CHAPTER SEVEN
❛This is nowhere near the same!❜
The Hogwarts Express was full of everyone talking about the Quidditch World Cup. Especially almost all of Gryffindor house, that being said, Hope Lupin-Black decided to sit with her cousin and two friends, who hadn't talked about it for at least half the ride.
"Did you two attend the World Cup?" Vincent Crabbed asked out of the blue. "It was quite insane, Dad's never seen anything like it."
Draco Malfoy stiffened at the words but nodded. "Yeah, we attended."
"It's a shame Ireland won," started Greg Goyle, looking up from his art book. "Bulgaria is the better team by far--"
"No way." laughed Draco, looking at his friend like he was insane. "Ireland's got an amazing team--"
Goyle just shook his head and laughed. "But Bulgaria has Viktor Krum. He's one of the best Seekers of our time--"
"Have you seen Konrad Weiss? He's quite good--"
All eyes fell on Hope, as this was the first time she spoke through the entire train ride. Crabbe narrowed his eyes. "Who's he?"
"He plays for Germany." spoke Hope in a timid voice, not looking up from her fingers. "They're my favorite team."
Gregory Goyle eyed the girl hesitantly before speaking up. "Are you feeling okay? You've been quiet--"
"I can't be quiet, Greg?" she questioned back, defensively as she could. "It isn't a crime, is it?"
Draco sighed loudly as Hope narrowed her grey eyes. "How about we don't talk about Quidditch? Especially the World Cup--"
"Why not?" asked Crabbe, popping some fudge flies into his mouth. "Did you hear about the girl that went missing--"
"Honestly, Vincent, are you always this stupid--"
Greg looked from Draco's angry face, to Vincent's puzzled, and finally his eyes landed on Hope who was breathing heavily. "No--"
Suddenly, the door to the compartment swung open to reveal Pansy Parkinson and Freya Reed, and as they entered, Pansy sat on Draco's lap, an uncomfortable look coming across his face while Freya looked to Hope in disgust.
"Look who it is, the half-breed." sneered Pansy, which made Hope scoot away from her cousin. "Throwing yourself all over your own cousin, are you that desperate?"
Freya let out a laugh, smirking as she spoke. "Must be. Obviously doesn't see how hideous she is, and look, she put on a few pounds this summer."
The Lupin-Black girl let out a shaky breath and looked to Draco. "I'm leaving--"
"Welcome back to Hogwarts." mumbled the Reed girl, digging her fingernails into her enemies shoulder. "I'll make sure you enjoy your year."
Hope's grey eyes flashed many different emotions, but Draco saw them all. Terrified, anger, and slight panic. "Get your claws off of me--"
"Don't talk back, it's been proven that I'm stronger--"
Goyle yanked Freya's hand off Hope's shoulder, pulling her to meet his eyes. "I've told you once and I'll tell you again, you don't touch her, ever."
Hope Lupin-Black just looked from her cousin to her two friends to her two rivals, the feeling of not being able to breath rising in her throat as the yelling continued. In the midst of it all, she slipped into the hall of the train.
As she walked away she breathed heavily, unable to find a way to slow herself. Her hands trembled as the speed of her heart quickened. All she managed to do was keep her grey eyes on the floor until she ran into an unknown presence.
"Hope!" exclaimed the voice, which she looked up to see an overjoyed Lee. "Can you believe that you ran into the best-looking sixth year?"
Hope let out a strained laugh, and nodded. "It's good to see you, Lee. Have you, uh, seen George? I need to find him--"
"Not until you accompany me to the trolley." he laughed, leading her down the hall. "Do you want anything? I have extra money today--"
"No, I'm fine--"
Lee shook his head and smiled, not noticing her trembling fingers. "Come on, let me buy you some sugar quills. It'll be my good deed of the day."
"Lee, I need to save room for the feast." she forced a smile as he continued to smile.
"Oh yeah." he said, having completely forgotten the feast. "That just means more food, how could that be a bad thing?"
As they continued to walk down the hall, they were soon met by the trolley lady who held a kind warm smile as she pushed her cart. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"
"Two pumpkin pasties, a chocolate frog, two liquorice wands, some of those beans--"
Hope's grey eyes widened as he continued until she spoke up. "Merlin, Lee. Might as well buy the entire cart."
"Very funny, but I'm hungry and want some later." said Lee, before turning his attention back to the lady. "And give me all of the blue sugar quills--"
"I said I didn't want any--"
Lee just rolled his eyes playfully and passed his money to the lady, his arms now full of sweets while Hope held her many sugar quills. "Hope, you can just snack on them later."
"Thank you."
"Anytime, anytime." he replied, biting into a liquorice wand. "How was your summer, after your dad got released and everything?"
Hope shrugged her shoulders, not daring to meet his eyes. "It's been okay, I guess. Him and Papa don't get along the best, two different ideas of what's best for Alfie and I."
