Jupiter | Harry James Potter

xxvii ; denial

   Hearing that Harry Potter had been broken up with was the highlight of my year. Yes, I know, I'm horrible for thinking that, but I can't deny it anymore. Ever since the night of the second task, I have finally been able to enjoy my friends' company without that little mouse following Harry around like a lost puppy dog.

Harry, who had become much more delightful to be around, is the complete opposite of Cora. Occasionally, I'll see her glaring at me from across the Great Hall or during classes with the Hufflepuff's and I'll try my best to ignore her, but Merlin, it's hard to focus on my work whenever I can feel her tiny eyes on me. I became always prepared for a duel, just on the off chance she decided to finally grow a pair and do something about her pointless grudge, but it wasn't like I was scared that she'd even manage to hex me. If there was one thing I had learned about her over the past few weeks, Cora Farraway is all bite and no bark.

Another plus that came from the ending of the second task, Harry's confidence had faded again and he was back to being absolutely terrified of even suggesting something around me. A year ago, I probably would've cried and thrown a tantrum to Hermione upon hearing that news, but now, I was extremely relieved. Things were starting to return back to normal between us, and he for some odd reason, stopped trashing Cedric as much. Now, I'm not saying he doesn't glare at him in the halls or roll his eyes whenever I so much as mention his name but he's stopped gagging which is a definite benefit. I'm not sure why, but I have to admit, I am too afraid to ask why in case he gets all defensive and goes back to how he used to be. I'd rather not poke the bear, honestly.

The only downside to the events of the second task, is that Ron had started to become very accustomed to his newfound fifteen minutes of fame. I preferred to not speak about what I had gone through whenever I was placed under the sleeping spell, but Ron had no issue with it. In fact, his story seemed to change with every retelling. Ron had begun to tell a tale of kidnapping, in which he struggled single-handedly against fifty heavily armed merpeople who had beat him into submission before tying him up. "But I had my wand hidden up my sleeve." He boasted to Padma Patil, who had quickly become incredibly fond of Ron. "I could've taken those mer-idiots any time I wanted."

"What're you going to do? Snore at them?" Hermione scoffed with an eye-roll. Ron went extremely red, and moved onto the part of the tale where he woke up from his slumber and heroically saved Gabrielle Delacour from drowning.

"Are we going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" I asked as the food from our plates cleared. Even though my dad had given me the permission slip to visit the village, I had barely gone this year. With all of the tournament and boy drama, I hadn't had the energy to go. It seemed like this weekend would be the first peaceful weekend I might see during the whole year.

"Er- about that..." Harry muttered hesitantly, his eyes not quite meeting mine from across the table. "Sirius wrote me a letter before the second task." My mouth fell open, and I was about to throw a tantrum until Harry quickly raised his hands in defense. "It wasn't anything important, he was just asking me to send him Hogsmeade dates!"

"Is that all?" I asked, crossing my arms and pouting slightly. I was a little offended that Sirius, my dad, had written to Harry and not me.

"Yeah, I swear. That's all." Harry quickly assured me.

"Speaking of Sirius..." Hermione said, looking up to the open window at the top of the ceiling. Hundreds of owls were flying through, each carrying a different sized package or stack of letters. A familiar brown owl came swooping down to our table and dropped a small letter on our table in between Harry and I. It was addressed to the both of us. I snatched it up before Harry could, and he let out a small groan.