TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early.
Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.

That was the sign on the notice-board that had every student's attention. Days before the 30th, the castle was being cleaned like never before. The suit armours were gleaming shiny and moving without any squeak. All the portraits were rubbed clean to an extent that their subjects had started complaining.

When the students went down to breakfast on the morning of the 30th of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

Harry, Ron, Hermione were sitting beside Fred and George; who were talking in low voices like never before. The three often glanced at the two in confusion.

"It's a bummer, all right," George was saying gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll stuff it into his hand. He can't avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding you?" Ron finally asked.

"Wish you would," Fred shot back, making Ron scowl.

"That wasn't very nice, Forge. He's your little brother." Amelia sat down beside him, making the two's mood lift up a little. Sophie and Ria sat with them too. Harry smiled at her sight.

Sophie wasn't too close with any Gryffindors particularly. But she was good friends with Hermione because of them encountering each other many times in the library.

"You don't say 'Melia, you loathe your sister." George retorted.

"Step-sister." She corrected irritably, "And that's not even the reason to hate her.. We don't agree in terms of each other's views." She justified.

"Anyways.. What's a bummer?" Ron asked George this time.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother." He answered, making Amelia smack them on the back of their heads, much to Ron's pleasure.

"You got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" asked Harry. "Thought any more about trying to enter?"

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

Ria, who was sitting in between Fred and Harry, snorted into her pumpkin juice. "Enjoying us being insulted, are you, Ria?" asked Fred sarcastically. She stuck her tongue out at him. His expressions changed into a playful smirk. "Well.. that won't be the only thing you'd enjoy—"

A lot of 'ew's came from the group of people. Harry put his arms around her waist and pulled Ria away from Fred, who just laughed derangedly.

"Oh, come on. He's just joking." Ria whispered to Harry. And he nodded.

"I know, obviously." He said, not bothering to take his hands off and resting his chin on her shoulder. She shook her head in defeat.

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" said Ron thoughtfully. "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before.."

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, "because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."

Ria shook her head, having enough of every conversation of hers leading to her new programme for house-elves; SPEW.

"Not again.. I'm done with this." She mumbled, snatching a sandwich from the table. "See you later, guys. Sophie, I'm going to find Blaise and Theo. Are you coming?" She asked.

"No, I wanna hear this." The Hufflepuff shook her head, listening intently to what Hermione was explaining. "I'll see you in a while." Ria shrugged.

"Wow, you're really leaving me alone, aren't you?" Harry asked, his tone half-serious half-sarcasm.

Ria pushed him away by a finger to his forehead, laughing. "Overdramatic much?"

"Not if it's you." He joked. "Hey— about tonight.. are you—" he trailed off, feeling a pair.. no, not one pair, numerous pairs of eyes on him. He glanced at the group and then back at her. "Nothing. Never mind.."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay?" And Harry assumed that she wasn't feeling the pressure. Though she gave him a knowing smile. "See ya."

And he grinned. He grinned watching her leave even though he knew the twins and Amelia would torment the life out of him afterwards. Merlin, how could he not?

"Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front.. no pushing.."

The group of students filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest.

Harry was standing between Ron and Hermione in the fourth row from the front, while Ria stood beside Ron, with Blaise, Theo, and Sophie to her other side. The three Gryffindors couldn't stand the two Slytherin boys, and vice versa. Though the only thing that kept them from openly criticising the each other was their friend Ria.

"It's nearly time," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring at the direction of the front gates again. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," said Hermione.

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky. It seemed like a light-bulb lit up over his head. He quickly looked at Ria, who gave him the same smile she had given before. Of course, we'll meet at our spot tonight. Her smile said.

"Not from that far away, Harry." She said.

"A Portkey?" Ron suggested. "Or they could apparate— maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"

"You can't apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently.

