Chapter 9

The day of the second task finally arrives and after having woken up early and given up on eating breakfast, Harry has moved to the shore of the lake, looking into its depths, knowing that Ginny is down there. He is startled when he suddenly feels an arm around his shoulder and looking up, he sees a softly smiling Fleur taking a seat next to him, with Tonks joining her on his other side.

'Wotcher, Harry, how are you holding up?'

He pulls a blade of grass from the ground and begins to idly twist it as he stares across the cold waters of the lake.

'I'm worried, Tonks. What if I can't safe her in time? What if I can't safe her at all? I can't lose her, Tonks. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me.'

The two women quickly put their arms around the distraught young man, trying their best to comfort him.

'Harry, mon frère, do not worry. You are no longer alone, you have amis et famille to help you. Besides, from what I have seen of you, je suis sûr que you will do excellent.' Seeing the look on his face because of the unfamiliar French words, she giggles. 'I really have to teach you la lange français, the French language. I said that I'm positive that you will do excellent, mon frère. So, cheer up, Harry. Soon you will have your lovely petite amie back. Soon this horrible cauchemar, nightmare, will be over and you will be able to live a normal life together with young Ginevra.'

'Fleur is right, Harry. You will do just fine and soon you will have your favourite redhead back again. And just think off the reward she will give you for saving her from the bottom of the Black Lake!'

She winks at him and both women have to laugh as Harry turns red as he thinks about that.

They spend the time until the start of the task just talking and when the crowd starts to gather, they both give him a kiss for good luck before he and Fleur walk together to where the Champions are gathering.

After having been given instructions, the Champions take up position along the bank of the lake, waiting for the signal to start. As soon as it sounds, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur, who gives him an encouraging smile, dive into the water, leaving Harry the last one standing on the bank. Taking a deep breath, he takes of his robes, revealing the swimming trunks and shirt underneath. He slowly starts to walk into the water, putting the Gillyweed in his mouth as he does so and almost gagging at the revolting taste. When only his head is above the freezing water, he takes several more calming breaths until he feels a pain in his neck and breathing is becoming difficult. Diving under, he immediately relaxes as he feels the water passing through his newly acquired gills, glad that the revolting plant also takes care of the coldness of the water.

After taking a couple of testing strokes, he kicks hard with his legs and sets off for the bottom of the lake.

He quickly heads for the bottom, amazed at how clear he can see underwater, making sure to keep his eyes out for any creatures. Luckily, he doesn't see anything except for some vague shapes in the distance and he quickly comes to the edge of what seems to be a forest of kelp. Holding still for a moment as he assesses the forest in front of him, he decides that the best way to proceed is to go over it, seeing as he doesn't know how far it extends to either side. Pulling out his wand, he starts to make his way as quickly and carefully as possible, his eyes continuously scanning the eerily moving kelp. Spotting something out of the corner of his eye, he dodges to the side just in time to avoid being grabbed by a Grindylow. As he sends a jet of red light at the creature, he spots several others closing in and he starts to rapidly fire more stunners at the creatures, causing them to back off. Deciding to put some distance between himself and the kelp, he rises a little until he is out of reach of any Grindylow hiding amidst the kelp and continues his way.

He hasn't gone far when he again spots something from the corner of his eye. Turning in the direction, he sees some kind of disturbance not too far away. Deciding that whatever is going on doesn't concern him, he turns around just as he sees a jet of light just like he himself shot at the Grindylows earlier. After a moment of hesitating, and praying that Ginny won't kill him, he turns back and heads towards the disturbance.

When he is close enough to see what is going on, his eyes widen as he sees Fleur being swarmed by a veritable horde of Grindylows, firing spells as fast as she can, but it's clear that she is about to be swamped and without thinking about it, Harry speeds towards her, rapidly firing spells at the creatures attacking her.

Surprised by the sudden attacks, several Grindylows are hit by his spells before they even realize he is there. However, as soon as they seem him, a large group brakes of from attacking Fleur and heads towards him.

Seeing them come, Harry acts on instinct and conjures his Patronus. Surprised by the sudden appearance of a large silver stag, which in the murkiness of the water looks even more intimidating, the Grindylows halt, unsure of what to do. As the confused creatures' debate what to do, the large stag charges and to the surprise of both the Grindylows and Harry, takes two of the creatures on his antlers and throws them away before turning to the others. For a second, the Grindylows hang motionless in the water, then they scatter in every direction in a mad panic to get away from the strange, silver creature.

