Chapter 6
Harry didn’t know what to expect, clearly.
Ron and Harry spoke for the first time in a while, both worried over Hermione’s disappearance, and then Harry finds her at the bottom of the Black Lake, tied to a stone.
He sees Cho next to her, presumably the hostage for Cedric, but doesn’t recognize the other two. He can guess the young girl, with fair skin and blue eyes, might be Fleur’s sister, or cousin, but doesn’t know the sole boy’s relation to Krum.
Harry cuts away at the bindings keeping Hermione attached to the stone, and tries not to gag at the sight of her clammy skin and slack expression, which gives her a dead feeling. He fails, and then moves on to simply not looking at her or the other champions, who he is reluctant to just leave behind.
So he stuck around long enough for Cedric to retrieve Cho, and warn Harry about the time left to complete the task, and for Krum to eat through the binding on his hostage with his transfigured head shortly after.
Fleur never arrives, and Harry refuses to leave a young, half-dead girl buried under the water of the Black Lake, so he fights the merpeople and takes her with him as well.
Hermione hugs Harry after Fleur shows her thanks for rescuing her sister, and Ron stands awkwardly in the background.
Harry receives 45 points from the judges, and is tied in first place with Cedric. They won’t get to know anything about the third task until a month before it is set to happen, so Hermione and Harry have nearly four more months to search the library for books on Death, and otherwise potentially life-saving spells.
Hermione wants to start with the book that Nott took, and Madam Pince confirmed that he had indeed checked it out, and has yet to return it.
“Nott would still have two weeks left before he has to bring it back, and that’s only if he checked it out the day you let him – the day we let him take it, and if he doesn’t just check it out again straight after.” Hermione pleads. “Please, Harry? You’ve talked to him more than I have,”
Harry puts his hands out in front of him, and waves at her to back away. “I told you I would, Hermione,” he just needs to find him outside of classes in the first place, and away from the other Slytherins in their year if he can.
He isn’t able to catch him after the classes they share end, with how fast he packs up and leaves, going over to the Slytherin table during meals would lead to a more dramatic social outcasting than he can currently tolerate, and Nott is nearly impossible to find outside of those times. He eludes even the Marauders' map, which Harry feels Nott should get some kind of award for. He and Hermione got lucky to see him in the library, and the only other place Harry has interacted with Nott…
Harry is going to have to hang out and wait in that alcove again, isn’t he?
“Harry,” Hermione nags him impatiently. Harry grumbles at her.
“It’s only been three days, Hermione, I’m working on it.” It’s a Saturday morning, so he has all day and tomorrow to sit and wait. Harry woke up early for this purpose. If Nott doesn’t show, well, they share Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class, and everyone is usually extra focused on lessons then so they don’t get murdered, so he’ll ask him then.
Harry doesn’t bother darkening the alcove any further than it already is when he slips inside. He needs the minimal light to write his potions essay, of which his handwriting is going to be particularly hard to read on. But Snape will grade it poorly anyway, so he isn’t too concerned about it.
What he is concerned about, however, is concealing his frustrated sounds as he struggles to find any relevant material in his potions textbook, which he’s using as a clipboard, and if Nott will even show up. Harry doesn’t know why Nott stuck his head inside in alcove when Harry was in there; does he come here regularly? Even if he did, he might not anymore after Harry’s invasion of the space.
The alcove also just isn’t that comfortable when he’s doing more than crying and staring blankly at the walls he can’t see. It’s only narrow enough for him to sit sideways on the small ledge he is afforded, leaving him very little room for him to fidget to keep himself entertained as he writes, especially if he wants to prevent knowing over his precariously perched inkpot. And with the hours that have passed, it’s getting exponentially more uncomfortable.
“Damn,” Harry whispers. His quill slipped out of his fingers, and his efforts to pick it back up from where it wedged itself between the ledge and the tapestry only pushed it out of the alcove entirely.
The tapestry opens. Well this feels familiar.
Nott’s face pokes into the alcove, though his eyes are less startled this time. “You dropped this,” Harry plucks the quill from Nott’s extended hand.
“Thanks.” They stare at each other for a couple seconds, and Nott retreats fully back into the hallway. “Wait!” Harry calls out. He rushes to shove his essay into his textbook – it’ll smudge, but Harry probably needs to re-write it if he wants to be able to read it, so it looks like Snape will get his usual level of Harry’s failure to write well after all – and to close his inkpot.
When he dashes out of the alcove, Nott is already halfway down the hall, and a cluster of second years startle at his entrance. He pays them no mind, and jogs down the hall to catch up to Nott.
“Wait, Nott!” Harry falls into step beside Nott, who hadn’t slowed down to let him catch up. “I need to ask about that book you took.” Nott sighs dramatically. Harry pauses his speech, waiting for him to deny Harry the chance to even ask to borrow it for an hour or two.
“Don’t wait in my alcove to ask me questions,” he states. Harry blinks.
“How else am I meant to find you?” The corner of Nott’s mouth twitches up for half a second, and Harry forgets what he is meant to ask him. “You can smile?”
Harry has the worst brain-to-mouth filter. It’s already gotten him in trouble, and now it’s going to get him killed by Hermione when he tells her why he can’t borrow the book from Nott.
Nott stops walking.
Whoops. Forget Hermione, Nott might curse him first.
Harry thinks if Nott could show such extreme emotions, he would be scowling at Harry harshly enough to have him worrying if accidental magic can manifest in death rays, but as it is, his eyes only seem more annoyed than usual. His lips aren’t even downturned further from their usual neutral expression.
“Hermione wants to reread a passage we were stuck on,” Harry decides to ignore his bluster. “Can we borrow it for a couple hours? We’ll be at the same table in the library you found us at whenever you want to retrieve it.”
Nott stays silent, and Harry fights the urge to take his wand out of his pocket, focusing all his energy on staring at Nott like he is at Harry instead. He’s solved a couple minor disagreements with Ron this way, making unending eye contact until the loser eventually has to blink or look away. Harry usually doesn’t feel like losing would result in him being sent to the hospital wing though.
Harry’s eyes start watering, and he’s not going to have a choice soon if he blinks or not.
“Alright,” Nott agrees, not looking away. Can I blink yet? “But I’d like to come with you.” Harry scrunches his eyebrows trying to think how Hermione would take that, and the motion causes him to slam his eyelids shut involuntarily.
“Oh, ow,” Harry pulls his glasses off his face and rubs his eyes. “We’re not planning on stealing it.” Nott hummed.
“I have a question for Hermione,” he explains. “I’ll answer a question of hers in return, so long as it’s about Just Before death.” Harry slides his glasses back on, and accepts Nott’s offer.
Hermione refuses to go to any of their professors for help researching, worried what they would think of their concentration on the topic of death and Death. It’s why they’re hoarding books in the library instead of checking them out. Getting help from a student their age researching the same topic may be better received, even if he is a Slytherin.