Hermione's attitude stayed quite frosty towards Elsa during the next weeks.
The Ravenclaw just let the snide remarks roll off her shoulder, not showing how it hurt her.
There was also the mystery of Draco suddenly ignoring her. She hadn't expected him to give up so easily, but she should be glad he did. Even though she could've used her friend at the moment.
She had no idea what to expect when Harry asked her to join them on the next Hogsmeade visit.
Since it would help distract her from her worries, she agreed.
Elsa knew there was something up when Ron didn't even want to go into Honeydukes for some candy.
They were leaving Hogsmeade through a side alley that led into the Forbidden Forest.
"... Where are we going?" She asked, curious as to how secretive her Gryffindor friends were.
"You shouldn't have brought her along." Hermione said loud enough for Elsa to hear. "Padfoot doesn't really know her, he won't trust her."
"I already told you he knows about her. And he wanted to meet her."
"Who's Padfoot?" And why did he want to meet her? What was going on?
Harry slowed his pace to walk next to her, looking left and right to make sure there weren't any eavesdroppers. "Sirius Black."
Elsa abruptly stopped walking. "The same Sirius Black that we helped escape last year? The same Sirius Black that is searched by every auror around? Hiding so close to the school?"
"That's a pretty long story. He's been a little worried about the Triwizard Tournament and wanted to see me in person."
"... And why does he want to meet me?"
"No idea. Maybe he wants to thank you in person for freeing him from his prison chamber with Buckbeak."
A large black dog approached them, and Elsa believed to remember seeing Sirius Black transform into one the previous year.
The dog happily greeted the three Gryffindors, tail wagging.
He came to sniff on Elsa's hands, the blonde trying to keep from pulling back. This was weird.
If she had known they planned on meeting a wanted – if innocent – criminal, she would've stayed at the castle with Luna.
They followed the dog up a steeper part of the forest to a hidden cave. It probably would've been better hidden in spring or summer, with bushes and trees hiding the entrance.
The dog vanished in the black hole, Elsa's friends following without a second thought.
Elsa hesitated a moment, before she also followed with a sigh. Wouldn't be the first time she followed her friends into trouble.
Inside it wasn't as dark as it could be. There were several torches lighting up the place that got wider and bigger after a few meters. Lots of old articles of the Daily Prophet and scribblings were scattered on the dusty floor.
Completely ignoring the transformation from dog to man, Elsa's attention was stuck to the hippogriff resting in a corner.
Buckbeak was perking up and came to meet her halfway, shaking out his feathers happily.
"Buckbeak!"
It felt good to see the hippogriff again, to feel his beak against the side of her face.
"And you are Elsa!"
The blonde turned around to face Sirius Black, now fully human again. He looked a lot happier than last year, and healthier.
While his hair was still wild and rather untamed, it wasn't as dirty and a little shorter. He also gained a little weight and his skin tone didn't match a skeleton anymore.
Elsa hasn't quite got to known him at all, but if Buckbeak trusted him she figured she could give him a chance.
"Yes, that's me. And you must be Sirius. Or do you prefer Padfoot?" She smiled, trying to act as if the whole situation wasn't awkward at all.
The man gave a laugh, eyes glinting with a happiness she wouldn't have expected from someone who's been innocently convicted and spent twelve years in a prison run by dementors.
"Call me whatever you like, girl. Though in my dog form I prefer Snuffles."
He scratched an itch behind his ear, still grinning.
"Now that we got the greetings behind us, let's get to business."
Apparently Harry had been informing Sirius of everything that had happened to him in the past months, and the Animagus had been doing research to find out how to help Harry and get behind everything.
Half of the time she didn't even know what they were talking about, but Barty Crouch seemed to be a big topic.
He had allowed the use of the Unforgivable Curses against Death Eaters back then, the followers of Voldemort, and everyone thought that would ensure him the position of Minister of Magic.
However, his son had been caught with the Death Eaters and was sent to Azkaban, where he died a year after. His mother found her death shortly after.
With everyone thinking Crouch senior was a bad father, Cornelius Fudge was announced the new minister.
While this was all very interesting, Elsa wondered what she was doing in this meeting. It was not like she could provide any answers concerning the ministry.
"Aaah, now wasn't that productive?" Sirius leaned back from his crouched position and stretched his legs out.
"Could you get me some food? I'm starving."
"Yes of course, we'll be right back." Harry, Ron and Hermione got up, Elsa following suite, but Sirius held up his hand.
"Actually, I was hoping you would keep me company, Elsa."
Confused, Elsa hesitated. She wasn't stupid, Sirius obviously wanted to talk to her in private. The question was, did she want that?
The Gryffindors didn't seem to have a problem with leaving her alone with him, so when they were gone Elsa lowered herself to sit on the ground again.
Buckbeak was laying comfortably next to her, fast asleep.
Sirius waited until he was sure the others were out of earshot before speaking up.
"You look exactly like your mother."
Of all the things a stranger could tell her, Elsa hadn't expected that. "How do you know my mother?"
Chances were high that Harry had told him about her being a princess. But she didn't look like the queen, and with the shield Sirius couldn't have met her.
And if he was talking about Isabelle... did he know?
"I knew this was the wrong way to start..." He scratched his head again.
"Okay, you know how Harry's parents died when he was one and a half years old?"
"Yes..."
"Yeah, well, James was my best friend, and Lily was like a sister to me. So of course they asked me to be Harry's godfather. And as his godfather, I wanted to buy a perfect birthday present. So I was out shopping in Diagon Alley in June, hoping to find anything before Lily gave birth."
The frown on Elsa's face stayed as she listened closely. She couldn't quite grasp how this was connected to whoever Sirius thought was her mother.
"Anyways, Lily forbade anything dangerous, and he would be way too young for a broomstick of course, so I wandered around aimlessly. And then I ran into this witch. She was totally anxious, clutching ab baby in her arms as if someone would take her away, almost hexed me in the middle of the street."
Elsa blinked. Had Isabelle been on the run then? Harry's birth year was 1980, so Elsa would've been about six months old. The gravestone in her dream back then indicated their death in 1981, a year after.
"I apologized for scaring her and offered to buy her some tea to get her to calm down. She completely shut me out first, was very suspicious. I mean, back then everyone was, with the slow rising of You-know-who. Anyways, with her completely disheveled and distraught appearance she probably figured it would do her some good to relax a little.
"I distracted her, talked about my soon-to-be godson and how I had no idea what to get him. About what I'd want to show him and so on. When I asked her about her little daughter she got that protective look in her eyes, went all tense. She reluctantly told me the baby's name was Elsa. I've thought that was quite strange, since her accent clearly indicated she was french and Elsa sounded more nordic, but I thought, hey, maybe her husband was from up there somewhere. It's a shame I forgot to ask for her name."
Elsa bunched up her skirt in her fists. This couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Why has she been on the run already? And why did the Spirit of Winter have his mental breakdown only a year later?
The more Sirius said, the more confusing it got.
"When I came back from paying for the tea, she was gone. I remember being completely flabbergasted to find the rest of her tea frozen in her cup. I searched for her, but she was gone."
He shrugged.
"I saw her again in November. I was doing some business in the north of Scotland. There was a small village by a forest, where she was living in a small hut with a hippogriff, magically disguised as a horse."
Sirius glanced at Buckbeak, confirming Elsa's theory that Buckbeak had been Isabelle's pet. That's why they shared this connection. But she couldn't tell her secret to a stranger.
"He's been following her?"
"Apparently. Anyways, she asked me to take him somewhere, since he would always give away her location and never left her side. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get him to trust me and coax him away from her. I guess there has been some magic involved on her part, because if it hadn't been for the look in her eyes I would've given up."
Veela magic, Elsa concluded.
"Suddenly she was gone and the hippogriff was devastated. I brought him to Hagrid. I haven't heard of her ever again. But when I saw you last summer, when you came to free me with Buckbeak, I thought it was her for a moment.
When Harry wrote me who you were, your name, I knew it couldn't be a coincidence."
Elsa's thoughts raced. Isabelle had been on the run six months after her birth, probably even earlier. But why? And why have they been declared dead only in 1981?
Buckbeak was the pet hippogriff, Isabelle's pet, and that's why he liked her immediately.
"The only thing not adding up was that he told me you were a muggleborn princess?"
Elsa cleared her throat. "Uhm. I... My real mother gave me to a muggle family when I was about a year old. Harry doesn't know... nobody does. So I'd appreciate if you could keep the secret."
"But... what happened to your mother?"
"Like I said, I was only a year old. I have no idea."
Feeling a chilly breeze enter the cave, the torches flickering dangerously, Elsa got to her feet.
"I have to go now."
"Hey, wait, I didn't mean to-"
Elsa didn't wait for him to finish and hurried to get out of the cave. On her run back to the castle she passed her Gryffindor friends, but didn't stop to answer their questions. She needed to digest this first.
xxx
Harry's and Ron's insistence in bugging her about the incident were both good and bad.
It was good, because it meant Sirius hadn't told them about it, which meant they wouldn't be able to connect the dots. She wasn't sure if Sirius knew he had been talking to Isabelle, wife of the legendary Spirit of Winter, but if he didn't it was better if he remained clueless.
On the other hand, the pestering was grating on her already frayed nerves.
Krum was fortunately keeping to himself and his Durmstrang classmates, acting as if he had never spoken a word to Elsa.
The princess didn't know how she would've reacted if he'd suddenly changed his behavior towards her.
Draco was still keeping his distance, even avoiding her to some point, which was confusing her even more.
Had she really been too harsh on Yule Ball?
However, there were more pressing matters that did wonders of distraction for everyone.
Harry had followed an advice given by Cedric and opened his mysterious golden egg under water.
The message was a riddle, which was quickly deciphered by the four friends.
He'd have to find something in the school's lake within an hour. That was problematic enough, since they had no idea how to make him actually be able to breathe under water, but there was also the dangers of whatever creatures lived there.
There was a legend of a giant squid, for example. Merpeople and so on. What if they'd be drowned?
Had Elsa been a champion, she wouldn't have participated this round at all. She couldn't swim, she'd sink like a sack of cement within the first minute.
Deciding the breathing problem had priority, the four spent their whole time in the library. Unfortunately there wasn't anything that would be helpful, since every spell that could help was way too advanced for them. And even if Hermione or Elsa could learn it, they weren't allowed to help him during the task.
With the second task now only mere hours away and each of them beyond tired from basically reading through the whole night, they were getting desperate.
Needing to distract her mind a little, Elsa helped Neville to put away a stack of Herbology books.
"How's it going? You guys look tired."
"We are. The second task is today and we haven't figured out how to get Harry through it yet..."
"Hm. I doubt I'd be of any help, but-"
"Longbottom, why don't you help Potter but his books away?"
Elsa jumped at Moody's sudden appearance behind her. Hermione and Ron were gone, only Harry was left sitting at one of the tables and repeatedly hitting his forehead on an open book.
Neville was eager to comply.
"Where are Hermione and Ron?" Elsa dared to ask Moody.
"Professor McGonagall requested their presence." His answer sounded distracted, his magical eye giving her a once-over before rolling to the back of his head to probably watch Harry and Neville.
The two boys were talking about something, and Elsa was beginning to feel really uncomfortable with the professor.
"I better go help Ha-"
The scarred hand on her arm stopped her. She flinched away when Moody leaned a little closer.
"Something is going on with you. I can see it, so don't even try to deny it."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Powerful magic, unlike anything I've ever seen."
Elsa pulled her arm from Moody's grip, glaring at him. Respect went both ways, she decided, and she was sick of being polite.
"Perhaps you should get that eye checked, then."
With that she fled towards Harry and Neville. The man was seriously starting to freak her out.
He couldn't know that she had ice powers, he probably just sensed something different with her. Pabbie said her powers were shielded in a way, no wizard could sense them.
She could practically feel his magical eye on her, but refused to acknowledge it.
"Neville had a great idea, we have to get Gillyweed somehow!"
"Gillyweed... sounds familiar."
Neville nodded. "Professor Sprout mentioned it last year. When you eat it you can breathe under water for about an hour."
"Wasn't there a controversy about-"
"No, I don't want to hear it." Harry interrupted them, holding up his hands. "It's the last straw, I don't have any other options."
"The problem is, it only grows in the Mediterranean Sea..."
"Great, let's just take short trip there, maybe we'll be back before the task starts."
"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"
Harry and Elsa gave Neville a look, the latter shrugging sheepishly.
There was the distinct sound of Moody's limp as he left the library. Elsa shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, a frown on her face.
"What a creep." She mumbled.
"No, he's really cool! He got me this book about plants and promised to get me a copy of-"
"He saved me from being found by Snape and Filch when I sneaked around, you know, when I figured out the task." Harry spoke over Neville to avoid a lengthy story about whatever famous Herbology book he was after.
"To you maybe, he's freaking me out."
The three of them jumped at a loud -plop!-. The house elf Elsa met back in their second year, Dobby, had appeared in their midst.
"Dobby heard Harry Potter, Dobby can help!" The elf held up a gray-greenish something that looked like a bunch of slimy rat tails bunched together.
"Ew."
"Harry Potter needs Gillyweed!"
"Where did you get that, Dobby?" Elsa asked, face scrunched up in disgust.
"Who cares? At least I won't drown!"
When the second task was about to start, Harry was being a nervous wreck. Hermione and Ron still hadn't showed up, not even to wish him good luck.
"It's gonna be fine," Elsa tried to assure him, "just don't take any risks. If there's danger, retreat. It's not worth getting injured."
"And if you see a Dabberblimp, you have to curl your toes so it doesn't settle in between them." Luna advised before going to find a good place with Ginny.
"Dabber... what?" Thinking about whatever creatures they were took some of the nervousness away, which Elsa was grateful for.
"And remember, for an emergency you use Ascendio to get you to the surface." She told him, putting emphasis on the right pronunciation.
"I'm sure to remember this when I'm busy fighting for my life."
"Would you pull yourself together?!" Elsa scolded him. "You survived a dementor attack, a basilisk, a gigantic spider, and Quirrel's attack. This is just a game for them, they won't let you die."
Harry pouted. "None of those was easy."
"And this won't be easy either, but you got to get through this, so man up."
"... When did you become so forceful?"
"When did you become a scaredy-cat?"
Both Neville and Harry blinked at her, not used to seeing her act like that.
Dumbledore announced the beginning of the task, so Harry found his place by the other Champions.
Elsa and Neville watched with trepidation. "Do you really think he'll be fine with the Gillyweed?"
"Technically, yes. I'm just not sure if he really has a full hour since it's not saltwater..." Neville bit his nails.
They saw him swallow the slimy weed and jump into the water in time with the others. For a moment it looked like it hasn't worked, but then he made in impressive jump to show he was fine.
Things were really quiet then. None of them could see what happened underwater, so it was rather boring to watch for most of the audience.
Elsa was quite busy worrying for Harry, hoping he'd be fine.
After about half an hour, Fleur resurfaced. She had to give up after a Grindylow attack.
Maxime put a fluffy towel around her shoulders and soothingly talked to her in french.
Fifty minutes into the task, Cedric appeared with Cho. Elsa blinked in surprise, she hadn't even noticed she was gone.
Shortly after Viktor came also up, Hermione by his side.
So the thing they had to find was their Yule Ball date? No, that couldn't be. Parvati was among the crowd and Fleur's date was also there.
Anxiously they watched the still surface. Harry hasn't come back yet. Just as the clock signaled the hour was up, Ron and a young girl broke the surface.
There was still no sign of Harry.
The girl turned out to be Fleur's sister, the champion hurrying to help her out of the water and tending to her, talking in a frantic pace.
Elsa handed Ron a towel, biting her lip as she observed the still surface. What was happening?
Suddenly, Harry flew onto the shore, coughing up lots of water. His pale skin was covered in marks, probably coming from merpeople.
The blonde sighed in relief, the crowd cheering. She hurried to get him another towel.
"You did great!"
"I came up last."
"No, third. Fleur had to give up. And you survived, that's all that matters!"
However, since he had selflessly not only saved Ron but also Fleur's sister Gabrielle, he was rewarded with second place.
That made him, according to Ron, head to head for first place in the Tournament.
xxx
Since the final task would take place at the end of June, there was plenty of time for Harry and the other Champions to collect themselves.
There were no real hints as to what would await them, which meant they couldn't really prepare themselves.
One day they were waiting for Snape to come and start their Potions class.
The three Gryffindors were discussing something they had talked about with Sirius, so Elsa tuned them out.
If she started listening to whatever conspiracy theory they were up to, her curiosity would only get her deeper into it instead of distanced.
Pansy stepping up to their table was getting her attention, though. For a moment she thought she'd be the target of one of her taunts again, but this time Hermione was her goal.
With an ugly smirk, the Slytherin slapped a copy of Witch Weekly on the table top.
"Really good reading material, better than any romance novel."
"Wow, I'm surprised you even know how to read." Hermione snapped, taking the magazine and opening it to find whatever Pansy was talking about.
The Slytherin glared, but schooled her expression to act as if she was on higher ground when Hermione found the article.
Elsa and the boys leaned over to read over her shoulders, curious as to what was going on.
It was a stupid report from Rita Skeeter, a horrible woman, stating Hermione was using Love Potions to get first Viktor Krum and now Harry Potter to love her.
"What the... I'm not toying with feelings. This is rubbish."
Pansy grinned. "Of course not. Why would an ugly mudblood like you need illegal Love Potions? Especially since they work so well, hm?"
Hermione glared, not giving her the satisfaction of reacting verbally. That only seemed to fuel her on more.
"Though apparently Krum's seemed to have worn off a little too soon. Ditched you right at Yule Ball. Pathetic."
She had struck a nerve, Hermione practically dived over the table. Ron held her back with difficulty, snapping at Pansy. "Shut your ugly trap, pug-face!"
Pansy refrained from giving a comeback, because just then Snape entered the classroom.
Calmly taking in the scene, he took twenty points from Gryffindor because he wanted to believe Hermione and Ron had started the fight. He put the two on either side of the classroom, leaving Harry and Elsa to work alone.
The princess found it a little suspicious that he didn't punish his favorite punching bag, and began the lesson instead.
However, when they were working, he got straight up in Harry's face.
Snape accused him of stealing Boomslang skin and Gillyweed from his personal stash.
At least now Elsa knew where Dobby has gotten it from.
Harry kept his cool, not giving away anything. Technically, he didn't steal it, but Dobby.
"One, two drops of this and you're finally gonna tell the truth." He held up a little bottle of what he stated was Veritaserum.
"The use of Veritaserum is only allowed under special circumstances and has to be sanctioned by the Ministry." Elsa wasn't able to hold herself back.
Snape's black eyes narrowed at her. "I don't believe I was talking to you, Miss Winters. Repetitive theft happens to be a special circumstance that-"
Something snapped in Elsa at the unfair and arrogant tone. Throwing all politeness out the window, she glared at Snape and interrupted him.
"You have no proof at all, no indication that Harry was at your stash, nothing that would justify the use of Veritaserum on a minor."
"Twenty points from Ravenclaw for utter disrespect and speaking in class un-asked."
It had worked, however, since Snape went back to the blackboard then. Fortunately Karkaroff disturbed the class then, getting strongly on the professor's nerve about something.
"Damn, you should become a lawyer or something." Harry commented while crunching up ingredients.
"Abusing one's power just makes me angry."
"You've become pretty rebellious lately..."
Elsa didn't comment on that and just let out her frustration by forcefully squeezing the juices out of a dried fruit.
Apparently the mean reporter's article had more severe consequences. Hermione got hate mail, dozens of howlers and there was even a jinx that left her hands full of leaking and burning blisters.
Enraged, Dumbledore forbade Rita Skeeter to set another foot on school grounds.
Around Easter, it showed that even Mrs Weasley seemed to believe the ridiculous rumors.
While Harry, Ron and Elsa received big eggs with sweets, Hermione's was barely the size of a chicken.
"I'm sure if you explain it to her, Mrs Weasley will-"
"I don't need any of your advice!" Hermione snapped.
Elsa recoiled, but didn't say anything. Her friend was still a little overly sensitive because of Yule Ball. It hasn't even helped when Elsa had said she hasn't even spoken one word to Viktor.
"There has to be a magic way she gathers her information. Maybe she has an invisibility cloak too." Hermione mused, frowning around the hall as if she could spot her.
"I told you not to mess with Skeeter. She may be annoying, but there are lots of people that believe her stuff." Ron said, wiping his fingers on a napkin.
"That nosy reporter's going down. I will find out her secret."
xxx
"It's been four months, Blaise, this is ridiculous!"
"Quit your whining, you're doing fine."
"She hasn't even asked me about the tutoring!"
Blaise rolled his eyes, putting down the Herbology book he was thumbing through.
"Her marks are still above failing, technically she doesn't need you to tutor her anymore."
"You said it would draw her to me, instead she's sticking to Potter all the freaking time!"
"Could you stop bitching around? She asked me about you a few times. If you were okay and all."
"Sure, and you didn't think to tell me that when she did."
"No, because you would've immediately run after her again. Just... chill for once, would you? Let her miss you for a bit. Let her come to you when she worked through whatever her pretty little head is mulling over."
"But I miss her, too."
"Boohoo. Then go, be a good friend until school's over and you can play best man at her wedding."
Draco glowered at the lit fireplace in their common room, arms crossed. He was starting to doubt Blaise's logic, like seriously.
But the image of her marrying some random guy, that beautiful smile directed at someone else... no, he couldn't.
"I hate you."
"Same." Blaise flipped him off nonchalantly.
xxx
At the end of May, Harry was told that the final task would be to get to the center of a maze, filled with obstacles.
There had been an incident with Barty Crouch, but Elsa stuck to her will to keep out of that. Especially since Professor Moody seemed to be heavily involved in the matter.
Ever since their little confrontation in the library, she steered clear of him, always making sure she wasn't alone with him.
"I can't believe you're not curious at all!"
"I'm not. There are people to take care of that, an auror involved, and you have plenty other things to worry about."
"There's still some time until the final task..."
"Yes, and you're gonna wait until the last week again. And then we all will end up with lots of sleepless nights to make you learn all the helpful spells."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh look, there's Moody. I wanted to ask him if he found Crouch yet."
"Great, you do that. I'll be in the Great Hall."
"Come on, don't be a spoilsport. He's not so bad."
"I'm not gonna warm up to him, no matter what you say."
"You know, you're always telling us to give Malfoy a chance, but you're completely standoff-ish when it comes to Moody." Harry crossed his arms.
"There's just something fishy about him. If you like him, fine. But I'll stick to my gut feeling."
Elsa found herself quite enjoying her more rebellious side. Snape taking housepoints didn't bother her as much as it should, and going against his unfair treatment was feeling really good.
With Moody it was a similar satisfying feeling, though he was still creeping her out.
There was no need to antagonize any of the other teachers, but she found another way to go against her foster parents' strict royal rules.
While it wasn't that big a deal for normal teenagers, it was giving Elsa a rush to let her hair down, for example. Wearing it open was too annoying because it would fall in the way constantly, but instead of neat updos she kept the silvery blonde lengths in messy buns or ponytails.
The looks she kept getting for it were worth it, if a little strange. It felt as if she was suddenly bathed in a glowing aura.
The Beauxbatons girls, including Fleur, were encouraging her. They took her to their midst during dinners and included her in their conversations as if she belonged there.
Despite having troubles following them due to their pretty heavy accents, Elsa enjoyed the talks.
It distracted her from Draco's weird behavior, or the stress of the upcoming exams, or the stress of helping Harry learn a bunch of spells for his last task... Stress in general.
She figured she should probably talk to Draco, inquire what was the matter so they could go back to being friends again. After the finals, she mused, she would do that.
Blaise hasn't been very helpful with that, as he would evade her questions.
History of Magic was their last exam, ending with lunch and then it was time for the last task.
They had prepared Harry as good as possible, there wasn't much more they could do for him.
He wasn't as nervous that breakfast as he's been with the other tasks.
"Maybe they know how Rita Skeeter gets her information..." Hermione mumbled, eyeing a giggling Pansy from across the hall.
"Seriously, I think we have other matters to care about right now." Ron rolled his eyes. "Like History of Magic."
"I offered to help you study." Elsa said, tilting her head.
"Excuse me, I was busy playing dummy for Harry's practicing!"
"Dummy is the right word." Hermione snapped. "Whatever, I'm going to look something up. See you for the exam."
With that she was off. Dumbledore announced that the Champions were to meet in the side room, so they could spend the day with their families before the final task.
Elsa hadn't thought much of it by then. She and Ron went to their exam. Ron had told her that his mother and Bill were there instead of the Dursleys, and that it was a surprise for Harry.
However, the shock came during lunch, after the exam.
Mrs Weasley and Bill were sitting with Harry at the Gryffindor table, Ron and Hermione eager to join them.
Cedric's parents were at the Hufflepuff table with him, at the end of the Ravenclaw table Fleur was talking animatedly with her mother...
She swore her heart stopped beating when the thought finally caught up with her. The Champions' parents.
Viktor, Asparuh, was a Champion.
Hoping to not look too spooked, she glanced at the Slytherin table, where Viktor was sitting next to a pretty old man.
From first glance, Elsa wouldn't have pegged him as a king, but then again, he only got the title because he married into the status.
It was a grumpy expression on his face, though he gave a bitter laugh at something his son said.
Viktor noticed her then and nudged his father, nodding in her direction. The king's eyes found her, making Elsa freeze.
Gulping down her sudden panic, Elsa sat down where she stood, hoping to hide from the gaze.
"I'm surprised you're not sitting with Harry today."
Anthony's voice got her out of her daze. She had coincidentally sat by him and Michael.
"Uhm." She had no idea what to say. It felt as if all air drained from her, she was scared to even look in the direction of the Slytherin table anymore. "I don't know."
"Damn, you're as white as a sheet. The exam wasn't that bad..."
Elsa made no move to take food. She was calculating how weird it would look if she sneaked out of the Great Hall in a ducked position.
They wouldn't try anything here, would they? It was ridiculous, they couldn't. Not with so many witnesses around. And what would they even do? Aside from scaring her to not go against them when it came to it, of course...
Ginny came to stand by her. "Hey, what's up? Mom was looking forward to see you too, come sit with us!"
"I... I'm... uhm."
"Are you okay?"
"A-Actually, I think breakfast is disagreeing with me. I'm gonna go get some air."
"Hold on, I'll come with you."
Ginny gave a sign to Luna, who had been talking to Bill about his earring, and waited for the younger blonde to catch up.
Elsa wanted to decline their companionship, but found it was better like that. Viktor and his father were less likely to try anything when she wasn't alone.
Outside, they sat in the shade of a tree.
"Does it help? You're feeling better?"
Not being in the same room as the evil king and prince was indeed making breathing easier.
"Yes."
They talked about the last task, and how glad they were the exams were finally over.
"Do you know what's up with Draco?" Ginny asked, tugging a few pieces of grass out.
"What do you mean?"
The Weasley rolled her eyes. "Come on. Ever since Yule Ball he avoids you. What happened?"
Elsa absentmindedly played with a strand of her hair. The reminder of the ball was upsetting her.
She had reacted so badly, she should've just explained to Draco why she needed to recollect herself, why she needed time alone.
But it hasn't been easy. It never was.
"I just... needed some time to myself. I was a little harsh in expressing that."
"He's pretty resentful, hm?"
"We haven't really talked it out yet. I'm going to speak to him tomorrow, after the excitement of the final task wore off."
"That's- ugh, the fairies come."
Frowning at the weird comment, Elsa and Luna looked up to see the Beauxbatons students coming from the castle to get to their carriage.
Apparently Ginny wasn't too fond of them.
Elsa blinked when Maxime came to stand by them.
"Ma petite puce, may I talk to you for a moment?" Despite having been in a rather sour mood the past months, the tall woman was smiling down at Elsa.
Both Ginny and Luna's eyes were wide as they watched the conversation with interest.
"Of course, Madame." Elsa agreed and got up.
"Let us have a little walk in this wonderful weather."
A little confused, the Ravenclaw nodded and they walked over the lawn, along the first trees of the Forbidden Forest. Elsa was having trouble keeping up with the long strides.
"Isabelle loved the sun, it was nearly impossible to keep her inside."
Elsa shrugged. "It's a little too warm for my taste." She admitted, shrugging one shoulder.
"Mh, interesting. Must have to do with your father's powers..."
"Probably."
"Ah, I can't prolong this any more!" Maxime stopped walking and bowed a little to be closer to Elsa, a smile on her slightly wrinkly face.
"I've been thinking a lot since your confession."
Elsa tilted her head, wondering what she was up to.
"Obviously there has been a mistake. Nobody knew Isabelle had a daughter, everyone thought she's still in Spirit World. If we had known, you would've got an invitation for Beauxbatons Academy, of course. Not Hogwarts."
"But I'm here now."
"Oui. Look, I usually don't do this, and it took me some convincing of our school board and ministry, but I want you to transfer to Beauxbatons. You fit perfectly with us, and you won't have to worry about anyone knowing about your origin. Our walls are very discreet. We could work on your ice powers."
Sky blue eyes were wide at the surprising offer. For a moment she didn't even know what to say.
"I... I don't even speak french yet..."
"You've learned quite much, I'll assign you a private tutor to perfect it."
"I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to answer right away. Just think about it. I have to go now, Fleur wanted me to talk to her parents some more."
Elsa watched her walk away, biting her lip. Could she really do this? Just go away and leave her friends?
Later that evening, shortly before the task would start, Elsa met up with Harry and the others to wish him good luck and make sure he was properly prepared.
Hermione pulled her aside when the Weasleys and Harry went to the Quidditch pitch, where the maze was waiting for the Champions.
"We need to talk."
Elsa was a little surprised at that. "Yes?"
"Harry and Ron said you haven't spoken one word to Viktor, and I guess I knew that..."
"He spooks me." Elsa said, clenching her fists so she wouldn't lose her cool.
"... But I was really mad at you for a while."
"I noticed."
"Thing is, I need your help."
It wasn't an apology by any means, but Elsa was glad they were on the way to recovering their friendship.
"With what? You know a way to assist Harry?"
"No, it's about Rita Skeeter. I'm sure our dear Slytherin classmates are involved somehow. I want to talk to Pansy, threaten her a little. I was thinking you could talk to Draco or Blaise if they know?"
"Oh." Elsa shrugged one shoulder. "Alright. I wanted to talk to Draco anyways. Tomorrow I will-"
"No, it has to be today. She needs to be stopped before she makes up a ridiculous tale about the final task."
There was a heavy weight in Elsa's chest. She wanted to be there for Harry, but they wouldn't know anything that happened in the maze anyways. Just like it had been with the lake.
"That's fine I guess..."
"Good, I overheard Pansy wanting to go to the bathroom before the task. I'm gonna catch her alone. Draco is probably on the way to the Quidditch pitch."
Indeed did Elsa find him among a few of his classmates outside. She hurried to catch up with them.
"Draco?"
The blond faced her, appearing surprised. "Yeah?"
"Can we talk?"
He exchanged a look with an entirely too smug Blaise, who gave him a little push into her direction before walking off with the other Slytherins.
"Sure."
"Let's... let's go inside." She didn't want to talk about everything where anyone could overhear them.
They walked in silence, until Elsa figured out how to start.
"About Yule Ball... I didn't want to be so harsh to you. There was just... something happened that had me in a really bad mood. I needed to work it out first."
"I guess I shouldn't have pushed you so much to tell me when you weren't ready." Draco automatically said, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"But to be fair, you took quite some time to confess your blood status, or your origin. What else was there to work out?"
Elsa wrapped her arms around herself, checking their surroundings. They were in front of an empty office next to the DADA classroom. Moody's office.
With the final task having started, it was empty.
She walked inside and waited for Draco to follow before closing the door.
"You didn't tell anyone, did you?"
"Of course not, what do you take me for?!"
"I'm sorry, okay?" Elsa sighed, rubbing at her temples.
"You just ditched me at the ball and it took you half a year to finally talk to me. And now you don't even want to tell me what rode you?"
Elsa bit her tongue. "You were avoiding me too."
"I'm just sick of being your sounding board for anything only when you see it fit. This is not how it works."
"I know..." She sighed. "... but this isn't easy for me."
And he didn't even know the real secret. The largest, the most dangerous. However, she had already taken a great risk when she told Luna.
"It's not easy for me either." He leaned back against a black cupboard and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.
"I can't go back to being your friend. Not anymore."
Elsa's shoulder hunched up slightly. "Because I don't boast about my private problems?"
"No..." Draco gulped, not sure where to look. "Because I don't see you as just a friend anymore."
Having expected that confession for a while now, it wasn't that much of a shock. Still, hearing it so straight-forward was making her heart pound heavily.
She clenched her fists, feeling her nails dug into her skin so she wouldn't lock up completely.
Silver eyes found her blue ones when she didn't answer.
"... Could you please... just say something?"
"I... We can't, Draco."
Shaking his head, the Slytherin scoffed. "And why not? Is it Potter?"
"W-What? No!"
"Then what is it? Why can't we be more than friends?"
Elsa closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. "My parents arranged a marriage for me when I turn eighteen."
There was no need to go into detail.
Draco recoiled. "Are you kidding me? This isn't the 18th century anymore. They can't force you into a marriage."
"I don't have a choice, the prince threatened to hurt my sister."
"To me it sounds like you're just phishing for excuses! You live in a freaking castle, with guards and walls for protection." He shook his head.
"Why do you conceal your true feelings?!"
Elsa felt ice starting to tingle in her palms as a bout of frustration hit her.
"You have no idea what's at stake if I lose control of my feelings! If I make one wrong move everyone will know!"
Confusion started to take over Draco's face, his breath becoming visible as the room grew considerably colder.
Realizing it was her doing, Elsa tried to calm herself down.
Draco frowned deeply. "What do you-"
He was interrupted by footsteps coming closer. Judging by the -thunk- every second step, it was probably Moody. A second, limping set was with him.
Was the Tournament over already? How long had they been talking?
The professor would have their heads for being in his office, but it was too late to go somewhere else, he would see them.
Draco frantically ripped open the black cupboard and gestured for Elsa to get inside first.
It was a tight fit, but better than the alternative. The Ravenclaw could faintly smell the scent on Draco's robes and couldn't help but relax a little. It reminded her of sandalwood.
Hiding in there wouldn't work, Elsa thought, not with Moody's magical eye.
However, Moody only had eyes for whoever was with him, since he didn't even stop talking to them.
Elsa frowned when Draco firmly put a hand over her mouth, eyes narrowing through the few slits that sat too high for Elsa to see through.
A second later, though she realized why Draco had taken the precaution. Harry's voice sounded weak and strained as he responded to Moody.
Was he hurt? But if he was, why wasn't he in the hospital wing?
She strained to understand what they were talking about. Something about a cemetery... and Voldemort? He was back?
At that, Draco froze so abruptly Elsa feared she accidentally used her powers. However, she could still feel his barely controlled breathing washing over the top of her head.
He had gone deathly pale, the silver eyes wide.
Elsa blinked. She hadn't realized that Draco was scared of Voldemort. She had thought the purebloods were safe.
It was revealed that Moody had been on Voldemort's side all along. That he put Harry's name in the goblet of fire, made sure he got through the tasks and would reach the Triwizard Cup first. He helped him through the maze and made the Cup a portkey that would bring him to a cemetery, where Wormtail had used him to bring back Voldemort.
The confusion only grew. Despite not seeing anything, it sounded as if Moody wasn't really Moody, but Barty Crouch Jr. But wasn't he supposed to be dead? And what did he mean he killed his father?
There was a burst that had Elsa jump and almost yelp into Draco's hand, but she caught herself in time.
Dumbledore had entered the room with Snape and McGonagall. Draco tensed up some more.
From the conversation that followed, Elsa gathered that the real Moody had been trapped in a magical trunk so Crouch could use him to continue brewing the Polyjuice Potion.
He confirmed it after being force-fed Veritaserum.
There was a lot of talking and bustling around. Dumbledore told Harry to go to his office at last, while he himself would stand watch over a stunned Crouch until McGonagall's return.
"I believe it's best if you two go to your common rooms now."
The cupboard doors opened with a flick of Dumbledore's wand. Draco didn't have to be told twice, leaving with a gray and fear-stricken face.
Elsa didn't quite have the same urge.
"Professor, what happened to Harry? Why isn't he in the hospital wing?! Is it true that... that He is back?"
Dumbledore appeared older than he was. "Harry went through a lot in the past hour, Elsa. I need to talk to him before he can succumb to a healing sleep."
Biting her lip, Elsa refrained from giving the headmaster a few choice words. If he needed to talk to him first, fine. But she wouldn't just go to sleep in her dorm now. Not until she knew what exactly was going on.
She made her way to the hospital wing, surprised to find Mrs Weasley, Bill, Ron and Hermione already there.
They all looked very disturbed. Elsa really regretted not going to the task. What had she missed?
They explained that Harry had come back with the Cup and Cedric, the Hufflepuff dead.
That was a shock to Elsa. Cedric died?
There was a lot to talk about, but after Harry arrived in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had put him to sleep.
The answers would have to wait.
xxx
The end-of-term feast was dark. Instead of the house cup winners' colors, the flags were a deep black.
Dumbledore managed to put into words what nobody could've. The overall mood was, understandably, sad.
Cho hadn't slept since the end of the Tournament, had cried the whole night. She had loved Cedric, and now he was gone.
The headmaster also told them all what happened, including the message that Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard, was back.
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had already left. Elsa's decision had been all too easy.
Of course she had to stay, to support Harry after all of this. She didn't want to leave her friends, and Maxime was, though rattled by the happenings, very understanding.
Elsa's eyes found Draco across the hall by the Slytherin table. The two of them exchanged a long stare, that was broken by Draco.
Something was breaking inside.
The train ride home was a quiet affair. None of them seemed to be in the mood to talk about anything anymore.
Hermione jerked upright as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh, right."
She pulled a jar from her bag, a large beetle trapped inside with a twig. "I found out what Skeeter's secret is."
"A beetle?"
"Yes. She's an unregistered Animagus, like Snuffles. Only that her animal form is a stinky little bug. And if she writes one more horrible article, her secret won't be a secret anymore."
"What do you intend on doing with her now?" Elsa frowned at the trapped beetle.
Hermione shrugged. "I'll free her when we're at the station. Maybe."
The girls and Ron glanced at Harry, who was staring out of the window, lost in thought. They just hoped he'd get his spirits back.