Okay, so, I'm not sure how this is going to be, seeing as the events of the task as well as the graveyard is all in Harry's POV and Ron is not present for it
I would assume that no one could see what was going on in the maze, so it'll be a lot of noise and conversation, which will be great for me to put my own in there, however, Imma try to see if I can have Bagman commentate and say a few things on what is happening, since I would assume he did that anyways.
So a lot of this will be mainly conversation between Hermione and whoever else is around him, but mainly Hermione. And his thoughts. And maybe some cute little moments, who knows with my Romione shipping mind lol.
Chapter 111: The Third Task
Hermione and I were supposed to be studying for our exams, which would finish on the day of the third task, but we were putting most of our efforts into helping Harry prepare.
"Don't worry about it," Hermione said shortly when Harry pointed this out to us. And if I really cared."at least we'll get top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We'd never have found out about all these hexes in class."
"Good training for when we're all Aurors," I said excitedly, attempting the Impediment Curse on a wasp that had buzzed into the room and making it stop dead in midair.
The mood in the castle as we entered June became excited and tense again. Everyone was looking forward to the third task, which would take place a week before the end of term. Harry was practicing hexes at every available moment with us, and it seemed to boost his morale and make him feel more confident about how he would do.
Tired of walking in on the three of us all over the school. Professor McGonagall had given permission for us to use the empty Transfiguration classroom at lunchtimes. Harry had soon mastered the Impediment Curse, a spell to slow down and obstruct attackers; the Reductor Curse, which would enable him to blast solid objects out of his way; and the Four-Point Spell, a useful discovery of Hermione's that would make his wand point due north, therefore enabling him to check whether he was going in the right direction within the maze. He was still having trouble with the Shield Charm, though. This was supposed to cast a temporary, invisible wall around himself that deflected minor curses; Hermione managed to shatter it with a well-placed Jelly-Legs Jinx, and Harry wobbled around the room for ten minutes afterward before she had looked up the counter-jinx.
"You're still doing really well, though," Hermione said encouragingly, looking down her list and crossing off those spells we had already learned. "Some of these are bound to come in handy."
As I stood next to the window, something outside it and below me caught my eye "Come and look at this," I said to Harry and Hermione. "What's Malfoy doing?"
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in the shadow of a tree below. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be keeping a lookout; both were smirking. Malfoy was holding his hand up to his mouth and speaking into it.
"He looks like he's using a walkie-talkie," said Harry curiously.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's a muggle device that you talk into and someone that has the same device can hear you. Kind of like a telephone." explained Harry.
"He can't be," said Hermione, "I've told you, those sorts of things don't work around Hogwarts. Come on, Harry, let's try that Shield Charm again."
As they continued to practice, I kept my eye on the Slytherins. Something wasn't right, and I knew we would find our sooner or later.
Sirius was sending daily owls now. Like Hermione, he seemed to want to concentrate on getting Harry through the last task before they concerned themselves with anything else. He reminded Harry in every letter that whatever might be going on outside the walls of Hogwarts was not Harry's responsibility, nor was it within his power to influence it.
If Voldemort is really getting stronger again, my priority is to ensure your safety. He cannot hope to lay hands on you while you are under Dumbledore's protection, but all the same, take no risks.
Concentrate on getting through that maze safely, and then we can turn our attention to other matters.
Breakfast was a very noisy affair at the Gryffindor table on the morning of the third task. The post owls appeared, bringing Harry a good-luck card from Sirius. It was only a piece of parchment, folded over and bearing a muddy paw print on its front, but Harry seemed to appreciate it all the same.
A screech owl arrived for Hermione, carrying her morning copy of the Daily Prophet as usual. She unfolded the paper, glanced at the front page, and spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice all over it.
"What?" said Harry and I together, staring at her. "Nothing," said Hermione quickly, trying to shove the paper out of sight, but I snatched it out of her hand.
"No way. Not today. That old bitch." I said as I looked at the headline.
"What?" said Harry. "Rita Skeeter again?"
