When Ginny had told her that she had planned something for the weekend, waking up in a dark room dressed in unfamiliar clothes hadn’t really been what Hermione had expected. She was in a sports bra and shorts, with her hair plaited in two tight ropes. The realisation hit her just as the lights turned on, and she saw the others waking around her, equally as groggy. They were all sitting on a bench in a small room, no windows or doors. She thought she could vaguely hear people outside, and assumed that was the crowd. What had Ginny got them into?
“Gin, you didn’t.” She said as she spotted her ginger friend, dressed in the same black bra and shorts. Ginny looked down and squealed.
“I knew they’d pick us! You bet your arse I did, Mi.” She beamed, and Hermione shook her head incredulously.
“Why don’t I have a shirt?” Harry asked, running a hand through his hair and looking down at himself.
“Pick us for what?” Neville asked, folding his arms over his naked torso. The boys were both in just black shorts, and looked slightly uncomfortable about it.
“Welcome, gentlemen, to the Niffler Games.” She stood up and bowed theatrically, twirling around the small room. Harry groaned.
“That stupid thing based on the Triwizard Tournament? It was more than enough for me the first time, Gin.”
“It isn’t stupid, Harold, it’s fun. There’s no threat of death, and people get to bet on us. Come on, lighten up a bit. You’ll be the favourite off the bat, what with your whole, you know, thing .” She waved a finger in the general direction of Harry’s forehead, and Hermione caught Neville’s eye, the pair enjoying the Chosen One’s obvious discomfort.
“I shouldn’t be the favourite if they’ve got any sense. Look at Mione!” Harry promptly threw her under the bus and pointed an accusatory finger at her toned stomach.
Ginny openly ogled her, sarcastically fanning herself with her hand.
“Damn, when did all this happen? If I looked like that I’d never wear clothes again.” She wiggled her eyebrows, and grabbed her arm, lifting it up to see Hermione’s tattoos. “Did you get more? I guess you were right about them being addictive.”
She snatched her arm back. “I have to stay in shape for work and you know that I cannot elaborate on that. And yes, I did get more. I’m going to finish this sleeve.”
“Didn’t know your leg counted as part of a sleeve.” Neville said, smirking, and she shot him a glare.
“Et tu, Neville?” She said, failing to keep the smile from her face as Ginny lifted her shorts slightly to see the design that covered her hip and thigh. The phoenix, surrounded by flowers and foliage, was one of her favourites. Her favourite was the small potion bottle that was on her tricep, but they didn’t need to know that.
“Contestants!” A voice boomed, and Ginny whirled around quickly, all of them facing the door that had appeared. “We are moments away from meeting you on the field. Prepare for battle!”
“Merlin’s beard…” Harry muttered, disapproving of the dramatics that Ginny was apparently living for.
The door swung open, and they stepped out into the bright daylight. The arena reminded Hermione of the Colosseum, with tiered seating in a circle, facing the arena itself in the centre. The wall of sound that hit them was overwhelming, and she realised the stadium was packed to the rafters. In a separate stand of their own, she spotted Pansy and Ron, and waved as she caught their eye. She elbowed Neville, who frowned before noticing his girlfriend. They made their way over to the two of them.
“Woo!” Ron shouted, his voice pitifully quiet in the large arena. Hermione snorted at his enthusiasm. “Come on, Parkinson, show some support.” He said to the woman next to him, who was looking entirely bored already.
“Go Neville.” She said flatly, and Neville chuckled.
“Love you too.” He said, and she softened slightly. Neville and Pansy had been an unexpected couple, but in spending any time around them, it made total sense. Pansy was all sharp edges and biting comments, and Neville was apparently the only one who was able to tame her. They were sweet, Hermione had to admit. They were even sweeter since Pansy found out she was pregnant.
“Not competing, brother?” Ginny said teasingly, and Ron shrugged.
“Well, Parks here needs a snack buddy, and I don’t look anywhere as good as Nev with my shirt off, so I think it’s best I’m this side of the railing.”
“You brought snacks? Why didn’t you say sooner, I’m starving here, Weasley.” Pansy snapped, and Ron grinned, presenting an overflowing bag of various food items. Pansy grabbed a pumpkin pasty, and moaned as she took a bite. She then looked up. “Oi, Granger, since when do you look like that?! Are you even real? Fucking Salazar, I need to dress you when this pointless shit is over.”
“I am at your disposal, Pans.” She said, and Pansy brightened. Her clothing shop was incredibly successful, and she’d been begging Hermione and Ginny to model for her for weeks. Hermione figured she wouldn’t get out of it now they knew she spent way too much time in the gym. It was necessary, though, for her work in the Department of Mysteries. You never knew what was going to happen, and she liked to feel prepared for anything.
“Good Vs Evil, a tale as old as time…” The voice boomed again, and they turned around to face the centre of the arena. “But who will triumph when the stakes are raised? When they cannot work as a team, will light conquer dark?” Harry sighed loudly, and Hermione giggled, patting his arm comfortingly. “You thought you were just facing each other? Well how will you react when faced with your greatest enemies? Please welcome the remaining competitors!”
A roaring cheer went up as a door slid open, and in swanned three people she hadn’t been expecting to see.
Pansy burst out laughing. “Your greatest enemies? Somebody hasn’t done their homework. Granger, tell the man off, he’s done zero research here.”
Blaise Zabini huffed. “I was promised my greatest enemies, and you’ve given me my girlfriend and my friends. What exactly is your definition of greatest enemy?” He shouted into the sky, and Ginny laughed, pulling her boyfriend into a hug.
“Yeah, I’m not really getting greatest enemy here either.” Theo Nott said, and Harry pointed at him.
“The fuck are you doing here?!” He said, pulling his husband into a hug.
“I thought we were fighting, why is there so much hugging happening? I’m disappointed.” Draco Malfoy drawled sarcastically, making his way over to Hermione and smiling fondly down at her. “This is a good look for you, Granger, you should forego a shirt more often.”
She shoved him, and he barely moved as her hands met the solid form of his torso. He was just as tattooed as her, and they were on full display as he, too, was shirtless. She’d known this already, of course, as they had gotten most of their tattoos together. It was kind of their thing.
A man apparated into the stadium with a loud pop, and stormed across to the group. Behind her, she could hear Pansy and Ron laughing. A quick glance told her they’d got popcorn, and were thoroughly enjoying the show already.
“What’s happening here?!” He said, his face bright red.
“You’ve fucked it, mate!” Ron called, and Pansy cackled.
“We wanted a grand showdown, enemies brought back together after all this time. Why are you all so friendly? You’re ruining everything, and we’ve barely started!” He stamped his foot, and Hermione snorted.
Theo stepped forward, ever the showman, and slung his arm over the furious man.
“You see, my friend, if you’d bothered to read Witch Weekly every now and then, you’d know that this is a close knit family these days. Theodore Potter-Nott, pleasure to meet you. That over there is my lovely husband Harry Potter-Nott. Very distracting without a shirt on, but I’ll do my best to focus.” He grinned wolfishly at his husband before turning back to the man. “Blaise and Ginevra have been together for three years now, all of them filled with disgusting amounts of PDA. Neville over there tamed Pansy, and they’re expecting a child just before Christmas. The tattooed delinquents at the back there are Hermione and Draco, who insist they aren’t shagging, but I would put good money on the fact that they definitely are . I’ll be honest, I cannot tell you why Ronald is here, but I assume it’s some sort of contractual obligation that the Golden Trio always have to travel together and can’t be apart for longer than an hour. Does that answer all of your questions, my good man?” He slapped him on the chest, and smirked. The man sighed, and shoved Theo’s arm off him, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Look, we’re selling this as good versus evil, alright, so could you just…pretend? You’re all known to be competitive, can you just dial that up a bit? We’ve been waiting a long time to get you on the show.”
