Chapter 20
I finally fell out of bed on Boxing Day and wandered down to the common room, yawning loudly. Ron and Hermione and I and Harry had reached an unspoken agreement not to discuss their argument and I had to force polite exchanges with Harry. The conversation was stiff and oddly formal as the boys filled us in on a conversation they'd overheard the night before. However the news that Hagrid was half-giant didn't shock us as much as they thought.
The rest of the holidays felt a bit flat now Christmas was over and for most of the time, I sat in the common room, doing the homework I had neglected to do at the start of the holidays. I hardly saw Blaise, only at meal times where he would flash me a grin, but as the first day of the new term arrived, I was surprised when he caught up with me in the corridor and slipped his hand in my own.
We were nearly inseparable after that however it was with some difficulty. The Slytherins were even more vile over the upcoming weeks than usual and even stooped so low as to co-ordinate a surprise attack on Blaise. I spent the rest of that evening mopping up his wounds as he was too proud to go and see Madame Pomfrey. It wasn't only the Slytherins that seemed to disapprove either. Many Gryffindors would turn there noses up at Blaise and me, ignoring and looking at us with open hostility when once they would have treated me warmly. Despite that, being with Blaise brightened up my day and we would often find ourselves, sitting in the library or the grounds, preferring to be alone rather than face the stares and people judging us.
Ron was still sour and Harry pointedly didn't even acknowledge Blaises' existence. Hermione on the other hand was perfectly fine with it and was even starting to enjoy studying with Blaise. Such as it was, we found ourselves walking across the lawns together, Blaise in tow until we came across Harry sitting silently on a rock, looking across the lake. Quickly Blaise disappeared sensing we needed a minute.
"I have a confession," muttered Harry, lowering his eyes and fumbling with his scarf. "I can't work out the egg."
"You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!" said Hermione indignantly, managing to look both worried and angry.
"Keep your voice down!" said Harry crossly. "I just need to - sort of fine-tune it, all right?"
"The task is two days from now!" she said panicky.
"Really? I had no idea." Harry said sarcastically, looking back towards the pebbles under our feet.
"I have to go to the library! I'm going to try and find anything that could help." Hermione leapt up and was half-running, half-walking back up to the castle. Although Harry stayed silent I could tell he was troubled and probably desperate for a miracle. I toyed with my wand, levitating small stones and skimming them across the still water of the lake, still frozen in places. Finally, I managed to ask something that had been bothering me for a few weeks.
"You are trying to work this egg out aren't you…" I said anxiously, "You haven't just given up?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he almost snapped, glaring at me. He intended me to wither under his heated gaze however I drew myself up and frowned at him.
"It just means that these tasks are designed to test you, in the most brutal way they're almost cruel. And-um-" I cleared my throat and pulled on his arm so he was properly facing me. "I'm scared for you."
Harry let out a heavy sigh and pulled away, standing so that he could pace across the small shore in front of me.
"Well, after the Yule Ball had ended," I shifted uncomfortably, as he spoke "Diggory told me to go and, I quote, "take a bath" in the Prefect's bathroom."
I quirked an eyebrow trying not to let a small smile play on my lips.
"A bath? What's that got to do with anything?"
"Well, Diggory said to take my egg and that should help me work out the clue." he stopped pacing and looked at the water thoughtfully watching small ripples distort his reflection.
"It's the best chance you've got Harry, go for it," I shrugged. There was no other way of working out the egg that I could see. Anything was better than nothing. That night, around midnight, Harry came running to us, his hair still wet and droplets running down his face, clutching his egg. We were sat in front of the fire and he immediately relayed the clue to us.
'Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground.
And while you're searching, ponder this,
We've taken what you'll sorely miss.
An hour long you'll have to look,
To recover what we took.
But past the hour – the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'
The next two days, we spent every waking moment we could spare in the library, desperately searching for any sort of charm or way Harry would be able to breathe underwater. We tried everything and I was getting more and more wound up, for Harry's sake. We had a break from our nervousness when Sirius sent us a letter, requesting the date of the next Hogsmeade weekend, but buried ourselves once more among the dusty volumes.
The evening before the second task found us all once again in the library. It was nearing ten o'clock and I was shattered. Ron kept slipping into sleep, hanging onto Harry's egg, while Hermione was talking non stop to herself while pacing, every so often yanking a book from the shelves and skimming through it. I was staring down at the book open in front of me, my head resting heavily on my hand as I tried not to let my eyes drop shut. Harry however was ploughing through books, the distress evident in his face.