"I don't blame Professor Lupin, though." said Lee, which caused his friend to furrow her eyebrows. "No offense to your dad, but he's been there your whole life. He raised you all by himself, he probably doesn't want or need a second opinion."
Things clicked in Hope's mind, as Lee's words made sense. "Dad isn't exactly a parent, he just wants to have fun and play games. Papa does that, too. But he raises us to be good people, and parents us."
"Sounds exhausting."
Hope laughed for the first time almost all day. "Tell me about it, I spent a lot of time at George's."
Lee Jordan wiggled his eyebrows as he sang loudly. "George and Hope sitting in a tree--"
"Cut it out, Lee." she smacked his arm playfully.
"You're telling me that you don't kiss?" he narrowed his eyes, which caused Hope's cheeks to turn pink. "Or are you saying that you do more than kiss? Because I swear, I don't want to be an uncle just yet--"
Hope smacked Lee's arm once more, her cheeks a bright shade of red. "We don't do anything more than kiss. Even if we did, it's none of your business."
"For now."
As they reached the compartment, they could hear Henry speaking loudly. And as Lee swung open the door, he put his arm around your shoulder proudly. "Look who I found, wandering around the train. She practically ran into the hottest sixth-year."
Hope rolled her eyes, finding a seat next to her boyfriend while she looked over to Henry Hammond. "Henry, how was your summer?"
"It was fine, I visited America." he smiled, reminiscing the many memories. "Weird experience, but still amazing."
"Did you see any corn dogs?" questioned Hope, practically jumping off of her seat next to George.
Henry shrugged but nodded. "Yeah, they're quite delicious."
Hope's grey eyes practically shot out of her head. "You ate a corn dog? They have feelings you know. They're pets, not food."
The Hammond boy's eyebrows furrowed quickly. "What in Merlin do you think a corn dog is, Hope?"
"A corn colored dog?"
Those words caused both Lee and Henry to burst into fits of laughter. "It's food, precisely a sausage coated in batter then fried. Very unhealthy, still very good."
"Wait, wait, wait." started Fred, looking to the girl laying on his twin's shoulder. "You thought it was an actual dog?"
"Sod off, Fred."
George just wrapped his hand around her waist, which caused Lee to smirk towards Hope. "Get that look off of your face, Lee. I'll hit you."
"I bought you food, you can't hit me."
Henry noticed the blood on Hope's shoulder and leaned closer. "What happened?"
"Pardon?" she questioned in return, until she realized he was staring at her shoulder. "Shit, come on. I'll talk to you outside."
George just looked to his girlfriend. "No, what's wrong?"
Fred Weasley leaned forward, trying to see what Henry was looking at. "Oh, you're bleeding. How did you manage to hurt your shoulder?"
"Episkey." Lee muttered beneath his breath, which caused the cuts from the fingernails to heal quickly. "You must've miseen, some kid spilt his drink on Hope while we were walking. I thought we cleaned all of it off."
All three boys just nodded, not daring to question what happened. While Hope just smiled and stared at her friend, mouthing a small 'Thank you' which he only nodded and smiled in return.
Children and teenagers of the four different houses all shared one thing in common, the excitement that came with the Hogwarts feast. For many, they wanted to eat as much food as they possibly could, but for some, it wasn't appetizing.
Alfie Lupin-Black took notice of his sister's apprehensiveness, as all she did was look at the food on her plate and talk to her Quidditch friends. Her brother leaned over, and spoke only loud enough for her to hear.
"Are you doing okay?"
Hope looked up, and forced a smile. "Fine, fine."
"You haven't touched your plate." he commented, which caused his sister to narrow her eyes. "You love the feast here--"
"I ate a lot of sweets on the train." she rolled her grey eyes, smiling to her brother. "Must've overfilled myself."
Alfie nodded, practically taking in lie after lie. "Makes sense. Those sweets are incredible."
As he went back to talking to Cormac McLaggen, Neville looked to Hope from across the table. He was now much taller than before, but still had an innocent look on his face.
"How was your summer, Hope?" questioned Neville through a mouthful of chicken.
Hope scrunched at the sight of the chewed food but nodded. "It was fine--"
"Gran made these new macarons." he continued, smiling wide as he spoke. "They're lemon flavored, practically heaven in your mouth."
"She'll have to send me some--"
Neville Longbottom just smiled knowingly. "I have some in my trunk! Gran put a spell over them so they'd stay fresh!"
The Lupin-Black girl smiled at her friend. "Your Gran is simply amazing, Nev. I'll have to owl her and thank her."
As the feast continued, Hope had only engaged in conversation with few people. Her brother, Neville, and boyfriend being the only ones who kept the conversation going. But sooner than not, the feast ended and Dumbledore went back to his podium.
