Chapter 8- Articles And Announcements


Hermione knew that the three boys would come back from their meeting with some kind of news or information pertaining to the next stage of the Triwizard Tournament. It was basically stated when they were called away from lunch, leaving she and Ron to speculate about the reasons for calling them to a secret gathering.

"Maybe the Tournament's being cancelled or something?" Ron suggested while delving headfirst into his plate of chicken.

Hermione smiled. "I forgot how much you liked to eat. Hmm, maybe something's changed about the second task. I doubt they'd cancel the whole thing at this stage. It was risky to even think about putting it on in the first place. They're going the whole way. I'm scared for them."

"Who?" Ron smirked.

"All of them," Hermione shot back, blushing. "Maybe they've found a way for Harry to drop out!"

Ron swallowed his chicken and frowned. "He finished the first task, Hermione. He's in good form."

"But it's only going to get harder from here!"

"Are you saying he isn't up to it?"

Hermione sighed. "None of them are. I think they're stupid for signing up and I really hate the person who submitted Harry's name."

Hermione heard a chuckle from behind her.

"I'm glad you think so highly of your boyfriends, Hermione," Cedric said and Viktor hummed.

"Your belief is noted."

Ron interrupted him. "Everyone's staring and pointing."

Cedric frowned. "So? People have been doing that since the day of the First Task."

Harry coughed. "No, they're really staring. And whispering."

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed the nearest copy of the Daily Prophet from Neville, who shrugged like he had let her take it. "It's probably about this. That vile dung beetle's article is in here and Merlin knows what she's written about us."

"Want me to read it?" Ron offered helpfully.

"Thank you, Ronald, but it's okay. Right, let's see…ah, we made the second page but we got quite a lot of the page to ourselves. And there's a picture of you two kissing, how lovely."

"Focus on the words, Hermione," Viktor prompted and she nodded and read the article aloud.

TRIWIZARD TRIO SHAKE UP A HURRICANE

Just when we thought that this year's Triwizard Tournament wasn't controversial enough with the dubious entry of twelve-year old Harry Potter—

"I'm fourteen!" Harry groaned. "Sorry. I'll let you finish."

"…the dubious entry of twelve-year old Harry Potter, it seems that the romantic lives of two of the most championed Champions have made a play for the public's attention. Together with Potter's rumoured girlfriend, Hermione Granger, both Hogwarts' Cedric Diggory and Quidditch sensation Viktor Krum have sparked a schoolwide (and nationwide) debacle with the insistence that they are all together as a trio. You heard me correctly, readers, they are all together.

"During my visit to the Tournament's base, I came across a few students who indignantly confirmed that this is nothing more than a stunt to claim the attention from The Boy Who Lived. Greatly-liked Slytherin student Pansy Parkinson had this to say about the whole thing—."

"Okay, but do we want to hear this?" Cedric frowned. "It's not exactly going to be positive, is it?"

Viktor put an arm on his. "It might be wise to get a sense of what everyone is saying."

Cedric shrugged. "I suppose."

Hermione nodded before continuing.

"The Granger girl has always been one for attention, so this doesn't surprise me. What surprises me is that Krum and Diggory are pretending to be into each other just so Granger can pretend that boys like her."

Ron sighed deeply. "I think I've finally found an excuse to practise the Bat Bogey Hex."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think it's a good idea to antagonise Pansy. If she's in Skeeter's back pocket, it might spark more unnecessary rumours. Do you want to open a cursed envelope next time, Ronald?"

"No," he answered, his mouth once again full to the brim with chicken.

"It's almost over," Hermione replied and read the last paragraph.

"Should this all unravel over the duration of the Tournament, I guess we will find out whether Pansy has her facts straight or whether she simply wanted her name in a newspaper article. So I'll leave it up to you, readers. Is this a big publicity stunt or do we actually have a romance of champions on our hands?"

Hermione silently passed the paper back to Neville and turned to her friends and boyfriends. "At least she found a way to insult Pansy in there too," she supplied.

Viktor grunted. "Something needs to be done about that woman."

Ron clapped Harry on the back. "Go on, mate. Do something to really get everyone's attention and make the next article solely about you."

"You'll be the most written about twelve-year old in Daily Prophet history," Cedric smirked. Harry flicked a baked bean at him in disgust.

"You know, I don't know why she keeps writing that I'm twelve when the wizarding world knows how old I am. It just makes her look stupid."

"So don't correct her," Ron shrugged, "as long as you know the truth. Anyway, Hermione and I were about to ask you what that super-secret meeting was about."

