a/n: Happy Birthday Ian, I Love You So Much! The Song from the golden egg was taken from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire page 463.

Bubbling Discovery

"Diggory!" Professor Moody, with his wooden peg leg thumping across the marbled floor. Moody was the newest Professor this year at the ever vacant position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. He was surly the most experienced out of all the Professor's in the past four years, being an ex-Auror, but with his wild thinning blond hair falling over his real crystal blue eye as the magic eye twitched across the class room, seeing through everything. Cedric closed his book and looked up at his real eye resting upon him. "You're to stay after class, no excuses Mr. Diggory, I think Professor Sprout will not mind if her favorite student is a few minuets late." He growled, motioning for Cedric to follow in his foot steps.

The class filed out of the room leaving Cedric behind with Mad Eye Moody. He straightened his tie and only nodded as Professor Moody came closer. For the first time Cedric got a close look at his Professor, the insanity could be seen through his eyes. He wanted to bolt back out of the class room but Moody's hand rested on his leg, preventing any movement at the time.

"Now Diggory, seeing you are a Triwizard School Champion I have to ask you something?" Moody's face leaned into Cedric's. He (Cedric) began to tremble out of fear. He started to think, the Yule Ball was less than a week away, three days to be exact, maybe just maybe Professor Moody thought he did not have a date.

"What is it Professor?" Cedric questioned.

"Now I know I should not be telling you this but the egg. You figured it out yet?"

"No, Professor," Cedric said trying not to think about it. The egg kept him up at night there was no possible was to ever open that egg without the wails and screams coming out. With that it woke everybody in the Huffelpuff house up at the dead of the night. Worse everyone knew it was Cedric that woke him up. He was truly hopeless in that department of the tournament, for the egg was a rock in the road, " still in the process."

"Well then good, let me give you a clue."

"But sir!" Cedric said standing up from the chair. "That is illegal."

Moody stood up from his chair also pushing Cedric back down in his seat. "Now listen hear little boy, since this whole God Damn tournament was created each school has done a great deal of cheating! And still nothing has been done but to ban it! So if I offer you help it'll just be playing the fucken game!"

The bell had rung and Moody's next class began to file in. Cedric stood up from the chair and began to walk out to Herbology. "Diggory, just mull it over in the hot water." The door shut behind Cedric finally letting his mind ask questions.

Mull it over in hot water.

What a crazy head.

What?

Think the egg over in hot water.

Makes no sense.

What the hell could that mean?

How the hell will thinking about,

The egg get the clue out of it!

The corridors were empty. Cedric stood by himself. He began to think that maybe he would just skip Herbology. The grey eyes looked up toward the green house and saw Green and Yellow ties -moving around. He pushed the glass door open and Professor Sprout came rushing toward Cedric wondering where he had been. When Cedric replied that he had been with Professor Moody the Head of his House turned sour.

Herbology was an easy class seeing that it just the study of plants an easy class which in some way would help Cedric later in his life. He doubt that any day. The only reason Cedric did take that class was because it was easy and nothing else. The time did pass though when Cedric was finally free to roam the halls with all his work done and ready to be turned in the following day to his teachers.

O o o o o o o o o O

The next day, the Christmas spirts has kicked in full speed. Professor Flitwick was seen in the early hours decorating Christmas trees, while standing on a little stool. Holly Wreaths hung on every door in the building. The foods were now Christmas sweets. Eggnog was served with breakfast along with lemon cakes and butter toast with sweet jams. Most of the students spent their time outside in the brisk winter air enjoying the snow gracefully falling from the grey sky. The trees were bare and would seem frightful if the snow that had placed it self on the trees broad branches giving the tree a welcoming look. At lunch time the Hogwarts choir filled the Dining hall with songs of the Holidays. There was a rustle of talk about the Yule Ball that would be held the next day wondering what would be done to the Great Hall for the celebration that would be held. Girls were huddled in groups talking the next day's actives. Some boys ran around hounding down a last minuet date, still hoping good ones were left. The halls were filled with people. Some carried bags in front of the Great Hall preparing to leave shortly after dining or early in the morning on the Hogwarts Express.

His Holiday was going to be filled with papers after papers that had been given to him earlier that day. Moody early that morning had issued another chance to remind Cedric of the answer that he was given the day before. Cedric though did his best to ignore the advice yet the advice it self would not exit out of his mind.

The thought was tempting but Cedric was doing his best to stick to his morals. Though, the more he thought of the words the more tempting it became to open the egg.

Just mull it over water Moody had said as Cedric left his room yesterday heading toward Herbology. Now still Cedric had no idea of the meaning behind that sentence. How could a person think an egg over water? Was it actually humanly possible? No! There was just no way to do what Moody had told him at all, even if he was not going to do it anyway. His head rung with those words, "just mull it over water" again and again. Cedric spun his fork around on his plate eating very little of the food he had globed on early upon his plate, for now it was just a mixed-up blob of food.

"Cedric?"Someone had called his name. He looked up from his half empty plate to see Mark looking at him while everyone else at the table was lost in conversation. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Mark." Cedric answered shoving food into his mouth though he knew it was a lie. He did not feel like lying right now so he decided to spill it out, "Just thinking about the egg. God damn it I don't know what the hell to do with it!"

"Well, please just don't open it anywhere in the Huffelpuff House at night or even during the day. I cannot go without another night of loss in sleep. My grades are showing it."

