I've realised I need to put disclaimers on this. But I know I don't own anything of great value anyway so there's no point in suing me. I might like to borrow some of the characters sometime, though, but I don't own them. Darn.

"All you gotta do is try.

Pray you'll just get by."

'Ain't it the Life'

Foo Fighters

The morning dawned with a rude shaft of light shining right in her face. Turning over, Daniel looked at a clock on the wall. It was a quarter to nine. The task started at half nine, so she got out of bed and got dressed. Still a bit shaken from the dream she had the night before, she decided to skip breakfast.

Wandering towards Severus' office, she heard a loud screech on the other side of the door. Alexander was attempting to make tea the muggle way, and had dropped the boiling hot tea bag on his bare foot.

Kicking it off clumsily, he hopped about on one foot and added the milk.

"Good morning Daniel." He said in a pained voice, sitting down with a circular scald mark on his foot. "You look a bit strange. Are you alright?" sipping the tea and rubbing his foot, Alexander did not look like someone you could have an intelligent conversation with.

"Had a dream last night." She answered, conjuring a cappuccino from thin air. The caffeine would keep her wired until the task was over. Alexander had a limited knowledge of the kind of dreams she had. Severus knew nothing, the reasoning behind that was to keep him form worrying. Which he would. In excess. "Just freaked me out a bit. Haven't had one in ages." Alexander put his tea on the table.

"It was probably because you were worried about today." He looked at her closely, as though the dream was projected on her forehead.

"I forgot to clear my mind before I went to sleep. That's probably why. I was pretty pissed off at Pansy Parkinson." Alexander stood up and went into the bedroom to get dressed. It was a quarter past nine.

Emerging again, dressed in Muggle jeans and a black shirt, Alexander dragged a comb through his hair.

"Come on. We'd better be off." He said, shooing her out the door. Locking the door behind him, he pocketed the keys and walked beside her to the lakeside.

"Stop worrying." She said quietly.

"Stop looking inside my head. And I can't help worrying." Little scenarios were playing out in Alexander's head. All of which involved a dead Severus. "You better get him out of there first. He'll be mad if he finds out he came in last." Smiling, Daniel and Alexander stepped out into the crisp air. Alexander went off to sit beside Madame Pomfrey, and Daniel went over to Fleur and Krum.

"Where's Harry?" she asked, looking around for him.

"I haven't seen him." Krum replied moodily, shivering slightly, because he was standing in a pair of Speedos on a cold spring morning. Fleur was wearing lighter robes, that wouldn't weigh her down as much. Harry rocketed down the hill and came to a mud splattered halt in front of them.

"Sorry I'm late." He gasped, clutching a handful of Gillyweed.

"Good idea Harry." Daniel commented, "Gillyweed grows gills on your neck, so don't be surprised if you can't breathe." She grinned at him, as Ludo Bagman spaced them out along the bank. His magnified voice rang through the cold air and when he said, 'START!' Harry, Fleur and Krum ran into the water. Daniel kicked off her shoes and her robe. Wearing a thin shirt and light trousers, she waded into the water until her feet left the bottom. Harry was standing waist high in the water. Then as though an invisible knife had sliced his throat, two gashes appeared, and he thought for a second before plunging into the water. Sinking beneath the water, Daniel could see him look at his webbed fingers, before  swimming off. Starting swimming herself, Daniel kicked powerfully, and soon she was almost flying through the water. Keeping about 10 feet off the bottom, she headed into the depths. The shimmering shoals of fish darted out of her way, and Grindylows kept keen eyes on her. Swimming for what seemed like ages, she finally came across some scattered huts on the bed of the lake. A merman swam past her, into the town. Following him, she cams across a sort of town center, with Gillyweed planted like trees. There was a statue of a huge merman made from solid stone right in the middle of a throng of merpeople. They turned around when they saw her, and laughed mockingly. Tied to the curved tail of the mermaid were Ron, Hermione, Severus, and a small girl with clouds of blondish hair floating around her. They all looked as though they were in a very deep sleep. Pulling a switchblade out of her pocket, Daniel made towards the statue. Harry swam out of the blackness. Waving, he dived to the floor and picked up a sharpish stone. Rising again, he stopped when he saw Severus. Looking shocked, he carefully avoided slicing Ron open as he tried cutting through the rope binding them to the stone. Handing him the switchblade, she watched as he carefully cut the thick rope. Cutting Severus free, she grabbed onto his wrist, pocketed the switchblade and swam off. Fighting her way towards the light dancing on the surface of the lake, Daniel didn't notice a tentacle wrap around her leg. When she stopped moving, she glanced down, and was greeted with the sight of a giant squid pulling her into its sharp beaked mouth. Fighting against the tentacle, the little hooks in the suckers dragged into her skin, whipping out the switchblade, Daniel hacked off the tentacle. Shaking it off, and trying to swim with one leg, she made a new try for the surface. Just before she reached the top of the water, she cast the Bubblehead charm on herself. Breaking the surface, she swam towards the shore, where Madame Pomfrey rushed forward with towels. Fleur Delacour was sitting crying on a bench. Severus coughed into life. Staring around him, he looked as though he didn't quite know where he was. Standing up, his robes clung to him, and his hair was plastered on his head, making him look like a disgruntled pipe cleaner. Ushering them both into the sheltered tent where Fleur was sitting, Madame Pomfrey wrapped them both in thick blankets.