"How do you keep up with her? She literally seems like a show-off know-it-all.." Theodore whispered, and Sophie hit his arm before Ria could. "Ouch.. Not you too! Do we have to share everyone with them now?" He hissed, rubbing his arm.

"Since when did you get so possessive?" Ria whispered back. "I was friends with Harry first, by the way, after Sophie."

"Yeah, but you met us first." Blaise chimed in.

She rolled her eyes. "By the way, Beauxbatons are arriving in a flying carriage.." She said.

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers. "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" The students looked around excitedly, until someone pointed out to the sky. What seemed like a huge, dark pumpkin carriage came swooping through the sky, being carried by a dozen of winged horses.

Ron and Hermione looked at her in horror, and she looked back at them with the same expression "What?"

"Don't you think your Seering abilities are getting a bit— I don't know— scary?" Ron asked.

Ria scoffed, "What are you guys? Mad? Why would I see something like that?" She asked rhetorically. "It was Amelia. She told me about this."

"Oh.. alright then.." Hermione breathed out, and they looked back at the sky again.

"Sophie.. Are you alive..?" Theodore shook her frozen body.

"Holy shit.." She whispered, her eyes twinkling with excitement, "Those are flying Palominos.. Only found in France and countries around.." She stared at the huge winged horses in awe— like a child looking at its favourite candy.

The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed- then, with an almighty crash, the horses' hooves- larger than dinner plates- hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels.

"Do you think they'll let me touch them? Oh Helga, please tell me they'll let me touch them."

Ria chuckled. "Pretty sure Hagrid will take care of them.. So, you can—" Her sentence was cut off when Sophie squealed. And she just shook her head fondly.

The door of the carriage opened. A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerged from the inside of the carriage— an enormous shoe at that— followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman Ria had ever seen. She was probably larger than Hagrid.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too. Her face relaxed into a gracious smile and she walked forward towards Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore took her hand and kissed it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

A huge group of students climbed down after her. All dressed in blue, silk uniforms that were rather too thin to tolerate the winter at Hogwarts. Most students were shivering, while some had scarves around their necks. Madame Maxime commanded her students to follow, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

Ria looked at the group of people curiously; she wasn't afraid to admit most of them looked gorgeous, the boys and the girls. They walked behind their Headmistress, holding almost the same amount of grace as her.

The Hogwarts students stood shivering, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky. For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then suddenly—

"Can you hear something?" said Ron suddenly. A loud, oddly eerie noise drifting through the air— toward them from out of the darkness. Rumbles and ripples could be heard from their surroundings. Everyone looked around in confusion until a voice took their attention.

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

The water had began rumbling and rippling. It's smooth surface was now flooding with bubbles. A giant whirlpool began forming somewhere in the middle of it. What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool.. and then Ria's mouth went wide in awe.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes.

What in the Pirates of the Caribbean was this?

Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank. People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes.

All of them seemed to look well built and strong.. but it was until they had drawn nearer. They were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur that made their silhouetted look massive. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.

"Alboos!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied. Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee— that finished with a small curl— did not entirely hide his rather weak chin.

When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own. "Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling. And Ria almost cringed in disgust at the yellow teeth. "How good it is to be here, how good.. Viktor, come along, into the warmth.. you don't mind Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold.."

Two sudden, loud gasps were heard in the crowd of Hogwarts students. Ron had grasped Harry's arm, looking like he was about to faint. "Harry— it's Krum!" He whimpered in a tone of disbelief.

"Isn't— Isn't he the Bulgarian Seeker? The best Seeker in the world? He's just eighteen— Oh Merlin's kneecap—" The second voice was Blaise's. It made his three friends look at him with a slow, dramatic turn.

Was Blaise Zabini ‌of all people geeking out about a Quidditch playing?

"Oh, yeah?" asked Ria, sarcasm filled in her tone and her arms crossed over her chest.

Blaise's fanboy expression dropped and he looked at the three, baffled at his own behaviour. "I— I mean, that's impressive, maybe.. isn't it?" He asked in a more subtle tone.

