Chapter 64: The Second Task
Zoey gave a loud yawn as she woke up from her slumber. The sun was up and most of her dorm mates were still asleep yet Zoey found herself awake and ready to move. She swung her legs of her bed and was about to stand up but found her legs failing her and she fell to the floor with a soft thump. Maybe not that ready. She gave a low groan and blinked her eyes. Her feet were still painful from her heels and all the dancing. Her eyes were still blurry from the sleep and Zoey just wondered what she was doing awake.
"It's too early," she mumbled to herself and tried to bring herself up from the floor. She slumped against her bed and rubbed her eyes. She looked to the foot of her bed and saw her black heels scattered.
"I'm guessing you're not one to clean," came a voice.
Zoey looked over to one of the beds and saw a girl sitting up and scratching the back of her head. She, Zoey, reached over to her trunk and took her glasses, not really caring on how it got there, and placed them on. She saw Jane smiling at her.
"Not a morning person?" Jane asked.
"Nope. Not at all," Zoey said groggily, "How could you be up and about?"
"Well, I am a morning person," Jane laughed, "How did you find the Yule Ball? There was quite a scene after your song"
Zoey gave a small moan at the memory. "Yeah… glad it didn't end too bad."
"It was very entertaining"
"But still. A fight. I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone," Zoey blinked the remaining sleep away
"Ruin?" Jane stood up from her bed and stretched, "I for one found it quite entertaining"
Zoey hummed in response
"But besides all that," Jane began, "It seemed like you were having fun with your little boyfriend near the end"
"Boyfriend?" Zoey's brows shot up.
"It's okay to admit it," Jane urged, "I mean, I have one too. He's boy from Ravenclaw. You know –"
"No, I mean I don't have a boyfriend," Zoey told her.
"That's a lie. Then who was the one you were getting all smitten with?"
Zoey bit her lip in thought. "You mean Harry?" she asked, "No, he's like my –"
"Not Harry Potter," Jane grinned, "The red head you were dancing with. What was his name? George?"
"Fred," Zoey corrected.
"So you admit it!"
"I admit that he's not my boyfriend," Zoey gave a laugh
"Lies!"
"Why are you so keen on knowing who I'm with a relationship with?" asked Zoey.
Jane shrugged. "I just want to get to know you better. Six or maybe seven years we've been dorm mates and the first we've spoken was last night? Where has all the time gone?"
"It's alright to get to know each other," Zoey said, "I'd like to get to know you more too but starting with my relationships?"
"You've got to start somewhere," Jane grinned.
Zoey laughed, "True"
Jane smiled at her before walking into the bathroom to get changed. Zoey climbed back into her bed and threw her pillows and blankets to the side. She wasn't going to go back to sleep anyway. She ran a hand through her hair, often stopping to get her tangles fixed before Jane walked back out. Jane's hair was held back by a hairband and she wore light make up. She fixed her laundry before walking to the door of the dorm.
"How about we get to know each other later?" she asked, "I'm meeting up with Mr. Boyfriend for breakfast, you see"
"Do I get to know Mr. Boyfriends real name?" Zoey raised an amused brow.
"Nope," Jane stuck out her tongue, "You'll get to know that later today"
And with that, Jane left.
Minutes passed by before Zoey stood up from her bed and got ready for the day herself. She would shiver at the water touching her skin and would lazily dry herself with a towel. When she looked in the mirror she would always see her morning face before a proper wash and brushing of teeth. The last of her morning activities always ended with putting on her uniform and leaving her hair to dry on a towel that hung on her shoulders.
When Zoey finally left the bathroom she saw the rest of her dorm mates begin to wake up. Even so, she quietly made her way to her suitcase; she never liked to unpack fully, and pulled out a pair of socks and her yellow leg warmers. She pulled on the socks before the leg warmers and wore her school shoes. She wrapped her scarf around her neck and threw her towel onto her bed before picking up her wand and leaving the room.