"There must be something," Hermione muttered, picking up a candle and holding it close to the book shelves so she could see the titles. Half-an-hour later Fred and George turned up looking for me, Ron and Hermione. To our surprise we were wanted in McGonagall's office and assuring Harry we wouldn't be too long, we followed the twins.
We knocked and entered McGonagall's office and found Professor Dumbledore, Percy, in the place of Mr. Crouch, Moody, Snape and McGonagall herself, waiting for us.
"Ah, please come in and take a seat." I looked round to see five other students there including Cho Chang. Ron stood with the other boys while me and Hermione both sat and looked at the teachers curiously.
"You must all be wondering why I summoned you here." said Dumbledore, staring at us over his half-moon spectacles. "Four of you, I am going to be asking you if you would be kind enough to help me with the second task. I am sure each of the champions will have already worked out the clue-"
I swore for a moment that his eyes flashed over at us three but he never faltered.
"- and so you may be aware that the champions will each have a treasure of sorts to retrieve. Four of you are those treasures."
Everyone was looking at each other apprehensively, unsure as to why we would be needed, but Dumbledore merely smiled and continued.
"If you will permit me, I will be placing you all in an enchanted sleep, then you shall be taken to the bottom of the lake for your champion to find," Cho Chang particularly looked very worried and suddenly all of us were praying that we wouldn't be the one's who were 'treasure'. "Do not worry, however, you will be completely safe, and I hope you all understand I would never let any harm come to any of you. You will only reawaken we your resurface."
Suddenly, as Dumbledore smiled at each an everyone of us, the fears and reservations seemed to just float away. One couldn't help trusting Dumbledore.
"Now, if I may ask, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Delacour and Miss Chang to step forward please." They did so and I looked at the others I was left with. A pretty blonde from Beauxbatons, a Durmstrang and a boy I vaguely recognized from Hufflepuff. I watched with wide eyes as the other four were placed in an enchanted sleep and levitated from the office, escorted by Snape, Percy and McGonagall. Dumbledore turned to us and his eyes twinkled reassuringly.
"Now, you four have been chosen as your champions 'second'. This concept is similar to duelling. We have selected you as you four are the ones your respective champions trust, treasure and need above all others," Dumbledore stressed, smiling at us all "After this task is over, it is your job to aid your champion in anyway you can. However, you will not rejoin them tonight but don't worry; you shall be reunited with them after the Task tomorrow." Dumbledore's face turned very serious and he leant forward, meeting each of our eyes. "Your champions will soon need you more than you ever dreamed. You will be all they have and soon the time will come for your loyalty to be put to the test."
I almost jumped as Dumbledore's bright blue eyes met mine and held them. I had been listening intently and took his words to heart. Thinking about it, Harry was my champion and it was weird to think of him in such a way. As Dumbledore showed us to the hospital wing and we slept in there for the night, my mind raced always bringing me back to Harry. And with startling finality, as I drifted to sleep, I realized I would do anything for Harry, no matter what the cost.
-.-
Early that morning, I woke with a violent shock, scrabbled around in the covers until I fell with a hard thud off the bed. Groaning, I sat up, rubbing my bum and was met by a pair of luminous golf balls. I muffled my yell in the covers and tried to stand up but I was too tied up in the covers. Finally I stopped wriggling and was able to make out a small figure, most likely being:
"Dobby!"
"Miss, miss! Harry Potter! Dobby needs him, miss!" squeaked Dobby, jumping up and down on his small feet. I frowned and propped my self up on my elbows, looking at the small elf.
"Why? What-"
"Harry Potter must find his Wheezy!" I stared at Dobby bewildered as he climbed up on my stomach almost frantic with panic.
"'Wheezy'? What is a-" then it hit me. "Ron, you mean Ron don't you."
His big eyes bored into mine as he nodded slowly. I struggled to get up and Dobby jumped off me looking at me and wringing his hands.
"Er- Dobby can I have some help, please?" I could hear the other 'seconders' starting to stir and I really wasn't in the mood to explain why I was talking to a house-elf.
"Yes, miss, of course, miss," Once I was free of the sheets, I sat on the bed pushing my hair from my eyes but Dobby began pulling my hand trying to make me stand up and he was surprisingly strong for such a small elf.
"Dobby must find Harry Potter! Hurry, miss, hurry!"
"Wait, Dobby, slow down. Harry is probably in Gryffindor Tower." I said, yanking the elf back so I could talk to him properly.
