~Chapter 9- Day at the Lake~

It was extremely chilly outside when the staff led us to the stands on February twenty-fourth, day of task two. They'd now been moved to the lake. From what Ludo Bagman said, they were retrieving something dear to them

The champions, who were lined up to go in the lake, dove in.

"Lindsey, you haven't seen Ron or Hermione this morning, have you?" I heard a familiar voice say. Whoever it was, he was talking to me.

Neville Longbottom slid into the empty space next beside me.

"I hope it's okay with you if I sit here?" he said cautiously. Behind us, someone sniggered.

"Perfectly fine," I said, ignoring that.

Since the ball, Neville and I had become closer. Just in the sense of friendship, though. I definitely didn't feel anything more than that toward him. We were just similar people, both outcasts with atypical family situations, both Gryffindors who didn't always feel like we fit in.

"I shouldn't be in this house," he'd told me one day after Defense Against the Dark Arts. "I should be in Hufflepuff. I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, smart enough for Ravenclaw, or ... well, whatever it is the Slytherins have, I don't have it."

"But that's a good thing," I tried to assure him. "Besides, you stood up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in first year and earned us some house points."

"I just told them not to leave Gryffindor Tower at night."

"Yes, but we won the House Cup because of that!"

"I suppose." He shrugged. "I think Dumbledore was biased, though. I think he only gave that to me so we could beat Slytherin."

Now it was my turn to shrug. "If it helps, I haven't always felt very at-home in Gryffindor."

"Why? You're brilliant."

I tried to hide my blushing face, because what he said was far from the truth. "It's just that ... I'm not brave at all. And my whole family was in Slytherin. Even my aunt. I mean, my mum! Well, all of my aunts and uncles, too."

"You're brave. You're good at getting on Malfoy's nerves."

"Yeah, well, that's different."

"How so?"

"He's my ... erm ... I mean, you could say we're related in ways. We've known each other for some time and haven't really got along." This was a lie, of course, as I hadn't even met my Slytherin cousin until starting Hogwarts, but I really didn't want the word of him being my cousin reaching the ears of every person in the school. I knew he would keep his mouth shut about it. Neither of us liked to admit that we were closely related by blood, so much to the point we shared the same grandparents.

"He's in your family, you mean? Wait, you said your whole family was in Slytherin. Are you the only Gryffindor ever to live in your family?"

"Well, um ... " I also wasn't about to admit that the only other Gryffindor in my family was a mass-murderer still on the run. "Yeah, you could say that," I said in a rush, "but my sister was a Hufflepuff."

This was when I began to realize why I really couldn't make friends. Keeping the secrets of my life hidden from them was not an easy accomplishment; nonetheless, I actually had someone to talk to for a change.

Now here we were, sitting in front of the lake at the second task. Even if the time was mostly filled with silence, I didn't mind. I wasn't by myself this time.

For a few minutes, I lost myself in thoughts as I stared at the lake. I wondered what it was like down there, trying to win glory for your school. I imagined myself at the bottom of the lake, bolding fighting off every fiend in sight and rescuing something precious from the depths. I could imagine the cheers from the Hogwarts students as I emerged from the top with the sacred Sorting Hat in my hands. For once I wasn't an outcast, but a hero ... a brave hero from Gryffindor house ...

"Hello, Neville," a completely new voice said, which snapped me out of my fantasy. It belonged to a girl; I recognized the blonde curls of Luna Lovegood. She took a spot next to Neville, neatly tucking her robes behind her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm all right. Have you met - ?"

"I know you!" Luna interrupted him, and it seemed as if she'd taken no notice of what he was asking. "You're that fourth year Gryffindor! Lizzie Tanks, if I'm not mistaken?"

"That's Lindsey," I corrected. "Lindsey Tonks."

"You know, you don't really look like a Lindsey. Why did your parents name you that?"

Annoyed, I said, "I don't know why they named me that. Why did they name you Luna?"

"Well, I was born under the full moon, and it goes back hundreds of year ago, when my great-great-great-great-great - "

"Got it," I told her. I wasn't about to say anything else. I understood that Luna was eccentric and there was no reasoning with her.

"What do you think is going on in the lake, Neville?" Luna asked.

"Oh, um ... "

"My senses are tingling. I'm positive someone has been bitten by a bumbling bubblehead."

This was so random that I actually looked at her and said, "What?"

"Bumbling bubbleheads," Luna said. "You know, gnomes that live underwater? They have a bubble around their head so they can breathe down there. Their teeth are really poisonous and if you get bitten by one you turn into a giant purple eel."

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" I asked.

"Didn't you just hear what I just said?"

Forget it, I said to myself.

The first champion up was Fleur, and it was much too early. She didn't appear to have anything with her when she came out of the lake. Once she'd climbed into the stands, I noticed she looked shaken and worried. She must have been attacked (by something other than bumbling bubbleheads). We applauded her anyway as the judges took her aside.

"I'm just glad I'm not in this," Neville said with a shudder. "Who knows what's at the bottom of that lake?"

Of course the question was meant to be a comment, not something that needed to be answered, but Luna started up a speech. "Well, for starters, there have to be aquatic nargles. And I've already mentioned bumbling bubbleheads ... "

Next was Cedric. He appeared with Cho Chang at his side. She'd been the figure he'd miss the most.

Everyone applauded as the judges dragged the two from the lake. Then they were swept away to be dried off, so we waited again. Soon, Viktor Krum came up with Hermione at this side. That's where she had been. That must mean Ron was down there too - he was most likely the thing Harry would miss the most.

"That's where they were, Neville," I pointed out.

"Ron must be down there," he agreed.

"That's Ronald Weasley? It doesn't look like him. Padma Patil said he looked like a monkey," Luna remarked. "Maybe that's just because he didn't dance with her at the ball ... hmmm ... "

We waited. It was well past the hour now - the champions' time was up. But where was Harry? Had he been attacked as well? And what about Ron and - assuming the thing she would miss most was a person - Fleur's hostage?

Finally, they emerged: Harry, Ron, and a younger girl with slivery-blonde hair: she had to be Fleur's sister. The three rose from the lake and went to get dried off. We waited again.

I honestly didn't care about the scores the judges gave out. The task was meaningless to me, and until today I really hadn't had any reason to attend them.

But now I did. For the first time in my life, I had a friend. Maybe even two, because after some time Luna's crazy remarks seemed normal. She wasn't so bad once you got to know her a little better.

And so, weeks turned into months, and everything seemed relatively normal for Hogwarts. There was no trace of anything odd or dark, and for a short amount of time I was relaxed, at ease, free of worry. My thoughts were filled with light from the sun, not darkness that closed in around everything. Shaking the nerves away was a good feeling.

It didn't last. All my suspicions returned when Mr. Crouch seemed to disappear off the face of this earth.