Christmas had gone nicely, despite Harry ending up with a small cold; he spent his time with Sirius and Remus in Grimmauld Place. Harry did connect his fireplace to Draco's and inform his friend that he would be unable to come through on the 26th because he got sick and was exhausted. Draco told him not to worry and they'd see each other on the train to return to school. Harry did tell Sirius and Remus that he'd been resorted to Slytherin, and the males were shocked at such, but supported Harry, nevertheless.
After the new year passed, now making it the year 1995, Harry returned to school with his fellow snakes and found that nothing had changed. Everyone, except his own house and teachers, basically hated him. Harry was starting to get over it, and not care anymore. It didn't mean he was completely cured of his depression, that was still a battle he had to fight. But Harry was getting better at ignoring the comments and looks he got for being in the tournament and also having been put in Slytherin.
Harry found his schedule much more open without quidditch practices or games, but Harry always came out to support the Slytherin team when they played. The rest of Harry's spare time was doing his school work and keeping his grades up, dare say he was doing exceptional in all his classes now and Draco was helping Harry out in potions. So Severus was actually pretty happy, not that he showed it, about Harry doing well in his class.
It was now Friday, February 24th, and time for the second task. Harry had been given the hint by the other three champions of how to figure out the egg; it was their thank you to Harry for tipping them off about the dragons in the first task. Harry only realized that the second task had to do with the Black Lake and merfolk. His best guess, something underwater.
Draco tipped Harry off that something to help him if he wasn't using a transfiguration or water breathing charm was to use Gillyweed and Draco asked Severus for some because he knew it was in his private stores, but Draco reported that Severus never got back to him on getting some to use. That left Harry with figuring out what to use for his underwater task.
"Just use the bubble mask thing." Theodore told Harry as they were walking towards the docks to get out to the platforms in the middle of the lake.
"We'll see you down there, Harry. Good luck…" Pansy smiled.
"Where's Draco?" Harry wondered.
"No idea, haven't seen him. Not even at breakfast…" Blaise remarked. "I'm sure he'll be there, Harry."
Harry nodded as his group rushed ahead to get in a boat that would take them to the platform. Champions were going on their own, of course. Severus walked beside Harry now.
"Good luck today, Potter. Make our house proud," Severus said. "And take this," He slipped something green and slimy into Harry's hand. "Gillyweed. Draco said you'd need it. Put it in your mouth before you enter the water. One hour, do you understand? It will only last you one hour from the moment the effects start."
"Yes, sir…Thank you." Harry accepted the Gillyweed from him and kept it in his pocket. "I thought I wasn't supposed to get help?"
"As if you didn't tip off the other three about the dragons? And you weren't given the hint about listening to the egg underwater? You've all been helping each other. Also, I didn't help you." Severus kept a calm face. "You obviously broke into my private store room and stole it, to which I took ten points from you and gave you detention Monday night…" The man claimed.
"Yes, sir." Harry nodded to him. "Wait, I don't really have that detention…Do I?"
"Of course not, Potter." Severus continued forward to join the teachers who were being taken across the water.
Harry took a deep breath, reaching the other champions and getting across onto the platform. Harry stood there, waiting for his moment to put the Gillyweed into his mouth. Albus stood up to get everyone's attention.
"Last night, something was stolen from our champions and taken to the bottom of the Black Lake. It is up to our champions to retrieve it. You have one hour…Good luck to you all." Albus said.
"Put that in your mouth now…" Alastor Moody told Harry when he had pulled out the Gillyweed.
Harry quickly swallowed it and the gun fired as four champions dove into the water. Harry dove in head first and once under the water, the effects took place. Harry grew gills and webbed feet and hands. Harry grinned as he had to thank Severus later on for this, and Draco, who came up with the idea of using Gillyweed. Harry didn't waste time, he darted off to locate the thing stolen from him.
The time ticked away, most of it gone as everyone on the platforms was just sitting around and watching for something to happen. The Slytherins had become increasingly worried that Draco hadn't yet been seen. One champion had surfaced with nobody, and it was Fleur. That meant Viktor, Harry, and Cedric were still down in the lake. The hour was almost up.
Harry continued his wandering in the water, it was cold and he didn't care. Finally, Harry came on what looked like people being held by anchors to the base of the lake's floor. Harry got closer and saw the faces of Cho Chang, Hermione, Fleur's little sister and then Draco. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the task now. Harry swam over to Draco and sent a blast from his wand to destroy the chain holding him there and grabbed his arm.
Viktor came in with a shark head and saved Hermione, then Cedric came for Cho and motioned to his wrist that time was almost out. Harry went to leave with Draco and saw that no one had come for the little girl, she was young. What happened to those not saved? Harry went to swim over to her and the merfolk surrounded him with their weapons.
