───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"Yes, Mum, I'm okay now. Still the same as yesterday." Blair held in her sigh as she reassured her mother for the hundredth time that summer.

As much as she tried to hide it so they wouldn't worry, Blair knew her parents would know sooner or later about what happened during the Quidditch World Cup. The incident seemed to shake her parents more than any trouble Blair found herself in before. As soon as he found out, Blake came back from whatever mission he was doing to check in on her. He only left with the assurance from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that Blair would stay at the Burrow, safe and secure for the entirety of the summer.

On the other hand, Olivia had been talking to her in The Burrow's Floo Network every day since the attack. She didn't miss a day of checking on her daughter and ensuring she was safe and sound. For some reason, whatever her mother was busy with this summer, it didn't allow her to leave at all as she could only talk to Blair. It kind of worried the Chaser, but her mother wouldn't say anything when asked, and so, Blair could only trust that her mother was alright.

"I'm sorry, Honey." Olivia smiled apologetically, knowing her daughter must've been tired of answering the same question and hearing the same things over and over again. "I'm just worried about you. You're my Blair Bear, and I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

Blair's eyes softened, and she smiled at her mother. "I know, Mum. Thank you for being here for me. "

"Always, my dear." Olivia smiled back before finally changing the subject. "Anyways, how was your birthday?"

And Blair found herself rambling about the day before - her birthday. Despite her disappointment that her parents and Oliver weren't there with her, they sent her their presents, and the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione made sure that she had a great day. Mrs. Weasley made her cake and cooked all of her favorites. Mr. Weasley got her this Muggle thing that played music called a turntable and a ton of vinyl records. She got to play Quidditch with the Weasley kids and Harry.

Best of all, she spent the rest of the day with Hermione with the Muggleborn teaching her how the turntable worked and listening to the records Mr. Weasley got. Turned out Hermione Granger's favorite song was "8 Days A Week by The Beatles", and the Muggleborn could only laugh and blush when Blair sang it to her. Turned out the Wood also had an amazing voice.

"Hey, Blair." Harry suddenly came into the room, yawning, when he saw who it was in the fireplace. A smile came onto the Potter's face as he sat down beside Blair and waved hello. "Hey, Aunt Liv."

"Hi, Harry." Olivia smiled back at the boy. "How are you, dear?"

While Dumbledore had instructed the surviving members of the Order, especially Remus, Blake, and Olivia, not to make contact with Harry until he turned 11 and let him live in peace away from the world of magic back at 4 Privet Drive, Blake always had a hard time following rules. And Olivia... given the circumstances, she thought that this would be the one time that she would go against the Headmaster's wishes. The two of them had been giving Harry presents on his birthday ever since he had arrived at his aunt and uncle's house. And Harry only found out it was them when he personally met them after his first year at Hogwarts.

Ever since, when Harry went back to 4 Privet Drive during the summer, the Woods would often come by to bring him out with them to eat lunch, but of course, though they wanted nothing more than to bring him home with them, they always had to bring him back to the Dursleys at the end of the day. But those simple moments with the Woods made Harry feel that he was loved and had an actual family.

For the first time in his life, he felt that he belonged. Harry Potter would forever be grateful to his Aunt Liv and Uncle Blake for treating him like their own son, to Oliver for actually treating him like a little brother (the Keeper was okay to be around when not on the Quidditch pitch), and of course, to Blair for being a great friend and sister figure to him.

"Doing good, Auntie. We miss you lots." Harry answered with a smile before turning to Blair, remembering why he went there in the first place. "Oh, Blair, Mrs. Weasley told me that we'll be going in a bit. They've also put your luggage in the car."

As Blair was born on the 31st of August, the day after her birthday was always the first day of a new school year at Hogwarts. She remembered pretending that she wasn't crying when Oliver went away for his first four years. Then, the time came for her to become a student herself, and boy was Blair making her name at the school.

"Alright, thanks, Harry." Blair sent him a smile before turning back to her mother in the fireplace. "Mum, I have to go. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, Blair. Please, please take care, my dear." Olivia pleaded with Blair before addressing both her and Harry. "You too, Harry. See you both soon."

Then, Olivia's face disappeared from the fireplace. Blair felt a pang of sadness at the thought of missing her mother so much, but it looked like Olivia did have something important to do.

