01 | the terrible, no good, very bad start to the year

"THIS DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ANYTHING GOOD IS GOING TO COME OF IT."

HOGWARTS CASTLE, SCOTLAND HIGHLANDS-

Genevieve could still remember the first day that she stepped into Hogwarts like it was yesterday.

The overwhelming feeling of a sense that she had arrived at a place where she had finally belonged, a place where she could break free of the expectations that her family had imposed on her. Everything seemed to be brighter than it had ever been in her life, hope aglow in the soft yellow light that shone in every room. There was a newfound joy that bubbled up inside of Genevieve's chest as the young eleven year old tried to take in all of the sights around her.

No longer would she be the perfect daughter that the Selwyns wanted on display, the little puppet of a daughter that her parents brought to every "show and tell" opportunity they had, flaunting their eldest like she was nothing more than a prize. Genevieve was able to be her own person here at Hogwarts, to discover everything for herself and find new opportunities to explore who she was.

Or at least that was what she assumed she would have as her eleven year old self sat in the boats that would take her year to Hogwarts, the young Genevieve not focused on the fact that Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was in another one of the boats that was floating across the lake towards the school that she would reside in for the next seven years. That young witch had hoped for a better future as she stumbled up the stairs that would lead to the Great Hall and her sorting, had hoped that everything would turn around for the better for her.

Oh, but how naive that young Genevieve was.

As Genevieve walked into the Great Hall that night, all of the candles that were floating in the sky almost like twinkling stars to her, the young girl expected for her luck to change. Maybe the Sorting Hat would see past the facade that she kept up and sort her away from the house that her parents expected her to be in- maybe her luck would change and she would break free from her pureblood parents and their expectations and assumptions that they had made about her before she could even formulate a single idea of who she was.

That young Genevieve was proven wrong as the sorting hat was placed upon her head, the hat taking barely any time to roar out the calling of "SLYTHERIN!" Those words sealed the young Selwyn's fate of never being able to break free from the cage that her parents had trapped her inside of- validating every fear that had been creeping inside of her body since she had gotten her letter to Hogwarts. The facade that she had put up of her personality had won out in the end- not who she truly was inside.

That was the story of her life, Genevieve supposed.

Even now, three years later and oh so much more miserable with herself and her family, Genevieve hated being a part of Slytherin. Everything and everyone seemed to be the exact same as her life before- nothing changing as she resided in the Slytherin house. She was to maintain the same lies that she had while living underneath her parents- never able to break free.

Genevieve hated her house, believing she would've been a better fit for virtually any other house. Sure, people had hated their house sortings before and tried to advocate to get themselves changed, but the young teenager knew what the stories from all of those people had been. The Sorting Hat never made a mistake.

But in her case, Genevieve truly thought it had.

But here she was, starting her fourth year, even more miserable than before. She hadn't done much over the summer, the young Selwyn hadn't even gone to the Quidditch World Cup that year- the event that had gone south the only thing that anyone could ever talk about. And, at the Slytherin table, that conversation was even more prevalent.

With the knowledge that most of the Slytherin's families were part of the Death Eaters, and the casting of the Dark Mark in the sky, the notable absence of the Selwyn's from the Quidditch World Cup was like a betrayal to the Dark Lord. Since their family hadn't been there, they were immediately branded as traitors. And the Death Eaters and their family members really didn't deal with traitors in any way that the young teenage witch knew to be any good. And with their betrayal, it meant that all of the Slytherins at the table were talking about her, hidden behind cupped hands and ears, and whispered exchanges under the Slytherins' breaths.

Which, of course, with all of the rumors meant that Genevieve was going to be even more of a loner than she had ever been at Hogwarts. The somewhat civil conversations between her Slytherin classmates now nonexistent, a memory of the past. She would be the last one chosen to be someone's partner in potions, the last one to even talk to inside of the Slytherin common room. Any conversations that she used to have between the girls inside of her year in their room would disappear, all of them inevitably shunning her for her parent's decision. With the betrayal of her parents, all anyone would see in her would be her parents- the one thing that Genevieve despised so much.

No one would ever look past her heritage, no one would ever see beyond the walls and the fake personality that Geneiveve put up to fit in with her fellow Slytherins and the fellow purebloods. Sometimes, Genevieve really wondered if anyone would ever break through all of the shields that she had put up to become the perfect daughter and the perfect pureblood that the whole Wizarding World had conceived her to be.

Hearing the Sorting Hat start to sing a song that she didn't care to hear, Genevieve began to zone out of the matters at hand. She just wanted the Feast to be over with, and any of Headmaster Dumbledore's run of the mill warnings about the stupidity of Harry Potter and his friends to be spoken and over with. She just wanted to sleep and find solace in the one place that she could already- her dreams.

