𝐓𝐎𝐗𝐈𝐂 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ─ draco malfoy

03. assumptions

A M I R A  H A Y E S
September 18th, 1994

I HEAD DOWN from the Hufflepuff girls dormitory, tugging on my suffocating uniform, trying to loosen the collar. At the bottom of the stairs, sitting in a beat-up wooden chair with a golden yellow cushion settled onto it,  is Cedric. He sits surrounded by a large group of people, all questioning about the upcoming tournament.

"Are you planning on putting your name in the cup?" An unfamiliar student asks.

"Absolutely." He replies with confidence, as if he is already the Hogwarts champion.

"What a pity, I'd be a much better competitor than you" I interrupt, as everyone's attention becomes directed towards my prescience.

"Are you sure about that, Hayes?" Cedric says, looking up at me, smirking.

"Completely. Ready to head to breakfast?"

He nods and stands up, picking up his side bag and maneuvering through the crowd, which quickly scatters out of his way. He really is the popular Hufflepuff boy. They envy him.

He walks closely beside me, our hands almost brushing against each other. Cedric and I have been spending a lot of time together this week, we've spent most of our Divination classes laughing about our so called prophecies. I would almost say I am starting to like him, that is, as a friend.

We strut through the hallways greeting some of the more friendly ghosts, as well as Cedric's several friends, greeting him in honor. Hanging out with him reminds me of being with Harry, everyone always notices you after they've gotten over the presence of the charming boy.

We enter the Great hall, the regular benches have been replaced with two bleachers on the right side of the room, and in the middle is the Goblet of Fire. It's structure contains a massive bronze stone sculpture, with bright blue flames emerging from the top. It looks super ancient and powerful, drawing everyone's attention in the room. Around it is a magical barrier, a ring of sparkling white which keeps anyone under the age of seventeen out, including me.

Cedric takes a piece of paper out of his back pocket, I can see his name written neatly onto it. He strides towards the cup, breaking through the magical boundary. As he puts the piece of paper into the blue flames that engulf the inside of the cup, it intensifies, swallowing the piece of paper entirely.

Cedric smiles proudly and prances back towards his friends, he hugs one while the rest pat him on the back, they cheer loudly, along with most of the Hufflepuff house. I start clapping, and look over to my left where Harry is standing with Ron, doing the same. Although I'm jealous that I can't enter, I'm happy for Cedric. I go and sit beside Hermione on the bleachers, curious on how she's doing. She looks away from her book to instantly to meet my eyes.

"How are you?" She asks.

"Fine. It's a shame we aren't able to enter...it seems intriguing-" Loud cheering fills the room.

We both turn our heads to see no other but the Weasley twins running into the room, holding what looks like a vial containing a hand made potion. They jump onto the bleachers.

"Well lads, we've done it." George starts.

"Cooked it up just this morning." Fred continues.

No way they really think that they will be able to successfully submit their names. What twits.

"It's not going to work." Hermione informs them in a smug voice.

Somebody had to say it. She is just brave enough to.