Chapter 67: Pronglet Fights Back: 5

24 th February 1995

Dear Harry,

Remus is going to mirror-call you later to say good luck but my Mum always sent me a letter when I was at Hogwarts and I thought I'd do the same.

As Remus has probably told you, life at Black Farm aka the Potter-Black Werewolf Sanctuary is settling back down after our arrival. I guess our turning up as a couple and with me up the spout really was like a boulder being tossed into a pond. 

All the pack have pretty much accepted me now and I've heard no grumblings for over a week – not even from Sian! 

Clara is fantastic. She and I have just clicked. We're best buds and she's appointed me as a teacher in the school they've set up here. It's mostly basic charms and transfiguration but it's keeping me busy.

Patrick, Remus's beta, is also a good laugh. He reminds me a bit of the Weasley twins – he's quite mischievous but very likeable. We're conspiring to cheer the place up a bit and ensure there's some fun every day.

The entire pack – and Gregor's pack – have gone crazy about the baby anyway. I've had to threaten hexing anyone who dares to refer to the kid as a cub but that's really what the pack considers the sprog. Martha, Gregor's wife, has started knitting up a storm which is good as neither Mum nor I can knit to save our lives.

Dad tells me Mum is still cross with me but will have come round by the wedding at Easter – 

Speaking of the wedding, I've got to tell you this! 

We had the Minister of Bulgaria over for tea the other night – apparently Bogdan and Remus get on like a house on fire – and Remus asked him if he knew of anybody willing to officiate and the next thing I know Bogdan himself is saying he'll do the honours! Remus has had to allow Gregor to make some kind of speech otherwise there'd be hurt feelings what with Gregor being the Alpha wolf in these parts (apart from Remus himself).

I really love Bogdan and his wife Hilde. They're really lovely. Hilde even told me that in old alliance relationships here it was traditional for the woman to prove her fertility before the union was given the official seal of approval with a marriage, and so nobody'll blink an eye around these parts at my walking up the aisle with a bump! And I have an open offer of a room at their estate every full moon which has relieved Remus I think since he was nervous of me about on the grounds of the farm even as protected as I would have been. 

Well, that's my news exhausted for now. Sorry for rambling on! 

Hope it all goes well with the second task! I'm sure you're going to knock 'em dead! And really, really, really sorry again, Harry, that we can't be there to cheer you on in person.

Keep your head above water if you can and in a Bubblehead if not!

Tonks xx

Harry set the letter aside on his desk and stroked Hedwig's feathers as she nuzzled into his hand. He missed Tonks and Remus although, if he was honest, he missed Remus more. He'd gotten used to the older man being there and there was a definite Moony-shaped hole in his and Sirius's every-day life. It was weird coming back from classes and not seeing Remus in Sirius's study discussing something to do with the estates or with the alliance or the tournament plan or just musings in general. While Remus hadn't joined them for every meal, his absence was even more noticeable at the dining table, especially at the family meals. But, the main problem with Remus being gone was that his absence meant that Sirius was lonely. It was obvious to all that Padfoot missed Moony despite the daily mirror calls between the two.

He heaved a sigh and pushed his chair back from his desk. Hedwig had arrived early that morning and there was still a couple of hours to go before he was expected to head down to the lake for the beginning of the second task.

He opened his door and stopped short at the sight of the black Grim curled up on the landing, snoring. Harry's lips twitched even as a flood of affection swamped him. Sometimes he wondered which of them worried more about the tournament – him or Padfoot. Probably Padfoot, Harry determined. He stepped over the Grim and happily entered the bathroom first.

He missed Griffin House and their individual bathrooms more than he had ever thought he would. Not that he minded sharing with Sirius but Merlin knew that Sirius could take forever in a morning.

After making use of the facilities, Harry tapped the shower with his wand and a waterfall of water at exactly the right temperature rained down on him. He tilted his face up to the water and let it course over him for a long moment before he set about the actual task of washing his hair and body. He muttered over his favourite shower gel depleting again due to Sirius's liberal use.

It would be good to visit the farm at Easter, he mused. Not only for the wedding (which in truth he wasn't looking forward to attending much) but to see the sanctuary and to meet Remus's pack. It would also be his first holiday anywhere in Europe and he was keen to see how Bulgarian wizarding society differed from British. Viktor had offered to show him the Bulgarian Quidditch headquarters and stadium which he was really looking forward to seeing. Sirius had also mentioned that they might pop to another couple of countries during the holiday and spend the entire break abroad rather than at home in England. Harry figured it was Sirius's way of providing him with an incentive to look beyond the second task.

Doing a final rinse, he shook himself lightly and tapped the shower to shut it off again. He grabbed hold of one of the big fluffy robes and went over to the sink and mirror.

"You're looking pale this morning." The mirror tsked loudly.

Harry grimaced. He brushed his fingers along his jawline and did the shaving charm Sirius had taught him to remove any hint of bristles. He still didn't need to shave often but it was good to know he was developing in the right direction. He dried his hair and tried to style it before giving up on it.

When he reopened the bathroom door, Padfoot was missing from the landing and Harry figured Sirius had woken with the noise of the shower.

"Bathroom's free!" He called out loudly before diving into his own room to pull on a robe for breakfast.

He skipped down the stairs and settled himself at the table. Dobby immediately popped in and put down a large bowl of porridge with berries thick in their syrup.

Harry's mouth pouted as he'd been planning on plain toast but Dobby looked at him sternly. "Master's Paddy bes telling Dobby yous be needing the energy in the cold water."

Yeah…he wasn't getting out of the porridge. He picked up his spoon dutifully and began eating. It was a stunningly good porridge; creamy and warm and with just a hint of ginger and cinnamon. He pulled over the Prophet and pushed it away when he realised the front page was dedicated to excitement about the task that day. Sirius's footsteps on the stairs had him lifting his gaze from his bowl momentarily.

"Morning."

"Morning, Pronglet." Sirius presented a hand mirror with a flourish. "For you."

Harry took it eagerly and smiled widely at the sight of Moony. "Morning, Remus! Tonks said you'd be calling in her letter."

"I'm glad it reached you alright." Remus said, his face blurring for a moment as the mirror stabilised. "She was worried."

"She said the Bulgarian Minister is going to officiate your wedding?" Harry commented.

Across the table, Sirius choked on his coffee.

"Bogdan has offered and we've graciously accepted." Remus confirmed. "Gregor will play Master of Ceremonies. Padfoot will be Best Man and you'll be a groomsman along with Patrick." He paused. "It was supposed to be a small affair." He sounded somewhat bewildered.

Sirius grabbed the Prophet and gave a snort of disgust.

Remus cleared his throat. "Anyway, I called about you not about me. Are you all prepared for today?"

Harry nodded. "I'm just waiting to see who is picked as my hostage. Apparently there's going to be some kind of ceremony to begin the task and we all think that's when the Goblet will choose them."

"I know you and whoever is chosen will do their best." Remus said calmly. "Just remember that Voldemort is bound to have stacked the deck somehow like he did with the Horntail. It's not going to be over until you're back inside the castle."

"I'll remember."

Remus's expression turned sad. "I'm so sorry I can't be with you."

"It's OK." Harry assured him.

"No, it's not," Remus contradicted him, "but Tonks and I need to stay out the public eye right now until we're respectable so…it can't be helped. I expect to hear all about it right after it's over though."

"I'll mirror call you afterwards." Harry promised.

"Stay safe, Snitch."

And with that the mirror went dark.

