Chosen & Hated (HP) {Book 2 of the Wild & Free Series}

30. The Third Task

"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" Ron whispered.

Everything Harry and I had seen in the Pensieve, nearly everything Dumbledore had told and shown us afterward, we had now shared with Ron and Hermione — and, of course, with Sirius, to whom Harry and I had sent an owl the moment we had left Dumbledore's office. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I sat up late in the common room once again that night, talking it all over until my mind was reeling, until I understood what Dumbledore had meant about a head becoming so full of thoughts that it would have been a relief to siphon them off.

Ron stared into the common room fire. I thought he saw Ron shiver slightly, even though the evening was warm.

"And he trusts Snape?" Ron said. "He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?"

"Yes," said Harry.

Hermione had not spoken for ten minutes. She was sitting with her forehead in her hands, staring at her knees. I thought she too looked as though she could have done with a Pensieve.

"Rita Skeeter," she muttered finally.

"How can you be worrying about her now?" said Ron, in utter disbelief.

"I'm not worrying about her," Hermione said to her knees. "I'm just thinking... remember what she said to me in the Three Broomsticks? 'I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl.' This is what she meant, isn't it? She reported his trial, she knew he'd passed information to the Death Eaters. And Winky too, remember... 'Ludo Bagman's a bad wizard.' Mr. Crouch would have been furious he got off, he would have talked about it at home."

"Yeah, but Bagman didn't pass information on purpose, did he?" I said. Hermione shrugged.

"And Fudge reckons Madame Maxime attacked Crouch?" Ron said, turning back to Harry and me.

"Yeah," I said, "but he's only saying that because Crouch disappeared near the Beauxbatons carriage."

"We never thought of her, did we?" said Ron slowly. "Mind you, she's definitely got giant blood, and she doesn't want to admit it —"

"Of course she doesn't," said Hermione sharply, looking up. "Look what happened to Hagrid when Rita found out about his mother. Look at Fudge, jumping to conclusions about her, just because she's part giant. Who needs that sort of prejudice? I'd probably say I had big bones if I knew that's what I'd get for telling the truth."

Hermione looked at her watch. "We haven't done any practicing!" she said, looking shocked. "We were going to do the Impediment Curse! We'll have to really get down to it tomorrow! Come on, Harry, Liana, you need to get some sleep."

Hermione and I went slowly upstairs to our dormitory. As I pulled on my pyjamas, I thought about Neville. True to our word to Dumbledore, Harry and I had not told Ron and Hermione about Neville's parents.

Ron, Hermione, Lucy and Rowan were supposed to be studying for their exams (except for Rowan, of course), which would finish on the day of the third task, but they were putting most of their efforts into helping Harry and me prepare.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said shortly when Harry and I pointed this out to them and said we didn't mind practicing on our own for a while, "at least we'll get top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We'd never have found out about all these hexes in class."

"Good training for when we're all Aurors," said Ron excitedly, attempting the Impediment Curse on a wasp that had buzzed into the room and making it stop dead in midair.

The mood in the castle as we entered June became excited and tense again. Everyone was looking forward to the third task, which would take place a week before the end of term. Harry and I were practicing hexes at every available moment. I felt more confident about this task than either of the others. Difficult and dangerous though it would undoubtedly be, Moody was right: Harry and I had managed to find our way past monstrous creatures and enchanted barriers before now, and this time we had some notice, some chance to prepare ourselves for what lay ahead.