Justin's Kindness
Classes are canceled for the rest of the day. Instead, each house meets in separate locations to listen to a lecture from their Head of House.
The Gryffindor common room is hot and stuffy as they all crowd around, standing against the wall, squished up on the couches, some on configured cushions and others sprawled out on the floor.
McGonagall address them with a stern voice and expression.
“We are here today to talk about what happened at breakfast. This is a serious concern and will be handled in a serious manner. Any disrespectful comments or laughing will not be tolerated.
“Reading material will be provided after this conversation. I suggest that you all take this assignment as a life or death manner. If you have any questions about what I tell you or after reading, then I implore you to seek my counsel privately.
“As many of you may already suspect, Mr. Malfoy is Hogwart’s fourth champion. He is also gravely ill at the moment. He suffers from a condition called Hanahaki. It is imperative that we handle such delicate situations in strict accordance with the Old Ways.”
Over the next several minutes, Harry, along with his fellow Gryffindors, learns several things. First, Hanahaki is a rare and deadly magical malady. It afflicts young wix who are deeply in love but certain that their affections will remain unrequited. Developing over the course of weeks or months, magical roots take hold of the besotted’s heart. The flower grows, pulling its nutrients from the besotted’s mind and body.
The condition can resolve on its own if the besotted falls out of love or if the beloved requites the love. If neither happens, then the besotted begins to cough up petals, then full blooms and then eventually, when there is nothing left for the plant to feed on, an entire rose, roots and all. Finally, having been consumed by their affections, the besotted dies painfully and brokenhearted.
And Malfoy has a severe case of it.
What’s more is that Malfoy isn’t the only one at risk. Apparently, as the fourth champion, called to perform an ancient courting ritual for the tournament, falling ill with Hanahaki is an omen that the ancient magic is not pleased.
The Tri-Wizard Tournament is not just a celebration of overcoming adversity. No, it’s more like a final exam that the ancient magic gives after being pushed to its limits. It’s up to the participants, lead by four champions, to prove that the wizarding community has truly triumphed over evil.
Failure not only puts offenders at risk of death but a big enough failure will leave an opening for Death Eater sympathizers to make another attempt at power.
It is imperative that everyone does their best to adhere to the Old Ways and to work together to ensure that all four champions live to see the closing celebration. If only three were to make it, for example, then the ancient magic may demand another tournament.
Though apparently, it is okay for one of the champions to die during that closing celebration. Harry really does not like the way McGonagall tells them this twice, adding that they would all do well to remember this fact, especially for wix like ‘those who find themselves sorted into Gryffindor.’
The reading material provides a list of rules on etiquette, particularly public speech and conduct. Anyone who fails to follow these guidelines sufficiently will be ‘required to leave.’
And then, just like that, everyone is dismissed to enjoy a day of study and self reflection. Even though the material explicitly advises against doing so, the students cannot stop themselves from speculating wildly upon who Malfoy’s beloved might be.
Harry isn’t immune to this speculation and, when he happens upon Malfoy and Pansy on their way to the dungeons, he follows beneath his cloak.
“Pansy, you know I can’t tell you who,” Malfoy says and Harry has never heard him sound so tired.
“I know but if you could just give me a hint-”
“No. There’s no point. Hanahaki is a disease of unrequited love.”
“No it’s not! It’s a disease of a belief in unrequited love. I’m sure she’s secretly crazy about you.” Pansy sounds so sure in her conviction that Harry wonders if she might actually know who it is.
Harry wonders if maybe Pansy is the one Malfoy loves. Part of him hopes that she is because it’s clear she cares about him too. Maybe she could fix the whole issue and he and Malfoy could go back to bickering like they used to.
“My belief in this is correct. There is no way my beloved would ever want me … the way I-” Malfoy’s cough echoes along the empty corridor.
“Oh Draco,” Pansy murmurs pulling him into the Slytherin common room.
Harry remains in his hiding place for a few extra minutes reflecting on what he’s just witnessed. Malfoy is pretty good at drawing attention to himself by pretending to suffer but there’s no way he’s enjoying this. This suffering seems honest. And the way he talked about his ‘beloved’ – even to say that the witch would never love him back – is so tender that the words sound weird in Malfoy's tenor.
He really is in love. And he’s really sick about it.
The mood at Hogwarts has soured following Malfoy’s second public humiliation. Still the advice given to Harry is to say nothing to Malfoy about what happened. He doesn’t understand why because clearly saying nothing is not helping. Malfoy looks sadder than he’s ever looked as he trails around the castle with a wistful face, charmed petals shedding from a crown of shame he can’t take off.
Harry tries to focus on his classes but it’s getting difficult. Malfoy may not be his favorite person and sure, he has done some awful things and yes, it took him way too long to defect from Voldemort’s side where he never should have been. Still, he did defect and at the most crucial moments from a position that had saved Harry’s life on multiple occasions.
Malfoy may not be a great person but he’s not truly evil. And for that reason, Harry does not find his comeuppance pleasurable. Besides, there is that fact is that this is at least the second time Malfoy’s been punished for what? Being emotional? Crying? Feeling something other than hate?
