Book 1: Astoria Greengrass and the Muggle-Born Slytherin

Song rec: "Dear Diary" by Pink

Rhiannon appreciated the ferret doodles Astoria and Hestia had made in her notebook, and it seemed to inspire her to write in it even more, although Astoria wished Rhiannon didn't pick class time to do it. Sitting next to her whilst she wrote just about everything except notes made Astoria feel guilty by association. She couldn't bring herself to advise Rhiannon otherwise, though, because it was fascinating to read Rhiannon's daily output after classes let out. More of the music was coupled with words in only a few days. A particular sore spot on the pages was Rhiannon's relationship with her parents, but it was hard for Astoria to pick out the literal meaning from poetic verse, and she was far too shy to ask what she felt was not her business. Astoria had never appreciated her parents for simply being functional parents before she read some of the things in Rhiannon's notebook.

For as concerning as some of the content was, Rhiannon was straightforward about sharing it and was upbeat about her creative process. She was about to take out the notebook at dinnertime to show the other girls her newest creation, but it was not in her bag. Astoria watched Rhiannon frantically dig past the same three textbooks to no avail.

"Did you leave it in the dorm?" Astoria asked.

"No, I didn't leave it in the dorm!"

"Oh, maybe you left it under your chair in—"

"In D.A.D.A., yeah," Rhiannon groaned.

"We can go get it after dinner is over," Hestia suggested.

"No, we need to get it now before Moody reads it," said Rhiannon.

"What difference does it make?" Flora said. "We read it all the time. I don't think he'll take issue with the ferret drawings, considering he's the one who started it."

"I-I dunno," Rhiannon said brusquely. "There's stuff about my parents in there. It's just weird. Teachers look into your business and stuff and then they don't wanna do anything, so they tell the other teachers, and… I dunno… If someone else gets it, that'd be even worse…"

"Well, if it will make you feel better, we can go," Hestia shrugged. "I'm finished with dinner."

Astoria decided it would be less work to help Rhiannon than to try to convince her not to worry, so she, Hestia, and Rhiannon left dinner early to go back to the D.A.D.A. classroom. Flora stayed behind in her own little world, a world much warmer than the chilly hallways of the castle leading to the darkened classroom.

"There's no other D.A.D.A. class after ours," Astoria reassured, "so your notebook should be right where you left it."

Astoria had spoken too soon. Not only was the notebook missing from her desk, it wasn't on Moody's desk, either. Hestia shut the door for privacy and lit more candles, and Astoria lit her wand. The only thing the added light did was make it more obvious that the notebook was gone. Astoria, knowing the personal content of the notebook and the awful risk of it falling into the wrong hands, quickly decided to Summon it.

" Accio Rhiannon's notebook ," she said, not entirely sure of how to aim her wand.

Very little was accomplished by the spell, but Astoria liked to think her sheer determination had made the candles in the room flicker more. Rhiannon looked impassive, deep in thought of what was going to happen. She, Astoria, and Hestia stood in the darkening room dumbfounded.

"I had stuff about my family in there, y'know? And dumb poems and dumb songs and dumb music," Rhiannon said.

"They're not dumb at all," Hestia interjected. "You're very talented!"

"They're dumb to the kind of people that would take me book," Rhiannon returned. "Just like I'm dumb. If I get it back, it's gonna have 'Mudblood' written all over it and spit on the pages. Stupid arse school. Accio notebook!"

All three girls started at the thunk they heard, but it sounded very unlike a notebook hitting the walls and much more like a continual knock.

"Is that from the spell or…?" Hestia wondered.

"Oh! We shut the door, remember?" Astoria exclaimed.

She hurried to open it, aware of the risk of getting hit in the face by the notebook trying to get in. That was the only risk she accounted for, though, and when she opened the door to see a dark, wild-haired figure, she startled with a yelp.

"I know I look scary, Greengrass, but I don't look scary enough to scream like that."

It was "Mad-Eye" Moody, a moniker Astoria didn't like to use out of respect, but it was surely appropriate now. His eye stood out in the evening dim, rolling weirdly at the whole room. It had been his wooden leg against the floor, not the notebook against the door, that Astoria had heard. Although, as his sleeves fell away from his arm, Astoria realised he had just what they needed.

"It's yours, right?" he said to Rhiannon, whose lips were firmly shut.