After that, Harry and Fleur working together make quick work of the remaining Grindylows. When the last one has disappeared, Fleur throws herself at Harry.

'Thank you, thank you, mon frère. The Grindylows were drawn to me because I'm part Veela. They were about to swamp me, there were so many. Merci, mon frère.'

'Eh, it was no problem, Fleur. Eh, I was just glad that I spotted your spell fire, because I was about to ignore whatever was going on. Eh, shall we go on?'

'Oui, mon frère. Let's get your petite amie and ma petite soeur. Together.'

Harry grins at her, his new big sister, and grabbing her hand, the two quickly set off again.

They quickly make their way deeper into the lake without encountering anymore problems. After what seems to feel like more than an hour, they suddenly stop, both of them tilting their head as they pick up a strange sound. A moment later, they grin at each other as they recognize the sound of multiple voices singing. They pick up their pace and soon they notice a faint glow at the edge of the kelp forest. Realizing that they must be close to the Merpeople village, they cautiously proceed on their way until they reach the edge of the forest, their mouths dropping when they see into the underwater valley below them. Stretched out over the valley, the village is a sight to behold. At once both eerily uninviting and hauntingly beautiful.

As he looks around, Harry notices several Merpeople, both male and female, hovering at the edge of the village close to where they are, some armed with spears, some with a crossbow-like weapon.

Giving Fleur a light nudge, he draws her attention to them and after a silent conversation, the two of them cautiously crest the ridge they were watching from and begin to make their way into the village. As soon as they start to approach the village, several of the watching Merpeople approach them, watching them. Nervously, both Harry and Fleur continue towards the village, only relaxing a little when most of the Merpeople return to their positions, with only two of them, one on each side, following them.

Picking up their pace, the two of them make their way through the village until they arrive at what they assume to be the village's main square. Standing directly in the centre of the village is a large statue of a proud looking Merman and tied to its tail are the four hostages.

Hurrying towards them, Harry freezes as he sees the pale form of his girlfriend, her red hair floating in the water, as he gets a flashback to when he first saw her in the chamber.

Shaking himself out of the vision, he smiles at Fleur, who was looking at him worriedly, and sets off again, hurrying to free his girlfriend, while Fleur heads to a young girl who looks like a miniature version of her, Harry guessing that it is her little sister.

Cutting Ginny loose, he hugs her close and only then takes the time to look around at the other two hostages, surprised to see that one of them is Hermione.

Not letting go of Ginny, he moves towards Hermione, watched by Fleur, who is holding on to her sister with one hand while holding her wand at the ready in the other.

However, as soon as Harry approaches Hermione, a Merwoman approaches him and holds up her hand.

'She is not your hostage to take. You have your hostage, Champion. Go.'

Looking from Hermione to Fleur, who nods, indicating that she is with him, he addresses the Merwoman.

'She is my friend; I won't leave her here.'

To his surprise the Merwoman smiles at him, showing yellow teeth.

'You're concern for your friend is commendable, Champion. Rest assured, should her Champion fail to rescue her, she will be brought to the surface unharmed. Until then, we will make sure that they are safe. You have our word, Harry Potter.'

Surprised that the Merwoman knows his name, he once again looks from Hermione to Fleur. Taking a deep breath, he nods at the Merwoman and with a final look at Hermione, he sets off for the surface, followed by Fleur.

Wasting no more time, Harry and Fleur make their way back to the surface as quick as they can and within no time both of them break the surface of the Black Lake, Ginny and Fleur's sister waking up as soon as they do so.

Grinning widely, Ginny immediately captures his lips with her lips.

Hearing a throaty laugh, she pulls away from him and looks around to see a laughing Fleur, holding a smiling and blushing little girl.

'Welcome back, ma soeur. Harry was very worried about you.'

Looking back at her boyfriend, she smiles and gives him a quick kiss.

'I wasn't worried. I knew that you would find me and rescue me. Of course, I will still make sure to reward you properly once we are alone.'

Seeing him blush causes Fleur to laugh again.

'Ah, mon frère, do not feel embarrassed. You have earned whatever recompense my redhaired sister has in mind.'

She is interrupted by her sister asking something in French.

'Ah, how rude of me. Harry, Ginny, this is my little sister Gabrielle. Now, shall we make our way back to the judges?'

After greeting Gabrielle, who smiles shyly at Harry, the four of them make their way back to the shore where they are helped onto dry land by Sirius and Tonks.

