Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Chapter Ten

The Aftermath

The whispers that went on as people patiently waited for this task to be done with was unnerving, however it was nothing to the screams that happened when two of the champions came back in a flash of light. At first, most people seem to think that this was the way that the tournament was supposed to end and there were cheers, but that didn't last long as shouts of someone death seemed to fill the air. I the second that they heard that Ron rushed off to find Harry, not knowing what he would find but praying that his friend wasn't the one that was dead. Not even pausing a second, Hermione rushed after him, she had to know as soon as possible.

Then they saw him, they were still up in the stands but they could see a glance of him as he held onto Cedric hand, like his life depended on it. They couldn't hear him as he seemed to try to explain himself, but none of that mattered right now. All that really mattered at the moment was that he was alive. She felt awful about even thinking it, but she was just so grateful that it was Harry that had made it. However, in the few minutes it took to get past the hordes of people in the stands Harry had disappeared.

"Where is he?" Ron muttered when they got to the ground.

"I don't know," Hermione and Ron jump, obviously he didn't realized that she was behind him. "But the Hospitable Wing will probably be a good place to check out first."

"That's true... he looked pretty bad," Ron said and without another look at her, he rushed off to the hospitable wing. When they got there, it was obviously that Harry wasn't, but that might make sense seeing as Ron had used many short cuts to get there and if Harry was really hurt it would have taken him longer to walk there. However, when ten minutes has pass Ron started to get impatient and Hermione was too. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Hermione sighed this time really not knowing what to do.

"Should we just wait here," Ron muttered as he looked down the hallway looking like he wanted to go find him, but the truth was he could be anywhere and that wouldn't really help.

"I think that will be best… unless you think he went back to the common room," Hermione fidgeted.

"No, I'm sure he didn't do that," Ron frowned and then looked at her. "Something happened today… something really big…"

"What do you think it is?" Hermione said not liking the look of panic in his eyes. She had been concentrating on if Harry was okay that she didn't even stop to think what all this means.

"The light…when H… they came back… Harry's face… Cedric d… dead… something went wrong," Ron said in broken sentences.

Hermione didn't have anything to say to that, she knew what Ron was thinking, not only because the fear she saw there but his few words just spelled it out so plainly. What could have possibly gone so wrong that all of those things happened? What has Harry been worry about this whole year, and had a horrible dream about too? She couldn't see how, but she knew that this all had something to do with You-Know-Who. As she came up to that thought Snape walked towards the hospitable wing, giving them a sneer and soon after Madam Pomfrey came out and the two of them head off in the direction that Snape had come from.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know but whatever it is it must be serious," Ron frowned. "Snape didn't even bother to dock points from us for being out this late."

"Right," Hermione said as a chill ran down her spine, she really didn't like this at all, and she needed to see Harry with her own two eyes soon or she might just crack.

"There you two are," Mrs. Weasley said five minutes later looking haggard. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Well we've been here," Ron huffed, looking like he was stealing himself for a fight if need be, he wasn't going to go anywhere until he knew his best friend was okay.

"Have you seen Harry… is he okay?" Mrs. Weasley asked frantically.

"We haven't seen him," Hermione said. "We thought they would have brought him here, but they…" Hermione cut off at that moment because Madam Pomfrey came back then with a stretcher that had Professor Moody on it looking horrible. "What happened?"

"Out of my way," Madam Pomfrey said harshly but without really bite; she just was in a hurry to try and help Moody.

"I don't understand… how did Moody get in that condition?" Bill said, he was with his mother when she arrived her. "He was fine the last time I saw him an hour ago…"

"That's not important," Mrs. Weasley said. "I want to know where Harry is!"

"I know," Bill frowned and then added to himself (his mum was now making her way to Madam Pomfrey to question her). "But it's not likely that Moody would be that over powered in such a short time…"

Ron and Hermione gave each other a look at that, not exactly knowing what it meant, but knowing that it wasn't a good thing. Still, even this question didn't hold any interest for Hermione at the moment. Not when she still didn't know what happened to Harry, so she followed Mrs. Weasley into the hospitable. Luckily they only had to be in there for another ten minutes before Harry came, along with Dumbledore and Sirius, in his animagus form. It was such a relief to see that he was all right, or alive at least, it was obvious by his eyes that he wasn't all right at the moment. She was happy when Dumbledore said that Harry was going to be taking a sleeping potion, because he really looked like he needed it (though she did want to know more about what had happened, she prefer he sleep, even if that means that she never gets to know).

