Disclaimer: I do not support Rowling's views. All Harry Potter characters and the Wizarding World, belong to her.
6 November 1994, 1:35 p.m.
Finished with classes for the day, Cassius and Thalia left the Great Hall for the Black Lake. Seated under a tree, Thalia put on Cassius's Slytherin robes, the sleeves pooling around her wrists. "You said it was nice outside," Thalia grumbled.
"It's 13 degrees! That's pretty nice for November," Cassius exclaimed.
"That's cold!"
Cassius chuckled. "Fine, come over here."
Thalia smiled. He wrapped his arms around her in a back hug, her back to his chest and his knees on either side of her own.
"Better?" asked Cassius.
She craned her head to look eye to eye with him. "Maybe."
Cassius leaned down and kissed Thalia's cheek. "How about now?"
"Hmmm, I'm still not sure." She grinned.
He left a feather of a kiss on her nose. "Now?"
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Have I mentioned that you're the worst?" She cupped her hand around his neck and pulled him to her, his lips finally meeting her own.
He smiled and deepened the kiss, her soft lips against his. Running a hand through her hair, Cassius pulled her head closer, he could get lost in the smell of her, lavender and peppermint.
Breathless, Thalia pulled away, resting her head against his chest. "Now was that so hard?"
"That's not the only thing that's hard," Cassius smirked.
Thalia slapped him on the shoulder. "Cas!"
"I'm just joking!"
"You've spoken with that one friend of Ophelia's too much," said Thalia.
Cassius laughed. "Who? All of them are rather obscene little monsters, they are."
"I think his name is Blaise?"
"Ah, he does love a good innuendo," Cassius said.
Thalia shook her head in disappointment, but she did enjoy getting to know both Cassius and Ophelia's friends. "How is she? I haven't had the chance to speak to her since the weekend."
"Ophy and her bets will be the end of her one day, I swear," said Cassius.
Thalia chuckled. "What is it now?"
"You probably have something similar at Beauxbatons. So there's this village about a twenty-minute walk from here, Hogsmeade. One weekend every month, third years and up can visit for shopping, and whatnot."
"Aw, that sounds nice. We have a three-week-long mid-semester break where we can go home, but otherwise, we're stuck at the palace until the term ends," said Thalia.
"I wouldn't mind having that instead. I've barely seen my parents in the past five years since I've started Hogwarts." Cassius frowned. Ophelia and Cassius were close with their parents, so the summer and winter holidays weren't sufficient for family time. "Anyway, the bet! Draco and Ophelia are convinced they can respectively go on a date with someone for Hogsmeade weekend. The first one to do so wins, then the winner creates a punishment for the loser."
"Why don't they just ask each other?"
Cassius loved when Thalia's blunt attitude came through. "That would make everything easier, wouldn't it? Has she talked to you about Draco?"
"How she's falling for him? Yeah, why do you think she's only started to like him now?"
"Well, I think one reason is that she doesn't want to lose him if it ends badly. Draco was Ophy's first real friend."
"If that's only one, then what's the main reason?" Thalia questioned.
"Growing up, our parents had expectations for her. Not even a week after she was born, she showed her first sign of magic. Our mother was rocking her to sleep, but our father was on the phone with his sister. The next thing they knew, Father couldn't make a sound. Mother asked him what was wrong, but then she wasn't able to speak either. They were both confused until Ophy began to giggle, then they connected the dots..." Cassius said.
Thalia gasped. "She used the Silencing Charm as a baby? But isn't that a—"
"An advanced spell? Yep, we don't learn it until our fifth year here at Hogwarts. Intentional wandless magic, non-verbal too. She doesn't know, of course, they never told her. Ophy thinks her first sign of magic was when she was two, she used the Mending Charm on her toy piano that she broke. Still impressive though, I didn't show a sign of magic until I was four. Yiayia gave me a terrible haircut and I grew my hair back."
Cassius sighed. He loved his sister. He would do anything for her, but it was undeniable how extremely talented she was compared to him.
Thalia shuffled out of their embrace so she could really look at him. She set a reassuring hand on his own. "Hey, you shouldn't feel the need to compare yourself to her. I know what it feels like to live in the shadow of your siblings. I have a lot of them." Thalia laughed. "Comparing your own achievements against theirs only makes matters worse."
The corner of Cassius's mouth twitched up into an upturn. "You're right, and I know you're right, but it's something that you can't help, you know? Our parents didn't force us to do too much growing up. Their main concern was just our primary school education and maybe a few etiquette or music lessons here and there. They wanted us to be happy and healthy, doing something that we love. But Ophy knew that deep down they wanted more for her. So she did everything. Ballet, jazz, and ballroom dance. Piano, violin, and singing lessons. Etiquette and prep classes. Flying lessons in her free time...Ophy loved it, but she was also in part doing it for our parents. It was like she had something to prove, not to them, but to herself. Draco and I were the only ones that saw her imperfections."
