When I woke up on Sunday morning, it took me a moment to remember why I felt so miserable and worried. Then the memory of the previous night rolled over me. Everyone in Hogwarts - except for the Gryffindor students - hated me. I was single. My now ex-boyfriend didn't believe me that I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire. I sat up and ripped back the curtains of my four-poster, hopping out of bed, determined to fix some of this mess. I could at least attempt to get Ron to believe me. He was my best friend. He had to believe me.
It was early enough in the morning that I wouldn't risk running into many people. As it was the weekend I knew that most people wouldn't be awake. There was a chance that I could head Ron off downstairs before the rest of the Gryffindor students could get to him and give him the third degree. I just needed to talk to him before anyone else did. I could force him to understand that I hadn't wanted to be in the Triwizard Tournament. I could even start bargaining for Harry. Ron was our best friend. There was no way he wouldn't believe me.
Though I normally would have gotten dressed, today I didn't bother getting ready for the day. It was a weekend anyway and I figured that most people in Hogwarts wouldn't care what I looked like. I changed into a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt and pulled my tangled hair back. I couldn't bring myself to brush the knots out. Once I was satisfied that I didn't look homeless I turned and walked downstairs. I was grateful that no one was down in the Common Room and that I passed less than give people on the way to the Great Hall.
Unfortunately for me, there were a lot of people there. Most of the early risers were already midway through their breakfasts. I found myself feeling extremely awkward as I walked into the Great Hall, unsure of what I was supposed to do or say. Pretend that nothing had happened? Hold my head high? Could I yell at everyone not to look at me as I walked inside? Would it have been a better idea to take the Invisibility Cloak and drag Ron out of the Great Hall? I didn't want to face Cedric as we weren't supposed to be together but we weren't technically broken up either.
Every face turned to me as I walked into the Great Hall to attempt breakfast. I immediately spotted Ron and the Weasley twins sitting close together, speaking in hushed tones. Was it the right time to go over there? It didn't look like they wanted me near them. I swallowed thickly as I lost whatever nerve I had when I had first woken up. I couldn't speak to Ron. It didn't help that I could see Cedric looking directly at me. He looked like how I felt; confused. I walked to the edge of the Gryffindor table and sat down, unable to force myself to walk over to Ron.
The twins were the first to look my way. They looked like they felt extremely guilty for the way I was being treated. Over their heads, I could see the glare Ron was shooting my way. Oh, come on... If they were going to have a conversation about me it should have been done in private. Not with the rest of the school able to listen in. The whispers echoed all over the hall as I stared down at the table. I tried to catch Fred and George's eyes a few times but they were focused on their brother. Of course. No one was going to be my friend outside of Harry for now.
Not even the twins. They needed to take care of their brother. He was family, not me. My gaze shifted to the rest of the Great Hall. Everyone was staring at me but no one made a move to come to speak to me. They all wanted to know what was going on but they didn't want to be seen talking to me. I was public enemy number one. I ended up not making it more than five minutes before being unable to bear the looks and whispers any longer. It was far too awkward. So, I took an apple and hopped to my feet, leaving the Great Hall intent on going back to bed.
There was no point in sitting here putting myself on display like I was the most popular exhibit in the zoo. The gazes all followed me as I walked out with my head held high. I was just nearing the stairs when I heard footsteps following me. I whipped around to tell whoever it was to leave me alone but I faltered when I realized that it was Cedric. Without breaking eye contact I backed around the door to the hall to ensure that no one saw us. If he was going to talk to me, it was only going to be between us. He looked almost nervous to see me as he stepped behind the door.
We stood in silence together for so long that it almost became comical. My temper flared slightly as I became the first one to speak. "It's the first time in a long time either one of us was at a loss for words around each other. What do you want?" I snapped.
I could see Cedric swallow. "To tell you that I'm sorry," he said slowly.
The anger that was building in my chest continued to bubble. I was a lot bitterer about things than I had expected to be. "I don't want an apology, Cedric. You don't have to be sorry, I probably would have reacted the same way," I admitted. He looked surprised at my admission. "I just want to know that you believe me when I tell you I didn't put my name in."
"I - I believe you," Cedric stammered.
It was the least convincing argument that I had ever heard. He didn't sound like he believed me in the slightest. "No, you don't. You want to believe me, but you don't," I said quietly, wishing I was wrong.
When he didn't immediately respond by telling me that I was wrong, I scoffed and turned to walk away. His hand landed on my arm, yanking me back. "Tara, please don't walk away," Cedric begged.
"Why not? You're my boyfriend, Cedric," I snapped. We stared at each other for a moment as the truth settled over us. We weren't together anymore. At least, we weren't supposed to be together. I swallowed thickly as I continued. "Or, you were my boyfriend. You're supposed to be the person who believes me, no matter what happens."
"Tara, I do believe you," Cedric said, running his hands up my arms.
"You don't believe me," I countered.
Cedric let out a deep breath as I pulled myself out of his arms. He remained a few steps back, knowing I didn't want to be that close to him. "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that it's hard to think of what else could have happened," he reasoned.
"So I've heard," I growled.
"You can't think of what happened? Maybe you said something to someone that you wanted to compete and they took it seriously. Maybe they thought it would be a funny joke and decided to enter you," Cedric offered.
The last thing I wanted was to try and figure out how my name had been entered. I had accepted it. Now I just wanted to be angry about it. "Why can't you just take my word for it? I didn't do it and that's that," I said irritably.
Cedric tilted his head to the side. "Tara -"
"Are you kidding? I didn't do this!" I yelled, fed-up with the conversation. I scowled at Cedric as he frowned at me, probably surprised that I had yelled at him. I lowered my voice as I continued speaking. "I don't know how this happened. I wish it hadn't." I wasn't sure where I was planning on taking the conversation next but I did notice that Cedric's eyes were scanning the hall. My heart sank into my stomach. "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"
Cedric shook his head. "No."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm not."
My hands were shaking as I wrang them together. My temper was going to get the better of me in a few moments. "It's too bad that you don't believe me," I said sadly. I knew it was time to walk away before I said something I regretted. Cedric opened his mouth to talk over me but I was too frustrated to keep listening to him. "You know, this isn't really what I signed up for. I think I'll just eat this upstairs."
Cedric reached out and took my arm again. "Tara, please don't go."
We stared at each other for a moment as I laid my hand over his, gently pushing him off of me, trying to convince myself that I didn't want to burn this particular bridge. "If you want to talk to me we can talk later," I offered. "I'm not in a chatty mood today."
"Promise me that we will talk," Cedric said.
I stared at him and nodded. "Sure," I said tonelessly.
His grip relaxed on my arm enough so that I could gently pull myself away. The guilt settled in my stomach as I stared at him. I wanted to stay with him but I wasn't willing to do it when I wasn't positive that he believed me. Cedric watched me with a sad gaze as I turned and walked off. Neither one of us wanted to leave but we didn't know how to speak to each other. Not until things calmed down. I tried to keep my confidence up as I headed back to Gryffindor Tower, hoping that I could slip back in without being noticed.
Today wasn't a good day for chatter. I didn't know what I was supposed to say to anyone. I was fully intent on going back to bed and hoping that when I woke up tomorrow this would have all been a bad dream. I walked into the Common Room at the same time Harry was coming down from the staircase. I nodded at him as the Fat Lady's portrait closed behind me. The moment we had both appeared and the kids in the Common Room saw us, the people who had already finished breakfast or weren't planning on having any broke into applause again.
My stomach churned as I stared at them. This was worse than having them booing or ignoring me. I let out a deep breath as I tried to avoid the gazes in the room. This wasn't the reaction that I had been expecting. I'd thought they would have stared at me the same way everyone in the Great Hall had. I'd thought things would have calmed down after last night. At least, that was what I'd been hoping for. I crossed the Common Room without meeting any eyes and took Harry's hand as we shifted to the corner of the room.
The prospect of going back down into the Great Hall for Harry to eat his breakfast after my first failed attempt and facing a much larger group of the Gryffindor's, all treating me like some sort of hero, was not inviting. It was that, however, or stay here and allow myself to be cornered by the Creevey brothers, who were both beckoning frantically to Harry and me to join them. Sharing a quick look with Harry, we walked resolutely over to the portrait hole, pushed it open, climbed out of it, and found ourselves face-to-face with Hermione.
"Morning," I told her.
"Hello," Hermione said, holding up a stack of toast, which she was carrying in a napkin. "I brought you two this. Although it looks like you already went to breakfast."
She was looking at the still-untouched apple in my hand. "Well, I tried. It only lasted a few seconds. It's not very appetizing being down there. I mostly just got angry stares," I explained.
"The Gryffindor's?" Harry asked curiously.
"It looked like they felt too awkward to say or do anything. Ron was down there with the twins. I don't know, maybe they were trying to be respectful to him. It was the quietest I've ever heard the Great Hall," I explained, noticing Harry's defeated look at the mention of Ron.
"Was Cedric there?" Harry asked.
"Unfortunately," I muttered.
Both Harry and Hermione looked upset for me. "I'm sorry, Tara," Harry said.
"It's whatever," I said, waving him off.
"Want to go for a walk?" Hermione offered to us.
"Good idea," Harry said gratefully.
I wanted to go back to bed but I knew Hermione wouldn't let me do that. "Yeah, what the hell? Why not?" I conceded, taking a small bite of my apple.
We went downstairs, crossed the entrance hall quickly without looking in at the Great Hall, and were soon striding across the lawn toward the lake, where the Durmstrang ship was moored, reflected blackly in the water. It was a chilly morning, and Harry was quick to give me his sweater when he saw me trembling. We kept moving, munching our toast and splitting my apple, as Harry and I told Hermione exactly what had happened after we had left the Gryffindor table the night before. To our immense relief, Hermione accepted our story without question.
"You're the only one who believes that we didn't enter ourselves," I told her.
"Well, of course, I knew you two hadn't entered yourselves," Hermione said when Harry had finished telling her about the scene in the chamber off the Hall. "The looks on your faces when Dumbledore read out your names! But the question is, who did put them in? Because Moody's right, you two. I don't think any student could have done it... they'd never be able to fool the Goblet, or get over Dumbledore's -"
"It wasn't a student," I interrupted. That was the only thing I was positive of. "It was someone else. It was someone who's just as smart if not even smarter than Dumbledore. And I don't like that thought."
"Do you have any idea -?"
"Have you seen Ron?" Harry interrupted Hermione.
She hesitated. He knew Ron hadn't talked to me but he may have talked to her. I turned toward her too. "Um... yes. He was still at breakfast when I went downstairs," Hermione said.
"I saw him," I muttered.
"Did he say anything to you?" Harry asked.
"No. He stared at me and scowled and I looked away. He didn't look too happy to see me," I said.
"So, he still thinks we entered ourselves?" Harry asked.
