It was almost new years, and most of the students that had stayed for the Yule Ball had gone home. This was one of Harry's favorite times of the year - no Dursleys, no school, and it felt like he had all of Hogwarts to himself. There was no avoiding the professors at meal times, but he didn't really talk to them then, so it was ok.
Harry twisted his shim, popping the lock on the Ravenclaw Prefects bathroom. And best of all, he could soak for hours in the perfects private bathtub. It was so huge it was almost a swimming pool. The Dursleys had insisted that if Harry took more than a 5 minute shower that he was wasting water. And here, he could fill the whole tub! And the water never got cold.
But today, he was here on business. He set the bag with the golden egg down by the side of the pool, erg.. bathtub, and adjusted the water until it was just the right temperature.
Harry climbed in with a sigh. After soaking for a few minutes, he grabbed the egg and gently lowered it into the water 'I hope this doesn't ruin it' but honestly, he had no other leads, and he was getting desperate. 'Here goes nothing'. He finished pushing the egg under the warm water. A stream of bubbles rose up from it, but nothing else happened. He then carefully eased it open: The screeching was replaced by muted singing. Harry frowned, it was too faint.
He closed the egg and, put his head under the water with it, and opened it again.
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.
Harry ripped his head back out of the water and took a deep breath. He leaned over and pulled a quill and parchment from his bag. After jotting down the rhyme as best could, he stuck his head under water to make sure he hadn't missed any words. Repeat, lather, rinse. 'That's not good.' Harry didn't know any way to breath under water for an hour. That required much more magic than he knew. Maybe he could rummage through professor Loew's desk again, 'No, that won't work, he probably has it locked up now. And besides, if Hermione finds out...'. Could he trade Draco something for a water breathing spell?
Harry sank down and blew bubbles out into the bath-water. 'Wait a minute - maybe I can check the potions text book - this sort of thing is more potions work rather than wand work.' Harry soaked for another two minutes, and then reluctantly levered himself out of the tub and got dressed.
He grabbed his potions textbooks, as well as some other potions books that he had picked up over the years, and headed for the library. 'Good thing Draco isn't here. He would say that I'm turning into a boring 'Claw - study, study study' Harry snorted. Like he would ever work this hard if his neck wasn't on the line.
*Zero*Zero*
The first day of the second term saw some tempers flare. Parvati was in a foul mood because of Collin's photograph. "I can't believe that you did that to me!" she yelled at the younger boy. She had cornered him outside the Great hall as he tried to sneak in to have lunch.
"But didn't you read the article? Rita Skeeter was calling for the Elves to be given clothes and emancipated. That's what you want, right?" He cringed into a corner, his eyes darting for any path to freedom.
"You mean kicked out of Hogwarts! You made them out to be bad guys, when it's the people who exploit them that are evil! You're as bad as they are!" Parvati turned to storm off and saw Harry, who had been watching the exchange from the side lines, along with numerous students, "Oh". She seemed to deflate "Hi. Can we talk?" she grabbed Harry and pulled him along in her wake.
*Zero*Zero*
"I'm sorry for ignoring you at the dance," Parvati apologized, looking downcast. She had dragged Harry into an empty classroom.
"Yeah… I… " Harry hemmed, "I guess I could have done a better job of hanging around as well."
"It's ok. So, you want to try again? Maybe we could go out for the next Hogsmead weekend?"
"Yeah, That would be great" Harry's face lit up.
"Um, I hate to ask you, because I feel like I'm imposing…" Parvati trailed off, looking guilty.
"No worries - ask away" Harry beamed.
"Next time you're up with the other Champions, like at the Second Task or whatever, could you tell people that the elves didn't attack us? that it was all a misunderstanding?"
"Sure, I guess" Harry replied slowly, trying to figure out howe he would do something like that.
""You're a good boyfriend" Parvati gave Harry a peck on the cheek as she left.
*Zero*Zero*
"Hey, Draco, you know any way to breath under water?" Harry asked as he swung onto a chair in 'their' classroom. Today, Crabbe was lounging around with Draco, but Goyle was absent. Draco had a copy of 'Playwizard' out on the desk, and Crabbe was leaning in close over his shoulder to peer at it.
"Is somebody giving you a swirly, Potter?" Draco smirked. Crabbe guffawed and high fived his leader.
"Well, do you?" Demanded Harry, annoyed.
"Nope, not a clue" Draco shrugged, "So why do you need to know?"
Harry sighed, "Where's Goyle?"
"He's probably sucking face with that Hannah" Crabbe growled, "But we're better off without him around."
Draco nodded, "Yeah, he's been a downer all this year. I don't know what happened to him. Oye, Potter, you want some of this?" He waved the magazine towards Harry.
Harry got up "I got stuff to do. You two have fun with each other" and walked out.
Harry went through his mental checklist of people he could ask as he walked towards the 'Puff common room 'I'll ask Goyle first, if he doesn't know, maybe I can see if I can ask Hermione.' He didn't want to ask the French girl - she was SUPPOSED to be rooting for the other team, so it felt weird. And he wasn't 100 percent certain that she had gotten over him stealing the O-Fuda for the First Task. She _said _ she was, but.. she was acting different towards him now. Besides, she had already done a lot to help him out. He didn't want her think he was a helpless loser who needed help with every little thing. He was still lost in thought as he approached the Hufflepuff dorms
"Oof!"
Harry staggered back as Cedric bounced off of him. "Hey, you ok, Harry?" Cedric recovered.
