A Helping Hand

Chapter 2

Harry and Cedric silently made their way up one of Hogwarts' many staircases. Harry was still shellshocked, numb to the surrounding world whilst Cedric looked at him curiously, casting him expectant glances.When they finally reached the entry point to the Hufflepuff dorms, Cedric motioned for Harry to stay for a second.

"Harry" he said, grinning as he did so, "At least tell me how you snuck your name into the goblet, I'm a Puff, you know I'll keep it a secret". Harry sighed in frustration, "Cedric I didn't put my name in the goblet, I have no clue how all of that happened. None of this, I..I didn't ask for any of this."

"Come on Harry, you can't expect me to believe that, you must've done it somehow. I'm just curious how you managed to get past Dumbledore's age line - I mean even Fred and George failed spectacularly - and trick the goblet. Like Moody said, it must've taken a lot of power to fool that goblet or some really clever spell work." Harry almost growled, even more annoyed than before and ground out "I've no idea how someone would trick the goblet, because I didn't even go near that bloody cup!" Cedric stood back from Harry, assessing him once more. "All right, all right, you're not going to tell me how you got your name in fair enough, I suppose I can't really blame you," he said, patting Harry on the shoulder as he did so. As Cedric's hand brushed over him, anger pulsed through Harry, magic fizzing through his veins, itching under his skin and he sparked, he just wanted to get away from this conversation.

"Ow!" Cried Cedric, recoiling from Harry. "What on earth was that?"
"That," Harry snarled, "was me telling you to stay the hell away from me." Cedric glared back at him, "You don't want me as an enemy Potter, I look forward to destroying you in this tournament!" Harry didn't bother responding, he simply turned and walked away, heading towards the Gryffindor tower, for what was bound to be another unpleasant confrontation.

Harry was pacing up and down outside the portrait guarding the tower. "Well," she said, "Are you going to do that all night or do you want to give me the password?"
"Given the circumstances I'm in, it might be better to stay out here all night but I may as well get this over with." With that he gave the password, and, bracing himself stepped through the portrait hole. In what was becoming a depressing familiarity, he was greeted by another silence, as every pair of eyes in the common room, and there were many eyes - it seemed like all of Gryffindor was present, every pair of eyes turned to him. Ron and Hermione pushed their ways to the front of the crowd and for a second Harry's heart lept as he hoped for a second that they would take his side in this brewing storm. That hope was squashed by the first words that came out of Ron's mouth. "What are you doing here Potter, this place is for Gryffindors only." "Well, I am a Gryffindor and I was hoping to try and get some sleep." With that he pushed past the crowd and flopped onto his bed, immediately falling into a peaceful sleep. At least that was what Harry had hoped would happen. As soon as he tried to get up to his dormitory, he was met by Ron's arm barring any potential progress towards the stairs. This time it was Hermione who spoke up, the contempt in her tone filleting him like a fish. "You cheated your way into the tournament Harry. Gryffindors don't cheat, that's what Slytherins do. Thus, logic dictates you aren't a Gryffindor anymore." Many heads nodded along with, though a select few just stared at him neutrally, and he took note of those faces. His eyes pricked with tears, but he refused to cry in front of the people who had abandoned him. Without another word, he spun around and exited the Gryffindor tower, vowing never to return.

Wiping away tears, his self-pity departed leaving him filled with righteous anger. He stormed through the Hogwarts corridors, not caring who or what saw him. He continued in this manner for quite some time until he bumped into a large, unmoving solid wall. Except it wasn't a wall. He looked up into the crinkled, black eyes of Hagrid and for reasons he couldn't quite explain, threw his arms around him as he sobbed into his shirt.             
"Harry? What's going on? Are you alright?" Harry didn't respond to any of Hagrid's questions, instead continuing to cry. Hagrid looked around for a moment, before gently scooping the boy up into his arms and taking him back to his hut. The two were silent until they got outside of the castle, thankfully they were seen by no-one, that is apart from two keen eyed Ravenclaw witches. Once they were out of the castle Harry began narrating his tale back to Hagrid, finishing up just as they reached his hut. "-and then I bumped into you and started crying," turning red in embarrassment as he said that last part. Hagrid sighed, gently wrapping Harry in another hug, one that Harry gratefully folded into. "Harry, would I be right in saying that you don't really have anywhere to sleep right now?" Harry nodded pitifully, refusing to let the tears surface. The two fell silent as they both tried to come up with a solution. All of a sudden Harry bolted upright with an idea, "Hagrid, what about a tent? When I went to the World Cup with the Weasleys (here is face hardened) we stayed in a magic tent that was bigger on the inside than it was on the out. Maybe I could get one and put it up next to your tent."                   
"That's a great idea Harry, we just have to go see Dumbledore so we can get permission to go to Diagonal Alley." Harry's face seemed to harden for a second but he nevertheless agreed to go and see the Headmaster.

A/N: Well chapter two is in the works and the story is progressing nicely. Why is Harry seemingly annoyed with Dumbledore? How will the trip to Diagonal Alley go? Who were those two Ravenclaws? All will be revealed in the coming chapters...