AN: So, bit of a forewarning. I am using the book's riddle for the egg. That will be in italics since it is from J.K. Rowlings own writing.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Though if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a review. It is very likely it may end up in one of my chapters.

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

Touched by Death – Chapter 27 (Curses and Clues)

To say that Terence was pissed was an understatement. And it was all because of that Weasley prat and his ideals of what he thought of Slytherins. He was very aware that not all of the Weasleys shared the same ideas as their two youngest. Considering that Percy had agreed to accompany him to the ball. He had always been on good terms with Percy, despite the difference in house. That had been around the time he had noticed the slight change in Marcus' behavior, he just didn't realize at the time it was because of a Gryffindor. If Terence had to pick the rotten ones of the Weasley family, it would be their mother and father and the two youngest. Hence why he didn't feel any regrets about cursing the 14-year-old.

What had surprised Terence was that he didn't even protest on his youngest brother being cursed. And the Slytherin could see that Fred and George had looks of anger in their eyes, along with their respected dates. Apparently, Ron was not well liked in their family. And it all had started off with Ron spouting that it was disgusting that his brother was associating with Death Eaters and they were going to get them all killed. And that his brothers were going to follow the same path and to just wait until he told his mother about it. It wasn't until after Terence cast the Condolesco hex that he noticed Marcus was standing there.

It was no surprise that Marcus wound up shooting the next two curses. The Anakatus hex was obvious enough, because it had the similar effects to the Confundus Charm. The next obvious hex that the Headboy had cast was the Densaugio Hex and if Harry had been there to witness it, he would know exactly what it did. Because now Ron was currently holding mouth, because now his teeth had enlarged.

"You fucking say another despicable word against my friends, those won't be the only curses you'll feel. And it'll be something that even Harry or Madam Pomfrey can't fix," Marcus spat.

Terence wasn't surprised by his friends' words, because his thoughts were repeating the same thing. But then he had to physically take a step back, because the last curse was from his very own date. And that was something he hadn't expected. The hex had an immediate effect, because now Ron's hair had fallen to the ground.

Percy's eyes were fuming as he silently holstered his wand. "I would learn to hold your tongue, Ronald, before you say something you'll regret. And who do you think mother would believe more? A troublesome child or someone who has the respect of the Ministry and passed their N.E.W.T.s with distinction?" His tone was practically vengeful.

Ron's eyes were hateful as he practically ran out of the Great Hall. No doubt he was running to Madam Pomfrey and most likely try to rat them out. Not that it would do any good. There was no way he was going to be believed over his basically perfectly behaved brother or the current Headboy. Besides the fact that Percy had already graduated the previous year. And if the youngest red-head happened to fall numerous times because of a certain hex, well they weren't going to say anything. Though there might be a few laughs passed around.

"Good riddance," Percy muttered under his breath.

"Wow… Perce, I didn't think you had it in you," Fred remarked.

Percy snorted at that and rolled his eyes. "Now if you both only took your work more seriously…"

Both Fred and George looked terrified of that aspect.

Percy had to roll his eyes at his younger brothers, they were so predictable. He wasn't a fool to not know they were intelligent in their own way. Even if they never applied it to their own studies.

"As fun as this was to witness, I must find Mr. Crouch, he's supposed to have some news about the next task. I assume the Headmistress has already informed you of, Marcus," Percy commented with a grin. Then he turned to Terence, "this was fun my friend. No doubt it'll be something the houses will talk about for months to come."

Marcus nodded to his words but didn't elaborate on what Percy meant. He honestly wasn't sure himself, because Professor or Headmistress McGonagall hadn't said a word on what the 2nd task was. He wondered if that was because his boyfriend was a Triwizard Champion, something he wished wasn't possible.

Terence laughed at his words, "of course it was. Can't have Gryffindors hog all the attention."

Dean and Seamus chuckled at his words.

"Harry may disagree with you there, Perce. More like the entire year, but he's going to be pissed he missed all the action," Dean said before snorting. Though it would be amusing on what curses Harry may have thought of for the red-head. Dean clearly remembered the last time that Harry cursed Ron. The red-head had been the laughing stock of Gryffindor for months.

Percy nodded to his words, "I would imagine he would be. Give him my best would you, Marcus?"

Marcus just gave the briefest nod. Though it was a shame that Harry probably couldn't talk to Percy before he had to return to work. He knew that Harry saw the older Weasley as a protective brother, especially after the events of last year. He wasn't even sure where his boyfriend had wandered off to. Though he would later find out he was talking to Viktor and his beloved. Though the Slytherin had to guess he had returned just when Viktor had approached his boyfriend.

Marcus wasn't sure if Harry and Sirius would be furious on what the young Weasley said or laugh at the hexes he suffered by the end of it. He was still furious about it, but some of that anger had deflated. Though he vowed to show Harry and Sirius the memory of what happened later.

