I stared out at the lake in boredom. These people obviously didn't think this task through. I mean, it was good in theory, but staring at a lake for and hour was kind of boring, especially after dragons. Plus, there was the whole winter thing that made the area rather chilly. I felt bad for Delacour, the part veela. The cold and her probably did not agree.
As the task had been explained to everyone, the champions needed to retrieve people from the bottom of the lake and would have an hour to do so. Harry had figured his clue out eventually, probably with a little outside help. He was using gillyweed to breath underwater for an hour, curtesy of Longbottom if the exchange I saw earlier was related to the task and not a drug deal.
This task, on top of being boring for the spectators, seemed extremely dangerous and stupid. Not only for the competitors, but for the people at the bottom of the lake as well. What if they didn't get them out in time? They hadn't signed up for the competition, and none of them were of age either. I even doubted any of them would have consented to going into the lake… with the exception of Ronald I suppose, he always wanted to be the center of attention.
I was worried about Harry though. He had had a rather… bad start. Not to mention that he had only figured the clue out recently and had to scramble to prepare. I seriously wondered how that boy made it through the first 13 years of his life without dying. He's been in mortal peril since birth. Maybe he had luck potion running through his veins.
Remus and Sirius' words entered my brain again. I refused to admit that I had a crush on Potter. I mean, chances were he wouldn't live long enough for a serious relationship. He was a danger magnet. I didn't need that kind of energy in my life.
Harry and I had spent some more time together since the Yule Ball. He had come with me on a few of my walks in the forest. Never to see the centaurs or thestrals or spiders, but just when I needed to clear my head and he happened to see me on the map. When he joined me, I tended to stay on the forest's edge.
The twins and I pulled a prank not too long ago. This one had been a long time coming too. We hadn't pulled anything big all year, but one morning everyone in the castle woke up with words written on their heads. They weren't derogatory or anything, just random words. Mine had been Mistress. Theirs had said Master and Mister. Odd choices but I went with them. Dumbledore's had said Flippernugget.
I was glad I wasn't Harry though. His head had said Lightning Queen all day. I had laughed when the twins mentioned it and that had been where the prank had started. When I saw Harry that day he had a put out look on his face and a glare for anyone who dared laugh. That included me.
A person breached the surface of the lake, knocking me out of my thoughts. It was too early, there was no way someone had completed the task after only 20 minutes, especially considering the guardians that lived in Black Lake. Fleur swam to shore, shivering and unable to continue, just like I had assumed, she didn't do well with the cold. She burst into tears only moments after getting on the dock, her baby sister was under the lake.
I knew immediately that Harry was going to save her. Him and his stupid saving people thing. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to save everyone down there.
When Cedric broke the surface with Cho Chang near the end of the hour, I was hopeful. When Krum arrived with Hermione only minutes later, that hope sank to the bottom of the lake. Neither of them had the girl. Harry would be getting hurt it seemed. Hopefully he didn't drown first, I thought as I glanced at the countdown that was rapidly approaching zero.
Two figures broke the surface and I leaned forward slightly, trying to see who they were, maybe he hadn't saved her after all.
When I saw a head of red hair and one of blonde hair I started to get scared. The hour had run out and Harry was still under the water. Only minutes later Harry flopped onto the dock like a fish, obviously trying to expel the water from his lungs. I wanted to run down and see him, talk to him, probably berate him, but my house and my false pretenses stopped me. This was one of the few times that I wished my circumstances were different. Harry was hugged and kissed on each cheek by Fleur for rescuing her sister before being carted back towards the castle.
This time I was the second to last to leave the area, still staring at the lake where Harry had just almost died for the umpteenth time. Blaise Zabini approached me and sat next to where I had sat after the competition had been explained. He looked at me with clouded eyes and an odd look on his face.
"You seem awfully concerned about Potter."
"You seem awfully concerned about me." I replyed, he looked at me for a few moments.
"Secrets only stay a secret for so long, Moon. I hope you're ready when the fallout occurs." He stood to leave, and I watched him go. This was the problem with Slytherins. They say things like they're threats, but they don't mean them as such. I was wondering if this was meant to be a threat or not. I was also left to wonder what he thought my secret was.
I stayed where I sat until Zabini was long gone. A dog approached me and nuzzled my cheek. I looked over to see Sirius, in dog form, and latched onto him, holding his fur for dear life.
"I may have a small crush on him…" I whispered, the dog gave a rumble of agreement in return. "He needs to stop almost dying." The dog barked this time. "I might be in trouble…" The dog stayed silent, watching me with those overly intelligent eyes.
I avoided Harry for most of the lead up to the final task. It was only when he and Hermione approached me in the library one night about a week before it was set to take place that I spoke to him again. They asked for my help training Harry in some extra defense. The final task was a maze that held dark creatures. I agreed if only to keep Harry from dying. He was an okay student at least, though I mostly showed him offensive spells since that's what he seemed to favor. He would need to learn defensive spells at some point.