Before she could worry again about her mother, Blair turned to Harry with a smile and motioned to the door. "Shall we?"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Standing in front of the Hogwarts Express, Mrs. Weasley was fussing over Blair by fixing her hair, checking the girl from head to toe. "Got everything ready? Are you alright? Oh, dear. I-"

Blair cut her off as she gave her a quick hug. "Mrs. Weasley. I'll be fine. I think this will be a quiet year, you know?"

Mrs. Weasley gave her a stern look. "Nothing's ever quiet with you lot. Alright then, stay out of- be careful, Blair."

"I will, Mrs. Weasley. See you!" Blair waved goodbye to her before going inside the train to look for the Prancers. But to her surprise and delight, she bumped into the woman she would never pass up an opportunity to see. "Blimey, Granger. Been together the whole summer, and as if fate has had it, we see each other again."

"We go to the same school, Wood." Hermione bluntly responded. "And you're acting like you didn't see me earlier."

"Oh." Blair could only utter out before plastering a grin again on her face. "Point proven, Granger, it is the universe's will to bring us together. You're stuck with me."

"Unfortunately." Hermione muttered under her breath so that Blair could not hear before remembering why she went to look for Blair in the first place. "Anyways, I came looking for you to tell you that Neville, Seamus, and Dean are sitting there."

Dramatic as she always was, Blair let out a loud gasp and held a hand to her mouth. "Y-Y-You came to look for me."

Now, Hermione found herself flustered, seeing that look... that soft and adoring look that Blair had whenever she looked at Hermione. "D-Don't make a big deal out of this! I just didn't want you to get into trouble again after last year."

Last year, the Prancers had decided to give the trip to Hogwarts... some excitement. So, they decided to switch out the trolley lady's sweets for some of the food products they got at Zonko's, and food products from Zonko's were to be avoided at all costs. Though they had a bit of a laugh at the beginning, they weren't able to see the full fruits of their prank as Dementors suddenly came on the train. To everyone's shock and confusion, the Dementors seemed to have their targets set on Blair as all of them came down on her at once. It was a good thing Lupin was there to chase them away, but it made Blair unable to join the rest of the students at the Start-of-Term Feast.

"Don't worry, the Prancers have changed. We're now prim and proper." Blair ruffled her own hair before she sent the unbelieving Hermione a genuine smile. "But thank you for looking out for me, Granger. They might be waiting for me, so..."

"My pleasure, Wood. Stay out of trouble, at least for this train ride, alright?"

"Word of the Wood, Granger."

Hermione gave her one last smile before she went to her own compartment with Harry and Ron, missing the way Blair watched her go with the gentlest of gazes. The Wood had to take a deep breath to calm her heart down before she finally went the opposite direction, towards the compartment Hermione pointed out to her.

"CAELUM!"

"GRAMEN!"

Blair and Neville hugged each other, the latter launching himself at the former once she opened the door to their compartment. She missed the boy greatly after not seeing him for an entire summer though they sent letters to one another regularly.

"Ignis, Tranqs." Blair also pulled the two boys into their group hug, which lasted a few seconds before they finally pulled away and sat down. "How've you been, you lot?"

"How have we been? We should be asking how are you?" Seamus said incredulously. "After what happened during the Quidditch World Cup, Caelum. That was scary."

"Shay." Dean nudged the boy to tell him to slow down, signing him to tread carefully because this was a sensitive topic for one of them.

Seeing that Seamus was about to apologize, Neville just smiled reassuringly. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have even wanted to talk about it, even mention it at all. But this was his family, this was the Prancers. They were the only ones he trusted with the knowledge of what happened to his family. "It's alright, Ignis. You just beat me to asking Bee how she is."

Then, all eyes turned to Blair, waiting for her response. She thought of brushing it off like she usually did, saying that it was alright and all that, but she wouldn't do that. Not when she knew how much the Cruciatus Curse meant to Neville.

"Well, it was. Scary." Blair admitted with all honesty in her voice, and she smiled at Neville who took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It was painful, and I... I don't know how your parents did it, Nev, but I just know they were so brave. I feel nothing but respect for them."

The Herbologist-in-the-making could feel the tears coming into his eyes, so he blinked them away and relished in the feeling of his three best friends' arms around him. He felt Blair squeeze his hand and sent her a small smile. "Thank you, Caelum. Actually, after hearing of what happened to you, I went to visit them immediately. I... I knew they were safe, but I just wanted to make sure. I told them I could not be any prouder to be called their son."

"We know they're proud to have such a brave and loving son like you, Gramen." Dean patted his friend on the back.

"They don't even know they have a son, Tranqs." Neville chuckled sadly.

