The week I stayed at the Weasley Burrow was uneventful, Hermione returning home with her Muggle parents the following morning after hearing news of the events at the World Cup. We tried to regain some sense of normality back, but my mind had allowed itself to open up, once more; many a night Harry's dreams would sneak into my own and cause us both to wake in sweats, unable to drift back off to sleep. Instead, we would gather in the living room with hot chocolate and discuss them; but they were almost always the same, except for a few details. At least, I hoped they were only Harry's dreams projecting into my own mind. To say we shared the same visions, however, wouldn't be too absurd...
Remus apparated to the Burrow the following morning, to make sure we were all safe and unharmed; insisting he came to King's Cross station on September 1st to send us off to school. Sirius had informed him of Harry's nightly terrors, but he kept questions surrounding the matter brief and need-to-know. When we met him on the platform, however, he looked worse for wear than I had ever seen him before; even without Wolfsbane. It had been a full moon the night prior and I was unofficially barred from ever being within his vicinity on such a night again, due to the occurrences that had transpired at Grimmauld Place.
So there I stood, on Platform nine and three-quarters with my Godfather, brother, friends and the Weasley family; waiting to say our goodbye's for the new term was upon us. 'Breathe,' I reminded myself as I smoothed down my cardigan; finding myself involuntarily searching the platform for a trio of platinum blonde hair that would belong only to the Malfoy family. I tried tirelessly to swipe the stray wisps of auburn hair from my face as the Hogwarts Express train veered into the station.
'Everything is going to be alright this year.'
"Emerald?" Remus' voice called from my side, causing my gaze to avert onto the man as he fought back a sea of emotions in his mind. He allowed me to decipher one, however from his thoughts; pride. Failing to subdue the ever-growing grin spreading across my lips, the man pulled me into his arms, allowing me to sigh in his embrace. "Owl me? So that I know you're doing okay."
I nodded, the stinging sensation resurfacing in my eyes as he let me go. "I'll have to use Harry's owl, but I will. I promise." And I meant it. Satisfied with my answer, my Godfather nodded with finality. "I'll get the cottage ready for when you come home next term."
My eyes widened in the sudden disbelief and realisation at what his words meant. "You mean? Dumbledore said yes?" Remus nodded with a smile wider than my own. "You can come and live with me, so long as I make the necessary preparations each full moon and ensure the cottage has enough protections spells surrounding it." I shrieked, my stomach churning with a thousand butterflies as I flung my arms around his shoulder and he lifted me into the air. As much as I missed Hogwarts, the thought of not having to stay there and having a home to go to in the summer elated me, sparks of excitement coursing through my every vein as I suddenly began to wish the minutes away for the end of the year. I couldn't wait to go home with Remus. Home.
My stomach fluttered once more, with the thought. "No more Hogwarts for the holidays. I'll be waiting for you on the platform, Emerald."
"I can't wait."
"Em?" Harry's voice diverted my attention for a moment, as he waited by the door to one of the carriages. "It's 10:58. Let's go!" He reminded, placing his index finger to an invisible watch on his opposite hand. Chuckling, I shook my head towards him in dismissal and turned back to face my Godfather. "Bye, Remus."
"Goodbye, for now, Emerald." He corrected, pointing his index finger towards me knowingly.
And with one final nod, I repeated the words he had spoken and boarded the train, "Goodbye, for now."
The train was crammed. Whether that was due to a greater amount of first years joining the school that year or us getting older, I wasn't sure. But Hermione, Harry, Ron and I made our way towards the back of the train and found an empty compartment, with ease. No wonder no-one had picked it; for it was slightly more dilapidated than the rest; the seats were sunken in four different places with gum and sweet wrappers stuck to the underneath of them. The glass door was almost impossible to open and it would be ages before the trolley witch would get to our part of the train.
