Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does. I'm just an avid fan.

Word Count: 3161

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Chapter 33: The Second Task

Ever since the Hogsmeade trip, Cadmus had been working hard to figure a way to breathe underwater for several hours. Not much to his surprise, there were several methods he could use. If Cadmus wanted a fail-proof method, Cadmus could use the Bubble-Head Charm, which creates a bubble-like covering around his head full of oxygen. There was also human transfiguration where he could turn himself into an aquatic animal, but it was risky because if wrongly transfigured, he could end up trapped forever. Lastly, several ingredients such as gillyweed, that could give him fish gills and fish webs. Those were pretty expensive and only sold in bulk. So, Cadmus decided to go with using the Bubble-Head Charm. His Charms class was going over the material, so he poured hours of study into mastering the charm. It wasn't too difficult; Professor Kim had given him a few helpful hints about how to master the Bubble-Head Charm, unknowingly helping him prepare for the second task.

There was one thing that still bothered Cadmus, the item he was to retrieve from the merpeople. The closer the second task came, the more Cadmus felt that he was wrong about something. You may ask, why Cadmus thought that there was a fault. Well, it was because he realized that the thing he sorely missed could be a person. This made everything much more complicated and scary. The merpeople could take anyone! His mother. His father. His Aunt. His Uncle. Jacob. Casper. Neville.

Cadmus suddenly realized something that made his heart stop. Daphne. Daphne was the one he missed the most. The one he held close to heart. The merpeople were going to take Daphne hostage underwater for the second task. Cadmus felt like he needed to do something to prevent them from taking Daphne, but he couldn't think of anything. What was there to do? With no idea of how to rescue her during the second task, Cadmus did his best to keep an eye out for any danger that came her way. Daphne didn't mind; she thought that he was sweet for being protective of her. The evening before the second task, Cadmus relentlessly practiced the Bubble-Head Charm several times until he was satisfied with his wand work. Daphne supported him during his practice sessions, each time patiently working the spell through with him. In the middle of their session, Casper interrupted them.

"Casper, what are you doing here? Don't you have Astronomy?" Cadmus greeted, setting his wand down to rest a bit.

"Yeah, but Professor McGonagall wanted me to get Daphne. M supposed to bring Daphne to her office," Casper said.

"Me? What for?" said Daphne, looking surprised. She had only met Professor McGonagall once, and that was during the Yule Ball. They never exchanged any words before.

"Dunno...she was looking grim though," said Casper. Cadmus had a funny feeling he knew the reason why Daphne was called to McGonagall's office. Daphne frowned and got up, glancing worriedly at Cadmus, who quickly stood up too.

"Should I go?" Daphne asked, gripping Cadmus' clothes nervously.

"I think so. Whatever she wants from you can't be too bad. Professors have to make a vow not to hurt students before they take the position, you'll be safe" Cadmus responded, his stomach flipping.

Daphne bit her lips, "Alright then." Cadmus watched the backs of Casper and Daphne leave the common room, silently hoping that Daphne was going to be safe. He was going to place his trust in Dumbledore for no harm to fall on her. He waited in the common room for hours, waiting for Daphne and Casper to return, but only Casper did. Cadmus asked Casper about why Daphne was sent to a Hogwarts professor's office, but Casper had no idea. Dejected, Cadmus slowly made his way to his bed, prepared to have a good night's rest before the big day tomorrow. He set the alarm clock next to his bed for 7:30, which gave him two hours of prep before the second task started.

On the morning of the second task, Cadmus woke up feeling uneasy. He barely managed to stomach any breakfast that morning because he was nervous. He only ate because Jacob forced him to eat his eggs and bacon. After all, he needed some strength. Cadmus felt terrible, in an hour or so he would be making his way across the Black Lake. Thirty minutes till the second task, Cadmus changed into his swimwear which bore his name, Harvard crest, and number 7 on the back. Slowly, Cadmus followed the rest of the students down the Hogwarts grounds to the deck, which had several small boats waiting to take them across to the lake to the stands. Before Cadmus could grab a boat, he spotted Casper about to get into a boat with two other Harvard students.

