Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.
A/N: A couple of chapters, including this one, will be slow paced and the story may seem a bit stagnant but once we reach to the second task, it would be action only.
Please review.
Chapter Ten: The Yule Ball
Harry was waiting at the bottom of the stairs of the dormitory. He was wearing his deep emerald suit under which he was wearing a deep violet tuxedo shirt and emerald bow tie. His family heirloom of a watch was safely placed in the pocket of his vest. The long-stemmed ivory rose lapel pin he had ordered from the florist was in its place. He had tried his best to keep his hair under control, it took fifteen minutes to give them any semblance of order. His black leather shoes were polished to the extent that he could see his reflection in it. He was wearing a emerald cloak over his suit, not because he wanted to but because it was a necessity in a formal setting. He had been waiting for Hermione for last thirty minutes and there was no sign of her. He was getting impatient as the time drew closer to the specified hour at which the champions will walk down the aisle to the central table.
It was quarter to eight when Hermione finally descended the stair. Harry's breath caught into his chest as he laid eyes on her. If Harry said that she was beautiful, it would have been the biggest understatement of the century. She was breath-taking, she was absolutely mesmerizing, she was stunning without a doubt. She was wearing an emerald strapless mermaid dress with light silver frills covering the heart shaped neckline, the sleeves were of silver lace and reached up to her wrist. She was wearing the locket he gave her this morning, she had ring shaped silver earrings with a small emerald at the bottom. A silver coloured shawl was draped around her to cover her back and shoulders, the ends were rolled around her forearm.
Harry offered her the corsage he had selected for her, she moved her left hand forward so he could tie the corsage on her wrist. Once the corsage was in place, Harry offered his left hand so they can go to the great hall, she graciously accepted and they walked out of the common room, towards the great hall. Harry still held the box with the second corsage inside it in his right hand. As they stepped into the entrance hall, professor McGonagall stepped towards them.
"You are late Mr. Potter. And you look beautiful Ms. Granger." McGonagall commented and instructed them to stand with the other champions. Other students were hurriedly entering the great hall or busy finding their dates in the crowded entrance hall. Harry saw Susan standing to a side. He told Hermione that he would get Susan here and left.
Susan was in a strapless violet full length dress; the dress was simple with frills below the waist. Her red hair which bordered on crimson were in a double fishtail bun, she was wearing the locket he had given her this morning.
"Good evening, Ms. Bones. You look beautiful." Harry said with a slight bow and a good-natured smile.
"Why thank you, Mr. Potter and good evening to you too." She replied with a curtsy of her own.
Harry opened the box and retrieved the corsage, offering it to Susan. She extended her left hand towards him so he could tie it. She told him that she would see him inside the great hall afterwards and left him with a smile and a departing wave of hand.
Once every student was inside the great hall, the large oak doors to the great hall closed and the champions were the only ones, present in the entrance halls with their dates.
"Where is Susan?" Hermione asked when she did not come back with Harry.
"She said she would meet us inside." Harry answered. Their conversation was cut short as McGonagall instructed them to form a line. Once they were in the line, she started to arrange them properly.
At the head of the line were Cedric and Cho. Cedric was in a traditional black wizarding robe, Cho was in a pale blue full length gown. She had an open hairdo with a few strands pulled behind to make a small bow. Her dress had a low V neck line which accentuated her feminine curves perfectly.
Behind them stood Fleur Delacour with Roger Davies. Roger Davies was the Head Boy this year, he belonged to Ravenclaw. Similar to Cedric, he was in a traditional black wizarding robe. Fleur was wearing a silver coloured backless and strapless dress, her silver hair in a French braided bun. Davies was openly staring at her date as if still shocked that he was accompanying the French beauty.
The next in line was Krum and Zoe, it was a bit surprising that the two champions were together for the evening. Krum was wearing a scarlet coloured robe with black slacks and knee high black leather boots. Zoe was in a black dress robes, the shoulders of the dress a bit puffed, the waist down part of the dress was made of multi-layered lace.
Behind the 'champion' couple stood the Japanese champion and his date. Kenechi was wearing the formal black robes of traditional Japanese attire with a white shirt. His date, who was most probably a Mahoutokoro student, was wearing a white traditional Japanese dress.
At the end of the line stood the youngest couple. Harry was a bit nervous and so was Hermione as any minute now they would be walking down the middle of the great hall with every eye watching their every move. He hated the attention and at moment, even more so.
