Chapter 3 - Chats
My heart was gripped in both anxiety and excitement, just as the Great Hall became engulfed in silence.
Then, Louis broke the ice. "Yeah! Al!" he yelled, "That's my best mate!" and the packed room immediately burst into applause.
I laughed and pulled Al into a hug before urging him towards the front of the Hall. He was in complete shock and strode forward almost mechanically. I shared a knowing grin with Louis: he did it! He was Hogwarts' champion!
As soon as Al found his way through the chamber doors, Slughorn rose, signaling the end of the Champion selection. Informing us all cheerfully that the festivities would begin in this same hall, in an hour's time, our headmaster—along with Professor Pafvel, Aunt Maxime, Uncle Dean, and Uncle Seamus—disappeared into the chamber as well.
I was dying to know what they were talking about inside. Al had better tell us everything later—or Louis and I were going to break out the emergency Veritaserum.
Louis was going to catch up with his roommates, but before he left, he graciously performed the countercharm to vanish James' ridiculous present. I thought about joining him in Gryffindor Tower, but decided instead to return to the Heads' Tower. There was still some paperwork to catch up on, and I thought I'd be a good cousin and finish up Al's part for him.
Yeah, he had better be generous in his Christmas presents this year. Of course, anything would beat last year's autographed Gilderoy Lockhart boxers. I shuddered from just thinking about it. Cousins could be such pains in the arse.
"…the latest model, of course. I never have anything but the best, obviously. Anyways, so…"
I nodded my head politely as Tim Corner droned on and on about his new broomstick. He was Hufflepuff's Keeper, and his own biggest fan.
(There were rumors that he'd started his own fan club, but I haven't yet been able to dig up sufficient information to verify that claim.)
After finishing all of my paperwork, I had dutifully dragged myself from my heavenly bed, gotten dressed up, and stalked down to the Great Hall for the celebratory party. Of course, I had barely set foot into the room before Corner accosted me and began reciting his life story.
Why did I decide to leave my bed again? Oh yeah, I'm an idiot.
I subtly glanced around the room, hoping to catch the eye of anyone who might take pity on me and save me from this… this self-obsessed thing—I mean, save me from Corner.
Of course, I hadn't seen anyone familiar in the last half hour. Well, apart from Al, but he ignored me as he was completely engrossed in conversation with two Beauxbatons girls: very French, very attractive, made for a very happy Al (the traitor!). It didn't look like I was getting out of this conversation any time soon.
"Say, how do you feel about getting out of here and taking this back to my common room?"
What?
I stared wide-eyed at Corner's expectantly smug face. How had the conversation even reached this point? We were talking about broomsticks! I like broomsticks! Go back to your broomstick monologue, Tim!
Outwardly, I blinked a couple of times and politely said, "Pardon?"
Corner chuckled in a slightly lecherous manner and said, "Come back to my common room with me, Rose."
I gaped at him dumbly. "Er… umm… I… well, you see… um—"
"Unfortunately, Rose can't because she promised to keep me company at this party," a smooth voice cut in.
Never in my life had I been so happy to see Scorpius Malfoy. (Okay, so I had only just met him, but Merlin was I grateful right now.)
His gaze met mine, silver eyes sparkling in amusement as he turned to Corner (whose eyes were narrowing in anger), "Thanks for keeping her company, mate. Hey, you're Tim Corner, aren't you? The big Quidditch star?"
I watched in fascination as Corner's eyes brightened in pride. "Er, yeah! How did you know?"
Scorpius' grin was almost dangerous. "We all know you at Beauxbatons; you're quite a… legendary Keeper."
Corner smirked in self-satisfaction, not detecting the sarcasm underscoring Scorpius' tone as I did. "Oh, I know I am. I'm just relieved the rest of the world is aware of my prodigious skills. Anyways, gotta go, folks. Need to share this with my adoring fan club."
And with that, Corner flounced off toward the seating area in the back, leaving me to gape at his retreating ego.
"Fan club?" Scorpius chuckled in disbelief.
"Rumor is he founded the club himself," I told him conspiratorially.
"Wouldn't put it past him," Scorpius smirked. "Quite the entrepreneurial spirit."
I grinned. "Oh, absolutely. But how did you know he's such a Quidditch airhead?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I was talking to a few Ravenclaw blokes about their chances for the Quidditch Cup. Excited they didn't cancel Quidditch for the Tournament?"
"You have no idea," I laughed. "My family is pretty obsessed. Do you play?"
"A little," he said, smiling wryly as if remembering an inside joke. Then he continued in a much lighter tone, "Nearly everyone tries it at least once, though."
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it can be really useful, too. My uncle Harry got past the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament with his broomstick. Oh, that reminds me, congratulations!" I smiled. "How does it feel to be a Champion?"
"Nothing new. I feel like a champion everyday," answered Scorpius, though, fortunately, his roguish grin belied the seriousness of his tone.
I rolled my eyes, laughing in spite of myself. Were all Beauxbatons wizards this impossible?
a/n: I know that it's been forever since I last updated, but thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think! Reviews are so very appreciated! :)
