Warns against Hubris.

The next day the newly freed Thunderbird enjoyed her day in the Slytherin Mangerie with the resident phoenix and Thunderbird. In time, the Carnaval Thunderbird would return home, but a week or two of rest and relaxation was in order before the long flight home.

Meanwhile, Harry and Dudley headed over to the Carnaval. They dressed in casual summer attire with winter clothes shrunk down and stuffed into a backpack that Harry carried.

Harry brought his leather notebook and several ball point pens. He originally packed a quill but Dudley spent all morning making bird brain jokes until Harry relented. Today they planned to scope out the wards on the Ringmaster's tent. Harry had spent most of the night reading in the library. He was fairly certain it wasn't going to make too much of a difference. After all, wards were a massive area of study with over three dozen masters programs, and four schools of study devoted entirely to the subject. It made Harry feel more prepared though, so there was that.

Dudley climbed into the floo fire first. Harry threw the powder into the flames for him, because without magic the fire was useless. The Flames darken into a thick evergreen, safe for Dudley to step in the harth. In near perfect Spanish, Dudley commanded the flames to take him the the grounds of the Carnaval.

Harry stepped in after. In butured spanish, Harry requested that the flames take him the the grounds of the Carnaval.

Only something went wrong.

When Harry arrived he was standing in an open hearth that sat abandoned at the edge of a derelict plaza. He turned on his heels to floo back to the Manor only to find that the hearth was unlit and there was no jar of floo powder to be found.

Harry cursed himself backwards and forwards. They would lose a whole day of progress now. Without Harry, Dudley couldn't even see the wards much less study them.

Not to mention that without a fire and floo powder, Harry was stranded. Without Harry, Dudley was stranded. They were both going to spend the whole day just getting back to Albert Slytherin's house.

The week was quickly coming to a close, Harry didn't have time for this!

Just then, Harry's backpack began to sing.

Harry's first thought was of the Hogwarts Sorting hat. Something must have accidently turned the backpack sentient.

Then Harry realized that the song was only about 4 seconds long and it repeated itself. It was a ringtone.

Harry flung off the backpack and threw it open on the ground. Amid the shrunken winter wear, Harry grabbed Dudley's second phone.

"'Ello?"

"Harry?"

"Oh, Dudley, look I think I said the name of the plaza wrong. I'm in the middle of nowhere."

"That's not good."

"No it isn't. Look, maybe for today try tracking the Ring Master's movements. Maybe we can find some sort of rhythm between today and tomorrow. That way we know when to try and take down the wards."

"Minor problem with that Harry."

Harry sighed. The Ringmaster must have moved his tent again. Could this day get any worse.

"The Carnival is packing up. They'll be back on the Sea Turtle by noon. I just checked in with Finn. Seabrain has already been checked over by the Ringmaster, so I'm going to sneak in and bunk with him like we did last time. You need to get our stuff from the manor and get to the plaza before noon, Otherwise we'll lose you."

It was already ten thirty when Harry left the Slytherin manor and that was a while ago. If Harry was lucky, and obviously he wasn't, he might have an hour in total left. There was no way he could manage all of that. For one thing he didn't even know where in the city he was."

"I can hear you panicking. Relax, Get your disappearing shawl-"

"Cloak of invisibility"

"Sure Mary Poppins, whatever. Get on your broom and fly towards the ocean. Go along the coast until you find the manor. Tell Ocean to pack for you when you get there. She'll be a lot faster. You just worry about getting Fox and Norbert. Then floo your ass over here and sneak into the tent."

That actually sounded do able.

"Right, see you soon then I guess."

Harry wasted no time. He Accioed all of their clothes back into the backpack and took off into the air, throwing on his cloak as he went.

Harry darted through the clouds at full speed. The wind grated his skin and froze his fingers into place around the shaft of his broom. Even in the sweltering summer heat, at the speed Harry was going, he felt like his bones were growing icicles that needled up into his veins.

Buenos Aires had a ridiculously amount of air traffic in Harry's opinion. It was nearly as bad as London.

Harry had to take long arching sweeps to avoid getting sucked into Helicopter blades and airplane engines.

