✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Y/N's P.O.V. 

Y/N had followed Hermione to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey reduced her teeth back to "normal" state. 

The Matron had asked Y/N to say stop when Hermione's teeth were back to their original size, but since Y/N knew that Hermione had always been a little insecure about her teeth, she waited until they were perfect. 

They left the Hospital Wing, and Hermione insisted that they return to Potions. Y/N scoffed at the thought, and dragged her back to Gryffindor tower, telling her about what happened. 

"A dragon ring?" Hermione said curiously as they arrived at their dormitory, skipping dinner. They'd eat the chocolate that Remus had sent a while ago. 

"Mhm," said Y/N, chucking her school bag on the ground near her bed. 

She changed into a comfortable pair of pajamas, red plaid bottoms and a black tank top. Hermione threw on a tank top, though pink, a pair of grey sweatpants. The two girls sat in the middle of Hermione's bed, Y/N gently doing Hermione's hair into two braids, and discussing what had happened, thankful that Lavender and Parvati were at dinner. 

"And I swear, when I was leaving," Y/N began, "I dropped the ring and I saw Malfoy pick it up." 

Hermione was silent for a moment. "You're sure?" 

"No, that's the problem," Y/N sighed. "I just wish dad would letter me back already!" 

"You're so impatient, Trouble," Hermione laughed. "But Malfoy picking it up would make sense, wouldn't it?" she asked. "Draco, derived from the Latin word 'Draconis', meaning, of the dragon. His name translates to dragon."

Y/N finished sectioning Hermione's hair, then answered, "But how would it end up in my hands?" 

"You didn't pick it up at all? Nothing?" Hermione inquired. "And what about Moody's metal hip flask - that turned into a knife, didn't it?" 

"How do you know that...?" Y/N said slowly. "I never told you?" 

Giving a soft chuckle, Hermione said, "I saw it, Trouble. It's a little hard to hide when Moody's flask disappears, is in your hand, and is suddenly a knife." 

Y/N paused her braiding administration. "Do you think anyone else noticed?" 

With a breathy, almost scoff-like laugh, Hermione shook her head, which messed up one section of the braid Y/N was making. Y/N huffed and redid the section. 

"No," said Hermione. "Everyone else was too caught up in recovering from the curse, but you went before me...so..." 

"You're something, Herms," Y/N laughed. "What do you think it means?" 

Hermione hummed thoughtfully, murmuring about how she'd check the Library sometime or the other. Y/N continued to slowly braid the girl's hair. Once in two neat plaits, Y/N tied them carefully and transfigured a piece of parchment into a mirror to show Hermione. 

"I love 'em," Hermione said, then clicked her tongue. "You're passing me in Transfiguration. It's so unfair!" 

"I do the work, Herms," Y/N said, smiling and poking her best friend in the side. 

Hermione pouted and poked her back, about to speak, but there was a soft tapping on the window. Bandit flew in, once Hermione had opened it, straight onto Y/N's lap. Immense relief flooded her - this was most surely Remus' reply. 

Y/N, 

I think I know what is going on. It isn't good, I don't like it. 

All these signs can only point to one thing, and I cannot explain properly until I see you in person. I know it's terrible, being so close to knowing. But even I do not understand the extent of it, or the full story. I know just a little more than you do. 

I cannot explain in a letter, it is too much. I can say that it's partially my fault. Not entirely. It was foretold. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry beyond anything you can comprehend. 

Take this letter to Dumbledore

I hope you can forgive me. 

Your parents had another episode on Halloween night. The re-living of the trauma. Twitching and everything. They won't be well enough to see you in December. St. Mungo's moved the date again. January 7th. 

I know it's frustrating. I can't do anything about it. 

I'm sorry. I love you.

Dad.

Y/N stared wide-eyed at the parchment for a what felt like forever. That was it? She would have to wait until January to see Remus, her parents, and the truth, or she would have to go to Dumbledore. She hadn't told any Professors about what was happening - Moody knew, but Moody was as odd as they get. He wouldn't have reported anything to anyone. 

So she was back to confusion.

Thanks for the help, dad. 

But still, Y/N couldn't pin all the blame on him. He barely knew anything about it, and not wanting to explain over a letter was completely reasonable. 

She'd just have to go see Dumbledore at some point. Maybe she'd try and go tomorrow morning, as soon as possible, so she could include it in her letter to Remus. 

"Trouble..." Hermione said hesitantly. "Are you okay? What does the letter say?" 

"it gave me nothing!" Y/N said in frustration, wringing her hands. "Nothing at all - wait, something was foretold." 

"Foretold?"

"That's what dad said," said Y/N, voice wavering in exasperation. She was so close to finding out. "And...he says it's partially his fault...?" 

Hermione furrowed her brows, watching Y/N's eyes. "That's...odd. He's biologically your uncle, meaning that it's a very slim chance it comes from genetics... so how..." 

The girl came over to sit with Y/N on the bed, grabbing Y/N's hand. Carefully, she scanned the letter. "Dumbledore? Why would you need to take it to him? Will you do that tomorrow?" 

Vexed, irritated at how little information she received, Y/N tried to keep her composure and said evenly, "I dunno why. But yeah, I'll go. You gonna come?" 

"Yes, of course, if you want. Do you want Harry or Ron-" 

"No," Y/N said flatly. "Ron is being a douche and Harry has a lot on his mind, like the tournament..." she paused for a moment, "...and Cho." 

Y/N thought of Ron as a brother, but how could someone stop supporting his best friend in times such as these? Yes, he had a right to be jealous, but he was Harry's best friend. 

With a consoling pat on Y/N's shoulder, Hermione gingerly took the letter, folded it, and placed it on Y/N's nightstand. 

Hermione grabbed Y/N's bunched up blanket and held it from the corners, across her arm span. She jerked her head, and Y/N got the hint. Smiling slightly, Y/N laid down and Hermione draped the blanket over her. 

Y/N grinned, because she really didn't want to think of the letter, or of the fact that there was something wrong with her. "Thanks, mom." 

"You're welcome!" Hermione said playfully. "Now go to sleep, please. You need it, so do your emotions. Your eyes are rimmed with glow right now." 

Oh. 

The two girls said goodnight, then Hermione slipped under her own covers, putting out the last lamp in the dormitory. 

Y/N didn't know exactly when, but Hermione fell asleep eventually. Lavender and Parvati came back, and fell asleep too. So Y/N pulled out the letter and her wand, casting a simple lumos. 

Throughout the night, it was a constant of...

Partially my fault, 

Foretold, 

Dumbledore

Cannot say...

In all honesty, Y/N didn't realize when she fell asleep. Through the light of her wand, she also barely realized the tears that fell from her eyes, shining like liquid moonlight upon the letter. 

