The first three classes are mandatory for all students to attend on the day of the final Triwizard Task, much to the dismay of most of the student body.

"Can't believe we still have to suffer through class." Alicia mutters bitterly, jabbing her wand aggressively at the heap of rags they're meant to be transfiguring into a decorative pillow. Nothing happens, and she starts to swear as she peers closer at the rags. "Why isn't this working?"

Marjorie shrugs - Transfiguration has never been one of her strong suits. Everyone in class has been all abuzz all day, and every conversation seems centred around the upcoming Task. Marjorie has been trying her best to block them out, because her stomach has been in knots since she'd woken up at dawn.

Alicia casts a quick, surreptitious glance towards the clock at the front of the classroom. "There's only ten minutes left of class," She whispers to Marjorie, "Do you think McGonagall would notice if we asked Angelina to transfigure this stupid thing for us?"

"Yes, Miss Spinnet," The sharp, cutting voice of their teacher slices through the classroom. "She would notice."

Both girls cringe as everyone else in the class turns around to eye them curiously, but even McGonagall seems to have been affected by the infectious good humour that's preceding the final Task because she doesn't punish them any further. She just sends them a narrow-eyed look from the front of the room and keeps an eye on them until the bell rings.

As soon as the girls leave the room, Alicia nudges insistently at Marjorie's arm with her elbow. "What the bloody hell was that! Did you see that! How the hell did she hear me?"

"Rookie mistake, Spinnet," Lee Jordan calls out from behind them. "McGonagall's practically got bionic hearing."

Angelina comes up behind them right as Alicia shakes her head, bewildered, and says "What the hell is a bionic?"

"Think it's a Muggle thing," Angelina says distractedly, "I think McGonagall is under the impression that I regularly do your homework."

"You do," Alicia says, flipping her short hair over her shoulder, "And I'm very grateful for it."

The girls descend into bickering, shoving at each other as gesturing dramatically with their hands. Lee Jordan doesn't help, jogging over and trailing behind them so that he can add his own commentary to their conversation. Marjorie trails after them, not quite apart of the group but not quite alone either, just walking in an awkward grey area just behind them.

"I'm starving," Lee announces, pouting as the girls both ignore him. "Can you guys stop fighting and start walking faster?"

They meet Katie halfway to the Great Hall, and she beams at them as she hurries over. "Right, so we need to eat quickly and then get down to the pitch so that we can get good seats. I do not want my view blocked by the fat heads of those Durmstrang boys again!" She orders, readjusting her books in one arm and grabbing Alicia by the arm. "Let's go, let's go!"

Lee cheers, clearly in agreement with Katie, and joins her in herding Angelina into the Hall. Marjorie moves to follow them in, but pauses when she hears a call of her name.

Cedric Diggory has just left a group of his friends and is walking towards her, but Marjorie freezes at the sight of him. He's beaming, but Marjorie can barely see his smile - most of his face is totally covered by swarming, black flies.

"Sorry to keep you from lunch, but I have something for you!" He says, digging around in his robes. His voice is charged with nerves and his smile is all excited, but the flies are buzzing so loudly they nearly drown out what he's saying.

Marjorie stares at him, her eyes wide and horrified. She can barely process anything he's saying - can't he feel them? Why is no one else looking at him? Is she imagining this?

"I wrote to my mum, after you said that the tea helped you with the dreams," Cedric is saying, and he finally manages to pull out what he's looking for. He holds out a larger bag of the tea he had given her before, and a clump of flies fall off his face as he smiles at her. "She picked up a proper bag of it for you!"

It takes a moment before Marjorie manages to force herself out of her shocked stupor. She takes the tea with numb fingers and manages to muster up a shaky smile.

"Th-thank you. Um- That's so sweet of your mother. She- she didn't have to do that."

Cedric laughs. A fly crawls over the white of his left eyeball.

"Nah, don't worry about it. She was happy to." He glances over his shoulder, to where his friends are waiting for him. "Look, sorry, but I'd better run. My parents are waiting in Flitwick's office. They want to see me before the Task."

