So there they were, for the last time, almost worn out after yelling at the quidditch where Gryffindor and Slytherin had fought it out. Ariadne had near lost her voice by the end of the match, and overall was feeling a little weary after the exciting weekend, which had also included a Hogsmeade trip. Still, the Great Hall prickled with excitement as the Goblet of Fire made its reappearance.

"Knew it, nobody would take a bet on it because the odds were on that we'd have a fourth one." Harry remarked to neighbouring Gryffindors at the long house table. A final blaze of glory - a final chance for Hogwarts to seize glory, as they were being outranked at the moment in the tournament as it was. Newcomers Salem were proving a bit too handy. Perhaps they could not invite them next time - not that Ari would still be there. They were a bit like the guests that ate all the birthday cake.

"Any odds on who's going to be drawn?" She called across the table - the noise in the hall was growing as the students became impatient for the announcement.

"Probably me," Figaro appeared next to Ariadne at Gryffindor table as the sixth year broke form and switched tables.  "That goblet can't get enough."

Figaro had been selected as a champion for the second task and he and Raine Almasy had been squeezed out of second place by Beauxbatons.  He'd thought the'd done rather well for as little prep time  he and Raine had had together. 

"Or you," he said.  "I mean, we're at the bottom of the cauldron now.  Scraping out the leavings."  He was teasing, of course.  Ariadne was bold and brave - she'd probably do just fine up there. 

With dessert being finished and a lull in the festivities, Corey thought it would be a fine time to get up and stretch his legs with a bit of mingling. The Beauxbatons boy had become quite friendly with many students from the other schools. It was not unusual for him to forgo sitting with his classmates in favor of some of the more laidback students of Salem and Hogwart's. Though he was certain there were some nice students from Durmstrang, he tended to avoid them because of how intense they tended to be. It simply did not jive well with his nature.

Heading up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, he kept an eye out for people to interact with. He spied Gabriella Dagon and decided she was an easy target, but he paused on the way when he overheard the Hufflepuff lad who wrote for the Howler and had covered his "body painting" in the first task. He had also competed in the second task against the Fontaine Sisters.

"At least your school is still in the running," he said with a wry smirk to the two students. "Now mine...we're just going to sit back and look pretty."

As of yet the delightful Miss Dagon hadn’t volounteered to be placed in the goblet and neither was she planning on it. In this specific sort of activity, the young witch was far happier in a supporting crowd as a spectator. She didn’t much fancy risking her life and attracting danger for a competition. Her friends could do that.

And this was what her friends were discussing as she sat opposite Ari at the Gryffindor table. Ari pondered over who would be selected and Sellaphix took that as his cue to plonk his bum down beside her on their Gryffindor table.

Gabriella was about to remark in response to Fig’s non-existent modesty when Corey appeared and she suddenly found herself very distracted. Since knocking him off his feet all those months ago and the yule ball, they’d not had a huge amount to do with each other. Gabby had knuckled down to her work this year, trying to decide on a direction from a thousand and she’d avoided the boy who seemed quite capable of preventing eloquent speech from the Gryffindor.

He would be looking very pretty, she found herself considering while looking across at him.
“We need someone that is going to win, Sellaphix.” She grinned and grabbed Ari’s arm, pulling her closer to whisper in her ear. “He’s too amusing to die.” Yet the whisper wasn’t as quiet as it could be.

“There’s a space by me Corey. But you’ll have to climb over the table.”

Atticus casually strolled into the great hall which was lit blue from the goblet's flame. He looked around the room for a moment, taking note who was there and therefore could possibly be the champions for this school. Hogwarts had not done as well in the tournement as Atticus hoped - though he initially only took a passive interest in the competition by the time the fourth task signups had come around, he threw his name in. He approached the table with some familier sixth year faces and took a seat.

“We need someone that is going to win, Sellaphix.”

