Disclaimer: This Fan Fiction is based in the Harry Potter book written by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of the characters or the world of Harry Potter. I've tried not to mess with the "official" story, so names and dates will be correct for the time period this story takes place.
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Last two chapters of Year One for Espen Norum! The comments from you guys have really helped me write this, so thanks to all of you! Please enjoy! special thanks to gmertinez for helping me edit and develop the story! love you bro <3
Chapter 11: Hidden away
June had finally arrived, which meant exams, lots of them. Long before anyone felt ready, Espen and the other first-years sat in a hot exam room, writing down everything they knew. Most of their exams were written ones, but the Potions exam had both a written and a practical one. This time, Espen managed to finish his elixir without melting his cauldron as he did before Christmas. The only exam that Espen felt went perfectly, was the Transfigurations exam. He knew all the wand movements, formulas for transfiguration and could even put in some information from the next level books he'd been reading. Professor McGonagall gave him a nod as he turned in his paper and he smiled back.
"Finally, FREEDOM!" Nathan shouted as they came out into the fresh air and sun outside the castle. Their last exam, Defense Against the Dark Arts, had been one of the hardest ones yet. Espen felt he had done alright, but he didn't think it went half as good as the Transfigurations exam.
"Thank goodness that's over!" Jimmy said as he sat down onto the grass outside the castle walls. It was a beautiful day. The six first-years drifted down towards the lake, like so many others. There was already several students splashing around in the cool waters.
"Should we take a swim?" Nigel suggested and looked at the others. They all cheerfully agreed, as they all were sweaty from the exam room, and not just from the heat. They ran the last distance before starting to take off their clothing by the shore.
"Last one in is a rotten potato!" Nigel said as he finished first, tossing his shirt in the growing pile of clothing. Espen couldn't help but to look around at the other boys. He hadn't seen all of them this close to naked before. The exception was Dennis, from their dares several months back, but he hadn't seen any of the others bare chested before. The best looking one of them was of course Nathan. Even at eleven, he had a firm chest and hints of abs and muscles forming. No real surprise there, Espen thought. Nathan exercised regularly, keeping in good shape. Jimmy was next to finish undressing, leaving him in only his briefs as he ran into the cold water. Jimmy was the largest of the boys, making him Nathan's polar opposite. He was chubby, but not directly fat. He would probably put the fat away as he grew more. Benjamin and Nigel finished more or less at the same time as they joined Nathan and Jimmy. Nigel and Benjamin had almost the same bodies, only was smaller than Nigel. None of the boys were very fit like Nathan, but they weren't chubby like Jimmy either. They simply had healthy eleven year old bodies, even though Benjamin looked like he was seven years old. Espen had to smile, as he knew that Benjamin didn't look seven at other places. Now it was down to only Dennis and Espen, both rushing to get the last articles of clothing off. Both had spent some time trying to get off their shoes, but Espen had used his want to loosen the knot, while Dennis had just kicked them off. Dennis did manage to finish before Espen though, by maybe two seconds. Espen sighed as he took off his last sock before joining the others in the waters.
They played around the lake for a good while. The water wasn't very cold, but cold enough for Espen to feel his dick shrink almost into his body. When they finally came up from the water, they spent a good while just laying down on the warm grass, letting the sun dry their bodies.
"We should change before dinner." Dennis said jokingly as he pulled on his briefs, still damp.
"Wouldn't it be fun to... not?" Nathan grinned. "We could go back up the castle without them on, you know. We can't wear them as they are wet anyway. What do you guys say? One last dare this year?"
"Are you mad?!" Benjamin said shocked, "there is a lot of people around to see us, Nathan!"
"They are all too busy playing around in the lake anyway. Hide behind the bush if you want to." Nathan smiled slyly.
"So, one by one then?" Espen asked, feeling the familiar sensation down below. Walking around without any briefs on sounded very exciting! "We go behind the bush, take our briefs off and slip into our trousers. I'm in." Espen finished saying, liking the idea more by the second. The rest of the boys hesitated a moment, before nodding as well. They split up and walked behind bushes, trees and rocks to change. They soon came back, holding their curled up briefs in their hands, before shoving them into the depths of their bags. The first-year boys started to walk back up to the castle, giggling as they went. It felt strange to not wear anything underneath, and the occasional breeze went through the fly and chilled him down there.
"Any of you want to play some Exploding Snap after dinner?" Benjamin asked as they entered the Great Hall.
"I can't. I have some things I need to do before bed time." Nigel said as they sat down.
"What things? We don't have any homework left." Jimmy asked, curious.
"Uhm... I still have that essay to finish, for Moody." Nigel replied, avoiding eye contact. Espen got the feeling he knew what Nigel was doing though.
"I can't either." Dennis said as he filled his plate with pork chops. "I'm meeting up with Colin after his exam is finished."
"I can't ether. I have to talk to Professor McGonagall." Espen said. This was half-true, as he was going to give her book back for the summer, but he had alternate motives in mind as well.
After a fulfilling dinner, Espen got up before any of the others and made his way out to the Entry Hall, waiting behind a suit of armor for Dennis to come out. Espen had the feeling that Dennis didn't plan of seeing Colin at all, but to suck face with the girl, and this time Espen was going to find out who she was! Espen had gone out of his way to find out who she was, looking around in the great hall looked for her after classes to find out who she was, but he somehow missed her. Espen knew that Dennis was seeing her regularly, as he often missed out on afternoon activities with the rest of the first-years. Nigel missed out often too, but Espen already knew who he was seeing. The prefect that had busted them during their last dare, George Jameson. George was a sixth year, along with Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins.
