Chapter 11

"Wow! What a phenomenal start to the First Annual Academic Tournament!"

Cheers erupted from the hall and I awkwardly removed my arms from Viv and Scorpius' shoulders to clap along. Currently, all one hundred contestants were squished up on the stage, awaiting the results to be announced. How did we all fit up there?

Magic.

In all seriousness though, being blocked by a particular large teenage boy and having to practically hug the people standing next to you so you can actually fit on the stage isn't fun.

Especially because I sweat profusely when I get nervous.

And I am very, very nervous.

(Sorry Viv and Scorpius).

Scorpius, Viv and I all put our arms around each other once more, as Viv slung her other arm around Albus, and Rose rolled her eyes and put Scorpius' arm around hers after he stood there blushing and averting his eyes for a few painful seconds.

I grinned at that, before bringing my attention to Serafine.

"Well, without further ado, it is my great pleasure to welcome Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley to the stage, without whom this competition would not have been possible!"

More clapping.

Groaning, the ten of us Hogwarts students once more extracted our arms and gave a few round of applause, before squishing back in again.

I couldn't actually see Hermione (seriously, I know people can be tall, but is that guy's height even possible?!), but I assumed she was beaming from the tone of her voice as she congratulated us.

And then, the moment we had all been waiting for.

"This is all very exciting, I know. Before I announce the school's that will be going through to the next round, I will first announce the three highest scorers for the category. First, our very first subject of the day – History of Magic." Hermione said.

Viv gasped in excitement and Scorpius gave my shoulders an encouraging squeeze.

Me?

Well, I was just trying to focus on not throwing up.

"In third place, Ruby Ellis from Australia!"

The group next to us screamed and began congratulating a familiar blonde girl in their midst.

"Congratulations, Ruby! And now for second place. In second place, is... Clio Appleberry, from Hogwarts!"

Deafening cheers rose up from all around me as I was engulfed a humungous hug. I could hear Viv squealing in my ear and felt many hands patting me on the back. I couldn't stop smiling as the joy set in; I had come second.

Hell yeah.

As the group settled down somewhat with the encouragement of Mrs. Granger-Weasley, Albus poked his head around Viv's and gave me a dimpled grin.

"I knew you could do it." He told me.

I couldn't even think up a response to that; instead I simply grinned in elation at him.

"Okay, congratulations Clio! And finally, first place…The winner of the first round in the History of Magic segment, is Lucian Rioux from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!" Hermione announced, as the powder blue Beauxbatons group cheered in triumph.

I clapped along, but felt a weird twist in my gut as I looked at Lucian. And then, something strange happened.

He turned around and smirked at me.

…

Ex-squeeze me?!

I could only stand there in shock as he faced his friends and classmates once more, with a charming grin.

I developed a strange, twisting feeling in my gut as Mrs. Granger-Weasley called for quiet. Did he really just smirk at me after winning something? Was he that much of a prick that he felt an uncontrollable need to rub a win in an Academic Tournament in my face?

But as soon as the feeling came, it dissipated. Surely I was imagining things. I mean, for all I know that could have been a perfectly pleasant smile and I just misinterpreted it.

Or perhaps, unknowingly, I was jealous of his win.

Guilt began stirring in the pit of my stomach as I cursed myself for thinking so irrationally and jumping to unfounded conclusions. Shaking my head quickly, I tuned back in to Mrs. Granger – Weasley, who was now announcing the places for potions.

Third place went to a boy from the South African school, and I clapped enthusiastically.

As the clapping began to die down, I took Albus' hand in my own and gave in a quick squeeze. He looked around the back of Viv's head at me in confusion, though I could see how nervous he was. I smiled encouragingly, and he squeezed my hand back in appreciation, as we both tuned back in to Mrs. Granger-Weasley.

"Brilliant! And now, for second place. Second place goes to Albus Potter, from Hogwarts!"

This time, I joined in with the screams. Almost all of us tried to hug Albus, resulting in a very uncomfortable group hug, filled with laughter and squeals of delight.

"Fantastic, Albus!" Hermione said, and I could hear the pride in her voice. "And now, for first place." She said, as we attempted to untangle ourselves.

After we had resumed our previous positions, still grinning with our two second places, Mrs. Granger-Weasley continued with the awards.

"In first place is…Fabian Rioux from Beauxbatons!" She announced, as Beauxbatons once again burst into cheers.

Still reeling with guilt from my horrible assumptions before, I made sure to clap with more enthusiasm than I usually would.

The places continued. Hogwarts received one more second place in Charms, and four third places for Ancient Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts (Ramsbottom may be insufferable, but he sure knows his stuff), Arithmacy and Astronomy. And for Herbology?

