Chapter 15
When Dumbledore floated the book away from Katie so they could eat, Harri turned to Cedric and asked hopefully, “Do you think we could talk before dinner?”
“I guess,” Cedric sighed, having a good guess on what the younger witch wanted. He stood allowing Harri to link their fingers and lead him into a side room, not without throwing a glance over his shoulder first to catch the look of pure jealousy on Fred Weasley’s face as he eyed their linked hands in contempt. Cedric hadn’t missed how Fred had all but foamed at the mouth when it was revealed Cedric was the center of Harri’s dreams, not him. Cedric banished his petty thoughts as they entered a side room, more than ready to have this conversation over with. He didn’t particularly want to have it at all. He had enough on his plate right now and didn’t want to add more to it by discussing his anger at Harri, but he also felt compelled to put Harri at ease. He didn’t enjoy being the reason she looked so worried and hesitant. Cedric tugged on Harri's to bring her to a stop so he could lead them over to a wall. He let her hand go altogether as he slid down the wall.
“Come on, we might as well be comfortable while we talk,” he mused as he watched her comply.
Harri wrung her hands in front of her as she spoke, “I just wanted to apologize again. I know I overstepped and I should have just supported you the way you’re always supporting me. I wouldn’t have liked it if Hermione or Ron tried to pull me away the way I did you. Again I’m really sorry.”
Cedric ran a hand threw his hair looking drained as he slumped against the wall. “I know you were just trying to help,” he expressed exhaustedly, “but you’re right. I expected you to support me the way I’ve supported you throughout all of this.”
“I really am sorry,” Harri mumbled, looking away. “I’d like to make it up to you.”
“I just need time and space, Harri. I’ll admit I’m glad you stopped me, but I just don’t think you had any right to. I’ll get over it, but I need you to allow me the time to be upset with you over it.”
“I can do that.”
Cedric watched Harri depart feeling a little guilty at having lied to her. He wasn’t that upset with her over the whole thing, but he did need time and space from her and it was the perfect opportunity to ask her for it without telling her why he actually needed the space. He needed to sort himself out and figure out what he was going to do. He didn’t want to hurt her while he processed everything. He had seen how hurt she had looked when he pulled away from her during the readings. It was for the better really if he just put some distance between them until he got his feelings under control.
“Yes, because lying to her and letting her leave her feeling guilty over something you aren’t even really mad about is definitely the way to go,” the Voice mocked condescendingly. “Harri’s always reacted so well to people lying to her.”
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop on others,” Cedric scrowled, not fond of the fact the Voice could hear his thoughts and all of their conversations.
“You shouldn’t lie to others either and yet here we are.”
“What do you want?” Cedric snapped, his temper coming to the surface. “Haven’t you done enough meddling in Harri’s life? Weren’t the books and the memories of her father not enough for you?”
“You know Harri places a great deal of trust in you,” the Voice ignored him to say. “And I’m not actually supposed to interfere with her dealings with you, but I feel the need to step in if you're going to go about it in such a manner. If anyone but you tells Harri you’ve lied and why, you’ll lose that trust. So, trust me, you need all the good faith with Harri you can scrape together if you want any hope of staying in her life at all.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? What do you mean you aren’t supposed to interfere? Why are you telling me all of this?” Cedric questioned frantically as his anger was replaced with fear. What did the Voice know that he didn’t? What was going to happen between him and Harri?
“It’d be a real shame if someone else told her, wouldn’t it?” the Voice continued on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I rather like you so, I do hope you make the right choices going forward. If not, well, it’s not as if I can’t do a show and tell with her.”
OoOoOoO
Cassandra
Cassandra made her way over to the table the Grangers had sat at for dinner. She had noticed how they seemed to isolate themselves the longer these books went on. She was hoping she could help ease some of their apprehension. It would also give her son and husband a chance to speak privately.
“Do you mind If I join you?” she asked as she approached, not letting the wary looks they sent her bother her.
“Have a seat,” Josephine Granger offered, gesturing at one of the many empty seats at the table hesitantly.
“Thank you,” Cassandra grinned at them warmly.
“What can we do for you?” Nick Granger questioned as food appeared in front of him. He was never going to get used to that.
“I have noticed throughout these books, there have been some questionable events that may have raised your concern about how wizards treat Muggles and your daughters' safety.”
“That’s one way of phrasing it, yes,” Josephine sniffed as she made herself a plate. “What parent wouldn’t be worried about their child when there are people running a muck that want her dead because she wasn’t born as prestigious as they would like? Not to mention how the school allows her to be put in extremely dangerous situations year after year. Who would enjoy knowing their minds are not safe and they’re treated as unintelligent nuisances to be played with?”
“I do see how all of that can be alarming for you,” Cassandra assured them patiently. “But there are those who are more than willing to fight for Muggles even among us.” She gestured to where Alastor Moody sat. “Every scar on his body he got from doing the right thing. He gave up years of his life to fight against those who would wish your daughter harm. There are many more who died fighting. More still that will pick up their wands again if it comes to that. You only have to look at your daughter's friends to know they would not take any of this sitting down.”
“They’re children,” Nick Granger pointed out. “They shouldn’t be fighting anyone. They should be focused on their education, something they can’t do with the danger Hogwarts puts them in.”
“Surely you can’t place the blame fully on the school,” Cassandra insisted. “The children more often than not chose to put themselves in danger. Chose not to go to a teacher.”
“They tried more than once to talk to a teacher. And with how incompetent some of their teachers seem, how are they supposed to trust any of them?” Josephine snapped. Their daughter had been put in impossible positions throughout school years.
“Hermione never went to you, either.”
