Disclaimer: I do not support Rowling's views. All Harry Potter characters and the Wizarding World, belong to her.
A/N: Hello! Happy New Year and happy holidays! I hope 2022 is great for all of us. And now onto this new chapter (I'm so sorry this is late, but it's extra-long because y'all deserve it)
21 November 1994
Draco barrelled into the sixth-year boys' dorm without knocking, alarming the occupants of the room.
"Draco, what the hell?" Adrian exclaimed, meeting him at the door.
"Sobriety potion," Draco croaked out.
Graham shot out of his bed to search for the potion in their bathroom.
Adrian guided Draco into their dorm and settled him onto Cassius's bed.
A loud knock on the door stirred an unsettling feeling in Draco's stomach. He hunched over holding his head in his hands. "It's probably Blaise and Theo," he groaned.
Draco didn't look up to see who was at the door, but he could definitely hear who it was.
"What the fuck did you do?"
He lifted his head to find a seething Cassius flanked by Blaise and Theo.
Draco winced at the look on Cassius's face. He had never seen him that angry in the ten years that they had known each other.
"These two came to get me from the library because you know, I have a deadly tournament to prepare for, and they take me to see my crying sister who doesn't cry. So I'm going to repeat myself one more time, what the fuck did you do, Draco?"
Graham returned from the bathroom and handed Draco the potion. He unstoppered the vial and downed it. The fog in his mind cleared almost instantaneously as he felt the potion burn down his throat, and the tears that wouldn't fall earlier now flowed out in a constant stream.
"Cas, I fucked up. Really fucked up," Draco murmured.
"Really? I wouldn't have noticed," Cassius retorted.
"Cas-" Graham chided.
Cassius glared at Graham, raising a hand to stop him from continuing. "No. Okay, I never stopped Draco from liking her because I knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Now he's gone and done the one thing I didn't think he could do!"
Draco ran his hands through his hair. "I know, Cassius. I know I hurt her but I don't understand why…she doesn't even like me."
Everyone in the room was rendered speechless by his words.
"What?" Draco asked, his tears running dry and all that remained was a hollow feeling in his heart.
"You're an idiot," Adrian said bluntly.
"Adrian!" Miles warned.
Adrian shrugged. "Someone has to say it," he gestured to Cassius, Blaise, and Theo, "and they were never going to admit it because they're too close to both parties involved. I'm not." Adrian paced across the room and confronted Draco. "Lia has liked you. She's liked you longer than she's realized. So whatever you've done must have been bad enough to make her cry because we've never seen that girl cry throughout the time that we've known her."
No. That can't be true.
But all of the evidence lined up. Her reaction wasn't one of a best friend finding out a secret that the other was hiding. But of a girl, heartbroken.
Plain and simple.
The tears that he thought were dry began to prick in the corners of his eyes once again. He looked up at Cassius towering above him and the expression he had only cemented Adrian's words.
"I guess I'm the last to know then. She saw that I liked her," Draco choked out.
Cassius's anger subsided into disbelief. "She did?"
He nodded his head in shame.
"What do you mean she saw?" Theo asked, breaking the silence.
Cassius looked at Theo, and Draco could tell he was debating whether he should tell them or not. Catching Cassius's attention, Draco shook his head, silently telling him not to do it. It wasn't their secret to tell, but Ophelia.
Cassius took out his wand and pointed it at the closed door. "Muffliato." Cassius turned back to the boys in the room. "I'm sorry, but I can't say. If Lia wants to tell you, she will if you ask."
Shifting his eyes onto him, Draco braced himself for Cassius's next words. "Why? Why did you do it, Draco?"
22 November 1994
12:45 a.m.
Ophelia softly closed the door to her dorm behind her and made her way up to the common room.
On the couch, Cassius was waiting for her, wearing a Japanese National Quidditch team jumper and pyjama pants.
"Nice jumper," he whispered.
She glanced down, she was wearing the same sweater too.
Ophelia gave him a tired smile.
He cast a disillusionment charm on both of them, then slung an arm over her shoulder. "Come on."
They both snuck out of the common room and carefully walked through the dungeons and up to the entrance hall.
Crossing the entrance hall from the dungeon entrance to the kitchen corridor, Ophelia tripped and stumbled before she found her footing once again.
"You okay?" Cassius asked.
She looked around, the entrance hall was empty, but she could've sworn that she brushed someone's shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Stopping in front of a large portrait of a fruit bowl, Cassius tickled the green pear. The pear giggled and gave way, becoming a green door handle. Cassius pulled the door open and ushered Ophelia inside before following behind her.
"Miss Ophelia! Mister Cassius!"
Ophelia smiled and crouched down to be eye to eye with the approaching elf. "Hello, Dobby." She looked closer and noticed the elf was wearing a tea cosy for a hat, adorned with bright badges, amongst other eclectic fashion choices. It had been two years since they had last seen Dobby, She stifled a laugh, remembering how livid Lucius was at losing a house-elf to the likes of Harry Potter's meddling. "Dobby, what are you doing here?"
Dobby beamed at her and readjusted the tea cosy. "Dobby came to see Professor Dumbledore, Miss. You see, Miss, after Dobby was freed, Dobby has been trying to find work!" He took hold of her and Cassius's hands and pulled them further into the kitchen, and gently forced them to sit at a table.
"You could've come to us, Dobby. We would've gladly hired you," Cassius said.
Teary-eyed, Dobby looked between Ophelia and Cassius. "Thank you, sir. But Dobby wanted to be independent…Dobby likes being free!"
Ophelia patted Dobby on the head. "And you should be." She always found it interesting that of all the house-elves she had encountered throughout her life, Dobby was the only one to have the urge to have freedom. Curious, she noted to herself to research more on house-elves whenever she had time. "So, Dumbledore hired you then?"
"Yes, three days agos! Professor Dumbledore says he will pay Dobby, Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!" Dobby scurried around the kitchen, preparing tea for Ophelia and Cassius. "Dobby is sorry tea is taking long, it's late so the house-elves are cleaning right now!"
"That's fine, Dobby. We can summon Goldey," said Cassius.
A crack went off, the Warrington house-elf appearing in front of them. "Mister Cassius, Miss Ophelia," but Goldey stopped short when she looked at Ophelia.
A loud pop went off and Goldey disappeared, then reappeared a minute later. She offered a medium square tin to Ophelia.
Confused, Ophelia opened the container to find gingerbread cookies inside. She grinned at the happy gingerbread men looking up at her. But her smile slowly dissipated as she remembered the last time she had gingerbread. It was with Draco last Christmas.
