Thanks for the reviews, I guess it IS kind of AU, or at least is going to be, especially if you think of the new developments in OP. But I do my best not to contradict GoF openly. Now you can argue what's the use of doing a fanfic that does not go along with canon, but I know I'm not alone in this. Heck, there's a fic where Hermione is Draco's twin sister! So I don't really have to worry about this one.
Keep reviewing – there has been a certain lull with chapter 18. Wonder if I make it a hundred with this one.
Chapter 19: Taking the Plunge (The Second Task)Feb. 24th, 1995
5 a.m.
Even with the help of the somnium charm, I haven't been able to sleep much tonight. I kept waking up again and again, and in between I dreamed of the most absurd and crazy stuff, so I decided to stop trying, and to stay up. I guess what's unnerving me most is the uncertainty. I still have no idea what I'll have to find in the lake, and even less where to look for it. I only hope they'll tell us before the Task starts, at least.
We've taken what you'll sorely miss –
There are so many things I'd sorely miss: my broom, my moonstone, my diary …
Of course it's still pitch dark outside, the sky is bright and starry, and it must be freezing cold. Probably the lake WILL be warmer than the air…
I might just as well go and practise some of the more common charms until breakfast. Not that I expect I'll be able to eat much. I know I shouldn't be so stupid and stop worrying, after all, the worst thing that can happen is that I lose the Tournament. If I only knew what the thing will be –
11 p.m.
Gabrielle is finally asleep in my bed, so I find some time for myself to write down everything about this day, which I feel is going to turn out as the most important one in all my life, if I get to live to Dumbledore's age! And I'll never say anything against crystal balls, - Mlle Clairevoyante was perfectly right with her predictions, only unable to formulate them in a way one could understand… Oh, I'm so excited, and confused, and happy, and mad all at the same time, I don't really know where or how to begin this.
I must get some order into these thoughts of mine – it's easy, anyway, compared to trying the same with my feelings, - so perhaps I'll leave these for later.
Better start right at the beginning, I suppose.
As expected, I couldn't get any food down at breakfast, and was almost happy when Maxime finally told us that it was time to go down to the lake.
The morning was clear but pretty cold, with frost on the withered grass, as we went slowly down towards the lake, Margaux and Iphigenie holding my hands in a comforting way. Maxime was walking in front of us with those enormous strides, not looking back once, we followed behind her more slowly, and then the rest of the Beauxbatons team followed. The sun was rising behind the lake, spreading a bright light all over the place and starting to thaw the frozen ground.
On the far bank, the stands for the spectators had been erected again, and they were already full of people, whose eager chatting drifted across towards us.
On our side of the lake, the familiar judges' table had been placed, where the judges were already seated. Bagman jumped up and hurried over to Maxime, who held out her hand in that regal way of hers for him to kiss.
"Good morning, good morning!" his enthusiasm was as hard to bear as ever. HE wasn't going into that lake, was he?
"Hi. Fleur," Cedric came up to me, extending his hand. "How do you feel this morning?"
I shrugged. "Reasonably all right, I believe. I say, you haven't got any clue either, about what we have to find?"
"Nope. Look, there's Krum – and in his swimming trunks, too! Those guys must really be tough, it's freezing!"
Indeed, Viktor Krum was standing nearby, wearing his usual sulky frown; and then it struck me:
"Where's Harry?"
"Where indeed? Now you mention it, I didn't see him at breakfast… Hope there's nothing wrong with him, he did look a bit under the weather recently. Almost nine o'clock – if he doesn't turn up in time, they'll disqualify him. Perhaps that's what he wants…"
"Not Harry!" I said vehemently. "That would be like cheating, wouldn't it? That's not something he'd do, ever!"
Under normal circumstances, I believe Cedric would have teased me about my sudden outburst, but now he didn't say anything.
I noticed a complacent expression forming in the faces of Karkaroff and Maxime. "Look at them," I said to Cedric, pointing. "Here's someone who'd love it if he didn't – "
I was interrupted. Down the lawn Harry came sprinting at full speed, his robes flying behind him, his glasses at a crazy angle, and his hair even more of a mess than usual. Presently he skidded to a halt next to me, splashing my robes with mud as he did so.
