October 27th, 1994. Wednesday.
"Why is Dumbledore making us clean everything?" Selena asked as she polished the frame of a painting in the Gryffindor Common Room. The woman in the painting - a lady in soft pink with a frilly fan - sniffed indignantly, as if it were about time someone bothered to pay attention.
Several of other students were in the Common Room straightening little odds and ends, reorganizing the bookshelves, fixing the logs by the fireplace, setting up the Wizard Chess board. Wendy, Alisson, Tess, and Renee worked fervently to clean as well.
"Because of the Triwizard Tournament," Wendy answered Selena, dusting off a copy of Enchanted Encounters by Fifi LaFolle.
Selena looked up, her dark eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "The what?"
"The Triwizard Tournament," Alisson answered. She began to beat a pillow from the couch to get the dust off, clouding Renee in the stuff.
"Oh, thank you so much that really clears things up," Selena replied sarcastically, tossing the other girls a smile.
"Didn't you listen to the announcements at the Great Feast?" Tess asked.
Selena shook her head. "No, to be honest, all I could think about was the food. It was a long train ride from London, I was hungry. I... well, you know what I mean." She found herself slightly embarrassed to have not paid attention to any of what the school's Headmaster had said.
"Well, the Triwizard Tournament is being held at Hogwarts this year," Wendy began. "It's where three schools have three students, one from each school, enter the contest. Then, whoever wins gets money and a lot more. I'd consider entering the contest myself, if I were old enough. You have to be seventeen." She sighed, setting a stack of books on the rug. "Anyway, the other schools are Beauxbatons Academy of Magic from France and... I think it was Durmstrang Institute, from Scandinavia. The students are arriving next week."
"Next week?" Selena echoed. "That's not enough time to clean everything in the castle! Why didn't someone tell me about this earlier?"
"Because, you never asked," Tess replied, her small lips curving up in a grin. She looked so endearing, her brown eyes bright, a few freckles scattered across her face. Selena felt a stab of guilt, remembering how she'd ignored her friend for half of the last year.
Selena looked away, glancing at the clock. She rolled her own blue eyes. It was ten past four in the evening. "I have to go meet Hazel, Rolf, and Damo-" She stopped midway seeing Wendy, Tess, and Alisson all look over. Okay, so maybe everything hadn't been cleared up over the summer. "I mean... Hazel, Rolf, and... hey, man. Because... that's... what... I'm going to tell them... when I see them."
Wendy still looked suspicious, blonde fringe messy, but Renee grinned. "Really? Tell them hey, man from me too!"
Selena nodded and quickly set down her cloth near the other paintings. "I'll see you all at dinner." She got her cloak, and left the Common Room in a rush. Once she was outside on the grassy grounds, she immediately saw her three friends: the pink coat of Hazel, green of Rolf, and then a taller figure standing slightly apart from the other two.
"Hey!" Selena called out to the figures before running down to them. It was getting colder every day now as summer was over. The grass was still a lush emerald green, though, the sky pure blue.
"Hey, Sel," Hazel said, Selena smiling as soon as she reached them, cheeks flushed.
"Hey... I mean, hey, man!" She laughed a bit, but her friends just gave her a look that clearly said: loony.
"Renee wanted me to tell you that," Selena said, stopping.
"That would make sense..." Rolf muttered.
They all started walking down the slope, Rolf and Hazel drifting a bit ahead, brushing arms. Hazel pointed to the Black Lake, probably quoting some fact to Rolf. She was a studious girl, one of the qualities that Selena found most sweet about her.
Damon leaned closer as he walked near Selena, lowering his voice. "Any luck getting out without Wendy or the others asking you where you were going?"
Selena gave a half nod. "They didn't notice anything weird, but Wendy wasn't so convinced... So, why haven't I heard more about this Triwizard Tournament?"
"You didn't know?" Rolf asked, glancing over his shoulder. Only then did Selena notice he was holding his pet rabbit. She gave Karrot a little pat, the bunny twitching his nose, before she walked ahead a bit.
"No... I can't be only one, right?"
"I don't know about that," Hazel replied with an amused smirk.
October 28th, 1994. Thursday.
Selena walked down from the South Tower, leaving Charms class, trying to stuff her books (The Standard Book of Spells by Miranda Goshawk and a journal already filling up with inky notes) into her bag. The sun shone brightly outside the castle windows, a breeze ruffling the Forbidden Forest in the distance. There wasn't a cloud in the blue sky, birds flitting around happily.
