Chapter 86: May it Be
Fleur Delacour was not having a good day. She entered the Great Hall for breakfast amid a flurry of activity. Before she could even serve herself anything, three boys had made their approach to ask her to the Yule Ball. Graciously, she declined their requests, after which the next group got even bolder.
"Hey beautiful," A tall Gryffindor sat next to her and leaned in. "You look good today. I mean you look good every day but you look especially good today. How's about you and I go to the Ball together? We'd look rather good together, don't you think?"
"I think," Fleur leaned in toward him, blasting him with her allure, making him go slack-jawed. "You should return to your table, yes?"
The boy mutely nodded, his mouth still agape as he stood with his hands over his crotch and sat back down at his table. She worked through her meal between declining dates and trying to talk to Padma regarding an Arithmancy problem she was having. Dabbing her mouth with a napkin, she stood and sauntered from the hall, feeling the eyes follow her.
"Miss Delacour," a boy who looked Harry's age wearing Slytherin green, stopped her. "Would you do yourself the honor of escorting me to the Yule Ball?"
"Non," Fleur scoffed at the boy's arrogance and continued walking. At this point, she was frustrated beyond belief and her frustration had her allure roiling off her in waves. It particularly affected the redheaded boy approaching her.
In his head, Ron intended to say "Greetings Fleur, would you like to go to the ball with me?" Instead, he walked right up to her and shouted "WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO THE BALL WITH ME!?"
Fleur stepped back in shock, flummoxed as to how to properly respond. The boy blushed in embarrassment and retreated into the Great Hall. As she tried to retreat, a swarm of suitors blocked her path.
"Honestly," a boy's voice cut through. "She's not going to the ball with any of you heathens. Everyone disperse and give her room to breathe!"
At Cedric's tirade, the throng of boys broke apart like water down a stream to Fleur's appreciation.
"Sorry you had to deal with that," Cedric said.
"Nozzing I 'aven't dealt wiz before," Fleur's accent was as thick as ever. "Every boy thinks zey can tame ze Veela. It's okay."
"Is there anyone you would like to go to the ball with?" Cedric asked.
"Non," Fleur shook her head. "Just someone who can be themselves around me."
"Well in that case," Cedric smiled rakishly and looked over his shoulder. "Oi! Yes you, you rascal! Come here!"
A blonde-haired boy wearing Ravenclaw robes approached and bowed in front of her.
"Good morning, champion Delacour," the boy introduced himself. "I am Roger Davies of Ravenclaw house. I have seen you sitting at our table but have not said hello before. I apologize for that but I was hoping to get to know you during the Yule Ball, if you could agree to go with me, that is?"
Fleur's eyes widened as the boy showed the telltale signs of being affected by her allure but he fought it and finished his request, even as she flared her allure toward him.
"Oui," Fleur relented. "It would be fun to spend the evening togezzer."
"Brilliant," Roger said. "I'll pick you up at the entrance hall before the event? Or would you prefer I pick you up at the Beauxbatons carriage?"
"Ze entrance will be fine," Fleur said. "I will see you then."
Fleur bundled her robes to her tighter and steeled herself for the cold as she walked out toward the carriage.
"Well done, mate," Cedric said to Roger.
"Thanks for all your tips on controlling myself, Ced," Roger beamed. "Hopefully word will get out and the others will leave her alone now."
"You're a good man, Rodge," Cedric said. "Just give her a good night, okay?"
"Will do, Ced," Rodger laughed. "Shall we get breakfast now?"
"About time you asked; I'm starving," Cedric laughed as they entered the Great Hall.
A few floors up, the youngest champion was ensconced in a room, working on his egg. He kept opening it, listening to the screeching until it felt like his ears would start to bleed and then he'd shut it again. On the other side of the room, his girlfriend leaned over a piece of parchment. Occasionally she would cross out a line and write something new. The fact she did it while wearing pink earmuffs was a sight to behold altogether.
"Alright that's enough," Harry slammed the egg shut again. "I can't take anymore."
