Chapter 28
Harry, Ron, Skylar, and Hermione went up to the Owlery that evening to find Pigwidgeon, so that Harry could send Sirius a letter telling him that he had managed to get past his dragon unscathed. Skylar also had one for her parents, which she let Hedwig take again. On the way, Harry filled Ron in on everything Sirius had told him about Karkaroff. Ron instantly began saying that they ought to have suspected it all along.
"Skylar told us he was a Death Eater when he first turned up. And it fits, doesn't it?" he said. "Remember what Malfoy said on the train, about his dad being friends with Karkaroff? Now we know where they knew each other. They were probably running around in masks together at the World Cup… I'll tell you one thing, though, Harry, if it was Karkaroff who put your name in the goblet, he's going to be feeling really stupid now, isn't he? Didn't work, did it? You only got a scratch! Come here — I'll do it —"
Pigwidgeon was so over excited at the idea of a delivery he was flying around and around Harry's head, hooting incessantly. Ron snatched Pigwidgeon out of the air and held him still while Harry attached the letter to his leg.
"I still kind of think Karkaroff is too much of a coward, I mean if he was that loyal to You-Know-Who, he wouldn't have squealed on his real supporters just to save himself from Azkaban." Skylar said. "You really think that Dark wizard is forgiving?"
"That is a point."
"And it's too obvious." Skylar said. "We thought Draco was the heir of Slytherin and were wrong, we thought Snape was stealing the Philosopher's Stone and were wrong. It's probably someone we'd never expect, like Moody."
"Come off it, Moody's not going to try and kill Harry." Ron said.
"It was just an example. He is here to protect us, remember." Skylar said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, either way, there's no way any of the other tasks are going to be that dangerous, how could they be?" Ron went on as he carried Pigwidgeon to the window. "You know what? I reckon you could win this tournament, Harry, I'm serious."
Ron was really just buttering up to Harry after the last month of his behaviour, but none of them called him on it.
Hermione, however, leaning against the Owlery wall, folded her arms, and frowned at Ron.
"Harry's got a long way to go before he finishes this tournament," she said seriously. "If that was the first task, I hate to think what's coming next."
"Right little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" said Ron. "You and Professor Trelawney should get together sometime."
"Think we've easily learnt it can only get worse before it gets solved. Regardless, we'll deal with it like we did the dragons and everything else this world has thrown at us the last three years." Skylar shrugged with a grin, earning a laugh from the three of them.
Ron threw Pigwidgeon out of the window. Pigwidgeon plummeted twelve feet before managing to pull himself back up again; the letter attached to his leg was much longer and heavier than usual — Harry hadn't been able to resist giving Sirius a blow-by-blow account of exactly how he had swerved, circled, and dodged the Horntail. They watched Pigwidgeon disappear into the darkness, and then Ron said, "Well, we'd better get downstairs for your surprise party, Harry — Fred and George should have nicked enough food from the kitchens by now."
"Well it's not a surprise now." Skylar rolled her eyes.
Sure enough, when they entered the Gryffindor common room it exploded with cheers and yells again. There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface; Lee Jordan had let off some Filibuster's Fireworks, so that the air was thick with stars and sparks; and Dean Thomas, who was very good at drawing, had put up some impressive new banners, most of which depicted Harry zooming around the Horntail's head on his Firebolt, though a couple showed Cedric with his head on fire.
Harry sat with Skylar, Ron and Hermione while the golden egg he'd collected was being admired from a table on which Harry had left it.
"Blimey, this is heavy," said Lee Jordan, picking up the golden egg and weighing it in his hands. "Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"
"He's supposed to work out the clue on his own," Hermione said swiftly. "It's in the tournament rules…"
"I was supposed to work out how to get past the dragon on my own too," Harry muttered, so only Hermione could hear him, and she grinned rather guiltily.
"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it!" several people echoed.
Lee passed Harry the egg, and Harry dug his fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around it and prised it open.
It was hollow and completely empty — but the moment Harry opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room. Everyone instantly clapped their hands over their ears and had their faces scrunched up.
"Shut it!" Fred bellowed, his hands over his ears.
"What was that?" said Seamus Finnigan, staring at the egg as Harry slammed it shut again. "Sounded like a banshee… Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry!"
"It was someone being tortured!" said Neville, who had gone very white and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"
"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal," said George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing… maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower, Harry."
"Bagman said you had to work out the clue as it had information for the next task." Skylar said. "How does screaming help you prepare for a task?"
No one seemed to know as some were massaging their ears.
"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" said Fred.
Hermione looked doubtfully at the plate he was offering her. Fred grinned.
"It's all right," he said. "I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch —"
Neville, who had just bitten into a custard cream, choked and spat it out. Fred laughed.
"Just my little joke, Neville…"
Hermione took a jam tart. Then she said, "Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred?"
"Yep," said Fred, grinning at her. He put on a high-pitched squeak and imitated a house-elf. "'Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful… get me a roast ox if I said I was peckish."
