"Well, Hagrid seems to be doing okay." Harry commented from the side as he watched Hagrid introduce two Unicorn foals to the class.
Just as Professor Grubbly-Plank had managed to capture the interest of the class, Hagrid also attracted excited chitters from his Care of Magical Creatures class.
"Good thing those infernal Skrewts are nowhere to be seen. Maybe they got taken away or something." said Neville, a hopeful look on his face.
"Knowing Hagrid I highly doubt that. But, he seems to be doing okay. I wonder who planned out this lesson plan?" Harry wondered out loud but looked meaningfully at Hermione.
"Stop looking at me like that." Hermione said before hitting him on his arm.
"Like what?" Harry asked rubbing his arm.
"Like I'm the mastermind of some terrible plot or something. I just gave Hagrid some fine pointers to keep his class interesting and safe." Hermione explained.
"Well, it seems to be working so far. Look, even Parkinson has a smile on her face. That ought to tell you your plan is working like a charm Hermione." said Neville, pointing at a giggling Pansy Parkinson feeding one of the foals with a bundle of grass.
Hagrid, despite his obsession with huge monstrous magical creatures that any sensible wizard would run from, decided it was better to stick with Professor Grubbly Plank's course. So, using his innate connection with the magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid managed to bring two baby Unicorns to his class. It was hard enough to bring full-grown Unicorns as they are incredibly shy of exposing themselves to wizards. The fact that Hagrid somehow managed to bring two golden-skinned Unicorn foals totally blew everyone's mind. Mostly cause most wizards never manage to see a Unicorn foal in their lifetime. They are closely guarded by the adult Unicorns.
"I wonder how Hagrid managed to bring the two foals." Harry muttered as he too joined the crowd gathering around the foals.
"Gather 'round now. Just keep yer hands ter 'yerself. These foals won't run 'way from boys but they sure'd like to run 'way if they sense trouble." Hagrid said to the whole class.
Hagrid moved to the side so that the students could get more room to see the foals.
"These foals are just one year old. They grow horns when they're four, and they turn silver when they're aroun' two. They're babies so they're bit more trustin' than a full-grown Unicorns."
Harry absently paid some attention to Hagrid's explanations while looking at the two baby unicorns. They were pure gold in colour and under the sunlight, the foals looked like they were shining with a golden aura. Harry got only one word to describe the foals.
"Ethereal!"
Hagrid was suddenly on his side and quietly led him to a corner away from the crowd.
"Yeh doin' ok Harry? If you want I can let yeh go from my class. Yeh can go prepare for the Task and all." Hagrid offered.
"Don't worry Hagrid. If I can survive a full-grown dragon I have nothing to worry about in the Second Task." said Harry, patting Hagrid on his arm to reassure the friendly half-giant that he was gonna win.
"That's the spirit, Harry. You show 'em good tomorrow." Hagrid patted him on the shoulder happy to see Harry was confident about the Task.
Satisfied by the answer, Hagrid moved away from Harry to focus on the foals.
He was alone only for a moment as he was later joined by Daphne who tapped on his shoulder to gain his attention.
"Hey, Daphne. Curious to find you here after days of silence."
"Sorry. With everything that has been going on after Black's trial, my housemates were on edge. Tracey thought it'd be a good idea to keep our distance until things cooled down." said Daphne.
"And, have they? Cooled down, I mean?" Harry asked raising his eyebrow.
"For the time being." she said cautiously, not giving away anything.
"Is Draco up to no good again?" Harry asked.
"No." Daphne shook her head. "Not Draco. Let me worry about that. How's Mr Black doing?"
"He's fine. The last I heard he is in a strict potion regimen under St Mungo's healers."
"Oh. In that case, tell him I wish him a speedy recovery."
Harry nodded but he noticed Daphne was sticking around not quite sure how to proceed further.
