Author's note: Second Task prep. Some more pieces to the puzzle! Elle gets a tad sassy and there's Neville.

~zabeth

After taking the advice of Diggory, Harry has the next clue in hand as he meets with Hermione in the library for the nth time that month. She constantly runs to get more books, leaving Harry to sift through them blearily, not really knowing what to look for or why she even picked them. Across the table, Elle has her own stack of books, having been at the library before Harry and Hermione got there. Oddly though, her books appear to have nothing to do the upcoming task.

Hermione returns and sets down another stack on the edge of the table, completing a veritable wall between her and Harry's side of the table and Elle's. Harry groans and Hermione raps him on the head with some folded parchment, berating him for not being alert to his task. Ron has been avoiding Hermione and has not been to any of their library sessions.

"You know, Hermione, Harry, I already figured out the Second Task, so you don't need to block me out of your research section. If you want me to leave, you can just ask."

"It's not- I don't want you to leave just because we showed up. I just thought you could use some company," Hermione tried. Elle just smiled and tapped the stack of books next to her.

"Got all the company I need right here."

"What are you doing with Hexed in the Head: Magical Backlash exactly?" Harry asked as he leaned over the book-made divider. Elle closed the book and pulled it off to the side out of view.

"I have a passing interest in magical injuries." Harry glanced at a few other titles she had in her stack.

"394 Ways to Skin a Cat (or Curse a Wizard), Madame Mortima's Magical Maladies Manual, and The Almanac of Adverse Ailments don't seem like they'd be very good company…" Harry hedged. Elle's jaw set her lips in a firm line, clearly not liking Harry's snooping.

"I'd worry more about your task than what literature I like to read. As it stands, I've figured out what the task is and likely what they've taken from me and you should focus on doing the same." She stood and gathered her books, sending a few flying back to their shelves. Just before she rounded the corner of bookcases that surrounded their table, she turned back to Harry with a serious expression. "You seem to have forgotten that you didn't enter this tournament of your own volition. I know why I'm in this tournament. Perhaps you should figure out who put you in this position and what they could gain from it."

Thoughts swirled around Harry's head as Elle disappeared from view. The question of who put his name into the Goblet had fallen by the wayside with the personal problems between his friends, schoolwork piling up, and the tasks looming overheard. He remembered back to when he was chosen and the adverse reaction to championing her school that Elle had had and the silenced conversation between her and Sjo. There was some piece of the puzzle missing and he couldn't figure out what it was.

Hermione had sorted through the books on the table again in agitation of Elle's abrupt words. Clearly she was still peeved that they had yet to determine the person who had entered Harry into the tournament and was additionally stressed that the Task was but a few days away without an answer to how Harry could survive underwater for an hour finding something he didn't know was taken from him. Piling books that could contain potential answers to the side, she asked Harry again.

"So what was the riddle again?"

The day of the Second Task arrived with Harry still sitting in the library, bereft of sleep and hope for surviving the day. Neville arrived last night while Harry and Hermione desperately continued their research, telling Hermione that McGonagall wanted to talk to her about a recent assignment she had turned in. She had yet to return, despite promising to be back as soon as she could. Neville had stayed with Harry for a while and seemed thoughtful when Harry explained what he would have to do for the Task and how he had no clue how to do it.

"Hey Harry, come and get some breakfast, the Task will be starting soon." Harry looked up to see Neville again.

"I don't know if I can eat anything; I still have no clue how I can compete today," Harry reluctantly admitted, gathering his things anyway. Neville sent some of the books back to where they belonged and shrugged as Harry finished packing up.

"Well, I did a bit of research myself after talking to you last night and I think I might have a solution," Neville said, albeit, a bit uncertainly.

"Any solution is better than what I've got. Let's grab some breakfast and you can tell me about it," Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Neville had the answer to his lack of gills!