"Yeah, Mr. Blaise I'm-so-quirky-and-I-don't-like-Quidditch-but-I'm-a-simp-for-Viktor-Krum Zabini." Theodore declared in his monotone, and the girls laughed.

But Ria's laugh was quick to halt as she felt a shiver creep up her spine. Someone was watching her. She quickly turned around, looking for the person.

A girl; merely taller than her in her shabby Durmstrang robes, was looking at her rather curiously, her grey eyes still gleaming in the dark. Her silk-looking blonde hair reached her waist. Ria didn't know what had intrigued the girl. Though she wouldn't deny that she was rather beautiful— like the Veelas she had seen in the World Cup.

She shook her head, suddenly feeling a sense of dizziness. The girl removed her gaze quickly and followed the other's inside. Was that girl a Veela too? Ria thought to herself.

The Great Hall was filled with students and guests. In all honesty, Ria was annoyed by the Beauxbatons lot. She had heard some of the students gossip about how cold the weather was, and how enormous their castle was in comparison to Hogwarts. She felt offended. They were guests, and they had to behave respectfully if they expected the same behaviour.

The Durmstrangs were more humble. Beauxbatons had taken seats with the Ravenclaw table, while Durmstrangs were sitting with the Slytherins. For the first time, Ria felt thankful that someone did not believe in the 'Slytherins are evil' stereotype on their first day at Hogwarts.

Krum was sitting right beside Ria, and even though she wasn't that big of a fan of him, she couldn't help but feel nervous. He was still a professional Quidditch player, after all. The best Seeker of the century..

"She's the best Quidditch Keeper at Hogwarts, right now.. Yeah.." Adrian gushed about Ria to him, and she didn't know why. But she did feel her ego inflate a little bit.

"I'm sure she can play professionally too, like you. She's really talented." Amelia joined in with him, sending Ria a quick wink.

"Okay, now this is too much.. You guys need to stop." She chuckled, though she was flustered.

Krum raised an intrigued eyebrow at her. "I vould then like to play against you, one day. Of course, if you don't mind." replied Krum in his thick accent, taking her by surprise.

"Well— um— sure.. Some day, yeah.." She answered, a big smile on her face. Ria quickly searched the robe of her pocket, and she was quick to find two napkins and a Muggle ballpen. She held them out towards him.

"Until then, would you mind?" She asked, making the player smile, "My friends are huge fans." She added, and then internally punched the air when he began signing them.

"Vould you do me a favour in return?" He asked, making her shrug. "Do you happen to know— that girl over there?" He whispered, handing her the napkins. She looked at the pointed direction in surprise. A smirk dared to grow on her face.

"Yes, I do." She whispered back. "That's my friend, Hermione Granger." She added, watching as Krum nodded, looking at her. "Too bad, she's not into Quidditch." Ria replied, making Krum shrug.

Not that she was going to tell him that she shipped her with another good friend of hers.

"Ve'll see." He answered back silently, going back to the feast.

Ria shrugged in answer, and then turned towards Blaise to hand him one of the signed napkins. He stared at her with quite an unreadable expression. "Thank me later." She winked at him.

"I— I do not remember asking for this?" He whispered to her, taking the napkin quickly and examining the autograph.

"Mate.. trust me, it's written all over your face." Theo mused, and then turned towards Ria. "Hey.. where is Potter sitting, by the way?" He asked.

Although confused, Ria quickly found him on the Gryffindor table and pointed towards him. "Oh, thanks." He said, and looked at a Durmstrang girl. "There he is."

"Ah.. thank you so much, Theodore." The girl smiled as she left the table and approached him.

And Asteria watched as she walked towards him. She tapped Harry on his shoulder, making him look back, get up with a smile and hug her. Ria pursed her lips as she watched them. Why was she suddenly feeling as if there was a hollow inside her?

