I should have known it was going to happen, but still, it was slightly surprising to see my picture in the paper a few mornings later with a large headline dedicated entirely to me. Rita Skeeter had somehow found out about the fight and had gone into rather explicit detail of how I had savagely beaten three boys almost to death and that I was a wild tyrant who walked around threatening to curse other students whilst hexing others. Of course, the threatening part was true, but I'd never actually done it. The article should have infuriated me, but I just read it calmly whilst eating an apple, perusing through it to see what that woman had to say about me. None of it was nice, though admittedly the picture was rather flattering. I guess I just didn't have a bad side to me, after all I was stunningly attractive.
Rita Skeeter had then gone on to talk about my true parentage, how my father was Sirius Black the mass murderer, with some sketchy suggestions that perhaps I had been the one to help him in and out of Hogwarts last year and that I was still helping him stay hidden from the law. Then there were some parts about my schoolwork, which according to Skeeter bordered on the 'dangerous and unnatural' with 'wild experimentation' which demonstrated how 'clearly unhinged and mentally disturbed' I was.
That last one was rather good, I'll have to remember that one. In any case, the entire article was dedicated to ruining my reputation and character, with several interviews from students who wished to remain anonymous saying how frightening I was and that I went unchecked by teachers due to the fact that I terrified them too. She called me a werewolf sympathiser, a beastly girl of little talent and a nasty temper with a clear fascination for monsters and the Dark Arts. The last part got me slightly, where Skeeter ended the article with a question as to whether I was going to be the next loyal supporter of Lord Voldemort in order to follow in my father's footsteps.
By this point others had finished reading too and were starting to look at me, whispering but I ignored them. "Um…Mia…are you alright?" Ginny asked me nervously, thinking I might explode but I just flipped the page over and read the sports column instead.
"Perfectly Ginny, don't worry. I won't be displaying any unhinged behaviour over something petty like this. I just wonder why it took her so long. In actual fact, I'm disappointed. I would have thought she'd have put more effort in but this feels rather half-arsed. She didn't mention anything about the fact that I eat first years or breakfast and use them in blood sacrificing rituals even once." I said to her blandly, taking another bite of my apple and chewing. She immediately looked to her brothers, all of them looking a little lost for words. Even Fred and George didn't know what to say at first, but eventually they recovered and started ripping the article apart to find new material to use and make it all into one big joke. I knew I could count on them to make this funny.
Soon we were all in stitches, and having finished the paper I happily passed it along to someone else to read as I got up and headed off to lessons without losing my temper once. I was quite pleased with myself, though the next day a new article was printed, again all about me. Now it was focusing almost entirely on the mayhem I'd brought to the school through my pranks and jokes, exaggerating them until they seemed like almost fatal accidents. According to her, I tried to blow up an entire floor of the castle only a week into my first year.
I protest. That had been the twins, and it had been dungbombs. Nothing more. Still, it wasn't like Skeeter actually showed her face anywhere for me to collar her and maybe curse her with tentacles coming out of her nose or give her a nice pair of antlers to carry around. How was she getting all this information? I started to think that maybe she was somehow able to listen through walls. Maybe she was part of the walls. Whatever the case, the new war being waged against me that Hagrid's secret was now completely forgotten and he started to re-emerge from his hut once more and resume teaching.
It was nice to have him back, nicer still that we were looking after unicorns. With everything else going on, being around such calm and tranquil creatures really made one feel better, and Hagrid seemed to be trying his best to cheer me up by saying that the articles were utter rubbish and that he was going to write as many strongly worded letters as it took to secure a reprint and an apology to the both of us. "Good for you Hagrid, that's exactly the kind of attitude I like to see!" I'd smile at him then continue grooming a unicorn I'd managed to capture, giving the stallion a full health check under Hagrid's instruction.
