cynosure ― r. weasley

six

It was a couple of days after the champions had been chosen, and saying that class had been tense would be an understatement. Hufflepuff had Herbology with the Gryffindors that day, and you could clearly see the distaste the Hufflepuffs showed during class. Even Professor Sprout was a bit off.

Alice noticed that Ron, who was usually inseparable from Harry seemed to show just as much hate towards him as a lot of the Hufflepuffs did. Alice didn't know why, and she definitely didn't want to pry.

The class seemed to go on forever, but it eventually came to an end. Everyone moved on to their next lesson, and eventually the one after that. The next few days would remain the same with almost the entire school giving the cold shoulder to Harry.

The day before the first task all third years and older were allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Alice really liked the small town, and she found it very nice and cozy. Alice, Jade, and Thalia loved exploring what the shops had to offer, often getting small trinkets from different places.

"I want to go by Zonko's first and grab a few things," Jade mentioned.

"And what are those few things?" Thalia asked skeptically.

"Oh, you know. A Fanged Frisbee, a Pumpkin Face Box-"

"What on Earth are you going to do with those?" Alice asked, almost scared to hear Jade's answer.

"Some sixth years were picking on first years again. They deserve what's coming to them- I'm merely the messenger of their karma," Jade replied cheekily.

"There are better ways to go about that, Jade."

"But the other ways aren't any fun!" Jade complained.

Alice shook her head and laughed softly. "Alright- but we're going to Honeydukes next."

"Sounds good to me," Thalia acknowledged, and the three girls went on their way.

—-

It seemed like everyone had gone out of their way to be early to the first task of the tournament. Everyone wanted to get good seats, after all. Thalia was pushing through the crowd, leading Jade and Alice to their destination.

Thalia nearly pushed over a Durmstrang student without realizing, leaving Alice to stutter out a soft apology to the tall boy. He scoffed and went back to what he was doing.

When Alice turned back around, Jade and Thalia were nowhere to be seen. Alice did a mental facepalm, standing on her tiptoes to see if she could find her friends in the crowd. She had no such luck.

Alice tried desperately to make it past a large number of people, but she couldn't get by the first few groups of people. She tried to speak up, but no one paid her any mind.

As she tried to push through a few different people, apologizing profusely as she did, another student spread out their arms quickly, hitting Alice and knocking her off balance. She stumbled a bit, tripping and falling to the ground.

Alice stood up and brush the dirt off her hands and clothes. "This is utterly hopeless," Alice muttered to herself.

"Not necessarily," A voice replied, startling Alice. She turned around and saw the smiling face of her new friend Evan. Alice looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"They won't listen to me- I've already tried," Alice explained, sounding defeated.

"Maybe not- but they might listen to me." Evan gave Alice a slight smile before saying, "Follow me."

Evan grabbed Alice's hand, leading her through the crowd. The pair had gotten about halfway through when Alice heard Thalia calling out her name. Evan and Alice followed the sound of her voice until they saw her face appear in the crowd.

Thalia eyes lit up when they saw Alice, but narrowed when she saw Evan with her. The two pushed their way out of the crowd towards Thalia.

"Jade, I found her!" Thalia called out, grabbing Alice's hand and dragging her away from Evan.

Alice walked along with her, turning around to mouth a quick 'Thank you' to Evan. He gave a slight nod and a wink before turning back and walking towards his group of friends.