The immediate aftermath of the First Task.

HANNAH IX

She hurried from the benches to get a look at the champions when they would leave. The judges finished giving their scores to Harry. Hannah almost expected he would get a perfect score. His way of getting through the dragon was fantastic. Hannah had seen many games of Quidditch, including professional games, but nothing compared to what Harry did today. A part of her was outraged when Madame Maxime gave him a nine, but when the following judges followed with the same score, she thought this was the way of things and that there was nothing to do against it. They probably thought they couldn't give him a perfect score because the dragon hit him once. However, she cheered slightly when Mr Bagman gave a ten. It was deserved. Between his almost perfect flying and the fact he managed to produce a Patronus, Harry deserved it in her opinion. Hannah waited for the last score, but she was expecting anything but what came out of Karkaroff's hand. A three.

"WHAT?"

Hannah screamed her indignation at the headmaster of Durmstrang, along with most of the people in the crowd. Ernie, Justin, Wayne, Megan and Sally, who she sat with, expressed their disapproval in the same way. This was unfair.

"He did it on purpose!" Ernie shouted. "Harry is first place tied with Krum this way. It's cheating!"

Most people around him agreed, Hannah included. All her resentment towards Harry that she felt over the previous weeks was gone. He was being treated unfairly. He endangered his life today, pulled off the best performance of the school, and still he was being treated unfairly.

This happened a few seconds ago. Now, Hannah was running to the tent where she guessed the champions would be coming from. She saw Harry heading there after his scores were given. She wanted to see him. There were so many things that she wanted to tell him now. However, she wasn't the only one to deduce where the champions would be coming from. A small group of students had already gathered around the exit of the tent. Hannah tried to make herself a way through this small crowd, but many more students arrived not long after her, and she was soon squeezed, unable to advance or retreat.

The champions soon came out of the tent, all under the cheers of the small crowd. Hannah could barely move, but when she noticed Cedric, she saw a strange orange paste covering half his face. She decided to follow him at this moment, momentarily forgetting about Harry and any of the other champions.

She didn't exactly know how, but she managed to make her way to Cedric. And she helped to carry him with a large contingent of students from Hufflepuff. They travelled the grounds to the castle, and then to the Hufflepuff common room. They almost hit his head against the frame of several doors, including when accessing the Entrance Hall or getting into the Hufflepuff common room.

"It's alright! You can put me back on the ground!" Cedric yelled, all smiles.

But people wouldn't listen. Hannah neither. Instead, they pushed him up further, cheering loudly. Cedric brandished the golden egg he got very high, and they shouted even more loudly.

"CEDRIC! CEDRIC! CEDRIC! CEDRIC! CEDRIC!"

They kept chanting his name. Hannah wasn't sure how long it lasted, but she came to leave the group carrying Cedric when her arms started to feel numb. She only applauded afterwards, while looking for her friends. She found Megan and Wayne who were busy arranging Butterbeers and other drinks on a table.

"Got this from the kitchen," Wayne explained. "The elves were happy to give them."

Hannah took one right away and drank. It tasted better than ever.

The party was soon in full swing. Hannah was not used to such celebrations in the Hufflepuff common room. Opportunities to celebrate were rare for their house. They never won the House or Quidditch Cup, and the only Quidditch victory they enjoyed since Hannah came to Hogwarts was last year, but the celebrations for the occasion had been soured by the recent Dementors attack and Harry's fall. The first real celebrations worthy of the name had been when Cedric was named Hogwarts' champion. Now they had another reason to celebrate. Even though Cedric was third in the scoring for the Tournament for now, he still defeated the dragon. Anyway, the first task itself was almost a good reason to celebrate.

Hannah spent a large part of the evening recalling with the others all that took place during the first task, the fear caused by dragons all gone now that it was over. One of the people she detailed everything to was Susan.

"You missed something, believe me," Hannah told her best friend.

"So tell me what happened? Is everyone okay?"

