𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗻, cedric diggory

˗ˋ 08

CHAPTER EIGHT 
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH THE ARRIVAL IS UPON THEM

. . .

Nobody had seen Rosie all morning, not until just a few minutes before the bell that signalled the start of morning lessons. Although, on that day specifically, it seemed that most people would arrive late to lessons, on the accounts of the people that would be arriving later that day. 

"Looking a little rough there, Rosie." Fred commented, as the girl sat down next to Angelina, grabbing a few slices of toast and spreading butter on them.

He wasn't wrong. Rosie's hair was damp and curly, her uniform was ruffled and wasn't even buttoned up properly ( Angelina quickly sorted it out for her ), they were sure that Rosie had a hole in her tights, just by her knee, and the makeup she was wearing was from the night before, having only wiped off slightly in the water. 

The Hall was noticeably more decorated than before. Gigantic silk banners hung from the walls, representing each house. And the largest hung behind the teacher's table, with the Hogwart's crest and a large H in the centre.

"Tell that to my family." Rosie mumbled, her mouth full of toast. "Of course, they kept me until just half an hour ago - well, I was planning on coming back about dawn, but I fell asleep on the rocks."

"On a rock?" Angelina looked concerned, but Rosie shrugged, trying to eat as quickly as possible. 

"They live underwater, they don't have beds." George replied for Rosie, who nodded in agreement. 

"They gave me a load of presents, somebody come with me at lunch to drag them back up here?" Rosie asked, swallowing her toast, before looking at the time. "I'll see you in potions, I'm just going to go to the bathroom and attempt to look more presentable."

The girl dashed off, and Angelina winced when se saw a strip of green - pondweed of some form - attached to one of the curls. She reminded herself to point it out to Rosie later, if she didn't manage to spot it herself. 

Rosie would manage to get it out, but only when Professor Sprout, pointed it out during their Herbology class. "Be more careful as you go past the plants next time, dear." The professor told her, and Rosie promised to, smiling. 

But just like most students, Rosie barely focused on her work that day, and spent majority of her time in lessons talking to her peers about the students arriving later that day. 

And as she walked through the castle, as they all made their way to where they were to wait, the girl noticed just how clean it was becoming. Suits of armour polished to perfection, the frames of the paintings all gleaming. Even the walls and floors seemed to have been scrubbed. 

Meaning students weren't the only ones preparing for the arrival. Fred, George, Rosie and Lee arrived deposited their bags and books and walked down to the Entrance Hall. 

"Miss Kersey, where are your robes?" McGonagall asked, organising the Gryffindors into lines. Rosie held up the grey mass of fabric, frowning. "Well put it on then. Mr Weasley." She continued. "Yes, you Fred. Collar out please." She said, and Fred nodded, slipping into line.

"Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front... no pushing..." They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. 

It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Rosie, on the end of the row, ended up standing next to the Hufflepuffs, and of course, Cedric popped up in no time. 

"Excited, Kersey?" He asked, and Rosie looked up at him, before glancing out to where they were facing. "Still thinking of entering?"

"Of course. And yes I am." She informed him. "How they're getting here, I don't know. Any ideas." 

"Some spectacular entrance, I'm guessing." Cedric continued. "Something to draw us to them, announce their presence."

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers - "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" 

Cedric and Rosie glanced at each other once more, before squinting in the same direction, Rosie leaning a little over to Cedric, to try and see past the head of the particularily tall fifth year in front of her. 

"You're going to fall over." Cedric informed her, as her head bumped slightly against his chest, and his arms shot out to her side. Silently, he pulled her in front of him, so she could get a better look. 

"Is that a carriage?" Rosie asked, not trusting herself to look back up at Cedric, her cheeks burning and the warmth of his hands still very much on her upper-arm. 

Rosie was right, and the Beauxbatons students were arriving in a gigantic, powder blue carriage. It was drawn by elephant-sized flying horses, and as it came to land, several rows of students stepped back. 

"Holy cow." Rosie exclaimed before she could stop herself, and clapped a hand over her mouth as she saw the piercing stare of McGonagall. Her reaction was to the woman who had stepped out of the carriage - who was obviously part giant and even taller than Hagrid. 

From behind her, a dozen or so boys and girls dressed in the same coloured uniform of their carriage stepped out, shivering in the Scottish weather. 

The giant woman was announced to be Madame Maxime, and her and Dumbledore exchanged a few words as the rest of them waited for Durmstrang to arrive. 

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at th elake!" Everyone did so, Rosie rising up on her tiptoes, the girl way too short for this. Cedric kept his hands on her, trying not to let her fall, as they watched. 

Slowly, a ship seemed to rise from the murky depths of the lake, It had an oldly skeletal feel to it, as it gleamed magnificently in the moonlight. The group of students watched as the ship stopped by the shore - the very one that Rosie had been on the night before - and as the group of students disembarked. 

"Holy cow." Rosie exclaimed for the second time, and many students seemed to have the same reaction as they saw who was stood there. "That's not - no." 

"Viktor Krum." Cedric said from beside her, and Rosie looked up at him. "That's Viktor Krum." He repeated. "I didn't know he attended Durmstrang."

"Fancy being up against him?" Fred chimed in, the twins appearing next the two. Rosie gave him a look, and he only shrugged. "You only like him because he's handsome." Fred continued, and Rosie said a few choice words back to him.

"Wouldn't mind it." Cedric shrugged, a slight sense of another emotion in there. Rosie couldn't recognise it, but it seemed the twins did, and they shared a look as they began to follow students back into the school. 

Walking to  the Great Hall, where the Triwizard Tournament would officially begin.

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