Chapter Thirty-Eight
Crush
Alex was still sulking several minutes later when she heard three bickering voices from the corridor. Three very, very familiar voices. They grew louder as they approached, and Alex could only just make out what they were saying.
"Sure, it was pretty brilliant using other dragons like that, but Harry was obviously the most impressive to watch," boasted Ron.
"I disagree," Cedric countered calmly. "As if using different dragons wasn't amazing enough, she actually managed to reign in a fully grown one. That takes talent and courage."
"He's right," added Hermione. They were in the infirmary now, judging by how their voices weren't echoing any longer. "Alex demonstrated several spells of varying complexity; she'll probably come first this round."
"Probably," Ron muttered reluctantly. "What with Karkaroff giving him a six and all. An outrage, that is."
"Bagman gave me ten at least," offered Harry. "But that's because he's betting on me — literally."
Ron and Hermione demanded an explanation; Cedric parted the curtain hesitantly. He smiled when he noticed that Alex was visibly well.
"I was afraid that fireball nicked you," he admitted, approaching so that he was right beside her.
"Same," said Alex, sitting up. She prodded at her cloak, which was looking a little crisp but not permanently damaged. "Good thing I was wearing this."
"People in the stands were wondering how you knew to come prepared," he warned her, frowning.
She shrugged. "Let them wonder. What did the others do, by the way?"
"Potter flew around the Horntail with his Firebolt," said Cedric, growing a little starry eyed at the mention of the top-of-the-line broom. "Everyone was surprised Krum didn't do the same. That's probably why Karkaroff gave him the lowest score."
"Petty," she clucked. "What did Krum end up doing?"
"Conjunctivis. Took him a few tries, but eventually he got the Short-Snout right in the eye. Unfortunately, it destroyed some of its own eggs after being blinded. Most of the judges docked major points from him because of that, except Karkaroff – gave him a ten."
Alex could only laugh at the blatant favouritism. "Remind me again why the headmasters are permitted to score their own students?"
"Tradition. Anyway, Fleur used a spell to make her dragon fall asleep, so she should've had the cleanest breakthrough. Shame the eggs were blazing hot, though."
She hummed sympathetically. "So," she began, smiling, "you really think my performance was the most impressive?"
"Of course," he said sincerely, beaming. "You were the only champion who actually got up and close to your dragon. If you don't come first in this task, I'll eat my hat."
In the end, Alex tied first with Harry. Fleur came third while Krum was in last place – despite his headmaster's best efforts. Bagman was the one who informed them of their final scores once he bounded into the room, Krum in tow.
"Well done, all of you!" cheered Bagman. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth — but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open. See the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg — because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"
Alex and Cedric glanced at the golden egg in her hands. "Should I open it?" she asked him.
"Might as well."
"Harry?"
Harry grabbed the egg from Hermione's hands. "Sure," he said.
It took some teamwork, but eventually the five of them figured out how to open the thing. At the count of three, Alex and Harry tapped their wands against the top of the egg. They regretted their decision almost instantaneously.
Everyone cringed violently as an awful screeching filled the room. It sounded like a pair of women dying, really. Before the combined shrieks could burst their ear drums, Alex managed to fight through the agony and snapped the egg shut with a gasp.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron hollered. No doubt his hearing was impaired temporarily from the noise.
"Sounded like a fox," winced Hermione. "That's what their cries are like."
"Do we have to fight a magical fox next?" wondered Alex as she slapped her ears. She doubted they'd stop ringing any time soon.
"Could be a banshee," Cedric suggested helpfully.
"Whatever it is," said Harry wearily, "it can't be worse than a dragon."
Alex almost tripped over herself in her haste to reach the wooden dresser. She knocked on it, to the amusement of Hermione and confusion of everyone else.
They left the stadium together, Alex and Cedric taking the lead while the trio followed them, eagerly recounting the entirety of the first task to Harry. On their way out, they spotted Rita Skeeter, who intercepted them in hopes of getting a quote for her new article.
