✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

13 | F I R S T T A S K

   Her fingernails were digging into the skin of Ron's arm, her heart beating hysterically against her ribcage. She wanted to close her eyes, she didn't want to see what's coming, but there was no chance she could look away.

   "Emmie, it hasn't even started", Fred whispered into her ear, placing a hand on her shoulder.

   "When you won't stop mauling Ron like that he'll be the one losing an arm today, not Harry", George scoffed.

   "Sorry!", Ember wheezed, quickly pulling her hand away. "I just — I can't — having to watch Cedric was more than I can bear."

   "Harry will do fine", George said, ruffling her hair, while a new dragon was brought into the stadium.

   "Yah, more than fifty percent of bets say he will survive", Fred added and Ember shot him a death glare. "Just a joke, just a joke!" He raised his hands in defense, but the dragon now had caught all her attention.

   By now Ember's heart was drumming like it was herself having to face the dragon, and the moment Harry was stepping out of the tent, she was near fainting. Compared to the gruesome creature, Harry was looking like a tiny bug. His face was wearing a shade of greenish pale, and even from afar she could see him trembling.

   "Your wand, Harry! Use your wand!", Hermione was screaming, causing Ember to flinch. Sure Harry hadn't heard her through the screaming and yelling crowd, and the dragon's deep growl, but a shaking hand of his raised his wand, and Ember was holding her breath —

   "Accio Firebolt!", Harry yelled, and there was silence. Seconds turned longer and longer, and Harry did nothing but stand there, his pleading gaze fixed at the castle.

   After what felt like hours to Ember, it was over. By this time she'd already died thrice, her fingernails had left deep marks in both Ron's and Fred's arms.

   "Come on", Hermione muttered, as Harry's feet met the ground, and the stands were booming with applause and yells.

   "Oh, he — erm — you go first, I don't think he wants his victory disturbed by my presence", Ember said, cracking a small smile.

   "Don't be stupid", Hermione groaned, rolling her eyes. "This is the exactly right time for the both of you to get over this stupid spat."

   "Maybe later", Ember said in a low voice. "Tell him, he was amazing."

   After Harry got judged, Ember left the stands together with Fred and George, noticing with a smile that Harry and Ron were heading off to the lake together.

   Fred and George got food from the kitchen, preparing the biggest party the house Gryffindor has ever seen. Plates filled with cakes and sweets were piled on the tables, bottles with pumkin juice and what was definitely no pumpkin juice were reached from hand to hand, and to Ember, who had been sneaked into the lion's common room by the twins, everything seemed overwhelming. Of course Hufflepuff parties weren't just milk and cookies, but what the Gryffindors just did here was way beyond everything the badgers ever had come up with.

   "Impressed?", Fred smirked, handing Ember one of the mysterious bottles. She eyed it suspicious. "It's just a bit Firewhiskey in the juice."

   "No, thanks", Ember laughed, giving the bottle to George. "I'm fourteen, you morons. But yes. Yes, I'm impressed. How do you even know how to get into the kitchen?"

   "The Marauder's Map", both smirked unison.

   "I see." She shook her head in amusement. Right when she was about to open her mouth, everything she was about to say was washed out of her brain, as the portrait swung open and Harry and Ron climbed through the hole. Applause and cheers even louder then in the stadium broke loose and a hundred people at once were storming at Ember's brother, who wore a sheepish grin on his lips. But then his eyes landed on Ember, and he shoved himself through the crowd, heading straight at her.

   "Hey", he breathed, when he stood right in front of her.

   Fred and George got up, both throwing a wink at Ember, before they walked into the masses of Gryffindors.

   "Hey", she replied, her cheeks growing hot, while she tried to keep her voice kinda cool.

   "It's — er — nice you're here —", he stammered, his face brightening up into a deep crimson color. He rubbed his neck, glaring at his feet. "See, I — uhm — I am —"

   But Ember didn't let him talk any further. Jumping to her feet, she flung her arms around Harry's neck, pulling him into a tight embrace.

   "I know", she whispered, smiling into the crook of his neck. She didn't really need an apology; having him here now, desperately searching for the right words, was more than enough.

   "I really shouldn't —" He wrapped his arms around her too. "I didn't mean to — you know, I was —"

   "Oh, finally shut up, will you?", Ember snickered, letting him go. "I know you weren't yourself lately, nobody in your situation would have been."

   "Well, I wasn't really nice to you before I got chosen as well", he muttered, frowning.

   "I've already forgotten about that", she replied with a shrug. "But hey, congratulations! You did a great job! I've died a million times watching you, how could you act that cool?"

   "Sitting on a broom, things look different", he nervously laughed.

   Ember stayed for a while with the Gryffindors, before she finally made her way back to her own house. She hadn't seen Cedric since before the task had started, and was dying to see if his burned face had been fixed. It was close to curfew, so the corridors were all empty. At this time of the day she really hated the gloomy dungeons. The shadows were unnaturally long and creepy, the sound of her steps echoed from the stone walls, making it sound like she wasn't as alone as she thought she was.

   "Where are your antlers, Potter?"

   Jumping three feet in the air, Ember twirled around, her wand already raised, but all she then saw was Draco Malfoy's pale face smirking devilishly at her. The stupid bagde glowing from his chest had her immediately furrowing her eyebrows.

   "Do you want me to get a heartattack?", she hissed, still her fist clenched around her wand.

   "Angsty little Hufflepuff", he scoffed. "Had a nice reunion with your jerk of a brother? I'm a bit disappointed. I did bet he would be grilled."

   "Wonderful", Ember spat. "If you excuse me, I'll go to bed now."

   "You know what's also wonderful?", he snarled. "Your mood!"

   "Wonder how that comes", Ember coldly replied. "Maybe because you've spread those ridiculous badges all over the castle? Or just because you're an arse, Malfoy?"

   "Oh, I see, Potter did a great job to persuade you I'm the bad guy, did he?"

   "You are the bad guy! You've never been anything less! For four years now you're bitching over the fact that Harry didn't want to be your friend after you insulted Ron, and know what?" She took a step closer to him. "It's pathetic!"

   "You know what's pathetic as well?", he hissed, also stepping closer, so the gap between them was reduced to a few inches. With cold eyes he was glaring down at her. "It's pathetic how clingy you're to your brother! That you try to get noticed so badly, always sticking around him to become popular, don't you? That's poor, Potter."

   "Fuck off, Malfoy", she whispered in an icy voice, stepping back just to turn on heels and leave him standing all alone in that dark corridor.