Chapter 17: A dark day in the lake.
There was a lone figure out on the snow-covered grounds, wrapped in a cloak to protect against the biting wind that blew in over the Great Lake. The ground around the figure was a muddy brown, slushy mess, as if the person had been pacing back and forth in worry.
Harry had taken his egg into the bath with him on Cedric's advice and he did not like the clue one bit. He knew what he would miss the most and he was trying to figure out how to keep Hermione safe. There was no way he wanted her to be involved in the second task other than her helping him to prepare. To prevent her from being taken was the problem and he couldn't figure out how to stop it.
People died in this stupid tournament and he would be damned if he would let her be put in danger because of someone's desire to see him dead. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear her come up behind him.
Hermione had been distracted all morning. She had been getting waves of emotions from their bond and as soon as her class had ended, she had gone off in search of Harry. It took her almost twenty minutes to find him and when she arrived, the telltale signs of his worry were readily apparent.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked him softly as she came to stand next to him.
"Not at all." He admitted scuffing the ground with the toe of his right boot. "I know what I have to do for the second task next month."
Harry's voice had a hint of desperation in it that pulled at Hermione's heart. "What is it?" she whispered. She knew that it had to be bad if it was affecting him this way.
"They are going to take something important to me and put it in the Great Lake. If I can't retrieve it in an hour its gone forever." he said bitterly.
Hermione was stunned. 'What kind of society would allow someone, or something, to be put in danger like that for a tournament' she thought angrily. "You think that they are going to put me at the bottom of the lake don't you?" her voice was low, full of worry, as she thought of all of the unpleasant things that could happen at the bottom of the lake.
He nodded yes to her question and pulled her into a hug filled with desperation and fear. "I won't let them take you. They will have to go through me first." he said with steel in his voice.
She could feel the propensity for violence radiating from Harry and it scared and thrilled her at the same time. She knew that he would do anything to protect her, as she would for him, but this was her first real experience with these feelings.
The prank was just mild revenge for people making her upset. This task could conceivably put her life in as much danger as his had been since his name came out of the Goblet of Fire.
"What can we do?" Hermione asked him softly while rubbing his back, her face buried in his shoulder. It was an odd time to realize it, but Harry had gotten taller during the term. Her head used to rest on his shoulder, now he was a good two inches taller based upon where her cheek came to rest naturally.
"I don't know. I sent Hedwig off to Sirius and Remus this morning asking for advice." Harry said while leaning his head down to rest upon the top of hers.
"Do you think we should talk to Professor McGonagall?" came her muffled reply from his shoulder.
Harry paused for a moment before answering. He wasn't sure that he trusted his head of house fully. Yes, she had helped him a bit more this term. Professor McGonagall had been aware of the type of home that he was imprisoned in all of those years ago. Yet, she still had not checked up on him. He said simply, "I'm not sure that I trust her."
Hermione knew why he felt this way. They had spent many evenings talking about his childhood. She correctly figured this was about the Professor's role in not checking up on him as he grew up.
Making up her mind she said, "I know you don't really trust her, for a very good reason, but do you think we should ask for her help anyway?"
"Perhaps; I just don't know what she will do and that bothers me. This is your safety we are talking about." Harry said in a concerned tone.
"I love you too much to see you hurt in some meaningless tournament."
She was fighting back tears from his declaration and his emotions that she could feel roiling within him. "I know; and I love you too. We will do what you feel comfortable with, I trust you Harry."
"Come on, we should head back to the castle. I have runes next and you have Arithmancy and I need to get my books." Harry said, surprising Hermione that he had her schedule memorized.
The truth of the matter was that Harry had memorized her schedule and the most likely spots where trouble could occur in the halls. He had quietly watched everyone in the halls that she encountered, making a mental note whenever one of the people on his list came near her.
He knew it was only a matter of time before someone tried something. She was a target because she was dating him. He knew it would be worse if people knew the true extent of their relationship, one that he was still coming to grips with himself. Harry silently vowed to do his best to prevent anything from happening if he could, anything.
Later that evening they were sitting in the Gryffindor common room talking with Neville and Ginny about the second task.
"What do you guys know about breathing underwater?" Harry asked his friends.
Neville looked lost in thought while Ginny had an amused expression on her face. Not knowing why Ginny looked like she was relishing something Harry asked her "What's that look for?"
If possible, her smile grew even wider before she answered. "Does this have to do with Hermione trying on that;" she turned to face Hermione and asked, "What did you call it again?"
"A bikini." She answered her red haired friend, the blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Oh yes, did this have anything to do with Hermione trying on a bikini the other day in the girls loo?" Ginny asked as innocently as she could, her eyes wide to add to the look.
Harry was blushing almost as bad as Hermione by this point. Doing his best to reign in his mounting blush he replied, "Yes. She was teaching me how to swim for the second task. I have to go into the Great Lake to retrieve something." he purposefully kept his answer vague. He did not want them to know that Hermione was probably what the judges would want to take from him.
Neville piped up "What's a bikini?"
His question caused Hermione to go red again. "Trust me mate, you'll love it when you see Ginny in one." Harry answered cheekily causing Ginny's face to match her hair.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed at his answer. "Would you like me to tell them about your reaction to the first time that you saw me in my bikini?" her voice was innocent, yet playful, and it sent a blush up Harry's cheeks that rivaled Ginny's hair.
Harry knew he wouldn't be forgetting that moment anytime soon. It was a memory he had planned to use to power his next Patronus. "Nope." he managed to squeak out, much to the amusement to the others.
Getting things back to the task Hermione said "Do either of you know anything other than the bubble head charm to allow Harry to breathe underwater for an hour or more?"
Neville looked as if a light bulb had gone off inside of his head. He quickly asked, "Does it have to be a spell?"
"The only thing we know is that Harry has to go into the lake to retrieve something." Hermione said helpfully.
"There's gillyweed." Neville said simply. "It allows the person that consumes it to breathe underwater for a time depending upon how large a dose you take."
"That's brilliant Neville!" Hermione said happily, causing the boy to blush bright red at the praise.
"How much do you think I'll need for an hour underwater?" Harry asked softly.
"One hour?" Neville clarified. Seeing Harry's nod in the affirmative he speculated, "I think more than a handful but you should probably get some and test it first to be safe."
"Thanks, Neville. I'll do that." Harry said with relief in his voice.
After Neville and Ginny had headed off to bed, Harry and Hermione were the only two left in the common room. "Dobby." Harry called out softly.
