Catching Her Heart Pt. 2

Chapter 89

"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore boomed, his voice echoing through the hall. Silence had permeated the Great Hall after the four champions had left the room. It had only lasted a short time though before chaos ensued and everyone started yelling. Many students were upset about what happened, namely the Hufflepuffs, who thought Harry was stealing Cedric's spotlight. Others were upset, too.

Hermione wished for nothing more than to scream at them to shut up, as Professor Dumbledore had done, and to tell them to think, but the lump would not leave her throat. She knew it was her anxiety over Harry's safety that caused it. She was relieved when everyone, staff and student alike fell silent at once after Professor Dumbledore shout.

"Now, I know that this is an extremely unusual set of events," he said calmly when he spoke after gaining their attention. "I assure you that we will do everything in our power to sort it out and make it right. I ask that you bear with us while we determine what has happened. In the meantime, Prefects, if you would, please escort your housemates back to the dormitories. I am sure thinks will not look so hectic after a good night's sleep."

Hermione rolled her eyes. If only, she thought. The others might be appeased, but she wasn't. She'd read in TriWizard Tragedies that the Goblet made a binding magical contract. It was done, and they couldn't undo it. While it didn't say how such a contract was enforced in the case of the Goblet of Fire, it referenced similarities between blood pacts and the unbreakable vow.

Hermione followed the Gryffindors out of the hall and headed toward the grand staircase, but once in the entrance hall, she shoved passed Ron, Seamus and Dean, sick of hearing them complain about what a cheater Harry was when they had all cheered on Fred and George earlier, and ran ahead of Percy who hadn't lost his position as Gryffindor Prefect yet, and shouted after her. She didn't stop though, continuing on up the stairs to the fat lady's portrait.

"Password?" the fat lady asked.

"Balderdash," Hermione replied, and the portrait swung open. Hermione heard Percy still shouting after her but ignored him and ran into the common room and up the stairs to the girls dorm where she took just enough time to draw the curtains around her bed and charm them before she flung herself on her bed succumbing to her fears and devolved into tears.

Earlier that morning, she had joined Harry and Ron in going to Hagrid's and she could believe what she'd heard coming from the Great Hall just now. The way he had been acting, it might be the last time they ever did anything together. Was their friendship at an end after just three years? Did Ron seriously believe that Harry entered his name? He had looked so angry when he was talking with Dean and Seamus.

That night Hermione slept fitfully, the images of everything she read playing out in her mind not only with Viktor, Fleur, and Cedric, but with Harry as well. It was like she was back home watching a movie on TV, but she couldn't stop it. She didn't didn't even know when she'd fallen asleep, she hadn't heard her dorm mates come in because she'd charmed both sides of the curtains as she'd pulled them shut.

She was exhausted when she woke the next morning, her eyes feeling dry and scratchy, her face puffy from crying the night before. She was sure they were bloodshot as well. She rubbed her face, trying to wake up some more and sighed when it didn't work before she pulled back the curtains, canceling the charms and saw that the sun hadn't yet risen, the sky a soft predawn gray.

She dug around in her trunk and filled the bowl of food for Crookshanks before getting up and casting a charm on her close to freshen them. She yawned as she gathered her toiletries and headed to the bathroom, glad when she didn't see anyone else on her way. She allowed her mind to wander as she went through her morning custom and recalled her trip down to Hagrid's with Harry and Ron the morning before.