Author's Note: I am sooo sorry for not updating, but ever since getting into uni…well my major is getting a bit heavier than usual. But I want to push myself to finish the story. I have so many ideas! I just want to make sure they reach that point where they grow up. So here we go, apologies but I'm rusty.
Of Silver and Gold
Chapter 42: The Second Task
Pansy's eyes moved side to side, as she chewed her gum and popping it. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the scene before her. It was ridiculous; she was ridiculous. Her hair was disheveled, her brown eyes wide, and Pansy found herself rubbing her eyes and letting out a yawn. As her friend stomped across the room once more Pansy had had enough.
"Will you stop it?!" Pansy groaned.
Angel glared as she saw Pansy looking so bored and annoyed. She couldn't help that she was pacing back and forth worried about Harry. She did feel bad; maybe just a tiny part of her was being hysterical. Perhaps…but as the sun was rising and another yawn came from Pansy.
"I'm sorry," she breathed out. "But you do realize that when morning comes and he can't breathe-"
"Yes, yes this is the fifth time you did this now stop!" Pansy cried.
Angel looked wide-eyed and as much as she wanted to find it, she let out a loud yawn. She was a sight for sore eyes. Her hair had started off in a bun, and now it was down her shoulders and curlier than usual over her stress. She had basically made a road on the carpet with all of her pacing. Pansy shook her head. Honestly, she should apply for sainthood. Pansy sighed and leaned back on the bed.
" Look" Pansy sighed. "you got that plant-thingy from Snape, it's clear enough that it should work right? I mean it's known to do that right?"
Angel nodded with a small frown still on her lips.
"I read on it from one of Uncle Snape's books. It's supposed to work, but what if it doesn't? I can't kill the boy who lived!" Angel said throwing herself on the bed with a groan.
Pansy lifted her brow at her friend's dramatics. She sure had a flare for it. Sentiment did make a person seem a bit out of their rocker she supposed.
"Look. I'm tired, you're tired, and it's almost breakfast time. So why don't you go take a shower, and get ready for the day, and then we can go have some much needed coffee and head to the lake. Does that sound fine with you?" Pansy reasoned.
Angel turned to face her, and nodded. Pansy smiled widely and pulled Angel up, only to throw her a towel and shove her to the restroom. The moment she heard the water running, Pansy crawled onto her bed ready for her slumber.
Hours Later…
Pansy was exhausted, even a cup of coffee wasn't enough to keep her awake. The Great Hall was louder than usual since it was the second task in an hour. She was currently laying her head on Draco's shoulder, as he was talking about some kind of bet with Blaise. She didn't care, what she did care was for her eyes to stop burning and for her to be able to relax for a bit. She regretted going to the second task, but as she opened one eye, she saw that Angel was worse.
On the outside, Angel looked poised, with a cup of coffee in her hand. It had far too much milk and sugar, but that wasn't new, she needed a pick me up. She carelessly picked up her toast to her mouth as she tried to not feel rushed or nervous. No one had asked her anything, so she figured she was doing a good job. Harry was missing; or at least he hadn't showed up for breakfast, he always had breakfast. It made her think if anything was wrong, but then again his crew was nowhere to be seen reassuring her that everything would be okay.
'It has to be' she thought biting her lip.
"Angel, time to go to the Black Lake" Draco drawled out finally paying attention to his distracted sister. She seemed quieter than usual, and he wondered if he could talk to her later.
"Hm?" she said distractedly.
"Time for the second task" he said and got up.
He waited for her to start chugging her coffee before grabbing her arm to tug her along. She followed his lead along with other students walking towards the lake. She figured that he was probably there; he had to be, maybe too nervous to eat. She reassured herself that was the reason and quickly sped up a bit, making the others follow her. She didn't want to have a terrible view of the task, she wanted to see that he was okay and would not calm down until it happened.
Draco pushed his way through the masses to place himself right in the front of the event. Others grunted but said nothing, especially as Blaise gave them a cool look daring them to say anything. Angel stood beside Pansy who looked around. Both girls were looking for the same person: Harry. He was missing, and as three champions stood there, Angel wondered what happened to him. She wasn't the only one, who noticed this, as she felt Pansy gaze her way, she said nothing, instead stared towards the castle wondering where the hell he could be.
