A Memorable Tale

49 | We Do Not Sing Above the Ground

Earlier in the evening, I was stuck outside of Ravenclaw Tower because, apparently, it has turn into a hotspot for snogging.

All the couples joined together for the Yule Ball were now lasting, and they have decided to show it.

So now, I was roaming the halls, listening carefully for the annoying poltergeist's voice so I wouldn't run into him.

"Y/N?"

I looked away from my notebook with all the information about Sirius I could gather. "Oh, Harry. What is it?"

"Well, Cedric tried to give me this hint - I'm not sure what it means, he kind of worded it weirdly."

"A hint for what?"

"For the golden egg. He told me to - er - take a bath?"

I blinked silently for a while, then burst into laughter. Harry stared at me, completely nonplussed. "What's so funny?"

"He means to dip it in the water. He recommended a bath because you need to be in the water as well to heard the clue." I shook my head. "I'm sorry about him. It wracks his nerves to break the rules. He probably panicked."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense. He did look quite nervous."

"I'd imagine. I remember him getting nauseous when we snuck downstairs to snag a snack."

"How'd he figure out the egg?" Harry wondered.

"Oh, I told him." I shrugged. "If you want help, you could ask me. I'd have no problem with it. I was just expecting that you'd ask Hermione."

"No, no, I'm not thinking that you're favouring Cedric over me. Even if you are, I wouldn't blame you - he is your brother, after all."

Once again, I got the feeling that someone's eyes were on me and I leaned to look around Harry, seeing Moody staring as he sat on a window sill.

Harry turned around to see what I was looking at and fashioned the same puzzled expression that I had.

There was something odd with him in a way that was unsettling. I've met my share of odd people, but he was odd in a way that would make someone start running off, bawling.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Harry." I spun on my heel and began walking in the other direction.

Whether his fascination was with me or with Harry, neither I was very fond of. Other than Remus, every time a teacher fancied Harry in any way, it was always bad.

I returned to my notebook, trying to find some connection that could definitively prove Sirius innocent, but so far, they were all very vague leads. On top of that, there was the attack at the World Cup, which conveniently (please channel my sarcasm) was placed a mere month after Sirius escaped.

With a heavy sigh, I shut the notebook and placed it in my bag.

•••

I sat near Cedric as he searched endlessly through books for a good spell for the next challenge. It was better than wandering the halls, since I nearly ran into Ron and I was not ready for that conversation.

"What are you even looking for?" I asked after a tiring two and a half hours. For him, not for me. I was reading Death on the Nile.

"A spell to help me breath underwater."

"Is that what the clue asks for?"

"Well, it said this." He slid a piece of parchment that had water damage in the corner where he had hastily written the clue.