Having noticed them from where she was waiting, Madam Pomfrey hurriedly makes her way over to them, muttering under her breath

'Whoever thought it was a good idea to have a swimming contest in the Black Lake in the middle of a Scottish winter! Idiots all of them! Ah, Mr Potter, I see that for once you managed to get through something without any serious injury.'

Still muttering under her breath, she quickly checks all four of them over, needing only to heal some of the, luckily, small wounds that Fleur received when she was attacked by the Grindylows.

When she is finished, she gives a soft smile and moves forward to hug Harry only to refrain herself at the last minute.

'All done. You did very well, Mr Potter. As did you Miss Delacour. Now, you better head over to the judges table to receive your points. Off you go now.'

With a grateful nod to the Matron, whose eyes are shining suspiciously before she blinks and wipes them, the four of them make their way to where the judges are sitting, talking amicably, with Fleur translating for her sister.

Just as they near the area, they are met by Susan Bones and an anxious looking Ron, with Neville, Hannah Abbott and Luna following close behind.

Susan immediately moves to Ginny, hugging her, much to the latter's surprise, and asks her if she is alright. After receiving a nod, she turns to Harry and hugs him as well before greeting Fleur and Gabrielle.

'Harry, you did amazing! You and Fleur are the first to return and you arrived just within the time limit. How did it go? Are you hurt?' Seeing the treated wounds on Fleur's arms and legs, she stifles a gasp. 'Oh my, Fleur, you're hurt! Are you alright?'

Taken a little aback by the younger girl, Fleur looks at Harry, who can only shrug and give her a wry smile. Luckily, an amused looking Hannah steps forward and takes a hold of her friend.

'Susan, calm down. You can see that they are alright. Besides, you saw Madam Pomfrey looking after them. There will be plenty of time for them to tell what happened in the lake after the scoring.'

Blushing slightly, Susan nods and takes a deep breath to calm down. Still looking around anxiously, Ron now steps forward and starts to ask something when Luna cries out.

'Oh, look, Cedric has returned, and he has Cho with him. She doesn't look happy doesn't she?'

As they all turn to look, they realize that not happy fails to adequately describe how Cho Chang looks. In a word she looks miserable and even from the shore they can see her shivering.

'You know, I have to agree with Madam Pomfrey. Whoever thought it a good idea to go swimming in the Black Lake in the middle of winter needs to have his head checked.'

Looking at the two struggling in the near freezing water, Harry can't help but agree with his girlfriend and the School Matron, however before he can comment on it, Ron, who wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the water, grabs hold of him.

'Harry, have you seen Hermione? I've been looking everywhere for her and I can't find her anywhere. What if Crouch got her?'

Harry quickly looks around as Ron mentions Crouch and gives a sigh of relief when he sees that there is no one nearby to overhear them, while Ginny gives him a scathing look.

Just as she is about to admonish him, she sees something moving in the water and turning to look, she spots Viktor and Hermione breaking the surface.

Knowing what her brother's reaction will be if he sees that Hermione was Viktor's hostage, she tries to distract him but is foiled by Luna.

'Oh, there is Viktor with Hermione. They made a cute couple at the Yule Ball.'

Ron's reaction is slow but predictable. First he freezes as his eyes seek out the two figures in the water, then he balls his fist as he slowly turns red and he begins to stalk towards them.

Giving an exasperated sigh, having had plenty of experience with Ron's temper over the last four years, Neville quickly steps in front of him.

'Ron, calm down!'

'Calm down? Calm down! That.. That bastard took my Mione! I'm going to kill him!'

Both Harry and Ginny can't help but smile as they hear Ron's nickname for Hermione but know that they have to calm him down quickly before he does something he will regret. Luckily, Neville realizes this as well.

'Ron, listen to me. Hermione volunteered to be his hostage.'

'What? What do you mean she volunteered to be his hostage? She wouldn't do that, no way.'

Sighing again, Neville tries to explain, hoping that Ron will understand and won't do anything rash.

'Ron, Viktor has no one here. Unlike Fleur, he doesn't have any siblings and because of who he is, he doesn't really have any good friends either. When the judges needed a hostage for this task, they asked Hermione if she was willing to be that hostage, knowing that she and Viktor went to the Ball together. Hermione agreed, saying that it was the least she could do for a friend.'

Seeing that Ron is still not convinced by Neville's words, Harry starts to get angry himself.

'Look Ron, Hermione likes you, not Viktor. That's what she told you in the common room after the Yule Ball. Now, you either believe her or you are going to lose her, because, frankly, you've got a jealous streak a mile long and one of these days it will lead you to say or do something that will really hurt her. Is that what you want to happen?'

