"Well, it's about damn time you showed up here, little Auror-fighter! You should've just ditched the chess game and gone with that Devil's Snare challenge in the other room instead."
Harry could hardly believe his luck in getting Nymphadora Tonks as his designated Auror. On the one hand, she was practically family to him; on the other hand, she was as good as any qualified Auror when it came to duelling, irrespective of her being a trainee. "Do we really have to fight? Come on, just lie down with your arse up and trousers down."
Tonks was dressed in a stylish, dark outfit that complemented her sleek black hair (she vaguely resembled a younger Bellatrix, in some strange way), and she was pacing up and down the massive platform, with her wand in hand. She was like a sexy warrior, ready for the fight. "How about you go ahead and do that, hmm? I'm sure your girlfriends in the crowd will appreciate the view. Now tell me, what rhymes with 'pickle'?"
"What?"
"Rictusempra!"
Coming from a nearly qualified Auror, there was no telling how powerful a mere Tickling Charm might be. Harry took no chances and quickly threw up a Shield Charm in response, deflecting the spell. He was far too focused on the duel to notice both Fleur and Krum already sitting on the bank ahead, Bagman's commentary, Alyssa's duel, or even the tumultuous crowd in their stands. Harry's whole world was this single, circular expanse of platform right here. All he could see was Tonks and the transparent spread of lime-green beneath them.
"Abracadabra!"
"ARE YOU BLOODY —" Tonks realised that it was a silly, feint move. "Oh, OK, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? Think this is a joke?" And then, to Harry's dismay, she switched to casting non-verbally. This allowed her the element of surprise, although many of her spells were a tad weaker now.
First red, then orange, then white, and then blue, Harry blocked all sorts of spells over the next fifteen seconds. The onslaught was seeping through his mostly intact shield, causing a slight ache and a burning sensation here and there. Then, at around the twenty-five-second mark, Harry's Shield Charm finally shattered.
Tonks grinned, and then she trapped the evasive Harry by catching his foot in some ropes. "Gotcha, little Snitch! Expelliarmus!"
Harry had no time to prep a proper Shield Charm. He therefore relied on instinct, which forced him to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect the jet of red. Tonks' spell caused no visible damage to Harry's shield, although a slight, ping-like note came from it. Harry kept his silver shield going while firing a Severing Charm that dislodged him from Tonks' ropes. That was uncomfortably close after merely thirty seconds thus far.
"Great Scott, look at those timely reactions from our youngest champion!" said Bagman, although Harry ignored the rest of his commentary. Tonks looked half proud and half annoyed at Harry's unexpected recovery from her trap.
"Gonna hide behind that shield like a tortoise now, huh?"
"You know it."
That was exactly what Harry did. He kept the shield hovering just below eye-level, which allowed him to better observe his opponent as she began her next round of attacks. It was through sheer tenacity and skill that Harry managed to keep his shield going even through Tonks' General Counterspell, Seize-and-Pull Charm, and her Reductor Curse. Those three might've weakened, yanked away, or shattered the shield on any other day... but not today. Harry just stood there, taunting Tonks with his green eyes narrowed over the top of his shield.
"Try something else, Miss Auror."
Tonks sniggered. "Accio Harry Potter's glasses!"
Harry was always prepared for such a dirty move, and that was why one of the first things he did in recent years was to ask Professor Dumbledore to fortify Harry's glasses with an Anti-theft Charm. None but Harry himself could summon them, and neither could they be magically yanked off in any way.
"Try that again, and I'll summon everything below your waist!" Harry said, smirking at the thought of Tonks going bottomless. Did the carpet match the drapes? Was there even a carpet at all? Did she custom-size her arse to perfection? So many questions... Then again, many skilled witches and wizards also tended to use Anti-theft Charms on their personal belongings, or their clothes came ready-made like that from the store.
The battle continued. Tonks fired a Freezing Spell to coat a semi-circle of ice in front of Harry's feet, and he responded with a Stunner. She blocked, via a Shield Charm, and then doubled the size of Harry's inactive Portkey before sending it flying like a bullet his way. It simply bounced off the silver shield.
