The wind howled as I sat upon the bleachers, waiting for the First Task to begin. The morning had gone in a blur; I had hardly sat down in Ancient Runes before it was time already. Everyone had gathered and it was tight squeeze; I could just see over the heads of the other students below me.
"Lana!" George yelled, pushing his way over to me.
"George," I greeted, moving towards him. He popped through the last few people and let out a breath of relief.
"Phew. That was a pain," he said. I smiled up at him and he smiled down at me. Further down the stands, I could see Angelina with Fred. She looked so happy.
"Oh look, it's about to start," George announced. We took a seat and pulled our cloaks tighter around ourselves. I saw George shudder as a cold breeze blew by, so I undid the scarf he'd given me and looped it around both our necks before leaning into him.
His heart was thumping insanely quick and I could feel that my own was the same. The last time we'd been this close was a week ago, during the Hogsmeade trip, but it seemed like an eternity.
I gasped as I saw the beauty of a creature being tugged out and chained next to a pile of eggs, a golden one sitting on the top. "A Swedish Short-Snout!" I whispered, marvelling at the creature. Then, the crowds roared as the first Champion exited the tents.
"Go, Cedric!" Hufflepuffs cried from their stand. I watched as Cedric shook himself before he sprang out. The dragon turned towards him and huffed, smoke coming from her snout as she watched him. He scampered over the rocky ledge before he settled behind a huge rock. Suddenly, he must have transfigured it or something, as a dog appeared. It ran towards the dragon, distracting it from himself as he ran towards the pile. As he touched the golden egg, the dragon turned around and bared its teeth at him, jaw wide to snap at him. I flinched and grabbed George's arm as Cedric just managed to getaway. He held up the egg triumphantly as tamers came out and began calming the dragon.
"Hey, it's Charlie," George piped up, catching a glimpse of the infamous Weasley red-hair in the distance.
"Charlie?" I said, remembering him from my Second Year during Hogwarts. "He was the Quidditch Captain a few years ago right?"
"Yeah," George said. "He went to Romania after he graduated Hogwarts; wanted to study dragons."
"Sounds fun," I commented, watching as a Welsh Green was pulled onto the rocks where the Swedish Short-Snout had been moments before. The loud whoops from the men in the crowds made me realise that the next Champion was Fleur.
She tottered out, a swing in her steps, as she approached the dragon. She waved her wand in front of its face, probably putting it in a trance as it began to droop to sleep. Once sure it was, she walked up to the pile of eggs. Just as she'd touched the golden one, the dragon snorted, a puff of flames lighting her dress on fire. My eyes widened as she used a spell to put it out, waking the Welsh Green in the process. She swiped the golden egg and clutched it to her chest, a proud smile on her face as she waved to the crowds.
Replacing the Welsh Green was a Chinese Fireball. The red scales of it reminded me of the dragons that decorated my house when it was Chinese New Year; mother was a muggle so she'd been adamant that we had to celebrate it.
"Krum!" Girls screamed as he exited the tents next. I nodded appreciatively as I eyed his muscles underneath his shirt.
George cleared his throat beside me.
"Don't get jealous," I teased.
"I'm not," he said. I prodded his face as he said this.
"Your furrowed eyebrows would say otherwise," I mused. "Besides, I seem to have a partial liking for ginger pranksters."
As George opened his mouth to reply there was a massive roar. I turned back to the task, where the dragon had its eyes closed and was flailing around, crushing half its eggs in the process.
"What happened?"
"Blasted it right in the face with some spell," someone replied.
I felt sorry for the creature when it was dragged away; it mourned the loss of the lives that it had crushed. It kind of moaned melancholy.
"Wonder Harry's got," George wondered.
"Well, whatever he does have he'll be fine if he sticks to the plan." As a Hungarian Horntail was chained out, I raised my eyebrow. "Ok. He may be in serious trouble."
"Are you planning on killing the poor boy?!" I screamed. A few people gave me a worried look as I screamed this.
"Lana." George pulled me back down.
"The other three got flippin' easy ones compared to Harry; look at it!" I waved to the dragon; its body and tail had lethal spikes trailing across its back. Its snout was probably the size of a large boulder. Even Charlie and the rest of the tamers had issues trying to get it down.
"He'll be fine. They'll intervene before anything happens to him."
I seriously hoped so, grasping George's hand a Harry emerged from the tents.
"Go, Harry!" I shouted over the crowds. As soon as the cannon sounded off, Harry threw his wand hand into the air.
"AccioFirebolt!"
I waited for the broom to appear but it didn't.
"AccioFirebolt!" he summoned again.
