Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
It turns out, the Black Lake is quite cold this time of year. And the best side-effect of gillyweed, besides being able to breathe underwater, is that Harry now couldn't tell if the water was cold or hot. It just felt like the same temperature he was, which was weird but not uncomfortable.
He was wrong when it came to the no-magic concern he'd had. He still had no idea what they took of his, but it hadn't been his wand and for that he was grateful.
He coasted through the water at a relatively fast pace, thanks to his webbed hands and feet. He was purposefully following the sounds he could hear off in the distance. It didn't sound like talking or singing-but it did remind him of when you're some distance away from a crowd and getting closer. He could hear what seemed to be some sort of chatter, but he couldn't make anything specific out.
When he arrived at what seemed to be a stone building, he caught his first glimpse of a merperson. It looked somewhat feminine with a very curvaceous figure and long hair but the facial hair and lack of breasts made him consider the possibility of it being male. He shook his head and focused, he didn't need to be concerned about a different species right now, he needed to finish this task so he could go back to the castle. Surely everyone else had finished by now, they'd been in the lake for what seemed to be an eternity.
He followed what looked to be heavily trafficked paths into the heart of the merpeople and saw four people floating in the water. They were all tied down so they didn't float to the surface and Harry practically saw red.
How dare they?!
It was one thing to endanger the life of the people who were competing but to endanger the lives of others as well? That was inexcusable. He knew for a fact that the little girl with flowing silver hair hadn't been able to give her consent to this and he knew Hermione and Ron both well enough to know they'd never agree to being put underwater for an hour amidst the merpeople of the Black Lake. And something told him that the Ravenclaw girl he saw would have been smart enough to decline to something like this.
He decided right then and there that he wasn't leaving any of these people down here for the other champions. It was insane to do so, and if Mr. Crouch didn't like it then he could stuff it where the sun didn't shine.
It didn't take long at all for the merfolk to realize he was planning on taking more than one person with him, but they all fled at the sight of his wand when he pulled it out of its holster. They swam off to hide as he cut all four people loose. He sent each one to the surface with a mild floating charm and followed them all up only to realize they were now in the center of the lake, very very far from where the judges were. They had all woken up once they'd broken the surface but Harry couldn't come up quite yet to join them. It was Hermione that managed to see him and when he pointed to his gills, she nodded and directed the others towards where the judges were. Harry and Hermione helped the little girl swim, seeing as she couldn't swim on her own. Harry swam under her so she wouldn't fall and Hermione helped teach her what to do with her arms and legs. She calmed down enough to try to follow directions when she realized Harry wouldn't let her drown, but he suspected there was a language barrier. Hermione wasn't really talking but she used a lot of hand motioning to help the girl understand what to do.
When they arrived back, Harry's gills and webbed extremities had all been set back to sorts. The other three champions were already at the docks, two of the three looking furious. Fleur was the only one who looked relieved when she saw the little girl and went on and on about how wonderful Harry was for rescuing her little sister.
Harry smiled and nodded but when she turned back to the girl, Harry turned to look for Mr. Crouch.
"Are you out of your bloody mind?! You thought it would be okay to take four people who didn't sign up to have their lives endangered to be put in harm's way and put them in the depths of the Black Lake? How dare you! And not only that, but were you even aware that this lake has some incredibly nasty things in it that would have loved to munch on the free snacks you left floating around in there?"
"We have worked with the merpeople on keeping anything dangerous away from them." He didn't even have the wherewithal to look ashamed, the pompous arsehat.
"Oh, yeah, bloody great job they did! All I did was pull out a stick and they fled! Some amazing bodyguards you hired there! I can't believe you thought that not only would you subject a minor who didn't want to participate in something this dangerous would be a good idea but you also thought to put an additional four innocent people at risk-also minors-and that's not including the dragon incident that put the entire student population and the entire Hogsmeade population at risk! I don't care what position you hold in the ministry, you shouldn't even be in charge of a crup!" And with that, Harry stormed off. He wasn't interested in the results and he certainly wasn't interested in being told he was flying off the handle.
The only thing that stopped him from taking another step was the snicker he heard coming from Professor Snape. Before he could fully process what he had heard, he was wrapped in a large fluffy towel with a warming charm on it and was herded back to the castle.
Snape had ushered him straight to Madame Pomfrey, who checked him over and declared him healthy and then was led to Dumbledore's office after getting dressed in dry clothes. Dumbledore joined the two shortly after and gave them both a knowing smile.
"I'm quite proud of you, Harry. You stood up for those four people in a way that no one else would have. And for the record, no they did not have permission to do what they did. I was informed they would be taking something precious, not someone. Now everyone is currently arguing over whether or not they'll even count the task, but that's not important to me." Harry was relieved to hear that he wasn't in trouble for yelling at Mr. Crouch, but his eye caught sight of a new crate of memories he hadn't seen yet.
