Hari had been walking around in a daze. Soulmates. She'd never heard anyone talk about them, so she hadn't thought they were real. Cedric had laughed at her sputtering and spent an hour talking about soulmate lore. Once he explained, it all made sense. They way they'd been drawn to each other so quickly. They way their magic sang when the other person was near. The whole idea was overwhelming. Cedric was the first person she'd ever really had feelings for. He was her first date and her first kiss. She had been the same for him (his first 'real date' he had insisted). It felt too fast and not fast enough at the same time.
They'd been able to spend a few hours together, and even with her advanced processing power, it was a lot to take in. It was a fascinating piece of magic, something that affected wixen and muggles alike. They were more common with wixen, but still exceedingly rare. There would be two stages of the bonding. The first is initiated at first kiss, and they'd receive a magical boost in their sleep, since their souls were now in the process of joining together. The bond would be complete the first time the slept together, which Cedric had informed her through stutters while hiding his blush. At that point, they would receive another magical boost, and their souls would be forever bound to one another. They would be able to draw magic from each other, making both of them stronger in turn. The downside was that once the bond was complete, they wouldn't be able to live without each other; if one died, the other would follow. They'd agreed to keep it a secret for as long as they could. Everyone knew they were together, but soulmates were so rare that if it was made public they'd have a target on their backs.
The daze she'd been walking around in had been bliss at first. Because she was worthy. She finally had someone that was hers. Their souls had been made for each other. They completed each other. The effects of the bond could be felt immediately, though mostly by Cedric. He had described the power boost he got as 'swimming through lava,' while Hari's had felt a bath that was just a little too hot.
And then it turned. Because Cedric was stuck with her, regardless of whether or not he really wanted it. Because if they completed their bond, even the thought made her blush, then he would die if she did. They'd both been busy in the days after their discovery, and hadn't been able to do anything more than plan to meet up after the scheduled champions meeting. She'd been grateful for the time apart, trying to sort out her feelings about it.
Hari was making her way down to the Quidditch pitch when she stopped and turned in the direction she felt Cedric coming from to wait for him. He grinned when he turned the corner and jogged over to lightly bump his shoulder into hers.
"Hey there, stranger," he said, grabbing her hand and knitting their fingers together.
"Hey," she said and blushed furiously.
"So what do you think this is all about?"
"Hopefully they'll just tell us what it is this time. I hate riddles," she said, trying to remain clam.
"Yeah, but why the pitch? Do you think we're going to have to fight each other?"
"I hope not," Hari scrunched up her nose. "Fleur's a force to be reckoned with. And Viktor's obviously powerful, even if he is a bit of a mystery."
As they approached, the couple widened their eyes and furrowed their brows in anger.
"What have you done to our pitch!" Hari called out, dropping Cedric's hand to run up to Bagman and the other champions.
"Don't worry, now," Bagman laughed. "You'll have your Quidditch pitch back after the tournament! Now," he said, clapping his hands together, "they're just shrubs now but they'll grow over the next month. Can you guess what your final challenge will be?"
"A maze," Krum supplied.
"Right you are!" Bagman replied jovially. "Now, it's not just a maze of course. Hagrid will be supplying some creatures and there will be other challenges as well. Good luck to you all!"
Bagman walked back towards the castle as the four champions looked out over the maze.
"Hari," Viktor walked over, "could we speak for a moment?"
"Yeah, sure," she replied. "I'll see you in the kitchen tonight, right?" she asked Cedric.
"Yeah," he replied.
Viktor set off towards the forest and Hari matched his step. "I always feel better when walking," he supplied.
"What'd you want to talk about?" she asked.
"Well, it is Her-mine-o-knee," he said slowly. "I've asked her to visit my home during the summer, and she seemed excited about it. I'm just not sure if she realizes what I mean by it, and I don't know how to ask."
"Well, what do you mean by it?" Hari asked.
"I wish to court her," he said seriously, stopping to look at Hari. "She must meet my family first, but they will be here for the final task."
"Oh," Hari said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "I can assure you that she definitely doesn't know that."
"She doesn't?" he asked, looking crestfallen.
"Hermione is a muggleborn," Hari explained, "And Hogwarts doesn't have any classes that teach muggleborns about wixen culture and customs. They're given a list of recommended reading, but even that's pretty sparce. I have a couple books about old customs but I haven't finished reading them yet, so Mione hasn't gotten her hands on them."
"The article was correct, then? You are just now learning our ways?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I-,"
A noise in the forest had both students turning their heads.
"Oh, Weatherby, thank you," a voice called out.
"Hello?" Viktor asked.
"Have to get to Dumbledore… yes, Weatherby, the files! Got to go… got to warn them."
"Mr. Crouch?" Hari asked as he came into view.
"Weatherby!" he called out, taking note of her. "Have to get to Dumbledore! Have to warn them!"
"Go get someone, I'll stay with him," Viktor said. "He's gone mad."
