Chapter 15 – The Second Task

The morning of the Second Task, Harry awoke quickly and hurried down to the Common Room to meet up with Ron and Hermione. When he made it down the staircase, he was greeted by an abandoned Common Room. Puzzled that his friends were not waiting for him, he glanced at the clock in the corner of the room.

8:37.

"Where could they be?"

Figuring that they had already made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry quickly left the room and made his way there, hoping for a quick breakfast. He didn't have much time as he had to meet with Moony before the task, to make sure he was prepared for later.

He hated that he had to keep himself in check, but relented when thoughts about the previous task came to the forefront of his mind. He needed to keep in check, he didn't know what he would do if anyone got hurt because of him.

A loud Crack, startled Harry from his thoughts, causing him to lose his balance and land of his back. Rubbing the back of his head where it had made contact with the floor, he looked up and saw two tennis ball sized eyes staring at him.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby is sorry for scaring yous."

"Don't worry about it Dobby. What do you want?"

Dobby pulled a disgusting looking plant from behind his back and presented to Harry. The smell of it was almost enough to cause Harry to gag, his eyes watering at the sheer force of the scent.

"Dobby heard that Harry Potter sir needed Gillyweed, so Dobby went and got some for him."

"Thanks Dobby." Although he felt sick at what the plant would taste like, Harry was grateful that the elf had managed to get his hands on some. One thing was bothering him though…

"Dobby? Where exactly did you get this from?"

The elf immediately shifted his gaze to the floor, obviously uncomfortable about where this line of questioning was going. "Dobby took it from the Potion Master, sir. Dobby knew he shouldn't have. Dobby is a bad elf!" and before Harry could do anything to stop it, he began bashing his head against the wall.

Grabbing the elf by his cloth, Harry attempted to placate him. "It's okay Dobby, you did good. No need to punish yourself."

"Thank you Harry Potter sir. You are a great wizard." Another resounding Crack radiated through the hall, and Dobby was gone. Harry shook his head in amusement, before continuing his trek down to the Great Hall. Once there he pushed the doors open and started scanning for his two best friends. After a minute or two of looking, it became clear that they weren't there either.

Deciding that he had better head off to meet with Moony, Harry turned from the Great Hall without eating. He did his best to keep himself calm but he couldn't stop the feeling of dread from building up inside him.

-HP-

The crowd around the docks situated in the middle of the Black Lake seemed to be larger than it was for the First Task. Harry figured it was because after all the publicity that came along with four students taking on nesting dragons, that people were curious as to see what the tournament organizers would concoct next. He himself was a little curious, but that feeling was greatly diminished by the fact that Ron and Hermione had still not turned up.

And he had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly where they were.

Looking down into the lake, he envisioned every possible terrible outcome that could come from this task. From taking on the giant squid to the Gillyweed not lasting long enough and him drowning somewhere in its dark depths. What scare him the most was though wasn't his safety, but failing to save his friends and them getting hurt because of that.

Willing himself away from such thoughts he gazed at the other champions. Cedric seemed extremely nervous, casting the glance towards the surface of the water while pacing back and forth. Cho was most likely what Cedric would miss most so Harry knew exactly what the older boy was feeling.

Fleur wasn't in any better shape. She even appeared to be worse off, and she seemed unable to stay still for the slightest amount of time, occasionally moving to consult with an older man and woman, who Harry determined were her parents do the resemblance.

Krum however was the complete opposite of the other two. He seemed very calm and collected, as if the thought of diving into the extremely cold water had no effect on him. Harry determined that Krum's hostage was most likely Hermione, and if Harry was completely honest with himself, he wasn't happy about that detail. He didn't want to leave the fate of one of his closest friends to anyone other than himself, but knew he would be vilified as a cheat if he attempted to stop Krum from saving her.

"The Second Task is about to begin!" rang out the amplified voice of Ludo Bagman. "The champions will have one hour to find what has been taken from them. On the count of three. One…Two…Three!"

Once the task began, Harry stuffed the Gillyweed into his mouth and dived straight into the water.