McGonagall walked in the great hall and the doors swung closed once again. A minute later they opened to reveal the decorated Great Hall. It looked like a ballroom made of snow and glass, on each side of the hall were twelve tall Christmas trees made of ice. The trees were decorated with white themes decorations and snow fairies. The enchanted ceiling was filled with snow clouds which showered snowflakes and light on the great hall. The long house tables were replaced by many round ones, white tablecloth completely covering the wooden article. The stony floor was replaced with shiny white marble with a layer of glassy polish. The raised platform at the opposite end of the hall was replaced by a stage.
The moment champions entered the hall, everyone present, started clapping, the applause was more formal as there was no whistling or shouting involved. It seemed like everyone was trying to be on their best formal and aristocratic behaviour. In the middle of the applause, the champions and their companions reached the head table where the headmasters and headmistresses of the participating school stood alongside Mr. Crouch, Mr. Fudge and Mr. Bagman. All of them were dressed in the best of the formal robes as was expected of them. Mr. Crouch looked quite weary as if he hadn't slept for days, his hairs greying black hair were completely replaced by grey ones. As Harry shook his hands, he could feel that there was not enough strength left in man. Their table was oval shaped, its elongated side across the length of the hall. Harry sat on the opposite end to the Heads and Officials. Hermione was on his left and the date to the Japanese champion on his right. Dumbledore sat in the middle of the table, facing the great hall. Fudge sat at the head position on the left-hand side of the hall with Bagman on his left and Crouch on his right.
The conventional golden cutlery was replaced by silver ones and instead of golden goblets, the table had crystal goblets. In front of the empty plates, stood the menu card for the evening. Dumbledore stood from his position, his arms wide open in an inviting manner.
"Let's begin the feast." He sat down with those words. Harry wasn't sure about what to do next as the food did not appear with those words. He watched Dumbledore as he picked up the menu and tapped it with his wand. The moment the tip of his wand touched the menu, food appeared in his plate. Harry followed the steps and tapped the menu twice, his plate was filled with roasted chicken legs and Aubergine Parmigiana the next moment. Hermione followed the suit and busied themselves in the dinner. They shared a polite conversation with the Japanese champion and his date Hayami Akiyama. Hermione was very interested in learning more about the Japanese wizarding society and education system. Harry needed to repeatedly nudge her in the ribs to make sure that she finished her dinner. Half an hour later, the plates were replaced with an assortment of desserts consisting tarts, trifle and pies. Mr. Crouch left even before the desserts arrived, it looked like he was ill. They saw Fudge nodding in understanding and gesturing him to leave. Harry noticed Dumbledore watching the exchange curiously, his eyes had that unnatural gleam.
At the stroke of nine, Dumbledore rose and with him rose every one present in the great hall. With a wave of his hand, half the dinner table vanished and the remaining moved towards the far side of the hall. The head table melted onto the floor and formed a silver coloured circular dance floor, its diameter just short of the width of the room. Every stepped off the dance floor, except the champions and their partners. A moment later, the band stepped onto the stage with their instruments. Every champion and their partners stood in the stance to dance. It was show time.
They began a slow melodic piece on the string quartet and so it began. It took a minute to Harry to get comfortable but Hermione's presence certainly helped. It was a good thing that in his nervousness he did not step on her toes too many times and Hermione was grateful for it. As the piece ended five minutes later and the next piece began, others also joined the champions on the floor. Before the night began, Harry had decided that they would dance for a couple of songs and then sit out but by the end of the second song, Harry had started to enjoy himself. After another two songs, Hermione had to remind him of the promise he made to Susan and the couple walked towards the tables where a few students sat, Susan was one of them. Harry asked her for a dance, the offer was accepted with a smile and they walked back towards the floor. In the meantime, Hermione went to get a drink for herself and returned to the seat vacated by Susan.
A minute or so later, none other than Ronald Weasley walked up to her and took the next seat. He was wearing a ridiculous looking old dress robe which had frills and ruffles everywhere, it looked more like a witch's robe rather than a wizard's. He had a pained expression on his face which spelled 'guilt' more clearly than a chalk piece on a blackboard.
"Hermione, I seriously want to apologize about my behaviour these past months. I am sorry, it pains me sometime to see you to struggling alone. I just feel guilty, like I abandoned you two." She could feel the guilt in his voice and the hope that there was a chance at forgiveness.
"It won't erase what you did Ron and I am not going to tell you that it's alright because it's not." Hermione answered in a stern voice.
"I just hope that I could do something to gain your forgiveness."
"Promise never to break his trust again Ron." Hermione replied, looking directly in his eyes.
"Where is your date, Ron?" Hermione asked, she could see the discomfort he was experiencing.
