~Winston Whittaker~
He sighed as his eyes once again fell on the resident tragic celebrity. Harriet Potter was close to her breaking point. Different than in the original, Hermione didn't believe in her. She dismissed her claims of not entering herself as false and was instead convinced that she was just claiming that to make sure the attention was on her.
It was jarring how much could change with some initial differences in the timeline. Harry Potter being female changed around many things. One of those was a better academical performance from her, which put her into a 'friendly' rivalry with Hermione. And she was a fair bit better in the practical side of things while achieving only slightly worse theoretical results, causing the overall score to be in her favour. That was enough to make Hermione more... unkind towards her, leaving her without a pillar in a time where she needed friends more than ever. The less was said about Ron, the better.
He didn't want to interfere too much, knowing that being pulled into her 'adventures' meant Danger with a capital D. But this was beyond unacceptable. He helped her here and there, using his authority as a prefect to break up altercations that targeted her. He made sure to always be fair and punish her appropriately, should she make a mistake. But in the same line, he defended her if she was truly innocent. In other words: He did his bloody 'job'. Which was more than one could say about most teachers.
This time, he decided to directly confront her. His year-mates thought it to be fun to enter his name and he was chosen as the Hogwarts Champion over Cedric Diggory. It caused quite a stir when a sixth year was picked by the goblet instead of the expected seventh year. Since he was chosen already, he might as well compete and win, was his thought-process. Now he had to add getting the girl through the year without breaking under the burden.
Not just because she was the 'Chosen One', but also because she was a genuinely kind girl who was dealt a horrible hand in life. 'Might as well go all in, then.' Using a completely mastered Disillusionment Charm as well as the Obfuscation Charm, he followed her until he was sure they were alone. He then quickly disarmed her to preempt possible accidental attacks, pushed her into the empty classroom and locked the door behind him before casting several privacy charms.
The Disillusionment was gone already as he dropped that one the moment they entered the room. As such, she was looking at him warily but not with the fear that would have been appropriate if it was any other boy or man doing this.
"What do you want, Whittaker."
She sounded tired. Horribly so. Resigned to receive yet another verbal lashing. She was probably expecting him to call her out on it since he was the 'real' Hogwarts Champion. His heart went out to her in this moment and he decided to be upfront with her in this case. Before he started talking, he offered her her wand back, which she took gratefully, but with a bit of a gimlet eye, at which he offered an apologetic smile before starting.
"Several things, actually. The first and foremost thing I want you to know is that I believe you. I don't think any sane student of your year would have truly entered themselves. And while the judgment on your sanity is still out there, your vehement claims that you didn't enter convinced me entirely. You were always honest with me. Too honest even, sometimes. Honesty is one of your basic character traits and also the one that will bite you in your behind sometimes in the future."
He didn't expect her eyes to water at his words. She always silently endured until she exploded violently like a volatile volcano. Rarely if ever did she show herself in public when she was emotional, other than her temper. But now some words brought her to tears. It showed just how overwhelming the entire situation must have been for her.
Unsure as to what to do, he took a step towards her with hesitantly open arms and she took the invite almost instantly. She was extremely careful with physical showcases of affection. He had never seen her hug anyone out of her own volition. But this time she clutched to him as if he was a lifeline.
'I might as well be.' He mused to himself, finally understanding just how bad it was. He held her carefully and stroked her back calmingly while whispering reassurances into her ear as she cried herself dry. She wasn't a loud cryer, silently sobbing and shaking lightly in his arms. Even now, her conditioning from her less than ideal childhood still had a near-absolute grip on her.
Once she stopped shaking, he released her slowly, giving her the choice if she wanted to pull away or not. She hesitantly did so, showing shining eyes behind bent glasses as well as an embarrassed smile to him. Said eyes were rimmed red from crying, and the very light makeup she usually applied was a mess but she looked infinitely better.
Whereas she looked as if she was wearing the world on her back before, which was true in some ways he supposed, she was now standing a bit taller. She had regained some of the presence that was whittled away by constant verbal abuse and the teachers complicity by inaction as well as the complete abandonment by her peers. Something that nearly made him scowl. He kept it inside though, as to not cause a misunderstanding between them.
Instead, he smiled back at her, hopefully communicating sympathy and empathy. Without taking his wand into his hand, touched her glasses under her curious gaze. Her eyes widened when she heard him whisper.
"Reparo..."
Her glasses realigned quickly and even the scratches on them disappeared as if they weren't even there. He showed her in good faith something that was rare to the point that it was considered a myth.
"Your emotional outburst is safe with me, as will be any future interaction that you want to be confidential."
Her surprised expression shifted into one of seriousness underlined by gratitude. She understood the implications. 'Good. Now on to the next point.'
"Since you can now trust me to keep my mouth shut, let's continue. I would like to try and help getting you out of this shit show. While I am in a somewhat similar situation, having to thank my year-mates for being entered, I decided to compete anyways. It will help me showcase some things I am working on and maybe land me a Master to further my skills. You however have absolutely no interest in competing. I think you could have a fair chance solely by virtue of your yearly adventures, but with the ministry's involvement and one of the most vicious Death Eaters having the minister's ear... Well, you can imagine how they might use this situation."
She blanched, probably not even having thought of it from that angle. Desperately, she looked at him, even as she absentmindedly levitated a fallen desk into an upright position to sit down on it. Probably a prudent idea since she was swaying a bit. He pulled on his occlumency shields to not fall into those shattered emeralds, for if he did, he would surely cut himself on their sharp edges.
He pulled up all those clichés he had read over the years before suddenly being thrown into the body of an 11 years old brat in this world. Most of those he chose should hold true.
"First of all, do you know what Dumbledore has done up until now? He is trying to help you get out of the contract, right? Did they declare you of age since they made it a necessity to enter? Did you try giving an oath that you didn't enter yourself? Is the paper that came out of the goblet truly signed by you or did someone create a persona to impersonate you within the magical matrix of the goblet?"
He stopped to take a breath and potentially to let her answer. She looked entirely overwhelmed but still managed to stay somewhat coherent and answered comprehensively.
"Dunno what Fumbledore's doing. Probably sucking on some lemon drops. He said I should trust in his and Moody's expertise but to be honest, I trust them as far as I can throw Hagrid. The officials did repeat three times that I need to compete after I asked and I felt something inside of me loosen up a tad so I think they declared me of age. As for the other two: Nope and no idea since I haven't seen the damn thing. Also, no idea what you mean with magical matrix."
He thought deeply while she seemed to sink into despair. He was sure that her mind was conjuring up scenarios that could lead to her death. Absentmindedly, he sat down besides her and pulled her into a half-hug. She stiffened a bit but reciprocated surprisingly quickly.
"I kinda don't want to die..."
She whispered, more to herself than to him. After a long moment, he answered nonetheless.
"Historically, the first task is a task of daring. Of fighting against the odds. In most cases, this means going against a dangerous magical creature and either killing it or stealing something from it. There are four new inhabitants in the Forbidden Forest so I think I know what we are going to face. In consideration of your mental state, I'll let you calm down before I tell you. Just know that should we not find a way to get you out of this tournament, I will help you train for it. I could use a competent sparring partner anyways."
She pulled away from his side and looked at him guardedly.
"Why?"
He didn't immediately understand.
"Why what?"
She furrowed her brows and elaborated as she pushed her unruly hair back with jittery movements.
"Why help me? Why tell me that you believe in me? Why do all this? Why?!"
Once again, his heart went out to this girl. He shook his head. He should have intervened way earlier. She needed to know that there were people entirely on her side.
"You didn't slay Voldemort. Your parents did. Specify: Your mother. She invoked one of the Olden Magicks, forbidden by the fools of the ministry. You survived that night because she set up a sacrificial ritual with the price being the highest she could pay. Her life."
The eyes of the Girl Who Lived widened at what he said but he wasn't done. Not by a long shot.
"That's the conjecture I came to the first time I heard your story. And I asked around for fractions of hers out of curiosity. Your mother was a brilliant witch and a formidable woman. I was curious as to how that would translate to her daughter. And I wasn't disappointed at all. You are compassionate, empathetic, powerful, intelligent, and so much more. Even though you are not red-headed, you do have their dreaded temper."
She blushed with an indignant look that startled a laugh out of him. With gentle eyes, he continued.
"That only adds depth to you, though. Because the only times your temper truly explodes is when you perceive what you see as injustice."
The blush deepened and she seemed caught entirely off guard. She wasn't used to being complimented at all. He grew serious. The next point was important.
"What I also see is that you are a polarising figure in the Wizarding World. Your fame would be a double-sided sword in the best of hands but you are entirely untrained to deal with it. That's not your fault but the failure of those who held your fate in their hands. This causes you to be swept up in the way you are perceived without being able to sway the sheep in any meaningful way."
She was thoughtful now. She was still listening and the way her emerald eyes shone with intelligence behind her repaired glasses was entirely too attractive.
"What I've seen is that every single person who should have had your back failed to do so. I thought you'd have at least one steadfast friend behind you in Hermione Granger, but even she fell victim to the curse of imbecility that seems to befall all those entering the Wizarding World."
A sad smile appeared on her face and he noticed that she showed her emotions quite clearly in front of him instead of hiding them expertly as she did in public.
"I shouldn't involve myself with you. My family is in danger as is since I am a first gen, or Muggleborn as we are called here. I've seen the signs and dark times lay ahead. I planned to leave the country after getting my NEWTS this year. Well, it seems as if I'll have to send off my folks. Since I've decided to involve myself, I will see it through."
