Horace Slughorn, Molly, and Arthur transferred the unconscious forms of Ron, Hermione, and Ginny into three small, separate beds which they had conjured beside Harry. The three had been unconscious for an hour. Unsettlement and concern were beginning to show on the adults' faces.

"How long do we have to wait for them to wake up?" Molly asked Slughorn, her mounting frustration given away by the visible creases of worry in the dim moonlight. Molly sensed there was something about their current predicament he wasn't telling them. It killed her to think of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny trapped inside in their own minds. She knew they couldn't rush whatever hardship they were facing, but they didn't have all the time in the world either.

Slughorn looked lost in thought. "I am uncertain," he responded with regret. "The ritual hadn't specified what they would be facing. We have no choice but to wait, I'm afraid."

An anxious-looking Hagrid looked up at the two from where he sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "They will wake up, righ'?"

"Yes, but—" It took awhile for Slughorn to finish an answer to him as if he had to consider his words carefully. He stared at them all, and they met his gaze evenly, eyes rife with worry. Finally, knowing he couldn't keep this a secret any longer, he took a deep breath. "If they fail the ritual, Harry may not wake up."

Horror-stricken, the adults simultaneously snapped their dumbstruck attention to the four teens. The repercussions short-circuited their trains of thoughts, and they blacked out to the world for a moment. They couldn't do anything to help them but only hope for a successful ritual. They knew how maddening it must be for Harry to be aware of what was happening and not be able to do a thing about it. He was never one to shirk from a challenge and would always choose to confront his enemies. But how could he fight an enemy that lived inside his soul?

Hagrid looked stiff as if desperately listening to the sound of Harry's breathing, which sounded more rhythmic at the moment. Despite his even breathing, Harry looked terribly vulnerable; his pale visage was one of exhaustion and his lips were severely chapped.

While the three adults were lost in dismal thought, a furious tapping came from the window. An owl was flying frantically about it and, from the markings, they recognized it at once as George Weasley's. Curious, Bill let the owl in, but all their jaws dropped when they noticed the red envelope clutched within its claws.

"Why would George send a Howler?" Percy asked, perplexed.

Without giving a response, Bill snatched it out of worried dread and tore open the envelope until it exploded in front of him. They recognized the roaring voice of Corban Yaxley filling the quiet space of Shell Cottage straight away. They all exchanged quick and nervous glances before listening to what he had to say.

"WE HAVE YOUR PRECIOUS SON GEORGE. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HIM ALIVE, BRING POTTER TO THE FORBIDDEN FOREST. YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT."

A deafening silence fell upon the group. The red envelope in Bill's hands burst into flames before dying and dissipating, leaving only ashes in its wake. The adults all stood, their feet glued to the creaking wooden floor, stunned as if a tidal wave had just slammed into them. They gazed from one to the other.

"G-george," Molly stammered. Her hand shook as she brought it to her chest. A look of fright stuck on her face when she turned to her husband.

Arthur fidgeted, looking panicked. "We have four hours left before midnight."

"How do we know if tha' Howler is true?" Hagrid boomed out, glaring at the pile of ashes impatiently. "Yaxley could be lyin'."

"I can check the joke shop. George lives just above it," Percy volunteered immediately. A slight nod of Hagrid's head indicated he understood.

Arthur nodded. "Send us a word once you find out, son." Percy quickly darted out of the cottage and Disapparated.

"I'll have to talk to Kingsley," Arthur informed Molly. "We have to devise a plan, and we may have to go there without Harry."

"But they'll kill George if we don't have him with us," Molly said fretfully, her voice shaky and her eyes streaming with tears.

Arthur tried to sound encouraging. "We don't know that yet. We have to figure things out calmly." Molly gave him a tight smile before he hastened out the front door and Disapparated as well when he was at a good distance away from the cottage.

