April has completely melted away. With the start of summer term I've actually found myself busy with school for once.
So anyway, May has finally arrived, and Harry has once again started to panic. Understandable really. They've planted at least a mile worth of shrubbery where the quidditch pitch usually is. Apparently the third task is a maze.
After the dragon, and hour long swim, that just sounds anti-climatic. That's why he's scared. Merlin only knows what he'll find inside there.
The really strange thing was Krum though. Apparently he had pulled Harry aside after they had been shown the starting maze and questioned him about Hermione. Harry had told me afterwards, claiming he was wanting to make sure that Krum didn't hurt Hermione.
I think he's starting to be okay with my dating Hermione.
Which brings me to the actually interesting bit of news, Crouch has been murdered, and on Hogwarts grounds.
I was sitting in the common room with Hermione and Ron. We'd finished up their charm homework, and we were looking at Potions. Hermione was sitting next to me, her legs draped over my lap as she took notes, Ron was sitting in the chair across from us, his legs thrown over the arm rest and his book against his long legs as we tried to figure out why we needed squeaking potions. I was about to suggest using it on Snape and seeing how useful it could be when Harry came in and started to tell us that he'd happened upon Crouch's body and that someone had knocked Krum out. After listening to everything he had to say, Hermione was the first one to speak up.
"It comes down to this," she said, rubbing her forehead. "Either Mr. Crouch attacked Viktor, or somebody else attacked both of them when Viktor wasn't looking." The fact that Hermione used Krum's first name wasn't lost on me, and left me feeling surly myself.
"It must've been Crouch," Ron piped up. "That's why he was gone when Harry and Dumbledore got there. He'd done a runner."
"I don't think so," Harry said, shaking his head. "He seemed really weak - I don't reckon he was up to Disapparating or anything."
"You can't Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?" Hermione said darkly.
"Besides, he's not the type to do something like that. Crouch didn't do anything to him. He's willing to hurt me, but not anyone else." I said with a frown. Harry considered that but shook his head.
"It doesn't make sense."
"Okay. . . how's this for a theory," Ron offered, waving his hand excitedly. "Krum attacked Crouch - no, wait for it - and then Stunned himself!"
"And Mr. Crouch evaporated, did he?" Hermione said with a frown.
"Oh yeah . . ."
"Obviously there was a third party. Did Moody see anyone else with his eye?" I questioned.
"No, we were the only ones." Harry answered. Everyone else grew quiet, no doubt contemplating who had been there. Karkoff seemed the most logical choice, but he wouldn't have hurt Krum.
In short, we had no idea.
"Just go through it again, Harry," said Hermione. "What did Mr. Crouch actually say?"
"I've told you, he wasn't making much sense," Harry said in a long suffering manner. "He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault. . . . He mentioned his son."
"Well, that was his fault," Hermione said testily.
"He was a death eater." I said with a frown. I was the last one to approve of turning on your family, but that would be different.
"Yes, but it was still his fault."
"He was out of his mind," Harry said, cutting across us. "Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions."
"And . . . remind me what he said about You-Know-Who?" Ron said tentatively.
"I've told you," Harry repeated dully. "He said he's getting stronger."
What else was new? Voldemort was always rumored to be getting stronger.
"But he was out of his mind, like you said, so half of it was probably just raving. ..."
"He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort," Harry muttered, making us all grow quiet. "He was having real trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore."
Harry's eyes drifted to the dorms, his face growing darker. "If Snape hadn't held me up," Harry said bitterly, "we might've got there in time. 'The headmaster is busy. Potter . . . what's this rubbish, Potter?' Why couldn't he have just got out of the way?"
"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!" said Ron quickly. "Maybe - hang on - how fast d'you reckon he could've gotten down to the forest? D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?"
"Not unless he can turn himself into a bat or something," said Harry. Hermione and I snorted at that, earning a look from Harry. Apparently he hadn't seen Snape in his bat form. Hermione grasped my hand loosely in her own, earning a smile from me. I loved it when she took the initiative and reached for me. It was nice to think I didn't always have to pursue her-that she let me catch her sometimes.
