disclamier: I don't own Harry Potter
Chapter 21
After the Yule Ball Harry realized he didn't have much time to figure out the egg, and he had no idea how he was going to do it. Hermione, Ron, and Neville, but mostly Hermione tried to help him figure it out. Hermione was frustrated she couldn't find anything to help in a book.
Harry would take the egg outside in the cold to avoid the complaints of his follow Gryffindors, who got tired of hearing the thing scream.
"Since when do eggs scream anyway?" Ron demanded one evening, they had taken the egg to Hagrid's to look over cause it was too cold to sit outside with it.
"I don't know, Ron." Hagrid said, sitting a hug mug of tea in front of him. "I've seen eggs do some weird stuff, you wouldn't believe."
"But, those were probably eggs off some magic creature right?" Hermione said, pulling off her gloves. "This egg is empty on the inside."
"True." Hagrid nodded.
"How do you know there is nothing inside it?" Ron asked, frowning.
"I've stuck my hand in it." Harry said, and when they looked at him his face turned red. "What? I thought maybe a piece of parchment or something could be inside that tells me the next task, you just have to ignore the screaming."
"I told you it wouldn't be that easy." Hermione said, she leaned her leg over so it would touch his. Harry and Hermione were sitting across from Ron and Neville at Hagrid's kitchen table, Hagrid sat on the right of both sets of friends facing outword toward the door.
Harry droped his hand under the table and reached over and laid it on Hermione's knee, she looked up at him and smiled, he gave it a squeeze and let go. They had decided to keep their relationship a secret for now, just to see if their feelings were real or if they were just going through something or see if they were going to last more than a few months, the secret was so if it didn't last very long, then their friends wouldn't feel stuck in the middle if they broke up, they would tell them once they saw if it was real feelings or just a faze.
"You don't have much time left." Neville said.
''I know," Harry frowned. "But what can I do if the thing won't stop screaming, it is too annoying to try and figure out, and my ears are starting to hurt."
"I think you should try and listen to the screaming." Hagrid said, looking down into his empty mug. "Might be some sort of creature, you just have to listen real hard to understand it." He stood. "Anyone want more tea?"
Over the next few days Harry did try what Hagrid said, he would take the egg outside or in an empty part of the castle when it started to snow, he would open it and listen real hard only to end up with ringing ears an hour or so later, he almost wrote his mum and dad and ask them if they had any ideas about the egg, but he decded against that, he didn't know rather or not that would be cheating, but he did know his parents would worry about him going into the next task not knowing what to do. So he wrote Sirius instead, sent the letter with some food he smuggled him out of the kitchens, Sirius thought he would have to use spells of some kind to break some enchantment on it to get the clue, so he and his friends spent all their free time at Hermione's favorite place in the world, the libaray.
"I don't think Sirius is right." Hermione said, one afternoon when all four were sitting around a table looking through books. "I don't see anything that could be something that would break a spell like would be on the egg."
"What would we be looking for anyway?" Ron demanded. "Not like any of these spells say they would get an egg to stop screaming and make it talk."
"I have no clue." Neville said, closing the book he was looking in. He looked at Harry and shrugged. "Sorry, mate, I don't even know what we are looking for."
Harry leaned back in his chair and reached under his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "What would happen if I showed up at the second task not knowing what it is?"
"That's not going to happen, Harry." Hermione said. "We'll find something."
"But what if we don't?" Harry asked.
"We will." Hermione said. "I just don't think a spell is going to do anything."
"You'll probably be disqualified or get low points or something like that." Ron said.
"We're going to find a way." Hermione said, gathering up the books they already looked at and headed to put them back, while she was puttting them on one shelf she felt arms go around her waist and she jumped and spun around to see Harry smiling at her.
"Relax," He said. "It's just me." He pulled her to him and bent down to kiss her, she returned the kiss then pulled back.
"Harry, one of the others mght come along and see." Hermione said.
"Ron and Neville are too bussy making quills fight in mid-air." Harry chuckled. "Ron, found some spell in a book."
"Can't take those two anywhere." Hermione laughed, before she reached up and kissed Harry again.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made them jump apart, but when they spun around it was only Cedric Diggory standing there.
"Sorry." He said, smiling. "Ron said you two were back here somewhere."
