There was something distinctly saddening about Christmas being over. Seeing the trees and decorations and lights all disappearing from inside the castle got my mood down a bit every year, but if anything more so this year because the castle was once again back to its dark self.
I didn't spend a lot of time mourning Christmas this year. My attention was taken by an article in the Daily Prophet that emerged about a week into the new term.
It was titled 'Dumbledore's Giant Mistake,' and was accompanied by a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty. The article had a decidedly nasty undertone, with phrases such as 'an alarmingly large and ferocious looking man' to describe Hagrid, and ended with the revelation that he was half giant.
I read it while sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, and found myself suddenly very put off of food.
"Why would somebody want to write a news article about a person's bloodline?" I asked, unable to keep the sadness out of my voice. "This is so mean."
"Bloodthirsty and brutal nature?!" Katie snarled, looking more angry than upset at the article. "The man is a big softie! He couldn't even squish a fly!"
"This is probably why he hasn't been teaching since term started," George said, sounding disgusted as he threw down the paper.
"Well, he can't honestly let this get to him, can he?" Angelina demanded.
Fred shrugged. "Well, I don't know, I think there's a reason he kept it quiet. Giants are known for being bloodthirsty and cruel."
"But Hagrid's not any of that," I said quietly.
"Well, we know that," Fred said. "But giants just aren't… well… liked. I guess he's kind of got it the same as werewolves like Lupin. He's not dangerous at all, but because of what he is, people will just assume he's horrible and mean."
I went down to see Hagrid most days, but he never opened the door for me. I knew he was in there, because there was smoke coming from the chimney, but he resolutely ignored all visitors. Hermione, Sam, Harry, and Ron were having the same problem.
Hagrid's heritage and lack of motivation for greeting guests wasn't our only problem. Barty Crouch hadn't been seen for weeks, as I overheard Ludo Bagman telling Harry in the Three Broomsticks one Hogsmeade weekend. He'd been sending in instructions to Percy, who insisted he was ill, but hadn't been seen by anyone since slightly after the first task. This, Bagman said, was slightly alarming, because it was the second ministry employee in recent times to sort of... disappear. They weren't worried about Barty because of his daily letters to Percy, but a woman named Bertha Jorkins had been missing since before the school year started, last seen travelling in Albania when she simply disappeared between one stop and another.
I felt I'd spent too long at the counter getting our drinks to still seem like I wasn't eavesdropping (though I hadn't meant to, I overheard Percy's name and got curious), so I turned to leave just as Fred and George appeared at my side, cornering Ludo Bagman, who they seemed to spend a lot of time, well… stalking, for lack of a better term.
It was around this time that Harry said very loudly from beside me, "Trying to ruin someone else's life, are you?"
I turned in surprise to see Harry glaring furiously at a very odd looking woman. She had hair so blonde it was nearly white, horn rimmed glasses that I think were supposed to be fashionable, bright banana yellow robes and long pink fingernails, clutching at a feathered quill.
"Harry," she said easily, seeming delighted at his presence, grinning at him almost predatorily. "How lovely to see you! Why don't you come and join us?"
"I wouldn't come near you with a ten foot broomstick," Harry said, looking furious with this odd woman. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"
The woman raised her heavily penciled eyebrows and bared her teeth in what I think was meant to be a smile, but really just seemed predatory. "Our readers have a right to know the truth, Harry, I'm merely doing my job-"
"You're the woman who wrote that awful article!" I finally realized, stepping forward furiously. I felt George's hand at my elbow, but I shrugged him off. "Who cares if he's half giant?! There's nothing wrong with him!"
"What do you get out of writing a story about a persons heritage, anyway?!" Harry demanded angrily.
The woman completely ignored both of our statements, the quill in her hand blurring to life and dropping down onto a pad of paper that a man accompanying her held out. "How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid that you know, Harry?" she asked, the quill flying across the page at an alarming rate. "The man behind the muscle. Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?"
"You horrible woman!" I burst out, unable to stop myself, and suddenly Hermione was standing at my side.
"You don't care, do you? Anything for a story, and anyone will do, wont they? Even Ludo Bagman-" Hermione said, through gritted teeth, before the blonde woman shot us both withering glares.
"Be quiet, you silly little girls, and don't talk about things you don't understand. I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl… not that you need it," she said coldly, eyeing Hermione's bushy hair judgmentally at the end.
"Ugh," Hermione said, looking disgustedly at the woman in front of her. "Let's go."
She had been speaking to Sam, Harry, and Ron, but I followed them out of the tavern, unable to stand being in there anymore.
"She'll be after you next, Hermione, and probably you too, Bree!" Ron burst out as soon as we were outside.
"Let her try!" Hermione cried shrilly, nearly shaking in her anger. "I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I?! Oh, I'll get her back for this, first Harry, then Hagrid…"
"Hermione, seriously, she'll dig something up on you! You don't want to anger Rita Skeeter!" Ron said.
"She deserves it! Why would somebody want to be so cruel?!" I demanded, and Ron just shook his head, at a loss for what to say.