I gave Harry a non convincing look."No," I lied, and just like Hermione, attempted to push the paper out of sight.
"It's about me, isn't it?" said Harry.
"No," I lied, very poorly. But before Harry could demand to see the paper. Ferret Ass shouted across the Great Hall from the Slytherin table.
"Hey, Potter! Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?"
Malfoy was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet too. Slytherins up and down the table were sniggering, twisting in their seats to see Harry's reaction.
"Let me see it," Harry said to me in a deadpan voice. "Give it here."
Reluctantly, I handed over the newspaper. Harry turned it over and we read the article from over his shoulder
"HARRY POTTER, DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"
The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School.
Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potters brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.
"He might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could be a plea for attention."
The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public.
"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power."
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation.
Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence."
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening.
"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" said Harry lightly, folding up the paper.
Over at the Slytherin table, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were laughing at him, tapping their heads with their fingers, pulling mad faces, and waggling their tongues like snakes.
"How did she know your scar hurt in Divination?" I pondered. "There's no way she was there, there's no way she could've heard -"
"The window was open," said Harry. "I opened it to breathe, remember?"
"You were at the top of North Tower!" Hermione said. "Your voice couldn't have carried all the way down to the grounds!"
"Well, you're the one who's supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging!" said Harry. "You tell me how she did it!"
"I've been trying!" said Hermione. "But I...but..."
An odd, dreamy expression suddenly came over Hermione's face. She slowly raised a hand and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Are you alright?" I asked, frowning at her.
"Yes," said Hermione breathlessly. She ran her fingers through her hair again, and then held her hand up to her mouth, as though speaking into an invisible walkie-talkie. Harry and I glanced at each other, wondering if she had gone mental.
"I've had an idea," Hermione said, gazing into space. "I think I know...because then no one would be able to see...even Moody...and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge...but she's not allowed...she's definitely not allowed...I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library - just to make sure!"
With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall.
"Oi!" I called after her. "We've got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes! Blimey, she must really hate that Skeeter woman to risk missing the start of an exam. What're you going to do in Binns's class - read again?"
"S'pose so," Harry said to me but just then, Professor McGonagall came walking alongside the Gryffindor table toward him.
"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast," she said.
"But the task's not till tonight!" said Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time.
"I'm aware of that, Potter," she said. "The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."
She moved away. Harry gaped after her.
"She doesn't expect the Dursleys to turn up, does she?" he asked me blankly.
"Dunno," I shrugged. "Harry, I'd better hurry, I'm going to be late for Binns. See you later."
I took off to History Of Magic, eager to get this exam over and done with.
After a very long and very boring class, Hermione (why would not tell me anything about what she had done after she left us at breakfast)and I headed to lunch.
When we came into the Great Hall, a sight that I thought I would never see met me at the Gryffindor table.
"Mum - Bill!" I said, stunned, as I joined the table. "What're you doing here?"
"Come to watch Harry in the last task!" said Mum brightly, giving me a hug. "I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook. How was your exam?"
"Oh...okay," I said. "Couldn't remember all the goblin rebels' names, so I invented a few."
Mum gave me a disapproving look as helped myself to a Cornish pasty
"It's alright. They're all called stuff like Bodrod the Bearded and Urg the Unclean; it wasn't hard."
Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to us too, and it felt as if we were back at the Burrow.
"Hello, Hermione," said Mun, much more stiffly than usual.
"Hello," said Hermione, attempting to smile, but failing from the look on Mum's face.
"Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you?" said Harry. "Because Hermione's not my girlfriend."
"Oh!" said Mum, trying to hide her relief "No - of course I didn't!"
But she became considerably warmer toward Hermione after that.
"So," said Bill low enough for only me to hear. "Been busy with work, so I didn't get to answering your letter. Especially when I found out I was coming. I thought it would be-"
"She's right there, Bill." I whispered back, nervously.
Bill gave me a knowing look. "Ohhhh, so you haven't told her yet, have you?"
