Chapter 6- Working It Out
"So how did you know that Rita Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus, anyway?" Cedric enquired as he, Hermione and Viktor sat in their corner of the library, spelled by Madam Pince to keep people out as a gesture of her support. She had always liked Hermione and was going to subtly do everything she could to maintain the girl's happiness. Ever since Hermione was eleven and exploring the library on her second day in the castle, they had bonded somewhat over their affinity for literature.
Hermione hummed. "Well, I noticed that something was odd in the common room just before my argument with Harry. I felt something on me on and wiped it off. I found it odd because Hogwarts doesn't accommodate beetles. Helga Hufflepuff was terrified of them and made sure they couldn't survive in the castle. So that got me wondering about it.
"The Daily Prophet article about support for Harry in the Tournament mentioned something taken verbatim from one of our conversations earlier in the week. I just put two and two together, really." She shrugged, like it was no big deal. It hadn't been, in the moment.
Viktor shook his head. "You're really something else."
"I agree," Cedric said. "I don't think anybody else would have even thought about putting two and two together and coming up with unregistered Animagus."
"I've learned to think outside the box. I enjoy riddles."
Cedric smirked. "I definitely do not. Well, at least that one that's lying inside the Golden Egg. We were told that the Egg holds the clue to how to prepare for the Second Task, but we can't seem to break it. Every time we open it, it just screams at us. It's rather annoying after a while."
Viktor nodded. "It certainly is. I keep trying to think of what we're missing, but nothing's coming to me. It's like I'm almost there, but I'm just missing the point. This is one riddle that will prove a challenge to the great Hermione Granger."
Hermione blushed, only just coming around to the compliments that were being bestowed upon her like drops of rain. "Alright. Let's write down what we know about the Egg. Everything you can think of, no matter how trivial it might seem. In a riddle, everything is important and will help you to reach the solution."
Cedric took out a spare piece of parchment and his quill and Viktor did the same. "Okay, well it's gold."
"It shrieks whenever we try to open it," Viktor added, staring at the Egg that Cedric had brought with him.
Hermione made a note of both of the facets of information and stared hard at the Egg. "This is created to be challenging, so it'll probably be something you would never expect."
Viktor chuckled. "I never really expected to hear a banshee wailing at me when I opened the Egg, but yeah okay, let's go with that."
Hermione smiled and held the Egg in her hands. Knocking on it, she hummed. "It feels hollow. I know you said there wasn't a lot in it, but something feels strange about it. Did they give you any clues?"
Cedric shook his head. "Just that it contains vital information about the next Task. If we don't figure this out and the Second Task approaches, we're going to be in big trouble."
Hermione eyed him. "Are you suggesting that I'm not going to be able to figure this out, Cedric? Because I'm Hermione Granger and I will solve this puzzle. Maybe I should have been selected for this Tournament."
"Oh, you'd definitely win," Viktor replied coolly.
Hermione shrugged. "Have you thought about where you're opening the Egg?"
Cedric frowned, not really understanding. "I mean, should I open it outside or somewhere cold or in the bath or something?"
"I'm not saying that, I'm…hold on. You should try that. Opening it in water. I read something about different creatures and artefacts responding differently within different mediums. Maybe water allows it to function properly, whatever it is. If that fails, we could always try a solid glass box and encase it in there and see what happens."
Viktor gaped. "I think you just solved the clue."
Hermione preened. "Let's not jump ahead of anything. Try it, see if it works. Then we'll go from there. I mean right now, go and have baths."
Cedric and Viktor slid out of the bench and both pressed a hurried kiss to Hermione's cheek, Cedric carrying his Egg in one hand and holding Viktor's hand in the other. Hermione thought it was so adorable as she watched them leave. Madam Pince dispelled the enchantment surrounding her and handed her an enveloped letter.
"The owl tried to find you but you weren't in the Great Hall so someone carried it here for you."
Hermione went to say something, but it was lost in her throat. "Thank you, Madam Pince."
Hermione scanned the letter, addressed to "Miss Hermione Granger, Gryffindor House, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". Shrugging, she opened it and gasped a dark, murky gas puffed out of the envelope and wrapped itself around her. A flood of ice zipped through her veins and the skin of her arms began to burn, like she had left ice cubes on it for too long.
The burn intensified as she zipped through the hallways to the Hospital Wing, glad that the portrait shortcut she liked to use was functioning on this particular occasion.
"Miss Granger?" Madam Pomfrey gasped as Hermione slipped inside the door, showing her arms to the Healer.
"Please tell me you can stop this!" Hermione cried, the pain getting to her.
Madam Pomfrey gasped. "Oh, my dear, what happened to you?"
"I opened a letter and there was this gas that just…I don't know exactly but it really hurts!"
"Drink this, dear. You'll pass out for a short time, but whatever is going on here will be completely cleared up. Don't worry, Miss Granger, you'll be perfectly fine."
Hermione nodded, ingesting the foul-smelling liquid that Madam Pomfrey had ushered under her nose. The potion shot down her throat, making her insides explode with light. Her head spun and she lost control of her consciousness, collapsing onto a nearby hospital bed. Her eyes became weak and she fell into the abyss of black that welcomed her.