Harry handed it back to Sirius who placed it down on the table gently. Harry went back to his porridge and wasn't surprised when the empty bowl was replaced by a plate of waffles, crispy bacon and maple syrup. He made a good attempt but couldn't stomach anything more than a few bites. He pushed his plate away.

Sirius discarded the Prophet, sipped his cup of coffee and regarded Harry over the rim of the cup. "How are you holding up?"

Harry shrugged. "I'll be glad when it's all over." He fingered the cutlery lightly. "Did you see the Prophet?"

"Rita's not been kind to Diggory." Sirius agreed. "She can be a total bitch. Hopefully Cedric will be able to ignore it all."

Harry knew the bad publicity surrounding his father had distracted Cedric in his preparations through scuttlebutt in the Hogwarts' corridors. He just hoped it hadn't distracted the Hufflepuff too much.

"I'd best get ready." Harry allowed morosely.

Sirius nodded tensely, and Harry wished again that Remus wasn't abroad if only so Sirius would have someone to lean on.

He headed back up, paid another visit to the bathroom since his task outfit was going to make any further visits difficult and went back into his room where Dobby had laid out the clothes.

The first item was a thermal under-suit made of leggings and t-shirt, followed by a muggle dry-suit used for cold water diving which had been modified by magic to be as thin and as light as it could possibly be. He was assured that all the alliance would be wearing something similar on the off chance that they could be chosen as his hostage. It was a bit of a struggle to get into the garment but Dobby helpfully popped in to help zip him up.

Harry completed the outfit with a woolly hat, gloves and heavy winter cloak that covered him neck to toe. He shoved his feet into footwear made of the same materials as the diving suit but with a pliable rubber sole. All the outer-wear had been bespelled with in-built warming charms and staved off the cold.

He made his way back downstairs and wasn't too surprised to find Andy and Ted waiting for him along with Sirius.

"Cissy sends on her and her family's well wishes," Andy said as she greeted him with a hug, "they wanted to get a good seat. Shall we?"

Harry gently let himself be led out. Andy kept up a stream of light conversation which never touched upon Tonks, Remus and the baby or anything to do with the task. It wasn't too long before they got to the edge of the Lake.

"Champions over here, please!" Bagman yelled jovially.

Sirius was the last to hug him. "Good luck, Pronglet."

Harry nodded an acknowledgement, too choked up to reply. His nerves had his belly churning and he regretted the porridge. He should have stuck with toast…he yanked his mind off his nausea and took the opportunity to look around him finally.

Almost the entire lake had been edged with stands and they were filled to the brim with spectators. The Durmstrang ship had been moved to the far side of the lake out of the way and visitors for Durmstrang were housed on its deck. The lakeside closest to the castle had been transformed with a massive landing platform jutting out across the lake; the judges' desk sat to one side with the Goblet upon it, a VIP section to the other. Out in the centre of the lake there appeared to be a floating wooden cabin.

Bagman waved Harry forward and lined him up next to a white-faced Cedric whose eyes were pinned on the Champions' box which was right next to the landing platform.

Harry glanced over and saw Amos Diggory sat next to his wife. "It's good to see your Dad looking better and out and about again, Cedric."

Cedric relaxed a touch. "Thanks, Harry."

Fleur shivered. "Weell they not get on wiz eet?"

Viktor nodded his grim agreement.

It took another ten minutes though with the judges taking their seats before Bagman finally performed the sonorus spell to make himself heard.

"Good morning distinguished guests, professors, students and, of course, our four Champions!" Bagman began.

There was a loud cheer.

"Now, some housekeeping before we start. Today's task is going to take place in and upon this fine body of water in the construction you see in the centre and a matching one underneath. A magical barrier has been placed around the stands to prevent any spectators from interfering. However as we are aware it is difficult to see what is going on, events within the structures will be projected above the lake in the same manner as some of the more expensive memory pensieves, although unfortunately we haven't been able to get the audio to work."

There was another roar from the crowd. Harry wondered whether seeing what was happening was going to make it better or worse for Sirius.

"Right, now to business!" Bagman said. "The task today involves each Champion rescuing a hostage, more specifically the one who they have thought of most between Yule and the second task. Who this hostage will be has to be determined by the Goblet itself. Once they have been chosen, the Goblet's magic will transport them into the task." He whirled around to the judges' table and smiled widely and falsely at Madame Maxime. "Perhaps it should be ladies first?"

"In that case it should be Karkaroff." Viktor muttered under his breath.

The Champions exchanged amused looks.

"My dear Headmistress if you'd be so kind to tap your wand against the Goblet, it will display the name of the hostage for your Champion in flame." Bagman continued cheerfully.

The Headmistress followed the instructions. The Goblet surged to life and bright blue flames erupted into the sky. They danced for a moment before spreading out and forming letters…Gabrielle Delacour.

"NON!" Fleur said hysterically. "Non, ma petite soeur!"

But it was too late. There was a shriek from the Champions' box and the magical projection shot into being in the centre of the lake showing a bewildered miniature Fleur arriving into a room where a brief glance at the windows with fish swimming beyond the panes of glass, clearly showed it was on the bottom of the lake.

Harry frowned as he tried to ignore Fleur's panic; he tried to memorise the projection – the shape and size of the room, the details he could see…

"Headmaster Karkaroff," Bagman's smile had dimmed after the revelation of the Beauxbatons' hostage, "please do the honours."

Karkaroff immediately tapped the Goblet and it flared to life once more. The flames were purple but they immediately formed a name…Natalie Warren.

Harry's eyes shot to Viktor's stony visage as the name of the Hogwarts' Head Girl blazed and the magic took her into the room. Fleur settled as the projection showed Natalie immediately moving to calm a visibly crying Gabrielle.

"I am courting Miz Varren." Viktor said quietly, providing an explanation.

Cedric grimaced and tensed. "I think I know who my hostage is likely to be."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Mine too." He muttered.

Dumbledore tapped the Goblet and because he represented both Harry and Cedric, he called out Cedric's name clearly. A brilliant yellow flame shot into the air and slowly transformed into words…Susan Bones.

Cedric went bright red. "Cho is going to kill me!" He hissed. "I mean, Sue's been great about my Dad and spending time letting me rant at her but I didn't realise I was thinking about her that much!"

Harry could only nod dumbly. His attention was back on the Goblet; his flame was a brilliant red which immediately turned into…Hermione Granger. It took less than a second for her to join the others in the underwater room. He wasn't surprised when he saw her immediately take control and start to organise the others. He smiled ruefully; that was his Hermione.

"Mon Dieu! She speaks French!" Fleur babbled relieved at the sight of Gabrielle's face brightening as Hermione crouched down and talked with her.

"Yes. She loves France. She and her parents often holiday there." Harry said.

Bagman cleared his throat and wrenched his eyes away from the projection where Hermione, Susan and Natalie had all discarded their outerwear to reveal the form-fitting dry-suits. The sight of the three witches had many young wizards in the crowd wolf-whistling and shouting appreciation.

Harry decided the best thing to do was reveal his own matching outfit so he removed his own outerwear without any fanfare.

The realisation that the Potter alliance had planned, planned together, and planned well settled on the crowd.

Bagman jumped into the hushed silence. "Right! The rules of this task are fairly simple. Each Champion must exchange places with one of their opponents' hostages by performing a task within the uppermost structure. As soon as the first Champion is exchanged, the underwater room will begin to fill with water. If a Champion decides to leave the underwater room ahead of the other Champions, they will flood the room and face an underwater obstacle path back to this landing deck where upon standing safely upon it, their hostage will be magically transported to them and the other Champions will be deemed to have lost and the hostages, uh, eliminated from the competition."

