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Chapter 9.

Betting on death would be immoral

It was dark by the time Lara and Fred got back to the castle, which meant that Madam Pomfrey was actually off duty. Fred steadied Lara against a wall and ran off down the hallway, returning around fifteen minutes later with an harassed looking matron. After hearing Lara's story (and giving her a disapproving scowl), Pomfrey ushered Lara to a bed, declared her ankle to be sprained and went to her cabinet to get some medicine.

Two potions later—one for the pain, the other for swelling—Lara found herself hopping up the magical staircase with Fred's help, both of them howling with laughter all the way as they tripped over. At one point Fred got caught in a trick step and it took ten minutes and a firework to get him out. By the time they got to the common room, Lara was breathless and aching all over, and stumbled through the portrait hole with Fred.

"Get a room!"

Lara glanced over at the fire, where some of the sixth and seventh year Gryffindor's had gathered. For a moment she didn't understand what the comment meant, but then she realised; she and Fred were totally wrapped up in one another, arms clinging to body parts and Fred's head was partially buried in her neck from the effort of getting her up so many stairs, his panting breath washing against her skin.

"Shut the hell up," Lara tried to sound stern, but she was still laughing. "You lot are the reason we're in this mess!"

"I knew my plan would work—"

"She sprained her ankle," Fred interrupted Erin's cheering. "I've spent the past hour in the hospital wing and getting her up the stairs."

"How did you sprain you're ankle?" gasped Angelina as Lara hobbled over to the couch, Fred holding onto her waist.

"Eh, well—"

"She tried to give me a piggy back," Fred grinned amusedly and sat on the coffee table. "And failed miserably."

"I thought I was beater material."

"You bloody idiot," George laughed as he got up and allowed Lara to have his seat. He perched onto the arm of the couch, bringing Lara into a quick and tight side-hug. "He's three times the size of you."

"In height or weight?"

"Both."

Lara sent Fred a smug look, to which he rolled his eyes.

"You actually sprained your ankle on your first date," Erin said slowly, as if she couldn't quite grasp the idea. "Like, actually?"

"Didn't you hear the piggy back story?" snorted Lee.

"I heard, I just—I can't quite wrap my head around it."

"Is it hurting?" Alicia asked sympathetically.

"Not really. Pomfrey gave me some pain potion—"

"On the first date."

"Did she say when it would be fixed?"

"By Monday. She gave me a slow acting one 'cause the fast acting one can knock you out—"

"The first date—"

"It wasn't even a date," Lara sighed irritably, snapping her eyes to her friend. "You lot just abandoned us."

"And you were utterly hopeless at being smart about it," Fred said supportively. "You'd all be crap Slytherin's. Not a cunning bone in your body."

"I thought we were rather sly, actually," muttered Lee.

Fred made a noise that sounded like a boiled kettle. "That's like calling Ron cheery."

"He's going through a rough time," Angelina admonished, kicking Fred in the shin. "Don't be awful."

"He's being a git," George said. "Don't stick up for him. He needs to make up with Harry."

"They're like an old married couple that don't know what to do without each other," Fred sighed. "I swear it would be easier for mum and dad to be separated than this. At least they'd be relatively logical about it."

"While Ron and Harry are just being grumpy and unstable," George's lips thinned before he added, "Poor Hermione. I don't know how she puts up with them."

"If her S.P.E.W. speeches were anything to go by, I think she'll be just fine," grumbled Angelina, sharing an amused look with Alicia.

"Maybe we need to give them a push—"

Erin's inspirational lecture was cut off by the arrival of Stan, who walked nosily into the area and flopped onto the floor like a starfish. He had a dreamy expression on his face and let out a long, absent-minded sigh.

"Good date, Stan?" Lara smirked.

"Great date." Stan replied distractedly. "You?"

"Didn't have one, mate."

"But Erin—"

"Said nothing!" Erin squeaked, reaching out to kick Stan in the foot. "Shut the hell up."

"Bloody friends," Lara grunted as Erin and Stan began to bicker incessantly. "Who needs them?"

On the day of the First Task, the atmosphere of the school was one of tense excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday to give the students time to head to theviewing areas, but time still dragged. Lara would swear hours had passed—she would bet good money on it—only for mere minutes to have gone by when she asked Omar the time. By first break, he handed over his watch to her and said, "Here, have it before I gag you."