"Probably," I said.
"Tara. Don't say that," Hermione chided as she looked at me. She looked back at Harry awkwardly. "Well... no, I don't think so... not really."
"What's that supposed to mean, 'not really'?" Harry asked.
"Oh Harry, isn't it obvious?" Hermione said despairingly. "He's jealous!"
"Jealous?" Harry said incredulously. "Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of the whole school, does he?"
Maybe he wasn't the most knowledgeable wizard in the world, but I wasn't planning on making a complete ass out of myself. If I had to do this I was going to try my hardest to win. "You might make a prat out of yourself. I'll figure something out," I teased Harry. We gave each other half-hearted smiles. "She's right, Harry. I knew that from the beginning. We seem to always be at the center of attention in the school. He's always in the background and I think this was the last straw."
"Tara's right. Look, it's always you two who get all the attention, you both know it is." She sounded more patient than I'd heard her in a long time. "I know it's not either one of your faults," Hermione added quickly, seeing Harry open his mouth furiously.
"No shit, it's not!" I barked.
"Tara!" Hermione chided my language.
My language was the last of my concerns these days. "He's more than welcome to have the fame for himself. Ask either one of us. I'm sure we'd happily give it up," I snapped angrily, knowing I was unfairly taking out my frustrations on her.
"Tara, I know you two don't ask for it... but - well - you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you two are his best friends, and Harry, you're famous and Tara, you're popular - he's always shunted to one side whenever people see either one of you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many," Hermione explained.
"Great," Harry said bitterly. "Really great. Tell him from me I'll swap any time he wants. Tell him from me he's welcome to it. People gawping at my forehead everywhere I go."
"He has no right to be angry with us. We're the only ones who deserve to be upset about this," I snarled, motioning between us. "Someone should say something to him because he sure as hell isn't going to listen to us."
"I'm not telling him anything," Hermione said shortly. "Tell him yourselves. It's the only way to sort this out."
"I'm not running around after him trying to make him grow up!" Harry said, so loudly that several owls in a nearby tree took flight in alarm. "Maybe he'll believe we're not enjoying ourselves once we've gotten our necks broken or -"
"That's not funny," Hermione said quietly. "That's not funny at all."
She looked extremely anxious. "It's just a joke, Hermione," I said emotionlessly.
"What if it isn't?" she shot back. Any nasty comments I'd had died on my tongue. She was concerned about our safety. "Harry, Tara, I've been thinking - you know what we've got to do, don't you? Straight away, the moment we get back to the castle?"
"Yeah, give Ron a good kick up the -"
"Yeah, right," I interrupted Harry. "Punch him dead in the -"
"Write to Sirius," Hermione interrupted, ignoring our insults. "You two have got to tell him what's happened."
"No," I deadpanned.
"Tara!" Hermione chided. "He asked you both to keep him posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts."
All that would do would give him the incentive to come back. "No doubt Mom and Dad will tell him soon enough," I reasoned. My heart sank at my comment. My parents... I would hear it from them. "Merlin, what am I even going to tell them?"
"The truth," Hermione said. I rolled my eyes. When had the truth ever worked out for me? "Just like you're going to tell Sirius. They'll talk about it soon enough. It's almost as if he expected something like this to happen. I brought some parchment and a quill out with me -"
"Come off it," Harry said, looking around to check that we couldn't be overheard, but the grounds were deserted this early in the morning. "He came back to the country just because of my scar and Tara's hand twinge. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if we tell him someone's entered us in the Triwizard Tournament -"
"He'd want you two to tell him," Hermione said sternly.
"Of course, but neither one of us want him to be arrested just because we're having a hard time," I pointed out.
"He's going to find out anyway," Hermione said.
"How?" Harry asked.
"Mom and Dad will tell him," I explained.
"It's not just that. Harry, Tara, this isn't going to be kept quiet," Hermione said, very seriously. "This tournament's famous, and you're famous. Tara, you've got a famous father. I'll be really surprised if there isn't anything in the Daily Prophet about you two competing. Harry, you're already in half the books about You-Know-Who, you know and Sirius would rather hear it from both of you, I know he would."
"We know that," I mumbled.
"So, what are you going to do about it?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," I said truthfully.
"Tara!" Hermione barked.
"Okay, okay, we'll write to him," Harry conceded, throwing his last piece of toast into the lake.
"Write to him for me, yeah?" I asked.
"Sure," Harry said.
"And give him my love."
"I will."
All three of us stood and watched the toast floating there for a moment before a large tentacle rose out of the water and scooped it beneath the surface. I gave a weak smile as I watched the Giant Squid pop above the surface for a moment before sinking again. Maybe if I was lucky Ron would fall in the Black Lake and make himself a new friend... Without another word we turned and returned to the castle. I kept my head low as we walked, spotting some of Cedric's friends in the distance.
"Whose owl am I going to use?" Harry asked as we climbed the stairs. "He told me not to use Hedwig again."
Hermione looked at me as I shook my head. "We can't use Dai. He told me the same thing," I said.
"Ask Ron if you can borrow -"
"I'm not asking Ron for anything," Harry said flatly.
"Well, borrow one of the school owls, then, anyone can use them," Hermione said.
"Come on," I muttered, speeding up to pass Cedric's friends before they could spot me.
We were halfway up the staircase with me at the forefront when Hermione bound up to me breathlessly. "Tara," she called. I gave her a sideways glance. "Do you want to talk about what happened between you and -?"
"No," I interrupted sharply, leaving no room for argument. "That's the last thing I want to talk about."
Hermione nodded, backing off immediately. "Okay. We're here if you need to talk."
"I know." We kept walking as I turned back to them, realizing that I was being an ass to my only two friends. "Thanks. Right now, I just want to pretend this didn't happen until I can wrap my head around what I'm going to do next," I explained.
"Run away?" Harry offered.
I smiled. "Something like that."
We went up to the Owlery luckily not encountering anyone else. As we walked into the Owlery I walked over to one of the older school owls, running my fingers through his feathers. Hermione gave Harry a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink, then strolled around the long lines of perches, looking at all the different owls, while Harry sat down against a wall and wrote his letter. After a moment I joined him, sitting at his side and resting my head on his shoulder to read what he was writing.
Dear Sirius,
You told us to keep you posted on what's happening at Hogwarts, so here goes - Tara's here too, by the way, we didn't need to send you two different letters. I don't know if you've heard, but the Triwizard Tournament's happening this year and on Saturday night I got picked as a fourth champion and Tara was picked as the fifth champion. We don't know who put our names in the Goblet of Fire because we didn't. The other Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory, from Hufflepuff.
His hand stilled over the parchment for a moment. I knew that he was thinking about whether he should mention that Cedric was the boyfriend I had mentioned last year. "Just leave it at that. He knows who Cedric is," I said flatly.
"Okay."
He paused at that point, thinking. I wondered what else we could tell him. There wasn't much that we could say that wouldn't set Sirius on edge. I did have a large urge to ask Harry to say something about the large weight of anxiety that seemed to have settled inside my chest since last night, but I couldn't of think how to translate that into words. There was no way to say anything that wouldn't freak Sirius out, so Harry simply dipped his quill back into the ink bottle and placed his quill back on the parchment.
We both hope you're okay, and Buckbeak - Harry & Tara
"Good enough," I said.
"Finished," Harry told Hermione, getting to his feet and brushing straw off his robes. At that, Hedwig fluttered down onto his shoulder and held out her leg. "I can't use you." Harry looked around for the school owls. "I've got to use one of these."
At least Dai was nowhere around here to be angry with me. I couldn't take another person to be angry with me. Hedwig gave a very loud hoot and took off so suddenly that her talons cut into Harry's shoulder. I grimaced, knowing it must have hurt. Hedwig kept her back to Harry all the time he was tying his letter to the leg of a large barn owl. When the barn owl had flown off, Harry reached out to stroke Hedwig, but she clicked her beak furiously and soared up into the rafters out of reach.
"First Ron, then you," Harry said angrily. "This isn't my fault."
"I know how you feel," I told Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
It was Sunday which meant there was nothing to do. I ended up settling on telling Hermione and Harry to enjoy their days as I wasn't in the mood to be social. Instead, I went upstairs and spent the day in my form. That was the only place I felt even moderately comfortable. I passed the day by taking an hour-long shower, reading my textbooks for hours on end to get ahead on my schoolwork, and taking a few naps. By the time the sun had set and it was time to go to bed, I was beginning to feel slightly better. Maybe the whole thing would have blown over.
If Harry and I had thought that matters would improve once everyone got used to the idea of the two of us being champions, the following day showed us just how mistaken we were. We could no longer avoid the rest of the school once we were back at lessons - and it was clear that the rest of the school, just like the Gryffindor's, thought Harry and I had entered ourselves for the tournament. Unlike the Gryffindor's, however, they did not seem impressed.
The Hufflepuff's, who were usually on excellent terms with the Gryffindor's, had turned remarkably cold toward the whole lot of us, which wasn't sitting well with anyone. One Herbology lesson was enough to demonstrate that. It was plain that the Hufflepuff's felt that Harry and I had stolen their champion's glory; a feeling exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact that Hufflepuff House very rarely got any glory, and that Cedric was one of the few who had ever given them any, having beaten Gryffindor once at Quidditch.
No one could believe that I had tried to steal my boyfriend's thunder. They all thought it was one of the most heartless things I could have done. Even the Gryffindor's thought it was a little out of character for me, which it would have been. Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, with whom Harry and I normally got on very well, did not talk to us even though the four of us were repotting Bouncing Bulbs at the same tray - though they did laugh rather unpleasantly when one of the Bouncing Bulbs wriggled free from Harry's grip and smacked him hard in the face.
It didn't help that I had thrown the pot to the floor, shattering it. I'd lost ten points from Professor Sprout - whom I never lost points from - and it had given Justin and Ernie a good laugh. Ron wasn't talking to Harry or myself either. Hermione sat between us, making very forced conversation, but though we all answered her normally, we avoided making eye contact with each other. After losing points from Professor Sprout, I was convinced that she was not only distant with us but angry too - but then, she was Head of Hufflepuff House.
I didn't speak as I left the classroom, ahead of the rest of the students. I didn't want to be around anyone else. The Hufflepuff's were all chattering away, not trying to hide their conversations to spare my feelings. I heard Cedric's name come up in their conversations dozens of times. I rolled my eyes. It was none of their business if I was with him or not. Hell, I didn't even know if I was still with him. I had told him that we were essentially broken up but he had asked me if we could talk and I had promised that we would. What did that mean for us?
Unfortunately, I had heard the Hufflepuff's talking about the two of us no longer being together. I had been hoping that it would take a little longer than a day for the word to spread. I had wanted to at least have an answer from Cedric as to where we stood. We hadn't been able to fully talk out our relationship status which was what we needed. I figured that the rest of the students already knew about the situation as rumors tended to spread fast around Hogwarts. More than likely, Fleur had said something and it had spread from there.
