OPENING CEREMONY (all students and staff)

[Eve Mallory]

Eve laughed and shoook her head, sometimes it was easier to laugh at Lance's jokes, or just laugh in his presence than it was in Josh's. The truth was she had to be very careful not to alert Josh to her feelings, she couldn't bear for there to be any awkwardness between them and so she gave him worshipful smiles but it had been some time since she laughed with him like the days of old. It wasn't easy, while Lance was very funny and could usually make her laugh, Josh...well it was always Josh, who could make her face light up like a kid at Christmas time.

"Oh I'll never get fat, and I'll never get any taller, I'll stay just the way I am for the rest of my life." she said as if she was sure of this and proud of it. She wasn't, no she wanted to be...well more developed the way Genevieve was, taller too since looking up at both brothers was like standing at the foot of a mountain.

When Josh started on that she didn't love him, curse her gullible soul she turned towards him with large puppy eyes and began to deny it only to have Lance pull her to his side and give her a hug assuring her that Josh had been full of himself.

She shook her head, "I love you both very much. Lance is lumpy in a handsome Lance way he's going to eat potatoes and grow big and strong just like his big brother Josh who's already taller than a mountain and as one of the best quidditch players there ever was!" she finished out of breath hoping that both brothers were appeased and that she had assured them of themselves. She assured herself that she did a good job of protecting their egos which never really needed protecting, but she did love them both, and no one could ever taint those two in her eyes. To her they were perfect.

[Josh Jordan]

"I should fling my spoonful of potatoes at you Lance! The only thing holding me back is Eva cause I don't want to fling food on her! And I am not too full of myself! You are the one that has been!" Josh tried to defend himself. "Besides, Eva doesn't love you, as much as she loves me. She just acts that way to make you feel good about yourself." He winked at her and his brother.

"And thank you Eva. You're kind. And, plus too, there's nothing wrong with the way you look. I like it."

[Eve Mallory]

"Oh that's horrible and not true Lance." she said turning his way, they were awful teasing one another and teasing her, you'd think that having been around it for all her life she'd be used to them but she knew that both boys were very talented and she wanted them to know it too, if they ever were to become as inflated as Lockhart she would be the reason, and with the attention she lavished on them...when she was around that was...it was surprising that they didn't think of themselves as much as Lockhart did.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve giggled. "Oh, don't be silly, Josh. Lance isn't lumpy... at least, not in a bad way." Pushing her empty plate aside, she began to twirl a lock of her hair around her finger as she looked at Lance. She wondered if, despite the way he and Josh like to tease and joke about her, if there was a chance that he might actually like her. She hoped so.

[Alice Prewett]

Alice frowned.. "you're right.. maybe we shouldn't both go to her at once. How about you talk to her then let me know." She wished Sirius had learned how to make a patronus already then he could tell her if they needed her. She made a mental note to try to give Sirius a lesson on patronuses soon. Besides maybe when he was older she could get him to join the Order with herself and Andi and he'd need it then anyways.

[Lance Jordan]

"Hey what about me? I'm just as good as he is with quidditch.. afterall we ARE the best chasers around. We are like a well oiled team..." Lance rubbed his head.. "I don't really look lumpy do I?" He turned to Viv who seemed more sympathic to his plight at this particular moment.

[Eve Mallory]

She couldn't win and so she sighed, "Oh you both know that you're the handsomest, most talented, and overall paragons of what the male species should be." she said giving them both a lazy defeated look, but they would know that Eve meant what she said, she believed them both to be those very things. Of course she also believed the sun and the moon shined for Josh, and the air was fresh for him to smell, the world around him beautiful for him to see, and the women...pretty for him to love...she thought looking over at Genevieve.

[Genevieve Danforth]

Genevieve continued to look at him sideways, twirling her hair. "Well, if by 'lumpy' you mean 'strong and muscley, then yes you are," she replied sweetly. "But as you can see, that's a good thing. Really, the both of you are such strong and handsome men, I'm sure the rest of the students are jealous of me and Eve, just because we get to sit next to you!"

[Lance Jordan]

Lance beamed at Genevieve until she looked over towards Eve, and when no one was looking he wiggled his eyebrows at his brother over Eve's head as if to say 'see i'm a handsome devil too and she likes me being lumpy with muscles.'

