Stay - Mattheo Riddle

They need you

It is a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up. The days until the first task seemed to slip by as though someone had fixed the clocks to work at double speed. 

Kirra's feeling of barely controlled panic was with her wherever she went, as ever-present as the snide comments about the Daily Prophet article. On the Saturday before the first task, all students in the third year and above were permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade.

Jasper told Kirra that it would do her good to get away from the castle for a bit, and Kirra didn't need much persuasion. "What about your mates, though?" she said. "Don't you want to go with them? I thought they persuaded you to hang out with them on the trip"

"Okay first of all little badger, you know that I would much rather hang out with you, though you are right about the fact that I have to hang out with them, I lost a stupid fucking bet . . ." Jasper rolled his eyes at the fact that he had to deal with them. "I thought we might meet up with them in the Three Broomsticks. . . ."

"No," said Kirra flatly.

"Oh Kirra, this is so stupid —"

"I'll come, but I'm not meeting Nott or Riddle, those two assholes can kiss my bum and then kindly fuck off"

"Oh all right then . . ."Jasper snapped, though he didn't plan on going along with it "but if we just happen to accidentally bump into them, you can't crack the shits alright?."

So Kirra put on a bunch of warm clothes on in the dormitory, went back upstairs, and together she and Jasper set off for Hogsmeade. Kirra felt wonderfully free out in the open air, she thought back to the days when her and her four best friends would come down here and throw snowballs at people on the way down

She watched other students walking past them as they entered the village, most of them sporting Support Cedric Diggory! or Support Kirra Potter badges, but no badgers for Harry were worn which seemed to slightly tick the girl off as she went silent.

"So badger, where would you like to shop now," said Jasper as he peeked around for the boys secretly as they came out of Honeydukes Sweetshop later, eating large cream-filled chocolates. "We could go to Zonko's now if you want."

"Yeah that sounds like a plan." She told him with a small smile and grinned up at him before wrapping her arm around his to try and get warmer. Jasper felt his cheeks heat up slightly but he quickly brushed it off as they kept walking

Jasper and Kirra began walking to Zonko's before Jasper noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head around a little bit, his eyes widening before turning into a cool glare, "Look behind you."

Rita Skeeter and her photographer friend had just emerged from the Three Broomsticks pub. Talking in low voices, they stopped when they noticed the pair in front of them and suddenly a large smirk came onto the woman's face.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A nice little date with Slytherin bad boy Jasper Rowle? How ro-" she started but was cut off by Kirra

"Have you not got anything better to do than go around watching 14 year olds? It's kinda creepy you know, back where I'm from, we call people like who stalk little kids p-"

"Now now, no need to get snappy," Rita quickly fired back, "we were just getting a drink"

"Yeah well you got one so could you kindly piss off?" Kirra snapped before tightening her grip around Jaspers arm slightly and then pulling him along. 

When they were far enough away from the woman, Kirra said, "She's staying in the village. I bet she's coming to watch the first task." As she said it, her stomach flooded with a wave of molten panic.