Chapter 4
The first night back at Hogwarts was eventful, to say the least. After the sorting of the first years, the school's headmaster had begun his usual speech. When she noticed a ghastly-looking fellow with one eye, well two if one wanted to be technical, but the second eye was fake and held on with a strap and a makeshift eye socket. He had a scar across his face and loose scraggly blonde hair and seemed to be hiding away in the corner. Helene couldn’t help but watch the man and his strange mannerisms. He had a habit of licking the upper corner of his mouth periodically, and for some reason, it reminded Helene of something, but her brain couldn't process it. It was like a horrible itch in the back of her skull.
Her attention was stolen, however, when the headmaster announced rather shocking news. Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard tournament. The tournament where students could be seriously hurt, or even killed, why a school, let alone three, would let their pupils participate in such a rugged competition was unbeknownst to the Lestrange girl. After explaining what the tournament was to the students at the school, he also announced that the two other European wizarding schools would be participating this year.
Next thing Helene knew there was a flutter amongst the students and the giant doors to the great hall swung open, and in walked the girls of Beauxbaton clad in their silk, almost periwinkle uniforms, sighing and fluttering about. Most of the boys in the great hall’s eyes were glued to the girls who had just come in, entranced by the way they moved and presented themselves.
Helene looked at her cousin who sat with his arms crossed, eyebrows drawn forward in a bit of aggravation as he watched a table across from them or rather, he watched a specific Gryffindor with wild black hair and bright green eyes give the girls standing ovations. She couldn’t help but laugh.
Next, the headmaster quickly announced the Durmstrang boys. Helene brought her attention back to the doors once again. The boys walked in banging their sticks and doing flips. Helene clutched her invisible pearls, eyes drawn to their strong physiques and their brooding faces. Many of the others, even boys, were entranced by the act. Then in walked Viktor Krum, a very dashing seeker of the Bulgarian Quidditch team, whom she had just seen a few weeks ago flying around. He was very attractive Helene must say, her eyes followed the man. Once he had stood with his school Helene quickly shot her eyes around looking for her best friend to see if she had thought the same thing. When in the process she met the eyes of a certain redheaded Weasley who was looking at her with a wide grin. Her face screwed up into a look of annoyance when she noticed he had put his hand around his neck as if…. As if he were clutching fake pearls?
‘Was he mocking her!?!’ Helene was appalled that he had even seen her react in such a way to the quidditch star but not only that she was appalled that Fred Weasley had dared to mock her. Her glare intensified; the boy simply laughed at her reaction. His twin, she noticed, looked at him rather confused before he followed his eyesight and was met with the glaring face of the Lestrange girl.
All attention was brought back to the stand when the Minister stepped forward. Helene rolled her eyes; the man was practically shaking in his boots facing the hall of teenagers.
“After due consideration, the ministry has concluded for their own safety, no student under the age of 17 should be allowed to put forth their name for the Triwizard tournament, this decision is final,” As expected the room broke out in protests, the loudest being the Weasley twins who were only sixteen like Helene.
Helene caught the eye of the horrid twin and smirked as she traced a single fake tear down her cheek. Now it was his turn to break into a scowl.
Finally, once dismissed, Helene followed her housemates back to the dorm room.
By the next day, Helene had met her friend on the way to her defense against the dark arts class. Unfortunately for her, Celia’s first class of the day was divination with the Ravenclaws, whereas Helene’s was Defense with the Gryffindors. Which of course meant defense with the twins.
“Seriously Celia, why does it have to be just my luck that my first bloody class is with those half-witted..." Suddenly arms went around her shoulder and another around Celia’s just as they made it outside the classroom.
“Who's dimwitted?” The voice spoke, and Helene turned her head.
In between the two girls stood a rather annoying fellow who couldn’t get the hint when he wasn’t wanted, especially for the last six years.
“Frederick Mclagan,” Celia spoke, as she reached over to the hand on her right shoulder, picking it up with two fingers as if it was disgusting and dropping it off her arm. “You have been told repeatedly to keep your hands to yourself.” Helene copied Celia and removed the arm from her.
