Harry stopped in front of Neville and Ron and gently lowered the large burlap sack he held over his shoulder to the ground.

"I thought you lot were going to get Bridgette. Where are Boomer and the troops?" Ron asked. In the two days since the second siege of Hogwarts, Ron had taken to referring to his personal army of Hufflepuffs as 'the troops'.

"Bridgette and Tim had to take Joe to the Hospital," Harry explained.

"Did Ginny bat bogey them?" Neville joked.

"No, but when I Stunned her she kind of landed on Joe. She's a bit bigger than he is, so it took him to the ground rather hard. It was courteous of him to break her fall like that."

"Why did you Stun Ginny?" Ron demanded. "And what did you do with… Oh no."

Harry shrugged. "We might be on slightly more friendly terms since she ditched that Ravenclaw bloke, but she's still been avoiding me. Not like before, mind, where she'd storm out of the room, but she's been slinking off all the same. So, I got Bridgette to distract her and I Stunned her. Joe and Tim were supposed to catch her, but they must have missed that part of the plan. Then I threw her in the sack and brought her out here so we can all go see Hagrid together," Harry explained as he gently opened the burlap and carefully removed the still unconscious Ginny from the inside. "Now, we just wake her back up and explain as a united and calm group why it was necessary to do this."

"Before we do this, isn't Hermione coming? She's better at this sort of girl stuff," Neville stammered, clearly uncomfortable at the prospect of facing down an irate Weasley.

"Erm… no, not really. She's a bit put out and decided to head to Hogsmeade," Ron muttered, his ears going bright red.

"Our dear friend Ron, here, decided it would be wonderful to drop Divination and instead enter Arithmancy, without telling Hermione. Needless to say she was a bit shocked."

"Shocked is an understatement," Ron sighed. "I don't bloody well understand girls. I thought she'd be pleased that I'm taking school a bit more seriously. I studied all bloody year to be able to take the thing and even got extra tutoring from Professor Vector. Instead she seems to think that I did this all as some kind of weird joke. I never got to tell her we were going to see Hagrid today."

"So you really weren't off trying to shag the bratwurst?" Neville asked, shocked.

"Not for most of it, no. A couple times we found a deserted corridor, but I was so busy trying to pass the entrance test…" Ron shrugged.

"I think it's just shock at the change. You really haven't been the most studious of us," Neville guessed. "I think once she gets used to the idea she'll come around, and once you stops asking for her homework."

"That wasn't my fault!" Ron protested. "I didn't want to see the completed work, but I didn't get a copy of the sheet Professor Vector passed out and I needed it to do the work."

"Bloody hell," Harry groaned. "Now Hermione thinks that Ron is taking the class either to impress another girl or to annoy her and is going to use her for homework answers, marvellous."

Neville shrugged, "Both of you need to really think before you start talking, sometimes. Now, Harry, can we get this over with so we can go see Hagrid and convince him he isn't inherently evil just because his mum might have been."

"That might not be the best line," Ron advised. "Though, I do have to agree with Mr. Sensitivity, here. The sooner we wake Ginny up the sooner we can gauge the damage."

"Cowards," Harry muttered. "Rennervate!" Ginny stirred, yawned, stretched her front arms out, then her back legs and finally rolled on her back and arched herself slightly up in the air."

"This cat thing is getting ridiculous," Ron breathed.

"Ron, what am I doing outside? The last thing I remember was talking to your little Hufflepuff friend and then somebody…" Ginny switched her gaze from her brother to Neville and paused for a moment. That's all it took.

"Harry did it! I had nothing to do with it. Harry did it on his own, well, Ron might have helped but I'd like it to be known that I had nothing to do with it!" Neville practically screamed.

"Nothing to do with what?"

"So much for calm and collected," Harry muttered. "I'm sorry, Ginny, but I had to."

"Had to what?" Ginny asked. Harry guessed the spell was still affecting her brain. She wasn't usually this slow on the uptake.

"Had to… Stun you."

"You stunned me? Why?" A bit of the Weasley temper began to colour her voice again.

"Because you've been avoiding me and we needed you. Couldn't do it without you, really, and as Hermione didn't get the message and no one could find her at the moment. We really need your help, Ginny, please?" Harry turned on his soulful kitten eyes as high as they would go and prayed Ginny wasn't going to reach for her wand.