Hermione, noticing his frustration, pulled the earmuffs off.
"No luck?" Hermione asked.
"No," Harry said. "I know I've heard that sound before but I have no idea where."
At that moment, the door swung open.
"Oh it's you," Luna's said as she entered the room. "I was wondering who was listening to mermish at this hour of the morning. Are you and Hermione preparing for the Yule Ball? They say that dancing to mermish is one of the most intimate things you can do; the surest sign of true love."
"Wait… Luna, did you say Mermish?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes," Luna said. "Their voices above ground are as harsh as they come but when heard in water, they are the most beautiful you'll ever hear. That's why it's a sign of true love; being able to love something beautiful when it is no longer beautiful because you know what it actually is."
"That's it!" Harry shouted, excitedly. "Dobby, can you get me a basin of water, deep enough to submerge the egg and my head in? Luna, you're a genius!"
"I know," Luna said. "Honestly, I just wanted to know who was making all the racket. It's hard to write while that's going on."
"That's why I borrowed these," Hermione gestured to the earmuffs on the table as she continued scribbling. Luna walked over to her parchment as Harry dunked his head under the water.
"Oh interesting," Luna said. "Except your arithmancy is off. For something like this, you should use a base number of 8. As the design of the number and the figure would then be infinite."
"Luna you're incredible," Hermione said, excitedly as she pulled out a fresh sheet to work out the new equation while Harry pulled his head from the basin and took in a huge gulp of air. Scrambling, he hurriedly picked up his quill and began writing as much as he could remember. When he got stuck, he dove back in. Reopening the egg, he listened to its song again.
"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.
Harry pulled his head above the water, taking in a gasp of air as he pulled his head out. While it was fresh, he wrote the rest of the riddle. His eyes moved across the page as he read and reread the page until the clue clicked in.
"It's in mermish so the task will take place underwater," Harry recited back to himself. "Time limit will be an hour but what will they take?"
Harry's mind spun from his Firebolt to his cloak to the needle Hermione made for him. None of those felt right. He looked up at Hermione excitedly scrawling on her parchment. That was when a memory hit him, back when they decided to explore apprenticeships.
"This is what's most important to me," she said at the time, gesturing to him.
"Bugger!" Harry shouted as he threw his quill across the room. "No no no no no they can't do this; they wouldn't do this. There's no possible way they'd do that.
"No it's the same bloody fools who brought in dragons for the first task," Harry responded to his own question. "Completely sane idiots designing these tasks."
"What is it?" Hermione looked to Luna who looked just as astonished as she was. Harry looked at her, shuddered and began pacing. "Talk to us! What's the problem!"
"This tournament is the problem!" Harry raged. "Not only am I being thrust into a tournament against my wishes but they're also going to bring four more individuals into this mess!"
"What do you mean?" Hermione cautiously grabbed his shoulder.
"That clue!" Harry gestured toward the egg. "The riddle! The clue. They're going to take something I'll sorely miss and stick it at the bottom of the Black Lake for me to rescue."
"You're kidding," Hermione asked and immediately regretted it for the look Harry gave her. "Of course. That's just what they would do. It's dangerous, thrilling and a great story. Can I see the riddle?"
Harry thrust his hand toward the parchment laying on the floor close to the basin with the egg still glowing inside it. As Hermione read, Harry collapsed on the wall and ran his hand through his hair.
"So they're going to take something you cherish underwater," Hermione reasoned.
"They said 'what,'" Harry looked her in the eye. "What they really mean is 'who'. There's nothing I own that I'd dive into the lake to retrieve. But if they put you at the bottom… or you, Luna… or Neville or Sirius or Daphne. They put another person down there and I'll be damn motivated. Just this year you told me what we have means more to you than anything. I agree and now the same people who decided to pit the champions against dragons- the same people who didn't think far enough ahead to think of reliable contingencies should a dragon escape- are going to put you down there. What if something goes wrong? What if you drown? What if I fail to get to you? What if…"
"You can talk yourself silly if you go down the 'what if' rabbit hole," Hermione cajoled, softly. "Let's deal with what is and work on a strategy."
