15
The clue…
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Another week had gone by with no success in finding out what the clue to the second task was. Harry was sitting under a tree by the black lake watching a handful of workers building decks over the water. It was enough to let him know that the second task was going to take place either in or on the black lake as he tried to think how he could use that to figure out what the clue was.
"Harry, there you are," Neville said as he walked up to him. He seemed a little out of breath.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked standing up.
"McGonagall has called everyone to the transfiguration classroom," he said.
Harry remembered the notice he had seen in the common room that morning. It called for the Gryffindor students to gather in the transfiguration classroom at six in the evening. He had totally forgotten about it as he thanked Neville before the two headed inside the castle together.
Arriving at the place Harry noticed that the desks had been replaced with chairs on either side. There was also a big gramophone placed in the centre. Filch, the caretaker, was tweaking around with it as his cat sat beside his feet. Almost all the Gryffindors were there while the remaining were still arriving so Harry and Neville walked up to the side where all the boys were sitting.
The two sat at the end, away from others as there were more chairs than there were students in Gryffindor. The girls were sitting on the opposite end. Some of them were giggling while whispering about something while the others had the same look of confusion on their faces when Harry saw Hermione. She was sitting beside Lavender Brown all by herself. Their eyes met for a moment before she quickly looked away. Harry pressed his lips before he looked away too. He had nothing to say to her unless she apologized to him.
He came out of his thoughts when he saw McGonagall walk in. She came and stood beside the gramophone before looking at her lions. There was a mysterious glint in her eyes which made Harry wonder why they all had been called there.
"I have called you all here regarding your duties towards the ongoing tri wizard tournament," she said as the students looked at each other in confusion. "You might be wondering what that duty is. In simple words, to make the tournament more participative and memorable for those who couldn't get to be the champions there has been a long running tradition of a socializing event known as the Yule Ball."
The students began to murmur amongst each other when McGonagall cleared her throat and everyone became quiet. She looked at them before rolling her eyes and continued. "To those of you who are not familiar with this tradition the Yule Ball is a socializing event which you attend with a partner."
"Uh, what do you mean by 'partner', professor?" asked Angelina Johnson.
"By 'partner' I mean someone with whom you will dance during the event," said the deputy headmistress. The students began to murmur again with most of the girls giggling amongst themselves while some of the boys looked nervous. "Quiet now!" McGonagall said again as everyone stopped their conversations. "I expect you all to behave a lot better than this when you attend the evening," she said. "You all will be representing your house so I would want you all to behave like you at least have a certain degree of class. Knowing you for years now I know that it will be hard, especially for a particular few…" she said looking at the twins before she glanced at Harry, "…but for the sake of your house's reputation please be on your best behavior. Because of the nature of the evening no students from first or second year are allowed in it." Harry then noticed that there were no students from the first and second year. "However," McGonagall continued, "they can attend the event as your partner. Now, Mr Longbottom, please come here."
Neville almost sat straight as he looked at her nervously. Harry patted on his back, telling him to go on before Neville slowly stood up and walked over to his house head. "To make you all understand what class means I will now demonstrate how you all should dance," she said. "Mr Longbottom, put your left hand on my waist and hold my right hand with yours."
"Sorry, what?" he blurted out as the other students laughed having clearly heard McGonagall. Harry was grinning as he saw Neville blush hard.
"Your left hand on my waist and your right hand in my right hand," she said again, this time a bit firmly so Neville nodded and got into position. "Let me take the lead," she said before the two began to slowly sway side-to-side. He quickly caught up. Coming from a pureblood family his grandmother had taught him these things and while he wasn't interested in them he was glad that he hadn't had to experience one where he was expected to dance with another girl…or a woman like in this case. It seemed he wouldn't have much of a choice for the ball though because from the way McGonagall sounded she wanted all of her lions to be there that evening.
