A/N: Hi all! Didn't mean to end up updating again the very next day... But I got on a roll! The next chapter was getting crazy long, and I'd got to a good place to stop, so here we are.
As always- your reviews are my lifeblood x
Hermione withheld a growl as Madam Pomfrey pulled back the curtain around her bed and offered her a hand mirror.
For a spell so hastily cast—and one that had taken effect so fast—it was taking so long to remedy. Hermione had had to stay overnight in the Hospital Wing, woken by Madam Pomfrey every hour to check the progress of her front teeth and take another dose of potion to reverse the hex.
They were slowly retracting and Madam Pomfrey was making her check in the hand mirror to indicate how close they were to their original state.
It had been the worst night's sleep Hermione had ever had. Even in between being woken up, she had been in excruciating discomfort. She would not recommend anyone having their teeth shrunk.
Around 6am though, had come a silver lining. Hermione had checked on her teeth and they were finally back to normal—regular old buck teeth. She had realised then that if she waited a little longer, she would end up with the front teeth she had always wanted.
So as she looked in the hand mirror a final time, she smiled.
"Looking about right?" Madam Pomfrey asked her.
"Looking perfect," Hermione replied.
"Okay, well, we're all done now," Madam Pomfrey said, clucking her tongue, "Stay out of trouble."
Hermione frowned at that, but was too exhausted to argue the point. Instead she thanked the healer and went on her way.
Hermione only had time for the quickest of showers and outfit changes before making it to the Great Hall to have some breakfast. To her disappointment, Harry was already gone.
"He got called out with the other Champions about ten minutes ago," Ginny said, standing up and downing her pumpkin juice in one go, "In fact, we'd better head off if we want to get seats. Where have you been? I didn't see you around the girls' dormitories at all last night or this morning."
"Slytherins," Hermione replied darkly, "I'll tell you later. I need to check in with Harry before the Task starts."
She snatched an apple, racing off.
"You'd better hurry if you want to catch him!" Ginny bellowed after her.
Hermione ran as fast as she could across the vast grounds of Hogwarts. The arena and tents were near the edge of the lawn, close to the pathways that led to Hogsmeade.
Her lungs were beginning to burn as she reached the tents.
Hermione doubled over, trying to catch her breath as she looked at the tents. Three of them. The largest one in the centre was clearly for healers, or waiting for the task, or both. The other two must be changing tents.
A blush unrelated to her mad sprint across the lawn broke out as Hermione noted that Fleur was possibly in one of the tents. Possibly in a state of undress.
'Right, well, just because I've realised I'm into women doesn't mean I'm going to think about them instead of checking on my best friend,' Hermione thought bossily to herself.
Her lips tightened into a thin line as she walked over to the middle tent. She found a loose edge, pulling it up and ducking under it.
Sure enough, she emerged just behind the four champions. They were standing in a line, apparently waiting for Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch to get organised.
Cedric Diggory was clad in his Hufflepuff sports uniform—a yellow and black striped singlet and black shorts. Whether he was shivering from cold or nerves, Hermione couldn't tell.
Viktor Krum was standing tall beside him, his hair freshly shaved. He was dressed in a blood-red tight fitting tee and some black shorts. His face was stony and still, emotionless.
Harry was in a red and gold striped Gryffindor singlet and some grey shorts. His hair was messy and tousled, his glasses slightly askew. He looked so much younger than he was.
Hermione's eye was caught by Fleur beside him. Her hair was up for once. The platinum blonde, silvery mane was knotted into a bun on top of her head. She was dressed in navy sports leggings and a powder blue crop top. Hermione felt her jaw slacken.
No—she was here for Harry.
"Harry," Hermione hissed.
Harry turned around, jumping.
"'Mione!" Harry gasped, "I couldn't find you anywhere this morning. Fleur said something about Slytherins—"
"Don't worry about that right now," Hermione interrupted, "We don't have much time. Are you okay? Feeling all right about your strategy?"
"As all right as I'll ever be," Harry said, sporting a lopsided smile despite the dire situation.
Hermione bit her lip. It was horrible having to see Harry right before he might be shredded to pieces by a dragon.
"Good luck, Harry," Hermione said fiercely, pulling him into a hug.
Hermione hugged Harry as tightly as she could, releasing him only when there was a blinding flash of light.
"Oh, young love!" a sickly sweet voice rang out.
"That's Skeeter," Harry muttered under his breath to Hermione, a scowl overtaking his features.