"Look, Cedric, we don't want anyone-"
"None of my business." Cedric said, holding up his hands. "I don't gossip, whatever you two do or don't do in the shelves of the library is your business." He looked at Hary. "Got a minute, I want to talk to you."
Harry looked at Hermione, whose face was a bit red. "Sure, I'll just go make sure Ron and Neville haven't got themselves thrown out of the library." She turned and left.
"What do you want?" Harry asked, turning back to Cedric as soon as Hermione had turned the corner and was out of sight.
"You haven't figure out the egg clue, have you?" Cedric asked. Harry frowned, then shook his head.
"No, sorry, I haven't" Harry shrugged. Cedric gave a nod.
"I thought so." He said, looked around then leanded in and lowered his voice "Listen, Harry, take your egg with you to take a bath..."
"What?" Harry demanded, frowning.
"Shh..." Cedric put a finger to his lips. "Listen, Harry, take a bath, use the prefect bathroom, fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered, on the fifth floor, he quickly told him the password. Go in there, take a bath and just mold things over in hot water."
"What?" Harry asked again.
"Just think about it." Cedric said. "Ask that smart girlfriend of yours if you don't get it."
"Why are you trying to help me?" Harry asked, Cedric shurgged.
"Cause going by the books I saw Fluer checking out the other day, and seeing Krum jumping in the lake in swim trunks last Hogsmead weekend, you are the only one that hasn't figured it out yet." Cedric shrugged. "Besides, you warned me about the dragons, just repaying you. Think about what I said." Cedric nodded and walked off.
After a moment of just standing there, Harry turned and went back to his friends.
"What did Cedric want?" Hermione asked, as he sat back in his seat.
"Either he was trying to give me a clue to the egg, or he was saying I need to take bath." Harry answered. "Haven't figure it out yet."
"What?" Hermione frowned at him.
"Well, your hair is looking a bit greasy." Ron snickered, Harry picked up his quill and tossed it at him, Ron moved in time to avoid it hitting his shoulder.
Harry looked around then lowered his voice and told them what Cedric had told him, Hermione frowned and kept repeating "Mold things over in hot water." Harry could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
Harry was woken that night to the sound of his trunk closing, or he thought thats what it was, and then moment later the courtain around his bed opened to revile Hermione, who tossed him his cloak at him and the Marauders map.
"Hermione-" Harry begain
"Go take a bath." She said. Harry frowned. "Just like Cedric said, it just came to me, what he was trying to clue you in on, mold things over in hot water."
"Hermione, what are you going on about?" Harry said, Hermione put her finger on her lips and nodded to the sleeping fourth years in Harry's dorm, then lowered her voice to a whisper.
"He meant the egg, Harry." Hermione said, she sat on the side of his bed. "It just came to me, he meant to put the egg in water, reason he said take a bath, to get the clue you have to open the egg in water."
"How is that going to help?" Harry asked. "And have you to be laying in bed all night thinking about this?" Harry frowned, not wanting her to lose out on sleep just to figure out his second task that he wasn't suppose to have help with anyway.
"I was reading." Hermione said. "Couldn't sleep, and it suddenly dawned on me, now Harry please go before it gets too late, right about now, the perfects are all back in their dorms and not many teachers would be out walking the corridors, take your map." She stood. "I'll be waiting for you in the common room." She left the room leavng Harry frowing, and since Hermione didn't seem to be going to bed unless he did what she said, Harry got up, grabbed his cloak and map and left the dorm.
Harry covered himself with the clock and headed up to the perfect bathroom, using the map to make sure no one was about. Once he went in Harry locked the door, then he went over to the tub, which looked more like a small swiming pool, turned the tape on and filled the tub with water, than turned all the many other knobs to fill it with many bubbles.
Harry loved these kinds of bath tubs, there was one in the master bath of the old Potter Mannor the house his dad grew up in, Harry only stayed there a few times during hoildays, his family used it as a vaction house. The house had so many rooms Harry couldn't keep track and a library Hermione would love so much she would want to move in it.
Harry smiled at the thought of his grilfriend and the smile that would light up her face if he ever showed it to her, Harry would have to ask his parents when they planned on vactioning there again, and if he could ask Hermione along, they hadn't been since he started Hogwarts.
Shaking his head of the thoughts he undressed and climbed in the water, he sat there for a bit just enjoying the bath before trying to put the egg in like Hermione had told him to, then fianlly he reached out grabbed the egg, took a deep breath and ducked in opening the egg.
