Hidden Wings - Part I

Consequences

The next day was a Sunday.

Which meant no classes.

Which meant that everyone was present in the Great Hall, discussing last night's events.

Mioha had come down early to eat breakfast and was on her way out, when she bumped into Hermione, carrying a folded napkin with a stack of pancakes inside.

"Is that for Harry", Mioha asked.

Hermione nodded.
"I'm going to ask him if he wants to go on a walk. Want to join?"

"I'll meet you by the lake", Mioha promised and made her way out of the entrance hall while Hermione ascended the Great Staircase.

It was chilly outside, and Mioha wrapped her cloak tighter around her as she started shivering.

The Durmstrang ship was moored in the lake, the black water sloshing quietly against the wood.

She stood there for several minutes, staring absentmindedly into the water.
When a hand touched her shoulder, she flinched and jumped back.

Hermione smiled apologetically.
"Sorry."

"That's for me scaring you into the lake", Mioha laughed.

Hermione giggled, then turned around to face Harry, who had followed her with a somber look on his face.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?", Mioha asked softly.
Harry sighed heavily and took a piece of toast Hermione offered him.

While he was munching on his toast, he told them what had happened in the chamber and that, according to Mr. Crouch, he was now a participant of the Tournament, fully bound in a contract with the Goblet of fire.

"Well, of course I knew you hadn't entered yourself," Hermione said when he'd finished telling them about the scene in the chamber off the Hall. "And Jess knows that too."

Mioha nodded affirmatively.

"The look on your face when Dumbledore read out your name!", Hermione continued thinking aloud.
"But the question is, who did put it in? Because Moody's right, Harry... I don't think any student could have done it. . . they'd never be able to fool the Goblet, or get over Dumbledore's -"

"Have you seen Ron?" Harry interrupted.
Hermione hesitated and glanced at Mioha.

"Erm. . . yes. . . he was at breakfast," Mioha answered slowly.

"Does he still think I entered myself?"

"Well. . . no, I don't think so . . . not really," said Hermione awkwardly.

"What's that supposed to mean, 'not really'?"

"Oh Harry, isn't it obvious?", Mioha said despairingly. "He's jealous!"

"Jealous?" Harry said incredulously. "Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of the whole school, does he?"

"Look," said Hermione patiently, "it's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault," she added quickly, seeing Harry open his mouth furiously. "I know you don't ask for it.. . but - well - you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous - he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many..."

"He'll come around", said Mioha quietly, "don't worry. In the mean time, you'd best prepare for your first task."

"Great," said Harry bitterly. "Really great. Tell Ron from me I'll swap any time he wants. Tell him from me he's welcome to it.... People gawping at my forehead everywhere I go... And I don't even know how to prepare for the first task!"

"We're not telling him anything," Hermione said shortly, shooting Mioha a look. "Tell him yourself. It's the only way to sort this out."

"I'm not running around after him trying to make him grow up!" Harry said, so loudly that several owls in a nearby tree took flight in alarm. "Maybe he'll believe I'm not enjoying myself once I've got my neck broken or -"

"That's not funny," said Mioha firmly. "That's not funny at all."
She felt extremely anxious. "Harry, I've been thinking - you know what we've got to do, don't you? Straight away, the moment we get back to the castle?"

"Yeah, give Ron a good kick up the -"

"Write to Sirius. You've got to tell him what's happened. Didn't he want you to keep him posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts? It's almost as if he expected something like this to happen. I can lend you some parchment..."

"Come off it," said Harry, looking around to check that they couldn't be overheard, but the grounds were quite deserted. "He came back to the country just because my scar twinged. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone's entered me in the Triwizard Tournament -"

"He'd want you to tell him," said Hermione sternly. "He's going to find out anyway."

"How?", asked Harry irritatedly.

"Harry, this isn't going to be kept quiet," said Hermione, very seriously. "This tournament's famous, and you're famous. I'll be really surprised if there isn't anything in the Daily Prophet about you competing. . . . You're already in half the books about You-Know-Who, you know.. . and Sirius would rather hear it from you, I know he would."

"Okay, okay, I'll write to him," said Harry, throwing his last piece of toast into the lake. They all stood and watched it floating there for a moment, before a large tentacle rose out of the water and scooped it beneath the surface. Then they returned to the castle.

"I need to go to Hagrid", Mioha told the Gryffindors in front of the double doors.
"I'm helping him take care of the Abraxans."

"Have fun", Harry muttered and walked on.

Mioha sighed.

"Harry", she called and waited until he turned around.
"It doesn't matter what everyone thinks", she said, "we believe you, the Professors too. And Ron will believe you as well, just wait. And just know that Hermione and I will have your back."
She smiled, and added: "Why don't you two come over to the paddock later?"

Hermione shook her head.
"I need to go to the library", the Gryffindor replied and looked at Harry.

After staring blankly at the ground, he mumbled: "Maybe another time, thanks Jess", and walked into the castle.

"Bye", said Hermione with a weak smile and walked through the doors.

Mioha turned around again.
"Who would have expected that?", she mumbled to herself and started walking down to Hagrid's hut.

The grass was crunching beneath her feet due to the morning frost that covered the green blades like a dusting of white sugar.
She knew that there were two options:
One, the goblet had been tampered with and someone wanted Harry to get into danger during the tasks.
Two.... she could only think of one option.
And with all that on her mind, Mioha had to worry about her transformation tonight.

It was a full moon.

Last time, Professor Moody had been in the Forest Room with her, and she had found it awful.

She had gone immediately into the woods and cast a silencing spell on herself to prevent him from hearing her screams while transforming, but she suspected that he could see with his electric blue eye through trees as well.

And that was a really uncomfortable feeling, knowing that everything she did was being watched.

Since the beginning of term, Professor Moody gave her the creeps.

And she had no idea why.