Disclaimer: See Part 1
Author's Note: Another of my favorite parts of GoF that I simply had to include/change-- and also because it's necessary in order to introduce the 'Madness of Mr. Crouch' and part of my point in writing this entire fic has been to show that, for all that GoF is so tightly plotted, it would still have been possible to make GoF H/Hr and keep the plot the same with no major changes. So there's been a little revision and then I inserted a sort-of missing scene after the very eventful night.
And to answer all of you who've asked whether or not I will be rewriting OotP and HBP, the answer is most definitely not. I'm sorry but I have neither the time nor the inclination to rewrite the rest of canon!
His Precious Friend
Epilogue 1
Lucky
Harry looked around at what had used to be the Quidditch field and was now the maze for the Third Task, thinking about the kinds of creatures Hagrid was likely to provide and mentally grimaced. He'd be lucky if Hagrid didn't decide to put a manticore in it since, knowing Hagrid, a manticore probably counted as a cute and friendly magical creature.
"Very well… if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly…" Bagman finished up and then hurried to Harry's side as they all turned to make their way out of the maze. Harry suspected that Bagman was going to start offering to help again and was mentally preparing what he could say without offending him when Krum tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"Could I haff a vord?"
"Yeah, all right," Harry responded, slightly stiffly. He had stopped feeling jealous of Krum since he knew perfectly well now that he had nothing to be jealous of. He even felt a measure of sympathy for him; he, of all people, understood what it was like to fancy Hermione and Harry could imagine that, if things had been only a little different, it could have been Krum to be the one with Hermione now. (Harry ignored the slightly sick feeling in his stomach at that thought.)
"Vill you valk with me?"
"OK," Harry answered, cautiously.
Bagman frowned a little. "I'll wait for you, Harry, shall I?"
"No, it's OK, Mr. Bagman. I think I can find the castle on my own, thanks," Harry answered, feeling rather grateful to Krum for providing a way of avoiding Bagman's unwanted offers of help.
Harry and Krum left the Quidditch pitch and Krum set out towards the Forest, to Harry's surprise.
"What're we going this way for?" Harry asked, as they passed Hagrid's cabin and the Beauxbatons carriage.
"Don't vant to be overheard," Krum answered briefly.
Krum finally stopped in the shade of the trees at the edge of the Forest and turned to Harry and Harry noticed that Krum looked rather embarrassed and very definitely uncomfortable.
Krum shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking down at the ground, before he looked at Harry. "I did not know that you and Hermy-own-ninny vere together."
Harry blinked in surprise. What was Krum getting at?
Krum took a breath and went on. "If I had known, I vould not haff asked Hermy-own-ninny to go to Hogsmeade or told her how I felt." He paused while Harry tried to figure out why Krum had found it necessary to tell him this.
And then Krum finally said, gruffly, "I am sorry."
Oddly enough, those three words which were the last words Harry had expected Krum to say broke through Harry's confused stupor. "No, it's alright," he blurted out. "At the time, we were only best friends." He paused, blushing a little as he confessed, "Nothing happened between us until days after the Second Task."
Krum nodded, hesitated and then looked Harry squarely in the face as he said in a gruff voice, "You are very lucky. Hermy-own-ninny is very nice."
Harry's expression softened unconsciously as he smiled slightly, feeling the now-familiar warmth in his chest at the thought of Hermione. "Yeah, I know."
Now, with completely friendly feelings towards Krum, Harry grinned a little and returned the compliment. "I saw you at the Quidditch World Cup. The Wronski Feint, you really were amazing."
Krum shrugged a little, dismissively and then added, "You fly very well. I vos votching at the first task."
Harry grinned broadly at Krum, deciding that Krum was really a very decent fellow. "Thanks. I--" he began but then something moved behind Krum in the trees and Harry automatically tensed and grabbed Krum's arm and pulled him around.
"Vot is it?"
Harry shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the spot where he'd seen movement, as he slipped his hand inside his robes to get his wand.
There was a brief rustle and then a man staggered out from behind a tall oak tree, looking so gray and exhausted that it took Harry a moment before he recognized the man, with a flare of shock. It was Mr. Crouch.
But Mr. Crouch looked almost nothing like what he had looked like before. His robes were ripped and bloody at the knees, his face scratched and his hair and moustache looked as if he hadn't washed or trimmed them in weeks. More than that, though, was his behavior. He was muttering and gesticulating, while talking earnestly to someone who wasn't there.
