Co-Written by Aani, Beta-Read by Proton6
Luxury Box, Triwizard Stadium
June 25th, 1995
1:37 a.m.
The Luxury Box in the Triwizard Stadium was in complete chaos.
Hermione was pacing frantically in circles, taking no more than four steps - in a limp - at a time. Her heart was pounding in her ears, deadening the sounds of crying, wailing, and sobbing all around her, the adrenaline in her system drowning out the pain from the burning cut on her face and the throbbing in her torso.
Healers were everywhere. At first, they had focused on transporting all those with the most severe wounds to St Mungo's so that they could be treated, as well as removing the bodies of the dead out from the box to the morgue. It was only about thirty minutes ago that they started attending to those with minor injuries..
On the other side of the room, right beside the entrance to the box and inside a bubble of privacy enchantments, all the ministry and international officials were heatedly arguing . They had barricaded themselves there ever since the attack had ended and the champions had been portkeyed away. From what Hermione could tell, the situation had only worsened with time.
Hermione's heart clenched ever more in agony as the seconds passed. The only thing that she could feel besides worry was the burden of the knowledge that she should feel disgusted.
Disgusted at herself.
Disgusted at the fact that she should be crying out of grief, worried out of her mind about all her friends who got hurt and trying to support the ones that were still there. But she couldn't bring herself to do that - to feel that, she couldn't get herself to mourn them, to worry about them, to try to comfort them.
And how could she when she felt as if she were drowning with worry, devastated by grief, and trapped in what seemed like a never-ending freefall. It had been two and a half hours already, and she knew instinctively that her mind would crash.
And how could she not, when her boyfriend - the person she loved more than anyone else in the world, the person who never failed to make her smile, to make her feel special, to cherish her unlike any other, the person that had become her rock, her constant source of happiness, her home - had been suddenly kidnapped? Vanished without a trace, facing whatever horror she knew would be on the other side of that portkey with no hope of aid?
How could she bring herself to worry about those friends who had been seriously wounded, to mourn those friends that had died, to care that Harry wasn't the only one who had been Portkeyed away and subjected to the same ordeal as him - when every cell in her body was in constant anguish and panic over Harry?
She would gladly see the Wizarding World burn if it meant that Harry would be returned to her.
She forced herself to cease her pacing - it wouldn't do anything to help her helplessness. Ever since the attack, the entire stadium, including the luxury box, had been put under lockdown, the only ones allowed to enter or leave being the Aurors and healers.
And she hated it. Hated being locked up, unable to render any help, and being forced to wait to see if - no, when, Harry returned.
Because he would return.
He had to.
Hermione sighed and looked out towards the way out as a group of Aurors entered the box, marching at a brisk pace straight towards the ministry officials and-
CRASH!
A bright, blazing flash of orange - more powerful than anything Hermione had ever seen, suddenly erupted just in front of the entrance of the maze, capturing everyone's attention inside the box.
"Harry," Hermione breathed out, not knowing how she knew and not knowing whether to feel relieved or terrified.
Less than a second later, without thought, Hermione took off, sprinting towards the exit of the box. It seemed though, unfortunately, that she wasn't the only one. Nearly every single one of the ministry officials in the box, too, immediately dashed towards the door, many reaching it before she could. She fought through the crowd and followed them down, barely aware that Neville and Ron were following right behind her.
It didn't take long for Hermione to reach the field. As she came to a halt, she saw that there were two large gatherings of people. As soon as she saw Dumbledore, though, she quickly changed course towards him, knowing by instinct that that had to be where Harry was. She pushed her way through Fudge and the polyjuiced man that she recognized as Sirius before finally sighting Harry.
She couldn't stop her gasp as she dropped to her knees besides him in shock.
Harry was slumped on the ground, shaking violently. His eyes were closed and his face was twisted in a grimace of pain. There was a large, bright red cut that tore all the way up his right forearm and a larger cut on the upper-left of his back, nearly identical to the one on his forearm except for that it was shaped like a V. Through the din, Hermione could hear faint, barely conscious whimpers and sobs coming from his collapsed form.
"Somebody get some healers here!" Remus shouted in his polyjuiced voice.
"Harry!" Dumbledore breathed loudly, shock and horror written all over his face - but Harry didn't answer.
"Harry," Sirius croaked in a distraught voice, but Harry didn't answer.
"H-Harry," Hermione said brokenly and Harry immediately stopped.
A whimper mingled with a grown escaped him as he slowly twisted his body to turn and face Hermione. She finally got a good look at his face, riddled with mud, dried blood, and tears as he gazed at her with eyes that seemed… haunted, though that did not even come close to describing the look that they held. They were broken and empty, terrified and agitated, old and weary - they looked to be the eyes of an eighty-year-old war veteran in the face of a fourteen-year-old boy.
"H-h-he's b-back." His voice came out as nothing more than a pitiful whimper. "V-V-Vol-" Harry stopped himself and winced violently, letting out a miserable sob. "V-V-Vol-" He shut his eyes and shook his head violently, a silent tear escaped him and ran down his cheek. He glanced at her, looking pleadingly and humiliated, and Hermione felt the sense of despair that was already coursing through her veins increase more than tenfold. Harry looked away from her, and she could tell that he was trying to and failing to stop his sobs and whimpers.
"Y-y-you K-know W-who…" Harry croaked out miserably. "Y-you K-k-know W-who is b-b-back."
16 HOURS EARLIER
"That… that... that..." Hermione spat, having barely seen the headline of the Daily Prophet but already looking at it as if it had killed her puppy.
The five Gryffindors were having breakfast in the Great Hall - by themselves, for the first time in months. Cedric had been helping Cho all week with her exams, spending almost all their free time in the library together. Harry was sure that they were both sleeping in late. Neither Fleur, Viktor, nor Dragomir had shown up today for breakfast either, even though the rest of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were there. This led the group to speculate on what exactly they were doing, and where. That was, until the usual parliament of owls arrived, carrying the new issues of the Daily Prophet.
Neville instinctively handed Harry his copy of the newspaper as Hermione started reading the front page with expressions of incredulity and barely whispered oaths.
Dark Lord Potter
Written By: Rita Skeeter
Later tonight, beginning at dusk, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament will be held at the Triwizard Stadium. The third task - which has remained undisclosed to the public as of yet - is infamous for being the most challenging and dangerous task in the tournament, and for the first time in its history - the live commentary will not only be presented to everyone inside the stadium, but it will be broadcasted through the Wizarding Wireless all over Britain and even by some prominent international stations all over Europe.
The Triwizard Tournament has been a massive success, not only has it strengthened the international relations of Britain with European countries such as France and Bulgaria, but it has also been a colossal financial success for the British Ministry - with the revenue made vastly outweighing the costs. Rumours of Beauxbatons hosting the next iteration of the Triwizard Tournament in three years have surfaced around recently, though nothing has been confirmed.
However, for as much of a success as the Triwizard Tournament has been, there has been one problem all throughout the year. A person that, due to self-centered and arrogant motives and through unknown, possibly dark, means has entered themselves into the tournament, not only causing a great deal of logistical problems, but also engaging in actions that have endangered his fellow champions, hostages, and have resulted in the deaths of two dragon handlers.
That person is called Harry James Potter.
Throughout the events of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter has shown the Wizarding World his true nature, one that is the polar opposite to the saviour of Magical Britain, the hero of the First British Wizarding War, the vanquisher of the Dark Lord. However, as the image of the venerated Boy Who Lived has crumbled, revealing a darker side to our hero - this reporter wonders if Harry Potter was ever a hero at all.