"With what?" she demanded, her hand sliding towards her pocked. "I swear to Isis, Potter if this is some kind of joke…"

"Hagrid still hasn't come out of his hut and we're going to convince him we don't all hate him. We might dislike his teaching methods, cooking and sometimes personal hygiene habits, but we don't hate him," Neville concluded.

"Faced with Grubby-Board or Hagrid, I'll take Hagrid. At least he doesn't tie my friends to a tree."

"So you need me to help convince Hagrid to come back to work?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," all three boys chorused.

"Fine, let's go."

"That's it?" Ron sputtered. "No screaming, hexing or mum-like temper tantrums?"

"Ron, don't spoil it," Harry hissed. Ginny rounded on her brother.

"No, Ron. I'm thirteen, not three. I don't throw temper tantrums and I certainly don't hex people for no reason. I don't appreciate being Stunned, certainly, but I do suppose I've been rather hard to find the past day or two. Now, Hagrid needs our help, so let's help him." Ginny turned back and began stomping through the snow.

"I don't believe it," Ron gaped. "Did you check her for Polyjuice? I mean that is so incredibly unlike Ginny I don't even know where to begin."

"Maybe she's trying to make up for being mean to Harry," Neville suggested.

"Or perhaps she just really wants to help Hagrid," Harry concluded. "C'mon, I don't want her getting too far ahead."

All three boys had to jog to catch up to a very determined-looking Ginny. "Is he upset because his mum was a giant?" Ginny asked softly as all four of them stood outside his cabin.

"I think that's the general idea," Neville agreed.

All four stood there slightly uncertain as what to do next. Ginny solved the dilemma.

The door flew open with a loud 'BANG' as Ginny nearly blasted it off its hinges. "You've nothing to be ashamed of, Hagrid! Your parents are who they are and we all like you… oh, hello Headmaster," Ginny's voice had suddenly dropped to nearly a whisper. Harry grabbed Neville and Ron's collars as they both attempted to sneak out of range before they could be spotted by the great Albus Dumbledore.

"That's right!" Harry declared as he dragged Ron and Neville with him. "Don't let that Skeeter bitch scare you off!" Harry demanded.

"Living proof of what I've been trying to tell you," Dumbledore added. "I've received countless letters from parents who have told me on no uncertain terms that if I were to let you go they'd take it to the Board of Governors."

"Not everybody, though. Not everybody wants me to stay," Hagrid sniffled, his eyes red and puffy.

"Sod them!" Ron exclaimed. "Sod them all. Who cares about the likes of Draco Malfoy anyway. It's gits like that that give gits a bad name, Hagrid. You know who your friends are."

"You don' know what it's like, tho. The stares, whispers…" Hagrid blew his nose into what looked like a child's blanket.

"You have us, isn't that enough reason?" Neville asked, politely.

"Well, I…"

"You're a fantastic teacher, and we miss you. The first time I got detention in a Care of Magical Creatures class was when you weren't there. Think of it, Hagrid," Harry pleaded.

"Indeed, I refuse to accept your resignation. I expect you back to work on Monday," Dumbledore announced. "Always remember what's truly important in life," Dumbledore reminded them as he stepped out the door. A wave of his wand and the door fixed itself and closed softly.

"You're right," Hagrid admitted. "Me dad would be ashamed of the way I've been acting."

Harry smiled as the chatter turned from the demanding tone of before to happier subjects.

"Have you figured out your egg yet, Harry?" Hagrid asked suddenly.

"No," he admitted. "Ron told me to take a bath with it, but I don't see how that's going to help."

"It's what Krum did!" Ron yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Well Krum also took a bigoted tart to the ball, would you do that too?" Ginny scoffed and was met with a glare from her brother.

"Heard about that," Hagrid muttered. "First love can be tough an' all, but you're better off to be rid of her."

"Yeah, well, I suppose so," Ron muttered.

"Heard about you lot throwing snow balls at the castle, too," Hagrid chuckled. "Your dad, Harry, talked about doing that once. Never got around to it, I suppose. He'd be chuffed to know that his son finally made it."

"What were they like, Hagrid?" Harry blurted.

"Yer parents?"

"Mhmm."

