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CHAPTER FIVE:
Harry Potter . . . the trip wizard champion?
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Sunday 1st, November 1994
The morning light filtered softly through the thick curtains of the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, casting a hazy glow across the room. Aurora groaned, her head feeling as if it was being pounded by a thousand invisible hammers. Her stomach churned, and she sat up, clutching the edge of her bed to steady herself. Last night... she remembered laughing, the sound of music, the clinking of glasses, and the general chaos of the common room. Then, it all turned blurry—until the next morning, when the aftermath hit hard.
Aurora dragged herself out of bed, her legs wobbly beneath her, and made her way to the bathroom. The door swung open with a soft creak, and she was met with the unpleasant smell of stale perfume, sickly sweet drinks, and the faint echo of giggles from the night before.
Lavender Brown was sprawled out on the bathroom floor, a towel draped lazily over her forehead, her eyes half-lidded as she groaned in misery.
"You too, huh?" Aurora mumbled, sitting down beside her.
Lavender shot her a glance, offering a weak smile. "Honestly, I thought I was fine. But now I feel like a Hippogriff ran over me."
Aurora gave a dry laugh. "Same. I think I'm gonna be sick."
As the two girls settled into their misery, Lavender slowly turned her head to look at Aurora. Her voice was tentative, and there was a glint of curiosity in her eyes. "So... I have a question for you."
Aurora, who was leaning against the sink, looked over at her with a slightly raised brow. "What now?"
Lavender bit her lip, her gaze drifting toward the ceiling for a moment before returning to Aurora. "I... I snogged a boy last night." She said it quickly, like she was unsure whether to be proud or embarrassed. "It wasn't... it wasn't anything serious, but still. I mean, it's a bit awkward, y'know?"
Aurora's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. "Okay.... where is this going?"
Lavender shrugged sheepishly. "But I didn't expect it and I've also never.... done that before. He kissed me, and... well, I kissed him back, but I'm not really sure what I'm doing." She hesitated before asking, her voice quiet, "Have you ever... snogged anyone? Like, you know, properly?"
Aurora blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Lavender to open up like this, especially not in their current state. Still, she could tell Lavender was seeking reassurance, and in the oddest way, it was a bit of a relief to talk about something other than the ache in her skull.
"Yeah, I've snogged a few boys before," she replied, leaning back against the edge of the sink. "It's not as complicated as it seems. If you're into someone, it just kind of happens."
Lavender's eyes widened, clearly impressed. "Really?" a curious look came on her face. "Who are you into?"
"I'm not into anyone."
"Well who did you snog over the summer?"
Aurora nodded slowly, her stomach doing a slight flip as the memory of the summer rushed back. "Over the summer, I mean I kissed Theo Nott a few times."
Lavender's eyes grew even wider, her voice a hushed whisper. "Nott? From Slytherin? Oh my god, that's unexpected. How—" She trailed off, and for a moment, her expression softened. "So, like, did you enjoy it?"
Aurora leaned back against the bathroom wall, her thoughts flickering back to the boy. For a moment, she felt a bit zoned out as she thought of him. Theo was unusual, and she didn't entirely ever know how to read him. He took her off guard sometimes with how rude he could be to others, but he always spoke to her nicely. He also helped her out last year with getting his dad's book. She would also be lying if she said she found him to be the best looking boy in their year, but she didn't think she had a crush on him. She was just found of him. That was all.
She shook her head. "I guess so."
Lavender was looking at her with wide, almost envious eyes. "Hm interesting, I didn't really enjoy that snog last night. It was.... messy."
Aurora shrugged. "That's the boys fault then. We girls are almost always good at everything. Don't think too hard about it."
As Lavender seemed to absorb her words, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by a voice that was unmistakably Hermione's.
"You two are a sight," Hermione's voice came through the door, the tone tinged with concern. "I can hear you from the hallway, and I know exactly what happened last night. Maybe in the future you two won't drink yourself to death."
Aurora called out, her voice still heavy with exhaustion, "Oh, don't tell me you're here to lecture us, Hermione."
