September 2, 2018

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The Goblet of Fire sat in the very center of the Entrance Hall, near the Great Hall's double doors. Nearly at every hour you could see students crowding around it, the underaged ones whining about not being old enough and those who were seventeen strutted around, boasting how they would be chosen for sure. It was the talk of the Town, and almost every student of age put their name in by eight in the morning.

Eurus stumbled to breakfast, tired to the bone and in need of tea. She tried to get past the students in the Entrance, but they were too close together. Thus, Eurus resigned herself to no breakfast in deference to watching the circus.

She saw Lorcan Scamander walk up to the Goblet of Fire confidently, a smirking grin on his face. She saw girls swooning and cheering him on, while his Gryffindor mates whooped and hollered at him. Needless to say, when Lorcan lazily tossed in his little slip of paper, the Entrance Hall was drowned in the cheers and laughter of half of Hogwarts. The Goblet's fire turned a brief red, before going back to it's cold blue blaze.

Lorcan was suddenly surrounded by his friends, smothered by handshakes and bro hugs and slaps to the back. Fourth year James Potter strolled up to him and said something in the older boy's ear, making them crack up.

"Move aside, boys!" A curly haired redhead elbowed the group aside, and out of the sea of males came a female, short and confident. Dominique Weasley was met with applause and wolf whistles. The Head Girl bowed and grinned, making kisses at the crowd. Then she stepped up to the Goblet and tossed her name in. The Goblet's flames turned red, and then blue once again.

Eurus watched quietly amongst the crowd, studying Dominique as she was mobbed by her Gryffindor friends. Their gazes met, and she flashed her a smile and a nod. Eurus only nodded back before retreating out of the Entrance Hall, and just in time.

"Classes begin in five minutes!" McGonagall stormed towards the crowd, which quickly dispersed at the sound of a Scottish brogue. "Off with you! Hooligans," she muttered under her breath.

Eurus was swept away with the flow of students and made her way to her first class: DADA.

The class was nearly full and everyone turned to her when she walked, causing her to blush. Ron Weasley was at the front scribbling on the blackboard.

Her seventh year DADA class was made up of all four houses- she could see Lorcan Scamander lounging on his chair, yawning. His twin was on the opposite side of the room head on the table with his eyes closed. She saw a few Slytherins clumped together in the back. Her Ravenclaw housemates were sitting straight, waiting eagerly with quills grasped in their fingers.

Dominique Weasley waved her over with a grin. Eurus searched for an open spot and found none, so she reluctantly sat next to the redhead.

"Hi," Eurus muttered.

The other girl was beaming. "Hi!" she said cheerily. "How are you this morning? You look like shite."

Eurus raised an eyebrow. "Gee, thanks."

"I mean, it looks like you barely slept a wink last night. Isn't it cool that we've got my uncle for a professor? I had no clue he'd be here! Are you going to put your name in the Goblet? You're seventeen, right?"

Eurus blinked a few times, before deciding to answer the last two rapid fire questions. "Yeah, I'm seventeen, but, no. I don't think I'll enter."

Dominique stared. "Really?"

"Really."

She hummed. "Okay. Well, I think you'd do great. You're smart and really good at ... well, everything."

Eurus snorted. "Ha. No. I suck at Herbology."

Dominique raised an eyebrow. "But ... you get an average of Exceeds Expectations in Herbology."

Eurus' cheeks burned. "Oh," she mumbled. "Yeah. But ..."

They looked at each other for a moment before Dominique burst into giggles. Eurus allowed for a slight smile.

"Gosh, you sound like my Aunt Hermione," Dominique chuckled. Her eyes brightened. "Hey, I think she'll be coming to Hogwarts! Every Minister of Magic does for the Tri-Wizard Tournament! Isn't that great?"

Eurus' stomach dropped. No, not great. The only other person who knew about her adoption was Hermione Granger-Weasley, since she was the official Eurus went through to take a peek at her files and adoption certification. Eurus hoped that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't bring the matter up to any one of her children or nieces or nephews. That would be a disaster.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted by Professor Weasley, who clapped his hands loudly. "Alright, seventh years!" His voice was deep and friendly. "Who wants to work on their patronuses?"

Sleeping students jerked upright, suddenly more alert.

A Ravenclaw raised her hand promptly. She was in Eurus' dorm, but the two had never spoken more than polite greetings to each other. Eurus was at the top of the class, and thus was competition for her housemates. "But sir," the girl said in a loud, annoying voice. "Patronuses aren't until second semester."

Professor Weasley smiled at her indulgently. "I say we start your seventh year off with a bang. And patronuses are actually quite easy to learn without a dementor in the room!" There were a few chuckles at that.

With a wave of his wand, Professor Weasley forced all of the desks and chairs to stack against the far walls.

"Patronuses," Professor Weasley began, "are born from a happy memory. You think about the memory and let it fill you up while you cast the spell. The incantation is expecto patronum. That's all you really need to know, I guess." The class of seventh years stared at him. His cheeks turned as red as his hair and he waved a hand impatiently. "What are you blokes waiting for? Try it out!"

