Chapter Sixty-Four: The Third Task Begins

Hermione continued to receive hate mail for a full week, and though she didn't bother opening the letters anymore — on advice from Hagrid, who'd received a fair share of hate mail of his own when Skeeter's article about him had come out — some of her ill-wishers had sent her Howlers, which exploded at the Gryffindor table, shrieking insults at her for the whole Hall to hear.

Even the people who didn't read Witch Weekly knew about the supposed Harry-Hermione-Krum triangle by now, and Harry was beginning to get really sick of telling people Hermione wasn't his girlfriend, especially because Daphne was, and she was usually with them.

Daphne, for her part, was amazed that so many people apparently didn't know Harry or her by in-school reputation, considering they'd been friends since their first year and Daphne was infamous for being the Slytherin who acted like a Gryffindor.

Hermione was mostly just livid and had, as Ron had predicted, started a vendetta against Skeeter in response to the article, even asking Moody if he'd seen her anywhere near the second task with his magical eye.

Harry had suggested that maybe Skeeter had Hermione 'bugged', which was a Muggle term Daphne didn't know yet, but which apparently meant sneakily recording images and sounds through hidden microphones and cameras. As Hermione herself pointed out, such things simply didn't work at Hogwarts, and Daphne didn't think Skeeter would ever use Muggle technology anyway, not when magic was so much easier.

Before Hermione could really get into her research, however, she had to abandon it, as homework was beginning to get brutal, made worse for Daphne and Harry by their Occlumency lessons, and for the four of them by helping Harry practice his dueling skills.

Daphne definitely enjoyed those practices the most, though. Because she and Harry had already had some training over the summer, the two of them were relatively evenly matched, and they'd even taken to dueling two-on-two, splitting up the couples so it would be a somewhat even fight.

Harry seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Since he hadn't been able to practice Quidditch at all this year, he was putting all of his energy and dedication into the dueling practice now, and he rapidly became the best out of the four of them.

While Hermione's spellwork was generally neater, and Ron's occasionally more powerful, Harry was better than them when it came to actually using the spells in a dueling situation. Daphne could match him in combat pragmatism, but was physically not quite as fit as Harry. She had no doubt that Dad, or any other fully-grown duelist with experience, would still be able to beat Harry, but she was pretty sure he was the strongest fourth-year duelist in Hogwarts, and not just because he was her boyfriend.

Still, that didn't mean that she intended to let him win every duel. One evening, after Ron and Hermione had already returned to the Gryffindor common room, Daphne and Harry had stayed behind to have one more practice round.

While they'd been practicing the Stunning Charm, they'd agreed not to use it during duels to prevent any injuries from falling onto the stone floor without being able to catch themselves. The Impediment Jinx and Shield Charm, however, were fair game.

They saluted and started to duel, and while the fight was initially quite even, Harry soon began to take the upper hand — and that was when Daphne decided to put her trump card into play, which she'd kept hidden even from her friends.

She'd just cast a Shield Charm and taken up a new position, but Harry had expected the move and turned with her. He raised his wand.

The moment he began to say "Expelli–" Daphne pointed her wand at his wrist like a sword, flicked it to the inside, and thought, Flipendo!

Harry's arm jerked aside as if she'd slapped it, and he was momentarily distracted.

"Expelliarmus!" Daphne shouted, and Harry's wand flew out of his hand and into hers.

Harry blinked stupidly at her for a moment. "What was that?! That was amazing!"

Daphne grinned at him. "It was a silent Flipendo. I've been practicing it for a while. It's a basic parry and fairly easy to resist if you see it coming, but since you didn't…"

Harry's eyes widened in recognition. "Ah, your Dad mentioned those when we trained with him. He didn't use them against us, though, did he?"

Daphne shook her head. "No, he held back against us," she said.