Zoey walked out of her Common Room and headed out to her favorite spot. The sun was up and the air was cold. She hugged her robes closer to her body as she sat down on her spot. She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. Sounds of birds and chattering filled the air and Zoey didn't even realize her friends approaching until they took a seat and called for her attention.
"Hey"
"Uwah!" Zoey exclaimed in surprise and fell from her slab of rock and to the grassy floor. Laughter came afterwards. Zoey opened her eyes to see Fred sitting nearest to her with Bridgit at his side. Beside Bridgit was the new couple, George and Echo. George had an arm around Echo and she was leaning into him. Zoey smiled at all of them in greeting.
"Okay, who was the one who nearly gave me heart failure?" Zoey asked and Fred raised his hand response she stuck her tongue out at him and poked his side. She didn't want their feelings for each other to make things awkward and resorted to having a sort of teasing friendship between them. Zoey knew that sooner or later she would have to give in, she just chose later.
"So, Bridgit," Fred began, facing the Ravenclaw, "We've been wonder about Mary Sue –"
"And what you have done to her –" George continued
"During the Yule Ball," Fred ended.
Bridgit smirked. "Let's just say, a certain someone got confunded back at the garden"
The twins laughed. "Brilliant"
"Thank goodness Harry made it in time," Zoey gave a sigh of relief, placing a hand over her beating heart. Weeks had passed and it was now the day of the second task and the Emeraude found herself standing beside Fred with the rest of the student body surrounding the Black Lake. Zoey gave a small gulp. She never liked the Black Lake.
"What do you think kept him?" Fred asked
"Didn't you say that you last saw him in the library?" Zoey looked at him curiously
"Yeah," Fred nodded, "He couldn't have stayed there the entire night though. Pince would have thrown him out"
"How do you know that?"
Fred grinned, "Experience," he said making Zoey role her eyes at him. The Hufflepuff then looked around and saw that everyone's attention was focused at the Black Lake. She continued to scan the audience and saw that George and Echo weren't too far from them while Bridgit wasn't too far from Echo and George. Ginny was a few seats below Zoey and Fred but Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. Zoey's brows shot up.
"You and George were told to get Ron and Hermione last night…right?" she asked Fred
"McGonagall told us to," Fred replied, "Why?"
"Do you know why they were called?"
"Well, no – Blimey! What's Harry doing?" Fred exclaimed, pointing at the Hogwarts Gryffindor Champion.
Zoey instantly directed her attention to where Fred was pointing and saw that Harry was the only one standing. The others had already jumped into the lake. She saw his hands shoot up to his throat and he seemed like he was having a hard time breathing. Zoey began to worry. She didn't know what was happening to Harry and she didn't know what was going to happen to him in the lake. Zoey deeply regretted not asking Bridgit about the events planned for the second task.
All of a sudden, Harry dove into the deep part of the lake. Within seconds, he was out of sight.
"What do you suppose they're going to be doing down there?" Fred asked, "First task: Fight a dragon and get the golden egg. Second task: Fight the giant squid and get a pearl?"
Zoey gasped. "You don't think the Giant Squid would get hurt, do you?"
Fred gave her an amused look. "Zoe, it's a Giant Squid – aren't you more worried about Harry and the rest?"
"Fred, they're wizards – I'm sure they can take care of themselves but a squid –"
"Who is of a ginormous size can take care of itself too"
"It's a Giant squid, Fred, not ginormous," Zoey paused, "Why are we even talking about this? We don't even know if they're going to fight the squid or not!"
"I know," Fred grinned, "But it's fun"
Zoey raised her brow at him in an amused manner before looking back at the lake. The lake was as calm as ever and not even a ripple in the water could tell them what was happening. Zoey began to play with the ends of her scarf that no longer gave a cold soothing temperature, as she waited for something to happen. Minutes passed and soon everyone was watching had gone into restless curiosity. Murmurs filled the air with guesses and bets.
