the goblet - f.weasley

- c h a p t e r - t w e n t y-t h r e e -

 The second task high had passed, and now they had been sucked into the high of seeing Sirius again.

Harry had sent him the dates, and a brown owl one, Friday in March, had brought back a letter that Harry shoved into Gemma's hands, and she read with excitement.

Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon.

Bring as much food as you can.

P.s. Make sure Gemma can make it.

Sirius

"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?" Ron's eyes were large in their sockets.

"It looks like it, doesn't it?" Hermione muttered.

"I can't believe him," Harry grumbled, his shoulders tense, "if he's caught. . ."

"He's made it this far," Gemma reminded them. "Also, there are no Dementors here now. And I am sure Sirius Black can handle himself." She returned the letter to Harry and leaned over, "He'll be alright. We'll make sure of it."

A little while later, they all packed up for the last class – double potions – only to find a group of Slytherins standing outside in the classroom hallway.

They were all laughing at something, and when Pansy spotted Hermione, she leaned back into her group of girls and giggled, "There they are, there they are!" The group broke apart as the pug-faced jerk said, "You might find something to interest you in there, Granger! And maybe you, Hilton."

She tossed an article by the Witch Weekly to Hermione, who barely caught it.

Gemma almost took the article when Snape waved them in. The second the four had sat down, Hermione was frantically shuffling through the pages under her and Gemma's desk. The boys leaned in as a picture of Harry's face appeared and led into an article.

Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.

Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl."

This is all a great shock to hear about, especially since Harry Potter is or once was absolutely head-over-heels for the fiery Miss Gemma Hilton, of whom I've written about before. Could Miss Hilton have lost the affection of the Boy-Who-Lived all for the girl who seemingly has both Champions on their toes?

However, with these factors playing out, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interest.

"She's really ugly," Pansy Parkinson said quite loudly, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it. Or maybe Hilton even brewed it for her to get Potter out of her hair."