"Next time, we'll come visit them with you, if you'd like." Seamus suggested with a grin. "We can tell them all about our adventures and introduce the Prancers to them!"

"That's actually a great idea, Ignis." Blair nodded along with Dean.

Neville looked from Blair to Dean to Seamus, a look of almost disbelief on his face. "You'd do that? For me?"

"We're the Prancers, Gramen. We laugh together, we smile together, we cry together, we prance together." Dean bumped his shoulder with Neville's playfully.

That and the matching smiles on Blair and Seamus' faces was all the assurance Neville needed. Why did he even ask? These 3 people with him right now would even give up their lives for him. And so, with a feeling of immense gratitude, the Longbottom gave them another hug.

"And hey, Gramen, guess what, we are set to start Phase 2 of the plan - "

"The Perfect Prancer Ploy." Blair and Seamus interjected with grins on their faces, cutting off Dean in the middle of his sentence.

"The Perfect Prancer Ploy." Dean corrected with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh! I can't wait to see our Elemental Forms." Neville gushed in excitement.

That's right. The Perfect Prancer Ploy was all about becoming Elementals, an ancient art of magic that enabled wizards and witches to live, breathe, eat, and transform into the element aligned with their soul. Why? Imagine being able to fly without a broom, eat firecrackers, breathe underwater, and make plants and flowers grow instantly. All without a wand. Magic knows no limits, so they said, and here were the Prancers, challenging the limits and boundaries as they knew it.

Finding out their elements had been the first phase of their plan, and they had done it towards the end of their third year. Their corresponding elements were air for Blair, fire for Seamus, water for Dean, and earth for Nevile. Hence, the origin of their nicknames for one another.

"Just make sure you got your items ready, okay?" Dean received nods from the other three. Phase 2 was set to commence soon, and hopefully, they'd be able to finish up by the end of the year.

"We're still a long way from Hogwarts, and... I've got some spare firecrackers here." Seamus smirked mischievously. "How about giving the first years a proper welcome to Hogwarts?"

"I'm in!" Neville raised his hand immediately.

"Oh, dear." Dean let out a sigh though his smile showed that he was in it too. "Is there any point in trying to stop you?"

Then, the three boys realized something. Simultaneously, they all turned to look at Blair who had a conflicted look on her face as she remembered giving Hermione her word to behave for the train ride.

"Caelum?" Neville looked worriedly at their silent friend. "Are you alright?"

"Well... I may have given Granger my word that we'll be prim and proper for the train ride? That we wouldn't cause any trouble for now?" Blair smiled awkwardly, blushing at the teasing grins that came on her friends' faces.

"Dearest Tranqs and Gramen, we've lost her to the dark side." Seamus said dramatically while slumping down and leaning onto Dean.

"Don't be dramatic." Dean rolled his eyes and pushed the boy off him, earning an indignant gasp from Seamus and chuckles from Blair and Neville. "Besides, this is Caelum we're talking about. She'll do anything and everything for Hermione."

"Well, that is true, Ignis, Tranqs. Remember the time she filled Snape's dungeon with pink carnations for Hermione?"

"Or the time she made the crystal balls in Professor Trelawney's classroom make the shape of a heart with the initials HG inside? My fright for those balls."

"You're forgetting the best one, Shay, Nev. When she enchanted the gargoyle outside Professor Dumbledore's office to sing this Muggle love song, 'How Deep Is Your Love', to Hermione - "

"Okay, okay. Point taken! I do love Granger." Blair cut them off, ruffling her hair in embarrassment of the things she had done for Hermione Granger. Then, a mischievous smile came onto her face. "However, boys, I only said that we'd behave for the train ride. Didn't tell her we'd behave for the rest of our life. I heard Mallory was being an arse to my dear Granger during the World Cup. Let's give them a proper welcome back to Hogwarts, shall we?"

Seamus, Dean, and Neville grinned at each other. That was their Caelum right there. Despite how down bad she was for Hermione Granger, she will never be able to resist the urge to wreak havoc, especially on those who targeted her dear Granger.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Blair and the Prancers walked down the hall and sat at the Gryffindor table, stares and whispers following Blair as she went. Hermione could only roll her eyes at how people looked at the Wood as if she was a piece of meat. Of course, she really did grow over the summer, but that still didn't give them any right to stare at her like that. Blair was so much more than her looks, and Hermione could only shake her head at the thought of people not seeing that.

"Hello, Granger." Blair greeted with a seemingly innocent smile on her face.

