Y/N's POV

One of the best things about the aftermath of the second task was that everybody was very keen to hear details of what had happened down in the lake, which meant that me and Ron were getting to share Harry's limelight for once. I mainly let Ron do all the talking since I knew how much he wanted to be accepted.

We noticed that Ron's version of events changed subtly with every retelling. At first, he gave what seemed to be the truth; it tallied with Hermione's story, Dumbledore had put all the hostages into a bewitched sleep in Professor McGonagall's office, first assuring them that they would be quite safe, and would awake when they were back above the water. One week later, however, Ron was telling a thrilling tale of kidnap in which he struggled single-handedly against fifty heavily armed merpeople who had to beat him into submission before tying him up. "But I had my wand hidden up my sleeve," he assured Padma Patil, who seemed to be a lot keener on Ron now that he was getting so much attention and was making a point of talking to him every time they passed in the corridors, "I could've taken those mer-idiots any time I wanted."

"What were you going to do, snore at them?" said Hermione, I chuckled at her words. After that, Ron reverted back to his original story.

As we entered March the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned our hands and faces every time we went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because the owls kept being blown off course. The brown owl that Harry had sent to Sirius with the dates of the Hogsmeade weekend turned up at breakfast on Friday morning with half its feathers sticking up the wrongway; Harry had no sooner torn off Sirius' reply than it took flight, clearly afraid it was going to be sent outside again. Sirius' letter was almost as short as the previous one.

Be at the stile at end of the road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can. Make sure all four of you come.

I smiled to myself, after last year, this would be the first time I would see my biological father. All four of us were walking to our next lesson, discussing plans related to Sirius when we saw that Draco, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle crowding around looking at something.

"There they are, there they are!" Pansy giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart. I saw that Pansy had a magazine in her hands, Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the front showed a curly-haired witch who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand.

"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!" Pansy said loudly, and she threw the magazine at Hermione, who caught it, looking startled. At that moment, the dungeon door opened, and Snape beckoned us all inside. Me, Hermione, Harry, and Ron headed for a table at the back of the dungeon as usual. Once Snape had turned his back on them to write up the ingredients of today's Potion on the blackboard, Hermione hastily rifled through the magazine under the desk. At last, in the center pages, Hermione found what we were looking for. The rest of us leaned forward and there were colour photos of me and Harry.

Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

A boy like no other, perhaps, yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss. Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for less known wizards that Harry, which his talent and fame cannot satisfy. Since both boys have been selected as champions for Hogwarts, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Y/N L/N, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, quoted in a previous interview that there was someone he was much in love with, describing her as 'beautiful and smart'. L/N is a smart and handsome young man, the resident heartthrob of Hogwart's fourth year. It was said in an earlier interview that he had liked Miss Granger first and thought Harry Potter would steal her away with his fame.

There have been many sightings of Y/N and Hermione together but ever since the tournament began, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger have been getting cosy in the library, sneaking hugs and maybe even kisses when no one is looking. It is undeniable that although Harry, the Boy who Lived, is the more liked of the two, Y/N L/N is not far behind since he is known for being one of the best in his year, a worthy opponent of the Boy who Lived indeed. There are rumours that it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interests.

"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."

Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.

I clenched my fists, I was angry. I was angry at Rita Skeeter for portraying Hermione like that, I was angry at Pansy for speaking such false rumours and I was angry at Harry, someone who knew how I felt and knew I liked Hermione. I didn't know if this was his way of getting back at me but I was angry. Not wanting to be in his presence anymore, I stormed out of Potions, knowing that Snape would not care.

I was still annoyed at Harry by the time the Hogsmeade trip came around and I hadn't spoken to anyone. I knew where they were meeting Sirius so I was just going to wait around a bit and speak to him privately.

Harry's POV

I was feeling terrible after that article, what Rita Skeeter said was all lies. I mean, I did hug Hermione but it was only because we were friends. I had never tried to kiss her and I never had feelings. I mean, I've never thought about it because I knew Y/N liked her.

Now that I think of it...

No, I don't like Hermione. No. She's Y/N's

I sighed as me, Ron and Hermione were making our way to Hogsmeade. We couldn't find Y/N so we just left without him.

By the time we arrived in Hogsmeade, loads of students were there already. The food Sirius had told them to bring was in my bag we had sneaked a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table. We went into Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby, where we had fun selecting the weirdest socks we could find, including a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, and another that screamed loudly when we became too smelly. Then, at half past one, we made our way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village. I had never been in this direction before. The winding lane was leading us out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens were larger.

Then we turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for us, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in its mouth and looking very familiar...

"Hello, Sirius," I said when we had reached him. The black dog sniffed my bag eagerly, wagged its tail once, then turned and began to trot away from us across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. We climbed over the stile and followed. Sirius led us to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was rocky, it was easy for him but hard for us.

When Sirius transformed he smiled but then frowned. "Where's Y/N?"