"Congratulations, you two!" she chirped, looking first at Harry than Alex. "Both Hogwarts champions tied for first place – how poetic. Now, is this more of a friendly rivalry sort of thing or a suitably dramatic one?"
"The former," Alex replied dismissively as she increased her pace.
Writing her off as a lost cause, Skeeter set her sights on Harry instead. "Harry! I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?"
"Yeah, you can have a word," bit off Harry. "Goodbye."
Alex winced at the emphatic viciousness of Harry's tone. Did he have to be so sassy all the time?
Oh my god. Was this how Agatha felt?
Well. Alex still wasn't going to apologise to her for that.
Their group split up at the entrance hall and headed to their respective common rooms. Alex had her cloak and gloves in one arm and the egg in the other as she descended to the dungeons. She ran into the occasional ghost and passed by the familiar paintings, who celebrated her success in their own ways. One ghost—a middle-aged lady with a knife lodged in her gut—did her best to pat Alex on the head. Her hair definitely felt icy after that.
Instead of heading straight into the Slytherin common room, Alex stood outside the disguised door and took several deep breaths in preparation of the reception inside. With practiced ease, she erased any sign of trepidation from her expression and adopted what she considered her game face, one that was both impassive and amused at the same time. Haughty, Grant had once called it. That was fine by her.
Just like the night of the naming of the champions, her Housemates stopped in the middle of whatever they were doing when she stepped into the common room. Almost unanimously, they let out a cheer that seemed to shake the very foundations of the castle. Alex cracked a smile, pleased with their response.
"Go on, Fortescue!" yelled out Dani James, a sixth-year with hair so long she had to constantly keep it in a braid. "Show us what the thing can do!"
Cries of affirmation followed her demand; several glasses of suspiciously alcoholic-looking drinks were raised.
Shrugging, Alex held the egg out at arm's length. To build up suspense, she moved at a snail's pace as she brought out her wand and gave the egg a swift tap.
Afterwards, someone threw a biscuit at her.
Alexandra,
DRAGONS? Why didn't you tell us? You know, I'm seriously considering withdrawing you from Hogwarts and enrolling you in my own school back in Kyoto.
While we are relieved that you're safe and sound, we're also rather disappointed that you didn't write to us immediately after the task. We'd rather not receive updates on our only child's life through your father's gossip network.
Please write.
Mum and Dad
Alex,
Congrats on coming first! Well, equal-first with Harry. You both avoided any damage despite facing the two toughest dragons on the lot – good work. My colleagues and I are extremely impressed, especially considering our own wounds from handling those beauties.
About our delayed response – we are sincerely apologetic that we didn't intervene earlier. Truthfully, like you said, we should have stepped into the pitch as soon as touched the golden egg. However, our team leader decided we needed to catch our breaths and prepare ourselves suitably before Stunning the Liondragon. I think he was worried we would accidentally hit you instead, or that the dragon would collapse onto you upon falling unconscious. Again, we are very sorry for putting you in that position.
We wish you luck in the rest of the tournament. Don't tell anyone, but my money's on you.
Charlie Weasley
P.S. You were right – my mum sent me a Howler after Ginny ratted me out after the First Task. It's quite deserved, I assure you.
Dear recipient,
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have just won an all-expenses paid trip to wizarding Africa! This special package includes a five-night stay in one of the most luxurious accommodations available at the heart of magical Africa, meals included. For more information, please return this postcard via owl and print in clear writing your NAME, ADDRESS, AGE, and VAULT NUMBER.
"Guys," said Alex over breakfast one day, "when I asked you to sort my mail, I thought it went without saying that junk mail was to be discarded as well."
"Hey, we just search for volatile messages," Jacob reminded her. "We don't read all of it."
"True, but it's pretty obvious this is junk." Alex showed them the back of the fake correspondence, which had a moving picture of a person pretending to fly all the way to Africa on their broomstick.
"Maybe they just lack creativity."
"Hm."
"On the bright side," said Zubair, handing her a stack of opened but mostly unread letters, "you've been getting more fan-mail than the opposite these days."
"And an offer for a modelling job," announced Katherine, eyebrows arched in sceptic surprise.
