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studentinpursuitofclouds · 20 days

Note

Could I possibly request a headcannon for the RDV Bachelors/Bachelorettes finding out the farmer that they’ve been dating for a while is a werewolf that’s been hiding it since they came to the valley?

To be honest, dear anon, I spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out what RDV was. Did you mean SDV (vanilla bachelors/ettes) or RSV (Ridgeside Village, the sdv mod)? So I decided to make vanilla candidates, hope I'm not wrong (if I am, feel free to ask again!). Thank you, and have a lovely day 💕

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SDV bachelors/ettes discover that their s/o!Farmer is a werewolf

SDV bachelors:

Shane:

Shane was in complete shock at what he saw, but his defence mechanism kicked in and outwardly he remained calm.

"Heh, so that's why you smelled like wet dog all the time." Now it was Farmer's turn to be surprised.

Not only is his lover not surprised (as they seem to be) at all, but he's also calling them names!

"???? And you always smelled like beer!" "Touché..."

Well, unravelling the truth went a lot easier than Farmer had anticipated.

The chicken man naturally had a ton of questions and a pattern-breaking experience from realising the existence of werewolves, but he endured it relatively calmly.

"Horror? Have you ever walked into a Joja Mart warehouse with their 'super' products? That's the real horror."

Sam:

Farmer: *Literally transforms into werewolf form in front of their boyfriend Sam*

Sam's mind: "A giant doggo, heck yeah!"

Is there anyone sane in this town who would react to the Farmer with horror?

Don't get me wrong, Sam was actually surprised and jumped up on the spot from Farmer.

But apparently the human desire to pet absolutely everything was stronger than the instinct for self-preservation. Sam was no different.

Especially since his partner wasn't crazy in wolf form. It was still the same kind and lovely Farmer.

Only now as a big doggo!

"So fluffy!" "Sam, I'm a monster." "You're still the same Farmer, only cooler. And fluffier!"

Heh... Well, better that than disgust.

Elliott:

After witnessing Farmer's transformation, Elliott's face was as pale as death. "Merciful Yoba..."

Frightened and not knowing what to do, he took a couple of steps back and pressed himself against the nearest wall.

"Has my end come? Will I really meet death from my beloved Farmer who has taken the form of a beast? Will I be torn into a thousand pieces by their razor-sharp claws?"

"Elliott, I'm actually sane, and I'm not going to tear you apart."

What a relief! His beloved Farmer is still a Farmer!

"And how did you know what I was thinking? Are werewolves really capable of reading the minds of mere humans?" "Nah, you just said it all out loud."

Oh, well... that's was awkward.

Give the writer a week and he'll get used to Farmer, no problem.

Sebastian:

Who would have thought that a man could feel fear and awe at the same time. Sebastian didn't think so, not until Farmer revealed the truth about their origins.

Sebby's whole body screams that he should run and hide. But in his head he thinks it's the coolest thing he's ever seen in his life. If he told Abigail or Sam, they wouldn't believe him.

And as he stood there thinking, Farmer leaned over to Sebby and looked at him with their wolf eyes.

Strangely, Sebastian didn't see any rage. Still the same Farmer he'd known for a long time.

And the fur on their muzzle is so nice. Soft... What's he talking about? Ah, yeah, a werewolf...

Sebastian's verdict: Farmer is cool, not a monster, he won't leave them and he'll keep the secret.

Harvey:

Right, Harvey's come to visit a Farmer, the time is perfect...

*Transforms into a werewolf* There, now Farmer will explain- *Harvey fainted* *Sigh...* Farmer reckoned the doctor would stay conscious longer.

Well, Harvey's awake again, now- *Harvey fainted again* Not again... Harvey, c'mon!

It took a few hours and a lot of sedation (wine) before they could explain everything to their beloved spouse.

Despite the not-so-good start, Harvey took the news quite well. Well, as normal as possible.

And life got back on track. Although there were a couple of awkward moments:

"I'm gonna eat you~" *Harvey startled* "Not literally! I was just flirting with you!"

Alex:

After Farmer's transformation, Alex's "fight or flight" response was immediately triggered.

Our athlete chose to fight. And immediately punched Farmer in their sensitive wolf nose. It hurt....

"Ouch! Why?!" "And who the heck turns into a monster without warning beforehand?!" "....."

You can't argue with Alex's words, Farmer, so this is your mistake.

Basically, Alex asked only a few questions that interested him: whether the Farmer would bite him, whether they would chew the furniture in their werewolf form, whether their would mark the territory...

"For Yoba's sake, Alex, I'm a werewolf, not a dumb puppy!" "Just checking, you know."

Don't worry, these two will be fine.

SDV bachelorettes:

Abigail:

Farmer: *took their beast form in front of Abigail* "Abby, I know you're scared, but listen to me please-" "Would."

......

"....Abby, what the actual fuck?"

As you can see, Abigail has no problem with her lover being a werewolf.

On the contrary, in her eyes, Farmer is the coolest person on the entire planet! A real werewolf! That's brutal!

"Do you know other werewolves? Are you a member of a pack? Oh, oh, you've fought vampires, haven't you?!"

Help.

But Farmer is glad that the amethyst lover didn't turn on them after they uncovered the truth.

So basically, her attitude won't change.

Well, maybe a liiiittle bit.... ("Can I scratch your fluffy ear? Pretty please?" "Abby!").

Penny:

Farmer must give Penny credit: their dear girlfriend was able to stay conscious for a full ten seconds before fainting from horror after what she had seen.

They thought she'd only last five seconds.

Good thing Farmer had prepared earlier and caught the young teacher before she hit the floor.

The conversation was very, very long.

And yet, Penny didn't turn her back on them. Even as a werewolf, it's still the same Farmer. Just a little more fur everywhere, no big deal.

She feels protected with them (she did before Farmer confessed, but even more so now) and, most importantly, just as loved.

But it's a pain to clean the fur off her blouse all the time....

Emily:

Emily began whispering a prayer to keep herself safe from... wait, Farmer!?

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was afraid you'd reject me-" Before Farmer could finish speaking, Emily rushed over to them and hugged them as hard as she could.

They told everything and the blue-haired girl had convinced them that she loved them and would not leave them.

They both also discussed some details so that there wouldn't be any surprises later, like not being able to return to human form during the full moon, or fur all over the house.

"Fur?" "Well, yeah, we moult about twice a year."

After saying that, they'll have a bunch of fancy clothes made from their own wool that Emily embroidered for them. She's a handy girl, what can I say.

Maru:

Terrified, Maru threw the first thing she could find at Farmer. The first thing that came to hand was a spanner.

Ouch! That hurts!

"...Farmer?" "Well, who else!? Ouch..."

Actually, after Farmer's whining, Maru completely forgot about the fear and approached them to check if she had hurt them badly.

"There'll definitely be a bump, but it's no big deal. We werewolves can survive more than that."

Werewolves... The young inventor's mind boggles... A real transformation before her eyes, that's... It's phenomenal!

She has so many questions for Farmer! Oh, wait a second... She completely forgot to ask about their feelings. "Are you alright, dear?"

Don't let Farmer worry: she'll keep their secret and not abandon them.

Leah:

"Holy shi-" Leah got into a fighting stance and held the sculpting tools in her hands. A self-defence tool of sorts, but it was sharp, so it would do.

Fortunately, the tools weren't needed.

"Leah, darling, put this back please." "Prove you're a Farmer I know." *Sigh* "I punched your ex when we had a picnic in the woods and then we went somewhere more secluded to..." "Okay, okay, I believe you."

Farmer told her everything: about the werewolves, how long they'd been hiding it, etc.

"Why didn't you tell earlier?" "Well, at the very least, because I was just expecting a reaction like yours." "Hmm, fair enough."

Well, werewolf, so what? The artist doesn't bother with it.

Especially after Farmer had scared her ex, Kel, in their wolf form when Kel came to the Valley again with another attempt to get Leah back. Bye, loser!

Haley:

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" It's a wonder how the glass of the windows didn't crack from such a high-pitched sound, because you can see that Haley is trying.

