Cedric peeked around the corner before hiding in a group of Gryffindor's passing by.
"Did you piss off Malfoy again?" Lee Jordan asked curiously and he heaved a sigh.
"He's really going to kill me this time." Lee cackled before clapping him on the shoulder.
"I'm sure it will be fine!" He spent twenty minutes hiding in the halls as he tried to get to his Common Room. He would be safe there. His Housemates wouldnt rat him out to the Slytherin boy. He finally made it to the entrance and climbed in. It was silent as he set his bag down. The chair by their fireplace slowly turned around and Malfoy was sitting there with Snappy on his lap. He gave his Housemates a betrayed look.
"Sorry, Ceddy! He threatened to cut off our cookie supply! I was going through withdrawals just thinking about it." Tonks shouted from the sofa as she passed out their weekly plate of cookies from Lord Malfoy.
"Diggory, we have some things to discuss." He sent a quick prayer to wizard Jesus and sat in front of him.
"Just to be clear, Harry challenged me! If I didn't accept, Helga Hufflepuff's ghost would haunt me." He wasn't sure if that was true but he wasn't going to take the chance. Draco rolled his eyes and said "I'm not here about Harry kicking your arse. I am a little annoyed that I didn't get to see it." Cedric slumped over and thanked every deity he could think of. He still might die in the Tournament but it would be quick, unlike what Draco would put him through.
"I've been thinking of a way to out the Headmaster for his trickery and I want your opinion." Draco explained his plan and Cedric gave a whistle.
"Do you think it will work?" Cedirc knew the Headmaster was always ten steps ahead of everyone. Draco gave him a feral grin.
"It doesn't matter if it does. I just need to create enough doubt to have him investigated." Cedric hummed.
"But why are you asking me?" Draco sighed before saying "I needed an average person's opinion. If you read this in the paper, how would you feel? We need the public to side with us."
"I would feel betrayed." He said with a smile and Draco matched it.
"Exactly. We are going to cut off Dumbledore's fanbase."
Neville read the paper and spat out his tea. The headline blared "Albus Dumbledore, Defeater of Grindelwald, Was Actually His Lover?" There was an old picture of the two holding hands and Neville had to hold back his gag. Gross, he didn't want to think about the Headmaster shagging anyone. He saw it was by Rita Skeeter and knew Draco had something to do with it.
"My Dear Readers,
I recently received a tip that I had to investigate! As you know, Albus Dumbledore has been a beacon of hope in our community for over fifty years. He has survived two Wizarding Wars and even has our esteemed Minister's ear! To say I was shocked is an understatement! I did some digging and this poor reporter for something simply staggering! Albus Dumbledore was in a romantic relationship with the very man he defeated! I had always thought it was odd that he had waited so long to take action. He must have been at war with himself. No wonder he imprisoned Dark Lord Grindelwald instead of killing him! After all, how could he murder his former lover?" Neville peeked over the paper and saw that the Headmaster was missing from his seat. He skipped towards the bottom and let out a gasp.
"This writer understands that this might be hard news to hear and I would hate to accuse someone unjustly! So I traveled all the way to Nurmengard to speak to the feared Dark Lord myself. It seemed he didn't get any visitors because he was rather befuddled to see me. It was hard to grasp that this harmless old man was once a terrifying wizard right behind You-Know-Who. After I explained why I was there, he seemed almost joyful to speak to me.
GG:"Thank you for visiting, my dear." He shuffled his feet as he pulled the blanket higher on his lap.
RS: "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice!" He laughed before narrowing his eyes on me. I can almost see a glimpse of the man he was before.
GG: "So you've come to talk to me about Albus. He always was such a firecracker, so full of life. I regretted that we had become enemies. We had spent a year together in our youth. We were both so young and so in love. I'm sure you would understand." He gave me a cheeky wink.
RS: "Oh my! Stop it, my good sir! I am married to my job. How did you two become foes? It's mind blowing to think Dumbledore was even capable of standing beside you, no offense." He waved his hand.
GG: "I don't get worked up at my age, dear. Some rather unfortunate circumstances happened to lead us to where we were. I had begged him to stay with me but he refused. Albus had a way of sensing when the tides would turn. It would be two short years later that I would be defeated by the same person I thought I would spend the rest of my life with." I handed him a handkerchief to dry his eyes with.
RS: "And what do you mean "sensing when the tides would turn?"
GG: "Well Albus and I had thought of my beliefs together! Muggles were beneath us and they needed a guiding hand. I have obviously seen the error of my ways but it was too late. Albus had always been sly, quick witted and clever. His mind is his greatest weapon. Once he realized it was mostly Dark families that supported my cause, that is when he left me. He knew that the Light families wouldn't stand still and he was right. Perhaps I should have listened to him."