“You mean you’ve been waiting to get Potter?” Draco raised his hand as he said this, and Harry scowled at him.
The man did not deny it, and sighed again. “I really thought you would put on a good show, but that isn’t going to happen if you’re all lovey-dovey best mates. Could you just get in the spirit of the thing? For me? Please, I am actually begging you. Can we get through the introductions, just play up the crowd.” He said, before bright colours streaked through the sky and their faces appeared floating in front of the audience.
“A fearsome auror, he’s been keeping us safe since he was a toddler, it’s the chosen one, the boy who lived, Mr Harry Potter!” The voice was back, and Harry hid his face in Theo’s shoulder for a moment before slapping on one of the fakest smiles Hermione had ever seen as he waved to the crowd. Loud roaring cheers went up, and she caught Draco’s eye as the pair laughed at just how uncomfortable Harry continued to be.
“One third of the golden trio, this golden girl is now shrouded in mystery as an unspeakable, but she’s here with us today, give it up for Hermione Granger!” They cheered again as she waved, even as she internally cringed at the introduction.
“Making waves in the world of sports management, he’s got out from behind his desk to step up and compete, Blaise Zabini!” They all laughed at Blaise’s perturbed face as he waved, Ginny laughing so hard that she started crying.
“He’s captured the chosen one’s heart, but will he be capturing any trophies today? Swapping his day job in the department for magical creatures for our famous shorts, it’s Theo Nott!” Theo waved with both hands, very happy to be the centre of attention.
“We’ve all seen her catching snitch after snitch for the Harpies, but will she catch a medal? Ginny Weasley, everyone!” She waved, smiling broadly. This had been her idea, after all.
“We’ve dragged him from his greenhouse, and with the soil washed off those huge arms, will his muscles prove useful today? Welcome, Neville Longbottom!” Neville waved nervously, one arm still over his torso. He relaxed when he turned back to Pansy, though, finding her smiling widely at him from her seat.
“It’s not an ultimate showdown without a villain now, is it? He might have turned his wand to protecting us all in the auror department, but will old rivalries reemerge today? Draco Malfoy!” The whole place was filled with booing as Draco waved, smiling and shaking his head. Hermione smiled at him, and he laughed, showing he was taking it well. How times had changed, she thought.
The man reappeared, and reminded them that he wanted them to put on a good show.
“Tell you what, show us the initial ranking and that’ll get them fired up. Malfoy will flip his shit when he realises Harry’s at the top already.” Ginny smirked, and Draco folded his arms, pretending it didn’t bother him. Hermione knew better, it definitely bothered him. With the two working closely these days, they spent a lot of time on the same team. She knew Draco was desperate to prove that he was better than Harry.
“I like you.” The man said, pointing at Ginny, and Blaise tightened his arm around her waist. The man apparated away, and a leaderboard appeared in the sky. Another cheer went up as Hermione furrowed her brow indignantly.
- Harry Potter
- Ginny Weasley
- Theo Nott
- Blaise Zabini
- Draco Malfoy
- Neville Longbottom
- Hermione Granger
Draco snorted, as Hermione gaped. “Why am I last?!” She yelled. “What the hell is it even ranked on?” She waved her arm at the board, as Ginny looked incredibly smug that her idea had worked like a charm.
“I reckon you’re an unknown, Granger. They just assumed you read books all day.” Blaise said, and she scowled.
“It’s horribly misguided. Look how high I am, that’s hilarious.” Theo pointed out, and Draco nodded enthusiastically.
“I think horribly misguided is an understatement.” He said.
“Neville should be way higher!” Pansy shouted from the stands, and the man blushed. He was easily the tallest and most broad of the group, but he was still quite shy about his good looks.
They then felt the tickle of magic as their clothes were changed to represent their colours for the day. Harry was, unsurprisingly, in red, and still looked supremely unenthused about the whole experience. Ginny was in yellow, Blaise in purple, Neville in blue, and Theo was in white. Draco remained in the black that they’d all been in previously, and Hermione was in a light green. Draco smiled at her, and she pointed a finger at him.
“Not a single slytherin comment from you.” She said, and he raised his hands in surrender.
“Did I say anything?” He asked innocently, and she raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, alright, I was absolutely about to say something. It suits you, though.”
“How did you score black, anyway? Will you actually combust if you wear colour?” She teased, and he chuckled.
“Well I am today’s appointed villain. You know, good vs evil.” He said, and she nodded.
“It’s a bunch of bullshit is what it is.”
He smiled. “The tattoos don’t exactly make me look approachable.”
“I have more tattoos than you.”
“They don’t know that, though.”
“They might. Somebody had to dress me.” She gestured to her body, and his jaw tensed slightly.
“Contestants!” The voice shouted. “It is time for our first round. In honour of the boy who lived being with us today…” Harry groaned, and Theo wrapped his arms around him, kissing his shoulder gently. “We are beginning with a classic - the hedge maze!”
“If I end up at the bottom of a lake at some point today, I’m suing.” Hermione muttered to Draco, who hummed in agreement.
“If you end up at the bottom of a lake, whoever is in charge is having their arms ripped off.”
“Must you be so violent?”
“Only for you.” He grinned cheekily, and she slapped his arm. They did this a lot, the innocent flirting. She knew it meant nothing, not when Draco regularly regaled her with tales of all the dates he’d been on.
“Let the games begin!” The voice announced, and suddenly Hermione was in the midst of the hedges, standing on a green circle, the crowd and arena left behind.
“Everyone else here?” Somebody, Blaise maybe, shouted. He sounded quite a distance away.
“I am! This is Theo, by the way!” Theo called. He was much closer.
“Theo?” She shouted.
“Hermione!” He replied.
“Granger?” Draco called. He was even closer than Theo was.
“Malfoy?”
“You sound close. I haven’t heard anyone else.” He called.
“I hear Blaise and Theo, too. You’re closest, though.” She replied.
“Some kind of spell, maybe? To confuse us? I doubt we’re actually near the people we can hear.” Draco suggested, and she mulled it over.
“Do we just need to get to the middle?” Theo asked.
“I guess?” Hermione shouted back, venturing forward off her circle.
“We aren’t alone in here!” Blaise shouted, sounding panicked and further away than he had before. Hermione had surmised as much. Watching seven people walk around a maze did not make for good entertainment. She pulled her wand from the waistband of her shorts, and marched forward, suddenly feeling competitive. She really hadn’t been pleased to be at the bottom of the list, and she was going to prove the voting audience wrong.
“Malfoy? Blaise says he sees something. He sounded like he was running.” She called, thinking she should warn him if he could only hear her.
“Bloody excellent news, Granger, thanks for that. I was just wondering why anyone would want to watch us wander about in mundane plants for an hour.”
“I’m going to speed up. Not sure if that’ll affect who I can hear. Best of luck, Malfoy.”
“Oh, she’s cocky, is she? Yeah, see you in the middle, Granger. I’ll be the one who's there before you.” She grinned, and continued to venture forwards. She came to a crossroads, and decided to turn right. As she did, the path that she had been on behind her closed up. She sighed, of course it was one of those mazes.
