"Excuse me, Mr. Bagman, but could you be a little more specific? I mean, I'd have to catch up on three years' worth of general potions on top of whatever extra I'd need to learn. Could you point me in a general direction, at least?"
Bagman looked at Harry, looking conflicted. "I'm sorry, Harry, but the events and rules were decided well in advance, definitely before your name was placed in the goblet. All I can say is what I've already told you. You need to study potions for the Trial of Earth."
Well, I guess it narrows it down to "Earth" based potions, but that's still a pretty wide category, Harry griped silently. Hadn't he done this before? Then again, did he really try to win last time? He'd need to consult with Hermione. Leaving the tent, he made his way straight to the VIP seats to find her.
"Harry! What on earth were you thinking?" Hermione shrieked as Harry approached her. That certainly wasn't the response he was expecting.
"What do you mean? I was just doing my best in the duels..." Harry gave a cautious smile, not completely sure of why Hermione was so worked up. He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder to calm her. She swatted his hand away.
"You almost got yourself killed, Harry!" Hermione was breathing heavily and on the verge of tears.
"The tournament's always been dangerous, Hermione. You know that! You've been helping me train!" Harry retorted. He felt that she was being uncharacteristically illogical at the moment. It wasn't as if he stayed overnight in the Hospital wing like he'd done so often.
"That doesn't mean you have to make it more dangerous for yourself! You tossed two dozen explosives at once at a ball Krum was banishing towards you! What were you thinking?"
"Krum- Viktor was using my own potions against me! If he did that summoning spell a few more times I would have lost! What else should I have done?"
"You should have lost the duel!"
Harry was stunned by the simplicity of her answer. Why didn't he think of it before? In fact, why didn't he even consider it in the first place? Okay, at the beginning of the tournament, he had known that he needed to stop Cedric from winning, and the easiest way to do that was to simply beat him... but that was just an excuse. He actually liked being in the tournament. He dreaded every event for a few days before each one started, but as soon as it started he got a rush of excitement while he was competing, a wave of relief when it was over, and a surge of anticipation when waiting for his scores. He wanted to win, pure and simple. He summed up his thoughts by telling Hermione, "I don't want to lose."
"And you'd just throw away your own life just for that?" She bit her lip, waiting for his response. Harry noticed that a few people were starting to stare, so he pulled her away from the crowd and tossed up some privacy wards in a secluded area under the bleachers.
"Why are you so worked up about it, Hermione? Besides, even if the worst happens, you'll find me again in the Chamber." Seeing Hermione gasp in response, he knew he'd said exactly what he wasn't supposed to.
"I was afraid you'd say that," Hermione whispered as she finally broke down and a few tears began to fall. "Is that why you're so reckless with your life? Does any of this matter to you, or is it all a game now ? Do... we matter?" She turned and ran back to the castle. Harry wanted to stop her and just tell her that it was obvious all of that mattered to him, but he didn't know how to say it without sounding insincere.
By Sunday, he still hadn't heard a word from her. He'd woken up early, hoping to catch Hermione coming down the stairs. He waited for hours, only to find Lavender approach him to say that Hermione was moping on her bed and didn't want to come down. A few attempts to coax her out, via Parvati and Lavender, resulted in failure. The entire time he was waiting, he ran through the conversation in his head over and over. How could she think I didn't care for her anymore? he wondered. Maybe I need someone else's perspective on this. Where's Luna?
He went to his room to get the Marauder's Map. Searching through all the places he thought she'd be for ten minutes, he still couldn't find her name. He then decided to search for Neville instead. Another ten minutes later and he still came up with nothing. Since the map didn't show the Room of Requirement, he made his way over, only to find the room unused. Back in the common room, he flopped on to the couch and yelled, "Where is everyone?" in frustration.
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