"Padma? We had a small argument. She is dancing with some Durmstrang bloke." He answered in an embarrassed tone, his eyes downcast. Ron squirmed and fidgeted for a few second before gathering his courage. "Hermione, can I ask you for a dance?"
It took Hermione by surprise and she thought for a moment before answering. Ron was looking nervous and she was taking guilty pleasure in making him feel so. She dropped the play and agreed for a dance.
As they stepped on the dance floor, Hermione's eyes were searching for Harry. As their eyes met across the dance floor, he gave her an understanding smile which made her inside filled with warmth. Ron was not an awful dancer, contrary to Hermione's expectation. He was jovial and gentlemanly for the duration of the dance and the next one. After the next song ended, Harry stepped towards them and extended his right hand, "May I have my date back?"
Ron gave him a smile and released her hand which was then gripped by Harry. Hermione was back in his arms and they were again lost in their own small islandic world. After the song ended, professor Flitwick stepped on the stage and everyone turned to look at the diminutive professor. The musician behind him walked down the stage and into the anteroom.
"Tonight, we have a special guest who would be performing in front of us. So, please welcome, 'Weird Sisters'!" Flitwick announced and grey coloured smoke covered the stage. The excited noises and applause were loud enough to be heard in Hogsmeade.
The smoke settled in a few seconds to reveal the band of six. They began their performance with an upbeat, fast paced song that got everyone jumping up and down the dance floor, throwing the occupants of great hall in a frenzy.
"Want to go out of here?" Harry whispered in Hermione's ear amidst all the noises. She nodded in response and the couple walked out of the great hall towards the lawn on the right which had a fountain in the centre. The fountain was square shaped one, every corner had a large swan standing on its legs facing inwards, their beaks pointing skywards. Due to extreme winter, the water was frozen in the air, forming a ball of ice above the centre of the fountain where the water streams would have collided. The lawn was covered in freshly fallen snow, the border of the lawn had waist high bushes which were also covered in snow. For the occasion, many Hogwarts carriages were housed in the lawn and many couples were enjoying them being there.
As the couple walked towards the lawn, they could hear two man talking; one of them sounded extremely angry and the other one was indifferent. Harry stopped Hermione and they hid in a dark alcove near the end of the passage so Harry could hear them talk.
One of them was wearing a black robe, he had black hair which fell on the side of his face. He was one by one, opening the doors to the carriages and deducting points from the students who were found sitting inside, indulging in amorous activities. Harry could identify the man even in dark, it was the dreaded potion master, Severus Snape. The other man, who was angrily shouting at Snape was the Durmstrang Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.
"Do you not understand, Severus, what it means?" Igor asked, walking one step behind Snape.
"I don't know what is your problem, Igor." Snape answered in his flat tone.
"The mark, it's getting darker. Don't tell me you haven't noticed the prickling yet." He tried to grab Snape's left arm but he jerked it away.
"Keep your hands away Igor. You are just being paranoid." Snape answered, looking a bit angry but his sneer was still in place.
"Don't behave like an ostrich, Severus." With that, Igor walked away from Snape and towards the great hall. It was their luck that the passage was dark otherwise Harry and Hermione would surely be in trouble for eavesdropping on Snape. a minute later, Snape walked through the passage towards the great hall.
"What were they talking about?" Harry asked Hermione, once Snape was out of earshot. He had this nagging feeling that something was very wrong. He understood the words but the meaning behind them alluded him. Hermione was no better, it was a different thing to have in-depth knowledge of the subject and a completely different thing to solve a grand puzzle in minutes without any clue. She was intelligent and quick-learner but she was no Sherlock Holmes.
"We can talk about it later. There are more important things to take care right now." She answered while shaking all the questions that stemmed from the conversation they heard a minute ago.
As Harry started to walk away from the alcove, Hermione jerked his arm to stop him. He turned towards her with a questioning look, she just raised her eyes upwards. There was a mistletoe hanging from the edge of the alcove, just above their heads.
Harry felt a bit uncomfortable as the understanding dawned on him and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Harry, don't worry. We don't need to." She understood that it would be very difficult for Harry to express his affections through physical interactions due to his upbringing. She blamed his relatives and so did Harry. She just shook her head and gave Harry a kiss on the edge of his mouth. Harry froze momentarily but relaxed as she moved her lips away, it was a heart-warming feeling and Harry instantly liked it but he was a bit hesitant so he just leaned forwards and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Hermione, you are the best person in my live." These words filled her with intense joy and she threw herself onto Harry. They stood there for minutes, just holding each other into their arms, enjoying the feeling of closeness, breathing in the scent of the other. It was certain that the feeling was intoxicating. They returned to the normal world a few minute later and Harry proposed to return to the great hall which Hermione readily accepted.
