Status: Week-long hiatus :'( Will update this Friday 1/14/10

I Can't Stop Digging the Way You Make Me Feel

And Then There Were Four

After that first day, September breezed by and became October, taking the nice, sunny weather went with it. Moody's class became the most terrifying class to be in rather than Snape's. The breaks that Emilie, Fred, and George thought they would be able to use to goof around quickly became ones required for studying and homework as the teachers piled up mounds and mounds of homework on them every night. Lucky for the students, classes seemed to go by quicker on Halloween due to the excitement for the choosing of the champions later that night. After Charms, Emilie, Katie, and Alyssa put their bookbags in their dorm and headed down to the Great Hall to watch last minute contestants put their name in the Goblet of Fire before dinner.

"So, what did you do with Fred and George? They weren't in class at all today." Katie asked

"I have no idea where they are which, in textbook terms, means they're trying to sell something or they're robbing Filch's office."

An eruption of loud cheers broke into the Great Hall as a large group of Hufflepuffs came through the giant double doors. They pushed their frontman, Cedric Diggory, towards the Goblet of Fire and everybody applaused after he put his name in.

"He should totally just stay wet all the time." Alyssa said as she watched him being carried out by his friends

Katie scoffed and nodded, strongly agreeing with her. A second batch of shouts and cheers neared the Great Hall and just when Emilie was about to question what was going on, her question was answered. Her two missing best friends ran into the Great Hall, cheering as they both held vials in their hands. They received high fives as they passed other students and came to a stop.

"Well lads, we've done it!" George exclaimed, showing off the vial full of potion

"Cooked it up just this morning!" Fred finished

"It's not going to work."

The voice of denial that belonged to Hermione Granger carried throughout the Great Hall and caused Fred and George to smirk widely and sit down next to her.

"She's right, you know. It's not going to work." Emilie commented from where she stood across the room

"How do you know? Fred and George are actually smarter than they sometimes appear. Especially when it comes to things like this." Katie said

"The reason it's not going to work is because one, Dumbledore's smart enough to not let that age line be tricked and two, Fred and George cannot come up with concoctions to save their lives. That's why they keep me around. They're prank-smart, but not potion-smart."

The twins stood up and shook the vials.

"Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George?"

"Bottoms up!"

The twins downed the potion and then jumped over the age line. When nothing happened, everybody applauded. Emilie's knowing, confident smirk began to fall and when Fred and George's names were accepted and again nothing happened, Emilie gaped. All of a sudden, the flickering blue flames expanded and shot the twins twoards the front of the hall. Emilie, Katie, and Alyssa gasped and rushed over to where the twins now lay.

"Are you two okay?" Alyssa asked worriedly

Fred and George sat up and everybody in the hall began laughing at their growing white hair and beards.

"You said!"

"You said!"

Fred pounced on top of George and the two of them started going at it, both protesting about who's fault it is. While a crowd formed around them and a wild chant of 'fight! fight! fight!' broke out, Emilie moved back and attempted to calm down her hysterical laughter.

"I did warn you."

The crowd turned towards the entrance to the Great Hall when they heard the warm, humorous voice of Professor Dumbledore. There was a twinkle in his eye as he looked at the twins condition and then walked on. The laughter died down and a silence took over the Great Hall as Viktor Krum, accompanied by his headmaster and another Durmstrang student, waltzed in and placed his name in. Everything was quiet until he left and then the crowd dispersed. Emilie walked over to the twins and shook her head in disappointment at them.

"This is why you put all the potion-making responsibility on me! Let this be a lesson for you two! Understand?"

"Yes." Fred and George grumbled as they stood up

"Good. God, you both look ridiculous." Emilie tugged on George's white beard and he slapped her hand away

"Shut up." They said in unison

"Come on, let's go to the hospital wing to get the antidote." Alyssa suggested

"Why can't the Master of Potions herself do it?" Fred mocked, looking at Emilie

"In order for me to do that, I need to know the ingredients in the fail of a potion you made and I won't have time to do it before the choosing of the champions after dinner."

