The next morning Olivia woke up snuggled to George in Gryffindor tower. It was early in the morning before anyone was awake. The sun had hardly risen. She prodded George, "Georgie, I'm going to go back to the dorm before anyone is in the halls. I'm gonna leave my dress and stuff here. I'll see you later." She told him
"Mmokaym," said George half asleep.
So with only a pair of socks on her feet that she had stolen from the twin, she tipped toed out of the room and left the tower. She was lucky enough not to run into anyone heading to the barrels, although Peeves had almost caught her.
She showered and got ready for the day, and left the barrels. Olivia hadn't seen Snape alone to give him his gift, so she went to his office, walking in without knocking.
"Good morning!" She said sweetly
Snape looked tired sitting at his desk, he looked up at her, and said, "You're up early for someone that was up late last night."
"What can I say, I rise with the Sun, anyway I brought you your gift." She said handing his a box with a bow.
He opened it, revealing that inside of the box was a bottle of mead. He picked it up and seen that it was his favorite. "I asked Rosmerta what you go from there most often and she was kind enough to sell me that for your gift." Explained Olivia
He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a box, placing it in front of her. Olivia opened it up and found a matching scarf that went with her ear muffs and mittens. She smiled at it, "I love it thank you." She said.
"Minerva insisted on me getting it for you." He said simply.
Olivia accepted the gift, but she felt bad for the three adults in her life that meant the world to her. Because they had all gone in together to get her matching gifts but in reality Olivia hardly needed any of them because she generated heat when she was outside.
She gave him a smile before she left to go back to the common room to drop off her things and head to breakfast.
The next few days went by and try before the start of the new term, Olivia decided to go follow up on Cedrics advice and went to investigate it in the prefects bathroom.
Olivia decided to go late into the night after everyone had gone to bed. Inside the bathroom she found large pool size tub and a hundred taps to run water, she turned them on and let the smell of lavender fill her nose.
Well even if this doesn't work I get a nice relaxing night out of it. Olivia thought.
Making sure the door was locked and she even took an extra step to cast a locking charm on it to make sure no one would come in. She undressed herself, and dropped a couple fluffy towels and her egg, sitting them on the edge of the pool. Olivia stepped into the water, and the bubbles surrounded her.
Okay now what am I suppose to do?
Looking around she observed the details of the room. There was a beautiful stain glass window, and the moonlight lit the room.
Olivia decided to just pick up her egg. She looked at it in her hands, What to do with you? Finally she decided to put it in the water.
Okay, but it needs to be opened. The clue is in the inside.
She turned the latch and could hear a hum of music. Confused she looked at the glowing egg under water.
Maybe I need to be underwater to hear it too?
Olivia took a deep breath and dunked her head into the water.
"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."
The egg, was filled with a sweet voice, that sung to her. Olivia listened closely to the words, over and over. Resurfacing to catch her breath. She had finally stopped after she had memorized the whole song.
Olivia put the egg back on the edge of the tub. She leaned back and began thinking. Quickly she put the pieces together.
Under water is the only way to hear the egg, and the song said that's where we'll have to look. They will take something from us, and we have to get it back.
And if we're underwater, the Black Lake is all there is, Oh! The prospect's black! That must be where the second task will be.
One hour, we have to look for one hour. Meaning we have to breathe underwater for an hour...
Olivias mind was racing. She had a little less than two months to figure out how she could do the second task, and she had no clue how she was going to do that.
The next day term began, and Olivia filled in the twins on her recent discoveries. Meanwhile, lessons continued and weeks passed.
Throughout those weeks an awful article about Hagrid came out by the equally as awful Rita Skeeter. Olivia decide that one way or another she would get payback on the reporter.
However, for the time being she spent most of her free time in a empty classroom with the twins. They would bring in buckets of water and help her practice the Bubble Head Charm, that she needed for the second task.
Fred was timing how long she could keep her bubble charm going, while she had her head shoved into the bucket.
"And time, George get her towel." said Fred tapping Olivia on the shoulder. Coming out of the water her curls were drenched, she gladly accepted the towel from George. "I think you're ready for the second task finally."
She wrapped her hair in the towel and twisted onto her head. Shivering she walked over to the window that the sun was shining through, to work up.
Olivia instantly started radiating heat in the suns beams. "I think so too, I just wish I could figured out what they're gonna take from me to put at the bottom of the lake." She said, George came over and wrapped his arms around her thinking it would warm her up.
"Dang Ollie, you're so warm. I don't think I'll ever get use to that." George said letting her go.
"Me either," she laughed, and a thought occurred to her. "Wait, you don't think they put my camera in the lake do you?" She said panicked
"I doubt that, and if they do I sure they would do it in a way that would damage it. But the important thing is now you won't drown during the task." Joked Fred
The evening before the second task, Olivia visited Snapes office. Inside he was going through his storage room.
"I thought you just restocked those, why you going through them again?" She asked
"Because someone has been breaking into my office and taking supplies, but I can't tell what they're making with them because they only take one or two things." Said Snape looking at another vial.
Olivia sat in his chair humming to herself, Snape turned around at the noise. He raised a brow at her demeanor. "Why is it that you are so calm before your tasks?" He asked
She shrugged her shoulders, "Like I said last time worrying only makes you suffer twice. And honestly, whatever happens is gonna happen. I'm well prepared and I'll do my best tomorrow. That's all I can give anyway." She said simply.
"Do I need to remind you that you had a calm attitude before the last task also and almost died." He told her
"But I didn't though," said Olivia waving him off. "Listen, I'll be fine, I know you pretend to act like you don't worry, but I know you do. Have faith in me, because I do." She told him.