Susan had not attended the first task. She said she didn't want to see people die today. Hannah thought it was a little extreme. She could understand Susan's worries for the champions, especially now, after Hannah witnessed the dangerousness of the tasks. Still, she should have accompanied them to the grounds, if only to support Cedric who would face a life-threatening challenge. Instead, Susan remained inside and was one of the few students to not watch the first task.

Hannah told Susan everything about how the first task went. She gave extra details for Cedric and Harry. Susan looked horrified when Hannah mentioned that Cedric almost got burned while recovering his golden egg.

"He's fine," Hannah reassured her. "Look at him. Madam Pomfrey took care of his burns. I'm sure it will be gone by tomorrow."

Cedric was currently surrounded by people who kept asking him questions about how he managed to defeat the dragon. Others kept bringing him butterbeers and other food to eat, or patting his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Susan asked, looking at Cedric as well and sounding worried.

"Of course. It's Madam Pomfrey who took care of these," Hannah repeated. "It's not a few burns from a dragon that will scare her."

Susan began to seem interested as Hannah recounted how Fleur Delacour managed to get past her own dragon. Her eyes went wide when Hannah told her that Harry summoned his Firebolt.

"He can do that?" Susan asked, looking suspicious.

"It seems so. Well, that was by far the most impressive. You should have seen it. Harry was dodging the dragon and the flames like it was nothing. He only got hit once."

"Is he fine?"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Yes, he is." Could Susan stop to worry about each and every champion? They were all very fine. Though Hannah thought it would still be a good idea to check on Harry early tomorrow. If not to be sure he was fine, then to congratulate him. He deserved it. "But really, that was fantastic. He was flying all around the dragon. I almost got dizzy with the speed he was flying at. And then, you'll never guess. He produced a Patronus."

Susan was surprised, not as impressed as Hannah expected. "He did? He cast the Patronus Charm?"

"Yes, he did. And that completely put the dragon off balance. The Patronus was running everywhere, and no matter what the dragon did…"

"Wait. Running everywhere?" Susan looked very interested all of a sudden. "Was it a corporeal Patronus?"

"A… What?" She didn't understand what Susan just said.

"Corporeal." Susan seemed to realize something. "I mean, you said it was running. It must not have been smoke or… Was it an animal?"

Hannah thought for a moment. "I think so. It looked like a horse. But it had horns, I think. It was running very fast, and it was far away. I didn't notice."

"A unicorn? A stag?"

"I don't know," Hannah said, getting a little impatient with all those insignificant details Susan was asking for. "Well, anyway, the Patronus distracted the dragon, and Harry used it to get the golden egg."

Susan nodded. "I'm surprised. Harry told me he learned to perform the Patronus Charm, but he said he could only produce vapor or a screen. Though during the match against Ravenclaw… Yes, I think his Patronus had something on the head…"

"Anyway, Harry flew so high, he attracted the dragon up, then he dived and got the golden egg," Hannah said, but Susan seemed to be barely paying attention to what she said.

It proved much more amusing to discuss the first task with the others. Susan joined the party in the end. And like every time she did, Susan overindulged in both food and drink. Hannah's best friend didn't party often, but when she did, she always ate and drank way too much, sometimes getting sick after the fact.

"You've seen what Krum did," Wayne stated, full of admiration. "He shot the dragon straight in the eyes!"

"Fleur managed to get her own to sleep," Megan said on her side. "I wonder how she did."

"Cedric did well too," Justin added.

"He didn't get burned too bad?" Susan asked, not for the first time today.

"No. No, he's fine," Justin said, a large smile on his face. Susan barely spoke to him since the accident in Herbology. And he seemed more than happy to talk to her again. "The dragon barely got him. Cedric was probably the worst hit, but he barely has a scratch. Look at him."

Cedric still looked to be doing very fine, laughing with everyone around him.