"Hagrid isn't going to hide anymore." Hermione said determinedly as we marched up the hill leading to her home. "He should never have let that pathetic excuse for a human being upset him in the first place! Come on!"
Breaking into a run, she led us up the road, through the gates, and right through the grounds to Hagrid's cabin.
"Hagrid!" I yelled, as Hermione and I started banging on the door.
"Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there!" Hermione shouted. "Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid!"
"You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you!" I cried. "You're just being-"
With that, the door swung open, and Hermione and I were left face to face with Albus Dumbledore.
My mouth dropped open in shock, as the Headmaster smiled pleasantly down at us, completely ignoring the fact that we had been shouting less than a minute before. "Good afternoon."
"We- er- we wanted to see Hagrid," Hermione finally managed to stutter out.
"Yes, I surmised as much," Dumbledore said simply. What a sassy bitch. "Come in."
We entered the small cabin, and before I'd even caught sigh of Hagrid, his huge boarhound Fang jumped up on me, licking all of my face that he could get to and nearly knocking my small frame right over. I managed to fend him off for long enough to look around and see Hagrid.
He looked a mess. He was seated at the large dining room table, clutching a large mug like it was his lifeline. His face was horribly blotchy, his eyes swollen, and his hair looked like a wig of tangled wire.
"Hi, Hagrid," Sam said gently, and he finally looked up, looking like he'd only just noticed us.
"'Lo," he said, in a very hoarse voice.
"More tea, I think," Dumbledore said, closing the door behind us and summoning a revolving tea-tray in mid air, along with a plate of cakes. He magicked the tray onto the table, and then we all sat around it. There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore said, "Did you happen to hear what Miss Granger and Miss Montero were shouting, Hagrid?"
I could feel myself blushing slightly, but Dumbledore just smiled kindly at me. "These five people still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."
"Of course we still want to know you!" Harry burst out, seemingly unable to hold it back. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow- oh, sorry, Professor," he added, looking at Dumbledore.
"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry," said Dumbledore, twiddling his thumbs together and staring at the ceiling. There was a small pause as we all just stared.
What a kooky old man.
"Er- right," Harry said sheepishly. "I just meant- Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that- woman- said about you?"
Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's eyes and fell slowly into his tangled beard.
"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, still looking carefully up at the ceiling. "I have shown you countless letters from parents who remember you from their own school days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that, if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it-"
"Not all of 'em," Hagrid said hoarsely, "Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."
"Really, Hagrid, if you're holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," Dumbledore said, staring sternly at Hagrid. "Not a week has passed since I became Headmaster of this school, when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"
"Yeh- yeh're not half giant!" Hagrid croaked out.
"Hagrid, look at what I've got for relatives!" Harry said furiously. "Look at the Dursleys!"
Sam and I glanced at each other, and I shrugged. I'm gonna have to guess they aren't the friendliest people.
"An excellent point," said Dumbledore. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery…"
Dumbledore trailed off, and I just stared at him. Okay, firstly, what kind of inappropriate spells, and secondly, what an odd story to tell.
"Please come back and teach, Hagrid," Hermione said quietly. "Please come back, we really miss you."
"Nobody cares what that woman wrote," I added, "Everyone who knows you knows who you really are."
Sam nodded, smiling at Hagrid. "You were one of the nicest people to me when I first came here, and from what I can see, you're like that with everybody. Why would we not want to be your friend anymore? Bree even insulted that Skeeter woman. Bree doesn't insult people."
I nodded to show my agreement, as Hagrid gulped, and more tears leaked down his cheeks into his beard. Dumbledore stood up.
"I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid," he said simply. "I expect you back to work on Monday. You will join me for breakfast in the Great Hall at 8:30. No excuses. Good day."
Dumbledore left the cabin then, and Hagrid soon began to sob. I jumped up and hurried to his side, wanting to offer any form of comfort I could. I'd never been able to handle people crying. I began to pat his arm as he looked up and managed to say "Great man, Dumbledore… Great man…"
"Yeah, he is," Ron said distractedly. "Can I have one of those cakes, Hagrid?"
Hagrid nodded absent mindedly, muttering for Ron to go ahead. The rest of us all stared at him in disbelief, and he got half way through a generous slice of chocolate cake before he looked up and noticed.
"Yeh're all righ'…" Hagrid sniffed. "I bin stupid… my ol' Dad woulda bin ashamed o' the way I bin behavin'…" more tears leaked out, and he looked up. "Never shown ye a picture of my ol' Dad, have I? Here…"
He got up and walked over to his bedside dresser, opening a drawer and pulling out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was about eight feet tall, judging by the apple tree beside him, but he couldn't have been older than eleven. They looked happy.
"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," Hagrid told us croakily. "Dad was dead chuffed… thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me Mum… well, anyway. 'Course, I never was pure shakes at magic, really… but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year… Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job. 'e trusts people, 'e does. Gives 'em second chances. Tha's what sets him apar' from other Heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren'… well… all tha' respectable. There's some tha' don' understand tha'. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh… there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say- I am what I am, and I'm not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed," my ol' Dad used ter say, "there's some who'll hold it against yeh, but they're not worth botherin' with." An' he was right! I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones… I'll give her big bones."
