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Harry and Hermione are laughing while Ron and Neville look decidedly uncomfortable. Luna stiffens at first, but then closes her eyes and melts against Neville and Harry.
"Uh, this is...uh..." Ron stammers.
"Sorry, Ron," I say. "Next time I'll try to swipe a couple more girls, even out our numbers. I figured Harry should get to be the one squished between our only two, seeing as he's the one who faced a dragon today."
"Oh...makes sense..." Ron says.
"Mm, your hair smells good, Luna," I say.
"Thank you, William," she says, voice muffled by the tangle of bodies.
"Oh no, Luna, run away," Hermione warns theatrically. "Get away from him while you can!"
Harry and Hermione start shaking the entire group with laughter while Neville and Ron look confused.
"Mr. Potter? What are you still doing here?" Madam Pomfrey says, coming in from another part of the tent. "Go out and get your score, already!"
We peel off one-by-one. Hermione finally lets go of Harry and hops up, pulling him to his feet. He grabs the egg and tucks his Firebolt under his arm. "The other Champions had people with them, so I'm going, too," Hermione says. "What about you guys?"
"N-no thanks," Neville says, backing away slowly.
"I'll stay with Neville," Luna says in a sing-song voice. I think to myself that she probably wouldn't be phased at all by the cheering crowds.
Ron looks torn. Hermione sees it, too and nudges Harry. "Coming, Ron?" Harry asks.
A wide, grateful smile spreads across his face. "Yeah!"
"See you guys after," I say, giving them a wave.
"Uh uh, William Albert Lerner, you get over here right now!" Hermione says, stomping over to me and grabbing my arm with hers. She marches me over to Harry, snakes her other arm into his, and charges toward the exit. "Let's go, Ronald!"
"Yes, ma'am," Ron says smartly.
As we exit the tent, the roar of the crowd staggers Hermione, but Harry takes over and pulls her forward. "So, Albert, huh?" I say, trying to take her mind off the crowd.
It seems to work momentarily. "Not odd enough?"
"Not odd enough," I say. "Plus I thought we settled on Awesome."
She snorts. "No, I think only you did that."
Ron walks on his other side, quickly describing the scoring system and explaining that Cedric got a 38, Fleur got a 39, and Krum got a 40.
Madame Maxime raises her wand, and a silver ribbon shoots out and forms a nine. Ron gives out a whoop, saying that she gave Fleur the same score. Crouch then forms a ten, causing Ron to jump up and down in excitement.
Dumbledore and Bagman both follow with the same score, causing the crowd to scream with excitement once again. Hermione is crying openly and screaming along with the crowd as each score is given.
Harry tears up a little when Dumbledore gives him a ten and a standing ovation.
I'm interested to see what Karkaroff does, if he'd go that far to make sure Krum is tied for the lead again.
He does. When his score of one goes up, the crowd roars in indignation. Ron lets out a string of expletives, and Hermione doesn't bother scolding him because her mouth is wide open in shock.
Harry looks over at me and I give him a shrug and jerk my head back toward the tent. He nods and we swing around, still arm-in-arm, and walk away.
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The first snow of the year covered the Hogwarts grounds in a thick layer of powder, frosting the Castle and the trees of the Forbidden Forest.
Long icicles hung from the many eaves and doorways, effectively imprisoning our group of friends inside the castle during our normal morning run.
"We could trudge through it," Neville suggests. He seems to have benefited from our exercise routine more than anyone else, and as one of the three with long legs, he'd have an easier time of it than our three shorter companions.
Hermione makes a face at that. "We could jog around the castle. Running stairs is good for different muscles than running on mostly flat surfaces."
"What she means is that it's good for your butt," I say. "Or bum, as you guys say."
"But Hermione already has a nice bum," Luna says, tilting her head and looking directly at it.
"Hey, not fair!" I say laughing. "That's what I was going to say!"
"Yes, I thought that's where you were going with that," she says with a smile. "I figured I'd save you a smack on the arm."
"You're so thoughtful, Luna." I toss an arm around her and squish her into my side.
She hums contentedly. "I like hugs."
"Me too," I say with a big smile.
"Are you sure you two aren't related?" Hermione asks, then starts laughing with Harry.
"We do look alike, don't we?" I ask, bending sideways to lay my head on hers.
"No, William, we don't look alike at all," Luna says matter-of-factly.
I push out a small stream of magic, and my hair lengthens and becomes a light, scraggly blonde as much like Luna's as I can make it. "How about now?"
Luna laughs then – a high, tinkling laughter that I just realize I'd never heard before.
That shocks most everybody else as much as my hair, and we all look at each other over Luna's head and smile.
"Still doesn't help, William," Harry says with a smirk. "Luna's much prettier than you, I'm sorry to say."
Luna blushes at the compliment.
"I think William's rubbing off on you, Harry," Hermione says, giving Luna a knowing smile. "And you do look completely ridiculous, William."
"Nonsense! Hey, watch this, who am I?" I put on my best imperious face and turn to Luna. "'Tut tut, child, you must practice sneering at your own reflection for at least four hours a day.'"
Hermione laughs. "Your accent is as atrocious as ever," she says, shaking her head.
"I am a far higher form of life compared to everyone else, therefore I speak perfectly. It is everyone else who has atrocious accents. Come, child, we must tend to our hair. There mustn't be a single strand out of place."
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Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 27+ chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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