Really, her goal isn't to break the glass of the windows, but to scare away the huge wolf-like man.

"Haley, it's me..." "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" This goes on like this for about five minutes.

Luckily for Farmer, their eloquence was enough to finally calm their girlfriend down and explain that they're still the same Farmer and won't hurt her.

"Ewww, your fur is now on my new skirt..." Heh, if she's complaining a little, she's not afraid anymore. Progress.

Though it's a little hard for her to get used to, Haley has concluded that it's still the same Farmer she loves.

And to be frank already - she loves their cuddles in werewolf form - will even tolerate fur everywhere.

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braveclementine · 1 month

Text

Damon x reader pt. 2

Warnings: technical torture, death

Copyright: I do not own any TVD/TO/Legacies characters, nor any places in New Orleans or Mystic Falls that may be mentioned.

I headed through the library, staring around in awe. I loved reading, it was one of my favorite pastimes and the Salvatore library and the Mikelson libraries were often frequented by my presence. Both the Mikelson compounds in Mystic Falls and New Orleans. Marcel and Alaric both also had good collections of books. Along with the founding families of Mystic Falls.

"This is. . ." I was spinning in circles, taking in every aisle of books I could see. The room extended in both directions farther than I could see and was filled with people. Except, because of the size, it seemed almost empty.

The ceiling was low, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling with bright lighting. The floor was made of polished oak wood which complimented the Spruce bookshelves.

The books were organized by genre, signs nailed onto the ends of each bookcase stating the genre of the section. The rows seemed to go back rather far, sometimes even turning corners and becoming a maze of books for genres.

With Damon's help, the mystical creatures section was found and it was also found that all of the people were in this section, or at the tables in the middle of the library studying.

Damon and I gathered up several different books of various topics before we decided to move somewhere more private.

Roaming the library, I found that there was a set of double doors at the end of the right side of the room. But when I tried to open them, I found they were locked. However, I could hear the quiet murmurs of people talking behind the doors, accompanied by the occasional laugh.

"Come on, let's find someplace to settle down." Damon mentioned, his arms laden with eight books. I hurried behind him as fast as my legs could carry me, burdened with at least five books.

We found a private, quiet corner not far from the strange double doors in the Ancient Roman section. It was in a maze like corner and completely secluded.

We sat down next to each other. I fold my legs underneath me while he stretched his legs out so his feet were pressed up against the opposite bookcase. He lounged lazily with his book while I studied my studiously, my head bent over the open book in my lap.

The book I was reading was strangely familiar in characteristics, almost identical to what I had learned about Vampires, Werewolves, and Witches in my time with the Originals and the Salvatore's.

It mentioned vervain and wooden stakes. It mentioned full moons and curses. It even mentioned daylight rings and magical devices that could stake out vampires. It made me nervous reading it and I nudged Damon.

"Dae?"

He quickly spun his head. I only called him that when I was truly scared. I hadn't meant to call him that because it didn't seem like a really bad thing, but it had slipped.

"What's wrong Y/N?"

I showed him the book. "Look how descriptive this is. There's no way that the person who wrote this wasn't either a vampire, werewolf, or witch, or knew of them!"

"But what's so scary about that?" Damon asked. "If humans don't believe in this stuff, it would be smart for a vampire, werewolf, or witch to write a book on it. They'd make a lot of money. Heck, I could write about the adventures that we've been on and it would be put down as fiction!"

I breathed in deeply and smiled at him, relaxing my shoulders, "Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm freaking out over this."

Damon put an arm around my shoulder and I nearly stopped breathing but quickly forced my attention back to the book. I decided to move onto another book, as I knew everything that the book I was reading had to offer. It would be better if I saw the other variants of the Vampire books so that I could be prepared on the questions depending on which type they asked.

"Y/N, look at this." Damon said with a snort. I shifted my attention to the book Damon was reading, "These vampires sparkle. Like fairies."

I laughed lightly. "Twilight vampires aren't real Damon."

"Neither are real vampires." Damon teased.

Someone must be nearby.

I chuckled, "Fair enough."

I tilted my head upwards and then found that Damon's face was inches from mine.

My breath was knocked out of me at the sight of him and I felt like freaking Bella looking at Edward except. . . this was more real. More pure.

A few strands of his hair were pressed to his forehead, his mouth curved upwards into that sexy smirk. His eyes were icy blue, penetrating into my soul. He had just the faintest start of a beard, probably from not shaving this morning. I could smell his John Varvatos cologne, which was an almost woodsy smell, not overpowering enough to be overwhelming, just enough to be delightful.

And his lips, where my E/C eyes were looking. Though he was smirking, his lips were parted just slightly, his top lip was thin, but his bottom lip was full and pink and kissable. Fuck, everything about him was kissable.

His head dipped downwards and I closed my eyes. I could feel his breath on my own lips, quivering in anticipation. His arm tightened around my shoulder, almost bringing me closer. There was so much hesitation, tension, and anticipation, and then I felt him pull back.

"Y/N." He groaned, "I'm not good for you. I'm a killer, a monster, a vampire. I'm dangerous, either by myself or by bringing dangers to me. If I. . . I can't lead you on. I can't make you think that I can be with you when it's just going to endanger you anyways."

"Damon. . ." I murmured, reaching for his hand. He let me take it, tracing the lines of his palm. Every person had a W or a V traced into their hands from palm lines. The W was for Werewolf and the V was for Vampire. It didn't necessarily mean that they would turn into one or the other, as most people went about their lives without even knowing such things existed. But it was just for what would be better for someone.

I was unique. On my right palm, I had a V and on my left palm, I had a W. A hybrid. Of course, not that it meant anything. I would never actually be a hybrid as I was not a werewolf. But that was besides the point.

Before I could say anything else, one of the assistant managers came around the corner of the library and I dropped Damon's hand, resting my left hand on the open book instead, looking up.

"Ah, Y/N Y/L/N, there you are. Come on, I have the rest of the others gathering. You should come alone."

He was flanked by two guards- he never went anywhere without them- and I quickly got up, leaving the books and Damon behind. We'd talk later.

I followed Mr. Laritate from the bookshelves. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"The other side of the library." Mr. Laritate answered and I followed him to the double doors I had been checking out earlier. "I'll see you soon."

I stepped through the doors and they slammed closed behind me.

I sighed, moving away from the doors.

This room was smaller, though it was still a library. However, unlike the other library, there was nothing extravagant or polished about this library.

There were cheap wooden chairs and tables scattered throughout the room in different shapes of square, rectangular, circular, and even a few that were triangular.

The bookshelves were rather cheap looking, some of the shelves crooked like they hadn't been fitted in properly. The floor was made of stone. There wasn't even a rug thrown over it.

This room seemed more crowded than the other, probably because of the smaller size of it- both sides of the room were rather close- and because there seemed to be quite a few people here.

I walked up to one of the bookcases to pull off a book and found that I couldn't. I frowned and got a better look at the bookshelves.

The books were fake. They were just painted wood- not even painted well up close- and glued to the cheap shelves. What in the world?

Was this an escape room kind of game? That didn't make sense at all and a strange fear lit up in side of me.

I took another look around the room, this time focused on the people, willing myself to recognize someone.

They all seemed rather buddy buddy with each other and it wasn't until I finally saw a few familiar faces- not necessarily friendly as I had beaten them last round- that I realized who these people were.

They were the losers of the past rounds.

But. . . they were dropped off at the islands and the planes shipped them home. . .

Well apparently not.

I also noticed that the large, heavy wooden doors were the only escape route. There wasn't a single window or door in the entire library. Not even a skylight or a trapdoor.

As the time continued to pass, my anxiety grew. The others didn't seem to mind, chatting easily with the others, either standing, sitting on the edges of tables, sitting on the floor by the bookcases, or lounging lazily in the wooden chairs.

"Do you know what's supposed to be going on?" I muttered to one young man- who I had no idea who he was.

He shrugged, "We were in the losers chambers for a few days. Now we're here. I figure it's a sort of redemption game."

