𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝟏.𝟓 - 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲

 The final bell rang in unison with a flash of lightning that touched down miles out into the valley that surrounded the castle. It had been pouring rain all day. Or at least since your DADA class. Speaking of which, you were feeling much better as you packed up the rest of your books, ready to retire to the common room before getting a headstart on your homework assignments.

Pansy stood beside you, bag already packed and swinging over her shoulder. She smiled and reached for your hand. "Do you want to see something?"

You looked between her and her hand suspiciously. "Like what?"

She fake-pouted and waved her hand back and forth in the air, gesturing for you to take it in yours. "Come on, you don't trust me?"

Sighing, you let her guide you out of the Transfiguration classroom and through the winding halls, not once questioning her motives. Pansy had a look in her eye that told you wherever you were going, it would be worth crossing the courtyard in a downpour and soaking you through your robes.

"Whatever this is, it better be worth filling my shoes with water," you grumbled, shoes making squishy, slapping sounds as you walked further indoors. You stopped to lean your arm against the wall and fix your sock and Pansy yanked you forwards by the elbow. "Look look look!" She pointed into the room to your left, bouncing up and down on the toes of her dress shoes.

You looked into the darkened room to see the Goblet of Fire standing tall in the very middle. Students of all ages were crowded around it, watching the blue flames twirl and crackle. The firelight illuminated their faces and cast long shadows over the stone floor. Both of you walked further in, standing side by side. 

"It's fun to watch the boys put their names in. They act so silly about it."

She didn't have to explain what she meant because two seconds after she said it, a large group of Hufflepuff boys emerged from the corner of the room, jokingly shoving one of their own toward the goblet and past the glowing age line drawn in a complete circle around it. The boy in question was a handsome sixth-year with rosy cheeks and a boyish smile on his face.

"That's Cedric Diggory," Pansy whispered, noticing your stare. "He's captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team."

You watched silently as he pulled a slip of parchment from his front pocket, reaching up to drop it in. The blue flames consumed it instantly, sputtering and sending little embers to fly around his hand as he pulled it back. His friends clapped, a few hollering in encouragement. You nodded, silently agreeing with your friend. They did act quite silly about it.

A few more students who were old enough stood up to put their names in only to receive boisterous applause every time. Pansy got bored quickly and shifted her books in her hands. "Alright, I'm headed back to the common room. Are you coming?"

You were about to nod when out of the corner of your eye you spotted Hermione seated on a bench in the corner, flipping the pages of her book quietly. You waved Pansy off, telling her you were going to stick around for a little bit longer. She shrugged, turning out of the room. Obviously, coming here wasn't as exciting and fun as she thought it would be.

Tossing your bag in the seat next to Hermione, she jumped before realizing it was you and shut her book. "Hey," She greeted, scooting over further to give you more room to sit. 

"Hey, 'Mione. I wanted to say thank you for sticking up for me today in Moody's class."

She shook her head, looking back down at the hardcover of her book. "It was nothing. He shouldn't have been teaching us about those blasted curses anyway." She looked up across the room and you followed her gaze to see Harry and Ron standing directly behind the age line. The blue light illuminated Harry's glasses and reflected it across his face. "Besides, Merlin knows Harry's seen enough of them to last a lifetime."