"I didn't know she felt that way. She's always so sure of herself," Thalia said.
Cassius laughed. "Oh, she is! Her confidence is genuine, but of course, we all have things we don't want everyone to know about."
"So what makes Draco different?"
What did make Draco different? One thing stood out in particular. "I'm not 100% sure, but I know that he gets her. Really gets her. Lately, even better than I do."
Suddenly, a flighty brunette approached them. It was Astoria Greengrass; she timidly beamed at Cassius with bright eyes. "Hi, Cassius!"
Cassius stifled a laugh. Ophelia told him that some younger students have developed a crush on him, but he didn't believe her until now. "Hey Astoria, how are you?"
The younger girl blushed. "Oh, I'm good! I'm supposed to take you to Mr. Bagman. Professor Dumbledore said that the champions are going to be interviewed and photographed."
Cassius reluctantly looked to Thalia. They have been waiting all week for alone time together.
"It's okay, we can meet afterward," Thalia said.
"You better keep your word." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Wait," Thalia took off Cassius's robes and handed it to him, "you can't forget this."
He gave her a peck. "Very true. Bye, Hallie darling," Cassius grinned.
"See you at dinner," she smiled.
Cassius pulled his robes back on and followed Astoria back towards the castle. He was expecting an interview eventually, but not so soon.
Didn't Ophelia say something about a wand weighing?
"Are you excited about the tournament?" Astoria asked.
"As excited as I can be," said Cassius. Which was true, he was excited. But with the uncertainty of the first task, he was unsure how to prepare.
I should probably do some research on past tournaments.
"Well, good luck, Cassius!" said Astoria when they had reached the right room.
"Astoria, can you do me a favor?" said Cassius.
"Of course!" she replied without hesitation.
"Can you go to the common room and ask if anyone has any wand polish; if they do, can you ask if I can borrow it? And if they do say yes, can you come back and bring it to me? I'd be very grateful," Cassius said.
"No problem! Somebody is bound to have some. I'll be back then," Astoria cheered and she skipped away.
It was considerably cruel of him to take advantage of Astoria's kindness. But he wasn't particularly in the mood to try casting Accio with the low chance of a wand polish finding his way to him.
He opened the door and entered the room. It was a small classroom; most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, except for three of them which were placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard. In an attempt to look nice, the three desks were covered with a long length of velvet. Five chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was talking to Rita Skeeter in the middle of the room.
Besides the two adults, there was a paunchy man, holding a large black camera a few feet away from Bagman and Skeeter. Viktor was the only other champion in the room. Cassius crossed to meet Viktor who was standing in the farthest corner from Bagman and Skeeter.
"Why are you all the way over here?" Cassius asked in a hushed tone.
"Because that blasted woman interviewed me and I don't want her to ask me any more questions," Viktor grumbled quietly.
He glanced back to Skeeter and noticed her eyes on them. "She does have a reputation. Did she ask you outlandish questions?"
"Yes, she only asked one question about the tournament. The rest about Quidditch or what kind of girls I like," Viktor whispered.
"Shit. Now I know what she's going to ask me then," Cassius said.
"They're coming over," Viktor mumbled.
Cassius turned around and faced Bagman and Skeeter with a broad smile. "Mr. Bagman, Ms. Skeeter! It's a pleasure to see you again, it's been too long."
"Yes, yes, wonderful to see you, Mr. Warrington! I spoke with your father the other day, he's quite excited for you," Bagman said.
"Are we just waiting for the other champions and the judges for the wand weighing ceremony?" Cassius asked with believable concern.
"Ah, of course, you would know exactly what to expect! Prepared just like your parents," Bagman chortled. "And as you can tell, there's going to be a photoshoot as well." Bagman gestured to the cameraman behind him.
"If you don't mind Ludo, I'm going to have a word with Cassius here for the piece that I'm writing on the tournament," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes not leaving Cassius.
Cassius took in Skeeter's appearance, her hair was set in its usual curls along with her jeweled spectacles; She had two-inch crimson nails and clutched her crocodile-skin handbag tightly.
"Certainly!" cried Bagman. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not, I was told that we would speak with someone about the tournament," said Cassius.
"Wonderful! Follow me then," said Rita Skeeter, and she was steering him out of the room, ushering him into a door nearby.
Isn't this a—
"We don't want to be in there with all that noise," she said. "Let's see. . . ah, yes, this is nice and cozy."
He looked around, it was a broom cupboard.
"Come along, dear—that's right," said Rita Skeeter, perching herself precariously upon an upturned bucket. She gestured to a cardboard box for Cassius to sit on, and closed the door, throwing them into darkness. "Let's see now..."