Agatha leaned forward in her seat excitedly. "It's from a company that specialises in dragon-protective wear," she informed them as she read over Katherine's shoulder. "They were impressed with how you came out in Rita Skeeter's article."
Less than a week after the first task, Skeeter published her take on the event. Once again there was a heavy focus on Harry and then Alex, followed by a retelling of the humiliation experienced by Krum and Fleur. Fortunately, she didn't include any photos visualising their unfortunate mishaps, but that was less out of sympathy than personal interest as she instead made sure to include an impressive shot of Harry swooping around the Horntail. Tucked in near the end of the piece was a small photo of Alex during her final stand-off with the Liondragon. Collin Creevey from Gryffindor had of his own volition blown up the photo and given it to her after dinner the other day. According to Ginny, that meant the kid had a crush on her.
"He's probably just in awe of my skill," Alex had replied dismissively. She really did like the photo, though.
"Who isn't?" quipped Ginny, grinning.
"This is why you're my favourite Weasley."
A fond smile wormed itself onto Alex's face at the recollection of that conversation. Her eyes raked the Gryffindor table for the only girl with orange hair; Ginny, who seemed to have a knack for noticing when people were staring at her, glanced up from her eggs and, rather than smiling back at Alex, crossed her eyes and poked her tongue out at her.
Stifling a laugh, Alex returned to her toast — or tried to, at least. Katherine was holding her letter out in front of Alex's face, her expression expectant.
"I'll think about it," she told her, folding the letter back up and pocketing it. Alex doubted she'd accept, though; she wasn't keen on being the face of anything any time soon.
"It's a decent opportunity," Katherine reminded her. "It's best to accept before someone else comes along and steals it."
"I'm so jealous," sighed Agatha. "If only I'd put my name into the Goblet…"
"You're free to take my place in the next task," offered Alex, scoffing. The shrieking egg had everyone scratching their heads in confusion as they pondered its possibilities. So far most people seemed to agree it was a banshee's cry, but Alex doubted they'd repeat such a similar pursuit. Her professors were no help – their lessons were now focused on dissonant topics, from Cheering Charms to Switching Spells.
Besides, Alex had more pressing matters to worry about. Namely, the Yule Ball.
A poster advertising the event was displayed on the school noticeboard near the Great Hall, and within an hour almost every single student had heard about it. Unfortunately, it was set on Christmas Day, which meant you couldn't attend unless you skipped out on returning home for the winter break. Considering the Yule Ball was the biggest social event of the decade, that meant no one in their right mind was going home in December – well, unless you were a first- or second-year who failed to receive an invite from an older student.
If only Alex was permitted such a luxury. Unfortunately, as a champion, it was her responsibility to open up the ball by dancing with a partner. Snape had been the one to break the news to her one day in late November; that conversation had been equally unbearable for the both of them.
"I don't dance," she blurted, wide-eyed at the mere prospect. This was more terrifying than anything the second task could even throw at her.
Snape's lip curled in response. "You act as though you have a say in this. Your fate was sealed as soon as the Goblet chose you, Miss Fortescue."
Alex nodded demurely even as her mind raced for a way to weasel out of the dance. Hermione would totally brew up some polyjuice potion at her request, right?
As soon as Snape dismissed her, Alex basically ran out of the classroom and sought out Harry. She ended up finding him at Hagrid's, along with Hermione and Ron as they politely nibbled on some of their friend's rock cakes.
"Did you hear?" she asked, collapsing into the plush chair close to the crackling fireplace. "About the ball?"
Harry nodded glumly. "Professor McGonagall told me a few days ago. We have to dance in front of everyone at the opening of the ball. And we have to have a partner."
"You should ask Ginny."
Ron choked on his snack while Hermione kicked Alex in the shin from across the table.
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why Ginny?"
"Why not?" she countered, ignoring Hermione's look. "Saves you the trouble of finding someone else."
He turned to Ron, who just managed to dislodge the pebble from his throat with the assistance of Hagrid. "Would that bother you?"
"Nah, 'course not," said Ron, pushing his plate aside. "Well, not really. Sort of. Better you than anyone else, at least. But," he added hastily, "I thought you liked Cho."