After some extensive investigative journalism made over the past seven months, this reporter can definitively say that no, Harry Potter has never been a hero - in fact, I would go as far as to say that he has the potential of becoming the next Dark Lord unless he's stopped.
Not much is known about the petrifications in Hogwarts of the 1992/1993 school year except for what we reported - students were being randomly petrified in different places at different times, only for the petrifications to abruptly stop near the end of the school year without any other incident since. It wasn't until after further research on Mister Potter that I found that the rumour that has been recognized as what actually happened is that Harry Potter had killed the beast that had petrified the other students and saved Ginevra Weasley.
While at first glance this seems to be exactly the actions of the heroic saviour we have been taught about our champion - however, this rumour is nothing more than just that. Especially when you consider the fact that Harry Potter is a parselmouth! That's right readers, our adored saviour is parselmouth - something unique in many dark wizards throughout time with the likes of Salazar Slytherin, Herpo The Foul, and even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself being the most prominent parselmouths to have ever lived!
Why is that important? Because the beast that was petrifying the students at Hogwarts was none other than a basilisk - the king of snakes! A fact that is mostly unknown about these beasts is that if not gazed directly, their deadly gaze is not able to kill the victim - but petrify them! And so readers, I ask you, what is more likely - for a twelve-year-old to kill a basilisk, an XXXXX creature that is, on average, over fifty feet long? Or for Harry Potter, a known parselmouth, to have been controlling the monster and unleashing it against the school until it backfired and the basilisk accidentally petrified Hermione Granger, his best friend? Especially when considering that the basilisk is rumoured to reside in the Chamber of Secrets - a place that can only be accessed by the Heir of Slytherin!
This isn't the only incident to which Harry Potter has been connected to over his past three years at Hogwarts. Quirinus Quirrell, the ten-year muggle studies professor at Hogwarts that has been adored by all of his previous students mysteriously passed away during the end of Harry Potter's first year in an incident that is rumoured to have involved the Boy-Who-Lived! The Ministry's statement, crafted by the Minister's office, stated that "Quirinus Quirrell, a secret supporter of You-Know-Who, attacked The Boy Who Lived in an attempt to steal a powerful magical artifact that was being protected at Hogwarts in an effort between the Minister and the Headmaster of Hogwarts - resulting in his death by his own hands."
I ask all of you, did Harry Potter once again save the Wizarding World from an attempted Death Eater attack at the mere age of eleven? Or did the Ministry cover up an incident - one that resulted in the death of Quirinus Quirrell and involved the Boy Who Lived - to preserve his image and, in the process, sullying the reputation of a well-known and now deceased teacher?
And finally, last year we learned that Harry Potter had been the victim of a horrifying attack by the dark creature Remus Lupin - who is still a wanted criminal on the run. However, rumours that were confirmed by the Head of House Slytherin speak of a conspiracy gone wrong between Remus Lupin, Harry Potter… and Sirius Black! It is said that the dementors had managed to take the criminal Black into custody - only for Remus Lupin and Harry Potter to liberate him in a cunning escape that ended up going wrong, as it was the night of the full moon and the werewolf Remus Lupin transformed and attacked his co-conspirators - leaving Harry Potter in the infirmary and Sirius Black once again on the run on his own.
Throughout the investigative research, we have seen how our hero has been connected in situations relating to the death (and possible murder!) of a Hogwarts teacher, the attacks on muggle-born students by controlling a basilisk (while being the only known parselmouth alive in Britain!), and fraternizing with a werewolf - who are dangerous creatures known for murdering (and even eating!) witches and wizards around the globe - and a known criminal, and the right hand of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! We have seen how he ignored the rules of the Triwizard Tournament, placing his name in the Goblet of Fire, and acted recklessly in both tasks, leading to the deaths of two dragon handlers and risking many more people.
Has the Wizarding World put Harry Potter on such a pedestal that we have ignored all these alarming signs that show us a completely different, dangerous, and dark side to our hero? Have prominent figures such as Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, have been covering up all of these incidents to protect The Boy Who Lived?
It is time to hold our heroes accountable and urge the people in power to enforce justice and seek answers to these questions.
Lest we allow the rise of a new Dark Lord.
"H-how… how dare she!?" Hermione shrieked - glaring at the paper with a murderous expression that looked completely foreign in her features, and Harry felt suddenly conflicted about whether he should be feeling scared or aroused.
For his part, Harry just handed the paper back to Neville and continued his breakfast with a resigned sigh.
"How can you be so calm!?" Hermione hissed.
"I don't really care," He replied with a shrug.
"But the article! Harry, this is a complete character assassination - and it's all based on unfounded rumours! This is clear and obvious slander! It's illegal!"
"It's not slander, it's libel," Harry answered, causing Hermione to glare at him. "What? There's a difference - slander is spoken, libel is written."
"Slander? Libel?" Lavender asked bemused, not that it made Hermione stop glaring at him.
"Slander is spoken defamation of someone or something's reputation," Hermione ground out through gritted teeth. "And as my lovely boyfriend has reminded me, libel is the same thing only in print. Basically, it's illegal to baselessly damage the reputation of someone through any means."
"Not in the wizarding world, it's not," Lavender answered matter-of-factly, causing Hermione to raise an eyebrow at her. "From what I know, there aren't any laws that limit what a newspaper can publish or not. They have free reign to do whatever they want."
Hermione stared incredulously at Lavender.
"That's the Wizarding World for you," Harry said and once again shrugged.
"None of us think this is right, Harry," Neville reassured him and Lavender and Parvati nodded.
"Thanks, guys," Harry said with a half-smile.
"Harry-"
"I'm tired, Hermione," Harry interrupted, giving an empty laugh. "I'm tired of all these articles, I'm tired of wasting all of my energy by being angry at them. I'm tired of thinking of possible ways of retaliating. I'm just tired."
"So - what, you're just going to ignore all of this!? You're just going to let them do this to you!?"
"There's nothing much I can do about them except ignore them. I have so many things I have to worry about, even after the tournament is done, I can't waste my time by losing it every time Skeeter decides to publish another article about me - I just can't. I don't have that luxury."
"It's not right! It's not fair!" There was an almost pleading tone in Hermione's words.
"Life isn't fair, it never has been. The world is as fair as it is perfect, and if you start focusing on every little unfairness of life you'd go mad before you even finished Hogwarts. The best thing we can do with our lives is to try and make the world just a bit better and focusing on those articles isn't going to help."
"Please, just drop this, Hermione." He added as Hermione looked poised to refute.
She gazed at him with a conflicted expression before sighing and going back to her breakfast.
Hallway, Hogwarts Ground Floor
June 24th, 1995
2:15 p.m.
"Why are we doing this again?" Harry asked, ignoring how his words sounded like a whine- he was not whining.
"Professor McGonagall told you that the champions would be meeting their families in the Entrance Hall to spend the day with them before the task," Hermione recited the Professor's words perfectly.
Harry scoffed. "As if the Dursleys would ever come to a freaky school to see their freaky nephew."
"First of all, you're not freaky," A small grin suddenly appeared on her face. "Not that we know of yet."
Harry rolled his eyes at her and she grabbed his hand, curling closer to him as they walked.
"Secondly, Professor McGonagall told you that you had to go. She wouldn't have done that if no one came to see you."
Harry grumbled under his breath and Hermione slapped lightly at his shoulder. "Don't grumble at me, Mister, you know I'm right."
Harry squeezed her hand before letting it go and hooking their arms together. The two of them continued walking like this, taking their time as they strolled through the halls before finally arriving in the Entrance Hall.
