Chapter 14: Hold at All Costs

"Thanks for the tip Cedric."

Harry watched the older boy walk away, wondering if the help he offered was sincere or not. Cedric seemed like a genuine like-able guy, the ideal image of what a Hufflepuff should look like. Harry couldn't help but feel skeptical about his intentions because of the older champion's drive to win. He even had to admit that even though he was over his crush with Cho Chang, her dating Cedric was still a sore spot for Harry.

Regardless, he decided that he would broach the subject with Ron and Hermione, which was another challenge in and of itself. After their spat at the Yule Ball, both of his best friends had been avoiding each other. It was true that they weren't as hostile as they would normally get, but the aversion was still something that grated Harry's already stressed nerves.

The end of January brought forth two things that caused two conflicting feelings inside Harry. First off was that the full moon was nearing and there was no relief in sight for the discomfort that came along with it. Unfortunately, his symptoms were not missed by Hermione and he could feel her worrying eyes on him whenever he first entered the same room as her. Deep down he was touched that she cared so much and wanted to look out for him, but at the same time, her attention was somewhat aggravating especially considering that under the moon's effects, he was ultra-sensitive to smells and he could practically smell the anxiety coming off of her.

On the other side of the spectrum was that the second match of the interschool Quidditch tournament was later that day, so he was able to focus on the match as an anchor to try and stave off his more basic instincts. Even with Quidditch practice occupying a lot of his free time, the frequency of it added to the stress, so being able to just watch a game was a breath of fresh air.

As he moved along the corridors of the castle, he caught the familiar scent of his bookworm best friend. He was able to pick out her natural smell very easily due to their increased time together and was able to determine that it wasn't coming from the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Following it, he figured that there was only one other place that Hermione could be. The Library.

-HP-

"Hey Hermione."

Hermione looked over the pile of books currently in her arms and saw the source of this voice heading her way.

"Hello Harry. Would you mind helping me with som-"

Her words were cut off when she accidently stepped on a random piece of parchment and lost her footing, sending all of her books into the air. Harry reacted quickly and caught her around the waist and managed to catch all her books with the other hand.

"Wow. Thanks Harry."

"Don't mention it." It was after a moment or two that he realized that his arm was still around her waist and removed it as if he had been burned. Her brow furrowed as he turned around and headed towards their usual table. Harry had been acting strangely around her ever since the Yule Ball. She immediately feared that maybe he didn't mean the kind things he said that night and felt weird around her.

She hoped he didn't.

What he said to her that night were the nicest things that anyone had ever said to her. Even though she had a wonderful time with Viktor, the confrontation with Ron had spoiled the evening, almost completely ruining it. If it wasn't for Harry's intervention, the night would have neem a total bust. She was unsure of how that night effected their relationship or even how to approach talking with Harry about.

As soon as the thought returned to her head, she banished it as quickly as it had manifested. Harry didn't need any sort of distraction this year because of the tournament. She decided to resolve the issue as soon as their fourth was over.

She suddenly became aware of the fact that she hadn't moved yet, and had simply been watching Harry as he set the books on the table, and took a seat waiting for her to join him. Blushing slightly, she made way towards the table and began conversing idly with Harry. Things were going well until Harry's lessons with Remus were brought up.

"How are your lessons with Lupin going?"

"They're going good. We're making good progress." She had noticed a brief look of guilt cross his face before it was replaced with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Harry, you know that if something is up you can talk to me right?"

"Everything's fine Hermione." Even though he did his best to hide it, she picked on the hint of aggravation in his voice. Shed decided to change the subject to the upcoming Quidditch match.

"Are you excited for the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons match later?"

His demeanor immediately improved. "Definitely. I can't wait to check out the competition." It made her smile that even with such a daunting task ahead of him, that Harry could still find something in the world that could bring him joy. They continued to sit together until it was time for them to head down to the Quidditch pitch for the match.

-HP-

The match had gone exactly how many of those in attendance thought it would. The Durmstrang team completely dominated the other team partially because they had the world's greatest seeker, but also because the team was just outright better. The match was over in less than 15 minutes, Krum catching the snitch to make the score 280 to 30.

Harry and Hermione made their way back to the common room where they found Ron going on about how well Krum had performed. Hermione didn't even want to conceal the scoff that escaped her lips. Ron looked like he wanted to say something but Harry deflected the potential argument by motioning towards their usual spot in front of the fire.

"Enough you two. I've got something that I've got to tell you." That got her attention and it appeared that it go Ron too. They took their seat and waited for Harry to continue.

"Cedric approached me earlier and told me to take a bath with my egg." Confusion settled on all of the trio's faces. What could that hint possibly mean? Hermione simply couldn't determine what that would solve.

Ron was the first person to find his voice. "Well that's completely mental. He's probably just trying to trick you Harry and hope you don't figure out the clue."

"Honestly Ron, do you think that low of Cedric. He probably wants to repay Harry for telling him about the dragons."

"I still don't understand why you would do that mate."

"Well either way, I plan on using the Prefect's bathroom. Cedric told me the password and I'll see if I can figure this out."

