Sailor Witches 28—Nice Day For a Dip
I do not own SM or HP.
Gandhara: Thank you for those suggestions! I think I'll pair Lita with Wood…they'd look cute together. Not to mention her element is wood. .
Lydia sat inside Greenhouse One and played with the Love Blossom on her arm. She let out a sigh as she looked around her. It wasn't very long ago when she met Fiore for the first time at a greenhouse. She had thought he was cute until he pushed Serena to the ground. But as she saw how much he thought of Darien as his only friend, she began to pity him. Her heart grew fond of the alien boy as they tried to destroy the Kisenian Blossom and stop her evil plan to destroy the Earth.
Lydia sighed. "Fiore, where are ye?"
--
Somewhere in Outer SpaceFiore had barely escaped with his life. He looked back at the black and orange spotted planet. It was definitely not his home planet. There were bizarre looking aliens that tried to eat him for the short moment he landed. He turned his eyes away and they rested on the tear-shaped prism in his hand. If Sailor Rainbow had not given it to him—he would have lost his life for sure. There was no doubt the prism was very powerful and it kept him safe throughout his journey.
"My love," he whispered. "I thank you for this. I am sorry I can't come until I find my home." He kissed the prism and sighed.
He floated around the cosmos. It was dark and empty. How long until he found another planet? How long until he found his own? And when he finally does find it, how will he know?
Fiore pressed the inside of his glowing sphere and odd writing appeared on it. It was a tally of all the planets he went to. The size, the shape, the colors and the kind of life that lived on those planets were indicated so that he would not visit the same planet twice by mistake. There were few he wouldn't mind returning to. The people that lived there did treat him with kindness but they did not know the universe well enough to assist him. Many planets however, had monsters that saw him as food or an intruder. There were some with the people tried to make him a prisoner. Where would he go now? Just how vast was the universe?
There was a loud sound above him and he looked up to se a huge spaceship. Arms folded out a shoot toward Fiore and he moved his sphere. He did not know if the people on th ship meant to do him harm or not but he was not going to risk his chances. He was on a mission. The spaceship grappler arms grabbed hold of the alien boy before her could get any further. The arm pulled him within the spaceship with him struggling.
"Let me go!" he shouted, looking around. By the way the people on the ship were dressed, it only took him a moment to realize these people were space pirates.
"Well, what do we have here?" said a raspy voice.
Someone walked to him with a gun. The people on the ship were built like humans but they had the faces of dogs and other animals. Some spoke in a language he did not understand.
"I demand that you let me go!" Fiore shouted, getting to his feet.
"I don't think so," said the captain. "What were you doing in space all alone?"
"Let me go now!" Fiore snarled, preparing himself to attack. But he was outnumbered. The pirates were on him. The prism rolled out and the captain took it.
"How pretty—where did you get this?"
"I'm not telling you," Fiore hissed. "Give that back to me!"
The captain growled and punched Fiore in the stomach, rendering him unconscious. "Go and bind him. Maybe he'll talk once we get him home…"
--
"Miss MacGreggor?"
"Huh?" Lydia glanced up to see Professor Sprout walking in. "Oh, Professor…"
"Is there something I can help you with?" she inquired.
"I'm sorry," said Lydia, rubbing her head. "I just…felt like coming to the green house."
"What's that on your arm?" Professor Sprout asked, pointing at the Love Blossom.
"It's um…called the Love Blossom," she said.
"Does it have any magical powers?" she asked the Herbology professor took Lydia's arm to examine it.
"Well, I think so," said Lydia. "It doesn't need water or soil to live…it grows on love."
"Interesting, where'd you get it?"
"Someone gave it to me," Lydia said softly. "It came from…well…outer space. That doesn't sound strange, does it?"
"Not at all," Professor Sprout told her. "There are many types of plants out there we don't know about. My squib cousin is an astronaut. He got me some flowers that grow on the moon. Lydia," Professor Sprout looked at the Love Blossom. "May I use this in our Herbology lessons? Perhaps I may find a way to make more…"
Lydia paused and looked at her Love Blossom. It was the only thing Fiore left for her. It helped her hold on to him, believe he was still alive. But another thought came to her. Why not share this beautiful flower with the rest of the world?
Lydia pulled the flower off her arm and handed it to the Herbology professor. "Of course, Professor. My friend Fiore might like that."
"When you see him," Professor Sprout whispered, examining the flower closely, "please be sure to thank him for me, won't you?"
Lydia bit her lip. "Of course I will, Professor." She forced a smile and Professor Sprout walked to her office. Lydia sighed and turned to look at another plant. 'If I ever see him again, that is.'
After telling and re-telling his dorm mates they had to do something for a girl on Valentines Day, Harry walked over to breakfast and wondered what the heck he was going to do. Who was he going to do something and what exactly? He thought he could get something for Serena but would it look like he was coming on too strong?
'Maybe I told them off a bit too much,' Harry thought to himself. 'Dean wouldn't draw a heart and cupid for the Patil twins…'
As he came down the stairs he saw an unmistakable girl with blond pigtails in front of him. "Serena!"
"Harry, hi!" she exclaimed, turning around. "Happy Valentines Day!"
"Thanks," he said as he caught up her. "Going to breakfast?"
"Yeah," Serena replied, "actually since this is Valentines day I was thinking we should have some heart shaped pancakes!"
"Heart shaped pancakes?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"You never had them?" she demanded. "Get out!"
Harry shook his head and Serena grabbed his hand. "Well, now is your chance!"
On their way to the kitchens Harry talked about his previous Valentines Days with Serena saying how awful her cousin was and how someday he'll get his. When he told her about Lockhart making a big Valentines Day she found it hard not to laugh.
"Wish I could see it," she whispered.
They got to the kitchens and asked for their heart shaped pancakes. The house elves happily obliged and made them each a stack on heart-shaped pancakes with strawberries, powdered sugar whipped cream and an assortment of syrups.
"Much nicer than eating in the Great Hall, huh Harry?" Serena inquired.
"Yeah, less noise," he replied as he scooped strawberries onto his pancake. "It's a lot more crowded with Durmstrang and Beaxbatons there."
He drizzled strawberry syrup on his pancake and topped it off with whipped cream and in the process he smeared some on his nose and glasses, causing Serena to laugh. Serena picked up a napkin and instinctively tried cleaning it off for him.