After a little while, the rest of the first-years came out from the Great Hall, chatting as they walked up the marble stairs. Dennis waved goodbye to the others and walked the other way. As soon as he did, Espen ran up the marble stairs and followed him at a distance, taking cover behind statues and suits of armor as he went. He followed Dennis up to the second floor, past Professor Moody's office. Almost at the end of the hall, Dennis stopped in front of a thick wooden door and looked around. Espen ducked behind a gargoyle, and stayed silent as he heard the door being opened and then shut. He waited a few more seconds before making his way over to the door and pressed his ear against it. He heard sounds of movement inside and every now and then a faint mumble. Espen got down to his knees and peeked into the keyhole. Inside he saw Dennis and the girl kissing intensely by the windows. The sun outside lit them up nicely, as Espen could see both of them clearly. The girl has long, dark hair and had an exotic appearance. She had tanned skin, a bit like Jimmy. Espen squinted his eyes, trying to see the emblem on her chest. Yellow. Defiantly yellow. That meant that she was in Hufflepuff. Dennis had his eyes closed as they made out. Espen felt a pit in his stomach. It really bothered him that Dennis hadn't told him about this girl. They were supposed to be best friends for pete's sake!
Then Espen heard voices down the hall. He looked down the narrow hall and noticed the shadows of what looked like a group of people coming down here. It would look horrible for him if he was spying on others through the key-hole! Panicking, he raced across the hall and into the first unlocked door he could find and slipped in, before closing the door again. Looking around, he noticed that he'd slipped into some kind of storage facility, with several crates, closets and shelves full of books and jars. Espen didn't have the time to take it all in though. He pushed his ear against the wooden door and listened for movement outside. To his horror, the voices outside sound like they were just outside the door! His heart was really racing now. He looked around and spotted a large wardrobe with its doors open. Listening outside, the voices came closer and closer to the door and he heard the handle being turned. As quietly as possible, he ran over to the wardrobe, slipped in and started to close the door. The hallway door opened and a group of boys came in. Espen stopped moving the door of the wardrobe. He should be completely hidden in the shadows inside. Espen judged the boys to be around fifteen and sixteen years old, but it was hard to tell. One thing he was sure of, was that they were prefects! They all had the same silver badge on their robes.
"Come on in. Nigel, stay outside if you please." One of the boys said and then the sound of footsteps and the door closing. "Imperturbabul." One of the boys said, pointing his want at the hallway door. With a sharp `zing', it illuminated the door in blue light. "There, now no one will bother us." The boy continued. Espen now recognized him as George.
"You all know why you are here," George continued and started to pace around the room. Espen pushed himself against the wall inside the wardrobe, making himself as small as possible. "Dumbledore is going to make his decision on who becomes Head Boy before the school year ends, and as you all know, he does this based on our recommendations."
"If I may intrude here," one of the other boys spoke up, "it was nice to have that boy outside give me a quick blow, but why should I give Dumbledore you, as my recommendation for that? I want that position myself, you know."
"Because, my dear Charlie," George said, and Espen got chills down his spine from how cold his voice had gotten all of a sudden, "that boy outside will be your little slut for as long as I am Head Boy. In addition, since I know that everyone in this room has gotten to play around with that little slut, I won't mind telling Dumbledore about it."
"Y-you can't!" the boy named Charlie stammered. "If you say that, I'll get expelled!"
"Very true, Charlie. You're a quick study." The smirk in George's voice was clear. Espen heard the other boys move around uncomfortably.
"Well, if I'm getting expelled, then so are all of you!" the boy said desperate. "You said it, all of us in this room have used him for sex."
"Well, my dear Charlie... Nigel is, as I said my little slut and would do whatever I told him to do. Including `forgetting' that he's been with these other gentlemen here. And he would then say that you did other things to him as well, against his will." George said, his voice cold as the grave. Charlie didn't say anything else, so George continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "So I expect all of you to give Dumbledore your recommendations for me as Head Boy before long. With six votes, I should make it just fine. Any objections?" no one said a word. "Good. If I make it to Head Boy, you'll all get more time with my little slut. Maybe I'll even let you fuck him, if you ask nicely. Then let us give Nigel some work, now shall we?" and without waiting for the other boys to reply, he walked over to the door and opened it up, letting Nigel enter the room again.
"Nigel, you know what to do." George said and patted him on the back. Nigel didn't waste any time, and walked over towards the nearest boy and unzipped his pants.
The next thirty minutes was filled of the sounds of slurping and moans as Nigel sucked all six of the prefects one by one. Espen didn't watch. He couldn't make himself watch. He stood still with his eyes closed and tried to shut out the sounds as the prefects got their reward for coming to this secret meeting. Finally they finished and walked out of the room, leaving George and Nigel alone, with Espen still hiding in the shadows.
"You did well, Nigel. I'm proud of you, you know that?"
"Y-yeah. I think it went well. I didn't spill much this time either." Nigel said, and Espen could hear in his voice how proud he was and it made him sad to hear it in a situation like this. He was being used by these monsters, only that Nigel seemed to like it. This scared Espen a lot!
"You know, you'll be busy next year if I become Head Boy. I will need you, more than ever."
