Misguided Ghosts (a Severus Snape love story)

Chapter 4: Real talk

CHAPTER 4

Ester's POV

The goblet of fire sat idly in the center of the great hall, a flickering white age line surrounding it to keep underaged wizards out. I grinned. Ever since the first day when I heard about the Triwizard Tournament, I wanted to enter. Now that the two other competing academy's were here and the goblet was set up, I felt so lucky that I was seventeen and eligible to put my name in. My friends, poor Fred and George, had the idea to drink a potion that would supposedly make them older because they were only sixteen. Their plan backfired horribly and the potion turned them into old men. I laughed so hard when I was walking them to the hospital wing that my stomach was still sore a few hours later.

I giggled under my breath at the thought as I walked up to the goblet and dropped the slip of parchment with my name on it into the flames. The slip instantly disintegrated into ash and I barely got my hand out of the way in time before the yellow flames licked at my fingers. I then turned on my heel to go meet Snape for our lessons. I was already fifteen minutes late. He would be expecting me so I had to hurry or he would think that I stood him up.

I had just reached the door when a voice sounded from behind me. The voice had a thick Russian accent to it. "Hello. Your name's Ester, right?" I whirled around to find a guy sitting back in the bleachers, smiling. I jumped. I had thought I was alone since by this time, most students were in their dorms asleep.

"Um, yeah... Why do you ask?" I asked incredulously.

He smirked as if I should have known who this guy was. "I saw you this morning when I came in at breakfast. Remember? I winked at you when I was passing by."

That's when I remembered him. His name was Victor Krum. He was one of the contestants from Durmstrang. When him and some of his other classmates sat down at our table, he immediately plopped himself in between me and Neville, interrupting our engaging conversation, and began hitting on me. It was really embarrassing, especially with the whole Gryffindor house sniggering behind our backs and Snape taking points off from our house for some vague reason. I could feel my face going red just thinking about it.

"Oh yeah. Hi, Victor." I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Victor got up from his spot on the bleachers and stepped closer to me. "It's funny, I never thought of you as one to have a taste for excitement. You know, with you wanting to be in the tournament and all."

"Are you kidding?" I snorted. "I live for it."

He gave me yet another cocky smile. God, he was so full of himself. "Well then, may the best man win."

I nodded, about to turn and leave again when I felt his muscular arm snake around my waist as he began to walk with me. I tensed slightly at his touch. "So Ester, where are you headed at this time of night? Surely it can't be safe for someone as delicate as you to be roaming the halls alone."

I let a half hearted laugh escape my lips as I spoke. "Are you always this daring when you're picking up chicks?"

"Nope, just with you." He said, flashing me his brilliant white teeth.

I rolled my eyes, sarcasm lacing my tone as I spoke. "I'm sure you are."

We had just turned a corner leading to another maze of corridors by now when I heard the familiar, cold, drawling voice of Snape come from behind us. He sounded angry. "Mr. Krum, I shall inform you that Hogwarts has a rule against any physical contact with the opposite gender."

I turned around to face him, pulling away from Victor's hold as I did so and shot him a confused look. There was no such rule here. Why was he making it up? Before I could question though, Victor got the jump on me. "I apologize professor Snape, but I was not informed of such a rule."