"Thanks," he mumbled and he took the napkin.
Serena shook powdered sugar on her pancake, followed by another pancake with strawberries, syrup and more powdered sugar.
"Having fun, Serena?" Harry asked.
"Oh yeah!" she grinned as she took a big bite. They talked and ate for a while and Serena was left with a large amount of sugar amount of her lips. She quickly licked them.
"Did I get it all, Harry?" she asked.
"Nearly," he said. "You still got a bit on the corner of your lip—there--,"
"Just call me sugar lips," she chuckled.
Harry grinned. "Well, okay."
"I'll probably just make a mess of myself again," Serena said.
Which was true. As the two had their Valentines Day pancakes, both of them had some of it left on their faces. Sometimes they played around and dipped their fingers into the cream and dabbed it on each other's noses and cheeks. They were both having so much that the house elves didn't seem to care. It wasn't the first time since a couple had a meal together in the kitchen and it was definitely wasn't going to be the last either.
'Why didn't Darien ever do something like this with me?' she wondered as Harry dabbed her cheek with whipped cream for the third time. 'Why couldn't we spend time together? Why was he always so busy and why is it that I really don't care? Am I really over Darien?'
Similar thoughts were running through Harry's mind. 'I never thought Valentines Day could be so much fun,' Harry thought as he wiped the whip cream off his cheek and licked it off. 'I never would've thought I'd be sitting here having heat shaped pancakes with a fun girl…cute too. I can't wait to rub Dudley's face in this!'
They demolished their pancakes and toppings. After their fill, they talked a bit some more. The day was still young. They could still do more stuff but what exactly? Neither of them really planned on anything. Neither Harry nor Serena wanted to say, 'see you in the common room later.' They had the whole day ahead of them and they were going to spend it together…somehow.
"Hey, Harry," said Serena, grabbing his arm. "Let's go for a walk."
"Yeah, good idea," he said as she flashed her a grin. "Sugar lips!"
Serena laughed and tried to come up with a comeback, "all right—er—Whipped Cream—er--Face!"
--
Raye was both surprised but relieved she didn't get anything from Draco Malfoy. However, the day wasn't over yet and there was still a chance Draco might give a surprise present that evening. She was still thinking about her dreams and the decision she had to make. Not to mention Pansy was on his arm everywhere he went and Crabbe and Goyle weren't sure what to do. Goyle gave a present to Sofia but she had no idea what it was or what to do with it.
"He gave me a note too," Sofia said to Raye as they left breakfast. Goyle was watching her open it—waiting for her reaction. Al she did was mutter thanks to him; Vladimir was watching him like a hawk and she knew if he tried talking her he'd hex him. Vladimir gave him the 'you stay away from my sister glare' as he followed the girls out.
"I didn't know Goyle could write," Raye murmured.
"Well, he can't really," Sofia said, looking at the note as if it were a treasure map. "His writing is hard to read and his grammar's horrible. Ancient Runes make more sense…"
"I don't like him," Vladimir muttered. "Something about him rubs me the vrong vay. Don't let him give you anything else, Sofia."
"Vlad…" Sofia began.
"I mean it!" he exclaimed. "Those friends of his too, like that short fat one with the bad haircut! What's his name, Raye?"
"Er, Crabbe?" Raye said uncertainly.
"Yes, even his name sounds untrustworthy!" said Vladmir. "Crabbe—agh—vell, I know vot to transfigure him into if he ever talks to you!"
"Yeah, so he can pinch you for getting in my business," Sofia rolled her eyes.
Raye covered her mouth so Vladimir wouldn't hear her laugh. They walked around the castle to familiarize themselves with it more. Vladimir and Sofia felt really cooped up in their ship.
"Sofia, you can't like those guys, can you?" he demanded. "They are trouble—Raye knows it—don't you, Raye?"
"Er, well," Raye laughed, "pretty much everyone in Slytherin is."
"See, Sofia?"
"Oh come on," Sofia said. "You're blowing out of proportion. Is Durmstrang any different?"
"I'm serious about this," said her twin brother.
"Well, some of them look like trolls and they can't read or write but some are quite handsome—like Goyle's other friend…wouldn't you say, Raye?" Sofia inquired as she nudged Raye.
"Ummm…who?"
"The blond!" she said excitedly. "The skinny one."
"Oh, him," Raye groaned. "That's Draco Malfoy."
"Is he spoken for?"
"Kind of," Raye shrugged. "Pansy Parkinson. Petite girl with short black hair…she's always hanging around him. They went to the Yule Ball together."
"Yeah, that's right," Sofia nodded. "She's rather rude. And I thought we'd make a great couple."
"Sofia," Vlad began.
"I mean—you and Draco!" Sofia chuckled.
Raye tried to think how she could change the subject but nothing came to mind. She sighed and decided it would probably be best for her to leave.
"Guys," she said, "I'm going to go and finish some home work."
"What's it on?" Sofia asked.
"Mostly divination," she answered. It wasn't a total lie—if she counted learning what her dream meant as homework.
"Vlad's good at Divination," said Sofia, grinning and nudging her brother. "Vlad, vie don't you give her a hand?"
"I am not," muttered Vladimir. "I don't even study it."
"Oh yeah," Sofia laughed, "That's right. Vell, do you have any Runes homework? Vladimir's good at that…"
"No, really," Raye insisted, "it's okay."
"You're embarrassing me," Vladimir whispered, blushing.
"Vladimir, we have to go back to Durmstrang in six months," Sofia said firmly in a hushed voice but Raye still heard her, "and if you're not going to put a move on Raye someone else vill!"
'Someone already has,' Raye thought as she saw Draco Malfoy walk by with Pansy Parkinson attached to his arm. He glanced up at her for a moment and turned his eyes away.
Raye thought for a moment as she looked at Vladimir. Vladimir was a cute shy boy and it was funny how Sofia teased him. Sofia had a point. Raye could always try to 'free' Draco Malfoy later but Raye only had six months to get Vladimir better. Maybe he could give her more secrets about Durmstrang that Sofia hadn't.
"Actually, Vladimir," Raye said, grabbing his arm, "I do have some Runes homework I could use some help on."
"I uh," mumbled Vladimir.
"Go on, Vladimir," his twin insisted.
"And some History of Magic," she added, "our history teacher is a ghost and he puts the dead in 'dead boring!'"
"And you are good at history," Sofia grinned.