Opening and closing his mouth, Ron looks like a fish on dry land for a moment before finally shaking his head.

Closing his eyes and feeling a headache coming on, Harry hopes that he has finally gotten through to his best mate and pushes him in the direction of Viktor and Hermione.

Needing no extra incentive, Ron hurries towards them, arriving just in time to wrap Hermione up in a dry blanket, earning him a kiss from the bushy haired witch.

Watching on, Harry is startled when he feels a kiss on his cheek and looking down, he sees Ginny smiling up at him.

'You did very well, Harry. I might just keep you.'

Smiling in return, he gives her a kiss in return before following a smiling Fleur to await the tallying of the points.

After the second task, which ends up seeing Harry and Fleur joined in a comfortable first place, thanks in no small part to the extra points they received for working together and wanting to save the other hostages as well, things calm down for Harry as he spends his time between school, training for the last task and spending time with his friends and Ginny, but mainly with Ginny.

A week after the second task, they receive word from Sirius that, thanks in no small part to Bill, they have managed to retrieve and destroy another Horcrux, leaving just the snake and the unknown final one, which is probably something that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and is more than likely hidden somewhere in Hogwarts. Unfortunately, they have no clue what it is or where exactly it is hidden.

Countering that is the news that Amelia Bones is slowly but surely isolating Fudge whilst at the same time frustrating Lucius Malfoy.

And so, the days progressed until early in May, as Harry and his friends are enjoying lunch in the Three Broomstick, they are joined by a tired looking Sirius and Remus, who, to everyone's surprise, only gives Tonks a tired smile when she plops down in his lap and gives him a kiss.

'Wow, not even a blush. You really must be tired.'

Giving the pink-haired Auror another tired smile, he surprises her by returning her kiss.

'I am, Nymphadora. I really am. Plus, Sirius managed to finally hammer it into me that I need to stop running from myself and that I deserve some happiness.'

With that he gives her another, deeper kiss, leaving her breathless and Sirius, Harry, Ginny, and the other girls smiling.

'Wow, glad you finally came to your senses, you old Wolf. Guess I can return the sledgehammer I bought to hammer you myself.'

This causes the others to laugh while Tonks smirks at Remus before retaking her seat, moving it a little closer to him.

Happy that Remus has finally come to his senses, Harry turns to his godfather only for the smile to leave his face as he sees his tired visage.

'Is everything alright, Padfoot? Has something gone wrong?'

To his surprise, Sirius just snorts and gives him an amused look before downing a firewhiskey.

'Couldn't be better, Pup. Fudge is as good as done; we just need to wait for the right moment to kick him out. And the way it looks right now, Ami is poised to take over as Minister. It turns out that having a reputation of being honest, fair, and incorruptible garners a lot of support. Of course, it helps to have the support of someone as formidable as Augusta Longbottom. Thanks to the help of the Goblins in going through Fudge's financial records, we have identified several upstanding members of society as Death Eaters who paid their way out of Azkaban, including I'm happy to say, one Lucius Malfoy.'

He pauses as he takes another swig of firewhiskey and grabs a sandwich from the plate on the table.

'We also managed to identify those who might support or at least sympathise with Riddle while at the same time garnering support from those Families traditionally viewed as Dark but are actually neutral, like the Greengrass Family. Thanks to our growing numbers, we now also have enough people to keep tabs on known and suspected Death Eaters. In short, we are as ready as we will ever be to take down old Snakeface once and for all.'

Harry And Ginny share a puzzled look, while the others, except Luna, also look confused.

'Eh, Sirius, if things are going so well then why do the two of you look so done in?'

Before Sirius can answer, Remus throws him an annoyed look.

'Yes, Padfoot, why don't you tell them why we look done in?'

'Moony, I said I was sorry.'

Remus just harumphs as he refills his coffee, leaning his elbows on the table as he takes a sip.

Looking from Remus to Sirius, Tonks rolls her eyes and draws her wand.

'Alright, you two listen up! Harry asked you a question and we all would love to know the answer, so spill!'

Throwing Sirius a baleful look, causing him to cringe, Remus starts to address the table.

'Well, the day before yesterday, we were tied up in dealing with the Wizengamot, a thoroughly frustrating affair. When we were finally finished, Sirius decided that it would be a good idea to go and unwind and suggested that we should go for a drink. Seeing how mind-numbingly boring and tiresome dealing with most of those old farts is, I agreed. Little did I know that when Sirius suggested going for a drink, he really meant going clubbing. To be exact, going to muggle clubs.