"Do you mind if I transfigure us with better seats?" Cassius asked.
"Oo! Please do," Skeeter said sweetly.
Cassius quietly cast two spells, changing her bucket and his cardboard box into two stools, then he took a seat.
"Ah, lovely, thank you." She unsnapped her crocodile-skin handbag and pulled out a handful of candles, which she lit with a wave of her wand and magicked into midair so that they could see what they were doing. "As usual, you won't mind if I use my Quick-Quotes Quill?"
"Absolutely, whatever is easier for you," said Cassius.
Rita Skeeter's smile widened. She reached into her bag once again and withdrew her signature acid-green quill, as well as a roll of parchment, which she stretched out between them on a crate. She placed the tip of her quill into her mouth and sucked on it for a moment. When she finally placed the tip of the quill to the parchment, it stood balanced on its point.
"Testing...my name is Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter."
The green quill had started to scribble, skidding across the parchment:
Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations—
"Lovely," said Rita Skeeter, yet again, and she ripped the top piece of parchment off, crumpled it up, and stuffed it into her handbag.
Lovely to hear it.
Now she leaned toward Cassius and said, "So, Cassius, what made you decide to enter the Triwizard Tournament?"
"Well, I'm quite competitive, and this was an opportunity that I couldn't miss," Cassius said with ease. Although that was partially true, in reality, it was because he didn't think he had an actual shot. Even though he only said a few words, the quill dashed across the parchment, creating an opening paragraph:
Son of Nicholas and Amara Warrington, Cassius Warrington is just as charming and enigmatic as his parents. The Warrington's, more recently well-known for their relation to the Japanese Hatakeyama clan, is a reputable family that has served Wizarding Britain, both diplomatically and politically. (Refer to 18 July 1994 Issue for more detail on the Warrington's, Annual International Confederation of Wizards' Conference by Rita Skeeter.) "It's an opportunity of a lifetime," he gushes, in regards to competing in the tournament.
"Now, how do you feel about the tasks ahead?" said Rita Skeeter. "Excited? Nervous?"
Thank you, Astoria.
"Nervous, but excited, I'm reading up on old tournaments to get a feeling for the tasks ahead," said Cassius.
"Champions have died in the past, haven't they?" said Rita Skeeter briskly. "Have you considered that at all?"
What did he and Ophelia speak about before he dropped his name into the Goblet? "I have considered the risks, and I'll tell you what I told my sister. I'm going to do everything in my power to try and not do anything that could get myself severely injured, or worse killed," Cassius said seriously.
The quill whizzed across the parchment between them.
"That's very admirable of you to say that to her. You're rather close to her sister, correct?" said Skeeter.
"Yes, our whole lives. Moving from Japan, we were hesitant to make friends because we thought our English wasn't good enough," Cassius replied.
Skeeter tittered. "Well you're quite eloquent, so you don't have to worry about that! Now, speaking of friends, I've heard through the grapevine that she is very good friends with a certain Malfoy, am I wrong?" said Skeeter, watching Cassius closely.
Nosy as ever, all she wants is gossip.
He smiled. "Yes, Ophelia and I are good friends with Draco. He was the first friend we made in Britain. But you already knew of our relations with the Malfoy's."
"Is it true that the Warrington's and the Malfoy's are planning to have her and Draco engaged when they finish Hogwarts? The readers would love to know if that's true, they are quite a hot topic amongst purebloods," Skeeter said, hungry for a headline.
"That is a question for our parents because I do not know," Cassius said.
Skeeter huffed, unsatisfied with Cassius's hard exterior. "You, on the other hand, are you seeing anyone? Because I've heard you made quite the commotion when Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived last week," she said with a smug smile on her face.
Forgive me, Hallie.
Cassius cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm currently dating a Beauxbatons student that is here for the Triwizard Tournament, seventh year, Thalia Galanis."
Cassius swore he saw a twinkle in Rita Skeeter's eyes.
"Oh my, well how did the two of you meet?" she asked.
"We met over the summer when my family and I were visiting Greece."
"Do you think her connection to you earned her a spot on the Beauxbatons delegation?" Skeeter pressed on.
Cassius greatly wanted to burst out of the damned cupboard and never speak with Rita Skeeter unless there were at least five other people in the room. "No, we kept our relationship private, only our family and close friends knew that we were together. Besides, she's a talented witch and one of the best in her year at Beauxbatons. She earned her spot on her merit alone."
"Furthermore, do you think your family has had an influence on your spot in the tournament?"
Make that 10 people. "Of course not. Professor Dumbledore, as well as Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, ensured that the champions selected for the Triwizard Tournament are chosen by the impartial judge, the Goblet of Fire. Ergo, the omnipresent object that the goblet is, chooses a student that it believes is the most suitable from the pool of applicants for each respective school."