Just as he was about to be disqualified, there was a parting of the crowd, and soon the Gryffindors began to cheer as well; the chanting made it clear that Harry had arrived, and by the looks of it, he had overslept. She gripped the railing tightly, frustrated at his stupidity. He had one job, all he had to do was wake up on time. She shook her head and instead concentrated on the task explanation.
The second task had not gone as planned. Firstly all the other contestants easily jumped in the water, while Angel was forced to watch as Harry had began to act abnormal after he swallowed the swampy plant.
Gillyweed was in no way helping him, as he looked like he was gagging. He fell in the water as he was gasping for air and the whole crowd went quiet. A few seconds past and she wanted to run towards the pier, only to have a hand grip hers tightly, and looked up to see Pansy squeezing tightly as if she knew what she was thinking. Guilt had racked through her body thinking she had caused him to get hurt or worse. Before she could tug her hand from Pansy's and try to help, Harry leaped out of the water with a cheer. The tension from her shoulders and she let out a sigh of relief. Now she simply played the waiting game.
Meanwhile…
Harry was swimming downwards a little confused as to what direction he would go. The gills made him feel like he was one of them himself. It was amazing, but he needed to concentrate on where he was suppose to be heading. He saw some mermaids swimming in one particular area, and he soon followed, only to see exactly what the commotion was. There were people there, people he knew and he was in shock at how serious this task was. The first person there was Hermione, her hair floating and wet, a bubble protecting her. Against her shoulder was a tiny girl, someone who he figured was Fleur's sister. Beside her was Ron, and he took a sharp breath seeing that beside him was Cho Chang. Besides the small girl, the decision of who to choose was hard for him to do. Hermione and Ron were his best friends, and for a fleeting moment, he wondered if Cho was also there. Was he to pull them all? He went over to Hermione first, only for the merman to poke him and pointing him to Ron.
"I have to save her too!" he cried out.
They shook their head and told him to choose the person that was assigned to him. He rubbed her cheek, only to have her being pulled by Viktor Krum to the surface. He shook himself and immediately went for Ron trying to figure out how to do it. He had already wasted half his time underwater trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. He wanted to finish on time.
On the surface …
Things weren't looking so great; Harry was taking way too long and Angel was feeling nervous. Was it not working? What was so hard that it was keeping him, was he being attacked? All these things ran through her mind as she waited, everyone was silent. But as bubbles began to rise, everyone tensed up. Suddenly it was Cedric Diggory who rushed to the surface with Cho Chang in his arms. Angel took in a sharp breath, frustrated at the fact that he was first.
All of Hogwarts began to cheer, and she forced herself to do so as many began to look around. She forced a smile and a cry of cheer still waiting for Harry to appear. Half the time had gone, and they had only fifteen minutes left for them to lose the challenge. Another load of bubbles began to rise on the surface, it was Viktor Krum jumped to the port his head as the shape of a shark and Hermoine in his arms. Durmstrang began to cheer and rejoice at the fact that he was the second one.
A cry was heard and she leaned forward seeing Fleur rising out gasping desperately for air. She cried out as they helped her up, but she tried to throw herself in crying out for her sister. She had failed the challenge, and it was clear, her sister wasn't being saved. She felt pity for the girl, and apparently so did Draco, as she felt his hand over hers. She was surprised at first but as he squeezed her hand tightly, she intertwined her hands with him knowing she understood.
Yet Harry wasn't coming up, five. Five minutes and everyone was already nervous. People began to murmur, that was never a good sign. Angel leaned forward, her distress wasn't hidden, but then again no one was staring. Soon Harry rose to the surface gasping for air. She placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes; he was okay. Pansy was the one that distracted her when she said,
"He's holding two people!"
She opened her eyes and found that Pansy was right; on one arm was Ron who looked unconscious, on the other was a young girl, she figured it was Fleur's sister. Everyone began to cheer at his heroism and she found herself lost in the moment and clapping too. She ignored the looks that her friends gave her, Harry was a hero, her hero and she was proud of him. Everyone helped him up, and she ignored the kiss that Fleur gave Harry, on the lips, thanking him for saving her sister. She saw Harry turn red, and she looked away as Hermione hugged him close. He was everyone's hero; she had to remember that.
