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A/N- Warning! Angst between two dunderheads who don't know how to communicate!

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all headed down to dinner with some trepidation. They weren't sure they wanted to hear the announcement of the first task. What if Crouch Jr tried something in front of everyone, still pretending to be Moody? Or what if it turns out that they were wrong about the nature of the task? Or what if-? They really needed to stop worrying. It would probably be fine, at least for a bit.

As they walked, there was the sound of muffled thuds quickly approaching. The trio stopped and turned around. Danni was running towards them, and instead of stopping, she practically flew forward, smashing against Harry and knocking him to the ground.

She pushed herself back up to her feet, hardly looking embarrassed. Ron gestured near the floor. "Where are your shoes?" Bare socks on these floors would explain why she hadn't stopped, and instead, had just slid forward at some record breaking top speeds.

Danni helped Harry to his feet, and he smiled gratefully. "So other than pushing me down, was there anything specific that made you need to come running over like that?"

Danni sighed. "Yes. I know that just getting you to survive through the first task sounds like something that we should do, but now I'm not so sure. I think that it would be best to just have you publicly drop out of the whole tournament now, before any damage can be done."

Harry frowned. "What suddenly brought that on?"

Danni shrugged. "It just occurred to me that we're going to have to figure out a way for you to drop out of the tournament at some point or another anyways, so it might just be for the best to have you do it now, before your life is in any danger at all. It seems like the safest option."

Harry stopped himself from reaching forward and grabbing Danni's hand. He just wanted her to understand what he was thinking. That he couldn't throw away his pride in order to save himself. That he wasn't going to let everyone know her secret if she didn't want them to, and he wasn't going to let anyone think that she was crazy, either. That he had to stand up to Voldemort for everyone's sake, and not just for himself. That he wasn't going to mess this all up. He wanted her to be able to get all of that, but she seemed to keep her word about staying out of his head.

Instead, he just shook his head. "It's going to be okay. I think that if we all work together, we'll be able to figure out a way to get through this, okay? After dinner tonight the official announcement about the first task is going to be made. Then I'm assuming that the competitors will be pulled aside separately to figure out who is going to fight each dragon. It's going to be okay. Unless there's something else that's happened since I last saw you?" He looked at Danni's face searchingly, but it didn't reveal anything other than an overwhelming amount of exhaustion.

Danni sighed. "No. There's nothing else. I just don't want to see you throwing yourself headfirst into danger."

Harry smirked. "Why? Are you worried about me?"

Hermione took a step forward so she could smack Harry in the arm. Then she turned to Danni. "You don't need to worry about him. He's been running headfirst into danger for as long as I've known him, and I've yet to see him face anything dangerous enough to get past his thick skin."

Danni chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I can believe that-" her face instantly went blank, and Harry turned to see Crouch Jr headed for the Great Hall. That guy really was causing a lot of problems, wasn't he? Danni cleared her throat, calling Harry's attention back to her. Just before he turned back, though, he noticed that Crouch Jr turned and walked down the corridor rather than going into the Great Hall. "Anyways, I just think that it's a bad idea to go through with it." She clenched her jaw. "Excuse me," and she pattered off in the same direction that Crouch Jr had gone.

Harry turned back to his two best friends. "Should we go after her?"

Hermione raised one eyebrow. "Why? She looks like she could definitely use some more rest, so I'm not too worried about her skipping dinner, and she already knows the task so it's not like-"

Harry shook his head. "No, that's not why. Crouch Jr was walking down, and she went in the same direction. Like she was going to try and follow him or something. She could get seriously hurt if he catches her."

Hermione glanced at Ron, who didn't seem to have anything to say at the moment. She sighed. "Harry, this is a very large school. She could have been heading anywhere, and he could've been heading anywhere…" she trailed off in the middle of her sentence. "On second thought, maybe it wouldn't hurt to make sure that she's alright. She shouldn't be going after sociopathic serial killers on her own."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because we're definitely the best back up if a sociopathic killer tries to attack her. And he'd have to be pretty stupid to openly attack a student so close to the school. It would be pretty easy for someone to catch him in the act."

Hermione jabbed her elbow into Ron's side. "Either way, it would be best for us to just make sure that she's going to be absolutely alright, okay? All we know is that he's dangerous, and that he wants Harry dead. We can't let him just wander around. In fact, it might even be for the best if we go and tail him as often as possible, anyways. So c'mon."

The trio went after Danni, and ended up at the end of the corridor, unsure of which way to go. Ron and Hermione started whisper-arguing, and Harry shushed them. He could hear the very faint sound of voices coming from the other side of the wall. But there wasn't anything on the other side of this wall, was there? Everyone else should be in the Great Hall right about now, and there's no way that Danni could've gone all the way around to the main entrance, and then all the way around to the back of the building.

