Chapter Twenty-Five:

The following Thursday, Harry had been waiting in the entrance hall when Elizabeth came up for breakfast. He said he needed to talk and the two instantly headed to an empty stairway where Ron and Hermione were waiting.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked.

"Last night," Harry said, "I was working on the egg's clue—"

"You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!" Hermione cut in.

"I just need to—sort of fine-tune it, all right?" Harry asked sharply, "Anyway, don't worry about the egg right now. Just listen..."

Harry went on to explain how he'd been out under his invisibility cloak and he'd had his Marauder's Map and saw that Mr. Crouch was in Snape's office. Soon after this, he ran into Moody and Snape in a corridor where Snape said that his office had been broken into, and mentioned Moody already had searched it earlier in the year.

"So Moody's keeping an eye on Snape?" Elizabeth asked, "Why else would he search his office?"

"Think Dumbledore asked him to?" Ron asked.

"I doubt it, but he's definitely doing it," Harry said, "Moody said Dumbledore only let Snape stay because he's giving him a second chance or something..."

"What'd Snape do that he needs a second chance?" Elizabeth asked.

"That's exactly what I've been wondering," Harry replied.

"Oh honestly," Hermione said, shaking her head, "Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin, even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so why shouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit—"

"Evil," Ron cut in, "Come on, Hermione, why are all these Dark wizard catchers searching his office, then?"

"Why has Mr. Crouch been pretending to be ill?" Hermione shot back, "It's a bit funny, isn't it, that he can't manage to come to the Yule Ball, but he can get up here in the middle of the night when he wants to?"

"You just don't like Crouch because of that elf, Winky."

"You just want to think Snape's up to something."

"Because he is," Elizabeth said, "It has to be suspicious that two separate people are searching his office. Not to mention his conversation with Karkaroff at the ball. Something's going on." Elizabeth turned towards Harry. "Have you written Sirius yet?"

"I was going to after classes," Harry said, "Speaking of that, we should get to Charms..."

"And I have Potions," Elizabeth sighed as she got up, "I'll see you later."

"Meet us in the library after dinner," Harry said, "I'll explain then."

Elizabeth nodded, heading off towards class. When Elizabeth got to Potions and Snape came in, looking angrier than usual. Knowing what happened the night before, Elizabeth knew today it would be a very good idea to keep her head down.

xxxxx

As agreed, after dinner, Elizabeth started off for the library. She was stopped on the stairway, however, by Cedric and Lewis. Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably. She and Lewis had settled their differences over Cedric and Harry as champions, but things sometimes felt a bit tense between them.

"Hey, Liz," Lewis said, "Cedric wanted to ask you something."

"Er, okay..." Elizabeth said slowly.

"I just wanted to know of Harry followed up on that clue I gave him," Cedric said, "If he needs any help with the second task."

"Oh," Elizabeth blurted, brushing back some of her hair, "Oh, yes, he's figured the clue out. I was just heading up to the library to meet up with him. I think he's starting to research what to do."

"You're going to help him?" Lewis asked bitterly. Elizabeth felt her face grow red.

"Lewis," Cedric warned, "I don't mind if she helps him research. I already know what I'm going to do, after all."

"Good," Elizabeth said, "Harry is my friend as much as you are, Cedric. I'll help give him dig through books but I'm not going to do work for him or anything."

Lewis sighed, shaking his head.

"Whatever you say," he said, "Come on, Ced."

Cedric gave Elizabeth an apologetic grin before the two went off down the hallway. Elizabeth glared after her brother, then turned and made her way to the library. She found Harry, Ron, and Hermione in their usual spot in the upper level of the library.

"Of course, the ideal solution would be for you to Transfigure yourself into a submarine or something," Hermione was saying as Elizabeth sat down, "If only we'd done human Transfiguration already! But I don't think we start that until sixth year, and it can go badly wrong if you don't know what you're doing..."

"Yeah, I don't fancy walking around with a periscope sticking out of my head," Harry said sarcastically.

"What are you two talking about?" Elizabeth asked. What in Merlin's name was a submarine?

"The second task," Harry looked up at Elizabeth, "The clue in the egg. I have to go to the bottom of the lake to get something from the merpeoples, and I have to figure out how to breathe underwater for an hour."

"What?" Elizabeth asked, paling, "How're you supposed to breathe underwater?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Harry said, turning back to the book in front of him.

"I think your best bet would be some sort of charm," Hermione said.

They spent the next several weeks going through book after book, but to no avail. Elizabeth could tell the stress was getting to Harry. The task was a month away. Then just a few weeks. Then just one week. Then a few days...

Less than twenty-four hours. Elizabeth was as tense as her friend, spending every waking moment in the library with Harry researching how he could survive underwater. Her heart was racing more now. Aside from Herbology, Elizabeth and her friends hadn't been outside the castle in weeks.

"I don't reckon it can be done," Ron said dully, sounding defeated as he stared at the book in front of him, "There's nothing. Nothing. Closest was that thing to dry up puddles and ponds, that Drought Charm, but that was nowhere near powerful enough to drain the lake."

"There must be something," Hermione whispered, "They'd never have set a task that was undoable."

"Even if we do find something, can you learn it overnight, Harry?" Elizabeth glanced up from her own reading, "We need something really simple."

She frowned, looking to the level below in the library. Neville and Alain were talking in one area, and a memory tugged at the back of Elizabeth's mind...Another time Neville and Alain were talking, and it being about plants...

"I'm going to go check something," she said, getting up and heading off into the rows of books. Her heart was racing for a completely different reason now. Something had clicked and she was realizing they'd been looking in the wrong area...They'd been looking for a spell, but there had to be something more simple than a spell, didn't there? Something Harry didn't need to practice to use...

Elizabeth got to a section of book on water plants and started skimming until she snatched up a book at random. All she could remember was that the name sounded similar to gillywater. It should make it easier to find, shouldn't it?

She pulled down one book after another, skimming over the indexes of each. She felt like she was so close...

Gillyweed! Elizabeth's breath caught as she flipped to the correct page, finding the passage she was looking for.

A plant native to the Mediterranean Sea. When consumed, the user grows gills on the neck as well as webbing between the fingers and toes, allowing him or her to breathe and move freely under the surface of watery locations for an extended period of time. A popular plant among those wishing to study marine life.

Elizabeth kept her finger at the right page so she wouldn't have to search it down again and hurried back to the table where her friends were, grinning brightly. However, when she reached the table, she realized Hermione and Ron were missing.

"Where did they go?" Elizabeth asked, holding her new find against her chest.

"Fred and George came by, said Professor McGonagall was looking for them," Harry said.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Harry sighed, "Just when we need them most..."

"Actually, Harry, look at this," Elizabeth put the book she was holding down in front of Harry and pointed to the gillyweed passage, "I just remembered Neville and Alain were talking about this at the Yule Ball."

Harry read over the passage, his eyes widening and the look of panic slowly morphing to one of wild hope, then to one of worry.

"How can I even get gillyweed?" he asked.

"I bet Professor Sprout has some," Elizabeth said, "She has nearly everything out in the greenhouse and someone had to go down to talk to the merpeoples to arrange the task, right?"

Harry looked down at his watch.

"There's still an hour before curfew," he said, "Come on, maybe I can catch Professor Sprout and ask her..."

They hurriedly put away the books they'd been using, then headed down for the greenhouses where Professor Sprout stayed until it grew dark. The castle grounds were cast in a red glow from the setting sun, and Elizabeth said she'd wait for Harry at the castle doors—she wasn't sure what Professor Sprout would think about one of her Hufflepuffs helping Harry with the second task, when Cedric was a Hufflepuff himself. A few minutes later, Harry returned with a small box, looking both worried and relieved.

"She had some," he said, holding up the box he had, "Looks like I'll be using gillyweed tomorrow."

"Good," Elizabeth said, feeling relieved herself. After a month of searching, having the answer right there in Harry's hand was like a weight lifted off her. And Cedric had said weeks ago he knew what he was going to do...Cedric and Harry would be fine.

"You should go on to bed early," Elizabeth went on, "I mean, with the task tomorrow...You need to be well-rested. You can leave a note for Hermione and Ron when they get back to the common room."

"Yeah...And thanks, Elizabeth. You're a life-saver."

Elizabeth grinned, feeling her face grow warm as her stomach did an odd sort of flip. She watched as Harry headed off up the stairs, then turned and started for the Hufflepuff common room, still grinning more than she had in weeks.

xxxxx

If there was a word to describe the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, it would be "boring". The champions had disappeared under the surface of the water nearly an hour before, and all the students in the stands had to watch was a still surface of the water, occasionally broken by the giant squid coming by. The most exciting thing that happened so far was Fleur Delacour had returned empty-handed.

Dumbledore had told them that what was 'stolen' from each champion was a person, but promised each of them that the 'hostages' were anything but and all four of them were perfectly safe. That, added with the fact that Elizabeth hadn't had any sinking, odd feelings that day, she wasn't really that worried.

At least, she wasn't until Cedric returned to the surface with Cho. Elizabeth had made her way down through the stands to the edge of the lake to greet them, congratulating Cedric as Madam Pomfrey was giving the two Pepper-Up Potions and draping blankets around them.

"What was it like down there?" Elizabeth had asked Cedric while Cho was distracted with Madam Pomfrey.

"Not that bad, really," Cedric said, "It was almost boring. I just swam down there, got Cho, and came back."

"Did you see Harry or Krum?"