Was it? If it was- why was I here then?

That was when the loud noise started.

It was horrendous, making everyone in the room drop to their knees, covering their ears with their hands.

I was one of them, squatting down, my elbows resting beside my thighs as I squeezed my hands tightly over my ears.

"DAMON!" I shouted as loudly as I dared, wondering if he could hear any of this or if he was covering his ears too.

The loud noise stopped and I looked up along with everyone else.

Protruding from the ceiling were large, funnel like structures. I started to edge my way towards the wooden doors. "Damon, I need you. I'm scared, please Dae." I begged under my breath, knowing he'd be able to hear me.

That was when it started to rain.

At first, everyone looked around puzzled as the rain splashed onto the stone floor, the clothes, the hair, and the furniture. And then the screaming started.

It was acid rain.

Everyone was trying to work together, pushing tables together so that they could all dive underneath, crawling into each others laps as everyone pushed for the middle.

Meanwhile, I ran for the door. I screamed in pain as the drops hit my skin, pulling a bobby pin from my hair because I knew the door would be locked.

"DAMON!" I screamed. I wasn't the only one screaming for people. Others were screaming for loved ones, for friends, for mothers, for fathers, for some ridiculous names that I was sure were meant for pets. "DAMON PLEASE!"

I wasn't very good at picking locks, especially with a fucking bobby pin. I stuck it into the lock, jiggling it around frantically as acid rain dropped down my cheeks, sizzing my hair, and burning my clothes away.

I was a mess and I knew it. I shrieked, falling to my knees as one of the rain drops fell into my eyes. I screamed in pain, squeezing my eyes shut, jiggling the bobby pin frantically, more and more. The lock was starting to melt and finally, finally, I slammed my shoulder against the door and the doors cracked open.

Everyone started to stream from the room, carrying chairs and tables over their heads, screaming for the others to get off the yacht.

The people who had been studying for the test looked up, trying to figure out what was going on.

I ignored everyone, stumbling back to where I had left Damon. I prayed he wasn't there because if he was, he had either ignored me, hadn't heard me, or he was hurt.

Unfortunately, it was the latter. His wrists were tied to the bookcases with vervain, a stake plunged into his stomach.

"Y/N." He replied weakly.

I yanked the stake out of his stomach, hissing as the burned hands came in contact with the wood. Crying in pain, which just cause more pain because of my burned cheeks and eye, I undid the vervain ropes before collapsing in pain and tears.

"Y/N? Y/N?" Damon asked frantically, his healing process slower than normal from the vervain. "What happened? Y/N! Speak to me!"

"Acid rain." I coughed out. "Please Damon."

Damon bit into his wrist roughly, practically forcing his blood down my throat.

I sucked at it eagerly, not necessarily because I relished the taste, but because of the relief it brought. The pain from my eye faded, the bloody wounds fading from my legs, arms, and face. My hair stopped smelling like it was burning and the hair follicles healed.

As I tried catching my breath from all the horror, Damon's hand found a place on the back of my head, smashing his lips to mine feverishly.

It was better than I had thought it would be. His lips were soft, yet firm and hard against my own which simply melted against his force. I could taste blood, smoke, bourbon, and something sweet- maybe from the pancakes.

His hand gripped my hair hard, forcing me against him- not that I minded. His other hand snaked around my waist, pressing me into him. I felt my terror and fear slipping away and I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing back with full force.

I pulled away from air, our foreheads resting together as I breathed in deeply. "I thought you said you weren't going to play with my feelings."

"I couldn't stop myself. Hearing you scream for me and I was unable to get there. Knowing that you could've died and I would've been stuck here, tied down with fucking vervain and a bloody piece of wood. I've never been scared like that before. I love you Y/N. I love you so fucking much and it's not fair to you."

"Don't stay away from me anymore." I murmured. "I don't care. I love you Damon."

"I know. But we have to talk about this later. I'm getting you out of here now."

We got to our feet and Damon wrapped an arm around my waist, leading me through the bookcases quickly until we got out of the maze, heading for the door.

The library was a mess now, chairs overturned, books flung everywhere. It was still raining in the acid room and I wondered if anyone was dead in there.

"Damon. . . what if we could help someone in there?" I asked as he pulled me towards the exit to the library.

"If it means I'm putting you in danger, I can't." Damon replied forcefully. "I won't."

I felt my heart wrench, "Please Damon."

Damon hesitated, looking between the exit and the acid doors.

I was in his arms within seconds and he zoomed back to the acid doors, looking inside. There were a few bodies laying on the ground, unmoving and the blood leaking out of them suggested that they were completely dead. Anyone alive- even injured- had escaped.

I let out a sob and Damon hugged me to his chest. "Let's go Y/N. Come on."

He sprinted to the door, opening it up, and coming short, pushing me behind him as he came face to face with Mr. Laritate and his two guards. It only now hit me that his guards had stayed behind when he'd walked me to the acid room.

Damon bared his teeth.

"Ah, I see you two are up and kicking." Mr. Laritate said with a bit of a smile. "And completely healed Y/N Y/L/N, what a pleasant, but unsurprising outcome."

"You knew?" I whisper asked, clutching the back of Damon's shirt. I didn't want him to get hurt. "The game show was just a hoax?"

"Not for those who are lower on the totem pole. The workers on the boat and other staff. But me and the creators of the games are really looking for someone- or rather- something else. Vampires to be most specific."

I clutched the back of Damon's shirt harder.

"So letters are sent out all the time to cities like New Orleans and other cities that might have supernatural population. We usually get quite a few Vampires from New Orleans, and we've even got a witch working with us. But Mystic Falls was mentioned and so we sent a few letters out, looking for the right house. And now you two are here. Two very fine vampires."

"You're wrong." Damon growled, a protective arm thrown in front of me. "I'm the only Vampire here."

Mr. Laritate tilted his head to the side, his bald head shining in the fluorescent lights, his glasses perched on the end of his nose. "Well. . . not for long."

I felt hands catch around my throat and I let out a choked gasp. Damon spun, fearful eyes meeting mine as there was a pain in my neck, a cracking sound, and everything went black.

⬅️➡️

#Braveclementineworks #Braveclementineshortstory #BraveclementineNovels #Damon Salvatore #xreader #Vampire #Damon Salvatore x reader #Game show #yacht #death #torture #acid rain #Protective!Damon #Protective!DamonSalvatore

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braveclementine · 2 months

Text

Chapter 9

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

💙💙💙💙

𝕴 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖊𝖉 𝖗𝖊𝖑𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖑𝖞 behind Hermione as we made our way to the Gryffindor common room. She promoted elf rights the entire way there, as though I didn't know anything about it. Okay, so I didn't know anything about it. I'd just accepted it was a thing along with literally every other wizard out there.

I guess I could understand her from a point. After all, most wizards accepted that Werewolves were dangerous and didn't deserve to live, and of course, I believed quite the opposite. But it's hard to want to do something for someone who doesn't want it done for them. It's like telling someone you're going to give them a hair cut and they don't want it. House-Elves don't want freedom and honestly, a majority of them love their families and don't want to leave. Hermione was just forcing a rod into the system.

"Hello, I've just finished." Hermione said as she walked over to where the boys were sitting in the corner of the common room.

I sat down on the arm of Harry's chair while Ron threw down his quill and said, "So have I!"

Hermione sat down, laid the things she was carrying in an empty armchair, and pulled Ron's predictions towards her. "Not going to have a very good month, are you?" She said sarcastically and a bit disapprovingly. Crookshanks jumped up on her lap.

"At least I'm forewarned." Ron said with a yawn.

I looked over Harry's shoulder as he wrote on the last day of the month he was going to be decapitated because of a conjunction between Mercury and Saturn.

"You should make that Venus and Saturn." I muttered in his ear. "More likely."

"You seem to be drowning twice." Hermione said, looking over Ron's month.

"Oh am I?" Ron looked down and said, "I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff."

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?" Hermione asked, picking up the box of badges.

