Hermione
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"You need to point your wand more firmly, and concentrate on the object in front of you."
"That's what I'm trying to do, Hermione." Harry grumbled.
They were at the round table in the Library that Hermione often occupied with Harry, in the centre of the room. It could have been a quiet Friday afternoon, with the sunlight streaming through the large windows and illuminating their table in several places, but Harry was far too distressed to realise the atmosphere.
"Why do you get to do it, and I don't?" he moaned, pointing to the apple he was desperately trying to lure towards him.
"I don't know, maybe you've got a mental block..." tried Hermione. "You've got other things on your mind."
Harry sighed. He was extremely tense, because of the First Task of the Tournament coming up. His eyes kept twitching behind his round glasses, evidence of an obvious lack of sleep. On top of that, he wasn't eating enough, and Ron still wasn't talking to him. Hermione had rarely seen her best friend so agitated.
"You'll get the hang of it, Harry." she said quietly. "You just have to practise, you'll get the hang of it."
"That's not what I'm worried about." he replied in a whisper, avoiding looking at her.
Hermione felt a twinge of sadness.
"I know." she replied. "I'm anxious for you too. But don't worry, Dumbledore will be here, nothing can happen to you if he's here."
"Maybe, but I'm going to be humiliated in front of the whole school, again." he growled.
"Who cares about that!" protested Hermione. "Who cares what other people think, the most important thing is that you get away with it!"
Harry didn't seem convinced. He twitched, then pointed his wand again at the red apple in front of them:
"Accio!"
His wand movement was far too sudden, and the apple took the impact of the spell a little too hard, jumped and fell to the ground.
Madam Pince poked her head out of one of the shelves and looked at them sternly.
"Come on, let's get out of here." said Harry, grabbing his bag with one hand. "Madam Pince will fire us if I drop this apple again."
Hermione obeyed and put her things away, then picked up the apple, which had turned brown on the side from the failed spell. They both made their way out of the Library, ignoring the curious looks around them that had been following them everywhere lately. They passed by Viktor Krum's table, who raised his head, eyebrows furrowed, but said nothing.
When they reached the Library corridor, Harry asked:
"What do you think he's doing in the Library, Krum?"
"I'm not sure... Maybe he's looking for somewhere quiet where he's not being stared at..."
"That's a mistake." said Harry. "Have you seen the number of girls following him around?"
Hermione didn't dare tell Harry that she had noticed several groups of girls following Harry in the same way that Krum had, perhaps he had never noticed. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry offered:
"Do you want to go for a walk with me outside? Maybe go and see Hagrid?"
"Oh, sorry Harry, I can't, my Rune Studies class starts in twenty minutes." she said, looking at her watch. "See you afterwards?"
"'Alright."
Hermione gave him a small smile and walked up the stairs to the front of the Rune Studies class. Her bag full of books tapped against her hip with every step she took. Eventually she reached the third floor, where the Charms class was also located. The Slytherins were waiting at the front, and Hermione instinctively looked for Malfoy in the crowd.
He was chatting with Blaise Zabini, both of them standing several inches taller than the others. He was wearing his Slytherin cloak and his blond hair was slightly dishevelled. As she passed them, Malfoy looked at her for a second, but there was no expression on his face, so Hermione wondered if he had actually seen her.
They hadn't worked together in the Library since Monday night. Hermione had been with Harry a lot lately, so she hadn't had time to go to the Library on her own. When she was there with Harry, Malfoy never showed up, and the back table they used was always unoccupied.
She sat down in front of the Rune Studies classroom and took her book out of her bag. She had finished her grandmother's book, and had liked it so much that she had written her a letter to thank her for giving it to her. Now she was reading a book on the best defensive Charms, which she had borrowed from Madam Pince and was reading in the hope of helping Harry.
But she wasn't actually reading her book. She was quietly watching Draco Malfoy, without knowing why. Every time she returned to her book, she couldn't help but look up at him. Pansy Parkinson had joined their conversation and Malfoy was laughing. She wondered, once again, about the nature of the bond between the two of them. Sometimes they seemed like a couple. Maybe she should ask Lavender and Parvati, or Ginny.
The bell rang and the door to Professor Flitwick's class opened to let the Slytherins in, and Malfoy entered without glancing at her. Hermione did the same in her Rune Studies class where she sat in the front row, as usual.
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The next day, the students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Hermione managed to persuade Harry to go there to take his mind off things, but he only agreed on condition that he could keep his invisibility cloak on him, much to Hermione's dismay:
"Well, all right." she said. "But I hate talking to you when you're wearing that cloak, I never know if I'm looking at you or not..."
Hermione went to tell Neville that their study session was postponed until the next day and walked alongside an invisible Harry on the way to Hogsmeade. As November drew to a close, the air was as cold as ever and Hermione had to pull her scarf tighter around her neck many times. Harry didn't talk much, probably still deep in thought about the Tournament.
