The announcement at the Start-of-Term Feast still animates the whole school the next morning. The breakfast is louder than usual, no one seems to be able to stay in place, rumors about the upcoming event are spreading widely around the students, and stories about the previous Triwizard Tournament are mixing in the middle; a great recipe to make it impossible to focus.

It is only the second week of September when the excitement is reaching an all-time high that Mr. Bancroft announces at dinner for everyone to meet in the Second Hall situated behind the Grand Staircase across the Great Hall for announcements concerning the Tournament. The room is of the same size as the Great Hall, but instead of the four long tables, bleachers are aligned against the wall with a large space in the middle. Duels used to take place in this room but since the practice has been forbidden by the current Headmaster, it is rarely used. Still, some students manage to hang out there behind the teachers’ backs.

This time, Mr. Bancroft, the Headmaster as well as Hogwarts's four Heads of House are standing on a platform in the middle of the room. They are waiting for the students to quiet down. The Prefects are the ones making everyone finally stop talking. Mr. Bancroft waits for another minute before starting to talk. He explains the tournament will take place during the year with a total of four magical tasks. Each task has been designed by one of the Heads of House and corresponds to the elements of one of the four Houses.

The champions will have to use their intelligence and their knowledge to win the tournament. It is a dangerous competition, and only students aged fifteen and above can participate. For this time around, the number of champions has been set to three – just like the previous editions. The news causes outrageous protestations from the students, and the Prefects have to ask for silence once again.

To be impartial, the house or the houses having no champion selected will be the judge of the competition. A murmur starts to grow through the room at the news but quickly quiets down. The Headmaster reminds everyone that winning is not the only goal of this tournament, and cheating, treachery, and spitefulness will be heavily sanctioned.

« Now. Let me introduce to you the imperial selector of the champions: the Goblet of Fire. Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged the most worthy to participate. »

The Goblet is shown to the students, appearing from below the grown and standing on a podium, its size is quite impressive. Blue flames come out of it in a continuous flow. Challenges of the previous tournaments have been carved on the sides, various situations showing champions struggling, winning, and even dying.

Mr. Bancroft, the Headmaster, claps his hands, the sound louder than a regular clap, resonating in the entire room. He then informs the student he will be gone, and leaves the room with the four Head of House behind him. The room is silent for a moment, before breaking into a loud shoving of students trying to find parchment to put their name in the Goblet, others discussing what just happened, and some leaving the room.

While Shuhua is peacefully sleeping in her bed, her two roommates are out and ready for trouble. Yuqi wanted to wake up the sleeping girl, fortunately, Soyeon talked her out of it – with a smack behind her head. The two are now going down the stairs of the Gryffindor Tower, on their way to the Second Hall on the ground floor.

Walking around the castle at night is prohibited, and yet Soyeon and Yuqi are doing their best not to make any sound and not to meet anyone. If it was possible to get a prize for rule-breaking, Yuqi and Soyeon would be the first on Mrs. Vera’s list – Gryffindor Head of House. The duo of friends has been giving grey hair to the poor woman their entire schooling. Soyeon was by far the worst student Mrs. Vera has ever had, and the fact that Yuqi was never far from the troubling girl made her perceive the Gryffindor as a menace as well.

The two friends are now standing in front of the Goblet of Fire. The Second Hall is empty except for them and the Goblet. Only the blue fire is illuminating the room, giving it a scary and exciting atmosphere. Soyeon had the great idea of trying to put each other names in the Goblet at the same time. Yuqi, who seems to lose the utilization of her rational mind around in critical situations, agreed to the idea.

« On the count of three. One. Two. Three.»

They drop their parchment in the Goblet at the same time. Soyeon’s one has written “Yuqi” and Yuqi’s has written “Soyeon”. The fire crackles louder than ever, the flame turns red, yellow, green, purple, black, and white and finally explodes making the Goblet fall to the ground in a loud crash. The emptiness of the room makes the sound resonates ten times louder. Yuqi immediately reaches out for the Goblet, hoping to easily put it back on the podium. Except she only manages to burn her hand, she lets a scream escape her lips. Soyeon immediately checks on her.

« This isn’t good. Let’s go to the- »

Soyeon doesn’t finish her sentence, her ears pick up steps coming their way. Quickly, she pushes Yuqi behind the bleacher to hide. The two Gryffindors gasp when they see none other than their Head of House, Mrs. Vera entering the room.

« We are so ing screwed. »

Yuqi pulls Soyeon closer, hoping their spot behind the bleachers is enough to not be found out. They know the woman will not be kind to them. Soyeon keeps swearing under her breath, Yuqi kicks her leg telling her to shut up and find a way out instead. Unfortunately, the only exit is the entrance of the room, and it is impossible to reach it without being seen by their teacher.

