Avoiding the many stares and questions directed his way certainly proves to be wearisome for Harry, as the week after Valentine's Day moves on. Monday proves hard enough to steer clear of the Gryffindors in Care of Magical Creatures. This is only exacerbated by Hermione's repeated attempts to whisper to him throughout the class, to which Pansy and Millicent put themselves between them. But at the lesson's end, Hagrid calls Harry over for a pep talk on ignoring Rita's "ruddy' no good" reporting.
Tuesday brings a slightly more theoretical Defence Against the Dark Arts Class, as Moody reviews their knowledge on various Curses. Nott, Malfoy, Harry, and Pansy end up scoring full marks on the end-of-lesson mini test for today. Then, once the class has dispersed, Harry's called aside for some hushed conversation.
"You getting along with the Second Task?"
"Yes, sir, I'm as prepared as can be for the lake and its creatures."
"Good, but it's what we don't know that's got us worried... Dumbledore, McGonagall and me I mean. We've all been expecting something odd to be happening here, since you and that Parkinson girl are in it, but there's been nothing yet. What the hell's going on then? We'll just have to wait and see, and you'd better stay as alert as ever, Potter."
Lunch hour is spent as usual, but with Fleur trying to keep Harry as preoccupied as possible to avoid any confrontations.
"Zat 'Mudblood' word zey use on your friend is so feelthy, I 'ate it!"
"How'd it taste?" Harry's comment has the girls stifling their laughter.
"O', my 'Arry 'as got 'is 'appiness back, okay zen, you are funny with mocking my accent. Should I say zat I 'ate you?"
"You would never hate him," says Pansy. "But he ate you, huh?"
After nearly choking on some soup (and getting slapped on the back by Tracey), Daphne laughs. "God, Pansy, tone down the jokes. Don't let it get hot in here, girl."
Fleur seems to catch on with their sense of humour before grinning. "Zat is our leetle secret, right, 'Arry?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." His cheeks redden before Harry smiles and carries on with lunch. Next up comes Potions where Harry sits listening to Snape revising over past lessons, including the Confusing Concoction.
"If any of you mess this up again, consider a lengthy detention headed your way. There will be no excuses to fail on old work, begin."
"Easy as hell," mutters Harry, while enjoying his rather fun partnership with Pansy. Both students now work in sync over a cauldron as their concoction begins to take proper form. But while Harry sits waiting for Pansy to finish her step in the instructions, Snape looks his way.
"Potter, why are you sitting with both hands under the desk?"
"I'm not doing anything, really."
"He's thinking about Granger over there!" says Nott from across the classroom, before keeping quiet as Snape looks at him.
"Thank you, Mister Nott, but I'm addressing Potter myself."
Pansy soon hurries to Harry's defence as she lets Snape view their combined efforts thus far. He seems pleased, though he directs the compliments only at her before walking away.
"Saved my arse there, thanks. I really wasn't in the mood for nonsense now, especially with the second task next week. Oh, gosh, speaking of which..." Harry's expression turns to slight shock upon realising that Snape does keep the gillyweed in his private stores.
"Would you like me to ask for you?" Pansy tilts her head and gives Harry her exaggerated sweet expression.
"Cute, but even that face won't melt Snape. He's not going to help me as Champions aren't supposed to ask for assistance."
"Just give it a try and see, maybe?"
At the lesson's end, Harry makes the effort of approaching Snape to ask for some gillyweed.
"No. Breaking the rules again?"
"I thought this up myself, sir. There's no other way for me to get what's needed." Harry tries not to sigh in frustration as Snape repeatedly denies him access to anything in the latter's private stores.
"Don't lie to me. Should I believe that you just happened to have found the correct book at the correct time before this task? You're not Granger, Potter, and the library isn't exactly your strongest point."
"Fine, be like that then. Maybe I'll just break in and steal some for myself." Harry folds his arms indignantly and mirrors the exact pose of his Head of House now.
"You do that and you'll be sleeping without a blanket in the corridors for the next month."
"Oh come on, sir, be cool."
"Would you like detention for cheek?"
"No, sir, sorry, sir. What am I supposed to do if I'm not allowed to ask for help nor get what's needed for my task?" asks Harry desperately, since he'd rather not rely solely on the Bubble-Head Charm.
