The sky was cloudy and overcast; the air cool on the day of the final task. The grounds of Hogwarts had changed almost overnight to accommodate the visitors that were now entering through the gates and buzzing about the grounds. Ministry officials, important foreign dignitaries, family members, and students–all of whom were being directed to specific spots to congregate.

There were numerous flags and banners displaying the Hogwarts' crest, as well as the various house colors. Tents had been set up sporadically, and seating was now covering a very particular corner of the grounds near the lake. There was even a stage now present with an even larger banner with the Hogwarts crest posted up behind it. The only thing that wasn't immediately present were any signs of what the task was. That still remained a complete mystery.

Dominique stood up at the courtyard, looking down at the display below and at all the people with little interest. Everywhere around her, her peers continued to pour past her as they made their way to the action; all of them excited and taken by the infectious atmosphere of the occasion. On the contrary, she did nothing more than lean back against a stone column and watch. She had very little desire to be here. She had even less of a desire to see how this all played out. She'd said it from day one: this tournament destroyed people's lives.

She hadn't slept the night before, though it had nothing to do with any of her usual reasons. Her mind was entirely on her brother. She'd thought endlessly about what he'd said about her wanting him to fit on some sort of pedestal she and everyone else apparently felt he belonged on; how they only cared about getting him back to normal so that they could have the familiar version of him back. He'd made it sound so selfish of her, as if he wouldn't have benefited from the familiar, too. When had he decided he wanted something different so badly? And why hadn't she picked up on it?

And she'd eventually realized it was because they weren't a set anymore. They hadn't truly been for ages, but they really hadn't been in the last few months. Outside of their time spent at Beauxbatons sharing a bus, they hadn't even spent much time together this year. He'd been away; she'd been here. Yes, they'd had their moments, but it was nothing like it had been in the past. Not even close. The irony of them sharing each other's memories and secrets, but yet being the most distant they'd ever been from each other, was not lost on her.

Even if all of those awful things hadn't happened to him-to them-Louis was already changing. He'd seen other places and met new sorts of people. He'd escaped the small bubble of Hogwarts and life being a Weasley and he'd apparently liked what he found. He'd changed his career aspirations and future plans on what she'd assumed was due to his spell damage, but perhaps it had more to do with him just wanting to discover things other than a stuffy Ministry job. It wasn't that far-fetched an idea-after all, her mother had done the exact same thing. A few months at Hogwarts and a chance meeting with her father, and she'd picked up her entire life in France and come to England.

The signs had been there. She'd assumed that he'd spent all of his time hanging around the Beauxbatons' carriage because the love spell was pulling him there, but Amalie even admitted he spent most of his time walking and smoking with Javier by the lake. The fact that he was smoking at all should have been a sign. He was different. He was connecting with new people, and perhaps, had been inching away from this Hogwarts life longer than she'd thought.

She'd even let herself fall so deep into her theories about the matter that she'd pondered whether he'd actually been so cool with her and Jack getting together because he was already making plans to move onto other things and people in life.

But these were mostly assumptions. Clearly, even if this was the way he'd been thinking lately, it was all exacerbated and driven to a darker place by the spells and the damage and...her. She'd fucked up. It had taken professionals a few days to draw that spell out of him, and most of that had been because it had been so hard to find. Had she just fucking said something…This could have been over in days, but she let it go on for months. She'd been convinced it was such a secret-something shameful he'd been burdened with that she needed to protect him from-that all she'd done is make everything worse.

Then she'd lied about it, she'd betrayed him, and then she'd yelled at him because she was-how had Louis put it the night of the bonfire when he'd lectured her?-incapable of saying she was sorry when she fucked up? Unable to admit that she was wrong?

Just when she thought she'd been getting better at that...

She was starting to accept that she could have potentially ruined her entire relationship with her brother beyond repair. She hoped she hadn't. She hoped to apologize and, with a little time and space, he'd hopefully come around and be willing to forgive. Because losing Louis' trust felt like losing not only one arm, but two. Life seemed so much harder to navigate through now. He was the person she-without a doubt-counted on most, and she'd fucked it right up in a way she never thought possible.

And to think, she'd assumed her flying skills were the worst casualty to come out of all of this. She'd have given up her flying ten times over to have her brother willing to speak to her.

She sighed as she continued to watch the crowds back idly by toward the grounds. Her family was down there somewhere; she'd have to go and find them soon enough. She knew her mother was being swarmed by people and reporters wanting to talk to her about today and tournaments past. Her Uncle Harry and her Aunt Hermione were supposed to turn up as well, so they would take some of the pressure off of her mother. As far as she knew, most of her extended family would probably be there, but it all seemed a waste. Everyone would smile for the cameras and give happy sounding quips to the papers, despite the fact that they were all just as worried at what could possibly happen.

