The news of Barnaby's engagement hit Hogwarts with such force that most students forgot about the Goblet of Fire for several long hours, fervently discussing the matter with excitement.
The students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were intrigued by the reaction in the castle and began to ask who Barnaby was and why everyone was so thrilled.
"By Merlin's underpants!" Hagrid exclaimed in his hut, jumping out of his chair in a mix of excitement and nerves. "I'm going to be a grandfather!"
"Dad!" Barnaby shut his father's mouth, utterly embarrassed. "You've skipped a few steps! Tonks isn't pregnant yet!"
Apparently, his father had mistakenly assumed the marriage was due to a "happy accident," so Barnaby had to explain things clearly to avoid any major misunderstandings.
Did he really seem so incompetent, irresponsible, or ignorant as to make such a mistake?
"Oh…" Hagrid looked a bit deflated at the news that he wasn't going to be a grandfather just yet, but he shrewdly didn't miss the "yet" his son had said without noticing.
It seems things are progressing faster than he thought, and he wouldn't have to wait too long to hold his grandchild, a couple of years at most…
Naturally, he wasn't going to point out this slip-up, seeing the deep embarrassment on his son's face, so he pretended not to notice while changing the subject.
"And when were you planning on telling me?" he gently reproached. "I have so many things to prepare!"
"Dad, we haven't set a date or anything like that yet. We prefer to see if things calm down after what happened during the World Cup; then we'll talk," Barnaby explained, relieved at the change of subject. "Though I'd like to show you our house later; after all, you'll always be welcome there," he said with a smile.
He gave a general description of the house, but nothing beats seeing it in person.
"A barbecue area, that could be interesting," Hagrid suddenly felt that the hut he had lived in for so many years was very empty, even if old Fang stayed with him.
"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to retire and go live with them," Hagrid thought distractedly as he sat back down more calmly. "They'll need someone to take care of the baby," he reflected.
He completely forgot that Ted and Andromeda from Tonks' side were still available when that happened, as well as the existence of Sanshi, or maybe he was just looking for excuses, who knows?
"Fortunately, tomorrow the Goblet of Fire will choose the three champions, that should divert everyone's attention," although Barnaby was happy that so many people were giving them their blessings, it was also a bit overwhelming.
No matter where he went, the Hogwarts students enthusiastically congratulated him, and he could only be polite and smile.
"By the way, I heard you had a fight with some Beauxbatons girls?" Hagrid asked. "It's rare for you to fight with students, what did they do?"
Because to Hagrid, if his son started a fight, there was no doubt that the other side started it.
"Calling it a fight would be an exaggeration. Some of them were passing by Aunt Pomona's greenhouse, saw Lilimon taking care of the plants, and approached out of curiosity," Barnaby summarized as he recalled the events. "But they were too excited and didn't respect Lilimon's personal space, starting to tug on petals and leaves carelessly. I saw them and had to firmly stop them, as Lilimon was putting on the expression she does when she's considering whether or not to use her Flower Cannon on someone."
Truth be told, for a school that prides itself on superior French manners and education, it seemed most of their students had a stick up their backs.
"They didn't take my 'rude interruption' well, but I didn't care and escorted them out of the greenhouses," he concluded.
He already told Lilimon that next time it happens, she should fire without worrying, Poppy will make sure they recover without issues. It's not like her attack could reduce them to minced meat; Lilimon has good control over her strength and will just knock them out.
"Amateurs," Hagrid muttered upon hearing they had been rude to Lilimon. "Maybe you should tell Dumbledore so he can give a reminder after dinner; the students from those two schools aren't used to your creatures."
"I know, those Durmstrang students even tried to catch Alf to make themselves a new fur coat," Barnaby recalled, rubbing his forehead. "Now he won't even touch the cat food out of fear. I already told him not to go to the castle, but the temptation of cats was too much for him; it'll serve as a lesson."
Meanwhile, Hermione was wondering where Crookshanks had gone, as she hadn't seen her pet in two weeks…
"Oh, before I forget," Hagrid remembered, "The recipe for the Abraxans' food that Scamander sent is working wonders on them; they're much happier now."
"Of course they are! Only drinking malt whiskey, what a ridiculous idea…"
The next day, it was time for the selection of the champions, and the Goblet of Fire named those who would receive the honor of representing their schools.
Durmstrang: Viktor Krum!
Beauxbatons: Fleur Delacour!
Hogwarts: Cedric Diggory!
The now-named champions headed to the adjacent trophy room to await further details, but just when everyone thought it was over, the Goblet flared up and spat out a fourth piece of parchment with a name written on it.
"Harry Potter…
Barnaby was as confused as everyone else upon hearing about the existence of a FOURTH champion, one who couldn't back out, as the Goblet's magical contract had taken effect.
Karkaroff and Maxime were not happy with this turn of events, but after calming down and thinking for a moment, they realized something was wrong. Dumbledore clearly didn't expect, nor want, the not-so-young Potter to participate in something so dangerous.
Hell, they could see that even Harry didn't understand how his name ended up in there, as he never thought about entering, only being excited to watch. He had heard about the danger and knew his own abilities; wanting to enter an event of this magnitude was asking for a beating in front of three schools!
It would simply be humiliation or a tragic death!
Money? He still had a substantial inheritance in Gringotts.
Fame? He already had plenty of that.
That meant someone had tampered with the Goblet of Fire, and being such a powerful magical artifact, there were few people capable of something like that.
Barnaby, for his part, was annoyed because he had only prepared things for three champions and now had to change everything for four participants.
"Where will I find an appropriate dragon in such a short time?"