"Is there something else Daphne?" he asked, taking pity on the girl.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
Harry distinctly remembered his time in school. Girls loved to string along boys and let them stew in the oven. The fairer sex seems to derive a sick pleasure in watching boys struggle to articulate their thoughts in the open.
So, Harry being calm and aloof was a change of position he was coming to appreciate. And just like those behavioural studies revealed, women are largely attracted to the most disagreeable male nearby. Considering the other circumstances that make him the best bad-boy available, he could see why Daphne has this crush on him.
It felt like the ball was in his court. He was in total control of this relationship. He could totally change the trajectory whenever he pleased. At least, he hoped that was the case. It could be possible he was reading too much into the situation. It has happened before and he wouldn't be surprised if it was happening right now.
'No wonder why most girls were so confident back in school. Or maybe they were pretending. Who knows what's going on inside their heads?'
"Oh. I was just wondering if you were doing okay with the Second Task and all." said Daphne, looking awkwardly around.
Harry merely smiled confidently and said, "I'll win tomorrow."
Daphne was a bit stunned by the confidence shown by Harry but she grinned and appreciated his resolve with a nod.
"Oh! Good luck then."
She was about to return to Tracey's side when Harry randomly threw a strange question at her. He couldn't help himself but throw in a subtle clue for Daphne. He was sure it'd be a surprise for her if his assumptions regarding his 'hostage' panned out.
"Have you ever seen the bottom of the Black Lake?"
Daphne frowned as she could not discern anything from Harry's eyes.
Nonetheless, she answered truthfully. "No."
"Would you like to?" Harry offered, a playful grin on his face.
XXXXXXXXXX
Harry looked out of the window enjoying the evening sun on his face. It was warm and he let out a sigh enjoying the fuzzy feeling he was getting. Taking a sip from the hot chocolate in his cup, Harry relaxed into the chair and stretched out his legs.
It was a nice day.
"Meow."
Even Crookshanks agreed with him. Perhaps, Crookshanks was appreciating Harry's generous gesture of securing the half-kneazle a bowl of fried beef for evening snacks. Reaching out with his hand, Harry scratched Crookshanks behind the ear earning an appreciative purr from the feline.
"Crookshanks is here. Where is Hermione?"
Harry turned around to face Ron who stood awkwardly by the bedside.
"I don't know." Harry shrugged and returned to gazing out of the window.
"She must be with Krum then huh?" Ron asked.
Harry let out a noncommittal hum but otherwise didn't bother to respond. Instead, he continued petting Crookshanks.
"How's Sirius doing?"
"He's alright."
Ron seems to be struggling to pick up a conversation here but Harry was not interested in entertaining one especially when he was about to face the Second Task in half an hour.
"Harry, haven't we been friends for years? Should we fight like this because of a girl?"
Harry was struck speechless for a moment by how Ron worded the whole thing. If this was the redhead's attempt to rekindle then Ron has definitely gone bonkers.
"Great question. I think it'd do some good if you ask that while looking at a mirror." Harry replied, a mocking tilt in his voice.
"Come on Harry. I'm here to make amends. I'll even tolerate Greengrass." said Ron.
Harry sat there on his chair stunned for a moment, wondering to himself whether there is any other human in the world as thick-headed as Ron Weasley. Recovering from the tangent his mind took, Harry slowly got up from the chair and faced Ron.
"You'll 'tolerate' Greengrass? Oh, how generous of you." Harry mocked.
"Harry, I'm serious. Even if she is a slimy Slytherin I can find ways to tolerate her." Ron said earnestly.
Harry stared at Ron in wonder at the sheer stupidity coming out of Ron's mouth. He wondered how anyone could become friends with Ron Weasley. It took every iota of self-restraint within him for Harry to not punch some sense into the thick skull of Ron. At least, he wanted to really give a piece of his mind but Harry imposed discipline on his mind and used Occlumency to clear out emotions encroaching into his intellect. He was just about to participate in the Task and the last thing he wanted was a distracted mind.