“Come now Crosswell, don’ be like tha’,” he said in a thick Scottish accent.
“I happen to agree McLagan, if you put that bloody arm around me again, consider it good as gone.” Celia bit out. He gulped and took a step back.
“Right, sorry,” From behind snickers filled the hall. Helene didn’t even need to turn to tell who it was.
“Well, bye Lia, I’ll see you in herbology later,” She nodded to the girl and quickly walked into the room, where she was met with the sight of Moody Alastor. His name was scrawled across the board behind him. She took her seat as far as she could get from the man. Something about him just didn’t sit well from the moment she had seen him in the great hall last night.
Sitting alone at her table, she had placed her books down and had gone to ready her desk when a figure plopped down beside her. Turning her head slightly she was met with the face of one Fred Weasley.
“Oh Salazar," she whispered under her breath in agitation.
“Hello,” He smiled devilishly. The girl simply looked at him up and down skeptically. “Don’t look at me like that darling, you may hurt my feelings” He faked being wounded as he placed his hand over his heart.
“What do you want, Weasley?” She asked.
“Why do I have to want something?”
“Well seeing that your brother is there,” she said gesturing to the desk diagonal to hers where another redhead sat. “And you are here,” She gestured again but to the seat he sat in. “It would appear to me you want something,” The wavy-haired girl explained as if she were talking to a child.
“That’s not the case at all,” He waved her off.
“Fred Weasley, if you came over here to perform some type of trick, I would like to let you know as sophisticated as I am, I am not above hexing your bollocks right here, right now,” She hissed so the curious students’ around her couldn’t hear.
“Oh?,” He said, eyebrows raised. “You wound me if you thought I would prank such a dignified lady as yourself,” Helene could practically taste the sarcasm in his statement. “Besides,” Before he could finish Moody had cleared his throat. Helene looked around and noticed that everyone had already been seated and was ready to start.
“Mr. Weasley, I presume?” The Professor called on him. Both twins responded at the same time.
“Yes sir?” Both smiled as well.
“Don’t be smart, Mr. Weasley who is sitting beside Ms….?” He trailed off as if waiting for her name.
“Lestrange, Professor,” Helene sat up straight, shoulders squared.
“Lestrange, is it now? Any relation to Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange?” He asked. By now the whole class had gone deathly quiet.
“Well seeing as I am the heir to the Lestrange name, that would be my father and uncle,” she said firmly, with a bit of fire. After years of her attending Hogwarts, not many mentioned the fact that she was the offspring of the very man who tortured the Longbottom's into insanity and did the bidding of the dark lord, at least, not to her face that is. The last person who tried to shame her for her name was sentenced to a month in the infirmary.
“That’s very unfortunate, isn’t it,” the teacher stated, and Helene’s glare turned icy; hair pricked up on her arm like she was a cat ready to strike.
“I beg your pardon me, Professor?” Her voice held unbelief that a professor would deem it okay to speak to students like that. The man looked her dead in the eye and smirked.
“Right, well let’s carry on. If not in your desired seat, let’s make our way there now,” he said as he turned to the board to write something out. Fred looked as if he hesitated before he slipped into the seat next to his brother.
Helene wasn’t sure when her hand had made it around her wand, but the grip she had on it left indents. Shoulders tight, she sat on the edge for the rest of the class. It would seem that they hire just about anyone these days.
~~~
A few days later, time passed and eventually, the deadline for the name placement in the goblet had arrived, and somehow Celia had managed to drag her friend into the room to watch the different students attempt to drop their names in.
Suddenly, a group of students shuffled their way in, shoving a figure forward past the wispy ring around the cup that kept underage wizards out. The boy that passed through was none other than Cedric Diggory, a seventeen-year-old Hufflepuff.
“Not too shocked about that one,” Celia said as she pulled a licorice wand out and took a bite. “He’s been raving about it in the common room ever since we found out that the tournament was being held at Hogwarts.” Helene shook her head as she watched the boy get swarmed by his fellow classmates.
