I will stay with you

Part 4

Harry entered the champions' tent nervously, tying his black and red robes around him.
The three other champions did the same, though none of them seemed as nervous as Harry. He knew the others must have had some type of strategy, when he had none. He was left to fight whatever dragon he was assigned with just luck and instinct.
Cedric Diggory passed by him, tying his own yellow and black robes, and nodded politely. Harry returned the gesture with a small smile, watching as the handsome Hufflepuff began talking to Fleur Delacour.
A hushed noise drew Harry's attention from the two champions. At first he thought he had only imagined it, but as he heard it again, he realized it was coming from outside the tent.
"Harry?"
He recognized Hermione's voice as he pressed his ear against the thick fabric that served as the tent.
"Is that you?"
"Yeah," Harry said quietly.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione questioned. Harry shrugged, then remembered she couldn't see him.
"The key is to concentrate," she said. "After that, you just have to-"
"Battle a dragon," Harry finished for her, looking at the ground. Hermione suddenly pushed her way through the cloth of the tent, embracing Harry in a hug that nearly knocked him to the ground.
Harry couldn't help but smile as he wrapped his arms around her small frame. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and sighed. A sudden flash made them pull apart quickly. They both turned to see Rita Skeeter, an editor for The Daily Prophet, enter the tent, her photographer following close behind.
"Young love!" she gasped. "How... stirring."
Harry glared at the woman, his hand still resting on the small of Hermione's back.
"If everything goes unfortunately today, you two may even make the front page!"
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by a strong, Bulgarian accent.
"You have no business here!" Viktor Krum appeared behind Rita. "This tent is for champions, and friends."
Rita seemed lost for words, "No-no matter, we've got what we wanted."
She- followed by her photographer and enchanted quill and parchment- then exited the champion tent. Viktor smiled politely at Harry and Hermione before turning away from them.
"Harry-"
Hermione was cut off as Dumbledore entered the tent- followed by Karkaroff and Madame Maxime.
"Good day, champions!" Dumbledore greeted them happily. "Gather round, please! Now that you've waited..."
Harry pulled Hermione closed to him, entwining his fingers with hers.
"...The moment only four of you can fully appreciate." Dumbledore finished, glancing around at the champions. He noticed Hermione for the first time and his eyes widened. "Miss Granger, what're you doing here?"
Hermione's cheeks reddened as she glanced at Harry, "Sorry, I'll just... go."
She gave Harry's hand a squeeze before disappearing out of the tent.
"Champions, in a circle around me," Barty Crouch said from beside Dumbledore, holding up a red-velvet bag.
(A/N: Skipping the task :D)
Harry entered the Gryffindor common room, the golden egg in his hand. He was almost immediately embraced in a tight hug by Hermione, catching him by surprise.
"You're okay!" she gasped, her voice muffled by his dirty shirt.
"Of course he is! Everyone knew he was going to be okay!" Seamus said. Harry pulled away from Hermione and glared at him, though couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at his friend's teasing expression.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Neville spoke. "Open it!"
Harry glanced down at the golden egg in his hand, "Want me to open it?" He asked loudly, holding it up. The Gryffindor's cheered.
Harry turned the knob at the top of the egg, causing it to break open. A bright light illuminated from the center of it, and an ear-splitting screech filled his ears. The Gryffindor's immediately covered their ears while Harry closed the egg once more.
"What the bloody hell was that?"
Everyone parted to reveal Ron standing awkwardly at the back of the crowd.
"Alright, everyone go back to their knitting," Fred said, clapping his hands once. "This is gonna be uncomfortable enough without all you nosey sods listening in."
"I reckon you'd have to be barking mad to put your name in the Goblet of Fire," Ron said once no one was listening.
"Caught on, have you?" Harry spat, glaring daggers at him. "Took you long enough."
Ron shrugged and shifted his weight awkwardly. "At least I warned you about the dragons."
"Hagrid warned me about the dragons," Harry said, narrowing his eyes. He was starting to get irritated.
"No- no, no, I did. No, don't you remember? I told Ginny to tell
you that Seamus told me that Parvati told Dean that Hagrid was looking
for you," Ron explained quickly. "Seamus never actually told me anything, so it was- it was really me all along. I thought we'd be alright, you know, after you
figured that out."
Harry scoffed, a smile threatening to spread across his face, "Who could possibly figure that out?"
Hermione scoffed and shook her head from beside him, "Boys."
~
Harry sat in his usual spot in the common room, staring at the glowing embers of the fire. The golden egg sat on the table in front of his, shining in the dim light.
The rest of his fellow Gryffindors- even Hermione- had gone down to the Great Hall for the feast, though Harry insisted that he wasn't hungry.
The sound of the portrait door opening made Harry turn around. Hermione entered the room slowly, doubt clear on her face.
"Hey," Harry greeted her quietly, turning back around. His heart twisted at the sight of her. Since earlier that evening when him and Ron made up, she had been speaking to Ron a lot more, leaving Harry confused.
"There's enough food left over if you want some," Hermione said as she sat down next to him. Harry shook his head and stared at the golden egg.
"You did excellent today, Harry," She told him. He smiled slightly.
"Thanks."
She linked her arm with his, scooting closer to him. When he didn't react, she knew something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.
Harry shrugged and shook his head, "Nothing's wrong."
"Clearly something is," Hermione insisted. "Is it about Ron and I?"
Harry sighed and rested his chin in his hands.
"Harry, for a while I thought I liked Ron. But last year, I realized that I didn't," Hermione said. Harry didn't have to ask what made her realize that; he didn't want to. He didn't want to find out whether he was hoping for something that would never happen.
"Are you sure?" He asked, feeling slightly insecure for asking that.
Hermione smiled and nodded, "What're you, the jealous type?"
Harry shrugged, a small smile appearing on his lips. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her small waist.
"You really did do brilliant today," she said after a moment of silence.
Harry scoffed, "It was just luck. I'm gonna need more than that for the next task."
"We'll figure it out, Harry," Hermione said.
Harry smiled and looked over at her, "We?"
"You honestly don't think you can survive this without my help, do you?" she joked, earning a gently punch from Harry.
"If you're just gonna brag then why don't you go back to the Great Hall and leave me be?" he said, placing his hand over his heart in mock pain.
"Because no one there is actually kind enough to listen to me," Hermione smiled. "Besides, I'm not leaving you alone."
"You do realize you'd be a lot more popular if you actually socialized, right?" Harry teased, a cheeky smirk plastered on his face. The mood had lifted drastically in the past five minutes, and he was grateful for that.
"Are you getting sick of me, Potter?" Hermione asked. Her eyes shone with humor but her tone was serious.
Harry smiled and kissed her forehead softly, "Never."
He felt his cheeks begin to redden as he realized what just happened.
Hermione smiled, her cheeks, too, were red.
"Good," she said. "'Cause like I said before, I'm not leaving."

A/N:

I have seriously re-written this chapter like a 1038189110 times! XD
No but seriously. I wanted to make it perfect, and I didn't know how! I'd be in the middle of it and be stuck on a scene and have to rewrite it!
But I finally found the perfect chapter :D
I hope you guys love it as much as I hope you do! Thanks ☺️