February was now quickly starting to vanish, so I returned once more to my golden egg and pondered over what Dumbledore had meant. I carried it with me everywhere, wondering if he'd meant literally soak in it. That's how I ended up taking my egg to the prefects baths late in the evening when I knew they'd be unused, swimming for a while before then bringing the egg into the water and submerging it. To my surprise, it didn't scream when I opened it so I quickly took a breath and dove down in order to listen, where a beautiful voice sang to me a riddle for me to decipher.
So Dumbledore had meant it literally when he told me to soak it all in. I should have figured this out weeks ago! It took me a few turns to listen to it over and over again until finally I puzzled it all out. The lake. I bet our next task was going to be at the lake where we'd have to go to where the mer-people live and take back whatever it is they'd stolen. They better not take my Firebolt, I treasure that a bit too much. Anyway, I left the baths feeling upbeat and confident, so now all I had to do was tell Harry, though I decided against giving the entire game away. It was rather fun, so I gave him the hint of taking his egg for a bath and gave him the password to the prefects' bathroom for him to have a think, whilst deciding on how best I was going to deal with this situation.
We barely had two weeks left to figure this all out, but rather oddly, Harry insisted on trying to figure out how to manage the task without my help, wanting to challenge himself and see how he'd do so I accepted and left him to it, Hermione and Ron helping him to read through numerous books. I'd already decided what I was going to do, so I spent my time leisurely with Fred, George and Lee, getting the gang back together since I had been mostly absent. Just for old time's sakes, we played a few pranks around the castle just for a laugh, though nothing too major as not to get caught.
At meal times I sat with Ginny, talking with her about anything and everything, making sure to divide my time equally between studies and social interactions, though this was a lot more difficult to maintain now that I had gained a lot more friends this year than I'd originally planned. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students often came over to me, which then lead other Hogwarts students to approach me for help speaking to someone if there was a language barrier, and somehow I became some kind of interpreter. I should really charge for all this.
Anyway, by the time the evenings rolled around I'd be glad to just sit by the fire and enjoy the warmth, Ginny sometimes in company if her other friends weren't around and if I had no energy left to handle the twins and their antics. Keeping half an eye on Harry, the days crept closer until the morning of the second task arrived, so I woke up early in order to get myself ready, made sure to eat a hearty breakfast before I then joined Fleur in order to walk down to the lake about an hour before we were scheduled to start.
Like before, we had both been given a uniform to change into, the costumes waiting for us when we arrived to a smiling Bagman who congratulated us on figuring out the egg. Viktor arrived just as we were changing, where Fleur and I stepped out in swimming costumes. Hers was a silver one piece whilst mine was a gold sporty two piece, the bottoms being a pair of feminine swimming trunks. Now that we were ready, all we had to do was wait for Harry and the rest of the school. I expected him at any moment to come strolling across the lawn, however even after every other student had come down to the lake in order to climb up the viewing stands which had been built to overlook the lake, there was still no sign of him. Where was he? Ron and Hermione wouldn't have let him sleep in, there's only ten minutes left until we start. I knew I should have gone and fetched him myself.
"Well, where is he? I must say this is highly untoward. He should have been here at least half an hour ago!" Percy huffed, once again standing in for Mr Crouch as he remained still too ill to work. I offered to go and find him but was told to stay put as some of the judges, mainly Karkaroff, suggested that perhaps Harry wasn't coming. Before I could argue, however, Harry's distant shape came sprinting across the grass towards and did not slow down until he reached us, pulling himself up onto the podium with the stands above us as a resounding cheer for his lateness accompanied him.
"I'm…here…"
"Where have you been?" Still frowning in disapproval, Percy snapped at Harry who was struggling to breathe from the fact that he'd just raced for his life across the entire school grounds. "The task's about to start!"
"Now, now Percy, let him catch his breath!" Bagman interrupted, quickly ushered him away in order to get changed into his own swimwear, scarlet and black shorts and a loose shirt, before having Harry stand beside me as we lined up at the edge of the stands. Someone must have used magic because all at once, they started to move forwards further out over the lake so that we were directly over the water, watching it ripple and almost shudder below us. Bagman proceeded with a quick introduction to the task without actually giving anything away, giving me time to whisper to Harry discreetly.