"I can't ask you to make such a huge sacrifice Ron. You should stay true to your hatred of all 'slimy slytherins' to the best of your ability." said Harry, before quickly taking his leave from the dorm leaving a confused Ron all alone.
Looking at his watch there was still some time left before the Task commenced. Harry preferred to be alone so he found the perfect way. Casting the disillusion charm on his body he made his way to the kitchen. A warm cup of tea and some biscuits should do the trick of freshening up his mind after the encounter with Ron.
XXXXXXXXX
Harry was dressed only in a pair of swim trunks. He had forgone the rest of his clothes as it'd only hold him back under the lake.
"You okay there Harry? If you need anything, let me know." said Neville.
"Well, I'd have preferred the sun to stay longer but those freaky clouds are in the way." Harry aroused, already feeling the chill in the air.
"Why don't you just use warming charms?" asked Neville.
"Want to conserve my magic as much as possible." Harry answered.
Then Harry felt a wand tap on his head and the feeling of warmth spread across his body.
"Here you go. All settled." said Tracey, pocketing her wand.
"Thanks." Harry nodded in appreciation.
Tracey eyed him from head to toe and let out an appreciative whistle.
"You look like one of those sculptured statues in Rome. You are catching a lot of attention from girls Harry." Tracey leaned in and whispered. "Look. Even the French Champion is eyeing you appreciatively."
Tracey was right. Fleur Delecour was indeed looking at him. The funny thing was almost the entirety of the males present were looking at Fleur with glassy eyes. She was showing more skin than she usually did due to the nature of the Task. The awkwardness of that could be seen on the French Champion's face. She was certainly not enjoying all that attention.
"Oh, I wish Daphne was here. Speaking of which..." Tracey said, before becoming serious all of a sudden. "Where is Daphne? I haven't seen her since morning."
"Well, I have an idea where she might be at the moment." said Harry eyeing the Black Lake out of the corner of his eyes.
Before he could expand on that further, Bagman loudly cleared his throat with the aid of magic magnifying his voice so that he could attract everyone's attention.
Harry joined the other three champions and faced the judges sitting behind a table. A long golden coloured cloth covered the table and there were some marked changes among the judging panel. There was no Crouch Sr. Representing the Ministry. The man was supposedly on the run, after all.
Instead, it was the Minister of Magic himself representing the British Ministry of Magic with Percy Weasley tittering around the Minister like an obedient but excited butterfly. The rest of the judges, Madame Maxime, Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Ludo Bagman remained the same.
Bagman was on his feet, looking very pleased with himself sitting between Karkaroff and Fudge.
"Now, please ladies and gentlemen. Settle down. Before the Task commences I have an announcement to make. Due to some unforeseen events entirely out of our control, Mr Crouch is unable to stand as a judge. But, fear not for we have the Minister of Magic himself judging our brave champions in this Task. So, we heartily welcome Minister Fudge as he will also be a judge for the Third Task. Thank you Minister for allocating your valuable time for this event."
Fudge took to his feet and waved at everyone before sitting down.
"Now, with that over, we can go to the Champions. There are four champions and each of you has to recover what you lost. You have exactly one hour to retrieve this item. If you have worked out your clue you'll know what it is that you must retrieve. So, without further adieu let the seeking begin. On the count of three then. One, two, three!"
There was a loud whistle as Bagman finished the countdown and the champions all jumped into the lake except for Harry. Krum used a partial transfiguration to grow gills and become a half-shark. Fleur and Cedric used the Bubble-head charm to breathe underwater. Harry on the other hand merely raised his wand high into the air.
"Accio Firebolt!"
Fleur, Cedric and Krum were nowhere to be found as they had begun the task. Harry on the other hand was standing by the lakeside as the stands along the lake erupted in cheers supporting their favoured champions.
"What's up, Potter? You waiting for your dead parents?"
Harry could easily identify the culprit who threw that heckle. The voice was annoyingly familiar and Harry sort of expected something like this from the mini-Death Eater in training.
