Author's Note: Just a warning here if anyone found the whole thing with Buffy being disguised as Harry (and my referring to her as Harry) in the chapter dealing with the first task as confusing. This chapter repeats that somewhat. I did that in part because there is a switch off where Buffy ends the glamour and reveals herself to the merpeople. Before she ends the glamour, will be referred to as Harry since she is still glamoured and after she dispels the glamour, she will be referred to as Buffy as she is no longer disguised. I did that because after that reveal she will be seen by everyone including the judges as Buffy, not as being disguised as Harry. When we get to the third task there will be no glamour at all. Everyone will see Buffy at the end of this chapter as being the fourth Triwizard Champion.

On a side note you will see what I meant in my author's note last chapter about playing with Dawn's emotions as Dawn in this chapter does a complete 180. Where before she was excited that Buffy would want her help. This chapter see's Dawn emotions get the better of her.

Chapter 13: The Second Task

February 24, 2002

Dawn sighed; she had been having trouble sleeping since Dumbledore had said she may have a part to play with Harry's battle with Voldemort. She didn't want any more bad things to happen to her, Buffy or Harry. The deal with Glory had been almost too much for her.

"Dawn?" Ginny said as she noticed her girlfriend looking off into space. "You okay?" Dawn shook her head. "Is what Dumbledore said bothering you?"

"Yes," Dawn said. "You know what the year before Buffy and I met you was like. You heard the story. I don't know if I can go through that again. Especially when there is the possibility yet again of someone dying."

"Dawn, no one is going to die, I promise," Ginny said as she leaned over and kissed Dawn.

"I hope not," Dawn said as she returned the kiss.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In Buffy's suite Harry sat with his older sister. "Hermione has said she had been woken by Dawn, multiple times, screaming my name or yours since Dumbledore revealed the prophecy to us," Harry said.

Buffy sighed. "You know what the year before we met you was like," she said. "Constant worry that Glory would come for her or me. Part of that was before Dawn even knew anything about the Key. Now there is the possibly she could die or you could die. She already had to worry that I might die. I hope in a way Albus is both right and wrong. Right so that you have someone at your side when you face Voldemort. But wrong because I don't want her to have to go through that."

"Buffy," Harry said deciding to distract himself and her from what Dumbledore had said. "Have you figured out how you are going to do the task?"

"Since I got mom's amulet, I've been going out to the lake for a swim every day," Buffy said. "Trying to see how long I could hold my breath. Other than that, I have no idea."

Suddenly Simon appeared in a portrait. "Ms. Potter, Mr, Weasley is outside. He is asking to see you. He says its important."

"Let him in," Buffy said as Simon disappeared from the portrait a second before the portrait the led into the corridor swung open to let Ron in. "What is it?"

"Professor McGonagall just came for Dawn and Hermione," Ron said.

"Why both of them?" Harry asked. "If they still think it's still me. They know which one to choose."

"Dunno … she was looking a bit grim, though," said Ron.

Buffy sighed as she stood and left her suites and rushed to Dumbledore's office. She burst in without waiting for Dumbledore to invite her. "We need to tell them that it's me and not Harry. We can't do this to Dawn."

"Why?" Dumbledore asked suddenly worried that judges thinking it was Harry who would be doing the task had chosen Dawn because she would be along with Buffy a person he cared about the most.

"Hermione by the way of Harry told me that Dawn was having trouble sleeping," Buffy said. "Hermione was being woken by Dawn screaming out mine or Harry's names. She's worried she is going to lose us."

"It's too late, Buffy," Dumbledore said. "She's already getting her instructions."

"Then I forfeit," Buffy said. "I can't do this to her. She's been through too much already."

"I'll see what I can do, Buffy," Dumbledore said as Buffy left. He walked over to a cabinet and took out a time turner.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Two hours later Harry stood with the other champions on the bank of the lake for the second task.

Dumbledore came up beside Harry and whispered into his ear, "It's taken care of, Buffy. You have to find Harry who has drank Polyjuice potion with Dawn's hair. The potion I remind you lasts only an hour. So, you have to get back before that hour is up. Dawn is currently in my office, asleep. Don't worry I made sure it would be dreamless."

"Thank you, Albus," Harry whispered back as Dumbledore returned to the other judges.

Ludo Bagman moved among the champions, spacing them along the bank at intervals of ten feet. Harry was on the very end of the line, next to Krum, who was wearing swimming trunks and was holding his wand ready.

"All right, Harry?" Bagman whispered as he moved Harry a few feet farther away from Krum. "Know what you're going to do?"

"Yeah," Harry replied.

Bagman gave Harry's shoulder a quick squeeze and returned to the judges' table.

