Butterflies

♦ 019 ♦

The Goblet of Fire

 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

When the song ended, Cassie and Hermione came over and sat down next to Harry and Ron. They were both a bit pink in the face from dancing.

"Hi," said Harry. Ron didn't say anything.

"Hey," Cassie said smiling.

"It's hot, isn't it?" said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. "Viktor's just gone to get some drinks." Ron gave her a withering look. 

"Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?" Hermione looked at him in surprise. 

"What's up with you?" she said.

"If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you." Harper and Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged.

"Ron, what. . . .?"

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You,  you're. . . ." Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternising with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly, who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

Ron chose to ignore this. 

"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"

"What happened, trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he, he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!"

Hermione said this very quickly, and blushed so deeply that she was the same colour as Parvati's robes.

"Yeah, well, that's his story," said Ron nastily.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with. He's just trying to get closer to Harry, get inside information on him, or get near enough to jinx him -"

Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. When she spoke, her voice quivered.

"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one. . . ."

Ron changed tack at the speed of light.

"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions. . . ."

"I'd never help him work out that egg!" said Hermione, looking outraged. "Never. How could you say something like that, I want Harry to win the tournament. Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"

"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" said Hermione hotly.

"No it isn't!" shouted Ron. "It's about winning!"

People were starting to stare at them.

"Ron," said Harry quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum. . . ."