Keogh

~***~



She landed on the floor with a loud thump followed by a moan of discomfort. She felt just as clumsy and uncoordinated as she had when she’d first started her training last year. This was embarrassing.



“Perhaps that is enough for today, Miss Granger.”



She looked up at the headmaster from her place on the floor. Yes it was cold and hard, but she really wasn’t in the mood to get up just yet. “This is positively barmy.” He offered her a hand up and she accepted it with a sigh.



“If I may ask, what is it you are trying to accomplish?”



Hermione pushed an errant lock of hair out of her eyes. “Combining the physical dodging and leaping with teleportation through the Continuum. The theory is that it would make it harder for my opponent to anticipate where I’m going to be in the next second.” She sighed. “As the bruises will show, I’m having a bit of trouble with my exits.”



Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled from behind his glasses as he looked at her down his long, crooked nose. “Patience, Miss Granger. It will click into place in time, though I have to wonder if part of your problem doesn’t stem from being distracted by other matters.” He motioned for her to have a seat and conjured a cool poultice to apply to the spot on her forearm that was already beginning to darken and swell. “I take it that you are aware of the first task and what it entails.”



She felt more than a little guilty. “Yes, Headmaster. But, honestly, dragons? The champions are still just students, even if three of them are ‘of age’. They’re still teenagers! Charlie Weasley was in his early twenties at least.”



He nodded in understanding. “I agree, Miss Granger, and I will admit that I am not entirely comfortable with the inclusion of dragons into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Unfortunately I was out voted on the subject. The Departments of Magical Games and Sports and International Cooperation were the ones who ultimately decided what the three tasks would be.”



Hermione gave a derisive snort. “That explains it. Only government bodies would be this stupid.”



Dumbledore gave a chuckle that ruffled his beard slightly. “I do believe that you might be adopting some of your biological parents’ less amicable traits, Miss Granger. You sounded very much like Severus just now.” She grimaced. “Now don’t be that way, Miss Granger. Severus cares for you deeply even if he is poorly skilled at showing it.”



“He was positively nasty to me for the first two years of my schooling.”



“Is he still?”



“No. Now he just ignores me.”



“And yet he delights in your every success. He did before, as well, Miss Granger. But, politics and standing being what they are, he could not show it. He would never admit it, of course, but he was quite impressed with you in your first year when you were able to solve his logic puzzle. The same holds true for when you successfully brewed polyjuice potion your second year. Many of his NEWT students have difficulty with that one.” He looked out towards the motionless target dummies. “And I believe that young Mr. Malfoy is still serving detention over that hex of his.”



She shifted a bit uncomfortably at the reminders of her more wild moments. “I’m trying, Headmaster. I really am. But I’ve always been a Granger. Mum and Dad are my parents. I know that Severus is, too, and that it’s not his fault that he was never there, but it’s difficult to equate him with being my father.”



“And he knows this, Miss Granger. However I fear that there will soon come a time when you will be grateful for that blood connection between the two of you. You have felt first hand how harsh some in our world can be to those of Muggle birth. Bigotry in its purest form.” He took the poultice from her arm and peered at it. “Now, I think perhaps you should run up and let Madam Pomfrey work her magic on this before you head down for supper. I believe there will be a few of our guests awaiting your presence.”



~***~



She should do the entire world a favor and just smack both of them over their incredibly thick skulls.



Well, that was hardly fair. Right now it was only Ron who deserved to be smacked. Harry was mostly innocent.



Still, she hated it when they weren’t talking. Harry sat on one side of her while Ron sat on the other. Both of them steadfastly refused to speak to one another and kept trying to communicate through her rather than just working it out between them. Boys were so incredibly stupid at times. And, if Kathryn were to be believed, they would only get worse as they grew up.



She’d be lucky if she didn’t end up killing them both out of frustration.



The morning post arrived as she was passing the pitcher of pumpkin juice from in front of Harry to Ron. The arrival of the Daily Prophet took second chair to the parcel from her parents and she gave the post owl an extra fatty piece of bacon rind in thanks. Opening the package she found two new sweaters to help ward off the autumn chill, a thermal blanket for her bed and a sealed envelope that bore only the name Michael Turner for a return address. She debated with herself for a moment before tucking the envelope into her messenger bag, not wanting to read it at the table, as she wasn’t certain what it might contain.



