Black & Lupin,
You WILL be at Hogwarts on the 24th no later than 12:45 to cheer Harry on as he competes in the first task. Nothing apart from actual death should keep you from being here to support him.
Wear green.
-Susan Bones
***
Aunt Amelia, I think Harry would be really happy if you could get the day off to come watch him compete on the 24th. The task starts at one, so maybe you could be here by 12:45? I'll be in the stands with my friends if you want to sit with us.
Love, Susan.
Ps: wear green.
***
"Blaise, did your mum write back yet?" Susan asked Blaise quietly after class while Harry was distracted by talking with Professor McGonagall.
"She can't come," Blaise frowned. "The Fae are creating a big problem on the counsel and she can't leave Italy until it's been figured out."
"Damn. What about yours Dray?"
"Father said it will blow his cover if he comes and cheers for Harry in front of the other Slytherins," Draco whispered. "Mother told me to send her a memory afterwards though."
"That's a good idea," Theo said.
"My mums coming," Ron offered. "She wrote Fred yesterday and said she'd come."
"Did you tell her to wear green?" Susan asked.
"Uh..." Ron bit his lip and shook his head. "I forgot."
This is why Susan takes charge in situations like this.
"I'll have a scarf for her," she sighed. "You guys had one fucking job."
The boys scowled at her but they also knew she was stressed and dealing with it by micro-managing the things she could.
She couldn't keep Harry from facing an actual dragon tomorrow, but she could make sure there were plenty of people cheering him on as he did.
"You have to eat more," Susan scolded Harry at the school wide early lunch the next day. "I'm not kidding Harry, eat."
"I can't," Harry was bouncing his right leg quickly as he stared around the noisy Hall. "I'm too excited."
"Are you sick?" Susan whispered directly in his ear. Harry didn't like for anyone to know when he was sick, but she needed to know. He couldn't face a dragon if he was going to be shaking and puking.
"No Sue," Harry laughed. "I feel great."
"Not scared?" Hermione asked softly as she clutched Theo's hand tightly.
"Hell no," Harry laughed. "This is going to be brill, isn't it? An actual dragon. Jesus."
Susan did not think it was going to be brill. Susan was so terrified for her best friend that she could hardly eat either. She knew Harry had a plan, a damn good one too, but she still felt her stomach clenching when she pictured him standing in front of a dragon.
"Try and eat more," she said tightly. "Please."
Harry grinned at her and obediently popped a bite of carrots in his mouth.
Susan watched him chew for a moment before abruptly grabbing his hand and clutching it tightly.
"I love you stupid," she said in a choked voice.
"Hey- no declarations of love to my boyfriend. He's not dying!" Fred said with a bright smile. "He's going to go slay a dragon and get first place, right Darlin?"
Fred could say what he wanted, but Susan saw him.
She saw how he's been on edge with Harry ever since the day they found out about the dragons. And how he keeps touching Harry as much as he could, as gently as he could. As if he was trying to give Harry a lifetimes worth of sweet touches. She noticed Fred was currently pale faced and only half heartedly making jokes. She saw his eyes now, dimmed from their usual mischievous twinkle and tight with fear.
So Fred could say whatever he wanted about her behavior, but she saw him.
"Right," Harry nodded quickly. Too quickly. He was on an edge Susan didn't recognize and she didn't like it. Today was not the day for weird moods and edges. Today was the day for sticking to plans and (she surprised herself just thinking it) being cautious. And whatever edge Harry was hanging on did not seem like a cautious one.
"Harry, you remember the plan, right?" she asked.
"He's not likely to forget," Neville chuckled. "You've made him repeat it every day since we came up with it."
"Once more, please."
Harry turned and smiled at her. Susan felt her heart constrict in the way that only Harry's smiles can do. He was the closest thing to a brother she'd ever have. He was her best friend. Her soul mate in all the ways that counted.
And he was facing a dragon today.
Alone.
"I'm going to summon my broom, distract the dragon, and then dive and grab the egg," he recited. "It'll be so easy Sue. Really it might not even be fun."
None of their friends laughed at that.
