In Harry's room, Harry was sitting on his bed, glaring at the golden egg, which was in front of him. The egg was simple with no designs or pattern engraved onto it except four evenly spaced lines.
"Ok, here we go," Harry said before pointing his black wand towards his head and flicking it. The tip of his wand lit up before dissipating.
"This muffling charm should work," Harry said to himself bit louder than usual as he sheathed his wand. Bracing himself, he placed his hand on top of the egg. Instantly, the egg opened up, unleashing a high-pitch wail into the entire room.
"(HARRY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!)" Tom hissed, coiling tighter around Harry's arm.
"/ HARRY, TURN IT OFF /" Helga screamed. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't hear either of them as he stared intently at the golden egg.
"Interesting," Harry commented as he listened to the screeching sound. "It seems there is a message hidden within this sound."
"(HARRY, TURN IT OFF)," Tom hissed even louder.
"It seems that the muffling charm is revealing some kind of hidden message," Harry talked to himself, unable to hear the cries of pain. "Hmm, but I can't distinguish the words." Harry then closed the egg. He pulled out his wand and undid the spell he placed on himself.
"Looks like my theory is right," Harry said to himself, placing a finger on his chin. "OW!" Harry jumped up in surprise and pain before pulling back his sleeve to see Tom biting him.
"(What are you doing?)" Harry questioned in a high-pitch voice.
"(Did you turn it off?)" Tom replied, letting go of Harry's arm.
"(Turn what off?)" Harry responded, confused.
"(THE EGG)," Tom shouted, sliding onto the bed. "(Didn't you hear the wailing?)"
"(No)," Harry answered before understanding what happened. "(Oh. Sorry, Tom. I had a muffling charm placed on my ears)." Instantly, Tom glared at Harry.
"(And you didn't even have the courtesy to warn us)," Tom shook his head at Harry. "(Look at Helga.)" Harry then noticed some shivering on top of his head. He grabbed Helga before lifting her off his head. He then could see that Helga was shivering in pain with a dazed look in her eyes.
"/ Are you ok? /" Harry asked, receiving no response. Harry then gently placed her onto the bed next to Tom.
"(Sorry, Tom)," Harry apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "(I forgot that you two could hear the wailing)."
"(That's no excuse, Harry)," Tom kept on glaring at Harry.
"(If it's any consolation, I experienced that wailing as well)," Harry stated.
"(I know)," Tom responded in an unamused voice. "(We were there too.)"
"(Oh yeah)," Harry remembered. "(I forgot you guys were there.)"
"(That's just pathetic)," Tom commented, shaking his head.
"(Well, this pathetic guy is going to go talk to Cedric about this egg)," Harry replied, getting off the bed.
"(Why Cedric?)" Tom asked, slightly confused, as Harry carefully picked up the golden egg.
"(He will probably know something about the egg)," Harry answered before walking over to the painting. "(Fleur is a bit busy since her folks are coming over)."
"(Her parents are coming?!)" Tom responded, surprised.
"(Yeah)," Harry said. "(She will probably make me see them again so, I want to get this done before then)."
"(Still terrified of her mother?)" Tom replied, slightly amused, as the painting swung open.
"(No)," Harry instantly denied, walking out of the room.
"(Sure)," Harry heard Tom reply in a sarcastic tone.
"Damn snake. I should have sold him when I had the chance," Harry thought to himself as he walked through the halls of Hogwarts. He smirked as he saw all of the students immediately move out his way before frowning, remembering the reason behind it. He was in deep thought when he felt someone bump into him.
"Oh, sorry," Harry instantly apologized before noticing that it was the bullied girl that he saved on his first day of school. "Hey, it's you."
"Greetings, Mr. Potter," Luna responded in her usual dreamy tone, her head facing towards Harry, but her eyes somewhere else.
"Is everything ok, Ms. Lovegood?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Luna answered. "Wrackspurts no longer disturb me."
"That's good to hear," Harry smiled at her.
"Is that the golden egg from the First Task?" Luna asked, daintily pointing to the egg in Harry's arms.
"Yeah," Harry confirmed, looking at it. "I managed to figure out that there's a message behind it, but I don't know what to do."
"Why do you want to solve the message behind the egg?" Luna said. "I thought you didn't want to participate in the tournament."
"That may be true," Harry smirked before frowning. "But something's going on."
"How so?" Luna questioned.
"I don't know, but the way that Bagman said really unnerved me," Harry stated, looking at Luna. "Though, I don't know why I'm talking to you of all people about this."
"I have my ways," Luna dreamily smiled, making Harry raise an eyebrow at her. "Yet, do you think that you're just overthinking this?"