Her puffy eyes were most likely a dead giveaway to Goldey, who was always able to see through Ophelia's act. "Thank you, Goldey."
Dobby placed a large tray with a teapot, cups, a small milk jug, and a container of sugar.
Ophelia noticed Goldey stare down at Dobby before she snapped her finger, a jar of honey appearing in her hand. Even though he had served Ophelia and Cassius many times in the past whenever they visited Draco, he always forgot something. Goldey set down the jar beside Ophelia, then pulled Dobby away so Cassius and Ophelia could talk.
"She always did like you more," Cassius said as he fixed the two of them tea.
Ophelia shrugged, chewing on a cookie. "Because I always help her in the kitchen when we're at home."
"Hey! I help," Cassius argued, "well, sometimes."
Ophelia offered him a cookie in exchange for her tea. Cassius gladly accepted it after sliding her cup across the table. "Thanks," Ophelia muttered. Taking a sip, the tea warmed her chest as it went through her system. She didn't realize how hungry and cold she felt. After a good cry earlier, she passed out, only to be woken by a nudge from Daphne telling her that Cassius was waiting for her in the common room.
"So-"
Ophelia cut him short, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Ophy, how many times have I told: Keeping it all up in your head-"
"Isn't healthy for you. I know, Cas. But we have more important things to discuss other than my supposed broken heart," Ophelia said.
Cassius raised a brow. "And what can be more important than a sibling therapy session?"
She rolled her eyes, but she would be in denial for not loving their occasional heart to hearts. "The first task."
"Do tell, dear sister," said Cassius, pressing the subject.
"So you know how Ojiichan came to visit?"
"Yeah, rather rude of him not to invite me," Cassius grumbled then aggressively bit off the head of a gingerbread man.
"And there's a reason for that. Now, how about a word association game?" Ophelia asked.
He sighed. "Can't you just tell me in a less convoluted way?"
"Or, you can be an amazing brother and indulge your little sister in some enjoyment after a long, tiring day," Ophelia remarked.
Cassius grimaced.
Ophelia smiled. "That's what I thought. So! I'll start with the first word. Ojiichan."
"Um, Japan?"
"Reserve."
"Sanctuary?"
Ophelia nodded in approval. "Hungarian."
"Horntail."
"Chinese."
"Fireball," Cassius said quickly, catching on to the subject.
"Swedish-"
"Short-Snout."
"Common Welsh-"
"Green."
"First task?" Ophelia said at last.
Cassius grinned. "Dragons. Really?"
"Ojiichan took me to see them," Ophelia said.
"Aaah, that's why I couldn't go," said Cassius, realizing what she meant earlier that their grandfather couldn't invite him with them.
"Even though Ojiichan isn't a teacher, he didn't want to take any chances with you possibly being caught cheating. But it's definitely not cheating if the information is coming from me, and it's more like a hint, really. I don't know what you have to do with the dragon, but at least we know what creature and what types of dragons you might encounter," Ophelia said.
He sighed with relief. "Who would've thought that years of dragon experience is now being put to good use!"
"Don't let Ojiichan hear that. He would be mortified if you didn't think dragon knowledge was useful," Ophelia joked.
"It's not like I'm inheriting the family business. If anything it's you, Mina, and Shiro who will be the future of the Hatakeyama family after dad's generation. Hell, the three of you might bypass them in succession if Ojiichan wanted to," said Cassius.
Ophelia glared at him as she broke an arm off of a gingerbread man and tossed it into her mouth. He constantly teased her for being one of the favorite descendants of their great-great-grandfather, but he wasn't wrong with his torments. Kohachi took careful consideration of her and her two cousins' future, more so than Cassius or even their own father.
She hated that attention at times. But it wasn't like she had any control of that. Her magical ability was already established before she was consciously aware of it, and her inherent desire to be the best at everything she cared about worked against her. She already accepted her fate when her parents found out that she was a born Legilimens. She didn't know that slipping into other people's minds wasn't normal until she told them.
"Ophy?" Cassius asked, breaking her out of her reverie.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"Are you okay?" said Cassius, repeating the question she didn't hear, his eyes full of concern.
As much as Ophelia wanted to say that she was fine, she wasn't. So many thoughts and scenarios filled her mind with what did happen, what could happen, and what she doesn't want to happen. For her, other people's minds were less loud than her own. Her mind was in perpetual motion, thinking of the past in relation to the present, and how both will affect the future. So she decided to push away the intrusive thoughts that wanted her to make ten contingency plans and focused on the present with her brother, one of the only tethers she had to keep her grounded. "No, I don't think so."
Cassius nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Ophelia exhaled. "I don't want to…but I need to. For my sanity's sake," she said with a light laugh at the end.
"Draco told me his side," said Cassius.
"He probably told you that I saw everything from today," Ophelia said. She stared down into her cup, thinking of her next words. "How long? How long has he liked me?"
"Officially? Since last Christmas," Cassius said softly.
She shook her head in disbelief. She lifted her head to look at Cassius, a thoughtful look on his face as she connected the dots. "And unofficially?"
"In my opinion? Six years ago. Sometime between our trip to Japan and your summer etiquette trip to France," said Cassius.
"Well shit," Ophelia muttered.
Cassius laughed. "Is that really that much of a surprise?"
Ophelia's mouth fell open. "Um, yes?"
"For an acutely observant person, you are very unaware when it comes to your love life," Cassius asserted.
She sneered at his statement in a way that was eerily similar to Draco. She gulped the rest of her tea, the cup clattering as she set the cup down. "Evidently, you're not mistaken."
"So what now? You know he likes you, he knows you like him. What's the next move?"
What was better for her? Continue this game that was ruining their friendship, or actually put things into motion? Now that she knew that Draco actually did like her, full-heartedly, what was stopping them from being together?
Losing him if it goes wrong.
It all came back to that what if. Was taking that risk worth everything they had been through the past ten years?
"You can tell him his penalty for losing our bet," Ophelia said.
"And that is…?"
"For him not to speak to me until I ask him to," said Ophelia, a devious grin pulling at her lips, deciding on the latter. A risky gamble that she was willing to take. She was a gambler, never one to turn away from a bet. And this time, she was betting on them to make whatever this was, work.
Cassius groaned. "I forgot how petty you can get. You haven't done this bullshit since primary school, and you have a scheming face right now."
She tried to school her face, but the ideas of how she was going to get Draco to muster the courage to ask her out, made her mind spiral into slight madness. Her asking him out was the easy way, and what fun was that? "I am simply matching his pettiness accordingly. I'm not the one who got plastered then made out with a girl in a public place only because I needed a release. That is a very unhealthy coping mechanism, and you chastise me for my bad habits. Which by the way was very indecent of him. Hopefully, the first or second-years didn't have to see that. That's rather traumatising. I should know," Ophelia said sagely. Although she was mostly joking, the image of Draco and Natalia was still imprinted in her memory.
