Where'd You Go

"Harry, you need to eat something." I'd been trying to force toast down his throat for the past ten minutes, but it was like he was on another planet. He refused to eat.

"I'm not hungry." I knew it was the nerves talking. Harry ate like a horse most of the time. He was the same way during first year before his first quidditch game. He didn't even touch his breakfast.

"You're battling a dragon today. You need to eat." I lowered my voice to a whisper but made sure to put venom in my words so he knew I meant business. He let out an exasperated sigh, shoveling a forkful of eggs in his mouth. It wasn't a full meal, but it was better than him eating anything at all.

"Happy?" His tone was sarcastic, and I rolled my eyes.

"No, I'm not happy. I'm worried out of my mind, and you're not making things any better." I exhaled, leaning my head into my hands. I didn't know how I was going to make it through the day. Everyone was going to watch, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to attend. However I knew I'd end up being the only person in the castle if I didn't go, and that would make me worry more.

"I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."

"And you have every right to be. I don't know why they expect you to do this in the first place. Surely they could have made an exception. You're not even above the age limit. The tournament should have been called off. If Crouch had any sense he would have said no as soon as your name came out of that goblet." Barty Crouch still rubbed me the wrong way after the incident at the World Cup. He seemed like a man that didn't much care for the safety of anyone else. He was putting my best friend in danger. Ultimately, he was the one that was in charge of making the decisions, and he basically sentenced Harry to death.

"You're not helping, Alex."

"I'm not here to help. I'm here to be honest. I can't help you battle a dragon. I say you figure out a way to use your broom." I pushed my plate away, my appetite complete gone at the thought of Harry potentially dying.

"Funny. Moody said the same thing." Professor Moody was yet another person that I wasn't very fond of. He seemed to be an okay teacher, but something was off about him, and I was tired of not knowing what he was drinking from his flask every hour.

"If it's coming from a professor, maybe you should listen." It was his best bet after all. There wasn't much else he could do. Cedric, Fleur, and Krum were all older and more experienced than Harry. They'd have better strategies.

"Are you coming down to the quidditch pitch to watch?"

"I don't really have a choice. I'm going to be worried sick either way, but I'd rather be worried sick and know what's going on than sitting in the common room pulling my hair out trying to figure out if you're still alive." I was probably being dramatic, but recent events proved that we weren't exactly safe, even within the walls of Hogwarts.

"Still not helping."

"Again, not here to help. We better get going." I noticed that people were already starting to file out of the Great Hall, and I was pretty sure Harry had to be there before everything else. We walked down to the quidditch pitch, my arm looped through his. Hermione was off somewhere stroking Ron's ego. He'd been particularly nasty when we woke up, not even bothering to wish Harry good luck. His face was sour and had the words "leave me the bloody hell alone" written all over it. I knew ultimately that Hermione would always choose Ron. That's what happened when you were in love with someone.

"You don't have to stay with me, you know," Harry said as we walked into the tent. Cedric was already there, sitting by himself while Fleur and Krum were both standing next to their headmasters.

"Well no one else is here, so deal with it." I knew I probably wasn't allowed to be inside, but until someone noticed or kicked me out, I was going to stay put. There were four cots in their respective corners, each one I assumed was for the champions. Cedric looked green with misery, and I felt bad for him. At least Harry had me. He had no one.

"Go talk to him." I hadn't noticed that Harry was staring at me, but he had a knowing look on his face as he nodded his head in Cedric's direction.

"What are you talking about?"

"He looks like he's going to pass out. He needs you. Go talk to him." My last real conversation with Cedric rang in my head. I was pretty sure I was the last person that he wanted to see, but it seemed like Harry wasn't going to let it go.

"We're not exactly on speaking terms right now, Harry." I was trying to keep my voice quiet, but the tent wasn't very big, and unless he'd dozed off, it was almost guaranteed that he could hear what we were talking about.

"Don't give me that. I know what's going on with the two of you. Go." There wasn't room for an argument because Harry placed his hand on my lower back and pushed, sending me toward the Hufflepuff prefect.

"Hi Cedric," I muttered cautiously, taking a seat next to him. He glanced at me briefly before returning his gaze to the floor. I placed my hand over his, trying to ease his nerves. I knew he was worse than he was letting on by the way he gripped my fingers. I set my other hand on his bicep and leaned my head on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't freak out and pull away. He leaned his head on top of mine, and when I looked at Harry, he was smiling.

"I'm scared," Cedric whispered for our ears only. He was squeezing my hand so tight that I was beginning to lose feeling in my fingers, but he needed me. I could hear the chatter of the people moving into the stands outside, and soon someone would be coming in to explain the task.

"You're going to do great." I whispered back, hoping to God or whoever was up there that I was actually right. I didn't want to see him get hurt. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt.

"Ah! Young love." The annoying voice of Rita Skeeter caused me to look up, my face slowly slipping into a scowl. In my opinion, she was a vile human being that would use anything and anyone to get ahead. Her stories were always fabricated, and it was a wonder no one had done off with her yet. Hermione was standing next to Harry, a bewildered and angry look on her face. I hadn't even noticed that she was in the tent.

