Huff... Puff... Wow, I'm tired! This is the third update today! And also, yes, I couldn't come up with a chapter name. Deal with it! Anyway,
"Harry!" I panted, skidding to a halt beside him and Ron. It was right before breakfast on a Friday afternoon in mid April. "Harry, you've got to come - you've got to come, the most amazing thing's happened - please-"
I seized Harry's arm and started to drag him down the corridor.
"What's the matter?" Harry said.
"I'll show you when we get there - oh, come on, quick-"
Harry and Ron looked at each other for a moment, then back at me. "Ok." Harry said, starting off down the corridor while Ron and I hurried to keep up.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked, after I led them down six floors, and started down the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall.
"You'll see, you'll see in a minute!" I exclaimed. I turned at the bottom of the staircase and led them down into the passage that led to the Hufflepuff common room and dorms, as well as my recent discovery.
I finally stopped at a painting with a gigantic silver fruit-bowl. I stretched my arm out, and tickled the huge green pear with my fore-finger. It laughed, and turned into a door handle. I opened the door, and pushed Harry and Ron into the room that was revealed.
Before Harry could react, Dobby the house elf ran at him squealing Harry Potter sir! Harry Potter! And hugged him around the middle, probably winding him.
"D-Dobby?" Harry gasped.
"It is Dobby, sir, it is!" Dobby squealed, arms still tightly around him and face buried into his stomach.
One happy reunion with Dobby, a tearful and slightly angry reunion with Winky, of all people, and a cup of tea later, we were ushered out of the kitchens by a couple elves.
"Come again!" One of them squeaked.
"That was a nice visit, but do you think we can go to breakfast now?" Ron pleaded. "Seeing all that food made me even hungrier!"
"Yes, Ronald." I said in an exasperated tone (I always call him Ronald when I'm frustrated with him, because I know he doesn't like it).
Oh boy! A line break!
"Well, look who's finally here!" Natsu said sarcastically as we sat down next to him. "What took you guys so long?"
"Hermione was showing is something." Ron said, glaring at me.
"Hey! I thought you should see it! Am I right, Harry?" I defended myself.
"Yeah, it was pretty nice." Harry said absentmindedly, digging into his eggs.
Just then, the post arrived. I looked up excitedly. "What are you excited about? Lucy asked me.
"I decided I'm getting sick of finding things out from the Slytherins." I explained. "So I got a subscription to the Daily Prophet."
"Good idea." Erza said, also looking up now.
Strangely enough, a grey owl landed in front of me. It was closely followed by four barn owls, a brown owl and a tawny.
"How many subscriptions did you get?" Asked Gray, picking up his plate before an owl landed in it.
"What on earth?" I said, taking the letter from the grey owl, and read it.
You are a WickEd giRL. HaRRy PottEr desErves BetteR. gO Back wherE you cAME from mUggle.
"Oh, really!" I exclaimed, probably red in the face.
"What's up?" Natsu asked, finally dragging his attention away from his food.
"It's - oh, how ridiculous-" I gave the letter to him to read.
"They're all the same!" Lucy said, opening the letters one after another. "Harry Potter can do much better than the likes of you... You deserve to be boiled in frog-"
"Ouch!" I had opened a letter, and a thick yellowish green liquid that smelled like petrol gushed out all over my hands, which were now covered in big yellow boils.
"Undiluted Bubotuber pus." Erza said. "I recognize it from class."
The more time passed, the more my hands hurt. I tried to wipe off the remaining pus off my hands with a napkin, but my fingers were so swollen it looked like I was wearing thick, knobbly gloves.
"You'd better get up to the hospital wing." Harry said as the Owls around me started to leave.
"We'll tell Sprout where you've gone." Gray said.
I nodded, and started to leave, not catching whatever comment Juvia made about Gray's kindness. Geez, she was obsessed with the guy!
As I was about to leave the Great Hall, a tawny owl landed on my shoulder. I noticed it had my copy of the Daily Prophet and took it from the beak of the bird. I put a few knuts in the pouch attached to its foot for its efforts, and with my aching hands, set off for the hospital wing.
My hands were a quick fix for Madam Pomfrey, just a matter of draining the pus out of the boils. While I sat there for the few minutes I needed to, I read the article in the Prophet those letters must have been about.
Just some silly (untrue) gossip that I was in a relationship with Harry and Viktor each, and somehow she had gotten information about my private life and a conversation Viktor and I had on the beach after the second task.
The article itself wasn't what bothered me. It was that she knew Viktor had asked me to come visit Bulgaria, even though nobody else was around, and that everyone believed her so readily.
On that happy note, LINE BREAK!!!!
At half past eight, Harry and Natsu went down to the quidditch pitch, which apparently Professor McGonagall had told them to do after Transfiguration.
The rest of us just sat in the common room and did our homework.
At about nine o clock, Natsu appeared back in the common room, yawning. "Hey guys, Harry's gonna be another few minutes, Krum wanted to ask him something." He said, and plopped down on an empty seat.
A few minutes passed.
A few more.
"Where is he?" I wondered out loud.
