𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒-ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣❥

𝐆𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟔

The prospect of talking face-to-face with her father and brother was all that sustained Emily over the next fortnight, the only bright spot on a horizon that had never looked darker.

The shock of finding herself school champion had worn off slightly now, and the fear of what was facing her had started to sink in.

The first task was drawing steadily nearer; she felt as though it were crouching ahead of her like some horrific monster, barring her path.

She had never suffered nerves like these; they were way beyond anything she had experienced before a Quidditch match, not even her last one against Slytherin, which had decided who would win the Quidditch Cup.

Emily was finding it hard to think about the future at all; she felt as though her whole life had been leading up to, and would finish with, the first task. . . .

Admittedly, she didn't see how her dad and brother were going to make her feel any better about having to perform an unknown piece of difficult and dangerous magic in front of hundreds of people, but the mere sight of a friendly face would be something at the moment.

Harry wrote back to Sirius saying that he, Ethan and Emily would be beside the common room fire at the time Sirius had suggested, and he, Emily and Hermione spent a long time going over plans for forcing any stragglers out of the common room on the night in question.

If the worst came to the worst, they were going to drop a bag of Dungbombs, but they hoped they wouldn't have to resort to that, Filch would skin them alive.

In the meantime, life became even worse for Harry and Emily within the confines of the castle, for Rita Skeeter had published her piece about the Triwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament as a highly colored life story of Harry and Emily. Much of the front page had been given over to a picture of Harry; the article (continuing on pages two, six, and seven) had been all about Harry, the names of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all. Emily was in the back of the articale and explained how she was a 'dark and dangerous species' which luckily only a select few believed.

The article had appeared ten days ago, and Harry still got a sick, burning feeling of shame in his stomach every time he thought about it.

Rita Skeeter had reported him saying an awful lot of things that he couldn't remember ever saying in his life, let alone in that broom cupboard.

I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now. . . . Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. . . . I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me. . . .

But Rita Skeeter had gone even further than transforming his "er's" into long, sickly sentences: She had interviewed other people about him too.

Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.

Emily had ripped almost every article she could find and threw them at people who believed it.

From the moment the article had appeared, Harry had had to endure people, Slytherins, mainly, quoting it at him as he passed and making sneering comments.

"Want a hanky, Potter, in case you start crying in Transfiguration?"

"Since when have you been one of the top students in the school, Potter? Or is this a school you and Longbottom have set up together?"