Atticus chuckled, inviting himself into the conversation. "Well if I'm picked, we'll have that." He said confidently, smiling a crooked smile as he leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "That being said, other than myself, there are a handful of competent and capable students in the running." He added, turning his head to crack his neck.

 "Whoever it ends up being, it'll be a good show. Let's just not let the French win, eh?"

From the end of the staff table strutted a wizard with boots up to his knees, patent leather so shiny you could see your face in them. He wore what looked to be cream jodhpurs on his muscled legs, and a cloak that was cut at an angle, with a gold tassel and shiny gold buttons. It was like a rather over the top Quidditch uniform, which looked too neat and flamboyant to be at all practical in the air.

His mop of curly blonde hair shone almost as bright as his boots in the late evening light and the candles, and when he approached the Goblet of Fire, the flames gave him, and his equally blonde and perfectly curled moustache a rather alarming shade of blue, as if he were very cold.

This more flamboyant of wizards was none other than "Flash" Lockheart - every bit as self-confident as his relative who had once played at Defence Professor in Harry Potter's time.

"Good evening students, Professors, esteemed tournament staff!" he greeted in a loud voice, not at all amplified by his wand. It sounded as if he'd been well versed in shouting at Quidditch matches and shouting orders from the top of a broom.

"From the mountains and the waves came Durmstrang, and their fearsome champions, from the grace and culture of warmer climes came Beauxbatons, and their intellect, from good old Blighty comes our hosts - Hogwarts, and my own dear alma mater with their solid, courageous champions, hurrah!" He pumped his fist into the air to induce a rallying cheer for Hogwarts, "And then came from across the sea from the skies - Salem and their brave, unfaltering champions -" he turned to the Salem students and extended a hand in a flash, "did nobody get the owl we sent that said you weren't meant to try and win the first time we invited you?" He cracked a dashing, glittering white-toothed smile at the Americans.

"Three gripping, mind bending, pant-wetting challenges later students, and the champions have fought through foes and puzzles and come out victorious. And alive. We hadn't counted on either, so well done." He gave a shrug and gestured back to the Goblet.

"And now, we draw the final names of the tournament, the champion's last stand, the task to decide the winners of this year's Tetrawizard Tournament, who will leave with the finest trophy you could set your eyes on, finer than a veela, finer than a run of NEWTs graded Outstanding without having to sit a single exam, students, I tell you. It is a sight to behold - but only to the grand champions."

Clearly enjoying himself, but a rather animated speaker as he made eye contact with students sat at the tables before him, he pressed on,

"It is my great pleasure as Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports of the British Ministry of Magic to announce the names of the fourth and final task of this year's - the very first Tetrawizard Tournament. The task will be held on Saturday May 29th, and you're all to be there." He pointed one long finger and swept it round the room with another grin, turning his back on the students to point to the line of staff behind the Goblet too.

The lights dimmed and the Goblet flared brightly, swirling up into the air, before puffing out a scrap of slightly charred parchment which curled down towards Flash, who snapped it out of the air.

"Will the champions called proceed to the antechamber for the weighing of the wands." He uncurled the parchment and read aloud in an even louder tone:

"For Beauxbatons Corey Gaubert, ... ... !" cheers and clapping broke out he continued to list the names from the parchment.

The Beauxbatons chosen champions were up on their feet, but not before another scrap of parchment puffed out of the Goblet from behind and was snatched out of the air before him.

"For Salem Taryn Dickenson, Migs Nagde, ... ... !" whooping and table thumping began as the five Salem chosen got to their feet.

The third evaded his capture for a few seconds before his keen fingers snatched it up and straightened it out as if the item had been disobedient.

"For Durmstrang Aliya Grumman, Magdalena Eisenberg, Lyov Molchenoff[1], ... .... !" A roar erupted from the hall, which had only become noiser by the second until a hush of Shhhh! broke out from those keen to hear the Hogwarts names for the home crowd.

"And finally, the very best of course, for Hogwarts Atticus Roark, Paolo Rossi, Deborah Clarencieux, Elysia Hughes and Gracie Slant[2]!"