"So do you think Harry Potter deserves his spot? Surely you think there are more qualified students," Skeeter added.
Shit, I walked into that one. What would Ophy say?
"I would argue that all of the Hogwarts students that entered were qualified. For instance, Angelina Johnson is a phenomenal Quidditch player, her athleticism is admirable, and she's amazing at Transfiguration. Cedric Diggory is one of the best Charms students in our year. I believe Harry Potter was chosen for a reason. He isn't the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing." Cassius laughed lightheartedly, however, he was internally relieved that he dodged a spell with that reply.
Although Skeeter was slightly irked by his airtight responses, she smiled at Cassius's supposed sincerity. What was she to expect from a Slytherin who can talk their way out of almost anything?
"Well, I think we're done here. It was lovely to speak with you, Cassius. Do give your parents, my regards," said Skeeter.
"Certainly. I know my mother would love it if you could cover our next New Year's Gala in December. My sister and I, unfortunately, won't be there, but there surely will be more interesting people to cover." Cassius grinned.
Skeeter's eyes glittered at the idea. If there was one thing that could satisfy Rita Skeeter, it was another story to cover.
Cassius gratefully exited the cupboard after Skeeter and entered the classroom once again. Bagman and the cameraman were gone, and only Viktor and Fleur occupied the room. The two were deep in conversation, to which Skeeter made a beeline toward the girl and swiftly grabbed her arm. "Come along, dear! I'd love to sit and talk with you."
Cassius mouthed good luck and Fleur's face twisted into a panicked look as she passed him out the door.
"You didn't warn her?" Cassius asked.
Viktor shrugged in indifference, but a small smile betrayed his lips. "I had to go in blind, so should she. You already knew that Skeeter woman."
Cassius smirked. "Fair play, Krum."
"We are all competitors, aren't we? If you don't mind, what did she ask you?" Viktor inquired.
"Her three favorite subjects: drama, gossip, and relationships," said Cassius. "She already knew about Thalia and me, so it was better to just admit it than have her say something on her own accord."
"Won't she twist what you say? Her quill wrote down different things compared to what I said," Viktor said.
Cassius smirked. "A benefit of being me. She won't stray too far from my words because she wouldn't want to upset my parents. They let her cover some of the events we host, so she gets more writing credits in the Prophet. Also, she had a bit of a crush on my father when they attended Hogwarts."
"Lucky, you then," muttered Viktor.
"You shouldn't complain, you feign innocence with this 'I can't speak English' act you have. People will disclose anything if you don't think you understand what they are saying," Cassius teased.
"I don't know vot you are talking about," Krum said with his thick Bulgarian accent.
"Haha, very funny. I must admire your dedication. I should've milked my 'inability' to speak English longer. I could've learned more secrets that way." Cassius frowned.
"Right, I almost forgot," said Viktor, his voice back to normal. Viktor handed him a medium-sized circle tin container. "A young Slytherin girl came while you were gone, said to give it to you whenever you get back."
"Wonderful!" Cassius exclaimed.
He walked over to the velvet donned desks and placed the tin down. Cassius removed the top, uncovering the wand polish. He released his wand from his arm holster, with a flick of his wrist. He had to admit, Ophelia was right about wand holsters, they were more convenient than he thought they would be.
Cassius swiped two fingers on the polish and began to carefully coat his wand with the polish.
"Are you actually polishing your wand right now?" Viktor asked, perplexed, now standing beside Cassius.
As Cassius continued to polish his wand, he replied, "Well, considering it's called the wand weighing ceremony, I think it would be wise to polish my wand, don't you think? And considering it is most likely going to be the best wandmaker in Britain who is going to be examining our wands, he would appreciate proper wand care."
The Clock Tower chimed two o'clock while Viktor eyed the tin with a thoughtful look.
"Would you like to polish your wand?" Cassius questioned, rather amused.
"Don't say it like that." Viktor groaned. "But yes."
Unfortunately for Cassius and Viktor, Fleur returned to the sight of them cleaning and polishing their wands.
They were startled by the sound of Fleur's lithe laugh. "I wish I had one of your sister's cameras to capture this image," said Fleur.
Ignoring her comment, "Do you need to polish your wand?" Cassius asked, holding up the tin for Fleur.
"Thanks, but I polished mine last night," said Fleur.
He shrugged, then pocketed the tin of wand polish and fastened his now polished wand back to its holster.
With great commotion, Bagman, Skeeter, and the cameraman reentered the room.
The three champions moved away from the desks and bound towards the far end of the room, so the adults couldn't hear them converse.
"That woman asked about Thalia," Fleur said.
Cassius winced. "Right, she found out about my reaction last week when you arrived. I thought it would be better to control the situation before she made it worse," he whispered.
