Chapter 11- Four Champions


After their walk, Cedric and Viktor made their way back into the castle, satisfied that Viktor's sycophants were no longer hounding their every move for the night. They had a plan to visit Hermione, who was probably in the library already, for their evening strategy session after dinner. Hermione had been busy with schoolwork all day, no doubt implementing the new study plans with Harry and Ron. Harry had tried to protest that because he no longer took fourth year exams, he didn't need to do the work leading up to them. Predictably, Hermione gave a well-reasoned argument about how it matters more because he gets to prove himself before they start their OWL's which would help him when choosing subjects to take. Hermione always went on about how important learning actually was and especially when you weren't testing, how else would you be able to review everything that you've learned if you don't actually learn anything?

Cedric and Viktor slipped back into the library, content with their privacy. They waved to Madam Pince, who was watching idly as her enchanted tools began to knit her a scarf. Cedric looked forward the day where he could practice magic uninhibited outside of education. Some called it lazy, but Cedric liked the luxury of knowing that he could do almost anything anytime that he wanted. There was an element of cautious freedom in that which he liked. Hermione had regaled him with stories of growing up without magic around and, honestly, Cedric was curious to try it for a short period of time. He had taken Muggle Studies, but a practical application of the knowledge he had learned there would be more useful than writing essays on Muggle communication.

"She should be here," Viktor frowned, pointing to their usual corner. Peeping around every bookshelf, the boys blinked in shock when they realised Hermione was nowhere to be found.

Cedric shrugged. "Perhaps she got caught up with something and had no way to tell us. Maybe Harry needed her help tonight."

"You know she would have brought him along to our session," Viktor retorted wisely. Cedric nodded in defeat.

"Then I have no answers. Maybe she just wanted to see how we would do without her tonight. It sounds like a very Hermione thing to do. Leave us without her with no warning and see how much progress we make on the night before the task. Or maybe she's wondering if we'll be sensible and get an early night to prepare for an early start tomorrow."

Viktor smirked. Both of those were fairly logical points given Hermione's usual attitude and he loved the way Cedric's face moved as he thought, basically out loud. It was one stream of consciousness, thought after thought assembling themselves verbally. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips curled slightly as his brain worked to figure something out. In this instance, it was trying to channel the mind of their girlfriend and wondering what her motives were for not being present at their session. Viktor would have put his money on the former of Cedric's points regarding Hermione testing them. Hermione loved tests and challenges, thinking they were a superlative way of proving one's self. Viktor half-agreed, though he also made the point about tests not being a viable way to gauge intelligence, something he didn't think could be accurately measured.

"Should we go and look for her?"

Cedric nodded pensively. "I think we should. Wherever she is, we need to go over tomorrow's plans with her. I mean, we know what we're doing and all, but you know Hermione, she's always thinking of something extra for us to do."


That was how Cedric and Viktor ended up at Gryffindor Tower, with a flustered Harry stood outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, pacing.

"Harry? Where's Hermione? Were you with her?"

Harry threw his hands up. "No, I've been looking for her too. And Ron."

"Wait, Ron's missing, too?" Viktor frowned.

Harry bit his lip. "He wasn't seen at dinner which, when you know Ron as well as I do, is a very strange thing for him to do." He cracked a small smile.

"You think they're together?"

"Possibly, but I'm not sure that's what's happening here." Harry trailed off in thought.

"You have a theory, Harry?"

"I've never sounded more like Hermione before, but yeah I do. Isn't a coincidence that, the night before the Second Task, the people closest to us go missing? I mean, when has Hermione not shown up for a study session in the library? I think the only time she missed one that we had scheduled was when she got petrified in second year. And she was in the library when that happened."

Viktor's eyes bulged. "Wait, she got petrified? Is there a story there?"

Cedric smiled. "I'm sure you heard about it. Big basilisk slithering around in the pipe system at Hogwarts? It was trying to kill Muggle born students?"

"I heard something about that, but I didn't realise that it got Hermione."

