Rare Illusions ~ Ron Weasley

five

The first challenge was set, and the champions were not told what the task was. The only thing anyone had to gossip about was that Harry Potter was in the tournament and the "quiet" rumors of what the first challenge could be.

An annoying woman was round the castle, following around the champions trying to get a good story for the Daily Prophet. Rita Skeeter, as they called her, was a bother to everybody.

Lorelei Grey was often found in the library, reading a new book every couple of days. When she wasn't in class or in the library she was with her friends, mostly Pansy.

Currently, Lorelei was sitting by the lake, reading her book, not far off from where Harry was sitting against a tree much like herself, except he was speaking to Neville, who was wading in the water looking at aquatic plants.

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny walked over, the siblings staying behind as Hermione went to tell Harry something. Lorelei didn't hear the conversation until the brunette girl yelled.

"I'm not an owl!"

The blonde looked up from her book to see the three walking away from a confused-looking Harry. She made brief eye contact with the ginger boy before turning back to her book

She paid no mind to Harry as he glanced over at her, before getting his stuff together and yelling a goodbye at Neville. Then he left the same way the three did.

Neville waved at Harry, seeing Lorelei sitting at the base of a large pine tree, and then directing his wave to her. She saw it, smiled slightly, and gave him a light wave back.

**

She was once again sitting at the base of a tree, this one, however, lived in the courtyard of Hogwarts. Lorelei was having a light conversation with her cousin who had climbed into the tree. His friends were also around the tree, standing. Everyone in the courtyard had a button that changed between a positive message about Diggory and "Potter Stinks". Lorelei had a button, but it was tucked into her book bag.

Harry had a short conversation with Cedric before walking over to where Ron and Seamus were stood in one of the arches. "You're a right foul git, you know that?" That sentence had Lorelei turn her head down from Draco and towards the two boys.

"Think so?"

"I know so."

"Anything else?" Ron asked in a bored tone.

"Yeah." Harry paused awkwardly. "Stay away from me."

"Fine." Ron then pushed past Harry, purposefully ramming his shoulder into the brunette's.

Harry walked down back into the courtyard, looking slightly upset. Lorelei had watched the whole exchange, still seated under the tree her cousin was sat in.

"Why so tense, Potter?" She heard her cousin's voice call out from above her. Harry rolled his eyes and kept walking. "My father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think you're gonna last ten minutes in this tournament." He paused in order to jump out of the tree for dramatic effect, making Lorelei shriek as he landed directly in front of her. "He disagrees, he thinks you won't last five." He and his friends walked closer to the boy, chuckling at Draco's latest insult.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks," Harry replied angrily, stalking over and shoving Draco. Lorelei stood up and brushed her skirt off, her wand in hand at the potential threat to her cousin's wellbeing. "He's vile and cruel. And you're pathetic." He started walking away.

"Pathetic?" Draco murmured, fishing his wand out of his robes. "I'll sho-" He was cut off, his wand out in front of him, when a shout of a spell came from behind a bush and out came Mad-eye. Where her cousin once stood, Lorelei looked down to see a pure white ferret.

Lorelei gasped, pushing forward through his friends.

"That'll teach you to curse somebody when their back is turned." Mad-eye was stalking over to the group of Slytherins, and Lorelei saw Harry smile when he spotted the ferret-Draco. The man then proceeded to throw insults at the ferret whilst flicking him up and down in the air.

"Leave him alone! Professor, let him go!" Lorelei protested trying to get the crazy man's attention.

"Professor Moody! Professor Moody. What are you doing?" McGonagall rushed over to intervene.

"Teaching." The man barked, still flicking the poor ferret-boy up and down. A look of horror crossed the Professor's face when she realized what Moody meant.

"Is that a- Is that a student?" She pointed at the ferret, her voice getting very high-pitched.

"Technically it's a ferret." He said, moving over to Crabbe. He held the boy's pants open and dropped the Draco-ferret into them. Crabbe started whimpering as it fell down his pants and Goyle ran over, yelling for him to stand still as he plunged his arm down Crabbe's pants to retrieve Draco. He yanked his hand out when the ferret bit him, and Lorelei watched as Mad-eye turned to wink at Harry, who laughed. As soon as the ferret was out of Crabbe's trousers, McGonagall waved her wand at it, and the white ferret became Draco Malfoy again. He was laying on his stomach on the ground, looking around wildly before jumping up. He turned round to face the teachers and Harry, stumbling backward into Lorelei, who comfortingly wrapped her arms around her cousin.

"My father will hear about this!" Draco spat at the batty old man, who started forward, dropping his cane. Draco jumped out of his cousin's arms as the professor hissed.

"Is that a threat?" He started to chase Draco around the tree. "Is that a threat?" He only stopped his pursuit of the blonde when McGonagall finally caught his attention. Draco ran away from the tree with his friends as Mad-eye shouted a bunch of incoherent words at him, stopping in front of the Gryffindor head-of-house.

"Alastor. Alastor! We never use transfiguration as a punishment! Surely Dumbledore told you that?" Mad-eye looked at the wand Minerva had pointed at his face. The two had a quiet conversation that consisted of her yelling at him before she turned to Lorelei. "Put your wand away, Miss Grey. And go see if your cousin is alright." She must have noticed the seething expression Lorelei had, along with the wand she had slightly raised.

Lorelei followed the professor as she waved the bystanders away and then ran off in the direction Draco had.