42

"Harry!" Cedric called, jogging down the lawn to the lake, where the younger boy was already stood along with Fleur.

"Alright, mate?" Harry yawned. It was early morning on the day of the second task and Harry was beginning to resent this tournament more and more. Nothing less than mortal peril should drag a boy out of bed this early.

"You got my letter then?" Cedric asked, ignoring the pleasantries.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "Cheers for that, it was fucking decent of you."

"I'm not a Hufflepuff for nothing," Cedric grinned, "So what've you got planned then?" Harry turned to him with a smirk.

"Well... let's just say that it's a lovely day." Cedric frowned, looking around at the sky. Okay, yes, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was strangely warm for this time of year but what on earth did that have to do with the task? Figuring he would get his answer soon enough, Cedric shrugged it off and turned to greet Fleur. Viktor turned up not long after, and before too long the stands had begun to fill up with their teachers and peers.

"Your Profezzer Snape seems to be in a good mood," Fleur commented in surprise. Harry turned to look at the teacher's area and, sure enough, there was Snape without his customary scowl, a small smile in its place. A shiver went down Harry's back at the sight and he looked away hurriedly.

"That's just not fucking natural," he muttered, causing Cedric to laugh out loud.

"Champions, over here if you please," a cheery voice called out and the four teens dutifully trouped across to where Ludo Bagman stood, though Harry continued to throw disturbed glances Snape's way.

"Right, brilliant. Now then, I'm sure you all know what you need to do, and that you have an hour to do it in," Bagman began, shooting a worried look at Harry who ignored it, "So if you could all allow Percy here to direct you all to your starting places, that's right." Fleur, Viktor and Krum wandered off with Percy, but a hand on Harry's arm held him back.

"Did you want something?" He asked bluntly, frowning at the ex-beater.

"Oh, just wondering if you needed any help, my boy, after all, you are the youngest of all the champions, not to mention the fact that you were the only one not to receive a clue for this task. Always had a bit of a thing for an underdog, me," Bagman chuckled, though the laugh didn't reach his eyes.

"Nah, I'm good, mate," Harry answered, stifling yet another yawn, "I've got no interest in winning anyway." With that, he stepped around Bagman and left to find Percy, missing the look of shock and fear that flew over the older man's face.

"Harry, it's very good to see you again," Percy greeted pompously whilst he finished placing Cedric at his starting point, "I had thought of talking to you at the Yule Ball, but you seemed rather... busy." He wrinkled his nose distastefully, as he remembered Harry's drunken antics.

"How come you're here anyway?" Harry asked, "I would've thought Crouch's replacement would've turned up." Percy drew himself up proudly and Harry inwardly groaned; perhaps that hadn't been the best thing to say, if it produced that sort of reaction from his least favourite Weasley.

"The new head is, of course, extremely busy sorting through the mess that Mr Crouch left in his wake, and so he entrusted the overseeing and judging of this task to me." Harry nodded, raising his eyebrows slightly but not otherwise answering.

"This me?" he asked instead, stepping onto a slightly raised square on the bank of the lake.

"Yes," Percy answered primly before promptly turning and heading towards the judge's table.

"Bloody prick," Harry muttered.

"Ladies and gentleman!" Ludo's voice soared across the stadium and the chatter stopped immediately. Harry yawned, looking across to the other champions.

Fleur looked nervous, standing there shivering in a silver swimming costume and chewing her lip. Viktor looked moody as usual, though this could have something to do with the amount of giggling and swooning he was attracting as he slouched on his square in nothing but tight swimming pants. Cedric for his part, looked merely determined in a vest and shorts, though he flashed Harry a quick grin when he saw the younger boy looking. Harry supposed that he himself could not look any more the opposite of his fellow champions. He wore, instead of swimming gear, ripped skinny jeans and a red Weasley jumper, though he was regretting that choice as sweat began to form on the back of his neck.