Harry touched the amulet around his neck and said, "Calor." He felt the warmth spread out from the amulet all over his body.

Bagman pointed his wand at his throat as he had done at the World Cup, said, "Sonorus!" and his voice boomed out across the dark water toward the stands. "Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One… two… three!"

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; without looking to see what the other champions were doing, Harry simply dove into the water. He had managed over the course of the last month to hold his breath for at least fifteen minutes. But he had also found in a book an alternative that he had in his pocket should he feel like his lungs were about to burst.

Silence pressed upon his ears as he soared over a strange, dark, foggy landscape. He could only see ten feet around him, so that as he sped through the water with the speed of a Slayer new scenes seemed to loom suddenly out of the oncoming darkness. He swam deeper and deeper, out toward the middle of the lake.

Small fish flickered past him like silver darts. Once or twice he thought he saw something larger moving ahead of him, but when he got nearer, he discovered it to be nothing but a large, blackened log, or a dense clump of weed. There was no sign of any of the other champions, merpeople, or the real Harry Polyjuiced to look like Dawn.

Harry knew he had been swimming for at least fifteen minutes as his lungs felt ready to burst. He took the gillyweed out of his pocket and chewed on it. After a minute he felt as though an invisible pillow had been pressed over his mouth and nose. He then felt a piercing pain on either side of his neck. When he went to touch his neck he felt two large slits just below his ears, flapping in the cold air… He had gills.

Harry swam on, 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.

"An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took…"

Harry 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.

"…your time's half gone, so tarry not

Lest what you seek stays here to rot…"

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 his bathroom …

The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. 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 tails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.

Harry sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous. Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching him eagerly. Harry sped around a corner and a very strange sight met his eyes.

A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the houses that lined what looked like a mer-version of a village square. A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them. Four people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson.

Dawn was tied between Hermione and Cho Chang. There was also a girl who looked no older than eight, whose clouds of silvery hair made Harry feel sure that she was Fleur Delacour's sister. All four of them appeared to be in a very deep sleep. Their heads were lolling onto their shoulders, and fine streams of bubbles kept issuing from their mouths.

Harry sped toward the hostages, half expecting the merpeople to lower their spears and charge at him, but they did nothing. The ropes of weed tying the hostages to the statue were thick, slimy, and very strong. But he was stronger. He knew this was a task that he could only save his hostage, but the Slayer within him was screaming telling him to save them all.

Harry looked around. There was no sign of any of the other champions.

What were they playing at? Why didn't they hurry up? He turned back to the four hostages and took the weed rope that held Hermione in his hands.

At once, several pairs of strong gray hands seized him. Half a dozen mermen were pulling him away from Hermione, shaking their green-haired heads, and laughing.

"You take your own hostage," one of them said to him. "Leave the others…"

"I am a Slayer!" said Harry furiously.

The mermen laughed as they knew Slayers were always female.

Harry glared at them as he ended the glamour charm.

The mermen swam backwards from Buffy as they realized that she was indeed a Slayer.

"This is an unfair task," Buffy said. "What would happen if the others do not arrive in time?"

Buffy swam back over to the hostages and grabbed the weed rope tied to Cho Chang and with the strength of a Slayer she tore the rope in half.

Then the merpeople around Buffy pointed excitedly over her head. She saw Cedric swimming toward her and Cho. He pulled up short his eyes wide. "What's going on?" he mouthed.

"I've been pretending to be Harry," Buffy said. "But when I saw them down here, I couldn't do it anymore. I'm a Slayer I can't leave them to die of drowning."

Cedric nodded and saluted Buffy as he grabbed Cho and pulled her upward and out of sight.

Buffy looked around to see if anyone else was coming as the merpeople started screeching animatedly. She 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. He appeared to have transfigured himself—but badly.

The shark-man swam straight to Hermione. Buffy held up her hand to stop him and then mimed tearing the rope apart.

Krum nodded in understanding as Buffy grabbed ahold of the weed rope and again with the strength of a Slayer tore it in half. He grabbed Hermione around the waist, and without a backward glance, began to rise rapidly with her toward the surface.

Buffy looked around for Fleur the last champion but saw no sign. She grabbed the weed rope for Dawn and broke it in half before doing the same for the little girl. She noticed her hour was up as Dawn was transforming into Harry.

Buffy grabbed both Harry and the girl and with the strength of a Slayer she kicked hard. It was then that she realized not only was time up for the Polyjuice potion but time was up for her as the gillyweed was wearing off.

She broke through the surface of the lake just as she began breathing normally again. She could see that Dumbledore was nodding. She was sure he knew what she would do, after all she was a Slayer.

