CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
To tell me you need me, I see that you're bleeding.
I don't own Harry Potter, sadly.
-o0o0o0o-
After the first task, many articles were published praising the champions, more often than not, however, they were discussing Harry's parselmouth ability. He paid none of the articles any mind, that is until Rita Skeeter seemed not to have understood her warning.
The article began circulating two days after the task itself, and Hermione was the subject of it. The pictures shown were Hermione and Harry hugging in the tent before the task began, a picture of Hermione and Viktor in the library, and another picture of Hermione and Cedric by the lake.
Nevermind the fact that the entire friend group was at the library and the lake. What really made Harry's blood boil was the amount of times that Skeeter called his best friend a slag. That was the final nail in the coffin of what was Rita's career.
Hermione had been getting threatening letters, howlers, exploding letters filled with bubotuber pus, and people were actually attempting to draw their wands on her.
Their friends were obviously outraged, especially Draco and Theo, but Hermione begged them all to let it go. That simply would not do, because Harry did not like when he had explicitly threatened somebody, and they thought he wouldn't follow through with it.
He didn't like that his sister, a member of his family, was now under the direct line of fire by the sheep that was known as Wizarding Society, believing any rag that they read. This was how Harry found himself storming through the Daily Prophet headquarters.
He had personally asked Sirius, Lucius, and Arcturus to let his generation deal with this one. Personally.
Theo, Harry, and Draco were walking through the HQ like they owned the place–which, as the majority shareholders, they did– and did not care who stopped and stared. They told Neville to stay behind, and stick with Hermione. As they were in the same house, Neville and Hermione were now attached at the hip, much to her (fake) chagrin.
The secretary stared at them in dumbfounded shock, and Harry snapped her out of her stupor. "Where is Skeeter's office?"
"Down the hall, third door on the right." The woman squeaked, and Harry briskly walked past her.
Without even a knock, they burst through the door, only to find nothing.
Theo, always prepared for any scenario, drew his wand and cast a spell. "Homenum revelio." He whispered, and surprise surprise, a little beetle began to glow, fading into what was known as Rita Skeeter.
The woman looked at them in fear. "What do you want from me?" She asked, full of bravado. She knew despite them being annoying little teenagers, they were some of the most powerful teenagers in their world.
"I'm going to make this…quite clear." Harry said, stepping forward, closer to the horrible woman so she could shrink back. He smirked. "Either you print a refraction of that article right now, or we, as the majority shareholders of the Daily Prophet, have you fired, blacklisted from any form of media or news outlet, ruin your career and your livelihood, and have you thrown into Azkaban for being an unregistered animagus."
"That's all you want me to do?" She asked in disbelief. "Just print a formal apology?"
"No." Draco smirked. "You will swear on your magic you will never publish a defaming article against any of the people under the protection of House Potter, Black, Malfoy, or Longbottom."
She went to speak, but was cut off by Theo. "And you will exclusively only print what we tell you. If there is an article published under your name or written by you that our families or ourselves have not personally approved, the threat will be followed through."
Rita was now red in the face, glaring at the meddlesome boys, cursing them in her mind.
"Oh, and no more using a quick quotes quill. Your writing sounds like something out of a horrible romance novel." Harry snorted.
Draco made her take her magical vow with the satisfactory wording, ensuring no loopholes. Harry grinned as they walked out. "Pleasure doing business with you, Skeeter."
-o0o0o0o-
The Yule Ball was now around the corner, and Harry, much to his annoyance, did not have a date.
It's not like he couldn't take anyone he wanted, he could, but the problem was that the person he wanted to take was one of his best friends and he didn't quite know how to ask her.
Theo also had the same problem. Neville was already going with Hannah Abbott, a very pretty witch in Hufflepuff. Draco was going with Susan Bones, quite a beautiful and formidable witch in her own right.
Blaise Zabini, had, much to his surprise, asked the Ravenclaw girl a year below them. Luna Lovegood.
