DISCLAIMER! If I owned Harry Potter I would make Hermione and Harry be together and got on with the seventh book

Chapter 16: Third task time

"Harry!" Hermione ran over to Harry's sprawled body. She flipped him onto his back and shook him vigorously.

"Wake up. Come on!"

"Mmm." Harry groaned. His eyes opened slowly.

"Eh? Where am I?"

"Thank God." She sighed. Harry sat up and blinked in the sunlight.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm… fine I think. Hey look Santa."

"Ok definitely not fine."

"Calm down I was just messing with you."

"Can you get up?"

"I think so." He slowly got up. Hermione put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine seriously."

"You always say that. It was a miracle you survived and I'm not taking any chances." They hobbled up to the stairs to the castle.

"Hermione I'm fine just a few bumps and bruises. See I'm walking normally already."

"Oh. So that's why you were so light." Harry chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"Is breakfast over?"

"Almost."

"Ok we should hurry." They wolfed down their breakfast and ran off to Herbology. They reached the greenhouse panting and red in the face. Harry pushed open the door and they slipped in unnoticed. They looked for a spare seat and groaned when the only one left was at the back of the class with Ron and Luna.

They walked over and sat down next to them.

"Hi Luna." Harry whispered. "Ronald." he spat the name as though it was a curse. Luna raised an eyebrow at Hermione who just shook her head in return.

"Has anyone seen Potter and Granger?" Professor Sprout asked the class.

"We're right here." Harry said.

"Well maybe the two of you should pay more attention in roll call. Five points from Gryffindor. Now today we will be studying…"

"Why were you late?" Ron hissed.

"That's none of your business." Hermione said and resumed copying the notes down that were written on the blackboard.

"Can two of you from your table go and get some pots from over there." Professor Sprout said. Luna and Hermione got up and walked to the other side of the greenhouse which contained the shelves upon which hundreds of multicoloured pots stood.

Ron and Harry just sat at the table refusing to say anything.

"Harry. I'm- I'm- I'm sorry."

"Ron how can I believe that? You say you're sorry a million times but you'll still do it again."

"I'm not promising it will never happen again but I'll try."

"Promise?"

"Sure thing." Ron stuck out his hand. "Friends?"

Harry hesitated before shaking Ron's hand. Little did they know that they were being watched by Luna and Hermione.

"Awww how sweet."

"Lets go before they ruin it." They returned with four pots and sat down at the table.

"Which colour do you guys want?" Hermione asked.

"Ooh! I want the pink one!" Luna said.

"O…k. That was weird." Hermione said causing Luna to flush. They spent the rest of the lesson repotting spotty fuzzles, which was incredibly cute for a plant, and chucking dirt at each other. Best of all Ron thought was that him and Harry were friends again.

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Silence hung in the air of the Gryffindor common room. Even the warm, cheery fire and comfortable armchairs couldn't relieve the feeling of complete and utter doom. Three adolescents occupied the armchairs surrounding the fire each one staring at the ground letting their minds wonder to places they never wished to go.

Harry Potter knew something was afoot. He could feel an odd tension in the air as if the whole world was holding its breath. He tore his eyes from the carpet and met with the eyes of Hermione Granger. She gave him a reassuring smile, and he tried to return it but knew it didn't look real.

He looked at Ron who was nodding off in his armchair, a bit of drool hanging from his mouth. Ron snorted and woke up.

"Er… guys. What are we doing?"

"Worrying." Harry responded blandly.

"And do you seriously think that's going to help you tomorrow.?"

"Well… no."

"Then why are we doing it? I think the best thing to do is to go get a good night's sleep and tomorrow we can worry."

"You know that's the smartest thing you've said all day." Hermione said.

"Good then. I'm going to bed." Ron turned and sleepily climbed up to the boys' dormitory.

Hermione got up and sat down next to Harry.

"It's going to be alright. You've been through the other tasks how should this be any different?"

"I don't know Hermione. I can just feel something in my gut that something's going to go wrong."

She edged closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Whatever happens you know I'm with you."

"Thankyou." He said and let his thoughts wander to unsearched corners of his mind, leaving a trail of fearful images as they went. Eventually he fell asleep, his dreams filled with an unsettling gloom.

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They both woke after a fitful night of sleep in the wee hours of the morning. They had a shower and headed down for breakfast.

It was almost awkward walking down together, the rare occasions they spoke they were only a couple of words. Throughout the day Harry felt as though he was a wondering soul watching his body almost pass out every time someone said 'task'.

Only in the late afternoon did something jolt him back to his senses.

Hermione had gone to her Arithmancy class and Harry had a free period. Harry had nothing to do so for the past twenty minutes he had been wandering aimlessly around the castle. He drifted past an empty classroom when he was wrenched through the door.

He heard the door close and lock behind him and he was plunged into an inky darkness.

"Who's there?" He called out. Just then, in the middle of the room a red spotlight turned on. Standing in it was a woman. She had her back turned to him and was wearing a lacy, black dress, which had red stripes and roses running around the skirt. The woman had long, silver blonde hair tied in a ponytail.

She whipped her head around, letting her hair make a long arc behind her. Harry gasped when he saw her face.

"Fleur?"

"Yes it is I," She said in a seductive tone. She glided forward with impeccable speed until her face was just inches from his. Harry backed away and fell back in an armchair against the wall.

"What are you doing?"

"Come now don't play games with me. I know you want me."

"What?! But I-"

"Hush my love," she pressed a finger to his lips, "Zere will be more time for talk later. For now, ve dance! Ole'!" She pulled Harry from the chair and held him in a tango position. Then, with much resistance on Harry's part they twirled around in a crazy dance. Finally Harry pulled away.

"Fleur what the HELL are you doing?!" He shouted.

"There eez no denying eet 'arry. I can see eet in your eyes. You are in love wiz me." She stepped closer to Harry and pinned him was against the wall. Fleur leant in to his face and was about to kiss him when:

"GET AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND!" The door burst open and there stood Hermione pointing her wand at Fleur.

"Arghhh!!!!" Fleur gave a piercing shriek and hissed at the blinding light. "I'm-I'm I'm melting!!!!" She collapsed into the ground and melted into a hissing black pile.

"What the fuck just happened?" Harry asked after a weird silence.

"I have NO idea"

"Come in then. We'd better clean "it" up." Harry grabbed his wand out of his pocket and transfigured a nearby pillow into a bucket. He scooped up the steaming sludge.

"Take her to the hospital wing Harry." They climbed up the staircase to the hospital wing spilling a bit of Fleur's remains on the way.

"She came on to me you know?"

"Yeah. I trust you Harry."

"Good thing you rescued me in time. By the way how did you find me?"

"Marauders map."

"Ah." They entered the hospital wing to be greeted by a flurried madame Pomfrey.

"Urgh what is it Potter? I have an endless list of patients to tend to and you two seem to be completely healthy."

"It's not us,it's…her." They revealed the contents of the bucket to Madame Pomfrey.

"What is this? Is this some kind of joke? I see no girl, only a bucket of sludge.

"Well this bucket of sludge is all that remains of Fleur Delacour."

"Well come now dear it's not the end of her, a few specially selected potions and a few weeks here and she'll be as good as new as long as you didn't drop some on the way." Hermione and Harry gasped. "Well then in that case there'll be some chunks missing but she'll be right."

They left Fleur in the care of Madame Pomfrey and continued down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room.

"To tell you the truth Hermione, I liked her better that way." Harry grinned.

"Yeah. Me too." Hermione replied, with no hint of humor in her voice.

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YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking; Finally this woman posts! Well I just got bored of the story, that's my excuse. NYWAY

REVIEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!please.

Laura