I don't know why most of my Fred/George imagines revolve around the Yule Ball, but here's another one...

Summary: You're a Triwizard champion and you need a date for the Yule Ball...

QOTP: GoF or OotP?

Word Count: 5419

The Triwizard Tournament is being held here, at Hogwarts, for the first time in 202 years.

You're eighteen, which means you're eligible to put your name in the Goblet in order to be a Champion. AKA, in order to actively put yourself in near-death situations.

Probably even death situations.

Anyway, your best friend, Cedric, convinced you to put your name in with him. "It'll be fine. You won't get chosen anyway."

And then you do.

You, a boy named Viktor Krum from Durmstramg, and a girl named Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons.

Oh, and Harry Potter.

After the Champion's meeting, you meet up with Cedric.

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this!" you shout at him while walking back to the Hufflepuff common room. "If Harry Potter's involved, something bad is definitely going to happen. Maybe even something to do with Vold-"

"Why do you insist upon saying his name?" Cedric cuts you off.

"'What's in a name?'" you sarcastically quote. "'That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'"

"You sound overtly pretentious right now," Cedric replies, almost irritated, after a pause.

"I'm going to die before the school year is over," you argue, "so I'm allowed to be pretentious."

"You're not going to die."

"Why don't you tell that to my corpse after I get decapitated by something? Or Moldy Voldy casts a killing curse on me?"

"That's not funny, Y/N."

"I know!"

There's another pause, then Cedric sighs. "You're gonna be fine. Promise."

////

In the time between that meeting and the first task, a few things happened. Draco Malfoy made 'Potter Stinks' badges for anyone who disliked Harry to wear, you had a photo session, and the Wand Weighing Ceremony took place. All was well.

Then, Harry told you what the first task was going to be. You didn't know how he knew, but he did, and you hoped he was lying.

He wasn't.

You have to face a dragon.

The day of the task, you learn the goal is to get a golden egg away from said dragon. First, you choose which dragon you're facing out of a bag, simultaneously choosing the order you have to go in.

You're first.

While you had time to read up on dragons, it didn't help much, so you have to think fast. Looking around, you find rocks and a dragon guarding a cluster of white eggs, a golden one sitting among them.

Then, you spot bright, ginger hair in the stands: Fred and George Weasley. They're jumping and cheering, and that coupled with their hair makes them hard to miss.

You mumble a thanks to the oblivious boys; they just gave you an idea.

You cast a spell, causing bright, loud fireworks to emit from your wand. Quickly, you toss the wand as far away from the eggs as possible and circle around the distracted dragon. As the dragon heads for your wand, you grab the golden egg and start to sneak away, absolutely floored at how well your plan worked.

And then the dragon decides to go after you instead.

You sprint towards your wand, reaching down to grab it like some hero in an action movie. Then, run out of the arena as the bottom of your robes are singed by an angry dragon. Nonetheless, you get a decent score, causing everyone in the stands to cheer. When you leave the arena, you head straight for Cedric, who's smiling and clapping.

"That was amazing!" he says.

You shake your head, still out of breath. "I... hate... everything."

Krum and Potter tied for first place, but you couldn't care less. After, you had a meeting with the Champions. They told you when the second task would take place and that the golden egg was a clue. Not wanting to think about it, you took a nap. When you woke up, you headed down to dinner.

Upon entering the Great Hall, you're met with loud cheers, mostly from your Hogwarts classmates. Before you can run and sit down, two familiar, obliviously helpful boys run up to you.

"Hello," they say. They're both grinning. The one on the left holds his hand out. "I'm Fred." You shake his hand and the other repeats the process. "I'm George."

"I'm aware," you reply, certain that, by now, they know your name.

They continue the conversation by finishing each other sentences. George starts. "We just wanted to say-"

"-how you handled the first task was awesome."

"You should've gotten first place."

You smile. "Thanks, but Harry and Krum did a better job than me."

"Still," Fred says. "That was a great idea."

"Well, you guys kinda gave me it in the first place," you say, shrugging. Seeing their confused looks, you explain. "I saw you in the stands and got the idea from your pranks."

They both grin and bow. "Happy to be of service."

You laugh, then Cedric calls your name. "Hold on, Ced!" You turn back to the twins. "See you later?"

They both smile, but George is the only one who speaks. "See you later."