Harry had suspected the girl was being bullied, after spending some time with her, and vowed to find who they were. Luna, though odd, was a lovely girl, and introducing her into the fold would allow her to finally make some friends.
Fred and George were going with Alicia Spinett and Angelina Johnson respectively.
Viktor was going with a seventh year girl, Harry remembered her as Percy Weasley's ex girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater. She's very pretty, Harry recalls, with long dark hair and blue eyes.
Cedric and Fleur decided to go together as friends, as Cedric could resist her allure and was not reduced to a drooling buffoon around her, and they enjoyed each other's company.
"I'm just going to do it." Harry muttered to himself, pacing in the common room.
"Do what?" A beautiful feminine voice that Harry immediately recognized, asked in amusement. Harry turned around, and came face to face with Daphne.
Well, he looked down, so it was more like face to chest, as Harry was already nearly six feet tall, and Daphne was shorter than him.
"Hey, Daph." He muttered awkwardly.
"Hello, Harry." She said, her jade green eyes alit with amusement and slight trepidation.
Her long, wavy jet black hair fell beautifully against her lower back, and Harry felt his throat dry as he looked at his best friend who he saw as only slightly more than a friend.
"Would you..um, perhaps," he sighed, closing his eyes. "Fuck it." He whispered. "Go to the ball with me, Daph?"
"You want me to go to the ball with you?" She asked, her cheeks turning slightly pink, as she looked up at Harry from underneath her long, dark, lashes.
"Yes."
"As a friend?" She asked, an emotion in her voice that Harry couldn't decipher.
"If that's what you want, then yes." Harry responded honestly, praying she'd say she wants it as a date. Daphne deflated for a moment, before looking up at him with determination in her eyes.
"What would you like it to be?" She asked coyly, with a slight coquettish smile.
Harry tried very hard to avoid looking at her pink, full lips, and instead stared into her beautiful eyes.
"What I would like it to be is irrelevant." He answered back. "It's what you would like it to be that matters to me."
"And if I say I'd like it to be a date?" She asked smoothly, her voice nonchalant, but she raised an eyebrow.
"Then I would say that I would like the same thing." Harry answered back, a half smile playing on his lips as he ran his fingers through his raven hair.
"Then we're in agreement." She said blithely, walking towards Harry so she was in step with him and their hands were brushing together as they walked. Each time their hands brushed gently, Daphne felt a shiver run down her spine.
Harry flexed his fingers slightly, trying to stop himself from entwining their fingers together, but decided to just take her hand into his, noticing how perfectly they fit together, and interlocked their hands. The feeling of warmth and affection surged through him as he felt her skin touch his.
Butterflies flew in her stomach, thousands of them fluttering about as she held onto his hand.
It wasn't as if they hadn't touched before, but something about this felt charged. There was new tension between them that hadn't been there before. Every touch, every look, every soft smile, felt different.
She said nothing, but only smiled at him slightly shyly as they began to walk to the Great Hall.
Harry couldn't take the smile off his face for the rest of the day.
-o0o0o0o-
Theo approached Hermione at the lake, seeing that she was sitting under their group's big tree and studying.
He walked over to her, rubbing the nape of his neck with a charming half smile. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked.
"Not at all." Hermione smiled brightly at Theo, and watched as the tall boy sat down next to her.
"What are you studying?" He asked curiously, peering at her parchment.
"Potions." she said with a huff, the exhale causing a curl that had fallen in her face to lift up slightly. Theo smiled at the sight. He reached over, and gently tucked the strand of hair behind her ear.
She looked up at him, big brown eyes curious. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, and a stray piece of snow had fallen in her hair, making her look ethereal to him.
The moment was almost frozen in time. They simply stared into each other's eyes, honey brown meeting cool blue. She broke eye contact, lowering her gaze shyly.
"I never got to thank you." she said in her soft, sweet voice.
