Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
...
The date of the first task was swiftly approaching and the atmosphere around the castle had shifted. The students around the hall were paying more attention to the champions, monitoring them when they were able to get some glimpse at how they were preparing themselves for the upcoming task. Many had started to notice that Krum did his morning exercise around the lake as the sun was rising. A number of female students had started to follow him much to his annoyance.
For those trying their best to learn what Fleur was doing, a number of people had stated they had seen a vast number of brightly coloured spells being linked together illuminating the grounds during the evenings. The French champion would often be found studying during the daylight hours before dueling with her fellow Beauxbaton students.
Cedric was utilizing every resource that Hogwarts had at it's disposal, readying himself as best he could in front of the home crowd by spending countless hours in the library researching. Many of his colleagues did their best to offer whatever support they could while still maintaining their own studies.
Harry meanwhile...nobody could truly grasp what it was that Harry was doing most of the time. Many people now gave him a wide berth mostly due to his attitude. It seemed as if he was deliberately doing his best to avoid getting into conversations unless necessary, arriving at breakfast well after the first period had begun and arriving for dinner before the students came in en masse. What he did during the rest of the time seemed to be a mystery.
This hadn't gone unnoticed by Albus Dumbledore who was finding himself in an unfavorable position. Harry had made it clear that he had no intention of constructing friendships which Albus would be able to utilize for his own means. Even the plans he had already put into place wouldn't bare fruit unless he actually interacted with the chosen student. It should have been so easy but he was turning into a nuisance and if he stayed true to his word then he would lose all chance he could to properly bring him into the light.
As tempted as he was to barge into the boy's room when he knew that he was present, it would be a risky gamble. The boy had done his best to avoid Albus at every turn and even when they had had the chance to be civil and communicate with one another, Harry had wanted no part in it. He seemed content to be a recluse and it did not sit well with the image that the Potter boy needed to create. The moment he had stepped back into the world of magic he needed to be a symbol for the rest of the world. The image he was painting of himself however was one that made others uneasy and had to be stopped. It was just the matter of how.
Perhaps he needed to push things forward a little quicker than originally intended. It could very well ruin the future of a bright young witch but that was of little importance. After all, the betterment of the Wizarding World had far greater need than the hopes and dreams of a single teenager.
...
Iris sat atop her bed, her head full of annoying thoughts as she considered just how little time she had spent with her brother. Harry had been distant to a painstaking degree and it was affecting her far more than she would like. Iris was aware that he was likely using this time to best prepare for whatever challenge lay ahead regarding the dragon but she would like to be in some sort of loop. She wished to at least know something.
Pushing herself off of her bed, Iris did her best not to wake those sleeping around her. This had become a common trend as of late where she was unable to get to sleep until well past her peers. Hermione had consequently caught her falling asleep in History of Magic and, thankfully, chosen to give her notes as opposed to waking her and robbing her of much needed sleep. That being said, Hermione's notes weren't as high quality as they once were. Maybe she wasn't the only one worrying so much about Harry.
Speaking of her close friend, Iris looked over to Hermione's bed to look at the sleeping girl...or at least where she should be. "Hermione?" Iris whispered to nobody as she noticed that the teenager was missing.
Treading lightly as to not awaken her other roomates, Iris moved through the communal bedroom before heading downstairs in her rose coloured pajamas. Tip toeing into the common room, Iris glanced around before seeing the familiar head of hair belonging to her friend glancing towards the glowing embers of what was left of the fire. "Are you okay Hermione?" asked Iris as she moved to the couch where Hermione was sitting. Iris had expected Hermione to react to the sound of her voice but the teenager didn't so much as flinch as Iris took a seat next to her.
"I'm just...thinking...about Harry," said Hermione between shallow breathes, her hands clasping together.
"You and me both Hermione," said Iris as she turned her attention to the smoldering remnants of the fire. "I wish he would just open up to us."
"Have you heard...how he's going..." said Hermione as if trying to properly form the words. Iris blamed it on the lack of sleep.
"A bit," said Iris, reaching up to rub at his eyes. "Every now and again I hear that he's off doing something but by the time the rumors get to me he's already long gone. I really wish that he'd at least pretend that he wanted to spend some time with me."
"Me to," said Hermione softly.
"That's right, you're his friend and he should want to spend time with you," declared Iris, wrapping a single comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Come on now, you and I both know that we should get some sleep. Who knows, maybe tomorrow Harry will actually show himself."
"Yeah...maybe..."
...