Besides, she’d promised Harry she would help him learn how to cast a proper summoning charm. His idea was a really good one and played to his strengths. She was glad Professor Moody had gotten him to think of it, because she’d been quite beside herself trying to figure out a solution. It also meant she would get to skive off her wand drills today, which would be a welcomed break. Between worrying about Harry, worrying about her classes and worrying about her training, she was under more stress now than she had ever been last year. She was starting to understand the temptation to cheat, because she knew that she could get all the answers just by asking the right expert.



But she didn’t mind taking time to help Harry. She was feeling very charitable towards him at the moment because he had been decent enough to tell Cedric about the dragons. Diggory had mentioned it when they had managed to find time to do a bit of training. He had looked more than a bit scared at the idea of facing a dragon, and having seen them she knew he had every reason to be, but Harry’s willingness to make everything as fair as possible had impressed him.



It took them hours of practice and recitation because the first task was the following afternoon. Had she not been driven on by concern for Harry she might have run out of patience, but in the end he finally got the hang of it. She even felt a little tickle in her heart that was most definitely pride in his accomplishment. He was quite clever when he applied himself. Now, if only Ron would stop being an idiot and patch things up he might have the extra lift he needed.



She sent Harry off to bed, knowing he’d need his rest for the upcoming day. She tried to sleep herself, but sleep refused to come. Defeated, she left her bed, pulled on her bathrobe and made her way down to the Common Room with the idea to catch up on a little reading. She pulled up short, however, when she saw a familiar face floating above one of the couches as though sitting and watching the fire. Suddenly, she didn’t care to read any longer.



“Good evening, Sir Nicholas.”



Nearly Headless Nick gave a little start and looked her way. He blinked in surprise before gracing her with a genuine smile. “Hermione, how lovely to see you. But isn’t it a bit late for you to be up and about?”



She made her way over to the sitting area and perched herself onto the edge of one of the armchairs. “A bit late. I couldn’t sleep.”



“Oh? Not too much chatter, I hope. If it is, you should be firm with them and remind them that, as a warm and living girl, you do require your rest.”



She felt her cheek colors. “No, nothing like that. Just… worried about Harry mostly.”



The ghost nodded. “Yes, it is troubling. He is terribly young to be in this competition, but he has shown great skill in the past.”



Hermione nodded in agreement. She looked down at her hands as her fingers worried the belt of her robe. “Sir Nicholas, I wanted to say… that is I was wanting to assure you and the others that I haven’t meant any offense. I know that I haven’t taken the time to actually speak with any of you since finding out… well… finding out about Kathryn and myself and everything. It’s just… I suppose I’m just still having difficult wrapping my mind around it all.”



Nicholas gave her a searching look, his expression quite deep. After a long, drawn out silence he began to speak. “We never thought you meant any slight, Hermione. This is a very stressful time for you, and we know that. Your mother knew about her abilities almost from the day she was born. By your age she had mastery over herself. But you… you first learned that you are a witch after growing up as a Muggle. Then, just as you become accustomed to being magical, this is thrust upon you as well.” He smiled and reached over to pat her hand. She felt the cold of the ghost, but it didn’t seem to bother her in the least, not like it did the other students. “I think the few muggleborn ghosts of Hogwarts can appreciate the first, but I don’t think any of us can appreciate the second.”



She sighed, still feeling awful. “I shouldn’t have ignored you, Nicholas. I should have come to you first, since you’re here in the school. It was rude of me not to once I became… well… what I am.”



Sir Nicholas looked confused. “My Dear Hermione, you have always been what you are. Your abilities were bound, not destroyed. We have always seen you for who you truly are, it was you who were ignorant of it.”



She looked up, blinking at him. “You’ve always known? Always? Why didn’t any of you say anything?”



“It wasn’t our secret to tell. Besides, it would have done you little good and likely caused you pain, if not harm, had you tried to speak with anyone other than the ghosts. We are not the same as those in the grave; anyone can speak to us. But we’ve always known that the day would come when you would have to take up the mantle of that which you inherited from your birth mother. It has been your fate all along.”



“I don’t particularly believe in fate.”



The ghost chuckled. “Quite all right, Hermione. Fate very much believes in you.”



She found herself grinning just a little, and feeling quite a bit better. “So… you’re all okay? I mean if there’s someone that I have offended, I’d like to know who it is so I can apologize.”