"Oi, why you throwing trash at me, man?"
Harry had two options now: he could either remain with a frontal-only shield and then add in some lesser attacks (he didn't have the required skills to keep his silver shield going and fire some heavy-hitting spells), or he could throw up a Shield Charm to bolster his silver shield. The problem with doing the latter was that Harry lacked the capabilities needed to keep two defensive spells going (never mind that the silver shield didn't need much sustained concentration) while also going on the offence.
"Protego!"
He was basically a mobile, magical tortoise now. Sure, Tonks' spells were doing some damage to Harry's Shield Charm, but there was still the silver shield hovering in front of Harry. Those two layers of defence were doing a brilliant job of ticking up the clock in this challenge.
"You're no fun, Harry."
"Conjure a bed and I'll show you fun."
"Big talk coming from the lad who probably never even kissed his girlfriend yet. Expulso!"
Harry's Shield Charm barely withstood the blast of blue, although his silver shield remained in fine working order. He decided to relinquish his concentration on the Shield Charm and instead fire off a Full Body-Bind Curse. Tonks blocked, conjured herself a two-metre rock to take cover behind, and then held her wand-arm up to blind-fire a Stunner over the rock.
Seeing as this platform was basically an open expanse of flat ground, Harry tried to copy Tonks' use of environmental tactics. He'd been making a real fuss of studying ahead in Transfiguration thus far, so now was the time to put his practice into action. Two spells hit his silver shield in succession, and Harry had to work hard to sustain his focus here.
"Stop daydreaming and fight!" Tonks shouted, and then she peered over her rock and fired a Banishing Charm, the impact of which caused Harry to topple off balance.
Harry jumped to his feet, hid behind his shield, and then put all of his focus into performing the Inanimatus Conjurus Spell. He knew that it took varying degrees of proficiency in order to select more complicated objects with this spell, and he therefore went for something relatively simple in his mind.
The best he could manage was a three-metre-long (and metre-high) slab of concrete, which landed upright with a heavy thud before him. Harry followed up by casting a Hardening Charm to further strengthen his cover. Wait, why wasn't Tonks doing anything at the moment? She was just watching him from behind her conjured rock; those dark eyes almost twinkling with mischief.
"You done setting everything up, tortoise?" she asked, and then she smiled as Harry ducked behind his wall. Harry waited a few seconds before standing up and firing a Banishing Charm, which ended up doing little against Tonks' near-immovable rock. "Ha, got you! Epoximise!"
What? Harry saw the flash of light hit the tip of his silver shield, causing the latter to adhere itself to the top of the concrete wall. Tonks' precision caused two of Harry's physical defences to be glued together, leaving him stuck like a sitting duck. That was when he realised that a more skilful wizard — Grindelwald, perhaps — would've conjured a silver shield which wouldn't fall prey to such cheap tactics. It was all in the mind when prepping this defence.
With Tonks bolting out from cover, Harry abandoned his shield, dispelled it, and then threw up a Shield Charm instead. He blocked the Blasting Curse sent his way before levitating his concrete wall and firing a Banishing Charm at it, sending it flying through the air towards Tonks. She blasted it to smithereens in mid-air.
Time was ticking along nicely now, and Harry intended to last as long as he could against Tonks out here. She just kept on attacking, and he just kept on defending. They ran in circles while throwing spell after spell at each other's Shield Charms. Jets and flashes of all colours (except, perhaps, green) went flying across the platform, much to the excitement of hundreds of faces watching from their seats in the stands.
Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to withstand this defensive pressure for much longer, and he therefore chose to focus more on the attack. If he could just put up an even better fight against — and possibly disarm — Tonks, then surely that would maximise his score here, right?
Tonks stopped in her tracks, spun to the right, and then fired an Impediment Jinx at Harry. The latter's Shield Charm took the brunt of the blow, although some of the jinx's effects still seeped through. Harry, who ran at a slightly slower pace due to the jinx, retaliated by firing a Freezing Charm (Immobulus) which collided in mid-air with a Jelly-Fingers Curse that Tonks had quickly let loose.
