38: Friends and Foe
Wotcher Harry,
How could you little bugger not tell me anything about the Yule Ball? The fact that you actually went with Ginny and that you had a fight later? I swear you'll be the drama King of Hogwarts before long!
Back to the point. Kingsley and I submitted our quarterly report on Sirius, and they decided to call for a closed hearing on your disastrous trip to Godric's Hollow. They still think he put your name in and Remus was aiding him. Well, what can I say? Fudge is really being an idiot recently, and that Lucius Malfoy doesn't help! We can get away this time with his Trace, but I can't shake off a bad feeling about all this.
On the good side, Mum invited Sirius and Remus for tea on Boxing Day. They were both doing well. Molly took it up herself to feed them at least three nights per week and it helped Remus out a lot. They had fun talking about the good old times, a big part of which included silly stories of me when Sirius babysat me. It was annoying but at the same time amusing.
Still no word on Bertha Jorkins. You don't need to ask every time you write - makes you sound like Scrimgeour. I'll tell you when I have news.
Tell Mad-Eye I say hi using your most creative method, please?
Tonks.
Tonks,
Thank you for trying to get Sirius off. I really appreciate your efforts. I can't wait till they clear him of all charges. And I really need to thank Mrs Weasley for taking care of them. A thank you to you and your mum, too, for including them.
I understand your feeling. Something is definitely going on behind the surface. I've heard something funny by accident. Karkaroff was going on about something getting "clearer and clearer… For months", and he sounded really scared. Snape knew what he was talking about but was still calm enough to make fun of him. We asked Draco about it (he's Lucius' son), and he thinks they were talking about the Dark Mark. He said he saw a tattoo-like scar on his father's left forearm once and it looked startlingly like the Dark Mark. And then there is my scar hurting. I can feel Riddle's getting excited and impatient, sometimes even displeased. But I haven't been able to see anything yet. I guess I can only see when he kills?
About the Yule Ball… Yes, I went with Ginny, and I don't regret the choice. We had fun together, and we certainly did not fight. That Skeeter cow has been on me for a while now. Most of the stuff was made-up but there are occasional truths, like Ginny and I going to the Yule Ball together. Let's just say it's an arrangement within our little group: we have two boys and two girls who are comfortable with each other, and Ron and Ginny are siblings. Therefore, I went with her, and Ron went with Hermione. There's nothing more to it.
I won't ask about Bertha Jorkins, then. But please do let me know of any news.
I have the perfect plan to say hi to Mad-Eye for you, don't worry.
Harry.
The Winter term started with a fast pace. The Rita Skeeter article about his imaginary fight with Ginny sent them both into the not-so-friendly spotlight again. It was only the beginning of January and Ginny had already threatened 57 different people with her infamous Bat-Bogey hex, and 3 of them actually got it. Harry, on the other hand, continued with his daily routine as if nothing had happened. And even though not so many wore the Support Cedric Diggory badge anymore, Harry, Ron and Hermione proudly wore it everyday.
Their Seekers Challenge with Viktor was so far the most exciting one. At first, all four Hogwarts Seekers were determined to snatch the Snitch from under Viktor's nose, but out of the five tries, only Harry had succeeded once, and it was more luck than skill. In the end, they decided to abandon the competitiveness and practice some moves. Viktor, having trained with the Bulgarian National Team, was kind enough to make corrections and offer some advice on when to use them. The three champions stayed afterwards and had a brief discussion on the Second Task. It was then Harry realized that none of the other champions struggled with how they could survive under water like he did. After all, the Bubble-Air Charm was only taught at the end of the fifth year and Viktor's partial transfiguration was seventh year material.
Harry found Susan and Neville in the library after returning to the castle. He only planned on dropping in briefly, but the moment he greeted them, he was pulled down into a chair.
"I heard you figured out the second task?" asked Susan.
Harry nodded silently, while casting a few Muffliatos around them. He couldn't afford Crouch overhearing them.
"What is it?" pressed Susan in a hushed voice.
"Rescue mission under the Black Lake," said Harry with a straight face.
"And?"
"And nothing," Harry was getting annoyed. He didn't want them to get involved in this, "I'm not supposed to use outside help."