Well, that didn't sound ominous, Harry thought grimly. Knowing Voldemort, elimination was probably something permanent.

Bagman hurried on. "If the Champions leave the room together, they will need to be back here within an hour for all their hostages to be deemed safe and transported here. Any questions?"

"Do the hostages know what's involved?" asked Cedric pre-empting both Harry and Viktor – Fleur's attention was pinned to the projection where the three older girls had transfigured her sister's clothing into something close to the suits they wore.

"Yes. There is a copy pinned to the wall in both rooms." Bagman assured them. "If you're ready?"

The Champions all nodded.

Bagman waved his wand at the Goblet and a rush of sparkles gushed forth. "We begin!"

A surge of gold rushed around the Champions obscuring them and Harry felt the world melt away as the magic took him away.

o-O-o

Hermione smiled reassuringly at Gabrielle who was now decked out in a dry suit that would keep her warm and would assist her buoyancy if they went underwater. "You look very beautiful." She said in French.

"But of course." Gabrielle agreed with a Gallic shrug.

Hermione bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. "A moment, please, Gabrielle. The others and I need to confirm what we are doing here and how our Champions are going to rescue us."

Gabrielle nodded but she slid her hand into Hermione's.

Hermione led them over to the wall where Susan and Natalie were already considering the task description.

"Right," Natalie said briskly, "we're in the structure below; they're in an identical structure above." She pointed with her wand at the diagram. "They'll get a clue and instructions which will give them the information they need to proceed. There are four spells. A Champion must cast a spell upon another Champion. Each spell will handicap that Champion to some degree but the hexed Champion is exchanged with a hostage." She frowned. "No statement that they're exchanged with their own hostage though."

"It's possible each spell would be linked to a specific hostage though." Hermione mused out loud. "Cast the one that makes you vomit slugs, for instance, and be exchanged with me. Or cast the one that makes your skin purple and be exchanged with Sue."

"Somehow I don't think these spells are going to be that benign." Sue pointed out.

"There's nothing to say either way but this part of the task is clearly designed to encourage the Champions into hexing each other in order to get their hostages exchanged." Natalie said crisply. "Are we certain that they'll work together?"

"Unless one of them panics." Hermione confirmed with a nod. Theo had done a really excellent job at ensuring information was passed in a way that didn't contravene the instruction for the Champions not to collaborate in preparing for the task.

"Right then." Natalie continued. "So, we expect them to work out a way for them all to get down here. As soon as the first hostage is exchanged, this place will start to fill up with water." She glanced down at the young French girl. "Hopefully they'll take her topside first."

Hermione translated the discussion to Gabrielle, who unsurprisingly looked fearful about what would happen if she was in the room when it filled with water.

"Do not worry I can cast a Bubblehead charm on you to make sure you breathe." Hermione reassured her.

"Let's hope they take me next because I'm pants at the Bubblehead." Sue commented with dismay.

"Didn't you bring the back-up Gillyweed?" Natalie asked.

Sue shook her head despondently. "I didn't think I'd get picked. I mean, I was so far down the list for Harry and I never considered…" she coloured profusely. She grimaced. "Forget this task, Cho is going to kill me."

Natalie and Hermione exchanged a semi-amused look.

"Let's worry about that once we're out of this." Natalie said firmly.

"Harry knows about your problem with the charm." Hermione reminded Sue. "I'm sure he'll make sure you get exchanged second."

"And either Hermione or I can cast it on you if you are stuck down here for a while." Natalie said. She turned back to the wall. "If a Champion leaves before all of the hostages are exchanged, this room floods, and there's an obstacle course back to the landing deck. Let's assume that's not going to happen so once all the Champions leave they need to reach the landing deck within the hour of the task starting to trigger the magic that takes us from the room above back to the deck." She nodded. "All fairly straightforward."

"We should be on our guard though." Hermione pointed out. "The last task was sabotaged and we don't know how else this one might be."

"True." Natalie twirled her wand. "Right. Wands out then."

Sue nodded grimly. "And we protect the little one."

"Agreed." Hermione turned back to Gabrielle and translated the discussion again, finishing with their promise to look after Gabrielle until she could be returned safely to her sister.

They'd just finished when Viktor popped in and in a swirl of blue flames, Gabrielle disappeared.

o-O-o

Harry had landed in the task room and had been relieved to see he wasn't the only one who had stumbled. They had quickly agreed to working together and saving everybody. Harry still hadn't acknowledged that he had taken charge with no conscious thought about doing so nor that the others had let him despite him being the youngest. Having reviewed the instructions, it had been simple enough to find a clue under the statue of four monkeys.

"Speak no evil, brings the oldest monkey. See no evil, brings the smartest. 

Hear no evil, brings the youngest monkey. Think no evil, brings the kindest."

A list of associated hexes had been showed up on the wall as soon as they spoke the clue out loud. Having established which hostage was linked with each hex, they'd all agreed on the disability that they could each cope with best.

With Viktor hexed and gone, he and Cedric swapped relieved smiles at the sight of Fleur hugging Gabrielle and reassuring her in a torrent of French.

Cedric coughed. "Apologies," he said in slow accented French, "we need to continue the exchange or we will run out of time." He pointed at a conjured alarm clock that Viktor had conjured up.

"OK," Harry said, "so it looks like we were right about the hexes and how they're linked with the hostages."

"Viktor should be deaf now. That got us Gabrielle. We need to get Sue which means you're next Cedric since you're the one who can deal best with the happy hex and we think she's the kindest, uh, monkey."

"You mean I'm the only one who can't do blind, deaf or muteness." Cedric grimaced. "OK. Let's get on with it. Just…" he grimaced, "can you let Sue know I'm sorry about this?"

Harry nodded quickly, too aware that they were running out of time. He braced himself and performed the happy hex otherwise known as the Fool's curse. Until Cedric received the counter-hex nothing would phase him; a poisonous snake would be treated as his best friend, a sharp knife like a favourite teddy bear. It was a dangerous state of being and Cedric was going to have to rely on the rest of the Champions keeping him from putting himself in danger.

As soon as the hex hit, Cedric popped away and there was a rush of yellow flames as Susan appeared.

"Harry!" Sue hurried over leaving wet footprints on the wooden floor, and Harry hugged her briefly.

"You OK?" He asked, urgency creeping into his tone.

Sue nodded, rubbing her upper arms briskly to keep warm. He fired a warming charm at her and she smiled back appreciatively.

"Cedric said sorry." Harry murmured.

Sue blushed. "It's not his fault."

Harry simply nodded back in absent agreement. "Fleur and I have to get on with this."

"Don't worry," Sue said firmly, "all of us hostages know the score. We'll take care of each other."

"Zank you." Fleur led her sister over to them. She crouched in front of her sister and said something in a stream of French which sounded reassuring and comforting. She wiped away Gabrielle's tears and nudged her sister over to Susan. "Pleez, look avter her."

Sue wrapped an arm around the youngest hostage and nodded. "We will."

Harry and Fleur stepped away so they were both clear of the other two. Neither wanted to hit one of the hostages by accident.

"We'll cast together on the count of three." Harry said, struggling to keep his tone calm as his nerves shot up. In a moment he'd be mute and Fleur would be blind. He pointed his wand. "One, two, three."

Spells of lilac and pink snapped through the air and landed with precision.

For the second time that day Harry felt his world disappear.

o-O-o

Hermione sighed with disappointment as the red flames cleared and she found herself in the uppermost room with the other hostages. She had been up to her waist in water in the room below and it dripped down on the floor where she stood. She quickly did a drying charm and shivered.

She'd hoped that she and Harry would be able to spend a few moments together but because she had guessed that the final two Champions would have to hex each other at the same time, she'd known it was unlikely.

She gazed out of the small windows at the blue sky. A small hand crept into hers. She turned and smiled at Gabrielle. "OK?"

"My sister is very brave and she will rescue us all."Gabrielle replied with a certainty only youth could provide.

"Certainly." Hermione agreed lightly, glad that Gabrielle at least had had the opportunity to be reassured by her Champion. She repressed another sigh and looked at the concerned faces of her fellow Hogwarts' students. "I guess now we wait."

"Well, this just sucks monkey balls." Natalie said bluntly. "Are we just supposed to sit here like helpless idiots waiting for them to rescue us?"

"What are you suggesting?" asked Hermione, suspecting she already knew.

"They should all be swimming now for the deck, right? And no-one on the outside of the magical barrier surrounding the lake can help them." Natalie waved a hand around the room. "We're on the inside."

"But we're locked in." Sue protested.

"So let's find a way out." Hermione countered, seeing where the Head Girl was going immediately. "Professor Moody did say in his lesson on being in a hostage situation that if you are left alone, it's only sensible to check your environment thoroughly and ensure that there's no way to escape. And if we can leave the room, like Natalie says we can provide Harry and the others with support in the lake and – oh, they're all going to be swimming with a handicap so it'll be much harder for them! – and we can make sure that we're free in case of any sabotage!"

Sue's face settled into determined lines that reminded Hermione of the Director of the DMLE. "I'm in." Her eyes suddenly narrowed on Hermione.

"What?" Hermione asked nervously.

Sue reached out and grabbed something in Hermione's hair, tugging at it slightly and making Hermione wince. Sue immediately clapped her other hand over the one holding the something to keep it from escaping. "It's some kind of bug. Maybe I should just crush it but…"

"Let me see." Hermione asked.

Sue carefully opened her hands just enough for Hermione and the others to peek inside.

Hermione started grinning. "It's Luna's beetle! She's seen it a couple of times. It's a shame we haven't got something to put it in."

Natalie looked around and picked up the figurine of the four monkeys. "I can use this." She transfigured it into a jar and pierced the lid with some breathing holes.

Sue carefully transferred the beetle into it. "I'll hang onto it."

"Thank you." Hermione said, grateful since Gabrielle was once again holding her hand and clutching onto her.

Natalie grinned. "Alright. Now that's done. Let's start checking this place out for weak points."

o-O-o

In the box, Alastor gave an amused snort capturing Sirius's ear. "I'll have to give those girls some points. They're doing a good job! Damsels in distress, my arse!"

"Alastor!" Andy complained half-heartedly.

Sirius's attention wasn't following the girls though; he was tracking the second projection which was following the Champions. His throat was too closed up with fear to speak. He was right at the front of the box, hanging onto the railing in front of him so tightly he figured there would be dents in the metal when he let go.

His son couldn't speak. Harry had been hit with a hex that took away his voice.

Harry was good with non-verbal casting, Sirius reminded himself for the umpteenth time since the hex had been cast. Ever since Harry had learned it was very useful in a duel, he had focused on making himself good at silent casting. He'd even managed the complicated Bubblehead charm non-verbally which was horrendously difficult.

Natalie had done the honours for Viktor (who apparently was just as pants at the charm as Sirius himself was) and Cedric (who was absolutely loopy under the influence of the Fool's curse) before she'd been transported away.

Ted breathed out heavily beside Sirius. "It's good to see they've employed a buddy system for the swim."

Sirius nodded jerkily.

Cedric had been teamed with Viktor. The Durmstrang student had cast a translation spell which enabled Viktor to see what Cedric spoke in Bulgarian, words appearing in the air above Cedric's head. The burly Quidditch player was able to keep Cedric in check, quickly pulling him back on track when Cedric's non-existent attention span had him distracted by something at the bottom of the lake.

More importantly to him, Harry and Fleur had been teamed together. Harry had cast a spell which enabled him to act as Fleur's eyes and they kept in synch with each other as they swam through the murky waters.

Viktor and Harry were using Quidditch hand signals to communicate. It was an excellent example of intra-school cooperation and Sirius wondered vaguely how the judges were going to score it.

A flash of something in the corner of the projection caught Sirius's eye and he reared back. "Isn't that…?"

Andy gave a horrified cry at the sight of an attacking sea snake. "I thought the swim was supposed to be without obstacle if they went together?!"

"It was." Alastor said grimly. "But looks like we've got another case of sabotage!"

Sirius swore under his breath; his eyes pinned to the sight of his son stopping and turning to meet the newest threat to his young life…

o-O-o

Harry heard the snake before he saw it.

"Tasty, tasty snacks!" The sea snake sounded vaguely Scottish.

He whirled around immediately, bringing his wand up. Fleur grabbed at him, horror written all over her face as she saw the threat through his eyes; easily the same size as the basilisk he'd faced, the snake was a silvery grey, its mouth was filled with a million sharp looking teeth, with black eyes dead and dull, razor sharp fins covered its entire spine.

Viktor swam up beside Harry. He signalled a 'what attack?' query and Harry shook his head. He pointed at Cedric who was clapping his hands with glee and cooing at the charging snake. Harry signalled for Viktor to take both the other Champions and to make a run for it. For a split second it looked as though Viktor would argue but he gave a sharp nod instead. He snagged Cedric, who had started toward the snake, with one hand, and Fleur with the other.

Harry turned his attention to the snake, missing the moment where Viktor directed Fleur onto his back and began swimming away. Instead, his attention was on the approaching monster. He swallowed hard, gripping his wand as he considered his options. He bet anything the snake's skin was magically resistant. The last time he'd had Fawkes but a phoenix couldn't appear underwater…

He could blind it though.

He cast quickly, sending the spell first into one eye and then into the other. The snake thrashed wildly, an underwater ripple bombarding Harry and pushing him away momentarily.

But Harry regained his position and swam against the push of the water. He wondered how he was going to finish the snake off as it readied itself to charge again.

And suddenly there was a white mist between him and the snake…

The form of a woman took shape, translucent and beautiful…ethereal with her old-fashioned robes, hair in ringlets that floated in the water, a warm and friendly smile…it wasn't Morgana but someone who looked very like her. More importantly, she held out a real gleaming silver sword with an ornate hilt.

Harry took it from her with a nod of thanks and saw a flame of writing appear along its blade…Take me up.

The woman dissipated into nothingness, revealing an angry snake in the water behind where she'd manifested.

Harry grasped the sword and dived out of the way as the snake made its first strike…

Tail, he remembered frantically, and pushed himself upwards just before it could hit him.

The snake circled him. "I can't see you but I can taste you! Give up little prey and let me have you!"

Harry adjusted his position, grateful more than ever that Sirius had taught him not only to swim but how to play pranks in the water. He manoeuvred himself with slow movements, first one way then the other…

Slowly…

Carefully…

The snake circled again, its tongue flickering out to taste the water…to scent Harry…

Slowly…

Its left eye so close…

An inch more…

Just a smidgeon…

Harry thrust the sword into the beast's eye and into its brain!

It screamed and thrashed tossing Harry away on a wave of water.

