The next morning, Orli, who'd barely managed two hours of sleep all night, was dragged into the Great Hall by Hermione while yawning constantly. Ron had surprisingly gotten up early for once—he'd almost finished breakfast already. When he saw them enter, he greeted them with studied casualness, then gathered his things and headed toward the classrooms.
Harry wasn't by his side—the first time in four years.
"How childish," Hermione huffed.
Hermione irritably pulled out a bag and began packing it with jam tarts, wrapping a stack of bread slices in napkins as well. Orli didn't know who she was packing for at first, but she soon got her answer.
As Harry entered the Great Hall, nearly every Gryffindor burst into enthusiastic cheers. These tireless souls had already made quite the racket in the common room last night, and apparently they still hadn't celebrated enough. They seemed to regard Harry as a hero, but the other three houses were quite the opposite—they watched him with unfriendly eyes, and cold remarks drifted through the air.
Even the usually good-natured Hufflepuffs had grown cold toward Harry. Clearly, the little badgers felt he'd stolen Cedric's glory.
"Fancy a walk, Harry?" Hermione asked, holding up the food.
"Brilliant idea," Harry said gratefully.
The three of them left the castle, escaping the crowds, and settled on the lawn by the lake to eat breakfast. It was infinitely quieter than the Great Hall.
"Did you see Ron?" Harry asked, chewing his bread while tossing crumbs into the lake.
"He was finishing breakfast—must've gotten up early," Orli said, stifling another yawn as she bit into her tart.
"He's deliberately avoiding me. He actually thinks I entered my own name!" Harry said bitterly.
"Oh, Harry, isn't it obvious?" Hermione said wearily. "He's jealous!"
"Jealous?" Harry asked incredulously. "Of what? Would he want to make a complete prat of himself in front of the entire school?"
"Think about it," Hermione said patiently. "You're always the center of attention. I know it's not your fault," she added quickly, seeing Harry's mouth open indignantly, "I know you don't ask for it... but—well—Ron's got to compete with all those brothers at home, and then his best mate is famous—every time people see you, he gets pushed into the background. He's put up with it silently, never said a word, but I reckon this was just the final straw..."
"Wonderful. Just bloody wonderful. Tell him he's welcome to swap places with me... everywhere I go, people gawk at my forehead like idiots..." Harry said furiously.
"I'm not telling him anything," Hermione said firmly. "You'll have to sort it out yourself. It's the only way."
"I'm not chasing after him with explanations!" Harry snapped. "When will he realize I'm not exactly thrilled about this? Maybe when I'm dead, or—"
His voice carried across the grounds, startling several owls from a nearby tree into flight.
"Don't say that, Harry. This isn't a joke," Orli sighed heavily.
"Ron won't stay angry long—once he realizes how dangerous this tournament actually is, he'll stop doubting you. Nobody risks their neck just for attention, do they?"
"Dangerous?" Hermione seized on Orli's words with laser focus.
"Think about Charlie—you both know what he does for a living," Orli said, worry creeping into her voice.
"What he said before leaving—'I might be seeing you lot very soon.'"
"Dragons?!" Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide with horror.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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