They arrived in Hogsmeade, where the sweet smell of Honeydukes reigned. They passed a frozen chestnut stall, where many students were queuing.
Hermione went first to the parchment and quill shop to buy several rolls of parchment, then bought a few bottles of the strawberry shampoo. Then she went to the pet shop in Hogsmeade, which was much smaller than the one on Diagon Alley, to buy some treats for Crookshanks.
When she asked Harry if he wanted to go to the tea shop with her, he preferred to go to Zonko's to see what was new.
The shop smelt of lemongrass, which stung the nostrils. Hermione bought five packets of cinnamon tea, her favourite, and received a big smile from the shop assistant.
She walked out of the shop and felt something hit her elbow, which startled her so hard that she dropped three boxes of tea on the floor.
"Sorry, that's me!" whispered Harry hurriedly. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Hermione grunted through her teeth and picked up the boxes from the floor.
"Do you want to go to Honeydukes?" offered Harry.
Hermione agreed, because she wanted to buy those chocolates her father loved so much. They entered the crowded shop and zigzagged between the shelves to get what they wanted. Hermione eventually emerged with several bags of sweets and chocolates.
"It's hard to walk between all these people..." said Harry.
To make up for wearing the invisibility cloak, Harry had bought her cream chocolates, which melted and dripped onto their fingers with every bite. Harry's was floating in the air.
They passed the puzzled faces of the students in front of them walking the opposite way on the main road.
"Now people are looking at me." she lamented in a low voice. "They think I'm talking to myself."
"Don't move your lips so much." Harry said to her right.
"Take your cloak off a bit, no one's going to bother you here."
"You don't think so? Look behind you."
Hermione turned and saw a woman, whom she recognised as the famous Rita Skeeter, the dodgy journalist who had written that awful article about Harry. She was wearing a long, shimmering emerald cloak and her hair was tied up in a bun that went all over the place. She nearly ran into Hermione as she passed her.
"She's settled in the village." Harry told her once the woman had passed. "I bet you she wants to attend the First Task."
Whenever Harry mentioned the Tournament, Hermione realised with dread how close it was. Her throat tightened at the thought, so she preferred to change the subject:
"She's gone. Shall we go for a Butterbeer? It's a bit cold, don't you think?"
When Harry didn't reply, she added in an irritated tone:
"You don't have to talk to Ron!"
"All right."
They entered the pub, which was quite crowded. Harry whispered that he was going to sit at one of the back tables and Hermione ordered two Butterbeers from the counter. As she walked towards Harry, someone grabbed her arm and she spilled a few drops of beer on the floor:
"Hermione! What are you doing here on your own? Come and sit with us!"
Ron grinned at her, as did Fred and George. Lee was sitting with them too and offered her the chair next to him.
"Oh. Er... Sorry, I can't... I..."
She looked to the back of the room, which was obviously empty as Harry was nowhere to be seen. Ron must have realised he was hiding under his cloak because he suddenly let go of Hermione's arm, a scowl on his face.
"Ah, I see. See you later, then."
"Yes, see you later."
She continued on her way, dodging people who got in her way, and handed the pin to Harry, who thanked her. She could hear him taking big gulps of the warm beer.
"I really do look like an idiot sitting here on my own." she declared. "Good thing I brought something to do."
Hermione took out her little S.P.E.W notebook, which she took everywhere with her, as well as her box of S.P.E.W badges. She wore hers proudly on her jacket. Harry remarked about the S.P.E.W, but he didn't insist and they fell into a concentrated silence, interrupted only by Harry's gulps.
She couldn't see where Harry was looking, so when she saw Hagrid standing out from the other patrons because of his height, she said:
"Look, it's Hagrid!"
Hagrid noticed Hermione at the back of the room. Moody, who was next to him, whispered something to him and they both moved closer to Hermione and Harry's table:
"Are you all right, Hermione?" he asked warmly.
"Hello Hagrid." she replied with a smile.
She saw Moody lean over where Harry was sitting, perhaps to talk to him, but she couldn't make out what he was saying over the noise of the pub. Hagrid did the same, much to Hermione's surprise: how could they know that Harry was there, invisible?
Finally, the gamekeeper stood up and gave the Gryffindor a big smile:
"It was nice to see you, Hermione."
He winked at her and walked away with Moody.
"Why does he want me to go to his hut at midnight?" asked Harry in a whisper.
"Is that what he told you?" gasped Hermione. "I wonder what he's up to, again. I don't know if you should go, Harry... It might make you late for Sirius."
Harry remained silent, but she didn't know if it was because he was thinking, or if he simply hadn't heard her. Finally, he decided:
"I'll go. I'll hurry so I don't miss my appointment with Sirius at 1 o'clock. I'm curious about Hagrid asking me to come and see him so late..."
Hermione partly agreed: she too wondered what he could have planned so late. They readjusted their plan so that the Common Room was empty by 1am, and by the end their beer mugs were empty and their stomachs far too full of Honeydukes chocolates. They were almost dozing in their chairs, before Harry suggested:
"Shall we go?"
"All right." said Hermione as she picked up her things.
Harry remained fairly quiet all the way home, and Hermione couldn't blame him. She'd be quiet too, if she were in his shoes. She didn't know what to say to comfort him, so they just walked as slowly as possible back to Hogwarts.
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"Dragons."
"Dragons?!"
"Yes, dragons." Harry repeated.
Hermione had heard right the first time, but she still couldn't realise what awaited her best friend in two days' time. Dragons, fully grown, breathing fire. The same creatures that appeared in those books of magical creatures. The grown-up version of Norbert who was already spitting out jets of flame when he was two days old.
She almost had to sit down on the floor when she heard the news, but remained standing so as not to frighten Harry. She decided not to tell him everything she had read about them, so as not to frighten him. At least not any more than he already was.
Harry told her all about his discussion with Sirius the day before, and although the news that Karkaroff was a Death Eater was shocking, it didn't rival the news Hagrid had given him.
"We'll start by trying to keep you alive until Tuesday night." she said, slightly panicked. "Only then will we start worrying about Karkaroff."
They took their usual walk around the Black Lake, and even after three full tours, neither of them had any idea how to disable a full-grown dragon. So they went to the Library and both immersed themselves in books about magical creatures.
They spent the afternoon there, reading everything they could find about dragons. Most of the books talked about how to care for a dragon, or breeding groups, but none of them talked about defensive Charms to protect against them. Hermione thought aloud until Harry asked her to be quiet.
She drank tea after tea to avoid the feeling of hunger that had been nagging at her for several hours. After reading an entire chapter on dragon reproduction without finding anything, she closed it a little too abruptly and got up to fetch another.
That's when she saw him. He was standing in the doorway of the Library, arms folded, with his usual marble face. Draco Malfoy. Harry had his head down on his book, he hadn't even noticed Malfoy was there. When Hermione met his gaze, it gave her a jolt in the gut.
She didn't know how long he'd been there, but it must have been a long time. He simply shifted his gaze to Harry, then the secluded table they shared in secret a little further on. Hermione caught herself shrugging her shoulders, as if to say "sorry". He showed no sign that he had understood her message and simply walked back out into the corridor.
If she wasn't there, he wasn't coming? This thought replayed in her mind while she went to find a new book on dragons to study. She had been so caught up in her research with Harry that she had forgotten her usual study sessions with Malfoy. He, however, had not forgotten, and when he saw that she was already with Harry, he had left again.
She didn't know what to make of this information, yet she had the impression that it was far too precious not to care. When she returned to the table, she was still so deep in thought that she didn't hear Harry speaking.
"Hermione?" he repeated, startling her. "Would the Aguamenti spell work for fire?"
Hermione refocused and answered Harry while consulting the index finger of the book she had just picked up.
Harry was reading "Dragons and Ways of Life" when Krum entered the Library, relatively late compared to usual.
"Oh no, here he comes again." complained Hermione in a low voice. "Why doesn't he stay on his stupid boat and read?"
Krum went and sat down at his usual table and pulled out a book.
"Come, Harry. It won't be long before his fan club comes along and cackles in our ears..."
She was so used to the secluded table where she couldn't hear anything that she'd almost forgotten how annoying the girls who followed Krum could be. But Hermione could never have suggested this table to Harry, as if revealing it was some great secret she didn't want to share. It was her and Draco's table.
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Draco
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"Pans', I'll catch up with you later, okay?"
She nodded and Draco walked quickly away. He didn't know if he'd be there for dinner, because whenever he was with Granger, time sped up strangely and he tended to skip meals.
He went straight to the Library. That Sunday, it had been rather complicated to avoid Theo, Blaise and Pansy; he'd had to make up lies quickly to avoid spending the afternoon with them. Fortunately, Theo wasn't going to the Library this time. Draco was finding it harder and harder to hide from him as he walked back into the room to join Granger.
He reached the doorway and was about to head for the round, secluded table in the Library when he saw her. He stopped in his tracks and felt a painful pang in his heart.
She was not sitting in her usual place, but at one of the main tables in the centre of the room. Potter was with her, looking paler than ever. They were both reading frantically, and Draco suddenly realised that they had to study for this stupid Tournament. Potter's glasses kept sliding down his nose, which he put back on automatically before turning the pages of the book.
Granger was so preoccupied with her reading that it was almost comical. She moved her lips a little as she read, as if she were saying what she saw silently. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her hair was tied back in a quick ponytail so that it wouldn't disturb her while she read. A monstrous pile of books stood between the two students, proof of their hard work over the last few hours.
That's why he hadn't seen her during lunch, she was there with Potter. He had been so looking forward to spending a few hours with her that he suddenly felt a wave of hatred and jealousy towards Potter, although he had no idea what he had done to make him so angry. He'd never thought that not spending time with Granger for almost a week could be so... burdensome.