"Yeah, I'm good. Do you know how to breath underwater?" Harry blurted.
"What? No. I don't think so." Cedric replied, obviously puzzled.
Harry looked at his former tutor for a moment before shrugging. "Is Goyle inside?" He pointed at the common room that Cedric had just darted out of.
"Yeah, he is." Cedric turned continue on his way.
"Hey, Cedric" Harry called after him, "stick the egg under water" He turned and knocked on the door. '
*Zero*Zero*
Harry headed back up to the Ravenclaws' tower. Goyle had been a bust. He probably didn't know anything. Probably. Because 90% of his mind had been on Hannah during the conversation. And with Goyle, that didn't leave much left over. 'who else do I know who could help? Maybe Ron? No.. He's good at anything that involved Dada or fighting, but that's about it.' Sigh, 'I wish my friends weren't so useless' Harry answered the riddle to get into the Dorms. "Wait a minute!"
"Hey, Terry," he walked over to his classmate, "Do you have Bob handy?"
"Why, what's up?" Terry looked up from revising his notes.
"I, ah, want to do another 'skull session'" Harry replied awkwardly, "I need to figure out how to breath under water."
"That's cool" Terry pointed his wand to tall shelf looking down on the main door "Accio Bob!" the skull flew down to Terry's hand, "I keep him up there so that he can keep an eye out for trouble," Terry confided as he looked around for whom he could call.
"Dude, You sound like Luna" Harry replied before he could stop himself,
Terry shrugged, "everybody's weird in their own way. It's just most people know when to flaunt it and when to keep it under their hat."
Soon, Terry, Simon, Luna and Harry were sitting around Bob the skull. "So, what have we got? Terry looked at the rhyme that Harry had jotted down. "I think you're right about the water - the voices must be singing in Mermish - I was trying to modify an English to Mermish translation spell to use on the egg."
"Why didn't you just tell Harry to stick in the water?" asked Simon.
"Yeah, in retrospect it was pretty stupid. I had been wondering why there was a spell to translate from English into Mermish, but not the other way around. I guess as long as you are under water, you don't NEED a spell." Terry scowled in annoyance. "Well, so task 1 is going to be to find the best way to breath under water. Simon, you look up charms - start with the bubble head charm, and see if there is anything better. I'll look for transfigurations, and Luna, you're on potions."
Simon leaned over conspiratorially to Harry, "would you actually DRINK something Luna prepared?"
Harry frowned, "At least she has my best interests in mind, unlike some."
Simon laughed and slapped Harry on the back, "I'm not going to screw you over, Potter. Getting you to not be a loser is a huge challenge, and I like challenges."
"Back to work, boys and girls," Terry reminded the teens, "task two is going to be a detection charm. Harry is going to have only an hour to find something under water. It's tricky casting 'point me' in a dark, viscous environment."
"That reminds me," added Harry, "I need some way to see under water."
"That's tasks three. Why don't you take it" Terry nodded to Harry, "I will work on task 2 until I can delegate it to somebody. Probably Padma - she's volunteered to be on Team Harry as well, but she has class right now."
Harry glanced at his watch, "speaking of - I have to get to class myself." Harry jumped up and grabbed his books. As he was about to leave the table, he spun around, "And guys, thanks for helping me out like this. It's really great of you."
"We're housemates, mate. That's what we do," replied Terry.
*Zero*Zero*
As Harry walked quickly towards his remedial charms session 'Why does it have to be on the other side of the castle', He noticed Luna walking at his side, "Oh, Hello. I didn't see you there.
"I know", she replied in her usual spacey tone, "otherwise you wouldn't be here." Before Harry could reply to the barb, she continued, "Thank you for defending my honor, with Simon."
Harry stopped and looked at confused for a moment at Luna's phrasing, "Luna, you're a really unusual person. But who isn't a little weird, sometimes." Harry stopped and tried to think of a way to put his thoughts into words. Luna waited patiently. Nothing really felt right, so he finished with "And you're also one of the nicest people I know."
Luna stepped in, and before Harry knew what was happening, gave him a tight hug. She then grabbed his hand and pulled him after her as she skipped down the corridor, "Come on, we're going to be late for remedial Charms"
*Zero*Zero*
"Ok, Mr Potter, lets try something a little bit more challenging" Harry had been working on his Glacius charm for the past ten minutes. Flitwick had him cast it repeatedly on a bucket of water. It was a third year charm, but Harry had always had a lot of trouble with it. But he seemed to be getting the hang of it - he had turned the water to ice every single time. Harry felt like cheering.
"I want you to try the Accio charm that we were working on last semester. Remember to move your arm more fluidly. Pretend the tip of your wand is pulling something in" Flitwick demonstrated the charm on a textbook. He then went over to Luna "Very good work, young lady" Luna was manipulating a Carpe Retractum spell, working a golden stream of light that was opening and closing the windows, one after the other. "Now if only you showed this level of concentration in class, you wouldn't need to be here."
Luna nodded dreamily, "Thank you for letting me know that if I show this level of concentration in class, I wouldn't need to be here." Here eyes drifted momentarily to Harry, and then snapped back to the spell. her expression became more focused. "I find it easier to concentrate here."
Flitwick glanced between Luna and Harry and sighed, 'teenagers' "Very well, Miss Lovegood, but please remember that what you perfect in class, you can demonstrate later to your _friends_" He hinted.