…aaaaaand the conversations gone into weird territory again. Apparently I'm missing something here.
Ignoring the meaningful looks the fourth years were all sending each other, I considered Hagrid's speech. He was completely right; never be ashamed of yourself. It's such a simple concept, yet so difficult to do.
"Yeh should never be ashamed of yourself!" Hagrid burst out, gaining enthusiasm. "Never. Everyone has somethin' abou' themselves ter be proud of. Hermione, yer the most brilliant witch I've ever met. Don' hide tha'! Ron, yer really one of a kind. Truly, always see the bright side of any situation, tha' sense of humor of yours never fails; know how ter trust people, yeh do. And Sam, you were so shy when yeh first came here, and look at yeh now! Confident in yerself, and tha's a great thing!" Hagrid turned to me now. "And Bree... Yeh see the good in everyone. Never failing positivity. Tha's not a quality tha' should be overlooked."
I couldn't help the smile that came to my face.
"And yeh know wha', Harry?" Hagrid continued, "When I firs' met you, you reminded me o' me a bit. Mum an' Dad gone, an' you were feelin' like yeh wouldn' fit in at Hogwarts, remember? Not sure yeh were really up to it… an' now look at yeh! School champion!"
Hagrid just stared at Harry for a moment, before he said, very seriously. "Yeh know what I'd love, Harry? I'd love yeh ter in, I really would. It'd show 'em all… yeh don' have ter be pure-blood ter do it. Yeh don't have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It'd show 'em Dumbledore's the one who's got it righ'! How you doin' with that egg, Harry?"
"Great, really great," Harry said, nodding quickly, and when he momentarily made eye contact with me, I knew he was lying.
But his lie had the desired effect; Hagrid's miserable face broke into a wide, watery smile. "Tha's my boy… you show 'em, Harry, you show 'em. Beat 'em all.'
I couldn't help but give Hagrid a big hug before we left his cabin later that afternoon, having succeeded in cheering him up somewhat. He was nervous to start back at work, but I'm confident he'll be fine.
After visiting Hagrid, I felt a lot better. I was no longer allowing Rita Skeeters article to bother me now that I knew Hagrid was starting to recover from the hurt it had caused him.
However if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I tend to worry too much about other people's problems. And right now, Harry solving the clue he got from the first task was starting to bother me.
A few days later found me once again in the library. I'm a book nerd, I love the library, but Merlin, I am sick of this damn place. As it turns out sixth year isn't the bludge off Fred and George thought it was going to be (well, it kind of is for them, considering they never do any of the work they get assigned), and the workload truly is a bitch.
I saw Draco sitting at one of the tables when I walked in, and he merely gave me his usual 'I'm better than you' glare, so I continued on to where I was going. I'd caught him giving me the same glare a few more times since I sat down, and I was starting to catch the hint that he wanted something from me when he seemed to catch the hint that he wasn't getting it and packed up his books and stopped at my table on his way out of the library.
"Okay, why haven't you come to bother me yet?" he asked in what was obviously a fake snappish tone. Deep down, I think this kid kind of likes it when I bother him.
I looked up at him and then pointed down to the open books in front of me. "I've got some riveting potions reading to do. Sorry, buddy."
That was when I caught sight of something that he was clutching with his books; the Daily Prophet with the article about Hagrid.
"And, I guess there's also that," I added, gesturing to the newspaper.
He looked down, confused for a second, before he seemed to realize what I was talking about. Then he looked back at me with a purposely straight face.
"You weren't exactly kind in that article," I said, shrugging.
"The mans a half giant! It's my own right if I don't want a half monster teaching me!" He burst out, angered by my statement beyond what I had expected.
I shrugged. "I guess that is your own right. But I somehow really doubt that's why you did it."
Sighing slightly, I gathered my books together and stood up. "If you're nice to people, they'll be nice back," I said simply, and with that I walked past him and towards the exit of the library.
On my way out, I caught sight of Hermione jumping up on her tiptoes to attempt to grab a book from a high shelf. Having learnt my lesson in situations like these, I summoned it for her with a wave of my wand (George had ended up teaching me the trick to silent casting after a few long, sleepless nights) and glanced down at the title before I handed it to her.
"Plants for all uses ever needed," I read the title aloud, raising my eyebrows. "Sounds thorough."
That was when I noticed Hermione was clutching Harry's golden egg to her chest, and my eyebrows rose even further. Turning, I saw Sam and Harry sitting at a table shoved at the end of two bookcases, with Ron dozing leaning against the window and curled up as best he could on the small wooden chair he was on.
"Please tell me you aren't trying to solve the clue for the second task with one day to go?" I asked quietly. The three people who were actually awake all looked at me and nodded, Harry looking slightly guilty.
"Well, I guess there's no time like the present!" I chirped, and grabbed the book back from Hermione, flopping down in a chair and opening it. "What are we looking for?"