They all cared about Harry in their own ways. Ron, Neville, and Draco looked up to him as a leader and a friend. Susan, Luna, and Fred loved him deeply in different ways. Theo and Blaise were as fiercely loyal to their ally as Susan herself was. And Hermione cared about Harry in the way an older sister might fret after a younger sibling, bossily but with good intentions.
And Harry had no idea about any of it because he was stupid.
"I lied," Susan said, still clutching Harry's hand. "One more time, please?"
Harry laughed and obliged her twice more before it was time to head to the pitch.
"Wish me luck," he grinned.
Susan patiently waited until their friends wished Harry luck, Luna hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, Fred kissed him dramatically to catcalls from the other students in the Hall, and Susan just held him tightly for a long moment.
"Don't die stupid," she whispered in his ear. "I love you."
It didn't matter if Harry couldn't or wouldn't say it back. Nobody ever told him they loved him until last year, she'd say it twice a day and love him three times as hard to make up for it if she had to.
"Ta Sue," Harry smiled. "I'm not going to die. It'll be fine, you'll see."
"Quit chewing your nails," Luna whispered from one side of Susan in the stands set up for the spectators. "Harry's going to live. The nargles are very confident."
"You swear?" Susan asked, only a slight tremble to her voice.
"I swear," Luna said solemnly. She grabbed Susan's left hand and clutched it tightly.
"Harry's a genius, and he's the best flier I've ever seen, he'll be fine," Fred said from the other side of Susan. Susan detected the same tremble in his voice that she herself had so she reached out with her right hand and held his left tightly.
Fred was a pain in her ass, but he was one of Harry's and he needed someone to hold his hand- so she'd do it.
For Harry.
The three of them sat linked together with their hands and their worries as Fleur Delacour stepped out in the arena.
"Oh my God," Susan moaned when after a few minutes Fleur's skirt caught fire. "He's just so small... and flammable."
Fred nodded miserably in agreement.
They waited patiently until Fleur was awarded points. When Bagman put up a shining six, Auntie Amelia hissed from behind her.
"Merlin," she murmured. "Who cut his face open? What kind of curse leaves a scar like that?"
Susan squeezed Fred's hand and they shared a sly smile. They both knew who cut his face open and what curse leaves that kind of scar. The fact that Bagman was able to judge Fleur right now must mean that he'd given Harry the 600 Galleons as a first payment for what he owes the Twins.
"Thirty seven points for Miss Fleur Delacour!" Bagman announced across the field. "Next we have Cedric Diggory from HOGWARTS!"
The Hogwarts students, apart from the Slytherin's and Harry's personal cheering section, went wild. Susan didn't care if she wasn't being loyal to a fellow Hufflepuff, as it had been pointed out to her many times in the last three weeks, Harry was her best friend. He got her loyalty first.
"Fuck, that was a good try," Black said in the row behind them as Diggory transformed a nearby boulder in to a dog.
"Susan, he's going to be fine, right?" Draco asked tightly from his seat. Susan looked down at him and tried to smile reassuringly, but the best she could do was a grimace.
"If not then I'm going to kill Dumbledore and Snape both," she said.
"Why Snape?" Blaise asked, his golden eyes sharp as he watched Diggory snag a golden egg from beneath the dragon.
"For not being stricter with Harry," Susan said. Her aunt and Black laughed behind her, but she wasn't joking.
If Harry didn't walk away from this tournament she'd burn the whole damn castle down to compensate for it.
It wouldn't be enough.
But it would be a start.
"Mister Diggory beat Miss Delacours score with a respectable thirty eight!" Bagman cried over the Hogwarts students' cheers as Diggory left the field. "Next up- from Durmstrang, VIKTOR KRUM!"
Some of the kids in their section clapped politely for Viktor, but Susan and Fred sat in stony silence as the dragons were changed out and a new golden egg was added.
"Best for last then," Ron said with a flat attempt at cracking a joke.
"He's going to be fine," Luna said as she rubbed circles on the back of Susan's hand. "Harry's brilliant."
"I know." Susan did know Harry was brilliant. But he was also impulsive, overly confident, and stupid.
So of course she was worried.
"He's trying to put it to sleep," Theo murmured. "It's smart to aim for the eyes."
"ITS CRUSHING THE EGGS!" Draco howled as the dark green dragon began sleepily stomping on its eggs. "BOOO! YOU SUCK!"