*Zero*Zero*
"Is it my imagination, or is Flitwick working us harder than last semester?" Harry commented. He was walking back to the 'Claw dorms with Luna. It was 9:30, and they had JUST gotten out of Remedial Charms. But it had actually been ok. 'Not certain what happened, but Charms is sure a lot more fun when most of the spells work the way they are supposed to'.
"Maybe he is concerned that you aren't ready for the next task" Luna replied, harshing Harry's mellow.
"Thanks for reminding me" Harry sighed, "I might have forgotten to be stressed out of my mind."
"I know a great way to relieve stress" Luna announced, "follow me!" and she walked off with a bounce in her step. Harry walked cautiously after the now-exuberant girl.
"Where are we going?" Harry looked around, He didn't recognize the area, "Is this near the Gryff's dorms?" He stopped, "Look, we'll be late for curfew."
"Don't be silly, we still have plenty of time, And the broom closet is just down that way!" Luna a grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him along.
Harry's head swiveled back and forth, checking to see if there were any witnesses. Like say Draco. 'If Draco sees me with Luna, I'll never live it down'. Thankfully, the corridor was empty. "Wait, what do you mean, 'broom closet'!?" Harry" brain caught up with what Luna had said, and he dug in his heels, "You aren't… I mean you don't mean.. to you know?" Harry knew what usually happened when a boy and a girl went into a broom closet together. And Crabbe insisted that it was very relaxing...
Luna looked puzzled at Harry, "It's right here." She stepped over to a door off of a little-used side corridor. If building could have alleys, this would be one. She reached over to the door and tapped it with her wand in an odd little rhythm before trying the door knob. She stepped right in.
Despite himself, Harry leaned in, expecting to see.. well, he had no clue what he expected, but it wasn't what was actually in the broom closet. The closet had been expanded, though not terribly well - some of the walls were ten feet apart, others were 20, and the ceiling swooped in crazily in a couple of spots. The whole mess was crammed full of potions equipment, neatly stacked and labeled. Luna carefully threaded her way down the long room to the very back corner.
"What on earth is all this?" Harry asked, flabbergasted.
"This is the Weasley twin's potions lab. How else do you think they make all their little toys?"
"Um… Is this legal?"
Luna just gave Harry an odd look. She took off her shoes and stepped onto a tiny square of threadbare carpet. On the carpet were two stools crammed together and an apparatus made up of an array of glass flasks all attached by tubes. Luna flicked her wand, and a fire appeared under one of the flasks, and the liquid inside started to bubble.
"Right, It's the Weasleys." He was just about to step over to take a closer look at the apparatus when Luna held up her had, "Uh uh uh!" She tisked, "You have to take off your shoes! The Futfodder worms need to be able to get at the toe cheese!" She pointed down at the carpet.
Harry froze "What?" he looked down at the carpet, but he couldn't see anything. 'This is Luna. She wouldn't do anything dangerous', Draco insisted that Luna was dangerously insane, but it was just that she saw things differently then everybody else. 'Who knows? Maybe what she sees is right, and everybody else is wrong?' Taking a deep breath, Harry took off his shoes and socks and stepped tentatively onto the rug.
"Hey.. It's warm!" the rug was much more plush than it looked, and very pleasant on the feet. The glass apparatus burbled and chuckled, and little streams of liquid ran through the tubes from flask to flask. "What does this do?" Harry asked, peering at the mysterious machine. "And if it's the Weasley's, is it safe to use?"
Luna gave Harry a puzzled look, "It's a coco still, for making hot chocolate. And it's mine. The Weasley twins are letting me borrow the space" Luna took a pair of mugs from a shelf under the apparatus and flipped a stopcock on the side of the still, filling one of them with a rich brown liquid. She handed it to Harry
Harry sat down on the stool, "You know muggles make hot coco in a much less elaborate fashion." He took a sip of his drink, "This is really good!"
"Of course it is. That's why I use a still" Luna filled her cup and sat down on the other stool next to Harry with a sigh. "This is where I go to relax, when the girls are driving me insane. You see, when they lie down in their beds, the the Wrackspurts hiding in their pillows suck out the last iota of common sense out of their little brains, and all that they talk about for the next hour is shoes. Did you know that there are more different kinds of shoes in the world than there are insects? And apparently if your head has been emptied by Wrackspurts, you feel the need to fill it with all sorts of minutia about the newest and most expensive varieties. Or you do if you are a girl, at least." Luna took a sip of her hot coco, "And then they ask questions of you, and expect you to be able to discuss intelligently the relative merits of shoes! Honestly, if Scotland wasn't cold during the winter, I wouldn't even WEAR shoes." she sighed.
Harry nodded, not certain if it was ok to smile at Luna's soliloquy. On the one hand, she looked so despondent, but on the other, it was so absurd! He compromised by turning so that Luna couldn't sea his face, and patting her on the back in sympathy. As he did, she leaned over slightly, so that she was pressing gently on his side. 'Uhm, what do I do now?' Harry was lost. this was not anything he had expected. After he finished patting Luna on the back, he decided to leave his hand were it was. His hand was at an awkward angle, but he didn't dare move it, or he might inadvertently draw attention to the fact that it was still on Luna's back.
They sat like that for a while 'We need to get back - curfew is in a couple of minutes," Luna said reluctantly, Scourgify-ing her mug as she stowed it back under the still.
"Yeah. It's really nice of the Weasley's to let you borrow their hideout." Harry stood and stretched, reluctantly putting his shoes back on.
