Chapter 12 – Underwater
The first thing that Cedric remembered hearing was the sound of the cannon.
With the correct timing in this task, the four Champions dove headfirst into the freezing depths of the Black Lake.
Each had had to bring with them their Golden Egg, leaving them on the docks for the judges and co-ordinates to collect, to make sure that they had figured out their clues in a way that was legal and within the rules. Bewitching or charming the egg to reveal the clue was not sportsmanlike behaviour and the challenging part of the clue was figuring out to plunge it into the water and listen to the song that way.
Cedric, much like he had done to his Egg, dipped beneath the surface, conjuring his protective Bubble-Head to successfully control his underwater breathing. After a quick discussion the night before, Cedric had found that Fleur was using the same tactic. He supposed that they thought about things in similar ways and, after talking more about why they had chosen such a method, realised that magically they had a lot in common. They both excelled in Transfiguration and combined that with their knowledge of Charms to create a practical and efficient way to navigate the dark waters. Fleur's only worry had been stamina, the physical energy she would need to keep up for an hour underwater. Cedric had natural athleticism and his length Quidditch training had prepared him for such a moment. Viktor and Harry were much of the same, although Harry's Gillyweed plan had allowed him to bypass that need altogether. Viktor's partial transfiguration plan had given him most of the abilities needed to maintain the aquatic nature required by the task's demands.
As Cedric willed himself to swim downwards, he looked across to Harry, who was sprouting gills, and then to Fleur, who winked at him as she took off in a completely different direction. Cedric suddenly wondered if she had scouted the Lake and felt stupid for not doing the same. Hermione had mentioned it, but hadn't though it was a priority. Fleur left the boys swimming downwards, Viktor's shark-head jarring to see after Cedric had just kissed the boy's human face roughly thirty seconds prior.
Harry pushed forward, using his superior breathing and swimming abilities to race ahead of them, leaving a trail of bubbles in his wake. Viktor had also separated from them, leaving Cedric playing catch up. He took a deep breath and used his wand to propel himself forward, shooting into the depths of the Lake.
As he swam, he took the time to really notice the beauty of the lake, the profound mixtures of the blue and the black that stretched out around him until they turned into darkness. He noticed the expanse of small creatures flitting about the lake, scattering when he approached them.
He had lost the others, each apparently having taken a different direction into the lake's depths. He realised that they hadn't specifically chosen a direction to go in, something like that would have made sense given the unknowable depths of the Black Lake.
As Cedric inhaled more breath, thankful for the sanctuary of his bubble, he flipped and swam downwards, hoping that the deeper he went, the easier he would stumble across something that would help him.
Viktor Krum was lost.
That was the only explanation. It wasn't like he was an expert of the Lake and could find his way around, but he thought there would be some kind of guide, something that would perhaps point him in the right direction. Once he had split from Harry and Cedric, realising that he was truly on his own, the realisation of his clueless exploration had crashed down upon him.
His shark-head, as he had planned, had fooled the aquatic creatures into mostly leaving him alone, scared of being eaten by a predator. Hermione had applauded his logic and Cedric had admitted that he wished he had thought of it. Viktor took some sick satisfaction in watching the smaller fish swim away in a frenzy, momentarily enjoying the power he had.
He had never been at the top of the food chain, or so to speak. People often thought as the most beguiling rising star in the Quidditch world, he had power and influence and ruled over everything he did. It was not the case in Viktor's life. Fame brought him opportunities for his career, yes, and he was in the public eye a lot more often than most, but he was always looked down upon, condescended for his youth and the insinuation that he wasn't very intelligent. He was interested in sports, yes, but he was also avidly into academia. Nobody thought he would have gotten picked for the Triwizard Tournament, besides his classmates who knew his grade averages and his aptitude for learning.
As he swam, he thought about how fortunate he really was. He had good looks, intelligence, athleticism, things most people would crave, but he found himself lacking the confidence and security to take full advantage of those things. He didn't answer questions in class, he just turned into stellar homework assignments and exams. He didn't make a spectacle of himself, in fact he had entered the Tournament to improve such a quality. To gain the confidence in himself and the world to show off what he could really do. He rather desired to be a little bit more like Cedric: confident, charming, yet still humble about his gifts.
This was one of the things he and Hermione shared. Hermione was impossibly exceptional, knew it, but feared the reactions from her peers, even after all these years of comfortably excelling in everything she did. They related in that way, and were almost unconsciously helping each other through it.