"Yer dad was a joker of the finest sort. Popular all throughout school, and loved by just about everyone. 'Cept the Slytherins, of course, and your mum. He was smitten with her right off, he claims since he met her on the train the first day."

"She didn't like him?" Ron asked, surprised. The Weasley children had grown up hearing the fairytale love story of Molly and Arthur. To think of a couple not falling instantly for one another was out of the realm of Ron's understanding.

"Not straight off. They fought like cats and dogs. Course he won her over eventually."

"What was she like?" Harry asked more softly this time.

"Smart, feisty and she had a wicked temper. Wouldn't stand for anyone picking on her friends. Hexed yer dad more n' a few times for that," Hagrid chuckled. "Middle of their sixth year it was going all around that she fancied him, which is why they were always fighting. She deny it, he'd do something barmy and they'd be back to fighting. Then beginning of seventh year, it just seemed like she gave up trying to fight it and they fell in love. Of course, him being head boy and her head girl might've helped. She didn' have much choice but teh work with 'im."

"You knew them well?" Ginny added.

"Not so much James, but Lily was always a fan of the animals. She didn' fancy herself going to work with them full time, o' course, not many people do, but she was down here more n' a few times for a cuppa."

Neville was next with questions about his parents, then Ginny and Ron. After several hours, they noticed that the sun was getting low in the sky and Hagrid finally shooed them out the door.

"Good luck on the egg, Harry," Hagrid smiled. "I know you'll win it."

"Thanks, Hagrid."

Harry felt incredible. He'd spent a whole afternoon in the company of his favourite human and they hadn't fought once, not to mention some of the things he'd found out about his human parents. He felt deliriously happy. It was like they were friends again.

"I'm going for a bit of a walk," Ginny announced. "Want to go, Harry?" Her voice was confident but shaky, and that worried Harry. Perhaps she was a bit sore from the morning Stunning, or maybe the fact that their visit to Hagrid had prevented her from going to Hogsmeade (Ron and Harry had both been kept back this trip and Neville had decided he didn't want to go after the Ravenclaw he took to the ball asked him out.)

"Erm… sure," Harry muttered, feeling his face redden.

"Well, we'll see you back in the tower then, yeah?" Ron asked. Harry nodded and then followed Ginny as they walked silently towards the lake.

They'd been walking for nearly ten minutes when she finally spoke.

"Why were you so interested in your parents, Harry?"

Harry shrugged in return. "I dunno, just seemed right. I have to admit, much as I want to be, I'm not all Kneazle. Mostly, yes, but I was human for a bit, too. It's not all bad I suppose. Full Kneazles aren't able to talk to their humans." Harry gave her a shy smile. It wasn't immediately returned, and so Harry dropped his eyes back to his feet a little dejected. What on earth could he do to make things right again?

He was so deep in thought that he nearly missed when Ginny did speak. "Thank you for the scones."

Harry smiled a little. "They're your favourite," he shrugged.

Another long stretch of silence grew until Ginny broke it again. "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry's head jerked up. Ginny almost never apologised, mostly because she rarely had anything to apologise for.

"What for?"

"I've been sexing horrible to you. I should have been supporting you. It's what friends do. Hermione finally talked a bit of sense into me and I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner, but I've been a bit nervous."

Harry shrugged, trying to hide the grin on his face. "It isn't a big deal, Ginny."

"I'm sorry, I really am. I was scared and worried and I suppose a little jealous," Ginny admitted.

"Scared I understand but what were you jealous of?"

Ginny gave him a small, sad smile. "Molly,"

"Who?" Harry asked, a little confused.

"This mystery girl who's caught your attention. Honestly you ought to just tell her how you feel if you haven't already. I mean, really, why didn't you take her to the ball?"

"Sparkplug, her name isn't Molly. Well, not her first, anyway."

"It isn't?"

"Nope," Harry grinned and he wanted to with every fibre of his being tell her right then what she meant to him, but something stayed his tongue. "Just her middle name."

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Ginny breathed. "Because the only Molly I could think of was Molly Fitzgibbons in Slytherin and she's in Fred and George's year. That would just be wrong."

"Nope, just her middle name."

"What's her first?" Ginny asked.

