A/N: Maybe I'm jumping the gun a tiny bit here (in terms of my original layout of the story), but I felt like this needed to be addressed sooner rather than later. I never should have put that kiss in last chapter; it caused my Harmony addiction to act up again!
Everyone's favorite reporter makes her first appearance in the story in this chapter, so you have that to look forward too as well.
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Hermione was quiet most of the morning the next day following the Halloween feast and the massive shock of finding Harry in yet another situation of abject horror. Surprisingly enough, this wasn't the only thing that was keeping her from focusing on her classes. Bewildered by the night's events, she had retreated to the familiar haunts of the library as she tried in vain to concentrate.
Though she was indeed worried, more like scared to death, about Harry and whatever challenges might await him, the foremost thing on her mind at that particular moment was a lingering feeling that was settled in the middle of her forehead. Harry had kissed her there, offering a genuine sign of affection and the faintest inklings of hope that were enough to drive the emotional corridors of her mind to run around frantically.
It also put a lump in her throat that she couldn't quite explain.
They were awfully young, she told herself, what if he wasn't the one? What if all these feelings were just overt hormones running rampant, overt concern for her best friend that had been misinterpreted as love? And what if Harry was just showing friendly affection, completely oblivious to the reaction he was generating within her?
It was enough to confuse the heck out of her.
Sighing deeply, she thrust herself into another book, trying to force Harry out of her mind as she had most of the previous year. Alas, it was a much more difficult task than it had been just a year prior. Try as she might, the moment continued to run through her mind non-stop.
It did cause her to flush with embarrassment as she idly wondered what his lips would feel like against her own. What exactly he would feel like…
'Stop this!' she yelled to herself, trying to refocus her mind, 'You're letting yourself be distracted too easily!' She chided herself almost immediately for saying such things, confused as she was.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone enter the library, and was surprised when she saw Viktor Krum walk across the room and sit at a table far in the opposite corner away from her. She thought nothing more of it, only to think it surprising that someone like Viktor would choose to spend his free time in the library, away from the fan club of girls that seemed to trail him everywhere he went, no less.
A few moments later, she internally sighed and smiled simultaneously as she saw Harry walk into the room at a brisk pace. "Hi," she said confidently, trying to hide any of her mixed feelings at the moment, "I thought you were going to the lake to work on your herbology project with Neville?"
"I was," Harry responded, slightly out of breath from the brisk pace at which he had traveled to the library. "Hedwig showed up while I was there and gave me this letter from…" Harry leaned forward, holding the piece of parchment he was carrying close to his mouth so as to hide its movements, before he finished in a soft whisper, "from Sirius."
Hermione's eyes widened and she closed her books, throwing them into her bag and quickly leaving the library so that Harry and she could find a more secluded place to discuss the latest development. Neither one of them noticed the scowl that had formed on Viktor Krum's face.
Quickly Harry & Hermione made their way to the Room of Requirement, finding it situated to a form similar to the last time they had been there. "The letter doesn't talk about the tournament," Harry explained, "Just about the dreams I was having in the summer." Each of them took a seat on the blue sofa in front of the roaring fire as Harry unfolded the letter and held it out so that Hermione could read it as well.
Dear Harry,
I'm sorry it took so long for Hedwig to return with a reply, but the bird was enjoying her time here in the tropics where I'm staying at the moment. The dreams you describe are disconcerting in the least, especially in light of what happened at the world cup. And I'd like to take the time to discuss them with you in detail. Meet me in the Gryffindor common room the Thursday two weeks from now at 2:00 in the morning. Be sure you're alone.
Buckbeak sends his best.
Love,
Padfoot
Harry closed the short note and gazed at the fire. "I know Sirius said that I should be alone," he said quietly, "But I want you to be there too. You've helped me so much so far…." he trailed off, and Hermione smiled at him, draping her arm around his shoulders.
"Of course Harry," she said quietly. Each of them sat there for a while, trying to fight some of the unintended awkwardness that seemed to permeate the room. "Harry…I," Hermione finally began, her nerves at full bore.