It was just before eleven when they entered the great hall, the corridors had more people than the great hall. The band was playing a very slow and romantic piece. The Gryffindor couple stepped on the dance floor, Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and Harry wrapped his arms around her waist. They swayed gently with the music, they were lost in each other's eyes, Harry's forehead resting on Hermione's, they could feel the warmth of each other's breath on their face. It was the serenity, the peace of the moment in which they were in their own little world.
-X-X-
The evening ended just before midnight as the musician walked down the stage and students started to trickle away. As Harry and Hermione were leaving the great hall, they saw Moody leaving the castle from the main entrance, collar of his body-length leather jacket pulled upwards. A moment later somebody called for Harry from behind. They saw Cedric walking towards them as they turned around.
"Harry, can I talk to you, in private?" He asked, while glancing towards Hermione. Harry nodded and the two champions walked towards one of the passages.
"Have you found the clue in the egg?" Cedric asked.
"Just the shriek." Harry answered truthfully.
"You helped me with the dragons so I thought I should return the favour."
"No problem, anybody would have done the same."
"Exactly, do you know about the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor?" Harry shook his head in answer. "Take the egg and think while sitting in hot bath. Password is 'Pine fresh'." Cedric walked away with a smile which Harry could not understand the meaning of, same as the words he had said. How can taking a bath give him any clue about the task. He decided that he would worry about it later. He held Hermione's hand and the couple walked towards the common room in complete harmony. They were enjoying each other's company in the quiet, moonlit passages of the ancient castle as they walked towards their destination. The only words spoken were the password to the portrait of the 'Fat Lady'. The common room was largely deserted so the couple went and sat in the loveseat in the corner of the room, away from being seen by anyone entering through the portrait.
They sat there cuddled, with Hermione's head resting on Harry's shoulder and his arms wrapped around her in a very protective way. Her hands rested on Harry's arms which were around her stomach. They fell asleep in this position.
Ron came into the common room thirty minutes later when he saw that Harry's bed was empty. The scene that greeted him was completely unexpected as he saw the couple snuggled into each other, fast asleep. He went back to the dormitory and brought Harry's blanket from his bed and draped it over the sleeping couple. He took a step back and took the in the closeness they shared and how comfortable they looked with each other. He was unaware of the eyes watching him from the stairs, Neville understood after seeing Ron that he really missed being a part of Harry and Hermione's life. He archived the information to be told to Harry in future and walked back to the dormitory before Ron could see him.
-X-X-
He was back again in the dark room in the Manor. The only light in the room was due to the dying embers in the fireplace. The younger one was kneeling in front of the chair, he was clad in a full-length leather jacket.
"My lord, the boy is through to the next one. I made sure tonight that he would get the hint for the second one." The kneeling man said in his voice which filled with a sense of accomplishment and dedication.
"Well done, my servant. But do not become complacent, the work is not yet complete." The man…. The thing in the chair said in the raspy, hissing voice.
"I will complete the mission, master. The boy will be in front of you, I promise."
"I expect nothing else from you."
"Forgive me master but my father looked like he was not under control."
"You don't need to worry yourself about that. Don't ever question me future!" The snakelike voice spoke in a vicious manner.
"Yes master."
"Leave now and don't return unless something important happens." The man bowed and left the room. "It's my feeding time Wormtail."
-X-X-
"Harry, wake up!" Hermione was shaking Harry's shoulder to wake him up. He was thrashing in pain as if he was in a fit. He was drenched in cold sweat. It took a minute for Hermione to understand what was happening but she caught up with the fact that he was having one of his nightmares.
He opened his eyes, his expressions were that of fear and confusion. It took a moment for him to recognize the person in front of him. He calmed down when Hermione brought him into a tight embrace, she buried his face into her chest and gently rocked him back and forth to calm him down. It took a minute for Harry to get himself under control. He gently pushed Hermione away so he can look at the face.
"Thank you, Hermione." He answered, a look of relief present on his face. He saw that she was about to ask about what he saw but he was not in the right frame of mind to tell her and it was late. He checked the watch and it was two in the morning. "Later, Hermione. It's already very late."
He stood up from the seat, picked up the fallen blanket and they moved to the bottom of the stairs leading to the dorms. He knew that most probably it was Neville or maybe Ron who draped the blanket, he would thank the boy tomorrow. Harry leaned in and gently kissed her at the edge of her mouth and muttered 'goodnight' before climbing up the stairs towards the boys' dorm.
