six : I SHOULD'VE STAYED IN BED

chapter vi : i should've stayed in bed

"the hogwarts champion is ..."

THE DIM, SECLUDED HALLWAY outside the History of Magic classroom usually offered a quiet respite, a forgotten corner where shadows clung to ancient tapestries. Today, however, it was the stage for something far less tranquil. Valerie and Draco, driven by a need that seemed to eclipse all common sense, were locked in a kiss that devoured the scant light. Their bodies were pressed impossibly close, a desperate fusion that sought to erase every inch of space between them, every societal barrier that screamed wrong, wrong, wrong. Valerie's hands were tangled in Draco's soft, platinum hair, pulling him closer still, while his arms were a vice around her waist, lifting her slightly, deepening the consuming fire between their lips. The world outside that kiss, outside the suffocating, exhilarating bubble of their shared secret, simply ceased to exist.

Then, a sharp, alien sound.

Click.

It was thin, precise, and utterly, horrifyingly recognisable. Valerie's breath hitched, the kiss dying on her lips. Draco's head snapped back, his eyes, usually so guarded, blown wide with a raw, panicked terror that instantly mirrored her own.

Standing mere feet away, frozen like a badly conjured statue, was Ron Weasley. His phone, held awkwardly in front of him. His face, usually a canvas of easygoing expressions, was a masterpiece of pure, unadulterated bewilderment and utter, profound disgust. His mouth hung slightly agape, eyes darting from Valerie's flushed face to Draco's equally pale one, then back to the illicit photo now undoubtedly saved on his screen.

A silent, agonising beat passed.

The air crackled, not with stolen passion, but with the suffocating static of absolute horror.

Then, Ron found his voice. It was less a voice and more a strangled, high-pitched yelp, like a surprised banshee. He didn't think, didn't hesitate. He simply turned on his heel and bolted, his long legs piston-pumping down the corridor with ultimate speed.

"No!" Valerie's voice hitched. A raw, terrified sound. The word tore from her throat, laced with an almost manic desperation.

HE'S GOING TO HARRY!

MY BROTHER!

HE'LL KNOW! HE WILL HATE ME!

The thoughts were a cold, searing blade, slicing through the last vestiges of her composure.

Draco, for his part, was utterly immobile, a living statue carved from pure shock. The weight of the Malfoy name seemed to descend upon him, cementing him to the spot. His face was stark white, his grey eyes wide with a fear that went beyond mere exposure – a fear of ruin, of consequences so dire he couldn't even process them. The idea of joining the chase didn't even register: he was paralysed, caught in the immediate, terrifying fallout.

Valerie, however, had no such luxury.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins, a fiery whip. She launched herself forward, her robes billowing, a whirlwind of desperate panic. She started to run. "RON WEASLEY! GET BACK HERE!" Her voice echoed, utterly undignified. She had never run so fast in her entire life.

Ron, despite his gangly appearance, was surprisingly fleet-footed, a blur of red hair disappearing around the corner.

As she rounded the bend after him, a muffled gasp and a ripple of whispers met her ears. Students from the History of Magic classroom, drawn by the commotion, were plastered against the windows, their faces pressed against the glass.

They stared, wide-eyed and openly amused, at the spectacle unfolding before them, like spectators at the most dramatic, unplanned TV show. The humiliation burned Valerie's cheeks even as her lungs screamed for air.

            "GIVE ME YOUR PHONE!" She bellowed, gaining on him, her voice cracking with desperation. Ron, still tearing down the corridor, suddenly felt a small, determined weight launch onto his back.

Valerie had leaped, a furious, scrambling squirrel, desperately trying to clamber up his long frame.

           "AHHH! GET OFF ME, YOU SQUIRREL!" Ron yelped, a fresh, panicked sound. He bucked and swayed, shoulders slumped under her surprising weight, trying to dislodge her. A bizarre, flailing two-headed beast. Valerie clung on with all her might, her fingers scrabbling at his pockets, desperate to find the phone. Her hair had escaped its neat straight hair, now a wild, dark tangle around her face, plastered to her sweating forehead.

