Harry Potter and everything magical in his world belongs to JK Rowling, not me.
Chapter Fourteen
Harry bolted upright the next morning, sunlight beaming into the room. Looking at his watch, he dazedly read that it was a quarter past nine. He had only fifteen minutes to get down to the lake. Everyone else had gone already, and Ron's bed looked unslept in. Silently wondering how his roommates had let him sleep in on today of all days, Harry quickly changed out of his pajamas and into his school robes, stuffing the gillyweed into his pocket. Rushing down the many staircases and along two secret passages, he tore into a breakneck sprint down the grounds towards the lake. The stands from the dragon enclosure had been erected on the shore and a knot of people were standing in front of them. Harry managed to arrive just as the clock tower struck the half hour.
Ludo Bagman, who looked very relieved to see Harry, announced to the waiting crowd what the challenge was, and then they were off. All three of the other champions dived into the water. Harry noted ruefully that they were all dressed in some kind of swim or athletic wear. Feeling very foolish standing there in his school robes, he stuffed the gillyweed unto his mouth and forced himself to swallow it. While he waited for it to take effect, he quickly offed his shoes, socks, robes, and jumped and dived in after the rest.
It took Harry a moment to discover that he was able to breathe. He felt that gills had opened on the sides of his neck, and that his hands were now webbed. Spurned onwards by the revelation that this would work, he dived for the depths of the lake. The darkness of the water closed in on him the deeper he got. Wondering where the other three had gotten to, and where the Mer village was, Harry swam onwards. Just as he was passing over a thick patch of seaweed, a shiny silver form drifted into view. It took him a moment to realize it was Moaning Myrtle, who was slowly drifting through the lake.
"Hello Harry," she said, smiling at the sight of him. "You're going to want to go that way." She pointed to his left. He nodded his head in thanks, since when he tried to speak only bubbles issued from his mouth.
"Before you go, though, you might want to take that off." Myrtle said, pointing at his chest.
Harry looked down and in shock he saw clearly through his white shirt the bra he'd been wearing last night to bed. In his haste to get to the lake he'd forgotten to take it off. Nodding his thanks again to Myrtle, Harry swam down to the lake bed and unbuttoned his shirt. Quickly removing the bra, he tangled it into the weeds, wondering if he'd be able to sneak back down to the lake that night and retrieve it with a summoning charm.
Heading in the direction Myrtle had indicated, it wasn't long until he found the village. There in the middle, tied to a large statue, were Cho Chang, Hermione, Ron, and a little girl who could only be Fleur's little sister. Looking around for any sign of the other champions, Harry grabbed a sharp rock from the lake bottom and cut the bonds holding Ron. He then attempted to release Hermione, but was held back by the Mer people, who were floating around him armed with spears.
Harry wasn't sure what to do. He didn't think that anyone who wasn't rescued would be lost forever, no matter what the song said. On the other hand, he couldn't be sure. Soon Diggory turned up, followed by Krum, and they left quickly with their hostages. Finally, Harry decided he couldn't wait anymore. Brandishing his wand, the Mer people fled, allowing him to cut loose the little girl and make for the surface.
"Harry, how thick are you?" Ron asked him when they had all reached the surface and he'd found out what Harry had done. "Of course none of us were going to die down there."
After a brief meeting of the judges, who took Harry waiting to rescue more than just his hostage as a sort of gallantry, it was announced that Harry had been given second place, putting him tied in first place with Cedric. The final task was to take place at the end of June, giving the champions plenty of time to prepare. The Gryffindor's partied late into the evening that night. When Harry had the chance to tell Ginny and Hermione about the bra, they both laughed. "At least it wasn't my favorite one." Said Harry.
With all of the stress that had been weighing on him for the last few weeks lifted, and months to go before it would return, Harry's spirits soared that weekend. Most of the other students had finally come around to support him equally with Cedric, with the exception of the Slytherins. This was particularly driven home early the next week. Hermione had just given Harry his latest Witch Weekly, which he was reading in the privacy of his four poster bed. Turning away from an article about the Weird Sister's lead singer who was newly single, Harry was greeted by a picture of himself in his dress robes, dancing at the Yule Ball.
A boy like no other, perhaps — yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, Harry Potter seems to be continuing to defy social norms at Hogwarts. In what seems to be a recent break up with his long-term girlfriend, Muggle-Born Hermione Granger, Harry looks to have found solace in the arms of another classmate, Pavarti Patil.
Other reports say that our Mr. Potter's new relationship is just a cover. Several of his fellow students have suggested that Harry is in fact in a secret relationship with a boy from Beauxbatons who is visiting for the Triwizard Tournament. The two were seen dancing together at the Yule Ball, after he had ditched his partner for the evening, who was Pavarti Patil, his alleged girlfriend.
"He couldn't get away from her fast enough." Says Pansy Parkinson, a very pretty and outgoing girl in Harry's year, "And he spends all his time hanging out with girls. I don't think it's in the way you'd think it was either."
What could all this mean? Could the Boy-Who-Lived simply have more girlfriends who are all playing for his affections, or does our young hero play for the other team?