"Shut up," Susan snapped at him. "Nobody cares about a couple fucking dragon eggs."
"Susan Bones! Watch your language!" her aunt said behind her.
"And people do care about dragon eggs," Draco sneered. "They didn't ask to be here."
Susan bared her teeth at him and let Fred clutch her hand nearly to the breaking point as Krum's score was announced.
... and then they brought out Harry's dragon.
"It's a Hungarian Horntail," Draco whispered, his previous anger gone as they all froze at the sight of the largest, and most vicious, dragon to be presented so far. "It's... Merlin... it's the worst one."
Of course it was.
Because everything was always trying to kill Harry.
"Viktor Krum from Durmstrang takes the lead with 40 points!" Bagman yelled. "And last but not least, we have our fourth champion, hailing here from Hogwarts it's- HARRY POTTER!"
Susan jumped to her feet and screamed wildly, channeling all her stress and her fear in to the loudest show of support she could manage. She was pleased that every person in their section did the same, even all the usually reserved Slytherin's.
"Has he always been so small?" Fred whined beside her.
Harry did look very small. He walked confidently in the arena, his head held high. He looked amazing in the green robes with his last name emblazoned across the back.
He looked arrogant, powerful, and self assured with his hands casually stuck in his pockets.
But across from a fifty foot tall, jet black, fully grown nesting dragon? He also looked terribly, terribly, small.
"I can't watch," Hermione moaned.
Susan could. She wasn't even going to fucking blink.
Harry looked around the stadium a few times, and Susan could practically sense the smug aura surrounding him as he stuck his hand out. Not a single person in the stadium even breathed as Harry summoned his-
"That is not his Firebolt," Susan hissed, furious as a fucking sword came whizzing through the air and smacking in Harry's hand. The rest of the audience cheered at the blatant display of silent and wandless magic. But Susan was going to kill him.
"I told him to stick to the plan."
"Harry never sticks to the plan," Blaise said tightly as Neville whimpered.
"We could kill him together?" Fred offered quietly beside her.
"Piss off," she whispered. Even if she was going to kill Harry, she would never betray him by conspiring against him with anyone else.
Harry brandished the sword high and began walking up to the dragon.
Walking.
Up.
To.
The.
Dragon.
"His confidence is going to get him killed," Sirius said in a hoarse tone.
"Or get him through this," Lupin reassured him.
Susan was leaning towards Sirius' evaluation personally. Especially as the dragon spit a ten foot round fireball directly at Harry.
"DID YOU SEE THAT?" Bagman cried as Harry used his free hand to throw up a shield that blocked the fireball.
Then Harry began fighting the dragon the same way she imagined he had fought the basilisk.
It was amazing.
But also terrifying.
Harry was ducking fireballs and throwing up shields as he steadily moved closer to the dragon. He was making good time, at this rate he'd be the quickest one yet.
"HARRY!" Fred jumped to his feet and screamed as the dragon spit a fireball at Harry at the same time as it swiped its enormous tail and caught Harry in the chest, slinging him backwards in to a boulder. Susan couldn't be sure, but the way Harry was now holding the sword limply made her think his shoulder had been hurt pretty badly.
"I'm going to be sick," Luna whispered in a trembling voice. "Susan. This is horrible."
"I can't help you right this second Lue," Susan whispered. "I have to focus."
She did wrap her left arm around Luna and let her cuddle tightly in to her side. That was the most she could do for the scared girl right now- she had to keep her focus on Harry.
Harry got up to a great cheer and fucking smiled as he watched the dragon calmly for a second.
Susan had a horrible feeling he was about to do something impulsive and stupid.
And he did.
Harry charged forward and rolled twice to avoid incoming fireballs and another slash of the dragons tail as he got right up by the dragons feet.
The dragon let out a mighty roar as Harry drove his sword clear through its ankle.
"What kind of bloody sword is that?" Black gasped as they all cheered.
"Goblin made, imbued with Basilisk venom," Draco yelled over the sound of Harry's friends going crazy as Harry snagged the golden egg with his good arm and ran to the edge of the pitch.
"HARRY POTTER IS THE QUICKEST TO GET HIS EGG!" Bagman cheered. "THIS WILL CERTAINLY- Great Merlin, what is he doing?"