"I'm …here…" Were the only words he could utter, completely out of breath as he was.
"Where have you been? The task's about to start!" Ron the Moron's brother was talking, and his voice was cold and unfriendly. I felt a strong dislike of him, couldn't he see that Harry was completely spent? Now he was even crouching down, gasping painfully, there really was no need to reproach him in addition to all that.
Bagman came walking over. "Now, now, Percy," he said, and I was surprised to see the look of relief in his face. "Let him catch his breath!"
He proceeded to place all of us in a line along the beach, some three metres apart from each other. I was first, then there was Cedric next to me, then Krum, and finally Harry, who still had not caught his breath completely.
While Bagman returned to the judges' table, I was astonished when I saw Maxime step forward towards me, looking around her in a way that could only be described as furtive. Pretending to pat my shoulder encouragingly, she bent towards me and whispered barely audibly: "Look out for a person!" Then she stepped back immediately, turned and took up her seat at the table again.
It took me a moment to take in what she had said, but then suddenly it all clicked into place. A person! I had to look for a person, not a thing! And then, a feeling of terror, absolute and panicky terror struck me: Gabrielle! I couldn't understand how I could have been so stupid! There's nothing in the world I'd miss more than her! And that was why I had seen her face when I had hugged the unicorn foal! While the riddle said "it", they had meant a person all the time! Gabrielle, my sweet little sister, was down there in that black water, and I had to find her!
It's impossible to describe my emotions when I finally realised the dreadful truth. Like a maelstrom, all my thoughts started to revolve about that horrible last line:
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back
What if I failed to find her? It would be my fault if she drowned down in that awful lake.
It was as if through a fog that I saw my competitors, and I believe I trembled violently. When suddenly the whistle sounded, it gave me a horrible start. Blindly I rushed forwards into the water, and only the biting cold brought me back to my senses enough to perform the tetenbulle charm before I dived. Luckily, I had done the warming charm some time before that, I might have forgotten it in my shock, and then Merlin knows what might have happened to me in that icy water.
My heavy robes made swimming a hard task, and in my excited state it seemed to me I was not making any progress at all. The sight under water was fading quickly the deeper I got, trying to keep close to the bottom of the lake, which descended rather steeply now. Soon everything was covered in a greenish light that made it very difficult to make out distances. Whether by some magic, or because of natural reasons, though, it did not get any darker now, as I descended even deeper down. Instinctively, I headed for the deepest part of the lake, for no logical reason at all. Somehow I felt sure I was going to find Gabrielle there, it was as if I was drawn by some invisible force.
"Hellooo!" the high voice tore me out off my concentration, and I stopped and stared in surprise. A teenage girl with glasses and stringy dark hair wearing Hogwarts robes was floating along beside me. She looked oddly transparent, and I had no idea who she might be or what she was doing down here. She didn't seem to be using any spell other device that would make it possible for her to remain under water, yet she did not seem to have any problems with it. However, I did not really care about that.
"Have you – have you seen a small girl?" I don't remember what made me ask her, it just came to me naturally. "With hair like mine? She must be somewhere here."
The girl giggled. "Perhaps I have, and perhaps I haven't. Why don't you stop for a nice little chat with old Myrtle? Then perhaps I might tell you…"
The strain must have made something snap, because I behaved very foolishly.
"Tell me at once!" I yelled, and plunged forward to grab her robes, but my hands went straight through her, just as if she was a virtualis image. She went into a whole fit of giggles now.
"Didn't expect that, did you?" she panted. "You don't just go and grab old Myrtle! Must be polite if you want something from her! Ah, never mind, they shan't say Myrtle is stubborn, - just go on over that direction, deeper down. There's no harm in telling you, Harry's well ahead of you anyway, he'll be first I bet."
(Now that I remember this scene, I think there was a kind of a misty look in her eyes as she said that, and I have also found out from Cedric that she must have been Moaning Myrtle, the ghost of a girl that got killed several years ago and is haunting the bathrooms, of all things.)