"A way for Harry to breathe underwater for an hour," Sam said flatly. I looked up and frowned.
"Sorry, I'm gonna need a back story to this before I can be of any help," I said.
"Okay, so I finally got the golden egg to make some noise other than screeching-" Harry began.
"He put it under water," Sam added.
"Yeah, and it sung-"
"Sounded rather pretty, too,"
"It said 'Come seek us where our voices sound'-"
This time it was Hermione to interrupt. "The Black Lake. That's obvious."
"-'We can not sing above the ground'-"
"Mermaids. Mermaids can't sing above the ground," Sam nodded.
"-'An hour long you'll have to look'-"
"Again, obvious," Hermione said, leaning against the bookshelf and folding her arms. "Though admittedly, it is potentially problematic."
Harry's head shot up to stare at her in disbelief. "Potentially problematic?!" he repeated derisively. "Hermione, when was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour?!"
"Look, Harry," Hermione said desperately, bending down next to him and clutching at his arm. While nobody was watching I kicked Ron's elbow off of the desk, causing him to wake up quickly and stare around in a daze. "We can figure this out, okay? We can!"
"Okay, so… I just got a whole lot of information there in a short period of time, so give me a minute to catch up," I said, as Sam continued flipping through a book he had in front of him. "So you have to go down to the lake and breathe underwater with mermaids for an hour? Just for fun or…?"
"They said I have to get something back from them," Harry told me.
"Oh! Motivating factor! I like it!" I chirped, and they all turned to look at me. "I mean… oh, no." I said, lowering my voice and grimacing.
Soon enough, the others all went back to their books, and we worked in silence for around half an hour. That was when Ron snapped a book closed in frustration and let out a groan.
"It can't be done! It just can't be done!" He cried, irritated. "There's nothing. Nothing. Closest was that thing to dry up puddles and ponds, that Drought Charm, but that was nowhere near powerful enough to drain the lake."
"Yeah, and I'm assuming if he drained an entire lake that might result in some points being taken away from him, in the long run," Sam mused, scratching his chin with his quill.
"There must be something," Hermione muttered determinedly, her face so close to the book she was reading that her nose was nearly touching the page. "They'd never set a task that was undoable."
Well, I guess they could. Would be one hell of a task to observe though.
"Look, Harry, just go down to the lake, right, stick your head in, yell at the merpeople to give back whatever they've nicked and see if they chuck it out. Best you can do, mate," Ron advised.
I'm beginning to see why Ron isn't Triwizard Champion. With strategies like that he'd either lose or die in the first task.
"There has to be something!" Hermione snapped, flipping a page violently. Hermione seemed to be taking the lack of answers we were getting as a personal insult from the library.
"I know what I should have done," Harry mused, resting his face on the book he had been reading. "I should have learnt to be an animagus like Si-"
Hermione coughed very suddenly, and we all turned to look at her. She was glaring straight at Harry as she said "Oops, this book is a little dusty."
"Do you need water or something?" Sam asked, sounding concerned. Hermione gave a tight lipped smile and shook her head.
"I think being an animagus would be cool. You could turn into a goldfish or something," Ron said.
"That would never work," I dismissed. "I mean, if you were going to become an animagus, I don't think your first choice would be a goldfish."
For a few moments, we argued about this subject, until we were interrupted by Hermione letting out a frustrated puff of air and slamming her book shut. Buzz kill.
"This is no use!" she cried. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?!"
"I wouldn't mind," came Fred's voice from behind me, and I turned to see he and George standing there. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"
"What are you two doing in here?" Ron asked.
"We were looking for you," George said. "McGonagall wants you, Ron. You too, Hermione."
"Why?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised.
"Dunno… she was looking a bit grim though," Fred said, shrugging.
"She wants you down in her office immediately," George added.
Hermione and Ron glanced at each other, before looking at Harry and Sam.
"We'll meet you in the Common Room later on," Hermione told them. "Bring as many books as you can."
Harry and Sam nodded. As Hermione and Ron stood up, George extended a hand down for me, smiling. I glanced over at Harry and Sam, and my little brother smiled encouragingly at me.
"You can go," Harry told me, "There's not a lot of information here, anyway."
Sam nodded. "We'll be fine, Bree."
I frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Harry smiled at me. "It'll be fine."
Nodding, I looked up at George and took his hand, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I leant down and gave Sam a one armed hug before I left the library with the others.
We parted with the fourth years when we reached the staircase, and their worried expressions made me worry slightly. The second task is tomorrow, and Harry still has no idea what he's doing. I can't believe he left it this late.
George bumped my shoulder gently with his to get my attention. "What are you thinking about, right now?" he asked quietly.
I sighed and thought about my answer. "I'm thinking that I wish we could go back to Christmas, when we weren't worrying about the Tournament for a little while. When we weren't worrying about anything but whether we could dance or whether my hair would stay in place. I want to be back at the Yule Ball."
George pursed his lips and nodded. After a few more steps, he suddenly stopped walking. I stopped too, turning around to see what he was doing.
"Then let's be at the Yule Ball," he said, extending his hand to me and bowing slightly. "May I have this dance, madam?"