OoOoO
The trio
Harri made her way over to her friends after she had left Cedric, still feeling guilty. She pushed away the feeling when she noticed Ron and Hermione had waited to eat until she had arrived. Gratitude filled her. She could honestly say it was nice that they had the table to themselves. Since coming to this room it felt as if they were spending less and less time together. While she did enjoy branching out and making new friends, she had missed Ron and Hermione’s company.
“Thanks for waiting,” Harri grinned as she made herself a rather large plate. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she had smelt the food.
They all dug into their food and joked while they ate, minding to keep their mouths closed while they chewed. Neither Ron or Harri wanted another scolding from Hermione over their table manners. As they all finished their food Harri decided to share what she had learned about the Voice. She told them how they had used usduring the week-long break and then had admitted to being more than one person during the last chapter. Hermione told them after Harri was done explaining what she knew that the Voice had talked to her too during the previous break after completing Book 3, about their friendship and she was worried about something terrible happening to her parents.
“Why do you reckon they haven’t talked to me yet?” Ron inquired, feeling a little left out.
“I don’t know,” Harri shrugged, wondering the same thing. “They talked to me about needing to open up to people and they're not wrong. I do have a bad habit of keeping everything bottled up, but I’ve been trying to do better.”
“They talked to me about our friendship and how I need to stop acting like a mother to both of you,” Hermione admitted sheepishly. “I don’t think I do it that often, but I have seen where I come off as rather bossy in the books.”
Harri and Ron shared a look that Hermione didn’t miss.
“Do you guys really think I act like your mother that much?” she questioned, hurt lacing her tone.
“Sometimes,” Harri admitted reluctantly. “I know it’s just because you care but, I dunno, it’d be nice if you relaxed a little sometimes. Me and Ron aren’t like you. We’re never going to be as smart as you or care about homework the way you do. And when you make us study guides it’s overwhelming. You put so much more into them then we’ll ever actually need for the exams, you get the same way when you revise our homework. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the help you give us, it’s just a lot sometimes.”
Hermione was starting to realize she needed to put a lot more stock into the Voice’s words. She had thought at first some minor adjustments on her part was all that was needed. She hadn’t thought Ron and Harri really thought she mothered them that much. She honestly didn’t think she went that overboard with homework or studying, but Harri wouldn’t lie to her. She didn’t want to be a mother to either of them, she wanted to be their friend. How much of herself was she going to have to change? How was this going to affect their dynamic? Would relaxing a little make her as lazy as them when it came to their school work? She didn’t think she’d like herself if she ever started to slack with her own work. Surely she’d be allowed to continue doing her work the way she saw fit, right? They weren’t going to begrudge her if she still wanted all of her own work done to perfection, right?
OoOoO
Students
“Who do you think will end up in the tournament?” Ernie asked, looking around at the students gathered. Everyone but Hermione, Ron, Harri and Draco was here.
“Potter will definitely take the Hogwarts spot,” Blaise sniffed a little bitterly. “It’s definitely the kind of thing that would happen to her, and heaven forbid Slytherin or any of the house get a chance to shine.”
“That is not fair to Harri,” Fred snapped in her defense. “If she ends up in the tournament it won’t be because she wants to.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen,” Blaise shrugged, ignoring Fred’s annoyance. “I’m just pointing out none of us really stand a chance with Harri at Hogwarts. This whole conversation is dumb. We already know who the three champions are going to be. Delacour and Krum will be their respective school champions and Potter is going to be ours.”
“But what if Dumbledore does stop anyone who isn’t of age from joining,” Hannah cut in. “You can’t just assume Harri’s going to be the champion because she has a bad feeling about it. Give Dumbledore some credit.”
All the Slytherin’s present snorted at this.
“I say it’d be Cedric,” Zacharias speculated. “He’ll definitely be our champion.”
“Me?” Cedric asked bewildered as to why it would be him.
“You’re Quidditch champion, popular and your grades rival Hermione Grangers,” Hannah pointed out as she nodded in agreement. “It’d definitely be you.”
“It’d be Angelina,” George denied venomously. “It’d definitely be a Gryffindor. We have what it takes to face whatever the task is.”
“Oh sod off,” Ernie spat, crossing his arms. “Any of the Houses have students that could do it.”
The entire conversation quickly devolved into a heated argument on who had the most worthy member, none of the Houses wanting to back down.
OoOo
Fleur
Fleur was having a lovely lunch with Bill discussing his job. It was truly fascinating. She could listen to the way Bill went on about the magic required for Curse Breaking all day. She could tell Bill was passionate about his job. She enjoyed that he never tried to dumb anything down for her. He spoke as if he expected her to know everything about the topic they were discussing. If she had questions about any of it, he happily explained just what she had asked about, not the entire topic. He didn’t treat her as if she was just another pretty face, and it was by far the most attractive thing Fleur had ever encountered. As their conversation wound down she saw the opportunity to question him about Harri.
“Would you say you are close to Harri?” she asked as she vanished their food.
“Close might be a bit of a stretch,” Bill admitted his curiosity piqued. “I just met her when we were all summoned to this room. My younger siblings know her a lot better. But I would say we are working towards being closer. She’s basically my little sister and I plan on treating her as if she was. Why?”
“I wished to discuss something with her but I wasn’t sure my opinion would be welcomed. I wished to get more insight on the matter,” Fleur divulged, displeased with the fact Bill couldn’t help her here.
“You’d have better luck asking one of the twins or Ron. They know her best out of all of the Weasleys,” Bill informed her, wondering what she could want with Harri. Fleur had been very vague about it so far. “But Harri is a pretty chill person, you could honestly just go talk to her. I doubt she’d turn you away. If she really didn’t want your opinion, she’s spunky enough to tell you to go to hell.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
OoOo
Sirius and Remus
“Do you really think Harri’s going to end up in the tournament?” Sirius asked, desperately hoping Moony would tell him the very notation was ridiculous.
