keeper → g. weasley [EDITING]

↝eighteen

EARLY LIGHT STREAMED INTO the yellow dormitory and Scarlette was positioned over Mallie in attempt to coax her out from beneath the covers.

Mallie groaned and tried to bury herself deeper out of sight.

"No Scar!" A muffled voice cried from under the duvet as the blonde had begun her attack with cushions.

"Mallie!" She whined, "It's the first task today!"

The other girls were going about their business around the room as Mallie lay in bed. This wasn't a very uncommon situation as Mallie had an religious obsession with getting (maybe more than) enough sleep.

After a bit more convincing, Scarlette was able to coax the tousled head of hair out from under the yellow covers.

They both head to the showers and were ready to leave for breakfast in an hour.

××××

There was a special kind of elation noticeable as one stepped into the Hall, the day of the First Task was here.

Mallie took a seat beside Charlie and Scarlette beside West.

"Where's Cedric?" Mallie asked Charlie, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Champions were called together," He said inbetween bites of food, "Left just ten minutes ago."

Students began filing out over the next forty five minutes and soon Professor Mcgonagall came in to chase out the stragglers, of which Mallie was one.

Charlie had disappeared off with a few of his Ravenclaw friends with the promise of "seeing them later", so Mallie made her way down the cobblestone path to the Quidditch Pitch with Scarlette and West.

"Place your bets!" They heard voices from a way down the path.

"Hogwarts! Durmstrang! Or Beauxbatons, take your pick!" The three friends quickly neared the brothers.

Mallie's heart rate twitched slightly at the sight of the twins, the wind styling their hair into all different directions.

"Ah, the last of the customers!" Fred announced again as he noticed them.

"How about it, girls?" West poked Scarlette's side playfully, "Fancy a bet on Cedric?"

Scarlette nodded her head, "Of course!"

The conversation faded into the background when Mallie had noticed a group of Slytherin girls passing; looking Mallie's way and snickering. She could see Nancy amongst them, her eyes gleaming nastily.

George followed her eyeline and noticed the girls. He quickly took her hand, surprising Mallie back into the conversation.

"And how about the pretty lady?" He slowly brought her hand up to his face and placed a soft, chapped peck on her knuckles. "Up for a gamble?"

A slow but steady flow of red began creeping up Mallie's neck and she quickly snuffed it out before it could get too far - but not before it went noticed by Scarlette.

"A gamble? Cedric is going to win." She managed to to sound more confident than she felt.

"Well then," Fred said, "Put your money where your mouth is."

"How much per betting ticket?" West asked pulling a bag of jinkling contents from beneath his robe.

"One sickle, five knuts. If you'd be so kind." Fred answered, offering a sugery smile.

"Woah.. woah," West chuckled. "You guys are serious businessmen, huh?"

"You can bet on that." George replied, chuckling at his own hilarity.

West huffed but forked out enough for two tickets.

"In favour of Mr Diggory, I presume?"

Scarlette nodded.

Conversation struck up again, but before long, a small and angry Flitwick came trudging down the pathway.

"What are you children doing here? The task is set to start in less than five minutes!" He shouted shrilly, shoving at their thighs, pushing them into the stadium following closely behind.

Although late, the five managed to find fairly decent seating, and Scarlette bumped Mallie into the open seat next to Georges, bum first.

She winked at Mallie.

Nevertheless, Mallie turn to the ginger next to her.

"You alright?" He asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

George smiled softly,
"Just ... looked like you saw a ghost back there." He tilted his head like a curious puppy's.

Mallies face paled.

"Give it back, Nancy! Give it!"

A snicker.

"What're you gonna do? Huh?"

A blue explosion of light.

"Mal.." A soft voice said accompanied by an even softer hand on her cheek,
"Mal.."

Mallie quickly remembered where she was and pushed the memories out of her head, shaking it.

"Just, an old friend." She said trying not to sound to conspicuous.

"Alright." He said simply.

Before it could grow awkward, a loud voice boomed over the stadium, welcoming the spectators: the twins both frowning when Ludo Bagman introduced himself over the mic. Mallie decided not to ask.

Excited chatter fell on the stadium.

West and Fred, Mallie had noticed, had fallen into (what looked like) riveting conversation.

Scarlette sat with a sour face as she stared down at Seamus a couple rows below them, who was seated comfortably beside Parvati Patel.

She glared a moment longer before letting out a small "hmph" and turned to try insert herself into the boys conversation.

"I hear they've got a surprise planned for the students over the holidays." George said slyly.

"Honest?" Mallie asked, "Any idea what it is?"

George was about to offer her an answer when his gaze was drawn into the bowl of the stadium,

"No way..." he whispered.

"What--" Mallies eyes followed suit onto the green pitch, and stopped dead.

The creature was brought in chained, chains manned by no less than seven men.

Even from Mallie's seat high up above the pitch, she could make out the individual blue-grey scales that rippled as the dragon thrashed from under it's bounds.

Mallie's mind momentarily flickered back to Cedric, he'd known all along what was coming.

"Absolutely wicked!" She made out Fred's voice among amongst the crowd of students who, too, had just noticed the dragon onto the floor of their Quidditch Pitch.

This was going to be interesting.

××××