Harry stabilised himself hurriedly, trying to prevent the sword from dragging him down. He looked back and saw a stream of blackish red mixing with the murky green of the lake water. A rush of nausea almost caught him but he turned away and forced the snake from his mind.

He was running out of time!

He quickly got his bearings and struck out again for the landing deck. The sword seemed lighter somehow and he swam holding it out in front of him horizontally as though it was a floatation device. It gave his legs a lot of power that way and he could kick forcefully. He saw the bottom of the lake start to incline and his feet suddenly connected with the rocky ground. He was pleased with his rubber boots that kept his feet protected as he got his footing and stood, striding the rest of the way through the shallows until a goofily beaming Cedric and a sombre looking Viktor helped him up onto the landing deck, Fleur immediately moving to cover him with a warm towel.

As one they turned back to the upper structure and their hostages…

o-O-o

The search of the room hadn't been fruitful.

There was no visible door – Hermione had even tried the way to get into the Room of Requirement, it hadn't worked – and the windows were magically warded. Magic bounced off them as they'd found the one time Natalie had tried shattering it. The glass was also unbreakable as Hermione had discovered when she'd transfigured a shoe into a rock and tried to throw it through the pane.

Eventually with all their efforts exhausted, Natalie conjured up some string and the three older girls tried to distract Gabrielle by playing an elaborate game of Cat's Cradle. Unfortunately the room suddenly rocking violently as the usually tranquil lake turned as rough as the open sea, put paid to their attempt.

Gabrielle screamed and threw herself at Hermione.

"It's alright, Gabrielle," Hermione hugged the little girl to her, "the room floats and is very secure. We will be fine."

"What do you think caused that?" asked Natalie, shivering. For the first time since the task began the Head Girl looked disconcerted.

"Maybe the Squid?" Sue offered, touching Natalie's arm gently to comfort the older girl.

"Right," Natalie nodded, "I mean there's no need to assume anything bad."

"How much time do you think we have left in here?" Sue asked.

Hermione brushed her hair away from her face and cast a tempus spell. It was just gone nine o'clock. "The task started at eight, so allowing for our selection and the task officially beginning, they all need to make it back by around quarter past I think."

The room rocked again and Hermione tightened her grip on the little French girl. It was frightening and she wished with all her heart that Harry could have been beside her. She would have been scared – she always was – but somehow having Harry around made it all seem possible that they'd survive their adventures.

"Zou should tell, um, book." Gabrielle said suddenly in heavily accented English.

"A story?" Hermione asked softly.

"When I 'ave ze nightmare Maman et Fleur read to me." Gabrielle explained; the imperious command that Hermione should follow their example implicit in her tone.

Sue and Natalie exchanged amused looks with Hermione over the little girl's head which was buried in Hermione's shoulder.

"I guess I could tell a story." Hermione agreed. Her mind raced with ideas before settling on one. "Once upon a time, there was a young girl called Hermione and she was a witch. And she was so excited to be a witch that she read all she could and practised her magic all the time until she could go to school with other witches and wizards. Only because Hermione was very smart about books, she sometimes wasn't smart about other things like making friends."

She ignored the sympathetic and, what she assumed to be pitying, gazes of the other two girls. "One day she felt so very lonely that she spent all day crying in the bathroom. But because she was in the bathroom, she didn't know that an evil wizard had brought a huge troll into the school until it entered the bathroom."

"Was zee scared?" Gabrielle asked.

"Very scared." Hermione said, the memory of it sending a shiver through her, "but just before the troll could hurt her, two boys suddenly appeared, one with hair which was as dark as the night called Harry, and one with hair as red as a fire called Ron. Harry jumped on the troll's back and told Hermione to run but she was very scared and couldn't move. But just as she thought all was lost, Ron managed to use his magic and knocked the troll out with its own club!"

"Ron?" asked Sue a little sceptical.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Hermione said dryly. "He actually got the pronunciation right." She turned back to Gabrielle. "And ever since that day Hermione has always remembered that books and cleverness are all very well, but what matters most is..."

Flames surrounded them suddenly and the world melted away…

o-O-o

"…friendship, bravery and…oh!"

Harry grinned at the sight of Hermione, none the worse for wear standing on the deck beside him wearing one show, and without even hesitating he wrapped her up in a hug, transferring his warm towel to her.

"Harry!" Hermione hugged him back hard. "Are you alright? I take it you had no problems with the Bubblehead charm and what disability did you…"

Harry pointed at his throat.

Viktor's conjured alarm clock began to ring…

"Oh, you can't talk!" Hermione proclaimed almost excitedly. "That's so…"

BOOM!

Harry spun around, his wand in his hand and the sword at the ready.

"Oh God." Hermione murmured, grabbing hold of his arm.

The floating wooden structure that had housed the hostages had blown up, wooden splinters littered the lake and the debris was aflame.

"Look at the pretty fire!" Cedric said cheerily, clapping his hands. "We should have marshmallows!"

Hermione tried not to smile, biting her lip in sympathy for Cedric's unwittingly amusing commentary.

Dumbledore stood and waved his wand.

"Merlin!" Cedric sagged. "That was…weird." He suddenly caught Sue's gaze and they both went bright red.

Harry hid his smile at their discomfort.

"Merci, Professor, I can see again!" Fleur said, clutching her little sister close.

"Und I can hear." Viktor tenderly held Natalie's hand.

"And I can speak." Harry said with relief.

Dumbledore smiled at them all benevolently.

"Excellent!" Bagman said with more false bonhomie. "If the judges would take a moment to confer…"

They all turned back to the scene in the middle of the lake. The still burning debris had them all sobering quickly.

"Wow." Hermione said softly. "If you hadn't…"

"Don't even think about it," advised Harry, wrapping his wand arm around her waist and taking comfort in the fact that she was alive and breathing and fine, "it'll only drive you insane." And be the stuff of nightmares, thought Harry grimly.

Bagman's voice suddenly echoed loudly around the lake. "The scores are in! As all our Champions and hostages displayed honour in working together to bravely navigate this task, they are all awarded full and equal points!"

A huge roar went up from the crowd and there was thunderous applause. Harry broke out into a pleased grin and he happily accepted handshakes from his fellow male Champions and Gallic kisses from Fleur and her sister. Finally, he drew Hermione close again and grinned at the sight of Viktor being crushed in a Gabrielle hug.

"Harry." Hermione murmured.

"Hmmm?"

"Why have you got a sword?"

And Harry suddenly remembered the blade he held in his hand. He raised it to his eye level and gazed at it anew.

It was beautiful.

Shining silver with a pommel of bronze and silver and gold.

"Where did you get that sword, Harry?" Cedric asked, moving to stand next to Hermione as he realised what they were discussing.

Fleur and Viktor moved to stand beside Harry.

"Eet is very magnificent." Fleur commented.

"Vou defeated the snake vith it." Viktor stated with certainty.

"Snake?" asked Sue, her voice rising.

Harry shrugged. "Don't worry, the snake's dead now." He raised the sword a touch, turning the blade so it caught the light. "It's why I needed this though."

Words suddenly ran along the blade in flame and Hermione gasped.

"Take me up. Cast me away." She repeated. "Oh Harry, do you know what sword this is?"

My first name has been lost to Time but the last was Excalibur, the words whispered into his mind.

Harry almost flinched and there was a distinctly masculine chuckle that followed.

Well met, Child of Merlin and Heir of Peverell, but unlike the Hallows that are of your blood, I am not meant for you, Wizard. Cast me away so I can one day serve our King again.

Thank you, Harry thought loudly, hoping the sword heard him somehow.

"Harry?" prompted Hermione.

