Through The Fire

Year Four: Part Four

After breakfast, Harry joined his friends out by the Black Lake. The air was cold, but there was no breeze to chill them further. Their group was much larger that day. Fred and George had joined them, with Fred sitting next to Hermione, admiring the blue bell flames that she put into jars to help warm them. Viktor was sitting next to Ron, draping his long heavy cloak over both of them for warmth.

Pansy, who had welcomed herself into their midst, was sitting next to Blaise and murmuring words of reassurance. It had taken very little time for her to realize that Blaise fancied Ron. She was certain that there was no reason to worry about Viktor. At the end of the tournament, Viktor would be leaving. And then Blaise could try to win Ron's affection. Blaise wasn't so optimistic, but he appreciated her concern.

Seamus and Dean sat huddled together, exchanging smitten smiles. They'd been encouraged by Draco and Harry's decision to go to the ball as friends. But, it had quickly become clear that they felt more for each other.

"So, what is the egg for?" Dean asked, glancing between Harry and Viktor.

"It's meant to be a clue," Harry said. "But, when I opened it, all I could hear was... screeching."

"It was awful," Draco confirmed while Blaise, Vince and Greg nodded.

"I haf the same problem," Viktor agreed.

"What do you think it means?" Ron asked, tilting his head back to look at Viktor since they were sitting so close.

"I haf no idea," Viktor responded, reaching around to hug Ron closer. "You look cold," he murmured, his brow furrowing.

"Oh, I'm alright," Ron responded, his cheeks flushing. But he didn't make any attempt to escape Viktor's hold.

Harry glanced over in time to see Blaise glare and look away from Viktor and Ron. His suspicions from the summer now confirmed, Harry leaned to whisper to Draco. "Blaise is having a difficult time."

Draco shifted his gaze to Blaise, pursing his lips. Blaise did look miserable.

"Blaise are you okay?" Ron asked suddenly.

"I'm fine," Blaise responded, keeping his voice cool and his gaze fixed on the whomping willow in the distance.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, concern seeping into his tone. He looked around at the others. "He wasn't feeling his best when we all woke up. Perhaps he got too cold while we played in the snow yesterday."

"We should get you inside then," Hermione said, eyeing Blaise worriedly.

"Really, I'm fine," Blaise brushed them off.

"Don't be an idiot," Ron said, getting up and shuffling around the others to get to Blaise. He held his hand out expectantly. "Come on. Up you get."

Blaise cringed but allowed Ron to pull him to his feet. "Alright, I'll go for a Pepper-up or something," he said grumpily.

"Good. Come on."

"You don't have to go," Blaise said, waving Ron away. "I'll be fine."

"We'll take him," Harry said quickly, getting to his feet. Draco followed instantly. "We'll see you before dinner," he assured Ron with a meaningful look.

Ron nodded in understanding. They had plans to work on figuring out the egg clue when they didn't have such a crowd. "Right," Ron said, eyeing Blaise with a little frown. "See you later."

Blaise sighed as he got back inside the castle. He had no intention of seeing Madame Pomfrey. So, now he needed to think of a way to get Harry and Draco to leave him alone.