"Come seek us where out voices sound." Hermione asked, Harry nodded, after his little bath he made his way up to the comman room only to be ambushed by a waiting Hermione who demanded to know what happened, Harry explained to her the voice he heard coming from the egg and the song they sung.
"We can not sing above the ground." Harry said next, Hermione frowned.
"While your searching ponder this." Hermione went on "We've taken something you'll sorely miss, an hour long you'll have to look, and recover what we took, but past the hour the prospects black, it's gone, too late it won't come back." She wrote all this down as repeted what Harry told her, she frowned very deeply.
Over the next few days Harry and his friends tried to figure out what the clue meant, Hermione had showed their friends what she had wrote down.
"Sounds like somone is going to take something and you'lll have to get it back." Ron said, Neville rolled his eyes at him, making Harry snicker a little.
"We realize that ,smarty." Hermione said, taking the parchment back. "But what?" She frowned, then suddenly jumped up and ran upstairs, she came back down moments later with an old large book in her hand.
"What's the book for?" Harry asked.
"I had this idea." Hermione said. "The clue says whoever it is can't sing above ground, so I thought maybe that meant they live in the lake, I checked this book out a week or two ago for fun reading, there is a chapter in it that list what kind of creatures are in the lake, now we just need to figure out what would be close to human enough to sing."
"Mermaids." Ron said, Hermone stopped flipping through the book to look up at him with raised eyebrows.
"What?" He asked. "I listened to Lupin last year, remember we studied mermaids."
"That's actually not a bad answer." Hermione flipped to a page about mermaids. "Says here they can only sing in the lake."
"But what about that last of the clue?" Neville asked.
"I think it means I'll be giving an hour to find what they have of mine and if I don't find it within an hour I won't get it back." Harry said. "But what would they take..."
"Something worth money sounds like." Ron said. "Something you'll surely miss."
"Sorely, but it dosen't have to mean it's worth anything." Hermione said. "It just means it's something he would not want to lose the most." Hermione frowned looking through the big book. "What would that be though?"
"I just want to know how I am suppose to hold my breath underwater for an hour to find it." Harry said.
"Oh, that's easy." Neville said, waving his hand. "Gillyweed."
There wasn't a cloud in the sky the day of the second task, but yet it was still very cold, students and fans came walking down to watch the task, they were cheers, yells and laughter,.
Harry was running a bit late; he couldn't find Hermione, she seemed to have disappered, he had Ron and Neville walking next to him, but no Hermione, they were surprised Hermione wasn't waiting for them when they walked into the common room from the dorm when they got up that morning, they sat and waiting for her to come down for over 30 minutes, then Ron sent Ginny up to see what was taking Hermione, she came back down and said she wasn't up there and that Lavender told her Hermione was already gone before any of them got up that morning.
So thinking maybe she was just nervous about the task and had for some reason went down without them they headed down, but when he got to the lake where everyone was at no Hermione.
"Where the heck is she?" Harry demanded. He was worried, he knew Hermione wouldn't just miss the task, so where was she, how could he concentrate on retrieving whatever it was the mermaids took if he was worried about his girlfriend.
"Oh, here. Harry, before I forget." Neville reached in his pocket and pulled out a ziploc bag full of somekind of seedweed looking stuff.
"Gillyweed." Neville exaplned. "Finally got hold of some last night."
"How, I thought you couldn't find any place that had some in?" Harry asked, but Neville didn't get to answer he was cut off by someone calling Harry's name, Harry looked to see his dad waving at him from where the judges sat. He and his two friends walked that way.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Harry asked. James scowled a bit.
"Though I love the chance to watch your task, I am taking Crouch's place at the judges table." James said. "He couldn't make it, said he was ill." James rolled his eyes.
"Maybe he is, James." Harry's mother Lily came walking up behind James. "He has been missing a lot of work." Lily walked around the table to give Harry, Ron and Neville a motherly hug.
"Hope you boys are doing well." Lily smiled. "Getting your homework done on time and such."
"Lily, " James almost laughed. "Now is not the time for such things." Lily rolled her his at her husband and put her arm around Harry's shoulder. Lily was bit tall for a women so Harry only came up to just right before her shoulder.
"He only says that cause he never did any homework when we were in Hogwarts." Lily told him.