Harry immediately spotted Cedric in the corner nearest to him, standing with his parents and Cho, presumably introducing his girlfriend to them. His eyes next found Viktor and Fleur together with their two sets of parents and Fleur's little sister - who was currently grabbing Fleur's hand and looking around in wonder.
"Harry!" He heard a familiar shout. He turned towards the sound and spotted Mrs Weasley beaming at him with Bill at her side.
"Mrs Weasley?" He asked, bemused and weirdly touched, as he and Hermione made their way towards the two. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to see you, of course!" She answered brightly, gathering him in a tight hug that Harry was almost able to receive without flinching. "It's been ages since I've last seen the two of you!" She exclaimed as she hugged Hermione while Harry and Bill interchanged a small handshake with a nod of greeting. "You've both grown so much!"
"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Harry said awkwardly - how does one even respond to that comment, anyway? "Is anyone else coming?"
"Charlie is back in Romania," Mrs Weasley said, a touch of melancholy in her voice. "He spent a few days in the Burrow around the time of the First Task, but he had to go back to the reserve. Percy and Arthur were also invited," Mrs Weasley dropped her voice slightly. "Percy hasn't taken the loss of his job well and didn't feel like coming to the final task, so Arthur's staying with him at home."
"Oh," Hermione said dejectedly. "I'm sorry. How has he been?"
"He's doing better, he recently found another job in Diagon Alley - at Potage's Cauldron Shop - but apart from going to work, he hasn't been leaving the house much. But he'll be fine," Mrs Weasley assured them.
Harry was saved from replying as Professor McGonagall entered at that precise moment.
"Ah, Mister Potter, finally decided to grace us with your presence, have you?" She asked dryly.
"Indeed Professor, I'm the very epitome of graciousness," Harry answered drolly.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him, but Harry could tell that there wasn't any heat to it. Hermione, on the other hand, looked at him in a weird combination of incredulity, outrage, and amusement.
"As I was saying, in fifteen minutes we'll be moving to the chamber behind the staff table where you'll be having lunch with your family, the other champions, and the judges." She pulled out a small scrap of parchment and a quill from her robes and offered it to him. "As a champion, you have fifteen spots in the Triwizard Stadium's Luxury Box, which you can reserve for any family and friends you wish."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said as he took the offered objects.
"You are to hand that to me before lunch begins, that way, I can make sure every person in that list gets access to the Luxury Box." Without waiting for a response she turned towards the two Weasleys. "Molly, William."
"Minerva," Both Weasleys nodded back at her and the Professor departed.
"Why don't you fill that out, Harry, while Bill, Hermione, and I go and say hi to Amos and his family?" Mrs Weasley offered kindly.
"Sure," Harry said, smiling at Hermione before the three of them left.
He stared at Mrs Weasley and Bill for a few seconds and watched as they got into a slight argument with Amos Diggory that would have escalated had Cedric not stepped in. Harry sighed as he looked back at the list in his hand.
He was not doing this for him.
Just as Harry had finished writing the fourteen names, Fleur and her family started approaching him - and he saw from the corner of his eye how Viktor and his family approached the Diggorys, Hermione, and the two Weasleys.
"'Ello, 'Arry," Fleur said brightly before kissing him on both cheeks. "Ready for ze task?"
"As ready as I could ever be," Harry shrugged before lowering his voice. "We're still doing the you-know-what, right?"
Fleur shot him a smirk as an answer before turning back to her parents who were watching expectantly. "Maman, Papa, zis is my good friend, 'Arry Potter! 'Arry, zese are my parents, Madame Apolline Delacour and Monsieur Léo Delacour."
Madame Delacour was a short woman, shorter than Fleur, just as beautiful as the French Champion - and looking young enough to pass as Fleur's older sister, She had long, blonde hair and ice-blue eyes that seemed to be analyzing everything in sight. Monsieur Delacour was a tall, dark-haired man with a kind smile and brown eyes.
"Harry Potter," The man said in almost accent-free English as he extended his hand to him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He added as the two shook hands.
"'E's ze magical ambassador for France in ze ICW," Fleur answered his unspoken question without prompting.
"Thank you, sir," Harry said generously. A small part of him felt glad that the man hadn't tried to sneak a peek at his scar.
"I feel like I should be the one thanking you," The man replied with an easy laugh. "After all, you were the one who warned my daughter about the dragons for the first task and saved my Gabrielle from the Lake in the second."
"Oh, that was nothing, sir," Harry answered bashfully.
"Nonsense," The man said with a very intense gaze that made Harry wonder if this is what Hermione meant when she told him about his passionate look. "My family owes you a life debt, Mister Potter, if you ever need anything - anything at all - don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, sir," Harry answered.
"There's nothing to thank me for, Harry," Mister Delacour said with a pat on his arm before Harry turned his attention towards Fleur's mother.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madame Delacour," Harry took the pre-offered hand and kissed it.
"Enchantée, Monsieur Potter," Apolline replied cordially.
"Comment allez-vous?" Harry asked, and Fleur rolled her eyes at what must have been his horrible accent.
What followed next was an incredibly long and rapidly-spoken sentence that left Harry so confused that his brain might as well have turned to mush.
"Oui," He answered confidently, causing all the Delacours to laugh.
"Nice try, 'Arry," Fleur teased him and Harry glared at her half-heartedly.
"It eez a pleasure to meet you too, 'Arry," Apolline told him pleasantly. "I take it Fleur 'as been teaching you French?"
"I thought she was," Harry grumbled and the four Delacours laughed.
The five of them made small talk for a while before they decided to join the others, Harry immediately taking his place beside Hermione and noticing Fleur doing the same with Viktor. Harry got to meet Viktor's parents, who looked much older than Fleur's. His father,Aleksandar, was a tall, gruff-looking man with a full beard - a figure that would have been intimidating had he not been as outgoing as his son. Viktor's mother, Nikol, was a brunette, taller than Apolline - but just as amicable as her husband. He also greeted Cedric's father, Amos, who for some reason seemed miffed about something, and his mother Ava, who was a pleasant, but slightly reserved person.
The four families engaged in some small talk, the four champions exchanging amused smiles before Professor McGonagall entered and ushered them through the Great Hall and into the chamber behind it.
But not before Harry handed his slip of parchment back to the Deputy Headmistress.
In Front Of The Maze, Triwizard Stadium
June 25th, 1995
1:43 a.m.
"GET A FUCKING HEALER HERE NOW!" The polyjuiced Sirius roared, his voice cracking at the end as he looked around frantically.
Harry had just passed out right in front of their eyes.
Hermione felt her blood run cold.
Her mind felt overwhelmed by everything, and she found it harder and harder to concentrate. She started to feel dizzy, lightheaded, and she nearly lost her balance more than once. Her breathing quickened and she had to swallow the puce she felt starting to gather in her throat.
She could not faint now. She needed to focus.
"Dumbledore," Fudge whispered in shock. "What did the boy mean."
Dumbledore didn't respond, continuing to stare in open shock at Harry's still jerking body.
He's just passed out. She reminded herself. He's here, he's alive. He's just passed out. It became her mantra, engraving itself in every corner of her brain as she tried to ignore everything else that she was feeling. She had to deal with it later - she wouldn't be any help to Harry otherwise. But try as she might to focus and think, she simply couldn't - leaving her as useless as a lump of meat as she stared helplessly at her boyfriend's lifeless body while doing everything she could to not fall deeper into shock, hating herself for it at the same time.
"Dumbledore, what did he mean!" Fudge pressed on and once again, the Headmaster didn't answer. Shakily, Fudge reached into the pocket of his robes, pulling out his wand.
"Rennervate!"
Nothing happened.
"Rennervate!"
Nothing.