There was a small pop and the excitable house elf appeared before the two teens. Pulled up above his knees were mismatched socks." What can Dobby do for you?"
"Can you get me enough gillyweed to practice with before the second task? I want to make sure that I'm comfortable with using that stuff before the task." Harry said to his tiny friend.
"Of course, sir. I will retrieve some for you immediately." and with a pop the little elf was gone again.
Harry paused for a second before turning to Hermione and asking in a very confused tone of voice "Is it me or does Dobby sound different to you too?"
Hermione thought back to all of her recent encounters with their elves and realized that Harry was right. She had noticed something before but had put it out of her mind with all of the stresses of the tournament weighing on her. "Now that you mention it, I did notice something different about both of them a while back but I guess that it just slipped my mind."
"Hmm, I think that I like it. They don't sound like a couple of uneducated kids anymore. I'm glad but I wonder what brought about the change?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. Why don't you just ask him when he returns?" Hermione replied simply.
"I guess I will. I just hope that I don't offend him or something."
There was another pop and Dobby reappeared holding a very large jug of what appeared to be slimy balls of gillyweed. It looked disgusting and Harry was beginning to wonder if he would be able to chew the stuff.
"Thanks Dobby. Where did you get it?" Harry asked while pointing to the jar of gillyweed that Dobby had set on the table in front of them.
Dobby had a very sheepish grin on his face and he was shuffling his feet. He said with a tone that brooked no argument, "Perhaps it is better if you don't know sir." What Dobby wasn't telling them was that he had taken all of Professor Snapes private stores of gillyweed and replaced it with sauerkraut since they looked very similar.
Harry gave Dobby a long look before deciding that it probably was for the best that he didn't know. "Okay Dobby. Nevertheless, could you tell me why you and Winky sound so different now? We like the change, we are just curious."
"Mistress Hermione's parents have been giving us lessons in the evenings and we are giving them lessons on the magical world in return." Dobby said happily.
"Oh. That's great Dobby!" Hermione said enthusiastically. "Would you say hello to them for me when you see them next please?"
"It would be my pleasure, Miss." Dobby said with a slight bow before he popped away to return to whatever task he had been performing before they called him.
Sirius and Remus were just about to sit down for a late night snack when Hedwig arrived in the kitchen of number twelve.
"Hello Hedwig." Remus called out to the bird while extending his arm for her to land on. Once she had settled he untied the letter attached to her leg and carried her over to the perch in the corner that they kept stocked with owl treats and fresh water.
Remus quickly read the letter and handed it over to Sirius. When he had finished reading it too Remus said, "I think that we should go visit Annabelle and John so we can discuss this with them as it involves Hermione too."
"I'll call them to make sure they aren't busy." Sirius said as he headed over to make a quick floo call.
A few seconds later he came back into the kitchen and said "Let's go; they were just having tea and said it was a good time to visit."
They took turns using the floo to get to the Grangers. After everyone had settled down at the kitchen table with their tea Remus handed the letter over and waited for the Grangers to read it.
"NO!" Annabelle shouted. "There is no way that I am allowing my daughter to be a part of this tournament. It's bad enough that they are making Harry participate but to force him to rescue Hermione from the lake is insane!" she finished furiously.
"Calm down love. Is there anything that we can do?" John asked Remus and Sirius while patting Annabelle's back.
"You could send a letter stating that to the Headmaster." Remus said after a few moments thought. "I'm not sure what good it will do though. He has a long history of doing what he wants regardless of other's wishes."
"Do we have any legal standing to prevent this from happening?" Annabelle asked in a hopeful tone.
Remus' face darkened at this question before he answered. "I'm afraid not. Muggles, non-magical people, have no rights in the magical world. In fact, up until a couple of years ago it was even worse. Arthur Weasley was finally able to get a Muggle protection act enforced. That basically prevented magical people from interfering in the day to day lives of non magical people."
The Grangers were both looking a bit outraged and upset at the same time. "How can they do that? Our daughter is a witch and I'm sure that there are plenty of others in our situation too." Annabelle said heatedly.
This time Sirius spoke up. "Well, in many ways our society is still very Victorian and many of our laws date from that era too. Wizards and Witches live longer, on average just over 120 years, so our laws are slower to change. If I'm not mistaken, Harry got a warning for underage magic use two years ago from a law that was laid down in the 1870's."
"I'm not sure that I like what I'm hearing about the magical world." John said in resignation. "Are all magical communities like this or are some more modern in their views and laws?"
Remus answered this question because for the last decade Sirius had been incarcerated." Some countries are better, similar to how some countries are more modern than others are. The North American Ministry for Magic is one of the most forward thinking because of how young their magical government is in comparison to the ones in Europe. However, they have some similar issues because of magical life spans. The biggest difference is the size of their country. The United States and Canada are enormous and can hide quite a few magical communities with no one being any wiser."
"Do you think that we should consider moving out of the country and taking the kids with us?" Annabelle asked.
"Part of me wants you to do just that while another part wants you to stay here for selfish reasons." Remus said while Sirius nodded in agreement.
"Would the kids get as good of a magical education outside of Britain? I've only ever heard Hermione talking about the other two major European schools. Surely the North Americans have something equivalent?" John asked the two wizards.
"Well, the other European schools are probably out. Harry is well known there too. I haven't been back in the magical world long enough to put together any thoughts on what the schools are like in the Americas." Sirius replied.
Remus piped up with his opinion on the matter "I've been to the Salem Magical Academy while traveling in the United States. It's about on par with Beauxbatons in terms of its facilities but its classes are about the same. The classes there are as good as Hogwarts in some areas, worse in some, and better in others."
"Is it that hard to transfer to another magical school? It's very easy in the non magical world but there are significantly more schools to choose from." John said curiously.
"I'm not sure. I don't know of anyone that has ever transferred before. I do know that some families choose to home school their children and others go into quasi apprenticeships instead of traditional schooling." Remus said, drawing on his experience as an educator.
"I know that my family used to hire tutors for some children but most of us either went to Hogwarts or Durmstrang." Sirius said helpfully.
"Do you think that we can hire some tutors this summer and see if the children would prefer that to regular schooling?" Annabelle asked everyone.
"I think that we could teach them a few things ourselves." Remus said while flicking his thumb indicating that Sirius would help teach.
With the beginnings of a plan in place, the adults spent the rest of the evening discussing various differences in the two worlds.
Hermione had received the letter from her parents to the Headmaster stating that she was not to be involved in the second task. She had made a copy and given it to Professor McGonagall to deliver for her. The look on her professor's face was one of pity and understanding and it did nothing to bolster her spirits.
