At least my champion can swim
AN: A short little one shot of what happened in McGonagall's office right before the second task. Prompted by a discussion on the Mugglenet podcast Alohomora!. I wrote it really quickly, so its not great, but enjoy anyways!
'McGonagall wants you, Ron. And you, Hermione.'
'Why?' said Hermione, looking surprised.
'Dunno … she was looking a bit grim, though,' said Fred.
'We're supposed to take you down to her office,' said George.
-The Second Task, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hermione shared a worried glance with Ron as Fred and George walked off down the corridor, leaving them standing at the door to McGonagall's office.
"You don't think we're in trouble for helping Harry, do you?" She asked, looking anxiously at Ron's own nervous expression.
"I don't know; guess we better find out though." He answered, raising his hand to knock on the study door.
It was opened almost at once by a serious looking Professor McGonagall, who ushered them in and then resumed her place right next to the door. The reason for her odd position in the room became immediately apparent as Hermione looked around. The room was crowded with many more people in the small space than usual. All of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament were standing around the desk seemingly deep in conversation and, even more strangely, Cho Chang and was standing to the side with a young girl with silvery-blonde hair, both looking as bewildered as Hermione felt.
Dumbledore looked up from between Ludo Bagman and Madame Maxime as they walked nervously into the room, smiling at them kindly before saying to the room at large, "Ah, it seems we are all present now. Now, if you four could please come over here so I can explain what is going on, as you all seem rather anxious. I assure you there is nothing to be worried about." He said, gesturing them into the center of the room. Ron muttered, "I guess we're not in trouble then," to Hermione as they moved, and she quickly shushed him as Dumbledore continued to speak.
"You four all have close ties with the champions competing in the second task tomorrow, and therefore I am afraid we are going to have to ask for your assistance in setting up the task. You see, the champions must each go to the bottom of the lake to retrieve…"
As Dumbledore explained, Hermione could almost hear the gears whirring in Ron's brain. She of course already knew why both of them were there; it was obvious now that she realized they were to be what the champions had to rescue, but, judging by the fact he hadn't started glaring at her yet, Ron didn't seem to have quite realized that Hermione was not there as Harry's friend.
"Ron, you will be sought, and hopefully rescued by Harry Potter. Gabrielle…"
Ron shot Hermione a quizzical look, still uncomprehending. It was only when Dumbledore at last said,
"And Hermione, Viktor Krum will be trying to rescue you," that it finally clicked. Hermione saw Ron's face twist into a scowl, an expression mirrored instantly on Karkaroff's face at the reminder of his student's choice in girlfriend. Hermione refocused her attention on Dumbledore's words as he finished explaining what would be happening to each of them, trying to quell the irrational burst of fear at the idea of being left at the bottom of the lake for several hours. When Dumbledore called Gabrielle over to a chair so that the teachers could begin casting the spells that would put her in an enchanted sleep, Hermione sidled closer to Ron and muttered,
"Are you scared?" Ron looked highly affronted.
"Of course not! Dumbledore will keep us safe." Hermione felt slightly comforted, but was distracted from thinking about the perils of the lake by Ron's next words. "Anyways, I don't know about you, but I have confidence that my champion will be able to rescue me." Shock and anger flitted across Hermione's face. She had known this was coming, but still…
"Viktor will be just fine, haven't you seen him training in the lake?" She responded confidently. Ron glanced over at her, looking disgusted, before saying scathingly,
"Ah, moved on from cozy study dates in the library now? Going out to the lake to watch him show off instead?" Hermione was briefly outraged before another train of thought distracted her.
"You do think that Harry will be okay, right? I mean, he still hadn't found anything and if he doesn't before tomorrow morning-"
"He'll find away. He always does." Ron cut across her brusquely, obviously trying not to think about how unprepared their best friend was. Instead he went back to his jealous jibes at Krum.
"You do know what that egg's song said they had to find, right?" He muttered.
"What?" Said Hermione distractedly, still worrying about Harry's predicament.
"Harry said they're taking 'what you'll sorely miss.'" When Hermione continued to look at him blankly, he added savagely, "Is it nice knowing Krum will miss you that much?" Hermione felt herself blush, but tried to maintain her composure.
"So what if he'd miss me? I'd miss him too." She smiled internally at the look of shock and anger on Ron's face, knowing exactly what she was doing- and enjoying every minute of it. After all, if he was going to be this immature about it all, she might as well have fun with it.
After Hermione's comment, Ron sunk into a sullen silence for a few minutes, clearly trying to think of a comeback as he watched Cho sit down in a chair next to the already sleeping Gabrielle. Finally, as the teachers surrounding Cho stepped back to survey their work, he fired one last insult at Hermione before she walked away.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then- if Krum can risk getting his perfect hair wet to bother saving you that is."
"See you," said Hermione unconcernedly as she strode over to the teachers, throwing over her shoulder, "At least my champion knows how to swim."
And, smirking at Ron's dumbstruck expression, she sat down and let the teachers begin their spellcasting.