Harry was running straight back to the dragon.
Probably for his stupid sword.
"LEAVE IT YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Susan screamed over the railing once she realized what Harry was doing.
Her aunt was shaking with fear and nerves behind her and it was a mark of how outrageously stupid she also thought Harry was being that she didn't even scold Susan for her language.
"I'm in love with a moron," Fred groaned. Susan quirked one of her brows up at that. She assumed Fred loved Harry, but she hadn't heard him admit it before now.
"YOU MORON!" Susan and Fred both yelled when Harry rolled to the side, barely avoiding a fireball, and pulled his sword back out from the dragons leg. Harry began lightly jogging to the edge of the field when he was hit full on in the back by a fireball.
"HARRY!"
Harry, her Harry, who had never turned his back on an enemy in his life, exposed his back to lightly jog away from the dragon and got hit.
Susan knew he was in a weird mood today. She knew it. She should have told Snape or someone so they could fix it before the task. Because the Harry she knows and loves would never had made such a terribly arrogant mistake like that.
And now he was hit by a ten foot round fireball right in the back.
She knew she should have gotten Snape.
Let him be fine and I will never make this mistake again, she prayed.
Susan, Luna, and Fred began running, pushing, shoving, and tripping over the screaming crowds of students as Harry landed face down on the field and the team of dragon tamers rushed the pitch.
"MOVE!!" Fred shoved a group of kids out of their way and grabbed Susan's hand tightly as they sprinted down the stairs.
Susan jumped to try and see over everyone's heads and barely glimpsed a tall figure in black levitating Harry to a blue tent on the far side of the pitch.
"Snape has him," Susan said, even as she sped up her run, pulling Luna along behind her. "Blue tent- must be medical."
"He can't have potions," Fred stopped and clutched his head.
"MOVE YOUR LONG FRECKLED FUCKING LEGS FRED WEASLEY!" Susan screamed when Fred stopped and looked like he might decide this was the best time to have a meltdown. She wouldn't leave him behind, Harry would be furious. But she'd drag him to that tent if she had to. "NOW!"
Fred obeyed and began sprinting around the edge of the arena now as they neared the tent.
Susan pulled ahead and yanked back the blue flap, her head swiveling around as she looked for Harry.
"Where's Harry?" Black screeched as he ran in the tent behind Fred and Luna.
"Here."
Susan followed Snape's voice to a section of the tent with privacy screens up. She ducked around the screens and skidded to a halt at the sight of her best friend.
"Fuck."
Harry was clearly (hopefully) unconscious, flat on his stomach, and his entire backside was burnt to a bloody crisp.
Susan gasped and took a step closer to the bed before Snape's arm stopped her.
"Don't touch him," he said softly. "Let Madame Pomfrey work."
"But..."
Susan's Aunt came in the room behind her and gently pulled Susan backwards, wrapping her arms firmly around her from behind.
"He'll be okay honey. Just hold on. Let Poppy work."
Susan barely noticed the tears trailing down her cheeks as she stood with her aunt, Fred, Professor Snape, Luna, and Black- holding a silent vigil for her injured best friend while Madame Pomfrey worked like mad.
"He's going to be fine," Pomfrey eventually called to them while she eyed his burnt back speculatively. "Severus- can I apply burn ointment to his back?"
"Yes, topical is fine, digested is not," Snape said, apparently talking about Harry's peculiar potions allergy that Susan knew for a fact he didn't have in second year.
She knew Harry was lying about it. But she was just waiting for him to tell her why. She figured he would eventually, she just needed to be patient and let him do it on his own time.
"Done," Madame Pomfrey sighed in relief. "I don't know what to do for his shoulder though. It's completely shattered. It needs vanished and regrown."
Snape blanched and shook his head quickly.
"It's not worth the risk," he said curtly. "We'll just have to let it heal on its own."
"Severus, he's going to be miserable," Madame Pomfrey said as she twisted her hands together. "I can't imagine how much pain he's going to be in when I wake him."
"What would you have me do? Hmm? Hope it's only another seizure and coma this time?? He could die," Snape snarled.
Susan barely restrained from hissing at Madame Pomfrey as well.
"Find another way," she said. "You're a bloody witch."
"Susan," her aunt jerked on her sharply. "Apologize."
