Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
A/N: Thanks to MaeSilverpaws1, who is beta-ing this story.
Chapter One Hundred Eight
End of Fourth Year
It was soon after Harry woke up that his friends did as well, clearly awkward about what they should say now after what happened.
"Where's Sirius … and Remus?" Harry asked looking around the room.
"They had to go," Ron said looking at the door and then whispered, "something about having to talk to people quickly …"
"Right," Harry sighed, he was sure this was important but he wished that his guardians were here.
"The other guys wanted to stay too," Ron said, "but Fred and George were making too much noise so Pomfrey and Mum kicked them out and made Gin go with them. It's too bad to, because Nev and Luna had just gone because Pomfrey's rule of not having more than eight people, and they could have stayed here."
"That's okay," Harry said leaning back in his bed. He was grateful that his friends had wanted to be here but at the same time he was glad they were not. It wasn't like he was in a very social mood. Harry looked over to his side and noticed a bag on the counter. "What's this?"
"That's your gold for winning …" Ron started to say but trailed off as Harry turned back to face him looking pale.
"I don't deserve it," Harry mumbled to his hand and he could feel his friends shift uncomfortably and share a look but no one said anything.
"Yes you do," someone said from the door and they all looked up to see Cedric standing there before he started walking over to where Harry was.
"Cedric!" Harry said. "I'm so sorry …"
"For what? Saving my life?" Cedric asked. "I was a bit upset at first … I thought you wanted to win … I thought you beat me …" he sighed and his fist clutched. "If I wasn't so stupid … if I listened to your warning … I'm sorry, Harry."
"It's not your fault," Harry mumbled.
"It is," Cedric disagreed.
"No, it's not," Harry said more firmly and actually looking at Cedric. "You were playing the game …. This was a tournament, or at least it was supposed to be before I got thrown into the mix and effed everything up. It's not your fault," he repeated again, his voice was rising with anger as he continued to talk.
"It's not your fault either," Cedric said, instead of arguing this time he allowed what Harry had said and turned it back on him. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his bed, not being able to look at Cedric. "But it seems like you're having as much trouble believing that as I am."
Harry actually looked up at Cedric then and a small smile threatened to show. "I suppose you have a point. But still," he said and reaching over to pick up the bag with the gold in it, "you should probably take this … you should have won …"
"Didn't we just go through this," Cedric rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't feel right taking any of that after all that happened. You know I entered this tournament because I wanted to prove that being a Hufflepuff wasn't something to be looked down on. It wasn't just the average house that the leftovers get dumped into. As if one victory could change the way we're viewed.
"I got what I was looking for in the tournament," Cedric said clapping Harry on the shoulder, "and remembered if you need any help, I'll be there."
"I will," Harry said and Cedric nodded his head at him and then at Ron and Hermione before leaving.
"Well that was cheerful," Ron said when he was gone.
"Yeah … it was," Harry agreed though he knew that Ron was being sarcastic, talking with Cedric had helped him.
O
Harry stayed seated long after most the people left the Great Hall after the end of termed feast. His friends where still sitting near him though, they were all quite after Dumbledore's speech where he told everyone about Voldemort's return.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, "Are you okay?"
"Don't know," Harry mumbled, not really sure what he was feeling. "I didn't expect that."
"Neither did I," Fred agreed.
"But that's old Dumbledore for you," George added. "He never does what is expected."
"Yeah," Harry agreed.
"I wonder what everyone is going to think next year," Luna asked.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, just that Professor Dumbledore gave us a lot to think about but little time to actually think about it," Luna shrugged, "well at least not long to form our thoughts on our own. Dumbledore said that people wouldn't want us to be told what happened … it's likely they'll try to deny the truth. The Ministry and others always try to deny the truth."
"Good, there's something else to look forward to," Harry sighed.
"I'm sorry Harry," Luna said gravely.
"Don't be," Harry gave her a weak smile. "You're probably right. Please don't apologize for being honest, Luna. That's one of the reasons you're one of my best friend."
"I know," Luna smiled back at him.
"There's something I need to tell you all," Harry said after a long pause, somehow after what Dumbledore said, he felt like he could talk about what happened. It wasn't like he wanted to talk about it, but he thought that they should know. It was a very quick version of the story, just the main point but Harry felt better after he said it.
"Hey, Fred … George, did Bagman ever pay you back for your bet," Harry said, his voice shaking slight after telling them his story, but he was making it clear to everyone that he wanted to change the subject.
"No," Fred grimaced.
"But he won the bet didn't he," Ron said looking angry about this. "I mean didn't he bet Harry would … er …"
"Yeah, and every knut went to paying off the goblins," George rolled his eyes. "We tried to ask for ours but he dodged us muttering something about later. Seeing how things have been going, I expect that we'll be fifty before we get a galleon from that jerk."
"That's not fair," Hermione frowned. "Not that I approve of gambling, but he shouldn't be able to get away with cheating you out of your money. You should report him to the Ministry."
"That would make us snitches," Fred said grimly. "And I can't really abide by that. I was thinking that we might send him prank post for the rest of our lives."
"Yeah, we'll use him as our test subject," George added.
"Or you could get him to promote your products," Ron said thoughtfully. "That way he could actually be useful. Loads of people like him after all and he could spread the word for your products easy enough. I mean, he seems like he's still a big kid so his word on a joke item would be worth something."
"Not a bad idea, Redpaw," George smiled at him. "We might think about that."
"Though, that doesn't really help us out with actually making the products that we want to sell," Fred pointed out, remaining grim.
"I might be able to help you there," Harry said. "You see, I've recently found myself a thousand Galleons richer …"
"Harry we can't …"
"… and I was thinking that I might want to make an investment," Harry went on, not stopping when George tried to interrupt him.