"Sod off, Harry!" said Neville, "You are an idiot if you don't ask for help! I bet Maxime and Karkaroff are tipping their champions off all the time!"
"Well, I guess I am an idiot, then," said Harry, amused, "And Moody said the same thing."
"Well then," scoffed Susan, "Don't be the toothpaste now. Tell us, what's the problem?"
"I need to survive under the water for about an hour," sighed Harry, "But optimistically it should allow me to have as much or as little time as I need."
"Gillyweed gives you an hour," mused Neville, "But it's only about an hour… It's not precise or controllable... Unless you can stand breathing on gills if you come up early."
"No, thanks," said Harry, putting on a mock terrified face, "But good thinking. I think I'll use it when nothing else comes up."
"Yeah," said Neville, "Yeah, I guess it makes sense. Besides, I don't even know where to get it. It's really rare here."
"Thank you, Neville," smiled Harry, "We'll figure it out when it comes down to it."
They spent another hour together, before heading to dinner. Harry sat down beside Ginny and across Ron and Hermione, while Neville followed Susan to the Hufflepuff table.
"You got the instructions?" asked Hermione as Harry helped himself with some chicken wings.
"Wrote everything down," Harry patted one of his pockets where an important piece of parchment rested, "You got the You-Know-What?"
Hermione nodded and lifted her hand half an inch, revealing her infamous beaded bag.
They finished eating without a word, and hurried off to the Room of Requirement, studying while waiting.
At 10pm sharp, the flames in the firework turned green and Remus and Sirius stumbled out a second later. Harry walked up to them and handed Remus the parchment. The two adults read it in silence, eyes narrowing with the first half and widening with the second.
"Questions?" asked Harry quietly when they finished reading.
"Just one," said Remus, "We don't have -"
"Here," said Hermione, with half of her arm in the bag, "Hair's already in. That's enough for five hours," she said, digging out a neat package and a flask full of golden liquid and handing it to them.
They spent the next five minute to catch up. Finally, when Draco and Astoria came in, the two adults stepped back into the fireplace and disappeared.
"Very well," said Draco, "Potter, you start with me today."
Harry stood up and waited in front of him, but there was no curse throwing at him. He looked up in bewilderment while Draco looked exasperated.
"You are casting it on me, Potter," sighed Draco, as if the message couldn't be more clear.
"Wha - Why?" asked Harry, feeling stupid.
"You should be getting better," explained Astoria, "But they are getting better at the same time. Draco's can test your progress."
"Right," said Harry, raising his wand while working up his mind, "Imperio."
A familiar sensation entered his fingertips, and Draco's eyes suddenly dazed. Jump to the other end of the room. He ordered. Then he felt the twist in his fingers as the Curse was being resisted. He doubled his concentration and ordered again. Jump to t-
The lingering sensation snapped, and Draco's eyes became clear again.
"Not bad," commented Draco, "Still weak. Remember to enjoy your control."
So they went on, Harry cast the Imperius curse over and over again as Ron, Ginny and Hermione took turn to resist it. They stopped at a quarter past eleven, when Draco started Imperiusing him repetitively.
That night was the start of a series of pre-Second Task manipulations. From then on, Harry paid close attention on the Marauder's Map every night, wishing to find a pattern on when Crouch usually visited Snape's office. However, for the following two and a half weeks, Harry had no luck. Crouch only showed up in his office once, and Harry suspected it was the same date as the last time.
However much he wanted, he couldn't spend his entire life monitoring the Map. Neville and Susan ha gotten more and more irritating in "helping" him to find a plan. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were also spending time in the library, pretending to do research with them. Harry went to McGonagall and got a permission to the Restricted Area, and spent a whole of twelve hours in it, claiming he was looking up spells. In fact, he was using all those hours picturing their next moves.
Lady Luck showed herself three days before the task. Crouch left his own office at half to midnight and was clearly heading towards Snape's personal storage. Harry jumped up quietly, put on his Invisibility Cloak, and started wandering around the castle, and deliberately sank into a step on the staircase he was heading towards and letting the Map settle down three steps from him. He barely had time to act trapped when Crouch appeared from the corner.