"Trust me, I know something's going on," Harry said. "This is just how the real world works."
"You sound very pessimistic for someone of your age," Luna responded.
"Nope, just experienced," Harry replied before shifting the egg in his arms. "Now then, I need to get going."
"Why not submerge the egg underwater?" Luna suggested as Harry was about to walk away.
"What?" Harry responded, surprised at Luna's suggestion. "Why underwater?"
"Doesn't water muffle sound?" Luna responded. "Oh, that reminds me my friend wants to thank you for what you did for me."
"How do you jump from water to your friend?" Harry responded.
"She has red hair like fire, which is the opposite of water. Every time I see her, I think about how different her hair is from water," Luna explained. Harry stayed silent for a moment.
"Makes sense," Harry admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
"You're very accepting of things, Mr. Potter," Luna stated, walking closer to Harry.
"You're very honest," Harry replied, tilting his head downward to look at Luna.
"Honesty is the best policy," Luna merely said before walking away.
"Where did she learn all that non-magic stuff?" Harry muttered to himself before looking at the egg. "So, I think I will talk to Cedric before trying out her suggestion because I don't have anything else." Harry then walked out into the courtyard. The slightly cold wind hit his face as he trekked towards the Hufflepuff commons. As he walked, he noticed a crude table with a chess set on top of it. A bronze-colored eagle was perched on one side of the chessboard, watching him.
"That's a strange sight," Harry commented to himself before looking away. As Harry walked away from the table, he felt a gnawing sensation in his head. With each step, the gnawing sensation intensified to the point that Harry felt like multiple needles were being shoved into his brain.
"What the hell is going on?" Harry grumbled, rubbing the back of his head to try and ease the illusionary pain. He looked back at the table to see the eagle staring at him. Its light blue eyes captivated Harry, making him temporarily forget where he was. To describe the feeling Harry was experiencing, it would be similar to looking at God. Vast knowledge seemed to flow into Harry's mind as he stared into the bird's pupils.
"What is this?" Harry said, walking over to the table. He placed the egg onto the ground next to the table before sitting on the seat opposite the eagle.
"{Who are you?}" Harry asked, surprised at the different language he was speaking.
"{I am an eagle}" a feminine voice cawed from the eagle, flapping its wings. Harry wasn't sure if this movement was out of exasperation or just a reflex from the eagle.
"{Tell me your name}" Harry clarified his question.
"{You need to earn that}" the eagle replied before motioning to the chess board with one of its wings. "{Beat me and I shall tell you my name.}"
"{Easy}" Harry smirked before looking at the chess board.
"{Don't get cocky}" the eagle replied before looking down at the board. Harry watched in amazement as a white pawn moved forward.
"{Your move}" the eagle said, looking up at Harry.
"{Ok then}" Harry replied before moving his hand. To his surprise, the black pawn, his hand was moving towards, moved by itself.
"{Telepathy}" the eagle explained as another chess piece moved.
"{Are you reading my mind?}" Harry asked as he thought for a moment on his next move.
"{No}" the eagle replied, sounding like it was smirking. "{This is all you.}"
"{Sure}" Harry laughed, seeing a chess piece move.
"{I see that the Hat hasn't told you about what you can do}" the eagle replied. Harry looked at the eagle in shock.
"{How do you know about the Hat?}" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"{I know a lot of things}" was all the eagle said before another chess piece moved. "{What I want to know is why did you kill that dragon?}"
"{The dragon?}" Harry responded, slightly confused, before realizing what the eagle meant. "{Oh, you mean the Hungarian Horntail.}"
"{Yes}" the eagle replied. "{You knew its situation, but you still brutally killed it and all of its children.}"
"{I had no choice}" Harry defended himself.