Astoria reached for the notebook, but Professor Moody delivered it right to Rhiannon.

"Don't leave your belongings to the wolves like that," he advised. "That Carter girl—"

"Did she see our stuff?" Hestia blurted even though it was clear Rhiannon wanted the whole conversation to end.

" I'm talking ," he shot at Hestia. "I'm trying to tell you lot she didn't see anything. You can't leave things like this out, Rhiannon. Teenagers are shits."

Rhiannon didn't utter an "I know" or "thanks" or even nod. Her hand trembled over the grip of the notebook.

"Thank you, Professor Moody. That's all we needed. I'm sorry," Astoria said, eyeing Hestia and ushering Rhiannon out of the situation.

They managed to leave in one piece, separate from the teacher.

"Well! I'm sure he liked our ferret drawings, right?" said Hestia, trying to lighten the mood.

Not only did Rhiannon fail to see the humour, she was hostile.

"I had stuff about my damn parents in there."

"I mean, it was mostly music, at least," Hestia said, and Astoria quickly repositioned herself to stop walking between them.

"Music's worse, don't you get it? I'm stupid! Some stupid kid that writes poems! Some weirdo!" Rhiannon shouted.

"You're not a weirdo!" Hestia argued back. "And even if you were a weirdo, look at who's read it! Moody ! He's the weirdest of all of us! What's he care?"

"Well, that's the question, ain't it? Teachers get real weird about stuff with your parents! I don't need any more wizard letters showing up to my flat so my mum can burn it on my bed or start screaming or pull my hair out! God sakes! I didn't want people to know!"

"Then why'd you write it, huh?" Hestia challenged, having managed to upset herself. "You let me and Flora read it, and Astoria!"

"It's the only way I can tell you!" Rhiannon said, visibly shaking. "It's the only thing I can do to get it out!"

Astoria watched as Rhiannon and Hestia both fell into uncomfortable silence. Nobody really yelled like this at home, so it was strange to be on the fringe of the disagreement. It wasn't that Astoria's family didn't get into arguments; it was that the anger behind the words was a new ugly. When they met back up, Flora tried to share a look with Astoria that Astoria didn't want to share.

Monday was Hallowe'en and the day that the Champions for the Triwizard Tournament would be announced, so no one was in a completely bad mood. Even Professor Snape had a big, jolly-looking turnip on his desk, though he insisted that it was for a potion and not carving. Classes were let out early, and the students entered the Great Hall around five-thirty. It was magnificently decorated with jack-o'-lanterns, bats, and autumn floral arrangements on the tables — Astoria actually laughed when one of the decorative bats magically took flight. Yet all of the festive decorations were hardly important that evening compared to the impending announcement. The Hallowe'en feast was quiet, as the students only had the Tournament on their minds and finally ran out of gossip. Astoria was one of the few at her table to actually finish her food. Finally, most of the candles went out and it became time to announce the Champions. The Goblet of Fire shone brightly in the darkness as bluish flames changed to red and the first Champion was chosen.

"The Champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum," announced Professor Dumbledore.

Rhiannon clapped louder than her roommates. "Great guy, he is," she said as he left their table and went into a chamber off the Great Hall.

"The Champion for Beauxbatons," began the headmaster as the Goblet's fires turned red again and shot out another slip of parchment, "is Fleur Delacour."

A beautiful girl with smooth, fair hair stood and walked into the chamber off of the Hall, and Rhiannon again clapped louder than her roommates. Flora had in fact brought a book to read which was hidden under the table, whilst Hestia was too enthralled with the whole situation to even clap. The Beauxbatons students did not take the announcement about Fleur as well as the Durmstrangs had regarding Viktor. Two girls cried, and Astoria saw Philippe lean back and groan.

"The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!" Professor Dumbledore said happily, and the cheers from the Hufflepuffs were almost deafening as Cedric rose from their table and went to the chamber.

Professor Dumbledore began speaking of the three Champions, but he was soon interrupted by the Goblet presenting him with a fourth. He took the parchment and looked at it silently for some time. Almost numbly, he announced that Harry Potter was the fourth Champion. No one clapped, but rather started standing up to get a glimpse of the Gryffindor table. Flora huffed and held onto her book tighter as people continuously bumped her to get a better glare in. Astoria uselessly stood up; there were two tables filled with taller people between the Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Harry Potter . She had heard that name before.

Harry Potter . What was it again? He lived through something…? Harry lived…?

Harry Potter! The boy who lived through the Killing Curse! Of course he would be a Champion, right? No, no, that wasn't what the other students thought. Astoria heard so many voices at once that they merged to become unintelligible, but they were all clearly angry or shocked. She managed to see Harry Potter as he approached the headmaster. Clearly, there must have been a mistake; he looked far too young. Astoria should have known he was only a class ahead, but she had not been told the "legend," per se, of Harry Potter more than twice and scarcely heard the students of her House talk about him. But did she ever picture him differently! He had messy black hair and perfectly round glasses. Astoria always imagined him as a much taller boy who carried himself well, and more heroic, to say the least. However, he seemed just as shocked as the other students and was stumbling quite a bit. Then, like the other Champions, he went into the chamber off the Hall. Professor Dumbledore shook his head slightly. Astoria saw the judges rise from the staff table, all visibly frustrated except Professor Sinistra, who took amusement at them arguing.

"Please excuse us, students," the headmaster called, and they all disappeared into the chamber himself along with the Heads of House. The Great Hall exploded with chatter.

"I can't believe it! He's too young!" said Hestia.

"I bet he cheated!" shouted Parkinson.

"How is that even possible, though?" Tracey Davis considered. "Wasn't there an Age Line?"

"Yes, but if anyone sneaked his way into the Tournament, it would definitely be Potter!" scoffed Draco.

"Piece of half-blood scum," said Blaise Zabini.

Astoria couldn't believe that someone so legendary would cheat. It was unsuitable, and like Tracey said, there was an Age Line to prevent underage students from entering. She wondered why so many people seemed to think poorly of him.

"Can't he ever just keep to himself? Look, he's got the whole school in a tumult now!" Draco said. He noticed that Astoria wasn't joining in on the commotion, which bothered him.

"What an idiot, right?" he said, suddenly smiling as though the level of his anger was only a show. He looked as though he was almost glad Harry Potter was chosen, actually, since it caused students to dislike the famed wizard.

"I don't know… he looked confused," Astoria replied. "I mean, who really would be stupid enough to put their name in there at that age?"

" He would," said Draco. "Trust me."

"It could have been an honest mistake, like a malfunction," she said firmly. "My magic malfunctions, so I'm sure an unattended Age Line isn't perfect. Maybe he just put his name in as a joke, thinking it wouldn't work. You know people have been trying to test it this whole term! I don't know why everyone's so upset. They can't change what happened."

"Yeah, but they can complain about it like drama queens," Rhiannon chimed in. "Don't you listen to Malfoy, Astoria. I met Harry. He's real kind."

"He'd be really nice to you since he knows you're a Mudblood," Draco snapped.

"He didn't even know for sure!" Rhiannon shouted.

" I knew you were Mud from the start!"

"Like hell you did! You treated me like a human being before—" Rhiannon stopped her comeback suddenly.

"Go on, before what ?" Draco asked menacingly, as though he already knew the answer.

Rhiannon fell quiet. She grabbed Astoria's arm and scurried over with her to the other side of the table.

"What was that, Rhi?" Astoria asked. "What happened?"

"Now, y'know I wouldn't've taken you over here if I wanted you to know what that was," Rhiannon said.

From her seat, Astoria could see Hestia yelling at Draco. Flora jinxed her book to snap onto his fingers. He was ultimately overwhelmed and ended up sulking on his own. Seeing that Rhiannon had become gloomy, Astoria put the confidential matter behind.

"So, how do you think Harry Potter was chosen?" Astoria asked.

"I have no clue," Rhiannon said. "Could be what you said. Maybe it was fate or something."

"I don't believe in fate that much," said Astoria.

"I don't either," said Rhiannon, "but I don't want to over-think this. I trust Potter'll make it through the Tournament if he has to. Either that or they won't let him play. But you won't believe some of the other stuff he's done."

"Really? Like what?" Astoria asked. She felt extremely left out not knowing much about this legendary wizard in her very own school.

"I heard he came face-to-face with You-Know-Who again ," Rhiannon said.

" What ? How? Was he hurt? When was this?"

"I dunno. I think one of his old teachers had summoned You-Know-Who's spirit or something, but that's just hearsay. I would imagine he got hurt, yeah, but I don't really know. But in my first year, he killed a basilisk. Last year I saw him use a Patronus charm at a Quidditch match. Professor Lupin taught him how to use it, you know."

"That's fascinating! I've missed quite a bit…" Astoria said. "But if there were people trying to have séances with You-Know-Who, I guess I'm okay…"

"Well, the only thing worth being here for was the Dark Arts class last year. For the most part, school's been dead awful for me."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rhiannon."

"Eh, whatever. It's better than being with Jessica," Rhiannon shrugged, but Astoria knew she was minimising her problems.

The chamber door then opened. The Beauxbatons Champion, Fleur, and Madame Maxime stepped out. Madame then announced to the students, "Dumbledore said to return to your common rooms."

The students certainly did not exit the Great Hall of their own volition; they had to be herded like sheep by the rest of the staff.

"What I'd give to talk to Harry right now!" said Rhiannon. "Hope he's not in trouble again."

"So he does get into trouble, then?" Astoria questioned.

"Yup, quite a bit. But ninety-five percent of the trouble is necessary, see."

Astoria wanted to meet Harry Potter for herself, although she wondered what the other five percent of unnecessary trouble he got into was about.

"When did you get a chance to talk to him?" Astoria asked.

"He's in the hospital wing a lot," Rhiannon giggled. "I saw him once there, but we talked at breakfast, too."

"You visited him in the hospital?"

"No, I was there too."

"What happened to you?"

"I got hurt, duh," Rhiannon said.

"How?" Astoria asked partly out of concern and partly out of inquisitiveness. She realised that she knew much less about Rhiannon than she thought she had.

"I don't remember what for," Rhiannon dismissed.

The Slytherin common room was unusually quiet when the girls arrived, even though the room was nearly full. Rhiannon walked to the centre of the room to grab two handfuls of sweets from one of the bowls placed on a side table as a Hallowe'en treat to the students.

"Wan' som?" Rhiannon asked with her mouth full of caramel.

"Not right now," said Astoria.

"I'll have a chocolate frog, if there is one," said Hestia.

"Yup," said Rhiannon, dropping her sweets onto a small table and sorting through them for the chocolate.

"Do you know exactly what the Champions do in the Tournament?" Astoria asked.

"Eh, nah really. I think they're doin' 'tass' or sommin' th' tes' ther ablilily."

"Rhiannon, would you answer us when your mouth isn't full?" said Flora edgily.

Rhiannon swallowed her solidified corn syrup.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're doin' things called 'tasks' that test their ability."

"I could never do that; I'd probably trip over my own feet in the middle of a task," said Hestia.

"I think I'd just freeze up and not be able to do anything," said Astoria.

"I wouldn't be interested even if I was of age," remarked Flora. "It's all silly. Men made it up, I'll bet."

"I'd probably end up getting eaten or something," Rhiannon added.

"Yes, with all that sugar in your blood, I wouldn't be surprised if you caught the fancy of something carnivorous," said Flora.

Rhiannon grumbled.

A week later, Diane Carter, Parkinson's very own miniature, strolled into Potions with her nose in the air and a badge on her chest that read "Support Cedric Diggory, the REAL Hogwarts Champion," and then changed to "POTTER STINKS."

"Like my badge, pig?" Carter said from her seat in the back of the room.

"Pig? Then what are you, Diane? A warthog?" Astoria fought.

It had taken some time, but Astoria learned how to be nasty when it called for it.

"Gosh, you're so stupid. You know, you're a pig since you roll around in the Mud all the time!" Carter mocked.

"How cute. A blood-traitor joke. I bet you weren't clever enough to come up with that yourself. And if I'm the stupid one, explain the forty percent you got on your last test," Astoria stated. She couldn't wait for some Gryffindors to arrive; they would think Carter's badge was ridiculous, too.

A few Gryffindors did come within a few minutes or so, bringing part of their lunches with them and munching hurriedly so they would finish it before the professor arrived and found them eating in the classroom. Astoria found their blunder, though; there were crumbs on the floor around them.

"You're here early," said Ginevra Weasley, noticing the crumbs and sweeping them under a nearby cabinet with a wave of her wand. "What about lunch?"

Astoria tried to think of a polite way to tell her that her House doesn't spend all of the lunch period talking and playing with their food.

"I had a large breakfast," Astoria settled on. "You're early, too. What's the rush?"

"To say the least, it's pretty hectic up there," said Ginny.

"I would imagine, especially for your table," said Astoria.

"Yes, Harry keeps saying he didn't enter his name in the Goblet, but no one believes him. Now look, that girl back there's wearing one of those dumb badges, too," Ginny huffed.

Carter looked up at Ginny, but stayed silent since she was now outnumbered.

"It would be very unlikely that he could get his name in there," said Astoria.

"At least some of us believe him. That makes three, with Hermione," said Ginny.

"Four," said Rhiannon, walking into the room. She had a small dish in her hand filled with strawberries. In her other hand was another mysterious letter, which happened to be the fourth of the sort.

"Everyone's eager to get out of the Great Hall?" Astoria asked.

"Everyone in their right mind is," said Rhiannon, slipping the letter in her bag. "All this yelling still… about Harry Potter cheating and whatnot… I couldn't even focus enough to chew! I thought it'd get better over time, but I think it's got worse since last week. You seen the badges yet?"

"I did," Astoria said with a nod towards Carter.

Astoria was very glad that she had missed the drama. She did not want to hear any more of Draco's input on the situation. There were still about ten minutes before class started, and other students slowly began to populate the room. Even several of Astoria's fellow Slytherins came early to escape the Great Hall, though she had to admit she did have a relatively friendly class.

When class started, Astoria noticed that there were eleven Slytherins in her class wearing the badges. She made a mental note of who these students were to avoid giving them the benefit of the doubt in the future. Astoria was truly expecting Professor Snape to tell them to remove them, but he did not. She wondered how a teacher would put up with such immaturity, especially him. Perhaps he didn't want to waste class time. That must have been it.

Dinner was something Astoria eagerly waited for. After History of Magic, she met up with Rhiannon and the others and headed for the Great Hall. It was one of those days when Astoria was embarrassed to sit at the Slytherin table. Despite the fact that the majority of the third-years lacked an anti-Harry Potter badge, most other students had one. This hardly surprised her, but Daphne had thankfully chosen not to wear one. Daphne probably thought it was too gaudy a piece regardless of the rude message. Their cousins Ansel and Erez were too mature for that kind of thing.

But why can't Daphne be less rude herself ? Astoria thought. And why, in the sake of Heaven and Earth, does Draco Malfoy always have to sit next to me ?

Parkinson was seated on the other side of him and had not yet glared at Astoria, but Astoria knew that Parkinson could snap at any second like a Venus flytrap. Astoria sat up straight and ate her food quickly, making no acknowledgement of Draco's existence. She should have known by then that Draco took more notice when his presence was not recognised.

"Want a badge, Astoria? There are plenty more," said Draco, searching his pocket for the one he was so ridiculously saving to offer her. Did he seriously think she, Astoria Greengrass, would say yes? His thought process was beyond her comprehension.

"Look at it, it's glowing. You look childish with that on," she said.

She only made eye contact for the amusement of seeing his bewildered facial expressions, which had really grown on her.

"What's your problem?" he said, not finding much else in his brain to say.

"My problem is that not only is it stupid for all of you to wear a badge that showy, but that I can see how that would be very hurtful to someone."

Again, the bewildered expression.

"What, you think Potter got in there fairly ? I should have expected that from you."

"I wouldn't say fairly, but it simply doesn't add up that he could get his name in the Goblet. If I was in his spot right now, with 'Astoria stinks' badges all around me, I wouldn't be feeling so great. What if I was somehow picked? What if you were somehow picked? You and I wouldn't have had any more ability of getting our names in there than he would."

Draco was silent for a moment. Could he actually be considering someone else's opinion? Not likely, but that moment of silence was what Astoria was striving for since September.

"If you knew him better, you would know he put his name in," Draco insisted.

"You know, those 'Astoria stinks' badges weren't a bad idea!" said Parkinson.

"It'd look a bit awkward with two big round badges right on your chest, now, Parkinson," said Rhiannon, grabbing her own chest unabashedly.

Parkinson immediately turned pink, a colour which looked very odd on her face.

No one was in a hurry to leave dinner since the Hall wasn't as loud as it had reportedly been during lunch, excluding the noise of another raging storm outside. Rhiannon was poking her mashed potatoes and eyeing the chocolate cake that was only an arm's length down the table.