He considered flinging a few potatoes his way but decided he didn't want to make Eve suffer if he missed.. not that he would, of course but just in case. Besides he was sure the headmaster wouldn't appreciate a food fight right then. Lance was going to ask Genevieve to to the dance later tonight once the announcments were made he decided to himself. He was sure Josh wouldn't mind taking Eve, he just had to ask Viv first before Josh could.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that," he said. "I don't know if she'll tell me anything, but I'll try to talk to her. She really looks like she could use a friend now." He noticed, too, that Bellatrix was on the other side of the table from Andi, and seemed to be avoiding looking at her. Whatever the truth was about their fight, he was a little shocked that she wouldn't be at least a little bit supportive of her own sister when she was in pain. Unless of course, Andi didn't want her there.

Still, Sirius knew that if Regulus was hurt of upset about something, he would have done anything to be there for him, even if he usually hated his brother.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Sept 16, 2008 0:16:42 GMT -5 Augustus Rookwood said:

Augustus knew he was running a touch late. He knew, he didn't care... and he had done it on purpose. Not to be rude, though. In fact, he would apologize to Dumbledore when he saw the man. He had gone thus far without even being suspected a Death Eater, and he needed to keep that up as long as possible. Being invited to the school to judge the tournament was a good sign in this direction, he reasoned.

So as much as he may have wanted to come sweeping into the Great Hall in a dark cloak and a mysterious air about him, accentuated by a thunderclap, he would not.

He had a definite presence about him when he came into the Great Hall, but it was because he was a man who often demanded respect. He had a no-nonsense look in his eyes, but he strolled up to the head table with very little ado and came to Dumbledore's left. Waiting for a break in conversation, he stepped in.

"Albus, I apologize for being late. There was an issue at the Ministry... I hope I haven't missed anything."

"Ah, Augustus!" Dumbledore greeted him. "It's no problem, we haven't started yet. But now that you're here, I see no reason to delay any further. Take a seat. You know Alastor Moody, right?" He nodded at the auror.

Albus stood from his chair and walked over to the podium. "OK, students!" he said, pointing his wand at his neck again, amplifying his voice. "It is now time to begin the opening ceremony for the House Champion Tournament!"

He paused to wait for the students' applause.

[nate]

Sept 16, 2008 0:00:06 GMT -5 Rayne DiCostas said:

"Guess I just wanted to watch someone else carry the title. I hope you get chosen, though," she said with a slight nod.

"Oh I'm not holding my breath, I heard Bek and Alice put their names in too. I'm sure one of them will likely get it, but I had to at least say I tried."

Nate looked at Rayne with a considering glance when she was looking over at Evelyn. She was actually quite pretty with her firey red hair and wondered what she'd look like in a green dress. Not because green was for slytherin, quite the contrary, but because he thought it would look great with her skin and hair and make her eyes sparkle. He thought for the second time that week that he should probably ask her to the Yule ball, but he hadn't gotten up the courage to ask her yet.

Sometimes he wondered if Ryane had even a suspision that he liked her. Yes, they were friends but she never really let anyone too close to her and always had that cute little temper he thought made her look like some avenging goddess. He'd never led on that he liked her as more than a friend. She'd probably push him away if he did. But he was content to just be her friend and try earning her trust one day at a time. Besides there wasn't a rush, and she was worth the wait.

"Hey Rayne what are you doing after classes tomorrow?" He was trying to see if he could spend some extra time with her outside of class.

Then Dumbledore began to speak effectively cutting off all conversation and he looked up to the headmaster.

[Augustus Rookwood]

"Yes, I know Alastor," Augustus said, taking a seat next to the man with a hidden, perverse glee. Right under an Auror's supervision... it was perfect. How little this group knew about the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord always amused him. Besides, working side by side with an Auror for a few days just added an extra challenge.

"Hello, Alastor. I heard awfully heroic stories of your return," he commented until Dumbledore started his announcement.

[Alice Prewett]

Alice nodded to Sirius in agreement before Dumbledore spoke up and she was suddenly very very nervous. Her stomach was in knots with anxiety at the names being announced and wished Frank had still been holding her hand for support. But she turned towards the front of the room along with most of the other students to listen to what the headmaster was about to say.

