FLEUR AND Viktor said their goodbyes to Laura and Cedric. They then went off to where they were staying.

Cedric and Laura walked through the now deserted Great Hall. The once bright candles were dining, making the jagged smiles of the pumpkins lining the hall look eerie.

"So," Cedric said with a slight smile, "looks like it's a competition between us."

"Yeah," Laura said with a small laugh. "It's a shame that there's no Quidditch, though I've heard you're pretty good."

The smile on Cedric's face grew when she mentioned his Quidditch playing.

Laura couldn't lie. Cedric was good looking... really good-looking. According to everyone, he was an amazing Quidditch player.

He was tall, with a nice figure. His hair was a dark brown, and his eyes were gray... He somewhat reminded Laura of a brunette Draco.

"So, you're a Potter, Pickering?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Laura frowned. "Don't get me wrong, I love being a Potter, I just hate being 'Harry Potter's cousin.'"

"Understandable," Cedric nodded. A smirk then formed on his face. "When I first saw you, I thought you looked a bit like Harry. Don't worry though, I'll defend you as Laura Pickering."

He winked at her as they walked out into the entrance hall, the two of them coming to a stop.

"Though... I do have to ask," Cedric said. "Since we're not in there anymore... You really didn't put your name in?"

"I swear on my owl's life I didn't," Laura said, raising her right hand, looking him in the eye. "I swear I gave the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me, Merlin."

"Got it," Cedric said with a smile. Laura could tell he genuinely believed her. "I'll see you around the school then. Have a good night celebrating."

"Goodnight, Cedric," Laura smiled, the two splitting ways.

As she started walking towards the dungeons, Laura felt a sense of dread setting in. She didn't know how to deal with everything that had happened that night. The thing she wanted the least was coming to pass.

Laura Potter: Harry Potter's cousin and now the attention stealer. She knew most Hogwarts students wouldn't take nicely to a random transfer student stealing Cedric's glory. Yet, that wasn't the biggest thing on Laura's mind, as she was now in a deadly competition at only fourteen years old.

She knew she probably wasn't going to die or that anyone would die, but being entered into the tournament was not on her bingo card. The other thing not on her bingo card was someone in Europe wanting her dead. It wasn't unusual for her in America but in England?

Laura made it to the portrait. She hesitated. Laura didn't know how her house was going to react. She didn't even know if people would be waiting to see her.

"Parsley," she said hesitantly.

The portrait opened, revealing that the common room was packed with people. They all started cheering when she walked in. People looked... ecstatic. Laura forced a smile on her face as a dozen hands grabbed her, pulling her into the middle of the room.

"Why didn't you tell us?" roared a random Slytherin older than her. They looked slightly impressed but still mostly annoyed.

"I don't even know who you are," Laura yelled.

Jordan Young took her by the shoulders.

"How did you not grow a beard, Pickering?" he asked, a giant smile on his face. "Oh, I knew you'd be an impressive student when I met you. You should've told me you put your name in earlier!"

"I didn't," Laura said, shaking her head. "Ask Blondie. I was with him pretty much all day."

"We've got food, Laura. Come and have some," someone told her.

"Did you see me at dinner?" Laura laughed. "I ate so much, I'm still pretty full."

No one paid her much attention while giving her all the attention. They didn't care that she didn't put her name in or how she was a Potter (Laura was grateful they didn't care). However, most of all, they didn't care that she wasn't hungry.

Laura looked around, trying to find Blaise, Pansy, and Draco. When she saw them, she beelined it over to them. They were sitting in the corner, looking done.

"Muffliato," Laura muttered, sitting next to Draco. "Hey guys!"

The three of them looked at each other and then stared at Laura. They looked like they had a million questions to ask her.

"Okay... I know you have questions," Laura said, "I swear I didn't put my name in. Professor Moody thinks someone is trying to kill me."

Laura laughed a bit but stopped, seeing the looks on their faces.

"Tough crowd tonight," Laura sighed, continuing. "I can tell you aren't convinced, but I was constantly with you three for the last twenty-four hours."

"She's not lying," Draco said firmly after some silence. "I'm a light sleeper. I would've woken up if Laura left; I watched her walk to your dorm."

"No, yeah," Pansy nodded. Her eyes were wide. "Every time, she wasn't with you, Draco, she was with me..."

Laura let out a breath of relief. Now was the hard part to explain.

"No, based on the look on Blaise's face, I should explain myself," Laura said, "Blaise, Pansy, I should've told you earlier I was a Potter. I'm sorry tonight was how you had to find out."

