Chapter 14: The Second Task

Today was the day of the second task. I can't tell you how nervous I am. I am currently in my room, getting ready for the second task. I put on my swimsuit and got my Triwizard Tournament shirt on.

"Lana! Come on, let's go! We are going to be late!" Miguel shouted.

"I'm coming!" I called. When I finished getting ready, I ran downstairs where I met my family who were waiting for me.

"Took you long enough," Scar said, rolling his eyes.

I sighed, then asked, "Is it okay if I have the collar and the bands off just for this task? I am asking because I am going in the water, and I am worried I might get electrocuted." I said. There was a long moment of silence before Miguel spoke up.

"Fine. Just for this task." Miguel said. Miguel reluctantly took off the collar and the bands. Finally, I was free from them, but it was only temporary.

"Do you have your wand?" Harry asked me.

"Yep," I said, holding up my wand.

"Okay, good. Let's go." Harry said. Harry took my hand as we walked down to the second task. The second task was taking place at the nearby lake. When we arrived at the lake, I saw my Uncle's Fred and George already placing bets.

"Place your bets! Come on!" Uncle Fred said.

"Any bets?" Uncle George called.

"Come on, step up! Don't be shy mates!" Uncle Fred called. As we walked closer and closer to the lake, I was getting more and more nervous. I survived the first task but who knows if I will survive this one. I said goodbye to my family before they left to find their seats.

"Bye Mom, by Dad," I said. I hugged both of them tightly, as well as my other parents, Miles and Gwen.

"Good luck sweetie," Uru said.

"We love you, Lana," Gwen said.

"No matter what happens, we're here for you," Miles said.

"Thanks," I said. Ahadi stayed quiet as usual. He doesn't talk much in these situations. I was looking for my wives, Margo and Nala but I could not find them anywhere.

"Where are Margo and Nala?" I asked.

"We don't know, honey. They left with Professor Moody last night. I haven't seen them since." Gwen said.

"I haven't seen Nala either. Sorry Aunt Lana." Simba said.

"It's okay. I just hope they are doing okay." I said.

"Me too," Simba said.

"Okay, we should go find our seats before they start." Aunt Sarafina said.

"Yeah. See you later." Miles said.

"Bye Dad," I said. When my family left, Neville gave me and Harry some type of green plant. I took the plant in my hand. I looked at it with curiosity.

"You sure about this Neville?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely," Neville said.

"For an hour?" Harry asked.

"Most likely," Neville said.

Harry and I looked at each other with shock. Then Harry turned to Neville. "Most likely?" Harry said, concern in his voice.

"Well, there is some debate among herbologists as to the effects of freshwater versus salt water but-"

I cut Neville off. "You telling us this now?" I exclaimed with annoyance.

"You must be joking," Harry said.

"I-I just wanted to help," Neville said.

"Well, that makes you a right sight better than Ron and Hermione. Where are they, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Hey, I was wondering the same thing too," I said. First Margo and Nala disappeared, then it was Ron and Hermione.

"You seem a little tense Harry and Lana," Neville said.

"Do I?" Harry said.

"No shit, Sherlock." I spat.

"Be nice, Lana." Harry scolded me.

"Sorry, Dad." I apologized. Yeah, I would be tense right now. I'm diving deep into a lake and only have one hour to retrieve something that I cherish most.

In the middle of the lake, there are three large standing posts to hold all the students and teachers with the castle still in sight. When we arrived we got off the boat and made our way past the students from all three schools to the champions who were standing on the starting stand. Professor Dumbledore started to make his announcements.

"Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These for treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough-"

As Harry and I stepped onto the platform, being led by Professor Moody, Professor Moody told us to put the Gillyweed in our mouths. "Put that in your mouth."

We did as we were told, putting the plant into our mouths. It was disgusting! I wanted to throw up but I had to control myself. Professor Dumbledore continues to explain the second task.

"-Except for this: They will have but one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they will be on their own. No magic will save them. You may begin at the sound of the cannon." The cannon shot in the air. The crowds cheered as the champions dived into the water. Pain shot through my body as I felt the effects of the Gillyweed kicking in. I was hesitant to jump in the water.

Without warning, Professor Moody pushed me inside. "Go on, kid." Professor Moody said.

"Hey wait!" I cried as he pushed me in. When I was in the water, I was struggling to keep my balance. I looked over at Harry who was having the same struggle too. Harry screamed in pain. I too felt the pain. It felt like my whole body was on fire. I looked down to my bottom only to see that I had a mermaid tail. I touched my cheek. I have Gills too? Woah, this is cool.

I saw that Harry had a Gill as well. His feet were webbed as well as his hands. Nice. How about giving the audience a good show? I motioned for Harry to follow me. We swam up to the top before doing a huge jump and flipping into the air, surprising everyone as we dived back in the water. Okay, now to find the treasure. Where do I start?