She attached the silver watch to her wrist, though it was far too big and kept slipping down her arm. Still she watched the seconds tick by, waiting and waiting until it got to twelve and they were free to leave…

"Oh my God, turn twelve already," hissed Erin, who was sat beside Lara and also staring at the watch. "Turn twelve, turn twelve, turn twelve—"

"Have you ever heard the expression a watched kettle never boils?" Omar said airily.

"Ever heard the expression shut the hell up?" Amanda snapped back. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to."

"My nerves can't take this," Stan said, placing his quill onto the table and fanning his face with his hand. "I'm about to pass out. What if someone dies?"

"They're not going to die."

"In all fairness, it's a possibility," Omar argued against Erin's outcry. "I mean, these tasks are made to be dangerous, right? So there's always a chance that something morbid could happen—"

"I'm worried for Harry," Lara murmured; three, two, one—it was now twelve minutes to twelve. "He's just a kid. He won't know enough spells."

"Dumbledore and McGonagall will have helped him, right?" Erin whispered. "I mean, surely."

"Dumbledore can't, he's an impartial judge," Stan pointed out. "Maybe McGonagall, though."

"Or Dumbledore could've asked someone else to help on his behalf," Amanda said. "Like Moody or Snape."

"Screw Snape," mumbled Lara out of habit.

"Moody, then," Omar said with an amused smile. "They can't just leave him to figure it out. He's far too young."

Lara nodded in agreement; it was now ten to.

"Since none of you are going to pay this lesson any attention," Flitwick cried from the front of the classroom, making the seventh years look up guiltily. "You can all pack up and leave. Get some good seats at the arena."

"Arena?" someone yelped as everyone hurried to pack their things. "Do you know what the task is, Sir?"

"Of course I do," Flitwick replied as if he hadn't denied knowing anything for the past month. "Now go. You'll want to get good seats, trust me."

The students didn't need to be told twice. Lara had barely put her things into her backpack before she was running off with her friends, almost tripping over her clumsy feet and dropping her bag. Dumbledore had announced at breakfast that the students should head towards the Forbidden Forest, where prefects would be waiting to guide the other students to the viewing area. As Lara and her friends were early, they just followed a pathway that had been paved out for them by lanterns on the ground.

They walked so far that both the castle and the Black Lake were out of view. Lara was so busy looking over her shoulder, trying to figure out how far away from the castle they were going, that she didn't notice the enclosure until her friends gasped in shock. Whipping her head around, Lara saw a large tent ahead of her, at least a hundred feet high and just as wide. The sheer size of it momentarily dazzled the group of friends and they stopped walking to stare at it.

"This way, this way!" a voice called out. Over by the tent there was a tall, bearded wizard dressed in Ministry robes. "Around the tent, around the tent—this is for the Champions…"

They were ushered around the giant tent, only to be met with the sight of a gigantic dragon enclosure. It reminded Lara of a Quidditch Stadium; oval in shape with thousands and thousands of seats. Instead of a pitch and golden hoops, however, there were rocks and stone, providing hiding places for both the Champions and the dragons.

"Holy crap. They're battling dragons," Amanda hissed, sounding rather horrified. "DRAGONS."

"That's awful," muttered Lara. "That will be really stressful for the dragons. They don't naturally attack humans, you know. Only when their herd or their eggs are threatened."

"Now you're worried for the dragons?" Stan said, sounding astounded. "What about Harry and the others?"

"Well…I mean, I'm worried about them, too, but—"

"Just not as much," Erin smiled, reaching to wrap an arm around Lara's shoulders. "You're so wonderfully weird."

Lara snorted lightly as they entered the enclosure and were directed to some seats. They were put right at the front near the VIP box, which made Amanda a little jittery ("Do we have to be so close? They breathe fire, for Merlin's sake!"), but the others were absolutely delighted. Lara was just settling down, pulling on her gloves and scarf, when someone called out;

"Lara!"

Her neck clicked from how fast she looked up. Bounding down the stairs from the VIP box was none other than Walter, slogan t-shirt and rainbow glasses and all. He waved exuberantly at his sister, which snapped Lara out of her daze. She scrambled to her feet, tripped over three times, and just about managed to meet him halfway.

