Adventures at Hogwarts

Chapter 18: The Week Before

The next morning, was a little interesting. Harry and Ron were not on speaking terms, and Meg and Hermione were still trying to figure out what happened with the Goblet of Fire incident. Meg and Hermione had beaten the two boys to the Great Hall; they sat across from each other and tried to discuss what had happened the previous night at the choosing ceremony. Hermione began the conversation, "I was curious about the whole matter of the rouge Goblet of Fire, so I went to..." Meg knew what she was gonna say so she interrupted her best friend, "The library, and?" Hermione glared at her friend and continued to talk, "And nothing...I found nothing that would make the Goblet of Fire choose four champions instead of three." Meg wasn't surprised by this information, she had a feeling no one would know the answer to the question of how this happened. A few minutes later, Harry and Ron came into the Great Hall, but this entrance was a little different, Harry and Ron trudged into the Great Hall. Harry looked distressed, and Ron looked a mixture of annoyance and anger. Meg and Hermione looked at each other in worry. Neither of the girls wanted to take sides, but they both felt like the situation would come to that. Once the two boys reached the table where the girls were sitting, Harry sat next to Meg, and Ron sat next to Hermione. Neither of the boys looked at each other throughout the meal; Meg and Hermione just exchanged looks the entire time.

The Fantastic Four's first class was Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. This was one of their favorite classes, however, today, it was different. The Fantastic Four didn't really talk to each other throughout class; Draco took this as an opportunity to hang around close to Meg. She didn't mind this, of course, but Harry, on the other hand, became very uncomfortable with this. Hermione took note of this, and stopped Harry from ruining the moment between the two of them. The Fantastic Four's next class was Potions, they weren't very excited, of course, but this was pretty routine. As the Fantastic Four walked to Potions, people they passed by showed Harry badges that they wore that said, "SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY, THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION!" When they rubbed the badges, however, they changed the saying to, "POTTER STINKS!!!" Meg did not approve of this one bit...she had a hunch on who created them, and it didn't surprise her at all.

Once Potions class was over, and the group was entering the corridor, Harry stopped Meg, "Hey, would you be willing to go with me to the Blake Lake and talk?" Meg nodded and followed Harry outside the castle. Once they were outside the castle, Harry began the conversation. "Why was Malfoy talking to you before Potions?" Meg figured Harry would ask her about this, but she didn't know it meant that much to him. She answered him, "He was just talking to me about what happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts...nothing more. Reax, Harry, you're getting paranoid for nothing." Meg knew if she told Harry the complete truth, he'd go find Draco and kick his ass. Harry wasn't completely satisfied with her answer, but he didn't want her to feel pressured to tell him the whole story. They walked in silence for a little while; Meg felt awkward so she mentioned the Triwizard Tournament. "Are you ready to compete in the Triwizard Tournament in a few weeks?" Harry didn't like this question too well. He knew he was gonna have to take these challenges head on, but that was easier said than done. He answered her, "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I just can't believe Ron has been a complete douche to me ever since I was chosen." Meg knew the reason why Ron was treating Harry this way, but she didn't feel like it was her place to tell Harry about Ron's business. Harry continued, "I don't want you ad Hermione to feel like you two need to take sides in this feud, so I'm not even gonna ask you to." Meg was somewhat relieved to hear Harry say this, but at the same time, she wanted to support both of her friends. Once they reached the Black Lake, they saw Neville standing in the water looking at some wildlife. Both Harry and Meg were relieved to see Neville back to his old self again, but when Neville gets started talking about Herbology, it's nine to impossible to make him shut up. Meg and Harry sat under a tree that overlooked the lake where Neville stood. They greeted each other and continued to do their own thing. Meg grabbed her book out of her backpack and started to read, while Harry and Neville talked for a while. After a while, the trio heard footsteps coming from the upper part of the grounds. Meg and Harry turned around to see who it was; Harry expected Draco, while Meg expected Hermione. It turned out to be Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. Meg and Harry both stood up from the tree and walked over to their friends. Once the group met up with each other, Ron whispered something to Hermione; Meg and Harry exchanged confused looks. Hermione walked over to her two friends and said to Harry, "Ron would like me to tell you, that Seamus told him, who was told by Dean who told Pavarti that Hagrid's looking for you." Harry just gave Hermione a more confused look and said, "What?" Hermione hesitated; she walked back to Ron to hear the sentence again, then walked back to Harry. "Dean was told by Parvati that...please don't ask me to say it again. Hagrid's looking for you!" Harry retaliated, "Well you can tell Ronald..." "I'M NOT AN OWL!!" Hermione interrupted him. She grabbed Ginny's arm and began to walk away; Ron did the same but gave Harry a final glare before storming off. Harry looked at Meg who had wide eyes and a shaken look on her face. It became clear to the both of them that Hermione and Ginny had taken Ron's side in the argument. Harry walked back to the tree, and Meg followed. She sat right next to Harry and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't think it would come to this. Whatever the first task ends up being, I'm here to help. I promise." Harry appreciated this, but he was still concerned about the tournament as a whole. He hugged Meg back and they snuggled by the lake till it was time for their next class.