The winds and snow that came about as December transitioned into January were bitterly cold. Practically everyone at Hogwarts — who should have been more than used to these yearly conditions — couldn't help but constantly complain about the weather and compete for the spot right next to the fireplaces every time they could.

When February rolled around, the cold became slightly more bearable. However, for Jessica, this was actually the least of both her worries and triumphs. For one, the academic workload had begun piling up again as the excitement from the Christmas break faded away. Second, she didn't get to spend Valentine's Day with Oliver — she even wanted to throw herself off of the Astronomy Tower for acting like a lovesick puppy who put too much expectations on such a holiday, but Alista and Bethany reassured her that it was more than normal that she wanted to spend that day with her boyfriend. But it didn't help that Jessica and Oliver's exchange of letters were becoming less frequent, even more so than they already were before the Yule Ball. Jessica had to constantly remind herself that it was fine because they were both busy, but she still wrote to Oliver whenever she could. She appreciated his letters as well, but she had to admit that she'd get disappointed at times when it felt like she was the one putting in more effort.

Stop it. Oliver has an actual career now, so of course he doesn't have as much time to write, Jessica told herself as she trudged down the halls of the castle. Bethany and Alista were on either side of her, but their voices were just drowned out by her own thoughts. She continued to remind herself that she was just overthinking and not used to seeing Oliver everyday like before. Besides, she had her own things on her plate to worry about: upcoming N.E.W.T.s, Apparition lessons, and her last few career counseling sessions with McGonagall.

Jessica shivered when a gust of wind blew past. Looking at her surroundings and seeing thickets of trees and the open skies, she quickly realized that she and her friends were already at the grounds. Well, them and the rest of the student bodies of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, since they all had the same agenda for that day. It was the 24th of February, which meant only one thing: the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.

"Is the task really gonna be at the Black Lake?" Bethany said in contempt. "I bet it's gonna be insane!"

"The lake is quite peaceful, actually," Alista said. "You'd know if you had a common room as cool as the Slytherin's."

"Please, the lake is far from peaceful," Bethany retorted. "It holds the giant squid and a bunch of other creatures we might've not even learned about yet."

"Let's just focus on finding good seats, alright?" Jessica intervened. "That is, if it even matters."

"What do you mean?" asked Alista. "Of course good seats matter when watching this tournament."

"Well, what if the task takes place underwater?"

The three girls thought about it for a moment, eyes gazing at the lake before them. There were platforms and stands set up in the water, but other than that, nothing else could be seen from above the surface of the water. There was no other indication of what might happen in this task.

"That's a good point," Alista finally agreed.

They went on their way towards the Black Lake, seeing a bunch of boats docked by the shore while some were already crossing the waters. They also passed by Fred and George who, as expected, were taking bets again.

"Any bets?"

"Place your bets, place your bets! Come on, step up, mates. Don't be shy!"

"They're really milking this," Bethany said.

"I can't blame them, though. They do get a lot of money out of it," said Jessica, which her friends agreed with.

"Three lads —" George began.

"One lady —" Fred continued.

"Four go down..."

"But do four come up?"

"Don't be so mean," Ginny, who had come across them, scolded. The twins merely shrugged and continued, ignoring their little sister's words.

Jessica, Bethany, and Alista boarded the boats and sailed through the lake until they reached the stands towering over the water. Although it was more obvious now that they wouldn't even get to see what was happening down in the lake, they still chose to get settled at the middle one, which held a giant clock at the top. They made their way up the stairs and to the second floor, just above the champions. Against the sea of students and teachers bundled up in coats and scarves, the champions below them stood out in their trunks and swimsuits. Jessica briefly wondered if they were freezing at that point, or if any of them were clever enough to warm themselves with a charm.

In almost no time at all, the stands filled up to the brim, and the energy was through the roof. All three schools resorted to chanting and cheering for their champion, and debates and discussions about the task and who would win broke out here and there. Eventually, Dumbledore's voice boomed throughout the area, signaling that the task was about to begin.

"Welcome to the Second Task," he welcomed. "Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions — a treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough, except for this: they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own."

"That's reassuring," said Jessica sardonically.

"They're not really going to leave them down there after an hour, are they?" Alista said, sounding worried.

"They can't possibly do that," Jessica insisted. "I mean, the judges did say they've taken a lot of precautions this time around so that no one gets seriously hurt."

