Girl Who Escaped {Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire} [BEING EDITED]

[14] The Second Task.

     "Well, I dunno if that's what Dumbledore asked him to do, but he's definitely doing it," said Harry, waving his wand without paying much attention, so that his cushion did an odd sort of belly flop off the desk. "Moody said Dumbledore only lets Snape stay here because he's giving him a second chance or something...."

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

     She banished a cushion and it flew across the room and landed in the box we were all supposed to be aiming at. Harry looked at Hermione, with an odd sort thinking face.

     Snape loved taking points from Harry, and had certainly never missed an opportunity to give him punishments, or even to suggest that he should be suspended from the school. However, Snape did not seem like the type to put a student in the face of danger. I continued to scribble down occasional notes and fling things toward the box. I kept my mouth shut about the small dispute, though; I had already formed my own opinion.

     "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?" said Hermione, ignoring Ron. "It's a bit funny, isn't it, that he cant manage to come to the Yule Ball, but he can get up here in the middle of the night when he wants to?"

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

     "You just want to think Snape's up to something," said Hermione, sending her cushion zooming neatly into the box.

     I bit my tounge harder, holding both my breath and opinion.

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

   ...

Things began to slip by quickly, February 24th was approaching at a deadly rate.

     It was the 22nd, two days until the tournament.

     Cedric and I were sitting in a patch of grass in the courtyard; I sat Indian style, with his head in my lap, and playing with his hair.

     He seemed very cool about the whole situation, but I was so nervous I felt like my insides were on the verge of eating themselves.

     "Have you figured out what you're gonna do to breathe underwater?" I asked, rubbing my ring finger across his forehead and into his hair. He'd finally told me about the riddle and what he thought it meant. There were merpeople in the lake as far as I knew, and if they were to have an hour underwater, one would need a charm or herb or something to breathe whilst immersed.

     "I think I have a pretty good idea," He said distractedly, "I'm just sort of thinking about what they're taking from me..."

     "Something of great value." I shrugged a bit.