Chapter Text
"Harry Potter."
Harry sat there, aware that every head in the great hall had turned to look at him. He was stunned. He felt numb. He was surely dreaming. He had not heard correctly. There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry as he sat, frozen, in his seat. Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear towards her, frowning slightly.
Harry turned to Ron and Hermione; beyond them, he saw the long Gryffindor table all watching him, open-mouthed.
"I didn't put my name in," Harry said blankly, "You know I didn't."
Both of them stared just as blankly back. At the top table, Professor Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to Professor McGonagall.
"Harry Potter!" He called again, "Harry! Up here, if you please."
"Go on." Hermione whispered, giving Harry a slight push.
Harry got to his feet, trod on the hem of his robes, and stumbled slightly. He set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. It felt like an immensely long walk, as the tob table isn't getting closer at all.
Harry's feet are, in fact, still planted on the floor beside his seat, unable to move, no matter how much Harry's brain is screaming at them to do so. Harry takes a shaky breath, his heart pounding as he shakes his head slowly.
"Harry, up here now." Dumbledore calls, his eyes no longer twinkling like always.
"No. I didn't do it, no." Harry whispers, his voice hoarse.
His foot takes a step back, and another, before he turns towards the doors. He walks away from the top table, away from the stares of the school, away from that wretched cup. Away from it all. Harry can faintly hear voices calling to him from behind, but he cant bring himself to care. As he hears footsteps, he breaks into a run, shoving open the doors to the Entrance Hall, before slamming them shut behind him. He breathes shakily, his whole body shaking as his head spins. How on earth is his name in the Goblet? He didn't put it in there! Harry gasps as he feels pounding on the other side of the door, but the doors have magically locked, by some force. Harry takes a step away from the doors, his hands gripping at his hair. Harry suddenly hears footsteps from the left side door to the hall, and he sprints out to the grounds, into the cool air of the night. He runs down the hill, past the courtyard, down to a small cliff leading down to the forest. Harry pauses in his tracks, leaning his hands on his knees as he takes big, gulping gasps of air.
Harry looks up, his eyes slowly adjusting to the night. He recognizes this place, but he cant put his finger on it. Harry falls to his knees, his eyes watering. His hands fall to his side, and he tries to breathe slowly, the cold air helping him calm down. Suddenly, Harry feels a light touch on his cheek, the touch feeling like wood. Harry opens his eyes, and he gasps as he sees one of the Whomping Willow's branches gently caress his cheek, as if trying to comfort him. Harry sighs softly, the feeling somewhat comforting. He slowly gets to his feet, now recognizing the clearing as where the Whomping Willow resides. Harry slowly approaches the tree, gently placing his hand on the trunk before sitting down with his back against it. He breathes in deeply, closing his eyes as the tree gently caresses his face with its smoother branches.
Harry sits up and opens his eyes as he hears footsteps heading towards him, and he tenses up. He can see a blurry figure approaching him, their dark robes billowing out around them. Harry only knows one person who has robes like that.
"Potter!" Snape calls, pausing some way away from where Harry sits.
"Professor Snape." Harry replies calmly.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Snape snaps, taking a step closer to Harry.
The Whomping Willow fans out its branches, keeping Snape away from Harry. Harry pats the tree's trunk, slowly standing up and approaching Snape as the tree's branches rise off the ground.
"Potter..?" Snape asks faintly, his eyes warily eyeing the tree branches.
Harry crosses his arms, looking down at the ground as he stands in front of Snape. Snape clears his throat.
"Potter, you are to go to your dorm for the night. Tomorrow morning, Professor McGonagall will question you about the Cup." He says, his voice tight.
Harry nods mutely, his throat drying up.
"Good. Now go to bed." Snape says, turning around and walking back up to the castle.
Harry follows him after a few seconds, twisting his fingers nervously. What will his friends think? What will the other students think? What will the professors think? Harry sighs quietly as he walks up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, his energy running very low. He just wants to sleep. He reaches the portrait hole, mumbling the password before stepping inside. As soon as the portrait closes behind him, Harry is hit with noise.
He stumbles back as hands pull him forward, and he's suddenly thrust into the middle of the room. People are cheering, shoving things into his hands, music is pounding in his ears. Harry cant do anything but freeze, his body tensing up like a statue. His head hurts, his ears hurt, everything is too loud. It's so loud. Harry drops his arms before holding his hands over his ears. His vision is blurry, and he realises his glasses have been knocked off his face. He looks down frantically for them, but he cant see a thing. Someone suddenly grabs his arm, but in a gentle way. Harry is still pressing his hands over his ears as the arm leads him away, up the staircase, and into his dorm.
Someone is gently talking to him, but Harry still cant see anything, and his head hurts, and all he wants to do is sleep. A hand touches his and softly pulls his hands off his ears. Something is placed in his hand, and Harry recognises it as his glasses. He slips them on his vision, coming back to be faced with bushy hair, dark skin, and a soft smile.
"Are you okay now, Harry?" Hermione asks gently, guiding Harry to his bed.
Harry nods numbly, his senses still slowly recovering from the bombardment of noise downstairs. Hermione nods softly, letting Harry come back to himself and speak.
"'Mione." Harry mumbles, and arms are wrapped around his shoulder.
Hermione hugs Harry tightly, and Harry hugs Hermione back. They dont say a word, they just know what the other needs. It's been like that since first year, Hermione just can see what others cant see in Harry. Harry buries his head into Hermione's bushy hair, feeling comforted by the familiar texture. Hermione sighs softly, rubbing slow circles into Harry's back, helping his heart rate calm down. They stay silent for a few more minutes, music still playing from downstairs, muted slightly by the walls.
"Better?" Hermione asks softly, leaning back slightly and inspecting Harry's face.
Harry nods silently, not having the energy to communicate through words right now.
Hermione nods, smiling kindly, "I'll let you get some sleep." She says quietly, moving to stand up and leave.
Harry grabs Hermione's wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She turns back, looking down at him, and instantly understanding what he needs. Hermione nods slowly, sitting down on Harry's bed, leaning back against the headboard as Harry lies down beside her, still holding her hand. Harry slowly closes his eyes, and Hermione gently slips off his glasses, placing them on his bedside table. Harry sinks into the mattress, the events of the day and the extra energy he usually doesnt use weighing down on him. He lets out a soft sigh, his body relaxing as he feels Hermione's hand in his. He slowly drifts off, sleep taking him under into a dreamless rest.
Hermione watches as Harry falls asleep, his hand relaxing its grip on hers. She stays there for a while, just resting beside her first and closest friend. The music from downstairs soon stops, and Hermione can hear people walking up the dormitory stairs. The dorm door opens, and Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Ron walk inside, talking quietly. They stop as they spot Hermione and Harry, and Neville, Seamus, and Dean nod at Hermione before beginning to get ready for bed. Ron narrows his eyes, staring at Hermione before shaking his head and turning to his bed, grabbing his pajamas and climbing into his bed, shutting the curtains around them. Hermione sighs quietly, gently slipping her hand from Harry's. She bids the other boys a quiet goodnight, getting goodnights in reply, before going to her own dorm. She silently enters her dorm room, seeing the other girls already asleep.
Hermione silently gets changed, her eyes closing as soon as she lies down in her bed. Her mind is tired, and too slow to think about anything. Hermione's body slowly relaxes, and she soon falls asleep, drifting away into the world of blissful oblivion.