Harry looked enviously at Ivan, who was surrounded by girls.
Krum and Fleur enjoyed the same treatment at Hogwarts, where they were sought after by both boys and girls.
He was the only one who was not well liked. Other than the Gryffindor students, no one in the House approved of his status as a champion, and he was sick of the snide comments they made about him.
As Harry mocked himself, he saw a familiar girl walking towards him.
"Ginny? Did you come to see Yvonne for an autograph?" Harry asked curiously, but then he thought better of it.
Ginny did not reply. She was shaking, and it seemed to take all her courage to hand over her satchel.
Completely stunned, Harry pointed at the satchel and then at himself, his words faltering. "You want me to…to sign? On this?"
Ginny stared at Harry and nodded. It took her a while to say, "Yes."
Harry couldn't tell if he was nervous or excited, but he frantically searched his robes for a quill to give Ginny, but there was nothing in his pockets except gold Galleons and sweets.
"I'm…I'm sorry…I don't think I have a pen…Professor Moody taught us last period, and we don't usually bring books or pens," Harry explained awkwardly.
Ginny was stunned. She did not bring a pen with her, and even the request for Harry's autograph was a spur-of-the-moment thing. She only came over on the spur of the moment when she saw a girl asking for Ivan's autograph and Harry standing alone.
The young couple looked at each other awkwardly.
"No! Harry, here you go…" Ivan, who had just gotten rid of several sticky girls, soon noticed Harry's predicament and handed him his quill.
Harry thanked her gratefully and accepted the bag with relief, writing his name on Ginny's satchel.
However, his signature was not as good as Ivan's penmanship, which he had been practising.
However, Ginny didn't seem to care. She clutched the satchel with Harry's signature to her chest and ran off before Harry could say anything.
Harry had no time to stop her, as he had intended to ask Ginny for help in persuading Ron.
"How are you feeling?" Ivan asked suddenly.
"What?" Harry looked at Ivan strangely.
"Ginny, of course! Can't you see? She likes you!" Yvonne rolled her eyes, thinking that Harry was a little stunned. No wonder he was a champion and was alone at the ball.
In the second stage of the Goblet of Fire, Ron was placed in the lake as Harry's most prized possession, despite the fact that they had recently had a terrible argument.
"N-no way?" Harry stammered, stunned. Ginny was Ron's sister, and he had never considered this possibility.
Besides, he already had a crush on Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw girl, so even if Ginny did like him, he wouldn't respond.
Ivan read Harry's mind and shook his head.
Cho has always liked Cedric, and now that he's not in the Triwizard Tournament, he probably won't die, and Harry is clearly out of the running as the third player…
Harry, however, did not feel the same way, and continued to think about his dream goddess Cho, forgetting Ginny's kindness.
In the afternoon, during Potions class, Snape's habitual cynicism and public praise of Harry's ability to cheat his way past Dumbledore's age line far exceeded his expectations.
"It seems that our saviour of the wizarding world will have one more honour this year—the first champion to run by cheating. What do you think of that title, Potter?" Snape asked sarcastically.
Malfoy and the others turned to look at Harry and snickered.
Harry shook with anger, certain that Snape was the one who had thrown his name into the Goblet of Fire, and that he was the only one who would want to see him make a fool of himself!
Snape, enjoying Harry's angry expression, felt much better. The constant stream of bad news and the burning Dark Mark on his arm had been annoying him for days, and it was only then that he could relax and have some fun.
Snape cleared his throat and was about to say something else when the classroom door was pushed open.
Snape frowned unhappily, trying to see who had interrupted his fun, and turned to see Colin, a third year student, entering the room.
"I hope you understand that this is class time, Mr Creevey! You'd better have a good reason!" Snape stared coldly at Colin.
"Professor, Mr. Bagman wants the champions upstairs!" Colin managed to say despite the pressure of Snape's cold stare.
"There's still an hour before the end of the lesson, and when it's over, I'll send them!" Snape scowled with displeasure. He had only just become interested, and was not prepared to let Harry off the hook so easily.
"But Mr. Bagman said we should go now. The other champions are already there," Colin insisted, undeterred.
Snape stared fiercely at Colin for a long moment before he managed to utter, "Good!"
"Shall I ask you to step outside, then, Potter?" Snape's eyes snapped to Harry, speaking coldly, then glancing at Ivan. "Ah, and our true champion, Mr. Harles…I think Mr. Bagman may well be calling you alone…"
Snape's attempt to drive a wedge between them did not go as planned. Harry ignored him, packed his things and left the room.
Continuing in the classroom, Harry found it hard to imagine the vicious words that came out of Snape's mouth.
Ivan also looked at Colin and patted him on the shoulder, admiring his courage. Not everyone was brave enough to confront Snape directly.
"If you want to thank me, just take a picture with me later! I knew you'd be champions. Who else could it be?" Colin said happily, looking like a fanboy.
This time neither Ivan nor Harry refused to take a picture with Colin, fulfilling his little wish.
Colin was so excited that he said that his parents would be shocked if he took this photo home!