"How dare you! We've been working like house-elves here!" Ron said in mock outrage, trying hard not to let his smile through. "It's just an expression." Ron said as Hermione raised her eyebrows. I sighed.

"What's in the box?" Harry asked, pointing, as he put his own quill down having fixed the Mercury and Venus mistake.

"Funny you should ask." Hermione said, giving a nasty look to Harry.

"Bummer that you asked." I muttered in his ear. "You're going to regret it."

Hermione took off the lid showing the rainbow strewn badges. Each was a different color and the letters S.O.E.A. on them.

"'Soea?" Harry asked, picking up a badge. "What's this about?"

"Not Soea." Hermione said a bit angrily. "It's S-O-E-A. Stands for Stop Outrageous House Elf Abuse. Or the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. That's the subline."

Every time that she said that it made me cringe. Where the heck was S.P.E.W.?

"Never heard of it." Ron said with a shrug, rolling up his month chart.

"Well, of course you haven't. I've only just started it." Hermione said.

"Yeah?" Ron asked in a bit of surprise. "How many members have you got?"

"She just finished Ron." I said with a yawn.

"Well- if you two join- four." Hermione said.

I stared at her and said, "When did I ever agree to join?"

"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying Soea do you?" Ron asked.

"S-O-E-A" Hermione said hotly. "I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status- but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto." She pulled out the parchment that she'd shown me in the library and underneath that heading was the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. So S.P.E.W. had made it on the parchment somewhere. I still felt weird that another vision had been altered though without me doing anything.

"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now." Hermione said.

"Hermione- open your ears. They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!" Ron said loudly.

"Our short-term aims are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented."

I groaned in frustration.

"And how do we do all this?" Harry asked. Why was he humoring her?

"We start by recruiting members. I though two Sickles to join- that buys a badge- and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer Ron- I've got you a collecting tin upstairs- and Elizabeth, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting."

"Ask Harry to do it." I muttered. "And besides, you will never get the non-wand use law out. It applies to every Magical creature like Centaurs and Mermaids and pixies and Gnomes. You really want a Gnome to have a wand? And Centaurs and Mermaids will be offended if you ever even mention trying to give them a wand!"

Suddenly there was a tapping on the window. Hermione looked mutinous and Harry hurtled across the room saying "Hedwig!"

Hedwig flew inside and landed on top of Harry's predictions. "Hi Hedwig." I said, petting her head feathers. "Have a nice flight?" I prayed Harry was going to keep his calm. "You have her treats, right?" I asked Harry as Hedwig hooted assent.

"Yeah." Harry said, going to his bag and pulling out a small bag full of treats and opened it. "Get Sirius' letter, will you Elizabeth?"

He sat back down and Hedwig settled on his knee. I took the letter from her leg and said, "Harry you better keep your calm."

Then I opened the letter and read aloud,

Harry- I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore- they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is. Tell Elizabeth to pay attention to important details, she ought to sort it out before anyone else. I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron, Hermione, and Elizabeth. Keep your eyes open, Harry. Sirius

"He's flying north? He's coming back?" Hermione asked in horror.

"Dumbledore's reading what signs? Harry- what's up?" Ron asked for Harry had just hit himself in the forehead.

"I shouldn't've told him!" Harry said furiously and Hedwig having been jolted out of his lap, flew up to my shoulder. I reached up automatically to scratch her head feathers.

"Harry!" I snapped at him.

"It's made him think he's got to come back Elizabeth!" Harry shouted at me. "Coming back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me!" I handed up another treat to Hedwig, watching him, exasperated.

"He was coming back already." I said as Hedwig took another treat into her beak. "Because of Bertha Jorkins disappearance and the Quidditch cup was the last straw. He knew Bertha and she ended up in Albania. She's dead, but he doesn't know that."

"She's dead?" Hermione asked and I gave Harry an incredulous look.

"You didn't tell them?" I exclaimed.

Harry turned red and said, "I didn't know you wanted me too!"

"Back up, who's dead?" Ron asked, and I gave him an exasperated look.

With a little help from Harry, we relived the dream for them and by the end of it, they were both extremely worried- not only for me, but for Harry as well.

"Why haven't you told Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"Well one." I said. "A dream isn't on the same level as a vision. Who can say if the event really happened? Maybe it was my visions causing a nightmare. Does anyone really want to think my dream was real and that Peter isn't dead and that Voldemort's going to find a way to come back? Think about it Hermione, who's going to believe me?"

"Dumbledore will if no one else won't." Hermione said.

"Maybe." I said with an annoyed shrug. "But Dumbledore doesn't have the power over the Ministry to tell them that my visions are right- let alone the fact that what I saw wasn't even a vision."

"But if Harry had the same dream. . ." Ron thought.

"But Harry doesn't remember all the details." I said.

Harry was sitting back down. I fed Hedwig the last owl treat and petted her head again before bringing her over to the window so that she could fly back to the owlery. Then I closed the window and sat down by the fireplace, leaning my head on the brick.

"So You-Know-Who is after both of you. . ." Hermione reiterated slowly, thinking. "Harry to kill him and you. . . for your visions?"

I nodded.

"And Pettigrew thinks your Harry's sister?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Well Lockhart didn't help any." I scowled. "But I think everyone would know if Harry had a sister."

"True." Hermione said with a nod. "Considering the fact there's quite a few books written about Harry, the family, and their history. Dumbledore would've known at least."

"Exactly." I said, though it hurt to say so. "We learned that last year when Dumbledore offered to be Lily and James secret-keeper. If they were that close, he would've known if there had been a girl in the house too."

Harry was looking a bit down which hurt even more. "So what do I do about Sirius?"

My lips twitched. "Early tomorrow you're basically going to write a letter telling him that you must've imagined the pain and that he doesn't have to come back. You don't have to, but that's what I foresee you doing."

"Will he go back?" Harry asked anxiously.

I let out the smile. "No, but his reply is humorous."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I hate when you do this. Write the letter Harry."

"Okay." Harry said, looking curious. "What does the letter say Elizabeth?"

"Dear Sirius, I reckon I just imagined my scar hurting. I was half asleep when I wrote to you last time. There's no point coming back, everything's fine here. Don't worry about me, my head feels completely normal. Elizabeth says hi. Harry"

"Why didn't Harry write down that Ron and I said hi?" Hermione asked, a bit hurt.

"Actually he never put down any of our names, I just added that bit in." I said with a smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

I got up from where I was sitting. "I'll see you guys in the morning, okay? I want to get my Ancient Runes homework done before tonight."

I headed out of the Gryffindor common room and hurried to my own.

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖉𝖆𝖞 passed and that night I went to the dungeons because I had my private lesson with Snape.

He was waiting, as he always was, behind our customary table, looking extremely annoyed. It wasn't me, I was two minutes early. Unless he was annoyed that I'd come early- I wouldn't know. But if I were to bet on it, I would've been it was Uncle Moody.

"What are we doing today?" I asked, sitting down across from him.

He glanced up at me and his expression changed. He blinked and then he cleared his throat and pulled out a piece of parchment. "I thought if you'd want to learn a new potion, something we wouldn't cover until sixth or seventh year and we can work on that."

I nodded, taking the piece of parchment and reading down a list of different potions. There were a lot of them and I tried to read all of them but I kept being brought back to a potion called Felix Felicis.

"Felix Felicis?" I murmured.

"Liquid luck." Snape said, gazing at me thoughtfully. "That's the one you want to work on?"

"Well. . . I think so. I keep being drawn back to it when I try to continue down the list so maybe there's a reason I should learn that one." I said, handing the parchment back to him.

He simply nodded, which was his usual reaction to most of what I said. He got up and headed off into his office, most likely to get ingredients or the instructions on how to boil the potion. I found myself daydreaming like I usually did. I was probably the most peculiar person ever. Wanting to learn, taking extra lessons without needing them, and also I had a crush on a teacher probably twenty years older than me.