"Vell, yes, but," Vladimir said. "but I would rather…"
"Go and get your books," Raye said, "I'll go get mine and meet you in the library okay?"
"You know—I just remembered—I," Vladimir's face turned the color of his school robes.
"Come on Vladimir," Sofia said as she pulled him away, "let's go get your books!"
Raye turned and hurried to the common room, passing Pansy and Draco. She wasn't sure if Draco knew what she was planning to do and she really didn't care. She wasn't focusing in her other subjects like she should. She could worry about Draco later.
"Just worry about number one," Raye whispered to herself. "Besides, what if Draco wants to be a Death Eater anyway?"
--
Harry and Serena weren't the only couple walking outside. Pierre and Mina were strolling around arm in arm around the lake for a couple hours. Pierre brought her into the Beaxbatons carriage where he gave her a nice French lunch, a dozen red roses, an enchanted teddy bear that spoke in his voice and if that wasn't romantic enough, he even sang to her. Mina had no idea what he was saying but she didn't care. It was absolutely sweet enough to make her melt into a puddle of mush.
Mina sat there, curled up by the fire and wrapped up in a blanket as she hugged her teddy bear and watched the cute French boy sing to her. It was absolutely the most treasured she ever felt. She wished that Kaitou Ace could see her now as she remembered what he said to her when she beat him.
"I'll tell your final love fortune. Your love will be hopeless for all eternity."
'Well, you were wrong about that one,' Mina thought bravely, watching Pierre strum his guitar. 'Weren't you, Kaitou? My love doesn't seem too hopeless right now. Bet you didn't see Pierre singing to me on Valentines Day, did you?'
Kaitou was wrong. Mina wasn't cursed at all. She was just unlucky in love for a while. That was all behind her and when she thought she was through with boys, she found one that really cared about her. The only thing that was probably unfortunate about it was that Pierre went to a foreign school and she had no idea when she would see him again. That part frightened her. How was she supposed to survive her last years in Hogwarts without him tutoring her on her French?
'Don't be silly, Mina,' she thought. 'There's always owls…right…owls…'
The song ended and Mina stared for a moment, completely breathless. She beamed at him and put her hand to her heart.
"Oh, Pierre!" she sighed. "That was wonderful!"
"I am sorry," he whispered shyly, "I cannot tell you what it means. My English is not so good."
"Well, I'm just going to have to help you with that, aren't I?" Mina inquired with a grin. "I can help you with Japanese too if you'd like."
"Ah!" Pierre gasped, waving his hand. "One language at a time, please!"
Mina laughed and put her arms around Pierre. "All right. Oh, thank you, Pierre. Today was lovely!"
--
It was cold but the real reason Harry and Serena walked around hand in hand was because they both felt so comfortable with one another. It didn't make a difference what the weather was like and somehow they knew that when winter ended and spring came they would still be walking around holding hands. Harry never thought he'd be able to hold hands with a girl without feeling stupid or having to constantly look around him to see if his cousin was watching him. Everything in his life seemed to be just right except for the fact his parents were dead and his godfather's name wasn't' cleared yet. But being with Serena just seemed to make up for all that, at least a little bit. He wanted to tell her how this made him feel only he didn't know how to describe it. It felt so new and strange though it felt so right.
Serena also wanted to tell Harry her feelings but they were so confused she wasn't sure how it would come out. She tried hard not to think about Darien but the memories came back to her anyway. It was as if Darien was trying to tell her she was making a mistake. She didn't understand. She had told him they were breaking up and she told him why. All she wanted to do was to move on. Was she not thinking rationally? Was she supposed to return to Darien and have him depreciate her again? What if Darien just made a few mistakes and he's ready to change? How was she going to know? Was it her fate to be his wife and Rini's mother? But what if she didn't really want that anymore? As Serena went over this, she let out a sigh louder than she realized.
"You okay, Serena?" Harry asked.
"Huh?"
Harry tightened her hand as a sign to make her stop walking. He turned to her and remained holding her hand.
"Are you all right?" he inquired.
Serena smiled. She didn't want to tell Harry she was thinking of her ex boyfriend. Darien was gone. Why doesn't she just forget about him? Right now she was holding hands with a new guy—not just any guy—a really great guy.
"Yeah, Harry," she said, squeezing his hand. "I'm great."
He looked at her for a while, surveying whether or not she was telling the truth. He felt as if there was something weighing on her mind but he figured if she wanted to talk to him about anything she would tell him. A thought came to mind and he tugged on her hand.
"Come on," he said, "I've got an idea."
"Oooh, so you're saying what we're going to be doing now?" Serena inquired.
"Maybe I can get you something," Harry said as he led her to the greenhouse. "I think Professor Sprout showed us some flowers in here my first year."
"Roses?" she asked.
"Well, no," he said. "I can try transfiguring them to roses if you want to."
Serena wasn't sure what to say. Roses were gorgeous but they reminded her of Darien. She needed as less memory of Darien as she could get. She started to wonder if she should perform a Memory Charm on herself.
"Nah," she said quickly. "I don't like roses anymore."
Harry pulled Serena into greenhouse one and started looking for the flowers he remembered from is first year. He passed the Love Blossom, stopped and looked at it.
"This is new," he said.
"That's," Serena whispered, "That's—so pretty."
"I'm not seeing anymore here," said Harry as he looked around..
"It's probably a new assignment for Herbology," Serena suggested.
"Yeah," he said and turned around. He gasped when he saw them. "Ah-ha! Moon Flowers."
"Did you just say Moon Flower?" Serena gasped.
"That's right," he came to a few pots that contained silver flowers. They somewhat looked like small sunflowers except the flowers were closed, closely resembling large pearls. "They're kind of dying now because they're away from the moon. Professor Sprout has to keep them potted with moon dust so they will survive."
"They're so beautiful," Serena thought, 'and familiar.'
"I'm going to try and repot one of these," Harry said as he put on some white gloves. "They're very delicate so I got to be careful not to break it."
"How'd Professor Sprout get these?" she asked.
"Her cousin is a squib," Harry explained. "He's an astronaut. Got her these when he went to the moon."
He scooped a single flower out of the pot and placed it in a small cup. He sprinkled more moon dust around and handed it to Serena.
"Happy Valentines Day, Serena," he said warmly.