Students began to wave their wands and shout the incantation aloud, eyes squeezed shut in concentration.

"Expecus patronus!"

"Expecta patroni!"

"Exspe-Expes-Expectum patrono!"

Dominique grabbed Eurus by the arm and dragged her to an isolated corner.

"You go first," Dominique said.

Eurus stared and slowly slipped her wand out of her arm holster. "What?"

Dominique gestured with her hands, eyes bright with excitement. "Go on!" she urged.

Eurus sighed and closed her eyes. Happy memory. Happy memory. What happy memory? Her grandparents were terrible memories. The day she got her Hogwarts letter was tinged with fear and fists. Her parents? They were dead and as the days passed, her memories of them were fading a little bit more.

Eurus opened her eyes and stared at Dominique helplessly. "I-I don't have many happy memories." It came out as a mumble lost in the shouts and frustrated curses of other students.

Dominique leaned closer. "What?" she yelled.

Eurus swallowed. "I don't think I can do it!" she yelled back instead. "You should do it!"

Dominique shrugged. "Okay." The girl closed her eyes, scrunching her brows in concentration. Then she raised her wand in Eurus' direction and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery blue mist spewed out of the tip of her wand before fading away. Eurus nodded. "Something happened. What were you thinking about?"

Dominique opened her eyes and flashed her wicked grin. "Oh," she said, "the time I enchanted my sister's make up to look orange on her face."

Eurus smirked. "Was she angry?"

Dominique beamed. "Yep. She was furious and tried to get me in trouble with mum and dad. They just laughed."

She chortled.

Eurus smiled briefly. "Your family sounds nice."

Dominique nodded, sighing with content. "Yeah," she said. "They really are. What about your family?"

Eurus stiffened. "Hm?"

"Your family. Are your parents wizards? Muggles? Are you an only child?"

Eurus shifted uneasily and glanced around, avoiding her gaze. "Oh- well, um ... My parents were muggles, grandparents are muggles. But I was adopted, so it's all up in the air really."

My father is a mass murderer and my mother was the lovechild of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Black. But I'll never tell you that, for obvious reasons.

Dominique stared at her frowning. "Were?" she said. "Are they ... are they ... ?"

"Dead," Eurus said bluntly, making the other girl flinch.

"Car crash-"

"Hello there, ladies." The two look over to see Lorcan Scamander standing next to them, a cocky grin on his face.

Dominique rolled her eyes and Eurus looked away, thankful that the tense silence was now over.

"Hullo, Scamander," Dominique said boredly. "What are you doing here? Go wave your wand with your idiot quidditch friends." She waved a hand towards some seventh year Gryffindor boys, all of whom were waving their wands with no results to show for.

"Unless I'm mistaken, Dom," Lorcan drawled, winking, "you are my star Chaser. Doesn't that mean you're my idiot quidditch friend, too?"

Dominique rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly in the chest. The seventh year boy snickered before glancing at Eurus up and down, eyebrows raising in slight appreciation.

"Well hellooo," he said slowly, staring at Eurus' face. "Where have you been in all my Hogwarts years?"

"Avoiding Gryffindor prats with egos the size of Great Britain," Eurus said swiftly, without batting an eye. "No wonder you've never met me before."

Dominique snorted. "Shove off, Lorcan. I mean it."

"Yeah," a voice said. "Shove off, Mr. Scamander. I'm watching you." Professor Weasley appeared practically out of no where, a grin on his face and eyes sparkling with mischief. Lorcan chuckled and winked in Eurus' direction before finding his friends.

Professor Weasley tutted, watching him go. "Blimey," he commented. "The kid is worse than I was." Dominique's uncle turned to the two girls. "How are you two doing with your patronuses?"

Dominique beamed. "I made some blue light spew out. I just need to practice more."

Weasley nodded before glancing at Eurus.

"And how about you?"

"I haven't tried yet," she muttered, face red.

Professor Weasley smiled and gestured. "Well, go on then."

Eurus cursed in her head before raising her wand and closing her eyes. Come on, come on. Don't make a fool of yourself. Happy memory ...

She tried to think of the days where everything was good, right, happy. She and her mother reading books in French, teasing her father in French, cooking french food. The day when her father took her to his workplace at Scotland Yard while her mother was taking her final exam at Oxford. The memories were old and fading, her parents' faces blurred. But they were just enough. The memories filled her with longing and nostalgia, echoes of the past not yet forgotten.

"Expecto Patronum." It was less than a whisper and more than enough.

Out of her wand burst a huge cloud of white and blue, large and graceful. And as she steered the cloud around the classroom, it started to take shape. The cloud grew bony legs, a ridged torso, a skeletal face, and thin, veiny wings on its back.

The thestral was the only patronus bounding around the room and students stopped their wands waving to look.

Professor Weasley gave her a broad grin. "Well done, Miss ..."

"My name is Eurus."

