Chapter 12
'Harry rushed back to where he entered before and vanished the shapes just as he was out of sight, unscathed with the golden egg in his arms.'
As soon as Harry stepped into the tent, Madame Pomfrey rushed over to him as if she were trying to grab the last bag on sale. She dragged him over to one of the cots and sat him down.
"Madame, I'm fine! The dragon didn't attack me." Harry protested with a chuckle after the mediwitch started a diagnostic spell on him. "I didn't even get near the fire!"
Madame Pomfrey tutted. "I know, but somehow, you still manage to get bruises. Remember last year, after you ran into a wall? You got a bruise on your back, which never even hit anything!"
Harry snorted. "I guess your right, Madame." It was true. Harry always managed to end up in the infirmary for the stupidest reasons. He could fall off his bed and break his ankle, even if he landed on his chest! That was probably due to the lack of development in his bones and joints from when he was younger, but still. He was like a magnet for injuries.
Madame Pomfrey leveled him with a small glare. "What did I tell you, Harry? Call me Poppy! You've been to my infirmary enough times to call me that. I insist." She said pointedly.
"Sorry– Poppy," Harry corrected with a small smile.
If he was being honest, Poppy was the first person he had ever considered as a parental figure. When his broom had been cursed by Quirrel in first year, she had immediately tended to him, asking where it hurt. When he had brushed her off, telling her that he was used to this kind of pain and therefore didn't bother him much, she scolded him, saying no child should ever be 'used' to any kind of pain. She offered him a biscuit, coincidentally the same ones Minnie had in her office, and basically threatened Harry that if he didn't come to her just because 'it didn't hurt', she would follow him around until he relented. Ever since then, he had gone to her everytime something bothered him, both physically and mentally.
Once Poppy was done checking him over, she handed him a biscuit and ushered him away with a small pat on the cheek. Harry thanked her with a dramatic bow, which left the mediwitch laughing, and went to find his friends.
The moment he exited the tent, he was ambushed. "I told you the spell would work!" An over-excited Theo exclaimed as he pulled Harry into a bone-crushing hug. Harry chuckled and hugged back just as hard.
"That was some incredible spellwork, pup!" Sirius complimented, clapping Harry on the shoulder in approval. "When you told me what you were doing, I never imagined it would look like that! It was truly amazing. You definitely shocked some people."
"Indeed, Harry! It was mesmerizing, to be honest." Neville threw an arm around his shoulders in a side-hug.
"It was beautiful! I could see the fire swirling around you as you cast the spell. It was like you were the fire itself." Luna said dreamily, and Harry grinned. Luna never failed to make him feel special.
"Look! They are announcing the points!" Theo pointed at the jury.
In the end, Cedric ended up with 40 points, Krum with 35, Fleur with 39, and Harry with 42. Krum had gotten the least points, as he had broken some of the eggs in the nest. Of course, Karkaroff only gave each champion, apart from Krum, 5 points. "Always playing favourites, that guy." Sirius grumbled.
"Congrats, Harry! You're in first place." Cedric said as he passed, his arm in a sling from the burns he got. He had tried to distract the dragon, just like Harry, but it wasn't distracted long enough for Cedric to get away. The burns weren't that bad, and would heal in a week or two, but they still hurt like hell.
"Thanks, Cedric. You did well, too!" Harry said with a small wave. Cedric then got dragged away by some of his friends– the ones he was still talking to, at least. Some of his so-called 'friends' hadn’t even bothered to show up for the task, choosing instead to visit Hogsmeade. Good riddance.
Sirius ruffled Harry's hair fondly to get his attention."Ready to go get some food, pup?" he asked. Harry's stomach grumbled in response, making Sirius laugh. "Alright, let's go then!"
---
That evening, Harry and Theo entered the Slytherin common, only to be greeted by loud music playing.
"What the–" Harry wanted to say, but was interrupted by Neville barreling into him.
"Harry, do you like it? I suggested the idea to Daphne, who told Pansy, who told Millicent, who told Blaise, who told Draco, and so on. I wasn't sure whether you would like it, but I thought that maybe this was something you needed, you know? I knew this Tournament was very stressful for you and everything, and this was the best thing I could think of! Theo took care of the music– with Snape's permission, of course, and I got some snacks in Hogsmeade-" Neville rambled nervously, Daphne standing behind him with a sly smile on her face.
"It's amazing, Nev! I just wasn't expecting it." Harry interrupted. "It's exactly what I need." He hugged Neville tightly, whose shoulders sagged in relief.
It was nice to know that the Slytherins were happy about his victory, even if it was only the first task out of three. At the beginning of this year, Harry never would have expected to become friends with Slytherins, hell, he was best friends with one. Some Slytherins were wary of his presence at first, but quickly warmed up to him when they found out that A: Harry wasn't an absolute dick, and B: Harry did not care for the fact they were Slytherins. Harry's exact words were: 'I absolutely don't care that you're Slytherins. I was supposed to be a Slytherin, you know? So if I don't like you, it's most likely because I genuinely don't like you as a person. Some of you are on thin ice, so don't cross me.'
Everyone respected the teen more after that day. A few would even admit that they would've become friends with Harry if they'd know this sooner, or in the case that Harry was sorted into Slytherin.