"Walter!" she squealed happily as he brought her into a bone-crushing hug. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm overseeing the dragons with Charlie," he replied, his voice muffled by her shoulder against his mouth. "I came last night with them."

"Are the dragons alright?"

"The dragons?" Walter repeated with a laugh, setting his sister back onto her feet. "I don't think I've ever been asked that before."

"I mean, they'll be stressed, right? They don't attack naturally—"

"They're hiding their eggs, so the dragons will think the champions are after them and attack."

"That's horrid," Lara whispered in disgust. "What if the real eggs get damaged?"

"Well, eh…"

"You haven't thought about it, have you?"

Walter looked slightly guilty. "They're really well taken care of away from this," he shrugged. "They're all from Romania, from the reserve Charlie works on…he doesn't seem to think it's cruel…"

Lara huffed, but decided to drop the subject. She knew not everyone felt the same way she did about protecting animals, even people who had chosen to work with them. Charlie, however, was someone Lara greatly respected, and if he thought this whole charade was okay…well, she figured it would be alright.

"Are you sitting with us?" Lara asked.

"You mean am I sitting with you and your fun friends or the snotty Ministry lot?" Walter grinned sardonically. "I'll take you and your friends, please and thank you."

She sniggered and pulled him over to the seats, stepping aside for a moment to allow her friends to greet him. Once they'd all hugged and exchanged pleasantries, the group sat down and talked excitedly about the task as the rest of the enclosure steadily filled up with students. Lara and Walter were in the middle of making some very elaborate bets when two hands landed heavily on Lara's shoulders.

"Bugger." She gasped in surprise, turning to stare wide-eyed at the assailant. "I should've known it was you."

Fred grinned widely at her. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Only you would try to make me crap my pants."

"Lovely visual."

"You're thinking about my arse?"

"Shut up." Fred rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Or what?"

"I'll stuff this hat in your mouth."

"You wouldn't dare, Freddy."

"I'm George."

"You're Fred," Lara replied, though a little bit of doubt crept in. Eyeing the twin suspiciously, she tried to figure out exactly which one it was. She still couldn't find any physical differences between them…but she had a feeling. "Definitely Fred. That's George."

Said boy appeared at his twin's side, ruffling Lara's hair with his gloved hand. "Alright, Culpepper? How's the ankle?"

"Ankle?" Walter questioned, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Piggy back accident—I forgot to put it in my letter," Lara waved off her brother's concern. "It's good. Fully healed now, I think. So dragons, huh?"

"I know, mental, isn't it?" Fred's brown eyes widened slightly. "I suddenly feel a little bad about my bets."

"You mean the possible deaths—"

"Shhhh." Fred hissed. "We decided betting on death would be immoral, remember?"

George gave him an amused look. "Yeah, sure."

"Anyway." Fred turned to Walter with an overly-innocent smile. "Is Charlie here, too?"

"VIP box," answered Walter with a nod. "He has to stay up there 'cause he's Head Dragon Tamer. If anything goes wrong, he's the first point of call."

"Charlie's here?" Amanda's voice chirped from down the row. "Now? As in, right now?" she began to look around as if he would appear from thin air.

"She fancies him," Erin stage-whispered to the twins. "It's been a thing for a while now."

"Ewww," the twins groaned together, looking thoroughly grossed out.

"Fancied you two, as well, at one point," Stan said distractedly. "Until Lara called dibs."

"On Fred," George said and glanced appreciatively towards Amanda. "I am most definitely unspoken for."

Lara could feel her face and neck heating up. She hated her friends teasing her about Fred anyway, but now Walter was giving her a more-than-curious look and it was twice as worse. "I did not call dibs," she muttered bitterly.

"We've been looking for you everywhere!" Alicia's voice announced the arrival of her, Angelina and Lee. She walked over and smacked both twins on the back of the head. "Why did you run away?"

"Ouch." Fred yelped and rubbed the spot Alicia had hit. "Got excited when we realised it was dragons."

"Charlie's up there," George nodded his head to the VIP box. "Thought we'd be able to sit with him."