Taking another few steps forward, she heard it before she saw it. She pressed herself into the hedge as much as possible, and glanced behind her. A gloomchild, the blind hunters that relied on their hearing and sense of smell. They vaguely resembled a werewolf, but they were bright red with no fur, and this one was about to catch her scent. The others ran through her mind. Would they know what it was? They were rare, exceptionally so, and she wondered just how many had been released in the maze. Theo would recognise the creature, as would Neville, but she wasn’t sure about the others. Regular defensive spells wouldn’t work, its skin repelled that sort of magic. She wanted to call out to Malfoy and warn him, but doing so would give herself away. Creeping back towards the crossroads, she cut a piece of the hedge, replicated her scent, and added it to the branch. She then tossed it onto the other path, hoping it would catch the creature’s attention, and ran back the way she’d come. She turned in time to see it charge after the branch, and she smiled, continuing to run away from the beast.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” She called, deciding it was worth the risk.
“Hermione?” Ginny replied. She wasn’t as close as Malfoy had been, but she couldn’t have been too far away.
“Ginny, the thing in here with us, it’s a gloomchild. It’s blind, it uses scent and sound to hunt.” She said quickly.
“I’ve already seen two of them. I’d assumed we had one each, to be honest.”
“Shit. Ok. Do you know how to put your scent onto things? It’s a good way to distract them.”
“I do not, but I’m much faster, I reckon I could outrun them if I had to. Don’t worry about me, Hermione. This is a competition, after all. If you’re about to take the win, just go for it.”
“Just making sure my friends don’t get mauled, Gin.”
“Good luck, Hermione! I’m about to make a turn, that seems to change who you can hear. Don’t get mauled!” Ginny’s voice faded away, and Hermione realised that Draco must have been right earlier. They weren’t really near the people they could hear. She wondered if that was to help confuse the gloomchild. An idea formed, and she smiled, quickly casting several spells and surging forward, closer to what she hoped was the middle of the maze.
After several lumos maximas, Hermione had a little trail of brightly shining orbs following her. Gloomchild were sensitive to light, as well as very loud noises, due to their heightened senses. She reached the perfect place, another crossroads, and cast a sonorus.
“Hello! This is Hermione Granger! I’m very interested in meeting a gloomchild today!” She said, her voice hopefully filling the maze. She smiled to herself as she heard one, maybe two, approaching. Nobody else had replied, she wasn’t sure if they were hiding or if she was isolated in this part of the maze, but it didn’t matter. She was about to win, if she was right.
The creature leered around the corner, its form towering over Hermione. She held her breath, and pressed into the hedge as it passed her. The second gloomchild followed it, and she glanced up as a third appeared from the other path. Steeling herself, she waited until they were in the perfect positions, and then ran into the middle of them. They all immediately turned to her, and began to charge. She threw up the orbs of light, casting another lumos maxima and another sonorus, before diving down the fourth, empty path. The explosion of light was blinding, and very loud. The gloomchild were thrown backwards, their giant forms crashing to the ground. Hermione recovered quickly, standing, and pointing her wand at the beasts, just in case. They did not move again, and she laughed incredulously, slightly surprised it had worked. In front of her, the hedges closed and parted again, and she could see the centre of the maze. She ran forwards, and scoffed as she saw Harry sitting there, his legs swinging slightly as he perched on a bench.
“I swear the world is rigged in your favour.” She said, and he shrugged. His red shorts had gained a golden tab, signifying his win. She glanced down, and watched as her own green shorts and bra gained silver details on the edge of them.
“Came across gloomchild before on a case once. Draco was there, too. I actually thought he might be second.”
She feigned offence, as she sat down next to him. “I managed to warn Gin, but I couldn’t hear anyone else once I’d seen them. I don’t know why I was worried about you, clearly I should just stop bothering, Mr Chosen One.” She elbowed him, and he chuckled.
“Nice that you’ll get some recognition on the scoreboard now, though. Up the top, where you belong.” She hummed.
They both looked up as the hedge parted, and Theo swanned in, a gloomchild happily trotting behind him. Hermione and Harry both pulled their wands, but Theo waved them off.
“Stand down, he’s harmless. You just have to know where they like to be tickled.” He rubbed his hand over a particular spot on the creature’s neck, and the thing flopped to the ground as if it were a simple mundane dog. Theo pointed back into the maze, and the gloomchild did as he asked. As the hedge sealed up again, Theo’s white shorts became edged in bronze, and he did an ostentatious twirl.
“I’ll certainly take third. No surprise to see you two here already.” He said, kissing the crown of Harry’s head, before sitting down next to him. “You been here long?”
“I was here a few minutes before Mione. You weren’t far off beating her, you know.” Harry smirked, and Hermione laughed.
She gestured to the silver on her shorts. “Read it and weep, Theodore. I figured you’d know about the gloomchild. They’re such a fascinating species.”
“I’d ask if you’ve come across them in your work but I know you’re not allowed to tell me. I had thought Draco would be a bit quicker than this, wasn’t he on that case with you a few months ago, love?” He asked Harry, and the man nodded. Theo shrugged. “I’m sure he’s fine, just dragging those giant feet of his. You want to make guesses on who comes through next?”
“Neville or Draco. Gloomchild are on the Hogwarts curriculum these days, it wouldn’t surprise me if Neville had heard of them in passing when he’s up there helping Sprout. Or Malfoy, for obvious reasons.” Hermione said, keeping her eye on the hedge.
“Has to be Draco, right?” Harry said, and Theo nodded.
“I’d say it’s a safe bet. The man enjoys violence.”
As Draco appeared through the hedge, covered in blood, and dragging what looked to be the arm of a gloomchild behind him, Theo was proved correct.
“You’re nothing if not consistent, mate.” Theo smirked, as Draco tossed the arm down and dragged a hand through his hair. Hermione did not find the blood-soaked shirtless man attractive. She did not.
“Didn’t know if we needed proof.” He shrugged, casting a scourgify on himself, disappearing the blood. “I assume Potter won, unless you decided just the red wasn’t quite gryffindor enough.” He said sarcastically, plopping down next to Hermione. “Can I make a comment about the green and silver, or are you gonna hex me?”
“Hermione is allowed to show some snake spirit if she wants to.” Theo smiled, and she rolled her eyes. Draco was smirking down at her, but she ignored him, keeping her eyes on the hedge.
“Congratulations on third place, Theodore. How far behind Granger were you exactly? Were we almost on for a NottPott one-two?”
“No.” Hermione said, as Theo and Harry both nodded at the same time. Draco chuckled.
“It was two minutes, maybe three.” Harry leaned around Hermione to speak to Draco directly.
“And you’d been here…?”
“Three or four minutes before Mione.” He replied, and Draco huffed.
“Is the world actually rigged in your favour, Potter?” He asked, and Hermione laughed.
“That’s what I said.” She looked at Draco, who smiled back at her.
“Nev, Blaise, or Gin next, what do we think?” Theo asked as they all turned back to the hedge.
“Neville.” Hermione said, and Harry nodded.
“Eh, Weaslette can hold her own. I could see her not taking much longer.” Draco said, and Hermione made a mental note to tell Ginny that he’d said that later. She’d be overjoyed.
“So we’re all agreed there’s no way it’s Blaise, then.” Theo said, and they all agreed, laughing guiltily at their lack of faith in the man. Blaise had gotten rather comfortable in his desk job, and whilst he was by no means unfit (his six pack was still going strong), Hermione couldn’t see him doing too well in this task. He certainly wouldn’t know what to do about the gloomchild.
About five minutes later, Ginny and Neville staggered through the hedge together, both looking exhausted. Hermione assumed Ginny had used her ‘I’ll-just-run-away-from-them’ plan. Another five minutes passed, then ten minutes, and after a full half hour, Blaise appeared. He held up his hands in surrender.
“Please, don’t. Just…don’t.” He looked shattered, and Ginny slung her arm around him, finding it cute that the man was so embarrassed. They were all apparated back to the main stadium, where Pansy and Ron were both whooping, along with the rest of the crowd.
