Fine Line

Lights Up

October was here before they knew it. The wind was chilly as students began bundling up in their scarves and extra coats. However, with the changing of seasons came the excitement of the Triwizard Tournament.

    Lucia had been talking nonstop about how she couldn't wait to gossip with the Beauxbatons girls. Eris wanted to ask them about their classes, and (Y/N) wanted to make friends with one of them to have a penpal.

    The wind blew as students gathered on the bridge, patiently awaiting the arrival of the Durmstrang and the Beauxbatons students. Lucia was latched onto (Y/N)'s arm as she peered over the side of the rail. "Do you think they'll be here soon?"

    Eris shrugged. "Hard to say. We don't really know how they're getting here."

    "By train, maybe?" (Y/N) put in, continuously glancing around for carriages to be seen coming from Hogsmeade.

    "I doubt it."

    The students around them whispered their theories to each other about how the other schools were going to arrive. Then the sound of wings was heard overhead as a large carriage drawn by pegasi flew over the bridge. Gasps were heard throughout the crowd, and Lucia squeezed (Y/N)'s arm.

    "Look at the carriage! And the pegasi! Wow..." she smiled dreamily at the Beauxbatons display, and Eris tapped their shoulders and pointed at the lake.

    "Durmstrang just arrived too!"

    A tall mast appeared out of the surface of the Black Lake, and slowly a huge ship rose out of the waters while Dumbledore greeted Madame Maxine and had Hagrid take care of the horses. Once that was all taken care of, Durmstrang's headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, and the students all headed inside the castle.

    Lucia tugged on (Y/N)'s arm again to head for the Great Hall. "Come on! I wanna be able to meet everyone before the ceremony begins."

    Eris and (Y/N) followed Lucia down to the Great Hall. They bid goodbye to Eris as she went over to the Slytherin table and they sat down at the Hufflepuff table. The Beauxbatons girls were the first to enter and give off their performance before sitting at different tables in the Great Hall.

    One of the elder girls sat down with (Y/N) and Lucia with a younger girl and introduced herself. "Fleur Delacour. A pleasure."

    Lucia was the first to shake her hand. "Lucia Adams, lovely to meet you, Fleur. It's going to be a fun year."

    "(Y/N) (L/N). Also a pleasure." She stuck out her hand for Fleur to shake, which she did before the Durmstrang boys made their entrance. Of course, all the girls were swooning over them and the boys rolling their eyes. They sat down, Dumbledore made his announcement, and they dug into their food.

***

    Over the next few weeks, students put their names into the goblet in their hopes that they would get picked for the tournament. (Y/N) mainly hung out with Lucia and Eris, along with Fleur, her little sister Gabrielle, and a Durmstrang boy named Dmitri. Their group of five stuck together.

    "Who do you think is gonna get picked?" Eris asked one day as they all sat down by the lake, staring up at the huge Durmstrang ship.

    "I'm not sure. Everyone has a fair shot." (Y/N) replied, skipping a stone across the water.

    Dmitri shrugged. "Krum's hoping he gets picked."

    Lucia and Eris scrunched up their noses. "Ew."

    The group laughed before Fleur spoke. "While the rewards seem nice, I do not hope to be picked." Gabrielle nodded to reaffirm her sister.

    "I heard the Weasley twins are trying to find a way to get into the tournament," Eris spoke up, and Lucia gave her a look.

    "Of course they are." she giggled. "Those boys find a way to get into everything."

    The others laughed before they continued on their work and chatting about the tournament.

***

    Finally, the night came where the champions would be picked. The students were chatting quietly amongst themselves, some of the older years getting anxious and excited that the drawing was coming soon.

    Dumbledore stepped up to the podium and got everyone's attention. He spoke, talking about the tournament before the goblet put up a piece of paper from the flames. "For Durmstrang, Viktor Krum."

    Durmstrang roared with delight, chanting Krum's name as he went to the front and into a back room for further instruction. The boys quieted down, and the goblet let out another piece of paper. "For Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour."

    The girls cheered and (Y/N), Lucia, Eris, Dmitri, and Gabrielle all cheered for her. While they were worried, they knew Fleur was a strong witch and would be fine. She disappeared, and the goblet sent out one final paper. "And for Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory."

    The Hufflepuff table around (Y/N) burst into cheers. She, however, was frozen in shock and fear. Cedric. He was their champion. She didn't even hear Harry Potter's name be called.

    Lucia tugged on her arm as Dmitri watched, confused about the situation. "Are you alright, (Y/N)? You spaced out there."

    She shook her head and gave Lucia a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit shocked."

    With that, they all went back to dinner. Eris was sitting near Draco at the Slytherin table, who had been watching as (Y/N) didn't cheer for Cedric. She sighed and got his attention. "Malfoy."

    He turned to look at his housemate. She gave him a soft smile, knowing the look in his eyes. "That's her ex. She's worried about him."

    He nodded in understanding and went back to eating. Once dinner was over, (Y/N) was headed back to the Hufflepuff dorm when she noticed Cedric in the hallway. "Ced," she spoke softly, and he turned around.

    "(Y/N)? You look upset," he spoke, and she shrugged.

    With a deep breath, she looked up at him. "I'm just worried, Cedric. About the tournament."

    "That's understandable." he chuckled, looking up and down the halls.

    "Also, I think us breaking up was a mistake and-"

    That caught Cedric off guard as he grit his jaw together and sighed quietly. "No, it wasn't."

    "-I think we should get back together." She finished, not hearing what he had said. With another sigh, Cedric put his hands on her shoulders.

    "(Y/N), I'm sorry, but I broke up with you for a reason," he spoke. "I'm really interested in someone else, and you're going to have to accept that."

    She shook her head and when he tried to leave, she reached for his hand. Cedric pulled away and turned to her. "I'm sorry, but we're done."

    With that, Cedric continued on his way to the Hufflepuff common room to celebrate his nomination while (Y/N) stayed behind, letting reality fully settle in once more.

Be so sweet if things just stayed the same