16

Chapter XVI: A New Alliance

(Neville P.O.V)

Neville clutched the mini-statuette of the Basilisk as he turned to look up at his partner sitting across from him, "Thanks Hermione, I don't think I could have done it without you."

A hint of red seemed to appear across her cheeks as she smiled, "No, it's okay, don't worry about it. I'm glad I was able to help Harry out a little. With him getting all this negativity from the other students, I feel it's the least I can do."

"It's more than that," Neville said with a weak smile, "I didn't even know about the fear Acromantuals had of the Basilisk. If it wasn't for you, I'd have been out of luck."

"I'm sure you could have figured something out," Hermione said kindly, "But if you want to thank anyone, you should thank Hagrid. Remember two years ago, when all those people were getting petrified," Neville nodded remembering the horrible experience before Hermione continued, "Well, I saw that it was only really happening to Muggle-Borns with Ron's sister being an exception to that, and I wasn't going to sit quietly and do nothing."

"I ended up doing some research on the Chamber of Secrets and found out Hagrid of all people had been accused of opening it before so I went to go talk to him," Hermione said, "Long story short, that's when I found out about Acromantuals and their fears" Hermione then looked away, "I was going to go report my findings to Dumbledore, but, well-"

"I know," Neville said with a down-turned look, "I remember."

"You used to visit me," Hermione said and Neville watched her as she looked away in embarrassment, "I still remember that. You used to come and talk to me, and tell me what happened in class, I even remember you talking with Professor Sprout to let you help with raising the Mandrakes. It really helped when I was feeling alone."

"Wait," Neville said his face now bright red, "You could hear me, Madam Pomfrey said-"

"Nope," Hermione said warmly, "I could hear you. It was strange at first, I didn't really understand why you came to visit me in the first place. We weren't really friends then, but you came to see me after dinner every night anyway, if I'm being honest, I still don't really understand why you did it, but still, thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me," Neville said with a quick shake of his head, "I mean, I-" Neville stopped before taking a breath and continuing, "I hated that nobody seemed to care that you were in the Hospital Wing, it made me so angry. Nobody, not even scum like Malfoy, deserves to feel the pain of being completely alone."

Neville felt his blue eyes lock with Hermione's warm brown before a gentle smile rose to each of their faces, "You have a big heart Neville," Hermione said looking away shyly, "Hannah really didn't understand how lucky she is to have a guy like you interested in her."

"Was," Neville replied instinctually before Hermione turned to face him, her eyes bright and yet somehow riddled with confusion, "I um- I'm not really interested in Hannah anymore. I mean, she's pretty and all, but I don't even know her that well. I uh, I kinda like someone else right now."

"Who?" Hermione asked gently.

You, Neville thought to himself before shaking his head, "It's um, it's not really important right now." He watched as the curiosity in Hermione's eyes turned to sadness before he cursed himself in his mind, "You know, it's getting close to dinner time, let's call it for tonight and head over to the Great Hall."

"O-okay," Hermione said, and as Neville finished packing up his things, wrapping their transfigured statue carefully in a wad of crumpled parchment, the two left the library, a feeling of extreme heat rising to his cheeks as he felt his hand brush against Hermione's, Is it possible that she likes me back? But Neville quickly shook that thought out of his mind, No, I mean look at her, she got even prettier of the summer, there's no way she'd be interested in the third wheel of the Boy-Who-Lived and the Most Talented Wizard of our year.

Neville had tried to not allow his thoughts to crush his spirits, fighting hard to keep a gentle expression on his face as they approached the Great Hall. For the last couple of weeks, the atmosphere in the Great Hall hadn't been very welcoming to Harry and anyone who supported him, but tonight felt tenser than ever before. Neville had given Hermione one last small grin as they parted ways for their individual tables, but as Neville looked up at the Staff Table, he saw the cause of different atmosphere, right beside Dumbledore, Neville saw the man he'd seen before at the World Cup, Ludo Bagman.

Well, so much for people moving on, Neville thought to himself as he found his seat. Even at his own table, Neville had felt like an outsider. He'd never been the best at math, but if he was asked to give a rough calculation, he'd have said that at least eighty percent of the Hufflepuff table had purchased a Potter Stinks badge. And while there were holdouts, Neville was convinced that it came more because of a distaste towards Malfoy than a feeling of solidarity with Harry.

