Hermione and Harry were standing on the bridge, just talking, "Harry, you told me you'd figured that egg out weeks ago. The task is two days from now."

"Really? I had no idea," he said sarcastically, "I suppose Viktor's already figured it out."

"Wouldn't know. We don't actually talk about the tournament. Actually, we don't really talk at all," she responded, "Viktor's more of a physical being," they started to laugh, "I just mean he's not particularly loquacious. Mostly, he watches me study. It's a bit annoying, actually. You are trying to figure this egg out, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means these tasks are designed to test you. In the most brutal way, they're almost cruel. And... I'm scared for you. You got by the dragons mostly on nerve. I'm not sure it's going to be enough this time."

The conversation ended when Cedric called out for Harry, "Hey, Potter! Potter!"

Harry acknowledged him, "Cedric," and started to leave. Hermione had already left because she knew that it was going to be hard to talk to him in Cedric's presence.

"How-? How are you?" he asked before Harry could walk off.

"Spectacular," he said, unsure as to why Cedric wanted to talk to him.

"I realize I never really thanked you properly for tipping me off about those dragons," he said.

"Forget about it. I'm sure you would've done the same for me," Harry replied.

"Exactly. You know the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor? It's not a bad place for a bath. Just take your egg and... mull things over in the hot water," he said and left it at that. Harry just stood there for a good minute, trying to figure out what Cedric meant before turning and left. He had an internal battle as to whether or not he should talk to Ella about what Cedric had said. He decided it's better to go talk to her. He hadn't seen her at all for the past couple of days. He was about to knock on her door when it opened.

"I saw you through the window as you were walking up," Jasper said. "Come on in," as he opened the door wider. Harry walked in and was just about to ask Jasper where Ella was when she just had walked out with the support of Edward and Carlisle. They both helped her sit on the couch. They put pillows around her to support her.

"Harry, are you all right?" Ella asked.

"Um… yeah, I guess," he answered. He wasn't sure as to how to react to her now.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Ella asked.

"Nothing," he automatically answered.

"Harry," she started off. "You wouldn't be here if there was nothing wrong." He just stood there, dumbstruck as to how she could have figured it out so fast. "You have it written all over your face, Harry," she said, smiling.

With that, he relaxed and felt better. "I honestly don't know what to do with the next task. I've been trying to figure it out for the past few weeks and I don't know what to do. Just recently, Cedric approached me and suggested that I do something a bit unorthodox and I don't know if I should listen to his advice," he said in one breathe.

"Well, I'm sure that he told you a piece of advice because you did tip him off about the dragons. Regardless of how unconventional his advice may be, you might try it and see what happens. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?" she commented.

In his mind, he knew that she was right. He didn't have anything to lose. "You're right. I don't have anything to lose but I'm just afraid to do it."

"You'd be a fool if you weren't, Harry," she said. "There's a reason why the tournament doesn't happen every year. Why do you think that Barty Crouch only wanted those who were 17 years old and over to participate and not the younger generation? The Ministry of Magic knows and understands that this tournament is dangerous."

"Yeah," he said.

"I'm sure that's not the only reason why you're here, am I right, Harry?" Ella asked.

"How do you know these things?" Harry asked.

"Edward," she answered, plainly but that just made Harry laugh somewhat, "Plus the fact that you've been coming over often these past few months, just to talk to me." Harry nodded because he knew that was the truth. He stayed a while and chatted with everyone before going back to his dorm. As Harry had no idea how long a bath he would need to work out the secret, he decided to do it at night, when he would be able to take as much time as he wanted. Reluctant though he was to accept more favors from Cedric, he also decided to use the perfects' bathroom; far fewer people were allowed in there, so it was much less likely that he would be disturbed. Harry planned his excursion carefully, because he had been caught out of bed and out of bounds by Filch in the middle of the night before and had no desire to repeat the experience. The Invisibility Cloak, would, of course, be essential, and as an added precaution, Harry thought he would take the marauder's Map, which, next to the cloak was the most useful aid to rule-breaking Harry owned. The map showed the whole of Hogwarts, including its many shortcuts and secret passageways and, most important of all, it revealed the people inside the castle as miniscule, labeled dots, moving around the corridors, so that Harry would be forewarned if somebody was approaching the bathroom. On Thursday night, Harry put his plans into motion. It was awkward moving under the cloak tonight, because Harry had the heavy egg under one arm and the map held in front of his nose with the other. However, the moonlight corridors were empty and silent, and by checking the map at strategic intervals, Harry was able to ensure that he wouldn't run into anyone he wanted to avoid. When he reached the stature of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrongs hands, he located the right door, leaned close to it and muttered the password. The door creaked open. Harry slipped inside, bolted the door behind him and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and looked around. His immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a perfect just to be able to use this bathroom. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pool's edges, each with a differently colored jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored. Harry moved forward, looking around, his footsteps echoing off the walls. Magnificent through the bathroom was – quite keen though he was to try out a few of those taps – now he was here he couldn't quite suppress the feeling that Cedric might have been having him on. How on earth was this supposed to help solve the mystery of the egg? Nevertheless, he put one of the fluffy white towels, the cloak, the map and the egg at the side of the swimming pool-sized bathtub, then knelt down and turned on a few taps. When he got into the bathtub, he said, "I must be out of my mind," he stretched out his arms, lifted the egg I his wet hands, and opened it. The wailing, screeching sound filled the bathroom, echoing and reverberating off the marble walls, but it sounded just as incomprehensible as ever, if not more so with the echoes. He snapped it shut again, worried that the sound would attract Filch. "I'm definitely out of my mind." He looked at the mirror in front of him and saw the shadow of a ghost.

