Sands of Dragon Scales

Chapter 17

Song: May It Be
Artist: Celtic Woman

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The summer had passed rather quickly, for Rose anyway. World War I had gotten underway; though this was so, Hogwarts was under no immediate threat as of yet. The Headmaster had kept her plenty busy as she stayed within the castle during the summer months. She had been in training to become 'A Proper Black'. Of course, Rose found her life seemingly to be like that of a princess that lived within a far away land. She had been expected to dress up every day in evening gowns as she was given lessons on how to be a 'proper' lady.

    Rose guessed that she was supposed to know, live, and breathe these things as a pure blood wizard for the time and age she was in. She wasn't exactly sure, but she always did as she was told. Finding out that Rose could sing, the girl became a song bird for the professors that stayed within the castle during the summer. Rose didn't mind singing, and liked seeing that her voice made other people happy.

    Rose carried out all her lessons to the Headmaster's liking. She was now 'officially' part of the Black family. Though Headmaster Black returned to his family for a few weeks, Rose remained within the castle. During her free time, she would wonder down into Hogsmeade, explore the castle, cooking in the kitchen with the house elves, or wonder about the Forbidden Forest discovering it's creatures, for it was vastly different than the one in her time.

    But at the current time, Rose was sitting at the teacher's table with the ones that had returned to the castle before the school year would start; which would be the following day. They seemed in rather high spirits. Rose sat next to Pr. Diggory and Pr. Dumbledore, sitting amongst the teachers quietly as she ate.

    "Is it true, Dumbledore?" Pr. Diggory spoke up, "Is it true that the Ministry is going to have the schools compete in a Triwizard Tournament this year?" Rose almost choked on her food at the mention of the tournament. "As a matter of fact, yes, it's true. But from what I understand, it's strictly a trial run. Considering there were so many deaths in previous years, they were wanting to test out a new set of guidelines," Dumbledore replied. Rose said nothing as she simply took a sip of her water.

    "If that's true, then you might be able to compete, Rose. It is your final year here in Hogwarts! Wouldn't that be something?!" Pr. Diggory asked, particularly giddy. "Aren't the Triwizard tournament games a bit dangerous? I mean, I'm no Gryffindor," Rose shook her head, trying to her best to give a smile. "How much more dangerous could it be than Quidditch? I bet you could do it!" Pr. Diggory widely smiled. However, Pr. Dumbledore seemed to pick up on the girl's uneasiness about the subject.

    The Triwizard Tournament was a pretty sensative topic for Rose. She had lost one of her best friends because of it. Of course, the girl knew that it wasn't the Ministry's fault. It had been Voldemort's. It had been the dark wizards plan to get to Harry and Cedric had just been caught in the crossfire. But the mention of the games couldn't help but remind her of the tragedy.

    "The schools of Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang take part along with us, yes?" Rose tried to ease the conversation off the main topic at hand. "That's right! They'll also be arriving tomorrow!" Pr. Diggory replied, still rather excited, "They'll be giving a small performance each once they have all entered. Who's to say what they'll do?" "Speaking of which, Rose, the Headmaster has asked if you would like to represent Hogwarts by singing a song of your choice," Dumbledore relayed, trying to help wiggle the conversation away from the Tournament talk. "Oh, Rose! What an opportunity!" Pr. Diggory squeezed the girl's shoulders. "I'd be honored, Professor. I'll let the Headmaster know after dinner," Rose gave a small smile.