"Lovely. I'm glad that this conversation was productive for you," said Cassius.
Ophelia genuinely smiled. "It actually was Katsudon. Thank you."
Cassius rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Of course, Toshi Yoshi."
Ophelia stretched her arms over her head. "Gah, we should probably head back now. You have a long day in the library and I want to get in a flying session. This lack of Quidditch is really doing something to my psyche."
Along with enacting step one of Operation DM.
Not in the mood to talk to anyone remotely related to her drama with Draco, Ophelia sat with the Ravenclaws for breakfast the next morning.
She dropped into the seat beside Cho.
"Morning," Cho said.
Ophelia exhaled. "Hey."
She fixed herself a cup of tea while the first-year Ravenclaws stared at her with wide eyes, a Slytherin sitting with them was odd, to say the least.
"You're scaring them," Michael Corner said from across the table.
Ophelia refrained from rolling her eyes, opting for a sickeningly sweet smile. "What, it's normal for Beauxbatons students to sit with you, but not a fellow Hogwarts student from another house?" she said as she prepared a plate of food.
Besides Michael, Terry pushed a copy of that week's Witch Weekly towards Ophelia. "It's because there's a new article about you."
"Oh no." Ophelia accepted the magazine he was offering. Plastered on the front page was a moving photo of her and Harry at the Three Broomsticks. The photo captured a moment when Harry was smiling and she was laughing, ending with the two of them smiling at each other. "The devil works hard, but Rita Skeeter works harder."
As she flipped to the article, she was glad to find there wasn't anything too incriminating, mostly fluffy words of young love and how rumours of her and Viktor were false. Ophelia smirked, learning Rita's little beetle secret was another opportunity of leverage if the reporter stepped out of line. Content, she handed the magazine back to Terry, "Thank you."
Terry nodded, then quietly went back to his breakfast. Even though it was a mutual break-up, they barely spoke outside of class.
"Nothing worrying to you then," Cho laughed.
Ophelia swallowed a mouthful of eggs. "I was already expecting something like this, so I'm not surprised at all. But to be fair, it's rather concerning that a possible teenage relationship is the most interesting story for the week."
Beside her, Ophelia heard a soft titter. Ophelia looked over to see Padma Patil looking at her own plate with great interest.
"I'm glad that I can still make you laugh, Padma," said Ophelia.
"Even though you have an intimidating exterior, you're quite the comic relief," Padma replied.
"Better than to eat in silence," Ophelia retorted. She turned back to Cho, "Char, Are you free later? I was planning to go down to the pitch and get some laps in. Maybe gather some people to play a game?" Ophelia said, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Char?" Padma interrupted.
The other fourth-years at the table had similar confused expressions.
Right.
Although they were in the same house, the fourth-years didn't know Cho as personally as Ophelia did. "Oh! I forgot that it's not really well-known."
"Cho is a nickname, my name is actually Charlotte," Cho explained.
As a collector of information–and a close friend of Cho–Ophelia already knew this little secret, not secret. Having similar childhood backgrounds, both growing up abroad in Asian countries and thus moving to the UK, Ophelia and Cho developed a unique friendship when they met in Ophelia's first year.
The shocked faces of the Ravenclaws around them were quite amusing to her.
"Um, what?" said Michael.
"I couldn't say Charlotte when I was younger. It would be Cha-lot, then it slowly became Cho. And Cho just stuck," Cho continued with a smile. "Anyway, Lia, do you think we could get enough players?"
Ophelia waved her hand, dismissing her comment. "Please, considering there is no Quidditch at all this year, it'll be easy. There's only one thing that can unite all of our houses, and it's Quidditch."
Before Cho could ask a question, Ophelia answered for her, "Yes, Cedric can play as the other Seeker." Ophelia looked behind her to look at the Slytherin table. She noticed her least favorite blond at the moment wasn't there. She was still uncertain about how she felt towards Draco at the moment. It wasn't until now that she realized that the difference between love and hate walked a very thin line. Returning her attention back to Cho, "Draco and I aren't on speaking terms right now."
Michael raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
The current people she was conversing with at the table knew that Ophelia and Draco were considerably close. Ophelia shrugged. "He pissed me off."
Anthony Goldstein patted Terry on the back. "You dodged a spell, mate."
"Tony," Terry whispered.
"I don't take any offence Terry," Ophelia reassured him, "you didn't go kissing other girls when we were together, so I wouldn't have done any of the things I'm doing to Draco to you."
Michael let out a low whistle.
Cho gripped Ophelia's arm, "You and Malfoy are a thing?"
"You're with that arsehole?" Anthony added.
Looking up from her book, "If I didn't know any better, I would think you dated Ophelia, not Terry," said Sue Li.
"Was the conversation finally interesting enough for you to join?" Padma asked.
Sue set aside her book. "It's usually entertaining with Ophelia, but I was honestly waiting for a moment for Goldstein to embarrass himself. So Ophelia, what's the deal with you and Malfoy?"
In a rare mood to be candid–and vindictive–Ophelia was willing to 'spill the beans.' Maybe spending nearly three hours with Harry was a bad idea, she was feeling particularly reckless now. "Short story? I hypothetically like Draco who hypothetically likes me. And he quite possibly may or may not have been jealous that Potter and I were out together yesterday…andthenIcaughthimkissinganothergirl," Ophelia said with a smile.
The Ravenclaws stared at her, awestruck.
Ophelia ate the last of her eggs and toast, then washed it down with some water. She stood from the table, "Do with that information as you wish, a personal life doesn't exist at Hogwarts," Ophelia glanced at Cho. "The pitch at 11? I can ask Madam Hooch and the other professors for permission."
"Um, yeah, sure," said Cho.
Instead of heading towards the Slytherin table, Ophelia crossed the Great Hall to the table on the opposite end, approaching the sixth-year Gryffindors.
"Good morning," said Ophelia.
"What are you doing here, Warrington?" Fred Weasley said.
Ophelia put a hand to her heart. "Ouch. And I thought we were kindred spirits, Fred," she pouted.
"I'm George," said Fred.
"And I'm Fred," said George Weasley.
Ophelia internally scoffed, she was observant enough to tell the Weasley twins apart. In her opinion, she thought it was somewhat pathetic that others couldn't tell the difference. Each twin had a different aura–Fred was usually more forward, the one to instigate and talk first; while George was subtle, more pragmatic and thoughtful than Fred. Not to mention that George had a freckle on his right earlobe and Fred didn't.