"Hermione I understand," Harry replied, cutting her off. "I'm sorry if I offended you or anything last night. I don't know what came over me but I just…" Harry looked over at Hermione, who was staring at him with something akin to a fearful look on her face. Harry felt a lump grow in his throat, before he swallowed it and added, "But I want you to know that, regardless of what you felt …I…umm…."
Hermione's eyes went wide, her anticipation at full bore. Nothing really had ever prepared her for this.
"I…that is, I well…" Harry continued to stumble over his words, trying to find the right way to say this. "I guess what I'm trying to say…I…like you…I mean I…fancy…you." Harry blushed deeply, holding his arms at his side and hanging his head down. "I guess that it's just been something I've felt for a while now, but I didn't know what to call it," he finally blurted out all at once, surprised at his own frankness. He turned towards Hermione, and cringed when he saw tears in her eyes. Misunderstanding, he quickly held up his hands in defense. "Please don't cry. I know you probably don't feel that way but, I just felt like you…" Harry was silence by Hermione, who put a hand up to his lips.
"No Harry," she said, smiling and wiping her eyes when he was quiet. Whatever confusion she might have had previously had been wiped clean away. "I'm not crying because of that. You just don't understand how long I've been waiting to hear you say that…"
Harry gulped nervously, his cheeks flushed with surprise. "Y-you have?"
Hermione nodded suddenly very conscious of herself and not being able to help but blush a little, "Oh Harry…I…um…fancy you too." Truthfully she knew in her heart that she felt something more than that, but her mind was still trying to wrap around this confession from Harry.
Harry felt a warm sense of being envelope him, and he couldn't help the grin that slowly crawled across his face. "Y-you do?" Hermione nodded again. Harry chuckled, and much to his surprise found a few tears leaking out of his own eyes. Slowly the two of them hugged each other deeply. After a few moments, they backed away and stared at each other. Harry smiled widely, framing Hermione's face with his hand. "I've never been any happier in my life," Harry confessed. He suddenly turned a brighter bit of red when he asked, "Umm…Hermione…would you like to be my…you know…"
"Girlfriend?" Hermione finished for him.
"Yeah…that," Harry replied back, smirking and rubbing the back of his head.
"I'd love to," Hermione said. She was certain that if she tried, she would not be able to make the smile on her face any larger. Harry returned her maniacal grin with one of his own, and then softly planted a kiss on her cheek.
Neither had ever been happier.
/ - / - / - /
Harry felt the joy of Hermione and his newfound relationship to be the greatest thing that he had ever experienced. He likened it to the feeling he had when thinking of the memory of his parents. As he walked around Hogwarts for the next couple of weeks, his hands intertwined with Hermione's for the entire world to see, he felt a sense of joy and completion that was practically indescribable.
Class was proceeding at a relatively normal pace, at least normal for this year alone. Snape had become much more civilized at his treatment of non-Slytherins in his class, though Harry could tell it was as if someone had exploded a dung bomb in his mouth everytime he was forced to toss praise onto the Gryffindors in his class. With Snape's newfound objectivity, and without Malfoy's usual pestering, Harry had quickly seen his grade in Potions rise to near the top of the 4th year class, though Hermione still outshone him by leaps and bounds.
Malfoy was another interesting subject. He had continuously tried to pester Harry & Hermione since the revelation of their relationship roughly two weeks ago, but on this day he was unusually subdued. Harry chalked it up to good luck.
His attention was diverted when the silence was broken by the door to the classroom opening. Harry, along with the rest of the class, turned to see who would dare interrupt one of Professor Snape's lessons. Much to Harry's surprise, he saw Colin Creevey standing there, his legs twitching a bit beneath him out of nervousness. "Is there something I can do for you Mr. Creevey?" Snape said in his usual, sardonic manner.
"Professor Dumbledore sent me," Colin quickly explained. "He needs Harry to come to his office…some kind of photo shoot for the tournament." Snape let just a hint of a sneer mask his face before he turned towards Harry.
