✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

11 | C R O W N

   He always did this. Like Ember was a desperate little girl who always needs him to protect her. He didn't do it to annoy her; she perfectly knew that Harry cared about her too much. Since they were young he always acted like she didn't know how to do anything on her own, always ready to protect her from anything in this world, and why wouldn't he? He was her brother, they grew up with each other, and from a once loving family he was everything left to her, as she was everything left to him.

   Harry was only thirtyone minutes older than Ember, but he was always acting as her protector, her guardian. But it wasn't Ember who needed shelter. It wasn't her Voldemort tried to murder when they were babies. It wasn't her having to fight him to save the Philosopher's Stone. It wasn't her defeating a bloody Basilisk. It wasn't her being attacked by a hundred of Dementors when saving Sirius.

   Ember barely got herself into trouble. Even trouble didn't find her important enough to come at her. Harry on the other hand was a magnet to any sort of danger. And it should be her protecting him. If she just knew how ...

   Twisted in her thoughts, Ember most of her time tried to distract herself from thinking too much about Harry or the upcoming task. Or anything at all.

   "Don't you think it's an rather unhealthy coping mechanism what you do there?", Cedric asked, finding her at two a.m. in the morning in front of the common room's fireplace, reading. "At least you should sleep, Emmie."

   "It doesn't help me coping anyhow that from everywhere I look at my brother's face is shining in bright disgusting colours, yelling that he stinks", Ember growled, tucking her book close. "Why don't you do anything against those? You exactly know Harry didn't get his name in!"

   "I tried ..."

   "Oh yes, I saw you try", Ember sarcastically replied. "Telling your two closest friends to stop wearing them doesn't make a big deal, Diggory."

   "Well, Potter", Cedric scoffed, "maybe I don't like the way he's currently treating you."

   "That's my fight, not yours." She got out of the armchair. "We're siblings. That's how siblings work! We fight, we make up, we fight again. Just tell those idiots to throw these stupid badges into the nearest trashcan. Harry doesn't deserve all this hate, he didn't do anything wrong."

   Cedric's face softened as he looked down on Ember. "Go to bed, Emmie. I'll do my best to get rid of those. And you'll get some sleep."

·

   When Ember thought it couldn't get any worse, there was this awful blonde woman with her ugly patterned glasses and a smile like a shark that easily proved her wrong. The article about the Triwizard Tournament was published just few days after the Goblet of Fire had spat out the champions' names, but it was less of an article about the tournament per se, but more of an awfully inaccurate biography about the boy who lived. And of course she had been named as well as the rather unpopular twin sister of the magical world's greatest hero. That's it. What gave her even more attention than Cedric, who hadn't been named at least once.

   "You should be glad", Ember told him during breakfast. "I heard your dad and Mr Weasley talk about her. Rita Skeeter seems not to be famous for her kindness."

   "But she at least mentioned Krum and Fleur", Cedric snorted. "It's like I don't even exist!"

   "Welcome to my world", Ember muttered. "Well, you'll get over it." She softly patted his back. "I'll better go now."

   Defense against the Dark Arts was her first class this morning, and to be honest, Ember was a bit afraid of Moody. Not only by his creepy looks — what undoubtedly took the main part of her fear — but by the way he was acting and talking and staring. Never did he lock his both eyes with anyone; his magical eye was always busy scanning his surroundings in "constant vigilance". Not when he was looking at Ember. And it was fair to say she didn't like that kind of look. She'd have given a sickle for his thoughts, if she didn't fear what he actually did think.

   But the creepy thoughts about Moody were catapulted out of her brain the second she stepped into the entrance hall.

   "Tell me, Potter, since when have you been one of the top students in this school? Or is it a school you and Longbottom have set up together?"

   Malfoy's icy voice not only caught Ember's attention, but the whole crowd surrounding them had their eyes fixed on the blonde Slytherin, Harry and Hermione. Ron watched the scene with narrowed eyes, and that he wasn't standing right next to Harry, who's knuckles shined white through his hand by the way he held his wand as tight as a gun, was the most disturbing part of that scene.

   "Don't listen to him, Harry", Hermione plainly said, trying to pull Harry away, but he didn't move.

   "Go on, then, Potter", Malfoy said quietly, drawing out his own wand. "Moody's not here to look after you now — do it, if you've got the guts —"

   For the split of a second, they just stared at each other, the air around then buzzed with electricity. Ember quickly stepped forward, reaching her hand out for Harry —

   "Furunculus!", Harry yelled.

   "Anteoculatia!", screamed Malfoy.

   Jets of light shot from both wands, hit eachother midair and ricocheted off at angles — Harry's hit Goyle, and the impact of Malfoy's hex punched Ember straight in the face, throwing her off her feet.

   "Ember!" Ron had hurried forwards to see what was wrong with her. First she thought nothing had happened at all, but then the skin of her scalp started itching like crazy. Lifting her hand automatically to scratch it, her fingers met something — but it wasn't her head.

   Antlers. Antlers were growing out of her head, turning larger and larger, her head feeling heavy —

   "What is going on here?", said a soft, deadly voice. Snape had arrived. He pointed a long pale finger at Malfoy and said, "Explain."

   "Potter attacked me, sir —"

   "We attacked each other at the same time!", shouted Harry.

   "— and he hit Goyle, look!"

   Snape examined Goyle, whose face now resembled something that would have been at home in a book about poisonous fungi.

   "Hospital wing, Goyle", Snape said calmly.

   "Malfoy got Ember!", Ron said. "Look!"

   Snape looked coldly at Ember, then said, "Like father, like daughter. Now you will finally get attention."

   Ember's face burned in embarrassment. Lost for words, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the main stairs and out of sight, only hearing the confused yells of Ron and Harry echoing from the stone walls.