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Chapter 13.

February.

Drugged and semi-drowned.

Her date, Lara decided, was a disaster.

Maybe most people wouldn't think so; nobody died, nobody got upset, nobody shouted or screamed or caused a scene. They headed back to the castle hand-in-hand, David walked her to the Gryffindor tower, kissed her cheek and then went back to his own common room. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like the perfect first date. When she recounted it to Erin, she certainly thought so, squealing and clapping her hands excitedly as she asked when the next one would be.

Lara didn't have an answer. There was just something so…weird about the date, something that made her inherently uncomfortable. She wondered if it was just the setting, the pinks and the frills, the little floral cups and saucers—was it those things that made her feel uneasy, rather than David himself? If they had another date in the Three Broomsticks or the Hogshead, would she feel better after the date?

But…Madame Puddifoot's wasn't that bad. Sure, it was a little over-the-top, and she'd much rather go somewhere else, but it wasn't the worst place in the world. The tea was good and the happy couples gave the place a nice atmosphere. After a few minutes, she'd gotten used to it…so it couldn't be the place.

It had to be David.

His little haughty smile when he mentioned the pranks in school, the way his eyes glinted when Lara talked about her blood-linage, his wording about pure-blood's being better, and the way he'd dismissed Lara when she wanted to go to the Shrieking Shack. Whenever she thought about it, it made her skin crawl. But then another part of her would question if she was being over-dramatic, if she was reading too much into things…

Thankfully, the seventh years had so much work to do, she and David didn't have time to meet up again over the next few weeks. They passed each other in hallways and exchanged a few pleasantries, but then Lara would have to run off to Alchemy class or David would have lunchtime study class or McGonagall would call for an evening recap class or—

There was just a lot going on, and before Lara knew it, the Second Task was upon them. Awakening on the cold February morning, Lara reached over to shut off her alarm before collapsing back into her bed with a groan. She'd stayed up the night before with Erin to study for an upcoming Charms test, which probably wasn't the best idea considering they had to be up at half eight the next morning.

"Let's skip this crap and go back to sleep," Lara moaned, turning over and closing her eyes.

"We have to support Harry."

Lara moaned again. "We should've went to bed earlier."

"I know." Erin sniffed. For a moment, everything was silent, and then she huffed and threw back her covers. "Right, I'm up and I'm using the bathroom first!"

While the rest of the girls used the bathroom, Lara stayed in bed with her hands covering her face. Just as she was dozing off again, someone nipped her ribs until she sat up. "Your turn," Erin smirked. "We have to be at the second task in forty minutes, hurry up."

Lara detangled her legs from the covers and padded to the bathroom, shivering from the cold. Back in the dorm, she got ready with her eyes half-closed and then headed down for breakfast to find Stan, Omar and Amanda already sat at the Ravenclaw table.

"What do you think this one is?" Amanda asked instantly, an excited smile on her face.

"Well, the first one was fire, so maybe this one's water?" Erin guessed with a shrug.

"Maybe it's the Black Lake," Lara agreed. "There must be some stuff in there, right? The Giant Squid, for one."

"Oooh, maybe they battle the squid," grinned Stan.

"I hope not," Omar sighed. "I quite like that guy. He's our very own Loch Ness Monster."

"Monster is a very derogatory term," murmured Lara.

"Loch Ness Organism, then," Omar said and rolled his eyes. "Maybe they fight the merpeople."

"There's merpeople?"

"Sure." Amanda nodded. "Loads of them. Didn't any of you read Hogwarts A History?"

The three Gryffindor's glanced sheepishly at each other. "Eh, no," Stan answered for the trio. "We haven't."

"I swear, that book needs to be mandatory for first years…"

Amanda's rant slowly faded out as Lara went back to her breakfast. She had just finished her plate when she spotted a group of boys coming into the Great Hall. Among them, she could see a tall head of dark hair, messing around with a friend. He began to look around the hall, first the Gryffindor table, up and down the benches, obviously searching for someone.

"Can we go?" Lara blurted out restlessly. "I want good seats."

"Now?" asked Stan, who was still shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth. "But—"

"I'll meet you down there," Lara said, because David's eyes were now inching towards the Ravenclaw table. "I'll save you some seats, okay?"

Not waiting for their reply, Lara hurried out of the Great Hall, pulling down her knitted beanie to hide her face. She knew if David caught sight of her, he'd sit with her during the Second Task and, even worse, maybe ask to do something afterwards. The thought of being alone with him again made her stomach churn. Of course, she couldn't avoid him forever, but she still wasn't sure how she really felt. A part of her wanted to give him a second chance…but the other part of her never wanted him near her again.