Severus Snape, as many would say, was not a pleasant individual. Many of the students did their best to avoid the Potions Professor at every possible turn. Even members of his own house, while they wouldn't openly say it, knew better than to draw the ire of the man.
The dungeons were his territory, not a single thing happened down in the depths of the castle that he wasn't aware of when it came to the students of Hogwarts. Which was why, before the first class of the day had even made their way into his classroom, he was mildly surprised to find that the normally empty room had a sole occupant inside of it. "Mister Potter, might I enquire as to what you are doing in this room?" enquired Snape as he recovered from the momentary pause in his footsteps.
"I'm brewing a potion," said Harry, keeping his eye on the concoction in front of him. "It's what the rooms for after all."
"There are many other rooms in the castle where you could be brewing rather than having broken into my classroom," stated Snape. "There is an entire grounds where you could have gone to brew in peace if you wished to keep your reclusive nature in check."
"While that is true," started Harry as he added a small pinch of ingredients to his potion, "I'm more than aware that the reason you brew down here is more than likely to do with the controlled environment."
Snape raised a curious eyebrow. "Explain."
"It's all set up down here, so surely you know."
"I'm aware of why I host my lessons down here Mister Potter but to hear your testament would give you access to this room provided you answer correctly," declared Snape, preparing to toss the teenager out if need be.
"Brewing potions outside is risky, and should only be done with non volatile ingredients if at all," said Harry, still not turning to face the Head of Slytherin House. "Exposing chopped or sliced particles to irregular temperatures could alter the affect they could have on the potion before they are even put into the cauldron. That is also dependent on whether one could regulate the consistency of their flames to ensure that the potion being brewed didn't lose it's consistency. By being down in the dungeons, you are not affected by any natural elements that could cause damage to the potion. Satisfied?"
Snape's gaze sharpened as he looked at the back of Harry's head. Unbeknownst to the the boy, a small smile of amusement briefly crossed Snape's lips before vanishing as if they had never been there in the first place. "The opening lesson of the day will be conducted with the second year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. You are to remain silent and work diligently on your potion without disturbing the students. Are we clear?"
"Cyrstal," replied Harry.
"Good."
Moving to the front of the classroom to prepare for the influx of students, Snape threw one last glance over towards Harry's workstation. Simply put, it looked professional. All of the utensils he used were in order, neatly lined up against one another while what ingredients he had yet to insert into his potion were already prepared to precise measurements. Shifting his attention slightly, Snape gazed briefly upon Harry's face. The boy was focused on what he was brewing, nothing else mattered to him at that moment in time. He could very well be counting down the seconds until the next ingredient was required.
It seemed that there was somebody in this school who took the art of potion making seriously after all. Snape knew that Harry's presence would be detrimental to the learning of the second years but the greater question would be weather the sixth years afterwards, each of which he had granted an Outstanding or higher in their OWLs the year prior. If they were unable to keep their attention on the task at hand then he would have no issues with handing out detentions as he saw fit.
...
"Iris, might I have a word?" asked Fleur as she approached the Gryffindor table that evening, the knowledge that she was less than twenty four hours away from the daunting task ahead. Throughout the course of the day, the Beauxbatons representative had found herself growing more and more nervous and nobody could blame her. Many aspiring witches and wizards had perished throughout the course of the event's history and she did not wish to become just another name etched into books.
"Of course," said Iris as she stood up, moving away from the table to talk with Fleur. Once the two of them had exited the Great Hall and were out of earshot, Iris asked, "What can I do for you?"
"Iris, I don't know how to say this but I needed to talk to somebody about this," said Fleur, her hands nervously gripping at one another. "It's a topic that's uncomfortable to talk about with my peers."
"Of course Fleur, you can tell me anything," said Iris in understanding, hoping to do whatever she could to ease the French student's burden. "Tell me, is it about Harry?" Iris was slightly taken aback when Fleur shook her head. "The what is it?"
"I'm afraid."
Iris hadn't exactly known what Fleur was going to say but that wasn't close to anything she had expected. "Afraid?" repeated Iris.
Fleur nodded weakly. "I know zat I must not show fear in front of my fellow students," she said her hands climbing to rub at her arms as if to produce some manner of warmth and comfort. "I am to do zem all proud and do my best but, what if my best is not enough. I know zat these are not thoughts zat I should be having but I can not help it. If I was to talk about such things with zem zen I do not know how they would react. I do not wish for zem to see me as a coward."
"You're not a coward," said Iris firmly, stepping forward to embrace the older woman in a hug that would make Hermione jealous. "You're a strong woman Fleur and so, so brave. You're doing something that is the envy of so many people but they have no idea of what it is you're going through. I can't tell you that you'll be safe, I can't tell you that you're going to get out of this unscathed. What you are going to do though is be an inspiration for so many people no matter what happens."
