Marauders' Godson Book 4: The Goblet of Fire

Chapter Twenty-Eight

They decided to go Thursday night. Edward and Harry left the common room underneath the Invisibility Cloak, Edward carrying Harry's egg and Harry holding the Marauder's Map -- Edward was much stronger than Harry.

The castle was silent, and they got to the door to the prefects' bathroom without being caught. Harry whispered the password, and the door creaked open.

The bathroom was huge, lit by a magnificent candle-filled chandelier, and made of white marble. The bathtub looked more like a swimming pool, and there were about a hundred golden taps around the tub's edges, each with a different-colored jewel set on its handle. There was also a diving board. White linen curtains covered the windows, and the white silk towels sat in a corner. There was a single painting on the wall featuring a snoring mermaid.

Edward and Harry pulled off the Cloak, set down the egg and the map, and faced away from each other. Edward undressed, pulling on his swim trunks. He heard Harry doing the same behind him.

"What are we supposed to do?" Harry whispered again.

"Put it in the water and listen," Edward answered, picking up the egg again. He turned around. Harry stared at him. "What?"

His brother shook himself. "Nothing." Harry went over to one of the taps and turned it. It gushed pink-and-blue bubbles the size of Quaffles. "Whoa!"

Edward laughed.

He let his half-brother play with the taps for a while, so the water was covered in multi-colored and different-sized bubbles. When the pool-sized bathtub was full, he and Harry climbed into the water, the egg tucked under Edward's arm.

"So -- we just stick it under the water and open it?" Harry asked, staring at it nervously.

"Yes," Edward said again, trying not to roll his eyes. They both ducked under the water and opened the egg.

A chorus of eerie voices echoed through 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."

Edward broke the surface, and Harry joined him.

"So we've got to look for mermaids?" his brother asked. "In the water? And we've got an hour to..." He stopped, his eyes wide. "I can't swim very well, Ed."

"That's why," Edward responded, "we're allowed our wands."

"Yes, but-"

"Harry, we have about two months to figure out what to do," Edward said dryly. "And we have Hermione and Topaz to help out."

Harry relaxed slightly.

"We just needed to figure out what the clue was tonight," Edward said calmly. "We don't have to figure anything out until tomorrow. Don't worry about it right now." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "We should get back."

"All -- all right," Harry said, still staring at the egg.

They dried off and dressed, then slipped back out of the prefects' bathroom with the Cloak, egg, and map.