Just then, Harry caught his breath from all the running and ended up being hit by a Jelly-Brain Jinx. He couldn't think quite clearly, but he had enough wits to cast a General Counterspell on himself, thus ending the effects of the jinx.
Metres behind Tonks, Harry could see the crowd cheering him on as he went on the attack again. He shot a Blasting Curse that smashed Tonks' Shield Charm and toppled her off balance, and he then followed up by hurling forth an Expulso Curse. Tonks just about managed to get a Shield Charm going in time, which shattered but took the brunt of Harry's attack. The former got to her feet and threw a Silencing Charm at Harry, who couldn't cast a Shield Charm in time.
"Not so big mouth now, are you?" Tonks asked.
Harry tried his best to attempt a non-verbal General Counterspell on himself. He focused long and hard, which ended up only slightly dispelling some of Tonks' Silencing Charm. This was just in the nick of time, as he managed to whisper out a Shield Charm that barely saved him from Tonks' Tickling Hex (Titillando), which was stronger than the Tickling Charm. Harry then used his momentary reprieve to attempt yet another General Counterspell, which was better than the last, and which managed to lift Tonks' Silencing Charm completely.
There was no denying it; Harry was exhausted, and it showed. He went on a sluggish counterattack involving a Knockback Jinx, a Full Body-Bind Curse, and a Stunner, the third of which ended up shattering Tonks' Shield Charm and partially disorienting her.
What was Harry to do now? He could try catching his breath and clearing his mind from all the frantic reactions of a duel, or he could go in for the gamble. After a moment's consideration, Harry threw up a Shield Charm and fired a Disarming Charm at Tonks. She pretty much did the same, although she added a Stunner that seeped slightly through Harry's shield and caught him in the chest.
Harry was on his back and gazing up at the blurry afternoon sky. There were greyish clouds everywhere — Wait, this wasn't some mushy picnic-date. He rolled over, forced himself onto his feet, and then conjured up a silver shield. Tonks' spells came in hard and a little bit fast, and Harry could only block so much until he was finally blasted aside, his silver shield fizzling away in the process.
He forwent conjuring another one and instead hurled an Expulso Curse that sent Tonks flying a few metres backwards. At this, Harry ran forward to get a closer, and thus more accurate, lock-on for his Disarming Charm.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Reparo!"
Tonks' Mending Charm repaired enough of the disintegrated concrete wall just in time to have it absorb the impact of Harry's jet of red. How ironic. Harry then raised his wand, to which Tonks blasted him off his feet again.
"I have to say, you are a slippery little Snake to take down, Harry." She snuck a glance over her left shoulder (to where Scrimgeour and the rest were watching from the bank), and proceeded to drop to her knees in 'pain'.
"The hell are you doing?" Harry asked, before throwing up a quick Shield Charm.
"Buying you seven more seconds, genius." She smiled, winked, and eventually she shot a few more spells at Harry's Shield Charm until it shattered. This was followed by narrowly catching him in a Disarming Charm, sending eleven inches of holly flying from Harry's grip and landing metres to his right.
"And that concludes the second task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Bagman said, applauding all four champions' efforts today. "Let's have a round of applause for each and every one of our champions out there, all of whom gave it their all right up until the very end! Harry, you may exit the platform and come and have a seat on the bank. Just give us a moment to discuss things with the whole lot."
Harry saw the five judges in deep discussion with roughly a dozen other people (including a few Ministry workers and some school staff) at the judges' table. They were all huddled together over four pieces of parchment, which was likely used as a guide for scoring each of the champions.
"Chin up," said Tonks, helping Harry to his feet. "You did really well, no matter what some idiots might be saying. Don't listen to anyone who says you got lucky with the Auror-in-training, OK? That's just rubbish."
"You're a damn good fighter, Tonks."
