Roses and Riots | f. weasley

Chapter 22: Unforgivable

Two weeks later, everyone sat in the Great Hall awaiting Dumbledore's start-of-year announcements. There was a flurry of chatter as everyone discussed the events of the Quidditch World Cup with their fellow students.

Emilia had talked herself hoarse with the twins, Harry, Ron and Hermione about it, and no one, it seemed, could figure out how the Death Eaters had managed to get into the campgrounds. Emilia had suggested that maybe they were all already there at the World Cup, as spectators like everyone else, and the thought made her uneasy, that these people could just hide in plain sight.

She wrote to Remus from the Burrow in the days after, telling him what she'd seen but assuring him that everyone was fine, while Harry wrote to Sirius, trusting Hedwig to find him, wherever he was. Emilia stuck an unopened chocolate frog into the envelope before Harry closed it, and Harry chuckled, both of them knowing it would make Sirius smile when he saw it.

In addition to conversations about the casting of the Dark Mark, everyone was curious about the change to this year's usual shopping lists for Diagon Alley. As well as the usual book list and potion ingredients, everyone had also been required to get dress robes as well.

Emilia had gone with Molly, Ginny and Hermione to find something to wear, and they'd had a lovely afternoon of trying on various dresses and modelling them for each other between fits of giggles, while Molly had wiped her eyes upon seeing them all dressed up.

Emilia and the twins had interrogated Bill and Charlie who had stayed at the Burrow after the World Cup about the dress robes, but they just got their hair ruffled and were told to wait and see. Bill went as far as to let the twins raid his wardrobe for formal clothes, seeing as they were the tallest in the family aside from him and would very likely find something to fit them.

The twins had refused to even ask for new dress robes, so they were happy to try on Bill's clothes, though they wouldn't let Emilia see the outfits. They'd even threatened to jinx her when she kept knocking on their door to annoy them and demand a fashion show.

Back in the Great Hall that morning, Dumbledore appeared at the podium and everyone turned around to listen as he made his usual beginning of term announcements about the Forbidden Forest and Filch's ever-growing list of banned items.

During the speech, a strange man hobbled into the Great Hall and everyone stared in curiosity as he quietly greeted Dumbledore, his odd and presumably magical false eye scanning the hall.

Dumbledore turned back to face the students after shaking hands with the man, "may I introduce our new Defence against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Moody."

Next to Emilia, Fred almost jumped in his eagerness to get a better look at the new teacher, "Moody? As in Mad-Eye Moody?" Fred exclaimed in what was barely a whisper.

George leaned over to look as well, "it does look like him! Blimey, Dad told us about him. He's a nutter!"

"Wait, is he that retired Auror? The really paranoid one?" Emilia asked in a whisper, recalling Remus mentioning him on one occasion or another, and the twins both nodded in confirmation.

Dumbledore held up his hands to quiet the curious whispers of the students and once silence had fallen once again, he continued, "as I was saying, we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

Emilia felt her jaw drop in amazement. The Triwizard Tournament? She'd read about it many times in her various history books, but to actually witness it would be incredible.