Chapter 11 – The Next Task

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A week before the third task we port-keyed into the ball room and after I picked myself off the floor we joined the champions table. I cannot tell you how much I detest port-key travel. We were enjoying breakfast as Alexandrie was doing a 'Ogwarts rumor story when Madam Maxine announced to the table that the champions needed to be present this coming Saturday for information on the third task.

The girls went off to chat and discuss current fashions which left me being talked into a pick-up game of Quittage. I got talked into being the keeper and sat bobbing on my broom for the most part of the morning. It was nice to see some of the second years take the game seriously.

We returned to our castle and were in the garden sunning ourselves; the girls were attired in skimpy bikinis to my delight. Oh! I know it's the middle of winter but do you think the elves are going to let the garden get frost bit after all their work? They had an elf dome over the huge garden and the temperature was nigh on tropical inside. After awhile Tracey dragged me in for a shower as she had an itch she wanted scratched. The next day the bikini's appeared in the pool and Daphne dragged me away for a sore muscle massage. This life was pretty good.

Saturday came and as I again picked myself off the floor and promised the port-key a violent death as we found that the next task was a maze. That night I took both ladies out on the town. I had reservations at a fancy restaurant and later for a show. The wives wanted a dress up affair with strap-less gowns and high heals. That of course had me in a suit and tie, I was not allowed to loosen the tie even at the theatre. So I got to suffocate while the fat lady screeched. When we got home the girls put on a show before sliding their nude bodies into bed to continue the entertainment for the evening. Merlin this is the life.

/Scene Break/

We arrived early for the third task so we could have breakfast. Ron Weasley saunters up and something hits me on the back. I never heard the screams from my wives or the insane laughing from him as the pull at my navel told me I was being port-keyed somewhere. Magic took its pound of flesh from squib Ronald Weasley for trying to stop me and therefore a binding magical contract was violated. Magic after all was intent and a little magic.

When I arrived I was met by a couple of Deatheaters. My guess is Ron was living up to his name of Weasel. Unfortunately they were not familiar with my Harry Potter's arrival technique and their three 'stunners' when where I should have been standing.

As I fell, as I usually do by port-key travel. I rolled and activated my Goblin port-key and returned to Beauxbatons Academy. As I was picking myself off the floor I got told...

"Harry Potter quit fooling around and get your &$#& bum over here and finish your breakfast." Tracey looked out of sorts.

I don't think Daphne and Tracey were really mad at me but were worried and had to let the frustration out someway. I didn't want to be Dumbledore if he started his mouth, he was glaringly absent. Ron was nowhere to be seen. The girls finally told me he had made an insane laugh, suddenly saw the looks around the hall and ran for the exit

The girls had me by my arms and were dragging me towards the maze. Time had come for my morning fun in the maze as a champion. The cannon fired and the champions started entering the maze. I got to enter last as I was in fourth place and was looking forward to sending up red sparks in a minute or two when I meet the first obstacle. I never got the chance.

Fawcett was of course in the maze but down on the ground as if injured. Being a helpful stupid type I tried to help. He jumps up and slapped a port-key on me and away we went. For as much as I hate port-keys I found myself using the stupid things for the third time today.

I had the same reaction as always, I tripped, hit the ground and rolled as an 'Avada Kedavra' flew into Fawcett's chest. This time the Goblin port-key did not activate. They must have put up an anti-portkey ward as soon as we appeared.

Volde fired another 'Avada Kedavra' which exploded the tomb stone I had rolled behind. This of course made me leap for more cover but the leap put me on the ground and rolling again. I fired off a blasting curse followed by several 'Diffindo' curses. From the yell I must have hit someone. As I peaked around my new tombstone and I see one person on the ground, Voldemort and three other Deatheaters standing, plus another 'Avada Kedavra' headed my way. This time when I leaped and rolled I got off a 'Reducto' and two 'Diffindo' curses. The next second a number of screams were heard amid an explosion. Voldemort is now short one arm and another of his Deatheaters was in serious pieces. The series of curses that followed were uncountable as they rained down, Deatheater reinforcements were now arriving. I needed to get out.

I was close to a small mausoleum so I made a dash for it. A blasting curse hitting the ground by me helped me on the way. With the mausoleum blocking their spells and their view, I changed into my black phoenix and flashed to Beauxbatons Academy.

Ivan Poliakoff had muscled his way to the cup and was now the Tri-Wizard champion.

/Scene Break/

"While you were out dancing with Voldemort and his girly boys I was given this letter." stated Daphne, "We need to talk whenever we get back home." She was smiling as she put the letter in her purse so I figured it wasn't bad news.