I was already almost back to the castle when I passed a group of older Hufflepuff's. I quickly realized that they were a group of Cedric's friends who were looking directly at me. Cedric wasn't with them. "Ready to polish that new trophy, Tara?" Ted called.
The comment didn't register with me. "Sorry?" I asked.
"You know, the one you're only going to win because you cheated your way in," Ted continued, grinning at me.
My jaw dropped. They were angrier than I had been expecting. "Come on, Tara," Michael said, chuckling. "We all like watching you bend the rules, but wasn't this a little much?"
"I think she got the point. She lost her boyfriend for it," Daniel teased.
A stab of embarrassment shot through me. I knew they wouldn't be happy but I hadn't expected them to give me such low blows. "What the hell?" I growled, feeling my temper rise. "Come on, you guys have been my friends for years. I thought someone would believe me. I didn't do this! I don't know who put my name in the goblet."
"Please. You already got your name in. You can't get out so you may as well tell the truth," Ted said.
"I'm kind of curious how you got yourself into the tournament anyway," Daniel added.
"But I didn't -"
"Hey. Lay off," Cedric's voice called. His friends took a step back as I stared at them. They didn't look happy to see that Cedric was coming up to my side. "Go on. I'll catch up with you guys later."
"Ced -"
"Go," Cedric interrupted Ted.
His voice was more commanding than usual. As his friends walked off muttering to each other, I turned to stare at my now ex-boyfriend. At least, I figured that was what he was to me now. I couldn't stand here any longer as I could feel my throat tighten with the threat of tears. "You should go. I think your entourage is waiting," I told Cedric stiffly.
Cedric's chest deflated. "Tara..."
"What?" I snapped.
"I'm sorry for what they said to you," Cedric said.
"Yeah. Whatever," I huffed.
An apology wasn't helping my wounded pride. I turned to walk off when Cedric ran after me and took my hand. "Tara, wait!" Cedric called.
"Don't talk to me!" I shouted, ripping my hand out of his arm as I stumbled back. My tears were on the verge of slipping over my eyelids. "Just leave me alone. It'll be better for us both."
We stared at each other longingly for a moment before I turned and stormed off back to the castle just long enough to drop off my things and grab my Care of Magical Creatures book. I threw my things carelessly across the room and they scattered as they hit the floor. I rolled my eyes at my temper. It left me with one more thing to deal with later. I couldn't believe just how terrible life at Hogwarts had become over the past few days. I was one of the most hated people in Hogwarts and I was now single.
It didn't help that I was so bitter about the change in my life that I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone. That certainly wasn't doing my any favors. I would have been looking forward to seeing Hagrid under normal circumstances, but Care of Magical Creatures meant seeing the Slytherins too - the first time I would have to come face-to-face with them since becoming a champion. Predictably, Malfoy arrived at Hagrid's cabin with his familiar sneer firmly in place.
"Ah, look, boys, it's the champions," Malfoy said to Crabbe and Goyle the moment he got within earshot of Harry and me. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt they're going to be around much longer. Half the Triwizard champions have died. How long do you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."
"I don't give a damn what you think. Mind your fucking business," I sneered viciously.
The class whipped around to us. Me, more specifically. They had all expected Malfoy's teasing and maybe a shout from Harry but no one had expected me to react. Mainly because I had been mostly silent over the past few days thinking about what had happened to us. Malfoy's head snapped up to me at my sneer. Even Harry looked shocked by what I had just said. I was a little surprised by what had come out of my mouth. I scowled at Malfoy as we slowly approached each other.
"Someone's in a bad mood," Malfoy teased.
"Yes, I am, jackass," I growled.
We stared at each other for a moment as I reared back to hit Malfoy, who surprisingly caught my hand this time. It was the first time I had ever missed hitting him. "Getting a little predictable there, Nox," Malfoy teased.
Asshole... I scowled again as I kicked him directly in the groin. Malfoy groaned and collapsed to the ground. "Want to bet? Shut your goddamn mouth and don't talk about shit you don't understand," I said. I moved back to kick Malfoy in his teeth when Harry grabbed my robes and yanked me back. "Let go of -"
"Stop!" Harry hissed in my ear. "Hagrid's coming."
Harry pulled me back into the crowd as Crabbe and Goyle helped Malfoy to his feet. We all had to stay quiet because Hagrid emerged from the back of his cabin balancing a teetering tower of crates, each containing a very large Blast-Ended Skrewt. To the class's horror, Hagrid proceeded to explain that the reason the skrewts had been killing one another was an excess of pent-up energy and that the solution would be for each student to fix a leash on a skrewt and take it for a short walk. The only good thing about this plan was that it distracted Malfoy completely.
"Take this thing for a walk?" Malfoy repeated in disgust, staring into one of the boxes. "And where exactly are we supposed to fix the leash? Around the sting, the blasting end, or the sucker?"
"Don't be an asshole," I snarled.
"Tara." I fell silent at Hagrid's chiding. "Roun' the middle," Hagrid explained, demonstrating. "Er - yeh might want ter put on yer dragon-hide gloves, jus' as an extra precaution, like. Harry, Tara - you two come here an' help me with this big one."
Still steaming over Malfoy's comment earlier, I walked over to Hagrid with Harry. His real intention was to talk to the two of us away from the rest of the class. Hagrid waited until everyone else had set off with their skrewts, then turned to Harry and me and said, very seriously, "So - yer both competin'. In the tournament. School champions."
"Two of the champions," Harry corrected him.
Hagrid's beetle-black eyes looked very anxious under his wild eyebrows. "No idea who put yeh in fer it?"
"Not a clue," I said.
"You believe we didn't do it, then?" Harry asked, attempting to conceal what appeared to be a rush of gratitude he felt at Hagrid's words.
"Course I do," Hagrid grunted. "Yeh said it wasn' you, an' I believe yeh both - an' Dumbledore believes yer both, an' all."
"That's good to hear," I said.
"Wish I knew who did do it," Harry said bitterly.
"What happened to Malfoy, Tara?" Hagrid asked.
"He was being an ass about us being named champions so I kicked him where the sun doesn't shine," I said.
Hagrid laughed, shooting me a wink. "Good aim."
I almost smiled. "Thanks, Hagrid."
I could tell by the look on Hagrid's face that he wanted to ask her about Cedric. Everyone wanted to ask me about him. I gave a shake of my head that was barely perceptible. I didn't want to talk about my relationship with Cedric or what might come of it. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to recognize that my relationship with Cedric seemed to have come to an end. I was extremely grateful that Hagrid didn't push me to talk about something that I wasn't ready or willing to talk about.
All three of us looked out over the lawn; the class was widely scattered now, and all in great difficulty. The skrewts were now over three feet long, and extremely powerful. No longer shell-less and colorless, they had developed a kind of thick, grayish, shiny armor. They looked like a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs - but still without recognizable heads or eyes. They had become immensely strong and very hard to control. They were repulsive but Hagrid loved them.
"Look like they're havin' fun, don' they?" Hagrid said happily.
Harry and I exchanged a long look. I assumed he was talking about the skrewts because our classmates certainly weren't; now and then, with an alarming bang, one of the skrewts' ends would explode, causing it to shoot forward several yards, and more than one person was being dragged along on their stomach, trying desperately to get back on their feet. I had to cover my mouth to keep from hysterically laughing as Malfoy was shot back from one of the exploding skrewts.
"Yeah. They look thrilled, Hagrid," I commented.
"Ah, I don' know," Hagrid sighed suddenly, looking back down at us with a worried expression on his face. "School champions... everythin' seems ter happen ter you two, doesn' it?"
"I'll say," I muttered.
Harry didn't answer. Yes, everything did seem to happen to the two of us. We had discovered the Sorcerer's Stone in our First Year, we had gone to save Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets in our Second Year, and we had found out that we were Sirius Black's godchildren in our Third Year. Now we were champions in the Triwizard Tournament. It was more or less what Hermione had said as we had walked around the lake, and that was the reason, according to her, that Ron was no longer talking to us.
The next few days were some of my worst at Hogwarts. The closest I had ever come to feeling like this had been during those months, in my Second Year, when a large part of the school had suspected me of attacking my fellow students. But Ron had been on our side then. I thought I could have coped with the rest of the school's behavior if I could just have had Ron back as a friend, but I wasn't going to try and persuade Ron to talk to me if Ron didn't want to. Nevertheless, it was lonely with dislike pouring in on me from all sides.
I could understand the Hufflepuff's attitude, even if I didn't like it; they had their champion to support. It made perfect sense that they were angry with me. They thought that I had purposely tried to show up my boyfriend, which was a nasty thought. I would have never tried to show up Cedric. I had wanted him to be the champion. I had expected nothing less than vicious insults from the Slytherin's - I was highly unpopular there and always had been because I had helped Gryffindor beat them so often, both at Quidditch and in the Inter-House Championship.
It didn't help that I had always had a fraught relationship with Malfoy, who was the ringleader of the Slytherin's. I'd figured they would have nothing polite to say to me. But I had hoped the Ravenclaws might have found it in their hearts to support me as much as Cedric. I was wrong, however. Most Ravenclaw's seemed to think that Harry and I had been desperate to earn ourselves a bit more fame by tricking the goblet into accepting our names. I had a feeling Cho Chang might have had something to do with my new standing in Ravenclaw too.
Then there was the fact that Cedric looked the part of a champion so much more than either one of us did. I wasn't hopeless but I wasn't the kind of person who would have been expected to be a champion. Exceptionally handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and gray eyes, it was hard to say who was receiving more admiration these days, Cedric or Viktor Krum. I had seen the same Sixth Year girls who had been so keen to get Krum's autograph begging Cedric to sign their school bags one lunchtime.
That was enough to get my blood boiling. Things were even worse for me considering most of the students had been getting a good laugh out of my relationship with Cedric. The rumors had circulated the school and none of them were true. The students thought that Cedric was furious with me for entering myself and had told me that he didn't want to be together any longer. They thought it was a bitter breakup, which it kind of was. From what I had heard, Cedric had tried to quell the rumors but people thought he was just trying to be nice and not embarrass me.
The two of us hadn't spoken since he had told his friends to leave me alone. Not for a lack of trying on Cedric's part though. He had tried multiple times over the last week to get me to talk to him, but we were always around other people and the eyes always followed us. I didn't want to talk to him around other people. I didn't want to talk to him at all right now. I knew that I would be furious and say something I regretted. I would rather wait until I was a little more level-headed, though I didn't know when that would be.
I had barely spoken to anyone over the last week or so. Not that anyone wanted to speak to me. They were either furious with me or they didn't want to talk to me while I was as bitter as I was. I didn't blame them for not talking to me. I didn't even know what I would say to anyone. I just missed my friends and I missed my old reality. I hated thinking that the rest of the year and maybe the rest of my time at Hogwarts would be like this. No boyfriend and hardly any friends.
