"Oh, come on, Rose!" exclaimed Dominique, my cousin and best friend. We were walking down the halls towards the common room on the other side of the castle. I walked briskly, hugging my books as Dom practically ran to keep up.
"No! How many times do I have to tell everyone that?" I responded. Ever since the Goblet of Fire was opened up to the students seventeen and older, people, mainly Dom, had been bugging me to enter my name in the Triwizard Tournament.
"But you'd be perfect! You're witty, quick on your feet, and great under pressure. How cool would it be if you were the first female winner of the Triwizard Tournament?" Dom had been relentless trying to convince me to enter. She wouldn't let it drop. I didn't want to enter my name in the Goblet. People already paid extra attention to me because my dad was Ron Weasley. I didn't need, or want for that matter, any more attention. Besides, I didn't consider myself a very skilled witch.
As Dom continued to nag me, we came across my cousin, Albus Potter, walking the opposite way to the Slytherin common room. Dom grabbed him by the collar and yanked him over. "Al, don't you think Rose should enter the Triwizard Tournament?"
Albus put an annoyed look on his face. "Please don't bring me into this," he said.
"But it would be so cool!" Dom tried to convince me. I sighed in return.
"Oh, Rose, won't you just do it to get Dom off our backs?" Al pleaded. Dom looked at him with disgust.
"Alright, alright," I gave in, "I'll do it." Dom jumped up and down with excitement.
"Yes!" she squealed. "My cousin is going to be the Triwizard Champion!" Her grin reached from ear to ear.
"Yeah, right..." I trailed off.
"Let's go!" Dom said, pulling my arm. I was half-dragged all the way to the Great Hall. The group of kids who surrounded the Goblet almost constantly watched as I stuck my hand into my bag. Rummaging around a bit, I pulled out a spare piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink. I scrawled my name out.
"Rose... Weasley..." I said, writing "There." I showed Dominique the paper. The crowd of students cheered as I stepped forward.
"Yeah, way to go Rose!" Some of my classmates in the seventh year whooped. A group of stuck-up-looking Beauxbaton girls gave me dirty looks when I dropped my scrap of paper into the huge Goblet and turned around.
Walking away, I said, "Happy?" to Dom.
"Yes," she replied with a smile, "very."
The next day was when the names were chosen from the Goblet. A feast would be held in the Great Hall for all the Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang students. Headmaster Flitwick would announce the champions in front of everyone.
It was a chilly autumn day, the kind that's great for thinking. I spent all morning hanging around the castle on my own. I didn't really want to tell anyone that I put my name in the Goblet of Fire. Fame isn't scarce in the Weasley family, nor the Potters. Some people already stayed away from my family because of the attention we got. Not to mention that I was related to about half the school at the time. Everybody knew our names. And now, if my name was chosen from the Goblet, it would be me, rather than my family, in the spotlight.
I walked across the beautiful Hogwarts grounds. My original destination was Hagrid's hut, but I decided I wanted to spend the time before the feast alone. I strolled in the direction of the lake. I liked to sit there alone, and think. I kept my distance as I passed the Whomping Willow, and then I arrived at the lake.
I had always loved sitting by the lake. The still water and fresh air calmed my thoughts. My favorite spot to sit was in between two roots of an old oak on the lakefront. I discovered this perfect spot in my first year. It was the perfect nook. Then, it was rather roomy, but know it's the best place to curl up in with a book.
My favorite thing to do in my past time was read. I liked any literature, really, but my favorites were Muggle classics. Madam Susa, the librarian, always had books on hold for me. I could sit in my favorite spot for hours on end, reading whatever I had last picked up at the library.
Looking forward to curling up in my perfect nook, I rounded the huge tree trunk and
"Ahh!" I let out a little scream.
"O-Oh, I'm s-sorry!" A blonde-haired boy stuttered, standing up. He fumbled with his books as he tried to put them away. The boy dropped his schoolbag, and a roll of parchment unrolled right to my feet. I reached down to pick it up. Blood rushed to the boy's cheeks as I handed the parchment back to him.
The boy looked really familiar. "Hey, Scorpius, right?" I asked him.
The smallest trace of a smile flashed across his face. "Yeah," he responded, "I'm in Slytherin; we have Potions together." Scorpius and I were still crouched down picking up the contents of his spilled bag.
"Nice to meet you, Scorpius. My name is—"
"Rose." Scorpius finished. "Rose Weasley. I know who you are."
I sighed. "Of course you do." Only then did I look down at the object from Scorpius' bag in my hand. "Wuthering Heights? You're reading Wuthering Heights?" I asked him.
His face only turned redder as he replied, "It's one of my favorites. Have you read it?"
"Yeah, I have," I said in return, with a tone of surprise still eminent in my voice. "It's one of my favorites, too."
"I wanted to read The Outsiders again, but someone already checked it out of the library." Scorpius added, looking a bit uncomfortable.
This time I couldn't help but smile. "That would be me. I'm reading it now for the first time."
There was a pause of silence. Then Scorpius said, "Well, do you like it?"
Here, I laughed. "Yeah, I do like it."
"I, uh, came down here to read, and I thought this would be a nice place to sit," he explained, gesturing to my favorite spot. "Do you want to sit here?"
"Well, it is my perfect nook, but," I looked down at my watch, "it looks like there's only a half hour before the feast starts. I better head back to the castle."
"Of course," Scorpius replied, solemnly. "The feast. I should be getting back too." He slung his bag over his back, I shouldered mine, and we walked back to the castle in silence, going our separate ways once inside the doors.