“Oh, this is stupid!” cried Hermione.

Nearly everyone in the Care of Magical Creatures class – including the teacher – looked at her.  Professor Grubbly-Plank stopped her lecture and asked, “If there something wrong, Miss Granger?”

Hermione flushed and ducked her head.

“No, professor.”

“I thought not.”

As Professor Grubbly-Plank went back to her lecture, Harry leaned over to Hermione and asked, “What, may I ask, is so stupid?”

“Hagrid!” replied the bushy-haired girl.  “He’s hiding in his cabin just because of that stupid article!”

“Wouldn’t you hide your face too?” asked Ron.  Hermione promptly glared at him and the ginger-haired boy held up his hands in defense.  “Just a question…”

“Mione’s right,” said Niamh, doodling on a piece of parchment with a Muggle pencil.  “We ought to march up to Hagrid’s door and tell him we want him back.”

“Skrewts?”

Niamh and Hermione both glared at Ron and Harry said, “You’d better give up while you still have all your body parts intact, Ron.”

Ron nodded, looking from one girl to the other.

“I think you may have a point, Harry.”

“You four in the back!  Would you mind enlightening the rest of the class to what so interests you besides my lecture?”

Four heads shot up to look at Professor Grubbly-Plank, who had her fists planted on her hips and was glaring at them.

“Certainly, professor,” said Niamh with a grin.

“Then do so.”

“We were just discussing how long a person could stay sane when placed under the Cruciatus Curse,” said Harry.  When Professor Grubbly-Plank stared at him in shock, he added, “Research for Professor Moody.”

“Well then talk about it somewhere else.”

Niamh snickered as the elderly witch began her lecture again and Hermione hissed, “Harry, that wasn’t funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be,” said Harry back.

“But it was bloody brilliant,” said Ron.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

It was lunch when Harry received a bright red enveloped carried by a rather familiar looking grizzled owl.  As he took the envelope, Ginny gasped, “That’s a Howler!  Who would have sent you a Howler?”

“Being as that was Mika’s owl, I’ll give you two guesses,” deadpanned Niamh, pointing her fork with a piece of potato speared on the end after the owl as it flew off.  She then ate the potato and mumbled around it, “Mrell, mropin’ i’ ma’e.”

Harry frowned at the envelope, watching it begin to smoke slightly, then picked it up and opened it.  Mika’s voice, magnified and enraged, poured into the Hall.

“Harry, if you dare do anything to hurt Ginny, I swear I will find some way to get back there and use every hex I know on you!  Understood?!”

The letter immediately burst into flame and its ashes fell onto the table.  Harry looked at Niamh, who was trying not to laugh and failed miserably.  Beside him, Ginny look the perfect picture of fury.  Eyes blazing, she rose from her seat and left the Hall.  One could practically see steam coming out of her ears.

“Where’s she going?” asked Amanda from two seats down,

“Probably to owl Mika,” replied Harry.  “How I’d hate to be him right about now…”

“Hell, yes,” agreed Niamh.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

A day later…

“Hagrid!”

“Hagrid, we want to talk to you!”

“C’mon, Hagrid!”

“Hagrid!  Come out here and talk to us!  We don’t care what that bi-witch said!  Now open…”

The door opened and Dumbledore peered down at the five students standing outside the door of the wooden hut.  Niamh, who had been pounding on the door and yelling, paled severely and squeaked out the rest of her sentence.

“…up.”

“Hello, professor,” said Hermione in a meek voice.

Dumbledore smiled at them then turned back inside.  “Hagrid.  I believe you have some visitors.  Come inside, children, please.”

The five of them entered and Harry was immediately leapt upon by a madly barking Fang.  As he tried to settle him, the other four were gaping at Hagrid, who looked like he’d been through a hurricane, a monsoon, a tornado, and a mudslide and never had a chance of a break inbetween.

“Hi, Hagrid,” said Niamh.

Hagrid looked at her and said, “’Lo,” in a very hoarse voice.

“Did you hear what Miss O’Feir was shouting?” asked Dumbledore as he closed the door and sat down, motioning the five teenagers to do the same.  “It seems that all of them still want to know you.”

“Of course we still want to know you!” cried Hermione, fixing Hagrid with a mild glare.  “Hagrid, how could you think that?”

“Ignore everything that bitch says, Hagrid,” snapped Niamh.  She then seemed to realize what she’d said and mumbled, “Sorry, headmaster.”

“I have temporarily gone deaf and have not heard a word you said, Miss O’Feir.”

“Oookay.”

“Hagrid, really,” said Ginny, “what makes you think we’d care what that poor excuse for a woman wrote about you?”  She lifted her chin proudly and continued, “I don’t care.  She can write about me all she wants.  I don’t care.”

“Because we know the truth,” said Harry, finally able to get Fang off of him.  He grinned at Hagrid then motioned at the three girls.  “I’d repeat what they said, but they said it much better than me.”

“Yeah,” echoed Ron.

Hagrid smiled furtively at them behind his tangled black beard.

“You see, Hagrid?  Proof of what I’ve been telling you all this time,” said Dumbledore.

“Not all of ‘em wan’ me ter stay.”

“Well then bugger to them,” said Harry.  “Just ignore ‘em, Hagrid.  Eventually they’ll leave you alone.”  He then grinned and laid a hand on Niamh’s shoulder.

“Or,” he continued, “you can tell them that if they want to have an argument with you, they can have an argument with the Lord and Lady Hex first.”

Niamh grinned and nodded.  “Yes,” she said, “we’re always happy to oblige people in conversation.”

Hagrid smiled at the two of them and said, “Thank ye two.  I – I think I’ll come back and teach.”

“Excellent!” said Dumbledore, standing.  “I expect to see you in the Great Hall for breakfast tomorrow morning, Hagrid.  Good afternoon to you all.”

“Goodbye, professor,” said six voices.

“Great man, Dumbledore,” said Hagrid after he was gone.  “Great man…  An’ he’s right – yeh’re all righ’…I bin stupid…”

“No, you haven’t, Hagrid,” said Niamh.  “There aren’t many people who can just blow off something like that.  Except for maybe Harry here…”

“Oh, yes, just insult me, why don’t you?” grumbled Harry good-naturedly.

“See?” said Niamh.  “Of course, he likes me, so he won’t hex me…”

“I would not be too sure of that,” said Harry softly, eyes narrowing.  “I might get you in your sleep.”

“Anyway,” said Hermione loudly.  “We’re glad you’re going to come back, Hagrid.”

“Yeah,” said Ron, “class just isn’t – er – the same without you.”

“Really?” said Hagrid.  “What’s that Professor Grubbly-Plank teaching you lot?”

Hermione began to launch into their last few classes when Harry looked at his watch.

“Er, guys,” he said, “I’ve got to go.”

“What?” said Ginny in surprise.  “Why?”

“Ahhhhh – detention.”

“Harry,” said Niamh seriously, “you’ve only had detention once in our entire time here.  And that time was a mistake!”

“Yeah, well, I got it again.  So…I’ll be seeing you.”

“Okay.  Bye, Harry.”

“See you later.”

Hagrid waved cheerfully and Harry smiled at him before turning and leaving the cabin.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

“Professor?”

Harry poked his head into his father’s office and saw Moody standing there, one hand on the desk and the other jabbing at the dark-haired wizard’s chest.

“Look, Snape, your letting those children run loose in times like these, with no restraints on them whatsoever.  I don’t think Dumbledore would approve of the way you’re running that House.”

Snape’s dark eyes narrowed until they seemed like pits of dark tar.

“Moody, threaten me all you like, but say anything about my students and I begun to take offense.  I know very well how to run Slytherin House, as you should know the two of us being one’s ourselves.  Albus happens to trust me…”

“Trust that wasn’t earned.”

Snape rose from his seat, slamming his hand down on his desk and glaring at the old Auror.  The two of them were the same height though Moody was a good deal stockier than the lean Potions Master.  Anger flashed across his pale face as he growled, “Our trust was readily earned many years ago, Alastor.  Now – if you don’t mind – I have some work…”  He then saw Harry in the doorway and said, “Mr. Potter.  To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

Moody turned, his roving blue eye landing on Harry.  The teen did not look at the scarred Auror, only at his father.

“I wanted to ask you a question, professor.”

“Oh, I’d like to hear this,” said Moody, looking at Snape with a sneer on his face.

Snape scowled at him and growled, “Get out.”

“Come now, S…”

“Out.”