"Goodnight Harry" she said to the leaving form of Harry Potter. Her mind was anxious to know what he saw in the dream but it was now drifting towards happy thoughts which stemmed from the great evening they just enjoyed a couple of hours back. She walked back to her dorm, changed into her pyjama and slipped under the blankets.
-X-X-
December 31, 1994
TEENAGERS' LOVE TRIANGLE
By Rita Skeeter
This Christmas Day, Hogwarts hosted the traditional Yule Ball for the ongoing Wizards' Tournament. The beauty of the venue was breath-taking as our readers can see in the photograph above. According to the tournament's handbook, Yule Ball is an opportunity for the schools and their students to mingle in the hope to further the cause of international cooperation in the next generation of the wizarding world.
Source inside the school paint a picture which indicates that this goal can be far from achievable with the present circumstances. It was brought in my notice that the news this dedicated reporter had unearthed was most certainly true.
Sources have confirmed that the Durmstrang Champion, Victor Krum asked Ms. Hermione Granger, a plain looking ambitious muggleborn witch, to be her date for the Yule Ball to which she happily agreed; prompting her boyfriend to ask a Hufflepuff year mate to accompany him to the event. This arrangement changed a couple of days before the Ball as Mr. Krum was informed by Ms. Granger that she won't be accompanying him. It was not a surprise when people saw who the date to the youngest champion was; readers will be correct in assuming it was none other than Ms. Granger. I hope the girl asked by Mr. Potter is not totally devastated by the turn of events.
This humble reporter who serves to bring truth to the world is befuddled by the ambitious and vicious nature of this muggleborn witch who is playing with the affections of two of the most famous teenaged celebrities of European wizarding community. I want to ask our readers, have we become so soulless that we have accepted this kind of heartless behaviour without protest.
"I just want to choke her with my hands, I want to strangle in her sleep." Hermione was shouting as she read the article. It was published in the recent edition of 'Witch's Weekly' which came out yesterday. Lavender happily supplied the copy with a smug face.
"it's ok, Hermione. I don't care what they write about either of us, I know you and we know what's going on; and that's all that matters." Harry answered, he was having difficulty in keeping his temper under control but he knew that it will do no good to lose his temper when Hermione was also on the edge. "Come on, I have something to tell you."
They sat at the table in a corner of the common room, facing each other; the golden egg was on the table between them. Harry told her the advice he received from Cedric after the Yule Ball. She was uncertain herself, unsure as if it could be a prank. A few minutes of discussion later they came to the conclusion that it won't harm to try this option as at the moment their only clue is the shrill noise that comes from the egg when opened.
"I will go tonight and try it." Harry said after a few minutes of pondering.
"Why can't I come?" Hermione asked with a questioning look. The look she was giving him indicated that she was somewhat slighted that Harry refused her help point blank.
"It's not like I don't need your help, Hermione; I will be running back to you the moment I get the clue. It's just…. Look it's a bath and it might get uncomfortable and awkward." Harry said with a blush creeping upwards his face; the moment Hermione understood the objection, she was blushing furiously.
"Ok, Ok. Just tell me whenever you return." Hermione replied, trying to get the image of them together in the bath out of her mind. 'God, what's wrong with me?' She chided herself internally.
Harry was walking towards the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor. He came to know that the entrance to the bathroom was through a portrait of a mermaid, sitting on a rock in the centre of the black lake with Hogwarts in the background. The portrait as well as the mermaid was beautiful, no doubt about that. Harry gave the password and entered the room to find a bathtub big enough to be called a swimming pool.
The pool was somewhat rectangular with the side facing the door being semi-circular, the opposite side of the pool looked like it was completely made of colourful glass pieces, the mosaic was designed so that it resembled the inside of the black lake. This side of the wall had a small altar like platform from which many taps were protruding. The sides of the room had marble benches closer to the taps and changing rooms closer to the entrance. Harry stepped closer to the altar, there were four lines of taps, each in a different coloured metal, blue-green-red-yellow. Each line had a valve on the side, Harry tapped the valves one by one with his wand to check which one provided hot water.
It turned out that the blue taps were for colt water, green one for a scented bath which had no bubbles, red was for hot water and just to quench his curiosity he checked the yellow one and found that it was for making bubbles. Harry kept the green, red and yellow one running and went towards the changing room. He stripped completely as nobody else was present and stepped inside the pool with the egg in his hand. He sat on the second last step on the semi-circular side of the pool which was deep enough so that Harry's shoulders were above the level in the bath. He wasn't one for swimming, he never learned and Dursleys were not enthusiastic enough to allow him to learn.
