the goblet - f.weasley

- c h a p t e r - f o u r t e e n -

   The hostility towards her continued for the next few days.

   And what was even worse was the fact that she still couldn't get Ron to talk to her.

   She had tried to say good morning in the common room, tried to invite him to practise flying on broomsticks, and she even tried to give him a peace offering of his favourite sweets, but he denied her or just blatantly ignored her.

   It hurt.

   It really did.

   No matter how hard she tried to explain to him that she didn't do anything, the more distant and rude he became.

   Hermione had stayed by Gemma and Harry's sides, though, which was encouraging but still heart-wrenching all the same.

   How could everyone turn on each other so quickly?

   Ginny came up to her one day in the library, her eyes burning, and said, "If I hear the twins and Lee complain about you and Harry one more time, I'm gonna sick a hex on them." She rolled her eyes, "Honestly, I would never expect them to be such pricks!"

   That comment made Gemma feel hurt and loved all at the same time.

   She thought the twins would have been okay with her, she told them and pleaded with them to believe her, and she was sure that Fred at least believed her.

   But apparently, she was wrong.

   And here Ginny was threatening the lives of her brothers and sticking by her side nonetheless.

   Nothing like having friends who are always there for you.

   Gemma had continued on with her school days as normally as she could, avoiding the sneers, scowls, and spells secretly thrown her way.

   What surprised her, despite the harshness from students and some teachers alike, was the fact that the Hufflepuffs were actually defending her.

    At first, she was shocked, but an interaction in the hall was all she needed to see to know just why the Hufflepuff didn't hate her guts.

   "Hullo there, Hilton," Draco snarled behind her as she was repacking her satchel on a wall, trying to find a particular scrap of paper with a formula for her hair potions. "Looking for another way to ruin the Tournament?"

   She spun on him, her braid hitting him in the face as she did so, "Sod off, Malfoy. No one asked for your presence right now or at any moment."

   His pale face was smug, "Oh, don't talk like that now...Not when you have so much on the line."

   She glowered at him, "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

   He stepped closer to her, almost toe-to-toe, so that she could almost smell what she thought was aftershave wafting from him. His voice was quiet, lowering to a volume only she could hear in the loud hallway, "Oh, Gemma Hilton, if only you knew the secrets I knew."

   It took her about three seconds to understand what he meant, and the blood must have rushed from her face as her head spun because Draco started to laugh, "Oh, would you look at that, boys! I scared the great Gemma Hilton!" He poked her in the shoulder harshly, making her stumble, "What? You see a ghost, Hilton? Maybe it's the ghost of your—"

   Draco was grabbed by the robes and yanked away from her.

   Gemma slouched against the wall as Cedric's voice vaguely registered in her head, "Get out of here, Malfoy. Bullying isn't tolerated, don't you know that?"