办不到
A Fan Fiction Story by Gfyuwatr7
Author's Note: I'm back again now! This is real fantasy! Cause I ain't playin' around! Now! 다칠 준비가 돼있어!
I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. :p
To chaosrin: Thanks for the input, I admit that chapter 7 was not my best work. I hope this one is a bit better. Also, good guesses on the woman's identity, but you'll see soon enough.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, its characters, story, movies and books, all belong to J.K. Rowling.
A week after the Second Task
March had arrived, and with it, some changes not only in the weather, but also in the castle. The fact that Cho had been Harry's 'treasure' during the Second Task was causing her to be teased endlessly by both friends and strangers alike. At first they had been concerned, asking her how she had ended up in the Black Lake in the first place. After she had explained that Dumbledore had simply placed them all in an enchanted sleep and that she hadn't felt anything, they became relieved. Cho had thought that would be the end of it.
She was wrong.
Now, everywhere she went, Cho would get comments about when she would become 'Mrs. Potter', and other such things. She knew it was all in good fun, but that didn't stop her from getting annoyed at it all.
Not all of the attention was positive. Some girls would glare at her as she walked by through the corridors, and would start to whisper things behind her back. Cho realized that she was now facing the consequences of being Harry Potter's girlfriend. And it'll only get worse from here on out, she thought gloomily to herself. If Harry won the tournament, that would put him even further in the spotlight, as well as anyone else involved with him. This was something Marietta would bring up to her constantly.
Thinking of her friend, she sighed in frustration. Marietta had not been herself since the end of the Task. She was much moodier than usual, and would constantly try to put a damper on Cho whenever she would visit Harry at the Gryffindor table and vice versa during supper. This is probably all Cedric's fault! Cho thought angrily. I knew something like this would happen!
Since the last Task, Cedric had reverted to his usual surly self. It seemed that he knew the woman who had been his treasure for the Task on a personal level. No one even knew who she was, only that she wasn't a student. Cedric had been ecstatic to see her, but also slightly angry. When they had been walking back to the castle, Cho had caught a glimpse of them, looking annoyed at each other. She was to far away to tell what they were saying.
By the next day, she was gone, and Cedric had reverted to his usual self, or perhaps even worse. He wouldn't talk to anyone, and whenever someone asked him who that woman was, he wouldn't answer, and would simply walk away. Needless to say, he and Marietta weren't seeing each other anymore.
Speaking of which…
"Cho, we need to talk," Marietta said somberly, holding a copy of Witch Weekly in her hand. They were currently in the common room of Ravenclaw Tower, studying for their exams.
"Um, sure, what's wrong?" Cho asked hesitantly, eyeing the paper warily.
"I'm really sorry, I wish you didn't have to hear this from me," Marietta continued, handing her the paper. Cho looked at the heading of the article Marietta was pointing out. It read, in a familiar script and prose, Harry Potter's Secret Heartache.
Oh, this should be good, Cho thought sarcastically. She continued to read. As she did, she noticed Marietta watching her closely, hoping for some noticeable reaction from her. She tried to keep her face as neutral as possible. Reading the article, she couldn't believe Marietta continued to put such complete faith in Rita Skeeter's brand of journalism. It was so obviously full of 废话 (nonsense),that she was surprised Rita hadn't been fired yet.
Some quotes were, "A boy like no other, perhaps…" (She's not wrong there, Cho thought slyly.) "…he had found solace in steady girlfriend, Muggle-born Hermione Granger…a plain but ambitious girl…" (Oh my, I wonder if she's seen this yet.) "…she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, (That Pansy Parkinson girl is such a numptie)…Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate." She finished the article, and she wasn't sure whether to feel angry or sad at this poor woman.
"Well?!" Marietta asked impatiently. "Are you going to break up with him or not?"