She remained smiling, which sent pleasant shivers down Harry's spine. "Good to see my years of studying and practice have brought me on par with the Boy Who Lived."
"Funny." Harry tucked away his wand and followed Tonks as they crossed the final length of walkway in this task, leading them to the half snowy, half muddy expanse of bank up ahead. The other champions were sitting on towels, to the left, while having a makeshift picnic of sorts, which Harry chose to join in on.
"You did good against zat Tonks; she is a really good fighter," said Fleur, who was helping herself to some soup from a mug. "I guess Mad-Eye was right after all. But, you probably didn't even see me go up against 'im, no?"
"She lasted just under three and a half minutes against the ex-Auror," said Alyssa. "I almost reached four minutes against Auror Proudfoot, and Viktor got a similar time as Fleur, against Auror Savage."
Krum stuffed down a burger and nodded. "I think ve haff all done very vell. It vood not be a surprise to see our scores extremely close yet again."
Well, there was little else to do now than to sit out here, bask in the noise of the crowd, and help themselves to their post-task meal. All four champions were being lauded and discussed by their supporters up in the stands, although the suspense of today's results felt like a brick in their stomachs. One thing was for sure though: at least none of them had failed the task in any way.
Once they'd finished with their little picnic, Harry, Krum, Alyssa, and Fleur stood up, glanced at the mass of spectators nearby, and then watched as Ludo Bagman finally stood up from his seat. The tension was almost palpable out here on this chilly, Sunday afternoon. Everyone had taken to staring in Bagman's direction, although he wasn't in the least bit fazed as he began speaking.
"Mr. Viktor Krum demonstrated remarkable fitness by outrunning his competition at the start of today's task. From here, he did well against that yeti, despite facing it within a room that restricted the use of incendiary measures. Mr. Krum also displayed academic prowess in his potions-trivia, excellent creativity and dexterity in his cube-stacking challenge, and a fine use of Apparition to cross the gap. However, he did sustain his share of minor injuries against the Blast-Ended Skrewt.
"Mr. Krum then had no issues in getting past that sleeping troll, after which he put up a decent fight to last three minutes and eighteen seconds against Auror Savage." Bagman commented on the overall timeliness of Krum's efforts today, before moving on to the much-awaited part of his speech. "After due consideration and bonus points, we have decided to award Mr. Krum forty-nine out of fifty."
Dozens upon dozens of Durmstrang supporters let loose a tumultuous mix of cheers, chants, whistles, and applause. Their champion had almost perfectly nailed the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Krum was looking mighty pleased with himself too, and why wouldn't he?
"Well done, Vicky!" Alyssa said, slapping Krum on the back. She was probably one of the few people who could get away with calling him such a nickname.
Harry snuck a glance left at the many rows of spectators still looking down at Bagman, who continued to speak while standing at the judges' table.
"Miss Alyssa Parkinson went over the time limit with regards to her first challenge, the riddle, and she answered it incorrectly on her first attempt. After that, she had no issues with and performed exceptionally well on her Summoning Charm challenge, as well as in spotting and catching the correct flying key thereafter.
"Her use of Apparition, in order to cross the gap, was also of excellent standard, although she momentarily lost focus and sustained a gash to her shin during the next challenge. She did, however, take down the snake within a reasonable enough time.
"We have decided to award Miss Parkinson with a bonus point for stage five, where she displayed remarkable wit and leadership in keeping both herself and Mr. Potter on the board until the end of the match."
"Only because that game was retarded," Alyssa muttered beside Harry.
"Her efforts against Auror Proudfoot were commendable as well, as she'd put up a superb struggle to last three minutes and fifty-one seconds." Bagman paused to heighten the suspense before continuing. "We award her forty-six points."
Alyssa received a much louder round of applause than Krum did, which was likely due to the 'rogue' portion of Hogwarts students (and whoever else had chosen to support her over Harry) giving more than just a polite bit of clapping.
