Fourth Time's a Charm

liii. crossfire

Cassie's POV

The third task was coming up quicker than ever. Every waking moment was either spent helping Harry prepare or studying for our exams which were arriving just as fast. Throughout the course of the year, Hermione had been tutoring me to make sure I would be caught up by the time they arrived, and I felt like we had done a pretty good job. Of course, there was still the fear that we missed something and I'd go in with no idea what I was doing.

Rita Skeeter was as ruthless as ever, finding dirt on everyone she could. Words were twisted and more webs spun as it grew closer. The morning of the task was on us sooner than I was expected, and of course, she had to find a way to raise the tension.

I had avoided the Daily Prophet whenever I could. After her article about me, I didn't want to see anything else she had to say. If something was important, I could hear it from some else.

But that morning I wanted to see what was being said about the Triwizard Tournament. That was my mistake.

As soon as I saw the headline I scoffed, catching all my friends' attention. Hermione slid over to read over my shoulder, having an identical reaction.

"What?" Ron and Harry asked in sync.

Hermione and I exchanged a panicked look. This was far from what Harry needed on the morning of the task.

"Nothing, just an article on..." Hermione began, coming up with an excuse.

"Coconuts," I interjected, kicking myself as the word fell from my lips. "I thought coconuts were healthy, but according to this article they aren't, so that's just a little upsetting."

Hermione nodded in agreement, though I could tell she was greatly confused by the direction this conversation had taken.

I folded the newspaper, setting it on the table and putting my elbow on it so Harry wouldn't be able to grab it. It didn't do much to stop him from pulling it right out from under me, causing my upper arm to slam down onto the table in the process.

"Thanks for that," I muttered sarcastically, rubbing my arm.

"Harry Potter: Disturbed and Dangerous," Harry read aloud. "Doesn't sound like coconuts... How does she even know some of this stuff? Our conversation with Dumbledore about my scar, some of the training we did."

I tilted my head in thought. Hermione had been tossing theories at me as to how she seemed to know everything and appear everywhere.

"It's like some type of magical bugging..." I trailed off, an idea forming from my mind. Hermione and I made eye contact and I could tell we both had the same thought.

Both of us started talking at once, incoherent words that I didn't even understand myself. Enough thoughts were understandable to confirm that we were on the same page. I had to admit Skeeter was smart, but it was very much illegal.

"Oi, Potter? Is your scar okay?" Draco yelled mockingly across the table. His friends around him started laughing, clutching onto their foreheads dramatically.

"Piss off, Draco," I shouted back. Over the past few months, I had found that whenever he gave Harry, Ron, or Hermione a hard time on anything my retaliation would always make him shut up.

It didn't fail this time and he was met with strange looks from everyone around watching. No one understood why I held such influence over him—quite frankly I didn't either. I wasn't complaining though, it made our lives a whole lot easier. And I had learned that Draco wasn't all that bad of a person, that was especially clear after the Yule Ball.

We consumed the rest of the morning in mindless conversation, seeing how nervous Harry was for the night to come. It didn't help that we had History of Magic exams too, the stress only magnifying.

However, we were quite lucky when Professor McGonagall pulled us both aside. Apparently, all the families of the champions were supposed to spend the day together, giving us both a pass on the exam. Hermione seemed a bit upset that our studying would have gone to waste—History of Magic was my worst class. I didn't mind all that much though, I still didn't think I retained much information.

It also made me feel warm inside that I was considered family with Cedric by the teachers. I supposed at this point it wasn't hard to tell, we acted just like siblings. I knew I loved him like a brother, but we still bickered like siblings did. It was like a given in the relationship, made it feel more real.

I was a bit worried as to who would be there for Harry. McGonagall had brushed off his questions when he asked if the Dursleys were there, but was still adamant that he come. I supposed if no one was there I would force him to come with me and Cedric, though I had a feeling McGonagall had something up her sleeve. She was always looking out for Harry and wouldn't force him to be alone.

Sure enough, there were two groups waiting when we arrived in the entryway. One was obviously Cedric and Mr. Diggory, but the others were two redheads I hadn't met before. They looked similar enough that I could tell they were Weasleys, already glad that Harry had someone.

Fleur was standing very stiffly with her parents and sister, greeting them with far too much poise than a daughter should have to. Viktor looked about the same, hardly even showing emotion. I shook my head, not sure how people could be so cordial with their families. It didn't matter that I saw them every day, I was determined to be around all four of the champions as much as possible over the course of the day. It was the last task, surely it would be harder than the others were. Was I the only one so worried about that?

My greeting to Mr. Diggory was awkward but much more friendly than the others I had seen. Except for Harry perhaps. He was smiling widely as he spoke to the Weasleys. It made me smile myself.

Catching my eye, he beckoned for me to come over. I excused myself from the Diggorys, knowing they would probably want some time to catch up on their own.

As soon as I was next to Harry I was engulfed in a tight hug. It was insane, one moment she was two feet away, and then she was right in front of me. Nonetheless, I hugged her back, already positive that I liked Mrs. Weasley.

"You must be Cassie!" she exclaimed as she pulled away. "Ron's said so much about you in his letters—he doesn't send nearly enough letters—it's wonderful to finally meet you."

"Mum, you're probably scaring her," the man next to her muttered, extending his hand. "Bill Weasley, I'm Ron's older brother."

I nodded in recognition, recalling some of the things Ron had told me about his siblings. Bill was the oldest, worked for Gringotts, the wizarding bank, as a Curse Breaker in Egypt. I considered if perhaps I could ask him about the curse that left the bruises across my stomach. Maybe I would, but not until after the task. There were far too many stakes for such petty problems that I was doing just fine with anyway.

"It's lovely to finally put names to faces. And I can promise to make Ron write home more." Mrs. Weasley seemed incredibly pleased with that response.

I glanced around the room at the other interactions. Victor and his family had grown into a more amicable exchange, though still a bit stiff. Fleur, however, was looking more and more uncomfortable. She shot me a pleading look and as much as her parents scared me I knew what I had to do.

She was there for me when Skeeter dragged my name through the dirt, so I would support her with her parents. With a quick excuse to Harry and the Weasleys, I walked away into what was sure to be a raging crossfire.