"Oh, it's not for free. I have to… do a few things for them"
Harry paused, "Nothing inappropriate, I hope"
"No. mostly, they want the password to the common room from time to time. Though they did ask me for some of Cho's undergarments once." Luna locked up the broom closet.
"Ok" Harry smirked, "That's good to know."
Luna grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him around, "I told you that in confidence. I don't want you using that to tease them!"
Harry stopped. 'NOT tease them… but… but' his brain froze at the odd concept, 'i guess I can pretend I don't know.' . "Ok. ok! I'll be good" he held up his hands placatingly. The two teens stood like that. 'She's standing really close' Harry realized. Luna was less than a foot away. 'I should say something', "You know, you're very pretty." he blurted 'NOT THAT! Where did that come from?' Harry fidgeted, and looked ready to bolt.
Luna stepped up onto her tiptoes and kissed the tip of his nose before whirling and grabbing his hand. "Let's go."
The two teens retuned to the common room, holding hands. 'I guess I'm not dating Parvati anymore' Harry mused. 'But what if Draco sees me with Luna?'
*Zero*Zero*
The day of the Second Task was quickly approaching. As a matter of fact, it was just five days away, a fact that Harry was doing his best not to think about. So the core members of 'Team Harry' were having another Skull Session.
"Ok, on Task one, the bubble head charm looks like our best bet. The Transfiguration spells are all WAY too advanced. And if you flub them, you could end up in St. Mungos." Terry had a note in front of him, with the details of his research written in tiny, crabbed script.
"The Gillyweed potion will also work" interrupted Luna, "I can brew some up tomorrow."
Simon held up a pair of dark glasses "I ordered these up from a shop my dad recommended. They're sun glasses: they let you see in the dark as if the sun was out" He handed them Harry, "You owe me 12 Galleons, Potter."
Harry tried them on - they were awkward to fit over his regular glasses. "I guess I can use these, but they really uncomfortable."
"You're going to want eyeglass clips, to make sure that they don't fall off" added Padma, "You can buy those for a couple of knuts."
"The Gillyweed will also improve your swimming speed, because you won't have the air bubble around your head, and your hands and toes become webbed." Added Luna.
"So that brings us to task three" continued Terry. "I found the Invenio spell. It's become obsolete with the invention of the Four Point spell, but I think it will work better under water - it releases a stream of smoke which drifts in the direction that the object you are looking for is. I tried it in the tub, and it created a stream of bubbles."
"No comment about making bubbles in the tub" smirked Simon. Padma smacked the back of his head. But she was smiling as well.
"Ok, that sounds like everything. Thanks guys. You don't know what this means to me." Harry smiled at the others. "I feel much better about the Tournament with you guys helping me."
"Just win the next Task" Terry slapped Harry on the back as he got up.
"Or at least don't suck too bad" added Simon, following his leader.
"Don't die," scowled Padma.
"Thanks guys." Harry deflated, "For bringing me back down." He got up and followed Luna out of the common room. Once they were out in the corridor, he asked "Uhm, Luna, can you brew up the Gillyweed potion?"
She frowned, "I thought you weren't interested."
"Uhm, no, I just.. I wanted to hear what the others had to say. But I think your idea is best."
"Oh, OK!" Luna beamed "I'll get started right away" and she went skipping off.
*Zero*Zero*
The day of the second task, Harry ate breakfast early, before the other students filled the great hall. He was too nervous to socialize. Fortunately, he was also too nervous to sleep. Harry wolfed down some eggs and forced down a piece of toast, remembering what Luna had said the day before 'Can't swim on a full stomach, or I'll cramp up.' He checked his robe pocket for the twenty third time. The Gillyweed potion and dinner mint were both there (both from Luna - she said that he was going to need the mint, after)
"Hey. PST! Harry!" Harry was just making his way out of the great hall when a voice from a closed classroom interrupted him.
"Yeah?" He looked around, but there was nobody there. He was just reaching for the door to the classroom when Ginny's head popped out of the adjoining wall.
"Hey, good luck with Luna!" she smiled and pulled back into the wall.
"What?" Harry scratched his head, 'Why am I getting dating advice from a first year girl? A dead one at that?' Harry continued on his way. He figured he would go down to the lake - the venue for the Second Task - a little early and hang around.
"Harry! Are you all ready?" It was Hermione, in her severe 'Beauxbatons valedictorian' persona, "I've been trying to get a hold of you all week. Please tell me that you figured out the task is under water, and that you have a plan.." Her expression was grim.
"Yeah, I have a plan" Harry smiled.
"Oh, good. I just figured out that the sphere was probably talking in Mermish, but I wasn't able to find you to tell you about it. I was so worried - the only breathing aid I could find on such short notice was some Gillyweed I found yesterday, but it doesn't work that well raw." She rambled, the tension easing out of her posture. She smiled a little sheepishly, as she held up a handful of what looked like watercress wrapped in a sheet of wax paper.
"Oh, yeah, I figured out about the Mermish weeks ago." Harry waived off her anxiety nonchalantly.
Hermione froze. "And you didn't tell me? You've known for weeks? And you didn't give a damn!" Hermione glared at him, her fury barely contained.
"What.." Harry started to speak, when Hermione slapped him and stormed off..
'What on earth was that?' Harry was extremely confused. 'Did somebody slip a potion into her breakfast cereal?' Hermione was so much in control that Harry couldn't believe that this had even been the same person. 'Or is it one of those girl 'time of the month things that Draco is always complaining about?'
