Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter
Authors Note: Special thanks to GoDzreap, Rosebloom20 and everyone else thus far who has read, reviewed, favourited or is following my story or me, you all rock.
Further note: I have edited and reuploaded this chapter based on a review from Rosebloom20. Much thanks to them for pointing out the thing near the end that I didn't make very clear.
Chapter Thirty Seven:
An hour later, Dobby announced his return with a loud popping sound and bowed in front of Harry "Master Albus Dumbledore says that Dobby may transfer his service to you Harry Potter, if I so wish". Dobby was smiling happily "he only asked that I stay here for now and go to your home in the summer".
Harry was grinning madly and said "that's awesome news Dobby and if you wish it then you're now my elf".
"Dobby does wish it Sir" Dobby replied reverently.
"There are just two rules Dobby" Harry said seriously "one, don't call me Sir, if you have to then call me Master Harry and the other rule is that you have to accept wages and not having much work to do".
Dobby looked apprehensive about not having much work to do "if you truly want more work" Harry said "then you can work here at Hogwarts during the school year, it's up to you Dobby".
"Dobby accepts these terms Master Harry" Dobby replied.
Harry sighed knowing he'd likely never get Dobby to change his stance on calling Harry such and decided to give up trying. He looked at the house elf and said "Dobby, now that you're working for me I have a task for you if you don't mind".
"Dobby is yours to command S...err Master Harry".
"Err...right" Harry felt uncomfortable but shouldered it aside "Dobby, I need you to head up to my dorm, grab the key to my Gringott's vault and I'll write you a letter as proof that you work for me" Harry told the elf "go to Gringott's, take out however much money some gillyweed would cost and then go and buy it im Diagon Alley".
Dobby was nodding enthusiastically "yes Master Harry I will do as you instruct but..." he was hesitant now.
"But what Dobby?" Harry asked.
"But you will need to give a drop of blood on the letter Master, as proof that I have been sent by you" Dobby said sounding uneasy.
"That's no problem" Harry replied with a smile.
He set to work writing out the letter and then asked "has anyone got a knife so I can prick my finger?".
One was eventually procured by Dobby who handed it carefully to Harry. Harry made a prick on his finger and dripped the blood from it onto the newly finished letter.
Handing Dobby the parchment, Harry said "there's no real rush Dobby but if you can get it a week before the second task then I'll be able to practise with it".
Dobby bowed and left.
When the house elf was gone a furious Hermione rounded on Harry "I thought you were against having a house elf!" she demanded crossly.
Harry sighed "Hermione, what else could I do? I don't like the idea of having a servant anymore than you do but I needed to give this task to someone who could get outside the school grounds and to Diagon Alley. None of the teachers can or likely would help and none of us can go".
"Well, just make sure you treat Dobby right, that's all" Hermione said unhappily.
Time went by swiftly and before Harry knew it it was a week before the second task. Unfortunately, when Dobby returned to Hogwarts on Friday the seventeenth of February he brought with him bad news "Dobby regrets to say he was unable to procure gillyweed Master Harry".
Harry closed his eyes and sighed. 'Now what the hell do I do?' he thought.
"I do know of one place where it is kept however Master Harry" Dobby added.
Harry's face brightened "where Dobby? where can I get some?".
Dobby looked nervous but said "Professor Snape's private store cupboard has some. Dobby knows as he has seen it when he was helping Professor Snape catalogue his items".
Harry's hope faded. There was no way he could get into Snape's private stores without the greasy haired git noticing.
"Thanks for the information Dobby but I'll have to think of something else" Harry replied feeling grateful to the elf but still down.
"I can get it for you Master Harry!" Dobby said.
"Dobby no..." Harry groaned as the house elf disappeared with a loud pop. "Oh god!" he ran his hands through his hair in frustration "we'd better look at some other ways for me to survive underwater" he decided.
It was now the twenty third of February and the day before the second task. As a result of much searching Harry and his friends had found a bubblehead charm that he could use for the task and for the past four days he had practised intensely during every spare moment, though he still had not mastered it and was not confident about its use during the task.