Now, being the juvenile delinquent that he is, Sirius decided to play some pranks on some of the guys in the club as well as chat up the ladies. Of course, all this he had to do while consuming copious amounts of liquor.'

At this, Tonks face is set in a look of both amusement and disbelief.

'Don't tell me, he got dead drunk, started a bar fight and what? Got arrested?'

Her eyes widen as she sees Remus throw another baleful look at Sirius as he nods.

'No! you guys got arrested? By the muggle police?'

Another nod from Remus.

'Correct, Nymphadora. Not only did the flea bitten mud get into a bar fight, but he also started said fight and managed to drag me into it when I tried to drag him out of the club. Say all you will about muggles, but their police know how to do their job. After they arrived, they quickly sorted out what happened and invited Sirius to spend the night in one of their holding cells. Up until that moment, I was still fine, several people having told the police that I tried to stop him. That's when Sirius decided to tell them that I was wanted by the police, so after I tried to punch him, I was invited to join him until they could clear things up. It wasn't until this morning that things had been cleared up and Sirius was sober enough to be let out. I can reliable inform you that a holding cell in a muggle police station is not designed for comfort.'

Trying desperately to contain her laughter, Ginny addresses both men.

'Why didn't you simply apparate out of there?'

The look Remus now gives him, causes Sirius to slide down the chair until his head is barely visible.

'Oh, I didn't tell the best bit yet, Ginny. You see, after he suggested that we go out for a drink, we went home to change. It was then that Sirius had the brilliant idea of going full muggle. Meaning he stole my wand as I was in the shower, replaced it with a fake one he got from Fred and George, and left his own wand behind as well. So you see, Ginny, we couldn't apparate because we didn't have our wands with us!'

Speaking in a small voice coming from underneath the table, Sirius addresses Remus.

'I said I was sorry, Moony. It seemed like a good idea at the time. You know, just some harmless fun.'

Shaking his head as he tries to contain his laughter, Harry puts his arm around an equally laughing Ginny.

'You know, I'm glad that your parents are now my guardians. Imagine if Sirius and Remus were my guardians!'

'Merlin, that would be bad! You would spend most of your time parenting them!'

Seeing the look on the faces of Sirius and Remus causes the entire table to dissolve into fits of laughter.

Hearing the boisterous laugh of the young woman next to him and seeing the affronted look on his best friend's face's is too much for Remus and soon he has tears rolling down his face as he succumbs to laughter himself.

'Oi, what is this? Pick on Sirius-day?'

'YES!'

Seeing Sirius cross his arms and pout, causes everybody to laugh even harder.

After several long moments, everybody calms down again and Harry turns to his godfather, his face now serious.

'Did you have any more luck with finding the final Horcrux?'

Sirius just shakes his head.

'Nope. We suspect it is something belonging to Ravenclaw and while I still believe that your hunch about it being hidden in Hogwarts is correct, Dumbledore believes that it is hidden somewhere else. Of course, he has no idea where.'

'You should ask the Grey Lady.'

Surprised, they turn to look at Luna, who is playing with some bottle caps with a dreamy smile on her face.

'Talk with who now?'

'The Grey Lady. She is the Ravenclaw ghost. The item you are looking for is more than likely Ravenclaw's lost Diadem. It is said that it would bestow greater intelligence on any who wear it.'

Unaware of the dumbfounded looks of those around her, Luna continues to play with the bottle caps.

'If you want to know what it looks like, there is a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing the Diadem in our common room. Professor Flitwick told us all about her. I like Professor Flitwick. He's nice and funny.'

Silence and two loud thumps follow her words as Sirius and Remus bang their heads on the table.

After banging his head a few times, to the amusement of those watching, Sirius turns to look at Remus.

'Remus, why didn't we think to ask Filius about an item that might have belonged to Ravenclaw?'

'I.. I don't know. I never thought of it. I mean, I assumed that Dumbledore had asked him about it. It didn't occur to me to ask him personally.'

Sirius bangs his head one more time before standing up, a look of firm resolve on his face.

'Right, no more dillydallying.' He turns to Luna, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. 'My dear Lady, may I escort you back to the castle?'

Luna just smiles, takes his hand, and makes a curtsy.

'You may, kind Sir.'

The two quickly leave the Three Broomsticks, followed by Remus and Tonks, leaving the amused others to their meal