The prefects were lined up through the hallways and on the grounds, telling people to head for the Black Lake. As she bounded down the path, the Quidditch Pitch glistening in the distance, she saw a group of familiar people ahead of her. Rushing down the steps, Lara tripped and fell into Lee's back.

"Whoa, mate," Lee laughed as he grabbed her. "You okay?"

"I fell on a rock," Lara said breathlessly. "Are you guys heading for the Second Task?"

"Isn't everyone?" grinned Angelina. "Where's your friends?"

"I wanted to get good seats, so I said I'd come early and save them some."

"Good idea, Culpepper," George said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Excited to see Harry get eaten by the Giant Squid?"

"One; the Giant Squid wouldn't eat him, he doesn't like humans. Two; I think he's fighting with the merpeople."

"Merpeople?" said Alicia. "There's merpeople in the lake?"

"Apparently so. That's what Hogwarts A History says, anyway."

"You read that?"

"Amanda read that," Lara grinned at George's question. "And told me this-morning. Merpeople makes more sense than the squid though, doesn't it? I mean, the squid helps students who fall into the lake, so it's not going to attack Harry and the others."

"Oh, yeah. I remember Dennis Creevey pissing himself about that during the Sorting Feast," Fred grinned widely. At the sound of his voice, Lara turned to look at him, glad for the excuse to stare at him. "I wonder if they have tridents and stuff. That would be so bloody cool."

"Like King Triton?"

Fred's face scrunched. "Who?"

"Muggle reference," Lara smirked. "Never mind."

"Maybe they've put sharks into the water," Lee gasped. "And crocodiles. And killer whales."

"You do realise we're a magical school, right? All those are non-magical creatures," said Alicia. "It's more likely to be grindylows and selkies."

"Alright, Newton Scamander. I'll keep that in mind."

Down by the lake, the seats from the First Task had been set along the bank, rising so high they reflected in the Black Lake's surface. At the minute, only a few groups of friends filled the chairs, all chatting happily and glancing wondrously towards the lake. George got so excited at the sight of them he began to jump up and down, dragging Lara, who he still had his arm around, with him.

Lee and Fred ran to grab a cluster of chairs near the front of the stands, throwing their jackets and scarves around some for the four missing seventh years. Lara sat with George on one side and Angelina on the other, both of them talking heartily over her head about what was in stall for the rest of the morning. The stands gradually filled up to the brim, from first years to seventh years, and Lara's friends turned up at quarter past nine, clad in knitwear and beaming excitedly.

"COME ON HARRY—wait, where's Harry?" Stan suddenly looked towards the golden-draped judges' table, where Cedric, Viktor and Fleur all stood.

"What do you mean where's Harry? He's right—oh, bugger," Lee murmured, his dark eyes scanning the Champions and realising there were only three.

"Bloody hell." Alicia whispered. "Where is he? The Champions were meant to be here by nine!"

The seconds ticked by. The crowd began to get jittery and loud, hissing and giggling to each other. Lara could hear Harry's name being mentioned over and over again, some sounding worried, most sounding amused. The Slytherin's sounded particularly entertained.

"I'm going to kill him—forget about Voldy-pants, I'm going to kill him myself." Fred muttered, glancing anxiously down at his watch.

"Voldy-pants?" Lara whispered, bending to look at Fred as he sat beside Angelina. "Did you just call the darkest wizard of all time Voldy-pants?"

Fred grinned wickedly at her. "Yeah, so?"

"You're unbelievable," Lara snorted, leaning back in her seat.

Fred appeared around Angelina's body again, a teasing smile on his face. "Unbelievably handsome?"

"Among other things."

"Would you like to name the other things—"

"Harry—Harry!" Alicia jumped to her feet, shaking Fred and Angelina's shoulders dramatically. "There he is!"

Sure enough, Harry Potter was sprinting towards the judges' table, coming up beside the other Champions. A few words were exchanged before Harry bent over, as if trying to catch his breath.

"Oh thank God." Erin gasped from behind Lara. "I thought he wasn't going to come."

"Yee have little faith, Goodwin!" George was now on his feet cheering for his friend. "Harry always comes through for us!"

Suddenly, the commentator's voice boomed across the lake, "Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One…two…three!"

