Every time I keep saying that I'll only wait two weeks at the most before updating again and every time it ends up being longer. This whole lockdown thing is only contributing to my laziness even more. Anyways, here's another chapter that I pulled out so I hope you guys enjoy it.
Familiar Faces
Having underestimated just how busy Ursa would be with everything going on in her seventh year, she was still yet to see Hermione since the school year had begun. Ursa had caught a few glimpses of Hermione here and there, but they hadn't had a moment to themselves since the school year started. Ursa didn't spend too long thinking about when she'd see Hermione again, since the arrival of the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang was all Ursa could think about.
As the Hogwarts students sat in the Great Hall on the 30th of October while waiting for their visitors to arrive, Ursa couldn't help but think about the last time she had actually seen her cousins. They were the only extended family that Ursa had ever been able to see growing up, since her father had no other family while both of her aunts on her mothers side were out of the question. Her cousins were related to her through her Grandmother Druella, since her sister had married into the family and had a son before he had two daughters. Both her mother and grandmother had encouraged them to see each other when they were younger, but after her grandmother died, her father did not allow them to see each other. This would be Ursa's first time seeing them since she was nine, and she could not wait for that.
When the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students arrived, Ursa was waiting in the Great Hall as they made their grand entrance. Sure enough, at the front of the Beauxbatons students was a girl who Ursa instantly recognised. It was her cousin, Fleur. Everyone was instantly enchanted by Fleur, and Ursa could not blame them. After all, her cousins' Veela powers were quite hard to resist. Fleur was a half-Veela from her mother, since her father came from Ursa's side of the family.
"That's your cousin?" Roger asked from beside her.
"Yes," Ursa nodded excitedly.
"Ugh, she's a Veela," Tessa stuck out her tongue.
"What's wrong with Veela's?" Ursa asked.
"Nothing, it's just that everyone loves them because they're so beautiful and pretty and gorgeous. What about us normal girls without Veela qualities?" Tessa huffed.
"You said beautiful three times without even needing to," Ursa remarked.
"Whatever," Tessa muttered.
Once the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students made their entrance, they were given spaces at the tables to sit down. Ursa was thrilled when her cousin spotted her and took the nearest seat next to her.
"Ursa, my cousin! Oh how long it has been since we have seen each other!" Fleur exclaimed in French.
"Fleur, I have missed you so much. Where is Gabrielle? I thought she would be here with you," Ursa replied in French as well.
"Gabrielle will be arriving soon. Oh, I am just so excited to see you. And Draco! He is here too, is he not?" Fleur said.
"Yes, but he is in a different house than I am. We don't really talk much at school, either. So don't be surprised if he ignores you," Ursa stated.
Fleur laughed, "Cousin Draco was always quite difficult. Much like Lucius, yes?"
"Unfortunately," Ursa sighed.
When it came to her relationship with her cousins, Ursa had always been closer to them than Draco was. Ursa knew that Draco only tolerated them for their mothers sake, but she knew that Draco did not like them because their father didn't. Though Ursa supposed that another reason why they didn't get along was because of all the embarrassing tea parties they submitted Draco to despite his loathing of those activities.
"Will you be putting your name in the Goblet of Fire, Fleur?" Ursa asked once the Age Line had been drawn.
"Well, of course! I could not think of a better way to challenge myself than to be a Triwizard Champion. It would be simply spectacular, and such an honour to be considered worthy enough. And what about you, cousin? Are you entering? You are of age, are you not?" Fleur said.
Ursa nodded, "I am of age, but I am still considering it. I already have enough on my plate as Head Girl, so I am not quite sure if I can take on the challenge of being a champion."
"It would be incredible if both of us were entered, wouldn't it?" Fleur grinned.
"I think that it would cause quite the stir," Ursa remarked.
"So, are you two going to go back to speaking English any time soon?" Tessa interrupted them.
"My English accent is not quite that good," Fleur said with her thick accent. Ursa had almost forgotten what Fleur's English sounded like, since most of their conversations had always been in French once Ursa was fluent enough.
"I see that," Tessa grimaced.
"Well, Fleur, since you'll be spending your year here, would you like me to show you around?" Ursa offered.
"Of course! I could not think of anyone better to show me around this marvellous school. I have always wondered what Hogwarts would be like," Fleur replied.
That was how Ursa spent the rest of her afternoon. Fleur took in every bit of what Ursa had to say with such fascination. Their tour continued well into the night, with their final stop being the Hogwarts library.
"This is where I spend most of my time," Ursa said.