Now that they knew what the second task entailed it seemed that time seemed to speed up. The weeks flew by and now the task was upon them.
Harry had become extremely tense over the last couple of days. He was constantly looking over their shoulders to make sure that the teachers wouldn't corner Hermione and sprite her away. He did not believe that Professor Dumbledore would honor the note sent by Hermione's parents.
It was during a break in between classes when someone finally pushed Harry too far. Malfoy and his goons were being their usual idiotic selves, picking on people in the halls. Harry had been on his way to meet Hermione after class when the trio had turned their bullying attention towards her.
"Well, look what we have here." Draco drawled as he stepped in front of Hermione, preventing her from reaching the steps down to the Great Hall.
"Go away Malfoy." Hermione said scathingly to the blond haired boy.
"Now that isn't any way to talk to your betters you filthy little Mudblood. Perhaps we should teach you some proper manners." Draco said with a sneer.
The three of them were all facing Hermione and not paying attention to their surroundings. If they were, they might have noticed Harry Potter stalking up behind them, fury etched on his youthful face.
Harry had his wand in his hand, when Malfoy took a step towards Hermione he reacted much the same way as when Ron accosted her. He had stepped to the side of the hallway to prevent him from accidentally hitting Hermione.
His first spell banished Malfoy into the wall at such a high rate of speed that there was a sickening crunching sound when he hit, knocking him unconscious in the process.
Before Crabbe could turn around Harry had hit him with a stunner to the back, causing him to fall face down. The crack of Crabbe's nose and jaw breaking when he hit the floor was audible from ten feet away.
Goyles' first, and only, mistake was enough to ensure him a stay in the hospital wing with his friends. He had stepped towards Crabbe when he fell rather than turning towards their attacker.
Harry did not hesitate; his third spell of the encounter was another banishing charm. Its power, coupled with Goyle having his back to him, sent the large boy flying face first into the alcove to the side of the hall. He crashed into the suit of armor with such force that it blew apart, sending pieces of metal all over the hall while burying him beneath the chest plate.
The entire encounter had lasted less than fifteen seconds and it left the three Slytherin students bloody and broken on the floor. Not a single spell had been uttered aloud the entire time.
Stepping over Crabbe's fallen body, Harry said to Hermione, "Are you okay?"
Hermione was breathing heavily. She had felt the cold determination of Harry's emotions come through their bond right before he attacked. She had not seen, or heard, him come up behind Malfoy and his two goons. "I'm fine, thanks to you. Perhaps we should get going before someone comes along and finds you here." Hermione answered with a slight tremble in her voice.
She was a bit shocked at how violently Harry had reacted but at the same time, it made her feel safe. He had promised that he would do anything he could to protect her. Hermione knew that she could probably handle any one of her attackers in a one on one situation. Three against one was definitely more than she would have been able to tackle.
For his part, Harry was extremely glad that Hermione wasn't hurt. He felt that it was long past due for Malfoy and his cronies to learn that bigotry and attacking people would no longer be tolerated.
Dumbledore, and the majority of the Wizarding world, did not seem to want to make sure that there were consequences for acting a certain way. 'Why keep tolerating behavior that would land most people in serious trouble without issuing some type of punishment?' Harry pondered.
Turning the other cheek only went so far. If you gave people enough chances, they were just going to think that they were allowed to behave a certain way and walk all over you.
Harry was done turning the other cheek. Malfoy and his thugs were just the first to feel the consequences for their actions but he was sure that they wouldn't be the last.
There was no one in the hallway to witness the confrontation, person, or portrait, and for that, Harry was thankful. He did not want to have to deal with the reactions from anyone that would have seen what had happened right now.
The young couple walked hand in hand down to the Great Hall to eat their lunch and to be seen by the teachers and other students. They wanted to be in a very public place when the three morons were discovered.
It was about ten minutes later when a fifth year Slytherin prefect came running into the Great Hall to speak with Professor Snape.
"Excuse me sir, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle are in the hospital wing. The girl told her Head of House, "No one knows what happened but they are in pretty bad shape."
Without saying a word, Severus Snape got up from the head table and strode out of the Great Hall towards the hospital wing. He was sure that Potter was involved in this somehow and he sent a glare at the boy on his way out.
They spent the rest of their day wandering around the grounds and talking about non-tournament related things to keep Harry's mind off the upcoming task.
They went to bed that evening a bit worried about what the morning would bring.
Harry awoke sometime around six in the morning but he couldn't figure out why. Something wasn't right; he just couldn't put his finger on what was bothering him. Not being able to feel Hermione's emotions, he guessed that she was still asleep. They had stayed up rather late talking the night before.
He decided to wait in the common room for her to get up so they could go down for a light breakfast before the second task began.
After about thirty minutes, Ginny came down from the girls dormitories.
"Good morning Harry. Are you waiting for Hermione to come down?" Ginny asked him as she took the seat across from him.
"I don't think that she is up yet. We were up late talking but I wanted to go to breakfast with her. You don't have to wait for us. We will meet you down there." Harry replied.
"Are you sure?" seeing his nod, Ginny decided to go ahead and go down to the Great Hall for breakfast before Ron showed up and ate everything in sight.
Harry watched Ginny head out the portrait hole and head down for breakfast. Realizing that he was still tired he decided to lie down on the couch to wait for Hermione to wake up.
The next thing Harry knew was that Dobby was roughly shaking him. "Master Harry must hurry down to the Great Lake. The task is about to begin and you must rescue Mistress Hermione!" Dobby said while wringing his hands.
"What! I've been here all morning and Hermione never came down. What happened?" Harry said while sprinting up to his dormitory to retrieve his swim trunks and gillyweed.
He was furious. 'How did Dumbledore get Hermione to participate in the task?' He dressed quickly and realized that he was going to miss the start of the task if he did not get down there fast. Seeing no other option, Harry threw open the window in the room and hopped onto his Firebolt, pushing it to its maximum so he would get to the lake in time.
The crowd was getting antsy for the second task to begin. The problem was that the fourth champion had not arrived yet.
Just as Dumbledore was about to announce the start of the task he noticed a spec in the sky getting larger fast. It was Harry Potter making his way down to the lake on his broom. Distress and anger were clearly visible on his face by the time he was close enough for Dumbledore to see it clearly.
Trying to avoid a nasty confrontation before the task began, Dumbledore announced, "Let the task begin. Champions you have one hour to retrieve what you will miss most from the bottom of the lake."