Marjorie stares and stares at him. "Are you-" She begins, and then cuts herself off as she tries to figure out how to phrase what she wants to say. "The Task, um, how are you feeling about it?"

A fly buzzes on Cedric's perfect white teeth as he smiles. "Well, it'll be an experience, won't it? I'd love to win, but even if I don't it'll be something to tell my kids about, right?"

"Yeah," Marjorie breathes shakily, "Sure. Do you think though- I mean, maybe you should-" She stops again, frustrated with herself that she can't articulate herself properly. She can't think straight, the buzzing of the flies is too loud.

"C'mon, Ced!"

Cedric turns towards his mates as they call to him, but Marjorie grabs his sleeve before he can leave. "Wait! Don't compete today."

"What?" He chuckles a little nervously, but then seems to shake her concern off. "Oh, don't worry too much, Marjorie. I've been practicing all sorts of spells for weeks. Look, I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Two girls pass by, and send Cedric sweet smiles as they wish him good luck. Judging by their giggles, they don't seem to see the the mass of swarming black flies that cover Cedric's face and buzz over her neck and shoulders like Marjorie can.

She swallows down her nausea and nods firmly. "Right. Yes, I'm sorry. You'll do great. Um, good luck. And thank you for the tea."

Cedric claps her companionably on the shoulder as he bids her goodbye and jogs to catch up with his friends. Marjorie stands in the hall and watches until Cedric and his friends disappear down the corridor. It feels as though there's a storm brewing in her stomach, and she can't shake the feeling of impending doom that's beginning to creep over her.

Katie isn't particularly impressed with Marjorie's lateness to lunch, still determined to get the best seats possible, so Marjorie has to convince her that she'll catch up to them when she's finished. It actually takes a little bit of convincing to get them to go on without her, which would be a little bit more heart-warming if she wasn't so distracted by her interaction with Cedric.

As it is, she ends up wandering down to the Quidditch pitch about fifteen minutes after the others have started to make their way down. The sun is shining and the grass smells sweet, and every student she passes is chattering animatedly as they hurry down to the pitch, where ominously tall hedges tower ominously.

There's a certain detachment following Marjorie around today - it feels almost as though she's walking around in a dream. She's so distracted that she hardly realises that someone is coming over to her until they're right next to her.

"Good afternoon, Marjorie. Are you well?"

Marjorie looks up and has to blink several times before she recognises Kolya standing in front of her. "Oh," She says, and is a little surprised to hear how vague her own voice is even to her ears, "Kolya. Hello. Um, yes, I'm well. How are you?"

Kolya ducks his head in an old-fashioned, gentlemanly gesture. "May I walk you to the pitch?"

"Yes, of course." Marjorie says distractedly, following his lead down the path. She can't manage to shift her thoughts away from Cedric. The sight of the dark, crawling mass of flies over his handsome features as he smiled at her had established a sick, roiling sensation in her stomach that she can't shake.

"Excited?"

"Hm?" Marjorie looks up to see Kolya awaiting earnestly for her answer. "Oh, er-" She hesitates a little, before forcing the best smile she can manage. "Sure. It should be alright."

"Alright?" Kolya repeats, visibly amused. His accented voice is rich and smooth, though he lowers his tone as he leans into her. Marjorie doesn't seem to notice. "You might be the only one not excited."

In the distance, an orchestra blares the school anthem and the sound of the tinny music echoes oddly over the castle grounds. A group of second year Hufflepuffs race passed them giggling loudly, and Marjorie watches as they bounce over the grass on their way to the pitch. She thinks that Kolya might have a point - it seems as though everybody is more excited than she is.

When it becomes clear that Marjorie is too distracted to reply, Kolya tries to engage her in conversation again. "I have not seen you around the castle as often as I would have liked."

Marjorie pulls her attention away from the hedges and the mist curling around the Maze.

"Oh, I've been busy." She says, finally turning to look at him. It's a bit of a surprise to her to see how attentively he's looking at her, and she blinks back at him dumbly. Is he waiting on her to say something in particular?

"Of course," Kolya murmurs, sending her a small sidelong smile. "Do you have any nice plans for summer?"