"We aren't in love," Hermione told the woman flatly. She had blonde curly hair in a short bob. She was pale and had blood red lipstick that matched her blood red claw-like nails. In some minds, she might be considered attractive. But Hermione hated the way her features were contorted into a sinister looking smirk. Everything about her screamed that she was a snake.
"Hmm, a little overly defensive, perhaps?" Rita Skeeter smirked.
"Ignore her," a silky sweet voice beside her murmured.
Hermione finally turned to look at Fleur, her breath catching in her throat. That athletic outfit really left nothing to the imagination. Hermione swallowed heavily.
"Er, good luck Fleur," Hermione croaked.
She didn't even give Fleur a chance to reply, instead ducking out of the tent again.
"Hermione, there you are!" Ginny called out, waving to Hermione.
She was walking past the tents amongst the throngs of students. Luna Lovegood was on one side of her and Ron was on the other. Hermione waved, heading over to her friends.
"Hey," Hermione greeted, "Sorry, I just had to check on Harry. I feel awful for him."
Ron, surprisingly, didn't make a jibe about Harry deserving it for putting his name in the goblet. He was looking quite pale and sombre this morning.
"Harry will be fine," Luna said dreamily, "Boys like Harry aren't so easily defeated."
For once, Luna's meaningless drabbles made Hermione cheer up. She actually had a point. If Harry could wriggle out of being killed by Voldemort, he could wriggle out of being killed by a dragon.
Still, Hermione was bloody nervous.
The group managed to get a good seat despite the crowd, only a few rows back. Hermione sat between Ginny and Ron, her jaw tense as she saw the first dragon led out by Charlie Weasley and get set up in the arena.
Ludo Bagman stepped out into the arena, eying the dragon carefully. He kept well at the other end of the arena, smoothing down his bright purple suit. Ludo held his wand against his throat with one hand, and lifted his other arm theatrically.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I welcome you all to the FIIIIIRST TAAAASK of the Triwizard Tournament!" Ludo opened, "We have one hell of a task for our Champions this morning!"
Hermione felt her knuckles turn white as she fisted her hands in her robes nervously.
"This morning our Champions must get past a DRAGON! The dragon will be guarding a clutch of its own eggs—but here's the catch! Among the dragon's eggs is one special gold egg. Our Champions must get past the dragon, retrieve the egg and make it back in one piece in order to complete the Task!"
Hermione winced. It wasn't like she had expected the full task would somehow make it easier, but it was still jarring hearing the extent of what Harry would have to pull off.
"Now, back behind the scenes, we've had our Four Champions select their dragon, as well as their order," Ludo Bagman continued, "First up, we will have CEDRIIIIC DIGORRY—"
The Hogwarts students erupted into wild cheers.
"—Facing off against a Swedish Short-Snout!"
The crowd was deafening now, the full audience reacting to the dragon choice and excited for the competition to get started.
With a little more fanfare and theatrics from Ludo Bagman, the Head of Magical Games and Sports leapt over a partition to safely settle himself into a seat away from the action.
Cedric emerged, looking even more pale and boyish than usual.
Hermione felt her stomach wrench. She really didn't want to see a teenager slaughtered by a dragon in front of her.
Cedric's hand was noticeably trembling as he stepped further into the arena.
The Swedish Short-Snout was sitting quite quietly at the other end of the arena, but was watching Cedric carefully.
Cedric kept taking careful steps forward.
He had got about a third of the way across the arena with his slow steps before the Short-Snout suddenly sat up, letting out a deafening roar.
Cedric froze in his tracks, any remaining blood in his face draining.
"Blimey!" Ron yelped, "Diggory looked like he was about to piss himself!"
"With good reason!" Hermione commented, her eyes glued to the dragon as it began to slowly step forward.
Cedric suddenly shot out a spell, which bounced off the dragon's skin.
"Dragon hide is virtually impenetrable!" Hermione shouted, waving a hand in frustration, "He must know that!"
"Damn, Hermione," Ginny commented beside her, "I've never seen you so passionate about sports."
The dragon was angered now, marching towards Cedric at pace. Cedric, positively quaking now, cast a spell at a rock. The rock slowly began to turn brown and fluffy.
"What in the bloody hell is he doing?" Ron asked, baffled, "Turning a rock into a giant cushion?"
The Short-Snout got within swinging distance of Cedric, swiping a clawed arm out at the Hufflepuff.
Cedric dodged, but apparently not fast enough. He landed roughly, a hand tightly gripping an arm. Crimson blood began to run down his pale arm.