She sighed once her friend fell asleep, glancing at him once more to make sure that he was okay, and then turned to leave the hospitable, feeling a little awkward being there. However, before she could do more than take a step the black dog walked in front of her. She smiled at Sirius as he stood there, giving the sleeping Harry a pointed look and then shaking his head.

"I think that means he wants you to stay here," Ron said, the only other person in the room (at least the ones that were awake) that knew who the dog was.

Hermione looked at Ron, meeting his eyes for only a second and then smiled. "Okay," she said seeing as all she found in his glaze was understanding and acceptance.

O

Hermione was sitting next to a tree looking at the lake as she thought about all that she had heard last night, knowing how much it was and yet there was still so much more that Harry hadn't said. He had faced You-Know-Who… no she couldn't go on calling him that, not when the fight was real now. Harry had faced Voldemort last night, and not the phantom that he face last time but a full-fledged monster (complete with a resurrection, which Harry didn't go into details about but it was obvious that he was the key to). Not only that, he had mentioned a list full of people that he knew where Death Eater… people that had been there too. It was hard enough to believe that he could have gotten away from Voldemort, but how he had gotten away from a horde of Death Eater too was beyond her.

It was also still a mystery to her how Cedric had died, she knew that he wasn't supposed to be there and she felt sicken at the very likeliness that he was kill for merely being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Then there was the fact that Moody, a professor that she had like despite his odd behavior and tendency to be strict (she was able to learn a few good things from him at least), was in fact a Death Eater in disguise. She was a little unnerved by this, seeing as he wasn't the first Voldemort supporter they had as a defense teacher and add into the fact that Snape is a Death Eater that was reformed, it was hard to trust any of her teachers.

However, what made her so anger, and was the reason why she came out here in the first place, was Fudge's reaction to all this. She couldn't believe that he point blank refused to except that Voldemort was back, the worst of which was because he didn't think that Harry was a creditable source because thanks to the cow's article he knew that Harry was a Parselmouth. Though at least that was one good thing about the other day, she was able to catch Rita in an unbreakable jar so she won't be about to write anymore horrible story about Harry or anyone else for a long time. But that didn't really matter now seeing as their world was now on the brink of war and most people didn't even know about it because Fudge was going to make sure everyone thinks that everything is perfectly normal.

"Hermione," Neville said nervously.

"Hey Neville," Hermione sighed and then looked up at her friend.

"What's the matter?" Neville said sitting next to her.

"How can you ask me that?" Hermione huffed. "You know that everything has gone to hell after yesterday!"

"Yeah," Neville sighed. "But I was just wonder how you were."

"Crazy," Hermione sighed. "Sorry, I might have over reacted there."

"It's fine Mione," Neville smiled. "I saw Krum on my way here… he's looking for you too."

"Oh," Hermione sighed, she still hadn't answered Viktor about going to Bulgaria, she's really only seen him a few times since the second task and she couldn't bring herself to disappoint him like she thought this would before the third task.

"You really need to talk to him," Neville said.

"I know," Hermione sighed.

"So have you made up your mind yet, about visiting him?" Neville asked trying to make it sound like a causal question.

"My mind was made up before he even asked me," Hermione sighed again.

"I see," Neville sighed too. "I should have known."

"What?" Hermione asked him looking confused.

Neville took at deep breath and looked at Hermione in the eyes. "Mione... I like you."

Hermione brow furrowed at first but then she looked sadly back at him, "Neville…"

"Don't say anything," Neville smiled sadly at her, he was almost hoping that she would have smile at him or in so way shown that she liked him back, but he knew better than that. "I know you don't feel the same way and it's okay."

"But…" Hermione said biting her lip. "How long?"

"Since you helped me find Trevor on the train," Neville smiled. "You where so kind… I always had a soft spot for you. That's why I asked you to the ball this year."

"You said just as friends," Hermione sighed as she thought back to that day and how nervous he was, she should have known this was coming.

"That's what guys say when they think that a girl isn't really interested," Neville shrugged. "I thought that I still had a chance then… but I know differently now."

"I'm not going to Bulgaria, I'm not interested in Viktor," Hermione didn't know why she was telling him this; she knew that she couldn't like Neville back, but she didn't want him thinking that she liked Viktor.

"I never thought you did," Neville chuckled. "I'm pretty sure you have a thing of a certain red head that's in our class… that you fight with all the time… and is name Ron."

Hermione blushed and looked away from him as he said that. "Was I really that obvious?"

"You're my best friend," Neville smiled. "And I was watching you really closely," he added chuckling.

"Nev… why are you telling me this," Hermione said already starting to feel uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her at the moment… she didn't want to feel like this all the time with him.