The Great Hall had always been noisy, even when Dumbledore had given speeches there would always be a hint of whispers, but almost instantaneously, Neville felt a chill down his spine as the entire Great Hall fell silent the eyes of nearly every student locked on the Great Hall entrance. Neville turned, offering a weak smile as he watched Harry enter, hand in hand with Daphne. Michael's words at Hogsmeade may have frightened most of the younger students to remain silent, but the anger and jealousy were ever-present in their eyes, and in no place was it more palpable than at his own table. The only exception was Cedric himself, who rather than harboring a hate-filled glance, looked down at his golden plate his eyes portraying a great conflict within in.

Neville had felt it obvious that Cedric didn't want to be disturbed but clearly it wasn't as obvious as he believed as countless witches approached the Hufflepuff sixth-year, proudly displaying their buttons, whispering things ranging from, "You're going to crush Potter," to "Can you sign this for me?" to "Will you please go to Hogsmeade with me," and most infuriatingly, "Potter doesn't know what he's gotten himself into, you're the real Hogwarts Champion."

Neville had felt the fork in his hand heat up as he subconsciously released magic while he listened to the nonsense spewing from every witch's mouth, only returning to his senses upon feeling a tap on his shoulder. He had wanted to lash out, but he calmed himself as he saw his blue-haired friend looking down at him, "Hey, how'd your research go today, did you figure anything out?"

"Yeah," Neville nodded releasing a deep breath before whispering, "Hermione actually was the one to come up with it. If Harry has to go up against Acromantula, then I'd say his odds are pretty good."

"That's good," Michael returned in a low whisper, "Wish I could say I'm having the same success with my research. But without knowing which Dragon it is, it makes it almost impossible to figure out what approach would be best to take."

"Hopefully, Blaise and Daphne's research has been going better," Neville said, "Don't get me wrong, a Horned Serpent is frightening, but I'd say the Chimera is easily the scariest beast of the four."

"I don't know, Horned Serpents are extremely intelligent. Exposing its weakness is going to be-" But before he could finish, Michael's voice became trapped in his throat, and as Neville turned to look in the direction his friend's eyes had focused on, he instantly understood. Terry and Susan had entered the Great Hall, and while Neville understood that seeing them together must have hurt Michael enough, the fact that both Boot and Susan were wearing Potter Stinks badges only deepened the pain.

"Bye babe," Terry said pecking Susan quickly on the lips, "Have a good dinner."

"Y-yeah," Susan said, her eyes staring hesitantly at the button on her boyfriend's shirt, "Have a good dinner." Neville watched as Michael's eyes followed Susan's approach to the table, but their view of the red-head was quickly obstructed as Hannah jumped from the bench hugging her best friend with a smile.

"So you finally got one," Hannah said in relief, "Good, it's about time you came to your senses and saw that the truth. Just when Hufflepuff House was going to get the respect it deserves, Potter has to come along and ruin-"

"So," Michael said cutting off Hannah, his light brown eyes filled with disappointment as he stared into his previous friend's amber pools, "You're wearing one too." Michael sighed and Neville watched as Susan seemed to flinch under his gaze, "I didn't think you'd be the type of person to condone bullying."

"You're the last one to talk, Corner," Hannah said standing between Michael and Susan, "Don't think I've forgotten what you did to Terry last year. Honestly, getting so jealous you'd beat someone up like that. You would have been expelled if I had the final say. You really have-"

"I wasn't talking to you," Michael said, his voice filled with sadness, "When did you buy the button?"

"I didn't," Susan said, but Neville didn't miss how she failed to meet her friend's eyes, "Terry bought them for both of us this morning."

"Do you believe that Harry cheated?" Michael asked his voice calm yet depressing.

"I-" Susan started but once more Hannah spoke in her place, "Of course she does. It doesn't take a genius to see that Potter cheated. I mean, I know he's your friend and all, but I thought you were supposed to be smart. Guess you're a bigger idiot than I thought if you're willing to believe him."

"Do you believe Harry cheated?" Michael repeated almost as if his friend hadn't heard a word that Hannah said.

"I don't know," Susan admitted, "But I-"

"So why would you wear the button if you weren't certain about Harry?" Michael asked, and once more Susan remained speechless, her one action was a quick glance over to her boyfriend who lifted his eyebrows, unable to hear the conversation. "You're wearing it because he told you too, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?" Susan said but once more her eyes didn't meet his friend's, "He's my boyfriend. He went through the trouble of buying me the button, the least I can do is wear it."

