tradition

07

"Oh, it's terrible!" Briar cried out, her voice echoing with a mix of outrage and hurt, as she flung Rita Skeeter's latest issue of the Triwizard Tournament onto her bed. The crumpled parchment landed with a soft thud, its damning words now a painful reminder of her newfound notoriety.

Eloise winced as she watched Briar's furious reaction, feeling the tension in the room rise. "I've received nothing but hate mail all weekend long!" Briar's voice trembled with frustration as she vented her feelings, her usually calm demeanor shattered by the relentless torment. The weight of the unjust accusations bore heavily on her shoulders, making her feel isolated and betrayed.

Ever since Rita Skeeter's scathing article on the Triwizard Tournament competitors, Briar had become the unsuspecting target of jealous teenage girls. The whispers and giggles behind her back had morphed into cruel letters, filled with baseless hatred. Everyone at Hogwarts already knew of Harry's very obvious crush on Briar, but the explicit mention of it in the paper was the last straw. She could feel her anger bubbling up, threatening to overwhelm her.

Determined to confront the source of her misery, Briar stood up with a fierce scowl and marched down to the black lake, where she knew Harry and Neville were. Her footsteps echoed with purpose, each step fueled by her simmering anger.

~

"Amazing!" Neville's voice broke through the serene morning, filled with awe and wonder. The boy's pants were rolled up to his knees, and he seemed completely engrossed in his search for something in the lake. His enthusiasm was palpable, a stark contrast to Harry's glum expression as he sat by the water's edge, staring at the book Neville had been reading obsessively for the past week.

"Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs?" Harry read the title aloud, his voice devoid of interest. Neville grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Yeah, Moody gave it to me when he had tea," Neville said, reaching deeper into the water, his fingers brushing against something unseen.

Loud laughter erupted from the other side of the tree that Harry was leaning against, drawing his attention. He turned to see Ginny and Hermione approaching, with a rather sullen-looking Ron trailing behind them. The tension between Ron and Harry was obvious, their mutual coldness evident in their exchanged glances. Ron whispered something to Hermione, who looked exasperated as she walked over to Harry.

"Ronald would like me to tell you that Seamus told him that Dean was told by Parvati that Hagrid's looking for you." Hermione's words came out in a rush, her frustration barely contained. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, sighing deeply. "Is that right? Well, you - what?" Harry asked, utterly confused by the convoluted message.

Hermione hurried back to Ron, who whispered again in her ear. With a resigned sigh, she returned to Harry. "Dean was told by Parvati that... oh forget it... Hagrid is looking for you, Harry. Please don't ask me to say it again." Her exasperation was clear as she finished delivering the message.

"Well, you can tell Ron that - " Harry began, but Hermione cut him off, turning around with a sharp flick of her hair. "I'm not an owl!" she exclaimed before leading Ginny and Ron back up the small hill, their retreating figures leaving Harry more puzzled than before.

Harry's confusion was short-lived as he saw Briar running down the hill towards him. Her face was a mask of fury, and if it were possible, steam would be coming out of her ears. "You idiot! You stupid, pathetic, dimwitted arsehole! How could you?!" she screamed, her voice laced with rage and betrayal. The sudden outburst startled Neville, who fell into the lake with a loud splash.

"You are such an idiot, Harry Potter!" Briar screamed again, her anger boiling over. "I'm your idiot, though," Harry retorted with a smirk, still clueless about what had triggered her wrath.

"Oh, you think it's funny! Oh yeah! It's terribly funny, it's terribly funny to receive letters from your little fan girls with death wishes an-and threats and potions that make your hands break out into warts!" Briar's voice was shaking now, a mix of anger and hurt. Harry's confusion deepened as she shoved the Daily Prophet into his hands.

"I- I didn't mean to... she just kept asking and I- I didn't even say your name!" Harry protested, his eyes wide with panic. Briar shook her head, her lips curling into a look of utter disgust.

"You disgust me, Potter. It's one thing to ask me out constantly and annoy me to death, but now you have to go and ruin my life!" Her words were like daggers, each one piercing Harry's heart.

Harry looked at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I didn't say your name, I don't know how she could have known!" His voice was desperate, pleading for her to believe him.

Briar stepped closer, her face inches from Harry's. "Well, you better figure it out. Because as far as I am concerned, if you thought you had any chance with me this year... you're sorely mistaken, Potter." Her words were final, leaving no room for argument.

As she turned to leave, Briar called out to Neville, who was still standing in the lake, dripping wet. "Bye, Nev."

"Bye, Bree..." Neville replied softly, watching her retreating figure with a mix of sympathy and sadness.

THE AUTHOR SPEAKS: OMLLLLL it hurt me to write this chapter, but dont worry. briar and harry will make uppp and hopefully, kiss (JKJKJK) but yeah harry's an opp rn with briar and yeah...

can someone give me any ideas for a boy that briar grows close to... so that harry can get jealous during the yule ball... idk of any names or character she should go with...

ANYWAYS THANKS FOR READINGGG