"What took you so long?" Harry complained once Hermione emerged from the door and joined them in the second task. They were all waiting for her to come to complete the next challenge efficiently.

The room they were in was dark like the first but circular in shape. The only light source came from the centre where two magnificent mirrors stood tall in front of them with knobs on each of their sides like doors.

"Why do you have to wait for me?" Hermione shot back hotly. "If you're in such a hurry, you can just move along ahead, you know."

Harry glared at her. "I would have if I could, FYI. Apparently, this room wouldn't show us what the second task is unless we're all here, and at last, you graced us with your presence." He mocked deference as he rolled his eyes at the bushy-haired girl.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that? I'm here now, so stop complaining!" she commanded angrily, her face turning red.

Harry turned around, fuming with rage, and strode away from them, his cloak billowing haughtily behind.

Ginny sighed at the pair of them and followed Harry.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked Hermione.

"I'm fine," Hermione replied curtly.

"What happened back there? Did you get into trouble?"

"No," she whispered as she looked down at her shoes. She abruptly glanced back up at the Hufflepuff competitor. "Did you get a pain in your head and a vision when you finished the first task?" Hermione asked curiously.

Ron shook his head. "What do you mean vision?" He asked, a bewildered look spreading on his features.

Hermione summarized what had happened and what she had seen. By the time she finished, he had delved into deep thought.

"Are you sure you don't remember any memory like that before?"

"It's very unlikely that I would have memories that involved Potter as a friend," she replied convincingly. "He and I don't get along, as you can see."

"That's true," Ron responded thoughtfully. "Or you could have been seeing the future!" The red-haired boy sprang at the idea, smiling as if he was positive that he had solved her mini crisis.

"I dunno," Hermione said thoughtfully, her pensive eyes looking far away in the distance as she fidgeted with her skirt. "It doesn't feel like it's from the future… I got the sense that it's more like it's happening at the present time but in a different dimension. You know what I mean?"

Ron contemplated the meaning of her comment. "Yeah, I get you. But why are you seeing those visions now?"

"It's really weird actually," she explained as she glanced back at him. "For the first task, I gave the potion to all three of them since I wanted to save them all, and then it happened."

"Maybe it's part of the way you did the challenge. I mean, you're the only one who did it differently."

Hermione bit her lip and worked her eyebrows into a knot. "No, that couldn't be the case. The vision felt... real, and as odd as it is, I feel like I have to do something about it."

"But how?" Ron asked incredulously. "You can't just transport yourself to a different dimension; that's not even possible!"

"I don't know how, but it must have something to do with these tasks."

Noticing Harry and Ginny's standstill situation, the two joined them. The four edged closer until they stood in-between the mirrors when they heard a distant voice. "Who are you?"

They stood transfixed to the spot when they caught sight of their reflections in both mirrors. The one on the left showed no difference to them, while the ones on the right revealed a different reflection of themselves.

Gaping, Harry stared at his reflections where he could clearly see multiple facets of himself as a successful wizard, wearing a very respectable-looking suit; he could easily tell he looked like a Minister of Magic. The other ones revealed him as the Head of Aurors and a good-looking, successful Healer. He looked at the mirror on the left again, noticing how dull and boring his reflection looked compared to those of the right one. The voice resounded once more, asking him who he was.

Ron squinted at the sight before him. The mirror on the right showed him holding the Triwizard Cup, but what made his heart skip a beat was when he saw his parents behind him as the only child, pride emanating from their faces as they cheered for his glory. This reflection showed him—and was giving him everything he ever wanted and longed for in his life. It wasn't easy to deal with what he had, and looking back at himself in the mirror made him crave it. In other facets, he also saw himself as a well-known alchemist and in another, a professor in different schools while the mirror on the left reflected nothing but his usual self.

The two magical objects before them functioned the same for Hermione and Ginny when they gazed at themselves in the right mirror. Hermione glowed with pleasure and admiration, seeing herself as the Headmistress of Hogwarts with Order of Merlin awards for her accomplishments, as well as being an Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League.