"Only one!" A mermaid told him.
"I can't leave her…" Harry said.
The merfolk began to attack him and Harry finally sent a blast to send them swimming off. Harry sent a blast at the chain holding the girl in place and wrapped his arms around Draco's and the girl's to start swimming up. However, when the hour was nearly up; Harry knew because his gills and webbed hands and feet returned to normal. Harry held his breath and only half-way up, Harry saw Draco and the girl begin to wake up; instantly realizing they were underwater. Harry motioned with his head for them to go up.
"Go!" Harry pushed them upwards. Draco's eyes widened at what Harry was saying, and there were enemies coming from under Harry. "I'll be okay. Go!" Harry demanded.
Draco looked worried, but he grabbed the girl's hand and swam upwards to break the surface. Harry didn't think they'd make it on their own, so he cast Aqua Eructo to send them up with a burst of water propelling them upwards to the surface. Both took a deep inhale of air before Draco got his arm around the girl to help her stay above water and helped her to the dock, where Lucius, Narcissa, and the small group of friends with Severus were waiting to get them. Fleur quickly helped her sister, and wrapped a blanket around her. Draco climbed the stairs and got on the dock just as the clock chimed to end the hour.
"Draco…" Narcissa wrapped a blanket around her son, kissing his cheeks. "Are you alright?"
"Harry saved us…" Draco looked at her and his father with worry, then at Severus. "H-He's still down there."
"Albus…" Severus warned the old man.
"Severus, I cannot interfere…" Albus told him.
"Potter completed the task, he saved not only his own charge but the French girl's! He got them to the surface before the time ran out and you're just going to let him die?!" Minerva scolded the headmaster. "Bring him up!"
"It's against the-," Albus started.
"To hell with the rules!" Draco glared at the man. "Your stupid spell wore off down there. You swore we'd stay unconscious and breathing fine until we were rescued or the competition was over. Half-way from the top, your spell broke leaving me and that girl with barely enough time to hold our breaths and swim up. And we didn't, Harry propelled us up faster with some spell. Now, you're just going to let him die?!" He demanded angrily. "Go get him or I'm going back down there to get him myself!"
"You most certainly will not," Lucius sighed.
"Albus…He'll die down there. It's been over an hour and I know the Gillyweed he stole from me has worn off by now." Severus informed.
"Why wouldn't he cast the bubblehead on himself?" Hermione asked quickly.
"When we were swimming up, Harry got attacked by merfolk and other creatures. I don't think he had time to cast it on himself; he just told us to go." Draco remarked. "I don't think he knows it, we haven't been taught that!"
Harry, still in the water, was fighting the merfolk and other creatures that had come for him for taking two people. Harry got annoyed and finally used a spell to blast everything away from him. Harry couldn't breathe; he was drowning and losing consciousness. Harry raised his wand up and muttered the ascension charm to send himself flying upwards quickly and right out of the water, landing on the dock at their feet.
Harry choked on the water in his lungs and coughed it up as Severus reacted first to get down on his knees and help turn Harry on to his side so he could cough the water out. Harry gasped for air as Draco pulled off his own blanket, which was already dry and warm, getting it over Harry.
"Mr. Potter, are you alright?" Lucius asked.
Harry couldn't catch his breath, but with Severus's help, managed to sit up and was trying to clutch the blanket around himself as he was still coughing and shivering. Fleur pushed herself in front, holding her little sister's hand and kneeling down in front of Harry.
"You saved her…" Fleur said, surprised. "You saved her even though she was not yours to save. Thank you, Harry Potter. Thank you. Bless your heart…" Fleur grabbed his face and kissed his cheek, then his forehead. "Thank you…"
"No…Problem…" Harry managed to speak finally.
"And you," Fleur kissed Draco's cheek, then hugged him. "You helped! Thank you,"
"Merci…" Draco rubbed his cheek, surprised at the action. Then he shook it off to check on his friend. "Harry…You okay?"
"I'm cold…And tired," Harry replied.
"You saved my life," Draco told him. "At the risk of your own…"
"You're my best friend…" Harry offered a small smile. "You saved my life first," He added.
Draco hugged his friend tightly. The scores were read off as it came out Harry tied for first place with Cedric Diggory, despite having finished last. Harry saved two people and it was clear that Fleur's little sister would have died since Albus didn't realize his spell on them wore off. Harry really did put his life at risk to save Draco and the girl, sending them up before him so they wouldn't die.
"Thank you, Harry…For saving my son." Narcissa put her hand on Harry's shoulder.
"N-No trouble, Mrs. Malfoy…" Harry managed.
"How did you do it, though?" Pansy asked.
"Yeah, what did you use to send us up to the surface…We never would have been able to swim it. We had no air to take in for a breath while already down there…" Draco questioned.