« If I had woken up Shuhua, she would have gotten us out of here. »

« Don’t ing dare put the fault on Shuhua. »

Yuqi is ready to tell Soyeon it is indeed all of her faults as it is her idea to put each other name in the Goblet at the same time. Mrs. Vera’s voice takes them by surprise.

« Miss Song. Miss Jeon. You can come out of your hiding spot.»

Yuqi opens her eyes big, silently asking Soyeon what they should do. Soyeon shrugs, she comes out and clears to make her presence known. Mrs. Vera turns on herself, she smiles when she sees the two girls appearing from behind the bleachers, but the two know it isn’t a welcoming smile at all. They have been in this situation so many times, they know how angry Mrs. Vera is just from the look in her eyes.

« Can you explain to me why is the Goblet of Fire laying on the ground? And why is there no fire in the Goblet of Fire? »

Yuqi looks at Soyeon, usually, Soyeon would take it from here. Often making the situation worse, sometimes saving both of them, but it is always best than when Yuqi talks, she always makes it worse. Soyeon explains the fire acted strange after they put their name in it. Mrs. vera waits for more, but Soyeon is done explaining.

Mrs. Vera sighs loudly, before turning toward the Goblet and lifting it off the ground with the help of her wand. She puts it back in its original position, and she then murmurs a spell none of the two Gryffindors have ever heard before, and the blue fire starts to crackle inside the Goblet again. Soon enough, things are back to normal.

Soyeon claps her hands together, impressed, Yuqi does the same. Mrs. Vera wishes the two would graduate soon enough, she doesn’t know how much longer she can continue to deal with them.

« How did you know it was us? »

Mrs. Vera hands them two parchments, slightly burn on the edges with their name written in the middle. The two friends look at each other and exchange a knowing look. Mrs. Vera tells them to follow her to her office. Before doing so, Soyeon drops her paper with her name in the Goblet, the fire turns red, and blue again. Yuqi does the same, the fire goes red and blue again as well.

« I bet you want to participate. »

The History of Magic class has started over half an hour already, but most students are more interested in knowing who will participate or not in the tournament than what the teacher is saying. The lesson continues despite the loud whispering around the classroom.

Minnie, sitting right next to Soojin, has given up on following the lesson as her curiosity has gotten the best of her. Soojin, on the other hand, is busy following the class; her plum is diligently writing down the course. She is always the top student in her classes in all subjects; if it wasn’t for her particularly bad temper and inclination for chaos, she would have been a perfect Ravenclaw.

« I already put my name in the Goblet. »

« Really? »

Minnie’s voice rises out of surprise. Soojin gives her a stern look and goes back to her notes. Minnie focuses on the course for a moment, she turns her head in Soojin’s direction again after a few minutes. She has no idea when the Slytherin did it, maybe during the showing, but how did she not notice it?

« I know you plan to put your name in the Goblet as well. You should. »

Soojin stops taking notes for a moment, her plum hanging above the parchment for a moment.

« It would be fun to compete against you. »

« I would crush you. »

Minnie’s tone is light, playful even. Soojin doesn’t respond immediately, she turns her head to look at Minnie in the eyes.

« Just put your name in the Goblet and shut up. I am listening to the lesson. »

Minnie can’t help a chuckle. Soojin can be rough, but Minnie knows to not take it as an insult. Her friendship with Soojin hasn’t always been the easiest, the Slytherin has quite the reputation around the school, and ever since her first year she has been attracting looks for the worst. From a family of wizards for generations, she even has Death Eater ancestors, giving her quite the popularity among Slytherin’s conservatives. Yet, Soojin never tried to connect with them.

The girl has always walked to the beat of her own drum. She rarely hangs out in Slytherin’s Dungeons, preferring to fly on her broom and enjoy the freedom of the outsides. At Hogwarts, except for Minnie and a handful of Slytherins she hangs out with, Soojin doesn’t have a lot of friends; the rumors about her bad temper and her connection to the Dark Arts paint her as a dangerous wizard whom it is better to stay away from.

Minnie has always been brilliant, excelling in everything she does. It was a real shock when she realized someone was better than her at everything. This someone is Seo Soojin. Not knowing better Minnie spend her first year at Hogwarts studying to beat the Slytherin, without any result. She studied so hard that she got sick at the end of the year. Soojin came to see her at the infirmary, they talked for the first time ever and Minnie decided that instead of making an enemy out of Soojin she would rather make a friend out of her.

