You With the Red Curls, You with the Watercolor Eyes

Chapter 4~Della

Juno hurries out as soon as I'm done, in her own immaculate robes, promising to meet me up later, and giving me directions to the great hall. Luckily, I have a good memory, and I find my way down just before the first years start to pile into the hall. It is incredibly loud in here. There must be hundreds of voices pounding in my head. I push away the growing knot behind my forehead and try to ignore the headache.

I spot Theo waving to me from the Slytherin table, smiling wide. "I knew you'd be Slytherin!" He says excitedly as I squeeze between him and Enzo on the bench. I didn't, that's for sure. But I smile anyway. 

Across from us sit Draco and Pansy, with Mattheo sitting a little to the side. He smiled when I walked up, but now he looks down at his feet and appears solemn. He must feel my eyes on him, because he looks up suddenly. My mind goes a hundred percent quiet. What? That never happens unless I'm alone. 

Then I hear a single voice in my head. It is low, slow and croaky, like it's taken a very long time to pick out just the right words to say.

"Can you hear me?"

I widen my eyes in shock. I've never actually communicated with any of the voices in my head. "Yes," I say in my mind. Then our eye contact breaks and the voices come back with full force.

All the first years get sorted. A few new kids join our crowded table.

Then a voice booms out over the chatter, and the outer noise halts, but the noise in my head only gets louder. I try to block it out. Dumbledore's voice booms out in some announcement about a new teacher, Moody, I think. The others share snide looks. I wonder what that's about.

Then he announces that the inter-house quidditch championship will not be taking place this year, met with many boos from all the tables. He explains that it is because of a special 'event', starting in October and continuing through the year.

He continues, "We here at Hogwarts are to have the pleasure of hosting a very special and exciting event involving two others of Europe's finest magic schools. It is my pleasure to announce that the Triwizard Tournament is taking place here at Hogwarts!" An eruption both outside my mind and inside of it engulfs me. I plug my ears and try to control my breathing. I hate loud noise, which is highly inconvenient considering my head is always loud.

Dumbledore explains the history of the Tournament. Apparently it's some big deal. To be honest, I don't really care. At Beaxbatons, practically the only things people talked about were their grades, the occasional party and proving themselves in one way or another, so they could get a good job. The Tournament was just one more way to get ahead.

Dumbledore tells us that competitors from Beaxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive in October, and the choosing of the champions will be on Halloween. The impartial judge, the goblet of fire, will pick the three most worthy candidates, one from each school, to compete in three tasks to prove that they are the best. Then he says, "Along with glory for your school, the victor of the Tournament will receive a thousand galleons of prize money."

The students at the tables go nuts. But my friends just smile. Possibly they already knew... But then Dumbledore says something that disappoints everyone. There will be an age restriction. No one under seventeen years of age will be allowed to compete. Many students groan. I think it's probably a good thing, since the death toll of the Tournament has historically been immense. Hopefully this will help keep the death count to a minimum. 

Dumbledore assures us that no one under seventeen will be able to submit their name for consideration. But there is a loophole for every rule. I know that from personal experience. 

Then he announces that we may eat. Piles of food appear on dishes across the tables and chatter picks up again.

"So, what d'you guys think?" Enzo asks, loading his plate with mashed potatoes.

"What do you mean?" Blaise asks.

"Are you going to try to enter?" He says, like it was obvious.

"Well, duh. We have to," Says Theo. That makes me frown. He must notice this, because he says, "For the glory, I mean. Not for any other reason." He still seems suspicious.

"Whatever," Pansy says. She starts on something about who said what at someone's party. I'm happy for the distraction. It gives me a moment to think. With all the announcements I almost forgot about the single voice in my mind. It sounded like... No that would be stupid. 

It's pitch black outside by the time everyone is done eating. The ceiling above us must be enchanted to show the sky outside, since it glitters with stars, and a fat yellow moon hangs in the blackness. Dumbledore dismisses us for bed. I follow the group down several flights of stairs into the dungeons, down corridors and up to a blank wall. Mattheo walks up to it and whispers, "Sanguis purus." Latin. 

The wall slides away, revealing a lush common room. The entire back wall is a window that must open to the lake, because beyond it I can see the mucky bottom and dark water. The ceiling reaches high up, at least fifty feet tall. The floor is taken up by gilded furniture, and the other walls either hold fireplaces, bookshelves or desks for homework. On the right side of the room is a hallway. Everyone moves toward it, so I just follow in their wake.

Two staircases line the back wall, and two doors to the shared bathrooms sit to our right and left. Mattheo starts giving me a short tour of the place. "The common room is where we all just hangout and do homework. The boy's bathroom and dorms are on the right, the girls on the left. Pansy will show you to your dorm." Pansy smiles at me.

"We'll see you boys tomorrow," She says, grabbing my hand and running up the left staircase. I look back for just a moment. The boys have started walking up their staircase. Mattheo walks idly a few paces behind them, looking back at me too. I blush. So does he.

Author's Note~ Do you like these couple of longer chapters, or do you prefer more but shorter ones? Thank you for reading! It means the world to me. Seriously. I love you all, and wish you the best. You specifically. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. 💓 (here's a bouquet for you, you deserve it!! 💐💐💐) 

~PokaPotFox13