Full Circle(Tomarry)

Chapter 22.

A loud screechy, wailing sound filled their ears.

Cedric scrambled to pick up his golden egg from where he dropped it, quickly shutting it closed to stop the ear-shattering sound. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when the room was finally blissfully quiet.

"Blimey," Ron grimaced, picking at his ear, "what the hell was that?"

"Mermish," Tom said, recognizing the horrible sound. "I suspect we'll have to listen to the egg underwater." Tom wiggled his ears, scrunching face a little as the ringing in his ears persisted for a few more seconds. Harry thought it was an adorable expression.

"There are merpeople in our lake!" Hermione exclaimed. "Maybe the second task has something to do with it?"

"You packed your swimsuits, right?" Harry asked the two champions brightly.

"You're not suggesting we'll be swimming in it, are you? The second task is in February!" Cedric said, appalled. "It'll be freezing out!"

"They just made us face dragons," Tom pointed out dryly. "I think hypothermia is the least of their worries when they expect us to have Warming Charms in our repertoire."

A hand went up in the air, and Draco waited for everyone's eyes to land on him before speaking. "So are we not talking about Marvolo talking down a Hungarian Horntail with Parseltongue?" He asked. "Because you know, that was kind of insane ."

"Not that the parseltongue came as a surprise when you think about it," Neville added. "The Gaunts were rumored to have ties to the Slytherin bloodline."

"I don't see what's there to talk about," Tom bounced his golden egg with one hand idly. "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Harry, who really couldn't help himself, snorted. "Not my arse, though."

"From the way you keep mentioning it, I think you're the one who really wants me to tap it." Tom shot back over Hermione's exasperated exclamation of ' Boys! '

"It is a perky butt," Luna smiled dreamily like she always did. "I'm sure it's also very nice to touch, as it is to look at."

"It's a defining feature your fans are very fond of," Ginny nodded sagely.

Draco, Harry much amusedly noted, discretely checked if his own butt felt nice in his own hand. He also noted that Neville gazed at the Slytherin's action contemplatively. That was definitely interesting.

"It vas very impressive, Marvolo. I did not realize zat dragons understood parseltongue." Viktor said, putting the conversation back on track. "Though I do believe you gave some people a heart attack vid your little stunt."

"It's fascinating!" Hermione exclaimed brightly. "I mean, incredibly risky had it not worked, but there's so little information about parseltongue because of the stigma. And Harry - "

"Tells us jack shit," Ron snorted.

"Tells us barely anything ," Hermione pointedly looked at the sheepish redhead. "And considering parselmouths are so rare - it's amazing that Marvolo and Harry are even acquainted - this kind of discovery is groundbreaking!"

"Hey, does that mean Harry and Marvolo are sort of related?" Ron asked in realization.

"Everyone with British wizarding blood is related in one way or another," Draco dryly reminded. "The Black family alone has had their fingers in every family pie for generations."

"You and Draco are related, in case you forgot Ron," Neville added. "And if we pull out the family trees, I'm sure we can trace relations between all of us bar Hermione and Cho."