"I know. Do you want me to do you now?" Nigel said, sounding a eager.
"Ahh, no. Not now. I have some things to take care of. Maybe later?" George said and walked out, leaving Nigel and Espen alone in the room. Espen didn't dare breathe or move an inch. He didn't want Nigel to know that he'd been there all this time. If he knew, Nigel would never speak to him again. But Espen felt like he had to do something. Talk some sense into Nigel, make him realize how sick this was! As he stood there, thinking about how the heck he was supposed to say that, without hurting Nigel's feelings, he heard Nigel sigh and walk out as well.
He'd spent a while in the wardrobe, not being able to move or speak from what he had witnessed. Slowly, he made his way out to the hall again. The door opposite was open, meaning that Dennis and the girl had finished their business in there. Espen felt empty for some reason. He had so many things he wish he'd never found out! If he didn't know what Dennis was up to, he wouldn't feel like this and if he'd never followed Nigel out during the first trial, he'd never know what Nigel was forced to do... or was he forced? He seemed to enjoy it, as far as Espen could tell. He made his way up to the Common Room and spotted Nathan and Jimmy in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap, with Benjamin sitting on the sideline, watching the game. He seemed to miss one of his eyebrows.
"Any of you seen Nigel?" Espen asked carefully.
"Yeah, he is up in the dorm. Why?" Nathan asked, not looking up from his cards.
"I- ehh, want to ask him about something. Nothing big." Espen said, and walked up the stairs to the dorm rooms. He found Nigel laying on his bed, reading.
"Hi Espen." He said cheerfully as Espen walked over and sat on the bed with him.
"Hi Nigel..." Espen said, selecting his next words carefully, "I wanted to talk to you."
"Yeah? About what?" Nigel said, looking up from his book.
"About you and George." Espen said, hesitating a second before continuing, "I know what the two of you are doing and-"
"Hold up." Nigel said and slammed his book shut. "You know? How do know?"
"I-I saw the two of you during the first trial, in the woods." Espen said sheepishly. He didn't want to say `I was in the room while you sucked six guys'. Nigel stared at him for what felt like minutes, not saying anything. He figured that Nigel was trying to come up with some sort of explanation for what they had done. Espen broke the silence, making every word count. "He is using you, you realize that? He-"
"Shut up!" Nigel got up to his feet, staring at Espen with anger. "You don't know anything about him, you hear me? You- You forget you ever saw anything or..." Nigel started pacing, clearly in a state of panic.
"I'm trying to help you, Nigel! You're my friend an-" Espen said, taking a step forward to calm Nigel, but it had the opposite effect.
"Don't!" Nigel shouted, shaking his head. "Back off, Espen. Leave it and just forget what you saw, OK? Please? If you're truly my friend, back the hell off!"
Espen felt like his stomach had been ripped out. To see Nigel... sweet and innocent Nigel talk like this, deeply hurt Espen.
Without another word, Nigel walked out of the room, leaving Espen alone in the dorm room. Despite the candles lighting up the room around him, Espen felt like a chill had gone through his body. What was he supposed to do now?
"You look like crap!" Nathan said when Espen finally stepped down from the dorm as well. Nigel wasn't to be seen anywhere.
"Yeah, I feel a little down. It'll pass, I'm sure. Who's winning?"
"Nathan is. He's won all rounds till now. Jimmy is almost out of cards to play now, so it should be over soon." Benjamin pitched in, looking Espen over with worry in his eyes. "Nathan is right, you do look like crap."
"Thank you for that heart-warming comment, Benjamin," Espen said sarcastically. "What happened to your eyebrow? The cards blow up in your face?"
"Yeah..." Benjamin said, blushing a little. "I overextended and it just-"
BOOM!
The cards in Nathan's hands blew up in a small gush of smoke, leaving Nathan with a face black with soot and his blonde hair grey with ash. The best part of the whole situation, was that Espen felt himself laugh so hard that his stomach hurt. For 60 perfect seconds, he forgot that Dennis kept his girlfriend a secret and that Nigel was being used by a prefect to become Head Boy! For those 60 perfect seconds, he laughed until his eyes teared up and he almost fell out of his chair because he was laughing so hard from Nathan's expression. Sadly, 60 can't last forever.
Chapter 12: Drama at the trial
With the exams over and dealt with, all that was left for the school to talk about was the Third Trial. Everywhere Espen walked, he heard people talk and wonder about what the trial was going to be.
"It has to be something dangerous! I mean, the dragons? They have to top that!" "I've heard that they have to find treasure underground!" "No, it's a race to the middle of the forbidden forest!"
This was just some of the things people were talking about, and the first-years were no different. Speculations on what the Champions could do this time, continued far into the evenings. Espen only contributed half-heartedly to the conversations. Nigel was avoiding him now, not even wanting to look at him, at least not on purpose. As if this wasn't enough, Dennis still sneaked around with the girl. This wasn't a problem in itself, but it annoyed him beyond what he thought possible! He thought about Dennis and the Hufflepuff girl together whenever his mind drifted from lack of other things to think about, so the picture of Dennis kissing the girl was imprinted into his mind. It made him feel sick to his core! This even showed on the outside, making people question his health.
"I'm fine, professor. Nothing to worry about." Espen said to Professor McGonagall when he finally delivered her book back. She studied him over her glasses.