It was the middle of the night and I couldn't pretend to be asleep any longer, especially with Lavender's snores filling the room. I was going to lose it if I had to listen to her any longer. I wanted to go to the Astronomy Tower with Cedric but that ship had sailed. So, I settled on going to the Common Room. I threw my fluffy blanket over myself and headed downstairs, intent on curling up in front of the fireplace and falling asleep, but I was shocked to see that someone was already in my spot.
One of my good friends. "What are you doing down here?" I asked.
Fred Weasley looked up from his paperwork and smiled at me. "Couldn't sleep. Looks like you were having the same problem."
"So, you came down here to do homework?" I asked, spotting the Astronomy chart.
Fred chuckled, pushing his papers onto the side table. "I couldn't let people see me doing my homework. That would ruin my reputation," Fred teased.
I laughed. "We couldn't let people know you might care about learning."
"See? You've got it." I giggled again as Fred motioned to the empty half of the couch. "Want to sit?" Fred offered.
"Sure. Thanks," I said.
It would be nice to have a conversation with one of my friends without anyone around to listen to us. I smiled at Fred and took the now-empty spot next to him on the couch. I offered up part of my over-sized blanket, which he took. I shifted so that the blanket was wrapped over our shoulders and my legs were thrown over his waist, keeping us pressed together. Fred wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me pulled against him. I smiled as Fred placed a hand on my knee and I laid a hand over his.
There was a comfort with Fred that I had felt since we'd met almost five years ago. It was a comfort that I didn't quite feel with anyone else. I had one with Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, and Cedric, but this one was different. I didn't know what it meant. I rested my head in the crook of Fred's shoulder as he leaned his head against my hair. We sat in comfortable silence for a long time, watching the fire and listening to it crackle, neither one of us moving.
This was the most at peace I had felt since my name had been pulled from the Goblet of Fire. That was probably because Fred wasn't going to push me to speak. He had left the floor open so that I could speak if I wanted to or remain silent if that was what I wanted. I was so used to people staring at me and whispering about what had happened between myself and Cedric. All those rumors that were mostly lies. I liked the silence that didn't feel tense or uncomfortable with Fred.
Though, there was something I needed to say. "Finally ready to talk to me?" I asked Fred.
Fred turned to me and frowned. He looked like he felt horrible for what he had been doing to me. "Tara, I'm sorry," Fred said, tightening his grip on my knee. "I should have said something to you but Ron -"
"I get it, Freddie," I interrupted, waving off his concern. "Ron's your brother and he deserved to be the first one to get to talk to you."
"I wanted to talk to you afterward but you didn't look like you wanted to talk," Fred pointed out.
That was a fair statement. "I haven't. Every time I started talking everyone started listening and I don't want them to know how I'm feeling. I don't want them to know that I'm upset or heartbroken or bitter or whatever it is that I'm feeling," I muttered.
I'd rather them think that I was angry than know that their words had gotten to me. "I shouldn't have waited this long," Fred said.
"It's probably better that you did," I admitted. All I would have done was ruin that friendship. "I don't know what I would have said if you'd tried to push me. Hell, I told you that we would talk in the morning and I never lived up to that promise. I could have come to find you later that day but I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone. I still don't know if I want to talk to anyone."
"What about me?" Fred asked.
"You're the only person I want to talk to right now," I said honestly.
Harry would be depressing and Hermione would try to point out the good things. "It's a good time to do that. No one else is around. Do you want to talk about what happened?" Fred asked.
"If I start talking, I don't know if I'll ever stop."
"That's okay."
"I doubt you want to hear about it."
"Only if you want to talk about it."
Maybe it would help to talk to someone about things. "You don't mind?" I asked Fred nervously.
"'Course not," Fred said.
If I had to talk to someone about things, it would be Fred. I took a deep breath before launching into the story of what had happened between Cedric and I. I told him about what had happened when we were in the room off of the Great Hall and followed by explaining the conversation with Cedric afterward. I even mentioned our awkward conversation the morning after my name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Fred didn't speak through the entire story. He just watched me, looking extremely guilty. When I stopped talking, Fred didn't speak.
Almost five minutes passed before he spoke for the first time. "Do you still want to be with Diggory?" Fred asked.
"Yeah," I admitted.
"I've seen him trying to talk to you. Hasn't he?" Fred asked knowingly.
"He has," I said.
"But you keep walking away," Fred pointed out,
"I do."
"A little counterintuitive, isn't it?" Fred asked with quirked eyebrows.
The world must have been coming to an end if Fred was right about things. His teasing comment did make me feel a little bit better. "I've been doing some thinking over the past few days and I think I realized that I'm not angry. I'm hurt," I admitted, feeling weak for saying it. "It hurts to feel like you've given your heart to someone and they just throw it away at the first sign of trouble. I'm much more hurt than I am angry and I think I put up that wall of anger to keep him from seeing how much he hurt me."
It took me a moment to realize that I was crying. It was the first time that I had genuinely allowed myself to think about my true feelings over the end of my relationship with Cedric and the nasty comments being thrown my way. I wasn't that angry with him. I was heartbroken. I wanted to be with him and I wanted him to believe me, but he didn't. He didn't have enough faith in me. I turned away from Fred slightly as I hated crying in front of people. I never did it. Fred turned my head to him as he reached up and wiped away my tears.
"Merlin, I hate crying in front of people," I chuckled pathetically. "I'm just so mad at him."
My voice cracked slightly as I spoke. "Rightly so. He should have believed you right away," Fred said. I let out a deep breath. "It's okay. This is the first time I've seen you cry."
"I never wanted you to see me cry," I said.
"I can see why. You've got alligator tears," Fred teased.
I laughed through my tears. "Freddie!"
"Sorry about that. I just wanted to see you laugh or smile. I got both."
He was one of the few people who had always been able to make me smile no matter the situation. "So you did. It hurts more than I thought it would. I remember everyone making fun of me last year when I couldn't go out with him again because of Sirius Black, but I knew the truth. I knew that we still cared about each other back then. But this is different. Girls are flirting with him and saying horrible things about me and now there's probably some air of truth," I muttered dumbly.
"There's not, Tara," Fred insisted. My head raised as I brushed away my remaining tears. "I see Diggory in class every day. I hear him tell his friends to stop making fun of you. I see him brush off girls trying to flirt with him. Regardless of what he says or does, he still cares about you."
A little flutter of hope welled up in my chest but it deflated quickly. "That's sweet, but he hasn't made the effort."
"He hasn't made the effort or you're not willing to let him try and make the effort?" Fred offered.
Damn him. My head snapped up as I met his knowing eyes. "I hate this version of Fred," I snapped, making him laugh. "I want you to sit here and call him mean names with me."
"Oh, I'd be more than happy to do that," Fred said, making me laugh again. "But I'm trying to help you out here. It won't help to sit here and be mad at him and feel sorry for yourself. You've got to do something."
"What should I do?" I asked.
"You're the only one who can answer that."
"That's a copout. I wanted you to tell me what to do."
Fred laughed. "I can't do that. This choice is going to have to be yours."
"What would you do?" I asked.
Fred remained silent for a few moments as he thought about his answer. "Let him sweat it out for a bit for being an ass and not believing you," Fred said. I snorted under my breath. "But eventually I think I would give him the time of day and a chance to explain what he was thinking. That's the only way I think you're going to get an answer. You can't just ignore him forever and expect things to go back to the way they were. You have to make some effort."
"I thought you didn't like him?" I asked.
Fred shook his head. "I don't. But I do like you and I want to see you happy again."
"Thank you, Freddie," I said, tightening my grip on his hand. "You truly believe that I didn't do it?"
Fred shook his head. "You're not that smart."
I laughed. "Thanks for that. I'm glad to know that someone believes me."
"Always," Fred promised.
At least someone would always be at my side. I smiled at him again as I leaned up and pressed a kiss against Fred's cheek. He smiled as we twined our fingers together. I leaned my head on Fred's shoulder and closed my eyes. I could feel Fred breathing in and out slowly. It was the most comfortable I had felt in the near week since my name was pulled from the Goblet of Fire. For a moment I believed that things might have been okay again. It might take a while, but if Fred believed in me, maybe everyone else would soon enough.
It was more than a little surprising when I was startled awake by the rising sun reflecting off through the stained glass windows. My heart skipped a beat as I cracked open an eye, realizing that it was early in the morning. I hadn't realized that I had kept my eyes closed for so long that I had fallen asleep. It was too early for other people to be awake but too late for us to still be downstairs in the Common Room. And, even more surprisingly, not alone.
I'd almost forgotten that I wasn't by myself when I had drifted off to sleep. I was shocked that Fred was still in the Common Room with me. He was dead asleep on the couch. We had shifted slightly in the middle of the night. He was leaned back on the pillows of the couch and I was leaned back against his chest. His hand that had been on my knee was now rested on my left hip and my fingers had become entwined with me. I blushed as the blanket was tangled around us, making it impossible for me to peel myself off of him.
Unable to get free myself, I decided to try and wake Fred up by gently nudging him. "Freddie," I whispered. He hummed in response but didn't open his eyes. "Freddie. Come on, get up. We fell asleep."
"Huh?" Fred mumbled.
"We fell asleep down here. We should get moving," I said.
Like me, Fred had never been much of a morning person. It frequently took more than one person to wake either one of us up. Fred blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes as he looked down at me. His long hair was ruffled and his eyes were hazy with sleep. I had never seen Fred look as unassuming as he was right now. It was a surprisingly good look for him. Fred looked surprised to see that he was still in the Common Room, but not as surprised as I had been. He looked at our entwined bodies and grinned sleazily at me.
"I don't know, I kind of like it here," Fred teased.
"Shut up," I said, whacking him on the shoulder. Fred chuckled slightly as I pushed his face away from mine. "Come on. We have to go before everyone starts waking up."
"You don't want people to see you like this?" Fred asked.
I rolled my eyes at him. "You're an ass," I snapped. "Come on, it's time to go."
The last thing I needed was rumors that Fred and I had something going on. That would surely damn any chance I had of ever reconciling with Ron. Fred looked at me for a moment as I felt my face heat up. He looked like he had something to say. When he did speak, I should have seen it coming. "You have terrible morning breath, you know?"
My face fell. "You're an ass."
We both laughed as Fred wrapped an arm over my shoulders for a moment. "Just kidding," Fred teased.
"Sure, you are," I huffed.
We laughed again as I let out a deep breath. It had been nice to be here for a while but now it was time to get back to reality. Back to the school hating me. We smiled at each other as I leaned up and pressed a kiss against Fred's cheek and rested a hand against his chest. My eyes slipped closed for a moment and I felt his fingers close over mine as I kneeled in front of him. When I pulled back after a few seconds, I smiled bashfully at him. He reached up and ran a finger around a strand of my hair as I rose to my feet.