"I have faith in you, but it is these tasks that I don't have faith in." Said Snape, looking at the girl, it was hard not to notice Lily's qualities in her.
"Well, there's no dragons or fire around for this task so that should make you feel a lot better." She joked, standing and heading to the door. "I'm off to dinner, Dumbledore told me that my favorite pudding is gonna be served tonight. See ya Sev." And she was gone out the door, before he could say anything about the nickname.
Snape just groaned, going back to sorting his shelves.
Olivia ate dinner with her best friends, and enjoyed her pudding. She decided to hang out with Jo in the common room that evening, and made sure to get into bed at a decent time.
That evening McGonagall told the twins to go and get Ron and Hermione from the library and to meet her in her office. The next morning when Olivia woke up when the Sun did, she got ready and headed to breakfast, however the twins were not there.
They did show up at all, and soon Olivia had to go down for the second task. She couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't come to see her. Now she stood on the bank of the Black Lake. She checked her watch and seen that it about about to begin.
Olivia took off her robe and handed it to McGonagall. The crowd started whistling and hollering at her in her swimsuit. Snape quickly stepped in front of her and glared at the audience, and the cheering quickly stopped.
She noticed that Harry wasn't there yet. Looking around, "Where's Harry at? He's gonna miss the second task." Said Olivia.
McGonagall was looking worried, "He'll show, I know it." She said more to convince herself.
Finally, Harry came running down still dressed in his uniform. Once he had finally made it, Ludo announced the second task.
"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 county of three, then. One... two.... Three!!"
Olivia casted her charm and dove straight into the water. The water sizzled when it touched her skin. But she didn't stop, Olivia kept diving as far as she could.
Green weeds stretched the bottom as far as she could see. Eventually after swimming for awhile, Moaning Myrtle swam by, pointing in a direction.
Olivia gave her a thumbs up, and swam that way. Until she seen a black haired boy swimming passed a rock with Merpeople on it. She tried to swim faster, to catch up.
She swam behind him through a underwater village of houses that the merpeople dwelled in. Olivia was about to his feet when she heard the singing.
The merpeople were calling in the champions, there was a crowd of them gathered around in choir, behind them was statue with six people bound to it.
Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Cho Chang, and a little girl no older than 8. They all looked to seem asleep. Harry was diving and snatched up a rock, hacking at the ropes tied to Ron. He got his friend free, and then he went to Hermione, but the merpeople stopped him.
When Olivia arrived to the twins, she had just gotten Fred lose when Cedric showed up, he told Harry and her to hurry because Krum and Fleur was close.
Cedric had gotten Cho free. Olivia watched Harry, panic about Hermione. She got George free, and she assumed the reason why the merpeople didn't attack her for two people was because this was how they would make it harder for this task.
Olivia got Harry's attention, and pointed to her watch and up to the surface of the water. He got the idea of what she was saying.
Olivia looped her arms through the twins, and swam up, a grindylow latched onto her foot right before she hit the surface. But she managed to hex it off.
Olivia was a second behind Cedric, she gasped for air and the twins woken up beside her. The audience was booming with sound. They made their way to the bank, where Madam Pomfrey started fussing over everyone.
Wrapping them in thick blankets. Olivia sat on a rock, trying to catch her breath, even though she had the bubble charm the speed she had to swim tired her out. George wrapped his blanket around her too, and held onto her. "Way to go Ollie! You done it!" He told her.
Fred sat on the other side of her, "Thats our girl!" He said happily.
"I thought you both had overslept," panting she told them. But then Krum came up with Hermione, and the audience started cheering again. Fleur had came up too but without her sister. She was covered in cuts.
McGonagall came over giving Olivia her robe and started using her wand to dry Olivias hair. "You'll catch a cold if you leave it wet." She said mothering Olivia.
Olivia was in daze. The hour she spent in the water felt more like a couple minutes. Eventually Harry popped up out of the water with Ron and Fleurs sister.
They got to the bank and Percy who was standing in for Crouch again, dragged Ron out of the water. Madam Pomfrey started wrapping Harry up in blankets.
Dumbledore was bent over the bank talking to a merperson. He straightened up and said that the judges need a conference before marks were given.
Finally Ludo announced, "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 50, for each of the champions as follows..."
"Fleur Delacour though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble Head charm was attacked by grindylow as she approached her goal and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her 25 points"
"Cedric Diggory used the Bubble Head charm, and he and Olivia Evans arrived at the same time with their hostages. Miss Evans had two hostages to make the task more difficult for her, she also use the Bubble head charm. However they both returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour."
Olivia didn't even realize that she was outside the time limit she thought she had plenty of time leftover.
She grabbed Fred and George's hands, waiting for her score.
"We therefore award them both 47 points each."
Olivia couldn't believe it.
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of transfiguration which was nevertheless effective and was second to return with his hostage, we award him 40 points."
Olivia jumped up and hugged Cedric, "Ced we're tied for first place, Hufflepuff could really bring home a win for Hogwarts!" She told him.
"We could really win this Ollie!" He said hugging her back.
"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," said Bagman. "He returned last and well outside the time limit. 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."
Olivia looked at Harry, he looked embarrassed for his mistake of thinking that the hostages would actually die if they weren't saved.
"Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks however.... Mr Potter score is 45 points."
The crowd lost it, they went crazy at the news that all three Hogwarts Champions were now tied for first place.
Olivia hugged Harry, "Way to go Harry! Moral Fiber! You silly boy! You done it!" She told him.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the 24 of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions!" Ludo finished.
Olivia couldn't believe how everything turned out. Hogwarts was bound to win the tournament, and Olivia was not about to give up now. No, she was more determined than ever to win it.