Not Losing Hope (Against Time Sequel)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

The Second Task

“You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!" said Hermione indignantly as Harry had explained he had been out the night before figuring the clue, and had it not been for Moody he’d have been caught.

"Keep your voice down!" Harry answered angrily. "I just need to - sort of fine-tune it, all right?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were sitting at the very back of the Charms class with a table to ourselves. They were supposed to be practicing the opposite of the Summoning Charm today - the Banishing Charm. Owing to the potential for nasty accidents when objects kept flying across the room. Professor Flitwick had given each of us students a stack of cushions on which to practice, the theory being that these wouldn't hurt anyone if they went off target. It was a good theory, but it wasn't working very well. Neville's aim was so poor that he kept accidentally sending much heavier things flying across the room - Professor Flitwick, for instance.

"Just forget the egg for a minute, all right?" Harry hissed as Professor Flitwick went whizzing resignedly past them, landing on top of a large cabinet. "I'm trying to tell you about Snape and Moody. ..."

"Snape said Moodys searched his office as well?" Ron whispered as he Banished a cushion with a sweep of his wand (it soared into the air and knocked Parvati's hat off). "What. . . d'you reckon Moody's here to keep an eye on Snape as well as Karkaroff?"

"Well, I dunno if that's what Dumbledore asked him to do, but he's definitely doing it," said Harry, "Moody said Dumbledore only lets Snape stay here because he's giving him a second chance or something. ..."

"What?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes widening, his next cushion spinning high into the air, ricocheting off the chandelier, and dropping heavily onto Flitwick's desk. "Harry... maybe Moody thinks Snape put your name in the Goblet of Fire!"

"Oh Ron," Hermione said, shaking her head skeptically, "we thought Snape was trying to kill Harry before, and it turned out he was saving Harry's life, remember?"

I don’t…

She Banished a cushion and it flew across the room and landed in the box they were all supposed to be aiming at.

"I don't care what Moody says," Hermione went on. "Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin, even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so why shouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit -"

"- evil," said Ron promptly. "Come on, Hermione, why are all these Dark wizard catchers searching his office, then?"

"Why has Mr. Crouch been pretending to be ill?" I said, speacking for the first time, "I mean, he couldn’t make it to the Yule Ball, but he’s fine to come in the middle of the night.”

“That’s actually a good point,” Hermione agreed.

"You just don't like Crouch because of that elf, Winky," Ron said to Hermione, sending a cushion soaring into the window.

"You just want to think Snapes up to something," Hermione retorted, sending her cushion zooming neatly into the box.

"I just want to know what Snape did with his first chance, if he's on his second one," Harry said grimly, and his cushion flew straight across the room and landed neatly on top of Hermione's.

It seemed finally Harry was paying attention to the real problem: how to survive underwater for an hour on the twenty-fourth of February. Which of course, made me curious as to what Ced had planned, but I’m completely sure he has something in mind because he doesn’t leave things to the last moment, so I’m gonna worry about Harry for now and visit Ced later.