the badger and the lion.

An Unlikely Friend

Walking down to the Great Hall on Saturday mornings for late breakfast was always a highlight of the week. The smells of cooked bacon, eggs, sausages, and veggies always lingered around the corridors longer with students coming down all up until lunchtime. It was always a comforting feeling, but this morning, something felt different. Maybe it was just the changing of the seasons, you thought to yourself. It was becoming colder as November fast approached, colder than this time last year that you could remember. But you knew it wasn't just that. The residual tension from last night still lingered in the air, and not just from your discussion (or lack thereof) with Fred. It seemed that everyone couldn't stop talking about the upcoming tournament, and who was seen putting their names in last night.

"I thought I heard someone say the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team was one of the first ones down there," you caught one of the younger boys in front of you say.

"Probably," someone else answered. "But who would want a Slytherin champion for Hogwarts?"

"Oh, come on. They're not all bad. My mum was in Slytherin."

"Alright then, who would you want instead?"

"Our best bet is probably someone older, like a seventh year."

"No way. My brother said they can't even think about extracurriculars with their workloads."

"Alright, a sixth year then."

"What about that Hufflepuff captain, Diggory? Apparently he's a favourite to get it."

"And he was seen this morning putting his name in."

"'Pretty boy Diggory'? Not a chance, especially if he's up against someone like Krum."

"Why not? He's probably got the best chance so far. He's good at quidditch, and is popular. And probably does well in class."

"Why don't you just date him, then?"

You couldn't help but smile to yourself. You knew that a lot of people at Hogwarts admired Cedric, but didn't know just how many there were.

As you entered the entrance hall, you were surprised as to how many people were there milling around the goblet which was now in the middle of the room, perched on the stool usually used for the Sorting Hat, surrounded by a thin line drawn just above the ground that emitted a golden light. Was that the age line? You thought to yourself. Bet that will only make more people want to try and get their names in.

You spotted Sophie with a cup of tea in her hand, in a pale pink sweater and blue jeans, examining the goblet with one of her Slytherin friends. You recognised her from some of your classes in previous years, but her name was escaping you right now.

"Y/N!" she said as she spotted you, signalling you over. Her friend smiled at you. "You've met Iben before?"

Sophie gestured to her friend. She was quite stunning, with pale blue eyes and platinum blonde hair styled into a short bob. You nodded as she smiled at you.

"Yeah," Iben said. "We have Care of Magical Creatures together this year, I think."

"Oh, really?" you said, trying to picture her face during the lessons. You felt bad that you hadn't noticed her in class - obviously there was something else holding your attention.

"At least I think it's you," she smiled. "Otherwise, this is totally embarrassing. I just transferred last week. You're partners with Diggory, right?"

"Yeah," you said, trying not to smile at his name. "That's me."

"Diggory?" Sophie chimed next to you. You blushed as she smiled slyly at you.

"Oh, shush," you said.