warning: this chapter includes direct dialogue from the HP books and/or movie (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Fourth Book
October 30th, 1994
Sixth Year
Ara eyed the Goblet of Fire with a neutral expression as students of age put their names into the chalice.
The blonde leaned against a wall across from the Goblet. She was surrounded by a group of older Slytherins, they chatted amongst themselves about whom they believed would be a worthy contestant for the Triwizard Tournament.
Ara chose to tune out their posh voices and focus on the age line, which was drawn around the Goblet of Fire, instead.
It glowed a warm golden colour and did not touch the ground.
The line, drawn by Headmaster Dumbledore himself, was a measure put in place to stop anyone under the age of seventeen from stepping near the Goblet. From what Ara'd heard, it worked quite well, throwing underage students who got near a few feet back every time.
Thank Merlin.
The blonde was pulled back to reality when a burly looking boy blocked her view of the line as he walked away from it.
He'd stopped right in front of her, clearly wanting to strike up a conversation.
"Putting your life on the line Warrington, really?" Ara asked jokingly as she looked up at the boys face.
Cassius Warrington was in Ara's year, with an early birthday, clearly. He was bit dim and, from what she'd heard, could be very cruel. Although he'd never been anything but kind to Ara.
Adrian teased her by insisting it was only because he fancied her.
"Yeah, gotta give the Goblet a few worthy names to choose from," Cassius joked, Ara gave him a sweet smile and nodded.
She could hear the nervousness in his voice that he was so desperately trying to hide.
The boy clearly did not want to be picked.
"Well, good luck then, I suppose,"
Although Ara felt her tone made it very clear that she didn't want to talk, Cassius did not leave. He chose to blabber on about how he'd be an amazing contestant for the tournament.
Ara nodded along and actively had to force her eyes not to roll.
She stopped listening completely after a while.
A sudden roar of applause and shouts finally got Cassius to shut up. The burly boy looked over his shoulder and Ara bent to the side to look past him. They both wanted to see what the commotion was about.
Ara felt disappointment coarse through her body.
A group of older Hufflepuffs had pushed Cedric through the age line and were cheering for him as he put his name into the Goblet of Fire.
Cedric and Ara made eye contact when the Goblet's flames burst into a bright red colour upon accepting his name. Cedric gave her a small smile, but he could sense her disapproval.
Ara waved Cassius off and made a move to walk towards the Hufflepuff. Cedric did the same, waving his housemates off and making his way over to his Slytherin best friend.
"You've decided not to heed my warnings," Ara sighed, sounding nearly sad as she crossed her arms.
Cedric smiled at her.
"Unfortunately," He scrunched his nose teasingly and threw an arm around Ara, the blonde girl leaned into his side.
Cedric had no biological siblings of his own but, in his head, he liked to think he'd had a sister since First Year.
From the moment Ara had agreed to help him with his potions notes, and made some good-hearted fun of the high-and-mighty Gryffindors, the pair had been practically inseparable.
Cedric grew to feel a brother-like responsibility towards Ara. He wanted her to know he'd always be there for her, protecting her and he was.
He always was.
Ara, unliked Cedric, had Draco, and she loved her biological brother very much. But, she was his big sister, his protector. Draco was her responsibility; she was supposed to be a good influence and set an example for the boy. Which resulted in Ara always being on guard when it came to her brother, especially in recent years.
Being a big sister, especially in a family like hers, could be a mentally exhausting task.
And so, Ara saw Cedric as a brother that she could be honest and genuine with, a brother who she didn't have to put a fake-happy face on for and a brother who she could tell all her worries to without wondering if daddy dearest was going to find out.
The pair held very special places in each other's lives, more so then they would ever realized.
"Have you seen the twins lately?" Ara asked softly.
Cedric chuckled and shook his head.
"Not since they tried to convince me to put their names in the Goblet,"
Ara gasped. She pulled away from Cedric, wide-eyed.
"You said no, right?"
"Of course! You'd have my head otherwise!" Cedric exclaimed, Ara nodded.
"Bloody right, I would," She mumbled, Cedric laughed.
"I bet you're glad tonight is the last night for entries,"
"More than glad," Ara agreed, "-You know, you really had me thinking I'd won,"
Cedric laughed loudly.
The pair hadn't noticed the rapidly growing amount of Gryffindor's gathering in the room where the Goblet was held, or how the majority of their house members were slowly trickling away.
"Won?" Cedric asked, clearly amused.
"Yes, won, but I should've known better," Ara tsked, "-Waiting till the absolute last day to enter, you tricked me into believing that my advice had somehow gotten through that thick Hufflepuff skull of yours,"
"I did no such thing, and my skull is not thick!" Cedric and Ara laughed, "-It's average!"
"That is debat-"
Ara's teasing was cut off by the sound of loud cheering. She and Cedric, who were still embracing, quickly turned to see what the commotion was about.
Cedric let out a loud, amused, gasp, while Ara rolled her eyes and groaned.
The twins.
"What idiots," Ara mumbled softly, crossing her arms as she watched the two rowdy boys run around the room.
