

"Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory," said Seamus, causing several Hufflepuffs passing their table to scowl heavily at him.

Blair crossed her arms as she remembered again. She could care less about Diggory being the champion, she just didn't like how Hermione thought of him as attractive. It didn't help that Blair was looking like a zombie right now with how she hadn't slept at all. She was tempted to ask the Prancers that moment about Diggory but waited until they would go to their dorm, the Chaser unusually quiet on the entire way back.

As they arrived at the dorm, Seamus let out a sigh and turned to Blair. "Okay, what's the matter – "

"Is Diggory the one who beat us last year at Quidditch?" Blair asked immediately, her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, yes – "

"The one Granger said was a really good student and a prefect?"

"Uh huh – "

"The one she said was attractive?"

"Technically, she didn't say he was attractive." Neville corrected her. "She just didn't deny it."

Blair started fuming at the thought of Hermione liking Diggory while her friends were looking at her with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "You heard her talk about him, did you? Well, I'm not a good student. I'm not prefect material. But surely, I am much more handsome than Diggory, right?"

"Of course, Caelum." Seamus answered right away. "Who else is more handsome than you besides myself?"

"Yes, I know I'm quite handsome myself, but that's not the problem, Ignis! The problem is my lovely Granger thinks that he's handsome, a prefect, and a good student. I only best him in one of those qualities –"

"Well, you are much better at him in so many aspects, Caelum! How dare Granger even consider him attractive when you are there?"

"This will take a while." Dean sighed before turning to Neville. "Exploding Snap?"

"Game on." Neville nodded, and so, the two of them were playing the game while the sound of Blair and Seamus ranting about Diggory faded into the background. After a few minutes of playing, there was silence for a few seconds, which made Dean and Neville think that their airhead and fireball were finally done. But then...

"Ignis, that bloody Diggory-"

"Oh, boy." Dean just laid down on his bed in defeat while exchanging glances with Neville. It was going to be a long afternoon.

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