"Casper! Casper, have you seen Daphne?" Cadmus asked anxiously, his eyes darted everywhere for any sign of her blonde hair.

"No. I haven't seen her at all since yesterday" Casper responded, looking concerned and worried. Cadmus' fears were confirmed.

"Do you think perhaps McGonagall did something to her?" Casper suggested.

"Maybe," Cadmus said, jumping into the boat and removing the rope from the deck. "Casper, come on and get in!" Casper quickly got into the boat with Cadmus and made their way across the Black Lake. The closer they approached the three stands in the middle of the lake, the more agitated Cadmus got.

The boat reached the middle stand, and Cadmus could already see the stands filled up with dozens of supporters and students. Cadmus got off the boat and climbed up the platform of the stand. The farthest was the Hogwarts stand with dozens of students sporting yellow and black colors in support of Cedric Diggory. The one they stood on was the Durmstrang stand, which majority herded on the upper decks to give room to the judge's panel. And the one to their left was the Harvard stands, the single most energetic group of students. Cadmus looked up to see his mother with Dumbledore and Mr. Balevski near the judge's panel. He saw that he wasn't the first champion to arrive; both Cedric and Krum were present, warming up their body.

"Alright there Flamel?" Cedric asked when he saw him approach.

"Yeah, I guess," Cadmus said uneasily. He wasn't looking forward to swimming in the lake; the water is still freezing in February. Cedric nodded his head to acknowledge his nervousness. Cadmus was wondering why they were waiting so long until they heard someone running towards them.

"I'm...here!" Jamie Potter had just arrived, skidding to a stop next to them, which caused mud to splash around. His fist was closed around something green and slimy, Cadmus assumed was gillyweed. Once Jamie Potter arrived, Dumbledore walked over to them. Perenelle and Mr. Balevski followed.

"Excellent, all of our champions are here. Minerva, notify the crew to ready the cannon and clock tower please!" Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together. Minerva McGonagall departed to the upper deck of the stand. As McGonagall checked with the crew, the headmasters and headmistresses debriefed their champions.

"Cadmus. Keep an eye open for grindylow. They are aggressive creatures with a sicky strong grip. Break their grip. Whatever you do, don't stray too long" Perenelle prepared him.

"I understand," Cadmus assured his mother. Perenelle's frown dissolved into a relieved smile as she ruffled his hair.

"Good luck," Perenelle said before she headed back to the judge's panel and sat down in her armchair. She organized some papers around. McGonagall came back, so Dumbledore was ready to commence the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Dumbledore placed a Sonorous Charm on himself.

"Welcome to the second task, last night something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake."

"To win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. They will only have one hour to do so. One hour only." At this, Cadmus, Viktor, and Cedric turned to face their respective stands to hype them up. Cadmus heard the Harvard students chant his name, trying to overpower all the other cheering.

"Champions, you may begin at the start of the canon." Suddenly the cannon fired, and everyone exclaimed, rushing to the front of the decks to get a better look. Cadmus immediately cast the Bubble-Head Charm around his head like numerous times before and dived into the lake. Instantly, he felt the cold temperature of the water wake his body, but the Warming Charm he applied on his swimwear and body prevented him from being cold.

Wasting no time, Cadmus swam across the lake, his eyes trained on his surroundings in case of any attacks from grindylows or merpeople. As he propelled himself forwards with his legs, he looked around. All around him were forests of rippling, tangled black seaweed, and eerie green water. Occasionally, Cadmus would see crumpled stone structures that looked as if a thousand years old. As he swam towards the middle of the lake, the seafloor was no longer visible as the bottom delved deeper and deeper.

At last, Cadmus saw a clearing in the distance, a crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the stone structures lined in a sort of merpeople version of a village square. They held lethal-looking trident spears as they stood guard in front of something. The closer Cadmus swam, the clever he saw what they were guarding. Four people were bound tightly to the tail of a stone statue, floating just a couple feet above only restrained by a string. His eyes darted around to see Hermione, Cho Chang, a girl with light blonde hair, and Daphne. Cadmus' heart raced as he swam quickly to Daphne, cupping her soft face. She was in a deep sleep.