Zoey tried to block them all out, she wanted to focus on her own thoughts, but couldn't stop her curiosity. She began to listen in on the student's guesses on what the contestants were going to do in the lake. As Zoey tried her best not to think of the worst-case scenario, a student suddenly exclaimed: "Look! Someone's coming!"
All heads turned to look at the center of the lake and indeed someone was coming up. It was Fleur. Zoey watched as the Beauxbatons champion gasped for air and began to swim back to shore where she was helped out of the lake and onto the bank where the judges stayed.
"Hmm… No pearl," Fred spoke, scratching the back of his head.
"And no suction cup marks on her skin," Zoey added, "It couldn't have been the squid"
"Then what could they be fighting down there?" Fred asked
"Well, be open-minded. What makes you think they need to be fighting something down there?"
"What else could they be doing? Answering trick questions?" Fred raised a brow, "Come on, Zoe, they can be doing that than on land where everyone can see what's happening"
Zoey bit her lip. He had a point. "Okay then. Maybe they have to go against merpeople or grindylows"
"Grindy –" Fred paused, "I think Madam Pomfrey is calling for you"
"Huh?" Zoey looked towards the bank where Fleur was standing with a towel and shivering. There, standing beside Fleur was Madam Pomfrey who was beckoning Zoey over.
Zoey, out of habit, began to walk away from her seat to get to the school nurse but before she could pass three feet, Fred caught her hand. Zoey turned around and raised a brow.
"You're going to leave me all alone?" Fred pouted.
"I need to help Madam Pomfrey treat Fleur and the other champions," Zoey offered a smile, "Besides George and Echo are coming this way"
Fred looked behind him and indeed his twin and his twin's girlfriend were making their way to him, pushing the occasional student out of the way. Fred gave a laugh.
"I'll meet up with you guys later, okay?"
"Alright," Fred turned to Zoey and without thinking, leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek. Fred didn't know what made him do such an affectionate action. Sure, he likes her and she likes him back but they came to an agreement, well he didn't have a choice in the matter seeing as there was nothing he could do, that they would not and could not be in a relationship. Within a second after realizing his action, Fred's eyes widened and straightened up
"Zoe –"
"It's alright," Zoey blushed, "I don't mind"
"You don't?" Fred's brows shot up
"It was a kiss on the cheek, an impulse, a – a," Zoey paused, "Let's face it, you – I can't help it."
Fred opened his mouth but closed it again and nodded his head. "Zoe, you're right, I can't help it, you can't help it. Why stop it?"
"Because, Fred, this it will end up hurting us in the end," Zoey said, "I don't want to hurt you"
"What makes you think I'll get hurt? I'm a macho man," Fred told her.
Zoey gave a laugh. "Are you sure?"
"I work out. You know, Quidditch and all," Fred grinned
"Yeah right, the broom does all the flying," Zoey grinned as well.
Fred feigned hurt. "Ouch, Zoey, you hurt me," he said to her, "What do you think hits those nasty Bludgers away?"
"Hmm," Zoey pretended to think, "The bat?"
"And who's holding the bat?"
Zoey opened her mouth and closed it. "Fine, Fine, You win!" she laughed before poking Fred in the stomach, "But your arms do all the work. You're still as mushy and soft as mashed potatoes right there" she then stuck out her tongue at him before running away, not letting Fred get a say on anything, and heading towards the bank where Madam Pomfrey and Fleur were.
Zoey approached the Beauxbatons champion and saw the many scratches on the beautiful girl's face. Zoey gave her another towel and took the wet one away before handing her a robe to at least stop the shivering.
"What happened down there?" Zoey asked in a small voice, she never spoke the Fleur before and she hoped that she wasn't the same as Mary Sue.
"You… you're ze girl who zat Mary Sue yelled at ze ball," Fleur looked Zoey up and down, scrutinizing her. Zoey blushed.
"Well, yeah," Zoey answered, "She yelled at me, Echo, the twins and Bridgit"
"Who?"
"Nothing. My friends," Zoey said simply, giving the French girl a smile, "Are you friends with Mary Sue?"