"Renne-"
"What the fuck are you doing!?" Remus, still in his polyjuice form, all but snarled at the minister while putting himself in between him and Harry.
"We need him to wake up!" Fudge cried out. "We need to know what happened! And we need to know exactly what he meant!"
"He won't wake, you daft idiot!" Hermione snapped at him, glaring at the minister as if he was nothing more than dirt on her shoe. "The reviving spell won't work on a person both physically and magically exhausted - trying to revive him will do nothing!"
"Then when will we-"
"When he fucking wakes up!" Hermione roared before letting out a loud sob, unable to keep herself from crying anymore.
Neville stood and pulled her into a hug, and Hermione finally broke. After two hours of barely managing to keep her composure, she just couldn't do it anymore. As she broke down right into Neville's shoulders, she felt his hands rubbing circles into her back, trying to soothe her but only degrading what little control she had over herself. And once she started, she could not stop. She wept into Neville's shoulders, wetting his shirt with her tears, his shoulder muffling the sounds of her sobs.
It couldn't have been more than a couple seconds later that she heard a cacophony of footsteps rushing towards them, but was unable to see who it was as she continued crying.
"Don't take him to St Mungo's, portkey him to the Hogwarts infirmary, it's essential that he does not leave the castle," Dumbledore said in a soft yet firm voice
"Are you serious!?" Sirius exclaimed. "The Hogwarts infirmary doesn't have the resources to deal with this! We need him to go to St Mungo's"
"Supplies, equipment, and healers from St Mungo's can be brought to Hogwarts, but I will not have Harry leave the castle until we know exactly what happened and I'm sure that he's safe."
"Yes, sir." An unknown voice said before Hermione heard people rush away.
"Albus, we need to-"
"Cornelius, I will meet you in my office with Oblansk and Léo - tell them that they are all welcome to stay inside Hogwarts until we get to the bottom of this. We should also implement Evacuation Plan G for the general public."
"I shall gather the others and we'll meet you in your office." Fudge complied hurriedly
"Minerva, escort all the Hogwarts students back to the castle through the vanishing cabinets and get them into their common rooms. Prepare as many spare classrooms as possible, we'll have many guests for the next few days."
"Albus-"
"Charlus, you and John go with Harry to the infirmary. It is imperative that I talk to you later tonight about Harry's safety during the summer. Escort Miss Granger, Mister Longbottom, and Mister Weasley to the infirmary as well. They will want to make sure Harry is fine before they get some rest."
"I'll do it, you go on ahead, Padfoot. I'll escort the kids." Remus offered.
"Thank you, Moony."
"He'll be alright. He'll pull through. He always does."
Headmaster's Office
June 24th, 1995
5:35 p.m.
The lunch between the champions, their families (plus Hermione and Cho), and the judges had been a fairly pleasant affair… all things considered. There had been a sizeable and noticeable tension in the air ever since the families moved to the chamber where the judges were waiting - with even Monsieur Delacour had lost his agreeable, amiable attitude the moment he came face to face with them. Harry had also noticed Hermione and Cho exchanging more than a few glances at each other, looking generally uncomfortable. Poor Gabrielle wasn't doing any better, her cheerful attitude muted and she sat, silent and downcast, through the whole exchange.
But apart from a few remarks that were subtle enough to be passed off as not-entirely polite comments, there was no confrontation during the meeting. Though Harry was sure that that wouldn't have been the case had Karkaroff been there - being on the receiving end of more of the Durmstrang Headmaster's not-at-all-subtle snide remarks would have most likely...caused problems. When asked about where Karkaroff was by the other judges, Viktor had explained that over the past four days, the Headmaster had started to gradually fall ill - Dragon Pox, Viktor assumed - and he had locked himself in his room since the previous night.
All throughout lunch, Harry had noticed that Dumbledore had been continuing his efforts to talk to him, much to his displeasure. As much as Harry had wanted to ask him to stop, he didn't, instead opting to ignore the Headmaster and try to have a relatively quiet lunch. It wasn't until the very end of the meeting that Dumbledore had asked for a quick, private word with Harry and asked him to meet him in his office at half-past five.
After lunch, Harry spent the next hour catching up with Mrs Weasley and Bill as they walked through the Hogwarts grounds, thankfully not coming across Ron or any other Weasley as they did so. Soon after that, Mrs Weasley and Bill had to return to the Burrow before returning in the evening for the third task - to which Harry had assured them that he had, of course, gifted them with some of his spots in the Luxury Box - the least he could do after everything their family had done to him over the years.
No longer able to put it off, Harry made his way towards the Headmaster's Office. When he opened the door and entered the office, however, expecting Dumbledore to be waiting for him - Harry couldn't help but feel surprised at the sight of his godfather and uncle already there, standing on the edge of the headmaster's desk.
"Sirius? Remus?" A smile started blooming on his face.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Sirius asked with mock seriousness before beaming at him and opening his arms up.
Harry immediately launched himself into them, hugging Sirius tightly and laughing before doing the same with Remus.
"What are you two doing here?" Harry asked with amazement. "I thought you weren't going to be able to come!"
"We weren't, but Dumbledore called us last night and offered us spots as his guests in the Luxury Box - polyjuiced, of course." Sirius grinned. "That was an offer no one in their right mind could refuse."
"Yes, because who wouldn't want to risk life in Azkaban to spend the night partying with the minister of magic?" Remus deadpanned and Sirius rolled his eyes at him.
"Moony likes his exaggerations. Yes, it's a bit of a risk - but we made sure to have enough polyjuice to last us for a full twenty-four hours each - definitely enough for the award ceremony and the massive after-party that has been planned - and even then, there are enough floos in the stadium and in the castle if they're ever necessary. The Headmaster's floo is directly connected to the one at Grimmauld Place. We'll be fine." He waved them off.
"Are you sure?" He asked nervously.
"Harry, we've come to all the tasks and we're still here. We'll be fine!" Sirius reassured him and Harry looked towards Remus.
"It's a bit risky, but yes - I agree with Sirius."
"Alright," Harry sighed. "If you're sure."
"We are," Sirius stated emphatically. "Now, we don't have much time. Dumbledore told us that he will be hosting a meeting with the Heads of House in half an hour - and I'd rather not be here when Snivellous comes knocking."
Sirius turned to Remus who reached behind him and pulled out a large, brown package, which he handed to Harry.
"We've been working on this ever since the dragon basically destroyed the original one," Sirius told Harry proudly as he opened up the package, seeing a jersey, a set of pants, a wand holster, and some trainers.
"So this isn't the one I had worn?" Harry asked, bemused, as he looked at the jersey inside the package. It looked about the same, the red and black jersey with the large, golden POTTER on the back above an equally large nine, the Hogwarts crest was on the left pectoral, and the lion on the right shoulder.
"Nope, we fixed that one up and gifted it to Hermione," Sirius said teasingly. "This is a new one, the physical design is almost identical, though we added a few touches." Sirius took it off of his hands and pointed to the hem of the right side of the jersey, where Harry saw a golden and small doe, stag, wolf, and dog.
"Your mum didn't have an animagus form," Remus said as Harry stared at the four animals in reverence. "But she was one of the few witches in our generation who could produce a Patronus - it was a doe. Funnily enough, your dad could never manage to cast one. Many elements come into play when you cast a spell; the incantation, the wand movement, the intent, the visualization, and for a limited set of spells - mostly dark ones, such as the unforgivables - the emotional aspect. Because of this, spells are often divided into two categories, the sympathetic spells, which are the spells that require the caster to feel a certain way while casting the spell, and the logological spells - the spells that require the caster to focus on some intellectual aspect of the spell."