Harry made his way to the Champion's tent and changed into his swim trunks. Harry grabbed a towel from a rack off to one side and draped it over his shoulders before sitting down. Time passed. He sat down again when he found himself pacing the inside of the tent.
Time passed.
The tent flap opened and Cedric walked in. "Harry." He smiled, "Thanks for the tip on the egg. It's a real life saver."
Harry sat back down, "What do you mean? If you didn't know, you would fail the task is all, right?"
Cedric shook his head "Not according to what I've read about the Tournament. You have to try, whether you want to or not. It's a compulsion. If not for your warning, I would be out there on the lake, swimming back and forth (or trying to) until the other three Champions returned to shore. That could take hours."
Harry paled, "Whose genius idea was this tournament anyway?"
Cedric sighed, "Yeah, I know."
Krum sat down on the bench next to them, "They haff safety people. They would haff bubble headed you. We not living in 12th century." His English as a little rough, but clear enough. Apparently he was more nervous about this task than the previous. Probably because he couldn't fly his broom under the water.
Fleur just glared at the rest of the Champions and gnawed on a fingernail.
Soon they could hear the sound of people. 'Must be quite a crowd out there' Harry had seen the stands that had been assembled, almost overnight, but he was surprised that so many people would show up, given that there wouldn't be much to see.
There were several muted announcements from the judging staff, and finally, Crouch's assistant, Percy poked his head into the tent "Ok, It's time."
The four Champions came out and were informed of their task - to retrieve "what they'll sorely miss" from the Merpeople Village in under an hour. Harry quickly chugged his potion as Cedric and Fleur Bubble headed, while Krum partially transfigured into a shark 'Did he mean to do that?' Harry knew how hard it was to transform even a willing person. Harry was finding it hard to breath. He patted his neck gently - 'looks like the potions working.'
He dived in, and and burbled "Invenio", concentrating on the location of the Merpeople village. It took three tries to get the spell to go - casting under water was tricky business! Harry swam for all he was worth. 'There's no way I'm going to match Krum the shark, but second place would be cool'. The Invenio spell quickly led Harry to the bottom of the lake, where the water was thick and murky. The Sun-glasses did very little to help, and they kept slipping around on Harry's face.
'Agh! I can't deal with this!' Harry dumped them. 'That's 12 Galleons down the drain' . But on the other hand, the webbing on his hands and feet rocked! Harry had never been a good swimmer, but he was really motoring along.
"Invenio" SWISH & poke. The stream of bubbles from his wand was drifting to the left 'I hope that's real, and not just a current pulling that way' A stream of bubbles rose up from Harry's mouth as he sighed and swam in the new direction.
There was almost nothing to see - the water was murky, and all the plants and things looked exactly the same. 'I hope I'm not going in circles.. "YIKE!" something had grabbed his foot. Harry lashed out, kicking both feet, but the grip on his ankle was too strong. Harry jackknifed around to see what holding on to him. Grindylows! Harry flailed around, but to no avail, and now a second one had grabbed on. Harry started panic flailing about, but the Grindylow held on, unperturbed.
Harry cast a repulsion charm, but noting happened 'Shit! casting under water is hard!' The Grindylow grinned - it had a a row sharp, dagger like teeth – and it pulled Harry's leg towards it's mouth. Harry kicked out. He managed to push it away, but the little monster just pulled Harry in closer again.
"repulso" burbled Harry, but all that happened was that his wand started to glow. By the glow, he could see more of the horrid things milling about, waiting for the Harry to get too weak to fight.
"Oww" The Grindylow's fingers were digging deep into his calf. Harry reached down and grabbed a finger wrapped around his leg. He pushed and twisted the way Professor Loew had shown him, the Grindylow eyes got big and it let go with a burst of bubbles. But as it did, another little demon grabbed on in its place. Harry grabbed another appendage, and this time he cranked as hard as he could on the finger. There was sickening pop, and the Grindylow flailed out, swimming away quickly as it cradled its hand. Another other little green monster let go and darted out of reach as Harry made a grab for it.
Harry kicked off, swimming with all his might. The Grindylows watched with a silent malevolence.
Harry kept swimming, but now he was watching for potential attackers as well, 'I hope whatever I have to carry isn't too big' Harry's strength was starting to flag as he spied an odd structure. 'The Merpeople Village!' He put on a burst of speed, swimming by groups of Merfolk who stood by, watching as Harry awkwardly swam by. 'They make swimming look so easy!'
Harry was exhausted when he reached the town center. there, he found four posts guarded by Merpeople with spears. Tied to them were four humans, all of them limp and unmoving- Cho, a Beauxbatons girl, a kid that looked like Fleur and LUNA!
As Harry swam closer, the Mermen dropped back, to give him room. Harry eyed them cautiously before rushing over to Luna. She had a bubble head charm on - she was alive, but asleep. 'This is going to be a lot harder to swim with than a book or something.'
Harry let out a deep breath - he had really panicked for a moment 'That was silly - Dumbledore wouldn't let students get hurt!'