"Sorry," Susan bit out with a cold glare that her aunt couldn't see. "Will someone wake him now?!"
Harry's back was healing up, skin knitting itself together and regrowing right before their very eyes, but Susan wouldn't breath properly until she saw his eyes and heard his voice for herself.
Merlin she was sick of Harry being injured and unconscious.
"Brace yourself, he's going to be in a lot of pain," Pomfrey said as she frowned and tapped Harry's head with her wand. "Rennervate."
"Fuuuuuck me," Harry groaned and shifted on the bed before going completely still after twitching his left shoulder.
"Do not move your shoulder you irredeemable moron," Snape said, with no real heat to his words. "Your left shoulder is shattered."
"You're lucky to be alive you stupid idiot!" Susan yelled as Harry ignored Snape's words and flipped on to his back. His face was entirely pale beneath his scars, and eerily blank.
Harry ignored Susan's anger and looked up at Snape. They seemed to somehow communicate silently for a moment. Susan saw Snape's face go soft as he slowly reached out for Harry's good shoulder.
"I know, it hurts. You cannot have a potion. I will find a way to fix this. But it will likely take some time, time that I'm afraid will not pass you quickly. I am unsure how to heal this without a potion. It is not broken, it is shattered."
Harry bit down hard on his lower lip as Susan realized that Harry's blank face was just another one of his many masks to hide his pain.
"Sue- get them out," he said, his voice hoarse from the pain Pomfrey swore he'd be in.
Susan thought it said a lot about Harry's pain tolerance that he wasn't just shrieking right now.
Which of course made her want to find every single person who'd caused Harry's high pain tolerance and torture them to death.
Instead she turned to Black, Luna, Fred, and her aunt and pointed towards the entrance.
"Out," she barked. "Now."
"Fred stays," Harry said, causing Fred to smile sadly at his boyfriend. Or love of his life, apparently.
Supposedly.
Susan didn't trust him.
Not with Harry.
Luna ignored her command and danced over to Harry and lightly squeezed his hand.
"Don't ever do that again please," she said softly. Susan felt terrible when she realized Luna's eyes were puffy and red. Luna surely understood why she couldn't comfort her during the task though, if anyone understood that she had to focus on Harry- it was Luna.
Harry nodded shortly and his foot twitched at the motion.
"I'll wait outside for you so we can go with you to get your scores Pup," Black said, offering Harry his own small smile. "You were every bit an impulsive Gryffindor out there."
"Insult to injury," Snape sneered as Susan's Aunt led the others out of the tent.
Harry took a deep breath, his foot twitching at the motion again, before he looked up at Snape and offered up an odd little half smile, half grimace.
"I can take a potion," he rasped out. "Please Snape. It fuckin' hurts."
It must hurt if Harry was admitting to it in front of Snape, Madame Pomfrey, Fred, and Susan.
It had to hurt like Hell.
"You could die," Snape said, kneeling beside Harry's bed and keeping his hand on Harry's good shoulder. "It is not worth the risk."
"I won't."
"It is not a risk I am willing to take," Snape said. Susan thought Snape had never looked so visibly upset before. She figured it must be killing him to deny Harry relief from the pain.
"I quit taking them."
Snape blinked at Harry as the concern on his face quickly transformed to something more angry. Fred glanced at Susan, who frowned at Harry. What were they talking about?
"You did what?" Snape hissed. "Why? When?!"
"Day after Halloween," Harry said with a couple flicks of his eyes towards the door. Susan knew he was looking for a quick escape route in case Snape tried to hurt him. Which was silly.
Because Susan would kill him if he even dared.
"Don't make me beg," Harry said when Snape just stared at him in some sort of furious shock. "C'mon."
Snape flicked his wand sharply, Harry twitched and hissed, and Susan stepped forward to grab his hand.
"You have not taken a single one since dinner on Halloween night?" Snape asked once the potions he summoned flew to his hand.
"None."
"Drink this. Get your scores. Then we are having a conversation," Snape said.
Susan had no idea what they were talking about, but Snape was clearly furious.
Which was fine, to an extent, because as soon as Harry wasn't in pain she'd be telling him how furious she was as well.