"Miss Fleur Delacour" — Bagman ignored the confusion as to why Harry was left for last, even though he was number three — "came a close second during the opening sprint of this task. Following that, she made short work of the troll, brewed a perfect Draught of Peace which was worthy of extra points, caught the Golden Snitch within the time limit, and then Apparated superbly across the gap. She got caught out twice during the subsequent hoop challenge, but her efforts against the Acromantula thereafter were essentially flawless.
"As for stage six, Miss Delacour coped very well against Alastor Moody —" There were boos coming from some of the crowd, who thought it unfair that Fleur got a retired Auror in her task. "Ahem, as I've said, she coped very well against one of the finest Aurors in recent decades. Her efforts have caused her to last three minutes and twenty-seven seconds there. We have decided to award Miss Delacour fifty-two points."
"In your face, Alyssa!" said Fleur, having to shout over the mixed reactions of the massive crowd. "One 'undred and four per cent for moi! Bow down to me, 'Arry."
"In your wet dreams," Harry said, looking just as anxious as the rest of his supporters now. Why was he left for last in the scoring?
"Right, and now for our youngest champion," Bagman said. "Mr. Potter timeously matched most of his spells within that first challenge without much fault, except that points will have to be deducted for his use of the Killing Curse —"
Harry saw, amidst the mixed reactions of the crowd, Marcus Flint pick up a bottle from the floor at his feet. He was about to hurl it in Bagman's direction, until Yasmin and a few others laughed and swiped it from his hand. Harry also saw his godfather hold up a middle finger behind Bagman's back; a gesture which was happily copied by Mafalda next to Sirius. Hell, even Draco Malfoy looked puzzled by the penalty. Elsewhere, the Weasley twins were riling up their fellow students to boo even louder (Fred and George still hadn't got over losing their bet to Bagman, at the World Cup), Hermione was sitting among Pansy's gang, all of whom were digging their nails in their cheeks from worry, and Cho was making a hand signal which equated to 'wanker' (which Cedric hurriedly stopped).
"Mr. Potter will also be penalised for having backtracked from the Arithmancy puzzle" — again, a variety of creative gestures, as well as a collective boo, came from at least half the crowd — "as well as going over the time limit in his reselected challenge for stage two."
"I didn't even know there was a time limit," Harry said to Alyssa. "The fuck am I supposed to have done a hundred push-ups in whatever secret clock they had going?"
"However, Mr. Potter performed admirably well during the winged-key challenge, and his method of getting across the gap demonstrated wit and ingenuity, as was his vanishing of the snake thereafter. Nothing much needs to be said of the chess game; and in terms of his sixth challenge, Mr. Potter demonstrated skilful use of a variety of spells in his duel. He will receive bonus points for having passed the four-minute mark on the clock then."
In that moment, Harry saw Tonks sneak a gesture to her side; the same one that she'd feigned an injury on earlier. He could almost kiss her right then and there, assuming he even knew how to kiss in the first place.
"That's good," Harry heard Alyssa say beside him. "Proudfoot told me how they scored us. Apparently, each of the first five challenges were out of seven, followed by the Auror part being worth fifteen. Bonus points could be given anywhere on the task, which explains Viktor and Fleur getting so high. They totally scraped those extra points from their fit sprint at the start."
"We have therefore decided to award Mr. Potter with" — Harry's heart leapt — "forty-five points."
Even though his score wasn't nearly as bad as he'd expected, Harry still grinned as roughly half the crowd voiced their displeasure. His student-supporters were especially vocal about the whole thing.
"May we please have some silence?" Dumbledore asked, his voice magically amplified for a few seconds. "Thank you."
"This means our halfway-mark standings of the Tournament are as follows: Miss Delacour on eighty-eight, Miss Parkinson and Mr. Krum on eighty-six, and, in last place, Mr. Potter on eighty-four." Bagman ignored the mixed reactions (and audible jeers) coming from the crowd. "Champions, you may come and collect your mark sheets while we assist in escorting the crowd out."
