Chapter 10
The Golden Egg
Since the Ball, Cedric and I decided to start dating exclusively. We tried to spend as much time as we could together between classes, homework, and him working on the Egg, but we ended up only really seeing each other a couple times a week. I also had to make sure that I put time aside to see my brother, and hang out with Pansy, Zabini, and Draco. My schedule was quite full.
A couple of days after the Ball, Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached me with some interesting information. Apparently Hagrid was part giant. Ron overheard a conversation between Hagrid and Madam Maxine the night of the Ball.
"I don't see why that matters." I said with a shrug. "Doesn't change who he is as a person does it?"
"Giants are known to be violent and dangerous. It will change how people see him." Ron said annoyingly.
"I mean, doesn't Hagrid have a tendency to teach about animals who are violent and dangerous? Maybe his parentage has a part to play in why he finds dangerous creatures so fascinating."
"If parents and other students were to find out, I'm afraid that he'll be sacked." Harry said. "He wouldn't deserve that."
"Is he even a good teacher though?" I asked, glancing in my brother's direction.
"How can you even say that?" He responded appalled.
"It's not like I don't like Hagrid," I defended myself. "But I don't really think he makes a good teacher. You can't honestly tell me that you like taking care of the skrewts everytime we have a class."
"Well," his voice trailed off. I knew I had made my point. No one liked the lessons we've recently been having with Hagrid.
"Just because you don't like what he's teaching doesn't mean that he deserves to be fired." Ron said glaring at me.
"I never said he deserved to be fired." I responded by crossing my arms.
"Well you sure are acting like it. Just like all your Slytherin friends." Ron spat at me. What the hell was his problem?
"I'm leaving." I said glaring at Ron before stalking off to the Slytherin common room.
When I arrived I found Pansy, Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle and Draco pouring over a copy of the Daily Prophet. Curious, I walked up and asked what was going on.
"You won't believe this!" Pansy squealed as she shoved the paper in my face. I looked down and saw an article written by Rita Skeeter. Her interview with Hagrid had finally come out and it wasn't about the blast-ended skrewts. Somehow Skeeter had found out that Hagrid was part giant.
"When did you guys do interviews with Skeeter?" I asked after reading the article. "Crabbe, you never got bit by a flobberworm." Crabbe chuckled at my words.
"Oh, come one Chloe." Pansy whined. "It's a little bit funny. Maybe now we'll actually get a decent Care of Magical Creatures teacher. I mean did you know that he illegally breed the blast ended skrewts?"
"No, but did you have to partially lie? Hagrid might not be a good teacher, but at the very least he should lose his job the right way." I said shrugging.
"He's been teaching us about dangerous creatures and putting us in danger long enough and no one has done anything about it." Draco said, smirking. "It's about time we took it in our own hands." He had a point, but I couldn't help but feel bad for Hagrid.
The next time we went to Care of Magical Creatures, we had a new teacher, Professor Grubbly-Plank. Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed upset at this, and even more so after Pansy, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were acting like it was the best thing ever. When it came to conflicts between my friends in Slytherin and my brother and Hermone, I stayed out of it. I let them bicker at a distance while enjoying the lesson Professor Grubbly-Plank was teaching.
Draco seemed a little distant with me since the Ball, like something was bothering him. However, he also didn't act like he wanted to talk about it. The only times we talked was when we were in a group setting. Anytime we happened to be alone together he made an excuse to leave. I was worried I had done something to upset him, so one day after dinner I made up an excuse of needing help with a Potions essay and asked him to go over it with me. He agreed to help me and we decided to meet in the library.
We sat down at a table, pulled out the potions homework we had, and got to work. He hardly said a word to me, perhaps because we were doing work, and I finally got fed up and asked, "What's wrong Draco?"
"Hmm?" He didn't even look up from the essay he was working on.
"You've been distant since the Ball. I want to know what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong." He answered, still not looking up.
"Then why are you acting like this?" Frustrating building up in my body.
"Like what?"
"Like you've been avoiding me or you're angry at me for some reason. I thought we were going to be better at communicating our feelings."
"I am doing my best right now to not upset you." He said, staring at his homework even though he had stopped writing.