Sitting in the stands staring at the maze that was the final task, I realized they hadn't thought this task through either. The audience couldn't see anything inside the maze, it being to high and too thick to get a clear look inside. Harry, tied for first with Cedric, entered the maze first, soon followed by Krum, and then Fleur.
It was a long time before sparks flew into the air, signalling someone drawing out of the competition. Another jet soon followed. Only Harry and Cedric remained.
The stands were silent as everyone waited for someone to appear with the cup. I heard an odd sound come from the maze. Well, odder than all the other sounds that were coming from it. It sounded almost like a portkey (Sirius had made me well versed in magical travel over the summer to help me blend in). That would make sense, except nobody showed up in the starting area with the cup. I had a bad feeling about what was about to happen.
I stood to leave and was almost to the exit of the stadium when Harry reappeared. Cheering started, but my breath caught in my throat. There was a body in Harry's arms. I could tell the second everyone noticed because Mr. Diggory started screaming and he rushed forwards, only to be held back by other adults. He broke their hold and raced to his son's body.
Harry was whisked away by Moody. I still had a bad feeling in my gut. It may have been guilt for thanking all the gods that it wasn't Harry's body that had appeared, but Cedric's, but it could also be because I didn't trust Moody even slightly. I began to walk towards the castle, only to be passed by Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall racing past me to get there first. Something was wrong. The professors never ran when everything was going well.
I followed at a distance and watched everything that happened in the defense office from just outside under a disillusion charm. Moody was an escaped death eater, Barty Crouch Jr. That was a twist I wasn't expecting. The real Moody was in a chest in the office. That was a little unsettling. Voldemort had returned to his full glory. That was very, very bad. He was after Harry. That was terrifying.
We sat in silence for most of the train ride home. Harry had seen Cedric die, it tended to put a damper on the mood.
I sat between Harry and the window. Hermione sat on his other side. Ronald sat on the floor in front of him and the twins on the bench across from us.
"I still can't believe it." Ronald said for the umpteenth time.
"Yes, we heard you the first several times Ron. Now shut up." Fred stated with an eye roll and a glare.
"Sorry. It's just… so surreal. He was always so happy and, and Hufflepuff-y." It was my turn to glare at the menace.
"What does that even mean?" Hermione muttered.
"And now he will forever be remembered as the guy who He killed when he returned to power. Makes you wonder what you'll be remembered for, doesn't it?" Ronald asked. For once a semi-intelligent question.
"What kind of person you are is what you're remembered for, not your house at school. He'll be remembered as happy, loyal, and brave." Hermione stated.
"What kind of person do you all think people will remember you as?" Harry asked, it was the first he'd spoken the whole journey.
"Jokesters?" Fred asked looking to his twin.
"Pranksters," George answered.
"Smart, know-it-all." Hermione stated.
"The youngest boy of the Weasley clan," Ron said with distaste.
"The boy who lived." Harry said with despair. Everyone looked at me, I looked at them in turn.
"The girl nobody would go looking for," I stated, turning to look out the window again. This was going to make Remus and Sirius unbearable. It would also mean moving into a house that was much better protected than where we currently were. Probably the one under the Fidelus Charm that they had mentioned in one letter. Sirius' childhood home, he hated it. This would not be good for his recovery after Azkaban. It also probably meant more cleaning.
"That's not true. We'd go looking for you." Harry said, gesturing to the rest of the compartment.
"Speak for yourself." Ron muttered, earning him a kick from the four others. He grunted, I wasn't bothered. It was no secret there was no love lost between the two of us. I wouldn't go looking for him either. He also still thought I was a stuck-up, pureblood, evil Slytherin.
Remus and our 'dog' were waiting for me on the muggle side of Kings Cross when we arrived. Remus placed an arm over my shoulder and led us to an alleyway not far away in order to apparate us. We appeared in a park I'd never seen before.
Remus passed me a slip of parchment with an address on it as we exited the park onto the street. When I looked up after reading it I saw a building being revealed in between number 11 and number 13 Grimmauld Place.
"We moved your stuff in already. The three of us have bedrooms on the top floor. The Weasley's will be joining us soon enough, and Hermione soon after. Harry will be coming at the end of summer. Dumbledore wouldn't let him come any sooner." Remus explained as we walked up the path to enter the house. It was dark and dreary inside and when Sirius became human he grimaced at the place. A sudden screeching brought my attention to a portrait of a mulish looking woman on the wall near the entryway. Both men leapt to action and pulled the drapes on her portrait after silencing her once more.
"My mother. Try to be quiet and not wake her. Don't be surprised if she calls me a blood traitor, Remus a half breed, and you a mudblood. She always knows."
This summer would not be fun.
Disclaimer: The end of fourth year. Next up, the pepto bismol toad's reign of terror.