"Hey," came Jack's sudden voice as he appeared, now leaning up against the column alongside her.

"Hey," she mumbled, never taking her eyes off the crowds that continued to grow down below.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"No."

He sighed and pulled himself up off the column to face her. "I don't think Louis should even be doing this."

"I don't either, but clearly he doesn't want my advice," she said, "And no one else will step up since he entered a—" she made her voice sound purposely dumb, "—magically binding contract." She let her voice return to normal. "I wish he'd never entered this bloody thing."

Jack threw her a sympathetic smile.

"This is all so fucking stupid," she said, pulling herself up off the column and taking the biggest breath she could muster. She released it very slowly.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

She nodded, already knowing what he was thinking and perhaps wondering if he needed to dash off to the hospital wing for her, but this was the normal sort of nerves. In an ironic bit of timing, Madam Pomfrey had presented her yesterday with several vials of her very own nightly anxiety potions to help her sleep and regulate. She'd received them from St. Mungo's on Cane's request, and Dominique had been happy to take them to finally have something more routine. Then, of course, she hadn't taken them last night because she'd been too preoccupied to sleep. She'd instead been forced to, once again, take some of the leftover Calming Draught that she'd had to get through the day.

"Good," he said as he reached out and pulled her toward him, burying her underneath his arms into a very warm hug. She hugged him back; they stood there for a minute, doing nothing more than hugging in silence before he finally pulled back and threw her an encouraging smile. "It's almost over."

She half smiled, more out of obligation than any genuine need to. It caused him to lean in and give her a rather goofy sort of kiss on her cheek, which–for whatever reason–pulled a real smile out of her. She even laughed a little.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading the way out of the courtyard and down the path toward the madness.

She did her best to stick close to him–almost as if hiding from onlookers. She'd done a pretty masterful job so far that morning of hiding from the questions and the people who wanted to see how she was holding up. Sarah and Natalie had brought her some breakfast in the room to keep her from having to visit the Great Hall, and she'd avoided the crowded bathroom that morning. There had been people in the common room and others in the corridors, but she'd thankfully done a good enough job throughout the years of making people not want to talk to her that most merely looked at her and continued on their way.

Now that she was exposed to the rest of the world, she knew she wouldn't be so lucky. She'd purposely put her relatively recognizable blonde hair up into a tight bun to make her a little less noticeable in the crowd, but she wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make. As it were, her best bet was to hopefully use Jack as a human shield; if she kept close to him, maybe people wouldn't notice that she was–

"Miss Weasley!" said a voice that she recognized, but couldn't immediately place. It made her jolt and squeeze Jack's hand as a small, balding man appeared from nearby with a large smile on his face. When she realized it was Timmith, she calmed almost instantly.

"Hi," she said, forcing a smile as he extended his hand to shake hers in an oddly formal way. He immediately did the same to Jack, who seemed confused as to who this small man was.

"Timmith Ableline," he said to Jack in an introductory way, glancing over at Dominique. She took it upon herself to further the introductions.

"Timmith was the chaperone and tutor while I was in Beauxbatons," she offered, gesturing toward him. She then gestured back to Jack. "And Jack is my boyfriend."

"Lovely to meet you!" Timmith said, now smiling at Dominique. "How have you been Miss Weasley? I've thought about you and your brother regularly since our last encounter. Was there any developments after what happened to the two of you?"

She and Jack exchanged quick looks before she said, "Definite developments."

"Did Professor DiSilva ever manage to–?"

"No, but I'm learning to live with it."

Timmith's face fell. "I see. Well, I'm sorry to hear it wasn't more of a simple fix. But it is comforting to hear you're not letting it get you down. May I ask how you felt your N.E.W.T.s went?"

"Actually, really well," she said, smiling a little. "Surprisingly well, I think. I suppose I have you to thank for some of that. You did teach me some focusing techniques that I ended up using once I got back here."

"Fantastic!" Timmith said. "Oh, that's so wonderful to hear. You showed so much potential and I'm glad you took advantage!" He quickly glanced around. "And how is your brother?"

The smile she'd had on her face definitely slipped. "He's..."

"Nervous for today?"

"Who wouldn't be?"

"You should never answer a question with a question, Miss Weasley," he said, managing to sound both good natured, but also highly annoying. "But yes, it's to be expected he would be. I'm hoping to see him and Miss Zabini before the start of the task to wish them luck."