"Nice cloak, Potter," grinned Crouch.
Harry opened his mouth in surprise, then closed it, then opened it again. "You can see me?" he asked, sounding intimidated.
"'Course I can see you, laddie," said Crouch pointing at his magical eye, "Useful eye, it is."
"Er - Professor," he asked, "d'you think you could help me -"
Crouch took hold of Harry's arms and pulled him up roughly. Harry then bent down to reach for the map and shoving it into his pocket, he could feel Crouch's magical eye on it suspiciously.
"What is this thing?" asked Crouch.
"Map of Hogwarts," said Harry, "Shows everyone walking around -"
"May I have a look?"
Harry pretended to be taken aback at his sudden interest, and handed it over reluctantly. Crouch examined it with his magical eye going haywire.
"Merlin's beard," he whispered, Harry could detect a trace of panic, "This… this is some map, Potter!"
"Yeah… It's quite useful," said Harry, pretending to be deep in thought, "Professor, have you seen Mr Crouch?"
"Crouch?" he said, his normal eye narrowing slightly, "Why?"
"I saw him around here just a few minutes before," said Harry, "What is he doing here if he's ill?"
"Interesting, very interesting…" Crouch's voice eased a bit, "But I would think you already have a theory…"
"I don't know," muttered Harry, "He may just be desperate, right? I mean, odd stuff's been happening… The Dark Mark and the Death Eaters at the World Cup, Bertha Jorkins, my name coming out of the Goblet of Fire… I heard he hates the Dark Arts with his guts."
"Very sharp, Potter," he said, "Crouch could be thinking along those lines. Very possible… And with the rumours of Rita Skeeter, it's making a lot of people nervous, I reckon." A grim smile twisted his lopsided mouth, "Oh if there's one thing I hate," he muttered quietly to himself, "it's a Death Eater who walked free…"
Like you, thought Harry resentfully, what a hypocrite.
"And now I want to ask you a question, Potter," said Crouch in a more business like tone, "Can I borrow this?"
"Huh?" started Harry, "Yeah, okay."
"Good boy," growled Crouch, "I can make good use of this… this might be exactly what I've been looking for… Right, bed, Potter, come on, now…"
They started making their way upstairs in silence, until Harry broke it.
"Professor," he waited till Crouch gave a noncommittal grunt, "Do you think Voldemort's behind this… Like he's getting stronger?"
He let out a relieved sigh as the Hippogriff was out of the room. Crouch stopped suddenly, eyeing him curiously. Harry felt it better to wait for an answer.
"It is possible," said Crouch, who was looking pensive, "Is it why you are out tonight?"
Harry nodded quickly.
"That's some good deduction you've go there, Potter," said Crouch, "But I wouldn't dwell on it. The Dark Lord isn't barging in the castle any time soon, and we've got no means to control him. Better focus on the Second Task."
Crouch resumed walking, Harry followed him to his office, and had their talk about his potential in becoming an Auror. Harry appreciated the irony silently as he walked back to Gryffindor Tower.
"How can I be so stupid!" Neville slammed his book onto the table as he sat down for breakfast the day before the Second Task, "There's gillyweed in Snape's office!"
"Shhhhhhhh", shushed Harry as he threw a nervous glance to the Staff Table, "You can't steal from Snape directly. Draco said he suspects us for stealing from his personal stores, whatever that means."
"But what do we do?" asked Neville in a much quieter voice, "It's still the best plan we've got!"
"Not anymore," smirked Harry, "You'll know tomorrow. Besides, if my plan doesn't work, I can always ask Dobby to steal for me. Snape'll never find out."
"The house elf who visited you on Christmas?" Harry nodded, his eyes full of mirth, "Blimey, Harry!" Neville looked both impressed and intimidated by his plan, "Did I ever tell you you are just as sneaky as the Slytherins?"
Harry laughed. "Did I ever tell you the Sorting Hat spent five minutes trying to convince me to go to Slytherin?"
"Right," said Neville, "And you're too stubbornly noble to not be in Gryffindor."
"Exactly," said Harry, turning back to his breakfast.
