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TOMORROW BECAME TODAY IN the blink of an eye, and Albany spent the morning fighting the overwhelming urge to vomit.

She was sure she hadn't slept a wink all night; she spent several hours talking things out with Merlin and Arthur. Apparently, they had pulled back to give her space, worried they had overwhelmed her with too much too soon, and agreed to prioritise the tournament over the search for her soulmate until she was ready. Merlin also, however reluctantly, began explaining the whole dragonlord thing — though Albany wasn't exactly filled with confidence when he informed her that there was no practice or training without an actual dragon.

"I'll be with you tomorrow, when you face the dragon," he had assured her. "Then we can figure out whether or not you have the abilities of a dragonlord."

Albany had frowned, exhaustion conflicting with the large collection of butterflies in her stomach. She was never comfortable with diving into new branches of magic headfirst; with her track record, lengthy practice sessions were a necessity. "And if I don't?"

Merlin's face had been steely. "Well, it's probably safest to have a back-up plan, just in case."

And that had been another thing keeping her up all night; plan B didn't really exist. Sure, she'd been as dedicated as she could be when it came to learning and perfecting the spells she and Carly had chosen, but she certainly wasn't equipped to fight off a fully grown dragon. Brainstorming ideas at three in the morning hadn't been successful, either.

She'd wondered vaguely how the other champions were handling the terrifying anticipation of the next day's events. Did Fleur or Krum even know about the dragons? She could picture them both sleeping soundly, and waking up fully prepared and energetic to take on their dragons with bravery and skill. Harry, on the other hand, she worried wasn't sleeping well either. He hadn't seemed exactly relaxed yesterday, and though his magic was impressive for his age — or so everyone said — he was still only a fourth year.

Merlin, he hasn't even taken his O.W.L.s.

If she had slipped into sleep at all, she must have dreamed of the tournament, because when she blinked her eyes open in early hours of the morning, she had a strange feeling of disappointment that she still had yet to overcome the day's obstacles.

The fact that she still had to attend classes that morning was a despicable crime, she'd thought at first; in hindsight, they hadn't lasted long enough. She sat at the Gryffindor table at lunchtime, knowing she would be called upon at any moment. Her leg bounced incessantly, and the inside of her cheek was bleeding from biting it. She still felt thoroughly exhausted; adrenaline the only thing propelling her onward at this point. Breakfast had been promptly skipped, even though it meant enduring Merlin and Arthur's chiding that she wasn't looking after herself. She didn't really mind that, though. She had missed them.

"Done," Fred announced, grinning at his work. He was the person Albany least expected to be good with hair, yet the second she had complained that her ponytail was too loose, he had jumped to the rescue.

"Thanks," she murmured gratefully, pulling herself out of her head. She reached back to tug at it curiously, and then shook her head vigorously, impressed with how secure it felt. "Damn, Ferdinand, how'd you manage that?"

"We're still not dropping that, huh," Fred deadpanned.

She managed a weak grin. "Nope."

"How do you feel?" Carly asked, a hopeful smile warming her face.

Albany inhaled slowly. "Horrible," she admitted. "But the show must go on, I guess."

George didn't seem completely assured. "You have a plan?"

"No," Albany sighed, and then had a second thought. "Well, sort of. I have... something, but I dunno if it'll work."

"Something's better than nothing," Fred said encouragingly.

"Yeah, and if it helps, we're gonna cheer on all the other dragons!" Lee exclaimed, grinning wide. "Except Harry's, though, we like him."

Angelina elbowed him in the side. "Lee!" Her voice was playfully chiding.

"What?" he laughed.

"What is your plan?" George asked curiously, bringing the attention back to the Slytherin champion.

Albany shrugged, not sure how to say she didn't quite know. "Er... well, you'll find out soon enough if it works."

"I'm sorry my spells did not work out," Carly said, frowning slightly. "I tried starting a new one yesterday, but I do not have a dragon to practice, and no time."