First place.

When Mrs. Granger – Weasley announce that, we all burst into cheers so loud that my ears were still ringing from. Viv's still in shock.

"Fantastic job, everybody! You're all brilliant students, and as much as I hate to have to do this, unfortunately only five schools can go through. Before I announce who will and will not be going through, however, I'd just like to take a moment to thank you all for participating and making such a brilliant effort. You've made your schools, your countries, and me, very, very, proud. I think a round of applause is in order!"

We all clapped, though the nervous tension amongst the students on the stage was palpable.

"Thank you. Unfortunately, the following five schools will not be making it to the next round. I do hope, however, that you will all continue to inspire in your endeavors, and participate in the Tournament again. Thank you, to the Moscow School for Gifted Witches, the Brazilian School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salem Witches' Institute, Durmstrang Institute and the Beijing Wizardry College. You were all brilliant." She finished, with a sad tone in her voice that gave me the impression it wasn't her idea to eliminate schools from the Tournament.

Groans and sad murmurs arose from the schools, whilst sighs of relief and claps came from others who had made it through. As I felt a hand clap my back and turned to meet Albus and Viv's grins, I couldn't help but smile.

We'd made it.

I took a deep breath before rapping my knuckles on the door three times. Standing back, I nervously straightened my floral dress with one hand and clutched the bottle of Elderflower wine my mother had made me bring in the other like a lifeline. As I waited for the door to be opened, I looked around the neighbourhood of Godric's Hollow. Surprisingly, the Potter's did not own a mansion, but their house was not what you would exactly classify as small either. It was nice, and it was far too nice for me.

Just as I was contemplating whether I could leave before they noticed I was here and pretend to be ill, the door opened to reveal a grinning James Potter.

"Appleberry! Lovely to see you. Might I also congratulate you on your performance earlier on today? I especially loved the part where you stumbled over the question about my parents." He said, leaning against the doorframe, that insufferable grin still on his face.

I felt my cheeks hear up as I groaned in embarrassment.

He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder, guiding me inside. "Chin up, buttercup! It's all good – now come on in."

I followed him inside the hallway, my cheeks still flaming.

He gave me a small bow. "May I take your coat, Madam?"

"Er, you may?" I replied uncertainly, not yet sure if I was at the stage where I could joke around with him yet. Taking off my dark coat, I handed it to James who hung it up on the coat rack. He laughed as he saw my dress.

"Yellow, eh? Predictable."

I scoffed and pointedly looked at his red jumper. "Red, eh? Predictable." I replied huffily.

He raised an eyebrow at my small outburst. "Touché. Well, shall we?"

I followed James around the house, vaguely noticing the hundreds of pictures along the wall of the Potter family and friends. Suddenly, the hallway ended and opened into a large living room, filled with squishy armchairs with a roaring fireplace on the opposite wall. The two occupants turned to face us.

The one I recognised as Ginny Potter stood up, took one look at my bright red cheeks and turned to her son with a glare.

"James Sirius, what did you do?" She asked dangerously.

I saw James grin and lift his hands up in defense. "Nothing, mum! I swear. Well, I may have just complimented her on her question answering from earlier, but that's it."

I couldn't take it anymore.

Here comes the word vomit.

"About that, Mrs. Potter, I'm really, really sorry. It was so awkward and I would've answered the question without saying your names but I panicked and couldn't think and oh Merlin I'm so, so sorry, I completely understand if you don't want me to hang out with Albus anymore, oh Hufflepuff I probably just ruined both of your days, I'm so sorry-"

I was cut off by the laughter of the room's three occupants.

Mrs. Potter placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and grinned. "Clio, we don't hate you and we certainly don't want you to stop hanging out with Al."

"Plus, it added a bit of extra entertainment too."

I looked up at that voice, to be met with a pair of startlingly green eyes that had become very familiar to me. But I don't remember Albus having a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"I'm Harry Potter, Al's dad." He introduced, sticking out his hand.

Oh my Merlin. Calm down Clio. You can do this; it's just the Saviour of the Wizarding world, like, no big deal or anything.

Just act cool.

I shook Mr. Potter's hand. "Swell to meet you, Mr. Potter. I'm Clio. Appleberry. That my name – it's – my name is Clio Appleberry." I finished rather lamely, internally cursing myself.

'Swell'.

I literally just said 'swell'.

Merlin help me.

He smiled a bit, though I could see the confusion in his eyes. I feel you, Mr. Potter. I 'm confused about that train wreck of an introduction too.