"How did she find out?"
"Skeeter is extremely well connected," Cassius said. He began to awkwardly rub the back of his neck. "And I wouldn't be surprised if some Slytherins wrote home that I'm seeing someone," Cassius mumbled.
Fleur scoffed. "I know your father is Great Britain's delegate for the ICW but does that really call for that much attention?"
"Um, have you ever heard of Natsukashii Confectionery?" asked Cassius.
"The sweets company?" Fleur clarified.
"Oh! They're the ones who make Chocolate Frogs, Chocolate Cauldrons, and Sugar Quills, right?" said Viktor.
"Amongst other products, yes. What about Majime Equipment?" said Cassius.
"How can you not! They're one of the biggest Quidditch suppliers in the world," Viktor stated.
"This isn't where I think it's going, is it?" said Fleur, beginning to connect the dots.
"And Wabi-Sabi Goods?" said Cassius, a smirk playing on his lips.
"The fashion conglomerate?" Viktor asked.
"That specializes in dragon hide..." Fleur trailed off. "All of those companies are under—"
"Yuugen Holdings Co., owned by the Hatakeyama family," Viktor interrupted. "But what does this have to—wait, no way."
"You're a Hatakeyama," said Fleur.
Viktor furrowed his brows. "But your last name is Warrington?"
"My grandmother on my father's side married a Warrington. Surprisingly a love marriage; the family supported it regardless though. The Hatakeyama's acquired Warrington Dragon Hide a few weeks after the wedding," Cassius said.
"Putain," Fleur muttered.
"So you're rich rich," said Viktor, speechless.
"Yeah." Cassius shrugged. He and Ophelia didn't flaunt their wealth, but what was the use to pretend like it wasn't there at all? "We're kind of removed from the main family. However, since Yuugen Holdings has wanted to focus on expanding out west, the family has been keeping closer ties with us as of late."
"Does Thalia know? Because this is huge," said Fleur.
Cassius was glad that Thalia had a best friend that cared so deeply for her. "Ophelia told me that she informed Thalia over the summer. I didn't think about how important it was for Thalia to know. I was under the impression that she was a Muggle, so it was kind of hard to explain that I'm wealthy from companies that don't exist in the Muggle world. Ophelia knew that it was better for her to know what she was getting into, you know in case she wanted to back out while we were just starting to get to know each other. As you can tell, my sister is better at this kind of stuff compared to me." Cassius snorted. "That's probably why she's one of our great-great-grandfather's favorites."
Enthralled with their conversation, they didn't even notice the influx of people that entered the room, until Dumbledore approached them.
"I'm delighted to see that the three of you are getting to know each other, but I notice that we are still missing one champion," said Dumbledore.
Cassius glanced at the new arrivals, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman were now seated behind the velvet-covered desks. Stood far removed near a window, wand-maker Mr. Ollivander observed the outside scenery with a thoughtful expression. The only people missing were indeed Harry and a certain reporter. "I have a feeling Potter and Ms. Skeeter are in the broom cupboard outside of this classroom, Professor. I believe she's interviewing him for the article."
Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you, Cassius. Why don't you three take a seat, we will be starting shortly." He swiftly left the room.
They sat down in chairs near the door, waiting for Dumbledore and Harry to return.
"It seems like he likes you," Fleur whispered in French.
Cassius desperately tried to keep his laugh in. "Dumbledore? He acts like an old grandpa all the time. If anything he's only nice because he and my father are on good terms," he replied in hushed English so Viktor could understand half of the conversation.
Harry rushed through the door and quickly took the empty seat beside Cassius. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Harry's agitation, a usual emotion in the aftermath of a Skeeter interrogation. The reporter in question settled herself down in a corner; a smug smile on her face as she prepared her quill and parchment for the wand weighing.
"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" said Dumbledore, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."
"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room.
Fleur swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand.
"Hmm..." he said.
He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
"Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches...inflexible...rosewood...and containing...dear me—"
"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela," said Fleur, playing coy once again. "One of my grandmuzzer's."
Fleur was part Veela. He recalled Ophelia's theory about Fleur, noting that he should ask Fleur if she wouldn't mind speaking with Ophelia about Veelas.
"Yes," said Mr. Ollivander, "yes, I've never used Veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands. However, to each their own, and if this suits you..."
Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the length of the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps; then he muttered, "Orchideous!" A bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.
"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," said Mr. Ollivander, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand. "Mr. Warrington, you next."
Fleur sashayed back to her seat, raising an eyebrow at Cassius as he passed her.
"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" said Mr. Ollivander, with much more enthusiasm, as Cassius handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn...a rather kind unicorn actually. Didn't react after I plucked his tail. Twelve inches...cypress...quite flexible. Very interesting indeed," a solemn look passed Mr. Ollivander's face. "It's in excellent condition, do you treat it regularly?"