He was unaware of the crowd's attention; the preternatural silence that had hushed every single witch and wizard, every single creature looking on…

"It's meant for the King," Harry said, oblivious to the glow of power in his eyes, the magic flowing around him, "not for me." He took a step forward to the edge of the deck and raised the sword above his head. He flung it as hard as he could towards the body of water.

The sword arched across the sky, turning and turning…

A hand rose from the lake to claim it, plucking it from the air with grace and surety…

The hand and the sword sank beneath the water.

And suddenly there was noise unlike anything Harry had ever heard as the crowd yelled and cheered and applauded and stamped their feet and whistled…

Harry searched out Sirius and grinned at his proudly beaming father who was clapping as though his life depended upon it. Satisfaction settled on Harry like a cloak. The second task was over and Voldemort hadn't won; he was still alive, Hermione was still alive, everyone had lived.

o-O-o

5 th March 1995

Dear Snitch,

Apologies for the password but security is key regardless that I've been nagged into writing a proper letter. Apparently Dora is of the opinion that a letter trumps a mirror call, and remembering how I often I have savoured notes and correspondence from loved ones, perhaps she has a point.

Firstly, I have to tell you that whatever Narcissa said to Andromeda it has worked a treat. Dora is fairly giddy at her mother's turn around. I have an idea that a Slytherin sly hint that Hilde was stepping in as Mother of the Bride and expectant Grandmother might have something to do with it – but don't ever tell anyone I said that! 

I'm glad Hermione is pleased with her role as Bridesmaid. It seems as though the wedding party will almost be an entirely Black affair since I have you and Sirius, and Dora invited Anna to be Matron of Honour and she accepted (Simeon apparently is really looking forward to your anticipated trip to the Quidditch stadium).

Gregor has advised me to send invites to the other Alpha wolves so they'll be attending and Sirius mentioned the other day about inviting more of our allies since with Bogdan officiating we've had to invite Cornelius. So much for a small quiet wedding!

Luckily Dora is taking care of the details. I remember it was much the same with your Mum and Dad's wedding. Lily organised everything and James just nodded in the right places. He was just chuffed she'd said yes! Bit different with Dora and myself, but I want to assure you we're committed to making this work, and I count myself lucky.

On the pack side, I have to admit that living day to day at the farm has given me new insight, not only into our pack dynamics but the individual characters and the benefits of pack life. I confess suddenly being thrust into my Alpha role full time has been challenging but surprisingly much more rewarding than I expected. Clara and Patrick are wonderful and I couldn't run the pack without them. They've been brilliant with Dora, and Patrick has taken Sian in hand so I don't have to worry about her making Dora uncomfortable here anymore.

I'm glad Ron liked his birthday present. The Bulgarian Quidditch World Cup Journey was apparently a best seller here right after the event. It was very nice of Viktor to sign it for him. I hope the final match of the season goes well for him and Ginny and that Gryffindor wins next week!

Speaking of fortuitous events it's an amazing stroke of luck Fleur's mother being able to provide an introduction to her "Grande-Tante" Vivien. After all the searching we did to find someone who could introduce us to Lumiere's last descendant and Fleur was right under our noses all along! Of course it probably helped that her mother was so grateful for the way you and Hermione helped save both her daughters! And yes, I think Sirius knew exactly what he was doing when he asked the Delacours if they knew Vivien when they joined you for the 'We Survived the Second Task' celebration meal – he's sneaky that way.

I've attached my suggested training and lesson plan for the final task for you to compare with Hermione's. Stay safe. And don't worry about Padfoot – I talk with him every day, I promise.

Love, Moony x

Hermione handed Harry the letter back and perused the plan with pursed lips, settling back into the comfortable cushions of the sofa in the quarters Harry and Sirius occupied in Gryffindor tower. She pushed a hand through her hair, her fingers tangling in curls before Harry gently extricated them. She tossed him an absent-minded smile and continued reading.

Much of Remus's plan involved physical training to build stamina, Dark creature spells – defensive and offensive – curse-breaking spells, and general navigation. Hermione nodded, pleased.

It all correlated with the research group's findings that the third task invariably was some kind of all-round challenge through some kind of obstacle course. Variations of mazes and gauntlets had been used several times, the surrounding countryside around a school was another popular choice (there was a historical record of the Forbidden Forest being used which was just mind-boggling), the inside of a school on very rare occasions, and an underground labyrinth just the once.

"This is very comprehensive." Hermione said, handing it back to Harry. "I have a similar list the research group has compiled. We'll go through them next week at the alliance session."

She hid a smile as Harry read through the plan himself. Just a year before he would have discarded it, uninterested and simply trusting her to tell him what was needed. She did miss that note of absolute trust, she acknowledged honestly, but she had decided she was more pleased about Harry's improved academic performance and his maturity too much to miss it all that much. She pressed into his side.

"Have you and the other Champions discussed working together again?" Hermione asked as Harry carefully folded Remus's plan and put it back in the envelope.

"We figure Voldemort and his cronies are going to make everything as lethal as they can so we're agreed that we'll help each other out if we see one of us is in trouble and needing aid but that's it." Harry shifted so he could place his arm around her and she snuggled into his side.

Harry and Hermione had arranged a date in Hogsmeade that day, so Hermione had also obtained permission to eat with Harry that night. Sirius, who was effectively playing chaperone as far as Professor McGonagall knew, had winked at them and retired to the study leaving them alone.

"I guess it is a competition." Hermione said wryly, reaching up and linking their hands together.

"Hmmm." Harry's hold on her tightened imperceptibly and she guessed he was thinking back to the second task. "And we are all very competitive." He said dryly.

Hermione grinned at him. Harry for all his humility hated losing; Krum was an international Quidditch player with competition in his blood; Cedric was a sportsman with the same, and Fleur had made herself the best of the best to combat preconceptions. He was right; they were all very competitive. In some ways it made the fact that they had worked together on the second task even more remarkable.

"I still wish we'd been able to do more than just sit around and wait for you to rescue us." Hermione complained lightly. It smarted that she'd been unable to rescue herself.

Harry shook his head. "You did everything right. You kept your head, didn't panic when the room started flooding when you were down below, and you kept everyone's spirits up when you were waiting. You were brilliant."

"Hnmph." Hermione sighed.

"And you caught an illegal animagus." Harry pointed out, gleeful laughter suppressed in the statement but evident nonetheless.

"That was Sue more than me." Hermione admitted. "And we didn't even know what we had until Professor Moody turned up."

He'd crashed the after-party celebration the Potter alliance had held in Sirius and Harry's rooms wanting to know who the additional animagus was that he could see in the wards. According to Harry, who'd gotten the story from Sirius, Rita Skeeter had been forced back to her original form and then some kind of deal had been worked out between an irate Director of the DMLE, the paranoid professor and Sirius himself.

"Moody would never have given you and the others points if you hadn't impressed him." Harry pointed out.

"Cho has been saying she could have gotten out of the room." Hermione admitted to what was really irritating her.

Harry shook his head again. "I don't see how and she's just sore still about Susan."

Hermione grimaced. She did feel for Cho. Finding out your boyfriend had been thinking more about another girl had to have been mortifying. Within a day of the task, the couple had a furious break-up which had had the school gossiping for days and it had even made the front page of the Prophet. It was no wonder Cho was being slightly less than gracious about things if Hermione thought about it enough, and presumably Hermione wasn't the target of her ire but Sue.