It was Draco Malfoy!
No shocker there as far as he was concerned. Interestingly enough, the Slytherin students sitting close to Malfoy suddenly went silent instead of their usual mocking laughter. It worked to Harry's advantage in this case as he was already prepared for a rebuttal.
"I'm waiting for your father to die Malfoy to pay a visit to your racist mother. After that good for nothing Death Eater father of yours die she needs to take care of you. With your family broke as it is she needs all the customers she can find." Harry quipped.
He couldn't see the reaction to his response as his broom chose that moment to zoom in from the sky.
Catching the Firebolt in his hand Harry tapped his wand over the small steel bracelet at the tail end of the broom. The bracelet absorbed the sliver of magic he poured into making it visibly shine with runes of power forged into its outer surface.
Harry took a look at the clock. It was nearly five minutes on the clock. Without wasting any more time Hary climbed on the Firebolt and took to the skies. Bagman, as usual, was excitingly shouting away.
"Our youngest champion has taken to the skies on his broom. What is Harry Potter planning? If the First Task was any indication people, never underestimate Harry Potter when it comes to magic."
'Nice of you to do that Bagman. That's a confidence booster.' Harry muttered.
Taking a deep breath Harry took a moment to appreciate the wind blowing on his skin. Dipping the bow of his broom Harry went straight down in a free fall assisted by the Firebolt's speed towards the general location of the Merpeople's village. The bracelet he painstakingly researched and forged with the help of Professor Babbling was designed with only one thing in mind. Its sole job is to repel water from the broom and the rider. It created a tightly knit space that repels all foreign physical elements.
In this case, the runes created a shield that has the power to repel water. Strictly speaking, he could have achieved the same with a spell instead of using runes. However, the Firebolt is a professional broom that has several top-notch safety features. It has innate magic peeled into the wood to resist any and all foreign magic. So, using runic bracelets is the only way as this was one of the Firebolt's features to be customized to the rider's preference. The tail end of the Firebolt is left with several grooves for using these spell forged bracelets. In the Americas, these bracelets are used to increase speeds for their broom racing tournaments.
'Perhaps, one day I should take a look at those tournaments. It should be fun.' Harry thought as he prepared for the next step in his plan.
Harry tapped the Holly wand against his head silently casting the Bubble-head charm. Just before his broom handle touched the lake surface Harry pointed his wand ahead.
"Protego."
A shimmering blue energy shield flickered into existence between his broom and the lake. With that Harry plunged into the dark waters of the lake. There was a booming sound as he crashed into the lake but true to the Firebolt's superiority and the protection of the runes a lot with the shield charm, Harry was completely safe.
The Bubble-head charm worked as advertised. Harry could breathe as normal as possible with the air bubble covering his head. He could feel the Firebolt humming beneath him waiting to properly accelerate in a direction.
With a flick of his wand, Harry cancelled the shield charm as there was no point in pumping magic into the spell. He only wanted the shield to cushion the impact. Water was all around him now but the runes kept them at bay. Twenty-five minutes is the best time the runes could give as attested by rigorous testing he conducted in the Room of Requirement. So he made his way into the lake.
The water should have been dark to normal eyes. Not to Harry!
Thanks to the Horus glasses he was wearing, the lake was as clear as the outside world. It barely took him 30 seconds to find the village. There was overgrown weed and other plant life abundant in the lake but that didn't bother him all that much. He manoeuvred the Firebolt expertly around all those barriers to push into the village. However, he noticed a pack of Grindylows, horned and baring their pointy teeth, surge towards him.
Clearly, they held hostile intentions.
"Expulso."
A bright pink blip of light surged outward from the tip of his wand and struck the Grindylows. They were blown away but so was Harry.
"Oh, fuck." Harry cursed as he struggled to control the Firebolt.
With some effort, Harry managed to regain control. Thankfully, the pack of Grindylows thought discretion is the better part of the valour.