-HP-

Once into the water, Fleur quickly cast a Bubblehead Charm on herself, before finding her bearings so she could rescue her sister Gabrielle. Looking around, she saw both Krum and Cedric heading into a thick patch of kelp, each appearing to be determined to try and out race the other, and sped off towards what she thought was the center of the lake. Turning further, she saw Harry struggling under water, he appeared to be drowning.

She raced to his side to see if he was okay, but by the time she got there, he was no longer struggling and appeared to have somehow grown webbed hands and feet. When he noticed her presence, she gave him a hesitant thumbs up, hoping he would return the gesture. When he did, he pointed to the sides of his neck and Fleur could now see that he now had grown gills, so he could breathe underwater.

She then waved to him and turned towards the kelp to follow the other two champions. She didn't want to leave the younger boy, but she determined that the other two knew where they were going, having seen Krum diving into the lake frequently and Cedric because it was on his school grounds.

Her relationship with Harry had greatly improved since Christmas, Fleur herself becoming much more open and accepting of the boy after watching how he cared for his one friend. She hoped that one day, they could become as good of friends. True she had friends, but most of them were shallow either hoping to leech off of any guys that approached her or hoping to have a chance at her by getting close. Her good friends were very few and far between.

Continuing through the kelp, a large moving body stopped her in her tracks. Coming across the giant squid was definitely something she had wanted to avoid. If the stories she had overheard about from some of the Hogwarts students were any indication, she didn't want to attract its attention and waited for it to pass.

After continuing to swim for what seemed like an eternity, she finally made it to the center of the lake, when four floating forms started to come into focus. She was puzzled at how she had managed to beat all the champions here, but didn't give it another thought as she moved forward. It wasn't until she had gotten halfway there, that she noticed that she in fact wasn't the first champion there.

-HP-

Harry had managed to arrive at where the captives were held at without interruption. How he had managed to not only avoid any grindylows, but the giant squid had seemingly let him pass without any sort of confrontation.

Around the rock where the four bodies were chained, was a large semicircle of armed mermen. Not knowing whether or not they'd let him take his captive without a fight, he approached cautiously towards the two right most individuals, Ron and Hermione.

Next to them Harry recognized Cho Chang and next to her was a small girl with silvery blond hair, who looked no older than nine. Determining her as related to Fleur Harry made his way towards Hermione first, hoping to see whether or not he would be allowed to rescue both of his friends.

He was immediately met by the end of a trident, the merman behind it bellowing, "Only one!" Reluctantly, he backed off but refused to leave before Ron and Hermione was safe.

A noise behind him caused him to whirl around and find Fleur swimming towards him. He briefly wondered how he had managed to beat both her and the other champions despite their head start. He shook the thought out of his head so he could focus on the task at hand.

She paused as she approached and looked at Harry confusingly. Trying to get his point across, he pointed to the small girl and then back where she came from. Fleur began shaking her head refusing to leave before him since he had gotten there first. Pointing more assertively this time, he managed to convince Fleur, who retrieved her sister and swam off.

After 10 more minutes, Harry saw what appeared to be a shark barreling towards him. Acting on instinct, he fired a spell towards it, but it was easily dodged by the creature, offering a full view of it. Its head was of a shark, but the rest of the body was human, with familiar looking red and black shorts. Realizing that it was Krum, he allowed him to get ahold of Hermione and leave with her.

He debated whether or not he wanted to wat for Cedric to arrive and take Cho, but he didn't know what would happen if he didn't make it back before the hour was up. Maybe, he thought, the merpeople had agreed to remain peaceful as long as they were within the time limit. Deciding that he didn't want to wait to find out, he cut Ron loose from his restraints and began to make the long trek back to the docks.

-HP-

~Flashback~

"Cockroach Clusters"

The gargoyle blocking the entranceway to the Headmaster's office, bounded out of the way allowing Ron and Hermione to enter the office. Hermione was enthralled by the room once she had entered it. The room was filled with all sorts of magical items that filled her eyes with awe. The large collection of books in the study off to the right immediately caught her attention and made her wonder if she could convince Dumbledore to let her read some of the books.

It was then that she realized that they weren't the only ones in the office. Of course, there sat Dumbledore behind his desk, his eyes glancing across every face in the room sagely, but Hermione thought she detected a hint of worry hidden deep in his pupils. Next to him, she saw the other two school heads standing off to his right, also looking around the room but the worried looks were absent.

