Sorry it took so long to get this chapter done! There's a list of things that prevented me from doing so, but I'll not bore you with that.
I was really excited to get this chapter done for two reasons:
a) It's the second task, and I had been looking forward to it since the first task ended
b) It's one step closer to the third task, which I'm really looking forward to. I loved the third task, though in the movie version, that was only for the atmosphere they created in it. Other than that, it was all wrong! Harry and Cedric were trying to kill each other! I mean, come on! They're supposed to- I'll stop rambling and just leave that for when I actually write the chapter.
Wow, now this story is longer than either of the others! I mean, I know it was before, but now it's longer in both words and chapters! Although this chapter is a little shorter than the last few, I hope you'll still enjoy! And I know it won't make up for the long wait, but I'll try to put the next one up soon. I can't make any promises though, as my AS modules are coming up in January and the mocks are over the next few weeks - they have to be done and marked by the 9th December.
Please R&R!
Chapter Seventeen
When I woke up the next morning, Keiko and Neko still weren't back. Well, unless they got back and left again before I woke up, but since I woke at dawn due to a mixture of excitement and nerves, I highly doubt that.
I quickly dressed and found Rai in the empty common room. We sat in silence for a while, nerves getting the better of us, but as time passed, they seemed to drain away, leaving only excitement.
"We've taken what you'll sorely miss."
I turned to look at Rai, cocking my head to the side in confusion. "What?"
"'We've taken what you'll sorely miss.' That's what the riddle said. What d'you reckon it is?"
"I don't know." I answered quietly. There are a lot of things I'd sorely miss. I mean, the most obvious would be Rai – I willed myself not to flush as I thought that – but he was supposed to be working on the task with me, so that's not possible. We fell into silence once more until the other Gryffindors began to trail down the stairs, chattering eagerly about the task.
We headed down to the Great Hall when the others joined us – still sans Keiko and Neko, though. Aidan looked around with a frown as we sat at the Gryffindor table. "Where's Keiko?" Despite my own concern, I had to fight to conceal a grin at the worry on Aidan's face.
"I don't know." Sishi frowned. "I haven't seen her or Neko since they went to see Professor McGonagall."
I briefly wondered if Keiko was to be what I would 'sorely miss', but then I reasoned that if it was, Aidan would be gone as well. Or if not, either Clay or Omi. Besides, that wouldn't explain Neko's disappearance.
After breakfast we all headed down to the lake for the second task. There were large, three-storey platforms floating on the surface of the centre of the lake. We headed towards them on little boats – presumably the same boats we use in first-year – and Rai and I split from the others upon reaching the other champions.
We pulled off our tracksuits, leaving us only in our swimming suits as Master Fung, voice magically amplified, explained the task to the gathered students. "Last night, something was taken from our champions. A treasure, of sorts. Their task today is to retrieve that treasure and return within the hour. You may begin."
Rai and I glanced at each other, rather disappointed that he hadn't told us what we were supposed to be retrieving, though honestly, we hadn't really expected him to. Rai held out the Shen Gong Wu and I grabbed onto it, as we activated it in unison and dove into the water.
It was rather dark under the water and the teams quickly split up. Rai and I continued forward, trying to figure out where we were supposed to be going, when our enhanced hearing picked up the distant strains of the merpeople's riddle. "Come seek us where our voices sound…"
We quickly swam in that direction, only to be attacked by the Grindylows. I was pleased to see that my fire still worked under the water. Master Fung had never let us use our elements when we did this, though the creatures of the lake were cleared from our training area for it. It was particularly hard for Omi. I couldn't imagine having to refrain from using your element when you were surrounded by it…
As we got closer, we heard the merpeople sing again. This time it sounded like "Your time's half gone, so tarry not; lest what you seek stays here to rot." Another shared glance and we were increasing our speed.
We soon came to a clearing – well, the equivalent of a clearing underwater – and saw a large rock-type-thing. It was huge and there were merpeople around the edges, where the rushes and reeds started.
Around the rock-thing there were six people. On one face of the rock, Keiko and Neko were tied, another were who I recognised to be Cedric and Cho's best friends – Marietta Edgecombe and Daniel Wexford, the third had a small girl about ten-years-old with silvery blonde hair and my eyes widened as I saw who the sixth person was.
It was Alejandro! He had some sort of mirror around his neck, simply decorated but still beautiful, but I didn't really pay much attention to it. Rai and I were speed-swimming towards him. As we reached him, Rai reached out to cup his face. He was asleep, looking as small and innocent as ever.