"Over something like this?" Cho asked incredulously. "I don't think so. Seems like Rita Skeeter's lost her touch. But how is she getting her information?" she wondered aloud, remembering the part in the article that mentioned that Viktor Krum had invited Hermione to Bulgaria over the Summer. "Unless she's making it all up…"
"Cho!" Marietta snapped, bringing Cho back from her reverie quite violently. "Don't you think this is worth looking into?" she continued more quietly, noticing that others in the common room were looking at them strangely.
"No, I don't think so," Cho said firmly. She rose from her seat on the couch, gathering her books as she went, and began heading for the exit. "I'm going to see Harry right now, so I might ask him. But don't hold your breath." She paused, trying to understand things from her friend's current state of mind. "Look, I know you're worried for me because of what happened with Cedric…" She didn't manage to finish, because as soon as she mentioned Cedric, Marietta turned an ugly shade of red.
"Don't talk to me about Cedric!" she practically screamed. "Ever!" She stormed off to their dormitory and slammed the door shut behind her. Cho stood there, not really knowing what to do. She knew Marietta, was used to her outbursts of emotion, but this time was different. She usually apologized to her almost immediately.
I suppose I'll just have to leave her some space for a while, Cho thought sadly. She gathered her belongings together, and with one last look toward the dormitory, she left the common room.
Later…
"I'm sorry about Marietta," Harry said quietly to Cho as they walked through the school grounds. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I know what's it like to not have your best friend have your back."
"I know," Cho said sadly. "I just knew this would happen. Not like this, exactly, but I knew Cedric was going to hurt her, one way or another. Maybe if he were like he used to be…"
"I noticed that something was off about him lately," Harry said thoughtfully. "When he told me about the egg and taking it to the prefects' bathroom, he just seemed so serious and nonchalant."
"Yeah, that sounds like him," she huffed exasperatedly. She turned to him suddenly and said, "Let's talk about something else, though." She smiled slyly at him. "Maybe about tomorrow..?"
"Yeah, about that…" Harry said hesitantly. Cho knew, by his tone of voice, that her weekend wasn't going to be quite as fun as she had hoped. He continued, "I got a letter from…" he paused, looking slightly guilty. "From a friend of my parents. He asked if we could meet up at Hogsmeade tomorrow."
Cho knew when someone was lying to her, and she could tell that Harry was truly sorry for canceling their plans. Even so, the small pause he let slip told her that he was still hiding something. On the outside, she appeared disappointed and said, "That's ok, I understand. You want to learn more about your family." And she wasn't lying; she knew that if it were up to her, she would probably want to know more about her father.
"I…that's right," Harry replied, looking surprised that she had guessed this information. "I promise we'll do something before the final Task."
"I'm holding you to that," Cho warned mockingly. She then started to laugh as Harry began tickling her playfully. He began chasing her around the grounds, both of them laughing hysterically. Eventually, they collapsed near the edge of the Black Lake, but putting a fair amount of distance between them and the shore.
"By the way, Cho," Harry said, still trying to recover from their laughter. "I was wondering, you haven't seen the latest Witch Weekly, have you?"
"I did see it, actually," Cho said with mock severity. She decided she was going to have some fun with Harry by torturing him. "I'm offended that Rita didn't even mention me in the article. Maybe she thought we weren't actually dating. I wonder why that would be?"
"Uh," Harry mumbled, clearly clueless as to what he should say.
She continued, "I think maybe she didn't realize we were on a date at the moment. Maybe that means we should be more affectionate towards each other in public." She turned to him innocently and asked, "What do you think, Harry?"
"Well," he said after a pause, turning a familiar shade of red. "I-well, I think-maybe-" She didn't allow him to finish.
"You could put your arm around my shoulder or my waist while walking down the hall," she continued, watching out of the corner of her eye, noticing with delight how Harry was turning more and more red by the second. "Maybe we could get a little more daring and we could snog out in public, too. For about half an hour."
"Uh," Harry uttered again, though not in confusion. It sounded more husky than anything else.
"Or," she added slyly, "we could mention to our friends that we'll sneak out of the castle at night to find someplace…private, just the two of us."
