Harry leant back against the tree behind him and studied the golden egg that was sitting in his lap. It had been a week since he had collected the egg during the First Task and he had yet to figure out what it meant.

To be fair though, he hadn't actually spent much time trying. Sirius and Remus had both suggested that he take a week to relax first and he'd done his best to do so. It hadn't been easy, but knowing that the Second Task wasn't until mid-February had definitely helped.

But the week was up now, so he could finally study the egg. It was oddly heavy given that it was empty on the inside, and there weren't any marks or grooves on the outside.

Harry pulled out his wand and cast a silencing spell around him, before bracing himself and opening the lid. He shuddered as the sound of screeching immediately filled the air – it was far worse than he had remembered. Peering inside the egg, Harry frowned in frustration when he saw that there were no markings there either. Which meant that, given that he knew that the shape of the egg was related to the original First Task (before they had decided that getting six dragons was far too complex), the only clue was the sound coming out of it.

Shutting the lid, Harry shook his head to try and get rid of the ringing in his ears. The screeching hadn't been a constant monotone, there had been tones and pauses to it– though all the tones had been equally goose-bump inducing. Still the different tones suggested that there was definitely more to the noise than just screeching. Was that the clue? The problem was that Harry couldn't figure out what different tones might have to do with anything, let alone water.

Though the water wasn't necessarily connected – after all, Bagman could have been talking about the Third Task when he mentioned it. So he had a screeching sound, and possibly water.

Harry groaned and thumped his head backwards against the tree trunk. How in Merlin's name was he supposed to figure this out? He looked back at the golden egg and glared at it. It was just sitting there looking perfectly innocent, as though it had no idea how much frustration it was causing him. Which it likely didn't, given that it was an inanimate object, but you never knew in the magical world.

A bell rang faintly from inside the castle and Harry looked up towards the sound in surprise. Had he really just sat thinking for an entire hour without coming up with any kind of plan of attack? He hoisted himself to his feet and, tucking the egg under his arm, began the trek back towards the castle.

The best thing to do would be to presume that Bagman's comment about water was related to the Second Task and start the research there. Then, if nothing turned up, he could abandon the water idea and move on. At least that way he would cover the smaller area of research first. Though water was really quite vague and could mean a lot of things – it was a good thing he had two months to figure it out.

25-25-25

When Harry pushed open the door the Come and Go Room later that day he was surprised to see a replica of the Elladora Living Room from Grimmauld Place rather than the usual duelling room. The second surprising thing was that Remus was there, sitting in an armchair beside Sirius.

"Come and have a seat, Harry." Sirius instructed him with a grim smile.

Harry studied his godfather's expression in concern, before turning to Remus were was looking just as grim. "What's going on?"

"Have a seat." Sirius said again, before leaning forward picking up a teapot that was sitting on the table in the middle of the armchairs. "Tea?"

Harry chose the seat opposite Sirius and Remus and slowly sank into it. "Yes, thank you."

Nobody spoke as Sirius poured the tea but, when Sirius had handed Harry and Remus' their cups and was seated again with a cup of his own, Harry repeated his earlier question.

"What's going on?"

"I was on guard duty at the Department of Mysteries last night." Sirius explained grimly.

Harry's stomach dropped as he recalled the conversation they'd had the week before about the possible existence of a prophecy. He hadn't forgotten about it of course, he didn't think that would have been possible, but he'd done his best not to think about it.

"And I found a prophecy with your name on it." Sirius continued. "I don't know what it says, only the subjects' of prophecies can activate the globes that the prophecies are kept in, but it definitely had your name on it."

"Tell him the rest too, Sirius." Remus chided gravely.

"It had your name and You-Know-Who's name." Sirius admitted reluctantly. "It said that it was given by S.P.T., whoever that is, and that it was witnessed by A.P.W.B.D. There's only one person I know with that many names whose first name starts with A and last name starts with D."

"Dumbledore." Harry muttered numbly.

"Right." Sirius growled darkly. "Secretive bastard."

"You alright, Harry?" Remus asked gently.

Harry bit the side of his cheek to try and fight the numbness that felt as though it was spreading through his body. "I don't know."

"We still don't know what it says." Sirius pointed out. "For all we know the prophecy has already been fulfilled."

"Then why wouldn't Dumbledore have told someone?" Harry asked.

"Good question." Sirius admitted. "But there's no point in getting too worked up about it until we know what it actually says."

"And even then there's no point in getting worked up it." Remus added. "Prophecies are strange things, but there's no point letting them control your life."

Harry stood up. "Can we go look at it now?"

"Well, that depends on whether or not we want people to know that you've been." Sirius told him, standing as well. "But we can break you out of school if that's what you're asking."

"Voldemort already knows that it exists, right?" Harry asked impatiently. "And he already wants to kill me, so him knowing isn't going to make anything worse."