I followed Harry as we began to swim deeper into the lake. We dove down deeper and deeper, looking for our lost treasure. Not gonna lie, it was hard swimming with a mermaid tail. We stopped when we heard voices singing in the distance. The fish swam away. Harry and I followed the voices. Soon, we met up with Fleur Delecor. She got caught in the Gillweed. My heart was pounding fast as I continued to swim. Harry and I were suddenly attacked by a weird creature.

A mermaid? I guess I'm not the only mermaid down here. The mermaid swam past us quickly.

I could hear Professor Dumbledore's announcement over the loudspeakers. "The Beauxbatons champion, Miss. Delecore has unfortunately been forced to retire, so she will take no further part in this task."

Harry and I kept swimming further into the lake, following the singing voices. Wailing sounds echoed in the distance. When we got to the middle, there was a shocking surprise. There they were, the two people I cared about most in the world. Margo and Nala were tied up with weed as well as my parents, Hermione and Ron. Cho was there as well, as well as Fleur's sister.

I swam up to Margo and Nala, placing my hands on their cheeks. Harry dived down and tried to get the weed untied from Ron's foot. I did the same with Margo and Nala, untying the weed from their feet. I watch Cedric pulling his wand out from his pocket and untying Cho's foot with a spell. Before Cedric left, he pointed at the time on his watch, signaling to us how much time we had left.

I nodded, letting him know I heard him. Cedric swam up with Cho, leaving us alone. As Harry was about to save Hermione, the mermaid quickly stopped him. "But she's my friend too!" Harry cried.

The mermaid growled, showing its sharp teeth. "Only one!" The mermaid shouted. They shrieked and swam away when a giant shark swam towards us. The shark turned out to be Victor Krum who freed Hermione and then swam up to the surface. Fleur's sister was still tied up. No one was coming to save her. I guess it was up to me and Harry to save her. I had my hands full with Margo and Nala right now so I signaled over to Harry. Harry nodded, grabbing his wand to cut the rope from Fleur's sister's foot. Harry grabbed Ron and Fleur's sister. I held onto Margo and Nala as we started to swim up to the surface. As we were swimming up to the surface, alien-like creatures were attacking us, grabbing onto our feet, and pulling us back.

I began to panic as I was losing grip on Margo and Nala. Pulling Margo to the other side of me, I grabbed my wand, using the reducto spell to free myself from the grasp of the creatures. I regained my grip on Margo and Nala but Harry was still being attacked. The creatures electrocuted Harry, causing him to pass out.

"Dad!" I cried. Ron and Fleur's sister were able to make it to the surface safely. I set Margo and Nala aside. Before I swam back to Harry to save him, I kissed both of them. I gently placed my hands on their cheeks as a way to comfort them.

"I love you guys. I'll be back for you, I promise." I said.

As Harry was drowning, I quickly swam down towards him to try to save him. But before I could do anything, Harry grabbed out his wand.

"Ascendio!" Harry yelled. Within seconds, Harry flew out of the water, landing hard on the platform. I quickly grabbed onto Margo and Nala. I fought off the creatures who were trying to attack me again. When I was able to fight them off, I made my way to the surface. The crowd cheered as I came up from the surface. Margo, Nala and I gasped for breath.

"Lana, what's happening?" Margo asked me, who looked very confused.

"It's going to be okay," I said.

"Come on, we're almost there," Nala said. Nala helped me swim up to the platform where my family was waiting for me.

"Lana!" Hermione cried, holding out her hand. Gwen held out her hand towards me too. Hermione and Gwen pulled me up. Simba pulled Nala up while Jessica helped Margo. I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"Lana?" Gwen said, rubbing my back.

"She's all right. You're all right kid." Jessica said. Hermione wrapped a towel around me to keep me warm. Meanwhile, Barty and Professor Dumbledore were tending to Harry.

"Get him another towel!" Barty shouted.

"I want all the judges over here, now!" Professor Dumbledore shouted.

Fleur knelt down to Harry. "You... Saved her, even though she wasn't yours to save. My little sister. Thank you! Oh!" Fleur cried, kissing Harry on the cheeks. Fleur then turned her attention to Ron. "And you... You helped." Fleur said.

"Well... yeah, I bit," Ron said. Fleur grabbed Ron's head, kissing him on both cheeks. Ron blushed hard, his eyes very wide. Ron put his hand up to his face where Fleur had kissed. "Merci," Ron exclaimed.

"Harry! Lana!" Hermione cried.

"Hermione! Ow!" Harry cried as Hermione pulled on him.

"Are you guys all right? Oh, you two must be freezing." Hermione said as she wrapped a towel around him.

"It's so cold." I cried. Hermione wrapped another towel around Harry.

"Here, take this," Jessica said as she wrapped a couple of towels around me.

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't mention it," Jessica said.

"You were great, sweetie," Uru said, hugging me tightly.

"Mom, ow! Stop!" I whined.