He knew before landing in the Slytherin courtyard that his flight had eaten up most of his hour.

Calling out to Ocean as he ran, Harry scooped up Fox. Who struggled against Harry's hold. The kit might act like a well trained purebred show dog for Dudley, but it was back to rabies and bush life around Harry.

"Norbert! Get in here now! We have to go!" Parseltongue was not a notoriously loud language, but with with a struggling Fox under one arm and panic tunnel visioning Harry into action, Harry managed to make his voice fill the entire household.

Norbert glided down the stairs and landed on Harry's shoulders. Harry grabbed a handful of Floo powder and chucked it unceremoniously into the flames.

He stepped into the heart just as Ocean flung their sports bags in after him.

"Good Luck, come again soon!" Ocean wailed.

"Doors always open!" The ghost of Albert Slytherin promised. Harry heard only a syllable of each though as the flames rushed passed him in a torrented frenzy.

Harry staggered out onto the nearly empty field. There were only two tent's left and both were being packed up by a dozen or so people. There was no time to sneak into anything. Cursing. Harry flung the two sports bags over his shoulder.

With Norbert on his shoulders and the Fox kit slowly trying to chew his hand off, there was no way Harry was going to get his cloak of invisibility out.

With brash, foolhardy bravery, Harry followed the witches and wizards who disassembled the tents. They darted down through tiny alleyways, through the backs of small shops and restaurants.

Harry was reasonably sure they didn't realize he was following them. They all looked too caught up in their own rush to worry about being followed.

In very little time, the small group of wizards and witches immersed at a commercial dock. Without breaking stride they all ran down the deck and right off the edge. Vanishing in a puff and a crack at the very last minute.

Fuck, they apperated onto the Turtle.

Harry made a bee line after them. He looked down at his arms. There was no way in hell he was flying a broom with a fox, a dragon and two overstuffed sports bags.

Harry had never taken an appreciation course and he knew next to nothing about it. Not to mention, Harry had noticeably horrid luck. But a gryffindor isn't a gryffindor if they aren't suicidally brave.

Without breaking step, Harry flung himself off the dock and blindley apperated after the group he followed.

It was sheer dumb luck that Harry landed himself directly at the mouth of Finn's tent. Before anyone could notice that the Carnaval had picked up a stray, Harry darted in. He sprinted up the cliff side and out of sight behind a large boulder. If anyone came in to check on Finn and the fish tank, they would see nothing of the intruders.

Someone plied Harry's fingers free of the fox. Harry looked over to see Dudley looking rather pale and entirely unease.

Harry looked down at his arm to find that the bones of his wrist we're poking out. The demonic little fur ball had very nearly managed to eat threw Harry's hand.

"Oh dear," Harry muttered and then passed out from pain.

Harry woke to the sound of a cracking fire and the feeling of cool spray on one side and warm waves of heat on the other.

"I managed to make a healing balm using that potions text you lent me and the coconut cauldron," Harry could hear Dudley's voice but he couldn't muster the strength to open his eyes. He felt like shit.

"It worked in a way. But your hand doesn't look good. I think we need to get you to a nurse witch."

"Mediwitch," Harry mumbled. He had to bit his tongue to stop himself from throwing up. He was lying on his back and really didn't have the strength to roll over. If he threw up now, Harry was reasonably sure he'd down in his own vomit. Which given his track record, would be just his luck.

"Just give me a moment," Harry clenched his gut, forced down the overwhelming nausea and sat up.

Then promptly doubled over and stuck his head between his knees.

"Bad idea, Bad idea."

"That pretty much sums up your whole summer doesn't in." Harry was tempted to flip Flinn off but it meant moving so he opted not to.

"Look, I really appreciate the lengths you're willing to go to try and free me, but I -"

"Fuck off," Harry spat.

"Really think you should just go back to England. You're going to die if you keep this up."

"No."

"What do you mean No. You nearly had your arm chewed off and very likely rearranged your insides by blindly apperating. If you keep this up, you will die."