"But what…" Harry stopped talking when Luna put a hand to his lips.
"Stop," the hardness in Luna's voice scared him a little. "For two years, I went into this spiral, daddy and I both did. We wondered what if we do something different, if we had acted differently, would mum still be alive? Hermione is right: those questions eat you alive and you need your focus on the task, not on what could go wrong. Talk to Daphne for a political strategy, talk to Dumbledore to ensure the safety of the other hostages. We'll see what we can do to protect Hermione and go from there."
Luna removed her hand, leaned in and hugged Harry.
"I love you," Luna said. "Both of you. And I need you both to come out of this safely. We'll figure something out for Hermione but the Black Lake is dangerous. There's a lot that could go wrong. I need you to focus on preparing to survive underwater."
"Thank you, Luna," Harry returned her hug with equal intensity. "I love you too."
That night, they caught up with Daphne and told her what they discovered. She studied the riddle for a while before speaking.
"Hmm," she pondered, her brow furrowed. "Well, I have to say I agree with your conclusions, Harry. There's no way they'd just have the champions go rescue an item; it's not thrilling enough. They'd want to have a quote-unquote hostage for you to rescue. Especially since, as it will be underwater so the crowd won't have a lot to watch."
"Is there anything that can be done to keep them from choosing Hermione?" Harry asked.
"I don't think so," Daphne said. "You could bring her under family protection but to do that, you'd have to either adopt her or marry her, neither of which I think you want to do at this point."
"Correct," Harry gave Hermione a sidelong glance. "Don't get me wrong, I would love to marry you someday but not at 14. I think your dad would murder me if I even tried without talking to him in person."
"No offense taken," Hermione smiled. "I feel the same. And daddy would definitely murder you."
"In any case," Daphne said. "I think the way to go is to put a tracking spell on Hermione. That way you'll know exactly where she is and be able to head straight for her. The quicker you can get there, the less time there is for anything to go wrong. Further, we will prepare a statement to run after the event where you announce your displeasure at Hermione's inclusion in the event. As a minor, they should \ask for her, her parents and Professor McGonagall, as your magical guardian, before you could be a part of the event. If they don't do that, which I doubt they will, we put the organizers and the ministry on the backfoot while also strengthening the way the wizarding world sees your relationship. Since she's what you'll sorely miss, that puts her in a kinder light and reinforces how the world will see your relationship. We'll run that article with a picture of the two of you from the ball so look your best, Harry. Hermione? I already know you'll shine so we'll need to work to match her, Harry."
"How do you intend to have that photo taken?" Harry asked.
"I'll take care of that," Daphne said. "You just worry about preparing for the ball and the task. Thank you for coming to me. I'll get to work on messaging. I'll need to borrow you for a few hours on the next Hogsmeade weekend so I can put the finishing touches on what you'll wear to the ball. Don't look at me like that, Harry, you know what the wizarding world expects of you and you know this is my area of expertise. You'll look fantastic, I will see to it."
"Thank you, Daphne," Harry relented. "You've been a fantastic help… and an even better friend."
"You're welcome Harry," Daphne smile sweetly. "Thank you for all you have done as well. Father tells me business has never been better. Thanks to our association with you, the goblins have been infinitely easier to work with and have given us a better rate. Now let's get down to the Great Hall; it's almost time for dinner."
In the Great Hall, Colin stood by the doors, steeling his nerves. Taking a big breath in, he marched forward, coming to a stop at the Hufflepuff table. He had been wanting to do this for weeks but every time he thought of doing so, intense nausea overtook him.
"Excuse me, Susan," Colin willed his voice to work, thankful it didn't crack. "Could I have a moment of your time?"
"Of course, Colin," Susan smiled warmly, intrigued by the nervous photographer. "How can I help you?"