"That's a secret for now," Harry winked. For that moment, beneath his exterior bravado, he wondered if he was really cut out to be a Gryffindor.

"So, I mean I don't expect you to forgive me right away. I was being an awful prat, but I was hoping maybe we could be friends again?"

"As far as I'm concerned we never stopped. I missed you," Harry admitted.

"That's it? No cold shoulder or ranting about what a git I've been? We're just friends like that?"

"Ginny, you've been a right git to me, but it wasn't entirely your fault. I didn't tell you I was going to enter and I suppose you have a right to be upset with me, but you're my human. I couldn't stop caring about you anymore than I could about my own tail. You apologized, and I forgave you. That's how this works, isn't it? Sure you're a pain in the arse sometimes, but you're my pain."

Ginny smiled softly and gave her first friend a fierce hug. "You know just what a girl wants to hear. I missed you too, Paws," she murmured.

In that instant everything was right with the world. "Now, what's this about bathing with an egg?" Ginny asked, looking up at him.

"Shite…"

oOo

"Where am I supposed to take a bath with the bloody thing?" Harry whinged for the fifteenth time that day. "We only have showers here." Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny and Neville were all sitting around the common room fire and as usual, Hermione had brought up the mystery of the egg again. Neville was trying desperately not to lose to Ron in chess and Ginny and Harry had just finished a particularly smelly game of Gobstones.

"I heard Percy say once that the prefects have a bath all to their own," Ron supplied.

"Helpful as that is, Ron, none of us here are prefects," Neville pointed out.

"No, but maybe one of ours would let you in. Fred and George might even know the password."

"No, I don't think they're allowed to give those sorts of things out," Ginny mused. "We're going to have to sneak in. Wouldn't you agree, Paws?"

"Preying on Harry's sense of mischief to convince him to go on another escapade with you is hardly fair," Hermione grumbled.

"But she's right, Hermione. You've been the one bugging me about figuring this bloody thing out. So, I think it's only fair that you lend a hand."

"There's one on the second floor. Next to the statue of Boris the Bewildered," Ron offered.

"How do you know that?" Ginny demanded.

"Bridgette told me. Said, she was heading to the kitchens when she saw Cedric come out of there. Took me a while to understand her. She was giggling the whole time."

"Wait, aren't the Hufflepuffs right near the kitchens?" Hermione pondered.

"I dunno, I suppose they're nearby."

"Then why would she be on the second floor looking for Cedric Diggory?"

"Apart from the fact that he's dreamy?" Ginny mock swooned, ignoring Harry's pointed growl.

"Doesn't matter, does it? Because first off, Bridgette is six years younger, secondly Diggory is going out with the leader of Harry's personal fan club, Cho Chang, and thirdly we now know where the prefects' bathroom is so it really doesn't matter."

"But how am I supposed to get in there?" Harry asked again. "I can't just very well wait around and ask someone for the password. Or what if it's a riddle?"

"Why don't you Stun them as they're going in or out?" Ginny grinned. "Worked on me didn't it?"

"You know, Sparkplug, that's not a bad idea."

Two days later the trap was laid and Harry with Neville and Hermione waited outside the prefect's bath. "Where's Ginny?" Harry whispered. Both she and Ron hadn't shown for their appointed mugging of a prefect. Hermione didn't approve of this plan, naturally, but Harry pointed out it was likely the best shot he had without getting hypothermia in the lake.

"She's in detention," Neville whispered back.

"What for?"

"Caught out of bounds trying to peek at the registry of names for Hogwarts."

"That's a bloody odd thing to get detention for, don't you think? What about Ron?"

Neville stared at the Marauder's map. "Looks like he's in the Great Hall. What's he doing there? He and Malfoy are a bit close for comfort," Neville muttered.

"Shh! Someone's coming," Hermione cautioned.

A tall sixth-year boy wearing Slytherin colours, Harry thought his name might have been Will Ebert or something like that, marched smartly to the door and announced in a clear voice "Altoona!" The door swung open and he walked in, failing to notice the large black Kneazle who followed on his footsteps.

"Neville, you were supposed to Stun him!" Hermione whispered.

"I thought you were going to do it," Neville countered.

"Wait, where's Harry?" They both said at the same time. As they asked the door popped open and the unconscious form of one Slytherin prefect scooted out into the hallway as though under his own power. Harry's head poked out a second later.