"I have to go soon." I told Cedric knowing someone was going to notice me and Hermione and send us on our way. Everyone was gathering in a circle, and he kept a tight grip on my hand as he pulled me over with him. I glanced over at Hermione who raised her eyebrows but smiled at me all the same.

"Will you come back when I'm done?" His eyes were hopeful, and I couldn't tell him no. It was obvious that he was terrified. I'd never seen anyone looked so scared, and I couldn't blame him.

"I'll come back," I promised, squeezing his hand. He nodded his head once, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. My cheeks flamed, and I averted my gaze to the floor, trying to avoid the prying eyes on Harry and Hermione.

"Miss Granger, Miss Tanner, what are you two doing here?" Dumbledore questioned staring between the both of us with knowing eyes. That was our signal to leave, and I pulled Hermione outside. She was itching to ask me what was going on, but she kept silent as we moved into the stands finding Ron with Seamus and Dean.

"Is he alright?" Ron asked, causing me to raise my eyebrows. It was a surprise that he was even worried considering the way he'd been acting.

"He's fine," I said quickly, turning my attention to the tent where the champions were preparing to face their dragons. A Swedish Short-Snout was chained at the neck, waiting in a pit of rocks. I could see something golden sitting in the middle, but we were too high up for me to see what it was. A canon fired, and I watched as Cedric stepped from the tent, his head down. I sucked in a breath, running my fingers nervously through my hair. He stared around before his eyes focused on the golden object in the middle.

He looked like he was weighing his options. The dragon looked like it was patiently waiting for Cedric to make a move. He stepped forward, and the Swedish Short-Snout roared, spewing fire in his direction. He ducked out of the way at the last minute, hiding behind a rock. My heart was beginning to beat out of my chest. I didn't understand why anyone would want to watch a person to go through this. I didn't think it was fair to subject the dragons to this kind of torture either. Dragons were seriously mistreated creatures in my opinion.

"Someone's going to get hurt," Hermione mumbled, her hands on either side of her face. She was right. Someone was going to get hurt. The questions was who would it be and how bad would it be? Was Madam Pomfrey on standby? Or were we going to have to take people to the hospital wing? I hated that this tournament was stressful for everyone, including the people that weren't participating. Why did they have to decide to host it at Hogwarts this year? Surely there was another place that was suitable.

"Dumbledore must be out of his mind," I said more to myself than anything as another trail of fire spouted in Cedric's direction. He was barely managing to get away from it. He pulled out his wand, and I hoped that he had an idea and that he wasn't improvising. I watched as he turned a rock into a Labrador and let out a breath when the dragon began to chase after it, moving the opposite way. Cedric sprinted toward the middle, grabbing the golden object and holding it in the air. But the dragon was upset that it'd been hoodwinked and shot yet another spout of fire in his direction. He moved at the last minute, but I could see the burns covering the side of his face.

"That has to hurt," Ron commented. I rolled my eyes, pushing people out of the way to get back to the tent. Everyone was angry and grumbled nasty things around me, but I didn't care. My main focus was getting to Cedric. I threw myself into the tent, running into a pacing Harry.

"You okay?" I asked him, noticing the sickly look on his face.

"No." He looked like he was going to vomit on himself. He wasn't that scared when I left. Something was wrong.

"Harry, what dragon did you get?"

"Hungarian Horntail." That had to be a joke. How did the youngest person in the tournament get the hardest dragon to deal with? All dragons were unpredictable, but the Horntail was the absolute worst.

"Can't you just pull out of the competition or something?" I really didn't want to watch him face a Horntail. He'd be luck to make it out alive.

"No, I can't." I could see Cedric out of the corner of my eye, waiting for me to walk over to him. The burn on the side of his face was nasty, and I could tell that he was in pain, "Go. I'll be fine." I didn't want to leave Harry, but Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. I pressed my lips to Harry's cheek, wishing him luck before walking to Cedric. I kneeled in front of him, turning his face to the side so I could see his burn.

"This is going to sting," I warned him as I placed my fingers against his cheek. He winced, groaning a little. I focused on healing him, the familiar warmth spreading from my chest, through my arms, and to his face. When his skin looked normal and only slightly pink, I took my hand away, slumping to the floor.

"You're not supposed to do that," he whispered harshly, looking behind me. No one was paying attention to us, so I knew we were safe. It was a careless move, but I wasn't going to sit there and let him be in pain until Madam Pomfrey showed up.

"No one saw. It's fine."

"Thank you," he mumbled, pulling me to sit next to him.

"You're welcome. I was worried about you, but you did great." I gave him a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. Fleur went out of the tent next, and I flinched when I heard a loud roar followed by the gasps of everyone outside. It was collective sound, and I could only hope that nothing happened to her.

"I don't know if it was worth it though." He reached behind him, grabbing what I could now see what was a golden egg.

"What's in it?" I asked, staring at the large object. He shrugged, setting it behind him again.

"I don't know. We're not supposed to open it until everything is over." I could see Harry pacing again, jumping every time we heard a noise coming from outside of the tent. We all sat in silence, waiting for Fleur to come back inside. When she finally did, her face was dirty, and she had a gash on the top of her head. Madame Maxime ran to her side, spitting out something in French as she grabbed her face. Krum walked out next, Karkaroff patting him on the back as he passed through.

