Where we get to see how the situation evolves as the second task keeps approaching.

SUSAN II

There were a few things in life that Susan hated. One of these things was to be a center of interest. And sadly, over the last two weeks, she became quite a center of interest in Hogwarts. She wasn't stupid. When she started dating Harry, she knew that it was possible that something like that would happen. Still, she had hoped it would have marginal proportions or maybe not last very long, a day or two. But two weeks after their date at Hogsmeade and the beginning of their relationship, the phenomenon persisted.

When Harry found her in the library and asked her if she wanted to come with to Hogsmeade the day before, Susan had been so surprised that she spilled her ink by accident on the homework she was completing. She and Harry had not talked since the Yule Ball before he asked her. Today, she knew that he was as embarrassed as she was on the moment, but she had been almost in a second state when she said yes. She thought that she made a fool of herself at the end of the Yule Ball, and that was the last thing she expected, that Harry would invite her to go on a date. But she accepted, and early the following morning, after telling her friends that she would be working the whole day so they wouldn't suspect anything, she waited for Harry in the Entrance Hall, and they left very early for the village.

This had been a very good day, despite the questionable weather. The only incident of note had been their unexpected meeting with Ron and Hermione at the Three Broomsticks. She had gone to take two tankards of Butterbeer, leaving Harry at a table to keep it for them, but when she returned, she saw Ron and Hermione who were present. Susan had panicked. She didn't want people to know that she was spending the day with Harry. Not immediately, at least. She still wasn't entirely sure where it would be going, or even what it was really about. Luckily enough for her, Hermione seemed to have realized what was going on and dragged Ron out of the pub, leaving her and Harry alone. Though Susan was glad they were gone, she wasn't sure that she was glad someone might have figured out what was going on. Susan herself didn't know for sure what was going on that day. Still, she preferred that it was Hermione who seemed to get it rather than someone else.

"I didn't know they would be there," Harry had told her, apologizing.

"I guess we should have known they would come here," she said, trying to wave away this concern. She was already stressed enough by this date.

She and Harry then drank together a gulp of Butterbeer. They then stayed silent for quite some time. Susan was avoiding his gaze, and he was avoiding hers too. That was how she saw this woman walk in.

"Harry, don't look behind," Susan had warned him in as low a voice she could manage in the chaotic ambiance.

"Why?" He made the movement to look over his shoulder.

"Hey!" She had gripped his hand, which stopped his movement. She removed her hand immediately, feeling her cheeks getting red. Then, recovering her spirits, she explained. "This is Rita Skeeter. I think she is with a photographer."

Harry's face changed from confusion to concern. "Oh. Not her again!" he complained.

"Don't look behind," Susan repeated. "Maybe she won't notice you if you keep your back on her."

"I would turn my back on her anytime."

Susan smirked a little. She looked further at the journalist. "Good. She's not looking in our direction. It's better to avoid her. And believe me, I talk from personal experience."

Harry frowned. "Why? Don't tell me she wrote an article on you?"

"Indirectly," Susan confirmed. "When my aunt was promoted in her department a few years ago, Skeeter wrote an article about her. There were some people who were not happy with the change of head, so a former employee of Bartemius Crouch contacted Skeeter and told her that my aunt had an illegitimate child. It was false, of course, but Skeeter used the opportunity. She wrote an article where she went as far as to suggest that I was my aunt's illegitimate daughter, and that she gave me to my father to not hamper her career. And her strongest arguments about it were suggesting that my parents' marriage was sterile because I was an only child, and that I didn't look at all like my father."

She sighed, even years after the facts, finding these theories completely stupid.

"Let me guess. She used quotes taken out of context, lies from other people, and completely idiot theories to come to that conclusion?" Harry said.

"Mostly. Like for your article earlier this year, and for Hagrid's article." She noticed that Harry's mood had darkened at the mention of it. "She never mentioned how my mother and I look alike, of course."

"Did you have people asking you questions about it all the time?"

"No. I was lucky on that. That was before we arrived at Hogwarts. I was going to a Muggle elementary school, and very few people there read the Daily Prophet, of course. And my name was not even mentioned in the article. When I came here, the story had already died down, anyway. No one was paying any attention to it anymore. That's also the thing with Rita Skeeter. She throws rumors that have people talking about it all the time for a week or two, then it disappears, and people get interested in something else. The best thing to do with her is to simply ignore her."

"I wish Hagrid did the same thing. Ron, Hermione and I went to see him every day since the article was published, and he doesn't answer to his door."

