Dangerously Close

“Wait, wait, hold on, how did it go again,” Hermione asked, raising a brow as she urged me and Harry to repeat what we heard from the egg. Ron was leaning over a table behind us in the library. He remained silent. but still listened curiously.

“Come and seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground,” I recited, remembering the first line.

“Obvious,” she mumbled. “Also explanatory as to why you couldn’t hear what the egg actually said above the ground. What else?”

I looked to Harry as he lifted his chin up from the large book and scratched the top of his head. He answered a few seconds later. “While you’re searching, ponder this, we’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss, an hour long you’ll have to look, to recover what we took.”

She sighed. “Once again, obvious. But potentially problematic.”

Harry slammed his hands on the table. “Potentially problematic? Try holding your breath under water for more than an hour.”

I rubbed his back with my hand, trying to calm him down. “After that it also said ‘But past an hour, the prospect’s black -’”

“Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back,” my brother finished.

Ron grumbled. “Aren’t you just in a tough situation?”

I shot him a quick glare before darting my attention back on the brown haired girl searching through the mountain of books on the desk.

“But it’s not just the fact that it’s a riddle to solve, but it’s downright confusing in a few parts. They’re going to take something we’ll miss, and we have an hour to find it. But what something? An hour to search the entire Lake? And like Harry pointed out, we can’t exactly breathe underwater that long,” I explained, my tone raising slightly.

“You’re gonna stress yourself out, Rose,” Ron chirped jokingly.

I glared at him once more.

“We have all night to figure this out, you know? This library has to have - some kind of book that’ll help us. I just don’t quite know what to search for.”

“How about ‘Stuck with your 14 year old brother in a deadly tournament trying to find a way to stay under a Lake without oxygen for a full hour?’ I hear it’s great.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Rosalie, sarcasm isn’t going to get us anywhere. I’m being serious, we have to figure this out together.”

“Gees, ‘Mione, I know this is a serious matter but you’re being so uptight,” Ron mumbled. I could clearly tell as much as he was trying to help he was fresh out of ideas and sleepy.

Harry closed the book shut, letting it send a loud noise throughout the area. The library was pretty much vacant except for Neville who was on the other side, and two Ravenclaws eagerly studying for a Charms exam.

“Potter,” a gruff voice recalled. I didn’t have to turn around to know it belonged to the one-legged, one-eyed Professor.

“Alastor,” I said with a fake smile.

He ignored me completely. “I hate to break up this bonding session, but Professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office.”

Harry and I stood up, only to be stopped. “Not you two, just Weasley and Granger.”

My expression grew blank.

“But sir, the Second Task is a mere few hours away, and they have to -”

“Exactly, it’s best to let them well prepare themselves with a good night’s sleep, there is a big day ahead of them tomorrow,” he matter-of-factly answered.

When they didn’t move, he shook his head before demandingly speaking again. “Go. Now.”

The two fourteen year olds exchanged glances with us before trudging off. I could catch Hermione’s quiet tone which whispered a small, “See you tomorrow.” I knew what was going to happen, making me bite my lip when she spoke, knowing it was a lie.

I began helping my brother stow away all the notes and pile of books, not saying a word after our helpers had left. I was slowly losing hope, and I was debating on once again winging it tomorrow, even though I knew myself there was no way I could hold my breath underwater for a minute, let alone a bloody hour.

“Longbottom!”

The awkward raven-haired boy shuffled over to us. “Y-Yes, Professor Moody?”

“Help the Potters with their books.”

He nodded and walked over to us. I watched carefully as the Professor eyed me before walking out of the library.

We began closing books and shoving them back in their place, when Neville began talking.

“You know, if you’re interested in plants, you’d be better off with this guide to Herbology,” he said, showing us a book. I recognized it as the one he had mentioned Mad-Eye had let him borrow. “Did you know there’s this wizard in Nopal whose growing drought-resistant trees, and-”

“Neville, no offense,” Harry calmly began, “but I’m really not interested.”

“Same for me, Neville, sorry. Unless there’s some turnip that can help us breathe under water an hour, I -”

“I don’t really know anything about a turnip like that, but you can always use gillyweed.”

Me and Harry looked at each other with furrowed brows. “Gillyweed?”

“It’s this plant that allows you to stay and breathe underwater for a certain period of time.”

I smirked. “Oh really?”



I drummed my fingers on the side of the bed as I lie upwards, staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t fall asleep with the anxiousness and worry filling me inside my body from head to toe. Tomorrow was going to be hard, and I could already sense it.

I heard some footsteps and I looked up to see Rayne walking into the room as she rummaged through her luggage for another Gryffindor robe. She turned around and almost jumped up as she saw me sat up, eyeing her quizically.

“Merlin’s beard! You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were asleep.”

I shook my head. “Couldn’t sleep.”

She walked over to me, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Big day tomorrow, you need to try and get some rest.”

I sighed. “I just can’t. I tried and tried, but nope. Nothing.”

She sighed. “Well, sadly I can’t be here to help right now. McGonagall needs me in her office.”

I put my head down, already knowing why. “Oh, it’s fine.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She gave me a small smile and a thumbs up. “I know you can do it.”

And with that, she was out of the dorms.

I groaned, putting my hands on my face. I rolled over on my side, eyeing the window next to my bed. I could see the moon’s light slightly peering through. I closed my eyes, attempting at letting sleep invade me.

Before I knew it, slumber pulled me out and away from the world and my worries.

In fact, I almost forgot that in several hours, I’d be meeting with yet another perilous mission.