"And your mother did extra work." James said. "Just cause she was a teacher's pet didn't mean anyone else wanted to be."
"You were just lazy." Lily said. "A lazy brat."
"Bookworm." James called to her, Harry smiled, he was used to his parents friendly batter back and forth, he knew thay didn't mean it and loved everything about each other even if they acted like they got on each other's nerves.
"Anyway," Lily turned back to the teens. "Where is Hermione?" Harry shrugged.
"We don't know." Neville said. "She seems to have disappered."
"And no one we ask has seen her this morning." Ron said. Lily frowned, concerned on her face.
"Weird." James said, frowning also.
Then Lily's eyes looked over toward the lake and widen. "Umm, boys, why don't you go on down to the lake, I'm sure the task will be starting soon, I'll meet you down there in a minute"
"Okay, Mum." Harry said, he and the others walked off, but not before he saw his Mum give the other judges a dirty look, he wondered what that was about.
"Blimy, Harry, you must have the best parents." Ron said chuckling. "So laid back, and the joking around with each other, they're really great."
"Yeah, they're alright." Harry replied. In truth he loved his parents, and though he loved Mr. and Mrs. Weasley like a second pair of parents, he was glad his wasn't like Ron's or most parents anyway, Harry didn't have a lot of rules, as long as he wasn't doing anything to get into any real trouble, or that would end up with someone or himself hurt, he's parents were usually fine with him doing what he wanted, they hardley bossed him, but they weren't all laid back, when he did wrong he did get punished, his Mum's punisment just wasn't screaming at him when he did wrong.
"I like to know where Hermione is?" Harry frowned.
"This isn't like her to not show up." Ron said, he frowned his eyesbrows, all three boys was looking around as they walked to the pair.
"You don't think some Slytherins done something to her do you?" Neville asked, frowning as Malfoy and his gang of Slytheirns walked by seering at them, but not willying to start one of their fights in a crowd of people.
"They better not have." Both Ron and Harry said, Harry a little more forcful.
Lily was already catching up with them by the time they made it to the dock, Harry frowned when he saw a worried look on his Mum's face.
"Mum, something wrong?" Harry asked, frowning.
Lily didn't answer at first she just glanced at the lake with a worried look on her face. Then turned and hugged Harry.
"Good luck, Harry." She looked up to see the judges walking that way to start the task. Harry glanced that way to see that his dad looked angry. He saw Harry's Mum looking at him and he gave her a slight nod. "Harry, sweetie, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but," She turned back to Harry. "Do you have plan? How you going to stay down in the lake for an hour?"
Harry held up his hand and showed her the gillyweed, Lily smiled.
"Good idea." Lily said.
"It was Neville's." Harry told her. Lily smiled and Neville.
"I should have guess." She said. "You're a smart boy, Neville." She reached out and patted his shoulder. Neville's face turned red as he mumbled a thanks.
"Listen to me, Harry." Lily turned back to her son. "The thing that the merpeople took, what you have an hour to get back, it's Hermione..."
"What?" Harry said, Lily stock a finger to her lips.
"Not so loud, honey, you're not supposed to know." Lily said. "Anyway, I've been assured by Doubledore that no one down in the lake is in any real danger, there is Aurors around who will go retrive anyone the champions don't make it to, but Dumbledore can't really know for sure if the hostages are safe, he might think it, but you can't trust magical creatures who think and act like a human, the merpeople are a very smart bunch, and can think for themselves and do what they please, so please, be very carefull, try and find Hermione as fast as you can and get her and yourself back up here as fast as you can, and please be extra careful, there is all kinds of creatures down in that lake." Lily looked back toward the judges and forced a big smile.
"I wish you good luck, sweetie." She spoke over any questions Harry was about to ask. "Be careful and do your best." She turned him toward the lake. "Hurry now, go stand with the other champions.
Harry had no choice he had to do what his mother said, and worried more than every about his girlfriend.
"Alright champions gather around." Fudge said. "I hope all four of you know what to do to stay under water for an hour?" They all nodded. "Good, now, the rules, you go down in the lake find what it is of yours that was taken, free it, then get back up here all within an hour, after an hour you filed the task and will get bad marks..."