"What about Draco," Blaise said bluntly, nodding towards Draco, who leaned back on the seat.

"He's known since the train ride..." Laura said, quickly adding, "Only because he made me tell him."

"Mhm, sure," Blaise smirked. "Well, never mind that. Just fess up to Pansy and me now, and we'll forget they said anything tonight."

"So, Harry is my cousin," Laura said. Pansy squeezed her hand softly, smiling at her. "Pickering is my mom's maiden name, so legally my name is Laura Potter. But I go by Pickering because I didn't want to be known as 'Harry Potter's cousin.' It comes with certain expectations that I didn't want."

"Laura Pickering," Pansy said, raising an eyebrow, "that is insane-" a big smile then formed on her face "- but we still love you so much, even if Draco hates your cousin!"

Laura laughed hard at that, causing everyone else (but Draco) to laugh. Draco muttered something under his breath about something along the lines of "Saint Potter."

The four of them continued to talk. At one point, Laura was dragged back out, being questioned again. Thankfully, it took her the smashing of only one glass item to get them to leave her alone again.

When Laura finished, she sat down, checking her watch. The common room was slowly emptying. Most Slytherin's realized it was getting late.

"It's six at Ilvermorny," Laura sighed, "I miss it there."

"Hey," Draco said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders, "we're glad you're here, even if you're Potter's cousin."

"Nice try," Laura said, gently pushing Draco's hand off. "Well, it's getting late here. I'm going to go to bed. But I want to go to the library tomorrow if anyone cares to join."

"That would be great. I have so much homework to do," Blaise said, he and Laura high-fiving.

"I'm in," Pansy grinned. "I wouldn't mind a quiet day in the library."

"Fine," Draco groaned, "I'll tag along if everyone is going."

"It's a plan then," Laura grinned and stood, stretching.

Pansy and Blaise left first, leaving Laura and Draco. Draco glanced around the almost empty common room before turning to Laura.

"Would you care to join me on the couch again tonight to talk?" he asked. "I'm sure you're pretty overwhelmed from today."

"You're being weirdly nice again, but sure, Blondie," Laura said, a soft smile on her face. "I'll see you in a bit then."

Laura quickly got ready for bed, saying goodnight to Alana, Natalie, and Daphne. She went to say goodnight to Pansy, but she had fallen asleep already. The curtains on her bed were shut.

Sneaking down to the common room, Laura saw Draco was already out there waiting for her. She walked up behind him, tapping him on the right shoulder, then walking around on his left.

"Laura," Draco frowned, realizing he had been faked out. He then narrowed his eyes at her, "Wow, Potter, I can't believe you."

"It's Pickering," Laura said, sticking her tongue out. "Be careful about what you say. If you're not, it could end in you getting hexed."

"You know you love me, Pickering," Draco replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I do?" Laura scoffed, tilting her head slightly. "You haven't been the kindest to me, Malfoy. I think Cedric Diggory is my type."

"You wouldn't dare go after a Hufflepuff," Draco said bluntly, staring at her.

"I don't discriminate between houses," Laura shrugged a small smile on her lips. "Especially when there are attractive people involved."

"Even a Mudblood?" Draco asked, trying to test her limits.

"Muggleborn," Laura said hotly in response to Draco's language. "You Purebloods need to realize you can't just throw that word around. You're not better than everyone else just because your family has been a family of wizards for a long time."

"You defy what you just said," Draco said, raising an eyebrow. "You're a Pureblood and think you're better than everyone else, Laura."

"Well, that's just because I'm better, not because of my 'blood purity.' That's lame," Laura said bluntly. "I just don't like throwing that word around. They're Muggleborns. There's nothing wrong with them."

"I guess you're right..." Draco said quietly, trailing off at the end. "Well, you know that 'thing' you were doing with Pansy... will you teach me some of that?"

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Laura smiled curtly at this. "But, I'd love to teach you some ASL."

Laura started showing Draco some simple signs, becoming more relaxed around him as she taught him. ASL was a big part of her life back at Ilvermorny, so being able to teach someone else made her heart happy.

The two eventually fell asleep on the couch before making it too far.

🪐➶.✧༄

Laura found herself in Ilvermorny, walking with Jared Pike. Laura had finally gotten Nick to leave them alone. It was the year before, and they were walking down the halls. It was right after the Quidditch match they had won.

The two of them walked, hand in hand, wandering the building until Jared stopped her. He took her hands into his and just looked her in the eyes. Jared had striking gray eyes, which caused Laura to realize she had a thing for guys with gray eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" Laura asked softly as he gently caressed her face, holding it in his hands.