"{That's a lie}" the eagle instantly rejected, looking at Harry. "{That Skeeter woman got to you.}"
"{No, she didn't. How could a pathetic woman like her get to me?}"
"{I don't think she got to you. I think you wanted her to ask you all those questions.}"
"{Why do you say that?}"
"{The fact that you didn't bother blasting the door open.}"
"{The door was warded.}"
"{No, it wasn't and you know it. Even if the door was warded, you could blown apart the walls.}"
"…"
"{Your silence speaks volumes. This made me wonder why did you do such a thing? Your entire behavior during the tournament has been strange.}"
"{How so?}"
"{Just look at what you were trying to do before now.}"
"{Yeah, I was just going to talk to Cedric about the egg.}"
"{But why? You have no obligation to do such a thing. If you were really concerned about what that Bagman said, then you would have interrogated him instead of actively trying to solve the riddle behind the egg.}"
"{Ludo is protected.}"
"{As if that would stop you, which brings me back to my question. Why did you kill the dragon?}"
"{I told you I had no choice.}"
"{No, you wanted to kill that dragon.}"
"{Why would I want to kill it?}"
"{To satisfy your carnal desire.}"
"{I have no such desires.}"
"{Don't lie to me. I've watched you ever since you came here. Your body might hide it, but your eyes betray your real intentions. You want to kill everyone here. You resent the magic in your blood.}"
"{That's a lie.}"
"{Is it really? If you truly wanted to, you would have stolen the golden egg without killing the dragon. If you wanted, you could have left the meeting room. If you wanted to, you could last this entire year without magic.}"
"…"
"{You might say you hate being in the tournament, but you love the attention. You love the fact that people are watching you, but you resent it all the same. That's why you killed that dragon. You wanted to take your anger out on the dragon. That's why you brutally murdered it without a hint of emotion.}"
"{SHUT UP}" Harry shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Some of the chess pieces fell as a look of rage adorned Harry's face.
"{Struck a nerve, have I?}" the eagle calmly responded, tilting its head at Harry. "{Good.}" Harry was breathing heavily as he glared at the eagle.
"{What was the point of that?}" Harry growled.
"{You needed to see the truth}" the eagle replied.
"{Truth about what?}" Harry questioned.
"{The truth you hide}" the eagle said. "{Admit to me that you're still the same little boy, who wants his mommy's love.}"
"{I'm not}" Harry stated.
"{Then, you are not worthy of me}" the eagle responded before spreading its wings.
"{Fine}" Harry snapped, standing up.
"{Until you find the courage to admit what you hide, you will never be able to free yourself of the chains that bind you. In the end, they will kill you}" the eagle said before flapping its wings. "{I shall provide you with some advice. The Lovegood is right.}" Harry then watched as the eagle flew off towards the blue sky.
"Damned bird," Harry grumbled before walking over to the egg. He picked it up before walking away.
In the Room's Bathroom
"/ YOU FOOL /" Helga shouted at Harry, who was placing the golden egg into a filled bathtub. Harry had just recounted the story of what happened to Helga. Tom was sleeping on the bed while Helga supervised Harry.
"/ That could have been the only chance to get your Ravenclaw familiar /" Helga scolded as Harry started to undress himself.
"/ Yes, I know /" Harry grumbled, dumping all his clothes onto the floor.
"/ What are you going to do about this? /" Helga asked as Harry went into the bathtub.
"/ First, I'm going to figure out this damned thing /" Harry replied before holding out his hand. "/ Pass me my wand. /"
"/ Which one? /" Helga asked as she crawled towards Harry's pile of clothes.
"/ Black one /" Harry answered. After a moment, he saw Helga crawl up to him with his phoenix wand in her mouth.
"/ Thanks /" Harry said, taking it out of her open mouth. He then aimed at himself before flicking it. He shifted uncomfortably as he felt the skin on his neck start to shift and morph. He dropped it onto the bathroom floor.
"/ Claw my head if you can hear the egg /" Harry told Helga before submerging himself underwater. He saw the egg floating on the water surface. He pulled it down underwater. Making sure it was fully submerged, he tapped the top of it. As he watched it open, Harry thought back to the words of the eagle.
"{You're still the same little boy, who wants his mommy's love.}"
A frown grew on Harry's face as a light blue emitted itself from the inside of the egg. A beautiful voice then started to be heard from the egg. Harry's eyes widened in surprise as he listened to the voice.
Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.
"What the?" Harry responded in confusion before he listened to the riddle again. Once he confirmed that he fully memorized it, he closed the egg and resurfaced.
"/ Wand /" Harry called out, holding out his hand. He felt his wand in his hand and reversed the spell he cast on himself. Ignoring the pain from the shift in his neck, he got of the bath before grabbing a towel from the nearby rail.
"/ How did it go? /" Helga asked.
"/ It worked /" Harry smirked as he dried himself.
"/ That's good to hear /" Helga replied, turning around to look at the bathtub.
"/ Yeah and now, I just need to figure out what the riddle means /" Harry said, dressing himself. Unplugging the drain, he grabbed the golden egg before walking out of the bathroom and back into the room. He sat down on the desk as Helga climbed onto his head. Conjuring a piece of paper, Harry wrote down the riddle.
"/ Come seek us where out voices sound /" Helga read the first line. "/ That part is easy. We just have to find a place. /"
"/ Yeah /" Harry agreed in deep thought. "/ However, the second line confuses me. /" Helga stayed silent as she took a moment to read the rest of the riddle.