"Did you figure something out or do you need me to help you breathe underwater?" I asked him but he shook his head, managing a grin at me as he showed me a rather squidgy looked green weed before he hastily crammed it into his mouth. "Gillyweed! Brilliant Harry."
"Thanks, but it was Dobby who thought of it."
"The house-elf?"
"Yeah, he woke me up to tell me I was late. Guess I owe him another pair of socks." Having heard that Harry's number one fan, Dobby the house-elf, had a penchant for socks, I laughed lightly before turning to the lake, preparing to dive straight in. When the whistle blew, I dove straight in and didn't notice that Harry hadn't followed until I was already waving my wand and using transfiguration on myself, turning me into a partial aquatic creature so that I could breathe. My legs melted together and my trunks disappeared, forming a long, golden tail which glinted prettily as the fins unfolded and waved dreamily as I treaded the water, feeling its strength and power as I then gave myself webbed fingers and gills at my neck, focusing the transformation with carefully practiced magic.
I'd had to use the prefects' bath several times a week in order to get this right, swimming around in cool, clear water until I'd mastered it, and I was glad I took the time. Now looking around, I heard and even felt a heavy splash above me and saw Harry starting to sink so I struck the water with my tail and shot towards him, appearing before his eyes. Mine had also undergone a transformation, becoming slightly larger and the whites completely disappearing with narrow slits for pupils which flexed and dilated in order to adjust to the lighting, allowing me to see perfectly underwater.
Harry was still transforming, but as his feet kicked the water I saw them stretch into fine flippers, gills also appearing at his neck as he blinked several times and took in a deep gulp of air. "Alright Harry?"
"Yeah, I think so. What are you?"
"A mermaid, obviously." Rolling my eyes at him with a smile, I tapped my charm bracelet with my wand to show him the time. "We only have an hour, so pay attention to your watch. Do you want to search together or separately?"
"We should separate, we'll cover more ground that way. Do you think there's anything actually dangerous in here?" Harry asked me so I thought for a moment, recalling all the research I'd done in preparation for the task, looking up the kinds of creatures and challenges we'd face in this kind of habitat.
"The giant squid shouldn't bother us, just don't frighten him. There'll be Grindylows, so try and stay away from the seaweed, there might be a few kelpies around too, so watch out for them…" Giving him a quick crash course, I looked down at my tail and Harry's flippers before grinning. "Let's do a flip."
"A what?"
"Flip, let's do a flip for fun. Come on!" Grabbing his hand, I started to swim upwards and pulled him along with me until he got the idea, so when we both exploded out of the water, my tail flashed as it caught the sunlight which earned an appreciative gasp from countless girls. Harry and I both flipped back over our heads with a cheer which earned an enthusiastic applause from the crowds, summersaulting before we dove back into the water, laughing until bubbles started rising from our mouths. "Alright, enough fooling around. If you get into trouble send out red sparks and I'll do the same. See you Harry." Then I was off, the two of us heading in different directions and swimming lower towards the basin of the lake.
Being there underwater gave me a new appreciation for just how deep and vast it was. You saw so little from the surface it was like an entirely new world. I didn't have time to enjoy it, however, my charm was counting down the seconds and gave me intermediate warnings every ten minutes so that I could keep track of the time. Exploring below, I aimed for the centre of the lake, though it was pretty impossible to tell which way was what from all the way down here. I kept on having to ask my wand to point me to show me north so that I could correct my course.
Everything seemed to be going swimmingly – no pun intended – until I was attacked by a pair of sea serpents who must have swam in from the ocean all the way here. I should have guessed a few of these would be hanging about, I mean, how else would the giant squid eat a square meal everyday unless something big enough showed up? I fired several spells at the serpents, who bared their needle like teeth at me as they coiled together and moved like whips through the water. Moving as fast as I was able, I fought them off until I managed to send them flailing away, both of them screeching though a huge tentacle suddenly shot out from the depths of an ominous cavern to snatch them both and drag them out of sight.
