Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Captain
Prompt: Hermione Granger
Word count: 2,074


Hermione was quietly freaking out as she made her way swiftly from the place that would normally be her sanctuary and was now a pit of confusion and anxiety. The library was the place she went to for answers, not questions, and now it seemed to be determined to aid the two people that sent her mind spiralling out of control more than any of the crazy adventures Harry had inevitably dragged her and Ron into. Philosopher's Stones, basilisks, Quidditch, not-so-mass murdering mass murderers, and a Tetrawizard Tournament were nothing compared to this.

She had to focus on somehow getting Harry through the stupid tournament alive and the presences in the library were not helping with that. Which, actually, could be some kind of devious plan they thought up knowing that she was helping Harry as much as possible and wanted to destroy that aid. Though why they'd be working together, Hermione didn't know. Plus, they didn't seem to be actively doing much, beyond being in her line of sight or hearing distance all the time whenever she was in the library.

Finally, she deemed she was far enough away from the library to relax and sagged against the closest wall, clutching the three books she had managed to grab before escaping. Her heartbeat started slowing down as she breathed in and out, removing all thoughts of what her sanctuary had become and turning her focus back to helping Harry.

Someone sat down next to her and she couldn't help the slight jump she gave at the realisation that there was another person there. Cho Chang smiled at her and waved before looking out at the garden Hermione had stumbled into. She only knew Cho through polite nods and shared smiles as they passed each other in the corridors or library but she liked what she knew of the other girl. As the minutes ticked by without a word, Hermione found herself relaxing again and let Cho's presence fade into the background as she opened one of the books she'd borrowed.

Cho worked silently next to her on her own parchment scroll, nibbling on the sugar quill she held (and occasionally on her actual quill when she wasn't paying enough attention and mixed them up). Despite the occasional muttered complaints about feathers in her mouth or sugar getting on her parchment when Cho once more tried to write with her sugar quill, it was nice, peaceful. It was almost like being back in the library before all the confusion started. And then it was exactly like being in the library because along came one Cedric Diggory—chaos-bringer extraordinaire.

Hermione determinedly ignored his stupid smile and stared intently at the paragraph she had already read several times. She definitely didn't see the smile dim or hear Cho sighing in exasperation next to her.

"Hermione," Cho said, sounding entirely too fed up for there not to be some kind of backstory, "this is my friend Cedric. He's an idiot who would like to be friends with you but who's too shy to ask you himself, so he recruited me to do the approach. Honestly, I'd advise you to get out while you can because he is deadly with those puppy dog eyes."

Friends? Recruitment? Hermione looked from Cho to Cedric, her book forgotten in her hands. Cho was sucking her sugar quill and alternating between giving Cedric a long-suffering look and grinning at Hermione while Cedric glared at Cho and fiddled with his tie as he looked at Hermione hopefully. One part of her brain was insisting that it was some kind of trap to get inside information on what Harry was doing while the other was yelling that it didn't make sense for that to happen considering Harry had already shown he was willing to share information by telling Cedric about the dragons for the First Task.

In the end, Cho was right; Cedric used his hopeful, pleading eyes expertly and Hermione found herself sighing and gesturing to the plant box opposite her for Cedric to take a seat.

"Nice to meet you, Cedric," she said and Cedric's replying grin was blinding.

"Hi, Hermione!" he said, scrambling to sit down where she had gestured.

Cho groaned and looked like she wanted to grab Hermione's book and hit Cedric with it. "You're being weird, Cedric. Just do your assignment, we're busy."

Cedric gave Cho a salute and pulled books and parchment out of his bag as he settled into a more comfortable position. Comfortable silence once more fell over the small indoors garden and Hermione relaxed again. She turned back to her book and was only drawn out again when a white thing interrupted her view.

"Want one?" Cho asked, waving the offered sugar quill.

"Yes," Cedric said.

Cho glanced at him, "Shut up, Cedric, I wasn't asking you. Do you even deserve sugar when you made me be your middleman because you were terrified of approaching Hermione yourself?"

Hermione let out a huff of laughter at their banter, it reminded her so much of the way the Weasley family teased each other in their chaotic and loving home. It was almost like being back at the Burrow as boys rushed up and down rickety steps, packing for the Quidditch World Cup and accusing their brothers of hiding this or that and then discovering they'd already packed it.

Still smiling, Hermione accepted the sugar quill. "Thanks, Cho."

"Anytime," Cho replied. She fetched another sugar quill from the packet and tossed it to Cedric before grabbing another for herself. "Especially if you'll help me deal with this idiot in the future."

Hermione gave Cedric a considering look, brushing the end of the sugar quill over her chin as she normally did when thinking with a regular quill in her hand. She held out her hand to Cho for a handshake, "Deal."

That seemed to be it and the three of them settled down to work on their own things after that. Short bursts of conversation popped up occasionally, generally started by one of them asking a question to their work out loud and the others chipping in to answer, but otherwise it was merely a group of three individuals working together but separately. It was the most productive studying Hermione had been able to do for weeks.