That evening, about seven o' clock, Harry, Lauren and their friends were in the Great Hall finishing their dinner when Professor McGonagall, graceful as always, swept over to their table and said "good evening all of you" making it clear she was addressing Harry's group.
She turned her main attention to Daphne "Miss Greengrass, Professor Snape needs a word with you" she informed Harry's girlfriend.
Daphne was surprised but Professor McGonagall explained "he hates coming over to this table so I volunteered to come over instead".
Daphne nodded, squeezed Harry's hand and stood up "see you later love" she said before walking over to where Professor Snape stood.
Harry watched as the two of them exited the Great Hall. His eyes locked on Professor McGonagall's in a questioning glance. He jerked his head and Professor McGonagall nodded.
'That settles it then' thought Harry seriously. 'They've taken Daphne as part of the second task, I'll need to be top of my game tomorrow'.
That night, as Harry was working on an essay with his friends in the common room, Dobby appeared in front of him, startling him so much that he almost fell off the sofa.
"Dobby is sorry for startling Master" Dobby apologised as Harry got up, picked up his parchment, ink and quill and sat back on the sofa "it's fine Dobby, what did you need?" Harry assured the elf.
Dobby held out a hand in which sat a strange green plant that Harry had never seen before "gillyweed!" Neville exclaimed in awe.
Given that his friend was so knowledgeable about plants Harry didn't doubt what he said "so this is gillyweed" he said as he eyed the green plant.
Harry looked into Dobby's face "what do I have to do with it?" he asked.
"You has to put it in your mouth Master Harry, you has to eat it before you get into the lake!" Dobby answered.
Harry grinned and clapped the elf on the shoulder "thanks Dobby, you're a good friend".
The house elf blushed at the praise but seemed pleased that Harry thought of him as a friend.
"Will you be there tomorrow watching the task?" Harry asked the elf.
"Oh yes Master Harry!" Dobby nodded up and down so hard his bat likes ears flapped about "all house elves within the grounds have permission to attend".
Harry was glad Dobby would be there as, after his hard work, he deserved to see the results.
Harry awoke early on the morning of the second task feeling, once again, the nervous tension he had had during the first task. He supposed that it was something that never left you in such a situation.
Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was nine o' clock. He collected his things including his swim shorts, had a shower and got dressed, putting the shorts on under his jeans, before grabbing his wand and heading down into the common room. A short time later, he was joined by Lauren, Ginny, Ron and Neville and together they made their way down to the Great Hall.
As they walked Harry asked "where's Hermione?". None of the others had seen her since the previous night and Harry realised why. "She's one of the ones who was taken" he said tensely.
"What?!" Ron exclaimed. The blood had drained from the redheads face and right now he resembled the colour of porridge.
"Don't worry Ron" Ginny assured her brother "remember what Hermione and Daphne said before? none of those taken can actually be hurt, it's all just to make the Champions work faster".
Ron was still upset by this and lapsed into silence as they continued on their way.
Outside the doors to the Great Hall they were met by Astoria and Millicent Bulstrode. The girls greeted him warmly and Astoria and Millicent wished him luck, adding they'd be cheering him on that day, the girls joined them at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.
As so often with Harry before something important, he felt little desire to eat that day and had to be coaxed by the girls. Even Ron and Neville made sure he ate something and Harry had to admit, he felt a lot better after having had breakfast.
At ten forty, Professor McGonagall approached the Gryffindor table and said "it's time". Harry looked around and was surprised to see that he and his friends were some of the few people left. It seemed that most had already headed down to the lake for the task.
Ten minutes later, Harry found himself waiting on the wooden platform overlooking the Black Lake. He was nervous but would have been a lot more so had his cousin Lauren and best friends Ron and Neville not been standing with him.
Astoria, Millicent and Ginny had wanted to stay there too but Professor McGonagall had informed them that only a certain number could stay there as there wasn't more room.
Harry nodded to the other Champions who nodded back politely. He then focused on centering himself for the task at hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Ludo Bagman announced to thunderous applause from the spectators.