Viktor was so caught up in his thoughts that he had to backtrack, passing through a group of mermaids that were clumped together, watching him. Not scared of the shark, they remained strong as he swam towards them.
He held his wand out as letters formed in front of their eyes. Viktor's transfiguration had meant that he hadn't been able to speak, glad that he knew a way to communicate without needing to.
He spelled out 'Do you know where they are?'
The mermaids looked at each other wryly, before the one in front nodded. In unison, they flipped and swam upwards on a diagonal. Viktor hurried to keep pace with them, blasting several Grindylows out of the way to do so. The red sparks quickly dissolved in the water.
Viktor swam cautiously behind the mermaids, scanning the depths of the water for any signs of trouble. He frowned to himself. Perhaps the hardest part of the task was deciphering the clue and finding a way to sustain an aquatic tolerance. Maybe the actual Task was a simple navigational puzzle, just a matter of swimming until you found what you were looking for.
It seemed like Cedric had been swimming for ages.
He had cast several maintenance charms on his Bubble-Head in order to sustain the effects, and by his calculations, roughly forty five minutes had passed in the challenge. He knew that he was close, for the amount of sea creatures that he had encountered had increased significantly.
He had passed Fleur maybe five minutes beforehand, sharing a smile and a silent encouragement. They knew that their similar strategies might have cost points to whichever of the two returned to the surface last. They had zipped off in different directions, both radiating confidence.
When Cedric got to where he knew he was supposed to be, the merpeople village, no one else was around. He spotted them immediately, lifeless and cold, eyes closed.
Hermione floated in the middle, tethered to something below her. He swam up to her, caressing her face, wondering if this was how it worked.
Ron floated next to her, waiting for Harry to arrive.
Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, was on Hermione's other side. She looked so young and innocent in the murky depths of the Lake, a darkness which she never should have been subjected to.
Cedric grew angry with the meaning of the Task altogether, wondering if the hostages (how he hated that word) had been given a choice in the matter or whether they had simply been taken without their consent. He planned to take it up with Professor McGonagall, going over a rant in his head until he realised something.
There were only three hostages.
Cedric gasped as Fleur swooped in from behind him, cutting Gabrielle loose and swimming to the surface with her. Cedric twirled his wand around in his head before cutting Hermione loose. He wrapped himself around her, arm around her waist, and headed up to the surface.
As he ascended, he felt force from below him.
Wand ready to strike the creature, he stopped when he turned, seeing a familiar-looking shark attach itself to Hermione's leg.
Cedric smirked as the shark rose to be level with him, taking half of Hermione's weight.
The shark nodded at him, offering a hand. Cedric took it.
Cedric pointed his wand at the sky and the three rose high above the water. Cedric's bubble disappeared and the shark slowly transformed back into the worn face of Viktor Krum. Viktor pointed his wand at the ground and slowed their descent as they landed on the decking to cheers and howls of adoration.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open, scanning her surroundings. One look from her and the boys knew that she was not going to be happy with what happened next.
Hermione took one look at Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur in their Triwizard uniforms and her mouth fell open. She marched straight over to Professor Dumbledore.
"Ah, Miss Granger," he smiled pleasantly.
Hermione, though, was in no mood to suffer fools. "Professor Dumbledore, am I correct in thinking that myself, Gabrielle Delacour, and Ron Weasley were knocked unconscious, kidnapped from our dormitories, and plunged into the depths of the Black Lake and offered up as components in the Second Task without our prior consent?"
Fleur's head snapped up, aligning herself with Hermione immediately. "Is this true, Madame Maxime?"
Cedric and Viktor folded their arms, the moue of shock on Viktor's face evidence that he hasn't thought of that possibility prior to Hermione's speech.
Professor Dumbledore looked around at the crowd that had assembled around them. "Not now, Miss Granger. Come and see me in my office this evening."
Hermione stared the man down, ready to argue, but she was smart enough to know that she wasn't going to get anything further from this.
Professor Dumbledore turned away from her as Harry emerged from the surface. Shame colouring his face, he manually swam towards the decking, levitating a coughing and spluttering Ron onto it before being helped out by Viktor and Cedric.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron shook his head.
Hermione performed a simple heating charm on the boy, to his delight.
Before anyone could explain it to him, Professor Dumbledore had amplified his voice.
"The Second Task has now concluded, with all Champions rescuing their respective people within the allotted time. We will now discuss the results which are to be delivered shortly."
The Four Champions and their "hostages" assembled into a small circle.