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The next morning, Y/N woke up before Hermione, hints of glow still around her eyes. Her tears never looked like that before, so why had it been happening? She changed into her robes and dragged Hermione down to the common room. 

Y/N decided that she didn't feel ready to go to Dumbledore. What if he just dumped everything on her? Remus' letter was incredibly, making Y/N feel uneasy. There was nothing wrong with her. She hoped there was nothing wrong with her. 

She just...couldn't. It was a mental block. What if Dumbledore shunned her away? What if he locked her up and had her eyes plucked out for study? It was a crazed thought, the Headmaster would never do such a thing - he'd never just raise a pig for slaughter like that. 

But still. Y/N didn't feel up to it. Remus would explain in his comforting way when she saw him in January - which was months away, and she didn't know if she could wait that long. Until then, Y/N decided that she wouldn't have any more incidents. 

At least she had the Triwizard Tournament to distract her.

Y/N responded with a simple letter, 

Dad, 

Don't be sorry. It's not your fault if it was foretold. 

I'm not going to Dumbledore. Rather hear from you. What would Dumbledore know? 

Again, don't be sorry. See you in January. I love you. 

Y/N. 

What would Dumbledore know.

Bandit took it, hooting solemnly, as though he knew what was happening, and how distraught his owner was. 

In turn, Harry informed Y/N and Hermione about a letter he received on the same night as Y/N. Sirius had asked Harry to meet him by the fire in Gryffindor Tower at one o'clock in the morning on the twenty-second of November. 

Harry lettered back in agreement. Y/N, He, and Hermione spent time brainstorming how they would get stragglers out of the common room. 

"If worst comes to worst, I drop a bag of Dungbombs in the common room," Y/N said on Saturday, curled up on the couch with her legs in Harry's laps. 

He was nervously tapping her calves, but gave Y/N a grateful smile. It made her stomach tingle, but then she remembered that he sent that smile to Cho too. Maybe he flirted with Y/N while imagining she was Cho. The thought made her sick to the stomach, so she pushed it away. 

His nervousness was reasonable. The first task was on November twenty-forth, less than a month away. He and Y/N had spent a few nights sleeping curled up together in the common room. Harry said that his brain calmed down when Y/N ran a hand through his hair and gently pressed his scar. 

Every time, Harry would fall asleep before her. Every time, she'd give him a gentle kiss on his scar, staring fondly at the bracelet and flowers that Harry had given her. The Flos Lunaris looked beautiful under the moonlight. 

On the other, more serious hand, Rita Skeeter (the woman who wrote an article about the World Cup happenings) had published another news report. It was about the Triwizard Tournament, but it was mostly about Harry. 

Fleur and Krum were mentioned once, but their names were misspelled. Cedric was not included. 

Harry understood Y/N's complaints about this - agreeing that yes, Cedric actually wanted to compete, therefore, should receive the exposure.

The article got worse, when it talked about his parents (in words that he didn't even say) and about his and Y/N's...relationship.

I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now... Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it...I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me...

Rita had interviewed other people about him too. 

Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Y/N Sterling, a stunningly pretty, nice, caring, level-headed girl, who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school. 

Y/N had sought Colin out after the article, face red, and grounded him from his camera, saying she'd give it back in three days.  

Harry had been on edge, too many comments and insults were floating around the school. Once, when Y/N, Harry and Hermione were walking to class, Y/N heard Cho Chang's voice - 

"Hey - Harry!" 

It gave her immense satisfaction when Harry spun around and snapped, 

"Yeah, that's right! I've just been crying my eyes out over my dead mum, and I'm just off to do a bit more.!" 

"No - it was just...you dropped your quill." 

Y/N saw slight color rise in Harry's face. It made her look away, catching Hermione eye. The girl frowned and glared at Harry, then made a blinking motion at Y/N. Y/N, confused, copied her. Hermione gave her a thumbs up and mouthed, "The glow is gone," with a smile.

"Oh - right - sorry," he muttered, taking the quill back.

"Er...good luck on Tuesday," Cho said. "I really hope you do well."

But how could Y/N hate Cho? She was such an angel - but, then again, Y/N kind of wished she was dead when she walked by and caught Harry's eye. 

Cedric, please, win her over.

Y/N had her own troubles too. From the moment the article appeared, Y/N faced ridicule everywhere she went. 

"A caring girl?" a Ravenclaw boy said. "She hexed my balls together in first year!" 

Y/N just scoffed at him. He'd been harassing Parvati, so she did what was needed to be done. Everyone knew about that one, so nobody took his side. 

"Stunningly pretty? Her?" Pansy Parkinson had shrieked the first time she had come face-to-face with Y/N after Rita's article had appeared. "What was she judging against - a chipmunk?" 

"Level-headed?" Malfoy said from beside her. "She threw me into a tree at the World Cup and her eyes were all freaky! She's a freak." 

There was nothing wrong with her. 

There couldn't be anything wrong with her. 

Her glowing eyes and the weird ring and knife situation was probably just a different manifestation of normal wizard magic. 

"Ignore it," Hermione said in a dignified voice, holding her head in the air and stalking past the sniggering Slytherin girls as though she couldn't hear them. "Just ignore it, Trouble."

Y/N tried, oh, she tried her very best.

She and Hermione happened to be in the Library a lot more recently, and it was a little boring, but Y/N was happy that she was with her best friend. 

Harry joined them frequently, sitting beside Y/N and complaining that he didn't want to be there. 

"Can we go now?" Harry whined, his head in Y/N's lap. It looked really uncomfortable, since they were sitting at a table and he has basically draped himself across his own chair to reach Y/N. 

"No, Scarboy," Y/N muttered, a slight blush playing on her face as Harry's arm moved and he put a hand on her knee. "Talk to Ron yet?" 

"I didn't start this," Harry said stubbornly, rubbing some soft circles. "It's his problem to make it up."

"You miss him," Y/N sighed. 

Hermione nodded, "And we know he misses you-" 

"Miss him?" Harry demanded indignantly, scoffing. "I don't miss him." 

Y/N knew this was a downright lie, especially after all the nights they spent together on the couch in the common room, but didn't say anything. She pushed his head up off her lap and pointed to his open book. "Read. It'll help." 

Harry still hadn't mastered the Summoning Charm - he seemed to have a mental block. Hermione suggested that learning the theory of it would help, so that's what they were doing. 

"I don't really want to," Harry said simply, his eyes closing slightly as though he would take a nap.

Hermione picked up the book, then slammed it back on the table, smiling when Harry jumped - now wide awake. 

Y/N gave her best friend a big grin, fighting a laugh. "Oh, how could I have been so schtewpid? I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading!" 

Snorting a laugh, Harry added, "This is light?" 