“Smashed it, Harry, mate!” Ron called, pumping his fist in the air.
“Granger, yours was so classy. I’m impressed.” Pansy said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.
“You could see us?” She asked, and they both nodded.
“A live feed appeared in the air like the scoreboard does.” Ron explained, gesturing with a half eaten sausage roll. Pansy scowled at him as pastry flakes landed on her presumably expensive skirt.
Just as Ron said, a screen appeared above them, and showed quick highlights of how everyone defeated the maze and the gloomchild. Harry cast a spell she didn’t recognise, causing them to turn and run from him. She saw the replay of her own spell, the explosion of light with the orbs. Everyone turned to her, with a mixture of awe and bemusement, and she just shrugged, a small smile on her face. As Theo had told her and Harry, he’d simply walked up to the thing and tickled it into submission. Draco, true to form, had engaged in an all out duel and had killed one of them, using spells that, again, Hermione didn’t recognise. She figured they’d developed something for the mission they’d mentioned. Neville and Ginny had bumped into each other and then had just run from a pack of them, diving into the hedges when they got too close. As it turned out, Blaise hadn’t encountered any of the gloomchild until the very end, at which point he’d just crawled into the hedge next to him and waited for it to leave. The screen dissolved into the scoreboard, and Draco clapped her on the shoulder as they all saw their new positions.
- Harry Potter (5)
- Hermione Granger (3)
- Theo Nott (2)
- Draco Malfoy (1)
- Neville Longbottom (0)
- Ginny Weasley (0)
- Blaise Zabini (0)
“You got points for how many gloomchild you took down? Or is it just the place you finished?” Neville asked, seeing that he was technically in joint last place.
“I think it’s a mix of both, Longbottom. I took down one, and I have a point despite being fourth. Granger took down three, ever the overachiever.” Draco smirked, and she rolled her eyes, trying to hide how pleased she was. She had a nasty competitive streak that really wasn’t attractive.
“In a shock result, Hermione Granger takes second after her impressive take down of three, that’s right three , gloomchild in the hedge maze. Can she hang on to her place with both Theo Nott and Draco Malfoy hot on her heels? Does Blaise Zabini have more to give? Let’s find out as we move to round two!” The voice boomed throughout the stadium and Hermione screwed up her face. A ‘shock result’ for her to get the win? Just because the voice over man was completely up Harry’s arse? Ridiculous.
“I wasn’t shocked, if it makes you feel better.” Draco muttered in her ear, and he smirked down at her and she caught his eye, knowing her face had betrayed her thoughts.
“It’s time to get physical for our contestants! Welcome to our world famous obstacle course!” In the blink of an eye, Hermione was standing on top of a tall podium, looking at the obstacle course which stretched out in front of her. She looked around, wobbling slightly on the unsteady platform, and saw everyone else was here too. She could see Ron and Pansy in some sort of floating seats, with a good view of everyone’s routes. They both waved as she caught their eye, and she waved back, finding the unlikely duo vastly entertaining as they both continued to plough through their prepared snacks. Looking down, she saw the course was in water. In case anyone falls, she presumed.
“Welcome to the obstacle course! Round two, there’s everything to play for, and everything to prove for Blaise Zabini, who resides in last place.” Blaise flipped the voice off, aiming both fingers towards the sky. Hermione laughed, placing her hands on her hips for more balance. Theo was looking incredibly unenthusiastic about this round, and was crouched on his podium, gripping the sides with white knuckles. As they were in a line, she couldn’t see the others, but she could imagine that this was right up Ginny’s street. Probably what she’d signed them up to do, really.
“Our contestants must first jump down from their podiums onto the platform in front of them, and then cross the stepping stones. Making sure not to plunge into the icy depths below, they then face the rope swing, a real test of upper body strength.” Next to her, Theo groaned. She hid her laugh in her hand, schooling her face and nodding at him in a way that she hoped was reassuring.
“They then move onto the wall, needing to scramble over it whilst avoiding the cursed traps placed on some of the hand grips. Our mighty contestants then must crawl through the tunnels, which may or may not be inhabited by some creepy looking friends. Once back out in the daylight, they face the balancing bridge, a narrow walk over the water below, before they reach the final obstacle, scaling the side of the twisted house, and hurtling through the open window. As they fall, they must catch the rope, and swing to safety!”
Theo was muttering to himself, presumably swear words. Blaise glanced past her, and laughed at his friend’s discomfort.
“There are no points for style this time, only points for speed. If you fall, you’re done and it’s an automatic last place. Let’s consult the board and see who the public at home have thrown their galleons behind!”
- Harry Potter
- Draco Malfoy
- Ginny Weasley
- Blaise Zabini
- Hermione Granger
- Neville Longbottom
- Theo Nott
Hermione caught Blaise’s eye, and issued a silent challenge. He laughed, and signalled that he was game. The board probably wasn’t too far off this time, if she was really honest with herself, but she’d be happy if she beat Blaise at the very least.
“And we already have some competitions emerging! Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are talking the talk, but will they walk the walk? Hermione Granger has also challenged Blaise Zabini, will the witch come out on top?” Hermione laughed. Of course, Harry and Draco were trash talking each other.
“Kick his arse, Granger!” Pansy shouted, and she waved at the dark haired witch. Blaise flipped her off, and she returned the gesture in kind, both with broad grins on their faces.
“Contestants, are you ready?” The voice shouted, and Hermione turned to face the course, thinking that this might be more fun than the last round.
“Fuck, no!” Theo yelled back, and she looked around at her friend, who was still clinging to his podium on his hands and knees. Hermione giggled, and turned back, trying to find focus, but finding Theo’s theatrics too entertaining.
“When the lights turn green, you may begin.” The voice announced, and glowing orbs appeared above the course, not too dissimilar from the ones Hermione had cast in the last round. It reminded her of the lights muggles use for car racing, with the black and white flag. She blew a deep breath out, and crouched slightly, ready to jump from the podium to the platform a few metres across from her. The lights were red, then orange, and then green, and Hermione jumped.
She hit the platform hard, and rolled onto her shoulder, absorbing the impact. She then hopped across the stepping stones, maintaining speed and crossing the obstacle fairly easily. Behind her, she heard a splash, but she didn’t turn to see who it was. She shook out her arms before jumping and grabbing the first rope, swinging back and forth to build momentum before letting go and reaching for the next one. Her arms were burning, but she pushed on, her mind set on achieving an impressive position. Clearly, the public at home didn’t rate her too highly. She’d show them just how wrong they were.
She swung from the last rope, landing on the platform less heavily than she had the first. She took a moment to breathe as she looked up at the wall. She decided not to look left or right, focusing only on her own progress. She had no idea where the others were, other than the fact that at least one person had already crashed out. Probably Theo, if she had to guess.
In taking her time, it allowed her opportunity to think. Hermione knew some of the grips she was looking at her cursed, but she didn’t know which ones or what the curse would do exactly. She didn’t have her wand, but she wasn’t half bad at wandless magic, and cast a simple curse breaking spell over the first grip. It didn’t light up, so she anchored her foot on it as best she could, and slowly made her way up the wall, her method working well. If she encountered a cursed hand hold, it glowed a sickly shade of yellow, and she knew to ignore it. The thought that she had a slight advantage over the others in being able to use magic crossed her mind, but she pushed it away. She was only using what she had at her disposal, just as they were. She swung her legs over the top of the wall, rolling onto the next platform. A pitch black tunnel opening was before her, and she took a few breaths before entering. Hermione couldn’t see a thing, but she could feel that there was a few inches of water inside the tunnel. It was a small space, with her shoulders filling the tunnel completely. She wondered if some sort of charm shrank the tunnel to the size of the occupant, because there was no way Neville or Blaise would fit in something this small. She yelped as something touched her leg, but she forced herself to calm down. The announcer had said she wouldn’t be alone in here, and she wasn’t waiting around to see what it was. She pushed forward, crawling on her hands and knees as quickly as she could. As she shouldered out of the tunnel and back into the daylight, she giggled at how ridiculous she was. The bowtruckles were all over her, and she was glad that her hair was in tight plaits, or they’d be lost for days. The completely harmless creatures were simply curious, and she kindly asked them to go back into the tunnel. They were keen to take instruction, something she’d learnt from a book she’d read once, and they did just that, climbing off her fairly quickly. The last one waved a thin stick arm at her, and she waved back, brushing her hands over her plaits.