Fortunately, the rock had finally formed into some kind of misshapen dog, letting out a distracting gravelly bark. The dragon fixated on it immediately, gnashing its teeth angrily.
As the dragon was distracted, Cedric stumbled in, grabbing the golden egg.
It took him some time to get back, ducking between rocks while the dragon chased the rock-dog. But eventually Cedric got back, wincing as he held the egg up.
The cheers from the crowd drowned out Ludo's commentary as Cedric was quickly accompanied back out of the arena and to the tents.
Next up was Viktor. He was not as visibly nervous as Cedric, but was still noticeably cautious of the dragon.
He seemed more intelligent about his approach, if not a little brutish. He cast a nasty looking hex that hit his dragon right in the eyes, causing it to panic and trample its own eggs. Hermione couldn't help but feel for the poor mother dragon. She could see Charlie Weasley noticeably swearing on the sidelines, angered at the destruction of the mother's eggs.
Still—Viktor got his egg.
Hermione wasn't even listening to the commentary or crowd's response to Krum. No. She knew Fleur and Harry were still to come.
Ludo introduced Fleur next.
Fleur stepped confidently into the arena, standing with her hands on her hips. Yet again, Hermione found herself slack jawed at Fleur's appearance. Her Beauxbatons uniform showed off her figure as it was, but this was ridiculous.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Hermione felt an awkward fluttering in her stomach.
'Damn, am I really that gay that I'm checking out Fleur?' Hermione thought wildly to herself, 'Who am I kidding… Who wouldn't appreciate how utterly gorgeous she is?!'
"Meeeerliiin!" Ron exclaimed, letting out a low whistle, "Check out Fleur Delacour!"
Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs, hard.
"Hey! Don't talk about her like that!" Hermione exclaimed—despite the fact she had, in fact, been checking out Fleur Delacour.
Ron rolled his eyes.
Hermione didn't notice though. She was transfixed with the blonde. She wanted her to do well.
Fleur stepped out, confident as always, eying the dragon as if it were an equal. Hermione wondered what Fleur's strategy would be.
Fleur held out an elegant wand, swirling it slowly as she muttered words.
"What spell d'ya think she's doing?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"Shush! I'm watching Fleur!" Hermione hissed.
Suddenly, Fleur ceased the slow swirls, flicking her hand in complicated moments. A silvery beam shot out from her wand, pink flashes sparking off the beam as it travelled through the air.
The crowd let out a collective 'ooh' as the strange spell-beam arced through the air.
Hermione was fascinated. She'd never seen such complex wand work. Fleur was gifted.
The spell hit the dragon right in the eyes. Hermione winced a little, waiting for whatever cruel effect would take hold on the dragon. But the dragon just fell asleep, curling up on the ground calmly.
Fleur strolled across the arena then, gliding confidently as if she were merely on her way to class.
The crowd was going wild, people standing on their feet and whooping. All Hermione could hear was cheers and catcalls for Fleur. She found herself getting to her feet, her hands at her mouth.
Fleur plucked the gold egg easily out of the bunch, putting it under one arm and heading back towards the other end of the arena.
She was just about there, just about at the end of the arena, when suddenly the dragon let out a snore and a jet of flames.
"Fleur!" Hermione screamed in horror.
Fleur turned around, her eyes widening with surprise. She athletically flipped out of the way, the flames seeming to lick at her but not quite get her.
She landed with fine form at the end of the arena.
The crowd went wild.
Fleur smiled cockily, lifting the egg up above her head. But Hermione could see a slight wince pinching her pretty features. Evidently the flames had got her.
Hermione paled, biting her lip. Her stomach was in knots.
She didn't have time to dwell on it though, as Harry was rapidly brought out to face off against a Hungarian Horntail.
Harry looked so wiry and vulnerable. Hermione was full of terror for her best friend.
Harry stepped out into the arena and the crowd went deathly silent. It seemed everyone was unsure of how he would go.
"Potter Stinks!" a voice called out from a green and silver cluster of Slytherins.
"You can do it Harry!" Hermione shouted out.
"Yeah, come on, Harry!" Ginny chimed in.
"Harry, you've got it mate!" Ron shouted out, to Hermione's surprise. Ron shrugged beside her.
Harry lifted his wand, calling out "accio Firebolt!"
Hermione tensed. Nothing seemed to happen.
The crowd began murmuring.
Harry, undeterred, stepped closer towards the dragon.
"No, no, no, no," Hermione muttered.