Harry and the girl opened their eyes and looked around. Harry realized immediately what was wrong. "Buffy," he whispered. "I don't think you want to get out of the water anytime soon."

"I'm not going to until someone gets me something to cover me up," Buffy said. She looked at the girl in her other arm. "Are you alright?" The girl nodded. Buffy let Harry go so he could swim himself. She kept hold of the girl as she followed Harry to the bank.

When they arrived at the bank Harry got out and then helped Fleur's sister from the water.

Hermione ran up to Buffy holding a thick blanket. "Wrap this around you," she said.

Buffy took the blanket and wrapped it around herself as she got out of the water.

"Are you cold?" Hermione asked.

"Still have the amulet doing its job," Buffy said as she noticed that the judges stood watching. She walked toward them. "I take full responsibility."

"You should be disqualified," said Karkaroff.

Bagman sighed. "We have discussed this. The binding magical contract is still in effect," he said as he turned and looked at Buffy. "When the tournament was created no one thought to make sure siblings could not take the place of another sibling. And since you have now competed in two tasks you are the official champion now, not your brother."

"I still object as she is not a student," said Karkaroff.

"Actually, she is," Dumbledore said, "of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ms. Potter has been undergoing private lessons with myself and Professor McGonagall since the start of the school year."

"That's true," Buffy said as she turned and headed back toward the other champions. She saw Fleur hugging her sister.

"Thank you, Slayer," Fleur said when she saw Buffy. "It was ze grindylows… zey attacked me… oh Gabrielle, I thought… I thought…"

"In my opinion as a Slayer," Buffy said. "I thought this was an unfair task without knowing for sure if the hostages could drown or not."

Fleur nodded as she released her sister and then kissed Buffy on the cheek. "Thank you," she said again.

"You were well outside the time limit, Buffy … Did it take you ages to find us?" Hermione asked.

"No," Buffy answered as she glanced at Dumbledore. She looked back at her brother and their friends. "I found you all first. The mermen were not about to let me do my duty as a Slayer. They laughed when I told them who I was so I had to end the glamour charm. When they realized I was telling the truth they backed off. It was then that Cedric came along."

"I was confused why Professor Potter was down there," Cedric admitted. "She explained as best she could being underwater what was going on. Professor Dumbledore added you as security to protect the champions. But you did more than that down there. When I graduate, I think I would like to work for you against the vampires, demons and the forces of darkness."

"We'll see," Buffy said. "That said, Cedric. I would kick myself if I didn't say I would like it if you found yourself something normal."

Just then, Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached a decision on multiple items. First on Professor Potter pretending to be her brother via glamour charm. The majority of the judges have decided that she is the champion instead of her brother as she has now performed two of the tasks herself. Professor Dumbledore has even stated that unofficially Professor Potter is a student of Hogwarts as she has been undergoing private lessons for her eighth year of study to become a permanent professor in a class to be offered starting next year of Defense Against the Forces of Darkness."

He paused for a second. "On the second item, Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows…"

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

Applause from the stands.

"I deserved zero," said Fleur throatily, shaking her magnificent head.

"No, you didn't," Buffy said. "All of the champions, yourself included, deserves full marks just for trying. You would make a good Slayer." Fleur beamed with pride at the compliment. "But sadly, this is a tournament and the judges can't give us all full marks as a result."

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour." Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd. "We therefore award him forty-seven points."

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."

Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.

"Buffy Potter first held her breath for fifteen minutes before using gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "She returned last, and outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Ms. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in her return was due to her determination to do her duty as a Slayer and return all hostages to safety, not merely her own."

"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However, Ms. Potter's score is forty-five points."

"Your tied for first with Cedric, Buffy," Harry said as he smiled at his sister.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

Madam Pomfrey began herding the champions and hostages back to the castle to get into dry clothes…

Buffy remembered Dawn and broke from Madam Pomfrey and rushed over to Dumbledore. "Dawn," she said as he nodded and she followed him back to the castle.

When they reached his office, Buffy found Dawn lying on a cot that Dumbledore had conjured. He waved his wand and Dawn's eyes opened.

"Hey, Dawnie," Buffy said as she pulled her sister into an embrace. She pulled her sister close to her so she could whisper in Dawn's ear. "I love you; I'll always love you."

Dawn looked at Buffy quizzically. "What brought that on?" she asked.

"You did," Buffy said. "I learned that you have been having bad dreams." Dawn looked down at the floor afraid to admit what Buffy had said was the truth. Buffy smiled as she lifted her sister's chin so she could look in to Dawn's eyes. "Don't worry neither Harry or I are ever dying. And neither are you, okay?"

"Okay," Dawn said as tears flowed down her cheeks.