For some reason, it was still Ron who was taken away for hostage after dinner that night. Harry, Ginny and Hermione headed to the Room of Requirement at ten to eight, while listing why Ginny wasn't chosen. To tell the truth, Harry was grateful that he and Ginny's relationship was not so obvious yet. He wondered if it would be a different story next year.
Remus and Sirius dropped in at eight carrying a large package. Harry smiled as they opened it, taking out items one by one. It was a complete set of muggle scuba diving equipment.
"How did it go?" asked Hermione as Remus took out a compass.
"Amusing," said Sirius, "That was a brilliant idea you had. By the way, Harry, you need more muscles."
Harry blushed at Sirius' teasing, who turned back to Hermione, "Cornwall's a good town… How did you know it so well?"
"Bill lived there," Ginny answered for her, before throwing the suit at him, "Go on, try it on."
"Er - D'you mind?" Harry felt his neck was turning red, too.
Hermione rolled his eyes. "It's not like we haven't seen it all before -" he ignored Remus and Sirius' appalled looks, "And Harry, you're in the Room of Requirement."
"Right," said Harry, before asking for a place to change. Before he went behind the curtains, he shouted at the others, "You've never seen the fourteen-year-old me!"
Harry listened uncomfortably as Remus decided to ask, "What does that suppose to mean?"
"Easy, Remus," said Hermione briskly, "Like Sirius, I impersonated Harry just before he turned seventeen, and Ginny, well, she shared a bedroom with Harry for a few months after the War."
Sirius yelped loudly.
"Really, Sirius, there's no need," Ginny protested, "It was just to keep each other company at night, so that we don't wake up the rest of the family screaming. Nothing happened."
Harry swore he heard Sirius mutter "Convincing" just as he finally figured out how to put himself into the suit. He put it on quickly and walked out to embrace a new round of embarrassment.
"That definitely fits," said Hermione. Sirius threw her a funny look.
"Hmmmmm," said Ginny, eying his tightly wrapped body, "You look like a professional."
His face felt hot again. Sirius was trying his best not to laugh, and Remus picked up the rest of the set, looking amused.
"Let's figure this out, shall we?" he said in a mild, happy voice.
It took them almost two hours to make sure Harry knew how to use everything. Finally, at ten, Harry changed back into his robes, Hermione put the equipments into her beaded bag, and the two Marauders went back to their place, promising to come back the next day at 8 and Sunday at nine am. Ginny and Hermione turned to Harry and started fussing over him.
"I'm okay," he protested, "I can tell her -"
"You can go to bed," commanded Hermione, "It'll be an early morning."
Defeated, Harry accepted their reasoning. He opened his mouth to make sure they knew what to do, before being shooed away by Ginny.
"Fleur will be pacing in her private room at 11pm, we know it because she told us once you and I visited her and Bill," she said in exasperation, "I will send my Patronus to tell her that the spell for Grindylows is Relashio and the key is their claws. Astoria will wipe off the memory of the Patronus some time after the Task tomorrow. We got this, noble git. Now scoot and let the girls take care of the delicate details."
Shaking his head, Harry walked out of the room.
To say his appearance the next day surprised many people was a true understatement. The majority of the school was oblivious of the Muggle world, thus was staring at him with their mouths open. A few even went out of their way to insult his eccentric outfit. The rest of the school, the part who had Muggle connections, clearly wasn't expecting his move either. However, instead of confusion, they looked at him appraisingly. Just before they were called in front of the judges, Harry saw the Creevey brothers talking excitedly to each other, pointing at his oxygen bottle and artificial webs. Harry grinned at them when they realized his stares, and received some over-enthusiastic waves.
The adults all had amusing reactions to his plan. Karkaroff and Crouch looked indignant, Percy looked curious, Bagman looked like he was ready to hug him. Madame Maxime was doing a very bad job hiding her shock, Hagrid beamed at him with pride, and McGonagall had a small, approving smile on her face. Harry met Dumbledore's eyes briefly, and smiled brightly at the mirth and twinkles behind those sharp, blue eyes.
The whistle was blown at exactly 9:30. Harry walked into the icy water, and shivered as he stepped deeper into the lake. He look out his wand and cast a Warming Charm. The effect was instant, as Harry put on the goggles and mask right away and sped up. He turned on the valve when the water was almost at his chest, and dive down.
