She was positive this year was the one worst yet.

With the arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons the typically quiet library was overflowing with people – mainly to gaze upon quidditch star Viktor Krum who spent what seemed to be every waking moment there. His fan club whispered so loudly in the stacks Hermione could barely focus on her work, even in her favorite secluded table.

But it wasn’t just the rowdy library. Someone had put Harry’s name into the Goblet of Fire naming him as the second Hogwarts champion. Ron’s fragile ego couldn’t handle the blow, regardless of how obvious it had been by the expression on Harry’s face that someone else had put his name into the cup.

So Ron did what Ron did best: avoided and moped.

Hermione’s heart broke for Harry who once again was being ostracized from the school.

“You believe me?” he’d said as they shared toast walking around the black lake.

“Of course I do, Harry. You’re my best friend, the moment they called your name I could see it on your face.”

Harry seemed to sag with relief as he tore a piece of bread into pieces and threw it into the lake, watching the bright red tentacles of the giant squid scoop them from the surface.

“What do I do now, Mione?” Harry had sighed after a moment, throwing himself onto the grass.

“We prepare for the first task… Whatever it could be.” Her mind spun out in different directions.

After his name had been called, Hermione had spent the rest of that evening reading up on the tournament with the help of Theo and Daphne. Draco had been quiet, grumbling about how everything always happens to Potter – which seemed to be a sentiment shared by the majority of the school.

Unfortunately, with Harry and Ron no longer on speaking terms, Hermione felt responsible for spending as much time as possible with him. She knew what it was like to feel alone at Hogwarts. That meant however, that she was seeing the rest of her friends very little over the following weeks. She missed them all terribly, but Draco the most. The two-way journal had become a lifeline for her.

Finally, one evening, it all seemed to become too much for Harry.

“Don’t you do anything else besides study?” he groaned, snapping A History of Magical Games and Sports closed in front of him.

Hermione blinked a few times, looking at the papers and books scattered in front of them.

“What do you mean?”

She couldn’t quite understand. The last few weeks she’d thrown herself into the thick of things to help him as much as possible to prepare for the first task that they still had no idea how to tackle. She’d created flow charts for likely challenges based upon past tournaments, pro and con lists on each champion, even speaking to Nearly Headless Nick – the Gryffindor ghost – to ask him what he remembered of the last ones.

“I’m just so tired of sitting in the library every evening with you. It’s so boring ,” he said mulishly.

Anger sparked in her chest. This is what he thought after she’d given up her evenings to see Draco and the rest of them? After she’d been putting off her homework to help him prepare? That she was boring?

“I miss Ron,” Harry mumbled.

Hermione shut her own book and with a wave of her wand packed her belongings into her bag.

“Well,” she snapped. “Then you should pull your wand out of your arse and go talk to him, Harry. I’m sure he’d love to help you prepare for your first task.”

“Hermione…” Harry started, surprised by her reaction.

“No, Harry. I’ve been trying for weeks to help you and the only thing you have to say is that I’m boring. So go find someone else more exciting.”

Harry spluttered behind her, but she ignored him as she winded her way through Krum’s fan club. Krum looked up at her as she passed and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but Hermione skirted around him before he could get the words out. She could feel her magic crackling through the ends of her hair with anger and she clutched a book closer to her chest as if it could protect her from the pain she felt.

Her feet took her the familiar winding path through the depths of the library. With a leap of her heart, she heard the familiar sound of Daphne’s laugh weaving its way through the books.

The laughter of her friends stopped the moment she turned the corner.

“Hermione!” Daphne called brightly, before the smile slipped from her face.

“What is it, love?” Draco asked, jumping quickly from his chair.

He looked into her eyes for a long moment, pushing her curls from her face to see her better.

“It’s stupid,” she answered, her voice trembling.

“What did he do?” Pansy asked, the familiar tapping of her nails against the table drumming with the beat of Hermione’s heart.

Draco guided her over to the table, keeping her nestled against his side.

In an embarrassed whisper, Hermione told them of the last few weeks. They were all aware of how hard she had been working to help Harry. Countless times Theo had joined her when the library had been empty late at night, helping her with her lists. Even Blaise had occasionally passed her books he thought might help and more than once Daphne had delivered her sneaky cups of tea that Hermione had to vanish after finishing lest Madam Pince see them.

“Ungrateful prat,” Blaise swore under his breath.

“Did you really say he should pull his wand out of his ass?” Theo asked brightly, pride glimmering in his eyes.

“Yeah… I did.” Hermione grimaced, sure now she’d been overreacting.

Harry was under so much stress as the youngest champion. Now that she’d talked through the issue and had some time to breathe, she could understand why he would take out his frustration on her. She was the only one speaking to him presently.

“She’s been hanging out with you too much, mate,” Draco said with a grin, running his thumb beneath her bracelet.

Theo puffed his chest out proudly, leaning over to slap a hand over Hermione’s.

