Harry yelped and his eyes snapped open with a start. He was cold but his body was drenched in sweat. Blinking back tears he tried to push the nightmare he just had out of his head. He looked around the dormitory and thanked merlin that it was empty. Glancing at his watch he realized that the reason it was empty was because it was noon; everyone must be eating lunch in the Great Hall. With a sigh he got up and went to shower. He examined himself in the mirror with a frown. Even though Fawkes had used his tears to heal Harry's leg, the rest of his body still hurt to move. He was covered in cuts and bruises from the maze and graveyard. His eyes lingered on his forearm at the long jagged cut that Wormtail had made for Voldemort's potion. "Traitor.", he muttered.
After he showered and got dressed he left the dormitory and walked to the lake. He should be hungry. He had barely eaten anything over the last three days. He wasn't though; the events from the third task stripped him. He closed his eyes and winced as he saw Cedric's body hit the ground with the green flash. "Harry?" He opened his eyes and quickly rubbed out the tears.
Hermione stood in front of him with eyes full of concern. "How are you?" she asked carefully.
"Hey, Hermione. I'm fine." he lied with an unconvincing smile.
"Harry I know you better than that. Come on. Scoot over, I brought you some food."
Harry sighed and moved over to give Hermione room to sit against the tree. He looked at her and at the sandwich she brought with her. "I'm not really hungry."
"I know. But you have to eat. Please, Harry, come on. You haven't eaten in three days." Her eyes looked determined. He knew she wouldn't take no for an answer. He smiled to himself. As awful as he was feeling, he felt a surge of gratitude for his friends.
They sat in a comfortable silence as Harry ate his sandwich. It was really good, and made him realize how hungry he was. Still, when he finished he felt very full.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." She looked him over carefully. "Do you want to talk about any of it?"
Harry hesitated. A part of him wanted to. It was Hermione. If there was anyone that he could talk to about this it was Hermione. Ron was obviously there for him too, but it was different. Ron has never had the same sympathy that Hermione has. He stared at the black surface of the lake. It was like a mirror, and the overcast day gave the whole scene a surreal effect.
"I want to," he finally said, "but I don't know what to say. I don't even know how sort my thoughts. Everything is just constant flashes. Just.. I don't know." He thought for a moment, and frowned. "It's my fault. It's my fault that he's dead."
"Harry-"
"No listen. Hermione, I told him to take it with me. He got there first but didn't take it. He said I deserved it because I saved his life, so I said we should take it together. A Hogwarts victory. As soon as we touched it we were brought to that graveyard. We had barely gotten our surroundings when I heard him. I heard Voldemort tell Wormtail, 'Kill the spare.' He didn't even have a chance to raise his arm. He was just murdered. And all I did was watch it happen. I didn't do anything. I didn't even react. I…" He trailed off and choked back a sob.
"Harry. Harry, listen to me." She spoke gently as she pulled him in to a hug. "It's not your fault. Okay? Cedric knew this entire tournament was dangerous. He knew the risks. Not to mention, you couldn't know the cup was a portkey. That is not your fault. It was a trap, and it was made to kill you. Okay? You survived, and more. You fought You-Know-Who. You witnessed him return, and came back here to tell everyone the truth. And you brought him back here. You brought him back to his family. You didn't leave him there in that awful place. Harry, I know it's awful. I know it hurts. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel. But I do know that you aren't alone in this. You have me and Ron and all the Weasleys for that matter. We're all here for you. Try not to push us away."
Harry listened quietly and again felt that surge of gratitude. He closed his eyes and felt a tear slide down his face and splash on her hand.
"Thanks, Hermione." He whispered.
She combed her hand through his messy black hair, and they sat like that in silence until the sun started to disappear behind the trees.
"Harry?" She smiled when she realized he had fallen asleep. She gently shook his shoulder. "Harry come on, we should go to dinner."
His eyes fluttered open. He still felt exhausted, but he felt better. He sat up and looked around.
"When did it get so late?" he muttered, still groggy from his nap.
She laughed and stood up. "Come on, sleepy head. Let's go to dinner. I'm starving."
They walked across the grounds and to the great hall. When they walked in they found Ron sitting with Fred, George, Ginny, Lee, and Neville. They sat down and started to load their plates.
"Hey, Harry! We've been wondering where you've been." said Fred.
"How are you, mate?" Ron asked.
"I'm fine, thanks. Pass the chicken please, will you?" Harry grinned.
"Welcome back, mate." George said. He winked and nodded his head at Ron. Harry looked at him a little confused, and then saw the Ton Tongue Toffee that Fred had somehow slipped on Ron's plate just before Ron put it in his mouth.
"Aghhhh!" Ron yelped in surprise as his tongue grew out of his mouth. The whole table roared with laughter and Hermione reduced his tongue back to normal size with a quick shrinking charm.
"Fred! That's not funny!"
"Oh come on, Ron." Said George. "We only did it for Harry's wellbeing."
"Yea, ickle-Ronniekins." Fred said as he put Ron in a brotherly headlock. "It was for a good cause! Just look at how happy you just made him."
"Hope you enjoyed a good laugh, Harry." Ron muttered as he carefully examined his next bite before eating it. Harry just laughed and gave the twins a thumbs up.