She let him sweat for a few seconds, as he tried to form a coherent sentence (and failing), then had mercy on him and said, "I'm joking, Harry."
"Oh," he said, looking relieved (but also slightly disappointed, she noted). "I knew that." They stayed by the edge of the Lake for some time, wanting to relish the what little time they had. Cho even managed to get some practice conjuring the Patronus Charm, which she had neglected for some time. It was still weak, but perhaps it was a trick of the light, it seemed to be growing brighter. She didn't say it, but the memories she was using were of their time together.
Unknowingly, they were being watched by a shadow from the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Eventually, as Cho and Harry were walking back to the castle hand in hand, the shadow turned and moved away towards Hogsmeade.
The Next Day…
The next day, the sky was dull and gray, and the weather was milder than it had been of late. By the time Harry, Ron, and Hermione had arrived to Hogsmeade, they had taken their cloaks off and thrown them around their shoulders. They spent some time perusing the shops, picking out a gift for Dobby the house-elf, then made their way to the end of the village, past Dervish and Banges. They were approaching the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. Turning a corner, they encountered a large, shaggy black dog. It was carrying a bundle of newspapers in its mouth, and it seemed oddly familiar…
"Hello, Sirius," Harry said as they reached him. The black dog sniffed the bag of food they had brought with them, and wagging its tail, it turned and began walking on a path that seemed to lead up the mountain. The others followed, stepping over a gate and walking on the dirt road.
They followed Sirius to the very foot of the mountain, and a path emerged that led upwards. They followed him up for about half an hour, climbing a steep, winding, and stony path. Eventually, Sirius vanished, and when they reached the spot he had last been, they saw a narrow fissure in the rock. They squeezed into it, and found themselves in a cool, dark cave. On one side of the cave lied Buckbeak the hippogriff, a half horse, half giant eagle. As was necessary, they bowed low to it, and Buckbeak responded by bending his scaly front knees and bowing slightly.
As Ron and Hermione went to greet Buckbeak, Harry stayed where he was, staring at the dog who had just morphed into his godfather. Sirius was wearing dark, ragged gray robes, the same ones he had been using when he escaped Azkaban. His hair was longer and matted. He looked very thin.
"Chicken!" he said hoarsely after taking the newspapers out of his mouth and throwing them to the side. Harry opened the bag and handed it to him.
"Thanks," Sirius said, opening it, taking out a drumstick and tearing off a large chunk of it with his teeth. He set the bag down and sat down on the cave floor. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself." He grinned up Harry, but he only returned it reluctantly.
"What are you doing here, Sirius?" he asked.
"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," Sirius said, gnawing on the chicken bone. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be lovable stray." He was still smiling, but Harry remained serious. Noticing this, Sirius followed suit and said, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter…well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried." He nodded at the yellowing newspapers on the ground, and Ron picked them up and unfolded them. Harry, however, continued to stare at Sirius.
"What if they catch you? What if you're seen?"
"You three and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus," Sirius said, and continued eating his food.
As they stayed there, they began to discuss the contents of the newspapers Sirius had been collecting. They all seemed to be about Barty Crouch and Bertha Jorkins, an employee at the Ministry of Magic who had been missing for some time. Crouch himself had not been seen since the Second Task, and people were wondering where he was.
They discussed many things at length, trying to figure out why Crouch had gone missing, and of his personal history.
"D'you know Crouch, then?" Harry asked.
Sirius's face darkened, and he looked as he did the night Harry first met him, menacing. "Oh, I know Crouch all right," he muttered. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban-without a trial."
"What?!" Ron and Hermione exclaimed in unison.
"You're kidding?" Harry said in disbelief. He could't believe what he was hearing.
"No, I'm not," Sirius replied, taking another great bite of chicken. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?"
They all shook their heads. He proceed to explain to them Crouch's career path, how he ruthlessly took down Voldermort's supporters, and how people began to view him as the next potential Minister of Magic. These events were during Voldermort's first reign of terror over the Wizarding world, a time of great uncertainty and fear. Crouch was seen by many as a savior, or at the very least as someone who was willing to stand up to Voldermort. However, something happened to change all of that.
"Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban," Sirius said, smiling grimly. "Apparently they were trying to find Voldermort and return him to power."
"Crouch's son was caught?!" Hermione gasped.
"Yep," Sirius replied, throwing his chicken to Buckbeak. "Betrayed is more like it. I heard he was ratted out by a fellow Death Eater, at that. Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine."
"Was his son a Death Eater?" Harry asked.
"No idea," Sirius said, scarfing down bread. "I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out."
They continued to discuss Crouch's past, his fall from grace, as well as the other strange goings-on at Hogwarts, such as Snape's and Karkaroff's private meetings, and the continued disappearance of Bertha Jorkins. Eventually, Sirius began rubbing his eyes, exhausted from the subject matter of their conversations, and he asked for the time.
"It's half past three," Hermione said.
"You should be heading up to the castle," Sirius said. He got up, but as he did, he paused. Turning to Harry meaningfully, he asked, "Anything else you wanted to talk about?"
Harry, nonplussed, shook his head, and looked toward Ron and Hermione. He was surprised to find them looking at him in the same way. In a second, he realized what they wanted him to talk about.
"I saw something very interesting yesterday by the Black Lake," Sirius began innocently. "This lovely young couple was frolicking by the Lake's edge. I wonder who they were?"
"Sirius, I…" Harry began, but was overcome by Ron and Hermione chortling in the background.
"Look, Harry," Sirius said, still smiling but trying to be serious. "I think it's a good thing you've found someone to spend time with besides Ron and Hermione, I'm not against it at all. In these kinds of times, it's important to have someone special to fight for, an anchor. That's what your parents did when Voldermort first came to power."
Harry nodded his understanding, knowing that his godfather had his back and was looking out for him.
"Now, I know I'm not the most qualified to tell you this, but try not to wander out to see me, all right?" he asked, looking at Harry in particular. "Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission; it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you. Especially you, Harry, and Miss…?"
"Cho Chang," Harry replied, feeling slightly disappointed that Sirius was warning him about danger so obviously. But he was surprised when Sirius said, almost to himself,
"I knew someone named Chang in school and in…I wonder if there are any family ties?"
He shook himself out of his reverie and said sternly to them, "Try not to get into too much trouble. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?"
A few days later…
Cho was heading to the Great Hall for a spot of breakfast, when Hermione almost crashed into her on her way out.
"Ow-I'm so sorry, Cho!" Hermione groaned, nursing her hands painfully. "I didn't see where I was going."
"That's alright," Cho said, looking at Hermione's hands in concern. "Are you alright, Hermione? Those sores make it look like you had bubotuber pus poured on your hands, let me take a look."
"That's more or less what happened," Hermione said, gingerly holding out her hands to her. Cho examined them without poking or prodding, simply observing them for a few seconds.
"These look really bad," Cho finally said. "Was it undiluted? How did this happen?"
"It was undiluted," Hermione said, wincing in pain. "I've started receiving hate mail from people I don't even know. Ugh, this is that Skeeter woman's fault, I just know it!" With that final outburst, Hermione began rushing up the stairs toward the Hospital Wing.
These are the consequences of Rita's article, it seems, Cho thought to herself. If Marietta had reacted negatively to her relationship with Harry over the article, how much more so would others, who didn't know about her and Harry at all? With this in mind, she entered the Great Hall and made a beeline for the Gryffindor table.
Seeing her approaching, Harry beckoned her over. She sat down next to him, drawing a few glances from the other Gryffindors, and said, "Are these the letters?"
"Yeah, they're the ones," Harry said gloomily, looking through them himself. "Be careful with that one, it might still have pus in it. You saw Hermione, I suppose?"
"Yeah, and she mentioned Skeeter," Cho replied. "Can I look through these?"
"Sure, but they're not pleasant to read," Harry said, giving her a few of the letters he had read.
