Harry sobered up immediately. "What's she done now?"
Draco smirked triumphantly. "Seems your godfather isn't the only unregistered animagus we know," he drawled. It took a minute for Harry to connect the dots.
"No. Really? What's her form?" "A beetle," Draco told him. "I found out from Crabbe and Goyle; it's how she got quotes from them for the whole Hagrid article. Pansy always met her down in Hogsmeade, but I suppose she thought the boys were too thick to tell anyone about her animagus form. Tiny little thing like that, she could get into all kinds of places."
No one would pay attention to a beetle on a wall — or in their hair. He remembered Viktor brushing the bug from Hermione's hair after the second task. That must have been how she got the information about the pair of them! "That's sort-of brilliant," he admitted. "But definitely illegal, right?"
"Maybe not Azkaban-level illegal, with her contacts," Draco said, "but if it gets out she'll never be trusted to write another article for any reputable publication. She'll be ruined."
"Oh, what a shame," Harry said sarcastically, grinning. He leaned forward to kiss Draco quickly. "I need to go write to my lawyer. You're the best!" Before he could run away, Draco grabbed him by the shirt collar and yanked him in for a proper kiss.
"Don't you forget it," he letting Harry go with a smirk.
murmured,
It took a minute for Harry to remind his legs how to work before he could leave.
.-.-. Easter break passed in a blur of homework, spell practice and avoiding Ron and Hermione, for Harry. Due to the tournament, he was exempt from his exams, but that didn't mean he was exempt from all the work that accompanied them. Harry didn't mind, really; it was good for him to test his skills after the year's studying, and it was nice being able to do it with the knowledge that he wasn't going to be tested on it all. He got his work done early, and spent the rest of the break researching spells that might come in handy for whatever the final task turned out to be.
Finally, on May 24th, Harry was told to meet the rest of the champions and Ludo Bagman by the quidditch pitch at 9pm sharp. He bumped into Cedric in the Entrance Hall on the way down, and fell into step beside him. "What do you think it'll be?" he asked, shivering a little as they walked out into the evening air.
"Who knows. I was talking to Fleur the other day, she reckons it'll be some sort of underground tunnel system." Cedric shrugged, and Harry contemplated the prospect.
"As long as we can still use the quidditch pitch by next year, I don't really care." Cedric made a firm noise of agreement.
The pitch had been off-limits since the second task, and when the two boys walked through a gap in the stands, Harry's jaw dropped. "Our pitch!" Where the smooth lawn had once been was a series of low hedges criss-crossing all over the surface, about three feet high.
"Hello, there!" Bagman was at the centre of the pitch with Viktor and Fleur, waving cheerfully. "Come on over!"
Climbing over the hedges, Harry and Cedric joined the others, staring around in horror. "What've you done to our pitch?"
"Isn't it brilliant? Give it a month, Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high!" Bagman enthused, his expression faltering when he saw the indignant looks on the two Hogwarts students' faces. "It'll all be back to normal by the summer, of course! Not to worry. Now, can anyone tell me what we're making here?" He asked as if they were a class of toddlers, and got expressions in reply.
four
unimpressed
"Maze," Viktor Bagman beamed.
said
eventually,
and
"Exactly that, Mr Krum! The third task is really quite straightforward; the Triwizard Cup will be placed in the centre of the maze. The first champion to touch it will be the winner."
"We seemply 'ave to get through ze maze?" Fleur asked, looking down at the hedges around them.
"Well, there will be obstacles, of course," Bagman said, looking quite pleased about it. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures; there'll be spells to break, all that sort of thing. We can't make it too easy on you!"
He went on to explain the specifics, how they would go in by order of points, and beamed at them when he finished, rocking on his toes. "Should be fun, eh?"
None of the champions looked like they agreed with the assessment, but they all nodded politely. Bagman deflated at their lack of enthusiasm. "Right. Well. If you've not got any questions, we should head up to the castle; getting a bit chilly out here!"
They all turned to leave, clambering over the hedges, and Viktor sidled up beside Harry when they left the stands. "May I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" he asked quietly, his dark brows furrowed.
"Yeah, sure," Harry agreed, perplexed. He waved off Bagman's concerns and followed Viktor away from the rest of the group, heading towards the edge of the forest. "Is everything alright?"
"It is Hermione," Viktor sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "Ever since the second task, she has been… distant. She spends less time in the library, and I vonder if it is because of me?"
"Oh." Harry tried to keep his face blank, wondering what the hell he could say in the face of that. "Viktor, I… it's probably just because of exams, mate. Hermione always gets a bit single-minded when it comes to academics. She's probably just too busy studying in her room to go down to the library. She doesn't like it when it gets as busy in there as it does during exam season." He hoped it was just that. Hoped it didn't have anything to do with him, or Dumbledore.
"You do not think it is because of that Skeeter voman's article? And the pus? If I haff come on too strong, been too forward…" Viktor looked distressed, and Harry clapped him on the shoulder.
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