Ginny, on the other hand, saw herself as the next Quidditch Captain of the famous Holyhead Harpies and a Senior Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet. She and Hermione both peered at the left mirror, and, just like Harry and Ron, they only saw their own reflections with no other augmentations.

All four of them stared hungrily back at their own tantalizing deepest desires in life without really paying much attention to the other, average one, except for Hermione, who eyed the left mirror with interest.

"Does this mirror show the future?" Ginny asked, awed and amazed.

"No," Ron replied flatly.

"How do you know?"

"Because I see myself being an only child."

"So what does this mirror do exactly?"

"It shows us what we truly want in life." Harry's reply was almost too simple. "Our deepest desires probably."

"Don't you guys think it's a bit odd that two mirrors stand before us, as if making us choose which one to take?" Hermione began pensively. "One with nothing to show but our own reflection, while the other mirrors what we truly want. I mean, we obviously know we want to choose the right."

"Yes," Ginny agreed. "The ones on the right. No doubt about that." Her hand touched the glass she was hoping to fall right through it and reach the fulfillment of her dreams. Her heart ached for it as a deep sense of yearning shot through her body, causing her to shudder.

"It's not odd at all," Harry drawled, clearly in a daze from his fixation of the mirror that showed him all of his hopes and desires. "They're only mirrors, and no doubt won't do you any harm whichever you choose, like the first task. You don't really have to think hard about it. Instead of choosing the boring one on the left, it's better to go on the right. At least it shows you where you want your life to lead."

"But isn't it obvious that we all want the same thing?" Hermione asked thoughtfully. "What's the point of that one mirror on the left?"

"Nothing! There's no point!" Harry replied exasperatedly. All of the Muggleborn's questions were irritating him. "You can still reach whatever goal you want in your life regardless of which mirror you choose."

"I'm only saying that there must be a reason," Hermione tried to point out. Ron couldn't agree with her reasoning more, but he was also tempted to choose the tantalizing right mirror as if its reflections would come true if he did.

Harry sighed heavily. "Think of whatever reason you want, but make sure you won't take long this time! Your slow pace is driving me crazy," he snapped at her. He reached for the knob of the right mirror, turned it, and confidently strode through without a backward glance at the rest of them.

Hermione cursed under her breath. "Can't he just stop for a minute and think? I know he hates being around me or us, but that's no way to deal with these challenges," she complained, her brows furrowed.

"Let him do what he wants, Hermione," Ron told her calmly, though his patience was growing thin with Harry as well.

"I'm only saying—"

"He probably knows what he's doing," Ginny interrupted casually. "Mind you, he's got a point as well. I'm following his lead without thinking too much about it. We haven't yet come across a problem for choosing what we thought was the right one, have we?" She patted Hermione's shoulder and went ahead through the right mirror.

Ron smiled sadly at Hermione. "We're the only ones left again. As much as I'm tempted to choose the mirror on the right, I guess I should go with your instinct," he told her somewhat reluctantly. He cleared his throat. "Do you wanna go first?"

"Sure," she said. Slowly, she walked towards the left mirror and turned the knob. She looked back at Ron and said, "See you on the other side." Ron nodded, and she disappeared behind the door.

Ron followed her footsteps and opened the door after her. The moment he closed the door behind him, visions swam across his mind, portraying scenes and images identical to Hermione's descriptions. It took him a few minutes to calm himself down after witnessing what Hermione had also seen earlier. He saw her waiting for him with a look of understanding on her facial expression. She had seen another vision as well, and both of them were speechless at first.

"D-did you see it t-too?" she asked, her voice quivering.

Ron nodded his head, "Yes. I thought I was going crazy at first, but I saw these images… a bunch of them."

"What did you see?"