Remus raised an unimpressed brow back at him and replied grimly, “If you would have asked me a year ago if I thought the Chamber of Secrets was real I would have told you no. Does that answer your question?”
“I was afraid you’d say something like that,” Sirius groaned as he allowed his head to fall onto the table with a soft thump. “What are we going to do?”
“Be thankful we’re in this room learning about the dangers she should have faced next year instead of out in the real world helpless to help her.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Sirius sighed as he left his head. “I still don’t like it.”
“None of us do.”
“I know I should be grateful she’s not actually going through any danger because we're in this room, but I’m still worried. What else are these books going to reveal? What is the Voice planning? How is Harri going to react to all of it? What if we mess up again in the books?”
OoOo
Harri
Harri, Ron and Hermione were relaxing together at the table they had used for dinner when the Slytherins slid into the empty seats despite Ron’s loud protest.
“What do you want?” Ron scrowled as he crossed his arms. “Can’t you see we're busy?”
“Don’t look busy to me,” Tracy stated, completely brushing Ron’s irritation off.
“Be nice, all of you,” Harri pleaded, hoping to stop this before it turned into a complete dumpster fire.
“We will if he will,” Daphne promised for the group, who had yet to state what they wanted or why they were there.
“He’ll behave,” Harri informed them as she sent Ron a warning look. While she knew Ron was still struggling with the fact they were Slytherins she was sure once he got over that, he’d really like them. They all were super nice and really fun. Besides, she had heard that Tracy was just as good as Ron at Chess if she could believe the other girl’s bragging. And Harri wasn’t about to lose the opportunity to pawn off playing Chess with Ron onto someone else. She was dreadful at the game and so was Hermione. They both played it because it was something Ron enjoyed, but neither of them took any real enjoyment out of it and were honestly no match for him.
“What do you want?” Hermione asked this time far politer than Ron had.
“We wish to spend time with Harri,” Blaise asserted firmly, “She spends the majority of her time with either Cedric Diggory, or the Gryffindors and on the odd occasion Luna Lovegood. We think it’s only fair that the Slytherin’s get time too. Who knows what you lot have to say about us.”
“We don’t talk about you,” Ron sneered, but otherwise held his tongue. Harri was their best friend. She should be spending most of her time with them.
“We really don’t,” Harri agreed, shooting Ron another look hoping he would continue to reign in his temper. “I’m sorry if you guys feel as though I've neglected our friendship, I’ve just been really busy, and you're right I do have a lot of people to juggle right now.”
“Then might I suggest a schedule?” Daphne suggested slyly. “That way all of your friends get time with you?”
“A schedule?” Hermione lit up at the suggestion. She loved creating schedules, and she had to agree Harri did spend a large amount of time with either Fred or Cedric. She wouldn’t mind having set times where Harri was just theirs without having to worry about someone else trying to pull her away. She knew Harri was branching out and making new friends, and while Hermione was glad to see Harri so happy, she missed it just being the three of them. Maybe it was a little selfish of her, but she didn’t want to lose Harri to anyone else. She and Ron were her best friends, her first friends, and if the Slytherins thought she wasn’t going to use this schedule to her and Ron’s advantage they were wrong.
“I think that’s a little excessive,” Harri cut in, not liking the idea of having her time planned out. “There isn’t a way to know who might need me and when. How about I just promise to be better at managing my time. I haven’t hung out with Neville or Luna lately either.”
Harri winced as she realized maybe she was a bad friend. She really did suck at making time for other people. She had been so wrapped up with the stuff going on with Sirius, Remus and Fred and now Cedric, she let her other relationships slide to the back burner. While she had sat with the Slytherins during lunch for Potions, she wouldn’t exactly call that hanging out, they were doing a class. Come to think of it, the last time she had given them her undivided attention had been several days ago when she dragged Neville over to see Daphne’s snake.
“Fine,” Astoria agreed, placing a hand on Daphne's arm to stop her protest, “but we would like to be able to hang out with you uninterrupted the way the Weasleys get to.”
“That’s fair,” Harri nodded before turning to give Ron and Hermione guilty looks. “Sorry guys, gonna have to cut this short. I’ll see you later if there's time before bed? I still need to talk to Remus tonight too now that I think about it.”
Ron glared at the retreating Slytherin’s backs as Harri left with them. Why’d she have to go with them to begin with? She didn’t owe them any of her time. She was their best friend. They should get the most time with her. Ron let Remus and Sirius taking more and more of Harri’s time up go because Harri was supposed to go live with them; she needed to get to know them better. But then Fred and Cedric Diggory had slowly started to steal what bits of free time Harri had too. Nevile and Luna joined the fray and Harri drifted further from them. It was bad enough Harri had lessons with Narcissa Malfoy but now the Slytherins were going to demand even more of her time? It was supposed to be the three of them against the world, not whatever this was.
OoOo
The Professors
“The children’s potions were magnificent,” Professor Sprout informed the rest of the teachers gathered.
“Potter’s and Longbottom’s too?” Professor McGonagall inquired, hopeful her lions had done well despite how inadequate Severus often said they were at the subject.
“Both Potter and Longbottom flourished with a gentler hand to guide them,” Sprout revealed sadly. Knowing a Professor had killed students' will to learn broke her heart.
“Do we speak to Dumbledore again about having Severus resigned?” Professor Flitwick asked. Had Severus turned his Raven’s away from Potions throughout the years too?
“I think you all need to take a step back from this,” Madam Pomfrey injected, joining the fray.
