When George heard Harry's name called, his heart nearly stopped.
Sure, he and Fred had been ready to enter the tournament. But this was Harry. The little first year who was alone on the first day of school, with no clue as to who he really was and only wanted to know how to get on the platform.
Now his name had been called for the Triwizard Tournament. And George knew that Harry was not ready.
He had a younger brother and sister. He knew how they acted when they didn't want to do something.
Harry, with his reluctance to stand and trudge up to Dumbledore, was showing all the signs of doing something he couldn't do.
George watched sadly as Ron glared after his best friend and Harry disappeared with the other competitors.
There was no way Harry could do this.
/\/\
Fred sat beside George in the stands, his excitement falling as he watched Harry desperately hide from t he dragon chasing him.
He gripped his brother's arm as Harry narrowly dodged a blast of fire from the Horntail's mouth, leaning closer.
"Fred," George breathed, low enough that it was almost lost in the screaming crowd.
"Yeah?"
"I'm not feeling too well."
"Same."
They watched with bated breath as Harry's Firebolt finally swept in, speeding away with Harry on it.
It seemed that the stadium went silent, waiting for when either Harry or the dragon would come back.
And when Harry finally appeared, and the stadium burst into cheers, Fred could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Because Harry was safe, he wasn't dead, and Fred hadn't lost the boy who was like a younger brother to him.
/\/\
When Ron broke the water, gasping for breath, he didn't even register the fact that Harry wasn't there. He automatically grabbed the young girl struggling next to him and fought the nausea and cold to the stands, dragging her along.
Some students grabbed Ron and hauled him out of the water, hacking up water he had swallowed at some point.
Towels were draped over his shoulders, and Hermione huddled next to him as they waited for Harry to swim to the surface. When minutes passed, and still no Harry, they looked at each other worriedly.
"He'll be fine," Hermione whispered reassuringly. Ron could tell that she didn't believe it.
The time ran out, and slowly, the stands quieted, each person leaning over the railing to try and see where Harry was.
Seconds after Ron was about to jump in to find Harry—it was only thirty seconds after the time ran out, but he wasn't patient—Harry flew out of the water, landing on the deck at Ron's feet. Ron fell to his knees and gave Harry one of his many towels, staring worriedly as his best friend coughed up lake water.
But he smiled and resisted the urge to hug Harry tightly; his friend was alright, and it was only a matter of time before everything would go back to normal. Maybe they would have a normal school year.
/\/\
Ginny clenched her hands into fists as Harry shuffled into the maze, holding her breath. The leaves and vines stitched themselves back together, hiding Harry from view.
She had no idea what was happening. She didn't know if Harry would make it out alive or not. She didn't like this uneasy feeling she had.
Time passed slowly. She saw red sparks in the air, and one of the professors went to retrieve the champion. Fleur emerged from the maze with the professor, shaking with tears streaming down her face. Her younger sister ran forward to embrace her.
A little while later Krum was dragged out. Ginny's nails dug into her knees, deep enough to draw blood if it hadn't been for her jeans.
It seemed an eternity before there was a crack, a flash of blue light, and Harry and Cedric were lying on the ground. Everyone in the stadium jumped to their feet, cheers erupting from their mouths and clapping loudly. Ginny stood, clapping, but she wasn't cheering.
Because Harry was shaking, and she could see the tears streaking his dirty face. And Cedric wasn't moving.
Slowly, the crowd quieted, leaning closer to try and get a better look. Harry was screaming, fighting the teachers trying to drag him off Cedric, and Ginny knew.
Harry wouldn't be the same. Not after this. Not after he possibly saw his fellow champion die, then dragged his body back to the crowd.
She bit her lip, crossed her arms over her chest, and allowed Ron to draw her under his arm, burying her face in his shoulder as sobs wracked her body.
/\/\
The Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry stood close together as Dumbledore spoke.
"Cedric Diggory was murdered!"
There were gasps among the students gathered; others rolled their eyes, muttering to themselves. Harry shuffled closer to Ron, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets.
He tuned out as Dumbledore continued, because he knew what had happened. Voldemort had come back. Cedric was killed because of him, Harry, and now all he wanted was to go back to the beginning of the year, before all of this had happened.
Too bad Hermione still didn't have that Time Turner. Because he sure could have used it right now.
A/N: Yeah, I know I should be writing the next chapter of The Accident. But I watched the Goblet of Fire again, and I couldn't resist. It was an idea, and I went with it. But really, I am sorry about the late updates. I'm trying my hardest…but I was dragged into tumblr, and One Direction, and Supernatural, and Teen Wolf, and school….the list is endless. But I have a break this week because of Thanksgiving, and I hope to get some writing done. Review?