One of the most unexpected duos, dangerous Slytherin Soojin and good girl Ravenclaw Minnie become best friends. No one saw it coming, but no one said anything as they were scared of Soojin’s possible retaliation. Minnie had to adjust to Soojin’s ways which are completely out of the ordinary. Now having been friends for the past six years, she perfectly knows the girl.

Soojin wants her to participate, as in her eyes there is no one else worth fighting against. Minnie uses the time between her two classes to get down to the ground floor toward the Second Hall where the Goblet of Fire is kept. Her parchment with her name on it secured in her hand, she walks toward the Goblet, the blue fire crackling loudly in the almost empty room.

« You are going to participate, Minnie? »

The Ravenclaw turns toward the voice on her left. A Hufflepuff one year younger than her looks at her with excited eyes. Minnie nods with a large smile on her lips, she doesn’t remember her name, but she finds her cute. She continues her walk to the Goblet and throws her parchment inside. The flames crackle louder, turning red for a few seconds before going back to blue. Minnie turns around, she locks eyes with the Hufflepuff girl.

« Hoping I will get chosen. »

« There is no doubt! I am supporting you, Minnie. »

The girl looks at Minnie with admiration in her eyes. It isn’t a rare sight. Minnie is pretty, and charming and hangs out with someone dangerous. Everyone is fascinated by her, and it isn’t difficult for her to find someone when she wants to spend some good times. She walks closer to the girl and whispers a few words in her ears before leaving the Second Hall for the Grand Staircase, her next class is on the third floor.

The Ravenclaw is only a bit late, the class hasn’t started yet as the teacher is discussing with a student. Minnie gets to her sit right next to Miyeon. The two have been developing a friendship ever since the last year. The summer brought them even closer as they hang out at each other place, and now that they are back in Hogwarts, Minnie believes it continues to head the right way. Miyeon, just like Soojin, is quite serious about her studies. Unlike the Slytherin girl, she would perfectly feat the description of an angel.

Kind, well-mannered, always ready to help others, understanding, dependable, and smiley. Minnie thinks she is too good to be true, and yet, she finds herself enjoying the Hufflepuff girl’s company a lot. Minnie believes Miyeon enjoys her company as well, but it is hard to tell with the girl as she is always of the same kindness with everyone.

« Mrs. Vera has been in a terrible mood all morning. Shuhua had Charms just before us, she hated it. »

Minnie grimaces, making Miyeon chuckle behind her hand. Mrs. Vera, Gryffindor's Head of House and the Charms teacher, claps in her hand to obtain immediate silence. Minnie focuses on the woman, but she can’t help but glance at Miyeon from time to time during the class. The girl always looks at her with a kind smile, her eyes closing on the corners. Minnie – like almost all of Hogwarts – finds the girl beautiful.

« Are you planning to participate in the tournament? »

Mrs. Vera is giving her back to the classroom. Minnie can fully look at Miyeon, now.

« I haven’t decided yet. I want to talk about it with Shuhua first. »

« Oh. Okay. »

Minnie focuses back on Mrs. Vera. She is aware of Miyeon and Shuhua’s friendship, she knows how much it means for Miyeon as the girl mentions the Gryffindor’s name in almost every conversation, but it always makes her tick. Ever since the year started, Miyeon has been doing her best to have Minnie and Shuhua become closer without success. Every time Minnie comes around, Shuhua finds an excuse to leave or stops talking.

« I know you two haven’t hit it off already. But I am sure you will find something in common and become closer. »

Minnie wouldn’t be so sure about it. Shuhua is like a brick wall, and she will not let Minnie in. Minnie has no idea what she did to the girl to get such a cold treatment, but she wishes the situation would eventually warm up over time. If she managed to befriend Soojin, she can befriend a grumpy Gryffindor.

« I already have you, and I am more than happy. »

Miyeon puts her hands on her cheeks as they are suddenly burning her. She gives Minnie a shy look, before looking down at her parchment. Minnie manages to keep her laugh to herself, she finds Miyeon’s reaction to her flirting the funniest. Minnie has always been flirtatious, even more with the girls she finds beautiful.

The Charms class ends, meaning it is now time for lunch. The two friends take the direction of the Great Hall, going down to the ground floors despite the moving stairs making their way to their destination more complicated than necessary. Miyeon spots Shuhua coming from the courtyard and runs her way to catch her before she enters the Great Hall. Minnie watches as she makes her way to the duo how Shuhua naturally circles Miyeon’s waist with her arm.

Minnie greats the Gryffindor hello, and Shuhua responds with the same distance. At the same moment, Soojin appears from the Dungeons. She stops to talk to Minnie, not realizing there are two other people with her friend before it is pointed out. She turns, ready to not even bother, but when she locks eyes with Shuhua, the corner of her lips slightly goes up.