The other three champions dove into the water immediately. Cedric and Fleur used the Bubble Head Charm and Krum did a partial transfiguration, turning his upper body into that of a shark.
Tossing his broom to Neville, Harry pulled out some gillyweed and stepped over to the edge of the platform. He shot a murderous glance at Dumbledore and said, "This isn't over. If anything happens to her while she is down there you won't like the consequences." stuffing a large chunk of gillyweed into his mouth he dove into the water.
Rita Skeeter was absolutely beside herself in glee. Harry Potter had just threatened Albus Dumbledore in front of dozens of witnesses! She began to put together the beginnings of her front-page story in her head as she waited with everyone else for the champions to complete the task.
Harry felt the familiar sensation of gills forming on his neck and his hands and feet turning into flippers once he had swallowed the gillyweed. Diving deeper, he swam out towards the center of the lake to where he knew that they would be keeping the hostages.
He skirted around the grindylows and dove deeper, following the ridgeline down towards the singing he recognized from his egg. He didn't know how long he had been in the water searching for the merpeople's village because his watch had broken when he forgot to cast the water proofing charm on it in his haste to get to Hermione in time.
The lake was huge and it was not easy to find the village. If Harry could have screamed, he would have. He knew that he was running out of time and the clue was very clear that he would loose her if he did not rescue her within an hour.
Just as he crested a rise on the bottom of the lake, he noticed that the plant life cleared out and he could see a village below him. In the center of the village were four posts but they were empty. In a panic, Harry swam up to them and began looking for any sign of Hermione.
His heart was hammering in his chest as he frantically searched for her. He was about to head to another area of the village and begin searching when he caught sight of a black cloak floating limply near the doorway to one of the huts.
Putting on a burst of speed, he swam over to the entrance to the hut and blasted the door off its hinges. The sight that greeted him would stay with him until his dying day. Hermione was lying on the earthen floor of the hut, eyes closed. She looked deathly pale in the low light at the bottom of the lake.
Two very large mermen stopped Harry at spear point as he rushed towards her. "You are too late the hour has come and gone, return to the surface human!" the merman on the right said in a harsh tone.
The merman on the left had been backing away slowly from the angry wizard in front of him. He could feel the power beginning to radiate from the wizard and it made him fear for his life. Trying to get his comrade's attention he called out "Let him take the girl with him. There is no harm in letting them go."
"NO! She stays here. The elder said that she would come by later to retrieve her." The first guard spoke heatedly.
Harry had trouble following the conversation but he understood the gist of it. The guard that was backing away seemed to want to let him take Hermione with him. The other one was intent upon keeping her down here until the elder showed up or something.
His chance for escape came when the angry guard turned his attention away for a moment to retort.
It was over before the guard knew what had happened. One second of inattention would cost him his life.
Harry's silent Severing Curse struck the merman across the torso, separating his body into two parts that floated in the now red stained water. The shock was still plainly clear on his face.
The guard that had been backing away from the moment the angry wizard blasted the door open realized that said wizard was now pointing his wand at him and the tip was glowing faintly. Not wanting to meet the same fate as his foolish partner, the guard dropped his spear and raised his hands while continuing to back as far away as possible.
Harry slowly swam over to Hermione, never taking his eyes off the remaining guard, and began to pull her out of the tiny hut. He paused to take another dose of gillyweed when he was clear of the village. Then he swam as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.
He headed for the shallows, dragging Hermione's limp body behind him. Worry still burned in his chest because he was outside of the one-hour time limit. The water was getting lighter now and he knew that he was getting closer to the platform where help awaited.
When he reached the edge of the platform, he gratefully hoisted Hermione up into the waiting arms of Remus Lupin. Harry had to wait for another five minutes for his gills to recede before he could safely get out of the water.
He pushed aside a couple of people to get to where Hermione was being tended to by Madam Poppy Pomfrey. He was relieved when he heard her voice.
"Where is Harry?" Hermione asked; the desperation was easily detectable in her voice.
Stepping into the medical area he said "I'm right here love." and he pulled her into a hug. The enormity of what he had just done hit him now that he was holding her safe in his arms again and he began to shake.
"Oh Harry!" she cried into his shoulder as he held her close. "I don't know how I ended up in the lake. I went to bed last night and the next thing I know I'm in Remus' arms and you are still in the water!" she sobbed harder.
Remus Lupin had watched the entire exchange between Harry and Hermione. He knew that the two teens were definitely in love and that they had tried their hardest to prevent Hermione from ending up at the bottom of the lake. He wanted answers to her questions as well and he was in a position to get some of them answered. Making up his mind, he strode from the tent after patting them on the shoulder and went to find Professor McGonagall.
"Hello Minerva." Remus said coldly as he stepped up to his former co-worker.
Slightly taken aback by the tone in his voice she replied "Hello Remus. What can I do for you?"
"You can tell me how Hermione Granger ended up at the bottom of the lake against her parents wishes." his voice was just as cold as the water in the lake.
"The judges deemed her to be the thing that Mr. Potter would miss the most so she was taken from her dormitory while she was sleeping and placed into an enchanted sleep before being put down there." Minerva replied in a matter of fact tone.
"Why didn't you stop Albus from taking Ms. Granger per her parent's request?" Remus snapped.
"You know that muggles don't have any say in our world Remus. The headmaster acts in loco parentis for all muggle born students during the school year." McGonagall replied testily.
"And that is enough for you to go against the express written instructions of her parents, and I'm sure her own wishes!" Remus fumed. "This isn't over. I am very disappointed in you Minerva and that is nothing compared to what Harry is going to feel." Fearing that he would say something that he would regret in his anger, he spun around and left the teachers area.
Neither adult noticed the small water beetle that was perched on Remus' jacket as it flew off towards Hogsmeade.
Chapter 18: The longest day.
Harry and Hermione were sitting in the middle of the Quidditch pitch clinging to each other tightly. Both were seeking comfort from the ordeal that was the second task of the Tri Wizard Tournament. They were so distraught that they had left the Champions Area before the announcing of the scores.
Hermione's trauma came from the fact that she had no recollection of the event at all until she awoke in the arms of Remus Lupin. She remembered going to bed the night before but she did not know how she had ended up in the lake. Someone had done something to her while she slept and then transported her to the lake. The only thing that she could figure was that it was either Professor McGonagall or Headmaster Dumbledore, or the two of them. The result was that she no longer felt safe in Gryffindor Tower; or Hogwarts for that matter, and she was deeply troubled by this fact.