We chatted for a little while longer before I left the cold and dreary prison."
There you have it, my dear readers! Albus Dumbledore is part of the very reason Grindelwald was able to get so much power! If not for his positive influence, he might have been just another Dark wizard spouting nonsense. Why has Dumbledore never addressed his relationship with the former Dark Lord? Did he think the public was too stupid to figure it out? Is this the type of person we want teaching our children? This reporter isn't so sure!" Neville looked around and saw every student and teacher was glued to their copy of the paper. He knew the owls hadn't come yet and could recognize Herm's handy work. He spotted Draco at the Slytherin table and raised his cup to him. He was curious as to how the Headmaster would retaliate.
Fleur took a deep breath and let it out. The third task was in two days and she was a little stressed out about it. They hadn't been given any clues except to get to the heart of the maze. She stared at the thick dark hedges and felt a shiver run down her back. They seemed eerie, even in the daylight.
"Hi Fleur! What are you doing?" Neville asked from behind her and she jumped. He gave her an apologetic look.
"Freaking myself out. I guess I'm just nervous about the final task. I definitely don't like the looks your Headmaster has been giving us." The Hogwarts Headmaster had been rather calculating lately, especially with Rita Skeeter's most recent article.
"Eh, just ignore him. Ginny has been hiding in every shadow trying to scare him into a heart attack." She gave a laugh and said "well I hope she succeeds!"
"We're going to watch Harry beat up some of his Housemates, you wanna come?" She wasn't sure what he meant but agreed. She followed him deep into the dungeons and into a secret door. It led them into a fighting ring. The rest of the HFC was there including that lovely Luna girl. Fleur had been very impressed with her reasoning skills and had quickly subscribed to her family's newspaper.
"Oi! This is supposed to be a Hufflepuff secret." A boy said loudly and she watched Harry smile before declaring a fight between them. Harry quickly choked the other boy out and everyone else let the subject drop. She could practically smell the lust wafting off of Draco as he watched Harry's every move.
"If you wanted it to be a secret, you shouldn't have told Harry! You know he tells Malfoy everything and Malfoy tells his club."
"Exactly, Ernie!" Ron shouted out and turned to beam at her.
"This is so exciting! Like fight club." Herm whispered to herself. The twins were holding her hands and hanging on every word she said.
"Go Harry!" Draco cheered and she watched as he won every match he entered. He had some cuts and bruises but nothing too major. He exited the ring and Draco held him close.
"You looked so cool." He said proudly and healed his wounds.
"Hi guys! Thanks for coming." Harry beamed at them.
"Are you sure it's okay for you to tell us about this Harry?" Ron asked, his face pinched in concern.
"If anyone has a problem with it, they can fight me." Tonks cackled from beside Cedric and shouted out "that's the spirit, Harbear!"
"So can anyone fight?" Fleur asked curiously and rolled her shoulders. Harry gave her a thumbs up and she entered the ring. Tonks joined her.
"No one ever wants to fight me! Let's go." She said happily and rolled up her sleeves.
"Good luck, blondie! Tonks is crazy." The fight began and she danced on the balls of her feet. She darted forward to hit the other girl but was blocked. This happened a few more times before she tried to rethink her strategy. Tonks wasn't even trying to block her, the girl was just so erratic that she managed to do it at the last moment! She also kept tripping over her own feet. Fleur stuck her foot out and purposely tripped the other girl. Tonks somehow took her down with her! They wrestled on the ground and she pinned the other girl underneath her. Rubbing her face dirt, she snarled out "do you forfeit?" Tonks laughed and spat on the ground. "In your dreams!" They fought for ten more minutes before coming to a stand still. Fleur had her knee digging into the other girl's chest but Tonks had her arm bent back far enough that if she moved, it would break.
"It seems we have a tie! Good fight, ladies." She helped her up and was surprised at the hug she received.
"That was wicked! I thought you were going to break my rib cage." She laughed and Fleur couldn't help her shy smile. She was so lucky to have such wonderful friends.
"And the first person to enter the maze will be the lovely Miss. Delacour!" Mr. Bagman announced and he watched Fleur sprint forward. Daddy Malfoy had picked out his outfit for the third task and he was happy he did. The other Champions were wearing light jumpsuits that didn't suit the chilly air. He was wearing his thick Malfoy sweater and a pair of jeans with his sneakers. His hair was in a high ponytail with a headband to keep it out of his face.
"Next we have Mr. Diggory." Cedric shuffled into the maze slowly.