She took a better look at the Durmstrang girl's face, and her eyebrows jumped in surprise. She was the same girl staring at her before. Or.. was she staring at her? Maybe she was staring at Harry.. who had been right beside Ria the whole time.

She huffed slightly, eyebrows furrowed. How did she even know Harry?

"She completed her first year of study at Hogwarts. Celine Haynes. Gryffindor." Theo answered, as if he had been reading her mind. And Ria quickly took her eyes off them.

Okay then.. They must be friends. Then, I shouldn't be feeling so furious with her sitting beside him.

"She was expelled for some reason, though." He added.

"Wait.. that's Celine?" said Amelia, coming to realisation. "How did I not notice her?"

Ria shook her head in amazement. "You know her too?" Just who was this girl?

"Yeah.. we went to the same school." She answered. "I mean.. She was a third-year at my school. Only for a year though, she was at Ilvermorny."

Ria looked at her in confusion, "So?"

"She was at Beauxbatons before that.. For her second year." Amelia whispered, "Then after a year there, she got expelled, and joined Ilvermorny. Last year, my old friend from the school wrote to me, telling me that she got expelled from there too. And now she's at Durmstrang."

"So.. first year at Hogwarts. Second year at Beauxbatons. Third at Ilvermorny. And now the fourth at Durmstrang. I mean.." Amelia chuckled in disbelief. "And she was expelled from three schools for unknown reasons. Don't you find that suspicious as fuck?"

Ria thought over it. Amelia's concern wasn't wrong. What had she done that she got expelled possibly three times?

What if she was dangerous?

She shook her head. "Alright.. we're overthinking. Maybe she wasn't expelled; rumours exist. Maybe she had her reasons?"

Amelia and Theodore shrugged. "Who knows?" He said.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore.

"The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket, just to clarify the procedure that we will follow this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation—" there was a small, polite applause. "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." The applause that followed was much louder; probably because he was a Quidditch player once.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word, Ria's eyes quickly travelled to the Hufflepuff table. Noticing Cedric's determined expression, her eyes drooped in worry.

Of course, she knew he was brave and clever. But this was a deadly tournament, and the thought didn't help her.

"The casket if you please, Mr. Filch." Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways... their magical progress, their daring, their powers of deduction, and, of course, their ability to cope with danger." At this last word, the Hall filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to breathe.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. An impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire, will choose the champions."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid slowly creaked open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly carved wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. We will place the goblet in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete."

"Bloody hell— why Halloween out of all?" Ria muttered under her breath. Both of her prior experiences of Halloween at Hogwarts had been worrisome.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line."

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

Ria laid wide awake on the couch, her anxiety chewing on her from the inside like never before. Halloween.. a day she adored now made her bite her nails with thoughts that might drive her into madness.

"Ri.." Sophie sighed, sitting on the floor beside her. "You're worrying too much. It's not good for you."

"Am I?" She chuckled in disbelief. "In second year, the chamber of secrets was opened. And in third year, Sirius Black broke in." Even though he was innocent. "Both on the night of Halloween. What if something happens this year too?"

"Ria.. you should—" but she stopped. "How did I forget about it?" Then with a gasp, she jumped up from her place and ran into her room. Ria stared at her in confusion.

When she came back, she had a smile on her face and her left hand behind her back. "What if now.. you know when it's exactly going to happen?"

Ria clicked her tongue in slight annoyance. "Sophie, darling, that's exactly what I've been trying to find out since the past month.."

She brought her left hand in the front, and held in it was a tattered leather book. Ria raised an eyebrow, looking down at the book and then up at her face. "What is this?"

"Well.. this is the journal of a certain Seer.." At Sophie's words, Asteria perked up like a cat. "..who was also an Inventor. And apparently she liked to scribble all her ideas down in a little journal of hers."

"You are kidding me.." Ria whispered, her face breaking out into a smile as she got up. "You are, aren't you? No way in hell, you got your hands on Lagarde's journal.."