Casting her glance over to the Gryffindor table at the Welcome Feast, Genevieve watched as Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger mumbled to Harry Potter, the two "sidekicks" to the Boy who Lived the only two visible to Genevieve. She wondered what they were talking about, catching the stare of Ron Weasley for a couple of moments before shaking herself out of it, staring back at the Sorting Hat, who was sorting the last of the first years.

She had experienced an interesting encounter with the Weasley kid her age on the train, the two of them running into each other as Genevieve tried to find an empty cabin inside of the Hogwarts Express to sprawl out in. Ron had been searching for something- from what the rumors about the Weasley that she had heard, it was most likely the Trolley Lady and her sweets- and the two had crashed into each other without realizing.

In a stereotypical crash-into-someone-else style, Genevieve's books that she had carried with her and her sketchbook had come crashing down to the ground. The young Weasley had been kind enough to help her pick them up, even though she had already dressed herself up into her Slytherin robes- which was surprising, to say the least. They had made brief eye contact and their hands had awkwardly brushed each other, like something straight out of a muggle romantic comedy before Genevieve had gathered herself together and Ron had found whatever he had been searching for, bounding off once again after muttering his apologies more than once.

As her gaze turned back to the Sorting Hat and the last young first year to be sorted, Genevieve could've sworn that she could still feel Ron's stare on her. But it was probably just the young teenager's imagination. She wasn't possibly important enough to gain the attention of one of the most popular kids in their entire year.

Before Genevieve could even try and sneak another glance to confirm any of her suspicions, the food that was synonymous with the Welcoming Feast appeared in front of the Hogwarts students, kids of all years scrambling to get a taste of the first of many delectable meals in the castle. Genevieve wasn't all too inclined to eat as much as her stomach could handle in that moment, instead selecting a couple of spoonfuls of puddings and a couple slices of the various meats to eat before finishing.

The teenager had been so unfortunately crammed between two very talkative second years, who couldn't seem to shut up about what had happened last year with Malfoy and the hippogriff that Hagrid had brought to teach with last year. She almost had the audacity to ask them to shut up or to move from being sandwiched in the middle of them- but Genevieve figured that she had already made enough trouble this year just from the ride over to Hogwarts- she didn't need to cause much more.

Before Genevieve knew it, all of the plates in front of the Slytherins and every other house in Hogwarts were finished clean, all of the food gone within a flash. All eyes were directed towards Dumbledore, who had moved from his seat at the head of the table to his speaking stand that everyone knew so well.

"So!" The old Headmaster smiled down upon all of the Hogwarts students, making eye contact with a couple of students from every house before continuing on with his speech.  "Now that we are all fed and watered,I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."

Ah, here came the typical spiel of everything that they weren't going to be allowed to do this school year. It seemed that every year, the list grew longer and longer, and Geneveive had a pretty good idea of who to thank for that- Harry Potter and his friends and the boy from her own house- Draco Malfoy.

"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." Dumbledore continued, knowing very well that there was going to be no student inside of Hogwarts would check that list.

"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." Ah, that was probably another reminder to Potter and his friends, or that mischievous group of second years from various houses that thought it would be a good idea to sneak down there the previous year.

There was a pause before Dumbledore continued, almost as if he was bracing for the inevitable backlash that he was to receive after muttering his next words. " It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

Genevive could hear the surprised gasps from all of the students around her, a small curse under her breath contributing to the small whispers that grew to a cacophony before order was restored inside of the Great Hall. How was there supposed to be no Quidditch? It was the highlight of every student's time at Hogwarts, whether you played the sport of not.

While Genevieve wasn't on the team herself, she had grown to appreciate the nuances of the wizarding sport in her time at Hogwarts. Her family had never truly taken a liking to the sport, and her first year at Hogwarts had truly been her first taste of the exhilarating game.

Waiting for all of the students to calm down, Dumbledore had a calm smile on his face as he continued his speech. "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

Suddenly, someone crashed into the Great Hall in Hogwarts, a man shrouded in a sense of mystery, holding a staff and a dark cloak. He seemed to have a fake eye from the view that Genevieve had (Slytherin had the absolute worst luck when it came to the placement of their rather long tables at Hogwarts, being shoved all the way to the right), and a rather long scar. He looked like some villain out of her younger brother's comic books.

And, quite frankly, he looked... well, mad.

