The night before the second task arrived much sooner than anybody, especially my brother, anticipated. After spending countless hours pouring over books on how to enable Harry to remain underwater for an hour, Professor Moody and my father requested Hermione and Ron go to my grandmother's office. Harry and I exchanged glances at the sight of the ex-Auror. Having lost the most studious among us, I could see my brother's resolve start to waver. I scooted closer to him.

"Harry…"

Before I could go much further, Neville stumbled upon us having been sent by Professor Moody to help us return all of the books.

"As I was saying…"

Clearly unaware of the intrusion he was causing, Neville interrupted us, turning over one of the books Hermione had selected for us to skim.

"You know, if you are interested in plants, you should really be looking into Goshawk's Guide to Herbology."

It was this statement that set my brother's teeth on edge, his anxiety pouring out of him.

"Honestly Neville, I could really careless. Unless there is some turnip or flower that can help me breathe underwater for an hour, than I'm not interested."

The rejection Neville felt didn't last long, a rather rare occurrence for the boy.

"I'm not sure about a turnip, but there is always Gillyweed."

I threw my brother an excited look. As our father would say, the witless wonder had delivered. Even I slept better those few hours knowing Harry had some solution heading into the tas.

At breakfast, Harry's nerves were tangible to everyone around him, surely heightened by the absence of his two mates.

"Where are they?"

I shrugged my shoulders then dropped my voice to a nearly inaudible whisper.

"I never saw Hermione return to her dormitory after being summoned to Granny's office."

Harry flashed me a concerned look.

"You can't worry about that now. I'm sure they will turn up. You've got to focus on getting through this task."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This time, I found myself seated not only beside my glamoured uncles, but my father caught onto their trick and desired to join us to watch the task. Unlike the race against dragons, this task kept us nervously biting our lips and wringing our hands, unsure of what was occurring down in the depths below. We caught glimpses of Harry's duel with mermaids and his uncertainty in how to proceed when Fleur's sister was left behind.

"Come on, son. Get Weasley and get out of there!"

I tightened my grip on my father's hand as we watched my brother send Ron and the Delacour girl up towards the surface. Time was nearly running out, both for the challenge as well as the Gillyweed.

"Use your wand Harry!" Sirius shouted, although to no avail. I held my breath.

Come on brother!

Soon enough, Harry shot up from the depths of the lake, landing on the constructed docks. A collective sigh was released between my uncles, father, and I. It didn't surprise anyone when Harry was awarded a tie for first place in the task, his bravery and commitment to doing the right thing enviable. He pulled through and despite being the youngest competitor in history, demonstrated the depth of his conviction. I truly had never seen my father more proud of his son.

Now with the second task behind us, there was only one more challenge before the blasted tournament was over. For the rest of the students and staff, there was a mixture of joy and sadness for the tournament to be ending. But for my family, all of our anxieties and fears were on high alert. With only one final task, we knew that Voldemort's trap for my brother would lie somewhere within the maze. All of us had tried to decipher the final portion of what I had overheard of Voldemort's plan, luring Harry to some graveyard. We were at an utter loss until Harry finally came forward.

"The past few weeks…I've been dreaming about a graveyard…"

He fell silent only to be met with desperate looks (furious in the case of my father) for him to go on.

"I figured it was my mind playing tricks on me, but now that I think about it…"

Albus immediately cut him off.

"The graveyard you've seen, any distinct markings or graves you can remember?"

Harry shook his head, shame radiating off of him from his perceived inability to provide anything useful.

I scooted closer to him and grabbed his hands while the adults continued tossing around possible theories.

"It's okay Harry. You can't be expected to recall such small details from your dreams."

A glossy look suddenly fell over his eyes, as if he were in a far away place.

"Harry?"

"Does our mother have a grave?"

I was shocked by the complete change of topic. Then again, his curiosity made total sense.

I nodded.

"She does. It's in the town of Godric's Hollow. Where you were born."

"When this is all over, I want to go see it. Her's and James'."

I offered a small smile.

"Of course. It's a meaningful spot…"

I immediately stopped talking. I wasn't sure what the adults were discussing but I cut in.

"Tom's family. Are they dead or alive?"

My dad responded, having spent many years enslaved to the man.

"Dead. He was raised in an orphanage."

Albus' face lit up.

"Little Hangleton Cemetery. That's where his parents are buried."

He conjured up an image of the Riddle tombstone. We all turned to Harry whose face was now white as a ghost. Harry just nodded, unable to speak. Sirius coughed.

"Well. Looks like we know when and where this takes place."

"Yes, but we don't know how he plans to lure Harry there!" My grandmother retorted, breaking her unusual silence. It was evident she was harboring some anger towards my grandfather, the tension palpable to us all.

"Most likely a portkey."

"Within the maze? Why would Harry have any reason to grab…"

"The Triwizard Cup," my father beat me to it.

A silence descended upon us again as various pieces now fell into place.

"All we are missing is the 'who'" Remus chimed in.

"Well we still have some time to figure out that piece but it is nearing curfew for the children."

I bristled at the term but knew it was unwise to argue with her. Whatever was going on between my grandparents, I wanted no part in it.

We all stood to leave when Albus put his hand on my father's arm.

"Severus, a word."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus bid his children, brother, mother, and Sirius goodnight before taking his seat once more. He knew his father had been sitting on new information about a Horcrux but there had been no time to discuss it while trying to prepare Harry.

"You discovered another one?"

Albus looked exceptionally weary as they were nearing the end of seven months with the curse in his body. In all his father's glory and greatness, Severus had never truly seen him as a man. But now, it was most certainly clear that his strength was waning.

"A locket that had belonged to his mother."

Albus gave his son a knowing look.

"Slytherin's locket?"

"Indeed. I believe it is located in a cave Tom frequented as a child."

Severus moved to stand, the urgency of his son's future weighing on him.

"Not now my son, we must wait until Tom and his followers are occupied. To ensure remains unaware of what we are doing."

"Surely you can't mean…"

"Yes. You must go during the third task."

Severus felt the rage course within him

"You know damn well he's going to use that task to get Harry to that graveyard. I can't be off searching for some locket. I need to be there to help protect my son!"

In that moment, Albus' strength returned and he rose to meet his son's glare.

"You also need to be alive to guide them as they fulfill their destiny. That can only be done by destroying the Horcruxes. We must act before Tom knows we've discovered his secret.

Severus immediately felt crushed by defeat. He could feel his fears begin to form as tears escaping down his cheeks. Despite the stern and strict demeanor he displayed for students, Severus could not lie about the utter sense of hopelessness he had been battling the past few months. It was all too much. He hated to show weakness but he could no longer contain it. He broke down.

Albus moved closer to his distraught son, he too felt the immense weight of the prophecies.

"I am sorry, my boy, it is the only way."