Viktor chuckled. "Is this your way of asking us?"

Hermione nodded. "Anything we need to incorporate into our strategies?"

Harry shook his head. "Not exactly. McGonagall presented it like another task, but it's not really a task. I'm bad at this. Cedric?"

"Basically, on Christmas Night, there's going to be a Yule Ball."

Hermione tilted her head curiously. She hadn't read anything about any Yule Ball. "Is that what I think it is?"

Viktor nodded. "Exactly what you think it is. It's an opportunity for the champions and the rest of the schools to relax a little before the Second Task takes place. It's a formalwear dance with live entertainment and food provided."

"Food?" Ron piped up. "As in a feast?"

Harry grinned. "Yes, Ron. Exactly like a feast. McGonagall was advising us to bring dates and learn how to dance. The four champions each have to dance in front of everyone. A waltz, I think. What twelve-year old boy knows how to waltz?"

The five laughed in harmony, enjoying the sliver of levity they had been afforded despite the tumultuous events of the recent past and the defamatory article in the Prophet. Hermione knew that this was a rare moment of bliss before everything started up again and she had more things to worry about, like the safety of her boyfriends and best friend in the upcoming tasks.

But, for now, she decided that she would focus on finding a nice dress for the Yule Ball. She obviously didn't have to worry about a date. She had two who were both Champions. Alternatively, as a little project, she would work on finding Harry and Ron dates. She figured that girls would be lining up to dance with a Champion, but Ron's slightly standoffish attitude left him a little excluded, which Hermione was prepared to remedy. She would scout out potential targets and get back to him if he hadn't already found one himself.

Nonetheless, it would be a fun way to end Christmas and, hopefully, it would go by without any unnecessary drama.


"I had a thought," Hermione said to Cedric and Viktor as they lounged about in their usual sector of the library, this time cornered off by Madam Pince who was allowing them some downtime to strategise.

Irma was fully aware that they were not developing tactics, but she liked them all, as students went, so she wasn't in the mood to chastise them about it. Irma did have a strange urge to throw one of the more desecrated books at the back of Lavender Brown's head as she made an inordinate amount of noise with her friends. Shrugging it off, she went back to cataloguing the new stock intake and kept her mind working at optimum level.

Cedric smiled widely, always amused at how much Hermione's brain actually worked. It was like he could practically hear the cogs in her mind turning and processing the information that she had just learned or a new magical thesis she had conjured. It was one of the things he liked very much about her. She was a spirited learner, but also knew how to use her mind logically and effectively. A lot of the more academically inclined students lacked a fundamental knowledge of both logic and common sense. Hermione possessed both and it only made her more brilliant in regards to both academia and emotional understanding. Frankly, he didn't know how she did it.

Viktor knew what she was about to say. Only because he had had the same thought earlier on in the day when the news first arrived to him. Hermione had a very specific look on her face, one of worry and bemusement. He didn't see the latter a lot on Hermione, which bothered him. He wasn't overly concerned about the point she was going to make, but he was concerned that it was playing on Hermione's mind. He had always conjured up a solution that he thought would work and would posit it with his boyfriend and girlfriend once the correct time came.

"That's surprising," Cedric smirked.

Hermione waved him off and continued. "How are we going to work at the Yule Ball? If Champions have to have dates, then you both have two. How do we decide what happens there?"

Cedric nodded, not having thought about and Viktor congratulated himself on his own skills of deduction and being able to read Hermione's facial expressions. He himself was a man of few words, so he spent a lot of time just watching and learning how to study people. It sometimes helped him in Quidditch situations, but mostly it was for his own amusement and fascination.

"I have an idea if you're willing to hear it. I was thinking earlier that Cedric and I would dance the waltz together and then alternate dances with you and each other throughout the night. That way, nobody is neglected and we all spend approximately the same amount of time together. There are no hurt feelings and all three of us get to enjoy ourselves."

"That's a really logical solution, Vik," Hermione smiled.

Viktor laughed to himself. "Are you a little put out that you didn't think of it yourself?"

"Maybe," she grinned shyly as Cedric wrapped his arm around her. Viktor took her hand from across the table and grasped Cedric's other along with it. He quite enjoyed the feeling of being close to two people. He was leaving himself vulnerable to one more person than usual, but he was reaping the rewards in having comfort and support from an extra source. Viktor wondered why everybody didn't consider having more than one romantic partner as an option. Probably because not everybody actually understood it, but it had taken some getting used to for him as well and he was sure that Ced and Hermione had gone through the same questioning that he had.

