Aurora | Harry Potter

chapter six

As I sit down next to Harry, I look over the Great Hall and witness the many crowds of students, eager to find out who the champions of each school will be. Teachers make their way to front of the Hall and Dumbledore asks everyone to sit down, the loud excitement descending into a dull roar. 

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for, the champion selection!" Dumbledore exclaims, raising his hand and slowing moving it over everyone before placing both on the Goblet. The flames turn red and spit out a burnt piece of parchment, which the wise wizard catches. 

"The Durmstrang Champion is Viktor Krum!" 

Everyone applauds and congratulates Viktor as he makes his way over to shake Dumbledore's hand. He is sent away and the Goblet spits out another piece of parchment.

"The Beauxbatons Champion is Fleur Delacour!"

Again, more applause and cheers are heard as Fleur makes her way to the front and then exits into a side room. I feel my hands start to shake, nervously waiting for the Hogwarts Champion, praying that it won't be Cedric. I tried to talk to him a second time before he put his name in the Goblet, but he just brushed me off and ignored me again.

The Goblet spits out the final piece of parchment and I hold my breath, feeling someone behind lightly pat my shoulder. Judging by the lightness, it was probably Hermione. 

"The Hogwarts Champion... Cedric Diggory!"

This time, I blank out and only see the applause and cheers, not a sound entering my ears. Tears begin to fall from my eyes and I feel my breathing start to hitch. Harry must've noticed because he pulls me closer to him and lets me lean my head on his shoulder, his hand rubbing my arm supportively as he whispers, "It'll be okay."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore exclaims, a wide grin on his face, "We now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory..."

He then spins around, points at a covered object Barty Crouch places on a stand and yells, "The Triwizard Cup!" The cloth flies off to reveal a beautifully crafted silver and ice blue winners cup. As everyone starts clapping, my eyes are pulled back to the Goblet, which is firing flames everywhere. 

It glows a large, bright red flame and spits out a fourth piece of parchment. I raise my head off Harry's shoulder and watch as Dumbledore catches it, reads it and mumbles something under his breath.

"Harry Potter?"

Everyone looks around the room, searching for Harry's face. I turn to him and look at him with the same confusion he looks at me with. I hear multiple people protesting quietly until Dumbledore shouts Harry's name again. Hermione pushes Harry out of his seat and he starts to slowly walk towards the Headmaster.

Everything starts to get too much for me, so I silently remove myself from the group - no one notices anyway - and walk outside the Great Hall. Once I'm outside, I burst into floods of tears. I run out of the building and into the small garden area outside, collapsing next to the large oak tree.

"Aurora?"

I look up and see Draco Malfoy in the tree, a concerned and worried look on his face. I attempt to wipe away my tears, but they just keep on coming. "I'm sorry," I mumble, standing up and going to walk away, but I stop when he tells me to wait.

He jumps down from the tree and walks over to me, using the sleeve of his robe to wipe away my tears. "Stop crying over something you can't change," he says bluntly, giving me a slight smile. "That's kind of hard when two of the most important people in your life are risking their necks for a stupid competition," I reply.

"Your brother will be fine. Potter on the other hand--"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say, cutting him off. He just shrugs and smirks. "It's Potter, he'll mess up somehow and get injured or something."

I scoff and frown. "Wow, to think that maybe how you acted a few nights ago was actually you being nice. But no, you were just playing your mind games, right? Asking me how I am... you hate anyone who isn't Pureblood or Slytherin," I rant, all my feelings spilling out at once. "Just do me a favour. If you actually care about me or my emotions in the slightest, then don't act fake with me. Either be nice to me or don't be."

And then I storm off, making my way to the Gryffindor Common Room, where I'll probably stay up all night by the fireplace reading, something I tend to do most of the time I'm upset.

As I near the start of the staircases, I see Helena Ravenclaw, the ghost of Ravenclaw. When she sees me, she apologises about what's happened and tells me that she's always around near the Ravenclaw Common Room. I simply smile, thank her and walk up to my common room.

Once I'm inside, I realise most of the students are in bed. I quietly enter the girls dorms, grab my current read and sneak back downstairs to sit by the fire. About ten minutes pass and a few drops of water fall onto the pages of my book, tears dripping off my cheeks like droplets of depression.

I sigh and push the book aside, staring into the fire; bright amber and golden flames swirl and crackle almost in a rhythm, the occasionally popping of the burning wood and the crackling being the only sounds in the room.

A loud creak makes me jump and whip out my wand, pointing it at the main staircase, and I see Harry, his hair dishevelled and his eyes tired. I slink back down and tuck my wand away. "Can I sit?" He asks, to which I just nod. Once he's sat down, I turn to him and see sorrow in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Aurora."