I went on, further down into the gloomy depths. I don't really remember much, there were large meadows of seaweed, and now and then some fish came by, but it is all rather hazy in my recollections. Now, afterwards, it seems to me that, like the forest, the lake must be larger than it looks from outside, because I kept going along for quite some time, while the ground below me didn't change. Also, it seems strange now that I never saw any of the other champions, we had not been that far apart when we started on our mission, yet none of them ever appeared in my sight.
At the time, however, the only thought in my head was Gabrielle. Sick with fright, I continued on my way, not really looking where I was going.
This, at least partly, may have been the mistake I made. Suddenly I felt sharp tugs on my robes, and immediately after there was a series of cutting pains in my feet and legs. A group of about twenty creatures had attacked me. They were perhaps the size of cats, their bodies covered in greenish scales, with strong claws and sharp fangs in their wide mouths. To round off the ugly impression, there were small but pointed horns on their heads. Some of these creatures (I've learned in the meantime that they are called Grindylows, and are typical of lakes in this part of Britain.) were pulling at my robes trying to pull me down towards the meadow of seaweed, while others were attacking me with their fangs and claws.
Stupidly, I had never taken anything like this into account, and, in my state of anxiety for my sister, and as I also had not even thought of having my wand ready, I found myself at quite a disadvantage. While I fumbled inside my robes to get at it, even more of these small monsters sank their teeth and claws into my arms and legs, and it was all I could do to keep them off my face.
Thus, when I had finally succeeded in extricating my wand from the folds of my robes, I had already received several nasty cuts and bites. The blood from these seemed to excite the ugly creatures even more, and they stepped up their attacks.
I hurled various spells at them, but there were so many of them, and my aim was quite bad, too, so more often than not I missed altogether. But at least I could shake off those that were pulling me down, and with a desperate effort managed to get up to the surface and the shore.
I must have lost consciousness for some minutes, because the next thing I know is that I was lying in the grass next to the lake, the Hogwarts nurse was bending over me, and Maxime was standing nearby. Everything came back to me in a flash.
"Gabrielle!" What would have been a scream came out as something like a croaking whisper. I tried to jump to my feet but could only manage a stagger. I had not found her, she was still in the lake! She was going to die! Pushing the nurse aside roughly, I made for the lake.
Maxime grabbed my shoulders to keep me back. She must have told me that it was all right, and there was no need to worry, or something like that, but I was in no state to take it in. There was only one image in my mind, - my sweet little sister caught down there in the silent greenish twilight, and the only thing I knew was I had to go back and find her, or …
"Let me go!" I sobbed, hitting out at her, "I must – " I must have looked perfectly hysterical to everybody watching, and must have gone on like this for several minutes.
Suddenly, the spectators broke into an enormous burst of shouting, and I could see a commotion in the water near the shore, but could not make out what was going on, blinded with tears and my face smeared with blood.
I renewed my efforts to break from Maxime's grip, but of course it was no use. However, I could at least get a better view of what was going on. My memory is still somewhat hazy because I was not in a state where I could notice things very well, but this is what I remember:
A number of heads appeared in the water, and some time later there were three people, shadowy against the bright sky, so I couldn't clearly recognise them, emerging out of the water, and walking towards the shore. Now I noticed that it was two larger persons, leading, half carrying a much smaller one between them. And then I recognised her!
"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she hurt?"
I finally broke free from Maxime (more likely she released me) and hurried over to the group, scooped her up in my arms and hugged her as I have never hugged anybody in my life. All my fear dropped from me, and my tears were tears of pure joy now.
"She's fine!" I heard somebody say next to me, and only now I realised who had brought my sister back to me from that horrible lake: Harry! And the other person supporting her had been Ron Weasley, whose brother came rushing towards him and started fussing over him.
The nurse was coming up with blankets, but I brushed her aside impatiently and clung to Gabrielle. I was freezing in my wet robes, but I didn't notice, I was so full of joy.
"Oh Gabrielle - I thought -" I could not say any more, my tears were choking me.
She didn't say anything, just hugged me as if she would never let go.
All the others had been tightly wrapped in their blankets, and I saw that Cedric was also standing nearby, his arms tightly around Cho, who looked just as wet and bedraggled as the rest of us, and I remember vaguely wondering why. Viktor Krum was trying to carry on a conversation with Hermione, who, however, gave most of her attention to Harry and Ron.
"You're well outside the time limit, though, Harry – did it take you ages to find us?" I heard her say.
"Well, no, I found you ok," he answered and there was a strange tone in his voice.
In the meantime, Dumbledore was talking to a fierce-looking mer-person down at the shore. Apparently he they were talking in Mermish, the same weird sounding language I knew only too well from the golden egg.
Presently, he rose from his crouching position and signalled to the other judges, who proceeded to have another conference together.
Meanwhile, the nurse had led Ron over to us, and wrapped him up in a blanket, too. Now, she marched resolutely towards Gabrielle and me, who were still holding each other tightly. She made to look after my injuries, but I waved her off.
"Look after Gabrielle!" I told her in my most authoritarian manner, and turned to Harry.
"You saved her," I said, "even though she was not your hostage."
Remembering it now, I must say he looked at me rather stupidly.
"Yes," he said, but I hardly heard it. I bent down, took his head in both my hands and kissed him twice on each cheek.
Then I saw Ron, who was looking at me with that dazed look again, and I said to him, "And you, too - you helped -"
And when he said, in a croaking voice, "Yeah, a bit - " I couldn't help myself, and kissed his cheek too.
While this had been going on, the judges had finished their conference, and Bagman's voice boomed across the lake again:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Mer-chieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows..."
For what he called excellent use of the Bubblehead charm, I was given twenty-five points. I still don't understand it, after all, I didn't even get near Gabrielle, and would have deserved zero for that. What's the use of a charm, no matter how excellently done, if you don't reach your aim?
Anyway, Cedric, who had been using the same sort of charm, was given forty-seven points, having returned one minute outside the time limit.
Krum, with what was described as an incomplete form of transfiguration (they ARE doing weird things at Durmstrang!), had arrived second and was awarded forty points.
(Apparently his hostage had been Hermione. I didn't take in the implications at the time, but now I must say I'm very relieved; it means that she would be the thing Viktor would miss most, and not Harry!)
Which left Harry's marks. Bagman went on:
"Mr. Potter used Gillyweed to great effect." (I must find out what this is, I've never heard about it.) "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Mer-chieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks. However... Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."
Everybody broke into applause, and I found myself joining in full-heartedly, clapping away as hard as I could with my hands covered in cuts and bites.
"There you go, Harry!" I heard Ron shout. "You weren't being thick at all - you were showing moral fibre!"
I could have slapped him. He hadn't understood a thing, really. For a moment I had seen him in a different light, but actually there was nothing to it. He was just as stupid as ever. And to think I had kissed him!
Yes, this kissing business. There's no way I can avoid it any more. For the first time in my life, I have actually kissed a boy! Ok, so it was on the cheek, and all, but there's no ignoring it. It definitely was a kiss. How lucky I'm not a full Veela! For full Veela, that first kiss means a lifetime commitment, and history is full of tragic stories about it. I'm only quarter Veela, so I hope it won't have the same consequences; however, I'm well aware that it has probably been the most important moment in my life. And I do feel some bond that draws me to Harry Potter, whether I like it or not. Not that I don't like the idea. From what I know of him, he is quite special, generous, honest, open-minded...
Oh dear, here I'm going on already, just like a silly infatuated teenager. Am I? I have a feeling this is a question I'll have to ask myself more than once in the days to come. If only I knew what HIS feelings for me are...
Well, to carry on with the story:
It turned out that Harry and Cedric are tied for first place now, while I, after my miserable performance, am last, - and I honestly don't think I stand much of a chance now. It wouldn't be fair, either, after what Harry did today, if he didn't win; much as I like Cedric, why didn't HE think of freeing the other hostages? I mean he's three years older than Harry and knows a lot more about magic, yet he only thought about himself and his own hostage. But I should be glad for Harry, anyway, that they even considered his 'moral fibre', this is not what they usually do at competitions of this sort.
Bagman announced when the final task was going to take place, but I didn't really listen. I was so exhausted with fatigue and happiness I didn't care. Later, they told me that it's going to be on the 24th of June (I really wonder what is so special about that twenty-fourth), and that a month before that, we'll be told more about it. So it's four months to go, and I'll start worrying when it comes to that. Not that I won't have plenty to think about as it is.
