Fourth Book
October 30th, 1994
Sixth Year
Ara eyed the Goblet of Fire with a neutral expression as students of age put their names into the chalice.
The blonde leaned against a wall across from the Goblet. She was surrounded by a group of older Slytherins, they chatted amongst themselves about whom they believed would be a worthy contestant for the Triwizard Tournament.
Ara chose to tune out their posh voices and focus on the age line, which was drawn around the Goblet of Fire, instead.
It glowed a warm golden colour and did not touch the ground.
The line, drawn by Headmaster Dumbledore himself, was a measure put in place to stop anyone under the age of seventeen from stepping near the Goblet. From what Ara'd heard, it worked quite well, throwing underage students who got near a few feet back every time.
Thank Merlin.
The blonde was pulled back to reality when a burly looking boy blocked her view of the line as he walked away from it.
He'd stopped right in front of her, clearly wanting to strike up a conversation.
"Putting your life on the line Warrington, really?" Ara asked jokingly as she looked up at the boys face.
Cassius Warrington was in Ara's year, with an early birthday, clearly. He was bit dim and, from what she'd heard, could be very cruel. Although he'd never been anything but kind to Ara.
Adrian teased her by insisting it was only because he fancied her.
"Yeah, gotta give the Goblet a few worthy names to choose from," Cassius joked, Ara gave him a sweet smile and nodded.
She could hear the nervousness in his voice that he was so desperately trying to hide.
The boy clearly did not want to be picked.
"Well, good luck then, I suppose,"
Although Ara felt her tone made it very clear that she didn't want to talk, Cassius did not leave. He chose to blabber on about how he'd be an amazing contestant for the tournament.
Ara nodded along and actively had to force her eyes not to roll.
She stopped listening completely after a while.
A sudden roar of applause and shouts finally got Cassius to shut up. The burly boy looked over his shoulder and Ara bent to the side to look past him. They both wanted to see what the commotion was about.
Ara felt disappointment coarse through her body.
A group of older Hufflepuffs had pushed Cedric through the age line and were cheering for him as he put his name into the Goblet of Fire.
Cedric and Ara made eye contact when the Goblet's flames burst into a bright red colour upon accepting his name. Cedric gave her a small smile, but he could sense her disapproval.
Ara waved Cassius off and made a move to walk towards the Hufflepuff. Cedric did the same, waving his housemates off and making his way over to his Slytherin best friend.
"You've decided not to heed my warnings," Ara sighed, sounding nearly sad as she crossed her arms.
Cedric smiled at her.
"Unfortunately," He scrunched his nose teasingly and threw an arm around Ara, the blonde girl leaned into his side.
Cedric had no biological siblings of his own but, in his head, he liked to think he'd had a sister since First Year.
YOU ARE READING
The Outlying Serpent { Fred Weasley }
Fanfiction"I've heard that we're to be blessed with another Weasley this year," Sarcasm had always been her forté. "He's hardly a blessing, and an annoying excuse for a Weasley," Fred felt a sense of pride hearing her giggle at his joke, "-I've also heard th...