Turning around, the balancing bridge was next. In the more open space, she couldn’t see anyone else currently on the obstacle. She had no idea if that was good or bad, but she decided not to think about it now, and pushed on, stretching her arms out for balance. One foot in front of the other on the narrow beam, she had flashbacks of going to ballet as a child. She smiled as she navigated the obstacle with relative ease, having always had good balance. She glanced down, and for the first time, she realised just how high up the course was. It had to be ten metres, at least, and she wondered if there was some sort of spell to slow them down before they hit the water. She let her mind wander a little bit as she finished the obstacle, thinking about the injuries one might acquire after a fall from this kind of height. Once on the other side, she was dwarfed by the twisted house, a large grey building, which, true to its name, was twisting as though it wasn’t made of bricks and mortar. She rubbed her hands together, finding some sort of grip, and scaled the side, placing her feet on the narrow bricks that stuck out from the rest of the wall. The window was open up at the top, and she swung one leg through, perching in the opening to look out. She saw the rope she needed to catch, as well as Ron and Pansy jumping up and down in their seats. Carefully bringing her other leg through the window, she gripped the edge of the window with both hands and hung forwards, giving her the best chance of catching the rope as she fell. She laughed softly, feeling a bit ridiculous, but shook that away, and let go.
The wind rushed in her ears and she dropped, and it felt quite freeing to just fall like that. As the rope approached, she clung with her hands and feet, wrapping her hips around it to try and minimise her momentum. She stopped near the bottom of it, her hands stinging slightly from the burn, but she smiled nonetheless. Building momentum once again, she swung back and forth until she was over the final platform, and landed safely, feeling exhausted, but proud of herself for finishing the challenging course. She glanced around, not seeing the others. Confetti cannons went off, and Pansy and Ron were going crazy in their seats. She could barely hear herself think as the crowd cheered for her. Her shorts gained a gold tab next to the existing silver, and she scoffed incredulously. There was no way she’d won the whole thing, surely? She blinked, and was suddenly back in the arena, everyone else staring at her as the water dripped from them.
“You absolute badass bitch, Hermione Granger!” Ginny squealed, wrapping her in a damp hug. Hermione laughed as they swayed around. She pulled away and looked at the others.
“Nobody else finished?” She asked, but before they could reply, the screen appeared with the recap. Harry shook his head, and wiped his glasses on his shorts.
It had been Theo who fell on the first obstacle, and it looked suspiciously as if he’d simply jumped in. He shrugged, and Harry pulled him close in a side hug. Blaise and Neville had both fallen on the rope swing, struggling to hold their own weight. They were big lads, she wasn’t surprised. The other three had simply taken the curses, which were electric shocks, she learned, as they scaled the wall. Harry and Draco had both fallen from the top of the wall, and Hermione found it funny that they got to exactly the same point, meaning there was no winner in their own little bet. Draco wasn’t pleased that she’d used wandless magic, but was too impressed at her skill to maintain his annoyed face, and wrapped his arms around her instead, his chin resting on her head. Ginny had gotten through the tunnel, squealing loudly as she didn’t recognise the bowtruckles as Hermione had. Blaise laughed at his girlfriend mercilessly as they watched her freak out on the platform, and she buried her face in her hands. Coming down to only the rope swing, they watched as Ginny missed the rope, but Hermione caught it, securing the win.
“Aw, Gin, you were so close!” Hermione said, pulling her into another hug. Ginny shrugged.
“Is what it is, I suppose. You, though, you little pocket rocket! You were going at it like you had something to prove.” She raised an eyebrow, and Hermione looked a little sheepish.
“The bets beforehand might have pissed me off slightly.” She conceded, and everyone laughed at her competitive streak finally making an appearance.
“Bloody impressive, though, Mione.” Harry said, clapping her on the shoulder.
“Damn right.” Draco agreed, slinging his arm around her and pulling her into him.
“Makes one wonder what the hell you get up to in the DoM.” Theo smirked, and she smiled.
“I couldn’t possibly say, Theo.”
“Another surprising performance from Hermione Granger! We certainly did not see that coming! Here’s your scoreboard.” The voice called, and Hermione rolled her eyes.
- Hermione Granger (8)
- Harry Potter (7)
- Draco Malfoy (3)
- Ginny Weasley (3)
- Theo Nott (2)
- Neville Longbottom (0)
- Blaise Zabini (0)
“Killing it, babe!” Pansy called, and Neville shot her a thumbs up. He’d always been a good sport, unlike Blaise who was grumbling about being last.
“Overtaking, Potter? The powers that be won’t like that, Granger.” Draco mumbled in her ear, and she laughed.
“Deeply shocking and surprising, I imagine.” She replied, and he snorted.
“They’ll stop underestimating you eventually. Especially if you keep leaving us all in the dust like that.”
“I’m certainly planning on it, Malfoy.” She grinned, and he laughed fondly.
“I hope you’ve all recovered from that physical round, because it’s time for something more intellectual.” Everyone groaned as Hermione beamed.
“It’s like they want you to win, Hermione.” Neville said, and she waved him off.
“This next round is a fun one, particularly with such skilled witches and wizards among us today. For round three, you will be given a potion to create. You will have no recipe, and no help. Whoever makes the most accurate potion will get those coveted five points. Now, you will be interested to know that one of our contestants, Mr Draco Malfoy, has a potions mastery. Will that help him in this round, or will it just be more embarrassing when he crashes and burns? Let’s find out!”
Draco swore next to her, and she laughed, squeezing his arm gently. She blinked and she was in a potions lab, several ingredients spread out in front of her. She laughed as she realised what they wanted her to make - amortentia.
“Your potion, if you could not tell from your ingredients, is amortentia! Cook up your love potion and tell us what you smell to win. Now, here are the predicted standings.”
- Draco Malfoy
- Theo Nott
- Hermione Granger
- Harry Potter
- Neville Longbottom
- Ginny Weasley
- Blaise Zabini
Hermione laughed at Blaise being, once again, at the bottom of the list. She knew that he was a skilled potioneer, though, and so hoped for his sake that he’d be able to prove everyone wrong and win this round. Harry was atrocious at potions, there was no way he was coming above Neville or Ginny, but she figured there was no reason for that to be public knowledge. He didn’t have Snape’s cheat sheet to help him now.
She set about making the potion, only struggling to remember the finer details of the thing she hadn’t made in years. She hoped it would still work, even with the small mistakes she was probably making. After a little while, the pink smoke rose from the cauldron, and the smells hit her strongly. Parchment and spearmint, as they had been when she did this in Hogwarts. The third scent had changed though. She no longer smelled freshly cut grass, no, it was leather. An expensive, clean smell. She shrugged, writing down the scents on the sheet provided. As soon as she laid the quill down, she was back in the arena.
“That was a quicker one.” Ron said behind her, and opened a pack of sugar quills, offering one to Pansy.
“And infinitely more dull.” The witch rolled her eyes.
