𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

Bathtime ☾ 4-10

☾ AURORA'S POV

"Harry, you told me you'd figured the egg out weeks ago. The task is two days from now."

"Really Hermione? I had no idea." Harry replied sarcastically. We were standing on the wooden bridge, staring out onto the black lake. Hermione folded her arms as Harry put his elbow on the railing. I was leaning against a post, fiddling with my scarf. "I suppose Viktor's already figured it out." He mused, looking over at me from the corner of his eye.

"I wouldn't know, we didn't actually talk about the tournament. We talked a bit, but Viktor's more of a physical being." Harry and Hermione both smirked and I rolled my eyes, grinning. "I just mean he's not particularly loquacious." Harry nodded with a 'oh sure, toooootally' look on his face and Hermione giggled. "He mostly just watches me read, or we practice Quidditch." Harry looked on into the sky, and Hermione turned back to him.

"You are trying to figure this egg out, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry gave her a 'look'.

"It just means these tasks are designed to test you, in the most brutal way. They're almost cruel. And... um... I'm scared for you." Hermione admitted, trying to step into Harry's gaze as he faced away from her.

"You got past the dragons mostly on nerve, and Hermione's not sure that it's going to be enough this time." I translated. Hermione looked at me pointedly, and I put my hands up in defence.

Cedric caught our attention when he called Harry's name, walking toward us. Harry walked up to him, and Hermione and I left to give them some privacy.

-

"Where do you think you're going, Potter?" I asked, jumping around the corner of the empty hallway. He nearly jumped out of his skin, holding the egg in his hand. "Figure it out?"

"Bloody hell, Aurora." He shook his head walking past me. I followed him, curious as to what he was doing. He gave me a look, and continued walking. "Can you stop following me?"

"Absolutely... not." I smirked, continuing to follow him up the staircases. He rolled his eyes. When he stopped at the prefect's bathroom, I raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, then." He waved me in, and I walked into the large room. It was enormous, and you could fit at least 30 students in there, comfortably. Harry turned on the bath faucets, and placed the egg by the massive tub. He began to undo his tie.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as I turned away from him. He continued undressing as he explained Cedric's 'hint' from before. I pressed my lips together. "Well that's a stupid clue." I heard him get in so I turned around and leaned against the wall. "Any ideas yet? Did they put a fancy idea-potion in the water or something?" I turned and looked at the faucet, trying to see if there was anything there.

"Nope. Just waiting until I think of something I guess." He took the egg in his hands, and nearly dropped it as Moaning Myrtle came soaring out of the taps. "Merlin!"

"Nope, not Merlin. Just Myrtle." She giggled, pretending to dive her ghostly form in and out of the water. I watched as she sidled up to Harry, the ghost obviously had already taken a liking to the boy-who-lived. I looked away, scanning the room until my eyes landed on the stained glass window. It held a moving picture of a mermaid, and I watched as she moved the hair out of her face.

Harry took the egg in his hands, and twisted the top. I barely had time to cover my ears as he unleashed the screeching from within. Myrtle made a face as he closed it.

"Definitely out of my mind..." Harry mumbled. I shook my head as Myrtle giggled.

"I'd try putting it in the water if I were you," She suggested. "I was circling a blocked drain the other day and thought I saw a bit of polyjuce potion. Not being a bad boy again, are you Harry?"

"Polyjuice potion?" I asked, frowning. She gave me a dirty look, as if she only wanted to speak to Harry.

"Kicked the habit." Harry explained, pulling the soap bubbles around himself. "Myrtle, did you say 'try putting it in the water'?" She squeaked as she dove into the bathtub. She fake coughed as she rose out of the water again.

"Thats what he did. The other boy. The handsome one... Cedric." She enunciated every syllable of Diggory's name. "Well go on, open it." Harry pulled the egg under the water and I leaned forward for a better view. The insides began to glow as muffled, soft singing filled the air. I gasped as Harry dove under the water to hear it better.

Waiting, I made eye contact with the glass mermaid again. Harry sputtered as he rose out of the water, and I handed him a towel with my eyes closed as he got out of the tub.

"Myrtle," He started, wrapping the towel around himself, "There aren't merpeople, in the black lake, are there?"

"Oh, very good. It took Cedric ages to riddle it out. Almost all the bubbles were gone." I cringed and tried to ignore her perverted comments. I noticed the mermaid wink at me from the glass and I turned back to Harry.

"We need to go tell Hermione and Ron."

-

Harry repeated the riddle again while slamming his head on the book in front of him. We had monopolized the library at this point, and Hermione was pacing in front of us trying to figure it out.

"Come seek us where the voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. An hour long you'll have to look, to discover what we took." Ron was asleep in the chair beside Harry until Hermione smacked him awake.

"Why can't Aurora figure it out? The Ravenclaw's do riddles every day!" He complained, slowly falling back asleep. I raised my eyebrow and took my head out of my hands.

"What's there to figure out? I thought we were thinking of ways for Harry to do the task..." The three of them gaped at me as I realized they hadn't put the pieces together. The riddle really wasn't that hard... "Well obviously the first part is less important, they're just talking about how they can only sing underwater." I explained. Hermione waving for me to go on.

"'They' being?" Ron asked, still completely clueless. Hermione smacked him as I continued.

"The merpeople. So the second part means they took something, and you have an hour to figure out what it is and find it or I guess they keep it. Because they can only sing underwater, I'm assuming you're looking in the lake." Harry groaned as he smacked his head back down on the table.

"That's potentially problematic." Hermione said, holding her chin between her fingers.

"Potentially problematic? When's the last time you held your breath for an hour, Hermione?!" Harry threw his hands up in defeat. Hermione put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hate to break up the skull session," Moody interrupted. "Professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office." Harry began to stand, but Moody interrupted again. "Not you Potter, just Weasley and Whitethorn." Ron and I looked at each other, and Hermione sat down with Harry. As we made our way to McGonagall's office, I noticed Neville helping put some of the books away.

-

Ron and I sat down across from McGonagall's desk, beside Cho and someone I recognized as Fleur's younger sister. McGonagall said nothing until more people entered the small room. In walked my father, Dumbledore, and Barty Crouch. McGonagall cleared her throat.

"My apologies, you four, but this must be done." The adults took up a spot behind each student. McGonagall behind Ron, my father behind me, Crouch behind Fleur's sister, and Dumbledore behind Cho. I began to turn around, but was halted as they simultaneously said an incantation and everything went black.

☾

Whoot whoot! Second task next time. :D

- Z