The Hungarian Horntail raised up, roaring. The sound sent a chill down Hermione's spine. She felt like she was going to throw up.
She reached out her hands, one hand grabbing Ginny's, one hand grabbing Ron's. She squeezed them so tightly her knuckles were white.
"Come on, Harry," Ron urged beside her.
There was an almighty roar as the dragon opened its mouth and breathed a large plume of fire at Harry.
Ginny let out a blood-curdling scream beside Hermione, squeezing her hand back. Ron's mouth fell open in horror. Hermione went numb. They couldn't see Harry because of how big the flames were.
As the flames and smoke finally subsided, the group got to their feet. Collective sighs were released as they saw Harry, ducked behind a rock, his chest heaving.
Thank God for his Quidditch reflexes.
The Horntail was not deterred, swiping a clawed arm out and tossing the rock aside as if it were a mere pebble. Exposed once again, Harry looked up at the dragon, his face set with determination.
"This dragon is way more aggressive than the other ones!" Ron protested, "It's not bloody fair!"
The dragon roared again, releasing another large plume of flames and smoke.
Hermione squeezed Ginny and Ron's hands so tightly she was sure she would break bones. But that was the least of her fears right now. It felt like her heart was in her throat. She was sure Harry wouldn't have had time to dodge that one.
But as the smoke and flames cleared, Harry was okay and standing there in one piece. Better than okay. He was holding his arm in their air, firmly clutching his Firebolt.
"It bloody worked!" Hermione gasped, tears springing to her eyes.
Harry quickly mounted his broom, kicking off from the dirt ground of the arena and flying up into the air.
The next five minutes felt like thirty as Harry had considerable trouble losing the dragon, even with his skilled flying.
But finally, thankfully, Harry snatched the golden egg as easily as if it were a large snitch. He came to a landing on the ground, holding the egg triumphantly above his head.
The crowd went well and truly insane, students of all schools cheering at the insane and death-defying feat they had just witnessed.
Hermione didn't wait for scores, leaving Ginny, Luna and Ron to get the details. She had to see Harry. And Fleur. She couldn't believe she'd just seen both of them cheat death back to back.
Hermione was just about at the tents when she was accosted by Neville, carrying yet another bloody potplant.
"Hey Hermione!" Neville greeted, as casually as if their classmates hadn't just faced off against dragons mere minutes earlier.
"Hey Neville," Hermione replied distractedly, "I'm actually just on my way to see Harry, so…"
"Oh I just wanted to share this murtlap with you," Neville replied, handing her a fistful of leaves, "You said you were interested."
With all the drama lately, Hermione had entirely forgotten her curiosity over murtlap and its effect on magical creatures. She grabbed the leaves from Neville, eager to just end the conversation and get back to checking in on her friends.
"Right, well, thanks—" Hermione started.
"You know, if you're interested in plants, I just heard about a really cool one!" Neville babbled enthusiastically, "Gillyweed! You see, it—"
"Thanks, but I'm really in a hurry, Neville," Hermione interrupted. She felt a bit rude, but she had priorities.
"Oh, right," Neville replied, smiling shyly, "Well, er, see you around, Hermione."
Hermione nodded politely but impatiently, taking off again. She ducked inside the main tent, looking around eagerly.
Sure enough, beside a surly looking Krum was Harry. He was having an ointment rubbed on his arm by Madam Pomfrey.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, unable to stop herself from beaming, "You did it! A perfect summoning spell!"
"Yeah," Harry replied, smiling his little lopsided smile, "Thank God, right? Got a few burns though, but nothing major."
Hermione looked at the burn that Madam Pomfrey was attending to. It hardly looked 'nothing major,' but she wasn't about to rain on Harry's parade.
"Er, have you seen Fleur?" Hermione asked. Now she knew Harry was okay, she had to check on Fleur.
"She just finished being healed," Harry shrugged, "She's gone back to the girls' tent for a moment before the scores are released. If you want to talk to her, you should do it now before Maxime comes back from the stands."
"Right," Hermione blushed, nodding. Harry looked at her curiously, but just nodded back.
Hermione hurriedly left the tent, ducking into the tent she'd confirmed was the girls'.
Standing with her back to Hermione was Fleur. She was still in her athletic gear, a little dirty on one side, but otherwise in one piece. She was stretching her arms out, oblivious to her visitor in the tent.
