Harry and Daphne emerged from the Black Lake, wet and shivering. They fired warming and drying charms on themselves and immediately headed for the Room of Requirement. Once there, a Hogwarts house elf provided them with some hot coco, and they sat in front of a roaring fire.
"So, we're tried both Bubblehead charm and Gillyweed" said Daphne, cuddling up next to her fiancé. "Which do you prefer?"
Harry looked into the fire with a frown on his face. "Neither, actually. While the bubblehead charm works perfectly, it will be difficult for me to swim, while the gillyweed helps me swim very well, hinders my wand movement. If only there was something which would help me move like gillyweed, but I could retain my agility with my wand . . ."
After a few moments, Daphne asked, "Why don't we create a potion based on gillyweed?"
"Excuse me?" he asked bewildered. "There's no gillyweed potion, Daph, you know that."
"Of course I do" said Daphne. "That's why we're going to create one. We'll try to use the properties of gillyweed so that you can sprout gills and improves movement in water, but doesn't go overboard in that you can still use your wand and cast quick spells."
Harry's eyes lit up. The Ravenclaw in him couldn't help but try it out. "Alright" he said smiling. "If it works, I'll use it. But if it doesn't, we can always go with gillyweed. Agreed?" he asked.
"Agreed" said Daphne, asked the Room for books on Gillyweed and other potions.
They were only fourteen, but they had started on the path that would soon gain them recognition all over the world.
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
Harry opened his eyes and removed the Diadem of Ravenclaw as he shuddered. Watching those memories as he learnt from the Dark Lord was not a pleasant experience. He reinforced his Occlumency shields. Daphne had noticed changes in his behaviour and only then had Harry realised that those memories were affecting him emotionally. He wished he could stop it, but he was leaning a lot from watching the demented Dark Lord fight. It was a necessary evil. Several feet away, Daphne was busy working on the potion; several cauldrons simmering away nearby as she took detailed notes. It was the last week of January, a whole month since they had come up with the idea of Gillyweed potion. So far, all their experiments had resulted in failure, but they were determined. Piles of books on Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and Arithmancy were littered around the room.
"Hey" said Daphne, noticing that Harry was out of his meditative trance. "Learn anything new today?" she asked.
"Yes" said Harry slowly. "I learnt that there is a big difference in the duelling styles of Tom Riddle and Voldemort."
"What do you mean?" asked Daphne curiously.
"Well" said Harry, dragging the word. "The younger Tom Riddle didn't only favour dark curses like how he did in later years. He actually tried to learn as many of the different branches of magic as possible. As you know, I favour Transfiguration, so I was able to learn quite a lot of it, along with battle charms, jinxes and a variety of curses. I thought this would probably be a waste of time, as Voldemort was known for using only dark magic, and I don't particularly care for those which require me to power them with negative emotions, but I have learnt a lot over the past month. I have been practicing them, along with studying more spells from the Potter library. Whatever happens, it will probably culminate on the day of the third task, and I want to be ready" he said, his eyes flashing bright green.
Daphne nodded, and Harry went over to her and they spent several hours on the potion. It was nearly midnight when Harry added another component to a caldron, and the potion turned pale green. Daphne removed it off the heat. Once it cooled down completely, they analysed it.
"Well" said Daphne. "It certainly matches the formula we arrived at" she said, looking at her Arithmancy notes. "The question is if it would work. I don't want to test it if it turns out to be harmful."
Harry rubbed his face. "Well, we won't know if we sit here. Have a bezoar ready, and in case of an emergency, call an elf and take me to the Hospital wing. Hopefully, it won't be anything bad."
Daphne looked like she was about to object so Harry asked, "We have come this far, haven't we?"
Without waiting for her to answer, he asked the room to provide a large and deep bathtub. Once done, Daphne nervously gave him a glass of the gillyweed potion, which according to their calculations would last for an hour.