"Mind stashing him somewhere for a bit? He's going to have a bit of a headache. I forgot to catch him when he fell."

"That's getting to be a theme with you, isn't it?" Neville asked. "There's a suit of armour just down the corridor. We can get him there."

"And what, stuff him inside and wait for him to wake up?" Hermione hissed.

"You have a better idea? Harry, you go take a bath with the egg and we'll be back here in a jiffy. Hurry, we don't have Ginny or Ron to distract them if anyone comes."

Harry nodded and headed inside, while his two companions drug the larger boy down the hall.

Harry stepped inside and surveyed the room. Several baths were there, each large enough to submerge both his head and the egg inside at the same time. Harry tried not to think of the feeling of cold, wet, and dark surrounding him. He began to strip off quickly.

"Hello, Harry," A voice called. Harry whirled in a stage of partial undress and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello Myrtle, come to get an eyeful?"

"You know, you really shouldn't be here. You were terribly rude to me the last time we met."

Harry recalled the not so thinly veiled threats he'd made to coerce her cooperation in saving Fred and George from the Chamber of Secrets two years prior. "I am sorry about that, but it was a matter of life and death."

"I suppose," Myrtle grumped. "But now that you've come to visit maybe we can talk for a bit?" she continued, shyly.

Harry shrugged as he stripped off the last of his clothes and picked the egg up from where he'd set it. Striding cautiously over to the first tub he began to adjust the knobs. The water needed to be just right; he didn't need any more stress.

"Boys aren't usually this forward with me," Myrtle giggled, pointedly staring at Harry's bare backside.

"That might be because you're dead and they're not likely to mate you," Harry growled. "Now, if you'll please leave me be." The stress was getting to him and he wasn't even in the bath yet.

"Tetchy!" Myrtle harrumphed. "I was going to keep a lookout for people coming in here, but if that's the way you're going to be I don't think I will."

"Please, this is trouble enough," Harry bellowed, his nerves getting the best of him as he submerged the egg and climbed in after it.

He sat there a moment steeling his nerves. He wasn't this nervous when he faced the dragon. 'It's only water', he told himself. That was exactly the problem. It wasn't as though he couldn't swim. Mum taught all her kittens to do so, just in case. To a Kneazle though, they all hated it. Except Agrippa, he was a bit twisted and actually enjoyed the whole ordeal. Strange, that one.

"On the count of three," Harry muttered. He got to two and plunged his head beneath the water, fighting panic the whole time. Remembering why he was there, Harry cracked the egg and listened intently. It worked. He could understand it!

After an eternity and a half, Harry removed his head, closed the egg, and once out of the bath and dry he dressed quickly.

As he exited the bathroom, Harry looked both ways and spotted Hermione and Neville, now devoid of their unconscious burden, trying to stay inconspicuous behind a statue. They were failing spectacularly.

"Did it work? What did it say?" Hermione breathed.

"Yeah, I got it," Harry sighed, slicking his hand through his wet hair.

"Well, what did it say?" Hermione demanded.

"It said I'm sitting the second task out, or at least that's what I'm pretty sure it said," Harry shrugged. "Come on, we have to find out what Ron's up to."

"Not today, mate. He's with McGonagall," Neville warned. "Something else is weird, are you sure this thing works correctly?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, Hermione and I were looking at the little dots, and there are a bloody lot of them, let me tell you, when we noticed something peculiar. Crouch is here."

"Who?"

"Percy's boss," Hermione supplied. "I suppose he must be feeling better, but we haven't heard anything at all about him being here. Even a colossal bore like him would garner at least a little attention."

"Did you just call a Ministry official a colossal bore?" Neville gaped.

"I suppose so," Hermione blushed.

"Bloody hell, who cares if he's here or not, let's get out of here before someone comes along."

"Why didn't we do this at night again?" Neville asked a little petulantly.

"Because if we're caught out of bounds we'll get detention, and a big part of the plan happened to revolve around Stunning a prefect. I doubt even they are going to be wandering around in the middle of the night deciding to take a bath. Right now we just need to clear the area so no one accuses us of stuffing that prefect in the suit of armour. Now let's go!" Hermione urged.