Harry saw Mr Crouch clapping too though he looked a bit dishevelled as he had when attending the first task.
"As Mr Harry and Mr Cedric Diggory are currently tied on thirty nine points each, they will enter the lake first to begin the task and will be followed by Miss Fleur Delacour, currently on thirty six points and finally, by Mr Victor Krum currently on twenty eight points".
Bagman smiled down at them and declared "good luck Champions!" though he nodded to Harry as a clear sign of encouragement.
Harry shook his head still not understanding why Bagman was favouring him.
Neville handed Harry the gillyweed "swallow it whole and be careful not to gag" his friend advised him as Harry placed the strange plant to his lips.
"Here goes nothing" he murmured before opening his mouth, popping the plant inside and swallowing it whole just as advised.
The sensation was difficult to describe and in that moment Harry would be hard pressed to say anything for it felt as though all the air was being driven out of his lungs. He began to gasp and splutter. He reached a hand up to his neck and felt odd air holes forming there. He stared down at his hands and noticed that they were becoming webbed. He stared lower, at his feet and found the same thing. Evidently, the gillyweed was doing it's work already.
"Mr Potter, Mr Diggory, you will enter the water on my mark!" Bagman declared from somewhere distant "three, two, one...go!".
Without waiting to see what Cedric was doing, Harry waved to Neville, Ron and Hermione with a webbed hand and dived head first into the lake.
The water, which normally would have felt freezing cold at such a time of year, felt quite warm for a change, it seemed that the gillyweed also increased a persons body temperature when wet.
Harry kicked experimentally with his legs and pushed forward with his arms. The gillyweed was doing the trick as he glided effortlessly through the water.
Knowing he had no time to waste, Harry began to swim lower and lower. From the research he and his friends had done, he knew that the Mer People who resided within the Black Lake, lived in the lowest depths and Harry felt sure they would be the ones guarding those who had been taken.
Harry swam lower and lower, wand at the ready, lit to illuminate as the water became darker.
Harry knew he'd reached the right level as his feet touched the seabed and he could see weeds and rocks resting on the floor.
He nodded to himself and then thought for a moment about how to find Daphne. He realised the best way was to just keep swimming and so he resumed his journey through the depths of the lake keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of his girlfriend.
He didn't know how long he had searched for until he checked his watch. He found it had been thirty minutes. As he floated in the water he looked around and found he was in a clearing. His eyes widened in surprise as he found himself face to face with four people chained to long, wooden stakes that were buried deep into the seabed.
Harry swam closer for a look and could see that all four of them, Daphne, Hermione, Cho Chang, who must have been the one Cedric needed to rescue, and a young girl with blonde hair who he'd seen before, were all fast asleep. Their eyes were shut and their chests rose and fell but they did not snore leading Harry to suspect that a sleeping spell of some kind had been used.
Harry stared deep into his girlfriends eyes and then he looked at the other three. A few seconds passed and then Harry nodded to himself. He took aim with his wand and fired a spell at the chain that kept Daphne against the stake. The spell severed the chain in one go and Harry had to swim forwards hurriedly to ensure that she did not go floating upwards without him.
With Daphne rescued, Harry waited to see if anyone else would show up for the other hostages. A short time later and Harry recognised Cedric, his head encased in a bubble-head charm as the older boy swam expertly through the water and towards the line of stakes.
Cedric nodded to Harry when he saw him. Harry nodded back and Cedric fired a spell at the chain anchoring Cho to the seabed. He then began to swim upwards.
Harry was about to leave, when something stopped him. He decided to hang on for awhile longer though when he was asked later he could not say why, other than that it felt wrong to leave the other two hostages.
A few more minutes passed and Harry began to wonder what had happened to Fleur and Victor Krum and whether the two would turn up at all.
Just as he was wondering this, Harry noticed a shape cutting through the water. At first, the shape was so distant that he could not tell what it was but as it got nearer to Harry he could see that it was a person who had attempted a human to animal transfiguration, but only got it half right.