I couldn't help but giggle as I looked down the hallways to see there was nobody else around. I stared at him to see if he was being serious, and soon placed my hand in his and he wrapped his fingers around mine. "Why, of course, good sir!"
George pulled me close to his chest, dancing the way that we had at the Yule Ball in the middle of the corridor. Without any music to guide me, it was difficult to keep up with the steps, and so when George twirled me out, I was completely unprepared, and ended up falling onto him as he went to twirl me back in.
Laughing loudly, George wrapped an arm around my waist and helped me steady myself on my own two feet.
"You two are insane," I heard Fred say from behind us, and I turned, still clutching at George, to see him shaking his head and trying to hide a smile. "It's past curfew, so dance your asses this way fast."
The next morning brought the second Triwizard Task. Knowing what the task was, I was a bit worried for Cedric and Harry, but Katie didn't allow me to concentrate on my worry for very long.
Chirpy as ever, Katie woke me up four hours before the task because nobody else was awake and she was bored. She dragged me out of bed, and surprisingly, despite the earliness of the hour, Fred and George did not meet us in the common room, but were already gone. We left the others to sleep in a little longer and made our way down to breakfast.
I saw Cedric at the Hufflepuff table when we went in to the Great Hall, so Katie and I sat with him. He seemed to be a bit jittery, but it was more a good type of nervousness than anything, and altogether he seemed prepared for what was to come. This made me think of Harry, who was not in the Hall yet, and I prayed that he'd lucked out last night flipping through those books. When we left the Hall about two hours later with Cedric and a recently awaken Lee and Angelina, Harry was still nowhere to be seen.
Cedric was quickly whisked away in the Entrance Hall by Professor McGonagall, and I gave him a quick hug and wished him luck before heading down through the grounds. We were nearing the Black Lake when we discovered where Fred and George had disappeared to.
"BETS! PLACE YOUR BETS!"
"BETS TAKEN HERE! STEP UP MATES, DON'T BE SHY!"
"THREE LADS-"
"ONE LADY-"
"FOUR GO DOWN-"
"BUT DO FOUR COME UP?"
I turned to see them with their home made betting tabs open again and walking through the crowds standing at the edge of the Black Lake. I saw a head of long red hair that I recognized as Ginny bump into them as we got closer.
"Don't be so mean," she chastised, before turning and walking away. Fred and George glanced at each other and shrugged, before turning back and yelling again.
"PLACE YOUR BETS!"
We approached the crowd to see that everyone was lining up to get into small boats that would take them to the middle of the lake, where three large platforms had been placed. They were multistorey with plenty of room for people to view the surrounding waters.
"How's the business going?" Angelina asked Fred as we reached the boys.
They turned and smiled at us brightly. "Fantastically! Though I think we may move to the platforms now, to get the teachers in on the fun," Fred answered enthusiastically, nodding.
I ended up in a boat with Fred and George, while Angelina shared with Victoria and Ruby, and Katie and Lee ended up together.
We were only a few meters away from the shore when Lee started giggling. We were close to their boat, so I looked over at him questioningly, about to ask what he was doing, when he began to rock the boat, startling Katie who was in front of him.
"LEE!" She screamed so loudly that people on the stations in the middle of the lake turned to look at us. "QUIT IT!"
"Woah! What's rocking the boat, Katie?!" he laughed maniacally, still moving his whole body to rock the boat. "Don't fall Katie! Don't fall- UGH!"
Katie threw herself away from where she thought Lee was, but he leant in the same direction simultaneously. The force of both of their bodies on one side of the boat forced it to twist, flinging the both of them into the water as the boat flopped upside down and began floating away from them.
My hands shot to my mouth as I let out a cry of surprise. Katie emerged from the dark waters first, splashing around and coughing. Lee emerged then, shaking out his dreadlocks and spraying Katie with water. She let out a yell and dived at him, pushing him under the water. He reemerged a second later, looking like he was trying really hard not to laugh, when Katie spat a mouthful of water at his face.
They both started laughing simultaneously, and Lee quickly swam away to retrieve their boat, which Angelina was leaning out of her boat to keep it from floating any further away. Katie clutched at the side of our boat as Fred and George leant the other way to keep it balanced, as I held Katie's hand to keep her up and laughed, unable to seem to stop myself.
It's like the people of Hogwarts just wait for Lee and Katie to do something totally ridiculous when they're together. They're never disappointed. People from the shore and the platforms were all looking at us and laughing.
Lee held the boat still while Katie clambered her way in. Fred and George held the boat still while Lee attempted to get back into the boat, but he managed to fall back down three times before a large tentacle pushed him up and helped him get his whole body back into the boat.
Lee leant back over the edge to try and catch sight of the giant squid that lived in these waters, yelling out "Thanks buddy!"
Bubbles disturbing the surface were his only response.
Katie punched him on the arm, and he looked up at her from sitting on the floor of the boat, in between her legs. They both looked like drowned rats, and I couldn't help but start giggling again at the sight of them.
