The first few days passed in a blur. Herbology was in the morning with Hufflepuffs and nothing was really going on. Unfortunately Care of Magical Creatures was still with Slytherins. Hagrid was getting better at teaching or at least being calm and collected around Malfoy.
Divination was in the afternoon and it was just as dreadful as before. Eliza took her seat next to Neville and drifted off for most of the lesson. She wasn't one to look at the stars and planets in order to find out stuff about herself or others.
"You will need it in the future," Professor Trelawney told Eliza but she rolled her eyes.
By dinner, Eliza was thinking that maybe she should take Hermione's example and finish the homework before it would pile up.
"What's going on? Why is Ron looking so happy?" Eliza asked once she sat down.
She was quite late because professor Flitwick just happened to find her walking in the corridor and decided to give her some piece of advice. 'Control your wand, don't let it control you. You should have learned that first,' he said but Eliza was sure it was the wand that had control over her.
Whenever she would sway her wand, her arm would sting and she would freeze. Her brain wasn't even able to connect the functions and have her register what she was doing. With Sirius it felt more natural and she would use charms he learned with Remus but at school she was helpless.
Therefore, she got late for the show.
"Malfoy said some nasty thibgs about Mr. Weasley but then, Moody came up and transfigured him into a ferret before swaying him around. It was amazing!" Harry explained while Ron started to laugh at the memory; again.
"And I missed it..." Eliza pouted before she suddenly noticed something else. "Where is Hermione?"
"Library." Both boys said in synch.
The class that everyone was looking forward to was Defense against Dark Arts, with the interesting new professor Moody. It came on Tuesday and the fourth year Gryffindors were there early.
When Eliza arrived, she was surprised to see them standing quietly and waiting for the lesson to begin. She walked inside and took the seat behind Lavender. Eloza wasn’t expecting anything out of ordinary; maybe a little potty but nothing out of ordinary.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqcHy49bHo
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Eliza was wrong. Moody seemed to have a strange behavior and an eye that could see everything, even when it was rolled in the back of his head.
He started the year with the deadly curses because he thought they had to know how they looked in order to defend against them. The Imperius Curse, Cruciatus Curse and Avada Kedavra; he passed through all of them and exemplified on a few spiders. By the end of the class everyone was both thrilled and a bit freaked out of what they saw.
Poor Neville was probably the most affected; he still looked terrified.
Professor Moody walked out and told Neville to follow him. Eliza could only guess that Moody realized how horrifying was for Neville. 748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQTz5cE7Y3
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“Seeing him up front must have been traumatizing,” Eliza whispered, leaning towards Harry.
The boy chuckled and nodded.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXm3z3GQCQt
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By the time classes ended, Eliza was sure she won't survive another week if they continue like that.
Unfortunately, homework piled up just as she imagined and it got incredibly hard to concentrate on anything but school. She barely made time to write letters to her father and Remus before she found herself in between homeworks again.
"How's school going?"
Cedric caught her in the corridor which made everything very awkward. A few Hufflepuffs turned their heads and stared from the moment he came to her.
"Homework and more homework. I've never had so much to read and write in my life. Besides, Snape's been following me very closely during Potions just in case I will do it wrong." She complained loudly.
"It sounds awful," He said bemusedly yet there was an ounce of sympathy."The Triwizard Tournament is approaching. You'll see that this year will get more entertaining."
Eliza raised an eyebrow and glanced at him suspiciously, "You want to participate?"
Cedric nodded, "Of course. Everyone does."
"But not everyone is of age." She said before seizing him up, "You don't give me that hungry for glory guy impression...maybe you are a bit dumb?"
For a moment, Cedric blinked in confusion. He thought he might had heard her wrong bit there was no doubt. He laughed.
"I'm serious. Why would you enter when your life is already so sparkly? You even became a Prefect." She continued, trying to reason with him.
"It's not about my glory, is about Hogwarts' glory. Whoever is chosen will represent the school and everyone in it. And the money, they're never enough are they? I'd use them to repay my parents or just give them to the Headmaster for the school. I don't plan on keeping all of it."
"Sparkly and honorable. What a combination," She trailed, her eyes shining with amusement.
