Chapter Four: Round Two–Interviews
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Harry and Ginny were whispering to each other, waiting for the crowd to settle down so that they could begin interviews. Finally, the rambunctious Gryffindors quieted enough for the hosts to be heard, and Ginny said, "We are now going on to Round Two, during which no points will be awarded. It's an interview session."
"However," interrupted Harry, "before that, we would first like to say that we just realized that, when describing the rules of the game to you, the audience, we said that we would ask the contestants what their answers were before we asked Hermione. In the actual playing of Round One, we did not do that."
"And, boy, are our faces red," added Ginny.
"Nevertheless," continued Harry, "we will not be redoing the first round, as this slight–and accidental–alteration in the plans did not give anyone a particular advantage. It was still fair."
"Round Three will be held in the same way as Round One. It will just be easier that way."
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and pulled out their wands, pointing them simultaneously at Hermione's chair, and yelling, "Accio chair," much to Hermione's surprise. Her chair–with her in it–was pulled down on the ground in front of the hosts, still facing the audience.
"Hermione," Harry's voice greeted his best friend. "How are feeling?"
Hermione muttered something unintelligible, prompting Ginny to ask, "What was that?"
"I said that I am horrified that these two morons have forced you two and myself to go to these measures, just so that they'll get along," said Hermione snappily.
"Okay," said Ginny, a little awkwardly. "So, why don't you tell us how you know Dimwit Number One, Ron Weasley?"
Hermione shrugged, saying, "Well, Ron's one of my best friends. Him and Harry."
"How did you meet?"
"Well, in our first year here at Hogwarts, Ron was unnecessarily rude to me. However, during that year we were...uh...attacked by a troll, and, er, we all end up friends."
Ginny smiled and Harry laughed. "That's an interesting story. So, who is Viktor Krum to you?"
Hermione forced a smile, still thinking about his so-called "pride," and said, "My boyfriend."
"Oh, your boyfriend," giggled Ginny. "How did you meet?"
"Well," said Hermione. "He was here in my fourth year, for the, er, Triwizard Tournament. All of you know that already, though. Anyway, he kept annoying me because he was always in the library, along with a group of giggling girls that followed him everywhere. I could never get any research done–they were so distracting! But, as it turned out, he was there because he'd seen me before and wanted to talk to me. It just happened to take him ages before he worked up the nerve to talk to me."
Several girls in the audience were distinctly heard sighing, "Awww."
"What was your first date like?"
"We went to the Yule Ball together. It was very nice, for the most part."
Ginny said, "Okay, one last question: When did this feud between Ron and Viktor begin?"
"It's hard to say, really. I think it probably began when Ron asked me to the dance because he couldn't get a date–"
"Hey!" Ron yelled. "I could so–"
"–and I told him no because I already had a date. When I showed up with Viktor, Ron got very angry, said I was betraying Harry, or something of the like. He was just being rude to be rude, in my opinion."
"Thank you, Hermione," dismissed Ginny, who sent her friend back up to her original spot. "Now, Ron. Accio stool." Ron and his stool took the spot which Hermione and her chair had just vacated.
Harry said, "Ron, how are you feeling? Think you're going to win this?"
"Of course I am. I've known Hermione longer, and I certainly know her better."
"Who is Hermione, to you?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "She's my best friend. Other than you, Harry, o' course."
"Best friend? Alright. So, why are you participating in this competition?"
"Because Viktor Krum is a bloody annoying git, and he thinks he knows more about Hermione than I do. I want to prove him wrong."
"Okay, what else about Viktor Krum bothers you? I see your feelings about him aren't exactly positive."
Ron shrugged evasively and said, "I used to idolize him. That's the word Hermione used. He was my hero, for being so young and so famous, and such a great Seeker." He looked thoughtful. "Sounds like I was 'idolizing' Harry, doesn't it? Anyway, I thought he was great. But your heroes aren't supposed to date your best friend. Besides, Krum could have been using Hermione, for all we knew, to figure out Harry's secrets and strategies in the tournament. I just don't like him."
"Okay, tell us just a little bit about yourself–your family, your pets, whatever you want. Just a fact or something of the sort, so we can feel we know something about you. After all, we know Viktor Krum is a Seeker, and we're learning a lot about Hermione thanks to this contest--probably more than she wants us to know. What about you?"
Ron tapped his chin with his forefinger for an instant and then said, "Well, I have an owl called Pigwidgeon. That's what Ginny, my sister, the loony one, named him, and he wouldn't respond to anything else, so I just call him Pig. He's the worst owl anyone could wish for. He's tiny, and he's insane, and he never does what you tell him. Is that good?"