When Hermione awoke, she could barely make out the two figures that loomed over her. Initially, she thought that Cedric and Viktor had found her and were tending to her. As her eyesight improved, she realised that her boyfriends were nowhere to be found.
"You're awake," a distinctly familiar voice rang through the empty Hospital Wing.
She frowned, not expecting that. "Harry?"
"And Ron," Harry said softly. "McGonagall told us that you were here and that we should come and see you. I'm not sure she knew everything that had been going on with us recently."
Ron smiled. "We just wanted to make sure that you were alright. Diggory and Krum were here before us, in case you thought they weren't. They said that they'd come back later on."
Hermione sat upright in the bed, sighing at the sting in her arms. "How long have you both been here?"
"Long enough that Ron's stomach is crying out for help," Harry supplied with a small laugh. Hermione cracked a smile, too. "Look, Hermione, we…we really miss having you around. And not just for homework help. We're actually maintaining the grades you basically got for us."
Ron nodded. "My Potions is even going up."
Hermione smirked. "So you're doing better without my help? Maybe because you realise that you actually understand more of the work than you think you do, given that you no longer have an academic safety net."
Ron picked imaginary lint from his knee. "We're sorry, we really are. We never meant for you to feel like you were just around to help with homework."
Hermione tilted her head. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the both of you."
Harry smirked. "It seems that you have a lot to tell us." Hermione groaned.
"You seriously want to talk about boys?"
Ron shrugged. "It's not my favourite topic, but it'll be a nice change of pace from Harry's perpetual Cho Chang angst."
Hermione smiled. "You'd better brush up on your knowledge about snow. Apparently, it's all she talks about. If you want to impress her, Harry, just talk about snowfall."
"Noted," Harry said, frowning, "thanks for the tip, I think? How are your arms?"
Hermione swallowed heavily. "Sore. I'm not sure who sent that letter or what was even in it, but whatever it was, it was clearly designed to hurt me specifically. Oh my God."
Ron laughed. "I've missed pretending to understand when Hermione figures something out," he said and Harry nodded along.
"I think I do understand, this time, though. You think Rita Skeeter did this, don't you?"
Hermione sighed. "I think it's plausible and probable. I mean, who else would do something like that? Her reputation was put into question by a fourteen year old girl, she seems like the type to take revenge. The whole wizarding world reads her bogus articles. If word got out that she might not be as legitimate as she seems, everything would crumble around her. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes."
Ron chuckled. "If you say so, Hermione."
"We'll help you take her down," Harry asserted, "that is…if you'll have us back."
Ron nodded. "Even if I'm only agreeing because you're dating my sporting hero."
Hermione scowled at him playfully. "I've missed you both, I really have. But things can't go back to how they were."
"We understand," Ron replied, "a more equal friendship from now on. You can even ask things of us when you need them. No more homework help."
"Well, I can still give you tips and proofread things."
Ron shook his head. "I'm kinda starting to enjoy writing Charms essays. Oh god, I'm turning into you."
Hermione laughed. She actually had missed them quite a bit, she realised. The three of them had been so close and had been on such a journey together that it would have been difficult for them not to be friends for much longer. Reconciliation was natural once amends were made. That wasn't to say that Hermione was going to tolerate their previous behaviour. No, absolutely not. Changes would be made in due time and everything would go back to normal. She would split her time between classes, friends and boyfriends. Oh, how that plural still sounded strange. Hermione partly wished that she still had the Time Turner so that she could dictate how her time was sectioned off.
Harry nudged him. "Wouldn't that be a blessing? Maybe you would learn correct hygiene."
Ron scoffed. "Maybe you would learn to fix your glasses every once in a while!"
Hermione sighed, seeing the tape that had been plastered over the bridge of the spectacles. Her arm ached as she grasped her wand from the nearby table. "As a gesture of goodwill, Occulus Reparo."
The three shared smiles with each other, finally getting the feeling that things would return to normal, even if it hadn't quite happened yet.
Peering through a space in the door, Cedric and Viktor grinned at each other, seeing the genuine smile on Hermione's face now that she had been reunited with her best friends. Despite how much the two Champions cared about her, Harry and Ron would always be special to her, no matter what she said about them. Hermione would rant and rave about their laziness and carelessness, but she still loved them like siblings.
"So how are we going to destroy Skeeter for what she's done?" Cedric smirked.
Viktor grunted. "Any way we can. I feel like Hermione already has an idea, though. You know what she's like, always thinking of every possible outcome."
Cedric sighed. "Indeed. I'm a lot like that, too. I was thinking about something earlier, in fact. I got the feeling that Hermione is the sole focus of our affections. I wanted to let you know that I care deeply about you, as well."
Viktor nodded. "I was thinking the same. You're very special, Cedric. We should take some time to ourselves sometime soon. I want to show you that this truly is a polyamory, not just the two of us doting on Hermione."
Cedric kissed his cheek firmly. "Thank you, Vik. I think you're wonderful and I don't want you to lose sight of that during the Tournament. We may be competing, but we're united by our feelings for each other."
Viktor chuckled. "Of course. And by the beautiful girl in that room. We're all joined together and nothing or nobody can stop us, no matter what they try and do to us. Stand together, always."
Cedric slipped his hand into Viktor's, thumb stroking the rough skin rhythmically. "Always."