"Polished it earlier today," said Cassius.
Thank you, sis.
Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of blue flames from the tip of Cassius's wand and held the flame in his other hand with a satisfied smile. "Wonderful." The flame was extinguished and Mr. Ollivander handed the wand back to Cassius. "Mr. Krum, if you please."
With his back to the adults, Cassius wiggled his eyebrows to the other champions in amusement. In his opinion, the ceremony was quite dull.
Viktor got up and barreled toward Mr. Ollivander, as Cassius passed him. He thrust out his wand and stood scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.
"Hmm, you've all polished your wands it seems," said Mr. Ollivander, "this is a Gregorovitch creation unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I...however..."
Ollivander lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes. "Yes...hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Viktor.
"Hm," Viktor grunted in agreement.
Beside Cassius, Fleur let out a sound crossed between a laugh and a sneeze.
Mr. Ollivander ignored Fleur and continued, "Rather thicker than one usually sees...quite rigid...ten and a quarter inches...Avis!"
It was Cassius's turn to snicker. Thalia was right, he was around Ophelia's friends too much, childish innuendos were the only thing on his mind.
The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight.
"Good," said Mr. Ollivander, handing Viktor back his wand. "Which leaves...Mr. Potter."
In the corner of his eye, Cassius noticed Harry clean his wand with his robes until he got to his feet and walked past Viktor to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand.
"Aaaah, yes," said Mr. Ollivander, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."
Cassius straightened himself. Although Ollivander had his wondrous curiosity with each of their wands, the wandmaker's attention reached a new level of excitement as he spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Harry, "Perfect, indeed."
Unlike his analysis of his, Fleur's, or Viktor's wands, Cassius noticed that Ollivander didn't list Harry's wand properties.
"Thank you all," said Dumbledore, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now, or perhaps to your pre-dinner engagements—as lessons are about to end—"
The four champions got up to leave, but the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.
"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"
"Er—yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon Harry. "And then perhaps some individual shots."
"Why does she look at you like you're her prey?" Cassius whispered into Harry's ear.
Harry jumped up in surprise. "Oh! Um, Dumbledore interrupted our interview. She's probably raring to get more information out of me."
"Speaking of getting information out of you, why were you late? The three of us were here well before you."
Harry tilted his head. "I'm not sure. They probably forgot I was in class and had to check my class schedule."
All of a sudden, Harry bowed his head, avoiding eye contact.
Cassius cocked an eyebrow. "What's with the glum look, Potter?"
"Iaccidentallyhexedyoursister."
What?
He pursed his lips. "Potter, words."
Harry took a deep breath. "I, um—accidentally hexed your sister. Malfoy and I started fighting and the spells collided and then mine rebounded to your sister and Malfoy's hit Hermione and—"
"Harry."
With wide eyes, Harry glanced at him.
"Is she okay?"
Harry nodded his head in fervor. "She's healing in the Hospital Wing right now. Hermione said she'll probably be there until dinner."
He clasped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "If you want, we can go visit her after this."
"No, I—er, don't think that's a good idea," Harry stammered.
Cassius smirked. "It's a plan. Now let's go have our photos taken." He put his other hand on Harry's shoulder and guided him to the others.
The photographs took much longer than Cassius expected. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow wherever she stood, and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame; eventually, she had to sit while everyone else stood around her.
Despite his icy exterior, Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it an extra curl and constantly readjusted his robes between every take. For someone who was a breakout Quidditch star, Viktor was rather gawky when following directions on how to smile and pose.
The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur at the front, but Skeeter kept hurrying forward and dragging Harry, and unexpectedly Cassius, into greater prominence. Cassius ushered Fleur in front of him so she wouldn't be concealed in the back of the group.
Adding at least another 30 minutes to their time, Skeeter insisted on separate shots of all the champions. To Cassius, his individual photographs were vaguely reminiscent of those that he took when he was a child for his 10th birthday. Nearing 5:30, at last, they were free to go.
"Can you tell Thalia I'll be a little late to dinner? Harry and I are going to visit my sister at the Hospital Wing," Cassius said to Fleur in French.
Fleur's eyes widened. "D'accord?"
He turned to Harry. "Let's go!"
6 November 1994, 5:27 p.m.
Hospital Wing
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm famished," said Blaise.
"No one's holding you back, Zabini," Ophelia snickered.
"I dunno, your boiled face says otherwise," Blaise winked.
Ophelia felt her face. "Shut up, it's almost gone now." She pouted.
Theo laughed. "After all of these years, I never pegged you for the type to care for your looks. Especially with the way you complain about all of the parties and balls and events and—"
Daphne lightly hit Theo on the arm.