"Always a hero, ha!" Draco said annoyed as he walked away. He signaled them to follow and everyone did. Angel trailed behind, still staring at Harry. She noticed him looking around disoriented in the stands and it was until his green eyes met hers, did his stay still. She smiled at him, and he returned a tired one to her.
She forgot what she was going to do, until someone grabbed her hand. Turning around in surprise, she noticed that Blaise was trying to get her attention. A bit surprised she let him tug her away. Looking back she noticed that she could no longer see Harry and sighed.
"Come on, Draco wants to go have dinner together. What's keeping you?" he asked.
"Oh nothing, just was seeing the points" she replied quickly.
He didn't let go of her hand, and instead tugged her along, forcing her to look back frowning. She noticed he too was distracted by the people around him and had soon forgotten she was even there. She was still proud of him, and proud of him for tying first place.
Two Weeks Later...
Angel never had an opportunity to actually talk to Harry. Every time she caught him and tried to pull him aside, people would surround him. He was the hero, and while she was proud of him she was also getting annoyed. Annoyed at everyone for crowding him, annoyed at the Weasleys for fawning over him, especially Ron who loved the limelight. She was also frustrated with Harry because he liked it; it was obvious by his half-grins as he pushed his glasses up his nose, and blushed, especially around girls. She noticed how it was unintentional, but it did hurt that he no longer paid attention to her, or sought her out.
Was she jealous? Angel wouldn't admit it, but the fact she was annoyed said more than enough. She was embarrassed enough when she snapped at Daphne over something simple, but was too prideful to apologize.
'It's only temporary, it doesn't matter, at the end of the day he's with you now' Angel thought logically.
She wasn't insecure, that's what she told herself. But sometimes it was hard when they were prettier, older girls that were far more interesting than her. She lounged in her room, staring at her reflection from her bed. Her hair touched the floor and her brown eyes stared at the mirror curiously. She wasn't ugly, it had taken her a while, but she knew she wasn't an ugly duckling. She wasn't the tallest, or the strongest, but she tried. She wasn't skinny, but she wasn't fat, she was…growing. That's what she told herself as her body changed. She was fourteen and things were changing. Her chest was growing, and she hoped she would catch up to other girls. Her skirts were shorter as her height was growing too. She was now 5'4 and she was wondering if she would keep growing. Standing up in front of the mirror, she turned around to stare at her butt curiously. That was new. But as the door opened, she dove onto the bed and tried to look casual as Pansy looked at her curiously.
"Staring at yourself again?"
"Hm?" Angel answered pretending not to have heard her.
Pansy simply rolled her eyes and threw herself over Angel earning a grunt out of her.
"What do you want Pans?" she asked after a while.
"Oh! You have to read this article! Just don't be angry.."
Angel pushed Pansy off and sat up wondering what the hell she would be angry about. A magazine was pushed onto her hands and she looked down at the glossy cover. It was all about the competition and it seemed that they had 'juicy' gossip. Her brown eyes caught sight of the large red font saying that they had secret romance for a contestant.
Harry Potter's Secret Heartache
A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of
adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise
of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his
steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.
Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy.
Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup,
Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections.
Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays,
and insiststhat he has "never felt this way about any other girl."
However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interest.
Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims.
In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.
Angel took a deep breath as she read on, wondering why things like this spread around. She was never fond of Granger to begin with, and she knew that there were rumors everywhere of her relationships in general.
Not because she was ridiculously gorgeous, but because she had connections to these wizards. Harry was attached to Granger's hip for as long as she could remember. It hadn't really bothered her, but now that he was gaining fame, and Granger was also getting the attention of Viktor Krum it did twist something inside her.
"You alright?" Pansy asked after a while.
Angel nodded.
"This is trash" she said after a while, forcing herself to close the article.