"He really remains inside all the time?"

"Yes."

Susan sighed. "He shouldn't."

"Is Skeeter still there?"

"Yes, she is. And she doesn't look very happy. In fact, I would say that she looks furious." She really looked like she was furious. Susan had a very bad feeling about this. "Perhaps we should leave."

"I don't know. What if she spots us leaving? It would give her an excellent topic for a new article. She'll say that I am cheating on Hermione, I guess."

They both laughed on that. Though there was something in her stomach that made Susan wish there could be more truth to such a potential article. Not the part about Hermione and Harry of course, but the part about herself and Harry.

Rita Skeeter had eventually left the Three Broomsticks on that day, and Harry and Susan left it a little while later. The rest of the day went on without accident. Susan had a very good time. And at the end of the day, before they headed back to Hogwarts, well… Harry kissed her.

Well, not really.

They kissed each other. It had reminded Susan about how she awkwardly asked him to kiss her the first time after the Yule Ball. And in fact, they had their first kiss after Harry told her, in a very embarrassed way, that he would have wanted to kiss her that night. The kiss was slow, they barely touched each other's lips, but she enjoyed it, and didn't want it to end. She didn't know for how long they stayed like this in an alley of Hogsmeade before they walked back to the castle, both smiling widely without stop.

Ever since, the word had spread about their relationship. They only told their closest friends, but the word of mouth did its job, and soon it seemed the whole school knew. Over Sunday, Susan had hoped everything would be okay. She was happy, even excited to date Harry, but at the same time, she was afraid. And some of her fears became a reality.

Two weeks later, these fears were still present. As she travelled through the corridors of the school in this Friday afternoon, heading towards the Charms class, she heard whispers behind her back, and even saw two people pointing in her direction.

"I thought it would be over by now," Susan said aloud.

"After only a few weeks?" Hannah asked, unbelieving, knowing very well what Susan was talking about while she walked next to her friend. "Come on, Susan."

"Well, I just don't understand why people pay so much attention to me. I'm not Celestina Warbeck."

"No, but you're the girlfriend of the Boy Who Lived."

"I'm not with the Boy Who Lived. It's Harry I am with."

"If you say so, but even though you may make the difference, the others don't."

Susan rolled her eyes at Hannah's comment. She couldn't walk outside the common room without hearing at least one person muttering to someone else that she was Harry Potter's girlfriend. Even inside the common room, it seemed impossible to avoid. Worse, some were saying that she was Harry Potter's new girlfriend.

"I don't get it," Susan said. "I mean…" She inhaled deeply before broaching the subject. "Parvati was Harry's girlfriend as well, and no one is whispering behind her back."

Hannah laughed on this. "You think that because you didn't listen to people around. Parvati had her hour of glory. When people heard that she and Harry dated, she enjoyed a peak in popularity. Only people were whispering less behind her back and going more often directly to speak to her. Asking her questions about Harry. It's easier to ask an ex-girlfriend about her former boyfriend. This way you can get crispy details about him more easily."

Susan sighed this time. She didn't like discussing Parvati. Though she had to admit that she brought up the subject herself. Susan also had to endure questions, especially from girls. Some of them were insolent enough to ask her questions about Harry. She refused to answer most of the time. There was even a twelve-year-old girl from Gryffindor with curly black hair who literally asked her if Harry had a Hungarian Horntail tattooed somewhere. Susan had wanted to smack her across the face when she asked her this.

Last week, she asked Harry how he did to manage all this. Susan may not be as gossiping as Hannah was, but she noticed how people often talked about him and stared at his scar when Harry walked somewhere.

"With time, I just sort of got used to ignore all of this," he told her.

"Well, I hope that I'll manage to ignore them soon. Or that they will simply stop harassing me."

"See the positive side of things. You don't have a scar on your forehead to attract gazes, at least."

True enough. What Susan endured was more bothering than unsufferable. In comparison with what Harry faced in November, or two years ago when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, it was nothing. Still, there were aspects of this unwanted popularity that bothered Susan a lot. The worst were the insults and mockeries.

Yes, not everyone was marvelling at the fact that Susan was dating Harry. Many Slytherins seized opportunities to mock her since the news spread.

"I'm not surprised he's dating her. His only chance at a relationship is with a pile of bones," Pansy Parkinson purposefully told in front of her one day.

"Hey, Bones! Want a scar to go with your boyfriend's? I'm ready to do one just for you," Goyle offered.