Harry and his fellow champions perused the four mark-sheets that were pinned to the judges' table. Viktor Krum had been scored as follows: seven, five (he got a couple answers wrong on his trivia), seven, five (for sustaining injuries against the Skrewt), seven, and then twelve (points were taken with regards to various aspects of the duel). That brought his score to forty-four, after which two bonus points were added for his sprint, another two for his deft Apparition, as well as one for his swift recovery from having fallen into the lake. No wonder he got forty-nine out of fifty, despite making more than a few mistakes.
"They could at least haff given me bonus points for doing vell in the cube task," said Krum, grumbling in displeasure. "Did Bagman not just say I vos creative and having good dexterity?"
Alyssa had scored three (the judges somehow knew that she'd both taken too long and answered incorrectly at first for her riddle), seven, seven, five (for sustaining an injury against the conjured snake), seven, and then twelve (points were deducted for some of her performance against Proudfoot, despite what Bagman had announced). This brought her score to forty-one, after which she received two bonus points for dodging her trick platform, two for her skilful Apparition, and then one for her chess performance. Forty-six honestly wasn't too bad a score.
"I don't get it," Harry said. "Shouldn't they deduct points for the amount of chess pieces you lost?"
Alyssa shook her head. "As long as you checkmate, nothing else counts, my little pawn."
As for Harry's performance, he had scored five (two being deducted for his use of the Killing Curse), four (for his overall performance in the push-up challenge), seven, seven, seven, and then thirteen (he lost two points for various parts of his duel against Tonks). This brought him up to forty-three, after which he earned a bonus point for his recovery from the splash, another point for how he'd crossed the gap, and two points for having passed the four-minute mark against Tonks (Harry had made four minutes and six seconds in total). Two points were then deducted for his earlier backtracking, leaving him with a total of forty-five.
Man, I love you, Nymphadora.
Last but not least, Fleur's mark sheet showed that she'd earned seven, seven, seven, five (for being caught out during her hoop challenge), seven, and then twelve. This brought her up to forty-five, after which she earned a point for her runners-up sprint, two for dodging her trick platform, two for her superb Apparition, and another two for her 'perfect' potion. That explained her fifty-two score.
"I will keep up zis momentum in ze next task," she said, tilting her head and looking even haughtier than usual. "I assume we all 'ave some idea of what eet involves?"
Both Alyssa and Krum nodded, although Harry scratched the back of his head. "Er..."
"Too bad for you," said Alyssa. "But don't stress; there's still, like, two months to go until then. Oh, and don't try asking Pansy, 'cos I didn't even tell Little P was it's about."
Somewhere deep within Harry, there was a sudden, malevolent urge to use this information against Alyssa. He could so easily walk up to Pansy and tell her that her own cousin was keeping Tournament secrets from her, despite their loving relationship. But Harry was a better man than this, and he resolved to figure things out fair and square instead... OK, so perhaps a little bit of cheating wouldn't hurt, right? He'd organise himself some help with the golden egg in no time.
The four champions dispersed in different directions, with Krum joining his fellow Durmstrangs, Fleur getting the praise of plenty of her fellow students, Alyssa linking up with a mix of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons ones, and Harry just standing around kicking dirt in the snow.
"Last place, Potter!" said some Hogwarts boy in the crowd.
"You're literally weak!" said another.
Harry couldn't care less what anyone else might say. He only had ears for friendly company right now.
"They should've added substitution in this thing!" Ron Weasley said. He was approaching with a smiling Tracey right beside him. "Seriously, mate, I could've done a far better job on that stupid chess game than your pal's cousin."
"Better not let Pansy hear you say that," Tracey said. "In all seriousness, tough, Harry, a hundred push-ups? I always told you you should've —"
"Hold that thought." Harry couldn't help but grin as he saw Hermione racing towards them, splashing mud and ice in different directions as she ran. "A Galleon says she's gonna say what you were gonna say, Tracey."
"I'll take that bet," said Ron, and he watched with an eager expression as Hermione ran to grab Harry into a hug.
