guys, I know it's been so long, but I've had a couple of important things to attend to in my life and I haven't had as much time to write. I am so touched by all your lovely reviews, thank you so much for sticking to this story, I am so happy I have such lovely readers :) (Emmylianaa22, Guest1, PygmyPuffOwl, Satinous, PurifiedDrinkingWater you guys are awesome)

This new chaper contains another reference to Chapter 8 (Nightmare) and you will see how and why. You don't have to go back and read it, but it's good to know what it was about :)

The events in this one take place before and during the Third Task in the Triwizard Tournament.

Enjoy!

.

13: Lucky Charm

"Mum - Bill!" said Ron, looking stunned, as he joined the Gryffindor table. "What're you doing here?"

"Come to watch Harry in the last task!" said Mrs. Weasley brightly. "I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook. How was your exam?"

(...)

Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to them too, and Harry was having such a good time he felt almost as though he were back at the Burrow; he had forgotten to worry about that evening's task

(...)

There were more courses than usual, but Harry, who was starting to feel really nervous now, didn't eat much. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, PDF, Chapter 31: The Third Task, pages 398 - 399.

Harry had to leave to get ready, he knew that, but he lingered for a few second more because the prospect of getting up and walking out of the Great Hall, accompanied by the raucous applause of all the Gryffindors there, was too painful and frightening to fully grasp. He would be sent off like a war hero, going into battle, when all he really wanted was to stay there with his friends and soak up in that warm feeling of togetherness.

Too late and too soon the reality of it all hit him; there was a chance he might actually...win. And that made losing so much less bearable.

He cast a curious glance around the Great Hall, looking for the other champions and wondering if they were as nervous as he was. Fleur and Krum were nowhere in sight. They had probably already left for the Quidditch Field.

But Cedric was still loitering at the Hufflepuff table and Harry had the misfortune of witnessing a particularly intimate scene between him and Cho Chang. The girl had come to wish him luck for a final time and after kissing him fully on the lips, she had unclasped a beautiful silver necklace she wore around her neck and dropped it in his palm, sealing it with her own.

He couldn't hear them, but he could bet Cho had whispered "for luck" in his ear.

Not that he minded very much; he had come to terms with the fact that Cho was simply never going to look at him the way she looked at Cedric. She might have liked him all right, but he could not compare.

Still, his stomach stirred unpleasantly.

Someone coughed next to him. Ginny pulled her hair out of her face and gave him a shy smile.

"Lost in thought?" she asked, although she knew very well what he was thinking about.

She had noticed his lingering gaze and the object of his attention.

Cho Chang was, indeed, among the prettiest and most talented of Ravenclaw girls. She was the embodiment of grace and elegance; even on a broomstick she managed to have a sense of self that was almost Veela-like.

Ginny didn't like to dwell on these aspects. If she were to enumerate all the brilliant and beautiful girls at Hogwarts she would never finish and she'd be thoroughly depressed at the end, because she didn't count herself among them.

But Harry made her remember where she stood. And it made her feel stupid and self-conscious.

In the past year she knew she had grown in confidence but not nearly enough to pretend she was no longer affected by him or girls like Cho Chang.

Of course she was bolder now, more opinionated, more outspoken and cheerful, having erased bit by bit the mousy First Year who spent all day writing in a cursed diary, but that did not mean that person had been left behind entirely.

Someone inside of her still had terrible nightmares and the events at the Quidditch Cup had only made it crystal clear that this second presence did dwell on everything she tried not to.

She was getting there, though, wasn't she?

She was changing, she was regenerating. She was becoming Harry's friend.

"A bit," he confessed. "Suppose I have to go now."

"Hang on," she told him, scurrying through her bag quickly to find what she was looking for. She couldn't do anything for Harry at the moment, couldn't enter the maze with him, but she could give him this.

Finally, she pulled out a small object and held it in the palm of her hand.

It was a bell in the shape of a green shamrock.

Bill had bought it for her at the Quidditch Cup and she had kept it with her as a fond memory of her brother.

"I know it's not much, but it's my lucky charm. It got me through Potions this year, so that's got to be something," she lied, growing slightly red.

Of course luck had nothing to do with it. Of course it was only a keepsake she had nearly forgotten about.

But if it did anything to comfort Harry in the slightest, it would be useful, after all.

"So I'm giving it to you," she added, dropping it on the table between them. "For luck."

Harry was struck by the symmetry of the gesture.

"When you're feeling lonely you can just ring it – and maybe you'll feel better."

By now she had probably gone completely red but she didn't care.

He stared at the shamrock in confusion for a few moments, almost unsure if it was meant for him.

He shook his head, a small smile appearing on his lips. Of course it was meant for him.

It was very Ginny. After all, she would be the only one to think he would get lonely during a Triwizard task.

"You don't have to take it with you, it's probably silly anyways -" Ginny began, embarrassed, noticing the hesitation in his gestures and made to grab the shamrock, but Harry's hand landed on hers, stopping her midway.

"No, I like it. I really like it. I've always wanted a shamrock bell," he joked, chuckling softly.

Oh, okay, that's great, can you please give me my hand back now? Ginny thought, trying hard not to look down at his palm covering hers.

The warmth spread to her toes.

He drew his hand away as he took the shamrock and put it in his pocket, and she was left cold once more.

For a moment, they stared into each other's eyes and their thoughts collided. They were thinking back to that night at the Quidditch World Cup; the nightmare, the chase, Tom Riddle, Death Eaters, diving into the crowd together, holding hands. The shamrock had brought it back.

Then he realized, and she realized, he had been carrying a glowing shamrock and, in the midst of confusion, she had mistaken it for the green light of the Killing Curse.

"I'd better go now. Wouldn't want to keep Mr. Bagman waiting," he spoke, his voice hoarse, getting up awkwardly. "Thanks, Ginny."

"Good luck, Harry."

She watched him go, her heart growing smaller and smaller.

What if she had given him a cursed memory instead of a lucky charm?

Voldemort raised his wand, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself, before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was…White-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin, his head was surely going to burst with pain, he was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life –

(...)

He was going to die like Cedric, those pitiless red eyes were telling him so…he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it…but he wasn't going to play along. He wasn't going to obey Voldemort…he wasn't going to beg…

"I asked you whether you want me to do that again," said Voldemort softly.

"Answer me! Imperio!"

And Harry felt, for the third time in his life, the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought…Ah, it was bliss, not to think, it was as though he were floating, dreaming…just answer no…say no…just answer no…

Rowling, J. K.,Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, PDF,Chapter 34: Prior Incantatem, page 426.

And then he heard it; the soft peal of a little bell in his pocket.

The shamrock, Ginny's shamrock, was playing a song that was familiar to him.

His fingers touched the spot and he felt a jolt that woke him from the trance.

He was not like him. Harry was not Tom Riddle. Tom Riddle was not Harry.

Tom Riddle was Voldemort. It was final and irrevocable.

"I WON'T!" he shouted with all his strength, the words echoing throughout the graveyard.

And he never would.