Saturday morning.
"Ugh… Fanny, don't you think it's way too early for this?" Anne mumbled as she was dragged out of bed by Fanny. She was half-asleep, her eyes barely open, shuffling behind Fanny like a sleepy ghost.
"But we have to get up early if we want to see who puts their names into the Goblet of Fire!" Fanny said enthusiastically. "Anne, you agreed to come last night. You can't back out now!"
"Mm… fine…" Anne muttered, still groggy.
"Anne! This is one of the biggest events in centuries, and it's happening right here at Hogwarts!" Fanny said, practically bouncing with excitement. "We're witnessing history in the making! This will totally be in future textbooks. Just imagine, we might get to see the person who'll win that incredible honor a few months from now. Right now they're just another student, but soon they could be the most famous witch or wizard in Britain, or even in all of Europe! I heard The Daily Prophet will be covering the tournament from start to finish!"
"The Daily Prophet is the most widely read paper in Britain, nearly every wizarding household gets it! And it's huge all across Europe too!"
"Mmm-hmm…" Anne nodded drowsily.
By the time they reached the Entrance Hall, they weren't even the first ones there. Around ten students had already gathered, either standing or sitting, eyes fixed on the Goblet of Fire. A few were munching on bread. The goblet sat in the middle of the hall, placed on the same stool usually used for the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line, forming a ten-foot radius, had been drawn around it.
"Has anyone put their name in yet?" Fanny asked a Ravenclaw girl sitting on one of the benches surrounding the goblet.
She shook her head. "Not yet…"
"Perfect." Fanny pulled Anne down onto an empty bench. "Anne, sit here. I'll go grab us some breakfast, okay?"
"Mmm-hmm-hmm…" Anne mumbled from somewhere in her throat.
Fanny figured Anne would spring back to life once she had food. She made a mental note to bring back extra and headed off to the Great Hall.
Anne slouched on the bench, hands tucked into her cloak pockets, eyes half-lidded as she stared at the flickering blue-white flames of the Goblet. Her mind drifted in and out of consciousness.
Such pretty flames… dancing like a lullaby…
"Careful, Anne…" Hermione steadied Anne just as she was about to topple forward off the bench. She'd come down early too, curious about who at Hogwarts would enter the Triwizard Tournament, but even more curious about whether Harry or Ron would.
She'd just stepped into the Entrance Hall when she saw Anne sitting there. Hermione was wondering why Anne was up so early when Anne's head started to droop, swaying forward until she almost fell off the bench. Hermione rushed over and caught her in time.
"Oh? Hermione? Morning…" Anne cracked open one eye, sat up a bit, then pulled a hand from her pocket and patted the bench beside her. "Sit…"
Hermione glanced at her, puzzled, but sat down. As soon as she did, Anne's head leaned over and rested against her shoulder. Hermione instantly stiffened.
"So sleepy…" Anne mumbled, "Just borrowing your shoulder…"
Harry and Ron had witnessed the whole thing and were once again rethinking their opinion of Anne. She could fall asleep sitting up. That was impressive.
By the time Fanny returned, arms full of food-packed paper bags, she found quite the scene: Harry and Ron were standing nearby, whispering about the Beauxbatons students who had come to enter their names; Hermione was sitting frozen stiff, Anne's head still resting on her shoulder, sound asleep.
"Seriously…" Fanny muttered, walking over and putting the food down on the bench beside Anne.
"When did she fall asleep?" she whispered to Ron.
"Uh… a few minutes ago?" he guessed.
Fanny glanced between Anne and Hermione, then decided to stand with Harry and Ron to chat.
"Has anyone from Hogwarts entered yet?" she asked.
"Not that we've seen…" Ron replied.
"Someone could've done it last night while we were asleep," Harry pointed out. "That's what I'd do, don't want everyone watching if the goblet spits my name out like a chewed-up piece of parchment. That'd be humiliating."
Just then, a buzz of excitement spread through the hall as a group of students entered, surrounding a tall sixth-year from Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory. Several of his housemates were laughing and cheering as they nudged him toward the Goblet.
"Wow, it's Diggory!" Fanny exclaimed. "He did come!"
"Hmph, I don't see what the big deal is," Ron said sourly. "He's just a pretty face. Just like Lockhart."
Fanny shot back, "He's not! Cedric is second in our year and Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. He's actually talented."
"That's just your opinion," Ron grumbled.
"Anne said he's amazing too! She runs into him a lot in the greenhouses and always says good things about him." Fanny looked smug, certain she'd won that one.
Ron huffed and turned away.
Hermione, having overheard, glanced down at Anne. They were so close that she could see Anne's eyelashes twitching in sleep.
About ten minutes later, more Ravenclaw students arrived and began placing their names into the goblet, then stayed to watch. Then the Entrance Hall erupted in cheers again, Gryffindor sixth-years had arrived, surrounding Fred and George Weasley, who strutted in with Lee Jordan leading the fanfare.
Fred and George each held a small vial of deep blue liquid.
"We've done it! Aging Potion!" they shouted.
Most of the Gryffindors broke into applause.
"Mm…" Anne stirred and rubbed her eyes. She sat up and blinked. "Is breakfast here?"
Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, of course that was Anne's first thought.
"Isn't it?" Anne opened her eyes fully, looked around, and realized where she was.
Unfazed, Anne calmly accepted that she'd been napping in the Entrance Hall. "Ah. So that's where I am." Then she turned to Hermione and beamed. "Thanks, Hermione. I owe you something delicious."
"S-sure," Hermione said, still flustered.
Anne stood, stretched, and spotted the food bags. Without hesitation, she tore one open and offered something to Hermione. "Want some?"
"I already ate."
"This early?" Anne asked, biting into a piece of bread and settling back onto the bench. "What are Fred and George holding?"
"Aging Potion, apparently. They just brewed it," Hermione replied.
"Oh?" Anne said, swallowing her bite.
"I don't think they'll succeed," Hermione added. Anne tilted her head.
"I mean, Dumbledore must have accounted for that. He said only students over seventeen can enter."
Anne nodded thoughtfully, grinning mischievously as she looked over at Fred and George. "Well… let's wish them luck."
Fred stepped dramatically to the edge of the age line, bouncing on his toes like a diver about to leap from a high platform. Everyone in the hall watched breathlessly as he took a deep breath and stepped across the line.
For a moment, it looked like he'd made it. George, triumphant, shouted and jumped in after him.
Then came a loud crack. Both twins were hurled backward over the golden line, as if an invisible hammer had struck them. They landed ten feet away on the cold stone floor.
And to top it all off, with a loud pop, long, identical white beards erupted from their chins.
The hall exploded with laughter. Even Fred and George, as they picked themselves up and saw each other's beards, burst into giggles.
Anne had the good sense to stop chewing just before they jumped, and now she laughed just as hard as the rest.
"I did warn you," came a deep, amused voice. Everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore emerging from the Great Hall, eyes twinkling. He looked at the twins. "You'd better visit Madam Pomfrey. She's already treating Miss Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers of Hufflepuff. They tried the same thing last night. But I must say, your beards are far more magnificent."
Fred and George headed off to the hospital wing, with Lee Jordan tagging along.
"Hey, Anne, you're up!" Fanny rejoined them with Harry and Ron.
"Just woke up," Anne said, still smiling as she watched the twins leave. "They never change…"
The group chatted for a bit longer. A few more students entered their names into the goblet, including a Slytherin sixth-year, Warrens, a Chaser on the house Quidditch team.
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