"Then Dobby will check, miss," he disappeared in a crack just as the other began sitting up and rubbing their eyes. I hurriedly turned away and tugged the hangings around me, putting on clothes before Madame Pomfrey brought in breakfast. We weren't allowed to see the champions until after the Task and the hospital wing was on lockdown.
Finally we were allowed out at nine o'clock, and I almost ran down to the lake where stands had been erected overlooking the glossy black water, where in there somewhere was Hermione and Ron. My heart lurched as I realized there was no sign of Harry. Cedric, Fleur and Krum were all ready looking more confident than they had last time, over by the judges but I couldn't go any further and was ushered into the stands. I prayed that Harry had found an answer and Dobby found him before he missed it.
Suddenly an idea hit me and I ducked down under the stands unnoticed by anyone. It was quarter past nine and desperately I shouted out for Dobby. He appeared with aloud crack, covered by the roar of the crowds his eyes shining with unshed tears.
"Miss, Dobby cannot find Harry Potter!" his voice was unnaturally high and he was gripping a beam under the stands tightly. "Where could Harry Potter be miss, where?"
"Dobby, go to the library, quick!" Without a moment to spare, Dobby was gone and I climbed back into the stands and sat beside Cedric's second. It was a tense few minutes as I waited, my eyes trained on the Entrance Hall doors and every time a last-minute straggler left the castle my heart would jump. I was so anxious that I almost missed Harry as he flew down the steps and across the lawns, his hair swept back as he ran.
I almost jumped up but restrained myself and could only stare at Harry as he bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. Yet he barely had time to recover for Dumbledore was already using 'Sonorus' to make his voice boom across the grounds.
"All our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on the sound of the canon. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One . . . two . . . three!"
As the canon released the signal to start, all the champions waded into the lake and everyone but Harry performed their spells and plunged under the water. The stands had erupted with cheers and applause but they soon turned to mutters of confusion, laughter and jeering. For a moment I worried he hadn't been able to find a solution but then he clapped his hands around his neck and submerged under the water.
Now the champions were under, that was our cue. I leapt up and ran down to the lakes edge so I could stand and wait for Harry. It was freezing as I waited, but I paced back and forth past the judges, nervously casting glances at the water. Fleur was the first to resurface, staggering out of the lake, dark blotchy red blemishes all over her ghostly white skin. Her second ran forward and caught her before she fell and immediately Madame Pomfrey was upon her, taking her to the First Aid tent.
All too soon the hour was up and it was not only me that was getting anxious. Cedric head eventually appeared above the surface as he helped Cho, her on his back, followed shortly by Krum and to my surprise Hermione. I grinned as she too seemed to realize that she was the thing he would miss the most and they swam back to shore together. I had towels ready at hand and threw them on Hermione; her teeth where chattering and her face was almost blue.
"You okay?" I asked guiding her in the direction of Madame Pomfrey.
"Yeah, but it's freezing in there!" she mumbled through numb lips. Leaving her with Krum I stared over the lake, looking for any slight disturbance. Dumbledore was muttering with the other judges and it seemed they had come to some sort of agreement for he turned with his wand held high but as he did so, the familiar mop of dark hair broke the water, followed by a familiar redhead and a silvery sheen.
My heart doing small somersaults in my chest, I waded into the freezing water, gasping at the cold, and held my hand out. It was then the noise from the crowd reached my ears. The boys finally got to where they could stand and I grabbed the little girl, pulling her close to me and stuck out my hand to steady Ron.
Once we were at the shore and Fleur had relieved me of her sister and Ron was carted off by Percy I turned to Harry and pulled him in close, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Don't do that again!" I almost shouted in his ear, but managed to keep my voice down. "You could have died!"
Harry was freezing and I was reluctant to let go, trying to share my body heat with him. Grabbing more towels, I threw them over his shoulders and rubbed his arms to try and stop his teeth from chattering.
"Come here, you," said Madam Pomfrey, seizing Harry. After forcing pepper-up potion down his throat, making steam gush from his ears, she sat us in the tent with the other champions and hostages.
"Harry, well done!" Hermione cried. "You did it, you found out how all by yourself!"
I looked at him curiously, wondering how he had found out how to do it, but his blue lips and shivering put it from my mind and I used a heating charm to warm him up.
"Thanks Allie," he said grinning sheepishly.
"You're well outside the time limit, though, Harry… you didn't take the song seriously did you?" I said with a raised eyebrow. The embarrassment on Harry's face was enough to tell me he had and I let the subject drop. When Fleur came to thank Harry, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous when she kissed him twice on each cheek, but I was distracted by Dumbledore's magically magnified voice calling out the marks, causing the crowds to fall silent.
