Preparing for the Third Task

"Pansy Parkinson jinxed Harry from behind and he broke his wrist when he fell. I hexed her in return and then Professor Snape showed up. After we got Harry's arm fixed, we had a meeting with the Headmaster, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall." Hermione finished speaking in her classroom voice.

"And?" Ginny prompted, "Did you get into trouble for hexing that cow?"

"Pug." Harry corrected her as he broke out into a low chuckle.

"What's a pug?" a confused Neville asked.

Hermione supplied, "It's a dog with a squashed face that is popular in the non-magical world."

The mirth still present in his voice, Harry said, "And Parkinson's face is about as flat as you can get. I mean, look at her nose! It looks like it got smashed when she was a baby or something."

After the laughter had died down Neville looked over at Hermione and asked, "Did you get in trouble?"

There was an edge to Hermione's voice when she replied, "Yes, I lost forty points and I have a week of detentions with Professor McGonagall. I'm not sorry though, Parkinson got what she deserved, and her punishment is the same as mine."

His voice had returned to the low, well modulated, timbre that Hermione was getting used to, "You were brilliant."

In truth, that tone of voice made her insides squirm in a good way. She knew that it masked the emotions and desires that he would let loose when they were alone. It may have been selfish, but she liked that there was now a side to Harry that only she was allowed to see.

Harry could feel the smugness through their bond and he guessed what it was about. Leaning down a bit, he planted a soft kiss on the side of her head, before turning his attention back to the other couple present. "How was your day then?"

Neville smiled before he spoke up, "Pretty good, actually. We explored the castle a bit and then headed out to the grounds to look for you two. I think that we may have found out what the next task is going to be too."

That peaked Harry and Hermione's interests. Any information on the Third Task was extremely valuable and could quite possibly save Harry's life.

Eagerly, Hermione asked, "What did you two discover?"

Ginny piped up, her voice full of pride, "Neville actually figured it out after I noticed that something was different about the Quidditch pitch."

Neville was blushing slightly from the praise, but his voice was firm in its conviction when he spoke, "It's a maze. Hagrid is growing hedgerows. They are only two or three feet tall right now but my guess is that Hagrid will have them twenty feet tall in no time."

"Harry," Ginny said in a small voice. When his emeralds eyes turned their focus upon her, she almost shivered. They seemed to bore right into her soul. Her voice quavered a tiny bit as she spoke, "I made a drawing of the maze from one of the towers. It's not great or anything, but I hope it will help."

Harry took the offered piece of parchment from Ginny's outstretched hand, a true smile plainly visible for her to see. His voice rang with gratitude when he said, "Thank you, Ginny. This is probably the best drawing ever. It may very well save my life." Gently disentangling himself from Hermione, he stood up and pulled Ginny into a hug while placing a chaste kiss on the top of her head in thanks.

Turning to Neville, he held out his hand. When they shook hands, he said, "Thank you too, Neville. Hang on to her, she's a keeper."

Both teens blushed at the praise and rare showing of affection towards them from Harry. It was something so rare and it was a precious thing to them.

The two couples spent the next hour discussing the Third Task. How to best utilize the map to Harry's advantage was thoroughly covered in their talks. By the time they all headed back up to the castle, they had a rudimentary plan in place to handle the maze.

Their good moods were going to come crashing down around them when they entered the Great Hall for dinner.

.....

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