Chapter 38 – – The second task
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I was about to ask Tonks what was so funny when a rumbling started. I glanced upward only to find a cloudless sky. I glance over my shoulder which showed that the Hogwarts rumor mill was working in overdrive as the students charged out of the castle and filled the seats around the Quidditch pitch. I don't think the student body of Hogwarts were really aware of what was going to transpire on their Quidditch pitch. Flitwick was running around erecting shields to protect the students as Dumbledore started explaining the duel and it's rules as the referee. Wizard customs were not exactly being followed but there was one short outcome to this duel, Lucius Malfoy was to be dead. Voldemort in my many lifetimes had a standing order that only he was allowed to kill the-boy-who-lived so if Lucius won he dead. With me taking Lucius down I would temporally taken away Riddle's money supply. Knowing Draco, sooner or later with his mouth, would get himself killed by someone or Voldemort, this did not overly upset me in the least.
"Begin!" Dumbledore shouted a duel began.
Lucius was fighting somebody who had supposedly lost his magic however his first spell was 'Protego Totalum', could he be scared. Then the curses started, 'Reducto', 'Sectumsempra', 'Confringol'. Of course I was moving out of the way of these different curses. Lucius was obvious in his confidence and his superiority as he continued to stand in one spot, that or he was overly stupid. Doing my new magic did not require me to do any silly wand waving or incantations as Snape always used like to expound. I did have to concentrate and visualize exactly what I wanted done. I'm not sure if anybody noticed other than Lucius as he was now stuck in one spot because his feet sank into a liquid quagmire, ankle-deep, the earth then solidified into solid granite. Lucius started to look down to see what had entrapped him but his head snapped up as he saw a stream of fire encircling his shield.
Students in the stands suddenly started screaming and screeching or were losing their stomach contents. Lucius was now a human torch burning with an intensity that could only be perceived to have erupted from hell. Suddenly I felt a sudden rush of power entering my body. As I walked by Dumbledore I asked, "Is that enough illumination for you headmaster?"
Everyone thinking they were important returned to the headmaster's office to commence the obligatory yelling and screaming.
"Harry I thought you lost your magic?" Dumbledore was obviously confused.
"Albus he needs to be sent to Azkaban for murdering Lucius." The Minister fumed.
"I wholeheartedly agree with you Minister this is a long time in coming, the brat is nothing but trouble." Snape gave his wholehearted approval.
"Well I don't agree with the whole thing but it is legal under current laws Minister." Madam Bones stated.
Kat whispered in my ear, "They don't have an inkling do they?"
As we had sat down I had dragged Hermione over so she was sitting on my lap, "Are you okay Hermione?"
"I guess, that was quite gruesome but I'm happy that you're all right." Hermione looked like she was on the verge of crying.
We left the group to argue among themselves and headed back to our Gryffindor quarters. I was going to have to check the Black's library. If I was not mistaken I just developed a new power.
/Scene break/
School was just too boring with sparks of hilarity along the way. Kat had me down by the forbidden forest by the lake practicing my control. I was still working hard on wards and in the evening Hermione, Kat and I helped each other out in different areas of our learning. I wish I felt more like a superhero than a klutz. Kat had pinpoint accuracy while I was more inclined to cause mass casualties. Hermione was turning into my personal nurse. With her type of magic she was of great help especially to me the great klutz. With the type of magic I had now I was inclined to have wind or fire burns. The closest I could come to healing myself would be to conjure up something cold, which was inclined to freeze the burns and a good portion of my body surrounding the burns.
Draco was up and about and was now into glaring at me rather than prancing around. He had let slip on the train coming to Hogwarts that he had been in contact with the dark Lord so it was just waiting. Sooner or later he would lose it once again and I can help clean a world of another death eater.
Dumbledore was in a campaign to get me back into the tournament. His logic was that I still had some magic left and if I entered the second task all would be fine in the whizzing world.
/Scene Break/
Krum again half converted into a shark but the rest of the contestants were using bubble head charms as they entered the lake. It was still cold and we still couldn't see anything going on in the lake. In the end Krum arrived back with his hostage, Fleur got hung up again with the Grindylow. Draco however was a spark of hilarity as he apparently attempted to argue with the Kraken in the Black Lake. The giant squid apparently had enough and tossed Draco from the middle of the lake. Draco bounced a couple of times on the lake surface then he hit the shoreline and was back with Madam Pomfrey and a bottle of Skele-Gro. That's when the second task got serious.