The strange man hobbled his way down the entirety of the Great Hall as the thundering weather that the students had encountered earlier in the day continued to roar, giving the man a rather ominous entrance to Hogwarts. Eventually, he found the empty seat at the teacher's table, the tension inside of the Great Hall only building as all eyes fell upon the mysterious new teacher.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Dumbledore smiled, trying to break the tension in the room that was suffocating all of the teachers and the students. "Professor Moody." There was no applause after the teacher's introduction, which was so usual of the normal introductions of new teachers, no one bothering to clap except a couple of the teachers.

Hearing no applause from the students, the headmaster realized that it was probably an indication for him to continue on with his speech. Clearing his throat, Dumbledore continued on. "As I was saying," He started to speak again, finding that all of the students were still focused on the new mysterious professor. "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!" A loud voice erupted from the Gryffindor table, Genevieve barely able to make out who exactly had said it. But from the large amount of giggles that were arising from all of the tables and the students around the person who had spoken up, Genevieve figured that it was probably one of the infamous Weasley twins.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley." The headmaster said, smiling now that all of the students had loosened up and gotten some laughter to fill the awkward silence.  "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, interrupting whatever awful joke that Dumbledore was inevitably going to say next. This wasn't the time for funny games or jokes- this was the Welcoming Feast, and everything had to continue on.

"Er- but maybe this is not the time...  no..." Dumbledore took the hint of what McGonagall was saying, clearing his throat again and continuing on. "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 headmaster apologized before looking out at the crowd, catching

"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 es- tablishing ties between young witches and wizards of different na- tionalities — until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

Death toll? That was rather ominous.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore spoke again, trying to get the conversation completed as quickly as possible. "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."

Mortal danger? That was something that happened every year at Hogwarts, it seemed, whether there was a Triwizard Tournament was in place at Hogwarts or not.

"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."

There began to be tons of whispers between all of the tables of students in various houses, all of them eager to try and get their shot at the money- from first years to seventh years. Everyone wanted a chance to get the glory that came with the idea of winning the Triwizard Tournament.

But Genevieve wanted the exact opposite of that. Being thrust into the spotlight suddenly and trying to earn glory and just try not to die? No thank you. The young teenager would stick to her sketchbook and the lifestyle that she had as a "loner" at Hogwarts.

Well, if she wasn't already thrust into the spotlight already with her parent's unknowing (or maybe they knew what they had done, Genevieve wasn't too sure what her parents' plans were)  betrayal of the Dark Lord with the Slytherins.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts." Dumbledore continued, 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 as all of the students started to make noises of upset disappointment or fury. "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 unde age student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."

Looking down the table of Slytherins, Genevieve could already see the seventeen year old students rejoicing at the fact that maybe the chances would be higher for them to be chosen to receive the glorious money and be the champion for Hogwarts. She could also already see some Slytherins planning to get around the age limit- which she wasn't surprised by.

"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 sup-port 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!"

As everyone started to scramble out of the Great Hall, Genevieve tried to carefully gather herself out of the bench, making it out and molding into the crowd of swarming students. She tried to make herself not be seen, hoping that the taunts that she had gotten on the ride over to Hogwarts wouldn't continue.

However, that luck wouldn't last long.

Genevieve wasn't watching where she was going (or maybe it was someone with a malicious intent) while going down the stairs and found her foot caught on someone else's leg, the young teenager tumbling down the last of the stairs with a groan. This wasn't the way that she wanted to start out her fourth year- especially with everything that happened with her family.

"Selwyn the Slytherin! Look at her! Not even able to walk down the stairs without falling! How pathetic." Malfoy exclaimed as he laughed as she was sprawled out on the ground, trying to gather herself up again. He was able to knock herself back down to the ground again, Crabbe and Goyle laughing as they made their way down to the Common Room.

The rest of the Slytherin laughed along with Malfoy, all of them not bothering to help Genevieve up from her position. It took a kind Hufflepuff that was heading down to their own Common Room to help her back up, the third year giving her a small smile before heading off again.

As Genevieve finally started to move towards the Common Room, giving a small groan as she rubbed the injuries she had gotten from the tumble down the stairs, there was only one though that was truly in her mind.

This wasn't going to be a very good year after all.

<~•~>

this is a birthday gift for ownthelight so happy birthday bby!

anyways I forgot how much I liked genevieve's character and how easy it is to write for her. she's very opposite of what my personality is, but I think that's what makes her so much fun to write!

maybe there's gonna be some sporadic updates of this book, but don't count on it too much I'm sorry my Harry Potter babes 😔✌🏼

alright so this was a lot of setting up the plot and everything, and just getting into the groove of it all, so this one was a little basic, sorry about that!

okay anyways I hope you guys enjoyed, and happy birthday lily!! I hope you have the most AMAZING BIRTHDAY EVER!! ilsym 🥺🤍