Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 50: Rita Skeeter and Her Wretched Writing

Displaying the golden egg high above their heads, Shaye and Harry spun around so everyone in the Gryffindor common room could see. The gathered crowd encircling the two champions cheered and applauded, proving that all it took to get back into an entire school's good graces again was to battle a couple of dragons and come out the other side in one piece.

Sure, Shaye and Harry had a few scrapes and bruises here and there, but they had managed to avoid the fiery death that they had so feared.

"Yes!" Fred and George swooped in and lifted Harry up onto their shoulders, raising the egg even higher in the process. Shaye stepped back and laughed. 

"Know you wouldn't die," George said. "Lose a leg."

"Or an arm," Fred added.

"Pack it in altogether? Never!"

Shaye chuckled as she took the egg from Harry and passed it around the room for everyone to get a closer look. "All right, you two." Shaye swatted Fred and George. "Put him down."

"Looks like she's coming to your rescue yet again," Fred taunted as he and George lowered Harry back down on the ground. "Princess Harry and his dragon-riding knight."

The entire common room burst out into laughter. 

"I still can't believe you rode a Vipertooth!" Neville exclaimed. "It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen!"

With that, various people started shouting compliments at Shaye; most of them about how awesome it was when the dragon had climbed into sight with her on its back. A million questions followed, a majority of them asking if she had been scared or not.

Shaye wasn't sure how to answer, exactly. She was sure that somewhere deep down inside of her, there had been fear, but at that moment in time, the only thing she was thinking about was making sure Harry was okay.

"Shaye Frazier, the dragon tamer!" Dean branded her. Shaye felt her cheeks turn red hot.

"Shush!" Seamus quieted down the group as he got his hands on the golden egg. He then handed the egg back to Shaye and Harry. "Go on. What's the clue?"

"Who wants us to open it?" Harry asked. 

"Yes!" The entire common room erupted.

Harry smirked. Clearly, he was having too much fun with this. "Do you want us to open it?" he asked again.

"Yes!"

"Okay, enough messing around." Shaye placed her hand atop the golden egg and, along with Harry, twisted the star-shaped detail.

With a metallic clang, the egg opened into three equal segments and a brilliant golden hue shone out. Along with the golden hue, however, a terrible, ear-bleeding screech was emitted as well. Everyone in the room threw their hands over their ears and scrunched their faces in pain. Even the portraits on the walls reacted badly.

Acting fast, Harry took the egg into his hands and closed it back up again. The entire room sighed in relief when the horrible sound stopped but quite a few of them still had a faint ringing in their ears.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron inquired.

Shaye and Harry looked up at the redhead with skepticism. Neither one of them had seen or spoken to him since that day in the courtyard, and although he had been present in the stands for the first task, he had been absent for the majority of the celebration thus far.

The room fell silent as the three feuding friends stared at one another, unsure what to say or if now was even the right time to say it.

"All right, everyone! Go back to your knitting," George said. "This is gonna be uncomfortable enough without all you nosy sods listening in."