"You should go to the infirmary and have Madam Pomfrey take a look at you. You don't want to miss out on the trial tomorrow, do you?"
"No, I'll do that professor. Thank you again for the book!" Espen said and hurried out of the room, not wanting to be questioned anymore.
As he closed the door firmly behind him, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Though it did nothelp one bit, he started to walk towards the Common Room, wanting to see if any of the other first-years wanted to play some Gobstones or something. Closing in on the portrait of the Fat Lady, he saw a couple of people exit it—Nigel and George. Espen stopped, not wanting to catch Nigel's attention, but the two of them walked over towards Espen. Nigel happened to look up as they closed in and the happy smile he had on his face faded.
Espen didn't say a word as the two of them walked past him and further down the corridor. He heard a door open and close, then silence. Was this how it was going to be from now on? A cold shoulder from Nigel and Dennis ignoring him? Another person came out from the portrait. It was Benjamin. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Espen.
"Espen? What's wrong?" he said and walked over to where Espen still stood, frozen to the spot.
"N-nothing, Benjamin." Espen said. He could hear how unconvincing he sounded and Benjamin seemed to think the same.
"Doesn't look like nothing to me... Come on, tell me. Maybe I can help?" Benjamin said and put a hand on Espen's shoulder. His seemed to spread warmth from where his hand touched Espen.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Espen asked seriously.
"How bad is it?" Benjamin said with a worried look on his face.
"It's pretty bad..." Espen finally said, "I don't want to say it here though. Can we go to the old classroom?" he asked and Benjamin nodded.
Still with Benjamin's hand on his shoulder, the two of them walked over to the dusty old classroom where they had spent so much time together reading for the exams. Espen almost fell into the cushions and felt himself sink into them. Benjamin sat down next to him, still with worry across his pale face. Espen swallowed. Was he really going to tell Benjamin everything that bothered him? He decided to start with the less serious of the two; Dennis.
"Dennis is avoiding me," Espen started. It was hard to talk about this, but he pushed through. "He is seeing someone, a girl from Hufflepuff I think, and he hasn't told me about it and he is avoiding me because of it!" he said angrily. This was about losing his best friend to some stranger and Dennis not even daring to tell him that she was the reason for it! Espen explained this to Benjamin as well as he could, convincing himself that he wasn't selfish because of it. When Espen finished, Benjamin was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke.
"Espen... if I am to be honest here, I'm surprised."
"Surprised?"
"Well, I'm not going to lie and say I haven't noticed something strange between the two of you for some time now, but I always thought that the two of you have been fighting over something, not ignoring each other."
"Why do you say that?"
"The way I've been seeing it, you have been ignoring him just as much as he's been ignoring you, maybe even more. Have you tried to talk to him at all about this?" Benjamin finally said. Espen sat speechless. What Benjamin said sounded very reasonable. Sure, the two of them had talked during classes and stuff, but Espen hadn't actually asked Dennis about what was going on. Not even once.
"No... I haven't," Espen said after five agonizing seconds. Had he really been ignoring Dennis? In his mind, he had been doing the exact opposite, as Dennis invaded his thoughts and dreams. Then again, not all of those thoughts had been about the girl he was hiding...
"What did you think we were fighting about?" Espen asked, realizing what Benjamin had said.
"Ohh... uhmm..." Benjamin blushed, "You know... something else."
Espen raised an eyebrow. He thought he knew what Benjamin meant with `something else' and he didn't like it.
"Was that all?" Benjamin sounded relieved and got up from the couch.
"No. That's not all," Espen said darkly.
"Ohh? More about Dennis?"
"No... not about Dennis. This one is a lot more serious, but before I tell you anything about it, promise me that you won't tell anyone about what I am about to say to you!"
The sudden change in Espen's tone seemed to make Benjamin realize that the worst was yet to come. Benjamin nodded. "I promise, Espen."
Espen took a deep breath and told Benjamin all of it. He told him about what he'd seen and heard in the woods during the first trial. He told him what he saw when he stumbled onto the secret passage, while hiding in the wardrobe only a few halls away from where they stood now, and finally about what Nigel had said just a few days ago when Espen confronted him with it. All while Espen's tale, Benjamin's face turned white from shock.
"You can't be serious about this, Espen!" Benjamin said when Espen had finished.
"I am afraid so..." Espen said and fell into the cushions again.
"This is bad!" Benjamin said as he started to pace back and forth, "We have to tell someone! McGonagall or Dumbledore or-"
"That's the problem!" Espen almost shouted out in desperation. "If we tell anyone, it will bring down George, sure, but it will ruin Nigel forever! He'll never talk to me and the rest of the school will treat him like shit because of what he's done. I can't let that happen to him, Benjamin. I just can't. There has to be some other way to get Nigel out from under George without ruining him forever."
"I don't know what else there is to do, Espen. I honestly don't. I-I don't know what to do here! I just learned about wanking! Sucking is something much bigger!" Benjamin burst out in desperation. This made Espen smile, despite the situation.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Benjamin asked cautiously. Espen shook his head.
"Only you and me. And Nigel and George, plus some of the prefects."
"I mean... Does anyone other than you, me and Nigel know that YOU know?" Benjamin said.
"No, but-"
"I think I have an idea..." Benjamin said and started pacing again, "It's not going to be clean and Nigel will be hurt, but he won't be hurt half as much as he would have been if this doesn't work." He continued, almost for himself, "I mean, if the whole school were to know about the things he's done, like you said, he'd be ruined for the rest of his years here."