"Er, it's swell to meet you too, Clio." He replied, looking bemused.

I grinned slightly in embarrassment, before turning to Mrs. Potter and greeting her properly, presenting her with the Elderflower wine.

"Thank you, Clio. This is lovely." She smiled, looking at the bottle, before turning to James who had been watching me make a fool out of myself in front of his parents with a smirk. "James, call down your brother and sister please."

That wiped the smirk right off his face.

"Why do I have to do it?" He asked incredulously.

Mrs. Potter raised a challenging eyebrow at her son. "Two words: firebolt-"

"Okay!" He squealed, darting his eyes towards me in panic. "Just, please, don't talk about that again." Sighing, he walked over to the staircase, sucked in a big breath of air and screeched out the names of his siblings.

Not going to lie, I jumped about three feet into the air.

As I subtly checked to see nobody saw that, two pairs of footsteps thundered down the stairs.

"James, what the fu- Clio!"

I looked up to see Albus walking towards me with a grin. I smiled in return.

"Hey! How are you?" I asked, despite having seen him less than five hours ago.

"Pretty good yeah, still basking in that second place glory." He replied with a crooked grin as I laughed.

I turned to Lily, who had been watching us carefully. "Hey, Lily," I greeted enthusiastically, if a little cautiously. I still hadn't forgotten the photo on the train.

"Hello Clio," She replied happily, with a glint in her eye that told me neither had she.

Excellent.

"This looks amazing, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." I complimented, looking at the dinner in front of me.

"Thanks so much for having us over." Viv added with a dimpled smile.

Mrs. Potter waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, it's nothing. Help yourselves!"

As we piled the delicious looking food onto our plates, I saw Viv swiftly engage a poor unsuspecting Mr. Potter in an intense conversation that was either about a) Herbology, b) Mr. Longbottom, or c) both.

Grinning, I turned to Albus next to me. "I can't believe G's on a date with Emma the Waitress! I'm so happy for her." I said, as I poured myself some pumpkin juice.

Albus nodded, but looked troubled at the same time.

"Everything okay?" I questioned, looking at him in concern.

"Er, yeah. It's just, well, I mean – what's going to happen when she goes back to Hogwarts?" He replied. "She's not going to be able to keep in touch. You can't exactly send an owl to a muggle waitress, and it's not like she'll wait around for a semester after one date."

"Albus!" I admonished quietly. "Don't be such a downer. If G's happy, then it's a good thing. And you never know – Emma the Waitress could be The One." I continued wisely.

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but do you have to keep calling her 'Emma the Waitress'? It's getting weird."

"I dunno, I think it's got a nice ring to it." I replied, shrugging. "It just rolls off the tongue, y'know?"

Before he could reply, Mrs. Potter cut in.

"So Clio, tell me about your family! Any siblings?" She asked, looking interested.

I beamed. "Yep! I've got three sisters – one who graduated Hogwarts a few years ago, while the other two are twins in fourth year."

"Wow! Are they Huffelpuff's too?"

I laughed. "No way. Maia's a Gryffindor through and through, meaning we were kind of surprised when she told us her girlfriend was a Slytherin. Though house prejudices shouldn't be barriers to relationships. Saule and Epona, on the other hand – those two just scream 'Ravenclaw'." I answered, fondly thinking of my sisters.

"'eah! They're the happy and horse obsessed ones, right?" James interjected with a mouth full of food.

I nodded and laughed as his mum chided him. "Yeah, that about sums them up."

Lily nodded, her red braids bouncing. "I quite like those two, though Epona can be a bit, er, frightening at times." She finished, with a sheepish look towards me.

Albus shuddered. "You're not wrong there," he added in a mutter, probably thinking of one of the many horse lectures Epona had forced him to listen to.

Conversation turned to more trivial matters for a while as we continued eating our dinner, before James steered it elsewhere through a question posed to Viv, Albus and I.

"Can I just ask, is the curly haired prick from earlier always such a curly haired prick?"

Albus sighed and shook his head. "You know James, you're 17. I think it's about time you stopped referring to yourself in the third person."

"Oh, snap!" Lily added, cackling.

James' brown eyes narrowed as he glared at his younger brother. Mr. Potter sighed and Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes, forcing Albus to apologise.

In an attempt to defuse the tension, I addressed James' original question.

"Er, do you mean Ramsbottom, James?" I asked.

He nodded and clicked his fingers. "Yeah! That's his name. Is he always so bloody insufferable?" He asked incredulously.

"Language, James. But er, yeah, is he?" Mr. Potter questioned as he grabbed a few more potatoes.