As it turned out, Headmistress McGonagall did know what was going on for the 2nd task. The only thing was, she wouldn't say a word on what it was to him. Though Marcus had the feeling that maybe she only knew half of what the task was. Since it really was old coot and the Ministry that was mainly planning out the tournament. That had been announced to them since the beginning and he doubted that Dumbledore informed the staff. The Headboy and Headgirl didn't really do much to help out with the tournament either. Marcus wasn't angry about it, he knew that he probably would go run and tell Harry what he knew. It was no surprise that he would do anything possible to make sure Harry survived this tournament. And that would defeat the purpose of figuring out the Golden Egg from the First Task. And Headmistress McGonagall was no doubt very aware of that fact.

And so, Marcus somehow got dragged along to the Black Lake. They were near the shore, both wearing thick cloaks since they were already in the second week of February. Making it only a little over a week till the 2nd task. And Harry had been freaking out because he hadn't figured out what the 2nd task would be. And Terence hadn't said anything about it either. So, either the 7th year had no idea, or he figured it out and hadn't said anything about it.

Marcus didn't believe it would the second option, Terence was just as worried for Harry's safety as he and Sirius were. He knew that Terence didn't care if that meant he was cheating. So, hence why Marcus was already aggravated, and the screaming of the egg wasn't helping any matters.

Harry huffed, "maybe there's some type of message in the screaming. If I could just figure it out…"

Marcus knew it probably wasn't thinking right, because the next time that golden egg was opened, he threw it into the Black Lake.

Harry didn't even say a word, he just gapped to where the egg disappeared beneath the water's surface. It was probably several minutes before he turned a full glare onto his boyfriend.

"What the bloody hell was that all about!?" Harry yelled.

"That fucking egg was giving me a headache!" Marcus snarled.

Harry sighed, he knew it wasn't a good day for either of them. Though, he agreed with Marcus, the egg was starting to give him a migraine. But that didn't solve the issue that the egg was now in the Black Lake and someone had to go get it.

"Either you go get it, since you threw it. Or cast some type of charm so I don't freeze to death," Harry wound up growling his words.

Marcus rolled his eyes but stood up. "Stand still then." The words were commanded but Harry did as he asked.

Marcus wound up charming Harry's clothing and placed several heating charms on him. It would negate the cold so he wouldn't feel it. "There, go find your damn egg."

Harry rolled his eyes and dipped a toe into the water. He grinned with he didn't feel the sharp cold, but shivered, it was similar to the feeling when a ghost flew through you. He tried to ignore the feeling as he walked more into the lake until he was underwater. He almost held his breath when he realized there was a bubble surrounding his head. The Gryffindor grinned, despite he knew that nobody could see him. He shouldn't be surprised that Marcus would think of everything.

That was when Harry almost took a step back, because the next thing he heard was music. Harry frowned, 'how the bloody hell was he hearing music underwater?' It definitely something he wasn't expecting but he kept walking forward towards the sound. He knew the egg couldn't be too far and that was he gapped when he saw what was in front of him. The egg was open and for once he didn't hear screeching. And that was when he realized the music was coming from the golden egg. And the inside of the egg you could see it had this silvery glow to it, it was almost memorizing to look at. That was when Harry actually paid attention to the words of music. And if didn't have the bubble of air around his head, he probably would have drowned in the water.

'Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're 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.'

He gulped nervously as he listened to the music's lyrics several times. But he understood the message, they were going to take something of his and if he didn't get it… he would never see it again. Then came the worry of what would they take…

Harry didn't waste any more time, he wasn't sure on how long Marcus' charms would last. Last thing he needed was to drown in the Black Lake because he wasted precious time. Harry then grabbed the egg and closed it and treaded his way back to the surface as quick as he could. One thing was for sure, he didn't want to hear it screaming when he got back on the surface. He definitely didn't want Marcus to chuck it back into the lake, because he didn't think he wanted to go back and retrieve it.

Harry wasn't sure what look he had on his face when he reached the surface, but Marcus was instantly worried.

"What happened?" Any joking or irritation that Marcus had earlier was gone. "Are you hurt?"

Harry shook his head and plopped down onto the grass completely dry. "I think I know what the 2nd task is…" were the mumbled words.

Marcus furrowed his eyebrows, he wasn't sure what Harry was talking about. "What is it?"

Harry shook his head, "not exactly sure yet. But they're going to take something. And unless I can get it back, it'll be gone forever."

Marcus looked thoughtful for a moment. "Could be an item… did the egg tell you this?"

Harry nodded, "somehow if its underwater you can understand it."

Marcus closed his eyes for a moment, "Must be Mermish, it's the only type of language that can be spoken underwater…"

Harry looked up at Marcus, "how would you know the language?"