Standing off to the opposite side of the desk, she saw four other individuals. The one closest to them, she realized was Cho Chang, next to her was a little girl who appeared to be 10 with whom she guessed were her parents. Wondering why all these people had gathered here the night before the task, as her and Ron found their spots next to their schoolmate.

Dumbledore rose from his seat and crossed to the front of his desk. "I assumed you are all wondering why you've been summoned here tonight?" At the nods from all of the students present he continued. "You have been selected to participate in the Second Task."

Hermione gasped. What they champions would surely miss were people? Her nerves skyrocketed to astronomical levels for not only her safety but also for the champions. There were surely some difficult tasks that awaited them down in the lake. Hopefully Harry was as prepared as he could be for the task.

"You will be given a potion that is similar to the Draught of Living Death. It will keep you suspended underwater, keeping you alive and safe until you and your champion reach the surface." He then waved his wand, conjuring four chairs for them to sit in, and motioned for the students to have a seat

Hermione was initially nervous at the mention of the draught, but the headmaster's assurance that it was safe had reassured her. She nodded her head in understanding and moved forward when she saw Dumbledore conjure the chairs. Taking her seat, her mind began racing through the possibilities of what the task would entail. She hoped that Harry would be able to make down to wherever they were kept and rescue her in time.

Each person took a sip of the potion which was extremely bitter and difficult for Hermione to swallow. Noticing that she was starting to lose feeling in her feet, her thoughts drifted once more towards her friend who would have to journey into the lake the next day. As her eyes began to drift shut, a stray thought crossed her mind that caught her off guard.

What was Ron doing here?

~Flash Back End~

Hermione's head broke the surface of the water and regained conscious as the cold temperature of the water began to quickly return to her. She wracked her brain trying to figure out where she was and why she was here. The memories of the previous night began coming back to her, as well as her last conscious thought before the potion too effect.

She whirled herself around, wondering if her last thought was true, and was met by the face of Viktor returning back to normal. The two were quickly helped out of the water and given blankets with heating charms on them.

"I hope you are okay Herm-own-ninny," came the voice of Viktor from behind her but Hermione's sole focus was back onto the water waiting for her friends to resurface. They waited for another 10 minutes, Viktor attempting to regain her attention the entire time, before the figures of Harry and Ron broke the surface. Rushing to the edge of the dock to help them up, she was overcome with relief that they had made it out in one piece. They pulled Ron out of the water but Harry had to remain behind because the Gillyweed hadn't worn off yet

"Harry. Ron. You're both okay." Giving each boy a quick hug, she turned her attention to Harry and in a very proud voice, began congratulating him on his performance. "Thank goodness you managed to get a hold on some Gillyweed. And look, you made it back second. That's sure to look good in the eyes of the judges." A thick red blush covered Harry's face, but his attention was quickly diverted by another group of figures coming out of the water.

Three mermen rose out of the water carrying an unconscious Fleur with them. Harry immediately moved over to check on his other friend with Ron and Hermione in tow. A quick Enneverate, and she was conscious once again, but the second she realized where she was, she became hysterical and had to be restrained and was demanding to be allowed to return to the lake.

"Non! Let me go! Ma Soeur is down zere! Gabrielle!"

Professor Dumbledore approached trying to calm the hysterical young women. "There is no need to worry Miss Delacour. Once the task is finished, the merpeople will release your sister and bring her to the surface."

"Non, you don't understand. Ze Grindylow!"

Before Hermione could get a word in edge wise, a splashing sound was heard from the water nearby, signaling that Harry had gone back underwater to rescue the young girl.

-HP-

Harry swam further down into the depths of the Black Lake, approaching the cluster of Kelp that He knew from the previous year's DADA class, was the usual dwelling of the Grindylows. The weeds were extremely thick, making tracking the girl and the creatures a difficult feat. Still he continued on, he wouldn't leave her to whatever fate awaited her down in the lake.

He checked his watch to see how much time he had left on the Gillyweed. 20 minutes left, which he hoped was more than enough time to rescue the girl and make it back to the surface before he drowned himself.