"Well, dear Theo, while I do feel that way sometimes, social events are my guilty pleasure. The drama, the clandestine meetings in empty corridors, the music...Ah, I need another party," said Ophelia.
The Clock Tower chimed 5:30.
"Bye Lia! See you later!" Blaise rushed out of the Hospital Wing.
Theo and Daphne began to follow after him. "Oh, Snape also said you can make up your antidote tomorrow night," said Daphne. "We'll save you a seat, Draco."
When Theo and Daphne left, he finally looked at Ophelia since he entered the Hospital Wing.
"And why are you so quiet? You haven't been this speechless since we were in trouble for taking an Abraxan to go and visit Severus when we were nine," Ophelia said with a playful demeanor.
Draco shifted in his seat. He wasn't sure what to say.
I'm sorry that you're here, I like you, and I want to call off this bet? Ha, yeah right. Start with sorry. That's a good place to start.
"Ophelia, I'm sor—"
Before Draco could get out the rest of the word, the sound of Cassius's voice drifted through the Hospital Wing doors.
"Come on, Potter! We're already here."
Draco and Ophelia stared at each other in confusion.
"What the fuck?" Draco whispered.
"I don't know!"
Draco stumbled out of the chair and hopped onto the other bed beside Ophelia's.
"Dra, what are you—"
"Sh! I'm not here." He pulled the curtains around his bed just in time to the sound of footsteps echoing within the Hospital Wing.
"Hello, sister dearest. I come with an acquaintance," said Cassius.
Draco opened the curtain just enough to see a sliver of Cassius's face. Potter, on the other hand, was on the opposite side of Ophelia's bed, his back visible in Draco's view. Cassius must have noticed the slight movement behind Potter because he quickly locked gazes with Draco and winked.
Damn, he probably noticed my stupid hair. Thanks, father for passing the wonderful Malfoy highlighter hair genes.
"Harry here told me about his and Draco's duel. I guess it was more of a failed duel. How are you holding up?" Cassius inquired.
She laughed. Draco hated that Potter was here to hear her laugh like that. Her laugh was full-hearted, one that she only released around people she cared about.
"Just a Furnunculus Curse. Granger got the short end of the stick. Do you remember that Danseugo spell?" Ophelia said.
Cassius gasped. "No. The one you used on Draco when you were younger?"
"The one and only," said Ophelia.
"Nice one, Dra. He's been wanting to use that one...sorry, Harry. Shouldn't have said that," Cassius said.
Since when were they on a first-name basis? Don't be nice to him, Cas.
Cassius focused on Draco once again, cocking an eyebrow.
Draco felt a dull throb in his head. He rolled his eyes but lowered his novice defenses anyway.
Cassius's voice echoed within Draco's mind. "These advanced Legilimency lessons with Severus are awful, but this, this is cool."
Draco quietly scoffed, of course, he would think probing another person's mind would be cool. "What would he think of you abusing his lessons to communicate with each other like this?"
Cassius's eyes shifted from Ophelia then back to Draco. "Ugh, Lia can tell that we're talking. We shall continue this another time. Jealousy isn't a good look on you, Dra."
Draco grimaced. He wasn't sure if Cassius knew his feelings for Ophelia, but it turns out that practically everyone knew. Except for the one person that he really wanted to know.
"—tired of all the looks and whispering from everyone this past week. Malfoy's stupid badge thing set me off. Thank you for trying to warn me, it was, um nice," Potter said, he caught the last part of the Gryffindor's endless monologue.
Did she tell him about the badges?
"Of course. It's like what I said in the letter, you deserved to know. The badges were an insult, I would be kind of angry as well," said Ophelia.
"I told them not to make the badges, but they did it anyway. Can't help our house animosity, can we?" said Cassius. "Well, I'm starving. See you around, Harry! See you later, sis."
"Cas—" Ophelia said.
Cassius gave her a pointed look.
Definitely using Legilimency again.
Suddenly Ophelia furiously began to talk in Japanese. Over the years, Ophelia only defaulted to her first language when she was feeling particularly emotional.
He was only able to pick up certain words like 'don't leave,' and 'why.'
Likewise, Cassius replied in Japanese in a cheeky tone. Unfortunately, Draco didn't recognize what Cassius said, most likely so Draco couldn't decipher from the context clues.
"Ni-san!" Ophelia called.
His eyes widened. Ophelia hardly addressed Cassius with honorifics unless she was deeply agitated with something that he did. From the lack of a reply, Draco assumed that Cassius had already left.
"Woah, I didn't know you could speak multiple languages. Was that Japanese?" Potter asked.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that."
"There's nothing to be sorry about! That was pretty cool, I've never heard Japanese before," said Potter.
Idiot Potter probably knows only one language.
"You should head to dinner too. I'm not holding you hostage." Ophelia laughed.