Despite Harry arriving well outside the time limit, he was awarded second place and the crowds went nuts. Ron thumped Harry on the back as we swamped him, cheering.
"There you go. Harry!" Ron shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick after all - you were showing moral fiber!"
We headed back up to the castle in high spirits. The third task was to take place on the twenty-fourth of June which seemed ages away and as we headed up for the party in the common room, I was just relieved this task was over.
-.-
As March came around, the weather seemed to get violent, huge roaring winds encircling the castle, even blowing the owls off course. However the brown owl did make it to breakfast on Friday morning with Sirius's reply, albeit half its feathers were sticking up the wrong way.
Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can.
Despite my reservations, I desperately wanted to see Sirius again and was almost excited to see him. Yet my good mood was flattened by an appearance of a scandalizing article about me, Harry, Hermione and Krum in Witch Weekly. Double Potions was just embarrassing as Snape happened to find a copy and took great pleasure in reading out snippets for the Slytherins enjoyment. I stared resolutely at the ground avoiding anyone's eyes particularly Blaises' and Harry's as I felt my face get redder and redder.
"… 'Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.' How very touching," sneered Snape finally, rolling up the magazine, throwing it back at me. The article had detailed very explicitly my relationship with Blaise and the few arguments I'd had with Harry. I couldn't look at either of them but just ground my teeth, swearing I was going to make Rita Skeeter pay.
Saturday afternoon couldn't have come quick enough and after apologizing to Blaise, telling him I couldn't go to Hogsmeade with him, I left him looking wounded, watching me with hints of jealousy as I ran after Harry and the others. The weather was much better and as we entered Hogsmeade the sun was beginning to shine. The food Sirius had told us to bring was in Harry's bag; we had managed to sneak a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table.
As soon as I saw Sirius waiting for us, his front paws on the topmost bar of the stile. I dropped down next to him and he brushed up against me, his fur tickling my cheeks, then licked Harry's hand and wagged his tail before bounding over the stile and up the hill.
As we climbed higher and higher, we finally found the place where Sirius had been hiding; through a narrow fissure was a cool dimly lit cave. Hermione bowed and ran forward to where Buckbeak was tethered at one end of the cave however I simply looked at the black dog who had just transformed into Sirius. I moved forwards and he met me half-way gripping my arm tightly.
"Allie," he looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on my face, before he turned to Harry and caught his shoulder with his other arm. "Harry, you're alright?"
Harry could only nod and slung his bag off his shoulder and handed it to Sirius. His black hair was longer than it had been when he had appeared in the fire, and it was untidy and matted once more. He was also looking very thin, much thinner.
He pulled a chicken leg out and began to rip it apart hungrily. I examined him worriedly, his eyes looking a hollow and empty.
"What're you doing here, Sirius?" Harry said, lowering himself to the ground next to me.
"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," he said, gnawing on the chicken bone. I wanted to ask him so many questions but the truth was, I was shocked by his appearance. I barely listened as they talked; trying to see the happy, laughing young man I'd seen in so many pictures.
Sirius was keen to talk about the Triwizard Tournament, Mr. Crouch and he was rather eager to know about Winky. I properly began to listen when I immediately noticed Sirius's face darken and his whole body looked as menacing as it did the first time I'd met him. He stood and paced, us listening in a semi-state of fear.
"Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing . . . the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere… panic… confusion… that's how it used to be."
I blanched my chest constricting. It was difficult to even dream of what the war was like and it scared me to know that whatever anyone said, we would never know the full horrors. The sickening feeling in my stomach increased when he told us of Crouch's son whom he sent to Azkaban and the deadened look in Sirius's eyes became more pronounced.
"I saw the Dementors bringing him in, watched them through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though… they all went quiet in the end… except when they shrieked in their sleep…"
I pushed myself up from the ground quietly and made my way over to the fissure, breathing in the fresh mountain air. I could barely stand to listen anymore and didn't want to even think of Sirius huddled in his cell, alone in the dark. I stared off into space rather than listen to anymore and found myself staring down at the tiny village almost wishing I was sitting in the Three Broomsticks with Blaise, drinking Butterbeer. Over an hour later, we began our slow trek back to Hogwarts, Dad accompanying us to the stile. We all pat him on the head once but before I could turn away he caught my sleeve between his teeth and pulled my hand closer. He carefully studied the Black ring on my finger before releasing me then gave a short bark before trotting back up the hill.