Ron gulped. "I saw myself and him." He gestured towards Harry who was walking far ahead of them. "We were in the same house—Gryffindor. We had so many adventures together in school; it was so weird. I could never imagine myself being friends with him."

"Isn't it?" Hermione whispered worriedly, though at the same time, excitement was flooding through her as well. "I—I was with him, too. We were like best friends or something, and we seemed really happy to be in each other's company."

"I don't know what's going on, but now I understand what you were telling me… It felt so real like I've been there before," he said, shuddering at the thought. "But why did Potter look so ill like he were dying?" he asked curiously.

Hermione, surprised at hearing this, glanced up at his worried countenance. "You saw it, too?"

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting it until I saw my mum helping him out at our house. I recognized the living room. He was lying on our sofa. That was my last vision."

"Mine, too," she agreed eagerly. "I saw a book called Anima, I don't know why the Hermione in my vision was reading it. Ever heard of it?"

"It means 'soul'," Ron said simply.

There was a moment's silence between them. Both of them mulled over their own thoughts.

"This may sound weird," said Hermione after a while. "But I think we should help him."

Ron's eyes widened at her voiced thought, and he looked at her incredulously. "Are you mad? How are we going to do that?"

"I don't know… but every time I choose the opposite from the obvious options in these tasks, those visions or memories become clearer. It's like it's connected somehow. The Potter we know here is so different from the one in my visions, too."

Ron couldn't agree more. "I know what you mean. He's friends with half breeds and doesn't really care about blood purity and stuff. He's like… the good boy in that world. I actually like him a lot better than what we have here." He glared at the dark-haired boy a ways away from them, walking along a long corridor that would undoubtedly lead them to the next task. Torches lined on each side of the walls, illuminating their way ahead. Ron and Hermione broke into a sprint to catch up with him and Ginny.

A sudden gasp escaped Hermione's lips. She was momentarily paralyzed, her feet glued to the floor.

"What is it?" Ron asked with sudden alarm.

"I could hear it, Ron."

"Hear what?" he asked, confused. He looked around, straining to hear any sound, but the atmosphere was too quiet.

"The vision," she whispered.

Ron frowned. "But how… how could you hear it?"

"I don't know how it happened, but I kept on thinking about it like I was there with them, and that's when I heard it."

"What did you hear?" he asked curiously.

Hermione hesitated for a second, and then said in a whisper, "Potter's soul is damaged, and I saw us cast a spell." She looked uncertainly at Ron. "I think this world we're in now isn't real, Ron."

"What?" he asked, bewildered at her statement. "How can you say that?"

There were so many things that were popping into her head that didn't make any sense to her at first, but they were somehow beginning to have meaning like a light was turned on quite suddenly, guiding her slowly back to where she needed to be.

"I just feel it," she replied. "I can't explain properly, but try to really place yourself in those visions… Try to feel and hear it…"

Ron stared into the distance and let himself be absorbed once again in what he had seen after the second task. He could feel the rustling of the wind and hear the crashing of waves. The Harry in that world was saying something, but it wasn't audible. The vision changed to him standing in a dimly lit room. He looked around himself and saw Hermione and Ginny standing around a bed, their eyes fixed on the person lying in bed—Harry, who was smiling at them. Ron's eyes went wide open when he heard him, as though the volume was suddenly flicked on.

"—thank you for helping me. I don't know what will happen after this, but I want you all to know how…" But he failed to hear what Harry was saying next. He saw himself drink a potion and then a bright, silver light.

Before Ron could say a word to Hermione of what he had seen and heard, the four of them were now entering a brilliantly lit chamber. Its ceiling arched high above them like it was in a stadium ready for a game of Quidditch. Sure enough, four broomsticks emerged out of nowhere, and they could hear the buzz of wings zooming past them—the golden snitch.

They all stopped beside the broomsticks that were hanging in midair and waiting to be mounted. Ron was still in shock from what Hermione had just revealed to him a few minutes ago and wondered if everything she said about their current world was true—how it was not real and was connected to Harry's damaged soul. His thoughts were disrupted when Hermione spoke to the group.