"Wood." Hermione greeted back, her eyebrow raised when she noticed the smiles on her and the other Prancers' faces. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." Blair shrugged her shoulders and kept that smile on her face, the smile that had been perfected over years of troublemaking. Then, she smirked and ruffled her hair. "Interested in my whereabouts, are you? Or simply, interested in... me?"

"As if." Hermione scoffed. "The only thing about you that would interest me is how you manage to keep yourself straight with how big your head is."

"Well, good thing I'm not straight then." Blair laughed at her joke along with the Prancers but boiled it down to a chuckle when she saw Hermione's unamused gaze. "Just messing with you, Granger. And for the record, I did keep my word. We didn't do anything on the train ride here."

Hermione glanced at Seamus, Neville, and Dean who still had the same innocent expression on their faces and let out a sigh. It was not like there was anything she could do at this point. At least, it seemed like Blair was safe. "Well, at least, you kept your word. And you look fine."

"W-W-What?" Blair sputtered out, blushing at Hermione's words and the implication they had. Did... Did Hermione think she was -

"Merlin, Wood! I meant you look fine as in okay fine." Hermione's cheeks flushed as she rushed to correct herself, realizing what Blair had thought. The bushy-haired witch saw the Prancers, Harry, and Ron all holding back the urge to laugh and just groaned. "Where is Professor McGonagall?"

And right on cue, saving Hermione from the embarrassment, Professor McGonagall came in with the long line of first years. She set the hat on the stool, and Mr. Hat as Blair called it opened his mouth to sing.

A thousand years or more ago,

When I was newly sewn,

There lived four wizards of renown,

Whose names are still well known:

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,

Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,

Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,

Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,

They hatched a daring plan

To educate young sorcerers

Thus Hogwarts School began.

Now each of these four founders

Formed their own house, for each

Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were

Prized far beyond the rest;

For Ravenclaw, the cleverest

Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were

Most worthy of admission;

And power-hungry Slytherin

Loved those of great ambition.

While still alive they did divide

Their favorites from the throng,

Yet how to pick the worthy ones

When they were dead and gone?

'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,

He whipped me off his head

The founders put some brains in me

So I could choose instead!

Now slip me snug about your ears,

I've never yet been wrong,

I'll have a look inside your mind

And tell where you belong!

"Huh, just noticed the song's different every year." Dean commented while clapping along with everyone.

"Hey, Gramen, I bet next year we could get him to duet with Trevor." Blair whispered to her other three friends, making them all laugh at her suggestion.

"I have a suggestion for what they could sing - Croak Me Up!" Seamus added in, and the four of them spent the entire Sorting making up ridiculous theories about the Hat and ideas about what song it would sing next year.

After a long while, the Sorting finished with Whitby being sorted into Hufflepuff. Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

"I have only two words to say to you," Dumbledore told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" The Prancers shouted out while filling their plates. After all, no one makes good food like the house-elves do here at Hogwarts.

"Hey, look there." Seamus pointed out with a snicker, making the four of them look to Slytherin's table and hold in their laughter when they saw a bald Draco Malfoy trying desperately to hide his new shining head with the hood of his robes. But he failed to do so because the robes themselves were enchanted to slide off his head. Malfoy obviously knew who had done it with the glare he had on the Prancers, but then again, he didn't have proof.

The laughter of the quartet got the attention of Hermione, Harry, and Ron who also looked to the Slytherin table and found what they were laughing at. Harry and Ron didn't even try to hide their glee while Hermione turned back around and took a sip from her goblet in an attempt to mask the amused smile on her face at the prank.

"You four are geniuses." Ron grinned at the Prancers, who gave a faux bow in their seats.

"Well, I guess that's what bleaching does to your hair." Blair commented with a sigh, an obviously fake look of sadness on her face. "Rest in pieces, Mallory's hair."

While the boys burst into laughter, Hermione just shook her head and raised an eyebrow at Blair. "I have to admit, that was amusing, Wood."

"Well, I couldn't let him get away with what he did to you, Granger." Blair whispered softly, her words for only the two of them to hear. "Anyone who dares to hurt you will face me."

"I..." Hermione was taken aback by the sudden sincerity in Blair's voice then bit her lip to prevent the smile from spreading on her face. "You didn't have to, but thank you, Wood."

"Always." Blair smiled back before tuning back into the conversation between the Prancers, her grin hurting her cheeks. Yet, no matter how hard she tried to stop herself from smiling, it would automatically spread on her face just by thinking of the girl beside her and the interaction that they had. One step at a time.