"So! Now that we are all fed and watered--"
Hermione scrunched her nose in disgust. "From the slaves--"
"Shut up, Hermione." said Ginny, who sat beside her. "I can't hear, you know."
"Mister Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you the list of objects forbidden inside the castle this year has extended to," Dumbledore took a breath as he looked down the list. "Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs."
Fred Weasley laughed and looked to his twin. "He acts like it'll stop us, Georgie."
"How stupid could he be?" replied George, sending Filch a smirk.
Dumbledore continued on with his speech, his voice loud and clear. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year--"
The words made Hope gasp, looking to her boyfriend in complete shock. "They can't cancel the Quidditch season, that's a crime! Yes, a crime. You can't just cancel--"
"Love, calm down--"
"Don't be an Oliver Jr." laughed Katie, trying to hide her anger.
Hope's grey eyes just widened. "This would send Olly into cardiac arrest. This would kill him."
"Might actually drown himself." muttered Fred from beside George, who was also fuming with anger. "This better be a joke--"
Dumbledore cleared his throat, earning the attention of everyone. "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy. But I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts--"
Suddenly, the Great Hall doors slammed closed, causing everyone to turn. Alastor Moody entered, his fake eye looking from student to student. Many gasped or looked away, but Hope smiled and looked to her boyfriend.
"That's Alastor Moody, an Auror. He trained Dora." said Hope, clearly amazed by his presence.
George just furrowed his eyebrows. "Who?"
"My cousin, Dora." she spoke as if it were obvious. "She's an Auror, too. And according to her he's a badass."
"Looks a bit mad to me--"
Hope Lupin-Black just shook her head and smiled. "He's amazing, Dad and Papa talk highly of him. He put so many in Azkaban, one of the greatest Aurors of all time."
"Are you fangirling, Hope?" asked Fred, laughing at the girl's amazement.
She looked at him, slightly embarrassed by her rambling. "No, I just know a lot. Don't be silly, Fred."
"As I was saying." said Dumbeldore, smiling ever so slightly. "We have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my greatest pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
Fred Weasley's eyes practically popped out of his head. "You're joking!"
As Dumbeldore announced the Triwizard Tournament, whispers came throughout the hall. The Headmaster just continued to explain everything. From the combination of Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons, to the great death tolls.
Hope Lupin-Black sat up in the Astronomy Tower, alone. She stared out at the stars, the only thing on her mind was the night of the World Cup, the train ride there, and the many insults of Freya Reed.
"Who's up here?" a voice called out, which caused Hope to widen her eyes. "It's past curfew--"
"Ced, it's just me."
Cedric Diggory approached and smiled as he shut the door. "It's after curfew, J. As a prefect, I'm supposed to deduct points, but you're my best friend so I'll let it slide. Besides, I wanted to talk to you."
"Talk to me?" she asked in return, eyebrows furrowed. "About what?"
"I'm going to enter the Triwizard Tournament--"
Hope burst out laughing, obviously not taking him seriously. "Funny joke, Ced. You're not going to enter."
Cedric looked at his best friend, almost puzzled at her expression. "I'm not joking, J. I'm going to put my name in--"
"People have died, Cedric." she spoke, voice slightly on edge. "Loads of them, I just don't think it's the best idea--"
He just shook his head, smiling wide. "I'm Cedric Diggory, I don't die."
"It's dangerous. Don't enter, please?"
The Diggory boy let out a breath, placing a hand on her shoulder. "J, there's a cash prize. We can visit Romania! See the Dragons! Like we planned, this is going to be great--"
"You know I'm supportive of everything you do. You're my best friend. But please, we can visit Romania on our own time. Just don't enter--"
"I already put my name in."
Hope's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "Cedric Amos! Take it out!"
"I can't, it doesn't work that way, Hope." he snapped in return, slightly offended.
"Find a way, say you're too scared!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her spot. "Fake your death, run away, anything. This is dangerous, Cedric."
Cedric grabbed her wrist, looking her in the eyes. "The Ministry won't let someone die. You're just being paranoid."
Hope's eyes glazed over with tears. "The World Cup was supposed to be safe, too! And look where that got all those innocent people."
"This is nowhere near the same!"
"It's exactly the same!"
"Hope." said Cedric, now standing next to her. "I might not even get chosen. If I do, that's another day. I'm careful, it's a chance willing to take."
Hope Lupin-Black just nodded, giving her friend a sisterly hug. "I swear, Cedric. If that tournament kills you, you'll get the biggest I told you so."
Cedric Diggory laughed loudly. "Don't be so dramatic, J. Is that your thing?"
"Pretty much, actually."
i've already started writing the last chapter, just because i'm evil and want it to be sad. but the farther i get into this, i realize i have to like choose who lives and dies. because as much as i love j.k. rowling, some deaths i don't agree with.