"The Patronus charm is one of the extremely few spells that require a mastery of both the logological and sympathetic element of magic, along with the power necessary to produce them. It's an extremely hard spell that only a few people per generation manage to perfect - what you did, mastering a Patronus so fast - and at thirteen for that matter! It's unheard of! And James, smart as a whip he was, had never managed to perfect it. After Lily managed to learn it a couple of years after we left Hogwarts, James spent hours every day for more than a year trying to cast it! But in the end, he never managed it. And yet, even though James was never able to cast a Patronus and Lily was never able to become an animagi - their magical animal representations were still connected to each other's." Remus finished off with a nostalgic smile - and Harry had to repeatedly blink for a couple of seconds.
"Thank you," He said, his voice cracking at the end.
Sirius and Remus smiled at him melancholically.
After a few seconds of silence, Sirius cleared his "We also wanted to add Hermione somewhere on the jersey, but we didn't think she had an animagus form nor a Patronus, but then we remembered about the locket she gave you." Sirius turned the jersey around and showed him the left shoulder, where he saw a detailed drawing of a book leaning on a laying broom.
"I love it!" Harry grinned at both Sirius and Remus. "Thank you!"
"Don't thank us just yet," Remus commented lightly. "Those are just the new design additions. Just as the last set, these have been charmed with temperature regulatory charms, they have stronger armor enchantments than the last set - for both magical and physical threats - while being just as light. The rest is the same as your last set - there's only so much you can improve in a jersey."
"Look under the trainers," Sirius suggested eagerly.
Harry set the package on the table where Dumbledore kept his weird, silver instruments - pulling out the pants, wand holster, and trainers and leaving a small, rectangular box. He gingerly grabbed it, lightly inspecting it before opening it.
Inside, a set of circular glasses identical to his, only there were no bits of tape keeping it together, the frames weren't old and weathered. It was a new set of glasses - his first new set of glasses.
"Those have some nifty enchantments too," Sirius explained. "First of all, they're unbreakable - well, for the most part. They can handle a couple of point-blank reductor curses, but I wouldn't recommend you receive many of those. They also have a sticking charm that makes them stick to the back of your ears, and similar to a snitch - they will only recognize the first person that touches them. So unless you touch them, no one can forcibly take them from you nor will they fall off if you trip. And finally, they have a built-in impervious charm that's going to keep these waterproof, and lastly, it has the perspicuitatem charm, so your vision will always be clear."
Harry looked at the glasses adoringly before slowly taking them out of the box, feeling a tingle go around his body as he touched them, before taking off his old pair and putting on the new.
"How do I look?" Harry asked the two men.
Sirius and Remus looked at him, pride clear in their eyes.
Hogwarts Infirmary
June 25th, 1995
2:56 a.m.
Hermione felt broken - completely and utterly broken - as she stared at Harry's body in the infirmary bed.
After over an hour of waiting (during which some healer had insisted on also treating her wounds), the Healers brought in from St Mungo's finally let them come in to visit Harry. Sirius and Remus had immediately taken over the spot beside Harry's bed, while she stood in front of the bed, unable to look away from Harry, who was still sporadically convulsing, even in his passed out state. Hermione could sense Ron and Neville hovering a few feet away from her.
"H-how is he?" She finally asked after a couple minutes, her voice raspy after not having spoken for over an hour.
"The-" Sirius stopped, clearing his throat and attempting to speak less shakily. "The healers said he had some broken bones, a lot of i-internal bleeding, his vocal cords were heavily damaged, a concussion, h-he was also stabbed on his forearm and back by a knife riddled with unknown dark magic, exposed to some unknown curse, received some incredibly powerful legilimency abuse, and some- some sort of… some kind of altered, more powerful version of the c-cruciatus curse."
Silence.
There was nothing to say.
Nothing to make it better.
Nothing to reverse what had happened.
"Do we know when he'll wake up?" Remus asked.
"We don't know, the healer I talked to told me that they think he's stable now - but we don't know when he'll wake up. According to them, it could be anywhere between a couple of days to a few weeks."
"H-he'll pull through," Ron said shakily, nodding to himself. "It's Harry! He always does! He- he'll be alright."
As much as Hermione wanted to believe that - she couldn't.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, she started walking across the bed until she was standing right beside Harry, opposite Sirius and Remus. She stared at him, noticing how disturbed he looked even when he wasn't conscious.
This was wrong.
Harry didn't deserve this. Tonight all the madness was supposed to end - the whole bloody tournament, him being constantly in danger, having to train for hours a day just to survive - all of it. Right now, he should have been celebrating, having fun, smiling. He shouldn't be in a hospital fighting for his life, he shouldn't have had to go through this whole tournament in the first place. He shouldn't have to deal with everything Hermione knew he would have to deal with as soon as he woke up.
He deserved better.
Hermione swallowed the lump that had started to form in her throat and looked away from him, staring out the window beside Harry's bed. She could see the mountain on which the stadium stood, the still-lit structure visible even from here.
She was lost in her own silent mind, until a small, acid-green beetle suddenly parked itself on the window, just in sight of her peripheral vision.
Hermione looked at the insect dispassionately, analyzing everything she could about it.
She blinked.
Hermione instinctively hated the acid-green color of the beetle.
She blinked.
The antenna had weird margins around them.
She blinked.
Hermione couldn't help but notice how still the beetle had gotten under her stare.
She blinked.
She blinked again.
Her eyes went back to the antenna - intently observing the markings around them.
She stopped.
The markings that looked exactly like those foul glasses Skeeter always wore.
The acid-green color was identical to the foul outfit Skeeter always wore.
"We asked Ginny and Kathleen if either of them had given Skeeter an interview and they told us that they didn't." Parvati reasoned.
"And you believed them?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Of course we did," Lavender said in a way that reminded her too much of her tone when she tried to explain something to Ron. "Skeeter has a reputation, she somehow always manages to be in the right place at the right time to get her scoops. There have even been cases where she has gotten scoops out of people who talked alone in a locked room and with security on the entrances. While she sensationalizes everything she writes, everyone respects Skeeter for how she always manages to get more exclusives than any other reporter."
Rita Skeeter was an animagus. Not only an animagus - oh, no. After the incident in the Shrieking Shack, Hermione had researched and memorized who the seven registered animagi were.
And Rita Skeeter was certainly not on that list.
Hermione felt as if suddenly time had slowed down.
Cold anger immediately flooded her system, faster than she had previously thought possible. Right there, in front of her, was the bitch that had been making Harry's year hell ever since his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. The bitch that had been printing lie after lie, slandering his name and turning everyone against him.
She might not have been able to help Harry in the tasks or when he had been Portkeyed away. She might not have been able to help her friends from getting hurt or killed.
But she would be damned if she didn't make sure Rita paid for everything she had done this year.
As casually as she could, she looked away, her mind going a mile a minute - finally focused on a task, on something she could do, on a way she could help. Her eyes found the large jar on Harry's table, the one that was on every nightstand in the infirmary - used for when visitors brought flowers.
She could trap Rita.
As discreetly as she could, Hermione grabbed the jar from the table and pretended to analyze it. But that wasn't enough, she needed something to keep her in. Grabbing her wand from the pocket of her robes, making sure for the action to be out of sight from the beetle, she focused on the jar before she conjured a cover that she estimated would be the right size for it.
Now came the hard part.
Hermione rotated the jar sideways, placing her wand on the bottom of the jar and aiming the opening for the beetle's general vicinity.
"Accio beetle," She whispered under her breath, her lips twitching when she saw the beetle flying directly towards the jar.