"Did you just make that up?" asked Fleur as she stepped away from the embrace with a light smile on her face, dabbing away at a tear that had started to swell in her eye.
"I might have taken some inspiration from a movie I saw my uncle watching once," said Iris sheepishly. "Couldn't tell you the name of the movie for the life of me."
"I'm sure it must have been a very heroic moment," said Fleur. "Thank you for cheering me up."
"Anytime Fleur," said Iris, avoiding Fleur's gaze for a moment which was all that was needed for the foreign student to know that she wasn't the only person who needed cheering that evening.
"Are you worried about 'Arry?" asked Fleur, utilizing the tone she usually reserved for Gabrielle.
"How can I not be!" exclaimed Iris, lifting her hands into the air. "Harry's been keeping out of sight for days, doing his best to not interact with anybody and when I wanted to catch up with him tonight he's gone off for his interview with Luna. Can he not tell how worried I am?"
"You know 'Arry, he does things his own way," said Fluer. "He always has been..."
"An idiot," supplied Iris.
Fleur chuckled. "I was going to say stubborn but your statement holds merit."
"Why is it that you like him so much? I mean I know you've known him for a long time but I can only imagine how he acted back then if he is the kind of guy he is now."
"Zere was a time where I thought that he would change after being with my family for so long but he always kept his guard up. For ze longest of times I thought it was just how he acted when he was shy but he never opened up. For weeks on end, I thought zat all I had to do was get under his armor and I would find ze real 'Arry. So I...did something zat I shouldn't have and I expected to see a different side of 'Arry."
"What did you do?" asked Iris.
Fleur shook her head. "It doesn't matter but what I did should have made him show some sort of different emotion. Instead, 'Arry just asked me what I was doing. I was so shocked by what happened that I didn't know how to react. Zat night I couldn't sleep both from knowing what it was zat I had done to 'Arry and more importantly, how he had reacted. I still don't know who the real 'Arry is or if what we have seen is indeed the real 'Arry. I just know zat, well, it's embarrassing..."
Iris found her mouth slightly agape as Fleur left her statement unsaid. Composing herself, Iris quickly responded in the only way that she could at that moment in time. "If it's too embarrassing you don't have to say it," she said between nervous gasps of breath. "I understand though and hopefully, you and I will find out who Harry really is together."
"Zat sounds nice," replied Fleur offering Iris a genuine smile. It was a nice gesture from Harry's sister and while Iris wished to learn about her brother in a sibling sort of way, Fleur wanted something different. She needed something different. Fleur knew that she would be the one to learn about Harry in a way that nobody else could.
...
Hermione stood outside of the occupied classroom with a single hand on her chest, gripping tightly at her clothes. Weeks ago she would have had no idea why it was that she was standing here when everybody else was down in the Great Hall eating dinner. Food however was a secondary thought to the one thing that currently plagued her mind. Everything was a secondary thought compared to the person whose image was unable to leave her thoughts.
She had only seen Harry Potter for a split second in her peripheral vision, walking away with Luna. Hermione knew that they had an interview planned that would be done in private, away from the ears of those around them. It was why even though she had followed them to this room she hadn't entered in order to give the two of them the privacy that was required. She wouldn't want to upset Harry by barging in and making a mess of things. Harry had to be happy.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat Hermione tried to conjure the strength to walk away from that spot. There was no telling how long the two of them would be but despite that she felt compelled to remain in that spot, to wait patiently for the opportunity that had so far denied her.
Harry had been on her mind for days, in both her thoughts when she was awake and her dreams when she slept. Hermione had noticed that her essays had begun to drop in their quality, something so uncharacteristic of her. She was always at the top of the class but now such thoughts didn't matter compared to the thought of Harry. Hermione truly wished to know just why the boy had invaded her thoughts in such a way that seemed unnatural but it didn't matter. He was stuck firmly in her thoughts and that was where he would stay.
Now she just wanted to get him in her arms as well. She needed to wrap him up in an embrace.
Hermione's heartbeat began to skyrocket as the door in front of her opened, erasing one of the barriers that separated her from Harry. Her eyes locked onto the man who had opened the door and her body acted as if it had a mind of it's own, a mind that was only set on the one person that truly mattered.
Hermione acted the only way she could with the way her head and heart were acting. Harry was there and every fiber of her being demanded that she go to him in that moment, despite the fact he had his wand raised directly at her.
"Surgito."
...
Hope you enjoyed.