Moody frowned at him and growled, “I’m watching you, Snape,” before he turned and limped out past Harry.  The teen peered after him for a moment then closed the door and cast an Anti-Eavesdropping Charm on the room.  He then turned to his father, who had sank back down into his chair and was rubbing his hands over his face.

“What was that about?”

“An old argument,” replied Severus, looking up.  “One that has been going on for many years between Moody and I.”

“Why?” asked Harry, curious as to what else Mika’s father might have against his own.  Certainly one being an Auror and the other a Death Eater was not the entire story.

“Because he was my teacher at the Auror Academy.  I was later placed under him when I graduated and got into the field.  Then my father was captured and tried, which put my under close inspection by itself, not owning to the fact that I was already being watched because of the rumors of my father’s loyalties.”  Severus sighed and continued, “And then I was captured during a raid I’d warned Dumbledore about.  They were supposed to capture Lucius Malfoy but instead I was Stunned.  Moody was furious to say the least.  Especially when Albus revealed that I had been the spy in Voldemort’s ranks.”

“But I thought only your father – grandfather – knew you were never with the Death Eaters!” exclaimed Harry.

“He did.  Because I brought him in.  But Albus couldn’t just let them sentence me to Azkaban after the trial.”  Severus looked up at his son and continued, “If he had, I’d have been sentenced to the Dementor’s Kiss.  The only reason I’m not in there right now with my soul sucked out is because Albus spoke up for me.  If I’m ever found doing one thing to deal with the Dark Arts – one tiny, miniscule thing – I’ll be immediately thrown into Azkaban.”

Harry sank into a chair in shock.

“Hell’s bells…”

Severus sighed again and nodded, running his hands back through his hair.

“Yes.  Well…what was it you wanted?”

“Er…I was wondering if you might have something that would allow someone to breathe underwater.  Like a potion or something.”

Severus frowned and said, “I can’t help you with the second task, Harry.  You know that.”

Harry grinned wryly and replied, “I know that.  I wasn’t asking you to give it to me.  I’m just asking if you happen to have anything.”

“I have something that would do the trick but you’re not getting it.”

Harry smirked and said, “We’ll see, Da.  We’ll see…”

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

The day of the task…

“Hey, Harry!”

Harry looked sullenly up at Colin as the third year bounded over to the Slytherin table.

“Yes, Colin?  To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your perky face on this drab morning?”

Colin’s grin faltered and he said, “Well, if you don’t want to talk to me…”

Harry shook his head.  “No, no.  I’m sorry, Colin.  The second tasks’ today…”  He waved a hand as his voice dropped off.

“Actually,” said Colin, looking at his watch, “its in two minutes.  That’s what I was coming to tell you.”

“ Two what?  Heck-sod!”

Harry leapt up and sprinted out of the Hall, ducking and dodging between groups of people as he shot across the entrance hall.  He took the stone steps leading down onto the grounds in one leap and hit the ground running, reaching for the gillyweed in his pocket as he did so.  The night before he had snuck into his father’s office and disabled the wards on his cabinet’s before picking the locks and searching through them.  Of course, he’d locked and warded them again.

The other three champions were already down at the lake, watching the stands as they filled up.  By the time Harry skidded to a stop beside them, Ludo Bagman was pointing the champions to places around the lake within ten feet of each other.  Then he placed the Sonorus charm on his throat and turned towards the crowd.

“All our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle.”

Harry suddenly noticed that Hedwig was still curled about his wrist as he bent to take off his boots.  He craned his head back as he tugged at the laces of the left one and was the black speck in the sky that was Jardin.

Jar! he yelled, half-listening to Bagman.

“They have precisely an hour…”

< Yes? >

Down here.  Now!

“…to recover…”

< Is there some trouble? >

Come and get Hed!

< She’ll bite me! >

ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU’RE SCARED OF A LITTLE GARDEN SNAKE? roared Harry.

< No, > said Jardin meekly.

“…what had been taken…”

THEN GET YOUR FEATHERED ASS DOWN HERE!!

< Alright, alright.  Toss her in the air. >

“Get ready, Hed,” whispered Harry to the snake as he loosed the laces of his right boots then shoved both off and sat them to the side before rolling up his sleeves.

“For what?”

