Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 339: Lyra, you did what?
"You kissed Neville?!" Ginny exclaimed.
"You did what?!" Daphne shouted.
Lyra's green eyes moved to her. "Huh?... Daphne? What ar—"
"Neville Longbottom?" Luna asked.
"Who else is it going to be? We don't know any other Neville," Ginny said.
"There is Neville McClaud," Luna added.
"Who?!" Lyra was confused.
"He's a second-year from Ravenclaw," Astoria said.
"I don't know who that is!" Lyra was getting annoyed.
"I just told you… Neville McClaud, from the Clan McClaud. I believe he's from Scotland," Luna clarified.
"I… no… I kissed Neville Longbottom, okay?" Lyra knew it was impossible to argue with Luna when she got like this.
"You… you kissed… you kissed…." Harry kept pointing at her.
"Oh…" Lyra had forgotten her brother was also there. "Harry… calm down, please. It was just a kiss."
"You…" Harry's hand was shaking. "You kissed m… I mean Neville?..."
Lyra interpreted the boy's nervousness as Harry being extremely angry, to the point that he couldn't even talk properly. She was getting very concerned. Her brother could be overprotective sometimes, and she didn't want him to do something reckless. Neville already had enough on his plate with the first test.
"Calm down, Harry…." She said in a soft tone.
"So you kissed Neville?... The one inside that tent over there?" Daphne pointed, just to be sure.
"Yes, that one!" Lyra was getting annoyed now. What part of her message was not clear?.
Daphne was baffled. She wasn't sure how to feel about this.
At first, she got angry. But the more she thought about it… it was almost funny.
"So… how was the kiss exactly?" Daphne eventually asked for details. She was getting more curious about this.
"Eh?... Well…" Lyra glanced at Harry, who seemed to be having a mental breakdown. She wanted to tell all the details but was also worried about making things worse.
"Yes, how was it?" Ginny asked.
"Okay, I'll tell you." Lyra sat back down and began to narrate the whole thing with as much detail as she could.
"He was surprised?" Daphne asked.
"He looked shocked, to be honest…" Lyra said.
"So, no tongue?" Luna asked.
"No!... and how do you even know about that?" Lyra asked.
"Tongue?... What do you use the tongue for?" Astoria asked innocently.
"I saw some of the seniors practicing the other day," Luna told her friend. "Want me to show you?" she offered.
"No!" Daphne grabbed her little sister and pulled her back in a protective manner. "It's too early for that!"
"Oh… okay." Luna shrugged. They could always do that later at night if now was too early.
"So… back to the topic…" Ginny said. "What happened then? Where did he put his hands?"
"Well… he didn't really move, now that I think about it," Lyra recalled.
"He must have been too shy," Ginny nodded. This was expected of Neville.
Harry's face was red as a tomato, and he couldn't articulate a word.
"I think so too…" Lyra nodded. "Maybe next time, I'll grab his hand and place it on my butt."
"Oh dear Merlin!" Harry collapsed in the stands.
"Ah, Harry!" Ginny hurried to help him. "I think he's not feeling well."
"Oh no, I broke my brother!" Lyra frowned.
"Dear… this is too much," Daphne could barely contain her need to laugh.
Harry had barely managed to stay conscious. He felt very conflicted about this.
For one, he was happy that Lyra felt that way toward him… but on the other hand, albeit unknown to her, she had just done something that had been banned by the Ministry of Magic for two hundred years already...much to the dismay of some pureblood families.
He felt a wave of relief when Fleur Delacour entered the arena and everyone began to cheer.
At least he could distract himself with something else now.
Barty Crouch climbed a tall podium and announced the first tournament test before explaining what it was about.
Most members of the audience were shocked when they saw the handlers bring a giant green dragon and secure her on one end of the arena.
The tournament arena, also known as the Quidditch field, was, for the most part, a giant oval covered in rocks, with the dragon on one side and the champion on the other.
All around the arena were the stands, placed several feet higher on top of a solid stone wall. This was done for a better view, but also as a security measure against dragon fire.
Unless the beast started to spew fire upwards, they would be fine.
The walls around the arena were heavily reinforced with magic, and even the dragon would not be capable of damaging them.
The last security measure was the chain that secured the beast's legs to the ground. It could still move around a bit, but it wouldn't be taking off into the sky.
"This is too scary…" Lyra said. They all knew already what the test was going to be. After all, one of Ginny's brothers worked as a dragon handler and was responsible for bringing the beasts to Hogwarts.
But seeing the giant creatures in person was a different matter. She didn't know if Neville was going to be capable of succeeding.
Lyra cared little about him winning the tournament, and she knew Neville didn't care either. She just didn't want him to get hurt.
Ginny was also concerned, but mostly about Neville. When put beside the monstrosity that chased them two years prior, this dragon almost looked friendly.
Daphne glanced at the dragon but was not too impressed. She considered the basilisk and nundu a lot scarier creatures than this dragon.
At least fighting a dragon was a lot more direct, and one didn't have to worry about petrifying gazes or poison clouds.
With all said and done, it was finally time to begin.
Fleur got in position and was given the signal to start her trial.
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