As soon as Hermione saw that Skeeter was fully inside the jar, she quickly put the lip on, sealing it with a sticking charm, before applying an unbreakable charm on the jar itself. After making sure that it was completely sealed, Hermione cast a small diffindo on the cover, making sure Skeeter could breathe before she looked up and was pleased by the fact that no one seemed to have spotted her actions.
No one except Ron, who was looking at her intently, his confusion clear on his face and then he seemed to flicker his gaze from between her face and he jar in her hands a couple of times. She could see the wheels in his head turning but then he blinked a couple of times, gave a determined look to her and cleared his face, nodded once in her direction.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, but Ron just turned his attention to Harry.
Now, what will I do with you, Rita?
Gryffindor Common Room
June 24th, 1995
6:15 p.m.
"How was it?" Hermione asked as soon as he entered the common room.
"I'll tell you later," Harry gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to calm her down. "Have you told them?" He asked, nodding towards Neville, Lavender, and Parvati who were sitting on the couches in front of hers.
"Told us what?" Neville asked, bemused.
"I thought it should be you," Hermione explained and Harry glared half-heartedly at her.
Harry turned around, spotting the quidditch team who were occupying their usual space in the corner of the center of the room. "Oi! You lot! Come here!"
"Subtle," Hermione teased, earning a flick on her ear. "Oi!" She slapped his shoulder. "Prat."
"You called us, oh champion?" George asked, being the first of the team to arrive.
"Sit down, I'll explain everything." He finished slightly louder as everyone else gathered around him.
"Where?" Katie asked.
"Just grab a few chairs, and no - Fred, don't summon them from across the room."
"Hermione is having a bad influence on you," The twin grumbled.
Once everyone was seated, Harry cast a privacy bubble around them and took his place beside Hermione.
"Oooooh," Fred grinned. "What secrets do you hold for us, Ickle Harriekins."
"One that I won't share unless you behave." Fred pouted but kept quiet. "Earlier today, I had lunch with the judges - as a part of the stupid tournament. I learned that I had a certain number of places I could give away in the Luxury Box of the stadium."
Angelina whistled at that.
"And I'm giving them to you guys."
"To… us?" Lee asked with wide eyes.
"I did just say that," Harry remarked.
"Harry, this is too much-"
"It's really not," Harry said, interrupting Alicia. "I didn't pay for these, they were gifted to me. The least I could do was make sure they were used."
"And… you're sure you want us to…"
"Yes, Neville," Harry stated firmly. "You guys are my closest friends here at Hogwarts, if anyone deserves these spots it's you."
"Don't get sappy on us, Harriekins,"
"We would start to feel bad for not betting on you to win," George finished off lightly, making everyone chuckle.
Harry just grinned in response.
"I have to warn you two, I also gave your mother and Bill some places in the Luxury Box-"
"Ah,"
"There it is,"
"No wonder you were buttering us up,"
Harry laughed, lowering his head slightly. "Also… take Ron and Ginny with you, will you? I also gave them some places."
"Thank you," George said sincerely and Harry smiled bashfully at him.
"Least I could do," Harry mumbled.
After Harry explained to them the logistics of getting into the Luxury Box, Harry dropped the privacy enchantments around them and the conversation quickly picked back up, the topic quickly shifting to tonight's event. They started to theorize about what the task would be - with some even suggesting some sort of aerial, four-way duel while having to deal with obstacles and magical creatures all at the same time, and about who would win, with Viktor ending up as majority consensus.
They had even tried to get Harry to spill his plans or anything else he knew about the task, though they soon found out that was in vain as, even if he knew the answers to most of their questions - he wouldn't have said anything.
They wanted to keep it a secret.
At quarter before seven, Harry stood up from the couch. "I should go, I need to get ready for the task, and McGonagall will be here soon to escort you to the stadium."
"Good luck, Harry," George told him, standing up and shaking his hand.
"Try to make sure not to win," Fred grinned at him, before also shaking his hand. "We have a lot of money riding on Krum."
Harry did the same with Lee before turning towards the chasers. Angelina and Alicia both gave him kisses on the cheek and wished him luck, leaving only Katie.
"Do try and be safe, Potter," She told him softly, before also kissing him on the cheek. "We need our star seeker for next year."
"Whatever would you do without me, Katie?" Harry smirked at her. "Quidditch practices would be dull without our little bets."
"Someone has a high opinion of themselves," She laughed before looking at him intently. "Don't do anything stupid, Hermione won't be the only girl you'll make cross if you try a stupid maneuver just to win."
"Where's the fun without a little bit of risk?" Harry asked coyly and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Good luck, Harry," Parvati said when he turned towards her, also kissing him on the cheek.
"Make sure Lavender behaves, will you?" He asked, amusedly. "Who knows what might be of her in a place like the Luxury Box, or even worse - in the party after the awarding ceremony."
Parvati sighed solemnly. "I'll do my best."
Harry grinned at the girl before turning towards Lavender.
"I've been to other parties before, you know? My parents have been dragging me to Wizengamont balls ever since I was a little girl."
"And you never invited me?" Harry asked in an upset tone. "I'm devastated."
"Good," She smirked at him before kissing him on the cheek. "Try not to get yourself into the hospital after the task, will you? I'd like to enjoy the party, thank you very much."
"Now I'm tempted to do just that," He grinned at her.
"And deal with an angry Hermione?" She asked impishly.
Harry opened his mouth to retort before stopping himself for a moment. "Good point."
"That's what I thought," She said with a pat on his shoulder.
"Still not a hugger?" Neville asked lightly when Harry turned towards him.
"I'm afraid not," He said plainly.
Neville shook his hand. "One of these days, I'm going to give you one whether you like it or not."
"One of these days, I might just let you."
Harry stepped back and turned towards Hermione.
"Come on," He told her, offering his hand.
"Where are we going?" She asked, intertwining her fingers with his.
Harry answered by leading her towards the portrait at the entrance of the tower.
"Don't forget to give him a good luck snog!" Fred shouted in their direction, and Hermione glared back at him while the rest of the group laughed.
"Must they be so crude?" Hermione asked indignantly.
"Are you saying you don't plan on doing just that?" Harry asked mirthfully.
"Oh, hush you!"
The two of them stepped out of the common room and Harry led them towards the first abandoned classroom. After closing the door and casting the usual locking and privacy charms on it, he turned towards Hermione.
She looked beautiful.
She didn't do anything special to alter her appearance. Like every other student of Hogwarts, she was in her uniform. Her Gryffindor tie perfectly knotted, appearing striking in the colours of crimson and gold against the white shirt that was immaculately ironed as always. The skirt beneath was checkered in tones of crimson and black and her long legs were encased in warm thigh-high socks with the standard shoes. The black robes were the finishing touch to her uniform, clean and crisp as ever.
On her left hand, she wore a watch with a gold strap and her hair was done up in a high ponytail. The only jewellery that adorned her was at the moment hidden under her clothes, but he knew that she wore his gift at all times.
She looked the same as she had always; well, nearly so, for in the four years that he had known her she had changed - was taller, older, losing her baby fat as her high cheekbones emerged, so did the curves that highlighted her journey from a child to a woman.
For a moment he stood transfixed as a vision appeared in front of his eyes, Hermione standing in front of him - older and perhaps a bit taller than she currently was, laughing at him as he twirled her around while they danced and she wore a long dress in white. And she'd become even more gorgeous than she currently was, for her eyes were sparkling with joy and mischief and so much love, her face had a smile a mile wide and he was the one she was looking at with that radiant expression on her face as his face dipped and he captured the smile of those lips he knew so well with his own as she joyfully and unabashedly deepened their kiss returning his fervour with a passion of her own.