"I guess it doesn't matter," Michael said with a sigh as Neville received one last look from his friend as he began his walk back towards the Ravenclaw table, "I just thought you were better than that, Red."

Neville couldn't help but notice the queasy-looking expression on Susan's face as Hannah took her friend's hand leading her to another place at the long table. His eyes looked back towards the table beneath the Eagle banner, and Neville had felt a sadness in his heart as he looked into Michael's disappointed eyes. Harry too sent him a stare, with a look that shouted, What happened? but Neville gently shook his head and watched with equal sadness as Harry's shoulders slumped back down.

Neville had thought that the worst was over, but he was beginning to realize how wrong he was as Dumbledore rose and gathered the Great Hall's attention, "Good Evening," He spoke, his magic amplifying his voice across the hall, "I know that many of you are excited for the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament." Cheers of affirmation filled the hall as Dumbledore continued, "That is why I am thankful to announce that I have the current Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Mr. Ludovic Bagman here tonight to share some information regarding the upcoming first task. Mr. Bagman, if you will."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Bagman said rising from his chair, "As Professor Dumbledore said in his introduction, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament is rapidly approaching. In fact, I'm pleased to announce that the first task will take place this month on the 24th of November!" Once again cheering filled the room, but Neville felt his body temperature drop as he began to shake, That's only a few days away.

"While I cannot inform anyone of the details regarding the first task, I can administer a word of caution," Bagman said and once more the room's attention gathered upon the Department Head, "These tasks are not for the faint of heart, each of our champions must be ready for anything!" Neville watched as Cedric swallowed a lump in his throat before Bagman continued, "But have no fear, the Goblet chose each champion because they were deemed worthy to compete. I have no doubt that each of our Three Champions will give stellar performances!"

The eyes of the entire hall then shifted to Harry as Dumbledore whispered something quickly into Bagman's ear, "Ah yes, of course, I meant each of our Four Champions!" But this time, there was no applause, this time there was only silence before a loud chorus of boos filled the hall, led by none other than Draco Malfoy.

Despite Bagman's best attempt to get the hall under control, the rest of the students wasted no time letting their displeasure be heard to the Department Head, but Neville's attention rested firmly on Cedric whose low growls had encapsulated him before to his great surprise the Hufflepuff Prefect shouted, "That's enough!"

Better than Bagman ever could, and Neville dared to say Dumbledore, Cedric had silenced the hall, his body heaving with emotion, "That's enough booing!" Cedric repeated, "I know that this whole situation is stupid and unfair! And I know it's infuriating! But nobody in this hall has more of a reason to be frustrated than me!" The eyes of the hall fell upon Cedric like a hail of arrows but Cedric pressed on his voice calming down, "Still, I won't tolerate such disrespectful behavior, even if it is in support of me. If it were anyone else, I'm not sure I'd believe them, I mean, getting to compete in the Triwizard Tournament is a chance at fame every wizard could only dream off, but Harry doesn't need it. I believe him when he says he didn't put his name in the Goblet because Harry is a person I consider a rival and someone I respect, and more than that, he's my friend."

Neville could hardly believe what he was seeing, but with one final sigh, Cedric continued, "If I see anyone else walking around with a Potter Stinks badge on after dinner tonight, I'll take it as an offense towards me. You either support both Hogwarts Champion, or none at all." And with those final words, Cedric sat, his conscience cleared as a stunned silence filled the room, and while Neville saw an angry glare from Krum, and a dumbfounded look from Fleur, Harry's face was filled with a small grin as he nodded toward Cedric's direction, receiving one back in return. And while Bagman did his best to finish his announcements, nothing could shake the astonished atmosphere of the room, not even the appearance of a plethora of food.

(Claire P.O.V)

Claire felt frozen in her spot at the Ravenclaw table as she attempted to digest the words she'd just heard spewed from the mouth of the 'Real Hogwarts Champion". The fact that the Hufflepuff boy had come out and said what he said was one thing, but it wasn't the only thing that shook her to her core. Despite the torment in the halls, the silent judgmental glares, the anger in the hearts of many students sprouted from their jealousy, not one of Potter's friends had wavered in their support of him. His girlfriend had remained proudly at his side, Hermione and the Hufflepuff Boy didn't break under constant taunts and pressure, and Michael had stared down an entire mob without a second thought, the resolve each of Potter's had was incredible, and even more frightening than that, was the amount of loyalty Potter had managed to inspire among his crowd, even turning people who should have been against him to his side.