A gun went off and the other three quickly cast spells on themselves before jumping into the lake too quickly for Harry to tell what it was that they had done. He thought he might have caught a glimpse of shark in Viktor's direction though, but he was sure it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. Cheers went up but soon died down as the crowd realised that Harry had still not moved.

Grinning, Harry stepped off of his starting point and found a nice patch of grass. He looked up to the stands and located his boyfriend, who was sat with Blaise, Neville and the strange blonde girl who had 'fixed' his hair so long ago. Throwing a wave and a wink in their direction, he yanked his jumper off over his head, allowing it to take the T-shirt he wore underneath with it. He ignored the wolf whistles and laughs that came from the crowd and lay down on his back, using his rolled up jumper as a pillow. The warm sun beat down on him and Harry fished out a cigarette from the pocket of his jeans, blocking the crowd out of his mind and relaxing. Hey, at least he might get a tan out of this idiotic tournament.

Cedric saved his hostage first, dragging Cho Chang to the surface of the lake just as the clock chimed an hour. Fleur came out next, followed minutes later by Viktor, who still had the head of a shark with a young, pretty, Bulgarian girl under his arm. Parvati Patil pouted in the stands; she had gone to the Yule Ball with him, but it had not gone well. Fleur did not have her hostage with her, and as soon as she reached the surface she burst into tears, wailing in French.

Harry stood up and stretched, wondering who they had dumped in the bottom of the lake for him to 'save'. It couldn't have been Draco as he was in the stands along with Hermione, Ron and Neville.

"Hey, it's alright, love," Harry told Fleur, drawing her into his arms, "My person's down there still as well. They're not going to let them die, they'd be put in fucking Azkaban if they did that." Fleur sniffled but looked at Harry with wide eyes.

"You really theenk so?" She asked, but Harry was saved by answering by the arrival of a large group of merpeople carrying two sleeping forms with them. As soon as they're heads hit the open air, the two awoke suddenly, taking deep, gasping breaths as they tried to get their bearings. One was a small girl, her long blonde hair a dead giveaway that she was related to Fleur. The other was a middle-aged, ruggedly handsome man with flowing black hair and laughing grey eyes.

"Pads!" Harry yelled, grinning. His godfather had reached the bank by this point and looked around, searching for the source of the shout. Ignoring the arrival of Dumbledore, who immediately began to talk in strange screeches the to merpeople, Sirius stomped towards his godson, pausing only to brush dripping wet hair out of his face.

"Umm... Pads?" Harry asked uncertainly as his godfather approached. Without answering, Sirius stopped in front of Harry and changed into Padfoot, proving his doggie instincts by shaking himself, flinging water all over anybody who happened to be nearby. Harry, unfortunately, caught most of it, though Fleur, had she not already been soaked, would've been drenched as well.

"Oh, fuck, Pads! What the bloody hell was that for?" Padfoot grinned up at him, showing off his canines.

"Harry?" Cedric asked from behind them, "Since when was your godfather an animagus? I looked them up last year for class and there was no Sirius Black on the list." Silently Sirius transformed back, a sheepish look on his face as Harry glared.

"Umm... woops?" he tried.

"Woops? Fucking woops?" Harry said dangerously, "You let everyone know you're an illegal animagus and 'woops' is all you can say? I'm not going out and buying you bacon every morning when you're a wanted criminal again, you know." Sirius's face fell.

"But how am I meant to eat?" he whined, oblivious to the crowd gathering around them.

"Oh, I don't know you could-"

"Messer Padfoot!" Fred interrupted Harry as he and George shouldered their way through the crowd.

"You have got to teach us that!" George added. The crowd chuckled and even Harry deflated a little bit, though he cast a few nervous glances across at Percy and Bagman, the only ministry types in attendance.

"Entertaining as this is, boys, I believe it is time for the judges to confer before the scores are announced," Dumbledore said. He had finished talking with the merpeople, who had disappeared once more into the lake.

"You know what, Pads, I reckon there's a chance I won this one," Harry grinned, tugging his T-shirt over his head.

"Yeah, and I love Kreacher," was Sirius's reply.