"Whatever for?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"For the Skeeter thing." She admitted. "It was really beginning to get to me, and what you did with Harry and Draco to get her to stop it was..very kind of you, Theo."
"You don't need to thank me, Hermione. I would've…" he trailed off. Done it for anyone, he was going to say. But it wasn't just anyone, it was for Hermione.
She looked at him, eyes soft and an unconscious smile on her lips. He cleared his throat, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "I was wondering, if you would.."
"Yes?" she asked after his pause.
"Go to the ball with me?" He finished, his eyes boring into hers with such an intensity it felt electric.
"As a date?" She asked, her voice slightly higher in pitch than normal.
"Yeah. As a date." He said softly.
"I'd love to, Theo." She whispered, and leaned in slightly, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.
Theo grinned. "Great."
She laughed breathily. "Great."
-o0o0o0o-
Luna Lovegood was sitting with them for breakfast that day, she was joined by Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott.
"Hello Luna." Harry greeted with a smile.
"Hello Harry." She responded in her dream, daze-like voice. Her eyes were piercing, and Harry felt as if she was staring into his very soul.
"How are you today?" Hermione asked gently.
"I'm good, the nargles stole my shoes, however. I can't seem to find them." She said simply, her voice soft and matter-of-fact.
Harry looked down, and sure enough, she didn't have any shoes. His blood boiled as he saw the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang giggling with her friends, and Marietta Edgecombe looked especially smug.
"Give me a moment, Luna." Harry said, smiling at the blonde girl. He and Blaise walked over to the mean looking girls, and a hush fell throughout the Great Hall.
Cho seemed especially nervous as she sat up straighter, a nervous look in her eyes.
"Hello Harry." She said, her voice sweet. Harry narrowed his eyes.
"What have you done with Luna's shoes?" He asked, his voice conversational and light with an air of annoyance in it.
"We haven't done anything." Her friend, Marietta, said quickly. Her demeanour changed quickly from smug to scared the second Harry glared at her.
"Hey, Blaise?"
"Yes, Harry?" Blaise responded airily.
"Do you know what I hate?" Harry asked.
"No, what is it?"
"Bullies." Harry spat the word like a curse, looking in each of the girls' eyes.
"Oh I hate bullies as well." Blaise said agreeably.
"Do you know what we do to bullies, Edgecombe, Chang?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed dangerously, glinting with emerald fire.
"No.." they muttered nervously.
"Wanna find out?" Blaise grit out dangerously, eyes flashing.
"If I even have an inkling of this behaviour towards Luna continuing, you'll definitely find out. From all of us."
They chanced a glance at the table, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins all glaring dangerously at them whilst Luna sat, eating her pudding absently.
They nodded vigorously, and the boys smirked before walking over to their seats.
"Don't worry, Luna." Blaise said, kissing her softly on the forehead.
"The nargles won't bother you anymore." Harry whispered, a kind smile on his face.
"Thank you, Harry Potter." She said, eyes bright. "This is nice. It's almost like having friends."
"We are your friends, Luna." Daphne smiled.
Susan, Hannah, Hermione, Fleur, and the boys nodded in firm affirmation.
"I'd like that," Luna admitted, slightly shyly before continuing to eat her pudding.
The next day, Luna was skipping along the halls. With shoes on.
-o0o0o0o-
The Yule Ball finally approached. Everyone had decided to meet one another in the Great Hall, so the boys, dressed in their dress robes and suits and ties, were now crowded together, waiting for their dates to arrive.
Each of them looked incredibly dashing, tall, handsome, and athletically built, the dress robes certainly did not hide their handsomeness, and in fact enhanced it tenfold.
Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott arrived first. Draco and Neville's jaws unhinged as they stared at their dates with wide eyes.
Susan's auburn hair felt down across her back in loose curls, her blue eyes bright. Her lips were painted red, and her dress was a deep Slytherin green that complimented her hair and complexion. Her eyes were dark around the edges, making the ice blue pop considerably.