I quickly burnt through the seaweed ropes binding him and Rai grabbed him as he started to sink. Then I turned to Keiko and Neko, but the merpeople suddenly sprung into life. They shot towards us, pointing their tridents at my throat. "Only take your own!" they hissed.
"But they're my friends!" I tried to protest, but they just jabbed their tridents at me again. "Okay, okay." I backed away slightly from the rock and the merpeople turned back to their sentry posts.
A quick glance at Rai told me that he understood. I couldn't just leave Keiko and Neko there with the rather vicious looking merpeople. So we waited.
Soon Cedric and Cho arrived, shooting something from their wands towards the ropes binding their friends, grabbed their arms and started to swim to the surface, tapping their wrists to indicate the time as they did.
I looked at Rai again, apologetic, but he didn't seem to mind. We hadn't entered this tournament, so while obviously we'd like to win, but it was all about having fun, really. So losing this task wouldn't matter all that much.
The merpeople shrieked and darted from sight as two sharks sped towards us. "Do sharks live in the Black Lake?" I could hear Rai ask in my head. I shook my head slowly. I didn't think so, and besides, I had never heard of sharks working together as these two did.
When they came close enough, I could see that it was actually the Durmstrang team, who had transfigured themselves into sharks. Though rather badly, they still had human legs. My eyes widened as I realised that they didn't have any hands to free Keiko and Neko – the only way they could free them was their teeth, and that would rip them apart! So I quickly disintegrated the ropes around the two and they grasped the ends of their robes in their teeth before rising towards the surface.
Rai and I waited uneasily after they left. Where were Fleur and Luc? I looked towards the little girl again. She was probably Fleur's sister, I thought, she certainly looked enough like her to be.
We finally came to the conclusion that Fleur and Luc weren't coming and I got rid of the bindings on the little girl and grabbed her arm. Rai and I started to swim towards the surface and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the merpeople had returned, but they weren't trying to stop me from taking the girl. I couldn't figure out what the expressions on their faces were as they trailed after us, but it looked strangely as if they were…pleased…
As we broke the surface the sleeping spells on Alejandro and the girl broke. I saw Fleur, wrapped in towels and a bathrobe, run to the edge of the platform, holding out her hand to the girl and calling to her in rapid French. Luc looked just as happy that she was alright.
Rai and I took one of Al's arms each and brought him to the platform, helping him up before clambering up ourselves. Towels and huge fleeces were flung at us immediately and I felt myself being drawn into a tight hug from the girls.
"What happened down there?" Aidan demanded when we were seated on the platform corner, waiting for the judges to reach their verdict – Master Fung was conversing with the merchieftain. "Cedric and Cho said you were there before they were." He groaned. "You didn't take that song seriously, did you?"
"No. It's because we're Xiaolin Dragons. We're supposed to be protecting people. We couldn't have left everyone down there, our very nature screams against it."
We were interrupted by Fleur and Luc, who thanked us for saving Gabrielle, who was, as I had guessed, Fleur's sister, and Luc their cousin.
In the end, Cedric and Cho won first place, though Rai and I won second for what Master Fung described as an 'outstanding display of moral fibre'. Fernando and Ricardo wouldn't stop calling us 'Mr and Mrs Moral Fibre' for about a week.
On the way back up to the castle, Alejandro walking in between us – he was to be sent back home after lunch – Rai seemed to notice the mirror. "What's that?"
Al glanced at it, pulling it from his neck. "Professor McGonagall and Master Fung said that I was representative of what meant most to you – family. And that the mirror would show who meant most to you."
He handed the mirror to Rai, who took one look into it and flushed bright red, before passing it back to Al. He then passed it to me, and just as I had guessed, Rai's face came to the surface. I felt my face flaming and passed it back to Al so he could return it to Master Fung before he floo-ed home.
"Who did you see?" Maria murmured as she and the other girls sat beside me at the Gryffindor table, the boys were sitting a little way away, and from what I could see, Rai was being teased mercilessly for something.
"You know what I saw." I mumbled back and saw the bright grins on her faces.
"Oh, I do. And I know what he saw too. You really should trust me, you know. At least about this. I know what I'm talking about."
I wanted to believe her – oh, how I wanted to! – but couldn't. It just didn't seem at all possible. Rai's my best friend, and that's all I am to him. No matter how much I wish I could be more.
I glanced at Rai over my shoulder. His face was scarlet now, under the ceaseless teasing he had undergone since entering the Great Hall. As if sensing my gaze, he looked up. I grinned shyly at him, kicking myself as I did so. Thankfully, he didn't react to it, just gave me a wide grin that had my own grin spread wider across my face seemingly of its own accord.
Okay, the thing I said about sharks, I've no idea if it's true.