Gesturing with one arm to the wand weighing in the antechamber, Flash beamed brightly at all the champions, and thumped a couple on the back as they passed before giving a silly bow and sauntering back to the staff table to take a large gulp of wine from his goblet.

---

OOC: Chosen champions please feel free to post your reactions here, but also proceed to the wand weighing - to help, make sure your wand is fully described on your biography with length, wood, core and any other features of note.

1.	Lyov added 22 June
2.	Changed from Theo Whitman 17 Jun for OOC reasons

Atticus watched the announcer intently as he began listing the champion's names off by school. He waited anxiously for Hogwarts to come up and smiled widely when he heard his name. "Most excellent." He said, smiling at everyone at the table. It looked like Paolo was also chosen - one of Atticus' friendly rivals but someone he was glad to have as champion alongside him. They needed Hogwart's best and brightest and the prospects were looking good.

"Looks like we're going to win, ladies and gentleman." He said proudly before standing up and walking towards the antechamber for the weighing of the wands. As he stood up he pulled his wand out and twirled it in his hand, partly from anxiousness and partly from excitement. It was time.

A smile was hitched on Elysia’s face as she sat chatting animatedly to those around her. On the surface, the Hufflepuff was calm and composed – but deep inside her nerves were on edge. It had been a difficult year for Elysia and being slaughtered on the quidditch pitch had the young witch’s self-esteem in the ditch. A fork speared another tasty morsel of pudding, and as the witch lifted the bite to her mouth, all the food disappeared as the ministry official stood to speak.

Elysia took a moment to shush her friends before giving her full and undivided attention to Lockhart. Upon laying eyes on the man, the young witch couldn’t help but allow a snort of disgust to distort her normally pleasant features. Though Elysia was part-veela and thought herself quite attractive – she found no reason to wear impractical and gaudy clothing. She wondered if he’d ever tried to ride a broom in that outfit and immediately dismissed the idea.

He was certainly a talker, and his flamboyancy was starting to get on Elysia’s nerves when he started plucking names from the Goblet. The witch’s back stiffened when the first name was drawn, and her eyes trailed the paper unceasingly until it touched Lockhart’s outstretched hand. By the time Roark’s name was called, Elysia had given up on ever being chosen as a Hogwarts champion. She turned back to speak to her friends and froze.

What?... Did someone just call her name?

Elysia took a half-second look around the great hall before the cheers erupted again and people were patting her on the back and screaming in her ears. A dumbfounded look crossed her features as she rose to her feet, before being replaced by a gleaming, heartwarming smile. She threw a fist into the air as she took off at a trot to the antechamber.

She had just finished running errands for teachers when Deborah finally made it back to the Hall, just in time to witness the picking of names. Taking her seat comfortably amongst her fellow snakes, she leaned her back against the stone pillar that was situated just behind her seat and smiled at the younger Slytherin that began to ask her questions. Answering the child’s inquiries, Flo’s attention wasn’t captured that much by the announcements - in fact, she tried to drown out the noisy cheering that was going on but clapped her hands daintily, as per protocol. It was only after she’s served herself her own cup of tea that she nearly choked on it, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

“…Deborah Clarencieux, Elysia Hughes…”

Humbly wishing that she has heard wrong, her fears were confirmed as her peers turned to her and congratulated her. It rang loud and clear in her head that ‘at least, Gracie and Paolo would be there’, except that she wasn’t thinking of what is going to happen: it was, ‘what needed to happen’.

“Why me?” she asked herself in disbelief, knowing that even though she is just as capable as the others, there was still that ugly blot of doubt resting in her heart. Looking up uneasily and thanking the Slytherins alongside the others that greeted her, Flo felt herself grow smaller in her seat.

She gulped, feeling her wand that rested in her pocket. The others had began pushing their resident bookworm and sixth year prefect out of the table and into the antechamber. Chuckling nervously, for once uncertain of something in her life, she bit her lower lip. ‘You have brains Deborah, at least use them.’