Harry was trying to come to grips with the fact that he had killed someone to protect Hermione. His belief that the whole situation was avoidable drove his guilt. If the clue in the egg had said that she would have been returned after the one-hour time limit, rather than being lost to him forever, he would not have taken the merman's life.
He felt that the tournament organizers were to blame for this and that if they didn't mean for him to take the clue literally they could have at least told him beforehand.
What Harry did not feel bad about was protecting Hermione. He would do it again in a heartbeat if that were what it would take to keep her safe.
'What kind of people would put someone in that type of situation?' he thought sadly. The only conclusion that he could come up with was that those people were sick, twisted, individuals that got off on tormenting others.
They were still holding on to each other when Remus finally found them. Sighing deeply, he walked over and sat down next to them for a few minutes before finally speaking in a voice laced with concern. "Are you two okay?"
The two teens looked up at Remus, the stress of the morning's events plainly visible on their tear stained faces. Hermione spoke first, her voice quavering. "Thank you for staying with me while Harry was still in the lake. I don't know what I would have done had you not been there."
"I'm glad that I could help. Are you two going to be okay?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Hermione nodded yes but she had a far off look in her eyes as she re-lived her part in the day's events.
Harry's response was much quicker. He gave a curt nod in the affirmative and held Remus' gaze for a few moments before looking away.
The three of them continued to sit in silence together, each drawing some measure of comfort from the other's presence.
Remus was keeping a silent vigil for the two teens, hoping that his being there would help them feel more secure. He did not know what horrors that Harry had faced down in the lake but he knew that it was bad.
The look of panic on Harry's face had been terrible to see. It lessened somewhat when he had found Hermione safe, but upset. It now resided in his eyes and posture, especially when surrounded by large crowds.
Remus had seen how Harry had been scanning the crowd constantly looking for threats to Hermione as they left the stands. Feeling that if he didn't say something to Harry about his fears they would consume him in his desire to protect Hermione.
With a small sigh, Remus broke the silence. "You did a great job today Harry. It is impossible to protect someone all of the time." Seeing Harry's look of guilt he quickly continued.
"It was not your fault that Hermione ended up in the Great Lake. If you try to protect her all of the time you will suffocate her and damage your relationship."
His last words seemed to get through to them. Hermione was sitting up a bit straighter and Harry's posture had relaxed a little.
Hermione shifted herself so that her back was against Harry's chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around her stomach. She took a few calming breaths and said "Harry, what happened down in the lake?"
With a quick flick of his wand, Remus put up a few wards for privacy. What ever happened down in that lake was big and he did not want anyone hearing any of this conversation.
Harry tensed briefly at the question but he relaxed as he felt the reassuring emotions from Hermione as she softly stroked his hands.
His voice was as quiet as a gentle breeze when he finally spoke. "I fell asleep on the couch in the common room while I was waiting for you to come down for breakfast. The next thing I know is Dobby is shaking me awake, telling me that the task is about to start."
He paused a moment to let his heart rate calm down before he continued. "I flew down to the lake on my broom as fast as I could. When I arrived; Dumbledore took one look at me and announced the start of the task."
Harry took another deep, calming, breath before continuing. "I ate some gillyweed and dove into the lake right after snapping at Dumbledore. In my haste, I forgot to charm my watch so it broke. I didn't see any of the other champions and in my panic to get to you I got a bit disoriented." Harry's heart was pounding now as he relieved the event in his mind as he re-told it.
In a whisper, he said, "By the time that I found the village you were gone."
Harry had to take deep, gulping, breaths of air to calm down. The thought of what he found and what he had done weighed heavily upon him.
Hermione could feel the distress coming off Harry in waves. Hoping to calm him down she said soothingly. "Hey, everything worked out; you were able to reach me and bring me back." She pulled his arms tighter around her, leaned back, and gave him a soft kiss on his jaw.
Feeling a bit nervous about telling the next part Harry paused for a few seconds to enjoy the feeling of having Hermione safe in his arms. After a few seconds where no one moved or said anything, Harry continued speaking. "I saw a cloak floating next to the entrance to one of their huts just off to the side of where you must have been tied up."
Harry's grip had tightened and he drew her closer to his chest before he continued speaking again. "I blasted the door open and…" he could not bring himself to say what he saw but as the images sprang into his mind, the tears began to pour from his eyes. They ran down his cheeks unchecked and splashed into Hermione's hair.
He stopped trying to fight the tears, the floodgates opened, and he began to sob harder while rocking back and forth with Hermione in his arms.
Hermione was worried now. 'What had happened in that hut under the lake?' she thought. Slowly, so as not to disturb Harry, she turned around and pulled him to her chest while gently rubbing his back.
Remus was positively alarmed at this point. What ever had happened down there had really shaken Harry up badly. With a quick flick of his wand, he put up a few extra wards, including a notice me not so they would not be disturbed.
"Harry, it's okay. You don't have to continue if you don't feel up to it." Hermione said softly as she stroked his hair.
After a few more minutes, Harry had finally composed himself enough to finish the tale. He did not move from his position on Hermione's lap so his voice was slightly muffled by her robes.
He whispered so softly that they had to strain to hear his voice. "When I entered the hut I thought that you were dead."
Hermione and Remus both gasped at this revelation. Before either of them could speak, Harry continued with the retelling of the events in the lake.
"You were half floating just off of the floor of the hut with your eyes closed and your mouth open slightly." Harry's voice had taken on a haunted tone as he spoke. "When your body came to rest on the floor I began to swim towards you only to be stopped at spear point by two mermen. They told me that the time limit had passed and that I had to leave you behind for the elder or something." Tears were flowing down his cheeks but he was making no effort to wipe them away.
Hermione was crying silently in horror for what Harry must have gone through seeing her like that. She knew that it would have torn her up inside if she had been in his place.
"One of the guards was trying to tell the other one to let me take you but he refused to listen." Harry sat up and looked into Hermione's eyes pleadingly. "I couldn't leave you down there."
"I know, and thank you." Hermione said solemnly and with complete understanding, as she looked right back into his eyes while pushing feelings of love and gratitude to him through their bond.
Feeling Hermione's emotions helped steel Harry's resolve to continue with the re-telling of events. "In my grief and anger I cursed the guard closest to you and turned my wand to the remaining guard. He dropped his spear and began backing away from you." Harry paused when he finished speaking to take a few deep breaths to regain some semblance of control over his emotions.
Remus was shocked as Harry informed them of what happened in the hut. He was positive that Harry had killed the first guard without hesitation when he sensed that the guard was not going to let him take Hermione with him.