"What do you-" Espen tried again, but Benjamin seemed like he was in his own world now. Finally, Benjamin looked straight at Espen. Benjamin pushed his glasses further up his nose. Espen could see that he had a plan! *** An hour later, Espen and Benjamin walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room, still talking about their plan for Nigel.
"It has to work. It's the only shot we have here," Benjamin said for the fifth time, more to reassure himself than Espen. They approached the Portrait of the Fat Lady and briefly stopped, caught up in their conversation as they were.
"Do you think it will work?" Benjamin asked, his face filled with worry and doubt.
"I don't know, but it is as you said—our only shot," Espen replied. He felt like he had a pit in his stomach that had been filled with bricks!
Suddenly, the portrait opened up and someone came out. It was Dennis. Benjamin and Espen exchanged looks and Benjamin gave Espen a reassuring smile. "I think I should go. I have homework to finish," He said and left Espen and Dennis alone.
"Hi," said Espen
"Umm... Hi," Dennis said back, a looking a little uncomfortable.
"I've been wanting to talk to you!" both boys managed to say at the same time.
"You first," Espen said, feeling himself blush a little.
"Alright. Umm... I tried to tell you this a few times the last few months, but I... have a girlfriend," Dennis saidalso blushing a little now. Espen tried to seem surprised by the news.
"Ohh, umm... who is she?"
"Her name is Angela," Dennis said, giving Espen a sheepish smile. "She is in Hufflepuff and a second year."
"Well, congratulations!" Espen said, forcing a smile of his own. It felt very stiff and fake, but hopefully it did the trick.
"Yeah. As I said, I've been wanting to tell you for a while now." Dennis said, looking down at his feet. He really did look like he'd been wanting to tell him, Espen thought.
"It's alright. Nothing to worry about," Espen said reassuringly. Dennis looked up and their eyes met. Espen could stare into those brown eyes forever, he thought.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Dennis asked after what felt like an eternity.
"Ohh... Umm, I forgot. I'm sure I'll remember it later," Espen said, hoping Dennis would actually forget about it.
"You always forget things," Dennis said with a warm smile. That smile...
"By all means, leave me hanging, boys," They heard the Fat Lady say. The portrait was still open.
"Should we go inside?" Espen asked and gestured towards the open portrait, and Dennis nodded. Inside, the first thing Espen saw was Benjamin giving both of them a sly smile. Espen guessed Benjamin knew more than he let on. Even more interesting though, Colin had the same sly smile as Benjamin had . Espen had to wonder, what if Colin had sent Dennis to talk to Espen, just as much as Benjamin had sent Espen to talk to Dennis..?
The quiet evening turned into a fitful night, and night into an ecstatic morning. It was time for the third trial! The entire school buzzed with excitement.
"I heard that they won't let people go down to the quidditch pitch!" Nathan said to the ones that would listen during breakfast that morning.
"What's so special about that?" Jimmy asked.
"That's where it's going down!" Nathan said excited, "Don't you see? They are going to fly!"
Espen just rolled his eyes. He didn't think that they would fly—it wouldn't be fair. Three of the Champions were excellent quidditch players, leaving Fleur Delacour at a huge disadvantage. It had to be a fair fight for everyone. It must be something about the points they had been receiving that could give some sort of an advantage. A race or a timed event of some sort, Espen thought to himself as he chewed on his fried eggs. Benjamin sat down at the table and gave Espen a nervous smile. The two of them had talked about the plan far into the night before, making sure that it could and would work, and most importantly, save Nigel's reputation. It wasn't fool proof, that was for sure, but it was the closest they could come to it.
Espen could see George sitting several benches further down. Nigel sat beside him, listening in on every word George was saying with a strange look on his face. Was it love?
"Are we doing the right thing, Benjamin?" Espen asked his blond friend as he looked down the table. Benjamin followed his gaze.
"I think so. We don't really have a choice to do anything else, do we?"
"What are the two of you whispering about?" Nathan asked suddenly. He had stopped explaining how a race on broomsticks would be the perfect trial and stared at Espen and Benjamin with curiosity.
"Umm, nothing. Just..." Espen fumbled, desperately trying to find something to say.
"It's not going to be a race on broomsticks, Nathan." Dennis pitched in as he sat down next to Espen and Benjamin.
"Why not?" Nathan asked a little offended that Dennis would reject his brilliant theory. "It fits!"
"Really?" Dennis said with a sarcastic tone as he loaded his plate with toast, "What about Fleur Delacour, then? You don't think she'll be at a huge disadvantage against three Quidditch players?"
"I... Well... Maybe, but-"
"The one thing I think you have right, is that it's going to be a race of some kind," Dennis continued, "I think that the points they have now, and the difference between them are going to be some kind of timer, giving the ones with the most points a head-start."
"But where is the magic in it?" Jimmy interrupted, waving his own toast around as he gestured into the air.
"Maybe it will be some sort of obstacle on the way or something, I don't know..." Dennis said with a sly grin and took a big bite of his toast.
Suddenly, a different kind of mumbling in the hall caught Espen's attention. He looked down the table and saw a few older students holding copies of the Daily Prophet, all whispering amongst themselves. A few of them looked up the table towards where Harry Potter sat, also reading a copy of the Prophet.
"What's that about, you reckon?" Espen asked the others.
