"There we go." Draco said as they added the lakeweed to the potion at eleven pm the night before the task. "We're done it just needs to sit in the moonlight now." The smoke puffed green, it would be aquamarine when she bottled it at eight o-clock the next morning.
Pulling her cloak out of her bag, she turned to Draco. "I'll sneak you back into you're common room again so you're not caught after curfew." He nodded, ducking under the cloak as she pushed open the door. They had gone down several sets of stairs when Hari, glancing down at the marauder's map to check the coast was clear, something else on the map caught her eye . . . something distinctly odd.
Peeves was not the only thing that was moving around. A single dot was flitting around a room in the bottom left-hand corner right near where she was - Severus's office. But the dot wasn't labeled Severus Snape ... it was Bartemius Crouch.
Hari stared at the dot. Mr. Crouch was supposed to be too ill to go to work or to come to the Yule Ball - so what was he doing, sneaking into Hogwarts at one o'clock in the morning? Hari watched closely as the dot moved around and around the room, pausing here and there. ...
Hari hesitated, thinking about going to bed, but her curiosity and wanting to know why someone was invading Severus's office got the better of her.
She turned and started making her way back up the stairs.
'Where are we going?' Draco signed
'Mr Crouch is in Severus's office.'
'You said he was too sick to judge the tournament.'
'That's what Percy said.' It just didn't seem in character, somehow, for correct, law-abiding Mr. Crouch to be sneaking around somebody else's office this late at night....
Draco suddenly fell, it was a trick step. He knocked into Hari who managed to keep ahold of the map but dropped her potions book, it was from the restricted section. It fell down the stair case and from Draco's wince, began screaming. She was about to dart out from under the cloak to run down the stairs to close it, but Draco grabbed her arm. 'What?' She signed.
'Filch.'
Hari hid back under the cloak, she tried to tug Draco up from the trick step, but he was too heavy. She resorted to holding him up so he wouldn't fall further. They watched as Filch made his way up the steps.
"What's this racket? Wake up the whole castle, will you? I'll have you, Peeves, I'll have you, you'll ... and what is this?" He stopped, closing the library book. "My sweet!" he said to mrs Noris. "This is library book from the restricted section! PEEVES! You've been stealing!" He looked up and down the presumably empty hallway. "Hiding, are you? I'm coming to get you, Peeves. . . ."
Sick with apprehension, she watched Filch drawing nearer and nearer in his old flannel dressing gown, any second now Filch would walk right into then.
Suddenly Severus appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Filch? Whats going on?"
Filch stopped a few steps below the two hidden students and turned.
"Its Peeves, Professor," Filch said malevolently. "He threw this library book down the stairs."
Severus seemed to recognize the book that his pupils had been using, a weird look on his face. Filch was looking away from them at Severus, and as Severus was looking up at Filch. Hari quickly stuck a hand out from under the cloak and signed 'working on potion' before pulling her hand back under the cloak.
'What are you doing?' Draco signed.
'You wanna get in trouble with Severus or want to get reported to Dumb-old-door?'
'Sev.'
'Exactly.'
Hari looked back up, Severus had climbed up the rest of the stairs.
"- Peeves threw it. Professor -"
"- and when I passed my office, I saw that the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody has been searching it!"
"But Peeves couldn't -"
"I know he couldn't, Filch!" Severus snapped again. "I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break!" Severus glanced at where Hari and Draco were hiding. "I want you to go search for the intruder, Filch."
"I - yes, Professor - but -"
Filch looked yearningly up the stairs, right through the two, who could see that he was very reluctant to forgo the chance of cornering Peeves.
"Go, and give me that book."
Filch reluctantly handed over the book, then turned and left, after a minute Severus said, "You can come out now Hari."
Hari pulled the cloak off of herself and Draco. Severus looked surprised to see him, then shook his head. "Stop letting the Gryffindor corrupt you Draco."
Draco shrugged, then slid further down into the trick step. #)Some help please?(# Hari asked.
"Oh." Severus stepped up the stairs and pulled Draco out of the hole.
Draco shook the leg that had been trapped before putting his weight on it. "Yay, pins and needles."
"And why are you two out after curfew?"
"We were working on a potion."
"And why were you heading in the direction of my office and classrooms rather than to the slytherin common room?"
#) We forgot to cast the stasis spell. (#
"You, my two potions prodigies, forgot to cast a stasis spell....." He gave her a look, "On a potion that doesn't require a stasis spell."
Hari nodded seriously, #) yes. (#
"For some reason I don't believe you."
#) Why not? We're very stressed and tired because of the really hard task that I'm too young for tomorrow and can't think straight. (#
"You can't think straight anyway, you only think squiggly." Draco joked
Severus looked so confused, "What are you talking about? Hari is very level headed."
#) Shush you, you think squiggly too. (# Hari teased him back
"No I don't!"
"Detention, both of you." Severus interrupted
#) What? Why? (#
"For being out making potions past curfew."
#) We weren't making potions, we were dueling cause we hate each other so much. (#
Severus raised his eye brows, "That's worse."
"I'm very sorry that we were out after curfew MAKING POTIONS and it will totally never happen again." Draco interjected
#) No definitely not. Never again. (#
"You still both have detention on Thursday night."
#) What if I die in the coming task? (# Draco looked at her in shock but Severus just sighed
"Then you had better come back as a poltergeist because a ghost can't scrub cauldrons."
Hari nodded resigned.
"I'll take Draco back to his common room, get some sleep. "
#) Alright, See you. (#
"See you, good luck tomorrow."
• • •
The goblet in professor Dumbledore's office glowed, the judges standing around it.
Dumbledore spoke loud and clear, wand pointed at the goblet. "The person most suited to be rescued by Cedric Diggory is:"
The first piece of paper burst out of the top of the goblet. Dumbledore caught it and read it out loud to the other judges. "Cho Chang."
The judges nodded approvingly.
Madam Maxime stepped forwards, pointing her own wand at the goblet. "Ze person most suited to be rescued by Fleur Delacour is:"
A second piece of paper burst out of the top of the goblet. She caught it and read it aloud. "Gabrielle Delacour." She paused, "She is still in France. I will send an portkey to her parents immediately."
Karkaroff stepped forwards, touching the tip of his wand to the rim of the goblet. "The person most suited to be rescued by Viktor Krum is:"
A third piece of paper shot out of the mouth of the goblet. "Hermione Granger." He said, looking annoyed.
Dumbledore stepped forwards again for his second student, touching his wand to the goblet. "The person most suited to be rescued by Hari Potter is:"
The paper shot into the air and fluttered slowly down. Dumbledore looked at the name and then froze, shoving it in his pocket. "We are allowed several chances yes?" He asked.
"Only two." Bagman said.
"Alright." He touched his wand against the goblet rim. "Who would Hari Potter, upon knowing the actual task, expect to be the person she would rescue?"
The goblet sent out another piece of paper. Dumbledore read it aloud. "Hermione Gr-" he froze.
"That name has already been taken Dumbledore." Bagman said, "We will use the first one, hand it over. How bad could it be?"