"I was hoping… that is to say I was wondering," Colin stuttered. "Would you go to the Yule Ball with me? As a date?"
"Oh Colin," Susan looked apologetic. "I'm sorry; I already accepted an invitation from someone else."
"Oh," Colin deflated like a balloon. "Thank you for your time. Whoever he is, he's a lucky guy."
As Colin slouched away, Susan watched him go. With heavy legs, Colin stumbled to the end of the Gryffindor table.
"Mr. Creevey," a voice called his attention. When he looked up, Daphne stood in front of him. "Have you found a date for the Yule Ball yet?"
"No," Colin's head drooped again.
"Excellent," Daphne said before grimacing at his pained look. "Sorry, that was poorly phrased. I need a photographer to be at the event and the idea of taking anyone else to the ball makes my stomach churn. You are a nice boy and spending a night with you would not be the worst idea. Would you go with me?"
"S-s-sure," Colin staggered at the turn of events.
"Excellent," Daphne said. "Get yourself some dress robes, light blue would work and bring your camera."
"O-o-okay," Colin stuttered, his brain still reeling.
"Well done, Colin," Harry heard the exchange. "Sounds like you've got a night planned."
"Yeah," Colin replied.
"You don't sound all that excited," Harry sunk into the seat across from the boy.
"I mean Daphne is pretty and all but she didn't really ask me, she kind of just told me to go with her."
"Sounds like Daphne," Harry chuckled. "She can come off controlling and rigid. She's a good girl with a wry sense of humor once you get to know her. You'll do great, Colin. You're a great guy, Colin. Daphne would not have asked you if she didn't like you. She has high standards. That you've met them says a lot about you. Remember that."
"I guess," Colin's eyes still fell on Susan who was laughing at something Ernie and Hannah were saying.
"If I could have your attention," Dumbledore called from the lectern. "Professor Hagrid has an announcement for you all."
At Dumbledore's gesture, Hagrid stood up.
"With the help of a former student, at the behest of one of our brightest students," Hagrid beamed in Hermione's direction. "We now have an unobtrusive way ter view Iris."
At the word Iris, a mirror behind the head table activated to show the dragon. Iris was currently curled up, sleeping peacefully while a light breeze blew the branches of the tree behind them.
"This mirror will be placed in the Entrance Hall," Hagrid said. "There's also another one that I will carry with me which we can easily resize. A special thanks ter Moony Pad productions for making this possible. The other mirror has been disillusioned and silenced so the dragon won't be bothered. Thank yer."
For the rest of the meal, everyone in the hall ate while stealing glances at the dragon in the mirror hanging behind the head table.
"So that's what you wrote Sirius about," Harry smiled at Hermione.
"It seemed easy enough to do," Hermione said. "We already use those mirrors to talk with Sirius and my parents regularly. The only issue was muting one side and making them bigger."
"Do you think they can work underwater?" Harry asked.
"You're not thinking…" Hermione began.
"I am," Harry said before she could finish. "It would be the perfect way to keep all the hostages safe. If something goes wrong, Madam Pomfrey could intervene."
"Let's talk with Padfoot on the mirror tonight," Hermione said. "I like the idea, though."
After Luna's words to him and their conversation with Daphne, coupled with a way to keep Hermione safe, Harry allowed himself to relax and turn toward preparing for the second task and the Yule Ball.
(A/N: Harry figures out the clue thanks to Luna. Parts of the story have been planned since the beginning and Luna knowing what Mermish sounds like as a way to help figure out the clue was one of them. What wasn't planned, however, was her wisdom on dwelling on the what-ifs and how disastrous that could be, as was her telling Harry she loved him. I love Luna, love writing her and love reading her.
Ron shouting at Fleur is something that happened in canon. I remember my own disastrous attempts to ask someone out. Colin being turned down also is very much based on my life. However, he still gets to go with Daphne, even though he's still very much attracted to Susan.
Last, we have Sirius supersizing a mirror to view the dragon and also setting up a way to view the hostages in the second task.)