Panic grew in my chest as the broom didn't appear. Harry began to run as the dragon spotted him, snorting and growling.
Suddenly, a broom whooshed past, knocking a bunch of Slytherins off their seats. Harry grabbed it, mounted and flew upwards, avoiding the swing of the dragon's tail.
"Yes!" I cheered, high-fiving George. We were standing on our feet now, the whole of Gryffindor cheering and supporting Harry. We oo-ed as he narrowly dodged a swipe when diving for the pile of eggs.
"Holy motherf-"
I gasped as the dragon stood up and opened its wings; it was probably five times the size of the Quidditch grounds. With a few beats of them, it took off, flames directed at Harry. I gripped George tightly as I watched the scene unfold.
"Harry! Dive!" I screamed. "You're a Seeker for goodness sake; you can slip past the dragon - think of it as bloody humongous bludger!"
I closed my eyes as Harry dived, straight at the dragon. The Horntail roared and I waited for the panicked screams or the agonising cries a Harry roasted like a smore, but there was nothing but silence.
"He did it!" George yelled and the stands erupted into chaos. Harry lifted up the egg and flew around the stands, pumping his free hand into the air as he reached the Gryffindor stand.
"Harry!" I shouted, a wide smile on my face as I cheered for him. He dismounted and was hurried into the tents. I grinned as the judges scored him highly - Bagman even giving him a ten - until Durmstrang's headteacher revealed his score,
"Four? He gave Krum a ten, the biased git!" I yelled in protest. We booed him as he scoffed and stood by his scoring.
I saw Hermione dragging Ron through the crowds and down the stands.
"Seems like Ron's finally stopped being stubborn."
"He's always been a stubborn twat," George piped. I nudged him in the ribs.
"That's your brother, in case you forgot."
'Just friendly brotherly affection," he grinned. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever you say."
"I do say, and anyway, returning to your partial liking for handsome, ginger pranksters..."
I laughed as he added in the handsome bit.
"You're hopeless," I told him as he waggled his eyebrows.
That night in the common room, the party ensued. Someone had acquired Butterbeer and was passing it around; Professor McGonagall turned up and reminded us to keep the noise down, but as she left I spied a faint smile on her face.
"Open it, Harry!" Lee encouraged, nodding at the boy. A chant started and Harry laughed before he unscrewed the top.
A piercing screech shot around the room and I covered my ears at the horrific sound. Harry slammed the top back on, closing the egg.
"What the heck?" I said.
"It was someone being tortured!" One of the Fourth Years had paled and spilt his plate of sausages onto the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"
"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal," said George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the Champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing...maybe you have to attack him while he's in the shower, Harry." I laughed and nudged into.
"Want a jam tart?" Fred offered. I eyed it and raised an eyebrow.
"It's all right," he said. "I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch -"
Angelina spat out the biscuit she bit into and looked at him fearfully.
"Just my little joke, Angelina," he said, trying to sweeten her up.
"Maybe he's fighting a Banshee next," Ron suggested. I remembered what the description of a Banshee was and nodded.
"It's likely," I agreed.
"How am I meant to fight a Banshee?" Harry muttered, staring down at the egg.
"We'll help you," Hermione reassured.
Harry smiled gratefully and the common room threw itself into chaos as the party started again.
"So, what's going on with you and my brother," Ron asked, sidling up to me on the sofa.
"What do you mean? We've just been hanging out."
"Mhm," he said, nodding slowly. "Just hanging out?"
"Maybe more," I answered, avoiding his gaze.
"So what? Do you like him or something?"
I paused and glanced over to where George was laughing with Lee.
"I do," I said, surprised by how confident I sounded. Ron looked at me with a smug look and then placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Boy, you've chosen a tough one."
Eventually, we were all sent off to bed as Professor McGonagall returned and claimed that we were so loud that we could be heard across the grounds.
"Goodnight," George said.
"Night George," I bid, giving him a small kiss on the cheek before I fled to my room.
"Getting all lovey-dovey are we?" Angelina asked, joining me.
"Says you and Fred earlier," I replied.
"Just some friendly banter," she answered. I scoffed and changed my clothes.
"That's all you do, sure."
I was answered by a pillow to the face.
----
December arrived and the castle grew colder by the day. Though, whenever I saw the Durmstrang ship or the Beauxbaton carriage, I was glad that there were sturdy walls protecting me.
During one of the lessons double Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall told us to pack up our things early and spent the latter fifteen minutes talking.
"The Yule Ball is approaching - a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialise with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to Fourth Years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish. Dress robes will be worn," she continued, looking at the boys with a sceptical look, "and the Ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finished at midnight in the Great Hall."