"Wouldn't put it past him," Ron muttered.
"We need to see Professor Moody," said Hermione. "We need to find out whether he found Mr. Crouch."
"Well that'll have to wait till the morning."
-o-O-o-
"So, if this doesn't work, I'm thinking we should tell him that we'll tell dad about what's going."Fred said as we climbed the steps to the owlery. I had already filled him in on what had happened to Crouch, and he didn't have any more ideas than I had. Now we were trying a last do or die trick on Bagman.
"- that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that-" I told him, frowning. I love Fred but he never thought of things like that. If we tried to blackmail Bagman it wouldn't go well for us. We were two pranksters with barely passing grades. He was a ministry official, he'd win any fight.
"- we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did -"
"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!" I snapped, reaching for the door.
"Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?" I had to admit, it would be nice to have some money.
I threw the door open, and promptly froze as I saw Hermione, Ron and Harry.
"What're you doing here?" Ron and Fred said together.
"Sending a letter," Harry and I said in unison.
"What, at this time?" Hermione and Fred asked. I couldn't help but grin at the annoyed look on her face.
"Fine - we won't ask you what you're doing, if you don't ask us," Fred said after a moment. Hermione's eyes shot to mine, and a sad look filled them. She opened her mouth but promptly shut it, dropping her eyes from mine. Guilt rose in my stomach but I pushed it away. I wasn't only not telling her about what had happened with Bagman because of Fred, but also because it was embarrassing.
Would you want your girlfriend to know you'd been tricked by fake gold?
"Well, don't let us hold you up," Fred said, making a mock bow and pointing at the door. They didn't take the hint, Ron just spoke up.
"Who're you blackmailing?" he asked, a concerned frown on his face. Fred's grin vanished, and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I was still smiling, so I took the lead.
"Don't be stupid, I was only joking," I said easily, keeping my eyes on his. Ron didn't budge.
"Didn't sound like that,"
Fred looked at me fully and I did the same. A quick, silent conversation passed between us and Fred turned back to Ron. "I've told you before, Ron, keep your nose out if you like it the shape it is. Can't see why you would, but -"
"It's my business if you're blackmailing someone" Ron said diplomatically, a very worried look in his eyes. I felt guilty for alarming him, but we weren't budging on this. "George's right, you could end up in serious trouble for that."
"Told you, I was joking," I said. I walked over to Fred, pulled the letter out of his hands, and began attaching it to the leg of the nearest barn owl. "You're starting to sound a bit like our dear older brother, you are, Ron. Carry on like this and you'll be made a prefect." I continued, going down a path I knew would get a rise out of him.
"No, I won't!" He said crossly.
I carried the barn owl over to the window and it took off. I watched it fly off for a moment, keenly aware of the fact that Hermione was watching me with her piercing eyes.
"See you lot later." I said with another grin, turning around and stepped next to Fred. We exited the owlery and I felt sick to my stomach.
Hermione was going to be angry at me again.
-o-O-o-
"No, I'm not going to ask anything, George." Hermione sighed as I stepped up next to her. She was sitting on a couch by herself, reading a book, and taking notes. I sat next to her timidly, afraid to upset her. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and sighed.
"Strike that, I'm going to ask one question." I nodded my head, lowering my eyes and trying to figure out how I was going to answer it.
"Do you trust me?" She asked quietly, barely whispering the words. My eyes widened and shot back to hers before I gave my head a barely perceptible nod.
"Implicitly." I answered. She studied me for a moment before she nodded her head.
"Then that's all I need to know." She said simply. She went back to her book but she moved closer to me on the couch, leaning into my arms with a satisfied sigh. I held her tighter, nuzzling my cheek against her soft hair.