“Ha! Fucking finally!” Blaise shouted as the scoreboard appeared. He grinned down at the gold tab appearing on his shorts. Draco’s gold stood out against the black material, and Hermione smiled as she gained a bronze to complete the set on her own clothes.
- Blaise Zabini (5)
- Draco Malfoy (5)
- Hermione Granger (3)
- Theo Nott (2)
- Ginny Weasley (1)
- Neville Longbottom (1)
- Harry Potter (0)
“How the mighty have fallen.” Draco shook his head disapprovingly at Harry, who folded his arms and looked indignant.
“Why should I know how to make bloody amortentia?” He said, and Theo laughed, kissing his cheek affectionately.
“Joint top spot for Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy, who both produced perfect brews! The Chosen One fails to complete the task, is this the end of Harry Potter’s golden streak? Will the couple's love survive as we reveal what everyone could smell! Is their love strong enough to be questioned?”
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake.” Hermione mumbled, rolling her eyes. She didn’t mind anyone knowing what she could smell, because she didn’t think it was in any way salacious. It’s not like she’d smelled Theo or Blaise. She wasn’t going to have to fight Pansy for Neville’s hand.
Pansy booed loudly as it was revealed that Harry and Theo obviously smelled each other, as did Ginny and Blaise. Neville had smelled apricots, banana bread, and the dirt in his greenhouse. Banana bread was a Pansy Parkinson classic, so no surprises there.
“You would’ve thought he’d smelled pansies.” Draco muttered, and she shot him a withering look, refusing to laugh at his terrible joke. Her own scents were revealed, and then Draco’s - old books, roses, and honey - and everyone moved on. The disappointment from the intangible voice was evident. She couldn’t think why they’d thought something was going to happen at this dramatic reveal, and it had fallen flat like a damp squib.
“Here’s the scoreboard everyone.” The voice said.
- Hermione Granger (11)
- Draco Malfoy (8)
- Harry Potter (7)
- Blaise Zabini (5)
- Theo Nott (4)
- Ginny Weasley (4)
- Neville Longbottom (1)
“It’s still all to play for, folks! Let’s get into the next round, a real test of strength and resilience!”
She caught Draco’s eye, and grimaced. He shrugged, twirling his wand nonchalantly. She blinked, and suddenly the seven of them were in a circle, facing each other.
“It’s a muggle classic, will our wizards and witches be able to handle it? Welcome to the deadlift! Our contestants will be lifting these weights above their head, arms locked - and we will be checking - to see who is strongest. The winner is whoever holds it for the longest time. Now, let’s see who you think will excel in this round!”
- Neville Longbottom
- Blaise Zabini
- Draco Malfoy
- Harry Potter
- Ginny Weasley
- Hermione Granger
- Theo Nott
As she was once again overlooked by the leaderboard, she realised she was opposite Malfoy, and raised an eyebrow. He smirked, and nodded slightly, challenge issued and accepted. They lifted together at the gym fairly regularly, and so she was determined to prove exactly how impressive she was.
The weights appeared in front of them, the discs sitting at either end of the bar, and the scoreboard floating up into the sky. You only gained points if you lasted 15 seconds or more. She could do that, she knew she could.
“Contestants ready? Lift!” The voice boomed, and she lifted the weight, hauling it up and locking out her elbows. Controlling her breathing, she saw that a few of the others were shaking already, and was flooded with confidence. Theo swore, and dropped the weight to the ground, not making the time limit.
“That’s fucking heavy, Merlin’s arsehole.” He said. “You’ve all got this!” He added, flopping down to the ground in an undignified heap. She knew Theo liked to go running, but that was where his involvement in any form of exercise stopped, so she wasn’t really surprised he’d struggled. She knew he’d be a good sport about it though, and refocused. It was starting to feel heavy, but nothing unmanageable. The timer clicked over to fifteen seconds, and Harry dropped the weight.
“Fuck that.” He breathed out, shaking his arms. The crowd seemed surprised that he’d go out so soon, but Hermione knew he hated anything like this. Blaise followed soon afterwards, again shocking the audience. Hermione couldn’t help but smile, even as she focused on her breathing.
“You’re all smashing this, keep going.” Blaise said, as Theo stood and leant heavily on Harry, the three of them watching closely as the round continued. She was incredibly proud that she and Ginny had managed so long, especially when they’d both been ranked on the lower end of the board initially. She took the opportunity to glance around, and saw that Neville had hardly broken a sweat, holding the weight up like it was nothing. Ginny slammed the weight down with a loud cry, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Come on, Mi. For the girls, I know you’ve got this.” She said, walking around the outside of the circle to join the others. She looked up and found Malfoy staring at her, looking right into her soul. Engaging in the staring contest, she was taken back to the times they’d gotten competitive in the gym before and smirked. There had been times when he’d beaten her, and times when she’d beaten him. Second place really was up for grabs here. As the clock approached thirty seconds, she started to shake, as did Malfoy. They were only competing against each other now, holding out as long as the other did. He was outright laughing, and she was struggling to keep it in the air. At thirty three seconds, Malfoy dropped the weight, letting out a huge breath as he did so. Hermione dropped hers a second afterwards, and then Neville followed suit, not wanting to drag it out unnecessarily.
“You’re getting sloppy.” She walked over to Malfoy, who laughed, and slung his arm around her.
“You’re damn impressive, you know that? I reckon you’d never have lasted that long if this crowd didn’t keep pissing you off.” He smirked, and she chuckled quietly, knowing that he was right.
“Nuts, the pair of you.” Neville said behind them, and she glanced up at Malfoy knowingly.
She then laughed outright as she saw Pansy fanning herself with her hand, winding up Neville, who was blushing again as she turned around to face him.
“Was that even a challenge for you?” Ginny asked him.
“How much longer could you have held it? Be honest, Longbottom.” Malfoy asked, and Neville shrugged.
“I probably could have gone a bit longer, but once I’d won, I didn’t want to hold it longer than I had to. It’s not like I enjoyed that.”
“Gods, he’s humble too.” Theo pretended to swoon, and they all laughed.
“Back off, Theodore, he’s taken!” Pansy shouted, and Neville smiled at his girlfriend fondly.
“Well, I think we can all agree that was pretty impressive stuff! With Hermione Granger putting in an admirable performance and snatching second place in a hotly contested showdown with Draco Malfoy! Here’s the leaderboard, going into our final round!”
- Hermione Granger (16)
- Draco Malfoy (12)
- Harry Potter (8)
- Ginny Weasley (7)
- Neville Longbottom (7)
- Blaise Zabini (7)
- Theo Nott (4)
“Yeah, that feels better.” Theo commented, hands on his hips as he appraised the new standings. “All is as it should be, I think.” Harry smiled adoringly at his husband, and Hermione, not for the first time, found the pair adorable. She was so glad Harry had found his person. They both deserved it.
“It’s still all to play for! Well, Theo Nott is keeping the bottom of the leaderboard warm for us, but the man is taking it on the chin. Can Harry Potter pull ahead once more? Will Hermione Granger remain in the top spot? Let’s get into the final round, which promises to be explosive!”
She caught Draco’s eye, and grimaced. He shrugged, twirling his wand nonchalantly.
“In our highly anticipated final round, our contestants will be duelling each other in a winner-stays-on competition where there will be only one winner!” Hermione groaned, wondering how any of them were supposed to beat either of the aurors in a duel. Draco had perked up next to her, twirling his wand with more purpose as he eyed the group.
“We begin with Ginny Weasley versus Neville Longbottom! No unforgivables, and no serious injuries, ladies and gentlemen! Other than that, nothing is off the table.” The voice announced, and Blaise scoffed loudly.