"Are we supposed to catch the snitch?" She looked around worriedly for any sign of the golden ball. She considered herself exceptionally talented in Quidditch, but her mind was wandering elsewhere.

"I think so," Ginny answered hesitantly.

Harry had already mounted his broomstick and taken off. He had stopped talking to them and decided to just give them silent treatments.

Ron rounded to face Hermione, "I heard some of it, Hermione," he sputtered, unable to control himself from wanting to know more. "He was thanking us for helping him out. We drank a potion and we cast a spell... like what you said." Out in the corner of his eyes, he saw his sister looking at him with bewilderment. She must've heard, he thought.

"What are you rambling about?" she asked, looking between his brother and Hermione curiously.

"Look, Ginny…" he said carefully, nervously eyeing Hermione who only nodded for him to continue. "This may sound strange, but Hermione and I had a vision about the four of us after we completed the first and second tasks."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Vision," she repeated and snorted with an amused look on her face as if seeing visions were the last thing that Ron would ever ask for if given a choice of power. "And what did you see?" she mocked, feigning interest.

"We're all friends," blurted Hermione. "Even Potter was really close to us, but he was sick because of his damaged soul."

Ginny guffawed heartily. "I know how much you don't like Harry, Hermione. Being friends with him is something you'd never wish for in your life, and saying things about his soul... You're full of freaky fantasies. How do I know you're not making up all those visions?"

"I'm not," said Hermione forcefully. "Ron's seen them, too, so how do you explain that?"

"How could I know? It could be that you want to use it against Harry to win this challenge."

Ron sighed, irritated. He knew it would be hard to explain things to his obstinate sister. "We didn't make up those visions, Ginny. Why would you even think that? We both saw it in our minds."

"It's obvious," she replied with disbelief. "Because you both hate him. I bet you'd do anything to stop him."

"Do you see us stopping him right now?" Ron asked heatedly. "There's a bigger problem... I can feel it."

Ginny mounted her broom. "I have no time for this" she stated. "We're in the middle of a task here in case you've forgotten," she spat and flew away before Ron could respond.

"What do we do now?" he asked Hermione anxiously.

"We have to try harder," she muttered resolutely while holding out one of the remaining broomsticks. "We have to encourage your sister to believe us before we do anything with Potter."

They took off into the air. Ron kept a good distance away from Ginny, but Hermione sped up and flew beside her so they could talk.

"Ginny," said Hermione, the wind brushing against her face. "I swear we're not making up the visions! It's the truth! Harry needs help now."

Ginny's eyes flashed with annoyance, and she stopped midair. "What you're saying is full of rubbish. Visions are just figments of your imaginations and nothing else. I know you hate your life, but don't drag me into it." She sped up, and Hermione tried to tail from behind.

"Please hear me out. I know it's hard to believe, and I wouldn't deny that I hate my life because of Potter, but please! Try to open your mind! You can't see it clearly right now, but we're dealing with a different Harry, and he needs you, Ginny; he needs us," she begged desperately.

"And why is that exactly?" Ginny asked menacingly.

Hermione hesitated. "All I know is that our current world is not real," she said firmly.

Ginny choked out a derisive laugh. "Are you serious!?" she asked incredulously. "Are you hearing yourself? Have you gone mad? How can this not be real?"

"It's all in your head, Ginny," Ron replied, backing up Hermione on her statement while zooming to catch up with the two girls. "I feel like we're not in control... like something else is painting our mindset on emotions, thoughts, perceptions."

"That doesn't make it any less real," Ginny quickly reasoned.

"But don't you get it? I believe that you're not seeing the visions because you're allowing that 'something' to overpower you," Ron finished.

