yellow ribbon | a harry potter fanfiction

not everything you know is real, stone

WENDY WAS QUITE SURE of many things that haven't happened yet. She knew what was going to happen and how it was going to happen. It was uneasy and it made her feel quite weird, and the flap of wings of a butterfly was just about to bring chaos in her life.

"Stone!" a voice accompanied by a rude tug of an arm brought her back to reality. "Stone!"

"Wh—?" She stopped herself when she saw the face of non other than the 'professor' she hated most at that moment— "Professor Moody..." she said grinning her teeth.

"You have to come with me," he said pulling her away.

"Wh—No," she quickly said looking around for someone she knew. Unfortunately, she only saw Durmstrang students talking to each other.

"Is everything okay?" One of the Durmstrang boys she saw just then, asked backed by his friends.

Professor Moody eyed the boy and quickly let go of the girl, realising how uncommon it should have looked for him to grab a student. But he composed himself quite quickly, "Alexei Agapov, am I right?"

The boy looked surprised that the professor remembered his name, but he gave a nod nonetheless, "Yes, sir."

He then looked at the others behind the boy, "Ilyason, Galdin, and Poliakoff," he said naming each of them as if it were normal and proceeded to look back at Wendy, "Professor Dumbledore asked for you," he said.

Wendy didn't know whether she could believe him or not, but she was sure that Barty Crouch Jr. wouldn't have tried to do her arm so early in the school year. It would have brought more unnecessary attention to the school by the Ministry and he didn't need that at such delicate moment.

She gave him a nod and looked back at the two boys and two girls from Durmstrang thanking them in silence as she followed after the professor.

"Isn't professor Dumbledore with the contestants right now?" She asked after a while of silence while walking through the corridors of the castle.

The man didn't reply, instead, he brought her to the headmaster's office, which Wendy was happy to get in, knowing she'd be safe in there. In the room she found said professor standing by the side of his desk, as restless as an old wizard could look. The partecipants of the tournament lined up before him, all turned to look at the new arrivals together with professor McGonagall.

"Wendy?" Michael called from the corner of the room.

Wendy looked at him surprised to see him there, "Michael?"

"Miss Stone," Dumbledore solemnly said getting the attention of the girl. It wasn't often she was called like that by the professor, and she started to feel troubled by the situation.

"Yes, professor?" She said in a small voice, scared to break the silence of the room.

Her eyes fell on the paper he held in his hands, and noticed how, all this time, he has been looking at it.

"As you are well aware," McGonagall proceeded, "we had the nominations of the champions this evening."

"Yes?" She said looking at the four students in question.

"Well, there were some complications," She continued and Wendy couldn't understand what she meant, as everyone saw what happened with Harry.

She gave a quick glance at the boy and the woman shook her head and looked at Michael instead. Wendy had to think about it for a second and it finally came to her, "What."

"Wend—" He stepped closer.

"No," Wendy said shaking her head.

She looked over at professor Dumbledore, as to ask if it were true and the man could only hand out the piece of paper he's been holding. On it, with fine handwriting, her brother's full name.

She didn't want to believe it but the more she looked at the name on the parchment the more her anger started to build up.

It was one thing that Harry had to be part of the competition, it was part of the story, and she already had an idea of how to save Cedric from his death. But the idea of her own brother in the middle of it all was not acceptable.

So with no hesitation, her look went straight to 'Alastor Moody'. With decisive steps and anger boiling in her she walked towards the man, but Michael stepped before her and hugged her instead.

"Don't do it," he whispers in her ear, "We can't expose him now—we don't have proof."

Wendy knew that he was right. If she were to lash out on him, she wouldn't have anything against him and she might get expelled for jinxing a professor. She couldn't risk that.

"I will be fine," Michael says pulling her away and searching for her eyes.

But Wendy ignored the boy and looked at the headmaster instead, "The Goblet is binding."

"Yes," he answers looking at her, "It's like a contract."

"And," she said looking for words, "—and like in any contract, you need witnesses or it is invalid," she said with a little tone of dispair in her voice.

Dumbledore almost thought the girl would have had something to use but unfortunatelly, "There were a few remaining students in the hall when the Goblet gave out the name," he answered, "It is as official as the rest."

Harry who, until then, was has been standing side by side with the other competitors, finally moved closer to her friend and grabbed her hand. Wendy followed his actions and looked at him confused.

"It is my turn," he said with a comforting smile, "no matter what, know that I'm here for you and Michael."

Wendy took a long look at Harry, who in the past year has become a very close friend and important part of her life. She then looked at the rest of the partecipants, kids that were unaware of the future events. Just amazing wizards and witch that want to give honour to their respective schools.

They truly didn't deserve any of the things in serve for them, and Wendy, in that moment, knew that she wanted to do her level best to stop anything from happening. She looked back at Harry and gave him a smile, to then turn towards Michael, who still had Moody behind him a few meters away, eyeing the room.

With a smile she breathed in and smiled at her brother, "everything will be okay."

notes:
sooo that happened ahahha
any ideas on who the competitors will have to save on the first competition?