As the person reached Harry he was forced to dive out of the way and pull Daphne with him for the person would have collided with them.
Harry realised upon closer inspection, that it was Victor Krum. The Bulgarian took no notice of him as he set to work releasing Hermione and began to pull her roughly upwards to the lake surface.
More time elapsed as Harry was reluctant to leave the girl with blonde hair, tied up and on the seabed. Ten more minutes passed as Harry wondered where Fleur had got to.
Forty five minutes into the task Harry made his mind up, as, if Fleur had been coming to rescue the girl, she would have done so by now given that both Cedric and Victor Krum had already done so and Harry had rescued Daphne.
"Right" Harry said to himself resolutely. Wasting no time, Harry took aim with his wand and was about to fire the same spell he'd used to free Daphne when, out of nowhere, a swarm of Merpeople appeared carrying tridents. Looking like a cross between a fish and a human, the Merpeople gestured angrily at the girl and pointed out Daphne.
Some of them shook their heads while others shouted in a strange language that Harry did not understand "but I have to get her out of here!" Harry protested "I have no idea how long this sleep spell lasts for!".
"You have your hostage human" what seemed to be the Merpeople's Chief said sternly and surprisingly in English "you must take her and go".
"I can't leave you down here. The person who was supposed to rescue her isn't turning up, she needs help!".
"Be that as may human you may not take her" the Merchief said sternly.
Harry brandished his wand at the Merpeople and said "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt any of you, but if you interfere, then I will".
The Merpeople looked equal parts angry and scared. Their chief gestured to them and they backed off cautiously.
Keeping his wand focused on them, Harry made his way over to the stake to which the girl was chained and, quick as a flash, he fired off diffindo at the chain causing it to sever as sparks flew.
Harry took Daphne's hand in his left and the other girls in his right as he holstered his wand and swam upwards.
As Harry swam closer and closer to the surface of the water he felt a change coming over him. He felt himself gasping and opened his mouth causing water to flood in. He felt like he was choking and he tried to cough up the water.
The surface of the lake was so near. Just one more push, one more kick of the legs and he would breach it.
The relief that Harry felt as he burst through the surface of the water and out into the open air was indescribable. He coughed up the last of the water and though his throat felt horrendously sore he was happy.
As he looked around he saw Cedric and Cho up on the platform. Both were wrapped up warm in towels and being checked on Madam Pomfrey. Further on, Victor Krum and Hermione were in the same position as Lauren, Ron and Neville stood by Hermione looking concerned.
Even further down along the platform was Fleur. She was sitting on her own looking thoroughly miserable as she dried herself off.
Harry swam for the platform and as he reached it he held the little girl up for someone to help onto the platform. She taken over to Madam Pomfrey as Harry helped Daphne up out of the water. His girlfriend was just waking up and Harry kissed her on the cheek before making sure that Ron and Neville got her over to Madam Pomfrey. With the two hostages now safe, Harry climbed up onto the platform and sat there feeling exhausted. His lungs felt like he'd run a marathon and his legs and arms were so sore he didn't feel he could move.
"Harry!". He felt himself wrapped in a tight hug.
"Lauren!" he gasped out.
"I'm so glad you're safe!" she sounded relieved and it was obvious she had been really worried about him.
He was soon joined by Hermione, Ron and Neville. "Hermioniny!" Victor Krum called out indignantly, seeming irritated she was going over to Harry.
"He is really getting on my nerves" Hermione muttered.
"Not so interested in him anymore eh?" Neville grinned.
Hermione shook her head "he's ridiculously needy and it wasn't even like we had that good a time during our date at the Yule Ball, he kept talking about himself".
"Harry what took you so long?" Ron demanded.
"I had to rescue another one of the hostages" Harry explained.
"But you know that they weren't in danger!" Ron said incredulously.
"No Ron, I didn't know that, see those sleeping spells only last for a certain time and could have run out while she was stuck underwater".
Ron fell silent at this logic while Hermione said "I'm afraid you're not going to get good points for that Harry".