With a small chuckle, Sophie chuckled. "Wasn't hard, really. I was in the library, looking for something and it was just.. there!" She shrugged, surprised herself. "Maybe she hid it there when the Ministry first started looking for her. I mean.. if I were her, I wouldn't want my enemy to find my work either."

"Anyway.. I'm pretty sure there must be something written about the way she worked as a Seer."

Ria had her jaw dropped as she looked at her. "Sophie Cordelia Scamander!" She grinned up at her, hands clutching her shoulders. "Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?" She chuckled.

"Uh— So much that if you weren't already in love, you would've asked my hand in marriage?" asked Sophie.

"Yeah— wait, what?" She raised a confused eyebrow, and her friend's smug smile knocked some sense into her. "I— I'm not in love— Why am I explaining this? Anyway, let me have a loo—" Ria reached out for the journal, but Sophie held it back.

"Wait— wait! Not so soon." She said in urgency. "Now.. I haven't peeked into it for my own reasons and my own sanity. We don't know about the stuff that's in there." Ria nodded.

"And remember what McGonagall told you in your lesson? Doesn't matter that Lagarde was once good, she had always practised the Dark Arts for her own sake."

"Yeah.." She nodded with a small sigh. "But what if with its help, I really do end up finding a way?"

Sophie nodded. "I'm not saying you shouldn't use it. Can you— Can you promise me something? And I'm not making you do this because you're a Slytherin. It's just because I worry about you."

The girl nodded in understanding. "Sure."

"Okay. Promise me that you'll read the rest of Lagarde's shenanigans written in here only if needed." She emphasised. "You won't dive into her knowledge out of curiosity. We don't know how much she used the Dark Arts, and where.. So, I don't want you to get caught up into something like this."

"Alright. I promise." She said.

"And that this journal stays between us."

She nodded again. "Yes. That too." She trusted Sophie with her life.

Sophie left a breath of relief. "I just don't want to get caught by McGonagall or Pince, ya know?" She chuckled as she handed her the journal. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep. I'm assuming—"

"I'm gonna find out how Lagarde did it." Ria said quickly, and Sophie smiled at the expected answer. She nodded.

"Good night, then." She said, walking to her room. "Don't stay up too late. And yeah— Please don't scream at midnight again because the feisty girl pinned her hot enemy against the wall and put a dagger to his throat in your enemies-to-lovers book. I got scared last night."

"Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry— it took me off guard!" Ria pouted at her. Sophie chuckled with an 'alright' before closing her door.

Asteria sighed, and her eyes quickly darted down to the journal. Her thumb ran over the tattered edges, and she wondered how much it would've hurt Lagarde to hide away something like this.. her entire life's work.

She opened the book, and found the letters 'KML' etched into the bottom right corner. She could only assume they were her initials. She then skipped to the last page, and it made her gulp with nervousness.

The entire back page was written on with black ink; the name 'Morrigan Azrael' was written over and over again. It started kind of neat, was rushed in the middle, and was messy and blotchy at the end.. as if Lagarde had written over it so furiously that the tip of the quill had snapped and the ink had bled all over it.

Asteria really wanted to look into the journal and find how Lagarde used her visions.. but she was hesitating. She just couldn't bring herself to do it, at the moment.

Was it fear?

"Hey."

She jumped in her seat, but then breathed out after seeing her cousin. She kept the journal aside and subtly covered it with a cushion.

"Cassandra, why is your door so damn quiet when it's opening?!" said Ria.

"Why would I know?" She answered back.

"Dear saints, Ced!" She shook her head.

He chuckled. "Did I scare you?" He walked towards her and took a seat beside her.

"Just now when you walked in unannounced and unnoticed— like a damn vampire? Yes, you did." She retorted.

He chuckled again. "Vampire?"

"Yes. You remind me of a four-book fantasy novel which had an annoying vampire protagonist. He gave me the burning desire to turn the books into ashes."

