Brody certainly didn't expect this day to hand him a mission to protect a human he never met before for a gargoyle at the nearby Wizard school! He lived in the lake pretty much since he was born, being a merman and all. He knew the lake inside and out from research, and exploring every nook, cranny, and coral in it.

The only place he ever avoided was the reed bed, where those foul water demons, the Grindylows lived. Brody detested those things, always grabbing unsuspecting victims and pulling them down, choking them until they were dead.

Sometimes he would even visit the Giant Squid, who seemed vicious at first, but was quite friendly.

He and Brody would play around quite a lot, coming up with silly games here and there. But now Brody knew this mission was no fun and games, and he couldn't afford being caught helping Potter to be accused of cheating and disqualifying him from the tournament, plus him getting banished.

He was now swimming about the docks, awaiting the start of the Second Task, hoping that he would be successful in his secret mission.

The horn suddenly sounded, and Brody quickly found a hiding spot in the reeds, spotting the other three Champions diving in, Harry following last.

At first, Brody watched Harry struggle for a while in the water, worried that he hadn't been able to find a way to breathe, until flippers and gills formed.

Brody sighed in relief at this; he should have guessed Gillyweed. Heck, he should have presented Brooklyn with some to give to Harry in the first place! For there were some of those plants growing here and there near the swampy shores of the lake.

Harry then proceeded to swim, with Brody following in his wake through the depths of the lake.

Approaching the dreaded weed bed with those terrible water demons, Brody drew his knife, hacking at the weeds, hoping not to meet any Grindylows anytime soon!

At one point, the young merman spotted Fleur, the blonde human being snatched by those foul Grindylows. Their fingers were pretty much claws and could really hurt your skin; merman or human, it didn't matter.

He winced seeing her getting taken down, but she struggled until breaking free, eyes wide with terror as she abandoned her mission and swam back to the surface.

Then, a mermaid, whose name was Coralia, swam around Harry, guiding him to the village. It was the only time his tribe could help, to tell the Champions they were getting close. Brody followed in the shadows, until he saw his home.

It was a pretty practical mer village, with small coral houses here and there. Brody had a decent little home near the edge of the village, where he could be free to be himself, occasionally going to the library to study or simply enjoying swimming. The rest of his tribe never found the need to study as much as he did, which is why when any of his fellow merfolk spoke to anybody, all they heard was screeching and wailing, except occasional English in song to lure humans to their demise.

And don't compare Brody or any of the mer-people to the ones in the Little Mermaid, for they look nothing like human/fish hybrids, because of their green skin, talons, and gray or olive-green hair.

He followed Harry to the square, where Brody could see the Champions' victims, all tied to the statue of his chief.

His eyes went round as he saw Brooklyn tied there, along with three other girls. Brody guessed that Dumbledore had chosen the gargoyle to be the one Harry rescued.

Harry was trying to untie Brooklyn, hands slipping every time, until Brody spotted some sharp rocks on the floor. Glancing around to make sure no others were watching, he swam down, grabbing the sharpest rock. Going up next to Harry, he tapped on the boy's shoulder to get his attention. Jumping, Harry turned around, staring at Brody in confusion, who winked and pointed towards Brooklyn, until Harry got the message, and accepted the rock, untying him, who appeared to be in a deep sleep.

A tall dark-haired boy in yellow clothes suddenly arrived, using a spell to free his hostage, and pointing to his watch, telling Harry the time limit before swimming back up.

But when Harry wanted to untie Hermione after doing Brooklyn, two mermaids pointed their spears, screeching, telling him no for saving her. Brody gasped, quickly hiding behind the statue, praying they didn't see him. For they weren't allowed to help at all, and if they caught him... he gulped at the thought.

At that moment, Brody saw one of the champions coming, scaring the mermaids away. He saw that this one had a shark's head. He bit through the brown-haired girl's ropes, pulling her with him.

Brody noticed Harry staring at the last hostage, and he then knew that the other who was attacked by Grindylows must've been her sister, and she had decided to give up. Harry made up his mind and took the young girl with him.