"I'll be right here in case something goes wrong" she said nervously, as she watched Harry strip naked. He nodded and took the potion from her. He got into the tub, and once he was waist deep in water, he swallowed the potion. It didn't taste too bad, and he gave the glass back to Daphne once he finished it. They waited with bated breath as nothing happened for several seconds. Suddenly, Harry felt pain below his ears. He didn't panic as this was similar to how it was in case of gillyweed. He immediately flung himself forward in the water.
He opened his eyes and saw that he could breathe easily. His fingers were only slightly webbed; he flexed his fingers, and to his delight, he would be able to grip his wand without a problem. His feet too were webbed, but they were more than his hands, but less than the effects with the gillyweed. He would be able to move more like a human and less like a fish now, but at the same time, it would be a lot easier than swimming without them. He flicked his wand to his hand and asked the room for objects which would help him practice his accuracy in casting spells in water. Just as the various discs appeared, he heard a splash being him. He turned and smiled when he saw Daphne; she too was naked but had used a bubblehead charm. She probably was too worried and couldn't handle having to wait outside for an hour.
Harry and Daphne practiced casting spells underwater for nearly an hour. They had cast a magical timer, which showed them how long the effects of the potion would last. Finally, when it was just a minute to an hour, Harry felt the webs beginning to disappear. The pain in his neck reappeared, so he resurfaced, just as the gills disappeared. He coughed, just as Daphne surfaced as well.
"Are you alright?" she asked in concern.
Harry grinned. "I'm absolutely fine. Daphne we did it! We created the gillyweed potion! I could fire spells without any problems and I could move around well as well! You're a genius!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly.
Daphne blushed brightly when she heard his praise. Suddenly, she felt something poking her. She looked down and saw what it was.
"Well, it looks like someone is excited" she said coyly, bending down to her knees in front of him, her face just inches from his erection. "Why don't I take care of that? We deserve a break from all this anyway."
"Oh, fuck yes" moaned Harry as Daphne began pleasuring him.
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
It was the evening of the 23rd of February; the day before the second task. Harry and Daphne had been prepared for it, and just as they had suspected, Professor Slughorn took Daphne to Dumbledore's office. Inside, she found her father, Amelia Black, the heads of the three schools, Fleur's sister and her father, Hermione Granger and a sixth year Hufflepuff boy.
"Ah, Miss Greengrass" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "You're finally here. Let's begin, shall we? As I said, we need hostages for the second task. I would like to tell everyone present that this isn't my idea. I only received instructions from the Triwizard Committee, and I'm informing you about it. The four hostages will be what our champions miss the most; not exactly true, but we'll have to make do. In case of Mr Krum, Miss Granger has agreed to be his hostage; Mr Hopkins, Cedric's best friend has agreed to be his; Miss Dealcour, Fleur's younger sister is the third; and Miss Greengrass for Mr Potter. Agreed?"
"You're asking me to agree to put my daughter in such danger?" snapped Cyrus. "I'm already pissed off that my son-in-law has to participate in this rubbish, but I will not let my daughter be put in the middle of the Black Lake in February."
"Father, could I please talk to you in private for a minute?" asked Daphne softly. She took her father away and placed a privacy ward around them.
"Look Daddy" she said softly. "I know that you're worried about me, but I've got it covered. Harry and I have been preparing for this for the past two months. Don't get so worked up about it. It will be fine. There will be people who will take care of us in case the situation goes awry. I don't want anyone else being down there for Harry to save; there are already so many girls waiting in line just to get their hands on him. I have to do this. Please Daddy?" she asked.
Cyrus Greengrass looked conflicted, but finally, he sighed and nodded. "Alright. But I'll be there tomorrow close to the water just to ensure you and Harry come out of there without injuries. And I'll agree to this only if you promise to be careful, understood?" he said sternly.