[Josh Jordan]

Josh laughed as he noticed his brother's eyebrow wiggling. Then he looked to Eve. "Well, if you say that Lance and I are the most handsomest, then that makes you and Genevieve the sexiest ladies." Josh noticed that Lance was starting to get lost with Genevieve. Once he did that, he was basically gone for a bit. He shook his head and looked to Eve. She was always there, even thought he had taken that for granted when he shouldn't.

When a dance would come along, Josh knew that Lance would ask Genevieve but he would be happy to go with Eve. They would always have a good time, and besides, he hadn't spent that much time with her like he used to.

He leaned over to whisper in Eve's ear. "When you see Lance start looking far off, just hit him on the back of the head to bring him back to reality. If he says anything, I'm the one that told you," he whispered lowly in her ear, and then grinned mischieviously.

Josh quietened down, and turned his attention to Dumbledore.

[Rystain Quandry]

Rystain drew his attention away from those at his table and watched as Dumbledore began to speak, then aplauded with the rest of his table. He knew the slytherins would have it in the bag no matter who was chosen, though he looked over at Sam and winked since he could tell she'd been getting more anxious by the minute waiting for this announcment to finally come. He mouthed 'good luck' to her.

[Lance Jordan]

Lance looked up from his quiet little moment in his head looking at Genevieve as the Headmaster finished speaking. He really hoped that Gildy didn't get his name called or he was really going to hide his face or at least his house colors for the rest of the year. Lance didn't hear his brother talking to Eve either. But he applauded along with the other students. Even though he hadn't put his name in the goblet, he was still excited to watch the tournament and interested in who the champions would be. He was sort of a sports nut anyways, being a quidditch player that he though of the tournament kind of like a sport itself and he looked forward to it.

[Rayne DiCostas]

Rayne glanced over at Alice, who was near the other end of the table. She would make a good house champion, she thought. Then again, so would Bek. And nearly every other Gryffindor who had put their name in. Their house was full of good potentional champions.

Nate's question drew her out of her thoughts, and she turned back towards him. It did not escape her how cute he was. Or the boyish smile that made her want to smile... not people made her want to smile. But that was the most she had thought of him. It wasn't because he didn't deserve to be adored... she just wasn't the one to let herself.

"I don't know," she answered him. "I hadn't really thought about it. Why? Is there something going on?"

[nate]

Nate had been going to answer Rayne when he turned his attention to Dumbledore. He was kind of grateful actually that Dumbledore had decided that moment to start the announcements. He didn't want to tell her why. How could he tell her that he found her interesting and beautiful and just wanted to spend time with her? And if he did tell her she'd probably just laugh at him or push him away.

He'd noticed that about Rayne, she never seemed to let anyone get too close. It was frustrating being on the outside and wanting to be trusted. She just always seemed to have some kind of wall up and he couldn't break it down. But at least they were friends as much as Rayne would allow anyone to be friends and he tried to be happy with that, at least she didn't dislike him.. he was patient though. Maybe one day she'd let that wall down enough to trust someone and he could be there to show he was worthy.

Nate saw Rayne divert her attention to Dumbledore as well and sighed when she dropped the subject in favor of listening to the announcments too. He watched her face from the side and smiled, she really was beautiful.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Now that he was sure he had everyone's attention, Dumbledore began to speak. "As you may know, the Triwizard Tournament is an old tradition passed down from generations of wizards long ago to enable wizards to prove their strength, power and endurance. It was also a way to further the ideals of competition and international magical cooperation. When it was first devised, only men took part. Over the years, however, women have been admitted. It is usually done between three magical schools, which helps students from these schools to get to know each other in a friendly competion. It is a dangerous competition, and in the past, some have died in the middle of the competition. However, in arranging a smaller-scale version of the tournament to be held amongst the houses, I want to assure everyone that the utmost care has been taken to keep the students safe while competing. Safety measure will be strictly monitored and followed at all times."

"Now, I know you are all anxious to learn who your house champions will be, and you will find out soon. But first, I would like to introduce our judges."

Turning to the staff table, he said, "The first judge will be one of our own staff members. Professor Carlisle Macrae, our own Transfiguration professor! Although he is head of Ravenclaw house, I trust his impartiality completely and know he will judge fairly and accurately."

He nodded to Carlisle and waited for him to stand up.