Cedric winced, scrunching up his nose. "Hey.. I'm not that bad. Anyway.. I talked to Dad."

Ria frowned, looking up at him nervously. "Well.. what did they say?"

"Dad said yes, obviously. He's really proud." He smiled.

Ria nodded hesitantly, her eyes going towards the journal just for a moment. If something bad is going to happen, I'll know. And I'll stop it this time.

No more knowing everything but doing nothing.

"Alright." She gave him a small nod. She really didn't want to discourage him.

But Cedric wasn't satisfied. "Hey.. I know you're worried. I promise I'll take care." He said with sincerity.

"Promise?" She asked, and he nodded in response. "If you die, I'll find your bloody ghost, resurrect you, and kill you again."

He chuckled, and she hit his arm. "I'm serious!"

"Alright—" he said, struggling to stop. "Alright."

Harry sat still on the couch, his eyes trained on Hermione who was babbling on and on about her idea called spew. He made sure to nod in between, to let her know that he was listening.

He really wanted to leave.. he wanted to go to the Astronomy Tower and meet Ria.

"And they must work continuously, in submission! This is madness, I tell you—"

"Hermione! Hermione!" Ron interrupted her. "Calm down.. have some water, maybe—"

"Oh, shut up." She snapped. "Here, sign this."

"What is this?" He asked.

"A petition to send to the Ministry," said Hermione. "If we get enough signatures, maybe they'll consider sparing those poor creatures."

Ron sighed. "Have you considered that maybe House-elves don't want to be freed? Maybe they like doing work!" He shrugged. "You talked to Winky, didn't you? She was so sad about being freed!"

Hermione huffed. "That's because it's been rooted in them. From generation to generation, they've been—"

Harry got up from his place in an instant, making the two look at him. "Where're you off to?"

He disappeared up the stairs wordlessly, and when he came back, he had his Invisibility cloak in his hand. "To meet Ria."

"Now?" asked Ron. "It's almost midnight."

"Yeah.. she needs my help." He answered in a small voice.

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, their previous argument forgotten. "With..?"

"With.. her visions, obviously!" He bellowed. "What else? She's struggling with them. She's working hard. I just wanna go and help her. Is that bad?"

"No. Not at all." Hermione shook her head with a little smile. "When did we say that?"

Harry gave her a half-nod. "Alright.. then. See you."

"Take some snacks for her!" Ron suggested.

"No— I mean, yes, but don't make the poor House-elves work at this hour!"

And as the portrait of the Fat Lady closed behind Harry, Ron sighed. "Merlin, we have really seen him evolve, haven't we?" He said to her. "From parents' best friends' son, to friend, to best friend.. to potential boyfriend. Godric, I might shed a tear."

Hermione chuckled, shaking her head fondly. "Stop talking like we're his parents, Ronald." She said. "Now.. where were we?"

Once Harry reached the stop of the stairs, he sighed at the sight. Ria was hunching over a book, back leaned against a pillar as she sat at their spot in the Astronomy Tower, under the starry night sky.

Asteria Edwards was beautiful to begin with.. but in his eyes, nothing was more enchanting than the way she glowed under the starlight.

And although her tired eyes seemed engulfed into the book on her lap, she acknowledged him. "I'm not going anywhere, Potter. Stop staring."

Her voice broke him out of his train of thoughts, and a lopsided grin grew on his face. She didn't look up at him, too busy trying to hide the smile that dared to grow in his presence.

He rolled his eyes playfully and shed his cloak. And then he saw the Marauders Map lying open beside her. Thought so..

"Well.. we don't know that." He said as he strolled towards her. He plopped down beside her. "What if you just disappear one day?"

"If I did.. it'll be on my own accord." She commented. 

That was true. No one could hold her against her will for long. Like she said before.. she hated not having control over her own life.

"Doesn't matter. I'll find you." He said. Ria lifted the book off her lap, and Harry took his cue to rest his head.