"Professor? When can we learn more about Tom Riddle?" Dumbledore laughed.
"My dear boy, soon enough! I haven't yet gone through that crate, but I've got a few memories lined up already for the next time we meet. Shall we say, this Saturday?"
Harry was hungry to learn more about Tom, that was evident and Dumbledore did his best to give him as much information as he could when he could. Harry had even taken to keeping a neverending journal with notes about him and often reread the things he'd learned already.
He knew the people Tom hung out around, he knew the students Tom picked out to make as targets or potential lackeys and the reasons behind that and he even managed to get a hold of the books that Tom had devoured when he was at school. By the time the school was preparing for finals, Harry was busy reading anything he could get his hands on that Tom had once held and was even more determined to get into his head. He wanted to know what made Tom tick, what made him do the things he had done and what made him become the monster that had killed his parents.
But it wasn't really about his parents. It was mostly about what could make a person so desperate that they'd attach themselves to the back of a simpering man's head trying to find a body to take over so he could murder an eleven year old child. But most importantly; who would Tom have become if he had grown up with a positive influence?
He was given the opportunity to take his exams early so he could train for the third task. Mr. Crouch and the heads of schools had taken the champions out to the grounds to show them the maze and explain the concept of the final task before they were given their exam dates and ushered back to class. Hermione nearly had a conniption when she heard that Harry wouldn't have as much time as everyone else to study and so she dominated his time for the next two weeks so he would pass all of his classes with flying colours.
And pass he did. But he was much less focused on that and much more worried about the maze. He had no idea the things he'd encounter there and had even less of an idea of what he should be practicing so whenever Professor Snape told him to study something, he did it with relish.
He had a sneaking suspicion that Snape knew some of the things that would be present in the maze and he wasn't about to take any chances.
"Each of you will be entering the maze in staggered times of five minutes! Starting with Harry Potter, followed by Cedric Diggory then Viktor Krum and finally Fleur Delacour. If you should find yourself in need of assistance and wish to end your participation, send red sparks into the sky. Once the cup has been touched, everything will freeze and you will be given points based upon where you are in relation to where the cup is. Everyone ready?" The four looked wearily at each other and then back at Mr. Crouch. "Harry Potter will enter the maze first on my green sparks. Ready?" Green sparks shot out of his wand and Harry turned to enter the maze.
It was dark and chilly, making him grateful that he had worn an extra layer before leaving the castle. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to host a maze after dinner when the sun had already gone down was out of their minds.
He barely managed to scrape by a blast-ended skrewt and practically shit himself when he came face-to-face with an acromantula. He'd somehow thought to speak in parseltongue which scared the giant spider off and he hurried away from that particular spot.
After several more terrifying experiences, Harry had somehow managed to fight his way past some exuberant pixies. He turned a corner and saw the cup.
Excitement filled him. The nightmare could end! He wouldn't have to deal with Mr. Crouch any longer and he could finally go back to Hogwarts, get a hot cup of tea and bask in front of a fireplace after a nice long shower. All he had to do was touch the cup.
And when he did touch it, he felt like someone had hooked his navel and spun him into another dimension.
He landed, or rather he felt like he was tossed, onto the ground. He struggled for air and finally managed to lift his head when he heard a high pitched voice calling out feeble instructions. A mousy looking man was moving back and forth between a black bundle on the ground and a huge cauldron. For a brief moment, Harry thought that cauldron looked big enough to cook a man in, and then his brain caught up with his thoughts.
That bundle on the ground was what was giving instructions and, although the pitch was higher, it sounded just like the voice that haunted his nightmares.
Voldemort was in that bundle of black somehow.
He was petrified and was tied up to a cemetery statue before a sharp blade dug into his arm and drew blood. A few drops, alone with a bone from the grave he was currently standing on joined the bubbling liquid in the cauldron as did the entire hand of the man that was obeying orders. Harry had looked away before he could really think about what was happening, but he worried he'd have nightmares about this now. If he lived that long, anyway.
Then a loud splash was heard and Harry peeked to just enough to see a white something in the liquid before the contents turned blacker than pitch. Not so long afterwards, a figure rose out of the cauldron. Harry couldn't help but look through his fringe, hoping no one would notice him, and caught sight of a very naked, very male man stepping out of the liquid. It didn't matter that he was as white as the printer paper stacks Aunt Petunia had smacked him around with, the cock attached to that body was exquisite.
He quickly changed gears, storing that bit of information away for later perusal. He didn't need to be thinking about Tom Riddle right now, he needed to be thinking about Voldemort.
Or maybe he did need to think about Tom Riddle.