"Well...I saw Harry," Cedric said slowly, "He...He was already there when I came down for Cho. He was still there when I left."

Elizabeth was confused. She didn't get a chance to ask because Cho had come back over to Cedric and Elizabeth, trying not to glare at her, moved away, watching the lake. Harry was down at the bottom before Cedric, so why wasn't he back yet? She didn't know how long gillyweed lasted...Now the worry was starting to set in. Harry needed to hurry up and get back. The hostages would be safe, but there was no telling what would happen to Harry.

Bubbles started to rise to the surface and Elizabeth straightened up—but it turned into guilty disappointment when she realized it was Krum and Hermione—of course Hermione was her friend, but she had known the hostages would be protected. Elizabeth waited until Hermione and Krum were settled in blankets before she headed over.

"You okay?" she asked and Hermione nodded, grinning.

"I don't remember anything, really," she said, "I was in Dumbledore's office, and he was telling us about the enchanted sleep, and next I knew I'm out in the lake with Viktor. Is Harry back yet?"

"No. Cedric said he was down there already when he reached them, but he hasn't come back up..."

Hermione paled a little at that.

"He vill be fine, Her-own-ninny," Krum said, "He vas still there ven I left."

"What is he thinking?" Hermione muttered, staring off to the water.

Elizabeth was wondering the same thing, twisting the end of her shirt in her hands. Why was he still down there? He wasn't trying to play hero, was he? If there was one thing about Harry, he had a bad habit of trying to play hero...

Elizabeth felt as if she were going to go crazy when three heads finally broke the surface in the lake and relief rushed through her.

"Harry!" she cried out, rushing forward and reaching the shore just as Harry, Ron, and a small girl with blond hair were getting to where they were waist-deep in water. Elizabeth didn't care about getting wet. She rushed out, throwing her arms around Harry and nearly knocking him backwards into the water again, "You did it!"

"Er, thanks, Elizabeth..." Harry muttered.

Elizabeth hadn't been the only one to rush out into the water and help the three the short distance onto the bank. Percy—who was standing in for Mr. Crouch again—came rushing out to Ron, his face pale. Fleur, sounding hysterical, came running out to the girl, who was apparently named Gabrielle. And unfortunately, Elizabeth's rush to greet her friend meant she had ended up pretty wet herself and she soon had Madam Pomfrey pulling her over to drape blankets around her, fussing the entire time.

"Cedric said you were down there the whole time," Elizabeth said, watching Harry as the judges began talking nearby, though Dumbledore was off to one side talking with a group of merpeoples.

"Er...yeah..." Harry said slowly, frowning.

"You did it, Harry!" Hermione called, "You found out all by yourself!"

"Well," Harry started, but Elizabeth shot him a look and he looked as if he might laugh. Luckily, he didn't continue.

"You haff a water beetle in your hair, Herm-own-ninny," Krum said and Hermione turned back to him with a grin. Elizabeth shook her head, turning back to Harry herself. Before she could say anything, however, Fleur had come over.

"You saved 'er," she said instantly to Harry, "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

"Yeah," Harry muttered, though he didn't look happy about it.

Fleur was grinning, however, and kissed Harry on both cheeks before turning to Ron. Elizabeth felt her stomach tighten and found herself glaring at Fleur as she kissed Ron's cheeks before heading back over to the little girl that was most likely her sister.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision," Bagman's amplified voice echoed through the grounds and Elizabeth jumped with a yelp, "Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty points for each of the champions, as follows...

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

"I deserved zero," Fleur muttered as the crowd applauded. Elizabeth, thinking of the woman kissing Harry, silently agreed. She didn't clap.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty-seven points."

Elizabeth screamed and cheered, grinning brightly at her friend nearby. The applause was louder than ever, most of the screaming coming from Elizabeth's fellow Hufflepuffs in the stands.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."

Elizabeth gave more a polite applause now, looking to where Hermione was grinning brightly at Krum next to her.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."

Elizabeth shook her head, but found herself grinning as she looked at Harry, who looked as if he could turn back time and change how he had acted. Elizabeth, however, doubted he would have actually done things differently. That's simply who Harry was.

"Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks," Bagman went on, "However...Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."

Elizabeth laughed and hugged Harry again, who seemed in shock. He was tied with Cedric for first place now! She leaned back, ignoring the fact her blanket was now on the ground.

"Moral fiber, huh?" she grinned, "Only you, Harry!"

"Turns out you weren't being thick at all!" Ron added, having to shout over the cheering of the crowd.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," Bagman said once the cheering settled down, "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

Elizabeth had been grinning so much her face hurt, and she was eager to follow the others back up to the castle. Harry and Cedric were tied in first place. The second task was over. It was time for things to be normal again, at least until Harry would learn what his final task would ensue.