After about a minute of slow dancing the two stopped and Neville was blushing hard. "Right, so all of you have now seen how you should dance," McGonagall said bringing Neville back to the land of reality as he quickly stepped away from her. "Behave and I won't be disappointed in you. Your actions in the last few weeks haven't really made me feel proud of you so I want you on your best behavior for the coming ball. Also, Mr Potter…"
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"So who will the two of you go to the ball with?" Tracey asked as she, Daphne, Harry and Neville stood by the tapestry on the seventh floor watching the entrance of the room of requirement materialize in front of them.
"I haven't really given much thought to it," Harry said as they entered the room.
"I dare you to say that to McGonagall," Daphne said. "As her start student right now she would be absolutely appalled."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence," Harry said.
"But you have to think about it," Tracey said. "As champions you, Cedric, Fleur and Viktor will be the ones to start the evening by dancing with your partners before anyone else."
"I am painfully aware of that," Harry said. "That is why I am dreading on the inside."
"The dragon rider is scared of asking a girl to be his date?" Tracey joked as Daphne nudged her.
"To be honest, riding a dragon is a lot easier compared to asking a girl to be your dance partner," Harry said before he saw the three of them give him the look. "What?" he asked.
"I never thought you of all people would say that," Tracey said.
"I told him the same thing," Neville added. "Harry, you can literally ask any girl to be your partner for the Yule Ball. It's not that easy for the rest of us."
"Not easy for you and me Nev," Tracey said. "Daphne has already been approached by almost all the boys from our house and she's rejected every single one of them. You know how they say that privileged people don't really appreciate what they have while it's the people like you and me who are left struggling?"
"Privileged?" Daphne said laughing softly as she looked at her friend. "Really, Tracey?"
"Hey, don't look at me like that when you are the one who was approached by every single boy in our house from third year and up. None of them asked me to be their date. Even Astoria got a few offers. However, I would like to say that I was very much relieved when she rejected all of them but watching you do it is not the same."
"I think the same is with Harry," Neville said. "Although unlike Daphne Harry will probably not be approached by a girl but that gives him the opportunity to ask anyone he likes to be his date and I doubt they will say no to him."
"Right?" Tracey agreed. "We both are friends with people who can get any boy or girl they want and they would still complain that either no one is right for them or they are too nervous to just go ahead and ask someone to be their date. As for you and me, we will probably be on our own. If it wasn't for our house rivalries I would've gone to the ball with you, Neville."
His face went red when Tracey said that. She clearly noticed it and grinned as she playfully punched him on his shoulder. Harry and Daphne glanced at each other before looking away.
"So, about the egg," Tracey said having everyone's attention. "Harry?" He took it out before placing it on the floor as the four stood around it. "So, did anyone come up with any ideas that we can try tonight?" Tracey asked.
"If only this thing would shut up," Daphne said. "I won't be lying when I say that whenever I think about this egg all I can hear inside my head is its scream. I hate to say this but I have run out of ideas. None of the books I've read talks about this thing and every idea that we've thrown at it is just not working."
"The second task will probably take place in or around the black lake," Harry said as everyone looked at him. "You guys must've seen them build these platforms on the lake, right?"
"If what you are thinking is right then judging by the dangers of the tournament's challenges I'd bet that the second task will be held under water," Daphne said after thinking for a while.
"Really?" Neville said. "How do you expect the participants to go under water? You can barely see your hand when you dip it inside the lake. The water is so murky."
"Which is why they have probably chosen the lake," Tracey said. "One will barely be able to see anything once they are under water and add to that the fact that no one really knows what kind of creatures live inside the black lake you have a perfect place that is both dangerous and unpredictable."
"But it's just a guess though," Harry said.
"At least it's something," Daphne said. "We've been stuck trying to figure out how to extract the clue from this damned thing," she said looking at the egg when something came to her mind. A moment later a bathtub full of water materialized beside her.
"I thought you showered today," Tracey joked as she looked at Daphne.
"Ha…ha, very funny," Daphne said as she picked up the egg and walked up to the bathtub.
"What do you have in mind?" Harry asked.