One of the merman sporting a trident stuck his head above water and started screeching just like the Golden egg of the champions had screeched. Dumbledore was on the water's edge on his knees apparently holding a Screech-a-Thon with the merman.
Dumbledore turn to the professors and gave a quick explanation of what was going on which I overheard and to tell you the truth it really pissed me off more so than normal. Fleur and Draco's hostages were being held for ransom at the bottom of the lake. Another of the great Dumbledore's plans blowing up and putting innocence in jeopardy.
I slid over a ways from all the action and slipped into the lake, no plans, no sense, just pissed and on autopilot.
When I look back on it I can only shake my head and laugh. I slipped into the lake using a bubblehead charms only this should have been called a bubblebody charm. I had of course remembered where the village was located from previous visits on the bottom of the lake and headed straight there using water propulsion. With that size of a bubble of air I was moving but not at a tremendous speed but fairly rapidly.
When I arrived I found Pansy Parkinson and Gabriel Delacoure tied to a statue in several mermen with trident's guarding them. As I started to extend the bubblebody envelope around the two girls the mermen attacked with their trident. They ran into a very thick wall of ice as I cut the cords to the girls and try to calm them as they suddenly awoke. As I was trying to calm the girls I was attacked from the rear by a couple of mermen. As the mermen turned into floating ice sculptures I felt that surge again as if I was absorbing whatever magic or power they had.
/Scene Break/
"Mister Potter please report to my office after you finished eating."
"What is he up to this time Harry?" Hermione whispered.
"Well with summer break coming he's probably come up with a new super deluxe plan and how he's going to keep me here at Hogwarts the whole time."
"Well I'll volunteer to take you home with me Harry." Tonks was sometimes hard to understand whether she was joking or serious. I did however notice a bit of electricity playing on the fingertips of Kat's hand.
"Well you best come along with us Tonks and find out what your mission for the Order of the Phoenix will be this summer." I was sure that Tonks was reporting to Madam Bones as she was only an Auror on loan. As a member of Dumbledore's little club she also was most likely reporting to Dumbledore. So with all of these conflicts of interest I wasn't going to add pillow talk to her repertoire.
"Mister Potter and ladies. Please take a seat. I called you here to discuss Harry's living arrangements for this coming summer. Perhaps you care for a lemon drop? "
Dumbledore was playing this out for a maximum of suspense and probably for some other diabolical plan that he had come up with. To see if I could throw a monkey wrench into his suspenseful plan I turned to Kat, "This is a summer that I'm going to meet your parents isn't that so Kat?" Kate turned toward me and broke out in hysterical laughter while Hermione started her own giggle fest.
Kat got control of her laughter, "Ah! This is where the hero marches to his doom and probable death to ask for the hand of the fair maiden from the dastardly parents." Kat started laughing again.
Hermione jumped in about that time, "You should have seen the terror he was in when he met my parents for the first time." I shook my head and started chuckling as I remembered long, long ago when one Hermione Potter looked up to her parents and appeared to casually reply, "That's because Lady Gryffindor and Lady Potter/Bones titles belonged to his other two wives." But that was a different Hermione.
Dumbledore just got to the point, "You'll be unable to stay here at Hogwarts this summer so I've arranged for a special place for you to stay. This place is extremely safe and there will be a number of guards there constantly. Now I have warded this place with a number of dangerous wards. Many of these wards will prohibit you from leaving the building. There will be a number of people your age there to keep you company, you have any questions?"
"None whatsoever headmaster, come on girls let's get back to our quarters it's been a long day."
Once back in our quarters, "Do you think he's wondering why you didn't ask to allow Kat and me to come along?"
"Hopefully it will keep him up tonight trying to figure that out." Kat giggled.
"So you two figure this could only be Grimmauld Place that he's talking about?"
"Of course Harry, the place is crawling with order members and is under the Fidelis charm what could be more secure? Especially since we have no idea where it is so it must be perfectly safe. The logic is impeccable." We all had a good chuckle as we prepared to go to bed for the evening.
/Scene Break/
It was time for the third task and the three of us had been discussing it in depth. There was just too big of a chance to end it all but this could change a lot of what should happen or just flat get us killed. The number of loose ends was quite surprising almost as surprising as how much junk I had collected in my special trunk. I had my invisibility cloak stashed in the trunk but were in the trunk? After digging around for an hour or so Hermione found it stuffed in an old robe of mine. However, if I remember correctly Dumbledore could see through and invisibility cloak, at least I thought that was the case. Loose ends, always loose ends.
