Every day felt like walking on a knife's edge. And it wasn't that every passer-by felt it was their duty to insult Harry. Overall, there was a very gloomy atmosphere, which only grew stronger with each passing day. The new DADA teacher, Alastor Moody, did not inspire confidence in the boy, as he behaved too aggressively. Therefore, "Harry" decided to refer to the list of important events that were supposed to happen to him.
The young man's fears were confirmed when he saw that very item — Barty Crouch Jr. would capture Mad-Eye and teach at Hogwarts in his place in order to bring Voldemort's plan closer to fruition. "Harry" just smiled nervously — it was immediately clear who had thrown his name into the Goblet of Fire. Well, now all he had to do was behave himself and try not to catch the eye of that bastard.
"Hey," Barry entered the living room just as "Harry" was reading the list. When he noticed his brother, he quickly put it away. "Everything okay?" You look pale..."
"Really?" Harry touched his forehead — there were traces of cold sweat. "I didn't notice."
In response, the boy just grunted and sat down next to him. Harry, meanwhile, was looking at the embers in the fireplace and decided to do a little magic to keep the fire from going out completely.
"What are you reading?" Barry nodded towards Harry's pocket. "Did you get a letter?"
"Yeah, just one," Harry replied. Of course, he knew his secret, but he didn't want to reveal all his cards, and he doubted that now was the right time. "It's from Sirius."
"What did he say, if it's not a secret?"
"He asked you to be careful, the trials in this Tournament will be far from child's play.
Barry seemed to believe him when he smiled. Incidentally, Sirius had indeed recently written to Harry, asking him to be careful. He had written despite the fact that correspondence was a rather dangerous activity for someone who had recently escaped from Azkaban.
***
The interview with Rita Skeeter took place in a tense atmosphere; the reporter seemed too pushy to him...
In his free time, Harry spent a lot of time alone, avoiding unnecessary contact, trying not to appear in public, except, of course, for his classes.
Now, for example, he was reading a science fiction magazine that his father had sent him last week, but at the time Harry hadn't had time to read it. Now, however, sitting alone in the clearing, it seemed like the perfect moment.
Out of the corner of his ear, he heard someone approaching, and the next moment, looking up, he saw Hermione standing in front of him, with Ron looming behind her.
"Ron asked me to tell you that..." the girl began slowly and uncertainly. "That Seamus told Dean that Dean told Parvati... that Hagrid is looking for you."
Harry looked suspiciously at Ron and narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
"Tell Ron that if he wants to say something, he should say it himself," Harry replied sharply, burying his face in the magazine.
Hermione exhaled loudly, and then "Harry" heard her walk away.
"I'm not an owl!" the girl suddenly shouted, causing him to look up and see Hermione turning away in annoyance and walking in the opposite direction from Ron.
Ron had left. So "Harry" was looking for Hagrid. Well, he'd have to go find him.
***
That morning, he had written a letter to Sirius. It must be said that "Harry" had recently begun to communicate more actively with his godfather. In the letter, he wrote that Hagrid had secretly shown him the dragons, hinting strongly that this was his first task. Then he immediately sent an owl with it, but this time he used a different one, as Sirius had warned him that using Buckbeak would be dangerous...
...There were only a few hours left before the first task, so the school was in complete chaos. Harry warned Cedric that there would be dragons in the first task and began to prepare himself. He reread everything he could find about dragons and tried to study the theoretical side of the matter, even though he understood that in practice everything would be different.
***
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