Harry examined how she was tied tied on the pole. Fortunately, the loop of rope holding her was just slipped over the post, because he didn't have a knife. Harry gently pulled up on the rope tied around her waist. And it jammed, half way up. 'Oh, shit!' Harry pulled the rope back down. The problem was Luna's weight made the rope cock. Harry glanced around, but the only people watching were Merpeople. Harry took hold of Luna by the waist and gently held her tight as he hoisted her up, working the rope off the pole as he went. Once free, he was at a loss - should he leave the other humans down here? But what if the other Champions took too long? But if he waited, he would lose his chance to win. And Harry had never won at anything before. He was ahead of even KRUM!
'Speak of the devil' Krum swam into view as Harry debated with himself. That settled it. He put an arm around luna and began to swim. 'This isn't working' Harry couldn't hold her and swim one handed. He glanced around, and his face lit up , "I guess I'm not in Ravenclaw for nothing!' Harry took the rope off of Luna and engorged it, so that it was long enough to use as a sling. He wrapped it back around luna, and then slipped it over onto his chest.
"That's better' Except now… certain _parts_ of Luna kept pressing into his back with each stroke. 'Thank god that nobody can see us.' Harry kept swimming. And Luna kept flopping.
As he continued to swim for shore, anxiety began to build in Harry. 'What if her bubblehead charm runs out? They don't last forever, and I've been kind of rough on her, swimming like this...' He paused, trying to hear if she was breathing. but he didn't hear anything. 'Was she breathing when I found her?' Harry swam as hard as he could. His gills began to burn from the effort. Finally, he stubbed his toe as the lake bottom swooped up to meet the shore.
Harry stood up with a stagger, taking the rope off as he did. He supported Luna anxiously as several assistants waded out to them and the crowd cheered.
As the wizards helped steady Luna, her eyes fluttered open, "Oh, good. It worked!" she smiled. And as the third assistant draped a robe over Harry, she leaned up and kissed him on the lips.
"BLEARGH! You forgot the dinner mint!"
*Zero*Zero*
Harry slumped onto a bench, exhausted, as Team Harry surrounded him, pounding on his back and cheering. "You're first, Mate!" roared Simon. Harry smiled weakly. He had forgotten to listen to the score again. After the First Task, he had just been happy to be alive, but now…
There was another roar from the crowd as Cedric came up with Cho.
"How am I doing, for points?" He gasped. breathing was still difficult, with the Gillyweed potion in his system.
"You're neck and neck with Krum - he did better in the first task, but he's in third place here. And Cedric choked on the first task, so he's no threat" Terry rattled off.
"What about Fleur?"
"She got hurt in the lake, fighting off the Grindylows, so she had to be sedated. She's automatically in fourth place.
There was more cheering, as Krum Finally managed to swim up. Apparently his stubby fin-like arms had cost him time in freeing his hostage.
"So, Potter, I didn't know you had a thing for Looney." Harry hadn't noticed when Draco had swaggered over. Him and his two henchmen. Terry turned around and without a pause popped Draco in the nose.
"OW!" Draco sat down.
"Hey, what was that for?" Crabbe roared,lunging forward, to be met with Goyle's arm "Hold it, Vince. Draco had it coming. You know that."
"What?" Crabbe turned, befuddled.
"Draco was being a dick. You know it was just a matter of time before it caught up with him."
Draco stood up and glared at everybody, a handkerchief to his bleeding nose. "You're a dead man, Boots," he hissed, and stomped off. Goyle cast a backwards glance at Harry and his friends before shaking his head ruefully and following Draco. "Wait up!"
"Uhm, you want to come to martial arts class with me next week?" Harry asked.
Terry shook his head, "So, what was up with you and Luna?"
Harry glanced over to where Luna was getting checked out by the school nurse, "Nothing's going on. Luna was just excited to be safe and sound, I guess.
*Zero*Zero*
The rest of the morning was a well organized mess. The Daily Prophet wanted an interview, which he stuttered and stumbled through. Collin Creavy took a photo, then there was the official announcements from the judges. By the time it was all done, it was lunch time.
Harry sat down with a sigh at his usual spot at the Ravenclaw table. Terry and Simon weren't there 'They probably finished already. They didn't have to deal with that Bagman slapping their back while rambling on about useless stuff from when HE was my age.' Harry dug in. Swimming was hard work, even with the assist from the Gillyweed, and he was starved.
"Harry, do you want to buy an Omnocular of your Task?" Collin asked, holding up what looked like weird set of binoculars.
"What now?" Harry asked around a mouth full of chicken.
"I recorded you doing the Second Task on my Omnoculars, and I wanted to know if you wanted a copy."
"You mean people were able to see me?" Harry asked, surprised, 'Did I do anything embarrassing? I hope I didn't put my hands anywhere inappropriate on Luna.'
"Of course people could see you. Why would they bother coming otherwise? They were renting Omnoculars down at the lakeside, though those didn't have the recording capability." Collin leaned over and offered Harry a look into his Omnoculars.
"Oh." Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice, "No, I'll pass. I was there, after all. Are you still doing the SPEW stuff?"
"No, SPEW is pretty much dead - Hannah is spending all her time with her boyfriend, I'm Persona Non Grata, and you are… you."
"Yeah. What was up with selling that photo to the Prophet - that really pissed off Parvati."
Collin shrugged and looked sheepish, "I thought that showing House Elves being upset would get them treated better. You know, like how you only pay attention to your parents when they are yelling at you. I guess it didn't work out quite like I'd hoped. But at least the money was nice. So why are you so concerned about Parvati? Are you guys still dating?"
"I don't know. Maybe?" Harry shrugged.
"Well, you better figure it out fast. Incoming!" Collin jerked his head towards the girl in question - she was coming towards Harry, and she looked annoyed. Collin grabbed his Omnoculars and power walked away.