"I'll be glad, then." She said, subtly ignoring the way her stomach had erupted with butterflies. She shook her head slightly. Focus, Ria. What did you read until now?

'Never, ever ignore your visions. Even if they occur several times.'

'They are your visions.. your dreams. And as a Seer, you command over them. You can take control of your body in your visions if you try hard enough.'

'When you do take control.. don't try to change anything. Look around instead. Look at the position of the sun.. the stars.. the shadows.. the weather. Look at whatever that can give away time.'

The position of the Sun and the stars.. Ria thought to herself. Those two would be enough to give away the day and the time?

For that, I'll have to study.. no, memorise how the stars move. Every little movement.. every deviation is important to find out when it will happen.

'Look at how the stars appear in the vision..' she scribbled in her notebook. 'Look at the present night sky. Calculate how long it would take the stars to move to that position.'

'Study directions so that you'll always be able to tell where all four are. Position of the sun and the way shadows fall. It'll give the time of the day.'

She took a deep breath and braced a small smile. It was small, but it was still progress.

Wait.. but how will I be able to tell the day if there's no night sky in my vision?

She turned back to the journal. And her eyes skimmed over another sentence.

'A Seer's dream will always leave a hint somewhere. Look hard enough and you'll find not just one, but many..'

"Never thought I'd say this, but thank you for the help, Katherine Lagarde." She muttered lowly.

"Hmm? Did you say something?"

"Nothing."

Harry nodded, his eyes still on the cover of the book. He felt content with her.. like a cat sleeping in warm sunlight. But now, he couldn't see her face because of the book.

"What's the name?" He asked.

"It's not fiction. It's.. I'm studying." She answered. Only between Sophie and her..

"Studying? When there's a beautiful sky full of stars in front of you?" He lifted his head off her lap just slightly. "You're not my Ria. Who are you?"

She just chuckled, gently pushing him away. "No, I'm serious!" He said with a small laugh. "What did you do to my Sunshine?"

Ria shook her head. "Your Sunshine's handling serious business." She answered. "Gotta give up some things to achieve some other.. yeah?"

Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes never leaving the book. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew her bottom lip was being chewed on, her eyebrows were knitted in concentration.. maybe a strand of hair eventually fell on her face because of the breeze, and after moments of ignoring it, maybe she finally gave in and tucked it behind her ear with a small huff.

"What about you, Prongslet?" She asked. "As long as I remember, you certainly don't have any interest in Astronomy. What brings you here, then?"

You, Ria. He didn't have to think twice.

"I.. I remember that thing you told me about finding a comfort person.. you know.. finding a Star?" He said, remembering the time they had all slept under the bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall.

Ria immediately tilted the book to a side, looking at him, and Harry was glad he had said that. She squinted her eyes. "Uh— huh?"

He shrugged. "Reckoned that the real stars would help me find her." He answered with a small smile. And Ria was glad that the stars weren't bright enough to show the red shade of her cheeks.

"And.. has there been any progress?" She questioned.

"Maybe."

Once again.. her heart skipped a beat. Was that disappointment she felt? Or hurt?

No.. neither.

Why would she feel any of them? She should be feeling happy for her best friend.

Maybe she was just too tired and too focused to react rationally.

With a small exhale, Ria dove back into the book, tilting it back to its original place.

Harry sighed in disappointment. He sat up in his place and gently lowered the book with one hand.

"Come on! Won't you ask me who the girl is?" He asked, his tone almost taunting.

Celine Haynes?

"Well.. if she matters that much to you, then you'll tell your best friend right away, wouldn't you?" She huffed.

Harry tilted his eyes, his face adorning with an amusing smile. "Jealous, Asteria?" She only rolled her eyes. He snatched the book from her hands.

"Hey— Potter, you better give— that— back!" she chased him, crawling across the floor as he held the book away from her.

"Well, I asked you something, Edwards.." he smiled slyly. "Won't you be a dear and answer me?"

