The Hope of The Future

by MuggleDumbledore

Harry's life from his fourth year onward as he faces new challenges and fight his way through to his destiny. Story is tangent to canon except pairings. Story will encompass Harry's fourth to seventh year. No intentional bashing. T initially,may be M for later chapters.

7. B1: Chapter 7 - The First Task

Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: Some authors put too much emphasis on writing long prose about a character's emotion and explain their feelings in great detail. I may not be following this trend. The most obvious reason being, I prefer stories which move fast (relatively) and where emotions and feelings are hinted by gestures, actions and dialogues rather than writing ten lines about how someone is feeling for a moment. Long prose about emotional state does not give very realistic feel about the story. Just my opinion.

Please review. Appreciation and Criticism are the only things I get out of it. It encourages to continue.

Chapter Seven: The First task

"Pssssst…. Harry!"

Harry strained his ears and stepped closer to the fabric of the tent, he was standing close to the entry flap.

"Harry, is that you?", the whisper was there again. It sounded familiar, his mind taking its time to put the voice with the face. And suddenly his features brightened.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" He turned his back towards the wall of the tent, trying to keep his face straight and make sure that no one else overheard them.

"How are you doing? Are you nervous, Harry?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"I, uh…." Harry could not answer, his mind on the task to come.

"Everything will be alright, Harry. Stay focussed. You have fought a basilisk, now it's just a…."

"Dragon I have to fight." He cut her off but before he could say anything further, he was engulfed in a tight embrace by the bucktoothed bookworm. Harry's face covered in brown, bushy hairs. His arms involuntarily circled around the witch hanging from his neck. He could feel the warmth from a few tears falling on the side of his neck. Hermione moved her head and kissed him on the cheek then whispered in his right ear, "everything will be alright, Harry".

There was a flash and a click and what followed was one of the most hated voice in the duo's life, giving a stiff competition to a certain greasy haired potion master.

"Ah, the teenaged love, how sweet. If anything happens today to Harry, this photo will be on the front page." Rita Skeeter said in her sickly sweet but mischievous voice, paired with waggling eyebrows.

"You heartless, sick, vile woman." Hermione said in her angriest voice, her arms still coiled around Harry's neck and Harry's around her waist. Neither of them trying to separate from the other.

"Eet is non of yo' business 'ere. Thiz tent belongz to the chamiones and their friends." Victor Krum said, stepping towards the reporter from his previous position where he stood brooding.

"Really? You should tell me about it, may be in a personal interview." Rita said stepping closer to the Durmstrang champion. Her left hand resting on His right biceps, her attempt at flirting with the Quidditch star apparent even to Harry who was seething at the intrusion.

"I would prefer if you step out of the tent Ms. Skeeter. It would be best for you." The American champion said in a flat voice from the bed adjacent to Harry's, her wand twirling in her fingers, her eyes fixed at the canopy.

"Was that a threat to a reporter, Ms. Walker?"

"I was just stating the reality of the situation."

Before the confrontation could escalate, Dumbledore and Bagman stepped in, followed by the other headmasters.

"Gather around champions, Mr. Crouch is unable to attend and hence I would be explaining you the task." Ludo Bagman chimed in his characteristic, up-beat, jovial manner.

"What are you doing here, Ms. Skeeter?" Dumbledore asked in his authoritative manner, his eyes fixed on the witch in sunny-yellow cloak who was standing next to her photographer.

"Nothing Albus, I was….", she tried to answer but was unable to do so as Dumbledore cut her off abruptly.

"I distinctly remember telling you Rita, you are not allowed to be on the school grounds except on the day of tasks and you are never allowed in the champion's tent even then. Perhaps a ban from the castle and castle ground would make it abundantly clear." Dumbledore continued in his heavy and emotionless voice which was saved for those who were at odds with the ancient headmaster.

Rita turned on her heel and left the tent, her photographer in tow. Dumbledore moved around and stood just behind Harry, "I believe, you are to be seated at the stands Ms. Granger?"

"I, uh, I'm just leaving." She gave a peck on the cheek to Harry, muttered a best of luck in his ear and left the tent to join the students in the stands.

"Ok, so let's introduce you to the task." Bagman said, Cedric moved across the tent to come and stand close to Harry. Dumbledore put one hand on each of the champion's shoulder to show his support.

"Alright then." Bagman brought up the pouch he was hoding in his left hand for everyone to see. "let's start with the picks." He opened the string pouch, vapours coming out of it.

"Mr. Diggory, you go first." He moved the pouch closer to the Hufflepuff boy. He put his hand in the pouch and withdrew it a moment later with something in his hand.

"Ah, a Chinese Fireball. Ms. Delacour, if you may…." He said while moving the pouch towards her. Harry was looking at the thing in Cedric's palm, it was a model or may be replica of the said dragon in fine detail, even the fire breathing part.

"A welsh Green." He said smiling towards the French champions who was looking at the model with a worried look.

"Mr. Krum!" He took a step closer to the Bulgarian seeker. "Swedish Short Snout, good one."

"Mr. Ohara!" Bagman said while taking a step towards the Japanese champion. "Romanian Longhorn, nice."

"Ms. Walker, your turn." She put her left hand in the pouch and extracted her own dragon model. "Peruvian Vipertooth. So, that leaves us to…."

"Horntail." Harry muttered, his expression that of hopelessness.

"I beg your pardon?" Bagman asked.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud." Harry replied, his eyes fixed at the pouch in Bagman's hand. Harry put his hand in the pouch, he closed his finger around the last model as his hand came in contact of a scaly surface. He extracted his hand from the pouch along with the tiny dragon model. He opened his fingers and there it was, sitting in the middle of his palm, the black-brown dragon, breathing out small flames.

