CHAPTER EIGHT -
Deck the Halls
No Daily Prophet was delivered to Hogwarts on the next day, nor on the day after that. On Monday, the first weekday of the Christmas break, a post owl arrived during breakfast with a letter for Neville, but once again he received no copy of the Daily Prophet.
After the insults and baseless accusations against Hermione in the last edition of the Prophet on Friday, Harry wasn't exactly upset about the missing newspaper, but he was curious nonetheless.
"Nev, do you know why there hasn't been a Prophet lately?" Harry asked Neville, who sat to his left at the House table. The boy had opened his letter and was reading it now.
After a short while, Neville looked up from the letter in his hands. "It's from my Gran. She writes that on Friday, some irate witch attacked the office of the Daily Prophet. The witch assaulted Rita Skeeter and destroyed large parts of the Prophet's offices and their printing press. Skeeter is in Saint Mungo's Hospital."
Hermione, who sat to Harry's right, gasped.
"Really, who was the attacker?" Harry asked.
"They don't know," Neville answered. "The witch escaped with an International Portkey that couldn't be traced. They only suspect that, based upon her accent, she's Canadian. Also, she had to be quite powerful. Apparently, she used some obscure and very dangerous curses that are ordinarily only used to fight against the most dangerous of magical beasts."
"Huh, weird," Harry said. "Does that mean that Skeeter won't bother us at the ball?"
Neville nodded. "Yes, Skeeter will probably have to stay in the hospital for a long time. She's in the ward for permanent spell damage, so she might never fully recover."
"Huh," Harry muttered. "How does your Gran know all this?"
"Oh, uhh," Neville mumbled, seemingly slightly embarrassed, "she was just visiting someone there."
"Oh, all right, never mind," Harry replied, sensing that the boy wasn't comfortable with the topic.
Well, this meant that Skeeter was out of their hair now. Harry couldn't help but grin about that. He knew that he should feel bad for the bothersome reporter, but after what she had written about his girlfriend, Harry couldn't quite manage it. He shared a look with Hermione and could see that she felt similarly conflicted about the news.
It was quite understandable in Harry's opinion. Many students had indeed believed that Hermione had used love potions on Viktor Krum and him. For the first two days after the article had come out, he and Hermione had mostly hidden themselves away from most of the student populace, training in the abandoned classroom they had commandeered several weeks ago.
But on Sunday, Krum had stood up and announced to the students in the Great Hall that he hadn't been potioned, that he had only asked Hermione to the ball because he hadn't known that she was in a relationship already and that they had never even spoken to each other before that.
Harry and Hermione had thanked the Durmstrang champion profoundly, but he had just shrugged and informed them that he had made the statement as much for his own sake as for theirs. He had just been tired of all his fan-girls trying to force a Purging Potion down his throat to free him from the deviant Potion Queen's clutches.
Surprisingly, the students believed the Quidditch star, and they had stopped treating Hermione with hostility. Several students even offered some half-hearted apologies to the couple.
An amused Hermione told Harry that Krum's statement was exactly what she would have told him to say if she had him under her thralls and that his statement could therefore not really count as evidence either way. But Harry reminded her that for the most part, wizards were idiots, and Hermione had to concede his point.
Harry was just glad that things had returned to normal very quickly. By now, students were once more obsessing about the approaching Yule Ball and had seemingly all but forgotten about everything else.
For the next days, Harry and Hermione continued researching the golden egg and they kept on practising potentially useful spells for the tournament. In addition, the couple had also started to read up on Occlumency and would soon be ready to start with some first meditation exercises.
But now that they could show their faces in public again, Harry proposed that maybe they should take things a bit more lightly during the holidays. To his amazement, Hermione agreed with him.
This was how the couple found themselves sitting on the couch in the common room on in the evening on the Wednesday two days before the Yule Ball. Harry was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Neville and Dean, while Hermione was engrossed in a thick tome on Magical History, doing some light reading.
"But how are we supposed to ask a girl to the ball?" a loud voice sounded from another corner of the common room. "Girls are mental! It's mental to expect us to ask one out!"
Harry looked up from the cards in his hand and spotted Ron in another corner of the room, simultaneously complaining about the ball and obliterating Seamus in Wizard's Chess. Apparently, the redhead still hadn't asked a girl out for the ball.
Harry shared a look with Hermione, who rolled her eyes.
"I can't believe he's still going on about that," Harry said quietly. "Why doesn't he just ask someone?"
Hermione shrugged and chuckled. "Just be glad that we're together, or you would probably behave exactly the same!"
"Oh no, I wouldn't," Harry disagreed with faux indignation. "If we weren't together, I would just ask you out now."
He was rewarded with a kiss from his girlfriend for that.
"And then, they never are alone!" Ron continued to complain loudly. "Why do they always have to travel in groups? It's mental! Completely mental!"
Seamus nodded along, even though Harry knew that the Irish boy did have a date for the ball. He had asked out Parvati several days ago.
Harry sighed. "Do we really have to keep on listening to this every day?" he asked with exasperation.
But then, he got an idea. "Hey, Mione, do you know of any girls in our year that don't have a date yet?"
Hermione frowned for a moment before she grinned. "Lavender doesn't have a date, as far as I know. And I think I would know if she had because she'd probably never shut up about it otherwise."
Harry looked around in the common room and spotted Lavender sitting with Parvati in an opposite corner of the room. Quickly, he rose from the couch and approached the girls.
"Hey, Lavender!" he said when the two gossipping girls had noticed him standing in front of them. "Do you have a date for the ball yet?"
Lavender's eyes grew wide, and she shook her head. "No, Harry," she answered with a slight blush. The girl then continued with a voice that probably was supposed to sound seductive. "Why do you ask?"
Harry ignored both her behaviour and the sudden silence in the common room. "Great, would you mind going with Ron?"
"What?" Lavender and Ron at the other side of the room exclaimed at the same time.
"I think it would be nice for everyone if we no longer had to listen to Ron complaining about how completely impossible it is to ask a girl out. So, would you go with him? Please?" Harry explained.
"Oh... Uhm, all right, fine," Lavender answered, though she couldn't quite hide her disappointment.
"Great!" Harry exclaimed and turned towards the youngest Weasley brother. "Ron, I guess that's fine with you, too?"
Ron only nodded in reply. He seemed to be very conflicted, probably because he couldn't decide whether to be offended or grateful.
With a wide grin, Harry returned to Hermione and his friends.
"That was really sweet of you, Harry," Hermione whispered to him and gave him a peck on his lips. "I hope Ron appreciates what you did for him."
The boys continued with their card game, but a few minutes later, Harry heard someone clearing their throat behind him.
He looked around and saw Ron looking at him with an awkward expression on his face.
"Uhh, Harry... thanks, mate!" the redhead began hesitantly. "Listen... I thought about all of this, and decided that maybe I can forgive you, and-"
"Forgive us? Forgive us for what?" Hermione interjected with a cold voice.