"And Dumbledore?" Remus asked curiously.

"Screw Dumbledore!" Harry snapped.

Sirius let out a surprised laugh. "I'd rather not, thanks."

"I don't care if other people know." Harry said, in a calmer tone. "I just want to go and destroy it, if I can."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance.

"I don't know if you can destroy prophecies, Harry." Sirius commented.

"I bet my blasting curse could do it." Harry exclaimed passionately.

Sirius let out another laugh. "Alright, let me rephrase that – I don't know if you're allowed to destroy prophecies."

"I don't give a bloody rat's tail about what anyone else thinks!" Harry snapped in frustration.

"Yeah, I'm picking that up." Sirius nodded. "But I think that tomorrow you just might, so I'm going to be the level head here and suggest that we wait until you've calmed down before leaving the castle."

Harry clenched his hands into fists. "What if I don't want a level head involved? There's a bloody prophecy about me and Voldemort! What if he gets to it first?"

"I doubt that another day is going to make a difference." Sirius commented evenly. "But the quicker you calm down, the more likely I am to take you tonight."

Harry closed his eyes and clenched his jaw in frustration. "That's not fair!"

"Ah," Remus muttered quietly. "So there is a teenager in there after all. I had been wondering."

Harry's eyes snapped open and he glared at the werewolf.

"That's not exactly helpful, Remus!" Sirius sounded more amused than anything. "Listen, Harry, why don't you spend some time meditating?"

Harry couldn't think of anything he wanted to do less. "So you're not going to let me go and see a prophecy that's about me, and you're not going to teach me how to duel either? Do you want Voldemort to kill me or something?!"

"Of course not!" Sirius exclaimed, frustration creeping into his tone. "Just sit down and meditate already."

Harry glared darkly, but moved across to the far side of the room and settled down on the floor. He'd meditate alright, but he wasn't going to calm down! How the bloody hell could he knowing that there was a prophecy out there about him and Voldemort?

Shutting his eyes, Harry gritted his teeth and started his breathing. Sirius thought this would calm him down? He'd show Sirius when he came out of it just as angry as he was now.

25-25-25

Harry didn't know how long he had mediated for but, as he eventually pulled himself back to reality, he felt a flood of shame and guilt. How could he have gone off at Sirius and Remus like that? He didn't think he had ever been so rude to an adult in his life. What if they were angry with him? He was sure that they would be – he couldn't believe that he'd actually accused Sirius of wanting Voldemort to kill him, and the tone he'd used had been so disrespectful!

He opened his eyes and looked around the room. Sirius and Remus were still sitting on the armchairs and they seemed to playing some kind of game with playing cards. Harry's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of facing up to them, but he stood up regardless. He might not be a Gryffindor, but he definitely wasn't a coward either.

Sirius and Remus both turned towards him immediately and Harry could feel his face flushing in shame.

"How are you feeling, pup?" Sirius asked gently.

"Embarrassed." Harry admitted, cautiously moving closer. "Please accept my heartfelt apology for my intolerable behaviour earlier. My words and my tone were disrespectful and…"

"It's alright." Sirius interrupted him, standing up and grabbing Harry in a hug. "Well, no, it's not alright, but we forgive you – don't we, Moony."

"Of course." Remus agreed.

Sirius released Harry and stepped back. "If you think that behaviour was intolerable you should have seen some of the fits that your dad and I threw when we were your age."

"Not to mention when you were older." Remus commented with a smirk.

Sirius pulled a face at his friend, before turning back to Harry. "Which isn't an invitation for you to try and reach our levels of teenage drama."

Harry smiled weakly. "Thanks, Sirius."

Sirius sat down and again and gestured for Harry to do the same. "Do you have any new ideas of what you want to do about the prophecy?"

"I want to go and see it." Harry answered. "I don't think it matters if Voldemort knows that I know what it says…"

"Except that Lucius has put his neck on the line for you." Sirius interrupted seriously. "You're forgetting that You-Know-Who thinks that the Malfoys are wooing you over to his side."

Harry's stomach dropped, he hadn't considered that. "He said he'd kill them if I don't defect."

"Right." Sirius agreed. "Now you've still got half a year until his deadline, but if he knew that you knew about the prophecy it might make things harder for Lucius."

"You make it sound like Harry's still deciding whether or not to join him." Remus groused.

Harry ignored him. "So does that mean that I can't go and see the prophecy?"

"No," Sirius assured him quickly. "It just means we have to be more strategic about it."

Harry slumped back in his chair in frustration. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Remus and I have been talking, and we think that you should go during Winter Break." Sirius answered patiently. "That way your absence from Hogwarts won't draw attention and we can schedule it for a time when one of us, or Tonks, are on guard."

Harry frowned. "But what if Voldemort gets there first?"

"Well, I don't know what the prophecy could say that would make him want to kill you anymore." Sirius pointed out. "And if he destroys it, we can just try and force Dumbledore to tell us about it."