"Understood" said Daphne, giving her father a hug. "Thanks Daddy"
Dumbledore then handed out four parchments, which were basically documents which said that the guardians of the hostages didn't have a problem with it. Cyrus read it over carefully, and once done, he signed it and so did Mr Hopkins. Dumbledore signed in loco parentis as Hermione Granger was a muggleborn. Monsieur Delacour very reluctantly signed it after much convincing by Madam Maxime, though he didn't look very happy about it.
Once done, Dumbledore placed the four of them in stasis. He placed several warming charms and other protective charms on them under the eyes of Director Amelia Black and he placed them in beds in a protected room for the night. He didn't dare try anything underhanded, as he knew that it would be his death sentence if he did. There was a place and time for everything and this wasn't it. They would be placed in the lake early next morning.
HP*LIGHTNING LORD*HP
The next morning, Harry got up and meditated for a few hours to reinforce his Occlumency shields. Once done, he carefully packed the gillyweed potion in a secure glass bottle, took a bath and came out of the bathroom. He had stayed in the Room of Requirement again, as he and Daphne tended to sleep there together many nights now instead of returning to their dorms. Once done, he looked at the blue swimming trunks he had bought for the task. It was a snug fit, and he wouldn't be wearing anything else, but he didn't care. Clothes would hinder his mobility underwater and if the first task was anything to go by, he could use all the advantage he could get.
Harry put on the trunks and wore a cloak to cover his body. He asked a house elf to give him some light breakfast and once done, he checked to ensure everything he wanted was with him, took the case of the gillyweed potion and left the room. When he reached the entrance hall, Neville was waiting for him.
"Harry" he said nervously. "Are you sure this would work? I've brought gillyweed in case you change your mind"
"It's fine, Neville" said Harry calmly. "I've checked repeatedly if the potion indeed works. Do you have the parchment I gave you?" he asked.
"Yes" said Neville, patting his pocket. "I'll give it to Mr Bagman when he starts to wonder what exactly you used to breathe underwater. If the potion indeed works, you should receive more than just points for the task."
Harry chuckled as they made their way to the middle of the black lake. There were enormous stands constructed around the lake for the thousands of people who had come to watch. Miller's oversized mirrors were placed at every corner so that people could monitor the champions' progress. Harry and Neville went to the stand in the middle of the lake that was meant for the champions and judges. Sirius Black and Cyrus Greengrass were already waiting for them there.
"Ready?" asked Sirius, his usual joyful demeanour gone.
"As ready as I ever will be" said Harry. He conjured a chair and sat down to meditate. Half an hour later, he opened his eyes to see that Cedric, Fleur and Victor had all arrived. It was nearly 11 AM, and it was time to start the task. He calmly went over to stand next to them, with Neville standing behind him, holding the flask containing the gillyweed potion.
"Ladies and Gentlemen" said Bagman, his voice booming over the cheering crowd. "Welcome to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. All of our champions seem to have solved the puzzle that was given in the golden egg which they won at the end of the first task. Something precious to them has been taken and kept at the bottom of the Black Lake. We have hostages that are in the lake, which the champions have to rescue. They are as follows – Victor Krum is to rescue his date for the Yule Ball, Miss Hermione Granger; Fleur Delacour is to rescue her sister Miss Gabrielle Delacour; Cedric Diggory is to rescue his best friend Mr John Hopkins, and Hadrian Potter is to rescue his fiancée Miss Daphne Greengrass. They have one hour to find their hostage and return to the surface. As of now, Hadrian Potter leads with full 50 points; Victor Krum of Durmstrang has 41 points; Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons has 38 points and Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts has 37 points. Champions, get ready!"
Harry immediately put his stony and expressionless mask on his face. The large mirrors all focussed on the champions. Harry calmly removed his robe and stood there only in his swim trunks. Many girls swooned when they looked at his body, which they had to admit was quite impressive. His muscles were developed after rigorous exercise over many years and his six pack abs were achieved through hard work. Neville handed the potion to him. Harry looked at the clock. Just when there were ten seconds left, he drank the potion.