"For becoming a couple, of course! And for not putting my name in the Goblet. I guess we can-"
Harry saw how Hermione's eyes narrowed, and quickly interrupted Ron before a shouting match could ensue. "You know what, Ron? We really don't deserve your forgiveness. Not before we have at least apologised to you. Just keep ignoring us, all right? We deserve it."
Ron stared at him with a confused expression.
"Uhm... yeah, yeah, I guess you're right," Ron finally said with growing confidence and nodded. "You should have to apologise..."
There was a long pause during which Ron looked at the couple expectantly.
"Well?" the redhead finally asked.
"Well, what?" Harry replied.
"Are you going to apologise or not?"
"Nope, we'll let you know when we're ready to apologise. You'll have to resume ignoring us until then," Harry answered with a neutral voice.
"Oh, uhm... all right, then... uhh... bye," Ron muttered.
"Bye, Ron," Harry replied.
"Bye," Hermione said, though Harry could tell that she had a hard time to contain her laughter.
Harry and Hermione didn't really speak to Ron after that, but at least Ron started treating them with more civility than before. He no longer shot angry looks at them whenever he spotted the couple, and they even politely greeted each other in the mornings. They weren't friends anymore, but there was no more hostility between them, either. Harry just hoped that this new state of things would continue even when Ron finally figured out that Harry and Hermione had no intention to ever apologise to him. In their opinion, they had nothing to apologise about, after all.
#
Friday was both Christmas Day and the day of the Yule Ball. After a very relaxed Christmas Morning, Harry and Hermione joined Neville, Luna, and Ginny on the Hogwarts grounds for some snowball fights. It was still early in the afternoon when Hermione and the other two girls informed the boys that they had to leave to get ready for the ball.
"But- but the ball won't be until eight in the evening," Neville sputtered.
Harry, too, raised his eyebrows at Hermione. "You know that you are beautiful as you are, right? There's no need to get-"
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione interrupted him with a smile, "but I bet you'll like the results, nonetheless. And I promised to help Luna and Ginny with some of the charms. Let's meet at a quarter to eight in the common room. Luna will be with us, too. "
"Oh, all right, then," Harry conceded. "Have fun!"
Harry spent the remaining afternoon playing Exploding Snap with Neville, Dean, and Seamus in the common room.
"Who are you going with, anyway, Dean?" Harry asked his dorm mate during one of their games. "Will you finally tell us, now? In a few hours, we'll know it, anyway."
Dean sighed. "Fine. I didn't tell because I don't look forward to the many, many talks with her way too many family members. It's... well, it's..."
"Ginny, right?" Neville interrupted with a grin.
"Right," Dean said surprised. "How did you know?"
Neville laughed. "You're braver than I am! I mean, I think I really like Luna, but initially I thought about asking Ginny, too. But then I reminded myself that she has six older brothers, and I'm sharing a dorm with one of them."
Dean nodded with an anxious expression.
"I know, I'm stupid," he groaned.
Neville, Harry, and Seamus laughed in response, and Harry started dealing out the cards again.
As the hours passed, the common room slowly filled with more and more students, who were excitedly talking about the ball. At a quarter past seven, the boys quickly retreated to their dorm to change into their dress robes.
Ron joined them in the dorm soon afterwards, and he put on the dress robes his mother had bought for him. With a miserable expression on his face, he then surveyed himself in a mirror. With the laces at the ruff and cuffs, his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. He attempted to use a severing charm on the laces, but this only caused his dress-like robes to resemble a very torn dress.
Harry, dressed in his elegant dark-green dress robes, refrained from commenting on Ron's attire, as he knew his former friend wouldn't take it well. Instead, he quickly glanced over himself in the mirror, nodded and returned to the common room. He was soon followed by Neville, Dean, and Seamus. Ron joined them a few minutes later.
Seamus then excused himself, as he would meet Parvati in the entrance hall. She had been helping her sister in Ravenclaw to get ready for the ball and wasn't in Gryffindor Tower anymore. The other boys excitedly waited for the girls to join them in the common room.
The first girl to descend from the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories was Lavender. She wore a very tight, short red dress that showed a lot of cleavage for her age.
Lavender frowned when she spotted Ron in his attire and drew her wand.
"I'm sorry!" Ron blurted out as the girl pointed the wand at him. "Don't curse me! It's not my fault! My mum chose this thing! I didn't-"
"Oh, shut it!" Lavender exclaimed. "Let me just fix your robes for you!"
She waved her wand and muttered some incantations, and Harry had to admit that the girl was quite adept at charming clothes. The frayed laces at the neck and sleeves of Ron's robes vanished, and even the cut of the robes changed slightly. All in all, Ron's dress robes weren't looking all that bad, now.
Ron looked very grateful at Lavender when she took his arm and led him out of the common room.
Harry was glad that Ron had left, as the next girl to come down the stairs was Ginny. Even though her pink dress was clearly bought second-hand, Harry thought that she still looked rather pretty in it.
Ginny smiled shyly at Dean as he offered her his arm.
Then, Harry's attention was drawn back to the staircase, as another girl walked down into the common room. With wide eyes and a huge grin, Harry watched as Hermione approached him. She wore a periwinkle-blue dress, that fit her form perfectly. It left her arms and shoulders uncovered but didn't show much skin apart from that. She wore exactly the right amount of make-up, and she had also done something with her hair. Her formerly wild and bushy hair now was sleek and shiny and twisted up into an intricate braid at the back of her head. It looked very elegant, Harry noted, but still...
"Don't you like it?" Hermione asked a bit anxiously. Apparently, she had noticed the brief look of disappointment on his face.
"You're beautiful, Mione," Harry said softly and gave her a peck on her lips. "You look great. I love the dress. I'm glad that you didn't put on a huge amount of make-up, as you really don't need it. But what have you done with your hair?"
"I used a potion to make it more manageable," Hermione told him. "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. It's way too much bother to do it every day, but for an event like this, I thought I would try it out. Don't you like it?"
"It's... it's nice," Harry replied.
"Nice?" Hermione repeated.
Harry chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, I get that you want to look elegant for the ball. But I'm glad that this won't be how you look regularly from now on. I love your hair as it normally is. It's just so you. And this... this isn't."
"Well," Hermione replied a bit hesitantly, but then she smiled, "well, I guess that's actually a really good thing, then. Thank you, Harry."
"I still really love the dress, though!" Harry added.
Hermione laughed and gave him a deep kiss.
"Thanks," she replied after they had separated again. "You look quite handsome yourself, you know. Shall we go, then?"
"We still have to wait for-" Harry began, but then he noticed Luna standing next to Neville, holding the boy's hand. Harry had completely missed the girl's arrival in the common room.
Luna was wearing an elaborately cut silver dress, but none of her usual unconventional accessories. Harry supposed that Hermione had talked the girl out of wearing radishes for earrings or something like that.
"Oh, all right. Yes, let's go," Harry said.