"Upset me? Your attitude is upsetting me." I grumbled.
"My attitude? I'm not even doing anything."
"Exactly my point."
"What do you want from me Chloe? I thought you just wanted help with homework, I wasn't expecting to be nagged." He finally looked at me, his eyes flared with anger.
"I want to be your friend, but it's hard to do that when you won't tell me what I am doing that is making you act so distant. I'm not trying to nag you, but you aren't telling me something and it's affecting our friendship."
He sighed before saying, "You do not want to know what is bothering me."
Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw Cedric. He was holding a book on intermediate charms. "Chloe, I didn't know you were going to be here." He gave a questioning look at Draco before continuing. "I was just going to do some research on some charms I think would help during the Second Task."
"Oh, did you figure out what it is?" I asked curiously.
"Yes actually."
Draco stood up, put his homework away, and gave me a look I couldn't quite place. "I'll see you later." and he left the library.
"I didn't mean to interrupt you two." Cedric said apologetically as he sat down in Draco's empty seat. "Do you mind if I read here while you work on your homework."
"Not at all," I gave Cedric a small kiss on the cheek before turning back to my homework. I was confused as to why Draco left abruptly, but with Cedric near me I didn't really think too much about it. We sat in silence for about thirty minutes as I finished my Potions essay. Cedric closed the book he was reading with a heavy sigh.
"No luck?" I asked as I rolled up my essay and put my things back in my bag.
"Not yet," he gave me a small smile. "Would you be down for a walk around the lake? It'll help clear my mind."
"With you? Always." He put his book away and we set off for the school grounds. It had been a few days since the two of us had been able to hang out. I was looking forward to spending time with him.
"So are you going to tell me what the Second Task is?" I asked as we strolled around the lake.
"You can't tell anyone, not even your brother." He said as he kicked a rock into the lake.
"Didn't Harry tell you about the dragons?" I asked pointedly.
"Yes, and I already gave your brother a clue to help him figure out the Egg." Cedric said, glancing at me. "Fair is fair."
"Fine, I won't tell him or anybody else."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?" Cedric said jokingly. I crossed my heart with my right hand and gave him a wink. "Alright then, I'll just tell you what the Egg said." He took a breath before continuing.
"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."
"It's a riddle." I said obviously. "What does it mean?"
"I think I'll have to go in the Black Lake, find something, and bring it back in an hour." He said while staring at the lake.
"Go in the Black Lake? As in underwater?"
"Yeah."
"How are you going to breathe under the water?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out." He gave me a glance. "I've still got a few weeks before the task, so I'm sure I'll figure it out."
"Do you want any help?"
"No, this is something I'm supposed to figure out myself." He gave me a reassuring smile. "Besides, I don't want you to worry about it."
"How can I not worry? You're special to me, I couldn't bear it if something happened to you."
"Oh?" He was grinning now. "I'm special to you?"
I was blushing now and trying to hide my face. "Well, yeah. If you weren't I wouldn't be dating you." Cedric let out a small laugh.
"I'm teasing you," he reached down and pulled my face towards his. "You're special to me too." He whispered just before planting a soft kiss on my lips. "I wish I weren't so busy, I'd love to spend more time with you."
"It's alright, after the tournament, we will have all the time in the world." I said smiling up at him. "Maybe we could meet up during summer break." I suggested to him as we continued our walk.
"I think that's a wonderful idea. I know you've met my father, but my mother would love to meet you."
"I don't think you'd want to meet my uncle, aunt, or cousin. Actually, you wouldn't even be welcome in their house."
"Maybe you could spend a couple of weeks with us," He suggested with a small smile. "My mother would love to have another girl in the house."
"Would she? I'm not really into girly things." I let out a small laugh.
"I think the company of someone who is not my father or I would make her happy."
"Well, I would love to spend a couple of weeks with your family. I'm sure Harry could deal with our uncle, aunt, and cousin by himself for a little bit."
We continued to talk about our families, him telling me of all things we could do while I visited him, me telling him about how awful my family was to Harry and me. Eventually we made our way back to the castle and said our goodbyes when we reached the entrance to the dungeons.