"Hungarian Horntail." Bagman announced, his smile faltering for a second but he recovered quickly enough, before anyone noticed it.

"These represent the very real dragons you will be facing, each of which is given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple, 'collect the golden egg from the dragon's nest'. This you must do for each contains the clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. You will be evaluated based on your performance and timing. Any questions?" He said, looking each champion in the eye, when no questions came forward, he continued.

"Do not worry, in case of any injury, you will be taken to the first-aid booth, next to your tent where you will be treated by the best of St. Mungo's. In case you want to forfeit the task, shoot red sparks towards the sky and you shall be removed." He saw the fear in each and everyone's eyes.

"Very well then, Champions will follow the order given to you. We will start with Mr. Diggory. Mr. Diggory, step towards the arena when we call for you."

"Good luck to you, champions." With that, all the headmasters and Mr. Bagman left the champions to their musings. The champions drifted towards the arena marked for them. Harry just sat at the foot of his bed, his eyes fixed on his hands resting on his knees.

He could hear the excited chatter and the general buzz around the arena from the tent. A few moments late he heard the excited voice of Ludo Bagman coming from the microphone. He started the commentary with the explanation of the task, the order in which the champions will be coming to the arena for the task and the dragons each champion got for the task. A minute or so later, Harry heard the distinctive screech of a dragon. The hair on the back of his neck were standing, he had Goosebumps all over his arms under the protective vest he was wearing beneath the jersey with his name printed on the back in golden letters.

A few moments later, Cedric was called to the arena. Harry gave a nod when his Cedric turned to look towards him before leaving. Harry could see the fear and the determination in his eyes. Cedric squared his shoulders and attempted to gather his courage before stepping out of the tent towards the enclosure.

Now Harry's ears were glued to the commentary on the loudspeakers. He heard the applause Cedric received on his entry which was followed by the terrifying roar of the Chinese Fireball. He remembered the appearance of the dragon from the book Hermione was reading last week. 'The Lion Dragon', as it is nicknamed, is a scarlet, smooth scaled creature with a fringe of golden spikes around its snub-snouted face and extremely protuberant eyes, fringe of black hair running along its spine, golden moustaches protruding from either side of his snout. Harry was wishing to get this particular dragon as it's the only one who does not have wings strong enough to fly or big enough to support its weight, hence it would have been easier to defeat the dragon.

'Diggory is distracting the dragon with his exceptional transfiguration skills, he has turned two boulders into Rottweilers. The dragon lunges towards the dogs and in the meantime the champion has reached the nest and picked up the egg. Oh god, the dragon turned the dogs into vapours and jumped towards the champion and had him pinned. Diggory hits the dragon in the face with a levitated boulder, distracting him enough to get himself away from the dragon but now enough to be safe. He just dodged the fireball from mere inches but his left-hand side is singed badly. Cedric has jumped out of the enclosure and he completes the task'

Harry was listening intently to the commentary of the task, his expressions and feelings changing along the commentary of the task. He breathed a sigh of relief as Cedric jumped out of the enclosure. He knew, Cedric would be taken to the tent adjacent to their own. Now all he had to do was to wait for his turn.

'Now, as the dragon tamers had finally escorted the dragon back to the forest, it's time for the score from the judges. Mr. Diggory scores 43 out of 50.' Harry heard the loud cheers and the deafening noise that followed the scoring which could clearly surpass the dragon's roar.

The next was Fleur. During her task, the announcement stop abruptly and did not resume for the next ten minutes. The next thing he heard was Fleur being thrown out of the enclosure, swatted with the foreleg of the dragon across her back and in the process, dropping the egg in the enclosure.

'Very unfortunate for the French champion, the judges are discussing if she would be allowed to have the egg or not. It looks like the judges has arrived on a decision. Ms. Delacour would be allowed to have the egg with a ten-point penalty. The score she received stands as, 30 out of 50.'

After Fleur, Krum followed the path towards the enclosure. He had picked Swedish Short Snout which eerily looked like a hybrid of a crocodile, a bat, a rhinoceros and a bull. It had silvery blue scales, its head having two horns protruding from the top of its head and two horns protruding from the top side of the snout.

'Krum is moving around the enclosure with his seeker agility and dodging the flames. He is trying to hit the dragon in the eye with spells he is firing but all he is doing is enraging the dragon even more. He scored a lucky hit and the dragon is disoriented at the moment, stumbling backwords. There is the opening for the champion and he is making a go for it with a sprint. The dragon is recovering quickly, its yet to be clear if the champion can get to the egg before the dragon recovers.'

There was a loud, ear-splitting screech which was followed by something cracking.

'Krum has fallen over the eggs and has broken the dragon eggs with his action. He is making a dash for the exit of the enclosure with the golden egg nestled in his left hand. Dragon has recovered and is now breathing the fire towards the Bulgarian seeker. He is doing his best to sidestep the flames and he has been successful in doing so till now, can he get out of here safe? YES, HE HAS.'

'The dragon is in a horrible mood and it should be, its eggs have been crushed by the Bulgarian wizard. It has burned one of the dragon tamers to ashes but has been subdued now. Now let's ask the judges for the score. The judges have announced that Krum will be receiving a ten-point penalty due to the egg breaking part. The score he received is 38 out of 50. The score would have been the best ever if it was not for the penalty.'