"Not just yet," Marjorie looks at him out of the corner of her eyes, a little surprised by the question. "Myself and my cousin live with our grandmother, so we spend the summer with her."

"That is nice." He says. There's a short silence as they walk, with Marjorie gazing out at the Maze and Kolya frowning thoughtfully. Eventually, he speaks up again, "Over summer, I was hoping to stay in touch. I would like to write to you."

That is a bit of a surprise, and Marjorie can't help but raise her eyebrows at him. She hadn't realised that they were close enough for him to want to actually keep talking to her, but the idea is a nice one. Summers at the Longbottom residence are usually quiet, and neither Neville nor Marjorie have many people to write to.

"That sounds nice." She says with a small smile.

"Excellent." He says, newly enthused. Once they arrive at the pitch, Kolya looks up into the stands and then turns back to Marjorie with a smile of his own. "Would you like to sit together?"

It's a nice offer, but the girls have promised to keep her a seat and she was hoping that she might be able to sit with George and Fred. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm actually-"

"Longbottom!"

"Marjie!"

The two of them look up into the stands, and Marjorie feels a little smile spread over her face when she catches sight of the twins waving exuberantly at her from one of the benches. Beside them, several red-heads sit chatting to each other, looking a mix of excited and nervous.

"Ah." Kolya says with a rueful expression, pursing his lips as he follows her gaze. "Of course. Well, perhaps I will see you later then?"

"Sure." Marjorie gives him a little wave as she bid him goodbye, but most of her attention has been captured by the two boys grinning at her in the crowd.

She hurries up the steps, and smiles when she reaches where they're sitting. Her voice is a little breathless when she speaks, although she can't say for sure whether it's from running up the stairs or from the way that both George and Fred are gazing at her.

"Hello."

"Hello, darling." Fred reaches for her and tucks her under his arm in a hug. A beat passes before he adds, "What did he want?"

"Just to say hello." Marjorie says absently, melting against Fred's side. He's warm, and he smells like toffee and cinnamon, and she feels safe when he holds her like this.

George fiddles with his collar and then sends a significant look to Fred that Marjorie manages to miss. "Marjie," He begins, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Would you, er- we'd like you to meet our mum."

"What?" Marjorie pulls away from Fred's side so that she can look at the both of them in surprise, but the movement has apparently put her in the sights of Mrs Weasley.

"Oh!" A short, plump woman appears at George's shoulder. Marjorie spots the resemblance between her and the boys instantly; there's the hair, of course, both the colour and the way it curls around their ears and shoulders, but they also have the same warm brown eyes and dimples that show up in their cheeks when they smile. "You must be Marjorie."

"Yes. It's lovely to meet you." Marjorie straightens up, suddenly abruptly aware of the creases in her robe and the locks of hair that are falling out of the ribbon that's holding her hair in a ponytail. "I, um-"

Her awkward stammering is cut off as Mrs Weasley hipchecks George out of the way and reaches out to pull her into a warm, encompassing hug.

"The boys have told me plenty about you, of course," Mrs Weasley is saying even as she pulls back, "I hope they haven't been getting you into too much trouble."

"No!" Marjorie says quickly, her voice an octave higher than usual. Merlin, she felt severely unprepared to meet the twins' mother right now — she would have brushed her hair or something had she known! "No, er, they've been- they've been very well-behaved."

Fred snickers, and leans over to say to George in a carrying whisper, "Merlin, it's like a parent-teacher conference or something."

Marjorie turns her head to scowl at him, but it's Mrs Weasley who snaps, "Boys! Honestly, how does she puts up with you-"

"Okay, okay-" George says hastily, reaching out and pulling Marjorie back to his side. "And that's that for introductions. Thanks, mum."

Mrs Weasley just sighs, then smiles at Marjorie again. "It really is lovely to meet you, dear. I imagine I'll be seeing you over the summer?"

"Oh-" Marjorie blinks, a little startled — the twins hadn't once mentioned coming to visit over the summer, and she doesn't quiet know how to react to the impromptu invitation from their mother. As if reading her mind, Fred jumps in to answer for her.