Fleur scoffed and wrinkled her nose. "Friends? With 'eh? Of course not!" she said, "Zat Mary Sue. Pretty on ze outside but a 'ideous woman in ze inside. I wouldn't dream of associating with 'er" Fleur paused, "In fact. I was very – 'ow you say it?- astonished zat you and your friends angered Mary Sue," she sniffed, "She is, as you say, very prissy"
Zoey snorted at what Fleur had said and Fleur wrinkled her nose at the sound of the snort.
"You can say that again," Zoey said, "Do the scratches hurt?"
Fleur shook her head.
"Alright. So, if you don't mind me asking, but what happened down there?" Zoey asked as she played with the ends of her scarf once more, she really wanted to know. She wanted to know what Harry was going against.
At her question, Fleur directed her gaze at the Black Lake and her expression read worry. Zoey's brows knitted together. "What happened?"
"I was attacked by ze Grindylows… zey – Oh! Gabrielle!" Fleur said worriedly, searching the lake for any signs of someone coming out.
"Gabrielle?"
"My little sister. She's down there. What would zey do to 'er? What would 'appen? I was suppose to save 'er!"
Zoey rubbed Fleur's back. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine," she told her, "The headmaster wouldn't take any chances on getting one of the students hurt"
Time passed and there was still no sign of any other champion coming. Soon, the one-hour time limit had ended and the crowd continued their restless guessing and chattering. A minute went by and Cedric emerged from the water, whipping his face with his hand while Cho was gasping for air and doing the same.
Zoey ran to a table to get the towels while the two began swimming towards the bank. By the time Zoey returned Cedric and Cho were already lifted onto the bank and had already taken the Pepperup Potion. She gave them each a towel and inspected them for any wounds.
"Are you alright?" Zoey asked them; maybe they could have a sprained ankle or something she missed. Cho gave her a shaky nod while Cedric just grinned at her an said a "I'm fine, thank you"
"What happened down there and where did Cho come from?" Zoey looked at Cedric.
Cedric was just about to answer her questions but a loud cheer came from the Durmstang group and Zoey and Cedric directed their attention back to the lake to see Viktor come out of the water with Hermione, who was brushing her hair away from her face and gasping for breath.
Zoey waved her wand and summoned two more towels, which flew to her in an instant. Viktor had no problem in getting out of the lake and helped Hermione out as well. He, Viktor, didn't seem to need one of the big, thick towels and instead settled with a small one to wipe the water away from his face and a roe to cover his body. Zoey looked back at Hermione and offered her one of the towels.
"Hermione, are you okay?" Zoey asked, seeing the girl's lips turn blue.
"I – I'm fine," Hermione said through chattering teeth, "Just a little cold is all"
Zoey gave a small laugh and handed her the second towel before standing up and reaching for a bottle on the table. She gave Hermione the Pepperup Potion and waited patiently for the girl to finish.
"What were you and Cho doing in the Black Lake?" Zoey asked, taking the potion in her hands, "Fleur was the first to come out and was pretty worried that she wasn't able to save her sister… Gabrielle was it?"
Hermione nodded her head.
"It's the task," Hermione said, "They have to save the thing – err – person they will miss the most. For Fleur was her sister, Gabrielle, and for Cedric was Cho. Viktor –"
"Would miss you the most," Zoey grinned at her before looking over at Fleur and saw that she was near hysterical with the absence of her sister. "But what would happen to Gabrielle?"
"I don't know," Hermione said, "But surely they wouldn't just leave her there?" she then paused, "Where could Harry be?"
"He should be up by now," Cedric said from behind the two girls, making them jump a bit. He apologized. "He was there when I saved Cho, I think he was the first to come"
"The first," Zoey said in disbelief, "But he should be up by now! Who was he saving?"
"The Weasley boy, I believe," Cedric replied.
"But what would take him so long? I'm sure Ron wouldn't be putting up a fight if Harry was saving him," Zoey cried.