"I wonder when we're going to Hogsmeade," Rhiannon sighed. "I heard there's a sweet shop called Honeydukes…"

"I don't know; the Tournament will probably interfere with trips this year," said Flora.

"Yeah. Last year, everyone got to go round Hallowe'en. Maybe we'll go before Christmas, then?" Rhiannon said.

"Hopefully. I haven't been there since last spring," said Astoria.

Rhiannon left her mashed potatoes on her plate and scooted out of her chair.

"I never been. See you in the common room?" she asked.

Astoria had wanted to talk to Philippe all day, but she lost some of her confidence about talking to him alone. Most of her latest conversations with him had been glued together by her cousin. Even still, Astoria knew that Philippe was probably the kindest young man she had ever met and wouldn't mind her shyness. Still, Astoria agreed to go back to the common room after she finished her meal. Rhiannon walked across the Great Hall toward the dungeons, but she made a sharp turn and came trotting back to the table.

"What is it?" Astoria asked.

"Harry Potter's sitting alone; didja want to go talk to him?" Rhiannon asked.

"Erm, sure."

She finished her last two spoonfuls of corn and joined Rhiannon on the journey to the Gryffindor table. Being a Slytherin, it seemed unthinkable to approach Gryffindor turf without any animosity. The rivalry between the two Houses was daft, but very noticeable. Sure, she talked to handfuls of Gryffindors in Potions, but standing in front of a whole table of them? Astoria felt they might bite, then criticised herself for being so closed-minded when it came to meeting new people. There was Harry Potter himself sitting alone at the end of the Gryffindor table. Astoria never would have thought someone named Harry Potter would be sitting alone.

"Hullo, Harry. Haven't talked to you in forever!" Rhiannon said cheerily to Harry Potter himself.

A few Gryffindors were watching Astoria and Rhiannon.

It ' s the green ties , Astoria thought. We stick out too much . This is awkward .

"Oh, hi, Rhiannon. How're you?" he said in a sort of preoccupied way. He appeared to have been deep in thought.

"Alright. I take it you've had an eventful year so far," Rhiannon said, sitting down at the table. Astoria thought she had better sit down, too.

"Yeah," said Harry Potter. "Today we had pictures taken for the Tournament. I ended up right in the front in all of them."

He sounded like he was sort of… miserable.

"I'm sure you enjoyed that," Rhiannon said.

"Yes, definitely," Harry said sarcastically.

His eyes met Astoria's. It was clear there were a lot of things bothering him.

"This is my friend, Astoria Greengrass," said Rhiannon, patting Astoria's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you," said Harry-Potter-himself, shaking her hand. She noticed his famed lightning-bolt scar, but only gave it a glance. It wasn't polite to stare.

"It's very nice to meet you, Harry," Astoria stammered.

She had a lot of respect for him, even if he didn't necessarily act like a "hero" as she thought he would.

"She doesn't think you put your name in the Goblet," said Rhiannon, which somehow eased some of the awkwardness.

"Oh, thanks," he said to Astoria.

She imagined it must be extremely agitating for Harry to have so few believe him. Even those in his own House apparently thought he put his name in, since Ginny had only mentioned "four of us."

"So d'you know what's going to happen in the Tournament yet?" Rhiannon asked.

"Not really," he said. "We have to complete different obstacles called Tasks. We had our wands checked out for safety today. That's about all I know."

"You would think they would have told you more," Astoria remarked after getting the courage to say something.

He nodded. "I wish they had. My friend Hermione could probably find a book on the Tournament, though."

"By the time you've read it, the Tournament could have started already," said Rhiannon. Where is Hermione anyway?"

"I think she's in the hospital wing. Malfoy put a hex on her this morning," he said.

"That stupid wan—"

"Rhiannon," Astoria cut her short.

"Oh, I really don't mind what she calls Malfoy," said Harry, and Rhiannon sniggered.

"Well, we best be going. Moody gave us a ruddy essay do to this weekend."

"Okay," said Harry. "See you."

Rhiannon gave him a short wave and went down the staircase.

"Erm," mumbled Astoria. "Be careful in the Tournament," she said to Harry. She didn't know exactly how quietly she said it. She really was concerned about the Champions. Having met Harry in person perhaps made the matter worse.

"Thanks. I'll try," said Harry Potter himself.