"I'd try putting in the water if I were you."

"Myrtle!"

"Hello, Harry. Long time no see. I was circling a blocked drain the other day and could swear I saw a bit of Polyjuice Potion. Not being a bad boy again, are you, Harry?" she asked.

"Polyjuice Potion? Kicked the habit. Myrtle, did you say, 'Try putting it in the water'?"

"That's what he did. The other boy, the handsome one, Cedric. Well, go on. Open it," she encouraged him.

He took the egg and put it under water and opened it. He put his head under the water and heard a voice coming out of the egg, "Come see us… where our voices sound… we cannot sing above the ground… An hour long you'll have to look… To recover what we took."

He pulled his head out of the water, wiped his eyes and gasped for air before looking at Myrtle and asking, "Myrtle, there aren't merpeople in the Black Lake, are there?"

"Very good. It took Cedric ages to riddle it out. Almost all the bubbles were gone," she said, giggling. After figuring out what the riddle was about, he immediately got out of the tub, put his robe on as well as the Cloak. He managed to gather everything in his arms and walked out immediately. He looked at the map and everyone was quiet as a mouse. He half walked/half ran towards the Gryffindor tower. He managed to say the password loud enough for the portrait to hear and grant him access. He immediately went to his room, changed his clothes as quietly as possible and put his things away. He lied in bed, thinking about what he learned and realized that he couldn't go to sleep. He just laid there until sleep crept up on him. The next morning, he woke up to hearing his bunkmates, chattering and dressed for class. Throughout the day, he was distracted; Hermione and Ron noticed his behavior. Many students were gathered in the Great Hall that evening and there was an announcement reminding the students when the second task will happen.

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?" he responded.

"You're distracted, mate," Ron said, Hermione nodding her head, agreeing.

"It's nothing," Harry said, hoping to dismiss both of them.

"It's not nothing, Harry. You've been distracted. You weren't yesterday. Now what's going on?" Hermione inquired further.

"Trust me. It's nothing," Harry said. He stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, feeling pressured. He wandered the halls of Hogwarts before he found himself walking towards the Cullen house. It was the only place where he felt that he could get some peace. He knew that they wouldn't question him about anything.

The day before the second task was supposed to happen, he was in the library, resting his head against a book as Hermione shook a sleeping Ron up and said, "Harry, tell me again."

"'Come seek us where our voices sound,'" he answered.

Hermione stood in front of Ron but close to Harry and said, "The Black Lake, that's obvious."

"'An hour long you'll have to look,'" he continued on.

"Again, obvious. Though, admittedly, potentially problematic," she explained as if it were nothing.

Harry looked up to her in shock, "'Potentially problematic'? When's the last time you held your breath under water for an hour, Hermione?"

Hermione grabbed his shoulder and said, "Look, Harry, we can do this. The three of us can figure it out."

"Hate to break up the skull session," a voice called out. The three of them looked up and saw Professor Moody, "Professor McGonagall wants you in her office," Harry was about to stand up before Moody interrupted, "Not you, Potter, just Weasley."

"But, sir, the second task is only hours away, and—" Hermione said.

Moody interrupted, "Exactly. Presumably Potter is well prepared by now and could do with a good night's sleep. Go. Now!" Ron left to meet with Professor McGonagall. Hermione left to go to bed. "Longbottom! Why don't you help Potter put his books back." Moody called out. Neville came by to help Harry with his books.

He saw the books that Harry was looking through and said, "You know, if you're interested in plants, you'd be better off with Goshawk's Guide to Herbology. Do you know there's a wizard in Nepal who's growing gravity-resistant trees?"

"Neville, no offense, but I really don't care about plants. Now, if there's a Tibetan turnip that will help me breathe underwater for an hour, great. But otherwise..." Harry started off.

"I don't know about turnips, but you could always use gillyweed," Neville commented.

"Do you know where I could get some?" Harry asked, finally feeling hopeful.

"I could get some for you before the second task tomorrow," he answered.

"Great. Meet me at the boats," he responded and helped Neville put the books away.