"Think of it this way," Hermione said quickly before Ginny could accelerate off again. "Whatever you believe in your mind is projected to your life right now; your beliefs, the way you act, or what you want. But if you really want to perceive a reality, all you have to do is change whatever is in your mind. You just have to be in control of yourself. Don't let it get to you."

"Just for the sake of ending this conversation, what do I have to do, then?" asked Ginny, giving up on bailing from their constant efforts.

"Convince your mind that this world is not real… that this is not you," encouraged Ron.

"It's difficult to explain what's going on when we don't even understand it ourselves," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "But trust us on this. I know there's a purpose behind why we're seeing these visions."

Ginny grew quiet. Sure, she was willing to find the purpose behind the visions, but it still didn't make sense to her. It was ridiculous to want to let go of all she worked hard for in this world, and being told that this was not real felt like an insult to her. She sighed as she continued to search for the snitch. She wanted to win this challenge and become the Hogwarts champion for the Triwizard Tournament, but the thought that something… or someone else was in control, she began to doubt herself and her mind.

Catching the snitch was proving to be difficult. Even Harry, who had been following it for a while now, found that it kept disappearing from him before revealing itself to be floating on the opposite side of the stadium so far away that catching up to it would allow the tiny golden ball to change its course of direction once again, proving all efforts futile. The fact that he was still there in the challenge, stuck with no other company but his three other competitors who were closely talking with each other without a care in the world, was frustrating him immensely.

He sped up and down, desperately wishing that this wild goose chase would end soon so that he could just lay back and nap in his comfortable bed in Slytherin sooner than later. He felt at peace in his common room, surrounded by purebloods, his best friends who shared his beliefs. His insides squirmed with longing and yearning for his favoured chamber. He was beginning to grow tired. How much longer these challenges would last was a question he wanted answered right away. But no one could tell him that, not even the three people in this room he was with.

Harry's sight shifted slightly when he saw a golden speck straight ahead of him. He thought everyone else was too busy to notice his target's location, so he was briefly surprised to see Ginny speeding up past him, her face full of determination. He shook his thoughts away and sped up so that he was side by side with Ginny. Ron and Hermione were behind them but they lacked that firm resolve, unlike his current fiercest competitor. He threw a glance over his shoulder and saw them whispering to each other, but he couldn't care less. Ginny was ahead of him now, flying with exceptional speed. He internally praised her for that, but he was painfully aware that this was not the time to admire her skill; he needed to show her who was really winning this challenge.

Harry bent forward to increase his strength and speed. The snitch swerved from left to right, up and down, just out of their grasp. It was exhilarating to keep track of the snitch's ever-changing location, and he was determined not to let it slip past him again. He was inches away from Ginny, but her hand was reaching over the snitch. Any moment, she would be able to grab it. He let out a small yelp of surprise. He was losing his balance. His broomstick was acting up, probably from flying too fast. He tried to steady himself, but his broomstick yanked itself to one side.

Ginny heard Harry's small exclamation, but she was too close to closing her fingers over the snitch. Ron and Hermione were yelling somewhere from behind, but she was too focused to care. However, after countless attempts to block them out and concentrate, Ginny realized she couldn't let Harry fall down to the dangerously low ground below. She looked behind her, and her eyes shot wide open upon seeing Harry dangling by his hands in midair, desperately trying to hold onto his broomstick. With one last fleeting glance at the snitch, Ginny quickly spun around and sped towards him. Ron and Hermione zoomed towards his direction as well, but she was by far the closest. She reached his side just before the last of his fingers slipped from the broom handle. She caught his arm and tried with all her might to bring him back onto his broomstick while keeping her balance, and when she did, something happened.

Visions exploded across Ginny's mind as though she were watching a scene from a moving painting. She was transfixed to the spot. Her eyes, glazed over with wonder and confusion, looked nowhere and at no one in particular. Harry noticed the sudden occurrence, and he debated whether or not to shake her to pull her out of her stupor. He looked around himself and saw Ron and Hermione from a distance, also having the same incapability of movement and recognition at the moment, with the same hazy look in their eyes. As frightening as it sounded to him, Harry wondered what was happening to them and why he was not affected at all. He sidled his broom beside Ginny and shook her gently.

