After Limbo
Chapter Six
With Harry being on worse terms with Ron than he was the previous time, Hermione had been asked by Hagrid to ask Harry to meet him at his hut with the invisibility cloak. At first Harry was hesitant, since he already knew what he was going to see, but he couldn't risk Hagrid getting suspicious. He loved the half-giant, but Hagrid couldn't his mouth shut if his life depended on it.
One evening, Harry followed Hagrid through the dark forest, carrying his cloak.
"Did you bring your father's cloak like I asked you?" Hagrid asked.
"Yeah I brought the cloak" Harry said. Hagrid why are we out here?"
"You'll see soon enough. Pay attention this is important" Hagrid said. Harry decided to keep his comments about the flower and Hagrid's hair to himself this time. Harry put the cloak on when they heard another voice.
"Hagrid?" It was Madame Maxine.
"Bonsoir Olympe" Hagrid said, handing her the flower. Seeing the sight of the two of them for a second time, still made Harry want to gag. He rolled his eyes.
"Oh Hagrid. I thought you weren't coming, I thought perhaps... you had... forgotten me"
"Couldn't forget you Olympe" Hagrid replied.
"What is it you want to show me? When we spoke earlier you sounded so exhilarated" Maxine said in wonder.
"You'll be glad you came. Trust me" nearby there was a loud roar from one of the dragons.
"Ahh, c'est magnifique!" Maxine spoke in French. Harry eyed the dragons. He knew which dragon was going to be his for the task. He needed to tell Cedric.
"Hagrid, I have to go" Harry said quickly, though Hagrid barely noticed.
The next morning, Harry walked up to Cedric. This time round, he wasn't insulted, most likely because Cedric had explained about the swearing on his magic.
"Can I have a word?" He asked. Cedric nodded and they walked aways.
"The first task is Dragons. each of us will have to get past a dragon to retrieve an object" Cedric blinked.
"Are you serious? And Fleur and Krum, do they...?" Cedric trailed off and Harry nodded. "Listen, Harry, I was talking with Fleur and Viktor and we think we should help each other through this tournament. Its really dangerous and this whole thing is to promote friendships between the schools, so..."
"I think that is a great idea" Harry said smiling. He thought this would maybe work out much better than the first time when they all thought he had cheated. "I have an idea, lets have a dinner, just us champions and a date of our choosing" Cedric smiled.
"That's a good idea, but where would we have it?" He asked.
"I know just the place" Harry said, grinning.
The following weekend, Harry and Hermione met Viktor who came without a date, Fleur and Fred Weasley and Cedric and Cho outside the Great Hall. Harry led them to the room of requirement and paced before it asking for a place to hold a private dinner. when the door appeared Fred was flabbergasted.
"George and I thought we knew all the secrets of Hogwarts" He said whistling. Harry smirked and opened the door. The room was amazing, with candlelight and a table set with delicious food for all of them.
"What is this place?" Cedric asked.
"Its called the room of requirement" Hermione replied. "Or the come and go room. The room will make anything you want appear, except food, which I am assuming came from the kitchens" Dobby popped up next to Harry.
"Dobby prepared the food for Harry's Hermione and his friends" He said.
"Thank you Dobby" Harry said and Dobby popped away. They sat down at the table.
"This room would be perfect for training" Fleur said.
"That was my thought exactly" Harry replied. "If we train hard here, we might actually survive this tournament" They all laughed. Harry avoided telling them he knew all of the tasks, because he wasn't sure how they would respond to that.
The champions and Fred, Hermione and Cho enjoyed a meal where they learned about each other's schools and cultures and where they could just be free from people wanting to exploit them. After dinner, Harry pulled Viktor aside.
"I know why you didn't bring a date. I've seen all the girls following you, but I may have a solution to your problem. Her name is Luna Lovegood, she's 13, so she is a bit young, but she really just needs a friend. She's usually in the library to avoid getting harassed by her peers" Viktor hesitated.
"I'm not asking you to date her, I'm asking you to befriend her" Harry said. Viktor smiled.
"You really are something, Harry Potter" He said. Harry smiled and they left the room, promising to keep in touch about training schedules.