Together, the three girls and three boys left the common room and made their way to the entrance hall.
#
They arrived just a few minutes before eight o'clock, when the Great Hall would be opened to the students. The entrance hall was packed with students who were milling around, waiting for the feast to commence. Many were trying to find their partners for the ball in the crowd.
A short while later, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and the students started streaming into the hall.
Hermione frowned slightly and looked around.
"Are the competitors supposed to go anywhere special?" she wondered.
Harry didn't know either and just shrugged.
"Ah, good evening, Miss Granger, Mr Potter," a voice sounded next to them.
"Good evening, Professor McGonagall," Hermione replied. "Where are we supposed to go?"
"Please go ahead and get seated at the top table where the judges are sitting already," the Professor informed them. "There should have been a procession of the champions into the Great Hall, but with the number of champions we have..." the older witch frowned slightly at them and continued, "well, we will forgo that part. Just go ahead, please."
Hermione nodded, and the couple stepped into the Great Hall. The walls were sparkling with Christmas decorations, and the House tables had been replaced by many smaller, round tables, each seating about a dozen people.
At the end of the hall, there was a much larger round table, where the judges and several champions and their dates were sitting already.
Harry and Hermione crossed the hall and approached the table. They sat down between Fred and his date Angelina to one side, and Cedric and his date Cho Chang to their other side. Next to Fred and Angelina sat George and Alicia.
Harry nodded towards the judges and noted that they weren't accompanied by dates. Fudge, also without a dance partner, sat at the table precisely opposite of Crouch. The two men were glaring at each other hatefully.
Slowly, the remaining seats were filled by the arriving champions. Fleur was accompanied by Roger Davies, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. The feast hadn't even been opened yet, but Fleur already seemed to regret her choice of date. The older boy was clearly unable to look anywhere besides Fleur's – admittedly rather impressive – cleavage. His mouth was hanging wide open, and he drooled slightly.
Harry chuckled and turned his attention to the next arrivals, Viktor Krum and his date. Harry was extremely surprised when he recognised the girl at Krum's side as Parvati's sister Padma Patil. The girl grinned and waved at him and Hermione as they sat down next to Cedric and Cho.
Then, Goyle sat down next to Krum. He was escorted by Millicent Bulstrode. The tall and slightly chubby girl actually cleaned up quite nicely in her ball gown.
The last champion to arrive was Vincent Crabbe, who was accompanied by a sixth-year Slytherin girl whose name Harry didn't know. The girl was tall and slim, had long, wild black hair and pale skin. Her face could have been called pretty, Harry supposed, if it wasn't for the crazed glint in her eyes.
As all the champions had sat down, Dumbledore rose from his seat and opened the feast. The meal was quite enjoyable, even though the conversation at the table felt rather forced for the most part. Harry got along well with Fred and Cedric, of course, but with the judges nearby, they couldn't really just let their guard down and joke around.
Ludo Bagman, who sat next to Barty Crouch, had an even more difficult time making conversation. But obviously, that didn't stop the upbeat man from trying.
"The ball is going quite well, isn't it Barty?" Bagman cheerfully asked Crouch as the feast slowly came to a close. "After the unfortunate incident at the selection of the champions, at least the ball is a full success now, just like the first task."
"Quite," Crouch replied stiffly. "I suppose the first task went quite well, too, all things considered."
With a voice loud enough to be overheard by everyone at the table, he continued, "Only the mediocre showing of our Minister was a bit embarrassing, of course!"
"The only embarrassing thing at the task was the obvious bias of one of the judges!" Fudge stated loudly.
Crouch continued as if he hadn't heard the Minister. "It was only luck that prevented the Minister from being torn apart by the dragon. It was pathetic, really!"
"Well, my wife was very proud of my showing.," Minister Fudge replied scathingly. "My wife, who's very healthy and very alive."
"THAT'S IT!" screamed Crouch and jumped up from his seat, drawing his wand.
Fudge also rose from his seat and readied his wand.
"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore hollered and waved his wand, causing both men to freeze temporarily.
"There won't be any duelling in my school. If you can't be civil to each other, I suggest you leave now!"
After a moment, the Headmaster flicked his wand again, and the two men were able to move once more.
With a scowl on his face, Fudge pocketed his wand and sat back down at the table. Crouch, upon spotting that Fudge wasn't about to leave, took a step back from the table.
"I won't share a table with corrupt, incompetent fools," he stated with barely controlled rage. "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen."
With that, he turned around and stalked out of the Great Hall, ignoring the excited whispers of the students at the tables all around him.
#
Soon after that, Dumbledore closed the feast. All the tables were quickly moved closer towards the walls of the Great Hall to make space for the dance floor. To the cheers and applause of the assembled crowd, the musicians of the Weird Sisters, the band for the evening, entered the Great Hall and walked towards a raised stage at one side of the hall.
As soon as the band started playing, Hermione excitedly dragged Harry to the dance floor for the opening dance. The champions were soon joined by the other students, and the dance floor quickly got extremely crowded.
Harry had a great time dancing with Hermione, but he also saved a dance for Luna and Ginny. They all agreed that they had the most fun dancing with their original dates, though.
After almost an hour of dancing, Harry and Hermione were breathing heavily, leaning onto each other with exhaustion. The songs that the Weirs Sisters were playing had been gotten faster and faster.
"Let's... let's take a break, shall we?" Harry suggested.
His girlfriend nodded in agreement. To Harry's delight, her hair had gotten loose during their dancing and was hanging freely again. It still wasn't bushy enough, but it was a good start.
He was brought out of his musings when he heard raised voices near the dance floor.
"Stay away from my sister!"
"Leave Dean alone, Ronald! I can go to the ball with whomever I want!"
"No, you can't!"
Harry sighed. Well, that confrontation had been inevitable.
Holding hands, he and Hermione left the dance floor and approached the arguing Weasley siblings. Ginny stood between Ron and Dean, her wand drawn and aimed at her brother. Ron was scowling at Dean and his sister, but the wand pointing between his eyes clearly stopped him from stepping any closer to them.
"Get. Lost. Ron," Ginny growled angrily.
Before Ron could reply, Lavender stepped to his side and took his hand.
"Ron! Don't! Let's just get back on the dance floor," she demanded, tugging his hand.
Ron looked at the girl and was about to reply when Lavender stepped closer to him and pushed out her chest even more.
"Let's get back on the dance floor, now," she repeated.
Ron gulped, his eyes darting back and forth between the girl's cleavage and her narrowed eyes.
"Uh- all- all right," he muttered weakly and offered no resistance as Lavender dragged him away, a triumphant grin on her face.
Ginny let out a sigh of relief when Harry and Hermione arrived next to her.
"That could have gone worse, I guess," she stated. "Good thing Lavender already has him whipped."
Harry and Hermione chuckled.
"I think you had things well in hand even before Lavender arrived," Hermione said.
"Don't worry, he'll come around," Harry added.