Both Y/N and Harry were laughing, while Hermione gave them a serious face, but evidently fighting a grin. "You two are so annoying. Such children." 

"Nuh uh," Y/N said, still laughing. 

Hermione gave up and let out a breathy laugh, which was drowned out by a shrieking of girls at the entrance to the Library. 

Y/N rolled her eyes, knowing what the fuss was about. Viktor Krum had recently been at the Library a lot, and his fans followed him. Groups of giggling girls followed him, only to be kicked out by Madam Pince for being too loud. 

"He isn't even good-looking," Hermione muttered. "They only like him because he's good at Quidditch-" 

"Hey, I know someone whose good at Quidditch," Harry said with a grin, nudging Y/N in the side. "He's really cool. I dunno how he doesn't have a girlfriend." 

"That is why he doesn't have a girlfriend," Y/N said severely, pointing to Harry's whole being. He scoffed playfully and gave her another smile that made her stomach flip oddly.

It hurt a little, knowing that he wanted Cho as a girlfriend. Y/N would be his girlfriend in an instant, if he just asked. She'd choose him over Elijah any day - she didn't even really like Elijah. He liked her...and he treated her right... 

In that moment, Y/N decided that she would only choose Elijah if Harry outright chose Cho...

Hermione jutted in, probably seeing the look on Y/N's face. "Anyway, they only like him because he's famous! Probably wouldn't look twice if he couldn't do that Wonky Faint-" 

"Wronski Feint," both Y/N and Harry corrected in pained voices. 

Rolling her eyes, Hermione continued studying, but sent Y/N a smile and the hint of a wink. What a best friend Hermione Granger was.

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Time passed quickly, and with every day that passed, Y/N grew more and more anxious. Anxious for Harry, since the first task was soon, and for herself - what was wrong with her? 

On Saturday November twenty-first, it was a Hogsmeade weekend. Hermione insisted that Y/N come ("Harry is goooiinnnnngg!"), but Y/N quickly shook her head. 

"Nah," she muttered, watching as Cho Chang left the Entrance Hall, wrapped in her cloak, no doubt heading for Hogsmeade. "I...er...I'm gonna hang out with Fred, George and Lee. Maybe Elijah, if he's not with Theo." 

"No, come with us," said Harry immediately. "Please?" 

"No, Harry," Y/N sighed, not looking at him, fearing that he was looking at Cho's departing figure. "Gonna stay in." 

"But-" 

"Leave it, Scarboy."

Y/N hugged Hermione, then begrudgingly turned to Harry, who already had his arms outstretched. It was rather cute, she thought, how his messy hair fell over his face, his emerald eyes shining, and his mouth formed into a pout. 

The girl scoffed playfully, but hugged him nonetheless. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed, lifting Y/N slightly off of the ground, spinning her a little. 

The whole situation felt like Y/N was walking on air. She missed being this open with him. Sure, they still 'cuddled,' and stuff, but this was like last year. This was like the times before he started longing for Cho Chang. 

He hadn't called her "Silv," in a little while. 

Y/N, blushing, pushed them out of the Entrance Hall door, then setting off to look for Fred and George. 

✦

So. Fred and George weren't to be found anywhere. When Y/N hurried up to Harry's dorm to check the Marauders Map, she didn't see their names, and assumed they were in Hogsmeade. 

What she did see, though, was Cedric Diggory, Liana Menda and Mathew Vines, all sitting in the Hufflepuff common room - alone, since everyone else was at Hogsmeade.

A smile crept onto Y/N's face as she skipped down the basement and barged into their common room. The trio was sprawled on couches and chairs - with Cedric in a large armchair, while Liana and Mathew awkwardly shared a loveseat, gingerly touching, but not overly. 

They were so adorably awkward it made Y/N's heart explode. 

Cedric's back was to the door, while Liana and Mathew could see Y/N. She put a finger to her lips and quietly snuck behind Cedric, putting her hands on his shoulders and shrieking in his ear. 

Cedric swore very loudly and jumped up from his seat, whipping around, angry. 

When he saw Y/N, though, his face broke into a grin. "Oh, hi. Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" 

Y/N sighed dramatically and flopped herself across an armchair. "I didn't wanna. Plus, Cho is there and I think Harry..." she trailed her eyes to Liana and Mathew, who didn't exactly know about how incredibly in-love Y/N was. 

"You think Harry...?" Liana prodded, while Cedric fell silent. 

"I think he might like her," Y/N said quietly. It was odd, admitting that sentence out loud. Not good odd. Bad odd. 

Mathew raised a brow, then Liana asked, "Oh. Why does that matter?" 

"Because I like Harry," Y/N finally admitted, shoving her face into a pillow. 

Before Liana could ask anything else, Cedric said in a hollow sort of voice, "Harry likes Cho?" 

Y/N sighed very loudly, so loud the pillow barely muffled it. "Yes, I think so, he keeps staring at her. Mine and his physical affection has toned down since the school year started. Actually, no - since he's started staring at Cho."

Mathew tried to comfort her, "It'll be okay-"

"- I want to die," Y/N said blankly.

"Does Cho like him?" Cedric asked quickly. 

Shrugging as best she could, Y/N groaned. "Hopefully not. I know you like her - please, please, please win her over, Ced. I think she likes you too, judging how she wished you luck when you were submitting your name." 

"Even if he doesn't win her over, which I know he will," Liana added quickly when Cedric sighed, "What about Elijah? You talk about him sometimes." 

"Mmmm," Y/N considered. "I like him, I guess. I mean, if I can't have Harry...I guess I'd say yeah if Elijah asked me out." 

Unintentionally, her gaze flickered to Elijah's bracelet. It truly was beautiful. Maybe he'd get her more jewelry if they dated. The thought gave her butterflies.

"Really?" Mathew asked. "Isn't he in our year? Sixth year? Isn't that a bit old? That's like you dating Cedric." 

"Yuck, Matt!" Y/N exclaimed, bolting up. "That is disgusting. It's not weird with Elijah, I've known him for four years and he's been flirting since the beginning. I've known Ced almost my whole life." 

Cedric groaned and made a disgusted face. "Never again, Mathew. Never again." 

"Sorry!" 

The three Hufflepuffs and Y/N soon got up, heading to Liana's room, because the two girls wanted to give the boys a makeover. 

Y/N had a eye-shadow palette in her hand, standing in front of a seated Cedric. She surveyed the colors in front of her while Cedric eyed the brush in her hand apprehensively. With a final decision, she pushed the brush into a section neon green eyeshadow. 

Glancing over, she saw that Liana had already messed Mathew's face up with blush, but even so, he was looking at her like she was his world. 

Cedric was holding in protests when Y/N brought the brush to his eyelids, not being carful at all with her applications. 