"No, really, Olli and I - " Blair was cut off in the middle of her story about her and Oliver playing Quidditch in the winter when the sound of a knife and a fork falling onto a plate caught her attention. She looked to her right and saw Hermione pushing away her barely touched plate of food and crossing her arms.

"Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor." And she refused to eat another bite.

Blair, though she did not understand what was happening, did the same to her nearly empty plate. "Yeah, this is slave labor."

Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean snickered at Blair's actions as Hermione sent her a grateful smile. While Blair had already finished most of her food, her gesture of willingly supporting and standing by Hermione no matter what was much appreciated.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered," A scoff came from Hermione as Dumbledore continued. "I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it." The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched.

The Prancers exchanged smirks. After the past three years, Mr. Filch knew better for himself. He knew better than to stand in the way of the Prancers, especially with what they had in store for this year.

Dumbledore continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"WHAT?" Blair got on her feet, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open in a comical manner. She looked at her fellow members in her Quidditch team and saw them looking as appalled as she was.

"Wood, calm down." Hermione whispered and pulled her down to sit, but Blair was still in shock about what happened. A year without Quidditch... that is impossible.

Suddenly, there was a deafening rumble of thunder, and the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger.

A smile made its way onto Blair's face, recognizing the old man who just walked in. "Mister Alastor!"

Hermione looked at her in confusion. "You know him?"

"He's the one who trained me. Bloody hell, I didn't think this was his special mission." Blair grinned and waved as Moody's normal eye met hers and winked.

"No way, I always heard from Grandmum that he's a tenacious Auror. Never took a day off until he rounded up the rest of the Death Eaters." Neville muttered in amazement.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except for Blair, Dumbledore, and Hagrid, who all put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody apart from Blair who was just smiling widely at the Auror, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred loudly. The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke.

Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er - but maybe this is not the time... no..." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament... well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"Death toll?" Hermione whispered, looking alarmed before her gaze turned to Harry then to Blair who was already looking at her. But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by the majority of students in the Hall; many of them were whispering excitedly to one another, but Blair was far more interested in the way Hermione's eyes drifted towards her for a moment.

With their eyes locked on one another, Blair couldn't help the smile on her face as she stared at Hermione. The way her hair flipped when she looked towards Blair, those brown wavy curls that smelled like roses. The way her eyebrows furrowed out of worry maybe for her or for Harry or the both of them.

"Hey, Hermione, is our dear Caelum more interesting than what our Headmaster has to say?" Seamus suddenly said in a teasing tone while both Neville and Dean let out low wolf whistles. Actually, the three of them were listening to Dumbledore when they noticed the two girls just staring at each other as if the rest of the world had faded away, and it was only them in the room.

Despite her red cheeks at being caught, the Muggleborn crossed her arms indignantly as she looked away from Blair. "I'm just worried your friend here will find herself in trouble and will somehow enter the tournament. For some reason, she always finds herself in even more danger than Harry."

While Seamus, Dean, and Neville burst into laughter, Blair let out a sound of protest. "Hey."

"Shhh, I'm listening, Wood." Hermione turned back to Dumbledore, leaving a silent and pouty Blair there.

"Whipped." Dean coughed out, making Blair glare at him while Hermione just bit her lip to keep herself from smiling.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. At every House table, Blair could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbors.

But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more. "Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This-"

Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"Well, there you have it, Hermione. You don't have to worry about Caelum." Neville brought up in a casual tone, but there was a hint of teasing underlying it while Seamus wiggled his eyebrows at the Granger, and Dean could only laugh at them.

"Funny." Hermione shook her head with a sigh, exasperated yet just the tiniest bit amused at the Prancers and their relentless teasing.

"Well, there go my chances at eternal glory." Blair let out a sigh but took it back immediately when Hermione glared at her. "I'm joking!"

"You better." Hermione muttered under her breath, and she wasn't joking at all.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!" Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed toward the double doors into the entrance hall.

Looking one last time at their table, Blair had an idea. "Boys, I'm going to the kitchens first, you wanna come with?"

"Sure." Neville agreed immediately.

"Alright, I got the password from one of the Prefects anyways." Dean shrugged.

"You know I'll follow you to the end of the world, dearest Caelum." Seamus pumped his chest out.

"My trusty siege, dearest Ignis." Blair bowed down to her best friend, making Neville laugh with them while Dean could only shake his head.