The common room was fairly abandoned, Lee and Alicia were the only other ones down here. Still, the fact that there were other people here made her next move extremely shocking. She turned in my hold and leaned up, pressing a hot kiss to my lips. I gasped in surprise, and she used the moment to deepen the kiss, bringing her arms up to wrap around my neck and pull my face flush against her. A moan escaped me when she pressed her body into mine and I had to repress the urge to grab her and press her into me.
She pulled back after a few long minutes, breathless and blushing. She turned back and leaned into my arms, closing her eyes and nestling into my arms. I held her with a bit of surprise, my own breathing heavy and my body hot.
Yep, it's official. I will never, ever, understand women-but hell, it'll be fun trying too.
We stayed like that for the rest of the night, neither of us ever made it back to our dorms, but I didn't mind at all. I don't think Hermione did either, I rather think she enjoyed falling asleep on me. I certainly enjoyed falling asleep with her.
-o-O-o-
Once again Fred, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and I took up residency in the library. This time it didn't seem as desperate as last time though. It was much more fun, and relaxed. None of us had any idea of what he would meet in the final task, so we were each studying our favorite subjects and writing down anything that would be useful. I had taken Charms, Fred and Hermione had Transfiguration, and Ron and Harry were covering Defense Against the Dark Arts.
May faded away, and June was fast approaching . We now had five days till the last Task. Harry was feeling 'burned out' so we were taking a break from studying. Fred had run off with Angelina, and Ron and Harry were crashing in the Common Room. I had much more fun plans, and it involved Hermione and a lot of water.
"Hermione!" I called, catching up to her as we exited the library. She turned towards me expectantly, a smile lifting her lips and showing off her perfect teeth.
"Yes?" She questioned curiously.
"You okay for a few hours?"
"Sure, what do you have in mind?"
"How about a swim?" I asked, springing my crazy idea on her. She stopped walking and turned towards me, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Swimming?"
"Yep," I said with a big smile, "swimming." I loved swimming, I could do it for hours on end.
"Sounds like fun." She said, smiling excitedly.
"Brilliant, we can drop our stuff off and then go to the black lake." She nodded her head and we went to the common room. I deposited my stuff and she did as well. We ran out to the lake and stopped in front of it. I took off my robe, sweater, and undershirt. I transfigured my pants into swimming trunks, and I was ready to go for a swim. I stepped around the tree I had changed behind and had to bite back a gasp as I saw what she was wearing.
She'd shed her robe as well, and transfigured her uniform into a two piece bathing suit. Not a bikini, but a tankini. It was a pale orange-my favorite color- and it hung on her body in a painfully appealing way. The shirt was form fitting and showed just a touch of her creamy stomach. She looked at me appraisingly, a slightly scared look in her eyes. I nipped her fear in the bud before it could even get any ground.
I stepped towards her and gently placed my arms on her shoulders. "My god," I breathed out, running my hands up and down her, "do you ever look enticing in that." Her eyes widened and she looked thoroughly surprised. "Come on," I continued, "lets swim." She nodded her head, and we were about to go into the water when I felt that unnerving feeling of someone watching us. My eyes scanned the ground but I didn't see anything. I shook it off and jumped into the water, letting out a whoop when I felt the rush of cool water around me.
Hermione jumped in beside me and looked equally excited. She rose from the water, her head thrown back and the water flowing off her like a mermaid rising from the depths of the water. I watched her with a slight sense of awe. It was moments like this that I was struck full force by her beauty, and it always left me feeling light headed.
My distraction cost me though, she turned towards me and hit me with a bombardment of splashes.
"Oi!" I yelped, ducking under and grabbing her legs. She squeaked as I pulled her under, pushing against me. I let her go and kicked back to the surface, splashing her as she rose up.
"War!" She yelled out, laughing as I splashed her again.
That feeling came over me again, and I couldn't push it away. My eyes scanned the tree lines again and I saw who it was.
Krum.
Hermione noticed my distraction and turned towards what I was looking at. "George." She said quietly, when she saw Krum. I shook my head, unable to talk. My heart was plummeting to my stomach and I wasn't feeling much like swimming anymore. Krum flashed a truly evil grin and stepped towards us. I swam for the other end of the lake, pulling Hermione with me.
