𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

A Ferret?! ☾ 4-04

I sat in the corridor, just outside the courtyard. It was a nice day, and people were everywhere, mentally preparing for the first task. I was trying to study for my Charms quiz next Tuesday, but all I could hear were the squirt noises from the stupid buttons everyone was wearing. Anyone I had confronted claimed it was in support of Cedric, but I knew they just wanted to get back at Harry. I knew he didn't put his own name inside the Goblet of Fire, but I was still worried for him. Both Hermione and I were, so we started doing some research about the tournament in the library after it was announced. They previously cancelled it because the student death toll was so high. Why the bloody hell would they bring it back? While it was a good work project for my father, it was still quite dangerous. As both he and Dumbledore had described, the contests written in the book were not for the faint-of-heart.

I looked up from my Charms textbook when I saw some jeering Hufflepuffs bump into Harry while he was walking. I stood up and met him in the corridor.

"Hey Harry. How are you doing?" I asked, my hair darkening with worry.

"Fine, Aurora. Just sick of everyone accusing me of something I didn't do." I nodded as he sat down in front of me.

"For the record, I believe you. And so does my father." I had spoken to Dad about it yesterday, worried for Harry. He told me he knew something was up, and they were to begin investigations right away. However it would be much more difficult during the tournament, as he was a judge. None of us had much time to spare thinking about it.

"Thanks. Mr. Whitethorn is a good wizard." He replied. A smile plastered itself onto my face. I was quite proud to be his daughter. We stood up and began to walk into the courtyard.

"So have you found out what the first task is yet?" I asked. He didn't respond as he locked eyes with Ron. He and Hermione were sitting on a bench on the other side of the courtyard.

"Dragons." He mumbled, watching as Ron stood and made his way over to us. My eyes widened. Hermione stood, collected her books, and darted down a different hallway. It was a good call, this was about to get ugly.

"You're a right foul git, you know that?" Harry pointed a finger in Ron's face. It seems I had missed the opportunity to make an exit.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Anything else?" Ron sneered, Seamus coming up to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Stay away from me." Harry watched as Ron scoffed and followed Seamus down another hallway.  I cringed as I watched Harry rub his temples.

Spotting Cedric, he made his way across the courtyard again. I followed silently, trying to support him while keeping my distance. I knew he was going through a hard time, but he was so frustrated lately I thought he would blow up on me. The buttons people were wearing didn't help. I gave a small wave to Cedric as he looked up to Harry. Cedrics friends jeered at him as they waved their buttons in his face. Harry pushed them aside as he approached Cedric.

"Can I have a word?" He motioned for me to come with him as we took Cedric aside. Cedric grinned at his friends as they continued to poke fun at Harry. I frowned at him as we rounded a hedge.

"Dragons. That's the first task." Harry said quietly. Diggory's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" He looked at me and I nodded disapprovingly.

"Yeah. They've got one for each of us." Cedric rubbed his hand through his hair.

"And Fleur and Krum, do they-"

"Yeah." Harry cut him off. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. That was completely unfair! How can the headmasters tell their champions what the task is? Wasn't the whole point for them to figure it themselves?