When the two girls were finished, Cedric and Mathew looked like they had gone to a four-year-old's tea party. 

Cedric's hair had been pulled into two (small) pony tails, his eyelids green, with winged black eyeliner that covered at least half of his cheek. His lips were painted red, stretched out into a joker-like smile. 

Mathew had blushing cheeks, black eyeshadow and pink lips. His hair had two tiny braids in it, and his nose had been painted with a red clown nose. 

"Ta-da!" Liana and YN said, holding up mirrors to their respective victims. 

Shrieking, Cedric and Mathew jumped out of their seats and raced to their dorm to use the bathroom sink to wash it off. 

"Got a picture?" Liana asked Y/N, laughing, watching her boyfriend's departing figure. 

"Mhm," Y/N said slyly, glancing at Hermione's muggle camera planted in the corner, which she had set up and given a ten-second count. 

Y/N wandered over to Liana's dresser to put the makeup away, her eye catching on the various pieces of jewelry. Liana was always well-put together, and jewelry was a staple of that. 

"Nice necklaces," Y/N commented, pointing at a necklace with a little heart on it. 

Liana smiled, "Mathew got that for me, when we first stared dating," she giggled, bringing a hand to heart. 

On her finger, Y/N noticed, was a beautiful gold ring, with a yellow flower in the middle. At some angles, the yellow flower glinted a fiery orange, almost pulsing with the new color. Y/N assumed it was some type of Hufflepuff family treasure. 

"You can borrow anything you want any time you want," Liana added, walking over. " 'cept the stuff from Mathew, you know." 

Y/N laughed in agreement, then she and Liana waited for the boys to return, flopping on Liana's bed as she shared the story of her and Mathew's first date. 

Oh, how Y/N loved girlhood. 

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Harry and Hermione returned from Hogsmeade five minutes after Y/N got to Gryffindor Common Room. She was curled up in front of the fire place, reading, when they burst in, faces red, and told Y/N, 

"Harry has to meet Hagrid at the Forbidden Forest at midnight," Hermione announced to the empty-besides-Y/N common room. 

Y/N furrowed her brows and turned to the boy. "But you have to be here when Sirius connects to the fireplace - one o'clock." 

Harry shrugged, but looked a little apprehensive nonetheless. "I'll try and be back in time, but I dunno how I'm gonna leave at eleven-thirty without being noticed," he came and sat down next to Y/N. 

"We'll figure out a way to get you out," Y/N said. 

And so it was. At eleven-thirty, Harry went up to his dorm for "bed," then a couple minutes later, she felt an invisible figure tap her on her shoulder. 

Hermione was waiting outside to open the Portrait Hole, so Y/N pointed her wand at the Herms and Trouble book around her neck. When it was full sized again, she wrote a simple scribble in it, just so it would thrum around Hermione's neck. Just as planned, Hermione received the message, and she came through the Portrait Hole. 

Y/N hoped that Harry had left, and her hope was confirmed when Hermione sat down beside her and gave her a thumbs-up. 

The two girls waited about an hour, doing their homework, chatting with Fred and George, playing chess with Colin and Denis. (Y/N always let the Creevey boys win. It was just so cute when their eyes lit up with excitement.)

Eventually, around twelve forty-five in the morning, Hermione yawned and said she was going to hit the hay. Y/N laughed at her for the saying, then said, "Alright, I'll wait for him. Someone's gotta make sure that Hagrid doesn't accidently set him on fire, or something." 

"Okay," Hermione smiled. "Goodnight Trouble." 

"G'night Herms!" 

Y/N only had to wait ten more minutes for Harry to come striding into the common room - or, at least she hoped it was Harry, since the door opened and she saw nobody. 

He threw the Invisibility Cloak onto an armchair, then looked at Y/N with a severe expression on his face. 

"What did Hagrid want?" Y/N inquired, leading him to sit down. 

"Dragons," Harry said blankly. "That's the first task. Godric, Silv. I'm so fucking screwed." He rubbed at his eyes from under his glasses, then ran a hand through his hair. "So utterly and completely fuck-" 

"Don't, Harry," Y/N said sharply. She couldn't drown the excitement she felt when he called her Silv. It had been a while. "You'll be fine. You can do it - you've fought Voldemort. A dragon is just a large lizard." 

Deep down, she was absolutely terrified. She had been right about this fucking Tournament, it was dangerous. They were setting kids up again dragons. Two of the people Y/N cared most about, Harry and Cedric, had to fight fire-breathing, claw-having, aggressive dragons.

Just then, the flames erupted in the fireplace. Both Y/N and Harry jumped, startled. 

Sirius Black's head appeared in the hearth. Last time Y/N had seen him, he looked gaunt and ill. Now, his face was fuller - she knew that was the work of Remus, probably. Whenever he visited Sirius, he brought good, nutritious food. 

Though, he wasn't smiling, like Sirius Black would. His expression seemed almost grim - ha-ha, grim. 

Y/N and Harry got on their knees on the carpet. Harry said, "Sirius - how're you!" 

"Never mind me, how are you?" said Sirius seriously. 

"I'm -" 

For a second, Y/N wondered what Harry was about to say. Then, he dumped everything - about how no one believed he hadn't entered the tournament of his own free will, how Rita Skeeter had lied about him in the Daily Prophet, how he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at - and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron's jealousy...

"...and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner," he finished desperately. 

Sirius looked at him, eyes full of concern. 

"Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute - I haven't got long here... I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, since Remus left...I think he's on the way back to your house, Y/N," Sirius looked at her. "But they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about."

"What?" Harry and Y/N said at the same time. 

"Karkaroff," said Sirius. "He was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?" 

"Yes - he - what?" 

Sirius went on to explain how Karkaroff had been in Azkaban with him, but made a deal with the Ministry to be released. That's why, Sirius thought, that Dumbledore hired Moody (an Auror) to keep a watch on Karkaroff this year. Moody caught Karkaroff in the first place, so the two had some bad blood. 

"...So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well," Sirius finished.

"Okay," said Harry slowly. "But...are you saying Karkaroff put my name in the goblet? Because if he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me from competing." 

"We know he's a good actor," said Sirius, "because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet, Harry, Y/N -" 

"- you and the rest of the world," said Harry bitterly. 

Y/N put a comforting hand on his arm and muttered, "Calm down, Harry. He's just trying to help." 

Harry's P.O.V. 

When he had walked into the common room and told Y/N what he had saw, the terrified look on her face broke his heart. 

Harry knew that even though she tried to comfort him, she was scared for him. Y/N tried not to show it, but he knew anyway. This conversation with Sirius was sure to talk more about the Tournament and the danger. He didn't want her to hear it and be more worried. 

"Go to bed, Silv," Harry told her softly, nudging her in the side. "You're tired." 