"You should," she said. "He needs all the luck he can get."

Jack squeezed her hand, and she took that to mean they should keep moving. She nodded at him before telling Timmith she really should be going to find her family and wishing him goodbye. As they walked off, Jack threw her a funny sort of look, as if asking where on Earth that one had come from. She did nothing more than shrug and offer, "You get used to him."

It had taken some searching for her to spot any of her family, though she'd assumed that they were near the tented areas. It was up there that photographers were setting up and reporters were speaking to important people from the Ministry. Dominique immediately felt as if she recognized the mustached bloke who was standing with a small group of Prophet reports from her tour of the Ministry, knowing he was someone important, but she couldn't remember his name. She was, however, thankful he was distracting them and allowing her to pass right by.

It was then that she spotted Victoire emerging from a tent–her hair flying around in the wind that had just come up off the lake. Dominique had been seconds away from calling out to her, but she'd stopped once she'd seen who had followed directly behind her.

"Oh..." Dominique said quietly, watching as Whit and Victoire were now close enough to soon encounter, but not close enough to have noticed them yet. She'd known it was just a matter of time until this run-in had to occur, but she didn't know if she had it in her to deal with that on top of everything else at the moment.

Jack had seen Whit, too, though he didn't say anything. He didn't drop her hand, though she was contemplating doing it. While this was probably awkward for him, it was going to be far more awkward for her. Seeing your ex with his new girlfriend was bad enough. Seeing your ex with his new girlfriend who also happens to be someone you know and considered a friend?

She took a deep breath. "Should I go and say something?"

He didn't respond, but his expression clearly wondered if that was really necessary.

"If she's here with Vic and my family, we can't avoid her," she said, though it was her who dropped his hand. Despite the fact that they'd been split up over a year, Victoire had given her the impression that Whit hadn't taken the news particularly well. It was uncharted territory, but Dominique wasn't looking to be insensitive. Whit was her friend; she and Jack had dated for a while. The least she could do was not be a show off.

Her sister and Whit had spotted them, just as Dominique knew they would, though it was only Victoire who was now paying them any attention. Whit had actually stopped in her tracks before turning herself away. A moment later, she was walking in the opposite direction; leaving Victoire with nothing to do other than wave awkwardly at her.

"Hey," Victoire said, smiling at the pair of them as she approached. "Was starting to wonder where you were. Mum and dad have been asking about you."

"I was taking my time," Dominique said, glancing over her shoulder and gesturing in Whit's general direction. "So…?"

"She wanted to come and support Louis," Victoire offered. "I warned her what she'd run into. I told her it was an absolute certainty that she would see the two of you together if she came. She claimed to be fine with it." She pointed after her. "That was apparently 'fine with it'."

Dominique sighed.

"Here's hoping it was the initial shock and she'll come around," Victoire said as she glanced from Jack to Dominique. "And how are you? How's Louis feeling since he got back from the hospital?"

"I don't know," Dominique said. "He doesn't talk to us anymore."

"What do you mean he doesn't talk to you?" Victoire said, looking as if she'd never heard anything so stupid.

"He hates us now," Dominique offered rather coolly. She really didn't know how else to explain this.

"What? Why?"

Dominique sighed. "Where do I even begin?"

She proceeded to launch into the entire story for her sister, even the part she already knew. It was clear by her expression that Victoire had a very hard time believing any of it. Dominique was thankful to have Jack there to back up much of her claims because she was fairly certain Victoire wouldn't have believed her had it only been her word. She knew she'd had a history of being overdramatic and impulsive, but Victoire knew Jack to be the opposite of all of that. Their powers combined may have made for one legitimate sounding story.

"You were the one who hit him?" Victoire said to Jack once Dominique revealed that part of the story. "McGonagall told mum and dad that he'd gotten into an altercation with another student since the spell was making him act out."

"Meet the other student," Dominique said rather obviously, gesturing to Jack.

"But you?" Victoire asked, almost as if she was scolding him. "Since when do you hit anyone, let alone your best friend?"

"This is what I'm trying to tell you," Dominique argued, noticing Teddy approaching to join the group of them. "Louis isn't the Louis you know. When the spell was still in him and he'd gone off the potion, he was legitimately unhinged. Now that they've worked the spell out of him, he's just angry and wants nothing to do with any of us. He spends all of his time on his own. Won't talk to Jack, he only fights with me."

"Jack is the one who hit Louis," Victoire said to Ted once he stood beside her. It caused Ted's entire face to wrinkle up in complete confusion.

"He was defending himself," Dominique said. "Louis hit him first. And he was pulling out his wand."

"To do what?"

"Who knows?" Dominique said. "That's the point. No one knows what he's thinking!"

"I can't believe you two hit each other," Victoire said, "but it explains why he wants nothing to do with you."

Dominique felt her sister was focusing on the wrong things. She wasn't comprehending the seriousness of all of this, but then again, Dominique hadn't either. Not until it was too late, anyway.

"This goes beyond them brawling. He is not the same Louis you know any longer. He's a completely different person."

"He's dealing with a lot," Jack said. "I'm a little afraid of what will happen today in the tournament."

"And he really shouldn't be participating," Dominique added.

"It's a magically binding contract," Ted said, still looking confused since he'd missed the entire important part of the story. "He has to participate."

Dominique sighed as she and Victoire stared long and hard at each other for several moments. Victoire seemed completely confused; she clearly had no idea what to make of this story. Dominique couldn't even blame her—she wouldn't have believed it either.

"He and I had a huge row last night," Dominique continued, "and he told me all he wants is for everyone—me, especially—to piss off and leave him alone."

"I mean, Nic, he's clearly overwhelmed and anxious after everything that's happened to him," Victoire argued. "He probably just wanted time to focus and clear his head and you were bothering him."

Jack was already shaking his head while Dominique immediately began to reiterate, "No, it's not a 'give me a few minutes to clear my head' thing. It's a 'I need you all to disappear and leave me be.' He claims he's become a big fuck up and he's tired of people wanting things for he that he doesn't want."

"There's no way…" Victoire said, shaking her head and looking away. Dominique could sense in her tone that she was at least questioning things a bit, despite not wanting to believe it. "How is he a fuck up? If any of this is true, then you need to talk to mum and dad and tell them. They need to know if he's really in that bad a way."

"They'll see it for themselves when they spend more than five minutes with him! Just wait until you see him. You'll barely recognize him."

The crowds were growing larger now, with students and outsiders alike all buzzing about and getting themselves ready for the impending task. Along with the reporters and Ministry officials, other recognizable faces were now turning up. Zara's parents were currently being interviewed nearby; not far away from them, the man Dominique recognized from the hospital as Amalie's father was surrounded by a group of people who were all in good spirits. The Headmaster of Durmstrang was nearby with an entourage of people following behind him. A handful of her professors were now gathering near the staging area.

They'd followed Victoire back into one of the many tented areas; it was there that her parents, her grandparents, her other grandparents, a collection of her aunts and uncles, and some of her cousins were all standing about and chatting in small groups. No one seemed to notice them enter until she managed to make her way over to where her parents were actively speaking to George and Angelina. They both smiled brightly when they saw her approaching.

"Hello, sweetheart," her mother said as she went to kiss her cheek. "Where have you been hiding?"

"I've been around," she offered, turning to hug her father before greeting her aunt and uncle. She then, before she'd had time to really process what was happening, found herself quickly being passed around the group from relative to relative. They were commenting on how exciting things were, how nice she looked, how mad it was for this to be ending, how they couldn't believe she and Louis were graduating.

It didn't seem to have an end, but she did eventually find her way back in front of her parents once she'd run the gauntlet of relatives. There were brief inquiries about her exams–both of them seemingly surprised and delighted to hear she felt she'd gotten ten—only to be followed by her mother asking, "Is Jack here?"

That was a good question. Dominique had lost him somewhere back when they'd entered and was now taking the time to search around the tent. She saw that he had hung back and was currently talking to Ted and Ginny on the other side of the room. Victoire, she noticed, was on the opposite side speaking to Whit.

"He's talking to Ted."

Her mother smiled rather warmly at her. "How are things with you two?"

She grinned and shrugged. "Good. I'm happy."

That answer seemed to please her mother as her father reached out and rubbed Dominique's shoulder. "That's all we ever want for you." He glanced around. "How was your brother holding up?"

This time when Dominique shrugged, she didn't smile.

"He hasn't said anything to let you know how he feels?" asked her father, a skeptical look in his eyes.

"I mean, he has…" She looked away. "But not about the tournament. We're not really speaking right now."

Her mother rolled her eyes. "I hope you're not fighting now, of all times, Dominique. You have to realize that he's under a tremendous amount of stress. He's been through so much, and to add a love spell on top of that." Her face tightened. "I cannot believe everything he's been forced to deal with. It's unconscionable." She then started muttering under her breath in rapid France.

"Trust me, I know," she said, just as quite a bit of commotion from outside the tent suddenly caught everyone's attention. Dominique noticed her Uncles Ron and Percy had stepped outside to see what was going on. After about thirty seconds, Percy returned to inform everyone that the champions were coming.

There was shuffling throughout the room as everyone seemed to be readying themselves, though Dominique stepped to the side to avoid the entire scene. She walked down to where Jack was standing and threw him an apprehensive look. She was already on edge because of the task that was about to happen and possibly cause further damage, but she was more scared for the Louis they were going to inevitably meet in a moment. No one but Jack seemed to understand.

When the door flap to the tent was pulled back, in stepped Louis. He was dressed in all black, with Hogwarts' crest affixed to the left side of his chest. Professor Longbottom had followed behind him, and the two were both greeted enthusiastically by the family.

However, Dominique was immediately most taken by the fact that Louis was...smiling. He was actually smiling and greeting everyone with hugs and handshakes, as if this was the Louis of old. His stupid, perfect smile was plastered on his face, the tone of his voice was light and airy, his mannerisms were confident. Even when he was asked what happened to his face by one of their aunts, he quickly brushed it off as nothing significant. "I had an accident, but it was nothing," he told the group with a modest shrug and quick laugh.

Dominique felt her face go slack. What. The. Fuck? She looked at Jack, who seemed just as confused. When their eyes met, neither seemed to know what to say. At least she knew she hadn't gone mad if Jack saw it, too.

He was charming and personable. He was having conversations in French with their grandparents; he was asking their Uncle Percy if the new Portkey regulations were giving him grief. He'd stopped to have a lengthy chat with their Aunt Hermione about her new appointment, and moved on to their Uncle George about rumors circulating about expansion of the joke shop. He seemed to have a thoughtful story and anecdote for everyone in there. It wasn't even as if he was acting like the old Louis–he was acting like the old Louis, but somehow ten times more charming.

He stopped to talk and laugh with Victoire, Ted, and Whit–which Dominique already knew was going to prompt a lecture from her sister later on about how he'd been perfectly normal and she'd been talking full of shit with all of her ramblings earlier. When he moved onto their parents, he was hugging them and letting their mother dote on him– push his hair back, straighten out his outfit, lecture him on all of her nervous concerns.

That was...strange? Even on a good day, Louis would have been uncomfortable with her fixing and straightening him like he was a small child. He'd have shooed her off and told her he was fine. But standing there right now, he wasn't even flinching. He was letting her do it.

He was listening intently to whatever it was their father was telling him, though Dominique couldn't even watch anymore. She turned to Jack, but couldn't get the words out. She just stared at him rather flabbergasted.

"I don't…" Jack murmured, as lost for words as she was. He was shaking his head until he suddenly stood up straighter, his eyes growing slightly wider. "He's coming over here,"

Dominique turned back just in time to find that her brother had walked straight over to the pair of them. His smile slipped a bit and definitely grew more awkward, but that was actually a strange comfort for her. Had he plastered on some over-the-top, fake smile, she'd be wondering if it was actually him and not some kind of imposter.

"Hello," Louis said a bit tentatively.

They both stared at him, though Jack finally offered a, "Hey," in response.

"Madness out there," Louis said, gesturing around in a general sort of way.

Dominique blinked. "Yeah."

Louis cleared his throat. "Well...thanks for showing up."

Dominique had half a mind to tell him that the only reason she was here was because their parents wouldn't have let her hear the end of it had she hid up at the castle, but she didn't. She needed to stop letting her instinct to yell at him because of how strange everything was win. She instead took a small solace in the fact that Louis was being nice to her–whether because he was trying to keep up appearances or because he'd had some sort of change of heart. She wanted to hold onto it for the few minutes she could get it because she didn't know if it would last.

"Lou, we're on your side," Jack said earnestly. "Things have been...I don't even have a word for how fucked up they've been, but I meant what I said yesterday. Every word of it."

Whatever it was he'd said to him yesterday, Dominique hadn't been privy to; he'd never mentioned it to her. He was apparently keeping that private.

Louis looked away. His smile seemed forced now. "Well, thanks."

"He's right," Dominique said, sensing something strange. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she wondered if Louis was putting everything aside for now since it wasn't worth going into this task with unfinished business and grudges if something happened to him. It made her realize she needed to do the same thing.

"I will always be on your side," she said. "Louis, I'm so sorry. I know you blame yourself for everything that's happened to us, but none of this is your fault. I've fucked up, too. I've been stupid and blind and secretive and—last night, I said things out of anger…" She looked away. "I really did think I was doing the right thing, but I now know I only made things worse. And you have every right to be angry, but…" she took a deep breath. "I'm just really sorry."

Louis was nodding, but not looking at her. "Well, thanks." He looked toward the exit. "But I need to go. The task is starting soon."

She nodded, feeling tears welling now. "Be careful."

"Yeah, take care of yourself out there, mate," Jack added.

"Yeah, you too," Louis said, glancing from one of them to the other for a few prolonged seconds. His body language was tight and closed off, so he wasn't looking for hugs or affection. She wasn't sure what was happening, but he let his gaze hang on Dominique the longest; as they stared at each other, for the first time ever, she had no idea what he was thinking; she couldn't read him in the slightest. He looked away before he finally stepped back. It was then that he mumbled, "Bye," before he was met once again with their parents. They seemed to be ready to escort him out of the tent. Outside, a loud horn suddenly sounded.

Dominique watched her entire family file out of the tent, but she hung back and waited, wiping her eyes. She still was trying to make sense of what had transpired moments ago, but something also wasn't sitting right with her.

"I can't believe he talked to us," she said.

"Do you think he took something?" Jack asked. "A potion or something? He had to have."

She said nothing, watching as her cousin, Hugo, trailed lastly behind his father outside; now leaving the tent empty.

"He had to have taken something," Jack said. "He hasn't wanted to talk to people or act like that in ages."

"I think it was an act," she finally said. "He was putting in a show. It's easier to give the people what they know instead of getting the questions he's obviously shown us he doesn't want to answer. It's why it was so over the top. It's as if he was pretending to be the old Louis, but going too hard and missing the mark."

"But why do that with us?" Jack asked. "With you? He could have ignored us. He's been doing that since last week. He didn't have to talk to us, but he did."

"Maybe he's afraid something will happen during the task," she said, not wanting to say anything more for fear of putting it out into the universe. "I don't know."

When the pair of them emerged from the tent, the entire seating area had been filled with people. Students were in the risers, waving green flags for Slytherin and red for Gryffindor. The Ministry types were down in the chairs at the front. Her Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were seated near the front along with her parents. The rest of her family, as well as the families of the other champions, were taking their designated seats near the front. Her Uncle Harry was a good few rows back, which marked the first time Dominique had ever seen her parents get preferential seating over him. Not that anyone but her noticed or cared.

She could join the lot of them, but she decided she was too fidgety to sit. She was happy to stand back by the tents where, nearby, photographers were picking up their cameras and readying themselves. On the stage, McGonagall and the other Heads of their schools were gathered; it was McGonagall stepping forward to greet the crowd.

"Good Morning," she said with her wand pressed to her throat. "Or perhaps we're already into the afternoon. Either way, welcome to Hogwarts and to the last and final installment of the TriWizarding School Tournament."

Cheers and clapping. It was then that Dominique noticed the champions standing just to the side of the stage. Zara was at the front, in a black outfit identical to Louis'. The Durmstrang pair were dressed similarly, only in the color red; the Beauxbatons pair were in blue. She noticed Zara and Javier seemed particularly antsy, but that probably had to do with the fact that one of them would probably be crowned the winner shortly. Louis, she noticed, had dropped the smile and was now looking rather preoccupied standing there.

McGonagall was talking again, though Dominique found she was almost too distracted to listen. She was praising the combined efforts of Hogwarts and the Ministry, as well as the cooperation of all three schools to make this a success. She was thanking students, staff, and family members for their continued support. Notable individuals, including her Aunt Hermione, were named specifically for their willingness and contributions.

This seemed rather endless. Dominique wanted nothing more for her to wrap this up so that they could move along. She wasn't sure how much more of this tournament she could take.

Jack took her hand and she let him. Her eyes never left McGonagall since, at that moment, she reintroduced the champions and gestured for them to join her on the stage. As they did, the cheers and clapping once again picked up; someone had started a "Hogwarts! Hogwarts! Hogwarts!" chant from the risers.

They were all in their school pairs; each with their specific school Head. The Durmstrang group were in a bit of a huddle, while Madame Maxime was taking her time to speak to both of her champions separately. Louis and Zara were simply standing back on their own–Zara waving to people while Louis did nothing more than watch–seeing as McGonagall still had her attention on the crowd in front of her.

"The third and final task is a timed event," McGonagall continued. "Each champion will separately enter through our entrance–" she then gestured to a newly constructed, stone archway just beyond the stage; it had two people posted out front, as if guarding it. "Where they will find themselves transported to a series of obstacles and puzzles that they must complete, defeat, or solve to reach the final prize-the TriWizarding School Cup. These tasks are not simple, nor will they be easy to solve. It will take all of their wits and knowledge to reach the end." She paused for emphasis. "Some may not finish at all.

"Now, despite all of the champions competing at the same time, they will never see each other or encounter each other while in the task. They will be completely alone." She smiled. "Some tremendously complex magic is involved that our staff and Ministry contributors have worked tirelessly to perfect. The champion who manages to complete this in the quickest manner, by returning with the cup, will be declared the winner."

More applause and cheers, though Dominique was hung up on the fact that she'd said they'd be transported. Transported meant this task was elsewhere; it wouldn't be visible. Whatever was going to happen, they were–yet again–going to have to wait it out to see what happened.

"Our champions will enter based on their performances in the previous tasks," McGonagall said, turning to gesture to Zara. "And currently, with the most points, our first champion to enter will be Zahara Zabini."

An explosive cheer from the risers. Zara broke into a wide, albeit nervous, looking grin as she stepped forward to once again wave to the crowd. Her and McGonagall shared a quick word as Zara was led off the stage toward the waiting archway. It was then, and only then, did the wizards who'd been guarding it stepped aside.

"In the event of an emergency, our champions all know the spell to perform for assistance. The time will start as soon as the horn sounds and Miss Zabini walks through the tent. To all of our champions, I wish you the best of luck."

More cheers and crowd noises filled the air. Dominique continued to watch as Zara stood dutifully outside the archway; her wand now in her hand and her gaze intently focused on the entrance.

Dominique couldn't help but feel sad to see how Zara well had come through this tournament versus Louis. Dominique couldn't say for sure whether or not Zara had any real lasting damage since they weren't close, but she certainly hadn't suffered as Louis had. If only he hadn't turned the wrong way on that mountain; if they'd stuck together. It wouldn't have stopped what had happened in the second task from happening, but everything would be so different.

"I think I want Zara to win this," Jack said. "That may make me a bad person, but I don't think Lou can handle—?"

"Louis won't be able to handle the win and everything that comes with it," she finished for him. "If he wants to be left alone, then winning is not the way he'd get that."

A horn blared and the cheers kicked up again as Zara immediately disappeared through the archway, disappearing into thin air. McGonagall was already having Javier take his spot to ready himself to enter next. Apparently, he had to wait two minutes before the horn would sound again and he could disappear inside. Aurick was next, though Louis was right behind him as the two were tied for third; Aurick apparently had a slight advantage for some reason.

Dominique watched her brother like a hawk, feeling oddly compelled to remember this moment as he stood there. Instead of watching the archway door rather raptly as the others were doing, he was actually casting quick glances around at the crowds. He didn't even pull his wand out until literal seconds before the horn sounded. Then, once it had—just like that—he was gone.

She sighed as he vanished. Amalie followed after Louis, and Maarit after her. The moment the last champion was gone, the horn sounded once more. There wasn't much else to do but wait.

"I wonder if this is a quick sort of thing or an all day thing?" Jack said, watching as some of the spectators continued to sit, while others got up and began moving around. Up in the risers, people were still chanting.

"These tasks have all been terribly boring for spectators," Dominique mumbled.

"Yeah, I was told there would be dragons," he said, throwing her a funny smile. "I really wanted to see a dragon."

She laughed at him. "Did you? You know I have an uncle who's a bit of a dragon expert."

"I did know that."

"He's also–" She looked around to make sure no one else was listening and lowered her voice, "He's also my favorite uncle, but don't tell anyone I said that."

He smiled. "I didn't know he was your favorite. Don't you rarely see him?"

"Once every couple of years," she offered. "He's the best. Honestly, he's the coolest person alive. He and my dad were always really close–being the oldest in such a large family–so to watch him around my dad is great because he brings out this goofy side in him."

He seemed surprised to hear that. "Goofy is not a word I'd use for your dad."

"My family always used to say I reminded them of him."

"Of your uncle?"

She nodded. "There's this running joke that Louis was always my dad–clever, handsome, charming, people-pleaser, all of that. Then I was like Charlie. Athletic, always in our brother's shadow, didn't care about what people thought, did what we wanted. I even became a Seeker, just like he did. I'm convinced that's why my dad–despite some of my wilder antics–never gets as angry as he probably should with me." She smiled. "I remind him of him."

Jack smiled fondly at her, giving her hand a quick squeeze. It had been ages since she'd thought about her uncle, and even longer since she'd thought about the jokes of how she and Louis were supposed to have been the second coming of Bill and Charlie Wealsey. But these days, that's all they were–jokes. Neither of them seemed to be filling their predecessors rolls any longer.

"Anyway," she said, clearing her throat. "I only brought up my uncle because if you wanted to see a dragon, I could write to him. I'd love to see him, and we could probably figure something out this summer."

"Do you mean you want to visit him, or...could he bring one here?"

She swatted him. "Visit him, obviously. We'd have to make the trip to Romania."

He stopped walking to look at her. His expression was strange–a mixture of amusement and curiosity. "You want to take a trip together?"

She shrugged. "If you want to see a dragon."

"I mean, I do," he said with a slow nod, "but…" He smiled. "I'm sort of surprised to hear you want to plan a holiday."

"Why?"

"Because not long ago, I could barely get you to agree to go out with me." He laughed. "And now, you want us to get away together."

She found herself blushing a little. She supposed she could see where he was coming from, but she hadn't thought it was a big deal. Was that considered that big of a step? He'd wanted to see a dragon, she could get him a dragon, she was just trying to–

"But, I would love to," he said, almost as if he sensed her confusion. "If we can work that out, there's nothing I'd rather do than get away with you and see a dragon. I actually don't care if we see the dragon. I'm excited to spend whatever time we get over the summer together. Here, Romania, wherever."

Her face still felt red, but she couldn't fight off an awkward smile that she felt rather self-conscious for having. It was almost funny how he and this relationship still kept catching her off-guard.

An hour had passed with no one having returned, and the crowds had all mostly remained in their seats or areas. She and Jack had ventured into the risers to find people they knew, and Dominique had eventually stumbled upon Sarah and Natalie. She'd recounted to them the story of Louis' pleasant mood before the task, but she quickly changed the subject to something else once she realized she was tired of talking about Louis and his strange behavior lately. She selfishly wished she could have been any of these random students with no real stake in this tournament.

Jack had gotten himself involved in a conversation with a group of Hufflepuffs, so Dominique decided to return down to where her family was. She could tell from where she was that her mother was nervous, and she figured that being there for her was probably the most supportive thing she could do. As she made her way back down to the ground, she was surprised she wasn't more anxious. Calming Draught truly was amazing because she knew on any normal, pre-accident day that she would have been far less relaxed about this.

She'd gotten halfway there, her mind still on her mental state and how her new potions would affect her, when she quickly side-stepped a tall man in purple robes that forced her shoulder to clip another person passing by . When she turned to look, Whit was already quickly apologizing for the collision. That is, she was until she realized who she was speaking to.

Whit stopped speaking and her expression turned startled, though it quickly slipped into more resembling apprehension. She said nothing, only stared at her. They both just stared at each other.

"Hey," Dominique finally said, the awkwardness thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Hi," Whit said. She then gestured into the direction she'd been headed into before. "I need to go–"

"Can we talk for a second?"

Whit said nothing. She was not a confrontational person; Dominique knew this. She also knew that the only version of herself that Whit was familiar with was confrontational and bitchy, and that may have been intimidating. Whit was probably more likely to stand there fearful and silent than really speak what was on her mind. And truthfully, Dominique wasn't sure she wanted to hear it. Not because she didn't care; because she was a little afraid to hear it from her mouth that she may have hurt her.

"I just wanted to…" Dominique said, taking a deep breath. "I know you've heard about me and Jack."

"Was it a secret?" Whit asked rather coolly.

"No." She swallowed. "And I honestly don't know what to say, but I know something needs to be said."

Whit shrugged. "There's nothing to be said. You two are together now. That's it."

Dominique felt like apologizing, though she also knew she had no reason to. She wasn't sorry she was with him, and he and Whit had been apart for long enough she didn't feel particularly guilty about it either. But at the same time, she did. She especially did standing in front of her.

"Look," Whit said. "I don't want this to be strange, but we both know it is."

"I get it," Dominique said. "I guess, I just wanted to tell you face to face. I didn't want to ignore it."

"I appreciate that." She forced a nervous smile.

"And while I know it makes things weird, we've always gotten on. I'd like us to, maybe, try and stay friends."

Whit inhaled slowly on that. She looked away and back again before saying, "I don't know. Not now, at least. I'm not ready for that."

Dominique hadn't expected that. Whit had always been so agreeable and easy-going in the past that she'd assumed she would have simply agreed to that to end the conversation and move on. That was not what was happening.

"We can be cordial," she added. "I can do that. No need to be rude to each other, but the rest, I...I can't...Not yet."

Dominique nodded. "I get it. I can do cordial."

"Right," Whit said, taking a large, almost calming breath. "Well, I was actually going this way, so…" She pointed. "I'm going to go...that way."

Dominique nodded and forced an awkward smile as Whit left without another word; she was left standing there feeling not much better about the situation than when they'd started the conversation, but at least it had been something. All of the other relationships in her life were changing–what was one more?