Revenge of the Misfits
Chapter 8
The next day went by much like the last, with everybody ignoring her again. Come to think of it, the rest of the week went by just like that. Soon, it was September 24, a Sunday. Finally, a day off. Sarah had given in, and went to the library to try to work on her growing mountain of homework. There was never really any Dark Arts homework, because Professor Salotti had announced that the reason he never gave homework was because he didn't want to waste his time grading it. Slughorn was satisfied as long as everybody's potion was looking relatively normal, and divination was more fun to do because you could just write down that you were going to die in the next week and the old bat would lap it right up. Charms and Transfiguartion on the other hand, were the most difficult. Everything McGonagall assigned was ridiculously complex, and Flitwick wanted them to master a completely new spell overnight. They also frequently lectured on the importance of their N.E.W.T.s, and about the importance of working hard to get ahead in the wizarding world.
So Sarah spent her time in the library, slowly working her way through a foot long essay on Giant Wars for Professor Binns. Occasionally somebody would stop by to give her a dirty loook, but she went mostly undisturbed. Most of the point-loss hatred had blew over by now. Sarah wondered if Hermione really thought she actually liked Ron. They only had known each other for less than a week back then! It had been nearly a month now, but still! Somebody tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and Sarah looked up. It was Madam Pince, the librarian.
"The library closes in ten minutes dear. I suggest you head down to dinner, I'll hold your books until tomorrow." Sarah sleepily nodded her thanks, and left the room for the Gryffindor tower. Most of the tension from her own house had breezed over, and her and Ron were accepted once again by most. Hermione had mostly forgiven Ron, but hadn't spoken to Sarah ever since that night by the lake. Sarah wasn't complaining, Hermione's constant know-it-all attitude was really getting on her nerves. Harry was trying not to pick sides, but was definately tiring of Hermione's antics. Sarah jogged up the spirling staircase, and up into the dorm. She dropped off her textbooks, and decided to change out of her uniform. Sarah put on black faded jeans, and a tight green t-shirt. She then pulled on black wristbands and put a small silver loop through her eyebrow where it had been pierced last year. Sarah pulled on fresh socks and sneakers, and decided to clean up the mess she had made around the bed. Basically, she levitated all the junk in to her trunk, and locked it before running down to dinner.
Entering the Great Hall, Sarah ran along the tables to take a spot next to Neville and across from Ron. The room was mostly dark, lit only by candles. The plates were still empty, and Sarah wished they would fill because she was starving.
"Urg...can't they hurry up? I want to eat!" Ron moaned, and Neville's stomach growled loudly. Sarah twirled her fork between her fingers, and stared up at the High table, filled with teachers. Suddenly, the Headmistress stood up, and tapped on her wine glass with her knife to silence the mass of students. Everybody eagerly looked up at her, waiting for the announcement.
"This year, Hogwarts will once again be participating in the event of a lifetime, the Triwizard Tournament!" she called to the students. Sarah's eyes widened in shock, they were still holding it, after what happened three years ago? Of course, since the event was ressurected, it must take place every three years, just like before. "Most of you know what this involves, but I shall explain it briefly once again."
"The Triwizard Tournament was first started a long while ago as a competition between the wizarding schools. A champion is selected for each of the three participating schools, and all three participate in three magical tasks. Schools take turns to host the tournament, and people said it was a wonderful way of getting to meet foreign wizards and witches until the death toll grew so great the tournament was stopped." A few people gulped at the words 'death toll' but Sarah was more thrilled than ever.
"Three years ago, we had events that nobody likes to speak of which resulted in a student's death. But this year, we will be participating once again against new schools, to brooden our international ties. We will be competing with Grier Academy for Boys from France, and Hockadey Magical School in Austrailia. We will be traveling to the Australian Outback to Hockadey for the tournament." Neville gasped in wonder, and everybody looked more excited than ever.