"No 'm not..." she mumbled, though her eyes were already drooping. 

Harry gave her a look, eyebrows raised. Y/N huffed and rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway, getting up. Grabbing her by the arm, Harry pulled her back down for a goodnight hug. 

She melted into his arms and Harry wished he could stay there forever. Forget this stupid tournament, forget Karkaroff, forget Elijah Collins. 

This was Harry's place. 

In Y/N's arms. 

And then the moment was over. Y/N gave him a last squeeze, then muttered a goodnight and headed up to her dorm. 

Harry turned back to Sirius, who was looking at him oddly, a smirk on his face.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Nothinnn'," Sirius said. "Anyways!"

"So...what are you saying?" said Harry slowly. "Karkaroff's trying to kill me? But - why?""

Sirius hesitated. "I've been hearing some very strange things," he said. "The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark..."

"So . . . so Voldemort could have found out about the tournament?" said Harry. "Is that what you mean? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?"

"I don't know," said Sirius calculatedly, "I just don't know...Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it look like an accident."

"Looks like a really good plan from where I'm standing," said Harry grinning bleakly. "They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff."

Even as he said it, he could imagine the horrified look his joke would trigger on Y/N's beautiful face.

"Right - these dragons," said Sirius, speaking very quickly now. "There's a way, Harry. Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell - dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner, you need about half a dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon -"

"Yeah, I know, I just saw," said Harry.

"But you can do it alone," said Sirius. "There is a way, and a simple spell's all you need. Just -"

But Harry held up a hand to silence him, his heart suddenly pounding as though it would burst. He could hear footsteps coming down the spiral staircase behind him.

"Go!" he told Sirius. "Go! There's someone coming!" 

Harry heard a tiny pop! and Sirius' head disappeared from the hearth. Harry was a little disappointed to see him go - it was the first time he'd seen his godfather in a while. 

He watched the bottom of the spiral staircase. Who had decided to go for a stroll at one o'clock in the morning, and stopped Sirius from telling him how to get past a dragon?

It was Ron. Dressed in his maroon paisley pajamas, Ron stopped dead, facing Harry across the room, and looked around. "Who were you talking to?" he said.

"Why do you care?" Harry snarked. "What are you doing down here so late at night?" 

"I just wondered where you were-" Ron broke off suddenly. "Never mind. I'm going to bed."

"Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry said, voice raised slightly. He knew that Ron had no idea what he'd walked in on, knew he hadn't done it on purpose, but Harry didn't care - at this moment he hated everything about Ron.

"Sorry about that," said Ron, his face reddening with anger. "Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace." 

Harry seized one of the POTTER STINKS badges off the table and chucked it, as hard as he could, across the room. It hit Ron on the forehead and bounced off. 

"There you go," Harry said. 

"Something for you to wear on Tuesday during the task. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky...That's what you want, isn't it?"

Harry didn't know exactly what he was doing. He didn't really mean it. He didn't want to hurt Ron, but he was just so done with him.

He strode across the room toward the stairs; he half expected Ron to stop him, he would even have liked Ron to throw a punch at him, but Ron just stood there. Harry, having stormed upstairs, lay awake in bed fuming for a longtime afterward and didn't hear him come up to bed.

 ✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

When Harry awoke the next morning, it took him five minutes to realize that he was trying to put a hat on his foot. He had already changed - a navy hoodie and and grey trousers - and kept getting angry when his sleeves caught on anything.

Cursing, he located his sock and stumbled down to the common room, finding Y/N and Hermione on a couch in a secluded corner. 

"So, Hermione, the first task-" Harry began. 

"I know," Hermione whispered. "Trouble told me about that and about Sirius. How are you feeling?" 

"I dunno..." Harry said glumly, taking a seat beside Y/N. She looked at him with worried eyes, eyes that Harry could get lost in for hours. "And Karkaroff-" 

"Nevermind Karkaroff," said Hermione. "We can worry about that later. Let's focus on keeping you alive until Tuesday evening."

"Library?" Y/N suggested in a small voice, eyeing the multiple Gryffindors lounging in the common room. "Dean wants to hang out today. Told him I had a shit ton of homework, which I'm not doing right now, and he's in the common room, and I don't want to be a liar, but I need to help you and not hang out with him-"

Hermione nodded with vigor. 

"Or we could bring the books here!" Harry suggested hopefully, not wanting to spend the whole day in the library. 

"Get your arse up, Scarboy." 

He only listened because Y/N was the one telling him to.

✦

They retired to the Library and spread all their things out on a table. Hermione was looking through shelves while Harry and Y/N, sat beside each other, flipped hastily through pages, trying to catch words that mean anything. 

 "Talon-clipping by charms...treating scale-rot..." Y/N read out the title of a book. "This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy."

Hermione returned and plopped into the seat across from Harry, flipping open her own book about dragon habits. 

She furrowed her brows and read something out from the passage. "Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells...but that's odd. Sirius said a simple one would do it..."

"Then lets try a simple spellbook," Harry suggested, throwing aside, Men Who Love Dragons Too Much. 

He returned to the table with a pile of spellbooks, set them down, and began to flick through each in turn.

Y/N grabbed a couple, looking at the Table of Contents. If the chapter titles deemed irrelevant, the whole book was irrelevant. Even so, she'd quickly flip through the book to see if anything was useful, then tossed it aside. 

It was a good strategy, which Hermione praised, starting to do the same. Harry, getting bored, brought a hand down to Y/N's knee, maybe the slightest bit higher, and rubbed some patterns. 

Y/N began to squirm slightly. Maybe she was getting bored too.

Hermione had a smirk playing on her face, for a reason unknown to Harry.

After what felt like hours in the library, the trio heard Hermione heave a loud sigh. They had gotten practically nowhere with this research - but that wasn't why she was annoyed. 

"What's wrong?" Y/N asked.

Hermione glanced in a different direction. "He's back again, why can't he read on his stupid ship?" said Hermione irritably as Viktor Krum slouched in, cast a surly look over at the three of them, and settled himself in a distant corner with a pile of books. "Come on, let's go back to the common room...his fan club'll be here in a moment, twittering away..." 

They departed from the library, and Harry was getting increasingly more worried. That night, he lay exhausted, head in Y/N's lap as she read through more books.

"Sleep, Harry," Y/N cooed, a hand in his hair. "Tomorrow's Monday, then it's the task on Tuesday. You need as much sleep as you can get." 

"I feel bad if I sleep while you're reading for me," Harry admitted. "The least I can do is keep you company." 

"Yeah," Y/N agreed. Harry didn't miss the slight tremor in her voice. 

Harry frowned, and took her free hand. The one with his bracelet (And Elijah's bracelet). He studied his own bracelet, (which was way better than Elijah's). Looking at and breathing in the scent of the Flos Lunaris twined around the silver calmed him. 