Ginny grinned at him. "If not, at least I'll get to practise my Bat-Bogey Hex a bit more."
"That's the spirit!" Harry complimented her. "Just don't go overboard with him, all right? He just wants to protect you."
Ginny rolled her eyes but still gave him a reluctant nod.
"Let's go dance some more, Dean," she then said and took her date's hand. Dean, who was clearly still a bit shocked by the previous altercation, just nodded numbly and followed along.
"And she has him whipped already, too," Harry commented.
Hermione chuckled, but then she abruptly adopted a more serious expression. "Be nice, Harry!" she demanded.
"Yes, dear," Harry replied with a contrite look on his face.
"Why don't you go and grab us a drink?" Hermione suggested.
"Yes, dear, at once, dear," Harry answered, causing Hermione to break out into giggles. Harry laughed out, too, and hugged his girlfriend tightly. "You really do have me whipped, though," he whispered to her.
Hermione smiled and gave him a peck on his lips.
"I love you, too," she replied. "Now, what about those drinks?"
"Why don't we grab some drinks and go outside?" Harry suggested. "I could use some fresh air."
Hermione nodded, and after they had emptied a few glasses of Christmas Punch, the couple left the Great Hall. The gate of the entrance hall was open, leading into the festively decorated courtyard.
They were looking for a private spot for some alone time, but all the benches in the alcoves of the courtyard were already occupied by snogging couples. They passed the Weasley twins with their dates on the bench in one of the alcoves. Fred was snogging Angelina, while George was kissing Alicia.
Harry and Hermione quickly walked past the two couples, who luckily didn't seem to notice them.
Harry smiled when he spotted Hagrid and Madame Maxime at one end of the courtyard. He really wished his biggest friend the best of luck there; he deserved some happiness.
Then, Harry spotted Karkaroff and Snape in another corner of the yard. Were they also- No! Harry shuddered. No, he absolutely did not want to finish that thought.
Finally, he and Hermione found a nice secluded spot between two rose bushes at the far end of the courtyard. Hermione quickly cast a few privacy spells as well as a warming spell, before they settled down on the ground, holding each other close. They didn't do much beyond exchanging some kisses and just enjoyed the cool air as they recovered from the exhausting dancing.
#
After half an hour, Harry and Hermione had somewhat recovered and were slowly getting cold, so they decided to return to the ball. On their way back in, they passed the twins and their dates again. George was still snogging Angelina, and Fred and Alicia were still exploring each other's tonsils with their tongues.
Harry frowned. Something didn't feel right about this picture, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shrugged and put the matter out of his mind as he and Hermione entered the castle again.
"I'll just have to freshen up quickly," Hermione informed him just as Harry was about to ask her for another dance. "I'll be back in a minute."
Harry nodded and watched after his girlfriend as she hurried towards the bathrooms. He went ahead into the Great Hall and fetched two drinks, and then observed the crowd on the dance floor and in the hall.
Dumbledore was dancing with Professor McGonagall, and Minister Fudge was leading a blushing Madam Pomfrey over the dance floor.
Harry then noticed that Professor Moody was standing in a corner all by himself, also watching the crowd. Harry thought the Professor was looking miserable and wondered if it was because Crouch had left earlier or because Moody couldn't have danced in public with the man he loved anyway.
Harry decided to talk to Professor Moody to cheer the man up – it was Christmas, after all. He approached the retired Auror.
"Good evening, Professor," Harry greeted the man. He then leaned towards the man conspiratorially and lowered his voice. "You know, Professor, I know about you and Crouch."
Moody stiffened and suddenly looked very nervous. "You- you do?"
"Yes, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Harry said calmingly.
"You- you won't?" Moody choked out.
"No, of course not. It's no one else's business, after all," Harry answered.
"It's not?" Moody asked, confused, but a bit calmer.
"No, of course not. As long as you're happy, that's the only thing that counts."
Moody's expression was extremely bewildered by now.
"Well, anyway," Harry continued, "I just wanted to tell you that people might not be as prejudiced against you as you think and wish you a happy Christmas."
He nodded towards the Defence Professor and left to see if Hermione had returned yet.
Barty Crouch Jr, impersonating Alastor Moody, was left gaping after the boy. How had Potter figured out his secret? And why in Merlin's name would he keep it? Was the boy secretly dark? He had to inform his Master at once!
#
Hermione returned soon after, and once they had emptied their drinks, the couple took to the dance floor again. They danced until midnight, when the Weird Sisters played the last song for the evening.
When the Professors sent the students back to their common rooms, many students grumbled that they wouldn't have minded the ball to continue a few hours longer. Harry, however, wasn't among them. His legs were just hurting too much from all the dancing, even if it had been very enjoyable. And he knew that it was only the ball in the Great Hall that was about to end. He was quite certain that there would be an after-party in the Gryffindor common room until the early hours of the morning.
Harry and Hermione were about to leave the Great Hall when they heard someone calling behind them.
"Hermione, Harry, please wait for a moment!"
The couple turned around and spotted Cedric approaching them.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" the Hufflepuff boy asked.
"Sure." Harry shrugged. "What's this about?"
Cedric walked to a quiet corner in the entrance hall and motioned towards the couple to follow him.
"Listen," the older boy began when they stood in front of him, "I still owe you for telling me about the dragon. So I figured I could maybe help you with the hint in the golden egg."
"Oh," Hermione started, frowning slightly.
"That'd be great! Thank you, Cedric!" Harry exclaimed, before Hermione could reject the offer out of a false sense of fair-play. This earned him a slightly annoyed look from his girlfriend, but she didn't disagree with him.
"Well, uhm... does your egg wail when you open it, Hermione?" Cedric asked.
"Yes, it does," Hermione confirmed.
"Well... take a bath, okay?"
"What?" Harry and Hermione asked simultaneously.
"Take a bath, and... uhh... take the egg with you, and... just mull things over in the hot water. It'll help... Trust me," Cedric said awkwardly.
Hermione skeptically raised her eyebrows at the Hufflepuff while Harry frowned.
"Tell you what, Hermione," Cedric continued quickly, "You can take a bath in the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor, it's the fourth door on the left from the statue of Boris the Bewildered."
He groaned and went on, "Trust me, take a bath with your egg and mull things over in the hot water. The password is pine fresh."
Harry felt rather annoyed with the Hufflepuff boy by now, though mostly because of Cedric repeatedly urging Hermione to take a bath.
"What is this, Diggory?" he exclaimed. "You couldn't possibly be any more vague. You want to repay us for telling what you had to do for the first task? Great! Then tell us what Hermione has to do for the second task! Don't give us this vague, random shite!"
Cedric looked at him rather taken aback.
"Uhm, sorry," the older boy mumbled. "But, well, I don't exactly know what the task will be. I only know that you have to hold the egg underwater to listen to it. It contains a riddle, you see. I don't remember it fully. Best, you listen to it yourselves. But I think that the task will take place in the Black Lake, and we'll probably have to find some item of importance to us."