"A-Aqua E-Eruc…To…" Harry responded, clearly having trouble staying conscious.
"We should take him to rest…" Theodore remarked.
"Come on, Harry," Blaise and Vincent worked to pull Harry to his feet and then they supported him to walk to get him back inside the castle.
"I'm going with them, Mother and Father…" Draco stated, bidding his parents a goodbye, then following his group of friends.
Lucius turned on Albus. "If you ever risk my son's life again, Albus…I will have you removed from this school and in Azkaban in the course of an hour. Am I clear?"
"Of course," Albus nodded.
"I don't care what the risks of this tournament are…There was no need for anyone to be so close to dying." Remus told Albus next. "I understand not helping the competitors…But as we agreed; Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Delacour had surfaced before the time ran out, which meant Harry completed the task and there was no reason to leave him down to fend for himself. We could have helped him as it wouldn't have been considered assisting in his task. He did what he was supposed to…" He informed.
"Don't risk my godson's life again, Albus…I didn't spend twelve years in Azkaban, work to be proven innocent and get custody of James and Lily's boy just to lose him on this…Farce of a tournament. One he shouldn't even be in…" Sirius added.
"We'll be back for the third task…" Remus mentioned. "Sirius, you ready?"
"As ever. Severus, if you'd be good enough to ensure Harry is alright in a bit and send word?" Sirius hoped.
"I can manage such a request." Severus nodded.
"My thanks. We may have our differences, but I know you care about your snakes…And Harry is one of them now." Sirius stated as he turned his lordship ring upside down and closed his hand around it. Remus held onto Sirius's arm. "Home!" Sirius called. The portkey activated, taking Remus and Sirius away in a flash.
"Narcissa, we're going as well. Severus, I request the same. A status report on my son later, please?" Lucius repeated the motion of turning his ring and waiting for his wife to latch onto his arm tightly.
"Of course," Severus promised with a bow of his head.
"Home." Lucius said as he and Narcissa vanished next.
"Well, I'll be off then." Severus walked away from the group.
"Let's…Clear off. This task is officially over and the next will be in June…" Albus announced.
It wasn't long until everyone was clearing away to return to the castle. Lunch would be soon and all anyone knew was that these tasks were very dangerous. Harry actually almost drowned saving Draco and Fleur's little sister, and he hadn't even had to save the girl; he just did it because it was the right thing to do. Harry risked himself to do the right thing, and decided he couldn't leave her down there where it has been revealed now that she would have died.
Harry's gut told him to save her because what would happen if he didn't and he risked his own life to get her and Draco to safety. Sure, just about everyone in school was beside themselves that Harry ended up in the tournament at all when it had been set up, with an age-line drawn by Albus Dumbledore himself, that no one under seventeen could enter themselves into the tournament.
So how did a fourteen-year-old manage? He couldn't have. But it happened and Harry had survived two tasks. One using his particular skill of Parseltongue on the dragon to get the golden egg, and now, almost drowning to death to save a housemate and the sister of a competing champion.
Some were starting to feel bad for how they'd treated Harry, but everyone also felt like trying to approach the male would be bad. They'd been awful and from the sounds of the Gryffindor stories; Harry wasn't going to be so easy to forgive them. Harry had been saying it since things started; he didn't do anything wrong and he didn't want any part of the tournament.
There wasn't much they could do except try and get Harry to forgive them. At least, those who knew they were wrong to give Harry a hard time. It wouldn't happen today, Harry just escaped a near-drowning and was tired and needed to rest. Those who wanted to fix their mistakes would have to wait for the next chance to talk to Harry.
. . .
Draco, Blaise, Theodore, Vincent, Gregory, and Pansy helped Harry back to the Slytherin common room. Harry first went to change out of the wet clothes and then crawled into bed to get warm and try to relax. Obviously, Pansy had to wait down in the common room as she wasn't allowed in the boy's dorm.
"How are you doing, Harry?" Theodore asked.
"My lungs and chest feel like they're on fire from all the coughing…" Harry sighed. "I'm tired and cold."
"That will fade with more time. Just try and rest, Harry…I take it you're not hungry?" Blaise asked. Harry shook his head. "Then we won't wake you for lunch."
"Thanks." Harry tried to smile.
"We won't be far if you need anything." Draco promised. "Thank you again, for saving me."
"Don't mention it. I'm sure you'd have done the same for me." Harry replied.
"We all would have," Blaise said. "That's what we do as friends, we'd do anything for each other."
"Alright…I'm getting some sleep." Harry told them.
"Rest well." Draco informed.
Harry was fast asleep before the boys even left the room. It hadn't been a terrible day, but Harry was still ready for it to be over. The last task was in June, and then the end of school. Harry felt that it couldn't come fast enough. Maybe next year would be better.