Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.
Reviewers and Replies:
RHatch89: Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
grapejuice101: Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well! I do plan on writing the first and second books after I'm through with the other stories in this series.
BlueEyedDreamer97: They do look alike. Weird. But I changed it to Selena Gomez because I chose Tyler Posey to portray Gabe, and I really think Lucy looks more like Daniel Radcliffe. Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
Lucy Greenhill: I'm definitely using her as the face claim for their mom! Thanks! Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
potterhead8989: Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
aleksi black: Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
-IAWTS-
I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Safe and Sound – Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars
-IAWTS-
Months pass, and soon enough, there's only a week left before the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. Each of the champions are on edge, but Harry swears up and down that there's no one more nervous as he. Hermione disagrees, and constantly reminds him that each of the other champions are probably just as nervous. When she says this, Harry wisely stays silent to avoid an argument.
Currently Harry, Hermione, Ron, Gabe, and Tori find themselves in an abandoned classroom, Gabe and Hermione teaching Harry new spells, while Ron and Tori watch quietly. Ron and Tori listen boredly as Hermione reads about a spell aloud from one of her school books. Tori idly twirls her wand between her fingers as she sighs, before picking up a piece of parchment and crushing it into a ball. She takes a seat on one of the tables and tosses the ball up into the air and catches it again. She does this a few more times before the ball of parchment is snatched out of the air by Ron. Tori gives Ron the evil eye before snatching the ball out of the air when he tosses it above his head. They glare at each other for a few moments before an unspoken agreement is passed between them and Tori moves to the edge of the table while Ron takes a seat at the other end. Tori tosses the ball to Ron, and he catches it before tossing it back.
"Victoria and Ronald!" Hermione shouts, annoyed after a few minutes of their game. Tori and Ron both jump, startled and they look at Hermione sharply. Unfortunately for Ron, Hermione caught their attention just as Tori threw the ball back to him, and it hits him in the face, making Tori chuckle, deeply amused.
"Yes?" they ask at the same time, making them glance at each other, slightly uncomfortable.
"You should be helping, not playing," she says with a glare, and Tori pulls a face of offense.
"We are!" she cries, and Hermione raises her eyebrows.
"Oh? How exactly are you helping?" she asks, and Tori crosses her arms defiantly.
"Moral support," she says, and Gabe snorts into his hand. Tori sends her twin a glare as Ron nods his head in agreement.
"Yes, well moral support isn't going to help him during the third task. He needs to know as many spells that could possibly help him as he can otherwise he's going to potentially get hurt," Hermione says bluntly, oblivious to the anxious look that Harry sends her. Tori, on the other hand, notices Harry's look straight away and she lifts an eyebrow as she turns her attention back to the only other female in the room.
"You don't seem to be the epitome of positivity at the moment, eh 'Mione?" Tori asks, slightly nodding to Harry. Hermione frowns slightly before looking at Harry, and her expression immediately turns apologetic.
"Oh, Harry, I'm sure you'll do just fine. You've still got a week to learn more spells and hexes," Hermione says, attempting to mask her own stress about the situation.
"Plus we've been at this for almost a month," Tori pipes up, and Harry turns his attention to her. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if you won the tournament."
"Yeah, you always come out of things alive. Sometimes awfully wounded, but alive," Ron says, tossing the balled up piece of parchment above his head and catching it. Tori glares at him before slapping the back of his head.
"Thanks, Ron," Harry deadpans as Ron lets out an 'oi!' in response to Tori's head slap.
"Tact. Learn it," Tori snaps to Ron who has the decency to look sheepish, sending a grin to Harry, who laughs half heartedly. Hermione and Gabe share a glance before capturing Harry's attention again. Ron and Tori sigh loudly, immediately bored once again, and Tori quickly snatches the ball of parchment out of Ron's hand before standing. She gestures for Ron to stand as well, and he does with a small frown on his face. "Here's the game. I toss it to you, and you catch it, then you toss it to me, and if I catch it we both take a step back."