Poor Sue had gotten hate mail. Hermione had been horrified that someone had laced one of the letters with bubotuber pus. That had led to an official investigation – really sending a malicious letter to the niece of the Director of the DMLE was very stupid – and they'd managed to track down the sale of bubotuber pus to Marietta Edgecomb's mother who had confessed to sending the letter. Marietta was Cho's best friend and there was a rumour it had really been her but her mother had taken the fall for the stunt so that Marietta wouldn't be expelled. Mrs Edgecomb had lost her job and had to pay damages to the House of Bones.

Sue and Cedric were still dancing around each other. It was very evident that they liked each other but the way their feelings had been revealed and the fallout had effectively made it very difficult for them to progress.

Unlike Ron and Lavender who had leaped into couple-dom with enthusiasm.

Hermione's lips thinned.

As much as she appreciated that as she had predicted Ron finding a girlfriend had given her and Harry more time together, she really didn't approve of Ron and Lavender's very public displays of affection. It had been worse in the first week, and she had quietly been relieved when Fred and George had taken their youngest brother aside and warned if he continued groping a girl that way in public their mother would be informed. Parvati had performed the same role for Lavender, taking her friend aside and lecturing her about reputations. The couple had toned things down since but most evenings they could be found in the Gryffindor Common Room with Lavender on Ron's lap, and thanks to sharing a dorm, Hermione knew exactly how far Ron had gone with Lavender in a broom cupboard of all places.

Hermione wondered if she and Harry were weird for not being all over each other and eschewing broom cupboards…

"You're thinking too hard." Harry said.

She blushed furiously as she considered exactly what she had been thinking about and was insanely pleased Harry couldn't read her mind. But the question nagged at her. "Do you ever wish we were more like Ron and Lavender?"

Harry tensed beside her and shifted so they could look at each other fully. Hermione instantly regretted the inches of space that opened up between them.

"Are you…unhappy with…" Harry began tentatively.

"No!" Hermione immediately reassured him, and the uncertainty that hovered in his green eyes fled. "I'm very happy!" She said firmly. "Very." She blushed again. "It's just…well, we've been going out longer than Ron and Lavender and…"

"They're a lot more further along with the physical side than we are." Harry finished bluntly.

"I'm not saying I want to be like them," Hermione reiterated, "I like the fact that I don't have to wonder about your hands wandering and I like how we kiss each other," she ignored her hot cheeks, "and I don't see the need for any of what we do do to be in public. I mean, this is nice; snuggling on a settee in front of a fire and holding hands, but I wouldn't want…you know."

"I know," Harry agreed, laughter lightening his words although his cheeks were as red as hers, "I like what we have too." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, his gaze dropping to their joined hands. "I have thought about doing, uh, morebut…I figure when you want more you'll let me know. But I definitely don't want to do it in public like Ron. Merlin knows with my luck it'd be on the front page of the Prophet the next day no matter what Sirius has cooked up with Skeeter." He peeked up at her.

Hermione smiled at him, filled to the brim with fond affection. She leaned in and kissed him sweetly. They settled back into their previous position.

Hermione gave a soft sigh. "You know the wizarding world confuses me sometimes."

"Confuses me all the time." Harry rejoined.

She poked him in the ribs. "I mean, Tonks slept with Remus and Lavender is all over Ron, but on the surface of it, wizarding culture is very conservative. I thought they'd be more of an emphasis on waiting, you know, until you were married."

"I don't think it's that much different from the muggle world." Harry countered. "I mean, it's still frowned on, isn't it? Especially babies before marriage?"

"Yes, but Tonks wouldn't have to get married in the muggle world." Hermione pointed out. "And Lavender, well, she and Ron might get a few comments from the older generation, but you have to admit most muggle people our age would probably not think anything of it. Parvati told her she was in danger of painting herself as a scarlet woman!"

Harry shrugged, the movement rolling her slightly into him. "The only muggle kid of our age I really know is Dudley and the thought of him and any girl…"

They both said it at the same time. "EW!"

They chuckled and squirmed ever so slightly closer.

"I just think it's a shame Tonks has to get married." Hermione commented. "I mean, I'm happy to be a bridesmaid but I'm not sure what to say to her. It's not exactly a love match so the usual congratulations seem inappropriate." And Andy had been very upset with her daughter. It was good they'd moved past the breach but it had been a doozy.

"I don't think they have to get married," Harry said, "Sirius wouldn't have insisted and I mean, sure, there'd have been a really big scandal when it came out about the baby but it would have died down eventually." He paused for a moment as though thinking and sighed. "Sirius said to look at it as though Moony had an arranged marriage, and since he and Tonks do like each other, it means that they have a good chance of the marriage working out."

"I'm surprised it hasn't made the press yet." Hermione said.

"It's going to come out a lot sooner than they want if they keep inviting people to the wedding." Harry said grumpily. "It was supposed to be just family."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Bulgaria." Hermione said enthusiastically, changing the subject.

"Me too." Harry said. "Sirius said he'd try and ensure we weren't too bogged down with wedding stuff."

Hermione relaxed happily, content. She let her mind drift, thoughts of homework flitting by and being replaced with thoughts of the third task and back to Remus's letter. She frowned.

"You know Remus's letter?" She asked.

"I'm familiar." Harry answered teasingly.

She poked him in the ribs again and there was a brief tickling match before they resumed their snuggling.

"No, seriously," Hermione said, "what was Remus going on about with that thing about Lumiere and Fleur's mother introducing you all to some descendant?"

Harry tensed and she knew without asking that she'd hit on one of the topics he wasn't meant to talk to her about. She reminded herself of the lecture Sirius had given her not long after she and Harry had made up as a result of Harry's promise to ask Sirius if they could tell her more. Her cheeks burned just thinking about it; she had been told briskly that Sirius had given Harry permission to confide in her using his own judgement but she wasn't going to be told everything and she wasn't to put pressure on Harry to talk about the things if he didn't want to; that Sirius had expected her to act more maturely not make Harry feel guilty or make it a requirement of their being together. She'd come away feeling slightly ashamed of her previous demand to be confided in more and had apologised to Harry.

"You don't have to tell me!" She assured Harry quickly.

She felt his tension seep away, his frame relaxing again. Her eyes widened when he performed a privacy charm, his eyes flickering to the closed study door.

"Harry…" she began, torn between not wanting him to get into trouble with Sirius and simply wanting to know.

"I don't think there's too much of a problem telling this." Harry assured her. "You remember how I told you the Headmaster's wand used to belong to an old ancestor of mind?"

She nodded, possibly too eagerly because his eyes lit up with amusement.

"Right, so, there's this wizarding children's tale called the Three Brothers." Harry explained. "There are a lot of variations and the most popular is in a book called the Tales of Beedle the Bard and yes, you can borrow my copy."

Hermione shot him a look but she had been about to ask so didn't argue about it.

"In the story, three brothers Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus come to a raging river and they know to cross it means certain death." Harry continued. "But the three brothers were clever and they took a nearby elder tree and made a bridge. They all crossed safely to the other side only to be met by Death himself who was a little put out that he'd been thwarted."

Hermione found herself captivated as the story unravelled; Death, his relationship with the three brothers and the gifts they'd received from him.

"Eventually, the three artefacts became known as the Hallows and the legend that was passed down was that should all three be united, the owner would become the Master of Death." Harry finished.

"It sounds like a fable," Hermione commented, "with the lesson being slightly obscure."

Harry smiled at her. "The three brothers had a last name, Peverell. Ignotus Peverell is my late ancestor."