"Well then George, I prefer your twin over you. Oh, and he's a better Beater," Ophelia said with a straight face, gesturing to the real George.
Angelina Johnson giggled while the twins began to bicker at Ophelia's change of opinion. "Seriously though, what's up, Warrington?" she asked after she calmed down.
"Cho, Cedric, and I are gathering people to play a Quidditch scrimmage. I wanted to extend the invitation to any of you if you want to play." Ophelia explained. "You can commentate if you want, Jordan."
Lee Jordan's eyes lit up at the opportunity to commentate once again, especially without McGonagall attempting to censor him every second of the game.
"And why would we want to play with the likes of you?" the real Fred asked.
Ophelia actually scoffed this time. "Of course, I'm an ickle Slytherin and whatnot. But I know all of us have this Quidditch itch that needs to be scratched. How about this, you can use the Slytherin team's Nimbus 2001's."
Fred's eyes had a hint of mischief.
Johnson nodded. "I was going to say yes anyway," she glared at Fred, "until this idiot kept on talking."
"We're in too," George added.
Ophelia smiled. "Splendid. The pitch at 11."
As she left, Ophelia stopped by Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. "Other Weasleys, Hermione. Where's Potter?"
"He's still sleeping," Hermione said.
"Ah, that's probably for the best then, he has to prepare for the first task. I don't know if you heard me speaking earlier, but we're going to have a match later if you want to come along," said Ophelia.
"Are you sure that's safe? Having all of you play against each other without supervision? Do you even have permission to play?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with concern.
And her friends had the audacity to call her a Granger. "You don't need to worry Granger, I'd like to hope that all of the Quidditch players at Hogwarts are well aware of the rules of the game to play it relatively safe. Second, we have team practises without any sort of coach or supervisor in the first place, and we're all well-equipped with potions and medical needs in our team changing rooms. Worst comes to worst, we go to Madam Pomfrey. Regarding your last question, I'm currently working on it. If they say yes, then we're a go. If they say no, then we stay quiet and do it anyway," Ophelia said with a wink.
Hermione shook her head with a small smile playing on her face. "I didn't think you were the type to be as Quidditch obsessed as the rest of the school."
Ophelia gasped. "Granger, did you forget that I'm on the Slytherin team? Of course, I'm a mindless Quidditch follower. Now, I have a lot of arrangements to make in under four hours, see you around."
Ophelia made a beeline towards the staff table until she was stopped by Christian Parkinson, Pansy's older brother. "Mr. Head Boy," she raised a hand and playfully saluted him, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Christian rolled his eyes. "Rumour has it you're organising a Quidditch match today."
She raised an eyebrow. "And if I was?"
"I would be mad that you didn't tell me sooner!" Christian pouted.
Ophelia laughed and patted him on the shoulder, comforting her fellow Slytherin beater. "Sorry, Chris, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision."
He narrowed his eyes but smiled nonetheless. "I'll just bring out my Herbology essay while I watch you guys play. Sprout was not joking when she said N.E.W.T.s level Herbology is hard."
Ophelia winced, recalling her least favorite subject. "Yup, I'm so glad I'm going to be done with that fifth year," she said. "Hey, since you're here, you can help me convince the Heads of Houses and Madam Hooch. I was thinking something like 'an Inter-house Quidditch game is a great way to garner school spirit in anticipation of the first task.' Believable enough?"
Christian chuckled. "You're a natural, Lia. If you're not Head Girl when the time comes, then I don't understand who will."
After two hours of getting all of their plans in check, Ophelia began the descent to the pitch with the Quidditch ball crate she received from Madam Hooch. It only took five minutes to convince Severus, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout. The latter three professors thought it was a wonderful idea, stressing that she didn't even need permission in the first place. Severus was hesitant, but Ophelia could tell that he noticed the infinitesimal swell around her eyes, so he agreed, knowing that she needed this sliver of fun.
From behind her, a voice called out, "Warrington!"
Ophelia turned to see who was trying to get her attention. "Female Weasley, this is quite a surprise."
In reality, it wasn't that surprising to her. It seemed like Weasley wanted to say something earlier to her when she was at the Gryffindor table earlier.
"Let me play for your team," said Weasley, a determined expression on her face.
"And why should I?" Ophelia asked.
"Because we have something in common. You grew up with brothers—well a brother and other boys—but they gave you a shot to play with them. But for me? My brothers and my mom never did. I had to sneak time to learn how to fly, how to play-"
Ophelia chuckled, cutting Weasley off.
Weasley placed a hand on her hip, her annoyance becoming increasingly obvious. "Why did I even try?" Weasley muttered. "Never mind, pretend like this conversation didn't even happen at all," Weasley said in a louder tone for Ophelia to hear, even though Ophelia heard the Gryffindors private muses.
Weasley began to walk away, heading back to the castle.
Shit.
"Ginny, wait!" Ophelia hollered after her, choosing to address her personally to get her to truly listen.
Weasley audibly huffed, then turned around. Standing on higher ground, the two of them were now eye to eye.
"I'm sorry, that came off wrong, didn't it? What I wanted to say is that you remind me of me. I had a similar argument with my brother when I was younger," Ophelia explained.
Weasley furrowed her brows, unsure what Ophelia was alluding to.
Ophelia broke into a gentle smile. "Come on, let's see you fly. Then I'll decide."
Weasley narrowed her eyes. "Really?"
Ophelia continued to head down to the pitch. "Yes, now come on before I change my mind."
Weasley hustled after her, falling into step beside Ophelia. "You know, you're only a year older than me, but you act like you're at least a fifth-year."
She cocked an eyebrow. "You think so?" Ophelia mused, entertained by another person's first impression of her. It was rare for someone to be so frank with her.
Weasley nodded. "Do you know that you're pretty popular amongst the younger years? Merlin, maybe even the whole school. You have this mysterious, cool girl aura."
Ophelia had to stop herself from laughing. "So that's really what everyone thinks of me?" She shrugged. "It could be worse I suppose. When you grow up with having half of your future decided for you, you develop a different outlook on life."
They entered the Slytherin locker room and Weasley stood in awe at their surroundings while Ophelia set the crate down.
"Something wrong?" Ophelia asked. She looked at the lockers, to the flagstone ground, and then landed her eyes on the Slytherin regalia on the walls.
Weasley paced around the room, running her hands along the black leather lounge chairs and the dark oak lockers while Ophelia removed her Beater bat from her locker. "Why is your locker room so nice? I mean, you have nice flooring! And leather chairs!"