Ria ignored the throbbing of her heart and pinned the boy down by his shoulder, and then hovered over to snatch the book back.

"Ha! You really thought you did something, huh?" She taunted back, not noticing the way Harry's face had reddened while he was trapped under her.

Don't you dare get any absurd ideas, Harry. She's your best friend.

"What? You aren't going to say anything now?" She retorted, and all he managed to do was stare into her calming eyes.

Calm like the ocean.. but just as thrilling.. just as unpredictable..

Godric, she was so beautiful.

"Can I kiss you?"

There was a moment of silence, and within the silence were the thrumming of racing heartbeats.

Asteria blushed profusely, unable to move or say anything. Had she heard him right?

"Who's up there?!" An angry voice bellowed, and they broke out of their trance.

They hurriedly stood up from their places on the ground. Ria quickly collected her stuff. "Shit.. it's Filch." She said, looking into the Marauders Map.

If I get caught, I'll be banned from here. Sinistra won't stand up for me. She had already warned me.. she thought in panic.

Harry's thought process seemed to match her, because he had suddenly grabbed her waist and pinned her to the wall, making Asteria's heart literally stop.

But when he covered the two with his Invisibility cloak, a sense of relief rushed into her. Though that did not help calm her racing heart, at all. Now he was right in front of her, his face so close that if she just stood up on her tiptoes, their lips would be brushing.

Ria mentally shook her head. What on earth are you thinking? Come to your senses!

The two held their breaths as the footsteps inched closer and closer. And without even realising, they moved closer to each other.

"Who's here?!" Filch shouted again. And Harry's hand moved from her waist to her hand, his thumb skimmed gently over her knuckles. And somehow, that made her more jittery than his hand around her waist.

Filch scoffed, disappointed that he had no student to punish. He picked Mrs. Norris up and walked down the stairs.

After a few moments of assurance, Harry slowly let his cloak fall to the ground, though he made no move to put any distance between them.

A gentle breeze made Harry's hair topple in front of his eyes, and he quickly pushed them back, green eyes still piercing at Asteria.

She sighed. He looked so..

Cutting the tense silence, Harry spoke up, still quite flustered. "That— That was close." He breathed out, making Ria nod hesitantly.

"Yeah.. Really close." She muttered out, glancing down at his lips for a few seconds before her eyes snapped back to his.

And then Harry leaned down, kissing her as gently as a spring breeze would caress a butterfly.

The kiss was short, but it left Ria dizzy. She felt like she had been lit on fire, but also like she had been jumping on clouds.

What was she fucking feeling?

What did you do? Harry stood in his place, shocked. His brain had finally began to function again. And he realised what he had done.

He had kissed his best friend. He had ruined their friendship forever.

She looks so pretty. He thought. Why do I wanna kiss her again?

Oh Godric! Someone help me!

She opened her mouth to speak, and Harry was convinced that she was going to yell at him. But no words came out. She then raised a hand, and he knew she was going to smack some sense into him.

So instinctively, he raised his wand and cried out: "Co— Confundus!"

Ria shut her eyes close, her hand clutched her head instead as she tried to shake her dizziness away. Harry took a step away from her, and she looked up at him. "What— What is it? What happened?" She asked.

"We— We were leaving." He said, his wand hiding into the invisibility cloak clutched into his hand.

Ria nodded in realisation, giving him a small smile. "Oh.. right. Shall we?"

Harry nodded, forcing a smile. "I'll drop you off to your dorm."

"You think I'm incapable of taking care of myself?" She squinted her eyes playfully at him.

The smile on his face was genuine now as he swung his arm around her shoulder. "Yes."

"Hey!"

No risked friendship. No fear of 'never going back to the way we were'. No complicated feelings.

That was how they were meant to be.. best friends who loved each other, but only platonically. That's all.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

[word count: 7189]

CELINE HAYNES
(elle fanning)