Harry was laughing as he imagined Krum being covered in the egg yolk. He would be looking like a slimy troll. Harry sobered quickly. A few moments later, the Japanese champion walked out of the tent towards the enclosure, leaving the American and English champion alone in the champion's tent. Before Harry could hear the announcement, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up in surprise to find dark brown eyes looking at him with concern.

"Nervous, champ?" Zoe asked, sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, a bit." Harry replied, this throat dry and his voice raspy.

"Me too. You know it's ok to be a little nervous." She said jovially in her sweet voice, Harry chuckled a bit. They sat in silence for the next five minutes before the score for the Japanese champion was announced as 32 out of 50.

"Harry, look at me." Zoe asked hastily, her voice laced with hesitation. Harry looked at her with confusion but before he could respond, the American champion leaned in and kissed him full on lips. He froze at the contact, his brain stopped working and he became stiff as rod. It was over too quickly for Harry, he was flabbergasted and could not respond either way.

"For good luck." She answered the unasked question in a mischievous tone and emphasized it with a wink. His eyes were fixed at Zoe with a dazed look. She stood up from the bed and started walking towards the exit. Harry's mind had stopped working, his mind playing the incident on a loop in his head. He was brought out of his daze by his name being announced by Mr. Bagman.

He stood up slowly from his bed, squared his shoulder, gathering his Gryffindor courage. The good luck he received from Zoe had kicked the fear out of the mind and in its place, he had a determination, the primal determination for survival. He started walking towards the enclosure with firm steps. He took a deep breath just outside the enclosure before stepping in the dragon's pit.

The pit was the size of the Quidditch pitch with the look a stone quarry of dark grey stone. The surrounding was filled with boulders of various sizes, making sprinting a near impossible task. The entrance of the enclosure was two or three feet above the base of the pit, on the similar height to that of the nest in the centre. The centre of the arena looked like a raised platform, in the centre of the platform were the eggs. On this raised platform, sat in its full glory, the black-brown Hungarian Horntail. The dragon sat coiled around the eggs, his wings partially covering the eggs from view. It looked like its wing covered half of the arena, the dragon had to be larger than 50 feet, giving tough competition to the basilisk in its length. Horntail's head was resting on the tip horn of its tail, its eyes closed, its breathing rough and noisy.

As Harry stepped down from the entrance, the dragon stirred as it heard the sound of movement. It turned its giant head to look at Harry with its yellow catlike eyes. It's a different thing to see the dragon being handled by a team of dragon tamers and it was a completely different experience to actually face the dragon with no one there to aid you. Harry's face paled as his eyes met those of the dragons. As if sensing Harry's fear, the dragon reared its head, bared its sharp fangs and spread its wings to the full extent in a bid to intimidate its prey. It seemed that the full span of its wings was blocking the majority of sunlight. Harry took the advantage of this moment and ran to take cover behind the nearest boulder. He turned in his place and shouted with all concentration and determination 'Accio Firebolt'.

He knew it would take a minute or two for the broom to get to him. He needed to stall the dragon. Harry had great reflexes and agility due to his seeker training and he was good at thinking at his feet, thanks to the trio's adventures since joining this school. He had the talent to make the judgement call in a split second. Even in the most brain-wreaking nervous scenarios, Harry's brain and in effect his body would not freeze in shock, he would let his instincts take over, that's how he had survived in the most life-threatening situations.

'Wait a minute', Harry shouted in parseltongue, in his bid to stall for time.

The dragon was shocked after hearing him speak in parseltongue as was evident from its reaction. Dragon lowered its head, tilting to a side and folding its wings.

'Human, you speak the tongue of serpents. Haven't seen one in decades. I would let you walk away for that.', the dragon answered in the same language. For the general spectators, all they could hear was the screech coming from the dragon and the hiss from the champion.

'Look, I don't want to fight you and you don't need to kill me. I just need the golden egg and then I will leave quietly.' Harry tried to reason with the beast.

'You ask for my egg! I would turn you into ashes' Harry saw the broom coming towards him but bouncing off some invisible barrier overhead. Harry was becoming impatient and the broom was floating fifty feet above him. He could sense that the dragon's patience is on the verge of spilling. He needed to do something quickly to survive this. His brain was on override to cook-up an idea that would somehow get him out of this without any life-threatening injuries. An idea suddenly popped into his head, inspired from another one-on-one he had with a serpent.

He checked where the dragons head was, closed his eyes and shouted, 'Lumos Maxima'. The blinding light disoriented the dragon of a couple of seconds. In the meantime, Harry moved to another hiding position and levitated to boulders on either side of the dragon's head. The moment dragon's head stopped shaking, he fired two blasting curses towards the stones, each curse hitting one boulder and blasting it to pieces in mid-air. The shrapnel imbedding in the eyes of the making it blind for the moment. This also resulted in enraging the dragon and it started breathing fire in random directions. Harry moved closer to the entrance and shouted 'Accio Firebolt'. This time the Firebolt zoomed in from the entrance towards him. Harry was unaware that his incantation had given the dragon his position. He had to jump on the broom to get away from the incoming jet of flames.

Finally, Harry had the backing of his element. He was on his broom and in the air, the dragon was nearly blind and now depended upon his hearing ability to identify Harry's position. He slid his wand in his holster as he knew that he won't be needing it hereafter in this clash. His movement in the air making enough noise for the Horntail to follow. A few abrupt changes of direction, a couple of dives and a successful Wronski Feint in which the Horntail hit its snout on the ground, Harry had his right arm wrapped around the golden egg.