"Weasley," he said softly. Ginny's gaze roamed to his and at that moment, he could see that her eyes were welling with tears. "Are you okay?" he asked, but she remained speechless, unable to control her trembling. Harry heard the rush of broomsticks behind him and saw the other two had finally come around. "What happened?" he questioned impatiently, back to his old rough, stubborn, selfish self. "You three seemed to be out of it for a few minutes."

"I saw it," Ginny said, her voice hushed. Her hand covered her mouth in pure shock. "You were right about everything. This isn't real. I heard him, and I can feel his pain." Tears cascaded down her face when she surveyed Ron and Hermione's looks of agreement.

"What are you talking about? What isn't real?" Harry asked her again. He was tired of having so many unanswered questions. "You heard who?"

"You," Hermione breathed. "We heard you and saw you."

"In a vision or memory," added Ron quickly when he noticed Harry's confused and irritated look.

"You were in so much pain," Ginny whispered while wiping her eyes on her sleeve, sadness weaving into her somber tone.

Harry sighed incredulously. "You're all insane and not making any sense. How can I be in pain? Why are you all having visions? Am I missing something? Is this still part of the tasks?" He still had so many questions swirling around in his mind, and he doubted whether he would get a decent answer from these three who were driving him crazy.

"No, I don't believe it's part of the task, Harry," Hermione tried to explain. She was beginning to forget the Hermione she once was in this made-up world, and Harry was taken aback when she referred to him using his first name. "This world… this world is not real. The real one... is in the visions we had."

Harry barked with laughter. "Have you all entirely lost your minds? You can't be seeing visions or memories and saying they were real if you weren't there in the first place. I'm completely healthy, just so you guys know." He sighed again with derision.

"You can't see it because you're wasting your life seeing and living only on what's put in front of you," Ron said, trying to convince Harry. "This—" he gestured around him. "This is just an illusion. A false world. You have to open up your eyes to be able to see clearly. Ginny didn't believe us at first either, but now she does."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not buying it,' he refused obstinately, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "There are so many contradictions with what you three are saying."

"You don't always have to understand everything," Hermione told him softly. "Some things will just never make sense. You only have to accept the truth wholeheartedly. We did, and now we're helping you."

"I don't need help, least of all from all of you," Harry spat. "So can't we all just continue with the task at hand in this world before I go crazy?" He spun around and flew away.

Only Harry was focused on the current task. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had already resigned from their Quidditch positions. Their goal now was to convince Harry the best they could that this was the only way to save him and themselves from the world they were trapped in.

Before they knew it, Harry had caught the snitch and he wore a visibly triumphant face when he landed on the ground, joining them a few moments later.

"You all have totally given up, haven't you?" he asked with a smirk. In all honesty, he wasn't concerned about any of the rubbish coming out of their mouths.

"No," whispered Hermione. "We only have one goal now, and that is to convince you—"

"That this world is fake?" Harry cut off his Ravenclaw competitor with a sneer. "Not a chance."

"Harry… please listen to us," Ginny pleaded while following him from behind; he was determined to go to the next room for the fourth task. "You have to believe what we're saying or else you'll die."

Harry spun around. His hands were already flat against the door to the new task. "What?" he snarled loudly. "Is that a threat, Weasley?"

"No, Harry," she responded nervously. "It's the truth."

Harry pointed a finger at Ginny and commanded her in a threatening voice. "Well, here's the truth... If you three don't stop pestering me, you will all die!" With that, he stalked off and disappeared behind the door, leaving Ron, Hermione, and Ginny annoyed but even more determined than they were before.

To be continued...

Beta-read by Smthnborrowediamblue, KVeronicaP