I guess the giant squid was hungry. Shaking my head, I turned away in order to continue swimming, getting my bearings once more and checking the time. It was running out, but I was sure that I was getting close now because I could hear singing. It brought me closer, my body rippling as I beat the water with my tail until I broke through a veil of seaweed in order to find myself looking upon an underwater city that had long since fallen into ruins, but now possessed and eerie beauty as it stood in the greenish loom of watery light. Everywhere I looked I could see selkies, cousins to mer-people, guarding their home with crude looking spears.
Darting forwards, I began to streak out into the open and followed the sound of singing, gliding over the numerous homes below before I came upon a large statue which looked something like a mer-person, though it took a moment for me to recognise the image. What really took my attention, however, was the fact that four people were tied to the tail and Harry was there with them. "Harry!" I called out to him, striking the water and using my hands to gain speed to move towards him, his head turning quickly until I rose up before him. There was Ron and Hermione, floating seemingly lifelessly which sent a shudder through me. What I focused on, however, was the fact that Ginny was there too, as well as another girl who was much younger, with familiar silvery blonde hair and I recognised her as Fleur's sister.
"Is Ginny meant to be for you?"
"I suppose so. Ron must be your treasure, and Hermione is Viktor's." I spoke though bubbles continually rose from my mouth as I did so, garbling our speech. "I'll take Ginny up then come back to help with the others. You shouldn't stay long though, Harry, time's almost up. We only have ten minutes left." I warned him, tapping my charm bracelet to show him the countdown but he firmly shook his head and informed me he wasn't leaving until he was certain everybody would be safe. Nodding my head in understanding, I flashed him a grin before I severed the rope holding Ginny with a cutting spell, quickly freeing her before I hooked one arm around her back and started to swim her to the surface.
By heading straight upwards, I emerged from the water and pulled Ginny with me whereby she immediately coughed and spluttered, floundering in confusion so I quickly helped to support her as she blinked, pushing her hair out of her face. "Mia? I'm so glad you found me, it was Dumbledore, he said he was going to put us all into a deep trance…" Ginny started but by opening her mouth swallowed some water as it lapped against her face, making her cough again.
"Let's get you out of here first, come on." Turning around, I realised that the stands were now much closer to the centre of the lake, probably moved in anticipation of greeting the champions upon their return. So with Ginny I swam to the centre audience stands where the judges were waiting, helping to lift Ginny out of the water but the moment she was out, I turned and started to swim back.
"And where do you think you're going, Miss Black?" Dumbledore enquired before I could get too far, making me look towards him as he stood with the rest of the judges.
"To get the others."
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that. You have returned with your treasure, and just in time too. Only one minute to spare so a hearty well done to you, but I'm afraid this means that you have completed your task. You cannot go back."
"But…" Percy then promptly told me that it was the rules and I shouldn't argue, urging me to get out of the water. It was Madame Maxime who kindly told me that the others were in no danger and that I did not need to worry, that of course they wouldn't be left down there and that I should come out of the water in order to dry off and get warm. She held out her hand to me, offering it with a kind smile as Fleur lingered worriedly behind her. Fleur had already come back? But her sister was still down there, something must have gone wrong.
I begrudgingly agreed to come out of the water, swimming up to the edge of the stand before giving a final beat of my tail to shoot upwards, grabbing hold of Madame Maxime's hand before I twisted and landed on my butt, allowing me to quickly un-transfigure myself so that I once more had legs and didn't have to breathe through my neck. That was a sensation I was in no hurry to experience again anytime soon. Soon enough I was bundled up in a warm towel and I stood with Ginny as she told me all about how she'd been brought to McGonagall's office with Ron and Hermione where Dumbledore had explained to them about the task and what was going to happen to them. "It was rather cool, actually, though it's a shame we weren't awake, I'd have liked to have seen what was down there."