"Is that really a girl? Or is it only Weasley who let his hair grow up?" Malfoy mocked.

Susan had been the target of mockeries by Slytherins in the past, so she wasn't that affected. Especially when those insults came from members of Death Eaters' families. Once, she had been close to replying to Malfoy that he looked like a girl whose hair was cut short because her father wanted to have a son. She didn't voice this though, for she preferred ignoring those people. She kept her best retorts for when they were really useful and impactful. That was something her aunt told her a long time ago.

Power does not reside in the ability of speaking. It resides in the ability to know when you should speak and when you should not. Much like the best general is not the one who wins all battles, but the one who knows when he can fight and when he cannot.

The part that was really harder for Susan though were the few insults that came from her own comrades in Hufflepuff. Sometimes in their common room, she would hear people muttering the word traitor, and this was the kindest word that would be used. They were very few to treat her like this, and none dared to say it to her face so far, but she felt a certain hostility from other Hufflepuffs. Not most of them, of course. The relations between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff significantly improved after the first task, and the Yule Ball enhanced this situation even farther. However, since Susan was dating Harry, she felt that a small but not negligible number of Hufflepuffs were back to hating the Gryffindors, and that they also despised her. To her, it was ludicrous. Luckily enough, this time, most of Susan's friends in her house were on her side. Ernie, Hannah, and even someone as timid as Sally-Anne took her defense. Even Justin, who was not happy that Susan was dating Harry and didn't talk to her for an entire week after he learned about it, didn't hesitate to make a first year shut up after he used a pretty negative epithet about her.

Overall, things were still good enough. Susan was bothered by all this unwanted attention on her, but she could live with that, and kept telling herself that it would recede sooner or later. As they walked into the classroom, she couldn't refrain herself from smiling. She had a boyfriend, and it was Harry. And it made her happy beyond what other people could imagine or what she could explain with words. She only wished that Harry was as happy recently.

She sat down at the front of the classroom with Hannah and Ernie on her sides. Professor Flitwick taught them the Banishing Charm today. It was the opposite to the Summoning Charm. Instead of attracting an object to you, it pushed it away. They had to reverse the whole process by which they threw the spell, but more importantly, they needed a good aim for this charm. Summoning something only meant bringing it to you, but Banishing meant sending it to another place with a precise force.

Once he was done giving them explanations, Flitwick provided them with cushions to send into a box on the other side of the classroom. The exercise proved to be quite entertaining. Cushions were soon flying everywhere, and not only cushions. Some students mistakenly sent other objects flying when their aim was wrong. It was rare but could result in funny events. Such as when someone aimed so poorly that he hit a book instead, sending it flying across the classroom, only to land perfectly in a standing position on the floor. Susan had no idea how it could have been possible.

"That's a good way to finish the week," Hannah said, sending another pillow that hit the corner of the box, but sadly fell outside.

"Yes, but let's try to master this spell," Ernie said. "It might be at the practice examination next year."

It had been some time now that Ernie was speaking a lot about O.W.L.s. Some people were beginning to get tired of it, especially since the O.W.L.s would take place only next year. As for Susan, she gave the same attention to practicing spells as always, only listening with one ear as Hannah talked next to her.

"Depulso!"

Her cushion travelled too far and landed after the box.

"Near miss," Ernie commented. "Depulso!" His own managed to land in the box. "Yeah!"

"Good aim, Ernie," Hannah said. "Let's see if I can do better. Depulso!"

Unfortunately, Hannah's cushion landed right next to the box. "You still need some practice, Hannah, I'm afraid. Depulso!"

This time, Ernie's cushion miss the target completely, hitting a shelf.

"I think all of us need some practice," Susan stated. "Depulso!"

And the pillow landed right into the box.

"Are you sure about that?" Ernie said, a point of sarcasm in his voice after Susan's success.

They continued throwing cushions around the room. Susan thought that she mastered the Banishing Charm quite decently at the end of the lesson.

"Too bad I only managed to hit the box a few times," Ernie said as they left the classroom.

"Okay, Ernie. Let's put classes and lessons aside for a moment," Hannah said. "We will focus on them again tomorrow with our homework. In the meantime, let's empty our heads for tonight."

"Fine, Fine. So, anyone wants to do something special?"

They walked together to the Great Hall, discussing plans for the evening. During dinner, the ambiance was quite joyful, the week being over. And of course, with only three weeks left before the second task, some people discussed about it. Harry was not in the Great Hall when Susan arrived. He came in a little while later, and they smiled to each other when their eyes met.

Susan regretted they were not in the same house. Seeing each other was made harder by this. And over the last week, they didn't have the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. In fact, they struggled to find time for it. This was due to certain factors, including the approaching second task which pushed Harry to spend more time trying to solve the golden egg. Susan hoped he would succeed. She didn't want him to arrive to the second task without knowing what it would be. Remembering what her friends told her of the first task, she was afraid for him. The second task might be even more dangerous than the first one. Another cause was that Susan felt uncomfortable when she was with Harry and other people. And sadly, finding time when they could be alone was difficult. They organized themselves to meet regularly at the library to do their homework together, but this wasn't the best quality time they could find.

Susan felt a little tired of her week, but she decided to stay behind nonetheless when she and the other Hufflepuffs finished their dinner. They went back to the common room while she waited in the Entrance Hall. She waited for quite some time, until finally Harry emerged with Ron and Hermione.

"Hey, hi," Harry told he, coming her way.

"Hi, Harry," she replied.

They kissed. It was short, and awkward. Truth was, Susan forced herself to kiss him when other people were around. Right now, she felt the eyes not only of Ron and Hermione on her, but also of many other people in the Entrance Hall. Maybe it was only an impression, but the latter days gave her the impression that someone was always watching her.

"I… was going to the library to do some homework. You want to come?"

Why did she come up with this idea? She was tired, and this was the best idea she found to spend time with her boyfriend? Harry accepted, though not with much enthusiasm. She noticed Ron blowing some air behind, under Hermione's disapproving gaze. But she had to say Ron's reaction may be appropriate this time, even though she appreciated him much less than Hermione. Why should Harry accept her offer? So they went their respective ways to their common room and agreed to reunite at the library.

She only told her friends at the Hufflepuff common room that she was going to work at the library. They were surprised, especially Hannah.

"Susan, why are you working this evening? You look exhausted."

"I'll rest tomorrow," Susan replied evasively to her best friend.

"Let me guess. She's not going to work," a weary voice said. This was Justin's voice.

"Oh," Hannah said all of a sudden. "Well… Have a good evening, Susan, then."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's going to spend a very good evening with Harry," Justin added on the very same tone.

Susan left as quickly as she could without answering. She tried to be accommodating and patient, but with everything that was going on, Justin was growingly getting on her nerves. At least, Hannah tried to make things better by not asking her too much about her relationship with Harry. Well, not when everyone else, especially Justin, was around. It would be when they were alone that she would press Susan for details. But Susan never said much.

When Susan came back from Hogsmeade two weeks ago, she couldn't stop smiling. She was dating someone for the first time. She had kissed a boy for the first time as well. Susan had loved the kiss on that day. They had been alone in an empty alley. It had been clumsy, but soft, and caused her heart and stomach to flutter. It had been far better than their kisses ever since. She and Harry had not much opportunity to be alone, and kissing in front of other people made her feel uneasy. And on top of that, she struggled to find reasons and activities for them to be alone.

But there wasn't consideration like that in her mind when, after dinner on that day, she took Hannah aside to their dormitory, which was empty so early in the evening, and told her what happened on that day.

Hannah had been stunned. For a very long moment, she said nothing as Susan reddened, couldn't stop herself from smiling and looked everywhere but to her best friend's face. Finally she spoke, and Susan looked straight back at her.

"You're kidding?" her best friend said.

Susan laughed stupidly. "No, Hannah. I'm not kidding. Harry and I are together."

Another long moment went on, Hannah making round eyes as she seemed to struggle to understand what was going on. Then she burst. "And this is now that you're telling me? You've been with Harry Potter for all this time, and you only tell me now?!"

"No, Hannah. We only started dating today. That's why I went to Hogsmeade with him."

"So… You were not together for the Yule Ball?" she then asked, unbelieving.

"No, we were not. I mean… Yes, we went to the ball together, but… It was only as friends back then… I mean… I don't know… Something happened during the ball and… Well, we are together now. He's my boyfriend."

It was the first time she said that Harry was her boyfriend. It made her smile and laugh somehow, uncontrollably, something that almost never happened to her. It was the first time she told someone that Harry was actually her boyfriend. And Hannah seemed even more ecstatic.

"I can't believe it!" She was laughing as well. "My best friend is the girlfriend of Harry Potter!"

"It's just Harry, Hannah. We've known him for years."

"All the same. Harry Potter!" She laughed even more, but Susan knew it wasn't to mock the situation. "I… I didn't expect it at all. I mean, I was surprised when you showed up with Harry at the ball, but… I didn't think that you two would actually…"

"Me neither. Not at the time," Susan confessed. It was strange how things had changed over a single evening. Or maybe she already felt something for Harry without really being conscious of it.

"Wow! I was sure that he would end up dating Hermione one day… Oh. I'm sorry, Susan. I didn't… I shouldn't have said that."

But Susan only laughed. "Look, she and Harry are only friends. Very close friends, but that's all. There's nothing more between them."

"Well, there seems to be quite a lot more between you and Harry than I thought."

Susan nodded, the smile not leaving her face.

"Hey! I've got to tell our friends! You're not going to forbid me from telling them about this?" Hannah asked.

Susan had thought about it, but she gave another answer. "I think that anyway, they will find out about it sooner or later. So you're free to tell."

And Hannah had left after that. Susan had remained in the dormitory for the rest of the evening, going to bed early, remembering the day with Harry. The other girls seemed to have been decent enough to not ask her questions that night. The fact she feigned to sleep when they came into the dormitory certainly helped. But the following day, she was bombarded with questions from her friends, and this gave her first bad experience of being a center of interest. Even with her friends, she didn't like to be the center of all attention.

But something else that bothered Susan ever since she began her relationship with Harry was Justin's behavior. The day after she and Harry began dating, he was in a very sour mood, and even sometimes threw daggers at her with his eyes. This wasn't the first time it happened. Justin had not been happy either after he saw her accompanying Harry to the ball, and he wasn't very secretive about it either. However, now, Susan was truly starting to have enough. Truth be told, she didn't care if Justin had feelings for her. She had none for him, and he would have to learn to live with it. The faster he would turn the page on them, the better it would be, not only for himself, but also for Susan. Despite this, Justin remained unpleasant whenever she was around. And he proved to be quite unpleasant towards Harry as well. Yesterday, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, they were training to throw various spells, at each other like always. Alastor Moody claimed that it was better to experience the effects of as many spells as possible, to be better prepared when they would receive them in real life, to fight their effects, and to have increased motivation to avoid them. Sometimes however, the spells were not cast in the right way, and it wasn't rare that someone would be sent to the infirmary during those lessons. Justin had cast an explosive spell, presumably by mistake, that hit next to Harry's feet. Harry wasn't injured. He only had dust thrown into his face and some coughing afterwards. The only one who got injured was Neville who, surprised by the explosion, jumped behind to hit the back of his head against a table. However, Justin never apologized for this, and claimed afterwards that Harry didn't deserve any apology since he wasn't injured. A part of Susan doubted that this spell was sent entirely by accident.

Susan was thinking about this as she sat down next to Harry who arrived sooner than she did at the library. And he had opened his homework in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"If you don't mind, I would rather avoid Potions for tonight," he said, an exasperation behind his tone.

"Another rough period with Snape?" she asked.

"They're always rough."

She understood him very well. She had no love for the Potions teacher either. When she first came to Hogwarts, her parents warned her to stay as far from him as possible. "I don't mind. I'm not in the mood for his lessons me neither."

"Thank you."

"By the way, I'm sorry. I mean, for the explosive spell Justin sent yesterday."

"Oh, that? It's fine," he brushed away.

They started working. They advanced quite well. Susan found that she worked quite well with Harry. It reminded her of the time they completed their homework together during summer. However, this didn't really make for a good time between a boyfriend and a girlfriend. They didn't even kiss when they left the library and went their separate ways. Susan only realized it afterwards, when she went to bed. Well, she supposed she couldn't blame Harry for that. He had a lot on his mind right now, with the second task approaching.

During the breakfast next morning, Susan did not see Harry. Ron and Hermione were alone with the other Gryffindors of their year at the table, but Harry wasn't present. Now she remembered that they discussed the golden egg yesterday, and how Harry whispered, to not be heard by anybody else in the library, how he still couldn't solve it. Susan suggested that he goes back to Hagrid's cabin to examine it. It was obvious that Harry had no wish to spend more time on an enigma that looked without solution, but he agreed with Susan. However, he refused Susan's help when she offered to go with him like before. He said that he didn't want Susan to lose time on it like he did, but she felt disappointed all the same. She wanted Harry to have the best chances on his side during the second task. Not to win, but to survive, and she wished she could help him.

Hannah was now discussing the accident that took place in Transfiguration yesterday, in the lesson common to the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins.

"Apparently, that boy they call Goyle tried to transfigure his animal, but he didn't target well enough and hit Malfoy in the back. As a result, a part of his hair turned into spines."

Susan couldn't stop herself from laughing as Hannah described, from what she heard, how not only Malfoy tried to remove the spines from his head, hurting his hand in the process, but also how he said he would kill Goyle while McGonagall tried to calm him down and the rest of the classroom laughed hysterically.

"I wish I could have ben there," Ernie said, laughing as well.

"Me too," Hannah said. "I think he spent a good portion of the evening in the hospital wing."

"The common room of Slytherin must have been almost livable for a few hours thanks to that," Susan said, which elicited more laughter, although Susan didn't only mean it as a joke.

"And you, Susan. How was your time with Harry yesterday?" Justin asked, looking at his plate. The mood was less light all of a sudden. Justin was the one who laughed the less at Hannah's story.

"It went well," Susan replied. She didn't have the tendency to talk to her friends much about the time she spent with Harry. In her opinion, this was her private life.

"I guess his marks are going to improve, with the help you're giving him. Not that it will matter since he's exempted from final exams."

Hannah jumped in the conversation, trying to change its direction. "By the way, Ernie, how much do you think you need your marks to increase before next year?" For once, Susan wouldn't have minded hearing Ernie talk endlessly about upcoming O.W.L.s.

"Well, I believe we need to improve at least…" he began, but Justin stopped him short.

"If someone doesn't need to improve, it's Harry Potter. So whoever is helping him, he or she is losing his or her time."

"You know what?" Susan said all of a sudden. "I think I'm done eating. I'll go and take a walk. Bye, everyone."

She stood up and walked away, but she heard distinctively what Justin muttered behind her. "Guess who she's going to join."

The worst part was that on this point, Justin was right. Susan was indeed heading to see Harry. However, before she could enter the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff common room, she was intercepted in the Entrance Hall by Hermione who hailed her from behind.

"Hey, Susan. Everything is fine?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I'm okay," she replied.

"Look… I'm going to the library to complete the work that Professor Vector gave us. If you don't have something else to do, and if you don't mind…"

"No. I mean, I'm coming too."

She felt that she needed some time away from her friends in Hufflepuff. As for her initial plans to join Harry, well, maybe he really preferred to be alone for now, since he refused her help yesterday. She needed some quiet time, and studying with Hermione was ironically one of the best ways for that. One of the reasons why they almost always sat next to each other in class was that they remained silent, unless it was absolutely necessary to say something.

And so, like last evening, Susan found herself heading for the library this morning, but with Hermione this time. They met halfway between their respective common rooms.

"Did you have time to begin them?" Hermione asked.

"No," Susan replied. "Harry and I… We only worked on what Professor Moody gave us."

"Oh." Hermione didn't say anything for some time. "Is everything alright? I mean, between the two of you?"

Susan sighed from the inside. However, Hermione was probably the person she was the most comfortable discussing with about this. When Susan started seeing Harry, she felt some hostility from Ron, but Hermione looked very happy for them in contrast. And Susan felt that Hermione would be more serious than Hannah. All that she hoped is that she wouldn't report everything Susan would tell her back to Harry.

"Can you promise that you won't tell anything to Harry?" Susan asked nonetheless. Hermione had already looked concerned, but now she looked worried.

"Okay. I won't. So there's something wrong?"

"Not really. I mean… Look, it's just… It's been difficult lately. I think… It's probably only the second task approaching."

"Oh." Hermione looked less worried all of a sudden. "Well, that's not a surprise. It is in only three weeks. I'm worried for Harry as well, and he's only my friend. So imagine what it is for him. Or for you."

Susan nodded. The last thing she wanted was for something horrible to happen to Harry on February 24. "I know. It's not his fault, and it's not mine either, but… It makes things a little difficult. Tense."

"I see. Well, look, it won't last forever. Things should be better after the second task. That's what happened after the first one." Susan had to agree. Things had indeed gone much better after the dragon. "And Harry should be alright. He's close to solving the egg, so he should be prepared this time."

Susan stopped at this. "What do you mean?"

Hermione stopped at the same time to face Susan's inquisitive look. "Well, I mean that, last time, he didn't know what he would be facing in advance. This time, he will."

Susan looked at Hermione very skeptically. "Hermione, Harry is not close at all to solving the golden egg. He doesn't even know how to solve it at all."

Hermione looked stunned for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I tried to help him on Tuesday. We went to Hagrid's home to open the egg without waking up everybody. We tried many things, but we found no clue as to how solve the egg."

Hermione looked even more surprised. "Harry… has no idea… how to solve the golden egg?" she asked very slowly.

"No. Believe me, we've been trying all this evening. And Harry has been struggling to find what this egg was supposed to reveal lots of time, but he doesn't have a clue as to what it can be. He didn't tell you?" Susan asked, having expected that Hermione, being Harry's best friend, would be aware of his difficulties.

Now, Hermione looked furious. "I can't believe it!" She almost shouted it. It seemed clear she didn't know, which surprised Susan. "He said… Where is he now?"

"In Hagrid's home again, I think," Susan answered. "I suggested he could use it again this morning to…"

"Really?!"

On that, she walked away furiously. Uncertain, Susan decided to follow her. Without caring about wearing heavy cloaks or gloves or anything, Hermione went through the Entrance Hall and walked into the park, despite the icy weather of the outside. Susan hesitated for a moment. She then followed her outside but regretted it immediately. It was really too cold out there. So she headed back inside and rushed to her common room. Ignoring some of her friends on the way, she quickly put on a heavy cloak, a scarf, gloves, a cap, along wit boots, and rushed back through the common room and the Entrance Hall, before running as quickly as she could towards Hagrid's home. When she approached, she distinctly heard screams coming from the inside, and this could only come from one person.

"THREE WEEKS! THREE WEEKS! AND STILL YOU HAVEN'T SOLVED IT! YOU HAD THREE MONTHS, AND YOU DID NOTHING!"

Hermione almost caused her to be afraid, but Susan decided it would be better if she walked in immediately. So Susan pushed the door. Hermione stopped screaming the moment she walked in. She was standing tall, while Harry was sitting in an enormous chair, as if he was a student being scolded by his teacher. But Hermione barely stopped for an instant before returning her attention to Harry.

"And can you explain why you told Susan that you had not progressed at all, and you didn't tell us?!"

"Because I knew you would accuse me of not searching the egg sooner," Harry retorted. Susan had to admit it looked a little weak as a reason. "I made attempts to better understand it even before Christmas, Hermione. And I kept trying ever since. Anyway, you're the one who reminded me that I was supposed to solve it alone." That seemed quite ludicrous as a reason to Susan, again.

"The second task is only in three weeks. You should have tried to solve it more seriously sooner! You're irresponsible."

On that, Susan felt she should intervene. "Hermione, look," she said, adopting a soothing tone. "I'm not sure it would have made that of a difference. Really, last Tuesday, we both tried for hours everything that came through our minds, but this egg keeps making the same scream. We have no idea what it means. We even tried to throw water, ice, snow and even fire at it, but it changes nothing."

Hermione looked scandalized. "You threw fire… But you could have damaged the egg!" The golden egg in question was on the table, closed.

"Yes, but we didn't. I even caused explosions near it this morning," Harry said. "There isn't a single scratch."

"Harry! You cannot risk destroying the only thing that could tell you what the second task will be!"

"Hermione!" This time, it was Harry who seemed quite angry. "I've been trying everything that came to my mind, and all that for nothing. This stupid egg keeps making this shrilling sound each time we open it."

"Okay, calm down, you two," Susan said before it could go further. "Look, Hermione, Harry really has been trying to solve the egg. But Harry, you need help now. You shouldn't have hidden this from Hermione. I don't care about the rules of the Tournament that you cannot receive help. People can die in those competitions. You were lucky to only have a few scratches after the first task. We need to place all chances on your side. You cannot arrive at this task without knowing what to expect like for the first one."

She thought one of them might retort, but they didn't. Harry sank deeper into his chair, seeming demoralized. Hermione, on her side, looked calmer.

"He did know what to expect before the first task," Hermione then declared.

"What do you mean?" Susan asked, confused.

"Hagrid showed the dragons to us two days before the first task," Harry explained. "The dragons had just arrived, and he led us to see them."

"So… you knew in advance?" Susan asked, surprised, and somewhat a little angry that he didn't tell her that before.

"Yes. And the others knew as well. Maxime and Karkaroff saw the dragons too, and they told Krum and Fleur. And I warned Cedric about the dragons the day after."

"You did?" Hermione and Susan asked together, both surprised by this admission, and surprised that the other was unaware of it.

"Yes. He was the only one who didn't know about them. So I told him."

"You told Cedric about the dragons? Before the first task?" Susan asked to be certain.