“…from them.  On the count of three, then.  One…”

“Two…”

“Three!”

The whistle blew sharply and the cheers from the stands reverberated across the water.  Harry grabbed the gillyweed from his pocket and choked it down as he looked up to see how far away Jardin was, then tossed Hedwig into the air as he ran and dove into the icy lake.  He heard the snake scream at him before he went completely under.

“I HATE HEIGHTS, HARRY!!!!”

Whoops, thought Harry, pushing himself downward through the water.  The gillyweed still hadn’t taken effect and he was beginning to run out of air.

Quite suddenly he could breathe again and the water began to warm about him.  Harry glanced once at his webbed hands and feet then dove deeper into the lake.  He swam past drove after drove of fish and thought he saw one of the giant squid’s arms before he reached a company of crude stone dwellings.  And voices like those from the egg, voices of merpeople, fell upon his ears.

“An hour long you’ll have to look,

And to recover what we took

Your time’s half gone, so tarry not

Lest what you seek stays here to rot…”

“Now that’s ominous,” said Harry out loud to himself, arching an eyebrow when all that came out of his mouth were bubbles.  Here and there as he continued to swim he saw gray faces framed by long, dark green hair.  Yellow eyes leered at him and he could only conclude that these were the merpeople.  They bore no resemblance to the mermaid in the perfects bathroom.

Turning his head, he saw a statue in the center of the crude-cut little village.  And tied to its tail were four figures.

There was a little girl with such clouds of silvery hair that she had to be a very close relation to Fleur if not her sister.  Tied beside her was Hermione, her bushy brown hair barely moving underneath the water.  Then there was Ginny, red hair flower about her face likes flames and between Ginny and the little girl was Niamh, feathery dark hair moving like sea grass.

Harry drew the pocketknife Sirius had sent him for Christmas from his pocket and flipped out the blade.  He eyed the three girl he knew, wondering which was the one he valued most.  As he did so, he thought how ludicrous this task was.  He loved all three girls like sisters.  They were his friends, for Slytherins sake!  How could he choose any one of them?

Suddenly a shape coming towards him out of the dark depths broke Harry from his musing.  He watched as it approached and blinked several times when he saw it was Krum’s body with a shark’s head attached.  Watching as Shark-Krum swam to Hermione and began to try to cut her bonds with the ungainly shark teeth, Harry felt a sharp snap of anger.  Didn’t that idiot know that the shark’s teeth could easily sever the lower half of Hermione from the upper half?

Harry swam hurriedly down to him and slapped his shoulder, thrusting the knife at his chest, blade in towards his own palm.  Krum looked at him then took the knife and cut Hermione away, grabbing her about the waist and swimming upwards, dropping the knife.

Harry grabbed the knife before it hit the sandy bottom and became lost, swimming back up to the three girls.  When he got there he was Cedric, his head distorted by a large bubble, cutting Niamh away.

Well, that narrows down the field, thought Harry as he watched the Hufflepuff drag his friend away.  He then cut Ginny away and peered at the little girl, wondering where Fleur could be.  Then he looked at his watch, which had begun to rhythmically flash ‘Time to go!’ over and over.  Looking around again and seeing no sign of Fleur, he decided.

As he began to hack at the girls ropes one-handed (for Ginny was held against him by his other arm), the merpeople moved forward.  He fixed them with an icy gaze and snapped, “Don’t even think about it.”  And in their own language nonetheless.

The merpeople backed off and Harry smirked.  After he’d informed Jardin about what Myrtle had told him, the raven had immediately began to teach him Mermish.  Apparently he could “speak” over a hundred languages – many of them no longer in use – with the exception of Parseltongue and Elvish.  He could however recognize the two.

Now unhindered, Harry brought the knife down on the ropes binding the little girl in one sweep, severed them, then jammed it into his pocket as he seized her about the waist and kicked off of the bottom in a great cloud of dust.

He had not swam far when he saw that dragging the two girls, light as they would have been on the land above, were heavier with their robes like water-weights.  Drawing his wand, he swam in a slow circle, wand tip pointed down towards the bottom.  When the circle was complete he said, “Reverto Charybdis!”

The water around them bubbled and Harry sheathed his wand, pulling the two girls tight against him.  He had to hold tight to them because he had no control over this spell once it began to work.  It was actually an offensive spell he had created to form and suck down an opponent near or over water.  Now he was reversing its effects and if he failed, all of them were dead.