Ophelia bit her lip to hold a snicker in. She turned away from Weasley to stop her from catching her amused face and opened the broom closet. "Are you implying the Gryffindor locker room is shabby in comparison?" Ophelia said as she removed her broom. In her head, she counted the four Gryffindor sixth-years she promised brooms to, and took four brooms from the extra unused Nimbus 2001 pile. Ophelia side-eyed Weasley then withdrew another broom for her.
"Shabby is putting it lightly. I only saw a sliver of it when I sometimes visit Fred and George after games and it doesn't nearly look as pristine as this," said Weasley.
"It does help that most of us can throw money towards making this place nice just because we want. But it's also a tradition for each captain to redesign the locker room to their liking. Marcus chose my brother to succeed him," Ophelia gestured around, "so these were his choices. Those leather chairs you're fixated on are identical to the ones in the Slytherin common room. It seems like he still got the room done despite Quidditch being cancelled this year."
"Wow," was all Weasley could say.
"Here," Ophelia handed Weasley all of the extra brooms, then she cast a levitation charm on the ball crate so she didn't have to carry it down to the field, opting for magical convenience. She held on to her own broom and bat in her wandless hand.
When they finally reached the field, Weasley dropped the brooms, clattering against each other as it made contact with the ground. She shook her arms out, trying to remedy the soreness from carrying five brooms by herself. "Why didn't you just levitate these?" said Weasley, pointing to the brooms. "I left my wand back in the castle."
Ophelia shook her head in disapproval. She set her things and the ball crate beside the brooms Weasley carelessly dropped. "That's a you problem, Weasley," Ophelia said. "Also, be careful with those. I don't want your brothers accusing me of tampering with brooms that they're going to use when in reality it was their own sister that messed them up."
"Sorry," Weasley muttered, picking up the brooms one by one, inspecting them for damage.
Ophelia crouched down and opened the crate. "I highly doubt you're a Beater then, considering you couldn't carry those brooms without struggling. So how are you going to impress me?"
Weasley glared at her. "Hey!"
Ophelia shot her a sarcastic look.
"Fine! You're not wrong," Weasley said reluctantly. "Chaser. I'm a good flyer, and I'd like to think a good shot," she added, more confident in her words now.
Ophelia smirked. "I'll see it to believe it."
She threw the Quaffle at Weasley, aiming well above her head on purpose.
With fast reflexes, Weasley caught the ball one-handed, then instinctively tucked it under her arm as if she was prepared to travel with the Quaffle.
Ophelia's eyes lit up, thinking of the possible potential that Weasley had just from one move. "Not bad, Weaselette." She mounted her broom, then kicked off the ground, flying above Weasley, circling around her. "But Quidditch is an air sport, so get your ass up here."
After a solid ten minutes of playing, Ophelia was rather impressed. With some training, Weasley could be a force to be reckoned with.
Back on the ground, Ophelia asked, "Do your brothers know that you can play this well?"
"I play well then?" Weasley said with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes. "Take the compliment and answer the question, Weaselette."
"Only Charlie. He's the second oldest. And the one to get me interested in Quidditch in the first place," said Weasley.
Ophelia was going to say that she met Charlie the other day, but then she remembered that Charlie Weasley was supposed to be in Bulgaria and not at Hogwarts for the tournament.
"Well, too bad you'll have to settle-"
"For the two of us."
Fred and George stood by either side of Ginny, nudging her shoulders. With the twins beside her, Ophelia finally understood how the Weasley's saw their sister. The twins' height and muscled arms accentuated Ginny's petite frame. But evidence of their supposed frail and helpless younger sister that they thought they had ended there. Ginny held herself with confidence rare for her age, and there was a roaring fire in her eyes that made you want to know why she felt that way.
Unlike other people, Ophelia could find out why–she could easily slip into her mind–but Ophelia respected Ginny. So Ophelia slid past the twins, wrapped an arm over Ginny's shoulder, and guided her away from her brothers. "Sorry, but I'm not letting you poach one of my players or claim some sort of sibling favour in order to coerce her to your side."
Ginny shot her a quizzical look to which Ophelia only responded, "What? You wanted to play, didn't you?"
Fred furrowed his brows while George laughed.
Fred huffed. "And what's so funny to you?"
George just shrugged, feigning ignorance. However, he shuffled to Ginny and Ophelia's side. "Do you have room for another Beater on your team?" George asked Ophelia.
Ophelia smirked. "Actually, yes. Parkinson is busy today, and I'm absolutely certain that Derrick and Bole are still pissed at me for beating them to the team last year," she said with faux seriousness.
Although George and Ginny found her remark amusing, Fred wasn't nearly as entertained as his siblings. How can she make someone that distrusts Slytherins in general, like her?
"It's not like we want to play with you either, Weasley."
Well, that may work.
While the Weasleys spun around to see their new arrivals, Ophelia grinned. "Did Cassius put you up to this?"
Adrian shrugged. "Maybe. But maybe I'm seizing this opportunity to beat you. It's been a couple of years since we've been on different teams."
Miles leaned against his broom. "Yeah, I'd rather play it safe Adrikins, soooo Lia, my dear, I'm at your service." He tipped an invisible hat towards her.
Ophelia glanced at Graham, he was standing quietly behind Miles and Adrian. "You need another Keeper now that Wood is gone, don't you? Diggory and Chang asked their teams too, Jacobs and Mulligan have an exam tomorrow."
She scoffed. "And the three of you don't?"
Ophelia was certain that they also had exams in the upcoming week. Because Cassius had the first task, his exams were scheduled for after the task.
Adrian and Miles began to speak over one another, coming up with excuses as to why they weren't revising. Despite their playfulness, all four of them knew that Ophelia wasn't oblivious to their true intentions. According to Cassius, they were present for Draco's tell-all, so they knew how much Ophelia was affected by yesterday's events. Since Cassius couldn't be here at the moment, her brother's best friends were there by proxy. Although they weren't blood-related, Adrian, Miles, and Graham were just as protective over her as Cassius. Seeing them together only made her realize that she and Ginny had yet another thing in common.
"We're still going to kick your ass," Ophelia said with ease. "And Fred, this is your shot to prove you're a better Beater than your brother. I mean, you did have quite a fit earlier, didn't you?" Ophelia said in jest.
Fred's lips curled into a devilish grin. Ophelia hardly interacted with the Weasley twins—only through Quidditch games—so she knew she struck a nerve with her statement. "Game on, Warrington."
Lying on his bed, Draco watched his practice Snitch flit above his head. He caught it with his hand, then let it go, the Snitch flying around the room once again.