"I remember this one," Ron says, nodding, and Tori nods back with a grin before tossing the parchment ball to Ron. He catches it and tosses it back to Tori, who catches it easily. They both nod before taking a step away from each other. The game goes on until they're both on complete opposite sides of the room.
"Let's hope it can make it that far," Tori says, and Ron nods. Tori takes a deep, dramatic breath before bringing her arm back and throwing the ball of parchment as hard as she can, but despite the force behind the throw, the ball lands inches away from Ron's feet. Tori stares at the ball with dramatically saddened eyes and she drops to her knees. "No!" she wails, hanging her head in defeat.
"Oh, Victoria, honestly," Hermione scoffs, and Tori sends her friend a look when she uses her full first name. She eyes everyone's expressions; Hermione's nose being buried in a book, mouthing the words to herself, Gabe and Ron not paying attention, thoroughly used to Tori's overly dramatic behavior, and Harry's deeply amused grin. Tori grins back, happy that somebody appreciates her sense of humor.
"Hermione don't you think we've been at this long enough?" Harry asks, leaning back in his seat tiredly. They'd been there for hours, only taking a break to go to dinner.
"I agree. We've been in here for ages," Tori says, rising to her feet, giving Hermione a pleading expression. Hermione eyes Tori's look before looking at Harry and Ron, finding that they're giving her the same expression. She huffs before looking at Gabe, thinking that of all of them, he'd be the one to support her, but she's surprised when she sees Gabe's pleading look that looks nearly identical to Tori's.
"I do have a bit of homework that I need to finish," he says sheepishly. "We've still got a week to prepare him. Though I don't really see much else we can do…," he trails off.
"Fine," Hermione says, and Ron, Harry, and Tori all share a triumphant look before practically skipping to the door of the classroom.
"Thought we'd never get out of there," Ron mutters to his two friends and they nod in agreement.
"See you tomorrow," Gabe says, ruffling Tori's hair, grinning at the indignant squawk that comes from her.
-IAWTS-
The night before the third task, Tori finds herself in her dorm, standing next to the window, staring blankly at the moon. Judging by the position she deducts that it has to be sometime in the early morning. She hears the subtle deep even breaths of her sleeping dorm mates.
It'd been increasingly difficult for Tori to sleep for the past few nights, due to the immense worry she has for Harry. Despite all the confidence she holds for her friend, she knows from the past few years of experience, that anything can go wrong.
'People have died in this tournament,' Hermione's words echo in Tori's mind, and she squeezes her eyes shut before running a hand through her long hair. Tori wrenches her eyes open before looking around for Blossom, wanting to cuddle with her cat for comfort, and she frowns when she sees that the cat in question is nowhere in sight. She notices that Crookshanks is missing as well, but this doesn't exactly surprise her considering the two cats can't be seen without the other for the past year. She looks around the dorm a bit more before quietly opening the dorm's door and exiting the room. She walks down the stairs leading to the common room, and she frowns when she sees the fire still going and somebody sitting on the couch. Upon closer inspection, she sees that the person on the couch is Harry, and her eyebrows raise when she sees Blossom lying on his lap.
"Couldn't sleep?" Tori asks, and Harry's body jerks in surprise. He whips his head around quickly and his body relaxes when he sees Tori standing close to the couch in her pajamas. He gives her a small grin.
"Too much on my mind," he says, and Tori nods in understanding. "You?"
"Same," she says, sitting on the chair to the right of the couch. She smiles slightly when Crookshanks hops onto her lap, and she pets the ginger cat gently on the head. "I was actually on the hunt for these two," she says, gesturing to the two cats. "Found them," she says with a grin, and Harry snorts quietly and nods.
"You can ask," Harry says quietly after a few moments of silence, and Tori lets out a breath.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" she asks, and Harry sighs before shaking his head slightly.
"Hermione and Gabe have taught me a lot. I feel more prepared, but I'm really not ready," Harry says, and Tori frowns at him.