"Hang on, Daphne. I'm getting you out of here," Cadmus tried to say, but the bubble around his mouth prevented any sound from coming out. Cadmus wrapped one hand around her waist and wand in the other. He pointed his wand at the end of the string.

"Diffindo." The string cut cleanly off, and Daphne was free.

It was slow and tiring to swim upwards with Daphne, so Cadmus pointed his wand towards the surface and said, "Ascendio!" They shot to the surface of the water like a speeding torpedo. Once they both emerged, Daphne was shaken out of her dreamy state and thrashed wildly. Cadmus canceled his Bubble-Head Charm to calm her down.

"Daphne, it's ok. I've got you," Cadmus yelled, swimming over to her. Daphne grabbed onto Cadmus like a lifeline. When they reached the lower deck of the Durmstrang stand, they found Casper and Jacob waiting there with grins on their faces. They were both immediately wrapped in thick blankets, his father fussed over him, making them drink a hot potion. As Cadmus and Daphne warmed up on the sidelines, everyone waited patiently for news of the other champions.

"Quick! Look! That's Diggory in the clearing!" a third-year exclaimed, pointing to the dark figure of Cedric in the broadcast monitor. They saw Cedric carefully aim the cutting curse on the string, setting Cho Chang free. Cedric and Cho Chang resurfaced just a few minutes later, gasping for breath. Madam Pomfrey immediately rushed over to treat them.

As the clock ticked closer to the hour mark, there was no sign of Krum or Potter. Not soon after, they saw Krum with a transfigured shark head swim towards Hermione Granger. A snap of the rope with his razor shark teeth and Krum ascended towards the surface with Granger in tow.

There was still no sign of Potter until it was five minutes before 10. Potter emerged out of the seaweed forest to fight off the vicious grindylows. They could see that Potter was struggling to break the grip of the grindylow. There was a reason for his struggle because he was a fifth-year, but the spell to deter grindylows is taught to sixth-years. Someone yelled at the professors to do something, but no one moved an inch. The new rule was that the professors weren't allowed to intervene with the tournament unless the task was over. Jamie Potter, unfortunately, experienced this rule for the first time because no one was helping him get rid of the grindylows. One person seemed to be most distraught, and that was Lily Potter. She was calling her son's name as though her screams could soothe him, but it made the scene more upsetting.

Five minutes passed by antagonizing slow. When the clock tower struck the hour hand, the professors quickly set into motion figuring out ways to save the boy, but Cadmus felt that they were too slow. Before he knew what he was doing, Cadmus jumped into the lake with his Bubble-Head Charm on, swimming as fast as he could towards Jamie Potter. The grindylows that noticed Cadmus quickly changed their attention to him, attacking viciously. Their spindly fingers sucked onto his body, but Cadmus fought back.

"Relashio!" The overpowered Revulsion Jinx Cadmus sent threw all the grindylows off him in a jet of boiling water. Angry red patches appeared on their green skin, causing all of them to scatter away from him as far as possible. Not one grindylow dared to approach him again, fearful of being subjected to his jinx. Cadmus swam towards Jamie Potter and saw that there was no fighting energy left in the boy's body. Cadmus pushed Potter upwards to the surface of the lake with a grunt before he saw over to the last remaining hostage. Cadmus was about to raise his hand to cast the severing charm on the string when a pair of merpeople seized him.

"Let me go!" Cadmus tried to yell at the merpeople, but it was incomprehensible. They laughed and pointed the tridents at him.

"You've already taken your hostage. Leave the blonde girl alone, she's ours now," one of them said to him.

"No, she won't!" Cadmus shouted, mustering all his strength, and kick away the merpeople. He swam as fast as possible towards the blonde girl and cut her loose. Cadmus seized her arms and was about to ascend towards the surface when the merpeople approached him, looking murderous. When one of them lunged forward, Cadmus did not hesitate to stab his wand under their neck.

