Harry woke up in a bed he knew all too well. The Hogwarts medical wing.
He felt tired, and the last thing he remember was running for the exit of the arena with a dragon tailing him.
"Good, you're awake" he heard the voice of Madam Pomfrey. "One day, Mister Potter, I hope you come by for a social visit. You have definitely been my most frequent patient, and I can see a trend where it's always a life or death situation."
"Well, trust me, I don't do it on purpose, I just always end up in a situation that puts me under your care. Can you please tell me what happened? How long have I been out?"
"Well, it's around five AM at the moment, you've slept an entire day and two nights. You managed to exit the arena and your run was completed with that. I don't know the scores, but I'm sure your friends will tell you in a few hours. They passed by yesterday, a trio of Slytherins and the Beauxbatons champion with a small Ravenclaw girl. You were still out, so I sent them away. They said they would return today, so you can expect them to be here after breakfast."
It felt nice to know his friends had come to see him, as well as Fleur and Luna. 'Salazar' he thought 'He will probably think I'm dead!'.
"When will I be able to leave?" He asked Madam Pomfrey, who was already returning to her office.
"Well, maybe tomorrow afternoon or in two days. You need to rest. You achieved a very high level of magical exhaustion, you need to give your body time to regain an acceptable level of magic again. Us, wizards, are dependent on magic for the basic functions of our body, we are deeply connected with it. As we age, this dependence will grow even more, as magic extends our life expectancy for quite a few years. So, I want to keep you here under observation for a little while."
"I see. Thank you, Madam."
There was nothing he could do to inform Salazar of his success, so he would just have to wait. He was curious to see how the ritual would influence his recovery, as he was hoping it would accelerate it.
"Harry! How are you feeling?" asked Tracey.
"Good actually. Still a bit tired, but I'm just glad I survived the dragon."
"Survived?" said Blaise, sarcastically. "You absolutely dominated the task! Really? Transfiguring a Basilisk? Where did you even learned a thing like that?"
"Well, I learned recently that my family has a keen for transfiguration. The Basilisk was Salazar Slytherin's familiar and having already killed one, I thought it was fitting. The fact that Basilisk's hide is one of the very few things in the world that can resist dragon fire helped."
"Well, it was goddamn amazing! Everyone was stunned by the demonstration. Even Dumbledore! I swear I could see him with is mouth wide open."
"Well, it's not every day people get to see a Basilisk." Commented Daphne "I'm glad you're okay, Harry." She smiled.
"Thank you, Daphne." He said "So, can any of you three tell how the scores turned out? And how are the other champions? I see none of them here, so I assume they are all right."
The three Slytherin's shared a few looks, no one wanting to speak first.
"Well, you're in the lead of the tournament right now, by a few points. Fleur and Krum are second and Cedric is last, by a lot" answered Blaise, taking the lead. "Fleur and Krum are all right, they got deducted points for other things, but Cedric… Well he almost died. He got caught by the dragon out in the open and only Dumbledore's intervention prevented his death. He still got major burns all over his body, and he's not here because he had to be transferred to St. Mungo's, in order to be healed. He's still there and no one knows when he will come back."
"Well, that sucks, but he volunteered for it right? He actually put his name in the goblet."
"Yes, but that's not the point" Said Blaise, finishing off the topic "When are you getting out mate?"
"Pomfrey says maybe tomorrow, if I'm lucky!"
"Good, we miss you in classes. Potions is not that fun when you're not around to push Snape off the edge" Said Tracey with a laugh.
"Yeah guys, about that… I'm not coming back to class. Not this year, at least. Due to the tournament I don't have mandatory attendance, and I'm learning so much more how I'm currently studying, that I don't find it good idea to go back. And the more I can keep away from the old bastard, the better."
"What? But you can learn a lot from the teachers here. You don't want to be studying alone for the entire year, right?"
"I'm not alone. In fact, I have one of the better teachers anyone can ask for. Do you think I would be able to transfigure a Basilisk learning from McGonagall? Trust me, I'm better off learning how I've been in the last few weeks than at Hogwarts. But I'll still be around guys! Without the urgency of training for the first task, I can take a little more time to hang out with you guys."