Then the wall started to creak. Instinctively, the trio ducked into the shadows that were falling everywhere. A section of the wall popped open like it was a door, and Crouch Jr came back inside. He had one hand tightly wrapped around Danni's wrist, and was pulling her inside with him. "-told you. Now your aunt is pissed, and keeps trying to contact me, which would certainly blow my cover. How long since you took his place back? The lake? Before then? After?"

Danni tugged her arm away, but wasn't even remotely successful at getting herself free. She tried to dig her feet down, but the floor was made of stone and she was only wearing socks on her feet. When she realized that it was fruitless to keep trying, she let her shoulders slump down, and let out a deep sigh. "Harry's a good person. He doesn't deserve to die."

Crouch Jr pulled Danni's arm up, and since she was so small in comparison, he ended up lifting her enough that just the tips of her toes were brushing against the ground. "There's nothing that you or anybody else can do to change the way that everything is going to play out. Your boy toy has a destiny, which he must fulfill."

Danni snorted. "Let's not pretend that you actually believe in that crap. Why do you even want you-know-who back? He's a terrible person. You could do so much better. You could be so much better."

Crouch pulled Danni up higher so that they were eye to eye. Harry wanted to dart out and interfere, but Hermione reached out one arm to hold him back, giving him a meaningful look. They needed to figure out what was going on, exactly. And they couldn't let on to Crouch that they knew he wasn't actually Moody. That would ruin everything for sure.

The psychopath hissed in Danni's face, and she closed her eyes and looked away to avoid getting any spittle on her. "You can't honestly be so naive that you think that there's any other outcome. Potter has to die. I know it. He knows it. The only one who doesn't seem to get it is you!" He shook Danni back and forth like she was a ragdoll or something.

Danni used the momentum to reach down into the pocket of her robes and pull out her wand, which she jabbed into the underside of Crouch's jaw. "You listen to me, you bastard. Your ugly fish faced loser of a boss is wrong. He doesn't need Potter's blood to bring himself back."

Crouch snarled. "He knows that! He needs to blood to protect himself, and he's going to get it! There's nothing you can do to stop things from playing out the way that they're meant to," he coughed when Danni pressed her wand up harder. "This is what's meant to happen. The prophecy says so!"

Harry glanced at his friends, and both of them just shrugged. He noticed that Ron and Hermione had also pulled out their wands, ready to jump out if they absolutely had to. They couldn't let on to Crouch that they knew his real identity, but if it was an emergency, then they'd be willing to risk it.

Danni shrugged. "Then I guess it's a good thing that I never did believe in destiny."

Crouch suddenly dropped Danni, taking her by surprise. He used to opportunity to wrap one hand around her neck, and lift her up like that. She dropped her wand in shock, and reached up with both arms to tug at the hand that was squeezing tightly around her. Harry wanted to jump out now, but Hermione shook her head.

"Listen to me, you little bitch. The only ones getting a happy ending here are the ones on the winning side. My side. What did you really expect to get out of this little chat?" He squeezed a bit tighter, and the Ravenclaw's face started turning purple from lack of oxygen.

Danni coughed out, "Answers." Crouch dropped her again, and she massaged her neck while coughing violently, and gasping for breath. She snatched her wand off the ground while she was bent over, and then straightened herself up. "I want to know why you don't just grab Potter now. It was apparently easy enough to grab me, so why would he be any more challenging?"

Crouch sighed. "I don't owe you shite, kid. Why don't you just run along and keep your nose out of this? None of this has nothing to do with you."

Danni gulped. "You don't know how wrong you are." She took a step closer, crowding the death eater in his space. "I want you to promise that once you've revived your precious leader, you'll make sure that Harry lives." Harry had to press a hand over his mouth to stop himself from saying anything out loud. Crouch scoffed, and Danni frowned. "Maybe I didn't make myself sound clear enough. Harry will live, or you will die." She held out her wand threateningly.

Crouch laughed. "Do you really think you have it in you to commit murder, kid? Do you know what murder means? It means feeling the moment between a life in front of you, and cold nothingness. Feeling the life ooze out of the person you've just sentenced to death."

Danni's eyes flared. "Do you really want to find out?"

Crouch held his hands up in mock surrender, though it was pretty obvious that he wasn't intimidated by the girl who was probably less than half his size. "Sure thing, then. Potter can live. Because it's definitely just that easy."