"Okay champions, get ready!" said Bagman, his voice enhanced. "Three . . . two . . . one . . . NOW!"
Harry felt the pain in his neck start, so he dived immediately. Once done, he could feel the gills forming, and his fingers and toes became slightly webbed. Once done, he concentrated on the tracking charm he had placed on Daphne the night before. He flicked his wand to his hand, and swam ahead, using the light from his wand and the tracking charm to lead the way.
Above the water, people were watching the champions swimming to their targets. "And they're off!" said Bagman. "Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour both used bubblehead charms; Victor Krum seems to have used an incomplete form of transfiguration, as he's now half shark. Very impressive isn't it, Professor Dumbledore? You're our resident expert on Transfiguration, so I'll get back to you on that. As for Hadrian Potter, he seems to have taken some potion. Professor Slughorn, can you identify it?" he asked.
Slughorn came forward and watched Harry on the large mirror in front of him. "Sonorous. I must say I have no idea what potion he has used, but if I have to guess, I would say that he used a gillyweed. But he didn't eat gillyweed, did he?" he asked confused.
Neville came forward and gave a piece of parchment to both Slughorn and Bagman. They both read it and they were slack jawed. "Sweet Merlin!" exclaimed Slughorn. "It seems that Miss Greengrass and Mr Potter together developed a new potion that simulated the effects of gillyweed! No wonder he is able to hold his wand so easily! I knew those two were potions protégées!"
Down in the lake, Harry swam towards Daphne when he was intercepted by a horde of grindylows. There were too many of them. Harry calmly pointed his wand at them and mentally said "Immobulous" The grindylows immediately froze, as he had cast wide area charm, and then he spun his wand over his head and released a continuous jet of boiling hot water, similar to a fire whip. Once his path was clear of the large group of grindylows, he proceeded.
After a few minutes, he stopped dead in his tracks, his heart beating quickly. In front of him was a snake; it was probably more than fifty feet long. It was a sea serpent! Harry calmed down. This creature was here only to scare the champions, nothing more. Sea serpents, while very large and scary to look at, were quite docile. They were no instances of them ever harming humans, so Harry calmly proceeded to the other side without disturbing the giant snake.
Once he was halfway through, he sensed a presence being him. He immediately turned back and saw a scaly monkey with webbed hands, several feet away from him. Harry recognised it immediately; it was a Kappa, a Japanese water demon. If he had not been careful, the Kappa could have attacked him from behind and strangled him to death. Harry calmly conjured a cucumber, or at least what looked like a cucumber and inscribed his name on it. He then threw it at the Kappa, while at the same time bowing to the creature. The Kappa swam forward to take the cucumber, but was confused when Harry bowed at the same time, so it took the cucumber and also bowed. But that's when the water in its head spilled out, forming bubbles on the sides, weakening it. The Kappa was also not used to being so deep in the water, which further weakened it. Harry used this as an opportunity and banished it with a jet of boiling hot water.
Once done, he proceeded to the hostages again. In a few minutes, he found the colony of the merpeople. What was strange was the way the merpeople bowed to him when he arrived, so to show respect, Harry bowed back. He could see the hostages now, and he swam to Daphne and used a cutting curse to remove the ropes. Once Daphne was free, she slowly started ascending to the surface. Now was the plan they had hatched. Harry pointed his wand at Daphne's head and cast a bubblehead charm. Slowly, the water around her started to move away, creating bubbles around her and a magical bubble formed around her face. In a second, Daphne's eyes opened and she gasped, breathing in air in the bubble. She flicked her wand to her hand and pointed it at Harry's face. Once she knew that it was him, she lowered it and nodded to him.
They were ascending to the surface when Daphne gasped and pointed her hand to the other side. Harry looked and his eyes went wide as well. Cedric seemed to be riding some kind of horse. But it wasn't a horse. It was a kelpie. It looked like a horse, but it would lure travellers onto their backs and eat them once they reached the bottom, while parts of the victim's mangled body slowly ascended to the surface. Cedric was in grave danger.
Without waiting for a second, Harry swam over to them. He pointed his wand at the kelpie's head and conjured a bridle and used a placement charm to put it over its head, making the creature harmless. Suddenly, Cedric yelped and pulled away from the kelpie's back. He shook his head and panicked when he saw the kelpie. Harry calmly showed the boy a thumbs up and proceeded with Daphne to the surface. After several seconds, they resurfaced.
Back on the surface, nearly all the girls were watching Harry as they couldn't take their eyes off his body, while the boys were all watching Fleur. Twenty minutes into the task, Fleur resurfaced, after suffering various injuries due to the grindylows. Being a Veela, she couldn't handle the water for such a long time, and that proved to be her weakness. She cried and tried to go back in to save her sister, but she couldn't as she was too tired and exhausted.
Meanwhile, the other three champions had defeated the grindylows. Many people screamed when they saw the giant sea serpent in front of Harry, but calmed down when it didn't attack him as he calmly went forward without engaging it.
"Aha!" said Bagman. "It looks like Hadrian Potter has found the sea serpent. To those who don't know, the sea serpent grows to enormous sizes but is very docile. That was provided to scare the champions, but it seems Mr Potter knew about its nature."
They watched as Harry overpowered the Kappa. Cedric didn't meet any resistance while Victor was just swimming around at a fast rate, clearly lost. All of them clapped and cheered when Harry rescued Daphne, while many girls wished that they could be the one he got to rescue. But that's when Bagman shouted out.
"Oh my, it seems Cedric Diggory is in trouble. He seems to have been tricked by the Kelpie! Please deploy the Triwizard emergency squad immediately! If we don't hurry, Mr Diggory could be fatally injured. Wait, what is that? That's Hadrian Potter and Daphne Greengrass. She seems to be using a bubblehead charm. Mr Potter just conjured a bridle, is he, yes, he placed it over the kelpie! Outstanding! Hadrian Potter just rendered the kelpie harmless, saving Diggory's life in the process. Diggory is moving towards the hostages, and here comes Potter and Greengrass. They resurfaced! Brilliant work! Hadrian Potter is the first to finish the task with fifteen minutes to spare!"
Harry was still under the effects of the potion, so he stayed in the water as Daphne was helped to get out of the water by her father and Sirius. Cyrus breathed a sigh of relief and immediately fired warming and drying charms. He covered his oldest with a large towel. "I'm so glad you made it back safe" he said.
"Of course I would have, Daddy" said Daphne smiling. She looked at the water. "How can I not be safe when I have Harry with me?"
Cyrus smiled slightly. "I guess so" he said softly.
Daphne looked at Fleur who was shivering and crying. "Fleur?" she asked in concern. "What happened?"
"I couldn't complete the task" she cried. "My sister is still down there!"
"Don't worry" said Daphne, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "I'll tell Harry. He's still in the water, so he would be able to help."
Without realising that the one crystal was focussed on her as well, she raised her wand, concentrated on the message she wanted to send and said "Expecto Patronum"
The enormous nundu Patronus burst from the tip of her wand. Even after seeing it before, Cyrus couldn't help but swell with pride every time he saw his eldest daughter cast her Patronus. He and Elizabeth had been shocked and awed when they had first seen the nundu.
The nundu, much to everyone's awe and disbelief went into the water where Harry was still swimming. The message was transmitted into his mind, telling him about Gabrielle Delacour. Immediately, he went in the direction of the village.
Just when he entered, Krum appeared and grabbed Hermione away. The merpeople bowed to him again, and Harry confused, bowed back. He waited for the hour to get over as the merpeople were firm that he couldn't take the girl until the hour was up. Once the hour was up, he nodded to the merpeope and grabbed the young girl. Just when he started ascending to the surface with the girl, several vicious grindylows attacked.
