A Connection of minds

Chapter 4: Bedtime

  

No one believed him.

  Harry dragged himself into the Gryffindor common room a few hours after the feast and the argument that ensued in the room behind the staff table. There was a lot of yelling and confusion, but most present, the Headmaster, Harry's teachers, Karkaroff and Madam Maxime, Krum and Fleur, did not want Harry to compete. No one listened when Harry told them he had nothing to do with this, that he shared their opinion, That he hadn't entered his name, dammit. But they just cut him off. So he had just sat there in silence, as the adults argued.

  Eventually, Dumbledore had sent him to the tower, saying that he would talk to him in the next day to work something out. But Mr. Crouch had been quite clear, he had no choice, he had to take part in the tournament. So, Harry had left, feeling the gazes of the angry group on his back.

  Hermione was sitting in an armchair by the fire, staring in to its depths, a million miles away, when Harry walked in and fell faced first onto the plush, comfortable couch.

"What am I going to do, Hermione? I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for any of it!" He said, his voice muffled by the pillow his head rested on. "They all think I'm lying but never stop to listen to what I have to say. They treat me like a child."

  Hermione looked at him sadly. "I know, Harry, and I believe you. But it doesn't matter what others think, we just need to figure out who entered your name and why." She said kindly.

  And so they brain stormed ideas for a while, one name coming up again and again. The tournament would be the perfect way to off someone in a non suspicious way, so why wouldn't some vengeful deatheaters give it their best shot. There were of course some logistical issues with this idea, such as how they got into the castle, but where there's a will, there's a way. In other words, if they really wanted to, they would have found a way to do it.

  Harry looked at his watch, it was 12:45.

"We should probably get some sleep, Harry" Said Hermione when he yawned for the 4th time in as many minutes."

"Yeah, you're right, I have a meeting with Dumbledore tomorrow and I wouldn't want to give them more reason to see me as a immature kid." Harry said, unable to contain his aggravation, with a scowl on his face.

  So there he lay, In his bed, staring at the red canopy above him, unable to sleep.

  At the exact same moment, lower in the castle, Snape lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He had taken 4 bottles of headache nullifier, going above the recommended dose of 1 sip, and a dreamless sleep for good measure, but nothing was working. The throbbing in his brain had started again after the blessed respite he had gotten in the great hall and there was nothing he could do about it.

  What had he done, then, that had triggered the headache and sleep to let up? He tried to recall the events that led up to that moment.

  He had had another horrible day, sleep following him everywhere like a toxic shadow. He'd gone to the feast at the great hall for the selection of the champions, feeling like a zombie, at which he felt he couldn't stomach anything, so there was no way it could have been something he ate. He had done nothing too out of the ordinary, he had complained about the students being to loud and aggravating his headache, then Potter had proceeded to choke on his food. That was it.

  Potter, who had managed to do the one thing thought impossible by everyone and entering the tournament, in which he could so easily get hurt or get killed! For the fame, obviously. Not that Snape cared overly much, but the boy did have a job to do. The 14 year old should really think about other people for once in his life.