The four champions all moved at once; Fleur and Cedric cast a charm on their faces before diving into the water, while Krum splashed through the shallows and disappeared without a trace. Harry took off his shoes and socks and walked into the water…and just stood there.

"Ookay," Lara whispered, her applause slowing. "What's he doing?"

"He's just…figuring it out," Lee said confidently, as the crowd began to snigger.

"He's got a plan," agreed George, then turned towards the laughing crowd and snapped, "Shut up, you pricks! Show some dignity!"

"He'll show you all," Fred shouted. "Just you wait!"

But Harry was still stood in the water, shivering a little and staring out towards the lake mindlessly. The laughter got louder. The Slytherin's began to jeer. Lara started to worriedly twiddle with her fingers. She was beginning to worry Harry wasn't going to pull through this time, that he really didn't have anything planned…

Suddenly, Harry grabbed his neck as if he was in pain, and then he dove head first into the water. For a moment, there was a stunned silence…

"WOOOOOO! GO HARRY!" Fred and George screamed, rousing the rest of the crowd into applause and cheers.

Fifteen minutes later, however, the crowd had slipped into a twitchy, bored silence.

"In hindsight," Omar began, kicking his legs up onto the back of Fred's chair. "The whole champions under a lake thing was a bit stupid. We can't see anything that's going on."

"Couldn't they magic up some underwater cameras and a big screen?" sighed Erin moodily. "Muggle's would be all over this. I swear, in some ways, muggle's are so much more advanced."

Amanda looked highly offended. "But we have magic."

"And they have electricity. It's amazing. You should check it out some time."

"Elec—eflec—electriffity—"

"E-lec-tri-ci-ty."

"Dear Merlin," muttered George as Amanda tried to stutter through the word again. "I'm gunna go up, see if I can see anything. Lara, want to come with?"

Lara looked up in surprise. Out of everyone here, she didn't expect to be George's first choice for his little adventure. She glanced over to Fred, but he was busy telling Omar and Stan about a garden gnome he and George tried to domesticate when they were kids. He was in the middle of saying how it trashed the kitchen and bit Percy on the arse, making the two seventh year boys collapse into fits of laughter.

"Sure," Lara said, getting to her feet and following him up the stairs.

He ran all the way to the top of the stands, then up some ladders that led to an unstable shelf. Lara hesitated on the steps, staring up at the rickety ledge that she was pretty sure wasn't meant to be used. It had a short fence to stop people from toppling over the sides, but it was still creaking and swaying in the wind. She peered down, wondering if she should just go back to her seat. However, George was already up there, waiting for her…

She sighed and continued upwards. George was peering over the fence into the lake, half balancing on one foot as he tried to get a good look.

"I can't see anything," he said as she came up to his side.

"Well, it is relatively dark down there. It's Scotland, after all, not the Bahamas," Lara teased.

"Bloody hell. I thought we'd at least see something," George sighed and stepped back, glancing at Lara from the corner of his eye. "So, eh…how's things?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed…panicky this-morning, when you caught up with us on the pathway…"

Lara wrapped her arms around herself, determinedly staring out onto the lake. "I just…wanted good seats, that's all. Although, it turned out to be rather pointless…"

"I know I'm not, like…your best mate or anything," George cleared his throat uncomfortably. "But…you can talk to me, y'know. Even if it's about boys. Even if it's about a particular boy that happens to look a lot like me."

"Fred was actually nice to me today," Lara chuckled. "Maybe I just annoyed him with my worry about Hagrid. I can get pretty high-rate sometimes."

"He thought that was quite cool, actually. And Hagrid's back now, so…"

"Nothing to worry about!"

"So if it's not Fred," George ignored her fake chirpy tone. "That means it must be Brentford…did your date go well?"

Lara shuffled on her feet and tightened her arms around herself. She wanted to use her fake-happy voice again and say of course it did, but she couldn't bring herself to lie. Not only had her mam brought her up not to tell porkies, she also felt that George wouldn't appreciate her dishonesty.

"I don't…I don't want to make you feel awkward," Lara murmured.

"You won't." George replied instantly. "Like I said…you can talk to me…plus, I think Brentford's a knob, so…"

"It wasn't an awful date," Lara said, and hoped to leave it there. However, George gave her an expectant look and nudged her with his foot. "I just felt…weird."

"How so?"

"I don't know…I felt like he was being weird."

"Which means?"

"He was talking about how he'd outgrown Hogwarts, first of all," Lara blurted out. She wanted to stop, but it was like a tap had been turned on and the words were spilling from her mouth. "And he was quite…rude when I said I wanted to go to the Shrieking Shack. He basically said it was for kids and insinuated I was stupid for still wanting to go."

