CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN;

THE SECOND TASK

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"No, Ron, for the last time," Hermione sighed, "Aqua-Lungs are a Muggle contraption. Harry wouldn't be able to summon such a thing and figure out how to work it within an hour – and think about the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy!"

"Alright, alright," said Ron, finally giving up. "Check the bloody library, I dunno."

And so, that was what Harry left to do. Cassie stayed at the lunch table, resting her forehead on the edge of it, practically asleep by the time Hermione nudged her elbow. She snapped awake with a cuss, blinking quickly and scrambling to pick up her books.

"What'd I sleep through?" she asked worriedly, bending over as she picked up her Astronomy essay.

   "Nothing, unless you count lunch," said Hermione shortly. "What's got you so tired? If it's because you're stressed over that stupid Daily Prophet–"

   "I wasn't, but thanks for reminding me," she mumbled, another stone dropping itself into the never-ending pit of dread in her stomach. "Last night I was talking to my dad. About the task."

   "What'd he say?" Hermione asked as they began to ascend the steps leading to Astronomy. "Anything important?"

   "He said he wants to meet with Harry on the next Hogsmeade weekend – so in two weeks. Not sure how seeing him after the task is going to help him deal with the task," she added, furrowing her eyebrows, then shook her head. "Anyway. I've also been looking for ways to– oh, Neville!"

   Neville turned so quickly that the plant he'd been holding in his arms swung out of its pot and pus splattered all over his side. He groaned softly and wiped it from his eyes as Cassie and Hermione approached.

   "Sorry," he said, tossing his hand to rid it of the pus that now resided on it, "Mimblus Mimbletonia, it's got a horrible defense mechanism. What is it?"

"Neville, do you know any type of plant that can help Harry breathe underwater?" Cassie asked breathlessly. Neville thought about this for a moment, his eyebrows scrunched together in thought, then looked back to Cassie.

"Not off the top of my head, I'm sorry," he said, a slight frown on his lips. "But I can check the book Moody gave me, it's got loads of cool plants in it! Like– like the Wolfsbane plant, it's this really cool flower that, when brewed, stops a–" abruptly, he stopped, his eyes widening as he realized he was speaking to a werewolf's daughter about Wolfsbane. He opened his mouth wordlessly, then closed it, then opened it again. Cassie smiled warmly and gave his arm a squeeze.

"We've got to get to Astronomy," she said apologetically, grabbing Hermione by the hand and pulling her off. "Thank you, Neville! If you find something, tell Harry!"

   Professor Sinistra was in a dreadful mood that day – this, she blamed on the Jupiter retrograde, or something strange like that. She ended up assigning Hermione and Cassie with enough homework to force them to work on it through dinner and until bedtime. They were fully aware that it was the day before the task and by that time tomorrow, Harry was to be underwater for an entire hour, yet they'd still not found a way for him to manage it.

   By the evening before the second task, Cass and Hermione had fully given up on their work and been working tirelessly in the library to find a method for Harry to use.

   "...and stick your head underwater and yell at the merpeople to give back whatever they've nicked, and see if they can chuck it out. Best you can do, mate," Ron was saying as Cassie stormed back over to her friends. She sat furiously and began skimming through the same book she'd been previously reading.

   "No luck with the Restricted Section?" Hermione frowned. "Damn, I was hoping Madam Pince would let you through. No matter, I'm sure we can find something.."

   "Hermione," said Harry crossly, "we've been looking for two bloody hours. We haven't found anything yet."

   "Oh, this is no use," said Hermione, snapping shut Weird Wizarding Dilemmas. "Who on earth would want to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?"

   "I wouldn't mind," said the voice of Fred Weasley. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?" The four others turned their heads to see Fred and George standing behind them, sporting matching smiles.

   "What're you two doing here?" said Ron in a tone of surprise. It was sort of a shock to see the Weasley twins in the library.

   "Looking for you, dear brother," said George. "Mcgonagall wants you and Hermione."

   "Why?"

   "Dunno. She looked a bit grim though. Good luck!" And with that, they left.

   "Meet you in the common room after," Hermione promised Harry and Cass, then left with Ron.

   "It doesn't bloody make sense!" Cassie exploded after a moment, throwing her hands into the air. "You can't be the first wizard to ever want to breathe underwater!"

   "And I'm not," said Harry calmly. "Look, if you would just–"

   "I'm not asking Cedric what he is doing," she said sharply, shooting him a glare. "We don't talk about the tournament because he knows I'm on your team and I know he's on his own team. We don't talk about it."

   "It would be helpful," Harry mumbled, turning back to his book. Cassie hit him upside the head with her own.

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"I can't believe we forgot Gillyweed."

   "It's alright now, 'cause I've got it–"

   "I can't believe we forgot it!"

