Matches Lit | Seamus Finnigan

Chapter Thirteen

The announcement of the TriWizard competitors would be tonight, not that Harper was in any way prepared for what that meant. On the upper side of things, she knew there was no way she could be selected, she was too young, and she would never throw her name in that cup anyways. It seemed silly that any wizard of young age could be entered into a competition where they could very likely lose their life. Also, she just didn't see the point behind it. Bragging rights, maybe? But that was it, really. Nevertheless, she was glad it had brought her back to some of her oldest friends.

She couldn't help but feel filled with dread, though. Something seemed unsettling about what was about to happen. She had always had a good sense for that sort of thing, things she could dread, things she should worry about. Professor Trelawney might have thought it something more than intuition, but Harper just chocked it up to good breeding, or lack there of. Without her parents to keep her safe, she found herself often dreading the worst, expecting it, even. This tournament was no exception. But the only person she could have confided in was Lavender, and when she tried to suggest anything of the sort, Lavender waved her ideas off.

"You're just being silly, Harper. Come on, let's get on down to the Great Hall, they're going to start dinner soon," Lavender said with a wave of her hand and a toss of her curly hair which she had just finished tying a pink ribbon in. "And we wouldn't want to miss the announcement, now would we?" She said it as if it were the most logical thought on earth.

"No, I suppose not," Harper said, adjusting her maroon and gold tie in the mirror. She had changed back into her traditional school uniform, as was expected of her, complete with matching maroon and gold striped socks. She turned to look at Lavender, who was dressed the same aside from her bow. "Let's get going then," she said with a slight smile, even though her heart felt as if it were beating out of her chest.

When they made it to the Hall, almost all the seats were already full. They managed to squeeze in between Fred and George, across from Harry, Dean, and Seamus. They exchanged general greetings before commencing with their meal.

"How was your day, Harper?" Dean asked her, as he cut a slice of ham and dipped it into brown gravy, before placing the bite into his mouth and smiling.

"Nothing all too interesting," She replied with a shrug, buttering a piece of bread. "Just did some studying for the potions test coming up next week and went for a bit of a walk out in the rain. You?" She had always found Dean to be rather pleasant since she had met him. Agreeable, friendly, and known to crack the slightest of jokes when no one was paying too much attention. She enjoyed his sense of humour.

"Potions eh?" Dean questioned, cutting up some more food. "I thought you were pretty good in that class. What are you wasting your time studying for when you could be out having fun?"

"Fun? When I could be reading? No thanks," Harper joked. "And I'm not worried about the test, I just like to be prepared." she shrugged, glancing over at Lavender beside her, who was too busy batting her eyelashes at Seamus to be paying any attention towards her. She felt that twinge of annoyance when she saw this, but didn't say a word.

"Well, you know who really could use some help in the potions department?" Dean asked, elbowing Seamus in the ribs, causing him to bump into Harry's shoulder. "This bloke right here. Seamus is bloody miserable at anything potions related."

"Aye now, bug off," Seamus said, elbowing him back. "Where do you get off tellin everyone I suck at school?" he asked, slightly angry, but not really. He knew Potions was his worst course, and there was no use really fighting that. He just couldn't seem to stop from blowing things up.

"Oh come on now," Dean said with a laugh, "I wasn't saying anything bad, I was just recruiting Harper here to tutor you," Dean looked across the table, giving her a nod of encouragement.