"The Shrieking Shack is the best thing about Hogsmeade," scoffed George. "Except Zonko's, obviously."

"Obviously," Lara nodded. "But…they were just little things. It was something else that…really freaked me out."

"Tell me."

Lara gulped; she hadn't even told Erin about the blood-purity conversation, mostly to protect her. Erin was a sensitive soul anyway, but her blood-purity had always been a particularly sore subject. With her parents not fully understanding her abilities, Erin relied upon the Wizarding World to feel a sense of belonging. When people rejected her because of being a muggle-born, something that wasn't in her control, she got really upset.

Lara had always thought it must suck for Erin to feel like she didn't completely fit in anywhere.

"He was…he was really weird about my blood," she said, then shook her head and cringed, realising how that must have sounded. "Not like vampire weird, as in wanted to taste it or anything. He asked if I was proper pure-blood and then asked me to describe how I was a pure-blood. And then…then he was saying that if he married a pure-blood, his kids would be considered pure-blood 'cause there wouldn't be any muggle-borns on either side."

George didn't say anything for a long time. So long, in fact, that Lara looked over at him. He was staring at her, blinking rapidly, reminding her of a confused owl.

"What a prick," he eventually spluttered. "I can't—did he really—he's never—"

"I didn't know what to say, either," Lara admitted quietly. "I mean, I'm not—it might sound stupid, but—I'm not a pure-blood on purpose like the Malfoy's or the Black's. My family married for love, they just happened to all be pure-blood…at least, I think they did. My parents definitely married for love. Mam always talks about how dad 'wooed' her in school."

"Wooed her?"

"That's what you're focusing on?"

"Sorry, sorry." George snickered, brushing his hand under his nose. "He sounds like a prat, Lara."

"Eloquently put," she sighed. "But, yeah. I thought so, too."

"It's weird, 'cause I've always thought he was a knob, but I couldn't quite figure out why. Maybe my gut knew he was one of those freaky pure-blood fanatics."

Lara rolled her eyes, though her lips were quirking into a smile. Sighing loudly as the wind picked up, blowing her hair across her face, she said, "I have to break it off with him, don't I?"

"Well, that's up to you," George shrugged. "But…yeah, you do. He sounds like a weirdo."

"Bugger," groaned Lara, digging her hands into her pockets sullenly. "I've liked that guy since fourth year."

"Yeah, I know," George said, elaborating further when Lara gave him questioning look. "Fred told me. Well, he told us; me and Lee. We couldn't figure out why you liked him so much, so Fred told us about when he comforted you when your grandma died."

"He was so sweet," Lara sighed. "And he was sweet after, too. Giving me smiles and stuff in the hallway…I just…fancied him, you know? Couldn't stop."

"Everyone has that person, I think. The one that you can't stop thinking about, even though you know it's stupid."

"Do you have that person?"

"No, but I'm amazing," George grinned. "And I'm sure I'll meet mine one day. You just happen to have met yours quite young."

"I could've snogged so many guys…"

George laughed brightly. "I know, mate. It's alright. We can make up for it now."

"I was an idiot," Lara gave a small, humourless laugh. "Everyone was telling me there was something off about him, I just didn't want to listen."

"We're all idiots, sometimes," George reached out and brought her into a side-hug. "Forget about it. Move on. Have some fun."

"Is that your life motto?"

"Pretty much."

The stands below suddenly broke out into rambunctious applause. George peered over the side and said, "Diggory's back! Come on, let's head down."

Lara carefully descended the ladders and rushed down to her seat, where her friends were now cheering and eagerly looking towards the lake. In the distance, Lara could see Cedric and Cho swimming towards the judges' table. Madam Pomfrey rushed over with blankets and bottles of potions.

"Fleur's back, too," Angelina informed them loudly. "She got dragged out about ten minutes ago."

"Dragged out?"

Angelina shrugged and went back to cheering. Lara didn't really understand how she'd missed Fleur returning from the lake, though she'd been pretty immersed in her and George's conversation. She turned to George, wondering if he'd noticed Fleur coming out of the water, but the crowd broke out into roars and cheers again.

Viktor was back with Hermione Granger. He looked like he was trying to pander over her, but Hermione waved off his concern and looked back towards the lake with an apprehensive frown.

"If Hermione's down there that means Ron is, too!" Fred yelled out, turning towards his twin. "George, that's what we had to get them for! So they could be knocked out and put into the lake!"