I tried to work out the math in my head. Thirty when I was twelve so yeah about twenty years. Something like that. I didn't like thinking about the years though. I tried to make it seem like we were only a couple years apart. Didn't matter though- he certainly didn't like me back. Not romantically anyways.

He came out with the instructions. "These are the ingredients for the Felix Felicis." He said, pointing the top left hand corner. Ashwinder egg, Squill Bulb, Murtlap tentacle, Tincture of Thyme, Occamy eggshell, Powdered common rue. All of the ingredients were hard to come by except maybe the thyme, rue, and murtlap tentacle.

"You have to let it stew for six months before consumption." Snape said, continuing. "There's a long list of do's and don'ts as there usually are with potions."

I read the list. Shouldn't be taken in large quantities or every day. Highly toxic. Shouldn't be used in gaming events, etc.

"It's easy to get wrong. . ." I murmured. "The ingredients are expensive. . . Why the heck did I pick this?"

Snape pursed his lips, a sign he was trying not to smile- at least when it came to me. "You tell me."

I sighed and muttered, "Touché."

And so the lesson started.

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𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 couple of weeks, I wrote to dad twice and Trang three times. I didn't write about anything exciting with dad. Just asked if he'd found a job yet and reminded him about the gold in my vault which he was extremely annoyed about. He told me he had found something to do but I wasn't sure if he really had or if he was saying that to get me off his back. Trang and I just wrote about normal things and I filled her in about the Triwizard Tournament.

Uncle Moody was very demanding with his course-work though of course that was up to my standards. All the teachers, as a matter of fact, were giving out large amounts of homework. Animate to inanimate transformations in Transfiguration, weekly essays on goblin rebellions for History of Magic, researching antidotes in Potions, three extra books to read for summoning charms, coming down on alternate weekends to work with the blast-ended skrewts that Hagrid had gotten from somewhere, and researching how to throw off the Imperius curse for Moody.

Of course, Uncle Moody also told our class that he would be using the imperius curse on us and we had to throw if off. While many of the students dropped their mouths- whether in shock or horror, I don't know- no one complained and we all lined up. I was somewhere in the middle of the line.

Hannah sang in a way that I'd never heard her sing before. Like opera and I knew for a fact she couldn't have done that without the curse- she was tone-deaf. Ernie did handstand pushups, which I also knew he couldn't have done. Susan was supposed to be doing gymnastics, but she fought it a little bit and I thought she was going to break her neck. Moody was pleased with this- she'd come close to throwing it off. Susan seemed pleased as well.

"My Auntie will be happy when I tell her." She whispered to me as she passed by, beaming.

When it got to my turn, Moody turned the wand on me. It was a wonderful feeling, the curse. It was a floating sensation and I found that I had zero worries in my head. I felt relaxed too- a danger, I knew, in the magical world.

Do a backflip. . . do a backflip. . . Moody's voice said in my mind. A backflip? I was going to break my neck if I did that. Yet my knees were bent.

Stop! my brain screamed at me and I paused, trying my best to ignore Uncle Moody's words in my brain. You can't do a backflip! You don't know how to! My knees were still bent. I fixed my eyes on the desk in front of me. What if there's a desk behind you? Of course not, Uncle Moody do a backflip moved all the desks out of the way.

BACKFLIP NOW!

But I didn't do it, I couldn't. I straightened my legs out and I took a step forward. As long as you don't do the backflip, do something else. Do anything else, my brain said. I took another step, fighting hard not to bend my legs and flip. And the curse was gone.

"Look at that, you lot. . . Kane fought! She fought it and she beat it! Did you all see that! On her first try too!" Uncle Moody's eye was burning bright with pride and something else I didn't recognize. I didn't like the second emotion very much, even though I wasn't entirely sure what it was. "Very good Kane, very good! They'll have trouble controlling you! Now everyone watch again, watch the eyes, that's where you see it."

I did it once more, everyone staring at me. It was harder the second time, and I very nearly did the backflip. It took me longer to walk out of it but I managed to do it and by the time I was done, I was exhausted and glad Uncle Moody didn't have me do it a third time.

According to Susan, it took me one minute the first time and two minutes the second time. It wasn't exactly good, especially if I was in a fight. I wondered if maybe I could have Uncle Moody help me throw it off faster when we started private lessons.

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𝕾𝖊𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 went and we entered October. I'd started private lessons with Moody. We alternated between throwing off the imperius curse and Occlumency. Dad and I had worked on Occlumency last year and I had gotten pretty okay with it. I was doing okay under Uncle Moody too but his will to get into my mind seemed to be stronger than dad's and so I had to concentrate harder under Uncle Moody and sometimes I didn't do so well.

I found it was harder to throw off the imperius curse when I was tired so Moody had started holding sessions when I was tired, hoping this would help build up resistance and practice but I still ended up doing a backflip anyways.

Cedric had started my Seeker lessons too. From what he could tell, I was a natural apparently. We usually did this on Saturday afternoons. The Quidditch pitch was never being used since there was no Quidditch cup.

When I left Charms on October 23, I made my way down to the Great Hall and saw that there was a large sign in the entrance hall. Many people were standing around it and I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the castle. They'd been out with Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures.

I went over to them.

"What's going on Elizabeth?" Harry asked.

"It's about the Triwizard T-t-t-ournament." I said with a yawn. "Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be here on October 30th at 6 o'clock. Lessons will end half an hour early and students should return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle before the welcoming feast to greet the guests."

"Brilliant." Harry said. "Potions is the class that will be cut. Snape won't be able to poison us."

"Only a week away!" Ernie said who was standing next to me. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him. . ."

"Go on ahead," I said. "but I think he already knows."

Ernie walked off and Ron said blankly, "Cedric?"

I rolled my eyes. "Really?"

"Diggory." Harry said with a smile. "He must be entering the tournament."

"That idiot, Hogwarts Champion?" Ron scoffed as he pushed his way through the crowd.

"He's not an idiot!" I said angrily, blood boiling. "You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at the game last year. He's really smart and a good student."

"And he's a prefect." Hermione said with a tone of finality.

"You only like him because he's handsome!" Ron said scathingly.

I bristled and Hermione said, "Excuse me, I don't like people just because they're handsome!"

Ron coughed "Lockhart."

I said even angrier, "Cedric's my friend! And you're just going to have to keep your nasty opinions to yourself!" And I stalked off, leaving them standing there, and headed to the library without eating to start researching antidotes.

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𝕴 𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖚𝖙 to the forest later that day. It was cold, as it was nearly winter time, and I wore a thick cloak and gloves.

I saw Firenze immediately upon entering the forest and greeted him cordially. "Hello Firenze, did you have a nice summer?"

"Indeed." Firenze said, "And I suppose you did as well?"

"Yes. I went to the Quidditch cup. Ireland won. I suppose you've heard about the Tournament?"

Firenze nodded. "Part of the forest has been cleared to house some of the creatures that will be used in the tournament."

"Like the dragons?" I asked curiously. Surely they weren't here yet.

"Not yet, though I'm sure soon." Firenze admitted.

"Charlie's going to bring them." I said, smiling. "Charlie Weasley that is. I don't think you know him though."

"The name sounds familiar." Firenze said slowly.

"Hagrid probably talked about him." I admitted as Firenze and I started to walk. "Does Bane like me yet?"

Firenze chuckled. "Not anymore than he has in the past, though he hasn't started any recent arguments."

I sighed. "Well that's something. But I will leave if I become a problem though I wouldn't want to of course. I love the forest."

Firenze's sapphire colored eyes twinkled and he threw his long blond hair back. Trang had showed me pictures of American surfers. Blond hair, blue eyes, tan skin. So basically, Firenze was a horse surfer man. "The forest is not ours to keep or give."

"Tell that to Bane." I muttered, though not loud enough for him to hear, though I suspect he did hear anyways because his lips twitched.

As the moon and stars came out, Firenze led me to a clearing and showed me the different planets. We'd been doing this for three years so I was starting to get good at it. "Is Venus brighter tonight than it usually is, or is that just my eyes?" I asked, looking up at the bright planet.