He tried in vain to convince himself that it was because he was used to her presence, but he knew that in reality, it wasn't really that. In reality, he loved spending time with her. He locked himself away in this sort of bubble, where the rest of the world didn't exist, where his problems drifted away, where Granger's blood status was just a detail. The fact that he hadn't had that moment in a week was painful, even if he didn't want to admit it.
She raised her head and met his gaze. Her face, marked by concentration, changed immediately. It was so easy to see what she was feeling, even from this distance. The crease between her eyebrows faded and she opened her eyes a little wider. He could see she'd forgotten about their usual study session.
He thought about it all the time, but she'd forgotten.
For her, it must have been insignificant. She could have study sessions with all her friends. It didn't mean the same thing to her as it did to him, and that pained him. He looked at bloody Potter reading, and at the secluded table, hidden by the bookshelves, which had become one of his favourite places in the Castle.
She shrugged her shoulders, saying the word "sorry" without actually saying it, and even though he understood that she was busy, this gesture irritated him. Couldn't she see how it hurt him?
He felt like Longbottom to her. Just an acquaintance who needed help. He felt the familiar flood of anger rise in his throat and subtly squeeze.
Draco walked away, not wanting to face Granger's look of pity. All the way to the Slytherin Common Room, he repeated to himself "it's not that big of a deal, it's not that big of a deal, it's okay."
It wasn't.
He said the password between his teeth, clenched in anger. Pansy was lying on a sofa talking to Theo. Draco sat down abruptly beside her, making her jump onto the cushion.
"Oh, Draco, I thought you..." she began.
"Have you got a cigarette?" he asked.
He was aware that his tone was dry, but he didn't correct it and waited for Pansy to open her packet and pull out a fag. Without a word, she lit the end of her wand and lit the tip. Draco ignored the two shocked faces of his friends at this unpredictable arrival and savoured the sensation of relaxation as he inhaled the smoke. He could feel it running down his throat, calming the fire of his anger.
"Are you going to explain?" asked Pansy, concerned.
"No." replied Draco, reluctant to tell her he had to smoke to hide his disappointment at not spending the afternoon with a Mudblood.
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Hermione
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On Monday morning, during Herbology class, Harry arrived with an idea to defeat the dragon. He told her in whispers what Moody had advised him to do: lure his Firebolt to fly over the dragon. Hermione thought it was a very good idea, so they practised throwing Accio all day. First, they practised in the Library, then when Madam Pince told them strictly that if another book was thrown they would be banned from the Library, they went and practised in an empty classroom.
Harry offered to skip class, but there was no way she was going to miss Arithmancy, her favourite class of the week. Harry was forced to go to Divination, and Hermione found herself sitting at her usual table. Across the aisle, she could hear the complaints of Theodore Nott, who still didn't understand the charters, and Malfoy, who wasn't helping him at all.
She glanced quickly towards them and was immediately drawn to the large round badge hanging from Malfoy's robes, where she could read the neon message "Potter stinks". She almost smiled. Monday, one week to the day. It was a clear provocation, she was sure that he had worn it on purpose to this class to show her that he had kept his promise.
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It wasn't until the sky was inky black behind the windows of Gryffindor Tower that Harry finally managed to draw an object towards him.
"Harry, I think you've got it!"
"Let's hope it works tomorrow..." sighed Harry. "The Firebolt will be much further away than the objects in this room. He'll be in the Castle and I'll be at the other end of the park..."
"It doesn't matter." Hermione said firmly. "As long as you concentrate really hard, it'll come. And now let's get you some much needed sleep."
Hermione swallowed the rest of her cold tea, the only thing Harry hadn't tried to pull towards him during the evening. They both went up to their respective dormitories, exhausted.
When she arrived at her dormitory, she knew at once that she was too nervous to hope for sleep. She washed up, crawled into bed quietly so as not to wake Lavender and Parvati, closed the curtains and felt Crookshanks snuggling up to her.
She stroked her cat slowly, lost in thought.
When the sun came up, Hermione hadn't slept at all. Time was strange, she felt like it was slow, and at the same time excruciatingly fast, as if she was still using the Time Turner. She left the dormitory, Crookshanks at her feet, and went to join Ginny for breakfast, as she did every day.
None of the Gryffindors were talking much on Tuesday, Harry least of all. The morning passed far too quickly. Hermione didn't even take notes during History of Magic, too preoccupied. Even though Harry was next to her, she had the impression that he was very far away, as if erased.
During lunch she could almost hardly recognise him.
"Eat a little, Harry, build up your strength..."
"Hmm?" he mumbled, his eyes blank.
He only stirred the food with his fork without desire. About halfway through the meal, Professor McGonagall approached them. She was as pale as Harry.
"Potter, the champions must go to the park now... You must prepare for your First Task."
"All right." replied Harry in a white voice.
"Good luck, Harry." said Hermione in a small voice. He barely turned to her. "Everything will be fine."
"Yeah." he replied, then left with McGonagall.
Ron leaned towards Hermione:
"How is he?"