"So we got our little brother drugged and semi-drowned," said George. "Nice. Mum will be thrilled."

"It's well past the hour time limit," Alicia said worriedly. "Where's Harry? Do you think he's okay?"

Lee scoffed. "It's Harry. Of course he is."

"Then where is he?" spat Angelina. "If that boy dies before I win the cup as Captain, I swear to Merlin…"

"Yes, Johnson, that's the most important thing at stake here," Fred smirked sarcastically.

Angelina merely rolled her eyes, still watching the lake. The whole crowd was on edge, rocking back and forth as they awaited the arrival of Harry Potter. The whispering began again; some people thought he was hurt, others thought he was just doing it for attention.

"Attention?" scoffed Erin, tittering loudly. "Yeah, he's risking dying a painful and slow death for attention. Honestly, you people need to get a life."

"Read a book, maybe," Amanda agreed. "Hogwarts A History would be a good bloody start."

The Black Lake rippled. The crowd gasped as a collective unit, leaning forward in the stands. Three heads popped out of the water; one dark, one ginger and one blonde. The ginger and blonde one looked rather lifeless, and everyone screamed and shouted, thinking they were dead or seriously hurt. Then, suddenly, Ronald Weasley let out a stream of water from his mouth, reminding Lara of a fish, and nervous giggles scattered across the stands.

"That bloody prat," grumbled Fred, though he sounded infinitely relieved. "Who's the kid with him?"

"Looks like she's related to Fleur to me," said Angelina. "Look at the hair."

"Is that Percy?" George suddenly asked as a ginger man ran out into the shallows towards Harry and Ron. "That idiot. He never tells us when he's going to be here."

"Embarrassed of us, that's why," sighed Fred, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "You'd think we were troublemakers or something."

Percy seized Ron by the robes and dragged him out the water. At the same time, Fleur Delacour came tearing towards the little girl, who she took into her arms. Ludo Bagman and Dumbledore helped Harry to his feet, which gave Madam Pomfrey the chance to grab him and warm him up.

"Fourth," sighed Lee, clapping unenthusiastically. "I mean, I'm sure he tried his best…but fourth."

"But he got two hostages. Doesn't that count for something?" asked Stan. "It should. Great character, that is. He should get extra points for that."

Omar shook his head. "You Gryffindor's are so bloody noble."

"Well, the judges seem to be arguing about something," Alicia grinned excitedly. "Maybe Stan has a point."

George leaned around Lara towards his twin, whispering, "Fleur's just kissed Harry and Ron on the cheeks."

"Ron will be dying on the inside," snorted Fred joyfully. "Oh, I can't wait to mention that later."

"Ladies and gentleman," Ludo Bagman's voice rang out across the lake, making the stands go silent. "We have reached our decision. Merchiefainess 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 champion, as follows…Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

The crowd in the stands clapped politely. The Beauxbatons students, who stood out in their blue uniforms among the sea of black, cheered and shouted some things in French towards their schoolmate.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was the first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty-seven points."

Everyone cheered again, the Hufflepuff's particularly loud. Cedric's friends screamed and waved their 'GO CEDRIC' banners.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."

The Durmstrang students let out deep, enthusiastic hollers.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchiefainess informs us that Mr. Potter was the 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 merits full marks. However…Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."

Stunned into silence for a moment, the crowd then broke out into tremendous applause.

"Moral fibre," laughed George, shaking his head. "Bloody moral fibre."

"He can do no wrong," Fred grinned. "Never mind The-Boy-Who-Lived, it's The-Boy-With-Nine-Lives."

"The third and final task will take place on the twenty-fourth of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you for all your support of the champions."

And then it was over. People began to head back towards the castle, talking amongst themselves. For a moment, Lara felt slightly dizzy; they'd waited months for this, and it was over so fast, without any warning…

"Come on," Fred said loudly, a bright smile on his freckled face. "Let's go and pry the exciting bits from Harry and Ron. See if merpeople really do have tridents."

Writing this I realised how annoying it must have been to be a Hogwarts student for the tournament. You wait months for the second task, expecting something even better than dragons, only to turn up at your regular school lake and stare at the water...poor lads.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for all the support!

PS. to answer a review question, this book it canon. So...yeah. Fred...yeah. Don't worry, I'm not ready for it either.

Also, apologies for the later chapter, I moved house and it was a bit of a nightmare for a while. I'm currently posting this using my phone data so hopefully it loads properly. Fingers crossed.