"Not sure if can be learned. But you learn about the mermaids in the Black Lake in your 5th or 6th year," Marcus explained as he twirled a finger around one of Harry's dark locks.

The touch felt soothing, so Harry didn't say anything to stop him. "Maybe Terence would know something."

Marcus nodded, "wouldn't hurt to ask him. You could also ask your friends. I know your friend, Neville is brilliant at Herbology, so maybe his knowledge may help. Later you can tell me what exactly the egg said, sometimes the wording may give a clue."

Harry smiled, "thanks, Marcus." He let the Slytherin help him up before feeling a kiss on his forehead. And if Marcus happened to placed a protective arm around his waist, he didn't say a word as they walked into the castle. Just like one of Marcus' previous thoughts, he didn't know how he got so lucky, but he wouldn't change it for anything.

That brought Harry to where he was now, currently in Marcus' dorm, but in Harry's own room. Marcus and Terence weren't in the dorm at the moment, his boyfriend had gone to find his friend to inform him of the egg's clue. Marcus hadn't really bothered to get the entire clue from Harry yet, knowing he could just tell Terence to take the Golden Egg to the Prefect's bathroom and figure out the clue himself. He wasn't going to make it completely easy for Terence.

That was when Harry decided to do as Marcus suggested, try to get the advice of some of his friends until he could really talk to Marcus about it. And so, his friends wound taking up the space around him. Neville and Seamus decided to take the couch, while Dean took one of the nearby arm chairs.

Dean looked thoughtful for a minute before talking, "well… we know that you'll probably be in the Black Lake."

Harry turned to look at him, "what makes you say that?"

"Well Marcus said the language was probably Mermish, right?" Seamus asked.

Harry nodded.

"Think about it, Harry. The words said, 'come seek us where our voices sound.' If what Marcus says is right, the Mermaids would live in the lake. So, they're expecting you to probably dive in the lake to recover this treasure or whatever." Seamus explained while Dean and Neville nodded.

Harry looked grim as he nodded. "No doubt Marcus would be saying the same thing if he were here…"

Dean and Seamus nodded in agreement. Though they almost wished they would be able to hear how Marcus said it. Both of them honestly found Marcus hilarious for a Slytherin. Though they wouldn't surprised if he commented that they were a bunch of brainless Gryffindors.

Neville looked confused, "where is Marcus anyways? Usually he's around somewhere."

Harry grinned, "he went to talk to Terence. He was going to let him know how to figure out the clue. Something about he being able to use some type of bathroom for Prefects."

Neville nodded, "I've heard about that. Must be nice to be a prefect."

Seamus snorted, "that's if you like all the responsibilities that go with it."

Harry's lips twitched at that, though he didn't think it would be such a bad idea to have that position. He knew from some of the stories that Sirius told him, that his dad wound up being Headboy. Despite that Remus had the position of Prefect for three years running. It started to peak his interest of trying to get that position and he only had a year left to do so.

"You still have to figure out one more thing, Harry," Dean said out of the blue.

Dean's comment brought Harry out of his wandering thoughts. "What's that, mate?"

Dean seemed a little troubled at the words he was about to say. "The song apparently says you need to be able to breath underwater for an hour."

Harry had to blink several times before he comprehended what his friend said. That was when he went quiet. "I'm not sure how I can do that… I don't know any spells that'll let me breath for that long…"

All four Gryffindors looked troubled by this and none of them seemed to have any solutions.

"I imagine there's something in Herbology that may help. But nothing up for fourth year…" Neville quipped in, despite he knew it wouldn't help any.

Harry brightened for a moment.

"What's up, Harry? Is there something that'll help?" Seamus asked.

"I just remembered. When Marcus had thrown the egg into the lake…" Harry started, though he didn't pay attention to the exclaims from his friends. "He had cast several charms on me so I wouldn't feel the icy waters of the lake and some type of bubble of air, so I could breath."

"Whatever possessed Marcus to throw the egg into the lake?" Seamus asked scandalized.

The young Potter laughed, remembering what led up to that, "he got irritated of constantly hearing the screaming of the egg."

Dean laughed at that, "yep… that'll do it."

Both Seamus and Neville snickered at that. It wasn't hard to picture Marcus getting annoyed at the screaming egg, they still remembered when Terence got cursed for that.

"Maybe you could have Marcus reapply the charms for the task," Neville commented with a shy grin.

Harry looked thoughtful on Neville's suggestion. "I can't see him saying no. It would be more like he wouldn't let me leave without them."

Harry had three nods of agreement. It was basically common knowledge that Marcus tended to be very overprotective of him.

That's when the small Gryffindor looked around and saw his friends grinning. The tense mood had disappeared, for which Harry was thankful for. But it was good to know that his friends had his back and were willing to help out. The only thing left on the matter was figuring out what type of 'treasures' would be taken. And if they would be revealed on the day of the task or if that was something he had to figure out.