Chapter Seven: The Goblet Of Fire

"Nice beards, you two." Holly smiled as she helped Fred and George to the hospital wing.

"Shut up, Holly," George muttered. Lee was following in fits of hysterical laughter.

"Hurry up, you two. I don't want to miss the feast."

"Go on without us, if we take that long," Fred said, glumly. "We have nothing to look forward to." Holly smiled, compassionately and put her arm around Fred's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Fred. You'll get your money some time."

"It would help if Bagman would quit cheating us out of our money!"

"You guys need to relax more. You'll be done before the feast. Here you guys are. I have to go talk to someone. Bye!"

"Bye." Fred and George waved after her, halfheartedly.

"Bye, Holly," Lee said with a weak smile.

"Harry!" Holly cried, catching up with him. Her brother turned.

"Hello, Holly," he said. Holly was grinning.

"Thank you very much for your advice."

"It worked, I see." Harry returned the smile.

"I really owe you one."

"Don't worry about it!" Harry laughed.

"Well, it would really help if you could give me some more amazing advice like that to help me with Cedric…" But Harry shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I'm not messing in anyone's love life." Holly smiled, wanly.

"Yeah, I understand that."

"See you at the feast!" Harry called, as he walked away.
"Yeah, you too…" she sighed.

The feast wasn't as exciting as Holly had been expecting. She sat with the twins, who were now beard free, and Lee Jordan, as well as Harry and his friends. It was an exceptionally crowded hall, with the Beauxbatons students sitting with the Ravenclaws and the Durmstrang students with the Slytherins. It was like every other feast. Except at the end, when Dumbledore stood up to announce the three champions for the school.

"Who do you think it'll be for Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, trying to make conversation. Fred and George just gave unhappy grumbles.

"Dunno," Holly replied. "I'm not quite sure I know everyone who entered their names."

"Then who do you think it should be for Hogwarts?" Harry said. Holly glanced at Fred and George and Ron and smiled.

"A Weasley," she said. The twins and their brother, Ron, looked at her. The twins smiled, appreciatively. Ron looked suspicious.

"Did you do something Holly?" he asked.

"Oh no, there's nothing I could do." Holly shook her head. "And don't you two look at me like that!" she added, as she noticed identical grins grow on the twins' faces. "I believe in you a lot, but I wouldn't go so far as to put your names in the goblet, or find out a way how to." Fred and George looked down at their plates, disappointed. Hermione laughed.

"Will they stop at nothing?" she cried.

"That's the twins for you!" Lee laughed.

As the feast wound down, Dumbledore stood to announce the champions. A silence fell over the hall. The names were announced: Viktor Krum was to represent Durmstrang. He stood from the Slytherin table and went into a room behind the teachers' table. Fleur Delacour, the girl Ron had been gawking at all night, was to represent Beauxbatons. She rose elegantly from amongst the Ravenclaws and followed Krum's path. Finally, the Hogwarts champion was announced.

"Cedric Diggory." The roar that came from the Hufflepuffs was incredible. Erin, Ryan and Drew cheered louder than all of them. Holly sat in her chair, dumbstruck for a moment. Had Dumbledore said… When the information had sunk in, she rose to her feet and screamed after him.

"GO CEDRIC!" she called. She glanced at the Ravenclaw table and noticed Cho was doing the same thing. They grinned at each other and clapped even louder. Dumbledore motioned for quiet. He was in the middle of concluding his speech, when another name was spat out of the goblet. He hesitated before he read it out loud, as surprised as everyone else.

"…Harry Potter…" No one clapped this time. All eyes flew to the Boy Who Lived. All eyes, except for Holly's. Holly stared at the headmaster in utter denial. He hadn't said it; Holly was imagining it. Dumbledore would never do that! If it hadn't happened, then why was Harry awkwardly getting to his feet? If Dumbledore hadn't called Harry's name, then why was the boy nervously walking to the door behind the teachers' table? As Harry disappeared behind the door, Holly could contain her disbelief no longer.

"What did you just say?!" She cried. All eyes moved from the door where Harry Potter had disappeared, to the red-haired girl who stood in disbelief, questioning the headmaster of the school. Dumbledore looked at the girl for a moment, then dropped his gaze.

"Miss. Phillips, please sit down and wait here for a moment," Dumbledore said as he disappeared after Harry.

Minutes past, and Holly sat in her seat, body tense and biting her lip so hard it began to bleed. Finally, she could take it no longer. She jumped to her feet and walked steadily after the others. Hagrid stood in her way.

"Now, Holly, you can' go in there!" he said, holding her back with one massive hand. Holly couldn't stand it any longer. Why were people treating her as if it wasn't her concern?

