F O R T Y F I V E
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"I don't believe it!" Ron gasped as the Hogwarts students were instructed to head back up to the castle, something that came as a relief to Saffron as it was getting bitterly cold. Though, laughing at Ron's sudden change in demeanour did help with it. "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!"
"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player," said Hermione dismissively.
"Only a Quidditch player?" Ron scoffed. "Hermione - he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"
"Yes, we know this," said Saffron briskly. "Can we hurry please, it's way too cold and my stomachs way too empty,"
Picking up the pace, Saffron found herself having caught up with Lavender and Parvati, both of whom were puzzled as to why a group of sixth-year girls were trying to find something to get Krum to sign his autograph with.
"Who is he?" Lavender asked Saffron quietly so that the enthusiastic Ron couldn't hear her. "I swear I have never seen this boy they're swooning over in my life, and I'm like an expert on boys,"
"Viktor Krum," Saffron informed her and Parvati. "He's a famous Bulgarian, he was playing in the world cup final,"
"Doesn't ring any bells, but I mean good for him," said Lavender fairly. "He's going to have girls and boys queuing up for him by the looks of things,"
Saffron and Parvati both laughed as that reached the entrance to the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. The Durmstrang students weren't quite sure what to do. The Beauxbaton students had made themselves at home at the Ravenclaw table and when Ron noticed that Krum and his schoolmates hadn't sat anywhere, he sprung up at the opportunity.
"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron waved his arms in the air. "Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space -"
"What?" replied a confused Hermione.
"Too late," said Ron bitterly looking at Hermione as though it was her fault.
Saffron looked across to the Slytherin table to see Draco already conversing with Krum who had taken a seat next to him. This put Ron in a terrible mood right away.
"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy," said Ron in utter irritation. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though...bet he gets people fawning over him all the time....Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry...I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on a camp bed."
Saffron, Hermione, Lavender and Parvati all laughed at that, exchanging humorous glances at Ron's expense.
"Or you and Viktor could just share the bed, I'm sure that's your dream scenario," Lavender said to Ron innocently.
"Oh, shut up, Lavender,"
This only made the four Gryffindor fourth-year girls cackle even harder for a solid two minutes.
"But there are only two extra people," Harry said pointing up at the staff table where Filch was putting two extra chairs on either side of Dumbledore. "Why's Filch putting out four chairs, who else is coming?"
"Eh?" said Ron absently, still drooling up at Krum.
"Maybe they brought another teacher with them?" said Saffron distractedly. She had stopped looking at the Gryffindor table and was watching the Ravenclaw one. Her eyes scanned it, seeing Maya near the Beauxbatons contingent and then her eyes finally landed on her target. Olly was sat between Padma and Anthony Goldstein, the person that Lavender and Parvati considered to be the best looking in their year, and not without reason. Saffron could certainly see the reason when she looked at him, he too had blond hair but green eyes, and unlike Olly, it didn't look like his blond hair was fading.
In Saffron's view, she personally wouldn't have ranked him above Olly but she knew that she certainly had some vested interest and bias in that decision, if she had to make it objectively. As she only had eyes for one of them.
Saffron was knocked out of her reverie by Professor Dumbledore began a welcoming speech.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests," beamed Dumbledore warmly, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
Saffron's eyes widened when one Beauxbaton let out a very loud laugh, garnering many a glare from Hogwarts students. The girl, however, looked completely unbothered.
"I love her," Saffron heard Lavender whisper to Parvati. "That is the attitude I want to have in life,"
On the other side of Saffron, Hermione was much more on the side of the majority of Hogwarts students.
"No one's making you stay!"
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," announced Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
Saffron sighed with relief when the plates filled themselves with foods. But what was strange was that there was an array of dishes that Saffron hadn't seen before, evidently being meals that the foreign students were used to. Saffron immediately tucked into them first seeing as she had never tried them before. She remained fixed on her food, barely engaging in conversation for the first few minutes of the feast until the girl who laughed at Dumbledore's speech came over to them.
"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"
Saffron's eyes widened in appreciation at the side of her. She didn't think she had ever seen a girl look so pretty in her life. She had straight blonde hair that fell evenly at her waist and round deep blue eyes above her clear white teeth.
It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth.
Saffron placed her serviette over her mouth to muffle the laugh that was coming due to the sight of Ron not being able to speak to her. Harry pushed the dish towards the girl, offering it to her, to save Ron from further embarrassment.
"You 'ave finished wiz it?"
"Yeah," Ron replied breathlessly. "Yeah, it was excellent."
Satisfied, the girl made her way back to the Ravenclaw table and Ron stared at her the whole way back. Saffron let out a laugh, as did Harry.
"She's a veela!" Roncroaked at Harry.
"Of course she isn't!" insisted Hermione. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"
Saffron looked over her shoulder to see that that was anything but the truth as many heads turned at the sight of the girl. That left Saffron glad that Olly was on their other side as seeing his head turn in awe would have left her feeling rather forlorn.
"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" said Ron leaning over to keep looking at the girl. "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"
"They make them okay at Hogwarts," said Harry abruptly and Saffron followed his line of vision to see that Cho Chang was sat close enough to the French girl. Saffron snorted amusedly making Harry blush. Though, she couldn't disagree as she saw that person for her not too far away from Cho and the blond girl.
"When you two put your eyes back in," said Hermione impatiently, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived."
She pointed up at the staff table where the two seats on either side of Karkaroff and Maxime had been filled. The first by Ludo Bagman. The second by a man who Saffron certainly hadn't left on the best of terms with, seeing as both she and her Godmother argued with him over false accusations; Barty Crouch.
Saffron gulped. Perhaps seeing him was an ominous sign of ominous things to come with the Triwizard Tournament, as she had predicted the second she heard of something big coming to Hogwarts. If her luck was anything to go by, it would be.
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New Romantics | Hermione Granger Book IV
FanfictionAfter spending past three years that Saffron Mitchell spent in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, she had been on a seemingly never-ending spiral of near-death situations. But with Peter Pettigrew behind bars, a slim grasp of her Clairvoyant...