He waved off her concern. “You have nothing to apologize for, Hermione. We are only happy that you remember us. And we will make an effort not to crowd you so as not to draw any unwanted attention.”



Hermione blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose it would seem out of place to have a few dozen ghosts following me about everywhere I go.”



Nicholas gave a chuckle. “It would at that. But know that we are here for you, should you need someone to confide in or need some favor we can provide.”



There was an obvious note of affection in the dead wizard’s voice. She felt oddly comforted by it. “And all the ghosts feel that way?”



“Even the Bloody Baron. You are too precious for us not to care for you.”



She gave a sad smile. “I don’t always feel precious.” She let herself lean back in her chair, resting her head against one of the side wings. “Sometimes when I’m training I get the impression that Kathryn is trying to turn me into something I’m not. Like she’s trying to forge me into some kind of… weapon.” She glanced over and saw a note of disapproval on the ghost’s face. “What?”



Nicholas made a sound like clearing his throat. “Far be it from any of us to speak ill of Kathryn. After all, we cared for her as well, and still do, but she was and is a hard woman. She allowed herself to forget that she was one of the living and, in the end; it kept her from showing any emotions except for anger and cruelty. Still, never doubt that she cared for you, Hermione. She has done a great deal for you and still is. With your birthright comes, I fear, a great many enemies. There are those who would want to control you, and not just the Dark Lord and his followers. You are young yet and do not fully grasp just how powerful you are becoming. She is honing you into a weapon, but it is as much for your sake as it is for the sake of everyone else.”



She didn’t quite know what to make of that. Before she could inquire further, however, the ghost ‘stood up’. “Now, you should hurry back to bed. Try to get some sleep. You won’t be of much use to Mr. Potter if you’re falling asleep in the stands instead of cheering.” His expression was almost fatherly as he shuffled her back upstairs.



~***~



She had firmly told Kathryn that if she was going to screech like a bloody banshee she could go do it inside someone else’s head. The spirit left in a huff, leaving her to holler and cheer with the rest of her class. Only she didn’t feel much like cheering. She felt more like breaking down into tears.



Cedric had been first. It had been a clever bit of magic, transfiguring that rock into a dog. It had almost worked, too, but she cringed when he got nicked by dragon fire. Then Delacour who had actually done magic and not just charmed her way past the dragon using her good looks. Idly, Hermione scolded herself for being so catty. After that had been Krum with an excellently applied conjunctivitis curse. All three older students had managed to get their eggs. Now there was just Harry.



It crossed her mind that, had it been her name that had come out of the goblet, she could have just nipped into the Continuum and plucked the egg out from under the dragon. Of course, explaining how she’s apparently apparated inside the Hogwarts grounds might have been tricky. It was too bad she couldn’t give Harry his own class in Continuum Navigation 101. It might be a handy skill for him to have.



Harry looked impossibly small as he came out into the arena. Her hand shot out to grip Ron’s sleeve without thinking. She couldn’t hear the crowd for the hammering inside her ears. Her eyes were glued to her friend as she waited. She lost sight of him once as he dived out of the way and couldn’t hear anything for the noise that surrounded her like a wall. Then something sailed into view so quickly she only caught the briefest glimpse of it. She knew what it was, however, and was relieved to see a now flying Harry shoot up. He really was remarkably talented on his broom. Nevertheless she did not rest easy until he’d gotten his egg and the task was complete. Gripping Ron’s robes tightly she pulled him along with her, not noticing that he came rather willingly.



They got inside the tent mainly because everyone was too distracted to stop them. Madam Pomfrey was patching up Harry’s injuries as they hovered nearby. Glancing over at Ron she noticed that the boy looked oddly pale under his freckles. Then she watched as he swallowed and told Harry that he suspected that whomever had put his name in that goblet might be trying to do him in.



Hermione could have hit him! Then, after only a few more moments of tension, they were making up! After weeks of suffering through their silence and angst the pair of them were just patching together as if nothing ever went wrong in the first place and Ron hadn’t been acting like the world’s biggest git. Boys! She burst into tears out of pure frustration. “You’re both so stupid!”



She couldn’t bear for them to see her like this. Turning about, she took off in a run from the tent. Let the idiots be together without her.



“That was the most pathetic display of girlishness I’ve ever been unfortunate to witness.”