She blushed prettily when Draco walked over to her and pressed a kiss on the top of her hand. He stood to his full height, which was a lot taller than Susan, and dipped his head down and whispered something in her ear that made her blush even more and caused a grin to spread across her face.
Hannah similarly was wearing a dress that complimented Neville's house colour. Her dress was a deep scarlet red, that, like Susan's, hugged her body beautifully. Her honey blonde hair was straight, her lips painted red, her hazel eyes were accentuated by soft, brown makeup on her eyes.
Her eyes seemed to glow with happiness as Neville greeted her with a respectable bow, and then he kissed her on the cheek softly.
Neville took her arm in his, and together with Draco, they led their dates inside.
Harry smiled at the sight. The next to greet them was Hermione and Luna.
They looked beautiful. Hermione in a beautiful, flowing periwinkle floor length gown, her hair twisted up beautifully and loose curls elegantly framing her face. She had minimal makeup, just some to accentuate her eyes and a pretty pink lip gloss.
Theo gaped at the sight of her, his eyes worshipping her like she was a Goddess, and she blushed at the sight of how utterly handsome Theo looked, with his hair slicked back, and his lithe body being shown off by his dress robes.
Theo immediately began whispering things to her, and the sight looked so beautifully intimate that Harry had to look away.
Luna was dressed in a silver dress that glittered and reflected the light beautifully. Her waist length hair was let loose, with some braids and beads in them. She had a similar makeup look to Hermione's, and she grinned at Blaise. She turned her head, and Harry caught sight of the radish earrings that, on Luna, did not look out of place at all. He grinned, watching his friends walk into the immaculately decorated Great Hall. Angelina, Alicia, and Penelope came down next, each of the girls looking beautiful.
Penelope stayed with Viktor, as the Champions would be the last to enter and the first to dance.
The twins walked in with their beautiful dates on their arms.
Penelope was wearing a sky blue glittering dress.
"Hello, Harry." She greeted kindly. "How are you doing?"
"I'm alright, how are you?" Harry asked just as kindly.
Before she could respond, Fleur and Daphne appeared. "They look beautiful." Penelope said, instead.
Harry turned around, his gaze immediately on Daphne. "Yeah, she does." He whispered breathily, his eyes not leaving hers as she smiled at him shyly.
He walked over to her, holding her hand gracefully as he bent down and brushed his lips against her knuckles, his eyes not leaving hers as she held her breath slightly.
"Hello, Harry." She whispered breathily, taking him in the way he was her.
"You look beautiful, Daph." He said.
"You don't look so bad yourself." She teased.
Daphne was wearing a floor length slim fitting midnight black dress that hugged her every curve. But the dress was covered in shimmering glitter, that made her look like she took the sky and the glimmering stars and wore it as a dress. Her inky black hair fell down her back in elegant waves, and she wore a crown-like headband that wrapped around her head, hidden in her hair but the jewellery showed as gems rested comfortably on her forehead, emeralds and diamonds glittering prettily under the light.
Her makeup was elegant and minimal, with black smoked out on the top and bottom of her eyes, making the jade green pop considerably, and deep wine red lipstick.
"Words cannot describe your beauty." He whispered, not realising he said his barely formed thought out loud, but enjoyed the way it made her shyly look down with a smile and blush.
Before she could say anything further, Professor McGonagall approached them. "Champions, it is time for you to enter with your dates." She said, looking at them with a shielded but fond look in her eyes. "Have a wonderful time."
Harry held Daphne's hand in his as the doors opened, and they walked inside. She squeezed his hand tighter, and he squeezed back.
I'm here. She said with that one form of comfort.
I know. Was his answer.
a/n: ahhhhh we have some dancing some couples and more next chapter. then some champion bonding while figuring out the egg from the first task. review, tell me your thoughts on this chapter. exciting things to come! xoxo