"That's me. Sparkly." He joked but Eliza couldn't see Cedric getting far in the competition.
Weeks passed incredibly fast and Snape couldn't find anything wrong in Eliza's Potions. He was getting more and more pissed off with her and he wouldn't even give points to Gryffindor when they obviously deserved them.
Defense against the Dark Arts became harder as well. When trying to combat the Imperius Curse, Eliza went last. Harry was the only one who could fight against it and by the time the lesson was done he was pretty good at it. Eliza kept telling herself that she could manage it and when her turn finally came, she couldn't hear Moody's voice at all.
"Is she alright?" Ron asked the professor worriedly.
Eliza's eyes were unfocused and she looked like a doll standing on her feet. Moody tilted his head to the side and watched her defy his orders. However, she couldn't come out of the curse either. It was like she was somewhere in between and Ron had to shake her harshly for her to get back to normal.
"Is that normal?" Hermione asked the professor but he didn't respond.
Everyone could leave except Eliza.
"Molley. I should have imagined you're the same as your mother." He commented, sounding a bit proud by that.
"I couldn't hear you, professor. I was all alone in a dark empty place and I could only hear my thoughts."
"That's a barrier. You mother learned how to use it in order to defend her mind. It seems you have it too but you don't know how to control it." He explained hurriedly.
"That's not the only thing I can't control," She mumbled as Moody turned his back and grabbed something from his desk.
"Read it." He said as he gave her a notebook and left.
Eliza didn't dare open it after she read the name on the first page: Ophelia Molley.
Afterwards, she completely forgot about it. The next weeks passed just like the firsts and 30 October came around.
"They're coming today!" Seamus could hardly contain his excitement.
Actually, he wasn't the only one. Almost everyone was thrilled, even the staff. The castle looked marvelous and very clean. Banners with the houses of Hogwarts were hung everywhere and it looked really festive.
Going through the lessons of the day was by far the most relaxing thing. Dinner was just around the corner and professor McGonagall was strict even when arranging her house in front of the castle to welcome the guests.
The two shows did not hold back. The Beauxbatons came in a blue carriage as big as a house, led by oversize horses with red eyes. The Headmistress was as big as Hagrid and was dressed in satin robes. She looked quite feminine and elegant and her students were pretty much the mirror of her.
Durmstrang came from the water, literally. They came in an old, hauntingly beautiful ship that Eliza only saw in pirates movies. The Headmaster of Durmstrang was humanly tall, around the same height as Dumbledore. There, unlike in Beauxbatons, was someone that immediately grabbed attention.
"It's Viktor Krum!" Seamus hissed right next to Eliza's ear. "Liz, that's Krum! He's the best Seeker!" He continued, jumping on his feet to catch another glimpse of Krum.
Seamus was hardly the only one who was acting like a fanboy. The girls were searching for quills and other boys were trying to think of something to say to him.
Seated in the Great Hall, Eliza couldn't help but catch occasional glimpses at Krum as well. The students from Durmstrang were standing at the Slytherin table while Beauxbatons chose the Ravenclaw's.
"Liz, have you seen him?!" Ron exclaimed joyfully. "I can't believe he is a student!"
Eliza rolled her eyes. The excitement was fading away with how crowded the hall became.
Right before Eliza could mutter a response, Hermione turned to her and told her about her so called cause to establish some kind of law that would give house elves rights.
"Sure," She responded which only made Hermione grin.
"Finally someone with sense. SPEW-"
Eliza ignored the rest, in case Hermione would get her to have some kind of responsibility for her answer. From across the table, Ron was shaking his head as to say Eliza's done the worst thing for her.
Thankfully, Dumbledore raised and silence fell over. Now that she was looking ahead, she saw two more men had joined the table except the guests.
"The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start-"
He continued to speak about it and most students, if not all of them, were eating every word coming from Dumbledore's mouth. At long last, the impartial judge has finally appeared.
"This is the Goblet of Fire. anybody who wants to submit themselves as champion must write their names and school clearly upon a slip of parchment, and drop it into the Goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow nigh, Halloween, the Goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their school. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage students yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line." Dumbledore spoke as his eyes, most definitely, went to the Weasley twins.