It wasn't superficial, they gained nothing from remaining by his side, and yet each of them chose to remain faithful to him, Why? Claire thought to herself, What is it that makes people so loyal to him? Why is it that someone as lazy as Michael would be willing to fight an army for his sake? What makes him so special? Without realizing it, she had caught herself staring at Michael frequently throughout the dinner, but never once did he stare back, and while she worked vigorously to not let it get to her, the fact his eyes were focused upon another girl made her chest feel like it was on fire.

So that's her, Claire thought to herself as she stared at the Red-Haired Hufflepuff, That's the girl who broke his heart. Does he still love her? She thought to herself sadly, Is that why he's resistant to my charm? She forced that thought down violently, So what if he likes someone else? Why do you care? He's just an infuriatingly lazy wizard, it's not like anyone could ever love you for you, just stop being an idiot.

Claire nodded as her mind reinforced her core belief, but the disappointment in the Blue-Haired boy's eyes had caused a pain in her heart, I didn't even know he could look that way, She thought solemnly, He normally looks so bored and dismissive. What kind of relationship did they have before that could make him look so hurt? Claire's thoughts only burned deeper questions into her mind, but as she felt herself drifting ever more into her thoughts, she felt pressure wrap around her hand before a familiar voice called out to her, "Claire. Claire. Can you hear me?"

"Pardon," Claire spoke in a daze, "Oh, Fleur, is everything okay?"

"Dinner's over," Fleur spoke her French sounding as beautiful as she looked, "Let's get back to the carriage, I'm in a terribly foul mood."

Claire nodded as she lifted herself from the bench, and began walking towards the exit beside Fleur. Despite her mind's heavy protest, she could stop herself from sparing the Blue-Haired boy one last glance, and it pained her to see how dazed the boy looked, the majority of his meal uneaten. She should have known better than to not look where she was walking as just upon making a left from the Great Hall's door, she felt her butt slam onto the cobbled castle-ground after her body made hard contact with the Hufflepuff Champion, "Oh," He said politely, "Sorry about that. Here, let me help you up."

Claire took the boy's hand, though the look of disapproval was fierce in Fleur's face. Claire then watched in silence as the older Hufflepuff boy turned to focus on Fleur, a weak smile upon his face, "So, the tournament starts in about a week, huh? How are you feeling, nervous?"

"I'm the most talented witch Beauxbatons has to offer," Fleur said haughtily, "I have nothing to be nervous about. If Hogwart's education was as decent as our academy's I'd imagine you wouldn't be nervous either."

"Ouch," Cedric said with a playful chuckle, "Harsh, but I guess that's not untrue. Besides last year, and I guess this year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts professors weren't all that great." Claire was amazed at the grace in which the Hufflepuff champion had brushed off Fleur's insult, "Anyway," He said keeping a kind smile, "I'm glad to hear you aren't nervous, wish I could say the same, but at least it will make the competition interesting. May the best champion win."

Claire watched as Fleur nodded curtly before the two began to separate. However, just before they had exited the diverging hallway, another voice called out, "Cedric! Fleur! Wait up!"

Fleur had stopped dead in her tracks as she turned around to face the new outburst before her face turned cold as Ice realizing it was none other than the fake champion Harry Potter. Cedric had begun to walk towards Harry's side, but Fleur remained firm and unwilling to move causing Harry to sigh and shrug his shoulders before the two Hogwarts champions approached her. "Thanks for sticking up for me Diggory, you know you didn't have to do that, right?" Harry said with an earnest tone.

"No, I did, trust me," Cedric said after he himself sighed, "Honestly, I'm just sorry I let it go on for so long, I was kind of hoping it would die out on its own."

Despite the friendliness in both Cedric and Harry's tone, it was clear as day to Claire that Fleur had no interest in partaking in pleasantries, and with a stern expression Fleur spoke, "What is it that you want, little boy?"

Harry sighed lifting his hands behind his head in a laid back fashion, "I really wish you'd stop calling me that," His emerald green eyes looked up at Fleur for a moment before becoming serious, "I just thought you might want to know exactly what the First Task would be is all."

"You know what the first task is going to be?" Cedric asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I have a source in the ministry who told me what was going to happen, I figured I should share the news," Harry said with a shrug.

"And why should I believe anything you tell me," Fleur said harshly, "I believe you cheated to get into the competition, why shouldn't I believe you'll cheat during it?"