"Those arms must be killing you now! Don't worry, Harry, you're still in this Tournament, irrespective of being in fourth place! It's only a few points anyway." She planted a kiss on his forehead and continued to squeeze him around his back. "What have I always told you, hmm? I always said you should've ditched Divination for Arithmancy! Oh, if I could only just see what that puzzle's all about —"
"Then you're in luck," said Sirius, who arrived with Mafalda trailing behind him. "I overheard Fudge saying they're going to leave the platform up until dinner tomorrow, although without any monsters in there." He turned to look at Harry near the lake's edge. "Fourth place means nothing; I couldn't have been prouder of that performance. Way to give Dora a run for her money!"
Mafalda chimed in with: "We're gonna walk right up to those losers and demand that they reverse that stupid penalty! How can they penalise you for using a Killing Curse on a wall, or whatever? That's incompetence at its finest!" She stomped her foot, unintentionally splashing Tracey's robes with mud. "Come on, Mr. Black, let's go get 'em!"
Harry withdrew a Galleon from his pocket and tossed it in Ron's direction before speaking. "Nah, just let it go. I'm not so desperate as to get myself in the papers over two points."
"But then you won't be in last place, technically," said Ron, admiring the feel of a shiny, golden coin in his hand. "You'd be tied with Parkinson and Krum. Doesn't that sound better than being in fourth?"
Hermione was surprisingly silent on the matter, or perhaps that was due to her still keeping Harry in some form of a hug. It was Tracey who next spoke. "I think Harry's got a point. Don't feed the trolls, and people like Skeeter are one of them."
"So, er, how's that egg coming along?" Sirius asked, breaking the silence that followed Tracey's remark. "If you need any help —"
Hermione interrupted with: "He's supposed to work it out on his own."
"Well, look what happened when I tried to 'work it out' on my own earlier," said Harry, and they all laughed. Seriously, though, he was really starting to feel the effects of all those push-ups. "Ouch! Hermione, would you mind not squeezing me like toothpaste?"
"Oh, sorry," she said, giggling as she released her squirming friend. "You're worse than Crookshanks."
The best, and probably only, way for the group of five to travel now was in following the rest of the crowd. Everyone had walked westward towards the other bank of the lake, from which they began following the carriage road (running right beside the perimeter wall of the grounds) leading up to Hogsmeade village in the north.
"Nice going there, Potter!" said a voice from further up the road. It was that brown-haired, violet-eyed Merula Snyde witch again, and she was dressed in a similar fashion as Tonks today. "Maybe you should've hit the gym or something before today's task, huh?"
Harry was about to respond but was beaten to it by Hermione. "Shouldn't you be heading home already?"
"Yeah," said Tracey. "What's your deal with Harry anyway? Go get drunk at the pub, or something, lady."
Sirius recognised Merula as well. "Weren't you that one who opened Harry's egg months ago? Tonks' old friend, right?"
Merula sighed. "Just replace the 'F' with an 'M' in the Bandaging Charm, and then you've got my name. It's really not that hard to remember." She nudged her way past Tracey and Hermione before walking between Harry and Ron. "You must be a Weasley, right? Yeah, tell your brothers that Merula Snyde says 'hi'."
"Um, who the heck are you?" Ron asked.
"Bill and Charlie, or even the twins, can give you the whole lecture, kid; I don't have time for lengthy introductions." Merula directed her attention towards Harry. "You're gonna take point when I sneak into Hogwarts, got it?"
"For what?" Harry and Sirius asked simultaneously.
"To help the Procrastinator Who Lived figure out his egg on the double. Honestly, boy, you're supposed to be the shining example to Slytherin house."
That statement didn't go down well with Hermione, who scowled. "He is the shining example, Miss."
"Yes, yes, slip on a ring and defend your husband some other time." Merula rolled her violet eyes. "But the fact remains that Potter's falling behind in this Tournament. What if that five-point gap doubles, or whatever, by the end of the third task? None of us even know how the final's gonna go down."
Tracey rubbed her chin and nodded. "Hmm, that's a good point. Are they going to work strictly on total points or will it be some sort of free-for-all for the Cup?"