“What is there to take a step back from?” McGonagall retorted fiercely. “Those are my lions he has robbed of an education due to his own personal vendetta. I know why he takes issue with Miss Potter, but as far as I’m aware the Longbottom’s never wrong him, unless it happened during the war before he turned spy for Dumbledore. But I’m willing to bet Severus' hatred for the boy has nothing to do with Longbottom himself. He treats Longbottom worse than he does Potter.”
“I’m not excusing Severus’ actions,” Pomfrey explained calmly, “I just think you all need to see the whole picture before you go off to Dumbledore.”
“And what is the whole picture?” Sprout asked next. “Because from where I’m sitting I see plenty.”
“Severus was never given the chance to heal from everything he went through,” Promfrey reasoned, holding up a hand to stop McGonagall from interrupting him. “We all know how he felt about Lily Evans. It’s not a secret. Right after she died Dumbledore made Severus a teacher. Do any of you really think he ever properly grieved her? And what about all that he went through as a child? Do you think he was ever given the opportunity to find help in order to heal? While James Potter and his friends might not have physically harmed Severus, they scared that boy mentally for life. I’m well aware Severus gave it back just as good as he got, but you must see how years of being relentlessly targeted must have changed Severus.”
“Not to mention the way the Houses were back then and even today. Severus watched his Housemates target muggle borns within the halls of Hogwarts then spent years allowing them to warp his perception of right and wrong. He was a young impressionable boy surrounded by a house full of other students all telling him they’re world views were right. It doesn’t excuse the fact Severus would later join the Dark Lord. Nor any of his actions, but he later came to see the light. He chose to do the right thing when he chose to spy for Dumbledore. He went against everything he was taught for years in Slytherin and later in the Dark Lord's army. It takes a lot of courage to do what Severus did. Especially when he had been being brainwashed by the House divide for years. Hogwarts is set up to pit the children against each other and if you don’t see that, you're a fool. The children barely mingle outside their own Houses. It’s almost as if it’s some unspoken rule. They spend almost every waking moment throughout the school year with their Housemates. Even electives are split to put Houses together if it’s doable. We’re basically creating small cults within our walls. You-Know-Who just happened to be a Slytherin. He would have been able to turn any House with the way things are run.”
“My lions aren’t…”
“Aren’t they?” Promfrey cut her off, “If I were to pull up the Order of the Phoenix, whose House does its members mostly make up? Did you ever stop to think Peter Pettigrew might not have ever wanted to fight in the war at all? Sweet little Peter was never a fighter, we all know that, but what choice did he really have? All of his friends and Housemates were jumping to join, everyone he knew was telling him that’s just what Gryffindors do. They fight evil. Do you think he ever felt as if he was allowed to sit out of the war? Take a look at Potter. When down in the Chamber she told herself she wasn’t allowed to be afraid because she was a Gryffindor. Face it, you’re all running small cults rather you like it or not.”
“While Severus' actions are inexcusable, not all of them are solely his own fault, that is the point I was getting too. He needs our support and our help. We failed him when he was a student and you all want to fail him again now. Severus needs a mind healer and actual time to heal, not you all after his job.”
OoOo
Harri
Harri could admit she was having a lot of fun with the Slytherin’s despite them “studying.” Blaise had decided Harri didn’t know enough offensive spells, despite Moody’s lessons. The Slytherins as a whole decided Harri needed to know how to cast Serpensortia. They all thought it would be hilarious if she could summon snakes then literally sick them on her enemies. Daphne had promised to tell her where every snake was stored inside Hogwarts walls and how to safely store a Snake so she could summon them on the fly. Harri was having a blast summoning Daphne’s snake and then convincing it to mess with whichever Slytherin was closest. She had gotten Blaise to scream like a girl much to everyone’s delight.
“Harri,” she heard Fleur call her name, saving her next victim from having a giant boa attempt to trip them.
“Oh hey, Fleur,” Harri greeted after vanishing Daphne’s snake. “What’s up?”
“Can I have a word?” Fleur asked as she neared. “In private.”
“Hey,” Tracy protested from where she stood on top of a table. “This is our time with Harri. We stole her fair and square.”
“Stole being the key word there,” Harri snickered. “You reap what you sow. It’s only fair I allow Fleur to steal my time from you when you stole my time from Ron and Hermione.”
Harri followed Fleur, chuckling at the way Tracy sputtered at her retort. Fair was fair, after all.
“Whatcha need,” Harri questioned when they were far enough away the Slytherin’s wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“I wish to offer you my advice, if you’ll have it,” Fleur informed her, confidence oozing from her pores.
“Go for it,”Harri shrugged. Harri personally didn’t think she could tell Fleur no here. What was one more person's opinion on her life?
“Grow a spine,” Fleur demanded abruptly, her gaze piercing.
“Excuse you,” Harri gasped, shocked by her words.
“Grow. A. Spine.” Fleur repeated a hard edge to her words. “You are Harriet Potter, savior to the wizarding world. The world should bow at your feet and will if you would just demand it. You allow all of us to read these books about your life and sit there and just take everyone’s criticism of you. You allow them to tell you who you are supposed to be, what you’re supposed to think, when instead they all should be on their hands and knees thanking you for allowing them to hear your story. Stop apologizing for them invading your privacy. Own who you are. Stop asking for what you deserve and take it Harri.”
Harri stared at her, flabbergasted. She didn’t think Fleur really understood what she was telling her to do. Harri wasn’t the type to pick a needless fight. Sure it was annoying being scolded for her personal thoughts or choices all the time, but some battles just weren’t worth picking.
“Stop looking at me as if I have grown two heads,” Fleur demanded as she offered her hand to Harri. “Come on, take my hand and I shall show you how to own your own life. No more of this settling for anything less than you deserve or feeling sorry for taking it by force if need be.”
OoOo
Hermione
Hermione left Ron to stew in his anger. While she agreed they did need more time for just the three of them, she didn’t agree with Ron’s opinion that Slytherins were going to corrupt Harri. She had a lot of fun at lunch discussing potions with them. She was looking forward to studying with them too. It was honestly kind of nice to have peers who could keep up with her. She honestly wouldn’t mind if Harri invited the Slytherins around more. Hermione put a pin in that train of thought when she spotted Lavender and Parvati sitting on bean bags in a corner giggling. She had been called out by Padma over her treatment of Parvati and it didn’t sit right with her. Squaring her shoulders she made her way over to the pair.
“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked upon reaching them. She wouldn’t particularly enjoy their conversation topic, but was willing to try.
“Sure,” Lavender shrugged, sharing a look with Parvati, Hermione couldn’t read.
“But not if you’re only over here because Padma made you feel bad,” Parvati added crossly. “I don’t want some forced friendship from you so you can feel better about yourself.”
Hermione winced as she was caught red handed, “I do want to apologize, though.”
“For what?” Parvati pried, willing to bet Hermione didn’t even know what she was apologizing for.
“Well…”
“Just save it Hermione,” Lavender huffed, turning away from her.
“But…” Hermione tried again, “I…”
“You labeled the both of us as vapid and airheaded because we don’t learn the way you do and don’t want to study with you,” Parvati cut her off. “Which we would by the way if you didn’t suck the fun out of studying and make it feel like a punishment.”
“But all I see you ever do is gossip,” Hermione stuttered before adding in a small voice, “Do I really make studying that bad?”
“Merlin, yes,” Lavender cried in disbelief. “I don’t know how Ron and Harri put up with it. You plan your study sessions down to the last second. You pick every topic and when to go over them. You decide what’s worth learning. You don’t give them a say at all.”
“Besides, what we do in our free time doesn’t make us dumb. Our grades aren’t anything to scoff at,” Parvati tacked on offended. “We do study, just not where you can see us. We didn’t want you to try and take over our study sessions. We don’t learn the way you do or as fast as you do. We like to make school fun.”
Hermione shrank into herself at their words. Was she really that bad? Was that what Harri meant when she said it was overwhelming? Did she really micromanage that much? Was this why no one could stand her?
“Do you think we can start over?” Hermione found her courage to ask, “And you can show me how you study?”
“We could,” Lavender started throwing a sly look over at Parvati, “but we have a condition.”
“You have to at least try to do something we enjoy as well,” Parvati threw out, sending Hermione a challenging look. “And listen to us when we talk. Really listen.”
OoOo
Madam Bones
“How are we going to ensure the Cup is safe this summer?” Madam Bones asked, looking around the table her Auror colleagues and ex-colleague had joined her at.
“For starters Aurors should be monitoring the event,” Moody growled out. “Not a single person at the event knew how to handle a hostage situation.”
“And definitely make it a muggle free event,” Tonks added. “While it would be nice to catch those who attacked the muggles I’d rather not use them as bait.”
“Polyjuice would work,” Kingsley added thoughtfully.
“We’d have to keep the entire thing under wraps long enough for Polyjuice to work,” Moody shook his head. “The problem comes from within the Ministry. There’s no way for us to know who’s running the shots. If we tell the wrong person our plan it all goes to hell.”
OoOo
Cedric
Cedric finally found the will power to find his father. He was glad at least when his dad agreed readily to have a private conversation with him in another room away from all the prying eyes.
“I just don’t get it, Dad,” Cedric started as soon as they were alone, “The way you acted goes against everything you’ve ever taught me. You didn’t show Winky any respect! You used your position to frighten and threaten her!”
“Oh come on Ced, I told you, you just don’t understand what that Mark meant. I had to be sure,” Amos brushed his comments away again, making Cedric’s temper soar.
“And you had to be sure Harri didn’t cast the Dark Mark? Is that it? You know the one person on this planet who would never dare. You sure changed your tune when Crouch told you off. You didn’t need to be sure then.”
“It wasn’t like that Ced,” Amos tried again, “I got carried away in the books, Crouch just made me realize it.”
“You say that like you got too excited for a Quidditch game,” Cedric exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “Aren’t you even a little sorry about how you treated everyone in those books?”
“Yes ,yes, very sorry,” Amos placated very clearly, not meaning a word.
“I could show you his thoughts,” the Voice whispered in the back of Cedric's mind, tempting him.
“Now you’re offering to help me? What happened to threatening me?” Cedric thought back still sore at the ultimatum the Voice had given him.
“Threatened you, did I?” The Voice mused before it paused for several seconds, “Nevermind that, I’m helping now. Do you want to see what he’s thinking or not? Or are you happy to listen to him tell you what you want to hear?”
“Show me,” Cedric demanded, despite his better judgment. He knew invading his father’s thoughts like this was wrong. It was a gross invasion of privacy, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He needed to know.
I don’t know why Ced is so hung up on this. It’s not like I hurt the girl or the elf. There are bigger, better things he should be focused on, like entering the tournament. I know my boy will get picked. He was going to be the father of Hogwarts champion. Best to just play along while he defends that silly crush of his. Boys will be boys. Though the prestige that could come if he did end up with Harriet Potter. His friends would drop dead in envy. His boy dating Harriet Potter. But with all the trouble that girl caused, he supposed it was better if nothing ever came of it. She was already turning his son against him. Cedric never would have spoken to him like this before. It was the third time Ced had gone against him.
Cedric saw red as his father’s thoughts floated through his head. He really didn’t care. All he cared about was him entering that stupid tournament so he could brag. Merlin, Cedric was so sick of his father caring about nothing but his accomplishments. What he could do to make Amos proud. His dad didn’t know him at all. Even without his crush on Harri, he wouldn’t have found his fathers actions right. Maybe Harri had given him the courage to speak his mind, but that was it. His father couldn’t even take his feelings for the young witch seriously. He planned on using Harri as a pawn to grow his social standing. Who does that?