Speechless, Serena beamed and held out her hands to accept her gift. To both Harry's and her surprise, the large pearl-like flower opened up to reveal the inside. Serena moaned as she looked down to see a pearl in the center with symbols of each phase of the moon on the petals.
"I never seen one open before," Harry whispered.
Serena felt a sob in her throat. She put the cup down and threw her arms around Harry's neck. He stumbled back in surprise.
"Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed.
"You like it?" he inquired.
"Yes, of course I do!" she wailed, tears of happiness trailing down her cheeks and onto his shoulder. "It's the most beautiful flower I've ever seen in my life. Thank you so much!"
She squeezed his neck so hard that she nearly popped it off. Harry put his arms around her and patted her back.
"My pleasure…"
"I wish I could give you something," she sobbed. "I'm sorry—I--,"
"You don't owe me anything," he insisted, pushing her back. "I don't mind, really and you came up with the heart shaped pancakes and the walk—that was my present, Serena."
"Thank you," she whispered. "This is the best Valentines ever!"
Serena did not expect her first Valentines without Darien would be so good. Why didn't she meet Harry any earlier?
--
As Professor McGonagall was working in her office, an orange and white fluffy cat jumped upon her desk. She gasped in surprise and leaned back in her chair.
"Oh my!"
The orange cat put his mouth down to her desk and dropped a silver Claddagh ring. He smiled and looked at McGonagall.
"I didn't mean to startle you, Minerva," said Lucky. "Happy Valentines Day."
"Lucky!" she sighed, sitting up and picking up the ring. "Oh, it's beautiful. Thank you." She scratched him behind the ears. "You really shouldn't have."
"Of course I did," Lucky said.
"An interesting ring," said McGonagall. "It's an Irish engagement ring, isn't it?"
"Yes," Lucky replied. "The saying means 'with these two hands I give you my heart and I crown it with my love'…well…at this moment I have only paws."
"That's so sweet of you," McGonagall smiled. "Thanks. So, there is a different meaning for which hand I have it on?"
"There is," Lucky explained. "The right means a love is being considered and the left with the crown inward means two loves have become inseparable. On the right hand with the crown outward means a love is being considered. You can choose which hand you want to wear it."
"I really have nothing to consider," Minerva said, sliding the ring on her left ring finger, the crown pointing toward her. Lucky glanced at it and smiled.
"It looks very beautiful on you," said Lucky.
"Thank you," the Transfiguration professor said. "I'm afraid I have nothing for you."
"That is fine."
McGonagall stroked Lucky and thought for a moment. "I know…let me try transfiguring you back into a human. I've been working on it and I think I've made some progress."
"Wonderful, I'll go get my friends and…" Lucky turned to hop off her desk but McGonagall grabbed him and picked him up.
"No, Lucky," McGonagall smiled. "Just you. If I succeed then we can do something special together."
--
Ron didn't know what to do for Ami so they played a game of chess after dinner. He thought as his present he'd let her win—but he didn't realize she would be so good. Now that he found someone as good as himself he found it as some kind of war and wasn't going to be beaten.
"Wait, how'd you do that?" he demanded when he took one of his knights.
"You left him wide open, Ron," Ami said. "See?"
He groaned. "How could I not notice that?" He studied his pieces for about five minutes and kept glancing at Ami's side. He muttered himself while he moved his fingers around.
"Well, Ron if you," Ami began.
"Shh! No, I think I got it," Ron said, moving his hand around to decide how he should move his pieces. He gave a command for one of his bishops and she lost knight. "Aha!! Now you lost your knight!" he sat back with his arms crossed.
"Nice, Ron," said Ami and she moved her bishop. "CHECK!"
"What?" he pulled his arms down and sat forward. "No! How—oh—dang it!"
Ami stifled her giggle. "You sure you don't need help, Ron?"
"No, I got it," he muttered, waving his hand as he looked over his pieces. "I got it." He was close. He had no idea where to move his king.
'Oh, why did I let her have a head start?' he wondered and another voice answered immediately.
Because you like her you dummy.
He moved his king and closed his eyes. "Quick, Ami—move!"
"Ron, you--," she said.
"I don't care," he moaned. "Do it quickly." He was sure it was checkmate. He lost.
She sighed and moved her bishop again. "Your go."
"Huh, wait a minute—I thought you had me?"
"Well, you moved your king where my bishop couldn't get to him."
"Yeah but you still have your queen!" he insisted. "You could've got me. You're not letting me win are you…?"
"Oh, that's right!" she said, cupping her chin. "Thanks Ron!"
"Oh, now I have to move again," he groaned. "Give me a minute…."
He moved his king. "Aha—now what…"
"CHECKMATE!" Ami exclaimed. "Wow…three hours…good game Ron. You're a real challenging player."
"I am?" he asked, leaning closely.
"Er, yes," she whispered shyly. "Er, well, I ought to get going to my common room now."
"You sure you don't want another go?" he inquired. "I was just getting warmed up."
"Maybe later," she replied as she grabbed her stuff and a chocolate frog card fell out of one of books. "Oops!"
"Hey," said Ron as he picked it up. "You didn't tell me you collected Chocolate Frogs too!"
"Yes," said Ami. "They have quite good information on them and they're perfect for bookmarks."
"What's that you say?" he inquired, glancing up at her from the card. Did he just hear her right? He put his hand to his ear and leaned closely. "Would you say they're useful?"
"Why, absolutely," Ami said simply. "Quite valuable—easy to study for History of Magic exams."
"Ami, you're amazing, you know that?"
"Why, thank you."
Ron looked the card over. "Eladora Ketteridge—I don't have her." His eyes widened as he got to the part where it said she discovered the use of gillyweed. He had to show it to Harry. They were studying for hours in the library trying to find something, though he was use to the library time from being with Ami. He looked back at Ami.
"Ami, can I trade you for this?" he asked quickly.
"Um, well," she mumbled.
"I'll give you five Dumbledores, three Merlins and one Morgana!" he said desperately. "I'll even throw you the only Ned Franklin card I've got—he's keeper for the Chudley Cannons! I had it since I was a kid!"
"Why, sure, Ron." Ami replied with a shrug when she saw how important it was to him. "I don't believe I have any of those."
He stood there for a moment without knowing what to say. He grinned, cupped her face and kissed her on the cheek.
"Ami, you're the best!" he said. "The best! Bye, Happy Valentines Day!"