But now he had a major problem to handle, he was on the opposite side of the pitch from the entrance and the Horntail stood between him and the entrance. His spread wings completely blocking any chances to get to the entrance. The only option was to outmanoeuvre the Hungarian Horntail.

Harry squared his shoulder and face the dragon face-to-face, he had an idea but some might call it suicidal, some being everyone except him. He flew straight towards the dragon, shouting at the top of his voice. As the dragon reacted to it and took a leap from the ground, Harry dove towards the ground and tried to get to the entrance from under the hind legs of the dragon. For a moment, it looked like he was successful and suddenly the horntail directed a jet of flame towards him which he barely missed by swerving onto his left, his legs and the back end of the broom singed, but in that instance, he lost the control of the broom. In a bid to get the broom under control, he swerved in the opposite direction but hit the oncoming horned tail of the dragon. He was thrown away from his broom and for a moment, he thought that he was going to be burned alive. But the impact from the Horntail's tail had thrown him and the brown outwards from the entrance towards safety.

He fell to the ground, his left hand taking the brunt of the impact but his head hit the ground. A pain suddenly shot through his arm and the side of his head. The pain blinding him and after a moment or two, darkness was all there was around him.

-X-X-

Hermione was on the edge of her seat for the last hour and half since she had left Harry in the tent. As each champion fought their dragon, the feeling of dread and fear intensified in her heart. Fear for the wellbeing of a certain raven haired wizard. She was standing on the edge of the spectators' area the moment Harry had walked into the enclosure. She knew there was no way Harry could hear her through the protective dome headmaster Dumbledore had erected above the dragon's pit. Her eyes were fixed on the boy, standing in the pit, fighting a dragon which was ten times larger than him, a hundred times heavier and could breathe fire.

She was muttering encouragement under her breath, praying all the gods to keep him alive and in one piece. As he was thrown out of the pit by the dragon, Hermione was running blindly towards him, giving no care to the people around her, the only thing that was in her mind was 'she needs to get to Harry'. She ran down the stairs two at a time and jumped the last four. She was beside the healers levitating Harry towards the First-aid booth. Her heart stopped for a second when she saw his condition, his face was as pale as a ghost, his trousers singed from knee below, his left arm bent in a very unnatural manner. Her eyes were burning from the tears which were threatening to spill, she held Harry's right hand in hers at refused to leave when the healers asked. As they entered the First-aid booth, Harry was levitated towards a treatment table. With a tap of the healer's wand, his jersey was replaced by a patient's gown, his jersey and protective vest folded on the nearby table.

Healer's mended the broken bone in his left arm and covered it with thick white bandage. Then he was turned over and a salve was applied on his legs where parts of his skin was missing, a minute after the salve was applied the healers covered the parts with bandages. He had a bump on the side of his head which was treated next. It took fifteen minute before colour started to reappear on his face. These fifteen minutes were some of the longest and most excruciating minutes of her life. She could not hold her tears any longer, they were flowing non-stop down her cheeks and falling on her lap where she held Harry's right hand in both her hands.

A few minutes later, they were led towards the infirmary by madam Pomphrey who levitated Harry ahead of them. He was placed in the bed which he unfortunately occupied quite regularly.

"Ms. Granger, his left arm will be sore for a day or two. The skin on his feet will also take a couple of days to heal completely and it would be advisable for him to remain on the bed. He has got a concussion so he will need some time to regain consciousness and cognitive function. I will leave the potions and the details of dosage and timings. I hope you can see to that."

Hermione just nodded and sat on the chair on the right side of the bed, her hands holding Harry's right hand tightly. Her eyes fixed on his face, not leaving even for a moment. A few minutes later, Neville came to see Harry and took the seat opposite from her.

"How is he?" His voice barely audible.

"He will be fine in a couple of days." Hermione answered flatly, trying to keep tears away.

"I took the liberty to take his broom and clothes to the dorm. I hope you don't mind." He said while placing Harry's pyjamas on the side table and handing Harry's wand to Hermione.

"Thank you, Neville. You are a good friend, I know Harry would say so too." Hermione gave him a genuine smile. Neville left a few minutes later with just a wave to Hermione and without any more words.

Hermione was adamant that she won't be leaving his side till he regains consciousness. She refused to leave for meals and madam Pomphrey had to throw her out just before curfew. Hermione walked absentmindedly towards the Gryffindor tower, her legs directing her course, her eyes downcast. The moment she entered, a certain redheaded fellow fourth year stood in front of her.

"How is he?" Ron asked meekly.

"Why do you care? You could have come and seen him for yourself but a few games of chess and quidditch talk was more important." She replied angrily but the pitch of her voice remained the same.

"No, I…., Uh…., I mean…." Ron started stuttering, unable to answer.

"What?" Hermione asked, this time her voice rising above the normal level. Everyone present in the common room now watching the scene unfold.

"Everyone was doing the same, I didn't know I could…." Ron started to answer but Hermione cut him off midway through.

"Ronald Weasley, you insolent, jealous git. You were supposed to be his best mate. You should know he hates the attention. He needed you the most these last few weeks, he needed your support and what did you do? You foulmouthed about him, slandered him behind his back." Her anger was rising so was her voice, her face looked like a ripe tomato.

"I wasn't the only one, everyone was talking behind his back, they were making bets about him." Ron shouted back, his Weasley temper getting better of him.