The door swung open, and Hermione stood there, arms crossed, a frown on her face, though there was a trace of concern in her eyes. "I'm not here to lecture. I'm here to make sure you two don't get yourselves into trouble. You really ought to be more careful with your drinking, you know? I mean, you were all having fun last night, but there's a line, and you crossed it."
Aurora sighed dramatically, leaning against the sink. "It was Halloween, Hermione, and we only had like five drinks."
Hermione shook her head, not quite scolding, but with a quiet firmness. "Honestly, you two. If you want to enjoy yourself, do it with some moderation. I just had the same talk with Dean and Seamus. If McGonagall finds out--"
Lavender cut Hermione off. "We'll all keep that in mind next time, Hermione."
Hermione gave her a pointed look. "Good."
"Anyway, we'll be fine," Aurora said, pushing herself off the sink. "Just... don't tell the others we're both on the bathroom floor feeling like dead bodies."
Lavender raised her hand weakly, "I second that. Agreed."
Hermione didn't seem convinced, but she gave them one last exasperated sigh. "Fine, but only because you've both learned your lesson. But you are getting out of here soon, right?"
Aurora stood up, steadying herself on the sink. "We're getting there. I think we'll make it to the Great Hall in time for the announcement. Right, Lav?"
Lavender nodded, already gathering her things. "Right, definitely. And... thanks, Aurora. For the advice. I'll figure it out eventually."
Aurora grinned, offering a wink. "No problem. You'll get the hang of it."
Lavender and Hermione eventually headed down to the Great Hall together. Aurora, still feeling half-human at best, decided she wasn't quite ready to face the crowd.
She lingered in the dormitory, forcing herself into the shower. The hot water pounded against her skin, dragging the last traces of sleep and stale pumpkin fizz from her. She scrubbed her teeth clean. Her headache dulled, but her stomach remained unsettled. After drying off, she pulled on a thick, dark red jumper and a pair of warm wool socks under her skirt — she'd been freezing all morning. Sitting in front of the mirror, she quickly braided her hair back, pinning it into a low bun at the nape of her neck.
By the time she was ready, it was still nearly an hour before the tournament announcement.
She made her way down the spiral staircase, moving faster than she probably should've. As she stepped onto the ground floor, another sharp wave of nausea hit her without warning. Aurora pressed a hand to her mouth and bypassed the portrait hole entirely, veering toward the nearest exit instead of the Great Hall.
The late-autumn air was brisk as she stepped onto the grounds, the chill nipping at her cheeks. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, letting the cold, earthy scent of wet leaves and distant woodsmoke push away the last of the headache fog.
A light pressure touched her shoulder.
Aurora spun on her heel, her braid swinging. The boy standing there had dark, slightly unruly hair tucked under a charcoal-grey beanie, soft brown eyes that were surprisingly warm despite the cold weather, and a posture that radiated an easy, quiet confidence. He was the same height as her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, voice low and careful, his accent smoothing the edges of the words.
Aurora frowned automatically, tugging her jumper sleeves down over her hands. "What? Why are you asking me that?"
His brows lifted slightly, but he didn't seem offended. "Because I saw you rushing down the stairs inside. You looked like you were going to be sick."
She hesitated, torn between telling him to mind his own business and admitting the truth. "I'm fine," she muttered, though the word didn't sound entirely convincing. "I had a few too many last night and this is the repercussions."
"Oh, that explains it," he said simply, like he'd decided to take her at her word. Then, offering a small smile: "I'm Enzo."
Aurora gave him a nod. "Aurora."
He shifted his weight, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "You a fourth year, too?"
That made her blink. "You're a fourth year? I thought only seventeen-year-olds could come on the trip to the different schools, or people who wanted to do the tournament?"
Enzo chuckled, the sound warm in the cold air. "Usually. But this year they picked five of us from the fourth and fifth years. Best grades, best discipline. Or at least... best on paper."
She smiled faintly. "So you're one of Durmstrang's finest, then?"
"Something like that," he said, with just enough humility to keep it from sounding like bragging.
They stood there for a moment, the wind catching the edge of his beanie and rustling the leaves around their feet. Despite her rocky start to the conversation, Aurora found herself relaxing, the nausea finally settling into the background.
"Well," she said finally, "you can tell your teachers you've successfully rescued a Hogwarts student from imminent death."