"Be careful with any unopened ones, though," Ron cautioned. "They might have something in them, too."
Cho nodded her understanding and thanks, then turned to the letters in front of her. One read:
I read in Witch Weekly about how you are playing Harry Potter false and that boy has had enough hardship and I will be sending you a curse by next post as soon asI can find a big enough envelope.
I hope she looks after herself, Cho thought worriedly. As she went about her day, she wondered if one day, if enough people knew about her relationship with Harry, she would begin to receive the same kind of threats as Hermione.
Hate mail continued to arrive for Hermione over the following week, and although she followed her friends' advice and stopped opening it, several people sent her Howlers, which exploded at the Gryffindor table and shrieked insults at her for the whole Hall to hear. Even those who didn't read Witch Weekly now knew about the supposed Harry-Krum-Hermione love triangle. Harry was getting sick of telling people that Cho was his girlfriend and not Hermione.
"It'll die down, though," he told Hermione, "if we just ignore it…people got bored with that stuff she wrote about me last time-"
"I want to know how she's listening into private conversations when she's supposed to be banned from the grounds!" Hermione said angrily.
Hermione's obsession with catching Rita Skeeter in the act continued well into the Easter Holidays. She didn't bother asking for help from Harry and Ron, for which they were grateful, because their workload was getting higher and higher by the day. Harry was surprised Hermione could even find the time to pursue her vendetta and keep up with the amount of work they were being given.
Harry continued to write to Sirius frequently, letting him know about anything going on in the castle. Not that there was much to report; things had quieted down somewhat, with the love triangle being the most exciting thing going on at the moment. As per Sirius's suggestion, they had sent a letter to Percy Weasley, Ron's brother and Barty Crouch's assistant. They had asked, as politely as they could lest Percy believe they were up to no good, about the whereabouts and behavior of Mr. Crouch. They had not yet received a reply.
Sirius, in one of his replies to Harry's letters, began asking about his relationship with Cho. This had taken him by surprise, but then he remembered that in his rush to get them back to the castle, Sirius had had no time to ask about what Cho was like. Harry, though glad his godfather was trying to help him in matters other than the tournament, still felt a bit embarrassed to write about his feelings for Cho.
He had never felt anything like this before. In the Muggle world, he had been too young to really think any girl was pretty, and even before his third year, he mostly spent his time indoors (not his choice), before making his way to Diagon Alley after accidentally blowing up his aunt Marge. And after his third year, besides the joy of knowing he had living family who actually cared for him, he thought of Cho Chang, the talented and very pretty Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team.
What he felt now, however, did not feel like just a crush anymore. It felt like much more. He would always wake up thinking of her, and even dreamed of her quite often. Whenever they saw each other, he would always feel as though his heart was about to burst out his chest. He wasn't quite sure what love felt like, but he was almost sure that was what he felt about her.
"It's looking much better, Cho!" Harry exclaimed, looking on in wonder as Cho fought off the boggart/dementor again, with her Patronus looking more and more corporeal by the practice session. It seemed to be taking on the form of a large bird, but they couldn't tell exactly what it was yet.
It was the middle of Easter holidays, with both of them on break from homework and classes. They were currently in the Transfiguration classroom; McGonagall had gotten tired of running into Harry, Ron, and Hermione practicing spells all over the castle, and had agreed to lend them hers while on break. Harry saw this as an opportunity to practice with Cho as well, without having to worry about incurring Professor Moody's wrath.
"Thanks," Cho said, looking tired but relieved at the same time. She felt glad she was finally making progress with the Patronus Charm. The time between the Second Task and this moment had been incredibly busy, practically leaving no time for them to practice or study. "I'd feel pretty bad if I hadn't managed to make any progress at all."
"You're doing fantastic," Harry reassured her, sitting down on a chair nearby and beckoning Cho to him. She did so, and sat on his lap, taking him by surprise. He had been expecting her to sit on another chair near him, but now he was caught in an awkward (but not unpleasant) position.