It’s too close to home when one of those punishments came from Harry’s own wand. He’s never seen Malfoy shirtless but he knows what’s probably permanently etched all over the boy’s chest.
So, he ignores everyone’s commands to let this go and he writes Malfoy a letter. Then, he throws that letter away and writes another. And another, until he’s satisfied enough with his words to send them off with Hedwig.
Malfoy,
We’ve insulted each other for five years straight and now everybody loses their minds? I suppose the crown was a weird touch but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t because of me to be honest. If it was, I didn’t do it on purpose.
I’m sorry. For all of it. I think this tournament is making us all nutty.
Anyway, don’t take anything anybody has said lately seriously. I mean it. They’re probably just jealous of how good you look in red.
-H
PS. I’ve been wanting to apologize for like a week now but it’s like people can read my mind and they try to distract me. I kinda forgot that letters were a thing until today. Feel free to make fun of me for that.
Harry keeps his letter a secret until Ron and Hermione notice Hedwig swooping in to where Malfoy is sitting. It’s too late to stop him now.
Hedwig waits patiently as Malfoy tries to discreetly spit rose petals into a napkin. Of course, by now, everybody knows what he’s doing. They just don’t say anything.
When Malfoy takes the letter, he looks over to Harry. Their eyes meet for a moment and Malfoy raises a single blond brow. Harry offers a smile in return. It looks like Malfoy tries to return it but the resulting look is more one of befuddlement than friendliness.
However, it’s not Malfoy’s gaze that capture’s Harry’s attention. Instead, it’s the tender way Malfoy strokes Hedwig’s feathers before offering her a bite of his apple. Then, when Hedwig pecks at Malfoy’s hair, Harry thinks he must be losing it because it looks like Malfoy playfully pecks back.
Hedwig snuggles up to Malfoy’s chin just as she used to Harry’s. It was how she comforted him when he was locked under the stairs at the Dursley’s. Malfoy returns the nuzzle and then Harry doesn’t see what happens next because Hermione makes him stop staring.
And even though it feels like the first task was not so long ago, just like that, the school is gathered for the second one.
This time the four towers are set up around the lake, one of which is a judge’s booth. Once again, the Slytherins are dispersed among the other houses. Though this time there is sizable crowd at ground level that is comprised of all four houses.
Booths with food and trinkets are set up. Things like bubble wands that form fake patronuses and noises makers that tell one’s fortune. This task will be largely boring to watch but since it’s mandatory the school has provided distractions.
Justin, Harry and Padma stand in front of the lake in swim clothes. Justin hands them each a bit of gillyweed that he harvested with Neville and Professor Sprout’s assistance. Padma is quite impressed by his efforts while Harry is just relieved because his own efforts had pulled up squat.
Their task is simple: a race to the bottom of the lake where they must retrieve three hidden shells and resurface. Whoever returns with their shell first, wins.
Harry isn’t too fond of this task. He’s gone on enough fetch quests for two lifetimes. Still, it has to be safer than escaping an Ironbelly. And at first, it is.
However, as the three champions search, enough time passes that it dawns on Harry that he may need to resurface before he finds a shell and attempts to do so. When he does, an unsettling feeling grows in his stomach.
He swims up and up but he doesn’t get any closer to the surface. He’s not moving at all. Panic quickly washes over him and he begins to scream and flail. Something in his mind, or perhaps it’s Justin, tells him that he has to calm down. Right now. Because he’s wasting precious energy and yes the voice knows that they are borrowed time.
“Find the shell,” Justin’s garbled voice says, flashing his in front of Harry’s eyes, “I’ll help you. We’ll search together.”
And they do. In their search they run into Padma making her return. When Justin explains what’s happened, she joins them.
Harry controls his breathing with nerves of steel. But his mind ticks. Tick-tock, tick tock, tick … tock.
Justin’s hand guides Harry as they turn over every pile of pebbles and bend back every bit of of algae. Eventually Padma lets out a squeak and points to the shimmery glow of the third shell.
As soon as Harry takes it, he feels a weight lift off his body. And then up, up, up he swims.
Justin surfaces first, followed promptly by Padma with Harry once again in third. However, unlike in the first task, they are met not with cheers but gasps of relief.
It’s hard to make out who is gasping because it’s so dark out. That’s the first clue something is wrong. Harry’s not the best at math or herbology but even he knows that based on the time they descended and the amount of gillyweed they took that they should have lost their gills hours ago.
“Professor Flitwick, look!” Luna calls out, “they’re back. You can stop.”
Justin, Padma and Harry make their way to land and are greeted with blankets and hot beverages as a mediwitch Harry’s never seen before fawns over them. Professor Flitwick sends off a patronus and sinks down to a seated position on the grass, sweat dripping from his forehead.
Harry chances a look around the group of students watching and finds Malfoy, the moonlight casting a soft glow around him. He stares directly at Harry with a gaze so intense it startles him. Malfoy’s lips are stained red and tears roll down his cheeks.
In his hands is a rose. There is no stem, but the bloom is complete. Harry takes a moment to look around Malfoy to find that he’s coughed up so many of these blooms that it actually looks like he’s standing upon a bed of roses.