"Have a little more enthusiasm, lad! Next we have Mr. Krum!" Viktor waved at Oliver Wood before striding into the maze. Mr. Bagman turned to him and said "and our final Champion is Mr. Potter." The judges had given him a zero for his little "tantrum" during the second task so his score had been eleven. He ignored the man and turned to find Draco in the crowd.
"Draco, I love you! Please cheer me on. I'm honestly planning on finding a nice corner to sit in for a couple of minutes and then I'll send up sparks. Please keep my seat warm. Bye!" Harry skipped into the maze. He just needed to stand still for a few minutes and then he'd walk right back out. This maze was giving him the creeps and now it was moving! He watched as the entrance disappeared and it was just a hedge behind him. Awesome. He walked forward and sighed. He just wanted to sit by Draco and eat the snacks he knew his love had brought for him. He kept walking when he saw a small clearing ahead. Maybe he could just wait there? He stopped when he saw a blonde boy with his back to him.
"Hey! Are you lost?" He asked and his head turned to stare at him. Harry froze before darting forward.
"Draco! What are you doing here? It's dangerous." He cried out and stopped in his tracks. Draco was giving him a look he had never seen before. His face was cold and his eyes were filled with distaste.
"Isn't it funny? I can't believe you think I like you! Poor little Harry Potter, the freak." He spat out and Harry flinched. This wasn't his Draco.
"Don't say that." He stuttered out and Fake Draco gave a high pitched laugh.
"Don't say that." He mocked him and stalked forward.
"Did you really think you were allowed to be happy, Harry? You aren't a good boy, you don't deserve to be happy. No one likes you. They're all pretending because you're the Boy-Who-Lived." Fake Draco said softly, his lips curled into a sneer. Harry dug his nails into his palms.
"That's not true. Draco and my friends love me." He tried to keep the wobble out of his voice.
"Oh Harry, we both know that's not true. They're scared of you. Who could blame them? Your magic has always been so destructive." Fake Draco flicked his forehead.
"Draco thinks it's warm." He replied back and looked for an escape. The hedges had formed a circle with no exit in sight.
"He's lying to you. Don't you remember the mess you would make in your cupboard? Not to mention, the second task! I can imagine how frightened everyone was after your little display. I'm surprised you haven't been kicked out of Hogwarts yet. Aunt Petunia was right, you are a bad, nasty child." He saw Fake Draco's face flicker for a second and realized what was happening. He took his wand out and whispered "Riddikulus." The boggart cocked its head to the side and said "Come on, Harry. Is that the best you can do? No wonder your friends think you're useless." He gripped his wand tighter and hissed out "Riddikulus!" The boggart turned into a snake before slinking away. He took a moment to try and compose himself. He honestly just wanted to go sit down and have a good cry. The boggart had said some really hurtful things while wearing his husband's face. He just kept walking and almost ran into a Sphinx. She was laying on her front paws and watching him closely.
"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." He gave a sniff.
"It's fine." She said slowly as he wiped his eyes.
"If you want to get past me, you have to answer a riddle." She announced and he shook his head.
"Can I just stay here? I don't think anyone will bother us and I don't want to play anymore." He had tried sending up sparks but they never got above his head. It seemed someone had interfered so he couldn't quit. He bet his Gringotts vault his name started with D.
"You don't want to get the treasure?" The Sphinx asked, confused and he took that as a sign to sit next to her.
"No, I just want to go cuddle with my boyfriend and our crocodile son." She perked up.
"A crocodile? I love crocodiles! They remind me of my homeland."
"Snappy is such a good boy. Maybe you can meet him after this." She winced and replied "I'm actually supposed to be fighting you. It was either be silent, answer the riddle or walk away." Harry furrowed his eyebrows.
"That's silly. What if I just wanted to have a nice talk with you?"
"Most wizards wouldn't give a creature the time of day. What an odd boy you are."
"Thank you. It's called having manners." She gave a hacking laugh.
"Would you like to try answering my riddle? If you get it wrong, you can just leave." He gave her a nod to continue.
"What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?" Merlin, he was horrible at riddles. He had tried practicing on the doorknob to the Ravenclaw common room but it had gotten so frustrated with him, it refused to give him any more riddles. He gave her a panicked look.
"How about a hint? It starts with the letter c." She said and he tried to think. What started with the letter c?
"Cat!" He shouted and she gave him a dry look.
"Good try but no. It's a ch word." He thought even harder.
"Chasing cats!" She rubbed her paw against her forehead.
"Another good try but no. It ends in es" He flopped down on the ground. Maybe he should just let her maul him? But Draco would be upset if he got hurt. What if she gently shoved him? Did that count? He could pretend to be dead. Ugh, so many choices. His eyes shot open and he yelled out "choices!" She gave him a pleased grin.
"Good job, dear! Good luck!" She moved out of the way and he walked deeper into the maze.