His mind was too busy running with scenarios with how he was going to get Ophelia to forgive him, so he was still in his dorm. When they woke up, Greg found a note addressed to Draco near their door, as if someone slipped it underneath.
He grabbed the note from his bedside table and read over it for what was most likely the hundredth time in the past four hours.
Good morning! Per our bet, I've chosen a particularly appropriate punishment due to recent events. Don't talk to me. At all. - O
Draco left for Cassius's room immediately, he was bound to know if Ophelia was pranking him, or if she was sincere. However, Draco knew that this whole situation that they were in was something she would never joke about. He hardly slept, her tear-stained face was still imprinted in his mind. Lo and behold, Cassius affirmed Draco's fear, he and Ophelia spoke last night.
A knock on his door drew Draco out of his thoughts.
"Oh Draco, this is pathetic on so many levels," said Pansy, entering the room, Blaise in tow.
Blaise handed him a stack of toast and bacon. "Mate, are you still in your pyjamas?"
Draco gingerly took a bite of toast. "Maybe," he muttered.
Pansy took a seat at the foot of Draco's bed. "From the dark circles under your eyes, you've either been crying or you didn't get any sleep," said Pansy.
"It's both," Blaise called from the bathroom.
"Thanks, Blaise. For oversharing," Draco sneered.
Blaise reentered the room with an empty cup. "For that, you don't get any water," he set the cup beside Draco, "I got you food from the kitchen and this is how you show gratitude?" He shook his head. "And I was going to give you a Lia update."
Draco stopped mid-bite, settling his toast aside. "What happened to Lia?"
Pansy snickered. "More like what didn't happen? She did some rounds to all of the tables except ours during breakfast. She didn't eat with us, she ate with the Ravenclaws. By the way, I don't know all the details of what happened between the two of you last night, but if she was willing to sit with her ex, you must've seriously fucked up Draco," said Pansy.
He chewed the inside of his cheek, a nervous habit he hadn't done in years. "You think I don't know that, Pans? I had quite the scolding by Cas and his friends."
And I can't get her face out of my mind.
He knew that Pansy had good intentions with her words, she and Blaise were his oldest friends. Prior to Ophelia, he only saw them as his equals. Thinking back on it, he was so pretentious then. Hell, he was pretentious up until first year when he had a rude awakening of meeting people who didn't understand him on a complex level. People who didn't give him an opportunity to see past his prejudices that he is trying to amend. People who weren't Ophelia…
"House-elves skinny dipping in the Black Lake!" Blaise exclaimed.
"Excuse me?" Draco blurted.
Blaise crossed his arms against his chest and shrugged his shoulders. "You weren't paying attention."
Pansy interjected, "What I was trying to say is that Lia organised a Quidditch match. It started about thirty minutes ago, then we remembered that you hadn't been at breakfast, so you didn't know about it. We wanted to see if you wanted to come and give you some food, of course. There's a big turnout even though the idea was only conceived a few hours ago."
"That's our Lia, the little innovator," Blaise mused.
Quidditch?
He chuckled under his breath. Of course, she would throw herself into something trivial like Quidditch after their fight. Could it even be considered a fight?
"Let me get dressed," Draco murmured.
Reaching the sector of the Quidditch stadium of those supporting Ophelia's team, Draco settled into the seat beside Theo while Pansy and Blaise sat behind them. Nearly half the school had shown up, as well as some students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Around them was a mixture of Ravenclaws, Slytherins, and Gryffindors. Across the stadium was a collection of Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, and Slytherins.
"Look what the Kneazle dragged out of the dungeon. Draco Malfoy lives to see another day," said Theo.
"Good to see you too, Nott," Draco retorted. He looked past Theo to speak to Daphne. "Daph," he said, nodding his head in acknowledgment.
In public, Daphne rarely emoted in order to preserve her pristine pureblood image, but she gave him the most menacing scowl that she could muster, then focused on the game in front of them.
He cowered. If even Daphne was this cold to him, he couldn't imagine how Ophelia felt.
Theo leaned towards Draco. "She's ignoring you too. Solidarity, you know?" Theo whispered.
It wasn't necessarily a surprise to him. Daphne was Ophelia's other best friend. But to actually feel the repercussions of his actions made his heart constrict in a way he never felt before.
Changing the subject, "What's with the meaning of the different sides?" Draco asked Theo, gesturing to their side of the stands.
"Ah, it's a battle between Seekers. Us and Gryffindor are filling in for the spots that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff couldn't find people for," Theo explained.
Draco looked up to find that the Slytherins and Gryffindors were sporting borrowed Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff jerseys respectively. He spotted Ophelia donning Terry Boot's jersey.
A current of envy ran through him. In tandem with learning that she had breakfast with the Ravenclaws, and memories of Ophelia wearing Gary's Quidditch sweater last year, Draco was frustrated. Mostly at himself.
"The Quaffle taken by Pucey—that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goalposts—Warrington sends a Bludger towards him—andddd it makes contact! Pucey's hit in the stomach and he's lost the Quaffle, ouch that's gotta hurt. Organizer of today's event, Ophelia Warrington, has quite the arm, thank you again for making the already interesting school year more entertaining. Okay now, Johnson is back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead, and off she goes! To Weasley, she dodges a speeding Bludger sent by Fred—the goalposts are ahead—Keeper Montague dives—misses—Ginny Weasley scores!" Jordan bellowed from the commentator box.
Draco glanced up into the air. Ophelia and the other Weasley twin hovered in the air, side by side. Even from the distance that she was from him, he could tell she was at ease, in her element, and in control. Weasley beside her must have said something funny because Draco noticed her shoulders raise up and down.
He subconsciously gnawed on his cheek.
Damn, I've got to stop doing that.
A Bludger began to head towards their section of the stands. Ophelia zipped by, hitting the Bludger, and sent it towards Zacharias Smith. He fumbled the Quaffle and Roger Davies swept under and gained possession, hurtling in the opposite direction.
Around him, people began to cheer for Ophelia. A cheeky smile grew on her face as she flew past them.
Draco couldn't bring himself to applaud along with them, his voice stopping in his throat. He could only wistfully smile as the girl he liked took off higher into the air again.
"Now Fred Weasley is currently yelling at Smith for losing the Quaffle for the fourth time today! It's been a rough day for him. I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of an angry Fred, I see it every morning when I hog the bathroom. Davies to Johnson—to Weasley —AND SHE SCORES! Chang's team is now up 110 to 40. Newcomer Ginny Weasley and the Warrington/Weasley Beater combination are killing it today—sorry Fred! No hard feelings mate—hold on, I think Diggory has spotted the Snitch!"