She looked at him wide-eyed. He drew his wand and channeled his magic, making his following statement not quite an oath, but more meaningful than empty words.
"What I am offering you is my wand and my expertise. I am more than I let on. But I am not enough to take on the likes of Voldemort and, how did you call him? Ah, yes. Fumbledore. I wouldn't be able to take them one on one to be honest. I lack the experience. The instincts cultivated through war and strive. But, if I teach you, mentor you, you could be so much more than what you are at present. I admire your steadfast personality and your moral compass that you kept despite your homelife."
She registered his words and he could see the dread and horror pool into her. Her entire body stiffened and she started shivering from the sudden and overwhelming negative emotions she was experiencing. He scoffed at her reaction.
"Everyone with half a brain and a single shortsighted eye should have seen it. I tried to appeal to some teachers and the headmaster without success. Talking to the matron didn't help either and I don't believe that my letters to the DMLE arrived where they should have. Someone wants to desperately keep you there and I didn't want to get your hopes up by talking with you first."
She calmed down a bit and looked at him with fragile hope.
"You... Don't think worse of me because of it?"
He looked at her incredulously. Didn't she understand? How impressive it was to stay true to one's kind nature in a situation such as hers? How truly rare it was to not fall victim to the hate and viciousness that was within human nature and instead rise above? And all of that with a parasite latching onto her soul? 'Wait, she doesn't know about the last one.'
"People like you, who face adversity in every aspect of their lives and keep their kindness, their compassion. You are the beacons that show that humanity isn't yet lost. In all that shit that's out there, you shine like a diamond. I couldn't think worse of you even if you were an acerbic bitch. Your situation definitely lends itself to developing such personality traits. But you stayed who you are deep inside and I admire you for it."
She was blushing again. But this time, she truly seemed shy for it. Glancing upwards at him, she uttered.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you fancy me..."
He smiled a bit ruefully. He knew he said too much but she needed to understand! She needed to hear it, to gather some confidence. The situation she was in was rapidly eating away at her and soon, she'd have collapsed underneath it. He wouldn't want that to happen to a genuinely good person.
"Right now? I won't allow myself to look at you like that. Objectively, you are gorgeous if a bit thin for obvious reasons. But I'm two years older than you. In a couple of years, that won't be much of a difference. But right now? It's an entire world."
She ducked her head when he said she was gorgeous but when he continued, she had understanding shimmer in her eyes before developing a worrisome stubborn glint.
"You do know that maturity isn't entirely dictated by age, right?"
She asked with a curious head tilt. The blush on her face was still quite pronounced but she paid it no heed as she stared into his eyes steadily. He could feel the exasperation grow as he asked her a bit incredulously.
"Why are you arguing that point? There is no way you'd even find me attractive! This point should be moot."
It was his turn to develop a very slight blush that was quickly suppressed by his occlumency when her eyes roved over his body with an impish smile.
"I don't know. I quite like what I see. Tall. Broad shoulders. Attractive angular features. Well muscled, obviously developed by working out. That and your far, far above average academic performance hint at a good work ethic."
She paused and turned fully to him, crossing her legs on the table before she continued. With a more genuine smile on her face, though it was still quite mischievous.
"You are attentive and well spoken. Your social skills are clearly pretty good too and yet you don't have a massive circle of friends which means you choose quality over quantity. Your popularity and the fact that you haven't had a girlfriend as far as the rumour mill of Hogwarts knows makes the spot rather exclusive. That increases your already high attractiveness in the eyes of the female population even more."
She was now kneeling on the desk and he was a bit entranced as she let her index finger wander over his biceps while looking at him with hooded eyes.
"I'd say you are a good catch. Every straight girl would be happy to give it a try with you."
She caused his breath to hitch by leaning closer, pressing her entire palm to the side of his arm.
"And by every straight girl, I mean every straight girl."
She whispered those words into his ear, her hot breath ghosting over it. Seemingly emboldened by his shudder, she went a step further and pressed her soft lips to his cheek. The contact only held for a second or two, but the tingling sensation stayed. She pulled back a bit.
"Thank you for the massive boost in confidence. For promising to stand by me. And for trying to do what not even the adults are attempting."
She whispered those words into his ear again, though he managed to suppress the shudder this time. She jumped off the table and slowly sashayed out of the room in a way that was beyond tantalising. But not before throwing him a wicked smirk with mischievousness gleaming in her emerald eyes. She was still blushing too, causing the charm that she exuded to increase immeasurably.
He swallowed heavily and muttered into the empty room, involuntarily citing a certain immature redhead and uncountable other teenage boys.
"Bloody hell..."
He then facepalmed with a groan.
"What in Merlin's name did I get myself into?!"