Harry winced. "Thanks, guys." He squeezed past them and hurried up the stairs, ducking into his dormitory with a relieved sigh. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one in there. Ron was lying on his bed, an odd expression on his face when he looked up at Harry.
"There you are," "Congratulations, I guess."
he
said.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked warily, though he could already see where the conversation was going. His stomach churned. "You figured it out. Got your name in the Goblet. You could've at least told me, we could've both entered."
"I didn't put my name in, Ron," Harry insisted, tiredness creeping into his voice, making him sound snappish. God, he just wanted to go to sleep. "Someone else must have done it."
"Yeah, right," Ron said, still with that awkward smile-grimace on his face. "You can tell me the truth, y'know. You were gone all morning, did it take you a while to figure it out?"
"I told you, I was in the Owlery this morning! I don't know how my name got in the Goblet, but I don't want this, Ron!" Harry was getting angry, now, and so was the redhead.
"I'm not stupid!" he argued. "All that talk about not wanting it, that was just to throw us off, wasn't it? I guess even you can't resist a thousand galleons of prize money."
"Is that really what you think of me?" Harry asked. "That I'd put myself in this much danger for money? And lie about it?"
"Well what else am I supposed to think?" Ron retorted hotly.
"You're supposed to trust me!" Harry grabbed his pyjamas, throwing them onto his mattress. "But there's not been much of that, lately, has there? I'm going to bed."
"Right, sure — got to get your beauty sleep," Ron taunted. "Probably got a photo call in the morning, or something."
Harry gave the redhead one last glare, then climbed onto bed and dragged his curtains shut forcefully, putting up his privacy wards. Safe in the silencing bubble, he let out a frustrated scream. Ron was infuriating!
Though, he supposed, he couldn't exactly get at the boy for not trusting Harry. It wasn't like Harry had done that in return, after all. Even if it was things like this that proved why. Not bothering with his pyjamas just yet, Harry dug the two-way mirror our of his bag, leaning back against his headboard to talk to Sirius. When the man's face appeared, the concern in those grey eyes made a lump rise in Harry's throat. "Oh, pup," he murmured softly, knowing. Harry swallowed back a sob. How had things gone wrong so quickly? "Pup, it's okay," Sirius soothed. "You're going to be fine. I love you. It's okay."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. He wished he could believe that.
.-.-.-.
After Harry left, Severus and Remus sat in silence, staring into their mugs of tea. "Could it be Karkaroff?" Remus suggested. Severus shook his head.
"Too obvious. He'll know he's being watched." Severus ran a hand through his hair, and Remus' heart ached. His cub was in danger, and he just had to sit back and let it all happen!
"Are we sure this isn't some plot of Dumbledore's?" he asked doubtfully. The headmaster had proven he was happy to risk Harry's safety in the past. "Some kind of test of Harry's skills?"
"I don't think he did it, but he's certainly willing to sit back and let it happen," Severus said. "He looked quite pleased about it, actually. Which is why I think it's the Dark Lord's doing — Dumbledore wants him to return before Harry is seventeen, that much is clear. If this is the first step towards that, he's not going to stop it."
Remus couldn't stop the growl that emerged at that. The thought of Harry being used as some pawn in Dumbledore's awful schemes made him sick to his stomach. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A look of annoyance flashed across Severus' face.
"What now?" he grumbled, getting to his feet. Remus stayed carefully out of sight, ready to duck into the bedroom should it be someone who wasn't supposed to know he was there. To his surprise, it was Draco Malfoy. "Uncle Severus," the boy breathed desperately. Severus ushered his godson into the room, shutting the door. "What's the matter?" he asked, concern in his dark eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"Someone's trying to kill Harry, aren't they?" Draco said, his already pale face near-transparent with fear. "Getting him involved in this bloody tournament. Is it my father's fault? Is this what he's been planning all summer? I should've tried harder to listen in— I could have stopped this!"
Severus brought Draco into a firm hug; probably the only person other than Remus he'd willingly show such affection to. "Draco," he murmured, one hand on the boy's hair. "This is not your fault. I doubt it's your father, either — Lucius is far too much of a braggart to have planned something like this without getting me involved." Remus stifled a snort. "Whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet is likely out to harm him, yes. But it's nothing you could have prevented." He released Draco to look him in the eye. "Draco, you must be careful. If there are Death Eaters in the castle that we don't know about, they could be watching you. It wouldn't do for someone to go to your father with word of your… change in loyalties."
If possible, Draco got even paler, but he clenched his jaw and nodded tightly. "I'll be discreet," he promised. "I— you'll tell me if you learn anything, won't you? About Harry?"
"Potter's circumstances are not yours to worry about," Severus pointed out, his voice surprisingly gentle. "All you need to do is support him, and keep yourself safe. No one can know how you feel about him."
That finally brought some colour to the young Malfoy's face, his cheeks turning pink. "Uncle Severus, I—" Draco sighed. "I suppose." He looked up, his eyes finally landing on Remus, and his shoulders tensed as he realised the Gryffindor had witnessed everything. "Professor Lupin, I…"
"I'm not your professor anymore, Draco," Remus said warmly. "I told you in the summer, you're welcome to call me Remus. Don't mind me here, I didn't want to interrupt. But I am glad Harry has you to look out for him." He gave the boy a knowing look, and Draco's blush rose higher.
"Well, the idiot Gryffindor isn't very good at looking out for himself, is he?" he muttered. He took a step back, reaching half-heartedly towards the door. "I should go to bed. I'm sorry for disturbing your evening."
"Nonsense," Remus waved him off. "Severus is your godfather, you have every right to come to him. If you need some privacy…"
Draco shook his head. "It's almost curfew, I really should go." What little vulnerability the boy had dared show his godfather was locked up tight at the presence of a near-stranger. It made Remus' chest ache, but he didn't blame the boy.
"Be careful, Draco," Severus warned again, squeezing the boy's shoulder. Draco nodded, hurrying from the room, and they were alone once more.
Remus crossed the room, laying gentle hands on Severus' shoulders, his chest pressing to the Slytherin's back. "Look at you," he murmured with amusement, lips dragging across the man's jaw. "Two teenagers in one night coming to you for comfort. One of them a Gryffindor, even." He grinned impishly. "You've gone soft, Severus."
•
🚀New updates on my Ko-fi!🚀
Support me and read the novel, now available in PDF, with the advanced chapters.
•
https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling