The calendar pages turned one by one, and the Second Task drew closer.
By now, almost every student at Hogwarts had guessed what the Second Task would be.
After all, the six Champions often gathered by the Black Lake to practice diving. Anyone who still couldn't guess the general nature of the competition... well, that was quite a feat.
This realization made many students shudder, and they were grateful they hadn't become Champions.
It was the end of January, arguably the time of year when the Black Lake was at its most bitterly cold.
Even the few Bulgarian students at Durmstrang who loved winter swimming wouldn't dare venture into the lake in weather like this.
Yet the Champions had to keep practicing their dives, and several of them were Witches... It was terrifying!
Harley spent nearly every day in the Black Lake with Pheobe, swimming for two hours before taking her into the Forbidden Forest to explore.
Hermione was happy to join them. The clever young Witch didn't want to miss any chance to improve herself.
At first, Harley had thought it was great fun.
What could be more delightful than swimming with two beautiful girls, then taking a stroll through the Forbidden Forest afterward?
But after just one week, Harley no longer felt that way.
Merlin, spare me!
This grueling training continued until the final week before the competition, when they finally stopped. Excessive training could easily leave them too exhausted to perform well on the day.
The night before the competition, Hermione suddenly disappeared.
There was no commotion in the dormitory, though.
Lavender and Parvati simply hadn't noticed she was gone.
After all, whenever they returned to the dormitory to sleep, Hermione had either gone to bed early or was still outside, studying by lamplight.
A poor student's