"Yours is truly corporeal, though," Cho said. "It takes someone really powerful to do that. Not just magically, but emotionally as well. To be able to fight off its effects and manage to think of a positive memory must be exhausting."
"It takes a lot of practice," Harry admitted. "The first few times I faced the boggart, I would always pass out. And that was just a boggart! You've never passed out once."
"Aye, because I've got a great teacher," Cho said, leaning up against him even more. She paused, wondering if she should say what was on her mind, then asked, "Harry, do you mind if I ask what you see when a Dementor comes near you?"
"I…it's not something I've really shared with a lot of people," Harry said quietly. He paused. "I hear my mum being killed by Voldermort."
"I-Harry, I'm so sorry," Cho said, looking up at him. "I shouldn't have-"
"No, it's alright," Harry said gently. "You wanted to know, and I wanted you to know. I knew you would ask sooner or later."
Cho didn't say anything for some time, thinking over what he had said. A part of her felt like hexing herself for asking something like that. Of course they would affect him that way, you idiot! she chided herself. She knew Dementors made one relive their most horrible experience. If she didn't like facing a Dementor, of course Harry had much worse to fear from them!
Coming to a decision, she finally said, "I want to tell you what I remember. Is that okay?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Harry said. "It's not easy admitting your worst fear. I don't want you to feel forced into it just because I told you mine."
"I've wanted to tell you for a while, anyway," Cho gently chided him. "I'm not forcing myself to do anything." She gathered her thoughts, remembering that day, long ago…
"When I was eight years old, me and my parents went out hiking to the Black Cuillin Traverse, north of here," she began. "We made camp in a cave after a while, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, they were gone." She clenched her hands slightly, and Harry held her more tightly in his arms.
She continued, "They were gone for hours, and all I could do was scream for them, begging them to come back. They did eventually, but they never told me what happened, all they would say was that something turned up. I'd never felt so alone…" She felt tears spring to her eyes, and she wiped them away hastily, not wanting Harry to think she was weak.
"I'm really sorry, Cho," Harry said quietly. "We could stop practicing the spell, if you want."
"No, I want to keep learning it," Cho said, smiling up at him. "It's all in the past now. I'm not alone anymore."
Easter and Beyond…
It was not until Easter that they received an answer from Percy. It was a short and irritated letter, claiming that everything was fine and that people should stop badgering him about Mr. Crouch, that he was taking a much deserved break, thank you very much. Along with the letter, Mrs. Weasley had bundled some Easter eggs for them. While Harry and Ron's were the size of dragon eggs, Hermione's was about the size of a chicken's.
"Ron, your mum doesn't read Witch Weekly, by any chance, does she?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," said Ron, whose mouth was full of toffee. "Gets it for the recipes."
Hermione looked sadly at her tiny egg.
Towards the beginning of the Summer term, Harry was starting to wonder how he was supposed to prepare for the Final Task if he didn't even know what it was yet. He was to receive his answer soon.
One day, after Tranfiguration class, Professor McGonagall asked him to stay behind for a brief word. She informed him that he was to head down to the Quidditch field at nine o' clock that evening, to learn about the Third Task.
At half past eight, Harry left the Gryffindor common room. As he arrived at the Great Hall, he met up with Cedric, who was leaving the Hufflepuff common room.
"What d'you reckon it's gonna be?" Cedric asked as they walked out into the night. "Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels; she reckons we have to find treasure."
"That wouldn't be too bad, I suppose," Harry said, thinking of a recent class he had with Hagrid, where they used creatures called Nifflers to dig up buried treasure. However, it turned out to be something quite different.
"What've they done to it?!" Cedric asked indignantly as they laid eyes on the Quidditch field. It had been changed significantly, with what appeared to be hedges growing out in the middle of the field.
"They're hedges!" Harry exclaimed, examining one closely.