"Who knows?" Nathan said mildly interested and looked around. Espen spotted one of the students putting the paper down on the table, continuing to whisper with the ones around.
"Hey, can I borrow that?" Espen shouted to the student, who gave him a quick glance and slid the paper over. One look at the front page gave him all the answers he needed.
`Harry Potter – Disturbed and Dangerous' the headline read. Espen didn't need to read the rest. He quickly looked over at Dennis, who was busy loading his plate with eggs now. Dennis adored Harry and reading something like this would surely anger him. With that in mind, Espen hid the paper in his bag.
The day went quicker than any would have thought, and before they knew it, they had eaten dinner and Dumbledore spoke to the school, telling them about where they would meet to watch the third and final trial; The Quidditch Pitch. The four champions all got up and left the hall to thunderous applause from all the houses.
"Come on, we want to get some good seats!" Nathan said excitedly and almost dragged the other first-years to make them walk faster.
"We'll get there soon enough!" Jimmy said and laughed.
"I agree!" Dennis said and smiled from ear to ear, "I hope Harry wins."
A little guilty, Espen forced a smile of his own. If only Dennis knew what the paper had said about Harry Potter...
"Look!" Benjamin shouted out as the quidditch pitch came into view. Espen almost shouted out himself! The field wasn't flat and empty, like one might have thought it to be, but something very tall and green reached almost half way up to the lowest of the goal hoops!
"What is that?" Nathan asked as they came closer.
"It's... trees of some kind, I think." Benjamin said, and he was very close. As they came to the edge of the field, they finally got a better look up-close. They were plants—that was for sure. They formed a wall of green all around the field, except one small gap on one of the edges.
"They're hedges!" Espen shouted out when he realized what they actually were, "It's a labyrinth! Look!"
As they climbed the stands, the view confirmed this as well. The whole field was a maze of green walls all leading into a circular middle. Espen thought he could see something golden in the middle, but it was so small and so far away that it was hard to see! They managed to get to one of the stands that were almost empty, so the first years captured the front seats, giving them a great view over the labyrinth.
"I still can't see much..." Nathan said grumpily. He was right. Once again, the trial gave a very limited view of what actually happened!
Suddenly Ludo Bagman's voice filled the whole stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied for first place, on eighty-five points each – Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harr-"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dennis and Colin both shouted out so loudly that Espen almost missed the rest of what Bagman said.
"-y Potter, both from Hogwarts School!"
Now, Espen and the ones around them started to cheer, but one voice from behind him made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. A deep voice that Espen had heard too much of to his liking. He turned around to see, and he had been right—the prefect, George Jameson. He stood at the furthest bench with his classmates and cheered like the rest of them, but that didn't make Espen calmer.
The two other champions were introduced and their points counted, before getting to three different openings in the hedges. Bagman counted down from three and blew his whistle. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory both ran into the maze, soon followed by both Krum and Delacour. Espen spotted the different guards outside the maze.
"Now what...?" Nathan asked no one in particular. As good a question as any, thought Espen.
*** Every now and then they could see flashes of light inside the maze and once, Espen thought he might have imagined it, even a some flashes on the outside... Strange, he thought. After around ten minutes of nothing special to see, a stream of red sparks came up from the maze, almost like firework. A couple of guards summoned a clear path through the maze and ran to where the spark came from.
"Looks like one of the champions is down!" Bagman said through his magically enhanced voice.
"Who do you think it's...?" Dennis asked worried, "I hope it's not Harry."
"Don't worry about Harry, Dennis." Colin said comforting his younger brother, but he too looked worried.
In the middle of the labyrinth, a bright blue flash lasted for about a second, before going out again.
"What was that?" They heard Bagman's voice say, confused. "Was that supposed to happen? I thought the walls-" his voice got cut off. Someone had reversed the voice enhancement charm.
"What do you think happened?" Jimmy asked from the edge of his seat as the other guards ran into the maze.
"Nothing good..." Benjamin said darkly. Espen could see several of the staff, including Dumbedore himself come down to the opening of the maze, talking to the one of the guards. From here, it looked like Professor Moody.
Espen looked around and realized that several students had gotten up and walked onto the pitch as well. He looked back and saw that George had already left.
"Umm... I have to go to the bathroom." He said, trying to sound urgent.
"Fine, I think we'll be here," Benjamin said, giving Espen a nod. He knew what he was going to do.
Espen got up and almost ran down the stairs. Looking below, he saw George's dark hair further down, so he picked up his pace. Out of the stands and into the cold air again, he spotted George walking with a couple of friends. Espen mustered all his courage and ran over and tapped George on the shoulder. The much older boy looked confused down at him.
"Jameson, you're a prefect, right? Can I talk to you about something? Private?" Espen said in his most innocent and vulnerable voice. George studied Espen's face for a second, before giving him a quick nod.
"This will just take a second. I'll see you guys later." George said to his two friends and looked at Espen again, "I've seen you before somewhere..."
"Yes, you have," Espen said, dropping the act. His voice was serious now. "I know about you and Nigel."
George's face turned red from anger. He grabbed Espen's shoulder hard and dragged him behind one of the stands, out of sight from the crowd.
"I don't know what you think you know, but you should really-" George said in his most authoritative voice, still holding back the anger, but Espen cut him off.
"I saw you and Nigel during the first trial," Espen said simply, and enjoyed seeing George's face go from red to white in under two seconds. "And again a few days ago from inside the classroom where you extorted the other prefects. I know what you've been using him for, and it stops now."
