The days from the end of Christmas break to the second task seemed to pass in a blur.
Harry was kept busy the entire time. Between classes and homework, he would have had little free time. But of course, he was also meeting Snape, Dumbledore, and Theo at nights, he was still meeting Steven once a week, and he still had to spend time with Daphne.
Still, it was all worth it. He was keeping his spot at the top of the class, and his fighting skills were improving rapidly.
Very rapidly. He and Draco managed to beat Snape.
Of course, Snape had been going easy on them, not using any lethal spells. Nevertheless, managing to knock him out was a major accomplishment.
Teaching Theo had definitely contributed to that. He had been forced to revisit a lot of spells and maneuvers that had become second nature to him. Going back to them now, he found that he had a richer, deeper understanding of what he was doing, and that just helped him all around. He was starting to seriously outpace Draco, something he didn't mind rubbing in his friend's face. Of course, Draco would just remind him of the difference in their Occlumency abilities, and Harry would be forced to shut up at that. While Harry was improving, he was nowhere near Draco's ability. Draco could successfully deceive Snape using his Occlumency. Harry could barely keep his mind split while Snape rummaged through it.
All in all, things at Hogwarts were going well. There was much discussion about what exactly the second task would be. As they drew closer to it, the theories grew more and more crazy and outlandish.
Things at Hogwarts were good.
Which just served to make the warning Snape gave him all the more surprising and nerve wrecking.
"You need to be careful"
"I have been, I haven't-"
Snape shook his head quickly.
"No. Listen to me. Moody is suspicious of you. Not due to your actions, but due to those of your friends'"
"What did they do?"
"Nothing. But he has seen how they treat you"
"They're scared of me," Harry said flatly.
"Harry-"
"I understand. They're right to be" he sighed.
"So what do I do?"
"Be very careful around Dumbledore. Moody is suspicious of everyone. The problem is that Dumbledore listens to him. But Dumbledore is blinded. He refuses to accept that you could be involved with the Dark Lord"
"Moody thinks that?"
' Shit. How?'
"Suspects. They don't know for sure that the Dark Lord has a body yet. But Moody's suspicions were first raised when you cast the Shield Charm on instinct in his class. He's been watching you carefully since then"
"But-"
"I told Dumbledore that you and Draco wanted help learning to duel and that I have been training you"
"So that's how he knew"
Snape nodded curtly.
"Moody noticed how that Durmstrang boy looks at you. He doesn't know why it is there, but he can see the fear"
"What do I do?" Harry whispered.
"Know that Moody is watching you. His Eye can see through invisibility cloaks. He has his own cloak. Don't talk about anything sensitive outside of your common room or my office. And have privacy charms in place when you do"
"But what about Dumbledore?"
"Carry on as you have. Keep reinforcing the image you present to him-of a child who is trying to be a better person, who is trying to move past the difficult events in his life. Dumbledore cannot accept that you would serve the Dark Lord"
"Because He killed my parents," Harry said, voice bitter.
Snape just stared at him, eyes unreadable.
"Sometimes. It's hard not to think about that"
Snape looked like he wanted to say something. He motioned for Harry to carry on.
"He just-He killed them. I never got to know them. And sometimes I think I-they died to save me. How the fuck can I serve the man who killed them? But I swore. And I can't-I don't want to back out. Even if He didn't kill me. I'd lose everything. But they died for me. And sometimes it just seems like I'm pissing on their graves"
Harry stopped speaking, breathing hard. He wiped at his eyes.
Snape was still staring at him, with that same, blank expression.
"Harry," he said, finally breaking the awkward silence. "Your parents died so that you could live. Not so that you could die a pointless death"
"I know that. I'm not going to-"
"They died so that you could live. Not just survive. Live. You would be happier on the Dark Lord's side than in Dumbledore's. They would want you to be happy, more than anything else"
"They-"
"Loved you so much, they died for you. The love of a parent is unconditional. The best way to honor their sacrifice is to live and be happy. Not to die in a vain attempt at emulating a Gryffindor"
"You really think so?"
"They died because they believed fighting the Dark Lord was the best way to make the wizarding world a better place. Knowing what you do about muggles, do you really think they were correct?"
Harry shook his head.
"The best way for you to honor their sacrifice is for you to fight and make the wizarding world better. The only way to do that is through the Dark Lord's service. And besides. It makes you happy, doesn't it?"
"It does" Harry admitted.
"Then you have no reason to feel like you are betraying them"
' But I still do. Maybe I just need to stop caring'
Snape watched him for a few more minutes before speaking again.
"Dumbledore does not believe in using Legilemency on students without permission. He believes it to be morally reprehensible"
' Well, he's an idiot'
"Nevertheless. He would do it if he was suspicious enough. You need to work on your Occlumency. You have to be capable of standing up to him without raising his suspicions further if necessary"
Harry nodded.
"The Dark Lord does not blame you for their increased suspicions. He knows it is not your fault"
Harry heaved a sigh of relief.
"Just be careful. You're doing well, so keep it up"
"Thanks" Harry muttered and rose to leave the office.
"You should know. The Dark Lord truly… holds you in high esteem. He looks at you as his protege. More than anyone else. When you are older, you will doubtless be his second-in-command"
Harry nodded and walked out, his back straighter, a fleeting look of pride crossing his face.
Snape stared at the closed door, and dry-heaved, retching until his throat began to pain him.
After Snape had warned him, Harry began to notice Moody's stares. Oh, the man was good about it. But Harry would catch him staring, not at him, but at his friends. At Poliakoff.
In Defense, Moody treated him exactly as he treated everyone else. Brusquely.
But now that he was looking out for it, he picked up on the little hints.
The second Moody would pause after Harry answered a question. The way questions directed at him almost always seemed to be about something, well, Dark.