"Yeah, shouldn't he be here by now?" Lucy asked, looking at Natsu, who shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe they took a detour around the lake or something." Natsu said, barely looking up from his charms essay that he'd been staring at for the whole while he'd been there.
Ten minutes of tense silence later, Harry fell into the room, huffing and puffing.
"You'll never believe what happened!" He exclaimed.
After explaining that while he and Viktor had been in the forest, Mr Crouch had appeared, acting very odd, talking to a tree in between his fits of desperate begging, Harry went to the castle for help and by the time he'd returned, Viktor was unconcious and Crouch was gone, naturally we began to speculate.
"So you're suggesting Crouch, in a the state he was, attacked Krum, and then ran away in about ten minutes." Lucy said, disbelieving what I'd suggested.
"Or someone attacked both of them." Gray suggested.
"It must have been Crouch." Ron said. "That's why he was gone by the time Harry and Dumbledore got there. He'd done a runner."
"I don't think so." Harry said, shaking his head. "He seemed really weak. I don't reckon he was up to disapparating or anything."
"You can't disapparate on Hogwarts grounds. I read it in Hogwarts: a History." Lucy butted in with my usual line.
"Exactly!" I exclaimed.
"Ok... How's this!" Natsu said excitedly. "Krum attacked Crouch - no, wait for it - Then he stunned himself!"
"And Mr Crouch evaporated, did he?" Gray said sarcastically.
"Anyways, beyond that, we completely forgot to ask about the contents of the third task." Erza said stiffly. "What is it?"
"What do you have to prepare for?" Jellal added.
Harry and Natsu looked at each other for a second, then Harry spoke. "There's a maze. The cup is in the middle, and the first person to get there wins."
"Sounds simple enough, but I bet there'll be things in the way." I said.
"This'll be easy!" Ron said. "You guys just have to learn enough hexes and jinxes and stuff and you'll be set!"
"But also spells, like, I don't know, a compass spell?" Erza said sarcastically.
Wow, there's so many line breaks! Here's another!
The next month and a half passed smoothly, with regular school, studying for finals for everyone but Harry and Natsu, but instead them learning spells to get them through the maze (more Harry than Natsu - apparently self defence was taught at a huge importance in their old school. I still thought it was a bit fishy)
"Stupefy!" Harry exclaimed with his wand pointed at Ron. Of course, Ron fainted. That's what the spell did - incredibly useful. We were in a spare classroom Professor McGonagall was allowing us to use for practising spells, after dinner.
"I think you've got the hang of that." I said, indicating Ron's unconscious form. "Enervate!" I pointed my wand at Ron, and his eyes opened.
"Ugh." He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Why do is always 'my turn' when Harry's practicing that one?"
"Shut up Ron. No one should question the girls' infallible logic." Gray said in a slightly sarcastic tone as the rest of us did our best to contain our laughter.
"I feel ready for the task." Harry said, putting his wand back in his pocket. "What about you?" He looked at Natsu.
"Hell ya I'm ready!" He exclaimed. "I've been ready to take those bitches for a month!"
"If we could keep the vulgarity to a minimum, Dragneel, that would be excellent." Said a voice from behind us.
I turned around to see a familiar and formidable middle aged woman in green robes and a tight bun. Take a guess at who it was. Professor McGonagall.
"Hi Professor, do you need something?" I asked.
"It's almost your curfew." She said. "I'm glad you're putting effort into preparing for the final task, but I can't have you breaking any rules, especially since the next task and your exams are in two weeks."
I smiled. "Thank you professor." We exited the room, and went upstairs.
I promise this is the last one for this chapter but LLLLLIIIIIIINNNNNNEEEEEE BBBBRRRRREEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKK
I was almost asleep when I remembered an assignment I'd completely forgotten about! How unlike me.
I got up to write it down in my agenda, which wasn't there. It must have been in the common room.
I got out of bed and slipped my feet into my slippers. I crept down the spiral staircase down a few floors, until I reached the last few steps led into the common room. There was a little bit of the winding left, and I realized I heard voices; one female and one male.
"-know Natsu, you feel fine with just your Dragon Slayer Magic-" It sounded kind of like Lucy. What was Dragon Slayer Magic?
"Of course, Luce! I don't need to learn the stunning spells and compass spells! I'll be fine!" Yep, the other one was Lucy. And that must have been Natsu.
"But if you don't learn them, the others will suspect! You know Hermione does." I knew it!
"I'm just saying, it's stupid."
"Whatever. We're not having this argument at midnight." Lucy said, exasperated, and the sound of slippered feet padding toward the stairs became present.
I silently cursed, and rushed up the stairs. I reached the dorm and slipped into bed, madly trying to slow my breathing.
I heard the door slowly open, and Lucy, all the while yawning, got under the covers in her bed and pulled the curtains closed.
I sighed in relief. Whatever. The agenda could wait until morning.
There's not much to say, because the next chapters are being released imminently. Except that I never knew before you can type this • so I found that out today and I think that is so cool so here's Baymax •-• fist bump bah* la* la* la* la* See ya!
Lindsay out