Harry quickly downed the two potions and his shoulders sagged with relief as the pain reliever coursed through his apparently not allergic system.
"Did I win?" he asked Susan, looking up at her and smiling brightly.
"Did you... did you win? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" she yelled. "WHY WOULD YOU GO BACK FOR YOUR SWORD?!"
"Because I needed it, it's mine," Harry said. "Also my shoulder still feels weird," he added to Snape who was glaring at him and grinding his teeth.
"Because it is shattered and needs vanished and regrown," Snape said. "Go. Get your scores. Then come back and we will do it you maniac."Harry narrowed his own eyes at Snape at that odd insult.
"I am not manic," he sneered.
Susan had no idea what that meant, but she'd bet that Theo or Hermione did.
She'd never ask Hermione. Hermione was a know it all who would spend hours explaining what was surely a simple concept. But she would ask Theo next chance she got.
"You did look a bit like a maniac running back to the dragon Darlin'," Fred said. "You know you only had to get past it once, right?"
"Well let's go see if it paid off then," Harry grinned and got up slowly from the bed.
"Why didn't you fly?" Susan asked him as she held his hand and Fred wrapped his arm around him. "That was the plan."
"The plan was boring," Harry laughed.
Laughed.
"I hate you," she sighed as they walked out and joined their waiting friends and relatives.
"You love me," Harry whispered to her with a wink.
She did.
But sometimes, times like when Harry chooses the riskiest plan available to face a dragon on the basis that the better plan was 'boring', she also hated him a bit. She would feel badly about that. Except Ron says that's how he always feels about his siblings.
"Bagman wants you in the arena, you have to get your scores," Neville told him immediately. "Then there's a meeting in the Champions Tent. We can meet you in the common room afterwards?"
"Perfect, see you guys there," Harry smiled. He nodded at Black, Lupin, and Aunt Amelia before holding Susan and Fred's hands tightly and moving to the center of the arena.
"My sword!" he said happily once he spotted his stupid fucking sword laying on the ground next to his golden egg. "Thank God."
Fred and Susan shared a rare moment of solidarity when they looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
Harry was a moron.
"It's marks out of ten," Susan whispered to Harry as he grabbed the egg and sword. Fred grabbed the egg from him, making sure he wasn't carrying anything with his still shattered shoulder blade, and winked at Harry.
"The judges have voted and decided that Mister Potter's scores will be determined based on his performance up to when he moved his egg to safety," Bagman called, his voice amplified with magic. "Most of the judges," he shoot a dirty look at Karkaroff, "believe that the task ended at that moment. We will now vote."
The three of them shared a small smirk at that. It wasn't a secret to them why Bagman was kissing Harry's arse.
Bagman sat down and immediately shot up a large yellow ten in the air.
Then Dumbledore, who surprisingly gave Harry a nine and a cheerful wink.
God Susan hated him. How dare he pretend to be Harry's pal after everything he'd caused? Everything he'd done?
Madame Maxine came next and she also shot up a silver nine.
Then Karkaroff who sent up a...
"Three? YOU DICK! HARRY DID A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER THAN KRUM!" Susan's shouts were drowned out to all but Fred and Harry over the loud boo's of the watching students. Everyone seemed to think Harry deserved a higher score from the biased Headmaster. After all, Harry was the quickest one to get his egg. The youngest one. The bravest one who charged straight at the dragon. He was the least injured if they only counted the broken shoulder.
He was also the stupidest one. But that wasn't a judging criteria.
"WITH FORTY ONE POINTS OUR YOUNGEST CHAMPION HAS TAKEN THE LEAD!" Bagman roared to great cheers after Crouch put up a red ten for Harry.
"I WON!" Harry jumped around happily and even willingly hugged Susan and Fred both. "I'm in first!"
"You are! You're in first!" Susan cheered, her joy at Harry actually surviving the task momentarily overtaking her anger at his stupid decision.
"I knew it would work!" Harry cried. His eyes were blazing with victory. "I have to go to the champions tent, then I'm gonna sneak off to the common room before Snape can yell at me. You guys coming?"
"I'll meet you in the common room, I need to make sure someone got it set up right," Fred said. "Congrats Darlin', you were amazing. Stupid as Hell, but amazing."
Susan politely turned her head as they kissed.