"If the task is actually going to take place under water," Daphne said as she put the egg in the tub, "then the clue should also be something related to that." With that she opened the egg. Everyone looked surprised when they didn't hear it scream. It simply glowed under the water as Daphne smiled proudly.
"But what does that mean?" Neville asked. "If you put the egg under water then it won't scream? Is that the clue?"
Harry looked at it closely and saw slight ripples coming out of the egg. He walked ahead and began to put his head under water when Tracey stopped him. "What are you doing?" she asked.
He looked at her and smiled. "Trying to listen," Harry said before he dipped his head under water. Daphne, Tracey and Neville looked from him to each other in confusion. About half a minute later he pulled out his head and gasped loudly. He took in a few long breaths as he wiped his face before looking at the three of them with a wide smile.
"What did you find?" asked Daphne.
"Listen for yourself," Harry said.
She looked from him to Tracey and Neville before the three stood around the tub. It was big enough as the three of them dipped their heads inside the water and was shocked to hear a beautiful song instead of the regular screaming that used to come out of the egg.
'Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you are searching ponder this,
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'
As the song started to repeat itself again the three pulled out their heads from the water. Daphne closed the egg before taking it out as they all had the look of both relief and curiosity on their faces.
"Well, what do you all think?" Harry asked.
"It's definitely a riddle. That's for sure," Neville said.
"It talks about finding something," Tracey said. "Are you supposed to look for something in the black lake?"
"Considering to how long it took for us to figure out the clue the riddle is surprisingly easy to understand," Daphne said as the others looked at her. "Tracey's right when she says that you'll have to look for something valuable underneath the black lake," she said looking at Harry. "As for what that valuable thing is, it's for you to decide."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"What is that one thing that you cherish more than anything?" Daphne asked.
Harry thought for a moment. "I guess me being a wizard," he said after a while.
"Not that. Something materialistic," Daphne said, "something that can be taken from you, that you will have to find."
"In that case it's my parents' picture, my firebolt and my invisibility cloak that my dad left me," Harry said. "However, my broom was burnt by the horntail so it's useless now so I guess it's just the picture and the cloak."
"Of those things which one do you hold most dear?" she asked.
"The picture of my parents," Harry said slowly. "It's the only picture that I have of them."
Daphne knew how sensitive the matter was to him so she didn't press more. "Well, if we are to follow the clue then that is what they will take from you and hide it somewhere under the black lake," she said.
Harry looked at her in surprise. The look on his face clearly said that he didn't like it. "That's too low, even for a tournament like the tri wizard," he said. His voice was shaking.
"I know it's a sensitive matter for you but after the first task…after them planning to steal the dragon eggs, do you think they really care about the sentiments and emotions of other people or creatures for that matter?" Daphne said. "The more attached you are to something the more possible it is for them to take it away from you."
Harry didn't say anything. He knew Daphne was right. She always spoke facts and truth and that, too, quite bluntly. He couldn't argue with that. He reached for his pocket and felt his parents' picture inside. He always kept it with him and looked at it every night before going to bed. His dorm mates knew about that habit of his and Harry was glad that they at least respected him enough to not ask too many questions about it. At least they were that sensible. However, the same couldn't be said about the coordinators of the tournament. Daphne was right. If they could separate the mother dragons from their eggs they could take his parents picture from him just for the sake of everyone's entertainment.
"But no one knows how it is underneath the lake," Tracey said. "They say it's a lot bigger on the inside than how far it stretches on the surface. Not to mention there are dangerous magical creatures that live under there…like the merpeople."
Daphne looked at her as she realized something. "Merpeople," she said or rather whispered as everyone looked at her. She extended her arms as a book appeared on her hands. They saw it was a book on merpeople and it had the stamp of Hogwarts' library on its first page. Daphne quickly flipped through it before she found what she was looking for and then showed it to the others. "Here," she said pointing to a line. "The merpeople are known for living under dark and murky waters. They like to stay away from humans and other creatures and are very protective of their territories. In order to protect it they can kill anyone and everyone indiscriminately. They are also known to have angelic voices which they use to attract their prey which can range from small water creatures to sometimes even humans and other living things."