"Perhaps a bit brighter, but not much." Firenze said, also looking up. "I suppose it simply means there's going to be a lot of love this year."

I thought about that. Maybe dad would meet a woman this year. I certainly hoped so. I'd like a mum. But for unselfish reasons, I believed dad needed someone to love that wasn't his daughter. He was still a virgin after all. But such are the curses of being a werewolf.

I wondered if maybe I'd admit to Snape. . . absolutely not. Jumping jacks Elizabeth, how could you even possibly consider that?

I asked, "Do you have someone you love, Firenze?"

Firenze did not answer for a long time and then he said, "Centaurs are different. Mating is. . . rough sometimes. We're a dying breed Elizabeth Kane. The forest is not always safe for the females and foals."

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Once again, it was a while before he spoke. Venus seemed to shine brighter as he said, "You are a joy in my life Elizabeth Kane. Never be sorry for perusing knowledge." Another pause and then, "Yes, I loved someone once. Perhaps I still love them, I don't know yet."

I didn't say anything. The cold was starting to get to me and he knew it. He smiled down at me. "Go on back to the castle Elizabeth. I'll see you another time."

"Bye Firenze." I said glumly, wishing that I hadn't brought the question up, and headed back out of the forest and then up to the castle. I'd missed curfew and hurried to the common room before I met a teacher or prefect.

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𝕺𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 before Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived, I sat down at the breakfast table next to Harry, avoiding Ron.

"Sirius letter comes today, that's the only reason I'm sitting here." I said coldly, barely aware of Fred and George nearby.

"Oh Elizabeth, just ignore Ron." Hermione said scathingly. "He doesn't think before he speaks."

"Clearly." I said bitterly.

Hedwig flew down on Harry's shoulder, folded her wings and held out her leg wearily. Harry offered Hedwig his bacon rinds and she took them. Harry glanced down at Fred and George and read out the reply.

Nice try, Harry. I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself. Don't forget what I said about your scar. Sirius.

"Why d'you have to keep changing owls?" Ron asked stupidly.

"Hedwig'll attract too much attention. She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever he's hiding. . . I mean, they're not native birds, are they?"

"Thanks, Hedwig." Harry said, stroking her. She hooted sleepily and drank some of his orange juice and then flew back to the Owlery.

"I'll see you guys later at the welcoming." I muttered, getting up from the table now that the excitement was over. At that moment, Sadie flew down with a letter from dad. "Thanks Sadie." I said, petting the top of her head. "Help yourself to whatever you want."

Sadie hooted and I headed off down the corridor and sat down outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom since that was my first class today and opened the letter.

Dear Elizabeth, Stop worrying, I'm fine. Also, I don't think you should be worrying about your visions either. There could be a thousand reasons that there have been tweaks to your memories. I don't know any, but I'm sure if we knew how the visions worked, we could figure it out. Are you going to be coming home for Christmas? I know it's early considering it's only October but I thought about making plans. Of course, considering the tournament is happening, you'll probably want to stay and I wouldn't blame you. I would stay if I were you. I'm glad Uncle Moody is working on the imperius curse with you. Just don't get hurt. Brushing up on Occlumency probably doesn't hurt either. I love you. . . a lot Dad

I re-read the letter twice. I sighed and folded it up. I'd write a letter to him at lunch.

I stood up as Uncle Moody opened the door and shoved the letter into my bag.

People weren't being very attentive in my classes and I tried hard to focus on what my teachers were teaching despite the people chattering softly around me.

At lunch, I wrote a letter back to dad saying:

Dad, I can't stop worrying when I don't know if you're okay or not. And I can't stop worrying about my visions, what if someone's life were to depend on it? I wish I knew someone who could help me with them. I don't know about Christmas yet. I've heard rumours that there might be a dance on Christmas Eve and I think I want to attend that if I get invited. Of course, with my luck, if I stay at Hogwarts I won't be invited and if I leave, I'll get seventy invites. I'll let you know as Christmas gets closer. Uncle Moody's great. I don't know if he has the popularity that you did. He's not as well liked at any rate, but people respect him and think his classes themselves are cool. But you were more liked as a character. And your classes were more enjoyable. And you were more handsome of course. I love you a lot too. XOXO Elizabeth

Then, I scarfed down some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches- a first considering I hated bread. I just tore the crust off and ate the soft parts and it was alright but not my favorite. Then before I headed off to Charms, I wrote another letter.

Sirius, Glad you're back in town. I think I know where you're hiding so maybe I'll run up and give you food. Depends on if Harry let's me have his cloak or not. But maybe I can make it out of Hogwarts without it. I wouldn't go to your hiding spot anyways. I'd hide it nearby, maybe by the Shrieking Shack. Not sure yet and I'll let you know before I do it so you won't have to check every day. By tomorrow we'll know who the tournament champions are. I haven't foreseen them yet- don't know why. Hope Buckbeak and you are alright. XOXO Elizabeth

Then I folded both of them up and put them in my bag. I'd send them off eventually. Probably tomorrow or later today.

Charms ended a half hour early and I hurried to the Hufflepuff common room to put my things away. In my bag, I put my journal, art pad, a couple of quills, one bottle of ink, and an old fashioned charcoal pencil.

I hurried back down the stairs, excited. I knew Viktor Krum was going to be part of the Durmstrang group. Though he would be sitting with the Slytherins, much to my disappointment. But it would be cool to see him in such a different atmosphere.

I had to stand with the Hufflepuffs as we had to stand by house and then grade level. I was standing in the fourth row and I was glad I was much taller this year. If I hadn't grown, I would never have been able to see over the third-years head that I was standing behind.

The cold seemed to be getting to a couple of the other students. I didn't mind. I had my cloak wrapped about my shoulders.

After some time, Dumbledore called from the back where he was standing with the teachers, "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

I looked up in the sky over the Forbidden Forest as other students cried, "Where!" I felt students moving behind me and then Cedric was standing next to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, pursing my lips, looking up at him.

He grinned. "Getting a closer look."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not that hard to miss."

Cedric smiled a secret grin but didn't say anything.

One of the fifth-year girls tutted behind me and I heard her whisper to her friend, "What's he doing with her?"

"Maybe their dating!" Her friend whispered back jealously.

"Oooh I would hope Cedric had better taste than that." The first whispered. "Her hair is so messy."

I nearly reached up to touch my hair and see how it was when Cedric bent down and whispered in my ear, "Your hair is fine."

I glared at him. "You could just be saying that."

"But I'm not." He said and shrugged. "And I personally think my taste is good, what do you think?"

I blushed.

Then the carriage, that had been traveling in the sky, landed in front of us with a large crash. A shockwave went through the ground and a couple people jumped or knocked into each other. Cedric and I bumped into each other and he caught my arm and steadied me. Both girls hissed behind me.

"Are you trying to get me killed by your fanclub?" I asked lightly through my teeth so that they didn't hear me.

Cedric rolled his eyes. "It was a simple helping hand, it's not like I kissed you or anything."

I turned beet red, whipping my face away from his so he didn't see how red my face was. The words 'just friends' kept racing through my mind.

The carriage was the size of a large house, probably a bit bigger than Trang's house. It was powder-blue and it was pulled by 12 palomino horses the size of elephants. The horses had fiery red eyes.

"Wow," I exclaimed, standing on my tip toes to get a better look, wishing I could get closer to them, "Palomino Abraxan horses!"

Cedric looked down at me in surprise and said, "You know how lovely that is that you know what those are?"

I shrugged, not understanding the meaning behind his words. "I just pay attention in Care of Magical Creatures."

The door to the house carriage was opened by a boy in pale blue robes. He was obviously seventeen and had white hair. He unfolded a set of golden steps down from the house and then sprang back in respect.

A large woman emerged, the same size as Hagrid. Her shoes were size children sleds and her dress was of black velvet. She was a handsome woman, despite the large size. She was olive-skinned and had large black eyes like Hagrid's. She had a bit of a beaky nose and her long black hair was pulled back into a low bun that hung at the base of her neck. She had magnificent opals gleaming at her throat as a necklace and had many rings upon her fingers that were laden with opals as well.