"LOOK!" she shouted at Hagrid and everyone else in the hall. "Dumbledore told me something at the beginning of this year! I have to watch out for that kid! You don't understand, I can't explain…" Holly took a deep breath to calm herself down. Finally, she lowered her voice and looked piercingly into Hagrid's eyes. "I'm sure Dumbledore will want me to know what's going on."
"And I'm sure if Dumbledore wanted yeh to know what was goin' on, he would 'ave told yeh to come with him! Now take a seat, Holly!" Hagrid gave Holly his own piercing gaze.

"OK, I am fed up with everyone treating my like this doesn't concern me!"

"But Holly, it doesn't concern yeh right now! I know Harry's a close friend of yers, but—"

"Close friend?!" Holly scoffed. "Close friend?! Let me tell you something about Harry Potter! He's…" But Holly stopped herself, before it was too late. Again, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Her next words were in a whisper, so only Hagrid could hear, even in the silent hall. "Let me just say this. If Harry had only one living member of his immediate family to count on, it would be me. And that would mean he was the only living member of my immediate family, which would mean that he means everything to me. It would make him my brother and me his sister. And a sister looks out for her little brother. Understand?" Hagrid gave her a doubtful look. He was about to say something, when the door Holly was trying to get to swung open.

"What is all this noise?" Dumbledore demanded, then he saw the only living daughter of James and Lily Potter. "Oh I see… Holly."
"Professor, he won't let me see Harry!" Dumbledore looked from Holly to Hagrid then to Holly again.

"Holly, I told you to take your seat."

"But professor, you told me I needed to look out for Harry!" Holly was dumbfounded. Dumbledore nodded calmly and passively.

"Take your seat, Holly. I will be with you in a moment." And with that, Dumbledore disappeared behind the door again. Holly sighed and looked at Hagrid with malice. He tried to smile warmly at her, but it didn't warm her feelings. She stomped back to the Gryffindor table and didn't leave her seat again until everyone had left the hall.

"You have to get up sometime, Holly." Dumbledore tried to coax Holly off of the bench.

"No," Holly said, simply and casually. "You told me to sit right here."

"And that I'd be with you in a moment. I'm with you now." Holly nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, you are. So, you straightened the whole thing out, did you?" Dumbledore nodded with a slight smile.
"We did."

"So how did it happen? Why did Harry's name come out as a fourth champion?"
"We don't know."
"How did his name get in the goblet? Surely he didn't put it in himself. Did someone else put it in? And if so, who?"

"We don't know."

"And how could you let this happen? The goblet should know there's only three schools. Did someone enchant it, or is it broken or what?"

"We don't know."

"Then apparently you didn't sort anything out!" Holly snapped. She sighed and apologized. "I'm just a little on edge. Well, at least he's not going to be in the competition."

"Holly…" Dumbledore started. Holly frowned. "Holly, Harry is going to compete alongside the other three students." Holly stared.

"OK, now, you really didn't sort anything out! This is my brother we're talking about! You can't let him compete! It will my job of looking after him that much harder!" Dumbledore smiled weakly.

"The rules say that the champions that the Goblet of Fire chooses must compete."

"But surely an exception can be made! He's fourteen years old, Professor! He's only in his fourth year of school! How the hell is he supposed to compete with people like those he's competing with?"
"Please watch your language, Holly."

"Sorry, Professor," Holly said insincerely. "But you just can't let him compete, you just can't!"

"I am afraid the decision has already been made. And I am having an incredible sense of Déjà Vu. This topic had already been discussed and agreed upon. Believe me, not many people were happy about this decision, but we must abide by the rules! No exceptions can be made."

"But Dumbledore, he's only a child…" Holly's passion was dwindling as she realized she was fighting a losing battle. But Dumbledore smiled and that old twinkle came back to his eye again.

"My dear Miss Phillips, in many ways, Harry is more prepared for this than you are, and you are two years ahead of him."

"I resent that!" Holly cried. "I may not be valedictorian of my graduating class, but as you said, I am two years ahead of him!"

"If I may say so, Holly," Dumbledore said, shaking his head with a smile, "I think you're being pretentious."

"And why do you say that?" Holly asked, putting her hand on her hip and shifting her weight onto one foot.

"You underestimate the boy. There's more to him than meets the eye. There's more there than you give him credit for." Holly sighed and shook her head.

"He'll never be ready for that tournament. You know that, right? He'll fail miserably."

"Believe in him, Holly. He'll pull through in the end. He always does." And with a mysterious smile, he exited the hall. Sighing, Holly followed.

She entered the Entrance Hall and as she started walking towards the stairs, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello, Holly. I was wondering when you'd get out of that seat." Holly turned and noticed Harry step out from the corner by the door to the Great Hall. She smiled.

"Harry," she said, walking towards him. His face was cold. "What is it?"

"I was hoping I could find at least one person who trusted me. And I'm glad to see that you're the only one who has faith in me, Holly." And with that, he roughly brushed her shoulder as he walked past her. Holly could have kicked herself.

