I do not own Harry Potter.
Dear Mum and Dad,
I was out that late last night because I was figuring out the egg's clue. I know you won't have time to write back any advice, but I wanted to let you know what was happening. Cedric helped me a little; he told me to take the egg with me to have a bath and gave me the password to the prefect's bathroom.
When I put the egg under water and went under myself, I could hear the clue. It says, "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 surely miss, an hour long you have to look, and to recover what we took, but past an hour the prospects black, too late it's gone it won't come back."
The second task is to go and find the merpeople in the lake. They'll have taken something of mine that I'll have to get back, but I don't have any idea how I'm supposed to breathe under water for an hour. Ron, Hermione, and I are spending all our spare time in the library trying to find a way to manage it. Hopefully, we'll find something in time.
Love,
Harry
Dear Mum and Dad,
Don't worry. The second task went alright after all. I was sure I was going to just not be able to do it, because I had no idea what I was going to do. I fell asleep in the library. Dobby woke me up just in time for the task and gave me gillyweed. It's a plant which gave me gills and fins for a while, so I could breathe underwater.
I was the first to get to the merpeople village. The things they took that we'll miss were people. Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, was there, and Cho Chang for Cedric, and Hermione for Krum, and Ron for me. I should have grabbed Ron and left, but it was different down there. The merpeople looked perfectly capable of murder, and the song said that we had to get them back up in time. So, I waited.
Cedric arrived first and took Cho, as I found later, he arrived one minute outside the time limit of an hour. He used the bubble head charm. Krum arrived next, he tried to transfigure himself into a shark, though it only worked half way. He took Hermione. But Fleur wasn't coming. The merpeople tried to stop me from taking her sister, but when I threatened them with my wand they let me go. So, I rescued them both.
Of course, Dumbledore would never have let any of them drown. Ron and Hermione were exasperated with me. However, the judges were informed of what happened at the bottom of the lake by the merpeople. Most of them (except for Karkaroff) thought I displayed moral fiber and gave me full marks. So, now I am tied with Cedric for first place.
They'll let us know what's happening in the third task a month before it happens, on June 24th. I'll let you know.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
Congratulations! I knew you would figure it out!
I'm glad you tried to help the other hostages, Harry. It's more important to 'display moral fiber' as they put it, than win.
Although winnings cool too.
True, tying with Cedric for first is an added bonus. Good job, Harry! And thank Dobby for us.
Good luck with your next task and be careful. If someone is trying to hurt you, they're on their last chance.
As Moody would say, constant vigilance!
Love,
Mum and Dad
Dear Mum and Dad,
I don't know if you guys read Witch Weekly, but Rita Skeeter got her revenge on Hermione. She wasn't too upset about it though, at least at first. But Victor Krum really did ask her to come visit him over the summer and did say he'd never felt this way about any other girl. So, we're again wondering how in the world Rita finds out about this stuff.
Before the end of our potions class, Karkaroff strode in telling Snape that he'd been avoiding him, and he wanted to talk when Snape couldn't sneak off. Karkaroff looked really worried, and he showed Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't see what it was.
We spoke to Snuffles in Hogsmeade. He's fine.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
We don't usually read Witch Weekly, but I picked up a copy of the issue you mentioned, and Rita Skeeter is an absolute git! Unfortunately, a lot of people consider her a credible source. Hermione may be in for more trouble than she thinks, but tell her that she shouldn't let it bother her. Remember that we all know her.
Karkaroff and Snape again? I don't know why he showed him something on his arm, but you said that Snape grabbed his arm while talking to Moody? I don't know what to make of it, but it might be related.
We told you Snuffles would be fine! He knows how to stay out of trouble.
Snuffles? Funny he should pick that name. That was the name we used to tease him about before we settled on Padfoot.
Be careful,
Love,
Mum and Dad
Dear Mum and Dad,
We visited Dobby yesterday. I brought him a bunch of socks in Hogsmeade and gave them to him and told him that you guys thanked him. He was very grateful.
We saw Winky too. She isn't doing too well; she's drinking lots of butterbeer. We tried asking her about Mr. Crouch. All we learned, though, is that she not only does housework but keeps his most important secrets. She fell asleep before we could ask more, and the house-elves apologized and covered her with a table cloth. They asked that we don't judge them on Winky and that house-elves had no right to be unhappy when there was work to be done. Hermione snapped and gave a speech about elf rights, and they kicked us out.
Hermione has other concerns now. This morning she got all kinds of hate mail from people who read Witch Weekly. One of them sent her undiluted bubotuber pus, which spilled all over her hands. She had to miss Care of Magical Creatures class (nifflers) because she was in the library. I think Rita would have done better to let her get away with shouting at her in the Three Broomsticks. Hermione's set on revenge, and you know how she never let's go of an idea once she has it. SPEW is proof of that.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
I'm glad Dobby's doing well, and I'm sorry Winky's taking freedom so hard.
I told you the house-elves wouldn't like being offered freedom. It takes a lot to offend an elf, but it looks like offering them freedom will do it.
I was afraid something like this would happen after that article. At least Hermione's not letting it bother her too much.
Although if she does get revenge on Rita Skeeter, that would be amazing! I think you and Ron had a good influence on Hermione. Four years ago, she wouldn't dream of getting revenge on a reporter.
I, for one, will cheer if and when Hermione gets back at Rita Skeeter! In the meantime, Harry, as always, be careful.
Love,
Mum and Dad