He brought her wrist up to her nose. "Smell." 

"Are you a little loopy?" Y/N asked. "I'm not smelling my wrist." 

"The bracelet, you dimwit," Harry laughed. "It, like, helps."

"Makes you seem like more of a tosser than you already are," Y/N muttered, trying to hide her smile. It was genuine, but a little tight. Harry knew that was because she was stressed for him. 

Guess who was occupying her thoughts? Harry. 

Guess who wasn't? Elijah Collins. 

Take that. 

"Just smell," Harry urged. 

Y/N rolled her eyes, but took a smell of the flowers. Her eyes widened, and her body visibly relaxed. The furrow between her eyebrows disappeared. "Oh," said Y/N. "That did work. Maybe you're not completely a tosser." 

"Everyone thinks I am anyway," Harry muttered. "That I put my name in the Goblet because I just need more fame-" 

Y/N shoved her bracelet in front of his nose. "Your turn." 

"You're so annoying," Harry groaned playfully.

"Nuh uh," Y/N argued. 

"Such a brat." 

"Never say that again." 

 ✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The next day, Monday, Harry was frantically rushing to Herbology class after being taken by Moody to his office. 

Moody had grabbed him just before Herbology, after Harry had finished telling Cedric about dragons being the first task. He felt that it was unfair, since Madame Maxine had been with Hagrid when he showed Harry the dragons, so Fleur definitely knew. Karkaroff was sneaking in the bushes, so he surely told Krum. 

After being hauled to Moody's office, he felt a little uneasy...in the way that Moody spoke to him. He didn't know why, exactly, that Moody was helping him, but he accepted it nonetheless. 

"Y/N, Hermione," Harry panted, hurrying into the seat beside them. "I need your help," he whispered. 

"We've been helping you, Harry," Y/N sighed, trying to pay attention to her Flutterby Bush. Harry observed as she tried to clip a dead twig off, and the whole bush tried to attack her. "Fuck!" 

Harry looked from Hermione to Y/N. 

"I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm by tomorrow afternoon." 

"Why?" 

"To summon my broom for the task."

And so that's what they did. 

They skipped lunch, but headed for a free classroom, where Harry tried with all his might to make various objects fly across the room towards him. He just couldn't get it - objects, Y/N's books and quills kept faltering halfway across the room, dropping. 

"Concentrate, Scarboy." 

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" 

"Don't be short with me," huffed Y/N.

"Hard to do when I'm taller than you," Harry grinned, but shrank a little at the face Y/N was making at him. 

"Concentrate." 

"I would," Harry agreed. "But a great big dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason-" Y/N glared at him once more. "Okay, trying again."

He wanted to skip Divination to keep practicing, but Hermione refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy - she even convinced Y/N to go to class, Y/N, who wholeheartedly wanted to stay - and there was no point in staying without them. 

Therefore, Harry had to endure over an hour of Professor Trelawney, who basically spent the whole lesson telling the class that people born in July were in great danger of sudden, violent deaths. Great.

He spent the rest of the lesson trying to attract small objects toward him under the table with his wand. He managed to make a fly zoom straight into his hand, though he wasn't entirely sure that was his prowess at Summoning Charms - perhaps the fly was just stupid.

Harry forced down some dinner after Divination, at one point, Y/N had to wave the bread rolls in front of his face, then returned to the empty classroom with Hermione and Y/N, using the Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. 

They kept practicing until midnight, even when Harry insisted that the other two go to bed when he saw Y/N rubbing her eyes tiredly. She refused, of course.

They would have stayed in the classroom even longer, but Peeves showed up. 

"Holy fuck get him out of here," Y/N groaned as Peeves starting chucking things at Harry, pretending to think that Harry wanted things thrown at him.

"Your marauder of an uncle isn't here," Peeves grinned madly. "That means I can- weeeeee!" he chuckled multiple chairs across the room.

"Right, but he taught me how to deal with you," Y/N bluffed. Peeves squinted at her, then decided she was being truthful, and fled from the room. 

Still, the trio left the room in a hurry, because the noise had probably attracted Filch. It was two in the morning, now, so they headed back to Gryffindor Common Room, sneaking through the halls under the Invisibility Cloak.

"Okay, we're not sleeping until Harry gets this," Hermione said. 

Y/N saluted, while Harry just nodded tiredly. 

Half an hour later, with many protests from Y/N (Because flying objects had hit her), Harry had a pile of various things at his feet: books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones and Nevilles toad, Trevor.

Only int he last half hour had Harry really got the hang of the Summoning Charm. 

"That's better, Harry, that's loads better!" Hermione said, looking exhausted but very pleased. 

"Well, now we know what to do when Harry needs to learn something," Y/N grinned, rubbing her eyes. "Threaten him with a dragon."

The teasing but tired tone she said it in and the slant of her eyelids, made Harry feel very tingly inside.

She'd changed into his Gryffindor Quidditch jumper when they had returned, claiming that it was already in her trunk, and he didn't need it because Quidditch was canceled this year. 

Harry absolutely loved seeing Y/N in his jumpers, scarves, hats - anything, really. It felt like boyfriend-girlfriend things, and that was what he really wanted. To be Y/N's boyfriend. 

But she didn't see him like that - she seemed to have taken a liking for Elijah Collins. That made Harry fume, but at least he could do what he'd been doing since third year a little while longer. 

"Accio quidditch jumper," Harry muttered under his breath, pointing his wand and praying it worked.

With a terribly concealed yelp ("people are sleeping!" reprimanded Hermione) Y/N's body was dragged across the room by Harry's quidditch jumper. 

Harry caught her, extremely satisfied, with outstretched arms. Y/N crashed into his chest, eyes squeezed shut, and he placed his hands on her waist. "Calm down, Silv," he teased. 

"You're such a fuckin' prat, Potter," Y/N scowled, looking up at him, eyes full of fake scorn. "There were about twenty other things you could summon!"

"Mmmmm," Harry considered, feeling slightly bold. 

There was really only one way he could win her over from Elijah, by being the Harry he was before Y/N started liking Elijah. 

"But what if I wanted you in my arms?" 

Y/N stared at him for a moment, mouth agape, cheeks red enough to rival a cherry. She was so adorable. For a moment, Harry was scared, rethinking his choices. Then, Y/N laughed lightly, almost in disbelief. "Flirt much, Potter?" 

"Only for you," Harry grinned back, incredibly relieved that she hadn't, like, thrown up all over him. 

"Funny," Y/N said dryly, but she was smiling ear-to-ear. It made Harry's heart pound. She was looking at him like he was her world - and he would give anything to be her world.

"I really think you've got the hang of it, Harry," said Y/N softly, still wrapped up in his arms, in his jumper.