Hermione hadn't noticed that Ron was so close to her. He was extremely stressed too, his hands were shaking a little and he was avoiding looking her in the eye. Hermione noticed that he, too, had barely touched his plate.
"He's ready." she said, more to convince herself than out of any real conviction.
Ron nodded and continued eating, or rather holding his fork and staring into space. She was in the same state. The bell rang very shortly afterwards, and Hermione stood up like a robot, following the other students who were chatting happily to the indicated spot for the First Task.
How could everyone be talking, laughing? Hermione couldn't even swallow her saliva any more, her throat was so tight. Every step she took sent spasms of stress through her body, and the closer she got to the tent, the more she thought she might faint.
She reached the edge of the forest, but just before entering the stands, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Hermione?" called Neville in front of her. "Are you coming?"
"Save me a seat Neville, I'm coming." she managed to say in a voice so strangled that he must not have heard correctly.
She pushed her way through the crowd of students and turned back. The white tent was being used by the champions, and Hermione could make out the shadows through it. She recognised Krum and his stooped figure, and Cedric who was pacing up and down in the centre of the room. She approached the tent as quietly as possible and found herself in front of one of the faded curtains.
Behind it, she could hear Harry's laboured breathing. She recognised his silhouette through it.
"Harry?" she whispered.
He approached the tent and Hermione grabbed the fabric to open it a little.
"How are you feeling? Good?"
Was it possible that he was even more stressed than she was? How could he be going through all this panic and still be standing?
"I'm fine." he said in a weak voice.
She could hear that he was lying, he'd probably been rehearsing that all day. Hermione moved closer to the tent again and whispered through the opening:
"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."
He didn't reply, and when she couldn't take it any more, she suddenly opened the tent and threw herself into her best friend's arms. Despite all their study sessions and discussions about the First Task, she'd never realised what it involved. Harry hugged her tightly and she thought she felt a sigh of relief escape him unintentionally.
They held each other like that for a long time. Hermione couldn't tell which of them needed it more.
Harry finally pulled away from Hermione: he smelt like the fire in the Common Room.
"Thank you, Hermione." he said, readjusting his glasses. "I needed that."
They gave each other a small smile twisted by anguish and Harry went back into the tent, shivering. Hermione returned to the stands, paralysed with fear.
She found a seat between Ron and Neville. Fred and George were nearby, taking bets from the other students.
"Are you all right?" asked Ron.
She couldn't even speak any more, her mouth was too pasty to try and form words, so she just nodded.
"Hello everyone and welcome to this First Task of the Triwizard Tournament !" announced the amplified voice of Ludo Verpey. "Well, I should say Fourwizard, because a new and unexpected entrant has been added to the competition!"
The crowd erupted in laughter, but Hermione's brain was too numb to react.
"The First Task will begin in a few minutes. The champions are all going to come one by one, in a random order, and are going to have to face something you've probably never seen up close..."
Hermione held her breath. Large cages levitated to the edge of the pitch. They were covered in a large white cloth that prevented the students from seeing what was in them, but Hermione knew all too well what was inside.
While the dragon breeders were making the final preparations for the First Task, Hagrid burst into the stands and stood behind Hermione:
"How's Harry?" he asked worriedly.
Hermione was unable to answer him, so it was Ron who informed him:
"He's ready, apparently. We don't know which one he's picked yet."
Ludo Verpey's voice then rose again, overexcited:
"Dear spectators, I present to you what the champions will have to face in a few moments... And we start with... The Swedish Short-Snout!"
As he said this, the fabric of the first dragon's cage flew away, revealing a greyish-blue dragoness. It was huge, much bigger than Hermione had imagined. It looked stunned, perhaps from the Charms the breeders had put on it to soften it up. At the sight of it, the audience gave a common exclamation of shock.
"Dragons!" they shouted together.
Seeing the size of the creature, Hermione reached such a level of stress that it almost blinded her. The dragoness was positioned high up, next to her eggs.
"Now you know what awaits our champions on this First Task!" shouted Ludo Verpey in his magically amplified voice, silencing the howls of the audience. "Dragons, grown-ups! The champions must each retrieve a golden egg in any way they can. Points will be deducted if they get hurt, or if they break the other eggs their dragoness is incubating. And now that the first dragon is in place, I ask you to join me in welcoming our first randomly selected champion... Cedric Diggory!"
The stands erupted in cheers and several banners bearing the effigy of Hogwarts and Hufflepuff went up. The stand below Hermione's struck the ground with their feet in applause, causing the wood on which she was standing to vibrate.
Cedric arrived in the distance. He no longer looked like the popular boy who smiled all the time; he was now focused and worried. He scanned his surroundings without moving, avoiding looking at the dragoness in front of him, probably so as not to panic. The dragoness was now fully awake and staring at poor Cedric, opening her mouth to reveal her sharp teeth.