« Hi. »

Miyeon is the first to respond. Shuhua only smiles, Soojin’s lips go higher but it isn’t a full smile yet. Minnie wants to roll her eyes at the scene, but she doesn’t because Soojin can be scary, so she waits a minute before saying:

« Let’s eat. I am starving. »

The four of them take the direction of the Great Hall. Shuhua still has her arm under Miyeon’s work robe, around her waist. Soojin is slightly behind everyone, her eyes burning holes at the back of Shuhua’s head, not that the girl is noticing it. Miyeon goes to the Hufflepuff’s table as she is being called loudly by a group of girls, she leaves a kiss on Shuhua’s temple before joining her other friends. Minnie excuses herself and leaves Soojin with Shuhua. Nothing in the whole world will make her stay and witness from up close her friend pinning over some girl.

Minnie despite her many conquests – both girls and boys – has never experienced any kind of feelings for someone. She has been trying her very best, desperate to find someone to connect on an emotional level with, but has only found disappointment to the point that she wonders if she even has any feelings, to begin with. This is why despite her best effort, she doesn’t understand how Soojin transforms into a puddle at the sight of Shuhua.

Well, she doesn’t particularly like Shuhua, so maybe there is a bit of that too.

« Are you planning to participate? »

Shuhua lifts an eyebrow at the question. Soojin next to her is very much serious about the matter. It doesn’t take a genius to know she is talking about the tournament. Everyone is always talking about the tournament since last night's announcement. Shuhua continues to walk toward Gryffindor’s table, followed by Soojin.

« I don’t think someone like me is really meant for this kind of thing. »

Soojin frowns, she stops walking. Shuhua realizes and turns around to face the girl who stopped behind her. She looks around, noticing the stare coming their way. It raises curiosity when someone – else than Minnie – is talking to Soojin. Even more when the said person is a Gryffindor.

« What do you mean by someone like you? »

Shuhua sighs, it seems very logical for her, but Soojin needs her to explain apparently. Shuhua comes closer, she doesn’t want everyone to listen to their conversation, they are already looking it is enough.

« A muggle-born. Mr. Bancroft said the Goblet will choose the most worthy. »

« You are worthy. You are a wizard just like everyone here. »

Shuhua takes a long breath, she knows her situation is a bit different. Muggle-born are getting rare these days. Despite being her fifth year at Hogwarts, she hears the whispers sometimes, she sees the sighs and the roll of eyes when she asks a question only someone who didn’t grow up in a magical household would ask.

« Who said those things to you? »

« What? »

« Who said you were not worthy? Tell me. »

Soojin is searching Shuhua’s eyes. When they meet, the Gryffindor sees how serious the Slytherin is about the matter. It makes her feel uncomfortable because it really isn’t any of Soojin’s business and she doesn’t understand why would she care about her. She breaks eye contact, looks around the room, suddenly wanting to be somewhere else. Soojin puts her hand on her shoulder, and Shuhua focuses back on the girl.

« Some people made comments after the speech of the Headmaster. Nothing big. »

Soojin’s pupils seem to soften, but Shuhua is sure she is imagining things. The Slytherin drops her hand from her shoulder and walks toward her table without saying a word. Shuhua takes her usual spot between Yuqi and Soyeon; she notices Miyeon changing seats to be in front of her despite Ravenclaw’s table separating them.

« So? Have you put your name in already? »

« I told you already, I am not participating. »

Yuqi gasps, not understanding the logic behind the decision. Soyeon rolls her eyes, she knew Shuhua wouldn’t participate, but she still hoped secretly.

« Why? »

Shuhua answers for the nth time that she doesn’t like these kinds of challenges where dying is one of the issues. Yuqi spends her entire lunch trying to convince her friend to give it a shot, it could be an enriching experience she says and Shuhua doesn’t even respond to her nonsense. Soyeon knows there is nothing that will make the younger girl change her mind so she doesn’t say anything, only nodding when Yuqi asks her for confirmation to back up her arguments.

Once the dinner is over, it is a shoving of excited students who moves like one man toward the Second Hall to discover the three chosen champions by the Goblet of Fire. Shuhua looks around her, persuaded wizards are out of their minds for being so excited over something potentially deadly. Miyeon is sitting with her, she holds her hand in hers and rubs her thumb over the back of her hand to calm her down.

Yuqi and Soyeon are sitting not so far away, Shuhua can see them from the corner of her eyes. The duo has been nervous since this morning, but they are currently reaching their pick if you ask Shuhua and she is glad not to be sitting next to them. Shuhua notices after some observations that Mrs. Vera has been glancing their way, and she would bet her right hand the two got themselves in trouble. She would even go as far as to say they are behind the terrible mood Mrs. Vera has been in the whole day.

