Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory

Chapter 17

The common room was raucous that night as Gryffindor celebrated another stellar performance. Harry felt that his back would be bruised tomorrow from the number of hearty congratulatory slaps it had taken over the course of the evening. Fred and George had disappeared after the task, arriving after the party was underway with copious amounts of delicious food that Harry suspected were courtesy of the House Elves. He was less certain how they'd procured several cases of butterbeer, and did his best to ignore what appeared to be a bottle of fire whiskey being shared by a few older students.

In addition to Harry, both Ron and Hermione had gained a touch of celebrity. Multiple students crowded around Ron to hear his account of being held captive by the Merpeople. With each retelling, his story built into a more grand tale. Harry and Ginny burst out laughing at him as he jumped up onto a couch to reenact being attacked in the dead of night by a swarm of angry guards, thrilling the gullible first years listening in rapt attention.

Hermione didn't join the festivities for several hours and blushed when she ducked through the portrait hole. A few girls surrounded her immediately, bursting with a flurry of questions for her about Krum and how it felt to be who he'd miss the most.

Angelina was seated on the arm of a couch in front of the fireplace, angrily dissecting the unfairness of the scoring at the second task to Katie, Ginny, and Harry.

"You got Ron back a full fifteen minutes before Diggory! It's ridiculous that Karkaroff pushed to have points deducted from you for leaving Ron in the shallows while you went back to help the others, especially since you bailed out his golden boy!" She was clearly fuming at the injustice of it all, as was Ginny.

"And that cheater pushed for Krum to get extra points for his Transfiguration, even though it wasn't a full change and it didn't even last the whole time!" Ginny looked to Angelina, who was nodding gravely.

Katie piped up. "I get why Cedric earned his points since he didn't get any help, but Harry jumped in to help both Fleur and Krum! It's a travesty that you didn't get full points. You should have just left them to fend for themselves, then you and Cedric would be in the lead by even more!"

"Oh, like that would ever happen," said Ginny with a grin while rolling her eyes. "Harry's got a bit of a 'saving people thing,' am I right?" She gently elbowed him in the ribs. Harry chuckled as he rubbed his side.

Angelina's eyes were twinkling. "Says the girl who Harry saved from a gigantic evil serpent..."

Ginny stuck out her tongue at the older girl before continuing. "I'm just saying that expecting Harry to leave hostages behind was a hopeless proposition."

"If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have known that Dumbledore wouldn't have left them down there and that the champions were being monitored. It was stupid of me to think they were going to drown if I didn't help."

"It's hard to think clearly in the moment," replied Angelina. "We make all of our tactical plans ahead of a Quidditch match, but sometimes the heat of the moment means we're just acting on our instincts and doing the best we can. It's not a big deal that you saw someone in distress and wanted to help."

"Oi! What are you lot on about?" George somersaulted over the back of the couch, landing in a seated position next to Angelina.

"Just reflecting on how our Gryffindor champion is leaving points on the table by not being cutthroat," answered Angelina. "If he didn't care so much about being a good person, he'd be far and away ahead of the rest of the pack."

"That may be true," mused George. "But now he's earned extra goodwill from all three of his competitors! Krum and Fleur both owe him for saving their bacon in the lake, and I hear that Diggory's still in his debt from the first task. The points matter a lot, but ensuring that the others think twice before they come after you? That's priceless!"