"I love you, Laura, but I can't do this," Jared said softly. "I can't do us. It's too dangerous for us to be together."

"Why?" Laura asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, letting go of her face, lifting his sleeve, revealing a skull with a raven perched on top, engraved on his forearm: the midnight mark.

Laura pushed him away from her immediately. Her hand moved to where her wand was. She was confused and shocked.

Most of all, Laura felt more betrayed than she had ever felt. Her own boyfriend had joined her number one enemy.

"You joined, Hecate?" she asked, her voice full of hurt and outrage. "How could you do this? You know she's trying to kill me!"

"It's the Midnightness," Jared said, his voice getting emotionless. "But my parents made me, Laura. You have to know that me breaking up with you is to keep you safe."

"She's going to try and kill me nonetheless!" Laura exclaimed. "I can't believe you, Jared. I thought you were better. I thought I knew you better."

With that, Laura turned away. She walked away from him, trying to keep her tears in until she got to her room.

Her dream changed.

Laura was back in Ilvermorny again, except it was her second year.

She was standing next to Nick. They were in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were learning about the forbidden curses.

"Can anyone tell me what the killing spell does?" said their professor, Professor Cosaint. He was Laura's favorite professor and the reason she loved the class for the most part.

But, only one student raised their hand to answer the question: Jared Pike.

"Er- well, the killing curse kills people when they're hit," he said. He looked over at Laura before continuing. "There's only one person known to the wizarding world who has ever survived it..."

Laura had heard this her whole life.

"Harry Potter," she muttered.

Her dream changed once again.

She was in London with her parents and Nick's family. It was the summer before their first year at Ilvermorny. They were on a trip to visit friends and family, stopping at a Muggle Zoo.

Laura and Nick were looking at the snake exhibit, walking over to where the boa constrictor was. A group of Muggles was already there, attempting to wake the sleeping snake.

"Watch it," a larger blond kid told them.

"Dudders, leave the children alone," a large man said.

Nick and Laura didn't say anything, continuing to stare at the snake. Laura glanced over to see a boy with raven hair looking at them.

"Hi," Laura said shyly, sending him a small wave.

"Hi!" Nick grinned.

"Hello," the boy said with a small smile.

The boy had emerald green eyes and a lightning-shaped scar. When Laura realized, her eyes were wide, and she turned to Nick.

"Is that Harry Potter?" she whispered to him.

Nick looked over to the boy, nodding, as his eyes widened.

"I think it is," he said, but before they could ask, the glass broke.

The two of them ran over to their parents. Laura tugged on her dad's arm.

"Dad, I think we just met Harry Potter," Laura said quietly.

"Are you sure, Laura?" her mom asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Aunt Belle, Uncle Felix, Mom, Dad," Nick piped up, "he had the scar- look."

He pointed over to the boy. Their parents went wide-eyed.

Laura's dream changed. This time, it wasn't a memory.

She was now in a chair sitting across from "Midnightess" or Hecate.

"So, you're in London now?" she asked, smirking. Laura sat there, glancing around, trying to figure out what to do. "You know, I heard you got put into the Triwizard Cup."

"Hecate," Laura said seriously. "What do you know?"

"Oh, I don't know anything, darling," Hecate laughed, "but this makes my job easier, doesn't it?"

Laura narrowed her eyes, standing up, but before she could do anything- She was shaken awake.

"Laura, Laura!"

She woke up to see Draco's gray eyes and messy blond hair above her. She glanced around to see she was back in the Slytherin common room.

"I'm awake," she said as Draco pulled her towards him.

"You were talking in your sleep, something along the lines of 'how could you?' and 'why are you here?'" he said, sounding concerned. "And then you started shaking."

"Oh..." Laura breathed. She smiled awkwardly. "I just relieved my breakup from last year... some other memories... then my enemy Hecate showed up and talked to me..."

"Who?" Draco asked, tilting his head. "Why didn't I already know this?"

"Because you don't talk to me very often like this," Laura sighed, leaning back, "Hecate, or the Midnightess, is like my Voldemort-type person; I think she might have an in here at Hogwarts."

Draco cringed slightly at her use of "Voldemort" but listened.

"So, why did you get dumped?" he asked gently, circling back to her first statement.

"My ex-boyfriends joined Hecate," Laura shrugged. "He said it was for my safety... I thought it was stupid, but he's not my boyfriend anymore."

"I'm sorry," Draco said softly, "he sounds very thick-headed."

"I have no clue what that means, but thanks," Laura said with a soft laugh.

"You're welcome," he replied, sounding amused.