"See, was that so hard?" Harry exclaimed, but then he smiled at the boy. "But, thank you, Cedric. We appreciate the help."
The boy gave them an awkward nod before he scrambled away.
"Well, that was unexpected," Harry stated. "But I guess we have something to do for the holidays now."
Hermione nodded. "And we have to tell Fred and George," she said. "It wouldn't be fair otherwise."
They then left the entrance hall and returned to their common room. When they arrived at the tower, the after-party organised by the Weasley twins was already in full swing.
"Harry, Hermione!" Fred called out as they entered the common room. "There you are. Can I offer you a Butterbeer, or would you prefer something stronger?"
Harry hesitated, but Hermione answered before he could reply.
"No thanks, Fred, we're really knackered," she said. "No more partying for us; we'll head up to the dorms directly."
Harry was about to protest that he wouldn't mind staying up a bit longer when he caught Hermione's eyes. She gave him an almost unnoticeable wink, and finally, the coin dropped for him.
"Uhm, yeah, Mione is right. No more partying for us," he told Fred with a regretful voice.
They crossed the crowded common room and stopped at the bottom of the staircases leading up to the dormitories.
"Good night," Hermione said loudly and leaned in towards Harry for a deep kiss. When they separated, she smirked and whispered for only him to hear, "See you in a few minutes for our private after-party."
Harry grinned and walked up to his dorm. He took a very quick shower and readied himself for bed. Afterwards, he used the time he waited for his girlfriend to put up the Silencing Charms around his bed. A great day was about to end even better.
CHAPTER NINE -
Deceiving Impressions
Harry was woken up the next morning by Hermione stirring next to him. Blinking tiredly, he opened his eyes and was greeted by his girlfriend smiling brightly at him.
"Good morning," she whispered to a yawning Harry and kissed him on his lips. "I'd love to stay, but I really should return to my dorm before Lavender and Parvati wake up."
Harry pouted a bit at that but nodded reluctantly. He watched as his girlfriend quickly threw over her nightgown and wrapped her morning dress around her. She then carefully opened the curtains around Harry's bed and peeked into the dorm.
As the curtains opened, the silencing charms around the bed broke, and Harry could hear Ron and Seamus snoring. The boys were still sleeping soundly – unsurprisingly, as it was only a few minutes past seven in the morning. The curtains around the beds of Neville and Dean were closed, and no noises could be heard from them.
Hermione rose from the bed and picked up Harry's Invisibility Cloak from the floor where she had dropped it the night before. She threw the cloak over herself and disappeared from Harry's sight.
Only the quiet footsteps moving towards the door allowed Harry to track his girlfriend's movement while he put on some shorts and a T-shirt.
Hermione had almost gotten to the door of the dorm when the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
A dull thump was heard as the door hit Hermione, who yelped in surprise as she was pushed back and fell backwards to the floor, causing the Invisibility Cloak to slip off her.
With wide eyes, she looked up at the figure standing in the doorway to the dormitory.
"Neville-?"
"Hermione-?"
"-What were you doing out there?"
"-What are you doing in here?"
Hermione's cheeks pinked slightly, while Neville blushed heavily. He was still wearing the robes he had worn at the ball, though they were in a very dishevelled state. His shirt was hanging out of his trousers and was buttoned incorrectly.
The boy quickly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. At the same time, Harry got up from the bed and approached Hermione and Neville at the entrance of the dorm.
"Well," Harry began, keeping his voice quiet and chuckling a bit awkwardly. "I guess we were doing quite similar things."
"Uhm, well," Neville stuttered and blushed an even deeper crimson. "We- Luna- we weren't - we did not- uhm..."
"Hey, no need to tell us anything," Harry interrupted the boy and helped up his girlfriend from the floor.
"Yes, and it would be quite hypocritical of us to judge you," Hermione added, "as long as you're respecting Luna's wishes, you-"
"No!" Neville interrupted, "I mean, yes! I- uhm... I mean, she started- uhm... I think I'll be quiet now."
"Yes, good idea," Harry said with a grin. "Let's just-"
He paused when he noticed the handle of the door to the dorm slowly being pushed down. With a creak, the door slowly swung open again, revealing Dean standing in the doorway.
A shocked expression appeared on the dark-skinned boy's face as he saw his three surprised classmates standing right in front of him. Just like Neville, Dean was still more or less dressed in what had been his dress robes for the ball.
There was a long pause, during which the four students looked at each other quietly. The amused smirks of Harry and Hermione were contrasted by Neville's embarrassed expression and the frightened look of Dean.
"Uhm... hi guys," Dean finally mumbled.
"Good morning, Dean," Harry answered brightly.
The boy in the doorway groaned. "I am so dead!"
"Listen, Dean," Harry replied chuckling, "we won't tell Ron or the twins that you were out there all night with Ginny, and you won't tell anyone that Hermione was in here all night with me. Deal?"
"Deal," Dean confirmed, visibly relieved. "And we didn't-"
Harry waved his hand dismissively.
"We don't need to hear it, Dean," he interrupted. "Just know that if you hurt Ginny, her brothers won't be the only ones who'll kill you. Are we clear?"
Hermione nodded in agreement, giving Dean a stern look.
The dark-skinned boy gulped.
"Clear," he confirmed.
"Great," Hermione said and turned towards Harry. "I'll meet you in the common room in twenty minutes?"
Harry nodded and watched after his girlfriend as she left the room, throwing the Invisibility Cloak over herself once more. When she disappeared from his view, he returned his attention to his dorm mates in front of him. Both boys were smirking at him.
"You tease me, I'll tease you," Harry told them before they could open their mouths. "Let's just not do that."
The other two boys clearly had a hard time keeping their comments to themselves, but they nodded nonetheless.
Harry gave them a grateful smile and left for the bathroom. He was just glad that Ron was still asleep, snoring loudly, oblivious to everything that had just happened. Things might have turned very unpleasant otherwise, especially for Dean.
#
Harry and Hermione were among the first students at breakfast that morning. Only a handful of students old enough to having attended the ball were not sleeping in, and the Great Hall was rather empty. Therefore, the couple could converse quietly without any fear of being overheard.
"Well, I think they are making good couples," Harry said, still amused by what had happened in the dorm earlier. "Especially Luna and Neville, they are good for each other."
"Yes," Hermione agreed, but then she frowned slightly. "I just hope they aren't moving too fast."
Harry chuckled. "Like us, you mean?"
"That's different!" Hermione disagreed, but couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend.
"You know that Neville will always be a perfect gentleman," Harry stated, "and Ginny certainly can watch out for herself."
"Yes, I know," Hermione replied.
"Anyway," she then said after a pause, "what are the plans for today? Should we check if Cedric's advice about the golden egg is correct?"
"Should we sneak into the prefects' bath after curfew today?" Harry suggested.
