Late Nights on the Astronomy Tower (Draco x Hermione)

V. Good Company

November, 1994.

Hermione's heart practically stopped on Halloween night when she found out about the champions for the triwizard tournament. Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts, Viktor Krum from Durmstrange, and a beautiful blonde girl named Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons had been selected. But there was an unexpected fourth champion, Ginny told her.

"Harry?!" she had asked Ginny, shocked.

He didn't take it well.

It was five days after his name had been picked by Dumbledore and it was still all anyone talked about. They all thought he somehow put his name in even though he was underage. They thought him a cheater. Even Ron. Hermione was not so quick to let her imagination run wild. She talked to Harry and listened to his explanation. The thing was, he didn't have one. All he could say was that he didn't put his name in, and she believed him. Crazier things had happened in their time at Hogwarts and she wouldn't be surprised if there were some secret dark wizard trying to get Harry killed by entering him into a dangerous competition when he was three years underage.

Harry had already isolated himself from Hermione because of the Malfoy thing but now he was beginning to separate himself from everyone else because they all acted like they hated him. She wouldn't allow it. She began sitting with him in classes and talking to him more frequently again. She wasn't going to leave him alone. She was over their argument and he needed her. He didn't seem to think so. He still tried to push her away, telling her that nothing would help and she should just let him be, but she stayed by his side. She knew he was just scared and unsure what it could all mean. Someone had put his name in the Goblet of fire, but who? Her immediate thought was Malfoy, of course. He had been reading a book about dark magic for the past month. Surely he was trying to bypass Dumbledore's age line and fulfill some vendetta of his father's by putting Harry's name in. But that would take a very strong wizard, wouldn't it? She was so unsure about it all. Her only idea was to talk to Malfoy about it and try to get him to say something incriminating even though she was almost positive it couldn't have been him. It was a start.

She was in the dining room waiting. Malfoy had not gone to the astronomy tower during dinner in over a week, ever since he and Hermione had had their meeting. She figured he might be going at a later time.

Ginny and Hermione seemed to be the only two people in the school who believed Harry's claim that he didn't drop his name in the Goblet. However, Ginny liked to sit with Dean Thomas, the boy she'd been owling over the summer, and his friends, so it was only Harry and Hermione sitting across from each other, everyone else keeping their distance from the pair. Sometimes Harry left early or got angry at Hermione so she left to sit with Ron and Seamus, but tonight he was being nice enough.

"Have you read about the tournament? What are the challenges like?" he asked.

Hermione swallowed. She had read a great deal about the tournament and its overly dangerous tasks. The death toll was ridiculous. Hermione wondered how Dumbledore had convinced the Ministry to allow the three schools to do it.

"Harry, the challenges are–well–intense. They're dangerous. You need to be careful with every move you make."

He nodded, looking nervous. The first task would take place in november. No one knew what it would entail or how dangerous it might be. No one had a clue how to prepare or what they should do in the time between now and then. That was the worst part in Hermione's opinion, going in blind. It was like taking a test without having reviewed the material. She simply couldn't imagine it. That was what Ron always did and look at how he did in school!

She kept glancing over to Malfoy although she knew it was trivial. He hadn't gone in over a week and she doubted he would leave his table when Hermione could see him. He may have gotten a new hiding place altogether.