On the twenty-second of February, the guests started to arrive.
Like the first task, the castle quickly became home to dozens, then hundreds of guests. There were reports that the Prussian Chancellor was going to be attending the event and a host of other special guests, including a number of visitors from other schools both in Britain and the wider world. Suddenly the school was filled with voices speaking all manner of languages.
The Draught of Water Wandering was successful. Snape turned its creation into a special lesson, where he employed a few NEWT students to come assist as part of their coursework, due to how advanced it was.
But Harry now had a single phial of algae green liquid stowed safely in his trunk. Snape claimed it would last for more than a month without preservation and told him not to worry about it.
The way hostilities had cooled between him and Snape made Harry feel like someone was saving up some terrible surprise, filled with months of detentions and zero homework marks.
On the morning of the Twenty third, Harry arrived in the hall flanked by a host of his fellow Gryffindors who were insisting that he be protected at all times. Apparently there was a large and growing gambling base all around the country, taking increasingly wild and improbable bets on the outcome of the contest. He had begged them not to, to leave him alone and let him eat by himself, but they insisted. It had taken one of them getting in between him and Pansy for him to lose his temper and threaten to jinx them before they relented and left him to his own business, but they didn't stop, just gave him space.
"You should be happy about it, you ungrateful bastard." Seamus grumbled as they ate.
"Happy about being followed all around the bloody castle, about people taking bets on whether I'll drown in the lake or get buggered to death by the giant squid?" Harry flared up.
He was irritable and having trouble sleeping. The amount of practice and exercise he was doing was leaving him exhausted most evenings. The previous night, he had successfully breached Angelina's wards and left her disarmed and unconscious on the floor; the first time he had managed to beat the incredibly capable sixth year. Fred had given him a deadarm then a high-five after he had revived his girlfriend.
"It's all just the excitement mate, don't worry about it. You've got this in the bag." Ron said, slapping him on the shoulder. "Just keep your energy up and – oh, post's here."
Dozens of owls were soaring into the great hall carrying the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
One of the large brown owls landed near Pansy and she slipped a knut into the pouch on its leg and it darted away as quickly as it could as Landroval – Pansy's own bird – swooped in low and screeched at it.
The bird was small and beautiful, clearly closely bonded to Pansy with eyes the same colour as hers, with almost completely black plumage. He held a small envelope which she took and thanked him.
Harry offered Landroval a few bacon rinds which he gobbled up eagerly before returning his attention to Pansy, waiting almost at attention while she read.
"Oh that's good," she said, eventually emerging, "my parents have said they were invited to come to the task, but that they'll just wait to see us at Easter."
Harry tried to disguise his sigh of relief. "Fair enough. Honestly, I think if there were any more pressure, I'd just collapse into a black hole."
That spurred something in Pansy and she reached into a pocket of her robes, withdrawing a handful of thumb-sized objects wrapped in paper. "You won't need them, but just in case."
"Thanks, what are they?" Harry asked, picking one up and unwrapping it. Inside was a small sweet, a slightly translucent white like a Fox's mint.
"They're called Soothers. Like a calming draught in a sweet." She said smiling. "I bought some the other day. They chill you out for a few hours."
Harry frowned at the thing and decided to make a more conscious effort to relax. He had been failing at meditating and dropping his magic down at the end of each day. "Well either way, it'll be done in about… twenty-six hours?"
She nodded. "And you're not training tonight. You're getting a good sleep so you're fresh for the morning."
"Yes ma'am." Harry said, smiling. She was right, he needed it.
Hermione and Krum didn't show up for breakfast, at the end of which McGonagall approached Harry, Flitwick jogged over to Fleur and Sprout clapped Cedric on the shoulder.
"Come with me, Potter." McGonagall said, waiting for him to rise and leave the table before leading him out of the hall and into the grounds.
The weather had taken a turn for the warmer over the preceding days, melting the snow – much to Sophia's pleasure – and Harry walked out into a bright, clear day and hard sun on his face.
Squinting, they were joined by Fleur and Cedric who all exchanged similar tense nods. Harry hadn't spent any real time with either of them since the Yule Ball, and the change in both was dramatic up-close.
They had both lost weight and looked fitter and more muscular. In Fleur, it had given her stunning features a harder, challenging cast and made her large blue eyes more prominent. Cedric had become lean and hard, his strong face, now trimmed down was dusted with stubble on its way to being a beard.
Harry wondered what months of consistent, determined exercise had done to him.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, looking around for Krum. "As it seems Mr. Krum-"
"I am here." Said Krum, emerging from the lake a few feet away and brushing water from his face.
There had been no sign of him whatsoever since Harry had emerged from the castle.