"Thanks for tonight, Freddie. I needed it," I said honestly.
"Anytime." I turned to walk off when I was stopped by his voice. "Tara."
"Yeah?"
Fred's face was oddly even. There was no trace of amusement or teasing. "You care about him, don't you? Diggory?"
"I do."
Fred nodded slowly. "He's a good guy." He rose to his feet and walked toward me, stopping only inches away. "He should know how lucky he is to have you."
What had he just said to me? I watched Fred, who had rendered me completely speechless by the way he had spoken to me. We had always messed with each other. This was the nicest he had ever been. There had to be something more. I stood ramrod still as Fred passed me at the base of the stairs. He stood almost against me as my chest tightened and I stopped breathing, only letting out my breath when he gave me a slight smile and finally passed me to go back upstairs to his dormitory.
I waited for a moment as I watched Fred vanish up the stairs back where he was supposed to be. I had never expected Fred to be the one I told my problems to, so I was surprised by just how helpful he was. With a dumb smile on my face, I wandered back upstairs and headed toward my dormitory. I was surprised to see that Hermione was already awake. Her head snapped over to me and I could tell there was a brief moment of relief in her eyes. She was probably worried about me. Hermione kept her voice down as she spoke to me to avoid waking up the others.
"Where were you?" Hermione asked. "I woke up and you were gone."
"Just out," I said.
"Making up with Cedric, I hope?"
"Yeah, right. No, I was just sitting down in the Common Room."
"Alone?" Hermione asked curiously.
I smiled vaguely. "No."
The brief happiness that my evening with Fred had given me didn't end up lasting very long. My usual friends ignored me and didn't seem very interested in holding a conversation with me. The Gryffindor's were thrilled with me but they thought that I had entered. They only wanted to talk about that. Fred continued to speak with me but only at night when no one else listened. It was partly because I offered to only speak then. I didn't want him to get his reputation hurt. The rest of the school either ignored me or made nasty comments in my direction.
Meanwhile, making things even worse for my psyche, there was no reply from Sirius. Hedwig was refusing to come anywhere near Harry and it seemed that Dai was siding with his friend - he wouldn't come within a few meters of me. Professor Trelawney was predicting both mine and Harry's deaths with even more certainty than usual. Though Harry was having a worse time than me. He did so badly at Summoning Charms in Professor Flitwick's class that he was given extra homework - the only person to get any, apart from Neville.
The look on his face as we left the classroom told me that he was upset I hadn't done as poorly as he had. "Mom's good at it," I explained as we headed downstairs. "That's the only reason I got through it. Otherwise, I was thinking about cursing Malfoy to the high heavens."
"Put in a few for me," Harry said.
"I will. I'll do the work for you. No reason for you to spend hours trying to figure it out," I offered.
Harry looked about ready to take me up on my offer when Hermione stepped in. "Tara!" she chided. "You can't do that."
"Why not?" I asked.
"It's not that difficult, Harry," Hermione tried to reassure him as she ignored my offer - like me, she had been making objects zoom across the room to her all lesson, as though she were some sort of weird magnet for board dusters, wastepaper baskets, and lunascopes. "You just weren't concentrating properly -"
"Wonder why that was," Harry said darkly as Cedric walked past, surrounded by a large group of simpering girls, all of whom looked at Harry as though he were a particularly large Blast-Ended Skrewt. They giggled at me as they saw my bitter stare. "Still - never mind, eh? Double Potions to look forward to this afternoon."
We both stopped walking long enough to stare at each other. I tried to keep my face emotionless as Cedric gave me what I wanted to imagine was a longing look. "Tara -"
"Ced!" a Seventh-Year Hufflepuff girl interrupted him. "Come on!"
We stared at each other for a moment longer. "Your fan club is waiting," I said tonelessly.
"Tara," Cedric repeated. "I want to -"
"Not out here," I interrupted. I wanted so badly to speak to him but we had an entourage going right now. "If we're going to talk... I don't want everyone else to hear."
Cedric nodded. "I know. But -"
"Ced!" another girl called; a Sixth-Year Ravenclaw this time. "Come on!"
"You're not getting anywhere over there," a third girl teased; another Seventh-Year Hufflepuff.
"Go on, Ced. They're calling you," I snarled.
"Tara!" Cedric called.
Cedric and the three girls watched as I whipped around and walked back to my friends, who looked very surprised to see how my conversation had gone with my ex-boyfriend. "He seems to want to talk to you," Hermione said quietly.
"Yeah, I've seen," I muttered.
"Tara -"
"I'm not talking about it," I interrupted her. "I've got enough to think about right now."
Double Potions was always a horrible experience, but these days it was nothing short of torture. Being shut in a dungeon for an hour and a half with Snape and the Slytherins, all of whom seemed determined to punish Harry and me as much as possible for daring to become champions, was about the most unpleasant thing I could imagine. I had already struggled through one Friday's worth, with Hermione sitting next to me intoning 'ignore them, ignore them, ignore them' under her breath, and I couldn't see why today should be any better.
All today's lesson would do would be to drive my blood pressure up even further. When Harry, Hermione, and I arrived at Snape's dungeon after lunch, we found the Slytherins waiting outside, each and every one of them wearing a large badge on the front of his or her robes. For one wild moment, I thought they were S.P.E.W. badges - which was a stupid thought - then I saw that they all bore the same message, in luminous red letters that burnt brightly in the dimly lit underground passage:
SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY - THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION!
"Oh, that's really intelligent," I huffed.
"Ignore it. He's trying to get a rise out of you," Hermione advised.
"Of course," I said.
"Like them, Potter? What do you think, Nox?" Malfoy asked loudly as Harry and I approached.
I was shocked that he was still teasing us even after Hagrid's class earlier. "Love 'em," I said shortly.
"And this isn't all they do - look!" Malfoy continued.
He pressed his badge into his chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by another one, which glowed green:
POTTER STINKS! NOX SUCKS!
Another one of their stupid jokes that meant nothing, but the insults were all starting to pile on and I wasn't sure how many more of them I could tolerate. It felt like I could have killed one of the Slytherins - particularly Malfoy. The Slytherin's howled with laughter. Each of them pressed their badges too until the message POTTER STINKS! NOX SUCKS! was shining brightly all around me. I could no longer hear Hermione repeating to ignore them. I felt the heat rise in my face and neck.
"Wow, that's a clever insult," I said, gritting my teeth as I tried to keep my temper in check.
"What do you think, Nox?" Malfoy asked.
"I think it's a perfect example of your limited mental capacity," I said coolly.
"Oh very funny," Hermione said sarcastically to Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin girls, who were laughing harder than anyone. "Really witty."
Ron was standing against the wall with Dean and Seamus. He wasn't laughing, but he wasn't sticking up for Harry either. A few other people were walking through the hallway. Some were Hufflepuff's who were coming out of their Potions lesson. It meant that we only had to tolerate Malfoy's jibes for a few more minutes. I saw some of Cedric's friends coming out of the classroom and chuckle at the badges. They were wearing their own badges.
"Want one, Granger?" Malfoy asked, holding out a badge to Hermione. "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."
"What the hell is your problem?" I snapped.
Had everyone gotten it in their heads over the past few weeks that they were going to be complete assholes to each other? I moved to advance on Malfoy when Hermione grabbed me by the back of the robes and pulled me back. But I needed to get to him. Some of the anger I had been feeling for days and days seemed to burst through a dam in my chest. I yanked away from Hermione so hard that I felt the robes rip. Beside me, Harry had reached for his wand. People all around us scrambled out of the way, back down the corridor.
"Tara! Harry!" Hermione said warningly.
To my surprise, Malfoy didn't direct his next comment to me even though I had been attempting to go after him too. "Go on, then, Potter," Malfoy said quietly, drawing out his wand. "Moody's not here to look after you now - do it, if you've got the guts."
For a split second, they looked into each other's eyes, then, at exactly the same time, both acted. "Funnunculus!" Harry yelled.
"Densaugeo!" Malfoy screamed.
"Idiots!" I shouted.
That was why I went with physical fights. There was no chance of spells going the wrong way. Jets of light shot from both wands, hit each other in midair, and ricocheted off at angles. Most of the students in the hall were on their knees to try and avoid the wayward spells. Harry's had hit Goyle in the face, and Malfoy's had hit Hermione. Goyle bellowed and put his hands to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up. I was ready to laugh when I saw that Hermione, who was whimpering in panic, was clutching her mouth.
"Hermione!" Ron yelled.
"Mione!" I gasped.
Ron had hurried forward to see what was wrong with her; Harry and I sprinted over to make sure she was okay. I turned and saw Ron dragging Hermione's hand away from her face. It wasn't a pretty sight. Hermione's front teeth - already larger than average - were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver as her teeth elongated, past her bottom lip, toward her chin - panic-stricken, she felt them and let out a terrified cry.
"Oh, my... You idiot!" I shouted, turning back to Malfoy. "What the hell did you do?"
Malfoy was laughing with the rest of his cronies. "Made it better."
"You piece of -"
"And what is all this noise about?" a soft, deadly voice called. Snape had arrived. The Slytherin's clamored to give their explanations; Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy and said, "Explain."
"Potter attacked me, sir -"
"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.
"- and he hit Goyle - look."
Snape examined Goyle, whose face now resembled something that would have been at home in a book on poisonous fungi. "Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.
"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said. "Look!"
My stomach churned as I saw Snape walk toward Hermione. He looked far more careless than I had ever seen him. Snape forced Hermione to show him her teeth - she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. They must have been heavy and extremely painful. Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls were doubled up with silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back.
Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, "I see no difference."
Hermione let out a painful whimper. Her brown eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran up the corridor and out of sight. I wasn't the only person who looked shocked by what Snape had said. I knew that Snape wasn't the nicest professor in the world and I knew that he had never liked any of the Gryffindor's, but I hadn't expected him to belittle a teenage girl who he already knew was self-conscious, particularly about her teeth.
It didn't surprise me that Snape didn't side with us. I figured he would send Goyle to the hospital and ignore what we said about the incident. No matter how much I thought about it, I was still genuinely shocked that Snape had hurled an insult toward Hermione. It was lucky, perhaps, that both Harry and Ron started shouting at Snape at the same time; lucky their voices echoed so much in the stone corridor, for in the confused din, he couldn't hear exactly what they were calling him. He got the gist, however.
"Let's see," Snape said, in his silkiest voice. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a week's worth of detentions."
But I wasn't finished. "Are you fucking kidding?" I asked, so loudly that every conversation died at once.
"Tara," Harry said quietly.
