Chapter 4
“I would do almost anything for you, Harry. Anything except letting you get hurt,” Hermione argued, looking into his eyes and begging him to let her accompany him.
“I’m faster than Hermione, as fast as you. I can keep up with you, she can’t,” Ron stated simply. “Don’t leave me out of this.”
“I’ll make myself faster. I’ll find a potion or a charm for it. Who do you think will help you more, Harry? Ask anyone, everyone for all I care, and I do care a lot. Our professors, classmates, and friends. Think and give us an answer when you have one,” she said before leaving quickly. She was crying, she did that more than she wished. She wasn’t against crying, exactly, just doing it in front of others. It made her feel weak, and she did all that she could to not feel weak. As she got to her dorm, she curled her duvet around her and read a book about self-enhancement charms.
- -
“I’ve got one,” Hermione told half the Gryffindor table as she sat down for breakfast the next morning.
“One what, ‘Mione?” Ron asked while finishing his bite of food.
“A spell that makes me faster. Faster than you I reckon.”
“Are you still on that?”
“If your argument for Harry picking you is your speed, and I can become faster than you, then there isn’t any reason for Harry to pick you over me,” she said as if it were the only thought process one could have.
“What, do you want a race?”
“I think that would be a more than adequate way for Harry to have all the information necessary to make a decision.”
“Harry can make a course for us.”
- -
“You two are sure this is what you want to do? You know it’s still my decision, right?”
“Have you made that decision yet, Harry?” Hermione asked expectantly.
“I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t let this be over with even if I told you the answer was yes,” Harry muttered.
Ron was stretching, preparing himself to race against Hermione. Several of the Gryffindors and a few scattered members of other houses, even a few students from the other schools. Ron really couldn’t lose this. He wouldn’t be able to show his face for the rest of his Hogwarts career.
“All right you two, if you’re sure this is what you want to do, let’s get started,” Harry put effort into making his disinterest known.
“Ready whenever you are, Hermione,” Ron said as nonchalantly as he could muster. He really wasn’t nervous, he couldn’t be, she was Hermione, she was anything but athletic.
Hermione began to cast her spell when Harry halted her. “You’ll have to do that within the time, for the sake of fairness. If you had to use your speed, you wouldn’t have already used your enhancement spell. So-”
“You really think that I wouldn’t have cast the spell as we went into the task?” Hermione asked, relying on Harry’s knowledge of her and her preparedness.
Harry hesitated. Hermione was right, but that didn’t exactly make the race fair.
“It’s all right, Harry. No use arguing against Hermione.”
“Okay. Hermione, cast your spell.”
Hermione grinned and cast her spell.
“All right, we’ll start the mile in 3…2”
“Wait, did you say mile?” Hermione asked, aghast.
“Wait did you expect?”
Ron had to put effort into not beginning his run.
“Like maybe 400 meters.”
“What? Scared your spell won’t last that long?” Ron asked.
“My spell will last just fine,” Hermione insisted.
“All right. 3… 2… … 1, Go!” Harry announced.
Ron took off slightly before Hermione, but it didn’t take long until she was ahead. Within a minute, she had gotten about half-way through the course, Ron was trailing far behind at about a quarter of that. Just after that though, Hermione’s endurance ran out, she went to about half the speed she had been going before, now only at a jog. Ron was catching up, but not yet approaching her. By the end of the second minute, Ron was a third of the way through and Hermione about two-thirds. At this point, Hermione could only walk, which –while faster than anyone else walking– was no match for Ron’s paced run. Ron passed her at the three-quarters mark, and Hermione nearly stopped to catch her breath. Ron won, and was met by minor cheering most were disappointed they couldn’t tease him about losing to Hermione.
Hermione eventually finished the mile, tired and ready for deep breaths and some water.
“So … Harry … who’ll … it be?” Hermione asked between catching her breath.
“This is nothing against either of you, honestly, please don’t let this become a big thing, but Ron, if you’re interested, I would love for you to join me for this task. If you’re sure you want all that’s involved with it.”
“Yeah, mate, I’m up for all of it,” Ron gleamed with pure pride.
- -
The next night, it was announced in the evening meal that each champion should go to their headmaster to discuss new regulations on teammates.
Harry headed to Dumbledore’s office, on his way he ran into Cedric.
Harry nodded at him awkwardly, trying to be friendly.
The two continued for a while.
Cedric broke the silence, “Who’re you thinking of bringing?”
“Oh, my friend Ron. And you?”
“I never bought the whole race thing. Did that actually happen? That’s not how you made your decision, was it?” Cedric tried to hold off judgment, but remained skeptical.
“I already knew who I was going to pick,” Harry revealed.
Cedric nodded and made an understanding noise. “Well, it seems that we’ve arrived,” Cedric motioned for Harry to enter before him, “I really hope you make it through this.”
“I hope you win this,” Harry replied earnestly.
- -
“There have been some queries made into the fairness of the teams,” Dumbledore began.
“Fairness?” Cedric questioned. “I have no plans to cheat, I don’t even know how I would do that.”