"The Goblet of Fire will decide which student shall be the champion, the winner shall recieve the Triwizard Cup for the glory of their shcool, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money. Though I know everybody wants to come participate, the rules of previous years shall be in effect. No student under the age of seventeen shall participate, and since we have limited transportation, only the seventh year of students may come along."
Cries of outrage sounded through the hall, all the students wanted to come watch, but only the seventh years could come! "All who come are expected to enter their names in the Goblet, but we will not punish you if you decide not to enter. It is a safety measure for your own sakes, do not protest against it. We will be leaving for Australia on October First, by means of Portkeys. I know you will show greatest courtesy to our hosts, and support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. Now, dinner and then bed, for we have an exciting year ahead of us."
At this the plates filled with food, and the Great Hall erupted into talk. Sarah stuffed her mouth with a drumstick before looking up at her companions.
"I'm entering! A thousand galleons!" Ron exclaimed. Sarah frowned slightly, and Neville looked nervous.
"I think I'll come along, but I don't think I'll enter. I doubt Gran would be very happy if I didn't go." Neville said, munching on a squash.
"I'm definately coming!" Sarah gleefully expressed. "I doubt I'll get picked, but I'll enter anyways."
Harry looked over. "There's no way I'm entering." Sarah flinched, realizing what pain this had to bring back to Harry. "But I'll definately come and watch and cheer you both on!" he smiled at Sarah and Ron. They all exchanged grins, and continued to debate which tasks would be given out, and who would be picked for champion.
"Probably somebody from Ravenclaw," Ron told them. "I bet the tasks'll be the same idea, some creature, a place, and then something new for the third task." Everybody nodded in agreement, eating their desserts. Sarah was stuffed, and couldn't eat another bite. She could hardly wait for October first, it would be her first time out of the country! Soon, everybody else finished, and the group of friends trailed up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, where they all sat and played cards together for a hour before heading off to bed.
Though Hermione had developed a strong hatred for Sarah, Lavander and Pavarti were glad that she was there. Sarah knew lots of hair and make-up charms, so the girls were happy. Together, they all changed into pajamas and climbed into bed.
"Good night!" Lavander called to them, and everybody else muttered some form of the same reply. Quietly from her bed, Sarah watched the final minutes of the sunset through a crack in the curtains before falling asleep peacefully, dreaming of winning the Triwizard Tournament! Everybody was cheering for her, and they all were so happy. Her Aunt Marty ran out from the crowd, her wild, long gray hair flying out behind her. Marty's light green eyes glowed with love and pride, and Sarah was threw up on James and Ron's shoulders before being paraded from the pitch.
"Beep beep beep beep..." Pavarti's alarm clock woke everybody up, and Sarah moaned, hoisting herself out of the bed. She stomped through her morning routine, grabbed her books, and strode confidently through the halls to breakfast. Sarah now felt brave enough to take a few short cuts without getting lost, and without having someone else lead her around the school. Sarah quickly reached the Great Hall for breakfast, and sat down at the Gryffindor table alone for now. The beams of golden sunlight shone through the bewitched ceiling, owls drifting down towards their owners. Sarah watched them, wishing she had mail (but she never did) or had the money to order a newspaper subscription. When she was homeschooled, her aunt got the Daily Prophet, but that was a bit harder now. Suddenly, a owl was flying towards her! Her, Sarah Turner!
It was a normal tawny owl, flapping quietly towards her. It landed gracefully on the table in front of her, sticking its foot out. Attached was a scroll of parchament, and a long, thin box wrapped in newspaper. It was to her, the envelope was bearing her name. Sarah grabbed it intently, and gasped in recognition of the handwriting. It was painfully neat printing, that could have been typed on a computer, and the i's were dotted with circles instead of dots. It was James! Sarah ripped the envelope open, and let the owl drink from her porriage, having travelled all the way from France. Overflowing with excitement, Sarah carefully unfolded the piece of paper.