"I grabbed your arm and backed out of the hut once the guard was far enough away. When we were clear of the village, I took a little more gillyweed and swam as hard as I could back to the platform. You know everything that happened after that." Harry finished speaking, completely drained physically and mentally from re-counting the horror that was the second task.
Making a split decision, Remus stood up from his spot on the grass. "Stay here please. I'll be back in a bit. I need to go up to the castle."
The two teens nodded in response to Remus' request and then watched him head up towards the castle.
When Remus reached the castle, he headed off towards the teachers lounge, hoping to find Minerva McGonagall. He knocked upon the door to the staff room and poked his head inside.
'That's odd.' he thought to himself when he didn't find a single staff member present. Someone was usually in here most times of the day, even on weekends.
He checked his watch and noticed that it was lunchtime. Figuring that he would be able to find a teacher in the Great Hall, Remus began the trek back down.
The entrance hall was full of people milling about and the familiar clatter of utensils rang from the Great Hall. Families were in attendance for the remainder of the day because the task took place on a Saturday morning.
The Great Hall was full of students and their families. Since the noise level was so high, no one paid any attention to the former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor walking up the side of the hall towards the staff table.
Remus kept his eyes firmly fixed upon the headmaster as he approached him. "Albus, can we talk privately for a moment?" It was phrased as a question but Dumbledore knew that it was not a request.
"Of course; why don't we use the anteroom?" Dumbledore said while excusing himself from the staff table.
Once they were inside Dumbledore asked, "What can I do for you Remus?"
"I'm actually here for Harry and Hermione's benefit." Remus replied coolly.
Dumbledore was taken aback for a moment. He did not think that anyone would confront him on that situation, especially not the same day that it happened. "I see." he said slowly, allowing himself some time to collect his thoughts. "Why have they not come to me themselves?" he asked in a kind tone, trying to calm Remus down a touch.
The look that he received almost made him flinch. He had not counted on Remus being unsympathetic towards his position. After all, he had talked Remus into staying away from Harry when he was just a little child.
Remus' eyes flashed amber for a moment, the wolf plainly visible in that split second before he regained control. His voice held a clipped tone to it when he finally spoke. "I want to take Harry and Hermione to see Sirius and her parents."
"You know that students can't leave the grounds except for Hogsmeade visits." Dumbledore replied immediately.
Remus' response was just as fast and had an edge to it. "And how do you propose that I bring Sirius and Hermione's parents here then?" he finished and sat waiting for Dumbledore to respond.
After a few seconds, Dumbledore answered the question. "You can't bring them here. Muggles can't see this place and Sirius is still on the run."
The sound of Remus' hand smacking the table in between them was like a thunderclap. The fury in his voice was barely restrained when he replied "An innocent man that never had a trial Dumbledore! One that I know you could arrange. The question is why not?" Left unsaid was the insinuation that Remus did know why based upon the sarcasm that was dripping from his voice.
For a second time in this short conversation, Albus was surprised. It was something that he did not like at all. He decided that it was best if he did not answer the question about Sirius. He replied, "Please have Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger back in the castle by eight tonight. Be sure to let them know that this is a special treat that I am granting them and to not be taken lightly."
Without a backwards glance, nor a reply, Remus left the antechamber and strode out of the Great Hall heading back towards the Quidditch pitch.
Neville and Ginny were waiting for Professor Lupin to finish his talk with the headmaster so they could ask him how Harry and Hermione were doing. When they saw him walking out of the Great Hall they sprinted to catch up to him.
"Professor Lupin!" Neville called out when they were within shouting distance.
Remus stopped and waited for the two teens to catch up to him. "Hello Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Weasley. What can I help you with?" he said kindly.
"We wanted to make sure that Harry and Hermione are both alright." Ginny said worriedly.
Remus smiled at his two former students. "They are both a bit shaken up but they should be fine in a few days. Now if you would excuse me please I promised them that I wouldn't be gone too long."
"Okay. Would you please tell them hello from us?" asked Neville.
Smiling down at the shy boy Remus said, "I will. Have a nice afternoon you two."
With a wave goodbye, Remus headed back up to the pitch to collect Harry and Hermione.
Hermione was absent-mindedly stroking Harry's hair. She had pulled him back down and had his head resting in her lap. Her mind was going over what he had recounted about his encounter with the mermen.
He had mentioned cursing the one merman that wanted to keep her down there and she knew what he meant. Oddly enough, the thought that he had killed to defend her did not trouble her at all. What did bother her was that he was forced to kill in this tournament; again.
Hermione knew that Harry would talk about it with her in more detail when he was ready. She just had to keep reminding herself to not slip into her old habits and badger him until he cracked and shouted at her before giving in and telling her all of the details. Ironically, she noticed that when she did not push him to talk that he talked more frequently and openly.
The strain of the tournament had been getting to Harry over the past few weeks and she could see the toll that it had been taking on him. His smiles were becoming further and further apart and he often lapsed into periods where he was just staring off into space when they were alone. Some mornings he would come down to the common room and have large, dark circles, under his eyes. She was worried about what additional stresses that this latest task would add to his already large burden.
The one side effect of their bond that she did not like was that Harry's emotions had a much stronger effect upon her than she originally realized. He was so volatile sometimes that his emotions would occasionally cause her to snap at someone when she didn't mean to. She was trying her hardest to keep an even keel for the two of them so she could balance out some of Harry's overcharged emotions.
What the bond had taught Hermione was that she needed to compromise more. She could not expect everything to fit into her preconceived notions without taking into account how things would affect Harry too.
Lost in her musings, Hermione did not hear Remus coming towards them. Harry, however, did. "Hello Remus." Harry said in a low voice causing Hermione to start in surprise.
Hermione noticed that Harry was sliding his wand discretely back into the folds of his robes. Remus never knew how close he had just come to being cursed by Harry.
Remus was trying to be quiet as he approached the couple so he was mildly shocked when Harry said 'Hello.' He wasn't sure, but he thought that Harry's hands had shifted positions minutely when he greeted him. Pushing that thought to the side, he said to them; "If you two would read this we can get going. Destroy the note when you are done memorizing what it said please."
Hermione accepted the note from Remus and held it so they could both read it. She didn't recognize the tiny, neat, handwriting at all. The note read 'The Granger's live at Number 2, Kensington Gardens, London.'
Etched onto both teen's faces was confusion as they read the note. After a few seconds, their countenances changed to one of comprehension and Hermione spoke "You have my parents under the Fidelius Charm?" her voice laden with concern.