Ami couldn't respond as he ran out. She sat there dumbfounded for a while and slowly reached her fingers to her cheek.
'Ron must really like card collecting,' she thought to herself.
--
"Harry, Harry!" Ron shouted as he ran into the Gryffindor Common Room. He and Hermione were there trying to come up with how he was going to breathe under water.
"You should've worked that egg out ages ago, Harry," she muttered. "Why weren't you in the library with me today?"
"Because it's Valentines Day," Ron groaned. "And he wanted to do something nice for Serena—something wrong with that, sweetheart?"
"Ron!" Hermione and Harry said together, red in the face.
"Besides, Harry doesn't even have to do the research anymore," Ron said proudly, holding out the Eladora Ketteridge card, "look at this!"
"Ron, this is no time to be playing with your cards," Hermione hissed. "How many times do I have to tell you they're useless?"
"Well, you know what, Hermione?" Ron demanded. "This time they're not! Read it and weep! 'Eladora Ketteridge—the good lady that found the use of gillyweed—the wonderful that stuff that can help you breathe under water Harry!"
"That's amazing," Harry jumped up and took the card. "You just get this? You didn't have it the whole time and…"
"Harry, if I knew I had it I would've told you already," Ron muttered. "I got that from Ami."
"Ami gave you that?" Hermione demanded.
"Yes, Ami gave it to me!" Ron sneered, "see Hermione, unlike you, Hermione thinks they are valuable! She even uses them to study! And she uses them for bookmarks. What do you use?"
"Oh yeah?" Hermione questioned, taking the card from Harry, "well, where does it say how you're going to get gillyweed, hmm?"
"We can get to that later!" Ron snapped. "Geez, Hermione. Do you have to go and ruin everything now?"
"Oh, I'm going to bed," Hermione grunted, flinging the card at him and she went upstairs.
"Careful, Hermione!" Ron shouted, smoothing it. "I want to keep it just as beautiful the moment Ami gave it to me!"
"So that's your Valentines day present from Ami?" Harry inquired as they went up to the boys dormitory.
"I guess so," Ron replied. "What'd you get from Serena?"
"We had heart shaped pancakes together," he said. "In the kitchen."
"Oh, so that's where you two went!" Ron grinned.
"Shut it, Ron."
They entered the boy's dormitory where a Seamus Finnigan had cake and icing all over him. "Seamus, what happened to you?" Harry inquired.
"I'm going to kill you, Harry!" Seamus shouted, pulling out his wand and running to Harry.
Ron got in the way. "Hey, calm down!" Ron shouted, pushing Seamus back. "What's the problem?"
"I'm going to blow your kneecaps off!" Seamus exclaimed. "And then I'm going to…"
"Seamus, stop, stop!" Dean got up from his bed, covered with bits of parchment, quills and artist supplies. "You're not going to kill Harry!" He pulled Seamus away.
"Yes I am!" Seamus yelled.
"No you're not--," Dean grunted and he turned to Harry. "I am!"
"What'd I do?" Harry demanded. "What is the matter with you two?"
"What did you do?" Seamus groaned, "What did you do? You told us all that we had to do something for the girls we liked and it backfired, you…"
"Oh you mean when you were trying to transfigure those breads into heart-shaped cakes for Lydia and they blew up in your faces?" Ron asked with a grin. "Yeah…that was kinda funny"
"It was not, Weasley!" Seamus snapped. "She started to cry! I blew it!"
"I'd say you did," Ron snickered.
"Oh, now you're going to get it!" Seamus began reaching for Ron and Dean pulled him away.
"Ron didn't do anything, Seamus," Dean told him. "It was Harry's idea for us to make fools out of ourselves!"
"All I told you to do was do something nice for them!" Harry groaned. "What went wrong?"
"I did exactly what you said, Harry," Dean muttered, folding his arms. "I drew pictures for the Patil twins and they didn't like them!"
"What did you draw?" he inquired.
"I drew them…some…unicorns," Dean mumbled.
"Unicorns?"
"Well, Parvarti really likes them!" Dean retorted. "I thought she would like the picture."
"So, what'd she do?"
"Nothing!"
"Did she cry like Lydia did?" Ron asked.
"No."
"Did she yell at you?"
"No."
"So, that's good, right?"
"She didn't say or do anything."
"So, if she didn't," Harry said to Dean, "How do you know she didn't like them?"
Dean narrowed his eyes. "Because…well…I would think she would at least say thank you! And her twin didn't either!
"Dean, come on," Harry told him, "maybe she was just surprised and didn't know what to say. It's not the end of the world."
Dean sighed. "Well, you'd better be right."
"What about Lydia?" Seamus demanded. "I tried looking all over the place for her before she finally came to dinner! And you know what else?" he picked up a love knot. "Lavender gave me this!"
"What is it?" Ron asked.
"Some love knot," Seamus retorted, throwing it down. "She gave it to me at breakfast and wouldn't leave me alone! If she starts talking about our horoscopes in Divination I'll go crazy!"
"Try apologizing to Lydia later," Harry suggested.
"Oh, all right," Seamus muttered, "I'll let you live for now."
"So, how about you two?" Dean inquired. "Did everything backfire?"
"Well, sort of," Ron said. "Ami beat me at chess."
"You sure you weren't letting her win?" Seamus demanded.
"No, of course not," Ron grunted. "Then she gave me a Chocolate Frog card…and I kissed her…oh man…I just realized what I did!"
"You kissed Ami Mizuno?" Dean asked, "that girl from Ravenclaw that helped you when you were choking the other day?"
"Yeah!" Ron said. "It was cool…oh…I'd better find those cards I promised to trade her for!" He walked to his bed and opened his trunk. "I know my cards are here somewhere."
"What about you, Harry?" Seamus asked. "Did you kiss Serena too?"
"No!" Harry exclaimed, going red. "I…gave her a flower!"
--
Lavender continued to flirt with Seamus while Seamus tried apologizing to Lydia. Lydia accepted it and told him she was sorry for getting upset. It wasn't because the frosting got into her eyes and she was embarrassed. She would have thought it was funny if she wasn't already upset about Fiore. She mostly cried because she thought it was sweet he was trying hard. The girls teased Ami nonstop when she told them Ron had kissed her. Ami wished she had taken it to the grave. Draco didn't have a chance to give anything to Raye since she avoided him even more. She thought she might as well take the advantage to get to know the Durmstrang students while she still could.