"I must say, I thought Cedric would surprise us," Ernie said, "but he outdid himself. Conjuring that Labrador, really, that was something. And to be honest, I think he deserves more points than he got. He got the weakest dragon of all, it's true, but he was also the first one to face it. The others had some time while Cedric fought his own. Cedric, on the other hand, he didn't have any time at all to prepare. He was completely facing the unknown, unlike the others."

All of them agreed. "He deserved more points than Krum, for sure," Justin said. On that, Justin got an even higher approval.

"Really, that Karkaroff. Giving ten points to his own champion, despite the damage he caused to the eggs. He was biased, clearly," Ernie stated, anger pointing in his voice. "Cedric doesn't deserve his third place. He should be higher in the scoring."

"Yeah," Wayne agreed, though as not as enthusiastically. "But I don't believe this is Krum's fault. I mean, if Dumbledore had shown favoritism to Cedric in the scoring, we wouldn't be saying this is Cedric's fault either."

"Maybe," Justin reluctantly said. "But Cedric deserves better, especially since he was the only one who got really injured."

"I think Harry deserved his first place." Everyone looked at Sally as she said the words.

"I agree," Hannah found herself saying. In part to support Sally, who was usually very shy, and also because she believed it was true. "I know that Harry shouldn't be a champion in the Tournament…"

"He certainly shouldn't," Susan stated, her tone dark, but Hannah ignored her.

"… but he faced the Hungarian Horntail today. It was by far the most dangerous of the dragons. And even if he had maybe a few minutes to prepare, it wasn't much. I think he deserved his first place. You've got to admit, it was pretty impressive what he did."

She wasn't sure of the reaction she would get for those words. She wouldn't blame her friends that much for disagreeing with her. Cedric was a Hufflepuff, their friend, their champion, and it was only natural to support him. But Harry was a friend of Hannah too, and she felt she couldn't deprive him of what he earned either.

"I agree with Hannah." To her surprise, it was Ernie who answered. "Look, maybe Harry put his name in the Goblet of Fire, but we cannot deny that he faced as much, if not more danger than Cedric and the other champions today. And he faced it very well. Not to mention that even if he had some time to prepare, it wasn't much, and he faced a deadlier dragon. We must not forget either that the other dragons had levelled the terrain around them, so he had far less opportunity to hide from them than Cedric did…"

"Yes, Ernie, we've got the idea," Megan said, interrupting him.

"All I'm saying," Ernie continued, "is that Harry deserved his first place today. He may not deserve to be in the Tournament, but he deserves the score he had today. And even more. He would have been first place alone if Karkaroff didn't give him a three."

On that, everyone agreed, and they probably spent fifteen minutes or more complaining about the headmaster of Durmstrang.

After a while, the atmosphere got less boosted and a little more relaxed, as everyone's energy started to fade. Susan and Sally left early for bed. Then, out of nowhere, someone shouted.

"Hey! Who wants to open the egg?"

Immediately, people stood up and roared in approval. Cedric was made to stand.

"Wait! Wait!" he said, laughing. "I can't show it to you. I'm not supposed to get any help for the Tournament…"

People groaned on the spot, Hannah included.

"Come on, Ced!"

"Yeah, be cool, for once. Open it."

The protestations grew so much that Cedric raised his hands in surrender a moment later. He was still smiling, the orange paste distorting his mouth.

"Okay. Okay. Fine. I can't receive help, but I guess nothing stops me from showing the clue inside if I refuse your help afterwards." Everyone clapped at his words. "But I've got one condition." Some people roared in disapproving, but most kept listening. "Look, everyone. I want you to know that I appreciate very much all the support you've shown to me. Today, and every day since my name came out of the Goblet of Fire and before. But… I would like you to stop wearing the badges."

A certain silence fell upon the common room.

"Look," Cedric kept explaining, "I get it, you want to support me, and I appreciate that. I'll never blame you for that. But I don't like it when you belittle and mock other champions. So if you want to keep supporting me, fine. Make other badges, only with messages of support. But get rid of those you wore until now."

There was some consternation in the common room, but it wasn't that widespread. In fact, Hannah was the first one to raise the voice afterwards.

