November Snow

t w e n t y - t h r e e

"Sit down please. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the champions selection!"

We all sat in the Goblet Room, awaiting the three names representing the three schools. Hogwarts students huddled together, Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons sat together right next to us. Most houses sat with each other, and I was literally the border between Slytherins and Gryffindors, to be specific, between the Weasley twins and Draco Malfoy's little band.

"Stywrick is staring at you again." I heard Malfoy whispered.

Indeed, why not? Stywrick was sitting across the room, looking at me with his green eyes and a disgusting smirk. I tried not to reach the thought of him dreaming of us getting laid like Juliette had been telling me the whole week, it was truly disgusting and embarrassing. I'd rather get laid with a Hufflepuff.

"You're going to have a boyfriend?" Fred whispered.

"No!" I said.

"He looks like he's going to eat you alive." George said "Maybe he'll invite you to the Yule Ball."

The Yule Ball, topic of the week. Every girl spoke of it like a chance to get a guy, the boys talked about it like a great party to break some rules. And I would never go with Alexander Stywrick. He would never let go of me, literally.

"George, be my date at the ball, please." I turned to the sixth-year redhead as he stared back at me "I do not want to go with that boy."

"Bold." He said.

"Please, just as friends." I said "Then I'll help you prank other students. Deal?"

"Deal." He laughed "Merlin's Beard, November Avery just asked me to go to the ball with her."

"Shut up." I nudged him.

Dumbledore approached the Goblet of Fire and the blue flame turned red. A piece of parchment flew out and he caught it in midair. Slowly opening it, he read out loud the name.

"The Durmstrang champion is... Victor Krum!"

The crowd cheered, Krum walked forward from the middle of the Durmstrang boys. Another name flew out of the Goblet.

"The champion from Beauxbaton... Fleur Delacour!"

The Beauxbatons cheered in a girly fashion as Delacour walked up and joined Krum in the front. Only one left, the student representing Hogwarts. All four houses held their breath as the last name made it way out of the flame and into the Headmaster's hand. He opened the piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion... Cedric Diggory!"

All Hogwarts student cheered for the seventh-year Hufflepuff as he made his way forward, smiling widely and joined the champions.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said delightfully "We now have our three champions. But in the end only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Tri-Wizard Cup!"

Everyone cheered and clapped loudly again, but suddenly, we all went silent. The Goblet of Fire's blue flame turned red for the fourth time and a single piece of parchment flew out, slowly fell into the palm of Professor Dumbledore. The fourth name, which was impossible. I had a hunch about whose name it would be, but I hoped I was wrong. I looked over to the twins, they were as tensed as I was. Everyone was, actually.

"Harry Potter." Dumbledore read and I knew my hunch was right "Harry Potter?"

All eyes turned to the boy as he was pushed forward by Hermione and cautiously approached the other three champions and the part stunned, part angry Headmaster. Some students started whispering, I heard many said that he cheated. It could be a possibility, but judging by how shocked he was himself, I knew it wasn't him who put his own name in the Goblet of Fire. There was no way he would do that.

"Do you think he put his name in there?" Juliette asked when we went back to our dormitory. Harry was, of course, summoned to the Headmaster's office.

"No, he wouldn't dare." I said "He knows the cost."

"Many think he did. Even Ron believed that."

"Ronald Weasley isn't Hermione Granger, Jules." I said "He's a bloody idiot sometimes."

Hades jumped onto my lap as soon as I sat down on my bed, under his collar was a tiny scroll. I took it and he ran off, probably to his secret sleeping place since he had never slept on the same bed as I did. It was just a small piece of parchment carelessly ripped from a regular one and a simple sentence.

It's begun.

I crumbled the piece of paper and ran down the common room, threw it into the roaring flame in the fireplace immediately. The green flame engulfed the parchment and its words until it was nothing but ashes. I sighed, knowing that I was the only one reading it. But I wasn't the only one watching it burn.

"What are you doing, blood traitor?"

I jumped, my heart started beating so fast it could burst. I whipped around to see Parkinson standing there, her eyes showed skeptic. She eyed e carefully, up and down, I stared back at her with the same manner of hate and disgust.

"I should ask you the same thing, Parkinson." I said.

"Here we are, alone in the common room." She said "Maybe I should jinx you, for fun."

"You and I both know who's better in classes, dear." I smirked "Or should I show you?"

"You jumped one level doesn't mean you are smart, Avery." She sneered "I'm still older than you."

"Actually, that's exactly why I'm smarter than you." I said "But that's not why you're talking to me. You don't want to talk about intelligence."

She stopped, and began to stare at me again. I turning and looked back at the flame, feeling calmer.

"Stay away from my Draco." Now she talked about the main topic in her life: Draco Malfoy.

"The last time I checked, he wasn't yours." I said "And how can I stay away from him when we aren't even close?"

"You're trying to seduce him."

"I seduce no one, unless you find me seductive doing nothing."

"He started talking about you after the first day."

"Oh, then that's his problem, not mine." I smirked "Tell you what, keep your claws off me or I will try to seduce your little blond boy."

She looked at me with rage, but I waved her off.

"Goodnight, Parkinson." I walked off "Continue dreaming about your blond boy."