"You lost his trust Ronald." She left the common room and walked towards the fourth-year boys' dormitory. She collected the Marauders' Map and Harry's invisibility cloak from Harry's trunk. The only person present in the dorm was Neville who was busy reading a heavy tome. He gave Hermione a small smile and a nod as she was walking back towards the common room. She brought a book from her room and waited in the corner of the common room for everyone to leave. An hour or so later, all the Gryffindor students had left for the comfort of their beds. She wrapped the cloak around her and activated the map. She sneaked out of the common room and reached the infirmary without any incident and an unlocking charm later she was inside the infirmary.

She deactivated the map and continued her vigil from the chair next to the bed, her head resting on right arm while her left hand drawing small circles on the back Harry's right hand. She noticed that madam Pomphrey had changed the patient's gown to Harry's pyjama. A few minutes later, Hermione drifted to sleep.

Hermione woke up with a start, Harry squeezed her left hand tightly. Hermione realized that his body was in the middle of a violent spasm, his cloths and body drenched in cold sweat. Hermione stood up from the chair and sat on the bed. Her left hand moving through his hair, her fingers gently massaging his scalp. In a minute or two, he was back to normal but Hermione continued her ministrations. She checked her watch, it was 2:00 AM. She needed to return to the dorm in a couple of hours and get changed, it was necessary to maintain the appearance that she was in her bed last night. She did not want any more rumours circulating around the school, and having the gossip queen as your dormmate made this possibility quite real. She knew that visitors were allowed from 7:30 in the morning to just before curfew. She didn't notice the eyes watching her from the matron's room or the eyes watching her from the window.

She was back in the infirmary after an early breakfast but late enough so that her dormmates could see her getting ready for the breakfast, they weren't suspicious as they knew that the bookworm was an early riser even on weekends and due to the task, there were no classes today.

She sat at the chair next to the bed which she occupied last night and took hold of Harry's hand. The serenity of the moment was broken when ran into the infirmary around lunch.

"Hermione, you need to see this, it just got delivered?" He shouted while waving the newspaper in front of Hermione. It looked like he ran all the way from the great hall to the infirmary, he was out of breath.

"Mr. Longbottom, it's not a playground. Keep your voice down and your steps small." The matron scolded him from her office at the end of the ward.

"Sorry, madam Pomphrey." He replied sheepishly while handing the newspaper to Hermione.

"Isn't it quite late for the prophet, they usually deliver around breakfast." Hermione asked in a very confused tone.

"Turn to page three." Neville said hastily. And there was the reason of his appearance in the infirmary.

TROUBLES IN HARRY POTTER'S PARADISE

By Rita Skeeter

It looks like all is not well in the love life of the young couple of Hogwarts, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Miss Hermione Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian Bonbon Viktor Krum, they had been seen on a couple of occasions to share a table in Hogwarts' library. On the other hand, the young champion Harry Potter has been getting close to the American Champion, Zoe Walker. They had been seen sharing a private moment in a secluded part of the castle before the first task of the tournament. It is assumed that the display of affection was initiated by the seventeen years old American beauty.

Meanwhile, after the injuries to the Boy-Who-Lived in the first task, he was taken to the Hogwarts' infirmary in an unconscious state. Miss Granger was found sitting on his bed in the late hours of the night, the couple sharing a close moment. No party was available for comment.

The reporter would hope that it's just a hiccup in a happy relationship but at the moment it looks like the muggleborn witch is toying with the affection of the tragic young hero of the wizarding world who lost his parents at the age of one. It is known that the boy-wonder has very limited friends and Miss Granger is his only female companion in his school life. A dormmate and a student from her year, Miss Brown told the Prophet, 'Potter depends on her, he is like a lost child without her. She is quite bossy and controls him. He won't do anything to upset her.'

It looks like Harry Potter has lost his heart to the wrong girl. We hope, he would make a better decision in the future in regards to his romantic life.

"That bitch!" Hermione slammed the newspaper on the bedside table. Her nose was flared and her face was flushed with anger. She wanted to tear that woman into pieces or throw her to the dragons.

"Language, Miss Granger. I would be forced to bar you from infirmary for the day if you can't keep your voice down." Pomphrey scolded the two Gryffindors.

"Hermione", Harry's voice came from the bed, barely audible. Harry had started to stir and started to blink slowly. Hermione again held his hand with both her hands. It looked like their loud voices had woken him up. He finally opened his eyes and turned his head towards Hermione.

"Hey", his voice raspy and barely above a whisper. His eyes could not betray the joy he was feeling at seeing Hermione being there. The next moment the mass of brown hair covered his face and an overly relieved witch squeezing the air out of him.

"'mione, can't breathe." He somehow got the word out. Hermione broke the hug, chuckling, fresh tears streaking down her cheeks. She violently rubbed them away with the back of her hand. She gave him a bright hearty smile that says 'all is well'.

"How are you feeling now, Harry?" Hermione asked, concern and worry creeping into her voice and persona.

"Sore and dizzy, apart from that just fine." Harry answered, trying his best to humour her. Attempt falling flat on its face if the expression on Hermione's face were any indication.

Madam Pomphrey offered two vials of potions from the side table. "Drink it in one go, Potter. They will help." Harry did as he was ordered by the matron. The first potion wasn't bad in taste but the second was just horrible, Harry hesitated for a second before pouring it in.

"That was disgusting." He said while making faces.

"That would clear the dizziness and any feeling of nausea. Children these days!" The last part said to no one in general and under her breath, seemed like she was thinking out loud.

"Ms. Granger, now you should go and have lunch. Mr. Potter is not leaving infirmary this weekend." Madam Pomphrey told the young witch.

"It would be better if you don't go to the great hall just yet. They are piqued about the article." Hermione winced after hearing Neville's word. Harry and Pomphrey looked confused.

