Black [1]

Chapter 35

"Why are you doing what Moody said?" I turn to Harry as he comes down to the common room after changing, explaining his plan to me. I hate to say it, it's not a horrible plan, but something bad's going to happen. Like when Quirrell was jinxing Harry's broom back in first year.

"What's wrong with that?" Harry frowns, fingers shaking. I get my lazy self off the sofa, going over to help him do up the buttons of his jacket. "Thanks. But why don't you like him? In all his classes, you seem really tense."

I bite my lip, not meeting his eyes for a second. I can't tell him the actual reason, that I see Moody in my dreams and that I know he's up to something. Not only would it be hard to explain, but it also sounds pretty messed-up. "He just throws me off, okay?" I grumble. "I don't trust him at all."

"He's an Ex-Auror!"

"Disorient the dragon, try to keep out of its fire, and remember: Music for Welsh Green, height for Horntail, Fireball is eyes, Short-Snout is shiny. Knowing you, your luck will be the worst dragon," I add under my breath, pulling his hood onto his head for the fun off it, trying to diffuse the tension and get away from the topic of our DADA teacher. "If you die out there, I'll kill you."

He cracks a small smile at that. "I promise I'll try not to."

*

"You went and spoke to him, right?" I mumble to Hermione as she shifts in the stands, peeking my head around Aiden and biting my lip as I lean forward, her standing in the row in front. I know Harry's more anxious about it than I am, for obvious reasons, but it doesn't stop my heart pounding at about a thousand miles an hour in my chest. She nods slightly, but there's not much she can say before the cannon goes off for the first competitor, Cedric.

Cedric had the Swedish Short-Snout, Fleur with the Welsh Green, Krum with the Chinese Fireball, and it's when the cannon goes off for Harry that I realise with a strange groan that I jinxed Harry. "He's so going to die," I mutter into my palm, although Fred catches it on my other side, raising his eyebrows in amusement. Clearly he doesn't seem as bothered, as if he was the Seer and saw the outcome already. "Lend me some of your positivity, please," I ask him desperately.

He grins, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers, closing his eyes as if in deep concentration before turning to me, saying softly, "Done. You can keep it." He keeps a hold of my fingers and I can't stop the smile on my lips, leaning against his arm for a moment till Harry stumbles out of the cave entrance, looking like Bambi on new legs. The entire audience holds their breath.

He starts to head towards a golden egg placed on a rock, but he doesn't see the large dragon behind him till it's smashed its wing just behind Harry, narrowly missing him.

It all goes so fast from there, everything a blur.

Harry gets thrown down the rocks and I yell without meaning to, covering my mouth in shock. Five seconds in and I'm suddenly understanding why the Triwizard Tournament was discontinued. The Horntail blows fire in Harry's direction, and it's only by chance that he manages to roll away without getting too badly singed.

Harry scrambles, trying to climb up a jutting rock, and I know that if I tried to help with a teeny tiny spell then Harry would be disqualified. Not that it would be a bad thing, knowing he got out of this Tournament, but then he'd get so much more hate from everyone and I can't be the cause of that. He fumbles in his jacket for his wand, just as the dragon tries to smash him with his tail, and my heart stops.

He goes flying, crashing into more rocks as the dragon roars at the crowd. It's not fair on Harry or the dragon. It doesn't deserve to be chained like that. "Your wand, Harry!" I shout, tightening my grip on Fred's hand substantially without meaning to. "Your wand!"