“We have more important things to discuss,” Amos continued when he had failed to say anything more on the matter because he was conversing with the Voice in his head. “The tournament. It’s your chance, Ced. You can show the world you can do something not even Harriet Potter could. You can bring pride to us and your House. Think about it, Ced! You’d be the envy of the whole school.”
“I can’t believe you,” Cedric snarled as he tore out of the room without another look back.
OoO
After Fleur was done with her, Harri felt exhausted, but she had promised Fleur she would at the very least demand one thing she deserved today, and she was on her way to fulfill that promise. She honestly didn’t want to know what Fleur would do if she failed to follow through. Squaring her shoulders and holding her head high, Harri marched over to where Remus and Sirius sat.
“You weren’t going to contact me after you left Hogwarts were you?” She demanded to know. This wasn’t how she planned on this conversation going. She originally was just going to ask where Remus thought he was in the books so far. But after Fleur’s lecture and some thought about how Remus had acted during the third book she came to the conclusion, he had no plans on seeking a relationship with her. These books were why he was in her life now. She deserved more than that. She wanted answers.
“I…” Remus stutters looking desperately over at Sirius.
“Don’t look at me,” Sirius said unsympathetically. “It’s your mess, you clean it up.”
“Well?” she prompted impatiently.
“I wasn’t,” Remus agreed with her reluctantly. “I had hoped maybe you would reach out to me, but after everything that happened I thought it best if I kept my distance.”
“So what? You were just going to forget about me? Never tell me how big of a role you were supposed to play in my life?”
“Did you even want me in your life before these books happened, Harri? You didn’t even think to write to me for help, you went straight to Sirius. Who you barely knew.”
“Whose fault is that?” Harri growled fist clenching at her sides. “All I know in those books is that he is my godfather and you used to know my parents. I didn’t know you were supposed to be my uncle. I didn’t know how much you were supposed to mean to me. I went to the only family I thought I had left. Why is it up to me to reach out? You’re the adult here!”
Remus flinched as Harri laid out his shortcomings. He hoped they were past this.
“I can’t tell you what I would have or wouldn’t have done, these books are the only things that can, but please believe me when I say, I’m here now Harri,” he pleaded desperately. They had just started to get back on track.
“Are you?”
He reached out to grasp one of her hands in his, “I am. I’m sorry for whatever I fail to do in these books. But I promise you I'll do better this time. Can you forgive me?”
“I’ll think about it,” Harri muttered sourly as she took her hand back and departed from the table. She wasn’t sure if she should forgive him right away. Fleur had said she needed to start holding people accountable for the way they treated her. Was she even allowed to be angry over something he hadn’t even done yet? Screw it, she thought. If everyone else could scold her over stuff she hadn’t said or thought or even did yet she got to be angry over this.
“Harri, wait,” Sirius called as he jogged to catch up to her.
“Are you going to tell me I have to forgive him?” she asked with a brow raised. “Because that’s not your call to make.”
“No,” Sirius shook his head as he smiled down at her, “Be angry all you want, kiddo. Moony deserves it for being such a coward. I’ll make him pull his head out of bum,though, don’t you worry. I wanted to let you know that I wouldn’t have just left you hanging in the books. I’ll definitely answer your letter as soon as I can.”
“I know,” Harri said as she shuffled from side to side. “At least I think I do. My counterpart seemed pretty sure you weren’t going to let us down and I don’t really think you are either. I’m just… I don’t want to be disappointed again. Every time I turn around it seems like an adult in my life is disappointing me.”
“I won’t disappoint you,” Sirius swore as he tugged her into a hug, “I might not be able to help you right away in the books, but I can here. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.”
“You sure you aren’t going to regret promising me that?”
“Never.”
OoOo
Narcissa rubbed her temples as she thought. What was she going to do about the Cup? If the books Merlin forbid, reveal Lucius was involved with the torment of those muggles? She could throw him under the bus and call it a day, but she wanted to avoid that if possible. She loved her husband and wanted her family to come out of this intact. Which brought her to another matter altogether. While she was glad she no longer had to scold Draco, for she knew Potter didn’t believe a word she said when she did so, she wasn’t sure Molly and Arthur Weasley were up for wrangling her son in.
She wondered if the Weasley’s planned on ignoring Draco until they left this room and they were forced to deal with him. She wouldn’t allow that. She needed to know Draco would be looked after. She thought about going over and discussing with them exactly how they planned on handling Draco and his attitude but she wanted to see how they would handle the situation without her guidance. She would step in if they didn’t step up soon, but until then she would wait and watch. She would call the whole thing off if she didn’t think they could give her son the care he deserved by the end of these books. She needed Draco to bridge the divide between him and Potter for his own sake. Above all else she would see to it that he left all of this untouched by the war these books threatened them all with.
OoOo
“Hey Colin, what do you think being ambitious means?” Dennis asked curiously.
“I don’t really know,” Colin shrugged his face scrunching up in thought. “Everyone at Hogwarts uses it to describe Slytherins.”
“Yea, but that one Slytherin said Harri was ambitious, so it can’t be a bad thing right?”
“I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing,” Colin agreed as he added, “I just think Slytherin’s as a whole take their ambition too far. Take the Quidditch matches for example, they want to beat us so bad they cheat. What do you think Katie?”
“I think ambition is a tricky thing,” Katie answered from where she was doing Alica’s hair. “Too little and you go nowhere in life, too much as you lose who you are.”
“So you can have ambitions or want to be ambitious and not be a bad person,” Dennis questioned next.