"Hey, Harry. So did you announce that the House Elves didn't attack us?" She stopped in front of Harry and stood with her arms crossed.
"Uhm, no?" Harry had completely forgotten about her request.
"I didn't think so!" Parvati flipped her hair, "You never remember anything I ask of you. You're always ignoring me. And what's the deal with Luna?"
"What about Luna?" Harry hunched in on himself, trying to disappear.
"Why were you kissing Luna?"
"I wasn't kissing Luna. Luna kissed me. Once. Probably because we won, or something." Harry had sunk so far down that he could almost rest his chin on the table. 'I wish I had an invisibility cloak.'
Parvati glared at Harry some more. She opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it, walking off with a flounce.
'Thank Merlin that's over' Harry sat up straighter. He looked to see if anybody had overheard, but it was late enough so the Great Hall was mostly empty. But just in case, he wolfed down the rest of his meal and made tracks to the 'Claw Common room.
*Zero*Zero*
The next morning, Hogwarts returned to normal. Harry was finishing up breakfast, getting ready to go to Foreign Runes when there was a ruckus at the Gryffindor table. Harry looked over in time to see the Irish kid, Seamus, pull a bra out of Ron Weasley's robe pocket.
"What? That's not mine!" Ron protested, to the roar of laughter and back slapping. Ron backpedaled away from the offending garment, his face as red as his hair. One of his friends held up the garment to Ron's chest, to see if it was the right size, apparently.
Ron slapped it away and fled, as professor McGonagall descended like a black cloud on the Gryffindor table. Harry watched in amusement, but he had to get to class. He took a last bite of toast and grabbed his books.
*Zero*Zero*
"Oh man, I'll never hear the end of this" Ron moaned as Harry sat down next to him in Foreign Runes. Harry nodded in amusement. But some of the other students in the class didn't think it was funny. Hermione spent the whole class glaring daggers at Ron, as did most of the other girls. Even some of the boys gave him disappointed looks. As class came to an end Ron muttered "So much for my chances of getting a date."
Harry paused as he was collecting his papers, "Oh, who do you fancy?"
"Not like that - I mean in general. Did you see the looks all the girls in class were giving me? The crazy French genius I can understand - she hates everything British and thinks I'm thick as a board to boot, but even the Gryff girls..."
"Well, you could ask out the girl whose bra was in your pocket.." Harry smirked.
"I had nothing to do with that! I don't even know whose it is. And if my mother hears about this, I'm going to be grounded for life," moaned Ron.
Harry shook his head and took pity on the red head, "Yeah, I know. It's the twins."
"How do you know? Not that blaming the twins is a bad guess - they're responsible for half the mayhem in the school."
"Same way that I know that the bra is Cho's" Harry replied. "I have my sources."
"What were the twins doing with Cho's undergarments?" Ron boggled.
"That's a very good question. Maybe you should ask Cedric that…" Harry smirked.
Slowly, an evil smile spread across Ron's face "I'll see you in Self Defense!" He bounded out of the classroom.
*Zero*Zero*
Harry waited with baited breath to see the results of Ron's revenge, but nothing came of it. Or maybe he just missed it. His life was getting complicated. On the one hand, he enjoyed hanging out with Luna, on the other, she was social cyanide - as the pariah of Hogwarts, he didn't want to be seen with her. And of course, he couldn't just TELL her. That would hurt her feelings. And then there was Parvati, who thought… what? 'Who knows what Parvati is thinking. She's harder to figure out than Luna, and Luna is insane!'
Harry was double checking his potions homework in the Ravenclaw common room 'And that's another nuisance - why does Snape want me and Ernie to switch how we make potions? We've done it this way for three years, and it works for us! I chop, Ernie mixes.' Harry glanced up nervously as heard somebody approaching his study carrel. 'Not Luna.'
"Harry, what's going on with you and Parvati?" Padma sat down on the chair opposite him.
Harry groaned 'not this again!' "Why am I getting the third degree from all the girls? It wasn't that big a deal!"
Padma glared at Harry, "Because she's my sister, you moron, and because it WAS that big a deal for Parvati, and because of this." She tossed a copy of the Daily Prophet onto the table, turned to the Society & Life section. "Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and the Fourth TriWizard Champion toying with young girls hearts!" screamed the headline. Harry's mind froze. He skimmed the article.
"This makes me out to be some fame seeking gigolo!" he stammered.
"Well, are you?" Asked Padma.
"I thought you were part of Team Harry?" Whined the Boy-Who-Needed-a-Spine.
"That's because Terry is. It has nothing to do with you." Padma retorted shortly. "So. Spill."
"The article is complete nonsense! You know that. You know I hate having people call me Boy Who lived, and when was the last time you saw me seeking out the limelight."
"Well, you're there now."
"Not on purpose! If didn't have to do this Triwizard Tournament, I wouldn't! As to Parvati… I don't know! I don't think we're dating anymore, but I'm not dating Luna or anybody else either!"
Padma look at Harry consideringly, and then nodded, "very well. But you need to tell this to Parvati in person. She still thinks your going out."
"I guess."
"No 'I guess'. Do it by dinnertime, or I'll drag you over to the Gryffindor's table so you can do it then." Padma continued to sit and glare at Harry. Harry slowly got the message and collected his stuff. "Ah, I'll be back."