"Isn't silent casting really difficult, though?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, that's why I only used it for that one. The parry doesn't need to be powerful, just fast and strong enough to deflect the opponent's wand so their spell will miss even if they manage to get it off. I don't think I'd have been able to Disarm you silently yet," Daphne said.

"So…" Harry said as he walked closer to her. "Can you teach me how to do it, too?"

"I…might be persuaded to," Daphne said.

"And what would it take to persuade you?" Harry asked with an amused look.

"I don't know…what can you offer?" Daphne asked.

She was glad no one was around to see them now. They were acting so dumb…but it was just so much fun. Now that they were together, honest about their own feelings, it was hard not to get cheesy when they were alone.

Daphne had never really seen herself as a very huggy, touchy person…but her time together with Harry after the Yule Ball had clearly proven her wrong on that. Her only regret there was that she was still a tad too embarrassed to do it often in public. Small pecks on the cheek or short hugs in greeting, maybe, but no more.

Now, however, they were alone… Harry pulled her close to him into an embrace that lasted a lot longer than the usual short hug. When he pulled back for a moment, their kiss was much longer than usual, too. Just like the first time in the garden of rosebushes, it still gave Daphne a warm, safe feeling.

"I need to beat you in duels more often," she said softly.

"Maybe during the summer holidays," Harry said. "If your parents will still let me stay over, of course…"

Daphne grinned. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't be surprised if Mum's already planned the wedding…"

In the last week of May, Harry finally got to hear what the last task would be. The champions would have to brave a maze filled all sorts of creatures — among which, it seemed, would be the remaining skrewts — and enchantments. The Cup would be placed in the center, and the first person to reach it would win.

To prepare, Harry began trying to learn even more spells, many of which Hermione had looked up for him. This included the Reductor Curse and the Four-Point Spell.

Neither Daphne nor Hermione or Ron was able to help Harry quite as much as before, however, as the exams were now drawing close. Harry, as a champion, wouldn't have to take them, but of course that didn't go for the rest of them.

Given all the dueling she'd been doing, Daphne was fairly sure Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms wouldn't be a problem, nor would Transfiguration, but Herbology had never been her thing, and she didn't have a good feeling about Divination, either.

For most of the year, they'd studied planetary motions, and her meeting with the centaurs had done a good job of convincing Daphne that the lessons on that particular subject were entirely useless. Consequently, she hadn't put a lot of effort into her homework.

History of Magic would be a chore, but her natural interest in the subject might help her scrape by. Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, and even Potions would probably go fairly well, at least.

Even so, she had a lot of work to do, and she didn't get quite as many chances to be alone with Harry as she wished she would. Harry himself was getting more and more nervous with each passing day. Moody had said that whoever put Harry's name in the goblet would most likely make their move during the third task, but whether that would be something within the maze or something external was still unclear, and Daphne still had no idea who might have been responsible.

Even the Marauder's Map didn't seem to show anything out of the ordinary, though Harry had been periodically checking it throughout the year. As the third task approached, he began doing it more and more often, despite knowing it was likely to be fruitless.

One day, as the four of them were in the library, studying for the exams, Harry took out the Map to check it. He'd been looking up further jinxes and hexes for use in the maze, but by now he was fairly proficient with most simpler ones, while the more difficult ones would simply take too much time to learn.

Suddenly, still gazing at the Map, Harry gasped. They all looked up.

"What's wrong?" Daphne asked.

"Hermione, look!" Harry hissed.

He pointed at something on the Map, and Daphne looked over as well. Harry seemed to be pointing to the four of them, but then Daphne saw that he was pointing at a dot close to them…which was labeled 'Rita Skeeter'.

Daphne looked at the row of bookshelves behind her, between which Rita Skeeter was supposedly present, but there was nothing to be seen.

Hermione, however, seemed to realize something, because an evil grin appeared on her face that made even Daphne shiver.

