Clover Hawkings and the Triwizard Tournament

1. Clouds, Trunks, and the Hogwarts Express

Life was pretty good.

I mean, we all have our issues, right? But overall- well, it's not awful. But we all have those days where nothing goes right, and we are seriously tempted to murder someone. This is mine.

Things started going downhill when I woke up. 

It all started at 10:31 am.  I was sleeping, peacefully, lost in the luxuries of REM. In my dream, I was flying, snowy Hogsmeade sprawled before me and a girl with her arms around my waist behind me. Her features were blurry, but she had long, dark hair rippling behind her that seemed to be intertwined with the clouds.

Then a cloud hit me in the head and I woke up. Brutally.

The clouds weren't real. The pillow thrown at my head, however, was not.

"Up, up, up!" a voice shrieked. 

"Iiieeeeee!" I yelped and scrambled out of bed. "What was that for?!"

"Clover, it's half-past ten!"

I spun to face my aunt, who was now ripping the green curtains open. "You're telling me I have thirty minutes to get ready, get to King's Cross, and board the Express before it leaves?"

Cass glanced down at her watch. "It's twenty-nine minutes, actually."

I squealed and scurried to my closet. "Go, shoo, I need to change!"

My aunt darted out. "Hurry!" she called as she headed downstairs.

"Tell me something I don't know!" I yelled back, throwing on black leggings, a shirt, and a hoodie three times too big.

I barely had time to brush my teeth (hair was shoved in a bun and forgotten about) before Cass magicked my trunk down the stairs, shoved it into our faithful Subaru, pushing me in with it.

"Can't we just Apparate?" I complained.  

"Nooope," she said cheerfully, popping the 'p'. "It's much more fun this way."

"Are-are you kidding me?" From experience, she was not, but guilt-tripping was always worth a try. "You kept me up late so I didn't have time to pack, and then woke me up late, so I didn't have time to get ready."

Cass rolled her eyes. "Fine, have it your way." She glanced around- there were no other cars on the small road.  Her hand slammed on a large, purple lever (that did not go with the rest of the car), and suddenly my lungs were in a tiny tube, everything was black and spinning- I couldn't breath, and-

"Finally." My shoulders collapsed onto the dash as we re-appeared in the parking lot of King's Cross Station. 

"Hmph," Cass grumbled, looking around warily. "That could have been close, Clover. You know the station is always swarming with Muggles."

"I doubt this is the strangest thing they've seen today," I climbed out of the car. The cold air nipped at my nose. 

"Here you go," Cass grunted, hauled my trunk out of the backseat. "What did you put in here?"

I shrugged. "You know, the usual."

"I better not hear about any fireworks this year," she said warningly, placing my ticket on top of the trunk. 

"I won't," I promise. Quietly, I added, "Let you hear." 

"Right, well, I best be off, then." 

"Aren't you coming?" I said, only somewhat desperately. I had never gone to the Hogwarts Express without my aunt. 

"No, dear, I'm terribly sorry, but Shackbolt wants the report in today- I'm really, really sorry, I have to go down if I'm going to make it to the meeting- you'll be okay, won't you, Clover dear?"  Her forehead is all scrunched up, and  I know that her job as an Auror is really important to her- she's been talking about this meeting for months. "Have a good year, write me every week, see you soon, okay?"