Alicia rolled her eyes and began to settle down on the empty seats. "A little warning would have been nice. I thought you were in trouble or something."

"Aw, she was worried about us," George cooed and went over to hug her, though Alicia tried—and failed—to push him away. "I knew you loved us really."

"DRAGON—DRAGON!" Omar suddenly yelled, and the whole crowd scrambled to look into the enclosure.

Lara stood and stared down at the rocky ground. From the back of the arena, a silvery-blue dragon was floating out of the doors, skirting over the rocks towards where her precious eggs lay in a thick nest. She crouched down in front of the nest, her bright eyes scanning the crowd warningly, daring them to try and touch her developing babies. Judging by the terrified looks on people's faces, she had nothing to worry about.

From a gap at the back of the arenas fence, a tall, bronze-haired figure emerged. The whole place erupted into applause as Cedric Diggory walked out, gripping his wand in his right hand and carefully peering around for any sign of the dragon. The Swedish Short-Snout had already spotted him; she snarled, her claws digging into the stone beneath her feet. Cedric froze, staring up at the creature, taking in its enormous form…and then he accidently tripped over a small rock, and the dragon let out a roar before charging towards him.

Erin squealed and covered her mouth with her hands, just as Cedric dived behind a rock, narrowly avoiding a stream of brilliant blue fire.

"Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow…" the commentator said loudly, letting out a small whistling sound.

Cedric pushed himself up and took off running towards the dragons nest. The Swedish Short-Snout followed his every move, breathing streams and streams of fire towards the sixth year. Cedric didn't stop, not until he was around twenty feet away from the nest, where he paused behind a large rock and took a deep breath. The crowd was screaming and gasping, several girls looked close to tears as they held onto each other nervously. Lara's heart pounded in her throat, her mouth dry from the adrenaline pulsing through her veins—

Cedric popped out from behind the rocks, pointed his wand at a stone near the dragon and an orange spark shot out of it. The stone turned into a Golden Labrador, racing off towards the gap in the enclosure Cedric had appeared from ten minutes before. Confused by the second intruder, the dragon turned, letting out an angered roar, and took off after the dog.

Not hesitating for a second, Cedric ran towards the nest at full speed, arms pumping, long legs pouncing over the stone. He was nearly there, seconds away from getting the egg injury-free…the dragon glanced over her shoulder…saw Cedric in the distance near her eggs, and let out a sharp yelp. Cedric barely had time to realise he was in danger before a blue flame was hurdling towards him.

The crowd screamed as Cedric cast a protection spell around himself. However, it wasn't strong enough and the flame hit him in the side. Cedric's groan could be heard above the noise of the stadium…just as he grabbed the egg, lifting it above his head.

Lara jumped to her feet, yelling and applauding—glad that her schoolmate was alive. Burned and singed beyond recognition, but alive, and Madam Pomfrey would have him fixed in no time. A group of Dragon Tamers rushed onto the scene to subdue the Swedish Short-Snout; some cast calming spells, another ran off to collect her eggs and hand them to her. Almost as soon as the eggs were in her reach, the dragon relaxed and allowed herself to be walked back through the doors.

"Merlin." Lara breathed as Cedric was pulled aside to get his scores. "Merlin."

"I know, right?" Walter grinned at her side. "And that's the best dragon of the lot."

"No way."

Walter nodded. "I'll have to go down when the Fireball comes out—she's third—and help subdue it. And we need all hands on deck for the Horntail…"

"Miss Delacour, if you please!" the commentator's voice shouted out, and the crowd broke into applause again, the most enthusiastic being teenage boys.

"Veela." Lara said, grabbing Walter on the arm with a grin. "She's part-veela, don't faint…"

A swift-looking green dragon had been released into the enclosure and was pacing up and down in front of its nest, her emerald eyes darting around for any sign of danger. Lara barely had time to look at the creature before a silvery blonde head walked out from the gap, head held high and a determined expression. Fleur took only a second to look at the dragon before she was off, hiding behind a rock while she took several deep breaths.

For a second, Lara wondered if Fleur was ever going to move again…and then with a nod and some whispered words, Fleur stepped out of her hiding place in full view of the dragon. Just as she pointed her wand, the dragon whined and blew a spurt of green fire towards her. Fleur yelped and dived back behind the rock.

"Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" yelled the commentator.

Taking a few moments to gather herself, Fleur appeared again and this time she was ready; a pink jet of light left her wand and shot towards the dragon, where the light swirled around the dragons head like an angry bee. The dragons eyes widened slightly, and she looked furious…until her head lolled to the side, she stumbled to the right slightly, and finally began to sink to the ground in a sleepy haze.

Some of the crowd let out disbelieving giggles. With a radiant smile, Fleur pranced towards the nest, clearly confident that she'd finished the challenge…the sleepy dragon suddenly let out a rumbling snore. When it breathed out, a small ball of fire came with it—and caught the edge of Fleur's skirt.

The French girl leapt into the air in shock. The crowd gasped and a few boys looked like they were about to throw themselves into the enclosure to help her. Then, with an almost annoyed huff, Fleur put out the fire with her wand. The corner of her skirt charred and black, Fleur rushed over to the nest and grabbed the egg.

The Welsh Green was easily swept off through the doors by the Dragon Tamers along with her eggs. Bidding a quick goodbye, Walter went to join his co-workers in preparation for the next dragon, a giant scarlet creature with a fringe of golden spikes around its stub-snouted face. Lara cringed at the aggressive look in the dragon's eye as Viktor Krum appeared, as emotionless and surly as ever.

He eyed the dragon as if it was simply another Quidditch opponent. The Chinese Fireball hissed and crouched down, ready to attack. Without a pause, Viktor began to fire spells towards the dragon. The crowd seemed more confused than anything, though they still made noises of support. When the dragon roared and breathed a torrent of fire, a group of girls let out horrified, ear splitting screams.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" yelled Erin, throwing a glare towards them. "Contain yourselves!"

Krum leapt out from behind the rock and shot another spell towards the dragon—this one hit the creature in the eye. Letting out an agonised shriek, the dragon began to stamp around the arena, befuddled and confused from the pain. Lara let out an appalled gasp as the creature's large foot landed on the nest, crushing at least three eggs underneath her claws.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Lara snapped. "I knew that would happen—I hope the dragon eats him!"

"Lara!" scolded Amanda, as Stan sniggered into his hand.

Lara's wish didn't to come true; Viktor rushed over to the nest and grabbed the golden egg, holding it up in the air. Stubborn and slightly nettled, Lara refused to clap and glared at the Dragon Tamers as they fought to put the Chinese Fireball through the doors.

"Don't look so sour," a voice said in Lara's ear.

"I don't see why they couldn't use fake eggs, is all," Lara huffed, glancing at Fred as he rested his chin upon her shoulder. "Plus, a Conjunctivitis Curse is pretty mean."

"It's a dragon that tried to kill him with fire."

"Still."

Fred snickered and opened his mouth to reply—

"And now, Mr Potter!"

While Fred and Lara bickered, the final dragon had been put into the arena. Lara's eyed widened in unbounded horror; despite Walter's warning about it being the worst one, it looked more vicious than Lara expected. Large with black, shiny scales and yellow eyes, it looked like some sort of poisonous lizard, ready to kill and destroy anything in sight. The dragon's whole body was covered in thick, protruding spikes that looked like they could easily impale a human…

Especially a fourteen-year-old boy.

Harry Potter walked out of the gap, messy-haired and wearing his infamous round glasses. The dragon crouched low over her eggs, her eyes fixed on Harry, her tail swishing and leaving large marks in the stone ground. Harry pointed his wand in the air and said something…but nothing happened.

Lara's stomach dropped. Had he tried to cast a charm? A hex? Had his spell not worked?

Most of the crowd tensed and held their breath, but others laughed cruelly, as if Harry failing was a source of great amusement.

"Oh, shut up!" George yelled out from behind Lara, glaring at the bullies. "Like you lot could do any better—"

"Probably would have ran off screaming, the lot of you…" Fred agreed, just as something went zooming towards Harry.

