After All This Time

Seven

"Do not spill even a drop." 

I sighed as Snape hovered behind me, watching my every move. Months had passed since Christmas, neither one of us acknowledging what had happened. I had continued my Occlumency lessons with Snape, becoming strong enough that even he couldn't even begin to pry into my mind. Even though classes had now ended, I was still assisting Snape in brewing potions for the final event of the Tri Wizard tournament.

"Who do you think will reach the cup first?" I asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"To be perfectly honest I don't even care. But, for your sake I hope it's Potter." Snape walked over to the chair behind his desk and sat down, rubbing his hands over his face. "I just can't wait for this bloody tournament to be over. It's causing me more pain than anything else."

I quietly chuckled, shoving a cork into the last bottle. With a wave of my wand, the rest of the items on the desk were cleaned and stored away. "Well Professor, I'm done here. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Snape looked up from his desk, eyeing the row of bottles on the table infront of me. "Well, seeing as I technically still have you for another half hour you can assist me in grading these final papers."

I grabbed a quill from my bag before walking over and sitting in the chair infront of Snape's desk. Snape gave me a sly smile and shoved a stack of papers my way. "Have fun."

~

I awoke to a loud commotion coming from the Gryffindor common room. I rolled over and covered my head with my pillow, trying to drown out the yelling and cheering. As I laid there, I noticed the yelling getting louder and louder until the bedroom door burst open with a loud bang. Every girl in my room shot up in bed as the Weasley twins came running in, shooting fireworks all around the room. "Let's go ladies!" they shouted, pulling us all from our beds. The twins were almost unrecognizable, their faces covered in paint and bodies covered in every piece of Gryffindor clothing they owned.

I groaned. "What time is it?"

"Time to start the festivities!" the Weasley twins cried.

I rolled my eyes at them, falling back down onto my bed. Fred ran over to me, pulling me back up to my feet. "No no no. I'm not letting you go back to sleep-" Fred was cut off by a voice booming in the stairwell. 

"I hope for everyone's sake there aren't any boys in the girls rooms!"

"Of course not Perfect Percy" the twins snickered, dashing out of the room. 

I trudged over to the bathroom and quickly showered before pulling on a pair of jeans and a Griffyndor shirt. I waved my wand over my hair and face, light makeup immediately appearing and my hair drying and styling itself. I walked back out into the room to get Hermione.

"I have to go to the dungeons quickly before breakfast, care to join?"

"Anything to avoid whatever is going on downstairs" Hermione sighed, hopping off her bed.

We quickly ran down the stairs, quietly slipped through the common room, and headed down toward the dungeons.

"Good morning Professor" I chirped, making my way into Snape's office.

"Good morning Annalise" Snape replied, looking up from his desk and slightly nodding. "Miss Granger."

"Is there anything you need my assistance for today?" I asked, walking up and leaning on the side of his desk.

Snape leaned back in his chair, folding his arm across his chest. "You can tell the Weasley's to stop wreaking havoc on the castle before I see to their expulsion. Other than that, no."

"Someone sure is in a good mood" I teased, standing up from the desk. I turned around and walked towards the door, grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling her away from the bookcase lining the wall. "See you at the tournament Professor" I called over my shoulder as we left Snape's office.

~

A warm summer breeze whipped across my face as I walked out to the grand stands with the rest of Gryffindor house. Fred and George were leading the group, chanting Harry's name the whole way. Ron trudged alongside Hermione and I, keeping his head low in hopes that his brothers wouldn't grab him and force him to join them.

We settled in the middle of the stands, close to the top so we could have a good view of the maze. Cheers began erupting from the crowd as the four participants made their way out to the starting point. Dumbledore made a few remarks to the competitors and with a loud bang, they were off. Music began playing as the crowd began cheering, waiting in anticipation for the first sparks signaling a competitor had reached the cup. After a while the cheering died down, only the chatting between students filling the air. I decided to go down and use the bathroom, figuring we would still have a while before anyone reached the cup.

As I made my way down under the stands, I noticed a few female students running towards a small table set up near the concession area. Mostly likely a gift shop dedicated to Viktor Krum I thought to myself, laughing. I walked into the bathroom and went to the mirror, fixing my hair and patting away some sweat that had formed on my forehead. I began to hear some faint cheering and decided to head back up to my friends before I missed anything. No sooner had I turned to walk out of the bathroom, two hands reached out and grabbed me from behind by the shoulders.

Everything went black.