Harry swam to the surface, Brody following in his wake, when he noticed the Gillyweed was wearing off.

No! Not yet! He screamed silently. Things got worse when Grindylows attacked him. Hissing, Brody charged, grabbing one and throwing it away. One of them scratched his shoulder, making Brody gasp in pain, as another bit him on the arm.

Brody fought them with his best fighting moves he learned from his late Pop, who had been killed in a war with another mer-tribe. He was only nine years old when it happened, and his mother later died from a broken heart, leaving Brody an orphan to be raised in the orphanage in the heart of the kingdom.

Harry then pushed Brooklyn and the girl to the surface to get rid of the rest of the Grindylows.

The young merman didn't know how much longer he could hold them off as more kept coming. But Harry had a trick up his sleeve: he drew his wand, and shot a spell, knocking them all back, thankfully missing Brody. The young merman now was hoping that Brooklyn would make it to the surface and get that small girl to safety as he scratched another Grindylow.

...

Blinking awake, Brooklyn felt liquid all around him, and gave a muffled yell of surprise, nearly swallowing a lot of lake water, struggling for a time, just seeing the surface above him. The red gargoyle began to swim, until he heard muffled whimpering, and he turned to see Gabrielle next to him. He stared in shock. Where was Fleur?

But he saw how desperate and scared Gabrielle was, plus she was sinking. Determination filling him, Brooklyn made his way towards the girl, grabbing her securely in his strong arms and swam her to the surface with him.

Water flooded his mouth and lungs, as he felt as though light and air were only a few inches away, but it seemed like an eternity to get there. He couldn't breathe as well, clutching the small girl close, as if to shield her from the terrors of possible drowning. He could feel her shivering.

Come on, come on! Brooklyn screamed silently, as he kicked as hard as his fading strength allowed him.

Just when he thought about giving up, his head burst through the surface at last, and Brooklyn drew in the much-needed air, while trying to hold Gabrielle up so she got to breathe.

The cold air hit his face after the water, and he too started shivering. From behind him came cheering from the docks. Gabrielle was crying softly, hugging his arm, while he breast stroked with his other free one.

"I-it's okay, w-we're s-safe," he said in a shivering voice, as he pulled her back to the dock, where he saw Ron standing there with the twins, and Fleur, looking like she was gonna pass out from panic for her sister.

She spoke desperately in French, reaching out with her arm, and Brooklyn held her up for Fleur to pull onto the dock, and the two sisters hugged each other tightly.

Ron and the twins helped with Brooklyn, since he was heavier than Gabrielle, and Hermione rushed over to give Brooklyn a big hug.

Ron put a towel around the gargoyle, who was still shivering, when he suddenly remembered: where was Harry? Why wasn't he back? He gazed out to the water, desperate for any signs of his brother coming up.

The Gillyweed had now worn off, and Brody could see Harry losing strength and air, sinking. No! No way was he gonna let his mission for Brooklyn fail! He swam, grabbing Harry around the waist and swimming upwards.

Just before he reached the surface, Brody knew this was as far as he could go, pushing Harry up as far as he could reach, until the boy's head broke the surface of the water, while Brody stayed hidden, not wanting the judges to call Harry out for asking a merman to help. But he knew his mission was a success. Harry was safe, and so was Brooklyn.

Brody then swam back down and planned to meet Brooklyn on a later date to tell him everything.

Brooklyn gasped at the sight of Harry, and to Hermione and Ron's protests, he dove back into the water, grabbing Harry, and pulling him up to safety.

He collapsed, lungs on fire as muffled shouting arose around Brooklyn, who continued to lie there, trying his best to warm up, but his wings could only do so much, since they were in the water, too.

"Somebody get another towel!" Seamus's voice yelled, and Brooklyn felt Harry wrapping his arms around him tightly, and the two brothers shared a small moment together, then they were both handed towels to warm them up. Fleur came up to both of them, her face full gratitude, kissing Harry then kissing Brooklyn.

