Chapter Text
HERMIONE DRAGGED RORY TOWARD THE STAIRCASE IN THE ENTRANCE HALL JUST AS HARRY WAS ARRIVING. "Hello," she said to him, holding up a stack of toast. "I brought you this... Want to take a walk with us?"
"Good idea."
Rory shrugged and followed the two out of the castle and onto the Hogwarts' grounds. They passed by the Durmstrang ship and sat down by the edge of the lake. Harry recounted to Hermione what had happened after he and the rest of the champions had been sent to the chambers.
Rory was still silently fuming to herself. Dumbledore had explicitly stated that nobody under the age of seventeen would compete in the Triwizard Tournament. And now Harry, a fourteen-year-old, was being forced to compete in the Tournament.
Earlier that morning, she had sent Remus a letter informing him of what had happened, and she wondered what his reaction to the news would be — aside from anger and worry. As for her father's reaction... she was certain he would come marching out of hiding to give Dumbledore a piece of his mind, and if so she would gladly stand by and watch.
"Have you seen Ron?" Harry asked, interrupting Hermione and bringing Rory's attention back to the two.
She hesitated. "Um... yes... he was at breakfast."
"Does he still think I entered myself?" he asked and Rory furrowed her brow.
"Well... no, I don't think so... not really."
"You don't sound very convinced of that, Hermione," Rory said with a frown. "What exactly does 'not really' mean?"
She sighed. "Isn't it obvious? He's jealous?"
"Jealous?" Harry repeated incredulously. "Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of the whole school, does he?"
"Look," Hermione said with more patience than Rory would have had. "It's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault. I know you don't ask for it... but — well — you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous — he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many..."
"So..." Rory cleared her throat and Hermione turned her attention to the pureblood witch. "Ron's been friends with Harry for three years and he still thinks he asks for everything that happens to him?" she asked, tilting her head. "Is that what you're saying?"
"Well, not that exactly—"
"But it is." Hermione let out a breath and gave a small nod. Rory pursed her lips and nodded to herself. "If you'll both excuse me."
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow. She turned around, walking backward.
"To give Weasley a piece of my mind."
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"SO YOU'RE HANGING OUT WITH DEAN AND SEAMUS NOW?" Rory asked, walking up to the trio of boys in the Gryffindor Common Room. Dean and Seamus both looked up and, seeing an angry Rory marching toward them, glanced alarmedly at each other. "Your best friend is chosen for a deadly tournament and instead of supporting him, you're ignoring him?"
Ron shrugged. "It's not as though it's much of a secret," he said and she narrowed her eyes. "He entered the tournament and didn't tell me about it. I'm allowed to be angry."
She let out a breath. "And what makes you think he entered the tournament on his own?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"His name came out," he replied while Seamus and Dean glanced between the two. "How else could that have happened?"
"Oh, I don't know," she said sarcastically. "Maybe because he's Harry Potter and since the age of eleven he's faced Voldemort twice."
"Don't say his name!"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, suck it up. The point is, you should let him explain what happened before deciding that you hate him."
"He didn't tell me that he was entering!" Ron exclaimed and Rory scoffed, shaking her head. "We're best friends, or we're supposed to be. Best friends tell each other things."
"He didn't tell you because he didn't enter!" Rory snapped, throwing her hands up in frustration. "You said it yourself, you're best friends. And usually, best friends listen to each other. But you're not. You're ignoring him and making it seem like it's his fault even though it's not. If you actually spoke to him, you'd know how terrified he is."
Ron clenched his jaw and looked up at her. "Fine. Take his side. Just as you always do."
"If you thought I would agree with the rest of the school that he had entered himself, you're mistaken," she told him, leaning against the table and looking him directly in the eye. "You're going after my family now. I don't take that lightly." She huffed and straightened. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go comfort your best friend."
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THE NEXT DAY, IT WAS FAIRLY OBVIOUS THAT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL THOUGHT THAT HARRY HAD PUT HIS NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE. Though, unlike the Gryffindors, Hufflepuff House had clearly decided to give them the cold shoulder. It was especially evident in their shared Herbology class.
Rory was standing between Harry and Neville, and Hermione was separating Ron and Harry. Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, who usually got along very well with Harry, didn't even speak to the Gryffindor even though they were repotting Bouncing Bulbs with him and Rory. Rory only heard their voice when a bulb escaped Harry's grip and slapped him across the face. She let out an annoyed breath while trying to tame the bulb that was slapping him more.
She understood their frustrations; Cedric Diggory being the Hogwarts champion would have been the first time that Hufflepuff was in the spotlight. They always seemed to be forgotten among the four houses and just when it was their moment to shine, Harry was named the second Hogwarts champion. It didn't mean they had to take it out on the Gryffindors, though.
Following Herbology, the Gryffindors remained outside for Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. Harry stuck with Rory and Neville whilst Ron walked down with Hermione.
"You actually believe me?" Harry asked Neville. "You don't think I put my name in the Goblet?"
He shook his head with a shrug. "Rory sort of explained a little of what had happened. Besides, the way you looked when your name was announced gave it away."
"Well, thank you, Neville." He nodded and Rory smiled softly. Harry looked at her. "I think you and Hermione are the reason I'm still alive."
She patted his shoulder. "Well, be sure to thank us when you get the award for 'survived death more times than I'd like to count'."
He chuckled softly just as they reached Hagrid's hut, the Slytherins arriving just behind them. "Ah, look, boys, it's the champion." Rory rolled her eyes, hearing her cousin's voice. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer... Half the Triwizard champions have died... how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."
"And how much will you bet he'll last the entire tournament?" Rory asked, crossing her arms. "Just keep your annoying comments to yourself."
Just as he was about to retort, Hagrid arrived and began the lesson for the day. Rory chuckled softly at her cousin's annoyed look before turning back to the gamekeeper. He explained, to the class' horror, that the skrewts had been killing each other due to pent-up energy and the solution was for each student to take a skrewt on a short walk with a leash.
"Take this thing for a walk?" Draco repeated in disgust, looking into one of the boxes. "And where exactly are we supposed to fix the leash? Around the sting, the blasting end, or the sucker?"
"Roun' the middle," Hagrid replied while demonstrating. "Er — yeh might want ter put on yer dragon-hide gloves, jus' as an extra precaution. Harry — you come 'ere an' help me with this big one..."
Rory peered into the box and wrinkled her nose. As soon as she attached the leash, she was pulled forward, tangling herself with Neville in the process.
"Ow..." she muttered, standing up. She held a hand out to the boy, who was now covered in dirt. "Sorry, Neville."
"Don't worry about it," he said, shaking his head. "I'll apologize in advance for possibly crashing into you later."
Rory chuckled and glanced at Harry who was talking with Hagrid at the other end of the grounds. He caught her eye and she smiled softly before turning back to her skrewt, which had grown in size since the last class.
Harry watched as her skrewt let out a loud bang and she was dragged across the grounds, this time getting tangled with Hermione. She had only known him for a year and was more supportive than Ron was. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve someone like Rory in his corner, but he couldn't have been more grateful for her.