"Hello there!" a cheery voice called out. They turned to find Ludo Bagman standing with the other two champions nearby. As they drew nearer, Fleur beamed widely at Harry. Her attitude had changed considerably since the Second Task. He returned her smile weakly, remembering how Cho had reacted the last time he had been friendly with Fleur.
"Well, what d'you think?" Bagman asked expectantly, gesturing his arm toward the hedges. "They're growing out quite nicely, aren't they?" Noticing the looks on Harry and Cedric's faces as he said this, he raised his hands defensively and said, "Don't worry, you'll have your precious Quidditch field back to normal once the Task is over!"
He proceeded to explain the Third Task; they were growing a maze, and in that maze would be a variety of obstacles meant to test them, with the Triwizard Cup at the center of it. Their job would be to get to the center before anyone else can, and simply touch the Cup. Whoever did so would win the Tournament. Harry was surprised; there was no riddle or secret to figure out this time. It would simply be a test of his magical skills. He was beginning to feel quite confident as they all walked back to the castle. Bagman began to walk alongside him, and Harry was sure he was about to start offering to help him again. Help came, however in the form of Viktor Krum, who tapped him on the shoulder lightly.
"Could I haff a vord?"
"Yeah, all right," said Harry, slightly surprised but relieved at the same time.
"Vill you valk vith me?"
"Okay," Harry said curiously. Bagman looked slightly perturbed.
"I'll wait for you, Harry, shall I?"
"No, it's okay, Mr. Bagman," Harry replied, suppressing a smile. " I think I can find the castle on my own, thanks." Harry and Krum began walking away, not towards the Durmstrang ship, but towards the Forbidden Forest.
"What're we going this way for?" Harry asked as they passed by Hagrid's cabin and the Beauxbatons carriage.
"Don't vont to be overheard," Krum replied shortly. At last, they reached a quiet spot past the paddock for the Beauxbatons horses, near the edge of the Forest. Krum stopped in the shade of the trees, and turned to face Harry.
"I vant to know," he said, glowering, "vot there is between you and Hermy-own-ninny."
Harry stared at him on surprise. "Nothing," he said finally, wondering how he was even having this conversation in the first place. Krum continued to glower at him, and Harry, somehow struck anew by how tall Krum was, elaborated. "We're just friends. She's not my girlfriend and she never has been. I already have a girlfriend. It's just that Skeeter woman making things up."
"Hermy-own-ninny talks about you very often," said Krum, looking suspiciously at him.
"Yeah," said Harry, "because we're friends." He couldn't believe that Krum, famous Quidditch Seeker, actually seemed to consider Harry a rival for Hermione's affections, an equal…
"You haff never…you haff not…"
"No," Harry said firmly.
Krum looked slightly happier. He stared at Harry for a moment, then smiling slightly, he said, "You fly very vell. I vos votching at the first task."
"Thanks," Harry said, grinning broadly and suddenly feeling much taller himself. "I saw you at the Quidditch World Cup. The Wronski Feint, you really-"
But at that moment, something moved behind Krum in the trees, and Harry, his instincts honed from other experiences in the Forest, grabbed Krum's arm and pulled him around.
"Vot is it?" he asked.
Harry shook his head, peering closely into the trees where he had seen the movement. He slipped his hand into his robes, reaching for his wand.
Suddenly, a man staggered out of the Forest, from behind a tall oak. His robes were torn and bloody, and he looked as though he had not bathed or shaved in weeks. His skin was a pale gray and his face looked sunken. Harry could not recognize him at first, but then he realized who it was.
It was Mr. Crouch.
2nd AN: Wow, that took a while, didn't it? Don't worry, the next chapter probably won't take so long to write. Probably.
To Guest: The title means 'impossible' in Mandarin Chinese. I'm glad you're liking the story so far!
To AvidReviewer: There really isn't a time frame, I write and upload as often as I can with the events in my life. With my finals almost at an end, I should be able to upload the final chapter soon.
Hope you all like this chapter better than the last one! Keep reviewing, constructive criticism welcome, as well as comments and questions. Hope to upload soon.
Just one more…