"He's playing the hero," Hermione told her, "I bet he saved Gabrielle too"
Zoey looked at Hermione and to Fleur and to the Black Lake. Her gaze lingered at the body of water. She bit her lip in worry. He was supposed to save Ron and if he indeed saved Fleur's sibling would he be able to make it to the surface? Was he even allowed to do that? Zoey gasped. What if it was against the rules and some magic-mutant-seaweed was now chocking him.
Zoey felt like it was her turn to go into a hysterical worry but before she could even start Harry, Ron and a blonde girl, whom she guessed was Gabrielle, burst out of the water, all gasping for breath. Zoey instant bent over at the edge of the bank and waited for them to come closer while Percy right out ran towards the three. Zoey looked back and saw that Madam Maxine was holding on to Fleur, stopping her from moving from her place. Fleur was in hysterics, trying to fight her way to her sister.
She, Zoey, looked back to the lake and saw Percy bringing Ron back to shore, though Ron was trying to stop him, and Harry was trying to help Gabrielle. Zoey, at the clear sight of her god brother, ran to him while Gabrielle ran to her sister.
"You're alright," Zoey hugged the black haired boy and kissed his forehead, "You're alright"
Harry hugged her back and tiredly patted her back. "It's alright, Zoey. I'm alive. You can let go now"
Zoey gave a laugh and held him at an arm's length. She looked at his face, arms and legs before grabbing a hold of his hand and leading him to the bank. There, stood Hermione who held a towel in her hands. When Harry was close enough she quickly ran to him, giving him a hug before wrapping the towel around him. Zoey summoned the potion and told Harry to drink it, she laughed a bit at his reaction but hugged him once more; she was so worried.
"You really love being the hero don't you?" she asked him
"The what?"
"Nothing," she smiled and shook her head, "Listen, their going to announce the score now"
In the end, Cedric came in first with forty-seven points and Harry was in second, having forty-five points. This came to a shock for all, even for him, seeing as he came in last but due to his "moral fiber" the judges reconsidered. Viktor was in third, forty points, and Fleur came in last place with twenty-five points though claiming she deserved zero.
Zoey was clapping with the rest and when she turned to congratulate Harry her eyes widened. There stood Harry with Fleur kissing both of his cheeks. Zoey gave a small laugh and watched as Fleur moved onto Ron next. Ron's entire face flushed and Zoey shook her head at him before looking over at little Gabrielle. Zoey bent down to her height.
"So, are you alright?" Zoey asked her with a smile, "You aren't hurt are you?"
Gabrielle shyly shook her head.
"Was it scary down there?" asked Zoey
"I was asleep," Gabrielle spoke.
Zoey gave a laugh. "I see," she said, "What about before that?"
"I was summoned by Madam Maxine. I didn't know what zey where going to do to me," Gabrielle told her.
"Well, you're alright now," Zoey smiled and patted her head before stretching. She looked over to Harry and laughed. She took another towel and ran to the boy and enveloped him in a hug and the towel.
"Come on, Moral Fiber, let's get you properly dried up," Zoey said to him before dragging him away.
Chapter End
Thank for all the reviews and the like~
I really appreciate them :)
Oh, sorry for the short chapter. It's been long since I updated and usually I make up for it with an extra long chapter. Here, I'll make up for it with two updates :D
And
I want to apologize for the delayed update.
About two days ago, April 28, was my birthday and I couldn't update.
The Next day, April 29 (duh), was Zoey's birthday but I was still in a hotel so I couldn't use the Internet then
So I hope you can accept my apology and I also hope you enjoyed the chapter.
What I also hope is that I got Fleur and Gabrielle speaking alright. I don't really know how to type in a French accent and what not.
I apologize.
So with my final words:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter
Please tell me what you thought
Excuse my typos and the like; I'm not good with a chapter not having any… though I would want one
Don't forget to review and the like
Stay tuned for the next chapter
And
I only own what I own