         "GIVE! IT! TO! ME!" She pleaded between gasps, her nails scratching against his robes. She was half-hanging off his back, legs dangling. In her frantic struggle, her foot caught on something, and she stumbled, losing her precarious grip. With a desperate cry, she landed with a thump on the cold stone, but her hands, by instinct, clamped onto Ron's ankles. He was still standing, surprisingly, but now awkwardly trying to shuffle away, a frantic dance with a human anchor.

        "RON! PLEASE—" She begged, looking up at his bewildered, horrified face, her own contorted with raw terror. The thought of Harry, of his furious disappointment, of the inevitable chasm between them, twisted in her gut. "PLEASE! YOU CAN'T!!"

Just then, Harry and Hermione ran out the classroom, their faces a mixture of confusion and growing alarm. "What the hell is going on?!" Harry yelled, his eyes widening at the chaotic scene: Valerie, disheveled and wild-eyed, sprawled on the floor clinging to Ron's legs, while Ron stood, slumped and breathless, looking like he'd just wrestled a particularly aggressive Niffler. Harry's left arm was casted with a white cast, a stark reminder of Pansy Parkinson's venomous jinx.

Valerie, seeing Harry, felt her last reserves of fight drain away. She slowly, reluctantly, released Ron's legs, letting her hands fall to the cold flagstones. She sat there, panting, utterly defeated, her robes askew.

Ron, equally breathless from the sprint and the unexpected passenger, stood hunched over, his chest heaving.

He looked from Harry's bewildered face to Valerie's, still on the floor, her eyes wide, glistening with an almost painful plea. Ron, for all his bluster, felt a genuine pang of guilt. Valerie was one of his closest friends, basically a sister to him.

And while Harry was his ultimate best friend, seeing the raw, exposed terror on Valerie's face, the sheer desperation to protect her secret, hit him hard.

He swallowed, then, with a flicker of sudden, surprising compassion, shoved his phone quickly, almost clumsily, into his pocket.

          "Nothing!" Ron blurted out, a little too loudly, gesturing vaguely at Valerie. "She just... she's mad because I took a really bad photo of her, with a very embarrassing filter, and I said I would post it on Instagram!" He glanced down at Valerie, giving her a quick, subtle, almost imperceptible flick of his eyes, a silent command: play along.

A wave of dizzying relief washed over Valerie, so potent it made her lightheaded.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ron Weasley! She thought, the words a silent prayer of gratitude, so profound it brought tears to her eyes. The immediate crisis, against all odds, was averted. For now.

Valerie, still breathless and slightly disheveled, slowly picked herself up from the corridor floor. Ron, still looking a mixture of exasperated and relieved, gave her a quick, almost imperceptible nod before turning to Harry and Hermione, launching into a slightly garbled, but ultimately convincing, explanation about the 'embarrassing filter.' Harry and Hermione, though clearly still baffled, seemed to accept it for now.

Valerie, however, only had eyes for one person. She risked a glance toward the History of Magic classroom. Inside, Draco Malfoy stood rigidly beside Blaise Zabini, his usual composed demeanor shattered. He was pale, his grey eyes darting nervously towards the corridor, a clear sign of his deep unease. He had no idea what had just transpired or if their secret was still safe. His attempt at composure was valiant but failed: a faint tremor in his hand, a slight tension in his shoulders, betrayed his inner turmoil. When his gaze finally met hers, it was filled with a desperate, unspoken question. Valerie gave him the smallest, most reassuring nod she could manage, a silent promise that the immediate danger had passed.

The bell for the end of class shrilled, a welcome distraction. As students began to trickle out, Valerie moved quickly, slipping past Ron, Harry, and Hermione who were still discussing the 'photo incident.' She feigned adjusting her bag as she passed Draco, expertly pressing a folded piece of parchment into his hand. Her fingers brushed his, a quick, almost electric contact that, despite everything, sent a familiar jolt through her. Draco's grey eyes flickered down to the note: Ron kept quiet. We're safe. For now.

Later that day, the weight of the incident settled heavily upon Valerie and Draco. The close call with Ron, the humiliating spectacle, and the terrifying possibility of their secret exploding into the open, forced a realisation: they needed to pull back. The thrilling, dangerous proximity they had indulged in now felt too precarious, too risky. It was an unspoken agreement between them: a mutual, painful recognition that the thrill had almost cost them everything.

