Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [4]

⚡️ Chapter 32 ⚡️

Vega ignored Snape, feeling that she might do something that would earn her a week of detention, and grabbed her schoolbag, pulling the strap onto her shoulder as she got up. She followed behind Harry as the two of them headed toward the dungeon door. And as they walked through the line of Slytherin desks, the words POTTER STINKS! LESTRANGE STINKS! flashed at them from every side.

Once they were out of the dungeon classroom, Vega closed the door behind her, wanting to slam it shut but decided that it was better that she didn't have to see Snape's face for the rest of the day. She had barely down so and turned around to follow Harry and Colin did the younger boy started –

"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry? Vega?" Colin asked excitedly, bounding over next to the two Gryffindor seniors. "Isn't it, though? You two being champion?"

"Yeah, really amazing," Harry replied heavily, as the three of them set off towards the steps that led up into the Entrance Hall. He was already tired of Colin's restless excitement.

"Um, Colin, what do they want the photos for?" Vega inquired, holding onto her bag as she looked down at the younger boy. "Did Mr. Bagman mention that to you?"

"The Daily Prophet, I think!" Colin replied eagerly.

"Great," Harry muttered, dully. "Exactly what I need – more publicity,"

"Are they going to take the photos of all the champions?" Vega asked, her free hand reaching up to fix her hair. "Oh, I feel terrible – I don't want to take a picture with Fleur,"

"Why not?" Colin asked, quizzical. "You're prettier!"

"Thank you, Colin," Vega mumbled miserably as they reached the room where Colin seemed to have started his journey from. She reached to knock on the door.

"Good luck!" Colin called after Vega and Harry as the two of them entered the room.

Vega looked up and found that they had entered a fairly small classroom. Most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle. Three of them, however, had been placed – end to end – in front of the blackboard, and covered with a large length of velvet. Five chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to a witch in magenta robes that Vega recognised and she quickly looked away.

Why is Rita Skeeter of all people here?

Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner as usual, and not talking to anybody. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Fleur looked a good deal happier than Vega had seen her so far; she kept throwing back her head so that her long silvery hair caught the light. A paunchy man, holding a large black camera which was smoking slightly, was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eyes.

Bagman suddenly spotted Vega and Harry, got up quickly and bounded forwards them.

"Ah, here they are!" Bagman cried out, causing Vega to recoil slightly – she didn't want any attention. "Champion number four and five! In you come, in you come... nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment –"

"Wand Weighing?" Harry repeated nervously, giving a furtive glance toward Vega for her to explain but the female had clamped her mouth shut to everything.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional," Bagman said. "No problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead. The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot,"

Was it Mr. Ollivander?

"This is Rita Skeeter," Bagman added, gesturing towards the witch in magenta robes and Vega held back her frustration. "She's doing a small piece on the Tournament for the Daily Prophet..."