While Cedric and Fleur had plainly gotten much fitter since Yule Ball, Krum had already been a world-class quidditch player and very fit. He had lost a little weight, but all that seemed to have changed in him was that he had shaved his head.
"I am sorry if I late, Professor." Krum said to McGonagall. "I lose track of time underwater."
McGonagall made a tight half-smile and addressed the three of them. "Behold the site of the Second Task, Champions. We understand that the last of you opened your egg more than a month ago, and you've had plenty of time to prepare. You will assemble right here at a quarter past nine in the morning, please and the task will begin at half-past. We request and advise that you all get a good night's sleep and attend to your final preparations."
They all stood in silence, staring across the glassy surface of the lake.
Flitwick was bouncing on his toes. "I, for one, would like to tell you all that – even though none of you are of my house – I am very proud of each of you. The resilience and determination you have shown, and the ingenuity we've witnessed in many of your training efforts have been inspiring."
"Hear, hear." Said Sprout, giving Cedric's arm a maternal squeeze.
"Indeed. All the very best to all of you." McGonagall said. "Mr's Diggory and Potter, you are excused from any classes you might otherwise have had today. Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour, please report to your school accommodation."
They were dismissed then and all went their separate ways. Harry caught up with McGonagall as she strode toward the castle.
"Professor, I wonder if Herm-" he started.
"I'm afraid not Potter, Miss Grainger and Miss Parkinson are expected to attend to their normal classes today. The same rules apply to the other champions too." Then McGonagall smiled. "I've been keeping an eye on your training Potter – you have everything you need. Please go and rest."
"I will Professor, thank you." Harry said.
For some reason, McGonagall's reassurance washed away a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety from him. He took a deep breath and felt – perhaps for the first time – that he was actually ready; that he could actually do what was expected of him.
He spent a few minutes, halfway up the steps between the lake and castle just breathing and taking in the scenery. Then, his mind closer to at-ease than he could ever remember it being before, he went for a walk around the grounds. He saw all kinds of people around, including Hagrid chasing the new litter of Silver Wolfhounds he had been caring for since Christmas. But he kept to himself, content to walk and be with his thoughts.
In time, he found his way back to his dorm where Hedwig waited with a letter from Sirius.
Harry, it sounds like you're doing an excellent job with your preparations. Just try to keep your head and your instincts will do the rest. Remember that Dumbledore will not have put you in real danger – just enough to push your limits. Consider it training for when we go adventuring around the world.
All the best, knock them dead.
Sirius
Harry didn't write a reply – one wasn't needed – so he read and re-read the letter before stowing it safely in his trunk with the rest of his correspondence with Sirius. Then he checked through his notes – beautifully written and re-written by Pansy – and ran through his list of spells he would need to prepare the night before, on the following morning and just before the start of the task. He had bought a little potion bandoleer that went around his left bicep with enough pockets to hold nine potions, though he only planned on taking four.
Then he checked the potions: Draught of Water Wandering, Pepper-up Potion, Strengthening Solution and a bottle of Night-Eye.
Satisfied that everything was where it belonged, he removed his school robes, dressed in his favourite pair of jeans and the shirt that was quickly becoming his favourite for duelling and went to find a quiet room to practice in.
The rest of the day went quietly and quickly. His anxieties started to return in the late afternoon after he messed up the same complex bubblehead charm three times in a row, but when he completed it correctly five consecutive times, he relaxed again.
At dinner, the great hall was full to bursting, with an extra table laid on for all the extra guests. After dessert, the champions were all shepherded out into the same portrait-lined room that they had met in after the Goblet of Fire had chosen them.
There, they went through a final pep-talk from their headteachers and fielded questions from reporters – Rita Skeeter included – but were not subjected to any further one-on-one interviews.
After that, they were dismissed to bed. By the time they reached the Great Hall, everyone had left, including Pansy and the rest of his friends. He made his way to the Gryffindor common room where he was greeted by enthusiastic friends and well-wishers before Fred and George were kind enough to intervene and shoo them away and allow him to go to bed.
As his hand touched the handle for the Boys' staircase, Neville entered through the portrait hole and called to him.
Hustling over red faced, Neville handed Harry something wrapped in what was unmistakably the silk scarf Harry had bought Hermione for her last birthday.
"Hermione asked me to give this to you," Neville said slightly out of breath, "said to say 'don't be afraid to use them if they can help, I've checked and there should be no negative interactions with any of the others you've prepared'. Does that make sense to you?"
Harry turned the scarf over in his hand and felt glass clicking against glass. "I know what it is. Good old Hermione. Cheers Neville, I'm going to bed, could you ask the others to keep it down when they come up?"
"Sure Harry, sleep well. See you in the morning." Neville said, turning back into the room.