"Very well then Mr. Potter, take your things. We will discuss how you can make up the grade later." Harry nodded and quickly picked up his bag, sparing a slightly loving glance for Hermione, before he followed Colin out of the dungeons. He moved with a brisk pace about him, still ignoring the stares of a few passersby who glared at him. The reaction to his entry in the tournament still had many shunning him, be it for jealousy or for other reasons. Harry also noticed that a few of the girls in the school were now glaring at him since he had begun his relationship with Hermione. Jealousy, he guessed.
Not that any of them had ever really stood a chance, a small part of his subconscious told him.
Colin led him into a small study near the headmaster's office which Harry recognized from his lessons with Dumbledore. The room was small by Hogwarts standards, with a few of the more accessible books of the headmaster's collection located there so that they might be used by the faculty. Harry saw that the other three champions had been gathered together, as had the respective headmasters of the three schools. Off to the side he saw Ludo Bagman talking with someone and next to him was a surprising figure, in Percy Weasley.
"Percy?" Harry questioned as he entered the room, "What are you doing here?"
Percy turned and glared at Harry, no doubt having heard from either Ron or Ginny about the major falling out between Harry and the Weasleys (though he still spoke and joked around with the twins). "It's none of your concern Potter," Percy spat out, before taking a haughtier stance. "But for your information, I'm here as a representative for Mr. Crouch. He's recently taken ill, and asked me to fill in for him at this occasion."
"Now now Weatherby," Bagman said as he walked away from whomever it was he was talking too, "There's no need to insult Mr. Potter." Percy grimaced at being called weatherby, and muttered something akin to a yes sir towards Bagman. Harry couldn't help but snicker a bit at seeing Percy taken down a couple of pegs. His eyes wandered over to whomever it was that Bagman had been talking too, and was surprised when he saw Mr. Ollivander standing there.
"Now that all the champions have been gathered," Bagman continued, drawing everyone's attention to himself, "We can begin with the Weighing of the Wands. It's merely a traditional ceremony of course, just simply a way of ensuring that everyone is perfectly suited to whatever wand they might have. Mr. Krum, we'll start with you. If you'd please hand your wand to Mr. Ollivander." Krum moved forward and handed his wan over to the old man, who regarded it with a bit of disdain.
"I see," he said, gazing up at Krum with his seemingly pupil less eyes, "This wand was made by Gregorovitch, not by my hand. Still, it is a fine piece of work. Hornbeam, 10 ¼ inches, dragon heartstring core, and quite rigid." Ollivander waved Krum's wand about, causing a small yellow canary to appear on his shoulder. "Everything is in working order," he said, handing the wand back to Krum. Viktor turned away, glaring at Harry for a brief moment, before taking his place next to Karkaroff. "Miss Delacour if you please." Fleur made her way up next, sashaying in front of Harry in a subtle, yet still noticeable fashion, causing him to raise an eyebrow at the display. She leaned forward and handed Ollivander her wand, who was more focused on it than on her. "A fine piece of work, even if it was not made by me. Rosewood, 9 ½ inches, veela hair core and very inflexible." He waved this wand, causing a second canary to appear on his shoulder. He handed the wand back to Fleur, and exclaimed, "Mr. Diggory, if you please." As Cedric walked to the table, Fleur walked past Harry, winking at him and then moving next to Madame Maxime. Harry shook the sight out of his head and turned back towards Mr. Ollivander and Cedric. "Another fine piece of work. An elm wand at 12 ¼ inches with a single hair from a particularly fine male unicorn. This wand is pleasantly springy if I do say so myself." He waved it around causing a third canary to appear on his shoulder, before handing it back to Cedric.
Harry gulped as he approached Mr. Ollivander, who gazed at him with the deep pools of eyes that he had looked at him with so long ago in Ollivander's shop. "And of course, how can I forget Mr. Potter." Harry hesitantly handed over his wand, and Ollivander gazed upon it with something akin to finding a long lost friend. "Yes I remember this wand well. A supple holly wand, 11 inches in length, with a phoenix tail feather core." He waved the wand twice, causing first a fourth canary to appear on his shoulder, and then causing all four to burst into flames. "Your wand is working quite well. And it appears that my prediction is coming true. We can still expect great things from you Mr. Potter." At that Ollivander stood up, place a hand on Harry's shoulder, and shuffled his way out.