“This whole tournament is absolutely ridiculous if you ask me,” Helene said to her friend, stealing one of the candies she had. “I mean, how dangerous can this tournament get? Even with an age restriction, is it really wise to send students into something so vulgar?” The dark-haired girl asked her friend, who only shrugged and continued to watch the other students. When another uproar made its way into the halls. Two particular boys ran in, shouting off about some age potion. Helene looked at the twins as if they were completely daft, which she didn’t doubt for one moment.
“There is no way they honestly think that is going to work?” Celia exclaimed worriedly for her crush and his equally idiotic brother.
“I would love to see how this one plays out,” Helene smirked as she closed her transfiguration book.
She watched the two boys across the room, tipped their heads back and chugged the vial. Their Adam apples bobbed as the potion went down, then the long-haired boys jumped, and to Helene’s momentary shock, they made it, and so did their slips of paper that they tossed into the goblet.
“No bloody way..." The Slytherin girl practically shot out of her seat, when suddenly the goblet’s blue flames flared out and twisted in an unusual way. The boys were suddenly shot back across the hall and when they sat up everyone realized they had turned into old men. Helene couldn't help it, she bursted out into laughter. Not just small, quiet laughter. No, it was the kind that had her head thrown back as she clutched her stomach.
“Helene,” Her best friend turned to look at her with disapproval, as the other girl practically fell off her chair from laughing so bloody hard. Cheers rang out in the room, and Celia ran to the crowd that surrounded the twins. Helene wiped her teared-up eyes that were a result of her laughter and walked after her, pushing through, and coming to a stop next to her friend. She watched as the older version of the twins tackled each other. Students had started to shout around the twins to fight when Helene started to laugh again, she couldn't stop even if she tried. The scene was just too funny. Celia slapped her friend's arm and looked at the twins with humor.
It took a moment, but eventually, the room had quieted, and everyone's head turned toward the door, the twins had been forgotten. As the doors were banged open in a dramatic flare, all eyes trained on the figure of Viktor Krum and his headmaster as they trailed in. Everyone watched as the boy made his way across the room, the air shifted in awe as he put his name in the cup. However, his eyes seemed drawn to something in particular. Helene couldn’t tell what, because she was pulled away before she could see what he was looking at. Before she knew it, the Hufflepuff girl pulled her to the twins, just starting to get up from the ground.
“Uhm, would you like any help going to the infirmary?” The taller of the two asked timidly. Helene quickly shot her a look.
“Wha…” she went to speak when a voice matching Fred Weasley spoke out.
“That would be lovely deary, it seems the knees aren’t what they used to be,” he said, really laying on the old man acting thickly. Celia giggled and offered her arm to George, who quickly linked his arm with hers. Fred turned to Helene with his own arm out, to which she started in disgust and crossed her arms, as she followed after her friend, Fred, walking beside her.
“Well, that didn’t go as planned, eh, George?” The boy called out with a chuckle. The fight between the two had seemed to be long forgotten already.
“Right, you are Fred. There must have been a flaw in our plan somewhere,” He called back to his brother. From where she stood, she could see her friend striking up a quiet conversation with her walking partner.
“Offly generous of you to walk us to the infirmary Lestrange,” the boy next to her spoke up once again.
“Trust me, this isn’t from my own free will.” Helene rolled her eyes. “I mean honestly, did you really think an age-up potion would be strong enough to get past Dumbledore?” She sighed, letting her curiosity win.
“I mean, it never hurts until you try, right?” Fred asked with a snicker, and she shot him a cold look.
“Right, well, I suppose that is to be expected of Gryffindors’, is it not?” She said bluntly. “To simply act first and think later?”
“Ah yes, where would I be without my Gryffindor bravery? Oh wait, don't tell me, perhaps I would be more like you Slytherins, too posh and stuck up to dwell in the wonders rather than living. I would be overthinking every little aspect and missing the joy in life, now, wouldn’t I?” Helene whipped her head to meet his face, where he seemed to already be watching her, with a playful smile. “Ah finally, she finally shows me that pretty little scowl,” Helene stopped in her tracks, she was thrown off by what the boy had just said, when she noticed they had made it to their destination before she could respond, not like she was going to any way she was still taken aback by what she heard, her face flushed with embarrassment. The boys had walked into the room, and Celia all but skipped over to her friend in excitement.
