Hari's blood ran cold when the Goblet lit up for the fourth time. A piece of paper shot into the air trailed by blue flames that vanished as soon as Dumbledore grasped the paper. Hari wasn't especially close to the cup, since Gryffindor's table is up against a wall, but even from far away Hari could see the headmaster's expression. It went from confusion to surprise to sorrow, all quite quickly. Hari had always been good at picking up on people emotions; she had to be, or life with the Dursley's would have been much, much worse. She had to know when Uncle Vernon was in a bad mood, or when Aunt Petunia was feeling particularly spiteful. So, she read the emotions on the headmaster's face and her gut filled with dread. Her pulse picked up and her breathing shallowed, all before the headmaster spoke.
"Hari Potter," he all but whispered. Heads turned towards Hari, seated between Hermione and Neville, but she kept her eyes fixed on her empty plate.
She swallowed anxiously but did not move from her seat.
"Hari Potter," Dumbledore said again, louder this time.
Hermione nudged her, but Hari shook her head fiercely and clenched her hands to the bench. She looked over to Ron, seated across from them. He looked really angry and hurt at first, but then he saw the tears running down Hari's face and his face fell. Hari put her head back down and started shaking it to herself.
This isn't happening. That didn't just happen.
The whispers started when Dumbledore began walking towards the Gryffindor table. Hari pulled her arms close to her body while continuing her death grip on the bench. Neville reached out and patted her on the back awkwardly while Hermione watched Dumbledore's approach. Hari didn't look up until he was behind her. Her tears were still falling as she addressed him.
"I didn't do it," she whispered as the headmaster knelt beside her. "I promise! I promise I didn't enter!" Her voice was panicked but still quiet, almost too quiet.
"I believe you," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Come now, we'll sort it out." He stood up and took a step back, gesturing for her to follow.
The whispers got louder as she stood and walked up to the stage. She glanced back at the Gryffindor table just before the door closed behind her, catching one last glimpse of Hermione's worried expression through blurry eyes.
"Hari? What's going on?" Cedric asked as soon as the door closed behind her. He'd just seen her two minutes ago and she'd been fine. Their eyes had met when he walked to the stage, and she'd been cheering for him. Now she was crying. Why was she crying?
"Oh, you know," she said while wiping away her tears, "just someone trying to kill me again." She gave out a forced and empty laugh as she went to stand beside him.
The adults started arguing immediately, mostly the other schools' headmasters. The Beauxbatons champion was arguing too. Everyone was saying how unfair it was and demanding a redraw and insulting her character. Snape surprised her with an insult on her intelligence that simultaneously belittled her and supported the idea that she clearly did not enter herself. Stepping back into the shadows, Hari found herself sitting by the fire while everyone else argued. She could hear Dumbledore defending her but just barely. As she stared into the bright spirals of fire and took a few deep breaths, feeling a fire of her own spark.
She was so excited when they had announced the tournament and imposed an age restriction. Because finally something was happening to someone else. She'd be able to sit back with the rest of the school and watch as someone else pulled dangerous stunts and was whispered and gossiped about. There would be other schools too! Even more of the spotlight would be thrown onto others this year. She'd allowed herself to hope, just for a little bit, that she could fade into the background. That she could disappear into the crowd of people who don't know what's going on. She could focus on her studies for once.
"I'm afraid she'll have to compete," Hari heard someone saying.
"No," Hari said quietly, though Cedric was the only one to hear her. He'd been a little lost in the chaos but had gotten the gist eventually and had trained his eyes onto the small girl hiding by the fire.
The adults were still arguing, though the loudest of all of them was saying the Hari had to compete.
And then in an instant Hari was close enough to Cedric for him to see the fire in her eyes.
"No!" she shouted at the adults, her magic whipping out in all directions. They went quiet and all turned to look at the small girl. "Every year!" she shouted angrily, "Every year someone tries to kill me. And every year I miraculously survive by the skin of my teeth with a few new scars to add to the collection," the anger had faded ever so slightly into self-deprecation. "I'm not doing it," she continued, quietly now. "I'm not risking my life again for your entertainment." Her presence was smaller now, but every eye in the room was still on her.
Cedric was shocked, to say the least. They'd only interacted a few times, and Hari had always been… meek. But here she was before him with frantic magic and wild hair, shouting at Albus Dumbledore. He'd never even heard her speak this much.
At the start of term, they'd run into each other after Hari had walked out of the first Defense lesson. Moody had made a big deal about her surviving the killing curse, and then performed it in front of her and she'd walked out. Neville had followed shortly after with Hermione at his heels. There had only been fifteen minutes left in the period, but it had made a statement. He had later heard that the Slytherins had been impressed by her display. She'd stood up and stared him down before leaving. Moody had apparently been too stunned to assign her detention and he'd tortured her for it ever since, hitting her with Imperio over and over again until she could throw it off instinctively.
She'd almost knocked him over, and when he saw that they were crying he led the trio to Sprouts office. Sprout wasn't there, but it was always open for kids in need. Hermione and Neville had talked a bit about how they were feeling about the whole thing, but Hari had remained largely silent. She'd only said one thing during the hour the four of them were together, and the look in her eyes when she said it haunted him.
"Hari?" Hermione had asked, noticing the far-off look in her friend's eye.
"He laughed at her," Hari had said. "She was begging for my life, and he laughed at her."
Her eyes had been so blank… so empty. It had terrified him and fascinated him at the same time. Hermione had pulled Hari into a hug, one the girl couldn't seem to reciprocate. They'd all taken calming draughts and left shortly after.
Despite her shyness and her short stature, Hari commanded the room. Her magic was still whipping around and putting everyone on edge. The Durmstrang headmaster looked like he was going to be sick, and even Snape was looking a little pale. Cedric, on the other hand, was mesmerized.
"My dear, you'll lose your magic if you don't compete," Dumbledore said sadly.
"Then so be it!" she spat back at him. "Every year I almost die, and every summer you send me back to those monsters!" The last word came off her tongue laced with venom and malice. The tension in the room rose as Dumbledore took a step forward and Hari took a step back.
Monsters? Cedric thought, what could she mean by monsters?
"Hari…" Dumbledore said quietly.
"Not this year," she whispered. Then she turned and ran past Cedric, pushing out of the door so fast that no one ran after for a few seconds. The champions and teachers and ministry employees ran out into the hallway, but Hari was gone.
The remaining champions were dismissed after a brief and lackluster explanation of how things would go. The first task was a surprise, but there would be a mandatory medical exam and a ceremony beforehand.
Cedric walked towards the Hufflepuff common room with mixed emotions. He was proud, of course. Proud to be chosen. Proud to represent his school, his house, and his family. Proud of being declared worthy. But he was nervous too. Something was off with this whole thing. There was no way Hari wanted to be a champion, that much was obvious. And if she didn't enter herself, then someone really was trying to kill her.
Part of him wanted to go look for her. A big part of him. But he also knew he was expected to at least make an appearance at the party Hufflepuff was undoubtedly throwing for him. He was walking in that direction but started unconsciously slowing down. Then he turned around and headed up to the seventh floor. It wasn't a decision. His feet went there on their own, and the rest of him just so happened to follow.