The water around them frothed and began to spin as the whirlpool effect of the spell began to work.  Harry felt a downward sucking feeling and his heart sank.  Then the water swelled around him and the two girls and spun fasted.  Quite suddenly they were rushing upwards and the water was opening up to air around them.

Cries of awe and surprise fell on Harry’s ears as the reversed whirlpool bobbed them to the surface.  He had a moment where he nearly suffocated because the gills were still there but the gillyweed’s effect wore off quickly and he could breathe.  The whirlpool subsided, having done its duty, and Harry grinned.  They weren’t dead after all!

“Harry?”

Ginny stirred, blinking water out of her brown eyes to peer at him.  She then saw the silver0haired girl in his other arm and said, “You were only supposed to get me.”

Harry shrugged at her and said, “I’m half Gryffindor.  What do you expect?”

“The Slytherin to overrun it.”

“Oh, buck up, Gin.  You’re half Gryff too.  Now let’s get to shore and swelter in the hubbub going on before Ni comes out here and gets us.”

Ginny turned her head to look towards the shore.  A blanket-wrapped figure with a shock of black hair and two blazing specks of blue eyes was standing by the shore of the lake.  The redhead winced.

“She looks pissed.”

Harry laughed and remarked, “I know she’s pissed.  Now c’mon.  To shore we go.”

“I agree with you on that.  What were they thinking doing this in February?”

“Obviously ‘Let’s freeze the champions so they can’t swim’.  Help me here, Gin.  I think this girl’s frozen solid.  She won’t move.”

Harry and Ginny seized the little girl and swam for shore.  As soon as they splashed up out of the water, the girl suspended inbetween them, Madam Pomfrey descended upon them, cocooning them in blankets and forcing hot potions down their throats.

“Grabrielle!  Gabrielle!  Is she alive?  Is she ‘urt?”

The little girl broke away from Madam Pomfrey and ran towards Fleur, who was fighting to get away from Madam Maxime.  Harry looked away as the embraced and was suddenly grabbed by the collar and jerked downward so his eyes were level with a pair of blazing blue one’s.  Niamh scowled and grabbed his shirt collar in both hands, shaking him furiously.

“If you ever worry me like that again, I’ll kill you.”

Harry gave a mock salute and said, “Understood, Madam Hex.”

Niamh scowled at him again then squealed when Cedric came up behind her and enveloped her in a hug.  Harry turned away from them and saw Fleur coming towards him.

The veela girl’s robes were torn from somewhere but she was smiling.  Looking at Harry, she said, “You saved ‘er.  Even thought she was not your ‘ostage.”

“Well,” said Harry, “I couldn’t just leave her…”  He was cut short as Fleur kissed him on each cheek then turned to Ginny and did the same before heading back to where Gabrielle stood.  Ron looked outraged while Niamh looked simply furious.  Ginny just look surprised until Hermione leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

Ludo Bagman’s voice suddenly boomed over them.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached out decision.  Merchieftainess Murcus had told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have deiced to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows…”

“Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage.  We aware her twenty five points.”

“Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was second to return with his hostage, thought he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour.  We there for award him forty-two points.”  Harry saw Niamh leap upon Cedric with a wide grin on her face out of the corner of his eye.

“Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was first to return with his hostage.  We award him forty-seven points.”  Hermione smiled at Krum as he pointed out a bug in her hair.

“Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect.  He returned last and well outside the time limit of an hour but with quite a large finish.  However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was the first to reach the hostages and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own.”

Ginny punched Harry in the arm and hissed, “Going Gryffindor on us.”

“Most of the judges feel this shows moral fiber and merits full marks.  However, Mr. Potter’s score if forty-five points.”

“The third and final task will take place at duck on the twenty-fourth of June.  The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand.  Thank you for all your support of the champions.”

Niamh and Hermione cheered as Ron clapped Harry on the back and Ginny hugged him.  Jardin landed on Harry’s shoulder, dropping an irate Hedwig into his hands and cawing loudly into the teen’s ear.

< Bravo!  Bravo! >

Harry grinned at the bird then tried to calm Hedwig as Madam Pomfrey began to bustle the champions and their hostages up towards the castle.