"Will you be okay in here? I'm going to go back out to watch Harry." I didn't want to leave Cedric by himself, but I wasn't going to abandon Harry either.

"It's still him, isn't it?" I really didn't want to have this conversation, especially with the people that were currently in the tent. I didn't want to argue again.

"Cedric, it's not like that. I care about you, but Harry's my best friend. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. It's not a competition for my attention, and if you can't handle me being friends with Harry then I can't talk to you. He was around long before you were, and I'm not going to abandon him because you're insecure." I pushed myself from the cot, walking back in Harry's direction. He was acting like he wasn't listening, but I knew he heard every word. Cedric grabbed my wrist, stopping me mid step.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I don't have a problem with Harry."

"Then stop trying to make me choose." He nodded once, releasing my wrist. Harry was staring at us now, glaring angrily at Cedric. I walked over to him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"If he lays a hand on you again, I'm going to kill him." I knew how serious Harry was, so I pushed at his shoulders, making him sit down.

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me, I promise. It's fine." Krum walked back inside, burns on his hands but a proud look on his face. It was Harry's turn, and I needed to go back outside.

"Alex, I-" I shook my head, helping him stand up.

"You're going to be fine. I'll be here when you get back. Go." I walked back outside, glancing back at Cedric once more before walking back to where Hermione and Ron were standing.

"How's he doing?" Hermione asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"He's nervous. I'm nervous. He got the worst dragon out of the bunch. He'll be lucky if he makes it out alive." There was a large slam, and I watched Harry tumble to the floor. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, tears welling up in my eyes. It was like a game of cat and mouse. Wherever Harry tried to run, the dragon followed, trying its best to swallow Harry with flames.

"Your wand, Harry! Your wand!" Hermione yelled from next to me. I hoped he could hear her. I watched him reach into his robes, the Horntail coming after him again. I screamed for him to move and watched as he dove behind a rock.

"Accio Firebolt!" I let out a small sigh of relief. His broom would help him, but the Horntail was closing in. If he didn't start flying soon, he'd either be dead or suffering from third degree burns.

"I can't watch this," I muttered, placing my hands over my eyes. When people started cheering, I figured Harry managed to get on his broom, and I heard something that sounded like metal snapping. I removed my hands, seeing Harry on his broom and the Horntail not far behind him, flying away from the quidditch pitch and toward the castle.

"That can't be good." Ron's presence was annoying me. All of a sudden he was worried after ignoring Harry for weeks. It wasn't fair, and I didn't like it. I expected everyone to fall silent. I know I did, but people started talking. It was loud, and it sounded like static to me. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't. Not until I knew that Harry was safe.

"Where do you think they are?" I asked Hermione, tugging at the ends of my hair.

"I don't know. They could be anywhere." Hogwarts grounds were big on foot, but flying around would take less than 20 minutes. If Harry didn't show up soon, that could mean that the worst had happened. It wasn't something that I liked to think about, and the people placing bets on him behind me weren't helping. I turned, shooting a chilling glare at the group of Slytherin boys that were standing directly behind me, Malfoy in the middle of them.

"Something wrong, Tanner? Worried about your boyfriend? It's alright. The world's better off without him anyway." I normally didn't respond to his nasty comments, but I was already on edge, and he sent me over. I lunged at him without another thought, grabbing hold of his jacket and slamming his head into one of the wooden benches repeatedly. I could feel hands pulling at my clothes, but all I could see was red. I felt someone lift me up, and I got one last good kick in, splitting his eye open.

"If you ever talk about Harry in front of me again, I will end you," I growled, fire in my eyes. Malfoy looked terrified, but he had to put up a front. He wouldn't be able to live this down.

"Wait until my father hears about this." I let out a bitter laugh. Lucius Malfoy couldn't do anything to me, and I wished he would try.

"Go ahead and tell your father, but watch your back. I'll make sure what's coming to you next will be worse than getting your arse kicked by a girl in front of your friends." I turned back, finding Hermione staring at me with wide eyes.

"You're going to get in trouble." As far as I knew, no one had seen but the people around us. The professors weren't paying much attention, so I thought I was in the clear.

"Oh well. He deserved it and much worse. He's lucky I only broke his nose and split his eye open. Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix him in seconds." I rolled my eyes, looking around to see if Harry was on his way back yet.

"You can't let him get to you like that, Alex."

"Hermione, you punched him last year. I don't think you get to tell me what I can and can't do." She opened her mouth to say something, but she knew I was right. She hated Malfoy just as much as I did, and though our situations had been different, the outcome was the same.

"I think you were brilliant." Ron was grinning, but I hadn't exactly forgiven him yet.

"Thanks." There was a loud roar, but it sounded like it was falling. I looked around for Harry, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I was starting to worried, but then the left side of the stands started to cheer, and I could see Harry flying in on his broom, the back end still smoldering as he landed and grabbed the golden egg. He held it up, a wide smile on his face, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, my shoulders sagging with relief. I was going to kill him.