////

In between the first and second tasks, the heads of Houses announce the Yule Ball. Before Sprout even finishes, you plan on going with Cedric and Hannah Abbot [otherwise known as DJ_Tatortot ]. You even tell Cedric when you're forced to dance with him; Sprout is teaching you.

"So, you, me, and Hannah, right?" you ask.

Cedric glances over at Hannah, who's dancing with a boy that seems to be making her laugh. You follow Cedric's gaze and recognize the boy immediately; Hannah's crush. Cedric knows, too. "I think Hannah might have a date..."

"A whole night of people asking if we're together," you deadpan; it happens often.

"Actually," Cedric says, "I was thinking of asking Cho..."

You would've done a spit-take had you been drinking water. "You're actually going for it?" you ask, shocked. "I've been trying to get you to talk to her for months!"

Cedric smiles, blushing. "Well, I'm finally taking your advice- unless you want me to go with you? I mean, if Hannah's going with that guy-"

You cut him off immediately. "I have been waiting for this moment my entire life. You're going with Cho."

Afterward, Sprout ruins your plans to stay in the corner like an outcast. The Champions are going to kick off the Ball with a dance. And, unfortunately, you can't dance without a date.

At least the other three are in the same boat, though you suspect none of them will have much trouble acquiring dates.

////

Three weeks later, it seems everyone but you has a date for the Yule Ball. One guy asked you, but you didn't like him; he only asked you because you're a Champion, and he's annoying.

So, you're dateless.

You're sitting with Cedric and Hannah in the Great Hall, your head on the table next to your plate. You groan loudly. Cedric chuckles. "Y/N, you do have a lot of options, considering you're a Champion."

"No, I don't," you reply. "All the guys I like have dates."

"They can't all have dates," Hannah says.

You sigh and gesture dramatically with your hand, your head still on the table. "But alas... it's true."

Hannah laughs and Cedric shakes his head. They're both used to you wallowing in self pity, especially after becoming a Champion. Cedric sighs. "Y/N, you don't know that. Try and think - any guy in Hogwarts or Durmstrang. Who's cute?"

"I don't know any Durmstrang boys, and I don't want to risk getting stuck going with a massive jerkwad."

"Okay, so Hogwarts boys," Hannah amends. "Who's cute?"

You smile dreamily. "Filch."

Hannah chokes on her drink and Cedric snorts, then dissolves into a fit of laughter. You laugh at your own joke from your sad stance on the table.

After everyone calms down, Ced wipes the tears from his eyes. "And the serious answer is...?"

You sigh again, this time with frustration. "I don't know. Gareth Pewsey isn't half bad, but I think he has a date."

"He does," Hannah states.

You roll your eyes. "Yippee."

Cedric thinks for a moment. "What about one of the Weasley twins?"

You sit up. "Do they already have dates?"

"You could ask," Hannah suggests, shrugging.

You turn and find them at the Gryffindor table, talking to Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson. Angelina is next to one of them, and it's obvious there's something between them, but the other seems to be on a just-friends basis with Lee.

You sigh, standing. "If this goes south, with any luck, the next task with kill me."

Once you make it to the Gryffindor table, Harry sees you and you make eye contact. You wave, and that makes it less awkward, especially because he waves back.

Then, you turn to the twins. You want to say something, but you don't know who is who. They notice you standing there and grin, greeting you simultaneously. "Hey, Y/N."

You smile. "Hey... I, uh, I can't tell the difference between you, so..."

The one next to Angelina grins. "Fred Weasley, at your service."

George simply says, "And now you know who I am."

Fred smirks. "Unless we're triplets..."

You laugh. "I think I would've noticed three of you." It goes quiet for a second, both of them looking at you expectantly. You start, remembering what you're there for. "Oh, uh, George... I need to ask you something."

George nods. "Ask away."

You glance at the other people around the table, then look back at George, who notices your nervous expression. He stands and you walk over to a corner, many pairs of Gryffindor eyes (and two Hufflepuff) following you.

Once you've stopped, you look down, trying and failing to make eye contact. "I, uh... I was wondering if you have a date for the Yule Ball...?"

You look up to gauge his reaction and see him smiling. "I don't. At least not at the moment."

"Would you, maybe, wanna go with me?"

He grins even wider. "I'd love to go with you, Y/N."

////

The day of the Ball, Hannah and you get ready together, then meet Cedric and your dates outside the Great Hall.

After some general banter, you friends head into the Ball, leaving you and George to wait. Fleur and Roger Davies are also standing around, but you don't know either of them that well.