"No." Harry sat up straight and glared at the bleach blond slave in front of him. It was an injustice and a travesty that Finn's basic rights were trampled on. "We're not going to die and we're not going to give up. I will get your pelt and I will find a way to get those bloody collars removed. I'm here and I'm fine."

Harry looked down at his own banaged and bloody wrist. He pulled from within himself all the magic he could muster without passing out again and poured it into the wound. There wasn't much left in Harry's reserves but between what he could muster and the balm Dudley made, Harry was able to mostly fix his wrist.

Finn looked impressed but not convinced.

"We set that Thunderbird free," Dudley popped up from his place in front of the fire. He had something on a stick, probably a hot dog, and was getting ready to roast it. "Not to mention we've kept Norbert out of harm's way for nearly a month. Harry's been studying runes and wards for weeks now. If anyone can figure it out it's him. We can fix this."

By the time they got up the next day, it was dark out again. The trio had slept through the Sea Turtles descent into the abyss of the ocean.

"We need to go study that Ringmaster's tent," Harry told Dudley over breakfast. "If we do this right, we can figure out how to break in while we're down here. When the Ringmaster goes to check all of the tents before disembarking, we can brake in and get the pelt. He'll be distracted, it's the best opportunity we have."

"Alright, but we'll be down here a while probably, let's not rush things."

Harry pulled on his invisibility cloak, stashed his wand and headed for the exit. Dressed in all black with his night vision goggles on his forehead, Dudley followed after.

They found the Ringmaster's tent easily enough. The warm breeze cut through the dark chilly air.

"Finally," Harry hissed when they found a place to couch near the tent so Harry could examine the wards.

"What?"

"Finally my luck is changing. I know these wards. I studied them already. I know how to get inside. Not through the door though. There are about fifty more wards on the door, but if I can find a way through the walls, I can get in no problem."

"Alright Danny Phantom, How are you going to do that?"

Harry grinned. He already had all the knowledge he needed. He knew how to make a hole in the wards, Dudley could keep an eye out for the Ringmaster, and Harry could just apparate inside. He'd already apparated blind once. There was no reason he couldn't do it again. He just needed to make a big enough hole to get through.

"We can't do this right now." Dudley hissed in his ear. "What the hell are we going to do once we get the pelt."

"Give it to Finn."

"Then what morron. We're leagues under the water."

"Finn's a Selkie he can just swim off."

Dudley looked dumbstruck at Harry.

Right, how would they escape.

"We'll hide in there!" Harry pointed pure white tent near by. "The Yetis can hide us in the snow until we surfuse. In the meantime I can study their collars and figure out how to get them off."

Dudley clearly had more questions. Like how would they get Finn's collar off? How were they going to hide from the Ring Master in his own Carnaval? What if someone found them? How was Finn going to get out of the magical bubble without popping it and causing the whole Carnaval to drowned?

Unfortunately, he didn't get to say any of his rationally minded argument.

Harry had already made a person sized hole in the Ringmaster's tent and was casting his magic inside to try and get at least a little bit of a feel of what lay inside.

There was no way of see previously was what in the tent, but Harry could tell, more or less, where the empty walking space was. The found was what probably a hall way of some kind and appreciate inside.

It was the oddest feeling. Not at all like apperiating from the docks onto the sea turtle.

It was not one smooth whirlwind from one side to the next.

Half way through, Harry ran full force into a net. A ward made of runes and stitched onto the very fabric of the tent. 'Fuck, Fuck! I need to clip the tent!' Harry thought to himself, but he had no way of doing it.

The only thing he could do was appreciate backwards as fast as he could.

Harry's world felt like it was on fire.

"Shh, Shh, stop fucking screaming!" Someone ordered frantically, but Harry didn't hear them. The pain was mind melting.

Dudley clamped one hand over Harry's mouth and scoped his cousin up. The runs, swims, and daily walks were a gift from the gods. If Dudley had been any slower in moving his cousin he would have been caught for sure. Half the Carnival came running to see what injured animal was dieing. Luckily, Dudley was able to nimbly throw the invisibility cloak over them and dart straight into the impermeable snowy wasteland of the Yeti Settlement.