"Well, you better do that, we miss you, Harry." Said Tracey, while the other two nodded their accordance.
"I promise, and you guys know I always keep my promises."
The four friends kept taking until classes began. They made their goodbyes and the trio left, leaving Harry to rest in the infirmary.
Around lunch time, Harry received another visit.
"Luna, Fleur! Thank you for coming" said Harry, not been able to meet Fleur's eyes, blushing madly with the memory from their last encounter.
"Of course we would come Harry, we are friends!" said Luna, while giving the Slytherin student a big hug. "How are you feeling?
"I'm good, Madam Pomfrey says I'll probably leave tomorrow, as I'm recovering better than expected."
"That's good news!" Said Fleur, smiling at him while noticing he was unable to look her in the eyes. 'Maybe that kiss was too forward for him' she thought.
"It is, I can't afford been stuck in here for a long time, I have a lot of preparations to do for the next task."
Harry had been informed by his friends that the egg he had recovered from the dragon contained a clue he had to decipher for the third task , and he had until February 24th to do so. He also learned that the second task would take place two days after the Yule Ball, and I would consist in a sort of dueling tournament between the four champions, were they would fight each other two times. He had asked for more details and what he got was that each fight was worth five points, with the winner taking them all. The champion who won the mini-tournament would receive ten additional points, making the maximum you could receive to be fifty points. Even though dueling with three older champions would not be easy, Harry thought that, at least, it would be safer than a dragon. And dueling was something he could actually enjoy. He had always been good at it, with defense being one of his better grades. He would have to ask Salazar for knowledge on offensive spells, but he had one month to do that. He had time.
"I agree, can't wait to kick your ass on when it's our turn Harry!" Joked Fleur, winking at him. She really enjoyed teasing the boy, for some reason. "And the Yule Ball should be fun as well, it's not every day that we get to go to a real party in the wizarding world."
The Ball was not something Harry wanted to talk about at the moment, with the split he felt regarding what to do with Daphne and Fleur.
"I'm sure it will be." He said, nerves present in his voice.
It was the middle of the night, and everyone in the castle was asleep. Then, a voice was heard in the infirmary if Hogwarts.
"Dobby?"
Immediately a small creature, with around three feet in height, giant green eyes, the size of tennis balls, and a very long nose appeared in front of the only bed that was occupied in the infirmary.
"Master Harry Potter, sir! Called for Dobby? Dobby is very happy to help Master Harry Potter, sir. What can Dobby do for Master Harry Potter, sir?"
"Please Dobby, don't you think Master Harry Potter, sir is a bit of an overkill? You can just call me Harry!"
The big eyes of the small creature filled with tears, as he exclaimed.
"Master Harry Potter, treats Dobby with such respect, asking to call him just Harry like equals. Master Harry Potter, is really a bigger wizard that Dobby ever dreamt of."
The discussion went for quite some time, until Dobby eventually agreed to Master Harry.
"So, Dobby, I need a favor from you. If you're willing to help, of course. I understand if you're too busy with the work you have to do in Hogwarts."
The small house elf had been working in Hogwarts since Harry had gotten him released from the oppressive servitude of the Malfoy's. Dumbledore had taken him in, one of the few things Harry was thankful to the Headmaster.
"Dobby is never too busy to help Master Harry, just tell Dobby what he needs to do."
"Well, I've heard a rumor about a room in this castle, a room that can turn into anything you want. It was created by Rowena Ravenclaw. And I've heard it's located in the seventh floor. Do you know anything about it, Dobby?"
The elf looked very sad when he looked at Harry.
"Dobby doesn't know about the room, Master harry, but Dobby could try to find out!" He volunteered immediately.
"That would be great, thank you Dobby. And please, when you come to me, make sure I'm alone. I want to keep this search a secret. Is that ok, Dobby?"
"Of course, Dobby knows master Harry to be a great wizard, and great wizards always have secrets. Dobby will find the room for Master Harry!" Said the elf with a lot of enthusiasm, disappearing instantly.