"Yes. That's a lovely story. But I like the name Pigwidgeon," responded Ginny, glowering at her brother. Harry was trying not to laugh too hard at the absurdity of it all. "Well, thank you." Ginny sent him back to his spot, with a little bit of unnecessary turbulence.
Harry said, "Viktor Krum, it's your turn. Accio stool." The chair upon which Viktor sat flew down to the spot that Ron had just been. "Hello."
Moodily, Viktor said, "This is ludicrous. Vhy are ve doing this? Vhy are ve being interviewed?"
Harry, a little taken aback, replied, "Well, er, we are doing this because...Ginny? Why are we doing this?"
Ginny whispered, "So that you can establish among yourselves why you are competing in this tournament."
"So," Harry said to Viktor. "So you can establish among yourselves, er..."
"Why you are competing in this tournament," prompted Ginny.
"So you can establish among yourselves why you're competing in this tournament."
Viktor arched his thick, black eyebrow at them, and then said, "Fine. Vhat do you vant to ask me?"
"Okay," said Harry warily. "Well, we already know that Hermione is your girlfriend. So, maybe just tell us what she means to you."
"That is her business and mine. Not for these people know."
Harry frowned and said, "Okay," dragging the word out. "Then, maybe you can tell us how you feel about Ron."
"He is sticking his nose into my business. He is Herm-ee-o-ninny's friend, so maybe he is just...uh...protective of her. But he is saying he knows her better, vhich I do not like. He is vounding my...pride, saying I do not know my girlfriend. Yes? Is that vhat you vant?"
Harry nodded. "Is that why you're doing this competition?"
Viktor nodded, adding, "He must see that I am right."
"Okay," said Harry. "I only have one more question." Viktor gave him a sharp look, clearly not wanting to be asked any more questions like this. He just wanted to get back to the competition. "Or not. Thank you." Harry sent him back to his original spot.
As she beamed at the audience, Ginny exclaimed, "That concludes the interviews. Round Three is next....And, you know what, no matter what Ron says, Pigwidgeon is a lovely name!"
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A/N: Okay, some people wondered why I wanted to include interviews. The reason why is that I just sort of dreamed up the part where Harry was trying to answer Krum and Ginny had to feed him the lines. I enjoyed it, so I stuck in a interview round. Whatever. Don't question me, for I am THE AUTHOR! Just kidding. Well, I mean, I actually am the author, but...oh you know what I mean.
Anyway, I appreciate all the wonderful reviews. Please keep it up!
-----------------------------
Harry and Ginny were whispering to each other, waiting for the crowd to settle down so that they could begin interviews. Finally, the rambunctious Gryffindors quieted enough for the hosts to be heard, and Ginny said, "We are now going on to Round Two, during which no points will be awarded. It's an interview session."
"However," interrupted Harry, "before that, we would first like to say that we just realized that, when describing the rules of the game to you, the audience, we said that we would ask the contestants what their answers were before we asked Hermione. In the actual playing of Round One, we did not do that."
"And, boy, are our faces red," added Ginny.
"Nevertheless," continued Harry, "we will not be redoing the first round, as this slight–and accidental–alteration in the plans did not give anyone a particular advantage. It was still fair."
"Round Three will be held in the same way as Round One. It will just be easier that way."
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and pulled out their wands, pointing them simultaneously at Hermione's chair, and yelling, "Accio chair," much to Hermione's surprise. Her chair–with her in it–was pulled down on the ground in front of the hosts, still facing the audience.
"Hermione," Harry's voice greeted his best friend. "How are feeling?"
Hermione muttered something unintelligible, prompting Ginny to ask, "What was that?"
"I said that I am horrified that these two morons have forced you two and myself to go to these measures, just so that they'll get along," said Hermione snappily.
"Okay," said Ginny, a little awkwardly. "So, why don't you tell us how you know Dimwit Number One, Ron Weasley?"
Hermione shrugged, saying, "Well, Ron's one of my best friends. Him and Harry."
"How did you meet?"
"Well, in our first year here at Hogwarts, Ron was unnecessarily rude to me. However, during that year we were...uh...attacked by a troll, and, er, we all end up friends."
Ginny smiled and Harry laughed. "That's an interesting story. So, who is Viktor Krum to you?"
Hermione forced a smile, still thinking about his so-called "pride," and said, "My boyfriend."
"Oh, your boyfriend," giggled Ginny. "How did you meet?"
"Well," said Hermione. "He was here in my fourth year, for the, er, Triwizard Tournament. All of you know that already, though. Anyway, he kept annoying me because he was always in the library, along with a group of giggling girls that followed him everywhere. I could never get any research done–they were so distracting! But, as it turned out, he was there because he'd seen me before and wanted to talk to me. It just happened to take him ages before he worked up the nerve to talk to me."
Several girls in the audience were distinctly heard sighing, "Awww."