"Because I don't care about winning this thing," Harry said exhaustedly, "I'm already the Boy-Who-Lived, I don't care about being a Triwizard Champion. Plus, it's not like I'm doing this only out of the kindness of my heart. If you go into the First-Task underprepared, you could get really hurt, and that would be on me."

"Hurt?," Fleur said with a shudder in her voice, "What do you mean hurt?"

"Despite the name sounding so friendly," Harry said an angry glare embedded on his face, "This isn't some fun and carefree competition, the stakes are incredibly high. For example, for the first task, we're each going to have to retrieve an egg from a Class-Five beast."

"Are you serious?" Cedric said his eyes widening in shock, "You've gotta be kidding me, that's insane."

"I know," Harry continued, "The beasts that are being transferred by the ministry include an Acromantula, a Horned Serpent, a Chimera, and perhaps worst of all, a dragon." Claire felt her heart pump rapidly in her chest at Harry's admission, "As I said, I don't care about winning, and honestly, I don't really like you all that much either Fleur, but this isn't a game, this tournament is incredibly dangerous."

"What about Krum?" Cedric asked a look of genuine concern in his eyes.

"What about Krum?" Harry repeated though this time more antagonistically, "Keeping it simple, Krum has been flirting with Daphne despite her insistence on getting him to stop. He was talking about how he'd show her which champion was truly more fitting of her affection, I'm not feeling all that generous towards him."

"But he could die," Claire said, "I mean, I get that you're upset but-"

"Relax," Harry replied, "The ministry will have Aurors on hand making sure things don't get too out of control. I don't care about winning this thing," Harry reiterated, "I only care that Krum loses. I told you both what I know because if either of you wins this thing, that's fine by me, Krum, however, needs to be taken down a peg or two, plus it's not like he and Karkaroff aren't going to be cheating their asses off anyway, they can swing by themselves as far as I'm concerned."

For a moment, she alongside three of the four Triwizard Champions remained silent before Fleur nodded, "Thank you, I'll take the information under advisement," Before Claire felt Fleur's eyes upon her once more, "Come on now, Claire, let's get back to the carriage."

Claire nodded but not before hearing Cedric whisper to Harry with his best attempt at light-hearted humor, "Class-Five beasts huh? And I thought that the dementors last year were insane. Maybe I should have transferred to a different school."

"I've been thinking that too," Harry said with the best grin he could muster, "But I don't think I could pull off those blue dresses."

Claire smirked slightly at the last remark before catching up to Fleur who had just left the castle. She noticed that a look of doubt and confusion had leaked onto Fleur's normally calm face and with a whisper, she heard Fleur ask, "Do you think he was being honest about the First-Task?"

"Well," Claire responded taking one last look at the castle for the night, "If he wasn't, then that was one hell of a lie."

(Narcissa P.O.V)

When Narcissa had learned from Remus that the location of the book had been discovered, it had filled her heart with relief, and when she had heard that it had been the Greengrass girl that at one time had spent a significant amount of time under her eye, she felt a certain level of pride in the cunning that Daphne had displayed in taking the book from her home. However, that flame of hope that had been so tenderly kindled by Remus and the rest of the order had been extinguished as her husband paced the floor of their sitting room as rapidly as his pain allowed him, his face blistering with rage.

"That Bastard," Lucius growled, his voice laced with rage, "How dare he lie to me. Doesn't he understand that he wouldn't have even had a chance to become one of the Dark Lord's most faithful if it wasn't for me? How dare he look me in the eyes and tell me he doesn't have the book that I need, how dare he patronize me!"

Her husband, in his infinite stupidity, had spoken aloud of his problems to Jonathan Greengrass, the last person he should have let know about his problems weeks ago. Yes, it was true that at the time Lucius was unaware The Lost Soul Compendium was currently in Jonathan's clutches, but regardless, his outburst had certainly proven problematic for Daphne Greengrass who had reported to Sirius and Remus that Dobby, now acting as a free-elf voluntarily serving both Greengrass Sisters, had searched the entire Greengrass Manor whilst Jonathon was away and found nothing.

They currently were working with nothing more than a theory, and yet Narcissa felt sure about it, knowing the value the book had to the Dark Lord, Jonathan had sealed the book in his private vault awaiting the chance to give the compendium to the Dark Lord and rise to a level even higher than Lucius himself. Once again, Narcissa thought to herself, You've doomed us all.