Hermione nodded her head in acceptance of this and Ron did the same albeit with a bit more hesitation. Ron then broached the subject of the next match in the Quidditch tournament.

"You excited to play against Krum Harry?"

"I'm already facing off against him Ron. Remember, there's this tournament going on…" The look on Ron's face showed that he clearly wasn't amused by Harry's antics. "Yes Ron playing Quidditch against him should be fun."

"How are you going to beat him Harry? He's the best in the world!"

"I think I should be able to handle myself." Harry allowed his eyes to flash briefly, the meaning of such a display was not lost on his two best friends.

"I don't think that's a good idea Harry?" The incredulous look that Harry gave Hermione would've been laughable if she didn't think that this was a serious conversation. It was also a necessary one she thought, she'd been trying to find a way to talk about it ever since the First Task.

"What do you mean Hermione?"

"Listen Harry, I know you're not going to like what I'm saying, but you shouldn't use your powers to win a competition."

Harry's face started contorting in anger at those words. "What!? How can you say that Hermione? What about the tournament?"

"That's different Harry. The tasks could be a matter of life and death. The most important thing is for you to survive." She smiled at Harry trying to reassure him that she only meant good. His face did relax slightly, but the anger was still present. "I think however, that using them in Quidditch isn't fair for other people."

Ron now had a similar look of outrage on his face, which only seemed to fuel Harry's anger further. "What if he can't help it?"

"He needs to learn control!"

At the word control, that familiar flash of guilt crossed Harry's face before his previous demeanor returned. He stood up very suddenly and seemed to try to look anywhere besides in her direction.

"I'm going to get the egg and try and figure out the clue. I'll see you guys around." He then made a B-line towards the dormitory, leaving a startled Ron and Hermione behind.

"Good going Hermione. Don't you think he has enough on his plate without you breathing down his neck?"

Hermione had the sense to look ashamed at that admission. She had forgotten that Harry's affliction wasn't something that he could switch on or off. At least not yet. Stressing him out while he had to deal with the tournament only seemed to be counter-productive.

"I…I didn't mean to be overbearing."

"Well serves you right."

Hermione's anger reared in full force again, now completely directed towards Ron now. "I've done nothing to deserve you treating me like this accept for caring about Harry. And besides, you only egged him on just like with the broom last year."

"Don't try to blame this on me. If you knew when to keep mind your own business we wouldn't be havin-"

He suddenly stopped when he saw Harry return from the boy's dorm, Hermione turned around hoping to apologize to him, but he continued his stride passed them and out into the corridor.

-HP-

After figuring out the clue, Harry spent hours of each day since in the library with Ron and Hermione. The issue of Harry's abilities hadn't been addressed since the heated conversation, but they had all reached an agreement to forget about it.

"Come on Harry! We need to keep looking." Though she was trying to remain optimistic, Harry could tell that the lack of results for her search was weighing on her as well. With only a little less than 24 hours until the task, they had only found one useful spell in all the tomes they searched.

"Well besides the Bubblehead Charm, which I can't even conjure for 10 minutes let alone an hour, nothing in any of these books is in any way useful." He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see Hermione standing there, looking at him reassuringly with Ron mirroring that look a few feet back.

"We'll find something Harry. You can do this." Harry appreciated the sentiment and turned back into the advanced charm book for answers.

After another hour of searching, they were approached by Neville. "Hey guys. What are you guys up to?"

"Looking for something to help Harry with the Second Task."

"Okay, what are you looking for?"

Harry answered this time. "Something that will allow me to breathe underwater for an hour."

Neville pondered that for a moment, before his eyes widened in realization. "You know, you could always use Gilly weed." Hermione's eyes widened as well at this, before rushing forward and hugging Neville.

"Neville that's brilliant. Thank you." She pounded deeper into the library before anyone could get a word in edge wise. When she returned, Neville had already left leaving just Harry and Ron behind. They found the page about Gilly weed and Hermione read the entry out loud.

"Gilly weed, is a magical plant that allows the eater to grow gills for one hour and also provides them with webbed hands and feet." She paused after this when she read something that could complicate things further. Harry eyed her warily, until she looked up and met his eyes. "Caution should be used by anyone with non-human blood. This could cause complications with the transformation." Hermione and Ron simply looked at Harry, allowing him to make the final decision on what he was going to do.

In truth, Harry didn't know what to do. The book was vague about what would happen if he ate the plant, but did he have much of a choice? After about a minute of thinking it over he decided.

"I think we should keeping looking for any other answers. We should keep the Gilly weed in mind if we can't find an alternative."

Before they could dive back into their reading, they noticed Professor McGonagall walking towards them.

"Do you need me for something Professor?"

"No Potter, but I do need to see Mister Weasley and Miss Granger in my office."

Confused as to what she wanted with them, they bid Harry goodbye before following the Transfiguration Professor out of the library. Harry continued to study until it was time for curfew, before heading up to get some sleep before the task the following day.

Author's Note-

Hey guys hope you liked this chapter. While I was writing it, I knew that I wanted a chapter between the Yule Ball and the Second Task, but it was difficult deciding what I wanted to happen here and what I want to happen a little later.

As always, Thanks for reading!