"Just as long as it works tomorrow," Harry mumbled. "My Firebolt's going to be much farther away than the stuff in here, it's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there on the grounds..."

Hermione jutted in. "That doesn't matter," she said firmly "Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. We'd all better get some sleep, especially you, Harry...you're going to need it."

Y/N sent a smile to Hermione and told the girl she'd "be up in a few!" Hermione nodded, then headed up the staircase to the dormitory. 

"You know full well you're not going to, 'be up in a few!'," Harry mocked, sending a smirk down at her. 

"Don't get too cocky," Y/N warned. "Or I won't be your pillow anymore, and you can go sleep in your dorm..." she trailed off, then waved her arms in a ghostly fashion, "where Ron is..."

"Nope, that's fine. I'm sorry," Harry said quickly, leading her over to the couch, where Y/N settled comfortably before Harry flopped down on top of her. 

"Okay, ouch," Y/N muttered. "Your head goes on my chest. Your whole body does not crush mine. Fix it." 

"Yes ma'am!" 

He did, indeed, fix it. Harry found that ever since this whole mess started, sleeping down here in the common room with Y/N helped a ton. He didn't know why, perhaps it was the smell of the Flos Lunaris she always had on her. 

Or...it was Y/N herself. 

Harry just didn't know how deeply in love with Y/N he really was.

 ✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Y/N's P.O.V. 

They got through their morning classes, exhausted but otherwise okay, and were now at lunch. Harry had been enduring taunts and Y/N was impressed at how easily he was able to ignore them. 

During lunch, Professor McGonagall came up behind Y/N, Harry and Hermione, startling the wits out of Y/N. 

"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now....You have to get ready for your first task."

 "Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter. 

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione said worriedly. "You'll be fine."

He was extremely on-edge, but before Y/N could say more than, "Harry, you've got this-" he was lead away by Professor McGonagall. 

"What if something happens," Y/N said nervously, to Hermione, head in her hands.

"Nothing will happen," Hermione reassured, but she too looked extremely apprehensive, barely even touching her food.

The two girls ate lunch, exchanging reassuring words, and Y/N glared at Ron down the table. Harry was against dragons and Ron was against Harry. Stupid. They needed to just resolve this problem, this was so dumb. What idiots.

Y/N was barely able to eat any food. Her leg bounced in anxiety, her fingers drummed on the table, unable to contain herself. 

When Professor McGonagall came back and announced, "Everyone, would you please follow behind me to view the First Task!" Y/N basically jumped out of her seat, dragging Hermione out of the Entrance Hall, right on Professor McGonagall's heels. 

 ✦

"I'll be right back," Y/N muttered to Hermione once everyone had settled in the stands. 

Professor McGonagall had brought them to an arena in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, a large one, at that. In the middle was a rocky terrain, and everyone was confused as to what the task was...except Y/N and Hermione.

Hermione nodded, then Y/N slipped through the crowed, heading for the beige flap of the Champions tent that was blowing in the breeze. She glanced around once, twice, then ducked under the flap. 

Inside, the tent was larger than it seemed. The champions were splayed around on different, stiff-looking chairs. Y/N looked around and saw Ludo Bagman leaving through another flap, and decided that there was a few minutes before the task began. 

Y/N nodded to Krum, then smiled at Fleur. What she wasn't expecting, though, was for Fleur to walk over to her. 

"You're Y/N, correct?" Fleur asked in that gorgeous french accent. 

"Yes," Y/N smiled. "Fleur Delacour - everyone knows you, beauty of Beauxbatons." 

Fleur blushed a little. "You are too much, but thank you. You are quite beautiful yourself, and clever - I have zeen your spell throughout ze halls. I especially enjoy eet when you curse ze greasy-lookeeng boy!" 

It was Y/N's turn to blush, also letting out a small laugh at Fleur's reference to Malfoy. So Fleur was not only beautiful, she was a girls girl! "Thank you! Good luck on the task, I dunno what it is, but I know you'll do well." 

"Thank you, Y/N!" 

Y/N smiled again and proceeded to where both Harry and Cedric were sitting, silent, looking grave. 

"Chin up, you two," Y/N said with a wry smile. 

Both the boys' heads shot up quickly, and they both broke into slight grins when they saw her. 

"Egghead!" 

"Silv!" 

"How'd you get in?" Harry and Cedric asked in unison. 

She gave them a look. "I just kinda...walked in...that's irrelevant, though. I just wanted to come give you two a proper good-luck!" 

Harry muttered something under his breath, and all Y/N caught was, "know...what...good way..." 

Maybe he was verbally planning his strategy. 

First, she leaned down to hug Cedric, whispering encouraging things in his ear. She told him to pretend that if he did well, Cho would be his girlfriend immediately. She made sure not to say Cho's name, though, in case Harry heard. Y/N didn't want him to like Cho, but she also didn't want him to be heartbroken if she didn't like him back. 

Then, it was Harry's turn, as Cedric got up to shake off his nerves. 

Harry swallowed hard. "I got the worst dragon," he told her quietly. "Gotta retrieve a golden egg from it...from a Hungarian Horntail," he held out a miniature dragon, then placed it on a table beside him. It was a mini horntail, it was...kinda cute...

Y/N tried to fight the widening of her eyes. A Hungarian Horntail...Remus talked about them sometimes when he listed his dangerous creatures for lesson plans. She tried to not let her face give away how scared she was.

"Harry," Y/N began, "You're gonna do great, don't worry, you got this, you've practiced all day yesterd-" 

She was cut off as Harry suddenly sprung up from his wooden chair and wrapped Y/N with his arms. He grabbed her hands and placed them around himself, then buried his face in the crook of her neck. His glasses felt cold against her skin, digging into her flesh. "Just hold me," he said. 

Heat crept up Y/N's neck as she felt Harry's lips brush against her skin. "Okay..." she mumbled. Y/N wasn't sure where this was coming from, but she was happy that he was in her arms.

The pair of them stood, entwined, for a couple of minutes. 

Harry's breathing had calmed down a little bit, and Y/N was glad that his nerves were calming down a little bit. 

Her own anxiety still hadn't quit. It was bubbling in her stomach-

There was a loud clanging of a gong, and Harry and Y/N jumped, startled. Ringing from the arena was Ludo Bagman's voice: "Anddddd, our first champion, Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts!" 

Y/N really couldn't miss that. 

"I believe in you, 'kay?" she asked Harry.

He nodded bleakly, once again looking slightly nauseous. 

About to turn, Y/N pulled Harry down by the collar of his champion jersey and brushed a kiss on his forehead, then turned, red-faced and sprinted out of the tent. 

She didn't wait for his reaction. 