Alex blinked rapidly. "Cho as in Charming Cho Chang?"
"The Ravenclaw seeker," clarified Harry, eyeing her oddly. "Why d'you call her that?"
"Because she's the best in our year when it comes to Charms." Alex poured herself a cuppa. "And she's, well, charming."
Harry's green eyes took on a dreamy quality to them. "Agreed." Hermione's laugh seemed to shake him out of it.
"Who will you be taking?" she asked the lone Slytherin in the room.
Alex blew on her tea. "My cat."
"You need help," Ron told her sincerely.
"On a completely unrelated note," said Alex, paying Ron no mind, "d'you think you could whip up another polyjuice? Preferably before the ball."
Hermione narrowed her dark eyes at her. "No."
Hagrid coughed audibly. "That's illegal," he kindly reminded them. "Besides, yeh should all be excited 'bout the ball – it'll be the firs' one in centuries!"
Alex threw her head back dramatically. "Then why did it have to make a comeback this century?" she groaned.
"We could always fall ill right before Christmas," suggested Harry.
"I'm pretty sure we'll be made to dance regardless."
He heaved a sigh. "I'd rather face another dragon."
The temperature in the cottage seemed to skyrocket without warning. Reflexively Alex glanced at the fireplace; she found herself unable to tear her eyes from it as the image of the Liondragon and its ferocious snarl appeared in her mind.
"I don't," she murmured. She already saw the dragon in her dreams daily. "I hate dragons."
Ron winced. "I think I hear Charlie crying."
November came and went. As the days passed by, the world outside grew frostier and mistier. Winter was settling in, and it seemed to be a long one by the looks of things. Alex had just finished her Christmas shopping, and was taking care as she left the owlery lest she slip on the icy steps leading down back to the castle.
I should buy hiking boots, she thought grimly as she slowly made her way down.
"Alex."
Like her name was a curse, Alex was caught by surprise and lost her footing on the next step. Her scream echoed throughout the tower as she tumbled down the cold, hard steps and landed on her arse at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Ow," she wheezed. She watched her breath puff up and drift towards the grey sky, her head spinning and her body aching.
"I'm so sorry," Cedric exclaimed as he rushed to help her up. The snow crunched beneath his feet as he knelt down and gently lent her a hand. "Are you all right?"
"Never better," she muttered as she tried to ignore the unsettling sensation of the snow seeping through her cloak and into her robes. Her joints creaked as she allowed Cedric to pull her to her feet.
"You sure?" he pressed, frowning deeply. "We can head down to the medical wing just in case."
She snorted. "I'm not made of glass, Cedric; I'll be fine. You here to send a letter?"
"Yeah. I sent my dress robes to be altered a few weeks back and was wondering when they'd send them over again."
Alex hummed in response as she occupied herself with a drying spell. "I heard Fleur asked you to be her partner. Did she ever talk to you before that moment or…?"
Cedric smiled. "Not really." He brushed aside a mound of snow with the tip of his boots. "Seems like a lot of people are vying to be your date, champion."
"Too many," she affirmed with a roll of her eyes. Since her wand was out anyway, she whirled it around and constructed a serpent made of snow. "Even my first-year snakes tried to ask me – they're dying to use me as an invitation to the ball. I would've invited all of them, really, but who wants to say yes to an eleven-year-old?"
Cedric peered up at her. "So you don't have a date yet?"
"I do."
He went still. "Who?"
Alex sighed miserably. "Richard Parkinson."
A weird expression twisted Cedric's face. "Why on earth would you go with Richard Parkinson?"
"He did me a favour last year and wanted to cash it in with a date." Alex crossed her arms for warmth. "He didn't mention it until recently; I assumed he forgot. Turns out he was just biding his time so he could use the Yule Ball as the perfect setting."
"You could've refused him," Cedric reminded her, and there was genuine anger tainting his usually placid demeanour.
"Why would I? He's saved me the trouble of finding a partner for the opening of the ball. He's happy; I'm happy." Alex's shoulders tightened as her brow twisted into a scowl. "Why are you so riled up about this anyhow?"