"Merci! Merci! You saved her even though she wasn't your hostage! And you helped!" Brooklyn grinned rather embarrassedly, surprised at her sudden change of attitude.

"Yeah, er, you're welcome," he then said. She hugged him once more and went to check on her sister.

That's when Katie appeared, giving Brooklyn her own hug.

"I was so worried for you, Brooklyn! I-I thought that you wouldn't make it and-." Brooklyn silenced her by hugging Katie back.

"We're all safe, Katie. And that's all that matters," he responded gently, stroking her hair. It felt great to be near Katie again, just the two of them, even among a crowd of people. Simply from hugging her, he felt warmer than ever now.

Dumbledore then called order, giving out points to the Champions, making Cedric first place, but giving Harry second for 'moral fiber.' Brooklyn himself was glad they didn't catch Brody helping his brother, and that they could now move onto the final task at last! He was so ready to end this stupid tournament and maybe bring things back to normal.

As they walked back to the castle, Harry and Brooklyn were approached by Crouch, who looked pretty happy, happier than Brooklyn saw him last before they cast the sleeping spell on him.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter. A fine achievement. I'm sorry we haven't spoken, and Brooklyn, the way I acted at the World Cup, blaming you for the Dark Mark, I'm sorry for that as well. Now seeing your strong bond, I now realize you would never do such a thing."

Brooklyn shook his head. "You really didn't need to apologize again, sir. I forgave you already at the Cup."

Crouch though, put a hand on Brooklyn's shoulder, which somewhat weirded him out. Why was this guy suddenly acting so nice?

"But I felt like I did need to say it again. Considering your kind being prejudiced so many times, maybe we can start over with a clean slate?" He persisted, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Knowing he wasn't gonna stop, Brooklyn decided to accept it. "Sure, I guess. Thanks," he said, making Crouch smile, before turning to Harry.

"And you, Mr. Potter, your story is one that I've heard so many times. Tragic, isn't it, to lose one's family? Never whole again, are we? But still, life goes on, and here we stand! I'm sure your parents would be very proud of you, today, Potter."

Harry had smiled, but Brooklyn raised his brow. First it was apologizing to him, now delivering a sentimental speech to his brother. What was going through this guy's head right now?

"Bartemius!" Moody shouted out from behind them, making the brothers jump.

"Not trying to lure Potter and Brooklyn into one of the Ministry's summer internships, are we? The last boy that went into the Department of Mysteries never came back out!" With those words, his tongue suddenly swiped his lips in a snakish manner that seemed to scare Crouch, staring at Moody as he walked away.

This was really weirding Brooklyn out right now. He decided the best thing to do at the moment was to get him and Harry warmed up and perhaps talk about this later with their friends.

...

Later that evening after a nice warm dinner and hot chocolate, Brooklyn and his friends were celebrating with Hagrid near the edge of the forest, just enjoying a walk together.

Hagrid looked ready to cry. "Yeh know, I remember when I firs' met yeh all, the biggest bunch o' misfits I ever laid eyes on! So here we all are, four years later, and Brooklyn, I remember how it took yeh time to adjust, and here yeh are, Guardian of Hogwarts!"

Brooklyn blushed at Hagrid's compliment. He had to admit now, he really had come a long way into this world ever since he was sent here by Puck. And he was eventually looking forward to telling his family stories when he returned home.

"We're still a bunch of misfits," Ron put in, chuckling.

"That may be, but we still got each other. And Harry, o' course soon to be the youngest Tri-Wizard champion there's ever been! Hooray!" Hagrid cheered, making the group laugh at his enthusiasm.

While the others started to sing the Hogwarts' song, Brooklyn and Harry both walked together, until Harry gasped in pain, clutching his scar, and a strange smell hit Brooklyn's nose, like there was a dead something around here.

And it was. The brothers stumbled across a body, the body of Barty Crouch. He was dead, his blank eyes staring up at nothing.

Brooklyn felt cold fear in his veins. Who hated Crouch enough to kill him?