After a nice meal at home I was dragged into the sitting room to discuss what we would be doing for the rest of the day and the near future. The discussion started with the letter Daphne handed me. The letter was from the coach of the French all-star team. If I wished a tryout as seeker I was to report to the stadium at 10 am this coming Saturday.

The next day arrived with a thud. The girls finally quit giving me a hard time, well for the most part. I was back in their good graces as they were bored and a day in Paris was determined, by them, to be my choice, to take them in relieving that boredom.

We got to stroll around and I got a lot of serious attention. The sidewalk café was enjoyable as we chatted. By dinner time I was suspicious, they had not spent the day shopping. They ordered up the expensive meal that couldn't fill a hungry parakeet. They didn't comment as I tried the largest steak on the menu. They then stated that they would like to visit with their friends this coming Saturday. AH HAH! they didn't want to be bored with Quittage try-outs. Now it was my turn to look a little disappointed and still understand their need to see their friends. These little games were sometimes fun. However never show that you didn't care or you're in the "You don't love me no more" soup.

/Scene Break/

"Coach Aglionby?"

"Yes you must be Harry Potter?"

"Yes and before you start you are aware of the troubles that follow me where ever I go?"

"Indeed, however we have security and no one is crazy enough to attack a stadium with hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards all armed with wands. Ah! Here comes Andre and Pierre."

After introductions the rules were laid out, the first to catch the snitch two times had the seekers position. After that the coach would select the reserve seeker. Each seeker carried a Firebold broom so that was an even contest.

The primary and reserve teams were in the air and out to make the would-be seekers lives miserable by blocking or by the hurtling bluggers. In a normal game you had two beaters and two bludgers but here we had four beaters and four blodgers.

I got lucky and spotted the snitch on the northern middle ring. The race was on and the bluggers were incoming. A simple barrel roll avoided the last blugger and the snitch was in my hand.

Coach Aglionby released the snitch and the three of us were off again. The snitch for some reason was not hiding as it usually does and Pierre spotted it and had it in his hands within seconds.

The coach again released the snitch and we sped off. After about five minutes of dodging players and bludgers my searching was interrupted by the sound of automatic gun fire. The guards for the stadium had spotted incoming Deatheaters on brooms. The only problem was there were only three guards that carried automatic weapons and were soon out of action.

I now have a problem; the Deatheaters are coming in from all four sides of the stadium and a number hovering overhead, this put me in the middle. I assumed that they were after me and not the snitch so I made a few insane moves. I speed straight for the Deatheaters on the south rings. Straight is not really accurate as I had to bob, weave and barrel roll to miss the curses flying at me. The one good thing was the Deatheaters were not use to flying and casting spells and they were horrible flyers. I flashed by them while stringing curses as fast as I could and then dived and reversed my direction and hit them again as I headed north. The south Deatheater curse's hit the bunch heading in from the north while the north's curses hit a bunch in the south. I so far was not hit.

As I was hoping and dreading by now all the other Deatheaters were now in the middle of the pitch formed up in a ragged mass and were headed my way, so was a wall of curses. As all this was going on I noticed that the other players and the coach has left via the exits and had dropped the gate doors so those exits were not available for me. I did have a small advantage, my firebolt. I charged the mass of Deatheaters and hoped nothing would hit me solid or I was done for. I suddenly streaked upwards to miss the curtain or curses, then reversing direction and now speed to the right. I got nicked by a cutting curse and I swear a blasting curse flattened my hair but my plan was working. The Deatheaters had cast curses at me which missed me or never got to me as they hit other Deatheaters. The Deatheaters had bunched up in the middle of the field and were hard to miss when I strung a series of curses or even just one.

I was zigzagging and throwing curses, in my insane flying when I almost knocked Voldemort off his broom only to see he was not on a broom. He was floating along like sitting in a comfortable chair casually tossing curses at me. I flashed by Voldemort followed by a half-dozen curses. One of those curses clipped Voldemort and he dropped his wand. I switched my wand to my other hand on the broom reversed direction and dove. I snatched Voldemort's wand as it fell. The shock from the wand almost knocked me off my broom.

My next and last trick was to do a straight up climb while casting a transfiguration spell producing stone balls and let gravity do its work. I'm not sure how many I hurt or stopped but now was the time to see just how fast this broom would fly. As I said Voldemort's troop were bad flyers and I soon left them in the dust. This whole fight had only taken seconds as the firebolt could do 150 miles an hour. When I quit laughing and 'slid' home I knew I was dead.