Break Me || Harry Potter

Chapter 44- The Second Task

So, if any of y'all needed clarification, Harry and I were not friends. We weren't enemies anymore, but Harry broke the friendship barrier and it would take more than a spell and a sorry to fix it. But we could speak to each other and not spat curses.

I was sitting in my room late at night a few days after our little chat. Hermione and the rest of the girls were already asleep, but my mind was wandering. My wand was twiddling between my fingers, its faint light glowing my closed canopy bed. I wasn't lying down; my legs were crossed underneath me. In the past few days, my mind was restless. Between the strange message at the Yule ball, the stinging pain from Harry's words and the strange reoccurring dreams, I was constantly bombarded with headaches and horrifying thoughts.

As I tried to block out my mind, I focused on my wand. The wand was definitely not at its highest point. The wood was covered in dirt and dust, and part of the handle was scratched. The gems on either end were scraped, and covered in grime from my time on the run. I recalled my knowledge of my wand, and subconsciously wondered how much of the legend was real. I knew that some of the rumors were true; my wand could sense my thoughts and emotions and act upon them, and I could control the level of power that my spells emitted. But I still had many questions. The book the trio and I had read while I was in the hospital wing after I got thrown by a troll when I was eleven gave me some insight on my wand, but not enough. I had recently been watching the recording of Wesley White's interrogation, but still, his words were jumbled and confusing. I remembered him saying something about the 'reverse life effect' and 'light the fire for a thousand flames' but neither of those things made sense, and I couldn't find a reference to them anywhere.

I wondered if those things were on the page that was ripped out of the book I had read when I was eleven, but I had no way of knowing for sure.

When I finally felt my eyes start to droop, I reluctantly climbed under the covers and tried to sleep, but I felt as if I didn't sleep at all. My dreams were flashy and confusing, and my mind was clearly trying to tell me something. But I couldn't connect the dots.

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It was the day of the second task. Harry had apparently followed my advice and opened the egg underwater, and apparently Ron and Hermione had made up slightly, because Hermione told me that she was going to help Harry find something that would allow him to breath underwater. Apparently, the egg said that the mermaids in the black lake took something Harry would miss dearly, and he would have an hour to retrieve it. I opted not to go, I didn't need another few hours of awkward conversations. But when Hermione and Ron didn't come back later that night, my mind started to turn.

"Where's Hermione?" I asked briskly to Harry the morning of the task. My words were clipped, short, and anxious. Harry sighed.

"I don't know, her and Ron were asked to see McGonagall last night. I haven't seen them since," Harry said back, equally as hard. I nodded then turned on my heel and walked away, joining Mina, Brooklyn, and Hayley, who I had been hanging out with lately. They knew about everything that had happened, and promised to help me get through it. I felt bad for leaving Hermione, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The schools piled onto boats by the edges of the black lake, and then climbed onto large docks overlooking the black lake. I pulled Mina, Brooklyn and Hayley along with me as we wove between students, finally getting a good spot by the champions. I watched as Harry stood quivering on the far left, holding something green and slimy in his hand. Must be gillyweed. I wondered how long it took for him to figure that out.

"Do you know what they are supposed to be doing?" Mina asked me. I nodded.

"Something of theirs was taken, something they would-" My mind filled in the blanks. People were the possessions. Hermione had been taken for Krum, of course, and Ron must be for Harry.

Mina looked me for me to continue, so I shook out of my trance and told her my assumptions. She ohhhed then nodded. Dumbledore stood above the champions on the second floor of the docks, and announced the task.

"At the sound of the cannon, you may begin!" He cried, and three bodies dove into the water. I was startled to see Harry choking on his gillyweed, but Moody eventually shoved him in. I craned my neck to see through the water, but it was too murky, and within seconds, none of the champions were visible.

"And now we wait." Brooklyn said, sitting back next to Hayley, who was rubbing her hands to keep them warm. The winter air bit at our skin, and for one pathetic moment, I pitied the champions who were going to emerge wet and freezing.

Just before the large clock struck 1, marking the hour, a body emerged from the water. It was Cedric, and he and Cho were the first to make it. He helped her up the dock, then kissed her on the cheek and went to warm up. Just after him was Krum, who emerged with Hermione. I jumped up and barged through some students to get to her.

"MIONE!" I yelled, making her turn her head to spot me. I ran up to her and grabbed a towel, wrapping her up in it. Her teeth were chattering.

"Oi, Saige, oh god its cold." She stuttered, her lips turning blue. I pulled out my wand and softened the towel, then continued to siphon the water off her robes. Eventually she was dry, but the cold air still bit at our skin. I sat down next to her as we waited for the other champions.

"Where's Harry?" I asked Hermione. She shrugged.

"I don't know, I just remember McGonagall telling us what was going to happen, then going to sleep, then waking up freezing cold and in the lake. I don't remember anything else," she mumbled, craning her neck to look for Harry. Fleur had shown up a while ago without her possession, and was being fawned over by the Beauxbatons girls by the edge of the dock.

Finally, two bodies emerged from the water. I immediately saw the easily recognizable red mop of hair of Ron, but he was helping a smaller blonde girl out of the water, and Harry was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if Harry ran into a spell that turned him into the girl. That would be hilarious. Then I noticed Fleur running over and hugging the small girl, and connected the dots to see that it was Fleur's little sister, who must've been her possession. I had no idea why Ron was with Fleur's sister, and where Harry was. It was another minute until a figure literally shot out of the water and landed on the deck, and I was astonished to see Harry gasping for air on the wood. Ron and Hermione ran over to him, covering him in towels and congratulating him. I slowly faded through the crowd and made it back to Hayley, Brooklyn and Mina.

After Dumbledore announced the places, everybody was either astonished, angry, or didn't care that they had awarded Harry second place for retrieving not only Ron but Fleur's sister as well. I just scowled and rolled my eyes. Krum really did deserve better than third; his transfiguration into a half-man half-shark was really cool.

But everybody knows that Harry has to be treated better don't they? He's just the freaking celebrity of the school and needs a paparazzi and camera crew for everything.

I laughed at my bitter sarcasm.

Oh boy, what have I turned myself into?