He was enjoying the warmth and comforting feeling of the bath which had him in a relaxed state, more relaxed than he had been since Halloween this year. He thanked Cedric for telling him about the bathroom, even more than the clue at present.
He opened the egg with his soapy hands which resulted in the characteristic shriek Harry had associated with the egg. It slipped from his hands as he was trying to shut the flaps and fell into the pool, rolling towards the deeper end. But something was different now, the inside of the egg was giving a glow, pale green in colour. Harry dipped his head and tried to reach to the egg; as his head crossed the surface, he heard a beautiful voice singing something, the sound was definitely coming from the egg.
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back
The egg stopped singing at that, he picked the egg, closed it and came out of the water to finally breath.
"You are quicker than the last one." He heard a girly was coming from behind, he turned his head in the direction to find the source. His glasses were off but he could identify it as a ghost due to the appearance and he was certain it wore a black school robe.
"Myrtle!" Harry shouted, he was outraged. "Stay away, I am not wearing anything." This wasn't a major problem as the bubble foam was dense enough to make the surface opaque. But Harry wasn't taking any chances; he moved the egg, which was held in his hand, in front of his privates.
"Don't worry, I closed my eyes." She answered innocently, Harry doubted it. "You haven't visited me in a while."
"You live in a girl's bathroom, Myrtle. I am not supposed to be there." Harry answered, trying his best not to be rude but the ghost wasn't taking the hint.
"You didn't have a problem sometime back." She answered and crossed her hands in front.
"Myrtle, close your eyes and leave or I will ask Bloody Baron for some help." Harry answered, his temper flaring a bit. Sir Nicholas had told Harry in his second year when he was invited in the 'Death Day Party' by the aforementioned ghost that majority of the ghost in the castle were afraid of Bloody Baron and not only ghosts but Peeves the poltergeist as well. Harry wouldn't have believed it than if he was told that that particular piece of information would be useful in future.
Myrtles ghostly features had one more inclusion to it, a hint of fear. The ghost drifted out of the pool area through the changing room. Harry was certain that Myrtle would just turn herself invisible and watch him afterwards. He knew he sounded a bit self-centred but he also knew it being a possibility.
As Myrtle drifted away, Harry took a deep breath and folded him legs so that he was completely submerged. Once he was inside the water, he opened the egg and the song began.
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'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back
He came out of water, shaking his head to move his hairs away from his eyes. He repeated this thrice so that he could memorize it completely. Once he was sure that he had it memorized, he sat there for a few minutes thinking about the clue as the water around him was cooling down.
He left the prefects' bathroom half an hour later and ran to the common room. He found Hermione sitting on the couch with her half-kneazle cuddled in her lap, Hermione had a book open in her right hand, her left was scratching Crookshanks behind the ears. To Harry's mild surprise, Ron was sitting at the nearby chair. Harry was aware that the friendship of the duo and Ron was on the mend since the ball but it still needed time to strengthen.
He walked up to the couch and plopped down next to Hermione who looked up from the book and saw the look of confusion and deep thinking on his face. She closed the book and kept it on the side, she turned to face him and in doing so she dislodged her cat from her position. The action wasn't well received by the feline, she showed her displeasure by hissing towards his human.
"So, how did it go? Did you find the clue? How did it work? Have you made any progress on deciphering the clue?" She asked all the questions in one breath and in response, Harry raised his hands in front of him in the universal sign of calm down.
"It went well. I did find the clue. I had to open it underwater. I haven't worked out the clue." He answered, trying to answer all her questions and hoping that the order was correct. He then proceeded to tell her everything that happened in the bathroom once she had calmed down completely. Before Hermione could answer, Ron answered.
"You might have to fight mer-people, underwater and retrieve something." Ron answered in a matter-of-factly way. Hermione's jaw just hit the ground and Harry himself was astonished. He didn't know that chess was not Ron's only skill. Apparently, he was good with Riddles and strategy too.
"And how did you reach that conclusion?" Hermione asked, knowing that he was most probably right as she stitched all the words to get everything out of it.
"It's a bit obvious, actually. That's what the first four lines of the verse says. The last four telling that you will have an hour to complete the task."
Hermione's reaction of amusement was too good, 'Where is Colin when he is needed', Harry thought to himself. They started to discuss the possibilities and tried to get every view covered. Hermione wrote down the important points that would need to be researched thoroughly.
