55. Look After Them
Following the revelations of the Yule Ball, Harry and his friends went straight to figuring out the next competition. No doubt, his friends were curious about his date to the ball, but they understood that they had more pressing issues.
The next trial had something to do with the golden egg he had received from the tournament staff. Some of their efforts had been halted by an incessant reporter. A reporter Harry refused to interview with. He had better things to do and she gave off an air of a falsely polite Petunia.
None of the members had ever seen anything like an inorganic golden egg. Answers came when he tried gazing into it. Magic was lightly imbued into the egg. Slowly slipping his magic into its core added immense pressure to it. Typically, this would've been warning enough for him to desist, but he grew curious. Humming erupted from the egg as it exploded. Unseen to others, the essence of magic from the egg seemed to gravitate towards Harry. Thus, he knew. The next task was a retrieval within the water.
On the day of the second task, Ron and Hermione had been pulled away by the professors. So he had spent his time with Luna and Neville, while waiting for the pair to return.
They never did.
With great misgivings, he went to the lake near the castle.
"Good luck, Harry."
"I believe you will do just fine. Keep in mind that drinking the water will not absolve any breathing difficulty. I know from experience."
Neville and Luna respectfully gave their own form of cheering. Though, Luna's brought up a lot of questions that needed answering later.
In clothing suitable for swimming, he stood before the lake with the other champions. To his mild surprise, Cedric looked nervous for Harry's sake. It seemed there was still a Hufflepuff that didn't despise his very existence. But that was a concern for another time.
Now was the time for him to set up his preparations. In quick and subtle conjunction, he cast (Drowning Life) so he could breathe underwater, (Brother of the Sea) to create a squadron of swordfish water constructs in the lake, and (Irregular Displacement) to control his movements.
It was an effort to use all three at once, but he withstood the pressure. He awaited the signal to go. The task then officially started. A sheen of magic covering his frame, Harry leapt into the dark waters. Gliding deeper, he nearly choked at what he saw.
There was a population of mer-people. Unlike the residents of Ys, they were more aquatic in nature. But that was a minor, if not vastly fascinating, issue. Tied up were Ron and Hermione, sleeping easily. Considering that there were four hostages, Ron had to be his target, since the other champions had no relationship with him.
But, the mer-people weren't going to allow him to get to Ron so easily. Unfortunately for them, Harry was not going to allow himself to be attacked. As one, a mass of magical fish constructs attacked any of the water denizens. Harry attempted to limit the amount of injuries, until they made the first lethal move. There was still a chance that the hostages weren't in real danger yet. He daren't escalate the situation.
Commanding the swordfishes, they cut Ron from his bonds. Pulling back, he awaited to see the situation of the others, mostly Hermione to be honest. Krum and Cedric came and rescued Hermione and another female hostage. When Fleur failed to arrive, he took hold of the youngest girl and shot for the surface.
Apparently, he came in last place, not that he truly minded. Extra points were given to him for saving others, as though the points made this event worthwhile.
Harry darkly looked towards Dumbledore, attempting to express all of his reproach at the situation. Dumbledore took it with grace, while appearing genuinely apologetic. If anything had gone wrong, both of his best friends would have been gone.
He felt indignant at the cheering the crowds were doing. It was all a game to them, school kids were doing life threatening tasks and they drew entertainment from it. Grunting, Harry hefted a waking Ron and the blonde girl towards the medical area.
Once they were taken care of, Harry left with some skip to his step. Idly, he took a spin as though he was once again at the Yule Ball, Teleute resting easily in his embrace. Now that was something worth cheering for. Harry could almost hear the soft music playing in his ears.
Another sound reached his ears, a noise he had come to attribute as the sound of time being played by a novice. Shifting his eyes to the source, he swore he saw Hermione racing around. The very same Hermione that he saw moments ago still unconscious in the medical tent.
But, she would tell him of this when she felt comfortable. Friendships were built on trust, not always truth. Continuing on, he walked onto an unusual scene. Teleute was chatting amicably with a ghost. She was being as mysterious and polite as always, seemingly trying to nudge the ghost, Nearly Headless Nick he realized, towards some revelation.
"Sir Nicholas," she called gently, "if you are awaiting a chance to become a being of perfection, you are doomed to failure."
Nick fidgeted above the ground, "I just need more time."
Teleute smiled not unlike a mother to a child, "We all would like time, no matter how much we get. But, truly, would more time put you at ease?"
"No," the ghost admitted sorrowfully, "I have only grown more foolish with time. My aspirations, my dreams, all ruined."
"Were they, Nicholas? I happen to notice that many of your house look upon you with fondness. You owe Lady Grieve nothing. That event, and your supposed dishonor aren't even whispers among the ghosts. But I know that you do have plenty courage, no?"
Nick laughed, like Harry never heard him laugh before, "You are right. I am no coward. Thank you for giving me so much time."
"I gave you no extra time, there's a time for everyone, this so happens to be yours. It was a pleasure speaking with you again, friend." She waved kindly at the ghost.
"Of course, friend. But, I thank you all the same," with his words done, Harry could no longer see him. Hints of magic lingered around the area, but he could no longer see the ghost of Nick.
Seeing that the conversation was finished, Harry moved out of the corner, "Hey, Teleute."
"Hello, Harry. I hope I didn't have you waiting too long."
He shook his head, "I apologize for intruding. I didn't want to interrupt."
"I don't mind. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. It's almost lunch, do you have any plans? There's a restaurant I've wanted to try for quite a while," Teleute brought up.
"I would love to join you."
"I'm glad to hear it. It's a strange little shop, with just the cutest little bow tie wearing waiters."
"Sounds interesting. After you, madam."
She giggled lightly and in a flicker the two were gone.