She couldn’t keep from groaning. Coming to a stop near a large tree she leaned back against it with a huff. “So go spy on someone else! I’m not in the mood!”



“I was just going to congratulate you for getting Harry through the Task.”



“Harry doesn’t need me to get him to fly. He does that very well on his own.”



“True, but he was pathetic with his spell-thingy until you drilled him on it.”



“Summoning Charm. It’s called a summoning charm.”



“Whatever. It was nicely done, at any rate.”



She sighed, leaning her head back and not caring if the bark of the tree snagged her curls. Harry had done it! He’d made it through alive! She felt as though she could collapse from the relief of it all.



A noisy pack of students came close to her and she opened her eyes to see what was what. The Hufflepuffs were cheering and shouting, circling around Cedric who was unable to keep the smile from his face even though she could see he was uncomfortable with the attention. She couldn’t help but grin as they passed her. He caught sight of her and gave her a wave, which she returned automatically.



“Bet he’d like a congratulation kiss.”



“I thought you wanted me to steer clear of him because he was too good with children.”



“Surely your lot has some form of birth control.”



She knew her face must have burned scarlet. She was only glad that the Hufflepuffs were too wrapped up in their own joy to notice. Kathryn cackled with mirth at her mortification. Thankfully, Fred and George showed up with Lee Jordan right about then and decided to pull her along with them to help get the party started up in the tower.



~***~



She looked up from the book in front of her to stare at Krum as he sat on the opposite side of the table from her. Surely she hadn’t heard that correctly. “What was that?”



“Would you accompany me to the Yule Ball?” He spoke the words with a low voice, either in deference to their being in the library or so that he wouldn’t be overheard by the pack of wolves trying to pass themselves off as students on the other side of the stacks.



Viktor Krum was asking her to the ball?



She gave herself a mental slap. Of course he was! She was the only Hogwarts girl here who could speak with him in Bulgarian. Her cheeks colored slightly and she nodded. “I would be honored.” It wasn’t as though she had anyone else to go with, or that anyone else was likely to ask. Well, she suspected that might have been what Blaise Zabini had been trying to do in Potions class, but seeing how Severus had incinerated the origami bird the boy had sent her way before it even had gotten halfway across the room and then condemned him to three nights detention, she couldn’t know for certain. Not that she would have agreed to go to the ball with Zabini in the first place. She didn’t fancy spending the entire evening fighting him to keep on her dress robes.



Krum smiled, looking pleased by her answer. He was about to say something more when his friend Yuri arrived. The other boy gave Hermione a gentle apology and said that Kakaroff had sent him for Viktor. She noticed Krum did not seem to want to leave, but he seemed to have little choice in the matter. He rose from the table, taking one of Hermione’s hands up into one of his and pressed a gentle kiss against her fingers before bidding her farewell.



It was only then that she saw Cedric standing between two nearby shelves. He had one hand curled up in a half-fist against one of the bookcases, the other holding a thick tome on transfiguration. His expression was hard to read and he seemed to be forcing the smile to his face before he came to join her at the table.

“Hey, Cedric.”



“Hey, Hermione.” He set the book down and opened it, looking down at the page. When he spoke, it was with a soft voice. “So, going to the ball with Krum, then?”



She gave a shrug. “Yes, it looks as though I am.” She suddenly felt a bit guilty, though she couldn’t think why. “I suppose that I should have expected at least one of the Durmstrang boys to ask. Many of them aren’t comfortable with English. I’ve had to translate about a half dozen Yule Ball invitations for them already. I might have to start charging.” She tried a weak smile. “I suppose Krum just wanted to be certain he had a date he could talk to.”



Cedric didn’t look convinced. “Sure. Communication.” He gave a shrug, slouching down a bit in his chair. “Couldn’t be because you’re dead clever, or because you’re nice to just about everyone or because you’re cute as a button. Must be because he can talk to you.”



He sounded almost… sullen? An odd thought crossed her mind. Had Cedric been planning to ask her to the ball? She dismissed the harebrained idea as soon as it formed. Cedric Diggory was a friend and occasional training partner, nothing more. He had girls swooning over him from all directions. And, though she was sorry to admit it, he was still a bit scared of her. She knew that, though he was getting very good at hiding it. At any rate, she was quite certain that he had not been planning to ask her to the ball.



~***~