As the next day was Saturday, most students would normally have breakfasted late. Laughing, the twins plus Lee dashed down the stairs, followed by an amused Rubi Black, who was waiting to see how this would play out.

"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had just arrived before them."Just taken it."

"What?" said Ron.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains," 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 three of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly. They had wanted to include Rubi but she immediately declined, knowing if they got the chance, they could make good use of it regarding Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

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

Fred, George, and Lee ignored her.

"Why aren't you knocking some sense into them?" Hermione directed at Rubi, who shrugged, a grin playing on her lips.

"It's not like they would listen plus I'm curious to see what's going to happen."

"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then- I'll go first-"

Rubi watched 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. He looked back, his gaze landing on Rubi who shot him a thumbs up, trying to be supportive of her friends, even if she wasn't sure their plan would be victorious.

Then, with the eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, Fred took a great breath and stepped over the line. For a split second Rubi thought it had worked as her jaw fell open- 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.

Rubi gasped in surprise as concern clouded her features. "Fred! George!" She exclaimed, rushing forth.

But to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, making the girl pause, and both of the twins sprouted identical long white beards. The entrance hall rang with laughter. Rubi couldn't help herself and burst out laughing, sharing a look with Lee.

Fred and George sat up and looked at each other.

"You said!"

"You said!"

The twins began to tackle the other, rolling around on the ground. Rubi and Lee only further laughed until they finally separated the two brothers.

"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 set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee and Rubi, both who were howling with laughter, collapsing onto one another.

"Oh gosh!" Rubi breathed out in between her laughs, "I knew- Dumbledore- wouldn't be- that- stupid!" She clutched her stomach harder, as it only ached more with the laughs wracking the girl's body. "You're- old! The- both- of- you!" She wheezed out, her eyes full of tears.

"Ow- ah- ow- my stomach- I can't- stop- laughing!" She leaned forward, stopping her walk and chuckling.

Fred and George shared a look, before turning to the young Black.

"OK, we get it! You were right, we were wrong."

Fred nudged George in the ribs hard, earning a scowl from his twin. His eyes returned to Rubi, only feeling himself fill up with more adoration for the girl. She looked so happy, Fred wasn't ready to have her stop making that beautiful sound. Her face was shining positively that he couldn't help but feel his heart swell.

"Oh gosh..." Rubi breathed out, finally straightening as her laughs ebbed away, leaving her face red, her eyes wet and her chest heaving slightly faster.

"Anyways," She continued, wiping the tears from her eyes, "proceed Weasley senior and senior." Rubi said, bowing deeply as she extended an arm out to beckon them to walk ahead.

"You're so annoying, Black." George voiced, playfully glaring at Rubi who smirked back instead. "Right, Freddie?" George questioned his twin, who snapped out of his trance.

"Yeah, you're such a pain in the neck." Fred said, playing along.

Rubi sweetly grinned at them, a chuckle leaving her lips, "Aw, you know you love me!" She laughed, going to high five Lee.

George grinned while glancing at the person beside him. Fred stared at Rubi, an expression of surprise mingled with confusion on his face.

He fancied her, that was for sure, but did he love her as a friend or as something more? The redhead shook his head, letting the thoughts vanish from his head as the quartet continued their journey to the Hospital wing, bright smiles on all their faces.

***

When they entered the candlelit Great Hall later that day, it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. Fred and George, who were clean-shaven again, seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well.

"Hope it's Angelina," said Fred as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down.

"Me too." Rubi chimed in.

"So do I!" said Hermione breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"

"But I don't mind Cedric being champion either, he's a great person."

Fred scoffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance making Rubi turn her nose up at him in offence. She still didn't understand why Fred disliked Cedric so much, but Rubi considered the Hufflepuff a friend and a lovely human being.

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Everyone in the Hall was waiting for Dumbledore to finish eating and the food to vanish, as they wanted to know who would be selected.

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" -he indicated the door behind the staff table- "where they will be receiving their first instructions." He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness.

The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting... A few people kept checking their watches...

"Any second," Lee whispered. The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it- the whole room gasped. Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall.

"Of course, Ronald. After all, your love for Viktor would make him the greatest in everything in your eyes." Rubi said in a posh voice, earning teasing grins from the rest and a grumbling Ron.

Viktor Krum rose from the Slytherin table and slouched up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her, Ron!" Harry shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party.

"Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.

"Dramatic arses." Rubi muttered, watching the weeping Beauxbatons girls.

Fred released air through his nose in amusement, "No one is more dramatic than you, Black."

Rubi gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest, "You wound me, Freddie."

He merely winked at her.

When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it.

The Hogwarts champion next...

And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table.

"WOOHOO, YOU GO CED!" Rubi cheered as she had risen to her feet, clapping her hands in applause with loads of enthusiasm. This earned her some not nice looks from her fellow Gryffindors, but Rubi didn't notice and even if she did, she wouldn't have cared less. Fred had a sour look on his face as Rubi cheered for the Hufflepuff.

Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him. The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment. Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it.

There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out-

"Harry Potter." 

Hello.

So I was just feeling a bit down due to other stuff so I thought perhaps posting a chapter and seeing some interaction with it could somewhat help. Also, I am so excited to share the next chapter with you all, I love it so much! <33

Hope you're all doing well, and see you in the next one! <33

-Serina