To Sarah:
Greetings, fellow Earthling and wizard witch...person. Yeah. I'm sorry I haven't wrote to you in a few months, it's been hell trying to find somebody to lend you an owl. Finally I got Mike to lend Jenny to me. Watch out, she bites.
Sarah instinctively pulled her hand away from the owl, which gave her a wide eyed, innocent look that Sarah rolled her eyes at.
Anyways, I bet you heard about the Tournament, I can't wait for it! We're coming too, I do go to Grier Academy if you haven't forgotten, which I know you have. Are you going to enter? I'm not! It's too dangerous, with all the tasks, plus I haven't read any of my textbooks yet so I doubt I'd stand a chance even if I do get picked. You probably will enter, I'll be cheering you on (after our champion, of course) Just be careful, okay? How's Hogwarts? Did you meet any new friends? I guess I'll find out soon, we'll be seeing each other in less than a week. So why am I writing this then? Urg, I confuse myself sometimes. You don't have to write back, by the time it gets here we'll be in Australia.
Sorry this is so short, I was never very good at writing letters.
Sincerely with love, James
P.S. Sorry I missed your birthday, I remember now it was back in May. But anyways, happy belated birthday, hope you like your present. See you soon!
Sarah grinned at the sound of the letter. She could tell it probably took James a whole hour to write out that short little paragraph, and he still thought it sucked. Oh well, that's James for you. She remembered the post script, and tore the newspaper wrapping off the box. It was still long and narrow, and was a deep navy blue. Sarah flipped the little clasp off, and took off the lid. Underneath was a gorgeous necklace, it had a thin silver chain, with a small sapphire heart on it. There was a narrow silver cut out wrapping around the top and side of the heart, like a snake, and had little diamonds sparkling in it. Sarah gasped at the necklace, it was truly breathtaking. How did James afford something like this? Why would he spend his money on her? All these questions she wanted to ask him, but fought the temptation of writing back, they would be meeting face to face on October first. Oh, it was beautiful!
Somebody came up behind her. "Oh, it's beautiful!" a passing girl remarked. Another followed her, staring starry-eyed at it. "Wow..." There was a small crowd of girls forming around Sarah and her new present, everybody gasping in the glory of the necklace.
"What is this? Let me through!" Pansy Pakistroin pushed her way through the crowd, eyes stopping at Sarah and the necklace she was dangling from her forefinger and thumb for everybody to look at. "Oh, wow! Who gave that to you, and why?" Sarah scowled, and held the necklace to her chest in protection.
"None of your bee's wax." she snapped, and Pansy's face turned ugly, if that was even possiable. The crowd disappated as a teacher came that way.
"Hey, break it up, break it up. If somebody's bleeding, then get up and get out of the food area for obvious sanitary reasons." Professor Gregory Salotti poked everybody in reach in the stomach, slapping one girl on the head with a stack of papers. "Move along, before I start giving out detentions."
Pansy glared at the teacher, then turned on her heel and marched back to the Slytherin table. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. "You saved me!" she told the teacher in thanks.
"No problem. I'd suggest you keep that little beauty safe, if you know what I mean." Salotti told her, eyes following Pansy as she sat down next to Draco. Draco looked disgusted, and tried to move away as quickly as possiable. Sarah snickered slightly at this, and the teacher smiled at her before heading up to the High Table for breakfast. Sarah carefully undid the tiny clasp, and hooked the necklace around her neck. It was honestly the prettiest thing she ever owned in her lifetime. Also the most expensive, so she didn't plan on taking it off or letting it out of her sight any time soon.
More people came to admire the pendant, and finally it was time for classes. Sarah and Ron's potion was nearly complete, it now had to simmer for a whole week. Then they would give it to be graded, and if it passed, they would be allowed to keep a tiny bottle of the Felix Fecies each. Both friends were trying to make the potion perfect, wanting to keep their concotion. Dark Arts consisted of a lecture on the breeding of Kappas, which was extremely disgusting. It seemed like Salotti was enjoying watching the looks of disgust as he showed them a slideshow, but squealed along with them anyways. The rest of the day was boring and normal, divination was a standard hour of staring at a crystal ball, Runes working through a vocabulary list.