"Yes. I told him we were going to face a dragon for the first task," Harry replied, irritated, but Susan didn't care this time. She remembered the orange paste covering half of Cedric's face in late November.

"You may have saved his life. Half of his face was burned. Who knows how bad it could have been if he hadn't been able to prepare," she said.

"Well, he has a funny way to be grateful," Harry said, still irritated.

Susan frowned. "What do you mean?"

For a moment, Harry looked confused, or even afraid. "Oh… I mean… Well, he gave me an advice about how to solve the egg."

"Wait, Harry," Hermione said this time. "Cedric told you how to solve the egg?"

"No, he didn't. He only gave me an advice. But I think he was simply making fun of me."

Susan frowned again. "That doesn't look like his style."

"That's it. Defend him you too," Harry replied, bitter.

Susan had to admit that she felt hurt by this. She wasn't defending anyone. She was simply giving her opinion on Cedric. From what she knew, it wasn't his style to play tricks against his adversaries in a competition. The best example was last year, when Hufflepuff defeated Gryffindor in the Quidditch game. He had honestly tried to have the game played again. It was Madam Hooch and the Gryffindor captain of the time who declared first that Hufflepuff won the game and that there was no other way around it. Ernie even told her that Cedric felt bad for winning in such a way. Susan simply didn't see Cedric giving Harry a false advice to take the advantage. It didn't look like him, or like what she knew of him. She decided to push aside the bitterness in Harry's voice. He really didn't seem to be in his normal state because of the upcoming task, and he was the one who would be risking his life soon, in a tournament he never wished to join.

"Harry, what did Cedric tell you?" Hermione asked. "It's very important. If he told you something that could help to solve…"

"Take a bath."

Susan frowned at the three words Harry pronounced. Hermione looked surprised as well. "Excuse me?" her friend from Gryffindor said.

"Take a bath. That's what he told me." He sighed. "It was after the Yule Ball." He turned to Susan. "You remember? It was after the Yule Ball, in the Entrance Hall. He asked me if he could talk to me alone."

"Yes. I do remember," Susan said, now that it came back to her mind. She hadn't wondered too much what Cedric wanted with Harry back then. Her mind had been in turmoil after the evening she just spent, and it was so foggy that she could barely think about anything until she realized, while walking back to the common room, that she wanted to wish a good evening to Harry in a different way. It was strange how this evening already seemed far away.

"Well, he said he owed me for the dragons, and he told me to take a bath, and to mull while in it," Harry said, still in a bad mood.

Susan didn't understand for a moment. But then she did understand why Harry thought that Cedric's advice was a bad joke or a mockery. Taking a bath? How could it help to solve the clue of the egg? Well, of course, taking a pause, a time to rest, had resulted in some fantastic discoveries through history. The most famous was when Isaac Newton took a rest on a bench and an apple fell on his head, leading him to formulate the theory of universal gravitation, which was used even in the Wizarding world today. But… She found it odd that Cedric would tell something like that to Harry after Harry told him specifically what the first task would be about. If he found out what the second task would be, why not tell Harry directly?

"That must mean something…" Hermione began carefully, but Harry stopped her right away.

"Hermione, how would you react if someone told you to take a bath in order to solve a problem of Arithmancy?"

Viewed like this, indeed, Susan understood Harry's skepticism. And Hermione seemed to silently see things the same way as she didn't answer. Still, Susan didn't understand why Cedric would say such a thing. There had to be something they were missing.

"I'm going to ask Cedric about it," she declared. Both Harry and Hermione looked at her, slightly surprised. "We're in the same house. Maybe he will tell me what this is all about."

"Wait, Susan, it could be dangerous," Hermione said. "Harry is not supposed to receive any help. If you tell Cedric that he told you…"

"What? He's going to denounce me and Harry? He already broke the rules by giving this advice to Harry. And to be honest, I don't care about rules this time, Hermione. People die in this tournament. I don't care who wins. All that matters to me is that Harry comes back safe and alive from the second task. And if this means breaking a few rules and having him received a penalty or two, I'll do it with pleasure. Anyway, from what you told me, everyone is already cheating in this tournament."

Surprised by herself, Susan walked away, opened the door and went outside. They didn't have time to lose. And she was angry at this whole situation. Harry would risk his life in three weeks, and here they were, discussing, when Cedric probably held the key to know what Harry would face on February 24. So she went to find him right away. She didn't require much time to find the other champion of Hogwarts.

As we can see, the approaching second task creates problems, on top of other problems that would exist anyway.

Please review.

Next chapter: I let you guess