"Except that You-Know-Who isn't trying to kill Harry at the moment." Remus reminded them.

"True." Sirius groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

"Couldn't we sneak out one evening?" Harry asked. "Or are there wards that tell Dumbledore when a student leaves?"

"There can't be," Sirius answered. "He never caught us when were snuck into Hogsmeade and bought some butterbeer."

Remus grimaced. "Way to go on being a good influence, Sirius."

"So when are you next on guard?" Harry asked, his knee bouncing in anticipation.

"I'm not on for another few weeks." Sirius admitted.

"I'm on Thursday night." Remus said.

"So we could go then?" Harry asked excitedly.

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance before nodding. "Alright."

25-25-25

Sitting through classes the next day was torturous. It was so hard to concentrate on Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration and the uses of Valerian Sprigs when he had both the prophecy and the golden egg swirling through his brain.

After classes were finally finished, Harry met his friends in the Come and Go Room for their Animagus practise and brought the golden egg with him – as was becoming his practise. He knew that it was illogical, but there was a desperate part of him that hoped that if he looked at the egg enough times he would understand the clue. Not that he was relying solely on that, he also had three different books on all things 'water' in his bag.

After they had finished their practise, and had discussed the new progress that they had made (all of them could now transform at least one of their limbs), Harry turned his thoughts to the golden egg as his friends talked about other things.

"…Harry?" Fred's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Harry turned to face the older boy. "Pardon?"

"Have you figured out the golden egg yet?" Fred asked curiously.

"No," Harry admitted with a sigh. "I think it's got something to do with water, but I don't know what. And I think that the sound coming out of the egg has different tones to it."

"Huh." Fred glanced towards where the egg was sitting next to Harry's bag. "Give us a listen then."

Most of the others groaned. "No, don't!"

"My ears might fall off if I have to hear that horrible sound again."

"Go outside and do it!"

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, moving over to pick up the egg. "Cast a silencing charm if you don't want to hear the egg."

"Is it really that bad?" George asked a little fearfully.

"It is the worst noise I have heard in my life!" Theo exclaimed feelingly.

Harry settled back down on the floor and placed the egg in his lap. "Are you ready?"

"Not yet." Draco told him, pulling out his wand and casting a silencing charm around himself.

"Now?" Harry asked, and, when the only replies were Fred, George and Takashi's nods, he pried open the lid.

"Merlin!" Fred shouted over the noise. "That's awful!"

"I know." Harry agreed, shutting the lid again.

George was rubbing at his ears. "I see what you mean about different tones though."

"There also seemed to be pauses in the sound." Takashi commented. "They are not long, but not all languages have pauses of the same length as English does."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "You think it's a language?"

"It would make sense." Fred commented.

"What would?" Draco asked, having apparently lowered the silencing charm.

"The screeching noise being a language." Harry explained.

"It's not like any language I've ever heard." Neville commented with an amused grin.

"So it's probably a magical creature then." George commented. "When Charlie was younger he used to go on and on about how all magical creatures have their own languages."

"But it sounds so horrible." Draco's voice was almost a whine. "Who would talk like that?"

"Someone who lived in the middle of nowhere." Theo laughed. "Can you imagine if people spoke like that at Hogsmeade, the entire town would hear them."

Daphne tilted her head to the side. "Or people who lived underwater."

Harry's mouth dropped open and he stared at her. "You're a genius!"

Daphne's cheeks flushed pink.

"But how is that supposed to help Harry?" Theo asked in confusion. "So what if it's a language that's used by magical creatures that live underwater – how is Harry supposed to know what it means?"

"It gives me a place to start." Harry defended Daphne, already making plans to return all his library books and get out new ones with magical creatures in them.

"Did the Marauders' Apprentices use a language potion last week?" Neville asked thoughtfully. "Maybe you could find one that will let you understand the egg."

Harry tried not to look at Draco and Luna, he was sure that if he did he would give the game away and he enjoyed having the secret far too much. "That's a good idea. Thanks, Neville. I'll have to figure out what language it is first though."

"It shouldn't be that hard, should it?" Draco asked. "How many horrible sounding underwater languages can there be?"

25-25-25

Hours later, after dinner was over and Harry had holed himself up in his bed with two large tomes on magical creatures found in water, Harry silently cursed Draco's optimism. He'd had no idea how many magical creatures lived underwater. There were hundreds of them just in England, let alone across the rest of the world.

Harry grimaced in horror as he came across a particularly terrifying creature – hopefully they wouldn't have to fight anything like that. Though, given that the original First Task had involved dragons, he was sure that if magical creatures were involved they would be extremely dangerous ones.

The next creature in the book didn't seem that dangerous, but neither did it have a known language. Harry groaned and pushed the book of his knees, before sliding down in his bed. This was going to take forever!