“Bloody hell, what happened to your face? You’re red,” Celia poked her friend's cheek. The loud laugh that came from the room behind her only made her face redder as she pulled her confused friend away.
After telling her friend what had happened, Celia practically squealed her ear off.
“Oh, my Merlin’s beard! This makes so much sense!”
“Please do enlighten me, Lia,”
“Why else do you think you keep finding your way into their pranks? I mean, come on, after a few times, you’ve got to wonder if it was a coincidence,”
“Now wait a minute. Weren’t you the one on the train trying to convince me it was simply a coincidence on the train?” The tall girl waved her off.
“Yes, but that was my working theory at the time, my theory now is that Fred Weasley, THE Fred Weasley, the second half of the Weasley twins, has a big fat crush on you and has been pranking you to get your attention!” Lia was practically jumping up and down.
“Or,” Helene held up a finger. “And this is just a thought, Fred Weasley simply is messing with me to get a reaction,” Celia opened her mouth as if she was going to fire a retort back when Helene continued to hold up her finger to her friend. “Before you start thinking too much into this, please remember that I'm a Slytherin and he is a Gryffindor and we are two completely different people, whereas he likes to go around causing mischief wherever he roams I prefer to stay away from things like that especially when I am caught in the trouble myself,”
“Yes, but Helene, think about it. What if this whole time Fred was just doing it to get your attention? You know as well as I do that men are emotionally constipated, now just add the fact that they're Gryffindors into the mix and it's like you get an emotionally constipated man with no brain cells, they have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves,”
“Celia, please, your delusion is getting worse. Maybe you should go to the infirmary yourself just to get checked out by Madam Pomfrey to be safe,” Helene remarked in a falsely worried tone.
“Oh, don't even, you that I am perfectly sane,” the Hazel-eyed girl shot her friend a face that practically screamed ‘yeah right’
“Don’t give me that look!” Celia laughed out loud at her friend's facial expression.
“Whatever you say, little badger, whatever you say,” Helene all but mockingly patted her friend's head as she made her way back into the room where students continued to put their names in the goblet.
~~~
By the time it took the students to get into the Great Hall to find out which students from each school would be participating in the Triwizard Tournament, the school was in a frenzy. Students were practically buzzing in their seats to figure out which Hogwarts student would be representing their school in the event.
Not much to Helene’s shock, Harry Potter had managed yet again to get himself into a very drastic situation. Somehow, the boy had managed to be thrust into the Triwizard Tournament. The Slytherin never gave the boy much thought other than what she heard from her little cousin and his strange infatuation with the boy who lived. However, one would have to be daft to not acknowledge the fact that the young fourth-year boy had managed to find himself in a situation every school year since he started at Hogwarts, and of course, much to the displeasure of many students. Harry had no choice but to participate in the tournament, regardless of his age.
After the shocking display, Helene and many of the other Slytherins made their way back to their common room. Draco being among them as well as his friends, Helene headed up the stairs to her room thanking Merlin that Draco hadn't noticed her slipping away, she wasn't sure if she could handle another hour-long talk of how ‘Harry bloody Potter and his friends were stupid danger magnets and was going to get himself killed’. Sometimes Helene wondered if her cousin was truly as oblivious as he liked to put on, with how obsessed the boy has been since his first year of school Helene thought it was pretty much the most obvious thing in all of Hogwarts that her cousin was greatly infatuated with the scar headed boy.
Sighing, Helene made her way into her room, closing the door behind her as she crawled into her giant four-poster bed, and sinking into the silk Slytherin green blankets. She knew her roommates would be in later, however, rather than taking off everything at that moment Helene felt her body was too exhausted to get back up, so she simply kicked off her shoes and laid her head onto her pillows promising that after a few minutes of closing her eyes that she would get up immediately and ready herself for bed.