"So who do you think won?" Harry asked, but his question was ignored by all.
Fleur huffed. "That's not what matters now. I have several complaints about this task.
"First of all, the fact that they literally kidnapped my little sister without either of us agreeing to it, well that's something I'm very much aggrieved about. I don't know whose ridiculous idea that was, but it was foolish and reckless."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Can we also discuss the fact that there were only three people down there to be rescued?"
Cedric's jaw hardened. "I have a theory," he spat. "I think someone didn't like our display after the First Task, they don't agree with what we have," he added, turning to Hermione and Viktor. "So they rigged it, so one of us would lose. If we didn't bring back a hostage, we would receive zero points and be in dead last for the Third Task."
Ron shrugged. "You think they would do something like that?"
Fleur nodded back. "This entire Tournament has been rigged from the start. Ever since Harry's name was entered and called out, nothing's been fair. While I definitely something's going with Harry, you boys have also been judged unfairly."
"And you haven't," Viktor agreed quietly.
Fleur grimaced. "I'm sorry that it's working out this way."
"It's not your fault," Harry replied. "But I think you need to have a talk with Madame Maxime about what happened with Gabrielle."
"I'm certainly going to be having a word with Professor Dumbledore about this," Hermione snapped. "How dare they! I'll dig up a copy of the Tournament charter and prove to them that what they've done is messed up."
Cedric couldn't hide his smile at Hermione adamantly fighting injustice.
Professor Dumbledore turned to address the crowd once again. "After judge deliberation, we have decided the points go as follows. In fourth place, Mr. Cedric Diggory, who made good use of the Bubble-Head charm in navigating the water and returned second from the Lake, but was penalised for using the same method as another Champion."
Cedric shook his head lightly and smirked as the crowd clapped, sharing confused looks with each other.
"In third place, Mr. Harry Potter, who surfaced last, but was inventive in his use of Gillyweed to complete the Task."
Harry blushed as the applause sounded once more.
"In second place, Mr. Viktor Krum, who showed off great creativity and his Transfiguration skills to blend in with the underwater creatures and also returned second with his hostage."
Hermione scowled at the use of wording, but clapped raucously for Viktor.
"And the winner of this challenge, Miss Fleur Delacour, whose Bubble-Head Charm combined with her speedy recovery of her hostage, made for a delightful display of magic. Congratulations to all the Champions, information about the Third Task will be given to you in due course."
As the excitement from the Task died down and everybody assembled in the Great Hall for the post-Task feast, The Champions plus Ron grouped together in the familiar library corner. Fleur had sent Gabrielle into the Great Hall with her friends. Hermione was expecting a letter from her parents, so she went to the Owlery to retrieve it before joining them.
"What are we going to do about this? It's an invasion of our privacy, not to mention the fact that it's probably illegal." Ron spoke, impassioned.
Cedric shrugged. "Usually, I would say go to Dumbledore, but it's obvious that he's at the very heart of this. I don't know what to do in this instance. The Ministry signed off on it, so obviously they think it was a good idea if they were willing to co-ordinate this whole thing."
Fleur sighed. "I hate to say it, but I'm not sure there's anything we can do."
Through the silence, Hermione's entrance was noticeable. She was carrying several envelopes and one opened letter.
She sat down in the space between Cedric and Viktor.
"Hermione?"
She pursed her lips. "She's smarter than I gave her credit for."
"Who?" Ron wondered.
"Rita Skeeter."
Viktor cuddled up next to her. "What did she do?"
"She wrote a letter to my parents."
"You're joking."
Hermione shook her head solemnly. "They don't read the Daily Prophet. I hadn't told them about us yet," she gestured to Cedric and Viktor. "I didn't know how they were going to react. Now I don't have to.
"They wrote me about it. Rita must have used the busy nature of the Second Task to tell them about it."
Fleur grasped her arm gently. "And?"
Hermione looked up from the letter, tears in her eyes. She threw it onto the table.
Fleur picked it up, scanning it. "Oh my god. Hermione..."
Hermione chuckled. "It's not different to what I expected."
"What did they say?" Viktor asked.
"That I was disgusting, that it wasn't what they envisioned for me, that I was a disgrace to the family. Things like that."
Cedric took the letter from Fleur, reading it quickly. He tossed it onto the table and shook his head. "Why do people keep getting in the way of this? I've had enough of this."
Cedric stood up angrily from his seat.
Harry frowned. "Where are you going?"
Cedric turned back, fire in his eyes.
"I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore."