Cedric's face fell slack as though he had been overcome with disbelief. "You really have no clue," he said faintly.
"Uh, yeah. That's why I asked." Alex shivered as a chill crept down her spine. "I'm going back to the castle. I'll see you around."
Without waiting for a reply, Alex side-stepped Cedric and walked away without glancing back. He plagued her thoughts even as she distanced herself from him. That final expression of his was extremely puzzling. Why had he reacted like that? Perhaps he and Richard had some quarrel? The Parkinsons weren't exactly on the side of the Light, after all.
She brought up the topic with Katherine and Agatha later that day in the common room. Her roommates shared a look with one another, seemingly communicating with their eyes alone, before confirming that the Diggorys and Parkinsons weren't connected in any real way.
Frowning, Alex's gaze drifted to where Richard was bothering his cousin Pansy. "So why did Cedric get so mad?"
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Typical," she muttered beneath her breath.
Alex arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"You're quite smart, Alexandra, and can be pretty observant when you want to be – I'm sure you can work this one out on your own." She paused. "Though you are rather dim when it comes to certain matters."
"Meaning?" Alex repeated, her patience shrinking markedly.
"Diggory fancies you," Agatha stated flatly. "He has for some time now."
Alex's lips twitched into an amused smile. "You're not a very good liar, you realise that, right?"
Katherine pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hopeless."
"See? Even Kat agrees."
Agatha shook her head. "May Morgana help you."
But the events of the day after helped clarify matters.
As the winter term neared its end, the school collectively decided to unwind and ignore the curriculum — save for a few sticklers like Snape, Moody and Babbling. Alex arrived to the final Ancient Runes class of the term comparatively early, as their professor was busy dealing with Peeves back in her office.
They really should just exorcise him. Maybe that branch of magic should be added on her to-learn list. She wouldn't be too surprised, though, if Professor Babbling returned next term armed with exorcism runes.
Alex doodled in her book as she waited for class to begin. Her classmates were whittling the time away with games of exploding snap or by gossiping. A particularly popular topic was the upcoming ball, as well as the temporary dance elective the professors had set up for those who hadn't had the privilege of learning while they were young. It was a quintessentially pureblood thing, and Alex had half a mind to badger Katherine into teaching her how to dance instead of subjecting herself to public embarrassment through the after-school class.
Most of the chatter around her was effortlessly drowned out as Alex meditated. She was dragged back to reality when Cho rushed in looking frazzled.
"How'd it go?" asked her friend Marietta, her hands clasped together in an anticipatory manner.
Cho shook her head, dismal. "He rejected me," she replied, her voice muffled as she rested her forehead against the well-worn desk. "Said he was going with Fleur instead."
"What?" yelped Marietta. "David said Cedric rejected her last week!"
"Guess he changed his mind."
"Maybe. Or maybe she used her Veela powers on him. I mean, why else would he change his mind like that?"
"Fleur wouldn't do that," Alex blurted out thoughtlessly. "And Cedric isn't spineless enough to fall for such a gimmick even if she did."
Marietta sneered. "Eavesdrop much?"
"Can't help it if you're louder than a bloody Howler, Edgecombe."
Marietta's indignation coloured her face so that she went almost as red as her hair. Before she could fire back an insult of her own, Cho nudged her gently and directed their attention away from Alex.
Aside from owls and patronuses, there was one common form of messaging accessible by most wand-wavers. It was simply a piece of parchment folded into a paper airplane and charmed into flying towards its intended recipient. Alex's mum had taught her about it since it was used mostly by the employees at the Ministry of Magic. This particular note was meant for Harry; he would appreciate knowing that Cho was still date-less. As much as Alex supported Ginny, it was only fair that she helped Harry follow his own heart too.
Once she was done with that note, Alex sent another, this time to Agatha. It turned out she was wrong about Cedric after all. Alex wasn't sure how she felt about that.