Even he knew that I was stepping on dangerous territory. "Are you that daft that you can't see past your bias toward Gryffindor and be fair for half a second?" I snarled at Snape. "You know that he's a -"
I was still in the middle of my ranting and raving - likely getting myself expelled - when I was pulled off to the side by a large body. I jumped slightly as I nearly fell over my feet. My eyes were still locked with Snape's, who looked like he was about ready to kill me. My scowl was broken as Snape's eyes tracked up to the person who was still holding onto me. I looked up myself and realized immediately that it was Cedric. Naturally. I tried to pull myself out of his grip but he was stronger than I had realized.
"Nox -" Snape spat venomously.
"Professor Snape, please excuse her," Cedric said slowly. Snape turned his vile gaze on him. "She's been out of her right mind since her name was called. Please, you can understand. Tara is under a lot of stress right now. She didn't mean it. Did you?"
"What are you -?"
"Did you?" Cedric repeated urgently.
His hands were so tight on my hip that it was moderately painful. "Ow. No, I didn't mean it." Cedric's grip increased. I knew what he wanted. "Sorry," I told Snape as heartfully as I could.
Snape stared at me for so long that I began preparing my speech to Dumbledore to keep me from getting expelled. "One hundred points from Gryffindor for your words," Snape settled with. I had to keep myself from letting out a breath of relief. I was getting off easy. "Go, before I give you detention for the rest of your days at Hogwarts."
Without another word, Snape walked off. I fumed for a moment before I realized that Cedric was still holding me. I yanked myself out of his grip. "Get off of me," I snapped. "I didn't need you to do that."
"Really? Because you seemed to be doing a marvelous job getting yourself expelled," Cedric snarled.
"I was not," I argued.
"At least getting yourself detention until you graduate," Cedric corrected himself.
"What do you care? We're not together anymore," I hissed, louder than I'd meant to.
"And whose choice was that?" Cedric shot back.
My jaw fell open as the people in the hall began to chuckle. It was the first time someone had said it to me. Despite that I was angry with him for not believing me, I was the one who had ended things. This was my fault. Cedric stared at me for a moment before turning and walking away. I felt my ears steaming as I walked away, Harry at my heels. The injustice of the events made me want to curse Snape into a thousand slimy pieces. I passed a waiting Snape, walked with Ron to the back of the dungeon, and slammed my bag down onto the table.
Ron was shaking with anger too. We exchanged a quick look with each other before breaking eye contact. For a moment, it felt as though everything was back to normal between the three of us, but then Ron turned and sat down with Dean and Seamus instead, leaving Harry and me alone at our table. We sighed and tucked into the table. On the other side of the dungeon, Malfoy turned his back on Snape and pressed his badge, smirking. POTTER STINKS! NOX SUCKS! flashed once more across the room.
My temper getting the best of me again, I went to stand up and tackle Malfoy when Harry grabbed my knee, forcing me back into my chair. He shook his head at me and I sighed. I knew that he was right. Malfoy wasn't worth whatever I was planning to do. I sat at the table staring at Snape as the lesson began, picturing horrific things happening to him. If only I knew how to do the Cruciatus Curse. I would have Snape flat on his back like that spider, jerking and twitching.
"Antidotes!" Snape said, looking around at us all, his cold black eyes glittering unpleasantly. "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one."
Snape's eyes met Harry's and then mine, and I knew what was coming. Snape was going to poison one of us. Maybe both of us after the events of this afternoon. I imagined picking up my cauldron and sprinting to the front of the class and bringing it down on Snape's greasy head. Then a knock on the dungeon door burst in on my thoughts. It was Colin Creevey; he edged into the room, beaming at Harry and me, and walked up to Snape's desk at the front of the room.
"Yes?" Snape asked curtly.
"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter and Tara Nox upstairs," Colin said.
Snape stared down his hooked nose at Colin, whose smile faded from his eager face. "Potter and Nox have another hour of Potions to complete," Snape said coldly. "They will come upstairs when this class is finished."
Colin went pink. "Sir - sir, Mr. Bagman wants them," he said nervously. "All the champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs."
Oh, no... I didn't want to have to be in the same room as Cedric for a few days. Not after the way we had blown up at each other in a very public manner. It would only be a matter of days before everyone heard about that argument. I would have given anything I owned to have stopped Colin from saying those last few words. All those would do would set us back to the beginning with Ron. I chanced half a glance at Ron, but Ron was staring determinedly at the ceiling.
"Very well, very well," Snape snapped. "Potter, Nox, leave your things here, I want you both back down here later to test your antidotes."
"Please, sir - they've got to take their things with them," Colin squeaked. "All the champions -"
"Very well! Potter, Nox - take your bags and get out of my sight!" Snape yelled.
There was no need to tell me that twice. The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck with Snape for the next hour. Harry and I both swung our bags over our shoulders, got up, and headed for the door. I nudged Harry along with me. It was probably best that we darted off before either one of us got a year's worth of detentions from Snape. As we walked through the Slytherin desks, dozens of POTTER STINKS! NOX SUCKS! flashed at me from every direction. I felt sick to my stomach.
"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry? Don't you think, Tara?" Colin said, starting to speak the moment Harry had closed the dungeon door behind us. "Isn't it, though? You two being champions?"
"Not really," I said.
"Yeah, really amazing," Harry said heavily as we set off toward the steps into the entrance hall. "What do they want photos for, Colin?"
"The Daily Prophet, I think!"
"Marvelous," I groaned.
"Great," Harry said dully. "Exactly what we need. More publicity."
"Good luck!" Colin chirped when we had reached the right room.
With one look at each other for confidence, Harry knocked on the door and we entered. We were in a fairly small classroom. Most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long length of velvet. Six chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to one of my least favorite people in the world, Rita Skeeter, who was wearing magenta robes.
Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner as usual and not talking to anybody. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. I scowled at them. I didn't want anyone talking to Cedric. Fleur looked a good deal happier than I had seen her so far; she kept throwing back her head so that her long silvery hair caught the light. I scowled again. A paunchy man, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly, was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye. Bagman suddenly spotted Harry and me, got up quickly, and bounded forward.
"Ah, here they are!" Bagman said excitedly. "Champions number four and five! In you come, Harry, Tara, in you come. Nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment."
"Wand weighing?" Harry repeated nervously.
"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," Bagman explained.
"The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," Bagman added, gesturing toward the witch in magenta robes. I groaned. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet."
"You're kidding?" I whined.
"No. Rita's the best writer we've got!" Bagman chirped.
"Which isn't saying much," I said pointedly.
"That's not polite," Bagman told me.
"So?" I snapped.
"Maybe not that small, Ludo," Rita Skeeter said, her beady eyes on Harry.
It wasn't surprising that she wanted everything to do with Harry. It was even less surprising that she shot a scowl toward me. I knew without a doubt that Skeeter's piece for me wouldn't be kind. Oh well. No one liked me that much right now anyway. Skeeter's hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.
"I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry and Tara before we start?" Skeeter said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly at Harry.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"The youngest champions, you know... to add a bit of color?" Skeeter asked.
"To say all sorts of horrible things about us to add to your gossip column, you mean," I corrected her loudly.
"Certainly!" Bagman cried. "That is - if Harry and Tara have no objections?"
"Er -" Harry said dumbly.
"Yeah, I do," I said bluntly.
"Come now, Tara. Be a team player!" Bagman said happily.
"No," I deadpanned.
"Lovely," Skeeter said, and in a second, her scarlet-taloned fingers had Harry's upper arm in a surprisingly strong grip, and she was steering him out of the room again and opening a nearby door.
"Okay then," I muttered.
It seemed that I wasn't getting a choice of whether or not I wanted to talk to Skeeter. "Take a seat, then," Bagman told the remaining champions. "We'll be getting started soon!"
Fleur, Viktor, and Cedric turned to each other but I walked away. I wasn't involved in this and I had nothing to say to any of them. I felt the fury bubbling in my chest again as I looked at the fireplace. I wanted to leave. I was so angry that I felt like I might explode. I was sitting alone in the corner of the room for a few minutes, waiting for Harry to finish with Skeeter. I would be going when he was done. I was waiting in silence but I wasn't left alone for long. There was a shadow at my feet and my heart skipped a beat.
"Can I sit?" Cedric asked.
"Free country," I said quietly.
Cedric gave me a weak smile as he sat down at my side, closer to me than anyone else would have but not as close as he usually would have. We sat in silence for a while before Cedric spoke. "What do you think of Skeeter?" he asked.
I laughed humorlessly. "You're asking me what I think of Skeeter?"
"You're right. That was stupid," Cedric said, rolling his eyes at himself.
"Don't feel bad, you're on a roll lately," I said plainly.
"And I deserved that," Cedric commented.
"I'm not done," I said honestly.
Cedric glanced up to ensure that no one was looking at us as he reached over and took my hand. For the first time, I didn't pull away from him. "Tara, I'm sorry for what I said to you on Halloween," he said. I gave him a long stare. "You told me that you didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire and I should have believed you."
"I would have believed you," I said honestly.
Cedric nodded. "I know and I'm ashamed that I didn't."
A wave of sadness washed over me. He had been trying so hard to make things up to me and I had been completely unresponsive. "Don't be ashamed. I get it. It wasn't an easy story to believe," I conceded. "And I owe you a 'thank you' for earlier. You were right. I was on my way to getting myself expelled."
"I wasn't going to let that happen to you," Cedric promised.
"Why? I've been an ass to you," I said.
Cedric gave me a knowing smile. "You know why." I did know why. I looked at him and gave a weak smile. Of course. Despite what had transpired between us, he still cared for me. "You've got to stop doing that. You're going to get yourself in serious trouble," Cedric said.
"I know. I don't know what's wrong, I'm just so angry," I said quietly.
"Of course. I would be angry too. You've -" Cedric stopped talking when he saw the look on my face. "I'm sorry."
Giving him a vague smile, I shook my head. "That's okay. I haven't exactly made myself look too great. I could have been the bigger person since this all started but I've attacked everyone. The people who were briefly sticking up for me won't come near me now because I've been so nasty to them," I said, knowing it was all my undoing.
"They'll get over it," Cedric said.
"Maybe. Or, maybe not. Hey, at least you have your fan club waiting for you, Ced," I teased.
Cedric smiled. "Did I ever tell you that I hated that nickname?"
"You offered me to call you that once upon a time," I pointed out.
"I've always liked that you didn't."
"Really?"
As far as I knew, I was the only friend of Cedric's that didn't call him by his nickname. "You've always been so different from anyone else I knew at Hogwarts. Or anywhere else, if we're being honest," Cedric chuckled.
I laughed, noticing that he was giving her a long look. "Do you have something to say to me?" I asked.
We met eyes and smiled at each other. "There are quite a few things I'd like to say to you, so why don't I start with the simplest?" Cedric offered. I smiled and nodded. "The Fifth Years have Astronomy tonight, but what do you say you meet me in the Astronomy Tower tomorrow night? I've never known you to say no."