They wanted to take us all up to the castle, but I insisted on returning to our carriage taking Gabrielle with me. We had hardly been able to talk to each other, and I wanted some time alone with her, now that she was finally here with me. Also, I felt the urgent need to lie down in a tub of scented hot water, to get the biting cold out of my bones.
Soon, Gabie had got over her shock, and she started telling me how she had come to be a hostage in the Task.
"Headmaster Dumbledore arrived at the mansion yesterday afternoon," she told me eagerly. "I was just down in the salon when he Apparated. He was very kind to me, told me he wanted my help in this task of yours." A shadow flew across her face. "But then Maman came and told me to run along. 'Headmaster Dumbledore has some serious business to discuss," she said. 'He as no time for small children.' But she was wrong, wasn't she? It was business between ME and him, not her!"
"Of course," I said, trying not to sound too angry at my mother's behaviour. "But you know Maman, that's just the way she is. Can you imagine HER going down into that lake?"
Gabie grinned. "No, she'd be worried her hair would be disturbed.. - Well, after they had talked for some time, they called me into the room, and Dumbledore told me all about it. I was going to be put into an enchanted sleep, so I wouldn't even notice what was happening, and then you would come and get me. He put a lot of stress on the fact that it was all perfectly safe, and there was no reason to worry. He said they'd put the riddle in rather strong words to make sure you did your best, but we'd be in no danger, of course."
"Of course, how idiotic of me! And I went all into a panic at the thought of you down in that lake! If I'd only thought more clearly..."
She huddled closer to me. "Oh, Fleur, don't blame yourself, it's just because you love me. And it's over, so what's the use? Anyway, he put that spell on me, and the first thing I know after that is how those two boys were pulling me out of the water."
"Harry and his friend Ron, yes."
"Harry? That was Harry? And I saw you kiss him! Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
"You are happy for ME?"
"Yes, of course, it's what you've wanted to do for ages, and it's a start..."
"Oh Gabie, if I could only be sure! What if it doesn't mean anything? What if..."
"Sh," she said, with the air of a mother soothing a petulant child. "It will all turn out for the best."
Really, she keeps amazing me, sometimes she seems so much wiser than I am.
***
After a good hot bath, Iphigenie began looking after my cuts and bites, and of course I had to tell everyone what had happened down in the lake. To her credit, I must say she didn't tell me I had been an idiot believing in the words of the riddle, she was very sympathetic, and only said something like,
"If you had explored that lake before-" but then stopped, seeing my expression.
Even Margaux, although she was full of admiration for Harry, almost completely refrained from teasing me about kissing him, something I had not thought she'd be capable of.
***
After lunch, I took Gabie to see the unicorn foals, and at last all the stress and confusion disappeared from my mind. Gabie went into raptures and we did not leave for a long time. Only when dusk settled, we returned to our carriage.
***
At dinner, Gabie was sitting between me and Cho, who took an instant liking to her. From Cho I finally heard what had happened.
"We talked to Harry this afternoon, and he told us," she said. "Like Bagman said, he was first to get to us. I don't remember anything myself, of course, but it seems they had taken us to village of the Mer-people, where we were tied to some kind of statue. Anyway, after some time Harry was worried the other champions wouldn't come, so he wanted to free all the hostages. The Mer-people stopped him, and while he was still arguing with them, Cedric turned up to fetch me, and a bit later Krum came for Hermione. When you still failed to appear, Harry says, he threatened the Mer-people with his wand to let him free your sister and Ron."
"I'm a miserable failure, I know. To think I couldn't even manage a couple of Grindylows!"
"Now, forget it," Gabie told me resolutely, and it was so sweet to see her earnest face. „There's nothing you can do about it any more, so why waste a thought on it? There's still one more task. - But I want to talk to Harry tomorrow!" she added as an afterthought.
***
Harry! It all gets down to Harry again and again. To be honest, I can't wait to talk to him myself. I must try to find out what his feelings are. If I only knew if there was still some trace of Veela magic in that kiss. It would be horrible if it had affected his attitude towards me, but I can't help hoping it may perhaps have made him like me a tiny little bit...
It's almost midnight, I need to get some sleep.