"Of course…" she whispered. "Excuse me for a moment…"

She got up and disappeared between the rows of bookshelves. Daphne, Harry, and Ron exchanged confused glances. There was a loud bang from between the bookshelves, and as if on cue, Madam Pince came out from behind one of the shelves, angrily striding over to where Hermione was.

"What was that racket?!" Daphne heard Madam Pince ask.

"Sorry, dropped my book…I'll be more careful from now on," Hermione said.

"You'd better, or I'm kicking you out," Madam Pince said, before stalking off again.

Hermione followed her, and once Madam Pince was out of sight again, she took out a jar from the pocket of her robes, containing a beetle.

It was only then that Daphne realized what Hermione had just done. "She's an Animagus?" she said softly.

"Apparently so," Hermione said with a wide grin. "And an unregistered one, imagine that. I'd know, since I checked the registry last year when we were learning about Animagi…"

She fondly looked at Harry. "Your Dad, Sirius, and Professor Lupin really were brilliant, Harry. Thanks to that Map, we can at least be sure Rita won't be writing anything anymore for the rest of the Tournament…and if she doesn't want me to reveal her secret to the Ministry, she's going to have to keep her quill to herself for at least a year, I'd say…"

She sighed wistfully. "I do wish I could've figured it out on my own, but this will do… Y'know, Rita," she said to the jar, "I think I'll leave you in there until the school year ends. The jar's unbreakable, so good luck getting out…"

Rehearsing for finals wasn't quite as big of a pain anymore after their victory over Rita Skeeter, but it was still hard, and Daphne was almost glad when the exams actually began.

Almost, because it also meant that Harry would soon be facing his final task. Though she constantly reminded herself that the Harry who had died in her vision was older than he was now, she still wasn't comfortable. A lot of things could happen at the task, and she wouldn't be able to see much at all, though she would, of course, be in the stands with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

Then, on the final morning of the exams, McGonagall came over to the Gryffindor table to inform Harry that the champions' families had been invited to watch the final task.

"Sirius is here?" Harry said excitedly, and Daphne suddenly felt relieved.

Sirius was a skilled and trained Hit Wizard. If he was here to keep an eye out as well, Harry would be just that much safer… Maybe it was because she still didn't entirely trust Moody — by his own repeated demands all year long, in every Defense Class — but Sirius's presence felt much more reassuring than his.

When Daphne returned to the Great Hall for lunch, however, she was surprised to see not just Sirius, but Mrs. Weasley and Bill too…as well as Mum and Dad.

"Who did you need to bribe to get invited?" she asked with a huge grin after greeting them.

"Well, since you and Harry are an item, despite what Rita Skeeter would have us believe, we figured we'd count as family," Mum said.

"Also, I was the one who did the bribing," Sirius said. "Well, in a manner of speaking. I'm here as extra security, technically, so Harry still had the right to a family visit, and since he has none — that count, anyway — it would be a tossup between the Weasleys and the Greengrasses…and I convinced them that since they had equal rights to be here, they should all be allowed to come. Even Barty Crouch agreed that the rules would allow it, and everyone else relented pretty quickly after that.

"He did seem fairly agitated, though. I think he could give Moody a run for his money with how paranoid he's being. He'll be placing the Cup in the maze himself and ensuring none of the champions take anything other than their wands with them into the maze…I think he'll be glad to see the back of this tournament as much as we are."

"I just can't believe they've ruined the Quidditch pitch for this," Mum said indignantly.

"We've got three Quidditch players among the champions. We feel the same way," Harry assured her.

"You'd better beat Krum, Harry. I know you've already shown him you can fly during the first task, but this will be another chance to prove yourself," Mum said.

"And Daphne tells me you've become a good duelist, as well. Mind giving me a demonstration, while Daphne and the others have their final exams?"

Harry grinned. "Sure. It'd be good to have a last round of practice," he said.

Sirius looked excited as well. "I want in, too," he said. "First against Harry, then against you, Edmund. I haven't forgotten that time in sixth year…"

Dad grinned sheepishly. "You might not have, but I did…" he said.