"What was your first date like?"
"We went to the Yule Ball together. It was very nice, for the most part."
Ginny said, "Okay, one last question: When did this feud between Ron and Viktor begin?"
"It's hard to say, really. I think it probably began when Ron asked me to the dance because he couldn't get a date–"
"Hey!" Ron yelled. "I could so–"
"–and I told him no because I already had a date. When I showed up with Viktor, Ron got very angry, said I was betraying Harry, or something of the like. He was just being rude to be rude, in my opinion."
"Thank you, Hermione," dismissed Ginny, who sent her friend back up to her original spot. "Now, Ron. Accio stool." Ron and his stool took the spot which Hermione and her chair had just vacated.
Harry said, "Ron, how are you feeling? Think you're going to win this?"
"Of course I am. I've known Hermione longer, and I certainly know her better."
"Who is Hermione, to you?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "She's my best friend. Other than you, Harry, o' course."
"Best friend? Alright. So, why are you participating in this competition?"
"Because Viktor Krum is a bloody annoying git, and he thinks he knows more about Hermione than I do. I want to prove him wrong."
"Okay, what else about Viktor Krum bothers you? I see your feelings about him aren't exactly positive."
Ron shrugged evasively and said, "I used to idolize him. That's the word Hermione used. He was my hero, for being so young and so famous, and such a great Seeker." He looked thoughtful. "Sounds like I was 'idolizing' Harry, doesn't it? Anyway, I thought he was great. But your heroes aren't supposed to date your best friend. Besides, Krum could have been using Hermione, for all we knew, to figure out Harry's secrets and strategies in the tournament. I just don't like him."
"Okay, tell us just a little bit about yourself–your family, your pets, whatever you want. Just a fact or something of the sort, so we can feel we know something about you. After all, we know Viktor Krum is a Seeker, and we're learning a lot about Hermione thanks to this contest--probably more than she wants us to know. What about you?"
Ron tapped his chin with his forefinger for an instant and then said, "Well, I have an owl called Pigwidgeon. That's what Ginny, my sister, the loony one, named him, and he wouldn't respond to anything else, so I just call him Pig. He's the worst owl anyone could wish for. He's tiny, and he's insane, and he never does what you tell him. Is that good?"
"Yes. That's a lovely story. But I like the name Pigwidgeon," responded Ginny, glowering at her brother. Harry was trying not to laugh too hard at the absurdity of it all. "Well, thank you." Ginny sent him back to his spot, with a little bit of unnecessary turbulence.
Harry said, "Viktor Krum, it's your turn. Accio stool." The chair upon which Viktor sat flew down to the spot that Ron had just been. "Hello."
Moodily, Viktor said, "This is ludicrous. Vhy are ve doing this? Vhy are ve being interviewed?"
Harry, a little taken aback, replied, "Well, er, we are doing this because...Ginny? Why are we doing this?"
Ginny whispered, "So that you can establish among yourselves why you are competing in this tournament."
"So," Harry said to Viktor. "So you can establish among yourselves, er..."
"Why you are competing in this tournament," prompted Ginny.
"So you can establish among yourselves why you're competing in this tournament."
Viktor arched his thick, black eyebrow at them, and then said, "Fine. Vhat do you vant to ask me?"
"Okay," said Harry warily. "Well, we already know that Hermione is your girlfriend. So, maybe just tell us what she means to you."
"That is her business and mine. Not for these people know."
Harry frowned and said, "Okay," dragging the word out. "Then, maybe you can tell us how you feel about Ron."
"He is sticking his nose into my business. He is Herm-ee-o-ninny's friend, so maybe he is just...uh...protective of her. But he is saying he knows her better, vhich I do not like. He is vounding my...pride, saying I do not know my girlfriend. Yes? Is that vhat you vant?"
Harry nodded. "Is that why you're doing this competition?"
Viktor nodded, adding, "He must see that I am right."
"Okay," said Harry. "I only have one more question." Viktor gave him a sharp look, clearly not wanting to be asked any more questions like this. He just wanted to get back to the competition. "Or not. Thank you." Harry sent him back to his original spot.
As she beamed at the audience, Ginny exclaimed, "That concludes the interviews. Round Three is next....And, you know what, no matter what Ron says, Pigwidgeon is a lovely name!"
-----------------------
A/N: Okay, some people wondered why I wanted to include interviews. The reason why is that I just sort of dreamed up the part where Harry was trying to answer Krum and Ginny had to feed him the lines. I enjoyed it, so I stuck in a interview round. Whatever. Don't question me, for I am THE AUTHOR! Just kidding. Well, I mean, I actually am the author, but...oh you know what I mean.
Anyway, I appreciate all the wonderful reviews. Please keep it up!