These grindylows were brought to the Black Lake specifically for the second task, and hence weren't domesticated by the merpeople. The entire horde of them started attacking Harry and the merpeople nearby. Harry was finding it difficult to fight them, as his potion was suddenly wearing off – it was past one hour. He let go of Gabrielle, who didn't seem to be under attack and she started to ascend on her own.
"What is going on over there?" shouted Bagman as many others screamed. "Emergency squad, go there and help them both" he shouted, just as half a dozen witches and wizards dived into the water.
"Harry!" shouted Daphne, trying to jump into the lake but Cyrus held her back. "Daphne, don't" he said.
"If you go there you could be in danger as well" said Sirius, but he seemed to be preparing to jump to help his godson as well.
Just then, Neville pointed to the mirror and shouted, "Look!"
They all saw Harry snarl and place a bubblehead charm over himself. He returned his wand into his holster and extended his right hand. There was a flash, and the sword of Godric Gryffindor appeared in his hand. With swift strokes, he cut off the hands of the horde of grindylows surrounding him. The creatures, now injured realised that their prey was more powerful and so returned to the lake bed. But Harry was badly injured, and was bleeding in several places. He resurfaced, with the sword of Gryffindor still in his hand. He held it up, and the crowd roared. He willed it to disappear, and just as it arrived, it disappeared in a flash of golden light. The emergency squad helped him and Gabrielle to the stand. There were several cuts on his hands, legs and chest.
"Was that the legendary Sword of Godric Gryffindor?" exclaimed Bagman in fascination. "I knew that Hadrian Potter was the heir to one of the founders of Hogwarts, but I had never seen that sword before. Well done to all the champions! The judges will take a few minutes to decide the score."
Harry was shivering as Madam Pomfrey came over, healing the several cuts on his body. After about two minutes, all his injured were healed and he was immediately grabbed in a tight hug by Daphne, much to the disappointment of all the girls watching.
"I'm sorry" she wailed. "I never meant to put you in danger"
Harry grabbed her and kissed her passionately; they didn't care that millions of people were watching them. "You were only trying to help" he said softly. "I'm not mad at you."
"Daphne! Harry!" said a voice. They turned to find Fleur smiling brightly at them. She hugged them both at the same time and kept thanking them. Once done, Sirius covered Harry in his cloak so that he could be covered. A loud groan could be heard from the stands when Harry put his cloak on.
"Huh?" asked Harry confused. "What happened?"
Sirius and Cyrus snorted. "As I said before, I sure am glad he wasn't in school with me" said Cyrus.
"Here here" muttered Sirius. "None of us would have found girls with him around. That marriage contract turned out to be a blessing for both of them."
"The judges have reached their decision. Fleur Delacour used an excellent bubblehead charm, but was attacked by grindylows. We award her twenty-five points" said Bagman, as people applauded.
"Cedric Diggory also used a Bubblehead charm, but he was tricked by the kelpie, but still managed to save his hostage and return a minute after the time limit of an hour. Therefore, we award him with forty-five points"
The cheers grew louder.
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective and was the last to return with his hostage. He seemed to have been lost in the lake and encountered only one of the obstacles and came five minutes after the time limit. We award him with forty points" said Bagman.
"And finally Hadrian Potter, who used a gillyweed potion that seems to have been invented by him and Daphne Greengrass, who beat all the obstacles for the second task, rescued his hostage and finished the task with fifteen minutes to spare, and also helped others in need, we award him fifty points!" he shouted, as the shouting and cheering increased to a level that was deafening.
"The third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament will take place on the 24th of June!" said Bagman. "Congratulations to all the champions! The second task of the Triwizard Tournament officially comes to a close."
The cheers and applause continued, and finally, Harry smiled. He had a perfect score again and was in the lead. He had completed the second task of the tournament without any problem. But now, it was time for the real training to begin.