Ron yammered on about his father and older brother, Percy, making a fuss about a missing witch called Bertha Jorkins, as we took our seats (with great disgust and hesitance, I might add. But I drowned out their conversation, fumbling with my trunk to put it on the shelf above my head. In all my shuffling, however, a piece of paper slipped from the shelf and onto the floor. At first, I thought it to be nothing more than another, sticky sweet wrapper. But upon closer inspection, I found it was a bit of paper with two different sets of handwriting inscribed onto it;
Moony?
Yes, Prongs?
I hear Mary MacDonald fancies you.
And what if she does?
Do you fancy her, too?
It doesn't matter if I do. It's completely out of the realms of possibility, Prongs.
Ah, because of your 'furry, little, problem.' That shouldn't stop you from pursuing the girl of your dreams, Moony! I'm setting the two of you up on a date at Madam Puddifoots after Christmas. Maybe me, you Mary and Evans can have a double date?
In your dreams! Lily wouldn't go out with you, even if you paid her!
Do you think that could work!?
Ahh, my little Lily Flower...If I give you 100 galleons would you go on a date with me?
Piss off, Padfoot!
I turned the page, desperate for more, only it was blank; my stomach sunk suddenly, in disappointment.
"What's that, Em?" Harry queried, causing me to slowly extend the parchment to him. "I think this compartment belonged to the Marauders." I sighed, suddenly falling in love with every quirk and imperfection it had; encapsulating the quartet of friends perfectly. "Of course it did." Hermione chuckled, a small scoff emitting from me at her jest. Harry's eyes lit up as they trailed the words, handing it back to me once he had finished reading. "I might owl it to Remus. I'm sure it'll give him something to laugh about."
"Is Padfoot with him?" Harry's voice suddenly turned very serious, taking me aback for a moment as I contemplated my answer. "He was. Up until about a week ago, I think. The attack at the World Cup caused the Ministry to stop looking for him, so I think he managed to get out of the country."
Harry nodded, momentarily satisfied with my answer. "Will you let me know if Remus says anything about him?"
My head tilted with a small and reassuring smile, "Of course I will."
***
"Slytherin." I nodded, satisfied with my prediction.
"You can't be serious, Emerald. Definitely an Eagle." Draco argued by my side, the both of us waiting for the sorting hat to decide which, if either of us, were triumphant.
"Hufflepuff!"
We groaned angrily, our disappointment being, luckily, overshadowed by the cheering emitting from the yellow table. I could imagine we would have been in trouble, had any of the Professors heard us. The girl took her seat at the table, Dumbledore rising to his podium as he began to address the entire school.
"That's a shame. Did you see her co-ordination; she could have been a brilliant beater." I thought aloud, Draco scoffing in disbelief as his blue eyes met mine. "Are you mad? She couldn't even sit on the stool without tripping over her own feet. Last I checked, you need balance to ride a broom, Potter."
"...Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor...Alastor Moody."
The doors to The Great Hall suddenly opened, a hunched over figure hobbling inside as he made his way towards the teacher's table. One of his eyes protruded in a most unnatural sense from its socket, darting about the room and completely out of sync compared to his slight more normal looking one; which was a stark brown in comparison to the electric blue one that had a mind of its own. The leg he limped on was made of wood and he used a stick to lurch himself forward; every other step would cause a loud thud to emit through the hall. His hair was a faded grey, his face looked as though it had been hit with a shovel; for part of his nose had been chipped away and a flattened, awful scar remained. But I could hardly judge, reminding myself of the scars my Godfather shared and the one that had accumulated on my neck, all too recently. I pitied him, as he stalked towards our Headmaster.
"My father mentioned an Auror would be teaching, this year. But he's supposed to have gone nuts over the past few years." Draco explained, but I was too focused on Dumbledore's next words to respond.
"We are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang."
Dumbledore's azure eyes twinkled as he glanced over the room.
"A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities — until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued. As you know, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire. Our guests will be arriving on October 30th. I expect you all to be very welcoming to them."