Neville handed him the gillyweed as they walked down the dock, "You're sure about this, Neville?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

"For an hour?" he asked

"Most likely," Neville responded.

""Most likely?""

"Well, there's some debate among herbologists about its effectiveness in fresh water as opposed to salt water..." Neville answered.

"You're telling me this now? You must be joking."

"I just wanted to help," he said softly.

"Well, that makes you a right sight better than Ron and Hermione. Where are they anyway?" he asked.

"You seem a little tense, Harry."

"Do I?"

"Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough, except for this…" Dumbledore announced.

"Put that in your mouth," Moody told him.

"They will have but one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own. No magic will save them. You may begin at the sound of the cannon," Dumbledore finished.

Harry put it in his mouth and nearly choked on it. The cannon fired, Fleur, Krum and Cedric dived in whereas Moody pushed Harry into the lake. After a couple of moments, he felt an invisible pillow had been pressed over his mouth and nose. He tried to draw breath, but it made his head spin; his lungs were empty and he suddenly felt a piercing pain on either side of his neck—Harry clapped his hands around his throat and felt two large slits just below his ears, flapping in the cold water… he had gills. Harry was in the Black Lake trying to find what was taken from him. Once he had gotten help from Moaning Myrtle, he swam for at least 20 minutes. He was passing over vast expanses of black mud now, which swirled murkily as he disturbed the water. Then at long last, he heard a snatch of haunting mersong. He swam faster and soon saw a large rock emerge out of the muddy water ahead. It had paintings of merpeople on it; they were carrying spears and chasing what looked like a giant squid. Harry swam on past the rock, following the mersong. A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there at the dark windows, Harry saw faces… faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the perfects' bathroom… The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They leered at Harry as he swam past; one or two of them emerged from their caves to watch him better, their powerful, silver fish beating the water, spears clutched in their hands. Harry sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous; there were gardens of weed around some of them, and he even saw a pet grindylow tied to a stake outside one door. Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching him eagerly, pointing at his webbed hands and gilled, talking behind their hands to one another. Harry sped around a corner and a very strange sight met his eyes. Four people were bound by their ankle to the Lake's floor. He saw Ella there next to Hermione and Cho Chang as well as a girl no older than eight, who Harry felt was Fleur Delacour's sister. All four of them appeared to be in a very deep sleep. Harry sped towards the hostages, half expecting the merpeople to lower their spears and charge at him, but they did nothing. He stayed where he was and was looking around for the other champions. He swam towards Ella and was ready to help Hermione but a mermaid used her spear against him, "But she's my friend too." He saw Cedric come by and untied Cho Chang. He saw Harry there and telling him that the time is almost up and to go up. He nodded. The merpeople started screeching and scattered about. Harry turned and saw something monstrous cutting through the water toward them; a human body in swimming trunks with the head of a shark… It was Krum. The shark-man swam straight to Hermione and set her free and left. With his hand, he cut off Ella's bonds and looked around and knew that Fleur wasn't coming. With his wand, he untied her bonds and took both of them up. Before he knew it, his webbed hands and feet, and the gills were disappearing. He knew that he could no longer hold his breath. He pushed both Ella and the girl out of his sight and allowed himself to stay where he was. There was a moment where he wasn't sure as to what to do but at the last minute, he took up his wand and pointed it straight up past his head and said, "Ascendio." He felt himself swim and fly past the waters and landed onto the stands and in front of Dumbledore. A classmate was there, ready with a towel and wrapped it around him. Hermione and Ella both went up him, helping him. They vaguely heard Dumbledore say, "Judges, meet me here for a moment."

"Harry! Are you alright? You must be freezing! Personally, I think you behaved admirably," she said and hugged him.

"I finished last, Hermione," he replied.

"Next to last. Fleur never got past the grindylows," Ella said.

"Attention!" Dumbledore called out, but no one was listening because people were cheering. He put his wand near his neck and amplified his voice, "Attention!" Everyone became quiet. "The winner is Mr. Diggory, who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head Charm," he said. Cedric was thrilled and those who were around, cheered for him. "However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Miss Cullen but others as well, we've agreed to award him, second place…"

"Second place!" Hermione said happily.

"Well done," Ella told him.

"… for outstanding moral fiber!" Dumbledore finished. Everyone started to leave and congratulating Harry as they walked passed him.

Ella was walking with him when Crouch approached him, "Congratulations, Potter. A fine achievement."

"Thank you," he said.

"Well done, boy. I'm sorry we haven't spoken. After all, your story is one I've heard so many times. Quite remarkable, really. Tragic, of course, to lose one's family. Never whole again, are we? Still, life goes on and here we stand. I'm sure your parents would be proud of you today, Potter," he said.

"Bartemius! Not trying to lure Potter into one of the Ministry's summer internships, are we? Last boy who went in the Department of Mysteries never came out!" Moody said. Crouch walked off without saying a word, "And they say I'm mad."