You spot Harry standing with a fourth year Gryffindor you don't recognize and walk over to them. George grins. "Hey, Harry!"

It never occurred to you that they'd know each other, but it makes sense; Harry's best friend is George's little brother. Harry smiles. "Hey...?"

"George," he says, laughing. "Fred's going with Angelina."

Harry nods, then stops, seeing Krum walk down the stairs with Hermione Granger. The four of you are shocked, to say the least.

Before you can say anything, the doors to the Great Hall open and McGonagall walks over to you all. "The Ball is starting, so I need you all to come this way. One couple at a time."

Krum and Hermione enter first, Fleur and Roger second, then you and George. Harry and the Gryffindor girl are last.

George leans towards you and whispers, "We're about to look like absolute twits in front of the whole school."

Your brows furrow. "Why?"

"Because I didn't pay attention during dance lessons."

You laugh as you enter the Great Hall, then come to a stop in the center of the floor. You start giggling because of George's panicked expression. He stage-glances at the other couples, trying to figure out what he's supposed to do. You laugh harder.

He puts one hand on your waist as you put one hand on his shoulder, then he grabs your free hand with his. "Is this right?" he whispers.

"Yeah. That's the easy part, though."

You start turning and swaying to the music playing - a festive tune, considering the fact that it's Christmas Day.

"I don't think we're doing this right," George whispers, laughter dancing in his tone.

You shrug lightly. "No one's paying attention to us, anyway. I mean, Fleur's a Vela, Krum's a famous Quidditch player, and Potter's literally the Chosen One. The only reason anyone would be looking at us is your hair."

George laughs. "My hair?"

"That's what caught my attention during the first task," you reply. "That and the fact that you and Fred were jumping and cheering."

He smiles. "Well, you're a Hogwarts Champion, what else were we supposed to do?"

After the song ends, you go find Fred and Angelina. You've never met Angelina, but you've seen her play Quidditch, and she's pretty good.

"That was terrible, George, just terrible," Fred says the moment you're within earshot. You and George both laugh.

"It's no wonder," Angelina says. "He didn't pay an ounce of attention when McGonagall was teaching dance lessons."

"I was laughing at Fred dancing with McGonagall," George says, shrugging.

You look at Fred. "Did you really?"

Fred grins. "Of course I did."

You talk for a while, then Cedric finds you and you talk to him and Cho. The conversation is cut short when a slow song begins to play and everyone gravitates towards the dance floor. Georges turns to you. "Wanna try that whole dancing thing again?"

You shrug, grabbing his hand. "Why not?"

George steps on your foot once and nearly trips twice, much to your amusement. Halfway through the song, he sighs. "I'm not cut out for this, am I?"

"Clearly not," you reply, laughing.

After a moment, he grins. "You know," he says, stepping closer to you, "I know something we could do that is way more fun than dancing."

////

"This is definitely much better than dancing," you say through a mouthful of pumpkin pasties. George laughs, washing down his fifth chocolate frog with some pumpkin juice.

You're sitting side-by-side in the hallway outside the entrance to the kitchens, a variety of foods in a pile in front of you. You smile. "I can't believe I never knew how to get in the kitchens."

"Fred and I figured it out in first year."

You snort. "Of course you did."

He unwraps another chocolate frog, which leaps out of the box and squirms when he catches it. You grab another pumpkin pasty, and when you look back over at him, you can't help but laugh.

He frowns. "What?"

"You've got ch-chocolate all over your face."

He looks like a toddler who just had chocolate for the first time. You keep laughing as he tries to wipe it off with his hands, but smears it all over his face instead. He stops, starting to laugh, too. "Did I get it all?"

You shake your head. "N-No. You r-really should've gotten na-napkins."

He holds out his hands, defeated. "Yeah, I really should have." He looks over at you and can't help but smile at your probably-sugar-induced amusement. The languid smile on your face, the most beautiful laugh he's ever heard filling the hallway. He sighs and stands. "I'll be right back."

He emerges from the kitchens a few minutes later, during which you ate three more pumpkin pasties. He looks down at you. "Is it all gone?"

You smile, and it's almost a smirk. "You missed a spot."

George groans. "Where?"

You stand and walk over to him, closer than you'd need to be to answer his question. Especially considering his face is completely chocolate-free.

You lean in. "Right..." Your lips touch briefly, his arms wrapping around you. "... there,"

George is grinning and blushing, "That was... smooth."