"You know," Hermione replied, "the prefects' bath is probably quite popular with the prefects as a dating location. We'll probably have a better chance at finding it empty if we just go there this morning."
"Right," Harry agreed, "let's do that."
"Besides," Hermione added, "it would be nice to relax in the water a bit. My legs are still aching from all the dancing yesterday."
Harry nodded. His legs were quite sore, too.
But then, another problem occurred to him.
"Do you have any swimwear?" he asked his girlfriend. "Because I don't."
"Oh," Hermione replied and frowned. "I don't have any here at Hogwarts."
But then she shrugged and grinned at him. "Oh well, we'll just have to make do without, I guess."
"Uhh... Oh! OH! Yes, good point!" Harry agreed excitedly.
He then finished his breakfast in what had to be a new personal best time.
#
It turned out that Hermione's suggestion had a serious downside. While the couple had a lot of fun in the prefect's bath that morning, they didn't achieve their original objective. When they had to leave the bath to return to the Great Hall for lunch, they still hadn't gotten around to opening the golden egg in the water. They had just been way too distracted with each other to bother with trivialities like finding out more about the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.
They returned to the prefects' bath in the afternoon, and this time, Hermione transfigured some swimwear for both her and Harry. Harry was a bit disappointed by the very conservatively cut one-piece swimsuit his girlfriend was wearing until Hermione reminded him that transfigurations didn't last. His mood immediately perked up at that.
But before they could engage in more enjoyable activities once more, they had to listen to the clue in the golden egg. With both of them in the huge bathtub, Hermione fetched the egg from the side of the tub and placed it underwater.
Harry lowered his head under the surface, Hermione following suit. She then slowly opened the egg. Instead of loud screeching, eerie voices were singing from the open egg in Hermione's hands.
"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."
Having listened to the song, the couple emerged from the water.
"All right, so you have to retrieve some possession of yours from the bottom of the lake within one hour," Harry summarised. "Sounds better than fighting a dragon."
"Almost sounds too easy," Hermione replied.
Harry had to agree with that.
After a pause, he spoke again, "As they won't tell you about the task, that possession would have to be taken without your knowledge. What do you reckon they'll take from you?"
"I don't know," Hermione replied and started nibbling on her bottom lip, deep in thought.
Harry contemplated the question for a while, too, before he grinned. "My bet would be your copy of Hogwarts a History."
Hermione gasped in shock. "They wouldn't dare!"
"Or the biggest, most ancient tome on Arithmancy in your possession," Harry continued.
"But- but the books would get wet!" Hermione fretted.
Harry shrugged. "Well, they'll probably put some protective charms on the items they take."
"But what if the charms fail? Oh no! Could I hide my books with you before the task, please?" Hermione pleaded.
"Sure," Harry agreed. "If you think that will help. But they'll just take something else, then... They might even take Crookshanks."
"He would really hate that! He hates water!" Hermione chuckled, but quickly got serious again. "We'll have to hide him, too."
"Okay," Harry confirmed. "What else might they take?"
They both pondered the question for a while.
The silence was broken when Hermione gasped.
"Shit!" she exclaimed.
Harry laughed, amused by his girlfriend's uncharacteristic outburst. "Hermione! Language!"
"It's you," she stated flatly, ignoring his comment.
"Me? What about me?" Harry wondered.
"You are what I'll sorely miss. They'll take you," Hermione said, clearly worried.
"Uhm, thanks," Harry said hesitantly, "but I'm a Who, not a What."
"I don't think we should take the poem that literally," Hermione replied. "The ending is obviously hyperbole, too. Think about it! Human hostages would give the task a much higher entertainment value. After we had to battle a dragon for the first task, they won't be content with having us swimming through the Black Lake to fetch a book for the second task."
"Do you really think they would endanger students like that?" Harry asked.
Hermione gave him an incredulous look. "What part about 'We had to battle a dragon for the first task' didn't you understand?"
"Right," Harry muttered. "I guess I could just refuse when they ask me to be your hostage?"
Hermione smiled sadly at him. "And risk that Ginny, Luna, or Neville get taken instead?
Harry ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "You're right, I wouldn't do that. I guess we'll have to trust the organisers to ensure the safety of the hostages... well, fuck!"
Hermione didn't chide him for his language.
"Well, how about this," Harry said after a pause, "I'll agree to be your hostage, as long as Dumbledore agrees to get involved himself this time, and takes charge of our safety. I think he'll probably want to do that, anyway. But if he doesn't agree to do that, I will refuse to participate, and we'll tell all our friends to refuse, too."
"Okay," his girlfriend agreed reluctantly, "I guess that's the best we can do."
There was another long pause before Hermione sighed. "Now I almost wished it was my copy of Hogwarts a History that will be taken."
"Almost?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Oh," Hermione said and waved her hand dismissively, a slight smirk on her lips. "You always come out of our adventures all right. My books, on the other hand... I really don't want them getting wet."
"Well, I'm glad to see that you have your priorities straight," Harry grumbled.
"Oh, you poor boy," Hermione said with a pout and swam closer to him. "Let me see how I might make it up to you."
All thoughts about the second task were forgotten for the rest of the afternoon.
#
With a good idea what awaited them for the second task, Harry and Hermione spent most of the Christmas break coming up with strategies and researching water creatures and useful spells for swimming and diving.
The biggest issue was breathing underwater. Hermione was learning the Bubble-Head Charm and was able to perform it by the end of the break, though her bubbles weren't lasting long enough yet.
The charm had a severe drawback, though. If it failed for whatever reason while she was in the lake, Hermione would have to recast it silently, as she wouldn't be able to pronounce the spell underwater. She knew that she wouldn't be able to do that.
Unfortunately, they hadn't found a better solution yet. Harry was trying to convince Hermione to use Muggle scuba diving gear, but Hermione remained unconvinced. She insisted that a magical solution would be simpler and that it was only a matter of time until she would find one.
On the last day of the Christmas break, the couple was sitting in the library once more. Hermione was reading a tome on Ancient Runes, trying to solve the problem of breathing underwater. Harry, in the meantime, was compiling a list of the creatures that could be found in the Black Lake and the best spells to fight them.
"It would be best to stay out of the kelp and seaweed to avoid the grindylows," Harry said to Hermione as he read about the water demons.
"Yes," Hermione agreed and sighed. "But how can I do that, when I have to search the entire lake for the hostages?"
"We would need to know the location of the hostages," Harry replied. "Could you put some kind of tracking charm on me, maybe?"
"I could," Hermione answered with a frown, "but we can't be sure that Dumbledore won't cancel it when he's putting the hostages under the lake."
"Right," Harry agreed. "But it sure would be nice to have some more specific information."
There was a pause before Harry grinned at his girlfriend.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
#
"Well, Hagrid, how are things?" Harry asked the half-giant after their Care of Magical Creatures class the next day.
It was the first day of classes after the Christmas break. He and Hermione were lingering back after the other students had made hasty retreats back towards the castle, glad to get away from Hagrid's increasingly large and increasingly aggressive Blast-ended Skrewts.