"If it makes you feel any better, I have the utmost confidence that you'll be fine. I can see you winning this thing," Tori says, grinning slightly at him, and he lifts his eyebrows in mild surprise. She laughs lightly and rises from her seat, picking up Crookshanks along the way. She moves over to the couch and takes a seat next to Harry, setting the large ginger cat between them. "And I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend either. You seem to doubt yourself too much."
"It's hard not to sometimes," Harry admits, and Tori frowns.
"How can you say that? Think of all you've done the past three years! You saved the Sorcerer's Stone in our first year, killed a bloody Basilisk second year, and… Well, last year you…," Tori trails off in thought.
"Faced the wrath of Victoria Black," he says with a large grin and Tori shoves his shoulder playfully.
"Sure, we'll go with that," she says though laughter, and shifts in her seat to face him more. She watches as the smile fades from his face, and she sighs quietly.
"Look, I know you're trying to help, but you forget that I've had help through all of that. I'm alone in this tournament. I have to do this all myself," Harry says, and Tori frowns at him.
"I don't recall being there when you faced Voldy-pants during our first year," Tori says, grinning when she sees Harry suppressing laughter at her nickname for Voldemort. "Shut up," she says, and his shoulders begin to shake with laughter. "It's better than calling him 'You-Know-Who'. Feel free to use it," she says, and Harry takes a deep breath to calm himself while lifting his glasses slightly to wipe tears of silent laughter from the corners of his green eyes. "Anyway," Tori begins, drawing out the word, "nobody was with you when you killed the Basilisk during second year. Hermione was petrified, and Ron and I were stuck with that idiot Lockhart. You always manage to do brilliant things on your own. You just don't give yourself enough credit."
The common room is flooded with complete silence following Tori's words. Tori watches as Harry stares at her with an intense, unreadable expression on his face. Slowly, Harry blinks and looks down at the white cat on his lap before nodding slightly.
"That, er… Helped… Right?" Tori asks, frowning, and Harry grins.
"Yeah. Yeah, it did," Harry says. "Surprisingly," he tacks on at the end making Tori roll her eyes.
"Shut up and go to bed. You'll need all the sleep you can get," Tori says, and Harry nods in agreement.
"Right," he says before standing. "See you tomorrow then," he says and Tori nods with a small smile. Her smile turns to a full grin as Harry walks past her.
"Oh, Harry?" she asks, and he turns his head slightly to see her. "If you die don't worry, I'll take care of Hedwig for you," she says, and he rolls his eyes making her laugh loudly. "That was for the 'surprisingly' bit."
"Goodnight, Victoria," he says, firmly before beginning to walk up the stairs.
"Goodnight, Harry!" she chirps before chuckling and petting Crookshanks more.
-IAWTS-
The next evening, Professor McGonagall arrives to the Gryffindor common room to retrieve Harry for the third task, making Ron, Hermione, and Tori tense with worry. Half an hour later, the students are all herded out to the Quidditch pitch to view the task, and Hermione, Tori, Ron, Gabe, and Ginny all sit together in the section of the stands for those who support Harry. Everybody is amazed at the transformation of the Quidditch field, where a tall hedge runs around nearly the entire length of it.
Tori glances to her left at Hermione when she lets out a loud sigh. She watches as her friend wrings her hands nervously, her eyes darting around the Quidditch pitch.
"You know he's going to be fine," Tori mutters, and Hermione gives her a sharp look. "Thinking negative is going to do nothing but drive you mad. Relax."
"Since when have you become the optimist in your group of friends?" Gabe asks from the other side of Tori, and Tori simply gives him a look before slapping the back of his head. Gabe hisses in pain slightly before slapping her back. Tori stares at him, affronted, before punching him in the arm. The twins begin exchanging playful slaps and punches, each blow slowly becoming more aggressive than the last. Ginny and Hermione, who are sitting on either side of the twins, quickly move away from them, sliding down the bench a few feet.
"Gabriel and Victoria Black!" a familiar voice nearly shrieks which makes Tori, Gabe, Ron, and Ginny cringe and look up to see Molly Weasley's stern face. Behind Molly stands Bill, and Remus.