I sighed. "No. I don't think this is the right time. Plus, I don't want to embarrass myself. Especially when she's all into Krum."
Bill shook his head. "Krum's no competition, and as soon as you figure that out, the better you'll be."
"What do you know?" I sneered. "You aren't here everyday. You don't see what I see."
"Oh I see enough." said Bill in a for sure voice. "Believe me Ronnie, I see enough."
After the rest of exams, and a very fine feast, the entire school made their way to the Quidditch pitch, which had been turned into a very dense maze made of tall walls of plants. Harry went off with Mum and Bill, while Hermione, Ginny, the twins, and I went and found seats in the stands.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan started taking bets while Ginny looked on disapprovingly. Hermione however, didn't pay much attention. Her eyes were locked on Harry, as he and the other champions were lined up outside of the maze.
"Alright there, Mione?" I whispered in her ear.
"Just worried, I guess." she said. "We could see him during the first task, and the second one we were a part of. We won't be able to see a thing during this one. What if something happens?"
"Awh come on." I said, trying to shrug her worries off, even though I shared them too. "All the shit that we helped Harry do? He's gonna be fine."
Hermione nodded as Mum and Bill joined us in the stands, with Mum sitting with Ginny, and Bill sitting on the other side of me.
"How is he?" I asked, so Hermione wouldn't hear me.
"Nervous, but good." said Bill. "He's gonna be okay."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!"boomed Bagman's voice. "Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each - Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"
The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.
"In second place, with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!"
More applause.
"And in third place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"
Mum made us clap for her. We caught Harry's eye and gave him a supportive wave
"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three - two - one -"
He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze.
The crowd cheered as Krum's ugly ass stepped up to get ready to go in. I halfway hoped he would trip on the way in.
Bagman whistled a second time, and Krum entered without tripping, much to my disappointment. A couple minutes later, Bagman's whistle blew again, and Fleur entered the maze.
"So, that was the veela girl you were talking about?" asked Bill.
I could feel myself blushing. "Yup, that's her." I said.
"Hmm." said Bill, running his hand over his chin. "Gotta admit, the girl is hot. And not just veela hot at that."
"You're more than welcome to her." I scoffed. "She's more trouble than she's worth."
"A woman is always worth the trouble." said Bill, giving me a wink. "Especially when that woman is the right woman."
Bagman announced that Cedric Diggory had just finished dealing with a Blast-Ended Skrewt, and that Harry had finished off a boggart that had turned into a dementor.
Ginny looked as if she was ready to collapse from nerves at the sound of the word dementor. She never forgot about how they made her feel. Thankfully, Mum gave her a hug, and she looked somewhat better.
Apparently Harry had ran into some trouble. Bagman was announcing how he, Diggory, and Krum were having it out.
"What the bloody hell is your precious Vicky doing?" I yelled to Hermione.
"He isn't my precious anything, Ronald! And stop calling him Vicky!"
Soon, red sparks appeared in the sky, indicating that someone was hurt and needed out of the maze. Hermione grasped my arm, thinking it was Harry, as wizards went into the maze. They soon came out with Fleur and Krum, and Hermione relaxed against me.
"See? Harry's just fine!" Hermione and I snapped at each other, chuckling afterwards.
For awhile, nothing was being said by Bagman. Dean and Seamus came our way and talked to us about what they thought was going on in the maze, and how they had placed hefty bets on Harry to win.
Bagman announces that Harry had figured out a riddle of a Sphinx, and was allowed to the next stage of the maze.
"I would have loved to have gone against a Sphinx." said Hermione, in an admiring voice.
"You do know that those bitches maim you if you get it wrong." I reminded her.
Soon, there was a blue streak of light shooting from the middle of the maze into the air.
"The Triwizard Cup has been retrieved!" boomed Bagman. "Ladies and gentlemen, our new champion is-"
Suddenly, we seen Bagman snatched off the podium he was standing on. I couldn't make out his face, but by the way he was flailing his arms, made it seem like he was in an argument.
Hermione noticed it too.
"Something's happened." she muttered.