His breath caught as his heart stuttered when she snapped her fingers in front of his face and he returned to reality.
"What? Where were you lost, Harry? I've been calling you for a while now."
Shaking his head he smiled at her as she awaited his response and instead of answering her, he pulled her into his arms and she came ever so willingly without nary a protest.
His lips were on hers, just like he had been daydreaming and she was no different in her response than the Hermione of his daydream.
He can't know for how long they kissed except that when they parted, her eyes had the same sparkle that the older Hermione had had and the sight of her swollen lips, the taste of her in his mouth; the warmth of her in his arms was far better than anything his imagination could conjure up.
Smiling, he pecked her lips, unable to resist the siren call of their taste, the temptation of their sheer softness, and the way that his heart reacted every time to the mere touch of those lips.
She was wonderful, beautiful, and his.
He couldn't even stop to think before he pulled her into his arms as she willingly sank into his embrace and laid her head against his shoulder as her arms held him with the same bout of possessiveness as his held hers.
"Are you ready?" She asked, breaking him out of his stupor and making him finally notice her gaze on him.
"As ready as I can be," Harry shrugged timorously. "We still don't know what the task will be, but the four of us agreed on going forward with our plan - so it should be safer than any of the other tasks."
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "You've been studying all year - training all year - and you won't be alone. You're better prepared than you've ever been, you'll be fine."
Harry didn't know if she was trying to convince him or herself.
"And after this, it'll all be over," Her voice started getting more passionate. "This bloody tournament and all the madness it's brought. We just need to get past these next few hours, and it'll all be over."
As nervous as he was about the third task and as afraid as he was about facing whatever was waiting for him in that stadium, Harry couldn't help but smile fondly at Hermione. At the girl who had shown love and devotion to him unlike any other, at the brilliant, wonderful girl who had somehow fallen for him just as hard as he had fallen for her.
At the wonderful girl who gave his life meaning, the one person who he couldn't imagine living without.
Hermione's expression shifted into a confused one when she noticed his smile, but he spoke up before she could.
"When I was a kid and lived with the Dursleys I didn't go out much," He started quietly. "I went to school and occasionally to the park near our house, but I never went to the movies when the Dursleys did, I never went bowling, swimming, never visited an amusement park nor on vacation. Every time they went out for their fun trips, they left me with my neighbour Mrs Figg."
Hermione's arms tightened around him and he could feel her trembling in his arms - her face a blank mask but her eyes; oh those beguiling, bewitching eyes of hers were so expressive that she might as well have been yelling her outrage to the world. Might as well be sobbing about the way that she felt on his behalf. It should have been unnerving to be on the receiving end of that expression of hers which promised vengeance and retribution but instead, he found it heartening.
No one else had ever been outraged on his behalf, no one else seemed to care. No one but her, his Hermione as always. The resolve to pour more of his heart strengthened even further as he continued.
"I never liked Mrs Figg much, to be honest," He confessed. "I've never been a big fan of any of the adults in my life and she was just a bit too cat-crazy for my taste," He looked up at her. "No offense."
Hermione laughed lightly, swatting his chest gently.
"I ended up spending a lot of time in Mrs Figg's house, and while I've forgotten a big chunk of it there's something I will never forget. A small plaque that hung in the kitchen stating that home is where the heart is. For the longest time, I never understood what it meant - I asked Mrs Figg about it many times, but she just kept telling me that I would understand later in life. That it's not something that could be explained."
Harry gave an empty chuckle.
"I never really considered the place that I lived at as my home, it was my house where I lived, ate, and slept - but it never felt like home. Even though I didn't know what a home was supposed to be like Maybe that's why that quote stayed with me for so long, and maybe that's why I never really understood it - I never had a home so how could I ever understand what having a home truly meant, you know? And I never thought I would, I thought that it would just be one of those things I would never understand."
His eyes scanned the empty classroom - the desks where countless students had sat before him and would after him, the hangings on the walls embroidered with the terms Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark, Anglo-Saxon, Marcomannic, among others, the blackboard where there were still the notes in a writing he didn't recognise with terms like Sowilo and Sigel and Sol, with squiggly lines he couldn't make the head or tail off, before finally landing back on the girl in his arms.
"I thought it was this place, you know, when I first arrived here - Hogwarts. It was the first place where I had the chance to sleep in on a weekend - if I wasn't getting killed. The first place where I had the luxury of finding my bed done up for me no matter what day. The first place where I….."
It was too much and yet, he shook his head and closed his eyes.
"Harry."
She whispered his name with the gentlest of voices, her fingers on his face tracing his cheek with the softest of caresses and he opened his eyes to peer into hers and felt a lump rise in his throat as he whispered his next words. The admission that came pouring out without him even realising he was doing so in a hushed whisper - or maybe some part of him did - for he held her even tighter and pulled her in even closer - something he didn't even think was possible. For this was too much and not enough simultaneously. He was scared and exhilarated in a way that even he couldn't quite articulate.
"I was wrong, you know? I know that now. Hogwarts was just the first place that I felt comfortable at, nothing more and nothing less. Home isn't a place, is it, Hermione?"
The intensity with which he was looking at her was so much that she could only mutely gaze back and shake her head slightly as her heart thundered in her chest. Her legs trembled and her mouth felt dry even as she felt the slightest bit of wetness pooling in her eyes.
His palms cupped her face as he cradled it so tenderly and murmured against her lips.
"It's you, you know? You're my home. You became my friend, my best friend in this place and for that, I'd forever be grateful to it. Love it, even. But, I think I would be stupid if I didn't realise this place isn't also without its horrors and without its constant hate and all kinds of experiences that aren't always pleasant. At the end of each year until the last year, I was eager always to return to it - but it wasn't because I couldn't do without its walls or its nastiness. It was you…. you and Ron who made this place worth coming back to every single year. But it was this year that made all the difference, didn't it?"
He asked her the question he knew she didn't have to answer and yet she nodded and he felt a tear trickle down her cheek and wiped it away gently with a swipe of his thumb.
"I'd be pretty foolish if I didn't anticipate that today things could go wrong, that today I could finally end up on the losing side. And I don't mean just losing the cup or this tournament you know? I mean everything. Including my life."
"Stop, just stop it right here!" In a moment gone was the girl trembling in his arms as she looked ready to fall apart and cry and instead stood in front of him the fierce girl he knew so well. The girl Ron had described in their first year as - brilliant, but scary and with a sardonic twist of his lips he had to acknowledge how right Ron was even back then. Hermione could be fierce and scary when riled up and angry and she was now - by the gods she was and he had never seen anything or anyone half as beautiful as she looked now, angry at him, for him.
"Stop right there, Harry Potter. Don't you dare continue that sentence, with that line of thought. Stop being a complete idiot or heaven help me I'd do something right here and right now."
"Like what?" He couldn't help but ask her, his spirits buoyed by her reaction.
"Like tie you up and sit on you if I must to stop you from going out there and entering that stupid stadium. Just so you can stop being a complete and utter prat!"
His lips quirked as the sparkle of mischief that lit up his eyes at her words couldn't be contained. He couldn't hold himself back if he tried, as he pulled her closer, so tightly that she began squirming in his arms as he looked straight into her eyes and he whispered hoarsely,
"I didn't know you had such fantasies, Miss Granger."
Her whole demeanour changed as her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed scarlet. The sight of her flustered was so adorable he couldn't help but go on.
"I have them too, you know? I have had some. All about you, about us, you know? And if you wanna tie me up and sit on me, I'll be ever willing; provided, I can share, and hopefully, we can act out some of mine too."
"Harry!"
"What?"
"You know I didn't mean it like that, you prat!"