Hagrid gave Harry a suspicious look. "I'm good, Harry. How are yeh?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Harry began and shrugged. "Just a bit worried about Hermione, of course, with the second task of the tournament coming up. I hope-"
"Ah, I'm seein' what yer doin' there!" Hagrid interrupted. "Yer not foolin' me again!"
He gave the couple a stern look and continued, "I won' tell yeh that for the second task yeh'll have to rescue a hostage from the merpeople village in the Black Lake."
There was a long silence between them.
"Hagrid," Hermione then said with some exasperation, "please tell me that you've just done that on purpose."
"Dunno what yer talkin' 'bout, Hermione," Hagrid replied, good-natured. "Good luck, and don' tell anyone that I slipped up again. Off yeh go, now!"
With that, the groundkeeper shuffled towards his hut, but Harry was pretty sure that he had seen a mischievous smile under the big guy's beard.
Harry chuckled as he and Hermione ware walking back towards the castle. "Gotta love him!"
"Yes, that was nice of him," Hermione agreed. "So, the merpeople village... I guess it could be worse. If I swim at the surface of the lake until I'm above the village and then dive straight down, I should be able to avoid all of the more dangerous creatures in the lake."
"That's great," Harry replied. "So we only have to worry about diving now. If you would just ask your parents to send you some scuba diving gear..."
Their discussion was still ongoing when they walked through the gates of the castle.
#
The week continued at a leisurely pace. On Thursday afternoon, they had the first Defence class of the new year. Harry was surprised when Professor Moody asked him to stay back after the lesson had ended.
He quickly whispered to Hermione that he would meet her in the library afterwards and approached Moody at the teacher's desk.
"How can I help you, Professor?" Harry asked the retired Auror.
Instead of answering Harry, the Professor waited until the other students had left the room and then waved his wand and erected a silencing ward on the door of the classroom.
"Potter," the old man began, "I wanted to talk about what you said to me at the Yule Ball..."
"Oh, what about it?" Harry asked with surprise.
"Yes, well, first, I wanted to thank you for keeping my secrets," Moody replied.
"Of course, Professor. No need to thank me."
There was a pause, during which Moody eyed Harry critically.
"You know, I find this very interesting. Why would you help us?" Moody finally inquired.
"Keeping your secrets really isn't helping much," Harry answered with a shrug. "But let me know if I can somehow help with changing things."
"So, you really do support our cause?" Moody asked, sizing up the boy in front of him.
"You mean to build a society in which you can publicly reveal who you really are and people will support you?" Harry clarified.
Moody chuckled. "Well, that's one way to put it."
"Sure, I'm all for it," Harry said. "The way any kind of minorities, non-human species or Muggle-born are treated really ought to change."
Crouch Jr, posing as Alastor Moody, nodded in agreement. All this filth really needed to be put back in its place, after all. "Well, I'm glad to hear it, boy. I'll let you know if something comes up."
"Great," Harry agreed.
"Will you tell me how you found out about me?" Moody then asked Harry.
Harry frowned slightly, wondering how he should answer the question. On the one hand, he really wanted to keep the Marauder's Map a secret. It was one of the few mementoes he had left from his parents. On the other hand, he needed someone to watch the Marauder's Map during the second task to ensure that Voldemort wouldn't be able to sneak in under disguise. Harry had thought about asking Neville, Luna, and Ginny to watch the map and inform Dumbledore of any suspicious activities. But obviously, Alastor Moody, the renowned Auror, would be much better suited for this task. Also, Harry's friends wouldn't be put in danger. There really was only one choice for Harry.
"Well, Professor," Harry began, "I have an artefact – a magical map – that can tell me the name and location of every person in Hogwarts."
Moody paled at that. "Every person?" he whispered.
"Yes, but don't worry, I won't cause you or him any trouble," Harry replied to calm the man, who was obviously worried that Harry would expose how many nights the Professor and Crouch were spending together in the castle.
"Sir," Harry continued, "I'd be willing to give you that map, as long as you'll agree to return it to me at the end of the term."
"I can certainly agree to that," Moody replied, much calmer now and clearly very interested.
Harry fetched the Marauder's Map from his bookbag and handed it to the Professor. After all, having to do without the map for a few months was a very small price to pay if it would ensure the safety of his friends and the entire school.
"Just tap the parchment with your wand and say 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good' to reveal the map and say 'Mischief managed' to clear it," Harry informed the old Auror.
Moody nodded. "All right, let's test this."
He held up the parchment in front of him and tapped his wand against it. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
Harry stood opposite of Moody and therefore couldn't see the map, but the amazed expression on Moody's face clearly told him that the Professor had successfully revealed the map.
A few moments later, Moody muttered, "Mischief managed," and he lowered the map on the desk.
"I have to thank you, Potter," Moody then stated with a smirk, "That will certainly help to keep watch on a certain bothersome headmaster!"
Harry smiled. Having the paranoid Ex-Auror keeping close watch on the former Death Eater Karkaroff was certainly a good thing.
"I think it would also be good to watch the comings and goings during the second task. Make sure that there aren't any uninvited visitors where they shouldn't be," Harry suggested.
Remembering how many Aurors had been present during the first task, Crouch Jr nodded in agreement at that. "I'll definitely do that."
"Great," Harry replied, very relieved that someone trustworthy would be watching over the second task of the tournament. "Was there anything else, Professor?"
"No, thank you," Moody replied, "Off you go, Potter."
Harry turned to leave the classroom. Just before he opened the door, Moody laughed out loud behind him.
"And let me tell you," the Professor called after him, "you're really doing a fine job posing as Gryffindor's Golden Boy. A quite impressive cover! And that's coming from me!"
Harry was unsure what the old, slightly crazy former Auror was getting at, but simply shrugged and smiled in response to what he presumed to be some weird compliment. He then left the classroom to catch up with Hermione.
#
"What did the Professor want?" Hermione asked Harry as he sat down next to her at her desk in the library.
"Remember how I told you that I spoke to Professor Moody during the ball and told him that not everyone is as prejudiced as he might think? Well, he asked me how I knew about him and Crouch."
"Oh, what did you tell him?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I told him about the map," Harry replied, causing Hermione to raise her eyebrows in surprise.
"I gave him the map so that he can keep watch during the second task," Harry continued. "As I'll probably be your hostage, I won't be able to do it like we had planned it originally."
"You're right. Good thinking, Harry," Hermione replied. "Even though I'm surprised that you were willing to give the map away."
"Yes, but Mad-Eye promised that he would return the map at the end of the year," Harry answered. With a grin, he added, "And with my Invisibility Cloak, we don't really need the map to sneak around some more, anyway."
"Sneak around some more?" Hermione repeated with an arched eyebrow. "What other adventures do you have planned for us, Mister?"
"Oh, nothing new. But as long as they don't change the password for the prefects' bathroom, it might be nice to return there from time to time," Harry replied.