"Bye, Sel," Alisson said as she slid down the staircase banister and hopped off. "See you in Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
Selena waved goodbye as she pushed open the large doors leading to the bridge outside. She had Transfiguration next, though if she hurried she could run to the Owlery and return a letter to her parents. Already they had sent her a chocolate frog, wishing her a happy Hallowe'en in a few days. She had written a message to her younger sisters - Ivy and Violet - about their Hallowe'en costumes. Ivy, turning eleven in January, would be attending Hogwarts the next year, so Selena was trying to tell her more about the classes as well.
Pulling her scarlet-and-black robes tighter around herself, Selena moved across the bridge, chilly air tossing her black hair. As she walked, some yelling became increasingly louder. She frowned. Hopefully that wasn't some prank happening - the Weasley twins, Fred and George, had been talking about some new plan of theirs. Selena reached the Wooden Bridge that stretched across a ravine between mountains. Floorboards creaking unevenly under her feet, she squinted ahead.
But she wasn't greeted with an empty bridge or the Weasley twins, but two students yelling at a smaller one. The two older ones looked about Wendy's age, but average height. One was a girl with long, thick blonde hair, and the other was a boy with short blond hair.
The one cowering against the side of the bridge was at an angle so that Selena could see her face. The girl was slim, but tall enough to be a Second Year, though she wasn't familiar to Selena. Her hair was light brown, tumbling around her shoulders in the wind. The breeze changed directions, the girl's robes fluttering to reveal blue. The Ravenclaw crest on her uniform confirmed Selena's suspicions.
Selena looked at the hoods of the robes the older two were wearing. Yellow fabric lined the inside. They were in Hufflepuff.
The younger Ravenclaw said something, and the older girl yanked out her wand.
"Hey!" Selena yelled before she could stop herself. All three of the students turned and looked at her, surprised. The older Hufflepuff girl had a heart-shaped face and cold, hard, light blue eyes. The boy had a round, youthful face, and the same malevolent eyes as the other.
The younger Ravenclaw shook her head. Her mouth drooped open a little, as if she were in disbelief that Selena had said something.
The older girl, who Selena now nicknamed Iceyeyes, glared at her. "What?"
"Uh..." Selena looked at the Ravenclaw girl for a moment before realizing they were taunting her. Or something else, but it wasn't a cheery hello. Noticing the wand held like a vice in the Iceyeyes' hand, Selena's heart swelled with anger. Her spine straightened with confidence as she lifted her chin. "I said hey. What? Never heard of it?"
"Listen you-" the older girl began before Selena shook her head and interrupted.
"Guess not. Look, I'll give you ten seconds before I scream. Some teacher's bound to hear, what with Proffessor Hagrid's hut close by," she said. She wasn't bluffing, but hopefully they would leave so she wouldn't have to scream.
Iceyeyes muttered something before lowering her wand and looking at the boy beside her. "Come on, Erebus... This is a waste of time..." With that they walked by Selena, but not without the girl slamming into her shoulder as she passed. Selena glanced over her smarting shoulder, watching as they disappeared. Once their robes fluttered around the corner, she turned back.
The Ravenclaw girl sighed in relief. "Thank you..." She regarded Selena shyly. Her eyes were a light blue like the two Hufflepuff's, but hers lacked the frosty menace.
Selena nodded. "Sure... Er... I'm Selena Malast, by the way."
"I'm Marie-Beth Salamone. But you can call me Marie," the girl said, sticking out her hand.
Selena shook it, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Are you in my class, Marie? Sorry if I've forgotten..."
Marie shook her head. "I don't think so, I'm in my first year."
The thought of it being the girl's first October at Hogwarts and getting bullied by those older kids just made Selena more furious. She smiled at Marie instead, trying to not ruminate on it. The two Hufflepuff's were gone.
Selena's thoughts spun, catching up to her. She was going to be late for Transfiguration if she didn't hurry! She could already picture Professor McGonagall's stern face, frowning at her.
"Ah. Well, I have to get to class, but, maybe, I'll see you in the Great Hall." Selena nodded.
"Alright... I'll see you... Oh." Marie turned around at the edge of the bridge. "Thanks again, Selena."
The Gryffindor nodded again and gave a wave before walking off towards the Owlery.
Another chapter! Yay!
Oh, and sorry it's taken me so long to update. I had writer's block... I couldn't come up with anything, but I managed the ending of this. Remember Erebus and Iceyeyes. They're gong to be very important in Selena's 2nd year. And is some rivalry starting? Hmmm?
Well, I will try to update this Friday or before. I've just been so busy. Cannot wait until Summer is here! Gah! I'm sooo tired of school. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Reveiw? ;D
~Meghan