   "It's alright, Cass, calm down!"

   "Sorry," she said, running her hands through her hair. "I'm just stressed, I suppose. Where're Ron and Hermione?"

   "My guess is as good as yours," said Harry, checking his watch. They looked around the platforms together in search of their friends, but yet again, to no avail. "Some friends they are..."

   "I'll tell them off when they show up," she promised, just as Bagman called the champions down. "Good luck, Harry!"

Luna wandered over around ten minutes in, a somehow peaceful presence in everything going on. "Quite a boring task, really," she hummed, her eyes scanning the lake for any sign of a ripple. "For us, I mean. Staring at the water. I suppose it might be fun for the champions."

"Suppose it might," agreed Cassie, clenching the railing so tight her knuckles were paling. "Not a fan of heights. Much less..." she glanced over the edge and squeezed her eyes shut. "heights with water at the bottom."

   "Oh, it's alright," said Luna with a smile, placing a hand over Cassie's delicately. "I don't really see why people have a fear of heights. Falling only feels like flying."

   "Yeah.." Cassie said, though she did not look down again for the rest of the hour. It was extremely unnerving – to know that your friend was down there, facing merpeople and the grindylow and Merlin knows what else. Furthermore, Ron and Hermione did not once show their faces.

   This mystery, however, was solved when Hermione resurfaced from the lake in the arms of Viktor Krum. Cassie let out a deep gasp and would have keeled over the protective railings if it weren't for Luna holding her back. The champions had to retrieve people?

   "Excuse me, Luna, I've got to go see Hermione," she said, moving through the tight crowd to descend the stairs and meet her friend on the bottom platform. "Hermione, what the hell!?"

   "I've no clue either!" she said, breathless and shivering. Cass picked up another towel from the stack and wrapped it around Hermione's arms, holding her for a moment. "Professor Mcgonagall told us we were to be apart of the task, but I didn't think we were going to be the things they had to save!"

   "I thought you and Ron had ditched!"

   Hermione suddenly paled, more than before, and looked back out to the water. "Ron's under, too?"

   "I'd assume he's Harry's," Cassie nodded, also watching the surface of the lake for any other signs of life. The end of the time limit drew nearer and nearer, no sign of Harry nor Cedric. Fleur surfaced a few minutes after Viktor and Hermione, empty-handed. Cedric and Cho soon after.

   "The hour's almost up," Hermione whispered to Cassie. "D'you think they're okay?"

   "Harry's survived worse than this," she replied under her breath, biting her lip. "He's the bloody Boy Who Lived, he's not gonna die to some mermaids. I promise you that."

"He's out of the time limit," Hermione breathed, clutching Cassie's shoulder tightly.

"I can read clocks, Hermione," Cassie muttered. Everyone was equally on edge, waiting for any sign of Harry. The clock continued ticking; everyone had fallen silent.

Finally, Ron's redhead surfaced, followed by a small girl with hair as blonde as Fleur's. Harry popped up behind them, inhaling deeply. Cassie nearly fainted with relief and, by the looks of it, so did Hermione.

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"First place, Harry! You did amazing!"

"Had us worried sick," said Cassie glumly, though she smiled as Harry, grinning, pulled her into an ecstatic hug. Her next words were muffled into his shoulder. "Congrats, Harry."

"Thanks," he beamed, then turned back around to the party with a woot, throwing his hands into the air. Cassie laughed softly and shook her head,

   "Hey, Cassie," said Neville, who'd just wandered over and took a seat next to her. The two watched the Gryffindor celebratory party from the staircase, sitting in silence and occasionally jumping as a firework went off without warning.

   "Thanks for your help, Neville," she said after a moment. "On the task, but also just.. everything. You're a really great friend."

   Neville's grin was wider than she'd ever seen it before as he pulled her into a hug. "That means a lot," he said over her head, gripping her shoulders.

   "What were you going to ask me the other day?" she asked, pulling back and leaning against the wall so she was fully facing him. He cleared his throat and the grin faded, his neck turning a funny shade of red.

   "Oh, it's nothing," he said with a slight wave of his hand. "I was just... yeah, nothing. How's your head?"

   "It's been fine," she said. Truthfully, too; it had not bothered her since before the Yule Ball, and she couldn't tell if that worried her or calmed her. Maybe she was right, she wasn't a Seer after all.

   "That's good," he said, smiling again. The two lapsed into silence, though it was comfortable and light. After a few minutes, Cass spoke again.

   "Professor Sprout said you'd just planted a new species. Wanna talk about it? From what I know, it's pretty bloody cool."

   Neville's face lit up as he began explaining the Middlemist buds, apparently a very rare species of poppy-like flowers that spew love potions when you pick them. It truly was adorable how much he loved his plants.