"Er… Hello, Mrs. Weasley," the twins say at the same time, making those around them shift uncomfortably in their seats, finding it odd when the Black, and Weasley twins both say things at the same time.
"Bill," Gabe acknowledges with a grin.
"Uncle Remus," Tori greets, happily, and her eyes widen significantly when she sees her dad in his dog form standing in front of Remus, his tail wagging happily. "Wh-," she starts loudly but is cut off when Gabe covers her mouth with his hand.
"Sometimes I wonder how we can be twins," he hisses at her, and she glares before biting his hand. She smirks in satisfaction when he lets out an abnormally high pitched yelp that doesn't seem to match his normal deep voice. "Very mature," he grumbles and Tori turns back around sharply. She lets out a loud noise of disgust when her face is quickly covered in wet dog kisses. She quickly pushes her dad's dog head away, and glowers at him when he lets out a weird coughing noise that she interprets as a laugh. She smirks slightly when he does the same to Gabe who is slightly more prepared than she was. Sirius barks happily when Gabe and Tori both wrap their arms around his dog form at the same time, making those around them smile for different reasons; Remus, Ron, and Hermione because they know that the dog is Sirius, and everybody else, because to them it just looks like two teenagers who've been missing their beloved pet.
Tori and Gabe both turn their attention to the field when the crowd roars with applause. They see Fleur being led out by Madame Maxime, Krum being led out by Karkaroff, Cedric being led out by his father, and Harry being led out by Dumbledore. The thunderous applause from the crowd is deafening, and everybody rises to their feet as the cheers grow louder.
Harry can't fight the smile that comes to his face as he looks at the section of the audience that has a variety of signs with his name on them, and lots of Gryffindor colors. He quickly spots Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Tori, and Gabe in the audience, and his attention is immediately focused on the familiar black dog sitting on the bench between where Tori and Gabe are standing, and he feels a substantial amount of relief that Sirius is there. His eyes drift to Tori, and his smile vanishes, and the look on his face changes to confusion when he sees her making a series of very odd hand gestures.
Hermione notices this as well, and she rolls her eyes heavily at her best friend. Eventually everybody sits down, but Tori remains on her feet, still making a variety of hand gestures, and mouthing words, making many people, including everybody on the field, look at her in complete confusion. Hermione quickly grips the back of her jacket and pulls her down sharply.
"What are you doing?" she asks, her voice both irritated and amused.
"I'm trying to wish him good luck," Tori says, frowning at her friend's tone. Her frown deepens when she hears Hermione mutter something that sounds a lot like 'for God's sake,' and gives Harry a thumb's up. Tori smiles widely in realization before mimicking Hermione's actions and raises both thumbs while sending Harry an encouraging smile. She snorts when Harry shakes his head with an embarrassed smile, and looks away.
"Earlier today Professor Moody placed the tri-wizards cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now as Mr. Diggory...," Dumbledore starts, and is cut off when the section of the audience supporting Cedric rises to their feet and cheers. "And Mr. Potter," he continues and the same thing happens with Harry's section of the audience, "tied for first position they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum...," Victor's supporters cheer, "and Miss Delacour," Fleur's supporters cheer. "The first person to touch the cup will be the winner. I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, if at any point should a contestant wish to withdraw from the task he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round," Dumbledore says, and each of the champions move to stand around Dumbledore. Everybody watches as Dumbledore speaks to each of the contestants before turning around and stepping back up to the podium. "On the count of three! One!" Dumbledore begins and the cannon goes off, startling nearly everybody. The band begins to play again and everyone watches as Harry and Cedric enter the maze.
Eventually everything quiets down besides the sound of everybody talking to each other, and Tori sighs dramatically.
"I'm bored," she groans, her shoulders slumping comically.
"It's been thirty seconds," Gabe says, exasperatedly.
"It's Tori," Bill pipes in from behind them, grinning at the scathing look that Tori sends him.
"Right, how could I have forgotten?" Gabe mutters before turning away and talking to Ginny which makes Tori smirk. Tori looks around a bit before her eyes finally land on Hermione.
"So, what all do you have in that bag?" Tori asks, and Hermione looks at her for a few moments.