Harry drawned out Fudge staring at the lake, somewhere down there Hermione was, tied up no doubt, how were they keeping them in that water, would see get sick from being down there all night and how in the word could anyone without any guilt tie up a bunch of people down in a lake full of dangerous creauters. Did any of them already get to the people down there, he really hoped Hermione was okay.
The sound of a wrestle jared him out of his thoughts and as the other champions jumped into the lake Harry crambed the gillyweed in his mouth and then dived in, at first nothing, but then Harry's hands became webed. his feet turned into fins, and he grew gills on his neck, smiling Harry begain to swim deeper into the lake, now being able to both breath and see.
The other champions were already out of sight, going different ways, and Harry decided to swim straight; he dosen't know how long he was down there, but it had been a little bit before something tried to attack him, which was a grindylow, it reached out of some seedweed and grabbed his ankle jerking Harry back, startled Harry spin around and started trying to jerk his leg free, he gasped out when the thing dug his claws into Harry's leg, and he brought his other leg back and slapped it in the face with his fin, it mad a loud smack sound that was barley muffled under the water.
After getting away, Harry could help but smack his forehead and mumbled idiot (or tried anyway) he could have just used his wand and cursed the stupid thing, shacking his head, Harry pulled out his wand and swum on, his leg was stinging and he just knew it was bleeding, but he ignored it for now, wanting to get to Hermione.
Harry swam and swam deeper into the lake, hoping he was going the right way, when he heard a sound like a struggle without thinking he followed the sound to see Fluer being attacked by at least five grindlylows, they were all over her, on her back, pulling her hair and gripping onto her leg. Harry could hear her screaming cause she had used a bubble head charm to stay under water.
Harry blasted a couple of them off with a spell, then swum toward her and jerked the rest off, he had to almost fight the last, but Fluer manged to scare it off with a spell, Harry looked up at her to see her taking off swiming back toward of the lake, frowning, Harry turned and contuined his task.
It wasn't long after that, Harry saw a light shinning up ahead, smiling to himself, somehow knowing that was were Hermione would be, Harry took off toward it, his feeling was right, as he got closer he saw Hermiones busy hair flouting around, he immediately went right for her.
Hermione seemed to either be alseep or in some sort of trance, her bushy hair floating up and around, basically all over, and she was tied to a rock by the ankle with some seedweed. He put his wand in his pocket and reached out and pulled on the seedweed, but it wouldn't budge, he looked at it and all around wanting something to cut it, he didn't want to risk a spell, afford he would accidently hit Hermione or one of the other's.
As he looked around for something sharp, Harry noticed it merpople swiming around, keeping an eye on him, and the other hostages who were Cho Chang, the Slytherin girl Krum went to the ball with and a small girl about seven, or eight, that looked like a mini Fluer.
Harry finally spotted a pointy looking rock, it looked something like the end of a spare, that many of the merpople held in there hands, Harry snatched it up and begin to cut at the seedweed, it didn't take too long before Hermione was free, though to Harry it seemed to take hours, she broke loose and started to float to the top, but Harry reached up and grabbed her hand and pulled Hermione to him, he looked around, he knew he had to get her out of here, but he didn't feel right leaving the others here for anything to come along and attack.
A few mintues after Harry had freed Hermione, Cedric came swiming up, he had used the same bubble head charm as Fleur, he nodded to Harry, then pulled out a knife, cut Cho free and after pointing up to Harry, (Who guessed it was Cedric's way of telling him to go) he swim toward the top with Cho in his arms.
Harry frowned and looked around, looking for any sign of Fleur or Krum, he wished they would hurry he really needed to get Hermione out of the lake, but it would be quite a bit of time after Cedric disappered the Krum finally swum up, he had used transfigurations to turn his upper body into a shark, Harry winched as he took his teeth and cut the seedweed in half, Harry was surpried he didn't take the Slytherin girl's leg off, as he watched Krum grab the girl's wrist and swim to the top of the lake.
Harry frowned as he watched for Fleur, just one more to free, but her champion rescuer was no where in sight. Harry couldn't wait any longer, he was already going to be last out, plus he wasn't having Hermione down here any longer, Harry gripped Hermione with one hand and with the other he took the rock and went toward the mini Fleur going to cut her seedweed to free her, but a merman came out of nowhere to stop him.
"Only one." He said, rolling his eyes Harry ignored him and tried once again, only to be stopped, this time when the merman blocked the little girl with his spear, Harry grabbed the hand with his hand, dropped the rock.
