The Yule Ball had been much more fun than Hari thought it would be. Ron had been a little annoyed at Hermione going with Krum, but he'd gotten over himself after George gave him a strict talking-to. They'd even danced together before the night was done.
Hari had hated the opening dance. Everyone's eyes were on them and there were photographers taking pictures. But Cedric had been whispering in her ear the whole time, telling her how good she was doing and how beautiful she looked. He'd been perfectly happy to forgo most of the dancing though, and admitted that it was kind of a relief that she didn't enjoy it either.
They found themselves out on a balcony that had been created for the ball. Other balconies were filled with couples snogging, but Hari and Cedric just talked. He told her about his family; how his father wanted him to be the best at whatever he did, and his mother was always so calm and patient. His father worked in the ministry but didn't hold a high position. While purebloods, the Diggory's weren't an old family. They'd come over from Ireland five generations back. His mother was a healer by trade but also had a knack for fashion. She consulted with a few boutiques in France, where her roots were.
They'd also found themselves in an impromptu charms competition. It was Cedric's best subject, and Hari had been training a lot with Odo. They started with sparks: who could make the biggest and prettiest ones. Cedric won that round with a constant stream of lavender sparks. Then they moved onto the color change charm, messing with each other's hair and robes, then manipulating the flowers on the balcony. Hari proved the winner of color changing, after she made every petal on a rose different shades of blue. Cedric used a modified version of the impervious charm to encase the rose in a protective shield and suspended it in a glass case.
"Just like Beauty and the Beast," Hari commented.
"What?" Cedric asked.
"Ugh, purebloods," Hari teased and rolled her eyes. "It's a movie about a witch that curses a prince so that his outsides match his insides, then she gives him a rose in a glass case and says that he'll stay a beast forever if he can't find someone to love him before all the petals fall off."
"Does he find someone to love him?"
"At the very last minute," she confirmed.
After that, Cedric summoned a small stone from the grounds and used a very delicate and controlled gouging spell to carve it into a tiny version of Hedwig.
"You're just showing off now!" Hari scolded him, though they both fell into a fit of laughter.
They were interrupted by Snape soon after, telling them that the ball was over as he rudely ushered them off the balcony.
Cedric walked her back to Gryffindor tower slowly, as neither one of them wanted the night to end. They stared at each other for a long moment once they reached the portrait and Hari thought he might kiss her, but when he leaned down he only kissed her cheek. It was warm and filled with emotion, so she couldn't be too disappointed as she entered the common room and collapsed into glorious sleep.
Once second term started, Hari was as busy as ever. She hadn't had to make up any of the work she missed in the lead up to the first task, but she had to self-study to keep up with the rest of her classmates. Silva's gift of memory was finally coming in handy. All she had to do was read the text books and she could easily recall all the information she needed for quizzes. She also found that she could master spells after a few tries, which was an exponential improvement compared to her first three years at Hogwarts. Hermione thought it was due to her increased magical reserves now that she was healthy.
She hadn't told either of them about the dragon's gifts. She hadn't even told the twins, though she was sure they had guessed at least part of the truth after witnessing it. She felt really guilty about it, especially when they noticed little changes in her. Like how she didn't need to reference book to do her homework, or how she could read through Snape's directions once and make a flawless potion. But Asha had told her how dangerous it would be if people found out. The dragons had given out gifts before, to humans that caught their favor, but those instances never ended well. Most were hunted and killed for their new powers, but some were kept chained up so they could be studied. The dragons, as a species, had agreed to stop bestowing gifts onto humans until the prophecy child appeared. So she kept her mouth shut and swallowed her guilt.
Hari had almost completely forgotten about the egg when Cedric approached her at the beginning of February.
"Hiya Hari," he greeted while shoving his way onto the bench next to her at breakfast.
"'Morning, Ced," she greeted.
"You figure out your egg yet?" he asked as he grabbed some toast and jam.
"No," she admitted, "I've been a little preoccupied."
"Take a bath," he said casually, and everyone in hearing range turned to stare.
"What?" Hari asked.
"Take a bath," he repeated.
"What's a bath supposed to do?" she asked after shoving some fruit in her mouth.
"You know where the prefects bathroom is?" he asked after lowering his voice and leaning close to her. She nodded in response so he continued on, "Password's 'pine fresh,' take the egg with you. I promise it's worth it."
"Okay, weirdo," she relented.
She snuck out of the dormitory the next night and made her way to the prefect's bathroom under the cloak. It felt weird, walking into a place where Cedric bathed. She shook away a blush and turned her thoughts to the task at hand. She watched the egg as the bath filled, turning it over in her hands and wondering what on earth Cedric could have meant for her to do. It hit her as the faucets turned themselves off.