"What article?" Harry asked his fellow Gryffindors who were avoiding his gaze at the moment.

"I will tell you later, Harry. It's not important." Harry doubted Hermione's statement.

"In that case, I will ask a house-elf to bring lunch for the two of you. I believe, Mr. Longbottom, you can have your meals in the great hall." Madam Pomphrey said and walked back towards her office. Neville left a minute later, two plates filled with food appeared in front of them. One on the side table and the other on a small table which appeared on the bed.

"Your quidditch injuries look like scratches compared to this." Hermione pointed out flatly.

"So, does that mean I won't be getting any stick from you for future quidditch injuries?" Harry responded playfully. The cold glare and flared nostrils was response enough for him to know that his attempt at humour had fa

Throughout their meal, either Hermione was avoiding his gaze or looked at him with a suspicious look in her eye. Once the meal was over, Harry could not hold his curiosity inside anymore.

"What's going on Hermione?" Harry asked her flatly.

"Did you kiss her?" Harry could not decipher the mixed emotions in her voice, anger or betrayal or suspicion or may be confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, he was seriously that Hermione would ask something like that and that too at this moment. She did not verbally answer, she just handed him the newspaper with the article open. As he started reading, his eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. His face paled, this did not go unnoticed from Hermione who was gazing Harry's face intently, studying every tiny change in his facial features.

"Answer me now! did you or did you not?" Hermione asked coldly, the last half of the sentence spoken a bit louder than she wanted. Even Hermione was surprised now with her line of thought, she could not understand why she was feeling affronted by his actions. Was it jealousy or was it the fact that he did not tell her about it.

"I, uh…., I mean….", Harry was flummoxed as how to answer it without angering her even more. Her icy glare doing nothing to help him.

"I did not kiss her, Hermione. She kissed me and it was over in a second." He muttered the last half as in trying to not speak it out loud. Now Harry was getting utterly confused with the reason for her anger. It's not he kept it from her, he most probably would have told her if it was not for his unconsciousness.

"It's nothing, Hermione. It was more like a peck on lips like a friend." He tried to defend, Hermione just huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her gaze still fixed on him.

"And what's with Krum and you?" He asked in conversational tone, trying to change the topic.

"It's nothing. He needed some help in finding a book and then sat on the same table. That's it." Hermione answered tacitly, the pitch of her voice dropping a bit towards the end.

"So, you like that American girl?" Hermione asked Harry, trying to know his view of her.

"She is a bit too extrovert and flirtatious. I didn't get much opportunity to really talk." Harry answered, his eyes on the newspaper. He completely missed the effect his words had on Hermione's expressions.

She changed the tactics and asked him a bit playfully, "So, what were you doing if not talking?" She punctuated her question with a mischievous smile that said 'I know what you did'.

"Uh…. Well the first time was the wand weighing and then the second time was just wishing each other good luck." He did not elaborate the unconventional method Zoe used to wish him or may be herself good luck. Neither the slight upwards tug at the end of his lips nor the unfocussed look in his eyes was missed by Hermione.

"Aham…. I will see you later, Harry." She started to leave but was stopped by her hand being pulled by Harry from behind.

"Thanks Hermione, for being by my side all along." He gave her a deep heartfelt smile which showed his gratitude towards the witch. His eyes were filled with the gratitude and the joy of having a friend you can fall back on. All the anger she was feeling melted and so did her heart. She flashed him a small smile and walked towards the exit of the infirmary. As she stepped in the corridor outside the infirmary and stopped dead in her track as she came across the most unexpected sight. Miss Zoe Walker, the Ilvermorny champion was walking towards her.

"Hi, I'm Zoe Walker." She introduced herself while offering her hand. Hermione accepted her hand with some hesitation and a curt nod.

"Hello, I'm Her…."

"Hermione Granger, I know." She said, cutting Hermione off midsentence. Hermione's opinion of her dropping even further southwards.

"Is he up?" Zoe asked, tilting her head to point her chin towards the hospital ward.

"Yes, he is awake." Hermione answered curtly, "He needs his rest, so it would be better if you came back later sometime." Hermione stepped to the side and started walking away from her. Before she could walk more than a few steps, Zoe interrupted her.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Can we talk somewhere more isolated?" She asked in the most business-like manner.

Hermione gave her a nod and started walking towards a class which she expected to be empty. She opened the door and motioned her to enter first, she followed the older witch. She locked the door and put a silencing charm on the door. They both stood a few feet apart in an awkward silence.

"What do you want to talk about?" Hermione asked without wasting anymore time.

Zoe looked into her eyes and could see that there was no friendliness and trust present for her. She was fidgeting a bit, her fingers tapping the desk she was leaning against. Hermione was standing against the door.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Zoe asked without any preamble.

"Why do you care?" Hermione replied acidly, giving her a look that could vaporize an ice.

"Don't try to play dumb here. You must have read the article already." She answered, taking a deep breath in. She needed to keep her temper in check, she didn't expect this girl to be this unfriendly.

"Why did you do it?" her cold gaze not moving an inch away from the American witch.

"Because I wanted to. Jealous much, don't tell me you haven't thought about it?" Zoe countered with a knowing smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Are you two together?" She continued after a pause a couple of seconds.

"I don't want to sound rude but It's none of your business." Hermione turned on her heels and cancelled the silencing charm and was about to inlock the door when Zoe interrupted her again.

"What's your problem? Why are you being a bitch if I want to get close to him? I was trying to be civil and wanted to make sure that you are not an item. It seem I don't need to. It would be better if you stay out of my way." Before Hermione could respond, Zoe walked towards the door, unlocked it and left, leaving a stunned Hermione to her musings.

