บท 239: The Second Task Begins
In the end, Daphne never came to bed, and Oleandra had to force herself to empty her mind so that she could get some sleep. The first thing Oleandra did when she awoke next morning was to check the neighbouring bed for her sister. Empty.
"I don't think she ever came back," said Tracey worriedly, following Oleandra's eyes.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," said Oleandra confidently, though she was saying this more for her benefit than Tracey's. "She didn't steal anything from Professor Snape, she bought everything else in Hogsmeade."
After a quick breakfast, the two joined the stream of students heading down to the lakeside. By now, everyone had guessed through the choice of venue that the second task would have something to do with the Black Lake. Some people recognized Oleandra and looked at her with pitying gazes; February was the coldest month of the year, and they were glad not to be in her place!
As Oleandra approached the lake, she saw that several stands had been set up on the bank, which offered a splendid view of the lake.
"Ah, there she is, our champion!" said Ludo Bagman upon seeing her. "Over here, over here…"
He beckoned her over; Oleandra supposed it was staff and champions only, so she bid farewell to Tracey and walked over to the man.
"By the by," said Ludo Bagman jovially, "have you seen Harry while you were having breakfast…? Is he coming soon…?"
Oleandra shook her head. She hadn't thought to look for him, preoccupied as she was with her missing sister. Bagman's jolly façade faltered for a moment, panic briefly flashing through his eyes.
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up…" he said with a small laugh. "Now, swimwear has been provided for each champion, you'll be able to change in here."
Oleandra thanked him and entered the boathouse, where four stalls made out of drapes had been installed. One of them bore the colours of Slytherin, so she decisively entered it, where she found an array of one-piece swimsuits of varying sizes emblazoned with Hogwarts's crest: a shield bearing the four founders' animals.
"I didn't know there was an official Hogwarts swimsuit," Oleandra muttered to herself as she selected a swimsuit in her size.
After changing into one, Oleandra found that they were just ordinary swimsuits. They weren't even diving suits which allowed one to maintain one's body temperature, which meant they were expected to deal with the cold on their own.
Oleandra exited the boathouse and was buffeted with a blast of frigid air, causing her exposed arms and legs to erupt in goosebumps. Shivering from the cold, she rejoined the judges and the other champions on the bank; minus Harry, who still hadn't arrived.
Fleur seemed nervous, but they didn't appear cold in the slightest, even though she was also wearing the same kind of swimwear; she had probably drunk some kind of warming potion or cast some spell to protect herself from the cold. As for Krum, he was impassive as ever.
The sooner Oleandra entered the water, the better; outside, she couldn't protect herself from the elements, but in the lake, she would be completely fine, no matter the water's temperature.
"Are you okay?" said Percy Weasley, upon seeing her racked by shivers. "If you think you can't do it, you can always give up—"
"I'll b-b-be fine once I'm in the w-w-water," gasped Oleandra, wrapping her arms around her body in a desperate bid to stay warm. "W-w-what are you doing here, P-P-Percy?"
"Mr. Crouch's called in sick," he said, shaking his head sadly. "Poor man— Dragonpox, at his age—"
It's at that moment that Dumbledore began his speech; it was now half-past nine, and Harry still hadn't shown himself. Had he really not found a way to breathe underwater?
"Your attention please!" Professor Dumbledore called out. "Welcome to the second task. Last night, unbeknownst to our champions, something they value exceptionally was taken from them. That something now lies at the bottom of the Black Lake. Their mission this morning is to retrieve it. Champions—"
However, before he could finish his sentence, Harry came sprinting in, still fully dressed in his regular robes. If he didn't want the others to have a head start, he wouldn't have time to change!
"Where have you been?" said Percy crossly, peering down from the judge's table. "The task's about to start!"
"Now, now, Percy!" said Ludo Bagman, who had blown a sigh of relief at the sight of Harry. "Let him catch his breath!"
Bagman took each champion by the shoulders in turn, placing them in their starting positions on the edge of the Black Lake. When he finished arranging them, he whispered something in Harry's ear, though Oleandra couldn't quite make out what was being said.
Bagman walked back to the judges' table and pointed his wand at his throat, saying, "Sonorus!"
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One … two … three!"
The instant the strident blast of the whistle rang in her ears, Oleandra strode forward onto the lake's surface as if it were made of solid ground, forming the hand sign for the lake rune Laukaz with her right hand.
"Something precious," Oleandra muttered to herself. "I didn't notice anyone stealing something I exceptionally value last night, I couldn't sleep…"
Out of the corner of her eye, Oleandra noticed silvery ripples forming at her feet. Without knowing quite why, she plunged her hand at the centre of the ripples, and her hand closed around some sort of handle. Mustering her full might, Oleandra pulled— and out came a sword of pure silver, its blade glinting in the morning sun. Well, that was easy; she'd already found the treasure, though she didn't quite remember having possessed such an item in the first place— Had it been stolen from her ancestral home or something?
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