Chapter 4: Two Beavers Are Better Than One

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed in a blur. Everyone had been procrastinating the first week of the holidays, too excited about the Yule Ball to worry about homework, but now, it was back to reality. The fourth years had been assigned loads of homework by their teachers in order to prepare them for their O.W.L. exams, even though those weren't until fifth year. On top of that, Harry still had to decipher the golden egg's clue. He was spending all of his free time listening to the egg's screams, but he still didn't understand it. All of this meant that he barely had any time to talk to Ginny. He felt rather bad about it, since he had gone out with her, told her he liked her, and even almost kissed her. He thought she would be mad at how much of a prat he was being, but when he spoke to her in the common room, she was her usual friendly self.

One Tuesday, when Harry was a bit late to the Great Hall for lunch, as he had been held back in Potions (to clean out the wall cabinets without magic), Cedric Diggory approached him.

"Hey, Harry. You seem a bit stressed these days," Cedric began slowly.

"Yeah, well, I've been a bit busy, between homework and that bloody egg."

"Well, actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Open the egg underwater. You should use the Prefect's bathroom, the password's Pine Fresh."

"What?"

"Trust me."

Harry was rather bewildered by this turn of events. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? You saved my neck when you told me about the dragons in the first task. I probably would have fainted on the spot if you didn't tell me."

"Besides," he said over Harry's protests, "we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, we are. But we're also competitors!"

"Harry," Cedric said. "Does it really matter that much who wins? I'd be just as happy if either of us won. We're both from Hogwarts, after all. Personally, I don't mind about the money and eternal glory, and I know that you don't either. If the four of us play solo, then there's really an equal chance for each of us to win, but we team up, then Krum and Fleur don't really stand a chance, do they?"

Harry considered his options for a little, and finally replied, "A team, huh. I think I'd like that."

(-) – (-) – (-) – (-) – (-)

That evening, Harry went to the Prefect's bathroom. He still felt a little doubtful about Cedric's advice, but he still went to the entrance and gave the password, "Pine Fresh." Sure enough, the door opened, revealing a gigantic bathroom. The egg, when placed underwater, sounded like singing rather than screaming. Finally, with the help of a rather intrusive Moaning Myrtle and a window, Harry realized that he would have to face merpeople in the Black Lake. The only problem was, Harry was terrible at swimming. Trying not to panic, he headed back to the common room. There, he saw Ginny, waiting on a couch.

"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed. He quickly headed over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm really sorry we couldn't spend much time together."

"It's okay, Harry." She gave him a small smile. "I know how busy you've been, what with the Triwizard Tournament. You don't have to spend too much time on me."

"Of course I should. It's just - well, it's been a bit hectic, is all."

"I get it, Harry." Ginny smiled again before continuing. "So, went out for a night-time stroll?"

"I went to figure that bloody egg out. Cedric told me to hold it underwater before listening to it."

"Why'd he tell you that?" Ginny frowned. "Aren't you two supposed to be competitors?"

"That's what I said," Harry laughed. "But he said that he wanted to repay me for the tip I gave him about the dragons in the first task. He wants to form a team with me."

"A team?"

"Yeah. He says we'll be stronger if we work together. It doesn't matter who wins, really, since we're both from Hogwarts. Plus, none of us care about the eternal glory or fame," Harry added.

"Well, I think it's a great idea! If you work together, Krum and Fleur don't stand a chance. So, what did you find out?" Ginny asked.

"For the second task, the merpeople will 'take something that I'll sorely miss.' I'll get an hour to look for it in the Black Lake."

"An hour? How could you possibly breathe underwater for an hour?"

"That's not even my first concern," Harry said grimly.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"I can't swim," Harry stated simply.

"You can't swim?"

"Never learned it," Harry admitted. "My aunt and uncle never sent me to swimming lessons. I think they hoped I would drown one lucky day."

"Oh. Well, you're going to have to learn, then."

"How? It's not like we have a swimming pool at Hogwarts. And the lake is freezing right now."

Ginny thought for a moment. "I once heard of a room.."

"A room. Swim in a room?"

"Yeah, Fred and George told me about it. They were once running away from Filch when they stumbled upon a broom closet they could hide in and Filch couldn't find them. It's really strange, because it was a blank wall at first, before a door just suddenly appeared to the broom closet. Filch couldn't see the door, either, from what they could tell."