"Clever girl; that's why you're in Slytherin," Merula said, once the group were halfway up the road. "Here's the deal, Potter, er, Harry —"
"Call me whatever's in your heart, Miss."
Merula snorted. "So, Harry, when we get to Hogsmeade and everyone starts going home, I'm gonna slip on my Invisibility Cloak and follow you into the grounds. Don't worry, I know the Obliteration Charm like the back of my hand; nobody's gonna see that extra set of footprints in the snow. Oh, by the way, did you figure out who messed with this Tournament yet?"
"How do we know it's not you?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes at Merula. "For someone who no longer attends this school, you're awfully interested in Harry's performance... more so than anyone else out there."
"And she's got Death Eater parents in Azkaban," said Tracey, causing all but Harry and Hermione to stop and stare at Merula, who groaned.
"Then why would I be willing to help him, huh? Just because my stupid parents got themselves locked up for serving Voldemort" — Ron, Tracey, and Sirius blinked in surprise — "doesn't mean that I'm following suit."
"Yeah, guys, leave the chick alone," Harry said.
"I may be willing to help you with that egg, Champ, but that doesn't mean that I hatched from one. Address me properly — whoops!" Merula had walked right into Mafalda by mistake. "I'd almost forgotten you were there, er..."
"Mafalda Prewett."
"Oh, so you're the Squib-spawn that's friends with my little cousin."
Mafalda held her head high and proceeded to walk on Harry's right, thus putting him between her and Merula. "So?"
Merula let out a low whistle as they continued up the long, slightly curving road. "So they must be bullying you like hell in our house, eh? How many other friends do you have —"
"Drop it," said Sirius, shaking his head. "How old are you anyway? You're starting to sound like my screwed up family now."
"Yeah," said Ron, adding his bit to the conversation. Harry had seen Tracey poke him into saying something in defence of Mafalda. "She's, er, well... she's my family, Snyde. So don't mess with my family, OK?"
The main topic over the next few minutes concerned whoever placed Harry's named into the Goblet of Fire, and how they might be reacting to his performance thus far. "Must be a bittersweet moment for our culprit," said Hermione. "Sure, Harry's last, but the gap between him and Fleur is almost worthless at this stage. If Fleur could jump from the bottom up, then so can our champion!"
Merula withdrew an Invisibility Cloak from her inner trench-coat pocket and threw it around herself. "From what I've heard, you should know all about this, Harry Potter. Let's get to the common room, grab that egg, and then head to the Forbidden Forest."
"For what?" Harry asked, and everyone else looked puzzled as well. "Don't tell me the third task could be in there? No way would the centaurs play ball."
That sentiment was shared by Hermione. "They're extremely territorial. I doubt even Professor Dumbledore could get them to allow a task to run through their Forest. And there's no way the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would set things up without the consent of the centaurs."
There was still a long way to go until they'd be anywhere near the front gates of Hogwarts. They weren't even near the village of Hogsmeade yet, and Harry therefore decided to hold out his right arm and walk hand in hand with Mafalda. It was a reminder that no matter how many snide remarks she got — whether regarding her blood status, lack of friends, or invitation to the Yule Ball — she still had people who cared about her, especially Harry.
Slowly but surely, the group kept on walking down the long road ahead. The afternoon breeze had picked up a notch, and the cloudy sky had grown darker by the hour out here. Harry decided to spend the next fifteen minutes or so discussing his duel with Tonks, with the rest of his group. They all had something to say about this or that concerning his performance, especially Merula. The latter was particularly vocal about Harry getting disarmed in the end, although the rest of the group politely reminded her that the Tonks of today was obviously more skilful than the one from back in Merula's time at Hogwarts.
It was a long, chilly walk as the group gradually came closer to the sprawl of buildings far ahead. They could see the road eventually turning to the right as it passed the village on its left, in order to lead up to the front gates of Hogwarts. Neither Harry, Hermione, Ron, Tracey, Mafalda, Merula, nor Sirius said a word as they simply took to enjoying their afternoon stroll out here.