Suddenly, the Hufflepuff threw himself forward between two stones. Seeing his sudden move, the dragoness stepped forward, held back only by the collar around her neck. Cedric then made a complicated gesture with his wand, and for a moment, nothing happened. The ground fell dead silent and everyone had to hold their breath.
Then, suddenly, the stone in front of him changed, transfigured into a big beige dog. Ludo Verpey commented on this gesture in a cheerful voice, but Hermione could hardly hear him over the applause echoing around her.
"He's Transfigured the stone, probably to distract the dragon." Ron told her in the hollow of her ear. "Clever..."
The dog jumped from one stone to another, momentarily diverting the dragon's attention, which allowed Cedric to get closer and closer, stone by stone. Hermione hoped the dog wouldn't be hurt, it would be a terrible sight.
The dragon followed the dog with his eyes, growling louder and louder. Discreetly, Cedric came closer, moving from stone to stone, invisible to the dragoness...
Until he missed, and fell with a loud crash. The dragon turned its head fiercely towards him, breathed in, and suddenly spat out a jet of blue flames so powerful that Hermione felt a pang of heat on her own face. Luckily, Cedric had managed to dodge it at the last moment by hiding behind a huge rock.
Hermione couldn't see Cedric from where she was standing and it was a long time before he reappeared. When the dragoness dived forward, pulling as hard as it could on its chain to catch the dog, Cedric suddenly emerged from his hiding place and threw himself flat on the ground. He was so close to the nest that if he stretched out his arm, he could touch the golden egg with his fingertips...
But he wasn't quick enough. The dragoness realised his ploy a second too soon, stepped back and launched a long stream of flames towards Cedric. Cedric had caught the egg and was brandishing it above his head, announcing the end of the Task. The dragoness was instantly Stupefied by several wizards on her side. The whole side of Cedric's face was burnt, swollen and scarlet, so much so that several girls in the audience howled in protest.
Yet he looked proud of himself. Hermione dug her nails into the wooden railing in front of her. Ron looked equally frightened:
"How's Harry going to do it?" he stammered.
No one replied, everyone must have been thinking the same thing. Harry was far too young to achieve that kind of performance, no matter how good a wizard he was. Even Hagrid was silent.
The judges announced their marks, but Hermione wasn't interested in the score. She didn't care if Harry came last, as long as he didn't hurt himself.
Fleur came next. Her dragoness was green, and Hermione recognised her race even before Ludo Verpey announced it: a Common Welsh Green. Less aggressive than Cedric's, but still extremely fierce.
As she made her way into the enclosure, Hermione felt a deep admiration for this girl, even if she didn't like her very much. It took an inordinate amount of courage to stand up to a dragon and show nothing on her face except deep concentration.
As soon as the dragon realised that Fleur had entered its space, the witch cast a powerful spell right between its eyes, a violet colour that Hermione didn't recognise. The dragoness blinked and her head, covered in green scales, fell to the ground with a loud noise, as if she had fallen asleep. Fleur's Task lasted less time than Cedric's, but she still lost points: her cloak caught fire when the Welsh Green snored too loudly, setting her dress ablaze just seconds before she grabbed the egg.
Then it was Krum's turn, much to Hermione's dismay as she couldn't wait any longer. Krum had picked the Chinese Fireball, which spat out large reddish fireballs as soon as it was tied up in the enclosure.
During Krum's Task, in which he cast a spell right into the eye of the dragoness who screamed in pain, Hermione turned to Hagrid:
"That's the Hungarian Horntail, isn't it? Harry's dragon?"
Hagrid shook his head sadly.
"The toughest of them all." he said in a small voice.
All the Gryffindors looked at him in unison, all worried for Harry. Hermione heard Ginny hold back a sob.
Of course, Hermione thought, he had to get the worst kind. She had read several books about dragons, and the description of the Hungarian Horntail was always the most terrifying. She barely saw Krum retrieve the golden egg, or his marks from the jury.
Hermione felt her heart pounding too hard against her chest. The breeders brought in the fourth and final dragon, the Hungarian Horntail. Even paralysed, it was scarier than the last three dragons. It looked like a huge lizard, except that it was fifteen metres tall and its scales were all matt black, reflecting the sunlight.
The whole audience howled, mostly in support of Harry. As the Gryffindor approached the enclosure, he looked extremely small. Hermione couldn't feel her legs any more, she had to hold on to the railing in front of her so tightly that she nearly fell over it several times.
"And now, here's our ultimate champion, Harry Potter!" shouted Ludo Verpey, cheered on by the audience. "Please join me in wishing him good luck, and success as brilliant as his predecessors!"
At the end of his sentence, the dragoness was released. For a second, the two looked at each other, one with a carnivorous gaze, the other with a worried face. Hermione reflexively clutched her wand in her pocket, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to contain the beast on her own if anything happened.
Suddenly, Harry pointed his wand at the sky and shouted something that was lost in the wind, but Hermione knew what it was, she had seen her friend repeat the same thing too many times over the weekend not to recognise his Accio. She waited for the broom, staring at Harry, scratching her face in fright without noticing...