“Maybe you’d better explain this to us. We have no bad intentions, so what’s going on with these rules?”
“The new rule requires that each team consists of one witch and one wizard.”
“For fairness? Why’s that?” Cedric asked.
“The differences, physical, magical, mental, it is believed that perhaps the task will require such balance. Do you know who you might choose?”
“How long do we have to decide?” Harry asked.
“Five days. We need to register them a week before the event and discuss risks.”
“Cho Chang has agreed to be my teammate.”
“Harry, let us know when you decide,” Dumbledore finished.
Harry and Cedric started to walk back to their commonrooms. It took less time for Cedric to break the silence. “‘How long do we have to decide?’”
“What?” Harry returned.
“Everyone knows you’re going to pick Hermione.”
“Everyone thinks I’m doing something I never would?”
“Never? Why’d you say that?”
“She’s my sister. No matter what, I’m not letting her get hurt in that.”
“It’s a puzzle. This is the puzzle task, if you don’t bring her mind with you, someone else will,” Cedric stated.
They went the rest of the walk in silence before parting ways.
- -
“Did you tell Dumbledore Ron’s your partner? Because if you haven’t, I added a stamina component to my spell.”
“Hermione, I can’t bring you,” Harry shared lowly. He wished that had been the rule he learned. He would try to be as soft and honest as he could, but he wouldn’t budge on maintaining this stance. Hermione would be safe and in the stands.
“I can’t or you won’t pick me?” Hermione questioned, almost asking if she should be hurt by his words.
“You’ve done so much for me, Hermione. I will never let anything happen to you.”
“Well, that’s not your choice Harry.”
“Nothing ever is, is it?”
“You don’t get to put me out of this race. You don’t get to make that decision for me. I am up for it. You really think Ronald is more likely to make it through unscathed than I am?”
“You don’t get it, Hermione. You can’t understand what you took me away from.”
“That doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to keep me away from danger. Look, I think we’re all pretty sure that this situation is going to become dangerous sooner or later. So let’s use this as an opportunity to see what we need to improve in. This is built for seventeen year olds, so how difficult could it be?”
“I’ll think about it.”
- -
“Herm-mi-own-e?” Viktor addressed her. Since they became friends, he had put some effort into pronoun-well into not butchering her name.
“Yes, Viktor?”
“Would you be interested in being my teammate for the final event?” The way he asked was both hopeful and unexpectant.
“Me? There isn’t one of your classmates you’d rather bring?”
“Well with the rule of having one of each sex on the team, I thought I should ask you. In Durmstrang, we are very separate, boys and girls, I don’t trust them the way I do you.”
Hermione found it very interesting that Harry hadn’t told her he would have to pick a girl for his team.
“You’re too kind, honestly. I’m honored, Viktor, but I think all of Hogwarts would despise me when we won,” she tried to convey both appreciation and confidence. Obviously any team with her would win.
“Ah, well. Are we still up for our book club on Wed-nes-day.” Hermione was the one who chose the dates of their meetings for the most part, and she could have chosen any day of the week, but she loved hearing him mispronounce Wednesday. It was charming. And, if she had to hear him not pronounce her name, she could listen to him not pronounce other things too.
“Yes, I can’t wait, I’ve loved this book.”
“Well, until then,” Viktor nodded cordially before going back to the Durmstrang section of the green.
- -
“So, Harry, your teammate, you chose Ron. Have you made that official yet?” she asked him. Harry would not get away with lying to her about teammate rules for long if she had anything to say about it.
“I still have a few days left until I need to tell Dumbledore anything yet,” Harry avoided.
“And you’re sure you’re bringing Ronald?” she said, trying to sound slightly cold. This guilting could only work in her favor if he knew how much she cared about this.
“Well, I’m actually rethinking who I’ll bring.” When he saw Hermione’s excitement, he followed up, “That doesn’t mean you’re my partner.”
“But I’m in the mix,” she proclaimed excitedly.
“No, I can’t,” Hermione wanted to interrupt him, to ask him who exactly he would bring that would leave him with half a chance of surviving this.
She wanted to, but she didn’t. Instead she let him continue on.
“If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself. I won’t involve you in this,” Harry said with some regret, mostly determination, and a little fear.
“They’re already involving me, Harry. You saw what they did for the last event. Who do you think gives you a chance of surviving? Because I will not let you die Harry James Potter.”
“I know that you would do anything in your power to make sure I got out alive.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I need you to survive too. Do you know what would happen if I survived and you didn’t?”
“Harry, don’t think like that.”
“I have to.”
“What changes your life so much if I die?” Hermione asked, she had to get to the bottom of Harry’s fears.
“Everything! You are my sister, Hermione. And everything would change if you died.”
Ah, Hermione thinks she understands now.
“You know, they’re our parents, you know. No matter what happens to the other of us, you’re my brother and you’re their son.”
“It wouldn’t be the same,” Harry argued.
“No, but they will always be your parents.”
The two sat in a comfortable silence, but before it could really settle, “Who do you think you could survive with?”
“I thought that was obvious, if I’m going through something I don’t know how to handle, then I need my sister by my side.”