1. How to breath underwater for prolonged time (min. one hour)
2. Charms, Curses and Counter curses for underwater environment
3. Teach Harry how to swim.
4. Magical creatures in the black lake and defences against them.
She told Harry that she would draw a timetable for the duo to go through everything and manage some free time. She left the common room as she needed to plan for the second task. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were discussing the riddling skill Harry noticed about Ron. Ron was smart with certain things and chess was not the only one on the list. Ron told him that he liked puzzles, it helped with chess.
-X-X-
January 20, 1995
It came to Harry and Hermione's notice that since the ball, Neville has been seen spending time with Hannah on more than one occasion. It was helping with his self-confidence, he was more self-assured. He had joined the duo in their morning workout routine, when asked about it, he responded that Hannah told him to that it would be better if he gets into shape and he was not going to refuse it. They also asked Ron to join them but he refused, to remain in his bed a little longer.
School and classes were getting boring for the duo, their main worry was the upcoming task. Hermione was spending a lot of time in the library during the first week of January to find curses and hexes that could be used underwater. She had come across some variants of normal curses which could be useful. Her research did not stop there, she was also researching about creatures present in the depths of black lake and a few chats with Hagrid did go a long way.
Now the duo was practising the spells in the evenings in the gymnasium. Neville and Ron would join them occasionally during training. It was difficult to go swimming in the lake in this weather, so Hermione decided to teach him swimming in the prefects' bathroom; Harry accepted the proposal without hesitation. Apart from their time together, Hermione was spending a lot of time in library and on the other hand Harry was spending most of his time with Neville and Ron or with Susan.
Susan had been a welcome addition to their little group; as things stand, Hannah has been her closest friend and right now she was spending a big portion of her free time with Neville which left Susan to herself. Hermione was busy helping Harry, researching charms and hexes to keep him alive which was keeping her busy in the library for extended periods of time.
A few days back, Victor came to Hermione in the library and apologized for rudely walking out on them. He was happy to be friends with her, he was seen sharing the table with Hermione a few times by other occupants of the Hogwarts library.
A couple of days back, Hermione came across a charm which she thought was a possible solution for second task. She copied the details on a parchment, placed the book back on the shelf and ran towards the common room to tell Harry. Harry was relieved and grateful that Hermione had found the solution but the excitement was and relief was short-lived as Hermione explained the complicated charm.
It was named 'Bubble-head Charm' as it forms a bubble of air around one's head in dangerous environment, the charm was actually developed for potioneers who worked with poisonous or hazardous fumes. It lets them breath fresh air in all the smoke and fumes but it can be used to breath underwater. The only problem was that the charm drains a lot of energy from the caster to work underwater and using it for an hour may exhaust Harry. Hermione wasn't certain that this was 'the' solution but she believed that it wouldn't harm to practice it. There was a reason for it being a NEWT level charm as it would be a strain on the students with developing magical cores. They planned to practice it during their swimming practice, which was alternated with their morning runs last week. And while they will practice the charm, they will spend time in finding another solution.
As Hermione was thinking through the plan, Harry's mind drifted to their first swimming practice. They were in the prefects' bathroom, Harry had turned the red and green tap valves and Hermione went into the changing room to get in the swimsuit. Harry went to the other changing room and stripped down to his boxers. He walked into the pool before Hermione was out and it was a good thing. As Hermione walked out of the changing room in a two piece deep blue sports swimsuit, Harry's body reacted to the sight; he was blushing crimson and Hermione wasn't far from it. She slowly walked into the pull and Harry suddenly felt conscious to the proximity. He had never seen Hermione's skin this much exposed, he could tell that her body was developing and growing at the right places.
"You look beautiful, Hermione." Harry complimented and their blushes intensified. It took them more than fifteen minutes to move past the awkwardness and embarrassment of simple and accidental touches on their exposed bodies. Harry needed all his determination to keep his eyes and hands from wandering and Hermione appreciated it. Once they were past the awkward phase, Hermione started to teach Harry the basics of swimming. They ended their first lesson half an hour later. Harry let her go and change first while he drained the pool, he appreciated the retreating form of his girlfriend.
They were best friends and they had been together for almost a month but they were still not comfortable enough to indulge in physical acts of affection other than occasional handholding, a few kisses on cheeks or a peck on lips, they enjoyed the closeness when they sat on the couch or during meal times. If anybody wasn't paying attention, he would think that nothing has changed for a couple of months between the duo.