Two figures were approaching him quickly. Readying his wand for any potential threat, relief washed over him as Cedric passed him with a still petrified Cho with him. Seeing Harry heading back down, he pointed to his own watch, telling Harry that he would have to be quick.

After a few more moments of diving, he caught sight of the platinum haired girl being dragged farther down towards the dark recesses near the bottom lake. Thinking quickly, he pulled his wand out and tried to fire off a stunner, and instead of a red light, a thick stream of bubbles flew from his wand.

This caused the desired effect of making the Grindylows scatter releasing Gabrielle. The only slight mishap was that the Grindylows were alerted to his presence and began to swarm around him. He tried firing his wand off all around him, hoping to scare the creatures away and maybe even take a few out. In desperation, he pulled out the knife he used to cut Ron's binds and wildly slashed around him, causing the Grindylow to flee away.

Free from the attack, he swam down and grabbed the rapidly descending girl and began to make his way back towards the surface. Glancing once more at his watch, he realized that he now only had 10 minutes before his body returned to normal. Gabrielle was much lighter than Ron so he figured that he would be able to make it out of the water faster.

No sooner had he thought crossed his mind, there was a burning sensation in his neck. His hands flew there and he started to panic as his gills began to disappear. Also more alarming was the fact that he could feel his claws and fangs extending as well as the heavy feeling on his eyes that had recently been signaling that his eyes were glowing.

Without the webbed hands and feet, Harry was reminded of the fact that he never properly learned how to swim. Doing the only thing he thought sensible, he pointed his wand at the girl and banished her towards the surface.

After he was sure she'd make it, he continued to try and fight his way unsuccessfully to the surface. Giving up hope, he began to feel light headed, his eyes began to darken as he continued to sink further down into the lake. In his last moment of consciousness, he felt an arm began pulling him before all was black.

-HP-

Seeing Cedric and Cho surface without Harry did nothing calm Hermione's already wracked nerves. She immediately moved close to them as soon as they were on the dock and interrogated them for Harry's condition.

"He was heading back down when I saw him. I told him to hurry up because I figured he hadn't found his hostage yet. Seeing as you and Ron are already here, I suppose that's not the case."

"Fleur's sister is still down there so Harry went down after her." A trace of a smile crossed her face at Harry's bravery but it was quickly replaced by her growing fear.

"Sounds just like him. Hopefully he-"

The sound of someone breaking the surface caught their attention. Seeing that Gabrielle had made it up, everyone waited to see Harry come up as well. Fleur immediately jumped in and brought her sister out of the water, joining the other's on waiting for the return of the last champion. Hermione wasn't aware that she could become even more frantic as time went on without Harry coming up.

"Cedric, cast a Bubblhead Charm on me."

He hesitated for a moment, which only made Hermione angry, prompting a forceful, "Now!" Even the experienced seventh-year knew that to refuse the demand would not end well for him, and cast the charm on her head.

Diving into the water, she sped to where Gabrielle had resurfaced and headed directly below that in an attempt to find Harry. It didn't take long for her to find him, but what surprised her was his partially transformed state. Deciding that saving him was more important than his secret, she grabbed ahold of his arm and quickly made a B-line to the surface.

Once to the surface they were quickly helped out f the water and were stopped from being swarmed by the crowd by Dumbledore approaching with an old comb in his hand.

"We need to get him to the Hospital Wing immediately. Quickly, this portkey will take you straight there. It's best you hurry before anyone notices your current state."

Grasping it, Harry and Hermione were immediately teleported to the infirmary so that they could be checked on. They were lucky that they had managed to make it without anyone seeing Harry's shifted state, but unaware to them, one pair of eyes did take notice. One thing was certain however, Fleur had a lot of questions she wanted to ask the two of them.

Author's Note:

Hopefully this chapter is easy to follow. This one is a lot longer than I normally write chapters but a lot happens in here. There's a lot of perspective jumps but I thought it was important to see the story from the POV of multiple characters.

I know a lot of people wanted Harry to pull Hermione out of the lake, but I feel it doesn't work with how I want the story to go. I decided that I would compromise and have Hermione pull Harry out of the lake instead.

Next chapter is a big one as we reveal why Harry's been dodging the issue of his lessons and other revelations have huge implications for the rest of the story.