Written In The Stars IV -[Harry Potter xF!Oc]

Chapter Fifteen: The Fourth Champion.

When Joseph excused himself -about half an hour before dinner- Mel knew him pretty well. He was an only child, his parents were more open-minded than Erick's, though he tried to remain respectful, she noticed a little bit of tension when he mentioned his uncle and aunt. Their family was big, but most of them lived abroad and the ones that stayed were mostly all as boring and bitter as the Flints. Joseph teased Erick about how much he'd grown that year and that it was a matter of time before he'd introduce a girl to the family. It was clear that he didn't know about Anne.

"You like my cousin," Erick stated when they made their way to the Great Hall.

"I think he's nice," She replied.

"That's what I meant," He continued. "Didn't you say you only had eyes for Potter, though? You seemed awfully kind to Jo."

"Oh, shut up," She rolled her eyes. "I only like Harry."

"You didn't mention Harry, not even once during the whole conversation. That has to mean something."

"It means I'm very close to set your head on fire."

Mel found her way to her friends and Ron quickly engaged with her in a conversation.

"You won't guess what happened a moment ago before we left Hagrid's cabin."

"Did the skrewts died all at once?"

"Wished," Ron made a face. "Most of them are still alive and bigger, unfortunately."

"You see Hagrid at the table?" Hermione asked. "Well, he's all dressed up like that because he's trying to impress Madame Maxime."

"What?" Mel laughed. "No way!"

"He forgot about us when he saw her!" Ron exclaimed. "Never seen such a helpless bloke."

"I can think of someone who gets as dumbstruck when they see a pretty face," Mel smirked, but Ron decided to conveniently ignore her.

"Did Joseph stay after we left?" Hermione asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Yes, and I think I learned more about the Flint family from him than I ever heard from Erick!"

"You know, I reckon maybe Marcus Flint's the only one who's not good-looking in his family," Ron snorted.

"I think you might be right," Mel replied casually.

Harry stabbed his food a bit too harshly then, startling everyone.

"Sorry," He mumbled, not looking up from his plate. "Got stuck."

"What will you do during the selection?" Hermione asked her.

"Dunno, we just have to stand there and look pretty–"

"Tough work for you, isn't it?– Ouch!"

"Then we take them to the room that's behind the teacher's table," She continued, not paying attention to Ron.

The tension was palpable around the room, Mel usually ate twice as much when she was nervous, but she wasn't feeling too anxious if she was honest, none of the people that'd put in their names was especially close to her, and she was wishing for the goblet to pick Cedric. He deserved it, to prove the rest of the school that he was capable of winning and not just a 'pretty face'.

When the food vanished she left her seat and joined Dumbledore at the front, Erick joined seconds later, looking mildly bored.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions."