Diary of an Orphan (re-written)

by BlAcKdAuGhTeR

Jenna grew up alone in an orphanage with no knowledge of who she was or where she came from. It wasn't until an owl arrived with a letter for her, and a man named Remus Lupin walked into her life, that she learnt she was so much more than she originally thought and her life would never be the same again.

25. Dates and Dragons

Chapter 24

Dates and Dragons

The Unforgivable Curses are some of the most well known to be forbidden by wizarding law,
however, there are many curses just as terrible that remain either unpunishable or, sometimes,
incurable that are still used in modern wizardry. The definition of "curse" can vary as many
seemingly harmless spells can be listed as "curses" when they are more akin to a jinx or hex
and their effects are temporary or not life-threatening, while a true curse can be considered
more dangerous and harmful to the witch or wizard it is performed on.

I paused, the point of my quill poised above my essay on Dark Curses that Moody had set us in our last Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. I looked out the window of the library where I was sat on my own to do my homework after a long and trying day following the aftermath of the drawing of the Triwizard champions. The sun was setting slowly in the distance over the Forbidden Forest. I sighed as I thought back over what had happened in the last twenty-four hours since the selection of the Triwizard Champions on Saturday night.

Harry's name had somehow come out of the Goblet of Fire and he was now magically contracted to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, despite him being underage and there being two Hogwarts champions. Ron's reaction to this had not been good. Instead, his jealousy had come out and he'd stormed off back to the Tower when he, Hermione and I had discussed the shock of Harry's name being drawn. The following morning, Hermione and I had found Ron at breakfast alone with Harry nowhere to be seen. Neither of us were sure what to do or to expect. When we asked Ron where Harry was, his response was indifferent, indicating that he was still angry about the previous night. Hermione and I shared a look of concern. Then, gathering some toast up in a napkin, Hermione whispered to me she was going to find Harry and for me to stay and keep an eye on Ron. Nodding, I held her back long enough to whisper two words: Tell Dad, then watched as she left the Hall.

I had never really been alone with Ron before since starting Hogwarts, not without Harry or Hermione being there as well, and so we sat in a rather awkward silence for a few minutes after Hermione had left. I watched as Ron ate his breakfast, his eyes avoiding my gaze. I had no idea what Ron might have been feeling at that moment because I had never been in his situation. I didn't have any siblings, so I didn't know what it was like to be overshadowed by other people's achievements. But I did know what it felt like to be overlooked; all those Adoption Days where other children were chosen over me was the closest experience I had to be able to sympathise with Ron's situation. I knew it wasn't exactly the same but it was something.

'For what it's worth,' I began, 'I know how you feel.'

'Really,' snorted Ron. He took a sip of his drink. He still didn't look at me.

'I may not have any brothers or sisters, but I know what it feels like to be overlooked,' I continued. Ron paused. He glanced at me for the briefest of seconds then looked away. 'I was overlooked all the time at the orphanage. No one wanted to adopt me because of my "attention seeking" behaviour.'

'How does that show you know how I feel?' said Ron.

'Because I wasn't an "attention seeker",' I replied. 'That was my magic causing problems, and I would run away not because I wanted attention but because I was scared. They just thought I misbehaved for attention. So when Adoption Days came and I tried my best to be picked, I wasn't, all because of what people thought I was because they saw details about my behaviour in my file and they wanted a well-behaved child.'

Ron appeared to consider my words. He seemed torn. He was still frowning but he didn't seem as angry.

'What has this got to do with anything?' Ron eventually said, dismissing me. He shoved another lump of sausage into his mouth. 'What point are you trying to prove?'

I sighed and got up.

'Everyone thinks Harry put his name into the Goblet of Fire,' I said. 'Everyone else just knows what he's done in the past – famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived and defeated You-Know-Who – but only you, Hermione and I really know Harry or what he's been through. The Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the Dementors. Did Harry do any of those things for attention? Think about it, Ron. You're his best friend,' I finished. 'People just believe what they want to believe about him based only on what they hear. D'you really think Harry is the sort of person who would put his name in the Goblet?'

I had left Ron with those words, unsure if they had had any impact on him. But it was evident immediately what the impact of last night had been on the rest of the school for the following week. While the Gryffindors were treating Harry with what could almost be described as pure admiration of getting his name selected, the rest of the school didn't seem too happy about Harry's name coming out of the Goblet and all seemed to be under the belief he'd cheated to get his name submitted.

Understandably, the Hufflepuffs had taken it almost like a personal insult to their House and to Cedric that Harry's name had also come out of the Goblet, and they felt like Harry had taken what little glory Hufflepuff had been given. It meant any lessons we had with the Hufflepuffs, such as Herbology, were a lot tenser than usual and it wasn't just Harry who was getting the cold shoulder but all of us. Hannah and Susan, who I got on with quite well and had enjoyed working with in previous classes, were a lot quieter than usual and had decided to work with Megan Jones as we re-potted Bouncing Bulbs. Even Professor Sprout, a very relaxed and jovial witch, didn't seem to call upon any of the Gryffindors to answer her questions during class and when I asked for more compost she merely waved her hand to where it was kept and continued to help Justin, Ernie and Wayne Hopkins with their Bulbs.

The Slytherins, of course, who had never needed any excuse to antagonise or show their dislike of the Gryffindors, took the opportunity to make sure it was known that they would be supporting Cedric throughout the Tournament. They booed and jeered at Harry whenever they passed him in the corridors and in class. Malfoy kept making snide comments about how long Harry would last to the delight of the other Slytherins in our year. The only time Slytherin ever supported another House was during the Quidditch season in matches against Gryffindor, so the fact that the entire House had unanimously decided to support Hufflepuff and Cedric (the one true champion) was quite surprising, as normally they were only loyal to their own House or to those where there was something for them to gain in return.

The only House I thought who might be neutral in all this were the Ravenclaws. Again, in Quidditch matches, Ravenclaw had supported us in the past as much as we had supported them. But they, like the Hufflepuffs, did not seem impressed at all that Harry's name had been selected and seemed to be under the impression Harry had done this simply to get more attention. They would shoot Harry the odd dirty look when he passed them in the corridors or mutter things under their breath if they saw him, but otherwise they kept their disapproval to themselves.

I shook myself. I turned back to my essay, pushing these thoughts to the back of my mind. I reached for the copy of Curses and Counter-Curses I was using for research and flipped through a couple of its pages. Moody had set us two rolls of parchment on the different kinds of Dark Curses that have been used in the last century. I picked up my quill and wrote the next paragraph, following on my introduction with how the Unforgivable Curses help us define what makes a curse a curse and that by using those as a standard example we can help classify what have been considered curses in the past. I paused again. I frowned, unsure what to write next. I glanced back at the textbook, idly turning the page in the hope inspiration might hit.

Some more long-lasting types of curse are blood curses or maledictions. The reason behind their longevity
can be attributed to the fact that they can lie dormant in the afflicted witch or wizard without their knowledge until
it becomes active in their descendants and so is easily passed on from parent to child. Traditionally used in
medieval times upon unsuspecting Muggles as a way to forever punish their line by the offended witch or wizard,
blood curses remain some of the rarest and incurable of curses, as it takes a highly skilled witch or wizard to
remove a curse where the original caster has passed on and the specifics to the curse are unknown.

One of the most well-known blood curses is that of the Maledictus.

I frowned as I continued reading the passage in front of me. I'd never heard of a Maledictus before. My eyes scanned the text. According to the paragraph, Maledictuses were a type of blood curse where only the female line could be affected and passed on from mother to daughter. Like other blood curses, it can become dormant but only in the case of a male being born into the bloodline and can miss generations until another female is born, and its exact origins were subject to much speculation. There were no specifics to the Maledictus curse or how it was cast or how long it would last for, only that whomever was cursed with it was destined to be permanently trapped in the form of a beast.

'"Trapped in the form of a beast",' I re-read.

'Jenna.'

I jumped, my attention drawn away from the passage, and looked up. It was Cedric.

'Oh, hey,' I said, surprised by his sudden appearance.

'Hey,' Cedric replied. He was standing at the end of the table I was sat at, his rucksack slung over one shoulder. 'D'you have a minute?'

'Sure.' I moved Curses and Counter-Curses and took my bag off the seat next to me so Cedric could sit down. 'Where's your group of fangirls?' I asked. I hadn't meant it maliciously, but I couldn't help but notice the group of girls that had been following Cedric this morning when he left breakfast for class were nowhere to be seen. His popularity had appeared to increase substantially in the last twelve hours since his name came out the Goblet, unlike Harry's.

Cedric let out an awkward laugh and took the now vacant seat.

'Probably hiding behind the next set of shelves,' he replied. He then smiled at me. 'I just wanted to see how you are,' said Cedric quietly, 'what with Harry's name coming out of the Goblet.'

I hesitated before I answered, unsure what to really say to him.

'Surprised, I guess,' I said. 'Harry swears he didn't put his. All we know is what Harry's told us and that Bagman and the judges said he has to compete.'

'So you don't think he put his name in?' asked Cedric. I shook my head.

'No,' I replied. 'Whatever has been said about him and how he got his name in the cup, it's not true. Harry can be big-headed at times but he's not stupid. He wouldn't purposefully do something dangerous just for attention.'

I frowned inwardly at the slight hypocrisy of my own words, knowing how many dangerous things Harry had done.

'So if you don't think Harry put his name in, who did?' asked Cedric.

I wasn't sure if Cedric was just trying to get information out of me about the situation or if he genuinely was concerned for Harry. He didn't seem like the type to spread rumours so perhaps it was safe to answer his questions. But at the same time, there were things I couldn't tell Cedric, like how Dad said Dumbledore was "reading the signs", whatever that had meant, and how this could be exactly what Dad had been talking about.

'I don't know,' I said, 'but someone did put his name in the Goblet, and it wasn't Harry.'

Cedric appraised me for a moment, then said, 'You know, Harry's very lucky to have a friend like you.' He got up from his seat, shouldering his bag once more. 'Make sure he knows that.'

To my surprise, I smiled.

'I try,' I shrug. Cedric chuckled.

'Hey, there's probably going to be a Hogsmeade visit sometime soon. If you're free, we could go together to get to know each other. Alone this time,' Cedric added as an afterthought.

'Maybe,' I said. While I had actually enjoyed our chat this time as we hadn't been surrounded by his prying friends, the continuing awareness of his now increased popularity still put me off.

Cedric nodded then turned and walked away. I watched as he left. Sure enough a couple of girls who must've been listening into our conversation appeared from behind the set of bookshelves opposite me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I closed Curses and Counter-Curses and rolled up my essay to put it back in my bag. Today had been stressful enough without trying to finish this essay. I went to put the textbook back on its shelf in the Defence Against the Dark Arts section, knowing if I didn't Madam Pince would be on me like a hawk. I stopped though when I heard a frustrated grunt come from somewhere nearby. I looked round the next set of shelves to see who it was.

Malfoy was sat on his own at a table and he was furiously scratching out whatever he'd just written on his parchment. It seemed strange that he didn't have Crabbe and Goyle with him for once. Perhaps trying to do homework with idiots like them was too much for even Malfoy sometimes. Beside him sat a copy of Unforgivable Curses and Their Legal Implications. It looked like he was doing Moody's essay as well. I frowned again; I felt like I'd had a frown on my face all day. I clenched the book in my hand, knowing it could possibly help Malfoy with his essay. But why should I bother helping Malfoy? It wasn't like he would thank me for it or anything. A huff growled in my throat. It was against my better judgement, but I might as well.

'Here.' I placed Curses and Counter-Curses down on the table beside Malfoy. He looked up from his essay. A glare appeared on his face when he saw me.

'What do you want?' he asked.

'Moody's essay,' I replied, pointing at the book. 'That book will help with it.'

I made to turn away but Malfoy's retort to my offer of help held me back.

'I don't need any help from you,' he sneered dismissively.

I let out an indignant breath at Malfoy's behaviour, instantly riled up by his words. I was clearly at the end of my patience after watching how everyone was treating Harry because of the cup incident that Malfoy's instant dismissal of me giving him a book that could help with his essay was the last straw.

'What is your problem?' I asked in disbelief. 'What have I ever done to you? I get it, you don't like Harry because he turned you down; Ron because he's a Weasley; and Hermione because she's a Muggle-born. But what have I ever done to you? Is it because of who my friends are? Or that I'm a Gryffindor? Do you seriously just hate me because of who I associate with?'

For a moment it actually looked like Malfoy was taken aback by my challenge to his attitude towards me. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face but not long enough for it to be meaningful. I raised my eyebrow and crossed my arms as I waited for his answer.

'I don't have to answer to Mudblood lovers like you,' Malfoy sneered. He shoved the book away from him and turned back to his essay. 'Nor do I need your help.'

I rolled my eyes at his pathetic answer.

'One day, Malfoy, your pride is going to get you in a lot of trouble that you won't be able to talk your way out of,' I said slowly. Malfoy snorted again but did not respond. 'You need to grow up,' I said, shaking my head. 'You're just as narrow-minded as the rest of our family.'

I shouldered my bag and walked out of the Library. Malfoy was unbelievable. Too proud and narrow-minded to even accept a suggestion from someone he believed to be beneath him. Too arrogant to think anything other than what he has grown up with and has been taught by his father. Too stubborn to –

'Oof!'

I felt my shoulder smack into someone or something and I fell backwards. I landed with a thump on the hard stone floor. I groaned, rubbing my backside. I looked up to see what I'd walked into. It hadn't been a wall or suit of armour, but another student. My eyes widened when I saw who it was. Still in his robes despite school hours having finished a while ago, a Gryffindor tie hanging loosely round his neck with his top button open, was AJ. He turned around when I crashed into him and was staring at me on the floor. I stared back, unaware I was doing so, because I was taken aback by the fact he was in the same House as me, and I'd never realised it. How could I be in the common room every single day and never see him in there?

'Hey,' he said. 'You all right down there?'

I shook myself, realising he was talking to me.

'Oh, yeah,' I said. AJ offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me to his feet. 'Sorry, I didn't see you.'

'Success!' laughed AJ. 'My invisibility charm worked!'

'AJ,' I said, cocking my eyebrow at him, 'you're not invisible, unless being invisible means I can see you standing right in front of me.' and I gave his loose tie a little flick with my finger.

AJ smirked.

'OK, you got me,' he said, 'and my name's not AJ,' he added, an almost resigned tone in his voice. 'It's Noah. Noah Joseph Oakley.'

I smiled, a surprisingly natural smile at that.

'Noah? So why do people call you "AJ"?'

'Like I told you,' shrugged Noah, 'people found out I was Muggle-born after I started here and that my middle name was Joseph and "Average Joe" was born. I just never stopped them from calling me that.'

'I wouldn't call you average,' I said slowly, the corner of my lip lifting, 'being a Muggle who can do magic.'

Noah smiled. My smile grew, my teeth gently biting my lower lip. I felt a sudden tingling around my ears and promptly took a sharp breath in.

'I better be getting back to the common room,' I said quickly. I walked round him and a few paces up the corridor, turning back to face him. 'I'll see you later.'

'I hope so,' called Noah. He waved and turned away in the direction I had just come.

I hurried off up the corridor to return to the Gryffindor Tower, my hand going to my hair to check my ears hadn't transformed, unaware of what the excitement of knowing Noah's real name and that he was in Gryffindor really meant at that moment.

Things didn't really improve over the next few days for Harry, but I was relieved to hear he had written to Dad like I'd suggested to Hermione to do so and we now just had to wait for his reply. Meanwhile Ron was still being stubborn and was avoiding Harry at both lessons and meals. Nothing was going to make him talk to Harry, not even a chaotic Charms lesson doing Summoning Charms and making things zoom across the classroom made them share a laugh. Harry's mood didn't improve either when he was given extra homework to practice the Summoning Charm and we still had Double Potions at the end of the week to go as well.

By Friday it had looked like things were finally starting to die down and most of the snide comments had been replaced with silent glares in the corridors. Even the Slytherins had been suspiciously quiet in the last couple days which I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or something to be worried about. As we left lunch I glanced over at the Slytherin table to see that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were not there which I found a bit odd; Crabbe and Goyle were such gluttons, it was unusual for them not to still be at the table in the minutes leading up to the bell ringing to signal class. I shook myself and turned away. It was probably nothing but everything in the last week clearly had put my brain into overdrive. I had better things to do than concern myself with whatever Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were doing.

'There he is! You see him, Bozo? Quick, get your camera before he disappears!'

My ears pricked. I was more than used to the whispers that had followed Harry around Hogwarts for the past three years to the point that I could tune them out until they became a background buzz. But to hear a whisper – and a loud one at that – of someone being startled to see Harry caught my attention as no one these days was surprised to see Harry. I stopped and glanced around. There was nothing amiss that I could see; groups of students were walking out of the Great Hall and towards the Changing Staircase or out into the grounds to their next lesson. It was the sound of a puff of smoke going off that clued me into the source of the whisper.

A tall woman dressed in bright magenta dress-suit styled robes stood a few feet away from me near the Huffulepuff house point hourglass with a rather scruffy looking man holding a huge square camera. Its flash on top was still emitting soft curls of dark grey smoke. The woman was staring in the direction Harry, Hermione and I were going on our way to Potions, her red lips pursed tightly as her companion had fumbled with his camera. I stared at her and her photographer friend. Who were they and why were they trying to get a photo of Harry? The students thinned out, giving her a better view of the Hall. Her face fell when she saw Harry must have disappeared down to the dungeons. That's when she spotted me staring at her. She reorganised her expression to what I guess she thought was a charming smile but her heavy jawline and rigid blonde ringlets seemed to counter the effect.

'Can I help you?' she asked, her white teeth glinting through her red lips. My eyebrow arched slightly at her tone. 'Don't you have a class to get to?'

'Why were you trying to get a photo of Harry?' I asked. The woman's smile faltered for a second.

'My, my, upfront, aren't we?' she said smoothly. She looked down to a crocodile handbag she had hooked on her arm. She clicked it open and from it pulled out an acid green quill and a scrap of parchment. With a snap she clicked it shut again. 'Are you a friend of Mr Potter's, then?' she asked, walking towards me. 'You were walking to class with him just now, weren't you?'

'What's it to you?' I countered, ignoring her questions. 'Who are you anyway?'

'To use your own words,' said the witch, '"what's it to you"?' Her lips pursed together again as she appraised me. 'I am here on business covering the Triwizard Tournament, and so interviewing Mr Potter about the Tournament and his friends is part of my job.'

'As well as taking photos of him without anyone's permission,' I said. 'I'm pretty sure any visitors to Hogwarts have to speak to Professor Dumbledore upon arrival and obtain his permission before going about the castle, especially if it interferes with any of the students, and should not be unaccompanied at any time, and all the teachers are currently waiting to start the final period of the day.'

The woman's smile vanished. She fixed me with a hard stare.

'Well, aren't we a sharp one,' she spat. She leant down so her hands rested on her thighs and her face was level with mine. 'Now listen closely,' she said quietly, 'how I conduct my work is none of your business, you little smart-mouth, and I would advise you to stay out of my way unless you want to be on the receiving end of my quill's point. Many witches and wizards have learnt the hard way by falling foul of my words and I can assure you, I don't hold back when I have juicy information to reveal. Now, unless you are prepared to answer any questions I may have pertaining to Mr Potter, I suggest you run along to your class like a good little witch.'

The witch fell silent, leaving her threat hanging in the air. I remained where I was, the two of us staring at each other. The bell rang signalling five minutes until class was to start. I eyed her carefully for a moment longer then turned away for the staircase leading to the dungeon. I didn't like what she had said but I felt it best maybe for now to heed her advice, and with Potions being my next class it was best I wasn't late. Whoever she was though, and I had a hunch after that interaction, I had a feeling that Harry better be on guard if he runs into her.

I got down to the Potions dungeon to see the Gryffindors and Slytherins standing in separate groups outside Snape's classroom. I joined Harry and Hermione and asked what was going on. There was something suspicious about the way the Slytherins were gathered together in a huddle. Malfoy seemed to be the focus of their sniggering, Crabbe and Goyle beside him along with Pansy Parkinson and a few of her female gang, Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey Davis. I saw Daphne standing back from them and caught her eye. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her, asking what was going on. She shook her head. This wasn't going to be good. When they heard us approach, Malfoy looked up and I saw what they had been sniggering at.

'Like them, Potter?' Malfoy asked. He held up a large circular badge with bright red letters on it that read:

Support CEDRIC DIGGORY –

the REAL Hogwarts Champion!

'And this isn't all they do – look!'

He pressed the badge. The letters swirled and changed from red to green and it now read:

POTTER STINKS

So this was what he had been up to and why they hadn't been at lunch! I let out an annoyed breath. Seriously? Harry had enough to deal with and now this? How long was it going to take for these to get round the other students? The Slytherins guffawed at the badges. Each was wearing one and had all pressed them so "Potter Stinks" flashed all around us. Beside me, Harry was glaring at Malfoy. Ron, who was standing with Dean and Seamus, was watching as well but remained silent.

'Oh, very funny,' said Hermione sarcastically, 'really witty.'

'Want one, Granger?' asked Malfoy. He held out a badge to her. 'I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just wash it, you see, don't want a Mudblood sliming it up.'

Harry went for his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. The Slytherins broke their group and backed away. Malfoy smirked, goading Harry more.

'Harry!' said Hermione warningly.

'Go on, then, Potter,' said Malfoy quietly. He drew out his own wand. 'Moody's not here to look after you now –'

'Harry, don't rise to him!' I hissed. 'You know he's baiting you!'

'– do it, if you've got the guts –'

For a split second they stood glaring at each other, then, at the same time, they attacked each other.

'Furnunculus!' shouted Harry.

'Densaugeo!' shouted Malfoy.

The two spells shot out from the wands and hit each other in mid-air. They ricocheted off each other. Harry's Pimple Jinx span off course and hit Goyle square in the face, angry puss-filled boils erupting all over his face, while Malfoy's hex span past Harry's shoulder and hit Hermione. She let out a cry of pain and clasped her hands to her face.

'Hermione!' Ron and I shouted.

I pulled her back and out of the view from the Slytherins as Ron ran over to us. She was whimpering, tears starting in her eyes. She kept her hands firmly over her mouth which had to be where the spell had hit her. I wasn't entirely sure what spell Malfoy had used but I had a strong feeling it would have done something to her mouth. Ron took hold of Hermione's wrist and pulled it away from her face. Her two front teeth, which had always been on the rather large side, were slowly growing bigger. And bigger. In fact, they wouldn't stop growing. They swelled in size, all the way past her bottom lip, and soon had reached her chin. Hermione felt them with her fingers and let out a terrified cry.

'Calm down, Hermione,' I said, her hands springing back to her mouth to hide her teeth. I grabbed her shoulders to try and reassure her. 'Madam Pomfrey can –'

'And what is all this noise about?' said a soft voice behind us.

It was Snape. He had been drawn out of his classroom by the noise Harry and Malfoy's attack on each other had caused. The Slytherins burst into a chorus of complaints about what had happened. Snape held up a hand to silence them then pointed at Malfoy.

'Explain.'

'Potter attacked me, sir –' began Malfoy.

'We attacked each other at the same time!' shouted Harry.

'– and he hit Goyle – look –'

Malfoy pointed at Goyle. His whole face was now covered in boils, some of which had burst. Snape's black eyes examined him then he told Goyle to go to the Hospital Wing. But when Ron demanded he look at what Mafloy's hex had done to Hermione, Snape's response was maliciously cruel.

'I see no difference,' he sneered.

'No difference?' I burst before I could stop myself, surprising Ron beside me. 'Are you blind? Her teeth are growing past her chin!'

'Ten points from Gryffindor, Black,' snapped Snape viciously. 'I will not tolerate insolence over trivial matters like this.'

Anger flared in me, a heat rising swiftly in my chest at Snape's cruel comments. Beside me, Hermione let out a muffled sob from behind her hands. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Covering up her teeth as best as she could, Hermione turned and ran off out of the dungeons. Glaring at Snape, I made to follow her but received another sharp warning from Snape.

'If you attempt to follow her, Black, you'll receive a week's detention for deliberately missing class without a valid excuse,' said Snape. 'Now all of you, get inside the classroom now!' The Slytherins sniggered quietly to each other and went inside, the Gryffindors sloping in behind them. He held Harry and Ron back though to add, 'Let's see, fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a week's worth of detention.'

I took a deep breath, seething quietly. I glared at Snape from beneath my fringe as I walked into the Potions classroom. I put my bag down on one of the back tables where Parvati and Lavender had set up their cauldrons. Harry joined me shortly after but Ron walked over to another table to work with Dean and Seamus. From across the classroom, Malfoy turned round in his seat just enough so he could flash POTTER STINKS at Harry again. Harry thumped his Potions textbook on the desk and threw himself on to the bench. I sat down beside him.

'You shouldn't have risen to him,' I said in a whisper. 'You knew he wanted to get back at you after the incident with Moody.'

'You try ignoring him when everyone's accusing you of being an attention seeker,' hissed Harry under his breath. 'And you're one to talk, talking back at Snape like that.'

'Like you wouldn't have done the same,' I hissed. 'He's a teacher and he insulted Hermione's appearance! I wasn't going to let him get away with that. And if you haven't noticed, Harry, I'm on your side. Don't take this out on me when I'm trying to help.'

'Then tell your cousin to back off,' snapped Harry. I jumped, taken back by Harry's response.

'Antidotes!' Snape announced, ending our conversation. I looked away from Harry to Snape behind his desk at the front of the class. His black eyes were observing all of us carefully. '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 …'

A knock on the dungeon door interrupted Snape's words. His eyes turn on the door. It was Colin Creevey. He pushed the door open enough to get inside and stood there awkwardly.

'Yes?' demanded Snape.

'Please, sir,' said Colin nervously, though his normally eager smile was still there, 'I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs.'

Snape stared down at Colin. Colin's smile faltered slightly.

'Potter has another hour of Potions to complete,' said Snape coldly. 'He will come upstairs when this class is finished.'

'Sir – sir,' started Colin, going pink, 'Mr Bagman wants him. All the champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs …'

Beside me, Harry sunk lower into his sink behind his cauldron. He probably would have given anything for Colin not to have said that, considering his previous experience with Colin and his camera in our second year. Unsure how he would take it, especially after he had snapped at me a few moments ago, I gently placed my hand on Harry's. I felt Harry's hand tense beneath mine but then a gentle squeeze on my fingertips. He glanced at me long enough for me to see he was sorry for snapping at me and appreciated the gesture.

'Very well, very well,' snapped Snape. 'Potter, leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote.'

'Please, sir –' continued Colin, 'he's got to take his things with him. All the champions –'

'Very well!' snapped Snape again. 'Potter – take your bag and get out of my sight.'

Harry got up, swung his bag over his shoulder, and left the classroom with Colin following quickly after him. With the interruption over, Snape snapped at us to get to work. I pulled out my ingredients and my recipe and started on my antidote. All we had known about the poison that Snape would be using was that it was slow-acting and causes lesions on internal organs that would slowly bleed out, killing the person. We had to create an antidote based on this information and hope it saved whoever Snape had decided to poison. I had used my copy of One Hundred Magical Herbs and Fungi to look up potential ingredients that could make my antidote successful, ensuring that I didn't forget the key ingredient: a bezoar. I was using that with a combination of dittany and murtlap essence to heal the lesions the poison caused and powdered unicorn horn to help neutralise the poison itself. Other minor ingredients I'd chosen were to help with any side effects such as vomiting that could occur. I wasn't one hundred percent sure my antidote would work, but I was sure enough that it would do something to stop the poison from working.

The hour ticked by. When the clock indicated there was ten minutes left of the class, Snape called our attention and we had to stop working on our antidotes. I sat back from my cauldron, the crimson liquid looking promising. Now the only question was who was going to be Snape's victim?

'Black,' said Snape slowly. 'Come here. Now.'

Parvati and Lavender looked at me. I stared resolutely back at Snape. I should have known I would be an obvious candidate to be poisoned, especially after my outburst before class. His long-term grudge against my father meant that this was a perfect excuse to get some revenge on him by poisoning his daughter, even if it was only to be temporary. If Harry was still in class, it probably would have been him unless his being a champion meant he couldn't be given anything that could affect his ability to compete. Slowly I released the breath I was holding and got up. I swallowed and walked to the front of the class.

'Lie down,' instructed Snape, pointing at an empty table.

I did as I was told. I could feel the eyes of everyone in the class watching me as I sat on the table and swung my legs up so I could lie down. A quiet snicker told me the Slytherins were looking forward to this. Neville gave a terrified squeak. I mentally cringed; I didn't want Neville's antidote tested on me, knowing how bad his track record was in Potions. I rested my head on the table and stared up at the dungeon ceiling.

'A single drop of this poison is enough to cause Black searing pain as her internal organs are lacerated and she bleeds to death from the inside,' Snape told the class. 'Bruising will slowly become visible on her skin as her blood vessels swell from the increased flow. She will have approximately half an hour before she bleeds out unless one of you have managed to concoct an at least passable antidote to stop the poison from killing her.'

The one time Hermione isn't in class, I thought, swallowing and biting my lip.

Snape took a pipette and extracted a small measure of poison from its vial.

'Open.'

I swallowed again then opened my mouth. Snape allowed a single drop of poison to fall on my tongue and I swallowed it. It left a horrible burning trickle down my throat. I felt my heart begin to race as I knew in seconds I would start to feel the effects of the poison. I lay still on the desk as Snape ordered everyone to prepare a sample of their antidote and line up to test on me. That was when I felt it. I gasped as I felt a white-hot pain inside my body; my breathing suddenly became restricted as the poison affected my lungs first, like an invisible blade was cutting into them, before spreading to the rest of my organs. My body began to fit and I lost all baring on what was happening around me or whether Snape had started testing the antidotes on me.

'Get up, Black.'

I blinked. My eyes came into focus and I saw the dungeon ceiling again. I coughed and a small amount of blood came up my throat. I sat up and coughed it up on to my robes. I wiped my mouth and more blood smeared on my hand which was pale and bruised. My body ached all over and I felt weak and nauseous. I looked round to see the concerned faces of the Gryffindors and the disappointed Slytherins. Ron was staring at me with a very concerned look on his face while Neville had gone white. I swallowed hard, a horrible metallic taste in my mouth. I slid off the table to my feet, my knees buckling slightly. Ron jumped forward to steady me.

'Back to your seat, Weasley,' sneered Snape dismissively. 'While barely any of your antidotes were capable of counteracting the poison, some even accelerating the effects,' Neville squeaked, 'Black has been given the correct antidote and will unfortunately recover.'

I glared wearily at Snape then went back to my table swaying slightly on my feet. Parvati helped me back into my seat while Snape gave us our homework. I didn't thank her, worried I would cough up more blood or worse, throw up on her, if I opened my mouth.

I didn't go to dinner that night and had instead return to the Gryffindor Tower with the help of Neville and Ron. They had left me curled up in one of the armchairs in the corner with a large glass of water on the table and an empty bin on the floor beside me in case I threw up. I grunted my thanks and they left for dinner. I must've fallen asleep as when I woke up the common room was full of chatter around me. I groaned, my insides still aching, and sat up.

'Hey,' said a voice beside me. I looked round. It was Harry. The glare that had been on his face for the past few days had been replaced with a look of concern. 'I heard Snape poisoned you. How are you feeling?'

'I've been better,' I breathed, sitting up a bit. I pushed up the sleeve of my robes to see the remnants of bruising on my skin. 'Bet Snape loved it though, getting to poison his bully's daughter.'

Harry didn't laugh at my sarcasm nor did he rage at Snape's petty actions of taking out his grudge with our fathers on me. He just sat there staring at me, his jaw clenched, and brow furrowed.

'About earlier,' said Harry stiffly, 'I didn't mean to snap at you. You can't help what Malfoy does or what the rest of the school thinks.'

I stared at Harry trying to gauge how he might be feeling, unsure if he would snap at me again which I wasn't really in the mood for after being poisoned. Nonetheless, carefully I forced myself to my feet and walked round to the other side of the table to Harry's chair. Crookshanks, who had been on the floor chasing something, jumped into my now vacant chair and settled on to his paws. His eyes remained focused on the floor for whatever he'd been trying to catch, ready to pounce if he saw it.

'Budge,' I ordered, smacking Harry's leg with the back of my hand. He did so, making room for me to sit beside him. I squeezed in between him and the arm of the chair. I took in a tight breath from the remaining pain. 'I know the last few days have been awful for you,' I said, 'but you know I'll always be on your side, even if no one else is.'

'But Ron –' started Harry.

'He'll come around,' I said. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. Harry glanced at me. 'I know you miss him, and I'm sure he misses you too even if he won't admit it. But for now, you're just going to have to try and ignore what people are saying about you.'

'Easier said than done, Jen,' muttered Harry. 'Everyone thinks I put my name in the Goblet for the attention, that I'm just trying to keep my fame going, but I didn't! My best friend thinks that! I – I never asked for any of this! I don't want to be a Triwizard champion. I'm already the Boy Who Lived and I don't even want to be that when –'

'I know, Harry,' I said. I sat up so I could look at Harry straight in the eyes. 'I knew you before all of this, remember? I knew you before Hogwarts and the magic, when Dudley used to chase us around the playground and you'd trip over his huge hand-me-down clothes.'

Harry snorted.

'Don't remind me,' he said.

'I can always make the school think that of you instead,' I offered, a teasing tone in my voice. 'Harry Potter, the Boy in the Hand-Me-Down Pyjamas. It'll show you're just as normal like the rest of us lowly wizards.'

Harry cringed, 'I think I'll take the first option.'

'Then you're going to have to not let it bother you so much,' I told him. 'Let them think what they want. You, Hermione and I know what's important, what really happened, and Ron will too once he's cooled off. And surely that matters more than what a bunch of nameless nobodies you don't even know think of you, doesn't it?'

A loud hiss came from the chair opposite us. Crookshanks had made a jump for whatever he'd been chasing and was now following it as it scuttled towards the portrait hole.

Harry thought about what I said. A small smile finally came to his face, the first I'd seen in days. It wasn't much, but it was something.

'Thanks, Jen,' Harry said quietly. I rested my head on Harry's shoulder again. Harry returned the gesture, resting his head on mine.

'No problem.' With Harry hopefully feeling slightly better, I asked a more pressing question that had been on my mind the last few days. 'Have you heard from Dad yet?'

'Yeah, I got his response earlier.' From his pocket, Harry held up a piece of parchment that had Dad's handwriting on it. 'He wants to talk to me in person at the common room fire just before the first task.'

I nodded, then said, 'So that's what we'll do.' I looked round the common room. It was going to be tricky to make sure we were alone. 'We'll just have to figure out how to get everyone out of here first.'

The next two weeks couldn't have been easy for Harry with the First Task drawing nearer and nearer and there being no clues as to what he would be facing. It wasn't particularly easy for me and Hermione either as we had to split our time between helping Harry prepare for the First Task in whatever way we could and plan how we were going to ensure the common room was going to be empty for Dad's visit, and with Ron so he didn't feel like we'd abandoned him in favour of Harry. While a part of me thinks he appreciated not having to spend as much time in the library whenever it was Hermione's shift with him, I wasn't too sure he enjoyed my visits down to Hagrid's to help tend to the Abraxans and, unfortunately, the Skrewts, either as we frequently returned with our robes singed and fingers burned.

Things weren't helped by the fact an article got published about Harry the following day after the incident with the Slytherins outside Potions. We were first alerted to the article by a suspicious amount of whispers coming from the Slytherin table at breakfast on Saturday morning. The owl post had been and gone when the whispers started. We had noticed them leaning into whisper and snigger to each other and there was something being passed around them. Every so often one of them would glance over in our direction before turning back to their friends.

'What d'you think that's all about?' I asked, having the best view as Harry and Hermione had their backs to the Slytherin table.

'I don't want to know,' said Harry firmly.

'Well something's got them riled up,' agreed Hermione, looking over her shoulder at them. She frowned as she continued to look round the Hall. Slowly more and more faces were glancing in our direction then turning quickly away again to whisper to their friends.

I glanced down the Gryffindor table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. People were talking while eating their breakfast; opening letters from home and their families; copies of the Daily Prophet were lying on the table and being read. I blinked, my eyes narrowing as I put down my spoon.

'Hey,' I called down a sixth-year student, 'can I see your copy of the Prophet?'

The student picked up his finished newspaper and chucked it over to me. I caught it and unrolled the paper. My eyes widened as I took in what was on the front cover that had caught my eye.

'Guys,' I said slowly, 'I think I've found out why the Slytherins are sniggering at us. Well, at Harry.'

I turned the paper round so Harry and Hermione could look at it. A large title in bold letters was spread across the width of the page, proclaiming for readers the contents of its article below. Accompanying several lines of text was a blown-up photograph of a single student wearing Hogwarts robes, but it wasn't Cedric. The photo was awkward; instead of looking proud or confident about his upcoming role as Hogwarts Champion, Harry stood there with his arms folded and an embarrassed smile that looked more like a grimace as his photo was taken, almost as if he'd been forced to stand like that.

EXCLUSIVE: THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT'S TRAGIC HERO

'Rita Skeeter,' groaned Harry. Hermione and I looked at him.

'The journalist?' asked Hermione. 'She wrote this? How?'

'She was at the Weighing of the Wand ceremony,' explained Harry. 'She tried to interview me in a broom cupboard before we got started but Dumbledore interrupted.'

'She was here in the castle,' I added, Harry having confirmed my hunch about the rude witch in the Entrance Hall that day. 'I spotted her when we went down to Potions. She was trying to get a photo of Harry before that ceremony must have started and I'd questioned her on what she was doing. She didn't take too kindly to that at all.'

I re-read the title of the article then glanced up at Hermione and we shared a hesitant look. I wasn't sure I wanted to read what Skeeter had written given the scathing things she had said to me. Beside her, Harry was glaring at the Prophet as he read the article. The first paragraph was devoted to a scathing review of the Triwizard Tournament's history and its questionable safety policies for its competitors. The article then seemed to forget all about the Tournament and its three champions, apart from the smallest of mentions of Fleur and Krum at the end with no mention of Cedric at all, and became solely focused on Harry for the rest of the page. And page two. And pages six and seven. And it wasn't flattering in the slightest.

'I suppose I get my strength from my parents, I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see
me now … yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it … I know
nothing will hurt me during the Tournament, because they're watching over me …'

My mouth hung open slightly as I read the article, unable to recognise who this tragic simpering person was the article was talking about. It didn't sound like Harry at all. It painted him as this overly emotional child who seemed to be determined to use the opportunity of competing in the Triwizard Tournament to honour the memory of his parents and their sacrifice, who he thinks about during his every waking moment. The quotes the article used didn't even sound like things Harry would say. Not ashamed to admit he cried about his parents? Harry would be humiliated if people thought he cried about his parents on a nightly basis.

The thing that got me most though was the final paragraph.

Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely
seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like
Harry, is one of the top students in the school. Something, I can confidently say, has riled up his
long-term friend, fellow Gryffindor, Jenny Black, who claims to have known him since his days of
wearing hand-me-down clothes from his Muggle relatives (more on Harry's bullied past on page
seven) and clearly resents the more attractive Hermione's ability to hold Harry's attention.

I cocked my eyebrow. How did Rita Skeeter get my name? Incorrect as it was, I had definitely not said my name when I'd run into her. More importantly how did she know I was Harry's "long-term friend" or about the clothes from Dudley? Had Colin told her all of this? My name, sure, but I wasn't even sure if Colin knew how long Harry and I had known each other. It wasn't something that normally came up in conversation. I frowned. That final paragraph claimed a lot of information that sounded more than just speculation on Skeeter's part for her article, except for the Harry-Hermione thing. That was just ridiculous.

'Well this is news to me,' I said dismissively of the claim. 'Harry, why didn't you tell me you and Hermione were a thing? Do you want me to leave the two of you alone at all?'

'Knock it off, Jenna,' said Harry hotly. He picked up the newspaper and tossed it aside. 'You know none of that's true. Hermione and I are just friends.'

'What a load of rubbish,' huffed Hermione. She took a dignified sip from her goblet then got up ready to leave. Harry and I followed suit. 'Where does that Skeeter woman get off claiming such ridiculous things? Her information is clearly unreliable and inaccurate, written to stir up rumours and falsities. Where did she even get these quotes from anyway?'

'Her Quick-Quotes Quill,' said Harry. 'She used it when she was interviewing me. It kept writing all these things down I wasn't even saying. That's how she got all those quotes.'

'Not all of them,' I said, frowning. 'What about that one about Harry and his clothes?' I asked. Out of everything in the article, that sentence had bothered me most, as only I had known about Harry wearing his cousin's old clothes and I had never mentioned that fact to anyone before nor did Harry as he didn't generally talk about his time with the Dursleys. I found it strange it had appeared in the article, especially considering not just last night I had teased Harry about that particular fact. How had she known? 'You didn't tell Skeeter about the Dursleys, did you?'

Harry shook his head, 'It never came up.'

'It's all just hear-say, Jenna,' said Hermione matter-of-factly. 'Everyone knows Harry grew up with Muggles so her assuming he wore his cousin's old clothes isn't that farfetched. And it says she spoke to Colin that day, so he probably told her about that and how long you and Harry have known each other.'

'Still,' I said, unconvinced.

'Don't react to it,' Hermione warned both of us. 'Responding to it is just what they want,' she said, holding her head high when we passed Pansy and the Slytherin girls in the corridor. 'And I won't give them the satisfaction of thinking they've got to me.'

'Oh look, there's the love triangle now!' shrieked Pansy after us. 'If we're lucky we might see Black hex Granger for stealing Potter away from her!'

'I'm going to find Ron,' I shrugged. I wasn't really in the mood for this right now. 'I'll see you guys later.'

I found myself spending a lot more time with Ron in the aftermath of that article, not wanting to endure the jeers from other students, mainly Slytherins, about being caught up in some ridiculous love triangle with Hermione and Harry. Knowing that they would most likely be in the library, Ron and I took the opportunity to continue visiting Hagrid down in the grounds regardless of if he needed help with his creatures or not as it meant the two of us could avoid the uncomfortable atmosphere in the castle the article had caused. It gave us both some peace and quiet away from the all the whispering and staring and the rumours, something I think Ron appreciated greatly. I know I did.

Ron's resentment of Harry's fame seemed to have neither increased nor decreased after the article had appeared the previous weekend. He didn't say whether or not he had read it, but he had no doubt heard snippets of it whenever we passed the Slytherins in our year on our way to class who would quote it at every opportunity if they saw Harry. If he had read it then I could only imagine it hadn't done anything for Harry in convincing Ron that he hadn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Then again, neither Harry nor Ron had done anything to repair that damage in the first place and were both still as stubborn as each other in who should apologise first. So I was very surprised when Ron bought it up on Wednesday afternoon while we were feeding the Abraxans.

'That article,' he said to my surprise. 'Harry … doesn't like Hermione like that.'

I paused and looked away from the Abraxan I was tending to. It let out a resentful bray, lowering its head to reach the bag of oats in my hands. I stared at Ron before I replied, unsure what he was trying to say. His tone had been … offhand, like he didn't really care what the article said, but the fact he had mentioned something from it seemed like he wanted to talk about it but didn't know how. I found it intriguing as it showed Ron cared enough to say something.

'No, of course he doesn't,' I said. I returned my attention the winged horse, raising its bag up again. The horse was so large I had to hold it above my head for it to reach without it having to stretch too far. 'Harry and Hermione are just friends, we both know that.'

'Yeah,' muttered Ron. There was a moment's silence, then he continued. 'That Skeeter woman doesn't know what she's on about.'

It wasn't much, but that single comment made me smile. I didn't get the chance to question Ron about this, however, as Hagrid shortly appeared from his hut and strode over to where we were at the paddock.

''Ello, you two,' he said cheerfully. 'Can't keep yer away from them horses, eh?'

'Well, it's not every day you get to see these kinds of creatures,' I said. I stroked the horse's muzzle. It let out a short whinny. 'They're beautiful.'

'It's all right,' shrugged Ron. 'Better than the library at least.'

I noted the tone in Ron's voice as he said that. Hagrid didn't pick up on it though.

'They are quite rare, aren' they?' said Hagrid, beaming. 'Olympe told me her herd is one o' the best there is, bred from a very fine stallion. Need to be careful with them, mind; Abraxans are so large they can easily trample you when angered or startled. Yeh need to be wary of their hooves at all times. Oh, that reminds me. You two haven' seen Harry round, have yer? Been meanin' to have a word with him about summit rather important.'

'No, we haven't,' said Ron shortly, his stiff demeanour returning almost immediately at the mention of Harry.

'Oh, er,' said Hagrid, surprised, 'well, er, if yer see him, Ron, can you let him know I'm looking fer him?' Ron grunted. 'Also when yer done feedin' the Abraxans, mind lookin' in on the Skrewts, fer me? They probably could use some exercise if yer've got time.'

Ron and I automatically both hesitated.

'Actually,' I said, thinking quickly, 'we should probably be getting back to the castle for dinner. We've got lots of homework to do and our essay for Flitwick is due tomorrow, so we better head off.'

Ron and I dropped the feed bags and collected our school bags before Hagrid could try to convince us to stay a bit longer to help with the Skrewts. We hurried back across the grounds away from Hagrid's Hut, only coming to a walk when the Covered Bridge came into view.

'What d'you think Hagrid wants to talk to Harry about?' I asked as we crossed the bridge to the Clock Tower Courtyard. 'He hasn't missed class or anything so it can't be anything to do with the Skrewts.'

'Don't care,' muttered Ron. I held in a sigh.

'Ron, when are you going to let this drop?' I asked. Ron shot a look at me. 'I'm not blaming you before you say anything,' I said quickly, 'but this feud with Harry has gone on long enough. The both of you are being stupid about the whole thing and it's clear you miss him.'

'I don't miss him,' snapped Ron stubbornly. 'He's the one who didn't tell me –'

'Didn't tell you anything because there was nothing to tell!' I said. 'You know Harry didn't put his name –'

'Drop it, Jenna,' said Ron warningly. His ears were flushing, a pink tinge spreading across them. I fell silent, knowing that if Ron's ears reddened it meant he was getting angry.

'Fine,' I said, once I was sure Ron wouldn't have a go at me, 'but you still need to tell him that Hagrid's looking for him. He said it was important so if we don't see Harry at dinner, you can tell him when you go to bed.'

'Hagrid will find him if it's as important as he says it is,' shrugged Ron.

'Ron, Hagrid asked you to,' I sighed. 'Can't you at least do that? You told Harry about your detention with Snape. Why is this any different?'

'If you're so bothered, why don't you do it?' asked Ron.

'Because Hagrid didn't ask me,' I retorted. 'He asked you, Ron.'

'You're the one making a big deal about it,' Ron countered.

'Because he said it was important and he asked –'

'You were there too –'

'That's not the point –'

'You're the one making a fuss about it –'

'I'm not an owl, Ron!' I snapped. 'Hagrid told you to tell Harry that he's looking for him and that it's important so swallow your damn pride for once and just tell him!'

Ron and I glared at each other for a moment before Ron stalked off into the Great Hall. My frustration kept me rooted to the spot for a moment or two before I let out a huffed breath. I shook my head and followed after Ron, resigned to yet another meal in awkward silence.

I didn't find out if Ron had passed on Hagrid's message as he avoided me for the following few days, instead spending more time with either his brothers or Seamus, Dean and Neville. I didn't object to be honest; I didn't have the patience to deal with Ron's temper like Hermione did. I also had other things on my mind. There was the upcoming meeting with Dad in the Gryffindor fireplace on Saturday night and then on the following Tuesday was the First Task. Harry still didn't have a plan on how to tackle whatever it was he'd be facing so we were using all our free time between classes and homework to practice any spell Hermione and I could think of that could possibly help him with it. Hermione had searched through several books and provided Harry with spells including the Shield Charm and Blasting Curse, while I had tried my best to teach Harry the Stunning Charm, something Lupin had taught me a few years ago to help deal with his transformations, that could help subdue any potential attackers.

Now almost at the end of November, the weather had turned cold and grey. The castle was kept warm by its several fires that were now lit in the Great Hall and students were seen bundled up in their scarves and gloves whenever wind rattled through the corridors. Despite the weather though, there was still to be a Hogsmeade visit just before the First Task. I had hopes that maybe this would finally give Harry and Ron an opportunity to talk away from the castle and the rest of the students, but when Hermione suggested we meet up with Ron at the Three Broomsticks, Harry flatly refused and insisted he was going to wear his Invisibility Cloak. Hermione and I shared the now familiar resigned look.

Not knowing what to do with Harry refusing to go to Hogsmeade without his Cloak, I started to debate whether I even wanted to go to Hogsmeade anyway. I stared at my half-eaten dinner, pushing my mash potato around with my fork. I was drawn from my thoughts when I heard the familiar female whisperings from behind me and I saw Cedric had entered the Hall to the thrill of his fangirls. I glanced over my shoulder, watching as he took his seat at the Hufflepuff table. It was then I remembered Cedric's invitation. He had invited me to Hogsmeade with him back when he'd seen me in the library. I paused, my fork stuck in my mash. Should I? No, I couldn't go with Cedric, we'd attract too much attention. I didn't want that! But, he did say we could be alone this time which meant none of his friends would be around. Then again, it hadn't really been his fault about what happened at his birthday party. But what if Harry found out? What would Harry think if I went to Hogsmeade with Cedric who was pretty much his rival now?

I held in a frustrated sigh. I was torn. I didn't know what I wanted to do. Whether I should stick it out with Harry or give Cedric another chance.

I got up on Saturday morning with an uncomfortable squirming feeling in my stomach. It wasn't that I was dreading the Hogsmeade visit. I just was very unsure with how the day was going to go. I got dressed and examined myself in the mirror and decided my appearance was the least of my worries before heading down to breakfast with Hermione. Once we had eaten, we waited for Harry to disappear then return hidden under the Invisibility Cloak then walked down to the village with the rest of the students. When we got there, however, I excused myself from the others by claiming I wanted to visit the Shrieking Shack. Harry automatically offered to come with me as it meant he could get away from the village but I turned him down, explaining I had personal reasons I wanted to go there alone. I apologised to Hermione for putting her out like this as I knew she didn't want to be left alone with an invisible Harry and, with my freedom granted, I turned out of the village and down the path that led to the Shrieking Shack.

Returning to the Shrieking Shack set off a mix of feelings in me, given the events of last year. To most of the villagers and Hogwarts students the Shrieking Shack was simply known as the most haunted dwelling in Britain that not even the Hogwarts ghosts would venture to; to me, it was the place where I had first come face-to-face with my Dad and finally learnt the truth about how I wound up in an orphanage. The memories were bittersweet; being reunited with my father for a only few short hours before having to watch him escape again after the only evidence of his innocence had got away.

I followed the path through the forest. The sound of rustling branches and the leaves beneath my feet crunched as I walked along in silence. A short walk later and I emerged from the trees into an opening. My eyes took in the decrepit building before. The Shrieking Shack stood tall and silent on its small outcrop, a broken wooden fence creating a border between it and the trees. Its brick walls were covered in overgrown ivy and moss, the creepers climbing the height of its walls; the roof was missing some of its slate tiles and the chimney had lost a brick or two; and the windows and doors were boarded up, the wood having rotted over the years as it fell into disrepair.

A rustling behind me alerted to me someone approaching. I turned round just as Cedric appeared from behind a tree. He pushed a branch out of the way and stepped out of the woods. He walked over to where I had been stood by the broken fence.

'Hey,' said Cedric. He was smiling, I presume because he was happy to see me.

'Hi,' I said.

We stood there for a moment not saying anything. Cedric looked away from me and up at the Shrieking Shack.

'"Most haunted place in Britain",' he quoted, staring at the walls. Cedric then turned back to me. 'How come you wanted to meet here?'

I braced myself for what I was about to do. My chest felt tight and the feeling of dread started again in the pit of my stomach. I looked away from him, my eyes darting at anything but his face. The overgrown weeds at the base of the house; the snapped wood; a beetle crawling around on the top of one of the fence posts. Swallowing, I looked back at Cedric.

'You wanted to get to know me,' I said. 'Now's your chance.'

'OK,' said Cedric slowly. 'But why here at the Shrieking Shack of all places?

'Because,' I started. My throat seemed to dry and the words got caught. 'Because I wanted to show you the place where I first met my Dad. Sirius Black.'

Cedric eyes widened, his mouth opening then closing at my words.

'You're – you're Sirius Black's daughter?' Cedric repeated. 'That murderer the Ministry was after last year is your dad?'

'Yeah.'

I turned away from Cedric and looked up at the Shrieking Shack. I leant on the fence. I had to choose my words very carefully to make sure I didn't reveal anything that could jeopardise Dad and risk him being captured again. So I went with the story that Snape had fed Fudge as it was a way for me to tell Cedric how I'd learnt who my father was without giving away that I was still in contact with him. While I didn't like lying to Cedric, I consoled myself with the fact that this was not a lie I had made up in the first place, Snape had made it up to give Fudge an account of the events that made him look like the hero, and I was just altering certain details of it and omitting others.

'I got caught up in everything that happened at the end of last year in June,' I told Cedric. 'I'd never known my father and I guess the chance of meeting him was too tempting for me. But I walked right into danger and my friends followed me to where he'd lured me, here at the Shack. When I learnt that he'd escaped again after the Dementor attack, I was glad. He wasn't the person I thought he was after all and I knew I would never see him again.'

'Did you know?' asked Cedric. 'Before you met him, did you know who he was?'

'I'd read about him in the Prophet but I didn't know who he was,' I said. 'My Mum died shortly after I was born, and he wasn't around obviously, being in Azkaban and all. I grew up in a Muggle orphanage before my Uncle adopted me and it was just me and him ever since. Because I had him, I didn't really need to know who my dad was when I knew he was unlikely to come back into my life. I only found out who he was just before school started. I was always torn between wanting to know who he was and not and so I did what I did. Turned out it just … wasn't worth it.'

I fell silent. I kept my face neutral, trying to emphasise my stoic reaction to meeting my Dad for the first time and that I was indifferent to who he was and he wasn't part of my life. Again not entirely true but not entirely false. I fixed my gaze on the beam I was leaning on. A beetle crawled along the top of the it and on to my arm. Its curly antenna twitched, feeling at my sleeve. I shook it off. It fell back on to the wood and scuttled off towards the next post. It came to rest on the top of it. I ignored it and braced myself for whatever Cedric's reaction was going to be. I mean, he'd just found out the girl he was interested in was the daughter of a mass Muggle murderer, and that's not even scratching the surface of what the rest of my family were like. Harry certainly hadn't taken it well when he first found out.

As we stood there something occurred to me: this was not going to be the last time I was going to have to have this conversation, was it? I knew I was only fourteen but eventually I was going to want to meet someone, right? I mean, that was the whole reason I was with Cedric right now. To find out what whatever this was. This was going to always be a subject I would have to face whenever someone wanted to get to know me and I didn't like the idea of lying to someone, nor did I like the idea of them finding out by accident, like Harry did last year. My face fell. This was always going to hang over me, wasn't it? The possibility of being judged by who my relatives were, and not just by my father and his alleged crimes unless his innocence was proven, but for just being a Black.

'Jenna?'

I glanced at Cedric. He was watching me, what looked like concern on his face.

'Look,' I said, deciding I didn't want to know the answer, 'I totally understand if you've changed your mind now you know I'm one of those Blacks. But I can't help who my family is. I didn't choose to be born a Black.'

'That wasn't what I was going to say,' said Cedric.

I hesitated, suddenly embarrassed by my reaction.

'What were you going to say?' I asked.

'Who we are is not based on who are family is,' reasoned Cedric. 'Look at me and my Dad. He loves to boast about the things I've done when, to be honest, they're no better than what any other student could do. I'm not the first ever Hufflepuff Prefect or Seeker, but he still brags about it to all his colleagues when I wish he wouldn't. Believe it or not, I don't get full marks on all my tests and I'm not top of every subject. All I do is work hard to achieve what I can.

'From what I've seen, you don't seem much like a dark wizard,' Cedric then commented. 'From what my Dad's told me, the Blacks were known supporters of You-Know-Who and his pure-blood methodologies. Yet you are friends with a Muggle-born, you're friends with the Weasleys who are considered blood traitors, and – most importantly – you're friends with the boy who defeated You-know-Who, all of which were choices you made I assume.'

Cedric's response was not the one I was expecting, and I realised he was a lot more knowledgeable about things than I had originally given him credit for. I guess his strong but silent reputation was very accurate as it allowed him to observe many things that other people might very easily miss. I hadn't met Cedric before this year, but he had clearly seen a lot of myself and my friends to be able to make this comment about me. It was a very humbling moment for me, realising I shouldn't have judged him for his reputation when that was exactly what I had been worried he would do to me.

'Either way, it doesn't stop me feeling the effects of what they've done or believed,' I muttered. 'Living with a family history of Slytherins, and You-Know-Who supporters. Being from a family of pure-blood fanatics. I don't want to live in the shadow of those prejudices. Even my Granddad, who isn't a Black, used to have prejudices that I still have to deal with.'

'Like what?' asked Cedric.

I took in a breath before I responded. I hadn't mentioned this to anyone, not even Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'I think I'm cursed,' I said, 'and I think it has something to do with my Granddad and my Mum.'

'What sort of curse?' questioned Cedric, confused.

'I – I think I'm a Maledictus.' I paused; Cedric remained quiet, waiting for me to elaborate. 'I know it sounds crazy, but I was doing an essay for Moody and I came across this curse which said it was passed down from mother to daughter, and I inherited some abilities from my Mum which none of the rest of the people in my family have. None of the Blacks do so it has to be from my Mum's side but my Grandma was a Muggle so when I found this term I began to question what I had been told about what I am.'

'But a Maledictus is cursed to transform into an animal,' said Cedric.

I glanced at Cedric then closed my eyes and cleared my mind. I focused just enough and I let myself transform. A pair of red-flecked grey furry ears replaced my own and appeared through my hair; and through my jeans grew a long fluffy grey tail, swishing from side to side behind me. I opened my eyes and let out a breath. I hadn't planned this at all. I had not intended to tell Cedric what I was but the way this conversation had gone, I hadn't anticipated feeling like I could confide in Cedric things I wasn't sure I could confide in Harry, Ron and Hermione because of the current situation.

'I have been able to transform for as long as I can remember,' I explained. 'For some reason it's not to a specific animal at the moment, but of all of them a wolf comes most naturally to me and I've noticed in the last few months when I'd practice it, it's not been as easy to transform into other things. Like I'm losing the ability or it's becoming more specific.

'You wanted to know who I am,' I sighed. 'You probably weren't expecting this.'

I just stood there not knowing what to do or say at this point. If me being a Black hadn't put Cedric off, possibly being a Maledictus certainly would. Something touched the side of my face and I felt my hair get brushed behind my ear. I jumped slightly, taken aback by Cedric's gesture. It wasn't that I didn't like it, it was just unexpected and I wasn't sure right now what Cedric's intentions were. He was standing there staring at me with his hand near my cheek. My heart jumped slightly, my ears twitching still in their wolf form. Questions began racing through my mind. What was he going to do? I wish he'd just say something to break this silence. What was he even thinking right now? As question after question tumbled through my thoughts my eyes didn't leave Cedric. I watched as he stood there. He took a step closer to me. My heart jumped again. What was he going to do? Cedric moved closer still, leaning down towards me, his hand travelling round my face to my chin, raising it just enough.

'Cedric,' I breathed, stopping him. Cedric moved back, confused. 'Cedric, I like you. You're a good person, I can tell that, but I don't think there's anything more than that.' I blinked, thinking through my words. 'I don't think I'm feeling whatever it is you're feeling.'

Panic, a voice whispered to me, pure panic is what you're feeling!

I shook my head, ignoring the voice. I took a breath to calm myself, also clearing my head to get rid of the ears and tail I still currently had. They shrunk away into my hair and clothes.

'I just don't think we're meant to be anything but friends,' I confirmed. 'Getting to know you has been nice, and I think we'll be good friends, but I'm not interested in anything more than that.'

Cedric stared at me, again not saying anything. I really wished he would say something. He didn't seem upset or anything but at the same time he definitely didn't look happy.

'Well, can't blame a guy for trying,' he shrugged eventually. He then smiled. 'You're a curious person, Jenna, and there's something about you I still can't put my finger on which was what made me want to know more about you. Maybe it's because I'm a Hufflepuff and we like learning about things,' Cedric joked. 'But if it doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel right. I can't do anything about that and I appreciate your honesty.'

I released a breath, glad Cedric had accepted my answer.

'I'm sorry but I really don't think I'm what you're looking for,' I said. 'I mean, I don't even know what I'm looking for, but I kind of know it's not this, and there's probably someone better suited to you than me. You do get a lot of attention after all. That Ravenclaw Seeker certainly seems to like you a lot. Maybe you should give one of those girls a chance.'

'That's surprisingly not the first time I've heard that,' sighed Cedric. He pushed back his hair. 'I'm going to head back to the village. You're welcome to join me if you want.'

'I need to get to the Three Broomsticks,' I replied. 'Harry and Hermione are probably there by now and are no doubt wondering where I am.'

Cedric nodded, an almost knowing look on his face.

'I've said it before, Harry's lucky to have a friend like you,' said Cedric. 'I'm surprised you're not a Hufflepuff considering how loyal you are to him.' I gave Cedric a confused look. He merely smiled in return. 'Don't worry about it. I'll see you around, Jenna.'

Cedric leant down again and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. He then stood straight and turned back towards the footpath away from the Shrieking Shack, giving me a wave before disappearing into the trees. I watched after him, slightly stunned by what had happened in the last hour and Cedric's parting gesture. I felt strange. I felt guilt for turning Cedric down because his intentions had been honest from the very start, but at the same time, I wasn't feeling anything towards him except what had to be friendship, and when he had tried to kiss me I had panicked and stopped him. And I had to trust my own feelings and I clearly hadn't wanted that to happened, so I was glad I had done what I did.

'Ugh,' I breathed, shaking myself. 'I am not ready for all this!'

For what I probably had to admit was my first ever date, that did not go well at all.

I got back to Hogsmeade in time to see Hermione quickly exiting the Three Broomsticks, presumably chasing after an invisible Harry. I caught up with them and in a series of rushed whispers they told me about running into Hagrid and Moody in the pub and that Hagrid had asked Harry to go down to his Hut late that evening. That was strange to hear, considering in the past Hagrid had actively tried to stop the four of us from visiting him after curfew, but it did confirm to me that Ron had never passed on Hagrid's message to Harry about wanting to see him. Neither Hermione nor I liked the idea of Harry visiting Hagrid so late or the fact Hagrid had insisted it, but we were all in agreement that it had to be important. The only problem was Harry was meant to be meeting Dad in the Gryffindor fireplace tonight and going to Hagrid's was going to cut the whole thing very close.

At half past eleven that evening Harry disappeared upstairs to the boys' dormitory to start the ruse that would allow him to leave the Gryffindor common room under his Invisibility Cloak without anyone knowing apart from me and Hermione. While I kept watch in the common room, Hermione had been waiting in the Library (with some of her homework, of course) so that she could open the portrait hole for Harry to get through on her return. Luckily for Harry, the people who were left in the common room at that point were more interested in what Colin and Denis Creevey were attempting to do with the Support CEDRIC DIGGORY badges they had managed to get a hold of. Hermione appeared in the common room indicating to me that Harry had left. She dumped her bag on the floor and fell into a chair across the table from me, her head leant back in frustration.

'Good study session?' I broached, intrigued by her exasperated appearance.

'It would have been if Krum hadn't been in the library again,' said Hermione. 'He's been in there the last few days since the champions were selected. I assume he's preparing for the First Task but as quiet he is, his group of fangirls aren't. They kept whispering behind the bookcases despite Madam Pince telling them to shush.'

'Well you can't begrudge him that,' I reasoned. 'Krum only has the Hogwarts library for research seeing as he's not at Durmstrang at the moment, and I guess he doesn't know every spell there is.'

'Even so,' huffed Hermione. 'It's hard to concentrate when several girls are loudly whispering about how to get his autograph.'

I chuckled quietly to myself at the minor inconvenience in Hermione's ability to study in her favourite location. It was well known between Harry, Ron and myself that Hermione's mantra was pretty much "when in doubt, go to the library", so it was amusing for me to know her safe haven was being infiltrated by outsiders who weren't even there for its main purpose, which Hermione probably saw as a bit insulting knowing her. That and the knowledge that Madam Pince was getting more grief than usual was nice to know; she wasn't the nicest of librarians and I had been hushed in the past on more than one occasion for simply turning a page in a book too loudly.

By midnight Hermione and I were the only ones left in the common room. I had abandoned the last of my homework and was sitting quietly in my chair as I waited for Harry to return. A part of me was tempted to call it and go to bed but I wanted to see Dad and, if I got the chance, ask him about my relatives. The incident with Neville and the Cruciatus Curse in Moody's class was still bothering me. Hermione went up to the girls' dormitory once she had finished her Arithmancy essay and bade me goodnight. I sat and continued to wait, my eyes lazily watching the fire.

A rush of motion alerted me and Harry appeared out of thin air. I jerked awake, startled by his sudden arrival, having not realised how much time had passed. A quick glance at the clock told me it was almost one in the morning. The first thing out of Harry's word was a single word: dragons. My jaw dropped. Was he kidding? He was going to have to face a dragon in the First Task? Before I could even question Harry about if he was being serious or not, Harry's attention was drawn away by something he'd seen in the fireplace that had caused him to jump. Following his stare, I gaped myself as I saw Dad's head floating amongst the flames of the fire, grinning at the two of us. Harry and I threw ourselves on to the floor in front of the fireplace. He looked rougher than the last time I had seen him at Lupin's but still a lot better than when he was on the run the first-time round.

'Sirius – how're you doing?' asked Harry.

'Never mind me,' said Dad impatiently, 'how are you?'

'I'm –' Harry seemed to hesitate, then, 'I'm screwed, Sirius! Everyone in the school hates me and think I'm some attention seeker all because they think I put my name in the Goblet of Fire when I didn't and I have no idea who did and now I have to compete in the Triwizard Tournament when I really don't want to and Ron isn't talking to me because he thinks I put my name in the Goblet as well then this article came out by Rita Skeeter saying I still cry about my parents and a load of other lies which gave Malfoy and the Slytherins even more reason to take the piss out of me and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner.'

Finally Harry took a breath. I stared at him.

'Better?' I asked. Harry sent me a look.

'Dragons we can deal with, Harry,' said Dad reassuringly, 'but we'll get to that in a minute – I haven't got long here … I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about.'

'Warn us?' I repeated, confused.

'What?' asked Harry.

'Karkaroff,' said Dad. 'Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?'

'Yes – he – what?'

'He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year – to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place.'

'Moody caught him?' I asked. 'Well, I guess that explains that weird exchange they had the night the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students arrived, when he saw you, remember?' I said, turning to Harry.

Harry nodded, then said, 'Karkaroff got released? Why did they release him?'

'He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic,' explained Dad bitterly. 'He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names … he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place … he's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So what out for the Durmstrang champion as well.'

'OK,' said Harry. 'But … are you saying Karkaroff put my name in the Goblet? Because if he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me competing.'

'We know he's a good actor,' said Dad, 'because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet, Harry –'

'You and the rest of the world,' said Harry bitterly.

'– and, reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman's article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm,' Dad added, seeing the look Harry and I shared, 'but I don't think so, somehow. I think someone tried to stop him getting to Hogwarts. I think someone knew their jobs would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it too closely, Mad-Eyes's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean he can't still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had.'

'Really?' I asked, curiously. I frowned. 'He just seems – well – a bit strange to me,' I said. 'He's already taught us the Unforgivable Curses and used them on us. Isn't that strange, if he was meant to be an Auror, to use something like that on students?'

'Moody probably had very good reasons to teach them to you, and it's good you know about them now,' said Dad. 'It'll prepare you for what's out there, what's stirring up again. I know he takes a bit of getting used to, but you can trust him, Jenna, and there's no better expect in Defence Against the Dark Arts than Moody. Dumbledore trusts him, after all.'

I stared at Dad's floating face, still unsure whether or not was as trustworthy as Dad claimed him to be.

'So, Dumbledore got Moody in to keep an eye on things,' said Harry, 'and now, Karkaroff's trying to kill me? But – why?'

Dad seemed to hesitate.

'I've been hearing some very strange things,' he told us. 'The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark … and then – did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who's gone missing?'

'Bertha Jorkins?' said Harry.

'Have they still not found her?' I asked.

'Exactly … she disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was rumoured to be last … and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?'

'Yeah, but … it's not very likely she'd have walked straight into Voldemort, is it?' said Harry.

'Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins,' said Dad rather grimly. 'She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination, Harry. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap.'

'So … so Voldemort could have found out about the Tournament?' said Harry. 'Is that what you meanm? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?'

'I don't know,' said Dad slowly, 'I just don't know … Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that Goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the Tournament would be a very good way to attack you, and make it look like an accident.'

'Looks like a really good plan from where I'm standing,' muttered Harry. 'They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff.'

'Right – these dragons,' Dad started. 'There's a way, Harry. Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell – dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner. You need about half a dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon –'

Well there goes what I was trying to teach him, I thought.

'Yeah, I know, I just saw,' said Harry.

'But you can do it alone,' said Dad. 'There is a way, and a simple spell's all you need. Just –'

Dad fell silent. I cocked my eyebrow, confused. I looked at Harry to see he'd put his hand up to stop Dad talking and was looking over his shoulder. Something had distracted him. Next moment Harry was on his feet and telling Dad to go. I followed suit, making sure the fire was blocked from sight. A tiny pop told me Dad had gone, and I didn't even get the chance to ask him about our family. I pushed my annoyance aside in time to see Ron come down the stairs from the boys' dormitories. He stopped dead when he saw Harry and I standing by the fire.

'Who were you talking to?' asked Ron.

'What's that got to do with you?' snarled Harry. 'What are you doing down here at this time of night?'

'I just wondered where you –' Ron hesitated, then shrugged it off. For a moment though it sounded like he was concerned about Harry's whereabouts. 'Nothing. I'm going back to bed.'

'Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?' shouted Harry.

'Harry,' I started, 'Ron didn't –'

'Sorry about that,' Ron snapped back. 'Should've realised you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practising for your next interview in peace.'

'Ron!' I protested.

Both boys ignored me. From one of the tables Harry seized a POTTER STINKS – that now read POTTER REALLY STINKS – badge and threw it at Ron. It hit Ron's forehead, bouncing off it and landing on the floor at his feet. Ron flinched upon impact. He rubbed the point where the badge had hit him, staring at Harry.

'There you go,' said Harry scathingly. 'Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky … that's what you want, isn't it?'

Harry strode across the common room, past Ron, and disappeared upstairs to his dormitory. Ron and I just stood there. Ron turned to look at me but what did he expect me to say? I sighed. I walked across the common room and towards the girls' dormitories.

'You're just as bad as each other,' was my parting comment and I went to bed.

Harry wasn't at breakfast by the time Hermione and I got there on Sunday morning. I was kind of grateful. After the previous night I could do with five minutes away from him and Ron. My peace wasn't to last though as Harry arrived shortly after us. He spotted Hermione and I where we sat at the Gryffindor table with Ginny and came to join us. He didn't eat but sat there, fidgeting while he waited for Hermione and me to finish our food. Harry then unceremoniously dragged the two of us outside for a walk in the grounds where he filled Hermione in on everything that Dad had said last night and the dragons. Hermione took the news in her stride as she always did despite being alarmed at the fact a known former Death Eater was currently living in the grounds of the castle, but as she pointed out, we had the more pressing matter of what Harry was going to do about his dragon to attend to first.

Dad had said a simple spell was all we needed for Harry to be able to take on the dragon. But which simple spell he had meant, we didn't know. There were tons of them we had learnt over the last few years at school but not many of them stood out to be useful against a fire-breathing dragon with the toughest hide known to wizard-kind. Taking a leaf out of Hagrid's book, we began to scour the library for various books on dragons but most were about how to handle and take care of them, not how to face them. Even Hermione was struggling to come up with a viable solution. That's how stumped we all were. We had to call it quits though when Hermione noticed Viktor Krum had come into the library again meaning his fan club would be shortly behind him. Sure enough, as soon as we left, a group of girls crept into the library, one of whom was wearing a Bulgarian scarf around her waist.

The next day came and, after a whole afternoon spent looking up spells, we were still no closer to an answer and with lessons as well, we were running out of time so when Harry shot off back up the Marble Staircase instead of walking with Hermione and I to Herbology, I just assumed he was skipping class to go do more research. To be honest, I didn't blame him; if I was in his position, I'd be skipping class too, not that I hadn't been tempted to in the past. We were already working with some Flutterby Bushes by the time Harry arrived about ten minutes after class had started. He sidled quickly inside the greenhouse door, muttered a rushed apology to Professor Sprout at the same time, and hurried over to where Hermione and I were working.

'Hermione, Jenna,' he whispered quickly, 'I need your help.'

'What d'you think we've been trying to do, Harry?' whispered Hermione back to him. The Flutterby Bush quivered when her hand jerked slightly with the secateurs.

'It's all we have been doing for the last week,' I added.

'Guys,' Harry said more firmly this time, 'I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon.'

Hermione and I looked at each other then back at Harry.

'So let me get this straight,' I said as Harry, Hermione and I sat in the Transfiguration Courtyard at break. 'Moody gave you advice which led you to realising that you need to learn the Summoning Charm before tomorrow so that you can summon your broom to the First Task and use it to fly against the dragon?'

'Yes,' confirmed Harry.

'Isn't that cheating?' said Hermione, matter-of-factly. 'Moody's a teacher, he shouldn't have helped you like that even if he did it by just giving you some "general advice".'

'Moody said everyone cheats in the Tournament,' said Harry. 'Like I told you, Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons that night as well, meaning Krum and Fleur would have known about them, and I told Cedric so that he wouldn't be the only one to not know what we were going up against, so I haven't technically cheated any more than Fleur and Krum have. You can bet Maxime and Karkaroff have probably pointed them in the right direction on how to tackle this too.'

Hermione and I shared another look.

'Well, I'm not going to pretend that I'm happy about the "cheating",' said Hermione, 'but if it does work against the dragons, it'll be worth it.'

'So, we're just going to ignore the fact that a broom is made of wood and dragons breathe fire?' I asked. Neither Harry nor Hermione replied. 'OK, cool, sure. Why the hell not?'

And so we practised. And practised. And practised. We spent all of lunchtime shut up in an empty classroom where Harry said the spell over and over again, trying to Summon various objects around the room towards him. It was frustrating. Objects would start off well and shoot off towards Harry but it was like they'd change their mind halfway and drop to the floor. Hermione and I kept trying to encourage Harry but he'd snap back at us so after a while we just sat there and watched Harry's attempts. It wouldn't have been so bad if we'd had the chance to have lunch. I was much less of a fan of Harry's temper on an empty stomach. We took a break only to go to Divination while Hermione went off to Arithmancy before resuming again after a rushed dinner. We used the Invisibility Cloak to get back to the same classroom without the teachers noticing us and remained there till well past midnight when the threat of Filch and Peeves forced us to return to the common room. Another two hours later and Harry finally got the hang of the Summoning Charm.

'That's better, Harry, that's loads better,' said Hermione, tired but pleased at his progress.

'Well, now we know what to do next time I can't manage a spell,' said Harry. He threw a Rune Dictionary back to Hermione and a box containing a set of Gobstones to me for him to Summon again. 'Threaten me with a dragon. Right … Accio Dictionary! Accio Gobstones!'

'Can we maybe threaten you with something a little less ferocious?' I yawned as the Gobstones set shot out of my hand. 'How about the Skrewts instead?'

The set and the Dictionary flew back over to Harry successfully.

'Harry, I really think you've got it!' said Hermione.

'Just as long as it works tomorrow,' said Harry. 'The Firebolt's going to be much further away than the stuff in here, it's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there in the grounds …'

'That doesn't matter,' said Hermione. 'Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. Harry, we'd better get some sleep … you're going to need it.'

'That's the best suggestion I've heard all night,' I said. 'Hermione, you head on up. I'll help Harry put this stuff away.'

Hermione gratefully took my suggestion and headed up to the girls' dormitory leaving Harry and I alone in the common room. We silently put the things Harry had Summoned back in their original places, including Neville's toad Trevor who frantically hopped off when Harry put him down on the floor.

'Hey, Jen,' said Harry, 'thanks for all your help.'

I looked at Harry and smiled.

'Don't worry about it,' I replied. 'It's what friends do. Just … make sure you get past that dragon tomorrow, OK?' I added.

'That's kind of the plan.' Harry walked over to me. 'But, you know, we can't disappoint Trelawney. I am expected to die a sudden, violent death after all.'

The corner of my lip lifted slightly at Harry's quip. That had been a funny moment in class today. The two of us shared a quick laugh. It was brief but enough for me momentarily forget what Harry was going to be facing in less than twelve hours. But sure enough the thought of Harry facing off against a dragon returned and a swell of anxiety rose in my chest. I fought to keep the smile on my face and not show Harry how scared I was for him. It was then I noticed neither of us had said anything for a couple of minutes and so I wished Harry goodnight and we departed for our separate dormitories.

Lessons ended at midday on Tuesday so that we had time to get out of school robes and make our way down to the arena where the First Task was to take place. Professor McGonagall had collected Harry at lunch so he and the other champions could get ready. Once we'd finished, though I don't think Hermione or I actually ate anything, we went back to the Gryffindor Tower to change and leave our school bags. Down in the common room we met up with Neville and Ginny and we joined the rest of the Gryffindors leaving the Tower. We went out into the grounds with the rest of the school where we were joined by the rest of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A path had been marked out for us to follow that led to wherever the First Task was to take place.

The sounds of roars began to echo through the air the closer we got to the arena. People began to whisper amongst their friends, wondering out loud what was the source of these noises. Whatever they were, the only thing people could agree on was that it had to be dangerous. The only thing loud enough to distract from them was the sound of Fred and George walking through the crowd taking bets on the outcome of the Task. They made their way around the students with a suitcase strapped round George's neck offering odds on how well each of the champions would do and, to Hermione's annoyance, people were actually taking their bets. I guess they hadn't learnt anything from their experience with Ludo Bagman.

The path led us through a small section of the Forbidden Forest to a large arena that had been erected on its outer edges. Its wooden walls reached up as high as the trees surrounding it and it had been decorated with various banners in each school's colours and crests. A part of me silently questioned how safe it was to have dragons – who breathed fire! – inside a wooden arena. Then again, none of this whole Tournament seemed safe. A tent had been set up a few feet away from where the students were entering the arena. I presumed this was where Harry and Cedric were waiting with Fleur and Krum. My eyes lingered on the tent briefly before I followed after Hermione, Neville and Ginny into the entrance and up some stairs to the seating. But just as we were about to climb the stairs, a voice called out to us and Ron rushed over to join us. He looked pale and nervous and didn't say anything more leading me to wonder if he had found out what Harry was about to face. I couldn't think of anything else that could be the reason for Ron's sudden U-turn.

Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and I climbed up the stairs to the middle tier then followed the seats round to an empty spot. A large rocky terrain had been set up at the base of the arena. It rose and fell in different levels giving the champions an extra challenge as they had to climb over parts of the ground but they could also be used for cover from the dragon's attacks. In the centre was what looked like a pile of large logs with more ovalish shaped rocks on top of it and suddenly it clicked. Those had to be dragon eggs. Something had to be hidden within them that the champions had to get and they had to get round the dragon to do so.

'Do you think Harry'll be OK?' asked Ron. His voice sounded choked. Whatever animosity Ron had felt towards Harry since his name first came out of the Goblet of Fire was clearly not there anymore.

'He'll be fine,' I said, though I knew I didn't believe my own words. 'Harry's just got to focus and he'll be able to do this. Right?' I turned to Hermione who nodded in confirmation.

A horn blew. The chatter began to die down and the crowd turned to face a podium draped in gold fabric that had been set up on the edge of the arena. Professor Dumbledore, Madam Maxime and Karkaroff entered the podium followed closely by Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch. Each of them took their seats apart from Bagman, who raised his wand and pointed it at his throat.

'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament!' announced Bagman, his voice booming so everyone in the arena could hear him. A cheer answered his announcement. 'The champions have been gathered and found out what they are about to face and what the objective of the task is.

'One by one, each champion will enter the arena where they will come face-to-face with a dragon of varying breed –' gasps and cheers rang out again, '– but each as dangerous as the last. Their goal is to get past the dragon and retrieve from its nest the golden egg which will get them through to the Second Task. So, without further ado, please give a huge round of applause to our first challenger: Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!'

My heart jumped and it felt like the bottom of my stomach had fallen out. Cedric walked out of a dark doorway that must connect to the tent with the other champions inside it and into the arena. The Hogwarts students cheered. He was dressed in special robes customised in the Hufflepuff House colours of yellow and black. I silently hoped they were fireproof. Wand in hand, Cedric stood by the doorway as the first dragon was released into the arena. A metal gate was raised, and a huge silvery blue dragon charged into the pen. It's wings stretched wide as the dragon reared up on its hind legs, its front slamming down on the ground before it stalked forwards towards the nest in the centre. A pair of dark amber eyes scanned the ground around it and found Cedric. It let out a roar so loud I had to cover my ears.

'Mr Diggory is facing the Swedish Short-Snout!' announced Bagman. 'Its flames are as blue as its hide and can reduce bone to ashes in a matter of seconds. Its low-level numbers of deaths caused, however, do not reduce its classification rating which remains as XXXXX. What will Diggory do to get his egg?'

Cedric ducked behind a nearby rock as the Short-Snout blew a funnel of bright blue flame in his direction as a warning. The fire hit against the wall of the arena, the wood being engulfed. The students seated above screamed. When the stream of fire had died out, the wood was singed but not burnt away. It looked like there were some protection charms on the arena after all but they weren't strong enough to completely block the magic of dragon fire. Cedric looked out from behind his cover then made a run across the arena for another large rock. The dragon's eyes followed him. A low growl rumbled but Cedric still seemed to be at a satisfactory distance away for it not to attack him. When Cedric reappeared for a third time, he did not come out from behind the rock. Instead, he pointed his wand at a rock about half the size of the one that he was hiding behind. He performed a complex movement with his wand, ending with a sharp flick at the rock.

The rock's shape began to change. It appeared to grow a series of cylindrical shapes on its base and an ovalish one on top. It looked like Cedric was doing some sort of transfiguration. The shapes began to mould themselves and take form until it resembled a dog, the stone-grey being replaced with black fur. The rock dog barked and stood ready for Cedric's instruction.

'A nifty bit of transfiguration done there by Mr Diggory,' said Bagman. 'He's successfully transfigured that rock into a Labrador. It looks like he's going to use it to create some sort of distraction for the dragon. Will it work though? Dragons are notoriously protective of their nests. Will a dog be enough to draw it away long enough for Diggory to retrieve his egg?'

The Short-Snout watched the dog. It bared its teeth, sharp white fangs, at the intruding animal. On Cedric's orders the dog started to run around the arena. Initially it looked like Cedric's plan was going to work. While he stayed out of the way, the dog was drawing the dragon's attention away from him. If the dog got too close it would lash out a silver clawed foot to swat it away before blowing another jet of fire at it to keep the dog at bay. It remained over its nest but the longer this went on the more irritated the dragon got. Finally it got to its feet. The Short-Snout took a large step forward and finally the nest was revealed. The golden egg sat visible amongst the several other silvery-blue eggs. The moment the dragon had taken that step, Cedric made his move. He ran out from his cover on the opposite side of the arena to where the dog was distracting the dragon and ran for the nest. But at the last minute the dragon changed its mind. Deciding the dog was no more than a minor annoyance, the dragon turned and saw Cedric metres from the nest. It took a huge breath and a stream of fire blew from its mouth and nostrils.

The crowd gasped and screamed as the flame appeared to hit Cedric, who had once again dived for cover.

'Merlin's beard!' shouted Bagman. 'Oooh, a narrow miss there, very narrow. If Mr Diggory had gone a second later, that dragon would have got him for sure! He's taking risks, this one! It looks though Mr Diggory has had a lucky escape with hopefully only his robes burnt. He's managed to take cover again behind the nest, but his Transfigured dog is now being completely ignored by the dragon. Clever move – pity it didn't work!. He's got seconds before the Short-Snout can refuel and send another burst at him. Will Mr Diggory get the egg in time?'

Bagman was right when he said Cedric had only seconds to grab the egg before the dragon could attack again. He leapt out from behind the nest just in time as the dragon swung its tail to reach him, narrowly missing it catching his legs, and on to the nest. He grabbed the golden egg, jumped back out of the nest, and made a run for it back across the arena towards the exit. A horn blew a second time and several wizards entered the arena to restrain the Short-Snout while others began to remove its nest. Stunners and ropes were sent at the dragon to restrain it and, once it was subdued, it was taken out of the enclosure.

'A risky and impressive attempt by Mr Diggory!' said Bagman joyfully. 'A successful transfiguration accompanied by a swift capture of his egg could mean a high score for our first competitor. The judges will deliberate while Mr Diggory goes to get checked over by our team.'

I waited as the minutes ticked by while the judges decided on their scores, Bagman announcing when they were ready. With the dragon gone, Cedric re-entered the enclosure to receive his marks. Madam Pomfrey must have checked him over as he now had what looked like some orange potion covering the side of his face. He stood before the podium. One by one the judges gave their marks. First was Madame Maxime. She raised her wand and from the tip shot a long silvery ribbon. It twisted itself into a large eight, indicating her chosen score. Crouch followed next, performing the same spell, and again giving Cedric the score of eight. Dumbledore then gave Cedric a nine, Bagman gave a seven and Karkaroff gave a six.

'A six from Karkaroff?' scoffed Ron. His face had regained some colour now having watched Cedric face his dragon, but it appeared the scoring was what made Ron revert back to his usual self. 'Diggory deserves more than that! That spell he used was really cool!'

'Are you surprised?' asked Hermione. 'Of course the judges are going to be biased. They each want their own student to win.'

'Maxime's appearing to be fair,' I said. 'She gave Cedric an eight. That's a good score.'

'Still,' said Ron indignantly. 'Bet Karkaroff just doesn't want anyone to score higher than Krum so he can take an early lead.'

'Who d'you reckon is next?' asked Neville, his voice a slightly higher pitch than normal. He had his scarf wrapped around his face and was peering nervously over it.

'Well there's Fleur, Krum and Harry left,' said Ginny. A roar sounded loudly in the enclosure. The next dragon had been brought out; it was slightly smaller than the Swedish Short-Snout, and was a vivid grass-like green in colour. From what I knew about dragon breeds, I think this was a Welsh Green, the only native dragon to Britain. 'They've brought the dragon out. It's about to start!'

Dressed in a dark blue and silver tracksuit-style set of robes, Fleur Delacour entered the arena. A loud cheer came from the remaining Beauxbatons students and the Ravenclaws with whom they had been sitting with at mealtimes. If she was nervous, she was certainly hiding it well. Fleur boldly walked out into the middle of the enclosure, standing feet away from where the Welsh Green was lying protectively wrapped around the nest containing its eggs and the champion's golden one. Fleur had clearly got the lucky draw. Welsh Greens were one of the more docile breeds of dragons.

The Welsh Green eyed Fleur cautiously as she stood before it. It snorted, curls of smoke issuing from its nostrils. It growled in warning to Fleur to keep her distance. Fleur kept her focus back on the dragon then raised her wand. She began to wave it from side to side almost like she was starting to conduct and invisible orchestra. Initially it looked like whatever spell she was performing wasn't having any effect on the dragon but then slowly the dragon's head began to sway in time with Fleur's wand. To the left, back to the right, and to the left again. The minutes ticked by. The Welsh Green's eyes seemed to get heavier and heavier as Fleur's spell took effect. The head began to droop and it shifted its position around the nest. It curled itself up round the nest and, without warning, took a large breath. A jet of orange fire shot out of the Welsh Green's nostrils straight at Fleur.

'Good Lord!' cried Bagman. 'I thought she'd had it then!'

Luckily the fire wasn't at full power and only set the hem of Fleur's skirt. She turned her wand on it and put it out with a stream of water. With the dragon now asleep at its nest, Fleur ran forwards and climbed the side of the nest. She reached in and grabbed the egg from its place amongst the dragon eggs and hurried back towards the champion's entrance.

'And she's got it!' shouted Bagman. 'Miss Delacour's Hypnotising Charm did the trick in the end and has allowed her to get her egg! The judges will give their marks momentarily.'

Like with Cedric the judges gave their marks once Fleur had returned from being checked over. A nine from Maxime; a seven from Crouch; an eight from Dumbledore; and six from Bagman and Karkaroff. I guess that was fair. Her skirt did get set on fire and while the Hypnotising Charm was good, it wasn't as impressive as Cedric's spell. Fleur bowed to the judges in thanks and returned to the tent.

Krum was next and he was to face the red Chinese Fireball, a vicious Asian breed named after its vibrant scarlet scales. He entered the enclosure, wearing a burgundy robe over a beige sweater bearing the Durnstrang crest, and drew his wand. It appeared Krum's recklessness on the Quidditch pitch was how he was going to tackle this challenge. Once inside the enclosure he charged forwards with his wand drawn at the dragon. The Fireball didn't take too kindly to this and sent a burst of fire at him which Krum managed to dodge with relative ease. He shouted a spell and a pink spark shot out of his wand. What was Krum playing at? Surely he knew dragon hide was very resistant to magic. But he wasn't aiming at the Fireball's skin, he was aiming at its eyes. Their eyes had to be a weakness!

The spell struck the Fireball. It let out a furious roar and reared up on to its hind legs, flapping its wings. Whatever Krum had done seemed to have caused the Fireball quite a lot of pain. It began to stagger about as it tried to clear its eyes with its clawed wings. With the dragon distracted Krum took his chance. But something happened Krum hadn't anticipated. With its eyesight obscured the dragon had no control over where it stood and it was up to Krum to dodge its large feet as it wreathed in pain.

'That's some nerve he's showing –' Bagman was saying, '– but – Oh no! The dragon has stood on its own eggs! Krum's going to lose points for that as the real eggs were not to be harmed during this challenge!'

The Fireball continued to stagger about, its feet crushing its own eggs one by one. Krum threw himself into the nest and retrieve the golden egg, narrowly missing a large clawed foot coming down upon him. He scrambled back out of the nest and ran over to the entrance. Immediately the wizards came in to restrain the Fireball and assess the damage to its eggs. It didn't look good. The Fireball howled as it was led away as if it knew what had happened.

Krum re-emerged a few minutes later to receive his mark. I half expected him to get the lowest mark considering how his spell had resulted in the damage of the real eggs. But to my surprise, and Ron's indignation, Krum's marks were high enough to give him first place. Maxime, Crouch, Bagman and Dumbledore had all awarded him sevens and eights, deducting marks for the damage, but Karkaroff had given him a ten without hesitation. Ron's assumption that Karkaroff was trying to make it so Krum got an early lead appeared to be true. That was unfair but as we had learnt when Harry had gotten help from Moody, cheating was indeed a tradition in the competition. It didn't change how low it was of Karkaroff to give Krum full marks.

'The keepers have brought out the final dragon!' announced Bagman. 'Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes upon the final challenge: the Hungarian Horntail!'

A large black dragon had been led into the enclosure. Its size dwarfed the Welsh Green and its wingspan had to be at least twice of the Swedish Short-Snout, and its scales were almost the darkest black they could be, a stark contrast to the scarlet red of the Chinese Fireball. My heart sank when I saw it as I knew the Hungarian Horntail was one of the most dangerous dragons alive. Its scales were like a shiny armour covering its body and its most dangerous feature were the spikes that ran along the tip of its tail, giving it its name, Horntail, matching the ones that formed a crown around its head. Its tail thrashed the ground, large grooves being gouged into the rocks and shards splintering into the air.

'Mr Potter, if you please!'

My eyes darted to the champions entrance. Harry had appeared, dressed in a Gryffindor version of the robes Cedric had been wearing with his name on the back. The crowd cheered once more, the Hogwarts students finally united for Harry having watched what Cedric had gone through. I'd be very surprised if anyone still thought Harry had put his name in the Goblet now. Harry just seemed to stand there for ages staring up at the Horntail which stared back at him. Its tail thrashed the ground again and it snarled at him. Harry raised his wand and through the noise of the cheers and the roars I could just make out the words "Accio Firebolt" Harry had shouted to Summon his broom.

I waited, my heart racing. At first it seemed like it hadn't worked. My eyes scanned the air but I saw no sign of a broom flying towards the enclosure. I held my breath, hoping beyond hope that it had worked. Then, I felt Hermione's hand grab my arm tightly and she pointed into the sky. A thin dark object was visible in front of the clouds gradually getting larger and larger. Harry had done it! He'd managed to Summon his broom all the way from the Gryffindor Tower!

'Yes!' I shrieked. I punched the air. Beside me Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny were all screaming and shouting as well. 'Go on, Harry! You can do it!'

The Firebolt shot over the stands and rounded into the enclosure. It came to a stop long enough for Harry to mount it then flew back up high above the ground. The crowd was going crazy, cheers and whistles and shouts now louder than the dragon's roars. Harry hovered high above the Horntail staring down at it. He seemed to be contemplating what to do. The Horntail's yellow eyes narrowed, focused only on Harry. Suddenly he dived. The Horntail's head followed Harry's path. Without warning it threw a jet of fire at where Harry had been seconds before, having swerved out of the way just in time. Within seconds he was back in the air high above the Horntail.

'Great Scott, he can fly!' yelled Bagman, astounded. 'Are you watching this, Mr Krum? Are youngest champion demonstrating phenomenal control over what appears to be a top-of-the-range broomstick! Looks like the underdog could be a true force to be reckoned with!'

'Of course!' shouted Ron. 'Harry, you genius!'

'What?' said Neville.

'Harry's playing this like he plays Quidditch!' cheered Ron. 'He's treating the dragon like a Bludger or something so he's able to anticipate when it's going to attack!'

'That's brilliant,' gasped Hermione. 'Why didn't I think of that? Using his skills as a Quidditch player against the dragon. It's a brilliant comparison!'

'Because you always look for the logical answers, Hermione,' said Ginny, grinning. 'This is all tactics. Finding the best play in order to overcome your opponent!'

While the others marvelled at Harry's plan, Harry had been slowly drawing the Horntail's attention away from its nest. He was circling above it just out of its reach, the Horntail's neck twisting to keep him in sight. Harry dived again. He wasn't so lucky this time. The Horntail used a two-pronged attack. Harry avoided the flames, but he was caught by one of the spikes on the dragon's tail when it swung it at him. It caught him on the shoulder, cutting through his robes. The crowd gasped. Harry wasn't deterred though. He flew round the back of the dragon and back above it. There he began to fly side to side. The dragon watched. It stretched its wings but remained firmly over the nest but it was clear that it had had enough of Harry. It bared its fangs at Harry, snapping at him but he was just out of reach. Harry flew slightly higher, and the Horntail followed, stretching its neck the further up Harry went. He was like an annoying fly it just wanted to swat. Harry went higher; the dragon got up from its crouch. Harry inched higher still; the Horntail's wings began to open up. Harry ascended once more; finally, the dragon reared. It spread wide it's great black wings and stood up on its hind legs. The nest was exposed. Before the Horntail knew where he'd gone, Harry dived for the eggs. Seconds later he was flying back into the sky with a burst of speed and clasped under his arm was the golden egg.

'Look at that!' yelled Bagman. 'Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is the quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr Potter!'

Harry flew back over to the champions entrance where he was greeted by Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Moody. Relief swept over Ron, Hermione and me, now that Harry had faced his dragon, and the three of us made our way through the stands to go congratulate Harry on his success. We got to the end of the row and hurried down the stairs and across the grass towards the champions tent where a second smaller tent had been erected to act as a first aid tent. Harry was sat in one of the cubicles when we got there. Madam Pomfrey was seeing to the cut he'd received on his shoulder before bustling off muttering angrily to herself to see to Cedric who was in the cubicle opposite Harry.

'Harry, you were brilliant!' screamed Hermione, flinging her arms round Harry's neck. 'You were amazing! you really were!'

'Thanks, Hermione,' laughed Harry. He gently pushed Hermione away with his uninjured arm. He then turned to me. 'What did you think, Jenna?'

'I think you're bloody lucky,' I said, shaking my head but there was a definite note of amusement in my voice. 'Geeze, Harry, a Hungarian Horntail? You couldn't have picked one of the less dangerous dragons?'

'That was not my fault,' replied Harry. 'I drew last so I didn't really have a choice.'

It was then Harry noticed Ron was with us, who had been standing silently a few feet back from us. He was staring at Harry but his face was white and pale again, and he shifted awkwardly on his feet.

'Harry,' he eventually said, 'whoever put your name in that Goblet – I – I reckon they're trying to do you in!'

Hermione and I looked at each out. I rolled my eyes, thinking, Finally!

'Caught on, have you?' said Harry coldly. I sent Harry a look which he ignored. 'Took you long enough.'

Ron hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. I held in a groan. They were so close. One of them just needs to apologise and this stupid feud would be over.

'It's OK,' Harry finally said. 'Forget it.'

'No,' said Ron, 'I shouldn't've –'

'Forget it,' insisted Harry.

Slowly, Ron grinned, and to mine and Hermione's relief, Harry grinned back.

'Oh, for goodness sake!' cried Hermione suddenly. Tears had started streaming down her cheeks and she was looking between the two boys as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

'There's nothing to cry about!' said Harry.

'You two are so stupid!' shouted Hermione, stamping her foot and she threw her arms around Harry, and Ron, once more. Harry and Ron looked at me, bewildered, but I just shrugged. Hermione released them after a long few seconds then ran out of the tent.

'Barking,' muttered Ron, shaking his head.

'No more "barking" than how stupid this had all been,' I said. Harry and Ron glanced at each other.

'Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores,' said Ron.

The three of us left the first aid tent, Ron determinedly avoiding my stare, and went back to the champions entrance so Harry could receive his marks. Ron gave Harry a blow-by-blow account of the First Task, informing him of how each of the other champions had tackled it compared to Harry, talking very animatedly as he described each one. I shook my head. Things were definitely back to normal. The five judges repeated the same spell as before and submitted their marks for Harry. He did well; an eight from Madam Maxime, nines from Crouch and Dumbledore, and a ten from Bagman. But Karkaroff only scored him a four. Ron was outraged by this, especially given what Karkaroff had scored Krum who had been slower and caused more damage than Harry. Nonetheless, the scores had meant that Harry and Krum were tied in first place.

'For someone who only managed to learn the Summoning Charm last night, first place is pretty impressive,' I said, seeing the scores. 'Shame Karkaroff clearly has marked you down so you don't score higher than Krum.'

'He's trying to make sure Krum wins,' said Ron. 'Dirty, cheating prat!'

'I hope you don't kiss Mum with that mouth,' said Charlie Weasley, coming out from the dragon enclosure.

My heart skipped when Charlie appeared and I let out a muffled squeak of surprise. I remembered back to the start of term when we had caught the Hogwarts Express and Charlie had said something about seeing us sooner than we thought. This must have been what he meant! Charlie worked with dragons. He must have been on hand to help keep the dragons in check during the First Task.

'Well done, Harry,' Charlie was saying, unaware that his sudden arrival had caused this absurd reaction in me again. 'I haven't seen flying like that apart from at the World Cup! I can see why McGonagall got you on the Gryffindor team as soon as possible. She was not thrilled when I finished Hogwarts and they needed to find someone to replace me.'

'I guess Ron, Fred and George kept you up to date after you left?' said Harry, grinning. It must have been quite a compliment from Charlie, considering he was Harry's predecessor.

'Always make an effort to keep up with my former team,' laughed Charlie. 'Seriously, well done, Harry. Not many wizards your age could take on a Horntail like that. Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened – but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah – and they told me to tell you you've got to hang around for a few more minutes … Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent.'

'Thanks, Charlie. I'll be back in a minute,' Harry added to Ron and me.

'Sure,' I said quickly, seeing an opportunity to get to talk to Charlie alone. 'I think I'm going to head back to the castle too,' I told Ron. 'Hermione's probably still bawling her eyes out so I'm going to go see if she's all right.'

'Mental,' repeated Ron, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes then quickly ran after Charlie who had already started back towards the castle. I caught up to him in no time, gathering my composure to try and not look too flustered when I attempted to talk to him. But when I opened my mouth I found I really had no idea what to even say.

'That Task was really something, wasn't it?' I managed. 'I can't believe they had real live dragons here.'

I cringed. I sounded like an idiot.

'Dragons are phenomenal creatures,' said Charlie. 'They clearly wanted to test the Champions' nerve and guts. Dragons are some of the most dangerous creatures I've ever had the chance to work with. You should never underestimate the power behind them, even when they are newborns.'

'I can imagine,' I said, trying not to sound how I would imagine the girls following Cedric would sound. 'I remember when Hagrid got a dragon in my first year. That Norwegian Ridgeback could send two foot jets of flame after it was only a few days old. We were worried it would set fire to Hagrid's Hut.'

Charlie laughed. My heart jumped; I had made him laugh!

'Hagrid did always want a dragon,' mused Charlie grinning. 'We'd talk about them for hours when I was here. He was the only person who shared my love of them.'

I smiled, a slight excitement rising in me at how the conversation was going.

'So, Charlie,' I braved next, 'does your girlfriend like you working with dragons? She must get really worried whenever you're at work.'

'Ah, I don't have a girlfriend,' shrugged Charlie. 'Too busy most of the time. The dragons I work with in Romania need a lot of care and attention in the reserve. We're always having to make sure that dragon poachers don't try to steal them for their hide. There's a whole black-market trade for dragon hide which doesn't follow the regulations set out to make sure they aren't over hunted.'

'Oh,' I said, offhandedly, 'well, I'm sure there must be someone who wouldn't mind the dragons.'

Charlie glanced at me. I looked away, my hair swinging across my face. Hopefully it hid my reddening cheeks from his sight, but it also meant I couldn't see what Charlie's reaction was to my probably not very subtle comment. It also meant I didn't realise he'd stopped walking until a hand appeared on my shoulder.

'Jenna, that's really sweet of you to say,' Charlie said. My heart jumped. There was only what could be described as a sympathetic tone to his voice. And then, to my dismay, he tousled my hair like he would do to any of his siblings. 'You're a sweet kid, but you're only fourteen.'

'Charlie, I –' I started but he stopped me.

'It's sweet you have a crush on me,' Charlie said gently, 'but I'm too old for you and it is only a crush. Crushes come and go when you're at school. You'll have loads of them. Some will work out, others won't, and you'll get over them.'

A weight seemed to fill the pit in my stomach.

'Was it that obvious?' I asked. I bowed my head, hiding behind my fringe, inwardly dying of embarrassment.

'A little.' Charlie chuckled. 'You aren't the first one of my brothers' friends who have had crushes on me. But, at least you're the first who I actually share things in common with. But it would be irresponsible. Mum would have my wand for a start, and I'm sure you're aware of what my mother's like when she gets angry.'

'Yeah, kinda,' I muttered. 'So was it just the age thing?' I braved asking.

'I'm afraid so,' said Charlie. 'You're still just a kid, Jenna, and this is your first crush. Don't get wrapped up in things until you know you're ready for them, and make sure you are sure it's what you want.'

Although the crushing weight of disappointment was baring down on me, I knew Charlie was right. It didn't stop how awful I felt though. If this was what it was like having a crush and being turned down by them, I wasn't a fan. Was this how Cedric had felt when I'd turned him down? Maybe. Then again, he was a lot older than me; he'd probably already gone through his "first crush" experience before he asked me out. My rejection probably meant nothing to him.

If anything, Charlie was right though. I had been swept up into a new aspect of growing up that I wasn't even fully sure I was ready for. Dating wasn't something I really thought about very often and prior to my experiences in the last few months since school had started, I'd never had a crush on anyone before nor had I been the subject of someone else's interest. It was all very new to me and I didn't really know how to deal with it yet, the idea of someone being interested in me in a way that wasn't a friendship. Charlie's rejection still stung but he was right that I'd probably have other crushes after him and that I'd get over it. However long that was going to take. I had no idea to be honest. Hopefully with both my crush and Cedric dealt with I would get some time to just not think about these kind of things.

Unfortunately, the Triwizard Tournament had other ideas.

The Yule Ball.

---

AN: so here's the next chapter of GOF, as you can see there's a lot more stuff, a lot more of Jenna going off on and her own and just her experiencing more of what it's like to grow up and forming relationships which will help mould things in future chapters.