"That's a nice story," Harry said, surprised. "But what does it have to do with this?"

"Well, Fred and George still know exactly where that door was, but it hasn't appeared again," Ginny informed him. "There was also no indication that something was there on the Marauder's Map. They did some research and, apparently, the founders built another secret room into the castle. No, not like the Chamber of Secrets," she added when she saw Harry's look. "It's a room that answers the need of the user. For example, Fred and George needed a place to hide…"

"So it turned into a broom cabinet," Harry finished. "So… If you would be in desperate need of a bathroom…"

"That's clever, Harry." Ginny laughed.

"Is there any proof that this room actually exists?" Harry asked.

"Not that I know of. But there have been a lot of stories, plus Fred and George's experience… The Chamber of Secrets was also based on stories," she reminded him.

"Well… I guess you're right. So, if this room exists, Fred and George know exactly where it is?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't they use it again?" Harry asked.

"They don't know how," Ginny replied simply.

Harry's eyes lighted up. He had an idea. "Dobby!"

CRACK!

"Good evening, Mr. Potter, sir! What can Dobby do for you?"

"I have a question for you, Dobby," Harry said. "Have you ever heard of a room in Hogwarts that takes the form of whatever the user needs at that moment?"

Dobby answered immediately. "Yes, sir. We house elves call it the Come and Go Room, but it is more commonly known as the Room of Requirement."

"More commonly known, you say?" Harry inquired. "How many people do exactly know of this room?"

"Oh, not many people, sir. Only a few people have found it over the generations, sir."

"That's great!" Ginny exclaimed. "Can you show us how to use it, Dobby?"

"It is very easy to use, miss," Dobby squeaked. "You just walk past the blank wall three times and think about what you need. Then, the door will appear to the room, miss."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. It seemed like they had discovered one of Hogwarts deepest secrets, perhaps even one Dumbledore didn't know about. "We should keep this for ourselves for now," Harry said.

"I agree." Ginny affirmed. "But we should tell Fred and George. They would be furious we let them out of this."

Harry laughed. "Very true. And Ron and Hermione, I think."

"Well, that's it. You can learn how to swim, Harry!"

Harry paled. "How?"

"Oh it's easy," Ginny reassured him. "I'll teach you."

(-) – (-) – (-) – (-) – (-)

Starting from the next day, Ginny gave him swimming lessons every evening. Harry found himself thinking about her more and more, even daydreaming during the lessons. Hermione noticed something was going on, of course. Harry knew that she probably had a good idea about what was happening, but thankfully, she kept quiet. Harry knew he was falling for the youngest Weasley. He couldn't do anything about it, and to be quite honest, he didn't want to do anything about it. He loved spending time with her and became more and more attracted to her. Seeing her in a two piece bathing suit during his swimming lessons wasn't doing much good for his teenage hormones, either. He knew if Ron could watch in his head, he would strangle Harry in his sleep, best mate or not.

Although Harry and Ginny were spending much more time together now, and in the eyes of most of the Gryffindor students, were actually dating, they still weren't technically a couple yet. Harry knew he wanted her, and that she wanted him (unless he was very mistaken), but he was completely new at this. He had never kissed a girl before, let alone had a relationship. His only female friend was Hermione, and he barely knew Parvati and Lavender. Harry knew that he had to make a move, sooner or later.

"That's it, Harry!" Ginny yelled from the side of the pool. "You're getting really good. I'm certain you can swim to the bottom of the lake now."

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Now we only have that tiny problem of breathing underwater for an hour."

"Don't worry, we'll find something," Ginny reassured him while they were walking back to the common room. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly Harry brought it up, the thing that had been nagging him. "There's a Hogsmeade visit the weekend after the second task."

"There is?" Ginny asked. She couldn't help but smile to herself. She had known about the Hogsmeade trip for days, from the moment the message had been hung at the board in the common room. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Michael Corner had both asked her out, but she rejected them, still waiting for Harry.

"Yeah," Harry continued. "Would you, I mean do you want to.. Do you want to go with me?"

Ginny's heart started beating faster. She couldn't help it. He was Harry Potter, probably the most famous wizard in Britain and still he was here, asking her out as shy as can be. "I'd love to, Harry." She had the widest smile on her face, barely noticing that they were at the entrance to the Gryffindor dormitories.

