"You two seem to have made yourselves scarce around the ship lately," Maurise noted calmly.
Fred took a sip of his coffee and shrugged. "Well, you haven't organized any activities lately, and George and I have been busy with our own projects."
"Besides," Fred added, his tone dripping with exaggerated grievance, "you explicitly forbade us from bringing Dungbombs on board."
"Then it is highly advisable you do not come at all," Maurise replied, his face completely impassive.
Both twins let out dramatic groans of agony, to which Maurise merely sneered. Dungbombs were strictly prohibited on his vessel. The memory of the twins accidentally detonating one inside his living room was still agonizingly fresh.
Dropping the playful act, Fred leaned forward. "Harry is looking for you. He is waiting just outside."
"Understood." Maurise stood up from the sofa. "You two can keep Tin company for a while. He recently mastered a rather novel trick and would likely be thrilled to show it off."
Fred and George turned in unison to look at Tin, who was perched proudly atop the massive bone model of Hogwarts. The cat blinked innocently at them.
Stepping off the Ship in a Bottle, Maurise immediately spotted Harry, Hermione, and Ron waiting by the shore. Harry was clutching his golden egg tightly against his chest.
The trio hurried over.
"What is it?" Maurise asked.
"We heard a rumor..." Harry began, his voice laced with urgency. "We heard your golden egg shattered. Is it true?"
"Indeed, but that happened quite some time ago," Maurise nodded, appearing entirely unbothered. "Have you uncovered the egg's secret?"
"Not yet," Harry admitted frankly. "But I still have mine, and we can study it together."
Hermione sighed heavily beside him, her expression a mix of frustration and resignation. "In truth, Harry has been acting as if he doesn't care at all. He refused to even look at the egg and dragged his feet until today."
Harry scratched the back of his neck, thoroughly embarrassed. He couldn't refute it. Aside from a brief burst of effort right after the First Task, he had indeed been procrastinating terribly.
"The Second Task is on February 24th," Ron chimed in, serving as the grim reminder. "We need to start figuring this out right now."
Maurise looked at them evenly. "I believe Harry and I are competitors."
"We are," Harry replied without hesitation, his gaze earnest. "But I think we are friends first. We should face this challenge together."
It was a straightforward, incredibly sincere statement.
A faint smile graced Maurise's lips. He beckoned to Harry. "Follow me."
Without another word, he turned and strode directly toward the edge of the Black Lake. Puzzled but trusting, the trio hurried after him.
Stopping at the water's edge, Maurise turned back to them. "Do any of you know the Bubble-Head Charm?"
Harry paused briefly before nodding.
"We all do," Hermione explained proudly. "I saw you use it during the screeching incident and thought it looked incredibly practical. I looked up the incantation, and Harry and Ron practiced it with me."
"Mine is a bit unstable," Ron shrugged sheepishly. "My bubble pops all the time. But Harry's is perfect."
"Excellent," Maurise said, extending a hand. "Harry, give me the egg."
His face gave absolutely nothing away.
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, deeply confused, though he still handed the heavy golden egg over.
Maurise tucked the egg securely under his arm. "Follow closely."
Without a single word of explanation, he leaned gracefully backward, plummeting directly into the freezing waters of the Black Lake.
Splash.
Water sprayed upward, ripples expanding rapidly across the surface as Maurise vanished from sight.
The three Gryffindors stood frozen in shock. Harry was the first to snap back to reality.
"Wait for me on the shore!" he yelled to Ron and Hermione, already realizing what Maurise intended. He drew his wand, tapped his own head, and cast the Bubble-Head Charm. A thick, transparent bubble blossomed from his wand tip, smoothly enveloping his entire head.
Stripping off his heavy winter cloak, Harry dove straight into the icy lake.
On the shore, Ron and Hermione stared at the rippling water. The biting winter wind howled past them.
"Are they completely mental?!" Ron exclaimed in sheer disbelief. "It is the middle of winter! They'll freeze to death down there!"
"Just wait," Hermione replied, remaining surprisingly calm. "Maurise is with him. Nothing will go wrong." Whatever Maurise was doing, it was undoubtedly the key to the golden egg.
Beneath the surface, Harry felt the freezing lake water instantly envelop him, stabbing at his skin like thousands of icy needles. Fortunately, the Bubble-Head Charm allowed him to breathe perfectly and kept his vision crystal clear.
'Look over here, Harry.'
Maurise's voice echoed with startling clarity directly inside Harry's mind.
Harry looked up to see Maurise, also sporting a Bubble-Head Charm, suspended in the water just two meters away. Harry opened his mouth to reply, but the sound was hopelessly muffled by both the water and the magical bubble.
'Do not waste your breath', Maurise's voice resonated in his head again, carrying a faint trace of amusement. I am using a minor telepathic trick to project my voice directly into your mind.
Without any warning, Maurise tossed the heavy golden egg back to Harry through the water. Harry scrambled wildly to catch it before it sank into the murky depths.
'Careful!' Harry mouthed emphatically.
Maurise swam slightly closer. 'Try it now, Harry. Open the egg down here, and you should find your answer.'
Harry looked down at the golden egg in his hands and steeled his resolve. Supporting the base with one hand, he gripped the top with the other, dug his thumb into the groove, and twisted.
In the very next second, an ethereal, hauntingly beautiful song drifted from the opened egg, echoing clearly through the water:
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground..."
As the haunting melody looped over and over in the frigid water, Harry stared at Maurise in sheer astonishment, his eyes wide behind his glasses.
Maurise merely offered a calm nod in return.
So this was exactly how the egg was supposed to be opened. In truth, Maurise hadn't been entirely certain of the correct method himself when he suggested bringing it underwater. It was a calculated risk. If he had opened it and absolutely nothing had happened, the situation would have been incredibly awkward.
By the time the mermaid's song looped for the fifth time, Harry's shivering became noticeable. He suddenly started to feel the intense, biting chill of the lake seeping into his bones. He had been submerged for several minutes now, and while the Bubble-Head Charm perfectly provided oxygen, it offered absolutely no thermal insulation against the freezing Scottish waters.
Deciding they had heard enough, Harry snapped the golden egg shut, cutting off the ethereal voices. He pointed a numb finger toward the surface above and mouthed a clear message to Maurise: "Let's get out."
'Alright.' Maurise nodded, having already noticed that Harry's physical endurance was waning and he likely couldn't hold out much longer. He mouthed back,'Once we are back on the surface, I will cast a Warming Charm on you.'
With smooth deliberation, Maurise drew his wand from his waist and gave it a precise, intricate flick.
Before Harry's disbelieving eyes, the sleek wooden wand seamlessly transfigured into a delicate, compact mechanical propeller.
Maurise grabbed Harry's arm firmly with his free hand. With a sudden burst of kinetic energy, the magical propeller whirred to life, churning the water and rapidly dragging the two boys upward through the murky depths toward the surface.
Harry was absolutely dumbfounded, his jaw practically dropping inside his air bubble.
'You can use a wand like that?!'