Harry shrugged "it's not like I even wanted to be doing all this in the first place, if you remember".
Hermione nodded seriously.
Madam Pomfrey strode over and wrapped Harry in a warm, thick towel before checking him all over for bruises, cuts and asking about his general health. Once she was satisfied that he would be alright she informed him "Mr Potter, the Champions are to assemble over there" she pointed out a section of the platform that stood directly below the judges.
Harry nodded, stood and holding Daphne's hand and accompanied by his friends, he walked over to join the other Champions.
"Well done Champions, we are all impressed by your efforts!" Ludo Bagman said effusively. He looked over at the judges "that being said, some of you did better than others in this task. It is now time to award points and we shall start with the last placed Mr Victor Krum. He used an incomplete human to animal transfiguration spell which was nevertheless sufficient to rescue his hostage and complete the task".
The judges all held up points boards and Harry saw Krum's face fall as he received forty points with Karkaroff giving the usual favouritism nine, Madame Maxime gave him an eight along with Dumbledore and Mr Crouch while Ludo Bagman gave him a seven.
"Next is Miss Fleur Delacour". Bagman was silent for a moment before he said in a sad tone "I regret to say that Miss Delacour's bubble-head charm broke halfway to the rescue of her hostage. As a result Miss Delacour was unable to complete the task and had to return to the surface". Harry noticed Fleur looked upset with herself and gave her a warm smile of reassurance which she returned with a grateful smile.
The judges held up their boards upon which were all fives meaning she had scored twenty five points. "I deserve nothing!" she declared forcefully. Harry didn't feel this was true but kept silent.
"Next up, Mr Cedric Diggory!" there was loud of applause and cheering from the Hogwarts students, even the Gryffindor's, who were the largest contingent.
"Mr Diggory also utilised a bubble-head charm which worked very well and enabled him to be the first to return with his hostage safely. We therefore award him points as follows".
Bagman held up a board as did the other four judges. Harry saw Cedric nod in a satisfaction as a small smile appeared on his lips. Cedric had received forty six points with tens across the board except for Karkaroff who only gave him a six much to the consternation of the Hufflepuff's and many Ravenclaw's. Even Harry felt angry on Cedric's behalf.
"You deserved fifty points for this task" he muttered to Cedric who was next to him. The older boy turned to him, smiled and shrugged "it is what it is" he said sounding disappointed but calm.
Harry envied him that calmness and wished he could be so calm as well.
"And finally, last but certainly not least is Mr Harry Potter!". The Gryffindor's cheered and applauded as did around half of Ravenclaw but the Hufflepuff's and Slytherins, except Astoria and Millicent, stayed silent. Astoria glared at her boyfriend Justin for not clapping and slapped him on the arm. Justin for his part Justin looked annoyed with her for applauding Harry.
"Mr Potter utilised gillyweed to great effect but delayed for a very long time in the water and while he did get his hostage, he also came up last out of the Champions".
Harry's face fell. He may not have wanted to be in this tournament but his pride was still hurt by his failure to do better.
"In normal circumstances he would receive low points, however, we have been reliably informed by the Chief of the Merpeople that Mr Potter was in fact at the location of the hostages before any of the other Champions even arrived and his delay was only due to his wish that all of the hostages should be safe before he left and it is this that prompted him to rescue Miss Gabrielle Delacour as well as his own hostage Miss Daphne Greengrass".
Bagman smiled down at Harry "to reflect this selfless attitude that the judges admire, we have award points thus".
They held up their boards and Harry stared at them in surprise. He had received nine's across the board which meant he was just one point behind Cedric with forty five points. But while he was amazed by this generosity in points, he was also very suspicious of Karkaroff and made up his mind to write to his Godfather Sirius about the man. If anyone would know if Karkaroff had something to hide it would be him given he was an Auror.
Harry knew he could contact his Uncle Jacob but he knew his uncle would tell Aunt Mandy and she would only end up worrying and all over something Harry couldn't even be sure about.