Emilie, Katie, and Alyssa led the Fred and George out of the Great Hall and towards the hospital wing. When they got there, Madam Pomfrey bustled out, looking for an emergency, but threw her hands up in frustration when she saw the state of Fred and George.

"Another one? You kids are impossible! Come, come, I have a fresh brew of antidote in my office."

Fred and George shamefully walked to Madam Pomfrey's office while their friends snickered in the background. Less than a minute later, they came out with small cups full of the antidote, followed by Madam Pomfrey.

"I hope you two are the last I see of people trying to trick the age line. Although, to be honest, you're beards were the most impressive ones I've seen yet."

Madam Pomfrey cracked a small smile before she went over to help a sick student at the end of the room. The twins looked at the cups before downing them completely. The beards on their faces began to shrink and then became nothing.

"Well?" Fred asked, touching his face for any trace of the beard

"You look nice and average again." Katie answered

"Did the white beards really look that bad?" George quietly asked, directing it specifically at Emilie

"No, but your face is too young for white hair. Wait until you're super, incredibly old like Dumbledore and the white hair will suit you two better."

George genuinely smiled as he threw his cup away. Emilie couldn't help but smile along with him and they all walked out of the hospital wing and back down to Great Hall for dinner. Students all around them inhaled their food hoping that it would make time go faster, but sadly they were wrong. As the most anticipated moment of the school year so far drew nearer, time seemed to have slowed way down. It wasn't until the food disappeared that things finally started happening. Half of the tables were put up against the wall and the other half of the students who now had nowhere to sit filled up benches set up by the walls. Emilie sat down on one of those benches and George sat down next to her while Fred, Katie, and Alyssa sat in front of them.

"I bet you five sickles Krum's the Durmstrang champion." Emilie smirked, looking at George

"You're on." George agreed

"Settle down, please!" Dumbledore's voice rang throughout the hall and the students from the three schools sat down and reduced their talking to whispers.

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for!" The torches on the walls of the Great Hall dimmed but didn't completely go out. The main light source now came from the blue flames of the Goblet of Fire. They suddenly turned bright red and a piece of parchment was shot out of it before it went back to it's normal electric blue. The piece of parchment floated down and Dumbledore caught it.

"The Beauxbatons champion is...Fleur Delacour!"

A girl with straight blonde hair clad in the infamous baby blue uniforms stood up and smiled confidently as she walked confidently up to Dumbledore with loud applause from her fellow student body and the guys of the other two schools. Dumbledore shook her hand, gave her the parchment with her name on it, and she was directed into a chamber behind the Great Hall. The blue flames turned red again and shot out the next name.

"The Durmstrang champion is...Viktor Krum!"

A storm of applause filled the hall, mostly because he was a famous Quidditch player now competing in an infamous wizarding tournament. Emilie finished her applause and looked over at George.

"Pay up."

"In the common room." George replied grimly

Emilie smirked and looked back at the Goblet of Fire, which turned red for the third and final time.

"And finally, the Hogwarts champion is...Cedric Diggory!"

The entire Hufflepuff table, which remained one of the tables still set up, exploded and gave Cedric a standing ovation as he walked over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave him a strong handshake and a friendly pat on the back as he passed and headed towards the secret chamber where the other two champions were waiting.

"Excellent! We now have our three champions, but in the end only one of them will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory....the Triwizard Cup!"

Dumbledore pointed at the head table and a veil flew off a gleaming silver cup. People all around Emilie gasped at the beauty of it, but she wasn't paying any attention to the trophy. She had noticed something else.

"Professor!"

Dumbledore, as well as the other professors and the student body, looked at her weirdly. She pointed at the Goblet of Fire, which had erupted red flames again. A fourth name shot up and Dumbledore caught it. He looked at it in confusion.

"Harry Potter. Harry Potter?" He muttered

Emilie's eyes widened and she traded a look with Katie, who sat directly in front of her.

"No way." Emilie whispered

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore shouted again. The students of Hogwarts who all somehow knew where Harry was sitting, turned in that direction and glared at him. Hermione gave him a push and Harry hesitantly walked forward. Dumbledore handed him his name and he walked the same path the three champions took.

