March 15
/Krum/
Did she know something? Why books with underwater spells? Krum pondered for a while, still staring at the very lifelike shark on the page. I don't need to… breathe underwater… do I? He closed his book with a bang, earning him a frown the librarian, which he ignored. He scooped it up and ran as fast as he could back to the ship that carried all the Durmstrang students.
The golden egg made a dent in the pillow as Krum heaved it onto the bed. Embarrassed that he hadn't been able to solve the clue within two weeks, the Champion had hidden his egg at the very bottom of his trunk. Until now he had completely forgotten it. He now studied it, turning it in circles and looking at the etching around the top. There was a sort of knob at the top, with three 'points' running down along the seams of the egg. Wait…seams?
Krum had no idea what was going on, but it was worth a shot. He fixed his grip on the knob and twisted it hard. The egg opened smoothly, but instantly an unearthly shriek tore from inside, startling Krum so much that he fell off his bed, ears covered by his hands. The screaming continued. Trying to keep his ears covered and close the egg at the same time proved no easy task, but in the end Krum still had his hearing. Luckily, no one else had been on board to hear. Still shaking, he got up from his bed, removed his scarlet shirt, picked up his egg, and went outside onto the deck.
Krum's favourite thing to do in his spare time was to swim. It calmed and relaxed him, and after that big shock, he certainly needed it. Durmstrang was very far north, so it was very cold. It may be winter down here, he thought, but that water is going to be like a hot tub for me. So, while still holding his egg, he backed up almost ten paces, sprinted as fast as he could to the edge and threw himself off, bringing his arms together to flawlessly cut through the water in a dive. He was oblivious to the fact that another certain Champion and his two friends were watching him from a distance, slightly questioning his sanity.
The water felt quite warm to Krum. Where he was from it was at least twice as cold in the winter, and not much warmer in the summer. Once he had righted himself again under the water, he decided to give the egg another shot. He placed his hand once again on the three points of the knob, and slowly turned it open, but the sound Krum had been expecting was almost the complete opposite of what he heard.
Singing. That was the sound that came from the egg, a long and beautiful melody pouring out of its golden casing. The sound travelled perfectly under the water, and for a moment, Krum was transfixed. The glowing gold and blue and green object in his hands would have been the envy of the richest wizard, if only it didn't shriek so when it was above the water. Then the wordless tune began to take shape, forming phrases:
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.
After making sure the egg was closed underwater to prevent more caterwauling when he resurfaced, Viktor climbed back up the rope ladder dangling down the side of the ship and headed to his quarters. Once he was redressed in a warm pair of pants and a shirt, he sat down; his head propped on one hand, and began to think. Obviously he was going to have to go under the water for whatever the second task. The riddle in the golden egg and the book that Hermione had given had him proved this. But what under the water sings? Krum thought and thought and thought, with still no answer. He needed air.
Walking to the deck and resting his elbows on the railing, Viktor looked out across the water, admiring the sunset. It was the most beautiful blend of reds, yellows, oranges, and more colors that were there and yet had no name. There was a much better view here than anywhere in Durmstrang, no matter where in the enormous grounds. A slapping sound brought him back to earth, and looking into the water he saw what looked like a shark's fin covered with seaweed disappear into the black water. The shark, or what Krum had previously assumed was a shark, jumped again, and he saw that it was certainly not a shark. The tail was too long, too skinny to be a shark's, and no shark Viktor had ever seen had looked like it had… a human torso… long hair which by now he had realized it certainly was not seaweed. He wouldn't know anything about them anyways; there were no books at Durmstrang on them… Mermaids?
Krum quite literally stumbled back, nearly falling over, but catching himself on the mast. He then staggered back to his bed, feverishly tearing through the book Hermione had given him earlier that day. Finally he found what he was looking for: Mermaids.
Mermaids: A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Africa and Asia. The first stories appeared in ancient Assyria in which the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover. There are many different stories about mermaids, from being harmless to using their voices to lure and kill sailors. The most famous mermaid legend would probably be that of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, a young mermaid who traded her voice for human legs so she may walk among humans. In the magic world, it is recommended to stay well away from them.
Alright, so the best guess that Krum could make as of now was that the strange creature he had seen was in fact a mermaid, and it (or they) was what was singing in the egg. This just got a whole lot more difficult. An hour long was obvious, but if he had to go into this lake, he might never find what he was looking for. If he even knew what he was looking for. There weren't many things that he would sorely miss. Tired from his run to the ship and the swim with the heavy egg (and the slight bit of laziness) Viktor dumped the book and the egg into his trunk, adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on his bed, promptly falling asleep, promising to work harder on this riddle tomorrow. He was going to win this Tournament.