It took us about twenty minutes longer than anyone else to get to the middle of the lake, with the people still in boats behind us taking about five minutes tops to make their way there.
As soon as we climbed out of the boats and up the ladders, Lee and Katie had towels thrust into their faces.
"Why is it always you two?!" McGonagall burst out, looking enraged. "I can't leave you to do anything without something like this happening!"
George grabbed my elbow and steered me away from the quickly deteriorating scene. Whereas the people around them had laughed at first, as McGonagall raged they all turned around uncomfortably, not wanting to be the next one hit with her anger.
We were just pushing through the crowd towards the stairs leading up to the next level when an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back, out of George's grip. Stumbling, I looked up at James' grinning face.
"Breezy!" He cried, leaning down to hug me closer. As per usual, he looked completely unphased by the Tournament. He also looked… tanner.
"James, have you been tanning?" I asked, not quite as amazed as I would have been at anyone less vain than James.
He just nodded, giving me a 'duh, obviously' look.
"It's winter!" I said, trying not to laugh.
Looking at me completely seriously, all he said was "You have to be dedicated to look this good, Bree. In fact…"
He paused, stepping back from me and ripping his shirt over his head, throwing it at his feet and turning to flex his biceps. "Hard work, baby. Very visible results, though. Here," he took my hand and brought it closer to his tensing muscles, "Feel free to touch."
I snatched my hand back and couldn't keep from laughing any longer. Especially when I turned and saw Fred and George's completely identical looks of disgusted confusion as they stared at James.
That was when Persephone popped up at our side. Her eyes immediately fell to James' biceps and she nodded. "So the extra time it took for us to sneak that exercise machine on to the carriage actually helped."
At this, Fred and George turned their disbelieving looks to Persephone.
"JAMES!" Bagman cried, hurrying up to us. "Come on, my boy, we're about to start the challenge!"
He grabbed James' arm and physically pulled him away from us. We pushed our way to the front of the crowd to stand by the Champions, and I saw Cedric looking a bit nervous, and Harry looking positively terrified.
Lee and Katie approached us then, towels wrapped around their shoulders and grins on both of their faces.
"No detention," Katie announced when she reached us. "Just the lecture."
"Yeah, and by the end, I think she was more amused than anything," Lee added, nodding. I highly doubted that.
At that moment, Dumbledore's voice cut over the loud chants around us, magically heightened in volume.
"Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts." Persephone let out a loud cheer for James at that point, and he looked up at us, winking and blowing a kiss. I laughed slightly at him, and I blew one back. "These five treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough, except for this: they will have but one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own." Something began going wrong at this point. As Dumbledore continued speaking, Harry doubled over completely and began coughing loudly. "No magic will save them. The task begins at the sound of the cannon."
The cannon fired at that time. Cedric, James, Fleur, and Viktor all dived into the water, but Harry merely folded more in on himself and coughed harder, seemingly unaware the cannon had even been fired.
At that moment, Moody shoved Harry hard in the back, propelling him so that he fell off of the platform and into the water, still choking. I let out a shocked gasp and watched the water where he disappeared in horror.
It was impossible to see anything under the murky water, and Harry didn't immediately reemerge.
George leant further over the railing, his eyebrows knitting together in concern, as he muttered, "What's the matter with him?"
"I don't know! Can you see him?!" Fred demanded, his eyes scanning the water for any sign of him.
At that moment, Harry came bursting out of the water, flipping in midair and screaming in elation. We all jumped back from the rail, and I let out a relieved laugh.
When nothing else happened for a few moments, we all seemed to realize at once that this would be a lot more boring than the first task. The action was happening below water, and all we had was Dumbledore's occasional narration of nothing of any importance. The crowd quickly dispersed, heading higher to try and get the best view for if something actually did happen. I stayed leaning against the railing, my head resting on my hands and staring into the water.
"Is that the kind of guy you're into, then?" George asked out of the blue, still staring out over the water. His voice was quiet, almost private, but Katie, Lee, and Fred were talking so animatedly they wouldn't have heard him anyway.
"Hm?" I asked, drawing my eyes from the motionless water to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"Like," he seemed to search for the right words, still not looking at me. "Muscled, tanned, cocky… you know, like James."
I couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Oh, Merlin, no, George. Definitely not like James. I don't think I have a type," I said, shrugging.
"But you like Jason," he stated, still not looking at me.
Trying to hide a blush, I shrugged. "I barely know Jason. He's a friend."
Before George could answer, a voice drawled from behind us, "I see you and your friends got into some trouble before you even made it here. You delayed the whole task; it's just rude."
Fred and George simultaneously sighed, and turned around, saying, "Hello, Percy," in the most unenthused tone they could muster.
"Hi, Percy," I said, a lot more politely than them. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm quite good. I'm here on official ministry business, you know, Mr. Crouch is still very unwell and sent me to be a judge in his place." Percy, for lack of a better word, bragged.
"That's very exciting!" I told him, smiling.
Percy gave me a very brief smile, but it was the first sincere smile I'd ever gotten from him, so I'd gladly take it.