They avoided lingering looks, their clandestine meetings ceased, and the heated, stolen moments became a painful memory rather than a present reality. The distance hurt, a dull ache in the place where a fierce, forbidden fire had once burned, but the fear of exposure was a far stronger deterrent.

Two weeks had passed since the incident in the corridor. It was now the end of October, and Halloween had arrived, bringing with it the much-anticipated day of the Triwizard Champions' selection. The Great Hall was a spectacle of festive enchantment. A cloud of live bats fluttered playfully around the enchanted ceiling, their silhouettes dancing against the starry sky above, while hundreds of carved pumpkins, each with a unique, leering grin, glowed ominously from every corner.

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual, perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, adding to the palpable impatience in the hall. Harry's left arm was still encased in a white cast, a stark reminder of Pansy Parkinson's venomous jinx. It was covered in a colourful array of signatures and silly drawings from well-wishers, a testament to his enduring popularity. He picked at his extravagantly prepared food, not seeming to fancy it as much as he normally would have.

Everyone else in the Hall, however, had impatient expressions, a few students even standing up from time to time to crane their necks and see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet.

Meanwhile, Pansy Parkinson, the architect of Harry's broken arm, was notably absent.

She had indeed cast the bone-breaking jinx on Harry, intending it for Valerie.

The choice of the arm was deliberate: in their frequent arguments, Valerie had a habit of delivering sharp, stinging slaps to Pansy's face. The broken arm was meant to disable Valerie, to prevent her from striking back for a considerable time. However, despite the severity of her actions, Pansy had escaped expulsion. Born into an incredibly respected and wealthy pure-blood family, her parents' influence had ensured she was only suspended from school for three weeks.

The morning after the incident, she had taken the train ride home, not to a warm welcome, but to deeply disappointed parents who viewed her actions as a stain on their family's impeccable reputation.

Harry, rushed to the Hospital Wing that day, found Madam Pomfrey unable to fully heal his arm: the jinx was too strong, leaving him with little more than a simple white cast.

At long last, the golden plates on the tables returned to their original spotless state. A sharp upswing in the level of noise filled the Hall, which then died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore announced, his voice carrying clearly through the hushed hall. "Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber." He indicated the door behind the staff table. "—Where they will be receiving their first instructions." He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it. At once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging the Hall into a state of semi-darkness.

The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, its sparkling, bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. The flames inside the goblet suddenly turned red. The next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, and a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it. A collective gasp swept through the room. Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment.

"The champion for Durmstrang," He read, in a strong, clear voice, "Will be Viktor Krum!"

          "—No surprises there," Eric Lewis muttered, as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. He watched Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table – having opted to sit with his fellow students – and ascended through the chamber.

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore declared, "Is Fleur Delacour!"

The girl who resembled a Veela stood gracefully, her silvery hair shimmering, and swept past between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. "Oh wow, she's gorgeous," Millicent exclaimed, before Miranda spoke, pointing over at the Beauxbatons students. "Why are they all disappointed?" Indeed, two of the Beauxbatons girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears, sobbing with their heads on their arms.

It was now the selection of the Hogwarts champion. "I hope it's Angelina Johnson," Daphne smiled, leaning forward expectantly.

"My bet is on pretty Diggory," Eric grinned, ever the enthusiast for the popular choice. The Goblet of Fire turned red once more, and Dumbledore caught the third piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"

Eric sprang to his feet, triumphantly cheering, though his roar was nowhere near as loud as the joyous clamour from the Hufflepuff table. He was the only one from the Slytherin table who had jumped to his feet.

"Calm down, you crazy fan boy!" Valerie laughed, a genuine, if slightly strained, sound as she slowly pulled her best friend to sit back down. The applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as the uproar of the Great Hall died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real—" Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.

The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and with it, another piece of parchment. Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which he stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at their Headmaster, a profound silence once more descending.