Eliza's attention drifted again because there was nothing of interest left to be said. She was fourteen and not one spell she knew would help her cross Dumbledore's Age Line.
"Who do you think will enter anyway?" Lavender asked on the way back to the Common Room.
"Hufflepuff have been going on about Diggory," Parvati answered, a smile on her face.
Seamus scoffed, "You like him only because he's handsome..." He was definitely not a fan of Diggory's. When Eliza asked, his reasoning was the Quidditch match they lost to Hufflepuff. The whole house was quite touchy about that, especially the boys.
"No one denies his handsomeness. I'm more curious who will the Goblet choose than anything else. It's all up to this impartial judge, if you remember," Eliza explained slowly and very clearly for her friends to understand her point.
"Well, let's hope is someone worthy. Someone from Gryffindor, for example." Seamus added with a sneer.
The girls rolled their eyes and walked up into their dormitory before the boy could start another Hufflepuff diss.
Next day was Saturday so they didn't have to wake up early. Eliza was so content and full that she slept like a baby until late. When she woke up, everyone was in the entrance Hall, watching people get their names into the Goblet.
“Should I cheat or should I not. If Weasleys get it right or maybe if someone cracks the Age Line...what if I come from underground or above?” Eliza wandered out loud, pacing in the hall with bad thoughts running in her mind. “Decisions, decisions,” She trailed, patting her chin thoughtfully.
“Molley,”
That familiar boyish voice was one she had not missed over the summer. It was surprising that he hadn't spoken to her after his little bullying last year..
“Thinking of entering the competition by cheating?” He continued, not having any type of rude comeback.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ953XCxsDg2
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“I’m surprised you don’t want to. Aren’t you the prince of Slytherins?”
She was taunting him, just like Remus advised her not to. It was really hard to keep her mouth shut when she had such material to work with; she was a masochist for looking after trouble.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKl1pxfa4e4
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“Haven’t seen you at the World Cup. Must be such a low level witch that your parents can't afford it. I bet they're-“
She interrupted quite harshly, spinning around so she could look straight into his eyes. He was alone so she could actually dive into rough waters.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR8MXgIpTU
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“My parents are pure-bloods. Why don’t you ask your father about a certain Molley? Or maybe you have already asked?” She continued, her tone shifting from cold to playful, confusing even Malfoy who was taken aback by her sudden change.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD8M1vpzxZ
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“What makes you think I would talk to my father about you?”
Well, that was certainly a good question. For what Eliza knew, Draco had no idea who her family was and for him, the name Molley meant nothing.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQMRDhjCSY
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“What about your father, then?”
She tried to turn the tables around but from his confused expression, it looked like it wasn’t going to be beneficial for either of them.
“Never mind. I’m no one so you don’t have to talk to your father about anything,” The brunette said quickly before leaving the blonde with a few new curiosities.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” She mumbled, feeling like digging a hole and hiding in it for her stupidity. “Why am I so stupid? Of course he didn’t tell Malfoy anything. He doesn’t know anything.” She continued to mutter feeling like she did something that could backfire at any moment.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpXmEUrVlq
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“Eliza!” Her head rose instantly, facing the joyful face of someone who helped her before.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihaE65H9Rd
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“Cedric,” She responded, definitely not as content as he was.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKtYZh6P8I
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His face was radiating with pride and courage. One of Cedric’s friends came by surprise and wrapped his arm around his neck, making him chuckle uncomfortably,
“This lad here, he entered the tournament!”748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObdE9o1cA3
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Eliza’s eyebrow rose instantly. Saying that she was annoyed was too light, she was jealous.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKSG2LFBVh
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“Oh,” That was her response, short and objective. “So you did it in the end. You just got a chance at the most dangerous tournament where the death rate is impressively high.” 748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdFa6UFFdP
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Her blunt words startled everyone, moreover Cedric whose smile dropped right away. Once she realized what she told, her eyes widened and she felt a knot in her stomach.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybtQBeUHPJ
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“Good luck!” She exclaimed before running out of there.