"Luckily she was smart and used a mirror to avoid looking it in the eye so it only petrified her."

"That's our girl," Viktor said, a big grin on his face.

Cedric shook her head. "Anyway, what are we going to do? Just assume that they've taken her and Ron for some kind of twisted Tournament mind game."

Viktor paused for a moment. "They probably want to see how we operate under pressure. As if the Tasks weren't pressure enough, they have to distract us by worrying about our friends and girlfriend."

"Maybe they're part of the task? They're probably off somewhere being prepped for the Task as we speak," Harry chimed in.

"Would they do that, though? I wouldn't think that they were that cruel."

"They made me compete, even though I'm underage and didn't put my name in. They could have just overruled the Goblet. Dumbledore is powerful enough alone, but the other Professors combined could have done something, surely."

Cedric's mouth parted in mild surprise. When he really thought about it, he shouldn't have been. "I hadn't thought about it like that."

Harry shrugged. "Neither had I. Hermione pointed it out, which is a surprise to absolutely nobody."

The sound of loud footsteps disarmed them as Fleur Delacour appeared at the top of the stairs.

"I really hate these enchanted staircases," she grumbled. "Probably a long shot, but have any of you seen my sister, Gabrielle?"

Viktor and Harry exchanged a look. "You're kidding, right? That settles it, then."

Fleur folded her arms and frowned. "What's going on?"

"We can't find Hermione. Or Ron," Cedric explained.

"And now Gabrielle is gone too? This isn't a coincidence. Something's happening."

"You think this is task related?"

Harry shrugged. "It has to be. Right? If I've learned anything at Hogwarts it's that coincidences don't come around very often. It has to be deliberate."

The other Champions nodded.

Cedric rubbed his hands together. "Okay, if this is part of the Task, we're not going to be able to figure anything out right now. So I think the best we can do is band together and prepare for tomorrow. Viktor and I had a prep session planned anyway."

Harry and Fleur exchanged a look and shrugged. "Sure."


The four assembled in the library, in the study corner as usual. Fleur left to grab a few books. Harry stared at the pages of something Hermione had scribbled neatly onto a page for him the night before. Cedric and Viktor just looked at each other, absently worrying about Hermione whilst trying to worry about themselves in the task. They were prepared, they had separate yet equal strategies that were good and both stood a very fair chance of winning. Harry had been very tight-lipped about his ideas, as had Fleur.

Cedric wondered if Hermione was protesting against being used for the Task, possibly against her will. What would they have done if she had refused? Would they make her anyway? Would they have to find somebody else? Cedric found that he didn't much care about other people at this school besides Hermione and Viktor.

Viktor was slightly more relaxed, knowing that Hermione could take care of herself and the Hogwarts staff wouldn't endanger non-competing students for the sake of the Tournament. He knew that Madame Maxime wouldn't have tolerated one of her Beauxbatons student's sister being harmed in any way. He genuinely wasn't sure whether Karkaroff would have raised a concern with the way the Task would have unfolded on his behalf. Furthermore, Hogwarts wouldn't have risked their best and brightest student. He wasn't sure whether or not he would be calmer seeing Hermione there in front of him in the lake the next day or whether he would panic instinctively.

Then something occurred to him.

If Gabrielle and Ron were missing too, that meant each Champion had had one person taken from them. One for each of them, right?

So who would be his?

He guessed Hermione would have been taken for Cedric, who hadn't really formed relationship with too many of her peers. Viktor had a class-load of Durmstrang friends, but none of whom he would die to save. It was just Hermione and Cedric for him now.

But what if Hermione was taken for both of them? As a way of testing yet acknowledging their polyamorous relationship? Only one of them could save her, if that's what they had to do, which Viktor was confident about. What would happen then? Would they have to fight it out between them, meaning only one of them could succeed in the challenge?

Viktor absently wondered if it would cause tension between them.

He hoped not, but he couldn't be sure. They were both very competitive people and winning was important to them both.

Hermione was more important, of course, but the Tournament meant something to both of them.

Viktor just hoped it wouldn't be the death of them.