She took a deep breath and let her logic take over. It wasn't real, Harry loved her; he said it. And while love was something complicated at their age, for her it meant the most because it was real. The way he looked at her, the way he smiled at her, and the way he kissed her meant that he did feel it. This was all trash, even if his ego was growing with the girl's attention.
"You're right, sorry I brought it to your attention but…but I want you to be safe, with your heart you know? Is he worth the risk, that's what I advise for you to do"
Pansy pulled her close to a one armed hug and Angel reciprocated. Pansy loved gossip, but she always looked out for her, snakes looked after one another, that was the code.
"Don't you have potions?" Angel asked looking up at the older girl.
"Shit" Pansy said and ran off, not before taking the magazine with her.
Angel laughed softly and threw herself on the bed. She needed rest; after all, class wasn't till noon. Curling up, she dozed off ignoring those stupid rumors and trusting Harry like she knew was best.
With Harry…
Walking to potions was very much a drag. He was tired of Ron retelling the stories in so many ways, mooching off the limelight as he did. Wasn't he the one that told off Harry that he did it for attention? Harry bit back his annoyance and instead his attention was distracted as Lavender grabbed his arm and started chatted with him. It was weird; the way girls roamed around them, calling him a hero, cheering him one when before he was ostracized by them? Girls were weird.
His attention soon was moved towards Slytherins as they waited outside the door. Pansy was chatting to the usual gang, sans Angel and circled around a magazine. As soon as Blaise saw the pair he let out a slow smirk and called out.
"Didn't know you weren't that uptight Granger"
Harry and Ron immediately got defensive at whatever they had in mind, while Hermione looked confused. Harry looked towards Pansy that looked at him curiously. There was no malice, but there was a hint of annoyance, especially as he had grabbed Hermione's hand. He let go of it, as if it burned from her look; he knew she was a messenger, and an ally that he needed. Walking in front of the group, Pansy threw the magazine towards Hermione and sneered.
"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!"
Before they could even ask, the doors opened and Snape let them in. Harry wondered what was so interesting in Witch Weekly and as soon as the lesson began and Snape lectured, the trio looked at the magazine until they found what they were sniggering at.
It wasn't good. Harry never had feelings like that for Hermione; she was like his sister, one that was more motherly than alluring. But it wasn't good based on the looks he was getting from everyone. People were judging her because of Rita Skeeter and Harry felt bad for his friend. But he thought of himself, more so he thought of Angel and how she would react. Obviously she saw it, and now that he thought about it, how long had it been since they had talked? It had been two weeks since the event and he hadn't made an effort to seek her out. His shoulders slumped and he knew he needed to do something.
He was so lost in thoughts that he had ignored Ron and Hermione's bickering, even less that Snape had somehow walked behind them.
"'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache . . . dear, dear. Potter, what's ailing you now? 'A boy like no other, perhaps . . .'"
If life wasn't already embarrassing, it was made all the worse with Snape reading the article out loud. As he went on, Harry's face turned redder, especially after he paused after every sentence. The Slytherins laughed and laughed on. The article sounded ten times worse when read by Snape. Even Hermione was flushed and avoiding eye contact.
"'. . . Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.' How very touching," sneered Snape, rolling up the magazine to continued gales of laughter from the Slytherins.
"Well, I think I had better separate the three of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Greengrass. Potter - that table in front of my desk beside Miss Parkinson. Move. Now."
Harry bit back a groan and moved, ignoring Draco's sneer and his badge brightly shining. And took a seat beside Pansy who looked embarrassed to be seated next to him. As Snape finished teasing him, Harry took out his ingredients and tried to start the potion.
"You fix this Potter" he heard Pansy murmur as she was using the mortar.
He lifted his gaze only for her to avoid his. Her hazel eyes avoiding his and pretended as if she hadn't said a thing.
"How?" he whispered.
"How about actually talking to her Potter" she growled back as she threw the crushed beetles into her cauldron.
"She has a free day after three, I suggest you hurry up" she hummed as she finished her potion and poured it into the vial.
Harry thanked her and tried to finish his potion without Hermione's usual help. And as soon as he was done, he dropped off the potion and ran off, muttering something about homework. Neither of his friends said anything instead they continued to bicker about Viktor Krum.