"No need," she replied. "Expecto Patronum." Hari was surprised when the form that burst from the tip of her wand was not a stag, but a badger. A very large badger. Almost bear sized. Hari stared at the creature in shock until Krum cleared his throat. "Right, um, go to Dumbledore, tell him the Barty Crouch is in at the edge of the forest and sounds a bit mad. I'm here with Viktor." The badger nodded then raced off towards the castle.
"Something wrong with your patronus?" Viktor asked.
"It changed," Hari said dismissively and walked closer to Crouch. "Mr. Crouch? Dumbledore is on his way-,"
"He's coming?" Crouch asked frantically as he grabbed onto Viktor's robes, nearly knocking them both over. "Thank you, Weatherby!"
"Yes," Viktor replied, barely containing his discomfort.
They tried leading Crouch closer to the castle but the man kept turning back and knocking them away, so they couldn't cover much ground. Moody came around soon after she'd sent off the patronus and told them to go back up to the castle. Hari was reluctant, seeing as she'd only had one trustworthy defense teacher in four years (and even he had tried to kill her), but Viktor was determined to get out of there. They passed by Dumbledore in the entrance hall and pointed him in Moody's direction before parting ways. Hari headed straight for the kitchens. If Cedric wasn't there yet, she'd just hang out with the elves.
Cedric was late and apologized profusely as they settled in. The elves set up a table and chairs by the fire, and they shared tea and cookies.
"Can you do the patronus charm?" she asked cautiously.
"I've only managed mist, nothing corporeal like yours," he said. "Why?"
"Oh, it's… mine changed," she admitted, looking away from him and blushing furiously.
"I wonder how that could have happened?" Cedric teased. "What is it?"
"It's um, it's a badger," she said quietly. When she found enough courage to chance a glace in his direction, she found Cedric grinning like a fool.
"Is it now," he said with reverence. The gentle teasing of his voice was gone, replaced with pure pride. "D'you think mine will be a lion?"
"I'd prefer a cat," she replied.
"It would suit you," he teased. "I know you've fallen asleep in front of a fire before."
"Everyone has," Hari said defensively.
"On a rug? With a pillow and blanket?" he asked, eyebrows raised while he took a sip of tea without breaking eye contact.
"Toche," she yielded. "So what do we think about the maze?"
"Defense and herbology," he said confidently. "Shields first-,"
"My shields are great," Hari interjected.
"Then curses and counter curses," Cedric continued without acknowledging her comment, "How are you with plants?"
"Neville can help with that," she said nodding and taking another cookie from the plate. She was sure it was enchanted to refill itself, as they never seemed to run out of cookies.
"We should both research more creatures," he added.
"I owl ordered thirteen creature books in preparation. Every tournament has at least one creature task."
"Thirteen?" he asked.
"Hagrid and Hermione," she explained. "Hagrid actually gave me a list of over forty, but most of them were really obscure versions. Stuff that hasn't been in print for a couple hundred years. You know he's got a little library hidden away in the hut? Hermione's the one that narrowed it down to the books that were feasible."
"How much did you get through?"
"I'm somewhat familiar with all of them, but I only read the passages I needed once I figured out each task. Five of them mention dragons, and… only two mentioned mermaids. We can set up days for duel study in the library."
"What about your private lessons with the Americans?" Cedric asked with only a hint of jealousy. The Americans were fine, really. But Odo was really touchy with Hari and it rubbed Cedric the wrong way. He tried to focus on the fact that she was comfortable enough with Odo to allow him to be touchy. That was progress.
"Odo is confident with my charms work. We'll decrease that to only Mondays. I'd like to keep both days of defense though, and if I could increase the dueling I do, I would. But Emily is only around on Thursdays."
"Weekends then?"
"Yeah. I already spend them in the library, so not much is going to change."
Cedric nodded and sipped at his tea, then walked Hari back up to Gryffindor tower before curfew. "Tonight was fun," he whispered. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too," Hari said. "I…"
"I know you're working through some feelings," Cedric said so she wouldn't have to. "And if I had to guess, I would say that you're worried about the danger your putting me in?"
Hari nodded her head but kept it down and chewed on her bottom lip nervously.
Cedric leaned in and pulled her closer, so their foreheads met in the middle, "I won't tell you not to worry about me. But have a little faith in me, okay?"
"I can do that," Hari whispered.
She leaned up and found his lips with hers. Hari's hands wrapped around his neck while Cedric's gripped her waist and he walked them forward until Hari's back met the castle wall. Hari moved one hand down to explore Cedric's back, the lean muscle feeling so natural and powerful under her touch.
They were interrupted several minutes later by Hermione, who was coming back from the library.
"Um, goodnight," Hari stammered as she followed Hermione inside.
"Goodnight," Cedric replied. He wore a silly grin all the way to the Hufflepuff common room.
Crouch had been taken to the hospital wing first, but was later transferred to St. Mungo's. Apparently he hadn't said anything after coming out of the forest with Moody. The healers insisted that everything looked normal, but Crouch remained unresponsive until the day he died, two years later.