Both boys followed her lead walking as nonchalantly as their consciences would let them.

That night, safely ensconced in the familiar surroundings of the common room, Hermione wasted no time getting to the heart of what was on her mind.

"What do you mean it said you were sitting it out? You have to participate, Harry," Hermione screeched.

Harry shrugged. "It said something about seeking where their voices sound and they can't sing on land."

"Well that means they're underwater," Neville chimed in. Both Harry and Hermione gave him rather withering looks. "Fine, see if I point out the obvious next time," he huffed.

"Then it said something about taking a great treasure and I'd have to get it back in an hour or something."

"That sounds fairly straightforward. You have to retrieve something from under the water," Hermione reasoned.

"So out of the lake then?" Neville asked.

"I suppose so. Not like they're going to have me bobbing for apples in a toilet, is it?" Harry scoffed. "But I'm not doing it."

"But you have to!" Both Hermione and Neville exclaimed.

"Why? It isn't like there's anything they can take that I'll really miss. They can have it. I'll show up but I'm reasonably sure I don't have to try."

"Harry, you're the one who wanted in this bloody tournament and now you're going to give up? Over a little water?" Hermione demanded.

"It isn't just a little water!" Harry snapped. "It's the whole of that bloody lake I'm going to have to search, don't you get it? I have to do it in an hour. Where the bloody hell am I supposed to even start looking? The giant squid doesn't sing and I'm not sure what else lives there. Who knows? Could be dog fish, or hellbenders for all you know."

"Merpeople, has to be," Neville snapped his fingers. "We know they live down there because Harry brought one up last year."

"Perfect, and where do the merpeople live, exactly?" Hermione asked.

"Dunno, Hagrid might, though."

"You're still talking as though I'm going to do it," Harry scoffed.

"Do what?" the twin voices of Fred and George answered simultaneously.

"Go diving in the bloody lake," Harry shot back mulishly.

"Harry, here, has decided that he doesn't want to participate in the Second Task, because he's afraid of water," Hermione added.

"You can't swim, mate?" Fred asked.

"I can swim, I just prefer to keep my head above water and stay the hell out of the water," Harry answered.

"If you can swim, why are you afraid of the water?" George countered.

"I never said I was afraid."

"But you are," Hermione prodded.

"Bloody well right I am! I hate it. It's bad enough my tongue isn't long enough to clean and I have to stand in the damn shower, but to go voluntarily sticking my head under water? No thank you."

"After all we went through to help you solve that egg today, you better figure something out," Neville growled.

"And what were the brave adventurers up to today?" Fred winked.

"We helped Harry break into the prefect's bathroom, and Stunned that sixth year prefect from Slytherin."

"You stunned Will Ebert?" George asked incredulously. "Then who stuffed him in that suit of Armour?"

"That was us," Neville admitted.

Fred and George stared for a second and then burst into laughter. "That's priceless. He asked us if we did it."

"Demanded, really," George added.

"Yes, demanded, but we honestly told him we didn't know what he was talking about. It couldn't have happened to a better bloke!" Tears were rolling down both twins' eyes at this point and the three friends could only stare and wait for the laughter to subside.

"Seriously, though, thanks for that."

"For what?"

"For getting him. He's a complete arse. He's always getting into fights with Danny Greene, the seventh-year Slytherin prefect, because Danny won't stand for little old Will to dock points without reason."

"Will has come after us a few times, but luckily Danny has a chain on him. For a Slytherin, Danny is alright," George allowed. "Will is a bit too eager to enforce his power, though. Thankfully he gets a bit of humiliation and we don't have to get our hands dirty. You really don't like to go under water, Harry?" George finished, changing thoughts rapidly.

Harry shook his head vehemently. "And another thing, how are we supposed to find something underwater? Not like I'm doing it anyway, but it isn't like we can breathe under water," Harry replied irritably.

"There are charms for that," Hermione responded.

"Do you know them?"

"Well, not off the top of my head, certainly. With a little time I'm sure we can come up with something," Hermione pointed out.

"Not that I am doubting your academic excellence, Hermione, but you'd have to find an appropriate charm, hope it works for the task ahead and teach it to Harry so he can do it under pressure all in two weeks."

"We might have something better," George offered.

"What?"

"Look, I don't want to say anything at the moment, but give us a day or two and we should have something for you."