He nodded animatedly, barely noticing her omission of her last name. "Yes, yes, fantastic job Eurus! See there, you blokes? That's a thestral! It's very rare to have a magical creature be your patronus, and it is said that your patronus reflects your animagus form ... although you might want to talk to your Transfiguration professor about that. Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

The other Ravenclaws grumbled to themselves before doubling their efforts to produce a patronus.

Dominique grinned and slapped her on the back. The two watched the thestral prance around the room, regal and haunting.

"See?" Dominique said. "See? There's your proof!"

Eurus lowered her wand, letting her patronus fizzle away, before looking at the Weasley girl with a raised eyebrow. "Proof of what?"

"Proof that you should enter the Tri-Wizard Tournament!"

Eurus cruised under the radar for the rest of the day, mulling over Dominique's words. Joining the Tri-Wizard Tournament ...

She wasn't sure how the Goblet of Fire chose its champions, but Eurus was pretty sure she wouldn't make the cut.

Eurus left her last class, Herbology, and sighed with relief. Her feet ached and her head hurt and all she wanted to do was eat some shepherd's pie and sleep.

"Eurus!"

The girl in question (who just wanted to eat some shepherd's pie and sleep) stopped in her tracks and blew some air between her teeth.

She turned to see Dominique jogging up behind her. The redhead grinned.

"Hey."

Eurus forced a smile. "Hey."

Dominique jerked her head. "So ... You gonna do it?"

Eurus glanced up ahead. They were in the Entrance Hall and kids were still crowded around it, some seventh years, mostly younger kids whispering and gossiping excitedly.

In the center stood the Goblet of Fire ... on fire, the flickering blue flames crackling merrily.

Eurus sighed and glanced at Dominique, lips quirked downwards and her brows furrowed.

"Um ... Dominique, I don't know ... "

Dominique groaned. "Oh, come on, Eurus! What are the chances, honestly? Okay, I'm gonna be straight with you." Dominique rested a hand on her shoulder and Eurus twitched, resisting the urge to smack it off.

"So, I only entered because my dad said it would be cool and my mom, obviously, was in it years ago, but seriously, I don't need to win. I don't want to win. I don't want money and I don't want anymore fame than what I already have. I'm a Weasley, remember? And, I seriously don't want Lorcan Scamander to win. That would make his ego too big for Hogwarts and I might murder him. So please, please, please make his chances slimmer by putting your name in! Please?"

Eurus sighed. "You really don't like him, do you?"

Dominique pursed her lips. "Not in the slightest. He may be my quidditch captain and we may have grown up together, but Merlin's beard, he's insufferable!"

Eurus groaned and rummaged through her backpack. She fished out a scrap of parchment and a muggle ballpoint pen. In clear print, she wrote her name down and walked up to the Goblet of Fire. Students made a path for her, their whisperings increasing.

"Who's she?"

"No clue ... "

"Isn't that the teacher's pet?"

Eurus paid them no need and quickly tossed her name in and watched it go up in flames. A red blaze, and then blue again.

Eurus turned to Dominique with a brow raised. "There. Happy?"

Dominique grinned. "Very," she said. Without further ado, the Head Girl linked her arm with Eurus' and dragged her into the Great Hall.

Eurus slowed her pace when she realized where they were going. "Woah-wait-" Eurus protested, "I have-I have people in Ravenclaw that I was planning to sit with-"

Dominique snorted. "Right," she drawled. "Nice try, Miss Anti-Social. You have no friends in Ravenclaw or in any other house and I'm making it my personal mission to be your friend, whether you like it or not."

Eurus shut up at that and docilely allowed herself to be sat at the Gryffindor table, the only blue in the sea of red.

Dominique began to fill her plate with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. "Well?" she prompted. "Tuck in!"

Eurus glowered at her plate and she could feel her cheeks burn under the stares of Dominique's Gryffindor friends. With hunched shoulders and a lowered head, Eurus unenthusiastically plopped a small portion of green beans and a single, tiny chicken leg onto her plate.

So, dinner was torturous, to say the least. Eurus could feel the stares and hear the whispers of Gryffindors, all of whom were snickering at the slight of a girl who barely spoke in class entering her name into the Goblet of Fire.

She didn't blame them exactly. No one in their right minds would pick her in a snowball fight, nevermind an international, dangerous competition. She was thin and bony and looked like she could be blown away with a single gust of wind. She was hardly athletic. The only thing Eurus had going for her was her smarts and potions skills. That was all well and good, but if the slightest gust of wind rolled around, Eurus would be out of luck.

The next two months were spent in the same fashion- Eurus being dragged around by Dominique Weasley, Eurus being introduced to all her friends, of whom never gave her a second glance, Eurus moping but secretly appreciating Dominique's efforts, Eurus internally bemoaning and regretting her decision to enter her name into the Goblet and not admitting it to her new (and only) friend.

She had settled into her routine, gotten comfortable with her seventh year, praying and hoping and expecting her last year of Hogwarts to be personally uneventful, tournaments aside.

How dreadfully wrong she was.

A/N: poor, poor Eurus. She has no idea, does she?

... But I do. *cackles evilly*

Please vote and comment if you enjoy the story so far!