The dragon seemed to grow larger with every passing second... No trace of Firebolt.
What was he going to do? Without a broom, he had no plan. Even from this far away, she could tell that Harry was thinking the same thing. Was he going to give up?
Fortunately, the whistle of the broom reached her ears as it hurtled towards Harry. Hermione screamed with the others, nauseous, blood pounding against her eardrums as if her head was going to explode. Harry straddled his broom and flew away, brushing against the jet of flames that the dragoness hurled at him.
"Go, Harry!" shouted Ron.
Harry spun in the air several times above the dragon. Hermione could almost see a sneer forming on his lips, or maybe it was her imagination. The Hungarian Horntail followed him, swinging its beady-eyed head.
Harry tried to dive, but the dragoness had seen him coming: she opened her big mouth and Hermione grabbed Ron's hand to shake it fiercely. Ginny had looked away and buried her face against George to avoid seeing what was about to happen.
But Hermione couldn't stop watching. She wanted to see how he was getting on, fearing every moment that he was going to get burned. Ron's hand was clammy in hers, they were clinging to each other, the only tangible thing Hermione could feel at the moment.
Harry tried to dive again, and the Hungarian Horntail turned violently, so that Hermione could hardly see its spiky tail swooping down on Harry. He climbed back onto his broom and Hermione squealed in terror as his arm was exposed: his shoulder was lacerated.
"It's all right, it's all right!" shouted Hagrid, probably unaware of what he was saying.
Hermione stood on tiptoe, every muscle in her body aching, screaming so much she lost her voice, and couldn't even hear the screams of the others. She gripped Ron's hand tighter and tighter, pressing her fingers against his...
The dragoness's chain tightened, and she stood on her hind legs, ready to send Harry flying like a bug, and he took the opportunity to make one last dive... He reached the nest and barely caught the golden egg, before flying away from the dragoness in a controlled loop.
Hermione felt a violent jolt of relief: he had made it.
"YES! HARRY! YOU MADE IT!" she shouted, even though he couldn't hear her at all. "YOU DID IT!"
She hugged Ron, jumping up and down as he screamed in her ear:
"HE DID IT! IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES! HE'S FIRST!"
Everyone in the stands was singing, jumping and clapping their hands. Ludo Verpey's commentary could no longer reach Hermione's ears; she preferred to bury her face in the leather of Hagrid's jacket, which hugged her so tightly that she probably had several cracked ribs.
He had done it. Hermione cried with joy and hugged Neville, Ginny, Fred and George successively without realising it.
.
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Draco
.
.
"What do you think the Task will be like?" asked Blaise as they sat down on the stands.
They had already had this conversation about ten times in the space of a week. Their theories were always far-fetched, and often went to extremes before ending in inconceivable plans. Theo was already blowing on his gloved hands for fear of getting cold.
"I don't know, but I hope Fleur wins!" exclaimed Pansy.
She and Blaise talked about the bet they'd set up, but Draco was too busy watching the crowd to try and intercept the Gryffindors to listen to what they were saying. He eventually found Granger at the last minute, just before the Task was announced. She was livid, almost as livid as when she'd been petrified in second year. Her eyes were riveted to the pitch, oblivious to the conversations around her.
Draco looked away only to find Ludo Verpey providing the commentary.
"Dear spectators, I present to you what the champions will have to face in a few moments... And we start with... The Swedish Short-Snout!"
He felt Theo stiffen beside him as the fabric of the cage flew away. It was a huge dragon, about 23 foot tall. Draco had never seen one so close, and it was so impressive that he couldn't help letting out an "oh!", mimicked by several other Slytherins.
"Fuck!" exclaimed Theo.
How was Potter going to survive this? Dragons were the worst possible creatures, the most dangerous. Before Draco knew what was happening, Diggory began the First Task, as fearless as ever.
"How can they give this as a Task?" shouted Pansy to drown out the screams from the audience. "It's far too dangerous!"
When she said this, the dragon in question roared and spat out a jet of blue fire, and Draco retreated to the stand by reflex. Diggory managed to shift in time to avoid the jet of flames.
"Fucking hell!" repeated Theo.
Draco knew Theo's interest in dragons. He often read books about them, and had managed to identify Weasley's burn simply by looking at it, in first year. But to see it like that, face to face, so imposing, was an experience he wouldn't soon forget.
Draco hadn't quite grasped Diggory's strategy of turning a rock into a labrador, but at least it worked. That is, until half his face was burned off by the dragon's fire. Theo gasped so hard that he had to hold on to Draco's coat to keep from falling backwards.
"It's atrocious!" screamed Pansy, next to Blaise. "He could have been killed!"
"Good results!" commented Blaise as he watched the panels raised by the judges.
Draco had forgotten that he had bet on him. He'd never thought the First Task could be so dangerous, and he couldn't enjoy the show as he should. His eyes kept darting back and forth between the pitch and Granger, who would probably faint in the next few minutes.