Hermione, instead of immediately announcing her presence, took a moment to take in Fleur's appearance. Fleur really was stunningly gorgeous. She looked much shorter outside of her heels, about Hermione's height, or even a little shorter than the brunette. She had a small frame with a petite waist and lean limbs. However, as Hermione's eyes dragged down Fleur's toned back to her ass, she confirmed that Fleur still had curves where it mattered.
Fleur turned around suddenly.
"Er—Uh—I was just—Hi!" Hermione stammered, blushing with awkwardness.
"'Ermione!" Fleur called out, rushing over to the brunette. She pulled her into a tight hug. Her body pressed so tightly against Hermione's was doing nothing to ease the brunette's awkwardness.
"Y-You were bloody brilliant, Fleur," Hermione said, "The complexity of your wandwork, the humane way in which you dealt with the dragon, that fantastic flip at the end… Wow!"
"Merci," Fleur smiled warmly, releasing Hermione from the embrace. Her smile faltered for a moment, "Wait, what 'appened to your teeth?"
Hermione touched at her lip self-consciously, closing her mouth for a moment to hide her teeth.
"Er, I may have let Madam Pomfrey reduce them just a slight bit more," Hermione confessed, "I always hated how they were a little buck."
"I zought it was cute," Fleur said, pouting slightly.
Hermione felt a warm blush burn her cheeks again. She was running on fumes today, not having slept much at all the previous evening. That and the non-stop drama over the past 24 hours had totally exhausted her. She was in no position to take unexpected compliments from a gorgeous girl.
"I… Uh…" Hermione stammered for the third time. She was never at a loss for words—to a fault! How many times had her fellow students got annoyed at her for speaking her mind or butting in? And now? The famous Hermione Granger was rendered speechless. Not by a great academic problem, but by a pretty girl.
"What is zis?" Fleur asked curiously. She plucked the bundle of leaves from Hermione's hand, before the brunette could register what was happening.
"No, wait—" Hermione started.
Fleur brought the leaves to her face, inhaling deeply.
"Oh! Murtlap…" Fleur's words trailed off.
Hermione snatched the leaves back from Fleur's hand, tossing them to the floor quickly.
"Fleur, are you okay? I heard that murtlap can affect—"
"Magical Creatures, oui," Fleur replied, breaking out in a goofy smile and giggling. Hermione was stunned.
Then she noticed it. Fleur's pupils were HUGE.
"Fleur?"
Fleur looked at Hermione, a slightly glazed look to her eyes.
"'Ermione, 'ave you always 'ad such curly 'air?" Fleur asked, cocking her head to one side, she reached out, running a hand through it, "Woah, it feels so good! You should… You should make a potion of this…"
"Of what? My hair?" Hermione asked, furrowing her brows.
Fleur didn't seem to follow, suddenly paying attention to her hand as it ran through Hermione's hair.
"Do my 'ands look weird to you?" Fleur asked.
She pulled her hands up and held them in front of her face, gazing at them intently.
"Are you… high?" Hermione gasped, suddenly realising the effect the murtlap had had on Fleur.
Fleur giggled in response, before suddenly looking confused.
"Wait, what were we talking about?" Fleur asked.
"Merlin, Merlin, Merlin!" Hermione gasped, pacing about the small tent, "I have to get you out of here before Maxime sees you. Before they announce the scores! You could get disqualified. Or worse—expelled!"
"An ex… spell…" Fleur commented, giggling again, "Because I wouldn't be able to do spells anymore?"
"Right," Hermione agreed absently, grabbing Fleur by the arm.
She had to get the blonde out of there. But to where? And how long would the effects of the murtlap last? She had no clue.
But maybe the book from Hagrid explained it. It was on her bedstand in the Gryffindor dormitories.
"Come on," Hermione urged, pulling Fleur out of the tent.
"Where are we going?" Fleur asked, a relaxed smile on her face.
"To get some answers," Hermione replied simply, dragging the girl with her.
Hermione had been terrified that someone would spot her absconding with the Beauxbatons Champion. But thankfully, everyone was still in the arena awaiting the scores. She pulled Fleur across the lawn and into the castle with minimal issues—apart from Fleur being highly distractible.
"I knew I never should have started this," Hermione cursed to herself. If only she had never started her research project in the first place. She never would have asked Neville for murtlap and never would have ended up accidentally getting Fleur high. Now the blonde was risking expulsion because of her. Not to mention the consequences Hermione would face if everyone found out she was the one to drug the Beauxbatons Champion. Mistake or not, it would definitely look like she was attempting to rig the competition in Harry's favour.