"Yeah, so how much longer are we going to be seeing you around the school, Percy?" Fred asked, trying and failing to be convincing as he grinned at his brother.
Percy didn't pick up on the sarcasm. "I'm not sure; Mr. Crouch doesn't seem to be getting any better. It is a bit worrying, but I just do what his letters tell me on a day to day basis."
Before the twins could say anything, I spoke up. "Have you spoken to Mr. Crouch recently? Has he said what's wrong with him?"
"Well- no, I haven't actually spoken to him, but as I said I receive letters daily so I do know how he's doing. I don't actually know what's wrong with him though, no…"
I couldn't help but feel a little bit concerned for Mr. Crouch, and at the same time a little bit suspicious at his continued absence and no direct contact with anyone.
At that moment, Dumbledore's voice echoed around us. "The Beauxbatons Champion, Miss Delacour, has unfortunately been forced to retire. She will take no further part in this task."
"Oh! I have to go!" Percy cried, and hurried off. I turned to Fred and George then.
"Do you think it's a bit suspicious? Mr. Crouch's absence, I mean." I asked the twins.
They both shrugged. "Honestly? Percy probably has him locked away in the cellar of his house so he can continue having such a large role in the tournament," Fred answered.
I bit my lip, unsure, as Fred turned away. George frowned and looked like he was about to say something else when the people around us erupted in loud cheers.
I turned quickly back to the water to see Cedric bobbing around in the water, taking deep breaths and grinning. I saw Cho floating next to him in her school robes, and realized that the treasure that the mermaids had taken was a person, not a thing, and was temporarily shocked. But then Cedric raised his fist triumphantly in the air and I let out a cheer, pushing through the crowd to get to where he would be emerging from the water.
When he climbed the ladder, I grabbed the closest towel and threw it around him before I hugged him. "Cedric! You did it!"
One of his friends from beside me yelled "First place!" over the continued cheers surrounding us.
Cedric hugged me tighter to him for a moment and let out an elated laugh, before he pulled back and was swarmed by his friends. He somehow drew Cho Chang from her friends back into his arms, kissing the top of her head as someone grabbed his arm and raised it victoriously. Cho looked slightly embarrassed, but mostly just in awe of Cedric. It was really very sweet.
Dumbledore and Bagman swooped in then, drawing Cedric and Cho away to a small room in the middle of the platform. Katie and Sam appeared at my side then, and I spotted Fleur Delacour standing across the platform, biting her nails nervously and staring worriedly out into the water.
"What Dumbledore said, about them 'being on their own' after the hour… I mean… they wouldn't actually leave the most important person in Fleur's life for the mermaids to have, would they?" Sam asked, having also seen her.
"No," Katie said immediately, looping an arm around Sam's shoulders. "There's no way. It'll be fine, Sam."
I just looked at them and couldn't hide a smile at my shy little brother getting along so well with this loudmouthed girl I now counted as one of my closest friends. Though coming to Hogwarts wasn't my decision, moments like this make me realize how glad I am that I did.
At that moment, another cheer went out, and my head shot up to see James with his arms above his head victoriously. Again, I hurried over to meet him. Callie was in the water with him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he supported her on his back. Callie and James had always understood each other perfectly, and had always been very close. It made sense that she was the so called treasure he had to get back.
Before I had even reached them, another cheer went up, and Viktor and Hermione rose to the surface of the water. Callie broke away from the large crowd gathered around James and came to stand with me, looping her arm through mine. "Well, that was interesting," she said conversationally, as though talking about going for a stroll in the park instead of being held hostage underwater by merpeople for hours.
Soon enough, Callie was whisked away to the enclosed room, along with James, Viktor, and Hermione. James was absolutely loving the attention, waving at people like a big celebrity would at a concert.
And then we waited.
And waited.
I wandered back over to where Fred and George were leaning against the railing again, staring out into the water in search of any sign of the only remaining champion.
Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was past the allocated hour mark, and still nothing. Fred and George were starting to get fidgety, and I know it was because Ron was the treasure Harry was meant to retrieve.
"Where is he? It shouldn't be taking him this long…" Sam muttered nervously.
I saw a flash of orange from my peripheral vision, and turned to see Ron barely staying afloat in the water, a little girl with blonde hair next to him. Fleur went rushing towards the ladder, and I knew it had to be her sister. Fred and George were cheering louder than they had thus far, leaning out over the railing and clapping their hands together.
However, there was still no sign of Harry.
I scanned the water nervously, and I knew Sam was doing the same from beside me. No matter where I looked, I couldn't see the wild black hair I was looking for.
Fred and George had left to greet their brother, and I was just heading over there myself when, with a loud splash, Harry was propelled out of the water, landing on the platform with a loud thwack. Immediately, Sam ran over there, and I followed quickly to see Harry on all fours, coughing loudly with water flowing from his mouth, and desperately trying to inhale some air at the same time.
At that moment, Hermione appeared, throwing a towel around Harry and talking a mile a minute. Ron, too, was babbling.