She just managed to send the notes off when Professor Babbling finally arrived. Out of breath and hairs astray, she took a few seconds to right herself before apologising for her tardiness and began class at last. Alex cordoned off all tangential thoughts about the Yule Ball, focusing her energy instead on the runes being scribbled onto the blackboard.
Hours later, Alex was stopped en route to dinner. Harry was loitering in the entrance hall, appearing more relaxed that he had been in days. His entire demeanour brightened when he spotted her; she moved towards him as he flapped his hand in her direction.
"Thank you for the note," he gushed before she could even greet him. "I ran into Cho on the way to class, and I asked her based on your heads-up, and she said yes!"
A small smile lazily stretched its way across her face like a cat waking from a nap. "Congrats."
"Hermione seemed a bit upset," Harry continued, sobering. "Then again, Ron's been offending her much more than usual lately."
"I've heard," drawled Alex. Hermione had almost gotten them booted out from the library when she recounted all the obnoxious things Ron had uttered the past few days: things about how he wouldn't go to the ball with ugly girls (despite being no prize himself), or how he had just realised Hermione was in fact a girl and was desperate to have her go to the ball with him as such. Hermione's voice went especially shrill as she informed Alex and Ginny about how Ron refused to believe she already had a date.
"Who?" Ginny had asked eagerly.
"Me," Alex responded automatically. Then, "Crookshanks."
"It's Viktor," replied Hermione, eyes glittering like stars. "Viktor Krum."
"Oh, shit," Alex muttered in amazement. "Hermione, I had no idea you had so much game."
Hermione's lips had curled upwards into a very satisfied smile. "I didn't really do anything – just helped him out once when he was lost in the library. Turns out that's the reason why he was in here all the time."
"What, for you?" deduced Ginny, grinning widely.
Smile growing, Hermione inched her head downwards in a tiny nod.
"That's so cute," Alex murmured, a tad wistful.
Even now, as she stood in the hall listening to Harry, the thought of Hermione and Krum warmed her. The sullen, recalcitrant celebrity athlete was totally enamoured with a my-pace swot who was constantly overlooked because of circumstances she couldn't control. If that wasn't peak romance, Alex didn't know what was.
"What's this?" jeered a voice so prattish it could only belong to Draco. "Hiding in a dimly lit corridor with someone else? Seems like Potter's begging for a date to the Yule Ball."
The smug expression on his ferret-like face was instantly wiped off once Alex turned and locked eyes with Draco. Evidently he hadn't been expecting her to be talking to Harry, though he really should have known better. Then again, Harry—like herself and Fleur—had been cornered numerous times by randoms wanting to accompany a champion to the ball.
"Bitter because you're struggling to find a partner, are you, Malfoy?" Harry shot back. These two were like oil and fire; put them together and things would set ablaze instantaneously.
Pansy threw her head back imperiously. "She's right here," she declared, referring to herself. "Though you two would make a lovely couple – half-breed with half-breed."
Alex's palm stung as her fingernails dug into it from the fist she was subconsciously clenching. "Unfortunately, I'm already taken," she said smoothly, unfurling her fist. "By your cousin, in fact. He was particularly keen on taking me despite being… what was it? A half-breed?"
With a smile that refused to meet her eyes, Alex stalked close towards Pansy, savouring the way she stiffened and the subtle step backwards Draco took as she neared. "And let's not forget that both Harry and I were chosen by a magical entity itself to represent this school, while you struggled to even be considered despite throwing your name in more than once."
Pansy paled at that last little fun fact. Her mind was probably awhirl with all the possible ways Alex could've found that out, when in reality all she did was sit in the Great Hall beneath the invisibility cloak almost all night.
Ever the chivalrous boyfriend, Draco stepped up and drew their attention from Pansy. "It seems like you hit a sore spot, Pansy," he noted stoically.
"Please." Alex cut through the tension with a small shrug. "Everyone knows purebloods are the most insecure of their status – why else would they focus on it so ferociously?"
As soon as she spoke those words, Alex realised the veracity beneath them. When insecure about some aspect of themselves, people tended to accuse others of the same thing; Duncan tended to project like that after particularly frustrating quidditch matches, and Alex was sure she'd done something similar not too long ago as well. But blood purists and other bigots were the worst when it came to projecting. They pointed the finger at others, condemning them for being rude or incompetent or inferior, when really, they were only describing themselves.