"I can see why. You always did like your books," Fleur commented. "Oh, cousin. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be here. Hogwarts is wonderful, yes, but I cannot deny that most of the reason why I wanted to come here was just so I could see you again. It has been far too long."
Ursa smiled softly, "I have missed you too, Fleur. The last time we saw each other, Gabrielle was just a baby. How is she now?"
Fleur lit up, "Oh, she is everything I ever wanted in a sister. I treasure her more than anything in the world. There is nothing that I would not do for my little sister."
"I feel the same way, about Draco, I mean. Though I am not quite sure that he would do the same for me," Ursa said.
"You are not close?" Fleur commented.
Ursa shook her head, "No, we are not. We have not been close for years. We were hardly even close to begin with, really, but now we are like strangers. I wish that we were closer."
"I could not even imagine not being close to Gabrielle. I love her more than anything in this world," Fleur gushed.
It was lovely how Fleur spoke of her sister with such love, and without any doubt about her feelings. Ursa almost envied Fleur because of that, because as much as she did want to love Draco, he certainly made it hard for her most of the time. They continued talking together until there was shuffling in the nearest row before whoever it was came to their row and Ursa saw that it was Hermione.
"Hermione! It is lovely to see you again!" Ursa grinned.
"Oh, hello, Ursa," Hermione acknowledged her before looking at Fleur. "Who is this?"
"This is my cousin, Fleur Delacour. She is here from Beauxbatons for the Triwizard Tournament," Ursa replied.
"Lovely to meet you. Cousin Ursa has mentioned you briefly," Fleur said, though Hermione seemed slightly put off by Fleur.
"Yes, well, now that I'm here, I have a lot to talk to you about, Ursa. Are you aware that House Elves are the muggle equivalent of slaves?" Hermione said.
"What?" Ursa remarked.
"They are! It is disgraceful the way that House Elves are treated. The food that we eat every day is the result of slavery and I will not stand for it! That is why I have started an organisation: Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Hermione explained.
Ursa laughed, "SPEW?"
"It's S.P.E.W., thank you very much," Hermione huffed. "I have been trying to recruit new members since the start of the year, but people do not seem to see anything wrong with the way that House Elves are treated! It is an injustice that I will not stand for!"
"Hermione, do you realise how ridiculous you sound?" Ursa asked.
Hermione's face fell, "You don't support it? I thought that you of all people would understand how unfairly House Elves are treated, especially after the way that your father treated Dobby."
"Yes, well, there is no denying that certain people could stand to treat their House Elves better, but starting a simple movement won't change the way that things have been for centuries, Hermione. I can understand how you would feel such a way, considering muggles history with slavery, but for the House Elves it is very different. Unlike muggle slaves, House Elves actually enjoy their work. It is what they are made to do. You can try and free the House Elves as much as you want, but they will not appreciate your actions. If anything, they would probably be offended by it," Ursa reasoned.
"But you admit that they deserve better treatment!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Maybe they do, but you can not possibly free all of the House Elves," Ursa stated.
"But I will try!" Hermione proclaimed before heading off.
"She seems… fiery?" Fleur commented once Hermione had left.
Ursa snorted, "You haven't even seen half of it."
"Though she did seem quite put off by me, as did your other female friend," Fleur said.
"Why? They've barely met you," Ursa wondered.
"Some people are quite distrusting of us Veela's, as they see us as temptresses trying to woo everyone. Other women are also jealous of us because they simply cannot compare to our natural beauty. That is a ridiculous notion, since we can hardly help our irresistible qualities," Fleur answered.
"Well, it is getting late so I guess I should get you to your sleeping quarters," Ursa stated.
"Of course. I am going to need all of the sleep I can get before the champions are revealed. I am already nervous with anticipation for that," Fleur said.
It was hard not to notice how excited Fleur was about the prospect of becoming a Triwizard champion. And although Ursa had contemplated being a champion, the more she thought about it, the more uncertain she was if that was what she wanted. Despite time running out for the students to enter their names in the Goblet of Fire, for the first time, Ursa was considering leaving something like that to the last minute.
~*•°•*~
In the end, Ursa did wind up throwing her name into the Goblet of Fire at the last minute. It had partially been a reckless decision, one that Ursa was completely questioning now as they waited for Dumbledore to reveal the champions. Did she really want to enter this tournament just to prove a point? Hadn't she proved enough already? Ursa supposed that the Goblet of Fire would be the judge of that.
"This is so exciting!" Tessa exclaimed beside her. "I wonder who the champions are going to be."
"I just hope that they're not anyone who would cause a stir," Ursa remarked.