Fleur Delacour and Krum put in an excellent performance, but Draco could see nothing of it, being too focused on Granger. Like the Quidditch World Cup, he preferred to watch the show through her eyes, and her far too expressive reactions. She was so distraught, he could tell the stress was building up inside her as the Task progressed. Weaslette was having a hard time of it too, and so was Longbottom...
In fact, the only two people in the stand who didn't seem to be having a panic attack were the Weasley twins, who were organising last-minute bets with big smiles on their faces.
When Krum's Task finished, Draco thought he heard Theo comment next to him, "Well done!", and he could hear Blaise's overexcited tone when he saw their marks. But he kept looking at Granger, and her white knuckles from clutching the railing in front of her.
"And now, here's our ultimate champion, Harry Potter! Please join me in wishing him good luck, and success as brilliant as his predecessors!"
Harry Potter's frail body entered the enclosure. Compared to the dragon, he was the size of a pebble. Draco saw him observing the dragon's claws on his legs, its spikes dotted all over his back, its sharp teeth, its black scales. Ordinarily, he would have flashed his badge, shouted insulting slogans, laughed at him with Crabbe and Goyle. But this time, no. He was far too impressed to dare do that.
Granger had reached a level of panic far too high for a human being. At that moment, Draco realised just how much she cared about Harry Potter. He wasn't just her classmate, he was her best friend, you only had to see her clutching her own wand to understand that. He imagined being there, in the stands, watching Pansy walk towards the dragon, and it was so unbearable to imagine that he immediately pushed the image out of his head and looked at Potter.
Theo was worried too. He was no longer listing the characteristics of each dragon, he was silent, as was the whole of the stands surrounding the enclosure. Pansy hid her eyes and danced from one foot to the other.
Then, Potter shouted something that no one heard, waving his wand in the air. Everyone waited.
"He didn't do it..." began Blaise.
But his sentence was cut short by a general exclamation, and Draco saw Potter's flying broom streaking towards him.
"Of course." he growled.
Granger was howling with delight along with the others. She must have had a plan with him, maybe that was what they'd been studying in the Library for days?
Crabbe and Goyle were the only ones booing Potter now. None of the Slytherins dared make the slightest remark about the Gryffindor's performance, which was far too risky. As he took a sharp turn in the air, the dragoness spat out a powerful jet of flame that lightly engulfed the tail of his Firebolt, causing the audience to yelp.
Potter tried several dives towards the eggs, without success. When the dragon's tail struck Potter's shoulder, violently tearing his skin, he really thought Granger was going to faint. She screamed, completely unaware that no-one could hear her. She put one hand to her mouth, and Draco noticed that the other was busy clutching Weasley's, their fingers entwined... He stopped looking.
The Hungarian Horntail then made a crucial mistake, she stood on her back legs to grab Potter, revealing her nest of eggs.
"No! He's not going to go, is he?!" asked Theo in a voice tinged with concern.
Potter dived in and Draco felt his breath catch in his lungs. He grabbed the golden egg and straightened up at the last moment, miraculously dodging a powerful jab from the revolting dragoness.
Seeing this, Draco almost let go of the sigh of relief he had blocked in his chest, but caught himself at the last moment, suddenly remembering that this was his sworn enemy and that he didn't want him to win. Theo, on the other hand, didn't hold back.
"Fucking hell, I thought he was going to get killed!" he shouted to make himself heard.
"Potter, first!" repeated Blaise, dumbfounded. "First! Five minutes!"
Granger had let go of Weasley's hand and was hugging one of the Weasley twins, hiccupping with delight. Her cheeks had already regained colour, they were crimson, probably from screaming so much. Then she hurried along the stands to meet Potter.
The results were announced and Potter came first, tied with Krum. Blaise was so shocked by Potter's performance that he talked about it all the way home, praising Krum's prowess and analysing his every move to avoid the dragon.
Before entering the Castle, Draco looked around for a sliver of red hair, trying to find Granger, but without success. She must still be at the Champions' Tent congratulating Potter. He wanted to… hear her voice. She would tell him what she had been through during this Task, on their table in the Library, with that green cup she carried everywhere, out of which came her steaming tea.
He wanted to see her, to talk to her, and the feeling was so overwhelming that it almost replaced the jealousy he felt that she was cuddling Potter right now. Almost. The guilt of feeling that way immediately kicked in. It was all he could think about right now.
He stopped Pansy with a tug on her sleeve and she suddenly stopped in her tracks to face him.
"What?" she asked, surprised.
He waited for Blaise and Theo to continue walking before replying:
"Do you fancy going for a smoke somewhere?"
Pansy gave him a long, wary look, then nodded. They took refuge next to the Herbology greenhouses, and it was a good thing Pansy didn't ask too many questions about these abrupt urges to smoke because he grabbed the cigarette like it was a canteen of water in a desert.
She lit it and the sickening smoke poured into his mouth like medicine. He enjoyed the sensation and pushed away his shameful thoughts.