"You're the rich celebrity of this House, so go fix your own problems. Or go and ask that filthy dog for help before you end up dying in the lake!" Snape ushers him out the class before nearly slamming the door in his face.
"Jerk," mutters a sighing Harry, before turning to face Sally-Anne standing nearby.
"Sounds like that didn't go down too well, huh? What did he say?"
"Again with the celebrity thing, just like first year. Not my fault I'm rich." Harry soon mentions Snape's insult towards Sirius.
"That's quite a random thing to bring to bring up now... wait a minute. I think Professor Snape's actually given you advice in his own wicked way."
"Oh, really? And do pigs fly?"
"If you Transfigure wings on 'em then yeah," replies Sally-Anne.
Harry laughs a slight bit. "Forgot that's not funny in the Wizarding World. So, how's he supposedly helping me?"
"You're rich, hellooo, go buy and mail yourself some gillyweed from a store." Sally-Anne lowers her voice a fair bit now. "Your godfather's a dog and Snape mentioned death... well... the Herbology shop in Hogsmeade's called Dogweed and Deathcap! He's practically given you the solution."
Throwing his arms up in the air, Harry groans before replying. "How in hell is anyone supposed to make all those connections? Cryptic bastards all over these days! And keep shush about Sirius' you-know-what, 'cos he's not official."
Thankfully, there's nobody around to overhear their conversation as Harry soon heads to the owlery. Unsure about the price of gillyweed, Harry places an order for a handful before slipping in 5 Galleons for Hedwig to deliver.
With charms being the final class of the day, Flitwick continues with the Banishing Charm, even though quite a few Slytherins already know it. Pillows go flying around the room as nearly a dozen fourth-years cast away as instructed. Meanwhile, Harry takes to standing quite suspiciously in one corner of the room.
"Now's not time to take a wa—" Pansy's joking remark is cut off as Harry shushes her.
"The hell? Nah, shhh, I'm trying to practice for the Tournament. Nonverbal magic."
"Harry." Pansy gives him a slight laugh before ruffling his hair. "I always have confidence in you but isn't this a bit too much?"
"No, no, look, I've been trying and trying and trying ever since Fleur's mentioned it a while back. Lemme try and banish this pillow nonverbally..." He takes aim while both fail to notice Flitwick approaching them from the desks to their right.
"You look constipated," says Pansy, who stands back with her arms folded as she observes Harry attempting a nonverbal spell. "Flitwick's gonna nail you for not paying attention in his class, now quit trying your nonsense."
"Oi, if I'm going underwater then I'll need to get something at least right. Even if it's just one spell... come on."
Pansy sighs. "You're wasting your time, Harry, because nonverbal magic only gets taught to us in sixth year."
"Hey, my mum was good in charms and spells so gimme a break." Harry aims his wand at the pillow while concentrating intensely on the word Depulso in his mind.
"You'll never get it riiiiight," sings Pansy teasingly. "Never get it riiiight."
Then, with a sweeping gesture of his wand, a slight blast of white sends the pillow shooting a few metres across the floor. Pansy gasps, before Flitwick surprises them by clapping too.
"That was remarkably excellent, Mister Potter, and to think you're going off on your own in my class. Take twenty points to Slytherin for that feat indeed, and it'll surely come in handy during the Tournament. But, if you're that serious about nonverbal casting then you've still got a long way to go before getting it up to scratch. Fear not, for we all start somewhere."
Harry watches as Flitwick smiles while returning to assess the rest of the class before Pansy grins.
"Hey, hey, look at you! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone who doesn't strictly ask about it." Her expression of pride brings a warm, fuzzy feeling to Harry.
"Want me to teach you what I know about nonverbal so far?" he asks, while watching Pansy banish a pillow right across the room into a basket.
"Sure, and we can all practice together too. I'll bring the others as well so it'll be a nice little party in those empty classrooms. I think you'd make a decent teacher, Professor Potter."
"Ginny already called me that over the holidays, sorry, you're unoriginal," he replies with a laugh.
"Pfft, yeah, whatever. So let's practice shut-up stuff tomorrow afternoon in the free period."
"Shut-up stuff?"
"Nonverbal casting, duh!" Pansy sniggers at him before they see out the remainder of Charms.
On Wednesday afternoon, Harry receives his order of gillyweed which he places in an empty container beside his bed. Then, he heads off to an empty classroom somewhere on the sixth floor to practice with his girls.
"You've gotta really focus on the spell in mind, and at our level it's almost guaranteed to come out weak as hell," he says, then paces up and down as he speaks. "But don't let that stop you from giving it your best shot."
While sitting in a desk and raising her hand, Daphne giggles as she passes a comment. "You look like Snape when he teaches, you know."
"Yeah." Millicent nods in agreement. "He's got the walk, the look, but just not the talk."
"Are you girls going to pay attention or do would you like detention?" Harry looks sternly at them while Pansy puts her head on her hands to watch him. "Fleur's mentioned that you gotta know exactly what it is you're trying to cast, say the word in your head, and get the wand movements right, obviously. That's just the tip of the iceberg in understanding nonverbal casting. Let's get into pairs and practice Everte Statum on each other."
"Shouldn't be too bad." Daphne stands up to pair with Tracey while Sally-Anne goes with Millicent, and Pansy approaches Harry with a smile.
"And now? What's with that grin?"
"Nevermind, so , sir, shall we dance?"
"Indeed, my lady."
Both draw their wands as Harry stands awaiting Pansy's strike. Once she finally thrusts her wand forward, a slight spark of orange shoots out which barely tips Harry over.
"It's a start, nice work." He looks around to see the others producing sparks and flickers of orange.
"Pity we ain't got any other textbooks to use," says Daphne.
"Hey, we'll work with what we've got. He's a decent teacher." Millicent, and the rest, now continue to listen as Harry recalls whatever else Fleur's explained about nonverbal casting.
"Just keep on thinking back to the basics if you get stumped. All that theory we've learnt about each spell certainly comes in handy now. See, the words aloud kinda puts some mental emphasis on them. That's why in the average amateur situation, verbal beats nonverbal except for the split-second advantage of being silent."
"Let's have an example, Banishing Charms?" Pansy looks challengingly at Harry, who nods as both take aim at each other.
"Well, you already know what I'm gonna cast so the advantage is gone. Anyway, on the count of three...one...two...three!" He thrusts his wand while yelling "Depulso!" in his head.
"Depulso!" says Pansy aloud, before both spells hit their intended targets. Harry ends up blasted a fair bit more backwards while Pansy falls back just over a metre. "Ha, I beat the Boy-Who-Lived, so does that make me the Girl-Who-Lived?"
"My word," laughs Harry upon getting to his feet. "That makes no sense whatsoever, anyway, so did we all see the difference in nonverbal against verbal?"
"Yep, sure did and you got owned," says Millicent. "Let's all practice again."
For at least an hour per day, the group of six takes to practicing nonverbal casting in whichever empty classroom Harry stumbles upon. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday... time seems to be racing by as the second task grows nearer with every hour.
On late Tuesday evening, Harry spots Professor Snape entering the nearly empty (except for Harry, the girls, and a few older students) common room. After shooing away the older students, Snape narrows his eyes at the fourth-year bunch.
"Well, this should be interesting." His gaze lingers on a confused Pansy. "Miss Parkinson, come with me." Snape then shows the slightest of delightful smiles, which unnerves Harry. "Hmm, yes, now he'd make an acceptable candidate to put there..."
"Me?"
"Not you, Potter! Forget that you heard anything."
Pansy follows Snape as they exit the common room while Harry whispers to the rest.
"So, Pansy's definitely a hostage for tomorrow but Snape didn't take any of you girls too. I value you all."
Tracey gives this some thought before replying. "She's definitely her cousin's to save, not yours. But why did Snape look so... happy? Hardly seen him like that before."
"Aha!" Harry claps his hands in triumph. "Isn't it obvious? He's happy because Sirius is someone I value highly! No doubt Snape will enjoy shoving him in the lake... and hoping I don't save him in time. Uh, nevermind, safety precautions are still there anyway."
"Yeah, and after tomorrow everyone will know you're that close with Sirius Black. Didn't you say that you'd prefer few people to know about your relationship to him?" asks Daphne.
"We can't hide it forever, plus I'm not denying Sirius a part in this Tournament just because it's convenient to keep him hidden. Poor man's been so long in Azkaban that it's only fair to give him some action."
"So you're happy to have your godfather shoved into the depths of the Black Lake? What if you fail to rescue him?" asks Sally-Anne.