“Damn it, I was so looking forward to throwing a few avadas. No unforgivables, fucking obviously!” He called into the sky, cupping his mouth with his hands.
They were apparently staying in the arena this time, as they weren’t apparated away anywhere, and so Ginny and Neville made their way to the centre of the ring, with the others lining the edge. Hermione stood next to Pansy, who was leaning over the railing, paying rapt attention to the father of her child as he shook his shoulders and arms. He then stepped forward and gave Ginny a big hug. Pansy groaned.
“Stop hugging the woman and fucking fight her!” She shouted. She then looked at Hermione. “I swear if he goes easy on her because it’ll make him feel bad.”
Hermione chuckled. “Gin isn’t the best at duelling, but I don’t know if Neville knows that. I’m sure he’ll do his best either way, Pans, you don’t have to worry about him being too nice.”
“Eh, Nev isn’t so skilled at it either, if I’m honest. If there had been a round to do with plants he would have left you all for dead. Personally, I’m hoping I get to see you and Draco go at it. All that tension, yes please and thank you.” She waggled her eyebrows, and Hermione sighed deeply. She glanced over at Draco, who was talking to Harry, presumably about the upcoming duels from an auror perspective.
“There is no tension, Pans, you’re imagining things.”
“Great Salazar, Granger. Are you blind? Or are you deliberately ignoring the way that man can barely keep his eyes off your frankly ridiculous body. I mean, seriously, I cannot get over the fact that you’ve been hiding all of this.” She waved a hand up and down her body, and Hermione wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling largely self conscious. “Plus! You’ve been ogling him right back! Don’t think I haven’t seen you, Hermione Karen Granger!”
“My middle name is Jean-“ She started, but Pansy interrupted her.
“I don’t care! That deadlift round was the hottest thing I’ve maybe ever seen. Fight the man today, and jump his bones tonight! I cannot handle watching you two dance around each other anymore. I’m supposed to avoid stress for the baby, you are causing me stress.”
“You can’t do that to me. Our relationship being platonic is not a significant source of stress for you.”
“How do you know? Perhaps I lose sleep worrying that my oldest and best friend is gonna die alone because the only witch he has eyes for is insisting that their relationship is platonic. ”
“Malfoy doesn’t have eyes for me, Pans.” She rolled her eyes, and Pansy buried her face in her hands.
“Oh, Salazar give me fucking strength.”
“He is pretty fit, Mione.” Ron added, and they both jumped, having forgotten he was there. He was back to the popcorn again, shovelling it into his mouth as if he was the one eating for two.
“Shut the fuck up, Weasley, your sister’s about to get her arse kicked.” Pansy smacked Ron in the arm repeatedly, as Neville and Ginny finally moved into a duelling stance. The scoreboard now showed the matchups, and Hermione saw that she was going to have to fight Harry.
As Ginny and Neville duelled, it was underwhelming to say the least. She loved her friends dearly, and they were incredibly skilled in their respective fields, but neither of their fields were duelling and it showed. A few spells were sent back and forth before Neville cast the Harry Potter special, a well timed expelliarmus, and it was all over.
“Damn it, Neville!” Ginny yelled, and he shrugged. Harry pointed at him appreciatively, grinning as he did so, and he blushed.
“Neville Longbottom advances! Next up, Theo Nott versus Blaise Zabini.”
Theo dominated Blaise so completely that he and Ginny went to sit together at the other end of the arena. They were fine, but being the two sportspersons of the group, sometimes they weren’t the best losers. They seemed to be comfortable in each other’s company, whispering things to make each other laugh, so Hermione decided to go and mess with Harry instead.
“Excited, Harry?” She said as she sidled up to him and Draco, who was already grinning at her like a child on Christmas.
“You know duelling is part of my job, right, Mione? It’s not embarrassing if you lose.” He smiled innocently, and she scoffed.
“It’s sweet that you think you’re going to win. You’re entirely too predictable, Harry.”
“She’s not wrong, Potter. You just throw out an expelliarmus and hope for the best.” Draco teased, and Harry scowled at them both. He then trudged over to the centre of the ring, muttering about that spell defeating Voldemort well enough, Theo scampering behind him giving him a neck massage. Draco smiled at her. “I’m looking forward to duelling you.”
“That’s only if we beat everyone else, Malfoy. Feeling confident, are we?” He smirked.
“Obviously. You only have to beat Potter and Longbottom, and I’ve got Theo. I’ll be seeing you in that final, Granger.”
“I ‘only’ have to beat Harry and Neville. Your ego is something else.” She shook her head, and he rolled his eyes.
“Betting on Hermione Granger? I’d be confident that my money is safe. Use your DoM freaky shit, and knock boy wonder down a peg or two, alright? You’ve got this.” He said it so seriously, that she really had no choice but to believe him. She took a deep breath, smiled at the blonde wizard, and took her place opposite Harry in the ring. He stepped forward and wrapped her in a quick hug, and whispered good luck in her ear. She replied in kind, and they smiled before getting serious.
As soon as the duel began, she performed a silent sticking charm, attaching her wand to her hand. It really wasn’t ideal for a wizard to have a favourite spell, and for everyone to know what that spell was. It allowed for preparation. Harry was also at a distinct disadvantage because Hermione could read him like a book, and he’d never been so good at that. He did, however, know her better than she knew herself, and so this would be an evenly matched fight. She heard Draco chuckle and knew that he’d spotted the magic glittering on her hand. He was probably the most observant person she’d ever met, but she wasn’t focusing on him right now. It was all about Harry. Harry was apparently intent on hitting her with a levicorpus, a Potter family favourite, and she realised that Harry’s weakness was his sentimentality. She’d been working on a spell herself, and she just needed to bide time until Harry went for the spell they were all waiting to see. They traded the standard duelling spells, both getting a few hits but causing no real damage. It was certainly a much faster pace than the previous duels had been, with both Hermione and Harry being confident spellcasters.
She saw it in his eyes when he decided it was time. She smiled as he didn’t even bother casting the spell silently, he was performing a crowd pleaser. The expelliarmus came her way as she rubbed her hands together and pulled them apart, a shiny substance stretching between them. She whispered her spell, reflectus, and Harry’s own spell was sent back his way, coupled with a flipendo. He flew backwards, and she cast a cushioning charm to catch him as she caught his wand in her outstretched hand. She laughed, and quickly ran to help Harry up, who was also laughing.
“Merlin, Mione. That was impressive, I haven’t seen that before.” He said, slinging his arm around her shoulders.
“I’ve been working on it recently. You shouldn’t rely on an expelliarmus quite so heavily, you know.” She bumped him with her hip, and he laughed again.
“The majority of people I duel aren’t as good as you, it works for me fine.” She chuckled, he’d always been defensive of his favourite spell. They approached the side of the arena, and Draco smiled and pointed at her.
“DoM freaky shit, what did I tell you?”
“Hermione Granger freaky shit, thank you. That one was all my own work.” She replied, and he clapped her on the shoulder, shaking his head.
“We’ve got to get you and Theo in to help train the aurors some time. You two could offer another perspective, slightly different fighting styles, you know?” Harry said, and she agreed, excited at the prospect.
Just as Draco had said, she beat Neville, who wasn’t as formidable an opponent as Harry had been, and took his loss on the chin with a friendly smile and big bear hug when she disarmed him. Draco then beat Theo, but not as easily as he had been expecting. Theo was a bit of a dark horse when it came to duelling, he was nowhere near as repetitive or predictable as most people were, but Draco was the DMLE’s best dueller for a reason, and came out on top eventually. His fighting style was unique, he put a lot more physicality into it than most, almost as if he was punching rather than spellcasting. It gave his spells more power, and his opponent less time to think of their next move before the next one was heading their way. It was, to put it simply, impressive. It was also daunting, as Hermione stepped up for the final.
