Disclaimers: See Chapter 1 for more info.

The Golden Egg's riddle came from the book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Frodo was a bit shaken early the next morning. What Cedric said to him was strangely what was going through his head even before he opened his eyes. If Harry had been straightforward in telling Cedric about the dragons, then… honestly, Frodo thought it strange for Cedric telling him to take a bath. But how could he do so unless… well, he could take a bath, but… maybe it was better to wait until everyone had left. But then, he was sure there were other ways to reveal the egg's secret.

A body of water, perhaps? All he would need to do was a barrier spell on the boys' lavatory in the Ravenclaw Tower. Then he could be left alone in peace. And since the holidays were still going on.

"Frodo, you do realize the risk involved," Aria told him that morning. "If you were seen and the egg was revealed. Cedric specifically said the Prefects' bathroom, and…"

"Aria," Frodo said, his voice mildly tempered, "as much as I would appreciate going to the Prefects' bathroom, I would… look, I'm sure the egg can be open in any body of water, correct?"

"I guess so, but… I'm not going with you when you figure out the egg," Aria said. "If you want, we can discuss this with our friends. Sam, Merry and Pippin I mean. Or even Folco and Fatty."

"But not Pearl?" Frodo asked. "You're not jealous, are you?"

"She is your first crush, correct?" Aria said.

"Hey!" Pearl spoke up, appalled. "Aria, I thought we already agreed to have a civilized conversation. I'm not jealous of you two."

"What are they talking about?" Folco asked, putting on his fleece jacket.

"Aria's jealous of me," Pearl said.

"Ah. What a fascinating development," Folco said, smirking. "Come on Pearl. We don't want to be late for lunch."

"It's still the breakfast hour, Folco," Pearl said. She told Frodo and Aria, "I'll see you two later."

Frodo waited until after Pearl and Folco left the common room, before facing Aria again. "I'll put up a protection spell around the boys' lavatory. Trust me."

Aria nodded. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

Frodo hoped so too.

Time passed quickly throughout the morning. Frodo waited until the boys' lavatory in the Ravenclaw Tower was unoccupied. In haste, he waved his hand on the door and along the walls. Normally, he wouldn't have done this, but he wasn't about to waste time. February the twenty-fourth would be creeping up on him.

Yes. It was time to solve the riddle. And the only way to do it was to step inside the bathtub, golden egg on hand. He took off the jacket and vest, but kept on his breeches and white dress shirt. The water was hot, but enough to keep his feet from bleeding. Just right temperature. Perfect.

He jumped back at a voice. It was the ghost's voice. Moaning Myrtle. She giggled, not suppressing her interest what he was about to do.

"Oh. Thought you could protect every wall, couldn't you Frodo?" Myrtle said, cheerfully.

"Myrtle. I muffled the sound," Frodo winced at the thought. Bad timing.

"Oh. From all sounds." Myrtle said. "Is that what you're wearing in the bathtub. Odd."

"Eh…" Frodo wasn't sure how to address it. Slowly, he moved on foot into the bathtub and another foot afterwards. Right away, his clothes weighed him down. But he managed to get into the water.

"Open it." Myrtle told him, squeamishly.

Frodo did. There were no screeching sounds as there had been. But he couldn't hear the egg's song, unless… taking a deep breath, Frodo plunged into tub. The water crashed against his ears. And yet, the egg's riddle was loud and clear, but also watery, like the water surrounding him.

"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've sorely missed,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we've took,
But past an hour — the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

Frodo dived up out of the water with a splash. He coughed and sputtered, finding his hard to breathe. Had he caught everything the egg told him? Singing, an hour long? He dived a few more times into the bathtub to hear the egg's riddle a couple more times. There was singing, something he sorely missed. What did it all mean?

"Ah." Myrtle sang. "Figured it out yet."

"Myrtle, what sings underwater? Could it—" Frodo's gaze fell on a stained-glass window of a woman with a fish tail. No. "Mermaids. Merfolk. Something was stolen. But what?"

"Cedric took ages to figure it out," Myrtle said. "Why don't you stay longer?"

Frodo shook his head. "No. I've got a better way." With a snap of his fingers, the water drained out from the bathtub. His hair and clothes were dry, but he needed a warm towel. He stepped out of the bathtub with ease, but nearly collapsed on the floor. He was still partially wet, but it didn't matter. The towel that appeared, with his hand magic, helped dry him off the rest of the way.