It wasn't hard to find the village. Having found it once, he knew exactly where it was, and was able to find it with the help of the compass. Still, it took him about half an hour to reach the hostages.
It was almost the same. The only difference was Viktor's hostage. Harry half expected some other relative of his, but it was Susan. He spared a second to ponder over this, before cutting off Ron with Sirius' knife. He checked his now Waterproofed watch, there were only about twenty minutes left, and he couldn't leave without making sure Fleur got here - or not. His choice was clear.
He gently tilted Ron's sleeping body until it was flat and reached below him, before swimming hard upwards a few feet. Then, with all the force he could exert, he pushed him upwards, and dropped himself back down to wait… The merpeople stared at him curiously as he stood there, watching Ron rising towards the surface of the lake.
Cedric came ten minutes later, taking away Cho. Harry lent Krum his knife to help him free Susan, yet Fleur was again late.
The hand on his watch pointed at eleven. The hopes of Fleur coming was next to zero. Harry sighed, before cutting off the rope under her. The mermen closed in on them, trying to prevent him from taking her. Harry raised his wand threateningly and told them to back off.
The merpeople scattered away at his count, and he seized Gabrielle and pulled her upwards as fast as he could. It was much easier with only one hostage, and it took him a little less than ten minutes to the surface with the mermen surrounding them. At last, Gabrielle woke up with a gasp. Harry took a second to adjust their positions before swimming to a frantic Fleur at the edge. Ron, too, was making his way towards them, but was held back by an adamant Percy.
"Harry, well done!" cried Hermione, rushing down towards them as Harry finally stepped on the ground, "Using Muggle common sense - that was amazing!"
"Yeah, mate, that was brilliant!" said Ron, finally free from Percy's arms.
Harry grinned at them as Madam Pomfrey tipped a dose of Pepperup down his throat. Susan and Neville were making their way to him, too.
"That's the best idea I've seen!" exclaimed Susan excitedly, before turning back to Viktor.
"You're always full of surprises, mate!" Neville's clapped him on his back, "You really scared us when Ron floated up on his own, we thought you were attacked or something - And the scuba diving? Hermione told us all about it! How did you find all the stuff, though?"
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Karkaroff eying him suspiciously. "I found it all by myself, of course," said Harry, raising his voice, "and I'll show you how later. Hogwarts has a lot to offer."
"D'you think it's wise?" whispered Ron.
"Can't hurt," muttered Harry.
Neville stared at him curiously before they were interrupted by Fleur thanking him for saving Gabrielle. Once again, Harry couldn't bring himself to say that her sister was in fact, safe.
The scores were soon announced. From what Harry could gather, Fleur either didn't listen to the Patronus message, or was overwhelmed by the Grindylows. He suddenly felt a surge of gratitude towards Remus.
"Harry Potter employed Muggle contraptions and theories to great effect," Harry focused at his name, "And was the first to reach and rescue his hostage. Even though he failed to show up with his hostage, and returned well outside the time limit, the Merchieftainess informs us that the delay to his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own..."
He exchanged a grin with Ron and Hermione before they all looked away to different directions.
"Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks. However… Mr Potter's score is forty-five points."
Harry caught Ginny's eyes from the crowd. They stared at each other for a second before he chuckled at her mouthed words, "noble prat."
The next Rita Skeeter article came out a week later claiming that Harry had little magical knowledge and was forced to steal a set of Muggle "diding equipments" to complete the task. Harry didn't care at all. For all he cared, he got his point across, and managed to stay alive. And that was enough.
He dragged Neville to the Room of Requirement after Rita's article was published, and the two of them had fun testing the room's abilities.
"Harry," asked Neville after he demanded for a bucket, "Why isn't the room working?"
"I dunno," said Harry, his mind racing, "Maybe because we don't actually need it?"
"Makes sense," mumbled Neville, "I am running short on soap, though."
A bar of soap appeared on a desk beside them.
"Wow," said Neville weakly, "This room is brilliant!"
"Of course," Harry grinned, "It's the best Hogwarts has to offer."