Draco scanned the pitch and saw a glint of light above the Hufflepuff sector of the stadium. Although Diggory saw it first, Chang was closer, the two now chasing after the Snitch.
"Here goes Pucey with the Quaffle, racing past Davies and Johnson, dodging a Bludger sent by George, the only thing in the way now is Bletchley. He fakes left, and he scores! Another 10 points to the team in yellow—BUT WAIT, Cho Chang has caught the Golden Snitch! Final score: 260 to 50," Jordan proclaimed, but he was mostly drowned out at the end by the loud celebration around Draco.
Deciding to leave before Ophelia could spot him, Draco slipped out of the stands despite Theo and Blaise's objections. If he was ever going to win her trust back, it was best to do what she wanted him to do.
Even if all he wanted to do was to head down to the pitch, take her into his arms, spin her around in a hug and congratulate her on a game well played, like they always did whenever they won a match. He wanted to say that he was sorry. Say that he likes her, that he's liked her for Merlin knows how long. That he was scared, that he didn't think he was worth it.
Then again, he was Draco Malfoy. He rarely got what he wanted.
23 November 1994
After revising all day for the task, Cassius was confident that he was competent enough to face whichever of the four dragons they had prepared for them. He was even able to spend time with Thalia after dinner.
So when he awoke from a revitalising sleep Monday morning, Cassius had a stress-free breakfast. On his way out of the Great Hall, Cassius felt as though someone was carefully watching. After a few more steps, Cassius turned into an empty hallway and waited for his stalker to enter the hall.
Cassius snickered when Harry jumped when he saw him leaning against a wall.
"Now, Potter, it's quite rude to follow someone and not say anything about it. Dare I say, are you stalking me?" Cassius pondered.
"No!" Harry blurted. "Sorry, I didn't think about how creepy that might've been."
Cassius shrugged. "It's fine. Ophelia and I used to do weird shit like that all the time when we were younger. Growing up in a big house does that to you."
Harry chuckled.
"So why did you follow me? I don't have class right now, but I'm pretty sure you do," said Cassius.
"Right," said Harry. He lowered his voice, "The first task, it's dragons."
Cassius refrained from being unfazed. He already knew because of Kohachi and Ophelia, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Viktor and Fleur knew because of their headmasters. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime were too conniving to not find out about the task. Cassius felt slightly guilty that he didn't consider telling Harry, but at the end of the day they were in a competition, and Cassius would do almost anything to ensure that he would do well.
Thankfully he didn't need to feel guilty anymore. "Wait, really?" Cassius said, pretending to be shocked.
"They've got four, one for each of us, and we've got to get past them," Harry said quickly.
Cassius frowned. "How do I know that you're not just messing with me? Sabotaging your opponent so I waste my time on something that isn't even going to be useful."
"I'm dead sure," said Harry. "I've seen them."
To that, Cassius was taken aback that Harry saw them. Yet considering Harry's relationship to Hagrid, it was undeniable that Hagrid would want Harry to be prepared for the first task. Instead of pressing the subject on how Harry managed to see the dragons, Cassius asked, "Why are you telling me?"
Harry looked at him in disbelief. "I'm not the only one who knows. Fleur and Krum will know by now - Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons too. It's just fair, isn't it? We all know now, so we're on an even footing, aren't we?"
I was right. And now I feel guilty again, great.
Cassius smiled, clasping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You're a good guy, Harry." Cassius snorted and shook his head. "Life would be easier if Ophelia liked you back."
Even though Cassius saw Draco as the brother he never had, there was no denying that the teenage angst that Ophelia was facing would be significantly reduced if she liked Harry. But life wasn't about the easy road, was it? And fighting for what she wanted was what Ophelia did best.
Harry flushed instantly. "I–er, um–" he stammered.
Cassius only laughed more loudly this time until he heard a familiar clunking noise behind him. Cassius locked eyes with Mad-Eye Moody emerging from a nearby classroom.
"Come with me, Potter," he growled. "Warrington, off you go."
Harry turned around and stared apprehensively at Moody.
Did he hear everything?
"Er – Professor, I'm supposed to be in Herbology," said Harry.
Moody interrupted him. "Never mind that, Potter. In my office, please. . ."
Cassius shifted his eyes back to Harry. "It's okay, Potter." He leaned down towards Harry's ear. "Thank you for the hint." Cassius pulled away and winked at Harry. "See you tomorrow, Potter!"
24 November 1994
Yesterday Cassius was relatively calm, but as the time for the task drew nearer, his nerves were starting to get the best of him. He ran into closed doors twice and tripped on air three times ever since he woke up that morning. It also didn't help that the Slytherins decorated the common room with a banner saying "GOOD LUCK CASSIUS" and other small posters were pasted all over the Slytherin dungeons. Along with that, sixth and seventh-years from all the houses were wishing him luck all morning, the upper-years knew his true character, sans Ophelia's group of friends.
Now back in the Great Hall for lunch, Cassius pushed food across his plate, too queasy to eat. Seated near him, Cassius saw that Viktor and Fleur were in a similar state as him.
Severus approached the Slytherin table, most people in the hall were watching.
"Warrington, Delacour, Krum, you are needed on the grounds now. It is time for you to make your final preparations for the first task."
Cassius began to push himself up, but beside him, Thalia grasped his hand that was laid on the table, he sat back down. She raised his hand to her mouth and gently kissed the top of his hand. "Good luck, ilie mou," said Thalia.
Cassius felt his nerves subside, her words a comfort to him, my sun. Oh, how he loved her so. He still thought it was too soon to say it to her, but he loved her. Maybe since the first moment that he saw her.
He brought her hand to his cheek and kissed the inside of her palm. "Louloudi mou," he whispered.
They were drawn out of their moment by encouraging cries from the other students. If he didn't know any better, he would think they taunting him. But could feel that others that were unsure of him as a champion were slowly changing their minds after his display of affection. The vulnerability and surprising gentleness he showed were subverting their ideas of the Slytherin champion.
Thalia burrowed her head into Fleur's shoulder while the blonde giggled at her best friend's embarrassment.
Cassius let out a robust laugh. He stood up to address the room. "You lot better carry this energy out there later!" Cassius hollered.
Chatter quickly filled the Great Hall.
As he walked along the length of the Slytherin table, Ophelia stopped him and pulled him into a quick hug. "Good luck, Cas. Not like you need it."
Cassius grinned. "Keizoku wa…"
"Chikara nari," she finished for him.
Ingrained in their mind, the Hatakeyama family motto was inspirational in trying times.
Cassius looked past Ophelia to see Draco awkwardly watching them from the table behind her. Draco didn't need to say anything, the look in his eyes said it all. Draco gave Cassius a curt nod, then focused back on his food.