That surprised me, but it was a welcome surprise. "Tara!" Bagman called. Cedric retracted his hand from my knee. "Come along."
I stood up and smiled at Cedric. "Can I expect you there?" he asked.
I smirked at him. "Go and find out."
Fred was right. It wouldn't kill Cedric to sweat things out for a little while. Cedric chuckled as I walked behind Bagman. "With me, Tara. Right this way and you'll be in here," Bagman said, stopping at a small door.
"A broom cupboard?" I asked.
"Nice and cozy," Skeeter chirped.
As she said that I watched Harry rise and walk past me in what appeared to be a daze. "How was it?" I whispered to him.
"She's not setting us up to succeed," Harry replied.
"Shocking," I muttered.
Bagman reached out and took Harry back to the main room as Skeeter motioned me toward her. "In here, my dear. Yes, that's right - lovely," Skeeter said, perching herself precariously upon an upturned bucket, reaching out for my arm and pushing me down onto a cardboard box. Once I was seated, she reached out and closed the door, throwing us into darkness. "Let's see now."
If Skeeter was angry with the way I had spoken to her earlier, she didn't make it known. She looked as vile as ever, her eyes trailing up and down my body a few times. I scowled at her and leaned back against the door. Skeeter unsnapped her crocodile-skin handbag and pulled out a handful of candles, which she lit with a wave of her wand and magicked into midair so that we could see what we were doing. I had half a mind to jam my wand into her eye to keep from having to do the interview.
"You won't mind, Tara, if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill?" Skeeter asked. "It leaves me free to talk to you normally."
"I don't care what you do," I said honestly.
Skeeter's bitter smile widened. I counted at least three golden teeth. She reached again into her crocodile bag and drew out a long acid-green quill and a roll of parchment, which she stretched out between them on a crate of Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover. I arched an eyebrow. They weren't known for writing exactly what was said. She put the tip of the green quill into her mouth, sucked it for a moment with apparent relish, then placed it upright on the parchment, where it stood balanced on its point, quivering slightly.
"Testing. My name is Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter."
I looked down quickly at the quill. The moment Skeeter had spoken, the green quill had started to scribble, skidding across the parchment: Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations. I chuckled to myself. I was right about the quill not repeating exactly what the owner had said.
"Lovely," Skeeter said, yet again. She ripped the top piece of parchment off, crumpled it up, and stuffed it into her handbag. Then she leaned toward me and said, "So, Tara, what made you decide to enter the Triwizard Tournament?"
"I didn't," I said plainly.
Skeeter raised one heavily penciled eyebrow. "Come now, Tara, there's no need to be scared of getting into trouble. We all know you shouldn't have entered at all. But don't worry about that. Our readers love a rebel," Skeeter said playfully.
Forgetting myself, I said exactly what was on my mind. "You're an idiot. I didn't enter and I tried to back out but the tournament is a legally binding contract. I can't back out."
"How do you feel about the tasks ahead?" Skeeter asked, ignoring my quip. "Excited? Nervous?"
"I'm fine," I said.
Perhaps if I was boring enough, Skeeter would let me leave. "Champions have died in the past, haven't they?" Skeeter asked briskly. "Have you thought about that at all?"
"I don't care," I said.
Skeeter didn't look happy that she wasn't getting my attention but her next comment changed that. "You have a personal investment with one of the champions, don't you?" Skeeter asked.
"What?" I snapped, looking up at her.
A bitter grin crawled over Skeeter's lips. She was getting exactly what she wanted, a rise out of me. "You and the handsome older champion? You two were together before this, weren't you?" Skeeter asked.
"How do you know that?" I asked slowly.
Was she kidding? There was no way that we were going to talk about Cedric. Skeeter smiled and moved her red glasses down her nose. "Let's have a little bit of girl talk, Tara," Skeeter chirped, leaning into me. I grit my teeth. "How does a completely unremarkable girl catch the eye of a handsome older student? What is that you did to draw him in?"
"None of your goddamn business," I snapped.
"You aren't together any longer, are you?" Skeeter asked.
Skeeter was certainly marvelous at getting a rise out of me. "You're a journalist," I told Skeeter, wishing I hadn't said it. She wasn't much of a writer. "Shouldn't you know that champions can't be romantically linked?"
She smiled nastily at me. "Was it the Triwizard Tournament that ended the relationship?" Skeeter asked slowly. "Or was it perhaps a hesitance for something else?"
My heart lurched into my stomach. "What the hell did you just say to me?" I snarled.
Skeeter chuckled. "Perhaps Mr. Diggory finally realized just how unprepared his girlfriend was."
That was when I finally realized what she was talking about. The same thing so many students in Hogwarts had talked about in the past. My anger once more got the better out of me as I stood up, grabbed a broom cleaning kit and threw it full-force at Skeeter, who let out a piercing scream. I lurched after her but was quickly stopped. Before either of us could do anything, the door of the broom cupboard was pulled open. I looked around, blinking in the bright light. Dumbledore stood there, looking down at both of us, squashed into the cupboard.
"Dumbledore!" Skeeter cried, with every appearance of delight. I noticed that her quill and the parchment had suddenly vanished from the box of Magical Mess Remover, and Rita's clawed fingers were hastily snapping shut the clasp of her crocodile-skin bag. She gave me a frightened look as she jumped to her feet. "You should learn to control your students."
"Perhaps when you learn to control your mouth, Rita," Dumbledore replied.
At least someone was trying to take care of me. "How are you?" Skeeter asked him, standing up and holding out one of her large, mannish hands to Dumbledore. "I hope you saw my piece over the summer about the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference?"
"Enchantingly nasty," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling. "I particularly enjoyed your description of me as an obsolete dingbat."
Skeeter didn't look remotely abashed. "I was just making the point that some of your ideas are a little old-fashioned, Dumbledore and that many wizards in the street -"
"I will be delighted to hear the reasoning behind the rudeness, Rita, but I'm afraid we will have to discuss the matter later," Dumbledore said, with a courteous bow and a smile. "The Weighing of the Wands is about to start, and it cannot take place if one of our champions is hidden in a broom cupboard. Come, Tara."
Very glad to get away from Skeeter, I hurried back into the room. The other champions were now sitting in chairs near the door, and I sat down quickly in between Cedric and Harry, hooking up at the velvet-covered table, where four of the five judges were now sitting - Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman. Skeeter settled herself down in a corner; I saw her slip the parchment out of her bag again, spread it on her knee, suck the end of the Quick-Quotes Quill, and place it once more on the parchment.
Before the conversation started, Cedric leaned toward me and lowered his voice so that only I could hear. "Are you okay? We heard a scream," he said quietly.
"I'm fine," I said, motioning that we would speak later.
The truth was that I wasn't fine. I wasn't even close to being fine. It wasn't just that I was upset with Skeeter. It was something much more. I had never felt the way that I just had before. I had hated people before. Voldemort was the perfect example. I had even had the urge to cause them bodily harm before - namely Gilderoy Lockhart - but I had never come that close. I never felt so much that I could have killed them. Was it just my hatred for Skeeter? Or, was it something more? I had noticed how angry I was lately.
"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore said, interrupting my thoughts, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."
There was no doubt in my mind that my wand was in perfect working condition but it wasn't the loveliest thing in the world. With everything it had been through it had been battered and bruised. Maybe Mr. Ollivander would find it charming. I looked around and with a jolt of surprise saw an old wizard with large, pale eyes standing quietly by the window. Like Harry and Cedric, I had met Mr. Ollivander before. He was the wand-maker from whom I had bought my wand over three years ago in Diagon Alley.
"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" Mr. Ollivander asked, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room. Fleur Delacour swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand. "Hmm..."
Mr. Ollivander twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted several pink and gold sparks. I rolled my eyes at the prideful look on her face. She was a massive pain in the ass. I figured that I had been her who had helped ruin my reputation over the last few days. Part of it was my fault because of what I had said to her when we had been in the backroom after the Goblet of Fire had spat out my name. Mr. Ollivander twirled the wand again as he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
"Yes," Mr. Ollivander said quietly. "Nine and a half inches... inflexible... rosewood... and containing... dear me..."
"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela. One of my grandmuzzer's," Fleur said proudly.
So, Fleur was part Veela. Bitch... "Yes, yes, I've never used Veela hair myself, of course," Mr. Ollivander said. "I find it makes for rather temperamental wands... however, to each his own, and if this suits you."
"So, she is a Veela?" I muttered to Harry.
"Wait until I tell -"
Harry stopped long enough that I realized he wanted to tell Ron. "Sorry, Harry," I whispered.
He shrugged. Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the edge of the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps. Then he muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip. "Very well, very well, it's in fine working order." Mr. Ollivander scooped up the flowers and handed them to Fleur with her wand. "Mr. Diggory, you next."
Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her. "Watch it," I hissed.
My heart skipped a beat as Cedric reached under the table and took my hand. I smirked at Fleur. "Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr. Ollivander asked, with much more enthusiasm as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn. Must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches... ash... pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition. You treat it regularly?"
"Polished it last night," Cedric said, grinning.
I rolled my eyes and muttered under her breath, "Nerd."
Cedric tightened his grip on my hand and shot me a playful scowl. I winked at him. He released my hand as Mr. Ollivander continued to look over Cedric's wand. It was the best-kept wand I had ever seen. I looked down at my wand. Suddenly I realized just how awful it looked. I could see finger marks all over it. I gathered a fistful of robe from my knee and tried to rub it clean surreptitiously. Several gold sparks shot out of the end of it. Fleur Delacour gave him a very patronizing look and he desisted.
Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Mr. Krum if you please."
Viktor Krum got up and slouched, round-shouldered and duck-footed, toward Mr. Ollivander. I couldn't understand how someone who was that clumsy could be one of the greatest professional Quidditch players of all time. He looked like he was about to collapse. How had he done that incredible stunt on his broom just a few weeks ago? Viktor Krum thrust out his wand and stood scowling with his hands in the pockets of his robes. I raised my eyebrows at him as he stepped back.
"Hmm, this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken?" Mr. Ollivander asked, without looking to Krum for confirmation. "A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I... however..." He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes. "Yes... Hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" Krum nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees... quite rigid... ten and a quarter inches. Avis!"
Gregorovitch was known for being a rough wand-maker. His wands were never the most attractive creations in the world but they were always strong. They were hard to damage. The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and several small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight. I jumped slightly at the reaction of the wand.
"Good," Mr. said Ollivander, handing Krum back his wand. "Miss Nox?"
"Here you are," I said.
Mr. Ollivander smiled as he took my wand. "How could I forget? One of my most prized wands... Fifteen inches, Thestral tail-hair core. Made from Elder wood," Mr. Ollivander said.