The day of the second task was coming closer and Harry couldn't find any gillyweed. He didn't see any in the greenhouses. Would they possibly be in a greenhouse he hasn't been before yet? Perhaps they were in Professor Sprout's office?
The day before the task, the judges, the hostages, Madame Pomfrey and Ami met in Gryffindor's office to explain what would take place in the third task. Professor Dumbledore recited the poem to the group, though Hermione and Ron already knew what it meant. Cho didn't look scared. Instead, she looked rather excited and touched that she would be the one Cedric Diggory would miss most. She knew he had already known how breath for an hour under water and that he would most likely be the first person to take her out of the water. Hermione was surprised that she was chosen as Krum's hostage and Ron was surprised he was picked as Harry's hostage instead of Serena. Fleur's younger sister Gabrielle looked absolutely frightened about the whole thing and Madame Maxime had to calm her.
"There, there, Gabrielle," she kept saying. "You know zat your sister will get you…"
"Now if there is a problem," Dumbledore said, "and the champion is unable to reach you and return in time…Ami will be your lifeguard."
"What does that mean?" Ron inquired, rubbing his head and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"A lifeguard is someone that supervises someone when they're swimming," she muttered, "and saves them if they're drowning."
"Really?" Ron gasped, looking over to Ami.
Ami nodded. "Yes, I'm a very good swimmer."
"I guess first aid's not the only thing you're good at, eh, Ami?" Ron asked with a grin, causing the blue haired girl to blush and look down.
"Now, remember to be at the lake an hour before the task so we can begin," Bagman told them. "Very important. Well, I believe that is all. Go on and get some rest!"
As Ron and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room, Ron couldn't help but wonder if he out to ask Harry to take his time so that Ami could save them the water.
'She might even perform that 'mouth to mouth' stuff,' Ron thought dreamily.
However, Ron changed his mind, thinking Harry wouldn't go with it.
--
After having the sleeping spell placed on them, Hermione, Ron, Cho and Gabrielle were pulled into the deep lake and strapped to giant statue. Ami helped Madame Pomfrey set up the first aid table with warm blankets, Pepperup potion and other things. Fifteen minutes before the task, the students and the champions came to the lake. Lydia was excited to finally see a task.
"This is great!" Lydia said to Serena. "Maybe not as exciting as watching them fight dragons but this will be cool too."
"Yeah," said Serena with a nod. "I wonder if Ami is going to have to save Ron and do CPR!"
Susan Applebee cupped her chin as she watched Bagman speak to Harry. "I wonder…" she said to herself.
After talking to Harry, Bagman pointed his wand to his throat and said, "Sonorous!" His voice went up a couple octaves as he announced to the crowd. "Our champions will start on my whistle. They have precisely one hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three then. One…two…three!"
The whistle blew and Ami wished luck to both Harry and Cedric as the four champions walked into the freezing cold water. Cedric and Fleur performed the Bubble-Head charm on themselves as Harry shoved the rubbery gillyweed in his mouth. Krum dove right in and his torso became that as a shark's. The crowd cheered for their champions and Ami crossed her fingers in her lap as she sat down.
I hope I won't have to pull anyone out of the water. She wished.
But then within fifteen minutes, she saw a silvery head bobbing in the middle of the lake. Madame Maxime gasped and leapt to her feet.
"It's Fleur!" she cried.
"Ami," said Madame Pomfrey, turning to her apprentice.
"Right!" Ami was on her feet in an instant and she ran into the water. People in the stands stood up and talked. The Beaxbatons crowd wondered where her hostage was. Bagman tried to calm them down as he commented.
"Looks like Miss Delacour had a bit of trouble in the water," he said, "but not to worry! Our lifeguard Ami Mizuno of Hogwarts is in the way!"
Ami did not feel any cold as she wore a special heated suit. She swam out to Fleur. "It's all right Fleur!" she called. "I'm coming!"
"Grindylows!' the frightened Beaxbatons champion shouted. "Zey attacked me…I have to go back and get my sister!"
"Fleur, calm down!" she put her arm around her chest and side stroked back to shore. People cheered once Ami got the wet, cold and cut up girl to dry ground. The Beaxbatons headmistress hurried to her student to see if she was all right.
"She needs her cuts to be cleaned," Ami said. "But I think she'll be okay."
It wasn't easy. Fleur thrashed around, trying to get back into the water. Ami tried explaining that the merpeople would bring her sister back after the task was over as she tried cleaning her wounds.
"Just let 'er clean them, Fleur!" Madame Maxime hissed as she restrained her student. "There is no need to struggle."
"But Gabrielle…"
Ten minutes before the time limit was up and the remaining champions did not return with their hostage. Ami wondered if she should go down and see what the hold was. She checked her watch. There was still time. The students were becoming anxious. Bagman was running out of things to talk about. He kept saying, "Any minute now…someone will come up…who will it be? Any minute now…"
"Ami," said Madame Pomfrey.
Ami nodded and began walking into the water. Just as she was about to take a breath and dive in, she saw two wavering figures beneath the surface. The Hogwarts crowd jumped to their feet, yelling their heads off, though most of the Gryffindors remained seated and clapped.
"Where's Harry?" Wondered Lee Jordan.
"Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts is the first to come back with his hostage!" roared Bagman's voice.
"It's Cedric!" Mina shouted. "I knew he'd be the first one to make it!"
"Way to go, Ced-senpai!" Lita cried, ravishing her Cedric banner.
Ami swam to them, looking relieved. "You're just one minute out of the limit!" she said to them. "Are you all right?"
"Of course I am," Cho beamed as she looked at Cedric.
"Come," Ami said as she swam with them to the shore. "Let me give you some blankets."
Ami sat the couple down and threw blankets around them as Madame Pomfrey poured them some Pepperup Potion. Ami took a sip for herself and waited at the water's edge for the next champion and his hostage.
Ten minutes later Krum and Hermione reached the surface. Some people screamed when they saw a shark's head in the water but sighed in relief to see it was only Krum. The Slytherins were laughing, making jokes how she was the one Krum would miss most. Some of the Durmstrang students also seemed displeased, though they were happy that Krum finally made it. Ami waded into the water until it reached her waist and helped the two back onto dry ground.
"You okay, Hermione?" Ami asked.
"Yeah," Hermione answered, shivering. She looked around and frowned slightly. "Where's Harry?"