She looked at them. "This is it," she said. "Whatever it is that they will hide for the champions to find, they will hide it with the help of the merpeople. Everyone knows that there are a few villages of them in the depths of the black lake."
"But we just read that they are not very welcoming," Tracey said. "How does that even make sense for them to then help the coordinators hide something of the champions to find? It's like deliberately putting the champions in the path of danger. The moment Harry and the others enter their village they will kill them…probably," she said as she looked at Harry hesitantly.
"They won't," Harry said. "Hagrid once told that every creature with intelligence that lived in the black lake did so, so they could live under Dumbledore's protection. It's no new news that merpeople are often targeted for their ability to make pearls."
"Each one of those pearls is sold for thousands of galleons, on the black market," Neville said.
"Wait, why would Hagrid tell you something like that?" Tracey asked. "That seems a weird thing for someone to say to a student."
Harry smiled. "It was during my first year when I asked him about the giant squid that lives in the lake," he said. "I asked how something as monstrous as the squid wasn't a danger, especially to the first year students who were made to take the boats to get to the castle. He told me that every creature living in the lake that had intelligence lived there under Dumbledore's protection and in exchange for that they were not to harm the students or anyone else for that matter."
"But with that definition the second task is literally nothing in terms of danger when you compare it with the first task," Tracey said.
"The clue also mentioned that you will have one hour to look for your stolen thing," Daphne said. "'An hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took'," she said the line.
"With how huge and unknown that lake's depth is there's no telling if one hour will be enough," Neville said.
"I will have to follow the song," Harry said after a moment of thinking. "It's said that at the start of the riddle. 'Come seek us where our voices sound'. It's probably why the clue is also in the form of a song and can only be heard under water."
"That could be possible," Daphne said. "So when you go under the lake you will have to follow to wherever the song is coming from which is where you will possibly find whatever it is that you need to. You will have to do that in one hour or else, according to the clue, you will lose it forever and lose the challenge."
"Lose?" Neville asked. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know but no one has been disqualified on the basis of losing in any of the tasks before or after the finals," Daphne said. "Losing would simply mean one would either get no points or they will be put in the last position." She then looked at Harry. "Didn't you say that champions will be given rewards for their second task depending on how they performed the first one?"
"It was only for whoever took the least amount of time to finish the first challenge," Harry said. "And as I think of it now I somewhat regret not completing the task quicker."
"You still got the second position," Neville said. "Besides, you freed those dragons and saved their eggs from being sold by Bagman."
"Neville's right," Tracey said. "Not to mention you showed everyone how wrong they were to doubt you."
Harry smiled. "I guess I did," he said. "I think it won't serve us any good if we waste time trying to guess what that reward is when I didn't even get it in the first place. All we know from the clue is that they will take something precious of mine and hide it under the black lake. I will then have one hour to find it otherwise I'll lose it forever…probably."
"That's what it is," Daphne said.
"Well, unless someone has something else to add I guess we should call it a night?" Harry said looking at everyone.
"Wait, we haven't talked about who we are going to go to the ball with," Tracey said.
"Really, Tracey?" Daphne rolled her eyes. "They just announced it today…"
"Yeah, and for someone who got asked by every boy in her house you don't get to say anything," Tracey said interrupting her before she looked at Harry. "So, who do you think you will take to the ball, Harry?"
"I, uh…I don't know," Harry said.
"Huff…what about you, Neville," she asked looking at him.
"No idea," Neville said. "I don't think I'll ever be able to gather enough courage to ask a girl to come to the ball with me. My grandma will probably kill me for it but I'll willingly face her wrath rather than gather enough courage to ask someone to the ball."
"You are all hopeless," Tracey said. "Am I the only one who's excited about this ball?"
"Yes, Tracey," Daphne said. "You're the only one."
"Huh, how did I end up being friends with you boring people?" Tracey said pouting. "Come on, it's late and curfew is about to start."
They all smiled as they left the room.
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Thanks for reading…