"Thank you for saving us, babe," Nala said.

"Yeah, thank you. You're the best." Margo said.

"Personally, I think you behaved admirably. So did you, Lana." Hermione said.

"I finished second to last, Hermione," Harry said.

"Yeah, and I finished last. I'm a big failure." I groaned as I lowered my head.

"Don't talk like that, Lana. You did great." Mufasa said, putting his paw on my shoulder.

Hermione grabbed Harry's head, kissing his forehead. "You finished next to last. Fleur never got past ze gryndilows." Hermione explained.

"Attention!" Professor Dumbledore shouted, holding up his hand. Hermione helped me and Harry up. Everyone was still rowdy so Professor Dumbledore had to speak louder to get everyone's attention. "Attention!" Professor Dumbledore yelled. I cringed, covering my ears as his noise echoed through the lake so did a few other people. Now it was silent.

"The winner is... Mr. Diggory!" Professor Dumbledore announced. Everyone clapped and cheered. Cedric Diggory gave out a victory cry, raising his hand in the air as someone waved his flag to celebrate his winning. "-Who showed innate command of the Bubble–Head Charm. However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley but the others as well, we've agreed to award him third place."

"Yes!" Ron shouted.

"Third place!" Hermione exclaimed.

"-For outstanding moral fiber. Now, there is one more announcement that I would like to make. Ms. Lana Potter. We have agreed to award her second place for her determination to save her father." Professor Dumbledore announced. I gasped, clearly surprised.

"Wow, second place!" Pavitr said.

"Hmm, not bad," Miguel said. I smiled a bit. Migue acknowledged my performance and wasn't criticizing me for once. I looked up ahead to see Draco who had a disappointed look on his face. I couldn't help but giggle. Maybe I can win this thing.

"Mom, since the second task is over, can I have my technology stuff back now?" I asked Hermione.

"Yes, but after we go see Hagrid," Hermione said. We made it back to the docs, dismounting from the boats.

"Right on. All that moral fiber, eh?" My uncle's said.

"It's great!" Harry said.

"Moral fiber? Blimey, even when you go wrong, it turns out right." Ron said.

"Yeah, well done Moral Fiber." Uncle Fred said, patting us on the back.

"Congratulations Potter and Lana. Fine achievement." Barty said.

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Well done, Harry," Barty said.

"See you at Hagrids, Harry and Lana!" Ron called.

Harry, Barty, and I continued walking. "I'm sorry we haven't spoken. After all, your story is one I've heard so many times. Quite remarkable, really. Tragic, of course... to lose one's family. Never whole again, are we? Still, life goes on... and here we stand. I'm sure your parents would be very proud of you today." Barty said.

Professor Moody walked up to us. "Bartimus. Not trying to lure Potter and his kid into one of the Ministery's summer internships, are we? The last boy who went into the Department of Mysteries never came out!" Professor Moody said. Barty leaned in close to Professor Moody and then walked away. "And they say I'm mad."

Barty just looked at Professor Moody before walking away again. I went back to the dorm room to get myself cleaned up after the second task. As I was cleaning myself up, Miguel walked into my room. I quickly put on a hoodie to hide the cut marks I made on my wrist. I frowned when I saw Miguel was holding the shock collar and the bands.

"Please Miguel, do I have to wear those?" I pleaded with him.

"No. You're wearing these Lana. That's the rule." Miguel said firmly. "Put your chin up for me, baby."

I did as he said, putting my chin up. "Good girl," Miguel said as he fastened the collar tightly around my neck, locking it in place.

"Arms out," Miguel said. I obeyed like I always did, putting my arms out. Miguel placed the bands on my arms again. Miguel kissed me before leaving my room. I sighed, feeling the weight heavily on my shoulders.

I felt tears pricking my eyes again. In moments like this, I know what I need to do. I grabbed the knife from my dresser and started cutting myself again. Tears were streaming down my face as I made another cut. I was about to make the third cut when Ahadi walked into my room. His eyes widened with shock when he noticed what I was doing. I quickly put the knife away but it was already too late.

"...Lana. What are you doing?" Ahadi said. He walked up to me, grabbed me by the wrists, and examined my cuts. Fresh ones and old ones marked up my wrists. More tears welled up in my eyes.

"You cut, don't you?" Ahadi said his voice firm.

"I-I didn't! I probably just got those from the second task!" I protested, hoping he would believe me.

Ahadi slapped me hard in the face. "Don't lie to me, young lady. Answer me honestly. Do. You. Cut?" Ahadi growled; his voice dangerously low.

I took a deep breath, knowing I had to tell him the truth. "Y-Yes. But it's none of your damn business!" I yelled.

"It is when my daughter is hurting herself!" Ahadi yelled. Ahadi roughly picked me up by the scruff of my neck.

"OW! LET ME GO! What are you doing!?" I yelled.

"We are going to have a serious talk."