Harry was giving Lupin a very piercing look but he held his tongue for the moment, willing to hear the man out before passing judgment. With a casual flick of his wand, he silently disintegrated the little piece of paper and vanished the ashes.
"We do. Now please come with me, I have gotten permission to take you to visit your parents and Sirius." Remus replied in a whisper even though he was back within the privacy wards.
Harry stood up and helped Hermione to her feet. Looking around the pitch slowly he let his senses expand outward. Not feeling any other magical presences he grasped Hermione's hand and set off after Remus.
When they had reached the gates to the castle grounds Hermione asked, "How are we getting there?"
Remus came to a stop just outside of the wards and said "Side along apparition.
Hermione nodded in acceptance of his explanation and since she didn't seem too concerned by Remus' reply, Harry figured that it would be safe enough.
"Please grab hold of my arms and don't let go. This will feel a bit strange at first but I promise that you will get used to it eventually." Remus said confidently.
When the teens had each taken a hold of an arm, Remus turned on the spot, concentrating hard on the front porch of the Granger's house. There was a faint popping noise and they had reappeared in London.
Harry wasn't sure if he liked that mode of transportation but it sure beat traveling on the knight bus. The squeezing sensation bothered him for a second but then it was gone and they were in a completely different location.
Remus said, "Now concentrate on what you memorized.", while scanning the area in case they were followed.
The teens stood there thinking about the secret and watched in awe as the house just appeared in front of them.
Remus quickly ushered them inside, closed, and locked the door before leading them into the family room where everyone was awaiting their arrival.
When they entered the family room Hermione ran up to her parents and hugged her mum first then her dad before breaking down in a fresh set of tears.
Harry was moving towards Hermione when Sirius stopped him with a gentle touch on his shoulder. He was too worried about Hermione to flinch at the unexpected touch but he did stop and looked up into his godfather's eyes.
It had been quite a while since he had last seen his godfather and he noticed that he looked much better now. The gauntness was fading and Sirius looked much healthier overall. His eyes still held a haunted look, and they probably would for the rest of his life. You could never put some things fully behind you no matter how hard you tried. Harry knew the last bit from first hand experience as he still had nightmares from time to time too.
"Hello Harry." Sirius said softly while holding his arms open for a hug.
Harry looked over at Hermione for a moment and she was still in her father's arms but she gave him a small nod and that was all it took. He stepped into the hug and felt Sirius wrap his arms around him in a protective manner.
It was a completely different feeling from one of Hermione's hugs. This felt protective in an entirely different way and Harry found that he liked it too. The tears wouldn't come even though he was choked full of emotion. He had cried himself out on the pitch with Hermione and Remus so this hug was more about healing some of the pain for him.
Remus looked over at everyone in the kitchen and said "Dumbledore wants them back in the castle by eight pm."
"Thank you for convincing the headmaster to let you bring them home for the rest of the day. It means a lot to us." John said to Remus.
"You're welcome. I'll go and help the elves get started on lunch. These two haven't eaten since last night so they must be starving by now." Remus said as he headed off towards the kitchen to lend a helping hand.
When he arrived in the kitchen he found Dobby and Winky already working hard so he asked, "Can I help?"
Winky looked up at Remus and said, in a tone that brooked no argument, "You may set the table Master Remus."
Chuckling to himself at Winky's order, he went about setting the table for everyone.
After fifteen minutes, the lunch was ready and Dobby went out to retrieve everyone. When he entered the room, he saw everyone seated on the sofas talking quietly about what had happened this morning.
Before Dobby could speak Harry spotted him, gave him a smile, and said; "Thank you Dobby. If it wasn't for your help with the gillyweed and waking me up in time, I wouldn't have made it to save Hermione."
He finished speaking and held his arms out to the elf.
Dobby practically leapt into his master's arms and gave him the biggest hug he could manage. Dobby said, "It was an honor to help sir.", as he stepped back from the embrace.
Hermione had gotten up from her spot next to Harry, knelt down to Dobby's height, and pulled him into a hug that brought tears of joy to his tiny face. "Thank you very much Dobby. You did a great job today."
He was a little choked up from all of the praise that he was receiving. With a smile, Dobby said, "Lunch is ready in the kitchen if you will all follow me please." In his excitement, he was still holding his Mistresses hand and was leading her to the kitchen.
When they all entered the kitchen, Winky saw Dobby leading Mistress Hermione into the room as she was putting the last of the food onto the table. With a giggle she said, "Dobby, I think that Miss Hermione is going to need both of her hands to eat.", as she watched Dobby flush red with embarrassment.
Dobby quickly led Hermione to her chair and sat her down before going over to sit near Winky. The Granger's had insisted that the elves join them at mealtimes and after some serious persuasion, they got their wish. Now, the elves both found that they liked the arrangement because it made them feel closer to everyone.
Hermione was smiling at her parents when she noticed that they had gotten the elves to take meals with them. It was a Granger family tradition to have the entire family together for meals and the fact that her parents considered the elves family really helped to cheer her up.
After a nice meal where everyone kept the conversation away from the morning's events, they all retreated up to the library. John had led everyone up to there thinking that it would provide a familiar background for the teens and allow them to be comfortable for the talk that was coming.
He was not disappointed when Hermione gasped when she entered the room right behind her mother. Her expression was almost identical to Annabelle's the first time that she saw this room. Before John could reach over and close her mouth with a finger, Harry had beaten him to it.
"No drooling Hermione, you might damage the books." Harry said lightly.
"I don't drool!" Hermione replied indignantly only to huff in annoyance when Harry responded with a quirked eyebrow.
This was too much for John and he completely lost it and starting laughing.
Annabelle was red in the face but chuckling softly while Remus and Sirius were looking between the two couples confused.
Not able to stand it any longer Sirius asked; "What's so funny?" which sent John into a fresh round of laughter and put a half smile on Harry's face at the same time.
When he was finally able to reign in his laughter, John replied, "Hermione's reaction and Harry's response were almost identical in every way to when we first saw this room."
Mother and daughter were both blushing lightly and rounded on their men at the same time with the same expressions on their faces. Unfortunately, for them all four men in the house could see their identical expressions and began laughing at the site.
After a few minutes of light laughter, erupting from various parties everyone settled down into the furniture in the room. Harry and Hermione had plunked themselves down on the love seat over by the fire while everyone else settled into the remaining furniture so that they were all facing each other.
To save Harry and Hermione from having to retell their experiences from the morning Remus spoke up "If you two don't mind," Remus indicated the two teens, "I can fill everyone in on what happened and you can fill in any spots that I miss; okay?"