Days went by and the Second Task was coming up soon. I had talked to Harry to see if he had figured out the Egg, and it wasn't until the Task was days away that Harry had any idea what the Egg's clue was. He, Hermione, and Ron spent all their free time in the library trying to find out how to let Harry breathe underwater.
By this time, Cedric already had a plan in place for what he was going to do. He was going to use the Bubble-Head Charm to allow him to breathe underwater. I had promised him I wouldn't tell Harry how he was going to the Task. Owing to my promise, I opted out of spending all my free time in the library. Instead I spent my time with Cedric, and occasionally we hung out with Pansy, and Zabini. Everytime we did this, however, Draco disappeared with Crabbe and Goyle. I got the feeling that Draco didn't like Cedric.
February came quicker than expected and the Second Task was just around the corner. By this time, Cedric was confident with his ability to cast the Bubble-Head Charm. Harry, on the other hand, was still struggling to find anything useful in the library. The most I did to help him was look through the book he had gathered. I felt like a horrible sister by not giving him the answer he was so desperately searching for.
A couple of days before the Task, Harry approached me saying that Sirius had written to him. Apparently Sirius wanted to meet up during the next Hogsmead weekend.
"That's the weekend after next." I said when he told me. "Did he give any advice about the Second Task?"
"No, I completely forgot to mention it to him." Harry said, rubbing his forehead.
"Seriously?" I was surprised that Harry would forget such an important question.
"Should we head to Care of Magical Creatures?" Harry said, ignoring my remark.
"Fine," I said while rolling my eyes. We headed out of the castle together and down Hagrid's hut for class. A couple of weeks ago, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Professor Dumbledore were able to convince Hagrid to return to his teaching post. While most of the Slytherin's were upset at this, I didn't really mind because Hagrid was continuing Professor Grubbly-Planks lessons on unicorns.
Today, Hagrid had a couple of unicorn foals. They looked like they were made of pure gold. Everyone was staring in awe, and I could tell that Pansy was trying her best to not look impressed with them.
"Easier to spot than adults. They turn silver when they are four, and don't go completely white until they reach adulthood, around seven years old." Hagrid was explaining to the class. He let the class approach the foals and give out treats. While we were handing out treats, I noticed Harry and Hagrid having a small conversation. Hagrid seemed to be saying that Harry was going to win.
Soon the evening before the Second Task arrived. I spent that afternoon with Cedric, giving him my support. He was a bit distracted due to his nerves, and I did my best to keep his mind off of the upcoming Task. How did I distract him from tomorrow? Well, let's just say that my lips felt worn out by the time we had to part ways.
I was hanging out with Harry, Hermine, and Ron in the library for one last attempt to find Harry a way to breathe underwater. Hours went by with no luck when Fred and George Weasley came by.
"Hermione, and Ron, Professor McGonagal is looking for you." Said Fred.
"Oh, and Professor Snape wants you, Chloe." George added with a glance in my direction.
"Why?" I asked standing up.
"No idea." Fred said with a shrug.
I packed up my things as Hermine told Harry to take back as many books as he could to their common room. I gave Harry a hug and told him good luck before heading to Professor Snape's office.
When I arrived, I knocked on the door and waited to enter. I heard Professor Snape say "Enter." and I pushed the door open.
"Good evening Miss Potter." Professor Snape said as he gestured for me to take a seat. I sat down and put my hands in my lap. Snape finished writing some notes before looking up at me.
"How can I help you?" I asked.
"I am looking to get your permission to do something for the Second Task." he started to explain. "You see, each champion needs to retrieve a person from the bottom of the Black Lake. I thought back to a line from the Egg's clue: "We've taken what you'll sorely miss."
"You want to put me at the bottom of the Black Lake?" I asked, surprised. "How am I supposed to breathe?"
"Professor Dumbledore will take care of everything." Snape answered. "I just need to get your permission before I send you off to see him." I thought for a moment, unsure of what to do. "I haven't got all night Potter." Snape said with a drawl.
"Sorry Sir, I suppose I can consent." I said quickly.
"Right, take this letter with you to Professor Dumbledore's study. Leave your bag here, I'll have it sent to your dormitory." He handed me a rolled up piece of parchment and I headed up to the tower where the Headmaster's study was.
AN: Almost time for the Second Task!