Obliviate My Heart {Book 2}

28. The Second Task

Obedient to Sirius’s wish of hearing about anything odd at Hogwarts, I sent him a letter (I beat Harry to it, for once) by brown owl that night, explaining all about Mr. Crouch breaking into Snape's office, and Moody and Snape’s conversation.

Then I turned my attention in earnest to the most urgent problem facing me: how to survive underwater for an hour on the twenty-fourth of February. 

Hermione and Ron were going to help Harry, and Gennie and Cole were going to help me. Cole suggested a summoning charm to collect my item. But I thought it was a bit pointless when I didn't know what I was trying to find.

Cole then said I should summon some aqua lungs from the nearest Muggle town. Gennie squashed this plan by pointing out that I was sure to be disqualified for breaking the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy - it was too much to hope that no Muggles would spot an Aqua-Lung zooming across the countryside to Hogwarts.  

 “Of course, the ideal solution would be for you to Transfigure yourself into a submarine or something,” Gennie said. “I don’t think we start that until sixth year, and it can go badly wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing…” 

 “Yeah, I don’t fancy walking around with a periscope sticking out of my head,” I said. “I s’pose I could always attack someone in front of Moody; he might do it for me…” 

 “I don’t think he’d let you choose what you wanted to be turned into, though,” said Gennie seriously. “No, I think your best chance is some sort of charm.” 

 So, thinking that I would soon have had enough of the library to last me a lifetime, buried myself among the dusty volumes, looking for any spell that might enable a human to survive without oxygen.

However, though we searched through their lunchtimes, evenings, and whole weekends - though  asked Professor McGonagall for a note of permission to use the Restricted Section, and even asked  Madam Pince, for help - they found nothing whatsoever that would enable me to spend an hour underwater and live to tell the tale.

With two days left; I'd started to go off food again. The only good thing about breakfast on Monday was the return of the brown owl I had sent to Sirius. I nudged Harry, as I pulled open the envelope.

I pulled off the parchment, unrolled it, and saw the shortest letter Sirius had ever written to him.

Send date of next Hogsmeade weekend by return owl.

"Weekend after next," Hermione hissed to me, as she had seen the note. I nodded, and scribbled it down.

"Why'd he want to know that?" Ron wondered.

"Dunno," I shrugged. "I just hope he wasn't thinking of sending us scuba diving equipment..."

Gennie, Cole and I headed to the library straight after lunch, daring to skive off lessons. But let's face it, what's more important--lessons, or me surviving underwater?

"If only we could sellotape over your mouth or something." Gennie muttered, putting her head on a large book. "But I suppose then you'd be suffocated."

"Ever the optimist." I said dryly, also putting my head on a book. "Any ideas, Cole?"

But he was silent. I lifted my head up, to see a thoughtful look on Cole's face. He jumped to his feet all of a sudden, a wide grin on his face. "What?" Gennie and I chorused.

"I might know a spell!" Cole declared. "Well, Camille might. It's too late to send an owl, I'll need to floo into her dormitory!"

"But how will you even..." Gennie trailed off. "What time is it even in Bulgaria?"