A Nexus Devil

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Fred chuckled and nudged George. "Who knows, George? Maybe love really is in the air at Hogwarts."

Meanwhile, across the table, Hermione Granger watched the interaction with a mix of amusement and concern. She couldn't deny that Serafall was undeniably stunning, but she couldn't help but wonder about the girl's true intentions.

Hermione was always cautious when it came to new arrivals, especially those who seemed too good to be true. Even Jake himself had yet to fully earn her trust and now there was this new girl who came out of nowhere!

Sitting at the ravenclaw table, Luna couldn't help but smile to herself. Everything was playing out exactly as she'd foreseen and she couldn't be happier.

—

Having finished his meal and feeling proud of himself for scoring a hot date, Jake made his way back to the Gryffindor common room to retrieve his new familiar, Blaze.

Even though the magical bird was still a baby, it held great potential as his familiar, and Jake was eager to see what it could do. As he walked down the hallway lost in his thoughts, suddenly his vision was obstructed by a bright flash, followed by the unmistakable sound of a camera click.

"Oh, wow! You're Jake Gremory, the Hogwarts champion! It's great to meet you! Hey, do you mind if I get a picture?" a younger boy, a couple of years below Jake, rambled on excitedly. He was holding a camera, clearly the one responsible for Jake's temporary blindness.

"I think you're supposed to ask first before taking someone's photo, kid," Jake said with a slight grin, not really upset about it. "Anyway, besides the picture, did you need something?"

The boy, named Colin, introduced himself as a third-year student and explained that he was supposed to inform Jake about attending the Weighing of the Wands ceremony, an important event for the Triwizard Tournament.

"Lead the way I guess."

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Jake entered the room and saw Harry, Fleur, Victor, and two other students. He figured the new faces were probably the new Champions chosen to even out numbers since Hogwarts had two because of the busted goblet.

"Jake, you're the last one! Welcome, welcome! Now, let's get this ceremony started. It's important for you to see the weighing of the wands.

We have to ensure that all the Champions are competing on an even playing field. What's more, it's good to meet the press so that the magical community worldwide can get to know you a little better and make more informed bets," Ludo Bagman spoke up as Jake entered the room.

"People bet on this tournament?" Harry asked, surprised, while Fleur and Victor didn't look pleased with the revelation.

Ludo scoffed, "Why, of course! Betting is an integral part of the tournament. How else do you think we get all our funding? It brings a lot of money to our country." Ludo's pride as a degenerate gambler was shamelessly evident, despite his heavy debts.

Jake nodded along before turning to the two newest champions from their respective schools. "So, who might you two be?" He asked.

"I am Sergei," the well-built Bulgarian mage replied. "I look forward to defeating you all and proving that it should have been me as the champion." He declared proudly.

"I am Luis," the French boy said. "I am here to win the tournament and look fabulous while doing it," he added, his uniform shimmering with sparkles, catching Jake's immediate attention. Clearly, this guy liked to stand out…

A blonde woman with thick glasses and a fashionably questionable outfit entered the room. "Hello, everyone, and hello, Champions. I am Rita Skeeter, journalist for the Daily Prophet, and I'm here to interview each of our Champions before the first task.

Who would like to go first for their interview?" she questioned. "Oh, but before that, I almost forgot. We need to take a group picture with all the Champions for the front page."

The six Champions sighed in annoyance as they lined up for Rita to start taking picture after picture. Finally, after about 10 minutes of repeating the same shot,

she claimed to have captured the perfect one, or perhaps she was just tired of torturing them by dragging out such an unnecessary thing.

"Okay then, why don't we have the official Hogwarts champion, Jake Gremory, go first?" Rita asked in a sickeningly sweet tone. Jake knew this wasn't going to go well.

He had read the first article that the Daily Prophet had written about him after he was chosen as a champion, and it wasn't exactly flattering. If anything, it read like anti-American propaganda.

"Sure... okay," Jake said reluctantly as he followed Rita into another separate room.

They both sat down, and Rita pulled out a quill and notepad. "Okay then, Jake," Rita said, "let's get started. My first question is, being from an inferior magical country such as America, how do you feel you stack up against the superior combination of British and European wizards and witches?"

Jake sighed. One question in, and he already hated this. It was going to be a long interview...

Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was probably only 15 minutes of nauseating and demeaning questions, Jake made it back to the main room where the other Champions were waiting for their turn for interviews.

Harry looked up at Jake expectantly. "Hey, Jake, how did the interview go?"

Jake gave Harry a look that conveyed he had just witnessed all the world's evils, and Harry immediately understood. It did not go well. "Well, Harry, unfortunately, it's your turn.

Good luck," Jake said as he grabbed Harry by the shoulders and pushed him into the room where Rita was waiting for the next interview.

The other four champions watched Jake's shenanigans, shaking their heads.

"So, what's up with you guys? Did you all go through the Weighing of the Wands ceremony already?" Jake asked, curious.

"Indeed we did, young man. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Garrick Ollivander, the finest wandmaker on this side of the ocean," Garrick introduced himself proudly, though the other champions seemed unimpressed with his work and attitude.

"Anyway," Garrick continued, "I just need to check out your wand last, Jake, and then the Weighing of the Wands ceremony will be complete."

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