Harry had to reread the article four times before it fully registered in his mind. His first thought was to find Hermione. Rushing from his dormitory and down the staircase, Harry emerged into the common room to find several people, mostly girls, staring at him. At a table on the far side of the room he saw Pavarti and Lavender, both looking at a copy of Witch Weekly. Making up his mind on the spot, Harry crossed to them.
"Pavarti, can I have a word?" he asked, breaking in on their reading.
"Uhm, sure Harry. Be right back Lav." Pavarti replied, and followed him out into the corridor.
"I just wanted to make sure we were ok, after reading what Rita Skeeter just wrote." Harry said.
Giving him a look, Pavarti said "You read Witch Weekly? Of course we're fine Harry. It's like I told you at the Yule Ball, I know I'm not your type."
"So, you didn't talk to Rita Skeeter?" Harry asked.
"Of course not. She's horrible for what she just wrote." Pavarti replied.
Thanking her and then heading off to find Hermione, Harry breathed a small sigh of relief. He knew that the muttering behind him was about to start again, but was determined to hold it together this time. Finding Hermione and Ron halfway down the third-floor corridor, Harry dragged them into an empty classroom. Unsure if he really wanted to have this conversation in front of Ron, Harry decided that it would come out soon enough anyway and he might want Hermione present if things went badly. Together Ron and Hermione read the article, which Harry passed off as having been given to him. As their eyes moved down the page, Hermione's face went from white to bright red, while Ron's just went pale.
"So," he said when he looked up, "So, do you like blokes?"
"Oh Ron, that doesn't matter right now." Cut across Hermione, handing the magazine back to Harry, she said "How on earth did she find out about that? She wasn't there, Dumbledore doesn't allow her onto the grounds. And that dance was only for a minute or two. She's making something from nothing."
"Doesn't matter does it." Said Ron, before Harry could speak. "She's printed it, and that's all most people are going to care about."
"I was afraid this was going to happen, or something like it. She looked far to happy when we left the Three Broomsticks during the last Hogsmeade weekend." Said Harry. Together, he and Hermione filled Ron in on their confrontation with Rita Skeeter, as well as confirming that Harry did dance with a boy at the Yule Ball.
"So, what does that mean?" asked Ron.
"It means, that yes I do like blokes. I like girls too; I'm still figuring it out." Admitted Harry, waiting for the explosion.
"You aren't checking me out in the shower, right?" asked Ron.
"What?" Harry exclaimed. Of all the things he's expected Ron to say, he never would have guessed that.
"You know, it's not like we hide much from each other in the dormitory, so" he trailed off.
"No, Ron. I don't check you or any of the others out in the shower." Said Harry, not sure if it was right to laugh or not.
"Well, in that case, I guess that's ok." Ron finally said, looking uncomfortable.
"Are you sure? Cause, a few months ago…" It was Harry's turn to trail off at the memory of the things Ron had said to him resurfaced.
Ron's ears turned pink, "Yeah, it's ok. It'll just take some time to get totally used to it."
"That's fair. I'm still getting used to it." Said Harry.
By the next day Harry was wishing the rest of the school had been as easy about the article as Ron had. Renewed whispered followed him ever since breakfast and snippets from the article kept reaching his ears. Most of the girls were giving him strange looks, and any boy who met his eyes quickly looked away. Seamus and Dean had both asked Harry if it was true, to which Harry didn't answer. From then on, they, and Ron, changed in the privacy of the bathroom. Neville said it didn't matter to him, and he didn't treat Harry any differently.
Early in march Sirius wrote and asked for the date of their next Hogsmeade trip. In addition, he asked them to bring him as much food as the could. The following weekend they met him at the end of the high road with a bag of food, and followed him into the hills that surrounded the town. In a hidden cave he transformed back into his human form, and ate the proffered food voraciously.
Finally, he looked up, chicken juices gleaming on his chin and began to talk. He told them about wanting to fulfill his role as godfather and be on the spot incase anything happened. He was very interested at Hermione's telling of how Winky had been sacked over the summer by Mr. Crouch, and relayed the story of his being sent to Azkaban without a trial by Crouch. After this tale, as the day crept on and it was getting close to three o'clock, he turned and looked Harry fully in the face.
"Are you ok, Harry?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry replied, looking confused.
Sirius shuffled over to a stack of papers that were sitting in a corner and withdrew a battered copy of Witch Weekly. Harry immediately recognized it as the edition with Rita's article about him.
"Oh, that." He said slowly, feeling uncomfortable. While he liked Sirius and trusted him, it felt strange to discuss this with him. Both Ron and Hermione watched him, waiting for him to speak.
"You know that no matter what trash is written about you it doesn't affect how I feel about you, right?" said Sirius.
"I know," Harry replied, silent misgivings filling him.
"No matter what you're still my godson, and James and Lily Potter's boy. Don't let anyone tear you down." Sirius said, setting his hand on Harry's shoulders and looking him in the eye. Harry nodded, his stomach twisting slightly at the word's "godson" and "boy." Would Sirius continue to care about me if he knew about Heather, Harry asked himself quietly, trying to not let his emotions appear on his face. A silence fell on them, and stretched just long enough to feel strained. Finally, Sirius said "It's time you were getting back to school. I don't want you three sneaking down to visit. Send owls regularly."