"Relax." Harry's expression turns to confidence. "Do you really think the greatest wizard around is just gonna let people die in a competition?"
"Yeah, you're not that foolish," replies Daphne, to which Harry can't help but laugh.
"Not me, Professor Dumbledore! He's the greatest wizard around and I'm sure he'll have plans in place. Maybe the merpeople will bring the ones not rescued back up after an hour. They're just gonna be in a bewitched sleep while being protected from drowning, that's all."
"Damn, it must be boring as hell for you to know so much about the task ahead," says Tracey. "And you're certainly confident in the old Headmaster."
"Harry respects the old man, so give him a break." Sally-Anne seems to slightly approve of Harry's admiration towards Dumbledore. "He's probably a bit mental but I guess the Headmaster's a good wizard too."
"Yeah? Well, if Dumbledore's so great then how come he can't figure out why this Tournament has four people plus an underage kid in it, hmm?" Tracey looks challengingly at the group before Harry replies:
"I said he's the greatest, not that he's perfect. Nobody's perfect."
Following those words, Harry greets the girls goodnight before freshening up and making sure he gets an early night's sleep.
"Rise and shine, Mister Champion of Champions, yoo-hoo, wakey wakey already." Daphne's voice soon has Harry bolting up in bed before opening the emerald curtains. "It's twenty-past eight now, so you got an hour and ten minutes before freezing your arse off."
"How are you feeling?" asks Millicent, while sitting on her bed and stroking her cat.
"Never felt better, yeah!" Harry fist-pumps the air before running into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once finished and dressed, he exits the room with four girls at his side before being applauded in the common room.
"There he is, there he is, there's the man with a plan for today, right?" Marcus Flint stands in the centre of a semi-circle of cheering Slytherins.
"Of course I have a plan, been preparing all month long! Where are those Krum-supporting traitors now, huh?" Harry looks over the many faces of the room, but they're all on his side.
"Those idiots are already in the Great Hall finishing breakfast. Let's go and get ours now," says the young (but vocal) Irma Flint, leading the way out the common room. Meanwhile, Harry whispers to Marcus:
"She's gonna be a tough nut in the future."
"Well, she is my sister."
Breakfast is spent in the company of a boisterous Slytherin majority flashing their badges to support Harry at their table. Meanwhile, the remaining ones sit with Durmstrang at the other end.
Looking to his right, Harry sees Fleur eating her meal most nervously. "And now?" he whispers, to avoid drawing unwanted attention. "Why's such a beautiful lady so nervous?"
"Zey 'ave taken my leetle sister into ze lake..." Her hands tremble slightly as she barely gets in a bowl of soup. "Gabrielle is all alone with 'oo knows what in wherever ze 'ostages are in ze lake!"
"You need to calm down or you're going to be beaten by nerves. Trust me, I know what I'm speaking about."
"Easy for you to say, no offense, but you do not 'ave real loving family anymore. Eet is different when it is your own blood sister down zere."
"KRUUUUUM!" cheers the Durmstrang delegation, as well as around a dozen Slytherins, once the Champions now stand up to leave.
"Hey, I don't see Granger nor one of the Weasley twins at Gryffindor!" says Sally-Anne beside Harry. "I guess we know who else is down there, eh?"
"Makes sense," he whispers. "Hermione for Krum. Fred...George? For Angelina, which means she's thoroughly apologized to them already. Pansy for Alyssa... Sirius for me, and this Gabrielle girl for Fleur."
Many students express well wishes to Krum upon passing the Slytherin table, though there are some friendly ones for Harry too. Walking hand-in-hand yet again, Cedric and Cho both pat Harry on the shoulder while saying that he'll "be fine."
"Psst, oi!" calls a most unexpected voice while most of the crowd have left.
"The hell?" Harry looks right to see Ron Weasley approaching. "Oh, great..."
"Good luck, mate, you'll be fine."
Confused as he is, Harry nods in acknowledgment as Ron leaves to rejoin the rest of his Housemates exiting the castle.
"Try not to avoid drowning, Potter!" says a laughing Nott, while walking with the rest of the fourth-year Slytherin boys around the Durmstrang group.