"He's a cheat!" Somebody shouted

"He's not even seventeen!"

Shortly after Harry went into the hidden chamber, Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers followed, informally dismissing the students.

"There's no way Harry put his name in!" Katie exclaimed when they entered the portrait hole of Gryffindor Tower

"You know it, I know it, and most importantly he knows it. I mean, if Fred and George couldn't even do it, there's no way Harry could've." Emilie said

"I wonder if Harry has to compete. We could bet against all the champions and make a quick profit."

Emilie scoffed and slapped George's knee. As if on cue, the portrait hole swung open and Harry stepped in, looking lost and confused. The entire common room went silent as Harry's fellow students all gave him a look, as if he actually had put his name in. Fred and George gestured him over and he somberly came over, looking at all of them as if waiting for the accusations.

"So, do you have to compete?" Alyssa asked

"Yeah. Crouch said something about a magical contract with the Goblet of Fire, so I guess I'm the fourth champion."

Emilie sighed heavily while her friends did the same.

"Well, just so you know, we believe you Harry. You didn't put your name in." George said

"Thanks, George. Have any of you seen Ron?"

"In the dorms, I think." Fred said

Harry nodded and went up to the fourth year boys' dormitories. As soon as he disappeared, Fred turned to the others and let out a low whistle.

"I'll tell you something, Ron looked downright pissed when Harry's name was called in the Great Hall."

"Speaking of champions, George, you need to pay up."

"It's in my trunk."

George got up and headed towards the staircase. Emilie took that as a cue and followed him up to the sixth year boys' dormitories. She leaned against the doorway and patiently waited while George dug through his trunk for the money.

"Instead of five sickles, make it two. It was pretty obvious that he was going to be the Durmstrang champion."

George smiled gratefully as he walked over to Emilie and he placed the two silver coins down in her hand.

"You know, your idea of taking bets against the four champions is kind of growing on me."

"Really?" George smirked, leaning against the door frame in front of Emilie

"Yeah. You were right, I think we could make a nice profit. Think about it, the odds are pretty good. Two Quidditch players, a fourth year, and let's be honest, a girl? Please, it'll either be Krum or Diggory and everybody knows it. Money in our pockets."

"See? All of my ideas are good. You'll admit it someday."

"Uh huh. George, be honest with me...who's idea was it to make the aging potion?"

George avoided eye contact with Emilie and uncomfortably cleared his throat as he turned back to his bed. Emilie laughed and put jingled the money in her hand.

"I knew it. Like Fred said at the World Cup, your pranks would go to hell if your potions concocter was gone. And this was a classic example. But most of your ideas really are good."

George looked up at her and Emilie smiled as she walked away from the boys' dormitory. As she passed the fourth year boys' dormitory, she heard Harry speaking loudly and realized Fred had been right about Ron being upset. Upon seeing her friends no longer down in the common room, she went up to her dormitory and put the money in her trunk.

"This tournament just got a whole lot more exciting! Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for Harry, but he's going up against three seventeen year old wizards! He'll either dominate or completely fall on his arse!" Katie exclaimed, coming out of the bathroom and jumping onto her bed

"I think he'll do well in one of the tasks. He defeated Quirrel with that whole Sorceror's Stone deal, killed the basilisk, and took on a hundred dementors and he's not even sixteen yet. He'll do well."

"Just so you know, Fred, George, and I will be taking bets. As soon as we know what the first task is, you'll be able to determine who will dominate and who will fail."

Emilie grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom. She changed and as she washed the makeup off of her face and brushed her teeth, her mind wandered back to her conversation with George. Although she was fully engaged in the conversation, she took notice in the way that George's hair fell just right onto his face, covering but not completely covering his sparkling brown eyes. Emilie stopped brushing her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror, specifically watching her cheeks flush.

I cannot possibly have a crush on George...could I?
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I would really, really appreciate some comments, everybody! I know you're out there! I want to see what you all think of this story!

-Kaitlin Xx