Hermione tried to look at him disapprovingly, but Harry could see that she was very much in favour of his suggestion.
"Fine," Hermione finally conceded with a huff. "But if we get caught, I'm holding you responsible for it."
Harry chuckled. He could agree to that. The reward was certainly worth the risk.
"Did Professor Moody talk about anything else?" Hermione then asked. "Maybe to give you a hint about the task?"
"Well, not really," Harry answered, "I just told him to tell me if I might somehow help to change things for them. You know, some words from the Boy-Who-Lived to the Prophet on the virtue of tolerance... I don't know how much people would listen to me, but I could try..."
Hermione beamed at him. "That's really sweet of you, Harry."
"I'd do the same for the house-elves, too, of course," Harry added.
Hermione lunged from her chair and embraced Harry in a tight hug, giving him a deep kiss.
"Thanks, Harry," she whispered to him when they finally separated. "You know that I don't think much of Divination, but I foresee another trip to the prefects' bath in your immediate future."
Harry grinned at that. "I'd like that very much."
"Chrm chrm."
Harry and Hermione looked up startled when the librarian Madam Pince cleared her throat, glaring at the couple with disapproval.
Reluctantly, Hermione got up from Harry's lap and returned to her chair.
"Well," Harry then said with a more quiet voice, "What have you been looking at while I was gone?"
"Breathing underwater," Hermione replied. "I found an interesting rune set to conjure air, but I don't know how I could make it work for me..."
"Well, if you would ask your parents for a book on scuba diving..." Harry began.
They were still discussing the best approach to breathing underwater when they entered the Great Hall for dinner in the evening.
"If the Bubble-Head Charm fails, you would have to redo it silently, because you would be underwater. It's too risky!" Harry said to Hermione, probably for the thousandth time.
"I agree," Hermione replied as they sat down next to Neville and Luna at the Gryffindor table. "But I think I'm onto something with the runes."
"We don't have that much time left," Harry pointed out.
"I'd need a lot of time to learn how to operate scuba diving gear, too," his girlfriend replied. "Even if we could get all the equipment somewhere, we have no idea how to operate it. We don't know the first thing about scuba diving. It's not that easy. How would we check if everything works properly? There's a reason why you need a diving certification to go diving by yourself in most countries!"
"Yes, it'd be difficult to learn it from a book. But I'm certain that you could do it. And think of the advantages! You wouldn't need silent spell-casting, and the dry-suit would protect you from the cold and probably even grindylow bites."
"There are spells against the cold, too," Hermione said with an exasperated sigh. "I just don't want to operate such equipment without any personal instruction."
"What are you talking about?" Neville asked, looking at the couple quizzically.
"Whether it would be better to use scuba diving gear or a Bubble-Head Charm or runes to stay underwater for a long time," Harry explained to the boy.
Neville frowned. "I don't know what a scabba driving gear is, but I know that Gillyweed would be safer than a Bubble-Head Charm."
"What's that?" Hermione asked. "I've never read about a magical plant with that name."
"I don't think it's in any of the school books, not even for the NEWT classes," Neville replied. "It's pretty rare in Britain. Anyway, its effect is that you grow gills at your neck to breath underwater. You also get webbing between your fingers and toes for easier swimming, and you're somewhat resistant to cold temperatures in water. The effect of one dosage lasts for maybe one hour."
Harry and Hermione shared an astonished glance.
"That sounds perfect," Hermione stated.
"Can you still speak when you're under the effect of Gillyweed?" Harry asked Neville.
"I guess so," the boy answered hesitantly, "You cannot breathe with your lungs, but you should be able to speak. Except that you're underwater."
Hermione, catching on to what Harry was getting at, asked, "How do the gills work, exactly? Are they connected to your throat, or are they separate? If you have a bubble of air around your head, would water enter through the gills into your throat and into that bubble? Or would there be no connection?"
"Uhm... no connection, I think," Neville replied.
"That's good," Harry said, nodding slowly. "So, we could combine our solutions."
"Right," Hermione agreed. "I can rely on the Gillyweed for breathing, and put up a Bubble-Head Charm for easy spell-casting. Even if the bubble fails, it wouldn't be a great loss."
"Or maybe you could just use a diving face mask to speak easily," Harry suggested. "And a dry suit to keep you warm, and protect you from grindylows and such."
Hermione smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, that's a good plan," she said. "Now, we only have to acquire the supplies."
"You can owl-order the Gillyweed easily," Neville told the couple.
"And could you maybe just ask your parents for the diving gear?" Harry asked. "You could borrow Hedwig to send them a letter, and Hedwig could deliver a package from them to us."
Hermione frowned. "They don't know that I'm participating in the tournament. But... but I guess I could ask them to send me those things for an Ancient Runes project."
Harry clapped his hands in excitement.
"Great!" he exclaimed. "Plan B is starting to look pretty solid now! Though, I still expect that Plan A will probably work, anyway."
Hermione chuckled. "Yes, but it's always better to be prepared."
#
The next day, Hermione sent Hedwig to her parents and a school owl to the apothecary in Diagon Alley. She received several dosages of Gillyweed on the day after that, and Hedwig returned with a huge package from her parents a week later.
After some successful testing of the Gillyweed and the diving gear in the prefects' bathroom (among other things), Harry was very confident about Hermione's chances in the upcoming second task of the tournament. It was still several weeks away, but his girlfriend was already perfectly prepared for the task, in his opinion.
In the following week, the last week of January, Harry was once more held back by Professor Moody after the Defence class.
After the classroom had emptied of all other students, Moody cast several privacy charms, before he began with a low voice, "Now, I have discussed things with my Master, and we-"
Harry's eyes widened in shock.
"Your MASTER?" he exclaimed, visibly sick. "Please, that's way too much information! Oh, Merlin! I don't want to know this. I have to find a bathroom!"
With that, he bolted out of the classroom.
Crouch Jr, posing as Alastor Moody, was left gaping after the boy.
#
Barty Crouch Jr was still unsure what to make of the encounter with young Harry Potter when he met with the Dark Lord in an abandoned part of the castle's dungeons a short while later.
"Well, what did the boy say?" Riddle asked with impatience.
"The boy ran away as soon as I mentioned you, my Lord," Crouch answered pensively, still looking a bit miffed. "Apparently, he didn't trust himself with that kind of information. It seemed as if he had become physically unwell at even thinking about being involved this deeply."
Riddle thought about this turn of events for a while.
"Interesting," he finally said. "I have to admit that I'm quite impressed with the boy. Even if he was a bit rude, he has actually shown some good sense. We might have been a bit hasty in involving him. He might not be able to keep our secrets when questioned by the old meddler. Very well, we won't involve the boy for now. Supply him with study material on Occlumency when you meet him again in class. Until he has mastered the art of secluding his mind, we won't approach him again."
"As you wish, my Lord," Crouch replied, bowed and left the room.