With the Grindylows leaving him alone, Harry was free to enter the Merpeople's village unopposed. And that's what he did. He guided the Firebolt to the depths of the lake.
The further he went down more and more stone structures were revealed hidden beneath long grass and weed. And then, he found the hostages.
All four hostages were tied with a rope around a mermen stone statue wielding a giant trident. The Merpeople were gathered outside their stone dwellings silently watching. They had greyish skin and hair akin to the weeds floating around in the lake, long and green. Instead of legs, they had the tail end of a shark. A group of mermen were floating around the hostages with what appeared to be bronze tridents. Their bright yellow eyes followed his movement and Harry was also keeping his eyes peeled for any hostile movement from these fascinating water creatures.
Placing his hand against his heart Harry dipped his head lightly. It was a form of greeting among the Merpeople. A little something that he gleaned from Hagrid yesterday evening. Harry thought it wouldn't hurt to be a bit courteous. After all, he was participating in the freak show of a tournament at their home.
To Harry's delight, he was given a similar greeting from the Merpeople.
Harry floated towards the hostages and pointed his wand at the ropes holding Daphne.
"Relashio."
The ropes tying Daphne to the statue were swiftly removed and he pulled her into the broom. Tapping his wand against her forehead, he cast the Bubble-head charm before renervating Daphne from suspended sleep.
With a gasp, Daphne opened her eyes. Panicking, she tried to move but the water surrounding them made her movements sluggish. It took her a moment to realize where she was and what happened.
"This is the bottom of the Balck Lake. Take a good look around. We'll have to leave soon." said Harry.
Daphne looked around taking in the stone structures and Merpeople staring at them with open interest.
"Wait! You knew I was going to be put beneath the lake and never said a word!" Daphne raged against him and began hitting him on his chest as the realization began to sink in.
Harry laughed and instead of putting a stop to Daphne he pulled her close and urged the Firebolt straight up. Daphne was forced to latch on to his body as the force of the water and their movement left her with no other choice.
Together they broke out of the surface of the Black Lake and soared high into the air on the Firebolt. Thunderous applause greeted Harry's ears as he cancelled the Bubble-head charm and landed near the stands on his broom. Daphne was the first to get off the broom totally red-faced and shivering with cold. Madam Pomfrey was there to receive her and Daphne was forced to take a vial of Pepper-up potion before she was smothered under a blanket.
"Very well done Harry. You are the first to arrive and within twenty minutes no less. Absolutely marvellous!" said Bagman, squeezing Harry on his shoulder.
Bagman was back on with his voice amplified by the Sonorus charm revving up Harry's timely finish of the task. Even Fudge gave him an enthusiastic shake hand posing for a photo with the Daily Prophet photographer clicking away. Thankfully, he was dragged away from Minister Fudge and his slew of well-wishers by Madam Pomfrey.
He was promptly offered a vial of Pepper-up potion as well as blankets from the resident healer of Hogwarts. Harry didn't bother refusing any of it because of the stare that spoke volumes of Madam Pomfrey's intentions if he resisted in any way. Drowning the potion, Harry felt like he could run a marathon and barely shed a drop of sweat. His body was regularly trained by swimming for months. As such, he barely felt any effort in completing the task as all the heavy lifting was done by the Firebolt.
"You did it, Harry. You crushed everyone else. You completed the task within twenty minutes." Neville happily crowed, hugging Harry out of nowhere.
"Right you are Neville. Pair that with the parting shot Harry gave to Malfoy, it was genius." said Fred, grinning like a loon.
"Right you are twin of mine. We loved it. Malfoy was left speechless and even the Dumstrang students laughed at the ferret's expense. It was glorious!" George exclaimed, with a smile stretching ear to ear on his face.
"Shush! George, did you forget we have a snake near us?" Fred asked in a faux whisper.
Then dramatically, the Wesley twins turned around to stare at Daphne. Their act would have been better if Daphne was not shivering up a storm under the blanket.