Sarah spent her free time wandering the corridors with a sketchy map Ron drew up for her with the help of Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Seamus, adding on bits and pieces of intersting information. She felt a bit sad that she would be leaving the castle soon, but promised herself that she would one day return. It was more of a definate feeling, but same difference. The rest was spent doing homework in the common room with Ron to coach her through Transfiguration, Sarah's worst subject. The deal was if she helped him in Charms, he'd help her out too. They weren't anywhere near finished, but were trying to figure out something better to do.
"Wanna play Quidditch?" Ron suggested, and Sarah shrugged.
"I don't have a broom." She gloomily muttered, and Ron looked thoughtful.
"Ginny can lend you her's, she's busy with Harry right now." By busy, he meant they were doing who knows what together in a abandoned part of the castle. So they both grabbed their brooms, and asked whoever they met on the way if they wanted to join it. Eventually, they all rounded up about 12 people in all, and headed out to the Quidditch pitch. All in all, there was Sarah, Ron, Lavander, Pavarti, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and a few new people: a sixth year Michael, Caitlyn, her friend Terra, and the Creevy brothers Colin and Dennis.
"All right, we have to pick team captains now." Seamus announced. "I say Ron should be one since he's actually on the Quidditch team." Everybody else nodded in agreement, and Ron's ears turned a little pink. "Who else should be?"
"I say Neville!" Sarah called out, leaning on her broom. Neville uttered a little scream, and everybody voiced their agreement. Neville was sort of in shock, so Sarah nudged him foward. "Now we pick our teams."
Ron went first. "I want Seamus." And Seamus went to his side of the field.
Neville took a deep breath, he was never picked, let alone captian for anything! "Okay...Dean..."
Ron went again. "Lavander."
"Sarah." Neville shakily said, and Sarah walked over to his side. They continuted to divide up, Pavarti, Michael, and Dennis were on Neville's team, Caitlyn, Terra, and Colin were on Ron's side. Everybody went into their huddles to decide their postitions.
Neville took another deep breath. "Dean can be beater, Pavarti should be Seeker. Dennis can be Keeper, and Sarah, Michael and I will be Chasers." Everybody yelled "Break!" and flew to their postitions. Across the field, Colin was Seeker, Ron Keeper, Lavander, Caitlyn, and Terra were all Chasers, and Seamus beater. The balls were all released, and everybody started to play. The Seekers circled around high, searching for the Snitch. The beaters just whacked the bludger back and forth, not wanting to seriously injure somebody like in a real game. The Chasers were all fairly good, but Neville's team was winning at the moment because Michael and Sarah were both fairly good. Ron got distracted by the bludgers Dean kept hitting at him, so they made a lot of easy goals. All in all, it was just a friendly game, nobody was even counting, and everyone lost track of who was winning soon. Finally the sun was sinking below the horizon, and the group gathered up the balls and went inside.
Exausted, Sarah, Pavarti, and Lavander fell into bed with great sighs together. Hermione tried not to pay attention to them gabbering on about all their awesome moves, but felt a bit left out anyways.
"Why wasn't I invited, anyways?" Hermione burst out, unable to contain it any longer.
"Well, I did invite you." Sarah reminded her. "You said you wouldn't do anything with me if a gun was pointed to your head."
"What's a gun?" Pavarti asked curiously.
"It's a Muggle metal thing that they use to kill each other." Lavander answered, and formed one with her fingers. Eventually, all the talk died down to soft snores and the steady, slow breathing of sleep. Sarah could hardly wait for the first, but at the same time would miss Hogwarts. So she peacefully drifted off to sleep, and dreams of the days to come.