When Ariana got back to the common room, people were planning a big celebration in honor of Harry being chosen as the champion, but she didn't much feel like celebrating. "This is bad," she told Ginny. "Somebody is plotting against him."

"Hey," Ginny said. "Maybe he just figured out a way to trick the Age Line."

"Doubtful," said Ariana. "Dumbledore drew it himself, and besides, he told me that he wouldn't enter even if he could."

"Have you been talking to him?" Ginny asked.

"Not a lot. It's weird, I don't know... we pass each other in the hallway sometimes and it's like I ask him a question or he says hi and we talk for a minute, then it gets awkward and ends. I know why it's awkward for me, but he doesn't know who I am."

"Harry's just kind of awkward," Ginny said. "I mean, have you noticed he doesn't talk to many people other than Ron and Hermione?"

"Well, I imagine he finds it hard to tell the difference between his real friends and those who are only after his fame."

"I wonder what it's like being famous," Ginny said. "Having so many people admire you."

"I imagine it's pretty lonely," Ariana said. "If people are obsessed with the idea of you, then they don't bother to really get to know you."

"Well that would be their loss," Ginny said. "Because Harry's way better than his reputation."

"Somebody's in love," Ariana teased.

"Maybe," Ginny said. "Maybe I am."

Harry arrived, and people started cheering, but Ariana was too busy thinking about how much danger Harry was in to cheer for him. She headed upstairs to their dormitory, lying awake with thoughts spinning in her head. What was Voldemort after? Did he have an agent inside of Hogwarts working for him? And was there a chance that, if he did, this agent could find out about her?

The next morning, she headed down for breakfast and noticed something was off. Harry and Ron were sitting far away from each other. "What's going on?" she asked Ginny.

"They had a fight," Ginny said quietly. "Ron thinks Harry found some way of putting his own name in the Goblet, and didn't let him in on it."

"Ron's not that stupid."

"There are no limits to his stupidity," Ginny said.

Ariana gave a little chuckle at that. "So you do believe Harry?"

"I wasn't sure about whether he'd put his name in," Ginny said. "But I'm sure he'd never keep something like that from Ron. So yes, I believe him. Hermione does too."

"I bet Hermione has theories," Ariana said. "About who it was."

"I'm sure she does," said Ginny. "Not that she'd share them with us."

Ariana frowned. It wasn't right for Harry and Ron to be fighting like that. But there wasn't really anything she could do about it, so she turned back to her toast. She noticed people in the other three houses casting dirty looks at Harry, and realized that all the non-Gryffindors thought he had tried to steal the spotlight too. How could anybody believe that? How could Ron believe that? He was Harry's best friend, surely he had to understand who Harry was, that he would never do such a thing. As she and Ginny left the Great Hall, she cast a look at Harry. He didn't seem at all happy.

A week later, most of the school still hated Harry, and Ron still wasn't speaking to him. Ariana found him one day, sitting alone in the common room with a book. The open book on the chair next to him suggested Hermione had been there, but evidently she had run off somewhere. Maybe to the library for more books. "Hi," Ariana said, deciding some things were more important than how awkward she felt around him.

He glanced up at her. "Hi."

"What-what are you studying?" she asked.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said. "It's homework, and it might help me in the first task."

"Right," she said. "Right, the tournament. Do you have any theories?"

"About the task?"

"About who put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

He blinked at her for a moment. "You-you don't think I did it?"

"No. You told me you wouldn't, remember? The first day of term."

"Yeah, I guess I did. Nobody else seems to believe me."

"Ginny does."

"Good to know."

"And I figure, you know, someone's probably hoping you get hurt in the tournament."

"I figure that too."

"Be careful, then. We can't lose our star seeker."

He let out a laugh at that. "I'll do my best."

"See you later, then."

"See you."

She left, and it felt less awkward than previous times. Maybe one day, she'd actually be able to have a proper conversation with her brother.

Another week later, Rita Skeeter decided to get involved in their lives again, because apparently she had nothing better to do than write about the affairs of teenagers. "This is ridiculous," Ginny said with a laugh. "As if Harry and Hermione would ever be into each other."

"Some people seem to believe it," Ariana said. "I don't understand why everyone's so against Harry now. Are they forgetting all the times he's saved the world? He saved your life."

"You don't see me making fun of him," Ginny said. "As for everyone else, I don't know, I guess they want to feel more powerful by making Harry seem less untouchable in their eyes."

"It's so strange," Ariana said. "I mean, Harry's about the least self-important person I've ever met."

"Well, it's like you were saying," said Ginny. "Nobody bothers to get to know him."

"Or Hermione, evidently."

As if on cue, she walked past them with her head down. "Hi, Hermione," Ginny said.

She stopped and turned around. "Oh. Hello. I assume you've read the Prophet."

"That Rita Skeeter should not be allowed to publish," said Ariana. "It's tabloid trash! My father was working on a law to prevent this sort of thing back home."

"Your father's a lawmaker?" Hermione asked.

"A State Senator," Ariana confirmed. "You probably don't know what that is."

"I know what a Senator is," said Hermione. "In case you forgot, I grew up in the Muggle world too."

"I didn't know they taught about American politics in British schools."

"They don't really. But I read a lot."

"Of course," said Ariana. "How's Harry preparing for the task going?"

"Oh, about as well as you might expect," Hermione said.

"That's not a good sign," said Ginny. "We want him to win!"

"We want him to survive," Hermione said.

"Obviously," said Ginny. "But if he could win, wouldn't that be great?"

Hermione shrugged and kept walking, and Ariana said, "Let's just hope he makes it through the first task alive."

"It'll be alright," Ginny said. "Dumbledore would never let anything happen."

"Right, of course," said Ariana. But the sick feeling in her stomach didn't quite believe her words.