"Let's go," Harry said, linking his arm with hers and offering her his sword while he took his egg from Fred. "Did I do the best?" he asked eagerly. "Okay listen here's what I was thinking..."
Susan listened patiently as Harry rambled on... and on... and on.
She couldn't even hardly understand him.
She did understand that he thought he'd try out fire proof shields. As in, he'd never tried it before. As in, he was a compete and utter idiot.
"Okay- I'll be back," Harry said with a deep breath, ducking in to the champions tent.
Susan tapped her foot impatiently as she watched students walk past, heading back towards the castle and chatting happily about the task they'd just watched.
Must be nice not to have your best friend entered in a death trap of a tournament.
"Next up, February twenty-fourth, the clue for the second task is in the egg, let's go celebrate!" Harry cried once he re-emerged from the tent.
"Why don't we go get your shoulder fixed first?" she suggested. "Then we can go celebrate."
"Nope," Harry popped his mouth loudly on the 'p' sound and then laughed, his excitement at winning apparently making him excited in general. "If I go now Snape's just going to yell at me. It doesn't hurt now, just feels weird, so I'll get it fixed tomorrow, yeah?"
Susan sighed but knew there was no point in arguing with him when he was in this mood. This was 'I can transform in to an owl no matter what you say' all over again.
"Alright," she conceded. "But you're going first thing in the morning."
"Yes ma'am," Harry smiled. "Lead the way!"
When they entered the Slytherin common room it exploded with cheers and yells. There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface; Fred had let off some Filibuster's Fireworks, so that the air was thick with stars and sparks; and someone had put up some impressive new banners, most of which depicted Harry stabbing a dragon with a sword, though a couple showed Cedric with his head on fire.
Susan and Harry grabbed a couple drinks, Susan grabbed a little cake, though of course Harry 'wasn't hungry' again. Susan watched and listened with exasperation as Harry described fighting the dragon to the annoying students who kept asking him.
"It would have been safer to use your broom," Blaise said.
"Safer just means more boring," Harry yawned, causing many of the younger students crowding him to laugh.
"Hey Harry! Can we open this?" Ron asked as he picked up Harry's golden egg.
Harry looked around the common room for a moment then shook his head.
"We'll do it tomorrow," he said. "I don't wanna worry about it tonight."
"Let's dance then!" Fred cried, flicking his wand and blasting music. Most of the students all immediately began jumping around to the blaring pop music eagerly. Susan was surprised to see Harry dancing closely with Fred. Though she was really happy to see that he wasn't nearly as twitchy about touches as he was in their first year.
After dancing herself nearly to dehydration, Susan took a break to snag a quick drink. She spotted Theo over by the wall, smiling at Hermione who was dancing with Daphne Greengrass and Luna, and remembered the question she had for him.
"Hey Theo, c'mere." Susan yanked on Theo's arm and pulled him off to the side quickly. "I have a question for you. What's it mean if someone is or isn't manic?"
Theo, genius that he is, quickly glanced towards where Harry was happily jumping around and dancing with the rest of their friends before frowning.
"Who told you?" he asked.
Susan blinked at him and attempted a casual tone, which was hard seeing as she had no idea what he meant.
"Who told you?" she asked instead.
"Nobody told me, I'm not blind," Theo rolled his eyes. "Ever since I read about it, I knew Harry had it. Especially when he started acting extra weird last year. Not sleeping for days and days and doing crazy stuff like trying to swim in the Black Lake alone in the middle of the night? And those weeks before Christmas when we couldn't get him out of bed? And look at him now-" Theo nodded his head to Susan's smiling and excited best friend. "I didn't need anyone to tell me."
"What- what are you talking about?" Susan asked him. She had no idea what all Harry's problems had to do with how he was acting now.
Theo blinked at her and pulled her another step further from the crowd.
"Manic-Depressive Illness," he said. "Harry's got it. I'm sure of it."
Susan turned her head and watched Harry for a long moment. She took in his lit up eyes, the energetic way he was half dancing and half jumping around, and the way that even though she couldn't hear him, she was sure he was talking to Fred at the speed of light.
"You read about it in a book?"
"Yeah, a muggle psychology textbook."
Susan kept watching Theo as she nodded curtly.
"Can you loan me the book?"