"It's alright, Cedric," she said, and many people looked at her. "I'll get rid of mine." She wasn't even wearing her badge right now. She removed it after Harry defeated the Hungarian Horntail.

Many followed after her, Ernie being not too far. When it seemed a fair number of people agreed to Cedric's request, he spoke again.

"Thank you. So…" he seized the golden egg on the table nearby. "You want me to open it?"

Immediately, the mood got much better, and people screamed that they did.

"You really want me to open it?" he asked again, louder, raising the egg in the air over his head. The affirmative answer was even more deafening.

Cedric was holding the egg with his right hand. He raised his left one, and he unclipped something on its surface. The egg opened. The interior produced a bright yellow light, but the moment Cedric opened it, a very loud, piercing, horrible strident scream that was unlike anything Hannah ever heard in her life was produced. She covered her ears, which did little to reduce the horrible sound, while everyone else did the same, even Cedric as he let the egg roll on the floor.

Then it ended, as quickly as it began. Cedric had managed to close it. Hannah uncovered her ears, still ringing from the horrible sound.

"Sorry, everyone," Cedric apologized. He also looked like his ears were pierced by the sound. He grabbed the egg on the floor.

"That's your clue?"

"What is it?"

"Maybe…" some said one after the other.

"No. I can't receive any help, remember," Cedric said with finality. "Now, I'll bring this egg safely to my dormitory. I forbid people from approaching it," he said, seriously though still smiling. "Anyway, if you open it again, we will all know."

After that, despite Cedric's warning, Hannah and her friends discussed at length about what the clue inside the egg could mean. It was very late when she finally went to her dormitory. Sally was already asleep. Megan was still down with Wayne, and Angela was in the process of getting under her covers. As for Susan, she was reading, her wand illuminating the page of a book.

"Couldn't sleep?" Hannah asked her best friend in a whisper.

She shook her head. "Too much noise," she replied in the same whisper.

Hannah went to brush and teeth and changed for the night. Megan only came into the dormitory long after she went to bed. Susan had extinguished her wand and was sleeping as well, or so Hannah guessed. That night, Hannah slept peacefully, her dreams being filled with images of dragons being beaten by humans, especially by Harry.

Despite the first task taking place yesterday, when she woke up in the morning, she had to prepare for today's class. Lessons would not be cancelled further due to the Triwizard Tournament. Only Susan had already left her bed when Hannah woke up, and she found her in the common room, reading. Hannah yawned and sat next to her best friend, waiting for the others to come down.

"Had a good night?" she asked Susan.

"Yes. Do you think Cedric's face will be healed today?"

"It should." Talking about Cedric brought something to her mind, although it may seem totally unrelated. But Justin was the one in her circle of friends who supported Cedric the most, so she thought about him, and it brought her to think about him and Susan. "By the way, I'm glad you're talking to Justin again." Susan nodded, but she didn't seem interested to talk about it further. "Look, Susan. He didn't want to harm you. Okay. And you know he's not happy that you're giving him the cold shoulder."

Susan sighed and closed her book. "Okay. I'll talk to him. But he'll have to apologize," her best friend warned.

"He will." She smiled, and Susan smiled in return. "You know he's into you," she added with a small grin.

Susan shook her head, but Hannah couldn't miss the small roll-up of her lips. "Hannah, I'm not really interested in any discussion about a board of love. You know that." Hannah shrugged. Sooner or later, Susan would realize how Justin kept looking at her. "Or maybe I should ask Parvati what are the odds for each boy in the school to date you."

Hannah felt her cheeks redden. She was far more comfortable discussing others' love stories than her own. So she decided to change the subject.

"You know, Susan, I've been thinking about this. With what Cedric asked us yesterday about he badges and everything…"

Susan listened to her idea attentively. When Hannah was done explaining, her best friend spoke hesitantly.

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yes," Hannah said, determined.

She felt like it was the right thing to do. For Cedric, for Hufflepuff, for everyone. Not long after, her other friends arrived, and she shared with them her idea for breakfast. Many approved, and some were even excited.