"He's still down there," Ami answered, putting a blanket around her.
"He hasn't come yet?" Hermione looked nervous.
"I'm sure he's okay," Ami said softly.
"Herm-own-ninny," said Krum, putting his arm around her, "I vant to talk to you…"
He took her away from the judges' stand and the first aid table to tell her what he had on his mind and Ami turned back to the water. "Come on, Harry…"
"Where's Harry?" Serena demanded, staring at the water. "What's taking him so long?"
"Serena, he'll be fine," Lydia insisted.
"What if that gillyweed was a dud?" Serena asked, biting her nails. "What if it stopped working and Ami will have to pull his body out…what if he and Ron's drowned?"
"The lake must be really deep," Lydia theorized. "That's probably what took the others so long."
"Does anyone have any binoculars?" Serena inquired, looking around her fellow Gryffindors. "Anyone?"
Unfortunately, no one had any. People were getting nervous—except for Slytherin House and Karkaroff.
"They've probably drowned," Malfoy said hopefully with a laugh. "I bet Potter doesn't' know how to swim."
"You're sick, Malfoy," Raye grunted, glaring at him. She was reminded why she didn't like him in the first place. How come he was always a jerk to other people but he'd act like a gentleman around her? Was it worth trying to free him if he had this kind of attitude?
Malfoy smirked. "Why thank you, Raye."
Percy Weasley was pacing and running his hands through his vivid red hair. Ami glanced at him and at Madame Pomfrey. Madame Pomfrey nodded at her and Ami went again into the freezing cold water. The crowd looked on hopefully.
"Miss Mizuno's going back into the water," said Bagman. "I wonder what condition Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are in…"
Mina's mother tried to be optimistic. "Oh, I'm sure they are all right everyone. Not to worry!"
There was a gasp from the Gryffindors as Ami dove into the water and began swimming downward. Serena kept chanting, "find them, Ami. Find them!"
As Ami continued to swim down into the lake, she saw Harry and Ron along with Gabrielle. She was surprised but relieved. She took Gabrielle from Harry, grabbed the other side of Ron's robes and swam to the surface with Harry.
People cheered when they saw Ami return with Harry—to see him alive and breathing—as well as Ron. Serena jumped up and down, hugging Lydia.
"It's Harry and Ron!" Serena exclaimed. "They're all right! Oh, thank goodness!"
As Harry was catching his breath, Ami stared into him with amazement.
"We were so worried, Harry," she said. "Are you all right? Are either of you hurt?"
"Fine," Harry wheezed.
"Actually, Ami," said Ron after spitting out water, "I've got a cramp in my leg…"
"Did you eat something before the task?" Ami inquired. "You'd get cramps because of that. Maybe you ought to see Madame Pomfrey."
"But—Ami," Ron began but she started swimming away with Gabrielle.
Harry looked at Ron and punched him underneath the water. "Ouch!" Ron cried. "What was that for?"
"I think you're flirting with her a bit too much, Ron," Harry muttered.
"Oh, cut it out, Harry," Ron groaned, "You're starting to sound like Hermione. Why'd you bring that girl for anyway?"
"Fleur didn't show up. I couldn't leave her," Harry said, "come on."
The two boys swam to the lakeside and Percy hurried into the water, grabbed his brother and pulled him to a chair. Fleur took Gabrielle away from Ami just as Ami tried telling her that she'd be okay. Madame Pomfrey gave Harry a blanket and some potion. Dumbledore was speaking with the merchieftainess in the same screechy noises they made above water. Ron was trying to talk to Ami but Percy was still trying to give him more blankets.
"Perce, leave me alone," he muttered. "I'm fine…"
"Your face is blue, Ron!" Percy yelled.
"Well, let Ami see to me then!"
"Don't you see that she is busy?" Percy demanded.
Ron looked over at Ami. She was standing with Dumbledore trying to figure out what they were talking about. She made a mental note to start learning mermish. He walked away and Ami looked up at her Headmaster.
"What did she say, Professor?" she inquired.
"They told me what happened when the champions reached the hostages," Dumbledore answered. "I need a conference with the other judges."
The judges huddled together and Ami moved to each of the hostages and champions. Fleur hugged her and thanked her for saving her and her sister, as well as kissing Ron and Harry. Ron tried again to get Ami to see to him, but she was still to shy to come near him after her had kissed her on Valentines Day. The judges were done with their conference and Bagman resumed commenting.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "we have reached our decision. But first, let's give a round of applause for all our champions, for Madame Pomfrey and for Ami Mizuno!"
People started cheering and Ami's friends kept calling her name. Ron beamed at her and wanted to give hr another kiss. Ami blushed, took a bow and started playing with some bandages.
"Now then," said Bagman, "Merchieftainess Murcus has informed us what happened at the bottom of the lake and we therefore have decided to award marks out of sixty points for each of the champions as follows…" he looked over at Susan for her to begin.
AN: as Susan Applebee is an extra judge, I decided to raise the mark range
"Fleur Delecour used the Bubble-Head charm," she said, "but was unfortunately attacked by grindylows. We award her thirty points."
Fleur shook her head, "I deserved zero."
"It wasn't your fault," said her sister.
"Cedric Diggory also used the Bubble-Head Charm and was the first to return with his hostage," Susan went on. "We award him fifty-seven points."
Cho beamed at Cedric yet again as Hufflepuff crowd screamed with joy. Lita wished she was the one Cedric had pulled out of the water. How romantic that would be. She sighed. Cedric probably just didn't feel the way for her as he did for Cho—though he was always so nice to her.
"Viktor Krum transfigured his head to a shark's," she said and some people laughed. "We award him fifty points."
The Durmstrang students cheered and Karkaroff clapped so hard that his palms were turning red.
"Harry potter used gillyweed," Susan Applebee went on, "He returned twenty five minutes past the hour limit. Merchieftainess Murcus has informed he was the first to reach the hostages and his delay was because he was determined to get all the hostages to safety as well as his own."
Looking sympathetic and also angry, Ron and Hermione looked at Harry. Serena was taken back and stared down at Harry.
"Oh Harry," she whispered. "That is so…big of you!"
Bagman began commenting again as he glared at Karkaroff. "Now, most of the judges feel this shows moral fiber and deserves full marks…"
"Of course it does!" Serena exclaimed.
"However, Mr. Potter's score is fifty-five points."