"Thank you, Dobby." Said Harry to the darkness of the night.
A few minutes later, the young champion was fast asleep.
"Honey, I'm home!" informed Harry, as he entered the chamber of secrets with a golden egg under his arm.
He had been discharged from Madam Pomfrey's care later the day after he had woken up, with the healer surprised by his fast recovery.
"So, I guess you survived. What took you so long to come back?"
"Well, apparently transfiguring a gigantic Basilisk and fighting a dragon takes a big tool on my magical energy, so after completing the task I went into a coma from magical exhaustion."
"Understandable, you're still young after all. I assume the task was successful then?"
"Pretty much, yes. I'm actually in the lead of the tournament."
"You are? That's surprising. Maybe we overestimated the competition. If you're three years younger and winning the tournament, they can't be that good."
"Well, two of them just had a bit of bad luck. Krum's dragon smashed a few eggs when he blinded it, so he lost points for that. And Fleur used her allure to charm the dragon and the judges saw that as an unfair advantage, so she lost some as well. The third champions, Cedric, failed, and only Dumbledore's intervention saved him from death. And of course, none of them is taught by Salazar Slytherin."
"You got lucky then, now you have to make sure to take advantage of the lead." Said Salazar, a tone of smugness on his voice due to Harry's complement "Did they tell you what the next task is going to be?"
"They told me about the second one, and this egg is supposed to contain a clue for the third one. The second is going to be duels against the other champions. Two rounds against the three of them."
"That's good, people are way less unpredictable than magical creatures. What do you know about dueling?"
"A bit, I always enjoyed it. But not as much as I should to compete against the three of them. In our second year, the defense teacher tried to create a dueling club, but the man was a fraud and we learned nothing but the Expelliarmus charm. But I've read a lot about the etiquette of dueling. I know you have to bow to your opponent and such. I consider myself good with the defense, I've been the top student in DADA since the second year, if we remember that in the first year it was a death eater giving the class. I can always improve, of course. The offense is what I need most help with."
"Very well, I shall teach you what I can. But you need to practice against someone, teaching spells can only take you so far, and I can't help you with that."
"I'll find someone to help, leave it to me" said Harry
"And about that egg? Have you tried opening it?"
"Not yet, but I guess there's no better time than the present." He said, and with that, he opened the egg.
A shrieking sound came out of the egg, lasting only a few seconds until the boy closed it up in hurry.
"What the hell was that?" He commented.
"I'm not sure, but the sound was very familiar. Give me a bit to think where I've heard that, but I know what it is."
"Good, because I don't know what that was, for sure. Now the dueling, please?"
"Sure, so the simpler strategy when dueling is…"
Later that night, Harry was getting ready to go to sleep when he remembered he still had one more thing to do. Arriving at the desk in the small library, he began.
Dear Padfoot,
Hope this letter finds you well, and that your recovery from Azkaban has been good.
I was hoping for a year at peace at Hogwarts this time, but destiny had other plans. As you probably heard from the news, I'm the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament. I didn't put my name in, but apparently someone wants me dead. I had to fight a dragon as my first task and managed to do it. The next task is on Yule, and it will be a dueling tournament between the four champions. I'm already getting ready for it with the help of my new mentor. I'm safe and well, of that I can assure you.
Things between me and the Headmaster have gone downhill more than ever before, with his lying about my whereabouts to the press and the entire school. I confronted him but things didn't go in the best direction.
Padfoot, I know you know him for a long time, but I'm telling you he can't be trusted. I'm distancing myself from him, in the public eyes and in private.
Hope we speak soon,
Harry
The letter seemed good enough, so he wrote Padfoot on the front and made his way to the big room of the chamber. Hedwig was already there, having sensed she would be needed. Attaching the letter to one of her legs, he said.
"Deliver this to Sirius, even though it says padfoot on the letter. Thanks girl."
The snowy owl nodded, her intelligent eyes sparkling. She soon made her way out of the chamber and flew South.
Albus Dumbledore was pacing back and forth in his office.