 ✦

So, basically, the task was to retrieve a golden egg from your dragon. Seems simple enough, except the part where the dragons happen to be extremely protective mothers.

Cedric did amazing against his dragon, the Swedish Short Snout. It was a blue-grey dragon, really big, but he pushed through, transfiguring a rock on the ground into a dog to distract the dragon.

Fleur and Krum did pretty well too - except for when Fleur's clothes caught fire, and when Krum hit the dragon in the eye with a spell, causing the Chinese Fireball to stagger and crush half of her eggs. 

Then, finally, it was Harry's turn. 

Harry walked into the arena, squinting slightly as the sun shone in his eyes. His long-ish hair blew slightly in the wind as he got his bearings. Y/N was quite literally trembling in the stands, clutching onto Hermione.

And there was the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs. She had her wings half-furled, her yellow eyes upon him, then thrashed her spiked tail, leaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not. 

Y/N watched as Harry raised his wand and she saw his mouth move as he yelled, "Accio Firebolt!" 

Nothing. 

Nothing. 

Nothing. 

Was the broom even coming? 

ZOOM! 

The Firebolt shot over Y/N's head, barely missing her. It sped over to Harry, stopping for a moment in front of him so he could mount it. He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground, miraculously whooping a laugh. 

Harry Potter, in a dangerous tournament - of course he laughs when he gets back on a broomstick.

Throughout the whole task, Harry seemed to be in a sort of dance with the Horntail. Where he went, she followed, either with her eyes or with her neck. 

It never went further than that. Harry avoided gusts of fire that received many a praise from Ludo Bagman. 

The whole time, Y/N was mumbling prayers to any god or deity that would listen.

He dived. The Horntail's head followed him; Y/N knew he would pull out of the dive just in time. A jet of fire had been released exactly where he would have been had he not swerved away. She would reprimand him for his carelessness later. 

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Harry plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time he was less lucky - he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes. 

"Shit, shit, shit, Hermione, did you see that-" 

"Yes, Trouble," Hermione said, just as worriedly. "Madam Pomfrey will patch him up-" 

There was a loud bang. The dragon had shot another plume of flame, straight at Harry. He dodged, and the fire hit a large boulder.

The boulder exploded, eliciting a shriek from the crowed. Apparently, it was not just rock. As it deteriorated into the air, it released little, sharp shards of silver metal that came flying directly at the crowd and at Harry. 

Y/N's breath caught in her throat. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Her eyes widened. Her palms tingled. 

And then the metal stopped. And it seemed to be moving...backwards...? 

Until it dropped to the ground, unmoving, shining in the light of the sun and dragonfire.

"Y/N, what..." Hermione said quietly. "Y/N was that you-" 

The dragon roared again, and Y/N's attention was pulled to Harry. It didn't matter how the metal went away, because Harry's safety was all that mattered.

Harry flew high. He kept flying higher and higher, and this time, the Horntail followed him. He was a like a snakecharmer, the way the dragon was entranced. The dragon reared, spreading her black, leathery wings.

He was at a great height and then-

"Hermione!" Y/N gasped, pointing to Harry on his broomstick.

He had dived, sharp and quick, downwards. He was shooting towards the ground faster than the dragon could even comprehend, speeding in between the wings that had previously protected her eggs. 

Swooping, he caught the golden egg under his arm and pulled out of his dive, rising into the air, almost glowing with the cheers from the crowd. 

Of course, Y/N and Hermione were cheering the loudest. Y/N was almost in tears, but she didn't need that right now. 

"He did it, he did it, he did it..." Y/N muttered in relief, to Hermione, but mostly to herself.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!" 

✦

Y/N and Hermione were hurrying through the crowd. Harry had already gone inside the tent, and they needed to see him. To Y/N's immense displeasure, someone, Ron Weasley, caught her by the arm. 

"Can I come?" 

"Nope, you were being a douche." 

"What if I apologize?" 

"....Fine. Hurry your arse up." 

They ducked under the flap of the tent, seeing Harry being patched up by Madam Pomfrey - they seemed to be almost done, though.

Y/N, quite frankly, did not care. She launched herself into Harry's arms, and he caught her, since his injuries were almost healed. 

"I did it," he whispered into her hair. 

"You did," Y/N smiled. "You did it." 

Harry smiled down at her, and Y/N blushed at the memory of the forehead kiss. Hmm... 

Y/N smirked slightly and pulled him down by his collar again - was that hope in his eyes? - and quickly brought her lips to his lower cheek, purposefully letting them brush the corner of his mouth. 

Harry's eyes widened and Y/N turned away, letting Ron and Hermione have their turn with their best friend. 

Her mind was reeling at what she had just done, but it was alright...it was fine! It was cool. No need to stress. No need to freak out! (She was freaking out.) 

"Harry! You were brilliant!" Hermione said, smiling ear-to-ear as well. 

Ron spoke up next, his tone slightly somber. "Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

 It was as though the last few weeks had never happened  as though Harry were meeting Ron for the first time, right after he'd been made champion. 

"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."

In all honesty, that was fair. The pettiness was fair.

Hermione stood nervously between them, looking from one to the other. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly.

Harry looked as though he was on the edge of saying something. He was red, for a reason unknown to Y/N. 

He finally decided to say, "It's okay," he said, before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it." 

"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've —"

"Forget it," Harry said. 

Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back. Y/N snickered slightly, then the sound was abruptly cut off when Hermione burst into tears.

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered. 

"You two are so stupid!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she grabbed Y/N by the arm, "Trouble we're going!" 

The two girls dashed out of the tent, Y/N's mind occupied by many things at once, but somehow, they were all related to Harry James Potter.

─── ☆: *.⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ .* :☆ ───

10575words...y'all eating goooood (after being starved for like...a week...ITS NOT MY FAULT IM SO BUSY LAMWDOWAPO) 

ya'll ngl..im looking at the amount of chapters i already have for fourth year alone and god DAMN this whole book is gonna be so long bc i love doing long chapters and i have SO MANY CHAPTERS??? like year three was like 18 chapters and year four is ALREADY AT 10 chapters (this chapter is 11) 💀

so 

um 

yeah 

longass book

and years

so yeah

also...umm....really late chapter 💀

BUT TO BE FAIR 

I LITERALLY MOVED INTO MY NEW HOUSE TODAY. SO LIKE IVE BEEN SUPER DUPER SUPER DUPER BUSY PLEASE DONT HATE ME AOJWAOIDWAODIADHWW 😭

mmmm.. i feel like i was gonna say summ... 

OH YESS!!

theres....clues.....in this....chapter.....hmmmmmm....... thats crazy....clues, if you look close enough....clues...wow.......

ok ngl thats all i gotta say ....😈

okokokok 

im tired af its been a chaotic day!! 

bye troublemakers <3 

- dizzy :)