*Zero*Zero*
Harry shambled towards the Gryffindor Common room, his hands in his pockets, his head pointed squarely at his toes when he walked squarely into Luna.
"Harry? Are you looking for Nargles?"
"What, no. I'm on my way to tell Parvati that we aren't dating anymore."
"Oh, goody!" Luna chirped and bounced, "Can I come too?"
"What? No! I think that will be a very bad idea." Harry replied, horrified.
"But why not? From all the articles I have read, a girl should support her boyfriend in all his endeavors, and I think it will do an admirable job of demonstrating her deficiency at this task, by way of comparison with me."
"No, you supporting me as I break up with Parvati will NOT send that message," Harry hyperventilated, 'oh god, that would be a complete disaster!', " and besides you're not my girlfriend. Officially."
"Oh, that's easy enough to fix" Luna smiled.
"Uh, We'll talk later" Harry rushed off, 'I got to get this done before… before I lose my nerve!.'
Harry thankfully made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady without anymore misadventures, and after an interminable wait, was allowed in. Looking around the Common room, there was no Parvati. 'Oh. I think she has DADA right now' Harry stood there, at a loss. 'If I go back, Padma is going to ream me a new one, and then she's going to make me do this in public. But my class schedule doesn't match up with Parvati's today!' As he stood there, quietly panicking, he saw the Weasley twins walking grim faced towards the door. They were both wearing dark glasses. "Uh, hey, what's with the glasses?"
"They're from a discussion we had with Cho" said the one on the right. "Did you know that girl knows how to punch?" added the one on the left, "And her aim is pretty good too." He lifted up his glasses to show a burgeoning black eye.
"But why do both of you have glasses? Did she get you both?" Harry asked, confused.
"No" replied Lefty.
"But as a sign of moral support for my twin," continued Righty.
"I am wearing a pair as well." The twins alternated speaking. "Besides, it's an identifying mark, and we can't have that, now can we?"
"Now, if you will excuse us, we have some matters to discuss with Miss Ratty Lovegood."
'Oh, right. As far as the twins know, she's the one who told Ron...' A cold stone settled into the pit of Harry's stomach. The twins had a mean streak, and what they would do to poor Luna... "Uhm, guys? I don't know what you're planning, but its not a good idea."
"Harry, my boy," Righty put his arm around Harry's shoulders, "Our ideas are NEVER good ideas..."
"They're WONDERFUL ideas!" finished the other twin. "But in this case its a simple business proposition. In exchange for services rendered" the twin pointed to the black eye "We would like her to try out a few of our newest creations."
"Like these Loon-a-tacks" the twin held up a small box of pins.
"Each one is guaranteed to turn anybody stabbed into a goose."
"Uhm…" Harry thought 'That's not so bad. I thought they were going to beat her up or something.' As the twins walked out of the common room, Harry found himself walking with them. They were going to the same place after all.
The twins bantered as they walked, glancing oddly at Harry along the way. Finally, they paused, "Harry, is everything ok? You seem down at the gills."
"And you don't have gills anymore."
"Did we tell you how cool that was? We're planning to introduce a gag based on you, the Potter-fish."
"Uhm, thanks, but guys…" Harry's voice trailed off, "It's not Luna's fault. She accidentally mentioned it to me, but warned me not to tell anybodyButThenIRanMyMouth and told Ron!"
"So you spend a lot of time with Luna?" Asked a twin.
"Uhm, I guess" Harry replied anxiously, "I think she thinks we're dating."
"Oh"
"Boy! Harry's dating Luna. So the rumors ARE true. That's pretty juicy gossip. It's worth its weight in gold!"
Harry's face lit up, 'Maybe Luna won't find out that I screwed up' "So does that mean that Luna is off the hook? You're not going to do anything to her?"
"Of course not" beamed the first twin. "not after hearing that.'
STAB
Harry felt a sharp pain in his rear.
"HONK!"
"But you on the other hand, are fair game."
"No, he's a goose." The other twin argued.
"Yes, but geese are considered game in England."
"Are you certain? Because Harry has always been a goose, but he wasn't fair game until just now."
"HONK" Goose-Harry fluttered up to the ceiling and caromed down the corridor, leaving the twins to argue.
*Zero*Zero*
Harry staggered down to the great Hall. His rear end still hurt from where the twins had goosed him, but at least he was back to human. His head still felt a little muzzy from the after affects of the Transfiguration. 'Did I spend all afternoon as a goose? It looks like they are serving dinner.'
Harry had just stumbled over to the Ravenclaw table and (gently) sat down when Parvati stormed over.
"Um, Hi?" Harry looked up. The Gryffindor girl didn't say anything, instead she walked up and dumped a glass of pumpkin juice on Harry's head and walked off.
"What… What was that for?" Harry asked. He was too exhausted to be angry. He just looked around in confusion.
Terry and Simon shared a look, before Terry took out a Team Harry button and tapped it with his wand. The Team Harry Logo disappeared, to be replaced by a picture of Luna kissing Harry at the end of the second task , with a caption that scrolled underneath 'Luna and Harry - True Love Forever' "Fred and George have been handing out these 'Updated' badges all afternoon. They said that you asked for them, as a memento of the special day."
Harry dropped his face into his hands "Oh, me head hurts."
"You mean this wasn't your idea? asked Simon.
Before Harry could answer, Luna swooped into the seat next to Harry "That was really sweet, Harry!" She pulled him into an awkward hug that resulted in mashing Harry's face into her chest.