"Damn it." Harry swore. Then without meaning to Harry let go of Hermione's arm and she started floating toward the top. By the time he realized it Hermione was already out of reach.
"Damn you." Harry tried to swear, he grabbed the merman's spear with both hands and they struggled over it, then Harry pushed sending him backward, then dropped the spare, pulled out his wand and did a blasting spell, scaring the merman and the other merpeople who had been coming to add him away.
Free now to do what he pleased, Harry found the rock, cut the seedweed free, grabbed the mini Fleur and headed up toward where Hermione floated.
Before he knew it his head broke the surface, and he looked around frowning then sighed in relief when he spotted Hermione, now awake, sitting on the dock, banklet wripped around her and being giving something hot by Madam Pomfry. His mother was standing between Neville and Ron at the edge, He dad at the end next to Neville frowing deeply, all there looked relived to see him, his mother with her hand on her chest.
Harry looked at the mini Fleur, she was awake now, confused With a frighten look on her face as she looked around.
"Don't worry, it's okay, now." Harry said, she starled at his voice looked up at him, then his forhead and her eyes widneed. "That's right, you were saved by the the great Harry Potter," Harry joked. "Something to tell your grandkids about, kiddo." She giggled, making Harry smile a little, as he put his arm around her waist and swim toward the dock.
When he made it there he held the girl up. "Here take her." He demanded.
"What did you wast time saving her for." Ron demanded, as he and Neville pulled the little girl up onto the dock.
"Ron," Lily, cried, smacking his arm. "It was the right thing to do." She smiled down at the little girl. "Pay him no mind, " she said as her and Jamed bent down and pulled Harry on to the dock by his arms, to his surprise his dad hugged him from behind ruffly, and shook him.
"Bloody hell, Harry, I thought you'd drawned on me." His dad sounded close to tears. Lily hugged him from the front.
"Thank, god, Merlin and whoever else might be up there that you are safe." She cried, Harry shivered. "You're cold."
"Here, Mrs. Potter." Hermione appaered by them holding out a blanket.
"Thank you, sweetie." Lily smiled at her and Hermione sat down next to Harry taking his hand and with her other pulled her blanket tighter around her after sitting her mug next to her. Harry smiled at Hermione, relived that she was fine.
Lily threw the blanket around Harry's shoulders and James helped wrapped it around him, shocking Harry even more, his dad, though he knew cared about him a lot wasn't the tocuhy feeling type person, only toward Harry's Mum.
"Here, Lily, I figured you'd want to look after him." Madam Promfy appeared and handed Lily the same hot drink Hermione was drinking, which happened to be hot chocolate, and some other things to tend to Harry's wounds.
"Thanks, Poppy." Lily smiled. Madam Pomfry nodded, and led the mini Fleur off, Harry looked over to see Dumbledore laying on the dock not far from them chatting with the merman Harry fought in what sounded like mermish, when Dumbledore nodded and stood up, smiling a little, and to Harry's surprise when the merman caught Harry looking at him he gave a nod.
"James!" Dumbledore waved James to him, he frowned and went to refuse at first.
"It's okay, James." Lily said. "I got Harry." James nodded, though still looked unhappy to leave Harry, he gave him a pat on the shoulder and went to go see what Dumbledore wanted.
"What happen to your leg." Lily cried, noticing the blood, then got busy healing it while Harry explained about the grindlylow.
"I was so scared when I let go of you." Harry said to Hermione, looking at her. "I'm so sorry."
Hermione shook her head. "Don't apologize, I'm fine you're fine, that's what matters, she smiled at him squeezing his hand, Lily smiled at them both.
"You're probably last now." Ron said.
"Oh, that dosen't matter." Neville said, before anyone could say anything, he flopped down next to Harry and patted his back. "Good job, cool seeing the affects the gillyweed did to you."
"Where did you get the gillyweed anyway?" Harry asked, taking a drink of his hot chocolate.
Neville shook his head. "Don't ask, less you know, the less you'll get blamed, hopefully."
Lily looked up from wrapping a bandage around Harry's leg after putting some magical healing stuff on it, and frowned. "Neville..."
"You saved her." A French voice yelled, before Lily could ask Neville more. Fleur came running over, she grabbed Harry in a tight hug, nearly knocking Lily into the lake, Ron stopped her before that could happen.