He grinned at that, the expression transforming his face into something boyish and bright. "I'll add it to my list of accomplishments here."
Aurora rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth tugged upward despite herself.
When the wind picked up again, carrying the faint sound of chattering voices from the castle, Enzo glanced toward the doors. "We should probably head in. Wouldn't want to miss the excitement."
Aurora gave a small nod, and together they crossed the lawns, boots and shoes crunching over the last of the frost-speckled grass. The looming castle doors swallowed them into warm candlelight and the hum of voices. They reached the entrance to the Great Hall, where the massive doors stood open, and paused without really meaning to.
Enzo offered her a quick, easy smile. "Enjoy the announcement, Aurora. And... try not to run out looking like you're going to faint again, yeah?"
"No promises."
His grin lingered as he stepped away toward the Durmstrang table, weaving easily through the crowd of students. Aurora threaded her way to the Gryffindor table, slipping into the seat beside Hermione and across from Ron and Harry.
Ron's eyes followed the departing Durmstrang boy before snapping back to her. "Who was that?" he asked immediately, leaning forward like he was ready to demand an entire backstory.
Aurora reached for a pumpkin tart and kept her tone deliberately casual. "Just someone who thinks I was about to collapse on the stairs. Don't get excited."
Harry and Ron both made faces, Hermione shot them a warning look before they could press further.
"Well I hope it's Angelina," said Fred sitting down beside Aurora. Followed by him was Lee Jordan and George.
"So do I!" said Hermione breathlessly.
Aurora grinned, resting her chin in her hand. "She'd wipe the floor with the lot of them."
"Well, we'll soon know!" Hermione added, eyes flicking to the Goblet.
The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, Harry didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as he would have normally. Aurora wasn't much better — she found herself drumming her fingers against her plate, watching the Goblet like it might suddenly spring to life and dance across the table.
Like everyone else in the Hall — judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet — she simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions. At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute..."
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall. Aurora squinted as she leaned forward.
"Any second," Lee Jordan whispered.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it — the whole room gasped.
"The champion for Durmstrang," Dumbledore read, "will be Viktor Krum."
"No surprises there!" yelled Ron.
Aurora glanced over at her cousin, who was rolling his eyes. Beside him Nott and Goyle were both appearing the same. "Half the Slytherin table's going to faint."
The clapping and chatting died down. Then Fleur Delacour's name was called, and Ron's jaw nearly hit the table. Aurora raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing, biting back a laugh. When Cedric's name was announced, the Hufflepuffs erupted in celebration. Aurora clapped politely, though she caught Harry's slight frown and Ron's muttered, "No!" under the noise.
Dumbledore began to speak again — but stopped. The Goblet flared red one last time. Sparks burst from it, and another slip of parchment sailed into Dumbledore's hand. Aurora sat up straighter, heart thudding.
"Harry Potter," Dumbledore read.
For a moment, Aurora didn't move. The words seemed to hang in the air, too strange, too impossible. Then she turned sharply to Harry, her eyes wide. He had turned to her first too. His eyes were wide, brows drawn in sharp disbelief. She gave the tiniest shake of her head, as if to say she knew — she knew — he hadn't done it. Then he glanced at Ron and Hermione; beyond them, he saw the long Gryffindor table all watching him, openmouthed.
"I didn't put my name in," Harry said blankly to the three of them. "You know I didn't."
Ron and Hermione stared just as blankly back, but Aurora's voice was low and steady. "We believe you," she murmured, though he didn't seem to hear it.
At the top table, Professor Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to Professor McGonagall.
"Harry Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"
"Go on," Hermione whispered, giving Harry a slight push.
Harry got to his feet, trod on the hem of his robes, and stumbled slightly.
Aurora turned in her seat to watch him leave, a knot tightening in her chest. She could feel the shift in the room — the eyes flicking between Harry and her, whispers starting in earnest. Crossing her arms, she kept her gaze fixed on his back as he set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. Aurora caught the eye of Luke in the crowd who gave her a look to ask if he did it, she shakes her head, she had no idea.
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real ones know in the first original draft of this book, I had aurora be the one whose name gets read out as well (ick)
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love this chapter :)