You shrug. "Well, I try."

He smiles and leans in again, and you happily meet him halfway.

////

The second task is fast approaching, and you can make nothing of the shrieks coming out of your golden egg.

So, you're complaining to George in the courtyard seeing as Cedric is with Cho, his new girlfriend.

You sigh dramatically, laying your head on George's shoulder. "I guess I'll just die, then."

George snorts, wrapping his arm around you. "You're not going to die, Sunshine."

"If I don't figure out what the egg means, yes, I will," you say, blushing at the nickname he's taken to calling you. He goes to reply, but Fred calls out to him, running over. You sit up. "See you later?"

He kisses you longer than necessary. "Yeah."

"And promise you'll set off extravagant fireworks at my funeral in celebration of my awesome life?"

George laughs. "If you die, which you won't, yes."

He runs off and you start to go find Hannah, but you're stopped by your DADA teacher, Mad-Eye Moody. "Excuse me, Miss Y/L/N."

You turn, confused as to why he'd be talking to you outside of class. "Yes, Professor?"

He leans towards you. "I couldn't help but overhear about your predicament, and I wanted to offer some help."

"Professor-"

"You're a Prefect, aren't you?" You nod; both you and Cedric are. He looks around to make sure no one else is listening. "So, you have access to the Prefect's bathroom?"

Your brows furrow. "Yes...?"

"Water."

You're even more confused. "Water?"

He nods. "Water. That's all I can say."

He goes to walk away, but you say, "Thank you, Professor," before he's out of earshot. You're not sure why he told you, but you're grateful nonetheless.

So, you grab your egg and head to the Prefect's bathroom, and after a few minutes of confusion, decide to put the egg underwater. The screeching turns to singing.

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took, but past an hour, the prospect's black; too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

That sounds ominous, and the fact that the clue works underwater - and the clue itself - strongly points to the merpeople in the Black Lake.

After your bath, you go to find Harry Potter; he told you about the dragons, so it's only fair.

You find him outside the Great Hall, heading up the stairs. "Potter." He stops and turns as you reach him, leaning towards him. "The golden egg. Take a bath with it."

His brows furrow. "What?"

"Go to the Prefect's bathroom - the password is 'pine fresh' - and take a bath with the egg." With that, you walk off to the Hufflepuff common room.

////

The morning of the second task, before it begins, Fred asks where George is.

"I've no idea," you reply. "I haven't seen him either."

"McGonagall summoned him, Ron, and Hermione last night, and I haven't seen the three of them since."

You frown. "Maybe it's got something to do with the second task?"

Fred sighs. "I don't know whether to hope for that or not."

Your best option for the second task is the Bubble-Head Charm, which, shockingly, makes a bubble around your head. You cast it as soon as you're told to go.

You dive in the water and immediately get attacked by grindylows, which you kick off. You keep thinking about the clue as you swim deeper, looking for the merpeople.

When you get closer, you figure out where George, Ron, and Hermione are.

They're unconscious and tied to poles, guarded by merepeople. There's a fourth person, a girl you don't recognize, but she's definitely related to Fleur somehow.

You swim frantically for George, finding a rock to cut his binds with.

Harry is desperately trying to free Ron next to you. You don't pay much attention to him. There's four people and four Champions; everyone will be saved.

You eventually get George free and start pulling him up, cursing whoever thought of this task all the way. Once you reach the surface, you pull him onto the bank and look to McGonagall. She sees the worried expression on your face and assures you that George will be fine. Even so, you don't leave his side, not even when the judges give you your score.

Fleur comes back out of the lake crying, the girl nowhere in sight. A half-human half-shark pops out of the water with Hermione, and you assume it's Viktor. Then, Harry comes up with both Ron and the girl, causing Fleur to sob with joy and thank Harry profusely.

Due to his double rescue, points-wise, you tie with Harry for first.

When George wakes up, after a moment of getting his bearings, he grins. "So, Sunshine," he says, "I'm the thing you'll sorely miss?"

You would shove him if he hadn't just been unconscious and underwater. "We're dating; of course you are, you twit."

He grins wider and sits up, cupping your cheeks and kissing you softly. Fred runs over to you as you pull apart.

"George!" he says, evident worry on his face.

George laughs. "You both worry too much; we were never in any real danger. You think they'd allow that?"