"Besides..." Blair smirked at them. "You've missed my spaghetti, haven't you?"

"Race you to the kitchen!" Seamus suddenly took off.

"Oi! You can't go without the cook!" Blair immediately followed after, her long strides enabling her to catch up with Seamus.

"Wait, I want some too." Neville ran right after them with a pout on his face.

"...Children. The whole lot of them." Dean sighed as he simply walked, choosing to preserve his energy.

Unbeknownst to them, Professor McGonagall had turned the corridor and saw the Prancers - Blair, Seamus, and Neville running with Dean walking right behind them. As a professor, she should have called out to them and told them to go back to their dorms. But the scene in front of her just brought her back to a simpler time when there were another 4 Gryffindors running down the halls of Hogwarts and making mischief.

So, with a reminiscent smile on her face, Professor McGonagall turned back around and pretended she did not see anything at all. "Oh, to be young."

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"Thanks for the pasta, Caelum." Seamus said with a yawn as the Prancers snuck back into the empty Gryffindor Common Room.

"Still the best spaghetti I've ever tasted." Dean patted Blair on the shoulder.

Neville let out a yawn and stretched. "Merlin, Blair. Do you think she's still awake?"

Blair stifled her yawn and held tighter onto the tray she had in her hands. "Probably, Nev. They always stay up late during the first night. Anyways, I'll see you in a bit. Good night."

"Good night, Caelum." Each of them gave her a hug before they separated.

Blair slowly walked up the stairs and heard her roommates' giggles, and she took a deep breath before knocking on the door and opening it. "Hey, guys."

Lavender, Parvati and Fay shared glances before blushing and giggling once more. "Hi, Blair."

"Had a great summer?"

"Yeah." Blair responded with a small smile before walking over to Hermione, who was simply sitting in her bed and reading a book. Once Blair arrived in front of her, Hermione took her eyes away from the book and raised an eyebrow in question.

Blair smiled shyly as she held out the tray. "Hey, Granger. I know you haven't eaten so here."

Hermione's eyes widened when she took the tray and took off the cover to see food. There was spaghetti, a treacle tart, and some pumpkin juice. The other three in the room who had been observing the scene were holding in their giggles at how sweet Blair was.

The Wood had seen Hermione's bewilderment and explained immediately. "Don't worry, I cooked the spaghetti, and I baked the treacle tarts. And... ummm, the pumpkin juice? The pumpkin juice was from their stock, but I was the one who put it in the cup! So, it's not slave labor. This meal is the labor of my love."

Hermione's cheeks flushed again like they always did with Blair's words, and then, she smiled at the woman who never failed to make her feel cared for. "Thank you, Blair. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Granger." Blair ruffled her hair and smirked. "Now that you know I'm a great cook, will you go out with me?"

Lavender, Parvati and Fay squealed. Hermione went even redder and rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Wood."

Blair pouted, and Hermione let out a soft sigh before reaching out and giving Blair's hand a squeeze. "Thank you for the food, Blair, but it's still a no."

The Wood just sighed before smiling again. "It's no problem, Mione. I'll get going now. Good night to you all."

Lavender, Parvati and Fay all bid her goodnight, and Blair turned to Hermione hopefully.

Hermione let out a sigh and smiled at her. "Good night, Blair. Have a good night's sleep."

Blair's face lit up as if she won the Quidditch cup, and she muttered a soft, "Good night, Granger. Sweet dreams."

As Blair stumbled out of the room, Hermione couldn't fight the grin on her face while she ate her food. Hmmm, such a good cook. What couldn't Blair Wood do?

Blair ran to the boys' room and slammed the door open. "Gramen, Tranqs, Ignis! You can't believe what just happened. Oh, Harry, Ron, you're awake too! Perfect."

The five boys groaned in unison as Blair started her story of how she cooked Hermione food and gained a squeeze of the hand, a good night, a nice try, and 2 smiles in return. As much as they loved the Wood, they love their sleep more.

Dean whispered to them. "Did you learn the spell?"

Seamus nodded. "It's Silencio. Harry, you do it."

Harry nodded and took out his wand and pointed it at the unsuspecting Blair. "Silencio."

At once, Blair's voice became muted as the five boys sighed in relief and cozied up in their beds and bid each other good night. They were all tired, and knowing Blair, she'd go on and on about this story for a week or so. They'll hear about it again tomorrow. As she always did when it came to Hermione. The girl was too invested in her story about Hermione Granger that she went on till 2 in the morning without noticing that they were all asleep.

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