"So we er, we'll go, then," Harry stuttered.

Ginny took his hand. "What are you so nervous about, Harry? You're stammering like an idiot," she said with a teasing smile.

"It's just. I really like you, Ginny. And I don't want things to be weird with you being Ron's sister and all, but I really want to be with you." Harry's heart flushed. Had he really just said that?

Ginny gazed into those green eyes she had come to know so well over the past weeks. "I'd really like that," she whispered. She closed the space between her and Harry and Harry leaned in, closing the gap between their heads. When their lips met, Harry's heart jolted around in his chest. This was the most amazing feeling he had ever felt. He wanted to stay here forever, one hand on her back and one caressing her beautiful, long, red hair…

"Ahem?"

Harry and Ginny let go of each other and looked at the Fat Lady. Except, the Fat Lady wasn't there. Apparently, Hermione was on her way to the library when the portrait hole opened, revealing Harry and Ginny in a very tight embrace. Over Hermione's shoulder, the boyfriend and girlfriend saw half Gryffindor stare at them with open mouths.

The fact that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were dating was apparently big news at Hogwarts. Of course, every student in the school knew Harry, but Ginny was also rather known. The Weasleys were a well-known pureblood family and they were all very easily recognized by their flaming red hair and freckles.

Harry had to endure some bantering over the next few days. He didn't mind much, because most of the time, it was in a light-hearted and joking manner. Except for Malfoy, of course.

"So, got a hold of the blood traitor girl, eh, Potter."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"I don't understand why you can touch her, Potter. Especially since the Dark Lord's already used her and thrown her away." Draco obviously knew that it was Ginny that had opened the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry lost his temper, shouting out, "Furnunculus!" Malfoy's face erupted in boils, much to the amusement of many passing-by students.

Unfortunately for Harry, Snape also happened to be walking by.

"50 points from Gryffindor, Potter. And a week's worth of detention," Snape sneered.

Harry shrugged and walked on. He had agreed to meet Cedric in the library, wanting to talk to him about the second task. When Harry finally escaped Snape's clutches, Cedric was already waiting for him.

"Sorry I'm late, had to stop and hex Malfoy on the way here."

"I can understand that," Cedric smirked. "Look. About the second task. I think I found something that could help. It's actually a charm we learned in Charms class last year, so you wouldn't know about it yet. It's called the Bubblehead Charm, and it forms a sort of air bubble around your head, and it gives you an infinite supply of fresh air. I think it'll work down in the lake."

"Sounds good," Harry said. "Is it difficult to master?"

"It's a fairly advanced charm. I had some problems with it last year," Cedric admitted. "But I'll help you. And you're a far more accomplished wizard than I am." He grinned.

"Oh, shut it, Cedric." They laughed.

Neville walked by at that moment and asked, "Hey, guys, mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, Neville," Cedric said. "What you're working on?"

"I'm doing some Herbology research for Professor Sprout on water plants. What about you? Triwizard Tournament?"

"Yeah. I have to learn the Bubblehead Charm," Harry said. He quickly explained the charm and the second task. "We have to be able to breathe underwater for an hour."

"Breathe underwater?" Neville asked. "Why don't you just use gillyweed?"

"Gillyweed?" Harry and Cedric asked in unison.

"Yeah," Neville said. "Well, the Bubblehead Charm just gives you a supply of fresh air, right? No other changes?"

"Yeah," Cedric said slowly.

"Well, Gillyweed gives you gills, so you'll be able to breathe underwater like it's your own habitat. Plus, you'll have flippers, so you'll be able to move through the water much faster."

"That's brilliant, Neville!" Harry shouted, receiving an angry glare from Madam Pince. None of the boys cared, though.

"It is," Cedric agreed, although a bit softer than Harry. "I think we should use that, Harry, instead of the Bubblehead Charm."

Harry nodded. "So Neville, where do we get Gillyweed?"

Neville's grin slowly slid of his face. "Oh," he said. "That could be a little difficult."

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return." – Moulin Rouge

A/N: Thanks to all of you who are reading the story, especially those who have left a review. Thanks also to Joonbang for helping me edit the story. Please leave a review to let me know what you think. Any criticism is welcomed.

The chapter title is a reference to 'How I Met Your Mother'.