cynosure ― r. weasley

two

The carriages made their way towards the castle, and many of the students began chattering amongst themselves.

"So, what do you think was the big surprise for tonight?" Alice asked her friends.

"Your Mum didn't tell you? It's the Triwizard Tournament, of course," Jade replied. Her parents were in very high positions in the ministry and dealt with many matters concerning the education branch.

"Maybe she didn't know. But even if she did, my Mum prefers surprises," Alice said sheepishly.

"That is true. If I listed all the times your Mum almost scared you half to death with surprises, we would be a here a while," Thalia added.

The three girls laughed in agreement. Alice's mom was known for surprises, whether they were wanted or not.

Soon enough, the carriages reached the castle, and the girls made their way to the Main Hall.

"See you guys later," Alice called out to them as they headed to the Slytherin table. They both looked back and gave her a thumbs up.

Alice walked over to the Hufflepuff table and took a seat at the end closest to where all the teachers sat. She liked to watch the Sorting Ceremony. Her and one of her roommates, Kianna, usually sat together. They both didn't have a lot of friends, and Kianna was pretty shy like Alice. They were default friends, and although it felt a little odd the two weren't complaining about it. It was better than being alone.

Alice looked at the table of teachers closely and noticed there wasn't a new teacher like usual. Professor Lupin had resigned from the Defense Against the Dark Arts the previous year, which Alice was sad about. He was a nice man, and unlike some of the teachers before him, he actually knew the material he was teaching.

The chatter in the hall ceased as the doors opened. Professor McGonagall came through and walked up to the stage. She placed a stool and put the famed Sorting Hat on top. It sang a new song, which was always fun to hear.

McGonagall began listing the names of the first years in alphabetical order. The first Hufflepuff of that year was a girl with beautiful chocolate brown hair named Eleanor. Alice clapped for her, as she did for the rest of the new students.

A few times she glanced over to the Gryffindor table, seeing the inseparable three. They included Harry Potter, the boy who lived and everyone knew of. There was also the one said to be the brightest witch of her age, Hermione Granger. And finally, the boy who just had this aura that seemed to draw Alice in- Ron Weasley. Most people would say there wasn't much remarkable about him other than his friends, but there was always much more to people than their friends.

Alice turned away quickly when Ron glanced over. The last thing she wanted to seem like was a creep. She reasoned that he was most likely just looking around the room and by chance managed to look her way. Now, she didn't know this at the time, but her reasoning couldn't be farther from the truth.

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"Why is it you keep glancing over at the Hufflepuff table, Ron?" Hermione asked the redhead. Usually, he would just focus on his plate and getting seconds, but this time was different.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hermione." By then Harry had tuned into the conversation as well.

"You really are a bad liar, you know that?" Harry commented.

"Thanks for rubbing it in," Ron grumbled. He didn't know why, but he didn't really want to tell anyone quite yet. He wasn't much for sharing his feelings, and he wanted people to respect that. But his friends being his friends did the opposite.

"Why won't you tell us? Harry always tells us about his failed romances, don't you?" She looked at Harry expectantly. He avoided eye contact.

Hermione looked at the two boys, back and forth. "Really? Is this something you only share between guys? Because it seems rather stupid. Especially if you are trying to impress a girl. Don't you think a girl would be able to help?" The two were surprised by Hermione's lecture. Especially by the fact that it was about romance, which Hermione had never seemed interested in herself.

"Can't you just drop it, Hermione? Please?" Ron said in full seriousness, which differed from his normal, carefree tone. This unsettled Hermione.

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry. I still think that my statement is right, and maybe you should take that into account sometime." Hermione replied with a hint of sass in her voice. Deep down he probably knew she was right but didn't want to admit it.