Letting Go

Chapter Sixteen

"Great!"

Fred leaned back against the wall, "Pleasure doing business with you, Malfoy,"

George stepped out of the way, "We'll keep our end of the bargain, so long as you keep yours,"

The two watched as Draco stormed past them, "Have a wonderful day!"

Keeping his mouth shut, Draco tried to figure out how exactly he was going to get all of Slytherin to back off of the Gryffindors. '...mediation isn't my strong suit...but I guess it's better than the alternatives...damn, Granger!'

-x-x-x-

As dinner came to an end, students moved to the dungeons where the Triwizard cup was being held. A mix of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students were gathered in the dungeon. Professors were talking in hushed whispers as students were glancing between Cho who was surrounded by her friends and Kagome who was sitting beside Pansy, Draco and Blaise. The three turned a blind eye to the nasty looks Kagome was receiving, but didn't dare leave her side.

"So...what are tasks like normally for the tournament?"

Blaise looked curiously at Kagome, "I forget that you've been keeping to yourself for the majority of the time since school started...no one knows what the tasks are until the day of. The Champions will be given a certain amount of time to prepare for whatever it is, but even they won't know until the day of the task."

Kagome shook her head, "sounds risky,"

"Sit down, please."

She looked up as Dumbledore spoke, most were already sitting, the few stragglers settled down or stood out of the way against the walls. She heard a rustle of fabric and a hand on her shoulder, turning her eyes met the friendly eyes of Luna's. A small smile found Kagome's lips as she moved over a bit to let the blond sit between her and Blaise. The young Italian gave the Loony Ravenclaw a curious look, but said nothing otherwise.

"Now, the moment that you have all been waiting for. The Champion Selection!"

"Are you feeling well, Kagome?"

"Better, I am, yes. Slytherin House treats me very well. How are you holding up?"

Luna shook her head with a sleepy look in her eyes, "my shoes go wandering off every so often, and sometimes things disappear from my bag..."

"The Durmstrang Champion is...Victor Krum!"

Luna brought her hands up as she clapped softly, though her eyes were still on Kagome's, "otherwise I'm doing well. Thank you for asking."

Kagome put her hands down as the room went quiet again after cheering for the Durmstrang Champion. The two turned their attention to the blue flames as they lit up red again. Watching as a scrunched up circular piece of slightly singed paper floated down into the Headmaster's hand.

"The Beauxbatons Champion is, Fleur Delacure."

More cheering, sounded, though far more contained than that of the Durmstrangs wild exuberance. The quarter-veela ran forward and shook Dumbledore's hand before the blue flame cast another red flare and sent forth a torn corner of parchment. Snatching it from the air, Dumbledore read out the name, "the Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!"

Kagome watched as the Hufflepuff stood and walked over to Dumbledore, repeating the actions and shaking the older wizards hand. She watched as he followed in the direction of the other Champions and grinned, "so now the tournament starts."

"This will be a good change in pace," Blaise sighed, "no exams!"

"No exams?"

Draco leaned forward as he looked towards Kagome, "because of the tournament, Dumbledore has canceled all end of year exams."

"Excellent! We now have, our three Champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history, only one will hoist, this Chalice of Champions. This Vessel of Victory, the Triwizard Cup!"

More applause sounded throughout the dungeon when the blue flames came to life and started to swirl above, changing from the soothing blue to the daring red.

"I thought there were only three Champions." Kagome frowned, watching in confusion as Dumbledore shielded his eyes from the bright flame.

"Oh...twenty galleons say it's Harry Potter!" Draco whispered in an excited hush.

Pansy rolled her eyes, "it always is."

Blaise shook his head, "I'm not in the habit of staking money on a losing bet." The group looked towards Dumbledore and watched him as he seemed to be in a state of uncertainty. He muttered under his breath a name that barely was caught on a whisper.

No one said anything.

"Harry Potter?"

"I thought you had to be seventeen or older?"

"HARRY POTTER!"

Blaise shook his head and sighed, watching as Hermione all but had to force the Boy-Who-Lived up and out of his seat. Insults thrown over the heads of students, hurled insensitively at the boy as he nervously made his way towards the same direction as the other Champions. "Kagome, I know you haven't been at Hogwarts as long as Draco, Pansy and I have...but even you must have noticed how each year seems to have a reoccurring theme."

Yeah, she'd noticed that too. In her first year, there was the Chamber of Secrets, she recalled how kids were being petrified left and right. She recalled how scared she was when Colin had been petrified. Harry Potter had saved the day, apparently. Rumors of him saving the youngest Weasley and slaying the Beast in the Chambers... she remembered. Her second year was shrouded with Dementors, another terror she hid from, as though Cho wasn't enough. She'd avoided all of the Quidditch matches that year, not wanting the little bit of happiness she had, to be sucked out of her. Thinking back, Harry had fought off a Werewolf that year, and a whole slew of Dementors. "That's a bit too much fame for one boy, still...the age-line..." she pointed at the circle on the ground.

"It's Harry Potter, if there's a will, there's most certainly a way." Draco muttered, "who knows, maybe he didn't put his name in the Goblet, but that's not what anyone will care about...he's a Champion. As far as anyone here is concerned, he's a cheat." Smirking, he made to stand up as he waved a farewell to his friends.

"He seems to be a bit too happy about that,"

Luna wasn't wrong, Kagome had picked up on the entertainment in Draco's voice too. He was looking forward to watching Harry be outcasted...Kagome on the other-hand, knew too well what it felt like to be ignored and pushed away. She looked at the Gryffindor table, wondering if they would stick by his side...or turn him away, the way Ravenclaw did her. 'It has nothing to do with me...' she thought, '...nothing at all.'