...
Angel had spent most of her day with Luna. Luna was an interesting person and someone she had come to admit was her friend. She was a breath of fresh air; she didn't have an expectation about how Angel's behavior should be. Instead she supported her and listened to her complaints about even the smallest of things. She never judged and instead gave her the best advice. It was a bit weird but she had a soft spot for the blonde.
" In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate. Hm..I can see why you're angry" Luna said after she finished reading the article that Angel had shown her. "It's also so poorly written"
"I'm not angry Luna" she mumbled and laid on the cold floor. "It's just a stupid article"
But it wasn't; it was the growing number of complaints that filled her head with annoyance. The Granger thing would not go away, and with everyone around him, wanting a piece of him, just angered her because he let himself get in that position.
"Just because you don't see him doesn't mean that he doesn't miss you"
There was that thing that Luna did so well. When Luna found out about Angel and Harry she didn't bat an eyelash; but the reasoning was simple, she said that she had a dream that this would occur and that it was fitting that their signs came together. She was wholeheartedly supportive and was happy for them. Yet she still was good at reading her, at least when something was bothering her.
"I know Luna" she whispered softly. "I'm fine"
"Okay Angel" she said softly and reached out to grab her hand. "Whatever you say, but at some point when you're not fine just send me an owl and we can come back here"
Angel merely hummed softly and smiled at her friend. She was always denying what she felt, but Luna never believed her. It was fine because she gave her the space she needed. Luna laid down beside her and then a comfortable silence fell between the pair.
"I'm actually angry at myself" Angel said a few minutes later.
Luna sat up and looked down at her with a curious expression on her face.
"Why?"
"I-I'm mad at myself because I'm jealous. And I know better than to be so childish. Of course people are going to pay attention to him, he's Harry Potter! But...but those articles, those narratives make me angry. They hate him for being the fourth champion and then he is doing well and now they suck up to him. I hate how they flip flop a-and Lavender and those girls just...ugh"
Her cheeks were becoming pink in annoyance and Luna merely reached out and intertwined their fingers before nodding.
"You're frustrated because you've been there for the bad and now everyone surrounds him is there for the limelight and still you're jealous? I get it"
"I guess.." she trailed off before snorting. "Luna I can't imagine you ever being jealous of someone"
She giggled and expected Luna to follow in her footsteps but she didn't. Rather the blonde looked a bit embarrassed.
"Luna?"
"I was jealous at the Yule Ball" Luna whispered embarrassed.
"You went?" Angel asked.
"No" she shook her head. "But I was still jealous."
"Luna if you wanted to go you could have told me, I would have gotten someone to go with you."
Luna shook her head again. "No...I mean, the person I wanted to ask me didn't and when I found out he asked another third year I got jealous"
The end of her statement made Angel pause; there was only a handful of third years at the Yule Ball. Looking at her friend she realized she wasn't some ditzy blonde that sometimes had some wisdom inside her. Rather she was an equally insecure and complicated person as she was.
"A-are you going to tell me who it is?"
Luna blushed and shrugged unsure herself. Still Angel squeezed her hand and turned to face her properly. Crossing her legs she wiggled to get comfortable and tugged a flower from the ground.
"Luna...whoever this person was, clearly didn't see how superior you are to other third years" she began and smiled hearing Luna giggle. "Because if he knew you liked him, he must have been a real idiot to not see you" sliding a flower behind her friend's ear, she couldn't help but notice that Luna looked a bit more like herself.
"He's a great person Angel" she defended him slightly. "I-I just don't think he would notice me over her. I mean she's Ginny Weasley"
And the penny dropped. So Luna had a crush on- "Neville? Neville Longbottom is the boy you fancy?"
The blush rising at the blonde's cheeks was enough to confirm. The pudgy little boy that was becoming a bit less pudgy had a blonde admirer who was clearly upset he didn't ask her. But to be fair to him, she never really saw Luna and him interact. It must have been a crush from afar.
"Well...if it makes you feel better, she is still after Harry" her mouth soured a bit after saying that. "And I heard Neville asked her because Weaslette really wanted to go really badly."