"George," she said again, I swam faster. I wasn't eager to hear her go on about how I didn't need to be jealous. Clearly she wasn't seeing him clearly. I had every reason to be jealous.
We climbed out of the water and headed for the castle. I pulled my wand from my wand holder and pointed it at the opposite shore. I summoned our clothes and handed hers to her. Krum was halfway across the lake now.
"George, this is silly." Hermione insisted as I started for the castle.
"Yes, but I don't want to talk about it."
"Fine." Hermione huffed. We were only a few feet away now.
A hand on my shoulder stopped me right as we reached the steps. I turned with a frown, Krum had reached us.
"Herm-own-ninny." Krum said, stepping towards her. I tightened my grip on her with a frown. He stepped closer to her and she froze, her eyes wide and surprised.
"I vish to talk to you." he said quietly, brushing her hair behind her ear. My stomach plummeted even more and I felt like I was going to be sick. Maybe I'd hit Krum-that'd be the only plus.
"Later." Hermione said. I bit back a painful gasp, feeling slightly betrayed. She was going to talk to him without me around.
"Come on." She said, pulling me up the steps. I followed her, slightly dazed until I heard Krum's last words.
"See you then, luff."
Hell no.
I stepped in front of her and pulled her into a broom closet. "George?" She questioned, but I silenced her by pressing a kiss to her lips. I couldn't handle all my emotions anymore- they were overwhelming, pushing me, pulling me, confusing me. It was just too much. I was through; I was going to show her that she didn't need any other guy.
I tugged her hips closer to mine and made her press flush against me. I twisted us around and pushed her up against the door, cradling her head with my knuckles. Hermione's mouth broke from mine for a moment. She let out a gasp and I reclaimed her lips. I pressed up against her and deepened the kiss. She was stiff beneath me for a moment, but she loosened up and began to kiss me back, bringing her hands up and wrapping them around my neck.
I kissed her feverishly, unable to stop or control myself. I'd lost all of my control, I just needed this beautiful, incredible witch in my arms to know that I was all she needed. I fisted her hair in my hands, letting my fingers weave their way through her soft locks. She dropped her hands to my shoulders, digging her nails into my shoulder blades. I moaned at the rough contract and broke away from her mouth. I pressed kisses to her neck and jaw, feeling the urge, desire, and need, to completely merge with her. Merlin, if only she were older…
"George!" She gasped, arching into me and causing me and her both to moan at the incredible feel.
"You're mine." I said in a lower voice than I'd ever used. She shuddered at the sound, her mouth blindly searching for mine to take her again.
I complied, pressing myself back into her, losing myself to the sensations as I ran my hands up and down her body. She gasped at the feel, seeming to be unsure of what she was feeling. Unsure of how to take what she was feeling. I wasn't even sure of how to take it, I'd never felt this strong, this scared of losing a girl before.
"George," She whimpered again, and it helped bring me back to earth. I began to feel slightly ashamed of myself, and I slowed the kiss down, making it more tender and satisfying.
She was the one to break this kiss this time, breathing heavily and staring at me with unsure eyes. She moved her arms down to my chest and wrapped me in a firm hug, leaning her head against me as she caught her breath.
"I-" I started, not sure what it was I was wanting to say exactly. I just felt the need to speak up.
"George, I'm so sorry." She whispered out, her voice sounding teary. I froze in her hold, my eyes wide and surprised.
"You're sorry?" I asked, feeling even more guilty.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I never meant to make you think you had any competition." She pulled back from me slightly, locking her eyes with mine. "You're the only one I'm interested in, George."
What can you say to that? I went for a different response, I snogged her again.
A/N: Okay, I've officially decided I am continuing this story into book five, up to the Twin's escape. I have a few things I want to cover, but I'd love to hear if there are any parts you want to read about. Enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review!