"Or dies," Bethany supplied.

"No magic will save them," Dumbledore went on, only adding to the uncertainty the three girls were feeling. "You may begin at the start of the cannon."

Just like in the First Task, there was no warning at all before the cannon fired. Some people in the audience were startled, and they only had a split second to realize that the champions were already diving into the water. That is, all except Harry, who had been pushed by Professor Moody.

"I'm not the only one who saw that, right?" said Holmes, a sixth year Gryffindor who was standing next to them.

"Moody pushing Potter into the water?" Chapman replied. "Nope, definitely not just you."

"Yeah, what was that about?" Alista nudged her friends. Curiously, the three of them leaned over the railings. The water was murky, but they could still make out the figure of Harry Potter down there, looking like he was struggling — and then, he stopped. "Uh, why isn't he moving?"

"I knew it, someone would die in this tournament!" said Bethany.

"He is not dead," Jessica elbowed Bethany, but she had to confess that she was starting to grow concerned.

Apparently, they weren't the only ones feeling that way. Down at the main platform, Harry's own roommates — Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom — were all wondering the same thing.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Seamus, squinting his eyes.

"I don't know," Dean sighed. "I can't see him."

Neville began to freak out, spinning in place and tugging his hair stressfully. Nobody besides him knew that he was the one who gave gillyweed to Harry, which he read in a book given by Professor Moody that it could temporarily transform a human's skin and respiratory organs to work underwater. But now, he started to overthink, wondering if he was wrong and actually made things worse for his friend.

"Oh my god, I've killed Harry Potter!" he exclaimed.

At that exact moment, Harry jumped out of the water and flipped in the air before diving back in. His little spectacle caused the crowd to cheer, and for Jessica to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Looks like he ate some gillyweed," Alista realized. "I don't think we even knew that back in fourth year."

"I can't even remember what we learned yesterday," Bethany muttered. "Anyway, what do you think the others are doing to stay underwater for an hour?"

"I bet they're all using the Bubble-Head charm," Jessica answered.

"Did we just hear the word, 'bet'?" two mischievous voices said. Jessica didn't have to turn around to know that Fred and George were there, presumably going through the crowd to collect more bets as the task ensued.

"Mind you, I actually think one of them used transfiguration," George said.

"Isn't that dangerous? A full-body transfiguration on yourself?" said Alista.

"So?" Fred grinned. "It'd make things more interesting, wouldn't it?"

Jessica wished that Fred was right about the Second Task being interesting, but for the next half hour or so, all they did was stare at the lake. The initial excitement died down, and all the spectators could do was glance at the unmoving water from time to time, waiting for something, anything to happen.

And then, at long last, there was movement. Someone emerged from the water, coughing for air and calling for help — it was Fleur Delacour. The audience gasped and moved as close to the edge as possible to see what was going on, whereas the judges, medical team, and her friends came to her aid. It caused quite a commotion, what with everyone wanting to know what in the world was going on, all while Fleur was being tended to.

"The Beauxbatons champion, Miss Delacour, has unfortunately been forced to retire," Dumbledore announced after a couple of minutes. "She will take no further part in this task."

"What happened?" Jessica wondered out loud.

"Bet she got attacked by some creatures down there," said Chapman, who had overheard her question.

"The giant squid, maybe?" Holmes guessed.

"I agree," said Bethany instantly.

"Relax, it was probably just some grindylows or active plants," Alista insisted.

When the hour was almost up, the audience had become extremely restless. They could all see the hands of the giant clock tick by, and it seemed to go by faster and slower at the same time. At 11:50 AM, just ten minutes before the hour was over, Cedric Diggory broke through the surface of the dark water, the bubble surrounding his head disappearing with a pop. But the fact that he wasn't alone is what really caught everyone's attention — by his side was Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw he had taken to the Yule Ball.

"Their treasures are people?" Bethany's jaw dropped. "Bloody hell!"

A few minutes later, the next set of people emerged. Many people were mildly taken aback when they noticed that one of them was Hermione Granger, and the other was a half-shark. When the spell faded, it was revealed to be Krum, who was only partially successful in transfiguring himself into an animal.

"Just in time," said Alista, eyeing the clock with only one minute left.

"It's just Harry left," Jessica mumbled. "Come on..."

