Ava had put on her swimsuit under some denim overalls. After joining Harry, she led him to the Prefects bathroom. They were both hidden under the invisibility cloak to avoid Filch since it was past curfew. Ava had the Marauders map in her hand whilst Harry had the egg in his arms. When they reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, Ava located the right door leaned close to it and muttered the password, "Pinefresh," just as Cedric had told her. The door creaked open. They slipped inside, bolted the door behind them, and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking around. Her immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom. She could even meet Cedric up here. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pool's edges, each with a differently coloured jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single golden framed painting on the wall.
Whilst Harry was putting his things away in the corner, Ava knelt to open the few taps. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; another poured ice-white foam so thick that Ava thought it would have supported her weight if she'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. A sweet scent of vanilla and peach wafted through the air with a few notes iris: Ava's perfume. She took off her overalls and placed them on top of Harry's stuff. After Harry turned off all the taps they both slid in the water. The golden egg was on the edge of the bath waiting to be opened. It was so deep that her feet barely touched the bottom, they did a couple of lengths, splashed each other and wrestled before swimming back to the side and treading water, staring at the egg.
"Cedric told me to put it in the water," she said as she lifted it in her slippery hands.
" Still don't know how you got him to tell you all that," he chuckled.
"Just take the bloody egg," she rolled her eyes whilst handing it to him.
Harry lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface and opened it . . . and this time, it did not wail. A gurgling song was coming out of it, a song whose words couldn't distinguish through the water.
"You need to put your head under too," she ordered.
Harry took a great breath and slid under the surface, Ava following his actions — and now, sitting on the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath, a chorus of eerie voices singing from the open egg could be heard:
"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour-long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour — the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."
Ava let Harry listen to it a few more times so he could figure it out himself.
"I've got to go and look for people who can't use their voices above the ground. . . ." he said slowly. "Er . . . who could that be?"
"Slow, aren't you?"
"Ava, there aren't merpeople in there, are there?"
"Caught on, took you a while," she chuckled as they got out of the bath.
Harry didn't speak on their way back, he seemed very nervous and worried.
" how am I going to breathe?" he asked her worriedly.
"I don't know Harry. But there must be a solution, otherwise, the task would be impossible. Don't worry I'm sure we'll figure it out. I'll ask Neville and Hermione to do some research. Ron can owl one of his brothers. We'll find something."
***
The next day, Ava had called an emergency meeting with her friends to figure something out for the task. They were gathered in a corner of the library, far away from others. Ron, Hermione, Ava and Harry were all sat at different corners. They had gone through every book of the library for what felt like hours but still, they found nothing.
"Come seek us where our voices sound," repeated Harry, his head resting on a book.
" The black lake, that's obvious," assured Hermione.
"An hour-long you'll have to look."
" Again obvious," she said, " though it must be potentially problematic."
"Potentially problematic? When was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour, Hermione ?"
" Look H-Harry we can do this. The four of us can figure it out," she assured him.
Ava was drifting away, her head resting on Ron's shoulder, who was knocked out. In the corner of a bookshelf, Professor Moody appeared limping.
"Hate to break up the scholar's session, Professor McGonagall would like to see you three in her office."
"But sir, the second task is only hours away and -" started Ava.
"Exactly, presumably Potter is well prepared by now and could do with a good night's sleep," he interrupted. "Go, now," he said, his voice much louder.
Knowing not to argue, they hurried out of the library and into McGonagall's office.
" You may be wondering why I have gathered you in my office. The second task is tomorrow, and the champions will have to retrieve something they cherished. After a tough decision, Potter will retrieve Mr Weasley, Krum will retrieve Miss Granger, Delacour will retrieve her sister and you Miss Lupin, will be retrieved by Mr Digorry."
They looked at each other anxiously, not knowing what to say.
" Do not worry, a temporary spell will put you in a deep sleep and you won't feel a thing. Understood ?" she asked.
They nodded, uncertain. One by one, they were put under the spell and when it was Ava's turn, she felt her eyelids drop and her body slacken.
***
"Has anyone seen Ava ?" Fred had spent the whole day looking for her. " I really need to talk to her ?"
"I have no idea where she is, she disappeared with Ron and Hermione last night, haven't seen them since," replied Harry. They were making the way towards the black lake, as the task was about to start.
