After a few minutes or so, Draco had picked his head back up, wiping his tears away. "You won't be telling anyone about this will you?" The boy asked.
"Of course not." She assured him, pulling her sleeve down over her hands to wipe his cheeks and fixed his hair to make it seem like he wasn't crying.
"Thank you..." He smiled slightly, then cleared his throat. "I should head back to my common room. You should too."
"I will, just let me sit here for a while." She spoke softly. Just before Draco had left, she called out to him. "And Draco?"
"Yeah?"
"If you ever need to just let out your emotions or talk to someone, you know where to find me."
───── ❦ ─────
"Deep breaths Har." Athena told him, holding him by the shoulders. "Copy my breathing pattern. In... Out... In..."
Harry copied her breathing, beginning to calm down slightly. But it didn't work. "What if I die out there Athena- that is the goal of whoever put my name in the goblet in the first place. Oh Merlin, why am I always in trouble- I can't even relax right now-"
Athena shook Harry, stopping him from his rambling. "You aren't going to die, okay? You're going to be fine. You are a talented boy, and you'll win this tournament. You'll pass the first task, and you'll live. You are Harry James Potter."
"Yes. The same Harry James Potter who always manages to get into trouble." Harry deadpanned, not calming down at all.
Athena quirked a cheek up, thinking. "Ehh, I'd say trouble finds you."
"Not helping." The Potter muttered.
"Sorry."
❦
It was the morning of the first task. Harry was a nervous wreck. Athena was helping the boy out. James, Sirius and Remus had just entered Harry's dorm - where they were currently at. The first task doesn't officially start until later on, but Harry had to get down to the tents soon.
"Mini Pads is right, Mini Prongs. You won't die out there." Sirius told the boy. Athena had brought Harry to sit down on his bed, as Athena sat in front of him on Neville's bed (which was next to Harry's), Remus sitting next to her, James and Sirius sitting on either side of Harry. "Dumbledore won't allow it."
"Dumbledore hadn't done much to help remove Harry from the tournament, I highly doubt he'll do anything now." Athena answered simply, a small hint of grimace on her face.
"The three of us won't allow it then." Sirius corrected himself.
"Make that four!"
"You'll succeed in the first task, Prongslette." James had placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "There's no 'if you don't' and all that because I don't doubt your abilities one bit. I am your father after all."
The joke had made Harry laugh, releasing stress off his shoulders. "Thanks dad."
"You've been practicing none-stop summoning your broom, so you'll definitely win this." Remus smiled at the boy. "'Thena's been owling us."
"I've also taught you a bunch more spells and curses on how to deflect a dragon. Just promise me you won't injure the creature badly. Or I'll hurt you." Athena looked at Harry seriously, scaring the poor boy slightly. Then she grinned. "Only joking." Just a bit.
Harry laughed nervously. "O-okay..." The boy then stood up, shaking himself. The other four in the room let him do that, as it was his own way of shaking any unwanted stress. He would also do it before Quidditch games.
Athena then stood up. "Wait here. I need to get something." Then she ran out of the room. A few seconds later, she came back, holding one of her four saved jewellery. The one she was holding right now was a necklace. The one she had received from Thor on her ninth birthday. "Wear this."
Harry immediately shook his head as he identified the item. "Athena no! I might lose that thing out there! Heck you haven't even worn that since you were nine! And I know that necklace is like one of your most precious possessions, so I'm not wearing it."
The necklace had a silver chain and a dark red, glistening gem in a small frame. The gem was a rare one - only found in a specific place in Asgard. "I don't care Harry. Yes, I care about this, but I care about you even more, so wear it."
"Athena, no."
"Harry, yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"No."
"Yes." Harry answered, not realising the simple trick. "Wait no!"
"Hah! Too late, you already said yes." Athena grinned widely, making her way behind Harry to place the necklace. "And there's a 0.001% chance you'll lose this y'know? The thing securing its lock is like a permanent sticking charm that can only be removed by me. It won't break - the chain is strong - and can bring you luck."
Harry was doubtful, but gave in. "Alright, if you say so..."
The lock clicked. "There. It's secure." She picked up the gem, placing it inside his shirt.
"Y'know you're about to be extremely lucky if Athena gives you one of her jewelries." Sirius commented, his arms out to hug the girl. Athena's grin turned into a smile, nearing him to give him the hug.
"Yep. No doubt our dearest Harold will succeed!"
"I swear, out of all my life that I have lived, my name is Ha-rry! Not Harold!"
"It's Harold."
"Harry!"
"Harold."
"Harry! Dad, tell her it's Harry!"
James looked at his son simply. "It's Harold."
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
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