"I can't wait to see the face he will do," Ernie even declared.

Sadly, the people they were expecting were not yet in the Great Hall when they arrived to sit at the Hufflepuff table. They began to take their breakfast, Hannah shooting several glares to the heavy doors. Finally, one of them arrived, flanked by his two usual gorillas. But they still missed someone, the most important. It took some time, but finally, Hannah got the big and quite pleasant surprise to see Cedric and Harry walking together into the Great Hall, smile and all. They received a big ovation the moment they walked in. Hannah stood up right away, clapping her hands, and walking towards her target. She walked past Cedric and headed for Harry.

Unlike Cedric, he had already sat down, avoiding attention like he always tried to. That was an aspect of his personality Hannah had ignored these last few weeks. Now that she thought about it, it had been really stupid from her to believe that Harry might have entered the Triwizard Tournament for glory when he literally ran away from it all the time.

"Harry," she said when she arrived close to him, and he turned to look at him. "Excuse me. Can I bother you a minute?"

"Yes, of course," he said uncertainly. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you that… I'm sorry. I know you didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire, and it was stupid to think that you did. I apologize."

Harry looked surprised, as some other people around him. "Well… thank you, Hannah," he said, his voice and eyes bearing witness to his gratitude. They smiled at each other, and Hannah felt herself reddening a little once more.

"And… if you want to be sure that I am sincere… watch me."

She walked away on that. She circled the table of the Gryffindors, then walked past the one of Hufflepuff next to theirs, and also the table of Ravenclaw. Then she circled the table of the Slytherins and walked until she stood behind Draco Malfoy, between him and one of the many fireplaces in the Great Hall.

"Hey, Malfoy!" she called him. She already felt some gazes on her as she walked around the Great Hall, but now more people were looking at her, and from every table. The son of Lucius Malfoy stared at her as if she was nothing more than an insect. Draco always treated Hufflepuffs like they were less worthy than the grass he walked upon. Now that Hannah thought about it, he probably never supported Cedric. He only made these badges to hurt Harry. Everyone knew how much they hated each other.

"You remember this badge you gave us?" She took the one in her pocket. She didn't put it on her robes this morning, and she would never put it on again. "Well, I'm going to put it right in the place where it belongs."

And on that, she threw it in the fireplace next to them. She then stared at Malfoy and said a line that just came to her mind. "By the way, Malfoy, you should take a shower. You stink."

At that, she heard a few people laugh around, even at the table of Slytherin. Draco Malfoy was obviously outraged, so Hannah quickly walked away before he could say or try anything. As she turned around the Slytherin table, people started cheering and applauding. Only this time, this was not for Harry and Cedric. It was for her. Hannah was not uncomfortable at being a center of attention, but she reddened all the same once more. Cedric didn't join the applauses, but he smiled at her, and Harry was applauding too, along with many people in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and even Ravenclaw.

"Okay, everyone," Ernie declared after patting Hannah's shoulder. "Stand up!"

And on that, a small group of Hufflepuffs, maybe a dozen people, including most of Hannah's closest friends she had the time to talk to about her idea this morning, followed Ernie, unpinning their badge from their robes or taking it from their pockets, and marched in line to the Slytherin table. One by one, they threw their badges into the fire and told Malfoy he stank. Other people followed them, especially from the Hufflepuff table, but also some Ravenclaws as well. Even two or three Slytherins threw their badges, although they didn't dare to insult Malfoy. This was probably the best breakfast they had in a while, filled with laughter as they looked at the enraged Slytherins who powerlessly looked at most students of the school getting rid of the badges they worked so hard to make and that were so popular only a few days ago. All it required for this to completely change was a demonstration of Harry's skills on a broomstick and a speech from Cedric.

As you can see, the atmosphere drastically changed in Hogwarts overnight.

And now, the Yule Ball is approaching. A far harder task is waiting for Harry.

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Next chapter: Parvati