Cedric sat there and pondered for a few moments wondering what he would actually do with that little golden egg hidden under countless pieces of clothing. Would he not take Moody's advice and do his best to find another why to decipher the wails? Or would he take Moody's advice and be prepared for the second task this round?

"Don't worry I have an idea." Was the last thing Cedric had spoken during dinner planning his night time escape after his Prefect duty later that night.

The halls at nine were bare, expect for the moving pictures hanging on the walls. Cedric paced wondering if this was the right thing to do. Then his mind crossed and listed all of the great that might come from opening a single egg under water. Though this was ordinary egg, the egg would wail if Cedric mulled it over water.

Cedric glanced up to see a fourth year zooming pass him trying not to get a detention. "Stop right there Finnigan!" Cedric ordered. He hated to give out detentions but it was the only thing he could really do if other student were out beyond curfew. "Out beyond curfew again." Cedric said shaking his head as he pulled out a little book and wrote down Seamus, a fourth year Griffendor, for a detention. "This is the second time this week."

Seamus only nodded as Cedric placed the paper inside his hands. "Just try not to be late tomorrow, will you?" Seamus only nodded again as he turned and ran to the Griffendor Tower leaving Cedric to himself again.

The time was finally here Cedric pulled out the golden egg and a towel and walked up to the fifth floor corridor and walked pass the Boris the Bewildered statue. He stood in front of a great wooden door that most students thought was always locked. Cedric knew better though. He muttered two words under his breath, but loud enough for the door to swing open at the command, "Pine fresh."

Cedric undressed himself as the water filled the polish bath. The foam that was being created rose high and thick. Cedric placed himself in the water dipping his head deep down under the layer of foam. There was a sense of relaxation as he laid back almost forgetting the egg. That is what Cedric wanted to do the most forget about the egg and the whole Triwizard Tournament. Though it was his idea to enter in the first place.

After a few moments of silence, excluding the stain glass mermaid who kept eyeing Cedric as she twirled her hair, Cedric grasped the egg. He kept thinking the whole idea of thinking an egg over hot water was preposterous. Yet he went along Professor Moody's words and opened the gleaming golden egg.

It wailed louder than Cedric had ever heard. The noise bounced off the walls echoing with every second. He could not take the wails any longer. Cedric threw his hands over his ears and hence the egg fell down between the thick foam and into the bottom of the water.

The wails slowly drowned in the water and a soft song took its place. Cedric could not believe his ears. How could the wailing vanish like that? He wondered where the soft-spoken song was coming from.

He dipped his head under the water and saw the egg opened wide with golden hinges handing off the tips. The wails were not coming out of the egg. The gentle song was gracefully sung out of the golden egg instead. Cedric then shook his head under water, so this is what Professor Moody was talking about. The clue inside the egg could only be heard underwater. The song sang of the journey Cedric would have to make.

"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 sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour- the prospects black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

Cedric grasped the egg after it had finished and took it out of the water gasping for breath. It was only a miracle that he stayed underneath the foam long enough for the song to reach his ears. Cedric dove under the water again to hear the song so that it could be memorized.

In his mind Cedric repeated each line over and over again. Trying to figure out the clue line by line.

"'Come seek us where our voices sound'. Er, what could that mean? Come seek us where our voices sound . . . oh, the Black Lake. How could I have missed that?" Cedric smiled as he figured out the first line. Though he began to wonder what the second one had meant.

"'We cannot sing above the ground'. So I have to look for some type of underwater creature. Well there are so many. A giant squid! Wait a giant squid? Those are deadly, aren't they?" Cedric heard a giggle from one of the taps. He moved a bit closer to the sound. The taps giggled again. "Who's - who's there?" There was no reply which made Cedric more uncomfortable than before.

He soon came to his senses that the Ministry would not allow any person to go against a giant squid and figured more or less they would not be able to sing. So what else was under the water that sung? The mermaid splashed a giggled with all her might as Cedric sat there with the bubbles slowing disappearing. Her glass fins splashed the glass water as she showed off to Cedric. In his mind he was making a list of underwater creatures. The list was small but it took a long time to remember. Thirty minuets later, Cedric had figured it out at last.

"Merpeople! What else? They sing under water but above water their voices sound like wails. Exactly like they egg. So that means I have to dive in the Black Lake on the twenty-fourth of February and do something involving merpeople."

He moved onto the third line. "'And while you're searching, ponder this:' Simple enough, just ponder about the next line if I remember correctly. 'We've taken what you'll sorely miss'. Oh I've got it now I have to go find what the merpeople have taken from me. Well that's easy . . . then again breathing under water."

Cedric scratched his head as he recited the rest of the song. "'An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, but past an hour- the prospects black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.' So the rest speaks for it self. Still how am I to breathe under water for one whole hour if not longer."

Cedric decided to think of that later for he had enough of the egg for tonight. He stepped out of the tub as it magically drained itself. Cedric would wait till tomorrow to figure out what would be taken and the main question how was he to breathe in the black lake for one hour. He walked out of the prefects bathroom clean and a bit cheerful. He had finally broken the clue hidden in the egg and tomorrow Cedric would spend a good portion of Christmas Eve with the one person he loved Cho Chang.

Cedric smiled to himself the Yule Ball would be the perfect time to return a favor, that well over due, and make the playing fields a little bit more even than Cedric felt they were at the moment.