homesick ☆ f.weasley

.:08:.

Rain was falling heavily, thick sheets splattering the windows. Emmeline's grip tightened around a bottle of the aging potion. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach when she saw Cedric.

"Going to put your name in the goblet too?" assumed Emmeline, jogging to catch up with him.

Cedric nodded but then his face became overcast with confusion. "Are you entering?"

Emmeline laughed. "No, I'm on about Fred and George."

"But they're not seventeen," Cedric said shocked.

"I'm hoping this will help," said Emmeline, showing him the potion bottle.

"Ahh aging potion," Cedric stated knowingly.

"We're hoping it works," said Fred, catching up with Cedric and Emmeline.

"Well good luck!" smiled Cedric, walking into the hall the goblet was kept in.

"You too," Fred called after him.

Emmeline stared after Cedric, affection blossoming in her stomach. A goofy smile spread on her face as she observed his confident gait. She could vaguely hear Fred and George exchanging nervous whispers about the age line.
With great difficulty, she forced herself back in the present.

The crowds were eagerly surveying the goblet. A light golden age line guarded the circumference.

The Durmstrangs entered first. They glowered at the crowd, ensuring they intimated any potential competition. The Beauxbatons were next, gracefully grabbing all the boy's attention. It made Veronica visibly green with envy. Hogwarts came next.  People were rapidly entering, some looking confident; others anxious.

"Are you ready?" asked Emmeline.

Fred and George nodded simultaneously. She handed them the potion. Fred's eyes quivered in his sockets. He just wanted to know if it would work. The idea of eternal glory illuminated his whole body. Imaging what it would feel like to have money to do whatever he wanted surged through his veins, encouraging him on. He snatched a piece of parchment and scribbled down his name.
Emmeline handed the boys their potions. Before attracting the crowd's attention, the boy's gulped down their potions and stepped into the line. The room was silent; they had defied an age line! Emmeline breathed a sigh of relief and triumph, shattering the silence. Hermione looked flabbergasted, edging further forward on her seat. Grinning, the twins dropped their names into the goblet.

Suddenly, the goblet began groaning as if upset. Fred and George shared a look of curiosity before the goblet shot out their names and sent them hurtling across the room.

"Are you okay?" asked Emmeline, helping them up with assistance from Angelina and Lee.

The two nodded sheepishly.

"I'm sorry-" began Emmeline. "Oh my god!"

The duo had sprouted long silvery beards that would over shadow Dumbledore's. Their usually faint eyebrows had been replaced by bushy, cloudy grey caterpillars that were currently furrowed in anger.

"What have I done?" Emmeline cried.

The brothers started fighting, Emmeline desperately trying to break them up. "Boys, it's my fault stop it!"

She fell down, tears cascading down her face. Why everything she do end up going wrong? Angelina and Lee were struggling to repress a laugh, before noticing Emmeline crying. Angelina's dark face clouded with concern.

"Emmeline?" she spoke softly. The boys stopped fighting and turned to view their friend.

"Why are you crying? What's up?" wondered George, scratching his mop of silver hair. His new locks were so dry it made the same sound it would if he scratched hay.

"It's all my fault everything I do goes wrong," she wailed.

"What the hell?" cackled Veronica, sauntering over to Emmeline. "As if she's crying! Again! What a baby!"

Emmeline flushed a violent shade of red, humiliation bubbling in her cheeks.

"Leave her alone, this is nothing to do with you," snarled Angelina, offering her hand to Emmeline. Trembling, she got to her feet. Vivienne and Velma had appeared by their leader's side. They closed in on the group, resembling a malicious pack of hyenas.

"Everything's just getting on top of me," she whispered to Angelina.

"I know babe, it's fine come on," Angelina cooed.

"This is all my fault," said Emmeline.

"It's literally not, it's our fault. There was always a chance it wouldn't work," said Fred, thinking the girl was overreacting slightly.

"You really wanted to enter though," Emmeline sighed through a waterfall of tears. She tried to ignore Veronica, Vivienne and Velma's scornful sniggers. Her skin was so warm it was scalding to the touch.

"Come on let's go," Angelina urged, shooting the girls a distain filled glare.

"Hold on," Emmeline snapped.

Dumbledore appeared, a small smile on his face as he instructed the twins to go to the hospital wing.

"Will you be okay?" asked Emmeline anxiously.

"Of course," chuckled Fred.

"Angelina, Lee, go with them. I'll be there in a second," Emmeline instructed.

"Why aren't you coming now?" George said.

"There's something I have to do, I just want to be alone," she said.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Angelina checked, her eyes loaded with apprehension, her gaze fixated at Veronica, who was now mocking Emmeline's sniffs.

Reluctantly, Emmeline's friends left. The crowd dispersed as it seemed the majority of champions had already entered.

Swiftly, the blonde Gryffindor rooted through her bag and pulled out some spare sheets of yellowing parchment. Hunched over, she scrawled Fred and George's name and walked over to the goblet. She dropped them in, watching them disintegrate. A voice made her jump.

"There's no way you're entering," barked Veronica with a cackle. Emmeline's heart pounded. She thought they had left with the majority of the crowd. She experienced judgement and vulnerability in front of the trio she felt like she was naked.

Emmeline took a deep breath and pushed out the bravest voice she could. "I am. Probably won't get chosen but might as well." Her voice was wavering as she shrugged her shoulders.

"You!" shrieked Veronica, falling back with laughter.

"You can't even speak out in class without almost crying!" Vivienne snickered. Velma remained silent, the same clueless look permanent on her face.

"I didn't see you enter!" Emmeline scoffed, anger egging her on.

"Too young," replied Veronica casually. "Birthday's not until the summer. I doubt they'd let me enter anyway, wouldn't want someone like me getting hurt."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. Veronica scoffed. "As if you have the audacity to roll your eyes at me."

"You don't even know me," Emmeline said quietly. Adrenaline was still beckoning her on. Would they hurt her? After all, there was no one else around. 

"I think we know you well enough," scoffed Vivienne. "You're the girl who never speaks and dresses every weekend like it's national wear your Grandma's clothes day!" 

"I didn't know there was a national wear your Grandma's clothes day," Velma piped in, her deep brown eyes reflecting emptiness, a dumb grin spread on her blank face.

If Emmeline hadn't been so preoccupied by what Velma had just said, she would have made more of an effort to remember her comment and reported it back to Angelina. Of course Emmeline always suspected her peers thought as much of her, but hearing it out loud was a slap of confirmation. Emmeline's identity was lost: who was she? She was homesick in her own body. She was uncertain of almost everything. Everything except the fact that she no longer wanted to be perceived that way. She wanted to feel at home.