Cold Skin

Six: Young and Sweet, Only Seventeen

Over the next two months, their lives were a blur. Rumours spread quickly that Fred wasn't in his room the night of the Slytherin party. Everyone was saying he was caught sneaking out of the dungeons and into Gryffindor tower by Filch and that's why he spent the rest of the first week in detention.

Fred and Gia spend every day together. Ginny, Gia, Hermoine, Alice, James, Ron, Harry, Fred and George spent every lunch out on the lawn. Gia and Fred snuck off and had breakfast by the lake. They talked about the soon arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, eating chocolate pudding on the grass with the last of the lingering summer. The Weasleys were so excited about the Triwizard Tournament tasks ahead. Harry was excited that all the attention wouldn't be on him. He had no intention of submitting himself into the tournament.

Finally, the 30th of October came. Everyone was huddled outside when a pale blue carriage pulled by large winged horses flew down from the sky breaking through the pale pinks and purples of sunset. They saw a large ship appear from the depths of the lake. There was a large feast held to show the arrival of students that had just arrived.

The students from the foreign schools joined ranks with the Hogwarts students. The Durmstrang students were sitting at the Slytherin table. A couple of the boys gathered around and talked to Gia and Alice, but Gia was completely uninterested as Fred was trying to throw food at her from across the Great Hall. Draco was making casual conversation with them as if he knew them as old friends.

Beauxbatons was sitting at the Ravenclaw table. Ron was completely entranced by a tall girl with silvery blonde hair. Hermoine looked visibly jealous and Gia and Alice could sense the tension from across the room. Everyone feasted together and got to know each other before Dumbledore began to give his speech about the upcoming events being held at Hogwarts.

After Dumbledors and the Ministry's speech, the room was significantly louder than it had been before. Everyone seemed to be upset that there was an age limit for the entry for the Triwizard Tournament.  Fred was very upset, he was up most of the night trying to figure out a way through the age line. He even asked Gia to put his name into the Goblet of Fire because she would be turning 17 that next morning. They tried an ageing potion but that didn't go well. The twins spent a few hours getting their beards removed, and their hair being turned back to the fiery red rather than grey.

After the twins came down from the hospital wing they got ready to meet Lupin in Hogsmeade. He had written to her and said that he had a surprise for Gia's birthday. Gia and Alice were in their room after breakfast with the music blaring on her Muggle record player. Draco was laying on Alice's bed, quietly singing along,  waiting for them to finish getting ready. The girls were not focused on getting ready as they were dancing around in different outfits changing the song before it finished.

"Oi! Would you let the bloody song finish at least! And turn it up,  I can barely hear it over your screaming!" Draco yelled, over the girls dancing, he threw a pillow at Gia and it hit her in the side of the head.

"Gonna pay for that one Malfoy!" Gia tackled her cousin. She was messing up his perfect hair trying to smother him with a pillow.

"Children. Children! Let's go!" Alice said, pulling Gia off of Draco who was trying to catch his breath.

Alice was in an emerald green jumper and a tennis skirt. She was wearing expensive heels and her hair was perfectly curled. Gia however looked anything but normal. Her hair was messily braided and hanging over her shoulder there were pieces pulled out framing her face. She was wearing what looked like an old Weasley sweater that was blue with a big "F" on the front. She had a tennis skirt and her dirty gardening shoes on.

Draco and Alice were finishing a game of Exploding Snap as Gia shoved her foot into her other shoe. She jumped up from her bed and they looked at her with confused expressions.