-X-X-
January was about to end and the only thing changed in the lives of Harry and Hermione was that now Snape was even colder towards both of them, as if it was possible. He had been trying his best to get some response and satisfaction from assigning detention to the pair for the response but he was yet unsuccessful. Hermione was doing her best to keep Harry out of trouble and her new status as his girlfriend came very handy. She was able to prevent open confrontation between Harry and Malfoy on four different occasions. The only problem was that now not only Harry but she was also being slandered. She knew that it didn't matter as her parents don't read Daily Prophet and they trusted their daughter enough. The only problem was that she was unsure how long she would be able to keep Harry's and her temper in check, Malfoy was making it very difficult. But today, it was not Harry who was on her mind, it was Ron. He got himself in a confrontation with Malfoy in an attempt to defend Harry against the verbal assault by the Slytherins which resulted into him getting a detention with Snape. Harry needed something to distract her and he had the perfect idea.
"Hermione!" Harry asked, trying to get her attention away from the book she was looking at. Harry knew she wasn't reading it.
"Hmm" Hermione answered, finally looking at him.
"You are aware that we have a Hogsmeade weekend in February." She nodded and Harry continued, "So I was thinking about asking you to go out with me on a date. Would you like to go?" Harry asked, his expressions showing his anxiety.
"Of course, Harry. I am your girlfriend." She answered as if she already knew that they were going for a date on the next Hogsmeade weekend which was just before Valentine's Day. But internally she was thinking that finally he asked, she was prepared to ask him herself if he didn't. Harry just smiled in response, certain that he had reduced her worries for the moment.
Ten minutes later, Ron entered the common room through the portrait hole, he was seething in anger. He walked to the couch and plopped down in the middle of it.
"That foul, slimy git." Ron spat as if the words were turning sour in his mouth.
"Language, Ron!" Hermione scolded but Ron didn't acknowledge it. "What happened?" Hermione asked a moment later.
"I was scrubbing the table tops of the potions' classroom for last 2 hours with a toothbrush, can you believe it, a bloody toothbrush. And all that time, he was breathing down my neck, pointing to spots smaller than an ant." He was looking like he could strangle the bat like potion master with his bare hands. It took a few minutes for him to blow the heat and cool down.
-X-X-
February 12, 1995
Harry and Hermione were walking down the main street of Hogsmeade village, hand in hand. It was their first official date and Harry had no idea what he was going to do so he had suggested that they will do whatever Hermione says. They had spent more than an hour in the bookshop, finding the book Hermione wanted; Harry paid for it and the couple than walked into Honeydukes. Harry bought a big Valentine's Day gift pack for Hermione, they did not want to carry it so they asked it to be delivered by owl. Afterwards they have visited some other stores and the florist where Harry bough a beautiful bouquet of red and yellow rose, which was well appreciated by his girlfriend.
The day was a very pleasant one until they entered the Three Broomsticks. The pub was more crowded than they have seen it before, almost every table was occupied. Harry scanned the room for an empty table, he noticed that in the corner table Mr. Bagman was discussing something with the goblins in hushed voice; from Bagman's looks, it seemed like he was trying to defend himself. Before he could process it, he heard Hermione shout at someone.
"You arrogant, lying, filthy woman; how dare you spew those lies about everyone." But before Hermione could walk up to her or draw her wand, Harry held her from behind, his arms locking in front of her so that she could not move her arms. The target of her anger was Daily Prophet reporter, Rita Skeeter.
"Calm down dear, she is not worth it." Harry whispered in her ear. Every eye in the pub was on them and the pub had suddenly gone silent. Rita Skeeter was shocked but it seemed like she heard what Harry said to her.
"Oh, so you are together! Harry, so good to see you." Rita spoke in a fake friendly manner.
"Can't say the feeling is mutual. I am not friendly with liars." Harry replied, releasing Hermione who had regained her composure. Harry was now just holding her hand.
"Would you two like to give an interview, the complete truth?" Rita asked, walking towards them.
"Hell will freeze before that day." Hermione answered and walked out of the pub. But before Harry could follow his girlfriend, Rita spoke. "Tell your girlfriend, Mr. Potter that it does not go well to make enemies with powerful people." All the friendliness was gone from her voice.
"Believe me when I say this Skeeter that we have faced worse than you." With those parting words, Harry left the pub to follow Hermione.
He found her sitting on a bench on the side of the road, Harry sat close to her and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, bringing her closer. She enraged, her face was red and her eyes had that look that said that she wanted blood. It took a few minutes for Harry to get her to calm down. They were sure that they were done here for today so they walked back to the castle and went to the kitchens for a meal. They were back in the common room before three in the afternoon.
A/N: from this chapter, onwards story will move fast till we reach Harry's fifth year. Please Review.