Albany offered her a comforting smile. "That's okay, Carly," she assured her appreciatively. "There's two other tasks. If I survive, I'm sure they'll come in handy at some point."

"You will survive," George said, grinning. "Or I'll kill you."

"That's reassuring," Albany joked, rolling her eyes. The fluttery panic in her stomach didn't feel so sickening in the optimism of the others.

"Look at us," Fred said, grinning broadly. "At the start of the year, we were rivals, and now it's like we genuinely care about each other."

Albany quirked an eyebrow. "Bold of you to assume I like you," she teased. Fred pouted. "I'm joking, obviously. Though I wouldn't say we were rivals... I was just really determined to get revenge."

"Ah, yes, the dungbomb," George sighed, smiling with nostalgia. "An iconic prank."

"Indeed," Albany agreed smugly. "Though two is better than one, I would argue."

"You're such a Slytherin," Fred laughed. "Course you had to one-up us when you did get revenge."

"I'll always stand by it though, you'd make a fine Gryffindor," George said, grinning.

Albany rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Gred."

George was quick to return her banter, though she missed his response, eyes drawn across the hall where Faith and their roommates had risen from the Slytherin table. It was not their movement that distracted her, though — Faith had shot her an irritated glare as they locked eyes, and Albany felt her face flush with anger. She had enough on her plate without someone who was supposed to be her friend constantly giving her shit for hanging out with other people. Faith had been pissy with her for weeks now, and it had to stop.

"Hang on," Albany excused herself, standing up from the table. She was trembling with the tension in her muscles as she watched Faith's back leave the Great Hall with steely eyes.

"Albany?" George questioned.

"I'll be back," she assured him, and jogged after the girl, jaw clenched.

Faith's sleek ebony hair shone in the warm light of the torches on the wall, pin-straight where it fell down her back. Viola, Zoe and Phylis were with her, though she wasn't speaking to any of them for once, marching silently with her head held high.

"Faith," Albany called, and hoped it didn't come across as aggressive as she felt.

"Albany, is this worth it?" Merlin asked her desperately from behind; she ignored him.

Faith turned on her heels. She looked as though she'd been expecting this, though her expression was dull. The other girls glanced over their shoulders before slowing to watch; though they too faded out of focus.

"We need to sort this," Albany said firmly, raising her chin in hopes it wouldn't wobble. "Now."

Faith considered this for a moment. Her nostrils flared with each breath she took, blue stare piercing and unblinking. Her pale lips parted to speak.

"The only thing that needs sorting is you," she stated matter-of-factly. Her face showed no malice, though Albany felt her insides twisting uncomfortably. "Clearly you should've been a Gryffindor."

Albany grit her teeth. Her fists had clenched at her side. "I'm allowed to have other friends," she spat.

"Never said you weren't," Faith retorted, irritatingly calm. Her next words were harsh and accusing. "But abandoning your real friends in the process, yeah, I'd call that a dick move."

"I haven't abandoned you!"

"You haven't spoken to me in weeks, what else do you call it?" Faith argued, and took a menacing step forward.

Albany felt a rush of burning anger. "Maybe I had reason," she hissed. "Unless real friends are supposed to talk shit behind my back."

Faith narrowed her eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Albany faltered for the shortest second, because the disbelief in Faith's voice sounded real; then she shook her head out of it. I heard what I heard back in Hogsmeade. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't," Faith said, with absolute certainty. "You're my friend, I would never do that to you."

Albany bit her cheek. The all-consuming flame of rage within her was growing smaller as doubt picked at her mind; maybe she'd heard it wrong or out of context — Faith was her friend, she wanted to believe that.... Stop.

"I heard you with my own ears, quit denying it," she snarled. "You know what you've said about me, that I'm mad—"

"Are you not?" Faith interrupted, and her calm and pristine expression was beginning to crack as her face screwed up. "Listen to yourself! Accusing me of this and that — how could you think I'd do that to you?"