Both hands of the clock struck 12:00, and a bell signaled the end of the hour. Right on the dot, two more people came out of the water. However, none of them were Harry — it was Ron Weasley and a young, blonde girl.

"Gabrielle!" Fleur yelled, kneeling down at the edge of the platform. It didn't take much for Jessica and her friends to realize that the girl was Fleur's treasure, and was probably her younger sister.

"Where in Merlin's name is Harry?" Jessica said impatiently. Ron was clearly his treasure, but the champion himself was still nowhere in sight and the hour was over.

The judges started to worry as well, engaging in a low conversation with one another and occasionally looking at the water. But before they could actually take any actions to save Harry, the boy emerged on his own. He must've used a spell as he was propelled out of the water and ended up landing quite ungracefully onto the wooden deck.

"Harry!" a chorus of voices shouted. Many people came to help him, bringing him loads of towels and immediately interrogating him.

"I want to hear what's going on, too," Alista huffed, leaning over the railing so much that half of her body was dangling.

"Would you stop that," Bethany scolded, pulling her back by the back of her jacket.

Meanwhile, Jessica was watching the commotion below them and listening intently — well, as much as she could while she was on the second floor. Although she couldn't catch on to everything, she was able to hear enough and update her friends.

"I think Harry freed Fleur's sister," she said, just as Fleur was pressing kisses onto both Harry and Ron's cheeks.

"So, that's why he was late," said Bethany, nodding in understanding. Jessica kept her eyes on the judges and champions, watching as Dumbledore crouched down by the water and a group of merpeople surfaced. She was impressed to see that they were actually conversing — but then, she remembered that it was Dumbledore, so it shouldn't be that surprising that he could speak Mermish. When they finished, the merpeople returned deep into the water, while Dumbledore spoke to the judges for the final verdict.

"Attention! Attention!" Dumbledore's voice silenced everyone. "The winner is... Mr Diggory, for showing unique command of the Bubble-Head Charm!"

The Hogwarts crowd whooped and clapped for joy, and those near Cedric himself patted him heartily on the back and jumped up and down with him. When the cheers quieted down, Dumbledore continued.

"The way I see it, Mr. Potter would
have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley, but the others as well. We've agreed to award him second place for outstanding moral fibre!"

"Moral fiber, huh?" Bethany chuckled.

"Harry's doing amazing in this tournament!" Jessica couldn't help but compliment. She and her friends joined in yet another round of applause. The whole of Hogwarts was now in high spirits, proud of their two champions who both managed to snag the top spots in this task.

★ ★ ★

Following the Second Task, the whole of Hogwarts and their guests were at the edge of their seats. The stakes were higher than ever now that there was only one more task left to go, and with the current standings, it seemed that Cedric Diggory had a high chance of winning. Then again, Krum had been doing great so far as well, and perhaps Fleur would find a way to redeem herself. Of course, there was also Harry who had managed to surprise the judges and spectators every round thus far.

Jessica didn't forget to write about all of this to Oliver. Although she knew he wouldn't survive without Quidditch if he'd still been a student that year, he had always sounded interested in what was happening in the tournament, so she didn't want him to miss out on anything just because he wasn't a student there anymore.

But while the Triwizard Tournament was certainly the center of everyone's attention, Jessica had another matter to attend to: her final career counseling with her Head of House.

"So, you've decided then, Miss Hawthorne?"

Jessica tore her gaze away from the leaflets and forms strewn across the table before her so that she could look at Professor McGonagall. With a determined look on her face, she nodded.

"I have to say, I'm quite surprised that you ended up choosing this — but it's a pleasant surprise," McGonagall admitted. She shifted in her seat and began pointing at the different pieces of paper before her. "Now, here are some of the locations and bases of Gringotts Wizarding Bank that offer trainings for Curse-Breakers."

Scotland, Egypt, Mexico, Thailand... Jessica's eyes scanned the stacks of papers and tried to take in all the information at once.

"You'll need to fill out application forms, of course, along with a transcript of your grades and proof of commencement at Hogwarts. You'd need a recommendation letter as well, which I'll be more than glad to write one for you if you'd like. You're free to choose other professors, though, such as Moody or Flitwick —"

"I'd love it if you could write the recommendation, Professor," Jessica said honestly. McGonagall nodded in response, but Jessica swore that there was a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Not a problem at all, Miss Hawthorne."