"We haven't actually discussed it, mum," He says quickly, "Merlin, let us sort it out, yeah?"

Mrs Weasley holds her hands up in a placating gesture as she backs away to return to her seat next to Bill, who is also peering over at Marjorie with what looks like great curiosity. "Alright, alright." She says, though there's a little smile playing around her lips as she turns back to her oldest son.

There's a brief beat of silence between Marjorie and the twins, and she has to bite her lip to hold back her laughter. This might be the first time she's ever seen the boys look genuinely awkward — they always seem to know what to do and say, so to see them at a loss like this (even if it's only temporary) is a rare treat.

"Well," Fred is the first to speak, clearing his throat in a way that would seem casual if he weren't also tugging at the hem of his jumper. "That's our mum. And, er- well, I guess she's already invited you over to stay during the summer, but we were actually going to do that ourselves-"

A little spark of excited happiness catches in her chest and begins to flare — this little thing she had going on between her and the twins was still tentative and new, with no name put to it at all. It was also so unlikely that sometimes she wondered if she was making it all up in her head. But then they had introduced her to their mother, and she was being invited to stay with them during the summer. It felt like her breath was catching in her throat — it was dangerous to hope for things like this, but she found herself wanting it more than anything.

"I would love to." She blurts, cutting off Fred's rambling. She doesn't even try to fight the smile that's growing on her face, flushed and delighted. "I- yes- I'd love to."

George grins, and Fred wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. They seem relieved, which is simply ridiculous because it's like they don't realise that she's the lucky one here. She's never so much as been asked around to a friend's house in her life, and now this? It seems too good to be true.

"Merlin, it'll be so good to have you there." Fred murmurs into her hair, delighting in the barely perceptible tremble that makes its way down her spine at the sound of his low, rumbly voice in her ear.

Marjorie is saved from having to reply by the sound of Ludo Bagman's magically amplified voice cutting through the noise of the crowd to announce the arrival of the champions. Everyone in the stands perks up, cheering and jeering alike as the champions march out. Marjorie feels her heart drop to her stomach at the sight of Harry — he looks so much smaller than the others, and so nervous. She just wants to wrap him up and protect him.

A little bit of anger pools in her stomach too as she watches him fiddle with his sleeves and look around wide-eyed at the crowd; how is this being allowed to happen? Why isn't he being protected from this? He's only Neville's age, only fourteen.

When Cedric's name is called, the girls in the stands go wild. Marjorie stiffens a little at the sight of him — the flies are still swarming his head, except there looks to be more of them now. She can barely even make out his features at all as he grins and waves to his mother in the crowd.

When he spots Marjorie he gives her a smaller smile and a little thumbs up, which makes her think that her terror and unease is probably showing on her face. She manages to force a rather sickly little smile and gives a small wave back to him.

Beside her, Fred shifts a little. "He's really enjoying the attention, isn't he?" He grumbles, scowling a little.

"Can you see-" Marjorie begins, before swallowing harshly and trying again. "How does he look to you?"

George makes a face. "Disgustingly handsome."

"Like always." Fred adds.

"Sorry we can't be as pretty as him, Marjie." George sighs dramatically, leaning his head against hers.

"No, I mean..." Marjorie trails off a little helplessly, still staring blankly down at the champions. It feels like she's spiralling all over again.

"He does look sort of nervous." Fred says, squinting down at the pitch. Marjorie knows that he's just humouring her, probably trying to pick out whatever it is that she's seeing, but it only drives home the fact that she's only one seeing it.

"Right." Marjorie breathes, before leaning back in her seat. The boys exchange a look over her head, probably wondering how the hell her mood changed so quickly and what caused it, but they lean back with her and begin a running commentary on everything. Marjorie stays quiet, but she enjoys listening to them.

When the champions enter the Maze, she reaches out and takes Fred and George's hands in hers. Dread settles over her like a raincloud, and she feels sick to her stomach. Maybe it's just nerves, but she can't shake the awful feeling that something genuinely terrible is about to happen.

