A Helping Hand

Chapter 14

A/N; Soooo, I'm alive

First off I'm sorry to all of you for leaving this story for so long, but let me update you with what's been going on. The last time I updated this was over 2 years ago I think, and since then I've been dealing with some personal demons, and especially with school I haven't been able to write. Right now, I'm in the middle of sitting my A-levels (most important school exams for my non-UK readers) but I've been getting that itch to pick up a pen...

So this is what's going to happen: On my profile there will be a poll, with the option of my either continuing this story, or starting a new one completely.

I don't mind what option you guys pick, I still have ideas for this story, but I've got a bunch of other ideas as well. If this story wins, I will go back and edit the previous chapters to bring them up to standard and then finish this story - with proper planning and editing this time (on that note if anyone wants to be a beta reader please lmk). However, if the other option, a new story wins, another poll will go up, in which you guys will pick the point of deviation from canon (pre-hogwarts to anything up to order of the phoenix) and I will write a story based on that. 

The poll will be active until June 21st, cos that's the Summer Solstice and it just seems cool, and also cos I finish my exams on the 17th.

But yeah, that's the state of things rn, can't wait to get back to writing.

As a sidenote, enjoy this oneshot continuation from the last chapter, with Hary meeting Ron and Hermione after the first task:

Unfortunately, the grin that had spread over Harry's face and the joy that accompanied it were not to last. Because, waiting for him, having planted themselves between the arena and the champions/medical (not that he'd need any medical assistance) tent were Idiot 1 and Idiot 2. Or, as the rest of the school knew them, Ginger pig and Insufferable know-it-all. Or, as he used to know them, Ron and Hermione. Before Harry could try to make a run for it, they were onto him, a dumb smile on Ron's face as he approached.

"Mate that was epic!" He exclaimed, smacking Harry on the back. "Going against a dragon like that, only a true Gryffindor could do that. C'mon let's go get some food and then we can go back to the Tower!" Harry simply stared at the buffoon coldly, while the grin slowly slid off the ginger's face, replaced by a look of uncertainty, and was that a tinge of fear? It was? Good. Meanwhile, the bookworm had been carefully studying him, as if she was a great scientist conducting an experiment of upmost importance. And to be fair, that's what she probably thought she was doing in her head, the idiot. Then, without warning, she suddenly screeched like a harpy, throwing her arms around his neck.
"I knew it Harry! I knew my advice would work!" She screamed. Harry stared at her blankly, trying to control himself. Hermione, sensing his confusion smirked a little and explained her delusion. "You see Harry, everything I did since your name came out of the goblet was for your own good, I was helping you get over yourself and obviously I've succeeded! I'm not sure about that shadow thing though, it looked like Dark Magic. I'll check with Professor Dumbledore and you'll either teach it to me or you'll have to stop. Oh, I'm so happy we're all friends again!"

A beam on her face, she withdrew, going back to Ron who stuck out his hand, trying to clasp Harry on the shoulder.
"So mate? Wanna get some food?"
Harry surveyed them still, a cold flare pinning the pair to the spot. Eventually however his face softened, and Hermione made to hug him once more, only to be stopped short with a flick of his hand.
"You two," Harry said, a grin  on his face as he silently laughed to himself, "you two have got to be the biggest idiots on the planet. I would insult you to shreds, but frankly you're not worth my time. Now do me a favour, and fuck off. Actually no, go take a walk. You're gonna go forward, take a left, you're gonna see a cliff and you're gonna jump off. Clear, or do I need to go slower for the ginger idiot? No we're good? Lovely." Still laughing to himself, he shouldered his way past them, ignoring their futile pleas for him to stay.

Harry was still chucking at the expense of Dumb and Dumber when Weasley reached out a yanked on his arm, pulling him back towards the fuming redhead and the harpy. The grin once more slid from Harry's lips, replaced for the first time by actual emotion. Now, dear reader can you guess what that emotion was? Anger. Pure anger. (If you guessed right, ten points to Gryffindor!)
Slowly, deliberately, Harry removed Weasley's clammy hand from his wrist. Slowly, deliberately, Harry drew his Nundu heartstring wand and pointed it at the boy.
"You stupid fuckwit. I didn't know they made IQs in the negative but thank you for proving me wrong. Watching you eat makes me wish I was blind and deaf. You walk and talk like a drunk troll. Your mum's so fat when she stepped on a scale Buzz Lightyear came out and said 'to infinity and beyond'. Your mum's so ugly people break into your house to close the curtains. You look like the result of an orangutan being bred with a pig. Speaking of pigs...porcus est!
With a squeal, Weasley shrunk and kept shrinking. After a moment, a fat pig stood in the place of Weasley - though Harry observed it was hard to tell whether the spell had been successful, given the similarities in body shape and colour between Weasley and the pig. Wait no... the pig wasn't ginger, the spell had worked perfectly, much to Hermione's anger.                                                              "HARRY JAMES POTTER!" the harpy screeched, "You turn him back right now or I will go to Dumbledore and I will tell him you've gone Dark. And once you turn him back you will apologise to him, and then to me. Only once you do that can we be friends again, and then I might think about helping you for the Second Task - and you'll need because Dumbledore won't let you use Dark Magic again! Now turn him back!"

"You're the genius Granger," he said, sneering with a face even Snape would be proud of. "Do it yourself."

He moved past them once more, ignoring Granger's screeches, only looking back as he reached the edge of the Forest, a smirk crossing his face as watched her increasingly desperate attempts to reverse his Transfiguration. He watched as she cried for McGonagall to come over and laughed at the Professor's disinterested efforts to bring Weasley back. Shaking his head, he stepped back into the shadows of the Forest.

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