Albus Dumbledore finally cleared his throat, the sound a surprisingly loud punctuation in the vast, hushed hall, and read out, his voice now devoid of its earlier cheer:

"Harry and Valerie Potter."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ♡ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

THE TWINS REMAINED frozen at their separate House tables, each word echoing in the cavernous silence that had instantly descended. Valerie felt the blood drain from her face, a cold rush. Numbness was too simple a word: it was an electric shock, a full-body disconnect from reality. No. Her mind screamed the single word, a desperate, silent protest. They were surely dreaming. There was no applause, only a low, visceral buzzing, like a hive of angry, disturbed bees, starting to fill the Hall. Some students were already standing up, craning their necks, their eyes wide with disbelief, all fixed on either Harry, pale and still at the Gryffindor table, or Valerie, equally pale and rigid amidst her Slytherin peers.

Valerie's gaze, against her will, snapped to Eric. Beyond him, across the stunned silence of the long Slytherin table, she saw the sea of open-mouthed faces, the bewildered, even hostile, stares. And then, her eyes found his. Draco Malfoy's jaw had indeed dropped, his usual composed sneer utterly wiped away, replaced by an expression of raw, unadulterated shock. His grey eyes, usually so guarded, were wide, reflecting the flickering candlelight and, for a fleeting, terrifying moment, an alarm that mirrored her own.

        "I didn't put my name in," Valerie muttered blankly to Eric, the words a raw whisper. "You know I didn't." He stared just as blankly back at her, his own shock palpable.

"Harry and Valerie Potter!" Albus Dumbledore's voice, now sharper, more insistent, cut through the escalating murmur. "Up here, if you please!"

Valerie didn't move. Her feet felt rooted to the cold floor. Her twin's face across the hall was a pale mirror of her own horror.

       "Go on," Daphne whispered, giving her a slight push, her voice gentle despite the general unrest.

Slowly, agonisingly, Valerie forced her legs to obey.

Each step felt like an immense, public declaration, an endless walk to an unseen gallows.

She had eye contact with her brother the whole time, a silent, desperate communication between them, their faces etched with the same bewildered, terrified look. She could feel hundreds of eyes upon them, a suffocating weight that pressed down from every corner of the Hall.

As she passed the Slytherin table, her gaze locked with Draco's again. His initial shock had hardened into a tight-lipped mask, but his eyes, when they met hers, were intense, dark with a shared understanding, a silent, desperate question. He looked... afraid for her.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was only moments, they were finally standing right beside each other in front of Dumbledore, feeling the piercing, bewildered stares of all the teachers upon them, their faces a mixture of confusion and grim resignation.

       "Well.... through the door, Potters." Dumbledore instructed, his voice low, his face grim. He wasn't smiling; the twinkling had vanished from his eyes.The twins went through the door, stepping out of the thunderstruck Great Hall and into a smaller room, lined with paintings of stern witches and wizards. A handsome fire was roaring in the fireplace opposite them, casting flickering shadows that danced ominously.

           "Someone definitely wants us dead," Valerie murmured, her voice raw, stripped of all her usual fire. She didn't accuse her brother: she knew, with an absolute certainty that transcended magic, that he would never have done this to either of them.

         "We're never going to have a quiet year at all, are we?" Harry said, the words heavy with a bitter weariness, as they found themselves truly alone for the first time since the announcement. The weight of the world, and their terrifying secret, pressed down.

Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. The french girl was first to notice the two siblings that entered, "What is it?" She asked, "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?" She thought they had come to deliver a message. They didn't know how to explain what had just happened. They simply stood there, staring right at the three champions.

Out of nowhere, the door behind them opened and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody and Professor Snape. Before Professor McGonagall closed the door, they heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall.

       "—We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," Karkaroff spoke, his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

     "It's no one's fault but the twins, Karkaroff," Snape mentioned softly. His black eyes were alight with malice. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for the Potter's determination to break rules. They have been crossing lines ever since they both arrived here—"

     "Thank you, Severus," said Dumbledore firmly, and Snape went quiet. Professor Dumbledore was now looking down at the twins. "Did either of you put each other's names into the Goblet of Fire?" He asked calmly.

Harry and Valerie answers in unison, "No." They were very aware of everybody watching them closely.