Gradually, more people wish Harry as they walk past him down the castle's slopes. This includes a pat on the head by Ginny before George walks behind her while singing:
"Her eyes are as brown as a scrumptious chocolate pie—"
"Shut up!" she retorts, before George gives Harry a thumbs up while continuing to tease Ginny all the way to the lake.
Cassius Warrington soon passes Harry before wishing him well and shaking his hand. Then, a most unexpected remark comes from Madam Hooch as she descends the slopes.
"I do hope you can swim as good as you often fly, Potter."
"Uh, thanks, ma'am."
Even Professor Flitwick hurries along while passing a comment to Harry. "With all your efforts and preparations I just know you'll excel today. Well, best of luck to you, Mister Potter."
"I shall hold a vigil in your memory, should you fail to emerge from the lake," says Professor Trelawney, who also happens to walk past Harry now.
"Harry, yer definitely goin' ter win! I just know it!"
Eventually, Harry reaches the lake's bank where the judges, including a tense as usual Mr. Crouch, space the Champions apart. Then, Bagman magically amplifies his voice to explain the task while Harry looks around to spot the other Champions readying themselves.
Viktor Krum seems prepared to cast a spell on himself, as does Angelina on herself. Fleur casts the Bubble-Head Charm before flashing a smile at Harry. Meanwhile, Alyssa busies herself by Transfiguring her left hand into a silvery version which glistens beneath the morning sun. This is followed by taking aim at the ground to begin casting whatever she's planned next.
"Where's the weed?" Harry laughs at his own words while pulling out his handful and stuffing it into his mouth to eat. Now the whistle is blown before Harry hurriedly strips off his socks and shoes, while eyeing the others nearby.
A half-shark Krum earns a tremendous applause as he dives into the lake before the Bubble-Headed Fleur gracefully follows. Then, a sort of mermaid-Transfigured Angelina leaps into the water before Harry looks at Alyssa. A few rocks nearby end up being Transfigured into some kind of breathing apparatus which she straps on while testing out her changed hand by crushing a pebble.
With a bow to his slightly confused fans, Harry simply walks into the freezing water without even appearing that much magical. Soon, the gillyweed takes effect as Harry begins his search beneath the lake. From beyond ten feet, nothing but darkness extends as far as the eye can see. Even the bottom of the lake can hardly be seen as Harry swims forward with his wand in hand while staying vigilant for the slightest bit of danger.
"Flagrate," he says in his mind as firmly as possible, and soon enough the tip of his wand lights up. Regardless of being underwater, the fiery arrow now drawn facing ahead by Harry lingers on a bit. This comes in handy especially as he nears the first ambush spot which Bagman's mentioned. Sure enough, a few grindylow water demons emerge to strike at him, though Harry grins smugly.
"Confringo!" His nonverbal spell seems notably weaker than a verbal one, but it's enough to send a blast of boiling water at his attackers. They circle around while attempting to bite him, but Harry decides to follow up with another nonverbal spell.
"Depulso!" A blast of white sends the grindylow trio blasted back against a rock. Angered, and with their fangs bared, they split up to surround a most annoyed Harry.
"Flipendo!" Another nonverbal spell proves fairly effective in blasting them back before Harry follows up with a nonverbal stunner. Finally, they retreat which gives him time to spin around to look for his arrow. Remembering the mental path he's decided to plot en route to the merpeople's village, Harry swims on as the fiery arrow fizzles out. It almost feels too easy as he soon estimates that it's time to turn right, which he does. Every so often, Harry fires off a few spells to blast back any grindylows pestering him as he races ahead.
At some point, he gives way as Alyssa comes swimming along, and Harry almost feels pity for the unfortunate grindylow that attacks her. In a second, she retaliates by grabbing its neck with her silvery hand before tossing the choked creature aside. Then, she takes off in a slightly different direction than Harry.
"So boringly easy, maybe I shouldn't have cheated," he ponders, while swimming to bypass the second ambush spot of weeds below. More grindylows soon attack, though not in groups, and at some point Harry angrily tries blasting a particularly pestering one away. He yells but all that comes out his mouth are bubbles and "Ablahblah Kedablah!"
While he may be getting away with casting other spells nonverbally, this Curse requires far better precision verbally. Therefore, with not even the slightest spark of green, Harry resorts to fending off his attackers with the usual set of spells.
Farther he swims until, after about fifteen minutes, Harry spots quite a commotion happening ahead and below him. "Damn, gotta play the hero yet again!"