"She wasn't yours to save." Fleur kissed Harry on either side of his check. "My sister Gabrielle, you saved her, I was unable, the moment I blasted that grindlylow away my bubble charm broke I had to get to the top, but they would not let me go back to search for her." She kissed Harry one more time. "I just wanted to say thank you, I must get back to her." She gave Harry another kiss and ran off, Hermione glaring at her back.
"Goodness." Lily said. "That girl is excited." She smiled at Ron. "Thanks for saving me from the lake." He didn't answer to busy gloaking at Fleur, Lily shook her head with a small smile then she turned back to Neville going to continue her interrogation, but then Dumbeldore and the other judges walked back on to the dock.
"Quiet please...quiet.." Dumbledore cried. "Thank you, now, after a long talk with the other judges we all came to an agreement." With those words James glared hard at Karkaroff, before walking back to Harry and Lily, helping them both to stand, Harry helped Hermione, who picked up her mug and Neville stood on his own.
"Time for use to revile the points." Dumbledore said. "First, Fleur Delacour, who did a wonderful bubble head charm, though she may have been the first to come up, she did not complete the task, therefor we will award her forty-five points for good use of a charm and for effort."
Everyone clamped, Harry glanced toward Fleur who was standing with her sister, she was shaking her head.
"Next, is Victor Krum, who done well with transfiguration and second to last to come up, is award fifty-five points, well done, Victor, well done."
Everyone clapped again, Harry couldn't help but noticed Karkaroff didn't look very happy about it.
"Next is Cedric Diggory, who also did a nice job with a bubble head charm, and was first up with his hostage, so he is awarded sixty points." Dumbledore said.
More clamping and a few cheering this time, Harry looked over at Cedric, they nodded at each other.
"Last, but certainly no lest we get to Harry Potter." Dumbldore said. "However...however...we did have to take certain things into consideration, I spoke with the cheif of the merpeople and he told me Harry was the first to make it to the hostages, but refuse to leave until he knew they were all safe and even fought him a little to be able to free little Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur Delacour's hostage, when she was unable to save her, we judges talked it over and decided for his concern for others and not caring if he lost this task or not." Dumbledore took a breath and went on. "We have decided for his brilliant use of gillyweed, bravlery and the ablitiy to think of others before himself we are awarding Harry Potter sixty points meaning...meaning..." Dumbedore had to raise his voice to be hard over the cheers of the crowd. "Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory are now tied for first place , they will start the next task together, which isn't until June, the champions will be told what that is sometime before then."
Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands. "In the mean time, why don't we put that in the back of our minds until then, it is close enough to dinner time for use all to go to the Great Hall and grab a bit of dinner, celebrate the victory of the champions and that all the hosgtes were retrived safe and sound, oh, and I'm sure the champions and hosgtes would like to change into something dry."
With that Dumbedore turned and headed toward the castle, Harry's friends started patting him and congraturating him, Ron mumbled something about even when he was wrong he was right, James ruffled his hair and Lily hugged him tightly.
When Harry was finally let go he turned to Hermione, she smiled at him, he smiled back, and before he knew it she was tossing her cup of hot chocolate into Ron's hand, who cried out as the hot drink spilled on his fingers and Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him, shocked at first, Harry passed his cup of chocolate to his mum, who took it smiling big, and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and kissed her back.
When they broke apart everyone was staring at them, Hermione turned to Neville and Ron whose mouths were hanging open.
"What?" She demanded. "I have a right to kiss my boyfriend." She shruggged and turned back Harry slipping her hand in his. "Lets go get some dry clothes on, and then go eat, I'm starving."
Smiling Harry and Hermione headed toward the castle with everyone staring at their backs still shocked, all but Lily who was grinning ear to ear.
A.N. I'm going to leave it there, hope you like it, sorry this chapter took so long, I wasn't really into it, since I don't care for the second task once so it was a fight to get it written, hopefully next chapter will be up soon, which may or may not have third task, depends on if I come up with anything in between, but I might go ahead and write it or start it anyway, kind of want to get fourth year over with and move on to fifth.
A.N. Oh, and sorry for any mistakes I had to use my iPad to spell check it with my iPad, using the autocorrect and a dictionary cause every time I tried on my laptop it crashed on me, I did my best checking over a couple times and been at it for hours, hopefuly it's not too bad😊