Harry woke earlier than ever. He opened his eyes groggily and saw a wash of very pale pinkish-yellow light; clearly, dawn had only just broken.
He propped himself up on his arms and sat on the edge of the bed, brushing against something rather slippery. He bent down to pick it up, then tugged it open with both hands and only then realized it was a flag painted with a golden lion.
When he had come back last night, the celebration in the Common Room had gone on for ages. This flag had been something Lee Jordan had rummaged out and tied around Harry's neck like a cloak.
He slowly lowered his hands, feeling the flag in them suddenly grow heavy, and, as if possessed, remembered what Lee Jordan had said last night—
"Look! This is the Gryffindor flag... Harry! You're Gryffindor's hope!"
That one sentence from Lee Jordan made Harry feel a burden settle on his shoulders, and that burden seemed to grow heavier and heavier with every breath he took.
He suddenly realized something: he did not seem to be fully prepared.
Although he did not know what the first task was, he had already begun worrying about his own performance. Once the first task began, would he instead become the one who dragged everyone down?
If that happened, wouldn't he be letting down the classmates who had celebrated for him?
He thought again of the other Hogwarts Champions, like Cedric and Draco Malfoy. He wondered whether they might have similar worries, worries that led to insomnia.
Harry sighed softly and turned to look at the Four-Poster Bronze Bed where Ron was. At least Ron was sleeping well...
Or perhaps not that well, after all. Besides snoring, Ron would mutter "spider, go away" from time to time, then