The two teens nodded in relief at Remus' offer and Hermione nestled into Harry's shoulder for comfort, wrapping her arm across his chest protectively.
This reaction did not go unnoticed by the other adults in the room. They had not been around Harry and Hermione as much as Remus so the level of comfort that the two teens displayed together was a bit of a surprise for them.
Harry had closed his eyes, making himself comfortable, when Hermione leaned into him. He was finally starting to unwind from the events earlier that morning. Thankful that Remus had volunteered to retell the story Harry let his mind wander, feeling safe for the first time since the tournament started.
John, Annabelle, and Sirius all sat there riveted to the story as Remus spoke just above a whisper. They could not believe what Harry had been forced to endure. The trauma that he must have been subject too because of the task was immense. They were also very thankful that he had succeeded in rescuing Hermione from the bottom of the lake.
When Remus had finished telling them what Harry had seen and felt when he entered the hut there was not a dry eye left in the room. He did not spare any detail because everyone here needed to know what was going on.
Sirius was having a hard time not heading up to Hogwarts and paying a visit to everyone involved in setting up the tournament. 'How could they allow the students to be placed into life threatening events for a stupid tournament?' he thought helplessly. It was this thought that caused Sirius to reevaluate his thinking towards the Wizarding world and its attitudes.
Annabelle and John were holding onto each other's hands by the end of the tale. Both of them left speechless by the heartlessness of the magical community.
One thing had really been bothering Annabelle about this whole tournament business since she found out about it. Harry entered against his wishes and forced to compete did not sit well with her. Frustrated with her inability to come up with an answer on her own she blurted out her question. "Why didn't the judges alter the tournament tasks to something trivial and when they were complete just enter the names of the three legitimate champions? That way Harry wouldn't have been forced into these dangerous situations."
Remus was about to answer when he noticed that Harry and Hermione had dozed off in each other's arms. He motioned for quiet and pulled the afghan over the two teens. Gesturing to the others he moved to the other side of the room and put up a privacy ward so the two teens wouldn't hear them talking and wake up.
Remus finally spoke when they all took seats on the other side of the room. "They have been running on adrenaline all afternoon. I'm surprised that they lasted this long before falling asleep. Harry was wound so tight since he came out of the water that I was beginning to worry, and Hermione hasn't been much better. He said, with relief in his voice, "Both of them were taking things pretty hard."
A look of understanding passed between the adults and they silently agreed to try and not disturb the two teens sleeping on the love seat on the other side of the room.
"Well, to answer your earlier question Annabelle; I don't think that anyone even considered that idea. I know it didn't cross my mind." Remus said earnestly.
"It's a brilliant deduction but I don't think that wizards and witches think outside of the box like that." John pointed out before continuing to make his point. "From what I have read in the books that you lent us I have found that witches and wizards place too much faith into tradition and common practices to even think that there may be a better solution."
Annabelle was looking at her husband with pride and Remus and Sirius were in agreement with John's point, both of them thinking similar thoughts along the line of; 'Are we that set in our ways that we just accept what ever is dealt to us without question?
"The question now is what can we do to help them?" Annabelle said while gesturing towards the sleeping teens. In frustration she said, "I want to pull them both out of that school right now but I understand that I can't really."
"You are correct, the magic compelling Harry to compete could have nasty repercussions if he were to quit." Remus replied.
"Are you sure? Has anyone ever defied the Goblet before?" John asked the two wizards.
Both of them were stumped again by his question. "I don't know." Remus replied and then asked Sirius; "Do you?"
"Nope. I don't think anyone ever has that I'm aware. This is one of those lack-of-proof things, correct? Well, I won't risk Harry's life by telling him to not compete in the third task without solid evidence that it wouldn't hurt him." Sirius responded.
"We could safely pull Hermione out but I think that she would fight us on that based upon how close they seem to be now." John said in resignation. He did not want his little girl to grow up yet but it appeared to be happening despite his best efforts to deny it.
"I agree. We should not separate them. It sounds like Hermione is one of only a very few people that openly supports Harry at school. Removing her would be very bad." Annabelle said while grasping her husband's hand.
"I know. I just don't like that the headmaster put her in danger against our wishes! Is there anything that we could do to help protect her from that in the future? What about a Wizarding guardian other than the headmaster?" John suggested.
"Perhaps there is someone that would help us; we just need to get into contact with her first." Sirius said while trying to work out what he would say to his cousin.
"Who do you think would help us?" Remus asked, curious about which family member Sirius must be contemplating approaching.
"I was thinking about Andromeda and her husband Ted. If they won't help perhaps their daughter Nymphadora will." Sirius revealed his thoughts on the matter.
"Do you think that they will believe that you were innocent?" Annabelle spoke hesitantly. She knew that this was a sore subject for Sirius from their long talks about his life experiences.
"I think so. I guess we will have to have Remus here approach them on my behalf first. I think that we can supply them with some memories to view and maybe something from Harry and Hermione about that night last year when we all saw Pettigrew." Sirius replied wistfully.
Everyone could hear his desire to have some family members believe his innocence.
"Is there anything else that we could do that would help to convince them of your innocence? What about one of those invincible vows?" John asked Sirius.
"An Unbreakable Vow? That is a great idea! I can have Remus contact them and then I could swear an Unbreakable Vow that I was not the Potter's secret keeper. Thanks John." Sirius said enthusiastically.
"Glad to be of service. Do you think that we should wake them soon?" John asked as he glanced at the clock on the wall. They had been asleep for a few hours already and it was nearing dinnertime.
"Let them sleep until dinner is ready. They look so peaceful and I think that is a good thing after the day that they have had." Annabelle said while gazing over at the two sleeping teenagers.
Dinner was a quiet affair since no one wanted to bring up the day's earlier events. However, by the end of dinner Harry and Hermione would have given almost anything to be talking about the second task.
The adults had concluded that Harry and Hermione needed 'The Talk' based upon how close they seemed to be to each other.
This led to a very red-faced Harry and Hermione rejoining each other after they were led to separate rooms for privacy.
Seeing the two teens reactions to each other now that they had each received the infamous 'Talk' Sirius pulled out his Wizarding camera and snapped a picture, forever capturing the moment on film. The look that he received from Hermione sent the other adults into fits of laughter and made him fear that she was going to pay him back somehow.
After a round of hugs and kisses goodbye, Remus took a much more calm and collected Harry and Hermione back to Hogwarts. Spending the day away from the Wizarding world at the Grangers house had been just what they needed to recover.