"I will not hesitate to cast my spell. I do not wish to cause harm, but if you proceed, there will be violence," Cadmus said, seriously. The merpeople took one look at his dangerous wand and backed off. Pleased to have their cooperation, Cadmus kicked his legs and brought the girl to the surface of the Black Lake.

Jamie Potter wasn't sure what he was doing. He was trying to fight off a mass of grindylows just a minute ago, and now he was on the surface of the water, gasping for breath. He tried to keep afloat, but all the adrenaline affected his motor skills.

"C'mon Potter, swim!"

Cadmus Flamel was behind him. Seeing that Jamie Potter was unable to move, Cadmus took it upon himself to drag Jamie towards the deck. Hannah was able to swim towards the deck on her own. It was when he got wrapped in blankets that Jamie realized Cadmus Flamel had saved him.

The judges gathered together to discuss the scoring of the task, glancing at the spluttering champions and their rescued hostages several times. Lily was beside herself when she saw all the cuts on his cheeks, arms, and legs. Madam Pomfrey applied creams all over his cuts to heal them. When Lily finally pried herself from her son's body, she turned to Cadmus.

"You saved my son," she said breathlessly, "Even though he didn't get along with you."

"Well, I would want someone to save me if I was in danger" Cadmus responded truthfully. He didn't know why he felt some kind of inclination to rescue Jamie Potter. Lily surveyed Cadmus Flamel with respect. James had told her to watch him carefully, but after this rescue act, Lily decided that there was no reason to, Cadmus was a good kid. Their brief interaction was interrupted by the booming voice of Amelia Bones, the new judge in place of Ludo Bagman.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has entailed the more specific details of what happened at the bottom of the lake. Therefore, we have decided to award marks out of fifty." She looked at Dumbledore and stepped aside to transfer the attention to him.

"Cadmus Flamel, demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was the first to return with his hostage Miss Greengrass, well within the hour time limit. He has also shown extraordinary heroism and sportsmanship towards Mr. Potter, who was unable to throw off the grindylows. We, therefore, award him forty-seven points."

A glowing proud Daphne squealed and jumped onto Cadmus, hugging him. Jacob was running in circles around them, jumping up and down like a kid who just got a sugar rush. The Harvard stand boomed loudly with sudden eruptions of cheers, which overpowered Dumbledore. After a while, they calmed down enough to hear the rest of the standings.

"Similarly to Mr. Flamel, Cedric Diggory also used the Bubble-Head Charm, returned second with his hostage Miss Chang. We award him forty-five points." Enormous cheers came from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; Cadmus saw Cho Chang give Cedric a glowing look.

"Viktor Krum, while performing a spectacular act of human transfiguration, used an incomplete form, which was nevertheless effective. He was third to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." The Durmstrang students in the crowd stomped their feet in approval, chanting Krum's name. Mr. Balevski clapped his hands, looking proud.

"Jamie Potter, although he made great use of gillyweed, was attacked mid-effort by grindylows and failed to retrieve his hostage Miss Abbott. For his efforts, we award him twenty-five points." There was moderate applause from the stands. Jamie Potter tried to deny the points, humbly declaring that he deserved none, but Dumbledore made it official. Above all the noise of happy chattering, Dumbledore managed to announce the next event.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Dumbledore. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand."

I did it, Cadmus thought dazedly. He had continued to hold a strong presence in the tournament and his first-place rank throughout the first and second tasks. Perenelle began to herd the students back into the castle, with Cadmus surrounded by all his supporters. Cadmus gave Jamie Potter one last look before he entered the castle, determined to change into dry clothes. Right now, he deserved a nice relaxing warm bath.

A/N: Yay, the second task is over! So now we look forward to the third task, which I think will be epic! So let me know what you would look forward to seeing in the third task, give me your opinions and ideas. I am excited to see your responses. After this chapter, I'm thinking of having a special reunion between Cadmus and Sirius. It will probably be heart-warming, so if you are susceptible to emotional scenes, be sure to have tissues nearby. Maybe after that chapter, I'll have Cadmus attend some of Moody's lessons, do some third task research, and possibly attend some CoMC classes. I'll have to see how the story transitions though. As always, please review.

Stay safe and happy,

mintloveme523