"Things for school," Hermione says with a frown, and Tori sighs. Hermione rolls her eyes before looking around her for a bit before standing up and walking down the isle a bit and picking up a rock. She takes out her wand and mutters something under her breath, transfiguring the rock to a ball before tossing it to Tori. Tori grins widely, before standing.
"Oh, Ron," Tori calls in a sing-song voice to her friend who is sitting there as bored as she was. He glances up and sees her holding a brightly colored palm sized ball in her hand and he grins before standing up, ready to play the game they were playing in the classroom days before. Tori tosses the ball to Ron, and he tosses it back. This goes on for a few minutes and soon enough, most of Harry's supporters are all on their feet, joined in on the game. After a few more minutes, the ball is tossed by Seamus to Ginny, and Sirius decides that this would be a good time to play the roll of the friendly pet, and catches the ball out of the air before running away slightly. "Really?!" Tori shouts, swiveling around quickly and looking at the dog. "Give it back," she says with narrowed eyes, and Sirius merely wags his tail playfully. "You're embarrassing yourself," Tori hisses, and Sirius makes the weird dog-laugh sound. "Uncle Remus," Tori whines, looking at Remus, who is laughing, deeply amused. Tori takes a breath through her nose and looks at Gabe who is standing between her and Ginny. "Time to twin up," she says.
"Right," he says, before pointing in the direction that he wants Tori to go in. She nods before walking sideways in that direction slowly, and Gabe goes in the other direction. Sirius somehow seems to keep his eyes on both of his children, and internally smiles at their teamwork. Gabe and Tori share a look before running towards Sirius at the same time, but their confident looks fall when Sirius sprints in the opposite direction, and down the stands.
"Oh, come on!" Tori groans before running after her dad with her brother. They're surprisingly joined by half of the people who joined hers and Ron's game. Everybody else in the stands laughs at the scene of a group of teenagers chasing a large black dog with a ball in its mouth. Sirius manages to evade every teen's grasp and grab, sprinting in many different directions, and Tori can tell that he's highly enjoying himself.
Tori, Ron, and Ginny all roar with laughter when Fred and George, who had joined in with the chase, dive for Sirius from opposite directions, but Sirius manages to run out of the way just in time, and the twins both land on their stomachs on the ground next to each other. The Weasley twins are good sports about it, proving so when they stand and bow graciously.
Eventually, Seamus attempts to do the same, but meets the same fate as Fred and George. Tori, who is running after Sirius, doesn't notice Seamus lying on the ground and trips over him. She groans and rolls from her stomach to her back, and looks at Seamus, who is still on the ground laughing at her.
"Shut up," she mutters and kicks him in the leg. She looks to her left and sees Sirius approaching her, and he drops the ball on her stomach, causing her to snort with laughter. He nudges her with his nose, subtly asking if she's okay, and she sits up. "I'm fine," she says, grabbing the ball, but she drops it immediately and wipes her hand on Sirius' fur. "Gross. Did you have to get your saliva all over it?" she asks, and he barks in confirmation.
Hours pass after all the excitement, and Tori finds herself back in the stands sitting between Molly and Remus, while playing the muggle game of Tic-Tac-Toe with Hermione.
"Argh!" she shouts in exasperation when Hermione wins the game again. "I hate this game. I want to play something else."
"Like what?" Hermione asks, and Tori shrugs. Tori's and Hermione's attention snaps forward when the band begins to play again, and they see Harry and Cedric had made it out of the maze. Everybody rises to their feet and cheers loudly, and the crowd moves to walk out onto the field. Tori, Hermione, and Ron all move quickly forward, and push their way down the stairs. The three of them exchange frowns when the band stops playing abruptly, and when they move closer, Tori freezes in her steps when she takes in the sight on the field. The scene makes her insides go cold, and her limbs turn numb.
Harry had returned with Cedric, and was currently sobbing heavily, while Cedric lies on the ground.
Dead.
-IAWTS-
A/N: And there's chapter fourteen! I hope you all liked it!
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