"It's something we've been working on for a project for Bill," Fred continued. "And there's always Gillyweed."

"What's that?" Hermione asked quickly.

"It's a plant that if eaten it gives you gills for an hour," Fred answered.

"That has its own set of problems," George countered. "No reversal and it lasts an hour. If you come up before that you're stuck with those bloody gills. Can't breathe air or anything until it wears off, and as Mr. Longbottom pointed out, we don't know what the task will entail. Best to give him a little flexibility, eh?"

"We'll need to know soon, otherwise Harry is going to be out of luck and looking mighty stupid if you lot don't pull through," Neville pointed out.

"We'll let you know tomorrow. We just haven't tested it yet," Fred said, slapping the younger boy on the back.

"Bloody hell! It isn't like I'm doing it anyway. There's absolutely nothing they can take that would make me that desperate to stick my head under water. The bath was bad enough. I've no intention of mucking around in the lake," Harry shouted.

oOo

Harry stood on the edge of the lake, the waters shrouded in darkness. He watched as the semi-frozen water moved ever so slightly under the cold north breeze. Instinctively, Harry tugged his cloak a little tighter about his body, wondering for the umpteenth time why he didn't simply transform into his fur coat and be done with it.

Despite the advantage of his winter coat having come in, Harry stayed resolutely in human form watching the low hanging moon. "Moon's bright tonight," a voice came from behind, but Harry didn't move.

"Mr. Black, should you really be out on two legs?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Harry. A bit past curfew isn't it?"

"Couldn't sleep," Harry grunted.

"Saw that last performance you did, Harry. You've really got a way with them, don't you?"

"Who?"

"Animals, doesn't seem to matter what kind. I'm surprised you didn't try and talk the dragon into giving you the egg."

"I don't speak dragon," Harry chattered, his teeth beginning to clack from the cold.

"You have an idea how you're going to do the task tomorrow?" Sirius asked after a minute or two of silence.

"Fred and George gave me one of their gadgets. You put it in your mouth and it allows you to breathe underwater for an hour or so, and they gave me some goggles and a charm to enchant them. So I can see underwater. The charm wears off after a little bit, though, so I have to do it right before I go in.

"They sound like useful blokes to have on your side."

"They're all right. Ron isn't too bad either," Harry allowed, smiling a little to himself. "He's in detention all this week for fighting with Malfoy. Drew the attention of two professors and all the prefects. I thought he was just skiving off. That's why I was able to figure out the egg without distraction. Doesn't matter, though. I told them, there's nothing they can take that I'm going down there for," Harry ground out.

"Come again?"

"The egg I got was a riddle. We figured it out. They're going to take something and I have to get it back from the merpeople. Doesn't matter, nothing I want back that badly."

"Are you afraid of water, Harry?"

"I just don't like getting my head wet. Showers are ok, but forget baths, and this lake is just one giant bathtub. Before you ask, yes, I can swim, but it isn't like I want to."

"Kneazle to the core, eh? Some of the others in the forest have expressed a similar sentiment."

"You're talking to the Pride?"

"Off and on. My Kneazle still isn't very fluent, but they seem to think I'm a friend of yours, so they let me hang around a bit. The mother one told me to look after you. Said you got into more trouble than her last two litters put together."

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. As long as I show up, they can't be too upset."

"Are you sure there isn't anything you'd want back?"

"I'm invisible enough without the cloak, the map is dead useful, but I reckon you could tell me how you lot made it and I could make a new one. My wand, my knife? Things are replaceable."

"What about people?" Sirius probed.

"What about them?"

"Anyone you'd risk your neck to save?"

"Of course," Harry answered immediately.

"Dumbledore has a funny sense of things," Sirius commented idly.

Harry whirled to face his dogfather for the first time. "Are you saying they're going to take someone?"

"Not at all, I'm just talking out loud. Look, Harry, if you don't want to do it, best you don't. I wouldn't worry too much about tomorrow. You have a plan if you have to and that's all you need."

"I'm still not doing it. They can't make me," Harry reaffirmed, resolutely.

"Not saying they could," Sirius agreed.

The next morning, Harry headed to the forest to catch breakfast. The familiar activity helped to calm his nerves. Despite the scarcity of available prey, he was still the first to the judges table.

