BY fates design

Champions

October 31st started as most mornings did for Cassiopeia, earlier than the sunrise, and in complete silence. Beside her, Jake slept, his hair a mess of sun-kissed waves, limbs tossed in all directions, his sheets twisted around him like a tangle of nets around a fish.

Inaudibly, she slipped from his bed, footsteps silent as she crept out of his dormitory and back to her own. Familiarity guided her movements as she moved through her routine, showering, brushing her teeth, drying her hair, dressing, braiding her hair, each action was second nature. Her eyes travelled her room as she slipped on her shoes, it looked the same as always, neat, decorated in shades of chartreuse, black, forest green, and speckles of blue, however, her gaze lingered on something new. Two photographs that sat on her bedside, both of the same blonde haired boy that frequented her thoughts.

At breakfast, the air buzzed with anticipation, the names of the tournament contestants would be drawn later that very evening. Bets were already being made as to who would participate, run by Fred and George, much to the judgment of Daphne who believed betting on such matters was improper. However, to place a bet, one had to visit the twins in the infirmary, where they both were kept by Madam Pomfrey, aged in appearance with matching bushy white beards, the consequence of their aging potions backfiring.

The image was an amusing one, of the two red haired boys with unruly white beards. "We all told you that your plan was foolish." Ginny teased, "but no, you two were so sure that it would work. Idiots."

As always, Cassiopeia sat at the head of the Slytherin table, Jake at her side, Astro opposite her, her gaze traveled the length of the table. It appeared the Durmstrang students had began to integrate themselves more with the rest of the house, though they still appeared to stick to groups. Anatoli Morozov met her eye, and offer a polite nod of acknowledgement, Dimitri Petkov, too, offered her a small nod from beside Anatoli and an almost unnoticeable smile.

After breakfast, Achlys bounded over to the Slytherin table, Alex, Kira, Eleana, Neville and Luna in tow. Since it was Sunday, they were allowed to got it Hogsmeade for the day before the announcement at dinner. Excitedly, Alchys took Cassiopeia's gloved hand and pulled the onyx haired girl to her feet, the other Slytherin's turned to stare, tense at first when they saw someone touching Cassiopeia, but relaxing when they recognised that someone as Achlys.

"We are going on a girl's date." She exclaimed happily, already dragging Cassiopeia out of the Great Hall and to the courtyard where carriages were beginning to arrive. "I want to look for last minute items for the Samhain ritual tonight, and I wanted to find a cute dress. I hear that there will be a ball this Yule hosted by the school as part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament... but that's just conjecture. Either way, I wanted a new dress. You won't be here for Yule will you? You're going back to America for the Winter Solstice, you should get something cute for you to wear then, too, to show off to Jackson, though I'm sure he'd find you gorgeous either way." The blonde rambled mindlessly, her arm looped around Cassiopeia's, fingers absentmindedly fiddling with a round button on Cassiopeia's sleeve.

"We haven't been on a girl's date in forever," Achlys mused, tugging on Cassiopeia's hand, "we should do one soon." The statement stirred something strange in both of their chests, things wouldn't be the same after this, maybe they wouldn't get their girl's date, but the thought of it eased something soft into the tension that had strung through their muscles since they arrived in the past.

Remaining quiet, the half blood listened intently as her friend spoke at her, occasionally making a half hearted sound of agreement to one of her comments. Perching on one of the benches in the courtyard, they waited for the carriages to come to a halt. Eyes drifting to the sky, Cassiopeia traced the clouds with her gaze, finding shapes within them, until Achlys suddenly fell silent. Glancing at the blonde, she went to ask what was wrong before seeing where her friend's eyes lingered.