Seventh Time's the Charm

Chapter 4 - Buildup and Breakdown

Harry watched as one of the school's barn owls flew off into the distance, carrying his letter to Sirius. He had barely remembered not to use Hedwig to send it. When he came into the owlery, Hedwig had perched herself on his arm, and Harry couldn't help the tears that came as he stroked his beloved pet.

Hedwig irritably chirped at him as she pecked at Harry's arm.

"I'm sorry, you're just too recognizable," Harry told the irate owl. "Besides, it's very nice to see you again."

Flapping her wings, Hedwig hooted at him as she floated up towards the rafters.

As he trudged back to the common room, Harry thought about what he had written to Sirius.

Sirius,

I hope you're doing well and taking good care of Buckbeak. I know you told me to keep you updated, so here goes:

Just the other night, I was entered into the Triwizard Tournament against my will. The current theory is that someone wants me dead. Don't worry though, I already know the first task: Dragons. Of course, I have a plan to beat it too.

I hope to hear from you soon, it's been so long.

All my love,

Harry

He figured it might sound a bit out of place, especially because as long as Sirius was concerned, they barely had any time together at the end of third year. But Harry couldn't help himself; he missed his godfather, and the chance to see him again, to live with him and be a proper family... Well that was something special indeed.

The next few days were to be expected, albeit rather miserable for Harry. Everyone was convinced that Harry had entered himself into the tournament, but only the Gryffindors were pleased with this outcome. The Hufflepuffs were being uncharacteristically unfriendly towards him and the Gryffindor house as a whole, but at least Harry understood that they felt cheated because of their champion. Ravenclaw wasn't much better, as most of them thought Harry wanted more fame for himself, so he decided to cheat and trick the Goblet into choosing him as well. And of course, the Slytherins were being bastards like usual, so really nothing had changed on their part.

The tall, handsome Cedric had become somewhat of an icon overnight. In fact, Harry was having trouble determining who was more popular at this point, Cedric or Victor. The last time he had seen the sixth-year Hufflepuff he was being accosted by a small crowd of girls as he sat at lunch, a reaction mirroring Krum's own fan club that hung around him in the library.

Ron still wasn't talking to Harry, and Harry was unsure of how he felt about it. On one hand, Ron's death in the previous timeline still stung, and Harry knew he would always consider the redhead one of his best friends. However, things had changed.

Fourth-year Ron was very different from the one who had fought and died alongside Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts. He wondered how Ron would fit in with the current dynamic of Harry and Hermione when he would finally come to his senses about the tournament. Especially since they were technically three years older than everyone in their year at Hogwarts.

"Well that was an hour of my life I'll never get back," Harry said as he and Hermione walked out of Flitwick's class.

They had been learning Summoning Charms, and Harry had actually fallen asleep during Flitwick's instruction. Hermione, as studious as she was, fared a little better. She spent most of the class absentmindedly twirling a strand of her hair and scribbling in her notebook.

"I really need to find something worthwhile to do," Hermione huffed. "We could both easily pass our exams right now."

"I was thinking the same thing," Harry said, watching Cedric Diggory walk past. He was followed by a sizable entourage of girls, some of whom eyed Harry as if he was something they had scraped off their shoe. As he passed, Cedric gave Harry a friendly nod, which he returned gratefully.