Huddled beneath a swarm of grindylows at the third ambush spot is a struggling Fleur. From the looks of things it seems her bubble has been slashed by her attackers, leaving her no choice besides preparing to quit.
"Relashio!" "Everte Statum!" Shouting the Incantations in his mind, Harry descends to break up the ambush as the grindylows now target him. Before engaging them in battle, Harry swiftly draws a fiery arrow in the direction he's headed before rolling to evade the water demons. One by one, he blasts them away while swimming to reach Fleur at the bottom of the lake.
Shaking his head and grinning at her, Harry pulls Fleur into a sneaky kiss before trying his best to cast the Bubble-Head Charm. After seconds of trying, he finally manages to get it going as a bubble surrounds Fleur's head once more. Since it's magical, the bubble vanishes some of the water inside so as to provide room and oxygen for her to breathe once again.
Fleur's voice sounds truly odd as she speaks from within the bubble underwater. "Zank you vairy much, 'Arry. I was not expecting zese zings since I did not bother to research ze magical waters of zis country. And yes, you were right zat I got beaten by ze nerves."
Unable to reply except for spitting forth bubbles of water, Harry shrugs before swimming on beside Fleur. Before she can speak again, he gestures for her to be quiet as they hear a familiar song in the distance.
"An hour long you'll have to look..."
Both Champions nod at each other before hurriedly swimming onwards. They pass by a painted large rock while continuing to hear the voices of the merpeople. Much like Bagman had tried to draw, Harry spots crude stone dwellings which seem to resemble an underwater village of sorts. Numerous merpeople seem to be looking out their windows while discussing and pointing at Harry and Fleur holding hands, even though the former's are webbed.
The two Champions soon reach the merpeople's equivalent of a village square, where a choir of them sing to draw the Champions' attention to a gigantic merperson statue. At its tail are five people bound by rope which they now approach.
"Gabrielle!" Fleur hurriedly swims towards what Harry sees as being a miniature version of her. He can't help but laugh even with dozens of intimidating merpeople watching them. To Gabrielle's left is a surprisingly peaceful-looking Pansy while Fred's to her left. Next, Hermione's tied between Gabrielle and...
"Sirius."
Merely bubbles emerge from Harry's mouth (much to the merpeople's amusement) as he tries to speak. With Fleur using her wand to Transfigure a stone to a knife, she now severs the thick ropes around Gabrielle.
"'Ere, consider eet a zank you gift." Fleur passes the knife to Harry who immediately frees Sirius. Then, both Champions hold a bit of a race in which Harry's webbed hands and feet has him reaching the lake's surface first. Cold air, and a roar of cheers, greet the Champions as they begin swimming towards the bank.
"Whew! I always thought the lake's full of adventure but today's just crazy! You did good, Harry, I'm very proud of you."
"The heck?" Harry looks to see Sirius suddenly wide awake, though shivering. "Were you aware of what happened down there?"
"Oh no, had a great morning's sleep in the ice cold lake. Probably as cold as when I swam from Azkaban to the shore. Here, let me help you across." Sirius holds Harry by the arm as they begin swimming together. "I guess everyone's going to know we're this close now, since the task takes those you hold most dear."
"Like I care, it's bound to come out sooner or later that you're my godfather—"
Harry's words are interrupted by a sudden gasp right behind him. Turning around, he spots Gabrielle giving him the same awestruck look which Ginny used to do.
"Well hi there, little Fleur, pleasure to meet you here."
The girl immediately looks at her older sister before talking excitedly in French, which confuses Harry. But swimming through a freezing cold lake is the last place he'd like to hold a conversation. Therefore, he hurriedly follows Sirius to the lake's bank where the latter's unexpected presence elicits quite a reaction from the surrounding stands.
"Gabrielle, eef my 'Arry 'ad not came in time zen 'oo would 'ave saved you? O' I am so sorry for letting all zis 'appen to you," says Fleur quite apologetically from behind. Her response comes in the form of more excitable French from her sister, which brings a sense of sibling longing to Harry.
Dumbledore, Bagman, as well as Mr. Crouch, now help with getting these Champions and their hostages out of the water. This is followed by Madam Pomfrey wrapping them in blankets and feeding them Pepper-Up Potions causing steam to shoot from their ears.