"And what are you going to do, huh? Nigel is going to deny every single word you say, you little shit!"
"That may be so, but what do you think will happen when the school learns about it? And what will happen to that Head Boy position?" Espen said as calmly as he could.
"I-... You still can't prove anything!"
"I know it will be my word against you and Nigel, but I don't think the school will care much for who says what. You'll be a scandal either way. But! I have a proposition for you." Espen said and George's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean `proposition'?"
"I mean, a way for you to still become Head Boy and no one ever finding out that you planned to use Nigel to win the other male prefects over to your side," Espen said, his voice starting to shake. It was now or never.
"Leave Nigel alone. Don't talk to him ever again and I'll never say a word about it til the day I die. I won't say anything when you become Head Boy. I'll keep quiet if you keep your word! If any of the other prefects needs to be kept in line, you may tell them that I know and won't hesitate to rat you all out if it comes to that."
Espen could see that George seriously thought about it.
"Do you need an answer today?"
"Yes. Now," Espen said firmly.
"And I'll still be Head Boy?" George asked. Espen nodded.
"Fine. I've gotten what I wanted from that little bitch anyway," He frowned and walked away, leaving Espen alone behind the stands. Espen looked down and realized his legs were shaking like crazy. He took one deep breath and walked up to the stands again.
"Did you have any trouble?" Benjamin asked as soon as Espen sat down.
"No, everything went fine," Espen smiled. None of the other first years paid any attention to Benjamin and Espen's conversation as something happened down at the pitch. A large crowd had gathered in front of one of the entrances and screams filled the air and a shout was repeated over and over again, louder and louder.
"Diggory is dead!"
Espen and the other first-years watched in horror as students were forced away from the entrance and revealed a smaller group of people who surrounded two bodies on the ground.
"Is that... Harry?" Colin asked in shock, but before anyone could answer, one of the two bodies was helped up and carried away by Professor Moody, Harry Potter it would seem, leaving one body left. No one helped this one up, but someone conjured a long white blanket from thin air and covered it.
Professor McGonagall's magically enhanced voice filled the stadium now.
"All students, please return to your respective common rooms and await further instructions from your Head of House." *** Sometime later, the Griffindor Common room was filled with students who had nowhere else to go. Everyone waited for something to happen, for information about what had happened and what was going to happen now!
It had been a few hours since the trial ended, and the six first-year boys sat on their beds in the dormitory.
"It can't be true, what they shouted I mean." Nathan said
"It has to be! You saw that they covered up someone, Nathan! It has to be Diggory. Why else would they send us back up here, huh? Diggory is dead!" Jimmy said reasonably.
"I hope Harry is OK..." Dennis said worriedly. Espen, who sat next to Dennis, put his arm around him to comfort him. If the situation hadn't been so worrisome, this would have been quite nice, as Dennis leaned into Espen and rested his head on Espen's shoulder.
The dormitory door opened wide and Colin stood in the doorway.
"McGonagall is here, come down!"
The boys all jumped out of the beds and ran downstairs.
"Everyone here? Good. The Hogwarts Express will arrive in two days, as scheduled." McGonagall said, obviously shaken.
"Is Diggory really dead?" Someone from the back asked and the room filled with mumbling.
"I am afraid so," McGonagall said, her voice shaking a little.
"What about Harry?" Colin asked.
"Mr Potter is currently in the infirmary under Madam Pomfrey's care."
"So he's not dead?" Colin asked, his voice full of relief.
"No, he's not dead, Mr Creevey." McGonagall said, also sounding relieved. "I suggest you all take care of each other now, as these last couple of days will be very hard on each and every one of us. Headmaster Dumbledore will speak to all of you in the morning about what the school's future will be." With that, she gave them all one last, serious look and walked out of the common room, leaving the Gryffindors in stunned silence. ***
The following day started with, as McGonagall said, with Headmaster Dumbledore speaking to the school during breakfast. Even though he didn't tell them any new information, he asked that Harry Potter be left alone and not be asked questions about what happened in the maze.
"That sounds ominous..." Nathan mumbled under his breath and he wasn't the only one. Students from all houses whispered and mumbled now, a humming filling the Great Hall. Dumbledore ignored this, and continued on informing that the usual end of year feast would be replaced by a memorial dinner for Cedric Diggory.
Espen tried it hard to concentrate on what Dumbledore was saying, as something else caught his attention. Nigel sat with them for once, and he looked miserable. He kept glancing down the table towards where George sat, who in turn ignored Nigel completely. A pang of guilt hit Espen for a moment, then he remembered what fate Nigel could have gotten instead if he hadn't done what he did. It seemed like Benjamin also noticed Nigel's glances and sent Espen a meaningful look. At least for now, George had kept his word and stayed away from Nigel, but Espen had to wonder if George would still keep his word next semester if he became Head Boy...
The rest of the day went to packing their suitcases and tidying themselves up for the memorial dinner. Espen had just finished packing his own suitcase, trying his best to get it closed. How did he have more stuff than when he arrived here, he thought as he sat on top of his suitcase, trying to get the lock on.
"Hey," a voice from the door said. Espen looked up and saw Dennis, dressed in his finest robes.
"Hi! Can you help me with this?" Espen said and jumped his suitcase as a demonstration. Dennis smiled, got out his wand and locked Espen's suitcase with magic. "Why didn't I think of that..." Espen mumbled, but gave Dennis a warm smile, "Thanks!"
