To all of you that realized who the Americans were—and especially that Anonymous reviewer who was so excited—you guys made me smile, reading your comments. And of course, my thanks to all the reviewers. I notice and read every review you fellows leave.
Why do Harry and Hermione belong together?
Because when all is said and done, if he's there for her, she doesn't need anyone else.
"Maybe we should just stay here, Harry. Grow old together."—Hermone Granger
"Pine Fresh." I whispered. The door creaked open, and Hermione and I quickly slipped inside, closing it behind us.
I immediately wanted to become a prefect one day. The room was downright luxurious—the bathtub was the size of a small swimming pool. Instead of faucets, there was a fountain with a dozen different nozzles attached to it, presumably for different types of soap. There were several stained glass windows, adding to the beauty.
"Wow." Hermione laughed. "Being responsible has rewards. Though I don't see how this will help us solve the egg."
"Maybe it was Cedric's idea of a joke." I mused, taking off my shirt and pants. (I still had my boxers on, of course.) It had taken almost a week to find the perfect night to sneak off and follow Cedric's advice, but it looked like it was worth the wait. We'd have the place to ourselves for hours, unless any prefects were sneaking about like us.
"Not a very cruel one, then." Hermione smiled, turning the water on. Pipes creaked horribly, but steaming clear water started filling up the pool. She turned another nozzle, and huge bubbles started coming out, drifting around the room, the size of melons. I touched one, thinking it would pop, but it just bounced away. Hermione laughed and tried another nozzle.
"We have to do this every week." I sad firmly. Now the bath was being covered in a layer of what looked shockingly like snow and ice, though the room was pleasantly hot and steaming. Each nozzle probably had a magically unique soap.
"Agreed." Hermione said mischievously, tossing her shirt and her skirt away before jumping in and vanishing beneath snowdrifts. I jumped in after her. I was wiping the fake snow out of my eyes when I surfaced, but it didn't burn or sting.
"Oh, forgot to tell you. I asked Professor McGonnagall about the two American students earlier." I said.
"And?" Hermione treaded water next to me.
"She just said, 'They're the Headmaster's business, Potter, not yours or mine.'" I repeated, shaking my head. "I'm going to ask Dumbelore next time I get a chance. Or Moody. They aren't with the Durmstrang lot or Beauxbatons."
"Well, Dumbledore did want to talk to them at the Ball." Hermione pondered. "Maybe he brought them in to help find out who put your name in the cup. But I have better news." We swam over to the side, holding lightly onto the edge.
"Another 120% on a test?" I teased. Hermione flushed slightly, but was grinning.
"I got a letter back from my parents. I explained how things are for you during the summer… they said they'd be delighted to have you as a guest." She said. I noticed how cute she looked soaking wet. "If you'd still like to."
"Hmm, decisions." I pretended to think it over. "Live more with the Durseley's, go join Sirius in that cave, or your parents…"
"It's not going to be terribly interesting." Hermione said warningly. "We do go to theater or the park, and shopping sometimes, but they're normal Muggles. And my mum's a pretty bad driver. When I have friends over and they ride with us, they're like, 'Hello Mrs. Granger—'" She mimed grabbing a handhold and bracing. I laughed.
"You're still fine, so it can't be that dangerous." I grinned. "Hermione, it'd be wonderful."
"Brilliant!" Hermione said. "Oh, and one thing I found out. Sirius is the rightful owner of the Black house, did you know? I imagine it's too dangerous for him to go there right now, but when his name gets cleared, or if he can make it unplottable… you could move in with him permanently."
"I'll ask him about it." I said seriously, making a note to send him an owl in the morning.
"You know, we should be working on the egg." Hermione said regretfully, looking over at it. She pushed herself up a bit on the edge, pulled it closer.
"It'll just screech if you open it." I warned.
She did anyway. The nails on a chalkboard sounded again, and she quickly slammed it shut. I smacked it in frustration, sending it to the bottom of the pool.
"Maybe that's it!" Hermione said excitedly, staring down at the slight gold shimmer. "Underwater! Sound waves are changed by water!"
"Might as well give it a go." I shrugged. We dove down together, and Hermione turned the top. The sides fell open again, but instead of a horrible screech, it was a song.
"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took." There was a slight pause, and the song restarted. We heard it through once more, then surfaced.
"Brilliant, Hermione!" I congratulated her, as soon as I got a breath of air.
"The Black Lake!" Hermione said, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "There's merpeople in the Black Lake."
"I have to get something from the Merpeople in the Black Lake," I finished, spitting water, "and I'll have an hour to do it." We treaded water in silence for a moment.
"An hour in the Black Lake?" Hermione wondered, treading water.
"I can only swim decently." I said, unhappy at the thought. "An hour to look, and it's a task? It'll be hidden in deep water. How am I supposed to dive deep enough?"
"We'll have to find a spell, to breath underwater." Hermione said. "Or maybe you can use scuba gear."
"Scuba gear?" I wondered.
"Muggles use it to dive and stay underwater." She explained. "They—"
"I know what scuba gear is, Hermione." I shook my head. "An oxygen tank, with a breathing hose, and a diving mask… I just don't know how I'd get some in time. Fly off during a Hogsmeade Weekend to buy some?"
"I could send an owl to my parents, have them buy some and have it delivered by broomstick." Hermione shrugged. Which was a little odd to see, as the water was up to her neck. "But I think there has to be a charm. This is a magic tournament, after all."
"Well, we've got time, a couple days." I dived down, capped the egg, and put it on the side of the pool. "We can research it at the library, or ask Moody."
"We'll found out what it is, we're halfway there." Hermione said brightly, pushing the egg away. We went over to the wading end of the bathtub. There was silence for a few moments, us looking at each other, the egg, looking around the room…
"This is actually kind of weird." I remarked lightly, looking at Hermione. She looked a little alarmed.
"What do you mean?" She asked quickly. I smiled.
"Every year, most of my time is spent worrying about Voldemort, or getting killed in some fashion." I joked. "First year we were worried about the Stone, then about the Chamber of Secrets, then we thought Sirius was a nutter out to kill me…"
"And this year you got entered into this competition." Hermione continued. "So what's weird?"
"Having fun!" I grinned, picking her up around the waist and spinning both around once. She shrieked in surprise, laughing. "We're always dealing with situations where someone's about to die, or some horrible danger. I can't believe we're actually having a good time for a change!"
"Maybe we should see that this becomes a normal activity." Hermione said, laughing again as she splashed me. I kissed her lightly, feeling her smile as wet lips brushed each other.
"Agreed."