Voldemort was essentially Tom, just a more insane version. He ran through all the possible scenarios that could follow while the mouse-man was dressing him and landed on the most likely. Tom liked to show off, he liked to impress people and he hated it when he thought people slighted him. He'd likely call his followers and reprimand them, after all Harry wasn't about to go anywhere anytime soon. And then he'd want to impress them all by killing Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived. But he'd want a show, he'd want to show off his skills and to prove that he was back in full form. He'd have to go for effectiveness and cut through the bullshit Tom would likely throw his way. He knew the torturing curse would likely be something that Tom would use, if for nothing else than to play with his prey before the kill.
If he got hit with that, he likely wouldn't be able to get back up again. But at least he'd have a bit of time to try and escape before the killing curse was thrown out. He'd have to try to evade and get far enough away that he might be able to try and apparate.
Dumbledore had been teaching him the theory on apparition, but they hadn't been able to practice yet. He knew the theory enough that he might be able to get back to Hogsmeade for help. Hell, he could aim for the train station in Hogsmeade and would only have a few meters to jump before he'd be safe on Hogwarts grounds.
He'd do that then. He'd rather be splinched than have to face whatever tortures Voldemort would have in store for him.
In the time he'd been thinking, Voldemort had indeed called his followers. Only a few people had appeared this quickly, followed by a few more within the next few minutes. They fell into a perfect circle, with several spots open, when Voldemort finally spoke.
"Ah, it ssseems we are missssing a few. I ssshall deal with them later. But for now, my followersss...what took you sssso long to find me? Hm? No one wissshes to anssswer? Then I ssshall anssswer for you. Cowardsss! You hid behind liesss and denounced your loyalty for your freedom! You will all be punissshed." No one dared to even move before another figure appeared.
"Ahh...Sssseverusss, my mossst loyal ssservant. What hasss taken you ssso long?" Harry refrained from gasping and bit the inside of his lip so he wouldn't make a noise.
"My lord," Snape had kneeled and bent his head. "I have spent the last fourteen years gaining Dumbledore's trust. I am still employed in his school and have gathered much information that you will find helpful to your cause. I did not arrive sooner because of the anti-apparition around the Hogwarts grounds. I would be happy to take your punishment as you see fit for not moving as fast as I was once able to." The last remark confused Harry because he knew Snape to be incredibly fast when he wanted to be. Instead of pondering that, he focused on what was happening.
"Nonsssense. I appreciate your tenacccity. You ssshall tell me later what you have learned. For now, we have a guesssst." With that, Harry was suddenly cut free from his restraints and fell to the ground with a thud before he was able to move again.
"Harry Potter, asss I live and breathe. I am Lord Voldemort." Harry had to bite back the retort about Tom Riddle and simply looked up at Voldemort with wide eyes. His hope was to convey fear, and apparently he was doing a good job. "Never fear, I only wissssh to duel. Ssssurely they ssstill teach that at Hogwartsss, yesss?" Severus answered in the positive.
After being goaded to a dueling stance, the two stood there while Voldemort taunted Harry and the circle of death eaters made sure that Harry wouldn't be able to escape without going through Voldemort first. Then the first curse flew.
Harry ducked behind a gravestone and fired off a few of his own curses from behind his cover, hoping that at least one would land. Not surprisingly, none of them hit their target.
The two went back and forth until eventually the killing curse made its way into the mix. He ducked and prayed that he'd gotten the hang of apparition theory enough that he'd be able to apparate without splinching himself.
He focused on the left side of the bench that was at the train station in Hogsmeade harder than he'd ever focused before. So much so that he really thought he'd be able to see the grain markings, stood and turned on his heel. A sickening spinning started but he clung to the bench vision in his mind harder than he'd ever thought of anything ever before and once the spinning stopped he bolted towards the Hogwarts gates.
Incredibly, he made it just before the cracks of more apparition happened behind him and running footsteps could be heard. By then, it hadn't made much of a difference. He'd made it to the grounds, summoned his broom, and was now flying straight to Dumbledore faster than he'd ever flown before.
Needless to say, when Dumbledore saw Harry bolting straight for him and had a moment to see that death eaters were on Hogwarts grounds, he grew positively pissed off. Thunder raged in the man's eyes instead of the normally pleasant twinkle.
The grounds practically shook with his anger as he cast a single spell that threw the intruders out of the grounds-what looked to be at least a hundred meters from where they were to where they landed on the other sides of the gates. The few that were foolish enough to try reentering the grounds were thrown from the gates once more.
"Minister, I believe you have a death eater problem to take care of. Now if you don't mind Mr. Crouch, your little game has caused enough issues. End the tournament." Dumbledore ushered Harry back to the castle and up to his office, a fate that Harry was all too happy to see.