"Believe me, if I wasn't absolutely sure that you would never like me like I like you, I wouldn't be telling you this," Neville said. "But after the Yule Ball you made it abundantly clear who you liked. The way you looked for him in the begging of the night, how you fight with him… how upset you were after that… I always thought that you liked him, I just didn't know how much…"

"So you think I'm hopeless," Hermione said looking sad; she had already come to terms with what liking Ron meant and how she doubted he would ever like her back.

"For me yeah, I'm always going to be your friend Nev… just your friend," Neville said. "And I'm fine with that, I really am, because you're a good person to be around and it's more than most people get."

"Nev…"

"Mione, believe me, this isn't going to change anything between us," Neville said. "I just needed to get this all off my chest."

"Okay," Hermione sighed and looked away from him.

"And about the Ron thing," Neville said. "I wouldn't worry… I think he likes you more than you think."

"Really!" Hermione said excitedly but then blushed and felt bad.

"Yeah," Neville chuckled. "It's hard to tell with Ron, but I'm pretty sure all the shouting and glaring and just normal old staring that he does toward you means that he cares."

"Yeah right," Hermione moaned.

"Look, I'm not going to bring this up again, because I really don't care to talk about feeling and crap like that, but I think he really likes you," Neville said. "I'm not the only one that's been watching you closely this year."

"Right," Hermione said blushing again at just the thought of Ron watching her.

"Look, I should get going," Neville said a little while after that.

"Bye Neville," Hermione said sadly as she watched him go. She really didn't like that he had a crush on her… or whatever it was that he had for her, but he was right, they couldn't let that stop them from being friends. She only had two friends after all, though she was starting to think that she might actually be Harry's friend now, though nowhere near how close as she thought of him.

O

It was the last day of the term and Hermione was standing outside waiting for the carriages to take her to the Hogwarts Express. She was standing with Neville, Ginny, Ron and Harry, who had been really quiet since he's gotten out of the hospitable wing and only talked to Ron about anything that's bothered him.

"Her-own-ninny," Viktor called and she turned around to look at him feeling like the biggest prat in the world for not talking to him sooner. She nearly didn't give him an answer at all and that really wasn't like her, though of course she hadn't been able to find him for the last few days but still there was no excuse of this. "Can we talk?"

"Yes," Hermione said letting herself be dragged to a place where no one else was (she did notice that Ron was looking at her and she was starting to hope that Neville was right about this).

"You still haven't given me an answer," Viktor said looking at her sadly, like he already knew what the answer was going to be but was determined to hear it none the least.

"I'm sorry Viktor, I can't go," Hermione sighed not really looking at him.

"I thought so," Viktor sighed too.

"I know I should have told you this sooner, but I didn't want to tell you before the third task," Hermione said.

Viktor looked at her carefully at that, and there seemed to be more hope in his eyes than there was a second ago (why didn't she just keep her mouth shout). "I was wondering if I could write you?" he asked.

"I don't know," Hermione bit her lip, she really would like to write to him and hear about all the things that he was doing, but she didn't want to lead him on. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" Viktor frowned. "I would like to know more about you."

"I think that you want more out of this than I do," Hermione said. "Nothing could happen between us."

"Right," Viktor sighed, looking more depress than she's has ever seen him.

"I'm sorry Viktor," Hermione said her heart seeming to break a little at seeing his expression but at the same time she knew that this was right, to give him a clean break because she knew that she wasn't ever going to go out with him.

"Well, I'm glad I got to know you Her-own-ninny," Viktor said and kissed her on the cheek before he turned away and sulked off to his ship.

"How did it go?" Ginny asked when Hermione got back to her friends (again she noticed Ron paying close attention to them and wondered what that meant).

"I don't think that he took it very well," Hermione whispered so only Ginny could hear her.

"Well you did the right thing," Ginny smiled and her eyes wondered over to where Michael was standing with his friends.

"So how is it going with you?" Hermione smirked at her.

"Good I think," Ginny said only blushing slightly. Hermione raised her eyebrow at that, knowing that there was something her friend wasn't telling her but the red head just shook her head and nodded towards her brother. Hermione was just going to have to wait to talk about this when they were alone. However that wasn't going to be anytime soon seeing as the five of them chose to all sit in the same compartment and were even joined by the twins too. There really was something nice about being with all the Weasleys, Harry and Neville, that just made her feel comfortable even though she knew that the world had just became a lot more dangerous place she knew she felt safe here in the train laughing with her friends.