One of the teachers, most likely Dumbledore, started to clap and we quickly followed his lead. The woman seemed to relax more and smiled. She had pearly white teeth and she obviously cared about hygiene. I decided that I liked her. She seemed friendly enough. She had good style too.

She walked over to where Dumbledore now stood, having separated from the rest of the teachers. She extended a glittering hand and while Dumbledore was tall himself, he did not have to bend to kiss her hand. "My dear Madam Maxime, Welcome to Hogwarts." He said.

"Dumbly-dorr, I 'ope I find you well?" She asked in a thick accent. I bit my tongue so I didn't laugh. I was probably going to think of Dumbledore as Dumbly-dorr for a long time.

"In excellent form, I thank you." Dumbly-dorr said. I bit my tongue again.

"My pupils." She said and I looked back at the carriage. There were about a dozen boys and girls- more girls than boys- all standing behind Madam Maxime. They all wore one of three outfits. Beauxbatons had three houses: Bellefeuille, Papillonlisee, and Ombrelune.

The students of Bellefeuille were lovers of nature and also had great bravery and loyalty. It was a house as such if Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were combined. They wore outfits made of silk (all Beauxbatons wore outfits made of silk) in the colors of soft green and white. They house symbol was a leaf to represent their love for nature.

Papillonlisee were gifted in arts of visual and musical. Whether performing arts like dance or musical talents like singing or instrumental. They also prided themselves on beauty of mind and beauty of appearance. Their colors were purple and blue and their symbol was a butterfly to represent creativity and beauty.

Ombrelune were the cunning and manipulative group. Basically Slytherin in another school. They were usually best at intricate subjects like Potions and literature. They also rarely displayed emotion unless there was a gain in doing so. Their colors were grey and navy and their symbol was a moon to represent their coldness (I think). I could've made up the meaning in my dislike for them.

There seemed to be mostly Papillonlisee students above the other houses. Two of the four boys were Ombrelune, one Papillonlisee, and one Bellefeuille. About three of the girls were Bellefeuille and the rest were Papillonlisee.

They stared up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madam Maxime was asking now.

"He should be here any moment. Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?" Dumbledore asked cordially.

"Warm up, I think. But ze 'orses-"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures will be delighted to take care of them the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other- er- charges." Dumbledore finished.

I giggled and said, "The Skrewts." Cedric grinned.

"My steeds require-er- foreful 'andling. Zey are very strong..." Madam Maxime said in a doubtful voice.

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job." Dumbledore assured her.

"Very well. Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt Whiskey?" Madam Maxime asked, bowing slightly.

"It will be attended to." Dumbledore said, also bowing, though his was a bit deeper than hers. Perhaps her frame simply didn't allow it.

"Come." Madam Maxime said and her students followed her up into the castle.

"How are the Durmstrang getting here?" Cedric murmured in my ear.

"Pirate Ship." I muttered.

Cedric and I watched the lake though others were watching the sky. Ten minutes later, there was a weird gurgling sound and Lee Jordan shouted, "The lake! Look at the lake!"

As predicted, a ship rose up from the black lake. I wondered briefly where it had come from as the lake did not connect with any other body of water. Though the ship did look as though it was a ghost ship from a Scooby-doo episode- just not glowing.

A tall thin man built along the lines of Dumbledore was leading the students off the plank. They wore heavy fur coats and cloaks along with fur hats. I knew underneath that their uniforms would be blood red. They did not have houses. They also were more selective and would not accept Muggle-born students. This prejudice was not shared with every student, I knew. However, to make up for student shortage, Durmstrang let students come from Bulgaria and other surrounding countries, not just the country it was located in.

Durmstrang was, of course, notorious for its Dark Arts program and I worried for a little bit about the Beauxbaton and Hogwarts champion. I hoped that the Durmstrangs would play fair.

Igor Karkaroff was the one leading in front and his robes were the color of silver unlike his students, which were brown. He had short gray hair and a small black goatee that curled at the end of his chin. He had rather yellow teeth and cold eyes.

"Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?" he called as he led his students up the walk.

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff." Dumbledore replied, smiling.

They shook hands as Karkaroff then said, "Dear Old Hogwarts. How good it is to be here, how good. . . Viktor, come along, into the warmth. . . you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold. . ." Karkaroff beckoned Viktor towards him and the boy passed. I heard multiple people break out into whispers of excitement.

"Well." I said as the Durmstrang students passed. "This ought to be an interesting year."

We dispersed back to the Great Hall. I sat down at the Hufflepuff table as I was sure I had to and pulled out my art book. I was working on designs at the moment- new Quidditch robes for a new team. The Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students came to sit down. I knew, from my vision that Beauxbatons were to sit at Ravenclaw- Durmstrang to Slytherin.

However, while the Beauxbatons sat down at the Ravenclaw table, Durmstrang came and sat with us. And more to my surprise (as I had foreseen Krum sitting down next to Draco) Krum sat down next to me.

I looked over in surprise.

"Hello." He said in a quiet voice.

"Hi." I said, a bit in surprise.

He pointed to my sketchpad, "You like Quidditch?"

I looked back down at the robes I was working on and blushed. "Oh, yes. I came to the World Cup. You flew wonderfully- but I'm sure you get compliments all the time."

"You ver in the top box, no?"

I nodded, surprised that he remembered. There were curious glances from all around the school- and hostile glares from girls. Great I'd gone from Cedric to Krum.

"You 'ave a very impressive school." He said, looking around. "Durmstrang is not as nice as this."

"Oh." I said in surprise. I noticed the other Durmstrang were picking up the golden plates and goblets and observing them in awe and with impressed faces. They were smiling and removing their cloaks. "Thank you." I added.

I looked up to see Ron goggling at me and Hermione rolling her eyes.

"May I look?" Viktor asked, pointing to the art book. I slid it over. This artbook was completely Quidditch so there wasn't a single embarrassing drawing in there.

I had however, done profiles of both Lynch and Krum and Viktor stopped on his own. "This is very good." He said, sounding impressed.

"Thank you." I said again. "Er- do you think you could sign it please?" I asked, blushing. "I know you probably get requests all the time."

"Sure." He said, sounding pleased. He produced a quill from his bag and signed the page. It was neat and small, quite unlike Lockhart's huge scrawling signature.

"Thanks." I said for a third time.

Professor Dumbledore, Madam Maxime, and Professor Karkaroff quickly came in. The Beauxbaton students leapt to their feet and remained standing- despite the laughter- until their headmistress had sat down again. Dumbledore however, remained standing and our chatter quickly died down.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and- most particularly-guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

A Beauxbaton girl laughed a shrill laugh. I pursed my lips and tried not to glare at her. I got defensive about my school- I'm sure everyone did. It was a bit of an insult that she thought she wouldn't enjoy her stay here.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home." Dumbledore said and sat down. Karkaroff immediately leaned forward to talk to him.

Krum and I talked throughout the meal. He was a very interesting character, very different from who I thought he might be like. I didn't reveal a lot about myself. I'm sure rumours would be flying soon and I wanted to give him an honest view about myself without seeming too open.

Halfway through the feast, I noticed that Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch had showed up, taking seats on either side of the two new school heads.

When dessert came, I noticed that there were many different desserts that had never been there before. I supposed they were foreign. Krum pointed to a dish and said, "That is called Kurabiiki. Cookie, I suppose."

I decided I'd try one, per his recommendation. It was really good too. They were sweet, with powdered sugar across the tops of them.

"They're really good." I said, smiling at him after I had finished trying it.

He pointed out some other Bulgarian desserts like Banista, Kazanlak Donuts, Maslenki cookies, Bulgarian Honey cookies, and Tikvenik. He also pointed out desserts like Smelor buns and Kladdkaka which were native to Sweden and Cozonac, Romanian Chocolate cake, and Romanian Sweet Cheese pies which were native to Romania. (duh).