Moody was fishing. And if Harry hadn't been warned, he would have taken the bait. But he had been warned.
So he started fudging his answers.
Not too much, not enough for it to be obvious.
Just enough so he would seem far less knowledgeable about subjects a fourteen-year-old wizard was not expected to know.
He started asking questions, making himself seem naive. Nothing too bad, nothing bad enough that would make his friends gape.
Just innocent enough to plant a seed of doubt.
With Dumbledore, he didn't have to change how he had been acting, other than focusing on his Occlumency before every meeting with the Headmaster. But Dumbledore too would sometimes look at him with a small frown.
And the days marched on, heading towards the second task, and the Easter break.
February the twenty-fourth, the day of the second task, dawned with nary a cloud in the sky.
The air was still cool as Harry and his friends followed the crowd down to the stands set up near the lake, but the sun shone down on them, basking them all in warmth after the Scottish winter.
They settled into the stands, on the opposite side of the lake to where the judges' table had been set up.
The champions lined up near the lake's edge. Ludo Bagman walked from one of them to another, spacing them out. He said something to Cedric, causing the boy's face to darken slightly, before clapping him on the back and heading back to his seat.
Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and then began to speak, in a booming voice that echoed around the school grounds.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One… two… three!"
The whistle blew. Immediately, each of the champions pointed their wands at themselves.
Fleur and Cedric both did the same thing, encasing their heads in a bubble before diving into the water.
Krum, however, seemed to be going for Self-Transfiguration.
Harry couldn't work out exactly what Krum was changing into. He had dived into the water before it was complete, while his upper body was still a writhing mass.
As the champions disappeared into the murky depths of the lake, the crowd started talking excitedly. Bagman again spoke.
"The champions will be searching for people they are close to, who have been taken hostage by the Merpeople. The hostages are under a deep magical sleep, and their safety has been assured. However, our heroes don't know that"
Laughter broke out, with some of the students looking quite horrified.
"The champions will be graded based on the time of their return, as well as how they handle themselves within the lake. Not only do they have to find the hostages and bring them back safely, no. There are many dangers within the lake, from the giant squid to grindylows to greenteeths"
Bagman's voice died down.
It took a few minutes after that for the spectators to realize that unlike the first task, where they got to watch the champions face dragons, they really couldn't see any of what was going on in the lake.
It really was exceptionally boring.
"Seriously? They couldn't figure out a way for us to see what they're doing? This is such a waste of time!"
"It's historic"
"It's a historic waste of time"
"Instead of complaining, you could always join the pool"
Harry turned around to face Blaise.
"What pool?"
"Three to one on Fleur. Two to one on Diggory. No special odds for Krum"
"Uh. I'll put ten Galleons on Diggory"
"Ten it is"
As the large clock ticked forward, letting them know that there was only fifteen minutes left of the hour time limit, the surface of the water broke.
Fleur rose up, her head hitting the air, an extremely panicked expression twisting her features.
She shouted something and made as if to dive again.
She shrieked, the sound full of pain, and twisted her body, swimming in stops and starts to the banks.
As she pulled herself out, the judges and Madam Pomfrey descended on her.
By the time they cleared, she was covered in a thick blanket and held a steaming mug in her hands.
She still was shivering, looking depressed beyond belief, while Madame Maxime bent over and whispered to her.
"Well, she's out"
"Yeah, probably. I wonder what happened?"
"Maybe the giant squid got a little touchy"
"Gross!"
Just after the clock hit the time limit, Diggory too appeared. He seemed to be in much better shape than Fleur had been, and was carrying Cho Chang with him.
He swam out and again, the judges and Madam Pomfrey descended.
"So, just waiting for Krum now"
They didn't have long to wait.
Krum appeared a few minutes later, pulling Granger. His upper body was back to normal, and from the way he effortlessly pulled the mudblood, he definitely had lots of experience in the water.
The judges descended again, although Dumbledore ambled further down the banks of the lake.
Dumbledore bent down towards the water, where a merman rose to greet him.
A girl was pushed out of the water by the merman. She looked young, and almost exactly like Fleur.
The Beauxbatons Champion saw this, and jumped to her feet, shouting.
Dumbledore calmly levitated the younger girl over to Madam Pomfrey, who began fussing over her immediately, while Fleur stood by, watching, her whole body shouting her agitation.
Dumbledore walked back from the merman a few minutes later and pulled the other judges into a huddle.
After a short discussion, they separated, and Bagman began speaking again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows… .
"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points. "
Everyone started applauding, albeit weakly.
"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. " Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; Harry saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look. "We therefore award him forty-seven points. "
The applause was far stronger this time.
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points. "
"You owe me twenty galleons" Harry shouted to Blaise, over the crowd.
"Yeah, yeah. He's in the lead now, Diggory. Gonna need to work out the odds for the next one"
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions. "
"As long as it's less boring than this one was, I'll be fine," someone said.
Harry and Draco shared a glance.
' I don't know about the task, but that is going to be a very interesting time for England'
Harry and Daphne sat together, embracing each other as the train drew near to King's Cross.
"You're going to be fine. You're going to be better than fine. Don't focus on the crowd. If you must, just look at me, ok? I'll be there, watching you"
"I know. It's just gonna be so big. There's so many of us doing it now"
"Yeah. But don't think about that. Just think about how disgusting the muggle is, how offensive their existence is. Think about how good it feels"
The train started slowing down, pulling into the station."Come, we've got to get our stuff from the other compartment"
They started walking, weaving through the students already reading to the train doors.
They got their trunks, said goodbye to their friends, and made their way out.
"I'll see you in a few days," Harry said, giving her a kiss before making his way to where his godfather stood.