“Of course you can,” Alica answered from her spot on the floor. “You just have to remember your goals aren’t worth throwing away your morals for.”
“Oliver’s pretty ambitious about Quidditch. And Fred and George about their joke shop,” Katie added.
OoOo
Tonks waited until she spotted Hermione alone. She had waited the entire break for this opportunity, for the girl was hardly ever alone. Without hesitation she hauled a large stack of books towards the young witch and slammed them down on the table in front of her.
“This is every book on Elf history and traditions there is,” Tonks announced as she met Hermione's gaze. “I want you to read every single one of these before I hear another word out of your mouth over the elves.”
“But..”
“No buts,” Tonks denied her the opportunity to start an argument. “You’re making us all miserable with your talk about Elves when you clearly don’t know the first thing about them. Before you decide you know what’s best for an entire species you should at least bother learning everything you can about them and their history. If you still want to fight for Elves rights after that, go for it. But I suggest actually asking the elves what they want before you decide their entire fate because you think you know what they want more than they do.”
Tonks didn’t bother to wait for a reply before storming off. If Hermione wanted to complain about the elves before she was done with all those books Tonks would personally stick her tongue to the roof of her mouth.
OoOo
Draco
Draco had been forced to eat alone. His housemates refused to have anything to do with him now that they were all kissing up to Potter and his godfather chose to have dinner in his room tonight. Draco stabbed at his dinner violently, even the food he ate was poor people's food. This room was ruining his life.
“We need to talk,” a voice interrupted the murder of his dinner. Looking up Draco was greeted with the unwelcome sight of Molly and Arthur Weasley.
“I have nothing to say to the likes of you,” he sneered as he rose ready to leave.
“Sit,” Molly demanded, pointing at the chair he had just vacated.
“You cannot tell me what to do,” he spat, ready to defy the daft woman.
“I said sit,” she snapped in return and before Draco could comprehend, had taken her wand out and slashed it through the air. He was forcibly seated as chains kept him in place.
“I demand you release me at once,” he snarled as he fought against his restraints. “Are you just going to sit there and watch your wife assault me?”
“She did ask you to sit nicely first.”
“I didn’t want it to come to this,” Molly sighed as she took an uninvited seat across from him, “But there are several things we need to discuss before you come and live with us. I expect you to respect both Arthur and myself.”
“I’m never going to respect Mudbloo..” Draco never got to finish his sentence because that insufferable woman had slashed her wand through the air again and filled his mouth with soap!
“I won’t tolerate language like that young man,” Molly scolded disappointedly. With another swish of her wand the soap was gone. “Now, as I was saying you’ll also be expected to help around the house. You’ll have to learn to get along with the rest of the children too. I won’t tolerate any of you harassing each other.”
Draco glared in return. As if. It wasn’t going to happen.
“Look,” Arthur said gently, “I know this is hard for you. It’s a big adjustment, and we would like to help you come to terms with that, but we aren’t going to allow you to continue as you are. You have to meet us in the middle somewhere.”
OoOoO
Cedric
Cedric found himself hiding away in a room away from everyone. He hugged his knees to his chest and desperately wished for his friends. He has been brought to this room without anyone he was actually friends with. Though he and Cho were friendly before all of this, but they weren’t close and she would be classified as the closest person to him that was brought to this room with him. He yearned to have one of his best friends to talk to right now. Someone to help sort all of this out with him. He felt completely and utterly alone right now. It was all just far too much.
Cedric lifted his head from his knees when he heard the door open ready to tell whoever had walked in to leave when a bewildered Harri walked through.
“Oh sorry,” she rushed to get out, “This door just kept appearing everywhere I went and I thought maybe someone wanted me to go through it. I’ll just go...”
Cedric watched in horror as the door vanished, locking Harri in here with him. Just great. He let his head fall back down to his knees, eyeing Harri from the corner of his eye. Sure he had wished for someone to talk to but he hadn’t meant her. She was part of one of the many issues he was having. Harri, for her part, didn't say anything. Just slid to the floor where she stood and mirrored his position. They sat like that for an hour before the door appeared again once Cedric assumed the Voice realized neither of them planned to speak. He was surprised to see Harri didn’t budge once she was giving a way to freedom for the icy silence that had overtaken the room. Though Cedric supposed he hadn’t asked her to leave either.
After several more hours Cedric finally broke the dead silence, his voice no more than a whisper as he requested, “Come here? Just let me hold you?”
“Okay,” Harri whispered back and he watched her as she stretched out her more than stiff limbs.
Cedric took the time to stretch out his own aching legs. Silence overtook the room again as Harri made her way over, he tugged her to sit between his parted legs, her back against his chest, his arms coming around her waist as his head rested against her shoulder. Harri twined their fingers together but didn’t speak again. If Cedric had to guess she was waiting for him to speak first, which was just fine with him. He allowed himself to take comfort in her as they sat there. Apart from one of them occasionally shifting to get comfortable, no more sound emitted from the room.
OoOo
Ron
Ron made his way to his room after Hermione and Harri had both vanished and failed to reappear. When he opened the door that summoned his room, he came face to face with Draco Malfoy.
“What are you doing in my room?” Ron hissed, eyes narrowed.
“This is my room,” Draco declared sourly. “So the question is what are you doing in it?”
“No, I summoned my room,” Ron stated stubbornly.
“I was here first, it’s obviously my room,” Draco refused to back down.
Ron opened the door and walked back through it wishing for his room, only to wind up standing in front of Draco.
“See, it's my room,” Ron declared triumphantly. “So get out.”
“It’s not your room,” Draco growled as he stalked towards the door and pulled it open only to walk right back into the room he had tried to leave.
“What the bloody hell! I can’t leave.”