"Harry, you didn't actually take that song seriously, did you? Dumbledore wouldn't have let any of us drown! I hope you didn't waste time down there playing the hero!" Ron cried, before he was suddenly cut off by Percy throwing another towel around him and pulling him further from the edge of the water. Harry was starting to look very depressed, so I took that to mean he had indeed wasted time playing the hero. That, or he was still having trouble breathing.
Fred grinned widely. "Merlin, Harry, you sure do know how to make an impression!"
From around us, Karkaroff was leading his students in a furious chant of Krum's name, with the headmaster getting louder and more violent as time passed. This was broken, however, when Dumbledore's magically enhanced voice began speaking again.
"Attention! Attention! The winner is… Cedric Diggory!" At this, a loud cheer went through the crowd; one that I enthusiastically participated in. "With the use of the bubble headed charm. However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first if not for his determination to rescue all of the hostages, not just Mr. Weasley, we have decided to award him…" I could actually feel all of the people around me holding their breath in that moment, "second place! For outstanding morale fiber!"
Harry just gaped as Hermione threw herself at him. As we all cheered, I dived down to hug him, too, and never able to resist anything done with even the mildest enthusiasm, Katie joined in, too. Soon, there was a large pile on Harry, as we all cheered for him.
Karkaroff was actually swearing in Bulgarian, he was so pissed off.
"The third and final task shall take place at dusk on the twenty fourth of June," Dumbledore continued. "The champions will be notified of what is coming, precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."
Karkaroff had barely listened, still seeming to be swearing and muttering to himself. I, however, felt more sorry for James than I did for him. During the excited chatter where we all lined up to board the boats heading back to the shore (where McGonagall separated Katie and Lee almost immediately), I caught up to him. Callie had her arm wrapped around his, pulling her towel closer around her with her other hand, bouncing on the balls of her feet and looking as chipper as ever.
"I'm sorry you lost second place, James," I said. "It wasn't really fair for you."
James scoffed. "Harry deserved first place. The kid was already down there when I arrived, to make sure that everybody got back up safely. He's pretty amazing for someone who's been through such a huge amount of shit."
Callie and I both smiled at his answer, as he continued.
"I mean, winning would be fun, but a desperation to win wasn't why I entered the Tournament. I wanted to bring some glory to myself and to the school, but it was mostly just because I wanted to prove that I could do it. And guess what? I can."
Callie squeezed his arm and he looked down, smiling gently at her.
James may have been a vain bitch sometimes, but he cared. James cared so much it hurt him sometimes, and by the front he presents to the world, I don't think a lot of people know that. He was kind, and he gave always saw the bright side of things. James would bitch about how my jeans didn't match my shoes, but that's not what's important. He gives people chances, and not a lot of people do that anymore. I threw myself forwards and hugged James around the waist, almost pushing him over. With a startled laugh, he hugged me back, and soon I felt Callie wrap her arms around me from behind and join in.
"I'm so lucky to have you guys in my life," I murmured, and I knew they heard me by the way they both tightened their grip on me.
Pulling away, I immediately felt another arm wrap around my shoulders, and looked up to see George smiling down at me gently. Harry was with him, and James immediately stepped forward to shake his hand enthusiastically and congratulate him, letting him know without words that there was no bad blood for James being knocked back a spot for Harry.
"What do you know, all that morale fiber finally came in handy," Fred laughed jokingly.
Ron nodded, "Blimey, Harry, even when you go wrong it turns out right!"
"Yeah, well done, morale fiber," George added, grinning and patting the dark haired boy on the back.
Lee was chattering to Sam and Neville somewhere behind us, already coming up with outlandish theories for what the third task would be. "Vampires," he said, with complete certainty. "Why a task at night? Because they're going to pit the champions against Vampires. It only seems logical."
"I just…" Sam glanced at Neville nervously. "I really don't think it seems likely, Lee…"
"No, I have it on very good authority that it's what the task will be," Lee nodded, and I slapped his arm, drawing a bright grin and wink from him.
I have no doubt I'll be treated to multiple other Lee theories for what the third task will be before June.
As we boarded the boats, everybody was still chattering happily.
"Harry, you did it, you and Cedric are tied for first place! We're certain of a Hogwarts win now, I know it!" Katie burst out excitedly. "BRING ON THE TWENTY FOUTH OF JUNE!"
"You got this Potter!" Lee yelled triumphantly. "The third task will be the easiest yet!"
These chapters are getting longer and longer, I swear. Nothing too big happening this chapter, but my writing style is 'keep typing and see where you end up,' so that's why the chapters are always so long.
Bree gets pretty sentimental sometimes. Sorry about that.
OKAY, so the second task is over with. I always figured the viewing would be boring as hell for everyone on the platforms (and now I think of it, for the maze as well. I guess all you'd see would be the maze moving as it blows in the wind every now and then, and for the second task, it would just be ripples in the water), so there you go. I do what I can, and I really, really hope you enjoyed it!
ALSO, I want to thank thegirlwholived, who I can't reply to through the reviews, but I want to thank because I think it's one of the nicest things I've gotten for this story!