All this planning was not accomplished without a large amount of arguing. But after make an appearance at breakfast that morning the plan was initiated. Hermione, over her objections, was to have Jenny and Penny pack up our quarters. That Hermione and our trunks would leave by elf transport to Grimmauld Place. Hermione's wizard magic would not serve us this day.
Kat and I hurried out Kat underneath the invisibility cloak. Kate slipped just inside the maze while I hung out by the entrance. Another loose in was the phony Mad-eye and his accursed magical eye.
From my previous lives the end of this tournament had the sole purpose of capturing me to bring Voldemort from the wrath to a full-body body but this time Voldemort already had a body. We were guessing that Voldemort was single-minded and wanted me to be dead based on the prophecy. Since only Dumbledore could make a portkey in or out of Hogwarts and you can't 'apperate' the whole thing didn't make sense. However if Dumbledore had made the tri-wizard cup a portkey to the viewing stands could it be magically altered to swing by Little Hangleton graveyard first? All this was supposition unless we could prove that Mad-eye was a phony. However, you just didn't go up and ask Mad-eye or trying to sneak up behind him, to knock him in the head, with that stupid eye was suicide. So far our plan was working.
"Don't be moving Potter if you value your life. I've got my wand is pointed at the back your head so were going to take a little walk through the maze and visit an old friend of yours."
"So who are you really, I figured out a long time ago that you are not the real Moody?"
"That's for me to be knowing, now move along boy-oh."
I'm not sure that the phony Moody knew what hit him as he sunk into the now liquid ground underneath his feet. Of course the bolt of lightning hitting him a top of the head might have befuddled him just a bit. I made the ground hardened back to its normal state and now there was no sign of the phony Alastair Moody. I was also happy that it was Kat who did the lightning bolt as I reminded myself, klutz here.
As I followed Kat I was happy that I did not have to do this maze using my old magic. We ran across everything from Acromantula to a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Hearing the blast from a cannon we knew the first contestant had entered the maze we turned in the corner there sat tri-wizard cup. Without hesitation Kat grabbed one handle and I grab the other and we were off to Little Hangleton graveyard, I hoped.
Having done this numerous times before our actions had been preplanned and the second we landed they were put into action. We dropped the cup and moved smartly away from it while calling on our elemental powers. The words that I shall always remember were yelled, "Kill the spare." The green lights spend between us taking a large chunk out of the stone statue. I immediately called down lightning bolts as I was the klutz, they would fall about everywhere, but hopefully my control would not have lightning hit us. Kate had stone spikes suddenly spring from the ground across the graveyard and then I saw him. I sent out my fire from hell directly at Voldemort. Kat set out a dozen mini tornadoes flinging Death Eaters alive and dead in all directions. With the stone spikes still poised above the ground landing became quite prickly and impaled many of the scum. As I swung my stream of fire to the left I saw no signs Voldemort. As Kat and I put out the fires and retracted the stone spikes we started checking out the area especially where I last saw Voldemort. He had escaped again!
"Well Harry what should we do now?"
"Assuming this thing is still a portkey headed for the viewing stands you and I could take it back but I have no real want to be the hero again. Besides if we can pretend we didn't have anything to do with this we may be able to keep our powers secret for a bit longer."
"Well how about the sending this portkey back with a couple of these dead dodos?"
"Brilliant idea Kat and if you don't mind ridding a Griffin we have our transportation back to Hogwarts solved."
After piling a couple of the dead Death Eaters on each other and lashing them together with their own belts I dropped one of their arms on the trophy and we watch them disappear. Kat nixed the Griffin ride and showed me how to use the wind properly to speed us back to Hogwarts.
/Scene Break/
Pandemonium was a good way to describe what we saw after arriving back at Hogwarts. This was not solely because of the dead Death Eaters arriving by portkey. Kate and I headed for the Great Hall not only to be seen but to find outwhat we had missed. Two people showed up at the table who started the tale as it was reinforced by a dozen others arriving shortly thereafter.
Apparently The Blast-Ended Skrewt set off Fleur who turned into her bird form. As she was hurling around her balls of fire she apparently got Draco full of the chest was one of the fireballs. As he was running around screaming he ran straight into an Acromantula who decided that it hadn't had lunch. While a couple of teachers and a group of Aurors were in the forest looking for Draco, they didn't hold out much hope. Krum had apparently pissed off a Sphinx and was last seen trying to out fly it in a northerly direction. Dumbledore was trying to figure out how the Death Eaters had got into the maze and who had won the tri-wizard contest.