"Really?"
She nodded and smiled. "Harry told me."
And the relief that went through Luna was enough to forgive her white lie. As the blonde embraced her in excitement, Angel knew that if she was a good enough friend she would try to get them together. Pulling away, she smiled at how happy she looked.
"Want to take a dip on the lake?" she asked.
"It's still freezing! Sure" she said and took off her shoes.
The girls chatted for a bit and sat down at the edge, dipping their feet against the lake. It was only for around an hour before Luna told her she needed to go to Choir. Smiling brightly Angel waved goodbye and took advantage to some alone time.
...
As for Harry, he was walking down the halls wondering where in the world Angel would be. He hung around DADA wondering if she would be getting out, but it seemed that her class had ended early. He bit back a groan not knowing where to find her.
The usual Slytherin gang passed by, pushing him out of the way, much to Draco's glee. Pansy looked back and mouthed 'the lake' taking advantage of their chatting. He mouthed thank you and ran off, earning a half–smile from the girl. He was off towards Black Lake, taking the quickest path possible. And there she was, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh in relief. Her hair was down, and her cloak was used to protect her from the hard ground. Her toes were in the lake and she looked at peace. He didn't want to disturb it, but he didn't realize how much he missed her till now.
"How long are you going to stand there for?" she asked not bothering to look at him.
Harry smiled despite her tone and walked closer sitting beside her.
"How did you know it was me?" he asked.
"You stopped when you saw me, I could feel your eyes on me" she replied simply.
He leaned forward to kiss her lips, only for her to turn her head, making his lips land on her cheek. He closed his eyes and sighed knowing that everything wasn't perfect. The problem was that she was temperamental to begin with, but this time it could have been a plethora of things bothering her.
"I missed you" he said softly pulling her closer. She didn't fight him, and he took it as a good sign. He studied her face, and noticed how her eyes were closed and she was trying hard not to fall for his act.
"I wouldn't have guessed with all the attention you've gotten lately" she commented.
He missed her sharp tongue, and he knew he deserved it. He hadn't been attentive or even tried to seek her out when he'd seen her trying and failing to meet him.
"I'm a twat" Harry groaned and he heard her hum in agreement. "I know I messed up, but I was distracted and-and you know it's only you. Those rumors about Hermione, and I mean come on you know it's not real. I would never, not with her, not against you, especially cause I have you. You know I-you know how I feel and if you're angry at me for not talking to you fine, but don't think that for a second I would-"
She put a finger on his lips and rolled her eyes. He was ranting, he always did so when nervous and he was definitely starting to do it again. She tried to stay angry, but she knew that he had just reassured her of her trust in him and sighed.
"Look, I know that the Granger thing is fake, you're with me and-and I know you wouldn't do that. You're good, really good, something annoyingly good but good" she said shaking her head, allowing a grin through. "But I am angry at you. You've ignored me, for two weeks! No owl, nothing to show me that you remember that I exist, and you expect a kiss? Well I'm sorry Harry James Potter, but I don't work that way."
Harry looked sheepish and grabbed her hands, pulling them up for a kiss. He at least found the root of the problem.
"I'm a prat you know? But you know how they drag me, but at least they are supporting me now. They aren't saying I don't deserve it, they see me as a hero."
Before she could interrupt he placed a finger on her lips, signaling he wasn't done.
"But I don't need them to support me, or to view me as a hero. So long as you do, I'm okay with that. Is that fine?"
From her grin, he knew he had done a good job. He lifted his brow silently asking for permission and she rolled her eyes, not even bothering to hide her grin. Lifting her finger she pushed his glasses up and slid her hands into his hair pulling him closer for a kiss. He eagerly kiss her, and she knew she still had him wrapped around her finger. Pulling back, and ignoring his protest she couldn't help but ask:
"Am I better than Fleur?" she asked remembering she had kissed him.
"Hm?" he replied distracted.
"Good" she said grinning.
It wasn't perfect, but then again that was boring. All that mattered was that trust was there, and while shaky, they were both working on it. And working on it is all that matters. There was one more task left, and it was still dangerous to be out in the open kissing, but life was work a risk or two.