"Oh please, you love them," Cedric teased softly, Ara looked up at him and shook her head.
I really do.
"Well, we've done it," Cedric and Ara shared a look as they made their way over to the enthusiastic Gryffindors, "-Cooked it up just this morning,"
Fred noticed the pair from the corner of his eye and ignored the pang of jealously he felt upon seeing Cedric wrapped around Ara.
"It's not going to work," A nearly smug voice, belonging to Hermione Granger, captured both Cedric and Ara's attention, along with the twins.
Ara did not notice the look Fred gave her while he and George dropped down on either of side of Hermione.
"Oh, yeah?"
"And why is that Granger?"
"What's not going to work?" Cedric whispered into Ara's ear.
It seemed like the twins had decided to withhold whatever plan they'd cooked up from their two friends.
"Let's hear Granger explain, since we both seem to be out of the loop," Ara joked, her and Cedric giggled to one another.
Fred had stopped paying attention to whatever explanation Hermione was giving as he watched Ara and her best friend.
He couldn't help but wonder if they'd always been this cuddly.
"-So, Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something as pathetically dimwitted as an ageing potion!"
Fred, Ara, and Cedric both turned their attention to an exasperated Hermione. Ara couldn't help but giggle.
She's right.
"Find something amusing, Ar'?" Fred asked coldly, finally acknowledging her presence.
George, now aware of his friends presence too, looked up at Ara and the Hufflepuff by her side. He smiled at them, clearly giddy due to his latest plan.
Ara either hadn't sensed the pettiness in Fred's voice, or didn't care, because she smirked at him all the same.
"Just wondering if I should get a head start for Madam Pomfrey?" The blonde teased.
Hermione practically beamed upon realizing that Ara was agreeing with her.
"C'mon Ara, have faith in us!" George pleaded jokingly while standing up and stepping closer to the girl.
Ara pulled away from Cedric, which Fred couldn't help but be thankful for, and looked up at George with a smile.
"Georgie, I've learned that putting faith in you often results in a trip down to the infirmary," Ara teased, scrunching her nose at the boy.
George laughed loudly while Fred smiled and rolled his eyes.
It was true.
"Here's the thing though, both of you," George glanced back at Hermione, "-The reason it's so brilliant,"
"-Is because it's so pathetically dimwitted," Fred finished his brothers sentence with a smirk.
Ara and Hermione locked eyes and shook their head in agreement.
It's not going to work.
Ara leaned back towards Cedric and the boy threw his arm over her shoulder again.
"Ready Fred?"
"How hurt do you think they'll be, on a scale of one to ten?" Cedric asked quietly, Ara laughed while crossing her arms.
"Ready George?"
"A solid seven,"
"Bottoms up!"
Ara watched as the twins drank their respective aging potion, arms interlocked. She looked away when they attempted to jump past the age line, and was shocked to hear cheers.
Upon looking back at the pair, she nearly gasped.
It had worked.
Cedric, along with the crowd that had gathered to the watch the stunt, cheered for the two boys standing within the age circle, unscathed.
Fred and Ara locked eyes nearly immediately, and the boy smirked at her. Still slightly shocked, Ara shook her head while beginning to slowly clap as well.
They hadn't even needed my help for the potion.
Ara watched nearly sadly as the two boys proceeded to put their names into the Goblet.
Please don't pick either of them, please don't pick-
Much to everyone's shock, the Goblet's flames did not turn the normal red that they should've. Instead, the chalice erupted with strange, violent, blue sparks, that threw Fred and George back.
Ara gasped. She and Cedric quickly made their way towards the fallen twins, but they both stopped upon getting a good look at them.
Fred and George had beards.
And white hair.
And wrinkles.
Ara and Cedric's jaws hung open as they took in their friends aged appearances. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin duo locked eyes before beginning to laugh at the Gryffindors in front of them.
"You said-"
"You said-"
The brothers quickly began to bicker while wrestling around on the floor. Ara and Cedric, through their laughter, pushed past the crowd surrounding them.
"Hey! Enough," Ara's tone was not nearly as stern as it usually would've been.
She and Cedric bent down and attempted to pull the boys apart.
Thankfully, everyone's attention shifted away from the four Sixth Years rather quickly, not that they realized why, considering they were too preoccupied with their own affairs.
"Stop it," Ara managed to step between, the now standing, Fred and George as they attempted to slap each other upside the head.
The blonde couldn't help but giggle as she placed her hands on Fred's chest and pushed him away from his twin.
"You find this funny, do you?" Fred asked, forgetting about his brother upon realizing that Ara's nimble fingers were dancing across his chest and biceps as she guided away.
Will she be able to tell if I flex? More importantly, will she like it?
Ara tried to hold back a smile while looking up at the white-haired boy... man?
"A little," She whispered, Fred and the blonde chuckled at each other and then the former got an idea.
He wrapped his arms around the back of Ara's neck, similarly to a hug, and smiled down at her.
"What do you say about giving me a chance Ara, hm? I'm just your type now, old,"
Ara laughed loudly, not even noticing the way she was pressed against Fred's body as he teased her.