"Well done you two!" says Bagman, who Harry knows is certainly grateful to see him emerge victorious. "And, Harry, still hanging in there I see!"
Looking around, Harry spots Fleur jabbering with both Gabrielle and Madame Maxime as they sit metres away from him.
"Well done again, boy. You certainly continue to surprise me by each task in this Tournament," says Mr. Crouch, who seems to have softened his usual stressed expression for a few seconds.
"Thank you, sir."
Sirius soon wags a finger at the Ex-Head of Magical Law Enforcement. "Not trying to butter up my godson are you, old man?"
"No, I'm just giving praise where it's due, you've got a fine lad there, Mr. Black. My apologies yet again for all your years without a proper trial."
"What's done is done and the culprit got his just desserts." Sirius shakes Mr. Crouch's hand before Dumbledore approaches Harry.
"Some of the merpeople have informed me that you've kept Miss Delacour in the task along the way?"
"Yes, sir." Harry looks up while sitting wrapped in his blanket before Dumbledore smiles.
"It would've been the easy choice to simply keep the ambush on her, but I'm glad to see you did the right thing. Make yourself comfortable while we await the others."
"Let's go sit next to your babe, Harry,"
"Oh shush, Sirius." Harry stands up then sweeps his gaze over the excited crowd before approaching Fleur. But only now does he notice the many scrapes and cuts on her from the grindylow assault.
"She would like to say zank you too but is evidently too shy at zis moment," whispers Fleur, while gesturing towards the starstruck Gabrielle wrapped up in her blanket now. "By ze way, zat kiss was a bit yuck in ze lake water but I enjoyed it nonetheless from you."
"I guess you are a damsel in distress after all," says Harry teasingly, while feeling a real sense of pity for Fleur's many cuts.
"I am not! Zat was just bad luck after all, and zese cuts will be easy to 'eal with magic... o' do look over zere!"
Fleur directs Harry's attention to Alyssa emerging with a giggling Pansy, while Krum and Hermione pop out from the lake followed by Angelina and Fred.
"Damn, everyone's done a timely job," says Bagman from nearby, as it's now fifty minutes into the allotted hour for this task. "Why so sour, Karkaroff? Your Champion hasn't done anything majorly wrong really."
"I'm in no mood for talk, Bagman."
"Vairy good, Alyssa, vairy good." Madame Maxime applauds her second Champion as the group is helped and treated upon reaching the bank. An awkward moment soon follows as Harry locks eyes with Hermione after many days (if not weeks) of ignoring her. She seems ready to run over to inquire if he's alright but Harry swiftly walks a few metres away with Sirius and the Delacours.
"You should really go and make good with Hermione," says Sirius.
"Krum already won our match so let him be with her, I don't much care anymore."
"Drop ze topic, because zey are announcing ze scores now." Fleur brings her finger to Harry's lips as Bagman speaks to congratulate everyone on behalf of the judges. Using the information provided by the merchieftainess, Bagman declares that each Champion is to be scored as follows:
"Viktor Krum, with an incomplete but effective Transfiguration returned fourth with his hostage. However, he had scratched Miss Granger a slight bit with his teeth during the severing of the ropes. We've decided to award him forty points. That's a total of eighty now."
The crowd whistles and cheers, as does Karkaroff who smiles at Krum.
"Angelina Johnson, who's Transfigured herself into a fine mermaid with a graceful rescue of her hostage returned last today. We have decided to award her forty-four points. That's a total of eighty-three now."
A tremendous applause comes from most of the Hogwarts crowd in the stands, while Angelina smiles slightly with Fred.
"Alyssa Parkinson, who's gotten quite creative with her Transfiguration, arrived third with her hostage. We therefore award her forty-five points putting her total score at eighty-six now."
The Beauxbatons crowd certainly makes themselves heard as they applaud the smiling Alyssa (who's also hugged by Pansy).
"Fleur Delacour, who demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, had managed to retrieve her hostage as we will describe next. We therefore award her forty points, and this puts her total at eighty-three."
Fleur turns to look at Harry after Bagman's announcement. "To be 'onest, I actually did not expect you to 'elp me like zat, so, sorry for doubting you."
Quite a few in the crowd appear quite surprised (and confused) at Fleur's relatively low score, especially considering that she emerged second behind Harry.