"I wish you didn't like me so much." Said Severus, shivering. Madame Pomfrey forced him to take some Pepper-Up Potion, which he complained about at great length. "What happened your leg?" he asked, leaning down to look at it.

"The giant squid tried to keep me underwater." She answered vaguely, looking at Krum be un-transformed from shark man. As Madame Pomfrey took care of the scratches on her leg, she talked to Severus about what had happened the previous night.

"So how'd you get underwater?" Daniel asked.

"Dumbledore gathered all of us at the lakeside, and then he explained that he'd be casting a simple charm and that none of us would die." Glancing at Harry dragging Ron and the blond girl out of the water, Severus elaborated. "He wasn't entirely convincing. The French one's sister cried for ages." He whispered, gesturing at Fleur hugging the soaking wet blond girl. "If I'd known I was going underwater I'd have dressed differently."

"Aren't you flattered that she loves you enough that you'd be the thing she misses the most?" Alexander said, grinning broadly.

"When I found out I was going into the lake I was slightly flattered, yes, but I wish I hadn't." he said, shivering with enthusiasm.

Friday afternoon was always a tense time in Hogwarts. Both teachers and students wanted it to end so they could get to the weekend. Double Potions did not help.

A new article was in Witch Weekly about Harry. Apparently, Hermione was leading on Harry, when really she was going out with Krum. Hermione found the whole thing ridiculous. From her seat in potions, Daniel could see them laugh it off and put the offending magazine away. Mixing her potion distractedly, she had made it hundreds of times before, she decided to annoy Severus. He had been tetchy ever since the second task. Apparently he took it as an insult for the school to know he was loved by someone. Imagining Dumbledore dancing the Macarena, she took great delight at the change in expression on his face. Looking at her dangerously, he started walking around the room. Stopping Dumbledore for a minute, she tried to think of something that would annoy him more. A ha! She envisioned Professor Mc Gonagall doing a striptease with a pink feather boa. Severus nearly walked into a chair, much to the delight of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Snape walked over to them, inspecting their potions carefully, trying to find faults. Pulling the magazine out, Snape promptly took points off them and read it out, adding his own little comments every now and again. He rolled up the magazine and separated the three Gryffindors. Harry moved up to the front, the whole class watching him. As Severus walked past her, he whacked her with the rolled up magazine. "Mc Gonagall? That's revolting." He hissed. Smiling, Daniel turned back to her potion.

The next day was a Hogsmeade visit, and Daniel was wandering aimlessly around town. Coming to the end of the street, she noticed a black dog lying in the sun on the other side of the stile. Going over to see him, Daniel snuck up behind him. Waking him with a shout, the dog leapt up. Seeing it was her, the dog wagged it's tail furiously, licking her face.

"How're you doing Sirius?" she asked quietly, scratching his ears. The dog lay on the ground at her feet and she tickled his belly, teasing him about being smelly and dirty. Picking up a stout stick, Daniel threw it a few feet in front of her. Sirius gave her a look as though to say, 'you threw it, you get it'. Giving in, he jumped up and brought it back. Throwing it farther this time, Sirius scrambled after it and laid it at her feet. "Is Harry coming to see you today?" she asked and noted the nod the dog returned. Glancing down the street, she saw the three Gryffindors walking towards them. She petted the dog one last time, and Disapparated.

Well. Chapter 15. Bit short, but I'm not quite sure of how long they can be.

Xanadan