It was more difficult for Viktor than accepting his sexuality, because that had been apparent ever since childhood. He was attracted to girls and he was attracted to guys. He hadn't known that it was even different to what everybody else felt because he had always thought that attraction was fluid. He had never felt any other way about it and assumed that that was the way everybody went about finding people they were attracted to. It was only when he revealed it to others and experienced some negativity that he realised that it wasn't everybody's feelings.

Cedric shrugged. "It is a good idea, though. I can't wait to see how people react when we start dancing together. You do know how to waltz, don't you?"

Viktor nodded proudly.

Cedric chuckled at him. "Good, because I don't and I need you to teach me."

Hermione swatted his arm mockingly whilst Viktor rolled his eyes.

"Don't you have any formal traditions in wizarding Britain?" He wondered.

Cedric blinked back blankly. "I don't understand the question," he deadpanned.

"Never mind," Viktor smiled, "I'll just find some time to teach you. Hermione, do you need lessons?"

She shook her head. "I took dance lessons as a child and I learned the waltz a few years ago. It's one of my favourites. Though it won't matter anyway, since I won't be dancing it."

Cedric grinned. "I'd be happy to let you take my place."

Viktor rolled his eyes once more. "You're not getting out of this one. You're required to dance it anyway. I'll see what strings I can pull to get them to play another piece of music that we can waltz to." Hermione beamed at the gesture and nodded.

"Thank you, Vik. I'm actually looking forward to this. I didn't think I would ever grow accustomed to excitement over a school event, but this is going to be good."

"Not even Quidditch?" Viktor grinned, knowing how Hermione had an obvious distaste for the sport and he assumed that it was because of the lack of learning involved.

Hermione matched his grin. "I think I'm the only person in Gryffindor who doesn't care whether they win the Quidditch Cup or not. Though I've always had to pretend for Harry that I'm extremely interested in the team's outcome. Obviously, I want Harry to do well, but I'm not overly concerned. So much for house spirit, right? I'm much more interested in the House Cup, where points are awarded because of academic excellence."

"I imagine you have earned a lot of House Points over the years."

Hermione shrugged. "I guess so."

From that stemmed a debate about Hermione's self-worth, which Hermione desperately wanted to avoid. That meant several compliments and she never really knew how to handle that. One step at a time, she guessed.


Fleur Delacour surveyed the room with a wry smile.

As it turned out, The Yule Ball was exquisitely decorated. The theme was silver and blue, it seemed. There was definitely a Christmassy vibe in the air as the Professors had enchanted snow to drizzle over the scene, dusting the floor with a wispy layer of the stuff without it sticking to everyone's hair and clothes. Oh, the miracles of magic. Fleur was most pleased about the proceedings. She loved fancy occasions and opportunities where her extensive etiquette classes paid off. Formality was her thing, so she hoped that Roger Davies was also well-suited to the event.

She hadn't really gotten off to the best start where Hogwarts and the Tournament were concerned. Her entrance had been well-received by the male (and some of the female) contingency at the school, but her lacklustre performance in the First Task had set her back some. She was the only female Champion and some wrote her off already, but she had the Second Task pretty much down and she was going to come back from this. Cedric Diggory was already being tipped as the winner, but Fleur wanted more than anything for it to be her. It wasn't the money or the glory, but to prove to herself that she could do it.

Fleur always felt overlooked, mainly because of her looks. People objectified her and perhaps she objectified herself, but she hated the way her intelligence wasn't put into the equation. She had overheard a Ravenclaw girl saying that the Goblet picked her because of her looks. Fleur knew that it wasn't true, but it didn't stop the doubts swirling around her head.

When she turned to Roger for a drink or maybe some thoughtful conversation, but he wasn't looking at her.

Fleur turned her head to meet the object of his gaze and she saw her.

Hermione Granger, descending the staircase like a queen would to her followers, one hand poised on the banister, the other by her side. Her hair was styled beautifully and her dress flew down her body and trailed behind her. And for the first time, Fleur saw her for who she was. Not just the bookworm the Slytherins portrayed her as, not the accessory on Harry Potter's arm. She was her own woman, as radiant as they came, elegance pouring off her in waves.

For once, Fleur Delacour was not the Belle of the Ball.

And, for once, maybe she didn't mind all that much.


Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! Yule Ball pt II coming up in Chapter 9! You do not want to miss it! :) xoxo