You look at him incredulously. "They let us play murder ball, the staircases move, there's a dangerous forest right behind the school-"

George laughs. "Okay, okay, point taken. But we really weren't in danger."

You shake your head. "The clue said that if I failed to 'recover' what they took within an hour, it'd be gone forever. And I wasn't taking chances."

Fred nods. "When you never came back, I was worried. And when Y/N pulled you out of the water..."

"I appreciate the sentiment," George says, "and, while I love being the center of attention, I'm fine." He looks at you. "And so are you. See? I told you you wouldn't die."

You sigh. "I don't know how, considering I'm dating you."

////

Around two months later, the Champions are taken to the Quidditch pitch and informed that, in a month's time, there'd be a maze there filled with obstacles that could potentially kill you.

Sounds fun.

Your goal will be to get to the center, where the Triwizard Cup will be, and the first person to touch the cup will win.

Fred and George helped you study and practice defense spells leading up to the final task. Now, it's here, and you couldn't feel more unprepared.

"Remember that promise you made me about my funeral? Fireworks to celebrate my awesome life?" you say to George, walking with him, Fred, Hannah, and Cedric to the Quidditch pitch.

George shakes his head. "I'll say it once and I'll say it again: You're gonna be fine, Sunshine."

"You promised me, and that is a legally binding contract. Also, Ced," you say, turning to the boy in question, "you have to do the worm in front of my casket. Hannah, you're the DJ. Oh, and get Lee Jordan to commentate."

Fred and Hannah laugh, George chuckles, and Cedric sighs, all of them at varying degrees of done with you.

You part ways at the pitch, Cedric, Hannah, and Fred hugging you, George kissing you. He smiles. "Good luck, Sunshine. Not that you'll need it."

You try to smile back, but your nerves get the best of you.

Not long after, it's time to enter the maze. Madame Hooch tells you to cast a red light into the sky if there's an emergency or you're in mortal danger. Yippee.

As you wait for the go ahead, you look up into the stands and spot your parents.

You and Harry are tied for first points-wise, so you get a head start and run in together. You part ways quickly, both sprinting.

It doesn't take long for an obstacle to come your way - a Blast-Ended Skrewt. You use Depulso on it and keep running, hoping it's not chasing after you.

Everything goes pretty smoothly after that. There's a few more obstacles you manage to take care of.

Then, Krum runs up behind you. You glance back and start running faster, wanting to make it to the cup first. You've nearly died a hundred times, and it's not gonna be for nothing.

But then unspeakable pain overtakes your entire body and you fall to the ground, screaming. The pain is so terrible that you can't even cast a red light for help.

////

George had to admit; watching this task would be ridiculously boring if he wasn't spending it worrying about you and Harry.

No one can really see anything going on in the maze because the hedge-walls are so high, and it's almost quiet, too, save for people in the stands talking. Some creatures in the maze periodically make noise, but that's about it.

He's sitting with his family, who mainly came for Harry; they don't really know you yet. Fred's on his left, Molly's on his right. Cedric's sitting a row down and a few people away with Hannah and your parents. You've been friends since first year.

You told George the story once; how, as a Muggleborn, you had no friends on the train first year. Hannah and Ced's parents knew each other, so they were already friends. They sat together on the train, and their compartment was the first one you saw that you weren't too afraid to ask to sit in. So, you went to ask, but before you could get a word out, the train abruptly skidded to a stop, causing you to face-plant.

The story distracts him from worrying for a moment, but then a piercing scream erupts from somewhere within the maze, and, due to the pitch, it's either you or Fleur.

George starts worrying even more.

////

Suddenly, the pain stops, and Harry Potter is standing above you, holding out a hand to help you up. You take it, thankful and shaken. You turn and see Krum lying on the ground. "I... I think he used the Cruciatus Curse on me."

Harry glances down at Krum, then looks back at you. "Are you going to be alright?"

You nod. "Ye-Yeah. Thanks, Harry."

You part ways yet again, still searching for the cup. You encounter more obstacles, this time reacting on instinct, your mind somewhere else. This earns you a few scrapes, but it's still going okay.

And then you turn a corner and see a giant spider. You stop, staring, unable to move, and then Harry Potter runs in from another path, snapping you out of it.

You run to stand beside him, looking up at the spider, who is raring to attack. He glances at you. "What do we do?"

You think for a second. "Reducio."