She paused.
"The Yule Ball is, of course, a chance for us all to, er, let our hair down," she said, in a disapproving tone. A bunch of girls tittered, earning a sharp look from the Professor. "That does not mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."
"Have you done anything about the egg yet?" I asked Harry as I sat down next to them in the common room. He shook his head.
"I haven't touched it for the last month; besides, I have until February the twenty-fourth."
"Well, I've got basically nothing to do for the rest of the holidays, so if you need help then I'm more than happy to help," I offered.
"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked his brother. I watched as Ron shook his head.
"No, he's off delivering a letter," said Ron. "Why?"
"Because George wants to invite him to the Ball," said Fred, sarcastically.
"Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," said George.
"No one's lending you an owl with an attitude like that, ungrateful sod," I interrupted. Ron nodded.
"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh? It's not like you need to send any love letters or what," he said, sticking his chin in my direction.
"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," Fred warned, waving his wand threateningly.
"So...you lot got dates for the ball yet?" he asked.
"Nope," Ron replied.
"Well, you'd better hurry up or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.
"Who're you going with, then?"
"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment. I raised my eyebrow.
"You've already asked her?" I asked; Angelina had not told me this.
"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room; "Oi! Angelina" he shouted.
Angelina had been chatting with Alicia near the fire. She spotted him, waving his arms in the air and raised an eyebrow.
"What?" she called back.
"Want to come to the Ball with me?"
Her face showed a hint of excitement as she tried to force an appraising sort of look onto her face.
"All right, then," she said, turning back to Alicia with a grin on her face.
"There you go," said Fred, "piece of cake."
"That's because she pities you," Ron mocked. Then, he spotted me. "You're a girl, Lana."
"Thanks for noticing?" I replied, an amused look on my face.
"How about going to the ball with one of us?" he said, indicating himself and Harry.
"Sorry, I like my men older," I said, patting his head. He frowned.
"George isn't older than you."
"Who says I'm saving myself for George?" The twin faked shock horror and knelt beside me.
"Lana Finchley, will you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Ball?" he said loudly, holding his hand out earnestly. The whole common room watched us and I laughed before placing my hand in his.
"Fine," I said, a huge grin mirroring George's.
"And that's how you ask someone to the Ball," Angelina shouted to Fred.
The next day, I walked into the common with Angelina to find Harry and his friends, as well as Ginny Weasley, crowded around an armchair.
"What happened to him?" I asked, eyeing a deathly looking Ron in the chair.
"He asked, well screamed, Fleur Delacour to the Ball," Ginny said, without a shred of sympathy.
"She's part Veela," Harry said, "her grandmother was one. It wasn't your fault though; she probably had her charm turned old for Diggory and you got a blast of it - he's going with Cho Chang though." I remembered the Fifth Year Ravenclaw; there weren't many students of our race in Hogwarts, so I knew who she was.
"This is mad," said Ron. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone - well, except Neville. Hey - guess who he asked? Hermione!"
"What?" said Harry.
"Yeah, I know!" He laughed as he told us the story. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff - but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if!"
"Hey, Hermione's actually a really pretty girl," I snapped. Ron clammed up as Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole.
"Why weren't you two at dinner?" she asked, coming over to join us.
"Because- oh shut up laughing, you two -because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!" Ginny shouted.
"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," Ron said, sourly.
"All the good-looking ones are taken, Ron?"
"Hey wait...Neville's right - you are a girl..."
"Oh well spotted," she spat, acidly.
"Well - you can come with one of us!"
"No, I can't."
"Oh come on," Ron pressed, "we need partners and we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has..."
"I can't come with you," said Hermione, her face a shade of pink, "because I'm already going with someone."
"No, you're not!" Ron gasped.
"Oh really?" said Hermione, her voice hitched up a notch. "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean that no one else has spotted that I'm a girl!"
"Ok ok, we know you're a girl. That do? Will you come now?"
"I've already told you!" Hermione shouted. "I'm going with someone else!" She stormed off to the dormitories.
"She's lying," said Ron, flatly.
"She's not," Ginny whispered.
"Who is it then?" he snapped.
"I'm not telling you, it's her business," she replied.
"Right," Ron sighed, "this is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry and I'll just-"
"I can't," she interrupted, blushing. "I'm going with...with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought...well...I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in Fourth Year." She bowed her head. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she said, miserably.
"What's got into them?" Ron snapped.
"Oh sod it," I replied, glaring at him.
----
A/N: Short chapter sorry!
What do you think about the Frangelina and Lorge (lol Lana and George) moments? Also, please suggest a new pairing name because Lorge is just horrible lol.