Another half hour or so later, Jessica left McGonagall's office in a slight daze. Her footsteps were so slow as she made her way back to the Gryffindor tower, relying on muscle memory only since she wasn't quite paying attention to her surroundings.

She wasn't sure if she was just being dramatic, but it felt surreal to think that once this term was over, she would be pushed out into the real world. Although she was excited to explore new opportunities, the thought of leaving the comforts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry felt strange. She would be enrolling in a training course for Curse-Breakers, taking tests to see if she was actually ready to be one, and doing dangerous work in foreign locations.

It didn't take her long for her to reach her dorm — or perhaps she was just too immersed in her thoughts to notice the time it took to get there. She passed by a group of first years wistfully talking about wanting to watch a Quidditch game at Hogwarts, so naturally, she was reminded of Oliver.

Oliver, she thought in realization, I should tell him about my plans after Hogwarts now that they're more set.

But then, she paused. He hadn't replied to her previous letter where she recounted the events of the Second Task, so he must've not read that yet. She didn't want to bother him, either, since he was most likely busy. It would probably be better to just write a follow-up, and remind him of their next meet-up at Hogsmeade in a couple of days even though she had already mentioned it during their first meet-up since she knew all the dates of the trips — she had her Head Girl duties and perks to thank for that. Plus, the topic of her career plans would be much better to discuss in person rather than through letters.

And so, right after she had showered and changed into her pajamas, Jessica found herself sitting cross-legged on her four-poster bed, a book on her lap for a hard surface, and an unrolled sheet of parchment before her. It was tricky to have her bottle of ink beside her, threatening to spill if she moved too much on the mattress, but she decided she would just address the mishap if it ever even happened. After dipping her quill into the ink, she began to write.

Dear Oliver,

Everybody at Hogwarts can't wait for the Third Task. To be honest, no one can really tell who'll win at this point. Anything can happen in the final round. But enough about the tournament for now. How's training with Puddlemere again? I'm sure it must be tougher now that the holidays are over. I hope you're doing well.

Anyway, I'll keep this letter short since I'm not sure if you saw the last one, but it's alright. The next Hogsmeade trip is on the 6th of March, and I was wondering if you'd be able to make it (same time and place as before, if that sounds good to you). See you soon?

Jess

★ ★ ★

The smell of leather, wood, and sweat hung in the air of Puddlemere United's locker room. It wasn't the most pleasant odor, but in all honesty, it was familiar and even a bit comforting for all of the players there who loved Quidditch like it was their lifeline.

It was an understatement to say that their trainings were much more intense and frequent now that they had entered the year 1995. Their coaches and managers wanted them to get out of the holiday mode and prepare for the season, which would kick off once winter fully faded away and transitioned into spring.

Unsurprisingly, Oliver still loved every minute of it. While it was more stressful and demanding than anything he'd ever done at Hogwarts, he liked the challenge and was just glad to be doing what he was passionate about for a living. He had to admit, though, that he found it a little difficult to manage his time. He thought that not having homework anymore meant more time for himself and his loved ones, but his other responsibilities as an adult, like chores and errands to name a few, took up quite some time and energy, too.

"Alright, everyone, hit the showers! You all reek of sweat," Odette Merryweather, the captain, said straightforwardly.

"What do you mean? We smell wonderful," joked Miles Griffiths, the Keeper. Adding to his antics, Seeker Benjy Williams fanned his sweaty robes in the direction of their captain.

"You're disgusting," Merryweather cringed, running off to the girl's showers before the boys could do any more damage. Griffiths and Williams chuckled at that, but ended up obeying her orders anyway as they also made their way to the boy's shower area.

The rest of the team followed suit, all eager to get out of their soaked uniforms and refresh themselves. Oliver was one of the firsts to finish since he had always been the type to take quick showers, anyway — well, except for that time he tried to drown himself there, but that was in the past.

Once Oliver had changed into a fresh set of clothes, the first thing he did was search for the folded pieces of parchment that were waiting to be read in his training bag. He felt like he was being a bit of a bad friend because he hadn't been replying to his friends' letters recently, and if he had, he'd be late. Percy's were mostly about the Ministry and he didn't send that often, so that wasn't much of an issue. Carson sent a little more than that, and Oliver knew his best friend would make a big deal out of it given how clingy and chaotic he could be. But the one person he was feeling most awful about was Jessica. He loved communicating with her on a regular basis, and he appreciated her updates and how he could do the same back to her, but now, he was behind on his replies.