Harry shook his head. What the hell did Danni think she was doing? Was she crazy? There's no way that any bargain Crouch made would actually be kept. He was an insane murderer. He wanted to bring back to life one of the worst people ever known to have walked the Earth. He wanted Harry dead.

Danni suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened. Harry furrowed his eyebrows, and wondered why she was suddenly acting scared when she'd seemed so cool throughout that entire conversation. She angled herself a bit, forcing to Crouch to angle himself as well. Now Crouch's eyes weren't going to be looking anywhere near the trio. Danni knew that they were there. Of course she did.

Danni cleared her throat. "Potter doesn't even know who you really are. He doesn't even know that I know who you really are. If you let him live, then all he'll know is that Professor Moody saved his life, and he'll be too grateful to even look any further into it. You'll be perfectly safe. Your boss doesn't ever have to know that it was you who helped him escape."

Crouch leaned forward. "Why're you so invested in matters that have nothing to do with you, no matter the outcome? You know that if Voldemort gets in control, your aunt and brother will keep you safe. And if he doesn't, then you'll continue to prance about merrily all the time. So what the bloody hell do you care about any of this? Huh? What?"

Danni sighed in defeat. "The truth is, I did used to hate Harry Potter. I thought that he was a horrible person, and that I didn't need to bother with him. Then we crossed paths completely by accident, and thanks to him, I've learned more about myself than I ever would've been able to on my own. And one of the things I've learned…" her eyes flitted over to Harry's hiding spot for just a second. "Well, one of the things I've learned is that he's actually an incredible person. Terribly selfish and egotistical and rude, but also, when he learns that someone is worth caring about, he'll do anything for them. He can be compassionate and caring and kind and protective. So I've learned that I…" she bit her lip nervously, and Crouch rolled his eyes.

"Whatever the hell you're going to say, just say it now while I still have some semblance of patience left in me. Otherwise, forever hold your peace. Or however that's supposed to go."

Danni shrugged. "I want his life spared because I think that I may be in love with Harry Potter."

The next look she shot over to the shadowy alcove was almost an apologetic one. Crouch was only silent for a moment before he started laughing so hard that he was practically wheezing. "In love with Harry Potter? Oh, that's a good one! That's real rich coming from you! Everyone knows how much you despise him. Your aunt always mentioned that as one of your 'shining qualities' or something. There's no way you're going to get me to believe that crap. No scurry off before I decide that I don't care how highly your aunt thinks of you and I make your brother into an only child."

Danni wrinkled up her nose. "Harry's going to survive. I promise you that much. Because if he doesn't, you're going to be the one to regret it."

Crouch shoved aside Danni's wand. "Why don't you go back to the little kid's table? If you stick around here, you might discover just how unpleasant adult business can be." Then he pushed past Danni, and headed back to the Great Hall. "If you're smart, you'll hurry along, too. Wouldn't want to miss any important announcements that might be made."

Once he was gone, Danni rubbed one hand over her eyes, and that's when Harry emerged. She didn't look the slightest bit startled by his presence. He put his hands on his hips. "What the hell was that?"

Danni sighed tiredly. "I really don't want to get into this with you."

"Did you know him before he came here? Another one of your death eater pals? Because he sounded awfully familiar with you." Harry could feel his chest stinging. When Danni said she was in love with him, for just a second, he'd felt the strangest sensation run through his entire body. But then Crouch said that it wasn't real, and of course it wasn't real. How could it be when Danni had made it clear how much she hates Harry from the moment they'd first met. And now she was only trying to keep him alive because it was the right thing to do. No other reason.

Danni clenched her jaw, looking hurt. "Where do you get off on yelling at me? What have I ever done besides try and help you? And when have I ever been anything but hurt because of my efforts?"

Ron and Hermione both glanced at each other, and even though Danni had to know they were there, they both instantly decided that they'd be better off just staying put where they were, even if it would mean that they'd have to miss dinner.

Harry shook his head. "Well then I guess you've just learned how to effectively waste effort, because clearly, there was never any reason for you to ever do anything for me."

The hurt look on Danni's face disappeared. "Yeah, you're right." She pushed past Harry, and glanced at the alcove. "I feel sorry for the two of you, stuck with such a shite friend." She glanced back at Harry. "I wish you the best of luck with getting through the tournament alive. I am so tired of going through all this with you. I thought that I was at least getting a friendship out of all of this, but I was wrong," then she turned and stormed away.

Harry felt like someone had just slapped him in the face. He stood there and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths. Losing one friend wasn't the end of the world. It's not like they'd ever really been friends in the first place, Danni had said so herself. And Harry was perfectly capable of stopping Crouch, winning the tournament, and stopping Voldemort without Danni's help. Hopefully.