Starlight// FW

Arrival

****

The feast set in front of us was in a word, magnificent. The Ravenclaw table was filled with tarts and puffs and about a dozen girls in blue silk dresses. "I love it here, it's so different from home", a very pretty girl with red hair and a thick French accent said jovially to Hazel, who couldn't seem to take her eyes off the girl from Beauxbatons. "Tell me more about your school, Celeste", Hazel smiled.

I rolled my eyes, knowing her tells of when she had a crush. I turned back to Roger, who was staring blankly and one of the other girls in Beauxbatons robes. She seemed almost effervescent, her blonde hair almost as radiant as he smile. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't fair that girls like that existed. I tried to say something to Hazel and Roger, but they were clearly both lost causes. I stabbed at the piece of cake on my plate and popped one of the candied strawberries into my mouth. Too soon for both Hazel and Roger's liking, we moved back toward the Ravenclaw common room.

"I can't believe Victor Krum is really here!", I heard a group third year Slytherins loudly call. Girls near them began to giggle and begin to whisper about how cute he was. I rolled my eyes, seeing Hermione out of the corner of my eye and waving. She gestured me over and I moved through the crowd. "Hello, Sawyer", she grinned ear to ear. "All this excitement is very overwhelming", I let out as I was almost knocked over by a group of excited Hufflepuffs. "You're telling me!", she laughed, moving her hair from her face, "But this is such an excellent way to expand international magical corporation, don't you think?".

I nodded vigorously, "It's so educational to hear about magical life in other countries. My dad got to visit most of the wizard schools around the world when he was working on developing...". I slowly faded off, not really wanting to continue talking about my father. "Developing what?", Hermione said eagerly. 

Luckily, Harry came to my rescue just in time. "Hello", he smiled and he and Ron joined us in the fray. "Hi there", I greeted, "Well, looks like this is where we part ways. Study session tomorrow in the library?". Hermione nodded, "I'll meet you there!". I waved and made my way back to the rest of the Ravenclaw students, hearing Ron mutter, "How anyone could actually enjoy school...".

As I lay in bed that night staring up at the place on the ceiling where the sheer silk cascaded down over my bed, I began to think. Ever since I could remember, I had a set of strict rules for myself so I couldn't get hurt. No leaving my comfort zone, stick to a few good friends, don't let anyone in unless you absolutely have too, and don't ask too many questions if you cannot find the answer in a textbook.

I let out a sigh and turned to the side, straining my eyes to see if anyone was awake that I could talk to. Hazel was snoring lightly and Rachel and Lacey seemed to be just as far into dreamland as she was. I chewed on my lip, massaging my scalp. I slept with my hair down, letting it breath outside of its normal tight ponytail. Why did this year feel so different? As the weeks passed I found myself becoming quite good friends with the Weasley twins, which was so out of character for me.

Hermione drove me to be a better student and was easily a good influence on me. There was nothing blatantly beneficial about my friendship with Fred and George, but I found myself clinging to it for dear life. I felt more alive with them than I had my whole life, as if I was just waking up. I turned over and hugged my pillow. "Go to sleep", muttered Hazel. I giggled a little, knowing she wasn't fully awake.

"I'm trying", I whispered back. She mumbled incoherently for a minute then, "Celeste is pretty". I stifled a laugh, knowing I would have blackmail material in the morning. "I know she is", I responded. Hazel smiled in her sleep, "I love you, Sawyer". It was my turn to smile. Suddenly everything seemed a lot less important, "I love you too, Hazel". 

**** 

Hermione and I sat in the Great Hall, studying for our upcoming tests in Potions. There was excited chatter around us and it was obvious why. A large goblet sat positioned in the center of the room, fire bursting from it. It was quite beautiful, and obviously powerfully magical. Hermione saw me looking at it and sighed, "I wonder how these tasks are going to go?". I shrugged, "Probably horribly. I can only hope that no one I know becomes Hogwarts champion", I paused, "Is that mean?". Both Hazel and Roger had put their names in this morning, and as we spoke Cedric was putting his in.

Loud cheers erupted from around the room and Cedric drank it all in. He shot me a smile as he walked by. I grinned to myself. We had been sitting next to each other in Charms, and it was nice. He was funny and charming and overall just a good person. I would have never guessed that we got along, but we did. Hermione noted the look on my face and smiled. She was about to say something when the doors to the Great Hall burst open.

"Oh, what are they doing?", I groaned. Fred and George were gallivanting towards the group of students near Hermione and I. I rolled my eyes, moving them back to the Potions book in front of me. Giving them attention would just egg them on. I heard Hermione begin to reprimand them and mentally cheered her on.

"What do you think, Foster?", I heard Fred say and looked up, "Will our aging potion work?". He slid down next to me, throwing an arm around my shoulder. I laughed, moving it off of me, "Never in a million years". Fred winked and stood, him and George linking arms and chugging the potion in their hands. What took place next was probably the funniest thing that has ever happened to me.

Before they had the chance to gloat over the fact that they had in fact gotten past Dumbledore's age line, large beards began to sprout from their faces. They looked at each other, letting out frightened yells. Soon they began to full on brawl. I was laughing so hard that tears were trickling down my face.

"Go help them", giggled Hermione. The twins were being pulled apart, but no one was doing a good job of getting them out of the spotlight, and since they were blocking the goblet, I decided I should do my part to help out. I nodded to Hermione and let out, "Never let me forget this". She nodded and wiped away a tear of laughter. I pushed past a group of guffawing boys and grabbed Fred's arm, gesturing for George to follow, "Let's go boys".

I figured I should probably get them to the hospital wing so Madame Pomfrey could remove their beards and turn their hair back to its natural fiery state. I wasn't able to stifle my laughter as I marched them down the hall. "Oh what's so funny, Foster", Fred scowled. George sulked behind us. "Oh nothing", I snorted, "I like the look though".

"It's just a sneak peak into your future, love", Fred said with a smirk. "What does that mean?", I laughed, still distracted by their horrendous appearance. "For someone so smart, you are very oblivious", he let out, disappearing into the hospital wing.