Of Apples and Oranges

III: iv: Old Friend

Aurum sat on a boulder just off the shore, juggling a pebble in her hand as Draco skipped rocks on the lakefront. She threw the pebble into the water with the force of a slingshot, but it didn't give much splash.

Draco was alerted by this and waded out to her rock. He climbed it with her helping him up. They sat together there and looked out at the Hogwarts Lake. The two watched as Gregory, Vincent, Pansy, and Blaise ran across the shoreline together. Gregory glanced at Aurum but did not stop. Aurum felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach flutter. Frustrated, she picked up a pebble and threw it into the lake forcefully.

"It's not your fault that they're idiots for ditching you." Draco assured her, leaning in her lap. Aurum wasn't sure it helped, she didn't want to see them as idiots per se.

Soon, a girl with a teal bobcut, a Beauxbatons uniform, and a camera around her neck bounced into view with her arms out to her side as she skipped towards the Slytherins. Aurum's face lit up and she ran to the other girl with open arms. Draco slipped off of the rock and trudged towards the two.

"Chantelle!" Aurum screamed, wrapping her arms around the other girl and spinning her around. She put her down, the two beaming at each other.

"Aurum Creste, you beautiful, majestic creature." Chantelle made a small smile. "How could you come into this castle and not say even say to me a 'hello'? A "bonjour" would have been nice, non? Explain, s'il vous plaît." she stomped. Her accent was extremely thick, but Aurum understood her very well.

"I didn't know! Why are you here though? Draco said that the ones chosen to be champions were coming. I never thought you'd want to do that." Aurum tilted her head.

"I'm the yearbooker! I'm taking pictures and putting them in the yearbook." Chantelle lifted up her camera. She looked back towards the castle. There was a flood of people coming back inside. "We better go to the dining hall, they must be announcing the Triwizard Tournament Champions."

"I suppose they are." Draco stepped in, looking at the crescent moon. "It's weird though, Creste. I never thought you'd be friends with a seventh year."

"Yeah, well, I was a fourth year at the time and a prefect. She got into so much trouble that we ended up becoming friends." Chantelle shrugged.

"Well, I'm closer to her age." Draco mumbled to no one in particular.

The three ran into the Great Hall. Aurum and Draco were dashing towards their Slytherin table, but Chantelle grabbed Aurum's hand, tugging her over to the Ravenclaw table, and Aurum grabbed Draco's hand. They sat between two Beauxbatons students.

Dumbledore stood tall and held up the Goblet of Fire, the cup that decided the Champions of each school. "Without further ado, the Triwizard Tournament Champions! Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!"

Applause erupted from their table. Draco put his hands in his robes, but Aurum had no problem clapping, she'd known of Fleur beforehand since they had went to the same school for a year. Chantelle whooped and hollered for Fleur though the other clapping from the table was minimal and polite. Her camera flashed repeatedly as she took multiple pictures of the smiling French gal.

"Durmstrang, Argentum Creste!"

The students of the Scandinavian school threw their cups into the sky for a large toast, yelling and screaming for Argentum. His face was as red as a beet, Aurum noted as she had sat behind him.

"Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory!"

No applause or shouting could beat the Hufflepuff table. Cedric received eager handshakes upon handshakes, table-wide toasts, louder than loud whistles, deep and guttural bellowings of his name, among other ear-bursting noises. Some even ripped off their shirts in revelry.

The Goblet didn't stop there, no. One more name slipped out of the cup, and Dumbledore hesitantly read it aloud.

"Hogwarts, Harry Potter..."

"Woo! Go Harry!"

Draco jabbed Aurum sharply in the side. All else was silent.