It was his broom, his Firebolt. Lara began to jump up and down, screaming and whooping with delight; his spell had worked. Fred and George began to dance and stick their tongues out at the people who had laughed. Erin grabbed Lara's arm, her eyes wide, her jaw slack…

Harry flew into the air, further and further away until he was just a dot in the air. He paused, looked down, and took a deep breath. Lara unconsciously held her breath, waiting, wondering what he was going to do next—Harry dived down. The crowd gasped and shrieked; the dragon began to follow him. Just as the dragon took a deep breath, ready to burn Harry to a crisp, the Gryffindor seeker swerved. The fire hit the side of the arena, easily missing Harry's small form.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled the commentator. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Higher and higher Harry went, the dragon on the ground watching, spinning and spinning as if sat on a merry-go-round. Fire shot out of the dragons mouth—the crowd screamed and several people cried Harry's name—but he avoided the fire, though he had a large rip in his robe from the dragon's tail. Still, he was alive, and he was teasing the dragon, daring her to come after him.

"Only Harry would want the dragon to go after him!" Lee laughed brightly, sounded both awed and befuddled.

The dragon suddenly roared, high and shrieking, and her long black wings spread. Harry moved to fast that Lara couldn't make sense of what was happening. In a blur of movement, Harry was flying over the nest, grabbing something and then he was soaring above the crowd, a golden egg shimmering from underneath his uninjured arm.

"HE'S GOT IT! HE'S GOT IT!" cried the twins excitedly.

"GO HARRY!" Erin screamed, letting out a relieved laugh. "WOOOOOOOOO!"

The commentator was saying something else, but Lara couldn't hear over the celebrations of her friends. Erin and Stan were hugging her, bouncing up and down, and Amanda reached over to shake Lara's arm. Omar seemed in a state of shock and as Stan tried to rouse his friend, Fred grabbed Lara's shoulders and squeezed, using them as a board to spring himself upwards. George reached down to repeatedly ruffle Lara's hair until it was static and knotted across her face.

Harry disappeared to get his wound cleaned up and returned only to get his scores. Fred, George and Lee were already planning a party. When the crowd were dismissed, they rushed off together to get everything sorted. Angelina rolled her eyes after them and jumped over the seats with Alicia, joining the seventh years as they headed back to the castle.

"Lara—Lara!" a voice shouted as Lara talked with Angelina about the task. "Wait up!"

Walter appeared and brought his sister into a hug. "Leaving without saying goodbye?"

"I wasn't allowed to hang around," she snorted, thumping his back. Her friends stepped aside to let the siblings say farewell. "I'll send letters about the ball and the other tasks, yeah?"

"Definitely," Walter pulled away and grinned down at her. "So…"

"So?"

"Fred Weasley, huh?"

"Not you, too!"

"What? You seemed pretty chummy up there, and what was that thing about you calling dibs…"

"I—we—well—"

"You snogged?"

"Well—yeah." Lara flushed; this was not something she wanted to talk to her older brother about. "A while ago now, before school even started. He's…helping me out with something and we're friends—and that's it. Friends."

"Sure."

"Don't say it like that," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "I swear, okay. We're just friends."

"Sure."

"Stop saying that."

"I have to tell Charlie," Walter looked positively delighted as he glanced around for his best friend. "He'll piss his pants—his brother and my sister—this is the stuff of dreams…"

"Don't you dare—"

"Sorry, can't hear you! See you later!" he began to run away, waving over his shoulder. "Love you, don't get into too much trouble! Keep the snogging to a minimum—"

And then he was gone, disappearing in the crowd.

Lara's lips thinned, and she thought about running after him and hexing him into oblivion. Before she could take a step forward, an arm landed on her shoulders. "Ignore him; snogging should be kept at an absolute maximum," Erin grinned.

"I swear to Merlin—"

"Before you start threatening bodily harm," Omar interrupted brightly. "Can we start heading back? I don't want to be late for the party."

Erin tugged Lara back towards the castle and all Lara could do was huff and roll her eyes.

At least she knew she didn't fancy Fred Weasley. He was just a friend. A loyal, slightly mad, incredibly funny friend...who, you know, just so happened to be rather good-looking...

And the first task is complete! Hope you guys enjoyed it even though some of the chapter was taken from the book. I actually had a blast writing it because I've always wondered what happened in the dragon enclosure that Harry couldn't see.

Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favourites! Over 100 follows on the 8th chapter?! I'm honestly amazed.

Next chapter the Yule Ball is announced, bringing jealously with it...