"Shame." Myrtle said. "I had hoped for something better. A treat of sorts."

Frodo sat down in a chair, drying himself off. The towel felt so good right about now. How was he to tell his friends about the egg's riddle. He didn't know if Harry already riddled it out. Best not to tell him. But his hobbit friends and Aria… well, they would help. When he was at last dry, he took the golden egg out of the bathtub. It was closed now. Good. He wouldn't have to listen to the shrieks coming out from it…

o-o-o

Frodo had long since opened the barrier to the boys' lavatory. Only when he did, there were a few boys that entered the lavatory once he was back in the common room. But that was weeks ago. Now, it was just a few days before the Second Task. He wasn't sure he was ready for the task. And yet, he still chose to go over the riddle again with Aria, Sam, Merry and Pippin. That seemed like the best solution, given Aria had already figured it out.

"Frodo, I don't know what you're going to do," Aria said. "To breathe underwater."

"Hey," Sam said. "I know a good deal about Herbology."

"It's your passion, Sam," Merry said. "Why shouldn't we be surprised?"

"What about gillyweed?" Pippin asked.

"No," Frodo said. "There's got to be a better way to do this." The thought came to him. "What about my hand magic? Is that allowed this time around?"

"Ahem!" Moody spoke to the five friends. "Dumbledore wishes to see you. You four, not Baggins."

"Is it important," Merry asked.

"Not as important as it will be." Moody said. "Now get a move on."

"Wait," Aria said, protesting a little, "shouldn't Frodo being informed about – whatever he's to face for the next task?"

"He'll get it soon enough. Go," Moody said, his voice serious and stern.

"Oh. All right then," Aria turned to Frodo, "I'll see you later, Frodo."

"Goodbye," Frodo said, glancing over his shoulder as Aria, Sam, Merry and Pippin disappeared around the corner. He looked up at Moody, as he spoke to him,

"Snorri," Moody said, "will tell you what's at stake and what you need to know."

"Thanks," Frodo said, unsure where this was heading.

"Yes I will," Snorri said, sitting down next to Frodo. "And I'll bet you're wondering what to do for the Second Task."

"Am I allowed to use hand magic?" Frodo asked him.

"Yes. Dumbledore's allowing it for this challenge, as are the Ministry and the Author's Campus," Snorri said. "What do you have in mind?"

"A full body bubble charm," Frodo said. "Ever since I figured out the egg's riddle, I've been practicing the spell in the boys' lavatory. It's the one place where I knew I was safe to use it."

"Ah." Snorri said. "Then I would recommend it. Unless you have a better idea."

"No." Frodo shook his head. He was nervous. Was his practicing going to be tested here? An hour long he needed in the water. He couldn't waste any time then. He relaxed a bit when Snorri touched his shoulder, but… no. The hand felt off to him.

"Good luck, Frodo," Snorri told him. "You'll do great, as usual."

"You usually call me Mr. Baggins, or simply Baggins," Frodo said.

"You're right. Well then Baggins, I suggest you get ready for the second task," Snorri said, standing up and moving out of the way.

Frodo sighed. There was something off about his Introductory professor. Sure, he received an Outstanding in his exam. He remembered Snorri speaking to him the day after the exam results…

"I need you study hard here." Snorri told him. "I gave you an Outstanding because you excelled at hand magic. What young hobbit excels at that so hard and fast in this day and age. I trust you'll come through the tournament in one piece as well. Don't let me down, or that Outstanding could still change to an Exceeds Expectations grade. Know that, Baggins. Know that. Trust your gut instincts when you need to, and you'll do fine."

That's what Frodo was worried about. It was all too easy, and it made him suspicious. Usually, he had trouble somewhere in his studies. It made no sense. What happened to his actual grade? Or maybe he was trying his luck. No. He needn't ponder on it, but something was definitely off about Snorri. He just wondered what that something was, and how it worked for him.

For now, there was only the second task ahead. And he felt sure he was being tested, one way or another. As if everything was working against him. He would win the Second Task, wouldn't he? He would wait and see then what happened next in the Triwizard Tournament, no matter what came his way… at least, he hoped as much would happen to him. But then… oh, he would wait until February the twenty-fourth then. Yes, that sounded about right to his ears.