I saw off Kat and Tonks, Tonks had morphed to look like Hermione, they both departed the entrance hall to the carriages. Tonks took a few liberties in kissing me in her Hermione form before Dumbledore dragged me off to use the 'floe' in his office.
When I fell out of the fireplace into the still dingy dirty lower section of Grimmauld Place I noticed a couple of things that confuse me. Apparently Dumbledore could bring someone through without telling them the address. I also noticed that I could feel the wards? But that was impossible because that was based on the old magic that I lost. I check it out later I thought to myself as I headed to the kitchen.
"Now Harry I have established wards prohibiting it you leaving this place and if you attempt to do so you can hurt yourself quite seriously. Blah, blah, blah.
Not that I wasn't totally unimpressed I saw sitting around the kitchen table was a whole bunch of redheads. It didn't take too long to figure out they were all living here and Molly the fat hugger was headed my direction. I took that as my queue and beat a hasty retreat up the stairs. With no one around to see me I slipped upstairs to my kitchen and greeted the girls.
"I can't believe that that idiot Dumbledore has moved the entire Weasley family into my house."
We were just sitting around trying to decide what we're going to do this summer, "Oh! You have a letter from Gringotts." Emma informed me.
"Well it looks like more fun they want to see me immediately know anybody who wants to..."
"Yes we need some money and we could also do some shopping while we're down that direction while you're talking to Ragnot." I started them all chattering except for Dan and myself.
"Well let me see what kind of stupid awards Dumbledore's put up on this place." While I was feeling around and sensing all the wards I did notice Kat giving me a funny look.
I use my control as Lord Black to have the wards open a hole through Dumbledore's wards that restrict me to Grimmauld Place. But then I noticed it wasn't just me that was being restricted it would apply to my girls and the Grangers as well. That may be super, super mad, that old goat had the gall to put wards on my house and endanger my family. I reached out using house wards and shredded Dumbledore's idiotic plans to control me, his wards fell with a crash. I then evicted everybody from the house other than my family.
"Penny, Jenny." Pop, pop
"Would you to please gather up all their possessions and throw them out on the street with them. Then would you please start fixing this place up from the very top of the very bottom and make it the best house ever."
"Yes Master Harry." They simultaneously said and popped away.
"You know what you just did?" Kat asked.
Back to my normal self I replied, "Huh?"
You just used your old magic, for some reason it appears to have returned to you. I would suggest that you go and put up a new Fidelis charm before Voldemort or Dumbledore pays us a visit."
Finding my old white wand took longer than it took me to put up the Fidelis charm. I made Kat the secrets keeper.
Dan drove us to the Leakey cauldron and I was happy to see that by the time we got to Gringotts a number of order members were there to see us and of course tell Dumbledore. Assuming Dumbledore didn't already know his wards had failed.
"Ragnot what's going on, how's your wife treating you?"
"Very funny Harry, this new one is worse than the old ones were which is quite astounding nasty. Let's get down to business, the reason I asked you to stop by is because you just inherited the Malfoy estate."
I was getting a lot of use of my reply this day, "Huh?"
"As in most pure blood families the wife can only hold the estate for a male heir and in this case there is no more male heir possible under that side of the family. Andromeda Tonks was kicked out of the Black family ages ago and has no mail offspring. Bella Lestrange is a fugitive and has no mail offspring. This of course leaves only Sirius Black side of the family and you Lord Black."
I directed Ragnot to give Mrs. Malfoy a chunk of money and tell her to get lost. I also gave the Tonks family a larger chunk of the money. I wish that I could get lost and never be found again.
"Ragnot the Goblins deal a lot in oaths and binding contracts, I was wondering if you could shed some light on how I got my magic back."
"Well let me hear the oath you swore and let's see what we can come up with."
"I Harry James Potter do swear upon my magic that I did not enter myself in this tournament nor will I participate in this tournament."
"Now this does not make any sense, your swearing that you didn't enter itself in the tournament could not have made you lose your magic unless you did enter your yourself. Your saying that you won't participate in the tournament? Did anything else happen that was unusual?"
"You mean like the Goblet of fire exploding? As always strange stuff is always happening around me."
"Magic is extremely odd, that's why swearing of oaths is quite dangerous. For instance if magic perceived you were somehow responsible for blowing up the goblet it could consider you as participating in the tournament and thus breaking your oath. If I was you I wouldn't dwell on this for at time especially since you have your magic back. With you magic back have you considered magical extraction as that is supposed to be part of your hereditary line."
All I could do was shake my head.