The Red Rose That Has Green Thorns

I woke up with the vague thought that I had something really important to do today. I glanced up at a clock, and it hit me. In forty-five minutes Scorpius and I were entering the Triwizard Tournament. When I noticed this, I also noticed that Scorpius was sprawled out across his chair with Eldest resting open on his chest. I watched him for a minute before coming to my senses and hopping up.

“Hey,” I shook his shoulder, not too roughly. “Wake up. We’ve only got forty minutes to get ready!”

He sat up straight, the book thumping to the floor, and rubbed his eyes. He glanced at the clock and looked at it in shock, then realized the day. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’.” I said sarcastically. “I’m going to bathe first, then. Have fun reading or whatever you’re going to do before then.”

Upon reaching my room to get clothes, I discovered my costume laying on my bed, and I brushed my hand across it with a grin. The note attached announced, “Your costume from last night has been freshly laundered and returned to you, Miss Weasley.”

“No, really?” I asked myself sarcastically.

I was still really happy that I got to keep the dress…that I was still wearing and had been slightly wrinkled from being slept in…oops.

I shook myself, grabbed a pair of frayed, faded, holey jeans and a My Chemical Romance shirt that my mother had owned when she’d been about my age, then I grabbed everything else I’d need and went back downstairs and into the bathroom after spotting Scorpius once more engulfed in Eldest.

“Done,” I announced ten minutes later, walking out while simultaneously charm-drying my hair.

“We’ve got twenty-five minutes,” Scorpius said as he walked into the bathroom, clothes already in hand. I nodded as I started to brush my hair, and hoped that he’d wear those clothes again sometime because he looked rather dashing in them. I sighed, and I’d just thrown my hair into a curly ponytail five minutes later when Scorpius walked out.

“Okay,” I spared a glance at him as I fidgeted with my shirt hem nervously, “shall we go, then?”

He nodded, and we exited the common room together.

~~~

Five minutes until seven, and students were roving around the Entrance Hall like ants at the mouth of their anthill. They were staring in awe at the famous Goblet of Fire, which was not yet aflame.

“Who d’you suppose they’ve convinced to enter first?” Al asked curiously, making his way to us.

“I don’t suppose,” I replied. “I’m not curious in the least.”

Al couldn’t see the tell-tale scrap of parchment clutched in Scorpius’ hand.

“In three minutes,” Professor Collins’ voice rang, “the first entrants from Hogwarts will step over Professor Krum’s age line and drop a parchment with both of their names and ‘Hogwarts’ written on it into the Goblet.”

“Who are they?!” Someone cried before Professor Collins could continue.

“You’ll see,” he said in reply, then forged on, “The male entrant is to grasp the paper in his right hand and the female entrant will grasp the back of his hand with her left, and they will drop their slip into the flame together.

“Less than one minute. Entrants - you know who you are - please be ready.”
Scorpius, Al, and I inched our way closer to the Goblet. Al probably thought we just wanted to be up front for it.

As I slight crackling began to rise from the Goblet, Scorpius held his arm out as though asking for a dance, and I grasped the back of his hand as instructed.

The minute the flame burst into life was the moment that Scorpius and I stepped over the line. Just seconds later, our parchment disappeared in the depths of fire. After a few moments, my ears began working again and cheers permeated the air.

“Our first Hogwarts entrants, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy!” cried professor Collins with enthusiasm. After this I just tuned everything out. Scorpius seemed to be doing the same. “The Goblet will set here for the duration of the week. On Saturday next, we shall learn the identities of our six champions!”

A cheer went up again, but I couldn’t have cared less. Scorpius and I were already making our way to the table set in to middle for prefects and foreign students. We were the first students for ten minutes to be eating in the Great Hall already. The rest of the students were watching other entrants drop their names in the Goblet.