Shuffling through the letters in his bag, he fished out two with Jessica's name written on the front. One was opened, which he remembered receiving the other day but hadn't finished reading, while the other was folded for he had only gotten it that morning. Deciding that it was more important to catch up on the former letter, he dove into reading that first.

His eyes skimmed the upper portion of the page, which was mostly about Jessica's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes with the revered ex-Auror, Alastor Moody. Even though he'd read this part when he first opened it, he still found it shocking that Moody would teach such advanced and dark magic that Oliver never encountered in his seventh year. Eventually, he found the section he hadn't touched on yet — the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament — and began to read normally from there.

The Second Task was more challenging than the First. It was at the Black Lake and it was absolutely freezing, so I have no idea how the champions survived. They had to retrieve some treasure at the bottom within an hour, so for a while, it was a little boring, actually. We couldn't see anything that was going on underwater, so we could only wait for someone to pop out. Bethany just kept saying the worst-case scenarios because of all the creatures down there, while Alista kept insisting that the lake was a peaceful place. Fred and George went around taking bets again — I should've stopped them, but honestly, even you know that's impossible. They'd find a way around it somehow.

Anyway, here's the craziest part: the treasures were people close to the champions. Fleur got out first, but she didn't win because she was attacked by grindylows. Cedric came next and put Hogwarts in first place. Krum was next, and he surprised us all because he'd managed to partially transfigure himself into a shark and his treasure was Granger (I still see her as a little first year sometimes, so it was strange). Harry was last, but it turned out it was because he had tried to save both his treasure and Fleur's (her sister). He ended up getting second place because of "outstanding moral fibre," according to Dumbledore. But I'm not complaining. Hogwarts is in the lead now.

There's only one task left to go, though, and it looks like Cedric has a high chance of winning. But Harry's always found a way to make it out alive, Krum's been doing great so far, and maybe Fleur will redeem herself. I don't know who'll win, and I'm not gonna risk it by betting... I just really hope it's someone from Hogwarts.

I think I've said all that happened in the Second Task — what really happened, at least. There's a lot of rumors going around about what went down in the lake, but a lot of them sound fake. Let me know how you're doing with Puddlemere now that the break is over!

Jess :)

The corners of Oliver's lips tugged upwards when he saw the small smiley face at the bottom of the page. It was a fairly long letter, and he did have a lot to write back to her about, but he supposed it would be better to read the next letter first. That way, he could fit all his contents in just one letter before sending an owl back to Jessica.

Just when he was about to unfold the unopened letter, he was interrupted by the sound of his name being called.

"Hey, Wood!"

Oliver looked away from the letters before him and to the doors of the locker room. Charles Hawthorne stood there, an expectant look on his face.

"What're you still doing here?" Charles asked.

"Just reading some letters," Oliver explained. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but coach said outside that we're having a team lunch. I was just about to get my things here."

"That's today?" another voice piped up. It was Lance Dawlish, one of the reserve Beaters. He was the last to finish showering and changing — the team had pointed out before how slow he was, but he said it was important that he take his time in shampooing, conditioning, and exfoliating his body when necessary.

"It was supposed to be next week, if I remember right," Charles replied. "But he wants one now because he thinks we lack protein and wants to feed us himself."

"That means he'll be forcing us to drink those potion supplements again, right?" Dawlish said, an unpleasant look on his face. In response, Charles shrugged as if he was used to it already.

"We do have to get more muscle in before the season begins," he mused. "Now, come on, you two. We'll be leaving in a few."

Dawlish stuffed his belongings into his locker and jogged out in a surprisingly short amount of time, right after Charles. Not wanting to be left behind, Oliver hastily folded the papers on his lap back up, stuffed them into his bag, and zipped it close. Then, he made his way out to join his teammates, hoping that he wouldn't forget to get to those letters once lunch was over.

A/N: I'm back!! This is so late but Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone <3 I'm gonna try to write more chapters in advance before my last ever term in college begins ahhh so hopefully I won't be posting this slowly haha :')