You both cast the spell multiple times, shrinking the spider down to normal size, running away from it the whole time. The spider now harmless, you stop, breathing hard and see a twinkling not far from where you're standing.

"The cup," you say, pointing at it, but neither of you move to run.

Harry sighs. "You go. You deserve it."

"No, you go," you say automatically. "You saved me from Krum."

Harry shakes his head. "You're the one that thought of a spell to defeat the spider."

"I didn't even want to enter my name in the first place," you argue. "Ced convinced me to."

There's a pause. "How about we both win? Touch the cup at the same time?"

You nod, unable to muster a smile. "Sounds like a plan, Potter."

You both walk towards the cup, then start into a jog, then a run, both keeping pace with the other. It's barely a foot away and you both reach out.

////

Even the middle of the maze is barely visible from the stands. The judges, however, are in such a position that they can see more clearly, and suddenly, they announce that Harry Potter has won the Triwizard Tournament.

However, before anyone can begin cheering, a red light emerges from the maze, just outside the center.

Madame Hooch mounts her broom quickly and flies to the source, disappearing into the maze for a few agonizing minutes. Then, she reemerges, with you in tow, looking shaken.

George stands immediately and pushes through other spectators, heading for the ground. For you.

By the time he makes it to you, you're talking to McGonagall and Dumbledore, crying and hysterical. Your adrenaline boost is gone now that you're out of danger, and you just lose it, everything that happened catching up to you.

George runs over, but McGonagall shakes her head. "In a moment, Mister Weasley."

As soon as McGonagall and Dumbledore step back, you run to George, hugging him as tight as you can, crying into his shirt.

"George, he's gone. He just vanished. I-I should be with him. We were supposed to grab the cup at the same time and I tr-tripped."

"Who, Sunshine?" George asks softly, instinctively rubbing your back to calm you.

"Harry!" you shout, pulling away just enough to see his face. "I should be with him!"

George shakes his head a little. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," you say, looking around, trying to see if he's nearby. "Mc-McGonagall said the cup was a portkey, but it's not supposed to be. Harry's gone, G-George... And Kr-Krum..."

George's brows furrow and he looks over at the boy in question, who's laying on the ground. Madame Pomfrey is blocking most of him from view. "What about Krum?" he asks, thinking you witnessed something awful happen to him, too.

You start crying even harder. "The Cruciatus Curse... He-He used the Cruciatus Curse on me."

George is angry, sick, and heartbroken all at once. By this point, Fleur is out of the maze, and Ced, Hannah, and your parents have made it to you. You run to your mom, crying, leaving George to explain to everyone else what happened.

////

They calmed you down after half an hour, but you refused to leave the pitch until Harry came back; you wanted to be sure of his safety. He saved you, and you're supposed to be with him right now.

After you calmed, you spent the time talking to George's family - mainly Molly Weasley, who was fussing over you with your mother and George. Fred, Cedric, Hannah, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were all talking, and your father was talking to Arthur about Muggle stuff. However, there was a strong sense of tense worry in the air.

About an hour later, Harry shows back up out of nowhere, clutching the cup. Mad-Eye Moody immediately takes him back to the castle and you go to follow, but George gently holds you back. A few minutes later, Dumbledore crosses the pitch, heading back toward the castle with McGonagall and Snape on his heels.

Not long after, McGonagall walks over to you, your group parting to let her in. George helps you stand, you having been sitting the whole time.

McGonagall smiles a little. "Harry Potter is safe; I know you were concerned. And Dumbledore wants to speak with you."

You nod and follow her, everyone else heading back to the castle, too, though they all stop in the Great Hall. George tries to go with you, but McGonagall simply shakes her head.

Dumbledore wanted to explain the situation to you, and, to sum it up: Mad-Eye Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater, in disguise. He was helping Voldemort come back, and Voldemort needed Harry. So, he entered Harry in the tournament, told you about the egg's clue because he knew you'd tell Harry, and used the Imperious curse on Krum during the third task to keep you from winning. He was also responsible for the Portkey, and he tried killing Harry after he came back to Hogwarts alive.

When you told Cedric, you ended the story with, "I told you so."

Later, when you finally get to see Harry, you apologize. "I should've been there with you. You shouldn't've faced Voldemort alone."

Harry shakes his head. "I'm glad you weren't there with me. Who knows what would've happened if you had been."

George was just grateful for your clumsiness and the reward money Harry gave him and Fred to start their joke shop, where you're planning to work after graduating from Hogwarts.