"You know, what's really surprised me is that the cow hasn't come out with any articles about this yet," Ron said. They were coming dangerously close to talking about what happened after the third task and he could see that Harry really didn't want to talk about that. Little did he knew that he had picked such a good topic and one that Hermione had been dying to tell her friends for a while now but didn't know how to bring it up.

"Don't worry I'm sure there will be some article about how I'm running around fighting an imaginary Voldemort in no time," Harry grumbled but he looked thankful at his friend's change of subjects.

"I doubt it," Fred said. "I'm sure Fudge wouldn't want even that out there."

"Yeah, and we already know that he's leaning heavily on the Prophet," George added.

"Yeah, well I like to see him try and stop the cow from writing whatever she wants," Ginny groaned.

"Oh, you really don't have to worry about that," Hermione smirked and everyone looked at her stunned by the conviction in her voice and evil grin on her face.

"What did you do?" Ron asked in trepidation.

"Oh just this," Hermione said standing up to search her bag and came out with a jar with a beetle in it.

"You turned her into a beetle!" Fred exclaimed.

"Brilliant!" George added beaming at her.

"I didn't turn her into a beetle," Hermione laughed. "She turned herself into a beetle."

"What? Why would she do that?" Neville asked.

"She's an animagus," Harry said looking closely at the beetle grinning.

"An unregistered one," Hermione smirked. "So believe me Harry, you don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Brilliant," George and Ron both said.

"I think I've serious underestimated you," Fred added wrapping his arm around her. "I was under the impression that you might take the Percy route of thinking… but you're much more like Bill, you're still able to have a laugh."

"Do you really think that I would have waste my time with her if she was like Percy?" Ginny said.

"You're right, I'm sorry Gin-Gin, I should have more faith in you," Fred laughed, but not for long because Ginny had shot a curse at him, which lucky for him he was able to dodge.

"Don't call me Gin-Gin or next time I won't miss," Ginny glared at him and Fred knew that was no idle threat.

The rest of the ride home didn't take that much longer but they all enjoyed every minute they had left being able to do magic. After she got off the train she gave her friends a hug goodbye and then headed for her parents smiling.

"Hermione," her dad said hugging his daughter, who unlike some of the other kids on the platform happily hugged her dad back. "I've miss you so much."

"I've missed you too, dad," Hermione said and then turned to her mother and gave her a hug too. "You too mum."

"So how was your term?" she smiled at her daughter that seemed to have grown a lot this year (especially seeing as she had gotten a few letters this year about a boy, which she loved to hear about, though she hadn't shown her husband).

"It was… er… nice," Hermione smiled really know sure how to describe it at all, especially the end of it.

"Hermione?" her mum said narrowing her eyes and looking at her suspiciously. "What have you done to your teeth?"

"Er…" Hermione said as her eyes went wide.

"We told you not to use magic on your teeth" her dad frowned, in the voice that he always used when he was disappointed (she had only heard it directed towards her twice before).

"I know, but it's not my fault," Hermione said. "Malfoy (her parents heard enough about him to know that he was a bullied that had bothered their daughter and others) curse me and made my teeth grow. When Madam Pomfrey was shirking them back to normal size… well I kind of just let her continued. I know that I shouldn't have, but I was already there, and you only told me that I couldn't do it…"

"Hermione," her dad sighed. "I wish you didn't do it, but I guess I'm going to have to be okay with it."

"You are such a softy," her mum teased her dad. "You're never strict with her."

"She never does anything for me to be strict with," her dad smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "My little angle."

"Argh, that just makes me want to rebel," Hermione laughed, she had really missed her parents and she was looking forward to spending time with them, though at the same time she couldn't wait until the next time that she would see her friends.

A/N: I know that sometimes it seems like I end something too soon or I don't go over something as much as I should, especially in this section (the fourth book). One of my reviews for this even said that I should slow down and go over things more, but the truth is that if I don't go over a scene that's in the real Harry Potter books it's because that's what's basically happening in this story. That's why I skimmed over the whole Dark Mark scene, and didn't say too much about the first and second task, and also in this chapter I didn't really have the hospitable scene with Fudge, but I just see things going similar in this story as in the real one and I didn't want to basically paraphrase it (besides most of these things don't have anything to do with what my story is about, which is basically the relationship that Hermione has with Harry and the one that she has with Ron).

On another note, the next chapter is going to be a little different because I'm going to do it from Ron's prospective (or at least as much as from his prospective as this story has been from Hermione). It will be going over how he felt during fourth year and why he reacted to some things the way he did. I've decided to do it this way because the relationship between Ron and Hermione will start to pick up a little this year (though of course it won't be perfect by any means) and it's just better if you get to know what Ron's feeling.