Zoe started to walk towards the infirmary, she knew she could have handled the situation better but no worries. She will go and check up on Harry.

As she entered the ward, she saw Harry sitting on the bed, reading the paper, his left hand and legs heavily bandaged. He was sitting in his pyjamas, his black hair unruly and unkempt giving him a roguish look. She walked up to him.

"Wassup champ! How you doing?" Zoe asked in a cheery voice and with a bright smile.

"Hey, I'm Fine." Harry answered a bit hesitantly, his cheeks coloured a bit. "It looks like you are in good condition."

"I was out of the hospital in a couple of hours. Vipertooth are easier to handle, they are dangerous but not that big." She answered while occupying the sit previously occupied by Hermione.

"It looks like you impressed the judges. You are in third position, behind Diggory and myself. From what I heard, you put quite a show there." Harry's face turned a bright shade of red on being complimented for his performance.

-X-X-

Hermione ran to the dormitory, not trusting herself to breakdown in the corridor and cry. How could she think that she could be any more than a friend to the emerald eyed boy? She was just the bookworm friend who was only good enough for helping him prepare. She reached her dormitory and walked to her bed. The scene that greeted her was bad. On her bed were lying pieces of red paper which she knew belonged to howlers. There were, at the least, fifty more letters spread all over the floor around her bed and on her bed. She carefully picked a stuffy brown envelope. As she opened the envelope, her fingers were covered in a sticky puss. A moment later her skin started to itch and burn, she dropped the envelope and ran towards the infirmary. Her tears spilling down her face. When she crossed the common room and the corridors, a few people snickered, some shamelessly laughed and pointed towards her. She ran without giving a damn about the people taunting and laughing at her.

As she ran into the infirmary, Harry was fast to deduce that something was very wrong and stood up from his bed and stepped towards, his right arm wrapping around her waist. The moment his arm held her, she broke down in his arm. He needed all his strength to keep her standing, his legs were stinging a bit but he pushed it aside. Hermione was crying like a baby on his shoulder and chest. They both sliding down to the kneeling position on the floor, Harry was moving right hand along her spine in a desperate attempt to calm her down, he was whispering in her ear that all will be fine. Hermione's arms were spread on the side, keeping them from touching Harry.

Madam Pomphrey rushed out of her office on hearing the loud noises coming from the room outside. She asked Harry to move her to an empty bed and asked Zoe to support him in doing so. Madam Pomphrey brought a big bowl and put both of Hermione's hand in it and washed them with a clear solution then replaced the solution with Murtlap Essence and asked Hermione to keep her hands soaked in the solution. Zoe bid her good byes and left the duo.

"Keep it soaked, it will reduce the prickling and pain." Madam Pomphrey left them and returned to her office.

Harry set on the left side of her on the bed, his right arm around her shoulders. She leaned towards him and rested her head on his right shoulder. Her tears were flowing down uninterrupted. Harry was patting her shoulder gently to calm her down. It looked like she was regaining her composure slowly, her cries slowly turned into light sobs and sniffles. A few minutes later, all the sobs died down and replaced by occasional sniffs.

"What Happened Hermione?" Harry asked in a concerned voice, gently caressing her shoulder.

She explained what happened after she entered the dormitory, everything that happened since till she reached the infirmary. "Why Harry, why it's happening to me, happening to us?"

"I don't know Hermione, may be they are jealous of your brains and your beauty. Rita is doing all this to get revenge on you for standing to her. Don't worry, we will talk to McGonagall. Everything will be alright."

An hour later, madam Pomphrey returned with a blue salve and applied it on the burns on Hermione's hands. She than covered her hands with bandages.

"Make sure you keep them dry and don't move your fingers much." Madam Pomphrey prescribed. She allowed Hermione to spend the night in the ward which she accepted without any protest. Pomphrey asked a house-elf to bring dinner to for the two of them. At the moment, Harry and Hermione were sitting at the same bed, facing each other. Hermione was narrating the action in the dragons' pit. Harry was enjoying his time, sounds ridiculous as they both were in hospital.

When the food arrived, Hermione was having trouble as she was not to move her fingers much. Watching her fumble with the cutlery, harry offered to slice her food for her. She agreed after some protest. Even after that she was trouble with the eating part.

"Leave the fork down, Hermione." Harry ordered in stern voice. He picked it up and fed Hermione a piece of chicken. When she hesitated, Harry just answered, 'what are friends for'.

That night, Hermione was a very happy witch even after the incident with the hate mail and the conversation she had with Zoe. She was content that she at least had a friend who cares for her and would help her any way possible.

Harry on the other hand was thinking about the conversation he had with Zoe. They both could not understand how anyone knew about what happened in the tent as they were the only ones present inside. They had no idea how someone eavesdropped on them. They both made it clear to each other that they hadn't spoken about it to anyone. Harry was not worried about his name being smeared because that was already happening. He was worried that Zoe might get some flake from some of the over enthusiast readers and well-wishers. With these thoughts and concern about the well-being of his best friend, Harry slowly drifted off to sleep.

-X-X-

The next day, Harry and Hermione were cleared to leave the infirmary around noon after a final check-up. Harry was holding a box, full of different potions for him and Hermione was given a small pot of salve for her injuries. Neville had come to meet them and was walking along the duo. Harry informed him that they will be going to meet McGonagall first to talk about the hate mail Hermione was receiving. Neville offered to take his potions back to the dorm, Harry happily agreed and promised to meet him at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

The duo walked towards the office of the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. They were asked to enter after the knocked on the office door.