"/ You have an hour time limit /" Helga stated. "/ I don't know why, but riddle feels very ominous to me. /"
"/ I agree /" Harry replied. "/ It looks like my gut instinct was right to be wary of Bagman's words. While most of the poem is straightforward, I don't understand the vagueness behind the second line. It has to be below sea level, but where exactly? /"
"/ Wouldn't it be underwater? /" Helga suggested.
"/ Can't be /" Harry rejected, shaking his head. "/ That would make the riddle to obvious. /"
"/ Maybe, you're just over-thinking. /"
"/ I highly doubt it. Wizards tend to be a bit crafty. /"
"/ You would know. /"
"/ Yep. /"
"/ Though, I still think you'e over-thinking this. /"
"/ If I am, it doesn't matter. I already have a spell to help me breath underwater. /"
"/ Didn't you tell that it only lasts for a limited amount of time? /"
"/ Either that or blast the entire body of water. /"
"/ Please use the spell /" Helga responded after a moment of silence.
"/ Exactly /" Harry nodded his head. Suddenly, he felt a magical presence behind him. He whipped around, drawing both of his wands and aiming them to see the Hat crossing its arms and looking right at him.
"What did you do?" the Hat said in a abnormally stern voice.
"What do you mean?" Harry responded, slightly confused.
"I sensed a disturbance in your connection with Hogwarts," the Hat explained. "One of your familiars refused to bond with you."
"Oh," Harry replied, understanding. "I just had a spat with the eagle."
"A spat?" the Hat responded, sounding exasperated. It moved around for a moment before grabbing Harry's shoulders.
"Do you know how devastating it would be for one of your familiars to reject their bond with you?" the Hat said in a loud voice.
"Not really," Harry answered, confused. "I know that I need all four familiars to be accepted as the heir to Hogwarts, but I never wanted that title anyway."
"No, it's not that," the Hat responded, removing its hands off Harry. It then started to pace the room.
"(What's wrong?)" Tom sleepily asked, slithering out from underneath the blankets.
"(I don't know)" Harry answered, still watching the Hat pace. "(The Hat just showed up and started to panic.)"
"It's more than just panicking," the Hat clarified, looking at Harry. "I'm concerned about your future."
"Why?" Harry questioned.
"If you don't one of your familiars, you lose the power that they will provide you with," the Hat explained, walking over to Harry.
"Power?" Harry responded.
"Have you ever noticed the strange surges of power you get under certain circumstances?" the Hat asked. Harry placed a finger on his chin, thinking, before nodding his head.
"Actually, I have," Harry admitted.
"Yes, there's a reason for that," the Hat told Harry. "You see the qualification to become the heir of Hogwarts is to posses a connection with one of the four familiars."
"Wait, you mean there could be more heirs," Harry responded, looking at the Hat in surprise.
"Technically, yes," the Hat replied. "But the familiars have always been picky with who they choose. You only got lucky because you found Tom before he hatched. When he was born, he instantly attached himself to you therefore making you a candidate."
"How many heirs are there?" Harry asked.
"Only you so far," the Hat answered. "However, if you don't get all of the familiars, you will never get the title or their powers."
"What are these powers?" Harry inquired.
"Magical benefits that can only be activated through the connection with your familiars," the Hat explained. "Tom provides you speed. Helga provides you with high defensive magical capabilities, and Helena grants you the ability to use telepathy."
"The eagle's name is Helena?" Harry responded.
"Yeah," the Hat replied before shaking his head. "That's not the point. The problem is that now, Helena is unwilling to bond with you, making you unfit to become the heir to Hogwarts."
"Oh," Harry said. "I don't know why you're so upset by this." The Hat placed a hand on its forehead before looking around in frustration.
"There's a storm coming," the Hat finally spoke, looking at Harry. "Hogwarts will be in the center point of it all. I don't want to see this school crumble. However, there is only one person, who can truly defend Hogwarts."
"So, you're afraid that Hogwarts is going to get destroyed in the near future," Harry responded.
"It's not certain, but it is the most likely scenario," the Hat clarified. Harry nodded his head in response.
"Ok," Harry replied. "I honestly don't care about what happens to the school. Just teach me how to save me Penelope." The Hat looked at Harry for a moment before shaking its head.
"Fine then," the Hat said. "I will still train you, but once your training is finished, I want you gone."
"Thank you," Harry replied before sitting back down.
"That's all I wanted to talk about," the Hat responded before disappearing. Harry stood sitting for a moment before standing up.
"(Harry, are you ok?)" Tom asked.
"(Yeah)," Harry replied, looking at Tom. "(Nothing changes. Now, let's solve this damned riddle.)"