"Pretty much." I replied with a shrug.

Viv groaned. "I just really hope his ego won't get any worse. I mean, it was hard enough having to deal with him in the limited times we were forced to for this round, let along for the next two." She lamented in despair; taking on the tone of a woman who knows the end is coming.

"Want to know what I think?" Albus said seriously, looking at us.

"No, not really."

"Shut up, James. Anyway, I guarantee it's just going to get worse. Like, did you see that fight between Bobbie and Ramsbottom earlier on? I reckon that's only the beginning. It's just going to get worse from here on out, take my word for it." He finished, nodding his head sagely.

I frowned. "I hope not."

I heard someone clearing their throat, and turned to see James across the table flexing his arms with a wide grin.

"Well, if you guys ever need someone to sort out the tosser, you know who to call." He told us, finishing with a wink.

Lily scoffed loudly, causing six heads to swivel towards her.

"You? Sort someone out? You couldn't even sort yourself out last year on the firebolt-"

James squealed and slapped a hand over her mouth, with wide eyes.

Viv and I looked at each other in confusion, as the rest of the Potters burst into laughter.

What in the name of Merlin happened with James and the firebolt?

"Your coat, Madam." James said, presenting my coat to me with an extravagant flourish that would have been impressive, had it not caused my coat to fly out of his hands and fall to the floor.

"Er, thanks." I said, walking over and picking my coat up myself.

"Thank you so much for having us over." Viv said to Mr. and Mrs. Potter with a smile.

"Yeah, dinner was fantastic! Thank you." I added, pulling on my coat.

Mrs. Potter waved her hand. "Not a problem at all girls! You're welcome over any time you like. It's about time we finally met some of Al's friends."

"That's because Al's never had any friends." James said with a snide look towards his brother that quickly turned apologetic once he caught sight of his face. "Al, I didn't-"

"Stuff it, James." Albus murmured angrily, shoving his hands in his pockets as he avoided making eye contact with us. Viv shared a concerned look with me.

"It was lovely meeting you two." Mr. Potter said, shaking our hands and looking at his youngest son in concern.

"You too, Mr. Potter." We replied, before Mrs. Potter hugged both of us.

"I mean it, come over anytime you like."

"Thanks, Mrs. Potter."

"Well, see you at school next week!" Lily told us, quickly hugging both Viv and I.

After saying goodbye to James, Albus walked us both to the gate in front of his house. Viv caught my eye and looked at Albus, then back to me, her eyes bugging out.

Huh?

She continued looking frantically at the two of us, then giving me a meaningful expression.

Oh!

"Er, Albus." I interrupted the silence quietly. "About what James said-"

"Drop it, Clio." He murmured.

I sighed and nodded, before catching sight of his forlorn figure and squaring my shoulders.

"No. Albus, it doesn't matter, okay? All that matters is that you're our best friend now, and we're going to stick by you no matter what. Nothing will ever change that. Got it?" I told him, with a slightly threatening gleam in my eye.

Eh, as long as it got the message across.

He stared at Viv and I, before nodding.

Hufflepuff may be viewed as the stupid house, and we may be referred to as 'Dufferpuff' more than I'd like, but above all, we're loyal. And we always stick by our friends.

Until the end.

A/N: Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter – it belongs to the marvelous J.K. Rowling!

Okay.

It's been a month since I last updated…I'm so, so sorry! Half of it was continuous assignments from uni, and the other half was that I just couldn't seem to write this chapter! I was completely stuck, and I'm still not very happy with it now, I'm so sorry :(

On another note – 51 REVIEWS?! 23 FAVES?! 50 FOLLOWS!? That's amazing! Thank you all so much, I'm so happy you guys are all enjoying this story!

I just want to add as an extra note as well for the future – I know I'm absolutely terrible at sticking to a good updating schedule, but please know that I will not abandon this fic and will continue until it's finished :)

some review answers-

WhatsTheTimeMrWolf – you're definitely right, the beginning's always the best – you can just get it all out of the way first! And hahahaha yes omg that would be absolutely perfect for Epona!

JDTEA – thank you so much! We'll definitely see some more of the other history competitors very soon (and they're not all as nice as Toni!)

FaerieFlowers – wow, thank you so much! I'm so glad G's bisexuality helped! The reason I wrote her to be bisexual is that, like what you said, representation is just so poor at the moment. I think it's just so, so incredibly important to have people with a wide range of sexualities and diversity shown in literature and media! I am too, and you're not alone! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I'm so happy you're enjoying the story :)

Thank you to everybody for your lovely words and favs and follows! I'll try to be a bit better with my updating next time :) xx