“What’s wrong?” Hermione asked Eliza when the brunette plopped beside the library rat later that day.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo75slZOgzx
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“Sometimes I genuinely wonder if I should be a Slytherin instead of a Gryffindor,” Eliza mumbled, feeling even worse than before if that was possible.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHr6nac1RV
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“Well, you do act like a Slytherin sometimes. But it’s probably because of your family background.” Those were wise words coming from a fourteen years old. “By the way, why is Malfoy glancing at you from distance?” Hermione asked, noticing the blond turning his attention to his friends.
“Probably because I’m stupid.” Eliza responded, dropping her head on her lap groaning.
Hermione glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye, curious what exactly those two talked about.
It was later that night when everyone gathered in the Great Hall curious who was going to compete in the tournament and win eternal glory; everyone except a certain Gryffindor that preferred to find that out tomorrow.
Eliza sneaked out, uninterested in whoever was going to represent Hogwarts as long as it wasn’t her. That was a bit selfish but she seriously didn’t care. It just so happened she met Snape on the way out and he firmly and harshly pulled her back inside. She glowered at the professor from the corner in the far back, her arms folded in front of her chest, feeling like hexing Snape’s cauldron next time.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5c3AYDslxu
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She got a bit late and from what people were whispering, she made out who the three contestants were: a pretty blonde girl from Beauxbatons, Victor Krum from Durmstrang and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts. Now that was both worrying and annoying. Cedric was a nice handsome boy who was both smart and good on the broom as she heard but he didn't seem to fit the whole danger concept; the blonde from Beauxbatons was just the same. The only one who had a chance at victory was Krum, who looked like he was prepared from every aspect.
With everything set, Dumbledore begun another encouraging speech when the Goblet threw out another piece of parchment with the name of Harry Potter. Eliza’s eyes widened, following Harry as he, more or less, walked to the headmaster.
“Liz, have you heard? Harry got his name in the Goblet somehow,” Neville informed her after the feast was over.
“Promising year, indeed.” She mumbled, her eyes still staring at the Goblet.
The night was long and the reason was the commotion in the Common Room. Gryffindors were insanely content and impressed with Harry. Eliza wanted to sleep but the noise was too loud so she ran out of the dormitory and hardly sneaked past her classmates before she got into the hall.
Wandering around, she got on the Wooden Bridge. The brunette sighed loudly and leaned against the railing in her yellow pyijamas. No matter how hard she was thinking, she couldn't understand how Harry got his name in the Goblet. Dumbledore's magic was impenetrable and Harry didn't even know enough spells and charms to get passed it. If he couldn't get it in, someone else could; someone with more experience.
“I will find you, Eliza. Rest assured your place by my side is irreplaceable.”748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHmuD0RQt1
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Eliza flinched when those icy blue eyes appeared in her mind. With how busy she had been for the past months, she completely forgot about it.
“Who were you, Ophelia Molley?” Eliza wandered out loud.
On the way back to the Common Room, she felt like someone was following her which wasn’t exactly false because the paintings were staring at her, complaining that she was keeping the light on when it was almost midnight.
It was in front of the Fat Lady portrait that she felt something crawl up her left leg.
“Furvus,” She hissed, her eyes narrowing at the black cat. “What in Merlin’s beard are you doing here?” She whispered, taking it and hiding it under her shirt.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQV3WmR0vN
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Eliza let Furvus free only when they got in the dormitory. She got in bed quickly and pulled him close to her chest, hiding the black cat with the pillow and her body. At a closer inspection, the cat had one small letter rolled to the best around his paw. She took it and read it silently.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQttHhd3RKA
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Dear Eliza,748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJZ0ZCH5mU
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Do not get into trouble this year! Do not enter the tournament and be careful. I already got a letter from Harry, telling me everything that had happened at the Quidditch World Cup. 748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLDXsosP4N
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P.S: Furvus is incredibly smart. You should learn something from him.748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHv5oIybfG
Remus748Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1xf3u49t7
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Her eyebrow twitched. The green eyes of her cat blinked innocently before he cuddled in her chest and fell asleep. Eliza sighed and chuckled, getting soft at the sight of her pretty black cat.