"You should know how to do that yourself." Dennis beamed. He walked past Espen and sat on Espen's bed, watching as Espen finished the last of his packing. "I can't believe we made it through this. We passed all of our exams and we're ready to be second-years!"
"It's hard to believe, that's for sure! Feels strange having to go home... I haven't seen my room in almost a year!" Espen chuckled, "I hope mom has been tidying it up for me. Think of how dusty it would be after ten months!"
"Yeah... Haven't been to my room since-" Dennis stopped mid-sentence. Espen looked over at his friend. For some reason, Dennis' eyes were filled with tears.
"What's wrong, Dennis?" Espen said and sat down next to Dennis.
"I've been such a fool, Espen, keeping things to myself, shutting you out."
"I did that too, you know... I've known about the girl for a while, but I didn't know her name until you told me the other night."
"You knew? How did you know?" Dennis said, the surprise was enough to stop the tears.
"I saw you two kiss a while back," Espen said shrugging his shoulders, "I figured that was why you were so secretive all of a sudden so I left it alone. I knew you'd tell me when you felt ready to." Dennis looked like he wanted to say something, opening his mouth, but closed it again and instead wrapped his arms around Espen and hugging him tight.
"I am so sorry for being so stupid. I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too, Dennis." Espen said wrapping his arms around Dennis and hugging back. He didn't know how long they sat there in Espen's bed, hugging each other, but to Espen it felt like hours.
When the students entered the Great Hall next, the entire room had changed. The room was decorated in black to honor Cedric and to show respect to him and his family. Just the sight made Espen feel sad to his bones. He hadn't known Cedric Diggory, but the entire atmosphere just felt heavy and somber. The dinner went by quietly and no one really made a huge mess. It seemed like most students had lost their appetite or simply didn't feel like eating. On the Hufflepuff table, Espen spotted several students crying and holding each other. Finally, Dumbledore rose and the few people that had been talking went quiet. Dumbledore spoke about how Cedric embodied what a true Hufflepuff was like and how the loss of such a person impacted them all, especially because of how he had been killed. He asked the students to raise their glasses for him and they all did.
"To Cedric!" they all said and drank.
"His death affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think you have the right, therefor, to know exactly how it came about. Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic-" Dumbledore said, but Espen's mind went blank. Lord Voldemort? Alive again?
"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection to Cedric's death. I am talking, of course about Harry Potter." Dumbledore continued.
Espen glanced over at the two Creevey brothers who both gave Dumbledore their undivided attention. Espen thought he saw something wet sliding down Colin's cheek.
"-sort of bravery that few have shown in facing Voldemort, and for this, I honor him." Like with Cedric, they all raised their glasses for Harry Potter.
The following morning was a beautiful day. Had they not been going home, Espen would have wanted to spend the day outside with his friends. His five, wonderful friends who he'd spent close to a year with, connected with and done stupid dares with, but alas, he sat on a train heading to London. The best part of the trip home, was spending the last few hours with them all, Dennis, Benjamin, Nathan, Jimmy and Nigel, all of them slightly sad that they were going separate ways for the summer. They talked for hours about Voldemort, even though no one said the name, and what would happen now that he was back.
"You really think he is back?" Jimmy said unsure.
"Of course I do!" Dennis said, a little shocked that Jimmy would even ask, "Dumbledore said so. Didn't you pay any attention to what he said yesterday?"
"I did, but I hope it's not true..." Jimmy said looking out the window. "Five of my aunts and uncles were killed when he was in power last. I dread for what will happen to the rest of us if he really is."
When Espen and the rest finally arrived at King's Cross, his mother stood by herself, finally giving him a warm smile and hugged him tight when she reached him.
"Ohh my, I've missed you honey!" she said kissing him on the cheek and hugging him even tighter.
"Moooom... please," Espen said, a little embarrassed as both Dennis and Colin stood close by, watching. "Mom, this is Dennis and Colin Creevey, the ones I went to during Christmas break."
"Oh, hello, " His mom said, greeting them both, "I am Madeleine. It's so good to finally meet you both," She said, giving them both a quick hug. "I hope you boys will visit us sometime during the summer?" she asked cheerfully.
"That would be great, Mrs Norum, but we'll have to check with dad," Colin answered politely.
"Ohh, I'm sure we'll figure something out." She said and gave Colin a wink.
"We should get going, honey." And with that she took Espen's suitcase and Hugo's cage from Espen's hands and loaded them onto a trolley.
"I do hope you two can come visit..." Espen said to the two brothers, looking a second longer at Dennis.
"I hope so too." Dennis smiled and took a step forward and hugged Espen. It felt very warm and comforting. "Take care, Espen and we'll see each other soon. I'll write you if we can come visit!"
"Write me anyway. I'll need someone to talk to during the summer," Espen said as he squeezed one last time before breaking the hug.
Dennis looked like he wanted to say something more, but decided against it and instead grabbed his own suitcase and loaded it onto a trolley.
"Don't give up on him yet." Colin said, surprising Espen by his tone. He had the same smile that he'd had the night Espen and Dennis started talking again "He is holding himself back, but just give it time. He cares for you more than you realize, Espen." And with that, Colin walked over to his younger brother and helped him load the trolley, leaving Espen standing alone in the steam from the red train.