Dumbledore stood up once the dessert plates were clear and there was silence. Many of the students leaned forward to hear better. "The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket, just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was polite applause for Mr. Crouch and huge burst of applause for Bagman, even from the foreign schools.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch," Dumbledore continued, "have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts. The casket then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Mr. Filch was wearing his horribly moldy tailor coat for the special occasion. I kept looking at Mr. Crouch. He looked horribly sick. I wondered what was wrong with him. He looked weird in wizard robes after seeing him in a suit at the Cup. His mustache and parting looked peculiar next to Dumbledore's long beard. Had Voldemort gotten to him already?

Mr. Filch carried forward a large wooden chest that was encrusted with jewels. I wondered briefly how much the jewels were worth. Probably millions in Muggle money. The wooden chest looked extremely old and probably very valuable by itself, despite the jewels.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways. . . their magical prowess- their daring- their powers of deduction-and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At the word danger, the whole Great hall seemed to be holding its breath. "As you know, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by the impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

"Oh." I gasped slightly, swinging my legs around so I could sit on my knees and see better. The Goblet of Fire was a wonderful artifact that had to be charged once a year and such. Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped three times upon the jewel encrusted crate. The lid creaked open slowly and Dumbledore pulled out a large, wooden cup, perhaps about the size of the Quidditch House Cup trophy that Gryffindor had won last year. The wooden cup itself was unremarkable but there were blue-white flames that were dancing inside of it, filling the entire cup with its flames.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name 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 night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student 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 the line."

Dumbledore paused, looking around seriously at the students and then said, "Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

The students all hopped up and dispersed. I said good night to Viktor Krum, and made my way with the other Hufflepuffs back to our common room. I stayed up, pulling out a fresh sketchbook that I was going to use to draw scenes from the Tournament. My first drawing was a very detailed sketch of the Goblet of Fire.

💙💙💙💙

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 I woke up early. I grabbed my Nimbus because today Cedric and I were going down to the pitch to practice. I wondered briefly if Krum would see and then scolded myself. I had enough crushes to last me a lifetime.

I made my way down to the Great Hall and grabbed some toast and made my way to the entrance hall. I wasn't the only early riser. Cedric was already waiting there with his own broom.

"Ready to go?" He asked as I chomped down on my jam and toast.

"Not yet." I said, taking another bite of toast and then swallowing. "I want to watch Fred and George."

"They can't enter, can they?" Cedric asked, frowning.

"No." I said, grinning. "But they're going to grow wonderful beards."

We settled down. Harry, Hermione, and Ron came and sat down. Harry sat next to me and Ron sat farthest away.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-year in front of him.

"All the Durmstrang lot, but I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet." She replied, not turning around to see who she was talking to.

"You put your name in, didn't you?" I asked Cedric, frowning.

"Last night." He replied.

There was laughter behind us and I grinned, turning to see Fred, George, and Lee coming down the staircase, looking excited.

"Done it." Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I, trying to keep Cedric out of the conversation. "Just taken it."

"What?" Ron asked stupidly.

"The Aging Potions, dung brains." Fred said.

"One drop each." George said, rubbing his hands together. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins." Lee said with a wide grin.

"I'm not sure-" Hermione started in a warning voice and I quickly shushed her.

"Ready?" Fred asked, winking at me. I rolled my eyes. "C'mon then- I'll go first." I watched him take his parchment slip out of his pocket and walked over to where the line was drawn and stood there, rocking on his toes with anticipation. Every eye was on him, knowing that he wasn't of age and seeing if it was going to work.

He stepped over the line and nothing happened. George let out a yell of triumph, jumping in after Fred. There was a sizzling sound and they were thrown out of the circle, landing ten feet away and beards popped onto both of their faces.

I burst out laughing. The beards weren't long and white, the way I'd seen. But they were nice, bushy, and red like their hair. I wasn't sure why the beards had changed but it was great. I think I preferred the red ones better.

"I did warn you." an amused voice said. Professor Dumbledore was coming out of the Great Hall. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

This brought another round of laughter and Fred and George headed up to the Hospital wing. Lee followed them, laughing as well. I wondered how many people Madam Pomfrey would have in the hospital wing by the end of the day.

"Alright, shows over." I said to Cedric, "Ready to go?"

Cedric and I said bye to Harry and Hermione, ignoring Ron, and headed outside to play Quidditch. Cedric had borrowed the snitch from Madam Hooch.

We passed the ship where many of the Durmstrang were lounging around. I saw Krum and quickly looked away, trying not to draw attention to us. I was also trying not to stare.

"Did you support Ireland or Bulgaria?" I asked suddenly. "At the match?"

"Ireland of course, you?"

"Ireland." I said. "But I like all Quidditch teams so I liked the outcome."

"You like Krum?"

"Sure, he seems like a nice person. He was really friendly last night too." I said reluctantly.

"Yes, very friendly." Cedric said curtly.

"What?" I asked, frowning. "Don't tell me your jealous or something."

Cedric kept his mouth closed and I rolled my eyes, "Oh c'mon Ced, we're friends, you and I. I can be friends with whoever I want."

Cedric sighed, running a hand through his hair, blowing air out through is mouth. "Right, yeah, I know that."

"C'mon love boy." I said, hooking my elbow with his and dragged him into the Quidditch pitch.

Cedric let the snitch go and we both mounted our brooms and flew to opposite posts. I had a faster broom but Cedric had more practice so we were evenly matched. The objective was to find the snitch without stopping on the broom once.

I flew in circles around the stadium, looking for a glint of gold. I saw it, near Cedric's foot and I decided to try out the Wonski-Feint. I dived down and to my amazing luck, Cedric dove as well, leaving the Snitch behind him. Then, I curved upwards, shooting past him and held my hand out for the snitch. I caught it as Cedric came up to my side.

"Brilliant move Liz." He said, smiling. "Let's go again."

I let the snitch go and it zoomed away. We circled back to where we started out and tried again.

It started to sprinkle sometime in the afternoon and we both flew down. I had the snitch in my hand again and I gave it back to Cedric. I was exhausted and my butt hurt from sitting on the broom for a couple of hours.

"My butts sore." I muttered. "I'm not going to be able to sit down for a while."

Cedric laughed, "Get used to it."

I noticed that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were at Hagrid's and I said good-bye to Cedric and headed over there, running to get away from the rain.

I opened the door to find that Hermione and Hagrid were having an argument about elf rights. "It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione. It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insultin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em." Hagrid said, putting a large bone needle through some yellow yarn.

"Amen." I said.

"Hello Elizabeth." Hagrid greeted me.

"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it! And we heard he's asking for wages now!" Hermione said as though this applied to every elf.

"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it- no, nothin' doin', Hermione." Hagrid said, shaking his head.

"Besides." I said, sitting down in a chair, laying my broom across my legs. "Dobby was in a horrible household. I bet if he'd been under the Weasleys care or Dad's or Harry's, he wouldn't have wanted to be set free because he'd have been in a loving home, not a cruel one."

Hermione was glowering with anger as she put the box of badges back into her coat pocket. I didn't stay for long and I went back up to the castle before the others. As I crossed the threshold, I saw Uncle Moody, observing. I waved, but didn't talk to him as I made my way to the Hufflepuff common room.

A vision crossed my head and I froze in my tracks. But that couldn't be possible. . . could it? I debated about what to do and I quickly hurried into the dungeons before I really made up my mind. I flew through the door, panting, trembling. Snape looked up from behind his desk, annoyed, and then his face turned to understanding and slightly concerned.

"What did you see?" He asked as I approached his desk. I sat down in a chair, trembling. "Is it bad?"

I nodded my head, trying to find the words to speak and then I said, "A fourth name is going to come out of the Goblet of Fire!"

"Whos?" He asked sharply. "How?"

I shook my head. "I don't know who put the name in or how it was done. But considering it had to be hoodwinked, either a dark wizard or a powerful one."

"Who's name?" He asked again.

I licked my lips, trying to get the word out. I rubbed my eyes, caught my breath and then, looking up at him, finally managed to say, "Mine."

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