"She looks more like a cat under the rain rather than a snake." Harry joked, earning a few chuckles and an intense stare from the Slytherin.
"Oh, look. The snakes are multiplying." said George, suddenly pointing to the crowd.
Tracey came over to Daphne's side and began helping to keep her friend warm.
"You okay?" Harry asked, taking pity on the shivering mess that was Daphne.
"I'm not talking to you." Daphne turned up her nose and liked away from him.
"Girls." Harry shrugged.
When the clock struck thirty minutes Fleur surfaced. The only problem was she was carried by the Merpeople and she failed to rescue her hostage. When Fleur regained her awareness and realized her little sister was left at the bottom of the lake she became hysterical. Of course, she tried to make another go at the task but Grindylows were all around the lake waiting for Fleur.
"She's not going to be allowed into the lake. The Grindylows have a long bloody history with Veela. They must have realised Delecour has Veela blood." said Neville.
Now, Harry could have turned a blind eye and not act at this moment. He already won and he was sure he pretty much owned this task. When the Third Task would start he'd definitely have an advantage as his points would let his early entry into the maze.
However, Harry was also aware that this was an opportunity. Dumbledore was right on one thing. This Tournament was indeed a chance to build better relationships with other people outside Britain. And Fleur Delecour was indeed a price worthy of certain risk. So, despite knowing that Fleur's sister would remain unharmed Harry mounted his Firebolt after charging the runes once more to the gasps of many.
And he was right back at the bottom of the Black Lake.
The Merpeople were not so welcoming of Harry when they realized he was there for Fleur's hostage. Harry had to use a wide area banisher to dissuade them from interfering. He was back with Gabrielle in his arms before either Krum or Cedric returned with their hostage. That fact alone earned him more cheers from the crowd.
"You zaved errr. Zaank you. Zaank you." Fleur was quite expressive showing her thanks by raining kisses down on his cheek.
Feeling a bit cheeky and frankly because he found Fleur quite attractive, Harry used the opportunity to align himself in a way that Fleur ended up kissing him on his lips. He truly did not mean anything with that action. He was just hoping to put the French Champion on the spot and have a laugh at her expense.
However, what he didn't expect was for Fleur to quickly overcome any supposed awkwardness and actually engage him in a full-on French kiss right before the whole school.
When they broke off for air Harry knew one thing. There was not a hint of awkwardness in Fleur's eyes. In fact, he saw the look on Fleur's face and he knew that he has been made.
She gave him a cheeky smile and a peck on his lips before running back to her sister.
'I'm such a moron. She knew what I was doing and she turned the table on me on spot. Now, I'm the idiot staring vacantly after her.' Harry thought.
Shaking his head he tried to clear his mind. Tried being the keyword here. Fleur's allure was lingering in the air like a finely aged wine. Its aroma unlike other times was far stronger than Harry could handle, especially in this vulnerable moment. Hence, his Occlumency was virtually non-existent. He came to the realisation that he was totally disarmed and he was struggling to decide on what to do next. It took every drop of courage left in him to not turn on his heels and run to avoid all the eyes on him especially the lens of the Daily Prophet photographer.
By the time the other champions made it to the stands with their hostages secured, Harry had the presence of mind to get properly dressed. He was still smarting from the whole debacle with Fleur but he tried to put that behind despite Fred, George and even Angelina teasing him without respite.
When the points were declared Harry did come up on top just as he planned. With 49 points he was the top scorer of the day. Karkaroff tried his best to decrease the points but Minister Fudge had a quiet word with the man and that strangely enough was enough for Karkaroff to back off. The one sole point he lost was because of Karkaroff.
But, that didn't bother him one bit.
All that mattered was that he got the head start he deserved in the Third Task. He was certainly not looking forward to the bomb Fleur left him in the form of the kiss. Rumours are going to fly around and he was certainly going to be at the centre of everything once again. At least, he will not be painted as the villain here.
He hoped that was the case.