During the party, a lot of people came up to him to offer him congratulations for what he did in the task. It was very impressive to be able to use elemental magic, especially to such a degree. Controlling fire was already hard, but reshaping it was even more so. Some of the Slytherins, the ones Harry did not like, sneered at him the whole time, clearly not happy to be there. Those were the ones that left after thirty minutes. Obviously, Harry didn't mind. Parties were more fun when people weren't staring at you as if they were about to kill you.
Theo kept close to Harry the whole time. The only times he wasn't, he was either getting drinks for the both of them, or changing into something more casual. Harry could always feel a shoulder against his or a hand on his arm, which made him feel warm inside. He was blushing too, but that was easily hidden by the fact that it was hot as hell in the room.
About an hour before midnight, when the party had already been going on for 2 hours, Theo nudged Harry in the side and pointed at one of the couches where the seventh years normally sat. Harry gasped when he saw who were sitting there. "Is that-" "Draco and Blaise making out? Yes."
Indeed, it was a very shocking sight. Draco was draped over Blaise as he sat on the latter boys' lap, and Blaise had a possessive grip on the blonde's hip. It wasn't supposed to be shocking to Harry, seeing as they weren't the only people in the common room who were kissing, but the fact that it was Draco and Blaise doing it was a bit different. He knew the two personally.
Harry snorted. "I'm glad they finally got their act together. I was already planning with Pansy to lock them in a closet together. Thank Merlin we didn't have to resort to that," He said. "Do you think it was the Firewhiskey?"
"Nope, it was all me!" a voice suddenly replied from behind them. When the two turned around, they came face-to-face with Pansy.
"How?" Theo asked in shock.
"I told Draco Blaise liked him, and vice versa. Then I shoved them on a couch to talk and look at that– they're snogging!" Pansy explained, a proud smile etched on her face.
"Was it truly that simple? If I'd known that worked I would've done this earlier!" Theo whined, the Firewhiskey clearly taking effect as he pouted like a toddler. Theo was known for his stoic personality, so seeing this was unusual.
'It's kind of cute, though...' Harry thought as he watched his friend with a dopey grin. Pansy raised a brow at him, but Harry looked back confusedly. She always knew something Harry didn't.
Theo fell onto the ground like a sack of potatoes for the third time that night, and Harry decided it was already late enough.
"Alright, off to bed with you." Harry laughed, dragging Theo to their dorm. "Bye, guys!" He yelled as loud as he could while he ascended the stairs, and everyone, including Draco and Blaise, immediately stopped what they were doing and all yelled their own goodbyes.
The two boys entered their dorm and Harry put Theo down on his bed. Theo immediately dropped down to sleep, but Harry groaned and dragged him up again. "Theo, you can't just go to sleep in these clothes! Dress pants are way too uncomfortable to sleep in." Harry said, but Theo giggled like a schoolgirl and plopped down once more. Harry rolled his eyes fondly. It was very amusing to see Theo act this was, even if it was because he was drunk. People say that the way you act while drunk is a true representation of your personality– maybe Theo was actually a very bubbly person.
"Theo, c'mon!" Harry whined, poking his friend’s side to get him to stop giggling. "If you don't cooperate I will have to rip these clothes off your body, and I know you like this outfit so I'm sure you don't want that."
Theo never stopped laughing as he popped the buttons of his blouse open, which made it take much longer than it normally would. Once the blouse was off, Harry had to stifle a gasp. Theo was now sitting in front of him with a bare chest– a very smooth, muscly chest. Harry's cheeks lit up in embarrassment once he realised that he had been staring for a bit too long, and turned to grab Theo's pyjamas in the hope that the other boy hadn't seen. Yes, Theo was drunk, but that didn't mean he was completely unaware.
When Theo had his pyjamas on and his teeth had been brushed, he was ushered to bed. Theo almost fell and dragged Harry with him along the way, but Harry caught him just in time. Harry tucked Theo in and went to leave to go to the bathroom himself, but a hand on his arm stopped him. "Harry," Theo murmured, "I just wanted to say you were amazing today. I was scared at first, but I quickly realised there was no reason to doubt you. You've also been an amazing friend and I wanted to thank you for that. I was never very close to my fellow Slytherins, but you changed that. You brought every single one of us together, and I'm very thankful for that."
Harry stood there, staring with a slacked jaw at Theo. How could a drunk man speak such sober words? Theo had never been that honest with him before. He's just not the kind that's so open about their feelings. "Theo– I– I don't know what to say. I never expected you to say that– to be so honest." He breathed out and Theo giggled again, but this time a lot less shrill.
"I didn't either, but everyone knows what happens when you drink alcohol." Theo joked and let go of Harry's arm. He moved in his bed until his back faced Harry and pulled his blanket up to his shoulders. "Goodnight, Harry. Love you." He muttered. He then promptly fell asleep.
Harry stood gaping at the sleeping form of his best friend. Something in his chest hummed happily at Theo's words. He had no idea whether Theo actually meant what he said. 'It could just be the tiredness getting to him, right? There was no way he-' Harry immediately cut off that train of thought. 'I need to go to sleep. Theo will forget this by tomorrow, so I don't need to dwell on it.'
And with that, Harry finally went to sleep himself.