"…And then he just walked away." There was a pause as Holly waited for a response from Fred, George, and Lee the next morning. Finally, Fred started laughing. "I don't see anything funny about this!" Holly snapped, though she had expected something like this out of them.

"I'm sorry Holly," he said when he stopped laughing. "It's just, it seems as if you're trying to get every single one of your friends angry with you before the First Task!"

"It does appear to be that way, doesn't it?" Holly had to chuckle a little at it herself. "But still. I need to apologize to him."

"You need to apologize to everyone!" Lee rolled his eyes.

"Later," George said, yawning. "We have to get to History of Magic and look, I'm tired and the lesson hasn't even started!"

"Is Cedric still avoiding you?" Cho asked Holly a few days after the feast.

"He won't say one word to me," Holly replied, sadly. "He just acts as if I'm not even there." Cho patted Holly on the back, comfortingly.

"The best remedy is time. It heals all wounds."
"But the reminder of a scar will stay. Oh Cho, do you think he'd ever forgive me?" Cho smiled.

"He has to. There's no way he could stay mad at you for long."

"And to make matters worse, Harry won't speak to me either. He thinks I don't have faith in him."

"You really need to relax more. It seems as if you're breaking everybody's heart," Cho said with a laugh.

"You know, the twins said almost exactly the same thing…" Holly smirked.

"Cedric can I talk to you?" Holly cornered the boy as he exited his Arithmancy classroom. He looked away and didn't meet her eyes.

"No," he said, simply. Holly smiled faintly and fingered something she was holding behind her back. As Cedric pushed past her, she pulled it out.

"Wait!" she called as he walked down the hall. He recoiled and froze. Finally, he turned.

"What is it?" Holly smiled and showed him the flower in her hand.

"The white rose," she said. "Originally a twig. I figured it out." The corners of his mouth twitched in what might have been the start of a smile, but his face became inscrutable and Holly wondered if she had imagined it.

"Great."

"Yeah… Say, do you want it?" Holly held it out to the Hufflepuff, but he didn't take it. He pushed her hands away from him.

"No," he said. And with that, he turned and walked away. Holly nearly burst into tears right then and there, but she held strong.

"OK then…" she whispered with a shuddering breath.

"Hello, Holly, how are you this fine morning, lovely weather we're having, isn't it, what are you having for lunch?" Hermione said all of this extremely fast as she slid into a seat next to Holly. Holly raised an eyebrow, skeptically.

"Good morning to you too, Hermione…" she said, hesitantly.

"Actually, it just turned noon…" Hermione said, looking at her watch. "But I hope you had a good morning! I'd love to hear about your morning, by the way, and about your classes and your social life and your private life and your woes and your joys and your embarrassing moments and your triumphs and your deep dark secrets and things everyone knows about you and— Oh, hell! Just tell me everything!" Hermione spoke at the speed of light. Holly looked her up and down, doubtfully.

"Did you take too much Prozac this morning? Because you seem like you've had one too many pep pills." Hermione laughed.

"Oh Holly!" she cried, "You're so funny!" Holly nodded, slowly.

"Right… I think I should get you to the hospital wing…" Hermione just laughed harder. Finally she stopped. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were desperate.

"I'm sorry, Holly," she said. "I've just been under some pressure recently and I absolutely need to get away from Harry and— Oh no…" Hermione groaned and buried her head in her hands as Fred and George approached them with Ron. Holly, who was particularly observant at that moment, realized that Hermione probably didn't want to speak to Ron.

"Um, tell you what, you three… Lee will be here in a moment. You guys stay here, me and Hermione are going to have a little girl talk. You coming, Hermione?" Hermione looked up from her arms and smiled.

"Yeah, girl talk, I'm coming." She stood up and followed Holly out of the hall. As they left, Hermione leaned in to Holly and whispered, "It's 'Hermione and I' by the way."

"Thanks for the grammar tip. Why don't you want to be around Harry or Ron?" Holly asked. Hermione sighed.

"It's not that I don't like them, I love them both like brothers. It's just… Well… THEY'RE DRIVING ME MAD!" Hermione stopped and began to breathe heavily.

"Calm down, Hermione, don't hyperventilate on me right now." Hermione relaxed.

"I'm sorry. But I just can't stand it! They've been like this for weeks! They won't talk to each other, they keep telling me reasons why they won't apologize and it's just crazy! Harry won't admit it, but he needs Ron, now more than ever! And Ron's falling to pieces without Harry. And I feel like the only reason they want to talk to me is to make the other jealous! I just can't stand it any more! I'm not going to be the mediator for those two anymore! They need to sort things out themselves!"
"And in the meantime," Holly added. "You're welcome to waste time with me." Hermione smiled.

"Thanks," she said, gratefully.