No one knew just how much she wondered what creature decided to pick her name out of that goblet.

The conversation between the rather morose (or was that smug?) Ravenclaw and the rest of the Hogwart's student quickly became uninteresting for Corey and when Gabriella invited him to sit beside her he literally jumped at the offer.

Seeing a reasonable opening now that the tables were cleared of dessert and students had stood to mingle, he took a bit of a bound forward and proceeded to do a hybrid of a hurdle over a clear space  in her direction. He didn't make it over entirely in one movement, but he still managed to make it look like a fluid movement and finally slipped onto the bench beside Gabriella.

He grinned at her and asked, "So, did the Dragon Girl enter her name?"

She’d been called. She’d—been called.

“I’m,” she tried, and stopped, the words sticking in her throat. She’d tossed her name in, of course, but it’d been—wishful thinking, a whim. After third time of not being called, she– didn’t give up, exactly, but after that... It was like tossing messages in bottles into the ocean; you didn’t do it with the belief that someone might pick it up.

But this time around… It clearly, obviously wasn’t like that at all. Not if the sudden cheers and congratulations! – claps on the shoulders, sudden hugs, fist pumps and table-thumping – were anything to go by. Blankly, almost blindly, Gracie looked at them all. Her brain had yet to catch up–

And then it did, once she caught Naomi’s eye, Whitman’s slight smirk and accompanying nod, Huck’s proud, heavy clapping, and she couldn’t help but helplessly, brilliantly grin.

"What a git..." Figaro couldn't help but whisper at the fancy, flashy fellow.  He had to admit though, the man had presence.  He held nearly the entire room rapt as he began plucking names from the Goblet of Fire.  And they just kept coming!  At each name the excitement just grew greater!

"This is going to be massive...!" he added his own exclamation to the din.  "I hope it's a knock-down, drag-out melee.  I hope-"  Someone elbowed him to shut up because they'd come to Hogwarts.  As Lockhart flashed his smile and called forth a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryfifndor and two Slytherin, knots of housemates stood and cheered, Figaro the loudest in support of Elysia Hughes.

"Hyooooooz!" he crowed through cupped hands at their latest Quidditch Captain who'd led them to a victory this year.  Damn, this last challenge team was stacked. 

"Feel sorry for the rest of them.  Slant is going to kill them with that stink-eye of hers alone," he said in snarky admiration of the formidable Slytherin.

Like most of the other Durmstrang students, Lyov was staying fairly quiet and composed. His arm was loosely around Mags shoulders, leaning his elbow comfortably into the table as he looked around. There were a lot of students there, but there weren’t very many that he considered their equals. That Salem was in the lead... It left a bad taste in his mouth.

Still, he could keep that all to himself. He smirked as he glanced around the chamber, nudging the person next to him with his knee and nodding towards the intermingling of schools. “How sweet is that?” They snickered and laughed before he turned his attention back to Magdalena. “Are you wanting to make another bet?”

Conversation continued until someone stepped up to talk. Lyov bounced his knee slightly, the only sign that he was a little nervous. He would deny it, of course. His tongue pushed into his cheek and he held back the eye roll as the man gave cute words to Durmstrang. “Fearsome, Mags. That’s us.” Collectively, obviously, as Durmstrang trained harder than any other school. In his not so humble opinion.

This man’s ability to state the obvious was... remarkable. When he finally got to Durmstrang, Lyov was not the only one to let out a roar. He pulled Mags in for a one-armed hug as his other hand fisted the air. He grinned and pushed himself up from the table, winking at his fellow champions. He heard the Hogwarts names, and almost tripped over his feet. He glanced around until he saw her.

Lyov pointed her out in the crowd, laughing before he winked and blew her a kiss. With one arm around Mags and the other around Aliya (until one of them pushed him off), he motioned to where they were supposed to go. “Come on, ladies, let’s see what is hidden in our wands."