     "Did you two ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"No," spoke the siblings vehemently.

     " Ah, but of course they are lying!" Cried Madame Maxime. Snape was now shaking his head, his lip curling.

"Either of them could not have crossed the Age Line," Professor McGonagall spoke sharply. "I am sure we are all agreed on that—But how were two of them chosen? No one in the history of the Triwizard Tournament has ever had two people chosen at the same time!"

     "Perhaps because they are twins." Professor Moody added, "They fall under the same last name. It would have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the tournament... I'm guessing they submitted both Harry and Valerie's name under a fourth school, to make sure they were the only one in their category.... "

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody." Karkaroff said with suspicion.

Mr Crouch spoke in his usual curt voice. "We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

     "How this situation arose, we do not know." Dumbledore told everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it.. Both Cedric and the Potter's have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do..."

"But three champions from 'Ogwarts?" Madame Maxime complained, "That is zertainly unfair!"

     "Which is why the twins or us must decide who competes in the first and second task." Mr Crouch announced, "Meanwhile the other twin will only compete in one task which is the third and final task, because it would be unfair if both of them compete in the third task because that is where the Triwizard Champion is declared."

      "Mr Potter is clearly injured," Professor Moody stated. "It'll take two months or so for him to finally recover.. Which is why I think it's better off if Miss Potter competes in the first and second task and Mr Potter for the third."

Harry disagrees, "No—" He was terrified that his sister would end up injured from the games and let alone, there was a chance of death.

     "..... Sure," Valerie hesitantly answered and Harry stared back blankly. She couldn't believe this was really happening. She certainly would prefer to compete in the games instead of Harry to keep him out of danger, however she felt her heart drop. She was nervous.

"I guess that settles it then?" Mr Crouch asked and the adults nodded slightly. "Right, instructions... The first task is designed to test your daring," he told Valerie, Cedric, Fleur, andViktor. "So we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard... very important." He lectured before continuing on, "The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the otherstudents and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests."

When Valerie Raven Potter woke up next morning, a leaden weight settled in her chest even before her eyes fully opened. It took a miserable moment to remember why she felt so wretched, so utterly dread-filled, until the memory of the previous night—the Goblet of Fire, the shocking announcement, Dumbledore's grim face—rolled over her like a tidal wave. She pushed herself up, finding only three empty four-poster beds in the dim light of the dorm. As usual, Miranda Lim remained a motionless lump beneath her blankets, oblivious to Valerie's internal turmoil. A small, desperate part of Valerie clung to the fact that her roommates, and Eric Lewis, believed her and Harry: they truly thought someone else had entered their names into the Goblet. That was one small mercy in a world that had suddenly tilted off its axis.

The thought of facing anyone, of even stepping outside the familiar confines of her dorm, sent a shiver of pure unease down her spine. The whispers, the stares, the accusations that would undoubtedly follow—it was too much. She wouldn't leave. Not today, maybe not even tomorrow. Her friends, bless them, would understand. Valerie quietly padded to the bathroom, desperate for the warm water of a shower to wash away the lingering sense of dread and the phantom touches of Draco's lips, a memory now tainted by the looming danger.

She just wanted to disappear.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ♡ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

( entire chapter rewritten - june 22nd 2025 )

word count : 4,515

the ron and valerie scene was inspired by a tik tok i came across, it was a girl jumping on a guy like that - they were fighting in a comedic way and he had called her a squirrel hahaha

it was a short clip from a tv show or movie, i have no idea where its from but i found it so funny.

i had to add a scene like that in my book. i tried to look for the tik tok again but i somehow didn't even like or saved the video? so hmmm i wonder where that scene came from 🤔 from memory i think they were both blonde and it happened outside on the grass? if this rings a bell to anyone let me know because i am curiousssss <3

*yawns* its 1am for me i am very sleepy, i apologise if the writing has any mistakes.

as i have said before, this fanfiction is already completed, i am just rewriting it as i want it best as it can possibly be.

( even if it feels like taking forever )

i will come back, so do not worry

i really hope all of you are enjoying, i love hearing from all my precious readers

goodnight , good afternoon or good morning to my lovelies !

xoxovenus