He was very surprised with the boy's demonstration of raw power. Transfiguring a Basilisk and making it fight a dragon for a while was incredible. That a fourteen-year-old had done it was even more spectacular. The boy was incredibly powerful, which was something that didn't help with Dumbledore's plan.
He had made a plan thirteen years ago, after James and lily's death, when he understood that Voldemort wasn't really as dead as everyone thought him to be. When Hagrid had delivered baby Harry to him, Dumbledore had been quick to figure out that the boy was, indeed, an Horcrux. Thinking that the only way to get rid of said Horcrux was for Voldemort to destroy it himself, Dumbledore had put in motion a plan for that to happen. The Dark Lord could not be allowed to live, for the greater good of the magical population of Britain. Even if some sacrifices needed to be made to achieve it, the greater good was more important than a few lives. That was what Dumbledore told himself when he did some not so leader of the light worth it actions, like pressuring Minister Bagnold to put Sirius Black in Azkaban without a trial, in order to take care of the man's claims for the guardianship of Harry.
He was able to leave the boy with his aunt using his power as Chief Warlock, as well as sealing the testament of James Potter, which he knew very well had expressively prohibited Harry to stay with his Muggle relatives. He had hoped that growing up with such magic hating muggles would make the boy week and desperate for both guidance and a father figure, with Dumbledore providing both when the boy came to Hogwarts. He hoped that blind loyalty from the boy would make it easier for him to eventually sacrifice himself to Voldemort. Things had not gone perfect for Dumbledore though. The boy, instead of weak, became skeptical. And the worst part, when he put the sorting hat on, he had managed to go to Slytherin, with the hat ignoring the Headmaster's requests for the boy to be put in Gryffindor. His plan to create a close relation between the boy and the Weasley's, a family that would follow him blindly, had fail too, with Harry finding young Ron to be boring and dumb. His plans for the romantic relationship between Harry and the younger Weasley were not going well too, with the Slytherin looking more infatuated with his classmate, Daphne Greengrass.
He had hoped that his part in the plot to save Sirius later would help create the trust in him he needed from the boy, but that hadn't worked too.
And now, this year had been the worst. The boy had disappeared without a trace, and then came back with the ability to transfigure Basilisk's. He didn't know where Harry was staying or who as teaching him, but he knew it had to be someone powerful and with a deep knowledge of magic, to have made such progress in less than a month. And the fact that Dumbledore had never been warned, by the school wards, about the boy leaving Hogwarts was even more astonishing. Something was going on and Dumbledore had to know about it. But for now, he would stay in the back, watching. Maybe if he was able to catch whoever put the boy's name in the Goblet, he could make amends with the young Slytherin, and his plans would go back to the right track.
AN: I know I told you guys I would post on the weekend, but I wanted this chapter to be reviewed before posting it, and only now did I got it done. I will now return to a more frequent posting schedule, not daily but every other day.
sdW: Yes, you found out my secret. The main romantic pairing of this story is definitely Salazar and Daphne. Congratulations! Daphne's secret is that she's a Necrophiliac! And about Harry closing his eyes in front of the dragon… It was a big arena, and they were on opposite sides of it. And the dragon was calm until the basilisk appeared, so Harry felt it was safe to do so. It may have been a bit reckless, but all went well.
ALLHEAVEN2: Really appreciate the comment, this kind of reviews are exactly what I enjoy getting. About the height of the dragons, I don't think that they all need to be gigantic beats. Some are bigger and some are smaller, but they all breath fire, so I'd say they are still pretty dangerous. And 4.5 meters is still enormous for a normal human. Wizards grow at a different rate than muggles as well as living way longer. There is a reason they have their majority at seventeen, and for me is when they finish with their development. They don't develop less, they develop faster. Magic has a big effect on that. You can still learn a lot of magic over seventeen, new spells, tactics and all of that. But raw magical power is defined at seventeen because that's when wizards stop growing and became full on adults. Hope I explained my idea a bit better, but I will be more explored in the story at a later time.
Thank you for the follows and reviews. Keep them coming.
Merry Christmas everyone.