Ⅴ. Dragon's Breath

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{Griffin}

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{Griffin}

     HARRY DID not attend dinner last night.
The minutes inched closer to the first task's start and we had yet to hear from him. Worried, I decided to sneak out of the stadium and down to where the champions' exclusive tent was stationed. Hopefully, I'd be able to have a word with him before the tournament.

"Psst," I discreetly called from a back opening, trying to gain Harry's attention.

"Psst! Harry, are you there?"

"Griffin?" his voice whispered back as I felt a presence on the other side of the tent's cloth. A wave of relief washed over me.

"Yes, are you alright? I haven't seen you since yesterday. You weren't at supper or breakfast."

"Sorry, I should've owled. Just nerves, is all... I felt too sick to eat," he admitted.

I sighed anxiously, trying not to think about how much danger he was about to be in. "You'll do fine. Just... try to stay focused," I advised, pausing for a moment. "Concentrate on the objective and then all that's left is-"

"Battling a dragon."

Suddenly, it felt too real.

My best friend was about to go one-on-one with a literal dragon, and there was nothing I could do to help. My breath hitched and I pulled aside the tent's fabric that separated us, throwing my arms around his neck. Harry's eyes widened in surprise but he did not hesitate in hugging me back. At that instant, I did not care if anyone saw me -even though I knew other students were not permitted in this area.

The moment was cut short by a loud shutter and quick flashing light. We pulled away instantly.

"Ah, to be young and in love," erotic Rita Skeeter interrupted from the other side of the room, reaching out her arms as she approached us. "How... stirring," she dictated, her charmed pen copying down the words in a journal. I glared with annoyance, not liking the reporter who constantly stuck her nose in business that did not concern her. Skeeter also possessed a rather unflattering reputation of twisting facts in the paper to fit her own personal narrative.

"Well, if anything goes unfortunately today," she pointed a slender figure at us, "you two may even make the front page."

I bit the inside of my cheek, about to go off on her when Cedric stepped up. "You have no right to be in here. This tent is only for the champions," he said, looking over at me before adding, "and our friends."

My anger quickly quelled and I gave him a thankful smile. Cedric returned it for a brief moment, causing my breath to stall. Then he felt Rita's invasive eyes wandering up and down his body, self-consciously straightening his posture.

"Hm, no matter. We've got what we wanted, anyways," she hummed, shooting an obvious look at her photographer while they scurried away.

The Hufflepuff cringed and turned towards Harry and I, about to say something when Dumbledore and other officials entered the room from behind me. I stiffened with the headmaster standing nearby, completely unaware of my presence. "Good day, champions. Gather around, please," he said. "Now, you've waited, you've wondered, and at last the moment has arrived."

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