"Vosn't he a judge?" Krum asked. "Isn't he vith your Ministry?"
Harry nodded, for a moment struck dumb with surprise and confusion, before he made up his mind and approached Mr. Crouch cautiously. Mr. Crouch didn't look at him and only walked over to a nearby tree and began speaking. "… and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students who will be attending the Tournament. Karkaroff has just sent word there will be twelve."
"Mr. Crouch?" Harry began tentatively.
"… and then send another owl to Madame Maxime, because she might want to up the number of students she's bringing, now Karkaroff's made it a round dozen…. Do that, Weatherby, will you? Will you? Will…" Mr. Crouch's eyes bulged out as his voice increased in intensity as Harry thought for a fleeting moment of Percy and his eagerness in carrying out Mr. Crouch's slightest wish. Mr. Crouch stood staring at the tree, muttering to it and then he staggered sideways and fell on his knees.
"Mr. Crouch? Are you all right?" Harry asked, louder this time.
Mr. Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. Krum looked down at him in alarm.
"Vot is wrong with him?"
"No idea," Harry muttered and glanced up at Krum as he said hurriedly, "Listen, you'd better go and get someone-"
"Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and grabbed onto the hem of Harry's robes, tugging him closer, though his eyes were fixed on a spot above Harry's head. "I need… see… Dumbledore…" His voice was an odd combination of intensity and sheer physical weakness.
"OK," Harry began, addressing Mr. Crouch as if he were younger than Harry. "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the-"
Mr. Crouch interrupted Harry with his labored words about needing to tell Dumbledore... something…
He was quite beyond rational conversation so Harry finally gave up and took off for the castle at a run, leaving Krum with Mr. Crouch, since he knew the castle better. It was shaping up to be a very eventful evening and he couldn't help thinking that he would have a lot to tell Hermione when he saw her later…
It was much later when Harry finally got back to the Common Room to find it nearly empty but Ron and Hermione were sitting in the corner, waiting for him.
"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione leaped up when she saw him.
He managed a slight smile for her as he fell into the couch across from the chair Ron was sitting in, and Hermione sat down beside him, slipping her hand into his, as had become her habit when she sat next to him, their joined hands covered by their robes.
Quietly, Harry told them everything that had happened from seeing Mr. Crouch, to what he'd seen in the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office to the disappearance of Mr. Crouch and the stunning of Krum.
Hermione frowned when she heard that Krum had been stunned. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. Dumbledore sent him to the hospital wing just in case but he should be fine."
They sat debating the possibilities and the meaning of all that Harry had seen until long after everyone else had gone to bed, until finally Ron let out an enormous yawn, mid-sentence.
"All right, well, we're getting nowhere talking about this. I'm going to go to bed," Ron announced. "Harry, you coming?"
"Just a minute. You go up first. I-er- have to tell Hermione something."
Ron rolled his eyes slightly. "Right, I'm sure talking is all you have in mind," he cracked sarcastically.
"Good night, Ron," Hermione inserted firmly, despite the heated blush on her cheeks.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Ron said with a last wink at Harry before he vanished up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
Hermione settled back on the couch, resting her head on Harry's shoulder. "You must be tired," she said quietly.
"Yeah, a little," Harry admitted, turning his head to look at her. "I should tell you what Krum and I were talking about before we saw Mr. Crouch."
"You don't have to, if it's between you and Viktor, Harry."
"No. It's- we were talking about you," Harry blurted out.
Hermione colored a little, sitting up and looking at Harry in surprise. "About me? What did Viktor say?"
Harry shrugged one shoulder. "He wanted to apologize for asking you to go to Hogsmeade even though we were already together. I told him he shouldn't worry about it and it was all right."
"We weren't together when he asked me," Hermione said softly.
"I know. That's what I told him," Harry smiled slightly at her. "And then he told me I was lucky."
Hermione blushed. "Because- because of me?"
"No, because of my Firebolt," Harry teased. "Of course because of you." He sobered. "I said I knew that too. I am, you know."
"Oh Harry…"
By now he knew the softness of her tone, the warmth in her voice when she said his name like that, and knew enough to expect her quick, soft kiss.
He tightened his arm around her as she nestled against him once again after the kiss, and reflected that this was the best part about being with Hermione. These brief, quiet moments when they weren't talking or doing anything special, just sitting together. And he thought, he really was lucky, the luckiest boy ever…
To be continued with one last Epilogue.