Wiggling his eyebrows at her, he leaned in as he chuckled and was glad to see she was no longer neither on the verge of tears, nor angry with him.
"A guy can hope you know! Besides, how can you be surprised! I am a teenager! A teenage boy with a very beautiful girlfriend."
"Be that may! I wasn't! Urghh! You're so annoying sometimes!"
She unexpectedly grabbed his collar and he stood as he let her stare him down with a fierce and determined look on her face.
"You are coming back to me, Harry Potter! You better! I am not asking you, I am ordering you! I am not done with you and if you so much as hint at saying another stupid thing I'll not be responsible for making sure that the fourth champion of this stupid tournament is incapacitated, stunned, and bound in this classroom and thus never makes it to the stupid thing at all."
"And pray tell, how will you make sure others don't find me when they would inevitably come looking for me?"
"Easy! I'll just put your cloak on your body. They could be standing right in front of you and they won't ever find you! No one except for me will know where you are, not before everything is done and dusted."
He couldn't help but chuckle as he gave her a quick kiss.
"Ron was right you know? You can be brilliant and scary. I love it! And I love you!"
"Of course I am… wait, what? What did you just say?"
For a moment neither of them spoke until he took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of the girl who had come to mean the world to him.
"I said, I love you. I am in love with you, Hermione Jane Granger. You're my home. I have never been happier in my life than I have been in these past few months I've been with you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I am never letting you go."
She flung herself into his arms and the force of her would have knocked him on his arse if he wasn't so used to her enthusiasm by now and before he could even utter a single word, she had captured his lips in a kiss so intense that he was left gasping when she finally pulled away.
"Harry, I love you too! I love you so much!"
His lips were occupied by hers yet again before he could make a single comment or utter a single word. Not that he was complaining.
She loved him! He knew she did but to hear the words! Oh to hear them!
He never thought he'd ever have someone say those three little words to him. How he longed for them, how he yearned for them for years. How he had hoped his aunt would tell him she loved him - the way she constantly told Dudley. The way even Uncle Vernon told Dudley sometimes when he was drunk and deliriously happy and hugging the stuffing out of his cousin. Hell, he had even heard Mrs Figg utter those words to her crazy cats! But never, never in all his life had someone uttered them in his vicinity and aimed them at him, meant those words for him.
He kissed her back with a passion he didn't even know he possessed for, of course, it would be Hermione who would give this most precious of gifts to him!
When she pulled away, he couldn't and in an echo of his actions from a day from long ago, he kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, and even the tip of her nose before he planted his lips on hers yet again.
She laughed as she kissed him back and before he knew it, her joy was contagious and he was smiling too as he looked at her.
She flung her arms around him and kissed the shell of his ear as she murmured against him,
"You've become my home too you know? My home away from home, Harry Potter. The home I come back to every year when I leave the one I have with my parents. And I don't think I've ever been happier either in my life. I love you so very much Harry, I do, with all my heart even if on a broom you're absolutely and completely insane and crazy and I begin to question my sanity and yours so very thoroughly every time you get on one for that stupid game of yours!"
He laughed as he picked her up and twirled her around even as she shrieked, he put her down and as his arms went around her, his lips were on hers again. Despite her protests and demands from not moments ago, for him to put her down, not to mention the warnings that he better not drop her; she didn't waste a moment of her time as she had her arms thrown over his shoulders as her fingers carded through his hair and she was pulling him closer and closer as her tongue twined with his.
He pulled back to change the angle of his lips on hers and just for the brief seconds that he detached their lips she made a sound of protest that went straight through him and he returned his lips to the haven of her mouth and as the sound of a moan left her, his body thrilled and thrummed with the way she always responded to him, to his touches, to his kisses. He groaned into the kiss when she bit his bottom lip gently and soothed the sting with a gentle caress of her tongue as his world narrowed down to her mouth and the delicious taste of her, the way she kissed him and felt as they were interrupted, ever so rudely when a blinding orange light suddenly erupted from right in front of them - with a strong shockwave in its wake.
Harry immediately broke the kiss and quickly placed himself between Hermione and the explosion, quickly grabbing his wand from his new holster and training it on the figure of Albus Dumbledore.
The Headmaster looked battle-ready, with his phoenix perched on his arm and his wand on his hand - though it was lowered. Dumbledore's eyes darted around the whole room as if looking for any possible threat before they finally settled on Harry before turning towards Hermione. Back and forth they went, trying to figure out a nonexistent puzzle as if his very life depended on it.
"Afternoon, Headmaster," Harry deadpanned.
Dumbledore continued looking between the two teenagers before he finally stopped.
"Harry," He greeted him.
"Anything we can do for you?"
Dumbledore stared at him for what felt like an eternity before he looked away. "Forgive me, an old man's mistake."
After another lingering look at the both of them, Dumbledore turned around and went for the door, gazing back at them.
"Good luck on the third task, Harry."
Hogwarts Hallway Near The Infirmary
June 25th, 1995
4:03 a.m.
Hermione made her way through the hallways as stealthily as she could.
It hadn't been long after she had caught Skeeter that the healers had nicely kicked them out of the infirmary and told them that they could return in the morning. She had left with as much dignity as she could muster and made her way to the Gryffindor Tower. The whole place was in complete chaos, it seemed that nobody had even gone to sleep, and the three of them immediately attracted all the attention in the room when they entered. Hermione ignored all the shouted questions and made her way to her dormitory, immediately placing the jar inside one of the drawers in her closet and sealing it with every locking charm she could think of.
After sparing a glance at the empty beds of her two friends, Hermione descended the stairs and made her way to the fourth-year boys' dormitory - interrupting an argument between the four boys. Hermione didn't spare any of them a glance as she strode in, walked towards Harry's bed, and rummaged through his messy trunk until she finally found the cloak of invisibility, leaving the room without saying a word as the boys watched her silently.
Going to sleep on her own bed was never an option in Hermione's mind. There was no way she would be able to sleep tonight after everything that had happened - and there was certainly no way she would spend one more second than necessary without Harry in her sight. Ever since he had disappeared from the maze, every second without him there had been agonizing for her - and now that she had him back she would be damned if she left him alone.
As soon as she reached the infirmary, Hermione magically unlocked the door and entered and waited, feeling surprised when nobody came out of the Matron's office.
It was easy to spot Harry's bed in the otherwise empty room.
Hermione walked towards it as quietly as she could until she was standing right beside him - finally taking the cloak off and placing it in the chair Sirius had occupied just an hour ago.
She flinched when he began shaking violently again and felt tears starting to form.
Hermione closed her eyes and breathed deeply - mentally repeating the mantra that had kept her going for hours.
He's here, he's alive. He's just passed out.
"I'm going to keep you safe, Harry," Hermione whispered, crying openly. "I won't let anything happen to you ever again."
She tightened her arms around herself as she looked at him, digging her nails into her arms, lest she reach out and touch him. She has read how the victims of Cruciatus can't even bear being touched until the first wave of their shock had run its course. She couldn't afford to hurt him even if all that she wanted was to do nothing more than hold him and never let him go again.
She wiped her eyes, and vowed to herself that she'd stand vigil and make sure nothing else gets to her Harry. Anyone and anything that tried to hurt him will have to get through her first, and not before she had breathed her last will they be able to touch him.
"I promise."
Thank you for continuing reading, favouriting, and reviewing!
Next Chapter: The Third Task actually begins while we continue exploring its aftermath in the flash-forwards.
I am proud to announce that I have just created my own discord server where we talk about ALAYWM, any other fanfics, movies, TV series, and more. You are welcome to join it by using the following link: discord .gg/ S64anMh7YU