Judging by the way Draco's eyes widened, it seemed he had reached the same conclusion she had. Rather than coming to terms with that epiphany, he chose instead to nudge Pansy into the Great Hall without another word. When Draco Malfoy didn't part ways with you with an acidic word or two, you knew he was shaken up. And truthfully, so was Alex, albeit less so.
"I see why the Goblet chose you as champion," mused Harry as he watched his rival scuttle away.
Alex huffed in amusement and headed into the Great Hall. Rather than heading to the Slytherin table, she deviated slightly and went to the Ravenclaw one. The seat next to Luna was open; Alex slid right in with plenty of room to spare for her elbows.
"I've been expecting you," declared Luna as she sliced up her turkey leg. "Daddy asked me to ask you if you could do us the honour of being interviewed by a writer from the Quibbler."
"Sure," Alex said easily as she heaped a mountain of mash onto her plate. "Who's the writer?"
"Me."
She nodded, having expected as much. "Tonight or…?"
Luna thought on that as she chewed. "After the second task will do. Possibly after the Yule Ball, even."
At the mention of the ball, Alex rolled her eyes. "I assume you'll be going, then."
"Why, of course," Luna said mildly. "It'll be a wonderful photo op, after all. Not to mention the Weird Sisters will be playing there."
"Oh, Merlin," groaned a random Ravenclaw across the table. She had ear piercings on designed to look like eagles. "Stop saying that, Lovegood; you have no evidence of that claim."
"But I do," Luna protested, sipping at her goblet. "My crystal ball told me so."
"Loony," she muttered, shaking her head and returning to her meal.
Irritated, Alex's wand twitched beneath the table. The eagles on the girl's earrings shuddered to life and promptly flew up and away with their owner being none the wiser. Luna definitely did, though, if her smile was any indication.
"You really think the Weird Sisters are playing at the ball?" asked Alex.
Luna nodded. "As sure as a hinkypuff."
Alex ignored that comment in favour of contemplating whether or not she should approach the Weasley twins for a bet. Ever since the Triwizard Tournament had been announced, they had established their own gambling ring. The first round was who would be picked as champion from each school—Harry's unorthodox success won a lot of people a lot of money—then there was the order of placements in the first task. After a little snooping, Alex had discovered that most people were betting on Harry to come 1st in the second task and win the tournament entirely. It was predicted she would be runner-up. She had almost set fire to the parchment when she read that.
Halfway through dinner, the girl who had taunted Luna reached for her piercings and finally noticed the lack thereof. Yelping, she searched high and low for them, and it was only when she frightfully confessed that they were treasured gifts did Alex relent and remove them from the pocket of her robes. Discretely she tossed them across the floor beneath the table whereupon they were discovered a moment later.
"That was a bit mean," commented Fleur from her spot two seats away from Luna's other side.
Alex shrugged, indifferent and unwilling to explain herself.
Fleur pursed her lips into a firm line at the blatant dismissal. "I hear you turned down Cedric Diggory."
Um, what. "Says who?"
"People. Is there something wrong with him?" Fleur asked, brow furrowed with concern.
"No? He's a pretty good bloke," replied Alex, bemused.
"Oh." Fleur's expression cleared with belief. "I thought as much, but you turning him down made no sense, so I wondered if there was something about him that...put you off," she said slowly as she struggled to translate it all into English.
Alex offered her a toothy smile. "Well, I'm quite surprised you accepted him after he rejected you the first time 'round."
"Were it anyone else, I wouldn't have given him so much as another glance his way. But Cedric Diggory... He understands."
"Understands what?"
Fleur dropped her voice a notch. "What it's like to have people look at you without actually seeing you."
Ah. Pretty people problems.
Alex valiantly refrained from rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you'll have a lovely time together," she said acidly as she turned back to her food.
So far, this was shaping up to be the longest year of Alex's life. She couldn't wait for the Yule Ball to be over and done with.