I'd almost forgotten about that... I noticed every head in the room whip toward me. I had never mentioned that my wand was made from Elder wood. I had never known how people would react to it. They had long legacies and everyone knew the tale of the true Elder Wand. I looked at Cedric and gave a weak shrug. He looked shocked. Mr. Ollivander raised the wand and gave it a wave. The powerful wind shot from the wand with some sparks, shoving everyone back against their chairs. Mr. Ollivander smiled as he handed me the wand back.
"Still in perfect condition," Mr. Ollivander said. I smiled. "Which leaves Mr. Potter." Harry got to his feet and walked past Krum to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand. "Ah, yes." Mr. Ollivander's pale eyes were suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."
It was a strange conversation that we'd had with Mr. Ollivander during that trip to Diagon Alley. I exchanged a look with Harry and smiled. It was his first step into the Wizarding World. Mr. Ollivander spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's. Except for mine, perhaps. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it and handed the wand back to Harry, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.
"Thank you all," Dumbledore said, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end."
"Something had to go right for us today," I told Harry as we stood.
There weren't many good things that had happened today. Everyone hated me, Snape had nearly killed me, and I had almost gotten myself expelled. Though, it did appear that my relationship with Cedric may have been on the mend. Harry laughed as we stood with the others. Feeling that at last something good had happened for me, I turned with Harry to leave, but the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.
"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" Bagman cried excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"
Shit... "Oh, yes, let's do those first," Skeeter said, whose eyes were upon Harry again. "And then perhaps some individual shots."
Meaning that she only wanted a photo of Harry. The rest of us would all be in the background while Skeeter focused on Harry and pretend that the rest of us didn't exist. The photographs took a long time. Long enough that we would be late for dinner. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow wherever she stood and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame; eventually she had to sit while everyone else stood around her. She didn't look happy about that.
Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it an extra curl. I thought it made him look creepier. Krum, whom I would have thought would have been used to this sort of thing, skulked, half-hidden, at the back of the group. The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur at the front, but Skeeter kept hurrying forward and dragging Harry into greater prominence. I hung at the edge with Cedric, the two of us nudging each other playfully throughout the shoot. Then Skeeter insisted on separate shots of all the champions. At last, we were free to go.
Harry and I were the first to get up to go. We were about to leave the room when I was stopped by Cedric's arm around my bicep. "What happened in there? We all heard the shout," Cedric said quietly.
"Oh, Skeeter had some less-than-flattering things to say about me. About us, actually," I muttered awkwardly.
"What did she have to say about us?" Cedric asked curiously.
"Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to know," I said, feeling my cheeks warm up with embarrassment. "Just don't be surprised when you see some unpleasant things said about us in the Prophet. I'm sure it won't be nice, considering I kind of went off on her."
Cedric's eyes quirked curiously. "Describe 'went off on her'."
"I threw a broom cleaning kit at her," I muttered dumbly.
Cedric chuckled. "You've got a temper, Miss Nox." I gave Cedric a long look as I rolled my eyes. "But you've got good aim. Check out Skeeter's forehead." I looked at Skeeter's head and realized that she did have a knot forming on her forehead. I barked out a laugh as Cedric nudged my arm. "It's one of the many things I like about you," he said.
"And the others?" I asked.
Cedric gave me a hopeful look. "That you're a forgiving person?" Cedric asked. "Even when the other one doesn't deserve it?"
He briefly moved his hand past mine as he rested it on my hip. I smiled at him as I leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed my mouth against his ear. "Earn it," I whispered playfully.
"How do I do that?" Cedric asked, turning his head into my throat.
As he pulled away we exchanged a wicked grin. "You'll come up with something tomorrow night, I'm sure," I teased, winking at him.
"Mr. Diggory, Miss Nox, I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the rules?" Bagman called.
"No, Mr. Bagman," Cedric replied, stepping backward.
"Of course not. I know them," I said loudly. I lowered my voice as I passed Cedric, running a hand gently against his fingers. "I just don't care."
Cedric chuckled as I walked up to Harry. "That looked... happy," Harry commented slowly.
It was impossible to stop the blush that came to my cheeks. "Yeah, it was." I noticed that Harry looked happy for me but still appeared depressed. Of course. He was still focused on Ron. "I'm sorry, Harry," I said quietly.
"Don't be, I'm happy for you," Harry said.
"Thanks. Don't worry, Ron will get over it. It just might take a little time," I said honestly.
"We'll see," Harry muttered.
Harry and I went down to dinner after. Hermione wasn't there. I supposed she was still in the hospital wing having her teeth fixed. I didn't speak much during dinner, instead, spending the meal making eyes at Cedric. My friends thought I was still angry at the conversations going on all around us. I knew they were trying to figure out why I looked spacey and not angry tonight. Harry and I ate alone at the end of the table, then returned to Gryffindor Tower. I knew that I was staggering around in a stupid trance.
As we walked into the Common Room, Harry sent me a vague smile. "Go dream about your boyfriend."
It wasn't fair for him to still be miserable. "Harry -"
"Go ahead, Tara," Harry said, smiling as he nudged me away from him. "Seriously. One of us should be happy."
"We'll spend the weekend together, yeah?" I offered.
"Not like we have many other choices," Harry joked.
I laughed. "Yeah."
We exchanged a quick hug as I turned and walked back up to my dormitory. I was glad to see that it was empty. I figured that it was because Lavender and Parvati were still at dinner. It was fine with me. I didn't want to be forced to talk to them. They were aggravating. I didn't want to see Fay's gazes of pity either. I figured that Hermione was still in the hospital wing, strange as she had been gone most of the day. Tomorrow I would have to go check on her to make sure we were okay. It surprised me when Fay walked into the room a few minutes later.
"Tara, Harry's asking if you can come to see him for a moment," Fay said. "He went back to his room."
"Oh, sure. Thanks," I told her.
Something interesting had to have happened. Why else would Harry have called me to come to see him after we had only been apart for a few minutes? I stood from the bed and smiled weakly at Fay as I walked out of my dormitory and headed out toward the main hallway. I turned and headed up toward the boy's dormitory and entered Harry's without knocking. He had just gotten up from the bed and strode over to a barn owl that was sitting on his ledge. He took a letter off its leg and unrolled it.
"What's up? Didn't we say goodbye just a few minutes ago?" I teased.
Harry chuckled. "I got Sirius's answer."
"What?" I gasped, sprinting over the bed and stumbling into Harry. "Read it!"
"Harry & Tara,
"I can't say everything I would like to in a letter, it's too risky in case the owl is intercepted - the three of us need to talk face-to-face. Can you ensure that you two are alone by the fire in Gryffindor Tower at one o'clock in the morning on the 22nd of November?
"I know better than anyone that you both can look after yourselves and while you're around Dumbledore and Moody I don't think anyone will be able to hurt either one of you. However, someone seems to be having a good try. Entering you both in that tournament would have been very risky, especially right under Dumbledore's nose.
"Be on the watch, the both of you. I still want to hear about anything unusual. Let me know about the 22nd of November as quickly as you can.
"Sirius."
Not good. This was not good. We had to stop Sirius from coming to Hogwarts. "He can't be mad enough to sneak back into Hogwarts just to chat with us?" Harry asked.
Was he planning on strolling into the Gryffindor Common Room? There was no way. He had almost been caught the last time. "I'm not sure what he's thinking. But I know Sirius well enough to know that he's not planning on getting caught ever again," I said, taking Harry's hand and giving him a reassuring nod. Now we had one more thing to worry about.
A/N: Next time... Tara and Cedric face another roadblock in their relationship while Harry and Tara get to chat with their godfather again and learn what they will be facing during the First Task. It's been a while but here we are! From here Tara and Harry's stories will begin to diverge. I know you guys have been looking forward to that. As always, thanks for the hearts and sweet comments! Stay safe out there, everyone! Please review! Until next time -A
Vincent FGS91: Well, I hope that's a good damn! Yes, I couldn't stop from expanding the rulebook. I love drama! Well, thank you! That's high praise! The Fantastic Beasts films are okay in my opinion. I like the actors but the story could be stronger. I hope you liked this one!
Marnie Quiera: Well, thank you! McGonagall loves Tara, even if she'll never admit it. You are absolutely correct about that. Tara can essentially do no wrong in Cedric's eyes. They are polar opposites and I think that's part of what makes them so good together. They balance each other out. I agree, Tara and Fred are much more similar and would likely be very good together. They could match each other. They're going to be getting much closer in this story! You're right! Harry and Marcus are cut from the same cloth. Don't be sorry, I love rambles!
Ghostie1701: I'm so glad you thought she was funny! She would make a good lawyer. I'm glad you enjoyed the way she stepped in. I don't want her to sit things out. I want her to step in and take charge - or try to. I hope you enjoy where I take things in the next few chapters! Marcus will be back soon. Thank you for reading!
Guest: I'm not sure exactly what you thought your reviews would accomplish, I'm sure you're just a troll so I guess I appreciate you taking the time to read. That's all I have to say.
Shannon: I'm glad you liked Tara's aggressiveness! I love those kinds of girls too and I couldn't resist making Tara one lol.
Andrea: Oh, I don't worry about it. For each story you write there will always be people who don't like it. I just appreciate the people who do enjoy the story.
Mel: Thank you! The rude comments don't concern me. I appreciate everyone who reads the story and enjoys it.
Pippa: Thank you!
Syl: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it took a while to get out!
guest 34: You would predict correctly. Cedric helped keep Tara in line and her natural temperament is coming out without him around her all the time. She would have done well with the Marauders! I do enjoy vulgarity but I recognize that I have some younger readers so I'm trying to keep it as minimal as possible while getting the point across. She will absolutely grow closer to Fred in this story. It's funny, I get such conflicting desires toward Cedric from people. Some want him dead and others will be heartbroken if I do kill him. Yes, I don't think I've seen him survive many stories. Oof, killing her parents. That would be harsh. But effective. It's sweet that you say Cedric is endgame! Tara's well on her way with that lol. I'll definitely have a Cedric P.O.V. in the story soon. Draco's another character that polarizes people. Relationships are tough!
Arlene: Oh, she's definitely out! And she's not going away anytime soon either.
Guest: You are correct! We're going to see a slightly different side of Tara in the coming chapters. She's always been rebellious but we're going to see that pushed to the limit. Tara's going to lean on the twins a lot as they will still be there for her. Fred does deserve a lot of credit. He takes care of Tara all the time. She's going to start recognizing that soon. There's going to be a lot of angst at least in the first half of the tournament for a few different reasons.
slyqueen: I like that idea too! Although I think Tara's idea of a prank would be a little on the vicious side. Well, I understand your disappointment. I knew not everyone would agree with my choice to put her in the tournament but I did have a good reason. I hope this chapter restored a bit of your faith! Sorry for the long delay. I hope this was worth it!