Ron groaned as he tried to leave to another room and was denied. It looked as if this miserable place was trying to ruin his life. Stuck sharing a room with Draco Malfoy of all people. Merlin help them all.
OoOo
Cedric
Cedric awoke sometime later, unsure when he had fallen asleep or how he had ended up on the floor and not prompt against the wall. Slowly he noticed more and more, the wall had been inched back, it now sat several inches from his head, and feather soft blankets had been placed under them. Harri was currently using him as her personal pillow, her face shoved against the side of his neck, and an arm and leg slung across him. Cedric could feel his cheeks burn.
“Come on, Harri, we have to go,” he said gently as he shook her. They both needed to get back to their own rooms.
“Five more minutes,” she mumbled against his neck.
“We have to go,” he repeated again a little louder this time. “Tonks will never let it go if someone finds us in here. And you’ve already been really clear you don’t want her to think we're dating. I don’t want you upset later because of something she or someone else might say because you wanted a couple more minutes of sleep.”
Harri rolled off of him to hug a pillow that appeared for her as she replied groggily into the pillow, “Don’t care what Tonks thinks.”
“You do care what Tonks thinks,” Cedric pointed out as he softly shook her again. “You blew up when she suggested there could be more between us in the books.”
Harri batted his hand away and snuggled further into the pillow. “Not why I got mad.”
Cedric froze his hand inched from her shoulder to shake her wake. He swallowed hard before asking, “Then why did you get mad?"
“It’s too early for this,” Harri complained as she turned to face him so she could glare at him through cracked eyelids. “I’ll tell you in the morning if it will make you happy, but sleep is going to make me happy right now and that’s what I’m going to do. Stay or go whatever makes you happiest.”
“Whatever makes me happy?” Cedric mused as he watched Harri start to doze back off in shock, a weight lifting from his chest. He wanted to know why Harri had been upset with Tonks, but he doubted he’d get any more answers from the girl.
“Mhm.”
“One more hour Harri, then we have to get up,” he warned her as he set an alarm charm and laid back down on his side. He tugged her against his chest, his arm wrapping around her waist as he got comfortable.
“Mm, you're warm,” Harri sighed as she linked their hands together and slipped into sleep.
An hour later his alarm charm blared startling them both.
“I really dislike you right now,” Harri grumbled as she sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes as he turned off the alarm.
“I warned you,” he grinned as he handed her the glasses she was hunting for and threw squinted eyes.
“Ugh,” she moaned as she placed the glasses on her face.
“Come on, we can have an early breakfast and talk,” he suggested as he helped her up.
“Still too early for this,” Harri muttered but followed him out into the main room that sat empty. She doubted anyone would be up for at least another hour if not two.
“Humor me?” he pleaded as he summoned them breakfast.
“I don’t really get why you want to know why Tonks made me mad,” Harri sighed as she pushed her food around. “But if it’d help with whatever happened yesterday, I just didn’t want her betting on my life like that. I don’t really know but it made me really angry for her to use these books to make money on my experiences. Besides, I was offended for you. You’re the most popular guy at Hogwarts you could date anyone you wanted, she shouldn’t have lumped you in with me.”
Cedric dropped his fork and hit the table with an audible clang as he stared at her in pure shock.
“Me? You were offended for me?” he couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Guilt slid up his spine. She was trying to defend him, and he had taken it all wrong because he assumed he knew what she was thinking. Had tried to put distance between them so he could figure out how to deal with a rejection that had never happened.
“Yes, you,” Harri grumbled. “Are we going to talk about what had you so bothered yesterday now? Or are we still doing the whole space thing, because I think we failed spectacularly at that.”
“I do still want space,” he admitted, sending her a guilty smile before adding. “Not because I’m upset with you. It was never over that if I’m being honest.I lied earlier when I told you it was because i was upset I'm sorry”
The guilt wrapped around his neck as he watched the hurt expression cross Harri’s face. But he really did need the space. That was becoming clearer and clearer to him. He couldn’t go on the way he had been in regards to Harri. It just wasn’t fair to her.
“Then why?”
“I’m not ready to tell you that,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “I have stuff I want to figure out and I want space to do that. I’m sorry I just didn’t come out and tell you that earlier.”
“Can the space start after breakfast?” Harri asked as she set her fork down.
“I don’t see why not,” he easily agreed to her request. It wasn’t as if they were doing great at the whole distance thing so far anyway.
Harri turned in her seat to face him, her breakfast forgotten as she cupped his cheek as she spoke gingerly, “I know you’ve been really honest with me about everything and a large part of that is because you feel like you have to be because these books invade my privacy so much. You’re entitled to your privacy just as much as I am. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel as if you had to lie to me in order to keep stuff to yourself.”
“It wasn’t anything you did,” he promised her as he cupped her hand in his. “I messed up here, not you.”
“I’m here if you ever do want to talk about it or whatever happened yesterday that left you so shaken.”
“I’ll remember that, as for yesterday I got into another argument with my dad…” he trailed off not sure how much he actually wanted to share, “let's just say I don’t think it’s something were going to fix anytime soon and it was just too much on top of everything else.”
“So is he public enemy number one?” she asked as a sly grin made its way onto her face. “Because I most certainly can find allies in this endeavor.”
“I don’t know yet,” he answered honestly, it was one of the many things he still had to figure out. “But I’ll let you know if I ever want to take you up on that offer.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it all out,” she said the sly grin on her face turning teasing and Cedric knew what she was going to say before it ever left her mouth. “You beat the Great Harriet Potter after all. You can do anything.”
“You’re absolutely the worst.”
Harri stood from her seat placing both hands on his shoulders before leaning in the press a kiss the the side of his cheek.
“I really do hope you feel better soon Cedric,” with that she departed.