“I’m proud of you, Granger.”

“I don’t know… I think I may have been too harsh.”

Pansy huffed, throwing her magazine on to the table.

“That lot has you so brainwashed it makes me want to scream .” She shook her head, her silky black hair shimmering in the light. “Potter has no right to talk to you that way, especially not since you’re the only one at this school willing to even be seen with him right now.”

“You would think,” Blaise added as he leaned back on to the two back legs of his chair. “Given the way his life has progressed, he would feel more gratitude towards the people who stick by him instead of pining after gangly gingers that look like they’ve come down with spattergroit.”

Pansy nodded with a chuckle and even Daphne and Theo seemed to be agreeing. Hermione turned to Draco to see him trying to fight back his own grin.

“Do you think I’m brainwashed?”

Draco’s face turned serious as his eyes flicked back and forth between hers.

“I think you are loyal and passionate and good . I think you allow yourself to sacrifice your own wellbeing and happiness for the sake of others.” Hermione blushed, looking down at the table before Draco drew her face up to his with one crooked finger beneath her chin. “I also think Potter – and the Weasel for that matter – are great big prats who can’t see past their inordinately large noses.”

“It’s time for you to start putting you first, Mione,” Daphne said sweetly, leaning forward.

Hermione barely bit back her laugh. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Then she stopped, thinking about the thing she wanted to do most of all.

“Wait… I know…” She gave a meaningful look to Draco, who seemed to understand what she was thinking and gave her a small nod. His face broke into an eye crinkling smile as she tapped her wand, releasing the notice-me-not charm from her bracelet.

Daphne and Pansy both gasped, grabbing hold of each other, while Theo and Blaise appeared stunned into silence.

“Is that – ” Daphne started.

“A courtship bracelet?! ” Pansy finished.

“Blimey…” Blaise muttered under his breath while Theo rounded the table and tackled Draco to the ground.

“I KNEW IT!” He roared.

Daphne and Pansy practically pulled Hermione halfway across the table to look closer at the bracelet as Blaise joined in with Theo on top of Draco.

“I just… had my ribs… healed! ” Draco wheezed beneath his friends.

“That was ages ago!” Theo exclaimed, slapping a palm against his chest.

“Oh Mione, it's gorgeous ,” Daphne enthused.

Pansy’s face was so close to Hermione’s wrist she could feel her nose brushing the inside of her forearm.

“It’s perfect,” Pansy declared sitting back. “Nicely done, Draco.” She called, leaning over to watch the boys wrestle on the ground.

Draco’s thank you was slightly muffled by the head lock Theo was currently putting him in.

…

“Hermione…”

Harry’s anxious voice wavered over the din of noise in the great hall the next morning as Hermione pushed her eggs around on her plate. In the excitement of showing the rest of her friends the bracelet the night before she’d found it difficult to fall asleep. Every time she tried, she’d end up thinking of the shocked looks on their faces, or the delighted squeals of Pansy and Daphne, or the way Theo had finally swept her in a big bear hug and told her he couldn’t wait for her to be his sister.

When Blaise pointed out that technically Draco and he weren’t related, instead of making Theo pause he’d exclaimed:

“Great point, Blaise! In that case, you’re already my sister!”

“The curls do match,” Pansy had interjected as she tugged on a lock of either of their hair.

Hermione shook her head slightly, trying to bring her attention back to the boy standing beside her place at the table.

“Yes, Harry?” She answered cautiously.

“Could I um… sit down?” He asked after a moment.

Harry’s hair looked even more askew than normal, sticking out in every direction as if he’d spent the entire night wrestling with a manticore. He had dark circles under his eyes and there was a slight tremor in his hands that he kept twisting in front of him. Hermione’s heart gave a lurch and she couldn’t help but give him a soft smile.

“Of course you can, Harry,” she said after a moment, clearing the bench next to her of her books and bag and placing them on the floor.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully.

But Harry didn’t fill his plate, instead he turned to her and covered her hand with his.

“I’m sorry, Mione. What I said last night… it was wrong.” His tanned cheeks flushed as the words continued to tumble out. “Everyone thinks I’m just this kid starved for attention and is convinced I put my own name in the goblet even though I didn’t. Ron won’t speak to me and he spends all his time with the twins or Seamus or Dean, so I can’t talk to them either. And now the Slytherins have come out with those pins and it’s just driving me mad . I took it out on you, Hermione, and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

Hermione squeezed his hand.

“Thank you, Harry.”

Harry gave her a small smile before releasing her hand and beginning to pile his plate with potatoes and sausages. Then his hand stilled as he turned to her.

“I know what the first task is,” he said, his eyes wide. “Hagrid showed me last night.”

Hermione’s fork dropped to her plate with a clatter.

“What is it, Harry?” Her heart fluttered so fast she could feel it in her throat.

Harry took a deep breath, his bright green eyes flashing in fear.

“Dragons.”