Thanks for the reviews, even though there weren't that many (sad face). This chapter is going to be fairly short, as there is only one thing that Sirius and Ron go to see. Tell me if you have any ideas of problems Harry and Hermione could face if Ron had never been born. Thanks.
This chapter is dedicated to my good friends Ant and Nicole. Big hugs!
The Goblet of Fire
When Ron next opened his eyes, he was standing next to the lake. It was an icy grey, almost identical to the sky. A strong wind blew, bringing goose-bumps to Ron's skin.
Slowly, he heard a great deal of cheering and chattering. He turned around and saw huge stands, similar to the Quidditch stands, surrounding one side of the lake. Standing just to the side of them was a table with three or four people sitting behind it, professionally. A small cluster of people stood slightly in front of them. Ron noticed three of them were slightly smaller than the others and were not wearing a lot. In fact one of them was only wearing bathing trunks.
"Err, where are we?" asked Ron, shivering slightly,
"Don't you know?" asked Sirius, surprised, "We're at the second trial of the Triwizard Tournament!"
"Oh," said Ron, comprehending, "At this point, I was unconscious at the bottom of the lake… Err, hang on! Where's Harry?"
"You'll see," was all Sirius would say.
The minutes ticked by and the crowd grew steadily restless. Many were seen checking their watches. Finally, a hunched up figure came into view. It was Harry. Ron watched as one of the figures- it looked like Dumbledore- went up to him and exchanged a few words with him. Harry nodded mutely and turned and headed back to the castle. Dumbledore conversed with the other figures for a minute, until a whistle was blown and Ludo Bagman began to speak to the crowd.
"Hello and welcome to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament! Three out of our four champions are ready to compete and gain those all important points! Now, you may be wondering: where is our youngest champion, Mister Harry Potter? Well, due to him not fulfilling the terms of this trial, he has forfeited…"
Draco Malfoy yelled out above Bagman's voice, "He means Potter has no one that he would miss. What a looser!" Malfoy had overheard Cedric Diggory telling his friends about the next task and knew what it would entail.
Immediately, the jeers and cat calls started out from the crowd. Many of them made the looser sign with the fingers at the retreating back of Harry Potter. Ron felt his blood boil at their treatment of Harry. He felt as if he could go up and smack each of those idiots. He growled under his breath and balled his hands into fists. He suddenly realised how much he loved Harry as a friend.
Suddenly, the scene disappeared and Sirius and Ron were standing back in the Gryffindor dormitory, where they had started. Ron stared at Sirius.
"Well?" Sirius asked,
"What?" asked Ron, harshly,
"Do you still wish you were never born?"
"Yes!" insisted Ron, red in the face, "I wish I had never been born!"
"Even after all the things you've seen and how everything has more or less gone wrong because you weren't there to help?" said Sirius,
"Yes! Look, I'm only Ron Weasley. I have six siblings and my best friend is a celebrity in the Wizarding World. Therefore I am a nobody! Do you get it?" exclaimed Ron,
"You're not a nobody! You are a unique person. I mean if you weren't born then there would only be six Weasley children. Think how terrible that would be!" argued Sirius,
"I don't care what you say, I am not going to change my mind," said Ron, obstinately,
"Whatever you say, Ron, you know in your heart of hearts that you are born and I am going to prove that to you!"