"What?" Serena demanded, getting to her feet. "That's not fair! Who was the one that thought Harry was just wasting time?"
"Karkaroff, I bet," said Lydia.
Everyone cheered hard, as well as Fleur and the rest of the Beaxbatons students. Though the Gryffindors were a bit miffed about Harry being five points off, they were still happy with Harry being the hero of the day again.
"That's our Harry!" Fred shouted.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," Bagman said once the noise had settled down, "the champions be notified what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you for your support of the champions."
Serena rushed down the stands to get to Harry, with Lydia continuously having to tell her to wait up. As Madame Pomfrey was pushing the hostages and champions toward the castle, Serena called for Harry.
"Harry, hey! Harry!"
Harry looked in her direction and waited for her, much to Madame Pomfrey's dislike. "Potter, get a move on."
"I'll be okay," Harry told the crazy nurse.
Serena ran to Harry and threw her arms around his neck. She didn't care that her robes got damp. "Oh, Harry! You're a hero. You saved Fleur's hostage and you didn't have to!"
"Well, I just couldn't' leave her there," he mumbled. "I felt kind of stupid at first…"
"Don't be!" she said, "I would've done the same thing you did."
"Potter," said Madame Pomfrey, "Tsukino…Potter has to get into…"
"Oh, he'll be all right!" Serena hissed. "Can't I congratulate our champion? I'll make sure he'll get to Gryffindor tower without catching pneumonia!"
"You know, Ami," said Ron in a raspy voice as they went to the school, "I think I'm coming down with something…"
Madame Pomfrey huffed and left with the others. Serena pushed Harry's wet hair back and embraced him again. "I was so worried!" she cried as she started to sob. "I thought something went wrong!"
"Serena, it's okay!" he muttered nervously, watching the Slytherins snicker as they passed him.
"Oh booo—hooo!" said Pansy.
"Oh shut up!" Serena shouted, bringing her face from Harry's chest. "Wouldn't you worry if Malfoy took forever to come out of the water? Of course…I really wouldn't' care if he stayed down there."
Pansy glared and walked off. "Come on, Draco…"
"Way to go, Harry," said the Gryffindors as they got to their champion.
"You're freezing mate," said Lee. "Let's get you inside."
Lydia was standing next to Seamus as they looked into the water.
"That's got to be so cold," Lydia stated, shaking her head.
"I know," Seamus agreed. "Man…I never noticed how blue the lake is."
"Blue?" Lydia gasped and began splashing into the water. Seamus freaked out and grabbed her arm.
"Lydia, are you nutters?" he demanded. "Today is not the day for a dip! Even for the champions…"
"But…I…have to," she groaned.
"Wait until it warms up, geez!" he said, pulling her out of the water.
"Oh, all right," she said and she looked back at the lake. 'The blue coin is in there—I know it!'
--
After the task, Ludo and Susan went to the three broomsticks for a drink. "Damn that Karkaroff for not giving Harry the points he deserved." Ludo grunted.
"Yeah," said Susan sternly. "Well, he did do a good job nonetheless."
"I think he did."
"You wouldn't happen to have anything to do how well Harry Potter has been performing at the tasks, do you, Luod?" Susan demanded.
"What do you mean by that, Susan?" Ludo inquired.
"You've been offering him help, haven't you?"
"Um, well, um," Ludo mumbled.
"Ludo Bagman, you answer me!" she hissed. "Have you been helping Harry through the tasks?"
"No," Ludo said, "well, not on the first one. Not really…well, right before the first one started I asked him if he had a plan…and I asked if he got through his egg."
"Did you put his name in the goblet?"
"Susan, why would I do that?" he asked, looking shocked. "I'm a judge!"
"Because you know exactly what's going to happen at the tasks," she said, "so it will be easier to help him. Well, did you put his name in goblet?"
"Of course I haven't!" he retorted. "Susan, whatever gave you that idea?"
"Because you like to gamble," Susan said, "and you thought you could make money off Harry Potter if you did."
"Well, I didn't!" he muttered.
"You'd better not be lying to me!"
"I'm not lying!" he said.
"Then why have you been helping Harry?" she demanded. "Trying to get some bets? Have you placed any bets on him?"
"Because he's the underdog here, Susan," Ludo argued. "Someone tried to make him look like a fool by putting his name in the goblet. Thought I could probably help him."
"I see," said Susan. "That's the truth?"
"Of course it's the truth!" Ludo cried.
Susan sighed. "So, have you tried placing bets on Harry then?"
"I—er—well, I," he said, "maybe just a few."
"Ludo Bagman," Susan said as she leaned forward, "you know what that would look like in front of the judges? They will start thinking you were the one who did it? You could be disqualified from the tournament! You could lose your job!"
"I haven't placed that many," he insisted.
"Doesn't matter," said Susan. "I know you are in debt. The goblins have been meeting with you about money, haven't they?"
"Yes," he mumbled. "I erm…been using leprechaun gold to pay off some debts."
"You've what!?" she cried. "Ludo!"
"It's only temporary!" he said, trying to hush her down. "Until I can get some money."
"You have to do something," she said. "This has got to stop!"
"It's all right," he said.
"It's not all right!" she hissed. "Ludo, you've got a gambling problem!"
"I do not have a gambling problem," he rolled his eyes as he took a drink.
"You do too!" she told him. "You just won't admit it. You have a gambling problem and unless you do something about it you could get in some real trouble. You might even be sent to Azkaban!"
"For gambling?" he demanded. "You can't be serious!"
"Well, let's hope you won't," she said. "You've got to stop this Ludo, understand? Rita's Skeeter's trying to get stuff on you. Imagine if she puts this story in the Daily Prophet? You have to promise me that you won't gamble anymore!"
"But…but!" he stammered, "I happen to like gambling!"
"You see Ludo Bagman," Susan groaned, "This is why I didn't want to marry you!"
"Suzie…"
"You have to stop gambling. I mean it." She told him firmly. "If you must continue to gamble then don't do it with money. Make some creative bets—I don't' care—just stop placing these crazy fifty Galleon bets and paying them off with Leprechaun gold. Enough is enough!"
He sighed. "All right…I'll try."
"Good."
To Be Continued
AN: Hey, I'm trying to figure out what to do with Fiore as he's in space. Should I have him meet the Starlights? Does anyone know much about Sailor Stars?