"Oh my goodness, Harry!" Hermione sat upright, pulling out of his embrace. "But then…your cloak!" Her eyes widened even further. "And the wand!"

He hushed her. "So, Sirius's grandfather did a whole stack of research into the Hallows. Everyone believes that the story is just that a story but it was based on a real life event of the three brothers inventing the three artefacts in order to defeat an evil wizard."

Hermione subsided. "Logically," she admitted, "that makes a lot more sense." She considered everything for a long moment, facts and information aligning themselves in her head. "You think they could be useful in defeating Voldemort." She concluded.

"Maybe," Harry shrugged, tangling their fingers together again, "we really don't know. I doubt very much that just owning the artefacts makes you Master of Death and besides while they're each kind of cool, none of them really scream Awesome Weapon of Doom except maybe the wand. I mean, my Dad used the cloak for pranks."

"I guess you're right." Hermione agreed.

"Anyway Lumiere had a written account apparently told to him by Ignotus of how the artefacts were created." Harry explained. "The only real copy that isn't buried in an archive is owned by his descendant, Vivien Verte. She's a Veela living in a protected colony…"

"And Fleur's mother can provide an introduction." Hermione said, suddenly understanding that part of the letter fully.

"But we're not really making it widely known that we're after it, although we had to hire a French antiquities dealer to track down the other lead and we think he might have already given the game away so that's why I don't think it matters telling you but even so..." Harry said.

Hermione understood that immediately. "I won't say a thing." She mimed zipping her mouth closed. She settled back into her previous position and cuddled closer to Harry who with a flick of his wrist dismantled the privacy bubble.

Obviously Harry was right and the whole Master of Death thing was wrong but if the three artefacts did have power enough to finish a Dark Lord…they were a fantastic weapon. Of course, even if the Hallows were powerful, someone still needed to know where they were. Harry presumably had the cloak, and the Headmaster the wand, which only left the stone unaccounted for…

Hermione sneaked a look at Harry. Did he know where it was? She bit her lip and considered asking him but he'd told her about the Hallows and that was enough. If he did know where the stone was, well, maybe it was safer that knowledge stayed with as few people as possible. She suddenly realised how Harry must have felt about keeping things secret…

Sirius had been right to lecture her, Hermione mused. She'd stop nagging Harry for details and just continue supporting him. She shuffled closer, pressing into the warmth of his body, before kissing him sweetly.

Harry blinked at her bemused. "Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?"

"For being you." Hermione said.

Harry smiled at her a touch goofily. "OK, then."

Hermione settled back against him. "So," she began, "about the third task…"

o-O-o

12 th March 1995

Sirius was somehow unsurprised to find Harry waiting for him at the breakfast table despite the insanely early hour. He knew Harry wasn't happy about Sirius's trip to Italy.

"You didn't have to get up." He admonished his son, even as he ruffled Harry's impressive bed-head and dropped a kiss on the messy nest of dark hair.

"I wanted to see you off and say goodbye." Harry said, nibbling on his toast.

There was no sign of any other breakfast in front of Harry and Sirius frowned. "That's not all you're having."

Harry shrugged and stared at his plate.

Sirius sighed, knowing the cause of Harry's lack of appetite was worry. "I'm going to be fine, Harry."

"You can't guarantee that." Harry argued, his green eyes flashing up to glare at Sirius.

"No," Sirius conceded raising a hand in supplication, "but this isn't me walking into a trap with only Snape at my side. Amelia has set this up so I'm going to be perfectly safe – both me and Richard."

The plan to get Fevrier and whoever was pulling his strings had been well thought out and Amelia had pulled in the Italian authorities, some of the Rat Squad and Moody to ensure everything ran smoothly. The ambush was scheduled to happen in Italy and Sirius had an international portkey waiting for him at the Ministry.

"I just…" Harry sighed heavily, "I keep remembering the last time and how badly injured you were and…"

And how Harry had felt when he'd thought Sirius was dead, Sirius concluded.

Sirius got up and rounded the table, tugging Harry out of his chair and into a tight hug. "I'm going to be fine. There is absolutely no danger of my being hurt, I promise. I wouldn't do that to you again."

Harry held onto Sirius for a long moment before his head jerked into an acknowledging nod.

Sirius squeezed him gently again before easing back. He stroked a hand through Harry's hair. "I'll mirror call you when I get to Italy."

"And when it's over." Harry requested immediately.

"And when it's over." Sirius promised. "The very minute."

Harry sighed and stepped away. "You'll be back tonight?"

"Yes, and Minnie should be here any minute." Sirius confirmed. He gestured at Harry's fetching dressing gown and pyjamas. "You may want to get dressed before your animagus lesson." It would be the first one the irate Head of Gryffindor had allowed since Harry had used his crow form to access the girls' dorm.

Harry nodded. He lurched forward and hugged Sirius hard again but letting go, heading to the stairs. "Good luck in Italy!"

Sirius gave a bemused nod of thanks and sat down to eat his own meagre breakfast – Harry wasn't the only one with nerves. He thanked Dobby as he set down a simple breakfast of boiled egg and toast. He'd just finished when the door to the suite opened and Minnie stepped through.

He waved at her to join him at the table and wasn't surprised when Dobby immediately popped up to provide her with a strong pot of tea and a breakfast of kippers and freshly baked bread.

"Thanks for coming over, Minerva." Sirius said, folding the Prophet and setting it aside. "I know Harry feels too old for a babysitter but I feel better knowing someone's here keeping an eye on him."

"It'll be good to resume our lessons." Minnie replied, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Perhaps I was a little harsh insisting on such a long suspension."

"He won't be doing it again." Sirius assured her, keeping his opinion that the two month suspension was far too severe for the transgression to himself. He had actually continued the lessons in Minnie's absence but both Harry and he had agreed that they'd keep that little secret to themselves.

"I have asked Hermione and Ronald to join us later." Minnie informed him briskly, setting to her breakfast with enthusiasm.

"Ron still stuck on the paw?" asked Sirius idly.

"He has a whole foot now but can't seem to get any further." Minnie said with a sigh. "It's still better progress than Miss Granger who has yet to identify her form."

"Maybe she should use the potion." Sirius suggested. "It would at least get her a form to try."

"You may be right." Minnie agreed. "I will see how today's session goes." She smiled. "I thought I might see if Harry wanted to try one of his other forms."

That would keep Harry's mind occupied for sure, Sirius thought with a touch of amusement.

She suddenly pinned him with a frank look that made Sirius feel he was a Hogwarts' student again. He repressed the urge to squirm in his chair.

"Are you certain that today is necessary?" asked Minnie pointedly.

"It's a good plan Amelia's put together." Sirius countered. "There's a chance that whoever put Fevrier up to this has some idea about the whereabouts of Riddle and company," his lips twisted as the thought that Peter was one of that company flitted through his consciousness, "that alone makes it necessary."

"Very well." Minnie said, but waved her knife at him. "Just make sure you return. No-one wants a repeat of what happened during the Christmas break."

"Me included." Sirius retorted, feeling a little testy at the chastisement.

Minnie sighed. "You do realise that we worry about you for your own sake and not just for Harry's, Sirius?"

Sirius didn't know what to say to that. He'd just assumed everyone's concern was for his son because, if he was truthful with himself, that was where his own concern was focused. "Oh."

Minnie rolled her eyes and shooed him away from the table. "Stay safe, Sirius."

"I will." Sirius stood. It was time for him to travel to the Ministry. He sketched a salute at Minnie, glanced back up the stairs to where Harry was currently occupied, and with mixed feelings headed out.