The twins pick up on this, and squeeze at her hands as they joke and laugh and comment on every move the chamions make within the Maze. The stands are high enough to give the crowds in the Quidditch stands a decent enough view of the overall layout of the Maze, but it's difficult to properly see the goings-on from this distance.

"Shit, is that an acromantula?"

"Imagine Ron's face if he came face to face with that."

Marjorie allows their voices to wash over her — their words barely register at all, but the familiarity of their teasing and their laughter is enough to ground her. She doesn't know how much time passes after that, before George's hand is clamping down tight around hers.

"Look! Harry's right by the Cup!"

Fred stands from his seat, eyes wide. "Merlin, come on! Take it!"

"He's just standing there talking to Diggory!" George is pulling at his hair; it looks like he's ready to charge right down there and force Harry to take the Cup himself.

"Something bad is about to happen." Marjorie whispers, eyes wide. The sense of impending doom she's been feeling all day crests over her until she feels like she's about to choke on it.

"Hm? What did you say, Marjie?" George asks vaguely. He doesn't turn to look at her, eyes fixed on the centre of the Maze.

Marjorie doesn't repeat herself — she doesn't think she can bring herself to.

"No! What the hell is he doing!" Fred practically wails. He's not the only person reacting — it seems like most of the crowd is leaping to their feet and leaning dangerously over the stands to try and get a better look. It looks as though Harry and Cedric are reaching for the Cup at the same time, presumably to share the win.

Marjorie closes her eyes.

"What- where did they go?"

She thinks she's going to be sick.

"Did you see that?" Fred turns to George, who's frowning in bewilderment down at the Maze.

"They just vanished." George confirms. In the stands, mutters and whispers begin to circulate through the crowd. At first, people seem to be holding their breath, waiting for the champions to reappear.

Minutes tick by, and nothing happens.

"That looked like a Portkey." George eventually murmurs to Fred, who purses his lips with a worried frown.

Marjorie's breathing has ticked up a bit; she feels as though she's right on the verge of a panic attack, and George seems to notice.

"Hey, come on, Marjie," He murmurs, drawing her into his side. "They'll be back any minute. This is probably part of the challenge, or something."

No one really believes that — at the entrance to the Maze, there are Ministry officials visibly panicking over the missing champions, and Dumbledore has just swept onto the pitch. Even from here, Marjorie thinks that the Headmaster looks angry. The Minister for Magic hurries after him, almost tripping across his robes in his haste to keep up.

It's impossible to gauge how much time has passed — it feels like both an eternity and no time at all — before there's a sharp crack as the cup appears in the grass in front of the entrance to the Maze. Both boys seem to be clutching it tight, though neither of them moves. As soon as they appear, the crowd leaps to their feet and begins to positively roar in celebration.

"Two Hogwarts champions!" Mrs Weasley cries, clasping her hands and beaming down at Harry like a proud mother.

The sense of choking dread hasn't yet abated for Marjorie, though — she's still rooted in place, staring fixedly down at the pitch. She watches as Harry raises his dirty, tear-stained face, and begins to scream.

"He's back! He's back!"

The sounds of celebration die out as though someone has flicked a switch. Suddenly, everyone is peering down at the boys in a decidedly different manner as horrified whispers begin to break out. Marjorie stands, taking a step forward to try and see what they're looking at, but she doesn't get very far before George grabs her and pulls her into him so firmly that her vision is entirely obscured.

"Don't look."

"What is it?" Even muffled by George's chest, Marjorie can hear her own voice shake. "What's happened?"

"We have to go. Come on. Don't look."

George  guides her  quickly to the stairs, with Fred following very close behind. Despite George's warning, Marjorie  looks up to try to catch a glimpse of what's taking  place below, and meets a very familiar gaze in the crowd.

Professor Trelawney stares back at her, face pale and very frightened.

A/N:

helloooo this update is so late i'm so sorry! this story isn't being abandoned i promise, but the updates are definitely going to be FAR slower because i'm working on my other story right now (i just have a lot of inspiration for it right now, no idea why!) so please forgive the gaps between updates! ❤