Sirius looked stunned. "How?! You wiped the floor with me," he said.

"I wiped the floor with many people, mostly because they underestimated me — like you did, apparently," Dad said with a shrug.

Sirius shook his head in disbelief and looked at Daphne. "If he ever tells you he 'isn't that good', don't believe him. I am good, so good that dueling is essentially my job, and I have a hard time fighting Edmund," he said.

Daphne gave Harry an amused look. "As the impartial judge, and since I can't be there to witness it, you can tell me who was better at dinner, okay?" she asked.

Harry grinned at her. "Don't worry, I'll pay attention."

By the time dinner came around, and Daphne had finished all her exams, Harry had become pretty nervous.

He did tell Daphne that Sirius had barely won the duel between him and Dad, but that he felt that Dad had gone easy on him.

Now, though, Sirius had gone ahead to the pitch to inspect the area and make sure it was secure, and Harry wasn't really listening to the conversation going on around him anymore.

Daphne wanted to give him some encouragement, but she couldn't think of anything to say, and soon, dinner was over and Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Harry got up.

Hermione, the Weasley, and Mum and Dad all wished him good luck.

Daphne, however, decided that simply wouldn't cut it now. She got up as well and kissed him, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

Fred and George wolf-whistled, but Daphne didn't care.

"You've got this, you stupid, reckless, Gryffindor idiot," she said.

Harry smiled at her. "See you on the other side…" he said, and then he followed the other champions out of the hall.

"Doesn't it feel much better to admit your feelings?" Mum asked with a grin.

Daphne's answering smile was a bit forced. Even though she would be in the stands, not the maze, she had an extremely bad feeling about the evening.

"It does…but I'll feel even better once this is over…" she said.

A couple of minutes later, Dumbledore invited the rest of the spectators to make their way over to the Quidditch pitch.

Daphne walked next to Ginny as they headed over there, and realized that, of everyone present, she would probably feel the closest to how Daphne was feeling at that moment. She certainly looked about as worried, though when she saw Daphne looking at her, she fiercely said, "He's going to make it through this."

Daphne nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, absolutely."

They filed into the stands and found seats overlooking the now-overgrown Quidditch pitch. The hedges were so high it was impossible to see the ground, meaning they wouldn't have any clue what was going on in the maze.

For the time being, however, the champions were still on the outside, being given instructions by Crouch, who ordered each of them to stand with their arms wide and waved his wand over their bodies.

He seemed to detect something on Harry, who was forced to raise his sleeve, and Daphne realized that Crouch had probably detected his enchanted bracelet. Apparently considering this minor enough, Crouch moved on to Cedric, next to Harry.

Harry scanned the stands and soon found Daphne and the others. He waved at them, and they waved back down at him, putting on their biggest smiles to encourage him, though Daphne feared that hers would look like a frightened grimace even from down on the pitch.

Crouch finished his examination of the champions and ordered them to line up, then gestured at Bagman to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each, Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"

The stadium erupted in loud cheering.

"In second place, with eighty points, Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!"

More applause, almost as loud as it had been for Cedric and Harry.

"And in third place, Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Fleur's applause was marginally less than Krum's, but Daphne had applauded her just as enthusiastically as she'd done the others.

"So, on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" Bagman said.

Daphne swallowed nervously as if she were the one about to enter the maze.

"Three…two…one…"

Bagman gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze.

Bit of a dick move, ending the chapter here, I suppose. Well, it's not like the events after this moment will surprise anyone, unless you're reading blind, in which case: how are you even following any of this?

Also, yeah, Skeeter got taken down a bit easier. Why? Well, her subplot served little purpose in this year, but I'll probably need her next year. Maybe. I wanted to keep the possibility open and the last article she wrote had no reason to ever exist in this timeline, so I might as well get her out of the way now…