"Good afternoon, professor." Both said in unison.

"Good afternoon Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. I hope you both are well. What can I do for you." She replied in her characteristic stern Scottish manner and motioned them to take a seat opposite to her.

"Professor, we wanted to, actually I wanted to…. To discuss….", Hermione started to speak but was unable to put the thought into words due to the awkwardness of the subject at hand.

"Professor, we need your help with the hate mail Hermione is receiving." Harry answered for Hermione, his eyes fixed at McGonagall, he totally missed the blush on Hermione's face at the mention of the mail.

"I am aware of the situation in general terms. The best I can do is to ask some house-elf to screen the mail before it gets delivered to you."

Hermione flinched a bit that an unfortunate elf will be facing the brunt of the hate mail she has been receiving. Before she could object or suggest some alternative of her own, Harry agreed to the idea given by the professor. Hermione glared at Harry for a moment before returning her gaze back towards the professor. She knew that Harry was just trying to keep her safe from some stupid elements of the wizarding population.

"Thank you, professor." Harry started to rise and move out of the chair but McGonagall asked him to wait for a minute.

"Headmaster will be announcing this news at dinner but I wanted to inform you personally. The host school organises Yule ball on the Christmas day, it's a traditional part of the tournament and an opportunity for the students to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball will start at 8:00 PM and will end at the stroke of midnight. Formal dress robes is the dress code for the evening." McGonagall said in her lecturing tone. "You, as the champion, will be opening the ball with your partner along with the other champions and their partners. It seems that you already have one." Her eyes moving between Harry and Hermione with a mischievous glint. Hermione blushed but Harry had a confused look on his face. It took a couple of seconds before he came to realize the meaning of the statement.

"Oh, no no no no." Harry said, while shaking his violently. "We are not together professor, we are just best friends, that's it." Hermione felt a small pinch of disappointment which even she did not care about.

"As you say, Potter. Either way you have to ask a girl to the ball. You will be opening the dance with your partner." McGonagall replied, her eyes losing the glint. She looked at Hermione to see her reaction to Harry's answer. In the next seat, Harry paled at the realization that he would need to dance that too in front of everyone. He knew he was worse than a troll at dancing.

"I believe Ms. Granger won't have any problem in teaching you some basics about dancing."

Harry just nodded and the duo walked out of the classroom, the discussion that just had with their head of house running in their head. Harry was thinking about the prospective dates for the Yule Ball while they walked towards the great hall.

"Harry, who are you planning to ask for the ball?" Hermione asked while taking a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Err…. I haven't planned to ask anyone yet. Maybe I will ask Cho." There discussion was halted as a great grey owl flew towards them and crashed into a pitcher of pumpkin juice, splashing everyone in vicinity. Tied to its leg was a letter in red coloured envelope addressed to Hermione. Hermione removed the letter but was afraid to open it, a few moments later, smoke started to rise from the letter.

"Hermione, open it now or it will be disastrous." Neville shouted from his seat across from her. The great hall had gone silent as everyone had noticed the crashing owl. All eyes were fixed on Hermione as she held the red letter in her hand. She broke the seal with her shaking hand.

"HERMIONE GRANGER, HOW DARE YOU HURT HARRY LIKE THAT? WE THOUGHT YOU WERE HIS FRIEND. YOU KNOW HE HAD ENOUGH PROBLEMS ALREADY IN HIS LIFE AND YOU BREAK HIS HEART, YOU BETRAYED HIM. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED AT BURROW FROM HERE ON." The howler spoke in Mrs. Weasley's voice and almost everyone was laughing or snickering afterwards.

Hermione was in tears, she thought of Mrs. Weasley as a distant relative. She thought Mrs. Weasley knew and understood that she won't hurt Harry ever. Of course, she was wrong, she was feeling humiliated, more than how she felt after the article in the Prophet. She felt like her trust was shattered in a million pieces. She could not stop her tears from flowing down her cheeks. She rose from her seat and ran towards the door. Harry followed her and was calling her all the way, she was headed towards the lake. It took a minute or so for Harry to catch up with her. He gripped her right elbow and turned her so they were face to face. Harry noted, for the first time, that their heights were almost the same.

He held her from her shoulders, with his right hand he lifted her head from her chin so their eyes were in level. She was avoiding his gaze.

"Hermione, look at me." He asked in a soft but firm voice.

"I swear Harry, I didn't do anything to betray you of break your trust." She said in between her sobs, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Shh…. I know, Hermione, I know. May be Mrs. Weasley trusted what that crooked reporter wrote in the papers. We will write her a letter and explain." He tried to calm her down.

She stepped towards him and embraced him. Her arms were coiled around his chest and back. He moved his arms to rest around her shoulders. He kept stroking her hair in a calming way.

They went to the common room a few minutes later when Hermione calmed down. They sat in the chairs around a table in a corner of the common room. Hermione wrote a long letter explaining the situation and her story. An hour later, they went to the owlery where they found Mercury perched in a nook towards the top. The bird came down when it saw her. She tied the letter on Mercury's leg and ordered it to not to wait for a response. They saw Hedwig perched and sleeping in a nook on the other end of the owlery, its head hidden under its wing.

A/N: I know it's a bit too sweet at times, it's too fluffy towards the end. I tried my best to portray an early teenage puppy love scenario, been through a similar situation. Don't kill me for it, it just happened. There is high probability that the next chapter will be posted in April, stay tuned. Please review.