"Sound travels slower in water," she whispered to herself. "Why couldn't he have just told me that?"
She got into the water slowly and pushed the egg under, opening it and then tentatively putting her head underwater.
"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."
Hari burst out of the water as her oxygen ran out and closed the egg, tossing it to the side where her clothes were.
"Ugh," she grumbled. "Cannot sing above the ground… so it'll be underwater. They've taken what I'll sorely miss… maybe my firebolt? Or the cloak? The map's a contender too, I guess. And I've only got an hour, or else it's gone for good…"
"Oh, you're just brilliant!" Myrtle said as her head popped out of the water and giggled.
"Myrtle!" Hari scolded.
"It took Cedric ages to figure it out," she laughed again, and the way she said Cedric's name made Hari's heart twinge in jealousy.
She looked away from Myrtle to hide her feelings and her eyes feel on the mermaid stain glass window. "Myrtle… are there mermaids in the lake?"
Myrtle giggled and launched herself from the water, doing loops in the air, "Yes!" she cried happily.
The next morning Hari made a beeline for the Hufflepuff table and sat next to Cedric, forcing his friends to scoot over to accommodate her.
"I have a problem," she said while grabbing a plate of food. Her potions appeared in front of her and she sent a nod towards Snape before downing them.
"Good morning to you too," Cedric laughed.
Hari stuck her tongue out at him.
"Did you figure out the egg?" he asked while buttering his toast.
"Yes, and that's the problem. It sounds like we'll have to be underwater for an hour."
"I can't help you come up with a solution to that part," Cedric said nervously.
"That isn't the issue," she replied.
"Then what is?"
Hari dropped her toast and took a deep breath before turning to look in Cedric's eyes. "I mnt 'im," she mumbled.
Cedric moved his head closer to her, "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught that," he teased and Hari punched his shoulder lightly.
"I can't swim," she admitted quietly.
"Really?" he asked looking shocked.
"Well, you know between the muggles and all my near-death experiences, it hasn't exactly come up," she said sarcastically.
Cedric's eyes searched over her face for any sign that she was lying, but she obviously wasn't, so he leaned in even closer and whispered, "Meet me at the lake tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Okay," she whispered back, and the pair went their separate ways.
Later that day, Hari was feeling groggy. She'd been working on homework with Hermione and Ron in the common room, but retreated to the dorm when Ron left for Divination. She laid down on her bed, determined to close her eyes for a few minutes before getting back to work. Since she hadn't planned on falling asleep, she didn't set up her privacy wards, and was awoken later by a frantic Hermione.
"Wake up, Hari!" she yelled.
"Aaaaahh," Hari cried out in pain as she shot up in bad, clutching her scar. Some sort of liquid was running down her face, and when she pulled her hand away she found it covered in blood. "Shit," she whispered. "That was awful."
"Hari, you're bleeding! We have to get to Pomfrey!" Hermione said while dragging her out of bed.
"No," Hari replied lazily, while Hermione dragged her down the stairs. "We have to go to Dumbledore. It was Wormtail."
"We're going to the infirmary," Hermione demanded. They were almost to the porthole now.
"Hermione-,"
"I don't give a shit about your dream, Hari! You're bleeding and we're going to Pomfrey," Hermione slammed the portrait closed and led the way.
Hari had the good sense to shut up and let herself be dragged off. She kept her eyes closed and trusted her best friend not to let her walk into anything. She kept her hand over her scar, but it was still bleeding profusely and her hand didn't seem to be doing anything about it. She knew she looked a mess, not just because half of her face and neck were covered in blood, but also because everyone they passed gasped at the sight of her. Luckily it wasn't an especially long journey.
"Miss Potter!" Madam Pomfrey, "What's happened to you now?"
"Jus' a bad dream," Hari replied after she was guided onto a bed and laid down gently. "You gotta get Dumbledore."
"Albus can wait," she said sharply. "Remove your hand, dear, I've got to get a closer look."
Hari lowered her hand and winced from the pain. With the release of pressure, she felt a warm wave of blood rush from the wound and travel down her face to pool in her ear. Madam Pomfrey attempted several healing spells, her face growing more and more worried with each failed try. She left quickly and Hermione came forward to rest one hand on her shoulder, and interlaced the fingers of her other hand with Hari's.
"Mione," Hari said quietly.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You're going to think I've gone barmy, but… Mione, it felt like something was trying to get out."
Hermione gave her a calculated glace, but said nothing as Madam Pomfrey arrived with several different potions and salves. She used the salves first, rubbing one over the wound before vanishing it and trying another. When she was out of those, she moved onto the potions, but those didn't seem to work either. After several minutes, the pain and blood loss overcame her, and her vision faded to black.