Harry hadn't realized how much that had cost Fleur. She did have the fastest broom by a wide margin... but Harry had already flown halfway back before she finally caught up to him. If there were even more obstacles in the course... Harry shook his head. I can't believe I wanted the first task to be even harder!
"Now, Cedric, on the other hand, lost mostly because he had the worst broom of the lot. Maybe not a Firebolt, but even a Nimbus 2001 would have made him much more competitive. Did you remember his scores?"
"Uh, he did end with the lowest score, didn't he? It was thirty-something," Harry answered. He didn't want to think so much while enjoying Hermione's wonderfully soothing hands.
"Thirty-three, Harry. That's not the point. He had zero deductions. The only one out of you three that managed that. Do you know what that means?"
"He didn't make any mistakes?"
"More than that, Harry. It means he knew how to deal with every one of the obstacles without getting hurt. Krum's pretty predictable- he hits hard, fast, and head-on. Cedric probably knows dozens of spells to deal with every situation he's faced with. You'll probably have to use legilimency in a duel against him or you'll never be able to predict what he'll do."
"What about Fleur?"
"I can't figure her out. She's a sneaky one, for sure. She doesn't seem to waste any effort that she doesn't have to. She barely cast any spells at all during the entire race, and it was usually just a few basic ones, except for the disillusionment. I have no idea what her strengths or combat style are, but I'd guess she has a natural affinity for fire, thanks to being Veela, but I doubt she'd let herself be that predictable."
"Thanks, Hermione. You've given me a lot to think about." Harry settled down and relaxed until Hermione had finished the massage. With an hour to go until dinner, Hermione managed to teach Harry the basics of the glamour so he could re-apply it himself, and they still had time left over for Harry to give her a massage in return.
Harry and Hermione walked to dinner with their wands ready to be released from their holsters. Thankfully, the Gryffindors seemed to be on their guard as well, and the entire Hufflepuff table glared at them as they sat down. They were surprised, then, when Cedric himself got up and walked over. Ignoring the heckling from the Gryffindors, he asked Harry directly, "Can we talk? Alone?"
"You're not going to call your pack of badgers on me? I'd rather have Hermione at my side," he answered, flicking his wand into his hand under the table.
"That's that I wanted to talk to you about," he said. "And I guess Hermione should come too, I heard she was there when it happened."
Harry and Hermione got up from their seats and followed Cedric. While they were far enough away from both the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor table, Cedric said, "I'm sorry about what my house did to you two this afternoon. I didn't tell them to do it. I just hope you believe me."
"And why should I?" Harry's eyes narrowed.
"Look, I trusted you when you said you didn't put your name in the cup. I'm just asking you to trust me now," he said.
Harry relented. "Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But why'd they do it, anyways? Will you tell them to stop?"
"I'll try, Harry, but you know I don't control my house. Heck, not even Professor Sprout can really control everyone. But I saw how you flew, and I know you beat me fair and square. To be honest, I didn't really care for the Trial of Air."
"What? I thought you'd try harder, being the Hufflepuff Seeker and all."
"I'm only the seeker because there wasn't anyone else to play the position. I don't plan on playing Quidditch professionally, Harry. And up against a professional player, along with the school star, I decided not to try to out-fly you guys. It's only one trial out of seven, anyways. I'll make up for it in the other events."
"You probably could have done better with a better broom, you know. You didn't have to get a Firebolt, but something better than the Nimbus, at least..."
"It was the house broom, Harry. It wasn't even mine. I'm not going to spend a fortune just for one event, you know."
"Couldn't Professor Sprout have ordered you a newer one, like the Comet 250 or Nimbus 2001?"
Cedric shook his head. "Professors can't help us other than with our regular coursework, remember? Buying a broom for the house team when there's no Quidditch this year would be pretty obvious."
"Alright then. Why don't your housemates understand that, though? Surely you've told them..."
"I have, Harry. But while Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty... a few take it a bit too far and practically turn it into blind devotion. They started rooting for me a few weeks ago, and they won't stop even if I told them to. I'm sure you've been called 'reckless' instead of 'brave' more than once, right?"
Harry nodded in understanding. "Yeah... and Slytherins keep flaunting their pure blood, but it looks to me more like inbreeding."
Hermione added quietly, "And some people let their curiosity turn into into obsession..."
"Oh, you'll forever be curious, Hermione," Harry said. "Thanks, Cedric. I'll try to make sure none of the Gryffindors do anything... reckless to you, if you'll try to get a hold of your 'puffs."
"Agreed. Good luck with the duels, Harry." They returned to their tables to enjoy their dinners. The next three weeks, hopefully, would be a little calmer.
Calmer, perhaps, but certainly not easier. Hermione convinced Neville and Luna to help Harry with his duelling skills- part of which was attempting to dodge stinging hexes being cast at him. He found he could handle one-on-one pretty easily, while two-on-one tired him out in less than three minutes. He lasted only thirty seconds with a three-on-one. When his muscles were completely aching, Hermione gave him a Pepper-Up potion and began working on his spellcasting. At first, he blasted spells out at full power, just so he had a better understanding of his own endurance levels. Before he was completely drained, they would spend the rest of the day working on silent casting. Harry and Hermione found they both had a knack for it (or possibly prior experience) and picked it up quickly, although they began to teach Neville and Luna as much as they could. They continued this every day after classes for the rest of the week.
The first Saturday with Moody, Harry mentioned the disillusionment spell as well as Rita Skeeter's possible eavesdropping. Moody immediately began a speech about the importance of information and reconnaissance before a battle. They spent the rest of the day learning not only the disillusionment charm, but also the invisible-footfall charm which covered up any footprints if he was walking on dirt, sand, or snow. Although it couldn't stop ripples form forming if he stepped in a puddle, it was certainly useful in a lot of situations. Along with the silencing charm, it made sneaking around much more effective. Moody was also surprised that Hermione had learned how to cast glamours in a day, but she admitted that she hadn't mastered complex glamours, such as one that you would place over a person's face. He also went over several types of privacy wards, including silencing, Notice-Me-Not, muggle-repelling and wizard-repelling types. Having no time to actually learn all of them, Hermione said she would read as much as she could about them, as a few of them were in the Auror's Handbook that Moody had given them. They spent the rest of the morning trying to sneak up on Moody, who didn't even need his magical eye to spot them through their shoddy disillusionment.
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