“You want to up the stakes a little, Granger?” He asked as they reached the centre of the ring. He’d been allowed a short break after his duel with Theo, but was sweating nonetheless. It was really quite distracting.
“What were you thinking?” She looked up at him and saw mischief in his eyes.
“How about we each write down what we want when we win? You win, we do your thing, I win, we do mine. Deal?”
“I can get on board with that.” She agreed, and wordlessly conjured pieces of parchment and two quills. He raised his eyebrows, but shook his head, letting her impressive display wash over him. If he was intimidated, he didn’t show it. They both wrote down what they wanted to do if they won, and handed the parchment to Pansy, who sighed loudly.
“You’re a pair of idiots!” She shouted, and Hermione laughed, knowing what she’d written. If anything, she was more nervous about him reading the parchment than fighting him, but she took some deep breaths and readied herself.
He closed the distance between them once again, as if he couldn’t keep away, and held out his hand.
“Best of luck, Hermione.” She shook his hand, and smirked at his use of her given name, clearly an attempt at throwing her off.
“Good luck, Draco.” She replied, and his jaw tensed. She giggled, and turned her back on him, putting the distance back between them.
Duelling Draco Malfoy was not the same as duelling anyone else. He was unpredictable, and imbued his spells with a certain amount of passion that left her weak at the knees. He caught her with a flagrante that made her wand burn in her hand, but he’d held back slightly so that it was bearable. She ignored it, and pressed on, flinging spell after spell at the man who was evidently surprised by how formidable an opponent she was. It turned out to be by far the longest duel of the day, with everyone crowding round to watch them with rapt attention. The pace never let up, though, with both wanting to beat the other, and thoroughly enjoying facing such a challenging opponent. Hermione could hear everyone shouting in support for her, even Pansy, and she inwardly chuckled, even whilst concentrating on trapping Draco with a fulgari. He got himself out of the bonds with ease, and smirked at her before throwing another jinx her way. She found his confidence stupidly attractive, and decided it was time for some, as he so poetically put it, ‘DoM freaky shit’.
Opening two small portals, a method of travel that she’d been researching lately, she pushed him back so that he fell into one. The second was above his head, and he fell through it, landing heavily on the ground, his face a picture of confusion. Before he regained his composure, Hermione duplicated herself, so that he was surrounded by ten different versions of herself. He chuckled, as did she, and got to his feet. He glanced around at them all, before hitting the real her with a flipendo, snagging her wand before she flew backwards. A cushioning charm caught her, and she collapsed in giggles. He offered her a strong hand, and pulled her into a tight hug.
“You are bloody brilliant.” He muttered into her hair, and she continued to laugh into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly about his waist. He pulled back, keeping his hands on her upper arms. “I mean it, you’re insane. You need to show me that portal thing.”
“You’re pretty good yourself, Malfoy. Almost as if it’s your job or something.” She smirked, and he laughed, pulling her back into another hug, spinning them around as her legs lifted off the ground.
“Draco Malfoy is our winner! A hotly contested round, with some impressive displays from all of our contestants. Who is our overall winner? You’ll just have to be patient!” The voice boomed, and Harry pulled her into a hug, mumbling about how amazing she was. Despite her loss, she felt like she’d achieved something, and with Draco barely able to keep his hands off her, she was really quite content with the situation.
Pansy called them over. “I really thought you had him, Granger. Tricky bastard, this one.” She grinned at Draco, who rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, gesturing for her to hand over the parchment. He reread his own writing, and smirked, before passing it to Hermione. She looked at him before she read it, and thought he seemed a little nervous.
Granger has to go on a date with me.
She burst out laughing, and looked at Pansy, who was looking just as amused, glancing between the two of them. The witch passed her the other piece of parchment, which she immediately passed to Draco, who had his brows furrowed.
“What-?” He started, but she shook her head.
“Read.” Hermione said, tapping the parchment.
Malfoy has to go on a date with me.
He barked out a laugh, and looked up at her. She laughed into her hand, and Pansy took the parchments back, before moving away and wrestling yet another snack off Ron. She was apparently taking eating for two very seriously.
“You’re serious?” He asked, taking her hands in his.
“Are you?” She grinned, and he looked at his feet before looking back at her.
“I’ve never been so serious about anything. I don’t get matching tattoos with just anyone you know.” He replied. The memory of them both getting the potions bottles floated through her mind, and she smiled.
“Good.” She said, before wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. His hands went around her waist, pulling her even closer.
Behind her she could hear Theo whooping, and she started laughing as Draco leant his forehead against hers.
“How’d you know which one was the real me?” She asked, and he smiled.
“I know when I’m looking at the real thing, Granger. Would probably have worked on someone else, but I always know when it’s you. I could just tell.” She hummed, her heart feeling full.
“If our contestants could gather in the centre of the arena, we are ready to announce the final positions on the leaderboard.” The voice called out. Draco grabbed her hand, smirking again, and dragged her over the everyone else. Ginny pulled Hermione into a tight hug, whispering how happy she was for the pair of them and that it was about time. She could see Harry muttering to Draco, and assumed he was giving the protective brother speech, which she’d tell him off for later. Right now though, she simply retook Draco’s hand, and stood amongst all her friends as the scores appeared.
“In seventh place, with six points, is Theo Nott!” The place went up in loud cheers, and the six of them all whooped for Theo, who waved like somebody that had just won an Oscar. Harry kissed him on the cheek, and grinned. Theo had been seriously impressive in the final round, and so last place was no slight on his skills.
“In joint fifth place, with seven points each, are Blaise Zabini and Ginny Weasley!” The voice shouted, and they laughed at the competitive pair getting the same score. Blaise pulled Ginny into his side, kissing her temple as she beamed up at him. It was nice to see her friends so happy, they suited each other so well.
“In fourth place, with eight points, is Neville Longbottom!” Everyone cheered, Pansy by far the loudest from the stands, and Neville rubbed his neck awkwardly, chuckling at the reaction. Hermione smiled at her friend, clapping him on the arm.
“In third place, with nine points, is Harry Potter!” Everyone gasped sarcastically at Harry coming third, and he waved them off, grinning as everyone clapped for him. Theo returned the kiss, and the two held hands, Theo swinging them wildly between them.
The attention was then on Draco and Hermione, as nobody was 100% sure which of them had won. It would be close, either way. Draco kissed her on the crown of her head, and she smiled up at him, their fingers still intertwined. A podium appeared, and Harry stepped onto the third place, his red shorts turning bronze.
“In second place, with seventeen points, is Draco Malfoy!” Everyone cheered, the pretence of good vs evil having fallen away, and he waved them off, making his way to the second place podium as his shorts turned from black to silver. He’d apparently managed to win the crowd over at some point. Hermione wrapped her arms around herself, smiling fondly at her friends.
“And in first place, with nineteen points, is Hermione Granger!” She laughed, and hopped up onto the first place, her green shorts turning gold. Draco grinned up at her.
“Two points, Granger. I nearly had you.” He smirked, and she rolled her eyes. A camera floated down, and snapped a photo of the three of them. Hermione gestured to the others, and everyone crowded onto the podium. Ron jumped over the railing, and helped Pansy over too, so that everyone could be in the photograph. The crowd cheered, and Hermione beamed as Draco wrapped his arm around her.
Later, that photo would sit pride of place on their mantlepiece, next to a frame with the two pieces of parchment. It was one hell of a story to tell to their kids, and whenever she spotted the gold and silver shorts folded in their shared wardrobe, Hermione always smiled fondly at the memory.