"Investment?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, and investment for the future," Harry said, actually pulling out the bag full of coins.
"Merlin Harry, you've just been walking around with a thousand Galleons on you!" Ron gasped.
"Just today," Harry chuckled at his friend's response.
"So you were planning on giving it to us then," George said looking at the bag and then his twin and they both looked grimed. "What do you mean by investment for the future?"
"This money right here represents all the effed up things that happened to me in my life," Harry said. "The only reason I got it was because I was manipulated by Voldemort. Now the Ministry is giving me this money with one hand and probably going to smear my name with the other. Instead of tossing it down the drain, I want to use it to make sure that I can spread a little Mischief and Mayhem around." He paused to look at the twin then and they couldn't help but smile at him, "I figured that with all the hell that's coming our way, we can all do with a little laughter."
"And we're definitely the ones who can do that," Fred said.
Harry had thought that it would have taken longer to convince the twins to take the winning but was happy that wasn't the case. He didn't care if that was because they understood that he really wasn't going to keep the galleon or if it was something else but he didn't argue, he just handing them the bag.
"You know, I might be able to come up with joke idea … you could give me the money," Ron said, his eyes on the bag.
"Sorry," Harry chuckled; knowing that Ron was joking but there was still a longing look in his eyes.
"Actually Ron, if your Bagman idea pans out, we'll be sure to give you a fair price for the suggestion," George said earnestly.
"Seriously?" Ron said shocked.
"Sirius-lee," George said grinning. "If we could keep a good relationship with Bagman instead of possible getting in trouble for cursing a Ministry official … well that would be good. But if it helps bring in business at the same time … that's even better."
"But … I just …" Ron started to say.
"But don't think this is just a one off," Fred said. "We wouldn't mind picking your brain for any future idea you might have."
Ron's mouth drop as he stared at his older brothers in shock.
"Er … Ron?" George said waving his hand in front of his eyes.
"Don't mind him, he's just in shock that you actually admitted he had a brain," Ginny said dryly.
"Shut up," Ron hissed at his sister, though that wasn't far off from the truth.
"Look Ron, you got past the age line of Dumbledore's when we couldn't," Fred said as if it pained him to admit this. "You might not be as brilliant as we are when it comes to jokes and pranks, but that doesn't mean you can't think of something of use. It never hurts to have another mind in the mix."
"Especially when Fred and I think so much alike," George added.
"And that goes for everyone here," Fred added to the group.
"You're just trying to use us for any brilliant idea we might have so you could then take credit for it," Ginny said.
"Well of course," Fred chuckled. "It seems like a good idea to me."
"It is," Ginny agreed with him and they continued to talk about this and other things until it was time they got back to bed before it was after hours.
Harry had bad dreams of the graveyard, but it didn't seem as bad as it had the night before. Still it was hard to get the red hate filled eyes out of his head as he remembered seeing Voldemort's face as he rose from the cauldron. After waking up to this the second time Harry decided he wasn't going to get back to sleep so he got up and went downstairs where he sat in the couch until morning. He went back to his dorm and packed the last of his things and then he and Ron went to the Great Hall for breakfast. Before Harry knew it, he was standing outside waiting for the horseless carriages to come so they could be taken to the Hogwarts' express.
"'Arry," Harry heard someone call and he turned to see it was Fleur. Her smile was breathtaking, and he felt his face heat up as she kissed his cheeks. "I wanted to say goodbye."
"Goodbye Fleur," Harry mumbled, a little at a loss to what else he should say to her. "It was a pleasure meeting you."
"You are sweet," Fleur smile somehow became more beautiful and yet Harry felt the odd effect Fleur had (likely her Veela power) loosen. "But I think that I did not make a good first impression on you."
"Really, I don't think you can make a bad first impression," Harry pointed out.
"No … not to boys at least," Fleur agreed looking both amused a bit sad by that. "I'm sorry for calling you a little boy …"
"It's okay, really Fleur," Harry said.
Fleur smiled again, the pretty non veela smile that seemed more genuine. "I'm glad I got to meet you Harry, I hope we can stay friends. I was thinking about getting a job here so I can improve my English."
"I'd like it if we stayed friends," Harry said and was kissed on his cheeks again before Fleur left them. He turned to see Ginny scowling as Ron looked thoughtfully after Fleur and Hermione grimaced.
"Harry," the new voice was a welcome distraction to his friends' expressions, so he turned to face Viktor Krum with a smile. Viktor returned the smile somewhat weakly as he shook Harry's hand and nodded his head towards the others (though he added a hello to Hermione that had Ron scowling this time).
"So how are you going to get back with Karkaroff gone?" Harry asked to break the tension that had started to build again.
"He did not steer the ship, we well go back without problems," Viktor answered, turning back to Harry.
"Okay," Harry said after another pause in the conversation.
"It was nice coming here," Viktor said suddenly, "though I wish I would have won the tournament."
"Sorry," Harry said with a sigh, "about what happened …"
Viktor shrugged, stopping Harry from saying more.
"It was good meeting you," Harry finally said, letting everything else he wanted to say go, it didn't seem necessary at the moment.
"You too, Harry," Viktor nodded his head, and he turned to leave his eyes traveling to Hermione but he didn't say anything more to her nor did she try to talk to him, though she looked sad.
"Well that wasn't awkward or anything," Ginny mumbled as Ron still scowled and Hermione looked sad. Harry laughed at that as his friends made faces at her and avoided looking at each other. He sat in his seat watching as the castle got smaller as they moved further away.
A/N: As you can tell, this is the end of another year and as such I'm going to take two weeks off so I can think about what I want to do next. Okay, so I'm actually taking the weeks off so I can relax and take a little break from writing, which I've really been needing for a while now.