Draco Malfoy and Me

Harry left me without another word, and I stood their, wondering what the hell he meant by 'take a bath.'

'Well, if Harry is trying to help me...' I thought to myself. 'I did help him, so why shouldn't I trust him? Hm... Underwater... above water shrieking... What lives in water? MERMAIDS!'

I ran to my dorm to get my egg, and then headed for the Room of Requirement. 'I need a place to take a bath... I need a place to take a bath...' I thought, walking around in circles.

The door suddenly appeared, and I threw it open, and ran inside. There was a huge bathtub, waiting for me, and I placed the egg in the tub, and filled it with water as I stripped off my clothes. Once the water was filled to the brim of the bath, I slowly lowered myself into the relaxing, warm bath. I could hear gurgling from underneath the water, and gulped some air quick before going beneath the surface.

A beautiful, ethereal voice met my ears singing:

"Come seek us where our voices sound...
We cannot sing above the ground...
An hour long you'll have to look
to recover what we took."

I surfaced, and gasped for air. 'So, something is going to be taken from each of the champions, and we will have to find them where the mermaids are... but where are the mermaids?' I thought. 'THE BLACK LAKE! That's where the second task will be held!'
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"Hermione, any ideas how one could breathe under water?" I asked one day in the library.

We had been pouring over books in the library with Harry for days, and still, we had no heading.

"I got nothing, Theresa," said Hermione grimly. "Unless you want to learn the bubblehead charm or turn into an animagus..."

"Animagus?" I looked up and stared at Hermione curiously.

"It's what they call people who can transform into animals," said Harry. "My dad and uncle Sirius could transform into a stag and a dog..."

"That would be so cool!" I cried.

"But the only bad thing is that you cannot change what you morph into," said Hermione. "It is also permanent..."

"Oh, well, can't I try the bubble head charm?" I asked, looking over Hermione's shoulder.

"It is a complicated spell, but well, I think you will be able to handle it better than Harry over here..."

"Oh toss off Hermione," said Harry, throwing a book in her direction.

"BOOKS ARE TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT IN THE LIBRARY!" hollered Madame Pince.

"Come on, we better go before the old bat comes over and hexes us to death," I whispered, gathering my stuff.

I walked back to my dorm, and looked at the piece of paper in my hand. "Waeter haefod. Bubble Head Charm incantation."

I pointed to my mouth with my wand, and said, "Waeter haefod!"

Instantly, there was a bubble around my mouth, making me able to breathe easily. I smiled to myself, and waited for it to wear off.
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Time seemed to fly by, and it was soon February. I hadn't seen much of Draco since I saved his life during the night of the Yule Ball. There was the occasional smile he would give me during class, but once someone asked him why he was staring at me, he would go off in a wild attempt to change the subject.

I dressed in my Ravenclaw bathing suit with Smith written across the back, and walked towards the Black Lake where the other champions were. My nerves were totally on edge, and I searched the crowds of students for familiar faces. All I could see was Neville, Ginny, Fred, George, and Luna.

"Harry?" I asked, poking Harry with my wand. "Where is Hermione and Ron? Wouldn't they want to be here to watch you in the tournament?"

"I dunno where the hell they went," said Harry. "That's totally strange..."

"Yeah, strange. Draco's not there either. Wonder where he's gone to..."

"Ready champions?" asked Dumbledore excitedly. "On the count of three, you may go find what was taken from you. One-Two-THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!"