"Harry Potter has made good use of gillyweed to navigate his way around. In addition, the merpeople have informed us that Mr. Potter detoured along the way to fend off many grindylows from ending Ms. Delacour's performance. In addition to Mr. Potter replacing her slashed bubble with his own well-cast Bubble-Head Charm, he also reached and freed his hostage first. There can be little doubt that such a performance deserves no less than fifty out of fifty. Total for him is now on ninety-three!"
"SLYTHERIN FOR THE CUP!" cheers most of Harry's supporters, as the crowd lets loose with a tremendous applause. Meanwhile, Sirius proudly holds his godson's hand high while beaming with pride, which still confuses a fair bit of spectators.
"You're in pole position now, Harry. You got this Triwizard Tournament in the bag!" Sirius can hardly show anymore joy, and neither can Harry who forcibly withholds his tears. Any thoughts of only getting this far through cheating are briefly nullified by acknowledging that he shouldn't even be here in the first place. The scores are soon put up once more to reflect the current standings after this task:
Potter: 93
Parkinson: 86
Johnson: 83 Delacour: 83
Krum: 80
Bagman carries on speaking, "Our third task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June. Champions, you'll be notified of what's to come about one month beforehand. Thank you all for coming out and supporting these Champions in what has been a tremendously good show thus far."
As the crowd remains in boisterous spirits, Harry and the rest of the Champions are led inside by Madam Pomfrey to get some dry clothes. But instead of heading straight for the cheers of the Great Hall, Harry stays a good deal longer in the Hospital Wing with Fleur. Though neither be injured, they take the opportunity of some peace to reflect upon the Tournament.
"Maybe I was a bit wrong at ze start, per'aps you deserve to win more zan any of us."
"Nah man, don't go giving up just because you got saved by me. Fight on like the witch I know you can be, my pretty."
Fleur whispers in response. "I do not understand you, I mean, eet is so obvious to me zat Meester Bagman must 'ave 'elped you back at 'Ogsmeade. Do not deny it, I zought as much by putting two and two together. 'E calls you aside, zen you navigate your way so easily to ze merpeople's village? Come on."
"You're right, I..." Although Harry's whispering, he suddenly feels a sense of shame in his confession.
"We 'ave all cheated so far, 'Arry, especially with knowing ze dragons for ze first task. But ze fact zat you took ze time to not let me lose points tells me zat you really are a decent boy."
"Don't you mean decent leetle boy?" Harry's remark elicits a soft laugh from Fleur, as the pair remain sitting in chairs near a lit stove keeping them warm.
"Yes, you certainly are a decent leetle boy. Far more zan I expected from ze idiot I 'ad met back at ze world cup."
They're soon rejoined by Gabrielle and Sirius who spend the next hour in the (thankfully) empty Hospital Wing as the morning swiftly moves on to lunch. With classes cancelled for today, many decide to remain in the Great Hall afterwards. This includes even some of the outside guests such as Gabrielle (who sits beside Fleur and stares at Harry) as well as Sirius. The latter nudges Harry before looking left and giving a thumbs up to Snape glaring at him from the staff table.
"Hey, Harry," calls Yasmin from the far right. "Why exactly was Sirius Black your hostage today?"
While looking at Sirius, Harry receives a nod before replying quite loudly:
"Because he's my godfather, hell yeah!"
"Whaaat?" Yasmin delivers the news which soon spreads like wildfire throughout the table... and beyond.
"No sense in hiding it anymore. Might as well beat Rita Skeeter writing about it in her article on today's task anyway," mutters Sirius. Eventually, he starts cracking jokes on Slytherin which elicit narrow-eyed responses from Harry's friends.
"What gives you the right to make fun of our House, Mister Gryffindor?" asks Daphne, though keeping her tone civil.
"Oh please, little lady, most of my 'esteemed' family had been here. However, you see this boy right here?" Sirius gestures towards the eating Harry. "He's not only my godson but also a better version of my late brother. Regulus was a Seeker too but Harry's just better... overall."
"Hey!" Pansy punches Sirius on the shoulder. "Don't make fun of your own family, even if they were bad."
"Let us all eat in peace and bask in the sweet taste of Slytherin being on top of this Tournament." Harry grins as they carry on eating and chatting, before it's eventually time for the guests to be taken home.