The Squib and the Werewolf (book 2)

35. The Black Lake

When the second task finally arrived, Raya was once again a bag of nerves.
The task was taking place by the Black Lake on the Hogwarts grounds, so Raya had a hunch that the champions would have to swim in the lake.
Raya knew about all the dangerous creatures that lived in the water, so she was not feeling very optimistic.
Harry was the last champion to arrive that morning, and a lot of people were worried that he wasn't going to turn up.
And even when he did, Raya did not feel any better.
"Well, all of our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely one hour to recover what was taken from them. On the count of three. One... Two... Three!" Announced Bagman.

Raya watched all of the champions disappear into the lake, and there was nothing she could do but stand and watch.
No one could see what was happening under the water, so the spectators were left to stare at the lake for an hour.
The minutes dragged, which did nothing to ease Raya's nerves.
Fleur was the first champion to arrive. But she came out of the water covered in cuts, without the thing she had lost.
Seeing a much older student fail, made Raya panic.

Cedric was next to arrive, pulling his girlfriend Cho with him.
Viktor followed shortly after, dragging Hermione with him.
But the time kept ticking over the hour mark, and Harry still didn't arrive.
Raya abandoned her place on the stands and headed to where the champions and their loved ones were standing.
Before Raya could talk to Hermione about what she had seen in the lake, Harry burst out of the water with Ron, and a small girl with silver hair.

"Gabrielle!" Screamed Fleur, as she ran towards the small girl, whom Raya assumed was her sister.
Percy pushed past everyone and threw a towel over Ron to dry him off.
Raya hugged Harry tight, not caring that he was soaking wet.
"Don't do that to me again" said Raya.
"Sorry" apologised Harry.
"I was worried sick about you, what took you so long?" Demanded Raya.
"I couldn't leave without knowing that the others were going to be alright".

"Harry you moron, Dumbledore wouldn't have just let us drown" said Ron, as he extracted himself from his brothers arms.
"You'd be suprised by what Dumbledore will allow" mumbled Raya, as she watched the headmaster consult with the tournament judges.
"Did Padfoot not come?" Harry asked quietly, as he looked around for Sirius.
"No, I told him it would be too dangerous this time, as everyone is standing so close to each other. And there's no dragons to keep people's minds distracted. But I promised him I'd see him after the trial had ended, so that I could tell him about it" answered Raya.

"I wish he could have been here, as I want to see him again" sighed Harry.
"Me too. But I know that you have a Hogsmeade visit coming up. So, we will all be together soon" replied Raya.
Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared and handed Harry a big fluffy towel, and made him drink a Pepper-Up Potion, which would warm him up.
Fleur then approached them, with one arm tightly around her sister Gabrielle.
"You saved her, even though she wasn't yours to save. Thank you" said Fleur, before kissing Harry twice on each cheek.

Fleur then turned to Ron, "And you, you helped".
"Yeah, a bit" lied Ron.
Fleur kissed Ron twice as well, before heading back to Madam Maxime.
"I take it back Harry, it was a good idea to save the girl" murmered Ron, as he rubbed the spot on his cheek that Fleur had kissed.
"Quite the heroes welcome" teased Raya, making Harry blush.
"It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I couldn't just leave the girls tied up underwater, surrounded by terrifying mer-people" admitted Harry.
"I'm proud of you. It shows that you are a good person, and you're not just in this tournament because you want to win" complimented Raya.
"Thanks".

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Mer-chieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have decided to award marks out of 50 for each of the champions. Miss Fleur Delacour, who demonstrated excellent use of the bubble-head charm, but was attacked by Grindylows, so returned without her hostage, we have awarded 25 points" announced Bagman.
"I deserved zero" mumbled Fleur, as everyone clapped loudly.

"Mr Cedric Diggory, who also used the bubble-head charm, and returned one minute outside of the time limit with his hostage, has been awarded 47 points" revealed Bagman.
The crowd cheered again, and none were louder than the Hufflepuffs.
"Next, we have Mr Viktor Krum, who used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, and was second to return with his hostage, we have awarded him 40 points" continued Bagman.

Knowing that Harry was next, Raya slipped her arm around his and gave him a reassuring smile.
"And lastly we have Mr Harry Potter, who used Gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside of the time limit. However, we have been informed that Mr Potter was the first to reach the hostages, and that his delay in returning was due to his determination to return all of the hostages, and not merely his own. We feel that this shows great moral fibre, so we awarded Mr Potter 45 points!" Announced Bagman.

"Well done Harry" praised Raya, as she let go of his arm, and clapped along with everyone else.
"There you go mate, you weren't being thick at all, you were showing moral fibre" grinned Ron.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the 24th of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming, precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all, for your support of the champions" said Bagman.
"Now I don't have to worry about you for another 4 months" sighed Raya in relief.
"That's a lie, because I know that you always worry about me" replied Harry.
"You may be right... Come on, lets get you back to the castle and into some warm, dry clothes. You can tell us all about the second task, on the walk up there".