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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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"Harry?" interrupted Hermione's voice. He looked up as she neared the table, and her eyes widened when she took in his drawn appearance. "Are you alright?" she asked urgently, quickly taking her seat. "I was worried when you didn't come in last night. Where were you? What happened?"
Harry glanced over and saw Ron coming in, and shook his head. "Later, Hermione," he said, throwing a significant glance in that direction. "We'll talk later, okay?"
Hermione watched him worriedly for a moment, but relented when she understood his message.
He was dismayed by the hoarseness of his voice, but there was little he could do about it. Trying to cover his pensive mood, he turned to dish up, though he knew he wouldn't eat even half of what he took. His stomach felt rather smaller than usual today, which was saying something.
Lunch went by without incident, except that Ron was once again the center of attention with his overly-embellished tales of the Second Task. Harry scowled at him; wasn't this the guy who accused him of lying about putting his name in the Goblet in the first place? It was awfully hypocritical of him!
They returned to the common room after lunch, and when Ron challenged Harry to a game of chess, he begged off for a nap. But rather than go to sleep, he just went upstairs and donned his invisibility cloak. Ten minutes later, after a whispered instruction in her ear, he followed Hermione out of the portrait hole.
"What's going on, Harry?" she asked when they were finally out of earshot of the Fat Lady.
"Not here, Hermione," he said firmly. "This is serious. I don't want it getting around."
Her eyes widened at his tone, and his point was made when they rounded the next corner, only to see several Slytherin students standing against one of the walls. Harry eyed them warily, but otherwise ignored them; he had bigger concerns than whatever they were getting up to. Hermione did not ask again.
He led her down to the lake, and they both found comfortable spots on his favorite rock. He was emotionally exhausted, and he didn't want to go through it all again, but he felt that he had very little choice. He needed her to know, and was in desperate need of her opinion.
And so, for the next ten minutes, he told her in reverse order about the things he learned from Sebastian. She was understandably shocked, but mostly took it in stride. When he mentioned that Sebastian had taken over his guardianship, though, she squealed joyfully.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" she burst, wrapping him in a life-threatening hug. "You've wanted to get away from those people for so long!"
"Yeah, I guess so," he said with a faint smile.
Hermione frowned and cocked her head at him. "...but?" she prompted.
"I'm happy, Hermione, don't get me wrong," he sighed. "It's just– I don't know them, really, so I don't know what to expect. And what about the Weasleys?"
She smiled softly at him for the question. "You have to do what you think is right, Harry," she advised him. "The Weasleys care about you, and they'll respect your decision either way. Is that what has you so down?"
"No," he said heavily. "That was the good news. The rest is bloody insane."
Hermione frowned, and Harry proceeded to explain to her what Sebastian said about life debts and veela magic. Then, after extracting a promise not to tell anyone else, he explained what actually happened in the lake. Her eyes widened as she listened, her jaw dropping open. He couldn't fault her for her reaction.
"But– But you're only fourteen, Harry!" she screeched loudly. Then, realizing how far her voice was carrying, she took a quick look around before hissing, "You can't get married! You're too young!"
Harry turned and speared her with a pained look. "Don't you think I know that?" he whispered. "What choice is there, Hermione? What am I supposed to do? Let her die?"
Hermione's mouth snapped shut, and her inner struggle was clearly visible in her eyes. Again, he couldn't blame her: he'd had many of the same thoughts that she was likely having at this very moment. Only difference was, he was the one who had to live with the consequences!
"I'm surprised you believe this," he noted after a moment. "I didn't think you would."
A tear came to her eye, and she looked away. "I saw it in a book on veela," she said sheepishly. "I was looking into them because Ron's been so... so... so infuriating, staring at her like he does!" Suddenly she looked back at him, her eyes filling with horror. "Oh Merlin, Harry, he'll be impossible when he hears about this! No wonder you didn't want to talk earlier!"
Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he drew his knees up to his chest. It was, perhaps, the second biggest problem with the whole thing! Ron's jealousy was a major issue – the Tournament proved that quite admirably – and he had no doubt that it would result in another flare-up. He wasn't ready to deal with it, but he didn't see much of a choice.
"I know," he whispered quietly. "I don't know what to do, Hermione. You know how he is."
Hermione glowered at nothing in particular. "He'll go on about your 'perfect life'," she spat. "Honestly! Sometimes I wonder why we even bother with him!"
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Enjoying the fanfic and hungry for more?
Dive deeper into the story with over 25+ chapters ahead! Your support on Patreon keeps the adventure alive. Visit my Patreon page to unlock exclusive content and support the continuation of this fanfic journey!
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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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