Cassius, Fleur, and Viktor left the Great Hall with Severus. Though Severus seemed to be composed, Cassius caught the tautness of Severus's shoulders as he walked ahead of them, leading them out of the castle and towards the edge of the forest. In the clearing in front of them was a tent that hadn't been there before.
"You are to go in here and wait for your turn. Mr. Bagman is there, he will explain the procedure to you."
"Merci," said Fleur, then she went inside the tent.
"Thank you," Viktor said in his heavy accent.
Left alone, Severus carefully placed a hand on Cassius's forearm. "I highly doubt you need more well-wishes…but I hope you will do well."
Cassius snickered. "Who would've thought that entering a deadly tournament would be enough for you to express that you care about me? Lia is gonna love this."
Severus narrowed his eyes. "On you go, Warrington."
"See you later, Sev," said Cassius, tongue in cheek.
He entered the tent to find a jubilant Ludo Bagman. "Mr. Warrington!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in!"
He led Cassius into the room, bringing him towards a corner of the tent. "Here is your uniform for the event! Miss Delacour and Mr. Krum are changing right now as well."
In the corner were a cot and a small stool. On the cot was a uniform that was reminiscent of his Slytherin Quidditch jersey and black athletic pants with two silver stripes running down the side of the pants.
"Thank you, Mr. Bagman," Cassius said.
Bagman left him to change, and Cassius pulled the curtain around the cot. He quickly changed, then refastened his wand holster on top of his long sleeves.
Leaving his corner, Fleur was sitting on a bench in the middle of the tent, and Viktor was on another bench across from her. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual–but pale and clammy–and Viktor wrung his hands every few seconds.
Cassius took the seat beside Fleur. He cast a silent Muffliato. Because Bagman was still in the tent, it was better to be safe than sorry. Ever since they had been practicing nonverbal spells in class, he had been practicing more useful spells in his free time. "So how about those dragons?" said Cassius, pleasantly striking a conversation.
Viktor's eyes bugged. He glanced at Bagman then back to Cassius.
Cassius reassured him, "Don't worry, he can't hear us."
Viktor sighed in relief but still talked in a hushed voice. "How do you know it's dragons?"
Cassius gave him a look that said are you serious.
Viktor glumly nodded. "Right."
"So how did you find out?" Fleur questioned.
"Lia, Always the one for espionage," Cassius said cheekily. "Am I right in assuming that your respective headmasters found out and told you?"
"You would be correct," Viktor replied.
Fleur broke into a small smile. "Funny how they say to not cheat or accept help, but it turns out we all did. Does Potter know?"
"Technically I didn't break any rules. But yes, Potter knows. I suppose he found out from Hagrid. Just like Madame Maxime probably got it out of him. He seems quite smitten by her whenever I see them for meals," said Cassius.
"You're not wrong," Fleur quipped.
When Harry entered the tent, Cassius ended the spell and addressed him. "About time you showed up, Potter."
Harry looked slightly squeamish, but he collected himself to flash a smile in return.
"Harry! Good-o!" Bagman cheered.
Cassius, Fleur, and Viktor watched Bagman pull Harry to the final corner of the tent so he could change.
"Why do you suppose he speaks informally with Potter?" Fleur asked in French.
Cassius didn't notice that Harry was the only one Bagman called by his first name until she pointed it out. "That is rather odd, isn't it? Furthermore, isn't it odd that the judges of the tournament are composed of our headmasters? Obviously, they're supposed to be unbiased. But more likely than not they are going to favour their own student," Cassius reflected aloud.
Viktor smirked. "I've always wondered the same thing. What's the point of an impartial judge to select the champion if the judges of the actual tournament hold more control?" Viktor whispered.
"Is it just me, or are we all regretting this a bit even though we voluntarily signed up for this?" Fleur muttered.
"It's the nerves," said Cassius.
Harry returned, taking the seat beside Viktor.
Bagman joined them in the center of the tent. "Well, now we're all here - time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag," he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them, "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different–er–varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too. . . ah, yes. . . your task is to collect the golden egg!"
Although they knew that the task involved dragons, collecting an item was news to all of them. The four of them exchanged glances, the competition on the brink of starting. Harry was considerably in worse shape than the rest of them.
Something clicked when Cassius realized why Harry was practically on the brink of passing out. He, Viktor, and Fleur signed up for this. Harry didn't have a choice.
Soon enough, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking. Bagman was with them again, opening the neck of the purple silk sack.
"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur.
She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon–a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck. Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation.
The same held true for Viktor. He pulled out the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.
Cassius put his hand into the bag, and he removed the scarlet Chinese Fireball with the number three around its neck. Holding back a smile, he couldn't believe his luck. Not only was it the dragon he was hoping for, Ophelia told him that it was Feifei of all dragons. Upon further examination at the miniature dragon in his hand, the dragon indeed bared a resemblance to Feifei. Unique to her, gold scales dotted under its left eye. His mind began to run over the two plans he had to deal with Feifei, automatically dumping the ideas he had prepared for the other three dragons. Thanks to Ophelia, Miles, and Graham, they designed a useful memorization technique to help him remember all the information he gathered over the past three weeks.
Knowing what was left, Harry pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, number four. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs.
"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Krum, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now. . . Harry. . . could I have a quick word? Outside?"
"Er. . . yes," said Harry blankly, and he got up and went out of the tent with Bagman.
"Okay, it's officially weird," Cassius remarked.
"You don't think Potter is paying Bagman to score him well?" said Viktor.
"No. Harry is too honourable to do something like that," Cassius said.
Fleur crossed her arms over her chest. "Then it's Bagman with ulterior motives."
A whistle had blown somewhere.
Viktor let out a shaky breath. "That's me then."
Cassius reached over and playfully patted Viktor's knee. "You got this! Just think of it as a Quidditch match. Just, you know, against a dragon. No big deal."
"That actually, kind of helps. Thanks," Viktor said with some confidence.
"Good luck," Fleur added.
Viktor left the tent, and Harry reentered a second after. Mere seconds later, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Viktor had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the real model of the Swedish Short-Snout.
Hold on.
Cassius stared down at the model of Feifei he held in his hand, an idea beginning to form.
ilie mou: Greek for my sun
Louloudi mou: Greek for my flower
Keizoku wa chikara nari: Japanese proverb, literal translation: continuity is power.
A/N: Finally! The triwizard tournament is underway. And soon, everything is all going to come to a head at the Yule Ball. Can you tell that I love drama?
Please review :)
Contains content from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
- Chapter 20: The First Task
- Chapter 21: The House-elf Liberation Front