"Vaht do you think they took?" Krum grumbled.

Fleur and Harry both shrugged as they waited with anticipation for Ludo Bagman to announce their start. Fleur was braiding her hair, presumably to keep it tight while in the water, Krum began stripping down to his bathing costume, and Harry took out the pair of goggles in his pocket and practiced charming them. Reapplying it several times, though he was sure he had it right the first time.

"I'm not going to do it," Harry muttered, though he was feeling uneasy about the whole thing. He'd checked his trunk that morning before the hunt and both map and cloak were still in place. His knife was tucked beneath his pillow and they hadn't taken his wand. Even his secret stash of Kneazle treats was untouched. So Harry couldn't figure out what they'd taken.

Bagman walked in with an air of confidence and grinned widely at Harry. "Welcome champions!" Bagman announced. "You each did remarkably well in the previous task and you stand here ready for yet another. Be prepared, because as your riddle says, they have taken something you'll sorely miss, or in this case, some one!" Bagman grinned.

Harry felt the adrenaline kick in as he scanned the crowd for his friends and one person in particular. He missed all the other instructions, the one hour time limit and several other seemingly vital instructions. Harry felt his chest ease a little as he found each one. Hermione and Ron were bickering in the stands while simultaneously trying to cheer him on. Luna was explaining something to several sixth-year Ravenclaws who clearly were trying to ignore her, and Neville yelling himself hoarse.

'BANG!' the explosion shook the stands as a large and animated firework exploded above the stands. It formed a stylized badger wearing a traditional wizard's hat pummelling a winged horse and Wolf. Based on the outraged faces on the observers from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, Harry would be willing to wager they were the school's traditional mascots.

"Kill 'em Harry!" called out the unusually loud voice of Bridgette 'Boomer' Smith. Harry smiled briefly, that took care of those three and based on the fireworks Fred and George as well.

The only person he couldn't find was Ginny.

"Begin!" Bagman called and Harry's heart beat faster.

"Where's Ginny?" he yelled. No one heard him.

"Sonorus" Harry whispered, pointing his wand at his throat. "Where's Ginny? Ginny!" Harry bellowed. The crowd went silent, many holding their ears.

"Mr. Potter, it seems she's not here," McGonagall admonished.

Harry didn't listen to the rest of his cousin's lecture. Ginny had promised she'd be here to root him on. The only reason she wouldn't be is if… if she were hostage. Thoughts of her prisoner of sadistic merpeople and tuna, holding his human as revenge for their siblings that he'd eaten flashed through his mind.

He stared at the cold, dark, unforgiving water for a moment and made a decision. To hell with good sense, he was going to save Ginny or die trying. He pulled on his charmed goggles, jammed Fred and George's portable gill into his mouth and removed his wand and knife from their respective sheaths.

He placed the tip of the knife, blade downward, at the top of his breastbone, a millimetre from his skin and slid it rapidly downward. The goblin silver slit the robes as though they were thin paper. The crowd began to giggle a little as Harry, clad in very little remaining, slit several strips of cloth from the now shredded robe and used them to tie his knife sheath firmly in place around his leg.

He walked to the water's edge and gave a brief salute to Ron and Hermione before plunging headlong into the depths of the lake.

"Bloody hell, it's not like Dumbledore is going to let anything happen to her," Ron breathed, astonished at their friend's boldness.

"Are you quite sure?" Hermione sounded a little concerned.

"He could, I suppose," Ron allowed. "But the old man better pray nothing does. I can't imagine what Harry would do."

AN: Here it is the reconciliation you've all been waiting for. I know several of my wonderful reviewers have asked that Harry give as good as he got, but that just isn't the Kneazle way. Not only is she his human, he fancies her in a very serious way. I hope to have chapter 15 ready in another couple of weeks so you can see how the second task and its inevitable aftermath turn out. Since I haven't said it in some time, a hearty thank you to Wsbenge for writing the story 'The Natural Animagus' and giving me the inspiration for the whole Becoming Human series. While at this point I don't think TMNK resembles the Natural Animagus what so ever, the roots are still there. A hearty thank you to all my reviewers and the members of TEAM UPDATE, Rosina Ferguson and Arnel for helping make this story all that it can be.