-.-
The next week was a nightmare. Sunday we visited Dobby in the kitchens and Hermione was appalled to see the state Winky was in she tried to no avail, to persuade the House elves they were entitled to rights which resulted in us being banished from the kitchens. Harry and I sent some food packages for Sirius, a.k.a Snuffles we were calling him when anyone was about, instead of listening to Ron and Hermione argue again.
The next morning however, started off terrible. A cluster of owls landed in front of us during the morning post all which where addressed to either me or Hermione.
"How many subscriptions did you take out?" said Harry referring to her Daily Prophet subscription, seizing Hermione's goblet before it was knocked over.
Hesitantly I took a letter from a tawny owl and opened it and as I did I felt my blood boil. Every letter had a threatening, hateful message directed at me. I swallowed, avoiding the curious eyes of everyone in the Hall and screwed up the letter. They were all the same, even Hermione's. It seemed the many people had actually believed Rita Skeeter and viewed us both as heartless, twisted users who only wanted Harry for his fame.
I stopped opening them when Hermione was sent undiluted bubotuber pus which caused her hands to break out in large painful looking boils. As she ran to the hospital wing, I whipped out my wand and burnt every letter, staring down at the ashes in frustration.
The rest of the week did not fare any better. Hate mail continued to arrive and even those people who didn't read Witch Weekly knew all about the two supposed 'Harry-Hermione- Krum' and 'Harry- Allie- Blaise' love triangles now. It was complicated enough without Blaise and Krum added to the equation. And it seemed that Blaise was getting just as much bother as I was. Harry had grudgingly put aside his animosity and Blaise had joined us at the Gryffindor table after being shunned by the Slytherins, yet their conversations were strained and formal.
Hermione seemed determined to discover how Rita Skeeter had known about so many things she'd written in the article, things like Krum asking Hermione to join him in Bulgaria for the summer or me and Blaises' first kiss at the Yule Ball.
"Haven't we got enough to worry about?" Ron asked her irritably one day. "Do we have to start a vendetta against Rita Skeeter as well?"
He was right. The workload was beginning to pile up and between worrying about Sirius and sending letters that received no reply and keeping up with the homework, I had no time to worry about much else and chose to ignore the vicious rumours. However a real shock came when Molly sent her usual package of Easter Eggs.
I stared at my plain, rather small egg, similar to Hermione's, whereas both Harry's and Ron's were the size of dragon eggs and full of homemade toffee. It hurt to know that my own family, my own flesh and blood, would believe Rita Skeeter and side with Harry over me. A horrible thought struck me and I wondered whether Sirius had seen the article and was therefore not replying to my letters.
By the start of the summer term, I was feeling thoroughly miserable and kept mostly to myself, only speaking to Blaise, Harry, Ron and Hermione. One night we sat in the common room in the corner and Harry suddenly darted over to us and launched into frantic explanation. He told us all about his encounter with a seemingly delirious Mr. Crouch, however after he'd gone to fetch Dumbledore, there was no sign of him.
"Okay. . . how's this for a theory," said Ron excitedly, as we attempted to make sense of the whole thing. "Krum attacked Crouch - no, wait for it - and then Stunned himself!"
"And Mr. Crouch evaporated, did he?" said Hermione coldly. We decided to just write to Sirius, however I wasn't up to attempting to send him another letter and get no response- yet again. Instead I wrote to Moony mentioning briefly my concerns about Sirius. I received his response the next day at breakfast, as Harry got a reply from Sirius.
"Who's he, to lecture me about being out-of-bounds?" said Harry in mild indignation as he folded up Sirius's letter and put it inside his robes. "After all the stuff he did at school!"
"At least he's worried for your safety." I muttered, stabbing my pancakes violently.
The most exciting thing that happened over the next few days was Harry falling asleep in Divination then waking up yelling and clutching his scar. He'd had a terrifying vision involving Voldemort and we sat up late discussing it in the common room and what Harry was telling us sent tremors of terror through my body.
"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again?" Ron whispered with an edge to his voice. My mind was reeling as I stared into the fire.
"And he trusts Snape?" I said, my arms wrapped around my legs as I sat in my pyjamas. "He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?"
"Yes," said Harry. We sat in silence for many more minutes until silently we all slipped off to bed. I huddled under the covers, burying my face in the pillow. The nights were getting infinitely warmer but my insides felt cold- as though they were frozen. The idea of Voldemort getting stronger and evening returning almost made me sick and my heart took a terrifying plummet. He tore families apart, ruined lives… I barely slept and Hermione hardly moved which comforted me, knowing I wasn't the only one awake, unable to sleep from fear.
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