"Trust me, you weren't missing out on much." I promised her, telling her about the water serpents as I kept an eye on the time. Viktor was the next to surface with Hermione, the two of them being pulled out of the water and given a pepper-up potion each and warm towels. Now we just waited for Harry. He sure was taking his time, making me worry for him until finally, I saw two heads pop up out of the water. Ron and Gabrielle. Still no Harry. People were cheering now but I was already discarding my towel and dove back into the water, swimming over to Ron in order to help her with Fleur's younger sister as she was struggling to stay up. "Where's Harry?"
"I dunno, I just woke up here!" Ron squeaked so with a roll of my eyes, the two of us pulled Gabrielle back to safety. Just before I could dive back in, however, Harry shot out of the water, wand in hand with angry red welts all over his arms and legs. Soon everyone was descending upon him, but with a shout I made them all step back so that I could seize him by the arm and drag him over to Madam Pomfrey.
She gave him some pepper-up and I waved my wand over everyone who was still wet and damp, making the water vanish. "Harry! Harry are you alright? What happened down there? I knew I should have come back for you, was it Grindylows?" Catching his breath, Harry nodded his head, too exhausted to speak. The Gillyweed had now ceased its magical effects, meaning that Harry was once again perfectly normal. We all grouped together, glad to be out of the water as Hermione came rushing over to talk to Harry, smiling as she congratulated him on figuring out a way.
Viktor pulled a beetle from Hermione's hair, but she was hardly paying attention to him now, so I sent him a guilty smile. Poor guy. Anyway, Percy was fussing over both Ron and Ginny, looking rather pale faced and concerned until Bagman dragged him away in order to join the other judges in a conference, Dumbledore having finished speaking to the mer-people who had risen to the surface in order to tell him what happened. In the meantime, Fleur came over to thank Ron and Harry for saving her sister, kissing them both on their cheeks, which I'm sure made Ron very happy.
The Grindylows had got to her too and had needed to be rescued, which was a shame, but still. At least we were all out and in one piece. When Bagman delivered the scores, Fleur received only twenty five points out of fifty on account of being unable to finish the task, but she took it like a champ and insisted that she deserved zero. Krum was given forty, as he'd returned after the time limit, then they came to my score where Bagman caused. "And Miss Euphemia Black, despite the elegant use of transfiguration on herself and returning with her hostage with one minute to spare, broke the rules by returning to the water after the end of her task. Therefore, it has been decided to award her forty-five points only."
"What?! They can't do that! So what if you jumped back in? You were only trying to help!" Ginny was outraged, glaring at Bagman who cleared his throat at the sound of angered protest in order to reveal Harry's score, which ended up being equal to mine and being awarded second place on account of his demonstration of moral fibre and merits to ensure that all the hostages were returned safely. At this, Fleur gave him a dazzling smile as Gabrielle also sweetly blinked up at him, a hearty cheer sounding.
"We did it! We've taken first and second place Harry!" I celebrated with him as Ron grinned, shouting over the noise with a clap to Harry's back.
"There you go, Harry! You weren't being thick at all, you were showing moral fibre!" Waiting until the noise had died down, Bagman continued to speak with his wand pressed to his throat, amplifying his voice so that everyone could hear it across the lake.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming, precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions!" There was a another wild celebration back at the common room that night, courtesy of Fred and George and I noticed that even McGonagall seemed more cheerful than usual. She didn't even come to tell us to all go to bed until about three in the morning, much later than her usual timing.
Harry and I were at the centre of it all, with Ron also giving multiple accounts of what happened down there despite the fact that he was in an enchanted sleep and didn't actually have a clue. People seemed quite thrilled with the idea that I battled two water serpents then laughed when I told them that the giant squid ended up eating them. Maybe I'll find some kind of massive treat to throw to it as a thank you. In any case, with the second task out of the way and the news that dad had asked about our next Hogsmeade visit, I went to sleep with a flutter of excitement for the upcoming weeks.
