Chương 47: A New Challenge
"Reperio Daphne." Harry said, casting the locating charm. Neville looked at him oddly because from his point of view the spell didn't seem to do anything at all. Harry however saw a golden light extend from his wand out of the Great Hall in the general direction of the lake. He frowned, guessing that meant she and Hermione were both already hidden in the lake. When he cancelled the charm Neville was still staring at him, waiting for him to explain.
"Daphne and Hermione are both at the bottom of the lake. I've got to get Daphne, and Krum has to get Hermione." Harry said.
"Oh. Do you think they are safe down there?"
"Yes, for now at least. But I don't know what's going to happen if we can't get to them in the hour we're going to be given. I'm not going to let either of them get hurt." Harry replied confidently. "I guess I might have to break the rules, but it will be worth it." Neville nodded in agreement and sat back in his chair, thinking about the situation.
"You don't really suppose the professors would let anything hurt them, do you?" Neville asked.
"I'm not sure the professors are in charge of this tournament. It's being run by a branch of the Ministry of Magic, and I don't trust them."
"No reason to, is there?" Neville agreed. "I'm sure you'll do great Harry. I'll be there cheering for you."
"Thanks. I'll see you there ok?" Harry said as he gathered his belongings and left the table. His exit drew far less attention than his entrance, but he did still notice a few people giving him thumbs up or softly booing him depending on their opinion of him. He shrugged off the negative reactions and tried to forget them. There was no way he was ever going to be liked by everyone in the school and he had long ago stopped trying.
As he walked out the door he saw Draco Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle following close behind him turn the corner on their way to the Great Hall. Harry had not spoken to any of them since the previous weekend, although the thought of having a long and intelligent conversation with either of Malfoy's lackeys almost made him laugh. Harry slowed down as the approached each other, wondering what Malfoy would do.
"Potter." Malfoy said the name with a hint of disgust in his voice, as always. They had all stopped and were now staring each other down in the middle of the hallway. A few people had noticed and were watching, wondering if there was going to be a duel.
"Malfoy." Harry responded. Malfoy stood still and stared at the person who had been his nemesis practically since they met almost four years ago. Then, after a small shake of his head and a frustrated grunt, Malfoy motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him past Harry and in to the Great Hall. Harry watched him go feeling slightly confused. He had expected Malfoy to insult him or at least claim he was going to fail miserably in the second task today but instead he had done nothing. It was quite clear that the Slytherin still harbored an intense dislike for him but at least he was being civil about it. He wondered if the improvement was going to be permanent or just temporary until the fact that Harry had saved his life became a distant memory. He shrugged and decided to wait and see what would happen. At the moment he had far more important things to worry about.
...
A few hours later Harry was finally making his way to the staging area for the second task. Neville was walking beside him and wishing him luck, but Harry wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. All of his attention was focused on getting into the lake and finding Daphne and Hermione. For at least the twentieth time, Harry reached into his pockets to make sure that his gillyweed was there. He had enough left to last for two hours, far more than would be necessary. He had decided to take a smaller portion when he dived in so that he could have some left just in case. His biggest worry was that there would be some unexpected rule or requirement that he had not planned for.
Once they reached the lake shore a boat was waiting to take them to a large viewing platform that had been erected in the middle of the lake. Harry had seen the tournament crew working on it over the past week and had taken it as further proof that interpretation of the clue from the golden egg was correct. He was actually quite happy with the platform because it meant that his starting point would be in the middle of the lake and not on the shoreline. That meant he could easily reach any point in the lake in less than ten minutes, assuming he didn't have any major obstacles to overcome. As it was Harry felt confident in his abilities to handle anything the lake had in it.
As their boat reached the viewing platform Harry saw the other champions had already arrived and were standing in a section that had been roped off to prevent anyone else from entering. Once again Ludo Bagman was there and seemed to be in charge. Bagman spotted him walking towards the group and began waving him over.
"Harry! Wonderful, you're finally here." Bagman said. Harry gave him a fake smile and took the chance to look at his competition. The first and most obvious thing he noticed was that Fleur Delacour looked upset and very nervous. Apparently she had noticed that whoever they took from her was gone and was not at all happy about it. Cedric Diggory just looked confused as if he had no idea what was going on, Harry guess that he had not heard that Cho was missing. Krum, as always, looked like he couldn't care less what was going on around him.
"Yes sir." Harry answered. "Are we ready to start yet?"
"Almost. Now that you're all here I can explain the rules. This morning something was taken from each of you, something important."
"Where is Gabrielle?" Fleur demanded to know. "If you have hurt her I will ruin you!" Bagman looked uncomfortable with her threats but had no choice but to answer her.
"Well, since Ms Delacour has given the surprise away I suppose it won't hurt to let you all know that a person important to you has been placed at the bottom of the lake. You will have one hour to find them."
"And what happens after the hour is over?" Harry asked, hoping that his fears would be put to rest.
"Let's not worry about that right now, shall we? I'm sure all four of you will do marvelously!" Bagman answered. Meanwhile, Harry's anger was beginning to rise. Bagman's non answer could have meant anything, including that their friends and loved ones were in mortal peril if they were not able to rescue them in the allotted time. The others took Bagman's response no better than he did and he could tell that Fleur was seriously contemplating cursing the man.
"Your hour will start in five minutes. I'll leave you to prepare yourselves. Good luck!" Bagman said as he made a hasty retreat. The four champions lined up at the edge of the platform and waited for the challenge to begin. Unlike last time there was no talking, each of them was fully focused on the challenge ahead. In the background Harry could hear Bagman welcoming everyone to the second task and explaining the rules to them. He ignored it, still angry at Bagman. Perhaps he was just an announcer and not really in charge of the tournament, but Harry still considered him a part of it and therefore someone who deserved his scorn.
"The task will begin in 5… 4…" Harry heard Bagman's voice say loudly.
"3…" He took a small portion of the gillyweed, enough for about twenty to thirty minutes, out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.
"2…" Harry forcefully swallowed the distasteful plant. As it travelled down his throat he felt an odd burning sensation that let him know it was working.
"1…" He could already feel the changes in his body beginning. In a few moments his hands would grow webbing between his fingers, gills would sprout from his neck, his feet would elongate and turn into fins, and many other small changes would occur that would turn him into a perfect swimming machine.
"GO!"
....
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