Miyeon squeezes her hand once in excitement when she spots Mr. Bancroft, the Headmaster entering the room. With him, Mr. Poe, Slytherin Head of House, the two men are chatting among themselves, currently not minding the loud buzzing of the room. Mrs. Juny, Ravenclaw Head of House, joins Mrs. Vera and Mr. Heiden, Hufflepuff Head of House, on the platform in the middle of the room.

Shuhua naturally interlaces her fingers with Miyeon’s as she feels the anxiety and excitement of the crowd messing with her. Mr. Bancroft claps in his hand, the loud noise makes everyone quiet down, this time the Prefects don’t even have to intervene. Shuhua listens to the speech of the Headmaster from one ear, too busy fixing the fire of the Goblet. She feels like he is talking for hours, and the names of the champions can’t come fast enough.

« Did you put your name? »

Miyeon doesn’t answer, making Shuhua even more nervous. Her thumb nervously taps against Miyeon’s hand while the Goblet of Fire is starting to change color. The fire is becoming vibrant red, it becomes brighter every second, and Shuhua has to cover her eyes. She misses how a parchment jumps from the fire in direction of Mrs. Juny, Ravenclaw Head of House. The woman catches it in a swift movement.

« Our first champion is Kim Minnie! »

Miyeon cheers along with everyone at the mention of the Ravenclaw’s name. The cheering is loud, making Shuhua realize how much Minnie is well-appreciated around the school, every house calls her name as she makes her way down the bleachers toward the platform where the Headmaster is waiting for her. After all, the girl is quite popular, Shuhua tells herself she shouldn’t be surprised, it isn’t because she doesn’t appreciate her that it is the case for everyone.

The flames start to crackle again, getting louder, and brighter. Shuhua covers her eyes again, missing for the second time the parchment jumping from the fire in direction of Mr. Poe – Slytherin Head of House – this time. The man catches it, between his index and middle finger. He acts as if it burned his fingers, making the students laugh at his comedy show. He opens the paper carefully, a smile paints itself on his lips, clearly satisfied with the champion which has been chosen.

« Slytherin’s champion is SEO SOOJIN! »

Mr. Poe turns toward the bleacher Soojin is sitting in. He opens his arm, walking in Soojin’s direction all smiley. It is well known around the school that Soojin is Mr. Poe’s favorite student – the teacher never hid it. Normally, anyone with a record like Soojin would have been in big trouble, but the girl never seems to face any consequence for her actions. She stands up and goes down the bleacher as her housemate congratulates her. The way the students make way for her, it looks like a guard of honor.

Slytherins are cheering louder than anyone for their champion. The other houses are politely clapping along, while Soojin is escorted by her Head of House to the platform to stand next to Minnie.

« Congrats. This is going to be fun. »

Minnie smiles, happy to know she will have another playground to confront herself to Soojin. The Slytherin isn’t impressed by her friend, she only stares. The crowd in the bleachers is now whispering, Shuhua hears how the anxiety is reaching an all-time high and for different reasons now. Minnie and Soojin are Hogwarts' top best students, no one wants to go against the two of them. Shuhua hears how some are even wishing not to be selected by the Goblet, she hears younger students asking if the two are really that much of a big deal, and older students answering they have no idea how scary they can be, especially Soojin.

The flame crackles for the third time, quieting the entire room. Everyone’s eyes are on the Goblet, the flame is becoming brighter again, blinding Shuhua who covers her eyes. She squeezes Miyeon’s hand in hers, hoping it isn’t her friend who has been selected. The parchment is caught by Mrs. Vera, it is still on fire, but the woman doesn’t even mind.

The Head of Gryffindor opens it, she controls her facial expression to the best of her abilities when she reads the name. This is year is for sure going to be eventful.

« The third and last champion, Gryffindor champion is… SONG YUQI! »

All Gryffindor students scream. Louder than Slytherin as even some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws join them. The Gryffindor stands up and looks at the entire room with a proud smile on her face. She then walks down the bleacher, head held high, and makes her way toward Minnie and Soojin. The cheering doesn’t stop, it gets louder when she finally stands next to Soojin.

The Headmaster claps in his hand, but the excitement of the crowd is too big, and the Prefects need to calm down everyone for Mr. Bancroft to be able to talk. The three champions get another round of applause, Mr. Bancroft, Mrs. Juny, Mr. Poe, Mrs. Vera and Mr. Heiden give a clap to the three champions as well.

The first task will be held in a month. Until then, they can prepare themselves.