The very next day, Hermione went to the library to return the books she'd borrowed and seek out more that might be able to help Harry. There was still the miasma of confusion hovering over the library shelves, but it was cleansed a little by Cho's welcoming smile and wave. Cedric, sitting next to Cho, looked up from his book and also waved, smiling just as brightly as Cho. Hermione found herself returning the waves and made her way to their table when she had an armful of books.

"Mind if I join you guys?" she asked, gesturing to the table with her load.

"Not at all." Cho grinned slyly. "In fact, I think you'd make Cedric's year if you did."

Cedric flushed red and ducked his head but didn't dispute the statement. Cho cackled and offered Hermione a sugar quill as she sat down. Hermione's parents would probably not be too impressed with the amount of sugar quills Cho had herself or handed to Hermione and Cedric to have but when studying for the purpose of keeping one's best friend alive, sugar was required. Hermione smiled at Cho in thanks, stuck the quill in her mouth and then opened the first book in front of her, ready to work. Which was, of course, when another stack of books landed next to hers and Viktor Krum—Bulgarian Seeker and the second presence in the library Hermione avoided—sat down at the table.

"Hey Viktor," Cho greeted, offering a sugar quill.

Viktor took it with a quiet thanks and did the exact same thing Hermione had done: stuck the sugar quill in his mouth and opened the first book on his stack. Hermione stared at the page in front of her and tried not to panic. Everything was fine. She was only sitting at the same table as the two boys who had inadvertently chased her out of the library. No reason to panic. She'd just do her work and then leave. Everything would be fine.

Everything was not fine. Hermione had spent hours in the library with Cedric, Cho, and Viktor and enjoyed it far too much to be fine. She liked them all and if it wasn't for the Triwizard Tournament she'd have no qualms about spending time with any of them. Even with the tournament, if it wasn't the topic of conversation or study, Hermione wouldn't care that she was studying with two Champions.

The tournament just brought with it a niggling doubt that maybe these two perfectly nice and honest people were actually just using her for her brain and weren't interested in being friends with her. It was similar to the time she had thought she was finally making friends in school only to lose them all once the SATs had passed. Were Cho, Cedric, and Viktor genuine in their friendships? Hermione could believe in Cho easier than the other two but was also aware that Cho was best friends with Cedric and probably wanted him to win the tournament. Cedric and Viktor were harder to evaluate.

Hermione burst through the portrait hole and sighed in relief when she saw Harry sitting in front of the fire in the common room. She needed another opinion and Ron would explode first, be rational later and Hemione couldn't deal with that right now. Harry was curled up on the couch and not paying attention to the Transfiguration homework in front of him as he stared into the fire, hopefully he'd be able to help.

"Harry," Hermione started, and Harry looked up at her.

"Hey, Hermione."

"Harry, I need your help."

Harry sat up instantly, removing the abandoned homework next to him and patting the couch cushion. "What's wrong? Did Malfoy do something? Or Skeeter?"

"No, it's not them." Hermione sat down and pulled a small cushion to her chest, fiddling with the tassels it had. "I've been studying with Cedric and Viktor. And Cho."

"Okay. Did they do something?"

Hermione let out a breath and shook her head. "No, and that's just it. I don't know if they're planning on doing something or if they just want to be friends. I don't know if they plan on using me to learn what you know of the Tasks and how you plan on getting through them."

"Have they talked about strategies for the tournament?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Hermione admitted. "We don't talk a whole lot, just study and sometimes help each other if we're struggling. It's nice. Better than studying with you and Ron."

Harry laughed as she nudged him with her elbow. "You love us anyway," he said. "And it sounds like a normal study group. I like Cho and Cedric, and from what I know about Krum, he's okay too. I don't think they'd befriend you just to get to me."

Hermione nodded, thinking about the interactions she'd had with her new study companions. Even when Cedric and Viktor had driven her out of the library, it had been Hermione who had driven herself out with nerves and anxiety. All three of them had been perfectly friendly and Hermione found that if she lost that now, she'd miss it despite only having it for a few days.

"Thanks, Harry."

"Least I could do," he responded, and grinned at her.

Hermione felt in her pocket and pulled out the extra sugar quill Cho had given her before they all split up and went their separate ways. She offered it to Harry, "Need some brain power?"

"Hermione," Harry said seriously as he accepted the sugar quill, "you are the best."

"Thank Cho, she's the one that gave it to me."

"Do you think I could?" Harry asked, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Hermione grinned in exactly the same way Cho had when Cedric had pleaded with her to act as middleman—though of course, she didn't know that. "Definitely. Why don't you come with me to the library tomorrow so you can thank her? She'll probably even give you another one if you bring your homework and join us."

Harry smiled and nodded. "You're the best, Hermione," he repeated.

"I know."