As they pounded down the lawn he saw that the seats that had encircled the dragons' enclosure in November were now ranged along the opposite bank, rising in stands that were packed to the bursting point and reflected in the lake below. The excited babble of the crowd echoed strangely across the water as Harry toward the judges, who were sitting at another gold-draped table at the water's edge. Cedric, Fleur, and Krum were beside the judges' table.
"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 echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; without looking to see what the other champions were doing, Harry pulled off his shoes and socks, pulled the handful of gillyweed out of his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, and waded out into the lake.
In the stands, Fred was waiting anxiously with George and Lee.
"Have you talked to her yet mate ?" asked Lee.
"No, I tried yesterday but she was with Diggory, and today I couldn't find her anywhere," he grudged.
" Well if someone called me a whore and then tried to make out with me, I don't think I would want to talk to them either," uttered George.
" He's got a point," said Lee.
" I fucked up, I know I did -"
"Yet again," mumbled George.
"- But I really need to see her. At least be her friend again, I'm not asking her to date me."
" But we all know that's what you really want," they said in unison.
After an hour of waiting, the first champion shot out of the water. It was Cedric, he had his arm around Ava who was struggling to breathe. As soon as he saw her, Fred rushed to the platform and pushed his way through the crowd. He seized her arm carefully whilst Cedric was hoisting her up by the waist.
"Come here, you," said Madam Pomfrey. She seized Ava and pulled her over to the middle, wrapped her so tightly in a blanket that she felt as though she were in a straitjacket, and forced a measure of very hot potion down her throat. Steam gushed out of her ears. She was coughing the water out whilst Cedric was rubbing circle on her back, soothingly.
" Are you okay love ?" asked Fred, tucking her hair under her ear.
" I'm al-alright," she struggled to speak. Being underwater for so long was not good for her asthma.
"You dickhead," bellowed Fred, pointing his finger at Cedric whilst standing up." You could have killed her."
" I'm so sorry Ava. I had no idea it was you they would put underwater. Otherwise, I would've done something about it," he said tenderly.
"You do realize you could have fucking killed her you asshole," he sneered, walking towards him.
"Wow, calm down mate. Don't come here acting like a fucking hero," Cedric threatened.
"What the hell are you talking about ?"
Don't act like you don't know what you did. You ignore for two fucking days and then you come back like everything's fine and put the blame on me. I'm not bloody stupid."
"This has nothing to do with this." They were so close to each other now, both of their fists curled up, ready to fight.
"Just shut up both of you. You're acting like idiots," Ava snapped, having had enough.
During their fight, Krum had got out of the water with Hermione, who was wrapped tightly in a towel. As soon as she saw Ava, she hugged her tightly, asking her if she was okay. Fleur had also arrived, but she wasn't able to find her sister.
Once again, cheers and applause erupted from the stands. Ron, Harry and Gabrielle shot out of the water. Ava let out the breath she had been holding in and rushed to the shore to help her friends. She took Ron's arm and helped him up whilst Harry was being dragged by Percy. She engulfed him in a hug when he had set foot on the bank and gave him her towel. She examined him, making sure she was okay and when he seemed fine she ran over to Harry.
" Oh gosh Harry, are you okay ?" she cried hugging him." You did it!"
"I finished last Ava."
" Next to last, Fleur never got past the gryndilows," she said kissing the top of his head." But you did it, all by yourself !"
" Well- " he started, but as soon as he saw the judges nearby he stopped talking. "Yeah, that's right," he said, raising his voice slightly so that Karkaroff could hear him.
Ava had noticed his demeanour and as she hugged him again, she whispered," Don't worry, you'll tell me later."
Hermione sat down next to them, hugging Harry and congratulating him. The judges went into a huddle. Madam Pomfrey had gone to rescue Ron from Percy's clutches; she led him over to Harry and the others, gave him a blanket and some Pepperup Potion. Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them, making them all jump, and causing the crowd in the stands to go very quiet.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Marcus 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. 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. We, therefore, award him forty-seven points."
Ava gave Cedric a quick kiss on the cheek, very proud of him.
"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. Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr Potter was first to reach the hostages and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."
Ava and Hermione both gave Harry half-exasperated, half commiserating looks.
"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks. However . . . Mr Potter's score is forty-five points."
Ava, Ron and Hermione, caught by surprise, stared at Harry, then laughed and started applauding hard with the rest of the crowd. Apparently, everything Harry did seemed to be very appreciated.
"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."
Ava sighed, relieved that for now, they didn't have to worry about the Tournament and could just enjoy the peaceful spring that was arriving. At least that's what she thought.