"Like you?" Tessa commented.
"What do you mean?" Ursa asked.
Tessa rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on, Ursa. Surely you must know that you being the Hogwarts champion wouldn't be everyone's first choice."
"I suppose so," Ursa agreed, since she hadn't really thought of that. She had only thought about her opinion on the matter. Ursa hadn't even considered how people would react to a Malfoy being a champion, which probably wouldn't be that great.
It didn't take long for Dumbledore to enter the Great Hall before he once again explained the rules of the tournament and how the process would work. The time to announce the champions finally arrived, and everyone watched in awe as the flames in the Goblet of Fire changed colours before it produced a piece of paper that Dumbledore picked up to read aloud.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"
Applause erupted in the hall, with Ursa cheering especially loud for her cousin. Ursa knew that Fleur was a powerful witch, and that her Veela qualities would certainly come in handy. Though it was going to be a bit strange rooting for Fleur considering Ursa was almost obliged to root for the Hogwarts champion. It would be even stranger if Ursa was the Hogwarts champion. Another piece of paper then came out of the Goblet of Fire and landed in Dumbledore's hand.
"The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"
That announcement earned more of an applause than Fleur's announcement did, though Ursa figured that it was because Krum already had a fan base lined up. Ursa didn't follow much of Quidditch, but she knew that Krum was a world-famous superstar with more than enough support.
Finally, a third piece of paper came out from the Goblet of Fire and Ursa braced herself for the moment of truth. Any second now, Dumbledore would be announcing who the champion for Hogwarts would be, and Ursa was holding her breath for it. Was this really what she wanted? Could Ursa really do this? Ursa braced herself as Dumbledore caught the piece of paper and unfolded it before reading it aloud.
"The champion for Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory!"
Ursa let out a sigh of relief that she didn't even realise she had been holding in. The Hufflepuff table cheered loudly as Cedric got up, and Ursa had to admit that Cedric was certainly a worthy participant for Hogwarts. Ursa had only had a few conversations with Cedric in the past, but he seemed nice enough and she knew that he was a talented wizard. It was nice to see a deserving champion for Hogwarts, since Ursa knew that Cedric was humble enough for the Triwizard Tournament and that he would not be entering it for the wrong reasons. The Hufflepuffs also deserved someone in the spotlight since the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry always had everyone's attention while the Ravenclaws were celebrated for their intellect.
With the third champion having been announced, Ursa expected them all to be dismissed to their dormitories. However, that wasn't what happened as the Goblet of Fire once again changed colours before producing a fourth piece of paper, much to everyone's surprise and confusion. But what left everyone even more surprised and confused was the name that Dumbledore read from the paper.
"Harry Potter!"
Everyone's eyes instantly turned to where Harry Potter was sitting. He certainly looked stunned to hear his name called, and there was no denying the look of fear on his face. Ursa watched as Hermione forced Harry to get up and head to Dumbledore, who gave him the piece of paper and ushered him to the anti-chamber. There was no denying the dirty looks that Harry received as he left the Great Hall, with even a few people calling him out as a cheat.
If anyone had bothered to look at Harry Potter directly then they would have noticed how startled he was when his name was unexpectedly called. Ursa had no idea what was going on, but she was willing to bet that there was something sinister in the works. How else would that explain Harry Potters name coming out from the Goblet of Fire? Ursa had already expected this year to be unlike any other, but what just happened only reinforced that.
And so Ursa's cousins are finally revealed, though some of you had already guessed who they were. Her cousins were always going to be Fleur and Gabrielle, but I had originally written them as her direct cousins from Lucius. But then that would have been confusing, since Fleur gets her Veela abilities from her mothers side. So if you're still confused as to how they're exactly related, they're cousins through Ursa's Grandmother Druella, since her sister married into the Delacour family and then had one son, who is Fleur's father. I think that works better than having Fleur being directly related to Lucius. I realise that I already mentioned their relation to Ursa in the previous chapter, but I edited that so it was appropriate with this change but let me know if there are any inaccuracies in previous chapters.
Alright, now I'm gonna be honest and say that before writing this chapter, I was actually going to make Ursa the Hogwarts champion. Even as I was writing it, that's the direction I was going in. But then I got to the reveal part, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was best to just leave everything the way it was. I'm generally not a fan of OC characters who just take the spotlight away from the main characters, and having Ursa as the champion would be doing exactly that. It would almost be a disservice to Cedric's character, and even though I had worked him into the plot anyhow, it wouldn't have been as important as he was in canon. Besides, Ursa already has her Head Girl title so she doesn't need any more pressure on her.