"The points and Champions stand thus" Bagman announced to the crowd in a loud, clear voice. "In last place with sixty one points is Miss Fleur Delacour". The Beauxbaton's contingent seemed disappointed, though more so for Fleur than with her Harry was glad to note and Madam Maxime still smiled at her consolingly.
"In third place with sixty eight points is Mr Victor Krum of Durmstrang". Karkaroff looked furious, both at Krum and at the other judges and Krum's fellow students seemed equally disappointed if their lacklustre applause were anything to go by.
"In second place with eighty four points is Mr Harry Potter of Hogwarts, representing Gryffindor". The Gryffindor's cheered lustily and applauded equally as enthusiastically while Harry for his part was glad to be doing so well, even if he was suspicious of Karkaroff.
"And finally, in first place with an impressive eight five points, is Mr Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts, representing Hufflepuff!".
The Hufflepuff's roared their approval and delight of the point standings and applauded hard for their Champion as Cedric grinned. He seemed just as surprise as anyone that he was in first place. Harry was glad for him for as he had said to Cedric before, a win by either of them would be a Hogwarts victory.
Harry clapped just as hard as anyone, something Ron and Neville couldn't understand, while Hermione, Lauren and Daphne watched on approving of his sportsmanship.
"The second task is concluded!" Bagman declared loudly "I hope the four Champions have an enjoyable spring!".
A short time later, Harry and the other three Champions met with Ludo Bagman and the ruffled looking Mr Crouch. Bagman explained that the next task would not be until the twenty fourth of June and thus they had over three months to prepare for it.
Bagman further informed them that they were to be escorted down to the Quidditch pitch in late May to see what their final task would be.
He then said goodbye. Mr Crouch however, made sure to hang back and seemed quite anxious to talk to Harry.
Harry shrugged and walked over to the man "hello Mr Crouch" he said politely.
"Hello Harry, it's nice to meet you properly" Mr Crouch said warmly.
Mr Crouch then gestured "would you mind walking with me?". Harry shook his head and began to walk alongside him as he waved for his friends and cousin to head on up to the castle.
"That was a very impressive performance my boy" Mr Crouch said kindly.
"Thank you sir, but I'm afraid I messed up by waiting so long" Harry replied.
"Oh nonsense". Mr Crouch waved this off "you have a good heart Harry and that is all that matters in life" he seemed sad "I only wish I'd realised that sooner".
"Mr Crouch?" Harry was concerned for the older wizard.
Mr Crouch looked around. He seemed to want to make sure they were alone "Harry, I need you to go and fetch Professor Dumbledore and quickly" he said seriously and anxiously.
Harry frowned "of course Sir, I'll go and get him right away".
Mr Crouch nodded "I shall wait here near the lake for him". Harry ran as fast as he could and eventually caught up to Dumbledore by the front doors to the castle.
"Professor!" he gasped out as he felt the fatigue upon him.
"Harry my boy" Dumbledore seemed surprised and worried "whatever is the matter? you look like you've run a marathon!".
"Mr Crouch!" Harry said as his breath came back "he wants a word with you Professor, down by the Black Lake".
Dumbledore frowned "strange" he said "he usually comes to see me if he wants a word".
"I think it's urgent Sir" Harry replied "he seemed very anxious".
Dumbledore nodded "very well my boy, lead me to him".
The two of them took off as quick as they could back the way Harry had come. When they reached the spot where Mr Crouch had been standing, Harry frowned for he could not see the older wizard.
"Harry, get back up to the castle and alert the other Professors". Dumbledore's voice sounded both serious and strained as he stared down into a clump of bushes at the waters edge.
"What is it Professor?" he asked fearfully.
Dumbledore turned to face him. He looked graver than Harry had ever seen him, even graver perhaps, than during the events of Harry's second year "it's Bartemius Crouch" the old wizard informed him "he's dead and lying here in this group of bushes. We have a murderer inside Hogwarts".
Harry was so stunned that for a moment he didn't move. Barely even breathed. Then, as if they were working on their own, his legs propelled him from the lake and up towards the castle.