"I'm afraid it's a no from me, Freddie, perhaps in sixty years or so?" She played along for the sake of the joke; Fred raised an eyebrow.
"You want me even older? Sixty years plus this," Fred was referring to his current appearance, "-Will equal me, six feet under,"
Ara gasped and softly slapped Fred's chest.
"Don't say that, now, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey,"
"Lead the way, darling,"
Ara rolled her eyes, and much to Fred's disliking, pulled away from him. Grabbing both him and George by the wrist, she proceeded to pulled the pair towards the infirmary. Cedric followed them, absolutely dying of laughter.
"You two look like demented old-folks home patients!"
"This is much more exciting the Quidditch ever was," Nereza giggled to Ara during the Hallowe'en feast.
The names for the Triwizard Tournament were about to be pulled.
"Don't let Adrian hear you say that, he might have your head!"
The girls laughed loudly, forcing their male friend to turn his head towards them. Nereza and Ara waved Adrian off, he rolled his eyes and smiled softly.
"It's only true," Nereza whispered, Ara gave her a smile.
"Yeah, it's quite exciting to see who's worthy enough for a death sentence,"
The dark-skinned girl groaned and softly slapped her roommate's shoulder.
"Will you relax? It's not the dark-ages anymore. I'm sure- oh, it's starting!" Nereza nearly squealed.
Every head in the Great Hall turned towards Dumbledore and the Goblet of Fire.
Ara anxiously watched as the Goblet's flames turned bright red, just like how it had when accepting names. Without warning, the Goblet threw out a small piece of paper, which Dumbledore caught with ease.
"The champion from Durmstrang," Nereza and Ara shared a look, "-Will be Victor Krum!"
The hall erupted in applause, that even Ara joined in on as she watched the attractive Victor Krum waltz around the hall and then out of it.
"He's quite fit, isn't he?" Nereza whispered, Ara giggled, understanding what she meant.
Before she could say anything back, the Goblet turned bright red again and another paper was thrown out, Ara bit her lip as Dumbledore caught it.
"The champion from Beauxbatons, is Fleur Delacour,"
Ara and Nereza looked around the hall in an attempt to get a look at this champion.
"Merlin, she's cute," Adrian whispered rather loudly when Fleur stood up and bowed to the hall.
Nereza rolled her eyes and Ara chuckled.
"Relax, you were just fawning over Victor," The blonde mumbled.
"I was not fawning,"
Ara chose not to say anything back.
She glanced at Fleur, who was about to leave the same way Victor had. She was indeed cute, with big dark blue eyes, spotless skin, and long, sleek, practically silver, hair.
Ara subconsciously brought her hand up to her own hair, which still fell above her shoulders. She sometimes worried that it didn't look as nice as she thought it did.
Fred likes it, so it must look good, he'd tell me if it didn't.
"The Hogwarts champion is,"
Ara quickly forgot about her hair and snapped her head over to Dumbledore.
Not Cedric Diggory, not Cedric Diggory, not Cedric-
"-Cedric Diggory!"
All the air from Ara's lungs disappeared, she felt faint, and had to remind herself to breath. She stared at the Slytherin table, wide-eyed and at a loss for words, for what felt like a long time.
People cheered around her, but Ara couldn't bring herself to.
Slowly, she turned her head to get a glimpse of Cedric, who looked overly excited as people shook his hand and pat his back.
Without thinking, Ara's eyes searched for Fred in the midst of the celebrating, only to find him already giving her a comforting look.
"Relax, he'll be fine," She saw him mouth, Ara shook her head and Fred smiled gently.
"I feel sick," She mouthed back, to which Fred stifled a chuckle.
"Want me to come over?"
Before Ara could mouth back, yes please, the Hall's attention snapped over to the Goblet of Fire as it turned red again, nearly violently this time.
Ara's eyebrows scrunched together.
"Aren't there only supposed to be three champions?" Adrian and Nereza asked in unison.
Ara didn't bother answering as she attentively watched Dumbledore catch the name that had been thrown out.
"Harry Potter,"
not me forgetting to update two days ago... ANYWAYYYY sorry abt that folks, i will tryyy not to be so forgetful! on another note, i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! was fun for me to write, it does feel a little dull tho. i'm hoping the next few chapters are going to be a bit more exciting!
ALSOOOO, for the sake of the story, lets pretend i got the twins lines right in the name inserting scene
anyway, i am currently writing what i hope will be the last chapter for GOF (its a bit of a struggle because we all know what is coming). with that, do expect another update later this week because there are A LOT of GOF chapters (i'm currently cringing, but there are a whole SIXTEEN chapters written as of rn) and i want to get through this part of the story in a timely fashion. if any of you are interested in beta-ing some of these chapters/giving some constructive criticism on already posted chapters, because i am sort of self conscious about how they're written, it would be really appreciated!
alright folks, thank you SO much for reading this far, it means the world to me! i'll talk to you all later, goodbye! also, leave a review if you'd like, it always makes my day