"Right then," Bagman said as the respective headmasters left the room, the ceremony done. "We have a reporter from the Daily Prophet here to speak with you all. I'll go fetch her." With that, Bagman and Percy left the room.
Harry walked over to the small window, staring out of it for a very long time. Whenever he met Mr. Ollivander, he still got this overwhelming sense of dread. He had indeed predicted great things for Harry, but had also made note that Voldemort had done great…and terrible things with his wand. A brother to Harry's wand. It still unnerved Harry to no end.
"Harry Potter," came a deep bellowing voice from behind him, and Harry turned to stare Viktor Krum straight in the eyes…or at least look up at him straight in the eyes. "I vish to speak vith you for a moment."
"Yes," Harry replied, cocking an eyebrow, feeling slightly intimidated.
"It is about Herm-y-o-nin-y." Viktor replied, his voice much quieter.
"Excuse me," Harry asked. Viktor couldn't have just tried to say what Harry thought he had tried to say, he told himself frantically.
"Herm-y-o-nin-y," Viktor repeated. "I vish to know vhat kind of relationship you have vith her." Harry glanced up at Viktor, suddenly feeling very protective of his girlfriend.
"She's my girlfriend if you must know," he replied, standing up a little straighter in Viktor's face.
"I see," Krum replied, his face darkening at the news. "Zey say zat you are the greatest seeker at Hogwarts in ze last twenty five years. Perhaps ve vill have to test zat claim someday." Harry and Viktor continued to glare at one another, before a subtle cough broke them away.
Harry turned and saw a rather odd looking woman staring at him from behind jeweled spectacles. Her blonde hair was done in an elaborate style, with over done ringlets and swoops and swirls drawn throughout. On her arm was a crocodile handbag, and a small pad and quill floated behind her. "I hate to break up this little party," she said in a shrill sing-song voice, "But I'm here for the interviews with the champions. We'll conduct them while my photographer sets up." She jerked her thumb behind her, and Harry saw a hidden man messing with a camera and tripod stand, his head concealed by a large black sheet on the back of the camera. "Let's start with the youngest," she said quickly, and grabbed Harry by the arm, leading him to a small broom closet off to the side.
"I hope you don't mind the closed quarters," Rita said, causing Harry to shake his head slightly. "So…the famous Harry Potter…competing against wizards and witches almost seven years older than you. How does it feel?"
"Well…I guess that…"
"Oh," Rita interrupted, "You don't mind if I use a Quick Quotes Quill do you?" Harry raised an eyebrow, and Rita continued unabated. "What do you think your parents would think about this? Proud of you…maybe worried…"
"I guess they'd be worried," Harry started to answer.
"Well of course they would be! I mean, not only will you be facing tasks and spells that you haven't thought of in your wildest imagination, but the whole suspect way in which you entered the tournament in the first place. Come on Harry, tell the world, exactly how did you put your name into the Goblet?"
"I didn't…."
"Of course you didn't." Harry sighed and glanced up at the quote book, catching a glimpse of what it was writing.
"My eyes are not swimming with the ghosts of my past!" he said quickly.
"Oh dear," Rita replied with a laugh, "That's just a bit of journalistic license on my part. Now then, are you currently single?"
Harry clenched his fist and stared straight at Rita, "If you're going to lie about what I'm saying, and ask questions like that, then I have nothing further to say to you!" With that, Harry stormed out of the broom closet and left the photographer yelling at him to come back.
Rita emerged from the closet, a smile on her face. It would take more subtle ways of getting her story this time.
A/N: Harry gets his clue about the task, meets with Sirius, deals with Rita's lies, and Wonder-Ferrett pops into plain view, though not quite as you would expect.