"Actually, um, before I go, I wanted to apologize for hexing you. You missed class because of me...If it makes you feel better, Snape gave me and Malfoy nasty looks all class. Well, mostly me," Potter said.
Ophelia chuckled. "It actually did make me feel better."
"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Ryuji, gomen," Ophelia muttered.
Sorry? Why is she saying sorry?
"I know you hate when I do this, but I truly am sorry Draco. I want you to know this," Ophelia's voice penetrated into his mind. Unlike Cassius's attempt at Legilimency, Ophelia's was seamless and she didn't even need to make eye contact. Like she didn't even have to make an effort at all.
"What was that?" Potter said.
"I was saying, 'Really? Then go to Hogsmeade with me.' The next trip is in a fortnight. A butterbeer and a cauldron cake or two, then we can call it even," said Ophelia.
Oh.
Potter made a choked sound and Draco could imagine his eyes bugging out of their sockets.
"I—um, you...me...Hogsmeade?"
"Yeah, it's a date then."
Draco could hear the smile in Ophelia's voice. That smile made his heart melt into a million pieces nowadays.
A smile he couldn't see.
He desperately wanted to open the curtains and stop her. Stop this whole stupid bet and ask her on a date. Confess his feelings.
"Er—" said Potter.
"I'll owl you more details closer to the day," Ophelia interjected.
"Do you use your owl to talk with everyone instead of actually talking to them?" Potter asked.
"Only the ones I can't be seen talking to in public. Yet," said Ophelia. "You should head to dinner, Harry. Weaselbee and Granger are probably going to start a search party if you're late."
"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry, again," said Potter.
"And that's what Hogsmeade is for," Ophelia said brightly.
"Bye, Ophelia."
Draco waited until the sound of Potter's footsteps were no longer audible until he spoke. "I didn't know Cassius and you were on a first-name basis with Potter," said Draco.
He wrenched open the curtains and his eyes finally landed on her. A wave of emotions hit him. The last of the boils were gone and her skin was clear once again. But that wasn't what made him falter. There was a trace of sadness on Ophelia's face. But why?
"What's wrong?" Draco questioned, closing the distance between them, settling beside her bed once again.
Ophelia slipped off of the bed and pulled her shoes back on. Subconsciously, Draco snickered. Ophelia loved to badger them on how unsanitary having shoes on a bed is.
"It's nothing, Dra. Just hungry. Being alone with nothing to do really makes you acutely aware of your stomach and how hungry you can get," she said, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey!"
Madam Pomfrey peeked her head out of her office door. "Of course, Warrington. I better not be seeing you anytime soon."
"Hopefully not, Madam Pomfrey," said Ophelia. "Ready to go?"
The corner of his mouth turned up into a half-grin. "Whenever you are."
A few feet outside of the Hospital Wing, Draco stopped. Realizing that he was no longer in step beside her, Ophelia turned around curiously.
Should he tell her how he felt? It used to be easy to hide his feelings. Yet every single day it has gotten harder like he was falling at an exponential rate.
No.
"I never got to say that I was sorry. Am sorry," said Draco.
Ophelia paced forward and leaned into his face. He drew his head back in surprise. At times like this, he wasn't sure what went on in her mind. Even when he thought he knew everything about her. Nearly ten and a half years later and there was still something new that Draco wanted to learn about her.
She broke into a smile, that smile that he loved so much. It reached the corner of her eyes, and it made him feel like everything in the world would be alright as long as they were together. "I accept your apology. You did get interrupted earlier, but I know you feel terrible. Just don't do stupid shit like that! There are only a few things that you can do to make me actually dislike you, Dra."
"Like what?"
Ophelia began to walk backward from him, that smile still gracing her face. "Let's hope you never have to find out."
She spun on her heel and proceeded onward to the Great Hall.
"Lia, you can't—you can't just say that and walk away!" he said while jogging after her.
"Well, it's true! What about this, I'll tell you if you ever do something to break my little heart," she said in jest.
Draco wasn't a person for wishes, but he hoped that day would never come.
A/N: Happy November! Wow, I wasn't expecting this to be a long one, so surprise! I hope y'all had a fun Halloween if you celebrate it (even though these well-wishes are over a week late). Again, I'm so sorry that these have been slow updates. With school and everything, I've been so busy! Hopefully, with Thanksgiving coming up soon, I'll be able to get an update or two!
Also, I'd love to hear what y'all have been thinking about the extended Ophelia and Warrington/Hatakeyama family info that has been revealed in this chapter! I have plans with expanding the scope of this little addition I've created within canon. How can one family change the course of everyone's lives?
Next chapter: The date! And of course, drama must ensue (the highs and lows of secondary school dating hehe)
Contains content from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Chapter 18: They Weighing of the Wands