A crowd was forming, Albany noticed, and her fire was running lower by the second. Had she really fucked up their friendship? Is this my doing?

"All I wanted was to be friends," Faith said, lowering her voice. "Same as we've always been. But you just up and left me without a warning... for some Gryffindors."

"House doesn't matter," Albany argued weakly. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Clearly not," Faith growled. "Not to you."

Albany clenched her fists. "Why should it matter to anyone?!"

"Because we're supposed to look out for each other, not leave one another in the dust!" Faith was livid now, and as she took another step forward, Albany stepped back. "I guess we're not good enough for you, though — thinking you're Merlin reincarnate, like, come on—"

"Faith!" Albany hissed, though her jaw had dropped in horror. She could feel Merlin's eyes burning into the back of her head; no way had Faith just casually thrown her deepest secret out to half the school that was gathered around them.

"You told someone?" Arthur asked, disbelief overriding any hard feelings he might've had.

Albany couldn't acknowledge him now, not with a vast crowd of students watching her and whispering aggressively. She stepped back again, heart seizing in her chest as her insides twisted with fluttery panic. "I'm not...." she argued, voice shaky. The fire had burned out.

This only seemed to confirm things for Faith, who shook her head as she stared at Albany. She looked disappointed.

"Whatever," she said, and tossed a sheet of dark hair over her shoulder. "Go enjoy... hanging out with Gryffindors. Hope you treat them better."

Albany's face sank as her heart did. "Faith...."

Faith steeled her expression before she turned away. "And... good luck with the first task," she added as an afterthought, and pushed through the edge of the crowd and was gone.

The students began to disperse as the tension died down, though Albany remained stuck in place, horror rising like bile in her throat. Her name was tossed around in the whispers of the crowd, lingering stares eyeing her up in her green and black champion's robes.

"Albany, hey," Merlin was saying, and he was directly in front of her now, expression soft.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, bracing herself for the chiding she was about to receive. Why had she ever told Faith about Merlin and Arthur? What was she expecting?

"No, nevermind your apologies," Merlin said, waving them away with a hand. He snapped his fingers. "Don't get psyched out. I know it isn't easy, but you have to forget about all that until you've completed the first task."

Albany nodded, taking a long, shaky breath. Forget about it, she repeated firmly in her mind, hoping if she said it enough times the argument would simply slip from her memory. Forget about Faith.

"They'll be calling you soon," Merlin reminded her. "Just clear your mind and stretch your muscles. As long as you're relaxed, I'll be able to help you when the time comes."

"Yeah, okay," she agreed, instinctively shaking out her ankles and wrists; it did help redirect her nervous energy somewhat.

"I'll see you soon," Merlin reassured her with a soft smile. "Hang in there. You've got this."

He and Arthur disappeared, then, and Albany felt a chill dance up her spine in their absence. She turned around to head back to the Great Hall, but George had come out to meet her in the corridor.

"Hey, you good?" he asked, and hesitated before reaching out for her shoulder. Albany bit her cheek; she must have looked shaken.

"Yeah," she said, and nodded to reassure herself. "Yeah, I am. I've got this."

George grinned. "That's the spirit. You're braver than you give yourself credit for, you know that, right?"

Albany tore her eyes from where McGonagall was striding up the corridor to properly meet his gaze. She smiled in its warmth; his grin filled the hole in her chest that Faith had left.

"I don't say you'd make a fine Gryffindor for nothing," he added, smiling. "You've got a lion's heart."

"Miss Bronwen," McGonagall called, drawing closer; her face was taut with nerves, and Harry trailed after her, expression grim. "It's time, I'm afraid."

Albany felt her heart seize, though glanced back to George; he gave her shoulder a squeeze, and his comfort felt like home.

"You're gonna be just fine," he assured her. "I believe in you, Lionheart."