"How do you get in there?" Hermione said in an innocently casual sort of voice.
"Easy," said Fred, "concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and —" He stopped and looked suspiciously at her. "Why?"
"Nothing," said Hermione quickly.
"Going to try and lead the house-elves out on strike now, are you?" said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up into rebellion?"
Several people chortled. Hermione didn't answer.
"Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries!" said Fred warningly, "You'll put them off their cooking!"
Just then, Neville caused a slight diversion by turning into a large canary.
"Oh — sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over all the laughter. "I forgot — it was the custard creams we hexed —"
Within a minute, however, Neville had moulted, and once his feathers had fallen off, he reappeared looking entirely normal. He even joined in laughing.
"Canary Creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them — seven Sickles each, a bargain!"
The party lasted hours, but from being up late the night before, Skylar crashed long before anyone else did. She climbed into her bed, happy and content, for there was nothing to worry about for a couple of months now. One task down, two to go.
Skylar however did have one task she had to do, and that was her animagus progress. She had held a mandrake leaf in her mouth for an entire month and now had to spit it into a phial and let it bathe in the moonlight. Professor McGonagall had already made arrangements for Skylar to be picked up by her from the Common Room and be taken up the Astronomy Tower. So far, it seemed their night might be clear. Unfortunately, if Skylar had to repeat the process she'd likely be repeating it again due to a cloudy winter night.
It seemed Skylar however was in luck. When the two of them arrived at the Astronomy Tower, the night was clear and the moon fully visible. Skylar grinned in excitement as McGonagall passed her a phial.
"I have all the ingredients we need." She pulled out several phials from her person. "First we must let the leaf absorb the moon's rays." Skylar took the phial and for the first time in a month, removed the leaf from her mouth, spitting it into it. Her mouth felt oddly open, like she had a lot more room than normal.
They held the phial out to the light before Professor McGonagall took it from her.
"A hair if you please Miss Rosenwald." Skylar ran her fingers through her auburn hair and took a single strand, pulling on it. She winced slightly before adding it to the phial. Professor McGonagall then took her phials, one with a dew in it, which she tipped into a silver teaspoon and then into the phial, took a Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis and added that as well.
"Doesn't it have to sit in an undisturbed quiet place now? Where are we going to put it?"
"I already have that arranged." The Professor assured her. She nodded. "Now, remember what you have to do now?"
Skylar nodded. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus, wand on the heart." She repeated. "Sunrise and Sundown every day until we have an electrical storm."
"If you miss even one, you will have to start all over again." Professor McGonagall warned.
Skylar nodded. "If that's the case then I'm likely not supposed to try again." She thought smiling.
"Well, we'll see how you go. So far you've done very well." She smiled slightly and Skylar grinned.
"Thank you Professor. And thank you for helping me."
"You're very welcome." She nodded. "Now, come on." And the professor had to lead Skylar back to the common room, after all, students were not allowed out of their common rooms after hours.
It was still late but despite that Skylar returned to the common room to find Harry there.
"Why are you still awake?" She asked, confused.
"I was waiting for you? How'd you go?"
"I suppose you could say half the process is complete. I got to remove the Mandrake Leaf from my mouth." She curled her tongue a few times. "Feels weird now."
"It seems like a complicated process." Harry said.
"There's a reason there aren't many animagi Harry, they think the time could be better spent." She shrugged.
"So what do you have to do now?"
"Every sunset and sunrise I have to say an incarnation with my wand tip at my heart until there's an electrical storm."
"Wow, when will that be?"
Skylar sighed. "Who knows. I'm hoping winter will be on my side." She shrugged.
"What happens if you don't do the incantation thing?" Harry wondered.
"I start all over again and put another leaf in my mouth."
"Wow." He muttered.
"I think if I can't manage it the first time, I'm probably not dedicated enough and shouldn't bother again." Skylar shrugged.
"Hey, what are you going to do when your mum and dad find out about this?" Harry wondered. "You think they'll be angry?"
Skylar thought. "Honestly, I don't know. My dad's one and he did it illegally, so already I've done it better than him, I don't know if he can talk. Mum might be annoyed I didn't tell her, but I don't know if they'd be angry. Nick and Leon however…" Skylar grimaced. "They might kill me for not letting them do it with me."
Harry chuckled.
"So, I don't suppose you've thought about your screaming egg?" She asked.
"No?" He said. "The task is ages away."
"Yeah but once we pass Christmas you'll barely have two months. You really want to leave it to the last minute?" She asked.
"Not like I know what it means, all it does is scream?"
"Well it has to hold some clue."
"How?"
"I don't know, research screams." Skylar shrugged. "At least do something."
"You sound like Hermione, can't I enjoy having passed the first task?"
Skylar chuckled. "Fine, but if you start getting nervous after Christmas, I get to say I told you so. Granted that is I'm not consumed by chanting four words over and over again." She added.
This might be where my most recent editing ends.